2012-40 - The Meaning of Freedom, by Angela Y. Davis

40 - The Meaning of Freedom, by Angela Y. Davis, 199 pages, City Lights Books, 2012
WHY I PICKED IT: Stumbled onto it in a book store in Seattle
ELAPSED TIME: 3 weeks
RATING: Very Good

This book of essays by Activist (with a capital A) Angela Davis is very very good.  Angela has been an advocate for civil rights in the United States for much of her life.  There is so much here that is gripping and thought provoking:

a) King was the spokesperson for the Montgomery Bus Boycott when he was 26 years old.  Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela were in their 20s when they started to drive change.  Where are this generation's leaders and activists?

b) What is the purpose of prison - To rehabilitate or a punitive response to a crime?  Which goal supports society's interests?  The latter is more expensive and results in significantly higher recidivism rates.  Not to mention expose our racism and make us forget our humanity.

c) She would "gladly relinquish the celebration of the first black woman National Security Adviser, now the first black woman Secretary of State (Condoleeza Rice), in exchange for a white male Secretary of State who might provide guidance on how to halt the U.S. global drive for empire, the racist war on terror, and the military aggression against the Iraqi people."  I would have as well.

d) As of 2007, there were approximately 2,200,000 people incarcerated in the USA.  Over the course of that year that number was over 13,000,000.

e) In the State of Florida, 950,000 ex- and current- felons do not have the right to vote.  In the 2002 election, George W. Bush won Florida (and thus the US election) by 537 votes.  Since most of those 950,000 are people of colour, and given that most people of colour vote Democrat, the election would have had a very different outcome if those disenfranchised voters would have a right to vote.

f) A socialist matched white and black applicants for a job.  Some candidates had a felony conviction, others did not.  White candidates with a felony conviction were called for interviews at the same rate as black candidates without one.  In essence, black men are essentially born with the social stigma equivalent to a felony conviction.

g) When we hold Martin Luther King up on a pedestal, we trivialize the work of the thousands and thousands of people who imagined and worked towards a changed world...  Including people like Bayard Rustin (who was black, openly gay and introduced MLK to the Ghandian concept of non-violent resistance).

h) Pat Parker's poem "Where do you go to become a non-citizen?"

i) As of 2008, 1% of all adult Americans are imprisoned on any given day.

j) A portion of Bishop Gene Robinson's prayer for US President Barack Obama:

• Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.
• Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
• Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.
• Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.
• Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.
• Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

2012-39 - The Best Laid Plans, by Terry Fallis

39 - The Best Laid Plans, by Terry Fallis, 312 pages, McClelland and Stewart, 2007
WHY I PICKED IT: Saw it at the airport
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Very Good

I bought this book because of the back-story: Fallis couldn't get a publisher for his novel, so he read it and released each chapter as a podcast.  So many people listened, that he self-published... and won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour... must be worth a read, right?

The book can be broken down into three sections:
a) The Prologue - Where you meet Daniel Addison - ex-speechwriter for the Leader of the Official Opposition, recently single, and freshman professor at the University of Ottawa.
b) The First Half - Where he convinces his landlord (a crusty old engineering professor from Scotland) to run for the Liberal Seat in a historically strong Tory stronghold.
c) The Second Half - Where he struggles to balance the power of the CPOs (Cynical Political Operatives) with his own preferred path as a IPW (Idealist Policy Wonk).

(a) is funny.  (b) is really good and really funny.  (c) is just good.  The book could actually end quite well at the end of the First Half.  If you haven't read it, but are thinking of doing so, consider quitting at this point.

2012-38 - Enders Game, by Orson Scottcard

38 - Enders Game, by Orson Scottcard, 324 pages, Tom Doherty Associates, 1977
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my colleague Samantha
ELAPSED TIME: 5 days
RATING: Very Good

Written for a teen audience, this book is the original Hunger Games - except Ender Wiggin isn't fighting other humans for food, he's being trained to command the human army against the bugs who have twice attacked earth.

A compelling story makes for quick reading.

2012-37 - Medical Innovations in Humanitarian Situations, by Jean-Herve Bradol and Claudine Vidal

37 - Medical Innovations in Humanitarian Situations, by Jean-Herve Bradol and Claudine Vidal 224 pages, Medecins Sans Frontieres, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT: Another MSF Book
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Weeks
RATING: Good

This  book is not an easy read.  A series of essays outlining innovation within MSF and the drivers for it.
- Innovating culture, to speak out within the humanitarian space.
- The development of somewhat flexible medical kits for rapid deployment into different contexts.
- The gathering of epidemiological data in the humanitarian space, with which to make informed decisions and advocate for neglected populations.
- New testing protocols for known diseases, to expand the use of drugs into different contexts.
- Challenging and changing the rules of international drug production  and distribution, to make drugs available for patients who may otherwise be unable to afford or access modern medication.

