August Book Reviews: Family Relationships in Literature

Dewey 800 appears to be a combination of literature and books about literature. Among them I found these two books which are oddities for the category. They were an interesting contrast.

Good Talk, Dad: The Birds and the Bees...and Other Conversations We Forgot to Have; Bill Geist, Willie Geist; Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition (May 19, 2015)

This was a lighthearted memoir--a double memoir really--of a somewhat famous father and his somewhat famous son.  Okay, maybe both of them are famous, if you watch TV. I don't watch much TV, so I did not recognize their names. The title intrigued me. Bill has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, so I guess that means he is famous.

It is basically a book of shared memories on specific topics, seen from the points of view of both father and son. It's a fun, sometimes serious, occasionally irreverent romp through their relationship as father and son. Although I disagree with a number of their opinions, the opinions themselves are well-expressed. The language is clean, the book well-written by both father and son.

I suspect they gloss over the rough parts of their relationship, but they seem to be loving and well-balanced, a family that on the surface would have been wonderful to grow up in.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Letters from My Sister: On Life, Love and Hair Removal; Eve Lederman, Faye Lederman; Skyhorse Publishing (September 30, 2014)

This book is equally lighthearted, as the sisters write back and forth on various topics.  Unfortunately it is neither as well-written or as clean as the book above.  Both sisters come across as promiscuous, though also appearing to be well on the way to misandry.  They want men; they want to date; yet they present men in an extremely negative light. The very first sentence describes a soccer group consisting of "the whiniest, wimpiest men" and sets the tone for their opinion of men in general.

I stuck with it until page 77, which was about 77 pages too many. I had enough of discussions on toilet paper theft, crotches and their issues, and what is wrong with their mother, of whom they speak quite disrespectfully. Not to mention, oh yes, the horrible wimpy men they meet, and the possibility that one of their friends, Jacob, is gay. They think their dad is homophobic, but their attitude seems to lean in that direction as well.

If a man wrote about women in the same disparaging way as these two write about men, I can only imagine the uproar it would cause.  I'm for feminism in the positive strides it has made to give women rights over many things. I probably hold my job, and definitely the right to vote, because of feminists who have gone before me.  However, I am for the promotion of women, not for the denigration of men. There is a distinct difference.

I said one of their friends might be gay. I do not remember which sister had that particular friend. To tell the truth, other than location, I had trouble distinguishing their writing from each other, so making the transitions back and forth between letters left me feeling disoriented.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Disclaimer:  I checked out both books from the library, and wrote this review with no financial incentive.

Life is all about change

Next week I will start a new adventure. I've been offered a full-time job.  When I think about the fact that I've never worked full-time in my adult life, it's a little scary. My husband reminded me that when I was in school it was like more than full-time. I was in classes 12 hours a week, working 10-15 hours a week, commuting 10-12 hours, and doing hours of homework on top of that.

This job means that in my off-time I really have to prioritize and focus on what's most important. Keeping up with fitness & health goals is one of those things. However, I will cut back on how often I post here, probably to once a week. I've about reached the point where there is not a lot to say anyway. I just keep plugging away from day to day.

Wish  me luck!

July--Dewey 700!

The books I checked out were about art, design, crafts, and more. I have a pile of knitting books I've thumbed through, looking for a pattern for my next project. I think I have the idea of what I want to do. I just need to work out some details--and finish the one I'm on!

I got off on a real fiction tangent--maybe it's just summer reading!  However, I have been reading Dreaming Green.

Dreaming Green: Eco-Fabulous Homes Designed to Inspire  
Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher, Photographs by Linda Bell Hall, Clarkson Potter 2008. 

As you can tell from the picture on the front, this is not a book about cheap-looking recycled junk.  Sometimes when I see how cleverly they use "distressed" stuff on HGTV, I find it amusing. Put that distressed stuff in a rich home and it is decorative.  Put it in my home and it will just look like more old stuff. It's all a matter of perspective and comparison.

At any rate, the photographs and explanations in this book show that eco-decor can be absolutely fabulous. I suspect that using reclaimed wood and sustainable forests may be more expensive than building the usual way, but that's not the focus of this book.

The focus here is on what you can do to build or decorate an eco-friendly house, either using reclaimed and recycled materials, designing for the best energy conservation, or both.  I believe the earth is a gift, and while meant to be used, it should also be maintained and preserved for the future, so I appreciate the many ways the book shows that it can be done.

I think it's a bit like farming, especially the old way. You plant and harvest seed, but you don't eat or sell it all; you save some for seed for next year. If you don't do that, you cannot sustain yourself and support others.  I am not about stopping housing development for some rare tiny insect, but I am about taking care of what we have and carrying it forward for future generations. If we use up the earth, what are we leaving for our descendants?  That is the question to ponder as we fill our landfills, drive our cars, choose between oven, toaster oven, or stovetop, and choose light bulbs and toilet paper, and more. 

