Reading about the reading life. March 9, 2012

A few things about books and reading that I have recently read and found interesting.

• An article about getting Korean literature translated so folks abroad can read it. The article out of the The Korea Herald features an interview with the director of the Korea Literature Translation Institute.
• A Spanish language article from the blog Papeles Pérdidos. The article is entitled "Un recorrido por las librerías más bonitas del mundo." The article highlights beautiful bookstores around the world, using a previous article on the topic out of Flavorpill. I think the English-language version has made the rounds in a few celebrity librarian blogs and other book blogs. However, as often the case with Spanish language writing, I found the article a more pleasant reading experience. The language is a bit more lyrical in describing these havens for book readers. Additional commentary on the book industry is also included. 
• Under learning something new, did you know that Japan has about 500 literary prizes? This article from The Japan Times a small Q&A on the prominent literary awards in Japan.  A hat tip to The Literary Saloon.
• From Cornell University's Cornell Chronicle magazine, a short profile of writer José Edmundo Paz-Soldán. Not too many of his works have been translated into English. I do recall ordering a few of his works in Spanish for the collections at my previous workplace. A pity I did not get around to reading them myself at the time. I may need to work on fixing that reading gap. A hat tip to The Literary Saloon.

Booknote: Agorafabulous

I am posting my review of the book from my GoodReads page because I do think the book is worth reading and sharing. Though I am not a big fan of the memoir genre, I do think the book is funny at times as well as moving in some parts. I think anyone, especially women, who suffers from mental health issues including anxiety and panic attacks may find someone to relate to in Ms. Benincasa. I will add that I would like to see Ms. Benincasa performing sometime down the road.

To keep the FTC happy, I am disclosing that I won a copy of the book as a prize in a giveaway over at the Stiletto Storytime blog. And on Valentine's Day nonetheless.

The review:

Agorafabulous!: Dispatches from My Bedroom by Sara Benincasa

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Sara Benincasa tells the story of how she struggled with and learned to cope and overcome her mental health issues. Ms. Benincasa suffers from anxiety disorder, including very aggressive panic attacks that immobilized her. At times, she could not even leave her house due to her fears. There are few good messages in this book.

1. The power of humor. Humor helped her cope and grow. Humor also led her to find her true path as a comedian and writer.

2. The power of persistence. Hard as it was for her, she did persevere.

3. The power of supportive family and friends. I don't think this can be said enough.

4. Healing and rehabilitation do take time. You may fall. You get back up again.

Ms. Benincasa writes with humor and gentleness. There are some moments when you will smile and laugh. There may be a moment or two when you will grimace. There may be some awkward moments as well. That is all ok as those moments are all part of the big picture, so to speak. Readers will smile, and they will also be very moved at times. I was moved at times. The chapter on her days of teaching school in Texas, dealing with Billy's "problem" was funny but also very moving when you look at how she did handle it, which, I will say, as a former teacher myself, was probably about the best way to deal with it. Ms. Benincasa may be a better teacher than she thinks.

The book is pretty easy to read. Though I did find a couple of passages a bit too long, overall, the book makes a good reading experience. If you like memoirs, you will probably like this. If you have an interest in mental health issues, especially as they affect women, you probably want to read this book. And even though the book is written for an adult audience, I would venture to say that older, mature teens might benefit from reading as well as she deals with and discusses issues that affect teens as well.

(The note to keep the FTC, a.k.a. "The Man," happy: I got the copy of the book as prize from a book away at the Stiletto Storytime blog).




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Booknote: Health Care Reform

I knew when I started reading this that I wanted to share this book. Now that I finished it, I do want to share the book with others. I think it is an excellent book on the topic for general readers. Apparently the book is so good that some people feel threatened by it. I borrowed the copy I read from the local public library. Our public library is not always known to be a bastion of open exchange of ideas. So, when I checked the book out, and I finally opened the first page to read it, this is what I found:

Yes, that is a photo of the first page as I found it when I got it from the public library. Apparently they don't check books very well when they are returned. Anyhow, a helpful local reader decided to make it his or her duty to let me know the following: "This book is heavily slanted toward a left-wing philosophy." I guess that the desire to educate others about better health care services and reform is a left-leaning cause. Has to be since right wingers pretty much do not believe in the common good. And I am willing to bet the "helpful" reader is probably a Medicare beneficiary (this is based on local demographic, which is heavy in terms of seniors. Aside from some children, I may well be one of the youngest readers the library gets). At any rate, I did feel the need to share that little tidbit as it is a reflection of the kind of nonsense I get to put up with on a close to daily basis. In the end, as tempted as I was to write back, "did you know that Richard Nixon proposed universal health care (he called it "comprehensive") at one point?" It is tempting, but I am simply removing the sticky note before I turn it in. The next reader does deserve a clean book.

