On the international beat

 A couple of items that grabbed my attention in the news today:

• For those who say one man can't make a difference, "since [Pablo] Esobar's death [in 1993], the homicide rate in Medellin has dropped 90 percent." Source: World Magazine April 27, "Mountain Movers"
• Following the Easter bombings, "[t]he Archbishop of Colomba, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, called on Sri Lanka's government to 'mercilessly' punish those responsible 'because only animals can behave like that.'"  Undoubtedly echoing Christ's words on the cross, "Father, mercilessly punish them because only animals can behave like that."  While making allowances for the heat of the moment, I can only hope that he's going to look back on that statement someday and cringe. Source: AP

Book review: The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

The twenty-second book I read in 2019 was The King of Attolia, the third book in Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series.  One sometimes hears it said of a book that the reader "couldn't put it down."  That is very nearly literally true of this book.  I began reading it last night, picked it up again this morning, and had to force myself to put it down long enough to go the grocery store and various other things I had to get done today.  I just wanted to keep reading and find out what happens!

By this point in the series, I have learned enough to trust that Eugenides has a plan and is on top of things, no matter what my appear to be happening around him, but it's still exhilarating simply to find out exactly how far ahead of the game he is and how he is going to triumph.

Book review: I'll Be There for You by Kelsey Miller

The eighteenth book I read in 2019 was I'll Be There for You: The One about Friends by Kelsey Miller.  The book is, as advertised, a look back at the hit TV show. 

Parts of it were fun, like information about the auditions and who might have gotten the iconic roles.  (At one point, it was conceivable it could have been a Facts of Life reunion, with Jo as Monica and Blair as Rachel.)  Unfortunately, after the first season or two, Miller stops mentioning specific episodes and moments and breezes over most of the on-screen product to focus on contract negotiations, which, yeah, I was there, and I know it was a big deal that the cast's solidarity wrung concessions from a network used to pitting actors against one another, but it's really not that interesting to revisit every time the actors demand a raise.

More frustrating, the author spends an inordinate number of chapters criticizing the twenty-five-year-old show for not being "woke" enough for modern sensibilities.  SHUT UP, Millennials; go stab each other in the back for thoughtcrime and leave GenX alone. 

Book review: Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin

The seventeenth book I read in 2019 was Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin.  This book has the same chunky size as Marie Kondo's books but less content, larger print, and more white space.  It's less instructional and more aspirational, a sort of decluttering devotional with bite-sized chunks of advice and inspiration.

Some of Rubin's aphorisms are remarkably catchy.  I find myself wishing for Joanna-Gaines-style wall-art of a few of them, a visual reminder that's certainly more practical than a big cursive "EAT" in the kitchen. 

There's very little how-to in this book, but I don't hold that against it.  If you want a step-by-step plan, there's KonMari or Joshua Becker.  Rubin is more of a life coach, reminding you why you're doing what you're doing.  On the other hand, her three questions: "Do I use it?  Do I need it?  Do I love it?" inarguably offer more practical advice than Marie Kondo's "Does it spark joy?"  I seriously doubt brooms and toilet plungers spark joy in anyone, but you shouldn't throw them out either.