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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
I love Kingslver's writing. That said, the book was a little preachy, but saved itself in the end.
Reading this was like learning your entire family's history from your crazy, eccentric, amazing great aunt all in an afternoon. I gobbled this treatise up and stashed it away in every free corner of my brain. This book solidifies me as a Barbara Kingsolver fan and inspired me to look up my local chapter of Slow Food International.
Informative without being overly preachy, Kingsolver describes her family's year of eating almost entirely local foods, including several items raised themselves, including eggs and poultry. Contributions are also made by Kingsolver's husband (Hopp) and eldest daughter, the former giving facts, statistics, and additional resources, while the latter provides food plans and recipes. My main complaint is about the format: Whenever Hopp's segments came up, they were inserted into Kingsolver's narrative, and while they were separated by boxes, I was a bit annoyed that it never was at a break within the narrative, so I had to interrupt the narrative to read the boxes; this may have been the editor's decision, and I think it would have been better placed elsewhere. However, this is a minor complaint. Down-to-earth and alternately philosophical and humorous, this is a great book for anyone interested in raising his/her own food, the locavore movement, or just learning more about food in general.
While I'm not going to go out and construct a farm that will feed me for a year, Kingsolver plants some good ideas for growing your own produce and the importance of buying locally when possible.
I listened to the book as I drove cross-country one summer and i could not get enough of it. Her descriptions and family stories are wonderful. The factual information is great and really gets to the problems surrounding food in America. This book is inspiring and will challenge the reader to ask questions not only about what food they are eating, but why they are eating it.
Kingsolver departs from her usual style of writing and I think it works in her favor. While her other books of fiction were captivating, this piece of non-fiction really allows the reader to put themselves in her shoes.
Kingsolver departs from her usual style of writing and I think it works in her favor. While her other books of fiction were captivating, this piece of non-fiction really allows the reader to put themselves in her shoes.
This book was inspiring to me about eating locally, helped me think about what the true cost is of eating vegetables from thousands of miles away.
I was impressed by what a good, interesting writing Barbara's daughter Camille is. Loved her entries and recipes.
I was impressed by what a good, interesting writing Barbara's daughter Camille is. Loved her entries and recipes.
Kingsolver gets a little preachy at times - and I agree with what she's saying - but I still really liked the book and am grateful for what it taught me. And maybe it's my strange sense of humor, but it made me laugh out loud again and again.
The best thing in this book is the whole wheat pizza dough recipe! Some good ideas, but mostly not within reach for the average person.
Wow! I'm so glad I chose to read this in the fall, when I've still got lots of my own produce to preserve and local food to purchase. What a beautiful book that has left me very inspired.