
I just finished The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which we’re reading for one of my book groups. Great read, and talk about place mattering in a book. This book was so funny and poignant and sad all at the same time. It would be a great book to teach in a sociology class…on gender, or ethnicity, or socialization, or inequality…any number of classes. But it also gets at interesting themes in regards to place. You love where you’re from (in this case, an Indian reservation), but you also know you have to get the hell out in order to ever become anyone. That’s such a central tension, at least in American society. I loved reading about that story from a Native American perspective, and seeing that Alexie acknowledges that it’s part of a larger American fabric. Lovely book.
For book group next week, we’re having our annual end of the year dinner (this particular book group is composed of college type folks, so we ene when the academic year ends), and our theme for this year is Native American foods. I’m thinking any dish with corn, squash or beans is properly Native American. And we’re interpreting this to broadly mean indigenous peoples of the North and South American continents, mainly so we can also have tequila. A lot of us were stumped as to what to cook for Native American food at first, and then the thought occurred to us that anything you cook with food that’s indigenous to the America’s is Native American. But also interesting to think about the culinary legacy of Native Americans.
I also finished Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, by Mary Roach, and you might see a review tomorrow. But, tomorrow is also the first annual Indiana Fiber and Music Festival, which combines two of my greatest loves….fiddle music and yarn. My fiddle teacher is playing with a group called West of Dublin (which technically, Madison is) and the list of vendors looks great. If you live in the Louisivlle or southern Indiana area, check it out.
I must confess, since it’s finally stopped raining around here, I’ve been spending a bit more time out digging in flower beds and less time blogging and reading, but such is life.
Come back Sunday for the debut of Blog In Place!
Ooo a blog hop! I've actually been looking to participate in a good hop lately. Exciting 🙂
Our whole county read TATDOAPI as our “Whatcom Reads” book a couple of years ago, and I brought high school students to one of his talks (there's a college campus across from the high school, and Alexie was speaking there as the finale to the county-wide read). He's hilariously candid in person, and – as you might guess – a fantastic storyteller, although decidedly uncensored, so I recommend going to one of his readings if you haven't yet had the opportunity and he shows up nearby…
And kudos to us: We both passed the 67 milestone!
Ilevinso, here's hoping folks hop by!
Laurie, nice to know Alexie is good in person. This would make a great community book. I could guess about the uncensored-ness a bit from the book, but I like earthy. Yeah, us, for passing the dreaded 67! We should celebrate.