Olga Vannucci's Blog: Travels With George, page 3
July 26, 2015
Bobo
Gotta love a writer who puts this picture of herself on her book cover. And I do love her. I'm on the fifth book of hers.
July 13, 2015
Best scribbles
J.K. Rowling organized plots on a hand-written grid. There's something so immediate about hand-to-pen-to-paper. From openculture.com.
July 11, 2015
The price of honey
I bought honey at the little local IGA, honey in a little plastic bear. The cashier, a middle-aged woman, said, as she scanned it, "I love honey. But it's so expensive."
I felt later that I should have given it to her, but then again she may have been insulted or conflicted about whether she should accept it.
I felt later that I should have given it to her, but then again she may have been insulted or conflicted about whether she should accept it.
May 25, 2015
Abalone shell
I watched a TED talk about learning from abalone shells to build batteries. It was a very interesting talk, by Angela Belcher of MIT. As she talked, she held an abalone shell, and all I could think about was that my grandmother used one as an ashtray.
My mother now has my grandmother's abalone shell, and she painted an oil painting of it, which she sent to my aunt, who framed it and hung it in her house.
My mother now has my grandmother's abalone shell, and she painted an oil painting of it, which she sent to my aunt, who framed it and hung it in her house.
May 23, 2015
Book club
I'm hosting my book club on July 9th. I'm very nervous about it. They're not judgy but still, my house is very dusty. I know, I should be worried about having insightful things to say about the book.
May 16, 2015
Reading for success
I sat on a plane next to a young man who was flying to a job interview. He was reading Project Management for Dummies and Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends and Influence People.
May 4, 2015
5 fascinating things in books about Africa
It's a big place, Africa--it's a continent after all--but it feels like a village. People always seem to run into people they know. Beryl Markham works with Karen Blixen's husband. In fact, she talks about him quite a bit when Karen doesn't at all.
I can measure myself against people who grew up or traveled in trying circumstances and I fall terribly short, which is good information to know.
It turns out we don't need all the modern conveniences, though they're nice.
I write about what's very familiar to me, and so do the writers who write about Africa, though what they write about is so unknown to me.
Writers who write about Africa seem to have an exceptional understanding of people and other living creatures, and that is a valuable thing to have.
I can measure myself against people who grew up or traveled in trying circumstances and I fall terribly short, which is good information to know.
It turns out we don't need all the modern conveniences, though they're nice.
I write about what's very familiar to me, and so do the writers who write about Africa, though what they write about is so unknown to me.
Writers who write about Africa seem to have an exceptional understanding of people and other living creatures, and that is a valuable thing to have.
April 27, 2015
8 great books about Africa by 5 authors
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood, by Alexandra Fuller
West With the Night, by Beryl Markham--a beautiful book full of poetry and adventure, about Africa and early aviation
To the Moon and Timbuktu: A Trek Through the Heart of Africa, by Nina Sovich
Out of Africa, by Isak Dinesen--It seems that all books about Africa refer to the classic, and it is indeed a wonderful book.
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness, by Alexandra Fuller
Scribbling the Cat, by Alexandra Fuller
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town, by Paul Theroux
The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safary, by Paul Theroux
West With the Night, by Beryl Markham--a beautiful book full of poetry and adventure, about Africa and early aviation
To the Moon and Timbuktu: A Trek Through the Heart of Africa, by Nina Sovich
Out of Africa, by Isak Dinesen--It seems that all books about Africa refer to the classic, and it is indeed a wonderful book.
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness, by Alexandra Fuller
Scribbling the Cat, by Alexandra Fuller
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town, by Paul Theroux
The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safary, by Paul Theroux
April 26, 2015
Michael Palin
Today I saw Michael Palin at a coffee shop in Lambertville, NJ. It wasn't he of course.
April 19, 2015
As book clubs go
I'm a member of the best book club, one that doesn't judge if you didn't read the book.
