Library Thing:

http://www.librarything.com/home/Shoney

From Preserving Nature, to Saving the Planet

I swear by the New York Times for general news, but particularly for the Book Review. Really interesting podcast here: http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/book-review-podcast-theodore-roosevelt-wilderness-warrior/

Jonathan Rosen reviews Douglass Brinkley’s biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Wilderness Warrior. As a history minor and lover of biographies and historical fiction, this book is definitely going on my TBR list (although it is 900 pages long- so it might be a while). Rosen describes Roosevelt’s largely unpopular campaign to preserve the United States’ forests during a time of economic instability, 1907, which met heavy opposition from big industries dependent upon natural resources provided by the Grand Canyon and other wildlife refugees created by the president. Roosevelt was finally able to successfully carry out legislation to create these preserves through the support of his fellow elitist gentlemen hunters. While their motivation may have been self-serving, Roosevelt’s concern for nature seems truly ahead of his time, for it is rather uncommon for a president to put environmental issues at the front of his agenda, particularly during rough economic times.

I am constantly searching for parallels between today and the past, and notice more and more how little seems to change over the years. Roosevelt’s wilderness conservation “crusade” seems to bear an eerie resemblance to the struggles the contemporary administration faces in mitigating the complex climate crisis. The main aberration between the two scenarios is the gravity of the situation the world finds itself in today. Despite frightening proof of the devastating, and proliferating consequences of climate change, the imminent climate change legislation still faces bonified resistance, especially from the sneaky members of the lobbying firm, Bonner & Associates ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pete-altman/climate-bill-scams-exposi_b_249081.html ). Apparently, there will always be selfish creeps out there, trying to sabotage progressive legislation. Fortunately, I perceive that climate change is becoming more ingrained in this country’s rhetoric, which will with hope, facilitate the course of necessary change.

Recent Reads: The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

How I wish I could crawl inside of this book to become Juliet, and surround myself with all of the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society! I’m even feeling a bit nostalgic now that I’ve finished it. Novels too often focus on the darker side of human nature, and the life-changing events which so often become a consequence of tragedy.

The epistolary form served the story perfectly, as it allows readers to gain a sense of Juliet’s most intimate thoughts through an ongoing exchange of witty banter primarily between Juliet and her dear friend and publisher, Sidney. Juliet is sharp and funny, but never in a mean-spirited or remotely negative way (save a bit of empathy-inspiring self-deprecation), which makes her all the more lovable as a protagonist. Through complete chance, character Juliet Ashton begins a correspondence with Dawsey Adams, a man living on the Channel Island of Guernsey in the aftermath of the German Occupation. Intrigued with Dawsey’s involvement in the oddly-named, as well as oddly-commenced literary society, Juliet endeavors to write a story about the society in her newspaper column. The members of the club reach out to Juliet, and she is quickly absorbed into the cose-knit community.

This novel so beautifully demonstrates how one’s outlook on life is ultimately what dictates its worth. Observing each of the characters’ victories over the hardships WWII caused, reminds me of the necessity of friendship, laughter, and of course, books, to stay sane during challenging times.

At certain points in the story, I felt that the characterizations of Juliet and Elizabeth were suspiciously similar, which struck me as a bit unrealistic. Nevertheless, I still would recommend this novel to any book lover!

Hello!

This is my fist blog post ever, yay hooray! I intend to write about:

1.) Books, books, books! : )
2.) My(liberal) humble opinion on current events
3.) College Life/Career Focus
4.) The multifaceted nature of neurosis (mine, yours, his, hers)
5.) Love/Hate Today
6.) Miscellaneous (yes, I had to use the spell-checker for that one ;( I am, quite sadly, a horrific speller)

So, we shall see how that goes.

Alrighty then,
That's That.