http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/901783 en-US Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:32:36 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 22954162 Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:32:36 -0700
One funny detail during the stroke is that, while she's rapidly losing the ability to conceptualize numbers and language, somehow part of her brain still knew she needed HMO approval prior to using emergency services -- and found the HMO card and called her HMO doctor without really knowing what a doctor or numbers really were. Fear of medical bills is apparently deeply entrenched in our neural circuitry. Which is also the only reason I can think of to explain her medical collegue not calling for an ambulance after she contacted him. Oh, the brain cells that were lost simply because he drove over rather than letting paramedics quickly deal with the situation.

But that's just my left brain talking. While I loved the perspective of what it's like to be temporarily without your left hemisphere, by the end of the book, I felt she was overly left-brain negative. Once the narrative is no longer propelled forward by illness and recovery, the language becomes too cutesy puppies, rainbows, and ponies, pseudo-spiritual for my taste. Lovely message but true spirituality balances the good with real issues, rather than pleasant platitudes.

Five stars for the fascinating insight into strokes and brain function minus one star for the overly cutesy writing towards the end.]]>
author: Jill Bolte Taylor
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/21/08
shelves: bio-and-memoir, health-and-diet
review:
For me, the most fascinating part of this book is the description of the actual stroke and the immediate aftermath. To have suffered such a traumatic brain injury and live to tell about it in such detail is amazing. Doubly amazing for verbalizing what a brain is like when it goes non-verbal.

One funny detail during the stroke is that, while she's rapidly losing the ability to conceptualize numbers and language, somehow part of her brain still knew she needed HMO approval prior to using emergency services -- and found the HMO card and called her HMO doctor without really knowing what a doctor or numbers really were. Fear of medical bills is apparently deeply entrenched in our neural circuitry. Which is also the only reason I can think of to explain her medical collegue not calling for an ambulance after she contacted him. Oh, the brain cells that were lost simply because he drove over rather than letting paramedics quickly deal with the situation.

But that's just my left brain talking. While I loved the perspective of what it's like to be temporarily without your left hemisphere, by the end of the book, I felt she was overly left-brain negative. Once the narrative is no longer propelled forward by illness and recovery, the language becomes too cutesy puppies, rainbows, and ponies, pseudo-spiritual for my taste. Lovely message but true spirituality balances the good with real issues, rather than pleasant platitudes.

Five stars for the fascinating insight into strokes and brain function minus one star for the overly cutesy writing towards the end.
]]> 26599969 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:56:18 -0700 Culinary Artistry, this is a great reference for finding appropriate wines for your favorite foods and foods for your favorite wines. The pairings are not rigid and are based on recommendations from top sommeliers as to what will best enhance certain flavors.

While I'm partial to reds, I was happy to see that Reislings, the wine of my people, are such a great all-purpose choice. The wine of my people has been vindicated and needs to be promoted more.

If you love wine and food, this is a great reference to have handy.]]>
author: Andrew Dornenburg
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: food-and-drink, reference
review:
Written by the authors of Culinary Artistry, this is a great reference for finding appropriate wines for your favorite foods and foods for your favorite wines. The pairings are not rigid and are based on recommendations from top sommeliers as to what will best enhance certain flavors.

While I'm partial to reds, I was happy to see that Reislings, the wine of my people, are such a great all-purpose choice. The wine of my people has been vindicated and needs to be promoted more.

If you love wine and food, this is a great reference to have handy.
]]> 26600740 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:46:59 -0700
author: Gary Regan
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 07/04
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: food-and-drink, reference
review:
If you love cocktails, you'll love this book. Background history and great cocktail recipes. What's not to love?
]]> 21233352 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:29:44 -0700
author: Elizabeth von Arnim
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/25/08
shelves: classics, fiction
review:
A charming and delightful argument for a long vacation and the shedding of inhibitions and social masks. As Lotty would say, this book is "a tub of love."
]]> 25066544 Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:40:53 -0700 Million Little Pieces to shame, especially since it's true -- and she has the pictures to prove it http://www.susanblech.com/worl....

