The Vulgar Eclectic
Vulgar: of the usual, typical, or ordinary kind
definitions courtesy of Merriam-Webster
Eclectic: composed of elements drawn from various sources
recent blog posts
- Brumation finis (for now)
Look how has emerged from several weeks of brumation! And he woke up hungry. I think he ate about 30 crickets and a few mealworms the first day we had live insects.
- Little guy
Eleodes, a genus of darkling beetles…a common name for the Tenebrionidae family of beetles (from the Latin tenebrio…”lover of darkness”) - A walk this morning
- My Apprenticeship by Maxim Gorky
I just finished reading My Apprenticeship (translated by Margaret Wettlin and Hellen Altschuler) and originally published in 1916. This is the second part of an autobiographical trilogy. The title is sometimes translated into English as Amid Attendants and In the World
This book was a wonderful reading experience. Gorky puts you inside the head of a perceptive adolescent boy as he wends his way through life, trying again and again to understand the world and the individual people in it. The book is deeply humane, and young Gorky’s experiences are buoyed by a simple kindness that brings warmth to a very difficult world.
“Don’t take any of that to heart, fellows. You’re young yet and have a long life ahead of you. Store up your own ideas. One thought of your own is worth two that are borrowed.”
A young Maxim Gorky - Snapdragon by Kat Leyh
A few days ago, I finished reading the graphic novel Snapdragon, written and illustrated by Kat Leyh and published in 2020.
The main character, Snapdragon, is a middle school kid navigating her world the best she can. Along the way, the readers meet those who populate that world–particularly her mother, her best friend, and an older woman who seems to be on the edge of society. After the older woman, Jacks, finds and nurses Snapdragon’s dog back to health, the two form a friendship that impacts both of their lives in significant ways.
The story is told with warmth and underscores the importance of friendship, curiosity, and the strength to be oneself.
