Welcome to the most delicious time of year. Long endless days, spent in your hammock, sifting sleepily through a favorite book. Maybe a mystery, or one of those great non-fiction titles, or maybe it's the hottest new fiction.
We have it all for you in the KINK BOOK CLUB this summer.
Make sure you are signed up to get something really fun coming to your mailbox and dig into the summer reading season with us.
BELOW IS OUR ONGOING LIST FOR "SUMMER READING '08"
August 7, 2008 - Ok, so the nose has been in a book lately, as you can tell from the date logged here.
Time to stick in a DVD. Very sweet and tender thing called "Duck". It's a sort of "tilting at windmills" film with the wonderful Phillip Baker Hall. Here, Phillip is alone after the deaths of his wife and son. Life is almost post-but-not-quite-apocalyptic 2009. And our hero comes across a, well, a duck which he names Joe. Some gentle hilarity ensues, but mostly it's wistful with familiar feelings that envelope the onlooker. Very lovely. Very thoughtful.
Fun to catch up with the actor and Nic Bettauer, director of the film.
August 4, 2008 - Sean Marten is in the Guest Hammock
Summer Reading
Summer Not
Ah, the dog days of summer. Summer’s still here, and you still want to get away, but… maybe you’ve blown the budget, maybe you’ve eaten up all your vacation days, who knows? Here’s a book that will take you around the world and back in time. And it’s not a new release, so you can get it cheap.
Under the Black Flag – The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates
by David Cordingly
Historically correct non-fiction, thoroughly researched and bristling with footnotes, might not sound like light and fun summer fare, but this book reads fast and easy and it’s a good time from start to finish. It takes everything you think you know about pirates and compares it to the reality of seafaring pirates in their peak years of the sixteen and seventeen hundreds.
Guess what? Most of what you think you know about pirates is actually true. Or has some origins in historical fact, at least. I’m pretty sure the producers of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies dog-eared and highlighted the hell out of this book.
The biggest pirate myth “Under the Black Flag” throws overboard is the romance of it all. The popular image of free spirited noble outlaws struggling to keep adventure alive in the face of encroaching bureaucracy. Sorry. These were horrible people. They did horrible things, they lived short lives under horrible conditions, and they died horrible deaths. It was not Robin Hood and his Merry Men on the high seas. Oh, and the whole “walking the plank” thing has been fictionalized way out of proportion. And treasure maps where X marks the spot? Never happened.
OK, now for the fun stuff...
Pirates really did have parrots. Parrots were prized because they were colorful, could be taught to talk, were easy to keep on a ship, and would fetch a handsome price if you got it back in London. In fact, there were lots of animals on board – chickens, pigs and goats for food, plus they routinely kept pets. Dogs, cats and monkeys. And parrots. Let’s take a moment to image the smell below deck on a boat about the size of a singlewide manufactured home, holding 40 men who drink ale instead of water and couldn’t bathe if they wanted to, and all those animals. OK, that’s enough.
The western world’s first taste of democracy arrived on board pirate ships. Pirate captains were elected by the crew, and if he failed to satisfy, they’d elect someone else. Captains only had full authority during battle, anyway. Everything else, like where they were going and what they were going to do when they got there, was decided by equal vote of the crew. There really were “codes of conduct”, written down and signed by all, and detailed schedules regarding how stolen treasures would be divided. And health insurance.
That’s right – health insurance. Pirates had very specific tables defining compensation for injuries suffered in battle. Loss of a right arm was on top – 600 pieces of eight. So there’s another popular image that’s true. Messing with ropes and cables in ocean storms, and battling other ships with muskets and cannons led to many missing limbs. There really were lots of pirates with wooden legs, eye patches and hooks.
Pirates really did wear bandanas tied to their heads. Kept the sun from baking their skulls. And they really did walk around armed to the teeth with many cutlasses and many pistols. Single shot pistols often misfired, so if you had half a dozen of them strapped to yourself, it gave you an advantage in battle. And pirate captains sometimes did dress up like royalty, complete with jewels and powdered wigs, to make an impression. Guess where they got all that stuff.
And they really did fly black flags with the skull and crossbones -- or a skull and crossed swords, or a bleeding heart, or a full skeleton holding an hourglass. Also red flags were very common. Red meant blood, black meant death, and the message was “surrender or you’re dead, and make up your mind quick”. Often, flying the black or red flag was all it took to end any misunderstandings when one ship began chasing another on the high seas.
