August 2018 Cookbooks

Jam Session: a fruit-preserving handbook by Joyce Goldstein

I'm always looking for new canning recipes and ideas. In Jam Session Joyce Goldstein gives a brief overview of canning and how she got into canning and preserving. Then the recipes are organized by season, which is great because especially with fruit it's best when it's peak season. While I haven't had a lot of success with canning jelly (it doesn't set and then I have to do it all a second time), I would like to try jams and other fruit preserving. There are definitely a few recipes I'd like to try. A good book for an experienced canner looking for new ideas with fruit.

August 2018 Reviews

American Fire: love, arson, and live in a vanishing land by Monica Hesse

Between November 2012 and April 2013 eighty-six fires were started in Accomack County, Virginia. This was a rural area with few local residents and most of the fires were started in abandoned houses or buildings. With local, state, and federal law enforcement involved as the fires continued it seemed like the arsonist would never be caught. Multiple profilers were brought in and yet still no one could catch the arsonist. Until the night of April 1, 2013 when two state troopers on their last night of surveillance caught the arsonist pair red-handed. Charlie Smith and Tonya Bundick were locals who had grown up in the area. Charlie had a criminal past, but definitely wasn't the mastermind. Their relationship and lives were very stressful - living paycheck to paycheck, but just barely. The fires somehow eased the stress for them, but there was never a real explanation of why they did what they did. Monica Hesse does a great job of laying out both Charlie and Tonya's personal histories, the history of the area, and the arson investigation. Not only is this the story of a crazy arson case, but the story of one couple trying to survive in a poor, rural area and how they unfortunately turned to crime to ease some of their stress and tension. A very quick, well-written read about a very interesting case.

Nourished: a memoir of food, faith, and enduring love by Lia Huber

Nourished follows Lia Huber's journey of how food and cooking shaped her life. Starting in Greece while studying abroad in college she discovers that food is more than just fuel for your body, food can nourish your soul. In her early twenties she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and also had to have a hysterectomy. These physical challenges inspired Huber to change how she ate to help heal her body. As she and her husband travel abroad and move around the US, food always brings Huber back to her roots and her passion.

I was really tracking with the first half of this book. Huber became a Christian after college, but had a non-traditional life - married, but childfree. Never wanting children helped her cope with having to have a hysterectomy since now she biologically couldn't have children anyway. Then all of a sudden she "realizes" she really did want to be a mother and suddenly so did her husband. So, they adopt in Guatemala - one of the countries they stayed in during a driving trip to Costa Rica. And so now that she's back in the Christian homemaker stereotype her life is complete. As a Christian woman who's childfree by choice, it just bothered me how quickly this switch was flipped for her and how perfectly everything worked out. I feel like this just reinforces the stereotype that every woman REALLY does want to be a mother deep down. After that part I really lost interest in the book and just skimmed the last few chapters.

Tamed & Untamed: close encounters of the animal kind by Sy Montgomery and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

I've read two of Sy Montgomery's books (The Good Good Pigand The Soul of an Octopus), so I couldn't wait to read this one. While this one is different in that it's a collection of essays by Montgomery and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas it does not disappoint. The book is divided into six categories: animals and people, birds, dogs and cats, wild animals, tiny animals, and animal abilities. The essays cover everything from animal intelligence, skills in the wild, how our pets view us, and more. A perfect book for any animal lover out there!

A few quotes I really liked:

"Why is it more fun to adopt a particular, named animal than to simply make a donation for conservation of a species? Because, as researchers confirm, no matter the species studied - be it puffins or snow leopards or even sharks - animals are individuals, just like we are. And their stories can be as compelling as our own." (p. 55)

"An adult hummer visits an average of 1,500 flowers in a day. If the nectar were converted to a human equivalent, that would be fifteen gallons a day. But few people realize that insects are equally essential. Each hummingbird needs to catch and eat six to seven hundred bugs a day. (So spraying insecticide in your yard is like hiring a hummingbird exterminator.)" (p. 64)

"When humans get involved with other species, especially if they try to manage another species, things often get messed up. Ever since a dog's appearance made a difference, breeders have been manipulating what dogs look like no matter what this does to health and longevity." (p. 76)

"Arizona professor Con Slobodchikoff has documented that prairie dogs - gregarious ground squirrels - use specific sounds to communicate to others that a human has been spotted. (They also discuss the dangers of cats, badgers, hawks, and ferrets, as well as announce the comforting presence of harmless species like cows and pronghorns, who signal safety.) Not only that, but the little mammals can communicate what color shirt the human is wearing, whether he is tall or short, and even whether the human is carrying a gun!" (p. 165-6)

Silence in the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge

In 1993, Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge spent fifty days walking solo across Antarctica. He was the first person to reach the South Pole alone and while he did have a radio with him he had removed the batteries before he started his journey so that he could truly be alone and silent for the entire trek. In this book he explores what he learned on that solo journey of silence, but also through other experiences and from other philosophers and thinkers about the value of silence and what we can learn about ourselves and our world through silence. In today's constant barrage of noise silence can seem like a luxury that few can afford, but as Kagge points out we must all find that silence within ourselves to truly live and understand our world. This short book is a profound meditation on silence and why we so often fill our lives with noise to push back the truths that silence brings.

Some quotes I really liked:

"I believe it's possible for everyone to discover this silence within themselves. It is there all the time, even when we are surrounded by constant noise. Deep down in the ocean, below the waves and ripples, you can find your internal silence. Standing in the shower, letting the water wash over your head, sitting in front of a crackling fire, swimming across a forest lake or taking a walk over a field: all these can be experiences of perfect stillness too. I love that." (p. 26)

"Knitting, brewing beer, felling trees; these are activities that all have something in common. You set yourself a goal and carry it out - not all at once, but over time. You use your hands or your body to create something. By moving yourself, you move your mind. I enjoy experiences where the satisfaction travels from the body to the head, rather than the other way around. The results that you achieve - firewood to warm you, a sweater you have poured yourself into - are not things that can simply be printed out. The fruit of your labour is a tangible product. A result that you and others can enjoy over a period of time." (p. 30)

"The philosopher and boredom theorist Blaise Pascal promoted this type of exploration as early as the 1600s: 'All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.' So a discomfort with being alone, holding one's tongue and simply being did not start with the advent of TV in the 1950s, with the coming of the internet in the '90s or with smartphones: it has always been a problem, and Pascal was probably the first to write about this feeling...This disquiet that we feel has been with us since the beginning; it is our natural state. The present hurts, wrote Pascal. And our response is to look ceaselessly for fresh purposes that draw our attention outwards, away from ourselves." (p. 37)

