Cathedral of the Wild by Boyd Varty
Boyd Varty had a non-traditional childhood. He and his sister grew up on the Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. Their grandfather purchased the land on a whim to have a place to go big game hunting. After his sudden death Boyd's father Dave and his Uncle John decided to keep the land - first as a hunting preserve, then they decided to help get the land back to it's original glory and keep it as a wild game reserve where people could visit on safari. It was an unbelievable amount of work to restore the land and draw all the native animals back, but they did it. They did such a good job that soon they were trying to replicate the success of Londolozi in other parts of Africa. Boyd and his sister shared their family's love of Africa and its animals and land. However, after a series of tragedies hit the family they are all shaken. Boyd feels especially damaged and spends years trying to get back to the peaceful feelings of his childhood. This is a really unique story about one family's dream of living in the wilds of Africa and sharing it with others.
My only complaint about this book is that the last few chapters when Boyd is working out all the things that have happened to his family he goes a weirdly spiritual route that didn't seem to work as well as the rest of the book. It's his story, but it just seemed odd in comparison to the rest of the book. Still a good book overall and I would recommend it.
Some quotes I really liked:
"I worry that fathers and sons today are facing a new danger: a danger of no danger. There's an element of the male bond that is formed where things are unpredictable. Being in the wilderness is a wonderful environment in which to find connections that a lot of modern life doesn't allow for." (p. 38)
"Sometimes the darkness reveals, its ways more mysterious than light's. Sometimes the darkness gives a gift of stars by which we can navigate our way home." (p. 275)
My only complaint about this book is that the last few chapters when Boyd is working out all the things that have happened to his family he goes a weirdly spiritual route that didn't seem to work as well as the rest of the book. It's his story, but it just seemed odd in comparison to the rest of the book. Still a good book overall and I would recommend it.
Some quotes I really liked:
"I worry that fathers and sons today are facing a new danger: a danger of no danger. There's an element of the male bond that is formed where things are unpredictable. Being in the wilderness is a wonderful environment in which to find connections that a lot of modern life doesn't allow for." (p. 38)
"Sometimes the darkness reveals, its ways more mysterious than light's. Sometimes the darkness gives a gift of stars by which we can navigate our way home." (p. 275)
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline - Evening Edition and Books & Banter book club
After a slightly slow start this book really picks up steam and turns into a great story. After Niamh Power is orphaned in a terrible fire in 1929 she is sent on an orphan train out West to find a new family. Along the way her name is changed multiple times and she encounters horror after horror when she is taken in by new families. Finally she finds her way into a good home and miraculously reconnects with one of her fellow orphan train riders, but their re-connection is cut short by tragedy. Fast forward to 2011 and Molly is a foster child about to age out of the system. When she is caught trying to steal a library book Molly is sentenced to 50 hours of community service. Her boyfriend helps connect her to Vivian Daly, an elderly woman who needs help cleaning out her attic. At first it seems like Molly and Vivian have nothing in common, but as they sort through the relics of Vivian's past they quickly realize they have an incredible amount in common. Each will begin to open up to the other and what they share will change both their lives.
This is a heart-breaking story based on the real life orphan trains that ran between 1854 and 1929. These trains shuttled orphaned and homeless children mostly from New York City out West - some to good families, but many to little more than lives of indentured servitude. There is lots of information at the end of the book about the real orphan trains. This was a well-written and fascinating story based on real events.
This is a heart-breaking story based on the real life orphan trains that ran between 1854 and 1929. These trains shuttled orphaned and homeless children mostly from New York City out West - some to good families, but many to little more than lives of indentured servitude. There is lots of information at the end of the book about the real orphan trains. This was a well-written and fascinating story based on real events.
