book #22 this year
It was okay. There are bibliographies with each chapter. I might look at those again when researching other great-grandparents.
She is apparently one of those who think freedom of religion means only freedom of her religion.
Monday, August 27, 2018
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
21. Orchard House, by Tara Austen Weaver
At first, I found this book touching and the garden imagery lovely. The author's family and climate for gardening are very different from mine, but there is something there that moved me personally, until I was about halfway through. Then I needed to put it down for a while. I can't quite imagine writing about close family, and always wonder how the rest of the family feels when authors do that.
She wrote about her mother's age in her seventies the way I thought about my mother's age in her nineties. However, I was prouder of my strong mother. I wanted the mother in this book to get a chance at rebuttal, and the same with the brother and sister-in-law. Reading this book became like spending too much time with a friend whose perspective is totally self-focused. I get to where I don't take the stories at face value, with my friend or this author.
My own garden is sadly neglected in some places, but the descriptions of this garden made me want to get after it, and plant some fruit trees, too ... but not right now. I could come up with my own gardening is life metaphors, while I am at it.
The mother was apparently a therapist of some note, but I don't know who. This book reminded me of the Eat, Pray, Love book, where I thought the author was a good writer in a way, but also kind of a nut. It's a little too much navel gazing for me, but some people like that sort of thing more than I do.
She wrote about her mother's age in her seventies the way I thought about my mother's age in her nineties. However, I was prouder of my strong mother. I wanted the mother in this book to get a chance at rebuttal, and the same with the brother and sister-in-law. Reading this book became like spending too much time with a friend whose perspective is totally self-focused. I get to where I don't take the stories at face value, with my friend or this author.
My own garden is sadly neglected in some places, but the descriptions of this garden made me want to get after it, and plant some fruit trees, too ... but not right now. I could come up with my own gardening is life metaphors, while I am at it.
The mother was apparently a therapist of some note, but I don't know who. This book reminded me of the Eat, Pray, Love book, where I thought the author was a good writer in a way, but also kind of a nut. It's a little too much navel gazing for me, but some people like that sort of thing more than I do.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
20. It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree, by A. J. Jacobs
I have read and enjoyed another couple of books by this author, and this one is related to my recent sort of hobby, so it was an easy choice. Now, I gripe about the high percentage of authors out there who are journalists living in New York, and he is certainly one of those. I'll make a point of reading something set somewhere else next.
In this book, he has a goofy project of planning and hosting a world family reunion, while exploring his own closer family tree. It is an entertaining book and a quick read, particularly when compared to the last book I read about the ratification of the constitution. He shares a lot about his close family, and they are likable. In this and the other books, too, he paints his wife as smarter and funnier than himself. He treats people with respect, in his writing anyway.
He brings up many of the issues one might consider when thinking about genealogy. I wouldn't say it is all that instructive, but it is a nice book.
In this book, he has a goofy project of planning and hosting a world family reunion, while exploring his own closer family tree. It is an entertaining book and a quick read, particularly when compared to the last book I read about the ratification of the constitution. He shares a lot about his close family, and they are likable. In this and the other books, too, he paints his wife as smarter and funnier than himself. He treats people with respect, in his writing anyway.
He brings up many of the issues one might consider when thinking about genealogy. I wouldn't say it is all that instructive, but it is a nice book.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
19. Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution 1787-1788, by Pauline Maier
Someone I respect loaned me this book. I have not been a very serious student of American history, especially this time period, and I probably would not have picked it up on my own. I found it challenging reading, and I admit to skimming through some of it, but I'm glad I spent the time with it anyway.
The best two sentences are near the end: "American rights and American freedom were not a gift of the country's "founding fathers." They are and have always been a work in progress."
A bunch of rich white guys fought it out, many times for their own self-interest. Many of them had slaves. Women are still left out. It is amazing how well the constitution has worked out. I hope it doesn't all fall apart, and I worry about the possibility with that one guy whose name I won't say, and the rise of the so-called right which is so wrong.
The best two sentences are near the end: "American rights and American freedom were not a gift of the country's "founding fathers." They are and have always been a work in progress."
A bunch of rich white guys fought it out, many times for their own self-interest. Many of them had slaves. Women are still left out. It is amazing how well the constitution has worked out. I hope it doesn't all fall apart, and I worry about the possibility with that one guy whose name I won't say, and the rise of the so-called right which is so wrong.
18. Saints & Scoundrels: Colorful Characters of Arizona, by Julie McDonald
I bought this book when I was visiting Flagstaff, and looking into a relative who was probably somewhere in between the saint or scoundrel label, but colorful nonetheless. Then I read it while I had some time to kill in a hotel room. It was entertaining. There were several characters described who are worthy of being better known, on both sides of the saint or scoundrel line.
This is one of those almost exactly one hundred page books published by a small company, and it could have used some editing. That did not really impair my enjoyment of it, though, with one exception. She decided to tack on a chapter at the end about her brother-in-law and give a plug for her own religious leanings. This did not correlate with the rest of the book in any way. It is her book, and that is one of the reasons people self-publish, so they can do what they want. The last chapter took away from the book overall, in my opinion.
I have enjoyed learning more about pioneer times lately, and am glad I bought and read this book.
This is one of those almost exactly one hundred page books published by a small company, and it could have used some editing. That did not really impair my enjoyment of it, though, with one exception. She decided to tack on a chapter at the end about her brother-in-law and give a plug for her own religious leanings. This did not correlate with the rest of the book in any way. It is her book, and that is one of the reasons people self-publish, so they can do what they want. The last chapter took away from the book overall, in my opinion.
I have enjoyed learning more about pioneer times lately, and am glad I bought and read this book.
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