Here is my review as I posted it to my GoodReads profile:


Health Care Reform by Jonathan Gruber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is a must-buy for public libraries; a few academic libraries may probably want to acquire it as well, especially to have handy for freshmen writing research papers relating to health care reform issues.

The book is a basic explanation of the Affordable Care Act as well as an argument for the need of reform in American health care. However, do think that just because I say "basic" it is a simplistic book. Actually, the book provides very good, clear, concise explanations. It starts by laying out the current situation, the need for reform, and how the ACA moves towards that reform. The author is an economics scholar and one of the people who helped craft Massachusetts new health reform plan. The book also does a pretty good job to dispel the various myths and fear statements that opponents of reform have used to prevent reform from happening.

The books graphics are good. They are in black and white. Nothing fancy here, but the visual elements complements the content very nicely. If you want to learn more about the topic, this is certainly a very good place to start. If you have neighbors or friends who think it is all a conspiracy, that it is just "socialism in medicine," a government takeover, or other nonsense, hand them this book. It should help clear their objections. To be honest, maybe this is the kind of material we need for other forms of major legislation where the public needs to be educated. The book certainly is designed to educate the general reader on the topic, and it succeeds at that.



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Booknote: And a Bottle of Rum

Here is my review of this very good book as I posted it to my GoodReads profile. Before the review, I am making a quick note on books that have similar appeal. Maybe it will help those reader's advisors out there, or maybe just give my four readers other reading ideas. By the way, the books I am listing are books that I have actually read. There are plenty of other books that would make good read-a-likes for the Curtis book.

Read-a-likes:

• Kyle Jarrard, Cognac: The Seductive Saga of the World's Most Coveted Spirit. 
• Tom Standage, A History of the World in Six Glasses.
• Maureen Ogle, Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer.

The review: 



And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a book I definitely recommend. If you like rum, or you enjoy rum drinks, you will probably enjoy this book that will teach you more about the history of this spirit. If you are history buff or reader, you will enjoy the book as well.

The book is organized in chapters named after a different rum drink. Each chapter provides a history of the drink in question as well as a history of the New World in the process. Together, the chapters provide not only a narrative of where rum came from, where it has been, where it is now, and where it is headed. You also get a good amount of history overall from Colonial America to today. The book is a good example of the microhistory genre: it takes a single thing, and it explores its history in depth. However, this kind of book also provides a look at history overall. There is trivia. There is history. There are curious facts. And there is even a little adventure on the high seas. I personally enjoy this kind of book because I often learn more about other things besides the one item in question. A neat thing about this book is that it dispels some of the myths people may associate with rum.

Curtis' narrative is pretty easy to read, and the book as a whole is pretty entertaining. From pirates and buccaneers to Captain Morgan (the mascot; the real Captain Morgan was not a jolly fellow with a big red coat)to Ernest Hemingway and tiki bars. You get it all here. This is a book that will have you longing for some rum, and I do not mean just the mass produced varieties like Bacardi.

As a bonus, the end of the book features a section of rum drink recipes so you can try them out and add a bit more to the reading experience. So, get yourself a good bottle of rum, a sour or two, a weak or two, and a sweet or two, fix your favorite cocktail, be it Rum and Coke or a Mai Tai, and just enjoy this excellent book.




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Booknote: Are we there yet?

This is a book that is worth reading, so I am sharing my review from GoodReads here on the blog as well. Sessions Rugh's book not only tells the story of the Americans on vacation in the early to middle part of the 20th century. She also tells about the politics of the time, the rise of civil rights struggles, and of the children who grew up being taken (or dragged if you ask some of them today) on vacations to see the U.S. It was an endeavor that had nationalistic significance, a way to build up patriotism as well as a leisure activity. It was also a consumerist endeavor as well. So, go ahead, read the review and consider giving the book a look.