A tough read, and I'd only recommend if you're really interested.

2012-36 - Wizzywig, Portrait of a Serial Hacker, by Ed Piskor

36 - Wizzywig, Portrait of a Serial Hacker, by Ed Piskor, 286 pages, Top Twelve Productions, 2012
WHY I PICKED IT: Stumbled onto it in a book store
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Good

The story of how this kid became a hacker, how obsessed he became, the unintended consequences of seemingly inconsequential decisions, the fear of the establishment, the violations of the criminal justice system, and the struggle that any ex-con must have to find work.  I think this story demonstrates the extent to which the establishment will go to protect itself from those looking at open source as the mechanism for societal change.

I don't often read graphic novels, but this was quite enjoyable

2012-35 - The Borrower, by Rebcca Makkai

35 - The Borrower, by Rebcca Makkai, 324 pages, Penguin Books, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT: Stumbled onto it in a book store
ELAPSED TIME: 1 week
RATING: Meh

This is an interesting story.... Lucy Hull is a young librarian and has been kidnapped and is the kidnapper of her favourite patron: 10-year-old Ian Drake.  The story is fairly engaging - why Ian ran away from home (he is unhappy with his parents), why Lucy is okay with it (they're religious zealots who are trying to reprogram what everybody in town is assuming is his future sexual choices), Lucy's Dad's life (he's a Russian mobster who's experiences in communist Russia come out of the story slowly, but quite interestingly).

Makkai is a good writer, who writes some great sentences... Ultimately though, the book is about 75 pages too long...

2012-34 - Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed, by Claire Magone, Michael Neuman, and Fabrice Weissman

34 - Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed, by Claire Magone, Michael Neuman, and Fabrice Weissman, 258 pages, Columbia University Press, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT: It's an MSF book
ELAPSED TIME: 3 weeks
RATING: Very Good!

Gaining access to distressed populations to provide Medical Relief requires ongoing negotiations and tradeoffs with conflicting parties and interests.  Each of the first 12 chapters addresses the tradeoffs required in different contexts.  From Myanmar (who didn't want anybody to talk about what was going on), to India (where the political impact of bringing in "western food" when they have their own plan to feed their population was considered neo-colonialist, despite chronic malnourishment in some children).  From Afghanistan (where you have to negotiate access with individual warlords), to Somalia (where you have to negotiate the same type of access AND have armed guards from those warlords protect you in their areas).

The authors address the militarization of humanitarian aid, and the impact on relief efforts, and the challenge of témoignage (to bear witness):
a) If you say something that a local warlord doesn't like, your words can be used to exclude you from access to the people who need your help (or worse, put people who helped you in harms way).
b) If you raise awareness of "crimes against humanity," your words can be used to rationalize a "just war."
c) If you say nothing, you risk being in a position of complicity... perhaps ensuring that people have a full belly when their government exterminates them, or more likely enabling a government's lack of care for its own people with no international political pressure to change.

This book is required reading for anybody wanting to do international relief work... and a very good read for everybody else.

2012-33 - The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach

33 - The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, 512 pages, Back Bay Books, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT: Saw it in a book store
ELAPSED TIME: 1 week
RATING: REQUIRED READING

Wow.  I truly enjoyed this story.  Well written, good characters, and satisfying without oversimplifying.

Mike Schwartz meets Henry Skrimshander when Mike is a freshman in college and Henry is a scrawny kid who loves baseball... and sees a talent that is truly rare.  Mike helps Henry get into college and gets him on the road to baseball stardom.  Henry's college roommate, Owen, is not your typical jock (his team-mates call him Buddha).  Guert Affenlight, the President of the College, falls in love.  Pella Affenlight comes to this college to escape an ill-conceived marriage.

This book is their story... from Mike and Henry before Henry starts college, introducing Owen in Henry's freshman year, introducing Guert and Pella in Henry's Junior year... all culminating in a final baseball game that is gripping on its own... but more so in the context of their collective experiences.

My favourite line from the book was easy to choose: "... a soul isn't something a person is born with but something that must be built, by effort and error, study and love."

I recommend this book!

2012-32 - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carre

32 - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carre, 219 pages, Penguin Books, 1963
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Darrin
ELAPSED TIME: 2 weeks
RATING: Meh

This book was ... well, just not my type of book.  A perilous assignment for a British spy at the end of a career, in the midst of the cold war.  Well written, good characters, and a very well considered plot, but that just wasn't interesting to me.  A great read if you like spy novels with good characters.  For the rest of us, skip it.

