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Showing posts from 2020

Oral History, Black Lives Matter and Chewing the Fat, A... History of Italian Foodways from Fascism to Dolce Vita

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"Are you seriously going to try to connect Oral History to Black Lives Matter with a book -- Chewing the Fat, An Oral History of Italian Foodways from Fascism to Dolce Vita ?" my readers may ask... Well, yes, in fact, that's exactly what I'd like to do. Very recently, my Italian cousin had the brilliant idea of starting a book club. He gathered cousins most of whom have the same common place of origin: Nardo di Pace, Calabria. Our first book club book via Zoom was Chewing the Fat by Karima Moyer-Nocchi. Since this post is not a book review, I'll just point out that most of this nonfiction text consists of interviews with then (2015) 80+ and 90+ year old women who lived during the height of Fascist Italy. This book can, indeed, be filed under "oral history" among other headings. And I must say, not to take away from the interviews and the very informative research, my favourite chapter was Moyer-Nocchi's chapter on oral history. For me, it was a

Do Your Soul a Favour: read this book

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If you're at all interested in the problem of homelessness, if you've ever been gripped or just curious about all things Indiginous, Aboriginal, First Nations, if you're moved by beauty, brokenness, love, healing and redemption, if you've ever wondered why some people struggle with addiction and recovery more than others, if you want to know how to love better, care more, empathize deeply, if this quote resonates with you -- All us criminals start out as normal people just like anyone else, but then things happen in life that tear us appart, that makes us into something capable of hurting other people. That's all darkness really is -- just love gone bad. -- then please read this book. Thank you, Jesse Thistle, your vulnerabily and honesty in sharing your story.

Station 11 by Emily St. John Mandel -- a very good read

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The inside-back of Ms Mandel's book jacket reads that she's a staff writer for The Millions . I'm sure the readers of this publication appreciate this, but I for one would love for her to write more novels. Thankfully, her new one is due this October of 2020. Station 11 is one of the best books I've read recently. It reminds me a bit of The Walking Dead . And like The Walking Dead , I find myself telling people, yeah, it's a zombie show, but it's not really a zombie show. Similarly, yes,  Station 11 is a post apocalyptic novel, but it's not really a post apocalyptic novel. It's so much more. It's about art, and love, friendship and survival. The travelling orchestra/acting company has a quote painted on its caravan: "Survival is insufficient." It's a quote from a Star Trek Voyager episode. At the risk of sounding ageist, two things strike me most about this book. One, how is someone so young, so wise and insightful into all sta