Short book review: Delta Time

Ken Light, Delta Time: Mississippi Photographs. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian, 1995. ISBN: 1-56098469-4.

Genre: art and photography

Subgenre: Mississippi, African American 

Format: large coffee table paperback 

Source: Hutchins Library, Berea College

This book is a collection of Mississippi photos by Ken Light. The photos mainly focus on the Mississippi Delta region. Photos are in black and white. Through photography, Light explores issues such as poverty, racism, rural living, religion, and resilience. The book was published in 1995, and we are seeing photos shot in the 1980s and early 1990s, upon looking at the photos you might think you are back in time many decades past. Light shows us that very little has changed in the region. 

These are powerful photos that will remain timeless. These images are very moving at times. Light has a great eye and attention to detail. He is able to elevate often seemingly simple subjects to high artistic and sublime levels. 

The only text comes from a foreword by Bob Moses and from the photographer's afterword. Otherwise the author let's the photos speak. The photos are identified. The large photo format allows us to see and feel every detail, every emotion. 

Overall, this is an excellent work of documentary photography. Recommended for libraries with strong photo and art collections as well as libraries with rural interests. Libraries that collect African American materials should have this as well. For me, moving and powerful. 

5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Radical Tarot

Charlie Claire Burgess, Radical Tarot: queer the cards, liberate your practice, and create the future. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2023. ISBN: 9781401971472.

Genre: Tarot

Subgenre: activism, politics, DEI, LGBTQ+

Format: e-book

Source: I own this one 

Before going any further, let me issue the warning for some folks that this is a very political book, very much to the Left, so if that is not for you, feel free to stop reading and skip this review. Feel free to browse any other posts, and you can use the "labels" links on the right column to find other writings. 

With that out of the way, for everyone else, this is a book to check out as it provides new insights into reading Tarot cards. This book not only re-envisions Tarot from a queer perspective. It also deconstructs traditional meaning to present a more diverse and open vision of the cards. 

The book is arranged as follows: 

• Part 1: Toward a Radical Tarot. In these chapters the author presents their Radical Tarot Manifesto and defines their vision of a Tarot beyond hierarchies and genders. 
• Part 2: Major Arcana. These are the card entries for the Major Arcana. Each entry here includes card name and a title, a short list of alternative names, short list of domains, and the interpretation essay. Each essay is about 4 to 5 pages in length and may include endnotes. A card image is also included. 
• Part 3: The Minor Arcana. The pip cards, 1-10, are presented by suit. Each suit has an introductory paragraph for the suit. Each card gets a paragraph of interpretation. Interpretations here draw a bit more from traditional meanings. Unlike the Major Arcana, the Minor Arcana meanings here do not go too far from tradition, but they still offer food for thought. 
• Part 4: The Court Cards. We get a longer introduction, almost two pages. Here the author offers their alternate titles to the traditional court card names. Cards are then presented by rank: the pages, the knights, so on. Each card rank includes card name and title, short list of attributes, and the interpretation essay. Each individual court card then gets name, title, and an interpretation paragraph. 
• Part 5: Reading Tarot Radically. This provides some instruction and advice on how to read the cards in five steps. 
• Conclusion. The author's closing remarks. 
• The book also includes endnotes and a bibliography. As I often do, I will be looking over the bibliography to see if I have read any of the text and to add new to me works to my TBR (to be read) list.

Initially, I found the book a bit heavy on tone. These topics are not easy in the Hard Times, if ever, but the book is still worth reading. However, once you get going the book draws you in. The writing is easy to read; esoteric jargon is kept to a minimum. I know that for books of meanings, some readers may skim that content because it may be repetitive. Not this book. You should read all the card entries, especially the ones for the Major Arcana. You may then want to reread the book as needed and keep the book handy. 

As we see in the book, especially the Major Arcana, this is definitely not the usual book of meanings you find so often out there. This is a full reconsideration of each arcana and an updating for the modern times we live in. We get a new vision for each card but also the traditional is not completely discarded. This is also part of why I read broadly.

I am not saying this is the only Tarot book you will ever need. I am saying it is essential, and it is one you should probably keep handy on your shelf. Personally, I believe in reading history and knowing where we came from in order to know where we are going. So I am keeping a basic "standard" Tarot book handy along with a copy of Radical Tarot and a few others. This is a book that provides much food for thought, and it will likely change the way you read cards in an open and positive way. 

This is a book I highly recommend for libraries, especially if they already collect works in esoterica and other pagan interests. This is a book I would order for our library. 

