April 2014 Cookbooks

The B.T.C Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook by Alexe Van Beuren, Dixie Grimes

I may have to buy this one. Not only were there TONS of recipes I want to try, but I just loved all the stories about the B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery in Water Valley, Mississippi. Alexe Van Beuren and her husband moved from Virginia to a very small town in Mississippi. She had an idea to transform a empty storefront on Main street into a local grocery store and restaurant. They struggled in the beginning like any new business, but eventually became part of the local small town scene. B.T.C. stands for "Be The Change" and I really appreciate the author's commitment to local small businesses. Plus, I LOVE southern food and all these recipes make me want to plan a trip to Mississippi and visit the B.T.C. to sample some of this food! I would highly recommend this one to any die-hard southern food fans.

Okra: a savor the South cookbook by Virginia Willis

I LOVE okra, so I knew I had to see this book when I heard about it. I've also found that okra is really easy to grow and have beautiful flowers! This book does a great job of giving an overview of okra - how it's used in cuisine, how it grows, some heirloom breeds, tips for growing it and how to save it or cook it. Then it gets into the recipes, which are divided into two categories - southern and global. I'm a southerner and I grew up eating okra and now I love growing it in my garden too. Most southerners have "their" way of cooking okra and I do too, but I did find a few recipes I want to try out. Overall I thought it was a great "ode to okra."

From Scratch by Laurence Laurendon

I have tried more and more over the past few years to make more of my own food from scratch instead of using processed "convenience" foods. Usually making stuff from scratch is not much more time consuming than using the more convenient processed items. I did find a few recipes I'd like to try, but I was disappointed that most of the bread recipes were written to use with a bread machine. I may try to get a bread machine, but I know you don't really need one to bake homemade bread. Also, I would not recommend trying to can just by using a book - you should really take a class on canning. I took one through my local county extension office for a very small fee and learned a LOT. Overall, this book was pretty good.

The Southern Bite Cookbook by Stacey Little

I think I will probably buy this one. Growing up in the South I LOVE Southern food and this cookbook just embodies everything that is great about Southern food. There were so many recipes I wanted to try and I liked that the author also showed variations on some traditional dishes. I love pimento cheese and can't wait to try the pimento cheese crisps! All of the recipes are very simple and easy to follow. This would be a great cookbook for someone who likes simple, Southern food. I can't wait to try out some of these recipes myself.

Love Your Leftovers by Nick Evans

I wasn't as impressed with this book, although I did like how it was laid out. The author takes one ingredient for each chapter and shows multiple ways that ingredient could be used in many dishes throughout a week. I just didn't find very many recipes I wanted to try, but I did appreciate that he talks about making your own stock with leftover bones, which I've started doing and it's much easier than I thought it would be. Overall, it was OK.

April 2014 Reviews

The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean (Books & Banter book club)

This book was actually better than I thought it was going to be. Based on the description and the cover (I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but it can make a differnce) it seemed like it would be depressing and slow. While it was partly depressing, it was actually a pretty quick read. The story follows Marina, an elderly Russian woman who is now living in America and suffering from Alzheimer's. When Marina was a young woman she was living in Leningrad during the time of World War II. She worked as a museum guide at the Hermitage and when Russia was invaded the museum staff all lived in the museum and removed the priceless masterpieces and secreted them away for safekeeping. The war time was not something Marina wanted to discuss, but as she ages and begins suffering from Alzheimer's it's almost like she goes back in time in her mind and remembers it all again. I thought the author did a good job of writing about the Alzheimer's from Marina's perspective. She really showed how Marina kind of knew something was off, but how she was also just sliding into the past and not realizing it. Overall, it was OK and I wouldn't really recommend it.

Mastering the Art of French Eating by Ann Mah

Ann Mah always wanted to live in France ever since she visited with her family as a child. Her husband, Calvin, also lived in France when he was in college. Calvin works as a diplomat so they move to a different country or city every 3 years. Then suddenly Calvin gets an assignment in Paris! Ann is so excited and can't wait to spend 3 years with Calvin in Paris. But, shortly after they arrive in Paris Calvin finds out that he has to go to Baghdad for a year. Ann can stay in Paris, but it means they'll be apart most of that first year. Ann decides to take advantage of that first year and explore some of the traditional French dishes and the areas where they originated. Her exploration of France's signature dishes helps her learn more about France and also helps her deal with missing Calvin in that year they are apart. It was definitely an interesting book and when she was describing some of the dishes it made me wish I was there to eat it with her! At the end of each chapter Ann gives a recipe for that signature dish that that chapter explored. Overall, a good culinary memoir that will make you want to go to France and sample the dishes for yourself.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (book club)

I absolutely LOVED this book! I probably never would have read it either if not for my book club. The narrator is 11-year-old Julia. One day Julia's family wakes up and hears on the news that the rotation of the Earth is slowing and their days are getting longer. Soon, they have more than 24 hours of daylight and 24 hours of darkness. The slowing of the rotation brings about cataclysmic changes, but slowly at first. Soon there is a divide between "real-timers" and people who continue to follow the old 24-hour day. What I found the most interesting was how some of the characters didn't really react to this news at all - they just kept on doing whatever they had been doing before, but others really freaked out and seemed to understand before others what these changes would mean in the near future. I also thought the author did a fantastic job with Julia's voice and dealing with the super awkward time of the middle school years. Julia not only has to cope with the normal pre-teen angst, but also all the additional issues the slowing brings. I really felt like the author did a great job with how she had the effects of the slowing play out and also with the main character Julia. Overall, I thought this book was great and I would highly recommend it!

