Tracks by Robyn Davidson - Book Review 331

 

This book won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award in 1980.  It was the first such award which lasted until 2004.

I loved learning about the feral camels of Australia, the history and fringe industry around them.

I've always been fascinated by Australia.  It seems an invert of Canada to me.  In 1977 Davidson went on a cross-country walk with a dog and four camels across the Northern Territory and Western Australian deserts.  From Alice Springs to Woodleigh and Hamelin Pool on the western shore of the continent. 

She wrote about the deplorable treatment of the Australian Aborigines.  The rampant sexism. The subsistence living of cattle stations and their impact on the land. The craziness of tourism. 

Through it all she had to deal with the desire to complete the trek on her own terms and dealing with circumstances that changed how she approached the journey. 

Wild camels and her growing fame while on the trip were circumstances difficult to deal with.  But she did. 

It is a story of perseverance and adaptation to the land.

The narrative was not at all what I expected and that was a good thing.  Being challenged to see the world through another person's eyes and mind can be altering.  

This is why I read.

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play by Nick Offerman - Book Review #328

 

Yes.  THAT Nick Offerman.

I was surprised by this book.  I was expecting an up front humour of the human condition.

What I got instead was a thoughtful look at our mixed up, crazy, complicated and nuanced world.  

The primary point of the book is to explore how we cannot continue living, as a society, the way that we have.  This will ruffle many feathers.  But feathers must be ruffled to create lift and move us forward.

Wow! That metaphor was a stretch, eh?

The book is broken into three parts, a hike with some friends, time spent on an English sheep farm (or is it a ranch?), and a cross-country camping trip with his wife.

Through these experiences Offerman offers insight into how so many people are getting things right, by respecting the land and the ecology.  How others are fixing the errors of the past.  How he was inspired, and in turn trying to inspire others to do better. 

I was reminded of Bill Bryson's excellent book A Walk in the Woods.  Both authors have a mastery of the English language.  Bryson's used with his excellent dry wit.  Offerman wrestles the language to the ground and bends it to his will.  He is a muscular linguist.

I was lucky to have enjoyed the stories in audio book format.  Nick Offerman reading his own work was a sublime experience. 

To Leave It on the Mountain by Maaza Mengiste - The New York Times Style Magazine, May 15, 2022

This issue of the magazine focuses on travel, particularly on places returned to after a long absence. 

This recollection centers on a childhood illness while traveling with the author's mother to Mount Pilatus, Switzerland.

What happens when a place is associated with a bad memory?  Many may not return.  Sometimes going back can be a tonic that can only be appreciated once the old memories are examined and compared to the new experience. 

It's not unusual to avoid a place where an unhappy event happened.  But is it the fault of the place?  No, it's just what the place itself represents.  Giving the place a second chance may be an opportunity to give the memory some perspective. 

There was a warmth to the story that I took to immediately.

The Diray of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell - Book Review #317

I purchased this book from a lovely new book store, Daisy Chain Book Co. in The High Street on 102 Ave and 125 Street, here in Edmonton.

It was rather fun to buy a book about running a used bookstore from a used bookstore.

Shaun Bythell is a bookseller in Wigtown, Scotland  who took pen to paper and began writing a diary about his life in the shop.  It is filled with quirky characters; the employed, residents of the town, other shopkeepers, postal employees and customers.  All ring the bell over the door and enter his observations.

Bythell has a warm and yet weary take on humanity.  I can certainly relate to often wishing I could function without the encumbrance of other people.  And yet, there is love in his words.  He is a part of the community and he is just as exasperating as everybody else around him.  There is a self-deprecating undercurrent to his observations.

It's an easy book to dip into as each entry is about a page long.  People come and go from the narrative and it's nice when some pop up again.  I found his book buying trips to be very interesting.

The epilogue was heartbreakingly beautiful.  It is life.

Highly, highly recommended.

 

North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Book Report #316

How refreshing this book was from the previous book review!

It was beautifully written, honest and romantic.  In the 1930's flight was still very much in its infancy, the realm of adventurers.

I loved the gentleness of her writing and how she and her famous husband, Charles, were surveying routes to China for the planned commercial aviation business.

