Pretty Little Mistakes, Part III

I'm still cranking away at this book - the book with 150 possible endings. I probably have only gotten through half of them? I'm really enjoying it, even more now that I've figured out the best way for me to read it (see previous post). I thought I'd use today's post to share some of the ways I've kicked the bucket in the book:

1. Drowned
2. Suicide
3. In my sleep/old age
4. Choked on a mango
5. Choked on elk jerkey
6. By a terrorist bomb
7. Food poisoning
8. Car accident
9. Struck by lightning

Some very interesting ways to go, if I do say so myself.

Pretty Little Mistakes, Part II

What else has happened to "me" while reading Pretty Little Mistakes?

1. Joined a cult
2. Moved to Duluth and baked pies at Betty's Pie Shop
3. Lied about a pregnancy to get a guy to marry me
4. Taught art in Minneapolis
5. Had an affair with an Italian millionaire
6. Designed shoes for Bergdorf's

I've figured out a better way to read this book. At least better for me. Instead of reading straight through a scenario and then starting over again, I mark my pages at each "choice" page. Then when I'm finished with one route, I go back to the previous section and choose the alternative. Once that route ends, I go back two sections and choose the alternative, and so on. I like this tactic because then I get to read the multiple endings to one storyline right after another - it feels more satisfying to me, plus it's easier to remember what paths I took. I'm not sure how long it will take to finish this book, but it could also be a good book to set down for awhile and pick up again later, since it reads so fast and it's more like a group of short stories, instead of a novel.

Pretty Little Mistakes

I started reading Pretty Little Mistakes this week. The book is written by Heather McElhatton, a producer for Minnesota Public Radio and a frequent contributor to NPR's This American Life. Do you remember Choose Your Own Adventure books from when you were younger? Pretty Little Mistakes is like that, but for adults.

Definitely for adults.

You start at high school graduation. Should you go to college, or travel? After you make that choice, 150 possible endings exist. So far, I'm enjoying it. It's a quicker read then I expected. I can get through one "life" in less than 20 minutes, which is nice for bus rides or reading before bed. Once you get through one life, you start over again. It's humorous, too. The one thing I find interesting is that so far I've tried to make the responsible choices: going to college, not dropping out, etc., and it ends up not working out so well for me. (These are just three examples, and out of 150 possible endings, I don't think it's spoiling things too much.)

Story 1:
I choose to go to college. I major in art. I form an artists' club. Other members decide to make a statement by streaking at the next football game. I choose to stay behind at club headquarters. While alone there, I'm sexually assaulted. The police never find the guy. Since I don't feel safe, I buy a gun. I see my attacker, but choose not to kill him. I choose to testify. The stress kills me and I die on the witness stand. I'm curious to find out what would happen if I killed him (or chose not to testify)?

Story 2:
I choose a science major, which is very stressful, but I choose not to drop out from the stress. Instead, I get addicted to meth. I graduate and become a pharmaceutical rep. I choose not to give doctors incentives to buy my product. I get fired. I get cancer from all the meth-taking. This story does end better, as I survive the cancer and make a difference in the end.

Story 3:
I choose to travel. I go to England. I meet an Indian transvestite and travel with her to her home country. I eat an apple there. I get hepatitis and die.

These ones just cracked me up, and as my first three trips through the book, made me wonder if any of my "lives" would end up happy. But, I've had some good stories, too. I'll keep you posted.

The Zookeeper's Wife, Finale

I finished this book over the weekend. I really enjoyed it. I liked that while reading something that felt like a novel, I learned the true stories of Warsaw during the war. I learned of the cruelties and of the bravery.

I learned about the Ghetto Uprising when the Jews fought the Germans with rocks, sticks and fists (they had no weapons) and held them off for nearly one month. After the Ghetto fell, the Poles took over with the Warsaw Uprising, in which Antonina's husband Jan went and fought.

I learned that while the Soviets were fighting through from the East, for political reasons, they stopped short of Warsaw and didn't help the Poles fight. They watched thousands die, the rest eventually surrender and then be shipped off to POW camps (including Jan).

After the war was over, people estimate that the population of Warsaw fell from 1.5 million to 500,000. These people came back to a city bombed to the ground. They lived in caves, holes in the ground, etc., because their homes were ransacked and destroyed. The city was then under Soviet rule. The kids went to Soviet school where they were taught that parts of the war never happened.

It was a moving, interesting story. The author really makes you connect to the characters, specifically Antonina. Some parts of it can be a little staggered when she throws in some historical references or jumps to other characters suddenly, but overall, it doesn't take away from the very importance of the story.

