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What books did you get from the library, bookstore or online ~ 2022
madrano wrote: "I finished the quite readable The Colony: Faith and Blood in a Promised Land—Sally Denton today. Much of the history in the last half of the book was about all the v..."Wow ! You raced through that one.
Alias Reader wrote: "madrano wrote: "I recall the praise for Krakauer book but passed. .."It's a 5 star book, deb."
I read Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, madrano, and it was a five-star read for me. I really like John Krakauer's writing. I first encountered him when I read Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, another five-star read for me.
Neat, Kiki. I must admit the Krakauer book’s subtitle “A Story of Violent Faith” is perfect.
I picked up a couple of books yesterday at the used bookstore; Firefly lane and The Plant Paradox. The Dr Grundy book I have been wanting to read since listening to another doctor’s book called How not to Die. I’m hoping Dr Grundy dives into the science like the other Dr. did because the science part is what interests me 😂. I would like the app to allow linking to the books 😂
Stephanie wrote: "I picked up a couple of books yesterday at the used bookstore; Firefly lane and The Plant Paradox. The Dr Grundy book I have been wanting to read since listening to another doctor’s book called How..."Gundy doesn't follow Dr. Greger's way of thinking. Gundy is no beans, (one of Gregers Daily Dozen) for example.
Most of the people in Blue Zones eat beans.
Is the book The Blue Zones the person who went around looking at people who have excellent health into longevity and live in societies where they walk and eat natural foods? If so, that is my eating plan.
Rachel wrote: "Is the book The Blue Zones the person who went around looking at people who have excellent health into longevity and live in societies where they walk and eat natural foods? If so, that is my eatin..."Yes. He is from National Geographic. He has a few books. Here is one.
The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest0 by Dan Buettner
Wikipedia
Dan Buettner is an American National Geographic Fellow and New York Times-bestselling author. He is an explorer, educator, author, producer, storyteller and public speaker. He co-produced an Emmy Award-winning documentary and holds three Guinness records for endurance cycling.
Born: 1960 (age 62 years),
Interesting, Alias! I will have to add Blue zone to my list of reads :)
Stephanie wrote: "Interesting, Alias! I will have to add Blue zone to my list of reads :)"Dr. Esselstyn is also a good one to check out. He has many books and videos. His son, Rip, is also good to follow.
Here is one of his TED talks.
Making Heart Attacks History: Caldwell Esselstyn at TEDxCambridge 2011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqKNf...
Thanks for this exchange about food. There are some fascinating observations about food, lifestyles and health out there. This group is excellent in sharing & spreading those books & ideas. Thank you.
I had heard him interviewed some years ago. He said something like he went to where people lived long and stayed healthy. He said they didn't do anything extreme but were active and ate a Mediterranean diet. There is nothing I have heard or read in the intervening years to dispute that finding. Thanks for bring it up.
Presently i'm reading two nonfiction books, which i seldom do. The first is Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic--John De Graaf, David Wann and Thomas H. Naylor, written in 2001, revised in 2005, 2014, although it appears the stats are from the '05 edition. This is ostensibly an economics book for my 100 Challenge. However, it works as an anti-consumerism book, as well. A bit preachy, which i didn't expect.The second book is one my daughter told me about, as in "read this mom, then tell me about it". LOL! As she's far too busy presently (breakup, moving overseas for awhile, thus closing down her residence), i decided to do so. The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier--April White. It appears South Dakota was the Divorce Capitol of the US in the late 1800s-early 1900s. The book is about how this occurred and who arrived, by train, to establish residency and obtain a divorce. Who Knew?
madrano wrote: "Presently i'm reading two nonfiction books, which i seldom do. The first is Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic--John De Graaf, David Wann and Thomas H...."I read that book years ago and enjoyed it. I read a bunch of simplicity/minimalism books and that was one of them.
madrano wrote: It appears South Dakota was the Divorce Capitol of the US in the late 1800s-early 1900s. The book is about how this occurred and who arrived, by train, to establish residency and obtain a divorce. Who Knew?..."
