Books!

I don't always find the time to read like I wish I would.  But here are ten books I've read this year.

1. Blood Bones and Butter

Yummy.

While Googling this book I found out it is going to be a movie!  Starring Gwyneth Paltrow!  So regardless of what I have to say about it, you know you should read it!  In case you are wondering, it is the memoir of a gal who refers to herself as a "reluctant chef".  It made me want to travel to Italy and do nothing but eat. 

2. Kitchen Counter Cooking School

Learn to Cook.

I was so excited to find this book.  I read Kathleen's first book The Sharper Your Knife The Less You Cry and I loved every juicy detail of her adventures at culinary school in Paris.  In this book she teaches real people to cook.  It was so wonderful and actually inspired some new lesson plans for me.
 

3.  A Dogs Purpose

Puppy Love.

I originally thought this was just a collection of fantastic dog stories surrounded by the idea that a dog has many lives.  But when I finally realized the connection, I just died.  And hugged my puppies.  It is so good.  If you have crazy-dog-lady tendencies, you really need to read this book.
 

4.  Racing Weight

Run run run.

Meh... I checked out this book during my hard-core training phase before Chicago.  It was interesting, but I was kind of turned off by the way he hated on runners in comparison to other athletes like triathletes.  I wasn't a fan.
 

5.  Silver Linings Play Book

Read this right now!

Oh my goodness.  I know you've seen the movie... who could say no to Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence???  But the book is 1,000 times better!  We listened to the audio book on our way to South Dakota and both Drew & I absolutely loved it.  So entertaining.  Read it!
 

6.  Tao of Martha

I ♥ Jen & Martha

I've always loved Jen Lancaster.  And I'm accepting that as she gets more famous and less bitter her writing will also change.  This book isn't Bitter is the New Black or Such a Pretty Fat, but it was pretty dang fantastic.  It made me smile and even cry.  I continue to love Jen.
 

7.  Kara Goucher's Running for Women

Love Kara!

Kara Goucher is my running inspiration.  She's amazing and wonderful.  I didn't find a ton of new information about running in this book, but I was obsessed with and in love with the stories she shared from her running career.  She's so wonderful.  And I think if you are a newbie runner, you should absolutely check out the book for it's straight-forward advice and information about running.

8.  Born to Run

Born to run.

I loved this book!  It is full of all kinds of history about running and also features my favorite vegan/ultra-marathoner Scott Jurek.  It was so inspiring!

9.  The Beauty Detox Solution

OMG.

I cannot believe I'm admitting that I actually read this book.  I can't believe I made it through the entire thing.  I couldn't put it down because I was so intrigued by what crazy thing this gal would say next.  She writes about a diet and lifestyle that will lead you to your most beautiful self.  It's basically an extreme vegan diet mixed with colonics and bizarre food pairings.  I thought it was mostly BS.  But, that's just me.

10.  Salt Sugar Fat

Holy moly.

Oh wow.  This book is fascinating!  It's all about the evolution of the food industry and how they've shaped the way Americans eat.  It is full of food science, history, and stories from industry insiders.  There was a section about how Home Ec teachers were the biggest opponents of the industry's push of convenience foods in the 1950's and how the food industry got us on board with their products.  I was horrified.  A lot of the book horrified me.  And made me hungry.  I absolutely stopped to buy chips after reading about the scientific formulation of Lays.  What an idiot.

Okay, looking at this list I realize that almost everything I've been reading has been non-fiction.  What novels should I add to my list?  I need more stories and less science.

French Kids Eat Everything

Have you read the book French Women Don't Get Fat?  I read it awhile back... kind of interesting. 

Anyways, I randomly stumbled upon the book French Kids Eat Everything several months ago and thought it sounded interesting.  I am constantly amazed, disgusted, horrified, repulsed (I could go on) by the food consumed by my students.  I work in the lunch room and am subjected to the cookie and ice cream feedings every day. 

So I put the book on hold at the library in the hopes that it would give me some ideas that I could use in class to help my kids be more open-minded about their food choices.  The wait at the library was super long; I guess it's a popular book!

