Hunger Like a Thirst by Besha Rodell
Besha Rodell had a unique background - she was born in Australia to an Australian father and American mother. After her parents split up, she and her mother and siblings moved back to the US. It was a hard adjustment for teenage Besha and she ended up dating a guy who worked in a restaurant. She ended up working in restaurants because while her family didn't have a lot of money, they had expensive tastes and working in expensive restaurants usually came with some expensive food perks. After meeting her husband, they live all over - New York City, Durham, NC, Atlanta, GA, Los Angeles, CA, and eventually back to Australia. All that moving was mainly for Besha's career as a food writer and critic. Hunger Like a Thirst tells her story of working in the food writing world, not quite as harsh as actually working in a restaurant kitchen, but close. Working as a food critic seems like a very hard job and she definitely shows both the pros and cons - especially as a parent. I really like her writing and her story/life is definitely unique and interesting. I like that she organized her story like the courses of a meal and it really worked with the book. Definitely worth reading if you're interested in food/dining/cooking at all.
Maus I: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman (Evening Edition book club)
I first read Maus in a literature class in college. At that time graphic novels weren't really as normalized as today. Maus tells two stories in one - the difficult relationship Art Spiegelman has with his father Vladek and the story of how Vladek and Art's mother Anja survived the Holocaust. In Book 1 you see how Vladek and Anja met, how things were for them leading up to the Holocaust and how they survived mainly because of Vladek's instincts, wits, and bravery. This book ends when they are finally betrayed trying to be smuggled into Hungary and end up at Auschwitz. You know they survive because Art was born after WWII, but to find out how you need to read Book 2.
Maus II: And Here My Troubles Begin by Art Spiegelman
Maus II picks up where we left off in Maus with Vladek and Anja arriving in Auschwitz. Through luck, ingenuity, and friends they are both able to survive and even manage to see each other briefly a few times. They both survive until the end of the war and are reunited in Poland. The other half of the book continues to explore the difficult relationship between Art and his father with a little more focus on Vladek's survivor tendencies - he can't waste food, saves anything and everything just in case, and is often difficult and likely struggling with PTSD and the physical effects of what he went through in surviving the concentration camp.
The books are both an easy and hard read at the same time. Reading a graphic novel is a fast read because more than 50% of the page is drawings. But the content is hard - even a comic book about the Holocaust is not a good time. And it's hard to see how much Vladek overcame to survive Auschwitz and yet he struggles so much to connect to his son or anyone else. And the added layer of knowing that Anja had diaries that Vladek destroyed in his way of trying to "get past" the war and suffering after her death. I haven't read these book since college and I'm glad I re-read them. I'll be curious to see what my book club thinks about this one.
The books are both an easy and hard read at the same time. Reading a graphic novel is a fast read because more than 50% of the page is drawings. But the content is hard - even a comic book about the Holocaust is not a good time. And it's hard to see how much Vladek overcame to survive Auschwitz and yet he struggles so much to connect to his son or anyone else. And the added layer of knowing that Anja had diaries that Vladek destroyed in his way of trying to "get past" the war and suffering after her death. I haven't read these book since college and I'm glad I re-read them. I'll be curious to see what my book club thinks about this one.
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck (Books & Banter book club)
In 1960 John Steinbeck decides it's been too long since he explored his own country and decides to take an epic road trip around the US with his dog Charley. He has a truck (named Rocinante) fitted with a custom camper in the bed and starts out from his Long Island, NY home. Despite his fame as a well-known author, he is not recognized during his trip. He and Charley set out to see what the current state is in America. Along the way he meets a cast of characters, Charley almost goes feral when he encounters bears in Yellowstone National Park, and he finds both the good and bad in the US along the way. Based on the map included in the book, it seems like he did almost a circle and avoided (purposely or not) the middle of the country. Several states are not mentioned at all and it's less a comprehensive travelogue for the country and more a musing about traveling.
I haven't read any Steinbeck since high school, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I really liked it and there was more humor than I was expecting. He has a great way of describing the scene - whether people or a place that takes you there. I loved that he had Charley with him as that created a lot more natural encounters with people along their travels. I'm glad I read it and I might check out more of his fiction now.
