Completed: South African books for my history class

This past term, I took a general upper-division course on South African history. I took it because I knew next to nothing about South African history - I knew Apartheid had been, I knew it ended in large part because of Nelson Mandela in 1994, and I knew it struggled economically both before then and since.

That was really all I knew. And this was laid quite abruptly bare to me once I started this class. The history of South Africa is complex, multifaceted and painful (as is the history of many other nations), but of this one I knew next to nothing. It was a big learning curve, and a difficult but enriching class.

As recommendations based on the class, I would suggest watching the movie 'Last Grave at Dimbaza' and 'Tsotsi' - though all the movies we watched were great, these two may have been the most impactful for me.

For reading, we read three books, and parts of many others. The three full reads were:

Title: South Africa in World History
Author: Iris Berger
Published: 2009
Pages: 163

Iris Berger's brief overview is too brief, in my opinion. Without our other sources, what she wrote would have lacked depth enough to be impactful. As a piece of a bigger puzzle it was OK, but on its own wasn't very helpful.

Title: The South Africa Reader: History, Culture, Politics
Author: Clifton Crais, Thomas V. McClendon eds.
Published: 2013
Pages: 624

This was probably my favorite reader that I've ever had, except perhaps one I had for an Anthropology of Art class as an undergrad. It was full of enriching, challenging, raw and important documents. Though we didn't read each and every selection, we read the large majority of this book (and a lot of the page count was references, so it wasn't as enormous as it sounds). I'm glad I read this reader - not a normal sentiment among university students!

Title: The Heart of Redness
Author: Zakes Mda
Published: 2000
Pages: 288

I am a bit embarrassed to say that this was, I believe, my first reading of a work of fiction by an African author. It was a historical fiction that brought to life the world of the Xhosa Cattle Killing, along with a modern parallel story connected to the past. I believe my prof called it mysticism - the indigenous Xhosa beliefs integrated into the narrative. Mda is a beautiful writer, and it was an excellent read. From the course I have several other novels and books that I will tackle eventually. This book and this class were definitely a case of 'for every book I read, I find three more. At least'!

Total Books Blogged: 60

Total Pages: 17,329

Damn - 5 months

Between class, summer vacation/travel, class again, class a third time, getting back to school, and just the fact that I have been reading quite a bit! No real excuses, but there you have it. It hasn't been a priority.

I tried a challenge once - for a few days, rather than ever saying 'I don't have the time', replace those words with 'it just isn't a priority for me'. It re-frames all of your actions as choices, and what you prioritize becomes much clearer. So - my blog has not been a priority, and this is a super-small catchup post. I will do all of the books since The Professor and the Madman, with a few sentences about each, because I don't have the energy to stress over writing each book up. So here we go:

Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Published: 1886 (originally)
Pages: 64

The copy I read definitely had more pages than this, but it is indeed a short, heartbreaking story. It's a story we're all familiar with, but that I actually had all wrong. It is not a horror/scary story, in my opinion - it is a tragedy. Such an incredible read, and something that for sure I wasn't expecting. Recommend.

Title: A Christmas Carol and Other Stories
Author: Charles Dickens
Published: 1843 (originally)
Pages: 368

Actually my first Dickens! I feel bad admitting that, but am glad I finally tackled some. The Chimes was probably my favorite story in here, as it epitomizes the 19th century industrialization and the paternalistic attitude of the rich at the time - the historical accuracy is painful to read.

Title: James and the Giant Peach
Author: Roald Dahl
Published: 1961 (originally)
Pages: 146

Though of course a fond childhood classic movie, James and the Giant Peach is not my favorite Roald Dahl book. I enjoyed it, but I've enjoyed others more. Read this out loud to the boys at bedtime - there's several more selections here that fell into that category :)

Title: History of the Canadian Peoples vol 2: 1867-Present
Author: Margaret Conrad, Alvin Finkel
Published: 2009
Pages: 456

Relatively dry first-year Canadian history textbook for class. Nuff said.

Title: Hyperbole and a Half
Author: Allie Brosh
Published: 2013
Pages: 369

If you haven't read Brosh's original blog upon which this book is based (and is by the same name), read it. Read both. Just read it all - it's hilarious, raw, honest, emotional and laugh-out-loud funny.

Title: The Enormous Egg
Author: Oliver Butterworth
Published: 1958 (originally)
Pages: 188

I think I pulled this from a Goodreads young-boys reading list- this too was a bedtime story. It is a totally fun tale of a boy whose chicken lays a dinosaur egg, and hatches out a dinosaur. In a more recent book, hilarity would ensue. In this one, it's a very practical, emotional response in trying to do what's best for the dinosaur, which was a very 50s, refreshing perspective. However, a farm family in the 50s also has a lot of gender roles, so I worked through that with the kids too...!

Title: A Little Princess
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Published: 1902 (originally)
Pages: 242

Read this version - the drawings and typeface were so pretty, it helped to make the story! I loved loved loved this movie when I was a kid. I am normally good with knowing which movies come from books, but in this case I did not know this was a book until relatively recently. I read much of this book while drinking Starbucks in Plantation, Florida, waiting for my bestie to get out of dental assistant school and getting geared up for her wedding. The book is plotted somewhat differently than the movie, and well worth a read. With a latte. In a coffee shop. It's the right book for that.

Title: Late Victorian Holocausts: El Nino Famines and the Making of the Third World
Author: Mike Davis
Published: 2000
Pages: 464

This book was a total slog - the first third was totally heartbreaking, the second third just so incredibly dense in scientific information. I think I spend about three months reading this book. I understand now why la nina/el nino are so difficult to predict, and I also understand so much more about how 20th century India came to be, and just how callous the British Empire could be regarding non-white human life. This book is one of the most valuable historical analyses I have ever read. A total toughie but absolutely worth it.

