Hawaiian Reading: Aloha, Mr. Lucky

January 3013 Rodney and I visited Oahu, Hawai’i and I loved it! We are now planning a second trip to Hawai’i next spring. To prepare for this trip I am reading books that are related to Hawai’i in some way. In my Hawaiian reading I am hoping to find interesting places to visit, learn a bit about Hawai’i and, of course, have an enjoyable read. To that end I am going to rate each book on those three criteria: Interesting Places, Learning and Enjoyment.

I must say it is harder to find non-tourism related Hawaiian books than I expected. I have library cards at three different public library systems and I was only able to find a handful of books about or based in Hawai’i. In the end the first one that I could get ahold of to read was “Aloha, Mr. Lucky” by Corson Hirschfeld.

The first few pages of this book are hard going. There are characters popping up left and right, there is a bit too much subterfuge and not enough clarity, and a few scenes that are just plain ooky. Once you are past those pages though it all starts to make sense and you are rewarded with a fast paced mystery. How did it stack up against my Hawaiian Reading Criteria? Well, let’s find out.

Interesting Places

This book did explore some interesting places, while many are part of the author’s imagination, many can be visited.  Some of the places Mr. Hirschfeld uses in the book are: The Nu‘uanu Pali Lookout, Mauna Loa and the volcanos of the Big Island of Hawai’i and a place he calls Pali Uli also on the Big Island of Hawai’i. (I believe that his Pali Uli is a fictional place and not related to the Pali Uli Gardens on Maui or The Pali Uli Plan on Second Life.)

We did not visit the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout when we were last in Hawai’i. I am quite excited to add that to our list for next spring. We do not plan to go to the Big Island, but I did enjoy learning a bit about volcanoes in this book. While the Pali Uli in this book appears to be fictional I did get a feeling of the diverse wildlife and plants to be found on Hawai’i from his description of it.

Learning

I did learn about Hawai’i. The author explored a bit of politics, culture and legend. While I am sure that much of what he wrote is farfetched, I can see a nugget of truth here and there. It certainly opened up some ideas of where to explore for more information. He wrote about the Sons of Pele, which seems to be a fictional group, but it makes me want to read some books from a Native Hawaiian perspective.  He also went very deep into the legends and lore surrounding Pele. I now want to read more about those legends to see where he was fudging the truth and where he was not.

Enjoyment

Hmmm… enjoyment. Yes, in the end I did enjoy this book. I do not normally read this kind of mystery. I usually read cozy mysteries that do not have quite as much violence. Once it got going I was pulled along by the action and I felt it had a mostly satisfying conclusion. If it were not about Hawai’i though I am not sure I would have made it through the book.

In the end I gave this a Goodreads rating of three stars. Since Mr. Hirschfeld’s other books are not set in Hawai’i, and since that was my biggest draw to this book, I will not be reading them. Though, maybe in the future, if I come upon them at the right time I might read them. I am certainly not going to go out of my way to find them though.

Aloha!

Book Review: 52 Loaves

I stayed up late last night reading 52 Loaves: One Man’s Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning and a Perfect Crust by William Alexander. I actually started reading this book a couple of weeks ago, but due to illness and other things it got set aside. I finished reading it this morning and I have spent all day trying to decide what I thought about it. Certainly, it is an engaging and fun story full of interesting facts. I was charmed by its weaving of monastic life into the life of bread, for I am fascinated by all things monastic. It is also quite probable that I will try to reproduce his recipe at some point.

Yet, there is something that irritates me about this book. Mr. Alexander goes to great lengths to show that he feels that there is something honest and true about a loaf of bread, but his contempt for those that do not see bread the way he does is palatable. The right and true way is his way, i.e. the way of those with more sophisticated tastes than say a judge at a state fair.

Don’t get me wrong, he is right, good bread is hard to find. Walk through any grocery store bread aisle and you will find an unappetizing blend of chemicals and fake bread smell. And sadly most bakery bread is only slightly better. People from all walks of life realize this and are trying to make good bread at home. Yet he constantly shows despair for home bakers. This really grates on me, possibly because I am a home baker.

It is possible that he is overstating his position for comic effect. It is also possible that I am just taking it all too seriously. Then again maybe I am just tired of reading about the “simple life” fantasies of people who can afford to fly to France for a couple of weeks at a time. Read the book and take up your position.

Balms and Salves

I ordered this book a week or so ago from The Essential Herbal site and I LOVE it. About a month or so ago, I started a Plantain and Violet Salve from the herban lifestyle blog. I was excited to be able to use "weeds" from my yard to make something useful. I thought that the method on the herban lifestyle blog was easy, but the method in this book is even easier and there are so many ideas! I will be able to make gifts for everyone on my Christmas/Yule list this year. 

Book Review: The Sweet Life in Paris

I have spent the last couple days being ill and reading "The Sweet Life in Paris" by David Lebovitz. The writing was bright and fun, but I now am not sure I ever want to go to Paris. Oh, I want to eat in Paris, but now I am afraid of bodily harm walking the streets of Paris. Several of the essays are about the rudeness of Parisians and how they and other French people all know it. It does not make it some like a "fun" trip. His descriptions of chocolate shops and bakeries do, however. So I guess if I am feeling brave and really crazy for chocolate I will buy tickets, until then I will just fulfill my chocolate needs from the wonderful recipes in this book.