What I've been reading lately
Kindred by Octavia F Butler
This book kind of reminded me of Outlander, in the sense that the main character has to become acclimated to the violence of a past time and place. However, Kindred was much more condensed than Outlander and focuses on one specific time and place in the past. It was an intense but fast paced book that was both enjoyable and at the same time brings up topics of violence, survival and race-relations. In this book the main character, Dana, gets pulled repeatedly back into the past by her great-great- relation Rufus, who is just a small boy at the start of the book. Rufus "summons" her to him every time he is in danger and Dana surmises that it must be her duty to keep him alive in order to keep her bloodline going. If she does not keep him alive until he produces a heir then Dana is not sure if she would even exist. It is not elucidated in the story exactly how Rufus is calling Dana into the past, just that he is. The book overall is rather short of explanation of that sort but is full of the sort of conflict you might expect if you were a black woman of the present day getting pulled back into the slavery filled south. Overall it was a very intense, thought provoking book.
French Woman Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
I really enjoyed this "non-diet" book. The author's common sense suggestions make eating well and moving more seem like a fun "French" thing to do and not a chore. Suggestions such as cutting down on portion size and walking more are well known but sometimes needed reminders. I loved her suggestion to eat food in season when it is fresh and at it's most delicious. This will naturally vary your diet. I appreciate the suggestion to go to the market every few days, but that is harder to come by with a busy work schedule. What resonated with me the most however was to make chores and other things that can be viewed as drudgery as an excuse to move more. Anything that will produce a cleaner house and a more fit body (at the same time) seems pretty good. I have also taken up her philosophy of wine and bread, that they are both perfectly fine but should be taken mainly with meals.
Meg Cabot Heather Wells series
Over the weekend I ran through a couple of these books that have long been on my list. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were mystery novels of a sort, as well as chick-lit. They were fun and entertaining and the relationship was done extremely well. The main character, Heather Wells, is a former pop star that has gained weight and found her boyfriend cheating on her with another skinny pop star. Since she didn't go to college as she was too busy being a pop star, and her mother ran away with all of her money, she takes a job as a college residence hall advisor. However, kids keep on dropping dead in her dorm (which is soon known as death dorm) and Heather gets caught up in trying to find their killers. The cast of supporting characters are vivid and colorful, Heather is a relate-able and like-able heroine, and the romance is spot-on. These books are delicious brain candy and I enjoyed every minute of them!
This book kind of reminded me of Outlander, in the sense that the main character has to become acclimated to the violence of a past time and place. However, Kindred was much more condensed than Outlander and focuses on one specific time and place in the past. It was an intense but fast paced book that was both enjoyable and at the same time brings up topics of violence, survival and race-relations. In this book the main character, Dana, gets pulled repeatedly back into the past by her great-great- relation Rufus, who is just a small boy at the start of the book. Rufus "summons" her to him every time he is in danger and Dana surmises that it must be her duty to keep him alive in order to keep her bloodline going. If she does not keep him alive until he produces a heir then Dana is not sure if she would even exist. It is not elucidated in the story exactly how Rufus is calling Dana into the past, just that he is. The book overall is rather short of explanation of that sort but is full of the sort of conflict you might expect if you were a black woman of the present day getting pulled back into the slavery filled south. Overall it was a very intense, thought provoking book.French Woman Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
I really enjoyed this "non-diet" book. The author's common sense suggestions make eating well and moving more seem like a fun "French" thing to do and not a chore. Suggestions such as cutting down on portion size and walking more are well known but sometimes needed reminders. I loved her suggestion to eat food in season when it is fresh and at it's most delicious. This will naturally vary your diet. I appreciate the suggestion to go to the market every few days, but that is harder to come by with a busy work schedule. What resonated with me the most however was to make chores and other things that can be viewed as drudgery as an excuse to move more. Anything that will produce a cleaner house and a more fit body (at the same time) seems pretty good. I have also taken up her philosophy of wine and bread, that they are both perfectly fine but should be taken mainly with meals. Meg Cabot Heather Wells series
Over the weekend I ran through a couple of these books that have long been on my list. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were mystery novels of a sort, as well as chick-lit. They were fun and entertaining and the relationship was done extremely well. The main character, Heather Wells, is a former pop star that has gained weight and found her boyfriend cheating on her with another skinny pop star. Since she didn't go to college as she was too busy being a pop star, and her mother ran away with all of her money, she takes a job as a college residence hall advisor. However, kids keep on dropping dead in her dorm (which is soon known as death dorm) and Heather gets caught up in trying to find their killers. The cast of supporting characters are vivid and colorful, Heather is a relate-able and like-able heroine, and the romance is spot-on. These books are delicious brain candy and I enjoyed every minute of them!
Comments
Post a Comment