Summer reading

The summer is almost over and shamefully I've only read two books. What am I talking about? I am rejoicing that I got in two books with all the kid chasing that has been going on around here! We have been busy so I feel luck y to have been able to have read at all :)

Never in my life did I imagine myself being enthralled by a book about local farming in America. The book is called, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. written by Barbara Kingslover. The author wrote about the experience her family had experimenting with local food. They resolved to eat only locally grown goods and consume them in their season. They did not eat bananas for an entire year, nor did they buy California strawberries or meats shipped from across the country. They grew most of their own vegetables and raised chickens and turkeys for their eggs and meat. They relied upon farmers markets and local cheese makers. The only things they bought from the grocery store was some local milk products and organic flour. It was not small experiment.

This book gives us a glimpse into a simpler life. A once self proclaimed feminist admits that it is time to return to the kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of the home and eating whole ingredients yield whole families and individuals. She shares heart warming stories about her kids and husband and their many adventures that makes this book fun to read and very informative at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of non-fiction and highly recommend it. It has inspired me to eat more locally grown foods because, well, it is just better for everyone. Read it!

The other book I read was a novel called, The Time Traveler's Wife written by Audrey Niffenegger . I don't have as much to say about this one. The love story was strong as were the characters but you really had to pay attention to keep up with everything that was going on. It is a bit of Science fiction. The book felt so real that I almost forgot that people who travel through time do not exist. It is also a great love story. The love Clare and Henry feel for one another is like the love I feel for my Matthew: hot and eternal. It is a great reminder that anything can be endured with love and sex. (FYI there is a lot of sex)