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Book Ten for 2025: “Four Seasons in Rome”, Anthony Doerr

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If you have ever felt enchanted by a trip to Rome, you will find this memoir delightful and informative. It made me want to return just to stay a while, wander around, visit the more obscure places Doerr describes, people watch, eat, and drink local wine.

In 2007, Anthony Doerr, the 2015 Pulitzer Price Winner, won the Rome Prize to become a fellow at the American Academy in Rome. He and his wife, Shauna, moved to Rome with their newborn twins, Owen and Henry. This memoir memorializes the four seasons they spent living there. They learn to care for babies; wander throughout Rome visiting tourist sites, local restaurants, the butcher, the baker, the toy store; learn enough Italian to acknowledge all the Italians who stop to admire the babies; and attend the vigil for the dying Pope John Paul II.

While there intending to write his later novel (the one that eventually won the Pulitzer) and failing to do so, he does manage to write a short story which I have read in one of his collections and to read everything by Pliny the Elder. His discussions about his readings makes me want to read some of Pliny the Elder myself. As in his short stories and novels, Doerr’s descriptions, language, and observations delight and enchant. This is a wondrous book about one of the world’s oldest and most fascinating cities which he calls, “a Metropolitan Museum of Art the size of Manhattan with no roof, no display cases…

Book 50 for 2024: “Teddy and Booker T”, Brian Kilmeade

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I finished this book on New Year’s Eve, missing my goal of reading a book a week all this past year, but not by much. No excuses except one book I read was nearly 800 pages which took a bit longer.

This last book was full of surprising information. I had no idea that Teddy Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington were friends. This book is very detailed with loads of historical information about the lives of both of these men. Born worlds apart in terms of freedom, economics, and race, they both had a goal to further the status of Black people. In terms of his political future, Roosevelt made a big mistake when he invited Washington to the Whitehouse for a family dinner. Once this event became known, white people in the South were outraged. Jim Crow incidents, e.g. lynching, increased. Roosevelt felt he had to backtrack some to save himself and this included one his worst decisions in terms of racial equality. Meanwhile, they tried to hide their relationship more, did not visit each other as often, and Washington had to go to great lengths to appease some whites in the South to keep Tuskegee growing and flourishing. W.E.B. Du Bois viewed Washington negatively and thought he went too far to appease white people and did not do enough for his own race. Du Bois who had grown up free in the North did not understand Washington’s viewpoints and did not know what he did secretly to help Black people. If you are interested in the actual history of this period and how these three men affect the present, I highly recommend this book. There are 35 pages of references, notes, and documentation at the end of the books for those who want to read further on this topic and time period.

Book 44 for 2024: “Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions,” John Grisham and Jim McCloskey

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Without doubt this ranks among the most horrifying books I have ever read. Every life story (there are ten) discussed in detail illustrates failures in the US justice system:

–inept police, sheriff departments, and judges

–judicial corruption

-criminals paid to give false testimony in return for lower sentences or pay

-sheriff departments, police, and judges unwilling to admit they made a mistake when evidence clearly indicates they are in error

-racism

In one case ten years ago, an innocent person in Texas was actually put to death. The governor refused to acknowledge the evidence given to him that proved the person was innocent. The majority of the cases discussed in this book occurred in Texas although this sort of thing occurs throughout the country.

Note: One of the authors, Jim McCloskey, founded Centurion Ministries, the first organization in the world focused on freeing those wrongfully convicted. The state with the most exonerated individuals is Texas.

Book 41 of 2024: “Crazy Horse”, Larry McMurtry

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One of the saddest books I’ve ever read, this short piece of nonfiction details not only the life of Crazy Horse but also the demise of the traditional lifestyle of the Plains Indians. Crazy Horse has been the subject of endless legends and myths, many of which apparently have nothing to do with reality. He was not a chief; he often defied traditional Sioux customs. He was very much his own person. Among his people, he was especially known for his kindness and support of the poorest and weakest and for his prowess as a warrior. Crazy Horse died young due to not only white betrayal but also that of some of his own people.

