Friends of the Forks Library Book Reviews
Courtesy of the Forks Forum
Adventure Divas
(reserve this book)
By Holly Morris
Review written by Deborah DillonReading Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for a New Kind of Heroine, will have you hanging on for a flying-by-the-seat-of-the-pants ride. Holly Morris, cinematographer and author, takes you romping across continents with a multinational camera crew on a hunt for divas. The “diva” is Ms. Morris’s name for women “whose independence, talent and vision are transforming lives, communities, and political landscapes in their respective countries.” The hunt ranges from inner-city Tehran and Kamathipura, India, the oldest and largest red-light district of Asia, to rural Cuba and the government offices of New Zealand. Her interviews are funny, poignant, deep and thought-provoking.
The Adventure Divas is a 2005-published tale based on the making of a PBS series by the same name. In between her hunt for divas, Holly raises money to fund the shoot by being the talent (the one in front of the camera) on adventure documentaries for other companies. These are adventure stories in their own right and include boar hunting with the Penan nomads in the wilds of Borneo, walking across the African desert with the salt caravan with the Tuareg, and ascending to the pinnacle of the Matterhorn with a mountain climbing team.
Throughout the book, this Seattle-ite also explores the inner woman; she shares her thoughts and emotions in the midst of all that is occurring around her. Her cultural conceptions (and misconceptions), beliefs, and lifestyle are challenged again and again. In the Sahara, Morris becomes the first woman to race camels with the Tuareg, inspiring a fourteen year old girl to declare her desire to race her family’s camel the following year. Morris wonders if she has upset the balance of culture for good, or ill.
Like Holly Morris’s divas, our librarians “illuminate the way not with a hundred-watt flood lamp, but with the flashlights and votive candles of individuals who work to slay darkness, ignorance and fear...” They keep the library running smoothly, too! The Friends of the Forks Library (FoFL) thank Jackie, retired officially on April 28th, for her hard work, resourcefulness, attention to detail, and general goodwill throughout her 25 years as one of our librarians. The FoFL also invite newcomers to join us at our monthly meetings, the first Wednesday of each month from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the back room of the library.
North Olympic
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