Literary Legends

I received a press release about a new series presented to the Twin Cities by The Loft Literary Center and the Hennepin Theatre Trust: Literary Legends. From March to October the series welcomes literary greats for special in-person appearances. I'm really excited about this, not only because I would love to see a few of them speak, but because I think gaining access to authors is a cool experience for many of us. Here's a bit from the press release:

Literary Legends launches March 30 with Mary Oliver, the beloved American poet acclaimed for her lyrical connection to the natural world, and recipient of the Pulitzer, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the National Book Award. The series continues on June 23 with the groundbreaking Armistead Maupin, who is now back with more eagerly awaited “Tales” in his 2007 book “Michael Tolliver Lives.” October 2 brings a not-to-be-missed opportunity to hear David McCullough, two-time recipient of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, comment on the U.S. presidency as the country prepares for an historic election. October 17 offers another special highlight with Khaled Hosseini, the Kabul-born author of two recent worldwide best-sellers—“The Kite Runner,” just released as a hailed yet provocative film, and “A Thousand Splendid Suns.” On October 19, David Sedaris, the funny and sardonic perennial favorite of the literary world, reads from his much anticipated next collection “When You Are Engulfed in Flames.”

Minnesota Public Radio also offers up great authors to Twin Citizens through Talking Volumes. One I would love to see: Judy Blume. In June she talks about her new children's series, an off-shoot of her hit "The Pain and the Great One." I read that book so many times when I was little.

What author would you love to see if you had the chance?

The Zookeeper's Wife, Part II

Just a few thoughts:

1. The bravery: In this book, Jan risks his life every day, sneaking into the Warsaw Ghetto (a space no larger than 15 blocks, filled with disease, that holds thousands of Jews) and sneaking out with one prisoner at a time. I want to think if faced with a situation like this, I would be one to be brave, but it's hard to know for sure. Anyone who survived this time (or any forms of genocide that exist today) are true heroes.

2. The number of Germans who also risked their lives by looking the other way. Jan couldn't have sneaked into the Ghetto if it weren't for a very powerful Nazi covering for him. It's a least a bit hopeful knowing they weren't all bad.

There was a marathon of Band of Brothers on the History Channel this weekend. An excellent series about Easy Company's fight throughout WWII. In one of the final episodes, the company comes across a concentration camp. It's 1945. The troops have never heard of these camps. They didn't know this was going on, even when they landed in Normandy, even when they fought in the dead of winter at Bastonge. If any of those soldiers had any doubt about why they were fighting, I think those doubts must have vanished when they saw all the dead bodies and the hundreds of starving people. It made me think of this book. At least people like Jan and Antonina saved a small percentage.

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

This true story takes place before and throughout WWII when the Germans invaded Poland. Married couple Jan and Antonina love animals and own Warsaw's zoo. When the animals are lost because of the war, the couple starts hiding Jews within the walls, caves and cages of the zoo - saving hundreds from a dreadful fate.

Author Diane Ackerman takes notes from history, scenes from Antonina's diary and snippets of interviews with the survivors. She discusses the family's love for animals - they had some amazing ones on display for the 1930s, I think. She also teaches the reader more about the war, and how Hitler felt this ethnic cleansing was necessary. At the same time, there are other zoologists in Germany who are trying to do the same with animals - recreate extinct species by killing off the weak herds and mating only the most dominant, the most pure.

Jan was a solider in his younger days, so as a leader of the Resistance's Underground, not only does he help hide and transport Jews to safety, he hides weapons under the Germans' noses, derails trains with bombs and poisons Nazis with worm-infested meats. And he gets a real kick out of it. :)

This book is a fast read - and I'm loving it.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Finale

I finished! How I feel (not in totality, just a few points):

1. If our medical system had a better interpreter policy in place, things may have turned out better for the Lees (and many others in similar situations).

2. Perhaps we truly are over-medicated as a population? While I would want doctors to work their hardest to cure me, maybe all the meds they pump into us hinder our health, too?

3. There is a high population of Hmong in Pennsylvania. They sew products for the Amish, so they can still be labeled "made locally." I thought this was hilarious, and hubby made a comment about how sad it is when even the Amish "outsource."

4. We all need to be more tolerant. A huge discussion in the book was about the thought that because a majority of Hmong are on welfare, they're lazy freeloaders. In actuality, we're the ones who forced them out of their mountain homes in Laos. We're the ones who brought them here. We're the ones who put them on welfare. The Hmong families Fadiman talked to in the book just want to work - they want to grow their own food, work in their own fields, build their own homes. We definitely don't make this easy for them.

