More Relaxation and Reading

Despite all the things that may not have gone our way thus far in our trip, one thing that I am loving is that I am able to read so much.  Out to Arno and back, I was able to read three books – all of which I’d recommend, if they sound interesting to you.

Fiction

Life of Pi by Yann Martel – a fun read; I thought it started a little slow, but then I got sucked in.  Pi (the main character) is the son of a zookeeper.  He and his family are moving with their zoo animals from India to Canada via a cargo ship. The ship sinks, and Pi is able to get into a lifeboat, but finds there are no other humans – just the Bengal tiger, a hyena, an orangutan, and a zebra.  Most of the book describes how Pi desperately tries to not be eaten by the tiger before they reach land.  It all sounds kind of crazy, but that’s one of the joys of fiction.

Non-Fiction

• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls – This is a memoir written by a woman who became a reporter for MSNBC.  It’s the story of her childhood.  The book reminded me a lot of Angela’s Ashes.  I read in horror yet again about how parents didn’t do their main job of taking care of their kids.  I wonder if I would love my parents as much as the author loves hers despite their flaws.  
• Books like this make me:
• love and appreciate my parents more than I already do.  So far my brothers and I have turned out fairly well, I think.  For the most part, we’re becoming productive members of society. 
• think about how there are so many kids out there who need parents who will love them and provide them with a home that meets their basic needs and makes them feel safe and loved. 
• think more about the whole nature vs. nurture debate.  The kids in this family turned out remarkably well (for the most part) despite the non-traditional and sometimes non-existent nurturing they received. 
• Dispatches From the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival by Anderson Cooper – The title pretty much describes what the book is about.  He weaves his personal story (childhood up to working for CNN) into his coverage of Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Niger, Iraq, the Tsunami, Katrina, and more.  I had no idea that he was a Vanderbilt; his mom is Gloria Vanderbilt.  He didn’t use his family name to get into the business, though.  He started out just using a borrowed Hi-8 video camera and sending himself to places. Then he’d try to sell his stories to Channel One  - those near my age or who were teaching in the early 90s might remember it?  It was supposed to be 10 to 12 minute news broadcasts that was targeted directly for students.  Lots of schools would show it on close-circuit televisions.
• I still think that there should be another required class in schools today concerning current events in the world or not even current, but recent history. I think it’s important for kids to learn older history too, but things are happening today that they should be informed about – was 10 when Rwanda happened, yet I didn’t really know much about it until I was an adult and Hotel Rwanda came out.  I was 13 when my friends’ parents were being deployed to Bosnia, but I had no idea why until I was an adult and wanted to teach about it. 

Okay, going to get off my soapbox and back into a book.