Review: Whisky, Kilts, and the Loch Ness Monster

William Starr is a man who is a bit obsessed with Samuel Johnson and his biographer James Boswell. In the eighteenth century Boswell and Johnson toured Boswell's native Scotland. Starr decides to recreate this voyage in the twenty-first century. Throughout the text he compares his impressions with those of Boswell and Johnson. From Glasgow through the islands and the Highlands, Starr gives us his impressions of the countryside, people, weather, and lore that define each area of Scotland.

Starr is clearly a man who loves Scotland. He is in his element while travelling through the Scottish countryside, though he harbors a certain amount of nostalgia for a Scotland long gone. Ultimately this leads to a bit of golden ageism. Starr is also a man who loves Boswell and Johnson, more so than the average reader likely will. The text is littered with passages quoted from Boswell and Johnson's own writings, more than the average reader will likely appreciate. I wish that Starr had focused more upon his own travelogue and less on Boswell and Johnson. Starr has an entertaining, Bill Bryson-like style that reads easily, but I would rather read Starr on his own than with the crutch of Boswell and Johnson.

William Starr, Whisky, Kilts, and the Loch Ness Monster: Traveling through Scotland with Boswell and Johnson (University of South Carolina Press, 2010) ISBN: 1570039488 

Review: Married to Bhutan

If anyone should ever need proof that some people have a spiritual home, a place where they feel fully comfortable and at peace, they need look no further than Linda Leaming in Bhutan. After a trip to the remote, mountainous country of Bhutan Leaming decided that she had to move there permanently. And move there she did. This memoir details Leaming's life in Bhutan, from her early days in the country to marrying a Bhutanese husband. Life is certainly different in Bhutan; values, material goods, and the pace of life are all completely anathema to those in the United States. The pace of life in Bhutan is slow, and the most important things are happiness and spiritual enlightenment. Life is physically difficult, but people seem happier than many of those in other places.

Bhutan is certainly an interesting place. Its size and terrain have led to significant isolation from the rest of the world. I definitely go the the sense the life in Bhutan would not be everyone. It likely would not suit me very well. Still, I appreciated the chance to learn about a place about which I knew almost nothing. Leaming's love for the place infuses every page of this memoir, and that is really what makes it a pleasure to read.

Linda Leaming, Married to Bhutan: How One Woman Got Lost, Said 'I Do,' and Found Bliss (Hay House, 2011) ISBN: 1401928463 

Reading Challenge: Dewey Decimal

One of my goals is to read my way through the Dewey Decimal System.  My interest was sparked by Librarything, and I'm slowly working my way through.  To help the process I'm joining the Dewey Decimal Challenge.  My goal is to read 16-20 non-fiction books.  I will be the Dewey Decimal Master!

Interested in joining?  Click on the image!