
In my defence, book club is early this month...
Coffee or black tea? I‘m the latter and I enjoyed very much the history of caffeine and all about its good and bad effects on mankind. The author and I don‘t share the same political points of view, but how fascinating that caffeine had a massive role to play in the advancements in math and science as caffeine was introduced right before the subjects flourished. The point: caffeine gave humans the ability to focus like never before. ⬇️
I believe this author had as his mission to write the best researched, most thorough account of the Republic of Pirates, founded by pirate Benjamin Hornigold, in the Caribbean. The escapades of many a pirate (so many I forget who‘s who), and every ship won or lost, are detailed in this book. Which, unfortunately, makes for a boring pirate book. This book is a well-written assembly of facts and for that reason it‘s a pick for me. It‘d be an ⬇️
When José is growing up, slavery has been abolished on #Martinique but many of the black residents still survive in slavery-like conditions. We see him growing up first with his grandmother then his mother and the juxtaposition of reality aside the frequent joy of being a child. This edition had some critiques with it that really added to the story. I often don‘t like childhood stories, but this one worked for me.
#ReadingAmericas2023
Another map to track the pirates
#readingtheamericas2023 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB
#Bahamas
#Barbados
#Cuba
#Jamaica
#Martinique
#USVirginIslands or #USVI
I‘m reading a few pages each day now to try to break my reading slump. I‘m helped along with a map of the world in 1715. #readingtheamericas2023 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB
#Bahamas
#Barbados
#Cuba
#Jamaica
#Martinique
#USVirginIslands or #USVI
“I would be drenched by all rains, moistened by all dews. I would roll like frenetic blood on the slow current of the eye of words turned into mad horses into fresh children into clots into curfew into vestiges of temples into precious stones remote enough to discourage miners. Whoever would not understand me would not understand any better the roaring of a tiger.”
Remembering Aimé Césaire on his birthday.
#martinique #readingtheamericas2023 Remarkable story of an island people and how they came to build a small place of their own, a shantytown named after the fuel tanks. It is the memories, writings and narrated stories as told to an urban planner by a woman of incredible strength. Translated from French but full of Creole dialect. A rambling, messy wonderful book.
Since the book is about pirates, I guess I‘d better know the ships!
#readingtheAmericas
#Bahamas
#Barbados
#Cuba
#Jamaica
#Martinique
#USVirginIslands or #USVI
@Librarybelle @BarbaraBB