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Great inventions are the result of hard work, which we often hear, but also of resilience to keep trying after failing.

Failure and Innovation: Two concepts with a lot of overlap

On July 12, 2016

On my walks to work I’m listening to The Wright Brothers by David McCullough and boning up on my aviation and Dayton knowledge. I’m also gaining appreciation for the amount of failure that laid the groundwork for flight. So. Much. Failure. And that, by the way, I mean as a compliment.

Man’s ability to fly reshaped the world as we know it. It means we can travel to more places more quickly. It means we can transfer goods and services more easily. It means we can bomb the crap out of somewhere from the air.

I don’t know that I can prioritize one of those over the other.

To get to this place where we can hop in a plane and deliver ourselves, our product or our bombs, two brothers from Ohio tried out a lot of things. They withstood a ton of mockery from people who thought they were wackadoo. I’m listening to McCullough’s reading of this book and grimacing at some of the crash stories. The only way to find out if a plane will hold you and be steered by you is to try it out. And if it doesn’t work? You’re nose-diving into a sand dune in Kitty Hawk.

A running thought I’ve been having throughout The Wright Brothers is that the story of failure is an excellent one. Great inventions are the result of hard work, which we often hear, but also of resilience to keep trying after failing. That’s not a new notion for me, but it’s not one I hear a lot about.

I would love if more stories about inventions and innovations include details about what was tried and flopped. I want the more detail that “she labored for a year until it worked.” I want the celebration of failure. It’s what gives me, all of us, permission to fail and encouragement to keep chugging along.

Because eventually, the plane takes off and the world is changed.

Civilized Cats: Pairing cat photography by Nancy Hendrickson with quotes about cats

By Kate

On November 30, 2015

In animals, books

Photos of cats dressed in clothes, posed like they’re playing the banjo, working in a photography studio, riding a motorcycle and riding a horse. I’m not referring to an Instagram account, Tumblr account, Twitter stream or blog. I’m referring to real life photographs taken by Nancy Hendrickson in the 1920s.

That’s right. A cat photo explosion worthy of internet fame but created nearly one hundred years ago. Civilized Cats: An Album in Words & Pictures takes the wonderful photographs of Hendrickson and pairs them with quotes about cats.

You can sit down and read Civilized Cats: An Album in Words & Pictures in very little time. But better would be to savor it and appreciate the pairing of words and photos. For me, a lover of cats who’s worked with thousands of them at the animal rescue at which I volunteer, my favorite part of the book was contemplating how Hendrickson got the cats into each outfit and posed for the photos. Specifically, in one, there is a cat in spectacles. HOW???

This is a sweet book that honors the photography of Hendrickson. I’m happy I had the opportunity to read it and would recommend it as a gift for the photography and cat lovers in your life. Depending on the size of your stocking, this could also make a nice stocking stuffer!

I received a free copy of Civilized Cats: An Album in Words & Pictures to review. All opinions are my own.

Getting people to care

By Kate

On November 26, 2015

In books

You can't make people care. I think that's a logical thought. But Judy Blume disproves it in her new book, In and Unlikely Event.

“You can’t make people care.”
That’s what Wonder Boy said when I was trying to tell him about In and Unlikely Event by Judy Blume and how I related that book to so much of what I see in current events. But I think Judy Blume can make you, the reader, care. This woman whose writing occupied so much of my youth… she knows how to make me care.

In and Unlikely Event is about a series of true events in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in the 1950s. I don’t think what follows will be too spoiler-y but it definitely leans in that direction. So, if you don’t like spoilers, stop reading now! You’ve been warned.

In Elizabeth, where Judy Blume grew up, there were three plane crashes within a very short time period. Blume tells the story from the perspectives of many people in the town, although she mainly focuses on just a few main characters. This rapid switching of characters and perspectives offers her a chance to do something very smart. As a reader, more than once we are introduced to a character whose story we get invested in and then who subsequently, and every suddenly, dies in a plane crash. At first I was very upset by this. After some thought, though, I decided that Blume deserved some kudos. She pulled me in by making me relate to the character. She made me care about the character. And then, by taking the character away from me, she made me care about the event.

During a time when society seems to be turning in on itself, when we have people killing each other, when terrorist groups are blowing up innocent people and towns, when people aren’t getting enough to eat or a place to live … when so much is just wrong, sometimes it’s hard to keep caring. And that, just writing that, makes me feel awful. But it’s true. You get fatigued hearing all of the bad news. How can you not?

Last year there was a devastating earthquake in Nepal. I’d like to think I would have cared no matter what, but it was certainly more personal because I’d recently visited there. It seemed more real. More relevant to me. The attacks in Paris hit closer to home because I’ve been to some of those places that were affected. I can (and yet can’t) imagine being there. I think this works in retrospect as well. I felt closer to some of the events in World War II after visiting a concentration camp or to the genocide in Cambodia after visiting the Killing Fields.

A lot of what I’m seeing in the news right now are stories trying to help people connect with people they might not otherwise know. Syrian refugees. Women in Afghanistan. Paris attack victims. And on and on.