As luck would have it, I was notified that the book was available right before we left for Europe.  So I was able to read about French food cultures affecting kids while we were in France!  I know, so fun.

Le Book.

The book is really interesting.  I was fascinated by how serious the French are about teaching their kids about food.  Reading about what goes on in school lunch rooms in France had me dying of jealousy!  If you are at all interested in food culture or you have a picky eater (I have about 100), I definitely suggest the book! 

The author is a North American who moved to France and struggled with the difference in food cultures.  She tells her story of living and eating in France with two small children while coming up with ten rules the French that result in their kids being good eaters. 

1.  Parent: You are in charge of food education!

2.  Avoid emotional eating - NO food rewards, bribes, etc.

3.  Parents schedule meals & menus.  Kids eat what adults eat.  NO short-order cooking!

4.  Eat family meals together ---> NO distractions.

5.  Eat your veggies.  Key: Think variety!

6.  You don't have to like it, but you do have to taste it.

7.  NO SNACKING!  It's ok to feel hungry between meals.

8.  Slow food is happy food.  Eat slow!

9.  Eat mostly real food.  Treats ---> special occasions ---> OK

10.  Remember: eating is joyful!  RELAX!

I'm pretty sure I break almost all of these rules on a daily basis.  And while I love the idea of the French food culture, it just isn't always feasible in the US.  I honestly can't imagine not eating in my car.  Sad, right???

The one rule that I really liked was #7.  For some reason the idea that it's okay to be hungry between meals was kind of life-altering for me.  Usually anytime I feel even slightly hungry I immediately NEED A SNACK!  Often I snack right up to dinner and then am not even hungry for whatever healthy and delicious meal I had planned.

So lately I've been trying to only eat at meal times (including a planned snack around 4:00).  Yes, I get hungry in between, but usually if I just remind myself that it's okay to feel hungry, I forget about it and the feeling passes.

Miracle of miracles.  Who would have thought?

I'm also finding that I enjoy my meals more if I'm hungrier. 

Check out the book if you have kids... or if you don't and just really like reading about food.  I'm sure my students will be thrilled when I try to start applying some of these rules in class. :)

2012 in Review: Best Books

I've become a bit of a bookworm this year.  Being out of school has left me with lots of time to read for fun.  Plus I joined a book club!  Turns out the book club was more interested in drinking wine than actually reading books.  I know, right?  Best book club ever.

 

Several times throughout the year I've thought that I should do a book review over a particularly great book.  But I never did. 

 

Then after a summer full of reading I thought I should post about my summer book list.  But I didn't.

 

So, here's a list of my favorite books from 2012.  And no, that Grey book isn't going to be listed.  I don't read smut.

 

1.  The Hunger Games.

 

 

I know, right?  Duh!  Of course I love The Hunger Games!!!  We all did!  It was super fun to read it during my first semester of teaching because so many of my students were also reading it.  It made for a great bonding experience. 

 

2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

 

 

 

This wasn't a book I expected to love so much.  I was surprised when I realized the entire thing is written in letter form.  But it is so wonderful and charming!  It is set in England after WWII and gives a historical perspective I'd never heard before.  The characters are so endearing and the story so interesting.  I just loved it!

 

3.  The Art of Racing in the Rain.

 

 

Oh my goodness.  I cannot even express how much I love this book.  LOVE.  A couple of chapters in, I insisted that Drew also read the book.  I meant for us to read it together but the fool finished it within a couple of days of being off work.  I was not happy about this.

 

The story is told from the perspective of the dog.  I know, sounds weird.  Not weird.  Hilarious.  Endearing.  Heart-wrenching.  Wonderful.  Just wonderful.

 

4.  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

 

 

I think of this book as being Are You There God, It's Me Margarette of an earlier generation.  It's a coming-of-age story about a little girl growing up in extreme poverty in the early 1900's.  Sweet, sad, funny.  Just a really good read.