Most of the real pirates were full bore sadistic sociopaths, no different than the Darfur dark riders or LA gangbangers of today. Some of them showed amazing skill, intelligence, cunning, leadership, and diplomacy – all toward a bad end.
My favorite guy is almost a footnote -- Stede Bonnet. He wanted to be a pirate, and for one really fast year between the summers of 1717 and 1718, he damn sure got his wish.
An educated and wealthy Brit, he was born on and inherited a large plantation on the island of Barbados. In June of 1717, he apparently grew tired of his henpecked married life. With his own money he acquired a sloop, converted it into a warship, hired a crew of seventy men and sailed away to become a pirate. Then he found himself out on the open water with no seafaring or command experience, and his salaried pirate crew were starting to talk amongst themselves.
Then he met up with Captain Edward Teach, the real Blackbeard. They cut a deal.
In exchange for giving over his fine ship and crew, Blackbeard let Bonnet lounge in one of his ship’s captain’s quarters, reading books and drinking rum. When they went on a raid, Bonnet could tag along and play pirate, if he wanted to. Or not. This went on for several months, they raided about 11 ships.
Ultimately, Bonnet was caught, begged for clemency, was convicted of piracy, escaped, was caught again, and hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, December 1718. Arrr!
July 14, 2008 - "No Shortcuts to the Top" is the memoir from Ed Viesturs. I first came across Ed's name when I read the astonishing book about the ill-fated ascent of Mt Everest. Jon Krakauer's book, "Into Thin Air" recounts the breathtaking trip and tragedy that ensued.
Ed was a pivotal and heroic piece of that trip.
It's Different Up There
In this memoir, Ed goes into the pieces of the Everest climb, but also we're following the beginnings of dream and then a career. Ed's motto is pragmatic: “Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory.”
We had a chance to talk when the book first came out earlier this year. This week, a pleasure to offer it for summer reading.
The Bicycle Book: Wit, Wisdom, and Wanderings. This wonderful book is basically celebrating the bike and celebrated by those who love to cycle. It is chock full of stories, narratives, and cartoons by cycling aficionados.
One such cartoonist is Neal Skorpen. A unique Portlander and artist! It was a pleasure to welcome him to KINK for a little sit-down on the art of the cartoon and comic world and his special contribution to the book!
2. "Marley & Me". Can I tell you that this is probably the one book on our Summer Reading List that gets the shout out: "Wow, this is such a great book!". John Grogan has come up on some kind of magic formula. I have it on my list, and admittedly have yet to read it, but the hammock awaits.
Here's a little starter insight into the charm of this book:
Q. When did you realize that Marley's escapades might make for fun reading?
A. Pretty early on, actually. Within weeks we were recounting his antics at dinner parties, and I began trotting him out in my newspaper columns shortly thereafter.
Q. Why was Marley so lovable despite being such a pain in the neck?
A. I think it had something to do with his guileless heart and over-the-top zest for life. Just as he was incapable of putting the brakes on his behavior, he had no bounds on his affection and loyalty, either. Not necessarily a bad thing.
Here's more of that interview and John's site. (I think it has everything to do with "Me" and only somewhat to do with "Marley"..but YOU decide)
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1. Nothing better than Mary Higgins Clark when it comes to a grab and go book. I talked with the prolific writer recently. She is an early at her desk sort of an author, and doesn't think twice about WHAT lures a reader to a book, as long as it does! Anything on the Higgins Clark list makes our list, too.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
Welcome to the most delicious time of year. Long endless days, spent in your hammock, sifting sleepily through a favorite book. Maybe a mystery, or one of those great non-fiction titles, or maybe it's the hottest new fiction. 
Ah, the dog days of summer. Summer’s still here, and you still want to get away, but… maybe you’ve blown the budget, maybe you’ve eaten up all your vacation days, who knows? Here’s a book that will take you around the world and back in time. And it’s not a new release, so you can get it cheap. 
trip and tragedy that ensued. 
2. "Marley & Me". Can I tell you that this is probably the one book on our Summer Reading List that gets the shout out: "Wow, this is such a great book!". John Grogan has come up on some kind of magic formula. I have it on my list, and admittedly have yet to read it, but the hammock awaits. 
