Dinner and a Movie

A few weeks ago, Bruce and I had a Saturday night with dinner and a movie here at home.  We watched "This Is Forty".  I would have posted this blog about it sooner but I kept forgetting the name of the  movie.  It was funny.  The story is about a very dysfunctional family in which the parents are turning 40.  They don't solve anything by the end of the movie.  I didn't get the point but I did laugh a lot.  So maybe that was the point.

Book For The Week: 1/28/13: The Camel Club by David Baldacci

The Camel Club

by 

David Baldacci

On my way home from work this pm,  I finished listening to The Camel Club by David Baldacci.   It is a series that was recommended to me by a contact of a contact of mine on a social media site who insisted that if I listened to the first book of this series that I would be hooked.  I did enjoy the book very much and will indeed listen to or read the other titles in the series.  Between the move to SW Ohio and the job change and not commuting as many days to work,  it has taken me a long time to get through this book.  But not because it was not good.  I did have a little trouble in the beginning of the story keeping the cast of characters straight.  It seemed a little complicated to follow on audio but by the end of the novel I had figured out who was who.  I never thought I would be a fan of political thrillers but this one was fun.  The Camel Club is a group of four older men who are drop outs from society.  They are into conspiracy theories and one of them spends most of his time in a tent across the street from the white house.  They accidentally witness a murder that throws them into the middle of a very important series of events.  The book is extremely exciting in some parts but also amusing throughout due to the oddities of the members of The Camel Club.   I highly recommend it for fun escape reading.  Be sure to click on the title and the author's name above to follow the links for more information.  And enjoy the video that follows:

Book For The Week: 01/25/2014: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man

by 

Ralph Ellison

One reason I like to attend a reading group setting is that it means that I read material that I would never otherwise be exposed to.  Early in February,  when the reading group from Wilmington Library meets,  they will be discussing Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.  This is indeed a book I never would have selected on my own.  Nevertheless it is a great choice for African American History month.  The book is not only about a black man's experience and is written by a black man,  but it also is a classic from the 20th Century.  The setting is in the United States in the 1940s.  It starts out in the south but then moves to New York City.  The book is full of symbols and imagery and I am eager to hear the library reading group's ideas on what the story meant.  There clearly are many levels of understanding to this book.  The Invisible Man himself narrates the story and I don't think his name is ever mentioned.  He has many instances in the book where he is taken advantage of in different ways.  He is a very bright young man who is very naive through most of the book.  The ending of the story he shares his interpretation of his experiences in his life up to that point and just the epilogue could be a entire semester course.  I had never heard of this book or author.  I know there was a lot more depth of understanding to be gained from the book than what I obtained from it.  Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links for more information.  And enjoy the two videos that follow.

Documentary Review - 1/23/14

The TV set up since the move is something I have not mastered.  We have satellite here and a DVR.  Never having been a big TV person,  I didn't even learn how to record with a VCR, and now technology has left me in the dust.  One of my Christmas presents was NetFlix.   I wanted it to watch the documentaries.  But I do not know how to get into the thing!   We watched Food, Inc together one pm, which I had seen a couple of times before  and wanted Bruce to see it,  but there are many documentaries on Netflix that I have not seen and want to watch.  Finally last night I pulled NetFlix up on my computer and watched one of the documentaries that I have been meaning to watch for a long time.  "Forks Over Knives"  explains the health benefits of a plant based diet.  I have toyed with eating less meat for almost ten years.  I eat less of it some times and more other times,  but I have never given it up completely.  I was down to one meal with meat a week for a while.  Now I eat meat more frequently but I have it as a side dish with the veggies as the main course.  Also I have never given up eggs or dairy.   "Forks Over Knives"  presents a lot of data of why some experts encourage people to eat a plant based diet.  I was very aware of the cardiovascular issues but only vaguely aware of the cancer connection to consuming animal protein.  "Forks Over Knives"  presents a lot of information and is well worth the watch.  A trailer for the documentary follows.

Periodically I post the following video because I like how it explains so many of the issues that surround the choice of eating less meat.  In addition to the personal health benefits there are real benefits to the planet.  The environment is one of the issues that is high on my list of importance and  I like how this video makes the "connection".








I doubt that I will be able to give up my chicken, turkey and fish ( or eggs or dairy) completely  but I will continue to try to keep my consumption of animal protein to a minimum.  I will also try to keep the beef and pork to a monthly treat.

Book For The Week 1/5/2014: Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris

Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls

by

David Sedaris

Barring a weather related cancellation,  this week will be the first library reading group for me since my move to Ohio.  I read their selections the last two months but did not get moved in time to attend their meeting so  I continued to enjoy the library reading group in Columbia City.   In order to get the selection finished for the group down here I felt I rushed the book a bit.  The name of the Wilmington library's  selection for January is Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris.  It is a collection of humorous essays and no where in the book is the word "diabetes".  I thought maybe I had missed it so I did a search using my kindle app and the word diabetes is not in the book.  There is one chapter that mentions owls extensively.   Most of the essays were about David Sedaris' personal life experiences.  Several chapters involved his growing up years as a youngster in the 1960s and several chapters involved his travels.  I chuckled some through out the book but the chapter on his trip to China made me laugh out loud.   A few of the essays in the book were in different voices with points of view that differ from the author's.  I found the  change of voices confusing because I was well into the chapter before I figured out it was a different person and the gender and age of the voice were not made clear.  David Sedaris is gay and one of the essays is about a man that goes berserk over New York passing a law allowing same sex marriage.   I also laughed over that chapter.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is not too conservative and would like to get lost in some humor for awhile.  It is not my genre but the beauty of library reading groups is being exposed to books you never would have picked on your own.  Please click on the title and author's name above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the video that follows.

Book For The Week 1/1/2014: The Astonishing Life Of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson

The Astonishing Life Of

Octavian Nothing

by

M.T. Anderson

Although this book is listed under the Young Adult section, it is far from an easy read.   Reading it on my kindle fire, each page contained more than one word that I had to tap my finger on to have the definition pop up.  It is written in the style of English spoken in the late 1700s in New England to be true to the time period the story takes place in.  The subject matter is also very complicated.  It exposes the American Revolution as being all about freedom for white males only.  And also the question of the ethics of science is raised.  Finally,  the issue of race is painfully evident in the pages of this novel.   Nevertheless,  this book should be required reading for everyone 17 and older.  I can't say I liked the book.   But I am glad to have read it and it is a story that will stay with me for a vary long time.  Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links and learn more.  And enjoy the video that follows.

My Top Ten Favorite Books I Read In 2013

• 10.  Catherine The Great by Robert Massie 
•   9.  Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
•   8.  Maloka'i by Alan Brennart
•   7.  The Far Pavillions by M.M. Kaye
•   6.  Team Of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
•   5.  The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
•   4.  The Dove Keepers by Alice Hoffman
•   3.  Fall Of Giants by Ken Follett
•   2.  The Cousins War by Philippa Gregory (books  1-5)
•   1.  Follow The River by James Alexander Thom

note - I re-read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver this year but since it was listed in my top ten for 2012 I did not put it in this list.  It remains a favorite.