2026 #11 A Liturgical Play for the Medieval Feast of Fools: The Laon Ordo Joseph (Lagueux)

 

A Liturgical Play for the Medieval Feast of Fools: The Laon Ordo Joseph by Robert C. Lagueux
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Full disclosure: the author is a friend and colleague/boss.

That said, I read this on its own merit (and NOT at the behest of the author), as I am a self-described "medievalist groupie" (in terms of musicological specialty) and I found myself entranced by the detailed contextualization of this medieval drama. Lagueux devotes much needed attention to the "gloss" and how it operates dramaturgically, supported by well-conceived suppositions regarding the performance of the work in Laon. The situation is very nuanced, and he makes a convincing case for multiple levels of Biblical exegesis that play out in the Ordo Joseph. Most fascinating is the symbology and the role reversal of various clerics of the Church in service of enacting social inversion. Unlike the music associated with Florentine Carnival (e.g. canti carnascialeschi), in this context, Lagueux notes, "...inversion does not require mad revelry." (88). His investigation of the Ordo Joseph supports his claim that, "...meaningful inversion can and does occur in the context of an ecclesiastically sanctioned undertaking." (88)

Equally valuable and intriguing is the author's "reconstruction" or after Peter Jeffery, "re-envisioning" of the music, based on thoughtful and detailed consideration of the available chants (in Laon 263, many for Epiphany) that would work for the rhythms and rhyme schemes of the text. Lagueux also considers intertextual significance, such as the use of the sequence In sapientia (fol. 131v-132v) which offers a Reader's Digest view (my words) of the life of Christ, reflecting both the commemoration of Epiphany as celebrated in the Middle Ages, as well as dialoguing with christological connections in the story of Joseph.

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Challenges on Storygraph (@rebcamuse):

2026 Reading Goals 11/60

Tackle your Physical TBR 2026: no.7

2026 #8 Raising Hare (Dalton)

 

Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We can start with the fact that I've never really given a lot of thought to rabbits and hares being distinct animals, although it registered somewhere in the back-burner of my brain. I think I'm probably not alone. Dalton's memoir sets out to change that, at least in passing. When she encounters an abandoned leveret (baby hare), her life is forever changed (and that isn't hyperbole). Yes, it is a story of one woman and and at least at first, one hare. But it is also a very thoughtful meditation on the fragile ecosystem and how humans must struggle to maintain some sort of precarious equilibrium, as the balance was long ago upset. Dalton is transparent about her struggles and her questions (of herself, of the relatively isolated world of hare-related knowledge, of her little furry friend(?)). It is this questioning that keeps things from falling into the trap of an overly saccharine and anthropomorphized tale. She reels us in with her narrative in such a way that we find ourselves holding our breath as she writes of circling hawks and various other garden predators, any of whom would like a lunch of leveret. She introduces us to previous chronicles offered by hunters, poachers, and poets alike, who offer musings and (mis)characterizations of these enigmatic animals. Dalton seems conscious of adding her voice to the small trove of information so that sometime in the future, another leveret-encounterer might turn to her memoir for assistance.

The hare is never named and this is ultimately an act of respect, but, also, one suspects, an act of self-preservation. While Dalton works hard not to domesticate the animal, there is something else -- some undefined opportunity to commune (sort of) with another species. I picked this up in the airport because I had heard about it and I wanted something short enough to finish over the course of two shorter flights. I might not have gotten around to it otherwise, so I'll thank not only the airport bookstore, but also Denise Nestor's gorgeous illustration on the front cover (and those that are included inside the book as well). It is truly a delightful and tender read.

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2026 #4 Eleanor of Aquitaine (Weir)

 

Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life by Alison Weir
My rating: 3.75 stars

My original interest in this book was to fill out some of my historical context surrounding troubadours, and to be sure, there are plenty of references to these poet-composers of southern France in relation to their poetic chronicles of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The quote from the Boston Globe on the covers says, "An alluringly candid portrait of this most public yet elusive of medieval women." To this, I say, "sort of." It isn't Weir's fault -- the records just aren't there (unsurprisingly -- "elusive" is correct). Weir makes do with a wonderful host of historical accounts and primary sources, but the net result is that a good proportion of the book is NOT about Eleanor of Aquitaine, but instead Henry II, and the various Kings (including first husband Louis VII), archbishops, dukes, etc. Once Henry dies in Weir's narrative, however, Eleanor gets more air time (and I think this likely aligns with the historical record as well). So, in a way, I think the book is a meta-reflection of the documentation upon which it rests.

That said, the real mark of a good history book is to get you interested in that which you didn't know you were interested! Weir achieves this in her thorough narrative of the personalities, unions, rivalries, etc that make up 12th-century France and England. There's enough about Eleanor that Weir's main point is illuminated: "[Eleanor of Aquitaine] came into her own at an age when most women were either dead or long in retirement, and ruled as capably as any man. She was no shrinking violet, but a tough, capable, and resourceful woman who travelled widely throughout the known world and was acquainted with most of the great figures of the age." (346). The details of that narrative are worth reading. This is a revision of the heretofore widely accepted tropes of Eleanor as "wicked queen" and "adultress."

It is generally a really great chronicle of the status of women in the medieval period, especially royal women who were seen as barter for various diplomatic transactions. The double standards abound when it comes to marital infidelity, and one has to chuckle at the charges of consanguinity leveled at both of Eleanor's marriages -- the charming handwritten genealogical tables at the back of the book come in handy.

