pickI‘ve wanted to read another book by Kirshenbaum since loving Rabbits for Food. This one was lovely in a meandering, melancholy way, true to the title. Reflections on life‘s choices, through stories Sylvia tells Henry on their roadtrip, which is itself a story that you know from the start won‘t have a happy ending. Definitely my kind of book.
#10BeforeTheEnd
so-soIt's quite an authorial feat to write about a visit to the authoritarian dystopia of North Korea and to leave the impression that you, the author, are the most unsavoury element in the book!
I'm overstating it, I guess, but Delisle's graphic bio of his two month sojourn to North Korea overseeing an animation sweatshop (little evidence of his awareness of the exploitative nature of this) is characterised by his sneery arrogance and lack of ⬇️
What a life? Living in Tel Aviv, on Cyprus and in Virginia. But at what cost? All within 3 years.
#TodayILearned that traces of flame retardants were found in Arctic wildlife in the mid-1990‘s. #NFN
so-soAdmittedly this book was written at a sorrowful stressful time in the author‘s life, his wife having just told him she‘s divorcing him. So he‘s very sulky as he travels across Oceania in his portable kayak that he carries with him as he flies from place to place. But that doesn‘t excuse his utter lack of humility, and a serious superiority complex with his smug judgments about 90% of his encounters with folks. He starts by blasting New Zealand ⬇️
from Chicago to
Santa Monica — get your kicks
on Route 66.
#haikuhive #haikuaday #poetry #retroart #Route66
pickFor some reason, I love a “let‘s explore the Arctic, oops we got stuck in the ice!” story, and this one is the last voyage of William Barents. There‘s a whole lot of polar bears here, showing them as truly bold predators and the sailors going to every length possible to kill and sometimes mutilate the bears (it was a little hard to listen to). I finished the book on our walk today, so I figured I‘d show you Bindi with the elk antler she found.
so-soMaybe an unpopular opinion, but I had difficulty with the MC Poppy's sense of entitlement. Sure, she was bullied in MS & HW (who wasn't), but other than that her life is privileged. It was more understandable for Alex to maintain preservation mode given the trauma in his formative years - loss of his mother and a dad who couldn't function after his wife dies. Just communicate people rather than keeping your feelings inside for twelve years!
