tracyfox's 999 challenge

My categories:

Fiction - Strange and Magical
Fiction - Around the World
Fiction - Around the World Part II
Food and Cooking
Gardening
Natural History
Travel and Living Abroad
Climate Change
Toxics and Waste

Currently completed:

Other group reading:
- The Coffee Trader by David Liss
- Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
- The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

Fiction - Strange and Magical
1. The Mistress of the Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
2. The Venetian's Wife by Nick Bantock
3. Secrets of Pistoulet by Jana Kolpen
4. The Night Villa by Carol Goodman
5. The Forgetting Room by Nick Bantock
6. NP by Banana Yoshimoto
7. The Tattooed Map by Barbara Hodgson
8. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
9. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

Fiction - Around the World
1. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Reading Globally - Jan)
2. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Reading Globally - Jan)
3. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee (Reading Globally - Feb)
4. The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany (Reading Globally - Feb)
5. Heartbreak Tango by Manuel Puig (Reading Globally - Mar)
6. Personal Anthology by Jorge Luis Borges (Reading Globally - Mar)
7. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass (Reading Globally - Apr)
8. A Minor Apocalypse by Tadeusz Konwicki (Reading Globally - May)
9. Death in Danzig by Stefan Chwin (Reading Globally - May)

Fiction - Around the World Part 2
1. House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk (Reading Globally - May)
2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Reading Globally - Jun)
3. At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft (Reading Globally - July)
4. The Rhyme of the Ancient Marnier by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Reading Globally - July)
5. Gardens in the Dunes by Leslie Marmon Silko (Reading Globally - Aug)
6. The Double by Jose Saramago (Reading Globally - Sept)
7. The Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne (Reading Globally - Oct)
8. The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri (Reading Globally - Nov)
9. The Inferno by Dante (Reading Globally - Dec)

Food
1. The Devil's Cup by Stewart Lee Allen
2. The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone (borrowed from Cara R)
3. Bottomfeeder by Taras Grescoe (library)
4. Going with the Grain by Susan Seligson
5. The World on a Plate by Joel Denker
6. The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber
7. Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee
8. Cookoff by Amy Sutherland
9. Immoveable Feast by John Baxter

Gardening
1. A Countrywoman's Year by Rosemary Veery
2. The Potting-Shed Papers by Charles Elliott
3. Grace from the Garden by Debra Landwehr Engle
4. Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart
5. The Garden of Invention by Jane Smith
6. Siftings by Jens Jensen
7. Planthropology by Ken Druse
8. Understanding Perennials by William Cullina
9. Cultivating Delight by Diane Ackerman

Nature
1. The Secret Knowledge of Water by Craig Childs
2. Ghosts of Tsavo by Phillip Caputo
3. The Grail Bird by Tim Gallagher
4. Birdsong by Don Stap
5. Summer World by Bernd Heinrich
6. Wild America by Roger Tory Peterson
7. Return to Wild America by Scott Weidensaul
8. The Lost Woods by Edwin Way Teale
9. The Singing Life of Birds by Don Kroodsma

Travel
1. The Accidental Buddhist by Dinty Moore
2. 36 Views of Mount Fuji by Cathy Davidson
3. Lost Japan by Alex Kerr
4. Buddha or Bust by Perry Garfinkel
5. Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux
6. In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin
7. Islands Apart : A Year on the Edge of Civilization by Ken Mcalpine
8. Eat, Pray, Love : One Woman's Search for Everything by Elizabeth Gilbert
9. Journey of the Magi by Paul William Roberts

Climate Change
1. Coming Clean by Michael Brune
2. Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman
3. An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
4. Early Spring by Amy Seidl
5. Green Collar Economy by Van Jones
6. Climate Solutions by Peter Barnes
7. Field Notes from a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert
8. The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery
9. The End of Nature by Bill McKibben

Toxics and Waste
1. Bottlemania by Elizabeth Royte
2. The Travels of a Tshirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli
3. Living Downstream by Sandra Steingraber
4. Having Faith by Sandra Steingraber
5. High Tech Trash by Elizabeth Grossman
6. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
7. When Smoke Ran Like Water by Devra Davis
8. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
9. Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis

tracyfox, I love your categories and titles. I can't wait to read your reviews so I can add yet more to my TBR pile. For 10 in 2010?

Agreed. I must say, as someone who grew up in northern NJ, that I just LOVE the title "The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken". I will have to check that out. The categories that especially interest me, that I will be keeping an eye on, are ... well ... actually ... all of them.

The Accidental Buddhist by Dinty Moore
Category: Travel
1/81

I loved Sarah McDonald's Holy Cow and wanted to find something similar that introduced the various approaches to Buddhism. The Accidental Buddhist did that in part. The author, hoping to discover the many faces of American Buddhism, chronicles his time at retreats ranging from Zen Mountain Monastery in the Catskills to a Tibetan community outside Atlanta and a Theravada community in West Virginia. Along the way he discusses theology with a Jesuit Buddhist, attends the third annual Change Your Mind day in Central Park, visits with a Buddhist meditation cushion maker who runs Carolina Mornings Designs from her rural farm, takes a road trip to hear the Dali Lama speak and drops in on meditation groups in suburban Chicago and Iowa City.

Over the course of his "American Buddhism Project," the author shares his struggles with monkey mind and stiffness from long stretches of meditation. He continually assesses aspects of Buddhism in terms of his Roman Catholic upbringing and aspects of his life (such as releasing ladybugs to control aphids in his garden) in terms of Buddhist tenets. The book focuses perhaps a bit too much on the author's self-chiding and failure to find the big answers, but for someone who doesn't know much about Buddhism as it's practiced in America today, it's an easy-to-read and enjoyable introduction. (4 stars)

The Mistress of the Spices by Chitra Divakaruni
Category: Fiction - Strange and Magical
2/81

I wanted to love The Mistress of the Spices. I read a review of it somewhere and carried it around on a list of fiction in paperback for a few years and finally requested it off Paperbackswap. The writing itself is very lush and the organizing theme, different spices to addresses different complexities of the human condition, appealed to me. I'm not a big fantasy fan but I love magical realism--this book sits somewhere between the two. The book tells the story of a poor Indian village girl born with the second sight and a special bond with serpents. Her powers bring her fame and she is captured by pirates. After tiring of life as a pirate queen, she is taken by the sea but saved by her beloved serpents. The serpents tell her of an island where women train to become Mistresses of the Spices. She completes the rigorous training, learning the special powers of cardamom, turmeric, ginger and more, and is magically transported to a spice shop in Oakland, California. There she lives as Tilo, a wizened crone, listening carefully to her customers and giving them the right mix of spices to mend family rifts, strengthen resolve and cope with despair.

With such an imaginative setup, the actual stories of Tilo's customers and their troubles were rather dull. Even Tilo's longing for love and her attraction to a mysterious American who seems to see her inner beauty through the veil of age seemed a bit flat. The last few chapters definitely picked up the pace and caught my attention again and the ending was more in tune with the wonderful setup used to start the story. If you're a fast reader and like lush, descriptive writing you will probably enjoy this book. If you're looking for a strong tie in with Indian spice lore, you may be a bit disappointed. (3.5 stars)

The Devil's Cup by Stewart Lee Allen
Category: Food
3/81

The Devil's Cup is the best kind of quest story -- a man in pursuit of something he loves for no reason other than to satisfy his own curiosity. In a journey that parallels the coffee bean's chronological journey through time, Stewart Lee Allen travels from Ethiopia to al-Makkah (hence the term mocha) in Yemen, Calcutta to Istanbul, and finally Vienna to Paris. Then he hops a freighter to Brazil and concludes with a car trip across the U.S. in search of the perfect cup of coffee. Along the way he visits Rimbaud's house in Harar, crosses to Yemen with a boatload of Somali refugees, turns down numerous offers of qat, conspires with smugglers of forged Rajasthani miniatures, whirls with dervishes, and tracks down the descendants of the adventurer who first brought coffee to the new world. In Brazil he tours the torture chamber of a slaveholding coffee baron, ducks a doomsday cult and communes with an ancient Ethiopian coffee spirit through an Afro-Brazilian shaman. Back home he cajoles a friend into taking a java-fueled ride across route 66 and almost lands in jail. Ultimately he does find the most "American" cup of coffee somewhere between New York and LA.

