Non-Fiction

quirkyalone

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Don't Read This, Non-Fiction /

I’m finding it difficult to blog about quirkyalone. It was a weird book. I don’t have any problems with the quirkyalone label. I understand it. I might actually be a quirkyalone together person. In fact I probably am. I also think Michelle is quirkyalone. Jenn and Chris, totally not quirkyalone. But that is neither here, nor there. I’m talking about the book.

I ended up with the book because librarian Katie was talking about it on a message board. Which reminded me that sassymonkey did not like it, (though I think she doth protest too much – she is quirkyalone and I will explain to her later how one can be a quirkyalone together). I figured it was time to check it out and see it for myself. I had to get it through Inter-Library Loan because obviously the Alachua County Library system would not have it. There is nothing quirkyalone about this county. Fake quirky maybe but definitely not real quirky much less quirkyalone. Too many people wearing matching shirts all the time.

I liked bits and pieces of the book but I was mostly just disappointed. I don’t like my books to look like ‘zines, even if the author is a ‘zine writer. I like social network profiles but I don’t want my books to look like someone went to some social networking site (which by the way there should be a quirkyalone social networking site and I should be hired to run its community) and pulled various profiles and just plopped them into the book as content. Profiles aren’t content. They’re good lead ins to content. They’re a good way to tie up content. They’re good filler between content. But full pages of profiles – not content. Boring as all hell.

So where the book wasn’t formatted like a ‘zine, I liked it. I liked the resources in the back, those were nice but nice enough for me to want to buy or even read the book in order to get to them. I can just get those online, ya know? And where it wasn’t just straight profile, I liked it. Which means I didn’t much like the book, it was full of stuff I just didn’t like. I do, however, like quirkyalones.

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So what if I’m not Jewish!

2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Religion /

Is it weird that I was really excited to see The Modern Jewish Mom’s Guide to Shabbat on the BlogHer HarperCollins Virtual Book Tour? Is it even more weird that I was really really excited to find a copy on my doorstep 3 days after I requested a copy? Is it crazy weird that I really enjoyed the book? Nah, you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy the book or to find value in its message.

The first thing I need to say is not positive – I hated the paper the book was printed on. I hated it so much that I had a hard time turning the first few pages. I almost put it down because I really hate that scratchy paper in a book. But I persisted and fought back the shuddering and found ways to balance the book so I only had to touch the paper when I turned a page.

The next thing I need to say is very positive – Meredith Jacobs is very readable. I had only read a few paragraphs and I was smiling. TW was reading over my shoulder and said “She’s very readable, isn’t she?” Why yes, yes she is! And I love that in a self help book.

Now, about the content. I mentioned I’m not Jewish, right? Well it just doesn’t matter. Shabbat is about being together as a family, making that connection sacred. The religion is icing on the cake and I don’t need icing, I need cake. The very real ideas about how to juggle real life issues and still come together for Shabbat can be used by anyone. They’re simple and reassuring.

I found the religious instruction pieces excellent. Very interesting and not, umm, preachy! Heh. I love religious education of all forms but I don’t like religious education that screams at you, makes you feel guilty or attempts to make you feel wrong if you don’t believe exactly what the writer believes. Jacobs doesn’t do any of these bad things. She’s straight-forward and honest and not pushy.

When I requested the book, I thought I’d read it and then run a contest on ClubMom and give it away. I’ve changed my mind! I don’t want to give the book away. I want to keep it. I want to find a spot in the PURPLE section of my bookshelf and let it live there. I want to pull it down and try all of the Challah recipes (I love Challah.) I want to pull it down and hand it to a kid to read bits and pieces of the Torah section. I want to pull it down after a particularly Jewish service at the UU Fellowship and let the kids look through it and choose a recipe or a craft project or an idea to talk about. Nope, I’m not giving this one away. I might, however, buy another one and run a contest anyway.

I think I need to go and buy some fresh yeast. And think about how to incorporate some of these ideas into our lives REGULARLY.