2012-31 - Wonder, by R.J. Palacio

31 - Wonder, by R.J. Palacio, 313 pages, Random House, 2012

WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my niece Sahar
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Very Good

This is the story of August Pullman, who is entering the fifth grade.  What makes this story interesting is that, until now, Auggie has been home schooled because he has a facial deformity caused by a genetic condition.  He has already had 27 surgeries, and does not look "normal."

Palacio alternates in telling the story from the perspective of Auggie and the other people in his life, and does a great job of getting in their heads... to see the world from their different perspectives.


This book is quite engaging and can teach a lesson in empathy.  Highly recommend for younger kids.

2012-30 - A Century of November, by W. D. Wetherell

30 - A Century of November, by W. D. Wetherell, 164 pages, University of Michigan Press, 2005

WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by an Aussie traveler that I met in England
ELAPSED TIME: 4 days
RATING: Good

 

WWI, Marden's wife has died of the Spanish Flu, and he has receives word that his son has died in the trenches of Belgium.  So begins this quixotic journey to the place his son lost his life.  From the boat from Victoria to Vancouver, the train across the continent, the ship across the ocean to England.  Armistice and the trip to mainland Europe.

 

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, made a similar pilgrimage; fathers and mothers, lovers and wives.  Wetherell's book is bleak and dark... and envelopes the reader.

2012-29 - The Wreck of the Zanzibar, by Michael Morpurgo

29 - The Wreck of the Zanzibar, by Michael Morpurgo, 101 pages,Egmont Books, 1995

WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my niece Sahar
ELAPSED TIME: <1 hour
RATING: Good

 

Michael is reading a diary left to him by his Aunt Laura.  In 1907 her twin brother ran away to sea.  Laura relates the story from her own perspective: of being a girl on an island who is not even allowed to row out to the ships, of food scarcity where one meal a day is all that can be hoped for.  And Laura continues to fight against that: to earn the right to row, to save a turtle despite that being obvious food.

This is a very good children's book.  My only concern about the choice of words is when her brother tells her of the places he's been: "America, Ireland, France, Spain, Africa even."  Is it that he's referring to countries within Europe and continents elsewhere, or is Morpurgo referring to the USA as America (as the Europeans are wont to do), and referring to Africa with the broad colonialist brush?  I fear it is the latter.

2012-28 - The Stag and Hen Weekend, by Mike Gayle

28 - The Stag and Hen Weekend, by Mike Gayle, 402 pages, Hodder and Stoughton, 2012

WHY I PICKED IT: I read everything by Mike Gayle
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Meh

 

Mike Gayle tried to do something interesting... One book, two stories of the same period of time.  Phil and Helen are getting married in a week; one story (201 pages) tells of Helen's Hen Weekend at a fancy hotel and spa; and the other story (201 pages) tells of Phil's Stag Weekend in Amsterdam.  You can read the stories in either order (I read Helen's first).

 

Helen bumps into her ex... the guy who cheated on her, and admitted it a week before their wedding (years earlier), in order to end the relationship.  Now he wants her back.  In Phil's story, he bumps into Helen's ex' ex-wife (small world?  I think so!).

 

Although I typically like Gayle's style of writing "Guy-Lit," I don't really like Chick-Lit (so Helen's story wasn't engaging for me), and I felt like Phil's level of insecurity was a bit of a pain to read. (so Phil's story was a bit of a pain).  Zero-for-two: Do not recommend.

2012-27 - i can't tell you, by Hillary Frank

27 - i can't tell you, by Hillary Frank, 196 pages, Houghton Mifflin Books, 2004

WHY I PICKED IT: Saw it at a discounted book store for $1
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Good

 

Jake gets into a fight with his best friend and says things he shouldn't have... and concludes that talking = trouble, so he'll only communicate by writing.  The book is a collection of conversations written down on notepads, scraps of paper, and whiteboards - some of them are both sided (as his friends' agree to participate for the sake of conversation flow), others only one-sided (as the other party spoke back to him).

 

Xandra lives on Jake's floor and flirts with him constantly... but both of them are too afraid to make a move.

 

This is the story of  Jake's experience over the following months.  High literature?  No.  Light hearted entertaining read?  Yes.

