All About Books discussion
This topic is about
Braiding Sweetgrass
Non-Fiction
>
Group Read (December/January) Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin W. Kimmerer
date
newest »
newest »
message 51:
by
Chrissie
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
Dec 07, 2014 12:51PM
I do think it is wonderful that they offer this possibility. Audible does it too, but there you don't even have to return within a week!
reply
|
flag
I know not all books can be shared on kindle, but how would I find out if this one can be?
I think somewhere on the amazon screen it tells you. Practically none of them are shareable in Europe so I have no experience, Chinook. I also have a hard time finding this on my screen. You could always send them an email...if you can find where to send it. I think that is on your library page there. I always get lost.
Ah, so I probably can't share my copy with someone in the UK then? This is one of my least favourite parts of ebooks.
I am in the chapter when she is cleaning their pond. Had to laugh when her waders filled up with water and she said, "A good mother does not drown. The next time I wore shorts."
Chinook wrote: "Ah, so I probably can't share my copy with someone in the UK then? This is one of my least favourite parts of ebooks."I'm with you on this aspect of Ebooks Chinook. I loan out most of my books many times over (sometimes they are so good I don't get them back, lol). I love being able to share a good read.
Diane S. wrote: "I am in the chapter when she is cleaning their pond. Had to laugh when her waders filled up with water and she said, "A good mother does not drown. The next time I wore shorts.""I laughed at this too Diane. Native ways seem so laid back and natural; work with what is given you, don't force and don't control.
Diane S. wrote: "I am in the chapter when she is cleaning their pond. Had to laugh when her waders filled up with water and she said, "A good mother does not drown. The next time I wore shorts.""Oh yes, I remember. And her boots filled up. And did the pond ever STOP needing to be cleaned?! Good chapter. I loved that she bought those ducks. The book alternates topic and is so easy to read.
Chinook wrote: "Ah, so I probably can't share my copy with someone in the UK then? This is one of my least favourite parts of ebooks."Chinook, it is true not being able to share is a bummer. Don't take what I say about sharing for truth. you must check at Amazon. It was a long time since I tried it.
I also prefer paper books b/c you can write in them.
The chapter on strawberries brought to mind two things. First, it made me think about the wild spaces of my childhood. I grew up in a small town in a very suburban looking neighbourhood. But it hadn't expanded much yet and there were ravines to play in and access (I'm fairly certain we were trespassing, in retrospect) to a campground that was only used in the summer. I spent most of my summer at our family cottage, on an island which was reservation land. Lots of wild spaces to explore. And there was my grandmother's backyard - full of strawberries and raspberries - that wasn't terribly large but there was a hill that took you out of sight of the house - and so the grown ups. Secondly, it made me contemplate why small local businesses matter so much to me. The are a mix of market and gift economies. Yes, when I visit the local cloth diaper store, I pay for the product. But I've been gifted with the knowledge of the women who work there and a sense of community too, as they have LLL meetings and craft meeting and sponsor families for Christmas presents. The shop has spaces for common use - places to breastfeed and change babies and for children to play. Maybe this sort of mixed economy is closer within our grasp.
Mod
I live in a small town too Chinook. Was not built up until about 10 yrs. ago. All farms and woods. It was wonderful that my children grew up in that environment.I too love our small town stores.I to have to comment on the author. Where as a mother with a full time job did she find the time to do all these things? She is absolutely amazing.
Chinook, isn't it significant that so many of us remember the local markets of our childhood. We remember what is important I think. I remember buying Fresh corn and cider at such markets. I do believe that food gathered nearby has a fresher taste. Diane, the author certainly is amazing. How in the world did she find the hours for all this?! What a great mother. It is enough to make one feel guilty.
Just starting the chapter Three Sisters. Love the way they start their day, the prayer of gratefulness. This had a marked impression on my, so many people are just the opposite of grateful. In fact I would think the word entitled would fit many. Their is so much covered that I am very glad I bought this book or my Nook. So I can re-read every so often.Yes Chrissie, the author could make me feel guilty as well. I did have seven children though and there were days when it took everything in me to keep, them clothed and fed. I hope I taught them to be grateful. My younger daughter would love this book and it is going to be one of her Xmas presents.she makes all her own gifts, candles, body scrubs and lip balms with essential oils.
Diane, 7 kids! You deserve a medal. I personally think homemade gifts are the best....but one year my brother said to me, "Give me anything EXCEPT that which you made yourself." :0/ Brothers!For me, as you get further into the book there are sections that feel a bit too "flummig". I don't know how to say that in English. Again, each language has words that cannot be well translated. I mean - too philosophical, too up-in -the-air, too green, too only understood by an ecologically minded person. Woolly, can you say that? Sometimes I think, "I understand. You have made yourself clear, and I agree, but that is enough!" I try to be a critical reader. I try to pinpoint the good and the bad. Don't get me wrong, please. Some parts don't flow as well as others.
Wow, wait till you read the chapter "Sitting in a Circle"! Cattails are amazing. I had no idea how versatile and usable and totally amazing they are.They go on a camping trip.... what a trip! Having this author as a teacher must make a huge impact on her pupils. I have a hard time believing any of the pupils can walk away unchanged.
