Seconds

This was a book I heard about on the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. I very rarely read graphic novels, but I find that when one is recommended to me I really enjoy it. The last one that I really enjoyed (Habibi) was over two years ago and I haven't really read one since then because I hadn't heard any glowing recommendations. So when I heard about Seconds on NPR I was interested in the plot description and picked it up at the library.

I really enjoyed it. It's a fast moving story and the graphics are really nice. I especially related to and appreciated the character of Hazel and the attention to detail that is apparent in the artist's rendering. The story follows Katie as she runs into difficulties while trying to open a new restaurant. In the midst of these trials and tribulations she discovers some magic mushrooms in her current restaurant. These mushrooms have the power of changing any past mistakes you think you may have made. Of course it gets out of hand because changing the past will also change the present.  This was such a fun read with a bit of a magical twist. The moral of the story is very clear as it's happening, but the journey of the story and the beautiful illustrations make it so much more enjoyable. Even if you think graphic novels aren't for you I'm recommending this one to you.

The Goldfinch

Well if you Google this book and the related reviews prior to reading it you will find that it is a highly contested topic among literary critics and readers. I did not know this prior to reading it. It's the book club selection for September so I just started reading it only knowing that it won the Pulitzer. One of my co-workers said her sister absolutely loved the book and another co-worker cosigned on that opinion.

So just based on that and the fact that I want to fully participate in this month's book discussion, I just dove right in. After I finished it, I went online to see what others said. That was when I found out that there seems to be a hot debate that I missed about the worthiness of this book. Since I read it 'blind', I can see why both sides think they have a valid point. It's nice to be objective sometimes.

The book covers the more formative years of Theo Decker. When he is thirteen years old his mother dies in an odd terrorist attack at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. He survives the explosion and manages to escape the museum with his mother's favorite painting in his backpack. After stealing this major work of art the rest of the book is spent with him developing PTSD, a bad drug addiction, anxiety, depression, and several other mental and physical maladies. He's also bounced around from house to house which allows for an interesting array of characters to be introduced. In the background of all this chaos is the stolen painting which enjoys its own special journey from place to place as well. It's a book about art and life and the interconnectedness between the two. It's also about the ugly beauty of life.

Yes, the book is way too long (750+ pages) and occasionally it feels like that. However, there are other sections where the pace is fast and you can easily get through 50-100 pages because the story is moving along. If I were an editor, though, I would have definitely had the author tighten up some of the story line. There were some plot points that I found bland. There were some aspects to the story that were heavily researched, like furniture renovation/refurbishing, but it seems like the author didn't know it was unnecessary to include, seemingly, every single piece of research she unearthed. There's a way you can convey credibility on a subject without overdoing it. I'm going to be honest, I fell asleep on at least two occasions during those lengthy descriptions of antique furniture. Then there were nights when I couldn't put the book down. I would try and close it up for the night, get ready for bed and then just lay there thinking about what could be happening next. So I would flip a light on and finish another few pages.

Overall, that is how the book goes. It's up and down. I wouldn't gush over it, but I definitely wouldn't pan it like some reviewers have. It's a good story. It just needs to be tightened up and some of the more repetitive aspects could be omitted. Also, there is a natural point where you will feel like the story should be over but then it continues for about 10-15 more pages with a ton of philosophical and existential questions and observations by the main character. It felt like that was tacked on as an afterthought. Almost as though the author had to justify the entire book with a think piece at the end. After seeing some of the vitriol that people have spewed regarding this book I realize there are some strong opinions on it. I, personally, think it's worth the read, but I also understand how folks could put it down and give up on it too. It's not for everyone. I trust that readers will know within the first 50-100 pages whether they want to devote the time to the full work. I leave it up to you.

State of Wonder

Ann Patchett is becoming one of my favorite authors. This is the second book I've read by her and while Bel Canto is still my favorite, she does not disappoint with State of Wonder either. I enjoyed this book from the moment Dr. Singh starts her journey into the Amazon. One of her colleagues has died out there while helping Dr. Singh's former professor conduct research. Dr. Singh is assigned the task of finding out what exactly happens. This becomes a journey of self-discovery, self-reflection, and ethical dilemmas.