Are We There Yet?: The Golden Age of American Family Vacations by Susan Sessions Rugh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a very good book looking at a specific time in American history: the family vacation from about the post-World War II era to about the 1970s. This was the era when families loaded up the family station wagon and went out on road trips to see the United States. It is a time that is idealized by many Baby Boomers, but their children probably differ when it comes to that idealization. It is a time that some see with nostalgia and others are glad it is over. But whether you loved or hate the station wagon road trip, this was a pivotal time for American culture and history in terms of consumerism, civil rights, and social growth. And yes, not all the travel happened on station wagons, but the basic idea was to load up the car and go.

The author does a very good job with the research. She draws on a lot of archival material, and she also notes where there are gaps in the records. One of the strengths of the book is in telling the story of the groups marginalized during this time such as Blacks (due to Jim Crow) and Jews (due to anti-semitism). The author goes on to show how these groups, while suffering humiliations and even hardships on the road, also adapted, creating their own resource networks, camp grounds, resorts, so on.

The basic story is that after the war, many vets came home. They got jobs. Got married. Had children. And they had relatively generous benefits, including good vacation. That is a contrast to today where you are lucky if your stingy employer gives you more than a week, maybe two at the most (and even then you can't take it all at once). So, loading up the family car to go to Disneyland or a resort or a National Park was relatively easy to do. Keep in mind it was relatively easy if you were White and part of the prosperous middle class (you know, the middle class that is now in danger of extinction). Now, if you were Black or Jew (or other minority), even if you were solid middle class, you might find some difficulties on the road, but that did not deter minorities from hitting the road as well.

The vacation was not just leisure however. It was also an economic engine. Oil companies gave away free maps and travel information in order to market their gasoline and products to motorists. Cities and municipalities promoted their tourists attractions. Resorts were built, and even celebrities got in by investing in amusement parks. A lot of jobs would be created from Americans vacationing.

However, time did march on, and tastes and dynamics changes. What the parents saw as thrilling-- the family vacation that brought all the family together-- their kids saw as a drag and thus avoided. Also, air travel and the Internet changed things as well. The authors does touch on this as well.

Overall, it is an interesting topic. The book can be a bit dry at time however, which is why I did not rate it higher. It is worth a look. It does include some good photos as well. Plus, like many good microhistories, you learn not only about vacations, but in this case about a time in American history that also allows us to reflect on our own time. Maybe there is the real value of the book.




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Signs the economy is bad, February 10, 2012 edition

It's Friday, and my four readers know what that means around here. It is possible we may have another edition of "Signs that the economy is bad" here at The Itinerant Librarian. And sure enough, we've got a few signs this week, including stuff that we have seen before making a return appearance. I will note that except for one item, all items this week are related to education somehow. It seems education is a proverbial canary in the mineshaft when it comes to the bad economy.

• Oh look, we are back with the issue of advertising in schools. Dallas (TX) ISD may be moving to allow advertisements in their classrooms. Via NBC 5. 
• And we are back with the issue of colleges selling naming rights to make ends meet. And yes, once again, they are selling rights to name bathrooms.The article from Inside Higher Ed has an account of a few colleges who have been or plan to sell naming rights to bathrooms in order to raise funds. My personal favorite has to be the example from Pennsylvannia, where the donor demanded that "the walls be lined with plaques reading, 'The relief you are now experiencing is made possible by a gift from Michael Zinman.'”
• Student loan debt is driving more graduates into bankruptcy. The big problem? Student loan debt is the one debt you cannot discharge in bankruptcy court. Yea, you can thank the sleazeball lobbyists from banks for that one. Story via The Los Angeles Times. On a related note, I can't recall where I read it, but I did read that many bankruptcy lawyers are not paid very well when compared to other law specialties. It is a field that has a lot of volume, and it is not glamorous. New lawyers are often saddled with high student loans as well, and thus, bankruptcy lawyers are often in the same boat as their clients in terms of the student loan serfdom. The fact that a society chooses not to invest in the education of its youth but instead allows said youth to fall into financial slavery makes a very poor comment on society.
• Another report is out on how Dollar Stores are growing in the bad economy. It seems they are the one sector that so far can grow in this bad economic climate. How bad is the climate? According to the summary, we have "the rapid evaporation of wealth, both real and perceived, has profoundly changed the way Americans shop, how they think about the buying experience, and how they define value." We can certainly attribute that to things like stagnating wages and overall just people losing their jobs or having to work at lower paying jobs as corporations outsourced overseas. Report found via Full Text Reports. This is a sign of the bad economy I have pointed out before.