Best. State. Ever. A Florida Man Defends His Homeland by Dave Barry

 

Second Book Club Book #15

The title of this book is perfectly accurate. Barry spends the entire time defending his homeland of Florida. His methods are a little unconventional though. Rather than convince the reader that Florida is not, in fact, as unusual as it's portrayed, he embraces the strangeness. Weird things happen in Florida. They're often the norm rather than the exception. That's cool for Barry, who uses this book as an opportunity to highlight a few of the more permanent facets of strange you'll only find in Florida.

From a natural spring where "mermaids" perform all the way to an entire city made up of line-dancing retirees, Florida has plenty going on that makes it stand out. Barry gets in deep, experiencing each location he writes about in person, giving us an observational, historical, and sometimes political perspective on where he's at. It's a great combination and an engaging way to learn.

Barry is also funny. His humor, mostly presented like he's side-whispering to us so the rest of the crowd won't hear, fits the mood of the absurd locations in Florida he's hanging out in. I laughed out loud more than once.

This short book isn't going to change your mind if you've already developed a serious opinion about Florida. It's going to reaffirm that there's some strange stuff going on down there, but at the same time it opens up the state. There's nothing warm and fuzzy, but there's a piqued curiosity, a desire to maybe look a little closer at some of those roadside attractions and well-known pit stops. 

This one is a lot of fun to read.

A Moveable Feast: Life Changing Food Encounters Around the World by Don George, Lonely Planet

I needed something I could read in small, digestible bites (pun intended) and what better than a collection of essays focusing on food and travel? Of course, most of the life-changing experiences in food written about here will never be something my picky palette will encounter, but each story was emotional and to-the-point, and compact. It felt like I was reading a full story each night with no obligation to recall any previous details. My brain needed that. It has been overloaded lately.

The most touching and consistent aspect of these stories was the idea of food as a symbol of hospitality. The willingness of people to offer up their best food, in some of the poorest parts of the world, to complete strangers and foreigners speaks to the kind heart of humanity (which is sometimes hard to see these days.) Being able to feed guests and make them feel special through food is a rite some cultures will not be denied and that very idea brought me into these crazy stories of eating the strangest food (strange being defined here by someone raised on pizza and grilled chicken.)

Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern make appearances in this collection as well as other illustrious food and travel writers, but their celebrity only serves to grant them access to their experiences or at least motivate them to travel off the beaten path. You don't feel like you're reading something from an "expert" but rather it's just a story of an experience from an Average Joe who happens to have an adventurous spirit.

This was a nice break from novels and made-up worlds, and alternate realities. Compilations area always great when you need a break from a story that takes hundreds of pages to complete and I highly recommend finding one that fits into your own interests if you are looking for a little break from best sellers and whatnot too.