I would say more, but I want people to read it so I'm not going to give anything away. There are some significant plot twists and unanswered questions in the book as well that will keep you thinking for a little while after you finish reading. Ms Patchett has left me, once again, wanting more (in a good way). I will be taking a look at her other books now to see what else I can get my hands on.

Shibumi

This book had some promise and started out strong, but in the end I just wanted to poke my eyes out.  It starts out very interesting because the main character is this mysterious man who becomes an assassin. He's orphaned at a young age, lives on the mean streets of China, speaks about six languages, and then ends up living with a type of Sensei in Japan who teaches him about life and so on. That part was interesting and was the focus of the first half of the book. The American government is trying to figure out who may be helping a terrorist group and this lead them to the assassin.

Then the story just falls apart.  The next part of the book is about the assassin and his friend going spelunking. SPELUNKING! I'm dead serious. I am not a huge spy/assassin novel reader, but is this a normal part of this genre? I was bored out of my mind during this portion of the book and fell asleep many times. Finally I just decided to skim that part because it was like watching paint dry. Every crevice of the cave and every piece of equipment was described. I had zero interest in that. Then the story just goes on with this cat and mouse game, but I was no longer interested. The cave expedition ruined the book for me. I skimmed portions of it towards the end and then just gave up. If you try to tackle this book you can probably stop about halfway through and be satisfied with it.

Tibetan Peach Pie

I think if you've read any of Tom Robbins' work, you'll probably really love this book.  I have to admit, I haven't read any of his work and I still enjoyed it. Maybe not to the extent that a die-hard fan would, but it still had some funny moments and hidden life lessons that are applicable to everyone. Someone, whose thought process I really respect, recommended it to me so I gave it a go. The book is a mix of memoir and autobiography. He swears all the tales he tells are true and I believe it.  The bulk of his formative years as a writer were in the 1960s and 1970s and those decades are known for all kinds of craziness. If nothing else, the book provides you with a zany description of a not-so-ordinary life. Towards the end I was ready for it to be over, though.  Again, I think I felt this way because I have never read a lick of his work. Did the book make me want to read any of his work? Not particularly, but that could change. Overall, I think if you are not familiar with his work, you will either press on through the book because the tales are interesting or you will give it up after a few pages because you're not invested in knowing more about the author.  I will leave it up to you.

Every Day is for the Thief

I have been on a roll when it comes to selecting works by African authors. Well, of course that's just my opinion. I've really enjoyed the last few books I read by African authors (Half of a Yellow Sun, Ghana Must Go, and Americanah). Every Day is for the Thief is another one I can add to the list. The prose is beautiful and it really does take you to Nigeria. When I read works by Adichie, I do feel a sense of how Nigeria experiences herself. While I can't quite put my finger on it, Cole writes in a way that makes Nigeria feel more naked and bare bones. I think this is because, for this particular book, Nigeria is a character. Whereas for the other books, the African countries were merely places where the action occurred. That's not a bad thing. I was just more cognizant of Nigeria while reading this book. Another reason that happens is that the main character is unnamed. It's as if the author wants Nigeria to take center stage. The narrator has been in the United States for fifteen years and now decides to take a trip back to Nigeria. Each short chapter talks about what he senses when back in his home country. It's an examination on how we outgrow our childhood.  We can never quite fully escape it, but it doesn't fit us anymore as we become adults. Can you ever find a place that does fit if you feel you belong nowhere? I thought it was a lovely, beautiful work full of honesty and poetry.

Self-Inflicted Wounds

I don't often read humor books by comedians. Although, I probably should because they are usually a breath of fresh air from heavier reading. I read Aisha Tyler's first book Swerve many years ago when I was probably in my early 20s (??) and I don't remember much about it. This book, however, will probably stick in my memory because I'm older now and the life lessons she discusses are more relevant to me. I didn't know much about life's struggles when I was just starting out in the world, but now I can relate. Initially, based on the book jacket description, I was just expecting a funny book about crazy things that happened to her, but I was surprised to find some inspiration as well.

The breakdown of the book is essentially 32 mini-chapters about instances where Tyler humiliated herself or something crazy happened because of her own actions. At the end of most of the stories, though, she discusses what she learned. I really admire her for always striving ahead in life with no fear. I think if you are struggling with moving forward with your dreams, you will enjoy this book. It's a light, easy way for you to kind of get that kick in the rear that might motivate you to also strive without fear.  You get a few good laughs to boot! It's not laugh out loud funny all the way through, but it has its moments. I truly appreciated her candor and motivational analogies for life. This would be a good quick summer read for anyone interested in getting a little jolt of optimism through vicarious embarrassment.