I highly recommend this book if you are interested in this particular period of US history. At the end is a comprehensive list of sources with notes about each one of them.

Book 40 for 2024: “If We Are Brave: Essays from Black Americana”, Theodore R. Johnson

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Johnson, a columnist for The Washington Post, notes that the US was founded on a set of ideals but for much of its history agreement on what those are ideals are has not existed. What are these ideals, who are they for? Today there is little agreement on much of this. There seems to be a lack of a common vision on what a democratic system is and should be and for whom. The essays in this book address these questions both today and from the origins of the country when only white men who owned land could vote. This book also discusses how different races in the country and the changing predominance of cultures affects the ideals people hold and the kind of country they envision for themselves.

As a Black man who is a retired Navy Commander, he also discusses his own experience, extensive research, and personal views. This short book is an excellent primer on how different races and cultures experience living in this country and their varying visions of the meaning of democracy.

Book 37 for 2024: “Follow the Science: How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails”, Sharyl Atkinson

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The title tells it all. The author is an investigative journalist. The book is filled with details of varying science reports and studies. A lot of what she quotes is the opposite of the official narrative and science for vaccines in particular, especially those related to childhood vaccinations and Covid vaccines. Technically, both flu and Covid shots are not vaccines in that they do not keep the recipient from getting the disease in all cases like the vaccines for smallpox, measles, and polio do. This does matter in considering whether individuals should get the shots. She also discusses general public immunity in regard to flu and Covid, especially the latter. She also questions the claims that childhood vaccines as they are currently given never cause autism and whether some children are susceptible to extremely negative reactions to these vaccines when the majority of children are not. The main claim is that the giant pharmaceutical companies have enormous power to control the narrative about medications they produce, have huge influence with elected officials of both parties, and will do whatever it takes to make a profit on the drugs they manufacture.

Book Six for 2024: “Look At The Lights, My Love”, Annie Ernaux

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Who would have thought a person could write an entire book about a hyper market? I never heard of Auchan until I read this book. For those not in the know, located in France, it is described as a hyper-market on search engines. From Ernaux’s description and those on the Internet, I think there is nothing like it in the US. The author refers to it as a Supermarket, but it is nothing like what we call a supermarket here. It is a superstore, somewhat like the big box stores here but much more. It sells food, clothes, books, you name it, but not like Target or Costco. The bookstore is a separate area, as are many other little shops within the giant store, e.g the fishmonger. It is three stories, open 24/7, and according to the Internet, works toward being something for everyone while caring about the environment and such. The employees wear a uniform so in that regard they all look the same. The store attends to the needs of all the various religions of the people of France, Muslims, Jews, Christians, everyone. This is especially true when it comes to food. During certain holidays, the preferred food for that religious holiday becomes available.

Ernaux decides to go shopping there in 2012 and 2013 over a span of a year. She deliberately goes at different times of day to see if there are differences. There are. Certain groups of people shop early in the morning–like older people. Young singles go later, mom’s with children at a different time. When there is a no school day, gangs of teen girls show up to hang out and shop. When the weather is bad, people go there to escape. Once in a while someone recognizes her, tells her they love her writing, and they have a conversation. At the first floor entry where there are places to sit, she notices that older North African men seem to like to hang out there and watch the passerby’s.

She notices that while a person can shop in a sort of anonymity that is impossible while standing in the checkout line. Here your eating habits, what method you choose to pay, whether you have elderly people at home or babies or children are all on full display laying there on the conveyor belt for all to see. If you have to ask for help with the money, it exposes you as a foreigner. Yet people pretend they do not notice or care–perhaps they do not.

I occasionally go to Target, never to Walmart or Costco. Nevertheless, reading this book has made me notice things I never noticed before, and normally I am quite observant. Now even when I go to smaller grocery stores, I notice who is there, what they are buying. Sometimes people will ask me a question about something in the store. At places near my house, I sometimes see people I know and chat.