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Made to Stick

2007, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

TW raved and raved about Made to Stick and I still almost didn’t read it. I’m way behind on my TBR stack and I wasn’t looking forward to yet another non-fiction/self-help book. But, I thought it would be quick and easy so I picked it up. It wasn’t as quick as I expected. It started off great, lost steam in the middle and ended strong. Or maybe it was just my life at the time that was influencing my reading? I don’t know. In the end, I was glad I read it. A lot of it seems to be “sticking” with me. Now the question is – can I make these ideas work for me at work (and at home)? We shall see.

What a coincidence, one of our online community favorites, Lee LeFever reviewed the book just as I was losing steam with it. His review encouraged me to pick it back up and finish it.

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The Broke Diaries!

3 Comments / 2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Women /

How did that happen? I almost forgot to blog The Broke Diaries. Crazy since it’s one of the better books I’ve read over the last week or so. In fact, I’m going to toss it into the “favorites” category because I really loved it.

It reads like a blog, or an online journal, which is just how it should read since Nissel is an online kind of woman and started posting her “broke diaries” online. I love a book that reads like a blog rather than one that TRIES to read like a blog.

I’m off to reserve her latest book, Mixed, from the library now. Anyone read it? Is it as good as Broke Diaries? It is, isn’t it?

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Not Buying It

2 Comments / 2007, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

Well. Not Buying It didn’t make me feel nearly as guilty as Garbage Land did. That’s good, I have enough guilt in my life and enough clutter frustrations. I’m also just enough of a tightwad to go into full miser mode when I read a really guilt inducing book about clutter or spending or the economy or the way we’re screwing up the planet with our consumerist lifestyles.

The most interesting segments of this book were reflections about the gifts the author and her husband were given (or needed to give). The rest was a bit “ho-hum”.

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Kicked, Bitten, Scratched

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

I have never wanted to be an animal trainer or a zookeeper. I did go through the requisite veterinarian phase though. Reading Kicked, Bitten, Scratched made me very glad I never had any animal trainer/zookeeper aspirations. The workload is frightening, not to mention the animal injuries!

Moorpark College is home to the animal trainer program (and our little community college is home to a sister program for zookeepers). The book was interesting and I really enjoyed it. I was appalled that they didn’t have a fire evacuation plan but then TW said that SFCC didn’t have a hurricane evacuation plan for a long, long time. That’s just, well, appalling!

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Tales of a Female Nomad

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction, Women /

Oh! I want to be a nomad! But I can’t do it. Darn it. That whole leaving your kids and being totally out of their lives except for occasional visits – no thanks. Maybe in my next life when I’m childfree by choice, I’ll give the whole nomad thing a try.

Tales of a Female Nomad was interesting. Slow in places but very interesting. Imagine ditching life as you know it, as a woman over 50, and wandering the world – and doing it with a backpack, in the jungle and stuff. Interesting, right?

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Garbage Land

1 Comment / 2007, A to Z Challenge, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

Garbage Land was the most depressing and frustrating book EVER.  I keep looking at my trash and feeling so overwhelmed that I can barely look away.  Today, I pulled a grocery list out of my pocket and was I was about to drop it in the trash, I froze. 

What led me to write a list in the first place, for 15 things that I should be able to remember?  And then to do it on a full, clean piece of paper.  And, I used the WHOLE front side rather than making a tiny neat list that would enable me to use the paper again.  Bah.  I’m a horrible person!  Or maybe not.

Maybe this whole municpal waste guilt is a tool of the patriarchy, or at least big business.  Because municipal waste is about 2% of the trash problem.  The biggest problem is with manufacturing.  So like big pharma who has convinced us we need to buy rubber wristbands and walk in walkathons to CURE this or that (probably breast cancer though) we’ve all been convinced that we can SAVE THE PLANET through recycling.  We can’t.  It simply isn’t possible. 

Anyway, Garbage Land was very good.  But very depressing.  Very sad.  Very frustrating. 

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Pink Ribbons, Inc

2007, A to Z Challenge, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

I am not a fan of the Pink Ribbon or any other breast cancer campaign. Pink Ribbons, Inc just reaffirmed everything I feel about these campaigns and the people behind them. And the people who buy into them… do yourselves and the people diagnosed with these illnesses a favor and read the book. Your money is better spent elsewhere. Quit buying Pink Ribbons. Quit buying Live Strong bracelets. Write to these companies and tell them to lay off with these types of marketing campaigns. Tell your politicians you see through them and expect better.

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