I wouldn’t recommend going on vacation for three weeks and then turning around and moving 10 days (well, 8 and counting) later. It’s not exactly stress-free. Though it does reduce the OCD-induced depression I get from being surrounded by boxes. That was not fun last year.
I had a pile of books to read on vacation, and only got to three. Something about talking to friends and talking to relatives and being lazy and it being hot.
The other downside of reading on vacation and then not posting, is that I can’t remember all the insightful and pithy things I was going to say about this book by Rod Dreher. Sigh.
In a nutshell: It’s a book written for members of the Republican party (which annoyed me at time; I am not nor will ever be a member of the Republican party), but mostly to convince them of some very reasonable ideas. I should define the terms, first. Crunchy: i.e., granoly, flaky, left, hippy, etc. Cons: conservatives, primarily social. The ideas are presented in a series of interviews and stories (though my husband insists it doesn’t hold together theoretically, but that’s not my forte). Some are great: buying local, mostly organically grown food, for example. Or choosing to live closer in the city in older homes rather than bigger, newer McMansions. The education chapter made me feel guilty (homeschooling is best), but then I feel guilty easily about my kids schooling (and I get it frequently, as most of hubby’s family homeschools). There was a chapter about religion (it’s good) and something else, which I don’t remember right now.
It’s not a great book, but I think it’s an important one, especially if it can get die-hard, big-business, money-grubbing, free-capitalist conservatives to think twice about their lifestyles. The question is, will any of them actually read it?
The Book Nut 
Baden and I are just finishing reading this together. (The second time for me- I stole it from you and read it at the reunion this summer if you remember.) We are really enjoying it. As Vice-President of the College Republicans at BYUI I guess I fit into the category of “die-hard, big-business, money-grubbing, free-capitalist conservatives.” (hee hee) Maybe that’s why it is so intriguing to Baden and I. This is all just old hat to you lefties. (hee hee again) Anyhow, we drove around the downtown neighborhoods on Monday morning and admired all the beautful older architecture. And of course we LOVED the homeschool chapter. (Mom told us you chucked the book when you read that and we laughed.) I’m sure Baden will want to comment about it as well because has gotten really into it.
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I’m glad you’re liking it Mary… 🙂 More converts to this way of thinking! And for the record, I didn’t chuck the book when I got to the homeschooling chapter. It did make me feel guilty, though. But, then, I often feel guilty about sending my kids to public school. I’m a conflicted person. 🙂
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