A Tale for the Time Being

I loved this book for various reasons. I plan on re-reading it and I hardly ever re-read books. It's a story about a young bullied girl in Japan who starts writing a journal. This story is interwoven with the story about the woman who finds the journal as it washes ashore on the coast of an island near British Columbia. Even within these two stories are stories about a WWII kamikaze pilot and a Buddhist nun. I found the stories well written and intriguing enough that I never really lost interest. The novel does take a turn towards magical realism towards the end. I anticipate that some readers will lose interest at that point if that's not your "thing", but that portion of the story is precisely why I want to re-read it. It's a meditative, yet entertaining, story. It's hard to explain why I loved it so much, but I highly recommend it! 

Gulp

This was one of the non-fiction books on my "want to read" list this year. I'll admit you have to have a general interest in the GI tract or medical topics. It's so well-written that even the layman can understand it. That's why I enjoyed it so much. Even though I could understand a book full of medical terms, I enjoy it when an author can write about complex topics at a more palatable level (bad pun intended). The book follows the amazing GI system from top to bottom. From the first bite of food to that final trip to the bathroom. So, yes, this book is not for people easily grossed out by things like spit, vomit, and bowel movements. Since I work at a hospital with patients who have some of the ailments discussed here, I was completely into it! This was probably one of the more enjoyable medical reads for me in a long time.

Since it does cover topics that might make some people gag, I won't go into detail about it. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you have a curious mind that is not turned off by bodily functions, I think it's a great read!

Allegiant

Well it's been just about one year since I raved about Divergent and gave a so-so rating to Insurgent. My original plan was to read Allegiant as soon as it came out. A year later, I finally got to it.

I tried. I really, really tried to finish this book. After I fell asleep a few times while reading it, I still tried. Even when I was thinking "Where is this story going?" I forged ahead. As I rolled my eyes at the downright stupid plot, I pressed on. Then about three quarters of the way through, I was over it. I was tired of forcing myself. So I just stopped.  I went online and Googled the ending and then I felt justified in not finishing it. It seems this trilogy has fallen victim to whatever bad luck happens to these young adult series when the authors have run out of ideas or have dragged the story on entirely too long (see: Twilight and Hunger Games). Why must they write three (or four) increasingly bad books when one really good one (usually the first one) would have sufficed? Divergent started off so strongly that for it to end in this travesty is certainly a shame. Maybe it's because I let so much time pass between reading books one and two? Maybe so much time passed that I just didn't care as much anymore? Whatever it is, I'm not going to spend another minute trying to figure it out because this book already took enough of my precious time.

Read Divergent, but take a pass on finishing the series. If you make your own ending up and everyone dies in some freak accident, you still will be more satisfied with that ending than what actually exists.

Please Look After Mom

The one word that kept coming to mind as I was reading this book was ephemeral. This book is about all those tiny moments in life that may seem mundane and banal to us if taken individually.  However, when those seemingly mundane moments collectively make a life, they suddenly take on a different meaning. We don't often look at those many brief, temporary moments as a whole. We let them evaporate into thin air and move forward.

Here, we're plopped into the middle of a family tragedy. The mother has gone missing from a busy subway station. The story is more about how four particular family members (the husband, the two daughters and her eldest son) deal with her absence. The husband, the two daughters and her eldest son. There is also a chapter where we finally hear what the mother is thinking as well. I won't give much away except to say that in order to appreciate this book, you have to have an appreciation for the beauty in routine life. The smaller details of the story come together to create the life of this woman. Her life, in turn, is a major presence in her children's lives as well. The realization of this, though, comes after her disappearance. The question then becomes: Will they all find mom in time to let her know how much they love her?  Even the husband has 20/20 hindsight and wants to right some wrongs.  I won't give away anything, although there are no huge twists or turns in the story.  I enjoyed it for a simple story about family and the attention to the details of daily life.

The book won't be for everyone. It's not earth shattering and the pace is steady but meandering. I found the writing to be beautiful and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.