 

5. Gone Girl

 

 

I know, right???  If you've read it, you know.  YOU KNOW!  Shit is crazy.  C-razy.  I was reading this at the same time as Jess, but she was ahead of me and kept telling me how flipping crazy it was.  She told me I had to call her when I reached a certain point and that I would know when to call.  It turned out I had to call her at an insanely early hour because I knew I had reached that point and I had  to call her!  C-razy.  Crazy.

 

AND, I just found out that they are def making the movie and that my girl Reese Witherspoon is set to play Amy.  Perfect.  I can totally see her being the girl in the diary.  The rest... not so sure about, but excited to see. 

 

READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW!!!

 

That's the list.  Honorable Mention goes to Blood, Bones, & Butter, The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry,  (both of which made me want to travel the world, eat delicious food, and drink the heck out of some wine), and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Pride and Prejudice  was like the only book we were supposed to read in high school that I actually read.  I love it with all my heart and read it every couple of years.  Throw some zombies in there and my heart smiles.  Hilarious and awesome.

 

What are your must-read books for the year?  I need recommendations for 2013!!!

Three Cups of Tea

This isn't my usual book of choice.  Three Cups of Tea is about a man named Greg Mortenson who has dedicated his life to building schools for the children of Pakistan. 

I read this book for a class project because I thought it looked interesting.  Umm... yeah.  It was.  I'm one of those people who tends to look the other way when things are sad or uncomfortable.  So you can imagine when I hear about Pakistan or Afghanistan on the news, it doesn't really register.

This book completely changed that.  Greg Mortenson's story really humanized the people of Pakistan for me.  He turned them into living, breathing, and often suffering people instead of just a story on the news. 

The things that this guy has done are absolutely incredible.  He has dedicated his life to the betterment of children in a part of the world that most Americans would never even venture to.  I think you hear a lot about people being dedicated to education (or is that just me because I'm in school?) but this guy is the real thing. 

If you are looking for an inspiring story, please read this book!  I think we often take education for granted, and to see how valuable it is to these people really gives you a better appreciation for what you have. 

The book has been in the news lately because someone accused Greg of making up the story.  I don't see how that would even be possible.  And even if some of the story is exaggerated for marketing sake, he's still an amazing person doing amazing things. 

Read this book.  Do it now.  You won't be sorry!

Jane Eyre

I'm always saying that I am going to read "the classics".  And I really always mean to.  Like over Christmas break, I had tons of extra time on my hands.  So I totally meant to spend some of that time reading one of the classics... but I ended up reading My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler instead.  Not quite a classic... yet.

It took me seeing a preview for Jane Eyre to get me interested in actually reading the book.  The movie looks really good, but I have a strict book before the movie rule.  And by that time classes were starting up and I'd run out of time for non-textbook reading.
So technically I didn't read the book, but thanks to a long commute and the JoCo Library, I was able to listen to the entire audio book. It is long.

The story is long. There is a lot of detail at the beginning that I didn't really see a point to... until the end. I even asked my mom if anything was ever going to happen. Oh, it happens.

Jane Eyre has romance, mystery, suspense... the whole sha-bang. Jane Austin is my favorite author, and Charlotte Bronte has a very similar writing style and the story has very similar settings. So its no surprise I love love loved this book. I can't wait to go see the movie!

Bitter is the New Black

To: jen@jenlancaster.com
From: allaboutjamie
Date: May 19, 2010
Subject: DMB = Suck

Dear Jen,

Although I am a huge fan, read your blog, and regularly refer to you as my bestie, I only just finally finished your first book! I actually started with Such a Pretty Fat. Not surprising as I seem to have a strange obsession with all things fat.

Anyways! I loved it so much that ran directly to my library (I'm broke, so I can't support you, BFF) and checked out Bright Lights Big Ass and Pretty in Plaid (audio book! Changed my life!). But the dang library had a huge waiting list for Bitter.

