k-r-green

[k-r-green]

2024 Book Reviews

In 2024, I had aimed to finish reading 6 books, since I’ve dropped so many from my original habit of 20-26 annually back in the early 2010s. However, I only managed 4. Nevertheless, here’s the reviews for those. ~ January :: Unmasking Autism by Devon Price 5 Stars This book was recommended by a colleague who had found it specifically helpful at sharing how the less “stereotypical” signs of…

[k-r-green]

Greeting 2025

2024 was a transformational year.  I definitely went into a chrysalis in the Spring, and emerged like a soggy butterfly by Autumn. My writing took a large brunt of the hibernation, and I’m not rushing to get it back up and running for 2025. This year is about regaining my balance, however that ends up looking. ~ Reflecting on 2024: Intuition: 2/3 goals achieved. i. Read 6 books (& Take Notes): –…

[k-r-green]

Essence of Green :: December 2024

Essence of Green :: December 2024

Happy 2025. In case you missed them, here are the bimonthly links for 2024 so far! Jan+Feb | Mar+Apr | May+Jun | Jul+Aug | Sep+Oct | Winter is fully here in the UK. November began with a trip to Germany, which was so nice. I saw friends and focused on work, before experiencing two bereavements at the end of November. In December, I saw my partner’s child dance showcase and then we spent Christmas…

[k-r-green]

PUBLICATION DAY - Fight Like A Girl: Vol 2

I’m excited to share that my story “Ready for Combat” is being published in the anthology “Fight Like A Girl: Vol 2.” by Wizard Tower Press. If you missed the first volume, here’s the overall theme of the anthology: “The calls for both anthologies have been open to women and anyone identifying as a woman. We’re absolutely delighted to be able to showcase three stories by trans women. We wish we…

[k-r-green]

Essence of Green :: October 2024

It’s November…. and Winter is definitely on its way. In case you missed them, here are the bimonthly links for 2024 so far! Jan+Feb | Mar+Apr | May+Jun | Jul+Aug |  Before winter sets in, we are gathering the last of the harvest and preparing for quiet. September was fun, and October more quiet. September came along with many social events. I had friends visit me twice, visited a friend I only…

[k-r-green]

Essence of Green :: August 2024

It’s September…. back to school season in the UK, and time to look over July and August. In case you missed them, here are the bimonthly links for 2024 so far! Jan+Feb | Mar+Apr | May+Jun The UK Summer was, as is common these days, very up and down. Climate change is truly real. July and August were two lovely months. I got back to a normal working pattern, and even outside of work, had a very…

[k-r-green]

Essence of Green :: June 2024

Essence of Green :: June 2024

It’s July – which means it’s time to review May and June (ICYMI: Jan+Feb and Mar+Apr). Let’s do this! May was a stable-then-wobbly month. I returned to my dayjob on a phased return, and even into July I’m still on reduced clinical duties as I try to work out what’s realistic and manageable for me. June was then a really steady foundational month for me, which let me release a lot of the breath…

[k-r-green]

Essence of Green :: April 2024

It’s May – which means it’s time to review March and April (ICYMI: Jan+Feb). We’ve got this. May is a clear Spring-Summer type of month for me, and I have been so ready for it. I expected things to be a little wobbly, but they were pretty stable until the end of the month – hence the delay in this summary. But for now, let’s review March and April. See the little picture of my bunnies and their…

[k-r-green]

Essence of Green :: February 2024

It’s March – which means i’s time to review January and February. Let’s do this. I’ve been focusing a lot on my wellbeing as the last 3 months have kicked my arse. Without going into details, my ex changed his mind on an agreement at the beginning of December, and that extra stress plus health stuff, worries about relatives, paperwork, mould in my flat, publishing delays and pet health all…

[k-r-green]

2023 Book Reviews

If you’re familiar with me, you’ll know I try to write book reviews every year, of every book I finish reading. In 2009, I began to track my reading. It made sense once I began tracking the books I read, then giving them a rating to remind myself if I might want to recommend or read it again, to then write a proper review of each one. I began writing book reviews in 2013 and an annual summary of…

[k-r-green]

How 2023 Shaped The Essence of 2024

How 2023 Shaped The Essence of 2024

2023, I bid you farewell. This was a year of massive change. I began 2023 living in a friend’s spare room as her lodger, and ended it in my own flat with 2 pet house rabbits. Writing was almost non-existent, although I don’t want to completely ignore that I edited a short story that’s being published and I did track some of my nonfiction writing. I didn’t publish any podcast episodes in 2023,…

[k-r-green]

This. No notes.