Pilgrim's Wilderness: a true story of faith and madness on the Alaska Frontier by Tom Kizzia

In 2002 a man calling himself Papa Pilgrim arrived in the remote Alaskan town of McCarthy with his wife and fourteen children. He said they were a strong Christian family looking to live off the land and raise or hunt all their own food. They purchased land around a deserted mining camp inside the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. At first the locals in and around McCarthy thought this new family would be a great addition to their community, but within a matter of weeks they were bulldozing roads through the National Park, which is illegal, and forcing their ways on the small town. Anyone who got in their way or disagreed with Pilgrim was "against God" and would be damned to hell. Pilgrim also started a heated battle with the National Park Service over access to their land through the National Park. As author Tom Kizzia, who was working as a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, dug into the story he also began to uncover background on the Pilgrim family. He found out that Papa Pilgrim was really Bob Hale who grew up in privilege in Texas. After marrying Kurina Rose and starting a family they moved to New Mexico where their neighbors quickly grew to see the Hales as manipulative thieves who took what they couldn't get legally. After an incident in New Mexico that drew authorities into the picture the Hale family re-christened themselves the Pilgrims and started out toward Alaska. As their drama with neighbors in McCarthy and the National Park Service grew, some of the older children began to attempt to break away from Papa Pilgrim. What they disclose about life with the "Christian" Papa Pilgrim would make your hair stand on end - brutal punishments and beatings for small infractions, forced fasting, sexual abuse, and brainwashing. 

This story was very fascinating, but I still hate to see a story of someone abusing their family in the name of being a Christian. While disturbing, I was glad to see a good resolution to the story. Thanks to an awesome family who took in most of the Pilgrim family, the children have all moved on to better things and more normal lives without their father in the picture.

Tempting Fate by Jane Green 

I was pretty disappointed with this one. I saw an interview with Jane Green where she said this is the only book she's written that's based in the real town where she lives, Westport, Connecticut. Green says this book is based on not any real person she knows, but on friends of friends who suddenly lose weight, dress better, wear more make up and then it comes out a few months later that they're having an affair. In Tempting Fate Gabby never thinks of herself as someone to be tempted into an affair - she loves her husband Elliot and their two daughters, Olivia and Alanna. But, she is also starting to feel old and overlooked. At a girl's night out she meets Matt, who is 10 years younger than her and obviously attracted to her. What she views as a harmless flirtation to make her feel better about herself turns into an obsession with her relationship with Matt. When things go too far Gabby finds out that the consequences of "one-time" fling can be devastating.

My biggest complaint is that at first this book seems to glorify adultery, but when Gabby realizes the consequences for her fling it seemed much more realistic. Then the end wrapped up everything WAY to perfectly. Just very unrealistic and unlikely to ever actually happen. I really like Jane Green, she's one of my favorite authors, but I didn't really like this one much.

Cat Sense: how the new feline science can make you a better friend to your pet by John Bradshaw

I liked this book more than I thought I was going to when I started reading it. I did learn a lot about cats that I didn't know, but there was SO much scientific information and detail that it wasn't an easy non-fiction read. Bradshaw goes over how cats evolved into the pets we know today, the history of keeping cats as pets, how cats today still have to learn to be pets, how cats think and feel, how cats relate to humans and each other, how cats impact wildlife and what the future looks like for cats. It seems that Bradshaw came in with the assumption that most pet cats will be outside some of the time, which I personally don't always agree with. Although I did learn a lot, it wasn't a very "readable" non-fiction book and was VERY scientific, so it's not necessarily for everyone.

Some quotes I liked:

I knew the Egyptians were one of the earliest cultures to keep cats as pets and even view them as deities. They also mummified some special pet cats. I did not know "...the sacrificial cats were bred specifically for this purpose. Remains of catteries have been found adjacent to the temples of all the deities associated with cats or other felids. There is little doubt that these cats were deliberately killed for mummification, since X-rays of the mummies show that their necks had been dislocated, and others were probably strangled. Some were killed when they were still kittens, at two to four months old, while others were fully grown, at nine to twelve months: presumably the purveyors of such a commercial operation saw no benefit in feeding a cat for any longer than this unless it had been earmarked for breeding. The mummies would be sold to visitors to the temple, who would then leave them there as offerings to the appropriate deity." (p. 38-9)

"Littermates that are homed together usually form a stronger bond with one another than two unrelated cats. In August and September of 1998, a student and I studied this by recording behavior of pairs of cats in boarding catteries...We compared fourteen pairs of littermates that had lived together since birth with eleven pairs of unrelated individuals that had not met each other until at least one of the pair was more than a year old. Despite the hot weather, all the littermate pairs slept in contact with each other, but we observed only five of the unrelated pairs ever lying in contact with each other, and even those only occasionally. Many of the littermate pairs groomed each other; the unrelated pairs never did. Almost all the littermates were happy to feed side by side; we had to feed most of the unrelated pairs from separate bowls or in turns." (p. 94)