I completed the book. I think it is well written. It is amazing how the author ties together both science, beautiful writing and indigenous tales. It is not hared to read and has an important message. I don't give that many books five stars, but I did here.
"But their rhythm made me feel at home and the ceremony drew a circle around our family."I like that quote a lot. Ceremony does focus on making a circle around a group of people. Traditions too. And I like the idea of the mundane becoming more over time.
I also really liked the way she talks about the goldenrods and asters as being like the two ways of thinking - science and indigenous. I studied archaeology in university and it could be done as either a BA or BSc. The best of the classes were the ones that merged both together.
I was really fascinated by the chapter of the three sisters. never knew how important and intricate beans, squash and corn is. Almost finished now and if I can put into practice 10% of what I learned and loved from this book, I will feel accomplished, on the right track.
Chinook wrote: ""But their rhythm made me feel at home and the ceremony drew a circle around our family."I like that quote a lot. Ceremony does focus on making a circle around a group of people. Traditions too. ..."
Great quote.
If you mix both science and the humanities you see the whole.
I am curious to see how many stars you guys give to the book.
Diane S. wrote: "I was really fascinated by the chapter of the three sisters. never knew how important and intricate beans, squash and corn is. Almost finished now and if I can put into practice 10% of what I learn..."
Before the end I was feeling a bit overwhelmed but she gets you over that too. Just wait. Really, if you just understand the gift we have been given, and I don't mean understand in our head but with our hearts too, then you simply must show respect back. If you are given a present, can you turn around and hurt the present giver? It is pretty darn hard to do that. I think the most important thing is to open you eyes to what is around you, then one's behavior has got to improve.
Cathie, you must have finished it by now. You were way ahead of me....or maybe you are too busy.I am curious to see how many stars you each give it.
Mod
I'm so glad you were interested in it, Chrissie! I just adore this book.
Mod
Wonderful way of putting it!She definitely shows that things don't have to be black or white, rather that different ways of seeing can actually enrich our knowledge base. As someone who concentrates on decolonizing research, this speaks to me greatly.
Rowena, we both gave it five stars! I have to thank you for bringing it to my attention.I don't really understand what you mean by "decolonizing research". Could you explain.
Does sombody know why our ratings are not visible next to our messages? They were a week ago....I think! I wanted to see who had completed the book and how it was rated.
Mod
Mod
I don't really understand what you mean by "decolonizing research". Could you explain."
You're very welcome! Of course:) The research refers to that which focuses on people who are often excluded from academia, i.e. non-Westerners whose type of knowledge has often not been taken seriously as it doesn't fall into the Western tradition. Hope I'm making sense!
Rowena wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Rowena, we both gave it five stars! I have to thank you for bringing it to my attention.I don't really understand what you mean by "decolonizing research". Could you explain."
Y..."
Yes, I understand. Thank you for explaining.
Greg wrote: "That's weird Chrissie - I like that feature too. I wonder what happened!"Yeah, I agree. SOOOOOO weird.
So who had finished this book, and how did you rate it?
Just curious b/c the talk has stopped. I noted that I got depressed about...., I think it was about 2/3 through the book, but then the end gave me hope. That I appreciated. Not depressed that the book was bad but depressed by the situation.
Diane wrote: Almost finished now and if I can put into practice 10% of what I learned and loved from this book, I will feel accomplished, on the right track. I finished it and feel the same way as you do Diane. If we all put at least some things into practice the world would be a much nice, self-sustaining place to love and live.
I gave this wonderful book 4 stars.
I love her writing, it's just beautiful. The chapter on "The Three Sisters" (corn, beans and squash) reminds me of my dad, now 84, who is a 1/2 blood Wampanoag, near Mashpee, and later moved as a young boy. Yearly we took a vacation in New Hampshire on a lake. Little shacks, only for sleeping. For breakfast we would eat pancakes with molasses, not maple syrup. We pick fresh berries everywhere to eat with bread made with corn meal, and for supper corn-on-cob cooked in a hole in the sandy beach on the lake. Tiny wood shacks, no bathrooms, and yes, you bath in the lake, and yes! Ivory soap does float on the water!!
Sounds like the summer cottage we spent all summer there with my cousins all through my teens and preteens. Loved it, ate from the garden fished and yes washed in the lake.
Carol, gosh, one can live on memories. Wonderful.
Chrissie wrote: "Does sombody know why our ratings are not visible next to our messages? They were a week ago....I think! I wanted to see who had completed the book and how it was rated."Chrissie I've fixed it! It's great to know everybody likes it so much, I am afraid I will have to come back to this thread sometime later in 2015, when I've found a copy via inter library loan, but all of your comments just make me want to read it even more now.
Thanks Chrissie for the nomination!
Jenny, thanks for fixing the rating information.Don't thank me for nominating the book. Thank Rowena for mentioning the book in another thread.
That is too bad you cannot join us now. Still, inter library loans are a great resource.
I am just happy I didn't nominate a terrible book!
All About Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (other topics)Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (other topics)