2012-26 - The Absolutist, by John Boyne

26 - The Absolutist, by John Boyne, 309 pages, Doubleday Canada, 2011

WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by a teacher from Australia that I met on the Waterloo Express from Heathrow
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Very Good

Twenty year old Tristan Sadler having returned from WWII pays a visit Marian, his best friend's sister, ostensibly to return the letters that she had written to Will, her brother.  Will had been killed by firing squad as a conscientious objector after he laid down his gun.  Despite the official reason for his visit, Tristan is really there to tell Marian the details of what happened "over there," and unburden himself of a terrible secret.

Boyne, who came to critical acclaim for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, has written a melancholic tale that is easy to read with interesting characters, and calls into question the definition of coward.

This book is very good, but I hope to not carry these characters with me.

2012-25 - The Sins of the Father, by Jeffrey Archer

25 - The Sins of the Father, by Jeffrey Archer, 384 pages, Pan Macmillan, 2012

WHY I PICKED IT: I've read everything by Jeffrey Archer, and it's the second volume of the Clifton Chronicles
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Meh

 

Following in the style of Kane and Abel and As the Crow Flies, the Clifton Chronicles follow the life of Harry Clifton.  In the first book, we see how a few brilliant people contribute to making him the man that he is.  As this volume starts, Harry goes to prison for a crime he didn't commit, to protect the woman he loves (who may also be his half sister)... and the (epic) tale continues.

This is not in the realm of Archer's best work.  Unlike the other two books that I mention, the negative characters in this book are much weaker and mostly simply roll over and disappear.  If a classic three act play is to introduce characters, put them in a tough situation, and get them out of it... this fails as the "tough situations" are almost too easily resolved.

 

All in all, do not recommend.

 

2012-24 - Rigged, by Ben Mezrich

24 - Rigged, by Ben Mezrich, 320 pages, Harper Perennial, 2008

WHY I PICKED IT: Wanted something light and quick as I came to the end of my vacation
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Meh

Ben tells the tale of a middle class kid who worked his way through Oxford and Harvard ... who found himself working for the New York Mercantile Exchange, where billions of dollars of crude oil is traded each week.  This is the story of how he (quickly) got promoted to VP Strategy (at the age of 25!), and sought to revolutionize the industry... while struggling to understand the hard and fast lifestyle of the young and extremely rich.

The only good thing about this book is that it was a really quick read.

2012-23 - 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami

23 - 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami, 1184 pages, Random House Vintage, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT: I read everything by Murakami
ELAPSED TIME: 8 days
RATING: Good


Telling the story of Aomame and Tengo, briefly held hands as children... their lives are about to intersect in this parallel universe in the year 1984. Aomame (a personal trainer / serial killer) and Tengo (a math teacher / novelist) were social outsiders as children... 25 years later, they still prefer lives of relative solitude.  The story isn't straightforward or easy to understand, but the characters (including all of the ancillary ones) have depth, Murakami's style is readable, and the story is engrossing.  If you liked Norwegian Wood and Sputnik Sweetheart, you'll enjoy 1Q84.

2012-22 - The Thieves of Manhattan, by Adam Langer

22 - The Thieves of Manhattan, by Adam Langer, 259 pages, Spiegel and Grau, 2010 WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by the clerk at the bookstore on Granville Island in Vancouver.
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Meh

Ian is a failing novelist.  His characters are good, but his stories lack action.  His girlfriend, Anya, is a Romanian whose stories draw upon her (much more interesting) life ... are much better.  Blade Markam is an ex-gang banging author who has made it big with his autobiographical tale.  Ian hates the publishing industry for selling the sizzle (Blade) and ignoring the steak (Ian).  Things get worse when Anya leaves Ian... as her career takes off.  Ian is then invited to participate in an elaborate confidence scheme, designed to scam the publishing world...

This book is an entertaining enough read.  But the literature won't astound you, the ideas won't captivate you, and the characters won't follow you.  All in all, an entirely forgettable novel.

2012-21 - Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

21 - Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, 400 pages, Scholastic Press, 2009
WHY I PICKED IT: Wanted to finish the trilogy.
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Good

I remember an interview with George Lucas a long time ago, stating that the (original) Star Wars Trilogy was really a simple three act play: in Episode 4, he introduced the characters; in Episode 5, he put them into a tough spot; and in Episode 6, he got them out of it and wrapped up the tale.  The Hunger Games seems to follow the same model, but with an ending that is less satisfying.  Perhaps that was the intent, to show that the effects of war are not satisfying.  That some outcomes have unintended far-reaching effects.  That good people lose their lives.  That happiness is relative.