One consistent issue I had is that Weir often describes various figures in a formula that seems to be: extol their prowess and strength, then debunk/contradict it with various accounts of their hubris and in some cases, real lack of humanity. This often takes place in the span of two short paragraphs. For example, in describing King John (as just one example), Weir tells us that he received a lot of bad press, but that recent studies show "he was a gifted administrator who showed a concern for justice...he showed real concern for his kingdom." She goes on to tell us that the "Exchequer, Chancery, and law courts began to function more effectively" and that he "took a more than ordinary interest in the welfare of his common subjects." (318-319). In the very next paragraph, however, we are offered a quote from a chronicler that he was "but a plunderer of his own people, trusting strangers rather than his subjects, wherefore he was eventually deserted by his own men and, in the end, little mourned." (319). This seems to be a regular narrative approach in describing all the main male figures of the historical narrative. I appreciate that these men very likely did have a rather incongruous set of qualities/vices, but the repeated structure in the narrative felt like pop-up instances of whiplash, rather than relating the understandable complexity.

I found myself wondering about some of the other women in the book--particularly Eleanor's daughter in law Berengaria (wife of Richard I), who seemed the most untainted by folly and foibles. This is, as I said, a strength of the book. Weir's research and gifts for writing draw you in to the medieval trials and tribulations of the various bloodlines of French and English royalty.

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Challenges on Storygraph (@rebcamuse):

2026 Reading Goals 4/60

#192030 Challenge: 1999

Tackle your Physical TBR 2026: no. 3

2026 #2 Ungrading (Blum, ed.)

 

Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) by Susan D. Blum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another excellent tome in the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education series from West Virginia University Press, Blum's Ungrading is probably one of the most often cited sources on the topic. The essays in the book provide "solutions in the plural" as Blum puts it, recognizing that capacity and agency will vary across faculty and different contexts, and that ultimately "Ungrading" can mean a lot of different things. Jessie Stommel's "How to Ungrade" offers a fairly extreme form of ungrading (no grades until the course grade, only feedback), while others provide more moderated approaches. Always as entertaining as he is erudite, John Warner gives us "Wile E. Coyote, The Hero of Ungrading" milking an extended metaphor in service of understanding the challenges of ungrading (for both learner and teacher/facilitator). I appreciated Marcus Shultz-Bergin's reflections, "Grade Anarchy in the Philosophy Classroom" which reminds us that we should be prepared for (some) things to perhaps not work as well as we thought they might. In other words --- stay humble. Celebrate your victories, learn from your mistakes. For those interested in a diving in a bit more deeply to pedagogical theory, Christopher Riesbeck's "Critique-Driven Learning and Assessment" gives good information about how to mix the quantitative and the narrative when it comes to assessment.

The mix of approaches and perspectives is generally an asset, although I found some of the essays less relevant and/or robust. As a whole, however, a very worthy read and a great place to start if you want to know about alternative grading.

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Challenges on Storygraph (@rebcamuse):

2026 Reading Goals: 2/60

Tackle Your Physical TBR 2/18

2025 #58 Undoing the Grade (Stommel)

Undoing the Grade: Why We Grade, and How to Stop by Jesse Stommel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jesse Stommel is (and has been) one of the most important voices in "ungrading" as a practice. His insights shared on social media, various blogs, and in previous publications have done much to foster the important dialogue(s) that have multiplied over the last decade or so. There's a lot in this tiny volume that is great for excerpting, but the manifesto-like tone and compilation of previous writings (which is more of what it is rather than a book) frustrated me occasionally, especially as someone who is not new to these topics.

Stommel makes a convincing case for "why" we shouldn't grade, for the most part, but the "how to stop" part could be a bit more robust in terms of nuance and detail. That said, there are some really important take-aways, even for those who might not want to adopt a complete "ungrading" approach. Stommel writes, "My goal in eschewing grades has been to more honestly engage student work rather than simply evaluate it" (2). This is a key factor and should be an overarching pedagogical objective for anyone looking into alternative assessments (I use the term in acknowledgement of its problematic aspects). There are also some really wonderful pithy quotes: "Grades are the bureaucratic ouroboros of education" (11) sums up the raison d'etre for Stommel's work, in that it isn't just about grading/not grading/ungrading, etc..., but looking at the larger structural failings of education. "Ungrading" (broadly interpreted) is one way to fight back, and it can be done without necessarily jeopardizing one's gainful employment, especially if it is grounded in sound pedagogy and includes student dialogue and buy-in. That's not to say everyone will have the academic freedom to do so, but as more and more educators make "plus 1" changes (to borrow from Behling and Tobin's Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education), the tide may eventually turn.

 
Stommel's indictment of relegating "pedagogy" to the LMS is spot-on, although I'd push back a bit at his disdain for rubrics. I appreciate and agree with his criticism of "overly mechanistic" rubrics that are more focused on "efficiency in evaluation" (29), but I gently part company with him when he says: "...when rubrics are given in advance to students, they are likely to close down possibility by encouraging students to work toward a prescribed notion of excellence." (30). While I can see that, I would offer that the right rubric can be an excellent tool for transparency of expectations (especially if those expectations are cultivated through dialogue with the students, as Stommel advocates). With LMS incorporating AI more frequently to assist with things like making rubrics, I fear rubrics are being defined, especially for new faculty, as mechanistic tools for evaluation rather than realizing a fuller potential that they could have as a pedagogical implement for engagement and transparency.