Some quotes I liked:
"Strange how one person can saturate a room with vitality, with excitement. Then there are others, and this dame was one of them, who can drain off energy and joy, can suck pleasure dry and get so sustenance from it. Such people spread a grayness in the air about them." (p. 37)
"Somehow the hunting process has to do with masculinity, but I don't quite know how. I know there are any number of good and efficient hunters who know what they are doing; buy many more are overweight gentlemen, primed with whisky and armed with high-powered rifles. They shoot at anything that moves or looks as though it might, and their success in killing one another may well prevent a population explosion. If the casualties were limited to their own kind there would be no problem, but the slaughter of cows, pigs, farmers, dogs, and highway signs makes autumn a dangerous season in which to travel." (p. 45)
I haven't read any Steinbeck since high school, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I really liked it and there was more humor than I was expecting. He has a great way of describing the scene - whether people or a place that takes you there. I loved that he had Charley with him as that created a lot more natural encounters with people along their travels. I'm glad I read it and I might check out more of his fiction now.
Some quotes I liked:
"Strange how one person can saturate a room with vitality, with excitement. Then there are others, and this dame was one of them, who can drain off energy and joy, can suck pleasure dry and get so sustenance from it. Such people spread a grayness in the air about them." (p. 37)
"Somehow the hunting process has to do with masculinity, but I don't quite know how. I know there are any number of good and efficient hunters who know what they are doing; buy many more are overweight gentlemen, primed with whisky and armed with high-powered rifles. They shoot at anything that moves or looks as though it might, and their success in killing one another may well prevent a population explosion. If the casualties were limited to their own kind there would be no problem, but the slaughter of cows, pigs, farmers, dogs, and highway signs makes autumn a dangerous season in which to travel." (p. 45)
Poet's Square: a memoir in thirty cats by Courtney Gustafson
When Courtney and her boyfriend Tim move into a rental house in Tucson, AZ they didn't realize that it came with a feral cat colony. They quickly realize that there are 30 cats living in and around their yard. Courtney doesn't have the money to feed all these cats, but she tries. Soon she creates an Instagram account for the cats and they develop a following. Soon followers are asking if they can donate cat food and money for vet care. Once she works through trapping and spaying/neutering their feral colony, people in her area reach out and ask for her help in their neighborhood. Soon she's a dedicated "cat lady" traveling all over Tucson to help trap cats, rush hurt or sick ones to the vet, and deliver food to other feral colonies. Throughout the story of the Poets Square cats, Courtney shares her own story of her struggles with depression, an abusive relationship, and how becoming a "cat lady" helped put some of her insecurities into perspective.
I wasn't familiar with Courtney or the Poets Square Cats IG page before reading this book. I'm just a cat person who thought this sounded like a good book. While it is a good book, it's not a super happy book. Working with feral colonies is not for the faint of heart. Constantly seeing sick or hurt cats, kittens dying, people who profess to love cats but won't fix their pets, etc. is all VERY draining. It was draining to read about too. I'm thankful for Courtney and people like her who see a need and figure out a way to help. This is not a light-hearted pet/cat memoir, but it's definitely worth reading.
I wasn't familiar with Courtney or the Poets Square Cats IG page before reading this book. I'm just a cat person who thought this sounded like a good book. While it is a good book, it's not a super happy book. Working with feral colonies is not for the faint of heart. Constantly seeing sick or hurt cats, kittens dying, people who profess to love cats but won't fix their pets, etc. is all VERY draining. It was draining to read about too. I'm thankful for Courtney and people like her who see a need and figure out a way to help. This is not a light-hearted pet/cat memoir, but it's definitely worth reading.
Not Nothing by Gayle Forman (Books & Banter book club)
Alex has had a rough twelve years of life - his father is not in the picture, his mother is mentally ill, now he's living with his Aunt and Uncle (who aren't excited to be taking care of him), and he's required to spend the summer volunteering at a retirement home because of "the incident." The volunteering feels like a punishment until he connects with Josey - a Holocaust survivor who hadn't spoken in 5 years until he meets Alex. Josey starts telling Alex his life story and Alex starts to see a little of himself in Josey's story. Alex also meets Maya-Jade, another volunteer his age who's volunteering because her grandmother lives at the Shady Glen retirement home. Maya-Jade and Alex start to bond when they begin interviewing residents and filming them telling highlights from their lives. Operation Rise seems to bring everyone together and Alex finally has something good going on in his life, but then "the incident" is brought to light and he risks losing all his newfound connections.
