Austenland by Shannon Hale

oooooooh! I LOVED this book. Couldn't put it down! If you are a fan of Jane Austen novels, you will love this story. It drew me in like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice does and was a sweet story of a girl searching for every girl dreams of: to be truly loved and adored. I loved how Jane is trying to figure out what is real in her life. And towards the end she seems to be the only real thing in a world of fake. She is able to leave the fake behind and in turn finds what is real. I realized that we all have to go through that at some point in our relationships. The story had a heart pattering romantic appeal as well as a down to earth, this is reality element. I love Shannon Hale's writing style and have read The Goose Girl, and Princess Academy which I would also highly recommend.
"Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her life. No real man can compare. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined. Decked out in empire-waist gowns, stripped of her modern appliances, Jane throws herself into mastering Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen - or maybe even she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. Its all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to vanish. Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr Darcy of her own? With humor, charm and perfect sympathy, award-wining author Shannon Hale delivers a novel that will delight every reader who has ever dreamed of escaping into Austenland."

1984 by George Orwell

I've heard good things about this book from several people and so I finally got around to reading it. There are many political and social concepts explored in this book and therefore is educational but I have to say that I didn't really enjoy it. When I checked it out from the library, the library told me it was such a good book but it was dark. It was interesting but I was disappointed. I kept reading hoping for some positive resolution but it was gloomy all the way to the end. I like books that inspire or uplift me and this book did neither.

Airman by Eoin Colfer

Okay, I think this is my new favorite book. You have GOT to read it if you haven't! It was nothing like what I expected it to be. It was full of action, suspense and turmoil. This guy is innocent and gets wrongly blamed for the murder of his king by an evil, power greedy magistrate. You want Airman to seek his revenge, but he doesn't really desire to. In the end he saves the day, but not for the reasons you think he will! I loved that the storyline wasn't entirely predictable and that it was fairly realistic. A super great read and two thumbs up from me!

Millennial Glory: Hidden Light by Wendie Edwards

The Millennial Glory Series is a saga of a family set in the time leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. Hidden Light is the first book in this series. As the Second Coming of Christ is one of my favorite subjects of study, it is also one of my favorite subjects to explore in fiction. I really enjoyed the "Great and Terrible" series by Chris Stewart. When I heard there was another series written about the Last Days, I thought I'd better try it out.

Here is the summary of the book, taken from the Millennial Glory website: "A strange plague breaks out among a rebellious segment of society. The sickness is related to a mysterious man who claims he is the resurrected Savior of the world. His intent is to hide the light of the truth as he stands in its stead. His words are hypnotic. His message is deadly. Corrynne Rogers is an Intensive Care nurse who cares for the dying. Through her hospital association she uncovers a destructive plan to implant computer chips under the skin in any who worship the false Christ in an effort to control the followers. Some followers are killed by a flesh eating bacteria as they turn away from the religious leader. Eventually, Corrynne exposes the deadly plan but not in time to protect one of her own from the lethal chip. The Zulu countdown has begun. Fire is prophesied to rain from heaven to punish those who refuse to accept the false Christ. But will it? Time will only tell."

I really enjoyed this book. It is set in Provo, Utah, a place I am very familiar with. It was easy to picture the places that the story takes place in. I also liked that the story revolves around a large LDS family that is truly unified and trying to live the Gospel. I enjoyed reading about their relationships and seeing their love for each other through their reactions to what is going on around them. I loved to get to know the characters as they are easy to love and as conflict arises, they arise to the occasion to demonstrate strong character and inspire hope.

