Tuesday, April 28, 2009

ADD Reader

I have an attention deficit problem. I can pay attention in class. I can pay attention at home. But I can't pay attention to only one book. I have been this way since my teenage years. I usually have at least three books on my nightstand. Here's what I'm reading right now:

Twinkie, Deconstructed
I'm about two thirds of the way through this one, and it made me realize that pretty much everything we eat comes from petroleum or corn. The author, a food science writer, investigates how each ingredient in a Twinkie is produced. It was quite an eye opener about modern food production. Yikes!

Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing
I just finished this one, although I haven't made any of the projects yet. They are definitely simple projects - the only one you'd really need a pattern for is the garden tote. The real inspiration from this book comes from her fabric patterns and appliques.

The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh
I've been meaning to read this one for a long, long time. Mindfulness is something I try to practice, and this is a simple, beautiful book. I'm about a third of the way through this one.

Alabama Stitch Book, Natalie Chanin
Just started this one, but i am blown away by her beautiful clothes that are all HAND STITCHED, by local women. Amazing clothes, and inspiringly ethical business practices.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
This is my go-to book right now. Barbara Kingsolver documents her family's experience in eating only local, seasonal food for one year. It's chock full of information about modern food issues, the environmental impact of shipping food, and nutrition. Since the information is woven into the story of her family, it is informative yet reads like a story. I'm a hair short of a hundred pages into it, but I'm already checking each item in he produce section for where it comes from, and planning my menu on seasonal produce. It convinced me to plunk down double the price for organic, local asparagus the other day, and it was soooo worth it. Max actually ate his whole plate plus one of mine. I think many of us who enjoy cooking know that seasonal produce is always better, but how many times have we been seduced by those out of season berries or corn, only to regret the purchase after the first bite? You need to read this book, then give it to your best friend to read. I'm hoping to get caught up with the book club on simplemom.net, where I first heard about this book. If you have not checked out Tsh's site yet, you should. Lots of good info there!

So there you have it. Five books and counting. Yes, I have an attention problem.

2 comments:

  1. I used to be a HUGE fan of Kingsolvers. I loved The Bean Trees, and Animal Dreams, and Pigs in Heaven. Absolutely loved them. But somewhere along the way I started finding her work a bit too preachy, and I lost interest. I wonder if it's time to pick her back up again and see how I feel now?

    I remember hearing Michael Pollen (I think...it may have been someone else) say that corn is in so much of our food now, it's become part of our DNA. I probably got that wrong, because it sounds weird, but it truly is in just about everything.

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  2. Hey...I don't think I've ever only read one book at a time! It just means your a multi-reader! LOL!! Thanks for sharing the 411 on all these books! I couldn't agree with you more with regards to eating locally and organically. I'm on a very tight income, so I do the best I can. But, when I have a better income, I'm going to do my best to go organic all the way!

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