Not me. Interesting. I never would have guessed that. I probably would have thought a big city would be at the top.
Re. Affluenza. I just finished Part One, which was persuasive toward making changes. Presumably, the next parts are about paring down.Re. Divorce Capital. (Sorry for my initial misspelling.) The Capital kept moving West as states were formed and they made up some of their own laws about divorce and other personal matters. So, this book is about when SD, particularly its largest city, Sioux Falls, was the Capital. I have no doubt that by the end readers will learn things changed there, so the Divorce Hoping People had to go further West. We'll see. So, South Dakota's big city?
madrano wrote: "Presently i'm reading two nonfiction books, which i seldom do. The first is Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic--John De Graaf, David Wann and Thomas H...."Did you ever see the movie The Women from the 1930s. If not look for it. Joan Crawford among many others. What a hoot. It is about women at a divorce farm in Reno.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032143/
Rachel wrote: Did you ever see the movie The Women from the 1930s. If not look for it. Joan Crawford among many others. What a hoot. It is about women at a divorce farm in Reno.."
Did you ever see the 1967 movie, Divorce American Style ?
It stars Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds. It's good.
Here is the trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRgww...
Rachel, yes! I really liked the way that film was made. The kitchen help were terrific, as i recall, in recounting what was going on with the soon-to-be-divorced couple. And Marjorie Main! The remake was quite unfortunate. Alias, i know i saw that 1967 film but remember little about it. That clip brought some of it back, particularly that clever undressing part. And what a cast!
Alias, thanks for posting the trailer of Divorce American style. It is funny and such a throwback. Does anyone remember War of the Roses?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ebv3...
You can see how the tone was much, much darker.
Rachel, I recall when that movie came out. However, I never saw it. Thanks for the link.
Good catch, Rachel. As you noted Roses was quite dark. There came a point when you realized it was no longer amusing bits but mean. Well created...and quite different from American Style!
That is what I meant really. That the culture had changed so much in the intervening years. Think about how a divorce movie would be now.
True. We barely give it a thought, really, if characters are divorced or in the process.
Today i finished reading Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic--John De Graaf, David Wann. It was full of interesting facts about economic growth in the US, particularly post WWII. It really was phenomenal. In the second parts, the authors discuss some alternatives to affluenza behavior which are better for our planet and our own well being.At times the last section was preachy but also not as informative as i'd hoped. It almost had me wishing they had just provided web links to groups (& there are many) which are tackling various aspects of these problems.
Nonetheless, it was a wealth of information, good for friendly discussions among family and friends. Given it's been around 20 years since first published, i was feeling discouraged. However, they made an excellent case to patience, nothing that it make take 40-50 years for changes to be seen by most communities, not just those living nearby.
madrano wrote: "Today i finished reading Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic--John De Graaf, David Wann. It was full of interesting facts about economic growth in the U..."I read it years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm glad you did, too.
If anything, our case of affluenza has gotten worse over the years. :(
This is what bothered me most, Alias, knowing things have only gotten worse!
It seems like a part of the world has affluenza and the other part cannot feed itself. There is something wrong with this picture.
Rachel wrote: "It seems like a part of the world has affluenza and the other part cannot feed itself. There is something wrong with this picture.":( Spot on, Rachel.
This was one point made by the authors, Rachel. It's an embarrassment. The comparisons between all Europe has accomplished within their growth vs. how the US has handled the same were disappointing, too. Of course, first was in health care.
I continue to read April White's The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier. Naturally, it covers more than just the women who arrived for a divorce. We learn about the history of divorce in the US, church opposition and the personalities in Sioux Falls, where most women went for their 3 month residency and divorce.It's neat that it also flits around high society events, both in NYC and Europe. Each chapter ostensibly shares the story of one woman who arrived to terminate their marriage. I'm on the second divorce now and am getting more details about her life, probably because her husband was the son of a man who ran for US President a couple of times in the late 1800s, John Blaine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_G...
