My hairdresser said, Mercury is in retrograde. Communications may be skewed." I'm sure that explains the reason I can't make it all the way through a book lately. I started Blue Gold, The Battle Against Corporate Theft of the World's Water. Very interesting. Depressing. I lost all hope for future civilizations. For some reason I never considered all the water we'll ever on the planet is already here. I thought God renewed it every few years. Or something. It's embarrassing. I returned the book to the library.
Next I checked out Eugenia Bone's book, Well Preserved, Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Food. Nice pictures. The recipes were mostly not food I would eat though. Fresh asparagus and squash blossoms are great; but canned? I did however make two of her recipes from the newspaper; brandied peaches (I used rum) and poached pears. Not my usual fare but they were easy to make. And good. The asparagus are probably good too. I returned the book the next day.
Two weeks later I'm 36 pages into Cheap, The High Cost of Discount Culture. So far it's about the history of retail. I'm sticking with it. I read a mean spirited review of it in an LA newspaper that stunned me. The writer justified the destruction that went along with cheap, claimed it as our American right to pay less. I lost all hope for future civilizations. Again.
My lapses in hope are short lived however. The fact that authors devote their time to study, research and lifting the veil on the myths that surround us is cause for hope. Regardless of how the planets are aligned.
Have you read anything hopeful? Helpful? Despairing? Let us know.
9 comments:
I can relate. :) My life is crazy right now -- I feel like I'm inventing a new definition of multi-tasking as I try to sell our house, find a new one, take care of a preschooler & a husband whose workplace is in turmoil, and prepare to return to work myself!
I started "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" (which looks like a really good book and won't leave you depressed), but I'm keeping track of so many details right now that I just can't concentrate as hard as I need to in order to understand the book!
Thanks so much for your post. I logged in this evening thinking it was my week, and I'm so relieved it isn't!
We went to a (major chain) bookstore Saturday to read magazines and use a free coffee coupon. There were a lot of magazines this month with green/sustainable topics on the cover. So I browsed and skimmed while my partner devoured guitar mags. One I read -- the September 21 edition of Nation "Food for All." If you are interested in food issues, something in this magazine issue will interest you. There is a collection of short articles by the likes of Pollan, Alice Waters and others plus other articles but the one that really snagged me was the long article cum bookreview about two recent academic press books about famine. I found both hope and sadness reading this.
Other reading -- Paul McAvoy's Fairyland, a post technology, post climatic crash techno-euro-gene-altered cyberpunk fantasy sort of rif on TamLin and other themes. Which probably would be depressing if it wasn't entertaining me. (The book came from a library book sale so it's green, right?)
Love this post, Katrina! Like you, a lot of these books make me lose hope and I lose the desire to read them. :) Right now, I'm reading A Child's Garden which is a FANTASTIC guide for anyone looking to make their backyard more kid friendly in a more natural way. Next up is Herbal Tea Gardens.
I'm there too. Have been on a book break for a good month. I'm finding it very difficult to be hopeful. My honest view is that I'm surrounded by a bunch of numbnuts. Except you ladies of course!
This feeling comes and goes, so I'm justing waiting it out.
Donna - I'm out of breath reading everything you have on your plate. Work may be just the break you need! -- Happy house hunting.
Susan B - I read about the Nation magazine with all the food articles and then forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder. And to your question - any book from a library sale is most definitely green.
Green Bean - Sounds perfect ... the kids play in their garden while you sip tea from yours.
Beany - Thanks Beany. You're right, it does come and go.
I'm currently working on The Power of Less for my September review. I'm liking it!
Less in stuff, life stress, etc. Shannon
I just finished Ed Begley Fr's Guide to Sustainable Living and posted a review on my blog- can't say that I liked it- where's the humor Ed????
Beany since I ain't a lady I must be the numbnuts you are talking about!
Harumph! How rude!
Rob - I read your review and agree that I like a personal narrative with my green writing too. It gives me someone to relate to and cheer on. Thanks for being the not a lady around here. We need more of you!
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