This Tender Land

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

Read August 2021 - Zoom Reading Circle

A wonderful book.  Kind of a mix of Huckleberry Finn and The Odyssey with some Dickensian elements thrown in for good measure.  :)  A story of a journey of 4 children, escaping evil and hardship and heading toward a brighter future (they hope).  They canoe down the Mississippi River intending to get to family in St. Louis.  They encounter many people along the way - some good and some not - and some a very strange mix.  What a fascinating story and journey.  It was also a good book to read after The Beekeeper of Aleppo - not quite as intense.  However, both books follow people on perilous journeys toward what they hope will be a better life.  I now want to read more books by William Kent Krueger. 

Quotes from the book...

I've always thought of her the way I think of a precious gem: the beauty isn't in the jewel itself, but in the way the light shines through it. 

Of all that we're asked to give others in this life, the most difficult to offer may be forgiveness. 

But I believe if you tell a story, it's like sending a nightingale into the air with the hope that its song will never be forgotten. 

From author William Kent Krueger's website - photos that inspired the story

https://williamkentkrueger.com/standalone/this-tender-land/#photos

Why do Native people disappear from textbooks after the 1890's? - Edweek article 

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-why-do-native-people-disappear-from-textbooks-after-the-1890s/2021/08

This Tender Land - book trailer

The Tragedy of Native American Boarding Schools - William Kent Krueger

The Beekeeper of Aleppo

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Read August 2021- Zoom Reading Circle

This was a powerful book.  I read it very quickly and yet it has stuck with me.  It was not an easy read and at first I disliked the main character, Nuri, because of his attitude toward his wife, Afra.  But as the book goes on and traces their journey, you gain an understanding of 'why'.  This book brought into focus the horrors of the Syrian war, highlighting the dire situation of refugees from Syria (and anywhere, really).  It is a well written story by a woman who has worked in the refugee camps in Athens and whose own parents were refugees.  This book just touched me deeply.  It made me feel for the characters and truly feel their pain - and their joy.  A moving, and ultimately hopeful, book.  I am very glad I read it. 

Quotes from the book...

In Syria there is a saying, "Inside the person you know, there is a person you don't know."

Oh Allah, keep me alive as long as is good for me, and when death is better for me, take me.  

But love was people's way out of the darkness.  I could see this clearly. 

The Beekeeper of Aleppo wins 2020 Aspen Words Literary Prize

https://www.npr.org/2020/04/16/835950317/the-beekeeper-of-aleppo-wins-2020-aspen-words-literary-prize

Aleppo before and after the battle - BBC News

In England, a buzzing business for Syrian refugee beekeeper

Documentary 'For Sama' finds love and loss amid Syrian war

Travel as a Political Act

Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves

Read July 2021 - Well Read Book Club

What an informative book.  This is not your standard tour guide of destinations... this is a book designed to open our eyes and our hearts to other countries and cultures.  And to have a better awareness of what travel can offer us beyond just having a good experience in an exotic locale.  Rick Steves has been a travel expert for years and I have used his books in my own travels abroad.  But in this book he opens up our minds to the ways that we can be changed by our travels - we can gain empathy for people and recognize connections we have with people we perhaps thought we never could.  Traveling with an open mind (and heart) is truly a way toward peace.  We could all do well to travel more - outside of the United States.  And this book is a great guide toward that endeavor.   

Quote from book...

Mark Twain wrote, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness."

Thoughtful travelers do it to have enlightening experiences, to meet inspirational people, to be stimulated, to learn, and to grow. 

Rick Steves Travel as a Political Act

Rick Steves: Why We Travel

Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

Read July 2021 - Zoom Reading Circle

This was a very good book - but a hard story to read about.  Just another reminder of the systemic racism this nation was built on.  These are stories that need to be told... white people don't know these stories and there are, sadly, so many.  My reading circle group read this book the same month as The Day the World Came to Town.  We reflected that those two books showed the best of humanity and the worst of humanity.  Thank goodness there are good people with courage and wisdom and curiosity to follow through...   

Killers of the Flower Moon tells about a time and place in history that I really knew nothing about.  In the 1920's the members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma were the richest people, per capita, in the world.  The US had relegated the people of the Osage Nation to what was considered worthless land, but when it became incredibly valuable with the discovery of oil, nearby townspeople literally killed to take it over.  A former Texas ranger named Tom White came to the area to investigate and was able to expose, and arrest, many of those responsible for the heinous crimes.  But oh, the damage that was done.  

Quote from the book...

I don't know a single Osage family which didn't lose at least one family member because of the head rights. 