To be honest, I’m not sure I know how I feel about this book.  It’s a fairly easy read, and somewhat gripping… but not in a way that I enjoyed.  Truly, for portions of the book, I just wanted it to be over already.  If I were to recommend, I’d suggest a reader stop after book one… but if that reader is anything like me, I doubt they would be able to follow that suggestion.

2012-20 - Something Fierce, by Carmen Aguirre

20 - Something Fierce, by Carmen Aguirre, 277 pages, Douglas and McIntyre, 2011WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Alexis
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: REQUIRED READING

Wow, this book is fantastic.  Carmen is 6 when a CIA-backed coup places Pinochet in power in Chile.  Her parents join the resistance movement and are forced to run to Vancouver (with her and her sister).  A few years later, her Mom, her new Stepfather, and the two girls return to South America... this book is that story.

Carmen is an engaging writer with a gripping tale.  The path she takes from passionate child to revolutionary is ... brilliant, and to be honest, quite disturbing.  Her continued struggle to maintain emotional control when terror is her constant state of being is palpable ("The body cannot take chronic terror; it must defend itself by refusing to harbour the spirit that wants to soar through it and experience life to its fullest," page 224).

... and in the epilogue she acknowledges a lesson that she learned: "... you don't have to let your beliefs consume you.  You have your loves and your lives and your activism, and you don't have to let anybody dictate to you what you can do." (page 272).

A couple other nuggets:
a) The Oath that she takes to join the revolutionaries is ... interesting (page 193)
b) The banging of pots and pans by protestors who are not allowed to congregate to do so publicly is mentioned in passing here.  The CBC did a piece on it last month, as the student protestors in Montreal have picked up this tactic.  Brilliant :).

2012-19 - Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

19 - Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins, 400 pages, Scholastic Press, 2009
WHY I PICKED IT: The first book in the trilogy was entertaining.
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Meh


Picking up the story of Katniss from The Hunger Games, this book tells the story of what happens after Katniss wins the 74th annual Hunger Games (with Peeta).  The second book in the trilogy was not nearly as gripping as the first.  Perhaps because it seemed to be a long setup for a final third book.  Despite this, having committed the time to the series, I will read the third (although I'll take a break first and read something else.

2012-18 - The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

18 - The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, 384 pages, Scholastic Press, 2010
WHY I PICKED IT: My Toronto Book Club selected it.
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Good

I must admit, despite a few friends who loved the series, I am surprised that I got as  into this book as I did.

Telling the story of Katniss who is born to a community (Sector 12) that has been colonized.  She hunts to survive and feed her family.  When her sister (Perm) is randomly selected to fight in "The Hunger Games," a game organized by the colonizers to entertain themselves and keep the colonies off balance, Katniss volunteers to take Perm's place.  The game is a future-day Roman Colosseum where 24 contestants must fight to the death to earn their freedom.

This is an entertaining read.

2012-17 - A Season in Hell, by Robert R. Fowler

17 - A Season in Hell, by Robert R. Fowler, 317 pages, Harper Collins, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by Chris Houston
ELAPSED TIME: 2 weeks
RATING: Very Good

Robert R. Fowler is a long time bureaucrat with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and the United Nations (at one time serving as Canada's representative on the UN Security Council).  In 2009 he was sent to Niger as a UN envoy to negotiate peace between the government and rebel forces... instead he (along with a colleague) was kidnapped by Al Qaeda and held for 130 days.


The story is gripping - The act of being kidnapped, being transported at high speeds through the Sahara, the food, the health problems, the worries and the stresses, and ultimately their release.  Every page and section of the book draws you in and tells the story in vivid detail.  Alone, this would have been a good book.

What moves this book into Very Good status is his Epilogue.  From pages 291 to 317 , he describes what was going on in the background.  He pieces together the negotiations, the power struggles between the DFAIT, the RCMP, and the UN.  He calls out nations who say that they "never negotiate with terrorists," and who called out Canada for doing so... and shows their hypocrisy as they clearly have done so.  He calls out weaknesses within the DFAIT and the obnoxiousness by members of the RCMP towards his wife.  That chapter is truly fantastic.  I want to read an entire book of that type of detail and scathing analysis... That book would be Required Reading.

2012-16 - Tinderbox, by Daniel Halperin and Craig Timberg

16 - Tinderbox, by Daniel Halperin and Craig Timberg, 432 pages, Penguin Press, 2012
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by Stephen Lewis
ELAPSED TIME: 3 weeks
RATING: Very Good

If you're interested in public health, AIDS, or just want a good bit of knowledge, this book was a really good read.  Halperin and Timberg share the history of how AIDS was spread through the world, and offer nuanced strategies to tackle it.