"In a joint study from the universities of Virginia and Harvard, scientists left individuals alone in a room for six to fifteen minutes without music, reading material, the chance to write or their smartphones. They were left solely to their own thoughts. The participants ranged from eighteen to seventy-seven years old and were drawn from a variety of social backgrounds, yet the results were the same regardless. Most felt discomfort...The scientists then took the study one step further, in order to see whether the participants would rather do something unpleasant, such as receive an electrical shock, than sit alone in silence once again. Each participant had been subjected in advance to a similar electric shock so they would know exactly how painful the option was. And it was painful. Nevertheless, nearly half of the subjects eventually pushed on the button to administer an electrical shock in order to reduce their silent time...One of them pushed the electric shock button 190 times." (p. 42-3)

"Some users get a good response when they post something on social media, while most sit waiting for anyone to care. And the more unpredictable this interaction is, the more the user is addicted. You don't want to miss out on anything." (p. 49)

In the Middle of the Mess: strength for this beautiful, broken life by Sheila Walsh

Sheila Walsh's father committed suicide when she was 5 years old. She didn't remember her father when he was well and after his death her family never spoke about him. Because she was a child and nothing was explained she truly thought she was the reason for his suicide even into adulthood. Then as an adult she too suffered from clinical depression and suicidal thoughts. As a Christian, she believed that if she told people about her time in a psychiatric ward or her continuing thoughts of suicide it would be a bad witness because God hadn't "fixed" her. Finally Walsh started to realize that God was with her in her darkest moments and she didn't need to feel ashamed of her struggles with depression or suicidal thoughts. Thanks to therapy, a loving family, and a close group of "safe sister" friends Walsh is able to manage her depression better and realize that God is often the closest to us when we are In the Middle of the Mess as the title of her book says.

While I don't have clinical depression or struggle with suicidal thoughts, I could still very much relate to her struggle. So often Christians hide their struggles because they don't want people to think badly of them or show how wounded they are, but Christ came to help the sick not the healthy and whatever your particular struggle might be He can help you heal those wounds. I wasn't familiar with Sheila Walsh before, but she's a well known Christian musician, author, and speaker. I mainly picked up this book because of the title and some things that I'm working through right now in my spiritual and emotional life, but it came to me at the right time and definitely gave me some new ideas and practices to put into place. 

Some quotes I really liked:

"This is the truth I would discover that night: Christ came to save us in the present moment. The gift of salvation is God's active, present gift to us, no matter where we are...If all our brokenness was healed the moment we came to Christ, we'd have no need to call on His name over and over again - but that's not my story, and I suspect it's not yours either...There is present-tense salvation, one that's offered to us right now in the middle of our mess. Salvation is far greater and more present than we imagine." (p. 8-9)

"When we don't say the true things, the things that might free us from secrets and lies, the poison seeps out of our lives and into the lives of others. The anger and sadness surface when you least expect it." (p. 24)

"Not all losses weight the same. Some disappointments may seem small measured against others, so we don't bring them into the light...They're not life-changing losses, but they are very real disappointments. Instead of speaking those out loud, though, we often stuff them inside because we don't want to seem small or petty before God. But hear this truth: Nothing that affects you is petty to God. He loves you and cares about everything that affects you. He wants to deliver you, to bring you present salvation. I don't know what losses you've had in your life. I don't know what you're walking through right now, but I want to say this: Don't hurry through it, and don't hide the pain. Don't let anyone tell you to get over it and don't hide it in secret, thinking the pain won't find you there. It will. I promise. Wouldn't you rather confess it to God, to feel Him taking your load and delivering you?" (p. 52)

"Just because a place has become familiar doesn't mean it's where you belong." (p. 139)

The Finnish Way by Katja Pantzar

Katja Pantzar grew up in Canada, but had two Finnish parents so some of the Nordic ideas and philosophies were things she grew up seeing her parents do. After being diagnosed with depression in her late 20's, Pantzar decided to move to Finland and try to reconnect with her family roots. This was when she was introduced to the idea of Sisu - a Finnish idea or resilience, fortitude, and not giving up. This philosophy plays out in all areas of Finnish life - food, exercise, work, family, etc. In the book she explores Finnish trends/cultural norms that exemplify Sisu like cold water swimming, sauna, being out in nature, bike riding, movement as medicine and more. While a lot of these ideas/ways of life seem wonderful, it would be much harder to do them outside of living in a coastal town. There is also the issue of Nordic countries designing cities around public transportation or making it easier to walk or bike to work. While Pantzar shows how you can still take these ideas and implement them to suit your situation, it's obvious that it would be a LOT easier if you lived in a Nordic country. But, there are lots of great ideas and ways to think about how you could incorporate more nature and more Sisu into your daily life.

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

When Brene Brown first started studying shame she saw some patterns in people who were more resilient and called these patterns "wholehearted." This book fleshes out those wholehearted patterns and ideals - a lot of which deal with authenticity and breaking away from who we "should" be and moving toward who we truly are. While I did like the book and there was a LOT of great information, it almost felt like you were dropped into the middle of a conversation. There is just a LOT going on right from the first page. I read Braving the Wilderness earlier in the year and really liked it so I wanted to go back and read more of Brown's work. Maybe she's improved with each book! While I did like this one and get a lot out of it, I was slightly put off by the cover - it was very Oprah-esque and probably not one I would have picked up if I wasn't already familiar with the author. But, you can't always judge a book by it's cover and there IS a lot of great info here. I'll definitely be reading more by her in the future.