While she does discuss how she lost her weight (2 1/2 years at the Duke Diet Center on a very-low cal diet resulting in a 250 lb weight loss), the key to her weight loss was less the diet than her waking up, as the subtitle states, to the lies she told others and the lies she told herself. She realizes that it's not the food alone that is making her fat, but how she's using food and disrespecting herself, including sexually, to anesthesize herself against emotional pain. It's facing her life honestly that heals her rather than the diet alone.

This is a very painful story with a hopeful ending.]]>
author: Susan Blech
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/22/08
shelves: bio-and-memoir, health-and-diet
review:
Despite the overly cutesy title and pink cover, this is a hard-edged, raw addiction and recovery memoir, compelling enough that I read it in a single day. She's not kidding when she says "food is my heroin." Her eating rampages have the same desparate frenzy as a drug addict jonesing for a hit. Brutely honest, this book puts other addiction memoirs like Million Little Pieces to shame, especially since it's true -- and she has the pictures to prove it http://www.susanblech.com/worl....

While she does discuss how she lost her weight (2 1/2 years at the Duke Diet Center on a very-low cal diet resulting in a 250 lb weight loss), the key to her weight loss was less the diet than her waking up, as the subtitle states, to the lies she told others and the lies she told herself. She realizes that it's not the food alone that is making her fat, but how she's using food and disrespecting herself, including sexually, to anesthesize herself against emotional pain. It's facing her life honestly that heals her rather than the diet alone.

This is a very painful story with a hopeful ending.
]]> 24628392 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:27:08 -0700
author: Harumi Kurihara
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/16/08
shelves: food-and-drink
review:
Simple, elegant Japanese recipes. Harumi has such an easy, engaging style and makes Japanese food seem so simple to make. Lots of miso soups and veggies plus a section on bento.
]]> 24475833 Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:01:54 -0700
author: Karen Wiesen
name: Happyreader
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/14/08
shelves: health-and-diet
review:
I am currently working on a study, along with endocrinologists and nephrologists, focused on preserving kidney function to avoid dialysis in patients with diabetes and reduced kidney function. This book was the best that I found to manage the nutritional part of their treatment. It is clear, detailed, up-to-date, and offers all the guidelines I need to assess nutritional status and manage these patients' diets.
]]> 21321988 Fri, 30 May 2008 22:46:07 -0700
author: Margaret Atwood
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.29
book published: 1972
rating: 3
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/30/08
shelves: fiction
review:
Well-written but being stuck in the north Canadian wetlands with such unlikable people doesn't make for a fun, enjoyable read.
]]> 22659754 Tue, 20 May 2008 20:49:40 -0700
I read this when I was ten and still own it, along with The Films of Carole Lombard by Frederick Ott and Carole Lombard by ET's Leonard Maltin. Oddly, I own no books about Elizabeth I (but I've seen all the various PBS and HBO miniseries).

My Man Godfrey is not only a fabulous movie but her way of helping her first husband, William Powell, get over the death of his girlfriend Jean Harlow and resurrect his career. How generous is that?]]>
author: Larry Swindell
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.50
book published: 1975
rating: 5
read at: 09/75
date added: 05/20/08
shelves: bio-and-memoir, women-of-interest
review:
My two childhood heroines were Elizabeth I and Carole Lombard. I loved that Carole Lombard was a tough broad and also funny, beautiful, generous, and kind.

I read this when I was ten and still own it, along with The Films of Carole Lombard by Frederick Ott and Carole Lombard by ET's Leonard Maltin. Oddly, I own no books about Elizabeth I (but I've seen all the various PBS and HBO miniseries).