The flight went from the east coast of the USA, up to Churchill on the Hudson's Bay, across the high north of Canada and Alaska to the Kamchatka peninsula, Japan and finally China.  All of this in a two-person float plane with barley any infrastructure or radio communication.  Amazing.

For an 86 year-old book it read very well.

I was especially taken by how Ms. Lindbergh rankled at the expectations of the media.  Being a woman they were only concerned about what she was wearing and what she packed for lunch.  It's nice to see how her pioneering worked to promote and push forward social equality.

I highly recommend this book.  I restored my faith in humanity and in story telling.

Himalya by Michael Palin - Book Report #310

Once again, with charm, respect and genuine curiosity Palin travels into lands filled with mystery and legend, at least to this Canadian reader.

  

I personally did not engage with this adventure as I had his other travels.  There was a more religion, spirituality and superstition in the groups of people he met than I had interest in.  That says more about me than it does about the people or the narrative.  Spiritualism is just not for me.

That said, there was plenty to be learned at the border crossings and the history of previous occupations, wars and political influence.

My favourite passage of the book summed up the entire experience and perhaps all of his explorations.

 

"The enjoyment of the world is immeasurably enhanced not just by meeting people who think, look, talk and dress differently from yourself, but by having to depend on them. The trio of Bangladeshi fishermen who learnt the arcane art of television filming in a little less than half an hour are only the last of a long list of those who had every reason to think that we were completely mad, but who decided, against all the odds, to be our friends instead."

Michael Palin's website - https://www.themichaelpalin.com/

Michael Palin's travel website - https://www.palinstravels.co.uk/

Michael Palin

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers - Book Report #310

AHWOSG has been on my TBR for as long as I can remember.

It was a wild ride through the mind of a young man going through a wild time in his life.

Heartbreaking to be sure.  The opening sequences of Dave coping with the illnesses of his parents was difficult to take.

Eggers captured perfectly the voice of the North American human male in his early 20's.  The scattered thoughts, the manic flood of conscious thinking, the wild, world-changing ideas of youth and the resilience of human spirit are all here.

It took me some time adapt and accept the flow of the book.  It is not a linear thing.  Is it memoir?  Sure, kind of.  Is it fiction?  It often felt that way.  Is it true to life?  Absolutely.

True to American life, which is not universal.  And manic in its own way.

Many times, the narrative made me feel embarrassed to be male, white, and lucky to live in a country like Canada.  But it is nonetheless a valid experience.

Eggers has an inspiring grasp on honesty.  He, as the character in the book, is not easy to like, but I came to understand him.

The book is a roller coaster ride in the dark.  I could not predict where even one sentence was going to go, never mind a chapter.

But it was worth the ride.

Recommended. 

Dave Eggers' website - https://daveeggers.net/

Dave Eggers

The Year of Less by Cait Flanders - Book Report #306

How I stopped shopping, gave away

 my belongings, and discovered life is worth more

 than anything you can buy in a store.

It's a common problem in our cozy First World:  we have too much.

Too much stuff, too much clutter, too many calories and, too many demands on our time.

There are loads of self-help books out there help us to simplify our lives.

This one was a little different.  I was expecting the nuts and bolts of simplifying, hoping to find a few tips and inspiration.  What I got was the struggle the author went through to achieve her goals, not how she did them.  It showed the strategies she employed to keep herself on track and it explored how she motivated herself to continue even when events in her personal life could easily have derailed her.

This was very helpful.  To be shown how the conversations you have with others, how challenges in life, be it professional or personal, have the ability to make your well laid out plans more difficult, was refreshing and familiar.  I did like how she tracked her progress on a calendar, it's something I use everyday; seeing the successful days pile up as I cross them off in bold, black Sharpie is satisfying.

I like to think of the book as a personal growth memoir rather than a self-help book.  Cait Flanders offered plenty of inspiration but she also gave lots of room to make her experience something I could modify and make my own.

It was a warm and charming book.  I was rooting for her the whole time.

Cait Flanders' Website - https://caitflanders.com/

Cait Flanders

The Sixth Man by Andre Iguodala and Carvell Wallace - Book Report #291

I am a casual fan of NBA basketball and I’ll admit that I was getting tired of the Golden State Warriors dominating the league for the past five years.

That team was stacked!

Through all the excitement around Kevin Durant and Steph Curry it was always Andre Iguodala that captured my attention.  There was something about his face...

