Title: The Compassionate Carnivore
Author: Catherine Friend
Genre: non-fiction, food issues, animals

Factory farming first hit home to me in March 2008. My husband and I were driving home on the interstate from Gainesville, Florida, when a semi passed by me. This semi was full of live chickens crammed together throughout the bed of the truck. I remember it was cold out and that there were lots of feathers floating through the air. My husband and I looked at each other, horrified, decided we were not going to have chicken for dinner that night, and my research into American food issues began....

Catherine Friend runs a small farm with her partner in the rolling hills of Minnesota. Although Catherine is a carnivore over the last few years she has worried how her meat consumption affects the planet and the lives of animals destined for the slaughterhouse. In a non-preachy tone, Catherine walks the reader through the increased meat consumption in the US, the rise of industrialization after WWII, the increase of corporations buying out farms, the decrease in small, local, family farms and step by step through the slaughtering process (not an easy section to read). If you want to continue eating meat while supporting your local farmers, Catherine Friend walks you through a list of questions to ask the farmer and butcher. She also advocates buying from small, conventional farmers: they need the money, they will be willing to try organic, grass-fed methods if the customers request it and have established relationships with the farmer. Friend also explains why organic, grass-fed organic meat is more expensive and encourages the reader to take baby steps in their eating-local strategy; she even admits to "falling off the (meat) wagon" especially when busy or when she has an empty freezer.

I would recommend this to meat eaters that want to be responsible meat buyers and don't want to be preached at while doing research.

Title: Born to Blog: Building Your Blog for Personal and Business Success One Post at a Time

Authors: Mark W. Schaefer and Stanford A. Smith

Genre: non-fiction, technology, blogging

About 3/4 of this book is geared towards the business that wants to expand their customer or networking base through blogging. As a personal blogger, these are the tips I came away with:

• post a link to my blog on my LinkedIn account
• create a tagline for my blog
• figure out how to create an email signup link to my blog
• post my picture on my Blogger profile
• use Google analytics
• create a Facebook page for my blog

Now all I need is the time to do this! (ha, ha) Do you have any blogging tips or ideas you would like to share?

Title: A Feast for Crows
Author: George R.R. Martin
Genre: fantasy, books to TV

The fourth installment in the Song of Fire and Ice saga (aka Game of Thrones) brings us new character POVs plus an in-depth look at the cities of Braavos and Dorne in Martin's complex, yet addictive, writing style. The ironmen have a new king, Arya claims yet another new identity, Sansa embraces the role of Alayne, Sam and Gilly head south, Jaime and Cersei's relationship sours and Cersei rules Westeros through Tommen and continues with her endless scheming. Can't say more without giving away spoilers, you'll just have to read it yourself to get the nitty-gritty details....

Title: Catch-22
Author: Joseph Heller
Genre: classic, war literature, humor

I have a confession to make. I am 33 years old and I have finally read Catch-22.
Why did I wait so long to read it?
Well, I really didn't have an interest until my friend D.C. dared/challenged me to read it and review it on this blog:
"If/when you read Catch-22 pay particular attention to Chapter 10.  Some of the best irony ever written.   I'm reading it again and realize this book contributed a great deal my to cynical attitude. It is complex, confusing, and disorganized for most people used to reading plots.  There isn't one.  Heller's descriptions of the characters and their expressions is top notch.  The whole book is about irony."

Hmm. A book with no plot? I'm a chronological, organized, Type-A personality. How would I enjoy a book with no plot? Well, surprisingly, I did! The book is full of irony as my friend mentioned (just imagine Stephen Colbert writing a book of fiction) and parts of it are hilarious. I received a few sidelong glances from my coworkers in the lunchroom when they heard me giggling and snorting. You will also enjoy this book if you have ever worked for an organization or institution where things didn't make sense. The poor soldiers in this book have to deal with superiors who are nit-wits, unoriginal, and prone to repetition and ridiculousness.

What book do you challenge/dare me to read next?

Title: Sweetgrass
Author: Mary Alice Monroe
Genre: Southern fiction


Mary June Blakely and Preston Blakely have been married for forty-seven years; they have spent their entire marriage at Sweetgrass, the Blakley's ancestral home. Unfortunately, their marriage is tested when Preston succumbs to a stroke and when Preston's greedy, developer-friendly, real estate agent sister pressures the family to sell Sweetgrass. As Preston undergoes therapy at home, the various members of the Blakely family finally come to grips with some personal demons and family secrets that have been buried for decades. Interwoven into the family drama is snippets of Lowcountry history and the sweetgrass basket industry that has sustained the African American community since the early days of slavery.

Title: Pie Town
Author: Lynne Hinton
Genre: Christian/inspirational fiction

This was a cute and quick read that wasn't too sappy or preachy; however, I was shocked to see swear words in a Christian fiction novel. I know some Christian fiction has gotten more edgy in the last few years but this really surprised me...

Pie Town. A homey name for a small town that conjures up pies, home cooking, and love. Unfortunately, Pie Town does not live up to its name or warm and fuzzy connotations. First, there is no pie (the bakery shut down years ago) and, second, the Pie Town residents are not the friendliest of small-town welcoming committees.

Father George Morris was sent to Pie Town by the diocese for his first calling out of seminary. Father George was hoping and praying for a parish in a Third World country. Why? Because he is running from a secret that would threaten his reputation and calling as a priest.

Trina has been wandering since she was a teen. After finding out that her latest, sweet-talking trucker boyfriend was older than expected, plus married with two children, she literally walked out on him and towards Pie Town.

Although the residents of Pie Town may be judgmental to strangers and newcomers, the townsfolk rally around Alex, an 11 year-old  boy with spina bifida. Alex is considered by many to be the heartbeat of the community. Soon after Father George and Trina arrive in town, Alex's condition worsens; Alex's worsening physical condition sharpens his senses about the supernatural world and after a tragedy, with a little help from above, he rallies the town one last time.

Title: Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Life and Times of L.M. Montgomery
Author: Irene Gammel
Genre: non-fiction, biography


I read the Anne of Green Gables series as a preteen and teenager and I always wondered about Lucy Maud Montgomery; imagine my surpise and delight when I stumbled upon her biography in my local library.
In this biography, Irene Gammel recounts how life events and literary magazine subscriptions shaped the plot and structure of Anne of Green Gables...Maud's mother died when she was a toddler and her father left her in the care of her grandparents, the Macneills, who weren't very loving. In the book, Matthew Cuthbert is introspective, kind and gentle; the antithesis to Maud's real-life, grumpy and stern grandfather. Marilla Cuthbert was practical and stern; Grandma Macneill was rude, mean and ungracious. Maud developed a lifelong friendship with her cousin, Frede, which was the basis for the "bosom friends" concept between Anne and Diana. Maud loved to flirt and spar with intelligent males which is reflected in the love/hate relationship between Anne and Gilbert.
Maud suffered from seasonal depression in the winter and loved to garden and commune with nature. Writing the flowing descriptions of Prince Edward Island's flowers and landscapes helped her survive the extra long and harsh winter that took place when Maud was writing her manuscript. Maud felt more spiritual when taking a walk through her beloved fields and woods than in a traditional church service. This marked her as odd amongst her traditional, Presbyterian family members and neighbors.
Maud (and Anne Shirley) were prone to melodrama, and unfortunately, Maud was insecure and later in life suffered an unhappy marriage and an exploitative book publisher.