The Promised Book Reports

It's been a summer of memoirs for the Tai Tai ...
with tales set on three different continents ...

My Korean Deli was a book I previewed first on Kindle. This spring I read the first chapter for free (a nice feature Kindle allows), and then I sourced it from our local library's inter-library loan program. (It didn't come as a big surprise to me that our Midwestern town wouldn't have a copy of this niche memoir. This is however the same, Midwestern town where our dry-cleaners is run by an enterprising Korean American couple who have confided that while they think public education in the US is close to abysmal, they think American universities are second to none. They also have been helpful in helping us track town Asian groceries, a Korean-style spa, and Japanese restaurant run by Koreans, that will make Korean food to order if you know to say, "Cindy from your church sent me." They've also invited us to their Sunday church service, but warned it would be in Korean, but that kids Sunday School is conducted Enlgish!)

This book wouldn't be for everyone, but the author does a great job of describing the ins and outs of running a bodega in New York City. I loved the cultural angle of the WASP son-in-law's perception of a Korean American family. It wasn't a riveting read, it took me my full two weeks to read it, and I read other stuff in between, but solid writing and an honest telling of the challenges of their 'experiment in risking it all' made me glad I read it. (I'll have to see if Cindy has read it too.)

The Saturday Big Tent ....

Okay, so maybe I didn't only read memoirs. This slim novel is the most recent in a series of endearing books that have been long-time favorites. This it the 12th book in Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Decective Agency books, which are set in present-day Botswana. The stories are simple, the sentiments endearing. If you are looking for good, light reading that will leave you with a feeling of good will toward humanity and with knowledge of another culture, consider picking up any of the books in this series.

I love how McCall Smith closes each of his books in this series. With a simple repeated phrase.

Africa

Africa Africa

Africa Africa Africa

Africa Africa

Africa

Twenty Chickens for a Saddle kept me in Africa. Kept me even in Botswana in fact! This is an absolutely remarkable memoir of Robyn Smith growing up in Botswana in the 1980s and 90s. Parented by a couple who lived off the grid and on the fringe, her childhood memories provide a remarkable account of homeschooling (bordering nearly on un-schooling), homeopathic medicine, bush planes and lots of encounters with wild animals (snakes, hippos, unruly ponies). I really can't say enough about this book. It offers a sad portrayal of AIDS slowly and quietly ravaging another African nation. It tells the story of unity and strength of a nation that was largely unaffected by the racism and racial divides that so plagued it's neighbor South Africa ... It describes a landscape that varies greatly in different parts of the country ... I'm passing it on to MGJ to read next.

My Foremost Good Fortune will now gain a worthy place in our China bookshelf along side the likes of Peter Hessler and Pearl S Buck. Conley tells the story of her moving to Beijing with her husband and sons, and later discovering she has breast cancer. I can so relate to her Beijing experiences. She does a great job describing life as an expat, the challenges and privileges and the chaos of living in a thriving city during the ramp up to the Olympics. I will probably refer more to this book later, but would recommend it to anyone who has ever lived abroad or is planning to.

Animal Vegetable Miracle: A Year of Food Life is not a new book. Kingsolver (yes the same Kingsolver who wrote The Poisinwood Bible) tells of the adventures of her family's one year experiment as locavores. The book is a group effort, with her daughter constructing menus and recipes based on what is available at different times of the year, and her husband writing companion pieces on the state of various industries, practices and codes in the Untied States.

The Kingsolver-Hopps moved back to their family property in Virginia, from Arizona, raised livestock and vegetables, harvested fruit and bought only locally produced goods for a full calendar year. Their book helps challenge thinking about food. (And when you consider both the volume of food consumed and the intense processing it undergoes in this country, it seems Americans aren't really doing enough thinking about their food.) We have so distorted our view of food and eating in the United States that doing what Kingsolvers did (which was ultimately done for the purpose of creating a book on the topic) seems as strange as packing up and moving to the other side of the globe. (Maybe that's why I loved it!)

Mr Johnson told me to stop fretting about what was in our freezer, as I read selections aloud, and contemplated twenty chickens of my own :-) If you read this book, you will never think of bananas or grocery-bought chicken in the same way. (Consider yourself warned)! You may reconsider buying strawberries in January, or may begin to consider the carbon footprint on a number of items in your deli.

But, to be fair, Kingsolver's book is not about being an alarmist. It's about thoughtfully considering the resources around you, the season for produce, and what fruits, and especially vegetables should really taste like. We have created food that is perfectly shaped, able to be shipped, and can last for weeks in your fridge. But we have given up taste, and the sweetness of limiting exposure to fruits and vegetables to their normal growing season. Nor, is her book about becoming elitist. To eat well, you don't have to pay alot. She drives this point home, many times throughout her treatise.

Now, go water your heirloom tomatoes!!