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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Awesome book and as always, Kingsolver delivers. She is a fine writer; and, her daughter Camille shows promise.
I had been curious about this book since first seeing it on shelves, but probably wouldn't have read it had it not been a book club assignment. I'm so glad I did! At the risk of sounding like a preachy eco-nut, this book truly changed my whole outlook on the food I eat. From a purely literary point of view, it is as beautifully written as you might expect anything by Barbara Kingsolver to be. It's structured as a journal with interspersed essay contributions from her biologist husband and nutritionist daughter, so it's a great combination of funny, candid story and absorbing, well-researched scientific journal article. I absolutely think everyone should read this book, and I defy anyone to read it and not change their shopping habits when they next visit the supermarket.
I like Kingsolver's fiction, but this got bogged down w/ too many words and trivial facts. I agree w/ eating locally, home cooking, canning and growing what you can. I also know that raising poultry can be a huge pain in the patoot!
Kingsolver and others have observed that food is incredibly personal - one of the most personal choices that we make, yet one in which we invest very little thought beyond "will this make me fat?" or "does this taste good?". Our experience of food has become incredibly decontextualized, creating an unnatural distance between the clucking things that lay eggs and the plastic-wrapped sanitized lumps of meat that we buy at the grocery store. Salad in winter has become an expectation rather than a gift.
Kingsolver and her family spent a year eating close to home, limiting their vegetables, fruit, and meat to those things that they could grow themselves or buy from neighbors. Their story is inspiring, and it made me long for my garden in Champaign, for the opportunity to plant seeds in early spring and enrich my meals with my own vegetables and herbs, returning the leftovers to the compost heap. Kingsolver realizes that this agrarian lifestyle is not possible for everyone, and honors that fact by providing suggestions for people like me who live in a highrise and can't plant half an acre or raise my own chickens.
Having bought the plastic-wrapped meat and salad at the store yesterday - in the middle of February - I know that while I would like to live more sustainably, and closer to the land, it will be a hard battle. I can say, however, that this book inspired me to make better choices, and has me longing for the day that I can plant a few things on my cement balcony.
Kingsolver and her family spent a year eating close to home, limiting their vegetables, fruit, and meat to those things that they could grow themselves or buy from neighbors. Their story is inspiring, and it made me long for my garden in Champaign, for the opportunity to plant seeds in early spring and enrich my meals with my own vegetables and herbs, returning the leftovers to the compost heap. Kingsolver realizes that this agrarian lifestyle is not possible for everyone, and honors that fact by providing suggestions for people like me who live in a highrise and can't plant half an acre or raise my own chickens.
Having bought the plastic-wrapped meat and salad at the store yesterday - in the middle of February - I know that while I would like to live more sustainably, and closer to the land, it will be a hard battle. I can say, however, that this book inspired me to make better choices, and has me longing for the day that I can plant a few things on my cement balcony.
I enjoyed Kingsolver's sense of humor. I did find that I skimmed a good bit of the expositions because, by this point, I have read and watched so much regarding this subject matter of eating local and organic, etc.
FINALLY finished this book. I think I started it in August. Put it down for a few months, but was determined to finish by the end of the year. My point being, I don’t remember the first half of the book too well. I’m sure when it was first published, in 2007, it was a lot more revolutionary than it is now. For example, in the past year or two I’ve read Michael Pollan and heard him speak about a similar topic. My biggest issue with this book is that it often felt preachy, as if there’s something wrong with me because I don’t make my own bread with organic flour. The beginning had a good pace, but it definitely slowed down by the middle. I skipped the chapter on their trip to Italy; just didn’t need that. Best, hands down (and really the reason I went with 3 instead of 2 stars), were the last chapter or two. Topic: turkey sex.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
So far a great read that is inspiring me to think about where my food comes from and what I might want to grow in the garden.
Four stars because as a vegan (vegetarian for 10 years) I have conflicting thoughts on many of the topics in this book — many of which admittedly made me gag and feel nauseous. Although Kingsolver and I are much more in alignment than you would think with that previous statement. I wish this book had a 2022 version - with it being 15 years old, there is a lot that is outdated (data, mostly).
Overall, I am even more influenced to eat locally and one day produce my own food when I have access to land. For now, I’ve got my farmers market and basil plant.
Overall, I am even more influenced to eat locally and one day produce my own food when I have access to land. For now, I’ve got my farmers market and basil plant.
Four stars because as a vegan (vegetarian for 10 years) I have conflicting thoughts on many of the topics in this book — many of which admittedly made me gag and feel nauseous. Although Kingsolver and I are much more in alignment than you would think with that previous statement. I wish this book had a 2022 version - with it being 15 years old, there is a lot that is outdated (data, mostly).
Overall, I am even more influenced to eat locally and one day produce my own food when I have access to land. For now, I’ve got my farmers market and basil plant.
Overall, I am even more influenced to eat locally and one day produce my own food when I have access to land. For now, I’ve got my farmers market and basil plant.