Stones into Schools

Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace Through Education in Afghanistan &Pakistan - Greg Mortenson

From Amazon: "If you read Three Cups of Tea, you would be foolish to miss this book. The opening briefly recounts those events (to refresh your memory if you didn't read it recently, or to fill in the gaps if you have never read it all). From there, the story mostly moves to Afghanistan as Greg Mortenson and his colleagues from the Central Asia Institute (CAI) seek to keep the promise to bring a school to what may be the most difficult location in that challenged country. If providing schools in remote locations isn't enough, CAI also had to brave the ongoing war there. The story moves into its highest gear as Mr. Mortenson recounts the horrible devastation that a major earthquake (about the same power as the 1906 quake in San Francisco) brought to the mountainous regions, wiping out almost all the schools and killing many of the students and teachers"

I read Three Cups of Tea and enjoyed it, although I enjoyed this one much more. Having finished reading Mortenson's story about himself, this one was much more about the people. I read it in less than a week of busing to work (which either says that my commute is too long or I read too fast). It was captivating and really showed us what education for a girl can do in a country like Afghanistan. It didn't convince me to donate money to their cause, but I do believe education is important!

In Pursuit of Elegance

In Pursuit of Elegance: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing - Matthew E. May

From Amazon: "In this thought-provoking exploration of why certain events, products, and people capture our attention and imaginations, Matthew E. May examines the elusive element behind so many innovative breakthroughs in fields ranging from physics and marketing to design and popular culture. Combining unusual simplicity and surprising power, elegance is characterized by four key elements—seduction, subtraction, symmetry, and sustainability. In a compelling, story-driven narrative that sheds light on the need for elegance in design, engineering, art, urban planning, sports, and work, May offers surprising evidence that what’s “not there” often trumps what is."

I really enjoyed this book. It was nerdy in all the right ways, talked a little bit about stuff I didn't really understand, but not enough that I didn't want to read it. Plus, it was a non-fiction book..I haven't read one of those in a while. I think the nerdier people out there would enjoy this, but not so much for others.

Treasure Island

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

From Amazon: "Climb aboard for the swashbuckling adventure of a lifetime. Treasure Islandhas enthralled (and caused slight seasickness) for decades. The names Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins are destined to remain pieces of folklore for as long as children want to read Robert Louis Stevenson's most famous book. With it's dastardly plot and motley crew of rogues and villains, it seems unlikely that children will ever say no to this timeless classic."

There was a few times when this book was a bit confusing, but I really enjoyed it. Like Tom Sawyer, this was a pretty quick read. I enjoyed the adventure, and I'm not sure why I didn't read this earlier...

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

From Amazon: " The book starts out with Tom Sawyer, a mischievous boy, just trying to have fun. He plays hooky on a Friday and then has to work on Saturday because his Aunt Polly finds out. Tom doesn't want to work so he convinces other kids to take the privilege of doing his work for him. He even persuades the kids to give him something so they can work for him."

I can't remember if I've read a version of this before - I remember the characters and some of the adventures. Either way, I don't think that I would have read this version, as a young child I don't think I would have understood some of the language. That said, reading it now, I enjoyed it. It was a quick read full of adventure. :)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson

From Amazon: "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page.  It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken."

Seriously. I'm not sure why I bothered reading this book. I found it very uninteresting and really confusing. I prefer books where things happen. Enough said.

Lion Cupcakes

For R's birthday at the end of July, I made lion cupcakes. I started with a vanilla bean cupcake and then added vanilla and chocolate icing.

I convinced a friend to help out, and this is what we ended up with:

Too bad the colour is wonky...

Seriously delicious. :)

About a Boy

About a Boy - Nick Hornby

From Amazon: "Will Lightman is a Peter Pan for the 1990s. At 36, the terminally hip North Londoner is unmarried, hyper-concerned with his coolness quotient, and blithely living off his father's novelty-song royalties. Will sees himself as entirely lacking in hidden depths--and he's proud of it! The only trouble is, his friends are succumbing to responsibilities and children, and he's increasingly left out in the cold. How can someone brilliantly equipped for meaningless relationships ensure that he'll continue to meet beautiful Julie Christie-like women and ensure that they'll throw him over before things get too profound? A brief encounter with a single mother sets Will off on his new career, that of "serial nice guy." As far as he's concerned--and remember, concern isn't his strong suit--he's the perfect catch for the young mother on the go. After an interlude of sexual bliss, she'll realize that her child isn't ready for a man in their life and Will can ride off into the Highgate sunset, where more damsels apparently await. The only catch is that the best way to meet these women is at single-parent get-togethers"

This was a kind of twisted story of Will who has no kids and apparently hates them, and how he ends up befriending and being a sort of father-figure to Markus, who is a really nerdy/out of place sounding kid. Bizarre story, but I read almost 3/4 of it on an hour and a bit long plane ride, so it wasn't that awful!