Nuggets from the book:
- AIDS is not a pandemic, but rather multiple epidemics (in that it is spread differently in different contexts).
- It never was as bad as UNAIDS made it out to be... that 25% of Botswanans have HIV doesn't mean that it will spread the world at that pace.  And in fact, will hardly travel through Africa at that pace.
- That it is not as bad as it could have been doesn't mean that it isn't a deadly disease that must be tackled with the best the world has to offer.
- A single solution isn't going to work in every context.  Circumcision is an effective tool to stop the transmission between heterosexual partners, but will do little to reduce the spread between homosexual males who will have tearing causing increased exchange of fluids during anal sex.
- In contexts where potable water is in short supply, a mother with HIV is better off offering her child breast-milk (and the risk of HIV spread) rather than the much higher risk of losing her child to diarrhea caused by dirty water.

A worthwhile read!

2012-15 - What I Loved, by Siri Hustvedt

15 - What I Loved, by Siri Hustvedt, 367 pages, Picador, 2003

WHY I PICKED IT: Selected by my friend Sean Donovan for our second Vancouver Book Club
ELAPSED TIME: 9 days
RATING: Very Good

Art Historian Leo Hertzberg buys a painting in New York in 1975.  What follows is more than 25 years of his life: a friendship with the artist (Bill), marriages, births and deaths.   It's a slower read than I generally enjoy, but once I got sucked in, I was completely inside their world.  The story is beautifully written, with characters that have depth, are real, and imperfect.  Leo, Erica, Matt, Bill, Violet, Mark will likely stay with me...

2012-14 - The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick DeWitt

14 - The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick DeWitt, 325 pages, Anansi, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT: Suggested by my friends Darrin V and Kevin H (independently).
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Good

Eli Sisters and his brother Charlie Sisters are killers in the Old West, well known for their ruthlessness.  This is the story of their hunt of Hermann Kermit Warm.  This is an enjoyable, relatively lighthearted story... once every couple years I find a book that is both well written and amusing - This is that book.

2012-13 - Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo

13 - Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo, 254 pages, Random House, 2012
WHY I PICKED IT: It's my Toronto Book Club's next book
ELAPSED TIME: 1 week
RATING: Very Good

This book, that reads like fiction, is actually a compilation of 4-years of research by Katherine Boo.  Sitting on the edge of the Mumbai airport, Annawadi is (was?) a relatively small slum.  Katherine Boo follows many of the inhabitants as they go about their lives... portraying their good and bad sides, and explaining their motivations from their own perspectives.

The family of hardworking recyclers... particularly the socially misfit oldest son.
The woman who uses politics and influence to bring herself up, and get a college education for her daughter.
The college educated child who wants to do good, but knows better than to challenge the paradigm of a dutiful daughter.
The scrap metal thief.

These, and other characters, are woven together to tell their stories... and the challenges of living on the fringe of one of the world's largest cities.

2012-12 - A Voyage for Madmen, by Peter Nichols

12 - A Voyage for Madmen, by Peter Nichols, 289 pages, Harper Collins, 2001 oks, 2003
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Sean Donovan
ELAPSED TIME: 5 days
RATING: Very Good

Telling the tale of the race to be the first to circumnavigate the world in a sailboat... without putting to shore... alone!  In 1968, 9 men tried, only one made it home.  This is their story.

In some cases, their lack of experience to take on the task was shocking.  In others, their boat choices (which Nichols explains without distracting from the adventure) was not only scary... but the advice from "experts" was clearly flawed and likely biased. In all cases, the decision to take to sea was one that they undertook with seeming lightness... and yet followed through with a resolve that was oftentimes disproportionate with that initial decision.

If you like Travel Adventure, you will love this book.

2012-11 - True Notebooks, by Mark Salzman

11 - True Notebooks, by Mark Salzman, 326 pages, Random House Vintage Books, 2003
WHY I PICKED IT: Re-Read because my Vancouver Book Club is discussing it on Monday
ELAPSED TIME: 2 Days
RATING: REQUIRED READING

Although I typically remember the gist of a book, the details tend to blur, leaving behind a general impression.  For that reason, re-reading True Notebooks was truly enjoyable.  Salzman's experience teaching a creative writing class in LA County Juvenile Detention ... for violent offenders no less, was eye opening.

I have long believed that the criminal justice system is flawed.  That the need for rehabilitation inside prison and need for a social safety net are both sorely lacking in our society.  This book reaffirmed my opinion.  What is interesting is that the students actively acknowledge that they have done (very) bad things, but also recognize that the structure that they're asked to survive within does not allow for them to change how they behave.  They can't survive in jail, if they don't stay within their gang... and their gang demands more criminal behaviour.

