Nonfiction Nagging- Wild

We've discussed in great detail about how much I hate Oprah, and while I appreciate that her book club can motivate people to read, I would purposefully never take part in it. Key word: purposefully.

A few weeks ago I ordered Wild by Cheryl Strayed after reading about it in one of my issues of Runner's World- the story of a emotionally fragile woman who decided to take on the Pacific Crest Trail. And then that stupid Oprah bitch had to put it as the first selection of her 2.0 book club (whatever the hell that is). To make matters worse, I really wanted to read it before I hiked Half Dome, meaning I would be reading it at the same time all her little minions would be. Damn it to hell.

In through the nose, out through the nose. 

Let's start over.

I just finished Wild, by Cheryl Strayed, a memoir about her time hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), a route that starts at the Mexico-California borders and goes right on up to Canada. Strayed caught the trail in the Mojave, headed towards the base of the Sierras, had to detour by bus because of snow and then rejoined the trail near Reno, where she hiked through to the Oregon-Washington border. Strayed was young, devastated by the death of her mother and failed marriage, and clueless about what to do with the rest of her life. On a random trip to REI to buy a shovel she saw a book on the PCT and soon decided to go for it. 

Quick Synopsis

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Strayed was seriously ill-prepared for the monumental task she took on. Her pack was at least twice as heavy as it should have been, her boots were too small (goodbye toenails), and she was constantly broke. She faced hours of loneliness and solitude on the trail (over 100 days), which gave her plenty of time to reflect on what had gone wrong in her life. Strayed cheated on her wonderful husband after her mother died and had dabbled in some hardcore drugs (heroin). She was short of graduating from college by one class and had very little contact with the family she was left with. Strayed was nothing short of a wreck.

Slowly she becomes stronger, emotionally and physically. She picks up valuable insight from other hikers, many of which become friends she sees throughout her trek. Her hikes become more efficient and she becomes a pro at making and breaking camp. She comes to term with what has happened in her life and feels more confident about life as she progresses along the PCT. 

Personally...

I liked this book, although I thought it was going to be a tad better than it was. I was immediately drawn to it because I too often decide to do things on a whim. It takes me weeks to hem and haw about getting a new pair of Toms, but I decided to go to Italy with my sister in a matter of two days. I've been researching fake grass to install in the backyard for almost a month, but decided to hike Half Dome with my brother after taking a picture of it one winter. I also really appreciated her perseverance and tolerance for pain, dirt, and poor hygiene (she took probably less than ten showers the entire time). I was constantly impressed withe camaraderie between the hikers and the helpfulness of those near the trail, including REI's willingness to overnight her a pair of boots when she called their customer satisfaction line.

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I did have a few issues with the text, though. First of all, Strayed includes random tidbits regarding sex that seemed so out of place and awkward (like when she confesses that she hasn't even taken the time to pleasure herself on the trail or when she describes a scene that involves herself and a man, some boulders and a little honey...). At times she's just plain annoying, like when she confesses she wishes her trail name would be something like "mother effing queen of the trail" (or maybe it was "queen of the mother effing trail") or when she manages to lose one of her boots over a mountain (who the hell does that?). There was a lot of wallowing and sentimental reflection, which there's nothing wrong with, I'm just not always the most sympathetic reader (just because your mom died doesn't mean you get to be all slutty and shoot heroin... I guess we all cope in different ways). 

All in all I thought it was a good, quick read that had enough of the nature/roughing it aspect to keep me interested. It was paced well, the narration was thoughtful, and the writing was decent. I am now extremely interested in the PCT and would love to hike some portions of it. I am hoping to get to spend at least a little time on it when I go to Tahoe in a few weeks. If not, there's always next summer...

Books on Your Back- One for Ray

While I'm not a sci-fi fan, I do definitely appreciate Ray Bradbury- I loved teaching Fahrenheit 451, as well as some of his other short stories, to my students. I always bragged on his behalf about the fact that he was still alive and yet over 90. Unfortunately, as of this week, that's not true anymore... In his honor:

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Ray Bradbury, 1920-2012

Top Ten Tuesday- Rewind

The Broke and the Bookish is allowing us to pick from any of their old topics, so I figured I'd do the top ten books "I can't believe I haven't read." I may have done this one before, who knows. My brain is so fried from teaching/planning biology for 9 hours a day (and planning 4 hours last night) that I want to do things that I can't write here because they be incriminating later. I'm kidding. Let's just say I'm not really a serious complainer, but am somehow doing plenty of it right now (and it's not the kids or the fact that I'm working extra). Tomorrow the big-girl panties will be on and Negative Nancy will be sufficiently silenced.

