“Lafayette in the Somewhat United States” by Sarah Vowell

“Lafayette in the Somewhat United States” by Sarah Vowell

“Lafayette in the Somewhat United States” by Sarah Vowell

I’d never read any Sarah Vowell before this book. What a wasted life.

Here is a summary of the book from Goodreads:  On August 16, 1824, an elderly French gentlemen sailed into New York Harbor and giddy Americans were there to welcome him. Or, rather, to welcome him back. It had been thirty years since the Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette had last set foot in the United States, and he was so beloved that 80,000 people showed up to cheer for him. The entire population of New York at the time was 120,000. 

Lafayette’s arrival in 1824 coincided with one of the most contentious presidential elections in American history, Congress had just fought its first epic battle over slavery, and the threat of a Civil War loomed. But Lafayette, belonging to neither North nor South, to no political party or faction, was a walking, talking reminder of the sacrifices and bravery of the revolutionary generation and what they wanted this country to be. His return was not just a reunion with his beloved Americans, it was a reunion for Americans with their own astonishing singular past. 

Reading Lafayette in the Somewhat United States is like hanging out with an intelligent, insightful and snarky friend. Vowell’s history is well researched, drawing heavily on primary resources. Her telling of it shows us rounded human beings rather than glorified works of venerated sculpture and draws enough parallels with contemporary culture to give pause. This book is as full of “Oh, my heck, I never realized that!’s” as it is with full out guffaws.

I’m starting Unfamiliar Fishes right now.

“The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness” by Paula Poundstone

“The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness” by Paula Poundstone

“The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness” by Paula Poundstone

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Can one find happiness behind the wheel of a Lamborghini? How about in an nursing home? A dojo? Paula Poundstone’s not entirely scientific inquiries of these and many other pressing questions are answered in this latest book. From getting connected to getting outdoors, she pursues each possibility with total abandon and laugh out loud results. And down under the mirth, there’s some meat as well. I know which experiments I’ll be exploring.

 

“The Color of Magic” by Terry Pratchett

“The Color of Magic” by Terry Pratchett

“The Color of Magic” by Terry Pratchett

Color of MagicWhen Terry Pratchett passed away earlier this year, I decided it was time to explore his Discworld universe. It turns out, it was way past time.

Brief backstory: You have a flat, round world sitting on the backs of four enormous elephants who are in turn standing on the back of a mindbogglingly massive sea turtle slowing flippering its way through space. On this world (the Discworld), there is a preternaturally inept wizard named Rincewind who, much to his chagrin, becomes tourguide to the world’s first tourist, a strange being named Twoflower who is completely lacking in any instinct for self-preservation. Then, you know, there’s a hulking barbarian, dragons, tree-nymphs, sentient luggage, and Death himself.

The book is organized into four vignettes. They follow each other sequentially, but are written in such a way that they almost read more like short stories than chapters.

I truly enjoyed this book. The tone is absurd and satirical, taking all the tropes of ‘80s high fantasy and cranking them up to eleven. It was like reading Monty Python or witnessing the world’s silliest game of D&D. If such geeky references are already putting you off, this is not the book for you. But if they made you chuckle, or if you just said to yourself, “The world’s silliest game of D&D? I don’t know. That’s a pretty stiff competition,” odds are either you’re already a Discworld fan or you desperately need to be.

This is the first novel published in the Discworld series, but I found out a while after I read it that there is some debate among fans of Pratchett’s work as to whether this title or Equal Rites, the third published, should be read first. They each launch a different subseries, so there is no canonical harm in reading them in any old order. Having now read both, I can tell you that Equal Rites is in some ways more accessible. Equal Rites is cheekily humorous without being as completely over-the-top as The Color of Magic, and the plot is a continuous progression from beginning to end rather than episodic jumps. If you want to ease yourself into Pratchett’s world, go with Equal Rites. As for me, I’m actually really glad I started with The Color of Magic.

If you like satire, humor, and fantasy, you may love this book.

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