 
In "How to Ungrade" Stommel says, "If you're a teacher and you hate grading, stop doing so much of it." (68). He helpfully differentiates the conversation from one about "efficiency" (a word I'd like to see removed from pedagogical spaces, at least until we regain some balance as far as AI is concerned). I think there's a lot of joy to be had from engaging with student work, and this might shift the conversation a bit: rather than aiming for "less grading" it might be about spending that energy cultivating relationships and I think Stommel makes a strong and impassioned case for doing just that . Overworked and underpaid teachers are (rightfully so) often leaning into "easier said than done" because they are exhausted. So, I'd encourage those who are new to the ideas of people like Paulo Freire and bell hooks to use Stommel's book as a starting point for inspiration, and try out some of the concrete examples for alternative assessment in Chapter 8.

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2025 #57 Failing Our Future (Eyler)

 

Failing Our Future: How Grades Harm Students, and What We Can Do about It by Joshua R. Eyler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a great primer for those uninitiated to the idea of alternative grading, or those who need a baseline rationale. Beautifully researched and convincingly argued, Eyler demonstrates, on multiple levels, the actual harm of grading as a system, without resorting to heavy-handed rhetoric or sanctimonious finger-wagging. Eyler's audience should be parents, educators, and administrators, and there is wisdom here for both K-12 and higher ed. For the purposes of this particular book, his grouping of several alternative grading models under "Standards Based Grading" (SBG) makes sense, but it means that this is not the book if you are looking for nuanced explanations of the differences between, for example, SBG and Specifications (or "Specs") Grading. For that I recommend Grading for Growth by David Clark and Robert Talbert -- a book Eyler cites. Some of the stats and case studies make for tough reading, so consider this a content warning as he does briefly mention suicides at particular institutions (hopefully that doesn't shock anyone working for more than a few years in higher ed). Eyler covers a lot of ground in terms of providing both background and practical advice, and the rich bibliography is a fruitful place for further exploration.

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2025 #55 Elsewhere (Russo)

 

Elsewhere: A Memoir by Richard Russo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked this up randomly as someone had offloaded a bunch of Russo's works in a Little Free Library, and I read and enjoyed Empire Falls. While I'm not usually into memoirs, this is really a beautifully written remembrance of his mother. What makes it beautiful is its honesty. Russo steps back enough in the narrative that it almost reads like fiction--we watch love mixed with guilt and manipulation, with a complexity that I think most people will recognize. Russo also addresses ideas of "home" and how easily they can shift and change, but also how love-hate relationships form with places. It is also an unflinching look at the realities of mental illness in a relatable way, revealing how easy it is to enable and excuse with the best of intentions.

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2025 #39 DEI Deconstructed (Zheng)

 

DEI Deconstructed: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right by Lily Zheng
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I let this book sit for far too long on my shelf. I've long admired Lily Zheng for their posts on social media (I follow them via LinkedIn). While Zheng has since introduced a new approach to DEI: the FAIR Framework (Fairness Access Inclusion Representation), it is essentially the outcome-driven approach she advocates in this book. While the current governmental attack on DEI has not that much to do with the weaknesses described in this book (at least politically), their advice is sound and certainly would have/would strengthen DEI initiatives at all sorts of institutions: companies, higher ed, etc. It is truly "no-nonsense" -- very "tell it like it is" without unnecessary abrasiveness or grandstanding. They really want to help us all do better. Chapter 2, where Zheng "reformulate[s] the key terms and concepts of the DEI space away from their feel-good buzzword roots and toward operationalized and tangible outcomes" is particularly useful.
There were several "mic-drop" moments for me, such as:
"Identity isn't morality. Being privileged or marginalized on one or more dimensions of identity doesn't make us any better or worse as people; it simply positions us differently and offers us different advantages and disadvantages within broader systems. It changes the power we have access to and our ability to understand experiences similar to and different from our own." (165)
It doesn't get much more "no-nonsense" than that.
What is really helpful is that Zheng's approach can help ANYONE first, identify their stakeholder role (as well as their relationships to other roles), and then provides helpful reflections and exercises to make those things a reality within our varied spheres of influence.
Really essential reading for anyone doing work in the "DEI" sphere -- even if the acronym has changed, it is worth thinking about the pitfalls because they can easily occur no matter the abbreviation we use.

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FTL2025 5B challenge DEI Deconstructed---->Demian (Hesse)

#2025 #38 On Tyranny (Snyder)

 

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Is this some lofty tome packed with new critical insights and expansive historical knowledge? No. Does it aim to be? No. Did it actually take me five months to read? No. But I had to put it down because I read before bed, and well -- this should keep you up at night. But hopefully with a sense of energy and resolve.

What the book IS, however, is a reminder. A reminder of the things you should hold dear. The things that truly COULD make us great, or at least could reinvest in real patriotism. It is an expanded listicle of 20 "lessons" from the twentieth century. The book opens with: "History does not repeat. But it does instruct." Heather Cox Richardson illuminates that in her "Letters from an American" posts. If you feel you lack courage to resist, throw this tiny book in your bag and take it out and reread it as you wait for the bus.

Make eye contact and small talk (#12).
Start somewhere.



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2025 #33 The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story (Hannah-Jones, ed)

 

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

No book or project could ever be comprehensive when it comes to exploring and capturing the history and legacy that began in 1619, when enslaved Africans set foot on the shores of North America, a year prior to the arrival of the Mayflower. The book is an enlargement of Hannah-Jones's foundational The 1619 Project, published in the New York Times Magazine. However, as a reclamation of American History, this book is a chronicle, a celebration of poetry, art, and writing, and a call for understanding and moving forward. "A truly great country does not ignore or excuse its sins, it confronts them and then works to make them right," Hannah-Jones says in closing.

