NonFiction Book Club Monkey Dancing by Daniel Glick Buy book: $17.43
In this frank and funny memoir, a suddenly single father--and nationally known environmental reporter--takes his children on a world tour of some of the world's rare and endangered life forms while reckoning with loss, change, and the challenges of parenting. Photos.
While the idea of the book is compelling and I regard myself as being concerned about environmental issues, the first chapter of book and a recent interview by Glick over PRI, convinces me that I cannot identify with him.
This first installment has made me look forward to tomorrow's. Writes very descriptively. Could see this as a movie after just reading the few paragraphs provided.
I am completely hooked. I'm getting the book ASAP. Not only the subject matter, a newly single dad traveling the wilds of the world with 2 kids, but the author's voice is wonderful. I hope more people are reading this...what a gem! THANK you for this pick....I probably never would have read it if not for here.
I am really enjoying Glick's rapid fire journalistic style and his way of inserting just enough comedy into the descriptions. The first "chapter" left me concerned...what kind of self-indulgent jerk takes little kids to the jungle to get over their collective problems? But as the writing goes on..the author's whole character is becoming more apparent and the adventurous decision...less far-fetched. I am hopelessly stuck anticipating what happens next!
To be honest, I skimmed yesterday's reading with the dramatic tales on the river. I couldn't help feeling jealous that the Glick family could get away on such an amazing trip.
Today's reading made me cry. Divorce is so sad every single time. It's amazing how Glick covers all the heavy emotional stuff in such a short passage. Now that I know him better & the kids better, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's reading!
And just like that she takes off to the west coast leaving her two kids with their dad - no matter the sexual orientation - that is not the point - the point is "THE CHILDREN".
Don't know the rest of the story yet - how long she is away from the children before she sees them again - but the word that comes to mind is SELFISH - SELFISH - SELFISH!!!
As you can tell, I feel very strongly about this issue and fully intend to read the entire book. But had to vent my emotions this morn.
Well, after having vented about the mother -- time to address the book -- LOVE the book and the idea of the book - his reasoning concerning the trip.
Also, think I've fallen in love with the author. Have been to his website, of course, to find out more about him and his other writings. Will definitely get this book and read it in its entirity - also another book by him written earlier I may check into.
Seems he is doing very well establishing his "new" family.
Doris, I am LOL b/c I too have fallen in love with the author! I'll have to check out his website. Are you the same Doris that was posting so much a wk ago or so over on fiction about "Keeping Faith"??? If so, email me if you'd like....I got that book from the library and am trying to hang with it.....would love to "chat" with you about it! (But I'm BUYING Monkey Dancing.... a keeper!)
I'm really liking this book so far. I like the writing style. It's interesting to see divorce from the single dad's perspective. I can't wait to read more of the book. This is one that I will have to read entirely.
Today's read was especially good, I thought. Will definitely BUY this book and as they travel "around the world" think I will try to follow their route -- will maybe help with my geography and lead to even more reseach about various and sundry things.
I, too, am especially enjoying his writing style - so real and pulls you into his thought processes.
Speaking of traveling with them - I do think I will be more comfortable doing my "armchair traveling" tho'. In the first read, at the first sight of the humongous snakes in the river, think I would have been ready to "head for home".
So glad to read the kids' responses and reactions in this book also -- real honest feelings.
And the mother is being just as selfish as I at first thought her to be -- (meow)
While reading these chapters a few things come to mind, and that is; what a small place our world has become (2) the fact that it belongs to all of us ( but mostly to the generations that will come after us) . Yes, this father's "free trip around the world" is for family therapy , but some where along the way-as indicated in the book jacket description ,it becomes about more than these three individuals and more about the utimate survival of our planet.This is what makes me want to read more of the book. None of us can be every place at one time, so any insight into the things that we can do to perpetuate life here on this earth is a worthwhile read.
I'm enjoying this book more and more. Books like this always make me feel like hopping into my car and riding off into the sunset! Can't wait to read the rest. I love reading the son's response to the trip. It is so important in this story to know all three of them.
Wow! Where am I? My respose to the boy's writing in today's installment was viscerally negative. Perhaps I am very old in my opinion, but is it now acceptable for young people to sprinkle their talk with words which burn some ears? I know they do; I hear them when I walk down the street, but is it not objectionable to younger parents? This the kind of sidetrack I dont like in a book. I might have skipped over it in a blink were the whole book in front of me, but with just a few words to digest, it sticks in my craw.
have you read the reviews for this on AMazon? It's interesting b/c some others have reacted negatively to the way he parents his teenage son and I guess you could include that with printing his son's journal in the book, "bad" language and all. for some reason I am not at all offended by the words but i could see how some would be and i respect that totally. i like it because it's real and even if i don't like the actual language i like the honesty. does that make sense? probably not!!! i like knowing what a child or teenager is actually thinking and I am getting a feel for what this dad was going through. i'm the kind of mom who talks to her kids about anything and everything and try to take the intrigue and mystery out of bad words and just emphasize that they're totally unnecessary and will usually NOT open doors for one in the world but that good manners will.(we live in the south where the children still say yes, ma'am and yes sir etc) i also am an RN so talking about drugs, alcohol, sex, body parts, whatEVER is no big deal for me and i admit this is NOT how I was brought up, lol....no one told us ANYthing so we found out the hard way and i did NOT want that to happen to my children in this day and age.
eLIzabeth....This book is generating lots of responses so apparently it is better than many I have read which cause little reaction. Me,too....nurse, south, etc. and, of course same dilemma and similar approach when raising my teenager years ago. But honesty really isnt always the best policy...does the author not mind showing his son in this light? The view is of both. Incidentally, my daughter uses far fewer "bad" words than I do. Guess I will have to reconsider marking this off my to read list since the reading caused a pot to boil.
Well - we're off and running -- hilarious read for me concerning the magazine article's definition of what and what not to do and wear - and here they are breaking all the rules -- Hooray for them --
Will definitely be getting this book and seems it's about time also to start charting their travels from my stay at home "armchair" --
Promising Book From what I have read so far- I still haven't received the 4th 'chapter' - Actually waiting for it - I like the author's style and I think I'll buy the book to read it completely.
How a single father copes with the full-time responsibility of parenthood is thought-provoking. However, the superfluous use of adverbs and adjectives (especially in the first three chapters) was a bit overwheming and distracting.
The other book I was referring to by this same author is "Powder Burn" a non-fiction book based on an arson fire at Vail - still unsolved - which book came about because of an article written in Newsweek I believe by the author.
