Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week. Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer.
The zinnias in the backyard are hanging on and roses are still blooming on two bushes. It's been an on-again off-again kind of autumn, warm some days and cold on others. I expect that it will get cold for good this week.
My Halloween pumpkin outside got eaten and the neighbor's pumpkins have also become feasts for the squirrels. I heard that spraying polyurethane on the pumpkins will keep critters from gnawing on them.
No books in my mailbox last week, but I got some goodies from the library.
The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee, published September 1, 2015 by Simon and Schuster
I am finding lots of interesting facts. One is that the first Asian immigrants came by way of Spanish galleons sailing from Manila to Acapulco over 250 years, starting in the sixteenth century. The Asians were crew members from various countries on the ships; over the years some of them stayed in the Americas.
The other interesting fact is that Asian migration from their countries came about primarily as a result of European and American contact and interest in the countries, for trade or labor and also through conquest or war - in China, Japan, Korea, India and various Southeast Asian countries. Fascinating stuff, and I am only in the first few chapters.
The Feast of the Goat: A Novel by Mario Vargas Llosa, published November 13, 2001.
I read and enjoyed this Peruvian Nobel-prizewinning author's most recent book, The Discreet Hero, and decided to try more of his work. I have just started this novel about a woman's experiences during the rule of the dictator Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic.
Book description: Urania Cabral returns to her native Dominican Republic -- and finds herself reliving the events of 1961, when the capital was still called Trujillo City and one old man terrorized a nation of three million. Rafael Trujillo, the depraved, ailing dictator whom Dominicans called the Goat, controls his inner circle (including Urania's father, a secretary of state now in disgrace) with a combination of violence and blackmail. In Trujillo's gaudy palace, treachery and cowardice have become a way of life. But Trujillo's grasp is slipping. There is a conspiracy against him, and a Machiavellian revolution is already under way that will have bloody consequences of its own.
I am still reading two interesting nonfiction books -
Hubris: the Tragedy of War in the Twentieth Century by Alistair Horne and
The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge by Matt Ridley
After my nonfiction reading kick, I will get back to reading more novels. I've found a few on my shelf that I want to tackle.
Have you read any nonfiction recently?
The zinnias in the backyard are hanging on and roses are still blooming on two bushes. It's been an on-again off-again kind of autumn, warm some days and cold on others. I expect that it will get cold for good this week.
My Halloween pumpkin outside got eaten and the neighbor's pumpkins have also become feasts for the squirrels. I heard that spraying polyurethane on the pumpkins will keep critters from gnawing on them.
No books in my mailbox last week, but I got some goodies from the library.
I am finding lots of interesting facts. One is that the first Asian immigrants came by way of Spanish galleons sailing from Manila to Acapulco over 250 years, starting in the sixteenth century. The Asians were crew members from various countries on the ships; over the years some of them stayed in the Americas.
The other interesting fact is that Asian migration from their countries came about primarily as a result of European and American contact and interest in the countries, for trade or labor and also through conquest or war - in China, Japan, Korea, India and various Southeast Asian countries. Fascinating stuff, and I am only in the first few chapters.
I read and enjoyed this Peruvian Nobel-prizewinning author's most recent book, The Discreet Hero, and decided to try more of his work. I have just started this novel about a woman's experiences during the rule of the dictator Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic.
Book description: Urania Cabral returns to her native Dominican Republic -- and finds herself reliving the events of 1961, when the capital was still called Trujillo City and one old man terrorized a nation of three million. Rafael Trujillo, the depraved, ailing dictator whom Dominicans called the Goat, controls his inner circle (including Urania's father, a secretary of state now in disgrace) with a combination of violence and blackmail. In Trujillo's gaudy palace, treachery and cowardice have become a way of life. But Trujillo's grasp is slipping. There is a conspiracy against him, and a Machiavellian revolution is already under way that will have bloody consequences of its own.
I am still reading two interesting nonfiction books -
Hubris: the Tragedy of War in the Twentieth Century by Alistair Horne and
The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge by Matt Ridley
After my nonfiction reading kick, I will get back to reading more novels. I've found a few on my shelf that I want to tackle.
Have you read any nonfiction recently?
Sorry about your pumpkin but at least it didn't go to waste. LOL
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental My Sunday Memes
I'm on a nonfiction kick, too. I must add The Evolution of Everything to my list.
ReplyDeleteHere's my Sunday Salon.
Wow.... Some heavy reading there. It puts my efforts to shame! :-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any nonfiction lately, but I know a couple of bloggers who are having Nonfiction November. Maybe you should join them. :) http://www.sophisticateddorkiness.com/2015/10/nonfiction-november-come-celebrate-with-us/
ReplyDeletePoor pumpkins, I don't think the squirrels round my neck of the woods would have a clue what they are!!
ReplyDeleteHave a good week!
It looks tike you are reading a bunch of particularly interesting books.
ReplyDeleteI really want to read Llosa. Feast of the Goat sounds particularly good.
I do usually read a lot of non fiction. Sometimes I think that I am interested in too many subjects and thus my reading interests get divided.
The Alistair Horne book also looks like it is right up my ally.
How frustrating about the squirrels! We've had raccoons run off with pumpkins but I'm not sure if we've ever had squirrels eat them. Interesting books this week! I love my library! I always find such fascinating books there. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to going to the library more...I certainly go there a lot to donate my books...LOL.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your choices....and have a great week! Thanks for visiting my blog.
I read Non-fiction once in a while. The books you have sound really deep and thought provoking. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize pumpkins were so appetizing to squirrels but I guess it makes sense that animals might want to eat them considering how they love to help themselves to garden produce!
ReplyDeleteThe book about Asia sounds kind of interesting. I don't read a lot of nonfiction. When I do it is usually a memoir. The last nonfiction book I remember reading is A Walk in the Woods (we read it in book group over the summer).
Squirrels are so annoying! Both of your new books look great to me.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your reading this week, Harvee! Your choices sound quite interesting. I do enjoy non-fiction, and historical fiction as well.
ReplyDelete