After my last post (an excerpt from Peter Thomson’s Kava in the Blood extolling the virtues of Fiji’s national drink) my mom drew my attention to a recent article in the New York Times: Counting on the Trendy to Revive Kava, a Traditional Drink. Apparently Kava bars are sprouting up all over the US; there are apparently 4 in the Bay Area (according to this very helpful website which lets you search for your nearest Kava bar). Unfortunately I can’t find any research about the safety of Kava consumption while breastfeeding, but 6-12 months from now I will definitely give it a try and report back.
Australia and Oceania
Moving Through the Streets (hopefully on the way to a creative writing class)
Moving Through the Streets, Joseph Veramu, 1994
- Fiji, #4
- $9.49 from alibris.com
- Read January 2016
- Rating: 1.5/5
- Opening Line: The burly man wearing an undersized yellow tee-shirt that accentuated his bulging biceps and chest cast a warning look at Sakaraia before he took hold of his hand and stamped it with the ‘pass in’ mark.
- Recommended for: credulous delinquents
Last Virgin in Paradise: What a Girl Wants (is largely considered irrelevant)
Last Virgin in Paradise, Vilsoni Hereniko and Teresia Teaiwa, 1993
- Fiji, #3 and Kiribati, #3
- Borrowed from SF library
- Read November 2016
- Rating: 3/5
- Recommended for: drama/women’s studies double majors
Where the Hell Is Tuvalu?: Another European guy discovers the world
Where the Hell Is Tuvalu?: How I Became the Law Man in the World’s Fourth Smallest Country, Philip Els, 2000
- Tuvalu, #2
- $0.99 from alibris.com
- Read January 2016
- Rating: 3/5
- Recommended for:
armchaircouch potato adventurers
The Challenge: Not Accepted
The Challenge, Ruperake Petaia, 2011
- Samoa, #5
- Kindle, (a waste of) $4.99 from amazon.com
- Read January 2016
- Rating: 1/5
- Recommended for: Ruperake Petaia (because I can’t imagine anyone aside from the author enjoying this particular piece of literature)
Well, that’s half an hour of my life I’m never going to get back.
Telesa: The Covenant Keeper (Boy meets girl meets fa’afafine)
Telesa: The Covenant Keeper, Lani Wendt Young, 2011
- Samoa, #4
- Kindle, $2.99
- Read December 2015
- Rating: 3/5
- Recommended for: Harry Potter/Insurgent crossover fanfic authors
Leaves of the Banyan Tree
Leaves of the Banyan Tree, Albert Wendt, 1979
- Samoa, #1
- £0.69 from alibris.co.uk
- Read December 2015
- Rating 3.5/5
- Recommended for: 10th grade English classes
Tales of the Tikongs: What’s the point of all this, anyway?
Tales of the Tikongs, Epeli Hau’ofa, 1988
- Tonga, #4
- Borrowed from SF library
- Read November 2015
- Rating: 3/5
- Recommended for: Mack and the boys
An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands: Wikipedia FTW
An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean, vol. 1, John Martin and William Mariner, 1827
- Tonga, #1
- Free from Google Books
- Read November-December 2015
- Rating: 2/5
- Recommended for: sticklers for detail
Fragile Paradise: a list
Fragile Paradise, Glynn Christian, 1982
- Pitcairn Islands, #1
- Borrowed from SF Library
- Read: October-December 2015
- Rating: 2/5
- Recommended for: People who read The Mutiny on the Bounty and thought, “That was pretty good, but it could have been drier. And maybe incorporated some family trees or something. Yeah, that would have been perfect.”
Around the World in 2000 Books 