The author did a wonderful job of weaving in more coffee trivia than I ever imagined possible without bogging down his fast-paced narrative. Particularly fascinating were the myriad of ways he saw coffee prepared, his explanation of the relationship between coffee and Islam and his history of cafés in European culture and commerce. When he began making plans to attend an Ethiopian ceremony to invoke the Zar coffee spirits to perform an exorcism, I was a little concerned about where the book was going. But after his respectful recounting I found his quest to understand coffee's anthropological context to be an added dimension of the story. Anyone who enjoys travel or adventure writing will find this a worthwhile few hours. For coffee lovers, with a great cup in hand, it’s even better. (4.5 stars)

36 Views of Mount Fuji by Cathy Davidson
Category: Travel
4/81

Cathy Davidson's interwoven stories of her four extended trips gave me a glimpse of a far different Japan than most travelers see. Instead of recounting visits chronologically, 36 Views of Mount Fuji explores aspects of Japanese social behavior and the Japanese psyche. The author blends her experiences teaching English in a Japanese women's university in a suburb of Osaka, her penchant for off-the-beaten path travel, and her commitment to making and maintaining Japanese friendships into a series of essays. Some of the essays focus on educational matters--the role mothers play in preparing children for school, the infamous juku cram schools, and the seeming contradiction between students who toil for years to gain admittance to prestigious universities only to rarely attend class. Others deal with her struggles to understand the context of Japanese behavior--whether visiting the entertainment district with the a male colleague, vacationing on the isle of Oki and befriending a local bar owner who shares her enthusiasm for glass fishing floats, or struggling to find the right words to thank an assortment of friends and university associates in a time of grief.

At times the author's attempts to honestly depict her reactions to the Japanese world around her seemed to flicker and then just fade away, leaving me with unanswered questions. But her admiration of the Japanese culture and people, evident in the loving care with which she built a Japanese style house and welcomed Japanese friends there, always shone through. In the end I came to appreciate that the Western world's struggles to fully understand Japanese culture are a more fitting descriptions of its complexity than any neatly wrapped explanation. (4.5 stars)

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
Category: Fiction - Around the World
5/81

Kitchen took me by surprise. It is a thin book pairing two novellas, Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow, that both deal with loss and its aftermath. At first the author's light, easygoing style tricked me into underestimating my emotional involvement with the story. Kitchen begins when Mikage loses her beloved grandmother and is taken in by the Tanabe family she barely knows. From there, Mikage's relationship with the Tanabes--a transvestite nightclub owner and his son--deepens based on shared late-night meals and three lives brushing up against each other in a small Japanese apartment. I was unprepared for the turns this 100-page novella took and how anxiously I rushed to the end, hoping to see Mikage find respite from her overwhelming sense of being alone in the world.

The second novella, Moonlight Shadow, contrasted the reactions of Satsuki and Hiirage who both lost loved ones in a tragic accident. Satsuki deals with the loss of her beloved Hitoshi by eating less and less and jogging more and more. Hiirage copes with his double loss--his brother Hitoshi and his girlfriend Yumiko--by wearing Yumiko's old school uniform. Their attempts to console each other are awkward yet touching. As the novella built toward a promised surprise ending, I ached for them to find happiness as well. (4.5 stars)

Wow Tracy....great reviews of books that just make me want to run out and get 16,17,18. I just finished The Coffee Trader and have made a trek to the mountains of costa rica to visit a coffee plantation myself, so devil's cup is going right to the top of the TBR pile. Then I read about 36 views...I lived in Japan for 5 years, and taught english to Japanese students, so I'm really anxious to read this one.

Lastly kitchen sounds just too good to pass up. Thanks for the great tips.

Kitchen is a very nice book, especially for those not familiar with writing by Japanese authors.

tracyfox, perhaps you'd like to jump in on our Japan theme thread on the Reading Globally group here at LT. Another LT member, nancyewhite, was also reading that book for the Japanese theme, but has not yet given any further information other than she was liking it.

Your review is very nice. I loved the ending of "Moonlight Shadow", the story I liked the best of the two. I actually have Kitchen travelling the world as a Bookcrossing bookray.

#14

Thanks for the review of the Accidental Buddhist. I am very interested in books on Buddhism, particularly in everyday, western life. I almost put a Buddhism category into my 999 challenge, but was worried that it might me try to read them too quickly which wouldn't be very "zen" :)

I am currently reading This Side of Nirvana:Memoirs of a Spiritually Challenged Buddhist which was given to me by a Buddhist friend.

> 13 SqueakyChu:

I too like Moonlight Shadow the best of the two. I tear up every time I reread the closing...and this from someone who is not normally sentimental at all.

"I'll never be able to be here again. As the minutes slide by, I move on. The flow of time is something I cannot stop. I haven't a choice. I go.

One caravan has stopped, another starts up. There are poeple I have yet to meet, others I'll never see again. People who are gone before you know it, people who are just passing through. Even as we exchange hellows, they seem to grow transparent. I must keep living with the flowing river before my eyes.

I earnestly pray that a trace of my girl-child self will always be with you.

For waving good-bye, I thank you."

>14 tracyfox: Soupdragon:

I'm reading Buddha or Bust now and even if you get it just for the chapter on the Buddhist retreat at Auschwitz, it's worthwhile. Looking forward to your review of the Side of Nirvana.

The Venetian's Wife by Nick Bantock
Category: Fiction - Strange and Magical
6/81

The Venetian's Wife revisits classic Nick Bantock territory--a creative loner facing an intellectual and emotional challenge with elements of mystery and magic. Perhaps because the story revolves around computer correspondence, there are fewer of the rich illustrations found in the Griffin and Sabine books. However, in compensation, the story involves forty-two antique Indian sculptures, an ancient illustrated memoir, a New Orleans artist, and various postcards and maps and is peppered with the usual array of wonderful Bantock stampings and collages.

I loved Sara's computer diary which seemed to reflect the relative ease of quickly typing in an unedited conversation with oneself--something I am more inclined to do at a computer than when journaling with a pen. I also appreciated how the email correspondence between the main character, Sara, and her mysterious employer Nicholas Conti, became less formal and more revealing as the story developed. The deeper character development was an unexpected bonus, adding to an intriguing storyline and entrancing illustrations. (4 stars)

Secrets of Pistoulet by Jana Kolpen
Category: Fiction - Strange and Magical
7/81

As a fan of Nick Bantock and Barbara Hodgson, I had always hoped to stumble across Secrets of Pistoulet. It was not quite what I expected. It is less of an illustrated novel and more of a gift book. I should have picked up on its billing as "an enchanted fable." The illustrations are cute watercolor sketches in a quasi-Provencal style mixed up with photos, translucent vellum overlays and pressed flowers. The bare-boned story tells of a magical inn in the south of France where guests are refreshed by cooking that cures their ills. The book includes a series of recipes to help a quiet man speak more freely, a weary mother of twins regain her energy and so forth. Although the recipes include detailed instructions for purchasing beets from the farmer with the ruddiest complexion and tuning into a lively radio show while making the potage of babble, shopping for ingredients and actually cooking the magical soups are not really described in the story. An enjoyable hour but Pistoulet is probably not a place I will return to again. (3 stars)

Lost Japan by Alex Kerr
Category: Travel
8/81

Lost Japan is a bit dated, but a worthwhile look at how Japan's rush to modernity is changing its culture and landscape. Alex Kerr has a deep love of traditional Japanese arts. He has thatched the roof on his Japanese house in the Iya Valley, befriended Kabuki actors in Tokyo, collected Japanese art in Kyoto, stayed up late doing calligraphy in his temple-side house, worked for a boisterous Texan looking to tap into the Japanese real estate boom and visited every nook and cranny of the country. I appreciated his insights into how the traditional arts of Japan evolved from Chinese origins, changed to reflect changing Japanese culture and are now losing ground to the onslaught of late twentieth-century culture.

