I found this blog today and I'm having great fun exploring.
http://booklove.wordpress.com/
Booklove is the brainchild of Mary Gomez, Technical Services Librarian at Rockingham Community College, who has created a blog for people who love to read and discuss books. This is a very informal blog that operates like a book club in promoting discussions and ideas on both fiction and non-fiction works.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Moloka'i
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert is a terribly heart-wrenching story. At the age of 7, Rachel Kalama contracts leprosy and is sent into quarantine on the island of Moloka'i. She is separated from her family including her father whom she is very close to.
Rachel experiences many loses during her time on the island, each one heart-breaking for its own reasons. Yet she remains strong and steadfast in the belief that she will be "cured" and be able to leave Moloka'i.
While the story is compelling, the writing is weak in some places and over-wrought in others. And toward the end, you start to wonder how much one person can really take and remain positive. Maybe living with leprosy and surrounded by other lepers and death makes one more able to deal with it all, but I didn't want to be immune to it even if only in a novel.
Rachel experiences many loses during her time on the island, each one heart-breaking for its own reasons. Yet she remains strong and steadfast in the belief that she will be "cured" and be able to leave Moloka'i.
While the story is compelling, the writing is weak in some places and over-wrought in others. And toward the end, you start to wonder how much one person can really take and remain positive. Maybe living with leprosy and surrounded by other lepers and death makes one more able to deal with it all, but I didn't want to be immune to it even if only in a novel.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Omnivore's Dilemma
I finished up Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan in time for book club next week and I don't think I will ever look at food the same.
I've always been a bit queasy about certain foods - poultry, eggs, beef - and this book reinforced that I was right to be cautious.
The first section is a bit dry as he follows the path of corn from field to table, but the second and third sections make up for muddling through the story of corn.
The second section, Pastoral/Grass, was the most interesting to me as it looked into mass organic operations and reassuringly educated me on the local, grass-feeding beef farmer.
The last section recounted Pollan's attempt to serve a meal made from ingredients he has gathered (mushrooms), killed (wild boar) or grown (various ingredients) by the author. Being a mycophobe, I found his search for mushrooms a little long and overly dramatic, but it was a short section.
Overall, Omnivore's Dilemma was in interesting, educating read. Warning: Once you pick this up, be prepared to start shopping for organic foods, grass fed beef, cage free eggs and joining a CSA.
I've always been a bit queasy about certain foods - poultry, eggs, beef - and this book reinforced that I was right to be cautious.
The first section is a bit dry as he follows the path of corn from field to table, but the second and third sections make up for muddling through the story of corn.
The second section, Pastoral/Grass, was the most interesting to me as it looked into mass organic operations and reassuringly educated me on the local, grass-feeding beef farmer.
The last section recounted Pollan's attempt to serve a meal made from ingredients he has gathered (mushrooms), killed (wild boar) or grown (various ingredients) by the author. Being a mycophobe, I found his search for mushrooms a little long and overly dramatic, but it was a short section.
Overall, Omnivore's Dilemma was in interesting, educating read. Warning: Once you pick this up, be prepared to start shopping for organic foods, grass fed beef, cage free eggs and joining a CSA.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
2008 List of books
List of books - 2008
The Zookeeper's Wife, Diane Ackerman
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Loving Frank, Nancy Horan
Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri
When You Are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris
The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs
White Tiger, Arvind Adiga
Girls in Trucks, Katie Crouch
The Long Walk Home, Will North
How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life, Mameve Medwed
Run, Ann Patchett
A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
No One Belongs Here More Than You, Miranda July
Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
The Beautiful Things Heaven Bears, Dinaw Mengestu
B-mother, Maureen O'Brien
Roomates Wanted, Lisa Jewell
Power of One, Bryce Courtney
Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl
Forgive Me, Amanda Eyre Ward
Away, Amy Bloom
The Zookeeper's Wife, Diane Ackerman
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Loving Frank, Nancy Horan
Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri
When You Are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris
The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs
White Tiger, Arvind Adiga
Girls in Trucks, Katie Crouch
The Long Walk Home, Will North
How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life, Mameve Medwed
Run, Ann Patchett
A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
No One Belongs Here More Than You, Miranda July
Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
The Beautiful Things Heaven Bears, Dinaw Mengestu
B-mother, Maureen O'Brien
Roomates Wanted, Lisa Jewell
Power of One, Bryce Courtney
Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl
Forgive Me, Amanda Eyre Ward
Away, Amy Bloom
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