I've been meaning to write this for about a month now. Woops. I've let time escape me and laziness overcome, but not anymore!
This first book is The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. I really enjoyed this book because it kept me busy for a good while. It is 894 pages but don't let that discourage you. It is not hard to read at all. It takes place in the 19th century, my favorite as we now know, and unlike The Meaning of Night it does not read like a novel that was written in that era. So although it is long, I think if anyone is interested in getting a feel for that time period then this is a good book to read. The back of the book does not do it justice. It is about a lot of people, not just one 19 year old prostitute named Sugar as the back seems to imply. There is, I will warn future readers, quite a bit of sex. But it was done very maturely I felt, as in not like a Romance novel. Not that they don't have "mature" sex in those sorts of books, it's just different. Faber's writing is beautiful and this is apparent even in the dirtiest circumstances of the book [prostitutes, beggars, etc.]
The beginning of the book is one of the uniquest I have yet to encounter. "Watch your step. Keep your wits about you; you will need them. This city I am bringing you to is vast and intricate, and you have not been here before. You may imagine, from other stories you've read, that you know it well, but those stories flattered you, welcoming you as a friend, treating you as if you belonged. The truth is that you are an alien from another time and place altogether." And it goes from there. It is like the book is constantly talking to you, the reader, and literally bringing you into the story. I loved it. I loved the details about how the prostitutes would clean themselves after each customer, and I loved how complicated Sugar's relationship with a perfume maker was.
I also found a lot of allusions and references to other pieces of literature and history. William Rackham is the perfumer; Bodley and Ashwell are his two friends who are mentally stuck at University. William's wife has a brain tumor, that only we the reader know about, and it makes her seem quite insane. Ashwell says in conversation, "Seriously, Bill, you mustn't let this problem with Agnes turn into a family curse. You know, like in those frightful old-fashioned novels, with the distracted female leaping out of cupboards (p.66)." If you have not read Wuthering Heights then you need to in order to understand and appreciate this allusion. Haha.
One of my favorite characters is Mrs. Emmeline Fox. She is a widow and William's older brother Henry is smitten with her. Mrs. Fox works for an organization that tries to get prostitutes off the streets and her opinions on Christianity are anything but orthodox. She and Henry are discussing children and she feels that she is blessed to never have had children. "(Henry) 'But what of the Lord's commandment, '"Be fruitful and multiply"?' She smiles and looks out of the window, her eyes narrowed against the flickering afternoon light...'I think there's been quite enough multiplication don't you?' Mrs. Fox sighs, 'We have filled the world up awfully well, haven't we, with frightened and hungry humans. The challenge now is what to do with them all...'
I would love to quote Emmeline more but alas this is growing longer than I meant it to be. I definitely recommend this book.
These next two books actually go together. They are Eat This, Not That and Eat This, Not That: Supermarket Survival Guide. Both are by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding. I LOVE THESE. The idea is that we don't necessarily need to diet if we want to lose 10, 20, or even 30+ pounds. Of course exercise is always a good thing to do, but if we simply changed the way we eat we could slim down. Getting onion rings at BK instead of fries, or getting a Big Mac instead of a Whopper with cheese could save you a lot of calories, fat, and sodium. So the first book goes through this sort of thing, what not to eat at certain fast food places and restaurants. There are sooooooooooo many helpful hints through out that I don't know why anyone would NOT want to buy at least one of these. Even the first book, which focuses on eating out has a supermarket section. It also goes through holidays, and occasions and what foods to avoid. Like getting light meat instead of dark meat at Thanksgiving, or eating coleslaw instead of potato salad on the 4th of July. The photographs are also FABULOUS.
The Supermarket Survival Guide is also even more awesome. I have taken it shopping with me multiple times already. And it's not just about what ketchup to buy instead, or what bacon is best. It informs you on some secrets that Keebler, Quaker, other food companies, and the grocery store(s) all don't want you to know. It even has recipes, and a list of Food Additives so you can know what exactly those scientific words mean and what IS good for you and what isn't.
Some things I'd love to share from both are as follows:
- Applebee's, Olive Garden, Outback and Red Lobster all don't want us to know that they don't provide nutritional information for their products. CalorieKing.com is a great site to found out what these restaurants, and others, are hiding.
