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SarahBookseller at Lake Forest Park |
How mystifying the customs of ancient peoples seem to us... but how far removed are we, really?
Sylvie and her parents join a small university class on "a summer experience" living as Iron Age Britons may have. As prehistoric tasks become more intuitive to the group, so do the rituals they once thought horrific.
This unassuming wisp of a book belies the disquieting story within.
"I shivered. Of course that was the whole point of the re-enactment, that we ourselves became the ghosts, learning to walk the land as they walk it two thousand years ago."
As the year ends and we turn our focus to upcoming holidays, I want to highlight an Indigenous author to encourage readers of all ages to decolonize our bookshelves.
From Traci Sorrell, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, We Are Grateful is a beautiful, reflective book that looks at the Cherokee practice of giving thanks as a family and as a community. "We are grateful," in the Cherokee language is otsaliheliga. This and other Cherokee words are sprinkled throughout these pages.
Beginning with the first book, The Bear and the Nightingale, this beautiful fantasy trilogy is set in a version of medieval Russia in which history and myth coexist. In Witch yet more characters from Russian folklore are woven in as fiery heroine, Vasya, faces the foes of Moscow, Rus', and humanity... whether the powers that be are behind her or not.
I recommend reading this dark, mystical book on a chilly night (forecast looks promising) — but only after finishing the first two in the trilogy!
