Nation, by Terry Pratchett

Nation, by Terry Pratchett.  Harper, 2008.  367 pp.  978-0-06-143303-0.

... in which two young teens, the only survivors of a massive tsunami, attempt to rebuild their lives.

Nation is the story of two teenagers (both about 13 or 14 years old), who live in a world similar to our world in the late 1800s.  Mau is a boy who lives on a small island (analogous to a south Pacific island in our world); when the tsunami hits, he is alone on a different island going through a ritual to take him from boyhood to manhood.  Upon traveling back to his home island, he finds that the wave has destroyed his village and that he is the only one left.  Daphne is a girl traveling from London to live with her father, who is the governor of a British colony somewhere near Mau's island.  The tsunami wrecks her ship, leaving her alone with Mau on his island.  Despite being separated by language and culture, the two begin to work together to rebuild the island nation.  Gradually they are joined by other survivors from other islands.  As Mau takes up the leadership of this small group, he and Daphne are forced to confront the hidden secrets of the island, and to question the traditions and beliefs that govern their lives.

One Perfect Day, by Rebecca Mead

One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding, by Rebecca Mead.  Penguin, 2007.  245 pp.  978-0-14-311384-3.

... in which we learn about the American wedding industry and the culture surrounding it.

In One Perfect Day, Rebecca Mead takes us on a tour of bridal industry conferences, wedding dress factories, decoration companies, and all of the other aspects that contribute to the $161 billion wedding industry in America.  She interviews several professional wedding planners, and attends conferences and expos to get a feel for what both the professionals and the brides experience over the course of planning a wedding and reception.  She explores the wedding dress industry, and its move from proudly-American-made dresses to large factories in China.  Mead spends one fascinating chapter exploring the current trend for the "traditional" at a wedding, while still keeping the wedding personalized and modern.  We also get a chapter on officiants, and the many different officiants on offer to a couple, religious or not.  She explores the wedding niche markets on offer in places like Gatlinburg, TN and Las Vegas, NV.  The whole book comes together in a very interesting look at the business of weddings and what this massive industry says about American culture.