Superstores

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Masses of US residents apparently find superstores, or as an acquaintance calls them, big box stores, Costco, Walmart, Target, the perfect places to shop. The only positive aspect I can think of is that they are the only places, except for some giant supermarkets, where you can find people of every ethnicity and age in the same place at the same time. Nevertheless, there are differences. For example, Costco, a store I loathe, attracts people with more money than the people who shop at Walmart, even though income level of Walmart shoppers does vary some depending on the location of the store. I used to occasionally shop at a Walmart in a college town. Its clientele were obviously different from those at another Walmart located in one of the poorer neighborhoods in a medium-sized Texas city. I have only been to one Walmart in California. It seemed dingy, even a bit dirty, dismal, did not have what I needed. I left.

My son and two of my neighbors appear to love Costco and shop there often. The one time I went with my son, I could not leave fast enough. Who wants to buy all that stuff stacked so high no one can reach it anyway? They believe Costco has bargains. Really? My observation is, well, maybe, if you own a business or have a giant family and can buy masses of stuff at once. Thankfully, and, yes, I mean it, I live alone, have zero desire to hoard stuff so why would I ever want to shop there.

Occasionally, I have to go to Target to purchase copy paper and printer cartridges. I could get the latter online, but then it comes in this plastic wrapping that is not especially recycle friendly which haunts me. I hate waste. Target’s variety of shoppers is noticeable; even the checkout people are of obviously varying ethnicities. My favorite is this smiling middle-aged woman wearing a headscarf. She engages with customers, says something friendly, smiles even when the line is long and I’m certain she’s worked for hours. I wonder how she does it.

It occurs to me that I could go to Target–one is close to my house and I find it tolerable–pretend to shop, walk around, observe, and write an essay about everyone and everything I see. Since the nearest CVS drugstore shut down and moved to Target, I might even have a legitimate excuse to go there.

One Book a Week-41: “Woman of Light”, Kali Fajardo-Anstine

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This historical novel lead me to learn a lot about the history of the Denver area and nearby indigenous areas with regard to both Hispanic and other immigrants, e.g. Greek. I had no idea Denver was once such a racist place with the KKK marching in the streets and white men killing men of color over women and land.

The title comes from the nickname of the main character, Luz Lopez, luz being the Spanish word for light. The novel traces her family’s sad and unjust history from the indigenous areas of CO and NM where her family originated to their migration to Denver in search of work. Luz has special powers, reads tea leaves, initially works as a laundress, and lives with her aunt because her parents were both killed. Her brother, a snake charmer, has to leave town to save his life after white men beat him nearly to death because he dares to love a white woman. This is a book about survival, love, jealousy, hatred, joy, and the history of various indigenous and immigrant people in Colorado and New Mexico.

The author’s earlier book, “Sabrina and Corina”, a collection of stories, was a finalist for the National Book Award and won a number of other prizes.

Disappearance and Murder

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A 450 mile stretch of highway runs between two cities in British Columbia, Prince George and Prince Rupert. As part of the Trans-Canada Highway, it was completed in 1969. This event increased the disappearance and murder of First Nations (indigenous) women which began in the 1800s with the influx of miners near First Nations lands. More than 1200 First Nations women have disappeared or been found murdered in recent years. These women are 7 times more likely to be raped and/or murdered than any other group in Canada.

The United States fares no better. Approximately 7000 Native women have gone missing since 2016. If a non-Native person murders a Native person on tribal lands, tribal police cannot arrest the person; other law enforcement often fails to respond. In the US a Native women is 4.5 times more likely to be raped and/or murdered than any other group.

4 out of 5 First Nations, US Native, and Alaska Native women report experiencing violence.

For more information see “Hunted” on Al Jazeera English, powwow times.com, cnn.com, YouTube: Searching for America’s Missing Women. There are many other sources as well.