Oct
12

24 Hour Read-A-Thon: Eid Al Adha Edition

By Carina Posted in events | 18 Comments »

From 4pm this afternoon until 4pm tomorrow afternoon, I’m joining in on the 24 Hour Read-A-Thon! It’s sort of a reading challenge, only everyone participates at the same time. For 24 hours, we read books, post in our blogs about our reading, and visit other readers’ blogs. We also participate in mini-challenges throughout the day.

This is my seventh time participating in the read-a-thon. This time, I’m only reading, no cheerleading or mini-challenge hosting. Normally, I would be at work tomorrow, but I have the day off tomorrow as we have this week off for Eid break! I’ll be doing some prep work around the house during the readathon as I’m leaving for Sri Lanka tomorrow evening, but other than that, I’m pretty much just reading away.

Here’s some of what I’m hoping to get around to (at least partly) in the next 24 hours:

  • Cooked by Michael Pollan
  • Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer
  • A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
  • Homeward Bound by Emily Matchar

Updates

Hour 1: 4-5pm

I’m starting off the readathon listening to Shattered Dreams and getting some housework done. Putting new sheets on the bed and starting laundry are the calls of the moment!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? - I’m reading from Abu Dhabi today!
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? - I’ve been looking forward to reading Homeward Bound for quite a while, and finally picked it up for my ereader a couple weeks ago in preparation for today.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? - I haven’t picked up anything specific yet, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got ingredients in the fridge to make Pina Colada Chicken either for dinner tonight or lunch tomorrow, which should be tasty.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! - Not really much to tell that you can’t find on the blog already. I’m an English teacher over here in the UAE at the moment, and I’ve been blogging for about almost 4 years now.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? - I’m just going to focus more on reading and less on other things. Need to get my groove on!

Hour 2: 5-6pm

I’m continuing to listen to Shattered Dreams for this hour. Making it through the mid-afternoon energy slump! Also, I participated in the mini-challenge.

Hour 3: 6-7pm

Strategic early nap. (Yes, yes … I know.)

Hour 4: 7-8pm

Working on reading Cooked on my ereader. Why is it that it always feels slower reading on my Kobo than reading a paper book? Anybody else feel that your reading speed decreases when you’re looking at a screen?

Hour 5: 8-9pm

Went out to get some quick dinner and buy snacks for later in the evening, all while listening to Shattered Dreams.

Hour 6: 9-10pm

Continued reading Cooked.

Hour 7: 10-11pm

Continued reading Cooked.

Hour 8: 11pm-12am

Continued reading Cooked. Had a bit of a snack – seashell chocolates!

Hour 9: 12-1am

Continued reading Cooked.

Hour 10: 1-2am

Continued reading Cooked for half an hour. Now I’m heading off to sleep for a few hours – I’m travelling tomorrow evening so I can’t afford to go completely without sleep tonight. I’ll be back in the morning (my time) … probably about 5-6 hours or so.

Hours 11-17: 2-9am

Sleep. Glorious sleep.

Hour 18: 9-10am

Picking up where I left off – plowing through Cooked. My goal is to finish it before I head out to pick up some breakfast. (I may have had leftover apple crisp planned … and then ate it yesterday afternoon and have none leftover. *blush*)

Hour 19: 10-11am

Continued reading Cooked.

Hour 20: 11am-12pm

Heading out to drop off my foster cats to another person to watch while I’m away on vacation. I’ll be listening to Shattered Dreams while I go there and back, and probably pick up some breakfast on the way.

Hour 21: 12-1pm

Continued listening to Shattered Dreams while dropping off the kitties and visiting the currency exchange.

Hour 22: 1-2pm

Listening to Shattered Dreams while I try to arrange for transportation to the airport (or cheaper parking near it) for later today, and while I start working on putting away laundry and packing a bag for the trip.

Hour 23: 2-3pm

Continued reading Cooked. And finished it – huzzah!

Hour 24: 3-4pm

Started reading Homeward Bound. And had a lovely shower. And now for the exit poll!