Some quotes I liked:

"One of the biggest surprises in this research was learning that fitting in and belonging are not the same thing, and, in fact, fitting in gets in the way of belonging. Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn't require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are." (p. 25)

"It's also pushed me to think about the important differences between professing love and practicing love. During a recent radio interview about the rash of celebrity infidelities, the host asked me, 'Can you love someone and cheat on them or treat them poorly?' I thought about it for a long time, then gave the best answer I could based on my work: 'I don't know if you can love someone and betray them or be cruel to them, but I do know that when you betray someone or behave in an unkind way toward them, you are not practicing love. And, for me, I don't just want someone who says they love me; I want someone who practices that love for me every day.'" (p. 28)

"In Jungian circles, shame is often referred to as the swampland of the soul...What I'm proposing is that we learn to wade through it. We need to see that standing on the shore and catastrophisizing about what could happen if we talked honestly about our fears is actually more painful than grabbing the hand of a trusted companion and crossing the swamp." (p. 36)

"Our stories are not meant for everyone. Hearing them is a privilege, and we should always ask ourselves this before we share: 'Who has earned the right to hear my story?' If we have one or two people in our lives who can sit with us and hold space for our shame stories, and love us for our strengths and struggles, we are incredibly lucky...We don't need love and belonging and story-catching from everyone in our lives, but we need it from at least one person." (p. 47)

"Children most often learn hope from their parents. Snyder says that to learn hopefulness, children need relationships that are characterized by boundaries, consistency, and support...To add to Snyder's work on hope, I found in my research that men and women who self-report as hopeful put considerable value on persistence and hard work. The new cultural belief that everything should be fun, fast, and easy is inconsistent with hopeful thinking. It also sets us up for hopelessness. When we experience something that is difficult and requires significant time and effort, we are quick to think, This is supposed to be easy; it's not worth the effort, or, This should be easier: it's only hard and slow because I'm not good at it. Hopeful self-talk sounds more like, This is tough, but I can do it." (p. 66)

Finding Gobi by Dion Leonard

Dion Leonard is an ultra-marathoner - running races that lasted days and were in extreme environments. While running a 155-mile race through China's Gobi desert Leonard encounters a small dog. The dog seems enamored with Leonard, but he figures there's no way the dog will keep up with him through the day's leg of the race, but she does and continues on the next day as well. Soon Leonard finds himself looking out for the little dog he names Gobi and even sharing his food rations with her. By the end of the race he decides to find a way to bring Gobi home to Scotland. He leaves her with one of the race organizers in China while he works out a plan, but Gobi escapes. Leonard ends up taking a leave from work to go back to China and find Gobi. Miraculously he does and that is still only the beginning of their adventure to get Gobi back home to Scotland. A wonderful happy story about the bond between dog and man. This is a quick, adventure-filled read with a very happy ending.

We Are All Shipwrecks by Kelly Grey Carlisle

Kelly realized once she started school that her family wasn't like other families. Other families had a Mom and Dad and kids, while she lived with her Grandfather and his second wife. Other kids knew their parents, while Kelly's Mom was murdered when she was just 3 weeks old and her Father was in and out of jail. Other families had normal homes and jobs, while Kelly's Grandfather ran a porn shop and for most of her childhood they lived in a small boat in an Los Angeles harbor. Still while she was growing up Kelly idolized her Grandfather. He said he had served in WWII and ended up in a concentration camp, he knew lots of famous actors and musicians, and the reason he loved boats so much was because of his time in the Navy - but as an adult Kelly finds out most of her Grandfather's stories weren't true. So, who was Kelly's Grandfather? What really happened to her Mother? These are the questions Kelly struggles with as an adult once she realizes that she did grow up in a family of people who loved her and wanted the best for her even if they sometimes had a hard time showing it.

While Kelly's story is fascinating, I wish the book had been more 50/50 with her childhood and adulthood. It kind of felt like she jumped from high school over college and straight into being married and a mother herself dealing with these questions about her family. I would have liked more about how she was able to create a stable home life when she never had that for herself. I also wish she could have made contact with her Father as she found out he really did want a relationship with her and did love her Mother. Overall, a great memoir of a woman growing up in a crazy, dysfunctional family that manages to create the stable family she wished she had for her own children.

Homer: the ninth life of a blind wonder cat by Gwen Cooper

I LOVED Homer's Odyssey when it came out, so when I saw that there was a sequel I couldn't wait to see the next chapters of Homer's life. As Gwen Cooper explains, Homer's Odyssey covered 12 years and she felt like she didn't have enough content to make a second book equally long, so this is more of a "mini-sequel" that covers the time period after Homer's Odyssey was published and through his death at age 16. The first two chapters cover trying to get the book published and the media attention after it came out. The last two chapters are serious tear-jerkers that cover when Homer got sick and through his death. Homer was an amazing cat right up until the very end. He was diagnosed with kidney failure and not given any prognosis - his liver levels were so high he shouldn't have been alive at all - but he lived for another 4 months. It was very hard to read the second half because it was so sad and I just lost my 14 year old cat Roxy a little less than 3 months ago. But reading more Homer stories was great and as Cooper says in the introduction she got to relive all these Homer memories again while writing this mini-sequel. While definitely not as long, if you loved Homer's Odyssey make sure to read this follow up.

Sensing the Rhythm: finding my voice in a world without sound by Mandy Harvey

I first heard of Mandy Harvey when I saw the clip of her episode on America's Got Talent singing and playing the ukelele even though she's completely deaf. In this book she explains how she lost her hearing and how she managed to get back into music even with no hearing. Harvey was a music major in her first year of college when she suddenly started to lose her hearing and within a few months she was completely deaf. She went into a deep depression because music was her love and passion. Her father helped her try out singing again and she was able to continue singing through muscle memory, feeling music and vocal vibrations, and with help from a pitch app to make sure she gets and stays on pitch while singing. But, this is not the only adversity Harvey has overcome in her life - she had other physical and emotional struggles, including a failed marriage that helped shape her life and become the resilient person she is now. This is a very inspiring book about an amazing woman who's overcome a lot and revamped her dreams when the original dreams died.

Nomadland: surviving American in the twenty-first century by Jessica Bruder

Nomadland explores a unique segment of the US population - retirement age people who are essentially homeless, living in old RVs, vans or cars and traveling all over the US doing seasonal work and meeting up as a community of "vandwellers." While many people saw media coverage of the tent cities that popped up around the country during the 2008-9 recession full of out of work people who had been foreclosed on or evicted and were now homeless. While some of the vandwellers enjoy their lifestyle, most if not all were forced into this lifestyle and are now trying to make the best of it. Jessica Bruder buys a van to live out of for months at a time so she can truly get to know the vandweller culture and experience this lifestyle. Bruder interviews many people, but mainly follows Linda May, a woman in her late sixties who worked a variety of jobs in her lifetime, but yet couldn't seem to make ends meet paying rent, utilities, etc. but with no rent and much lower expenses she can work toward her dream of buying land and building an Earthship house one day. The most eye-opening part of this book for me was how many seasonal jobs are geared toward older adults as extra retirement income, but the reality is these people depend on these jobs and will probably never really be able to retire. Amazon is a huge recruiter of "camperforce," older people who have RVs/campers/vans to live out of and will travel to Amazon's huge warehouses as seasonal workers during the holiday rush between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is extremely physical and demanding work that is needed round the clock. I also didn't know that many National Parks advertise for "campground hosts" who help rangers keep campsites clean, clean public showers and restrooms, and check in campers. While there's nothing wrong with either of these jobs, it just felt sad that many of these people can't find any other full-time work because of their age. It also felt somewhat predatory and while that shouldn't surprise me about a huge corporation like Amazon I guess it still does. This is a unique story about a hidden part of our population, but there is also just an undercurrent of sadness too. These people do have a genuine community and help each other, but there are many that fall through the cracks when they have a health crisis. Definitely a book I'll be thinking about for a long time.