My Man Godfrey is not only a fabulous movie but her way of helping her first husband, William Powell, get over the death of his girlfriend Jean Harlow and resurrect his career. How generous is that?
]]> 22218000 Wed, 14 May 2008 04:31:26 -0700
I've had this book now for over 30 years. It's an amazing resource. Basically includes an on-screen history with lots of movie stills and an off-screen mini-biography of all of the 1930s actress, A-list thru D-list. Obviously since 1974, the bios are out-of-date but I use IMDb to answer the living-or-not question.]]>
author: John Shipman Springer
name: Happyreader
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1974
rating: 5
read at: 01/75
date added: 05/14/08
shelves: bio-and-memoir
review:
My mom and I used to watch old movies together in the pre-cable days when they would show old movies every afternoon on one of the local channels. Both of us loved (and still love) the old 1930s classics.

I've had this book now for over 30 years. It's an amazing resource. Basically includes an on-screen history with lots of movie stills and an off-screen mini-biography of all of the 1930s actress, A-list thru D-list. Obviously since 1974, the bios are out-of-date but I use IMDb to answer the living-or-not question.
]]> 22023360 Sun, 11 May 2008 21:24:36 -0700
author: Amy Besa
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 09/07
date added: 05/11/08
shelves: food-and-drink
review:
Considering the large American-Filipino population and the popularity of other Asian cuisines, it's surprising how little is known about Filipino cuisine. This warm and visually appealing book should change all that. In addition to recipes for essential Filipino dishes like adobo, lumpia, and pancit, there is a lot of culinary and cultural history, including food by region and the Spanish and American influences on the cuisine. So not only will you learn how to put together halo halo, you'll get some background on how the sweet dessert evolved and even find a recipe for some ube (purple yam) ice cream to scoop on top.
]]> 17549676 Fri, 09 May 2008 22:14:17 -0700
The premise of the book is that we should be measuring wealth by how well it helps us and our communities live in concert with our values. No argument there. What I was looking for is how can our economic system be set up so that what needs to be funded gets funded, like healthcare and assistance to the poor. What I got instead were fuzzy sentiments about how true wealth is enjoying your life (perhaps that's revolutionary for economists) and a focus on creating economic indicators to measure how happy we really are.

One interesting chapter towards the end on Money and Genuine Wealth focused on what money really is but even that chapter veers into idealistic language and talks about the banker returning to a more noble role in the community.

Apparently in this new economy, there are no baser instincts and the sub-prime lenders and oil companies are just yearning to become more enlightened members of the community.

Sorry but overly sunny language brings out my cynical side. Even liberals know that not everyone wants to play nice. In fact, that's why we're so rabid about protections and search for practical systems that ensure justice and equality. I wanted something more realistic and insightful.]]>
author: Mark Anielski
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/09/08
shelves: money, progressive-thinking
review:
Lovely sentiments written by a good-hearted Canadian economist. Unfortunately, the book just didn't work for me. Too fuzzy to hold my attention.

The premise of the book is that we should be measuring wealth by how well it helps us and our communities live in concert with our values. No argument there. What I was looking for is how can our economic system be set up so that what needs to be funded gets funded, like healthcare and assistance to the poor. What I got instead were fuzzy sentiments about how true wealth is enjoying your life (perhaps that's revolutionary for economists) and a focus on creating economic indicators to measure how happy we really are.

One interesting chapter towards the end on Money and Genuine Wealth focused on what money really is but even that chapter veers into idealistic language and talks about the banker returning to a more noble role in the community.

Apparently in this new economy, there are no baser instincts and the sub-prime lenders and oil companies are just yearning to become more enlightened members of the community.

