And its christened

Project B-52, where B = books. (What were you thinking?)

Of course we are now down to 51 books in 51 weeks. 

We’re getting dumber, no really!

I don’t claim this (although I long suspected it) but an article in the recent Discover magazine says so. Over the past 20,000 years we’ve roughly lost brain matter equivalent to the size of a tennis ball and get this no one knows why. Furthermore, many scientists ignore this seemingly important issue and some think it’s not all that insignificant! In terms of theories there is all sorts floating out there but nothing solid. (And here we are trying to tackle time travel or find us a new home after our little brains destroy Earth).

One of the theories is called scaling which, for us dummies, means the bigger your body the bigger the brain needs to be. That’s why Neanderthals had huge brains. But the biggest brainiacs were the Cro-Magnons about 20,000-30,000 years ago and these guys were huge and brawny. Another theory is as the climate of the world got warmer, bodies got smaller, squished the poor brain and reduced its size as well.

Of course, there are other explanations to make us feel better – the smaller but smarter version – where some scientists say we really are not getting dumb but the connections in our brain are getting more advanced, the neurons are firing with more agility and hence less matter is needed to support the functions (right!). Some others say the brain is getting smaller because as civilization progressed and man started to live in enlarged societies, there was less need to use gray matter, i.e. we knew we would be safe because there was always someone around and we started depending more on others and less on ourselves. In simple terms, we got lazy. (This perhaps explains why I walk into walls and bump my limbs on surfaces while perfectly awake).

Right before I turned gave up on the article, I got an epiphany. What if this explains our mindless fascination with the life of Tiger Woods or Kim Kardashian’s next boyfriend? How about those very interesting and juicy headlines – J.Lo. insures her butt, Jennifer Aniston opens up: how Brad broke my heart, etc. etc. etc. I think this article gives us never before envisioned insight into where our large, media fascinated society is leading us. Our ever shrinking brain thanks to our ever enlarging society is leading us to ....(I'll let you draw your own conclusion).

The epiphany was enough for me to conclude that dumb or not I had to get some sleep. So that was it. But if any of you show offs want to read more, go here -- http://discover.coverleaf.com/discovermagazine/201009?pg=60#pg60  

P.S. I finished chapter 1 of Song of Solomon and so far the book lives up to its Nobel Prize reputation. More on that tomorrow.

Song of Solomon - Intro

I haven’t started the book yet but thought it might be interesting to provide a little back ground on the book and its author.

What’s it about:

Song of Solomon is a 1977 novel by American author Toni Morrison. It follows the life of Macon "Milkman" Dead III, an African-American male living in Michigan, from birth to adulthood.

This book won the National Books Critics Award, was chosen for Oprah Winfrey's popular book club, and was cited by the Swedish Academy in awarding Morrison the 1993 Nobel Prize in literature.

Tidbits on the author:

• Toni Morrison was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford on February 18, 1931.
• As a child she read constantly and her favorite authors were Jane Austen and Leo Tolstoy.
• In college she wrote her thesis on suicides of famous authors.
• She worked as an editor at the New York City headquarters of Random House.
• She won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved.
• She got divorced in the 1960’s when divorce was less common.
• In 1998 while writing about Bill Clinton’s impeachment she wrote he had been mistreated because of his “Blackness”. She was the first to call Clinton a black President.

For those more interested in trivialities, the book is 337 pages long.

One down!

Under the warm shade of the maple trees, with a cool breeze blowing at a near by park, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I got completely acquainted with 100 Years of Solitude, aka, I finished it!

What did I think about it? With all its randomness, and diving all over the place, jumping from one character to another the book is refreshing. I enjoyed the characters, although slightly sad, their portrayal was very vivid and they were very human. The complexity of the relationships was very well woven with the simplicity of the characters and although I found the book very funny at times, there was a cloud of sadness that hung throughout. Definitely recommend it!