- Chick-Fil-A doesn't have a single sandwich that goes over 500-calories. AWESOME :]
- You can save about 55 grams of carbs if you have a burger [like at Carl's Jr.] wrapped in lettuce leaves (if they're romaine)
- A chicken burrito at Chipotle has 1,092 calories, 44g of fat and 2,323mg of sodium. EW. Get it in a bowl instead please.
- Instead of getting mayo or sour cream (like on a sandwich, or in a burrito) sub those with Avocado, or Guac. The fat is heart-healthy instead of heart-bad!
- At Panda Express, the only item that contains Trans Fat (which is bad bad bad) is the Orange Chicken. Damn.
- If you have never tried or heard of Quinoa you are SO missing out. It is a great substitution for rice or cous-cous (though a seed technically, not a grain) and is loaded with fiber and healthy fats. It is also a complete protein. Yay! GO TRY IT NOW.
- Don't do turkey bacon instead of regular. It might say it's healthier, and seem healthier but there is waaaaaaaaay more sodium in the turkey variety.
EVERYONE needs at least one of these books. There is just so much information and the books are a very managable size so there is no excuse!
This last book I just finished yesterday. It is called Little Bee and is by Chris Cleave. I recently joined the book club at FRCC (first meeting is Sept. 7th) and this is the book. I did like it. It was a very touching book and a very quick read, at least for me. Ha. But I don't understand what all the frickin' hype is about! The back reads as such, "We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it, so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again -- the story starts there... Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds." First of all one of the "women" is 16 years old, hardly a woman. Second of all I'm not going to tell what happens, promise. One review says, "One of the most vividly memorable and provocative characters in recent contemporary fiction." I just can't agree. I like Little Bee, I like Sarah. But neither of them are vividly memorable nor provocative. But then, maybe, they just haven't read as many books as I have and met as many characters as I have. I guess that's what you get when you're addicted to books. It takes a lot to impress. Oh well. I did fall in love with Charlie, aka Batman, though. He is Sarah's four year old son and he refuses to get out of character as Batman. Everyone is either a goody, or a baddy in his world. He is so precious. I found myself not caring so much what happened to the adults but what happened to him!
I think if you need a good book that will touch you and make you think about some real world stuff then this is a good book for you. But grab a few tissues for the end.
And that is that! Hopefully I can get the next 3 or 4 books read soon. With schools tarting this could be unlikely...but I will try. Not that anyone is commenting, but I am enjoying writing these at least.
This first book is The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. I really enjoyed this book because it kept me busy for a good while. It is 894 pages but don't let that discourage you. It is not hard to read at all. It takes place in the 19th century, my favorite as we now know, and unlike The Meaning of Night it does not read like a novel that was written in that era. So although it is long, I think if anyone is interested in getting a feel for that time period then this is a good book to read. The back of the book does not do it justice. It is about a lot of people, not just one 19 year old prostitute named Sugar as the back seems to imply. There is, I will warn future readers, quite a bit of sex. But it was done very maturely I felt, as in not like a Romance novel. Not that they don't have "mature" sex in those sorts of books, it's just different. Faber's writing is beautiful and this is apparent even in the dirtiest circumstances of the book [prostitutes, beggars, etc.]
The beginning of the book is one of the uniquest I have yet to encounter. "Watch your step. Keep your wits about you; you will need them. This city I am bringing you to is vast and intricate, and you have not been here before. You may imagine, from other stories you've read, that you know it well, but those stories flattered you, welcoming you as a friend, treating you as if you belonged. The truth is that you are an alien from another time and place altogether." And it goes from there. It is like the book is constantly talking to you, the reader, and literally bringing you into the story. I loved it. I loved the details about how the prostitutes would clean themselves after each customer, and I loved how complicated Sugar's relationship with a perfume maker was.
I also found a lot of allusions and references to other pieces of literature and history. William Rackham is the perfumer; Bodley and Ashwell are his two friends who are mentally stuck at University. William's wife has a brain tumor, that only we the reader know about, and it makes her seem quite insane. Ashwell says in conversation, "Seriously, Bill, you mustn't let this problem with Agnes turn into a family curse. You know, like in those frightful old-fashioned novels, with the distracted female leaping out of cupboards (p.66)." If you have not read Wuthering Heights then you need to in order to understand and appreciate this allusion. Haha.