Sorry but overly sunny language brings out my cynical side. Even liberals know that not everyone wants to play nice. In fact, that's why we're so rabid about protections and search for practical systems that ensure justice and equality. I wanted something more realistic and insightful.
]]> 21904243 Thu, 08 May 2008 20:55:02 -0700
I actually read this in the The Complete New Yorker. One advantage to reading it there is that it also includes the follow-up article 40 years later revisiting the remaining survivors.]]>
author: John Hersey
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 12/04
date added: 05/08/08
shelves: asian, history-politics
review:
I can't imagine what New Yorker readers thought reading this just a year after WWII ended. For me, it was harrowing, gripping and fascinating. I read it all in a single afternoon. Hersey personalizes the nuclear attack by recounting the experiences of some everyday civilians in Hiroshima the day the bomb was dropped.

I actually read this in the The Complete New Yorker. One advantage to reading it there is that it also includes the follow-up article 40 years later revisiting the remaining survivors.
]]> 21675549 Mon, 05 May 2008 20:14:10 -0700 Chez Panisse Vegetables though so I'm not dissing Alice.

One pet peeve I have is that no one needs special cookbooks for organic foods (and this cookbook is more about Alice's cooking philosophy so I'm not knocking this cookbook for this in particular, just all the organic cookbooks I'm now seeing). They cook up exactly like non-organic food. Fresher ingredients taste better and it's always best to use the highest-quality ingredients you can get -- but you don't need special recipes for that.]]>
author: Alice Waters
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 12/07
date added: 05/05/08
shelves:
review:
This is cookbook sacrilige to say but I thought this cookbook was only OK. I read through it, copied the chicken stock recipe which was nice and simple and returned it to the library. I'm not saying it's a bad cookbook. I just didn't see many recipes I wanted to make. I love buying and owning cookbooks but didn't feel the need to own this one. I love and own Chez Panisse Vegetables though so I'm not dissing Alice.

One pet peeve I have is that no one needs special cookbooks for organic foods (and this cookbook is more about Alice's cooking philosophy so I'm not knocking this cookbook for this in particular, just all the organic cookbooks I'm now seeing). They cook up exactly like non-organic food. Fresher ingredients taste better and it's always best to use the highest-quality ingredients you can get -- but you don't need special recipes for that.
]]> 21512013 Sun, 04 May 2008 17:22:40 -0700 Atonement mentioned that the book were more powerful and the ending more shocking. So I put off seeing the movie until I read the book. I didn't realize this quick read would really be about the creative process. I enjoyed it because of that and because I loved the evocation of 1930s/1940s England. I agree that it would be difficult cinematically to end with the same impact. Now I'll have to rent the movie to see how they attempted it.]]>
author: Ian McEwan
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/04/08
shelves: fiction
review:
Some movie reviews for Atonement mentioned that the book were more powerful and the ending more shocking. So I put off seeing the movie until I read the book. I didn't realize this quick read would really be about the creative process. I enjoyed it because of that and because I loved the evocation of 1930s/1940s England. I agree that it would be difficult cinematically to end with the same impact. Now I'll have to rent the movie to see how they attempted it.
]]> 15869104 Fri, 02 May 2008 18:42:43 -0700
There is a lot here to keep readers interested. How the first sultans conquered through both force and patiently playing off the animosities between Latin and Greek Christians. How the Ottomans created a model of rule very different from their European and Asian counterparts and expanded their empire through those differences – which also planted the seeds of their demise. How the Ottoman Empire at different times disrupted and maintained the balance of power in both Europe and Asia. For such an influential empire, it’s a shame that this history is barely covered in most US world history classes.]]>
author: Lord Kinross
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1979
rating: 4
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/02/08
shelves: history-politics, middle-eastern
review:
Despite being a Scotsman, Lord Kinross has written a very balanced and readable Ottoman history. He respects the empire and reports and analyzes the history without bombast or a Eurocentric bent. This would be a good book for anyone interested in European or Middle Eastern history.