Usually I get through your books quick because you are super funny and I find that I can't put them down. However, my turn at the Johnson County Library came at a very inopportune time. I had lots of tests and papers and blah blah blah due at school, and I'm trying to keep my priorities straight. I started to come up on the 3-week time limit of books and figured I would just renew it online for another 3 weeks when I could take my time and enjoy your hilarity. But when I tried, the library Nazis told me I couldn't renew because there was a waiting list for this book! What?! I was unaware of this rule! This is so not okay! I'm only like half way through the best book ever!

So I did what anyone would do... I blew off studying for my finals in order to finish the book and avoid the emptiness I would surely feel having not known how your job search turned out, being placed back on the waiting list, or worse... having to incur a $0.15 / day late fee. How 'bout those priorities?

It was totally worth it.

I already knew all about being a sorority girl and wearing pink and pearls, but I absolutely loved hearing your story unfold from the beginning. My heart melted at the story of finding Loki and Maisy. I put "eat twinkwich" on my bucket list. I so wish I'd gotten married in Vegas during a porn convention. And I was appalled at your experience with the Chicago Marathon! We runners are usually a very nice bunch. I'm sorry they were so mean to you!

But really, it was when you said that Dave Matthews makes you want to kick puppies that I knew we were soul mates.

Love you! Love the book! Might actually have to pony up and buy My Fair Lazy since the JoCo Library Nazis aren't stocking it. And most of all, I'm so thankful that you decided to write instead of rejoining corporate America!

Supersize Me,
Jamie

P.S. Totally laughed out loud when you got drunk and decided it was a good idea to wear your overalls sans shirt underneath while entertaining guests. Good news! I heard overalls are making a comeback. Who needs shirts, right?

Eat Pray Love

I know, right? Two book reviews in a row? Again, books on tape rock! As does Eat Pray Love. Over a year ago Oprah told me to read this book. And usually I do what Oprah says, but I just wasn't feeling it with this. I get a little shifty when people talk about things like devotion, meditation, gurus... those words are all outside of my comfort zone. This may well have to do with my general lack of depth. Whatevs. Jess forced the audio book on me for my trip home from Dodge. She said she's listened to it twice. Twice? Whoa.

Well, I too have listened to it twice. It is so good. I'm not kidding. Here's the premise: Liz is a woman in her early 30's going through a horrific divorce and all the depression/anxiety/loneliness that goes along with it. She comes up with the brilliant idea to go on a year long journey in search of pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and a balance of the two in Indonesia. Interesting, right? Add to that a killer sense of humor and an honesty that is totally natural, like she's your best friend. She also does pretty great impressions of the people she meets along her journey, something you only get to experience with the audio book.

I made it through Italy on my drive home from Dodge, and had to call Drew half way home to ask him if we could please take Italian lessons and go to Italy for a month... ya know... when we're rich and what not. He agreed. Score! Liz spends four months in Italy, not visiting museums and cathedrals, but eating. She just practices the language and eats. Hello! That is my type of travel. By the end of her stay she's gained something like 24 pounds and is happier than ever. Yep, my kind of gal. I can't wait to make my own journey to Naples for what is said to be the best pizza in the world.

Next comes India, where Liz stays at the ashram of her guru. You can see why I was a bit skeptical going into this part of the book. If you're wondering, like I was, an ashram is (according to dictionary.com) a secluded building, often the residence of a guru, used for religious retreat or instruction. Liz spends her days meditating, chanting, cleaning the ashram floor, and eating an Indian vegetarian diet. And somehow she makes all of that sound incredibly interesting. She tells hilarious stories about trying to force her mind to quiet into meditation rather than drifting off into thoughts of what color she would paint her meditation room if she actually had a house. I absolutely loved how she made the journey to devotion a real story of struggle to find peace with God. She somehow made things like gurus and ashrams seem totally normal, and at the same time inspired me to find new ways to deepen my own faith, although I don't think that was her intent.

Indonesia is all about finding balance in life... something I could definitely use! Liz spends her days hanging out with an Indonesian medicine man, learning everything he knows. He knows a lot. My favorite quote from the book comes in Indonesia:

"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it."

