Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Devil is in the Details

The snowy weather has given me the opportunity to make good progress with our February read, but I am afraid I have not completed Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by its due date. (I may, in fact, owe our library ten cents for my oversight. Apologies if you are waiting for this title on hold; it should be returned today.) The language is descriptive and most times, the reader can feel emotion behind the words. Agee is passionate about his subject relating the smallest of details in order for the reader to truly understand the settings surrounding his families.

This style does make for a more challenging read, and I have not yet been able to sit for hours with book in hand. I have needed breaks for pause and perhaps just time to remember. I grew up knowing those who did not own the land on which they farmed. They were given a place to sleep in exchange for work in fields of corn and tobacco (rather than cotton). The seasons which gave you the most in return were also the ones which demanded the most of you as a worker giving a bitter balance to the psychology of survival. Like the families in the book, selling firewood was an important supplement to income.

These similarities make the book very familiar. My goal is still yet to finish the read and revisit Agee's porch again before our meeting.

Friday, January 29, 2010

There's Snow Place Like Home

Today's weather forecast has resulted in a cancellation of my normal Friday routine, and I will admit I am a bit happy about this change. The sky is grey, and I am relatively certain I saw a tiny snowflake fall to the deck. I am drinking coffee out of my red mug as I sit at the computer, and I plan to spend the next few hours curled up on the sofa with my unread book. Am I a lucky girl? Oh, most definitely.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I've Only Just Begun

I have read the first few pages of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, our February read, and am feeling the pressure to devote a bit more time to it as I have only just realized I am working against a January 30th deadline to return the book to the library. The photographs by Walker Evans are incredible. The railed bed, the boots, the corn crib, wooden furniture, and a horse drawn plow are images which invoke a number of childhood memories and send me searching for old black and white photos and a little C & W music.

Monday, January 25, 2010

I Got the Power

I have already mentioned that I was reading The Power of Who at likely the right time in my life, but I do not think I knew how true this was until I polished off the rest of the book in one sitting. The author mentioned several techniques that I already employ such as making a list of exactly what the "what" is (although mine was on the back of an envelope rather than neatly typed pages) and working on my "who" relationships. In addition to reinforcing current habits, he also notes a number of suggestions/observations which I found inspiring.

One of the quotes that is still with me after having completed the read is something that an old boyfriend used to say to me when he was teaching me to ride a bike at the age of 20 on a hot summer day in Houston: "We move in the direction of our focus" (p.136). I was more concerned with the gears, speeds, and hand brakes and may have ridden into a parked car or two (very gently with no damage of course) because I was not focused on the path I intended to ride.

To my co-volunteer: thank you for the loan of the book and for the pause it created today.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Small Books

I have spent the last two days perusing children's books and/or stories which were written by young girls. Did you know it was possible to customize books for a child using his/her name as the main character in the story? (I had no idea.)

In addition to reading, the conversations with the girls were simple and direct; observations were acute and there were lots of questions. For someone who is not in the presence of young kids on a daily basis, it was a fun exercise in logic and levity. Imagination had no constraints, and it was a great deal of fun.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Who, What, Why?

'"What" do you Want?' is the heading of my current chapter in The Power of Who. I am one-third into the book, and thus far I would describe it as a very pleasant and obvious read. Not obvious in the "I knew that" kind of way, but in more of a "wow, I should have thought of it like that (but I didn't)." The book reads a bit like Who Moved My Cheese in that there is plenty of white space on the page, which perhaps is a cue for reflection on the writer's points.

I think I am reading this book at the apropos time. The current section asks the reader to try to match their "what" (want) with the "who" s/he is in order to achieve the right focus. I will leave you today with the Bob Beaudine's words when this happens:

...then life becomes all about:
* Doing what you love
* With those you love
* In a place you love
* That your spouse/family/mate also loves
* Doing all the above for the right reasons

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

A Trilogy

Book two of the Millennium series, The Girl Who Played with Fire, was perhaps more intriguing than book one. Rather than a primary focus on the journalist Blomkvist, Stieg Larsson pulls the reader into Salander's character, and we learn a great deal more about this young woman and her wasp tattoo. The ending of the book was better constructed than book one leaving the reader with the right combination of "story complete" and "eagerness for the final book in the series." (I read for two solid hours to finish the book.)