Killers of the Flower Moon - book trailer

Reign of Terror - Murder and Mayhem in the Osage Hills - OETP

Killers of the Flower Moon author David Grann answers your questions - PBS Newshour

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede

Read July 2021 - Zoom Reading Circle

Oh my goodness, I loved this book!  It was so fascinating to 'meet' all the people - both the locals from Gander and the 'plane people' who ended up there.  This is the kind of book that restores your faith in humanity.  It was inspiring to read and pulled at me to 'do better'.  It also makes me really want to travel to Gander!  :)  Reading this book brought me right back to 9/11.  We all have our story and our memories of that day and those events.  It is hard to believe that is over 20 years ago... I remember it all so vividly.  This book tells the true story of how the small Canadian town of Gander welcomed 6,132 passengers, plus the crew members, from 38 flights from across the world on the spur of the moment when airspace over the United States was shut down.  All those planes were forced to land quickly and this small town had a large enough airfield, left over from WW2 years, to accommodate them.  However, once the 'plane people' landed, they nearly outnumbered the residents of Gander - and yet were their guests for several days until the planes could all take off again.  What a story of hope, community, love & loss, and the power of hospitality to bring good to the world.  Everyone should read this!  And then follow up by watching the Broadway musical Come From Away that airs on AppleTV and is based on this same event.  You won't be sorry!

Quotes from the book...

The passengers weren't treated like refugees, but like long-lost relatives, and the more he thought about it, the more it moved him. 

Nevertheless, given all those human frailties, what happened in Gander is still remarkable.  And perhaps the lesson isn't that these acts of kindness occurred because Gander is a magical place, but rather that these people came together in a time of crisis regardless of their own personal shortcoming.  And if that's the case, then it offers hope that all of us have that ability within us.  

An Oasis of Kindness on 9/11 - USA Today article

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/09/08/gander-newfoundland-september-11-terror-attacks-kindess-come-from-away/631329001/

A reflection article 20 years later - 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/09/07/sept11-newfoundland-gander-canada

An article about the wonderful true-life story of Nick and Diane

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/nick-diane-marson-come-from-away-chance-encounters/index.html

On 9/11 this Canadian town welcomed in stranded passengers

Full documentary - Gander's ripple effect: How a small towns kindness opened on Broadway

Come From Away - Meet the Real People

Lab Girl

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

Read May 2021 - Well Read Book Club

I didn't quite finish this book... a lot happened in May 2021.  But I enjoyed the parts I did read.  I was interested in the author's childhood in small town Iowa and how we shared similarities and yet great differences in our upbringing.  She had a scientist father who worked at colleges, but her family was cold and her small town was not comforting.  The book had a lot of good information about science, and particularly women in science.  But personally, the author annoyed me a bit.  :)  I was intrigued by her relationship with Bill, but never finished the book so know that I missed a lot.  

Quotes from the book...

The more I handled things and learned their names and uses, the more joyous and confident grew my sense of kinship with the rest of the world - Helen Keller

(this reminded me so much of Maverick)

We had long since established the habit of not speaking as we walked the two miles home; silent togetherness is what Scandinavian families do naturally, and it may be what they do best. 

People slice up tree trunks, nail the pieces together into boxy shapes, and then go inside to sleep. 

From Bad to Wurst: A Passport to Peril Mystery

From Bad to Wurst: A Passport to Peril Mystery by Maddy Hunter

Read May 2021

I followed up #9 in the series with this one, #10 in the Passport to Peril series.  A cheesy, easy, cozy mystery.  I do enjoy this author although I realize they are not the best written books in the world.  But I like them.  :)  This time Emily takes the Iowa senior citizens, including her own parents, to travel through Germany.  This author does make me laugh out loud and she definitely has small town midwestern humor.  In this book I realized I have more 'in common' with Emily's Mom, than Emily... which provided me with a few cringe inducing moments.  (see quote below)   :D  I guess I really am 'that woman' and definitely am getting older.  ugh.  

Quote from the book...

Mom was practicing her people skills by giving everyone in the room a big squishy hug.  She could have limited it to band members only, but to her way of thinking, overkill was a much less grievous sin than discrimination.  

Fleur de Lies: A Passport to Peril Mystery

Fleur de Lies: A Passport to Peril Mystery by Maddy Hunter

Read April 2021

I needed something light to balance out Caste.  This is the 9th book in an old cozy mystery series that I have enjoyed over the years.  I am seeing now that the last 6 volumes are mighty hard to come by.  That is a shame.  They are all clever little mysteries and are all pretty dog-gone funny!  The stories all revolve around travel company owner, Emily, who leads a group of senior citizens (including her very own Grandmother) from their small town in Iowa on trips to various exotic locales.  Trouble is, there is always murder included on these trips!  This one takes place in France on a cruise down the Seine River.  I would actually like to do that!  Reminds me of the Nile cruise I was on - very nice to have a home base (the boat) but be able to visit different towns and sites.  This is a humor packed mystery series that I have thoroughly enjoyed. 

Quote from the book...

She smiled impishly.  "Do you know why the French have become such great connoisseurs of wine?"  "Superb vineyards?"  "American tourists!"