#Nantucket women

[seagrassbeba]

nantucket, 2024. i was still recovering from what i thought was severe food poisoning, and slept the whole car ride around the island. i still managed to shoot a whole roll through my nikon fe2.

[coulson-is-an-avenger]

69 for spotify wrapped :))

EHEHE :3

69. Sweet Mary Starbuck

oh this is the FUNNIEST #69 song lmfao this is a gorgeous ballad about mary starbuck and her lesbian lover back home while their husbands go die at sea its so gentle and longing and the artist's voice is so cool i love them. 10/10 wlw moment

[mariasmemo]

Women’s Suffrage and Lady Gaga

I have posted this during Women’s History Month before but because it is March and again Women’s History Month, I think it’s worth repeating.  It’s clever and helps to tell an important story in women’s history while giving it a bit of a 21st century twist.  It comes via the National Women’s History Project.

JNLF

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Ladies of Llangollen

Mary Shelley: sup fuckers Shelley: what's going on here Lord Byron: [tossing hair] ah mary what a vision you are Lord Byron: [tossing hair] percy and i were just about to visit the ladies of llangollen Shelley: why are my boyfriends sneaking around together behind my back

Mary Shelley: what the hell is this ladies of llangollen bullshit Lord Byron: [tossing hair] ah see mary it's a most curious thing Byron: [tossing hair] two women living together Byron: [tossing hair] science simply can't explain it Mary Shelley: they're lesbians byron

Byron: [tossing hair] no see it's these 2 women living together Byron: [tossing hair] and their lady servant too Byron: [tossing hair] explain that! Mary Shelley: what's so hard to understand? it's a fuckin polycule Mary Shelley: we're literally in one

Lord Byron: [tossing hair] lesbians? Byron: [tossing hair] oh ho ho only cuz they haven't met me yet! Byron: [tossing hair] isn't that right percy old man? Percy Shelley: yes dear

Byron: [tossing hair] now we're off! Mary Shelley: why're you going all the way to llangollen Mary Shelley: we got perfectly good lesbians at home Byron: [tossing hair] what? Mary Shelley: you heard me fucker

Mary Shelley: byron are you just going to llangollen to hide from your ex girlfriend Byron: [tossing hair] ha ha mary what a ridiculous notion Byron: [tossing hair] ha ha just uh Byron: [tossing hair] ridiculous

Mary Shelley: so it wouldn't bother you if caroline lamb also visited the ladies of llangollen then Byron: [tossing hair] it wouldn't bother me at all Byron: [pausing mid hair toss] why? is she there? what did you hear?

[at llangollen] Byron: [tossing hair] delightfully devilish byron, caroline lamb will never think to look for you here Caroline Lamb: [barging into llangollen] WHERE'S BYRON Lamb: I KNOW HE'S HERE Lamb: DON'T YOU LESBIANS LIE TO ME Lamb: I CAN SMELL HIS AXE BODY SPRAY

William Wordsworth: i was so inspired by those ladies of llangollen that i wrote a sonnet about them Wordsworth: "there once was a girl from nantucket..." Mary Shelley: that's not a fuckin sonnet Wordsworth: uh excuse me i think i know sonnets

[focsle]

I never did a long thing about scrimshaw, so it’s time! At 1 am, apparently.

I think scrimshaw is one of the most fascinating material goods to emerge from the history of the American whaling industry (which is the context I’m discussing here, though of course the artform exists across numerous eras and cultures outside this brief blip of nautical history).

It’s one way to see amatuer art that usually doesn’t often survive in other forms. To see the art project of an ordinary man who was bored and needed something to do with his hands. Others were highly skilled craftsman, creating intricate engravings or mechanically expert tools. The most common scrimshaw was images etched on sperm whale teeth. Sometimes those images came from the maker’s own imagination and sometimes they were copied illustrations. Ships & whaling scenes, women, mythical figures, and patriotic symbols make up the bulk of the visual language in those pieces that survive.

But alongside the teeth were all a manner of carved items: canes, candle holders, pie crimpers, children’s toys, sewing boxes, yarn swifts, corset busks. So much bone fashioned into quiet little homegoods. And it’s that contradiction within scrimshaw that fascinates me. The brutality of the industry, this ivory from an animal that frankly died terribly, that’s then softened into a little domestic item. An object that could have hours to years of work put into it. Some were made to be sold but many were made as gifts. In the long stretches of boredom at sea, in the lull between back-breaking work and life-threatening terror, scrimshaw gives a window into where the minds of these men continually turned. It shows where their hearts were and what they were holding on to over all the years they spent adrift in saltwater and blood and oil. That’s the poetry I see in scrimshaw. Pain and love and longing and creativity and playfulness all bound together in these complicated little pieces that found their way out of the hands of their anonymous makers to preserve a small part of their story.

