Tim Parks' book Italian Neighbors or, A Lapsed Anglo-Saxon in Verona, takes the concept of travel narrative on a bit of a spin. Not only is he an American in Italy - he is living there. And unlike Frances Mayes, he is not rehabing a fab house that only the moneyed can buy. He is a translator and teacher who is living with his Italian wife in a condo, with three neighbors, and a whole village to deal with. If you think your neighbors are wacky in America, they can be quite the characters overseas. In a village outside of Verona, he learns to live with their traditions and superstitions, and they learn that the crazy foreigner can be a help around the neighborhood - cutting lawns, bottling wine etc. Tim and his wife really come into their own when she becomes pregnant and the whole area becomes friendlier and asks after the bambino.
He goes into detail on the fastidious but impracticable Italian laws and regulations that become almost prohibitive, and that require work-a-rounds to fulfill them. His seasonal writings make the reader feel as if they are taking the year off in Italy. It is a good book filed with humor, a sense of irony and answers the question - What really happens when the tourists are gone?
Flowers and bee
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Feeling the Budget Pinch? Shopping, Money and America
By coincidence, I ended up reading two books on the topic of spending money. And as one ended up supporting the other - it worked out quite well. The first title was Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine. Levine took the challenge of having her and her sig other, just buy what they needed - not what they wanted, for a year. It becomes a fascinating study of minutiae - is a Q-Tip really not a necessity? (I think they are necessary!)What about a fancy mustard or new shoes to replace worn ones? How does one can convince oneself that you really NEED an item?
She finds that just deciding these things can be exhausting, and that shopping for some has become an extension of oneself. She goes into a lot of buying psychology and investigates the simplicity movement. She is not rich, although she does have two residences in which they both work from home, which complicates matters. Does she save more in NYC or Vermont? But in Vermont, they need to drive. You find yourself cheering her on, as the urge to cut back and enjoy the little things, really does start to happen. They are not saints - they have some failures, and you may think their neccessities are frivilous. In the end, she makes you want to try it (kinda like going through Lent for a really long time) and she succeeds in saving $8000. Could you do it?
To continue in this anti-consumerism mode, the book, Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John De Graaf, David Wann and Thomas H. Naylor is a funny and serious look (yes, they can be in the same book) at consumers in American society today. Originally, the book was meant to go along with a PBS series of the same name. This version is a updated second edition. It is interesting that the term "affluenza" has now entered the mainstream - a google search gets many hits and not all from the U.S.
For someone who has not looked at the concept of over consumerism and the simplicity movement - this might be a great place to start. With it's facts, figures, stories and interviews; it tells the tale of how life improvement became the concept of getting more stuff. For those wanting to take the serious plunge of consuming less, this might inspire you to keep you on the path of curing your affluenza. Well written - and they made the economics easy to understand.
After September 11th, the general public was told to go shopping to keep up the economy. If you thought that was a bit goofy or wacked, these might be the books for you.
She finds that just deciding these things can be exhausting, and that shopping for some has become an extension of oneself. She goes into a lot of buying psychology and investigates the simplicity movement. She is not rich, although she does have two residences in which they both work from home, which complicates matters. Does she save more in NYC or Vermont? But in Vermont, they need to drive. You find yourself cheering her on, as the urge to cut back and enjoy the little things, really does start to happen. They are not saints - they have some failures, and you may think their neccessities are frivilous. In the end, she makes you want to try it (kinda like going through Lent for a really long time) and she succeeds in saving $8000. Could you do it?
To continue in this anti-consumerism mode, the book, Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John De Graaf, David Wann and Thomas H. Naylor is a funny and serious look (yes, they can be in the same book) at consumers in American society today. Originally, the book was meant to go along with a PBS series of the same name. This version is a updated second edition. It is interesting that the term "affluenza" has now entered the mainstream - a google search gets many hits and not all from the U.S.
For someone who has not looked at the concept of over consumerism and the simplicity movement - this might be a great place to start. With it's facts, figures, stories and interviews; it tells the tale of how life improvement became the concept of getting more stuff. For those wanting to take the serious plunge of consuming less, this might inspire you to keep you on the path of curing your affluenza. Well written - and they made the economics easy to understand.
After September 11th, the general public was told to go shopping to keep up the economy. If you thought that was a bit goofy or wacked, these might be the books for you.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Prague anyone?
Time's Magpie: A Walk in Prague is Myla Goldberg's mini verbal snapshot of the city after the Velvet Revolution. Goldberg, who wrote the novel Bee Season, lived in Prague in 1993, just as the Czechs were starting to westernize. She goes back in 2003 to see what has changed.
Prague, she writes " is time's magpie, hoarding beautiful eclectic bits from each successive era." Her descriptions of the architecture alone sound wonderful - a blending of Barouqe, Renaissance, Art Nouveau and Communism. She mentions the floods of 2002, and what work remains to be done on the city.
