In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

(review by Julie)
For some reason that I can't quite remember, I got started on a kick reading about food stuff.  I reserved several books at the library (the closest thing to a drive-thru as the library gets) and started reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food; An Eater's Manifesto first.  It was engaging and not so intellectual that I couldn't read it in snippets, waiting in lines and such.

He tells you right at the beginning that after writing The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, his publisher suggested he write a book telling the world how he thought we ought to eat.  After much research he decided it was very simple: "Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants."  Knowing that he could sell a book that was only 7 words long, he devoted most of the book to explaining how he arrived at that conclusion.

I found his explanation of how things work in the health and diet industry to be INCREDIBLY interesting!!! Being a veteran of several swing diets, I know first hand how crazy they are, so his moderate, common sense approach, backed up with science is very convincing.

The last part of the book is very similar to his booklet Food Rules. He explains what he means by "food" as opposed to "processed food like substances" and gives a lot of good rules of thumb and tips for avoiding processed foods.  I'd love to own a copy of the book since the library wouldn't let me keep theirs, but it'll have to get in line.

Angel Song

(review by Julie)
I stayed up way too late last night reading Angel Song by Sheila Walsh and Kathryn Cushman.  I started the book a week or so ago and was forced to set it aside when things got a little crazy, but the story line and the characters stuck in my head.  So, last night I shut off the computer and picked it up and again. I have to say, it was a truly wonderful book!

The characters were so real and the story line was captivating. I really enjoyed the authors' descriptions of angels and their roles in our lives. Now that it's done I'm sad to see it go, but I feel more at peace, and more willing to trust His will for my life.

I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a inspirational Christian fiction book, but I have to warn you, I cried a few times.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not encouraged or required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Eighth Scroll

(Review by Julie)
The Eighth Scroll by Dr. Laurence is an interesting novel that follows a teenager, Michael, into adulthood as he tries to solve a mystery surrounding the origins of the dead sea scrolls that got his own father killed.  I like the detail in the writing and archeologist tilt to the story- it gives the story enough authenticity that made me do a double take and even flip through my Bible to make sure I hadn't missed some of the major accusations the main character makes.

The story line was a little slow at first but after a few chapters it picked up and got in my head, so it was a fun read.  I found the whole thing a bit like The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown but I can't help but think the author himself is convinced that there's some truth to his story.

(ISBN:9781419673238 Copyright 2007)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author through Bostick Communications (http://www.bostickcommunications.com). I was not encouraged or required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Portable Patriot

(review by Deanna)

I selected this book to receive from the publisher because I thought it would be a great reference to have for my children's school years and because I've been refreshing my own knowledge of history (which is sadly lacking).  The Portable Patriot: Documents, Speeches, and Sermons that Compose the American Soul is a compilation in a small, hardback format.  I like the feel of the book itself - it is less than seven inches tall with a nice texture to the cover, spine and paper.

Given that these are important documents for my own country's history, I'm glad to have a paper copy of them.  However, there are some aspects of the compilation that don't make this very readable.  First, they have printed the documents one right after the other with very little introductory information.  Even the table of contents only lists each section, so if you want to turn to a document you have to search through the section rather than having a page number to turn to.  I know this was done to make the format smaller and more portable, but it also makes it more difficult to use.  There is a short index and I'm very glad they chose to include one.  I hope we'll use this book in the future.  For just reading, I found it torturous to get through.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not encouraged or required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I Was A Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids by Ashworth and Nobile

(review by Julie)
After seeing a book titled Didn't I Feed You Yesterday at the bookstore I couldn't forget about the title. It feels so fitting right now for my life with a 7 month old. I looked on Amazon to figure out what it was about and if it was worth reading and right there under "customers who bought this book also bought:" were several other great sounding books about motherhood, including, I Was A Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids by Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile. I looked for all the books listed, but this was the one my library happened to have, so I put it on reserve (my order-ahead-drive-thru library service) and picked it up the next time I was there.  It's right there in the same genera and Sippy Cups are Not for Chardonnay, which I've heard is great, but never read.

Overall it was a great read.  It was a quick read (only took me one or two days of ignoring my children to read through it) and a balanced mix of so-true-it-hurts and LOL. The best part about this book though is that it's not just a bunch of complaining. They give great suggestions at the end of each chapter about how to make motherhood a little more enjoyable. The topics they cover include setting more realistic expectations, making peace with your choices, stopping the judgment cycle, loosing the guilt, and finding ways to "love being a mother as much as we love our kids."

Do you think I could request that my library start buying more snarky mommyhood books?

More Olympians

(review by Julie)
I recently finished book two and three in The Olympians series: The Sea of Monsters and The Titan's Curse.  (Read my review of book one, The Lightning Thief, here).  I hesitated to do a full review of The Sea of Monsters because it was so similar to the first book and I wasn't feeling like I had a lot more to say.  However, after reading The Titan's Curse, I'm excited about the series again.

I think maybe The Sea of Monsters just wasn't 'all that' because I kept feeling like I'd read it before.  Maybe it was just drawing the series too close to the Harry Potter series? Don't get me wrong, it was cute and there was some additional character development, but I'd say it was only a 3 star book.

I admit- I almost didn't read The Titan's Curse (book three). I just kept feeling like I'd been there and done that.  However, I'd already reserved it at the library, so when it came in I went ahead and checked it out.  I'm really glad I did, too! Book three begins a budding romance that book two had hinted at and I'm a sucker for a love story. It also introduces some new characters while checking in on a few old ones. The Titan's Curse was hard to put down and left me wanting to read # 4. I give it 4 stars.

Brushing Up on My History

(review by Julie)
Given everything that's going on in our country these days, I've been feeling the need to brush up on American history to gain a better perspective.  I remember very little of my high school history class (sorry Mr. Minor!) and have been feeling a little lost when I try to discuss current events with my husband (Political Science Major with a History Minor).
 
A month or two ago, while at my friend, Lara's house , I saw Instant American History by Irwin Unger on her bookshelf and nosily picked it up and started reading.  The top banner on the book cover says, "A complete education- without the tuition" which appealed to me on a Good Will Hunting sort of level.  After reading the first chapter, I was pretty impressed that a book about history could hold my attention as well as this one did. (Granted, I had a genuine preexisting interest in the subject.)  So, I borrowed the book and have enjoyed reading it.

Unger is a Ph.D at New York University and, apparently, won a Pulitzer Prize for The Greenback Era, a treatise on American finance in the mid to late 1800s.  I'm guessing it's the sort of book he forces his students to buy and read after they've paid a large sum in tuition.

In Instant American History, Unger mercifully adds a bit of personality to the book with his dry sense of humor and some amusing comics from a variety of sources, some of which I wouldn't have understood had I not just read the previous page.  I also appreciated how cohesive the book felt.  I gained a good perspective of how more than 100 years of American history lead up to the Civil War and how the war was about more than just slavery.  I also can see now why the civil war didn't fix all the race problems in our country. My only real complaint is that the book stops just after the civil war, so I guess I'll be picking up another history book soon. I've heard good things about Don't Know Much About History by Kenneth C. Davis, so that's what I'm reading next.