Friday, June 10, 2011

A World Without Books : The Sheltering Desert.

Today's post is in conjunction with the Blog-A-Licious Blog Tour - a fantastic blog hop that brings together bloggers of all genres, backgrounds and locations. A heap of blog authors that I read frequently and a whole pile that I have just got to know about because of this bloghop. In today's hop, the blog featured before  http://holesinmysoles.blogspot.com/ is http://jlbcreatives.blogspot.com/


The blog featured after http://holesinmysoles.blogspot.com/ is the captivating http://bookorbust.blogspot.com/


Spend some time getting around, reading, commenting and spreading the love via twitter, stumble, facebook digg etc. You'll find my 'Share' buttons at the end of this and every post. Use it please and thanks.
And say hello plus some of us are having giveaways and contests. Enjoy!
 
 
Books have always been part of our lives. My wife Kay is a great reader and we're both often down the local library stocking up. I'm toying with the idea of buying her a Kindle or E-book reader. But she says "I can't turn the pages! I want to be able to feel the book in my hands with the rustle of pages when I read!"
Old school you know. Just isn't keeping up with technology. Hasn't even got a Facebook page....gee.
She's still going to be given one though. We travel a lot, and while on my recent trip through Namibia and Botswana, I've seen others using them and they seem so practical for that purpose. Imagine being able to take a whole heap of books, a small library with you wherever you travel without them weighing tons in your travel bag! Isn't the purpose of books to be able to read? Not just to hold a book, but to learn, to absorb new ideas, new theories, new adventures? So does the medium matter?
 
I think it's like modern music recording. Nowadays you just download it and plug in. But I confess I still love CDs. And a deeper confession here- I still have all my LP collection from the 70-80's! Stored in 5 huge cartons along with a stereo record player.
Somehow I-pods, I-Pads etc just don't do it for me when it comes to music. We've lost the soul of it- being able to read the cover notes, check out who engineered it, produced it, or all the backing musicians and their history. Kind of draws me into the music more than just listening to it on earplugs..
 
But Kay is still going to get an E-book reader!
 
On to a book I've found I'm referencing and re-reading-
The Sheltering Desert. By Henno Martin.
Set in the early WW2 years in Namibia, German nationals Herman and Henno, and Otto their dog, escape to the Namib Desert to avoid internment as enemy aliens in the then South West Africa, the former German colony under South African Protectorate. Henno records their life as carnivores in the Kuiseb area, sheltering in the desert, surviving day to day, and living off what they can. Their acute observations on life in the harsh environment, during the changing seasons and animal migration patterns are referred to to this day. This is not just a book about survival, but a book that underscores understanding about the desert environment, and of conservation measures there today. The huge herds of wildlife they observed in their 2 years desert living were all but wiped out subsequently by over avaricious hunters, and farmers out to protect their grazing land. A little of that wonderful life of zebra, cheetah, springbok, kudu and oryx is making a belated comeback today. Their journals are invaluable observations of abundant life in an environment most of us would look at and consider devoid of life.
Namibia calls me back...and this book I largely blame for that.
 