Regarding dedicating a few hours to a task, one of the benefits of volunteering (other than the primary goal of giving back to your community) is meeting other people. I have been very fortunate to meet some extremely cool individuals and to have great conversations about life, travel, and of course, books. Enter The Power of Who: You Already Know Everyone You Need to Know by Bob Beaudine. Of my co-volunteers mentioned this book last month in discussing networking and brought it to me Friday so that I could read it. (Luckily I met him before reading the book.) It appears to be a relatively short read and likely my next target.

In the queue to follow the above title is our February bookclub read, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee and Walker Evans. [In the copy I have, this title is published with A Death in the Family which I have read some years ago and may also be revisited.] The story follows three tenant families and has several notable quotes. The structure of the book is very interesting, almost akin to a play. I had the thought that this would be a good text to read aloud (thinking of GBC Carole not the singer) and smiled as I read in the preface that this was indeed true. The story includes a preamble, verses, photography, and a character listing in addition to the actual text. The dedication (p.2) states simply:
To those of whom the record is made.
In gratefulness and in love.
J.A. W.E.
Agee was born in Knoxville (not far from campus for those of you who are alum) and was a screenplay writer for "The African Queen" starring Ms. Hepburn.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Bon Appetit

When I entered GBC Nancy's home with baquettes warm from the oven and a platter of bouchees parmentier au fromage, the atmosphere was festive with French greetings and a selection of delicious hors d'oeuvres. It seemed each of us had a themed contribution: oysters, pates, cheeses, and the aforementioned potato cheese sticks. It was a lovely way to begin the weekend.

Our dinner was simple and delicious: salad, boeuf bourguignon (amazing!), and bread. Though several of us were relegated to a separate area ("the kids table") for the main meal, we gathered together in the dining room for dessert provided by GBC Susan's French baker. As we each sampled our slices of cake (yes, two!), the evening moved to an animated conversation regarding our favourite parts of the book, anecdotes of travel in France, cooking, and a brief history of the USIS. It seemed we were all a fan of Paul and Julia's relationship and of owning a cat, though not certain of the feasibility to have wine with each meal.

Though we changed the seating arrangements to protect the innocent, the tradition of an impeccable meal and a fabulous book club at GBC Nancy's was continued. See you next month!

Friday, January 15, 2010

A Series Matter

For those of you who also like to make bread, here is a little tip I learned several years ago: if you store your flour in large Ziploc bags as I do, do not leave the corner of the bag on a hot stove. You can, however, with this technique create a fairly dramatic "snowstorm" in the kitchen.

I am looking forward to our January meeting.

I will admit that I have deferred Agee's read for The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. This is the second of the trilogy and is quite the contrast to Ms. Child. I have the book in "Large Print" from the local library and, well, it is extremely large. This book seemed a bit more appropriate for a weekend read, and I do like to complete a series once I have begun reading. It is a "finish what you start" kind of thing, and I am quite sure that I learned this lesson from Dad.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Recipes for Life

Completing My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prod'homme and further work on a side project have me excited about "la belle F" (to quote Ms Child). The few pages describing her time in Norway brought back lovely memories as well. Ah, travel.

We are just a few days from our next meeting and since I have committed to provide le pain, I have been perusing Mastering the Art of French Cooking and my other bread resources for something truly le francais. I am not certain if I will have the time prior to the meeting to test a recipe as Julia might have done, so mon plat final may also be mon plat experimental. But this is the joy of cooking, c'est vrai?

[Note: I am not often a fan of mixing languages in writing, however the above paragraph is a tribute to the style of the book.]

Monday, January 11, 2010

hola!