The contributors to the book are many and varied, with some of the most profoundly powerful and influential voices of our time: Claudia Rankine, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Michelle Alexander, Ibram X. Kendi, Henry Louis Gates, Terry McMillan, and so many more.

In the audiobook, some readers are more compelling than others, but the words are potent, well-researched, and a true call for understanding how conventional narratives of American history have been whitewashed. Turning points, such as Abraham Lincoln's assassination, are reframed so that we understand that when Andrew Johnson took over the presidency for a brief two-month period, he tried to rescind wartime Order No. 15 (known as "Forty Acres and a Mule") and that these original reparations never truly materialized in a way that provided widespread and sustained land ownership to Black Americans. The connection of this (and preceding events) to the current wealth gap between Black and white Americans is made clear.

Ibram X. Kendi's truth-telling is particularly powerful, especially as it targets and demolishes narratives of "post-racial" America. The criticisms may be hard to hear for some, but the cycle of attempts to declare any and all "wins" as progress has largely clouded the narrative in its failure to recognize the persistence of neglect and abuse toward Black Americans, and the systemic infrastructure that perpetuates it.

It is not an easy book to read/listen to -- nor should it be. There is deep and painful beauty expressed in the poems. Few facets of modern life are left un-addressed, whether it is healthcare or mass-incarceration. The book can be (and has been) excerpted to great effect, but sitting with it from start to finish has its own benefits. As a white American, it was invaluable to be reminded of the things I have learned, to be invited to de-center white historical narratives, and to critically consider how much we truly owe to the legacy of Black Americans and how we have failed (and continue to fail) to honor it and fight for it. There has been a lot of backlash and vitriol aimed at the project. I recommend engaging with the book instead of allowing the controversies to subsume the content.


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2025 #30: More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI (Warner)

 

More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI by John Warner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One might draw parentheses around "in the Age of AI" when it comes to John Warner's excellent book. If there is one thing that is certain, generative AI has made it necessary to think about writing in general, as the assumed ubiquity of AI has implied definitions of writing that are certainly unsatisfactory from a pedagogical standpoint, and stand as evidence of the marketplace's power to (try to) shape our destiny. But this isn't just another example of capitalism's dominion. Many uses of AI ask us how much of our humanity we are willing to relinquish? The answer is demoralizing for many of us, yet Warner does provide a framework which he details in the last section of the book: Resist. Renew. Explore.

Warner starts, however, at the "beginning". He eschews "intelligence" as a synonym for "automation" --the real function of AI. I'll admit to a strong confirmation bias, but Warner puts AI through its paces to offer a well-considered and informative critique that I found incredibly helpful in quieting the bile that rises in my throat when it seems everyone has just obeyed our AI overlords in advance. He begins with an accessible explanation of what ChatGPT is and what it is doing when activated. While it is informative, it also serves to remind us that, at some level, we must understand how technology works rather than just allow ourselves to be uniformly awed (or galled) by its "magic." He is openly critical of the propaganda put forth by AI advocates who stand to gain financially (e.g. Sam Altman), but carefully debunks their claims rather than resorting to panicked invective.

Some of the chapter titles read like tongue-in-cheek clickbait, but it adds to Warner's overall sense of humor, which pops up throughout the narrative. To be sure, we are reading a very human writer.

Chapters 3 to 9 offer a more personalized view--almost a mini-memoir of Warner's own life as a writer-- but peppered with rather significant points about semiotics and rhetoric that are a heckuva lot more reader-friendly than most of what is written about semiotics and rhetoric. On a personal level, Chapter 6, "Writing is Feeling" touched me the most, and I think mileage will vary on that depending on the life experiences of the reader. I wasn't quite prepared for tears in encountering one of the most perfect meditations on grief I've ever read. I won't quote it here, but it is on p. 84 (hardcover). It underscores that this is very much a book about being human.

Chapter 7, "Writing as a Practice" felt a bit less useful and more of a (gentle) mouthing-off against the "one key thing" mentality that prompts us to enthusiastically adopt the shiny thing du jour. His diplomatic takedown of Gladwell and Duckworth's themes felt more gratuitous than other parts of the book, but that may be because I needed no convincing at the outset.

Writing teachers (and teachers that use writing) will find chapters 11 to 14 particularly useful, especially if they are interested in having conversations with their students about AI--or rather, about writing. The title for Chapter 16 privileges an anecdote that Warner uses to address one of the most important points of all: writing as intention.

Importantly, Warner encourages constant education, but measured by our own specialities and areas of focus. We cannot possibly read all the things about AI (my Substack feed overwhelms me every day), but it is important to push back at our own confirmation bias as well. I appreciated that Warner notes that he is almost "more obligated to read [Ethan Mollick] because I disagree with him.' (275). There's hope if we engage with thoughtful voices like Mollick, Marc Watkins, and others. Warner says we must foster community:

"Our communities inevitably must contain both those with whom we agree and those with whom we differ. As long as they are willing to see themselves as a member of the community with the well-being of the community in mind, they should be welcome." (275).

I'd like to print that out banner-size and hang it in a few places...

From the morally questionable beginnings of the founding of AI, the degradation of labor (and human-ness), to the careless implementation of automated grading, Warner is clear that we are leaning toward a Faustian bargain when it comes to AI. As a teacher, I was particularly struck by this:

"Writing is meant to be read. Having something that cannot read [AI] generate responses to writing is wrong. It is a moral betrayal of our responsibilities to students." (240) Far too often in discussions of AI I have heard "efficiency" used as a synonym for "pedagogy" and they are certainly not the same thing.

