Ern's Monthly Page Turners (December 2008)

*本に関するネタは日本語書き込みません

Merry Christmas Readers! By the time I post this, Christmas may already have passed. If that is indeed the case, then I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. This being Japan, Christmas is just another day. Of course, you will see a lot of Christmas illuminations at most shopping centers, not as much in residential neighborhoods. It may be a day to take a date to a nice dinner. But as with most Japanese, Mikako and I will be spending the day working. On both Christmas and Christmas Eve. We will have chicken instead of turkey and a kamakura cake, that would be a cake in the shape of an igloo (in case you were wondering what kamakura meant). In Japan, it’s not the Christmas holidays that are special, its the New Year's Holidays. From New Year's Day until the 5th, you will find many stores closed, and many people will be heading to their hometowns to visit family and friends. Mikako and I will be joining the masses as we will head to her hometown of Aomori on New Year's Eve. We should make it to her house before at least a couple of hours before the countdown will begin. Which also means I will be taking another break from posting anything new on my blog.

HEAVY METAL ISLAM: ROCK, RESISTANCE, AND THE STRUGGLE FOR THE SOUL OF ISLAM by Mark Levine – Heavy metal and Islam? An unlikely combination to be sure, and even I was surprised by that there exists a heavy metal rock scene in the Middle East and North Africa (the MENA). The author, who is a musician and is also a professor of Middle Eastern history writes a fascinating account of a world that few know and even fewer have ever heard of. And not only is heavy metal popular in the MENA, so is rap and hip-hop. Not only is this book about a little known portion of music, it also reads like a travelogue as Levine travels the MENA and interviews the musicians of those countries. A dangerous profession for those who play in countries who’s governments can be oppressive as well (and are a lot more effective than the prissy PMRC, which was a bad joke to begin with) – Shame on Tipper Gore! I’ve been listening to heavy metal since the fifth grade and I’ve never had the urge to pledge my soul to Satan, kill cats, eat bats, or take my life. I’m still here and I still listen to heavy metal. And it isn’t just the the PMRC that think heavy metal is satanic. Levine writes about an incident in Morocco where fourteen metalheads were arrested, tried and convicted for the crime of being “Satanists who recruited for an international cult of devil worship” and of “shaking the foundations of Islam”. I really get sick of people and parents, and now governments placing the blame on heavy metal for actions that the music has no relation to. It gets my goat when I think of that stupid woman who blames Judas Priest for the suicide of her sons. The media always neglects to mention the fact that the boy in question had history of drug abuse and such. Or the farcical Judas Priest child. Not only should the parents of those idiot sons be slapped upside the head, so should the lawyers who thought they could cash in on some of the biggest selling bands of that era. Back to this book, Levine travels to Morocco, Egypt, Israel and Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, and Pakistan, and covers the heavy metal and rap scene of those countries. But it seems there is hope for heavy metal in the MENA. One of the most successful rock festivals, called the Dubai Desert Rock Festival, was headlined by none other than Iron Maiden!! Iron Maiden in an Islamic country. Heck, that just shows that music brings people together, no matter what their governments say.

THE BEST AMERICAN TRAVEL ESSAYS 2008 edited by Anthony Bourdain – Last month I read so many travel essays that if publishers were to give out frequent flyer mileage, I could probably travel around the world a few times. But if that were the case, I’m sure more people would read travelogues. My armchair traveling took me to many places – I traveled with Brandon Wilson and his wife as they journeyed the length of Africa from Morocco to Cape Town. I traveled with Brandon again as he made a pilgrimage with an older Frenchman from Dijon, France to Jerusalem. I traveled with Tara Grescoe as he toured the world in search of banned or forbidden food items and I enjoyed my trip around the northeast of Brazil with Thomas Kohnstamm who wrote what it’s really like to be a travel writer. And now, its once again time for Houghton Mifflin’s annual “Best American” series. This book is a collection of the best travel essays and articles from a variety of sources – international periodicals, internet magazines, and even the travel sections of local newspapers. This year, Anthony Bourdain (author of “Kitchen Confidential” and host of the Food Network’s “No Reservations) you can be sure he chose some choice articles for this collection. This year’s choices will take you to Brazil as you learn about the gourmet chocolate business, a tour through Phnom Penh, following the footsteps of some World War II soldiers who traveled across the Kapa Kapa Trail in Papua New Guinea, getting a driver’s license in Beijing, unwittingly providing a forum for dissidents in Turkmentistan when that crazy guy who proclaimed himself “President for Life” was still in office, or crossing a not so well established border between Mali and Cote D’Ivoire, just to give you some ideas.