Home Grown by Ben Hewitt
Ben Hewitt and his family live on a 30 acre farm in Vermont where they live a self-sustaining lifestyle. He and his wife subscribe to "unschooling" for their two boys. While unschooling might sound like the boys lay around all day and do nothing, the truth is far from that. Basically Hewitt allows his boys to learn whatever they are interested in - from gardening to hunting and trapping - they are free to do whatever they're interested in. Hewitt argues that children are not capable of NOT learning and will actually learn faster and more when they are allowed to do so outside the constraints of traditional education. His children have shown him time and time again how they will figure out how to do something they are interested in with no help or input from his wife or himself. Hewitt and his family are definitely counter-cultural and he is in no way advocating that his choices are right for everyone. He is merely trying to show there are other options when it comes to education.
I love Ben Hewitt more and more with every book of his that I read! This book was so interesting and I would recommend it to anyone - whether you have children or not.
Some quotes I really liked:
"In my own life, I am repeatedly struck by the truth that the more thoroughly I liberate myself from prevailing cultural assumptions - around education, wealth, ambition, and success, to name but a few - the more choice I actually have. The morefreedom I have." (p. 7)
"Along with the vast majority of our peers, Penny and I passed the formative years of our respective childhoods in school, as students of what we were told we must learn. That there are other ways of learning was never considered. That there are other things to learn, many of which cannot be measured or graded or segregated by subject, was never discussed. That our prescribed educations might actually erode our self-confidence, rather than develop it, occurred to no one. It is not difficult to understand why these things were not considered or discussed; it is not difficult to understand why it occurred to no one that passing the majority of our childhood in school might strip us of confidence. Because the same thing happened to our parents.To call into question the wisdom of convention requires a degree of self-assuredness that rarely survives the eroding impact of standardized, hierarchical education." (p. 13-14)
"The danger in 'color between the lines' learning is the degree to which it conditions children to need direction. As adults, few of us even recognize this because of course we too have been conditioned to the need for direction. Witnessing Fin and Rye construct innumerable implements of their devising has revealed to Penny and me the glaring lack of our own resourcefulness. Like most people in our society, we were taught to need instruction." (p. 74)
"It is no original thinking on my part to suggest that the business of being a child in this country is rapidly disappearing into an abyss that consists not only of programs and tests but also of extracurricular activities. Increasingly, it is disappearing into the pixelated screens of the innumerable digital devices that already dominate the adult world, and are rapidly encroaching on childhood. Even activities that were once considered 'play,' and that occurred beyond the gaze and attention of adults, where children were free to negotiate the terms among themselves, to work out disagreements and injustices, are being lost to structured and supervised games and competitions. After all, who has time to just 'play' anymore?" (p. 98)
"In this family, unschooling is not easy, or convenient. It demands significant reservoirs or thought and patience and, as I've pointed out, presence. Many parents aren't all that accustomed to being patient and present for their kids anymore, if only because they're simply not given the opportunity to be patient and present. Jobs get in the way. School gets in the way. After-school activities get in the way. As I have learned - as I am still learning - patience and presence are muscles that must be developed and exercised regularly." (p. 102)
I love Ben Hewitt more and more with every book of his that I read! This book was so interesting and I would recommend it to anyone - whether you have children or not.