Title: Superfudge
Author: Judy Blume
Published: 1980
Pages: 182

Fun story: I was pen pals with Judy Blume in middle school for a year or so. One of our projects in Grade 6 was to write to an author. I chose her, and lo and behold, she wrote back! We exchanged a few letters. I'm sure I'm the one who let it fall off. But either way - one of the coolest school projects ever.

This is a book that I actually heard (and read over J's shoulder). He read it out loud at bedtime, a bit each day. I think he relates to free-spirit Fudge. I hear it all in his voice when I think about it :)

Title: E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core
Author: William Joyce
Published: 2012
Pages: 251

This is our second Joyce book - we also read Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King. We loved that one (both the physical book and the story), so we got another one, and this one was just as much fun. This was another read-aloud-at-bedtime book. They are whimsical, young and fun, but with plenty of story to engage you. Read him, it'll make you feel young.

Title: George's Marvellous Medicine
Author: Roald Dahl
Published: 1981
Pages: 120

Yet another bedtime book! G is almost 12, and yet we do stories every night still. I'll be sad to ever give it up. George's is much more a favorite Dahl book :)

Title: And No Birds Sang
Author: Farley Mowat
Published: 1979 (originally)
Pages: 245

Though it was a shorter book, this is one of the most impactful books I have ever read, bar none. Mowat captures, raw and unpolished, the havoc, fear, anger, and desperation of an average soldier during WWII. The numbers of that conflict are so overwhelming, it's hard to remember each person was just that - a person, with emotions, with family. Nothing has ever provided such a crucial human element to the conflict as Mowat did for me. Read this damn book.

Title: A Dog Year: 12 Months, Four Dogs, and Me
Author: Jon Katz
Published: 2002
Pages: 212

Uhm. Hm. The dogs were beautiful, their stories were worth the read. But similar to A. J. Jacobs, I don't totally love this author. He's a bit unapologetic for being the way he is, and the way he is doesn't sound like company I would want to keep. For this reason, I won't be reading more by him (same as Jacobs). But this book was nice. My boss owns a border collie, and she LOVED this book (and so did her Mom). So to each their own!

Title: Anne of Green Gables
Author: L. M. Montgomery
Published: 1908 (originally)
Pages: 320*

*This is the first book I read via an app called Serial Reader, so the page count is from a print copy.

I am Canadian, a girl, and for 5 years was very good friends with someone who loved Montgomery almost as an idol. So how, you might ask, did I avoid reading the Anne books? The answer is - I don't know how I hadn't yet read any of them. So, I started! Anne is positively charming, Marilla's heart is so large, and Matthew is just charming. I'll read the others too, once I get there.

Title: Three Cups of Tea
Author: Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
Published: 2006
Pages: 349

A beautiful book. Unfortunately it's a crock. But I'm all for education of women all over the world so... someone should keep doing the work this book claims to be doing? Sigh.

Title: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Author: Garth Stein
Published: 2006
Pages: 321

Just read this book. It is the only book that has ever moved me to sobbing. No, not a glistening tear - full-blown sobbing. But goodness, SUCH a beautiful story, so well-written. I don't like car racing, couldn't care less - but still couldn't tear myself away from Enzo. Just read it, promise?

--

That's 16 books! I'm pretty proud of myself. There's a few others on the list, some comic books - maybe I'll add those at some point. But I've been reading a lot, and that's what counts!

Total Books Blogged, including all the ones in this post (OMG so many books): 55
Total Pages: 15542 (That's more than 4000 new pages!)

Of all the ones in this post, which one should you read the most?: The Art of Racing in the Rain. Oh just read it.

Completed: The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

OK to be fair, I finished this book in November, according to Goodreads. But also according to Goodreads, I am ten (TENNN) books behind on the blog. I have read more than I have written, but I wouldn't have it the other way around. 

The Professor and the Madman was a fascinating tale. I love when history is written in a way that reads as though it is a novel, and Winchester certainly accomplishes this, though the subject matter surely makes it a relatively breezy task. If you are looking for a juicy tale of murder, intrigue, insanity, dedication, and heartbreak, this is one for you. I could hardly put it down, I enjoyed it so much. 

I wrote a few notes on my phone about this book. One was a definition, which I'll put in a separate post in a moment. The second says 'p. 142 - old books'. The problem is I no longer have this book - I sent it, along with some toddler clothes, back to my little sis (as I had borrowed it from her). So - I highly recommend taking this book out, reading it (as it is wonderful), and paying special attention to page 142 and whatever it is that I thought was so brilliant about what was said on that page. Then someone tell me what it was!

Title: The Professor and the Madman
Author: Simon Winchester
Published: 2005
Pages: 288

Total Books Blogged: 39
Total Pages: 11,245

Completed: The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames

Andrew Eames seems a bit arrogant, in the way he wrote this book. It is written in the style of someone whose nose is always a bit up. Jumping over that relatively minor hurdle, I enjoyed about half of this book. Sorry in advance about some of the rambling-ness of this post...!:

It's somewhat similar to The Year of Living Biblically, in that I very much enjoyed parts of it, but very much didn't enjoy other parts. The parts about Agatha, about Turkey, Syria and Iraq, and about the lead-up to the Iraq War (which Eames was right on the brink of, during his travels) were phenomenal, and gave me much food (and many words) for thought. But the long, drawn-out pieces of European and near eastern history, which seemed both out-of-place in the text (they weren't linked directly to the later pieces about the author's travels) and written, again, in a bit of a condescending tone. As though, if only history had listened to Eames, much of this ridiculousness would not have happened. 

