Book Review: Borneo Tom by Tom McLaughlin

Title: Borneo Tom: Stories and Sketches of Love, Travel and Jungle Family in Tropical Asia  
Author: Tom McLaughlin
Perfect Paperback: 132 pages
Publisher: Tom McLaughlin; August 27, 2010
Genre: travel memoir and sketchbook. Objective rating: 4/5

In a nutshell: A former biology teacher from Maryland and divorced father of two relocates to Malaysian Borneo, where he finds love and adventure, and documents in this book his southeast Asia observations during his travels with his adult children and his new wife. Sketches were done by Waterfront Niki of Sarawak, Borneo.

My comments: I enjoyed reading about Tom's travels throughout southeast Asia and his  lively observations about the places, people, and the wildlife of  several countries - Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Burma, and Malaysia - plus his trip to Chengdu, China to see the pandas at the research center there. Each page of his book is an essay in itself, with accompanying full page sketches of Tom and the scenery. These clever and often humorous sketches were a great accompaniment to Tom's narrative.

Tom also tells us about Alfred Wallace, the little known naturalist who collected and studied animals in southeast Asia and who may have contributed significantly to Darwin's theories of natural selection described in "The Origin of Species."

Besides the local wildlife descriptions, Tom narrates about the local culture as well -  a marriage ceremony, food preparation, his courting of his present wife, and his marriage. I thought it was a really nice gesture that Tom flew his two daughters to Bali with him and his new wife during their honeymoon.

About the author: All the proceeds from Tom McLaughlin's books go toward supporting the Matang Wildlife Center, which rehabilitates orangutans and other wildlife.

This book was a complimentary copy provided for the Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour of Borneo Bob, touring October to December.

Sunday Salon: Yoga, Anyone?

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I've taken up yoga! I've dabbled with yoga in the past, attending a class or two and reading yoga how-to books. I dropped in to three classes by different teachers this week and like what I found. I didn't even mind working up a sweat. It felt and feels good! Next on the list was to get yoga togs. Doing yoga in sweats just doesn't cut it; they bunch up.

Thanks to reading Yoga Bitch by Susan Morrison last week, I am now a dedicated yoga fan. Last week I also reviewed Endangered by Pamela Beason, a mystery novel about a missing toddler and the great outdoors, plus endangered cougars in Utah. The other book I read was for a blog tour - The Personal History of Rachel DuPree, a novel about African-American homesteaders in the South Dakota Badlands in the early 1900s.

Right now, I'm reading a travel memoir for another tour Borneo Bob, which I'll post tomorrow.

What have you been reading recently?

Book Review: Endangered by Pamela Beason

Title: Endangered  (A Summer Westin Mystery)
Author: Pamela Beason
Publisher: Berkley; paperback
Publication date: December 6, 2011
Objective rating: 4.5/5

Sam scoffed. "Well, of course in California! People there go jogging through wild areas like they're running down Hollywood Boulevard."

In a nutshell: Sam Westin, a wildlife biologist and photojournalist doing a news feature on the mountain lions in a park in Utah, becomes involved in finding a missing two-year-old, Zack, who wandered off from his parents in the park campground. She is determined to find the child alive and prove that a human, and not the cats, were responsible for Zack's disappearance.

My comments: A lover of wildlife and the outdoors, although mostly while sitting in my armchair, I was attracted by both the cover and the title of the book. It did not disappoint. The book takes you through the canyons, mesas, plateaus of the rugged and wild park, in search of elusive mountain lions or cougars and in search of a two-year-old who might have been taken by several people - a human predator, by his father looking for ransom money, by hunters who want to be able to shoot the cats legally, or by Coyote Charlie, a reclusive and elusive hermit who lives in the wilderness.

It was a wild ride and trek with Sam and FBI investigator Chase Perez, who also becomes Sam's love interest in the novel, possibly edging out her longtime friend Adam, a news editor who seems more interested in getting a good story than he is in helping Sam.

A very enjoyable read that I recommend to all cozy readers and wilderness lovers.

A complimentary copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher.
© Harvee Lau 2011

Book Review: Yoga Bitch by Suzanne Morrison

"Guiding my friends through the poses with Indra's voice in my ear, I remembered something about yoga that was easy to forget in the world of celebriyogis and sacred schwag. At its best, it nourishes something real in me. Something vulnerable and authentic, where I am most myself. "(p. 298)

Title: Yoga Bitch: One Woman's Quest to Conquer Skepticism, Cynicism, and Cigarettes on the Path to Enlightenment by Suzanne Morrison
352 pages. Three Rivers Press, August 16, 2011
Genre: memoir. Rating: 5/5

In a nutshell: Undecided about her future, the author tries to find spirituality and a role model at a yoga camp in Bali, Indonesia. Though she becomes disillusioned with the camp toward the end of the two-month period, the training experience has a solid influence on her life years later.

Comments: Written with a lot of humor, and down to earth in her approach to yoga, the author details her yoga retreat, the yogis, her yogamates, the food and environment, and of course, the exercises and practices taught by her Seattle yoga masters, Lou and Indra.