But Warner is also pragmatic: "There is no wishing away AI at this point, meaning it must be grappled with and done so in a way that preserves our humanity." (128) He allows for the limited use of LLMs in processing text (not reading, not writing): "Only humans can read. Only humans can write. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.." (123)

AI has made it necessary (possible?) to critique our values when it comes to a lot of things, but especially writing. Most educational systems are founded on valuing product over process, so we can't be that surprised when we find that students are using ChatGPT to "cheat." Efficiency is key in the systems we uphold. If we want to truly have our students embrace the "messiness of learning", we have to stop honoring that which privileges standardization and the mechanization of education. The second part of Warner's framework is "renew" and he makes a more-than-convincing case that we can refuse to assimilate into some sort of algorithmic Borg, and instead embrace the human processes of reacting, observing, analyzing, and synthesizing as cause for celebration, rather than erasing them in the name of efficiency.



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2025 #27 Let Only Red Flowers Bloom (Feng)

 

Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping's China by Emily Feng
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In her acknowledgements, Emily Feng thanks NPR for being a place "where creative storytelling and sharp news reporting are valued in equal measure" (274). To be sure, that describes Let Only Red Flowers Bloom. Feng lived in China for seven years and the book gathers together stories, using a tale of one or two to reflect the many. Each chapter has a focus, e.g. "The Lawyer" or "The Businessman" or "The Detained", but certain "characters" become threads that tie the chapters together. Kenny, for example, we meet first in "The Protestor" (Chapter 9) as a youthful idealist who is one of approximately 40K demonstrators in Hong Kong who believe they are peacefully protesting an extradition law. Kenny protests at night, unbeknownst to his parents, committing to a highly organized, underground network, that includes volunteer doctors and medics, as injured protestors were getting arrested when taken to the hospital. Kenny then has a new identity in Chapter 10 -- The Fugitive.

These stories serve as a mere primer on just *some* of the basic conflicts in China: the attacks on the Uyghurs and Mongolians, ethnic minorities of all stripes on the mainland, the battle for identity and sovereignty in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and much more. I chose this book because I realized I had a knowledge deficit when it comes to China, and I wanted to know more. Feng's narrative is compelling, well-researched, and wide-reaching--the final chapter, "The Diaspora," pulls back the curtain on the "long-arm" of the Chinese government but also the complexity of more than 5 million Chinese living in the U.S.

There are a few places where more careful editing might have curtailed some unnecessary repetition, especially in Chapter 11, but most of the book skillfully weaves in and out of the present and past, weaving with the cast of characters and their stories to ultimately express large questions. Feng herself had plenty of exposure to danger as well, but she instead choses to center the stories of those she interviewed, and does not inject her own challenges at the border or otherwise with any kind of dramatic hyperbole. If anything, her unadorned self-narrative is all the more chilling, as with her description of a high-speed chase wherein Feng and her driver are tailed after leaving the airport. After being detained, she notes:

"He [the driver] drove me back to the airport in silence. He gestured at his torso, then held a single finger up to his lips, motioning me not to speak. He had been bugged." (152)

The book is a powerful testament to storytelling as truth-telling, and it puts many human faces on complex issues that are reduced to inadequate headlines and social media blurbs in mainstream culture here in the U.S. A worthwhile read to remind us of the human spirit and how it has to endure in all sorts of contexts, all over the world.

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2025 #12 Every Day I Write the Book: Notes on Style (Kumar)

 

Every Day I Write the Book: Notes on Style by Amitava Kumar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kumar captures the quirks as well as the slings and arrows of writing in academia through a mish-mosh of anecdotes, short essays, and what feels at times to be scrapbooking (in a good way). The book is divided into nine parts: I) Self-Help; II) Writing A Book: A Brief History; III) Credos; IV) Form; V) Academic Interest; VI) Style; VII) Exercises; VIII) The Groves of Academe and IX) Materials.

Those interested in a writing "guide" can just skip to Appendix A: "Ten Rules of Writing", but as the strikeout text on the book's cover implies, this is not a guide (in the traditional sense) nor a report on style. Instead, it is a memoir (in parts) of a writing life, interspersed with nuggets of widsom, dry humor. Fans of Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird may recognize Kumar's small pencil and folded index card that he carries in his pocket, and indeed many of his recommendations align with Lamott's, albeit with a slightly less sardonic tone.

While one would expect Kumar to be "well-read," he shares his knowledge pragmatically, without pomp, and always with clarity of meaning. We don't just get a vast bibliography shared through an eclectic set of "notes", but actual motivation to read those essays and books. There's an earthiness and honesty in Kumar's voice, that manages to critique academia while still acknowledging his own role within. A few bits felt more self-indulgent than instructive, although sometimes the shortest offerings packed a punch, such as the final note of part III: "Credos remain meaningless abstractions unless put to use." (68). He reminds us that one can read endlessly about writing, but to be a writer, one must... write. And let's face it -- reading about writing provides comfort, as if filling our brains with what we ought to do is a substitute for actually doing it (and is a better alternative to binge-watching television).

Struggling academic writers would be well-advised to keep this book close at hand, as even picking one bit of it at random might help jolt you out of a slump. It can also be read in small doses, rather than cover to cover, and I might even suggest out of order, depending on your need at one moment (although there's a certain joy to the sections Kumar offers, and fun little surprises such as the wit about credos mentioned above).


