May Not Fiction Book Discussions

In May we will continue our conversation about the possibility of reconnecting with our local resources as a way to minimize our global impact on the planet and of finding a greater sense of happiness and community with our discussion of Bill McKibben's Deep Economy: The Weath of Communities and the Durable Future. In Deep Economy, McKibben argues that "growth" is neither the only nor the most sound economic ideal. He offers examples of alternatives, including local food, energy, and even culture and entertainment production, that would preserve the humanity of our economy. Do his suggestions seem reasonable? Possible? Join us to share your opinion Tuesday, May 5 at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting Room A of the Main Library, Thursday, May 21 at 11:00 a.m. at the West Ashley Branch, or here on the blog.

April is National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month, and to celebrate it, the Academy of American Poets is encouraging poetry lovers to participate in the second national Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 30. Simply choose a poem you love and carry it with you to share with family, friends, and coworkers on April 30 and throughout the month. Visit poets.org, the official website of the Academy of American Poets, for more information. You can also sign up to receive a poem each day of National Poetry Month in your email, view a National Poetry Map to locate poetry events in your area, view or enter the Free Verse Photo Project, and find other ways to bring poetry into your life.

And you can celebrate here on the Not Fiction blog--tell us about your favorite poem(s) and/or any favorite memories about poems or poetry.

Notes from March Not Fiction Book Discussion

Mildred Kalish originally planned to title her memoir about growing up on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression Grandma, Tell Me a Farm Story and to self-publish it for family and friends (http://www.little-heathens.com/). Fortunately for us, family members encouraged her to share her life story with a wider audience.

In our discussions of Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression, we considered how Kalish's book differs from many contemporary memoirs. It is less confessional, less concerned with the psychological inner drama of the narrator; it is true instead in style, tone, and content to its original title, giving readers the feeling that they are listening to the anecdotes of an older relative. Kalish shares stories about the daily life of hard work and thrift and the culture of close family and community ties of a time now past and almost unimaginable to those of us born after World War II. Kalish reflects on the difficulties and also the great joys of that life with a resolute, positive attitude that seems to be as much her message--and her gift--to readers as the stories she tells.

In a statement about why she decided to share the book with a wider audience, Kalish says, "I have noticed a resurgence of public interest in the rural matters where people yearn to engage in satisfying activities that have direct meaning in their lives. Perhaps this is because our current national and international challenges result in individuals feeling helpless and disconnected. My book tells of a life of total involvement. I thought readers would enjoy reading about that experience" (http://www.little-heathens.com/). A reviewer for Booklist calls Kalish's memoir "deeply intelligent," and perhaps it is resoluteness, positivity, and total involvement in such ordinary issues as where our food comes from, how directly meaningful our work is to our daily lives, and how we spend time with our families and friends that will help us out of our current recession and provide a path to a more sustainable, connected future. We will continue to consider these issues in our discussions of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life and Bill McKibben's Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future.

Meanwhile, for more stories about the Great Depression from those who lived through it and their perspective on how it relates to this recession, visit The New York Times online's video feature The New Hard Times. You can watch interviews or submit your own.

April Not Fiction Book Discussion

Spring has sprung, and our local farmers market will be up and running soon. It is a perfect time of year to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. Kingsolver says, "This is the story . . . of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air." Kingsolver, her husband, Steven L. Hopp, a professor of environmental studies, and her daughter, Camille, a student at Duke University, all contribute to this narrative of how the family committed to eating only what they could grow on, or buy from neighbors of, their rural Virginia farm. Combining family anecdotes, discussion of agricultural practices and food culture, and seasonal recipes and nutritional information, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle approaches what Michael Pollan calls our national eating disorder with both intellect and heart. Join our discussion April 7 at Main Library at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting Room A, April 23 at West Ashley Branch at 11:00 a.m., or here on the blog to share your reactions to this popular book as well as your own tips and recipes for how to eat locally to act globally.

Notes from January and February Not Fiction Book Discussions

Henry David Thoreau says of his time at Walden Pond, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear, nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion."