Moving away from the sadness to some gastric wonders, since I had more time tonight, I decided to do a little baking. Enter fig bread. Now I know North Americans are not very familiar with it -- my husband had never tried it -- and its a more Mediterranean/warm climate fruit but when ripe it is very delicious. So for those who can find the fruit at the local grocer, here is a recipe sure to tickle your taste buds:

- 3 eggs

- 2.5 cups agave (You can use sugar too but the agave makes it a healthier version)

- 2 cups figs mashed

- 3/4 cup olive oil

- 3 cups wheat flour (All purpose flour works too)

- 2 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp butter milk (I didn't have any so I used a little milk (2%) and added some water to it)

- 1 cup pecans

Mash the figs and add all the other ingredients (except pecans). Use a hand mixer to mix everything. Fold in pecans and throw it in a loaf pan. Let it sit in the oven for 60 minutes at 350. 

Tomorrow I start Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

Better book mark picture

So all I had to do was re-start the phone and voila! Internet's back on! So obviously, I have to share the better quality picture taken by the iPhone.

Much better, isn't it?

Slight panic

All I've read today is a few pages on the bus. I'm borderline panicky whether I'll be able to finish this book in time. But the weekend is coming up! I have about 150 pages to go, not an impossible task at all. With determination and conviction, victory shall be mine! I'm also thinking of other ways I can make this challenge interesting, so keep watching this space for more on that.

On another note, hubby got me two New Yorky book marks. Here is one of them.

My Love You New York book mark.

By the way, did I mention how much I detest technology? Since 1.23am this morning, the internet on my iPhone won't work! So I had to take this picture with a Blackberry which obviously is no where near the pretty quality of the iPhone!

Surprises shrouded in a character maze

This book holds endless twists but the 2 biggest ones so far for me were the reversal of characters of the first Aureliano (Colonel) and his sister Amaranta. Who would have thought that the reticent Aureliano could wage so many wars and cause so much destruction? The boy who spent all day in the lab doing god-knows-what traveled the ends of the earth culminating in somewhat of a legend with his died-alive-reborn stories. The lad with no ambition except the life the lab afforded him and ended up being the leader of a brutal armed rebellion.

And Amaranta on the other hand? Wow, talk about ego! She loved playing with the feelings of men didn't she? Poor Crespi ended up giving his life not able to bear the shame of being rejected by 2 women from the same family. Amaranta who swore to not let the wedding take place between Crespi and Rebeca not only came good on her promise but also left Crespi to rot like a forlorn lover. A simple woman who seemed never wanted anything else except love is so far away from it. The black band in her hand a constant reminder of the white gown she could never wear.

What has kept me hooked on the book is the constant introduction of new characters with unimaginable freshness of attitudes. I must admit I was frustrated on more than one occassion with not being able to remember the characters or their history (esp. Aureliano's 17 sons!) but perhaps the essence of the book is its ability to do just that and that of the reader is to go with the flow. So going with the flow I am! How far am I? Well, I'm still within reach (my deadline is 11.59 pm 8/29). I'm more than half way done. Why such slow progress? I have a job, you know.

Anyway, I go back to the magical land of Macondo but I must quote my most favorite part yet. A snippet from a conversation between Col. Aureliano Buendia and Col. Gerineldo Marquez. Col. Aureliano Buendia goes--

"Tell me something, old friend: why are you fighting?"

"What other reason could there be?" Colonel Gerineldo Marquez answered. "For the great Liberal party."

"You're lucky because you know why," he answered. "As far as I'm concerned, I've come to realize only just now that I'm fighting because of pride."

"That's bad," Colonel Gerineldo Marquez said.

Colonel Aureliano Buendia was amused at his alarm. "Naturally", he said. "But in any case, it's better than not knowing why you're fighting." He looked him in the eyes and added with a smile:

"Or fighting, like you, for something that doesn't have any meaning for anyone."

Afghan Women's Writing Project

So since this is a blog primarily about reading we should encourage writers of all sorts (sorry, this rule doesn't apply to Sarah Palin). But there are others who deserve encouragement and kudos -- like this website shows http://www.awwproject.org/-- women writers in Afghanistan writing to tell their stories despite the odds they face. Not only is this inspiring, but also revolutionary!