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FTL2025 3B challenge Every Day I write the BooK-----> Kindred by Octavia Butler

2025 #7: The Discarded Image (Lewis)

 

The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The subtitle of this book is misleading in some respects. If you are not already well-versed in literature (not just medieval and Renaissance lit, but Hellenic antiquity as well), you might find yourself frustrated by Lewis's consistent references to items he believes should make up a core knowledge. That said, there is so much to be gained here and one should avoid distraction by getting too bogged down in the individual references. To do so is to miss the proverbial forest for the trees. Ultimately Lewis is building a case for a medieval model, and his epilogue addresses the complex and layered meaning behind that word. Ultimately he proposes more of a model-process: "The new Model will not be set up without evidence, but the evidence will turn up when the inner need for it becomes sufficiently great." (222-23).

Somehow, Lewis manages to bring us from talk of angels and daemons (not always demons), to an investment in the exercises of the human soul, such as Intellectus and Ratio:

"We are enjoying intellectus when we 'just see' a self-evident truth. We are exercising ratio when we proceed step-by-step to prove a truth which is not self-evident. A cognitive life in which all truth can be simply 'seen' would be the life of an intelligentia, an angel." (157).

It cannot be forgotten that Lewis was a literary scholar, a theologian, a poet, and himself a writer of science-fiction and fantasy. One gets the sense when reading Lewis, particularly in this book, that none of these are actually distinctively parsed for him. His acknowledgement and study of tropes seems to play out in real time, with statements that could be one or more layers of his intellectual onion. He critiques how we consider the past--as a 'costume play.' "This superficial (and often inaccurate) characterisation of different ages," he writes, " helps far more than we suspect towards ur later and subtler discriminations between them." (183). Indeed, I often remind my students (and myself) that history is more about patterns and tropes than pigeonholing figures, events, and art into narratively defined styles and genres.

The sum of the micro-literature reviews, the subtle 'digression' about digressions, and the encyclopaedic tone (something Lewis manages as an art), is an over-arching treatise on our human condition as it relates to literature (and art as a whole):

"Literature exists to teach what is useful, to honour what deserves honour, to appreciate what is delightful. The useful, honourable, delightful things are superior to it: it exists for their sake; its own use, honour, or delightfulness is derivative from theirs. In that sense the art is humble even when the artists are proud..." (214)

This book could be read in multiple ways. Perhaps when I have more time for curiosity, unhampered by the obligations of a career, I will sit again with this book and look up every treasure that Lewis cites. I will see the details of the collective contributions toward the medieval Model, and I suspect I will be richer for it. Lewis is not without his detractors, notably Philip Pullman (an author whose books I love), and others who have critiqued some of his works as sexist, and depictions in Narnia, in particular, as racist. Not having read any of those books since I was a child, I'm not equipped to comment on that at present, but I keep it in mind as I read Lewis's non-fiction works.

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Follow the Leader Challenge 2A ---> Enacting Musical Time by Marius Kozak

2025 #3 Grading for Growth (Clark/Talbert)

 

Grading for Growth by David Clark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

David Clark and Robert Talbert's Grading for Growth is a truly useful book for anyone designing a course, full stop. Even those who may wish to stick to traditional grading structures (or have to, due to mandates), can benefit from thinking about the four pillars (as defined by the authors) of alternative grading: 1) clearly defined standards, 2) helpful feedback, 3) marks indicate progress, 4) reassessment without penalty. The challenge comes in fighting the pre-conceived notions of what letter grades stand for and their import.

The book offers some background on alternative grading: SBG (standards-based grading), specifications (specs) grading, and ungrading, although SBG gets pride of place in the authors' own assessment strategies. Because of this, sometimes it can be a bit blurry when they are talking "standards" as a pillar, or SBG as a specific system--especially later in the book. Chapter 5 does address standards-based grading quite specifically, and chapter 6 is devoted to specs grading, so the frameworks are fairly clear, but those new to these systems might benefit from additional reading, such as Linda B. Nilson's Specifications Grading.

The most significant part of the book (for me) was the Chapter 11 Workbook. I'm reminded of a wonderful professor I had for Macroeconomics in college. I was on the verge of failing her class--a first for me, and I came to her office in tears, one or two days before the final exam. She wrote out a schedule for my next 24 hours, specified exactly which carrel in the library I was going to sit in, when I would be taking breaks, eating, and sleeping. That list held my hand through studying for this final exam I thought I would surely fail. I didn't fail, and I passed the class with a very low grade, but I passed. What does this have to do with Chapter 11?

Well, it is truly a step-by-step guide to course design. It says it is a workbook for alternative grading, and certainly that is the focus, but the process the authors lead us through is a beautiful example of backward design. Now many teachers I know (myself included) always think that our learning outcomes are tied to our assignments, but I fully admit that my intentionality in making sure that's the case hasn't always been optimal. Administrative mandates about "phrasing" rather than helping faculty make the connections between outcomes and assessments haven't always helped either. About two years ago, I started numbering my course's learning outcomes and placing that number next to the various assignments. This was just something that made sense to me as I started to feel like LOs were becoming frivolous rhetoric--at least for the students. I didn't know that I was starting the process that undergirds alternative grading. Each of the 9 steps is clearly explained, with a time estimate for each step, as well as a continuous case study featuring "Professor Alice" and her "First Year Seminar" course that you review before working with your own course. Again, some of what's included might seem like basic common sense, but I suspect many instructors skip some steps here and there, and I know that I've certainly come up with coping strategies when I've not thought something through as well as I might. Steps 1-8 are doable in an entire day (and that's suggested), but I found it more effective (given my cognitive load preferences) to spread it out over several days, which allowed me to be fresh. The authors stress that one shouldn't spend TOO much time because essentially everything is fundamentally a draft. Most helpful to me were Step 3: Make A Prototype of the Marking Methods and What the A and C (D in my case) represent and Step 5: Build one Assessment and rehearse the Feedback Loop. Given my time constraints and the way I tend to think, I did sort of mush steps 6-8 together a bit, but perhaps those more disciplined can compartmentalize better. Whether one is designing a brand new course (which I think added to my inability to isolate those latter steps) or redesigning an existing one, this chapter is invaluable.

