It’s called The Book of Dave, and it’s a really interesting premise. Dave is a London cab driver, and his diaries are found 500 years after he lived, and the diaries are what the new civilization is based on. Really simple explanation I gave, read more on the Amazon site! The problem is that the people speak in a cockney-based language, and that’s the way that the author has written it. It’s slow going, very slow. The story has great potential, but I’m not sure I have the patience to get through the language aspect of it!
Archive for Books
Did you ever….
Want to write about something-a subject matter, an issue-only you can’t find the right words? Nothing looks right to you?
I’ve got some family illness going on-an aunt of mine has been diagnosed with breast cancer-but no matter what I write, it all looks wrong. I think about her a lot, I worry about her and my uncle, and their children. I think about the fact that my mom is around the same age and doesn’t keep up with her regular checkups. I think about the fact that my aunt went in complaining of stomach pains of all things, and because of her age they decided to do a mammogram. I have my own ultrasound to check out possible ovarian cysts this week, I know it will go well, but every once in a while I wonder ‘What if?’
I’ve been thinking a lot about food lately-and not just because I’m dieting again!-I’ve been reading books and watching documentaries about food production and costs and the industrialization of food processing. Michael Pollan ( in the book In Defense of Food) has a good idea about getting back to the roots of your food. When you pick up a carton of milk, think about where that milk came from-think about the farmer that owns the cows, think about how far that milk traveled to get to the grocery store-this is not a new idea at all, I see the theme recurring in documentaries and other writings about the topic. I think that my hubby is getting worried that I will totally hippie-out on him, but I really feel passionately about this. I tell him my plans for when we move to NS and buy our own place. I want an acerage outside of the city so that I have lots of room to garden, I want a root cellar, and I want to spend weekends in the summer freezing and canning my yield. I want to buy local the items that we don’t raise ourselves, and that includes meat products. I want to stray away from processed food that doesn’t resemble the original product at all. First step, we’ve gotten rid of margarine! Yay!
Hubby was raised on margarine, I was raised on it too, but my grandparent’s used butter, and it was a treat and something I often over-indulged on. I have managed to cut back on the amounts I use, and I have convinced hubby that margarine is a totally manufactured, horribly processed product that doesn’t resemble it’s original state, or even food. Small steps, small steps.
I really hope that when I get my degree in Human Nutrition I can use my passion and my education on this topic.
In Defense of Food
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto http://www.michaelpollan.com/indefense.php
I just finished it last night, and it was great! A little dry at times, but overall a very good read, especially if you are interested in nutrition, ecology, or just being plain old responsible for what you put in your body. I really recommend this book, and I am eagerly awaiting his other book ‘An Omnivore’s Dilemma’ from the local library.
Cookies
So, I picked up Martha Stewart’s latest cookbook, all about cookies. Looks so good-thanks Jane!!! The kids were climbing all over me tonight….’Oh, what’s that cookie called? What’s in it? Can you make it tomorrow?’ LOL!!! There’s lots of good looking recipes in there-I think that I will have to try some this week!
My library stack.
I’m really excited about it today. Not only was the Jack Johnson CD waiting for me, but also there was a Ben Harper one there. I got Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend from the Bestsellers wall (I’m about 100 on the waiting list for it, but for some reason they don’t hold the bestseller’s books), as well as Effigy by Alissa York and Children of Men by PD James-I didn’t even know it was a book first, the movie was OK but the premise really intrigued me.
All in all, a good stash!!!
I love the library!
I just got an email telling me that the new Jack Johnson CD I put on hold is in, and that a couple of books I put on hold are waiting for me too. It’s so easy! I went to Indigo last night, and I must have picked up a dozen books but none of them made me want to buy it. Why buy when you have the library? I do often re-read books, so if I find one I really love I will buy it. I can’t wait to go to the library! After I clean 
.
OK, I’m trying to insert a youtube video of Jack Johnson, but when I try to play it on my blog, I get a message saying ‘This video is no longer available’ Argh!
What I’m reading.
Right now I’m halfway through The Accidental Tourist. Meh. It’s OK-not spectacular though, maybe it will get better closer to the end. I’ve got Anil’s Ghost here, I’ll read that next. I caught the last half of The World According to Garp on TV last night, I had forgotten how great that movie is, then it reminded me how the book is even better, so I’ll probably read that again soon. Thinking about books that I haven’t read in a while reminded me of Mordechai Richler (another one of my favorites) so I’ll probably take out Barney’s Version and re-read that soon.
I think that I’ll get the kids some new books for Easter, they haven’t had a new book since Christmas. Really, I just need a good hour or so alone in a bookstore to take some notes about what books I want to read! The local library has a great online site. You can build a list of books that you want to read, order the books, then you get an email letting you know when the books are in-makes going to the library a quick thing for me. Usually I love to wander around the library, but my kids lose interest the minute we step out of the kids section, so it’s not always fun for me. I’m always reading book reviews, checking out the new releases and best-sellers list for books to add to my list. An hour at the bookstore flipping through books usually will yield at least a dozen book titles that I’m interested in.
My Library Stack
I’ve got a few books from the library that I’ working through right now. I’ve got:
The Brief History of The Dead-read my post below, it’s a great book!
Don’t Get Too Comfortable, by David Rakoff-it’s pretty good, it’s a commentary on the excesses of modern life. The paragraph about Karl Lagerfeld is worth reading the book by itself! Even if the rest was tripe (which it isn’t!), that paragraph is a jewel! Hilarious, but not so much a commentary as a description of the excesses in the world.
A Student of Weather by Elizabeth Hay-I haven’t read it yet, I’m trying to start it but having a hard time. I’m trying to read at work, and it’s not going to well. It’s pretty noisy and busy here, and unless a book catches me right away I find it hard to concentrate on the opening paragraphs while I’m at work. Her book Late Nights on Air won the Giller prize last year, so I’ve got high hopes for A Student of Weather.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory-Haven’t started it yet, but I love her stuff. I’ve always been fascinated by stories of monarchy, and you don’t get much better than the stories of Henry VIII and his many wives/lovers! I especially liked Gregory’s novel The Boleyn Inheritance.
The Best of Roald Dahl by Roald Dahl-I can’t recall ever reading anything by Dahl. I’m excited to get into this one. It’s a book of short stories for adults.
The Book of Secrets (Unlocking the hidden dimensions of your life) by Deepak Chopra-I’m not a huge fan of self-help, self-analyzing sort of books, but I’ve been in a funk lately and I figure something to help change my attitude or way of thinking is good!
The Brief History of The Dead
By Kevin Brockmeier
Great book! Based on an African legend that when you die, your soul (spirit?) doesn’t go to heaven right away. It stays in a middle place, until the last person that actually knew you dies. Well, in this book everyone on earth has died from a super-virus except for one person, an adventurer on the south pole. The books explores life in the ‘middle place’ and explores the idea of memory and what it is you remember about certain people that have been in your life. It also talks a bit about the sheer number of people that you encounter (and remember) in a lifetime. Not just relatives, friends, etc. but people that you encounter on a day-to-day basis.