This phenomenal book needs to be read by more people.

2012-10 - The Bangbang Club, by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva

10 - The Bangbang Club, by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva, Perseus Books, 225 pages, 2000
WHY I PICKED IT:  Really enjoyed the movie
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Very Good

This is one of the most gripping war experiences I have ever read.  Written from the perspective of Greg, although including Joao's memories as well, this tells the tale of these two war photographers along with Ken Oosterbroek and Kevin Carter during the final days of South African Apartheid.  These friends would go into the Townships and photograph the conflict between the government-supported Zulu / Inkatha and the ANC, and as the conflict rises between the white renegades, the white army, and the ANC.

The emotional trauma of watching but not engaging, of worrying about the photograph first, and the humanitarian situation second takes a toll on all of them... especially as Ken loses his life in the last day of the conflict and Kevin commits suicide a few months later.

Greg and Joao do a fantastic job of balancing the historical context of the conflicts and the adrenalin of the job itself.  I'm more aware now of the nuanced differences between the groups (why the Zulu would accept white apartheid government support) ... and am more aware of the challenges of the job they undertook.

I highly recommend this book.

2012-09 - The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes

09 - The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes, Random House, 150 pages, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT:  It won the Man Booker
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Not Good

Wow, what a pain in the butt to read!  This is the tale of Tony Webster ... looking back on his youth, his friendships, his loves, ... striving to uncover a truth about some history, whilst acknowledging that his memory is fundamentally flawed.

Barnes either writes old people really well (slow and meandering), or he is a thoughtful considered person whose friends suffer through long meandering explanations ... so despite a few great thoughts and phrases, the tale is a painful bore to get through.

The great thoughts and phrases include:

a) "The fact that we need to know the history of the historian in order to understand the version that is being put in front of us" ... awesome thought (and applies equally well to journalists, no?).

b) "History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation." ... love it.  (and it's Barnes' quoting someone else).

Regardless... If you're asking me, spend your time and money somewhere else.

2012-08 - Plan B, by Jonathan Tropper

08 - Plan B, by Jonathan Tropper, St. Martin's Griffin, 358 pages, 2000
WHY I PICKED IT:  Re-reading a book from a few years ago
ELAPSED TIME: 1 day
RATING: Good

Jonathan Tropper writes like the American version of Nick Hornby (of High Fidelity and About A Boy fame)... a decent guy with a lot of angst figuring out how to be in this world.

In this tale, Ben is a 30-year-old, recent divorce who is getting together this his university friends (including a girl who he crushed on all through school, and who he dated for two years after), in order to intervene on a mutual friend of theirs' drug habit.  The friend happens to be a big Hollywood star, so it's not an easy task!

This book is an entertaining way to spend a few hours.

2012-07 - Q, by Evan Mandery

07 - Q, by Evan Mandery, Harper Collins, 359 pages, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT:  Saw it at the airport book store
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Not Good

So I must start with an admission: I did not read every page in this book.  The protagonist is an author, and not a very good one... so when Mandery includes chapters from this protagonist's book, I skipped them.

The premise of this story is a good one: A guy is about to marry the love of his life when a future version of himself comes and tells him a story from his future... One that drives him to leave her.  Six months later, a different version of himself (from the new life path), tells him to marry someone else.  A third version tells him to leave her.  A fourth version tells him to write funnier books.  A fifth tells him to go to law school.  A sixth tells him to explore the world.  A seventh to become a Buddhist... and so on and so forth.

But the protagonist isn't a strong character (and as a result, not very engaging), until he starts telling these future versions to stop interfering with his life.  A realization that I made long before him.

In short... I do not recommend this book.  Save your money... and more importantly use your time in a different way.

SPOILER ALERT.  STOP IF YOU ARE GOING TO IGNORE THIS RECOMMENDATION AND READ THE BOOK NONETHELESS

So what would cause a guy to leave the love of his life?  If he married her, and had a son... and they were extremely happy.  They doted on this child who is smart and funny, and well liked.  And they love each other.  But the child gets sick.  And the child ultimately dies.  And their relationship ends because of the strain.

Would you seek to avoid 30 years of sorrow if you knew it was coming after 10 happy years?  Would you give up the 10 happy years to ensure that was the case?  I don't know what I'd do... I like to think that I'd take the happiness, despite the sorrow that was to follow.