Some scrimshanders names are known. Frederick Myrick is one of the most well known American whalers, not so much for the scope of his life (of which little is known) but for his scrimshaw. Born in Nantucket in 1808, he first went whaling in 1825 on the Columbus and then again on the Susan 1826-29. In the last few months aboard the Susan, Myrick engraved over 30 sperm whale teeth, all depicting the ship he was on (though there are a handful that depict other vessels). He signed and dated nearly each one. These pieces are often referred to as ‘Susan’s Teeth’ now, and when one comes up at auction it’s not unusual for it to sell for six figures.

Many of the teeth Myrick scrimshawed included an inscribed couplet of his devising: A dark wish for luck that succinctly gets at the violent and unstable heart of American whaling.

“Death to the living, long life to the killers Success to sailor’s wives, and greasy luck to whalers”

Sometimes large scenes were etched on panbones as well.

Moving from scrimshaw on teeth and jawbones, pie crimpers are some of the more common sculptural items. Popular motifs included animals (dogs, snakes, and unicorns/hippocampus are big), body parts (mostly clenched fists or lady’s legs), and geometric designs.

Others were more mechanically complicated, such as automatons and children’s toys with moving parts and gears. Here’s one of a small rocking sailboat, perhaps made for someone’s child or younger sibling.

Sometimes a particular creative fellow created something more eccentric, like this wild writing desk kit fashioned out of a carved panbone and sperm whale teeth.

Another frequently scrimshawed object was a corset busk that would be slid into the front of the garment in order to maintain the posture. A rather private item compared to others. And one with a very on-the-nose message of wearing close to one’s heart the memory of someone who’d be gone for 3-4 years, who might never come home again. On some level, so many of these daily objects whispered ‘forget me not’, ‘think of me while I’m gone’. 

There’s something tender to all the various domestic items that were fashioned on the job so long and far from home, but it’s the yarn swifts that really captivate me. They were one of the most complicated pieces of scrimshaw to make, with over one hundred different pieces that would have to be carved. It could take someone the length of the voyage (2-4 years) to complete a single one. Unlike teeth which were comparatively very quick to make and were frequently intended to be sold, it’s very unlikely that a swift was made with the aim of selling it because of the significant labor that went into it. They were almost certainly all gifts, and very special ones at that. Every time I see one I can just feel the love towards its intended recipient radiating off of it.

Scrimshaw captures a specific snapshot of a moment in time. On a broader scale it’s a surviving reminder of a bloody industry that flared up and winked out, preserved in the form of a long-lost ship and the spout of a long-dead whale inked on a yellowing tooth. But that snapshot also reveals the emotional world of the men who were caught up in such an industry: what they valued, what they thought about, what they missed, and what they wanted to be remembered of them.

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

SET EIGHT - ROUND TWO - MATCH TWO

"Susanna and the Elders, Restored - X-Ray" (1998 - Kathleen Gilje) / "Moby Dick" (? - Gérard DuBois)

SUSANNA AND THE ELDERS, RESTORED - X-RAY: The piece by artemisia gentileschi I would like to humbly submit is actually a little unique, as it is both by artemesia and by another artist. You see the original painting is called "Susanna and the Elders", and it represents the story of Susanna being spied on, naked, by town elders and then they try to blackmail her into having sex with them. When she refuses, they try and put her on trial for sexual immorality (claiming she slept with them). Her name is eventually cleared. It was typical, in the era that artemisia gentileschi was painting, to depict the story of Susanna as that of a sexy lady bathing sexily and coquettishly, aware and flirty with the elders spying on her. artemisia was having fucking none of it. Her final painting is a departure from this style of depiction showing Susanna visibly uncomfortable with the lecherous elders. BUT THIS ISN'T THE VERSION I'M SUBMITTING. You see, artemisia gentileschi had (supposedly) made an earlier version of this painting, and been asked to paint it over as it was "too disturbing". Although that version is lost to the ages, Kathleen Gilje created a version of that image, underpainted using lead and visible by xray, inspired by artemisia's own life. Without going into disrespectful detail, artemisia gentileschi was sexually assaulted in her life. And she poured some of her rage about it into this painting, before (apocraphally) being forced to sanitize it (into something still radically different than the mainstream depiction). The rage and horror that bleeds through the x-ray version of Susanna and the Elders? Makes me feel like my bones are being liquefied. I feel holy righteous rage and solidarity and love for a woman nearly 4 centuries removed. I feel things too embarrassingly personal to put in a poll.Artemisia Gentileschi based the bodies of both Judith in the first painting and Susanna in the second on her own. Perhaps because of this, perhaps simply because of her immense skill as an artist, the women (and situations) in these paintings feel real. I feel like I could reach out and touch. Gilje's depiction of anguish and the connection made to artemisia's life is palpable. (@sepulchral-pulchritude)

