Book Review - "The Gate to Women's Country"

This is the first book I read by Sheri S. Tepper, who has a written a great many books since her late-in-life entry into the world of authorship. This isn't her first work, but it is probably one of her most talked about. That's actually putting it tamely. Many people really argue about this book, feel deep seated insecurities about what others think of the book or embrace it with a little too much fervor.

Why?

Gate is essentially a post apocalyptic tale, with the fall several hundred years in the past. The world is lovely and quiet, with a slow rediscovery and recovery of technology. The world, at least as far as these folks reach, is based on widely spread walled towns. Where it gets tricky for folks is that these towns are inhabited only by women, their children and a few men who have undergone a complete separation from "normal" male life.

And what is normal male life in this new world? They live in garrisons, each protecting "their" town and women. They do lots of drilling, lots of yelling and male bonding and lots of big talking regarding their prowess. They interact with women personally only during sheduled free for alls, but the women seem very obliging in the matter. Every so often the men get word of some major insult from one town, or women relay, leader to leader, that there is some threat somewhere and a few towns' men march off in great honor to fight and come back far fewer in number.

Hmm...wonder why this makes male readers a bit uncomfortable at this point?

The main character is Stavia, though there are many other characters who are just as strong and vivid, and she essentially goes through her young life and into adulthood in this story. She is becoming...in all ways. She intuits and then discovers the world and what has happened within it as well as the secrets that only a very few know in Women's Country.

It is a difficult book in some respects. Mostly because it touches on some things, at various points, that all women feel deep down inside but go their entire lives never once speaking about to another soul. It touches also pretty deeply on how solutions aren't at all what they are sometimes cracked up to be.

Now, it isn't perfect. There are some resolutions that wouldn't be possible in our world and some mystical bits that always seem to wander in. All in all, it is very satisfying and one I'd want to keep to read again a few years later so I can refresh my enjoyment. It will certainly give you some pause to think.

And, for the guys; no, this isn't a man-hater book. It does put some issues on the table that are otherwise taboo though. I mean, we all know facts and numbers, but there is little alternative history to compare to. What can we point to as a truly woman dominated society to compare with our male dominated one to see, empirically, what is better? So, if you do read this, keep in mind this is a fiction writer with an interesting speculative slant on a story.

Enjoy and let me know if you read it and what you thought of it?

Book Review Series Coming: Author Sheri S. Tepper

This is for all you readers out there like me, who occassionally find a new author that you just devour. The one you consider a newly unearthed goldmine who has a whole body of existing work you haven't touched on yet? Oh yes, I love those discoveries and recently I was accidentally introduced to my latest. Sheri S. Tepper.

I first heard about the book, The Gate to Women's Country, on a post-apocalyptic/doomer book list of good reads. Having never heard of it or the author, I looked up reviews and was delighted to find passionate disagreement, outright hatred and over the top adulation. Ahhh...perfect. So I ordered it with my next Amazon Order and delved right in.

Now, I'm not saying it was perfect, nor that any of her books are perfect. Instead I'm saying they are fascinating, completely novel, refreshingly new in their point of view and each has a moral like the old fashioned fairy tales set for our modern literary tastes.

Very quickly I ordered a further six novels and I've finished them in less than 2 weeks. Included are the SciFi masterwork, Grass, The Family Tree, Beauty, Singer From the Sea, The Margarets and The Companions.

Her body of work has a great many more in it and I'm preparing my next order with her works dominating it. As an aside, for anyone thinking of jumping in before I get the reviews, a lot of her books are out as regular paperbacks and Amazon some of them may still be in their 4 for 3 special, but those get rotated so no guarantees.

I'm going to review all her books in an upcoming series of entries, but if you've read any of them already and want to get your two cents in, I'll incorporate your comments as I write the reviews. You can leave them here and I will look. Even if you hate it I'll be sure to include your views!

About the Author:

Sheri Tepper isn't a spring chicken. In fact, had my Grandmother lived to now she would be the peer of Ms. Tepper. And she hasn't been writing all that long, I believe writing her first in 1984. Despite that, her novel Grass is number 48 in the Science Fiction Masterworks list and edition. Pretty amazing considering the scope and company in that group.

