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#readingoceania2024 #kiribati A really wonderful illustrated chronicle of a trip to Kiribati. The authors and illustrators were curious in all the right ways and you get historical timelines, maps, about 30 little vignettes where you learn everything from what kind of fish to eat to how one shouldn‘t eat breadfruit before playing bingo. The illustrations are really well done and show everything including how to get your woman to come back to 👇

This is the low end of the pick scale for me. I liked it better than his book about China, a place he actively seemed to hate. Headhunters is different than his usual travel books, however; here Troost is following Robert Louis Stevenson‘s trip through the South Seas while also dealing with his own alcoholism, so this book is less fun than some of his others.

This one was a little more serious than Troost‘s other books. Having faced his alcoholism and completed rehab Troost takes on another adventure- this time following the steps of Robert Louis Stevenson in Oceania. I actually appreciated his introspection and enjoyed this one more than Sex Lives of Cannibals. (He seems to pick his titles at random. They have nothing to do with the books.) #ReadingOceania24 @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

For #ReadingOceania2024 #Kiribati I decided to read this one. It was by turns funny, depressing and yes, gross. Suffice it to say I won't ever visit and it's proof you can be near the ocean and be most miserable. #bookspin @librarybelle @BarbaraBB @thearomaofbooks

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. The Gilberts include #kiribati and the Ellice Islands became #tuvalu, so I‘m using this book for both prompts for #readingoceania24.

Arthur Grimble was sent to the islands in 1914 as a colonial administrator and I was worried that the book would be very ‘colonial‘ but, although there were a few concerning tales, it seems as though he became very respected ⬇️

This book about life on a small island in the pacific amused me and repelled me in equal parts. I‘m going to read more of his books but not right now.

This is not a fun book like all of the author‘s books from Oceania—you will learn he‘s sadly and desperately recovering from alcoholism, which isn‘t much of a surprise if you read his prior books. So trigger warning. He takes a solo trip to follow Robert Louis Stevenson‘s travels to his final resting place in #Samoa, with stops in #Kiribati and islands in #Micronesia. Having listened to his other books, this is a sharp departure from his ⬇️

The author is touring islands in Micronesia in this book. At the museum yesterday I took photos of some of the artwork from Micronesia including this “Carved Male Figure,” from early 20th century

#readingOceania @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

I visited the Oceania gallery at the San Antonio Museum of Art, so be prepared for a few interruptions for pictures of artifacts from the regions I‘m reading about. #readingOceania @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

Troost—somewhat addicted to travel—jumped at the chance to move to #Kiribati (pronounced kir-ee-bas) when his girlfriend got a job there. Troost is funny—and he can put a hilarious spin on just about the worst things imaginable (except he‘s very serious about the tribute to the victims of one of the worst WWII battles there). Thankfully he has this outlook on life because Kiribati sounds about like the worst place on the planet to live. ⬇️