All that you love, All that you hate, All you distrust, All you save.
Peter’s Book Pics
YRR Host
Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls, by Sterling Seagrave
$13.51 |
Why I loved this book Aside from the fact that the title sounds like what my autobiography would be titled and that my son chose this book for me as a gift, I can't resist stories that detail what it was liked to sail in uncharted waters in our past, get shipwrecked and marooned!
The book is easy to read, well-written and divided into short stories with a decent-sized font. This is a great “keep by the bedside and can flip to any chapter” book.
Your Relationship to… • How you can stay alive and cope when you have nothing but a patch of land • What one is willing to eat when there's not a Loblaws in site • The oceans and why you need to respect water that's “taller than you are”. |
| Maus l & ll by Art Spiegelman | |
$21.36 |
Why I loved this book The most incredible and realistic book I've ever read on the Holocaust.
Your Relationship to… • Surviving against all odds – in the literal sense • Keeping love alive against all odds • Raw luck |
| My Life by Bill Clinton | |
$16.06 |
Why I loved this book Yes, Bill Clinton has a huge ego and he probably wished the book could have more pages than the close to 1,000 pages you'll be reading, but it's inspiring to know how much we're capable of achieving if we set our mind to it. This is a guy who was raised by a single mom, was determined to be smart, had a plan, knew what he wanted to be (President) and stuck to it.
Your Relationship to… • The importance of having some kind of plan in life • Political enemies and making them your friends • Recognizing the importance of what we have in common • How much we can accomplish in life in terms of career |
| Candy Girl by Diablo Cody | |
$12.78 |
Why I loved this book Life takes courage. Anytime we're successful, it's because we decided to take a chance to do something brave without thinking about how we're going to be rewarded for it. I loved this book because Diablo Cody, a middle class girl/woman, quit her middle class desk job to become a stripper. Candy Girl is the story of that transformation. Apparently a producer liked the book so much that he invited her to write a screenplay. So she went into a coffee shop and wrote Juno.
Your Relationship to… • The importance of knowing when it's time to quit • Knowing that the braver the decision is, the greater the reward • Write about what you know |
| The Source by James Michener | |
$10.79 |
Why I loved this book To understand why the world is at war in the Middle East , you must go to the old city of Jerusalem . Period. Never trust anyone's opinion on Middle Eastern affairs unless that person has gone and slept behind the walls of the Old City . To read a great story about the history of Israel , read this book.
Your Relationship to… • A better understanding of Middle Eastern history • One of the greatest narratives ever told about Israel • The importance of understanding that everything in life is connected • Knowing you don't have to be Jewish to love this book |
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
$12.37 |
Why I loved this book Into Thin Air is a well written book on the ill-fated expeditions to Mount Everest that took place in 1996.
Your Relationship to… • Know when to turn back • The line between life and death is razor thin • Never climb a mountain that can kill you when the motivation is profit • Never put all your trust in any one individual • Don't risk your life if you have a family |
| Scott's Last Expedition by Falcon Scott and Robert Falcon Scott | |
$37.50 |
Why I loved this book Never have I enjoyed reading a book about a person who came in second. Robert Falcon Scott was a courageous man who had a lifelong dream to be the first man to the South Pole. In 1912, going to the South Pole was akin to going to the Moon, and the book/Journal details the pain and suffering Scott and his crew suffered on his journey. Imagine man-hauling a sledge full of supplies across Antarctica ? When after 800 kilometres he finally arrived at the South Pole, his heart fell out of his chest when he was met by a tent that was put up by co-explorer Roald Amundson who beat him to the punch by a matter of weeks. The story is Scott's own Journal which found next to his body. He died eleven kilometers from his cache of supplies. My son's middle name is Falcon.
Your Relationship to… • Know when to turn back • The line between life and death is razor thin • Pets. Know when to eat them if it means your survival |
| Ordeal by Ice by Farley Mowat | |
$7.80 |
Why I loved this book Britain had a dream - to be able to travel and trade in Asia without having to round Cape Horn. To do that, they would have to find a way through the ice, the Northwest Passage . In the 1800's, for all intents and purposes the Northwest Passage was a frozen solid sheet of ice. Ordeal by Ice is a collection of stories about the various explorers that tried and failed to find a way through the ice, the most famous being the Franklin Expedition. A few historians will say that Mowat takes liberties. I don't care. We all do. Ordeal by Ice is a fantastic collection of stories about Canada 's Arctic . I'd love to meet Farley Mowat.
Your Relationship to… Know when to turn back • Launching an expedition always takes a leap of faith • Where there's a will, there's a way • When you're in the Arctic don't wear cotton. Better to dress like the Eskimos. • When in Rome , dress and eat like the Romans do |