The Little Prince

Continuing with my theme of books that are supposed to have a deep meaning, I picked up The Little Prince. It was OK, but having read it right after The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane I have to admit I didn't love it. I may be unfairly comparing the two.  Maybe, also, I shouldn't have read the two so close together, but Edward Tulane's story was so much more compelling for me.  I know The Little Prince is considered a classic and I always hate when I don't immediately fall in love with a classic. It makes me feel like I don't "get it". In this case, however, I get it and the moral of the story is very lovely and somewhat spiritual. It just didn't hit me with the same force as the Edward Tulane story.

If you haven't already read it, The Little Prince is about a little prince who travels the universe and comes across a man on Earth who has crashed his plane in the Sahara desert. The two learn a lot from each other about love, compassion and what's important in life (hint: it's the things you see with your heart, not your eyes). It was sweet and definitely a quick read since it was originally written for children.  Is is one of my favorites? Not really. Is it worth a read? Sure.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Oddly enough, I came to this book via one of my more recent guilty pleasures - KDramas.  I started watching Korean Dramas last year. One of them, called My Love From Another Star, has a main character who reads this book frequently. That piqued my interest so I picked it up from the library.  I loved it. I love the message in it and I love the story as a whole. It's written in such a beautiful, simple way that there's no way you could hate it.  Although it seems to be for children since it's illustrated and extremely easy to read, it's really for all ages because the moral is applicable to everyone. Open your heart to love and be hopeful of the journey. I won't get into the details because I just want you to go and read it for yourself.

This is now one of my personal favorites and I will be purchasing a copy from the bookstore.

Side note: 

The Korean drama that led me to this book is also about a journey to love. If you're interested you can catch all 21 episodes of it here.

Paris Letters

The minute I started reading this book I had the thought that it may change my life. I know that seems dramatic, but I related to everything the author was saying and I was familiar with many of the emotions she felt. It's a true story about one woman who is unsatisfied with her job and decides to start writing in her journal on a daily basis in order to discover what she wants out of life. Turns out she wants to quit her job and live in Paris. She does this and her life greatly improves because it's the life she wants to live on her own terms. It almost sounds cliché but she finds love, happiness and peace. 

Since I am the first to admit that most of us are leading lives of quiet desperation (myself included!) this story resonated with me.  Who doesn't dream of quitting it all and living the life you want to live instead of the life dictated by bill due dates and dogma? Or I could just be delusional and maybe it really is just me who feels this way. Either way, I was deeply inspired to really discover what it is I want out of life and how to go about getting it. It doesn't hurt that Paris is where this author chose to travel. Since it's one of my favorite cities, I was already a bit biased towards this story. 

I really loved this book. I loved what it represented as an idea. It made me really want to make a concerted effort to be happy and live the life I'm meant to live and not a life society says I should live. This was a very enjoyable, light, quick read and I think it's a perfect outdoor book.  Now that the spring weather has arrived, pick it up and enjoy at your local park or outdoor space. 

Five Days at Memorial

I visited New Orleans only one time in my life and that happened to be about two months prior to Hurricane Katrina. I lived in NYC at the time and went down there for a music festival. When I got back to NYC, I couldn't stop talking about the pralines and beignets. Then Hurricane Katrina happened and as I watched the news coverage, I kept thinking about how I was just down there and how lovely it had all been. Like most of the United States, I saw the horrible conditions, rooftop rescues, extreme flooding, and deep despair. I wasn't a nurse at that time. I wouldn't start nursing school until about a year later. I was still working in the photography industry. So I didn't really give much thought to what the hospitals endured. Only after being a nurse now for a little over five years do my thoughts immediately go to hospitals and medical staffing in times of crises.

So when I heard the author of this book on NPR, I was all in. I had been so focused on the atrocity that was the Superdome, that I had completely missed this story about euthanasia in hospitals and nursing homes. This particular book hones in on Memorial Hospital in particular where there were an inordinate amount of dead patients found after the storm. Investigators dug further and the story that surfaced was one that is so tangled and speculative that you really hope it's not true. The author does, in my opinion, an excellent job of being objective leaving you to come to your own conclusion. For five days after the storm hit, patients and medical staff were essentially stranded in the hospital with no clear communication regarding rescue. When the generators failed and there was still limited to no rescue in sight, choices became desperate. Some patients were found with toxic amounts of morphine and midazolam in their system.  The question is whether or not those drugs were purposefully used to hasten death or were they used to provide comfort and death was a side effect?