Some quotes I really liked:
"In my own life, I am repeatedly struck by the truth that the more thoroughly I liberate myself from prevailing cultural assumptions - around education, wealth, ambition, and success, to name but a few - the more choice I actually have. The morefreedom I have." (p. 7)
"Along with the vast majority of our peers, Penny and I passed the formative years of our respective childhoods in school, as students of what we were told we must learn. That there are other ways of learning was never considered. That there are other things to learn, many of which cannot be measured or graded or segregated by subject, was never discussed. That our prescribed educations might actually erode our self-confidence, rather than develop it, occurred to no one. It is not difficult to understand why these things were not considered or discussed; it is not difficult to understand why it occurred to no one that passing the majority of our childhood in school might strip us of confidence. Because the same thing happened to our parents.To call into question the wisdom of convention requires a degree of self-assuredness that rarely survives the eroding impact of standardized, hierarchical education." (p. 13-14)
"The danger in 'color between the lines' learning is the degree to which it conditions children to need direction. As adults, few of us even recognize this because of course we too have been conditioned to the need for direction. Witnessing Fin and Rye construct innumerable implements of their devising has revealed to Penny and me the glaring lack of our own resourcefulness. Like most people in our society, we were taught to need instruction." (p. 74)
"It is no original thinking on my part to suggest that the business of being a child in this country is rapidly disappearing into an abyss that consists not only of programs and tests but also of extracurricular activities. Increasingly, it is disappearing into the pixelated screens of the innumerable digital devices that already dominate the adult world, and are rapidly encroaching on childhood. Even activities that were once considered 'play,' and that occurred beyond the gaze and attention of adults, where children were free to negotiate the terms among themselves, to work out disagreements and injustices, are being lost to structured and supervised games and competitions. After all, who has time to just 'play' anymore?" (p. 98)
"In this family, unschooling is not easy, or convenient. It demands significant reservoirs or thought and patience and, as I've pointed out, presence. Many parents aren't all that accustomed to being patient and present for their kids anymore, if only because they're simply not given the opportunity to be patient and present. Jobs get in the way. School gets in the way. After-school activities get in the way. As I have learned - as I am still learning - patience and presence are muscles that must be developed and exercised regularly." (p. 102)
The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes
The Ship of Brides follows four Australian women as they embark on a warship across oceans to go to England to meet up with their spouses who've been away at war. They all met and married during the war and are now on their way to being reunited. Maggie is leaving behind a large family of brothers, Avice eloped with her sweetheart and has barely seen him since, Frances served as a nurse during the war and married one of her patients, and Jean (only 16) is beyond excited to get back to her husband and start a new life in England. These four strangers will ride out this unique journey together and end up becoming friends when in other circumstances they probably wouldn't have. Each of these women are harboring secrets and pasts and will discover more about themselves on this journey than they ever thought possible.
I'm a big fan of Jojo Moyes, but it took me almost half the book to get into this one. I was interested in the main characters, but the story just didn't pull you in right away like some of her later books have. The second half was great and I ended up really liking it, but it took me a few days to get into it.
I'm a big fan of Jojo Moyes, but it took me almost half the book to get into this one. I was interested in the main characters, but the story just didn't pull you in right away like some of her later books have. The second half was great and I ended up really liking it, but it took me a few days to get into it.
A Letter to My Cat by Lisa Erspamer
This is a really cute book and a quick read. It's a collection of letters that cat owners have written to their cats. While many of the letters are basically like "You're a great cat. I love you." there are a few extraordinary stories. Cats who are blind or have other serious handicaps, but are still active, playful cats. There are also a few stories of people who's cats really helped them through a desperate time - like dealing with adjusting to life outside the military. There are also beautiful photographs of the cats featured in this book and it's worth checking out just for the pictures alone. A must-read for any cat people out there!
A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick
Letitia is a freed former slave, but she knows in the South her freedom papers are still tenuous. When she agrees to marry an Irishman named David Carson and go West with him she is hoping that away from the South her freedom will be more solid and their marriage will be recognized. After the grueling trek out West, she and Davey set up a homestead and seem to be making progress in their life together. Suddenly, her world is turned upside down. Instead of allowing what is rightfully hers to be taken away yet again, she decides to fight back. Based on a true events, Letitia's life is an example of strength, determination, and bravery as she goes from a slave to a land-owner in Oregon during her lifetime.
The World According to Bob by James Bowen
This is such a sweet follow up book to A Street Cat Named Bob! Basically this one picks up where Street Cat ends. James and Bob are still working together and basically living simply and enjoying each other's company. When a few local newspapers want to write a story about James and Bob, James never dreams that those articles will lead to a book deal! When he is approached about the book James agrees, but wonders who would ever want to read his story. Around the time the book is published James runs into a bit of hard luck and is looking for his next move. He never dreams the response to his book to could be as huge as what it turns into! At his first book signing the book store ran out of books! It's at that moment when James realizes he and Bob's lives are really changing - and for the better! This is a great follow up book and it's great to read more stories of James' adventures with Bob. A must-read for any cat lovers out there!
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