Somusing

This actually has nothing to do with the sex lives of cannibals, unless you count the chapter about dogs. It's an arresting title, though, isn't it? It's also very funny and entertaining, all about the author's adventures living on a pretty desolate island in Kiribati. Always irreverent, sometimes downright vulgar, it was a fun way to learn about Kiribati (which, by the way, is pronounced "Kiribas"--I don't know why). There's some history and background and lots of hilarious stories about learning to live in a place that's really different from America. I liked it.

It has been a long time since I enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed this one. I can't think of anything I didn't like about it. Thanks to Ivy for encouraging me to read it.

A funny but sadly true note:

Wall Street may have higher ethical standards than some businesses (smuggling, prostitution, Congressional lobbying, and journalism come to mind) but the investment world nevertheless has enough liars, cheaters, and thieves to keep Satan's check-in clerks frantically busy for decades to come.

--Jason Zweig

That's in a footnote on page 262 of the 2003 revised edition of Benjamin Graham's classic book The Intelligent Investor. Graham first published the book in 1934 and revised it several times, publishing his final edition in 1973. Graham died in 1976.

A new edition was published in 2003, with the original text of Graham's last edition left intact, but surrounded with Talmudic-style treatment by Jason Zweig. Jason's new commentary appears after each chapter and in footnotes. This brings the book up to date and adds some perspective and humor, and notes cases where Graham has been vindicated or (rarely) disproven by history.

This kind of layered text is, as far as I know, unusual among financial writings. I'm finding it an enlightening read because newer writings haven't had time for history to shine light on their assertions, so they may all sound plausible or implausible depending on the reader's mood.

Emily Eden is a delightful cross between Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde, and by Oscar Wilde, I mean The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband (movie versions), because that's about all I'm familiar with. The Semi-Detached House is the second of her two novels that I've read. (The first was The Semi-Attached Couple, and no, I can't explain the over-use of "semi" and words about attachment or lack thereof.) The book that I have is a paperback containing both of the novels, and I have no idea where I got it. Did my Uncle Steve send it to me? Did I pick it up at a used bookstore somewhere? I have no idea. But I'm so glad to have it and that I finally got around to reading both of the books.

The Semi-Detached House is about a young and recently married aristocrat who must move out to the country and into a dreaded "semi-detached" house. But I guess she's not the main character. There really isn't a main character; it's more of a multiple-character novel like Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford, but with more plot. It is funny and a fairly quick read. I'd like to know if English majors are introduced to Emily Eden in their course-work. I had never heard of her, and it seems a shame.

I just read an article called Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore, and while I don't have a tablet, and think the author's overall point is weak (not being very excited about tablets, yet still planning to always have one), this part resonated with me:

"Some of the really savvy new media efforts like Flipboard are exciting, but after the initial "wow" factor wears off, these apps mainly serve to remind me that there's already too much good stuff to read out there, and that my life is slipping away from me in an infinite stream of interesting bits about smart animals, dumb criminals, outrageous celebs, shiny objects, funny memes, scientific discoveries, economic developments, etc. I invariably end up closing the app in a fit of guilt, and picking up one of the truly fantastic dead tree or Kindle books that I'm working my way through at the moment, so that I can actually exercise my brain (as opposed to simply wearing it out)."

The same thing applies to web reading for me. I find the web extremely valuable for news, conversation, blogging, and longer articles, but there's still a place for more in-depth treatment of topics in books, and for getting out and living and not always experiencing by proxy. Things that are useful and good may still not always be the most important.

I did read all of the Chronicles of Narnia books when I was young, but I don't really remember much of them. Before the first movie came out a few years ago, I started to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to the kids, but I found it wordy and kind of boring, so we didn't finish it. Then, when Jon happened to see a trailer for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he made a declaration that anyone who would like to see the movie would have to have read the book first. I knew the younger kids wanted to see it, and I wanted to give a Narnia book another try, so I read it out loud to the three youngest. Happily, it turns out that it is a great book.