MOBY DICK: This is Gerard Dubois' cover illustration for a recent French language edition of the classic novel. It's a stunning work, visually and thematically. Captain Ahab: you know the type. Rashly self-confident, indifferent to any consideration beyond his own schemes, not a scrap of wisdom. His response to losing a limb is to double down. Captain Ahab as tech bro is befitting, Nantucket whalers being the high tech of their day. How easy it is to picture Ahab swapping grievances with Elon or Zuck over cocktails on a superyacht. The Whale seems only curious about this wierd little man, but what does Ahab spy with his little Eye? Could it be his own Shadow: insecurity, inadequacy, and insignificance? And amusement: who are you laughing at? Those are insults worth sacrificing all hands to erase. [Was the crew of the Pequod all-in? Or did they just need the work?] Hubris is as old as humanity itself. (@welcome-to-the-night-gallery)

("Susanna and the Elders, Restored" is a painting by American artist and art restorer Kathleen Gilje based on "Susanna and the Elders" by Artemisia Gentileschi. Gilje painted a more violent interpretation of the scene in lead paint, then painted a copy of the original Susanna and the Elders over top. This x-ray of the painting was then done to reveal the dual picture. It is not an x-ray of the original painting by Gentileschi.

"Moby Dick" is an illustration by French artist Gérard DuBois.)

[swansongofalyre]

Where to Find Memento Mori (Updated 9/11/2024)

On August 13, two days before 광복절 (Korean National Liberation Day), my debut novel was released. The book is about Korean-American family, and also about Greek mythology, and I promise this combination makes sense in the end. (For those who are curious, I wrote an uncharacteristically personal guest post for Women's Writers, Women's Books on the topic of what inspired me to write a Eurydice and Orpheus retelling about my Korean grandmother.)

It was surreal to go to a store the other day and see it on a table next to Salman Rushdie and other acclaimed writers. After 13 years of this story existing in some form, I'm so excited that this book is finally out—both because it is a beautiful book that I am proud of and that I hope you enjoy, and also because I would love to stop being my own publicist (it is VERY awkward).

So here is an omnibus post of book-related info that I will keep updated and pinned going forward to finally give the memento mori tag a rest. Below the cut, you will find a running list of indie bookstores and public libraries that I know carry my book. (If you have a New York Public Library card and have 5 minutes, I will love you forever if you would email your local branch to ask them to carry my book, thus fulfilling my lifelong dream of living in the NYPL.)

Also below are a few upcoming events at which I have been invited to speak!

Bookstores by State (as of 9/11/2024)

Search for your local bookstore here!

Arizona

Changing Hands Bookstore (Phoenix and Tempe)

California

Gallery Bookshop (Mendocino)

Timbre Books (Ventura) Sold out for now (but you can still order online)!

Indiana

The Press (Valparaiso)

Iowa

Prairie Lights Books (Iowa City)

Maine

Longfellow Books (Portland) Sold out for now (but you can still order online)!

Massachusetts

Nantucket Book Partners (Nantucket) Sold out for now (but you can still order online)!

Porter Square Books (Cambridge and Boston both back in stock!)

Missouri

Skylark Bookshop (Columbia)

Montana

Chapter One Book Store (Hamilton)

New Hampshire

Water Street Bookstore (Exeter)

New Jersey

Watchung Booksellers (Montclair)

New York

Astoria Bookshop (Queens, 1 signed copy left!)

Book Culture (Signed copies at the 112th St. and Broadway stores; also available at LIC and Pittsford Pittsford has sold out for now!)

Books are Magic (Brooklyn, at both Smith St. and Montague St.)

Market Block Books (Troy) Sold out for now (but you can still order online)!

Greenlight Bookstore (Brooklyn) Back in stock!

Shakespeare & Co (Manhattan, Lincoln Center has signed copies; Lexington also as copies back in stock)

Yu and Me Books (Manhattan; comes with bonus goodies, see below!)

North Carolina

Quail Ridge Books (Raleigh)

Oregon

Powell's (Burnside, Cedar Hills, and Hawthorne locations)

Rhode Island

Heartleaf Books (Providence)

Vermont

Phoenix Books (Burlington and Essex)

Washington, D.C.