2012-06 - The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

06 - The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, Dutton Juvenile, 336 pages, 2012
WHY I PICKED IT:  I've read every book of fiction that John Green has written
ELAPSED TIME: 7 days
RATING: Good


16 year old Hazel is dying.  Hanging on with help from a miracle drug and a tank of oxygen she has to drag around, Hazel is waiting for the terminal cancer that she's had for most of her life to ... well to take it.  But when Augustus comes into her cancer support group, Hazel finds her soul mate; a cancer survivor who has lost his first girlfriend to cancer.

An interesting question arises: If you knew of an emotional trauma that is coming, would you avoid it simply because you could see it... despite the fact that the trauma is only as a result of the happiness you're currently feeling?

If you like John Green, you'll love this story... If you don't, you may simply find this to be an engaging tale that sucks you in.  As always, Green writes for young adults, but doesn't write down to them... I continue to be a fan.

2012-05 - Only Time Will Tell, by Jeffrey Archer

05 - Only Time Will Tell, by Jeffrey Archer, Pan MacMillan, 450 pages, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT:  I've read every book of fiction that Jeffrey Archer has written
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Good

This book is classic Archer.  A character that is "good" (Harry Clifton) another that is "not good" (Hugo Barrington) and a tale that spans decades that sucks you into their lives.

Harry Clifton is a lower class-born child in Bristol in the aftermath of the Great War ... his natural talents, great role models and advocates, and hard work all combine to get him opportunities to move up in society.  Hugo Barrington is the father of his best friend... will do anything he can to keep Harry down (despite being the grandson of a dock worker himself).

This is an engrossing story and a fast read.  I can't wait for Volume Two of the Clifton Chronicles.

2012-04 - The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid

04 - The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid, Penguin, 209 pages, 2007
WHY I PICKED IT:  Book Club
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Days
RATING: Good

This is an engrossing tale... told entirely in the first person.  Changez is a Pakistani living in Lahore... telling the story of his experience in the USA to an American stranger in the market: From Princeton on scholarship, into the Manhattan corporate world, and his relationship with Erica, a girl from the Upper East Side (read: from old money).  The struggle of a man from a formally wealthy Pakistani family, working hard to succeed in the USA, derided and derailed in the aftermath of September 2001 is compelling... despite written in the first person (which you would think would be hard to read).

The tale Changez tells is engrossing, but I am not sure I really understood the underlying "present day" tale that Hamid is telling us.  Who is this American that sits for hours with a stranger and listens to the story?  What else is going on, I really don't follow...?

2012-03 - Kiss of the Fur Queen, by Tomson Highway

03 - Kiss of the Fur Queen, by Tomson Highway, Anchor Canada, 306 pages, 1998

WHY I PICKED IT:  Recommended by my friend Wendy
ELAPSED TIME: 3 weeks
RATING: Meh

Telling the story of two Cree brothers from Northern Manitoba, Champion and Ooneemeetoo Okimasis... renamed Jeremiah and Gabriel by the Catholics, and raised in a residential school (with all the horrors that entailed)... These two brothers struggle to fit - not able to understand native culture and not able to integrate into White Canada.

Despite the fact that I relate strongly to that experience (the cultural divide)... I just didn't love this book.  Highway's voice as an author is too abstract... the time shifts forward felt choppy.  And the "Fur Queen," as the Goddess watching down on them, was of a culture that I simply didn't understand, and Highway didn't make accessible enough (to me).

2012-02 - City of Thieves, by David Benioff

02 - City of Thieves, by David Benioff, Penguin, 258 pages, 2009
WHY I PICKED IT:  Saw it at the airport bookstore
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: REQUIRED READING

Oh what a fantastic story!  A gripping tale of one week of a boy's life in St. Petersburg during WWII.

He is caught looting the corpse of a German Paratrooper, and instead of being killed for the crime, gets drafted into a crazy challenge - to find a dozen eggs for a Soviet Colonel's daughter's wedding cake.  Along with a deserter named Kolya, Lev Beniov seeks to accomplish this task.

Whether or not this truly is the story of the author's grandfather, it's a beautiful story of a terrible time.  A tremendous coming of age story with an amazing adventure thrown in.

2012-01 - Room, By Emma Donoghue

01 - Room, By Emma Donoghue, Harper Collins, 321 pages, 2010

WHY I PICKED IT:  It was selected by my Book Club
ELAPSED TIME: 8 days
RATING: Meh

An curious premise... The story of a child who is born in a room where his Mom is being held captive, kidnapped 7 years earlier.  The first 100 pages of the book drags, his experience in Room is ... painful to read.  His experience of escaping, and trying to integrate into Outside is very well written, but not great.  I didn't enjoy this story.