Overall, as I mentioned, I consider this book essential for any Tarot reader out there. If you want decolonize, make your Tarot and cartomancy journey more diverse, more equitable, and more inclusive, you need this book. I will be suggesting this book to readers asking about Tarot books to read. I have this as an e-book, but I would buy a print copy for my cartomancy and esoterica shelf. 

5 out of 5 stars. 

 

Additional reading notes: 

Books I have read that may have similar appeal factors: 

• Tarot for the Hard Work.
• 78 Acts of Liberation.  
• Tarot Priestess. 
• Hoodoo for Everyone. 

 

On developing a personal Tarot practice: 

"Developing a personal tarot practice requires paying attention to our lives and listening to our inner voice, which naturally aligns us more and more with our truth and authenticity. On top of that, working with the cards develops our intuition muscle, making it easier to access the vast libraries of our internal knowledge, buried down deep within us where our conscious minds don't usually go" (16). 

 

What the book offers: 

"This book offers a way of conceiving of tarot-- and by extension, ourselves ad this radically connected human life-- as magical, practical, spiritual, and alive. Radical tarot is a way of working with the cards that is explicitly queer, curious, intersectional, expansive, inclusive, transformational, nonbinary, and creative. It's part learning the tarot, part queering the tarot, and part guide to revolutionizing your own life" (17). 

In case you doubted this book is political: 

"However, this book certainly is political in that it is unabashedly queer, intersectionally feminist, anti-racist, anticapitalist, environmentalist, and invested in creating better, more equitable, more sustainable, more liberated futures for us all" (20). 

Books from the bibliography that I have read; links to reviews if available: 

• The Marseille Tarot Revealed.
• Parable of the Sower.  
• The Power of Myth. 
• Tarot for Change. 

 

This book qualifies for the following 2025 Reading Challenge: 

Media Notes: Roundup for March 2025

 

  

 

Welcome to my somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during March 2025. I did not watch much this month. One movie, and I started binge watching a new to me television cooking show. Often for me, watching a series, especially something that is relatively low engagement like a cooking show, can be relaxing in terms of brain power.

Movies and films (links to IMDB.com for basic information unless noted otherwise). Some of these I watched via TubiTv.com or other online source. The DVDs come from the public library (unless noted otherwise). In addition, I will try to add other trivia notes, such as when a film is based on a book adding the information about the book (at least the WorldCat record if available).

• Brooklyn's Finest (2009. Crime. Drama. Thriller). Plot description: "Three unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths." We have an undercover cop (Don Cheadle) trying to get out of the undercover work to a desk job and promotion, a corrupt cop who will do pretty much anything for money (Ethan Hawke) albeit to provide for his growing family and trying to get them a better house, and the almost mandatory in cop films one cop who is a few days from retiring (Richard Gere), who has to mentor a rookie along the way. The cast also features Wesley Snipes and Vincent D'Onofrio (not for long though). This starts slow, but it builds up to when the stories come together. There are some cliches, but the three main actors put in some solid performances. The drama is strong, but it can have some slow moments here or there. Once the pace accelerates to the inevitable reckoning, it is powerful and moving. Still, if you like police dramas, emphasis on drama, this may be one to watch. These are all very flawed cops, but they have elements that viewers can relate to or at least, if they do not condone some of the actions they may come to understand them. Overall a grim yet at times very humane film. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Watched 3/2 via TubiTv.
  

Television and other series (basic show information links via Wikipedia unless noted otherwise). Some of these come in DVD from the public library. Others may be via YouTube, which, as noted before, I keep finding all sorts of other old shows in it, often full episodes:

• Master Chef (American series. 2010 to present. Reality. Cooking. Competition). Plot description: " MasterChef is an American competitive cooking reality television series that premiered on Fox on July 27, 2010.[1] Based on the British series of the same name and produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, the series features amateur and home chefs competing to win the title of 'MasterChef'." TubiTv has the series from the beginning in order, so I figured I'd take a chance and slowly binge through it. I've liked other Ramsay shows, so I am trying this one too. Tubi has up to season 13. Season 14 started back in May 2024, so I figure by time I watch the previous seasons it will be there to watch. 
• Tubi also has the British original, but they only have some episodes, so it is not complete. Still, I may give it a watch later and try it out.
• Turns out there are various other international versions. In Tubi so far I've seen an Australian, a Canadian, and a Mexican version plus a "professionals" series. Depending on how I like the one I am watching now I will decide if I want to try the others or not. 
• In the American show, as stated in the first season opener, the amateur chefs compete for $250,000 and their own cookbook. As in similar shows, there are three judges to judge the contestants and their food.  Out of 100 auditioning, 30 will be selected to start out. 
• Watched seasons 1 and 2. In season 3, they change some of the rules, tweaks. For example, an elimination is possible after one of the mystery box challenges. 
• By season 4, the rhythm of the show is settled, but it does feel they are stretching it a bit with extra side competitions to eliminate bottom competitors and some more additions for the drama. Also, the option for someone previously eliminated to get a chance to come back just feels like they are stretching the season a bit more, again for the drama. Overall, after they stretched past 20 episodes to 25, the series really started feeling seriously stretched. Did Fox just have a contract requiring more content?
  