THE PILGRIMAGE by Paulo Coehlo – If I hadn’t read Coehlo’s book “The Alchemist” and enjoyed it so much I may have skipped on reading this. This is Coehlo’s debut novel and the Pilgrimage in question is the El Camino de Santiago, also known as the Way of St. James. The trail that starts in France and ends at the Santiago de Compestela. However, the core of the story read more like some New Age philosophy, complete with exercises to be able to become a more enlightened person. Or rather, a blend of New Age philosophy, some Templar history, and a search for a sword to become a true Master. However, if I wanted to fill myself with a whole lot of New Age philosophy, I would have read Shirley McClaine’s “Out on a Limb”. So, where is Ramtha these days anyway?

FATAL TIDE by Iris Johanson – I decided to read more fiction this month and picked up titles that sounded interesting to me. This book was a blend of suspense, adventure, exotic locales (the West Indies and the Canary Islands), romance and a search for some place called Amarinth, which was believed to be the true Lost City of Atlantis. Yeah I know, it sounds pretty far-fetched – that’s because it is. And it read more like a romance novel than anything, as it should, because most of Johanson’s books fall into that category. Hey, what can I say. I like variety and sometimes it’s good to read a genre you don’t usually read.

TONE DEAF IN BANGKOK AND OTHER PLACES by Janet Brown – This is a little strange for me as not only do I know Janet, but consider her a friend as well. This would be my second time reviewing the book written by a friend. The last one was Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers with his “Schizophrenic in Japan”. I worked for the same company as Janet back in the late ‘80s even though she went to a more independent and well-loved book retailer while I continued working for the same company. And I became great friends with her son, who probably read this book before me and stated in his short review, “…too many cats.” I beg to differ, as there was only one chapter concerning a cat. This book is Janet’s story of leaving behind a well-established life in Seattle to pursue a new one in Bangkok, Thailand during the years between 1995 and 2004. I myself had become an ex-pat in 1995, but I digress. Her book is filled with beautiful pictures by Nana Chen and she makes you feel as if you were in Bangkok sharing in her laughter and tears. I felt a little uncomfortable reading about her sex life though (not that it was explicit or anything). It’s just the fact that I’ve spent more time with her son than I had with her, and I am sure most of my readers would agree that they don’t really want to know about their good friends’ mother’s love life. Too bad she didn’t write a chapter about the time me and my friend visited her in Bangkok on our way back from Laos, and took us to a Thai Rock bar and got us drunk off our ass. I actually had to go to the men’s room, puke, and then she made us drink more! But then we were probably too drunk to remember it anyway. Not as if she twisted our arms though. We were willing subjects to her generosity. Unfortunately for you, my American reader, will have to wait until April of next year when it should be available in the States.

ODD THOMAS by Dean Koontz – Some people may consider Koontz a lesser King (as in Stephen King) but I find his stories to be more entertaining and not so descriptively long as with a lot of King’s novels. This story can be summarized as the kid from the “Sixth Sense” grows up, moves to a small town, and tries to live a fairly normal life – normal as person can who can still see dead people and who still want him to help them with unresolved matters. The surprise ending is also a little reminiscent of the “Sixth Sense” movie as well. But don’t let that stop you from reading this. It was quite entertaining.

THE INTERROGATION by Thomas H. Cook – The back of the book provides a better summary than I can come up with on my own so I shall borrow it – [A man has been accused of a terrible crime. There’s no witness, no evidence, but the police are convinced he’s guilty. They have twelve hours to find out the truth…]. The time is 1952, the place small town America. The terrible crime – the murder of an eight year old girl. The cops don’t have much to go on and the suspect who endures the endless questioning (thus providing the book with our title), does not succumb to any of the officer’s head games and sticks with his story of being innocent.




