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Food Rules
by Michael Pollan
Of course Pollan is always full of information about health. He is a very thorough journalist and in this very small book, he highlights the most important food and eating facts in simple one line sentences then elaborates on a simple one page. My favorite quote, "The banquet is in the first bite. No other bite will taste as good as the first and every subsequent bite will progressively diminish in satisfaction." Basically we try to eat too much in an attempt to be satisfied and we never will.
Songs Of A Humpback Whale
by Jodi Picoult
If you are in your twenties I am sure this author's books would be quiet provocative. But I am not. I look for something more sophisticated. These were elementary and inappropriate relationships and stories of several protagonist. Although with the jumping back and forth I was able to keep track of the entire story, she is a significantly well written author, I was more than a little bored and insulted by the story lines.
How Doctor's Think
by Jerome Groopman
If one thinks about health care and medicine as well as the way doctors treat us as patients it should be quite logical and not necessary to read this book. But, and I say "But," doctors treat us quite differently than that which is logical and pragmatic. Mainly because we still think of them, our doctors as being g-d like and we do not bother to think realistically or logically for ourselves.
Read the book and take better care of yourself. Do not wait to have some one to "try" to fix you because you will not be fixed! You will instead go through a maze of drama and trauma. This is that facts. They are the words out the mouth of a doctor! - not me.
Animals In Translation
by Temple Grandin
Amazing, even more so to read it for the second time. This book is full of scientifically researched and backed information and studies about pets and animals. The author highlights the importance of care and training of animals on a level of complete truth in sound research. Being autistic herself, this genius in her own right, can understand animals at a deep level animals. Of how animals think and behave and the author transcribes this level of understanding into words we understand. At least most of us understand because some of us see in pictures as Grandin does and animals seem to. Her commitment is to assist humans in understanding animals and to care for them with humanity, respect and correct attention.
The Horse Boy
by Rupert Isaacson
Favorite quote when his son told him he loved him on his own; "rare like a jewel." The extreme difficulties of a family's quest to the realization of the gift a child gives with autism. Explores the travels to Mongolia for the healing of shamans and 'wild' horses. Too drawn out for me, but I loved the sensitivity of the father, author as he shares his daily journey.
Stone Cold
by David Baldacci
Always entertaining in the thriller escapades of the Camel Club which comprises former agents as they conquer the war against the U.S. Very popular author that I have explored because of its fame on the book lists. Simple vocabulary and love story but well written enough for me to keep track of all the characters.
The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger I had a really hard time getting into it, I thought it was silly. I also did not like the idea that this man being older was meeting this young girl in a private meadow and waiting for her to turn 18 to have intimacies. It felt bad and I did not want to read anymore at this point. But it had been promised by the media to be a good story and subsequently had become a best seller, so I plunged on in hopes that I would soon become captivating. As well it certainly did. The back forth time traveler led to thoughts of some interesting concepts of life. What if we already did time traveling and is this what is means to be in sync with certain friends and lovers as well as perhaps because these friends and lovers were from another time of ours? Perhaps our memories were just out of sync or in. Niffenegger certainly is a fine writer; creative, provocative, easy to read and I loved her language of words. Especially the words that came out of the mouth of Henry, the main time traveler. I loved his memories, they were melodies of musical lyrics. Now I shall look forward to enjoying the movie soon.
What Was She Thinking, Notes of a Scandal
by Zoe HellerBla bla bla, it took me two thirds of the book to get into it. It was written in the protagonist's view of her own feelings and that of the younger woman friend's affair with a 15 year old student. The younger woman being about 40 years old and a school teacher with a daughter of 18 years old. I could have done fine with out reading this book, nothing special, but the protagonist's feelings were a little interesting. It did remind me of a movie I think I saw, perhaps it was of this story.
The Lost Symbol
by Dan BrownAs like his other book The Di Vinci Code, it was a captivating thriller with a great deal of educational and thought provoking information about spirituality and religion. An interesting explanation of Noetic science. How thoughts create reality. Wow, what a great reminder, so glad I like to fantasize.
Julie & Julia
by Julie PowellJulie was a fun writer. She has a dry sense of humor and an obsessive passion to her commitments. It is certainly not just a food novel of eating. It is her whole life for a year; her trials and tribulations with her goal to finish cooking and baking all those recipes. I do not know how she did it, but she was never bored. I enjoyed her contagious enthusiasm and appreciated the anxiety she had with her disappointments. It made me feel normal in my complex emotional roller coaster in relating with her, in these complex lives we live.
True Compass
by Edward M. KennedyI really enjoyed this book. It was an interesting history lesson of our country for the last 80 years from a first hand view account of a participate. From his father to this Kennedy, he was deeply involved it an important aspect of our government's history for over 50 of those years. I liked his love stories and his personal revealings, and I believed him. He did not skate over any of his own personal life. In Edward "Ted" Kennedy's personal and professional views of all the presidents in his life time, I felt the same. It was an affirmation for me of my own perspective. What he said about Reagan was the most enlightening and sad. Sad that we in our country keep voting in 'men' who are just pain jokes. Weird, I just misspelled plain by typing palin. I think Kennedy took over my keyboard. There is no wonder why our country has suffered so and it is not to just blame the banks or stock market C.E.O. - it is all of us.
Food, Inc.OMG I am so mad at the way we Americans eat. Although it is not just Americans anymore that eat so poorly. I am so mad at the people who just blindly eat poor quality food and support corporations that do not care about animals or their people.