There is a lot here to keep readers interested. How the first sultans conquered through both force and patiently playing off the animosities between Latin and Greek Christians. How the Ottomans created a model of rule very different from their European and Asian counterparts and expanded their empire through those differences – which also planted the seeds of their demise. How the Ottoman Empire at different times disrupted and maintained the balance of power in both Europe and Asia. For such an influential empire, it’s a shame that this history is barely covered in most US world history classes.
]]> 20318259 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:43:34 -0700
]]>
author: E.M. Forster
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1910
rating: 3
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/27/08
shelves: classics, fiction
review:
While "only connect . . ." is the book's epigraph, this book also makes me think of the Dalai Lama's statement that "kindness without wisdom is cruelty." The Wilcox family may be positioned as the book's villians but both Schlegel women cause their share of harm too and only faintly seem to make their own connections.


]]> 20848545 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:15:04 -0700
author: Jane Pettigrew
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 02/00
date added: 04/23/08
shelves: food-and-drink, reference
review:
My absolute favorite tea reference. Pictures tea leaves and brew and groups by region. Lists the characteristics and brewing tips for each tea. Great guide for introducing you to unfamiliar teas. Like a wine guide, but for tea.
]]> 20815594 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:09:44 -0700 The Way We Live Now.]]>
author: Amanda Craig
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 10/99
date added: 04/23/08
shelves: fiction
review:
1990s literary London. A fun, scandalous, more concise update of Trollope's The Way We Live Now.
]]> 17568983 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:23:25 -0700
This is a well-written analysis of a shift in literature critiquing the inadequacy of romantic love as the ultimate conveyer of true happiness; that true happiness can only be gained by abandoning fantasy and taking full responsibility for one’s own life without hope of salvation from outside powers. That’s a lovely premise. But this book ends up only stating the problem, how romantic love and sexual connections frequently devolve into bitter feelings of entrapment, without literary examples of transcending this state. Perhaps that’s the final conclusion – romantic love has lost its power as a metaphor of fulfillment but we’re still too fearful to take in the reality that it’s up to oneself and oneself alone to do the hard work of finding a path of true fulfillment. Perhaps we're just too attached to the fantasy. Heck, I still think I'll win the lottery -- even though I rarely buy tickets.
]]>
author: Vivian Gornick
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/19/08
shelves: women-of-interest, writing
review:
I was torn between giving this book three or four stars. The writing is excellent but I was left ultimately unfulfilled, appropriate given the theme of this book. I enjoyed the ride but I'm not sure where I ended up. I finally decided on four stars since the problem may be more a reflection on current literature than on the author's own insights.

This is a well-written analysis of a shift in literature critiquing the inadequacy of romantic love as the ultimate conveyer of true happiness; that true happiness can only be gained by abandoning fantasy and taking full responsibility for one’s own life without hope of salvation from outside powers. That’s a lovely premise. But this book ends up only stating the problem, how romantic love and sexual connections frequently devolve into bitter feelings of entrapment, without literary examples of transcending this state. Perhaps that’s the final conclusion – romantic love has lost its power as a metaphor of fulfillment but we’re still too fearful to take in the reality that it’s up to oneself and oneself alone to do the hard work of finding a path of true fulfillment. Perhaps we're just too attached to the fantasy. Heck, I still think I'll win the lottery -- even though I rarely buy tickets.

]]> 20494793 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:02:22 -0700
author: Olga Weber
name: Happyreader
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at: 01/86
date added: 04/18/08
shelves: reference
review:
Even though this book is now over 20 years old, it's worth owning. A good reference for fiction, including non-western literature, and beyond. Includes sections on recommended books in women's studies, religion, history, biography, fine arts, essays, politics, psychology, and so much more.
]]> 20431032 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:16:22 -0700
The information isn't deep but it is broad. I love the multiple pictures for each plant showing the plant in its natural habitat along with the different parts of the plant we could eat. Along with its photo montage, each plant, listed in order of its fancy scientific name with common name subheads, has a description, origin and history, parts used, cultivation and harvesting, uses and properties, nutritional value (very basic), and other notes. There are charts categorizing the plants by use and the appendix includes a useful quick guide to commercialized plants.

