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July 16
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Jim
is currently reading:
The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington (Hardcover)
by David Sirota
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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July 22
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Jim
gave
to:
Fahrenheit 451 (Paperback)
by Ray Bradbury
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
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July 16
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Jim
gave
to:
Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior (Hardcover)
by Ori Brafman (Goodreads author!), Rom Brafman
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
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July 10
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Jim
gave
to:
The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1)
by Philip Pullman
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Jim
gave
to:
The Last Kingdom (Paperback)
by Bernard Cornwell
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Jim said:
"Cromwell presents a fair picture of warrior life in England during the late 8th century as the Danes were battling King Alfred for control of Britain. The story is told from the perspective of a young english boy who was captured by the Danes when he...more
Cromwell presents a fair picture of warrior life in England during the late 8th century as the Danes were battling King Alfred for control of Britain. The story is told from the perspective of a young english boy who was captured by the Danes when he was 10 years old, and subsequently adopted by a Danish warrior. While among the Danes, he learns the skills of a warrior, then ultimately returns to England to join King Alfred in the fight against the Danes who raised him.
Along the way, Cromwell integrates this story into the history of the time period; many of the characters were real, and the battles actuallly fought. The pagan Danish culture is contrasted against christian England. As I knew virtually nothing of this period in history, nor of the people who inhabited it, I found the book very informative and interesting. In particular, Cromwell does well in desribing the methods of warfare, particularly, the brutal sheild-wall battles - I could not help but think what it must have been like to engage in such horror.
My main complaint about the book is its weak character development. The characters are somewhat one-dimensional and hard to empathize with. Despite this, I enjoyed the book.
...less
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June 04
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Jim
gave
to:
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (Paperback)
by David Sedaris
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Jim said:
"Hilarious! Got me laughing out loud.
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June 02
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Jim
gave
to:
The Omnivore's Dilemma (Hardcover)
by Michael Pollan
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Jim said:
"Pollan's thoroughly researched and highly entertaining book traces 3 meals from the source of the ingredients to the dinner table. The first meal comes completely from our corn-based "industrial food system", the second meal explores the or...more
Pollan's thoroughly researched and highly entertaining book traces 3 meals from the source of the ingredients to the dinner table. The first meal comes completely from our corn-based "industrial food system", the second meal explores the organic food system, and the third meal which Pollan himself hunted and gathered, is offered not as an example of a viable food system in our modern age, rather to demonstrate how much we take for granted with our modern food supply system.
The section covering the industrial food system takes us to corn fields in Iowa, where we learn how government policy, "advances" in science, and the industrialization of our food production helped pave the way in making corn and soybean the two main agricultural commodity crops, whose derivatives wind up in many of the foods we eat. Along the way, Pollan points out many of the problems that we now face as a result of these policies such as obesity, diabetes, water pollution, and climate change, just to name a few. He then moves on to large-scale industrial animal production and all its attendent issues.
The organic section exposes how industrial-organic is now displacing the pastoral ideal of organic farms many hold in their minds-eye. Pollan reveals how the organic label in-and-of itself is often misleading, especially in light of what he calls the "supermarket pastoral" literary genre. To contrast the industrial-organic trend, he spends a week working on Joel Salatin's "grass" farm in Virginia, where on 450 acres, he raises cows, pigs, and chickens following an agricultural model that's sustainable, environmentaly sound, and respectful of the animals.
For me this was a life-changing book. It shines a light on many of the hidden costs in our current industrial food system, and offers suggestions as to how a concerned citizen of planet earth can alter their lifestyle to eat healthier, while promoting sustainable, eco-friendly forms of food production.
...less
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May 21
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Jim
is currently reading:
Other Colors: Essays and a Story (Hardcover)
by Orhan Pamuk
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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May 08
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Jim
gave
to:
Hey Nostradamus! (Paperback)
by Douglas Coupland
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Jim said:
"This is one case in which you can judge a book by its cover, and it happens to be terrible. One star could possibly be too high a rating. It reads as if written by a 9th grade student with a C- grade in english.
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Jim
gave
to:
As I Lay Dying (Paperback)
by William Faulkner
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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