I don’t read a lot of sports-related books but I found this one fascinating.  I enjoyed learning about Iguodala’s childhood and I was relieved that he had a strong family around him.

Learning about the undercurrent of racism that runs through American culture (and probably all cultures) I found depressing because it confirmed that we humans have not grown nearly enough.

The enormous pressure to perform and what that does to the human body was frightening.

What really upset me most was the treatment players experience from fans and the media.  How ugly people could be is sickening.

Does that sound like I did not enjoy the book?  Far from it.  Through it all, Iguodala’s strength and optimism carried him through his career and this book.

It was a fascinating look inside a game that most of us only encounter through a television screen.  Iguodala simply parted the curtain and showed the reader what the life of an athlete is like.

I was happy to learn that my impression of the man was correct.  He has integrity and cares deeply for the sport he loves.

Highly recommended.  This book is worth buying and lending to friends.

Andre Iguodala’s Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Iguodala

Andre Iguodala

Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig - Book Report #278

This is a heart-warming and helpful little book.  It is filled with bite-sized essays and random thoughts to help you come to terms with, cope and make a positive influence on a world that has seemingly lost its mind.

Matt Haig is refreshingly candid about his struggles coping in a  modern, connected, fake-news-filled world.  Sharing his discoveries and skills of how he navigates the currents of a nasty time in our “civil” society is a gift to anybody who takes the time to read his book.

One of my favourite thoughts come from the chapter Shock of the News, in an essay called, Shocks to the System he says;

"Change doesn't just happen by focusing on the place you want to escape.  It happens by focusing on where you want to reach.  Boost the good guys, don't just knock the bad guys.  Find the hope that is already here and help it grow."

I loved this book.  It was a positive experience and read like a paper-bound twitter account, only better and more thoughtful.  I could pick it up and read a passage or two or make a cup of tea and settle back and enjoy the warmth of a positive human being finding his way in this world.

Highly recommended.

Matt Haig's website - http://www.matthaig.com/

Matt Haig

A Newfoundlander in Canada by Alan Doyle - Book Report #254

My goodness do I love me some Alan Doyle.

The man is an inspiration with his positive outlook on life.

Reading this book was a charming exploration of Canada recounted through his younger self on his first coast-to-coast tour with Great Big Sea.

His impressions of each province made for a nice structure for the book.  I especially liked how he was able to understand how each place differed from his home and to see how it all fits together to make a country.  Canada is not a homogeneous country but a collection of regions who's character is determined not just by the people but by the land and weather as well.

Doyle also gives us a glimpse into the life of a touring band.  It's not an easy existence being confined to a beat-up van driving for countless hours on empty highways.  It is a real test of friendships to be cooped up for so long.

I came away from reading this book wanting more.

I certainly hope that Doyle keeps writing, there is something warm about his voice that I find attractive.

Recommended.  Highly.

Alan Doyle's website - http://alandoyle.ca/

Alan doyle

Books for Living by Will Schwalbe - Book Report #253

Nothing better than a book about books and reading.

This is a memoir of books that were important to the author but this is not a stuffy look at an elitist reader.  Many of his selections are modern bestsellers and I simply love how the author's thesis is to illustrate how any book can contribute to understanding the world.

To prove his point I have started asking, "What are you reading?"  when I am with friends or meeting somebody new.  This query can generate a conversation like nothing else.

Another idea I found compelling was from Anne Morrow Lindbergh's book A Gift from the Sea.  To mangle her quote   “Choose whenever possible the unknown over the familiar because it is more enriching."

The author was funny and unafraid to reveal himself.  I felt like I met an interesting person.

Terrific stuff.

Will Schwalbe - http://willschwalbe.com/

Will Schwalbe

More Fool Me by Stephen Fry - Book Report #213

I love Stephen Fry.  He is such an unusual person and a towering intellect with a complete gift of language.

The book was self-deprecating and read like a conversation with the man.  He played nicely with structure and kept my interest throughout.

But there was so much name-dropping that I was lost on many occasions.  But that is the nature of the business that he is in.  Success and longevity rely on contacts; meeting and knowing lots of people.  Where the book lost my interest was the Dear Diary portion - 143 pages of parties, openings, dinners, cocaine, late nights, writing, voice overs, drinking and plays.  It got to be a bit much.

