Waiting for Columbus

There are days when she wishes she could be blunt, or even violent.  She’d like to shake him-get the remaining stories to fall onto the ground.  Then they could stand around and look at the bones of his stories, all haphazard and abstruse on the pebbles.  In the clear light of day, they could perhaps make sense of these bones, put them in order, find the end, and more important, find the beginning before the beginning.

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Getting towards the end of books read in 2011 here, just these last three to go. In Waiting for Columbus Thomas Trofimuk presents us with an insane asylum with a new patient. A man is brought to this asylum in contemporary Spain insisting that he is Christopher Columbus. Through the stories he tells Nurse Consuela the reader is brought into the mind of this patient, a mind that has been so severely traumatized that histories fuse together.

Trofimuk does a great job of keeping the reader engaged in the story. This in no way is a straight telling of the Columbus we know from our history lessons. Trofimuk shows the many sides and complexities of the man, while weaving in enough anachronisms into the 15th century story to keep the reader wondering what exactly is going on (Columbus  has a phone what?), as this is no ordinary tale. It is not until the very last pages, when Columbus the patient has finally told years worth of tales of his life, that the reader finally understands exactly what happened.

This is a fairly long book, so it is a lot to ask of readers to be kept in the dark for so long, wondering if the pay off will all be worth it in the end, but the prose are strong and the story engrossing enough, that if you enjoy books that are as much about the journey as anything else, Waiting for Columbus should be right up your ally. Because of the style, the vast majority of the book feels like walking in unfamiliar territory in a really bad fog, one that you can’t even see your hand in front of your face it’s so bad. Which way is up? We have no idea, but that’s the point, and gives more bang for your buck if you stick with it through the end. This book is so much more than I’ve been able to describe here, it’s mystery, intrigue, romance, a puzzle in which the reader is just along for the ride.

Sex at Dawn

It is a common mistake to assume that evolution is a process of improvement, that evolving organisms are progressing toward some final, perfected state. But they, and we, are not. An evolving society or organism simply adapts over the generations to changing conditions. While these modifications may be immediately beneficial, they are not really improvements because external conditions never stop shifting.

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Asking whether our species is naturally peaceful or warlike, generous or possessive, free-loving or jealous, is like asking whether H2O is naturally a solid, liquid or gas. The only meaningful answer to such a question is: It depends.

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So, here’s another book that I’d heard so much about on the bookrageous podcasts that I knew I was going to have to read (apparently whenever someone gushes repeatedly about a book I must read it). Sex At Dawn takes a look at humans throughout their history and paints a picture on the opposite end of the spectrum of the “naturally monogamous” species of today. The book lays out how it was only with the rise of agriculture and of private property that the whole idea of one man and one woman exclusivity came to be. Out went the sharing lifestyle of the hunter gatherers, and in came ownership, over all things.

Sex at Dawn covers a lot of ground in its 400 or so pages and most of the time its breadth is to its benefit. It’s funny and engaging, informative without getting to bogged down in the weeds for the most part. If the idea that monogamy is a new social construct and in fact is most likely not inherent to humans is foreign to you, be prepared to have your mind blown. I mean seriously, the arguments and logic the authors put forth are pretty solid and there are a ton of great nuggets of information in here as well. Reading about the different cultures that handle sexuality and marriage in different ways is utterly fascinating. I think those were the parts I enjoyed the most.

This book isn’t saying that we shouldn’t form families, or pair bonds, or be used as a get out of jail free card for infidelity; it just asks that people reconsider the “inherentness” of monogamy, the “naturalness” of it, the idea that prehistoric life was “nasty, brutish, and short”. All in all, it’s an engaging and interesting book that makes the reader think. What does it mean for our society as a whole? Who knows, perhaps just knowing that every day in our relationships, we are making a conscious choice of how to act is something. Knowing that even if we are hard wired to want something other than monogamy that this is the choice we are making for whatever reason may make people look at things in a different light. Interesting read regardless of how to take the authors’ conclusions.

The Nobodies Album

Carolyn Parkhurst’s The Nobodies Album was the first full book I read while on vacation in Hawaii (yep, still haven’t caught up on what I read to finish our the year, but slowly making progress, I’m not even going to think about the 4 books I’ve already read this year). I had heard about it from Rebecca over at The Books Lady’s Blog either on her blog, on bookrageous (which if you haven’t checked out you need to, like now), or on twitter. It sounded interesting (that lady can sell a book) so when I saw it was available from my library in ebook form, I jumped at the chance to bring it with on vacation.

In the novel, our main character, Octavia Frost, author, is dropping off a manuscript of her new book-in which she has rewritten the last chapter of each of her previous books-when she hears the news that her estranged son-who is part of a well-known band-has been accused of murdering his girlfriend. Octavia decides, that despite the fact she hasn’t talked to Milo in years, she will fly out to San Francisco to see him and try to piece together the truth of what happened.

Interspersed between chapters of Octavia’s efforts in San Francisco, we also get the book jackets, original last chapter, and the alternate ending to all of Octavia’s novels. These often give the reader background information on Octavia’s life, her estrangement with her son Milo, and slowly tells the story of their lives’ tragedy in the past.

Weaving all these pieces of information and storylines into one coherent novel isn’t any easy task and I’d say that Parkhurst pulls it off quite well. Though I do often enjoy stories that are told from multiple perspectives so it’s not that surprising that this format worked for me since it was done well. I didn’t think it felt disjointed or jerky at all. Parkhurst also does an amazing job getting at the complex emotions and psychology of mother and son as well as the other couples in this story, and just the complexities of people in general. Now that I’ve finished this one, I’m interested to see what Parkhurst has written in the past, perhaps I’ll go back and read some of her previous works.

