In 2007, L.A. based radio writer Napoli happened across an opportunity to spend several months in Bhutan, a tiny landlocked kingdom in the Himalayas. Bhutan has the distinction of measuring its success in Gross National Happiness rather than GNP, the only nation on earth to do so.

Its happiness seems to have come from its isolation from the rest of the world: there was no need for paper money until 40 years ago, wearing of traditional clothing (the women’s dress is called a kira) is mandatory, and television and Internet were banned until just over a decade ago.

Outsiders have not found it easy to visit either, since there are few roads and only one small airport to which only the government-owned airline (consisting of two planes) flies. In addition, there has long been a $200/day/person tourist tax for visitors (since raised to $250 per day)

But as the fifth king came to power, he insisted that his country have democratic elections for their administration, and gave the youth of Bhutan their own radio station Kuzoo FM. It was at this station that Napoli found herself as a volunteer advisor.

Some of the conditions may sound primitive by North American standards (outside water, no traffic lights, no credit cards, subsistence farming as the main occupation) but Napoli says:

For me, the prospect of a relatively media-free universe was a close to utopia as I could imagine…The promise of a place where life was simpler—unsaturated by the menacing forces of mainstream media…—appealed to me. That Bhutan was guided by intense spirituality, by connection to home and community, held great allure. I was tired of sleep-deprived, stressed-out, too-busy people who shirked downtime in the service of making money so they could buy more stuff; tired of it taking months to see dear friends who lived across town because traffic and overcommitment made it impossible to coordinate a shared meal.

This concept of a simpler life certainly appeals to me, as well—it’s part of the reason we left the city eight years ago and moved to the country—and so I was quite excited to receive this copy of Napoli’s Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth.

Napoli narrates her first impressions of Bhutan and its people, and her ongoing experiences there (& on her return to L.A.) in a thoughtful and insightful manner that does not minimize the hardships of life there. She perceptively considers the present and future impact that contact with the outside world is having on the country.

It was a good thing the government was committed to Gross National Happiness, because that philosophy seemed a crucial necessity to offset the effects of a few hours in front of the television. “Happiness with what you have” wasn’t exactly the backbone philosophy of advertising and media and news.

When I read books, I often like to mark specific passages and quotes. My own books were becoming literally dog-eared from turned-down corners, and putting post-it notes in library books was cumbersome. I recently found these bronze book darts at Lee Valley (that’s not an affiliate link, BTW) and now can easily mark the dozen or so passages I usually find.

This photo shows you how fascinating I found Radio Shangri-la. There were so many points I wanted to share with you, but I suggest you get the book and read it yourself.

Links for my Canadian readers;

Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth

Book darts from Lee Valley

Since I took up gardening in my late twenties (30 years ago!), I’ve never been successful at growing vegetables. I can lose myself for hours pulling weeds and transplanting among the flowering plants, but five minutes in a bean patch seems like drudgery. Consequently, I never developed a sense or an affinity about growing edibles. They remained strangers to me.

So I’ve been stuck buying produce at the supermarket, which has been an increasingly expensive proposition, especially here in rural Nova Scotia. Last year, I was thrilled to hear about a local Community Supported Agriculture co-op, and this past spring sent part of my tax refund to buy a share.

In a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, members sign up and purchase a “share” at the beginning of the growing season which helps to cover the farmer’s cost of operation and production. In return, they receive a portion of the farm’s harvest, distributed throughout the season in a weekly box of fresh, seasonally available, and typically organic, produce.

It’s been a cold, wet spring so the harvesting is off to a late start, but today I picked up our first weekly box of greens. This week we got lettuce mix, spicy mix, Swiss chard, salad turnips, green onions and radishes, along with a recipe for Swiss chard au gratin that I’m eagerly looking forward to trying.

I’m very excited about this program. I get farm-fresh (really & truly farm-fresh) produce straight out of the garden without any of the weeding, and without needing to know how to grow these things. Perfect for the residual city-person in me! (Not to mention the benefits to the local economy.)

If there’s no CSA program in your area, consider contacting a vegetable crop farmer (or even an avid gardener) and starting one.

It’s commonly thought that small towns are safer than cities. And I think Maritimers, particularly, pride themselves on being honest. Even so, people are imperfect, and reality sometimes bites.

So you can imagine the trepidation my husband felt today, after discovering that he had left his cash withdrawal in the bank machine at the SuperStore in Amherst, a town of about 9,500 people. He very nearly didn’t go back to check whether it was there, when he discovered his loss after about an hour.

But go, he did. He spoke to the cashier at the Customer Service register, sheepishly admitting that he thought he had left his money behind. She asked him how much he thought he’d left. When he told the amount, she happily handed him this envelope, containing the cash that an employee had turned in. That young man, who was on his way back in from the parking lot with a load of shopping carts when he spotted the cash, can stand very tall tonight. (Thank you!)

I know that honest people can be anywhere, but I worked in banking for many years in Ontario and, more often than not, when cash was left behind in an ATM, it was pocketed by the next person in line.

It was a small amount today, but it reinforced our belief that living in a small community is the best place to be.

