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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Yes! We have no bananas, we have no bananas today! Nor shall we.
It's not that I will be able, completely,to ascribe to all of the suggestions in this compelling and fascinating book, but the case of bananas (no pun intended) is presented with such clarity and logic that it is impossible to justify their consumption here in the northern hemisphere. Need potassium? Eat more sweet potatoes!
I adored this book. Worshipped it. I would have built a little shrine to it, but I listened to it while driving, and the shrine would have probably fallen over in the car. Instead, I will probably try to purify my body by eating more locally, eating more organically, and savoring the freshness of flavors from my garden. Under the sway of Kingsolver's great body of knowledge, and her completely plausible arguments, and because here at the lake, we have access to, and can support, local farmers, we have all but eliminated our trips to our regional chain market and our former pilgrimages to Whole Foods. We've loved our food more, we've built relationships with our farmers, and we've used that newly-found time to enjoy our pastimes and our grandchildren. The car trips during which we've listened to this enthralling lesson on agriculture, and agri-business, have been taken on visit with friends instead of standing, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, in the vegetable aisle of the supermarket.
I didn't seek to have this read aloud. It was, however, the only title of interest to me at our local bookseller, which I visited just before embarking on our summer hiatus. But what serendipity! Barbara Kingsolver's voices, her spoken voice and her literary voice, are filled with warmth, humor, insight and intelligence, and I think her words had even greater impact because of the way in which they were transmitted.
I must add, in closing, that Chapter 19, on turkey love, might be, one of the funniest things ever not written by Calvin Trillin.
It's not that I will be able, completely,to ascribe to all of the suggestions in this compelling and fascinating book, but the case of bananas (no pun intended) is presented with such clarity and logic that it is impossible to justify their consumption here in the northern hemisphere. Need potassium? Eat more sweet potatoes!
I adored this book. Worshipped it. I would have built a little shrine to it, but I listened to it while driving, and the shrine would have probably fallen over in the car. Instead, I will probably try to purify my body by eating more locally, eating more organically, and savoring the freshness of flavors from my garden. Under the sway of Kingsolver's great body of knowledge, and her completely plausible arguments, and because here at the lake, we have access to, and can support, local farmers, we have all but eliminated our trips to our regional chain market and our former pilgrimages to Whole Foods. We've loved our food more, we've built relationships with our farmers, and we've used that newly-found time to enjoy our pastimes and our grandchildren. The car trips during which we've listened to this enthralling lesson on agriculture, and agri-business, have been taken on visit with friends instead of standing, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, in the vegetable aisle of the supermarket.
I didn't seek to have this read aloud. It was, however, the only title of interest to me at our local bookseller, which I visited just before embarking on our summer hiatus. But what serendipity! Barbara Kingsolver's voices, her spoken voice and her literary voice, are filled with warmth, humor, insight and intelligence, and I think her words had even greater impact because of the way in which they were transmitted.
I must add, in closing, that Chapter 19, on turkey love, might be, one of the funniest things ever not written by Calvin Trillin.
I liked how this book moved between different members of the family and got me to think much more about buying locally. Now I make much more of an effort to do so, but not all the time, as I am sure they now do after their year was up. I have made quite a few of their recipes and they are good! Something really different to read on a serious topic.
This book is the tale of one woman and her family as they commit to one year of local eating: it just so happens the "woman" is famed author Barbara Kingsolver. Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors and this book came recommended from a friend with similar interests. I don't read a lot of non-fiction, though I feel like I should read more so I was happy to give this go. As someone who has a passion for cooking, healthy eating, and supporting local whenever I can, I was particularly interested in the subject matter
I only read a few other reviews, but was surprised with some of the feedback. Some readers found the book preachy and dishonest because Kingsolver does paint an idyllic portrait of the year, but I suppose I took it I with a grain of (locally sourced) salt. For me she is a storyteller first and foremost and I thought that even though this was non-fiction it had a similar tone to her writing, which I liked. Though she does miss opportunities to share dirt about any struggles her family had with their mission, I feel like its because she is more focused on discussing farming and how attitudes toward food, and where it comes from have been shifted with negative consequence.