The author shares my deep love of the natural world and throughout the book openly laments the heavy toll that Japan's unprecedented economic growth took on mountains, forests, beaches and the viewscape. At points in the book, I almost shed my desire to visit Japan, feeling that all that was left was garish neon, pachinko parlors and electrical pylons marching up every mountainside. However, the final essays turn a corner and provide a glimpse into a Japan that still holds much interest for me -- from the refined gardens of Kyoto to the temples of Nara and the inspiring countryside that frames the journey. All in all, a recommended read for those interested in learning about Japanese culture from a sensitive, but Western, point of view. (4.5 stars)

The Coffee Trader by David Liss
Bonus book

It seems like everywhere people have just read, are reading, or are planning to read The Coffee Trader. I like historical fiction and love coffee so I picked up a copy. I should have looked more closely. I enjoyed the setting, varied cast of characters and interesting plot setup, but felt the author failed to really leverage any of them. Within fifty pages the book had focused so narrowly on the financial grapplings of the characters and a confusing array of puts, stays and futures that I soon lost interest. I pushed through to the end but was left wishing I had learned more about the atmosphere of 17th century Amsterdam, the factors that led to Dutch tolerance for Jews and Muslims in their midst, the motivations (aside from greed) that drove the characters and the factors that fueled the rise of coffee culture throughout Europe. The book was well-written and the inclusion of Alferonda's memoirs broke up the narrative, but I would recommend this only to readers with an interest in financial markets and commercial history. (3 stars)

The Secret Knowledge of Water by Craig Childs
Category: Nature
9/81

The Secret Knowledge of Water beautifully encapsulates the book cover's warning: "There are two easy ways to die in the desert-thirst and drowning." The twelve essays cover everything from ancient maps of desert water holes and endangered desert fishes to shrines honoring the power of water and tales of harrowing escapes from raging floodwaters. Any of the essays is a worthwhile read on its own, but together they paint a complex picture of how geology, geography, ecology and humans shape the ever-changing desert.

Craig Childs never writes from an armchair or the outside looking in. He fully immerses himself in the desert, walking dozens of miles alone in unmapped territory, exploring canyons cognizant of but unworried by the danger of flash flooding, and taking more notes per mile than any other author I've read. He translates his notes into lyrical prose that truly honors the ecosystem he so clearly loves and transports readers into wild places they might never discover on their own. (5 stars)

I loved No Mercy. It was one of the first books on Africa that I read. It was funny as well as heartbreaking with the tragedy that is the Congo. You have your travel category filled, but if you like No Mercy, Blood River by Tim Butcher is excellent as well. Not funny (at all, in fact horrifying in some places) but a more modern look at the Congo in the wake of the Rwandan Genocide.

Great reviews tracy!

Buddha or Bust by Perry Garfinkel
Category: Travel
10/81

Buddha or Bust went a long way toward giving me some background on both the historical origins of and current trends in Buddhism. It recounts the travels of National Geographic writer Perry Garfinkel in search of socially engaged Buddhism. He follows the historical path of Buddhism from India to Sri Lanka, Thailand, China and Japan, then back to U.S. and Europe. The historical background is interspersed with first-person accounts of visiting the temples and holy sites on the dharma path and, although slow-going in places, doesn't bog down the narrative for long. The writer's life experiences, namely being born Jewish and learning from Eastern religious teachers around the world since the 1960s, give him a unique perspective on the way Americans are influencing Buddhism in the Asian world. The book provided enough context that I did not find it all surprising that Buddhists from China are now looking to U.S. institutions such as Naropa University in Boulder for best practice models of Buddhist education.

I left the book feeling I had a basic understanding of how historical Buddhism transformed into the Zen practices of Japan, why traditional Asian Buddhism focuses more on group chanting and ritual rather than the private contemplative practices common in the West, and the conflict between the transcendent worldview of Buddhism and the social activism and outreach coming to the forefront of Buddhism today. I found the chapter on the author's experiences at a Buddhist retreat at Auschwitz very moving and the chapter on Sri Lanka very enlightening (probably reflecting my own ignorance about the country more than anything else). The book concludes with the author's triumph in securing interviews with both Thich Nhat Hahn and the Dalai Lama and falling in love again. Overall, the book is an enjoyable read for anyone interested in knowing a little bit more about Buddhism. (4 stars)

The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone
Category: Food
11/81

The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken is a wonderful tale of the search for family origins. Laura Schenone was at a point where she wanted a recipe of her own -- not from a cookbook, the newspaper or a TV food expert -- nothing less than an authentic old family recipe. I recognized a kindred spirit, madly rolling ravioli instead of celebrating Christmas morning with her husband and children and then feeling unappreciated as her parents and sister flung the bags of handmade ravioli into the freezer and promptly forgot them. I devoured the chapters where she tested recipes (and recoiled with her upon learning her family's filling actually included raw meat and Philadelphia cream cheese), consulted old cookbooks in the New York Public Library, and compared techniques with her gastronomic mentor, Lou. I relished traveling with her to her ancestral homeland near Genoa where she learned traditional techniques and sampled the finest artisanal Italian foods. I loved that her quest to authenticate her great-grandmother's recipe brought her into contact with far flung distant relatives and gave her a chance to make ravioli with her family's ancestral rolling pin. The only parts of the story that seem to break the narrative flow were the long rehashings of Schenone family feuds and the rambling introspections on the author's troubled relationship with both her father and her youngest sister. Nonetheless, the overall story was an enjoyable look into both the history of ravioli in Hoboken, New Jersey and the way food and family are so closely intertwined.

The book concludes with recipes for ravioli, several fillings (including the cream cheese version) and related Italian specialties from the Ligurian region of Italy. Although the author clearly prefers traditional methods, there are detailed instructions for making pasta dough by hand as well as by mixer and for rolling it out by hand as well as with a pasta machine. (4.5 stars)

A Countrywoman's Year by Rosemary Verey
Category: Gardening
12/81

Some time ago, I read and remember finding useful information in Rosemary Verey's The Garden in Winter. I purchased A Countrywoman's Year in hopes of finding more of the same. This volume, however, disappointed. It is a short collection of paragraphs, perhaps diary entries, recounting life at her Gloucestershire home. Although dated 1989, most of the writing seems to have been compiled from the 1970s and includes notes on weather, calendar lore, garden pests and the continued development of the rural English countryside. No particular themes emerged from the collection, nor is there any specific gardening advice. The author's rambling ruminations were a quick, but largely unsatisfying, read. (2 stars)

Ghosts of Tsavo by Phillip Caputo
Category: Nature
13/81

I put off reading Phillip Caputo's Ghosts of Tsavo because it begins with a long recounting of Wayne Hosek's killing of the man-eating lions, Ghost and Darkness. Pushing further into the text, I found a wonderful stockpile of first class nature writing, safari lore, scientific examination of what exactly constitutes a species, and philosophizing on the dichotomy between the mysteries of nature and the science that seeks to explain them.

The book centers on the author's quest to learn whether the maneless lions of Tsavo National Park in Kenya are, in fact, a distinct species from their plains-dwelling maned cousins. Philip Caputo makes his first journey to Tsavo with an eccentric English guide and leaves convinced the maneless lions with a taste for human flesh are the direct descendents of Paleolithic cave-dwelling lions. At the Field Museum in Chicago, he digs deeper into the research of a self-taught big cat expert (formally employed as an ornithological specimen preparer). Then he returns to Africa with a scientific research team who take a narrow view of this speculative research. The varying viewpoints, coupled with the author's near-death experience and wild ramblings induced by malaria drugs, make for a compelling story and an atmospheric introduction to East Africa's charismatic cats. (4.5 stars)

Coming Clean by Michael Brune
Category: Climate Change
14/81

Coming Clean is the book I've been searching for. Billed as the "information, inspiration and tools we need to jump-start a clean energy future," it did not disappoint. The author, Michael Brune of the Rainforest Action Network, takes a comprehensive and global look at the problems created by America's dependence on fossil fuels and thoughtfully examines the alternatives. Although the book covers a lot of ground, it never bogs down. It assesses the true costs of oil and coal, discusses how pay-to-play politics and the current international banking system perpetuate the use of fossil fuels, and then examines alternatives. Chapters are devoted to developing better transit solutions, building better cars, finding appropriate uses for biofuels, integrating sun and wind energy into the grid and leveraging conservation for all it's worth.

One of the most inspiring things about this book is its focus on success stories. Although Brune paints a bleak picture of America's current energy policy and the political system that spawned it, he always reminds readers that change is possible and backs up the assertion with stories of his successes in stopping rainforest destruction in the Amazon basin and around the world. He is a firm believer that true change arises out of grassroots activism and his enthusiasm is catching. I finished the book with a long list of things I want to do, things I want to speak out against, and things I want to learn more about.