But outside of this, there were a few really excellent moments. Talking about realizing your own destiny (p19) made me want to more consciously think through my wants versus my needs, and it made me all the more glad that I'm going back to school in the fall, and doing that for me. 

I loved the discussion on p37 of 'transport' versus 'holiday': "The essential difference was not the speed or the plate of guinea fowl, but the fact that, for us, the process of getting there was at least as important as the destination." This was quite profound for me - it has been a long time since I enjoyed the travel-to portion of a getaway. Made me long for a train journey myself (though not strongly - I've never been able to sleep well on trains). 

Along his journey, Eames met a man named Alp Aslan, in Turkey on the train. Alp was from Konya (a place I have always wanted to go). And here I really loved Eames' description. He wrote Alp as follows: "He had the serenity of someone who'd seen the world and was now happy to have returned home, where he could share that experience with others and to listen to theirs..." - I really loved this. I hope I'm like Alp someday. I need to get my feet to a few more countries first. 

The other favourite moment did not include Eames' words, rather Max Mallowan's (Agatha's second husband, an archaeologist). Max described their lives together as "forty-five years of a loving and merry companionship. Few men know what it is to live in harmony beside an imaginative, creative mind which inspires life with zest." Such a beautiful love story, those two. I look forward to reading Mallowan's memoirs, which I also own! So many more books to read...

Title: The 8:55 to Baghdad - From London to Iraq on the Trail of Agatha Christie

Author: Andrew Eames

Published: 2004

Pages: 390

Total Books Blogged: 31
Total Pages: 8822

Completed: Louisbourg Portraits by Christopher Moore

As a fan of both history and human stories, I thought I would absolutely love this book. In truth, I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as I thought I would.

I think it is difficult to write something like what Moore has tried to do. He wanted to write an accurate historical portrayal of true histories of these people, but also tried to write them to be as fun as a fictional tale of adventure. He succeeded in some respects, but a true 'story' doesn't have as many maybes and perhapses as Moore's writing does. I think that's where I lost interest a bit. I recognize that he was, indeed, telling a history rather than a historically-inspired story. I just can't help but feel that I would have become more submerged in the stories if they had used a bit of 'inspired by' instead of 'historically, it went down in one of these ways to the best of our knowledge'.

For the history itself, I was entirely unfamiliar with Louisbourg, and the fact that Ile Royale was important enough to compete with New England on an international stage. This is a piece of Canadian history that I did not know. (I have had several conversations with fellow Canadians about this book, and so I don't think I'm ENTIRELY alone in not knowing, but I still feel a bit doofish). This is one of many reasons why I am excited to be going back to school for history in the fall - the history that I don't yet even know the basics of, in many ways. I randomly selected this book from the bargain book bin at the university bookstore and learned something new. I'm so stoked for what is yet to come from my upcoming history courses!

Title: Louisbourg Portraits - Five Dramatic, True Tales of People Who Lived in an Eighteenth-Century Garrison Town

Author: Christopher Moore

Published: 2000 (originally 1982)

Pages: 270

Total Books Blogged: 29
Total Pages: 8184

Completed: Hungry Planet - What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio

After enjoying What I Eat so much, I checked at the library if Menzel and D'Aluisio had written any other books on food. I'm not sure why, but Hungry Planet was shelved with the kids books, even though it is essentially the same concept - families' food-for-a-week, rather than individuals' food-for-a-day.

It was enlightening in a different way than What I Eat. What I eat had more recipes, Hungry Planet has more country facts, and it really lays a family bare to make them put up everything they eat in a week. The hypocrisy of the American families, touting healthy eating when their foods include corn dogs, Nutri-Grain bars, tons of pop, chips, instant freezer-foods. It made me take a harsh look at my kitchen, and I truly believe I eat at least half as much junk as any of them, and that I am much more selective of my processed foods. But it certainly made me want to look one more time at how much processed food I eat, and what I can cut out.

I think the biggest one is that the kids always eat boxed breakfast cereal or hot cereal for breakfast. We pick the relatively healthy ones (Cheerios, Mini-Wheats, Corn Flakes, and Special K top the list, along with Quaker Oatmeal with plain oats added), but it's still always boxed cereals. After all the recent evidence around egg cholesterol not being so bad, I wonder if I should start making them eggs and toast for breakfast (we get our bread from an awesome local bakery that uses excellent ingredients). Hmmm.

In other news, I have been following through on my desire to expand my culinary repertoire around especially south/southeast Asian foods at home. I made the best dal of my LIFE (At Home with Madhur Jaffrey - check it out), and have gone on Pinterest and pinned a ton of foods to try: Sambar curry, ful, tah-chin, pho, bhorta. So excited for my culinary adventures!

I'm too lazy to post a picture of Hungry Planet - it's after 11pm and this book is due back at the library tomorrow. It was a good read, but if I was going to pick one, What I Eat was more inspiring to me than Hungry Planet. Either way, they are both an excellent photo atlas of how diverse the food of the world is, and I love eating around the planet!

Title: Hungry Planet - What the World Eats
Authors: Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio
Published: I have no idea - the book really doesn't seem to say
Pages: 277

Total Books Blogged: 28
Total Pages: 7874

Completed: What I Eat - Around the World in 80 Diets by Peter Menzel & Faith D'Aluisio

This is one of those books that has inspired me. I think great books either really make you think, really make you take action, or really make you feel. This one falls into the second category - it really made me take action.

This book surveys, as a photographic art project, a day's food for 80 people - men, women, and children - from all over the world. I believe the only Canadian was a teen from an earth-hugging vegetarian family in Quebec. I was impressed to see her eating paneer!

