Book #4 of 2014: Exiled: Memoirs of a Camel

Exiled: Memoirs of a Camel by Kathleen Karr
Rating: 3/okay (1-5/hated-loved)

I should have hated this book. There were so many reasons for me to not finish it:

1) It was religious. So very very religious. A book written from a camel's point of view still mentioned the Quran and Allah more than once a page. The camels were all religious. It boggled me. If it had been any other religion, I would have tossed the book out, but I know so little about this one that learning new things kept me reading.

2) I love talking animal stories, however I like my animals to be animals, not people in animal shape. These camels might as well have been human. (Did I mention they were religious?)

3) The book did something I hate to see in animal stories: Impossibly, knowledge passed between animals and humans. The main character camel was born wild, his mother named him Ali. When they were caught by humans, somehow they knew his name was Ali -- he kept that name though the whole book, no matter how many times he changed hands with no communication between people.

4) Ali spends the first half of the book in love with a female camel. Finally she chooses him, they're in love, have babies, escape and live happily in the wild, blah blah. She dies and it's addressed with no more than a sentence, something like "Because of Allah's will, she was taken.". There's ZERO reaction from Ali, nothing, no more mention of it than that sentence, no reaction from him, nothing. The whole darned plot of the book was about him loving her and wanting her, then she dies and NOTHING?

So why did I keep reading it? I don't know. I was sure when I hit the halfway mark I would stop, but when I did I figured I could just read a little more... then I hit the 75% mark and figured I'd finish it. I really don't know why I didn't hate it, I really should have. The writing was technically fine. The story could have been really interesting (it was based on real history "in the 1850s the U.S. army shipped camels from Egypt and tried to train them in the Texas desert"). I don't know.

Next up: Treasure Planet (Man-Kzin Wars). I read some of the Man-Kzin Wars books as a kid, so I thought it would be interesting to see what I think of them now. So far, so good!

Revenge on a homophobe / Graze

Meet Gary James. Mr. James owns a restaurant in Oklahoma. He's openly stated that he doesn't want gay people coming to his business. He's also banned disabled people from his restaurant. You don't want to know what he thinks of anyone on welfare.

"The restaurant’s official t-shirt makes it clear that a “f*ggot” isn’t welcome in James’s establishment. It features that word, the N-word, and threatens violence against Muslims, Democrats, and members of many minority groups."

But this is the Internet, and sometimes bad people get at least a little payback. People have taken to Yelp to give "positive" reviews of all the gay-friendly activities there. It's pretty amusing to read through:

The Urinal cameras are a bit surprising but over all a fun idea. The best part is seeing your junk broadcast on the big screen. I was lucky enough to "Meat" (pun intended) the owner after a quick toe tap in the stall. He must be a boxer, great head movement!

And:

I'm a little concerned about the size of the glory holes in the men's room. Most black men can't fit. Will you please fix this?

--

In totally unrelated news, I got three Graze boxes while sick. So many snacks to try!

New things:
Apple Cosmo (lime infused raisins, cranberries, and apple)
Mango Chutney (fruity mango chutney with black pepper dippers)
Chocolate Orange (roasted hazels, orange infused raisins, and dark chocolate buttons)
Cherry Fudge Sundae (chocolate fudge, blanched almonds, cherry infused raisins, and cherries)
Boston Baguettes (BBQ relish with tomato breadsticks)
Dark Rocky Road (pecan nuts, dark chocolate buttons, and cranberries)
Cinnamon Pretzel (poppyseed pretzels and cinnamon and honey almonds)
Tropical Sundae (pineapple, mango, and banana coins) -- repeat?
Scandinavian Forest (blueberries, lingonberries, cherry infused raisins and apple) -- repeat?

Repeats:
Apple Cinnamon Flapjack (MMMM, shared with my mother)
Tropical Daiquiri
BBQ Corn

For all those snacks, I paid a total of $18 ($6 x 3), postage included. I hate feeling like I'm trying to sell something, but I love this service so much. Interested in trying it yourself? Use this code and your first (and fifth, if you continue) box is free!

Disclaimer: I get a dollar to use or donate for everyone who uses that code. Use the code! I shall get rich one dollar at a time! Bwahahaha!