I read two books about Africa last week. Robert D. Kaplan's
Surrender or Starve which focuses on Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia and Howard W. French's
A Continent for the Taking which focuses mainly on the Congo and Liberia. Both are part travelogue, part journalism, part history.
Surrender or Starve was Kaplan's first book and while interesting and worth reading didn't seem as polished as his later work. It taught me a lot about the reasons for famine and conflict in the Horn of Africa. French's book focused more on conflict, coups, revenge, and other human-made disasters in West Africa.
Labels: africa, books, nonfiction
posted by kristin at 3:25 PM
Because I know so many people are in the midst of reading
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I'm absolutely not going to say anything that might be a spoiler. The only thing left to say is that starting the book at 1 am was a bit of a mistake. Even worse was staying up until I finished it around 7 am.
posted by kristin at 3:23 PM
I've been listening to a bunch of podcasts lately. Here's a few of the book/author/language ones I'm subscribed to. Are there any others I should really check out?
Authors On TourMeet the WritersMerriam-Webster Word of the DayNancy Pearl Book ReviewsNextbookNPR BookspodictionaryThe Bookcast from
PowellsSeattle Public Library Programs and Events
posted by kristin at 4:01 PM
Robert Sullivan's
Rats was fascinating and creepy at the same time. The author spent a year observing rats in New York, talking to exterminators, and learning some of the city's history. I've never seen Rats anywhere I've ever lived, but did see a couple outside while I was in DC. Perhaps I've just never looked. Seeing Ratatouille last week didn't actually influence my decision to read this book now, but the book was definitely a reminder that wild rats aren't something you'd want in your kitchen.
posted by kristin at 11:48 PM
I'd owned Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry trilogy (
The Summer Tree,
The Wandering Fire, and
The Darkest Road) for years but hadn't gotten around to reading them until the last week. They're probably my least favorite of the Kay books I've read, but that still means they're pretty good. Five Canadian young adults are whisked off to Fionavar where they find their roles in the coming war between Light and Dark. High fantasy. Worth reading.
posted by kristin at 10:09 PM 