It’s the same thing Judy Blume did In and Unlikely Event. There’s a chance I can’t make you care about an event, because you only have so much care to give. But, I can make you care about something that’s personal. So how do I make it person. Blume accomplished this by connecting you to people.

You only have so much care to give. But, I can make you care about something that’s personal.

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And so while I actually think Wonder Boy’s comment is pretty spot-on: “You can’t make people care.” I do think there are some workarounds. If you need proof, read In and Unlikely Event.

Trying to Recreate Memories: In Words and in Real Life

By Kate

On November 16, 2015

In books, family / friends

In college I went out with my friend Movie Critic for happy hour. Whatever the happy hour special was, it definitely involved beer by the pitcher. So, because it was such a good deal, we each got our own pitcher! I’m pretty sure we drank straight from our pitchers, thinking that was the funniest option. After happy hour, we went to our school paper Entertainment Staff editorial meeting and tried to play it cool, which last perhaps five minutes. Then from across the circle of writers I heard a loud HICCUP from Movie Critic and proceeded to collapse into a pile of giggles. Our editor was irritated with us, but pretty accommodating, considering. We definitely didn’t repeat our pre-meeting happy hours after that, but I’ve always looked back on that night as one of my fondest college memories.

Although thinking back to that night makes me smile, I don’t think it’s a great story in the retelling. Where did we go to happy hour? How much were those pitchers of beer that we decided we each needed our own? What made us think we were so hysterical that night? These are details lost to me forever.

My favorite memories are messy. I try to recollect each part of the moment and it’s hard. Usually because I was too busy enjoying the moment. Sometimes because I’ve enjoyed pitchers of beer individually.

On a recent plane trip I started reading The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. On the one hand, I didn’t particularly care for it and it’s long descriptions of the running of the bulls and bullfighting in general. But I also read it as a recounting of a wonderful time spent with friends and filled with the drama that accompanies drinking and crushes and friendship and enmity. Reading it as an outsider, as someone not invited to the party, it’s a little tedious and full of inside jokes.

Sometimes the memory is better as just that, a memory.

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That’s not to say I shouldn’t have read the book. (My first Hemingway!) Or that memories can’t be shared beautifully. It’s more to say that I’m grateful for the memories where I can share the highlights and the emotions that accompanied them. I’m okay with forgetting the details if it means I was more engaged in the moment. And I forgive a storyteller for their bumpy retelling of a happy memory for the same reasons.

Books to Help You Believe in Magic: My Reading Prescription for You

By Kate

On October 4, 2015

In books

Is life getting you down? Do you find yourself focusing too much on daily drudgery rather than wonder? You can be helped!

A Prescription To Add Magic Back to Your Life

Week One: Turkish Delight
Yes, I know Turkish Delight is actually pretty disgusting, but no one said this would be easy! Buy yourself one package of Turkish delight and eat ne piece for each chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Though you’ll likely gag your sway through the candy, the connection will make sense soon enough. Take your time reading this book. (And eating the Turkish Delight!) If you find you read the whole thing in less than a day, then read the rest of the Narnia Chronicles. Let yourself go on a week-long adventure with the Pevensie children.
Week Two: A Visit to Your Local Magic Shop
It might seem too obvious that I would recommend you visit a magic store to help you believe in magic, but trust me here. At the store, you’ll want to purchase a deck of cards and book about card tricks. Aim for something simple for your first trick. The purpose of this exercise is to appreciate the work that goes unto a successful sleight of hand. After you’ve thoroughly mastered one trick – and one really is enough! – then you’ll want to pick up The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Savor this book. If you need to stretch it out to two weeks, that’s okay!
Week Three: Up, Up, Up!
It might be a little tricky, depending on the weather where you live, but your next task is to go on a hot air balloon ride. Yes, I know it’s quite frightening to go up so high suspended in just a little basket, but do it you must. Once you find yourself back on the ground, pick up a copy of The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. If, when you finish, you find that you just must read the other two novels in His Dark Materials, go for it. The magic prescription can wait while you catch up!
Week Four: Make a Wish
Even if it means visiting several towns to do so, the next phase of this prescription means visiting at least three different fountains and dropping a coin into each while making a wish. It is essential that you visit at least three fountains. More is okay! Each fountain will bring with it it’s own magic. After your wishes are tossed out, get your hands on The Magicians by Lev Grossman. This book is also a trilogy, and as your prescribing practitioner, I cannot discourage you from reading the rest of this this series.
Week Five: X Marks the Spot!
Get your hands on a paper map – they still exist – and go on a GPS-free trip. You need’t go far but far enough that getting lost is an option. After you’ve had your adventure, check out Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. (The second in this trilogy is also good. The third is sitting in my To Read pile so I cannot speak to its effectiveness in helping you reclaim a belief in magic.)

After five weeks, with some possible extensions added on for extra books, you should find yourself back fully believing in magic. Sure, everyday life might still get you down, but you’ll know that something more exciting might be just around the corner.

This post was inspired by the novel The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, where Monsieur Perdu–a literary apothecary–finally searches for the woman who left him many years ago. Join From Left to Write on October 8th as we discuss The Little Paris Bookshop. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.