The American 'days' were horribly depressing. Processed meat and foods. Pop (sorry - soda). Candy. Empty carbs. Artifically-pumped-up beverages of all sorts and varieties. A large slab of bologna. The only redeeming person from the whole country was a Hispanic lady who owned a restaurant - her food looked awesome. But it made me realize I want my home to be more reflective of the diversity of colour, flavour, texture, and taste of the world. Though we already eat very well - almost everything from scratch, lots of fruit and veggies - there is so much to explore in terms of cuisine from various cuisines around the world. All of the food from Mexico, China, Vietnam, Iran, Palestine, India - it all looked so incredibly delicious.

So. Yet again I have fallen victim to the library. I started with India, and have three different cookbooks out. I dragged my whole family to Fruiticana market in order to get the proper spices (the ones I didn't already have, like curry leaves), and various dals. This weekend I made potato curry and coconut curried lentils and cilantro carrots and it was all awesome! I'm so glad my kids love Indian food too.

I want to do some southeast Asian cooking too - stir fries, green veggies, and Pho. Looking at other peoples' diets made me want to actively enrich my own, despite being in a good place compared to many of those with whom I share a continent (the guy whose only daily vegetables were half a can of peas, for example).

Read this book. It'll make you realize how much more is out there to explore!!

Title: What I Eat - Around the World in 80 Diets

Authors: Peter Menzel & Faith D'Aluisio

Published: 2010

Pages:329

Total Books Blogged: 27

Total Pages: 7597

Completed: Where I Belong - Small Town to Great Big Sea by Alan Doyle

Oooooh I do love me a good autobiography or memoir. Getting to enjoy someone's life with them is just brilliant, and Doyle sure tells a story. His childhood in rural PEI is a perfect story for a good Canadian read.

Alan Doyle today is the lead singer of Great Big Sea, one of my all-time favorite bands. This made me tremendously nervous to read the book - what if I liked him as much as I liked A. J. Jacobs?

I need not have worried. If anything, I'm even more enamored with the band, knowing where some of the songs came from. That they perceive "Ordinary Day" as a song that changed their lives (p. 282). I've found some new music (Berry Picking Time, and the band Wonderful Grand Band, one of their inspirations). Hearing about how important writing a hockey tune was (my kids love 'Helmethead').

Some wonderful takeaways from Doyle's life:

On why to own a painting: "Because it will make [a] home a happier place." (He met the painter Jean Claude Roy when he came to paint Petty Harbour - it made such an impact on him that he bought that very painting years later and it hangs in his home). (p.29-31)

On what work is, for Sean McCann's father: "Nobody works for you and you don't work for nobody. You only work with people." (p.109)

On how to approach each day: Doyle is talking about his parents when this thought came up, and it's my new motto for every bad day I'll have - take it with you, too:

"Spend exactly all of your time making the most of what you have and exactly none of your time whining about what you don't have." (p.14).

I'll try, Alan. Thank you for your story. Write another one, please?

Title: Where I Belong - Small Town to Great Big Sea
Author: Alan Doyle
Published: 2014
Pages: 308

Total Books Blogged: 22
Total Pages: 6585

Completed: Packing for Mars - the Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

I have never read so much about poop in my life!

I have to commend Mary Roach for taking on such an interesting project - the mundane details of a spectacular career. Being an astronaut is one of the careers children dream about - but they certainly don't think of the logistics of going to the bathroom or taking a shower, or eating low-flatulence foods.

I'm not a huge fan of Roach's writing style - I feel sometimes like she is trying too hard to be funny or witty. But the subject matter kept me going. I don't think it's for the delicate who don't wish to discuss intimate details of hygiene! I don't have too much more to reflect on it, other than that I am now sure I would not relish life as an astronaut...

Title: Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

Published: 2010

Pages: 321

Total Books Blogged: 21

Total Pages: 6277

Completed: The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs

This book, unfortunately, does not live up to the title of my blog.

The subcaption of the title is The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. As an archaeologist, it sounded like a very interesting thing to attempt. It was on my Amazon wishlist and was purchased for me by my sister as, I believe, a Christmas gift back a few years. I had several other books by the author on there too. Had.

This book divided me wholeheartedly. I would give it 2/5. The two stars are for some of the reflection that Jacobs did on religion and belief, and for some of his advisors along the way. One of the most interesting factoids that I took away from the book was the existence of the Jefferson Bible - here is how Jacobs described it, which has triggered enough interest in me to want to put this on my Amazon wishlist instead of Jacobs:

"[Jefferson] stripped away all the supernatural references [in the Bible]... Jefferson's idea was that Christ was a great moral philosopher. So Jefferson kept only Christ's moral teachings: forgiveness, loving thy neighbor, and striving for peace. He called them 'the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.'" (p. 256)

Sounds like an awesome read.

The Year of Living Biblically also helped me to continue exploring two parallel issues in me. One is that I am not a religious person. The other is that I am fascinated by religious history and the history of the interaction of various belief systems. Jacobs, when discussing religion, keeps it legible for those of us who don't know it all, and makes it both interesting and relatable.

Jacobs' religious advisors along the way were all very wise and interesting to read about. I loved the perspective of Steven Greenberg, a gay rabbi that Jacobs chatted with. Here are his words, which I'd love for all of the people who use the Bible as an excuse for hate to read:

"Never blame a text from the Bible for your behavior. It's irresponsible. Anybody who says X, Y, and Z is in the Bible - it's as if one says 'I have no role in evaluating this.'" (p. 268)

Fantastic perspective, that people should really think, not just be sheep.

However.

He loses three stars for being a completely trite jerk, and for having one of the most unpleasant marriages I've ever had to read about . I'm shocked he wrote about it at all, to be honest.