Some quotes I really liked:

"Amazon had recruited these workers as part of a program it calls CamperForce: a labor unit made up of nomads who work as seasonal employees at several of its warehouses, which the company calls 'fulfillment centers,' or FCs. Along with thousands of traditional temps, they're hired to meet the heavy shipping demands of 'peak season,' the consumer bonanza that spans the three to four months before Christmas. Amazon doesn't disclose precise staffing numbers to the press, but when I casually asked a CamperForce manager at an Amazon recruiting booth in Arizona about the size of the program, her estimate was some two thousand workers [that was 2014]...The workers' shifts last ten hours or longer, during which some walk more than fifteen miles on concrete floors, stooping, squatting, reaching, and climbing stairs as they scan, sort, and box merchandise. When the holiday rush ends, Amazon no longer needs CamperForce and terminates the program's workers. They drive away in what managers cheerfully call a 'taillight parade.'" (p. 45)

[Talking about how physically demanding the Amazon temp work is on anyone, but especially older bodies] "Many of the RVs I entered [in CamperForce] were stocked like mobile apothecaries, with Icy Hot Pain Relieving Gel, tubs for soaking tired feet, Epsom salts, and bottles of Aleve and Advil. If the workers ran out of pills, that wasn't a problem - Amazon had wall-mounted dispensers offering free over-the-counter painkillers in the warehouse." (p. 55-6)

"Along with many of the wayfarers he came to inspire, Bob [Wells who created CheapRVLiving.com] saw things differently. He envisioned a future where economic and environmental upheavals had become the new American normal. For this reason, he didn't package nomadic living as a quick fix, something to tide folks over until society had stabilized, at which point they could reintegrate with the mainstream. Rather he aspired to create a wandering tribe whose members could operate outside of - or even transcend - the fraying social order: a parallel world on wheels." (p. 78-9)

July 2018 Reviews

The Wellness Project by Phoebe Lapine

When Phoebe Lapine was diagnosed with Hashimoto's tyroiditis after college she struggled to reconcile her diagnosis with how she thought her 20's should be lived - lots of drinking and eating garbage. After cutting out gluten, she saw some improvement, but not enough. So, in the vein of Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project she decided to spend a year focusing on her health and how to improve it without never enjoying her life. While some of the chapters/focus were interesting the whole book was more geared toward someone with Hashimoto's or autoimmune disease, so that got a little old for me since I don't have that. But, I pretty much lost complete interest during the chapter on birth control. She makes it sound like the Pill is the worst thing you could ever use and decides on the withdrawal method (?!?!?!) and FAM (fertility awareness method) which is where you track things daily like your temperature and vaginal discharge - seriously? who has time to do that? And this quote about the withdrawal method just pissed me off, "Most [women using this form of birth control] are in committed relationships and therefore have already nurtured the degree of trust needed to cede that kind of control to a man. And many acknowledge some comfort in handing over the reins; it's stressful to be the lone watchdog guarding the hen house." (p.251-2) WTF?! Are you going to hand the pregnancy reins over if it doesn't work?! This is the stupidest thing I've read in a long time. After this chapter I was pretty much done. I just felt like this book was so geared toward her specific situation that it was hard to get much out of it. Also, she worked from home so she had a lot more freedom to take exercise classes during the day, sleep in, cook better meals, etc. Overall, I wasn't impressed with this one.

Healing Back Pain: the Mind Body Connection by John E. Sarno, M.D.

This book was recommended in the last book I read, The Wellness Project by Phoebe Lapine in the chapter when she discussed her back issues. In that book her acupuncturist said that often shoulder pain/tension was due to unresolved feelings of anger and I don't remember if the acupuncturist was the one who recommended this book to Lapine or not, but as I've had issues with my neck and shoulders that have gotten worse over the past almost 10 years I decided to check this book out. Healing Back Pain was published in 1991, so it's not exactly current, but his basic theory does make a lot of sense. His theory is that most common back issues (neck/shoulders, lower back, and leg issues) are a result of TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome) which is basically the body feeling physical pain instead of dealing with emotional pain or anger. When Sarno describes the "types" of people who most often have TMS it makes sense, but this book is seriously lacking in any real help or "treatment" options. He basically says once you understand you have TMS and it's not a physical/medical issue then the pain just goes away and there is really not much more "treatment" that is recommended. Although he does say in about 5% of cases therapy is needed to work through the painful emotions/anger, but he also hints that that is mainly in cases of physical or sexual abuse in childhood. I also got a little leary when he talked about basically all kinds of things are TMS - allergies, plantar fasciitis, etc. While I do think he makes some good points I also think he's a little too broad in his assumptions that almost every ailment are TMS. I think there needs to be more of a balance. But, as someone who's suffered from, at times, terrible pain in my shoulder and neck with no obvious medical cause it is frustrating that NONE of the doctors I ever saw suggested it might be a reaction to stress or other emotional issues. While I do agree with the premise of this book it was still a let down that there wasn't more about how to work through these emotions instead of having them manifest in physical pain. If you're curious read the chapters about TMS and skip or skim some of the others that don't offer much in the way of actual help.

Some quotes I liked:

"TMS can manifest itself in a variety of locations, and it tends to move around, particularly if something is being done to combat the disorder...It is as though the brain is unwilling to give up this convenient strategy for diverting attention away from the realm of the emotions." (p. 13)

"One often hears or reads that holidays may be stressful. What should be a time of relaxation and fun often turns out to be unpleasant for some people. I have often been struck by the fact that many patients will report the onset of attacks of TMS before, during, or shortly after major holidays. The reason is obvious: Big holidays usually mean a lot of work, particularly for women, who take the responsibility in our culture for organizing and carrying out the festivities." (p. 24) [not to mention actually seeing family members you don't like, are rude, etc.]