Here we are:

1. Ulysses by James Joyce- It just seems important.

2. The Bible by God (just kidding, by King James... oh wait...)- I didn't have a strong religious upbringing and I've never had the urge. I know I need to for literary reasons.

3. Moby Dick by Herman Melville- I was good-naturedly chastised about this last week by a few colleagues and now I feel slightly guilty. Stupid whale.

4. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller- I know, I know! It fell through the cracks! It's like a doctor failing to learn about, I don't know, the liver.

5. Slaughterhouse- Five by Kurt Vonnegut- Another one that I probably should have read...

6. Underworld by Don Dellilo- I've owned it for like 8 years and have started it over two or three times. It's not bad, it's just that I'm good at making excuses.

7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck- It just seems so depressing (see above sentence). And dusty (I really, really dislike movies with dirty people, like Westerns- I've more forgiving with books, but still, the Dust Bowl sounds gross).

8. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon- This is a huge confession: I've never read anything by Pynchon. For some reason I got a little carried away with the idea that he's a total sci-fi writer, which is not my genre of choice. 

9. Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov- This was supposed to be our book club selection, but I changed my choice and Lolita remains unread.

10. Fifty Shades of Gray by EL James- Apparently the majority of women between the ages of 18 and 93 have read this... Hmm... I don't think I've heard of it... Oh wait. I'm sorry, but the majority does not rule. I'm also sorry that I will continue to bitch about this book until the next big thing that I disagree with comes along.

Nonfiction Nagging- Let My People Go Surfing

Ever since I watched my beloved 180 Degrees South I have been a big fan of Yvon Chouinard, the founder of company Patagonia and a huge environmental activist. I just finished Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman and have an even deeper appreciation for him now. Here's why:

- Patagonia gives back millions and millions of dollar to various causes, many of which involve the environment in some way. Several years ago a Christian organization was angered by their involvement with Planned Parenthood (Chouinard interestingly pointed out their link with the environment, which never occurred to me: population control) and planned to picket. Patagonia pledged an additional $10 to PP for every protestor that showed- none did. 

 

- Patagonia is focused on constantly improving the quality of their products while keeping in mind the environment- they aren't willing to compromise either. They search for the most eco-friendly dyes, well-run factories that treat their employees well, and work to incorporate recycled materials into their clothing and gear as much as possible. The thought they put into sustainability, conservation, and quality is impressive.

- Chouinard has been recognized countless times for how he treats his employees- people beg to work there. They provide onsite daycare that offers childcare at a reduced rate,  two months of paid maternity (and I think paternity) leave, and great health care benefits. Employees can take up to two months (fully paid) leave to pursue environmental work and are allowed to adjust their schedule to surf, ski, run, play volleyball or be at home when their kids get off the bus. No one has private offices, employees are given an extra $2,000 towards the purchase of electric vehicles, and are given generous discounts. It's honestly the Google of the outdoor gear world (and they started doing all of these things way before Google did).

- Patagonia tries to never construct new buildings, but to use already existing structures. When they do build from scratch they use recycled materials and hire innovative architects to make green buildings (at the time of this book's publication they were trying to create a new building incorporating rice straw).

- Chouinard and Patagonia have spearheaded countless efforts to eliminate dams, turn land in to protective reserves, and protect mountains from poor climbing techniques. Their work in Patagonia, the company's namesake, has preserved thousands of acres from destruction.

- Chouinard spends some time discussing his business model in terms of profit margins, annual budgets, and supply and demand. I was definitely more interested in the conservation and employee benefits sections, but I still trudged through this (it was actually really easy to understand).

All in all this was a really interesting read. The pictures were great and the idea of a corporation focusing on the people, products, and environment, rather than the bottom line, is inspiring.  

[quick video from 1% for the Planet Foundation, which he co-founded]

Haiku-pons

Obviously an English major worked on this campaign: 

And it doesn't stop here- there are several mixed in the actual booklet.

 

So now, when I cruise the aisles of Target, using my "haiku-pons" (okay, kind of lame) for body wash, dog food, and Wheat Thins, I'll be thinking about poetry.