This is probably best as a summer read - nothing too in depth, or requiring too much thought. Just enough to keep you there, but if you didn't finish it, you probably wouldn't be wondering what happened..

Farm City

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer - Novella Carpenter

From Amazon: "Highways roared in the distance. Gunshots could be heard a few blocks away. And a homeless man slept in an abandoned car down the street. Among these modern-day urban scenes, author Novella Carpenter put down roots literally turning a vacant lot in Oakland, California, into a working mini-farm, complete with vegetables, herbs, chickens, ducks, and bees. Karen White reads these lively accounts of missteps and delicious victories, including recipes, with the author's intelligence, humor, and devotion to the American ideal of hard work and self-sufficiency. Farming is about food, and food is always about people. Carpenter's encounters with third-world neighbors, block parties, and the boy who came to buy a rabbit are beguiling and inspiring"


I really, really enjoy reading books about farming, food and things like that. Not sure why - I don't think about eating all the time, just most of it! Maybe I'm missing the abundance of fresh fruit and herbs from Mom's garden, but reading this book made me want to do more with the tiny deck that I have, and figure out a way to make things grow.

While I'm not really keen on the idea of growing animals to kill them for food (yes, I realize that this is natural and the way that we've been living for a long time, but I'm not really that into knowing my food), I think that the amount of food that our society wastes is insane, and perhaps a few urban farms with some pigs would do the city some good. We'd certainly reduce the amount of food wasted, and probably have some healthier animals and meat for ourselves.

I really enjoyed this, despite a few gruesome parts (mostly slaughter), and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about food.

We are All Made of Glue

We are All Made of Glue - Marina Lewycka

From Amazon: "After Georgie Sinclair's husband walks out on her following an argument about a toothbrush holder, her life seems about to fall apart. Her daughter doesn't call her anymore, preferring instead to send brief texts here and there, her 16-year-old son, Ben, seems intent on surfing born-again websites on the Internet, and both her career and her social life have never seemed more boring. When her eccentric elderly neighbor, Mrs. Shapiro, rummages through Georgie's garbage one night the two strike up an unusual friendship. They bond over Mrs. Shapiro's odd collection of cats and discounted grocery store food, but when Mrs. Shapiro has a fall and ends up in the hospital Georgie is surprised to find out that she has been named as next of kin. Suddenly Georgie's time is occupied with trying to prevent dishonest social workers from putting Mrs. Shapiro into a home, as well as trying to keep her elderly neighbor's house from falling into complete disrepair. Georgie is also occupied with figuring out if she wants to make her marriage work and trying to keep her son out of the clutches of a persistent online cult. In addition, she must unravel the mystery that is Mrs. Shapiro, who is certainly not who she says that she is."

This is the third of Marina Lewycka's books that I've read. They've all been quite strange, but interesting and pretty fast to read. This one was a bit strange - I'm not sure that her referencing to glue all the time really belonged in the book.. it seemed like she thought of the title first and then decided to add more stuff in.

Either way, I'd recommend this to someone wanting a good story. Lewycka is fantastic with accents in her writing, so I was pretty entertained just reading those.

Force of Nature

Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart's Green Revolution - Edward Humes

From Amazon: "Wal-Mart—long the target of local businesses, labor advocates, and environmentalists who deplore its outsourced, big-box methods—has embraced an unprecedented green makeover, which is now spreading worldwide. The retail giant that rose from Sam Walton's Ozarks dime store is leveraging the power of 200 million weekly customers to drive waste, toxics, and carbon emissions out of its stores and products. Neither an act of charity nor an empty greenwash, Wal-Mart's green move reflects its river guide's simple, compelling philosophy: that the most sustainable, clean, energy-efficient, and waste-free company will beat its competitors every time. Not just in some distant, utopian future but today"

This book really changed my view of Wal-Mart. It's still not my favourite place in the world to shop, but knowing that they actually have taken a huge step towards becoming sustainable, and with that step, have started to change the face of consumerism is really incredible. I'm still not saying that Wal-Mart is the best place in the world to shop - small, independent stores will always be much better, but I think I'll feel much less guilty when I actually end up there.

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about sustainability and the different ways that it can show up in a business. It was also interesting from an economics perspective - Wal-Mart really does have power over a lot of people, and they hold enough of a market share of things to change. Hopefully more companies will take the challenge set forth by Wal-Mart and try their best to be more sustainable too!