by Michael Pollan, illustrated by Maira Kalman
ages: adult
First sentence: “Eating in our time has gotten complicated — needlessly so, in my opinion.”
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I suppose this is kind of an unusual pick for me, since I’ve been on board with Michael Pollan’s philosophy (more or less) for years now. And so, in many ways, this little “eater’s manual” is kind of superfluous, at least for me.

But, since I picked it for my in-person book group (I’d wanted to pick Kitchen Counter Cooking School, but the library only has one copy, and I needed something more accessible), I figured I needed to read it.

And while I don’t think I learned anything new, this lovely illustrated, slim book was simply a joy to read. Pollan’s taken his whole philosophy and boiled it down to seven words — Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants — and has 83 rules to help you follow that philosophy. In other words: he makes the complicated and long Omnivore’s Dilemma accessible for, well, ordinary people.

Which means that I hope people will read it, and we can have some good discussion. Because there are some good ideas in this book.

Oh, and as as aside: my favorite rule? I have three: #22, It’s Not Food if It Arrived Through the Window of Your Car; #57, If You’re Not Hungry Enough to Eat an Apple, Then You’re Probably Not Hungry; and #76, Place a Boquet of Flowers on the Table and Everything Will Taste Twice as Good.

Worth reading.

by Ann Vanderhoof
ages: adult
First sentence: “This time, I bring my rolling pin to the Caribbean.”
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I read, and fell in love with Vanderhoof’s book of her first trip to the Caribbean,
Embarrassment of Mangoes, nearly five years ago. I didn’t even know there was a book about a second trip until a few months back, when someone pointed it out to me. Of course, I had to read it! And, unsurprisingly, I had much the same experience with this one that I had with the first book.

Ann and Steve returned to Toronto, to their “land-based” life, but after a couple of years, they realized that they missed the easy-going, food-saturated life they had in the Caribbean. So they did what they could to put things in order, got out their boat, Receta, and headed south again.

In many ways, this one covers much of the same territory as the first one did: there is food and friends and sunshine. But, knowing that, Vanderhoof was smart: the book (as evidenced by the title), is mostly about the spices native to the islands, and the many, many uses they have in everyday life. And because I don’t know much about the spices I eat, I learned a whole lot. Like how nutmeg is grown, and the fact that mace and nutmeg comes from the same plant. And that the islanders (especially on Trinidad) love their peppah HOT. I also learned a whole lot about rum (I had to turn to a friend to explain proof, just so I could understand why the 151 proof Saba Spice was so difficult to get down), and the ways in which rum really does permeate island culture.

My favorite island this time was Trinidad; Vanderhoof made it come alive, and made me curious about the African/Indian blend of cultures and cuisine they have there.  They also spent a lot of time in the Dominican Republic and Dominica, both islands would be fascinating to visit. Mostly, though, I envied their approach to seeing the world: parking in one spot for months at a time, soaking up the culture and the cuisine, meeting people, and learning about a place rather than just seeing it. I would (still) love to travel that way.

But the next best thing to a vacation is a well-written, food-heavy, travel book about an area. And this one is just the ticket.

by A. J. Jacobs
age: adult
First sentence: “Over the years, I’ve gotten a lot of suggestions.”
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It’s no secret that I really like A. J. Jacobs. Even so, I somehow missed this book when it came out. Unlike his other three books, this is a series of short vignettes, one month projects ranging all over the place from a month of trying to be like George Washington, to a month of outsourcing his life to India, to a month practicing being radically honest.

While it’s a fascinating and fun little jaunt — my favorite chapter was the rationality project — it lacked the depth that his longer books have. See: he’s really not all about the gimmick, at least not in his big books. Sure, they’re gimmicky, and they’re silly, but there’s a profoundness (profundity??) to them that was missing from these experiments. And because of that, they weren’t nearly as interesting as they could have been.

That said, I’m not sure I’d want to read a whole book about him outsourcing his life, or even being George Washington (though I didn’t learn a thing from that chapter, since Hubby’s a pretty big GW fan). They worked as vignettes, even if the depth and reflection isn’t there. They are funny (the naked one was pretty hilarious), and his wife is still amazingly tolerant (though he gives her a month of whatever she wants, and she quite abuses the power). It has all the elements of his books, just not to the extent that I have come to enjoy.