Blog hoppers here-
 

1. Dora - http://peacefrompieces.blogspot.com/


2. Kriti - http://kriti-howaboutthis.blogspot.com/

3. Sonia Rumzi - http://soniarumzi.com/

4. Paula - http://hardlineselfhelp.com/

5. Kate & Ashley - http://backofthebookreviews.com/

6. Roy - http://royd-spiltmilk.blogspot.com/

7. Shaeeza - http://shaeeza.blogspot.com/

8. Anna - http://annalwalls.blogspot.com/

9. Lisa - http://misclisa.blogspot.com/

10. Jessica - http://findingonesway.com/

11. Corinne - http://www.everydaygyaan.com/

12. Nicole - http://riverarunsthroughit.blogspot.com/

13. Tosh - http://totsymae.com/

14. Desiree - http://www.desireeholttellsall.com/

15. Shelley - http://bookfare.blogspot.com/

16. Tessa - http://tessadick.blogspot.com/


17. DK Levick - http://dklevick.wordpress.com/

18. La Vonya - http://www.battered-not-broken.blogspot.com/

19. Janet - http://jlbcreatives.blogspot.com/

20. Jim - http://holesinmysoles.blogspot.com/

21. Linda - http://bookorbust.blogspot.com/

22. Sibylla - http://divaluscious.com/category/mad-moms-manifesto/

23. Amber - http://wosushi.wordpress.com/

24. Lori - http://www.girlparker.typepad.com/

25. Neil - http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com/

26. Tina - http://tinahoggatt.wordpress.com/

27. Babz - http://lovebabz.blogspot.com/

28. John - http://jmountswritteninblood.com/

29. Violet - http://rhiannonpaille.blogspot.com/

30. Dora - http://blogaliciousblogs.blogspot.com/



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14 comments:

Kriti said...

Jim - I am blaming the book too! Wow, that sounds so awesome! Lovely post as usual - thank you!

Unknown said...

I thought you would have picked the Elephant Man

A

Red Nomad OZ said...

C'mon, Jim! Kay has to get a Kindle, but you don't have to update your music formats?????? How does that work?!?!?!

Have a great weekend!

Anna L. Walls said...

Home is where the heart is, not where the body is (necessarily). Very pulling.

Corinne Rodrigues said...

Jim - Great post again. My husband too keeps threatening to buy me a tablet, but I'm resisting. Let me know how your wife fares with hers. I'm going to keep my eyes out for a copy of The Sheltering Desert - sounds lovely. I'm glad you read it and continue to wow us with your stories of your journeys in Namibia.

Unknown said...

Wonderful post as always, Jim. Thank you for joining us.
Cheers - Dora
http://pandorapoikilos.com

Lisa Mandina said...

Great post! I think you should get your wife a Nook instead of a Kindle, but that cduld be because I work at Barnes and Noble and own a Nook. Glad to be on the Blog-A-Licious tour with you!

Sonia Rumzi said...

I am not sure how old your wife is :) but i am 55 and said the same words. Until my daughter bought me a Sony and I fell in love. Then my husband bought me a Kindle and never go anywhere without it.
Tell her she can have a light purse to carry with all the book she can ever imagine in one small carry on. Amazing power! I even take it to the bathroom.

Glad you are on the tour. :)

Finding One's Way said...

Jim,
I feel the same way Kay feels. I like the touch and the feel of the pages between my fingers.
I am leaving my link to A World Without Books Here.
XOXO
Jess
Finding One's Way

cathy jones said...

I have found that even though the CD's and LP's are becoming archaic...you can still google the information on any piece of music you like. I find myself doing that often when I hear a piece of music I like.

Great post Jim...blogtour eh? sounds interesting.

And yes the Kindle or ereader is good for that...I use my iPhone as an ereader too and will have to have something larger soon...the size of the screen is playing havoc with my eyes...

Shared this post on Twitter...
~cath
@jonesbabie on Twitter

Unknown said...

GReat post and beautiful pictures. I am sure your wife will enjoy it especially when she realizes just how many books can fit in one. Great blog

Roy Durham said...

these new fangled device are fine but i can open a read a book and don't need a five year old to show me how to use it. and my 45's and LP's still sound good. i good book read by the camp fire sure make a body feel good. thank you for being on the tour Jim. thank you and god bless

Babz Rawls Ivy said...

I love the way a book will take us back to a memory. Glad I stopped by on the Blog-A-Licious Tour.

Your Blog Host - Janet Beasley said...

Great post! So glad to meet you on the blog tour. I live in both worlds...hard copy books and ebooks. I like having those physical pages to turn, but when I'm traveling I enjoy the convenience of not having to take up so much space in the suitcase with all of the books I'm reading at the time. Thanks for sharing, have a great Monday! ~Janet~ JLB Creatives