The project started in 2008 by Masha Hamilton and it allows women some very basic rights. Rights that we in the western world take for granted. Often times, the women writing their stories have to travel very far simply to gain access to a computer and be able to submit their writings. Some of them participate secretly from their parents and family due to fear of backlash.

To quote the project on how they operate: "The project reaches out to talented and generous women author/teachers here in the United States and engages them, on a volunteer, rotating basis, to teach Afghan women online from Afghanistan. We use women teachers due to cultural sensitivities in Afghanistan. The writing workshops are taught in three secure online classrooms."

The featured article of the day (Running for Parliament, Afghan-Style) is by a woman who is running for Parliament -- remember in the past few years lot of women who were running for Parliament or were members were shot dead by the Taliban and their rudimentary beliefs -- and is working nonstop on her campaign. E, as she is named in the article, tells us so much about her country where despite of billions and trillions of dollars spent, women still cannot travel to all provinces where they are running due to security problems. Women are still not allowed to drive and have to depend on a man to take them around. The poor are so poor that they do not even have the resources to buy themselves a tent and have to sleep out in the open in the blazing heat or bone chilling cold weather. And elections are won and lost for a few dollars. "As I understand, the rate for one vote is the equivalent of two and a half dollars. For example, if I need 10,000 votes, then I have to give them at least $25,000. Impossible! First of all, I will not buy votes because it is fraud."

But she also tells us that inspite of everything the Afghanis have been through in the past bazillion years, they are still hopeful. They still work for change and stories like her's make us believe it will come. "Yes we can" is not simply a punchline for them but a way of life without which there is only darkness.

My first entry

People who visit this blog might wonder if I really mean what  I say. Truth, in all sadness, is yes. I really don't have anything better to do. Let me add that I'm not one of those 412144545 people, thankfully, who are struggling to find a job. I have a job, landed a new job recently but still...In short, I have a job where I struggle to find work. Some might think this to be the most ideal situation where you are getting paid to sit on your ass, literally! But being the abnormality that I am, my brain is itching to find something to do. Truth be told, I just want to keep my grey cells going so I don't become dumb. Yes, I am paranoid like that.

So now that I've started this blog, what should I write about? There are a few things I'm good at and then several things I'm not good at. I guess I can make it a mish-mash of sorts. But I would like to start the blog with the idea that prompted its creation. I'm going to undertake a challenge, of mammoth proportions by George Bush's standards. Here it is: for the next 52 weeks, I will attempt to read a book a week. Now, before you naysayers think its impossible to do that consider this. My desk at work faces the window and there is a giant plank in front of me. No one can see what I'm doing or better yet what I'm reading. Every day I will attempt to write the progress I'm making with the book and how much more I have to go. I will share the name of the book I'm reading so those of you who have read it please don't be party poopers and release the suspense or the story.

Might I add, I'm a really quick reader.

There might be some days I'm busy at work, in which case I will try to keep up the blog after I'm home, if my dear husband permits. Thing is, after a long gruelling day at work, I like most women have to go home and slave in the kitchen and make sure the man is fed continually. (Just putting it out there so you understand my limitations).

So here we go -- for this week I shall begin with the glorious 100 Years of Solitude by the master, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. (I have a tiny confession -- I started the book yesterday and have finished the first 100 pages. But worry not, there are 300+ pages more). Some of you have loved the book, while others find it hard to read. So far, I've been into it. I find that he has a great sense of creative realism and the ability to go all over the place with finesse. I tried his Love in the Time of Cholera and could not get into it, but after I saw the movie with the hot Javier Bardem, (which my Venezuelan friend who worships Marquez, quickly dismissed as detestable), I developed a renewed sense of interest in his work. I must admit at first I couldn't grasp the characters quickly and had to read a bit about the book to understand what it was all about but its smooth sailing now.

If you've read it -- loved it or hated it -- share it with me. I'm also compiling a reading list for books I should read so if you have any in mind, feel free to share them. Here's what I have for the next few weeks:

-- Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison
-- The Idiot, Fydor Dostoevsky

For now, I go back to work.