The Audacity of Hope

by Barak Obama

It's unfortunate that Obama begins his book with a bit of a history lesson on politics. Not that this isn't an appropriate place to start, it's just that several of our club members found it difficult to get going and instead jumped around in their reading, picking chapters by topic, not by page number.

We like to consider ourselves well-read, but honestly, this is the first "political" book for most of us in this club. Perhaps that says something important right there. The divisive quality of politics, of many political books, of many talk shows, has made us disaffected. We discussed the fact the the fairness-in-media doctrine was abolished back in Ronald Reagan's days. News shows and newspapers are no longer required to give equal time to both sides of issues.

But Obama's message of cooperation between political parties, his inherent understanding of multiple sides of an issue, and mostly his insistence that we are, all of us, equally important members of a great society, has brought us back to the table for a closer look.

Is Obama all talk and no action? Does he sit on the fence in so many ways that he'll be incapable of making tough decisions as a president? He's not spent much time in Congress; many of his votes have not been "yea" or "nay" but merely "present." Certainly in this book, Obama has consistently pointed out what he agrees with from both sides of issues. It works fine academically. One could say it's even democratic. But can he make it work in Washington? Those disaffected among us truly hope so. We like what we've read, but we worry that in the end, D.C. will either devour him or corrupt him.

There Is No Me Without You

by Melissa Fay Greene

This book is a riveting biography, an impeccably researched history of disease, an impassioned plea to adoptive parents everywhere, and an expose on the political and market corruption that cripples a nation's ability to care for its people. Talk about intense!

Haregewoin Teferra is an ordinary woman who loses her husband to a heart attack. Then, she loses her daughter to a sickness that no one can name: no one has heard of AIDS yet. In her grief, she haunts the graveyard, barely more than a ghost herself. The priest who sees her most often asks her to take in an orphan. The next thing she knows, Haregowoin has dozens and dozens of orphans for whom to care. No one else will take them in. And it seems they are multiplying by the minute.

Greene weaves Haregewoin's personal story into the larger picture of Ethiopa's political history, along with details surrounding the scientific explorations into how AIDS began. In chapters that could easily have been dry and boring, Greene's deft skill at handling statistics gives the staggering numbers the potency of a mother's war cry. She clearly discusses pharmaceutical industries, WTO agreements, patent rights... everyone fighting for their piece of profit from the cocktail of drugs that finally appeared to slow down the disease- all the while, AIDS continuing its genocide in Ethiopia and other third world nations.

The most heart-wrenching of all the stories are the tales of the orphans, the parents who died, and the new beginnings for these children in different lands far away from Ethiopia. Greene stresses repeatedly that to adopt these millions of AIDS orphans away from Ethiopia is not the best anwswer to this pandemic. To keep parents alive is the best goal.

See You in a Hundred Years

by Logan Ward

Ward writes a compelling story of one couple's experiment with living in the past. Frustrated by the crazy busyness of New York City- too much time spent at computers, eating in restaurants, traveling non-stop around the world for their jobs- they move to a farm in Virginia and dump themselves into an elaborately constructed "game" of living life as though the date were 1900. No modern technology: no computers, no phone, no indoor plumbing, no running water, no car, no grocery store... you get the idea.

Ward is honest enough in portraying his frustration first with New York life, then with his initial struggles over getting it right as he learns how to do things like milk a goat and plant a garden. Perhaps he's too honest: he impressed me as an impatient hot-head through the first half of the book. He is racing around trying to master every aspect of 1900s living in just a few months. Why does he think that such a huge lifestyle change will come quickly, easily or naturally? If his intent is to slow down and relax, he misses the boat, transplanting his type-A New York personality into this 1900s project. As he gained more confidence in his new tasks, his manner seemed to mellow, and I can't help but think that this project needed more than 1 year to truly begin to alter his perceptions of life.

The Wards had the luxury of setting up a one-year vacation from the real world, even if they self-imposed hardships on that vacation. They began the year by looking at 1900 in a nostalgic manner, thinking it was slower, less stressful, more real. Better somehow, because of its reliance on self-sufficiency. Yet there are plenty of people in third world countries that live a 1900s life everyday, whether they like it or not, due to poverty; their life is far from bucolic. So why make the effort to create all these rules of living when the core of what they were looking for was to slow down? Living off the land is as much a modern way of life as it is an ancient one. He has several fine examples of old and new working together in his neighbors.

After struggling with drought, they were fortunately able to harvest a large garden bounty. I can tomatoes, jams and sometimes peaches, and each time I do so, I take a moment to remember those who came before me - who relied on home-canned foods to survive a winter. I'm always proud of my 8-10 dozen jars of canned food, and I can only begin to imagine the time and effort it would take to can 300+ jars of food as the Wards did. It is a huge accomplishment.

By the time Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around, it's clear that the Wards have found some peace, and a connection with the land, their community, and each other that is truly priceless, and yes, hard to obtain (and maintain) in today's world.

But what a disappointment to get all the way through this adventure and not come away with a sense that the Ward family found a way to bring the best parts of 1900 to the present. Before their experimental year even ends, they are creating wish lists of what they miss most from the 2000s. I would have loved to have read a list of things they intended to continue doing. Because I think that the other important aspect of this experiement, one that he does not discuss, is how their 1900s life impacts the earth. Is living in this rural manner, using horse power instead of engine power, a better way to keep the earth's resources balanced?

Instead, Logan unearths the car, fixes the critter damage to it and suddenly, they are all over town- to the laundromat, having take-out for dinner... Will they return to using plastics? Will they sell the goats and buy milk from corporate farms? Will they continue to rely on their garden to keep their food costs local? What will happen to the peace of mind that they found by restricting themselves to those 1900 rules? Will it slowly be lost again as they return to a computerized life? Did they discover what parts of the 20th century they can truly live happily without? He does not elaborate on these questions. And I wish he had.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World

by John Wood.

What better way to start our book club than by reading about someone who is passionate about bringing books to children who would otherwise have no schooling? We found it hard to believe that he had so little trouble raising all that money! How does someone consistently go into a room full of people, give a speech, and come home with thousands of dollars? Not only is he a truly gifted salesman, he is blessed with a large network of very well-off patrons. His exhuberance is infectious; our first inclinations were to run out and join a trip to Nepal or, at the least, send a check.

I think that part of what makes the Room To Read program so successful is that it's familiar. Most Americans are used to having a local library. They are comfortable with the idea of donating books. It's not like he's stepping into living rooms and talking about overwhelming human rights abuses like genocide or malnutrition or AIDS. It's a happy thing to talk about putting books into children's hands. John Wood is busy lighting little candles of knowledge in young brains, and we all hope that his enthusiasm will give these kids good ideas about how to conquer problems in their own worlds as they grow.

A note on posting

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Now Open for Business!

Real Life Readers have met for the first time. We've compiled a list of books to discuss that will take us into the middle of next summer. The titles are listed left. If you missed this planning meeting, the following info will help you find your way around.

Yes, we welcome new members at any time.

There will NOT be a meeting in December. Our first meeting will be on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 - 1:30 - 2:3o

Meetings will be held the 2nd Tuesday of each month. It's best to read the book before the meeting. If you can't make meetings, but would like to be a regular author on this blog (rather than just posting occasional comments), please call the library and ask to speak with Barb.

The First Post

This blog will be used for book club members as a way to keep in touch between meetings and to further discussions. All book club members will be given Author status and will be able to publish posts directly to the blog.

This does not have to be limited to only the books we've discussed as a group. If you've just finished a great non-fiction book, this is the place to let your friends know what you think about it.