Lost in the Jungle Without Cities

Currently I am bushwhacking my way through The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann. It just came in through an Amazon order placed after seeing an interview on The Daily Show (I only mention the company since it's namesake is in the title).

The beginning of the book was a little difficult to get into but now I am having fun alternately being grossed out by stories about cannibalism and scared by the many ways to die in the Amazon. It amazes me anyone had the tenacity to explore so many difficult places, survive and then head back for more. I guess I am just an armchair explorer type. What cracks me up about this book is the author is kind of like me, then he gets interested in this mystery of what happened to Faucet (a Victorian era explorer) and he ends up going there himself trying to solve the riddle of Faucett's life.

I was looking at the title and thought the sub-title (A Tale of Deadly Obsession Into the Amazon) may have not only referred to Fawcett's demise, but also the biographer's obsession with the subject. Since the author survived I guess it is only about Fawcett but it must take a bit of an obsession to really write a biography well. Janet Malcolm compares a biographer to a "professional burglar, breaking into a house, rifling through certain drawers that he has good reason to think contain jewelry and money, and triumphantly bearing his loot away." This book is very entertaining and makes me interested in a subject I thought I only had a small interest in. I am mid-way through the book and currently I am obsessed with finding out if the mystery behind what happened to Fawcett will be answered; either way, I am enjoying the ride.

Check out David Grann's website for more information on him (plus the Daily Show interview as well as a slide show about his book).

Memory's Helper

Writing Her Own Life by Mary Clearman Blew

Writing is not just a plot, the facts, or even a character study. Well written pieces open the reader's imagination inviting a sort of Spock-like mind meld with another time and place. This book is a conversation between the author and her aunt's journal (kept in the mid 1930's through the 40's). She questions her aunt's choices, marvels at her strength and quietly listens to her wisdom.

This book reminds me Norman Maclean's "A River Runs Through It." I think the time period is similar and they are both about memories and growing up in the west at that time.
"After all, memory occupies no space. memory lives in its own small realm of bone and brain, and it worries, not about some measureless past which somehow exists behind us, but about the frayed edges of a dimensionless map whose markings of roads and rivers and events are overlaid, like a series of transparencies, upon the shifting present. Memory starts nowhere, starts anywhere, radiates perhaps from some asterisked city of the mind. Explores and abandons its trails. Writes down lies in indelible ink. Erases the truth. A diary may correspond to a timeline, days following days, but memory toes nobody's line."

Learn more about Mary Clearman Blew by checking this link to an interview with the author.

My Own Backyard

Digging my way through Nonfiction Matters inspired me to take a look at some nonfiction in my life. I turned to Lost in My Own Backyard by Tim Cahill which I have been meaning to read for a while now — procrastinators always have a to read list handy.

The author contends that Yellowstone is America's backyard... but even though metaphorically that is true it literally was my backyard for a good portion of my life. Cahill writes like a local who wants to share Yellowstone and tells about his experiences in the park in a friendly informal voice.

I think anyone remotely interested in Yellowstone Park would find this a great read. He describes the wonders of Yellowstone and the things that just make you wonder. There is a sprinkling of history (Thomas Moran's paintings of Yellowstone "shredded the fabric of doubt" about whether a place like it existed) with much about geology and wildlife. Cahill made me curious about our earth which is "mighty beyond our imagining."

Mount Redoubt just left a dusting of ash across our fair state... imagine what it would be like if 37 miles worth of mountains just blew up in a matter of hours and buried Idaho in an eight foot thick blanket of ash. That is the furnace that burns Yellowstone. The fires are still burning.

Nonfiction Does Matter

"Life is nonfiction." Bevery Kobrin as quoted in the book I'm reading.

I am reading Nonfiction Matters by Stephanie Harvey. Sometimes during reading time I think to myself how odd it is that I rarely see my students writing notes or copying passages from the books they are reading. Even books they really like rarely get the treatment of noting the information, ideas, or plays on words during our time to read. Blogging does happen, but I wonder if the blogs would carry more of how the reading is going if they are written from notes taken while reading.

I note this because I am reading a book about ideas to help me teach more effectively, so I am taking notes. I also tend to stop and copy quotations from books when I really like what they say. My sketchbooks are littered with wise words I wish I had thought of but some author said just right. Some of the quotations are there because I just want to think about them a bit longer... they challenge me. So, think on these things... take notes while you read and you will hold those words with you longer. Enjoy.

Professional Development

On Saturday I was reading professional development materials... you often have to read for your job. Even when I worked at Wall Mart I had to read and understand the instructions the manager of the department I worked in left for me. There are also important papers you need to understand about your benefits, taxes and how to get reimbursements. You may not get all of the money you have due you if you don't understand these forms and the policies well enough to follow them.