My least favorite passage, one that still makes my skin crawl, is on pp. 273-275. He describes in detail how, in order to get back at his wife during spats, he keeps a damn list of her past mistakes on his phone. He literally says the following: "When I forgive, I file away the other person's wrongs for possible future use. It's forgiveness with an asterisk." There is no such thing as forgiveness with an asterisk, and it makes me want to stay ten feet away from him at all times, it's so slimy. His wife may laugh, as he states in the book, when he confesses about his list, but it just makes me squirm. Yuk.

His wife is no peach herself. While pregnant with twins, and her husband (our intrepid author) is interested in being intimate, her reply is "I can't think of anything I'd rather do less." (p. 285). Wow. I don't know if it's just my marriage, but I would never speak to my husband that way. She doesn't have to take him up on the offer, but being that mean about it? She also gags when Jacobs expresses how thankful he is for his family (p. 293). She just seems like the type of person that I would not want to be around.

Then there's her teary meltdown when she discovers that, in addition to her first son, she is pregnant with twin boys.

I have witnessed wonderful people struggle to conceive, despite their absolute desire to have children. They would be amazing parents, and it just won't happen for them. I've also known a woman who so wanted a girl that she would not hold her newborn second son. I am completely revolted by parents who are ungrateful for a healthy baby of either gender.

There's a lot here in this post. I had a lot of feelings around this book. I can say for sure that I don't want to read anymore of Jacobs' books, mostly because I find him and his wife to be such unsavoury people. But the religious part itself was enlightening, and enriching. So there you go - a very mixed review.

Title: The Year of Living Biblically - One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
Published: 2008
Pages: 332

Total Books Blogged: 19
Total Pages: 5846

Completed: The Confederados - Old South Immigrants in Brazil, edited by Cyrus B. Dawsey and James M. Dawsey

I started this book forever ago, and this is not one of the ones that sat around awhile waiting to be blogged - I only just finished it a week or so ago. 

I first heard about the subjects of this book on Imgur (www.imgur.com - check it out if you need an awesome place to waste time but also hear about cool things like the subject of this book). Someone put up a post about southern American (as in from the south of the USA) emigrants who moved to Brazil following the end of the Civil War. They moved to avoid a Yankee government, to avoid the poverty and lawlessness of the South following the war, to evangelize.

"Never was there greater nakedness and desolation in a civilized society" - this is how one southerner described life in South Carolina following the war. They went to escape this, if they could afford to go. Although Brazil still practiced slavery at this time, it doesn't appear to have been a primary impetus for the move. It is amazing to think of some elderly folks in Brazil whose first language is English, with a pure southern sound from a century ago (the linguistics of which is fascinating - see chapter 10), who get together to reminisce about the past and to speak fondly and protectively of their adventurous grandparents. 

I think my favorite anecdote was the final one of the text. It discussed Jimmy Carter, prior to his presidency, along with his wife Rosalynn and press secretary Jodie Powell, visiting the Southern settlement now known as Americana in Brazil. Ms. Powell later reflected on the visit, admitting that all three of them became quite emotional when speaking to a crowd at a commemorative monument in Americana. She wrote that "[n]one of us could explain exactly why Americana touched us so deeply. Part of it was the feeling that we had discovered a part of ourselves that we hardly knew existed." (p. 210). I think I would feel similar emotions if I learned of a small group of Canadians who had moved to somewhere far away and maintained language and traditions from a century ago. A group that history had mainly forgotten - it's amazing to think. 

Title: The Confederados - Old South Immigrants in Brazil

Published: 1995

Pages: 210

Total Books Blogged: 16

Total Pages: 5195

Completed: The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman

I am contemplating embarking on another undergraduate degree, focusing on North American history. I grew up away from my home continent. I studied mainly European history. And I enjoyed it. However, I feel like I don't know my own continent very well.

Tuchman's book, though not in North America, was a very enlightening history of the beginning of World War I. I found it fascinating; it was written in a way that read like a novel, with character sketches, humour, and sarcasm. And yet it is a record, a history, of the events and happenings of those first few months (primarily the first month). It was a readable history. So much of the history we all get to read is written to be so dry. Tuchman actually made an engrossing history book.

I think the invasion of Belgium, and the needless political puffery that caused the war in the first place, were the parts that impacted me the most. The arrogance of the politicians in feeling that war would somehow be a noble resolution of their differences. The slow, creeping realization that the war would not be over quickly.

My blogging of this book comes on the tail end of reading a National Geographic article about the underground 'cities' of the front line in World War I - the quarries excavated out behind the trenches, with soldiers living underground for weeks at a time in damp conditions, listening for tunneling soldiers from the other side set to bomb their enemies. Carving their lives into the soft chalk. It was the life of so many millions of soldiers for so many years.

Tuchman's book gave me a better understanding of the political personalities, military tactics and decisions that led to the horrid near-stalemate that was much of the first World War. National Geographic added the humanity of the soldiers to this picture. The two reads complimented each other. In the vast numbers of casualties and wounded that one sees when studying WWI, we must always remember that each one of those millions was a person of their own, with a family, parents, children perhaps, a wife maybe. A dream.

Title: The Guns of August
Published: 1962 (my copy is a crap 1980s paperback)
Pages: 489

Total books blogged: 16
Total pages: 5474

Ch-ch-ch-chANGES! Also, Completed: The Untold History of the Potato by John Reader

My life has changed. I can't go into details, but as of April, my life changed entirely in big, beautiful ways. Along with these changes came much, much increased busy-ness. In all actuality, I finished this book well before that big change, I just never got to blogging it.

BUT I have started reshuffling life, and have started doing early mornings in order to get a bit of 'me' time in before everyone wakes up. This will get me back to exercising, cooking, and... blogging!