5. However, in terms of No. 4, we can only be more tolerant if we're fed all the information. Our leaders keep these sorts of things pretty hush hush. So, we need more books like this one - and they need to be read.

It was an eye-opening book. I was pulled in many different directions - still am. It's definitely worth a read. Once you do, come back and tell me what you think about it. I'm dying to hear other people's opinions.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Part III

This book is very dense, so it's taking me awhile to get through it. But it's a good kind of dense. Not boring at all. In between the story of Lia's family's fight with her doctors, Fadiman tells the backstory of the family and how they arrived in the U.S.

I've learned about the U.S. secret war, or "Quiet War" or Laotian Civil War, in Laos during Vietnam. A war that was so secretive people still don't know all that much about it. Hundreds of thousands of Hmong people fought on our side during this Quiet War, and thousands and thousands died. The war was led by General Vang Pao. (If the name sounds familiar, he was in the news last summer for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government of Laos.) When Vang Pao had to surrender after many years of fighting, the remaining Hmong were displaced from their homes and had to migrate to Thai refugee camps, and then many eventually came here and were spattered about the country. Lia's parents made this journey, losing children and other family members along the way.

Fadiman then talks about what happens when Hmong arrive here: how they're treated, how they act, how they survive. The facts are not uplifting. But I'm enjoying this book for the fact that I'm learning a lot about a culture and a time in history that they don't teach you about in school.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Part II

I’m so torn with this book! I try to be culturally sensitive and respect the way Lia’s parents want to medically treat her. Also, the communication barrier is impossible to break. These parents don’t understand how to administer the medicine, which only frustrates the doctors more. I can see the difficulties from both sides. On one hand, these doctors really just want what’s best for their patient, but they can’t communicate this to her parents. On the other hand, the Lees are very wary of Western medicine as it is, and when the meds don’t show instant improvement, they stop administering them to Lia. Fadiman writes about how residents and pediatricians at this hospital are physically sick because of this family – they’re depressed, stressed, nervous, confused. Their ability to make this patient better is hindered by the cultural barriers. One doctor, knowing what a trial it is to work with the Lees, would vomit before each meeting. How awful. But, I also know if I lived in another country and I got sick (or a family member did) and I couldn’t communicate with the doctor or read the prescription information, well, I’m not sure I would take the medicine either – or I would probably administer it wrong.

I know every doctor can’t be expected to know the ins and outs of every culture that may walk through his/her door. When is it OK to talk to an English-speaking relative? When must you address an elder? Do they have certain beliefs that deter them from following certain instructions? It seems wrong to me that the best option of communication they may be able to find is a Hmong janitor who speaks a bit of English. How is either side supposed to trust a stranger to communicate the most personal of problems?

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

I’m barely into this book, but I’ve already learned so much. This is why I love to read nonfiction and literary journalism, such as this, The Overachievers, Postville, etc. I leave the book with so much more knowledge then when I began. This book looks at a Hmong family living in California and how they disagree with the doctors on how to treat their epileptic daughter. So far I’ve learned the history of the Hmong people, which I have to say, I knew nothing about. They’re a fierce people and definitely don’t like to be pushed around. When it comes to your children, I think that’s a good quality to have.

One thought that stuck with me so far was in the author’s, Anne Fadiman, preface, when she talks about how when she set out to tell this story, she figured she could remain neutral and the facts would tell her who was right and who was in the wrong. In the end, she ended up liking both sides and learned to think differently about the situations at hand. I thought immediately of my sentiments regarding Postville. Here again, it’s not about right or wrong. It’s about finding common ground – respecting the other’s culture/way of thinking. I’m anxious to learn how it all turns out.

The View From Mount Joy

The first of my holiday selections I decided to read was Lorna Landvik’s latest. Landvik, a native Minnesotan author, actress and humorist, has written many novels that take place throughout the state. I’ve enjoyed them all, some more than others, and The View From Mount Joy falls right in the middle. (My favorites? Tall Pine Polka and Patty Jane’s House of Curl.)

Landvik’s books always revolve around quirky characters and families, and usually women. However, this book is narrated by a guy. It opens as Joe, the narrator, starts high school (in the 70s), having moved from Wisconsin to Minneapolis. He strikes up an interesting “friendship” with the head cheerleader Kristi and an unbreakable, platonic bond with hippie Darva. The book follows Joe through the next 30 years, and how these two women float in and out of his life – sometimes remarkably, sadly, full of fun and infuriatingly.