I liked the format of this book as well as the content. Compelling facts are set out in "pass it on" sidebars. Each chapter includes suggested actions for individuals wanting to make a difference, ways to for activists to make their views know, and suggested reading, viewing and web links. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to be part of the solution. (5 stars)

The Potting-Shed Papers by Charles Elliott
Category: Gardening
15/81

Charles Elliott's The Potting-Shed Papers is a collection of essays, many reprinted from Horticulture magazine, that effortlessly blend garden history and contemporary garden trends. Elliott is at his best writing about the golden age of plant exploration, historic gardeners and their writings, and the origins of plants such as tree peonies and flowering cherries. His experiences actually gardening in both the U.S. and Wales provide for interesting insights into differing practices whether it be for laying out vegetable beds or maintaining lawns. His exposure to gardening around the world is shared via delightful commentary on the Ingurishu (English cottage style) gardens of Japan and the inner workings of a top Dutch nursery.

To me the most touching essay was "On Keeping Track," a rumination on gardening journals spurred by the discovery of an unknown woman's forty years of garden notes in a small leather-bound book headed for a charity shop. It brings together all of Elliott's interests--plants, gardens, and garden history--and leaves the gardening reader feeling part of an unbroken continuum of gardeners always awaiting the next best bloom. Recommended for anyone with more than a passing interest in historical aspects of gardening. (4 stars)

>36 tracyfox: what a lovely review, Tracy. I don't have much on plants in my challenge, but I am reading a book on orchids next month. Maybe next year I should have a Garden category.

>37 VictoriaPL: Thanks VictoriaPL. I love garden books, especially anything by Bev Nichols. You will enjoy Orchid Fever ... I read it about the same time as The Orchid Thief and found the two really went well together.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Category: Fiction - Around the World
16/81

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is a compelling character study set in a Nigerian village at the turn of the last century. The story chronicles the first encounters between the polytheistic Igbo people and Christian missionaries. Obligations to the gods, cultural taboos regarding twins, the disabled and death, and unanticipated pronouncements from oracular priests and priestesses all govern the tribe's communal decision-making. Strictly delineated roles for men, women and children and tribal titles granting tribe members privileges such as harvesting palm wine govern day-to-day life. Okonkwo, a young Igbo man hoping to better himself despite his shamefully indolent father, feels these pressures acutely but manages for the most part to push ahead in the tribal hierarchy without making waves. The tribe's routines are upset when a priest erects a chapel in the evil forest where twins and outcasts are sent to live apart from the villages. Predictably, things fall apart. As Oberieka, one of the Igbo elders, put it: "The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart."

One of the things I enjoyed most about the book was its depiction of Igbo tribal rites and the way the author used conversations between Igbo elders and the Christian missionaries to explain the interrelationships between the pantheon of Igbo gods and the tribe's animistic practices. I feel like I now have at least a concrete examples of how a polytheistic African religion weaves in and out of daily life. That is not to say that the specifics of that religion left me unmoved. At various points in the story, I longed for someone to step forward and put an end to the violence against women, the practice of leaving unwanted infants to die in the forest, and the senseless sacrifice of innocent children, but was disappointed.

Another thing I did like about the book was its explosive ending. I felt it resolved all the major plot turns, without tumbling into a predictable, overly tidy end. The bitterly ironic comment that concludes the story was a graceful end note.

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting an interesting introduction to black African literature. In some ways, the book so closely mirrors a Greek tragedy that it's hard to forget you are reading a title common on high school world literature reading lists. On the other hand, it's an excellent read that can be enjoyed in just a few evenings and it's on those reading lists for a reason. (4.5 stars)

Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux
Category: Travel
17/81

Dark Star Safari has generated widely differing reviews. Some people find Theroux's insights into contemporary Africa well-informed and valuable. Others deride him as a constant complainer, arrogant know-it-all and secret hater of all things African. I think both sides have valid points.

This is a fast-paced narrative that quickly takes the reader off the beaten African track. The author's self-designed "safari" takes him from Cairo to Capetown on everything from careening minibuses and broken down steamers to luxury trains and dugout canoes. Along the way Theroux can't help but keep reminding us that he is seeing the Africa most people never experience because he is willing to travel without an itinerary and passively outwait the delays. At times he comes across as smug. Other times his comments (particularly about tourists visiting Egyptian ruins and East African game parks) degenerate into nastiness and serve only to underscore that he is losing his battle with time and becoming an old crank.

The two things I enjoyed most about Theroux's recounting of his journey were the way he wove history (both ancient and contemporary) into the narrative and the pains he took to continue asking difficult questions (why Africans are so violent, why international aid fails in Africa, what missionaries think they are actually bringing to Africa) well past the point of politeness. These conversations don't make the author likeable in the least, but they do make for an interesting read.

The thing I liked least about the book was Theroux's unending fascination with prostitution, female circumcision and how often Africans have sex. Only mentioned with a sly wink or nudge, these topics were not broached in any meaningful way and would have, for the most part, been better either left out or explored further. As handled, these topics only reinforce my perception of Theroux as an aging alpha (at least in his own mind) male. Also irritatingly, Theroux spends numerous hours in the book working on an erotic story which is not included in the text.

Nevertheless, the story wouldn't be the story without Theroux and in my opinion he is a lot like someone you meet at a dinner party -- full of bold swashbuckling stories and opinions on everything, a conversation partner you for enjoyably passing the time, but not someone you'd want to spend every waking hour with. For me, Dark Star Safari lived up to its name. It gave me a better understanding of how different Africa truly is (like a dark star), how severe its problems are, and how difficult they will be to solve. I also left with a keen appreciation of the varied cultures and geography that make up the continent and some insights into why one-size solutions will probably fail. Faced with several harrowing situations and many nights in uncomfortable conditions, I found Theroux's complaints valid as presented. His criticisms were harsh at times, but seemingly voiced out of true concern for Africa and its people. (4 stars)

Just in case you're interested--there was a program called "Chinua Achebe: A Hero Returns" on BBC Radio Four about Nigeria now and about Achebe and his family. It was really interesting. Radio Four allows you to listen to old programming on the internet, if you're interested.

You know, Theroux was an old crank as early as The Great Railway Bazaar. I keep thinking that I should like him (I love good travel writing) but have never managed to even tolerate him. I'll stick to Redmon O'Hanlon or Rory Nugent.

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Thanks for the tip on the Achebe homecoming ... it was fascinating portrait of both the author and the country. I found his comments on the loss of oral tradition really forward-looking and something I wish more authors would embrace.

"We are fascinated by the oral tradition, and it's right that we should be fascinated. But if it's not going to work any more in the future, then rather than sit and weep and mourn, why don't we find out what has come to replace it?"

As to Mr. Theroux, I hadn't read him for years. When I first strayed from the fiction shelf into the realm of narrative nonfiction, I read The Old Patagonian Express and Riding the Iron Rooster. I remember liking the books, but liking even more the idea of a first person travel book recounting a somewhat contemporary journey. (Somehow I made it through school without being exposed to this type of writing and it took me almost ten years of post-educational reading to find it and really succumb to its pleasures.)

Now having read lots of books of this type, I agree that I prefer other authors and, even more, travel with a more specific mission than just seeing and reporting on the state of things. Nonetheless, Theroux's projects are ambitious in scale and cover areas that few others in the genre visit. I do plan to pluck No Mercy from my tbr pile ... but my husband warns I may be too squeamish for some of the parasite problems O'Hanlon encounters. I looked up Rory Nugent and simply must get my hands on a copy of The Search for the Pink-Headed Duck. I have never read much on the Himalayas and I am an obsessed birder. There's a hardback copy on Amazon for $1. Maybe if I get my taxes done by the end of the weekend ...

Wow, 21 books already finished and all your terrific comments, a great thread! Might as well link an RSS feed directly to my amazon wishlist, I've already added The Secret Knowledge of Water, Kitchen, The Lost Ravioli Recipes ... and that's with prioritizing! :)

Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
Category: Fiction - Around the World
18/81

Disgrace is sparse, sharp, and dark. It contained no colorful natives, no majestic wildlife, and no exotic scents or flavors. It quickly, almost surgically, boxed the main character, communications professor David Lurie, into a prison of his making. Chance circumstances leave Lurie looking for sexual companionship and a series of bad choices lead to his disgrace. Readily admitting his guilt, but unwilling to admit to any remorse, Lurie compounds his disgrace and is exiled to his estranged daughter's country home. In a self-imposed solitary confinement, cut off from the rural community by his homophobia, sexism and racism and other bigotries, he is forsaken even by the romantic poet Byron and can only empathize with Byron's left-behind lover Teresa as she fades into middle age.

