December, where did you go? It’s unusual to have read only 4 books in a month, yet I can’t remember doing anything else before falling asleep each night. I guess I could only read a page or two before conking out. Lol.
Alexander is a poet and professor. This is a beautifully written memoir about the time before and after her husband’s death. Even though I know the outcome, I was strongly hoping for a different one. Her words about love and loss and her words about her husband make this a brave yet tender love story.
“His relationship to language also said everything about his respect for others, his sense of all of us as connected global citizens, and his constant curiosity to learn and then amalgamate different ways of thinking and being in the world.”
The U.S. imports more than $2.2 trillion in goods from all over the world. About 15% comes from China. This book sets out to answer the questions: Is China really the economic steamroller we think it is? Is it possible to go an entire year without purchasing something made in China?
This book is full of humorous personal anecdotes (“small human dramas”) about trying to find non-Chinese kids’ tennis shoes, birthday presents, a coffee pot, an office lamp, and other somewhat necessary household items. Bongiorni realizes how many businesses have been put under because they simply couldn’t compete with the cheap prices. (What I loved also was that she condemns Walmart for doing the same thing to many suppliers. I do not shop there anymore.)
Essentially, this book is about globalization. “Low wages, currency manipulation, and government subsidies help explain China’s place as the world’s top producer of consumer goods. So does the mind-boggling output of Chinese factories with more than 50,000 fast and energetic workers. As many as 2 million Americans have lost their jobs to Chinese competition.”
“China is the world’s largest producer of televisions, DVD players, cell phones, shoes, clothing, lamps, and sports equipment. It makes roughly 95 percent of all the video games and holiday decorations imported into the United States and nearly 100 percent of the dolls and stuffed animals sold here—an inconvenient fact for a family like ours with small children.”
You really can’t enjoy the unfolding of this book and her experiences without looking around your own house or stores and wondering about where it’s all headed. Is it a good or bad thing to be so dependent on such low-quality imports?
“My new connection to China explains another unforeseen benefit of our year without China. I was transformed as a consumer. I became mindful of the choices I was making. Shopping became something it never had been in decades of drifting through malls: meaningful. My hope is that readers will use my family’s experience to better understand how China is quietly changing their own lives and how the choices we all make as consumers shape China’s place in the world, and our own.”
This is a personal memoir covering the answer to becoming who he most wants to be and what faith means to him. The title comes from something President Bush (W) said to him one day after an interview. Gregory explores faith as he grows in his career, marriage, and parenthood. I enjoyed seeing certain news and political situations through his eyes. Gregory’s willingness to be vulnerable and truthful makes this worth the read.
“Like President Bush, I came late to real belief. I was in my late thirties when I set off on the religious journey that has led to my personal transformation. Through my faith, I have learned about my failings, and how they impact the people around me, and why it matters to be better. I have tried to grow and change, even transform where necessary. I still fail, but I’m still committed to growing in faith and belief.”
Thank you (again) to Janet for this recommendation. These are stories from all over the world, full of experiences that compel me to get moving! That we rarely return from a trip unchanged is the reason for going.
I love to read, but I think it’s OK to read less sometimes, and do other things. You read some fine, challenging books. Nearly everything I read is fiction, and not particularly worthy of review, but last month I read “Pastwatch” by Orson Scott Card, and just loved it. There is so much interesting history in it! It made me appreciate Christopher Columbus as a real human being, and also appreciate how dramatically he changed history. I think civilizations have fallen for essentially random reasons many times in the past.
Of course it’s ok to read at any speed whatsoever! Or read magazines. 🙂
thank you! so lovely to have some book reviews to help me get through this deep winter time (rain, dark)….I too struggle to stay up past my kids bedtime but hope to find a bit of time to read in the coming months!
That sounds like perfect reading weather to me. 🙂
You read very interesting books. I read almost nothing but murder mysteries…my hub wonders why I have sleep issues!