"Cat need to meow because we humans are generally so unobservant. Cats constantly monitor their surroundings (except when they're asleep, of course) but we often fix our gaze on newspapers and books, TVs and computer screens. We do, however, reliably look up when we hear something unusual, and cats quickly learn that a meow will grab our attention...Some will deliver the meow at specific locations - by the door means 'Let me out,' and in the middle of the kitchen means 'Feed me.' Others find that different intonations lead to different results, and so 'train' themselves to produce a whole range of different meows. These are generally different for each cat, and can be reliably interpreted only by the cat's owner, showing that each meow is an arbitrary, learned, attention-seeking sound rather than some universal cat-human 'language.' Thus, a secret code of meows and other vocalizations develops between each cat and its owner, unique to that cat alone and meaning little to outsiders." (p. 140)

"Cats are descended from a species with a solitary lifestyle, and therefore much of their behavior is guided by the need to compete, not to collaborate." (p. 146)

"If you don't yet have a cat, consider getting two littermates; they will be good company for each other. If you already have one indoor cat, plan ahead before getting another cat for 'company.' Cats that have never met before are unlikely to adapt spontaneously to sharing a confined space." (p. 217)

"Few veterinary procedures excite as much controversy was declawing...This is regarded as routine in the United States and the Far East, but is illegal in many places, including the European Union, Brazil, and Australia. Declawing is a surgical procedure that involves amputation of the first joint of the cat's toes. The initial pain resulting from the procedure may be controlled by analgesics, but we do not know whether cats subsequently feel phantom pain due to the nerves that have been severed...Declawed cats are more likely to urinate outside their litter boxes than other indoor cats, possibly because of the stress of this phantom pain [or pain after the procedure that they associate with the litter box not the surgery]. Claws are an essential defense mechanism for cats. While owners of indoor cats will argue that their cat never meets other cats, and so should never need their claws, a declawed cat that is picked up roughly by a person may resort to biting, unable to scratch to indicate its discomfort, and thereby cause a much more significant wound." (p. 267)

Soy Sauce for Beginners by Kirstin Chen

Gretchen Lin always felt pulled in opposite directions by her parents. Her mother wanted her to go to school in the US and become more American, but her father always hoped Gretchen would come back to their native Singapore and help run the family artisanal soy sauce business. When Gretchen does come back to Singapore she's trying to escape her failed marriage and lack of direction; at first she isn't interested in getting involved in her family's business. But, she quickly realizes there are some problems brewing in the business and without meaning to she jumps back in. While trying to work out what direction she wants for her life, Gretchen has to deal with the family business drama, her mother's worsening health, and a possible new romance. Eventually Gretchen realizes the importance of family and continuing her grandfather's legacy with the soy sauce business.

I thought the author did a good job with Gretchen's character. Her depression and apathy is almost palpable, but it's also depressing to read too, which is why I didn't rate the book higher. I found the first part of the book harder to read because she is SO depressed and you KNOW what the right thing for her is, but it takes her almost the whole book to figure it out. It was a quick read and I did like that not everything is wrapped up in the end, but you definitely feel hopeful for Gretchen's future.

The Stop by Nick Saul and Andrea Curtis

This was a really interesting and inspiring book. Nick Saul takes over as the director of a food bank in a rough area of Canada. He knows that the people they serve need more than a food basket once a month - especially when a lot of that food is high-calorie/low-nutrition processed food. Over fifteen years he takes The Stop from a small food bank to a model organization for a better way to help get better foods into the hands of the people who need it the most. The Stop begins growing a garden to introduce more fresh foods into the hands of the people they serve. They also start offering nutrition classes for pregnant women, cooking classes and demonstrations, and so much more. It's really amazing what they are able to accomplish in a relatively short amount of time. Saul is honest too about the problems and set backs - the realities of doing the work that they do. There are lots of success stories, but there are also the people they try to help who go back to their old ways. I think the idea of food banks incorporating gardens is a great idea and helping the people who use them learn more about how to grow and cook healthy food is vital. Overall, this was an inspiring book about how food banks and how they can be transformed in the future.

The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler

I was SO disappointed with this book. Whatever I had read about it before I got it made it sound fantastic, but it was so bad I wish I hadn't wasted the time reading it. The story follows Esme Garland, a PhD student at Columbia University. Esme's been having a relationship with Mitchell van Leuven, an upper crust, blue-blooded New Yorker. When Esme finds out she's pregnant it changes everything with Mitchell. At the same time she learns of her pregnancy Esme starts working at The Owl used bookstore. Unexpectedly her co-workers at The Owl will become her substitute family while she deals with her pregnancy and Mitchell. While Esme may be a PhD student her character is SO stupid - everyone else can see through Mitchell right away, but she keeps hoping he'll change. And there was a lot of unnecessary and over the top sexual stuff that just didn't work at all. Overall, I would NOT recommend this one to anyone. I wish I hadn't wasted my time.

