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October 10
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Ralph
is on page 140 of Mystic River
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October 07
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Ralph
is on page 98 of Mystic River
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September 30
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Ralph
gave
 
to:
Fast Food Nation (Paperback)
by Eric Schlosser
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in September, 2008
Ralph said:
"I have avoided reading this book simply because sometimes I prefer not to know some things. I like meat. I am a carnivorian, but I don't necessarily want to know what's going on in the slaughterhouses. I prefer ignorance. My curiousity finally got...more
I have avoided reading this book simply because sometimes I prefer not to know some things. I like meat. I am a carnivorian, but I don't necessarily want to know what's going on in the slaughterhouses. I prefer ignorance. My curiousity finally got the best of me.
The book focuses on the following main points (among others):
- A history of how hamburgers and fries became the quintessential meal in the 50s
- A history of how some of our major fast food chains started
- The globalization of fast food
- The marketing bombardment of fast food on children (an utter success with my kids)
- The poor working conditions and low pay in the restaurants and slaughterhouses (not pretty)
- The dangers of working in a slaughterhouse (read with an empty stomach)
- The disappearing American farmer
- The rise in foodborne illnesses
- Mad cow disease (I am naive, I didn't realize that they fed cows dead pigs, cows, horses, cats, dogs, etc.)
- The unfortunate power of the lobbyists in the meatpacking and fast food industries that keep their thumb on our government when it comes to health and safety issues
I enjoyed the book and am happy to be more educated on some of the issues, although sometimes you have to take some of the facts presented with a grain of salt. There are always two sides to a story. I wish I could say I wouldn't go to a fast food restaurant again (not a fan) but my kids seem to have a lot of pull with me. Plus I am a sucker for a Chicken Bacon Swiss sandwich at Carl's Jr...
Here are just a few of the facts/statistics that I found interesting:
- Americans spent $6 billion on fast food in 1970. We spent $110 billion in 2001
- Americans spend more money on fast food than on higher education, computers, software, or new cars
- Americans spend more money on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos, and recorded music combined
- McDonalds is the nation's largest purchaser of beef, pork, and potatoes, and the second largest purchaser of chicken
- An estimated 1 out of 8 workers in the U.S. has worked at McDonalds (not me)
- Americans drink soda at an annual rate of 56 gallons per person-600 12 oz. cans (yikes)
- A medium Coke selling for $1.29 contains only 9 cents of syrup (rip off and getting worse all the time-whatever happened to the 50 cent 32 ouncers I bought at Woods gas station?)
- 1/4 of American children between 2 and 5 have a TV in their bedroom (why?)
- Every month about 90% of American children between 3 and 9 visit a McDonalds...less
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Ralph
is currently reading:
Mystic River (Paperback)
by Dennis Lehane
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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progress:
(page 140 of 416)
— 18 hours, 49 min ago
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September 08
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Ralph
gave
to:
Heart of Darkness (Green Integer)
by Joseph Conrad
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in September, 2008
Ralph said:
"I set my mind to start reading regularly again about seven years ago. In that time, there have only been two books that I have started and not finished. I am a little obsessive about it. I keep reading books that I am just hating all the time. One...more
I set my mind to start reading regularly again about seven years ago. In that time, there have only been two books that I have started and not finished. I am a little obsessive about it. I keep reading books that I am just hating all the time. One of the books I stopped reading was Lord Jim by Conrad. I simply wasn't in the mood for his writing style at that time. I figured it was time to give it another shot.
Conrad is a wordsmith and a poet. He is very descriptive, and you really have to pay attention to what you are reading(at least I do). It is very easy to read a paragraph and let your mind wander so that you don't know what you just read. I found myself reading aloud (which I never do) just to keep my mind on what I was reading. Poetry is always best read aloud anyway. I found myself really admiring his writing and wordplay. What's especially incredible is when you consider Conrad was born in Poland and English wasn't even his second language.
The book is biographical and is based on Conrad's own voyage up the Congo river in the 1800s. Conrad's alter ego, Marlowe finds himself in the middle of the dark jungle in search of a man named Kurtz. There he discovers what happens when men are away from civilization and how dark their heart can truly be. The book is full of symbolism and I wish I could say I was adept at connecting all the dots but I wasn't. I was just enjoying what I was reading (at times admittedly a bit confused). Once I finished the book, I read the introduction by Joyce Carol Oates and appreciated the book even more.