When we came to Nova Scotia, I didn’t realize we were moving near the Cobequid Hills – one of the three mountain ranges here. All of these ranges are part of the Canadian Appalachians, which are an extension of the American mountain chain of the same name.

The Cobequid Hills run along Nova Scotia’s north shore from the Minas Basin to Antigonish, and contain the highest point on the mainland – 1200-foot Nuttby Mountain. (The “mainland” is Nova Scotia without Cape Breton Island.)

My doctor has prescribed walking for my arthritic back and so I try each day to take my dogs for a walk. One of my favorite spots is in the 70-acre hayfield behind our property. This morning was overcast and cool, and the view of the Hills at the back of the field was beautiful.

I’m up to only 15 minutes of walking time, but if you’ve ever tried moving rubber boots through thigh-high grass, you’ll know it’s still a pretty good workout.

I’m not sure how I carved out so much reading time this past month (although I think this most months), but I managed to get through these twelve novels.

1. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
Considered to be among the very best from the grande dame’s pen, this Hercule Poirot mystery focuses on five suspects in a 16-year-old murder. Told in Poirot’s conversation with each, and then an accounting by each in a follow-up letter, at first it seemed repetitive. Then I began to notice small inconsistencies between the stories.
This is one of the only Christies that I have solved partway through the book, but rather than being disappointed that it was easy (it wasn’t), it was fascinating to watch the author misdirecting readers. Very satisfying, and worthy of its reputation.

2. The Pig Did It by Joseph Caldwell
Creative writing instructor Aaron McCloud travels from NYC to his Aunt Kitty’s in Ireland’s County Kerry to “suffer. He had come to deepen the lines on his forehead, to implant a mournfulness into his eyes that would forever silence the joyful and inspire shame in the indifferent.” When a pig that Aaron has gotten himself entangled with digs up a human skeleton buried in the backyard, the stage is set for an Irish country comedy of manners in which each of the three main Irish characters are suspicious of the others, and Aaron is left put-upon in his own mind. Caldwell puts farcical doings into lilting language that was beautiful to read for a while, but couldn’t keep me interested in the book which had no discernible plot. I gave up half-way through. Not fair to rate.

3. Wrecker by Summer Wood
A warm story about non-traditional family. You can read my review here.

4. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
The story of three sisters who arrive at their parents’ home in small-town Ohio, ostensibly to help as their mother undergoes treatment for breast cancer. Each has a secret she is reluctant to share, and problems that must be resolved. I posted my review here.

5. Bullet Work by Steve O’Brien
Murder and mayhem on the backside of a horse-racing track. You can see what I thought here.

6. Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen
This best seller about a highly successful couple (she, a high-end events planner; he, a soft-drink entrepreneur) was disappointing. Michael & Julia leave behind their poor WV roots and make it big and very rich in Washington D.C. When Michael survives a four-minute clinical death, he decides to give away his wealth. Julia is angry with him for spending so much time making the money, and then angry with him for giving it away. I was ready to vote her as this year’s protagonist you-love-to-hate. If you’re under 40 and haven’t yet realized that wealth is not a security, you might enjoy this – it seems many have.

7. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
After Max leaves Zoe and a decade of marriage, Zoe meets Vanessa and they become a couple. When Zoe asks Max to sign off on her fertilized eggs that are left from IVF procedures they undertook, the evangelical church he has become involved in takes up the case in “his behalf” and the parties end up in court. If you enjoy John Grisham court dramas, you’ll like this. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, so wasn’t emotionally involved but wondering about the outcome kept me reading to the last page.

8. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
The story of two sisters, Hannah & Emmaline, told in flashback by 98-year-old Grace who was a maid in their English country home in the years surrounding WW1. Loved the setting, the characters, the mystery, and the story itself. I will definitely read more Kate Morton.

9. Thereby Hangs a Tail: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn
The second book in the absolutely delightful Chet & Bernie mystery series. See my review

10. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
“The book” is a five-hundred-year-old copy of a Jewish Haggadah, a text used at Passover meals. This real-life treasure came to light in Sarajevo in the 1990s and Brooks has imagined a rich history for it in this novel.

11. Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson
First in the Gaslight Mystery series, this features Sarah Brandt, a thirty-something widowed midwife in 1895 NYC. The setting was very interesting, and will be even more so to those who know New York well. Sarah was raised “in society” but now lives simply without her family’s money so we glimpse both the upper & lower classes. Sarah is likable, if a little too competent, and the mystery moderately good.

12. His Majesty’s Yankees by Thomas H. Raddall
A novel set in Nova Scotia, the “fourteenth colony”, during the American Revolutionary War, this follows the life of young David Strang who fights for the “cause” of freedom from the king’s tyranny. A rich lesson in history, geography, politics and culture. Read for the June meeting of our local club, The Loquacious Compendium. This is a stop on my Literary Road Trip.

Links for my Canadian readers:

His Majesty’s Yankees: a Novel of Nova Scotia in the Days of the Revolution

P.S. These links are affiliate links so I will receive a small percentage of any purchase you make after clicking through from this blog.