March 2014 Cookbooks

Southern Casseroles by Denise Gee

This book not only had TONS of casserole and casserole-type side dish recipes, but I really liked that the author gave a lot of good tips at the beginning of the book. She walked through pantry staples to keep on hand, how to determine what size dish you need to cook your casserole in, basic recipes for sauces and types of casserole toppings. There are definitely a few recipes I'd like to try - the squash casserole, corn casserole, and two variations of sweet potato casserole are at the top of my list to try. I would definitely recommend this one to casserole and/or Southern food fans.

The Healthy Homemade Pet Food Cookbook by Barbara Laino

In theory I would LOVE to be able to make homemade pet food for my cats. A few years ago when my husband and I drastically changed our diet by only buying our meat and milk at the farmer's market and as much produce as I can too, I reevaluated our cat's food too and changed them to a more natural-based cat food (Blue Buffalo) that doesn't have any "animal by-product" included. I figured if I didn't want to eat mystery meat from the grocery store why should my cats eat the even worse by-products left over from that mystery meat! As much as I would like to make their food it would be pretty pricey. Plus, one of my cats is pretty picky and the other LOVES any kind of food. I could see one cat eating all the homemade food and the other one either not getting much or forcing me to have to feed them separately. I think the premise is great, but not realistic for most people. I did appreciate that she does include a list of some "high-quality commercial food brands" as well. Overall, if you have lots of extra time and money this would be great for your pets.

The Farmstead Egg Guide & Cookbook by Terry Blonder Golson

I really liked this book. It was half how to raise chicken and half egg recipes. I don't have chickens (yet), but I imagine if you have a few you will need lots of different recipes to use up all the eggs you'll get. The author even talks about how to freeze eggs which I'd never heard of before. There were quite a few recipes I'd like to try and I would definitely come back to this one when/if I get some chickens someday. I would definitely recommend this one!

Modern Pioneering by Georgia Pellegrini

I think the title of this book is a little misleading. It's mostly recipes and there is information about gardening, even on a very small scale, and looking for and using wild edibles. There was also a little information about canning, but I would recommend reading more than one chapter in a book before canning at home! There were a couple recipes I'd like to try. Overall, it was pretty good, but not great or amazing.

The Italian Vegetable Cookbook by Michele Scicolone

I love Italian food, but often Italian cookbooks are a little complicated and mostly pasta (which I don't mind). This one is all vegetable recipes, but not just side dishes, there are also sandwiches, soups, pasta of course, sauces, side and main dishes, and desserts - all vegetable centered. There are a few recipes I'd like to try and overall I liked that it had a wide variety of recipes and dishes.

March 2014 Reviews

Preaching in Hitler's Shadow: Sermons of Resistance in the Third Reich by Dean G. Stroud, ed.

This is an incredibly inspiring book! While I knew the Nazis used all kinds of propaganda to promote their distorted racist beliefs, I didn't know that they purposely targeted the Church and tried to initially promote Nazism as a "Christian" based government, then shortly re-wrote the Bible to exclude anything about Jews (which needless to say is pretty much ALL of it)! Pastors during this incredibly difficult time had to decide whether to stand against the Nazis at their own personal risk or keep quiet. The first part of the book explores how Nazism tried to infiltrate the Church and how pastors stood up against it - many of them dying in concentration camps because of their stand. The second part is a collection of sermons. Each chapter gives background information on the pastor, background on the sermon, and the actual message. I can't even imagine living during that time and facing down that kind of evil. These men show that no matter how dark the days God's light still shines from His believers. 

Quotes I really liked:

"Bonhoeffer told the Christians that they had to aid victims of Nazi persecution, regardless of religious affiliation or status in the Nazi state. If persecution continued, then Bonhoeffer suggested yet a third step. This measure was one that he ultimately would take himself, and it would cost him his life. 'The third possibility is not just to bandage the victims under the wheel, but to jam a spoke into the wheel itself.' Here Bonhoeffer's Christian faith required political and self-sacrificing opposition. His way of 'jamming a spoke' into the Nazi wheels that were crushing Jews would be to join those plotting to kill Hitler." (p. 37)

"As life became more and more difficult in Germany, Bonhoeffer accepted an invitation to teach in the United States, but soon after his arrival he decided to return to Germany. Bonhoeffer left New York for Germany on July 27, 1939. A little more than a year later, in September 1940, Bonhoeffer, like so many other pastors, was officially banned from preaching and speaking in the Third Reich...After his arrest in April 1943, Bonhoeffer continued to be a model of Christian courage...Dietrich Bonhoeffer refused to allow prison confinement to silence Christian witness. By special orders of Hitler, Bonhoeffer was hanged on April 9, 1945, just days before Germany surrendered." (p. 52-3)

"The sermon included here [by Karl Barth] was preached just at the end of Hitler's first year as chancellor. Its theme is Jesus as a Jew. Copies were made the following day, and Barth even sent the sermon to Hitler. The Jewishness of Jesus offended some in the church, and they walked out. Writing later to a woman from the church, Barth insisted that one simply cannot sever Jesus from his Jewishness: 'anyone who believes in Christ, who was himself a Jew, and died for Gentiles and Jews, simply cannot be involved in the contempt for Jews and ill-treatment of them which is now the order of the day.'"(p. 64)