• Contestants in this series can be seriously catty and petty in terms of trash talking each other. Also, the show producers must have some rule that you need to have at least one arrogant asshole who thinks they know better than even the host judges. It's the one person viewers will soon wish to be eliminated. 
• In season 5, they stop doing auditions as part of the show. They start with 30 competitors already selected to get started. From those 30, only 22 manage to earn an apron. The competition then goes with those 22 to get the eventual champion. A small side note: apparently Chef Elliot Graham lost some serious weight between seasons four and five; you can see a substantial difference at the opening of season 5 (turns out he did undergo weight loss surgery and began to run for exercise, according to his Wikipedia entry). Not as thrilled with this season, but overall not that much different from previous in the sense of how cattiness they encourage among the contestants.
  
• In season 6, Joe Bastianich leaves and a new judge joins them: Christina Tosi, a master pastry chef. Another small detail. In some of the mystery box challenges, one of the judge chefs cooks along the competitors. This is, allegedly, for them to learn from the chef, but in reality they can't really learn since the competitors have to do their cooking at the same time. If they really wanted them to learn, the chef would do the demo first, let them watch, then let them cook, in my humble opinion. Ramsey and the judges have mastered the art, if you can call it that, of dramatic pauses and suspense in announcing results. But there are some times when they can be outright cruel in dismissing competitors. That goes beyond just being dramatic, some moments are just outright mean.
  

 

 

Book Review: Information Literacy and Social Media

Michele Santamaria and A. Nicole Pfannenstiel,  Information literacy and soci@l medi@ : empowered student engagement with the ACRL framework. Chicago, IL: ACRL, 2024.  ISBN: 9798892555456.

Genre: library science

Subgenre: Information literacy, social media, higher education

Format: trade paperback

Source: Hutchins Library, Berea College

 

I ordered this book for our library with high hopes, but in the end I was not really impressed. In addition, I do not think the $50.00 price was worth it for this very slim volume. 

As many of these LIS books, and articles as well, often do, this one starts with the common alarmist tone that most librarians are barely competent, mostly technology illiterate, and are clueless about the tech young ones today use. That could not be further from the truth, but I've read enough LIS books and articles to keep seeing that trope. Naturally, the authors are cool, hip, and knowledgeable and bring you their knowledge. The book shows a bit of the messianic tone some parts of librarianship embrace. 

Once you get past the opening we get a lot of LIS theory, reminders, and connections to the ACRL Framework, and arguments for bringing it and information literacy to social media. Some of the authors' points are valid, and others feel a little forced. In the end, the second chapter is a heavy literature review that is a bit of a slog to read. 

The one useful element of Chapter 2 are the reflection questions for teachers and/or library instructors. Taking the time to answer the questions, do some writing and journaling, can be a good preparation for teachers. It can also just be a good reflection exercise. I probably should take some time and do some of the writing. I have done some writing on my social media experiences, but I can always explore and reflect some more. 

The strength of the book is in Chapter 3 where you get the lesson plans and exercises. The plans are cross-disciplinary. The plans are detailed and well-structure. Activities are interactive and encourage students and their instructors to reflect on their experiences of social media and information literacy. Whether we like it or not, and there is a lot to dislike about social media, it is a big part of our students' lives and we should do better in educating them on how to navigate, use it, and evaluate better. This is where the lessons help. 

Every chapter includes a list of notes, and there is also a bibliography at end of the book for further reading or just to check the references. 

Overall, the good part is in the lesson plans. The rest of the theory could have been summarized better and/or kept brief. I do not think the contents justify the book's high cost. I'd say if you must read it to borrow it, scan the lesson plans, skip the rest. Still, I may try to implement a plan or two from the book down the road. Our students spend some time on social media, though from what I see it's not too connected to news and information. It is more for interpersonal connections, but that could be a topic to investigate down further. 

Overall, I liked the idea of the book. I did not like some of the tone of the book, its execution, nor the pricing. Still, it could've been worse. In the end as a whole it was just OK .

2 out of 5 stars. 

 

Additional reading notes: 

 

Students may push back on social media in the classroom: 

"Students bring with them the idea that social media should be reserved for non-academic purposes, an idea reinforced through schooling, teachers, and responsible use policies" (11).  