Gang Leader for a Day

We live in a community, understand? Not the projects- I hate that word. We live in a community. We need a helping hand now and then, but who doesn’t? Everyone in this building helps as much as they can. We share our food, just like I’m doing with you. My son says you’re writing about his life- well, you may want to write about this community and how we help each other. and when I come over to your house, you’ll share with me. You’ll cook for me if I’m hungry. But when you’re here, you’re in my home and my community. And we’ll take care of you.

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In Gang Leader for a Day, Sudhir Venkatesh is a grad student studying sociology at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. (It is the full version of what appears in a shorter form in Freakonomics)One day, as he is trying to have people from Chicago’s housing projects complete a survey for his research, he accidently finds himself taken under the wing of JT, one of the leaders of the Black Kings. By befriending JT, Sudhir spends the next seven years “observing” (but has Sudhir learns, he can’t just observe) JT, the Black Kings, and the inhabitants of the infamous Robert Taylor homes. As the title suggests, Sudhir gets his chance to run JT’s section of the Black Kings for a day and throughout his time with JT is introduced to the upper echelons of the Black Kings organization.

Sudhir’s book flows much more like a novel than a compilation of facts typical of some nonfiction books, and his experience with JT and the Black Kings is an interesting and unique one. It also deals a bit with Sudhir’s conflicting emotions about how he is, in a sense, using the residents of the Robert Taylor Homes, as well as JT, to further his research and academic standing as well as his feelings on being privy to the inner workings of a gang and everything that goes along with it. Sudhir is able to very vividly illustrate the inner workings of both the Black Kings and the Robert Taylor Homes, the complexities within each, and explain the attitudes of the residents which often would seem puzzling to those not living in this situation (e.g. letting the gang protect the residents because the police/ambulances won’t show up etc.). There is a lot of good information in this book that isn’t often discussed and it gives a different perspective and face to the residents of housing projects.

Scrumptious Sunday: Red Wine Cake

This cake is super easy and super delicious. It calls for 3/4 cup of any red wine, which makes it great to make if you haven’t quite finished a bottle of wine. The other fun thing about this cake is that depending on what red wine you use. I used a Mourvedre from Airfield Estates which is a little bit spicy which goes quite nicely with the chocolate and the cinnamon. It was a big crowd pleaser and I’m pretty sure I was told that it was the best cake I had ever made.

Red Wine Cake via Smitten Kitchen

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (179 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) white granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
3/4 cup (177 ml) red wine, any kind you like*
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (133 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (41 grams) Dutch cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1) Preheat oven to 325 F.
2) Spray  or parchment and butter a 9-inch round cake pan.
3) On medium speed, cream the butter until smooth. Add both sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4) Add egg and yolk to the mix and beat well, then add the red wine and vanilla. [The batter will look a bit bizarre, coagulated almost, don’t worry it’s fine.]
5) Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon over the wet ingredients. Mix until mostly combined, then fold until fully combined.
6) Spread batter into pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then flip onto rack and cool completely.

The Magician King

You didn’t get the quest you wanted, you got the one you could do.

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Earlier in 2011, I read Lev Grossman’s The Magicians which I enjoyed quite a bit. The word about the sequel, The Magician King was that it had all the things you loved about The Magicians and none of the stuff you didn’t; which after reading, I feel is a fair assessment. A lot of the wrinkles that popped up in Grossman’s writing/storytelling in the first one have been smoothed out, Quentin isn’t quite so angst-ridden, well he is but it doesn’t seem as annoying? He’s returned to Fillory with his friends to rule as kings and queens and he isn’t quite happy, what he really wants is more adventure, and boy does he get it. He starts by volunteering to go on a diplomatic mission to the farthest island in Fillory but what he gets is so much more. We also get to hear the backstory on Julia, his friend of the “real” world who didn’t make it into Brakebills, which is an interesting and well-told, and CRAZY story. Quentin and Julia find themselves questing all around and in the mean time all sorts of crazy and terrible things are happening back in Fillory. We get a few new characters to fill the gaps left at the end of the last book and we find ourselves acquainted with some familiar faces.

Oftentimes, a sequel doesn’t quite stand up to the first in a series, or books in the middle of a series sometimes drift off, but I think I can say with full confidence that this sequel is even better than the first.

There were quite a few, I can’t believe that just happened, moments, and the ending oh boy, I did NOT see that coming. I read somewhere that this is going to be trilogy (of course I can’t find that source now, other than just a passing reference that this is the second in a trilogy, maybe that’s all we know right now?) but if so, I’m excited to see where Grossman takes us next, especially in light of how this one ended.

I read the vast majority of this on my long plane ride from DC to Seattle back in December, and it definitely kept my attention the whole way through. If you read and enjoyed The Magicians, definitely continue with this one. Depending on what your issues with The Magicians were, you might find you enjoy the sequel since I really do think Grossman improved the story immensely.

Indiespensable Volume 30: The Marriage Plot

So, as I’m currently reading Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Marriage Plot, I realized I never did a post for the Indiespensable shipment that it came with! This one came to me back in November I think. Obviously, The Marriage Plot was a long time coming so there was a lot of excitement around the novel. So what else came in Indiespensable 30?


Of course there was the signed, slipcased copy of The Marriage Plot and this time a full, final copy of another book, Silas Marner by George Elliot.





Volume 31 will ship January 25th (it was a long wait for this one!) and will include Naomi Benaron’s Running the Rift.