Politics and Prose (at both CT Ave NW and Union Market)

Washington State

Elliott Bay Book Company (Seattle)

Wisconsin

Woodland Pattern (Milwaukee)

Libraries (as of 09/10/2024)

Worldcat Listings (Probably the most comprehensive)

Libby (for e-books)

California

Berkeley Public Library

Illinois

Chicago Public Library

Kentucky

Lexington Public Library

Maine

Portland Public Library (On Order)

Michigan

Canton Public Library (On Order)

New York

Greenburgh Public Library (Available)

New York Public Library (Available)

Queens Public Library (Available)

Texas

Harris County Public Library (In Processing)

Virginia

Arlington Public Library (In Processing)

Wisconsin

Whitefish Bay Public Library

Washington State

Seattle Public Library

Online

Bookshop.org (US)

Bookshop.org (UK)

Massive Bookshop (all profits go to community bail funds)

Barnes & Noble

Target

KYOBO 교보문고 (Korea)

Upcoming Events

September 3: Astoria Bookshop in conversation with Maia Lee-Chin for the release of her incredible book Et Cetera

September 22: Narrative Bookshop (Somerville, MA) in conversation with Maia Lee-Chin

September 28: Brooklyn Book Festival for a debut authors panel moderated by THEE Edwidge Danticat

October 17: Fall for the Book Festival in Fairfax, VA for a panel on mythology with Rania Hanna, the amazing author of The Jinn Daughter

[shesay]

I believe that Breckie Hill (ig influencer+she has an only fans who's literally my age lol) and other OF influencers r getting payed by the company aka only fans 2 promote their luxurious lives 2 get young teenage girls 2 do only fans as in look at my house/clothes thanks 2 my OF subscribers and other OF influencers do the same thing i went down the rabbit hole and saw plenty of young women w good followings not as much as breckie but yk in the (50k-100k) category w links in their bios which includes an OF link obv and these women flaunt their lives posting pics summering in the south of France or in nantucket and some young girls r gonna think this is the type of life i'm gonna have if i too started an OF as if it's not literal prostitution

[ltwilliammowett]

The Real Women of Petticoat Row

An article in The Inquirer and Mirror put it in 1976, “Petticoat Row has been the nick-name of Centre Street from Main Street north towards Broad Street since the 18th Century, so called because the shop keepers were mostly ladies, usually the wives or widows of the men who were away for years at a time with the whale fishery.”

This is only half true when talking about the ladies of Nantucket, because the famous Petticoat Road only got its name in the 19th century. In this wonderful work, Michael R. Harrison has recorded the history of these ladies and examined several of them in detail. Highly recommended to read.

[odinsblog]

No one loves Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman more than America’s elite. In recent years, we’ve seen leaders, investors, and celebrities hold out a Saudi exception to human rights in the service of a blurry concept of national interests that requires the U.S. to constantly compromise its values in service of an autocrat. And so MBS has been welcomed back into the establishment fold, and he won over Washington. And now he’s taking a victory lap.

When Saudi Arabia convened a 2018 summit in Riyadh, businesspeople shielded their name tags from view, sheepish about seeking MBS’s money just days after journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. But the stigma has apparently worn off, and big names in finance, tech, media, and entertainment showed up at the Miami edition of Davos in the Desert.

The entire conceit of the conference is that Saudi Arabia can be abstracted from MBS, who is hardly ever mentioned yet remains the unspoken force behind the events. The host, the Future Investment Initiative Institute, a mouthful, is essentially the crown prince’s personal think tank. Session after session offered platitudes and ruminations on the least controversial ideas ever—AI is going to change the world! Climate is important! Sports bring people together! The two-day gathering was titled “On the Edge of a New Frontier,” itself a sort of redundant name. (Isn’t a frontier an edge?)

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of a major sovereign wealth fund that’s currently under Senate investigation, led the proceedings. The Public Investment Fund that Al-Rumayyan runs is the conference’s founding partner and powers its lavish events. That Al-Rumayyan has $70 billion in annual investments to dole out is enough to draw out financial titans, curious entrepreneurs, and former Trump officials.

Jared Kushner, who had grown a beard, was talking about his theory of investing, without noting that MBS’s sovereign wealth funds had reportedly contributed $2 billion to his Affinity Partners. Steve Mnuchin, who similarly snared $1 billion of Saudi funds for his Liberty Strategic Capital, wore a suit and dress sneakers and talked about Israel as a tech hub. Mike Pompeo, in a tie, said that U.S. leadership in the world requires a “stability model” that involves working with “like-minded nations,” though “they’re not all going to be democracies.” Little wonder he rushed U.S. arms to Saudi Arabia as secretary of state as part of an end run around Congress.

Doing business with Saudi Arabia has become so normalized that the CEOs of major corporations and investment firms showed up in droves. There was Accenture’s Julie Sweet, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, and Thiel Capital’s Jack Selby. David Rubenstein—the billionaire who has played host to President Joe Biden at his Nantucket estate—spoke alongside his daughter Gabrielle. (This year, the Biden administration didn’t send an emissary, but the deputy commerce secretary, Donald Graves, attended in 2021.)