I specifically chose this book because it deals with the aftershocks of apartheid. Due to Coetzee's minimalist approach, the reader learns little about the various characters' previous experiences. No specific reasons are given for David Lurie's suspicions about Petrus, his daughter's black "dog man." No details are shared about the circumstances that left Lurie's daughter Lucy running a dog kennel and a farmer's market garden by herself in rural South Africa. Nonetheless, what Coetzee does choose to include paints a complex picture of human interactions -- between men and women, parents and children, victims and perpetrators of crimes and blacks and whites. Coetzee's characters are maddeningly inarticulate, but in many ways their inability and unwillingness to explain their motivations speaks for them. I was left in many places feeling that I would never understand Coetzee's characters' actions because I haven't lived their lives.

One of the most interesting aspects to me was the role that animals played in the story. As part of his disgrace, Lurie assigns himself to help at a local animal shelter which attempts to give unwanted dogs a dignified death. He even goes so far as to transport the dogs to the local hospital for incineration and oversee the process himself. Despite being a thoroughly despicable character, Lurie's tenderness with the dogs left me sobbing and gasping for breath. This was especially troubling because the terrible things that happened to other characters in the story didn't move me to nearly the same degree.

Although this was a dark, depressing book it is masterfully written and I have thought more about it after the fact than any book I have in several years. (5 stars)

I've been eyeing Disgrace for some time, so thank you for your review. Now I'm still unsure, but for completely different reasons. Maybe if I'm at an unreasonably cheerful place in my life, I'll bring it down off of the shelf.

Detailmuse, thanks and I know you'll enjoy any or all of the three.

RidgewayGirl, don't let my dark review scare you off. With Coetzee's minimialist prose, the book is a quick read. After about 60 pages, I really couldn't put it down for more than a few hours. The story is painful but over fairly quickly and cathartic in a way too. In my opinion, it's not just for the unreasonable cheerful.

The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany
Category: Fiction - Around the World
19/81

The Yacoubian Building is a melange of stories revolving around a commercial building in Cairo. This book has been on my tbr pile for a few years. I had originally selected the book just to read something contemporary translated from Arabic. For me, this ended up being the most enjoyable aspect of the read overall. I liked getting a feel for how Egyptians use names -- from formal full names to first names to endearments. I liked going to a map and puzzling out the geographies of the various Cairo neighborhoods and surrounding communities. I liked the way the Koran was quoted, giving me a sense of how it might be interjected into everyday life.

The cast of characters seemed to run the gamut of Egyptian stereotypes … from the aging debonair playboy and his sister the shrew-like crone to the poor student-turned-fundamentalist and his too-practical less-conservative girlfriend. Thrown in were a few scheming servants, greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians and semi-closeted homosexuals. The predictable dramas ensued as the characters scratched out a living, confronted bigotries of various kinds, and searched for love. The novel was fast-paced, laying out the circumstances for a particular character, and then moving to another. To me this organization made it easy to stay interested in the various people moving in and out of the Yacoubian building even if they were a bit two-dimensional.

This book may not be what people typically think of as an "African" read, but it is nonetheless an enjoyable introduction (albeit with a very Western-leaning worldview) to a vibrant African culture. (4 stars)

I love your reviews, tracyfox. I am also adding The Secret Knowledge of Water and The Lost Ravioli Recipes to my list.

The Leopard by Guiseppe di Lampedusa
Category: Fiction - Around the World
20/81

The Leopard is a lush series of vignettes set at the birth of a united Italy beginning in the 1860s. Its author, Guiseppe di Lampedusa, is the great grandson of Sicilian Prince Don Fabrizio, also know as "The Leopard" and the main character of the novel.

The novel captures the slow, sensual, sun-baked world of Sicily as characters maneuver to find love and happiness and preserve their way of life. Things move slowly and people change only reluctantly, understanding that "things must change in order to stay the same." The author uses the story to help readers place the Sicilian worldview in the context of the landscape and its history. The prince languidly discusses the coming political changes as the story moves forward. He confides his antipathy toward change to his ambitious nephew. He listens to the reasoned emotions of his faithful retainer who prefers royal generosity. He sees the opportunity for characters like the greedy mayor of the small town where his estates are located. His final decision on where to secure his place in the new regime gives the reader some insights into the politics of another time and culture.

In structuring the book, the author makes interesting choices about how to organize the chronological progression of events and what to include and exclude. For me the book started slowly but built in intensity and ended with a satisfying but unconventional resolution. (4 stars)

An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
Category: Climate Change
21/81

I wanted to read An Inconvenient Truth again now that climate change is a more mainstream topic and the hoopla over the movie has passed. My reread reminded me of how moving I found Al Gore's personal story and how inspiring I found his view that the climate crisis "offers us the chance to experience what very few generations in history have had the privilege of knowing: a generational mission; the exhilaration of a compelling moral purpose, a shared and unifying cause; the thrill of being forced by circumstances to put aside the pettiness and conflict that so often stifle the restless human need for transcendence; the opportunity to rise." While it may strike some as overly dramatic, in light of recent events I find this insight from 2006 eerily prescient.

Often books dealing with environmental issues and current events become quickly dated. An Inconvenient Truth mainly deals with the scientific data behind global warming, laying out the case that human activities are releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, causing global warming and ultimately endangering the natural systems that regulate the planet. All of this data still seems relevant. The book still makes the case for taking action on climate change very eloquently (and convincingly in my opinion) with words, charts and graphs, maps and stunning photographs. Its layout and typography seem fresh and contemporary, but serious and scientific at the same time. It closely mirrors the movie and at times leaves the reader with that same "Powerpoint Overload!!!" feeling. Nonetheless, I find it an excellent presentation overall.

To me, it is the fact that only 20 of 320 pages are devoted to solutions that makes the book seem dated. I like to think that most people who would be inclined to take action on an environmental issue now accept the reality of global warming. The only serious points of debate that remain are about the most expedient and equitable way to do so and the book provides little of relevance to this debate. (4 stars)

I liked your review of The Leopard, a book I've been meaning to read for ages. I'll have to move it up my tbr list.

Lindapanzo and avatiakh, thanks for your comments on my reviews. I am really enjoying putting the reviews together. It's especially gratifying to be able to remember not only what I read in January but even something about each book. In the past I have had difficulty remembering what I read two weeks ago, let alone two months!

Now if I could just get caught up ... I am six reviews behind (eight if you count audiobooks).

Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman
Category: Climate Change
22/81

It's no surprise that Hot, Flat and Crowded has generated so much press. Thomas Friedman, who in his 2005 best-seller made a strong case for globalization without even mentioning the environment, has definitely seen the light and added his voice to call for immediate U.S. action on climate change. The book uses his trademark format—traveling the world, hobnobbing with muckety-mucks and movers and shakers, and jotting down brilliant flashes of insight on whatever cocktail napkin is at hand. Seriously, the author does an excellent job of dissecting the implications of climate change for the U.S. and world economies as well as for biodiversity and the overall health of the biosphere. He tackles tough issues like population control and the material wants of growing economies in the developing world head on. His chapter on petropolitics makes a well-reasoned arguement that the transfer of immense wealth to oil-producing nations has shifted the geopolitical balance and ultimately diminished freedom around the world. His discussion of energy poverty—the pressing need for sustainable, nonpolluting power in Africa—highlights dimensions of the problem often overlooked in the mainstream media. All-in-all, the first half of the book does a masterful job of making the climate change problem relevant to Americans outside the environmental movement.