An interesting reference for anyone interested in food and horticulture.]]>
author: Ben-Erik van Wyk
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/17/08
shelves: food-and-drink, reference
review:
Apparently, we're not eating enough of the plants that are edible. Thie book hopes to change that by highlighting a vast array of 354 edible plants to expand our culinary palate. And those 354 plants are limited to foods that can be found in a produce market - somewhere. I'm assuming, for instance, that you'll have to leave Illinois to find jaboticaha (myrciaria cauliflora). It's a fruit from Brazil which supposedly tastes like a mixture of grape, litchi, and blackcurrent. Let me know if you know of a Chicago Brazilian with a jaboticaha connection because I'd love to try that!!

The information isn't deep but it is broad. I love the multiple pictures for each plant showing the plant in its natural habitat along with the different parts of the plant we could eat. Along with its photo montage, each plant, listed in order of its fancy scientific name with common name subheads, has a description, origin and history, parts used, cultivation and harvesting, uses and properties, nutritional value (very basic), and other notes. There are charts categorizing the plants by use and the appendix includes a useful quick guide to commercialized plants.

An interesting reference for anyone interested in food and horticulture.
]]> 20211396 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:27:59 -0700
I had never heard of the Delaware Water Gap before and a couple of months later, I drove through it during my move from Boston to Chicago -- and my muffler gave out in the Gap, not that I could hear it above the roar of the Memorial Day traffic. Nonetheless, the Water Gap was an interesting site to see.]]>
author: John McPhee
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1984
rating: 4
read at: 03/94
date added: 04/15/08
shelves: history-politics, science
review:
You'd think the geology of the Northeast would be boring but it isn't. Made driving the highways of the Northeast more interesting. You'll never look at a highway cutaway the same way again.

I had never heard of the Delaware Water Gap before and a couple of months later, I drove through it during my move from Boston to Chicago -- and my muffler gave out in the Gap, not that I could hear it above the roar of the Memorial Day traffic. Nonetheless, the Water Gap was an interesting site to see.
]]> 20211315 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:26:35 -0700
author: John McPhee
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at: 11/93
date added: 04/15/08
shelves: history-politics, science
review:
This is the first in the great McPhee series on geology, a subject I didn't think I'd be interested in until I read the California book serialized in the New Yorker in 1993. If you like dinosaurs and rocks, this is the book for you.
]]> 20211648 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:14:39 -0700
author: John McPhee
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at: 08/94
date added: 04/15/08
shelves: history-politics, science
review:
My absolute favorite in this fascinating series on geology. Who knew that Wyoming had such dramatic wind storms?
]]> 20209539 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:40:24 -0700
author: Larry Zuckerman
name: Happyreader
average rating: 2.82
book published: 1999
rating: 2
read at: 11/05
date added: 04/15/08
shelves: food-and-drink, history-politics
review:
I read this for a term paper on the history of potato consumption. This book was only OK. Too long for what it has to offer. I actually got better stuff from a really long New Yorker potato article from the 1970s.
]]> 20121175 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:12:31 -0700
author: Poopa Dweck
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 11/07
date added: 04/14/08
shelves: food-and-drink, middle-eastern
review:
This is a stunning food history/cookbook/coffee table book. The recipes are good but it's really about the food history and the photography. It would make a great gift for anyone who is interested in Jewish food or culture.
]]> 18164938 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:09:26 -0700
author: Alex Kotlowitz
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/11/08
shelves: travel
review:
This book is so Chicago. Just like the city, it's fun, quirky, and diverse. The author clearly loves the grittier side of Chicago. The ritzier, Gold Coast/River North/Lincoln Park crowd is totally absent – which is fine. The father-in-law who improves a Gauguin by adding a cat and who fights for fair housing, the South Side painter who creates unofficial CHA murals of panthers, nudes, and Jesus, and the Vietnam vet who takes on Cicero corruption are so much more entertaining than any Lake Shore Drive socialite or CBOT trader. A fascinating quick read.
]]> 19845287 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:02:16 -0700
author: David Sowle
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/09/08
shelves: diy
review:
Meant for the beginner upholsterer (that's me!!), it offers clear instructions and great step-by-step pictures for 15 different projects -- including arm chairs, sofas, and a chaise lounge!! Also includes the inspiring story of how Ruth Dye (the second author and woman pictured reupholstering all the furniture) taught herself to reupholster with a book, some second-hand tools, and some donated furniture and went on with David to found an Internet furniture business in West Wales. Makes reupholstering look easy -- probably too easy.
]]> 19058415 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:59:59 -0700 Complete Step-by-Step Upholstery offers more pictures and more furniture projects. The two books complement each other.