And yes, she writes Science Fiction, but not in the way you might think of it. It isn't the hard science of Benford or the smushy romantic pretend SciFi of authors I won't shame to name. It is instead a truly unique and unparalleled ability to build worlds and put our human selves in a new light and with a whole new extension on our history. The way we change, inside and out, and see ourselves.

But I'm about to spoil it so I won't go on. The reviews are being written in draft now and I'll schedule their posting far enough in advance to edit for anything you all write that needs incorporating.

Book Reviews: Gardening When It Counts and Square Foot Gardening

I'm reviewing both of these books together because they represent the two ends of the home gardening spectrum when it comes to philosophy. I have both, love both and have finally figured out how to combine the best elements of both philosophies to fit my particular climate, space and habit. I'll warn now, this is more of an article than a blog entry and is a bit long. Sorry!

I'm also including both because I think many people get really polarized in their gardening views. And yes, I've actually heard folks use heated words with each other over this very topic. Strange, but true.

Another important reason to really delve into these gardening philosophies is based on what the future is shaping up to be. Both writers fully understand that during hard financial times, home gardening increases and many folks jump in for the first time while being really financially tied to the outcome. Even for the experienced gardener who has been treating their veggies as a hobby and not paying attention to what it costs would benefit from really evaluating their garden.

Sometimes, it boils down to the interpretation with regards to environmentalism, sustainability, food safety or even meshing with the wilds. The truth is, a strict adherence to any gardening style when it may not be ideal for any one particular spot on the world is going to be the lesser one and that could wind up being either of these. If I had to summarize what I took from both books, I'd say it was that knowing both methods is essential and all but the most urban spot is probably going to wind up needing a bit of both.

Gardening When It Counts

Steve Solomon, the author, hasn't been an advocate of the wide space method forever. In fact, he wrote books on various intensive methods in the past. He's actually a relative newcomer to this but he is a logical person with long gardening experience and a wonderful point of view. His current garden can survive without much in the way of irrigation or inputs and leverages the habits of plants in nature as a way to ensure harvests under adverse conditions.

Square Foot Gardening

Mel Bartholomew, probably one of the best known and most personable of all the intensive method gardening writers, is the developer of Square Foot Gardening. While he has refined it some over time, the basic premise remains the same as it was when it had its debut on PBS to the American people. It's been spread throughout the world and is often used as a way to allow urban people and schools access to growing food they wouldn't otherwise have.

The Good, The Bad and the Comparison

Spacing: One of the most basic differences in these methods is the plant spacing.

• GWIC, very wide plant spacing is used to leverage expanding root systems to reduce or eliminate irrigation or fertilization needs. Instead of putting a lot of inputs, the plants get to use more area to get what they need. The upside is that water, if expensive, and fertilizers which are increasingly expensive, aren't needed. The downside is that lots of open space between plants means lots of light for weeds to grow and even more importantly, lots of space that is dedicated to crops instead of the natural plant array for that area.
• SFG promotes a very close spacing of plants in an ideal soil mix while tending the plants to keep them in check, such as pruning tomato vines to the main vine or 2 instead of sprawling. The upside is that even the most limited space, even a balcony, can produce veggies. There is very limited destruction of ground structure and containment is easier. It is also the only option for many in HOAs that don't permit in ground gardens due to aesthetics. The downside is that some produce will be smaller, in particular, big beefsteak tomatoes, larger peppers and eggplants, primarily because roots sense their spacial limitations.

Initial Outlay: Big difference in costs and labor between these methods.

• GWIC uses a much larger area but takes the ground as it is. Initial amendments are limited to what is on hand, like compost and manure and added only rarely or during fallow times. So cost is low. Sweat equity, on the other hand, is quite high. Initial clearance, leveling and breaking sod can be back breaking, and if you're clearing a large area or many patches, it can be overwhelming. If you live in a verdant area that has a lot of vines, creepers or invasives, this may not be do-able at all. And if you're in suburbia, your lot may not be big enough for much in the long run.
• SFG does use a very small area relative to output. In just pound for area comparison, there isn't much to outstrip SFG. Initial labor means building beds, filling them and that means a day of hard work. The cost, however, can be really prohibitive if you don't have a ready supply of compost and manure and soil. Good lumber, stone or blocks to build the beds can cost a pretty penny and importing good soil and compost cost even more.