I think she finally found balance in her life. If you need more incentive to read the book, listen to this: the movie is coming out and Julia Roberts is playing Liz. OMG. I wish I had heard her reaction when she found out that Julia Roberts would be playing her. Screw balance, Julia Roberts is you in a movie. That's about as good as it gets, right?

In conclusion, read it. Or listen to it. Inspiration and laughs, all rolled into one. I love it. Love it.

Pretty in Plaid

By now you know my love for Jen Lancaster, right? I mean, I'm pretty much obsessed with all things Jennsylvania. She is my imaginary BFF.

Last weekend I made the 5 1/2 hour drive to Dodge City and Jess suggested I get an audio book to help me pass the time. I was surprised by the selection the Johnson County Library had in audio books, but totally freaked out when I saw Pretty in Plaid!!! I would drive to Dodge City and back a hundred times if it meant I could listen to Jen's hilarious stories! Yes, I call her Jen because we are BFF.

Pretty in Plaid is basically Jen's life story retold through what she happened to be wearing at the time. It started with stories from her childhood which mostly involved a Girl Scout sash, moved on to the teen years in her sweet Jordache jeans, and then on to my personal favorite part of the book: the college years, which are heavily centered around Jen's lavaliere. Anyone who has suffered through rush, on either side, will die of laughter at her stories of trying to get into a house, and even more so when she actually joins one and ends up as the nazi Rush Chair. Even though she doesn't sport a crescent moon tattoo or brown and mode, I like to envision her in the Gamma Phi basement screaming about the importance of sisterhood and proper dress code. We're sisters in my head.

If you haven't read anything by Jen Lancaster, I totally recommend you do! And if you don't have time to read, get the audio book! Its the lazy man's/Jamie's way to read!!!

Side Note: Dodge City is not the new Las Vegas, but it is making steps in that direction. Jess is working for the Boot Hill Casino & Resort and it is pretty dang cool... and not just for something in the middle of Western Kansas. While its no New York New York (my fave!), it is a pretty cool casino. Road trip??

Why Pie Is Not The Answer

My best measure of a book's greatness is how long it takes me to read it. Such a Pretty Fat took me exactly 5 days to read. Another measure is what I give up or skip in order to read said book. I chose to read Such a Pretty Fat rather than watch the Office this week. That's pretty much blasphemy in Jamie World. That's how good the book is!

Jen is a plus size gal with confidence I'd kill for. This is the story of her weight-loss journey. And of course its funny to hear her recount the visits to Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers meetings. But my absolute favorite part of the whole book is her dialogue with her husband, Fletch. It makes me want to contact her to let her know that it is my greatest desire to be her new BFF. I made Drew listen while I read aloud parts of the book that I thought related so well to us. Example:

""I'm sure the dogs will sleep easier tonight knowing you won't be chasing them around with a giant metal bird," he replies. Right, like I'm the one who found his father's old bear rug in a box in the basement and put it on his head to "see how the dogs will react." It took me a week to scrub off the putrescent fluid that shot out of Loki's bunghole onto the cabinet when he caught site of a bear in his kitchen. To this day I can't go to the basement to wash a load of socks without Loki barking his face off to let me know there might be bears downstairs. Again, this is why we aren't having children."

If you only knew how much this mirrors my life. I truly enjoy Jen's ability to find humor in her struggle. She sees past all the pre-packaged diet mumbo-jumbo out there and seeks a balance of losing weight and living a life that includes birthday cake. Another sentiment we have in common: a life without birthday cake is not a life I want to live. There's deep stuff in this book. Deep stuff that makes me laugh out loud.

On the Jamie Book Review Scale of 1 - 5, Such a Pretty Fat receives 5 stars... even though I'm pretty sure it inspired me to eat my weight in Halloween candy.