One of my favorite characters is Mrs. Emmeline Fox. She is a widow and William's older brother Henry is smitten with her. Mrs. Fox works for an organization that tries to get prostitutes off the streets and her opinions on Christianity are anything but orthodox. She and Henry are discussing children and she feels that she is blessed to never have had children. "(Henry) 'But what of the Lord's commandment, '"Be fruitful and multiply"?' She smiles and looks out of the window, her eyes narrowed against the flickering afternoon light...'I think there's been quite enough multiplication don't you?' Mrs. Fox sighs, 'We have filled the world up awfully well, haven't we, with frightened and hungry humans. The challenge now is what to do with them all...'
I would love to quote Emmeline more but alas this is growing longer than I meant it to be. I definitely recommend this book.
These next two books actually go together. They are Eat This, Not That and Eat This, Not That: Supermarket Survival Guide. Both are by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding. I LOVE THESE. The idea is that we don't necessarily need to diet if we want to lose 10, 20, or even 30+ pounds. Of course exercise is always a good thing to do, but if we simply changed the way we eat we could slim down. Getting onion rings at BK instead of fries, or getting a Big Mac instead of a Whopper with cheese could save you a lot of calories, fat, and sodium. So the first book goes through this sort of thing, what not to eat at certain fast food places and restaurants. There are sooooooooooo many helpful hints through out that I don't know why anyone would NOT want to buy at least one of these. Even the first book, which focuses on eating out has a supermarket section. It also goes through holidays, and occasions and what foods to avoid. Like getting light meat instead of dark meat at Thanksgiving, or eating coleslaw instead of potato salad on the 4th of July. The photographs are also FABULOUS.
The Supermarket Survival Guide is also even more awesome. I have taken it shopping with me multiple times already. And it's not just about what ketchup to buy instead, or what bacon is best. It informs you on some secrets that Keebler, Quaker, other food companies, and the grocery store(s) all don't want you to know. It even has recipes, and a list of Food Additives so you can know what exactly those scientific words mean and what IS good for you and what isn't.
Some things I'd love to share from both are as follows:
- Applebee's, Olive Garden, Outback and Red Lobster all don't want us to know that they don't provide nutritional information for their products. CalorieKing.com is a great site to found out what these restaurants, and others, are hiding.
- Chick-Fil-A doesn't have a single sandwich that goes over 500-calories. AWESOME :]
- You can save about 55 grams of carbs if you have a burger [like at Carl's Jr.] wrapped in lettuce leaves (if they're romaine)
- A chicken burrito at Chipotle has 1,092 calories, 44g of fat and 2,323mg of sodium. EW. Get it in a bowl instead please.
- Instead of getting mayo or sour cream (like on a sandwich, or in a burrito) sub those with Avocado, or Guac. The fat is heart-healthy instead of heart-bad!
- At Panda Express, the only item that contains Trans Fat (which is bad bad bad) is the Orange Chicken. Damn.
- If you have never tried or heard of Quinoa you are SO missing out. It is a great substitution for rice or cous-cous (though a seed technically, not a grain) and is loaded with fiber and healthy fats. It is also a complete protein. Yay! GO TRY IT NOW.
- Don't do turkey bacon instead of regular. It might say it's healthier, and seem healthier but there is waaaaaaaaay more sodium in the turkey variety.
EVERYONE needs at least one of these books. There is just so much information and the books are a very managable size so there is no excuse!
This last book I just finished yesterday. It is called Little Bee and is by Chris Cleave. I recently joined the book club at FRCC (first meeting is Sept. 7th) and this is the book. I did like it. It was a very touching book and a very quick read, at least for me. Ha. But I don't understand what all the frickin' hype is about! The back reads as such, "We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it, so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again -- the story starts there... Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds." First of all one of the "women" is 16 years old, hardly a woman. Second of all I'm not going to tell what happens, promise. One review says, "One of the most vividly memorable and provocative characters in recent contemporary fiction." I just can't agree. I like Little Bee, I like Sarah. But neither of them are vividly memorable nor provocative. But then, maybe, they just haven't read as many books as I have and met as many characters as I have. I guess that's what you get when you're addicted to books. It takes a lot to impress. Oh well. I did fall in love with Charlie, aka Batman, though. He is Sarah's four year old son and he refuses to get out of character as Batman. Everyone is either a goody, or a baddy in his world. He is so precious. I found myself not caring so much what happened to the adults but what happened to him!
I think if you need a good book that will touch you and make you think about some real world stuff then this is a good book for you. But grab a few tissues for the end.
And that is that! Hopefully I can get the next 3 or 4 books read soon. With schools tarting this could be unlikely...but I will try. Not that anyone is commenting, but I am enjoying writing these at least.