Maintenance and Output: Tending the garden for what you get out of it

• GWIC is reputed to give very large and very abundant results. With so much space to sprawl and drawn nutrients from, the plants give their all and this is the kind of garden you can get prize sized tomatoes from. Of course, the downside is the weeding since weeds are going to take advantage of all that space and sun and nutrients too. You'll lose the advantage that produces the size unless you're tenacious with weeding. Mulching with whatever is available reduces that need for weeding some, but relies on the availability of mulching material that is appropriate. Watering, which can be a pain, is much reduced as the resevoir of retained water is being used by a smaller number of plants per area.
• SFG definitely gives smaller produce in space dependent plants, however the amount per square foot is higher overall. Weeding is so easy as to be a non-issue and once plants establish they shade the ground preventing more weed growth and keeping in moisture so the watering isn't too bad. Of course, you do have to water SF Gardens more overall. In the height of a truly blazing summer a bed of tomatoes is going to need a shot every other day no question. Nutrients are going to be depleted more rapidly with an intensive bed, no matter what. Side dressings of compost are going to be needed for full season plantings and a handful of compost added to each square during succession planting is a must.

Overall Impressions of both books:

Each one is a valuable addition to the core gardening reference section of every home gardener. If you're at all concerned with changes in economy or foreign food safety changing the way you garden or feed your family, then these are really a must. Both have sound principles and both have a valid point of view. Both of them aren't likely to be able to be used singly in any location, though there are exceptions to that, but together and used in combination, they cover almost any garden location you can think of. I don't think you'll regret making these purchases and will refer to them over and over as the years go by.

Knowing how to figure out what is right for you can be hard for some folks. It is just too confusing and people remain unsure about things for years, even when they really do know it deep down inside. I wasn't born with a green thumb...I developed one. It took only about a year of watching to figure out what was right for me. And believe me, if I can do that with little effort, so can anyone else.

Book Review - "One Second After"

Since my last book review, I've probably read more than 3 dozen books. They aren't reviewed up here, though one or two are worth the work, but this one has absolutely galvanized me to ensure I tell everyone about it. Written by William Forstchen, it is my first reading of his work, though I have heard he's a good writer.

I heard about it on Nealz Nuze and even though Neal's unimitigated disdain for women drives me insane, I did like the book review so I immediately ordered it from Amazon.

When it came I pulled it from the box of books first and devoured it in one day and night of little sleep. I just couldn't stop.

Right on the cover it says the Foreward is by Newt Gingrich, and I'll admit that is quite off-putting for many, including myself, but trust me when I say that it isn't at all what you might expect from him.

So, what is it about? Wow, I can barely describe what it is about because it is about so many things tied beautifully together. If you go by the bookflap, it is about the after-effects of an EMP burst by unknown enemies, perhaps even terrorists, over the United States. EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse), for those who may not know, is often associated with an airburst of a nuclear weapon where radiation is the real problem.

As noted in the book, however, EMP is a powerful weapon in itself and the definitive report on it was unfortunately submitted for our leaders' consideration on the same day the 9/11/01 report was, thus ensuring it was never considered. EMP remains our most vulnerable and easily exploited gap in our freedom and way of life.

Without creating a bunch of spoilers for the book, a single EMP is launched and explodes about 100 miles above the United States, creating an instantaneous overload in any electrical circuit and immediately overheating and destroying any chip not shielded within it's line of sight, which is almost the entire North American Continent at that height. It doesn't create radiation that hurts, doesn't damage buildings or the environment. Everything simply stops and won't start again.

A retired Colonel and now history professor who lives with his 2 daughters in a small western North Carolina town are the main characters and it is about the first year after the EMP.

It is a profoundly moving book and I will say that if you don't cry at least twice in this book, you may not actually have a heart. It is utterly realistic, widely scoped while keeping true to the family at the center, amazingly beautiful and profoundly sad. It will become, I have no doubt whatsoever, a classic like Earth Abides, The Time Machine and Brave New World.