"I would rather die for my faith than live a cowardly and cultured life with the rest of the world. For nowhere is it said that God will allow us in all circumstances her to live the little span of earthly life without going through loss of money, property, honor, life and limb, wife and child. Even more, such sorrows must come upon the Christian at times; but the Lord brings the little boat of the church through the stormy seas of human events, which must grow calm at his word." (p. 84 -Paul Schneider)

"It is inside us all; this truth that upright men and women can turn into horrible beasts is an indication of what lies hidden within each of us to a greater or lesser degree. All of us have done our part in this: one by being a coward, another by comfortably stepping out of everyone's way, by passing by, by being silent, by closing our eyes, by laziness of heart that only notices another's need when it is openly apparent, by the damnable caution that lets itself be prevented from every good deed, by every disapproving glance and every threatening consequence, by the stupid hope that everything will get better on its own without our having to become courageously involved ourselves. In all these ways we are exposed as the guilty people we are, as men and women who have just enough love left over for God and our neighbor to give away when there is no effort or annoyance involved." (p. 122-3 - Helmut Gollwitzer)

"Now just outside this church our neighbor is waiting for us - waiting for us in his need and lack of protection, disgraced, hungry, hunted, and driven by fear for his very existence. That is the one who is waiting to see if today this Christian congregation has really observed this national day of penance. Jesus Christ himself is waiting to see." (p. 126 - Helmut Gollwitzer)

"The Christian faith is not something that lets us rest. It is not simply the possession of the conviction of certain teachings that one can make one's own once and for all. Rather the Christian faith is an attitude of the will. It is only alive in us when it continually proves itself in new ways. It does not suffice to have decided for faith in God once in the past, but rather this decision for faith has to be implemented anew time and time again whenever he encounters us, when his call meets us. Always again it remains true: Now! Through his encounters God puts us to the test. To be ready for his call, that demands from us that we keep an inner detachment from everything that has a claim on us, from our work and cares, from joys and sorrows; that nothingentirely claims us, lest we become blind for his encounter and deaf to his call." (p. 153 - Rudolf Bultmann)

"How many behave like this with Jesus. For a period of time his is okay. But when things head into the dark, into the dying of the old man, into the shattering of our wishes and hopes, then one says: 'That is going too far. I am turning around.' True faith, however, goes with the savior even into the darkness. Thus we read of Abraham (Heb. 2:8): 'By faith Abraham was obedient when he was called to go out...and he went out and did not know where he was to go.' He went with Jesus into the darkness and the unknown. And one day the command came that he should sacrifice his only son on Mount Moriah. He did not scream: 'That's going too far!' but rather he went comforted by faith along this dark path that led ultimately to light." (p. 176 - Wilhelm Busch)

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (book club)

This was one of the most unique books I have ever read. But, it was also kind of all over the place so I didn't love it. Clay Jannon has been hit by the Great Recession and is desperately in need of work. His last job was in web design, but he just sort of learned what he needed to on the fly. He stumbles upon Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore and ends up working the graveyard shift there. He quickly realizes something is different about this bookstore since only half of the books are actually for sale and the rest are reserved for members to some sort of secret society. Clay's boredom leads him to start learning computer code and trying to recreate the books taken by the society members. Unknowingly Clay breaks the code that all these members have been working on. That opens the door for Clay into a secret society where old-school books are pitted against new computer technology in a power struggle between members. By being able to appreciate both old and new technologies Clay is able to figure out secrets that the secret society has been working on since its existence. Sloan manages to work Google, tech start-up companies, a sci-fi author, and an ancient secret society all into this crazy book and it somehow works.

Bargain Fever: How to Shop in a Discounted World by Mark Ellwood

I thought I was going to like this book more than I actually did. I read a few other reviews that said the book dragged as it went along and the first few chapters were the best, which I definitely agree with. I really enjoyed the chapter about coupons and how that whole thing got started. It was also interesting to learn that the very first coupon EVER was for a free Coca-Cola to get people to try the new drink. There was also some interesting information about how sales and discounts affect our brain. I can say from experience that saving a lot of money by combining coupons and sales IS like a high. There was also some stuff about why high-end fakes (mostly purses) is such a huge problem. Overall, I thought the book was VERY wordy and detailed and a lot of it was information I just wasn't super interested in. There were some interesting facts, but I don't think I would recommend it to anyone.

A few quotes I did like:

"Supermarkets after World War II stocked an average of 3,750 items; by the end of the twentieth century that number had increased more than tenfold, to 45,000. In 1994, the total of UPCs for consumer products - in other words, things that could be sold at a store by scanning them - was just over five hundred thousand. Less than ten years later, it had reached almost seven hundred thousand. In 1980, there were six major blue jeans brands in America; thirty years on, that number was eight hundred and climbing. We have enough excess possessions to birth not just a TV show about self-storage but also a booming industry. In 2012, there were 2.3 billion square feet of storage space in this country, and more added since. One in ten US households was renting some kind of unit, an increase of 65 percent since the late 1990's." (p. 6)

"To celebrate [American Girl dolls] twenty-fifth anniversary, the firm teamed up with Celebrity cruises to offer a week-long trip to the Caribbean aimed at American Girl fans. The package included cooking classes, chats with authors of some of the books, and a giant birthday party. The ship sold out in forty-eight hours." (p. 157) - this is some craziness! A week cruise aimed at 8-10 year old girls?! Wow.