I think it helped that Eustace, the nasty cousin, is so delightfully nasty, and that parts of the story are told from his point of view, via a journal he keeps. The story moves quickly and there are plenty of exciting and interesting adventures. But mostly I loved the religious symbolism in the book. Eustace's recovery scene (I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't read it) is especially wonderful. I thought about it off and on for days after reading it. I really loved the book.

We home school our kids. There was a year or so when we sent the three oldest boys to a private school for a few hours a week and this year, Zed is enrolled in a few classes at the high school (choir; driver's ed; seminary, which doesn't count as public school in my opinion; and band, which he is kind of auditing). But they are basically home schooled. I plan to send them to college as home schooled kids, with a few extra classes from the high school under their belts. I've skimmed a couple of books on home schooling teenagers but hadn't found anything particularly inspiring until this book, which is fantastic. I loved it!

Except for a brief introduction intended for parents, Boles addresses teenagers directly and assumes they're interested in making their own decisions and following their dreams. In fact, while the information in the book is helpful to those who are already home schooled, he's openly trying to persuade high school kids to leave school and forge their own college prep paths. It's inspiring stuff, even to a 40-year-old mom whose days of formal education are mostly behind her. (Am I really 40? That just seems crazy.)

Boles attended Berkley and made it halfway through an astrophysics degree before discovering the alternative education stuff that later became his self-designed major. His book suggests lots of ways teenagers can explore their passions while at the same time preparing to go to college. There's practical information about applying to college without high school transcripts (most private colleges don't require a high school diploma and have information specific to home schooled students on their websites) and inspiring stuff about how to have adventures and turn those adventures into application fodder. He uses real-life examples of unschooled students who've done exciting things instead of going to high school and gotten into Ivy-league universities like Princeton.

My kids will definitely be reading this when they're 13 or 14. I'd like them to read it and then create their own plan for their pre-college years. As my kids get older, I'm feeling the pressure to get them ready for college. (So far they all say they want to go to college.) Our home schooling style has been different from almost everyone I've met and read about, so it has been somewhat experimental up until now—will the kids do well on standardized tests? will they be able to write well? will they learn math? will they learn to manage their time effectively? or will they end up in our basement playing video games and unable to hold a job? We're just beginning to get some of those questions answered. For example, Zed did well at Startalk this summer, and we had him take the PSAT just this morning. We'll see how he does. In the meantime, I'll have him finish this book and then I'll make Jacob read it.

Next on my To Be Read list: The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewellyn. And I'll read it during down time at work (I accompany the high school choirs) to be a little bit subversive. :)

This is kind of a famous book in the Mormon community--probably everyone has heard the parable of the bicycle--but I don't read a lot of LDS books, so I hadn't read it until now. Its reputation is well-deserved--it's excellent. Carefully and clearly written, with plenty of scriptural support and some good stories, It's not difficult reading at all, but profound concepts are well-explained. I'm adding it to my Required Reading list (which only exists in my head, but maybe I'll write it down someday).

I would like so much to enjoy the Temperance Brennan novels as much as I do the TV show, but I don't. I can't even remember what Bare Bones was about, except that it's not the one about the motorcycle gang. I think. Anyway. I found it entertaining, but just barely.

I picked up this memoir of a former restaurant critic on a whim at the library. Much of it is detailed, self-centered reminiscences about the author's relationship with food and his weight throughout his life, probably only interesting as far as you can relate directly to his struggles (many of which I could not). Probably good that it's out there for some readers. There is great stuff about his mother's cooking habits that I related to: if there are four baked potatoes left after a huge meal for extended family, does that mean some people didn't take one because they thought there weren't enough to go around? Must make more next time!

My favorite part of the book is the last part, after Bruni has settled at a good weight (through plenty of exercise and portion control). He becomes the restaurant critic for the New York Times, and his account of what that job entails is fascinating.