I loved the inclusion of writing from her husband and daughter: it really gave the novel a family feel. I didn't feel the preachy vibe but merely thought she wrote with the zeal of a believer and I am able to draw my own conclusions.
I definitely feel like I learned a lot and have some food for thought (hardy har) but don't feel pressured to make the same commitment. Instead, I'll mull it over and make some changes where I can and go about my days a little more informed.
I only read a few other reviews, but was surprised with some of the feedback. Some readers found the book preachy and dishonest because Kingsolver does paint an idyllic portrait of the year, but I suppose I took it I with a grain of (locally sourced) salt. For me she is a storyteller first and foremost and I thought that even though this was non-fiction it had a similar tone to her writing, which I liked. Though she does miss opportunities to share dirt about any struggles her family had with their mission, I feel like its because she is more focused on discussing farming and how attitudes toward food, and where it comes from have been shifted with negative consequence.
I loved the inclusion of writing from her husband and daughter: it really gave the novel a family feel. I didn't feel the preachy vibe but merely thought she wrote with the zeal of a believer and I am able to draw my own conclusions.
I definitely feel like I learned a lot and have some food for thought (hardy har) but don't feel pressured to make the same commitment. Instead, I'll mull it over and make some changes where I can and go about my days a little more informed.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Having an interest in how to sustain your family on self and locally grown foods, is a pre-requisite to reading this book. I listened on CD and enjoyed the format of Barbara Kingsolver's narrative, interspersed with her daughter's and husband's takes, on a year where they grew almost all of their own fruits, vegetables, and meats or purchased locally sourced foods. This was not a book about deprivation, and my interest was piqued and broadened across many topics. For example, I enjoyed learning about making cheese, and would like to try this with my family. I didn't know much about heritage breeds of farm animals, and now hope to have a locally grown turkey on my table for Thanksgiving. (You must plan further ahead to secure a heritage breed turkey!) I learned about organizations such as SlowFood, and Locavore that promote the growth and enjoyment of locally grown foods. I thought about the Carbon footprint of eating foods out of season, and buying foods from different countries. I have even visited my local farmer's market and purchased a bushel of winter squash for storage in our dark basement to enjoy all winter long. Although Kingsolver was a little preachy at times, especially towards the end of the book, I like how she informed my thought process on eating, buying and cooking. I also have found useful the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Website, particularly the recipes. As a side-note, my children enjoyed listening to snippets of this biography, as well, and a lot of great discussions came out of the small portions that they listened to. (My children are 9, 13, 14). I do think there would be a value to owning the book for references, although I suppose most of the references are available on the website.
I'm a fan of Kingsolver's previous work, but avoided this book when it came out because I figured I didn't want to read 300 pages that were making me feel bad about every choice I've ever made about food. Then a friend of mine invited me to her book club, and they were doing this one. So I got a copy, read it, and found it absolutely fascinating.
Despite what some of the other readers in our book club thought, I didn't feel like Kingsolver was talking down to me. Yes, she has curt putdowns for people throughout the book, but I was actually pleasantly surprised to find out that I'm more of a locavore than I thought. I will only buy corn on the cob in season, and only at one particular farm. Same with strawberries. Apples are something I do buy throughout the year, I'll admit, but come autumn, I'm jumping from one local orchard to the next. I LOVE apple season (this year, of course, has been devastating in Ontario so we've lost most of our local apples).
Instead, Kingsolver taught me about what fruits and vegetables are in season, and how they are grown. I knew some of it, having grown up in a relatively rural area, but other parts were a surprise.
What this book did is made me more aware of where my foods were coming from: at the grocery store, I spend far more time looking at labels in the produce section. No longer am I happy that I'm simply buying fruits and veg for my family; now I'm being very careful about where they come from. I will admit: I refuse to cut bananas out of my diet (her family was banana-free because they didn't grow them in Kentucky) and I'll still grab oranges out of season (and place, since they don't grow THOSE in Ontario), but I have definitely changed my habits. Next spring I'll be hitting the farmer's markets with more gusto than in the past and I've already begun researching what local farms sell fresh chicken and eggs year-round.