There are so many layers to medical decisions that it's hard to pass judgment if you were not physically there yourself or if you were not the person in charge of the decision. After reading this book, I continue to think heavily about medical ethics, living wills and quality of life issues. The best part of the story was the first section where the five days are described in detail. The second part of the book is more about the legal and ethical challenges faced when attempting to prosecute physicians and nurses for suspected euthanasia. I found the book fascinating and really enjoyed it. If you are not a medical professional, you may find yourself bored or uninterested in the complexities, but I think it's a good read for anyone.

The Good Lord Bird

This is the March pick for the book club I attend.  I was excited to read it because I heard so many good things about it. Unfortunately when I started reading it, my excitement waned. I even fell asleep a few times.

The narrator, Onion, is a boy with feminine features whose father is killed during an altercation at his job between John Brown and a slave owner. This is the same John Brown who raided Harper's Ferry in 1859. In the frenzy of his father's death, John Brown takes Onion with him believing he is a girl. Onion, whose real name is Henry Shackleford, tries to explain that he's a boy, but never fully gets an opportunity. He is given a dress and that seems to be the end of that.

The rest of the book follows Onion as he continues to dress like a girl, yet seek true freedom.  However, the longer he remains with John Brown and his so-called army, the more he becomes connected with them. He sticks around to help them arrange the raid on Harper's Ferry. If you want a little historical background on the Harper's Ferry raid, Wikipedia has pretty good entry. Onion is not being held hostage or kept in slave bondage. He stays and returns of his own free will. He, in fact, has several opportunities to flee to the North and be free, but his growing affection for Brown's abolitionist ways keeps him there even when everything goes horribly wrong. Along the way he meets Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas. There is some chatter about how Douglass is portrayed as a bit of a womanizer, but I didn't see a problem with how it was written.

As I said, there were parts of this book that put me to sleep. John Brown's character for one. Every time he's talking, it's a drag and uninteresting.  Also any battle scene bored me to tears, but that's just because I've just never really been into reading about battles. The parts of the book I enjoyed were Onion's interactions with everyone outside of the group of abolitionists. How he deals with wanting to be a male, yet having to keep the disguise going in order to live is pretty entertaining. There are some comedic moments, but I never laughed out loud as some of my friends who read the book said they did.  I almost wish the book were just about a young male slave passing as a boy or vice versa trying to make it up North. That, alone, could make for a more compelling story. I really just found the book to be OK. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. It's your call if you want to give it a try.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Recently with all the press that India has been receiving because of vicious assaults on women, I've been interested in learning more about the country. I recently saw a documentary on Netflix about the dichotomy between a forward-moving India and the India that still holds on to the beliefs of the past, as it relates to women.  If you're interested seeing it, it's called The World Before Her. But this is a blog about books. I put this book on my list of non-fiction for this year, because I've heard really good things about it and I have a genuine interest in reading more about India. 

 

I may take this for granted, but I think most people know there is a substantial amount of poverty in India, even as it rises as a global power. Regarding Mumbai, the city on which the author focuses, the statistics are there to back that up. I've also heard this from multiple friends who have family there or who have traveled there. Even as it Mumbai advances, there are still millions living in poverty there.

In this book, the author follows a handful of people in one slum in Mumbai. Her main focus is this underlying question: Is it even possible to break the cycle of poverty under these conditions?  She goes deep into how corruption is the name of the game. At the heart of the story is one family who falls apart at the seams because a neighbor blames them for her self-inflicted misfortune. The justice system is a joke. The education system is tragically broken. The living conditions are not even fit for wild animals.

I enjoyed the book because it actually reads like a novel and the writing style is light for such a multi-layered topic. It's the first non-fiction book I've read this year that felt easy even though it was tackling some very difficult themes.

In the end we are left with more questions than solutions, but I think a good book is supposed to challenge you to think differently about the world in which you live. There is no happy ending, and not everyone makes it to the end of the book alive. It was disheartening to read about these broken lives, and even more disheartening to realize that the solutions are not forthcoming. It is worth a read for a candid look at the underbelly of one of worlds fastest growing cities. 

