Being the teacher's daughter, I enjoy these little 'assignments'. Perhaps I like that it focuses my attention on 'favorites', 'passions', or whatever it may be. I think I like the chance to define myself more clearly. And I like remembering what makes me 'tick'. Those details can get lost in the laundry list of day to day life, and it's fun for me to reexamine something I enjoy, or have enjoyed at one point. And, us Virgos do enjoy making lists. I think my Virgo-ness presents itself in these sorts of lists.
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The first book that really enthralled and excited me was Africa Solo by Kevin Kertscher. It's a travel memoir, set in the early 90's, about a man that hitchhikes across Africa. From Morocco to Kenya. I first read it when I was 13. My parents were out of town, so I blared the African music on the speakers, and read this book about a person taking a wonderful leap of faith. The book struck me. It made me realize that anything really is possible, even on limited funds. Granted hitchhiking across Africa doesn't exactly sound appealing now, but at 13, it sounded like the ultimate adventure...and still kind of does. It opened my eyes to this big, beautiful world we live in. And that people, everywhere, are essentially the same. Also, the same year I read this book, I hunted down the author and sent him a letter describing how much his book meant to me; and come 2 days before Christmas that year, he replied to my letter. A lovely handwritten response to my young idealism. He encouraged my love of Africa, and all her hidden treasures. His letter is still one of my most cherished possessions. I've included my favorite excerpt from one of his first nights camping in the middle of the Sahara.
"Outside, a blanket of stars swept above my head. Some blended together into clouds of light, while others loomed so large and so bright that they seemed within reach. I felt I might be able to grab a handful to hold in my pocket, and at the same time, I felt as tiny as the grains of sand around me. I was far away from the crowded cities. With sand around me. With the cover of my tent off so that I could see the sky through the screened roof, I lay down to think, nestled in my warm sleeping bag and enveloped in an infinite cradle of sand and stars."
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The second book to top my list is A Movable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. For those of us rich with idealism (I've got it bad), I think this book sums up the traveler/writer/poet/cafe sitter lifestyle. For those of us that loved our 'blankies' as kids, this book is about as 'blankie' as a book can get for me. Other Hemingway books I really don't regard with much ooh and ahh, but this work, seems to go within his soul, and capture the true human being. I think the 'blankie' analogy pretty much sums up why I love this book...it just makes me feel good, really good. So, naturally, here's one of my favorite excerpts.
"You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person died for no reason."
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The third, and final book I will include in my 'favorites' is The Devil's Picnic by Taras Grescoe.
An incredibly witty and educated look in to the world of 'forbidden' foods. Be it poppy seeds in Singapore, Epoisses cheese in the metros of Paris, or Pentobarbital Sodium in Switzerland. It's a fascinating look into the simple but intricate cultures around the world, and the hypocrisies. Viewed through the eyes of a cynical, sarcastic, Canadian, foodie (my kind of person :) ), Taras gives incredibly interesting factoids pertaining to each forbidden item. I actually felt after walking away from this book, enlightened. And wanting to know more. What other seemingly 'wrong' and 'not dones' are actually just that way, because the majority of the world want you to view it so, or they themselves think so. This book also brought to the forefront of my mind how sanitized our world has become...and in many cases that is not such a good thing (to know more check out Guns, Germs, and Steel). But in the overall, it was just refreshing to see the world through the eyes of an enlightened human being, and someone that doesn't just 'eat' what the system has to feed him.
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And the poem bit... The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. A beautiful poem that jumps of the tongue in lyrical prose. I always find myself reading it with a Scottish accent. It again, is a 'blankie' of a poem for me. Comforting and lovely. Granted, it's haunting and eerie, but also poignant.
I've also included a small bit from my favorite E.E. Cummings poem. Happy reading!
::::
The first book that really enthralled and excited me was Africa Solo by Kevin Kertscher. It's a travel memoir, set in the early 90's, about a man that hitchhikes across Africa. From Morocco to Kenya. I first read it when I was 13. My parents were out of town, so I blared the African music on the speakers, and read this book about a person taking a wonderful leap of faith. The book struck me. It made me realize that anything really is possible, even on limited funds. Granted hitchhiking across Africa doesn't exactly sound appealing now, but at 13, it sounded like the ultimate adventure...and still kind of does. It opened my eyes to this big, beautiful world we live in. And that people, everywhere, are essentially the same. Also, the same year I read this book, I hunted down the author and sent him a letter describing how much his book meant to me; and come 2 days before Christmas that year, he replied to my letter. A lovely handwritten response to my young idealism. He encouraged my love of Africa, and all her hidden treasures. His letter is still one of my most cherished possessions. I've included my favorite excerpt from one of his first nights camping in the middle of the Sahara.
"Outside, a blanket of stars swept above my head. Some blended together into clouds of light, while others loomed so large and so bright that they seemed within reach. I felt I might be able to grab a handful to hold in my pocket, and at the same time, I felt as tiny as the grains of sand around me. I was far away from the crowded cities. With sand around me. With the cover of my tent off so that I could see the sky through the screened roof, I lay down to think, nestled in my warm sleeping bag and enveloped in an infinite cradle of sand and stars."
::::
The second book to top my list is A Movable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. For those of us rich with idealism (I've got it bad), I think this book sums up the traveler/writer/poet/cafe sitter lifestyle. For those of us that loved our 'blankies' as kids, this book is about as 'blankie' as a book can get for me. Other Hemingway books I really don't regard with much ooh and ahh, but this work, seems to go within his soul, and capture the true human being. I think the 'blankie' analogy pretty much sums up why I love this book...it just makes me feel good, really good. So, naturally, here's one of my favorite excerpts.
"You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person died for no reason."
::::
The third, and final book I will include in my 'favorites' is The Devil's Picnic by Taras Grescoe.
An incredibly witty and educated look in to the world of 'forbidden' foods. Be it poppy seeds in Singapore, Epoisses cheese in the metros of Paris, or Pentobarbital Sodium in Switzerland. It's a fascinating look into the simple but intricate cultures around the world, and the hypocrisies. Viewed through the eyes of a cynical, sarcastic, Canadian, foodie (my kind of person :) ), Taras gives incredibly interesting factoids pertaining to each forbidden item. I actually felt after walking away from this book, enlightened. And wanting to know more. What other seemingly 'wrong' and 'not dones' are actually just that way, because the majority of the world want you to view it so, or they themselves think so. This book also brought to the forefront of my mind how sanitized our world has become...and in many cases that is not such a good thing (to know more check out Guns, Germs, and Steel). But in the overall, it was just refreshing to see the world through the eyes of an enlightened human being, and someone that doesn't just 'eat' what the system has to feed him.
::::::
And the poem bit... The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. A beautiful poem that jumps of the tongue in lyrical prose. I always find myself reading it with a Scottish accent. It again, is a 'blankie' of a poem for me. Comforting and lovely. Granted, it's haunting and eerie, but also poignant.
I've also included a small bit from my favorite E.E. Cummings poem. Happy reading!
"here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)"
1 comment:
I love that e.e. poem. What is the title? I want to find it and read the entire thing.
I could have guessed the first 2 books you chose. And I like your reasons for selecting the third book. I think you are right about Ernie Hemingway.... he was happy in Paris.... he was young, struggling with a new wife and baby, poor, and often hungry, but he was at the beginning of his career where he could write any old thing he wanted and he wasn't a celebrity yet. I think after he divorced his first wife and left Paris.... well, one should really never leave Paris. Linda
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