Anna > Recent Status Updates

Found it quite gripping in the beginning but am increasingly feeling like I’m loitering in a YA novel — all the angst, the politics, the drama, I’m not sure it’s meant for me.

…I liked many of the characters, even though some were cartoonishly good (Dr Rune) or bad (Dr Forgothisname, the British guy). I loved that we get the chance to observe a whole life, joyful and agonizingly sad, rendered meaningful and beautiful by the love and presence Big Ammachi has for the people and the soil of her small village in South India. Not a highbrow read, but a good time well spent.

It took me a while to figure out whether I like it or not. I was prepared not to. When I finally got into Ammachis story, the plot switched to Dingy’s story in Scotland. But: I stayed with it for the following 500-odd pages and found it an addictive, enjoyable read. I loved the lush descriptions of life in the Indian countryside in the early 1900s, I could almost smell it.

Still reading, but just so I don’t forget:
* Needs to be 5* purely because it’s Mandela’s — What an extraordinary man & life
* Learning lots about African life in rural Transkei and in Joburg under Apartheid; about the growth of a man and the importance of mentors
* Somewhat lengthy (perhaps more interesting to those more familiar with the other ANC grandees)
* Engaging writing with sparkle & grace

Still reading, but just so I don’t forget:
* Needs to be 5* purely because it’s Mandela’s — What an extraordinary man & life
* Learning lots about African life in rural Transkei and in Joburg under Apartheid; about the growth of a man and the importance of mentors
* Somewhat lengthy (perhaps more interesting to those more familiar with the other ANC grandees)
* Engaging writing with sparkle & grace

A solid primer on climate change and decarbonization. Well written, in clear simple language. Several really useful, intuitive rules of thumb and simplifications (eg; looking at everything as a fraction of 52Gt; thinking in real-world equivalents such as 1kWh = house, 1MWh = town, 1GWh = city, etc.)

But: Is it biased? No mention of solar under zero-carbon generation (nor OSW); understatement of battery cost-down x