K's Books

How I came by this book is so funny. Sophomore year of high school, I was reading any Wiccan/Pagan book I could get my hands on and one of them mentioned The Woman with the Alabaster Jar. My Jesuit high school library, which was very small and dark and nearly nobody used it, had a copy! I read it and when my speech class teacher assigned us to prepare an informative speech on a nonfiction book this is the one I chose! My class, including the teacher, reacted to the information of Mary Magdalene being Jesus' wife and fleeing to France to deliver his daughter by saying "wow, why don't they teach this in church?!" BAHAHAHA!!! And then The DaVinci Code  came out about 6 years later and stole all my glory! I owned a copy of this book for a few years and either lost it or lent it to someone who never gave it back. My current copy I've owned for just a few years; this was probably the 4th time I've read The Woman with the Alabaster Jar . The parts about Bible passage...

My half-sister sent me this book after it came out, along with my two other Wisniewski books. The first book of his that I own, Rain Player (book 48), has always been my favorite. While Sundiata  is a beautifully illustrated book, the story seems to skip over some important parts. I still appreciate it, I just wish Wisniewski had added two more pages to bolster the plot!  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469897.Sundiata

I was given this copy sometime within the past 5 years, I think that might have been the first time I read it. Craighead's books are so rare that sometimes purchasing a copy is the only way to access one. This was probably my 4th or 5th time rereading it. Her verbal and artistic connections between Catholic traditions and New Mexico wildlife are so rich. She articulates in the introduction what litanies are for those who are unfamiliar. I've wondered for decades why churches don't do the same, especially along the Mississippi River. Craighead and I seem to be on a similar wavelength.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/853399.The_Litany_of_the_Great_River

THE MOST METAL BOOK I OWN!!!!! When I was a kid, my mother occasionally went to a large recycling center, I think in Oak Park or Niles, and dragged me along. Eventually I was old enough to venture into the trailer there full of old free books, and this novel was one of the few there that looked any fun. I was probably 15 or 16 when I took it, my mother complaining that it "made us look poor" 🙄. I reread it a few times in high school and college; this was probably my 5th time rereading it, but the first in a decade at least. I have very few novels because I find romance to be very boring, and many novels have at least some element of romance. There's a little bit of romance at the beginning this Black Sun Rising  but it ends quickly. It's a dark fantasy/sci-fi story involving demons, aliens, vampires, the fae, swords, and magic crossbow bolts. And it would be totally different if it was written today rather than 1991 it would have a lot more romance...but not in the w...

My half-sister sent me this book when I was 6 (1991), and I've held onto it all this time! This was one of the books I demanded be read to me repeatedly, and a great motivator for me to learn how to read. I was surprised and confused when I got to school and discovered none of my classmates had ever heard of it, and even after I matured enough to understand how confuddling the children's book industry was it was still baffling how the incredible artwork in the book wouldn't bring it to greater fame: Everything is layered cut paper with intricate designs! As a kid I thought this was simple construction paper cut with scissors, which I desperately wanted to recreate but wasn't allowed. Now, as an adult, I can appreciate Wisniewski's brief note at the end of the book on his materials and process. And I can see now how much work he put into layering, utilizing shadows as another medium and having to plan around them before making the first cut. I own two more of his boo...

The sequel to Wise Child, I purchased and read this immediately after the first book 5 years ago. The two go together very well, although the characters in the first book are more enjoyable. I absolutely love them both! Furlong is a fascinating character, and I wish both her and her books were better known. There's a third book in this series, but it was written near the end of her life and most reviews state the decrease in quality is very sad so I'm avoiding it. I've also read her young adult novel Robin's Country  which I enjoyed but not as much as Wise Child and Juniper. She pushed for women's ordination in the Anglican Church for decades, and her deep spirituality is apparent in all three of these novels (showing me that blending Paganism and Catholicism/Anglicanism is neither new nor difficult!). Perhaps if I was in the UK I would see her influence more, but either way I'm grateful for her. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/248584.Juniper