"The longer I work with TMS, the more impressed I am with the role of anger. We have all learned to repress it so completely that we are totally unaware of its existence in many situations. In fact, I have begun to wonder if anger is not fundamental to the development of symptoms than anxiety and, indeed, whether anxiety itself may be a reaction to repressed anger." (p. 51)

"In the long run, fear and preoccupation with physical restrictions are more effective as a psychological defense than pain. A severe attack of pain may be over in a few days, but if the person is afraid to do things for fear of inducing another attack or because he or she has found that the activity will invariably bring on pain, even if it is not an acute attack, then the preoccupation with the body is continuous and the defense is working all the time." (p. 61)

Why I Don't Call Myself Gay by Daniel Mattson

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I was interested to read a book by someone who considers themselves a Christian and is also gay or attracted to the same sex. Mattson is Catholic and if I had realized how much of the book would be about Catholic teachings/ideas/theology I might not have read it, but I'm glad I did. While I don't agree with Mattson 100% (he does not think anyone is born gay) he is very courageous to open his life up and show his struggle and how he has reconciled his life with the teachings of the Church. The first part is his back story then the rest of the book covers how someone with same sex attraction CAN be a Christian and can glorify God through a life of celibacy. Mattson believes that we are all more than our sexuality and we were all made to glorify God. And while I have issues with the Catholic church, he believes (and I agree) that the Church is to shine a light on the truth of God's Word for the world. While his message won't be popular with the secular world and our current culture, I think he gives a lot of hope for any Believer who struggles with any sexual sin that God can help you and you are more than your sexuality.

Some quotes I liked:

"We all acknowledge the weight of the societal resistance to or rejection of the Church's teachings on marriage and sex. The opposing forces are formidable. Out of fear of being called a 'hater' or 'homophobe,' or worse consequences, we can remain silent and unwilling to raise the banner of truth in a compassionate and thoughtful way." (p. xxxiv-xxxv)

"I have always wanted to live my life based on reality, on the way things really are. On the one hand, the way things 'really are' is that I am sexually attracted to men. But despite what the gay rights movement said about me (that my feelings and attractions reveal my true sexual identity), I never felt convinced by their arguments. 'Being gay' never really made sense to me. Defining reality based on my feelings seemed a rather unconvincing premise upon which to build a life...I want to live my life based on reality, not based on what I feel reality to be." (p. 90)

"We associate this sort of propaganda with the political machine of dictators; yet the weaponizing of the word 'can be found wherever a powerful organization, an ideological clique, a special interest, or a pressure group uses the word as their 'weapon.' The gay rights movement deftly uses the power of propaganda, the word wielded as a weapon, against anyone they perceive stands in the way of their aims. Just recently, a group of 'progressive organizations' fomented a propaganda war against Christian and other religious organizations who still uphold traditional marriage, in opposition to same-sex marriage, by labeling such organizations as 'hate groups.' In some countries like Sweden, it is becoming illegal to even preach about homosexuality as being immoral." (p. 102-3)

The Bad Food Bible by Aaron Carroll, MD

Every day there is a new headline about a new "superfood" that will help you live forever or a new "evil" chemical that's been found in processed foods that will send you to an early grave. How do you know what to eat? Is anything safe? Dr. Carroll is a medical doctor, but early in his career while researching whether wedge pillows really helped infants with acid reflux he found that many doctors are just making their best guess based on whatever the current research is at the time. While digging further into the research he found Dr. Carroll discovered that many of the clinical tests weren't done well or for very long or had conflicting results. So, how do you sort through all the "evidence" given to support whatever current food trend is going on? Dr. Carroll walks through how scientists do their research and the best (most accurate) ways to do clinical trials and tests. Then the rest of the book goes through various "bad" foods and the research that supposedly backs up the common claims about that food. For the most part Dr. Carroll is able to show that research can really be bent to fit most any claim and it very often is even by medical professionals. Also, the research is often funded by an organization with an agenda, for example the Sugar Research Foundation trying to make sure sugar isn't seen as the blame for weight gain - fats and meat should be. Dr. Carroll covers butter, meat, eggs, salt, gluten, GMOs, alcohol, coffee, diet soda, MSG, and non-organic food. I pretty much agree with him on everything except his stance on GMOs - he is just wrong about this issue in my opinion. But, his overall view point and take away for the book is summed up well in the last paragraph of the book, "Eating is one of the great joys of life. Don't let people use misinformation or bad science to deprive you of the pleasure of good food. If they tell you that you need to drastically change your eating habits, or that you need to avoid this or that food completely, be skeptical; that's almost never the case. You can eat things you love and still live a long and healthy life. Let this book be your guide." (p. 198)

Some quotes I really liked:

"There's a lot of potential good in GMO crops. It's also important to recognize that this kind of modification also occurs in nature [NO, it does NOT]. DNA mutations eventually confer adaptive benefits on certain species, allowing them to overcome such challenges without human intervention. This is Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection at work. Genetic engineering just dramatically speeds up the process and allows for more specific changes than nature usually stumbles upon through the halting process of random mutation." (p. 83) [What GMOs do is NEVER found in nature. How would fish DNA naturally evolve into plants? How would poison naturally evolve into plants? That is what GMO crops are doing, not to mention that Monsanto wants to own plant DNA - not own their ideas or technology, but OWN MULTIPLE PLANT DNA. Read Modified by Caitlin Shetterly to get the real scoop on GMOs and their threat to our health and environment.

[In talking about the percentages of Americans who drink alcohol and how much per week] "Whereas people in the ninth decile consume fifteen drinks a week, people in the tenth and final decile consume seventy-four drinks a week on average. Seventy-four! You have to average two bottles of wine a day just to make it into the bottom half of this decile...Seventy-four drinks a week is more than four and half bottles of scotch. It's three cases of beer. It's ten beers every day - on average...These 10% of Americans [24 million people] drink more than half of all the alcohol consumed in the United States every year...If those 10% could reduce their drinking to the level of the ninth decile, overall alcohol sales in the United States would fall by 60%." (p. 106-7)

"In many ways, organic foods are now every bit as corporate as the conventionally grown stuff, with bucolic brands and packages obscuring the gears of the industrial food system. 'Cascadian Farm' is owned by General Mills. 'Back to Nature' was owned for some time by Kraft, which in 2012 sold it to Brynwood Partners, a private equity fund. 'Moringstar Farms' is owned by Kellogg." (p. 174)

"Perhaps more than anything else, I found myself saying that I wanted readers to realize that we can't believe everything we hear about dietary health, even when it comes from scientists. The truth is much more complicated than any one study can reveal." (p. 187)

Slow: simple living for a frantic world by Brooke McAlary

This book came into my life at the perfect time. I had put it on hold based on the title and when it came in it was so beautiful that I just wanted to start reading it right away. Brooke McAlary was living the typical "keeping up with the Joneses" life of accumulating all the stuff society told her she needed, but she was overwhelmed and barely keeping her head above water. After her second child was born she had severe postpartum depression and that was when she decided to change her life. It was a slow process, but little by little McAlary de-cluttered her house and life. She began to see that saying "yes" to everything often meant saying "no" to the truly important things like her family and health. She covers decluttering and de-owning, mindfulness and disconnecting from technology to reconnect with nature and real life. She also talks about the wobbly art of balance and how to deal with "backsliding" into our old ways.