The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle

Morgan Monetti never intended to fall in love with her calculus teacher, but she did and she continues to shock her parents and the community when she stands by TJ even after he's arrested for their relationship. Morgan doesn't feel like a victim of a predator, she believes she's a young woman who happened to fall in love with her teacher, who's not even thirty yet. Morgan's mother, Dinah, wants justice for her daughter. Morgan might not believe she's a victim, but Dinah does. Dinah wants the full force of the law to come down on TJ, but Dinah didn't realize how the whole town would turn against her family too. She's trying to keep their family together through this insane ordeal. Rain is TJ's wife and she's standing by her husband as well. At least in the beginning when she still believes his story, but as more of the truth comes out Rain has to decide what's best for her, not just what's best for TJ. Told from each woman's perspective, The Whole Golden World explores all sides of an inappropriate teacher-student relationship. Each woman copes with the situation differently, but all are deeply affected and forever changed by the consequences of this relationship. 

Overall, I thought the storyline was good and each woman's character is well developed. A few of the scenarios at the end of the book seem a little too far-fetched to be realistic, but the storyline overall flows well and you can clearly see each woman's side of the story. The ending made sense and wrapped up each character's story well. I thought it was good, but not amazing.

Mud Season by Ellen Stimson

Ellen Stimson knew the very first time she visited Vermont that she wanted to live there someday. She and her husband were both from St. Louis, Missouri, but never felt any special attachment to their hometown. When Ellen's decided to sell her half of her book business to her business partner, she decided this would be the perfect time to live her dream of moving to Vermont. Packing up their life, 3 kids, 2 dogs, and 2 cats proved challenging at best and their dream house in Vermont turned out to be somewhat of a money pit, but they were now living in Vermont. Soon after their move Ellen finds out the local country store is up for sale and they impulsively decide to buy it. For all of Ellen's dreams about revamping the country store, the locals are not thrilled with her changes - or any changes. She quickly butts heads with many of the locals about the store, the local schools, the contractors she hires to work on her house, etc. Eventually Ellen has to re-evaluate their decision to buy the local country store, but for all the crazy disasters and disappointments Ellen never doubts their decision to move across the country to Vermont and her family still lives there today.

This was one of those everything-that-can-will-go-wrong-but-in-a-funny-way kind of books. At times you feel bad for them and at times you think how can they not see how crazy this is, but it was a funny book that I read pretty quickly. I did appreciate how Stimson was real and didn't sugar-coat the downsides to their move and decision to buy the country store. Overall, it was pretty good but there were a few things I didn't like which is why I didn't rate it higher. Good, but not great.

Stella Bain by Anita Shreve

During World War I, an American woman wearing a British nurse's uniform wakes up in a field hospital in France with shrapnel wounds to her feet. She has no memory of who she is other than the name Stella Bain and does not know why she is in Europe or how she became trained as a nurse. Soon she feels compelled to visit the Admiralty in London, but soon after arriving becomes very ill and is taken in by a cranial surgeon and his wife, Dr. August and Lily Bridge. Dr. Bridge quickly realizes that Stella is suffering from traumatic amnesia and starts to help her get her memory back. Stella wants nothing more than to remember her past, but she is also afraid of what she might remember. When her memory does come back the storyline quickly moves through her past and the reader follows her back to America to try to re-gain her old life. The way Shreve lays out the story not in chronological form, but rather in time with Stella's memories is fantastic. You can almost feel Stella's emotions with her. This is one of the best books I've read in a LONG time! I've been a fan of Anita Shreve for a long time, but I haven't loved some of her last few books. But, I could not put this one down it was so good!

Paris Letters by Janice Macleod

This book was so inspiring and such a quick, fun read. Janice MacLeod was working in advertising as a copywriter in L.A. Her life looked great on the outside, but she was miserable. One day she decided to see how much it would cost for her to quit her job for a year to figure out a new career path. She decides to try to save or not spend $100 a day. Within a year she's saved a whopping $60,000! She quits her job and decides to travel around Europe for the first few months. Her first stop is Paris, where she almost immediately falls for a butcher working near where she is staying. She doesn't speak French well and he doesn't speak English, but they manage to communicate enough to start a relationship. MacLeod doesn't think this is going to necessarily go anywhere, so she continues with the rest of her planned travel around Europe. But, when Christophe, the hot butcher, asks her to come back to Paris "to see" she does and the rest is history. She still has to figure out a way to make money if she stays in Paris, so she combines two of her loves - painting and letter writing and starts selling painted letters on Etsy and through her blog. MacLeod's story shows that sometimes it's worth taking a big risk to get a big reward. While not everyone can quit their life and move to Paris, this book still makes you think about how to enjoy your life more and whether a steady, boring job is better than a cheaper, happier life.