But, the last few pages brought it all together and made me think, "This is why I love you so much Stephen!"

Sometimes I like an actor instinctively and just don't know why.  I have found that it is because their real character has a way of seeping through, colouring their work and it is that that I connect with.

I came away from reading the book a bigger fan.  No, I don't like that word, let's go with admirer.  He is much more than his acting, which is how he came to my attention in the first place.

Renaissance Man - that is what Stephen Fry is.  What a joy it is to be able to spend some time getting to know such a person, in his own words.

Yes, I admire Fry even more.

Nevertheless by Alec Baldwin - Book Report #212

I have a soft spot for Alec Baldwin.

He seems he could be a gruff person but there is something about him that I find interesting.

I loved that he started the book by stating that he did it for the money.

He then goes on to explain why that is.

Sure I was into the book because I am a fan and I wanted to hear about The Hunt for Red October.  But I also wanted to know what the business of being an actor is about.

What I got was a complex story about the man himself, what motivated him early on and what moves him now.  His struggles with drugs and his marriage to Kim Basinger played enormous roles in who he is today.

I came away from the book feeling that I had a pretty good measure of the man before I started it.  Say what you will about movie stars, their lives are not easy and a regular person can still learn a lot from those willing to lay themselves out there.

I was lucky enough to enjoy the audiobook, which was read by Baldwin himself.  That voice.  Honey and gravel. 

Loved it.

Alec Baldwin - like you needed me to tell you.

Where I Belong by Alan Doyle - Book Report #204

I was given this book as a gift.

It was an interesting choice since I am not a huge fan of Great Big Sea, I like them but, you know, I'm not mad about them.  I think Gill was tapping into my recent love of all things Canada and so - Alan Doyle.

What struck me was how quickly I was captured by his childhood, the love of his home, his parents and his understanding of where he lived.  The simple joys of boyhood were everywhere and I laughed out loud quite a few times.

I probably stopped my wife a dozen times to read a passage from the book.  This is a very good sign that the man can write.

I knew nothing about Alan Doyle and now I have tickets to see him in March.

It was a terrific read and I am so glad to have had the experience.

Alan Doyle

The World of Star Trek by David Gerrold - Book Report #168

This was the second edition of Gerrold's original insight into the Star Trek TV show.  This volume also included insights into the making of the first three movies in the franchise.

It was a terrific read.  It wasn't just gushy about how wonderful the show was.  As a matter of fact he goes into great detail to show how there were more bad episodes than good.  What made Star Trek so good was that, when an episode worked, it worked very, very well.

Even though it predates The Next Generation it is still a relevant book today.

It was interesting to read that the frustrations the fans had with NBC and Paramount are the same today with Paramount and CBS.

The book was written with warmth and love to the actors, crew and fans.  As it was admitted by the author; he is a fan as well and holds the creation in very high regard.  He blames the faults of the shows on the producers and the pressures the studios pressed onto them.

Gerrold expressed hope for more Star Trek to be produced in the future.  In the fullness of the 33 years that have passed since this edition was published we know that the franchise certainly enjoyed years of unimagined popularity with The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise.

I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the show.

David Gerrold

Halfway to Hollywood by Michael Palin - A Partial Book Review

I've been a fan of Michael Palin's for many years, not for Monty Python but his world-spanning travels.

Around the World in 80 Days captured my imagination and I was completely taken by this charming man.  I have followed all his journeys, purchased every book and was gifted a beautiful collection of all his BBC trips.

I've known of his diaries for a while now, these have inspired me to write my own journal as a blog.  

I downloaded a sample of his third volume, The Traveling Years, only to discover we are two weeks into the first journey on page one.  I requested his second volume from my public library, Halfway to Hollywood, and began reading the final two years of it.  I wanted to read about how the whole thing came about.

The life of an actor is a chaotic thing.  It is filled with meetings, rehearsals, charity events, script writing, telephone calls and always there is the feeling that he had at least five projects on the go.  It was fascinating and I was convinced I could never cope with that kind of life.

What I discovered about the 80 Days journey is that it came about just like everything else; a phone call followed by weeks of nothing, then a meeting followed again by weeks of nothing.  All the while he continued to work on his various projects. 

The diaries went to show how his life is just like anybody else's in that living is not a linear thing.