  1. Which hour was most daunting for you? – To be honest, for me it was the hours in the afternoon when I would normally take a nap. I meant to have one before the readathon started, but then I got distracted and didn’t … that was a mistake, started me off on poor footing.
  2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? - Nothing that I read this year, to be honest. I was working more on a “this is what I was planning to read anyways” basis than on a “what can I read easily?” basis.
  3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? - Nope. Lovely as usual.
  4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? - The cheerleaders, as usual, were great. Loved having the pick-me-up in the wee hours.
  5. How many books did you read? - I finished one that I had started before, got about halfway through an audiobook, and have started a third. Not exactly a record for me, but still good considering how little I’d read for the past month.
  6. What were the names of the books you read? - Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist’s Wife, and Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity.
  7. Which book did you enjoy most? - I spent most of my time reading Cooked, but I think I would’ve enjoyed reading much more of Homeward Bound if I’d started with it instead.
  8. Which did you enjoy least? - So far, I’m probably enjoying Shattered Dreams the least. I kind of want to throw the narrator through a window for being a moron.
  9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? - Just keep up what you’re doing. :-)
  10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? - Absolutely. Probably still just as a reader … I really need to pick myself up from my bootstraps and get back into the habit properly.

Hope you all had a great readathon! Thanks to the cheerleaders for keeping me focused!

Oct
07

American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot (Review)

By Carina Posted in reviews | No Comments »


Title: American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot

Author/Narrator: Craig Ferguson

Publication Year: 2009

Pages: 288 (audio length: 7 hours 24 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson delivers a moving and achingly funny memoir of living the American dream as he journeys from the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland, to the comedic promised land of Hollywood. Along the way he stumbles through several attempts to make his mark — as a punk rock musician, a construction worker, a bouncer, and, tragically, a modern dancer.

To numb the pain of failure, Ferguson found comfort in drugs and alcohol, addictions that eventually led to an aborted suicide attempt. (He forgot to do it when someone offered him a glass of sherry.) But his story has a happy ending: in 1993, the washed-up Ferguson washed up in the United States. Finally sober, Ferguson landed a breakthrough part on the hit sitcom The Drew Carey Show, a success that eventually led to his role as the host of CBS’s The Late Late Show. By far Ferguson’s greatest triumph was his decision to become a U.S. citizen, a milestone he achieved in early 2008, just before his command performance for the president at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson talks a red, white, and blue streak about everything our Founding Fathers feared.

As far as celebrity memoirs goes, this one isn’t bad. Ferguson’s definitely led an interesting life, at least as far as addiction is concerned. That was really the most interesting part of the book, for me. Ferguson did a terrific job of describing, in harrowing detail, the kinds of things that alcohol and drugs led him to do early in his life, both in Scotland and after moving to the United States. He does this while telling the story of how he came to be on television and, most importantly in his opinion, an American citizen.

If you’re not really all that interested in Ferguson, though, I’d honestly tell you to just skip the memoir. It’s an interesting enough read, and even made me laugh at times, but American on Purpose is not really all that spectacular. It’s just fine, something which isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of something you’re going to spend hours on.

Rating:

Oct
04

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal (Review)

By Carina Posted in reviews | 2 Comments »


Title: Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

Author: Mary Roach

Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller

Publication Year: 2013

Pages: 352 (audio length: 8 hours 21 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Narrative Non-Fiction

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: The questions explored in Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis?

In Gulp we meet scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks of – or has the courage to ask. We go on location to a pet-food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal. With Roach as our guide, we travel the world, meeting murderers and mad scientists, Eskimos and exorcists (who have occasionally administered holy water rectally), rabbis and terrorists – who, it turns out, for practical reasons do not conceal bombs in their digestive tracts. Like all of Roach’s books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies.

Gulp is a somewhat irreverent look at wonderful world of science related to food and digestion. In it, Roach looks at a lot of different experiments, research, jobs, and questions that we may or may not think of on our own. Some of them are quite mundane, but some – like the rectal holy water – are really quite out there. And in this book, Roach approaches these topics with the same kind of wry humour that I’ve always enjoyed in her work.

Having said that, I have to admit that I didn’t find this book quite as appealing as Stiff or Bonk. I thought that, since the subject of food interests me, I might find Gulp to be more interesting … but alas, that was not the case. I don’t think it’s because Roach did any less of a great job with Gulp than with her previous books. Rather, I think that the science of digestion is merely not as interesting to me. And that’s not to say that Gulp wasn’t interesting – it was – but simply that it didn’t compare on the same level.

Definitely give Gulp a go if you’re interested in digestion and current science. It won’t be a disappointment.