February 2014 Reviews

Defending Jacob by William Landay (book club)

I had a hard time getting into this book and I really did NOT like the author's style/tone of the book. After I read the first 1/4 of it I was interested enough in finding out what really happened that I did want to keep reading. The basic premise is that a 14-year-old boy, Ben Rifkin, is murdered. Head Assistant District Attorney, Andy Barber, is working with the local police on the case. The murdered boy attended the same school as Andy's son Jacob. Then Jacob is charged with the murder and Andy is forced to take a leave of absence from his job. As Andy helps fight for his son he and his wife begin to question everything they know, or don't know, about their son. Andy believes in Jacob's innocence to the very end - he can't even conceive that Jacob could do this. There is a twist at the very end that I won't give away, but I can say that I didn't see it coming.

Overall, I really didn't like the main character and narrator, Andy. He started to seem like a sociopath who didn't have any real emotions and it did make the reader question him and the family more. I also felt like the whole tone of the book was kind of harsh and almost vulgar like the author was trying really hard to make Andy out to be a hardass kind of guy. The storyline was interesting and since I read this for book club I think it will make for a really good discussion, but I don't think I would recommend this one. Other authors like Jodi Picoult have tackled similar issues better.

Growing a Feast: the Chronicle of a Farm-to-Table Meal by Kurt Timmermeister

Kurt Timmermeister lives on the 13-acre Kurtwood Farms on Vashon Island in Washington state. Kurt was a chef and originally bought the farm when it was smaller to try to grow more of his restaurant's food. He now is a full-time dairy farmer creating artisan cheese from his cow's milk. He also regularly hosts farm-to-table dinners for paying friends and guests that showcase all the abundance of food the farm creates. This book shows all the work that goes into one of these farm-to-table meals. It starts two years before the actual meal with the birth of a calf who will come to be one of Kurt's best milk producers. He also goes through the cheese aging process which can take up to 18 months. The book was very interesting and it shows just how much work goes into food production, which I think most people completely take for granted and are very removed from. He also includes a few of the recipes from the farm-to-table dinner at the end of the book. My only complaint was that the book was VERY detailed - lots of very detailed descriptions of every single activity and every step in every process, recipe, etc. I could have gotten the picture without so much detailed description. I still would like to read his previous book "Growing a Farmer" which chronicles the creation of Kurtwood Farms and how Kurt began living off his land as a farmer. Overall, I liked it, but it was a little too detailed and overly descriptive for me to rate it higher. 

"I have slaughtered many animals - pigs and cows and chickens - here in the past decade. It has become part of my life now. It is only when someone walks around that corner and sees a large dead animal hanging that I am reminded how unusual this seems. That does strike me as somewhat sad. Most of us eat beef or pork most every day, and yet can spend our entire lives never observing the slaughter and butcher of the meat that will become our dinner." (p. 130)

The Edge of the Earth by Christina Schwarz

In 1898 a woman has very few options in the world. Trudy, who grew up in comfort in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is expected to marry her long-time beau and friend Ernst and raise a family with him. But, when she is re-introduced to Ernst's cousin Oskar, she quickly falls in love with his impetuous and carefree nature. They quickly marry and move from Wisconsin to California to work as lighthouse keepers at Point Lucia. Oskar thinks working at the lighthouse will help spark his creativity; he wants to design an electric engine. Trudy just wants to experience something completely new and different. But, life is hard on an isolated lighthouse. There is the head light keeper Mr. Crawley and his family, as well as the second light keeper Archie Johnston, Mr. Crawley's brother-in-law. Trudy is quickly put in the role as teacher to the Crawley's four children. As Trudy and Oskar learn more about life at Point Lucia, they start to uncover a few of Point Lucia's secrets. One of those secrets will swiftly change Trudy's life forever.

This was a really fascinating book. The storyline was very unique and they way everything quickly unfolded made you want to just keep reading to find out what would happen next. I would have never guessed the secret Trudy uncovers and the end was a surprise too. Overall, I was very impressed with this book and I would highly recommend it!

Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection by Debora L. Spar

I really enjoyed this book and thought that Spar brought up a lot of really good information. She grew up never identifying herself as a feminist, thinking feminism's work was done. After becoming one of the youngest female professors to be tenured at Harvard Business School and having three children, Spar began to realize that "having it all" wasn't as easy as she'd been told. She also quickly realized that feminism's work still had a long way to go. Wonder Women does a good job of combining statistics and data with Spar's personal experiences and stories from other women. Spar covers everything from dating, sex, and marriage, to trying to balance work and family, to how women view aging and beauty. While I did feel like the very end of the book was a little repetitive, overall I wholeheartedly agreed with almost everything she said. To me this book and similar ones like Lean In just go to show how much feminism has achieved, but how there is still a long way to go.