He had to deal with tragedy, confusion, frustration, worry, humour and professionalism.

This kind of raw presentation takes some getting used to. It's not a guided tour of one's life but more like being given a box of accumulated memories sorted in chronological order.  It's up to the reader to connect the dots.

I may not have read most of the book but I can say that it was a wonderful experience to be allowed a glimpse into an interesting man's life.

It is not the kind of book you need to read all at once.  You can put it down and come back to it when you want.  It's okay, Michael understands and he'll wait for you.  I kept it in sight and within easy reach because I found myself wanting to turn a few more pages pretty consistently.

Michael Palin

Born Standing Up by Steve Martin - Book Report #145

Is there anybody who hasn't been touched by Steve Martin's work?  Stand up comedy, movies, books and music; this guy has pretty much done it all by following his passions and his heart.

This memoir chronicles his early years, from childhood to the height of comedy stardom.  In it he talks about his personal life without ever getting creepy about it.  His style is straight forward and honest much like he was telling you stories after dinner, in the living room.  His intelligence, thoughtfulness and humour seep into every passage making this a wonderful experience.

Hearing how he felt and dealt with lack of fame then and abundance of it was refreshing.  I was very happy to get the pay off I wanted from this: why did he turn his back so completely from stand up?  His answer is honest, intelligent, understandable and respectful to his audience.  I have come away from this only wanting to know more about this unusual man and with the desire to embrace the other aspects of his entertainment career, namely his novels and music.

I experienced this as an audio book and I recommend anybody to do so as well.  There are many benefits from this format; firstly it is read by Mr. Martin with his rich, warm voice, plus he also replays some of his best bits on stage and some things that did not make the show.  With his ability to deliver lines, you don't want to leave it to yourself to get it right.  The added bonus of the audio book are the musical interludes between chapters and the short performance at the end, all performed by Martin.  The audio book is a very rich experience.

Better yet buy the paper book and the audio version, it would make a terrific set.

Book Report #128 - The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller

Book 52 of 52
Page count 322

That's it!  Mission accomplished!

I started this challenge on February 1, 2014 and I read the last page of my 52nd book on January 31, 2015.


I will post a re-cap next Monday with a list of all the books.  You can also go back to my post, The Book A Week Challenge, to get an idea of what this challenge was like for me.

About half way through the challenge I heard about this book, pre-ordered it on Amazon.ca and I kept it within easy reach.  I wanted it to be my last book.  I mean, come on, how perfect is the title?

Andy Miller's reason to read his books was to quell an embarrassment of not having read classic literature.  He and his wife created The List of Betterment then set upon the task of reading them in the order listed.  The challenges of his goal were very similar to mine, specifically finding time to read and reconnecting the synapses in the brain required to read books.

Miller did a nice job of commenting on the novels themselves and his own life while reading his selections.  It was his personal observations that I enjoyed the most. 

It is the epilogue that made me say, "wonderful", out loud.  In it he writes of ebooks and modern publishing then goes on to explain his encounters with Douglas Adams.  Of all the books Miller read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the only one we had in common.  I agreed with every word he wrote and felt very satisfied that we had the same conclusions about it.

It was a perfect pick for this challenge.  I highly recommend this book for anybody who feels they simply don't read enough.

Andy Miller's website is here:   http://mill-i-am.com/

Book Report #98 - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield.

Book 22 of 52
Page count - 282

Sticking to space I decided some non-fiction would be a nice choice.  I've been a fan of Hadfield's for a while now.  There are only a handful of Canadian astronauts out there; he made the best of his career and simply glowed Candian-ness.

The book itself is just wonderful.  It was not what I expected - a simple memoir explaining his career.  More valuable, to the reader, he explained his attitude and work ethic.  It wasn't just about his accomplishments but how he did little things; how hard work, determination and a willingness to simply do what is needed were the keys to his success. 

His positive and simple message made me feel like I was not living up to my potential.  I decided to emulate his attitude and started to "sweat the small stuff" and to "aim to be a zero" which are the titles to two chapters that made strong impressions on me.

There is plenty of space stuff to keep anybody interested in space exploration happy but the personal ethics presented make this book special.

Below is a YouTube clip promoting the book.  It does a good job of showing the value of reading it.


Chris Hadfield's Wiki page is HERE