This book will make you look at your own dietary habits, and alter them in some way. She's not looking for everyone to move to the Appalachians, buy a farm and start growing their own food, but to just be more aware of what you eat. Her husband has written sidebars throughout the book that I found very helpful (many of them are hands-on, explaining how you can implement her ideas in the book) and while some other readers have found her daughter Camille's end-of-chapter essays to be a little holier-than-thou, I quite liked her voice, and thought she was a beautiful writer. And she had a few great recipes in there I'll be trying out.
"Animal Vegetable Miracle" made me WANT to eat better, and to choose better foods for my family. Criticisms: That Kingsolver talks about always eating within 100 miles of one's house to reduce your carbon footprint on the earth, and then near the end of the book she and her husband travel thousands of miles to Italy as if an airplane is ecologically sound. And yes, her voice can be slightly preachy at times. I disagree with her idea that eating locally grown and organic food can work on any budget, because I've actually tested it out while reading, and my new choices have increased our grocery bill by about 15%. And that was just on minor produce items, and doesn't bring in the meat or anything else I've yet to try out. But those are small nitpicks in an otherwise great read.
Despite what some of the other readers in our book club thought, I didn't feel like Kingsolver was talking down to me. Yes, she has curt putdowns for people throughout the book, but I was actually pleasantly surprised to find out that I'm more of a locavore than I thought. I will only buy corn on the cob in season, and only at one particular farm. Same with strawberries. Apples are something I do buy throughout the year, I'll admit, but come autumn, I'm jumping from one local orchard to the next. I LOVE apple season (this year, of course, has been devastating in Ontario so we've lost most of our local apples).
Instead, Kingsolver taught me about what fruits and vegetables are in season, and how they are grown. I knew some of it, having grown up in a relatively rural area, but other parts were a surprise.
What this book did is made me more aware of where my foods were coming from: at the grocery store, I spend far more time looking at labels in the produce section. No longer am I happy that I'm simply buying fruits and veg for my family; now I'm being very careful about where they come from. I will admit: I refuse to cut bananas out of my diet (her family was banana-free because they didn't grow them in Kentucky) and I'll still grab oranges out of season (and place, since they don't grow THOSE in Ontario), but I have definitely changed my habits. Next spring I'll be hitting the farmer's markets with more gusto than in the past and I've already begun researching what local farms sell fresh chicken and eggs year-round.
This book will make you look at your own dietary habits, and alter them in some way. She's not looking for everyone to move to the Appalachians, buy a farm and start growing their own food, but to just be more aware of what you eat. Her husband has written sidebars throughout the book that I found very helpful (many of them are hands-on, explaining how you can implement her ideas in the book) and while some other readers have found her daughter Camille's end-of-chapter essays to be a little holier-than-thou, I quite liked her voice, and thought she was a beautiful writer. And she had a few great recipes in there I'll be trying out.
"Animal Vegetable Miracle" made me WANT to eat better, and to choose better foods for my family. Criticisms: That Kingsolver talks about always eating within 100 miles of one's house to reduce your carbon footprint on the earth, and then near the end of the book she and her husband travel thousands of miles to Italy as if an airplane is ecologically sound. And yes, her voice can be slightly preachy at times. I disagree with her idea that eating locally grown and organic food can work on any budget, because I've actually tested it out while reading, and my new choices have increased our grocery bill by about 15%. And that was just on minor produce items, and doesn't bring in the meat or anything else I've yet to try out. But those are small nitpicks in an otherwise great read.
This beautifully written book is a game-changer for the way my husband and I will buy and think about food. Although we are fairly healthy eaters, we have not given enough thought to the origins of our food and how food production affects our world. (We are lucky enough to have a year-round farmers' market right down the street, and, sadly, we have not made the commitment to shop there every week until now.) Many thanks to Ms. Kingsolver and her wonderful family.
I have mixed feelings about this book. In some ways its too preachy, guilt-inducing. But mostly, it's fascinating and empowering. It has made me think about ways to improve our eating habits to support locally grown food and it has increased my desire to grow my own food as much as possible. I find it a challenge to follow her advice at this stage of our lives when we are students, but I hope to make changes to our habits (based on her advice) when we're settled and have an income.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
I really enjoyed reading this book. And now I'd like to raise my own turkeys! We're losing the connection with our food, where it comes from and how to grow it.