Book Club- Wayfinding

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Last month in book club we read Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World by M.R. O’Connor.  We also had a baby shower, since one of the book club ladies is having a baby soon!  It was fun to celebrate her and also have some great discussion about this book. 

I really enjoyed this book, even though it was a slow read.  There’s a lot of scientific jargon that can take some brainpower to get through, but overall it was worth it.  This book is separated into three parts, focusing on three separate regions and cultures: The Arctic, Australia, and the South Pacific.  It’s all about how people in these regions navigate (aka “wayfind”). It was fascinating to hear the different methods used and really made me think about how much I rely on GPS, rather than learning my way around.  The book focuses a lot on the indigenous people in these regions and that brought up a lot of interesting discussion with the group.  As the wife and mother of Samish, it hit home with me was a good reminder that we could all be more aware of indigenous concerns and issues here in the U.S. and around the world. 

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a topic that isn’t discussed much.  I would also say it’s not for those looking for an easy “beach read”.  This book required concentration and thought, but is worth the effort.  I would also highly recommend reading it with other people so you have a buddy to discuss it with when you’re finished.  Trust me, it’s a book you’ll want to talk about!

I took some liberties with the menu and went with a Hawaiian theme because it was close to South Pacific and the ingredients are more readily available here.  Here’s what we had:

• Shoyu Shoyu chicken
• Macaroni salad
• Fresh pineapple
• Orange Cardamom bread pudding – our mom-to-be member loves bread pudding so I wanted to serve at least one thing in her honor.

If any of you read this book, I’d love to hear your thoughts!  As always, you can see all of the other books we’ve read on my Book Club Pinterest board.  Our next book is There, There by Tommy Orange.

 

Blue Hawaii

I chose this cocktail as our beverage of the evening because of the theme and it used to be one of my favorite drinks in my younger days (probably because it dangerously tastes nothing like booze).  It has a beautiful color, goes down easy, and is super easy to make! It’s also a great virgin drink if you stop before adding the booze, an important factor in our baby shower.

To start, mix the cream of coconut and pineapple juice in a small pitcher or bowl. 

You should be able to find the cream of coconut in the cocktail mixer section of your local grocery or liquor store. 

The cream of coconut is very thick, so you need to mix it with the pineapple juice to make sure it dissolves and doesn’t just go straight to the bottom of your drink.  The mixture of these 2 ingredients is already really tasty so if you have a mixed group with some not imbibing, you can serve this over ice. 

Fill a cocktail glass halfway with ice (preferably a clear glass, so you can see the lovely aqua color of the drink).  Now pour in half of the pineapple juice mixture. 

Add the Blue Curacao and coconut rum and top off with the rest of the pineapple juice mixture.  

Give it a stir and enjoy, picturing yourself in the tropics.