This well organized explicit educational documentary movie was amazing and rings completely true to fact. Try to contact a major corporation to find their customer service and one will find that they don't listen. So is this a mystery as to how they care. Corporations are not bad entirely, we need to vote with our eating habits and help save this planet and it's people. We need to eat more consciously.
The definition of toleranceˈtäl(ə)rəns|
a noun
• the capacity to endure continued subjection to something, esp. a drug, transplant, antigen, or environmental conditions, without adverse reaction : the desert camel shows the greatest tolerance to dehydration | species were grouped according to pollution tolerance | various species of diatoms display different tolerances to acid.
So lately I have been irritated by other people who were not being tolerate to each other. I think every one should be more amicable and nicer to each other and more so during these days of trauma to our country. But in a period of much sadness yesterday, a wise friend told me that maybe people are just too tired of being tolerant, maybe they are just full up.
That was a very interesting point; I realized that I was not being tolerant to other people who were not being tolerant to me.
- Amazing theory, amazing grace.
I am not sure where he came from, but he will not take a deal. He will not take a gift, he wants better and more with out cost. He phoned a month ago in a rush, told me what he wanted to basically create and asked me to use my expertise in designing it. I was thrilled to design for a nice family of five especially the pantry and make it all efficient for them. Then back and forth; why did I not do this, why is this like this, why does your competetor do it this way for less money. Well there is not a competitor here because we are a custom cabinet shop and the other company is a custom, which module do you want store. Then I pull in my collegues to help me, thinking I am not doing a service here, but there we go around and around again. We all gave him a very good design with great beautiful decorative elements and he really does not want it. I don't know what he wants at this point. I know when I traveled the middle east in Arab counties, these men loved to haggle, I did not like to. I am a designer for excellence not for bidding. Well, yes he is of the handsome Arab background but he cannot finalize his little bidding engagement. So it has become a l0ose l0ose scenario and he did not even allow me to be generous upon commitment or completion. He was worried about his clothing falling over to the sides and I wanted to surprise him as a gift of these small lucite stands that hold sweaters in place. Now I am super behind in my work and I won't have time to be generous to or for him. Oh well, life must go on and I wish to be of service with my other delightful and appreciative clients.
It Happens Every Day
by Isabel GilliesTrue story of her side of their divorce. Isabel Gillies is the beautiful actress that plays the wife of the star detective on Law & Order: S.V.U. I have always liked her, she stood out as a delightful delicate but strong rose on the t.v. show. I was happy to see her on the program again getting back with her husband after a time off. In her book I can hear between the lines and I can sense both sides of the abuse and a basically mediocre life together. Then they just 'fall' apart. I really became mad at the husband for is blatant laziness from keeping his word to his wife and family and she accepting his b.s. excuses and deceit. I think the book and typical story highlights exactly how our modern day society is so flaky that we disregard our ethics and commitments so easily. She was busy being a mother and working as a teacher, but all he did was teach and f... around, then he, yes he, broke the entire family apart as well as the parents of both his and hers. I cannot believe how this other woman can disregard all those concerns just for her own favor.
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
by Rebecca MillerCute and well written story of this woman's life. She marries an older man and moves into a retirement village referred to as - wrinkle city. She reflects on her childhood as she shares her feelings about what she went through as she goes through the current changes of her life. Very enjoyable book.
My favorite quote: "Courtship is romantic, marriage is an act of will."
Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities
by Elizabeth Edwards
In her book, Elizabeth Edwards so eloquently and gracefully shares her life with the reader. There is of course an emphasis on her personal trials; the loss of her son, her cancers and her husband's infidelity. But now I can understand why she had a stalker-fan that idolized her so. She is real woman, she is authentic, wise, sensitive, caring, honest, obviously well educated and quite literate. I loved this book for her expressive telling of a path she had to walk. It was from a happy and full life to a depressive paralysis she had to endure. She touched me deeply. She triumphed, even as she learns to let go of her life any time sooner or not so soon. She is my inspiration. My favorite quote in which she shares her thoughts after some one asks her if is she getting over the loss of her son; If I had lost a leg, would anyone ask me, have I have gotten over the loss of my leg? No, they would ask me if I am adjusting to the loss of my leg. One learns to adjust to life, no one gets over the loss of her child.
Half Broken Horses
by Jeannette WallsI loved this book; it is a beautiful story based on the real life of a woman around the beginning the twentieth century. It highlighted her strengths and her perseverance in very tough times for a woman. She was strong, outrageous and always spoke up for herself. She was born believing that she was equal to men and made it known. The book also shared with us a history and documentary of those times. It flowed easily, it was provocatively written and was a captivating story of life and family.
The Help
by Kathryn Stockett
I loved this story and was sorry that it ended. I did not want to leave the relationships I had developed with these interesting characters between the covers of this book. So well written, creatively visual and lovely. I cannot believe this "Help" - black maids of the 60's South was that long ago to have had us treat them like slaves of the earlier south. The authors observations and articulate words are beautifully expressed like soft and flowing honey. It is also like an exquisitely written historical documentary. Read: The Help.
My ARt I created on the website: http://www.jacksonpollock.org
Reflecting on a challenging few months of work. I have no idea what some people think when they play games and want me to be honest. My intentions is to help them create better spaces for their home. I am truthful, creative, innovative and very good, what more do they want. Delusional, that is what they are.
