We hatched the plan at St. Patrick’s Day clan gathering. With stomachs heavy from Mom’s Irish Soda bread and Guinness, my brother, twin cousins and I planned a barnstorming tour of Ireland.
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A crowded municipal bus took us into Dublin around 8am, Ireland time. We jumped off with our heavy bags and heavier jet-lagged legs. This was before roller bags were common, and a solid decade before smart phones.
We walked down a crowded, cobblestone street. I wanted to soak in the atmosphere. Thick Irish accents, shops, bars and the energy of a young, vibrant city. Dublin looked ancient and foreign, yet everyone spoke English and it seemed inviting.
My directions said to follow this cobblestone road, then turn right onto Murphy St. The four cousins walked down the street, half sight seeing, half fighting our tired bodies. I squinted at the cross streets. My cousin Matt noticed a shop that sold the Doc Martens he wanted to buy. Assumedly my brother was sleeping as we walked. He spent most of the trip napping in the car.
We passed a few streets. I thought our not-yet-merry band should have found the cross-street already. Two Garda, Irish police, stood on the street. I waved to them.
“Excuse me, can you please tell me how to get to Murphy street?”
The two men smiled, most likely at my thick New York-American accent. One of them said, “Ah, of course, you head down to the next satellite, turn right. Grand.” I thanked them and went back to report to the cousins.
“He said go to the next satellite and turn right.”
“The next satellite?” Becky asked.
“Yea, I assume he means a satellite phone store. That’s what they call it in Europe. Or, maybe it’s a statue of a satellite. No worries, we’ll find it.”
We headed down the street, eagerly searching for satellites. We passed two more cross streets and didn’t see any statues of space machinery or satellite phone shops.
Two more Garda appeared. I told the cousins I’d ask again for directions, left my with them and approached the pair.
“Ah, excuse me, can you tell me how to get to Murphy street?”
“Where are ya tryin’ to get to?”
I pulled out the name and address of the hotel and showed the two Garda.
“Ah, t’is easy. Go down to the next satellite and turn right. The hotel will be a few meters on the right.”
I thanked them, took a step, then stopped.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry. I’m an American and I just got off of a flight and haven’t slept all night. What is a satellite?”
The two Garda looked at me. One asked, “Satellite? Whatchamean?”
“You said go to the next satellite and turn right?”
“Set-of-lights. SET-OF-LIGHTS.”
We dropped our bags off at the hotel a few minutes later. I’m sure the Garda had stopped laughing by then.
A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara
TLDR: beautiful story, engrossing, haunting. Long read. Frustrating characters. Recommended for patient readers.
A Little Life is not for the faint of heart, or the causal reader looking for a quick page or two before going to bed. Over 800 pages with long non-linear chapters make A Little Life a bit of a slog. The hardy reader enjoys an engrossing, haunting story of friendship between 4 college friends and, especially, the remarkable Jude. Yanagihara creates a narrative that explores the relationship between young friends through success, failure and dealing with the past. I had a love-hate relationship with most of this book; the writing is beautiful; the characters are engrossing and I reflected on the book long after putting it down for the day. The topics covered are not light, the narrative gets dark, and I got very frustrated with the limitations of Jude. This is a book that demands time and reflection while reading and is recommended. 4.5/5.
Welcome
Welcome to Chawner Writes! This is an experimental platform to write and (hopefully) publish some original fiction. And share some thoughts on recent books.
Pretty Much Everything
by Aaron James Draplin
TLDR: Fantastic coffee-table style book with excellent narration. Recommended.
Pretty Much Everything is a coffee table book that covers the career of Aaron James Draplin, a famous artist responsible for several notable designs and for creating Field Notes (the notebook line). Draplin provides ample narration and examples in his journey as an artist and professional. He includes sketches from his youth, influences and a healthy dose of his punk ethos. Besides copious examples of his finished work, Draplin explains the process behind many of his commissions. This is the most interesting content. The explanations and drafts show how a professional artist develops an idea. Draplin has a distinct style that is both repetitive and unique for each campaign. The book itself is fun and written in an easy to read, conversational manner. 4.5/5.
Ulysses S. Grant Triumph Over Adversity 1822-1865
Brooks Simpson
TLDR; An in-depth account of Grant’s life from childhood through the end of the Civil War. Filled with quotes from letters and newspapers which makes it a slow read. Great content. Recommended.
Grant has been a favorite historical figure of mine since writing a report on him in sixth grade. I wrote he was a brilliant general, a drunk and a respected president. At least 2 of those assertions may be false. In Ulysses S. Grant Triumph Over Adversity 1822-1865, Brooks Simpson follows the life and career of Grant though the end of the Civil War. We get an in-depth treatment of his life, including his tough relationship with his father, wife, press, the military, etc. I selected this book about Grant by recommendations from the Stoic community. I consider Grant a Stoic figure for the way he overcame obstacles (multiple failures early in his military career and business ventures) and remained calm (facing enemy fire, dealing with the pressures of the press or military officials). Simpson does a great job in presenting Grant’s challenges and his will to overcome them. To show the obstacles, Simpson provides ample quotes from letters, and newspaper accounts. These quotes lengthen the text considerably and, most times, belabor the point. Simpson also examines whether Grant was actually a drunk or if the press and jealous colleagues used it active propaganda against him. We don’t find a definitive answer but we get a great look at Grant and his remarkable career. 3.5/5.
goodbye, things on minimalist living
Fumio Sasaki
TLDR; A quick and fun read about one man’s journey and experiences with minimalism. Inspirational, tied to other ideas and philosophies. Recommended.
goodbye, things starts as a journey from Sasaki’s cluttered, standard Japanese life to one of an impressive minimalist. This isn’t a book about how to throw things out. Sasaki deftly ties other larger ideas into the basic concepts of minimalism. He first examines the laundry list of negatives associated with today’s consumerist (or as he calls it, maximalist) society; stress, cost, lack of focus, lack of time, unhappiness, etc. Many of these symptoms have a direct correlation to the constant cycle of buying and owning 300,000+ items. By eliminating these things, Sasaki contends that we don’t give up anything. In fact, we gain time, space, happiness, cleanliness and focus. His themes are very reminiscent of the common threads that run through two recent subjects of study, Stoicism and Essentialism. Both Stoicism and minimalism refer to similar goals, such as being present in the moment, don’t possessions own you (nod to Tyler D), only focus on the important and that material goods can never truly be owned (they can be taken/lost/destroyed at any moment). Essentialism and minimalism share some values, namely reducing the noise that overwhelms most people, focusing on what is important and going big on very little. A quick read, broken into short chapters. One of the few negatives is repetition from the direct usage of earlier material (parts of the book came from his website). Inspirational, light with smart connections to larger themes. 4.5/5.
Intro to Book Reviews
I’ve been an avid reader all of my life. The velocity of my reading has ebbed and flowed with time and circumstances. I didn’t read much for pleasure in college or while concentrating on a career pivot to programming in my mid-20’s. I talk about books a lot and am often asked for recommendations. Here is a list of books I’ve read, in no particular order or organization. They skew toward books I’ve read recently although this exercise has inspired me to pick up some older books to reread and review.