The second half of the book is more problematic. Friedman begins his assessment of solutions by belittling the notion that individuals can make lifestyle changes that to help alleviate global warming. Admittedly ten ways to save the earth (and money to boot) won't immediately reverse current climate trends, but I think they are every bit as important as many of the solutions Friedman envisions—particularly the idea of a smart energy grid with automated appliances in a country that can't even manage the digital TV conversion on an overly generous time line. Friedman contends that the only way to move the economy away from carbon-based fuels is to set a floor on oil and gas prices—he suggests keeping gas at a minimum of $4.50 a gallon and, for example, when prices fall to $2.00 a gallon using the extra $2.50 a gallon to fund alternative fuels. He also advocates energy efficiency through LEED building standards, plug-in electric hybrid vehicles and the creation of Noah's ark-like biodiversity reserves to stem equatorial deforestation. While all of these solutions are laudable long-term goals, they will take years to achieve and are financially unobtainable for most Americans (and Chinese and Indians). Few have the resources to buy all new appliances, replace their cars with plug-in hybrids and build new LEED-certified homes. I suspect even fewer in the developing world will be willing to leave Beijing or Mumbai and eek out a living by farming on the edge of a bioreserve. It is my hope that Thomas Friedman, having heard the altar call and burst forth evangelizing, will continue to tap the minds of the world's best and brightest and find solutions that allow everyone, not just the ultra-rich and rural poor, to participate in the solution. (4.5 stars)

Hearbreak Tango by Manuel Puig
Category: Fiction – Around the World
23/81

Heartbreak Tango recounts the life and loves of Juan Carlos, a small-town Argentinian bureaucrat, as he slowly dies of tuberculosis. Good-looking, well-mannered Juan Carlos is the apple of his mother's eye and a prize jealously guarded by his sister Celina. He alternately pursues Nene, a local shop girl tainted by scandal, and Mabel, a teacher from a wealthy local family. His romantic pursuits, along with late-night visits to local widow and evenings out with his carousing card-playing friends, ultimately drive him to exhaustion.

On the surface, this story is a typical tale of romantic entanglement. Puig, best known for The Kiss of the Spider Woman, reframes the story as a series of excerpts from letters, diaries and newspaper clippings and plays with the chronology. The story begins with Nene's letters to Juan Carlos' mother following his death and travels backward and forward in time, alternately bringing the characters closer together and driving them further apart. All of the women idealize Juan Carlos and pity his tragic demise, all the while failing to see the ongoing tragedies that have left them heartbroken and alone. Billed as a novel in a series of installments, reminiscent of a 1940s serial romance, the novel has flashes of wit and at times draws the reader into the puzzle of piecing together Juan Carlos' love life. An enjoyable read in a somewhat experimental form, but not groundbreaking in any way. (3.5 stars)

Bottomfeeder by Taras Grescoe
Category: Food
24/81

Bottomfeeder is a fascinating look at where seafood comes from and how our seafood choices impact the planet. Taras Grescoe is willing to go anywhere and try anything once—from jellyfish to whale meat. He explores a range of seafood options from top ocean predators like shark, tuna and salmon to those feeding lower on the food chain such as oysters, sardines and pollack. The book does a great job balancing the good and bad news. Each chapter is a case study—where a particular type of seafood comes from, how it is harvested and how it is consumed. The author travels around the wold, interviewing fishermen and fish farmers, visiting fish markets and sampling seafood delicacies. Chapters cover everything from Chesapeake Bay oysters and British Columbian farmed salmon to Portuguese sardines and Indian farmed shrimp. Grescoe does a thorough job of explaining why fishing practices such as bottom trawling for monkfish destroy the sea floor, how aquaculture introduces new pathogens into the ocean environment and leaves behind concentrated toxic wastes and the implications of mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants finding its way into seafood. He makes a strong case for becoming a “bottomfeeder,” eating species lower on the food chain such as herring, sablefish, squid and mussels and concludes the book with a list of resources to help interested readers follow his example. An engaging blend of travel, food and environmental writing, Bottomfeeder manages to nudge readers toward better seafood choices without becoming preachy or sanctimonious.

In a handy summary at the end of the book, Grescoe recommends against ever eating bluefin tuna, Atlantic cod and halibut, Chilean sea bass, grouper, monkfish, orange roughy, shark, skate, Atlantic sole and tilefish. He heartily endorses eating Atlantic char and barramundi, Pacific halibut, herring, jellyfish, mackerel, mullet, oysters and mussels, pollock, sablefish, sardines, squid, trout and whiting. He includes notes on other species such as catfish, crab, lobster, salmon and tuna (other than bluefin) where the recommendations for sustainable seafood choices are more nuanced. (4.5 stars)

In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin
Category: Travel
25/81

Often mentioned as a classic of travel writing, I had high expectations for In Patagonia. Flipping through the book, I saw photos of glaciers and ancient cave paintings. I should have looked more closely at the photos of rugged homesteaders and abandoned ranches. Chatwin's classic trek is tightly focused on the settlement of Patagonia by various Europeans and the possibility that Argentina was the last hiding place for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The book mainly recounts the names and home countries of various settlers and the type of livestock they raised and the church they attended. It provides little more than a few rambling theories about the notorious cowboy's time in Patagonia. The author never finds the time to describe the natural splendor of Patagonia or the history or culture of its original inhabitants. The framing of the tale is interesting but Chatwin's search of the origins of his Uncle Charley's Giant Sloth skin is a very small part of the story and not enough to make up for the monotony of the seemingly endless slog from isolated ranch to isolated ranch. (2 stars)

The Night Villa by Carol Goodman
Category: Fiction – Strange and Magical
26/81

I was looking for a little mystery and a few thrills and The Night Villa delivered. In the wake of a tragic campus shooting, University of Texas Classicist Sophie Chase decides to join an intriguing archeo-technology expedition (led by a handsome rival from another department and fully funded by a mysterious software mogul of course) on the Isle of Capri. A team of specialists is working to unearth the Night Villa, a palace filled with erotic mosaics depicting mysterious religious rites, and to decode a cache of ancient manuscripts supposedly brought to the villa just before the Mt. Vesuvius eruption. The team is living in a lavish recreation of the Night Villa and using advanced computer scans to virtually peel apart the layers of manuscripts supposedly lost to history. Dr. Chase is haunted by after-effects of the shooting and a difficult breakup with her Texas lover who left her for an esoteric cult based on the teaching of Pythagoras. As events unfold, Dr. Chase realizes things are not as they seem. Her friends may, in fact, be foes. Her research may take a dramatic turn. People may still be practicing ancient sacrificial rites. The departed may actually reappear. The Night Villa is a traditional tale with just enough twists and turns to make it an enjoyable diversion. (3.5 stars)

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
Bonus Book

I can't imagine how I missed out on reading Nabokov's masterpiece Pale Fire for all these years. I am thrilled to have made the acquaintance of this remarkable text. A shimmering puzzle of poetry and prose, it defies classification.

The book purports to be the annotated posthumous publication of poet John Shade's final four cantos, an autobiographical poem that explores the meaning of life and art. The notes are written by a neighbor in the insulated university town where Shade lived and works. The poem's notes quickly dispense with any pretense of explicating the poem and instead recount the commentator's life and his relationship with the poet and his wife. The commentator casts himself as the exiled ruler of the northern kingdom of Zembla. He believed his epic tale to be worthy of commemoration and, as he ardently pursues a friendship with the poet John Shade, he hopes Shade will find the words to frame his story and praise the beauties of his glorious land. His growing frustration at Shade's autobiographical poem, which fails to capitalize on the brilliant material he has supplied, builds throughout the notes.

The book is rife with word play, characters leading double lives and outright lies in places. At many junctures, Nabokov's presence is palpable and the reader is left to wonder which fictional characters and which fictional events are imaginary and which are real … quite a feat for a work of fiction. The bizarre commentary and index at the end of the book give the careful readers many clues that only raise more questions and leave the reader anxious to start unraveling the puzzle all over again. (5 stars and perhaps the best book I've ever read).

The Grail Bird by Tim Gallagher
Nature
27/81

The Grail Bird is a rich trove of woodpecker lore. The author admits a lifelong fascination with the elusive giant woodpecker of southern hardwood swamps and his enthusiasm is contagious. Readers are treated to a whirlwind review of Ivorybill records from Jim Tanner's meticulous fieldwork in the Singer Tract in Louisiana in the 1930s to the more controversial sound recordings made by John Dennis in the Big Thicket of Texas in the 1960s and other more recent reports. Along the way we are introduced to two schools of thought … the skeptics who are certain there are no Ivorybills left to be found and the optimists who believe that birders just don't haunt the deep swamps where the shy, reclusive birds that have survived now take refuge. Although Gallagher, employed by the prestigious Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, understands that by casting his lot with the optimists he may be lumped with the Bigfoot chasers and "Nessie" nuts, he gamely forges ahead.