Journalists have kept a distance from Saudi Arabia after the dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Khashoggi, but in Miami the moderators included CNN’s Bianna Golodryga, Fox’s Maria Bartiromo, Bloomberg’s Manus Cranny, and The Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker.

MBS has especially used boldfaced names to rehabilitate his standing post-Khashoggi, his crackdown on women activists, and the destructive Yemen war. In Miami, there was a fireside chat with failed Senate candidate Dr. Oz. “Saudi Arabia is, I think, doing some wise investing and shifting mindsets by trying to leapfrog, in some cases, where the West is,” Oz said.

For Gwyneth Paltrow, it was just another fun public event. She spoke about how Goop had “built meaning” for its fans, in conversation with entrepreneur Moj Mahdara, a former adviser to Hillary Clinton. It was particularly incongruous when Paltrow discussed bringing more women to the cap table to fight the patriarchy.

Rob Lowe had some advice for Riyadh’s efforts to break into Hollywood and create its own film industry. “My view is there’s no reason that Saudi shouldn’t be the leader in IP in the same way they’re attempting to be the leader in sports and everything else,” Lowe said. “You need to have someone who can communicate: Why Saudi, why now.”

For all of the glitzy stage management and slick social media branding, at many moments there were fewer than 50 people watching the livestream on YouTube. But what mattered more were the opinion leaders, financiers, and tycoons in the room.

Big Tech was there, too, with Google’s Caroline Yap and Dell’s Michael Dell. Nothing was quite as obsequious as last year’s gathering in Miami when Adam Neumann, Marc Andreessen, and Ben Horowitz—all beneficiaries of Saudi Arabia’s financial largesse—gushed about how MBS is like a “founder,” except “you call him, ‘His Royal Highness.’”

(continue reading)

[therealslimshakespeare]

When will we learn more about Maureen and why she is the way she is?

She comes off spoiled but tough, still likable

Ah, lovely Maureen. Here’s what I’ve got so far, thanks for asking….

Hailing from the Nantucket area, she comes from money -new money at the turn of the century but it’s been sufficiently aged by now for her family to be just this side of insufferable in their prosperity.

Father is/was an adventurer -that sort of heir where they come from American oil or fur ages ago and now just get to spend it all on safari and collections. He took her on those safaris and boating excursions, she grew used to male company, even if it was mainly genteel. She also grew proficient at flying her father’s fancy little one engine prop plane.

Proficient, cocky and likely enough, when war came and there was a sliver of a opening made for women to make their mark in the sky -Maureen lined up for it. Eagerly, confidently, out to make daddy proud, her absent yet fastidious mother fume, and get herself some excitement. She figured she’d be an excellent addition to the Air Force.

Except that, Ida Brady gave her a skeptical look, informed her they’d be flying bombers not single engines, let her do one test flight in the hot Georgia sky and immediately flunked her.

She was incensed. She was an ok pilot —she was sure of it.

Ida has opinions about “ok” pilots, having recently had to transition to the big birds herself. This war couldn’t afford to send half assed fighters up single, much less entrust one “ok” pilot with a crew of ten.

Kendeigh thought about quitting right then. Ego quite bruised. But then, she wasn’t the only one flunked and not only by Ida. And by that point, she’d become friends with these crews in training. The sorta friends she’d never made in high society or on pleasure excursions in Napal. And besides, she’d wanted to prove herself, see the “real” world, get a little banged up just to prove she wasn’t a china doll.

Besides, Gale Cleven hadn’t responded to her flirts or her hand in his lap and she can’t give up on that dream, not yet.

So she became a bombardier.

But honestly, Maureen in my book is more than a little spoiled, a little presumptuous and very casual to even grave dangers. Much of her growth will be to give a damn enough to risk herself for others and to sober up enough to learn what she prizes in life without losing her joy in it.

I’m glad you find her likable, I really want to create “flawed” OC’s but there’s always terror they’ll just be awful instead of real, haha

[pariaritzia]

tired of everyone just using james patterson for 'bookshelf saturation' examples so making my own list of 'I am sick of seeing this author's books at work but alas it is popular fiction so it circulates the most among adult readers', along with my impression of the titles. thank u to ivy for assistance bc she also suffers from seeing these names 1200 times a day

danielle steel: Beautiful Wealthy Women Have Problems Too, Like Deciding Whether To Remain With Her Handsome Wealthy Husband, Or To Leave Him For Another, More Handsome, More Wealthy Husband

nora roberts: The Romance Of The Bride Of The Frilly Bridal Gown

j d robb (also nora roberts but now men can read her books and not tell me that actually the book is for their wife bc god forbid they read a woman's book): Depressed In Death

elin hildebrand: The Last Nantucket Summer Affair That Happened At Nantucket During The Summer During Which The Affair Happened On The Beach, On Nantucket