I'm reading, I promise. I've actually taken out a bunch of young adult books, as the boys are exploring more, and there are many books in that genre I never read. Right now I'm reading Tuck Everlasting. I'm also reading The Guns of August (less young adult, more history classic).

In terms of finished products, the only book I've completed that I have not blogged is The Untold History of the Potato by John Reader. I am too lazy to post a picture of it this evening, but the cover shows a predictable photo of a large, red spud!

It was an interesting history. It's very easy for a history that is focused on a more mundane product can miss the mark, most often due to a lack of research (the first few chapters of A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Mark Standage were quite painful). However, centering a history on the humble potato was quite a pleasant journey, from the archaeology to the history to the present. To be honest, I finished the read long enough ago that there are no specifics to point at and pick at. I think the most painful thing to read was that, prior to the Irish Potato Famine, they had already figured out how to deal with blight - it just wasn't acted on and publicized in time to help. Imagine how different the world, particularly North America, would be, if so many Irish had not left to escape the famine. Harry Turtledove needs to have a moment with that one!

Title: The Untold History of the Potato
Published: 2008
Pages: 278

Total books blogged: 15
Total pages: 4985

Completed: Zhou Daguan: A Record of Cambodia - The Land and Its People

I started this when I went to Toronto in October 2012. I brought it with me because it wasn't very long/heavy to carry on a plane. I feel like it was so long ago and I have no recollection of when I actually finished it - months ago now.

It is one of those historical documents that has a shimmer of stardust around the corners. A memoir by someone who actually spent a year among the population of an active, inhabited and bustling Angkor Wat? How incredible!

However, first impressions are often deceiving. It's not that it isn't indeed such a memoir by such a traveller. It's that what Zhou Daguan left behind was likely much more than has survived to today, and what does remain is not extensive, likely rearranged and trimmed/chopped at least once. What remains is a quite dry description without a lot of details or scene setting. From a modern perspective, it's still wonderful to have even that tiny glimpse. But it's such a tiny snapshot that it leaves you wanting so much more!

Title: Zhou Daguan's A Record of Cambodia - the Land and Its People
Translated with an introduction and notes by: Peter Harris
Published: 2007
Pages: 135

Total books blogged: 14
Total pages: 4707

Completed, though not entirely: Food

Of course, one's quest to find amazing recipes and eat good food is never at an end. But I'm happy to say that I'm done with the books I intended to read (though we had to return Starved for Science, so I didn't get to that one).

It has taken me some time to get here. I got married three weeks ago! There was much work leading up to it, and lots of time with family and friends, and so I have not spent nearly as much time reading as I might ordinarily. However, we're settling back down into normal life, and also into some brand-new living room furniture - a wedding wish that has come true. Now I have a true reading nook! Not as lovely as some of the fancy library getups that some people on the internet seem to have, but it's mine and I'm thrilled: a lovely leather armchair and ottoman to sink into and read a book. They have replaced a dilapidated Ikea Poang and associated dilapidated ottoman.

My new reading nook

I've made recipes from Simple Suppers and the Vegetarian Collection, and they turned out delicious. I returned the Whole Foods Market cookbook to the library because it is coming as a gift from my new sister-in-law.

Seeds of Deception was exactly what I thought it would be - drivel. Poorly researched, out of date, poorly sourced, and, frankly, mostly irrelevant to Canadians. A lot of the pages are devoted to GM tomatoes (no longer on the market), GM potatoes (also no longer on the market), and issues related to American governmental interference with scientific efforts and GM research (no surprises there). If anything, the book reinforces that the Canadian government has stood up, kept BGH milk and dairy out of Canada, and held government to account when it tried to muzzle research on BGH milk. Admittedly, Canada is currently failing miserably at scientific backing and freedom, but in terms of GM produce I don't think we're doing too bad. The book totally cherry-picks and sensationalizes what it writes, with a heaping spoonful of sarcasm and disdain. It was terrible, but I read it cover to cover in order to be able to say that with authority. I hope to never read as poor a quality of book ever again.

Just Food was interesting. It also had a bit too much haughty confidence on the part of the author, but I did find his writing to be much more, well, fair, and realistic in terms of how humanity can balance our population and our food needs along with the environment. His main ideas were:

• Local food is a bit too overrated - don't focus so much on food miles but on the carbon cycle of the thing you're eating overall
• We need to drastically reduce our meat consumption, and instead replace land-based meat with ethically- and environmentally-sound aquaculture systems (more fish!)
•  Integrate livestock and food production on mid-size farms, growing things that thrive in the environment you're in without heavily modifying it
• Judicious use of biotech and chemicals, being mindful that some organic chemicals are very environmentally harmful

I would definitely recommend the book. My main issue throughout, which was validated in the final chapter, was that a lot of the food decisions he recommends are currently impossible to make, with our labelling and farming systems as they currently appear. This was a disappointing ending to a book that brought me much hope. But it certainly gave good ideas for what to keep an eye out for as I shop and eat.

So, with a bigger focus on finding vegetarian meals for all four of us to enjoy, and finding ethically raised meat (pork and beef has been found, chicken pending) to eat in moderation (less than we have in the past), and eating more fish, I'm going to go sit in my new chair and move on to my next book, started before the food kick: The Bedtime Book of Famous French Stories. So far it is fabulous! I'm kinda done with reading non-fiction for a bit, and am looking forward to engulfing myself in French prose.

Title: Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of GE Foods
Author: Jeffrey M. Smith
Published: 2003
Pages: 254

Title: Just Food: Where Locavores get it Wrong and How we can Eat Responsibly
Author: James E. McWilliams
Published: 2009
Pages: 222

Total Books Blogged: 12
Total Pages: 4145

Completed: Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

It took me a while to finish this book, because I kept it at work and only read it during my breaks. (Though now I've started a 600-page Longfellow compilation at work - who knows HOW long that's going to take!).

