The Sunday Post #6: That’s The Way The Road Dogs Do It

So now we’re properly in August. How’s your week been?
I fell in love with this song and have been listening to it non-stop.

I read two books this week. Empire of Cotton: A New History of Global Capitalism by Sven Beckert. I liked the book, it had many strong points on how at the same time Europeans created laws and yet the laws only applied to Europeans, not the slaves that were imported from Africa. I didn’t know how cotton affected everything in such a wide scale before reading this book. 4/5 stars.

Then I read The Abominables by Eva Ibbotson. I have never read any Ibbotson books before and reading this made me feel like I should have?  The Abominables follows a family of yetis who are forced, by tourism, to leave their home in the Himalayas and make their way across Europe to a possible new home. Fun, lighter read. I missed reading children’s books. 4/5 stars.

This weekend I went to WEEKEND17 festival in Helsinki, biggest party in northern Europe. It was a lot of fun.

Next week: Worldcon 75 in Helsinki! I’m so excited. Maybe I’ll manage to post about something else too.

What have you done? What you have you read? Any new favorite songs?
//Anastasia

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

 

50 thoughts on “The Sunday Post #6: That’s The Way The Road Dogs Do It

  1. I am reading 2 books:

    1) “All the light we can’t see” by Anthony Doerr. It’s a good WW2 romance, but a little cheesy (blind girl lost her father are put involuntary in a chase about a rare diamond). Other problem is that, although the romance has a nice structure (each part goes forth and back in time, weaving 2 (and later, 3) stories into one), the author “tricks” are easily perceived. It’s almost a movie script. But the story is good enough to be read.

    2) “Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind who Changed the Bible and Why” by Bart D. Herman. This author is a scholar in biblical studies and has a lot of books about religious analyses for lay people. In this one, he explains how the scholars analyze the differences between the new testament manuscripts and how they happen and why. It’s a enjoyable book, with interesting examples.

    I will put the book about the history of cotton in my list. I love history!

    1. I’ve read All the Light We Cannot See, it’s one of my all-time favorite books. Werner’s story had me in tears for so many times. However, it’s not WW2 romance. There’s no romance in the book or barely any of it. What comes to the search of the diamond…it’s not cheesy, I think, because the diamond represents something else too. Bombings in Saint-Malo and water and a diamond named Sea of Flames. And Marie cannot see either. Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading it! :)

      Misquoting Jesus sounds very good! I’ll give it a try! Me too, history has always interested me! :)

  2. I have always identified my summers by the outdoor festivals I attended. Sadly, there will be none this summer, as my partner in crime had to start grad school in June. 😞 The one you attended looks awesome.

  3. Sounds like you had a fun week!
    I just finished reading ‘The Shores of Our Souls’. A story about a young american girl who falls in love with an older Arab Muslin U.N. official.. I didn’t like it as much as I hoped I would. Picking my new read soon.. Yeah!! Love that.
    Have a great week and happy reading!

  4. I am reading 2 books:

    1) “All the light we can’t see” by Anthony Doerr. It’s a good WW2 romance, but a little cheesy (blind girl lost her father are put involuntary in a chase about a rare diamond). Other problem is that, although the romance has a nice structure (each part goes forth and back in time, weaving 2 (and later, 3) stories into one), the author “tricks” are easily perceived. It’s almost a movie script. But the story is good enough to be read.

    2) “Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind who Changed the Bible and Why” by Bart D. Herman. This author is a scholar in biblical studies and has a lot of books about religious analyses for lay people. In this one, he explains how the scholars analyze the differences between the new testament manuscripts and how they happen and why. It’s a enjoyable book, with interesting examples.

    I will put the book about the history of cotton in my list. I love history!

    1. I’ve read All the Light We Cannot See, it’s one of my all-time favorite books. Werner’s story had me in tears for so many times. However, it’s not WW2 romance. There’s no romance in the book or barely any of it. What comes to the search of the diamond…it’s not cheesy, I think, because the diamond represents something else too. Bombings in Saint-Malo and water and a diamond named Sea of Flames. And Marie cannot see either. Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading it! :)

      Misquoting Jesus sounds very good! I’ll give it a try! Me too, history has always interested me! :)

  5. I have always identified my summers by the outdoor festivals I attended. Sadly, there will be none this summer, as my partner in crime had to start grad school in June. 😞 The one you attended looks awesome.

  6. Sounds like you had a fun week!
    I just finished reading ‘The Shores of Our Souls’. A story about a young american girl who falls in love with an older Arab Muslin U.N. official.. I didn’t like it as much as I hoped I would. Picking my new read soon.. Yeah!! Love that.
    Have a great week and happy reading!

  7. The festival looks like it was a blast! I would read Empire of Cotton. It was one of the large crops of the South in the US. It’s growing right now; most cotton fields will be harvested by mid-September. Is the book focused just on Europe?

