Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

On the one hand, Barbara Kingsolver is a delicious writer who chronicles well the tale of her family's year of eating mostly home-grown food. On the other hand, this book suffers prodigiously in comparison with The Omnivore's Dilemma, which covers much of the same ground without sounding preachy or elitist. Despite Kingsolver's repeated reminders that she wasn't being preachy or elitist, she was. I'd have a helluva lot easier time eating locally if I could hire a caterer for a family party or calculate food costs without counting labor costs (or time).

River of Doubt by Candace Millard

I can't remember the last time a non-fiction book gave me so many nightmares; let's just say I won't be canoing down the Amazon any time soon. This well-told tale of Theodore Roosevelt's near-death while exploring an unknown tributary of the Amazon is worth reading.

The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto

I've wanted to read this forever but was always put off by the price tag--imagine my surprise when I found it at a library sale. Anyway, it was terribly disappointing. I didn't trust his credentials to address the topic and the text seemed to meander.

Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway by Dave Barry

Gotta love Dave Barry. I always have to go find my husband and read big sections out loud to him.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this lovely and magnetic book.

On the Wealth of Nations by P. J. O'Rourke

This was such a disappointment. It was like O'Rourke forgot to be funny.

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

This was the lamest, cheesiest, most emotionally manipulative book I have ever read.

Sex God by Rob Bell

I've been listening to (and enjoying immensely) some of Bell's sermon podcasts, but this book didn't do much for me. It bordered on the incoherent--some interesting ideas that just didn't feel fleshed out.

The Writings of Camilla Eyring Kimball

This was an enjoyable read; charming for its datedness but nonetheless hinting at the intellectual life of what might be the most interesting prophet's wife.

Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner

A good memoir about a woman's conversion from orthodox Judaism to Christianity. And we can play six degrees of separation: I learned about this author from Susan Wise Bauer's blog (they're friends) and the author mentions her friendship with Jana Reiss in the book.

Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner

This was pretty good; not life changing but a nice read.

Note

I haven't been reading or posting must since we are in the middle of moving, but wanted to do a quick update today so I can box up these books.

Sisters and Little Saints by Carol C. Madsen

This was OK; it is important as a history of the Primary but seemed to suffer from authors who forced themselves to sound correlated when they didn't really want to. And it was a little dry.

Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir

This was pretty good.

Adventure Capitalist by Jim Rogers

The travelogue parts of this book where quite interesting; the parts where he thinks he understands how the world works just because he got lucky in the stock market once were much less.

Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky

This didn't do much for me. About a decade ago, I read Patenting the Sun, which was a much better history of the polio vaccine.

From Mafia to Mormon by Mario Facione

This was a light, enjoyable read.

Naked Economics by Charles Wheelen

I loved this book. I can't say that much of it was new to me, but it was presented well with interesting data. Highly recommended.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

What if you tried to protect your wife and ended up destroying your family? In this finely-crafted novel, Edwards creates compelling characters and avoids a morality play while teasing out the long-term complications of a well-motivated lie.

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

Easily one of the best books that I have ever read, this engaging story of those who survived the Dust Bowl deserves a wide audience.