Landvik’s humor is always flowing strongly through her novels. You’ll laugh out loud and cry, too. I think I prefer when she takes the p.o.v. of women, but she did a pretty good job writing from a male perspective, too. Many of her other books take place in out state Minnesota, so it was fun to read about Lake Hiawatha and other Twin Cities landmarks that I know more about.

Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled and More Miserable Than Ever Before

I’m working on a column for one of the publications for which I write/edit. I decided to take a look at the generation gap in the workforce (since the magazine is a business one). Right now Gen X (depending on who you ask, those born 1965-77) and Gen Y (1978-1990) make up a majority of the workforce. Soon the Baby Boomers will retire and Gen Y will actually be the majority of the workplace workers. As all of these newbies are entering the workplace, Boomers are having a little trouble relating. I felt this was an interesting topic to explore.

There have been many books and articles written about this new generation – Y or Millennials or whatever you want to call them (us). “Adults” can’t seem to figure us out. I first got fired up about this topic in November when I saw a 60 minutes segment, “The Millennials Are Coming.” Some of the things these experts claimed: we’re spoiled, selfish, self-absorbed and don’t know what it’s like to punch a time clock. I know there are exceptions to every rule, but if I look at my entire circle of friends, I can actually find many exceptions staring back at me. So, something has to be wrong with this theory, right?

I picked up Generation Me by Jean M. Twenge to read up on her insights. She lumps some of X, Y and Millennials into one group: GenMe (1970-2000-ish). So, at 33, she’s considered a member. I haven’t read to book in its entirety, just the introduction and all the parts relating to the workplace, but I find her insights interesting. While we may be more forward and feel more entitled – after all our parents (those same Boomers) told us we could do whatever we want – we do have more acceptance of diversity, more knowledge of new technology, the ability to think outside the box and the willingness to learn new things.

Twenge also covers sex, equality and depression in her book. At the end, she offers suggestions to older generations on how to relate better to the puzzling beast that is GenMe. I didn’t agree with everything she had to say, because she is forced to generalize, but I did learn more about myself and more about how older generations think as well.

Love is a Mix Tape, Finale

I finished this book last night. I read about Renee's death on the bus, but it didn't make me cry like I thought it would. Maybe that's because I knew it was coming for the entirety of the book? I mean, it says so right on the back. However, the final two chapters made me weep as I read before I went to bed. He talked about what it meant to be a widow, a young widow. You're this animal alone in your world. No one knows what you're going through. All your friends still have their significant others. He talked about all the new bands and songs that came about after Renee's death that she would love and how hard it was to love something without her to share it with him.

Sadder for me then her death, was Rob telling how he eventually (many years later) fell in love again. It felt like a betrayal to me, though in my heart of hearts, I know it would be important to let yourself love again. I loved this book and I highly recommend it to those who love music, all kinds of music, and those who love deeply every day.

********

On a musical note, I've been listening to Liz Phair this week. I can think of no other person but Willikat when I listen to Liz Phair, and not because she met Liz or loves her to death, but because it brings me back to one of the first times I hung out with Willikat. I remember sitting on the floor of her college apartment bedroom as she played Liz songs for me over and over, and sang her favorite parts to me. Willikat makes some of the best mix CDs and I'm lucky to be the proud recipient of a couple of them myself. Just as I'm lucky to be her friend.

My bff 4you also made a very special mix CD for me, featuring lovely, but rockin', songs by PJ Harvey, Liz Phair and a bonus Offspring track. I played this CD as background music on the first several dates with hubby - we would stay up late talking, listening and laughing to this CD. Those songs will always hold a special place in my heart, bringing me back to the time I fell in love for real life and for forever.

Love is a Mix Tape, Part II

The last few chapters I've read have been about when Rob met Renee, their courting days and then their marriage. He writes about how they used to go for drives and sing along to the music, doing duets - her Mary, him Peter and Paul, etc.

This reminded me of an ultimate geekdom story from my past: Sitting on the marching band bus on the way to a parade sophomore year of high school, alternating the parts of California Dreamin' with the back of the bus. Whenever I hear that song (which is often as it's on my iPod, thank you Forrest Gump soundtrack) I think of this time in my life. Every time.

Rob also talks about adjusting to living with someone, and the fights you have. It's funny how all couples fight about pretty much the same things. When they fought, he liked to wash dishes to make himself calm down. His washing dishes mix tape was the Top 40 hits of 1992. You know, Kris Kross "Jump" (sixth grade Halloween party for me); Madonna "This Used to be my Playground" (remember A League of Their Own?); and Right Said Fred "I'm Too Sexy" (who doesn't have memories about this song?).

Love this book so far.