This book was recommended by one of my book club members and while I did enjoy it, I'm a little surprised my library system has it catalogued as Juvenile instead of Young Adult. There are several more mature themes presented in the book. While the main story is Josey's Holocaust survival story and Alex's story, I agree with some reviews that there seemed to be a little heavy-handedness in including several other current issues/topics that weren't really relevant to the story. And once you find out what "the incident" was, I don't think Alex would have been allowed to volunteer at a retirement home as his punishment. And I especially don't think "the incident" would have been kept from the retirement home staff. It's still a unique book that highlights the Bryan Stevenson quote, "Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done." and explores the importance of intergenerational relationships.
This book was recommended by one of my book club members and while I did enjoy it, I'm a little surprised my library system has it catalogued as Juvenile instead of Young Adult. There are several more mature themes presented in the book. While the main story is Josey's Holocaust survival story and Alex's story, I agree with some reviews that there seemed to be a little heavy-handedness in including several other current issues/topics that weren't really relevant to the story. And once you find out what "the incident" was, I don't think Alex would have been allowed to volunteer at a retirement home as his punishment. And I especially don't think "the incident" would have been kept from the retirement home staff. It's still a unique book that highlights the Bryan Stevenson quote, "Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done." and explores the importance of intergenerational relationships.
On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the making of a travel writer by Rick Steves
In 1978 Rick Steves was a recent college graduate and he and his friend Gene decided it was time to do the "hippie trail" - a 3,000 mile journey from Turkey to Nepal, going through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India in between. Steves worked to save up to spend summers backpacking in Europe, but he wanted to experience the East now. Rick and Gene's trip lasts 56 days and is an adventure for sure. Throughout the trip Steves keeps a journal of their day to day adventures and during the COVID pandemic he stumbled across this journal and edited it with Gene's help to publish his "hippie trail" travelogue. There are tons of great pictures and maps of their journey included. I found it really interesting that Steves limited himself to 9 pictures a day in order to ration his film. What Steves didn't know at the time was 1978 was the last year the "hippie trail" would operate. In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and the Islamic revolution in Iran both occurred making travel through those countries unsafe. This book is a unique time capsule of Eastern travel in the 1970's.
All in Her Head: how gender bias harm's women's mental health by Misty Pratt
According to Misty Pratt in the last few decades mental health problems have skyrocketed and women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mood disorder compared to men. So why is that? Are women suffering from mental illness more than men? Are the higher numbers because more people are seeking help? Pratt, who is a medical researcher, attempts to answer some of these questions with this book. Pratt suffered from depression and anxiety herself and also saw mental illness affect many of the women in her family so this is a personal issue for her as well.
I liked the book in the beginning but then it started to feel somewhat repetitive. She also doesn't really provide any answers to if or why women are more likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness. What it seemed to point out more to me was that mental illness overall (regardless of gender) is very under-researched and there are often no clear answers as to why someone becomes mentally ill or what (if anything) will help them long-term. I was also a little surprised that the last chapter was all suggestions of non-medication, non-therapy treatments like yoga, probiotics, being in nature, and spirituality. Not that those things aren't helpful probably to anyone, but the whole book seemed to be focused on medical and psychiatric treatment so it seemed odd to include that as the last chapter. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this one. It was kind of all over the place and didn't really give any possible solutions for this over-arching issue.
I liked the book in the beginning but then it started to feel somewhat repetitive. She also doesn't really provide any answers to if or why women are more likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness. What it seemed to point out more to me was that mental illness overall (regardless of gender) is very under-researched and there are often no clear answers as to why someone becomes mentally ill or what (if anything) will help them long-term. I was also a little surprised that the last chapter was all suggestions of non-medication, non-therapy treatments like yoga, probiotics, being in nature, and spirituality. Not that those things aren't helpful probably to anyone, but the whole book seemed to be focused on medical and psychiatric treatment so it seemed odd to include that as the last chapter. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this one. It was kind of all over the place and didn't really give any possible solutions for this over-arching issue.
No comments:
Post a Comment