Chapter 12, "How to Do it," is also very useful, taking us out of the grade book and into reality, and reminding us of the big picture, e.g. building trust and promoting buy-in. The book can be used somewhat piecemeal, I suppose, although I think there is much to be gained by reading the chapters on large classes and lab classes, even if those scenarios are not directly applicable to one's own courses.

The authors, who have an absolutely terrific Substack of the same name (Grading for Growth), are humble and intentional. There is no smug grandstanding, or hyperbolic claims. Well-balanced in theory and practical advice, the book is one of the best I've read about teaching (in general). It models the collegiality that should be encouraging instructors to invest intentionally in their course assessment. While the authors don't specifically address UDL (Universal Design for Learning), the four pillars certainly intersect with the concept of building "expert learners" (old UDL guidelines), and "learner agency" (UDL 3.0 guidelines). Iterative work and feedback loops are at the heart of it all, and the spirit of the book is in keeping with the "plus-one" approach in Tobin/Behling's Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone (West Virginia University Press, 2018). If you are a teacher who has been feeling a bit "meh" about your courses, read this book. You'll find something to take with you. And do you yourself a favor, start reading it a month prior to your course (or at least get to Chapter 11). Learn from my mistakes.

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2025 #2: Bird by Bird (Lamott)

 

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've read many books about writing. I honestly cannot remember how or why this audiobook wound up on my list, but I'm so glad it did. While much of Lamott's advice is geared toward writers of fiction, the book is invaluable for anyone who writes (or frankly, reads). And if you want to get caught up in the eccentricities of broccoli as metaphor, that's fine, but...please, allow yourself to enjoy the comedy. Some of it is fairly irreverent and may not land 100% in 2025 social mores, but most of it is a lot less offensive than a lot of what comes flying out of the mouths of stand-up comedians. If you've understood life's absurdity through grieving someone close, you'll get it. Lamott's reading is perfect--think Lily Tomlin's character "Frankie" without the woo-woo stuff. And in between the quips and the sometimes a-bit-too-long tongue-in-cheek tirades, lo and behold--there are some sound lessons about "...being militantly on your own side," and how you don't want to "look at your feet to see if you're doing it right--just dance!". Lamott learned through trial and much error perhaps the biggest lesson of all: "being enough was going to have to be an inside job." Mic drop.

Proponents of mindfulness will value Lamott's observations such as: "You get your intuition back when you make space for it and stop the chatter of the rational mind." That seems key to a lot of art and creativity, not just writing. Truly, one of my favorite read-by-the-author audiobooks (sharing company with Anthony Bourdain reading Kitchen Confidential and Stanley Tucci's reading of Taste), and Lamott keeps you laughing while you nod your head in affirmation of the book's wisdom. If you find yourself in a slump (of any kind), give it a listen. Lamott's tell-it-like-it-is isn't doom-and-gloom, but instead very life-affirming. I've got a post-it note on my monitor now that reminds me: "bird by bird!"

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Follow The Leader Challenge 2025 1A ---> Discarded Image by C.S. Lewis

2025 #1 Call Us What We Carry (Gorman)

 Happy New Year. This might have been the perfect book to pick back up at the end of 2024 and to finish in these early days of 2025. I also want to note that I am partaking in two challenges this year: a 25 for 25 Follow the Leader Challenge (technically this means my next book title should start with the letter Y) and a "serious about series" challenge wherein I read one book a month that is a sequel, or part of series. I'm also dedicating 2025 year to working with my stash. I own far too many unread books.

Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

On the front flap of the dust jacket, the book reads:

This book is a message in a bottle.
This book is a letter.
This book does not let up.

This book does NOT let up, indeed. "What place have we in our histories except the present?" (123) Gorman asks in "War: What, Is it Good?" The book is a memoir, largely of the pandemic. But to read it is remember that it was more than Covid-19. It was a reckoning. It was a nightmare and a dream. It tested all of us, not all in the same ways.

Gorman's gifts with language are woven through poems that rhyme and poems that don't, pieces of prose by Corporal Roy Plummer (1896-1966) interspersed with Gorman's verse, a list of scenes to make up a filmic "Monomyth" that narrates the crumbling of normalcy beginning in December 2019 in Wuhan, through apocalyptic brushfires in Australia, through the murder of George Floyd, ultimately to emerge/submerge into the Unordinary World:

"We are not all heroes, but we are all at least human. This is not a
closing, but an opening, a widening--not a yawn but a scream, a
poem sung. What will we admit of & into ourselves. There is no such thing as "all over" and "all done". (191)

The short poem "Anonymous" on 180 features white letters on a black mask, an emblem so charged with meaning in this Unordinary World.

The title of the collection, Call Us What We Carry, truly captures a sense of the book as a whole, and is not just a reference to the penultimate poem "What We Carry" nor the poem "Call Us" (34) wherein we find that exact line. Naming and carrying both feature in much of the work, as does navigation and light.