I loved that she wasn't pushing minimalism or a certain way to slow down - she reiterates that this process is all about whatever works for you and what is important to you. I also like that even though she has children the whole book wasn't about her kids it was more about whatever your family looks like or whatever your priorities are how best to enjoy that more. She also recognizes the importance of technology in our lives, but encourages serious boundaries - both with the amount of time we use technology and what we feed ourselves with social media. This is probably the most well done book about simplifying or slowing down that I've read. McAlary gives lots of great tips and ideas, but doesn't try to create a new "slow Joneses" to now idealize. Overall a wonderful book that I will probably end up buying because it's just so beautiful and inspiring!

Some quotes I really liked:

"Instead, think of decluttering as one step in the process of creating a slower, simpler life, not the goal. It's more about approaching our home - and the things we choose to keep in it - with intention. It's about choosing actively what things to hold on to, what things to let go of, and what things are meaningful to us. There is no right or wrong, but we do have a choice." (p. 43-44)

"Clutter is deferred decisions. It's the physical manifestation of procrastination. It's overcommitment in the form of stuff." (p. 44)

"As my raw, real, feeling self was revealed, two things began to happen. I began to experience more. More joy, yes, but also more realization, more discomfort, more pain, more bittersweetness. More awareness of the beauty and tragedy of life. For the first time in many years (maybe ever), I was becoming emotionally available, and it was stunningly uncomfortable." (p. 117)

"There is constant stimulus in modern life, and the opportunity to let thoughts out rather than cramming more in is a rare one. By walking in silence, with no music, no podcasts, no audiobooks, we invite our thoughts to do their thing without impediment. So often, I will have a breakthrough in these moments of silence, as my thoughts, which need time to roll around in silence and put themselves in some kind of order, gradually work themselves out." (p. 132)

"We do a lot to avoid feelings like anxiety, sadness, or anger. We stay busy, we self-medicate, we say yes, we say no - all so as not to experience the 'bad' feelings life has for us. But these feelings are important, because in order to feel the highs of joy and happiness, we also need to understand the lows of grief, envy, or disappointment. Mindfulness allows us to acknowledge and accept such feelings, feel them in all their depth, and understand that they are valid and important. It also helps us to understand that they are not everything - even on days that feel like sadness has swallowed the whole world." (p. 141-2)

"The technology isn't the problem; it's how we choose to use it. And it is a choice. We choose to keep our phones in our pockets. We choose to put them on the dinner table. We choose to respond to emails at 11:30 p.m. We choose to update statuses when we're sick, or in bed, or on vacation, or while someone who loves us waits for us to look at them. We choose to document an endless succession of precious, personal moments, and we choose to view so much of our life through a screen." (p. 154)

"Now I can see that the idea of balance is a good one, when viewed with two caveats:
1. Not everything in our lives deserves the same weight. Aim instead for the correct weight.
2. Balance isn't a daily act. Not everything will be given attention every day, and that's OK.
The difference is the weight we give things. Keeping the house immaculately clean doesn't need or deserve the same weight as spending time with our closest people." (p. 216)

"What does a (realistically) ideal day look like for you? One that fills you up, ticks the boxes you want ticked, makes time for the important things in your life, leaving you satisfied as you lie in bed at night? Not a holiday or day off, but a work-school-cooking-meetings-laundry kind of a day...Think it through, and write it down if you want to. Choose one thing in that ideal day that you aren't currently doing - make it a good one, one that will contribute to your core - and add it to tomorrow." (p. 236-7)

"So often, we avoid doing things because we're afraid. Afraid to fail, fall flat on our faces, or admit we made a mistake. Afraid to backtrack, afraid to be judged. We don't make changes, because we're afraid the requirements will exceed our capabilities or the problems will be bigger and more complex than we anticipated. So we stay where we are. Comfortably stuck. Studiously avoiding change or new experiences, out of fear of what the other side holds." (p. 241)

"Behavioral consultant Nicholas Bate refers to this regular checking in as 'taking your MEDS,' or, more specifically, paying attention to: mindfulness, exercise, diet, sleep Once I recognize which of these areas has changed, it's simpler (again, not necessarily easier) to recognize the issue and start fixing it." (p. 245)

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Based on the other Goodreads reviews I guess I'm not completely in the minority for not loving this book. I've never read anything by Bourdain or watched his show, but I had always heard that THIS was the book of his to read. So after his suicide I put it on hold and here we are. To start I LOVE reading about cooking, food, chefs, etc. but this one was just too much for me. I know kitchens aren't PC workplaces, but there was so much vulgarity and sexual harassment that I had a hard time reading parts of it. I know this book came out long before the #metoo movement, but it really epitomizes how the "old boys club" and "this is just how it is" attitude is so pervasive and makes changing very hard. Bourdain seemed like a spoiled brat (and he does own that) who then because an addict and worked his way up in the world of cooking. How he ever managed to get and stay married is beyond me. I was liking it more in the first half, but the second half seemed more name dropping and a lot of the same material just repackaged slightly. Overall, not super impressed.

Some quotes I did like:

"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter-faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food." (p. 70)

"Garlic is divine. Few food items can taste so many distinct ways, handled correctly. Misuse of garlic is a crime...Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screwtop jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don't deserve to eat garlic." (p. 81)

"Skills can be taught. Character you either have or don't have. Bigfoot understood that there are two types of people in the world: those who do what they say they're going to do - and everyone else." (p. 96)

June 2018 Cookbooks

Secrets of the Southern Table: a food lover's tour of the Global South by Virginia Willis

In Secrets of the Southern Table Virginia Willis shows us there is much more to Southern food than fried chicken and biscuits (not that those aren't important!). She explores the diversity of Southern food both today and in the past. Each section of recipes starts with highlighting 2 Southern cuisine farms/restaurants/entrepreneurs who is making a difference and changing how Southern food is seen and eaten today. Definitely plenty of Southern classics, but more globally inspired Southern dishes as well. Another good cookbook from Virginia Willis.

