Prejudice and Kindness

Posting here today and simultaneously over at The Kindness Project.

I imagine that if you find yourself reading this post you consider yourself to firmly fit in the "not prejudiced" category.

Of course you do!

It's not called The Jerk Project, after all.  :0)

But what if prejudice in real life is not always about being overtly jerky (or racist, sexist, or another offensive --ist) ... but instead about choosing to be not as kind to some people as to others. 

I heard this fascinating story about Harvard Psychologist Mahzarin Banaji on NPR during my commute two weeks ago. She co-wrote a book with Anthony Greenwald called Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People.

In the story, Banaji tells the story of a former colleague at Yale who was an avid quilter. The woman sliced her hand open while washing a large glass bowl one day and rushed to the hospital. Once she checked into the ER she told the doctor on duty that as a lifelong quilter she wanted to ensure full movement in her hand. The doctor said, "Yes, yes, of course," and then proceeded to stitch her up.

Then a student working at the hospital recognized her and said hello. When the doctor realized she was a Yale professor he called in the best hand surgeon in the region, a medical team worked for hours, and tried to "save practically every last nerve" in her hand (Vedantam). Her ability to quilt was saved.

It wasn't that the ER doctor despised quilters... it was that something about her holding the title of Yale professor made him want to give her the absolute best.

If you're into kindness then you're not likely to be mean to the people you encounter each day.

But what if that's not really how prejudice rears its ugly head?

What if we go the extra mile for some people-- and we simply don't for others.

Hearing this story has made me examine when I do and don't "go the extra mile"and also made me question why I choose not to on occasion.

It also reminds me to a humorous version of this from 30 Rock, when Liz Lemon's doctor boyfriend (the adorable and hilarious Jon Hamm) lives in "the bubble" where people treat him better simply because he is terribly handsome.

What do you think? Do you think this is an accurate depiction of the way our world works?

Isn't Jon Hamm mighty handsome?

Marvelous Middle Grade MAY Challenge

I'm super excited to participate in Deb Marshall's Marvelous Middle Grade May Challenge! I heard about this challenge from Jenn Pickrell and was thrilled to see Joanne from My Brain on Books is taking part, too (I have learned about SO MANY great MG books from her posts).

Here is the sign-up for the challenge.

It's still early days of May, sign up!

Deb's giving away prizes, but the real benefit is reading some awesome Middle Grade, not to mention hearing about what everyone else is reading!

Here's my Middle Grade to read list for the month (subject to change as I hear about great books this month): 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules by Jeff Kinney (family read-aloud)

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Attica by Gary Killworth

I'm also finishing Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool with my middle grade book club


I'll keep you posted on my progress! Let me know if you're planning to take part, too.

Even if you're not-- what's a great MG you can recommend that I read this month?

Choose your own adventure blog hop for Broken Forest

Today I'm part of a very special, very creative blog hop to launch the adorable Eliza Tilton's debut Broken Forest. 

Eliza's Choose Your Own Adventure (who doesn't love those!) blog hop is chock-full of insects and other creepy crawlies. 

Eliza even asked me to make a woodcut of one of the blue butterflies featured in the story and she's giving it away as a prize in the Choose Your Own Adventure!

If you’ve landed here during your adventure, skip all this and go below.

If you’re wondering what’s going on, go here to start your own adventure!

And may The Creator bless you on your journey.

This part of the story:

The smart thing to do is run, very fast, but you’ve never been that smart, and so off you go deeper into the cave, hoping the giant centipedes aren’t hungry.

The cave seems to have no end, and your poor little fireflies won’t last much longer. You’re about to turn and leave when a blue butterfly flits past you. The bright blue hue of it glows, entrancing you with its beauty. The butterfly continues into the dark. Another butterfly joins it, then another, and another.

They lead you to a small pool below a giant open ceiling. Moonlight shines onto the pool, sparkling the water, and surrounding the serene sight are bunches of black flowers. Not only have you found one, but you’ve found enough to last through the winter. Jenzi title or not, your discovery will be talked about for seasons to come.

END (Ultimate)

Here is the main rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here is the rafflecopter specific to this post, which includes the butterfly print! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is an illustration by the talented Katy Hubert. Isn't this stunning? 

Book goodreads blurb:

Hopeless he'll never be more than the boy who didn't save his brother, 17-year-old Avikar accepts his life as the family stable boy, trying to forget the past. But when his sister, Jeslyn, is kidnapped, the thought of losing another sibling catapults him on a desperate quest. With his best friend by his side, and using the tracking skills he learned from his father, he discovers Jeslyn has been taken, kidnapped by one Lucino, the young lord of Daath, a mystical place thought only to exist in fables.

And Lucino has plans for Jeslyn.

Author BIO:

Eliza graduated from Dowling College with a BS in Visual Communications. When she’s not arguing with excel at her day job, or playing Dragon Age 2, again, she’s writing. Her stories hold a bit of the fantastical and there’s always a romance. She resides on Long Island with her husband, two kids and one very snuggly pit bull.

Goodreads link

Buy links:

B&N

Kobo  

Amazon

Eliza can be found on:

Twitter 

Tumblr 

Her Website 

Pinterest 

Facebook 

Things I'm Digging

The Paris Time Capsule Apartment

Have you seen this? It has been circulating on the interwebs for a while. An undisturbed Paris apartment left abandoned on the eve of WW2.


Unfortunately I can't copy/share the photos, so go check it out-- the images are stunning. What a rich source for ideas!

Monkey Head Press, the work of artist Marc Girouard

His prints are fab -- I especially like his woodcuts. Check out his Drunk Author series, including Drunk Author Playing Cards  (Poe, Kerouac, Vonnegut) for that hard-to-buy-for author on your list.

Vintage Ads for Libraries and Reading

These never get old.