Chris McCandless, the subject of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, conducted a similar experiment when he left home and family completely behind, ultimately dying, perhaps needlessly, of starvation in Alaska. In a pre-publication review of Into the Wild that appeared in Library Journal, the reviewer suggests that Krakauer "never satisfactorily answers the question of whether McCandless was a noble, if misguided, idealist or a reckless narcissist who brought pain to his family." Most people in our discussion group agreed that Krakauer's portrait of McCandless was complex, leaving McCandless an enigma, but they did not expect Krakauer to solve the puzzle. They recognized that McCandless' story derives its interest from the fact that life "proved to be mean" for him, that his story shares many of the elements of classical tragedy. Yet in their own evaluation of McCandless, most discussion members decided that he was not "noble," that he was a "reckless narcissist who brought pain to his family." Therefore, it was inconceivable to many in the discussion group that McCandless has become a cult figure for hundreds of people, mostly young men, many of whom have made a pilgrimmage to the abandoned bus where McCandless lived during the months of his Alaska adventure and where he died. What are these pilgrims looking for? Perhaps a way to "live deliberately"? What do they see in McCandless? And what does it say about our culture that they are looking and that McCandless is the example of what they are looking for? These are questions we never satisfactorily answered in our discussion.

However, after reading Laurence Gonzales' Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why, we were able to analyze McCandless' actions according to "The Rules of Adventure" Gonzales has distilled from his lifetime of personal interest in and study of survival. For example, some discussion members pointed out that McCandless was not informed about or prepared for the environment he entered, leading him to make any number of mistakes. He did not understand the dynamics of snow melt and the way it swelled the river he needed to cross to return to civilization, and he did not carry a map or compass that might have helped him find a new way across or discover some nearby cabins that might have provided food and shelter. Other discussion members pointed out that McCandless' lack of knowledge and preparation was indicative of his lack of humility--he did not know what he did not know or respect the power of the natural world. Regarding our own ability to have a successful adventure or to survive an adventure gone wrong, many discussion members could see that they had experienced some of the qualities of survivors Gonzales describes in moments of "meanness" in their own lives or could benefit from some of the suggestions he makes in future challenging situations. Yet many readers did not find Gonzales' book to be effectively, consistently written. Some found his tendency to take on a swaggering tone and to name-drop annoying, while others thought he might have better organized his points and the anecdotes that illustrate them.

Gonzales echoes Thoreau's wish that, when he "came to die," he not "discover that [he] had not lived" when he describes his daughter's "Gutter Theory of Life": "You don't want to be lying in the gutter, having been run down by a bus, the last bit of your life ebbing away, and be thinking, 'I should have taken that rafting trip . . . ' or 'I should have learned to surf . . . ' or 'I should have flown upside down--with smoke!'" What do you think? What does it mean to "live deliberately"? What does it mean to "survive"?

March Not Fiction Book Discussion

Miss the March discussion of Mildred Armstrong Kalish's memoir Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm Duing the Great Depression? Not on your tintype! You can join us Tuesday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting Room A of the Main Library, Thursday, March 19 at 11:00 a.m. at the West Ashley Branch Library, or here on the blog to share your response to Kalish's story of "a time, a place, and a family" that was named one of the Ten Best Books of the Year by The New York Times. In addition to sharing stories, recipes, home remedies, and how-tos, Kalish also offers a unique perspective on one of the most difficult periods in the history of the United States. Who knows? You just might walk away from the discussion with more than an idea of how to treat a boil with a beet, how to do a week's worth of laundry without a washing machine and dryer, or how to make marshmallows from scratch. You might come to appreciate what Kalish calls "the sheer joy and excitement of it all."

A new Maira Kalman blog!!!

Ahem . . . I mean . . . A new Maira Kalman ILLUSTRATED COLUMN, as Ms. Kalman would prefer to call it, And the Pursuit of Happiness about American democracy, will appear on the last Friday of each month in the New York Times' online edition. Those of you who enjoyed reading and discussing The Principles of Uncertainty, which began as a bl . . . illustrated column will be happy to know that the first installment about Barack Obama's inauguration includes some lovely hats and tassels!
Here is the link: http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/
Enjoy!