Upthread Rachel mentioned the film The Women and this book echoes some of that. At times it's amusing but, of course, this is all in retrospect.
The other book i'm reading at present is Prairie Fever: British Aristocrats in the American West 1830-1890--Peter Pagnamenta, in order to complete my own 2022 Determination List. This is not exactly what i thought it would be, although it is true to its subtitle and i am liking it.The book talks about the first British people to enter the American West to visit, usually hunting for buffalo. They were spurred on by the writing of James Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving. I had no idea there were so many who came for the express purpose of hunting, but there were. Indeed, one group got tired of how easy it was to chase & kill the buffaloes!
I thought the book would be about enclaves of British who created their own towns on the prairie. We heard about them (& this book) while in Kansas, where one settlement included afternoon tea, cricket and customs from their nation.
Regardless, it's been a revelation. I liked learning that one Irish aristocratic landlord who ran into some of his land workers who left his employment to live free on the range. Funny, that. I'm half finished with it and am pleased.
madrano wrote: "I continue to read April White's The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier. Naturally, it covers more than j..."Women going to a 'divorce colony' is very interesting. I guess there wasn't one for men? 🙂
Barbara, i'm glad you asked that. Men did go to the Dakotas for divorce, as well, so the subtitle is a tad off. Indeed, she has mentioned a couple of men thus far who set up residency in order to divorce their wives. One wanted to free himself of child support, too, as he stated he didn't believe their offspring were his. Hmmm. The judge seemed to have been harsher with the men, it seems to me.
I finished The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier--April White today. Oddly, it was for NO challenge!The book tells the story of how Sioux Falls, South Dakota, became the Divorce Capital of the year in the late 1800s, continuing for around 20 years, when the residency requirement were extended to one year. Many wealthy people took advantage of the earlier 6-month requirement, moving to the city & adding to their improved finances.
This book is divided into parts specifically about a woman who wanted a divorce enough to move there. While one woman is the focus, White tells the story of others in each part, as well as local reactions toward the women.
The epilogue shares more facts about divorce during those years, which was informative. While many blamed places like SD, and while the divorce rate increased in those years, there were over a dozen other places, without special reduced residency requirements, which had more divorces. So, religious fervor against the SD law were unfounded in the long run. Divorce was coming.
madrano wrote: "I finished The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier--April White today. Oddly, it was for NO challenge!Th..."
Interesting. Now, I guess it's Reno.
"The practice of seeking divorce in Reno dates back to the early 20th century, when the city shrewdly built lodging and entertainment steps from its courthouse, drawing a steady flow of “divorce tourists” looking to escape the East Coast press."
Yes, in the prologue she mentioned that Nevada was the next Divorce Mecca with Reno winning due to its site and proximity to railroads. Railways were important for the Sioux Falls phenomena, too, btw. On occasion a plaintiff would arrive in SF for a month or two, then travel by carriage to a smaller town in order to file the action, often staying there until the divorce was granted.Mentioning the press, once it was understood SF would be the place to go, some newspapers set correspondents up in the fancy hotel, in order to hear the gossip, try to get interviews and get those stories to their paper. What a life!
madrano wrote: "Mentioning the press, once it was understood SF would be the place to go, some newspapers set correspondents up in the fancy hotel, in order to hear the gossip, try to get interviews and get those stories to their paper. What a life!Nice gig, if you can get it !
Books from my most recent haul:No One Is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood
Ghosted - Rosie Walsh
In America - Susan Sontag
The Memory Police - Yoko Ogawa
The Sellout - Paul Beatty
Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi
An America Marriage - Tayari Jones
Salvage the Bones - Jesmyn Ward
Anthem - Noah Harley
Infinite Country - Patricia Engel
Very excited to dig into these for 2023!! :) and happy to be a part of this group!!
Welcome to Book Nook Cafe, Andrew. Thank you for joining our group and posting. What a great book haul !
No One Is Talking About This sounds like it has a unique structure. I'm intrigued. I'm going to put it on my list.