Love in the Time of Cholera

This is the first book by Marquez that I have ever read. I fully intended to read One Hundred Years of Solitude first because I've heard more about that one, but life intervened. I was looking for books to read while in Costa Rica and thought about getting this book. I ended up reading other books, but I pushed Love in the Time of Cholera up on my list to read early this year.

Finally got a hold of it at the library (of course) and started reading it about a month ago. I know recently I've been lamenting about how long it takes me to read non-fiction, but it took me a little over a month to read this and it's fiction. The big difference here is that I purposely read this slowly. It's a story that is so deserving of your time. The story takes place over almost sixty years and it's about love, life, commitment, human nature, deferred dreams, and patience. The oversimplification of the plot is this: boy falls in love with girl, girl seemingly falls in love with boy, girl's father rejects boy, girl then rejects boy, boy waits patiently for fifty-plus years to once again express his undying love for girl.

The book spans the lives of these two individuals as they live them separately, but always with the notion of the other person coloring their thoughts directly or indirectly. The longer chapters and the span of the story practically implore you to take your time reading and absorbing the details. There are so many layers to the story, I can't even begin to dissect it or it would turn into a PhD dissertation. Marquez writes beautifully, lyrically. Even when a character does things that may seem deplorable, you can't help but feel empathy and sadness for the pitiful state of affairs. Sometimes when I was reading the book, I thought about Lolita. That was another book in which the writing is so beautiful that regardless of what happens in the story, you have to continue reading. In the end, the book makes you seriously think about love, life, death and what defines each of those ideas.

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us

Okay you may have to settle in because I get the feeling that this post may be long.

I really enjoyed this book. Although it still takes me longer to read a non-fiction book than fiction (and I fully recognize that it should) this one was more engaging than the two previous food books I read.

First let me say that if you read this book and then go to the grocery store you will be disgusted.  If you already try to pay close attention to what you eat, you probably already know that food additives can be harmful to your health.  I still offer that if you read this book and then go to the grocery store you will shop with contempt towards the food industry. This book tackles one of those topics everyone has a vague idea about, but nobody really addresses. We all know (or at least the majority of us probably know) that junk food is full of crap that's not real food. It's chemicals mixed up to imitate food. We have all heard that too much salt can lead to high blood pressure. Too much fat can lead to obesity and heart disease. Too much sugar can lead to obesity and all the complications that arise from obesity.

This book starts out assuming you know all that.  So what it's really about is how the big food companies like Nestle, PespiCo, Coca-Cola, Kraft, Frito-Lay, Oscar Mayer, General Mills, Kellogg, etc... try to walk this fine line of appeasing shareholders and the government.  Their true purpose in life is to make money for the shareholders.  Every once in a while, though, we pesky consumers speak up and say that this "food" is crap and needs to be fixed. Well then they try to fix it, or at least make a half-hearted attempt to look like they are going to fix it.  What they are really doing is trying to buy time for the storm to clear up so they can continue on, business as usual.

The author talks to food scientists who, over the years, have created, developed, or 'improved' upon products such as Tang, Instant Jell-O, Lunchables, Oreos, Lays, Campbell's Soup....the list goes on and on. After reading about it all, you really see how much the specialty of Food Science is really mostly science and not a lot of food. What I really appreciated about the book was how the history of companies was explored and how he really dug deep (even using the FOI Act several times) to obtain government records of meetings between the food industry and the government to address the problems of crap food that is making the population sick. Another aspect that I appreciated was how he raised the question: How can the government - USDA and FDA - simultaneously get money and favors from food industry lobbyists yet also supposedly be an advocate for the United States population? The answer, of course, is that they can't. You can't serve two masters. It's clear by this book, that the consumer is the loser in this deal.

There are so many salient points made in this book. I really could just go on and on about how the food companies target minorities and young children for certain products. How there are laws in place that make it easy for unaccountability to be the status quo when things go south. How they try to manipulate the USDA daily recommendations for nutrients. How they continue to add salt, sugar, and fat to foods creating a pseudo-addiction. What's most alarming is there is data out there now about what specifically needs to change if we are ever to consider processed food edible, but the big players are unwilling to budge. Incidentally, while reading this book I went to the grocery store on two occasions and never before was I so hyper vigilant of the horrible options on the shelves. I highly recommend this book if you want to further open your eyes to the travesty that is the United States food industry.

Their bottom line is money. My bottom line is to take good care of myself. So I guess we will be at odds with one another for quite some time.