My favorite line of the book was: "One can't live with one's finger everlastingly on one's pulse." So true. I vow I will finish Lord Jim one day......less
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Ralph
gave
to:
Bill Bryson's African Diary (Hardcover)
by Bill Bryson
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in September, 2008
Ralph said:
"This book is only 49 pages which suited me just fine, considering how long it took me to read my last book. I picked this book not only because it is short but also because it is written by Bill Bryson. I have read most of his books and plan to rea...more
This book is only 49 pages which suited me just fine, considering how long it took me to read my last book. I picked this book not only because it is short but also because it is written by Bill Bryson. I have read most of his books and plan to read all of them eventually; however, none of them hold a candle to A Walk in the Woods, the first Bryson book I read.
The book is a diary of his week long journey to Kenya. He writes of the extreme poverty and government corruption of the country; however, he also includes anecdotes demonstrating that he can find humor and beauty in just about anything. I especially loved the section where he talks of his landing in a storm in a light aircraft plane. He is terrified to discover that the plane doesn't have windshield wipers and that the pilot can't see where he's landing. No one can verbalize the horror and comedy of the situation better than Bryson.
I also enjoyed the section about Wedco. Wedco is a micro-finance institution that makes loans only to women that previously had almost no access to business credit. It has been very successful in Kenya and has helped many people improve their quality of life. It reminded me of a book on my to-read list called Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus. Just reading this small excerpt has been motivating and satisfactory. Now I am looking even more forward to this book.
Overall, the book simply wasn't long enough to satisfy; however, to be fair, it never was meant to be a detailed view into Kenya, it is simply a "diary" of Bryson's eight days in Kenya. He wrote the book at the invitation of CARE International and all proceeds went to the charity. The book is a good reminder to be thankful for what you have and to help when you can. It probably took me longer to write this review than it did to read the book ... so there you go....less
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September 06
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Ralph
gave
to:
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Paperback)
by Susanna Clarke
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in September, 2008
Ralph said:
"Too much fluff ... too little meat.
This book is difficult to rate. At times I loved it, and at other times I just wanted it to end. This book has taken longer for me to read than any other book in recent memory(of course it didnt help that we w...more
Too much fluff ... too little meat.
This book is difficult to rate. At times I loved it, and at other times I just wanted it to end. This book has taken longer for me to read than any other book in recent memory(of course it didnt help that we watched all four seasons of Lost during my regular reading hours for the first month). I like to try to read approx. 30 books a year and this book is likely to keep me from my goal this year. This urgency may have made me more frustrated with the pace of the book than usual.
I was really looking forward to the book originally. I thought the concept sounded pretty intriguing - magic coming back in early 19th century England via Strange and Norrell. I like the way the author writes, she definitely has a way with words; however, I just felt it fell flat. It didn't really hold my attention very well. Just when it started to get good, it would start what I felt was another boring section. It definitely isn't meant to be a fast paced book, which is alright by me; however, it just felt like the plot wasn't going anywhere for the first 2/3rds of the book. I liked the last third of the book for the most part; however, it wasn't enough to make up for the first part. Reviews on Amazon kept me going but I just didn't feel it lived up to my high expectations....less
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July 08
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Ralph
installed the Goodreads Facebook Application 
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June 30
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June 29
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Ralph
gave
to:
It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (Paperback)
by Lance Armstrong
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Ralph said:
"I was finally able to get around to reading this book. It has been on my to-read list for a long time now. I considered not reading this thinking it may be outdated since he has gone on to win The Tour de France six more times since it was published;...more
I was finally able to get around to reading this book. It has been on my to-read list for a long time now. I considered not reading this thinking it may be outdated since he has gone on to win The Tour de France six more times since it was published; however, I am glad I did.
There are basically two parts to the book: his racing and what it takes to win, and his fight with cancer. I learned quite a bit about the Tour, about cancer and chemo, and even about in-vitro fertilization.
I thought the book was well written and easy to read but I can't help wondering how much was Lance and how much was Sally Jenkins, the co-writer. Makes me wish I would have paid more attention to the sport while he was still actively racing....less
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