Feeding a Family: a real-life plan for making dinner work by Sarah Waldman

When Sarah Waldman started getting interested in food and our modern food system, she read tons of books, but she also decided to become a nutritionist so she could help people make better food choices. After having children and trying to get picky eaters to eat healthy food, she started creating recipes that work for adults and can be modified for more picky or younger children. While I don't have children, I still found tons of recipes I'd like to try. All the recipes are centered around seasonal, whole food and the book is divided by seasons - I guess I'm a fall person because that was where most of the recipes I want to try were. Overall, a great cookbook is you're cooking for picky eaters, children, or want to try to eat more seasonally.

Platters and Boards: beautiful, casual spreads for every occasion by Shelly Westerhausen

This is straight up food eye candy. Beautiful photographs of "spreads" of various types of snack foods arranged on wooden boards or platters that you'll probably never actually make, but love to look at and dream. If you entertain a lot this could be a useful cookbook, but I think for most people this is just a fantasy cookbook of the type of person you wish you were. The spreads are arranged by time of day and the final section is recipes for some spread "essentials" like crackers, cheese straws, condiments, etc. I did like that for each spread the author included not just a list of items for that spread, but also an actual recipe for something included in that spread. There are a few things I'd like to try to make and while I doubt I'll ever be the person who throws together spreads like this, I could see making the Southern-style board or creating the mini cheeseball spread for a holiday party. Definitely a beautiful cookbook with lots of great party food ideas.

June 2018 Reviews

American Wolf: a true story of survival and obsession in the West by Nate Blakeslee

Wolves have always been a controversial animal - people either love them or hate them, especially out West. American Wolf tells the story of the wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone National park through the story of O-Six, the grandchild of some of the first wolves reintroduced into Yellowstone. O-Six stands out to rangers and biologists from very early in her life, she becomes an alpha female and leads a powerful pack known as the Lamars, based on the area of the park that is their territory. She survives harsh winters, lower numbers of elk, grizzlies, and attacks from other rival packs only to be killed when hunting wolves is legalized in Wyoming. Her death created a firestorm in an already controversial issue and ultimately led to wolves being put back on the endangered species list in Wyoming. O-Six becomes Rick McIntyre's favorite wolf and as a park ranger in Yellowstone it's Rick's job to help visitors see some of the magnificent animals that call the park home. Rick and a band of fellow die-hard wolf watchers spend hours every day tracking and watching the wolves both for biologists and to help educate the public. Without Rick it would have been much harder to tell O-Six's story and the author relies on Rick's research and knowledge to write this book. But, the author also is able to talk to the man who killed O-Six and get his side of the story, so it's a well-rounded book and covers both sides of the controversial wolf issue. Definitely a tearjerker ending when O-Six's death is described. How anyone could trophy hunt is beyond me. A wonderful book about a magnificent animal and the impact wolves have had in Yellowstone and beyond.

pg 183-86 the "trophic cascade" of how wolves being reintroduced to Yellowstone have created numerous other benefits to other animals and even the land itself.

p. 230-31 the powerful description of O-Six's death - have some kleenex ready.

Life in the Sloth Lane: slow down and smell the hibiscus by Lucy Cooke

This is the cutest book EVER! Every page is super cute sloth pictures and quotes that reflect the slower paced Life in the Sloth Lane. The author also gives facts about sloths throughout the book. If you love sloths this is the book for you! This is one I will definitely have to buy because it is SO CUTE and the pictures are really great.

Country Grit: a farmoir of finding purpose and love by Scottie Jones

Scottie and Greg Jones lived a normal suburban life in Phoenix, Arizona. But, when Greg is in a near-fatal car accident he decides life is too short for long commutes and high-stress life. So, he and Scottie buy a sheep farm in rural Oregon and Country Grit is the story of the farm's first 5 years. Becoming farmers in middle age there is a steep learning curve, but thankfully the Joneses find a community of like-minded people in their new town who don't mind helping and sharing advice. After a particularly hard year on their farm they are ready to admit defeat and sell, but one last crazy idea is able to turn their farm around financially. Part memoir and part farm start-up guide, Country Grit show just how hard it is to survive financially on a small farm, but how it can definitely be well worth the risk.

Dot Journaling: a practical guide by Rachel Wilkerson Miller

I had heard of dot journaling, but I wasn't sure exactly what it was or why I should (or shouldn't) try it. This book give a great overview of what dot journaling is and the variety of ways you could use it in your life. What I liked the best is that the author gives LOTS of pictures of sample types of dot journaling and sample topics you could use. It's really geared toward someone who loves lists and keeping track of things like what you read, how much you exercise, etc. If I decide to start dot journaling I might buy this book because it gives so many great examples and ways to organize your dot journal. Overall, a very thorough book about dot journaling with LOTS of ideas and examples.

Reading With Patrick: a teacher, a student, and a life-changing friendship by Michelle Kuo

After Michelle Kuo graduates from Harvard she joins Teach for America and spends two years teaching English in a low income school in Helena, Arkansas. There her optimism to make a difference comes face to face with the struggles of her students. But, she does make a difference and connects with a few of her students. After leaving Arkansas for law school she hears that one of her favorite students, Patrick Browning, is in jail for first degree murder. After hearing this devastating news Kuo goes back to Helena and starts meeting with Patrick every day in jail - they mostly pick up where she left off when he was in her class. Kuo feels like if she had stayed in Helena things might have been different for Patrick, but the odds are definitely stacked against Patrick and his community. Kuo combines her story of her relationship with Patrick with the history of the area and blacks in the South in general to give the background for Patrick's story and community. It's a sad book, but there is some hope and her story shows that all most people need is someone in their corner to encourage them.

Simple Organizing: 50 ways to clear the clutter by Melissa Michaels

This is a great organizing book that breaks things down into 50 small steps. The book is organized by room or area of the house and then further into the smaller 50 steps. There are also great photographs of beautifully organized homes (that don't seem too perfect). I got lots of great ideas and hope to implement them in my home - tip #16 arrange kitchen into task zones, #20 make the dining area usable, not a dumping ground for everything, #37 a wellness station to keep all band aids, creams, medicine, etc. organized and ready. As a librarian, I also appreciated that the author mentioned in tip #13 "Library books are best kept in their own storage container. Designating a separate basket or shelf for library items makes them easy to locate when they're due. Best way to avoid stress and fines." Good organizing book especially if you want to work room by room at your own pace.