There's a few reflections on this book that I'd like to share (and you're here reading, and therefore get to read them!).

I have a great respect, more so than before, for Jane Goodall after reading this book. I also find that I have a great appreciation for many of her opinions on belief. She thinks that most of the religious differences are details, and that the faith, the spirituality, the belief and the wonder are the important parts. She is open to everyone who lives their life with integrity, regardless of the religious nuances:

"And what about those, and there are many, who do not believe in a God - those who are athiests? It does not make any difference, I thought. A life lived in the service of humanity, a love of and respect for all living things - those attributes are the essence of saintlike behavior." (p202)

She has had the experience of being faced with a situation that cannot be explained apart from by faith. It is something I've never had, though perhaps not looking at things through a spiritual lens makes the perception different. She had two children - her son, and a friend's daughter - come to her independently and say that they knew her husband had passed away, and had dreamed of him the night he passed. Sometimes children dream or feel things much differently than adults, and so I don't find this surprising. But it's something I always wished for, for some reason. Maybe I would believe more or more fully if something that couldn't be explained would happen to me. As a teenager, it was always a cure for alopecia - give me all my hair and I'll believe. Now as an adult I don't wait for such divine interventions. But it was fascinating to read about Jane's.

She has had times when she despaired, when the evil of the world overwhelmed her. She worried at one time if she "had been justified in bringing a child into such a hopelessly wicked place" (p186-7). And I felt astonished - I had never found it written so perfectly - the biggest reason why I'm scared to ever have a child. We haven't decided if we want to have a child, but if we did, I fear so much the world that we'd be bringing him or her into. But then I think of G and J, and how wonderful and kind they are, and I know it's possible to raise good kids. I felt a connection to Jane for having felt something I have felt so keenly.

I think that is the reason for her ever-enduring appeal - almost anyone can connect to her and feel a closeness to her. I read her spiritual memoir - a book I would ordinarily not even pick up. But at the other end of that book, Jane really makes me want to be a better person. That's why she's been so successful with her foundation and her conservation efforts, I think - because people connect to her. Including me.

Title: Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey
Authors: Jane Goodall with Phillip Berman
Published: 1999
Pages: 282

Total books blogged: 9
Total pages: 3180

Completed: Imperial Royal Canadian World Atlas

I know, it's been too long. I've thought of many things that I could have blogged about lately in regards to my reading. But I've been busy. I have two jobs - a nine-to-five and a part-time research gig. Apart from that, I spent the better part of two weeks' worth of free time completing my annual scrapbook for D. I've made him a scrapbook for each year we've been together, and given it to him for Christmas. This year I didn't get it done for Christmas, and barely got it done for his birthday. And I've just had a bunch of outings with friends - a perfectly good reason to not get around to blogging!

All the while, though, I've been reading before I go to bed - at least 15 minutes or so, but often more. It has taken me some time to finish the Atlas, because after the first few introductory chapters on Canada, it became a more monotone laundry list of the world's countries, along with their population size, industries, natural resources, highest peaks, biggest cities, and features of note. Despite it sometimes being a bit of a tedious read, it was also very illuminating.

I've been interested in history and archaeology my whole life. But often the world is divided up into digestible bites when studying history - World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Cold War, etc. I found this atlas incredible because it fell outside of these normal time periods, and also covered the whole globe, not just areas of interest in the midst of a war or something. It mentioned every (political) part of the planet, and what it was like in 1935. Here are some of the more interesting tidbits that I came across:

• There were only three independent states in Africa: Egypt, Liberia, and Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
• They thought that the Arctic would become an 'air crossroads' of the world, with jets flying across the north pole area
• World War I was not yet World War I, as there had been no World War II (it's just something you don't think about until you come across it) - it was the Great War or the World War
• In the 1931 Canadian census, there was only 1 telephone per 10 people in Canada
• In 1935, women still could not vote in Quebec
• In the title of the British sovereign (George V, at the time), the term "Emperor of India" was still used, as it was not yet self-governing. Pakistan did not yet exist
• Newfoundland was not yet part of Canada
• Terms such as 'savages', 'half-castes', and 'pure races' were still used, though of course we abhor such terms today
• Vatican City had only been around as a political entity for 6 years

I think the biggest realization that this book brought me to is that the world in 1935 was really still divvied up between the various European colonial powers. I didn't realize how many colonies still existed at that time (because again, when you study history in school, you don't normally study the parts of the world not directly involved in whatever war or event you're studying). Africa, south/southeast Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, were almost entirely colonial to some degree or another. Germany, however, had no colonies - they had all been taken away after World War I (and so you see many "British/French such-and-such, formerly German such-and-such"s throughout). 

I'm very glad to have read this historical, geographical snapshot from 1935. It makes me all the more excited to read more of my older books (next up: a high-school poetry book from 1924).

One line in this book was ominous, and foretold of what was to come not long after this book was published. I thought I would finish this entry with that, as it is the line that has stayed with me the most since reading it: "Germany... Government: Republic (since November, 1918); official name, Deutches Reich; Since March, 1933 - Dictatorship". It just puts a pit in your stomach to know what that dictatorship was going to do in the decade following this book's publication. The world did not yet know the horror of the Holocaust. Anne Frank was six years old.