stuart woods: The Black Dog's Detective Grimly Solves Gritty Crimes

lee child: Jack Reacher Reaches For The Wire Out Of His Reach While Shooting A Spy

kristin hannah: The Four Generations Of Women And Their Generational Trauma From World War Two

clive cussler: Winter Arctic Ice Grizzly Bear Action Hero Punch

genevieve graham: Woman Walks Down A Street In World War Two, Perhaps She Is A Nurse, Perhaps She Is A Postman's Daughter, Or Perhaps She Is Both

louise penny: As The World Rotates In The Light We Solve Grisly Murders

karin slaughter: The Wife Next Door

[jxrm]

book log - 2024 (so far)

diva by daisy goodwin

the heiress by rachel hawkins

only if you’re lucky by stacy willingham

the chateau by jaclyn goldis

just stay away by tony wirt

the other mothers by katherine faulker

middle of the night by riley sager

the disappearance of astrid bricard by natasha lester

every time i go in vacation, someone dies by catherine mack

the last caretaker by jessica strawser

just for the summer by abby jimenez

house of glass by sarah pekkanen

the mayor of maxwell street by avery cunningham

first lie wins by ashley elston

the phoenix crown by kate quinn

murder road by simone st. james

the fury by alex michaelides

happiness falls by angie kim

the house of last resort by christopher golden

run rose run by dolly parton

the chalice of the gods by rick riordan

there should have been right by nalini singh

the mysterious case of the alperton angels by janice hallet

darling girls by sally hepworth

the pieces around us by leigh fields

love, theoretically by ali hazelwood

the teacher by frieda mcfadden

x by jack croxell

iron flame by rebecca yarros

the only suspect by louise candlish

throwback by maurene goo

the housemaid is watching by frieda mcfadden

zara hossain is here by sabina khan

slice by angie caedis

the ways of the dead by neely tucker

orphan train by christina baker

a court of silver flames by sarah j. mass

come and get it by kiley reid

the drowning woman by robyn harding

when i bleed: poems about endometriosis by maggie bowyer

the house in the pines by ana reyes

only say good things by crystal hefner

the mother-in-law by sally hepworth

daughter of mine by megan miranda

lore olympus: volume four by rachel smythe

this time it’s real by ann liang

anna o by matthew blake

the girl with the louding voice by abi dare

where the forest meets the stars by glendy vanderah

a friend in the dark by samantha m. bailey

the wife app by carolyn mackler

howl’s moving castle by diana wynne jones

the spanish love deception by elena armas

divide by jessa russo

lies and weddings by kevin kwan

the foxhole victory tour by amy lynn green

dying to tell by keri beevis

my father, the panda killer by jamie jo hoang

the wedding party by l.r. jones

girl gone mad by avery bishop

starter wife by bethany lopez

the queens of new york by e.l. shen

theater lovers by ciara blume

once upon a broken heart by stephanie garber

the surrogate mother by frieda mcfadden

crying in h mart by michelle zauner

don’t forget to write by sara goldman confino

the next girl by carla kovach

the paradise problem by christina lauren

ivy league liars by grace costello

every summer after by carley fortune

the ballad of never after by stephanie garber

a curse of true love by stephanie garber

the devil’s storybooks by natalie babbit

expiration dates by rebecca serle

the murmur of bees by sofia segovia

growing up hadley by dana harp

the vacation by john marrs

rum punch regrets by anna kemp

the five-star weekend by elin hilderbrand

people to follow by olivia worley

the treasure hunters club by tom ryan

you shouldn’t be here by lauren thoman

trophy wife by bethany lopez

seven summers by paige toon

veridian sterling fakes it by jennifer gooch

the friendship club by robyn carr

women of good fortune by sophie wan

the smuggler’s apprentice of guatemala by lachlan page

this summer will be different by carley fortune

natural selection by elin hilderbrand

the passengers by john marrs

asap by axie oh

island of shadows by christopher kvintus

swan song by elin hilderbrand

lore olympus: volume five by rachel smythe

blue hawaiian by carla luna

the villain edit by laurie devore

hermione granger and the order of the phoenix by sara baines-miller

the hotel nantucket by elin hilderbrand

bummer camp by ann garvin

pink glass houses by asha elias

cut and thirst by margaret atwood

the exception to the rule by christina lauren

#crimetime by jeneva rose

incidents around the house by josh malerman

the mistress by valerie keogh

kiki’s delivery service by eiko kadono

when we were friends by jane green

the honey-don’t list by christina lauren

worst wingman ever by abby jimenez

the perfect couple by elin hilderbrand

home is where the bodies are by jeneva rose

the only good indians by stephen graham jones

roar by cecelia ahern

the wedding people by alison espach

look in the mirror by catherine steadman

fit to die by daniel kalla

uglies by scott westerfield

hideaway by nicole lundrigan

the fortune teller by natasha boydell

crazy rich asians by kevin kwan

the wish by nicholas sparks

how the penguins saved veronica by hazel prior

the plus one by s. c. lalli

the haters by robyn harding

china rich girlfriend by kevin kwan

rich people problems by kevin kwan

the haunting of moscow house by olesya salnikova gilmore

the lonely hearts book club by lucy gilmore

the measure by nikki erlick

somewhere beyond the sea by tj klume

adam and evie’s matchmaking tour by nora nguyen

i was a teenage slasher by stephen graham jones

here one moment by liane moriarity

badass bonita by kim guerra

zetas till we die by amber and danielle brown

shred sisters by betsy learner

