A wonderful summer for books Part II

My true love in reading lies with non fiction. On pretty much any subject. I usually just read one book and that leads me to another and another, or I find one sitting next to it at the library or so on. I love reading non fiction because people are so smart and being able to expand your knowledge in an area is so simple with books! I just love how much knowledge there is in the world, I just want to read about all of it! Some highlights from this summer - 

Freakonomics/Super Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner : I started off my summer with these, and what a hoot! These guys have the most interesting minds to even think about putting these stats together! It’s one of those books that gives you tidbits of information that you can pull out later and sound either really interesting or kind of weird. Super Freakonomics = Super Fun. Check ‘em out! (At least see the movie, I heard it’s decent)

More than Good Intentions by  Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel. Freakonomics was created by someone who is a behavioural economist, and that area of study sounded really interesting. When I looked it up on the library database, this title popped up. With a subtitle like How a New Economics is Helping to Solve Global Poverty, I was obviously hooked. It is exactly what aid needs – a scientific study of the efficiency and areas of need of projects, programs and ideas. It presents real solutions that have been tested, and ACTUALLY tested, as in, against controls and everything. Most interesting for me and many I know – the section on microcredit. Clever people putting their smarts to very good use.

Another behavioural econ book – Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein.

So behavioural economics was one topic of interest for me this summer, another was food. In the last year or so I have become a serious foodie. So I read and recommend: 

Hundred Mile Diet by Alisa Smith & J.  B. MacKinnon. A very honest and real portrayal of this couple’s year of eating only food that was grown within a hundred miles of their Vancouver home. Definitely won’t be joining that extreme diet anytime soon but it did make me more aware while I was grocery shopping which is always good!

Food, Inc.: Mendel to Monsanto The Promises and Perils of the BioTech Harvets by Peter Pringle  Another book to film whose on screen version I need to see! But the book was fascinating, all about the pros and cons, benefits and dangers of genetically modified food, a very relevant topic for our GMO eating selves! (yes, you eat GMOs. All the time, I guarantee it.) I liked this book because it’s an easy bandwagon to jump on and so “No genetically modified foods at all! Evil!” but he doesn’t. He presents good balanced information, and it’s enlightening on the topic of how our food is grown and regulated in general!

More Food books: Food Matters: Guide to Conscious Eating by Mark Bittman (and now I have the accompanying How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by the same author! Thanks Sean!), Pandora’s Picnic Basket: The Potential and Hazards of Genetically Modified Foods by Alan McHughen

I also got into reading about Feminism this summer:

Grassroots: A Field Guide to Feminist Activism by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards .

 Favourite book of the summer. Hands down. 

When I read, I know it’s a good book when I am writing things down, because I’m so inspired. I filled up 3 pages with this book. And had to reorganize them all later because I was so full of energy and ideas from this book. If you are a feminist activist, read it. It’s geared toward beginners in the area, but I think it would be a great read for anyone. They discuss their opinion on things I debate in my own head: the spirit of competition rather than support among activists, feeling like you can’t work on a project because you aren’t perfect in that area (ie – pro-fair labour practices but you probably still buy stuff from sweat shops sometimes), or the struggle many people, and particularly women, face about marriage or partnerships, children or no children, career or stay at home.. I could rave about this book forever. Got it from the library but will be getting my own copy. And don’t be scared of the “feminist” title, I’m sure you would be inspired whether you identify as a feminist or not.

Other feminist books:  To Hell With It: Loving and Loathing Your Inner Housewife by Caitlin Flanagan (Definitely not in my top books of the summer because the author with two young children is writing for other mothers, I was not her audience for sure. Probably better if I was). No Turning Back: The history of Feminism and the future of women by Estelle Friedman

Finally, in no category whatsoever: 

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Fun book – lots of good ideas, lots of insights into how we can foster our own happiness and that of others, and some honest reflection on how trying to be happy all the time can be really hard! 

That was as short of a post as I could write  - just too many great books! Happy reading! 

A wonderful summer for books (aren’t they all?) Pt I

Now this post about my adventures through the pages this summer won’t be nearly as good as the incredible lit blog my brilliant friend Chris writes (that you should all check out here) but I’ll do my best to share some of my favourite reads over the past few months!

Ok first off, I read a surprisingly large list of fiction this summer, large being relative to the little I do usually. Not much for fiction usually, but I guess summer days are perfect for finding yourself in another world right?

Daughter of Fortune by Isabelle Allende. This woman mesmerized me with her TED talk, so I had to pick up her novels when I was at the used book store. She did not disappoint. A nice mix of history with her portrayal of the gold rush in California, personal relationships, and lives lived with limits – stories of a Chinese man captured and brought to America and the main character a woman who leads an interesting childhood only to make her young adulthood just as fascinating. Unlike any book I have read lately!

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Have you read these yet? No? Do it. Seriously, everyone needs some young adult fiction in their lives and this is the one you need right now. Haven’t read the next two yet but will be getting on it soon. Devoured the action packed pages in a day. It's fast, fun, smart, and just a plain old good read. Also got my teacher heart excited with ideas about cool assignments students could do related to the book –anyone else? No? Ok… on to the next then…

Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton Re-read this one again this summer, it’s my second favourite book (after To Kill A Mockingbird). A novel written by someone who must be a poet, it reads so beautifully. It’s also real-life kind of fiction which is my favourite. It portrays life during apartheid in South Africa. Quote - 'Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much. 

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. After a very long time of people recommending Vonnegut for me, I finally took it out of the library and was not disappointed. Satirical look at the Western (particularly American) way of life, Vonnegut basically explains life and the day to day workings of people as if the reader is from outer space and has never heard of America. For example “Viet Nam was a country where America was trying to make people stop being communists by dropping bombs on them". Great for anyone who enjoys a good laugh at the typical western lifestyle.

Other fiction that I enjoyed but won’t get into: The Help by Kathryn Stockett,  Choke by Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy.

This post was originally massive, so I'm doing in two parts, ending Part I here. Next post will be all my non fiction!