In the first half of the book, Gallagher revisits past Ivorybill haunts across the south and interviews the dwindling few who can make a credible case for having seen an Ivorybill in the wild. Upon returning to New York, Gallagher learns of an intriguing sighting by a lone kayaker deep in the Arkansas bottomland swamp. Predictably, he turns around and heads south again. He quickly assembles a small search party and is soon trailing the kayaker among the cypress and tupelo. The second half of the book recounts Gallagher's search for the grail bird. His narrative moves quickly (especially for a description of what is essentially sitting and waiting for a bird to appear) and meanders into examinations of the implications of extinction and refinding an extinct bird, the role of skepticism in fieldwork and ornithology, and the importance of acknowledging how little we actually know about how birds make their way in a world so dramatically shaped by man. A true quest story and recommended for birders or anyone interested in the relationship between humans and the creatures they have driven to extinction. (4 stars)

Bottlemania by Elizabeth Royte
Toxics and Waste
28/81

Elizabeth Royte's Bottlemania follows the successful formula of her previous book, Garbage Land. This time, the focus of her keen interest is the rapid growth of bottled water consumption and its implications for America's public water supply. Much of the narrative centers around events in Fryeburg, Maine where local activists are fighting a Poland Springs bottling plant which they contend is depleting the Wards Brook aquifer and changing the ecology of local ponds and streams. Royte uses the events in Fryeburg as a starting point for examining water rights, hydrogeology, the quality of municipal water supplies and bottled water marketing.

In various chapters, Royte chronicles the effects of groundwater pumping cascading through ecosystems--changing water temperature, the dominant plant cover, populations of aquatic invertebrates and ultimately fish. She visits a water treatment plant in Kansas City to learn how the muddy Mississippi River, "redolent of industrial agriculture, feedlots and ethanol plants," is transformed into crystal clear drinking water. She discusses groundwater pollutants such as the herbicide atrazine, the tradeoffs of using chlorine and chloramines for water treatment and emerging water quality threats such as MTBE (a gasoline additive) and pharmaceutical byproducts. After visiting a bottling plant, plastic too comes under scrutiny and the narrative branches to examine bottle deposit laws, cities banishing bottled water in municipal buildings and more. Royte does an excellent job of interweaving the Fryeburg saga with larger issues surrounding drinking water in the U.S. One of her concerns that resonated most with me was her belief that opting for private bottled water ultimately weakens public water supplies which needs to be safeguarded for people who can afford nothing else. I, for one, will be sticking with tap water. (5 stars)

Your reviews are really interesting and what a diverse selection of non-fiction. Bottlemania sounds really relevant for today's world. I've now got to add a few more titles to my tbr list - Pale Fire and The night villa.

Early Spring by Amy Seidl
Climate Change
29/81

Early Spring is one of the first books I've read that puts climate change into a local context. The author, Amy Seidl, a naturalist and ecologist, uses a combination of firsthand observation, recollections of past springs, historical records and recent scientific papers to bear witness to the changes global warming has brought to the seasons in New England. Chapters are devoted to weather patterns, garden phenology, forest composition and its implications for maple sugaring, ice freezeup on local rivers and ponds, and the birds, butterflies and wildflowers that share her local ecosystem.

The book does an excellent job of weaving basic ecological principals into a very readable narrative. The author understands how difficult it is to extract meaningful local trends from global climate patterns but forges ahead and presents the complex interrelationships of weather, ecosystems and seasonal trends in a way that balances the changes observable today with speculations about what the future may hold.

I found the chapters on birds and butterflies especially informative. Looking at spring migration trends, the author examines the different adaptive strategies of short- and long-distance migrants. She reports that short-distance migrants (who move based on local weather conditions) often benefit from a longer breeding season while long-distance migrants (who move based on astronomical clues and day length) can be hampered by changes in seasonal abundance of resources needed during migration and breeding as well as extreme weather. She also discusses the increasing frequency of West Nile Virus (triggered by lengthening warm seasons and subsequent increases in mosquito populations) and its implications for both bird and human populations. In the butterfly chapter, the author points out the effects of localized drought and flooding on host plants, nectar sources and butterflies such as the Bay checkerspot which times it emergence to coincide with the flowering of Indian paintbrush and plantains. She also considers how plants will use the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and presents her own research regarding an increased concentration of salicortin in willows, a compound that discourages insect predation, and could ultimately have serious implications for feeding caterpillars.

I would recommend this book for anyone with an interest in their local ecosystem. It will resonate with readers moved by the writings of Rachel Carson or Aldo Leopold. Although the book is titled Early Spring, it deals with the impact of climate change in all four seasons. While the author hails from Vermont, she uses examples from across the United States. It is, all in all, a gentle introduction to the lost art of nature study from someone who has clearly moved from being an observer to being an engaged participant in her local ecosystem. (5 stars)

Thank you for that recommendation. That sounds right up my alley, even if my alley is the Chesapeake! It hits the wishlist. PS: Bad touchstone. I was reading the reviews for a novel by VC Andrews with "Spring" in the title without realizing it. Odd experience.

Thanks for your comments avatiakh and bk04011. I fixed the Early Spring touchstone ... don't know why these always seem to get messed up for me.

Early Spring sounds very palatable for someone like me who is interested in learning more, but sometimes lazy when it comes to subjects like this.

Tracyfox - surely you know that touchstones are a chronic thorn-in-the-side for all of us. Love to have them; cannot make them sit still and behave. Hmmmm. Sounds like ...

Going with the Grain by Susan Seligson
Food and Cooking
30/81

Susan Seligson's Going with the Grain is a series of travel essays centered around the search for authentic bread. Seligson, who strangely isn't troubled by the urge to recreate these breads at home, visits far flung bakers in Morocco, Jordan and India as well as artisans closer to home. She observes baking in humble home kitchens, throwback earth ovens, and large factories. Focusing on bread in a cultural context, her insights create an interesting mosaic of what bread means to different people in different circumstances.

Seligson is at her best when exploring closer to home. Her enthusiasm shines when she delves the secrets of hearth baked loaves fresh from carefully engineered wood-fired oven in upstate New York, but does not flag when she visits the world's largest Wonder Bread bakery in Maine. She engages the reader equally when describing how biscuits are baked in Alabama and when recounting the careful preparations of the quintessential French baugette in Paris. Although each essay concludes with a recipe, the recipes themselves seem somewhat an afterthought. Seligson seems to have taken her journeys prior to conceiving the book. Although the concept is well executed essay-by-essay, it lacks the overall cohesion of a perfect loaf. Still, I would recommend this book as an enjoyable read that can be dipped into as dough is rising or loaves are baking. (3.5 stars)

Grace from the Garden by Debra Landwehr Engle
Gardening
31/81

Grace from the Garden is a delightful read, especially when gardens are coming into the voluptuous fullness of early summer. The book explores the intersection of gardening, wellness, sustainability, community-building and social activism. Debra Landwehr Engle has captured the essence of what gardening means to so many people. I intended to read this book over several weeks, but found the stories so inspirational I returned for another almost every day.

A series of essays explore different approaches to gardening—from the lovingly tended flower beds of a German immigrant to the wild tangle of a gardener who welcomes the native flora and fauna of her region. It gives equal time to those who garden for beauty and those who garden to put food on tables sorely lacking in fresh produce. Some gardens blossom in remote rural areas and others flourish in inner cities. Some are tended by children experiencing their first glimpse of something growing and green. Others focus on the twilight of life, providing a place to provoke fond memories from minds clouded by Alzheimer's. It's hard to say if I was most moved by the generous project to bring lettuce greenhouses from North Carolina to North Korea (started by the children of Korean missionaries in the 1920s), the GardenAngel program in Alabama which pairs volunteer caretakers with elderly gardeners, or the brighter future envisioned by participants in the Iowa Juvenile Home's gardening program. I highly recommend you read the book and decide for yourself. (5 stars)

Birdsong by Don Stap
Natural History
32/81

Birdsong by Don Stap is perfect for the bright days of spring when the full chorus of birds explodes each morning. Divided into three parts, it provides a broad overview of the current state of bioaccoustics. The author begins by tagging along with noted researcher Don Kroodsma on an expedition to capture the different vocalizations of chickadees on Martha's Vineyard. The complexity of this familiar song provides a deft segue into an overview of bird vocalization and the role songs play in bird life.

