When last I put down “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” (so I could devote all my time to Harry Potter), the intrepid explorers were about to land on the desolate Elephant Island, several hundred miles north of their original destination, mainland Antarctica. This is after their ship drifted north for almost a year, caught in solid ice; after the ship finally sank after being battered by shifting ice; after they spent months camping on ice floes the size of a football field, until they could finally make a run for solid land in three tiny, open boats. During all this time, the temperature did not rise above 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
So now, Shackleton and a few of the men have set off for South Georgia Island (a name that makes it sound much more hospitable than it probably is), about 800 miles from the freezing, windy Elephant Island. I already know how the story ends, so there’s not much suspense, but it is a thrilling story. I think it appeals to my love of disaster stories (Titanic, Mt. Vesuvius, you name a famous disaster, and I’m obsessed with it). Although things pretty much turned out all right in this one.
This is the first book I’m reading for the Armchair Traveler Reading Challenge, and in this case I’m very glad to be reading it in my dry, warm apartment and not visiting for real! Every time I complain about winter in Boston, someone should remind me that at least I’m not sleeping in a drenched sleeping bag on a floating piece of ice in sub-freezing temperatures.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
The end
I just finished a three-hour sprint through the last 200+ pages of The Deathly Hallows... I don't even know what to say. I laughed, I cried. J.K. Rowling hit it out of the park, in my opinion. I'm completely satisfied with the ending. I'm even happier that now I can starting using the Internet/radio/TV again :) I had a close call this morning when I turned on "Morning Edition" and then had to shut it off 10 minutes later when they started talking about Harry Potter.
Now that I'm finished with it, I feel a little bereft. One of the great things about the Harry Potter series is that we've been able to follow Harry's adventures as Rowling was dreaming them up. When I got my hands on the book (around 12:30 a.m. Saturday), I felt as though I was about to enter a world that no one had visited before. The other day at work, we were talking about whether there has ever been any literary phenomenon like Harry Potter, which I think it's pretty safe to say is NO. I can always re-read these, but it won't be the same as devouring them for the first time. (If I ever have kids, though, guess what I will be reading to them at bedtime :) )
OK, now it's time to rejoin the world and do some things I have been neglecting all day - like eat!
Now that I'm finished with it, I feel a little bereft. One of the great things about the Harry Potter series is that we've been able to follow Harry's adventures as Rowling was dreaming them up. When I got my hands on the book (around 12:30 a.m. Saturday), I felt as though I was about to enter a world that no one had visited before. The other day at work, we were talking about whether there has ever been any literary phenomenon like Harry Potter, which I think it's pretty safe to say is NO. I can always re-read these, but it won't be the same as devouring them for the first time. (If I ever have kids, though, guess what I will be reading to them at bedtime :) )
OK, now it's time to rejoin the world and do some things I have been neglecting all day - like eat!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
IT'S HERE
You know what I'm talking about.
Contact with the outside world has been eliminated.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Contact with the outside world has been eliminated.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Monday, July 9, 2007
Lazy summer days
Ack! I have been a very bad book blogger. I have not been blogging and have not been reading as much as I want to. It's summer—this is when everyone is supposed to have time for "summer reading," but somehow it has not been working out that way.
I'm still working on "Founding Brothers" (it's a good book but it's a little like doing assigned reading for your history class), and I just finished "The Botany of Desire," by Michael Pollan. I thought it would be a good summer read, since it's about plants. I have learned a lot about apples, tulips, marijuana and potatoes, and how they have been altered by human desires for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control. Or, as Pollan intriguingly suggests, maybe the plants are manipulating US to their own evolutionary advantage.
Anyway, it's time to get into summer reading gear—July is almost half over and I haven't started any of the books I'm planning to read for the Armchair Traveler Reading Challenge, and, there are only EIGHT more days until Harry Potter comes out!
I'm still working on "Founding Brothers" (it's a good book but it's a little like doing assigned reading for your history class), and I just finished "The Botany of Desire," by Michael Pollan. I thought it would be a good summer read, since it's about plants. I have learned a lot about apples, tulips, marijuana and potatoes, and how they have been altered by human desires for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control. Or, as Pollan intriguingly suggests, maybe the plants are manipulating US to their own evolutionary advantage.
Anyway, it's time to get into summer reading gear—July is almost half over and I haven't started any of the books I'm planning to read for the Armchair Traveler Reading Challenge, and, there are only EIGHT more days until Harry Potter comes out!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Independence Day
Two hundred and thirty-one years after the Declaration of Independence was written, it can seem that the founding of the United States was inevitable. But any one of a number of obstacles could have torn the union apart during its formative years, historian Joseph Ellis writes in his book about the founding generation, “Founding Brothers.”
“What in retrospect has the look of a foreordained unfolding of God’s will was in reality an improvisational affair in which sheer chance, pure luck—both good and bad—and specific decisions made in the crucible of specific military and political crises determined the outcome,” according to Ellis.
Ellis focuses on the leaders of the revolutionary generation—Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, et al, to illustrate his larger point that the state of the early union was incredibly fragile. Several issues could have broken up the young nation in the last two decades of the 18th century —slavery was the most obvious but there were also disagreements over how much power the federal government should wield and whether the economy should be based in agriculture or commerce. These disagreements often led one region of the country or another to threaten to secede from the union.
In six historical vignettes, Ellis describes how the political talents, personalities and relationships of the “founding brothers” held the union together and set a course for the United States to become the oldest enduring republic in world history. Among the episodes that helped shape the nation are the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron, the debate over where to place the federal capital, and numerous compromises made over slavery.
I’m only a little more than one-third through the book, but I figured today was a fitting time to write about it. It’s fascinating to see how the founding that we are celebrating could have failed nearly as soon as it began.
“What in retrospect has the look of a foreordained unfolding of God’s will was in reality an improvisational affair in which sheer chance, pure luck—both good and bad—and specific decisions made in the crucible of specific military and political crises determined the outcome,” according to Ellis.
Ellis focuses on the leaders of the revolutionary generation—Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, et al, to illustrate his larger point that the state of the early union was incredibly fragile. Several issues could have broken up the young nation in the last two decades of the 18th century —slavery was the most obvious but there were also disagreements over how much power the federal government should wield and whether the economy should be based in agriculture or commerce. These disagreements often led one region of the country or another to threaten to secede from the union.
In six historical vignettes, Ellis describes how the political talents, personalities and relationships of the “founding brothers” held the union together and set a course for the United States to become the oldest enduring republic in world history. Among the episodes that helped shape the nation are the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron, the debate over where to place the federal capital, and numerous compromises made over slavery.
I’m only a little more than one-third through the book, but I figured today was a fitting time to write about it. It’s fascinating to see how the founding that we are celebrating could have failed nearly as soon as it began.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Addiction
I finally figured out how to upload photos to my blog! So, to help you understand the depth of my book obsession (illness?), I am posting some photos of my piles of unread books:
Yes, there are more books piled behind the ones in the front of the first two photos. And, there are 15-20 more that I couldn't get good photos of because they are obstructed. You would think that these piles might discourage me from buying any more books, but you would be wrong. I went to one of my favorite stores yesterday and bought four more.... at least they were used, so I'm not blowing ALL of my discretionary income on books....
Yes, there are more books piled behind the ones in the front of the first two photos. And, there are 15-20 more that I couldn't get good photos of because they are obstructed. You would think that these piles might discourage me from buying any more books, but you would be wrong. I went to one of my favorite stores yesterday and bought four more.... at least they were used, so I'm not blowing ALL of my discretionary income on books....
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