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July 10
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Dina
is currently reading:
What to Eat (Paperback)
by Marion Nestle
bookshelves:
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my rating:
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July 09
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Dina
gave
to:
Paradox of Plenty: Social History of Eating in Modern America (Hardcover)
by Harvey A. Levenstein
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my rating:
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read in June, 2008
Dina said:
"Okay, so, I didn't get to finish this one as I had to return it to the library in order to "officially graduate". So there's that. I did, however, read about 100 pages and they were a damn great 100 pages (only giving 3 stars as I only read...more
Okay, so, I didn't get to finish this one as I had to return it to the library in order to "officially graduate". So there's that. I did, however, read about 100 pages and they were a damn great 100 pages (only giving 3 stars as I only read about half). A great covering of food politics and fads up through the Depression and into WWI and much more conversational and readable that other things getting at the same topics (Criser, for example). This book served as a great springboard for ideas and because of it, I already have some great 'to-reads' in mind. I'll definitely finish this one up after I get my diploma. ...less
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June 23
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Dina
is currently reading:
Neuromancer (Paperback)
by William Gibson
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
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Dina
gave
to:
Animal Farm (Paperback)
by George Orwell
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my rating:
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read in June, 2008
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June 22
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Dina
gave
to:
Fahrenheit 451 (Paperback)
by Ray Bradbury
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my rating:
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read in June, 2008
Dina said:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
All of these things aside, the book was really enjoyable to read and I was able to tear through it in about a week. The language used is really poetic and sets to mood incredibly well: dark and foreboding and uncertain. There is a paragraph at the end of the book as Montag is reflecting on his wife's reaction to the war that I found particularly great. Despite the war remaining rather ambiguous throughout the rest of the book, the final description of it reconciles the vagueness presented earlier. So all in all, I suppose I would recommend to any one who asked about it, but tell them be prepared to have some questions left hanging....less
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June 18
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Dina
gave
to:
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Paperback)
by Michael Pollan
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my rating:
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read in June, 2008
Dina said:
"Alright, so it took me something like six months to finish this book, what with varying intensities of school and all, but I finally did it. And it the end I think I'm glad it took me so long to read through it (I actually finished this on the same d...more
Alright, so it took me something like six months to finish this book, what with varying intensities of school and all, but I finally did it. And it the end I think I'm glad it took me so long to read through it (I actually finished this on the same day of the 'Perfect Meal' at the end of the book).
Michael Pollan really covered a lot a ground here. The first third of the book takes a closer look at the industrial way of eating, following a purchased steer through a concentrated animal feeding operation up until it's (probable) serving point at McDonald's. This section didn't really hold any surprises for me; although he does discuss corn in a depth I never thought I would find interesting, but did.
The second third of the book takes a look at 'eating organic', which I found really interesting. He discusses topics you may have had a notion of when picking up, say, a gallon of organic milk from Horizon Farms: how organic can this really be if it's a major brand? You learn that for the most part, your intuition is right and these supposed organic mass produced items, save for a few missing hormone injections, aren't much different than their more common industrial counterparts. He takes a visit to a small organic farm where much of the meat is butchered on location and all parts of the farm eventually benefit each other in some way, animal and vegetable alike. I found this section really thought provoking and enjoyable to read - it's certainly a nod to all of those local farmers markets out there.
The last third of the book, as I've understood, had gotten some lousy reviews. Pollan decides the last step in his adventure would be to hunt, gather and raise all of his own food items in preparation for 'the perfect meal.' Understandably, most people don't have the time and resources to do such a thing and it was at times a bit tedious to read his internal struggle when preparing to shoot a wild boar, etc, etc. But the culmination of his efforts seemed like something really great (read: tasty) and something I wish I could produce, however unlikely. Maybe this is just because I've taken a slight fancy to cooking as of late, but I digress.
All in all, I think reading this book was a neat personal challenge. If Fast Food Nation shaped my eating habits throughout most of college, I can see this book as shaping them after. I found myself almost following along in my own life with Pollan's journey: deciding the costs and benefits of going vegetarian, the pros and cons of buying local, cooking with a conscious and all that new age feel goodery stuff. I think anyone would be able to take something away from this book, vegetarian, carnivore and omnivore alike....less
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January 10
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Dina
gave
to:
The Virgin Suicides (Paperback)
by Jeffrey Eugenides
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my rating:
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read in January, 2008
Dina said:
"I bought this book because I remembered liking the movie when I was a kid and had thought about buying it every time I passed it on the shelf. It was intended to break up the non-fiction Omnivore's Dilemma, but ended up being so good I wiped out the ...more
I bought this book because I remembered liking the movie when I was a kid and had thought about buying it every time I passed it on the shelf. It was intended to break up the non-fiction Omnivore's Dilemma, but ended up being so good I wiped out the bulk of the book in about 2 days. Eugenides strings you along with a million little details that (for me anyway) really give you a sense of the way the narrator(s) look at the Lisbon girls and any item that might have gone through their hands. At times I forgot I was reading fiction and found myself thinking 'Man, I have to see if I can find that news article' only to realize I was just reading a really convincing and well written story. I usually shy away from saying horrible sounding cliched things like 'That book was really teriffic!'. But it was! ...less
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New comment on Derek's review of
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
(see all 4 comments)
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January 03
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Dina
gave
to:
Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food (Paperback)
by Eric Schlosser, Charles Wilson
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my rating:
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read in January, 2008
Dina said:
"I didn't realize that this book was written for say, middle schoolers, until about half way through. The large font and margins should have tipped me off, but it wasn't until repeated use of words like 'poop', 'pee', and 'sleepy' that I realized wha...more
I didn't realize that this book was written for say, middle schoolers, until about half way through. The large font and margins should have tipped me off, but it wasn't until repeated use of words like 'poop', 'pee', and 'sleepy' that I realized what I was reading. And although a lot of the material from Fast Food Nation is repeated in this book in layman's terms, I still have a lot of respect for it. I think it's great that there's a book available to let kids know what adults know about the fast food industry. I was also really pleased and surprised to see a 'Discussion Questions and Action Steps' section in the back of the book, aimed at (maybe) teachers who would assign this book as a class reading and to encourage those who are moved enough to do something to bring about change.
All in all, redundant if you've read Schlosser's first book - but definitely pick up for the younger set....less
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