As promised earlier last month, I spent some time perusing Mango, which is available through our library website. Access is granted with your library card and access code, and the portal is easy to navigate. One has the option to create an account in order to save your lesson progress. Current languages offered are: Mandarin, French, German, Italian, and (Latin American) Spanish. In a fairly short time, I was through the first three lessons which are offered in slide format with audio. The technique is a combination of read and repeat with options to replay any statements which are not clear. I was able to set my own pace and quickly move through any slides which I had felt as if already mastered. My preference was to use the keyboard rather than the mouse for more rapid navigation. [Despite the fact that we have been on a French kick lately with book club, I decided to revive my old Spanish language skills.]

Each lesson is around 85 slides, and it appears as though there are around 100 lessons for Spanish on the "in depth" (Complete) option. There is also a Basic alternate if one is traveling soon or has less time to devote to learning. The site also has a dashboard if you are interested in statistics like time spent, lessons learned, etc. [Ahem, math.]

Overall, I think Mango appears to be a very easy and gentle introduction to a language. I plan to keep moving through the lessons so perhaps another update will be due in a few weeks. Hasta luego!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Burns Early

Intent: Enjoy the really cold weather from the comfort of my home, finish the January book club book, and sip hot beverages throughout the day.

Actual: Go for a run, (painfully) wait for fingers to regain warmth, drink cold beverages, and go to the library.

Moral: The best laid plans of nice within frequently go to Main.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Are you List-ening?

For those of you who have completed My Life in France (not me) and want to move to the next book or for anyone else who needs a title to add to your reading list, these are our upcoming GBC reads:

  • February: Let us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee and Walker Evans (In checking the authors for this book on a visit to Amazon, this book is nearly 500 pages in paperback, so begin soon! Shipping weight is 1.2 pounds if you are curious.)
  • March: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Renin ("Pennies for Peace" book)
  • April: Yet undetermined but possibly a Pat Conroy selection

If you have any suggestions, let us know. Enjoy the cold weather and happy reading!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Inspect Her Gadgets

I have completed the first two chapters (about one third of the book) of My Life in France. It appears that the last seven chapters are a bit shorter in length. [It is the math side of my brain which presses me to record such mundane details.] I was amused to learn that Ms. Child and I shared a common fascination: kitchen gadgets. Of course, her mortar and pestle were of a significant scale larger than mine, but well, she was a much better chef. If I start to whip up quenelles de brochet, then perhaps I will consider an upgrade. The chinois (strainer) is already on my list of things to come for the kitchen; I have been using one during volunteer activities in a professional kitchen, and it is extremely handy.

Another observation thus far is that some of the photos do not have captions identifying either place or persons. I wonder if this is due to an understandable lapse in memory on the details of a photo taken 50 years earlier, Ms. Child's death before the final version was completed, or whether the material was so obvious that the subject should be inferred, like the photo of Minette (p.38). I could not recall this item discussed in the Foreward or Introduction, but I do like closure to these types of details.

Regardless of any lack of captions, the book continues most pleasantly and even gave me a sense of foreboding when a certain meal was being prepared. It was as if I were cheering for her every success. Regardless if one has seen Julie & Julia or read Ms. Powell's blog, I think we owe her a bit of thanks for bringing a forgotten gem back to the limelight again.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

My Life in Nashville

I spent time yesterday beginning My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme, our GBC read for January. The first 50 pages have left me with a longing for oysters, a baguette with butter, a man who speaks French and can tolerate the occasionally over-cooked meal, and another visit to Paris (and perhaps not in that order).

My target for our meeting later this month is to make a dish from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. We will see if I can manage to do so with the courage of reading water.

Due to the timing this month, we are less than two weeks from our gathering so I encourage you to begin the book if you have not already done so.

Friday, January 1, 2010

First Time for Everything

Little known fact: GBC T1m can identify some books by their BACK cover.

Here is to a year of exploring, revisiting favourites and perhaps doing a little something on the wild side in 2010. Take a risk and have fun.

Happy New Year!