Title: Imperial Royal Canadian World Atlas "An Atlas for Canadians"
Editors: Fred James, Lloyd Edwin Smith, and Frederick K. Branom
Published: 1935
Pages: 216

Total books blogged: 8
Total pages: 2898

Currently Reading: Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

After reading Walking with the Great Apes (see my blog post from January 14), as I mentioned, I picked up two books at the United Way booksale. This was one of them, written by Jane Goodall "with" Phillip Berman. I'm assuming that means he acted in part as the writer? The sentiment certainly all belongs to Jane.

When I took my loot from the booksale home, I must admit I was disappointed by this one. I hadn't read the spine - I just saw Jane Goodall and handed over my two dollars. But once I took a closer look, I realized that this book was not really about the great apes at all, but about Jane Goodall's spiritual journey, from her youth to her adulthood to her reflections in later life.

Ever since I was young, I have not been a particularly spiritual person. I went to church. I understand what people mean when they discuss religion and God. I have moved around the world and been exposed to various other belief systems - Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism. But the idea of spirituality and religion has never gripped me.

Ever since I met D, I have had a greater appreciation for such beliefs. His father was a minister, and his family is quite religious. He himself has a strong connection to First Nations and Christian beliefs. I have a lot of respect for what he thinks, and I now know about loving and believing in someone else, despite the fact that I don't always see things the same way.

Until this book, I haven't ever read a spiritual or religious text of any kind. I remember once when we were living in India, when I was 11 or 12, I decided to read the Bible, and was quite determined to read the whole thing. I think I made it 10 or 15 pages before I left that goal by the wayside. When I get halfway down my second bookcase, I will read the Bible, as I thought I would all those years ago. But for now, I read about Jane Goodall's spiritual journey.

So far, the book has been wonderful. I shall reflect more on it in the coming days, but for now, I have found a new favorite quote, also one of Jane's: "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." It means that your strength will come each day, regardless of what kind of day it is. So I'll leave you with that today. More about how Jane has helped me grow a spiritual smidge in the next post.

Currently Reading: the First Book!

Although I've determined what this blog will be, I only started reading the way I intended to three days ago. I've officially started! I'm reading the top-left book on my first bookcase. Here is the first part of the top shelf:

I am currently reading the tall, cloth-bound book on the left. It is a Canadian 'atlas' (more a geographical survey/textbook including maps) from 1935. The first few pages, as that's all I've read so far, have been fascinating. Really, it's a historical document. It is what people thought of Canadian geography in 1935, some 78 years ago. Pluto was brand-new - only discovered 5 years earlier. There is also an amusing bit about archaeologists:

"There still remain unexplored regions. There are some parts of the world where the foot of the civilized seeker of knowledge has seldom, if ever, trod. But the little known regions are dwindling, year by year, as the adventurers push back the line of darkness. Everywhere, too, are the archeologists or 'diggers', who excavate old cities or old geological strata, searching for relicsof past ages, to aid in the knowledge of early life on the earth."

It is a book that I think I got when my Grampa C passed away, when I was 20. All three of his children, and all 5 of his grandchildren, met at the home he shared with my Grama a little while after he was gone. It was a peaceful afternoon. All of the things that Grama didn't want to keep now that he was gone were laid out on tables in the basement. Slowly, in turn, we all selected things that we wanted to keep. I selected many things: a small bookshelf to hang on the wall; a tin from India (where he lived when he was young), with some 60 old coins in it; some hand-painted teacups; and many of his books. I think this book was amongst them. However, I also got many books when my Grama E moved several years back, and I'm not sure which of the two this book came from.

Either way, this book belonged to one of my grandparents. Maybe it was even one of their schoolbooks. Its spine is fragile, and so I won't be carrying it to and from work with me. It will be my first home book - let the blog begin in earnest!

Completed: Nineveh and Its Remains

I FINALLY FINISHED IT!

I have been reading this book since last spring. It has sat, staring at me, on the dresser next to my side of the bed since last spring. It has been taunting me, but I finally won.

It's not that it wasn't a fascinating read. The foreword, about Layard's life and work, was much enlightening about a name that I came across in my studies (I studied Near Eastern archaeology - not sure if I mentioned that), but never learned enough about to appreciate as a person. The stories Layard told in his own voice, about his excavation campaigns at Nineveh and his travels in Mesopotamia were touching and telling of an age and way of life long gone in that area.

I think the reason I struggled with it was twofold. I started it in the throes of drafting my thesis - a bad time to start a book. Also, once I reached the book itself (not the foreword), I was disappointed. Again, not by what was there, but what wasn't. For a book that was titled "Nineveh and its Remains", there was very little of the site, or the dig. I did learn that excavation was seemingly single-handedly directed towards recovering sculpture. Not even text - just sculpture. Monumental sculpture. Although he appears to have the best of intentions in his excavations, I have to cringe when he discusses things crumbling to dust upon excavation, and tunneling to find artifacts.

No, much of the book was Layard's travels and relations with the local tribes that he worked with. He travels by horse to various areas, meets various sheiks, and witnesses religious and spiritual events. He does much of this with a classic European superiority and detachment, though his seems milder than most of the same era. I feel it was more of a sociological reflection than an archaeological one.

On a different note, every once in awhile you learn something after years of study that makes you giggle. In this book, there were two. Both have to do with Layard's name. The first is that his last name is not pronounced like 'lay-yard'. It's pronounced like 'laird'. Every prof I ever had, every time I ever read his name, I thought it was the former. The second interesting bit is that his name changed - after college he chose to be Austen Henry Layard, instead of Henry Austen Layard. Or it was the other way around - I can't remember. But I love the whimsy of just choosing to reverse your name.

Title: Nineveh and Its Remains
Author: Sir Austen Henry Layard; or, Sir Henry Austen Layard
Published: 1969 (originally 1849)
Pages: 295

Total books blogged: 7
Total pages: 2,682

The cover was just a plain library-bound cover, so here's the title page!