one of the girls by lucy clarke

society of lies by lauren ling brown

the radius of us by marie marquardt

fantasticland by mike bockoven

sheets by brenna thummler

the boyfriend by frieda mcfadden

delicates by brenna thummler

no one will know by rose carlyle

lights by brenna thummler

counting miracles by nicholas sparks

the night we lost him by laura dave

ghost stories by ron ripley

the hitchcock hotel by stephanie wrobel

for better or cursed by kate williams

the last one at the wedding by jason rekulak

creation lake by rachel kushner

like mother, like daughter by kimberly mccreight

libby lost and found by stephanie booth

the nosy neighbour by nita prose

needy little things by channelle desamours

[mariasmemo]

In Memoriam - Anne Parks Strain

Anne Strain was a longtime member of the Maria Mitchell Association’s Honorary Board and served on the MMA’s Board of Directors for many years.  Anne passed away on January 15, 2024.  An avid birder and a garden and plant enthusiast, Anne was a quiet and lovely woman who brought her long knowledge of Nantucket to the MMA.  Nantucket was a part of her life from a young age and in later life she owned a wonderful house that overlooked Prospect Hill cemetery called “High Spirits.”  While I did not know Anne well, we shared a commonality besides gardening, birding and our love of the MMA and Nantucket, we are both women’s college graduates – Anne having graduated from Vassar College and myself, from Mount Holyoke College.  During a small event for the MMA, I spent much of it on the deck on a bench speaking with her and I enjoyed getting to know her better and watching the events unfold from our perch in the shade.  It was in that conversation that we had that it became less of a board member and staff member and more of a sister of a shared experience.  Even if different schools, we shared a similar college “upbringing” having attended women’s colleges – and each one us at one of the Seven Sisters. 

What I did not know about Anne was her accomplishment as a fly fisherwoman – but I could see that – she had a quiet patience about her.  I am sure she was a tremendous fly fisherwoman – just wish I had the chance to learn from her!

JNLF

The step, however small, which is in advance of the world, shows the greatness of the person, whether that step be taken with brain, with heart, or with hands.  – Maria Mitchell

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

November 25, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

The second exchange of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas on October 7, for prisoners held by Israel took place today. Hamas released thirteen Israelis and four Thais into the hands of the Red Cross at the Egyptian crossing into Gaza, and Israel dropped off nearly three dozen Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank. In the first exchange, on Friday, Hamas released 24 of about 240 hostages it took during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel: 13 Israeli women and children, along with 10 Thais and a Filipino who were working in Israel. In exchange, Israel released 24 imprisoned Palestinian women and 15 teenage boys. Israel holds more than 6000 Palestinians on grounds they are a security threat; on the list of 300 prisoners Israel is willing to release, most are awaiting trial. Less than a quarter have been convicted of a crime. The hostage-prisoner exchanges are at the heart of a four-day truce finalized yesterday, on November 24, after five weeks of what a Biden administration official described as “extremely excruciating” negotiations between the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, and Israel, under the strong influence of the United States. According to Ayman Mohyeldin, Anna Schecter, and Corky Siemaszko of NBC News, the U.S. and Qatar began to try to get the hostages released hours after the October 7 attack. But Israel was not willing to talk to Hamas, and Hamas officials maintained it had taken only about 70 Israeli soldiers and 50 women and children, saying they did not know where the rest of the missing captives were, although some, they said, had been kidnapped by individual Palestinian gangs. When talks began, Israel wanted all the hostages released, but this was a nonstarter for Hamas leaders, who need hostages for their own bargaining power. Then Israeli airstrikes so pulverized Gaza that the Biden administration insisted on halts to the bombing so relief agencies could deliver food and aid, as well as the construction of humanitarian corridors to permit Palestinians in northern Gaza to travel to the south. Officials from Qatar, where many of Hamas’s leaders live, stepped in to broker talks. Those talks began to gain headway when Israel gained more control of northern Gaza and began to negotiate through U.S., Qatari, and Egyptian officials for the release of women and children. Finally, yesterday a deal was hammered out that over the course of a four-day truce, Hamas would release at least 50 hostages and Israel would release 150 Palestinian prisoners, all women and children. More aid trucks are supposed to be allowed into Gaza, and Israel is supposed to stop drone surveillance flights over Gaza for six hours a day. Israel has said it is willing to extend the truce an extra day for each additional 10 hostages freed. Still, Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing supporters refused to agree to the terms of the truce until U.S. President Joe Biden pressured them to do so. “This deal was a Biden deal, not a Netanyahu deal,” a senior official in the Israeli government told the NBC reporters. Biden administration officials have been constantly engaged with the region’s leaders to help hammer out the agreement.