This is a small book and she just touches on various areas of the city: the squares and plazas where there have been protests against the Iraq war, the Communists and at one time the Nazis, and the cemeteries where the famous are honored, and the Jewish cemeteries where the dead are forgotten where "headstones that are largely blank await additions that will never come." Her book leaves you wanting to learn more about such a historical city and the yearn to see it for yourself.
This book is part of the Crown Journeys travel series which has well-known authors, take you to their home towns (like Kinky Friedman writing about Austin) or their adopted home towns (Alex Kotlowitz on Chicago) or places they have been. Read and learn. Travel and grow.
Prague, she writes " is time's magpie, hoarding beautiful eclectic bits from each successive era." Her descriptions of the architecture alone sound wonderful - a blending of Barouqe, Renaissance, Art Nouveau and Communism. She mentions the floods of 2002, and what work remains to be done on the city.
This is a small book and she just touches on various areas of the city: the squares and plazas where there have been protests against the Iraq war, the Communists and at one time the Nazis, and the cemeteries where the famous are honored, and the Jewish cemeteries where the dead are forgotten where "headstones that are largely blank await additions that will never come." Her book leaves you wanting to learn more about such a historical city and the yearn to see it for yourself.
This book is part of the Crown Journeys travel series which has well-known authors, take you to their home towns (like Kinky Friedman writing about Austin) or their adopted home towns (Alex Kotlowitz on Chicago) or places they have been. Read and learn. Travel and grow.
Monday, May 08, 2006
How much is that homegrown tomato?
Hey, home vegetable gardeners! This book is for you. The $64 Dollar Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in Quest for the Perfect Garden by William Alexander is one of those great "we're all in this together, gardeners", kind of read. His stories about his gardening adventures in the Hudson Valley area of New York (he has a lot of clay soil - just like our area) are pretty darn funny. His critter fight ends up being summed up by his co-worker as - "You may be smarter - but they have more time."
The title comes from the estimate he makes to figure out how much one of his heirloom tomatoes ends up costing him. I think his cost is much higher than normal gardeners (and I don't think he had any appreciation in the figure). I know my tomatoes come out much more cheaply, but I am not having a landscaping professional making/creating my garden beds either!
A fun gardening read for the home grower - perhaps something for the long winter months - but publishers always seem to put this stuff out in the spring - when real gardeners are getting busy! Read it, after the crop is put in!
The title comes from the estimate he makes to figure out how much one of his heirloom tomatoes ends up costing him. I think his cost is much higher than normal gardeners (and I don't think he had any appreciation in the figure). I know my tomatoes come out much more cheaply, but I am not having a landscaping professional making/creating my garden beds either!
A fun gardening read for the home grower - perhaps something for the long winter months - but publishers always seem to put this stuff out in the spring - when real gardeners are getting busy! Read it, after the crop is put in!
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Don't Look Down - Crusie and Mayer -------- I met 'em!
I had a wonderful chance to meet Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer at their booksigning for their current book Don't Look Down. Yeah, I know I wrote about it before (see below), but it really is a fun book. It was great hearing that even the authors thought their romantic adventure reminded them of the style of a movie like Romancing the Stone. We got to hear about their collaboration and how it started and how they felt about the book. Their concept of writing - Jenny writing the heroine and Bob writing the hero- and being able to combine their styles is wonderful... And the fact that they are writing another one together is very exciting.
It was also great to hear Jenny talk about the stuff that "stuck" in the books and what did not. (In DLD is it Wonder Woman) This is what I refer to as "the background bits" - the details that can make the lead character (or setting) quirky and informative. And I have a tendency to remember that stuff in odd moments (good tidbits for cocktail parties!) or make a later connection somewhere else. For instance in Jenny's previous book - Fast Women - she writes about various pottery/china. It was an aha moment - when I saw the pattern on sale at Marshall Fields. But hey - that is how you learn stuff. I learned about art glass from Jayne Ann Krentz, and beekeeping from LaVyrle Spencer. You Never Know!
And thanks to Bob - I learned a new swear word/term! Again - you never know...
"One evening in Maui, Jenny Crusie was watching the sun set over the Pacific when Bob Mayer sat down beside her and said, "What do you write?" Jenny said, "Well, basically, in my books, people have sex and get married." Bob said, "In my books, people have sex and die."
Naturally they decided to collaborate.
Nine months later, Don't Look Down was done."
from their website http://www.crusiemayer.com/story.htm
It was also great to hear Jenny talk about the stuff that "stuck" in the books and what did not. (In DLD is it Wonder Woman) This is what I refer to as "the background bits" - the details that can make the lead character (or setting) quirky and informative. And I have a tendency to remember that stuff in odd moments (good tidbits for cocktail parties!) or make a later connection somewhere else. For instance in Jenny's previous book - Fast Women - she writes about various pottery/china. It was an aha moment - when I saw the pattern on sale at Marshall Fields. But hey - that is how you learn stuff. I learned about art glass from Jayne Ann Krentz, and beekeeping from LaVyrle Spencer. You Never Know!