July Book Reviews

July--Dewey 700!

The books I checked out were about art, design, crafts, and more. I have a pile of knitting books I've thumbed through, looking for a pattern for my next project. I think I have the idea of what I want to do. I just need to work out some details--and finish the one I'm on!

I got off on a real fiction tangent--maybe it's just summer reading!  However, I have been reading Dreaming Green.

Dreaming Green: Eco-Fabulous Homes Designed to Inspire  Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher, Photographs by Linda Bell Hall, Clarkson Potter 2008.  

As you can tell from the picture on the front, this is not a book about cheap-looking recycled junk.  Sometimes when I see how cleverly they use "distressed" stuff on HGTV, I find it amusing. Put that distressed stuff in a rich home and it is decorative.  Put it in my home and it will just look like more old stuff. It's all a matter of perspective and comparison.

At any rate, the photographs and explanations in this book show that eco-decor can be absolutely fabulous. I suspect that using reclaimed wood and sustainable forests may be more expensive than building the usual way, but that's not the focus of this book.

The focus here is on what you can do to build or decorate an eco-friendly house, either using reclaimed and recycled materials, designing for the best energy conservation, or both.  I believe the earth is a gift, and while meant to be used, it should also be maintained and preserved for the future.

I think it's a bit like farming, especially the old way. You plant and harvest seed, but you don't eat or sell it all; you save some for seed for next year. If you don't do that, you cannot sustain yourself and support others.  I am not about stopping housing development for some rare tiny insect, but I am about taking care of what we have and carrying it forward for future generations. If we use up the earth, what are we leaving for our descendants?  That is the question to ponder as we fill our landfills, drive our cars, choose between oven, toaster oven, or stovetop, and choose light bulbs and toilet paper, and more. 

Pre-Diabetes Changes, Part 2

The doctor said I should have no more than two fruits a day. Even though they are chock full of nutrients and fiber, they also have a lot of sugar in them.  So for Week 2 I am working on that. For this week I am cutting down to no more than three fruits per day, and only one of them juice. (Not counting lemon juice with a bit of Stevia in a glass of water.)

The trick here is learning what an actual fruit portion is.  An apple may be a portion, unless it is very large. Then it is two portions.  I had blueberries for breakfast. They are supposed to be a good choice.

Eventually I will cut out the juice entirely, probably in Part 3, but for now, I am just getting used to limiting fruit. It is such a lovely and easy snack. There is very little preparation involved in having a piece of fruit or a bowl of berries for a snack.

I need to look at vegetables, staying away from root vegetables except for beets, and find some that make healthy snacks or additions to a meal.  The trouble is, I am not a big fan of vegetables, and two of my favorites are currently on my "do not eat" list for food sensitivities.

Rainbow chard, raw. pixabay.com

I bought rainbow chard a couple of times. I like the flavor much better than spinach. It can be strong, and I haven't cooked it for year. I think my children didn't like it much.  With just the two of us, it's easy to steam up a batch for supper.

Rainbow Chard, sauteed with garlic.  Photo Credit: A Sweet Life

Yesterday I added Kale to a brown/wild rice blend, cooked in the rice cooker with skinned chicken thighs on top. This made for a nice, one-dish supper that was actually quite tasty.

Photo Credit: rosemarried.com

Today I made quinoa tabbouleh. It didn't call for cucumbers and tomatoes, but I added them in. It was really good, a nice light summer salad to serve with salmon fillet.  It called for fresh or dried mint. I did not have any, but I thought of a substitute. I opened up a Bigelow Herbal Tea bag filled with Mint Medley tea, cut open the bag, and measured out just the amount I needed. I saved the bag in the outer wrapper with a clothespin to hold it tight. It worked very well.  Now I wonder about using other teas as substitute herbs. It might be fun to experiment a bit.

June Book Reviews--Dewey 600.

Ha ha, yes, I really said June.  And now it's the end of July.

The thing is, I never really finished a single non-fiction book in June, though I started several. The 600 category had a lot of health and fitness books, as well as a few others about specific hobbies like gardening.  I took back the whole huge pile, so I can't even specifically review titles.

I started a book about pre-diabetes and diabetes, and one my doctor recommended about Lyme disease.  I looked at a book about plants in the house, which made me think about cute plant containers and not much else.  I started a book about a "new" exercise program, which boiled down to the same old advice--do this exercise, and oh yeah, by the way, eat right, and you will soon get so slim and strong.  I did a few new workout videos, which I probably won't buy but I enjoyed incorporating a change now and then.

So that is June.