Rating:

Oct
02

Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals (Review)

By Carina Posted in reviews | No Comments »


Title: Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals

Author: Hal Herzog

Narrator: Mel Foster

Publication Year: 2010

Pages: 368 (audio length: 11 hours 54 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Narrative Non-Fiction

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

Does living with a pet really make people happier and healthier? What can we learn from biomedical research with mice? Who enjoys a better quality of life – the chicken on a dinner plate or a rooster who dies in a Saturday night cockfight? Why is it wrong to eat the family dog? Drawing on over two decades of research in the emerging field of anthrozoology – the science of human-animal relations – Hal Herzog offers surprising answers to these and other questions related to the moral conundrums we face day in and day out regarding the creatures with whom we share our world. Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat is a highly entertaining and illuminating journey through the full spectrum of human-animal relations, based on Herzog’s groundbreaking research on animal rights activists, cockfighters, professional dog show handlers, veterinary students, and biomedical researchers. Blending anthropology, history, brain science, behavioral economics, evolutionary psychology, and philosophy, Herzog carefully crafts a seamless narrative enriched with real-life anecdotes, scientific research, and his own sense of moral ambivalence.

Alternately poignant, challenging, and laugh-out-loud funny, Herzog’s enlightening and provocative book will forever change the way we look at our relationships with other creatures and, ultimately, how we see ourselves.

One of the things that I’ve found challenging as I’ve started to travel around the world more, and to eat the food of other cultures, is that the animals we consider “food” or “pets” do not always fit in the same categories for other people. I always knew this intellectually, but there’s something about going to a market and finding rabbit for sale, seeing a camel burger on a menu, or living in a country where dogs are simply not considered worthy of being pets to make you realize that it’s more than just theory.

Herzog does a great job in this book of exploring the different types of animals we associate with different things, and why. One passage that I found particularly interesting was when he explained the similarities between baby animals and baby humans, and why our reactions to them are similar. It was also interesting to listen to him explain why we have such an aversion to eating certain kinds of animals that are considered food sources in other countries.

I would’ve liked him to have branched out into discussion of some more exotic animals and food practices, but I suppose the main focus of Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat was the North American / Western way of things. Other than that, I really have no complaints about the book. It was entertaining and informative all at once.

Rating:

Sep
30

It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways (Review)

By Carina Posted in reviews | 2 Comments »


Title: It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways

Authors: Melissa and Dallas Hartwig

Publication Year: 2012

Pages: 328

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Purchased the e-book from Kobo Books

From the cover:

It Starts With Food outlines a clear, balanced, sustainable plan to change the way you eat forever – and transform your life in unexpected ways. Your success story begins with “The Whole30,” Dallas and Melissa Hartwig’s powerful 30-day nutritional reset.

Since 2009, their underground Whole30 program has quietly led tens of thousands of people to weight loss, improved quality of life and a healthier relationship with food – accompanied by stunning improvements in sleep, energy levels, mood and self-esteem. More significantly, many people have reported the “magical” elimination of a variety of symptoms, diseases and conditions – in just 30 days.

Now, Dallas and Melissa detail the theories behind the Whole30, summarizing the science in a simple, accessible manner. It Starts With Food shows you how certain foods may be having negative effects on how you look, feel and live – in ways that you’d never associate with your diet. More importantly, they outline their life-long strategy for Eating Good Food in a clear and detailed action plan designed to help you create a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food.

Infused with their signature wit, tough love and common sense, It Starts With Food is based on the latest scientific research and real-life experience, and includes success stories, a shopping guide, a meal planning template, a meal plan with creative, delicious recipes, an extensive list of resources, and much more.

This book may or may not be your cup of tea, to be honest.

It Starts With Food can be seen in some circles as “one of those fad diet books”. It’s associated with an online program of a sort called the Whole30 as well as the Paleo diet. But it’s a bit more of an in-depth look at things than just saying “it’s about a 30 day diet program and eating like cavemen”.

This book explains why so many people choose to eat this way, and how it can benefit you and your body. You may or may not agree with the principles behind it, but if you are looking for an explanation of why people do it, you could do worse than to read It Starts With Food.

Personally, I found the writing engaging and accessible to people with little-to-no scientific background. I was able to follow the descriptions and explanations that the Hartwigs gave in each section, often before even getting to the analogy where they simplified what they had already been saying. Whether or not everything they say can be backed up by pure science is not really the purview of what I do here on this blog, so I won’t go there. But what I will say is that, at the very least, what they said made a certain kind of sense, enough for me to use it as the basis for how I eat going forward.

If you’re interested in any of these things, go ahead and read It Starts With Food. You could do worse than eating more whole, healthy, unprocessed foods … which is basically what the book advocates in a nutshell.

Rating:

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