And thanks to Bob - I learned a new swear word/term! Again - you never know...
"One evening in Maui, Jenny Crusie was watching the sun set over the Pacific when Bob Mayer sat down beside her and said, "What do you write?" Jenny said, "Well, basically, in my books, people have sex and get married." Bob said, "In my books, people have sex and die."
Naturally they decided to collaborate.
Nine months later, Don't Look Down was done."
from their website http://www.crusiemayer.com/story.htm
Valerie Frankel - More than just Chick Lit
Just finished Valerie Frankel's The Not-So-Perfect Man. I am catching up on her backlist. And again a book that is being marketed as Chick Lit, but it has more.
Frankel has a great sense of humor and her characters reflect that. Frieda is a young widow with a young son who is getting over the recent loss of her husband. Her older sister wants her to start dating again, her younger sister has dating problems of her own. When she meets Sam, he becomes more than just a "transitional" guy. So does she end up with the traditional provider of a guy? Or the actor who is on his way up? And how has the death of her husband really effected other members of the family and their relationships?
Frankel writes lead characters with interesting family groups and in this book the three sisters are the real leads. A great edition to her prior works.
Frankel has a great sense of humor and her characters reflect that. Frieda is a young widow with a young son who is getting over the recent loss of her husband. Her older sister wants her to start dating again, her younger sister has dating problems of her own. When she meets Sam, he becomes more than just a "transitional" guy. So does she end up with the traditional provider of a guy? Or the actor who is on his way up? And how has the death of her husband really effected other members of the family and their relationships?
Frankel writes lead characters with interesting family groups and in this book the three sisters are the real leads. A great edition to her prior works.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Travel narrative at its finest
Frances Mayes' A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveler is a great example of armchair travel reading. I had not read her early work Under the Tuscan Sun, but I am now planning to. She is my kind of traveler - interested in the culture, food and history of an area. She also has an interesting habit of renting houses instead of staying in hotels, and emerses herself within the culture and the neighborhood. And she seems to be a habitual rehabber - she constant sees houses she thinks about redoing.
Her language is lush, her descriptions are fascinating and she makes you hungry for the food of the country. Each chapter is a different country or city. I have never really wanted to go to Portugal before - she makes it sound wonderful. Naples has now become a must see. (Just to experience the food alone!!) She almost manages to explain to me the complex (and confusing) history of Turkey and Greece. I think she would be a great traveling companion. Take a taste of her travels. Well worth it.
Her language is lush, her descriptions are fascinating and she makes you hungry for the food of the country. Each chapter is a different country or city. I have never really wanted to go to Portugal before - she makes it sound wonderful. Naples has now become a must see. (Just to experience the food alone!!) She almost manages to explain to me the complex (and confusing) history of Turkey and Greece. I think she would be a great traveling companion. Take a taste of her travels. Well worth it.
A reading Weekend.
Had a chance to catch up on some reading this weekend.
Quick short story read - The True Love Wedding Dress with authors Catherine Anderson,Connie Brockway, Casey Claybourne, Barbara Metzger. The concept - a charmed wedding dress appears through out the ages to bring true love to those who wear it. Time frames range from 1790 to "today". Great quick read with some good authors.
Miss Bubbles Steals the Show by Melanie Murray is a a fun Chick Lit read. If you like the theater world, New York City, cooking and cats, this is a book for you. Stella goes out for auditions, has a great group of friends, a stage mom in Michigan, some dicy boyfriends, a noisy neighbor upstairs and a white Persian cat named Miss Bubbles. What happens when Miss Bubbles wins a role off Broadway in a play? Life gets a bit wacky. Fun, heartache, baked goods and a cat that whistles. Nice and frothy.
Quick short story read - The True Love Wedding Dress with authors Catherine Anderson,Connie Brockway, Casey Claybourne, Barbara Metzger. The concept - a charmed wedding dress appears through out the ages to bring true love to those who wear it. Time frames range from 1790 to "today". Great quick read with some good authors.
Miss Bubbles Steals the Show by Melanie Murray is a a fun Chick Lit read. If you like the theater world, New York City, cooking and cats, this is a book for you. Stella goes out for auditions, has a great group of friends, a stage mom in Michigan, some dicy boyfriends, a noisy neighbor upstairs and a white Persian cat named Miss Bubbles. What happens when Miss Bubbles wins a role off Broadway in a play? Life gets a bit wacky. Fun, heartache, baked goods and a cat that whistles. Nice and frothy.
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