Mind you, the real test will come when the chair is complete.]]>
author: David James
name: Happyreader
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/09/08
shelves: diy
review:
Really, really detailed instructions for the beginning covering planning, purchasing materials, and techniques for reupholstery. This book provides all the background information for getting the project up and running while Complete Step-by-Step Upholstery offers more pictures and more furniture projects. The two books complement each other.

Mind you, the real test will come when the chair is complete.
]]> 19275089 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:34:46 -0700
author: Troth Wells
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/09/08
shelves: food-and-drink
review:
What I like about this book is that it's the food of the people globally. It's not fancy. It supports fair trade. It is not, however, easy quick meals to cook at home -- unless your meals are mostly fried snack foods. It's street food. Street food is snack food. There are some recipes here that could be entrees but they're in the minority. So if you're looking for a small book on global snacks, this may be for you.
]]> 18698327 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:30:48 -0700
author: Pico Iyer
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/08/08
shelves: asian, bio-and-memoir, buddhism-spirituality
review:
To me, the central theme of this book is that we have no idea what we don't know about the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people. The gulf between our media image and the reality is vast. One reason is that most Westerners only want the warm and affirming message. Another reason is that both the man and the Tibetan people are very complex and may be beyond our full comprehension. A good - and very timely - survey of the history, philosophy, and politics of both the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans who revere him.
]]> 18244585 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:44:32 -0700
author: Christopher Styler
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/06/08
shelves: food-and-drink
review:
Obviously written for professional chefs, there are some interesting ideas to ponder for the home cook. While the minimalist style is too minimal for my liking (too little food for me), I did enjoy some of the suggestions in the architectural and naturalist styles. The bottom line to plating? Consider how the flavors, colors, shapes, and textures all work together. Consider cutting your food appropriately, like slicing up steaks to fan out, to fit certain compositions - or creating fun containers like the parmesan cups or chocolate cups shaped over balloons. And sometimes you need new plates in different colors and shapes, which doesn't work with my limited kitchen storage but there you have it.
]]> 16049770 Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:13:35 -0700
I made the mistake of borrowing this book from the library. If you read it, buy it. There is so much to highlight for future reference. You'll definately want to bring this along for any future trips to India -- and you'll want to travel to India after reading this, if for no other reason than to eat your way around the country.
]]>
author: Chitrita Banerji
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/04/08
shelves: asian, food-and-drink, history-politics, travel
review:
This book has so much to offer that I don’t know where to begin. It’s a travelogue; it’s a history book; it’s a culinary reference. The author, who is a native Bengali, travels around India to explore the diversity of Indian cooking. Through various connections, she interviews local culinary experts, learns about the cultural, religious, agricultural, and historical landscape of each region, and samples the quintessential dishes of the local fare. She questions what authentic Indian cooking really is since Indian cooking has always been influenced by outside colonizers – the chilis native from the Americas, the tea native from China and promoted by the Portuguese, the Muslim style of haute cuisine established by the Mughal conquerors. She also mourns the potential loss of all these various distinct cuisines as India modernizes, urbanizes, and homogenizes.