Upon reflection, this would be a really good introduction to the weird world that is A. J. Jacobs.

by A. J. Jacobs
ages: adult
First sentence: “For the last few months, I’ve been assembling a list of things I need to do to improve my health.”
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Review copy provided by my place of employment.

The thing I love best about A. J. Jacobs is that he’s insane enough to try things that normal human beings don’t even consider. I mean, really: who would read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica? Or spend a year living the Bible to the letter? Or going undercover as woman? (Actually, I haven’t read that one. Yet.)

Or how about spending two years becoming the healthiest man alive?

If anyone can go from intellectual, indoor-loving couch potato, to a lean, mean machine, it has to be A. J. Jacobs.

He organizes this one roughly chronological — giving us check-up updates from month 1 to month 25 — but also by body part. He spends a month on his eyes, his ears, his brain, his fingers, his stomach, his heart, his testicles (yes, you read that right), and right on down to his feet. He’s game to try just about everything — from cave man exercise (and diets!) to going OCD on toxins to BluePrintCleanse, though he didn’t go as far as plastic surgery — there really is no stone he leaves unturned. It’s a fascinating way to approach health, but also a trivia-inducing one. If I have become insufferable with “Did you know…” and “I read in Drop Dead Healthy…” statements, it’s only because this book is packed with so. much. information. And all of it interesting. It helps, I think, that his books are so readable: he’s self-deprecating, but not to the point where it’s annoying. He’s funny. And his wonderful, long-suffering wife (and adorable boys) play a role as well; he really is devoted to them, and they really are wonderfully tolerant of his insanity.

So, did I learn anything? Yes. There was possibly too much information thrown at me, but some did sink in. Will I incorporate anything I learned in my life? I don’t know. Perhaps. Was it an enjoyable way to spend my time? Most definitely.

Oh, and for the record: I think A. J. would be proud that I read this book entirely while on the elliptical at the gym. I hope so, anyway.

by James McBride
ages: adult
First sentence: “As a boy, I never knew where my mother was from — where she was born, who were parents were.”
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About 30 pages into this book, I thought to myself: “I think I’ve read this before.” I had: my review went up on November 29, 2007. Interestingly enough, even though I didn’t remember much about the book, my reaction is still pretty much the same: it’s an interesting book, possibly and important book, definitely an uncomfortable book, but I think I’ll add that I’m not sure it’s a memorable book.

This part of my original review I still agree with:

I do have to confess that my feelings of being an interloper, though, were real. I felt like I was prying into someone else’s personal business, a place where I had no right to go. I still can’t place why I felt that way. [I think part of it, this time around is that I loathed Ruth’s father. Seriously loathed him.] I felt like it was too personal, too emotional, too close for me to truly enjoy. These people were real people. These things really happened. I feel this way often when reading books on the Holocaust, too. I can’t believe these conditions, these atrocities are really out there. It pushes me out of my bubble, and I react by feeling like an interloper. Like I’m not supposed to be there.

I still appreciate the chance to see into the lives people lead, especially if they make me uncomfortable. I probably would never have remembered this story, and the obstacles and challenges these people faced in their lives. For that, I am grateful. Sometimes book groups are good, if only to get you to reread books you don’t remember.

From Village to City in a Changing China
by Leslie T. Chang
ages: adult
First sentence: “When you met a girl from another factory, you quickly took her measure.”
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 After living in China for a decade, Wall Street Journal reporter Leslie T. Change (who is Chinese; her father emigrated to Taiwan in 1948, when the revolution happened, and then from there came to the United States) decided that the whole idea of women (mostly) migrating from the villages in the country to work in factories in the cities was one worth pursuing. And writing a book about.

I’m so glad she did.

It’s a fascinating, rambling book, weaving in and out of time (I never really got a sense of how many years she spent hanging out with and shadowing the women she chose to focus on), including her family’s history as well as the current socio-economic state of China. She tries to generalize the lives of the women in the factories, and to a great extent it works because she focuses in on several women telling their individual stories, and how their lives have changed — for the worse and for the better — because of their choice to migrate and work at a factory. It made the book more personable, focusing on the few, and less just dry history, making the book more interesting and easier to read.

(As I side note, I’ve always wondered what the Chinese think about making all the chintzy holiday stuff we buy here in the U.S.)

On top of all that, it’s accessible book, and a quick read (even at 400 pages). Good for all those interested in the plight of women around the world.