Coming soon, I hope...

...a real post! I've had the death flu since before Christmas! January was a complete wash. I'm finally feeling better and once I get caught back up on life, I'll get back to blogging, I promise.

Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession by Julie Powell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars.

I'm almost afraid to review this book positively, given how many people vehemently hate it. But I don't think the book was horribly written. I find Julie Powell absolutely despicable and was thoroughly disturbed by her while I read the book. But like a train wreck, that made it interesting.
I don't understand her actions and I don't understand her relationship with her husband. While I read the book, I couldn't stop wondering about how he feels about being a cuckold and how he can stand the way he is portrayed in the book. It absolutely confounds me that a marriage could survive her actions and especially the book. I actually found myself googling the guy to see if there were any comments from him on the book (I found none).
The fact that the book kept my attention and bothered me so much, makes it interesting to me, and therefore the good rating.
But I certainly have no desire to ever meet Julie Powell or anyone like her.
View all my reviews >>

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Loved this book! Novella Carpenter is a rad (as my friend K would say), ultimate do it yourselfer. She sets up a farm on an unused lot in urban (i.e. ghetto) Oakland. And I don't mean a big garden with maybe a few chickens. This gal also has ducks, turkeys, rabbits, and pigs(!)--all of which she harvests for food. She even befriended a chef who taught her how to cure the pig meat into fancy salume. Yum!

It was very readable and just a fascinating account of someone who's marching to the beat of a different drummer. Lots of lessons for us all to learn on where our food comes from, sustainable eating, etc.

View all my reviews >>