I'm super thrilled to know that Jen has two previously written books: Bitter is the New Black and Bright Lights Big Ass. AND she released another book: Pretty in Plaid this past spring. But the absolute most exciting part is that she has a blog. Jennsylvania has been added to my blog roll and it looks like she updates quite frequently!! I can get my Jen fix anytime I want. Woo Hoo!

So to recap, here's what it takes to get a great book review by me: Lots of obscenities, hilarious booze-driven stories, birthday cake, and heavy sarcasm.

My Year of Cooking Dangerously

I've been kicking butt and taking names with this whole reading thing. I swear I've read more books in the last 6 months than I have in the last 6 years. I'm very big on reading books before I see the movie version. When I saw the trailer for Julie & Julia I was so excited to see it, then Kelly brought it to my attention that the movie was actually a book first. I had to put a hold on it at the library which actually only took a couple of weeks. I think there was like a year wait for My Sister's Keeper.

I don't even know where to start. This book was so good. It combined all my favorite things: cooking, cookbooks, blogging, and Julie. She is seriously hilarious. Her profanity is a tad excessive, but not offensive. I'm interested to see the movie b/c I have a feeling her character will be very different than in the book. I can't picture Amy Adams saying, "Balls to that." But maybe I'll be surprised.

The book is so entertaining, I actually found myself pausing to say out loud, "I love this book!" I just couldn't contain myself. I tried to imagine myself making the things she made. She had a very hard time finding the ingredients because things common in France in 1950 were slightly hard to come by in 2003 NY. I think I'd have an even harder time: where would you go in the KC metro to find bone marrow or brains? Where does one find a duck? I did get a good chuckle when I was at WalMart yesterday and looked down to see a package of chicken livers. Gross. The book did not make me want to cook. The recipes actually really sicked me out. Entertaining none the less! Can't wait to see the movie!

Another note: I think the book might be hard to get through if you are in anyway a conservative. She takes a lot of stabs at Republicans throughout the book as she works at a government agency so the topic comes up quite often. If it were the other way around and she were liberal-bashing, I might find her much less endearing.

Now, do you think there's any chance of turning my cookbook of the week post into a book/movie? I would play myself and Zac Effron could play Drew and who wouldn't want to see it? I don't live in a fantasy land at all...

My Sisters Keeper

I've never done a book review here before... because I don't read books. But, I've been on a reading kick lately. I even signed up for a library card!!! This is huge for me. Usually all I read is Runner's World, Shape, and Glamour. I guess getting through the Twilight series sparked something in me.

I'd seen previews for the movie My Sister's Keeper but really wanted to read the book before seeing the movie. So I went to the library, but there was a 60 day wait for the book! I guess Cameron Diaz will do that to you. So Katy was kind enough to lend me her copy... but not kind enough to warn me about it!

Okay, I am not a reader. After finishing all 4 Twilight books I had officially read more "for fun" than I had since... I don't know... ever. Part of this is because I'm a really slow reader. It usually takes forever for me to get through a book. And honestly, sometimes I just flat out lose interest half way through. This book was 423 pages long and I started it on Sunday, at the pool. Don't read this book at the pool by the way. Anyways, I finished it last night. That's 5 days! That would be a record for me if it weren't for Twilight.

The book is written in a way that just makes you want more. Its about a family dealing with cancer, and you think you have it all figured out. I thought I knew what would happen and I was preparing myself for it and then WHAM! They drop this bomb at the end that just shocked me. I did not see it coming and was not prepared for it. I'm a crier... at movies, TV shows, commercials, and now apparently at books too. I spent about an hour sobbing after I finished the book last night. I was finally able to get control of myself to call Katy and tell her she's a bad friend for letting me read this book.

Anyways, point of the story is... I will not be going to the theater to see this movie. I will wait for it to come out on DVD and watch it from the privacy of my own home, curled up in a blanket with my dog to hug and a big box of tissues.

I highly recommend reading this book. Seriously, its about the saddest thing I've ever read, but its one of those that really does make you look at your life and your family and realize how blessed you truly are. Just please don't read this book at the pool, or at the gym, or anywhere in public. You will cry, even if you aren't a crier like me!