I somewhat agree with the students. Heck, I remember the days of early social media where librarians were given all kinds of warnings about not mixing work and personal online and where the wrong social media post could get you fired. Librarians on social media now are mostly normalized, but it is still wise at least to keep the professional and personal  somewhat separated. I say that based on experience, but I do admit it is easier said than done to keep the two aspects separate online. Note that while the authors acknowledge the negatives and dangers of social media, they downplay them somewhat to make their argument. I am not saying to completely disengage from social media, though complete disengagement should be an option if desired, especially in the current Hard Times. 

The list of reflection questions for teachers and librarians, starting in page 17 of the book: 

• What social media platforms do I currently use? What do I use them for?
• What do I believe to be true about the social media platforms I am familiar with (such as Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, X, and Pinterest?).
• What negative ideas about these spaces do I need to question and complicate/unravel so I can support learner engagement? 
• What positive ideas about these spaces do I need to question and complicate/unravel so I can support learner engagement? 
• What more would I like to know about these spaces to use them more effectively?

 

The list of classroom space reflection questions, to consider as you use the lesson plans here or for other social media activities, from page 48 of the book: 

• How collaborative is the instructional relationship? 
• How many sessions do you anticipate working on this threshold concept?
• Will the librarian be embedded in the course?
• Will the librarian provide ongoing social media and/or learning management system support to students?
• Does the library have library-specific content available within social media sites that can model social media use in support of learning?
• Does the library have social media accounts used to foster interaction between students and librarians?
• What will librarian instructor presence be like, on and offline?

 

 

 

 

Deck Review: Steampunk Faerie Tarot

Pamela Chen (author) and Ashley Cassaday (artist), Steampunk Faerie Tarot. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn, 2024. ISBN: 9780738771496.  (Link to publisher.)

Genre: Tarot decks

Subgenre: fae, steampunk

Format: kit with companion book and 78-card deck

Source: I own this one

The Magician-I

This deck kit includes a companion book written by Pamela Chen and the 78-card deck with art by Ashley Cassaday. The box is smaller then the standard Llewellyn boxes they use for kits, and I really appreciate that detail. The kit takes up less space on the shelf, and it is easier to carry. To be honest, I wish the publisher would pack more deck kits in this type of box. 

The companion book is arranged as follows: 

• Introduction. Describes the inspiration and concept of the deck. It describe the fae types in the suits: Salamanders (fire/wands), selkies (water/cups), gnomes (earth/pentacles), and sprites (air/swords). You see these fae in the cards, but note otherwise the cards keep the traditional suit names. 
• Chapter One: Laws of the Land. A brief look at the deck's structure. 
• Chapter Two: The Mechanics of Tarot. Some basic instructions on handling the cards and doing readings. It includes some advice to write in a journal. 
• Chapter Three: Major Arcana. Each card entry includes a full color reproduction of the card, card name and number, an epigraph quote, clockwise divination, counterclockwise divination (reversal), and ignition (a bit of additional advice and/or small steps you can take). You get about a paragraph per heading. 
• Chapter Four: The Minor Arcana. You get the same card entry format as in the Major Arcana. I appreciate the author did not skimp on the Minor Arcana as so many other authors do. 
• Chapter Five: The Court Cards. Same entry format as previous chapters. 
• Chapter Six: Magic-Powered Spreads. You get four card spreads here. 
• Conclusion. 

This is an easy book to read. It has a nice playful and whimsical quality yet it still offers some depth. I enjoyed reading through it. Can you read the cards without it? Given the cards mostly fall within Rider Waite Smith (RWS) tradition, yes, you could. I would still suggest reading the book to get the author's insights and advice from the fae. In addition, it is a well illustrated and colorful book. It is worth reading. 

The art in the cards combine the fae with steampunk. For me, as a fan of steampunk, I knew this deck was for me. If you like steampunk and/or faeries, this may be for you also. The art is colorful, bright, and expressive. It falls within RWS, and it offers plenty of details for intuitive readers. 

Cards measure about 4 1/2 inches by 2 3/4 inches. The card stock is the standard Llewellyn thin stock. It has a light gloss finish. Cards slide and shuffle with ease. The card back features gears art, and it is reversible. 

This is a new favorite for me. I would recommend for readers at all levels. Steampunk fans will likely enjoy it as well as some fae enthusiasts. Overall, anyone can enjoy this fun, solid, and reliable deck. I am glad to own it, and I would be a back up copy. 

5 out of 5 stars. 

This kit qualifies for the following 2025 Reading Challenge: