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
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Thursday, 27 March 2014
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It is one of those historical documents that has a shimmer of stardust around the corners.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
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
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Word of the ?Week: Kabyle
In "The Escape" by Joseph Kessel (in the French Stories book), his protagonist notes the types of people who are incarcerated along with him at a detention camp in France during World War II. There's room for everyone:
"Room for foreigners. For traffikers. For Freemasons. For Kabyles. For those who were opposed to the Legion. For Jews. For refractory peasants. For vagrants. For former convicts. For political suspects. For those whose intents were suspect...." The list goes on. But I had never heard of Kabyles, and so I paused.
They are a Berber-speaking ethnic group from Algeria. Wiki tells me that for "historical and economic reasons", a lot of Kabyle folks moved to France, and it sounds like, according to Kessel, they were persecuted along with so many other groups in the 30s and 40s. After several Google searches I can't find more information about the Kabyle movement to France. Very curious!
"Room for foreigners. For traffikers. For Freemasons. For Kabyles. For those who were opposed to the Legion. For Jews. For refractory peasants. For vagrants. For former convicts. For political suspects. For those whose intents were suspect...." The list goes on. But I had never heard of Kabyles, and so I paused.
They are a Berber-speaking ethnic group from Algeria. Wiki tells me that for "historical and economic reasons", a lot of Kabyle folks moved to France, and it sounds like, according to Kessel, they were persecuted along with so many other groups in the 30s and 40s. After several Google searches I can't find more information about the Kabyle movement to France. Very curious!
Completed: The Bedside Book of Famous French Stories
I finished this book long ago - well before Christmas. I just have not written. And I find I don't miss it when I'm not writing, but as soon as I start to write, I realize that I did, in fact, somehow miss it, and that there is something liberating about writing.
The Bedside Book of Famous French Stories was well worth the read, cover to cover. You've already heard about it once, but I have a bit more to add now that I've gotten through the whole book.
The first thing that went throughout the text, through the various time periods that flowed through each of the stories (which could have gone on for another 400 or so pages, if I'd had my way!), was that the short stories in this book were full of political commentary. They touched on topics including government, war, the prison system, morality, art. Political fiction is not normally an appealing genre to me, but each of these stories was enjoyable in its own way.
One story, The Torture of Hope by Villiers do L'Isle-Adam, was particularly poignant in this regard, but the title completely spoiled it for me. It falls into the modern category of "Spoiler Alert!" - the title betrays what is coming, and the denouement of the story was shattered because the progression was clear before I even started. It was my only disappointment within the book, and that's difficult to write, because, without the title, it was a fabulous story. If I gave it to you with no title on it, you'd be on the edge of your seat. But my seat fell through on me. The original Spoiler!
I've been through two more books since I finished this book, I'll add them here at some point in the near, or not so near, future!
Title: The Bedside Book of Famous French Stories
Editors: Belle Becker and Robert N. Linscott
Published: 1945
Pages: 427
Total books blogged: 13
Total pages: 4572
The Bedside Book of Famous French Stories was well worth the read, cover to cover. You've already heard about it once, but I have a bit more to add now that I've gotten through the whole book.
The first thing that went throughout the text, through the various time periods that flowed through each of the stories (which could have gone on for another 400 or so pages, if I'd had my way!), was that the short stories in this book were full of political commentary. They touched on topics including government, war, the prison system, morality, art. Political fiction is not normally an appealing genre to me, but each of these stories was enjoyable in its own way.
One story, The Torture of Hope by Villiers do L'Isle-Adam, was particularly poignant in this regard, but the title completely spoiled it for me. It falls into the modern category of "Spoiler Alert!" - the title betrays what is coming, and the denouement of the story was shattered because the progression was clear before I even started. It was my only disappointment within the book, and that's difficult to write, because, without the title, it was a fabulous story. If I gave it to you with no title on it, you'd be on the edge of your seat. But my seat fell through on me. The original Spoiler!
I've been through two more books since I finished this book, I'll add them here at some point in the near, or not so near, future!
Title: The Bedside Book of Famous French Stories
Editors: Belle Becker and Robert N. Linscott
Published: 1945
Pages: 427
Total books blogged: 13
Total pages: 4572
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Currently Reading: The Bedside Book of Famous French Stories
"If many old women of eighty were occasionally to tell you the history of their loves, you would perhaps find that the feminine soul contains sources of good and evil of which you have no idea." ~George Sand
The French certainly have a way with words - Honore de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Emile Zola, Guy de Maupassant. They are all names that were familiar, but that I had not read before. I've also never much read short stories, and so I've stepped twice outside of my known reading. And boy has it been worth it so far!
The stories are so beautifully crafted - part of the art of these short stories is in their rich language and description, which brought me to the reflection that - I wonder how much is lost or changed in translation? I've read literature in French before, and I wonder how much the language changes when it is translated. It's so beautiful translated into English - it almost makes me want to brush up my French and try to read these stories in their native tongue. Almost - not sure if I'm ready for language studies yet!
I picked the quote above because it made me think of a quote that shows up on the screens in the print office at the university where I work - it says something along the lines of "Spend some time every day with someone over the age of 70 and under the age of 7". I do not get the opportunity to do that each day, but I do love to spend time with my grandparents and inlaws (only some of whom have hit 70!), and my beautiful children and nieces. It's often amazing to think of all of the experiences that our elders have gone through. You may see a senior with their shopping bag and their plastic hair-wrap to keep off the rain. But that elderly lady was once a young woman. Maybe she modelled. Maybe she ran away with her military beau in her teens. Maybe she broke stereotypes and worked on cars, or went to university, or drove truck. You just never know to look at someone.
The quote above reminded me that inside every old person was once a young person - perhaps a bold one, perhaps a mischievous one, perhaps a helpful one, perhaps a heartbroken one. I wish I could sit down more often and talk to someone about their life. Maybe I need to volunteer at an old folks' home.
The French certainly have a way with words - Honore de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Emile Zola, Guy de Maupassant. They are all names that were familiar, but that I had not read before. I've also never much read short stories, and so I've stepped twice outside of my known reading. And boy has it been worth it so far!
The stories are so beautifully crafted - part of the art of these short stories is in their rich language and description, which brought me to the reflection that - I wonder how much is lost or changed in translation? I've read literature in French before, and I wonder how much the language changes when it is translated. It's so beautiful translated into English - it almost makes me want to brush up my French and try to read these stories in their native tongue. Almost - not sure if I'm ready for language studies yet!
I picked the quote above because it made me think of a quote that shows up on the screens in the print office at the university where I work - it says something along the lines of "Spend some time every day with someone over the age of 70 and under the age of 7". I do not get the opportunity to do that each day, but I do love to spend time with my grandparents and inlaws (only some of whom have hit 70!), and my beautiful children and nieces. It's often amazing to think of all of the experiences that our elders have gone through. You may see a senior with their shopping bag and their plastic hair-wrap to keep off the rain. But that elderly lady was once a young woman. Maybe she modelled. Maybe she ran away with her military beau in her teens. Maybe she broke stereotypes and worked on cars, or went to university, or drove truck. You just never know to look at someone.
The quote above reminded me that inside every old person was once a young person - perhaps a bold one, perhaps a mischievous one, perhaps a helpful one, perhaps a heartbroken one. I wish I could sit down more often and talk to someone about their life. Maybe I need to volunteer at an old folks' home.
Monday, 12 August 2013
Word of the ?Week: Imagist
At work, I have been unsuccessfully attempting to read The Poetical Works of Longfellow during my lunches. I haven't gotten very far - but I have been avidly enjoying it.
In the introduction, I came across the word Imagists, and although it has been months since I've done a Word of the Week, I've decided to look up Imagism, as it is something I had never heard of.
First, a bit of background:
As you know, I love to read. I loved English in high school. I had a succession of English teachers, some brilliant (Mr. Jones), some less so (Mrs. Wichellow comes to mind) in terms of inspiring a love of my native tongue and its many interpretations on paper. What I discovered part-way through high school, though, was that I did not particularly enjoy, nor did I have a particular talent for, dissecting and analyzing literature. The purpose of this blog is reflection, and an enjoyment of the memories and thoughts that the books I read bring up in me. However, if I had to continue to write "what theme did you follow throughout the book and what did it all MEAN?" papers about the books I read, I would likely cease reading.
For this reason, I actively chose not to take English courses in university - I thought they would focus too much on the analysis, and not enough on the enjoyment I found in casual reading.
I think, in choosing not to take English, even as an elective, that I may have missed out on some of the periods of literary history and understanding how writing and poetry evolved through the decades of the last few hundreds of years.
Now, on to Imagism, something I might have heard of if I had chosen to take poetry in university:
Imagism is, according to Wikipedia, was a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry notable for its precise imagery and sharp, clear language. Notable examples of Imagist poets are Ezra Pound and D.H. Lawrence.
I was surprised to see D.H. Lawrence ranked as a key Imagist poet, as I did not know that he wrote poetry. Of course I am familiar with his prose, though I have not read any. I think everyone has heard of Sons and Lovers, or of Lady Chatterley's Lover. And although Pound's name is familiar to me, I'm not sure why - I certainly haven't read any of his work.
And so - with this word of the week, I've decided to create a Parking Lot. It's a term I picked up at work: A Parking Lot is where you put ideas that are good ones, but take you off your current focus, and so you 'park' them until the time is right. I already have so many books to read that I already own, that I need a place to put things that I'd like to read sometime - sometime down the line once I'm caught up on my own books! So Pound and Lawrence's poetry will be the first additions to my Parking Lot. I fear there will be a monster list there by the time I get there! But - as I reasoned in a post awhile back, this is a pasttime that will never end, as I will never run out of interesting things to read. Best to keep a list of the things that interest me, even if I don't get to them until well down the road!
In the introduction, I came across the word Imagists, and although it has been months since I've done a Word of the Week, I've decided to look up Imagism, as it is something I had never heard of.
First, a bit of background:
As you know, I love to read. I loved English in high school. I had a succession of English teachers, some brilliant (Mr. Jones), some less so (Mrs. Wichellow comes to mind) in terms of inspiring a love of my native tongue and its many interpretations on paper. What I discovered part-way through high school, though, was that I did not particularly enjoy, nor did I have a particular talent for, dissecting and analyzing literature. The purpose of this blog is reflection, and an enjoyment of the memories and thoughts that the books I read bring up in me. However, if I had to continue to write "what theme did you follow throughout the book and what did it all MEAN?" papers about the books I read, I would likely cease reading.
For this reason, I actively chose not to take English courses in university - I thought they would focus too much on the analysis, and not enough on the enjoyment I found in casual reading.
I think, in choosing not to take English, even as an elective, that I may have missed out on some of the periods of literary history and understanding how writing and poetry evolved through the decades of the last few hundreds of years.
Now, on to Imagism, something I might have heard of if I had chosen to take poetry in university:
Imagism is, according to Wikipedia, was a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry notable for its precise imagery and sharp, clear language. Notable examples of Imagist poets are Ezra Pound and D.H. Lawrence.
I was surprised to see D.H. Lawrence ranked as a key Imagist poet, as I did not know that he wrote poetry. Of course I am familiar with his prose, though I have not read any. I think everyone has heard of Sons and Lovers, or of Lady Chatterley's Lover. And although Pound's name is familiar to me, I'm not sure why - I certainly haven't read any of his work.
And so - with this word of the week, I've decided to create a Parking Lot. It's a term I picked up at work: A Parking Lot is where you put ideas that are good ones, but take you off your current focus, and so you 'park' them until the time is right. I already have so many books to read that I already own, that I need a place to put things that I'd like to read sometime - sometime down the line once I'm caught up on my own books! So Pound and Lawrence's poetry will be the first additions to my Parking Lot. I fear there will be a monster list there by the time I get there! But - as I reasoned in a post awhile back, this is a pasttime that will never end, as I will never run out of interesting things to read. Best to keep a list of the things that interest me, even if I don't get to them until well down the road!
Sunday, 4 August 2013
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.
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:
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)