Books: March Update

Time for another update on what I have been reading in Senegal. Below are the books I have read since my last post:


A few notable titles from the list:

The Grapes of Wrath:
I started this book thinking that it would be a long, difficult read. I picked it up because it seemed like a book I should read at some point in my life, an American classic. While it took me a couple weeks to get through, I could not have been more wrong about how engaging Steinbeck's writing would be. The novel describes the Joad family's search for work during the Great Depression. Steinbeck alternates short chapters telling anecdotes indicative of the Dust Bowl with longer narrative chapters describing the Joad family's quest. This novel gave me a detailed and nuanced picture of what it was like to live in America during the 1930's. Families setting out west to find work, flyers promising work, used car salesmen, diner owners, truckers, strikes, cotton fields; Steinbeck weaves all these stories and anecdotes together into a compelling, heartbreaking story about the Joad family's journey west.

The Grapes of Wrath is my favorite book I have read in Senegal so far. If I can recommend one book from those I have read, it is this one.

The Right Stuff:
Tom Wolfe follows fighter pilots and astronauts to find out what skills or attributes are needed to make someone gung-ho about risking his life to hurtle through the air at break-neck speeds (answer: they need "the right stuff," a mix of pride, daring, and an undying drive to reach the top of the invisible pilot hierarchy). Wolfe's personal and thorough descriptions of the pilots and the hierarchy he studies is immersive. The book gave me an emotional understanding of "the right stuff" and competition in the piloting world rather than simply a list of descriptors about it. The immersiveness of The Right Stuff reminded me strongly of another of Wolfe's books I read a few years ago: The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, where Wolfe followed Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters on a journey around the US (this is also a great book). Though drugs and fighter pilots are two very different topics, Wolfe's ability to connect his themes directly to the reader's emotions in both cases is gripping. A must-read if you have any interest in fighter pilots and a highly recommended read otherwise.

How to Invent Everything:
In comedic and lighthearted fashion, Ryan North describes how to invent everything humans have come up with in the last 200,000 years of our existence. The book is a manual for the stranded time-traveler; it gives an answer to the question "I am stuck in time many thousands of years ago: how do I advance society back to what I am used to in the present day?" North begins by explaining the importance of and how to invent language, numbers, and the scientific method. He continues with discussions of farming, the domestication of animals, and important plants/animals in human history. Then come the more technical sections of the book where North succinctly and jovially explains how to invent charcoal, leather-working, forges/kilns, electricity, longitude/latitude, sailing, clocks, textiles, radio, soap, medicine, and many more everyday items that I have never given much of a thought to. The book traces human inventions through the modern era, ending with logic and computers. A highly recommended read that is both entertaining and educational.

Harry Potter:
These books have stood the test of time (my aging) and are still enjoyable to read. I have been saving them to read only when I am sick and spending the day laying in my hut. When I can't lay on the couch and watch a movie, reading Harry Potter and fanning myself is the next best thing after I am tired of listening to podcasts and fanning myself.

Comments

  1. Hi Tavish,
    I've been posting Uncle Bill's replies because he doesn't have a gmail account to post himself. Your list is impressive and ecclectic. I'm going to suggest you try to get a copy of the Razor's Edge by Graham Green. Let me know if you read it.
    Mean while it is Easter and I might see my friend from Senegal, Moustafa, at church today. I am not sure where he is from in Senegal but he goes there frequently to share his knowledge of computers and sustainability. He often brings his brick making press to church to demonstrate how he makes bricks here and in Senegal.
    Lots of love to you,
    Aunt Charron

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