I made the mistake of borrowing this book from the library. If you read it, buy it. There is so much to highlight for future reference. You'll definately want to bring this along for any future trips to India -- and you'll want to travel to India after reading this, if for no other reason than to eat your way around the country.

]]> 19372202 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:02:54 -0700
author: Mollie Katzen
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/03/08
shelves: food-and-drink
review:
Mollie Katzen is such a veggie pusher. She is bound and determined to make you eat your veggies and she'll mix the veggies with whatever flavors will lure you out of the veggie closet. She'll mix the veggies with fruit, nuts, miso, vinegars, whatever. She doesn't care. Just make them yummy and eat them. Just a sampling: roasted asparagus with pomegranate-lime glaze, avocado-strawberry saladita,roasted beets with tart pink grapefruit glaze, braised Brussels sprouts in maple-mustard sauce,deep-flavored shiitake slaw. Mollie is definately the queen of the veggies.
]]> 19058742 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:25:26 -0700
author: John Peterson
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/01/08
shelves: food-and-drink
review:
I loved "The Real Dirt on Farmer John." Plus he's an Illinois farmer so his seasonal veggies are my seasonal veggies. I wanted to love this book but it's only OK. The recipes are servicable and the veggie notes OK. Nothing too exciting. Not that this takes anything away from Farmer John. An organic farming pioneer doesn't also have to be an amazing cookbook author. Growing high-quality veggies is plenty.
]]> 19257768 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:23:53 -0700
author: Cathy Thomas
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/01/08
shelves: food-and-drink, reference
review:
Not sure what to do with that prickly pear or dragon fruit? Melissa's Produce, a nationwide distributor of speciality fruits and veggies, put together this guide to familiarize us with the unfamiliar. This guide includes great pictures, good storage, prep and usage info, very basic nutrition, and some recipes. You'll learn, for instance, that your prickly pear (listed under cactus fruit) can be made into a tasty sauce for pancakes and other sweets -- although you're on your own with some old stand-bys like broccoli (but it does include broccolini and broccoli raab).
]]> 19238284 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:09:28 -0700
author: Virginia Messina
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.75
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 03/05
date added: 04/01/08
shelves: health-and-diet, reference
review:
An excellent guide on determining plant sources for various nutrients and planning healthy vegan and vegetarian diets according to dietary need. Written for dietitians, it may be too dense for those without a scientific bent. For dietitians, it's a great resource for counseling guidelines and current research references.
]]> 19238832 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:46:18 -0700
author: Virginia Messina
name: Happyreader
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 03/01
date added: 04/01/08
shelves: health-and-diet
review:
This is a very readable and comprehensive vegetarian nutrition guide. The only downside is that it's now over 10 years old. I'd love to see this book updated with the latest research. Regardless, the basic concepts are sound making this a good guide for people wanting to learn more about planning a healthy vegetarian diet.
]]> 17449640 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:54:03 -0700
I disagree with Irina that either choice would have been fine. The cards were definately stacked in favor of one post-birthday scenario. The other contender you just wanted to throttle. And staying with him cost her too much, years that she'll never get back. At the end, that's the real moral of the story. There's no time to waste. It can be too late. The ending was so sad.]]>
author: Lionel Shriver
name: Happyreader
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/31/08
shelves: fiction
review:
I had no idea that this was going to be such a depressing book. Lionel Shriver did a great job of recreating the claustrophobia, the deadness of a bad relationship. How you can suddenly go off someone or how you can hang on to what's already dead out of fear. Such an accurate rendition of relationship agony that I wanted to bail at 300 pages because I couldn't take the torture anymore. At 500 pages, the book is too long but maybe it had to be that long to recreate that stiffling environment.

I disagree with Irina that either choice would have been fine. The cards were definately stacked in favor of one post-birthday scenario. The other contender you just wanted to throttle. And staying with him cost her too much, years that she'll never get back. At the end, that's the real moral of the story. There's no time to waste. It can be too late. The ending was so sad.
]]> 18499914 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:29:17 -0700