Yesterday, when the deal was finally firm, Biden spoke from Nantucket, where he and his family were celebrating Thanksgiving. “I have consistently pressed for a pause in the fighting for two reasons,” he said: “to accelerate and expand the humanitarian assistance going into Gaza and…to facilitate the release of hostages.” Once again, he emphasized that “this cycle of violence in the Middle East” must end. And, once again, he called for “a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can one day live side by side…with equal measure of freedom and dignity.” He told reporters, “There’s overwhelming interest—and I think most Arab nations know it—in coordinating with one another to change the dynamic in their region for a longer-term peace.” He noted that he was “working very closely with the Saudis and others…to bring peace to the region by having recognition of Israel and Israel’s right to exist” when Hamas attacked on October 7, a move Hamas leaders told reporters was intended to make sure the Palestinian cause did not get forgotten. While two Americans were released on October 20, no more Americans were released in these first two groups under the truce. Holding Americans keeps the U.S. deeply involved in the struggle, and since pressure from the U.S. is key to moderating the behavior of Israel’s right-wing coalition leadership under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, continuing to hold Americans provides leverage for Hamas. Yesterday the United Nations delivered the largest convoy of aid, fuel, and cooking gas to Gaza that it has been able to since it started sending aid convoys into the war-torn area on October 21. Still, after seven weeks of fighting, far more is needed.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[semper-legens]

157. The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex, by Owen Chase

Owned: No, library Page count: 141 My summary: In the 1820s, the whaleship Essex was wrecked by a whale. Her crew would partake on a harrowing journey over thousands of miles, their supplies dwindling and their options narrowing. This is the account of the survivors, and what they experienced in their days on the ocean. My rating: 4/5 My commentary:

Long-time readers of this blog will know that I have a special interest in real-life cases of survival cannibalism. It's fascinating, okay? I'm always interested in hearing about extreme situations, and what surviving such things will do to a person's psychology, as well as the different ways that different groups of people react to stress and survival situations. My particular interest is in the Uruguayan plane crash in the 1970s, but as an avowed Boat Person I am also interested in the many terrible things that happened on sailing ships, and the Essex is one of the more famous of that sort.

She was a whaler, sent from Nantucket to hunt whales in the Pacific, when a sperm whale struck her (a very rare occurrence) and sunk her. The men aboard were forced to try and get to safety on the ship's whaleboats. Now, the majority of the crew were white, and vetoed the idea of sailing for the closest islands, the Marquesas, because they thought the native people would eat them. Oh, the irony. So instead of sailing with the wind for 1200 miles, they would need to sail south for 1000 miles, then east for another 3000 miles to catch the westerly winds. Good sense was not aboard any of the whaleboats.

They made it to Henderson Island fine, and three men decided to stay behind on the island while the rest carried on. (The three were later rescued.) Seventeen men in three whaleboats set out to Easter Island. The whaleboats became separated - one was never seen again, though a similar boat washed up nearby with three skeletons, they have not been conclusively identified as the missing sailors. On the other two boats, they ran out of food. One set of survivors started to eat the dead. The other drew lots for who would be sacrificed; the unfortunately named Owen Coffin drew the short stray, an 18 year old cabin boy and the captain's cousin. He was killed and eaten. In total, only five of the seventeen men in the boats survived, including the captain, cabin boy Thomas Nickerson, and first mate Owen Chase, the narrators of this particular tale.

Chase's narrative is the longest and takes up the bulk of this book. It's suspiciously complimentary of himself - since his is the only detailed account, it's important to take his claims with a pinch of salt. Were the black sailors really stealing from the white sailors? Was he heroically responsible for basically every good thing that happened? Did he and his boat-mates only eat the bodies of the already-dead? It's an engaging, if harrowing, narrative nonetheless, tempered a little by the 19th century style of the writing. Much is made of the fact that Herman Mieville read this account and was inspired to write Moby Dick, which is kind of annoying for me, because I only wanted to know the details of the Essex, not some other book I'm not reading, but anyway. Regardless of that, it was an interesting read!

Next up, something completely different - two women in medieval England.