One of the humorous events that Suzanne writes about is her experience with Bali Belly, a stomach ailment akin to Montezuma's revenge or diarrhea and severe cramps. Lou and Indra's yoga practice advocated drinking her own urine, which is supposed to have a strong anti-toxin effect, instead of taking antibiotics. Suzanne is reluctant to drink her own waste but gives in when she has no other alternative. Happily, she is cured by this urine therapy, but never takes this cleansing drink again, unlike her roommate Jessica, who sips from her coffee cup every morning, eyes closed, the sun on her face.

Suzanne gets discouraged when her role model Indra starts to focus on money, but in spite of this, the camp experience  and her own "enlightenment" continues to affect her years after, especially in making important decisions about her love life. More self aware and in tune with herself, Suzanne finds her own path to real happiness. Some years later, the author visits Lou and Indra back home in their Seattle yoga studio, a subtle acknowledgement that she did learn something valuable from them.

I gave this 5 stars for turning me on to yoga even more than I was before, and for keeping me entertained and informed through the entire book!

About the author:  A writer and solo performer currently living in Seattle, SUZANNE MORRISON has a one-woman show, Yoga Bitch, which has played to sold-out houses in New York City, Maui, Seattle, Memphis, London, and Oxford. You can find Suzanne at Huffington Post and at http://www.suzanne-morrison.com/, where she writes about absolutely everything she's reading, writing, and rehearsing.

Disclosure: This book is a library loan.

© Harvee Lau 2011

Teaser: Burned, A Novel by Thomas Enger

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.


Title: Burned: A Novel by Thomas Enger
Publisher: Atria Books; October 4, 2011; 368 pages
Genre: suspense

I'll carry on your work
See you in eternity
Anette

....Where are you, Anette, he wonders? And what's the work you intend to complete? (ch. 12)

Book description: A solitary tent is found to contain the body of a half-buried woman. Internet reporter Henning Juul is told to cover the story, but despite the police making an early arrest, he seems convinced that the story is more complex than they think. Physically and emotionally scarred from the death of his son, Henning must battle to be taken seriously again as a reporter - by his old colleagues, his ex-wife and the police - and when another life is lost, he knows the stakes couldn't be higher. (Goodreads)

About the Author: Thomas Enger is a former journalist and a music composer. Burned is his first crime novel. He lives in Oslo, Norway.

A complimentary copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher.

Book Review: The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber

Title: The Personal History of Rachel Dupree by Ann Weisgarber
Publisher: Penguin (July 26, 2011)
Genre: historical fiction

My comments: The novel helps to fill in the some of the gaps in our knowledge of African American history. It's well written with a cast of realistic, well developed characters whose story shows the harsh life of western homesteaders in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Rachel, daughter of a Louisiana cane farmer who was a former slave, meets Isaac DuPree in Chicago and plans a marriage of convenience that does not suit Isaac's mother. As a single man and single woman, the two young people can each claim 160 acres of land in South Dakota according to the Homestead Act of 1862; together as man and wife, they can combine their share to 320 acres, more than enough for a good farm. Isaac's mother complains that Rachel has no social background and is darker complexioned than Isaac and therefore beneath him.

The couple nevertheless marry and have several children in South Dakota, where their life is more than harsh. The book opens with an example of the deprivation and sacrifices the family endures living in south Dakota as homesteaders. There is a severe drought, the cattle are dying off, and Isaac compels their 6-year-old daughter Liz to allow herself to be lowered into the bottom of a deep dark well to fetch water. The girl is frightened and reluctant but does go down; she says later there was a snake down in the bottom of the well that terrified her.

The novel follows the couple from the time they meet, to their life in the Badlands, through the death of at least one child there, and into their children's growing into near adulthood. Rachel tries to protect her children, especially the oldest girl, Mary, whom Isaac wants married off to an older but wealthier man for convenience's sake.

Historical buffs will enjoy this book and all readers will benefit from reading this story of grit and determination in early America.

Book description: Reminiscent of The Color Purple as well as the frontier novels of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Willa Cather, The Personal History of Rachel DuPree opens a window on the little-known history of African American homesteaders and gives voice to an extraordinary heroine who embodies the spirit that built America. (Amazon)

Author Ann Weisgarber was born and raised in Kettering, Ohio. She was a social worker before earning a master’s degree in sociology at the University of Houston and becoming a teacher. She divides her time between Sugar Land and Galveston, Texas. Visit the author at her website, Ann Weisgarber


For a complete schedule of reviews, visit TLC's Book Tour Stops.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.

Sunday Salon: What Next?

Welcome to the Sunday Salon. Click on the logo to join in.

After finishing and reviewing the surprisingly easy to read  Murakami's 1Q84,
I thought I'd switch to something entirely different.

My new book is Yoga Bitch: One Woman's Quest to Conquer Skepticism, Cynicism, and Cigarettes on the Path to Enlightenment by Suzanne Morrison, about the author's trip to a yoga retreat in Bali, Indonesia that she attended before a planned move to NYC with her boyfriend. In spite of the title, there are no swear words in the memoir, none I've come across as yet, but lots of candid and humorous comments on yoga, the yogis, and her fellow yoga students.

There is a TLC book tour review of The Secret Life of Rachel DuPree that I'll post tomorrow. I'm also reading a fun book, an illustrated travel memoir, for another book tour later this month - Borneo Bob. This one takes you all over Southeast Asia.

I also have a brand new granddaughter! I can't see her personally as yet as she's in Japan, but I hope to see pictures and catch her later on webcam.

Have a great week to come! What have you been up to this past week?