Some quotes I really liked:

"National networks and newsmagazines, for example, doted on the more extreme elements of radical feminism, highlighting Firestone's claim that 'pregnancy is barbaric,' or Atkinson's assertion that 'love has to be destroyed.' More mundane stories about women working for the ERA or supporting Planned Parenthood, by contrast, rarely made headlines, creating a massive asymmetry between the sprawling contours of the actual women's movement and popular perceptions of feminism. For women who were already in the movement, this unbalanced portrayal was a source of great contention. For those of us who were just a few years younger, however, what we saw was only the news. We grew up, as a result, with a skewed sense of feminism and a vague belief that all feminists hated men, denounced children, and refused to wash their hair." (p. 26)

"In 1982, the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery classified small breasts as a deformity. Today, nearly 12 million Americans a year choose to undergo either cosmetic surgery (like breast implantation) or nonsurgical cosmetic procedures (like laser skin resurfacing). These numbers have increased by nearly 500 percent since the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery started collecting its data in 1997." (p.94-5)

"More profoundly, Wolf and others who write in this vein suggest that the myth of feminine beauty has been subconsciously designed to undermine the triumphs of feminism, to push women out of the spheres of power and, expensively and compulsively, back into the personal realm. Because when women aspire to an unobtainable and usually ill-fitting standard of beauty, they effectively consign themselves to years of fruitless labor and frustration, ceding power in the process to less-encumbered men." (p.97)

"One place to start might be with the raft of self-help books devoted to these issues [related to marriage]...Interestingly, the vast majority of these titles address themselves to women rather than men. And scarily, most adhere to a starkly conservative line, essentially exhorting women to revert to the Good Wife's rules. In The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands, for example, Dr. Laura Schlessinger perkily tells her readers (millions of whom also tune into her internationally syndicated radio show) to 'forgive their husbands...for being men.' Women, Schlessinger scolds, are unhappy because they are self-centered; because they are focusing on what 'their men can do for them, and not what they can do for their men.' The simple remedy, therefore, is to treat husbands better, to 'roll over in bed, close your eyes, give him a big hug, and remember that, without him, you are only a sorry excuse for a person.' Not exactly Gloria Steinem stuff." (p. 166)

"Feminism, in other words, was meant to be about expanding women's roles and choices; about giving them freedom, for the first time in history, to participate with men as equals, and to use their minds and bodies and talents and energies as they desired. Yet somehow this expansive and revolutionary set of politicalgoals has been squeezed - or hijacked or mistaken - into something much more narrow and personal. Rather than trying to change the world, women are obsessed too often with perfecting themselves." (p. 170-1)

"Because if organizations reveal the gender biases of those who control them, then historically male places (like Wall Street, or automobile manufacturers, or oil rigs) will naturally tend to be harder on women, and to promote only those women who, in essence, behave 'like men.' Which helps to explain why so many sectors of the modern economy get stuck at female participation rates of 15 to 20 percent. These are women who either naturally, or by sheer force of will, learn how to operate in what remains a male-driven environment. Their presence, however, does not mean that women have actually entered into this club on equal footing, which is why the numbers prove so resistant to change." (p. 176)

"Less obviously, and for more complicated reasons, women remain sexualized to an extent that men rarely are, and they feel the impact of their physical attractiveness in a much more direct and pervasive way. This aspect of women's lives might well have been eviscerated by the feminist and sexual revolutions. In fact, eliminating women's status as sexual icons for men was one of these revolutions' earliest goals. But it didn't happen. Instead, looser norms of sexual conduct, combined with the exploding realm of digital media, have brought us to the world of Toddler and Tiaras and pervasive online pornography. Not only are women's bodies arguably more objectified than ever, but the object of all this desire has been airbrushed and Photoshopped nearly beyond recognition, pushing women toward standards of bodily perfection that are literally no longer human." (p. 233)

A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White

This was a really unique book that just drew me in from the very first page. A Place at the Table brings together three very different people all through one Manhattan restaurant, Cafe Andres. White does a great job bringing together Bobby, a young gay man from Georgia who's estranged from his family, Amelia, a wealthy Connecticut woman who uncovers a deep family secret, and Alice, an African-American woman from North Carolina who's an accomplished chef and cookbook author. For most of the book it's a mystery how these three stories will be related at all, but toward the second half of the book everything begins to come together perfectly. Each of these characters will be profoundly changed by their interactions with each other. This was a unique story that I would highly recommend.

I was really very impressed with how seamlessly White brought these very different stories together. It did not seem rushed or too perfect, but very natural. I will definitely check out some of her other books.

January 2014 Cookbooks

I love to look at cookbooks even though I will probably never have the time to try all the recipes I find.  Last year I started keeping track of the cookbooks I look at in addition to all the books I read.  Since you don't really "read" cookbooks the same way you read other books I wanted to keep them separate from the regular books I read.  I'm going to do my cookbook reviews on this blog the same way I do my other reviews by grouping them together by the month.  In January I only looked at one cookbook, so here's that review.

Eat Ink: Recipes, Stories, Tattoos by Birk O'Halloran

I love cookbooks and I love tattoos, but I wasn't impressed with this book. The premise is to showcase a "signature" recipe from a tattooed chef. Each chef has their bio and a little bit about why they are into tattoos or any significant tattoos they may have. I was surprised to see many of the chefs featured only have 1 or 2 tattoos. And of course with only 1 tattoo you are considered "tattooed," but I think of someone who is "tattooed" as someone with sleeves or multiple visible tattoos. I think it was kind of a stretch to create a book like this. I would have rather seen more of a photo book with just pictures of chefs with their tattoos and maybe a little bio and info about their tattoos. I also didn't even see one recipe I wanted to try. Overall, I was unimpressed. I think this idea just didn't really work out well in print.