There are seven sections of the book: Requiem, What a Piece of Wreck is Man, Earth Eyes, Memoria, Atonement, Fury & Faith, and Resolution. These titles become more like beacons as you read through the collection and pick up the various threads. For example, in the poem "Lucent", which is the first piece of "Earth Eyes", the meditation on lumen, lucent..."Our requiem as raptus" (60) reminds us of the role of light in a requiem Mass (luceat eis, lux aeterna) but also how "perhaps it is we who make/Falsities of luminscence--" (61).

In the middle of the book, in a piece called "Pre-Memory", Gorman reminds us:
"Storytelling is the way that unarticulated memory becomes art, becomes artifact, becomes fact, becomes felt again, becomes free."

Yes, the book does not let up, nor should it. We need to feel again. We need to be free.

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Follow the Leader Challenge 2025 1B -->Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

2024 #55 Specifications Grading (Nilson)

 

Specifications Grading by Linda B. Nilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a great intro to specs grading, albeit maybe a bit dated. I would love to see an update that integrates UDL (Universal Design for Learning) in an overt way. Some of it is implicit, especially in the models that offer options/choice of assignments in learning bundles. I would have liked a better representation of counterargument literature, particularly as I still have questions about those students who sell themselves short already due to things like internalized racism. I'm also questioning the fairness of the specific model wherein "more work" = A, because students have different socio-economic circumstances and it may not be an option for some students to devote the extra time. I suppose it is then incumbent upon the professor to make sure that the "more work" levels are attainable by students just as they would (we hope) in traditional grading. It is a tricky business, on the other hand, because some students have to work so much just to pay their tuition and the cost comes at not being able to fully engage in that which they are paying for. I realize that issue goes beyond specs grading, but I do think it is part of the larger conversation.

Those questions aside, however, there are plentiful examples of application and syllabus language that are very helpful. Nilson explains relevant terms and makes the text very accessible. The index makes the book helpful as a reference.

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2024 #49 The Five Keys to Mindful Communication (Chapman)

 

The Five Keys to Mindful Communication: Using Deep Listening and Mindful Speech to Strengthen Relationships, Heal Conflicts, and Accomplish Your Goals by Susan Gillis Chapman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While there are five keys, the entire book centers upon an idea of stoplights:

Go with the green light.
Stop when the light is red.
Be careful when the light is yellow.

The author returns to this model in each of the segments of the book so there is some continuity. There are plentiful examples of what constitutes these green, yellow, and red light moments, and the walkthrough of mindful presence, mindful listening, mindful speech, mindful relationship, and mindful action is pretty clear. If the reader is new to mindfulness practice, this should be used in tandem with a book on basic meditation and mindfulness practices, as Chapman does not provide detailed suggestions. She does mention metta (aka "loving-kindness meditation), and it gets fairly spiritual, with images of "loving Mother" and such. She peppers in plentiful metaphors and analogies, some that work better than others, although mileage will inevitably vary on that front. What seems most crucial is to understand the "Stop when the light is red" not as a call to withdraw or freeze, but to turn inward and to recognize what she calls "closed conversation" patterns. There are some concrete "tips" and ultimately, as is the case with almost all books on mindful communication, it really is about practicing so that things like "speaking from the I" become habitual. I found the "seasons" analogy least helpful (applied in regard to relationships), but again, I think some parts will resonate differently with others. She did offer something about wedding vows that I thought quite potent: vows are statements of intention, but the import of those statements is no at the moment they are uttered, but when you come to those places in the road where those vows are inevitably tested. Seems obvious, but perhaps mindful attention to those vows as operating in this way could curtail (for some) a trip down the wrong path.

The audiobook was narrated by Gabra Zackman, and I had to keep reminding myself that I was not listening to the author. She has the perfect voice for the material, and keeps even the more ethereal/spiritual topics at an even keel, without that saccharine vibe that infects other books in the genre. The book has journal exercises, but what I found most helpful are the "seven stepping stones" at the end of the book. Others may benefit more from the self-reflection. As with most of these books, there is nothing earth-shattering that defies common sense, but Chapman does an admirable job of providing the stoplight anchor as a metaphorical model to encourage us to put mindful communication into practice.



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2024 #47 Uncommon Grounds (Prendergast)

 

Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World by Mark Pendergrast
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I bought this book sometime in 2013 and have read it in fits and starts since then, but only in earnest since last year. Thus is the fate of books in my Kindle app, sometimes. But it is to the book's credit that I bought it for a specific reason--some context on the Coffee Cantata by J.S. Bach for a documentary project I was involved in--but I wound up reading the entire book because it was so exhaustive and fascinating. Indeed, from the Ottoman Empire to Starbucks, Pendergrast traces the commodification and history of the beverage itself, the drinkers, the farmers, the roasters, the purveyors, and some folks in between. If you need a fairly deep dive into the intimate relationship between coffee and world politics, this is a good one.

From myths of goatherds, to 18th-c feminist fights for coffee via Abigail Adams, onward to the U.S.'s dangerous dancing with Brazil, as well as domestic coffee wars, there are few stones left unturned here. At times the information felt a bit overwhelming, with some zooming in on economic minutiae that some readers might appreciate, but might disrupt the energy of the narrative for others. It is the kind of book, however, that makes you glad you learned more than you had set out to, and while it lays bare a lot of the unsavory practices and issues surrounding coffee, Prendergrast ultimately reminds us that it is part of a "matrix" and says:

Compared with many other products developed countries demand in cheap quantity, however, coffee is relatively benign. Laboring on banana, sugar, or cotton plantations or sweating in gold and diamond mines and oil refineries is far worse.

Whether that dose of relativism brings one solace or not is an individual experience, but regardless, Uncommon Grounds is an informative and multifaceted report that may make you take that morning cup of joe a bit less for granted.

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