DON’T GO THERE: THE TRAVEL DETECTIVE’S ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE MUST-MISS PLACES OF THE WORLD by Peter Greenburg – A slightly different kind of travel book. But first, let’s not confuse Greenburg’s book with Robert Young Pelton’s “Peterson’s Guide to the World’s Most Dangerous Places”. Greenburg does not write about places like Baghdad or Mogadishu or other areas of civil unrest. No, Greenburg’s book is put together more like an almanac giving you information on the world’s most polluted cities, cities with the highest crime rates, countries that are disaster prone, areas that are susceptible to disease, and chapters on the worst hotels, worst airports, worst airlines, worst cruises, and of course the most corrupt countries as well. Although the title says the world, his focus his mainly on the United States. He would probably have to write another book to cover all the world’s must-miss places of the world. I enjoyed the chapter on the lamest claims to fame such as cherry-pit spitting capital of the world (Eau Claire, Michigan), the sink-hole capital of the world (Fountain, Minnesota) or the armpit of America (Battle Mountain, Nevada). I was surprised that he didn’t list Wall Drug, South Dakota though. You have to see it to believe! I know, I was there! I’m sure we all have our own “worst place” story as well. Mine? Getting ripped off in Tunis, Tunisia wasn’t all that bad – just a bit of carelessness on my part, sometimes you really shouldn’t be too trusting of people who want to be your friends. But I must say, I’ve had more positive experiences than negative ones.


WORLD FOOD: IRELAND by Martin Hughes - So what do you think of when you think of Ireland? Shamrocks and Lucky Charms? Guinness, of course. Irish Whiskey? A given. But Irish food? Potatoes, you say. There's more to Irish food than mere potatoes! Irish Stew. Connemara Lamb. Or what I imagine what my favorite would be - the Irish Fry, which is described by the author as a "heart attack on a plate"! Just check out this recipe for a traditional Irish fry: 2 slices bacon, 2 sausages, 2 slices black pudding, 2 slices white pudding, 2 eggs, 2 tomatoes halved. The instructions are quite simple too, "start with the bacon and fry, fry, fry." And if you were like me, not knowing what black pudding is, it is a traditional Irish food made with "pig's blood, pork skin, and seasonings" while white pudding is "a version without the blood which is made from the remaining offal pieces of the pig and various cereals". And of course, I had to read this book while drinking a pint of Guinness (okay, it was can).

And so ends my year of reading. I hope you enjoyed my choices. I believe this is my third or fourth year of reading more than 100 books in one year (of course that includes children's books and quite a few photography books as well). Also thanks to my friend Janet's blog "Asia by the Book", as I stumbled across some choice morsels that were feautured there. Among the gems were "Ant Egg Soup: The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos" by Natach Du Pont de Bie and "The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir" by Kao Kalia Young. Some of my other personal favorites I read this year were Brandon Wilson's travel essays "Dead Men Don't Leave Tips: Adventures X Africa" and "Along the Templar Trail: Seven Million Steps for Peace". The author even kindly left me a message on this blog. I will definitely be reading more of his books. Morgan Spurlock and his search for Osama bin Laden was most entertaining - "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden". And the book on nuclear trafficking "The Atomic Bazaar" by William Langewiesche - intense! Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx "Heroin Diaries" was another piece of work. And what would my year be without reading about the adventures of food provided by Fuschia Dunlap, Jay Rayner, Tom Parker-Bowles, and Tara Grescoe with their books "Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper", "The Man Who Ate the World", "The Year of Eating Dangerously", and "The Devil's Picnic". I also went back to my roots of fantasy and science fiction with the reprints of John Wyndam's novels and the original story of "I am Legend". I hope to read another 100 or so books for the coming year as well. I've already bought two more books in the "World Food" series - what can I say, I love to read about food as much as I like to eat it! But currently I'm in the middle of another violent-filled story concerning Algerian terrorists and covert agents working black ops - I guess I will have to check out DiCaprio and Crowe's "Body of Lies" as soon as it's available on DVD.

Happy Reading!!