The Sellout Sounds like one I would enjoy.
I'm going to check out the rest.
We look forward to getting to know you.
Andrew wrote: "Books from my most recent haul:The Memory Police - Yoko Ogawa,..."
I hope you find the Ogawa as interesting as i did, Andrew. It was a chilling novel, imo.
The Memory Police, yes! Sent chills up my spine reading the description, I cannot wait to dig in!And I picked up No One Is talking About This specifically because the format interested me; we’ll see if it holds my attention throughout the read!!
We look forward to your reviews, Andrew.
I can see why the Lockwood novel tickles your imagination, Andrew. Let's hope it clicks for you.
Last night i finished reading Prairie Fever: British Aristocrats in the American West 1830-1890--Peter Pagnamenta. While it wasn't the book i thought it would be, i found the information interesting. The author begins his book with the first member of the British aristocracy to visit for a hunting trip beyond the Mississippi. Many foreign visitors were tempted by the novels of James Fenimore Cooper's stories of Natty Bumpo and the early pioneer years, William Stewart being the first to write in detail about his adventure, primarily of hunting buffalo. He also managed to work with fur traders, members of several tribes and other hunters, endearing himself to them by behaving as they did, living simply and trying to fit in. Additionally, he hired a painter, Alfred Jacob Miller, who sketched and later painted some of the first art featuring the American West and its people. Those paintings, some enormous, helped entice others in Great Britain to visit.
Yet when others followed, they didn't try much to fit in but only to travel and hunt, insisting on tea time, bits of their own furniture, and even bringing their own servants. Their hunting trips were massive, leaving with hundreds of skins, horns, meat and even live buffalo. And on it went.
Once such visitors planned to buy land and remain here did the animosity many US citizens felt for them find purchase. By the 1860s, when they were spending huge sums to buy up land to raise their cattle and serve as their private hunting areas, did the visitors begin to comprehend they were not as welcome as they presumed. Of course, it didn't help that many were in a huff because their British rank in society went unappreciated here, including the neglect to call them "Lord So & So".
As the decades progressed, more & more "settlers" arrived. Many honestly wanted to live here, particularly the very Irish who had been booted from their living by the British aristocrats who were accumulating land here. But most of the well-to-do merely saw the States as a place to make their fortune.
I particularly was interested in those who brought land to create their own small towns of only British subjects. Many succeeded for a couple of decades but apparently none still exist, as the land was tougher to tame than they presumed. I found the idea amusing--polo, rugby, cricket in the midst of farm and cattle land.
He also wrote chapters about the British who came to become cattle barons, grazing their animals from the southern to the northern borders. For awhile they amassed enormous amounts of land and money, only to overextend. They even sought to send their living cattle back to England, to be slaughtered there. Those were the sort of expenses and errors which bankrupted many of them.
Ultimately US citizens turned to the US legislatures to outlaw British land acquisition. However, by the time they actually got around to doing so, the British had pretty much stopped trying to exploit the land and resources. An era had ended, mostly due to their own over-extension.
The book was well written, initially covering the expansion which was due to hunting, using individuals to tell the story. Then he switched to chapters explaining cattle, farming and making cities. It served the story well.
It is kind of rich that the US Legislatures put an end to the Brits getting land with no regard to the native population that was here first, that we stole the land from.
Andrew wrote: "Books from my most recent haul:No One Is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood
Ghosted - Rosie Walsh
In America - Susan Sontag
The Memory Police - Yoko Ogawa
The Sellout - Paul Beatty
Boy, Snow,..."
As the others have said, welcome. I looked up No One is Talking about this and it sounds very interesting and timely. American marriage, I found eye opening. The others I will look into.
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While one cannot state that a direct line from those murderous events can be made, the acts of the colonies can be in part to blame for tragedy after tragedy, culminating in the murder of those mothers and children in 2019.
The book is a tad confusing at times, mostly due to the naming tradition of children for fathers and uncles. It’s hard to keep up. However, Denton writes well and attributes quotes thoroughly.