Now, this isn't a Doomer book in any way, shape or form. Not at all. It isn't a military book with loads of hard to imagine movements or people. It isn't a survivalist book where the protagonist seems to know everything and never gets tired. It isn't filled with bad science or incorrect mechanics. What it is: A story of a very realistic family, in a very realistic small town in a very realistic but unfortunate situation.

I really can't recommend this book highly enough. If I could afford it, I would buy hundreds of them and hand them out to people. Take stock of the person you are before you start this book and then again after finishing. If you are at all like me (and many others who have now read it) you'll find that you are no longer the person that started the book. You'll hug your family a bit more, pet your dog with more love, look at our day to day life with more wonder and have a new lease on a brand new life.

"Have-More" Plan - The Book I Should Have Bought First!

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of books about gardening, homesteading and other related topics. In fact, I counted them. It turns out I have 126 of them. Each of them has prices ranging from $9.95 (very few) to $49.95 (also very few) but most are in the range of 25 to 30 bucks. That means, just using the average, I have spent $3150-$3780 on those type of books.

Now, I don't know if I actually spent that much since a good portion of them came from Amazon, but even if I got a discount, that is pretty ridiculous.

What is worse, most of them are simply not that useful.

When an expert writes a book on say, gardening, they assume too much or they get too basic. It is difficult to fill a book up with material and it seems no one wants to write pamphlets that won't bring in good money.

Of course, there are exceptions and I do have a handspan of books I just couldn't do without. And almost all of them have their place and have been used for reference or to double check things.

I just got a new one though and I find it so wonderful, so awesome and well, so darn great that I've got to tell you all about it. It is a short book, more of an oversized pamphlet really and it was written in the 1940's. It is called the "Have-More" Plan by Ed and Carolyn Robinson.

I just got mine from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds instead of Amazon because it is one of the few books that doesn't have a discount and I like to support my favorite places.

Ed and Carolyn were city people who simply got tired of it, took their young son and went to the country. As total novices they managed to commute for work to the city and have a mini-homestead that supplied a truly amazing part of their support. And this was in the 40's!

The book is oversized and paperback and reprinted exactly as it was on the second edition, which had a few more lessons learned in it. It's written more like a series of articles, none of them meant to be the end all in how to for any subject, but more of a guide to how they chose and did it and all the things they wound up doing wrong in doing so.

Subjects range from Bee Keeping to home meat rabbits and even in setting up a Harvest Kitchen. These two are amazing...really.

It's told in a wonderfully conversational tone and is filled with those lovely pre-1960s assumptions on gender roles that will have you cracking up a bit. They included lots of family snapshots that aren't just cute, but incredibly useful. Even right to his little chicken guillotine, complete with chicken under the blade. (Don't worry, no gore and it is just before the ax fell.)

Some of the sections are pretty eye-opening. Under their food preservation section they do go on about using a freezer. These were very new to the market then and they actually paid more for their freezer in 1941 than I would in buy the same sized one today!

They do use actual money numbers in the book and while clearly we don't buy our homestead for 2,650.00 anymore, the use of relative numbers does work in many instances because we don't make 100 bucks a month anymore either.

Some of you may really like the goat section. I learned a LOT about goats here and have a lot less fear of getting those dairy goats than before. His were awfully cute too.

The tone of the book is such that you'd think you were talking to a city dweller today. The urge for sustainable living and a bit more control over our food and a happy and less stressful life appears to remain unchanged.

One of the most surprising parts of this book is the whole pre-1960's gender role thing. While it is clear their speech indicates they were raised with those views, like everyone else, their reality was far different. Once they got homesteading, they really did become equal with each relying on the other. They don't say it in so many words, but she is a far more powerful member of the household than she was before homesteading. I do like that!

Nonetheless, I find this to be the most enjoyable and useful of the books I've gotten since Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening. And it was the cheapest one too!

I did find it online however I'm not sure if it is a legal copy so I'm not including the link. It looks like a scanned copy of the original and since that one isn't copyrighted, but in 1978 it was, I can't be sure. I'll keep researching and update if I find it is a legal copy. Either way, the scan is a bad one and the lovely copy I have is a delight to own.

*Disclaimer: I do NOT have an Amazon store or any other concession for these links. They are the same links you'd get from google searching. I don't do ads or commissions and get no kick backs. Just passing on the good info....