In the Days of Rain: a daughter, a father, a cult by Rebecca Stott

Rebecca Stott spent the first 6 years of her life in a cult known as the Brethren. The Brethren was a strict offshoot of mainstream Christianity that believed that the Rapture, or return of Christ, was mere days or weeks away and in order to be ready they had to retreat away from the world's evil influences. As time went on and leadership changed, the rules of the Brethren got more and more restrictive. Family members who didn't comply were excommunicated. Under the worst leadership there were suicides and even murder resulting from mental breakdowns caused by the stress of trying to live up to the Brethren expectations. Rebecca's family had generations of Brethren believers and her father and grandfather were church leaders and speakers. After a scandal involving the leader at the time, Rebecca's family left the Brethren and her father completely left the faith and eventually developed a gambling addiction and went to prison for embezzling money from his company. The book is divided into 3 sections - Before, During, and After. The Before section gives the history of the Brethren religion and how Rebecca's family became involved. The During section is what their life was like during their family's time in the Brethren, and the After is the aftermath when their family left. The best section was the During one - the others really dragged and there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Rebecca struggled to adjust to life outside the restrictive Brethren, but her parents never really explained anything to their children about why they left or how their beliefs changed. The author's father asks her to complete his book about their Brethren experience on his deathbed, but she never mentions talking to her mother about that time. It's like it's her father or nothing and once he dies she is trying to figure everything out on her own. Overall, it was not a great book. It's a crazy cult and the story definitely has potential, but maybe the author just got weighed down by her grief over her father's death. Whatever the reason, a lot of the book drags and there are still many unanswered questions.

Out of Line: a life of playing with fire by Barbara Lynch

Barbara Lynch grew up in the hardscrabble Southie area of Boston in the projects. She was the sixth of seven children, so she never got much attention from her mother and her father died before she was born. She and the gang of kids in her neighborhood got into all kinds of trouble growing up. But when Barbara discovers food and cooking she realizes this is her passion. Completely self-taught Barbara is a true rags to riches story of working her way up from nothing to owning multiple successful restaurants. I really liked the first half of the book that was more about her childhood and how she got into cooking, but the second half seemed like too much information was crammed in. She opened restaurant after restaurant like it was nothing with no details of how she managed to do that. She was doing so many things I don't know how she ever slept. And major events like when she almost died from sepsis were just kind of glossed over. I like her story and she's obviously successful and working hard to give back to her community, but the book wasn't great. I feel like it could have been told better with not as much childhood detail and more details about her adult professional life. Overall, it was OK but not one I would really recommend.

Backyard Winter Gardening by Caleb Warnock

When I put this book on hold I didn't realize it was the same author of the More Forgotten Skills of Self-Sufficiency that I had read before. Warnock gives a really good overview of winter gardening and why it's important and good to do. My husband and I keep talking about doing a fall/winter garden, but haven't yet. This is a great resource that once we finally make that step I will definitely use. Overall, a good solid book that is a great resource.

My Life With Bob: flawed heroine keeps book of books, plot ensues by Pamela Paul

Pamela Paul was always a reader. She loved going to the library and getting lost in books. As a child uninterested in sports or most childhood activities she found books to be both her escape and comfort. When on a high school trip to France she starts Bob, or book of books, a notebook where she lists every book she reads and the date read. Bob continues in the same notebook for the next 28 years and still going - through marriage and divorce, trips abroad, good times and bad times. Bob is a snapshot of what was going on in Paul's life at the time. There were times when she was reading books recommended by her first husband, times she was reading about the culture she was visiting, and times when she needed to read more fluff. Bob becomes a sacred part of Paul's life. As someone who also keeps track to all the books I read and sets reading goals for the year, I can totally relate to Paul's story and Bob. If you're a lifelong reader and list-maker this is the perfect book for you.

Some quotes I really liked:

"Books are how cautious kids get to experience a kind of secondhand rebellion, a safe way to go off the rails." (p. 15)

"There can certainly be pleasure in hate reading. As with The Fountainhead, I have hated my way through several books to the last page, not always out of generosity to the writer. It's a force of will. You will be read no matter how hard you make it. Some say reading hateful books feels like time wasted - and with so little time, so many books, why bother with the bad? But there's something bracing about reading a book you despise, because loathing is usually mixed with other emotions - fear, perverse attraction, even occasional, complicated strains of sympathy. It's one of the many reasons I believe in negative reviews. It can be interesting when a book promotes animosity." (p. 171-2)

May 2018 Cookbooks

The Farm Cooking School: techniques and recipes that celebrate the seasons by Ian Knauer and Shelley Wiseman

Ian Knauer and Shelley Wiseman met when she was working at Gourmet magazine as one of the recipe developers and Ian was the "non-pro" who tested the recipes to make sure anyone could use them. As his skills developed, he became a professional cook himself and decided to open a cooking school to help teach others how to cook. He partnered with Shelley and The Farm Cooking School was born. The cookbook starts with a chapter on The Foundations of Cooking and is then divided into seasonal recipes. While I love their cooking school story and their approach to seasonal cooking, I just didn't find that many recipes I wanted to try. But, I do think it could be a great cookbook for a beginning cook.

Gather & Graze: 120 favorite recipes for tasty good times by Stephanie Izard

I was introduced to Stephanie Izard when she competed on and won Iron Chef Gauntlet last year. But, that was just a more recent feather in her very full cap - she was the first female winner of Top Chef in 2008, has opened 3 restaurants in Chicago, and is married with a daughter. And somehow she found time to also write this cookbook. Gather and Grazeis structured like many cookbooks by meal/topic - brunch, grilling, vegetables/sides, etc. While I'm in awe of her as a person and all she's doing, I guess her cooking style isn't really mine because there weren't a lot of recipes I wanted to try. Overall, a good cookbook from and obviously talented chef, but just not my style.

Eat a Little Better: great flavor, good health, better world by Sam Kass

Sam Kass worked as the Obama's personal chef during Barack Obama's presidential campaign and then continued working as their chef in the White House. He also worked with Michelle Obama to create better food policies, the White House garden, etc. during Barack's two terms in office. In his introduction (which is LONG) Kass gives his background and how he got into cooking, then he goes through his food philosophy which can be summed up in the title Eat a Little Better. He doesn't advocate crazy, strict changes, but more small changes, trying to do better each meal and each day. I was tracking with him until he got to GMOs where he said, "...there isn't a single credible study that shows that GMOs are dangerous to eat." (p. 40) Then I was pretty much done. Maybe he spent too much time in politics, but GMOs ARE dangerous and should NOT be part of our food system at all. That was pretty disappointing because overall I think his food philosophy is good. There were a few recipes I want to try, but not many. Overall, the introduction was SO LONG and there weren't many recipes I wanted to try, so it was just OK.