This quote sums up the book quite nicely:  

"It's simply not in the nature of these companies to care about the consumer in an empathetic way." 

The Omnivore's Dilemma

I can already tell I am going to have a tough time reading all the non-fiction I plan on reading if it's going to take me 25 days to finish one book.  The book was really interesting, but I just have a hard time reading facts for prolonged periods of time so I did fall asleep a few times while reading it. When I'm reading fiction, hours can go by and I won't even notice. I guess that's why it's my challenge to read more non-fiction this year. I will press on!

Anyway, since the last book I read was by Michael Pollen, I decided to continue with him and read this book. It was full of disturbing facts about the food chain in the United States. My head was spinning every time I trudged through a section of the book. In the first section he describes how corn became a staple crop in all processed foods in the U.S. as well as in the majority of meat in the U.S. since it has become the grain of choice to feed to animals even when they are not hard-wired to eat it (cows are supposed to eat grass in case you didn't know). In the second section he describes the meat industry in all its horror.  I think anyone who has any interest in what kind of food they put in their body is already well aware of how these mass production slaughterhouses work.  What he also does, though, is go to a farm that is getting it right by allowing Nature to do the complex work it would normally do if we humans didn't come along and mess it up on occasion by trying to over-simplify. He also turns the term 'organic' over on its head and will make you think twice about what that really means. In the final section, he discusses the ethics of eating animals and the ethics of eating vegetables (apparently animals like mice and woodchucks still die when grains are harvested so no diet is completely cruelty-free). 

In each section he prepares or eats a meal that is related to the information he shared in that section. In the first section he eats a completely processed meal from McDonalds, with a nice dose of high fructose corn syrup. In the second section, he buys local, 'organic' ingredients and makes a meal to share with others. In the final section, he actually hunts and gathers for his meal with the help of a local man. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Some parts did run a bit long for me and there are some repetitive points that I felt I had already heard so many times from other sources. Some of the more informative sections for me were the ones about corn, organic foods, and the ethics of eating.  I like that at the end of each section he brought it back to the common denominator of eating a meal - something we do on a daily basis.  If you are not already hyper-aware of what you eat, you may be after reading this. Even though I am finding it challenging to keep up momentum when reading non-fiction, I'm glad I stuck with it for this book.

Book Challenge 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Well here I am again at the start of a new year thinking about what I should read this year. I looked back at my other Book Challenges and realized that I was way too specific in 2012. Then I realized that I wasn't specific enough for 2013.  I've walked two ends of the spectrum.  I definitely appreciated not having any real goals this past year.  I really did just sit down and read.  I didn't meet my vague goal of one non-fiction per month in 2013, but that leads me to this year's challenge, which will be a hybrid of the past two years.

I still desperately want to read one solid non-fiction book per month like I proclaimed last year.  I think my mistake there was that I didn't pre-select the non-fiction books and therefore fiction always won when I had a choice.  Fiction is the first department I go to in the library. The 'New Releases' shelf is my best friend.  Non-fiction is one floor up in my Central Library and it's across the atrium in my local branch library, so I'm never magnetically drawn towards it.  What I did for this year was peruse my Goodreads list for non-fiction books that I've tagged for reading. I selected twelve that I want to read this year. So that will be my challenge. The list is at the bottom of this post. Some of these were on my 2012 list so I really need to get myself together and knock these out.

As for fiction, I'm taking a page from last year's challenge and just reading whatever I want in this category. Of course there are some fiction books that I have been really interested in reading (Serena, Neverwhere, Life after Life, The Good Lord Bird).  There are also a few heavy hitters that I really want to read (A Fine Balance, Madame Bovary, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell).  I'll definitely try to get to those, but otherwise I'm going to read whatever I fancy depending on my mood, library availability, recommendations by friends, vacation plans, snow/rain storm severity.  Basically, I'm just going to go with the flow.

I wish you all a happy, healthy, prosperous new year filled with love, creativity and good books!

~Kali

2014 - Non-Fiction Wish List (in no particular monthly order)

Five Days at Memorial

Sister Citizen

Emperor of all Maladies

Gulp

Salt, Sugar, Fat

The Wet Engine

Team Rodent

Bad Pharma

Omnivore's Dilemma

Cooked

A People's History of the United States

Behind the Beautiful Forevers