    1. It was! :) I feel like your comment is missing one line. Ayways, that’s interesting I didn’t think of the fact that cotton is growing right now. The first half of the book covers cotton very widely, from ancient history to modern day and all the continents/countries that were involved, what part American Civil War played so it was pretty informative :) Warmly recommend it!

  8. Those two books sound like they should balance each other out :D that said though, both sound interesting, and I’ve especially been interested in nonfiction like the first one lately. I’ve recently read Baking Power Wars, it’s also a similar kind of story – about how baking powder sales pretty much created the marketing model of today, how people learned they could lie BIG to sell, and how the FDA wasn’t really regulating much at first. Stuff like that. It was written in quite a boring way, but the impact of it on society was very interesting to read about.

    1. They did! :D After serious reads, I always need to read something lighter, otherwise I’ll be sad and mad for like a week. Funny what reading does to you…
      I haven’t read Baking Power Wars, it does sound like something I like though so thank you for bringing it to my attention! :) Food industry is really crazy in so many ways. Basically they make all money out of really cheap products: water, flour & sugar o.O Have you read Fast Food Nation?

      1. I haven’t! Is it worth the read?
        Baking Powder Wars was interesting because it’s basically about business in the 19th century. And I would have never known how they basically OBLITERATED their competitors. To the point where now baking powder is just baking powder to us – just the one type, and we don’t even know other types have existed and have been banned, and we’re trying to ban the current one, but failed.

        1. Definitely! Or at least the book you mentioned made me think of it. It shows how truly bad the fast food industry is. Maybe it’s nothing new and it was written already in 2004 but it is still very interesting read, I think. That’s just crazy! And baking powder is supposed to be this easy and “safe” ingredient.

  9. I am glad you had such a good time at WEEKEND17 festival. It sounds like a lot of fun. Both of the books you read this past week sound like good ones. This past week was more of a quiet one for me–getting back into the groove of work and life now that we are home from our vacation. I am not quite sure I’m completely back yet mentally, but I’ll get there.

    I hope you have a great week!

    1. It was! :) Ah, I see. Getting back from the vacation is never easy. Waking up early, trying to eat and exercise in a way that’s probably different from vacation haha. Good luck with it! :)

      You too!

    1. It was! :) I feel like your comment is missing one line. Ayways, that’s interesting I didn’t think of the fact that cotton is growing right now. The first half of the book covers cotton very widely, from ancient history to modern day and all the continents/countries that were involved, what part American Civil War played so it was pretty informative :) Warmly recommend it!

  10. Those two books sound like they should balance each other out :D that said though, both sound interesting, and I’ve especially been interested in nonfiction like the first one lately. I’ve recently read Baking Power Wars, it’s also a similar kind of story – about how baking powder sales pretty much created the marketing model of today, how people learned they could lie BIG to sell, and how the FDA wasn’t really regulating much at first. Stuff like that. It was written in quite a boring way, but the impact of it on society was very interesting to read about.

    1. They did! :D After serious reads, I always need to read something lighter, otherwise I’ll be sad and mad for like a week. Funny what reading does to you…
      I haven’t read Baking Power Wars, it does sound like something I like though so thank you for bringing it to my attention! :) Food industry is really crazy in so many ways. Basically they make all money out of really cheap products: water, flour & sugar o.O Have you read Fast Food Nation?

      1. I haven’t! Is it worth the read?
        Baking Powder Wars was interesting because it’s basically about business in the 19th century. And I would have never known how they basically OBLITERATED their competitors. To the point where now baking powder is just baking powder to us – just the one type, and we don’t even know other types have existed and have been banned, and we’re trying to ban the current one, but failed.

        1. Definitely! Or at least the book you mentioned made me think of it. It shows how truly bad the fast food industry is. Maybe it’s nothing new and it was written already in 2004 but it is still very interesting read, I think. That’s just crazy! And baking powder is supposed to be this easy and “safe” ingredient.

  11. I am glad you had such a good time at WEEKEND17 festival. It sounds like a lot of fun. Both of the books you read this past week sound like good ones. This past week was more of a quiet one for me–getting back into the groove of work and life now that we are home from our vacation. I am not quite sure I’m completely back yet mentally, but I’ll get there.

    I hope you have a great week!

    1. It was! :) Ah, I see. Getting back from the vacation is never easy. Waking up early, trying to eat and exercise in a way that’s probably different from vacation haha. Good luck with it! :)

      You too!

  12. Sounds like you’re having a great week. The Abominables sounds like something I’d actually like to read. Thanks for visiting my blog :)

  13. Sounds like you’re having a great week. The Abominables sounds like something I’d actually like to read. Thanks for visiting my blog :)

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