Travel Literature.

Whodathunk?  I mean, my mom was a birder for years, and those folks aren't usually your cage match types.  But every year, a number of competitive birders strain just about everything - their budgets, eyes, sleep cycles, health, relationships - to come out on top in the number of bird species sighted in North America in a single year.

This is another one of those subjects I had no interest in until a good book smacked me across the noggin (hurray for good books, and good authors).

Every year there is a Big Year, but there has never been a Big Year like 1998's epic battle between three very (very) different birders.  Mark Obmascik channels Howard Cosell as he narrates The Big Year:  A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession.

In one corner, a New Jersey roofing contractor.  In another, a corporate executive; and in the third, a nuclear power plant software engineer (all men - is it always guys who are this crazy?).  Obmascik follows the three on their wacky, sometimes hilarious sometimes tragic galavants around North America.  Like any good competition, it's neck and neck (and neck) the whole way.  I think readers of Bill Bryson will really enjoy this book, and I need to credit a co-worker for lobbing this one my way.

"Life here is a constant struggle, an endlessly repeated effort to tilt in one's favor the fragile, flimsy, and shaky balance between survival and extinction."

This sentence roughly encapsulates Ryszard Kapuscinski's assessment of the life of the average African in his fascinating book, The Shadow of the Sun. Kapuscinski was Poland's first-ever African correspondent, arriving in 1957 and returning many times over the next 40 years. During this time, his travels took him to virtually every corner of the African continent including Mauritania, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, and many other locations in between. Contemptuous of Europeans that sequestered themselves in affluent whites-only enclaves, Kapuscinski immersed himself in the real Africa, living in clay huts in the country and squalid tenements in the cities. What he saw was not pretty and the essays in this book make no effort to soften the blow. Everywhere he went he encountered scorching heat, disease, starvation, war, corruption, and the sort of utter destitution that is unimaginable to even the poorest member of a European or American society.

Yet for all this, The Shadow of the Sun is far from being an onerous, depressing read. Kapuscinski repeatedly focuses on the Africans' love of togetherness, the caretaking role of the clan, their quickness to laughter, their pervasive spirituality, and many other attributes that have enabled them to survive in an environment that is in so many ways harsh and unforgiving. But this book does not idealize Africans, just as it refrains from condemning Europeans or Americans. Yes, Kapuscinski gives a thorough account of the destructive effects of colonialism and the slave trade, but he also brings his journalistic skills to the fore in his detailed reports of oppression, brutality and mass-murder amongst Africans themselves in places like Liberia, Uganda and Rwanda. In short, his approach is objective and balanced. And beyond this, he clearly respected and felt compassion for the average African. Despite their hardships and their suffering and against all odds, they survive. 

So if you're in the mood for an insightful look into the reality of African life, check out Ryszard Kapuscinski's The Shadow of the Sun!

Is this woman sane? That's what I kept asking myself as I read Helen Thayer's Walking the Gobi. In 2001, Thayer and her husband set out to walk across the Gobi desert of Mongolia. Camels carried their gear and water while they walked for over 80 days, over 1,600 miles, in scorching temperatures as hot as 123 degrees! Why would someone do this?! Not to mention Helen's bum leg and hip which were bothering her even before she even started the trip.

I almost had to quit reading because her decision to go on this trip made absolutely no sense to me, but as I read further I began to understand why they went -- they were able to see things that few will ever get a chance to see and make great friends. As she and her husband walked across this seemingly uninhabitable corner of the globe, they met many friendly and interesting families who make their home in the Gobi. Thayer shares the rich and interesting culture of Mongolian nomads through the story of her unbelievable trek.
 
Walking the Gobi is this year's selection for the Black Diamond, Maple Valley, and Covington Read Together event. Helen Thayer will present a lecture and slide show at the Covington Library on Sept 22 at 7pm, and book discussion groups will be held at all three libraries.
 
Book Discussion Groups:
 
Tuesday, Sept 8, 7pm, Maple Valley Library
Thursday, Sept 10, 2pm, Covington Library
Thursday, Sept 10, 7pm, Covington Library
Tuesday, Sept 15, 7pm, Black Diamond Library
Tuesday, Sept 16, 10am, Maple Valley Library
Wednesday, Sept 30, 6:30pm, Maple Valley Library

Guy Delisle finds himself living in one of the world's most guarded and secretive cultures in Pyongyang, North Korea's capitol. Unbeknownst to me, North Korea is an animation haven, many of its artists work on developing frames in conjunction with French and Italian film studios. While working on animation projects, Delisle chronicles his observations of daily life and the state of the country. North Korea has the appearance of perfection, a noble goal in a communist society. The people are educated, and the infrastructure is stable. Not only do its citizens adhere to their government's rules and standards, but everyone seems to idolize their leaders, Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. Through Delisle's illustrated memoir, he gives a scrutinizing account of a closed society.

What do you do to celebrate those milestone birthdays?  Have a party?  Buy something you've been wanting?  Not content with the usual options, Helen Thayer took a trip for her 50th birthday--a trek to the magnetic North Pole, with her dog Charlie for company.   Since then, she has traveled through deserts and rain forests and returned to polar areas, sometimes alone, sometimes with her husband, Bill.  Thayer has chronicled several of these excursions in books that are informative, readable, and entertaining.  Three Among the Wolves tells the story of the year that the Thayers and Charlie spent observing and interacting with three different wolf packs in Canada's Yukon and Northwest Territories.

Charlie served as the ambassador into wolf society. His presence eased the distrust of the pack and helped the wolves view the Thayers as part of a "pack" of their own.  Camped within 100 feet of the den, the Thayers were able to view nearly all aspects of the wolves' daily activities.  The complexity of wolf society is acknowledged but little understood, and the Thayers' observations provided support for their subsequent activism and educational efforts on behalf of Arctic wolves. 

I know that I won't spend my birthday at either pole.  Nonetheless, Helen Thayer is an inspiration.  Whether you read Three Among the Wolves on its own or along with other books on our list for The Big Read, prepare to be amazed.

Books by Marlena De Blasi

Yes, I know it's not sunny in Italy ALL the time but today when all around us is deep snow, it sure seems like it!  

Marlena's incredible journey to residing in Italy began in A Thousand Days in Venice: An Unexpected Romance, the events of which describe meeting and marrying her Italian husband Fernando.  This title was followed by A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure, The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria and the most recent title That Summer in Sicily: A Love Story.   Some of the great things about these titles are that they are about Italy, the interesting people they have met and food!  Glorious, delicious, life-affirming food.  In fact, several other books by De Blasi in the King County Library System catalog are about the food and cooking of Italy.  

So why do I like them so much?  Let me give you a taste of the stories she tells (and lives).  In The Lady in the Palazzo, Marlena and her husband have long-term leased a decrepit ballroom in a building in Orvieto that the owners, who live elsewhere, promise to renovate but the work is progressing very, very, very slowly.  In fact, for stretches of time, nothing is done.  Marlena is just about to tear her hair out as she doesn't have a proper kitchen and as a chef, cooking is her life.  When she isn't fretting about her kitchen she and Fernando discover amazing food festivals, drink wonderful wine and eat delicious meals in neighborhood trattorias.  

How will it all end?  Will they one day be able to serve a meal to friends in their renovated ballroom?  Will they finally find a real home on the miraculous tufa plateau in beautiful Orvieto?  I can guarantee you will love finding out!