Bulging Bookshelves
you are what you read
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Micro by Michael Crichton
If it wasn't for the occasional bad language this mystery/thriller could have been a science textbook for my youngest child. Combining fascinating information about the microscopic world of the Hawaiian rain forest, with fast paced drama and suspense, my son would have loved it. In fact, at the same time I was reading "Micro", he was reading "Gulliver's Travels" and enjoying it. "Micro" is the story of technology gone wrong. A robotics company discovers it can shrink people and objects down to microscopic size. Research can then be done to discover beneficial bacteria and other micro-organisms that could have an enormous impact on society and medicine. However, the possible financial gains bring out the worse in the developers. Money breeds greed and a group of graduate students learn the hard way that you don't want to get in the way of people with their eye on the treasure pot. This was a hard to put down book that I recommend with a warning about the odd bit of language and some violence.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Devil in the Milk by Keith Woodford
I took this book out of the library two times. The first time the title intrigued me, but I decided not to take on this health issue. It's bad enough to have to worry about raw milk vs pasturized milk. But A1 v A2 milk? Not going there. For 6 months or so anyways.
Monday, March 26, 2012
The Lady in the Attic by Tara Randel
A few weeks ago I was going through some painful times and needed a mindless read. Nothing to stretch the mind; nothing to make me think. "The Lady in the Attic" fit the bill perfectly. The old Victorian style house on the front brought back memories of all the gothic romances I read as a teenager. This mystery is set in Maine and the characters are simple and small-town, easy to get along with. The best thing - a knitting/needlework theme! Yes, the main character is a crocheter, with a famous needleworker grandmother who has left all her worldly goods to her granddaughter. Annie travels from Texas to Maine to deal with the estate. To pass some time while there she joins the local stitch group only to discover that there are underlying tensions among the women. In the house she has inherited Annie finds a hither-to unknown stitchery done by her grandmother of a mystery woman. When she reveals the piece to the women in the group, the tensions come to a head. The search is on to discover who the woman is and why it has been hidden. There are clues in the stitchery and Annie resolves to find out what they mean. Along the way she makes friends and uncovers old relationships of her grandmother. Admittedly I figured out the solution part way through the book. However, the plot was fun enough to keep on reading. How Annie solves her dilemmas of a jealous daughter, a resentful new acquaintance and a grieving heart carried me to the end. This is the first book of a series, so when another trying time comes along for me I will search out the sequels.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Noro by Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton
Monday, February 27, 2012
Folks, this ain't normal by Joel Salatin
Reading Joel Salatin books is like eating popcorn - you just can't stop once you start. Fortunately he has a quite a few out there, so it's possible to keep right on turning pages.
Monday, February 20, 2012
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Hurray! I've found a new series. For a linear thinker like myself there's nothing better than starting at book one and going through a series book by book. The Maze Runner was published in 2009, so it's been around for a while, but hasn't crossed my path before now. If you like The Hunger Games series, you'll probably like this as well. A young man finds himself transported to an unknown place, with all his memories erased. A group of young people already there are struggling to survive in a maze-like landscape that changes every day and is occupied by horrific creatures with poisonous spines.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Daniel Fast by Susan Gregory
The book is very well laid out. The first few chapters deal with the whole idea of fasting – what it is and isn’t. She talks about why and how to fast in the Daniel manner. A whole chapter is devoted to the background of Daniel and his experience in Babylon. Chapter four focuses on the spiritual aspects of the fast. Chapter five helps you plan and prepare. The rest of the book covers the foods you can and can’t eat, recipes, a 21 day menu plan and 21 day devotional. All in all, everything you need to pull off the fast.
In case the book itself isn't enough, there is also a website with further information and support, a blog, and other resources. I ended up ordering the digital devotional/journal for a nominal price.
In order to fully give an opinion of the Daniel Fast I decided to give it a 10 day try. Here are my observations:
1. I found the devotional and journaling to be most valuable “take away” of the fast.
2. I struggled with Gregory’s assertations that this was such a healthy diet. Coming from a paleo perspective, statements saying that a vegan diet is most healthy go against what I believe.
3. Through the online experience I seemed to see a big emphasis on making good tasting food. To me, this takes away from the point of the fast, which is to be making a sacrifice. To Susan’s credit I did read something of hers that clarified that an emphasis on food was to be avoided.
4. All processed food was to be cut out. Tofu was allowed. I couldn’t see the rationale with that.
5. It was hard to maintain the vegetables only diet while continuing to feed a family. I couldn’t expect them to eat what I wanted to.
6. Almost the first day of the fast I was confronted with communion. The bread and the juice were not on the accepted list. However, I decided that God would not look unfavourably on me for taking communion and went ahead with it.
7. There seemed to be a following that was especially interested in the weight loss factor of the diet. Again, I think that this distracts from the spiritual connection you are hoping to make. (did I lose weight you ask? I refused to check 'cause this wasn't my point)
Bottom line? If you are interested in exploring the spiritual disciplines this might be a good place to start. There is lots of support and the book makes easy reading and is a great guideline to follow. No matter how long you choose to “fast” you will probably end up taking some forward steps in your spiritual life.
I was given this book to review for Tyndale House Publishers.