The second part of the book recounts the author's experiences at the highly regarded bioaccoustic workshop run by San Francisco State University in the Sierra Nevada. Stap introduces an interesting cast of instructors and students and uses both groups' goals to help the reader understand the importance of and potential for contributing to the current knowledge of bird song. This section also underscores the challenges in getting high quality bird song recordings—something I imagine to be even more difficult than getting a decent bird photograph.

The final section, most interesting of all to me, deals with the conundrum of bird song learning in species that are not true songbirds. Stap paints an intriguing picture of how researchers come to focus on a particular questions, recounting the moment Don Kroodsma first heard the song of the three-wattled bellbird on a CD and then later fatefully encountered it on a trip to Costa Rica. This sets the stage for an in-depth examination of the interplay between different populations, bird ages (known through banding studies) and their songs and a challenge to traditional scientific thinking. Traditional thinking says that true songbirds (including thrushes, warblers and sparrows among others) learn their songs while suboscines (an evolutionary branch of the avian tree that includes flycatchers and bellbirds) are genetically programmed and sing the same song regardless of whether they hear it as a nestling or not. Kroodsma's research includes repeated forays to record bellbirds in the tropics and LT member Chris Sharpe gets a nod for his recordings of bellbirds in the late 1990s. The end result, although unsatisfying for the reader, tells volumes about the scientific research process. Highly recommended (4.5 stars)

A Minor Apocalypse by Tadeuz Konwicki
Category: Fiction - Around the World
33/81

A Minor Apocalypse is a surreal tale of the last hours of a dissident writer in communist Warsaw. On the day of a major party Congress proclaiming the unity of the Polish and Russian people, the narrator, a writer known but not too well known, is approached by his friends and asked to set himself ablaze outside Congress Hall in a final act of rebellion against the state. Alone in the world, exhausted, and embittered, the protagonist reluctantly agrees and sets out to see to the details of his immolation. Along the way, in a series of increasingly dreamlike episodes, he falls in love, buys lighter fluid, befriends a young acolyte, locates good quality Swedish matches, attends a film screening, samples the delicacies awaiting a private Party-members-only banquet, is betrayed and more.

The text is interlaced with biting commentary on suppression of artistic expression, the hypocrisy of his fellow dissidents and the crushing burden of living in a totalitarian state. The narrator thinks brilliant thoughts but shares them with no one he encounters. His mute willingness to plod forward toward the fate his colleagues have selected for him begins to echo Christ's journey toward Golgotha. However, the narrator is far too cynical to believe that his sacrifice will make any difference at all. A tense narrative that leaves the reader guessing to the very end. Highly recommended for fans of political fantasy, surrealism and literature of the former Eastern Bloc. (4.5 stars)

Death in Danzig by Stefan Chwin
Category: Fication - Around the World
34/81

Death in Danzig tells the story of the changing fortunes of Lessingstrasse/Grottger street in Dansig/Gdansk at the end of World War II. The city and its surrounds, once part of the Hanseatic League, were declared a Free City under UN jurisdiction after World War I. Prior to that the area had passed between German, Prussian and Polish hands numerous times. At the beginning of World War II, Danzig was almost exclusively German. As the end of the war neared, Germans fled to the west and Poles fleeing the siege of Warsaw flooded in, closely followed by the Russian army. This shifting balance of cultures sets the stage for the novel as old residents leave Lessignstrasse and new ones take their places on Grottger street.

The ever-changing cast of characters centers around the residents of house 17. An anatomy professor, haunted by the death of his lover when a ferry capsizes in the harbor, walks away from his job but is unable to tear himself from the city. Instead he takes refuge in German language and literature in the privacy of his rooms. A family fleeing Warsaw takes over the downstairs apartment and is soon joined by a Slavic housekeeper carrying her own secrets from places left unsaid and a mute boy taken in off the street. As the novel moves forward, flashbacks help the reader understand the complex emotions of the German Hanemann who alternately fixates on the grace of the human body, suicide, the beauty of art, the search for meaning in life, and the nature of communication. The narration of other chapters by the family's young son and his confusion about the many things he doesn't quite understand create a dreamlike elegy to a city that is slowly dying.

One of the most intriguing things about this book, even in translation, is the way names vacillate between German and Polish in the text. As the novel progresses, names shift from German to Polish, Poles come to Hanemann hoping to learn to German, and Hanemann himself finds refuge from the vagaries of language in the graceful and descriptive gestures of the sign language he uses to communicate with the mute boy. To manage to capture this aspect of the book while introducing a third language to the mix is surely the mark of a masterful translator, Philip Boehm. Highly recommended for those interested in exploring a lesser known aftermath of the war and those intrigued by the implications of changing place names. (4.5 stars)

Death in Danzig sounds fascinating. I will have to look for it.

I am a Polish American (parents were born here but grandparents were born in Poland) and I grew up hearing stories from my Busia (grandmother) about the changing borders. My Polish maternal grandfather did not want to get roped into the Russian army at one point so he fled the country. (He died when I was 6 months old so I never got the chance to ask about this.)

>69 tracyfox: For some reason (maybe attuned after reading Heinrich's Summer World?), it seems I'm hearing more birds this spring ... pretty songs. Which makes it all the more interesting that the novel I'm currently reading (Jim Lynch's upcoming Border Songs) involves a dyslexic/autistic US/Canada border guard who counts the different species he hears every day (and invariably gets to many dozen). Birdsong sounds wonderful.

eta: Did I ever link you to the addictive Norfolk Botanical Garden Eaglet Nest-cam? (I think the night-vision is under repair ... so if the screen is dark, check back in the daylight.) An eagle pair has raised nests of three eaglets each year for the past several ... with the exception of last year when there was lots of drama. One of my favorite websites!

Both Death in Danzig and A Minor Apocalypse sound intriguing. Thanks for the reviews!

>73 detailmuse:, Your review of Border Songs intrigued me. When I looked it up, I realized that I have read Jim Lynch's earlier novel, The Highest Tide which I absolutely loved for so many reasons --its descriptions of tidepools, the elderly psychic and truly capturing how odd it sometimes feels to be moved by nature when you are a teenager. With my umpteenth attempt to become better at birding by ear, the new book will be perfect. Hope my library has a copy.

Your attention to birdsong following Summer World is sort of simliar to my attention to caterpillars. I saw bits of the damage in my garden in years past, but this year everywhere I look I see rolled up leaves, cut petioles, and other signs. I've found at least ten different species ... or at least different species/life stages. I am reading Summer World bit by bit and strangely, just minutes after reading the Silk Mothes chapter the other night, I took the dogs out for their last chance before bed and found one on my rock wall just under the garage light.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Bonus book

After reading the back of the book, one might think Ann Patchett's Bel Canto is an action-packed thriller. A group of wealthy industrialists and politicians gather in an unnamed South American country gather to hear a private recital by world-renowned soprano Roxanne Coss in honor of a Mr. Hosokawa's birthday. Suddenly the group is taken hostage by terrorists. As the days in captivity pass, readers are quickly drawn into a very different story--one that illustrates the power of music to break down the bonds between cultures and even captives and captors.

The opera of the Bel Canto era is light, cheerful and sometimes giddy--full of coloratura and the warbling trills of the airiest soprano voices. Its themes are not the universal truths of Wagner or the existential angst of Strauss. Patchett's story hits many of the same notes. It explores sentimental fantasies, the flirtations of people in a strange situation, and the universal language of music. Once the soprano decides to resume her daily practices and allow the terrorists and hostages to observe, the dynamics of the community cooped up in the Vice Presidential palace change. Rather than dwell on the political situation, the tension between the police and the terrorists, or the suffering of the families of the hostages, Patchett limits her story to what goes on inside the walls of the palace. This decision elevates the story into another realm and allows the author to demonstrate the power of music to truly transport listeners to another world. (4.5 stars)

tracy, I liked Border Songs so much that I went to order The Highest Tide -- but reading the summary, it sounded like exactly the same novel, just with settings and occupations changed! One amazon review even asserts exactly that. So I think I'll give it some distance and come back to Lynch later.

Ha! Summer World and birds came together again for me over the weekend when I picked "Summer Bird" to win the Belmont Stakes! No money, just bragging rights :))

P.S. Bel Canto: one of my favorite novels ever. Loved Simon Thibault!

detailmuse, I was so excited when Simon got into the kitchen ... I thought for a brief moment there might be a whole other story line there. I could picture him so perfectly with that blue scarf and was so glad he was part of the ending.