It’s like this…

You’re fourteen and you’re reading Larry Niven’s “The Protector” because it’s your father’s favorite book and you like your father and you think he has good taste and the creature on the cover of the book looks interesting and you want to know what it’s about. And in it the female character does something better than the male character - because she’s been doing it her whole life and he’s only just learned - and he gets mad that she’s better at it than him. And you don’t understand why he would be mad about that, because, logically, she’d be better at it than him. She’s done it more. And he’s got a picture of a woman painted on the inside of his spacesuit, like a pinup girl, and it bothers you.

But you’re fourteen and you don’t know how to put this into words.

And then you’re fifteen and you’re reading “Orphans of the Sky” because it’s by a famous sci-fi author and it’s about a lost generation ship and how cool is that?!? but the women on the ship aren’t given a name until they’re married and you spend more time wondering what people call those women up until their marriage than you do focusing on the rest of the story. Even though this tidbit of information has nothing to do with the plot line of the story and is only brought up once in passing.

But it’s a random thing to get worked up about in an otherwise all right book.

Then you’re sixteen and you read “Dune” because your brother gave it to you for Christmas and it’s one of those books you have to read to earn your geek card. You spend an entire afternoon arguing over who is the main character - Paul or Jessica. And the more you contend Jessica, the more he says Paul, and you can’t make him see how the real hero is her. And you love Chani cause she’s tough and good with a knife, but at the end of the day, her killing Paul’s challengers is just a way to degrade them because those weenies lost to a girl.

Then you’re seventeen and you don’t want to read “Stranger in a Strange Land” after the first seventy pages because something about it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. All of this talk of water-brothers. You can’t even pin it down.

And then you’re eighteen and you’ve given up on classic sci-fi, but that doesn’t stop your brother or your father from trying to get you to read more.

Even when you bring them the books and bring them the passages and show them how the authors didn’t treat women like people.

Your brother says, “Well, that was because of the time it was written in.”

You get all worked up because these men couldn’t imagine a world in which women were equal, in which women were empowered and intelligent and literate and capable. 

You tell him - this, this is science fiction. This is all about imagining the world that could be and they couldn’t stand back long enough and dare to imagine how, not only technology would grow in time, but society would grow. 

But he blows you off because he can’t understand how it feels to be fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen and desperately wanting to like the books your father likes, because your father has good taste, and being unable to, because most of those books tell you that you’re not a full person in ways that are too subtle to put into words. It’s all cognitive dissonance: a little like a song played a bit out of tempo - enough that you recognize it’s off, but not enough to pin down what exactly is wrong.

And then one day you’re twenty-two and studying sociology and some kind teacher finally gives you the words to explain all those little feelings that built and penned around inside of you for years.

It’s like the world clicking into place. 

And that’s something your brother never had to struggle with.

[k-r-green]

Book Reviews of 2022 :: Part II

Since it’s now 2023 when I’m posting this, let’s get straight into the reviews. Part I can be found here. ~ May :: You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero 5 Stars I’d heard a lot about this book, and this author, as a ‘no nonsense’ self-help approach. As my word for 2022 is “Power” it seemed to be a sensible title to read as part of…

[k-r-green]

Welcoming In The Essence of 2023

Welcoming In The Essence of 2023

It’s 2023. I always reach this point and want to laugh at how I thought I was on my way “up” after a few hard years of falling down, but this year I can say I did at least climb up and out of some of the holes I’d fall into. 2022 was my lowest year by FAR from a writing standpoint. I don’t think I’ve written so little since I began my writing career in 2009. Last year I wrote 35,213 words of…

[k-r-green]

“If I replaced the phrase transgender person with a religious term, racial descriptor, or economic status term, would it be acceptable in our society? Because the arguments I’m seeing, when switched with a term of another minority group, are clearly discriminatory and unfounded." 

[k-r-green]

One of the hardest things in life is making decisions. I wrote about How Myths Block Us From Considering the Binary Aspects of Decision-making on #Medium - if you struggle choosing what to do with your time or energy, prioritising your decisions will help.

[k-r-green]

On Friendship | Hagit Grossman

“On Friendship” Hagit Grossman

If a friend calls out to you late at night from beneath your window Never send him on his way. And if you’ve sent him away and still Insist on rigid rules, regain your composure after a moment And run to the window and shout his name: “Come, Merhav! Come back! I’ve got some corn cooking! Come eat something.” And he’ll placidly retrace his steps and gladly accept The key you toss down from your window, Will come upstairs to the first floor and will be impressed By the large pictures on the walls. He’ll sit and wait for you to slip into a clean shirt and you’ll put on The movie in the kid’s room and your baby daughter Will rush to the kitchen and come back with a red pepper for him. He’ll decline the warm corn and say he’s already had dinner. In the meantime your husband will chat with him about Tai Chi And pour him a glass of cold sweet pineapple juice. You’ll return to the living room And go out to the balcony and light a cigarette and sip A cold beer. You don’t yet realize That this is a sublime moment in your life. One of the most sublime you’ll ever know.

Translated from the Hebrew by Benjamin Balint