I also enjoyed that this book is so well documented. Although it is a work of fiction, there are footnotes throughout the chapter. At the end of each chapter, the author documents her sources of information, whether it be from scripture, actual events, or science, the references are there for easy perusal and further study. I found this book to be very fun to read. At 422 pages (many of which are documentation) I found it quick and exciting. Last night I was at the climax of the story and simply couldn't put my book down until it was over. I love books like that. I will definitely be reading the next in this series, and found out that the 9th installment of Millennial Glory is to be released in October of 2009. I look forward to becoming immersed in this series.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

At the beginning of this book, Michael Pollan begins with a brief overview of our recent eating culture in America. He mentions how we are quick to buy into the latest diet fads and have such a pre-occupation with being "healthy" despite our growing eating-related diseases.
The subtitle to the book is: A Natural History of Four Meals. He then takes a journey, one at a time into the history and current production of four different types of meals:

Industrial
Pollan begins with a deep exploration of the food-production system from which the vast majority of American meals are derived. This industrial food chain is largely based on corn, whether it is eaten directly, fed to livestock, or processed into chemicals such as glucose and ethanol. Pollan discusses how the humble corn plant came to dominate the American diet through a combination of biological, cultural, and political factors. The role of petroleum in the cultivation and transportation of the American food supply is also discussed.
A fast food meal is used to illustrate the end result of the industrial food chain.

Organic
The following chapter delves into the principles of organic farming and their various implementations in modern America. Pollan shows that, while organic food has grown in popularity, its producers have adopted many of the methods of industrial agriculture, losing sight of the organic movement's anti-industrial roots. A meal prepared from ingredients purchased at Whole Foods Market represents this food chain at the table.

Local
As a study in contrast, Pollan visits Joel Salatin's small-scale ecological rotation farm, where natural conditions are adhered to as closely as possible, very few artificial inputs are used, and waste products are recycled back into the system. He then prepares a meal using only local produce from nearby small-scale farmers.

Personal
The final chapter finds Pollan attempting to prepare a meal using only ingredients he has hunted, gathered, or grown himself. He recruits assistance from local foodies, who teach him to hunt feral pigs, gather wild mushrooms, and search for abalone. He also makes a salad of greens from his own garden, bakes sourdough bread using wild yeast, and prepares a dessert from cherries picked in his neighborhood.
Pollan concludes that, while such a meal is not practical on a regular basis, as an occasional exercise it helps to reconnect us with the natural origins of food as well as human history.

I really liked how the author seemed to be honest about his feelings and kept an open mind throughout all 4 journeys he went through. It is one thing to learn about new things, but to explore the feelings and associations that go along with our culture gave the book and even more applicable slant. Throughout the book, I tried to find biased opinions or maybe an "agenda", but I was impressed that he seemed to be pretty objective and let the reader come to his own conclusions about the discoveries of his journey. After reading the book, I came away feeling the importance of local food, supporting the small farmer, and a desire to be more self reliant.

I was fascinated with the "Local" meal journey and the week spent on Joel Salatin's farm. I was moved by his philosophies and his method as he strives to become a "caretaker of creation." As we are seeing with America's incredible rates of preventable diseases, the low costs of our food in reality are costing us a great deal more than we realize. I will be reading Michael Pollan's next book, "In Defense of Food"

What to read for September?

Here are the choices for August. Be sure to vote for as many as sound interesting. Books with votes will return to the polls next month along with new suggestions. Please add your book suggestions in the comments section to be considered for the following month.

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

It was number one on the New York Times Non-Fiction Best Seller List for six weeks. The book grew out of Pollan's 2007 article Unhappy Meals published in the New York Times Magazine. Pollan has also said that he wrote In Defense of Food as a response to people asking him what they should eat after having read The Omnivore's Dilemma, his previous book.
In the book, Pollan postulates that the answer to healthy eating is simply to "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."Pollan argues that nutritionism as an ideology has overly complicated and harmed American eating habits. He says that rather than focusing on eating nutrients, people should focus on eating the sort of food that their ancestors would recognize.

1984 by George Orwell A classic dystopian novel published in 1949, focuses on a repressive, totalitarian regime. The story follows the life of one seemingly insignificant man, Winston Smith, a civil servant assigned the task of perpetuating the regime's propaganda by falsifying records and political literature. Smith grows disillusioned with his meager existence and so begins a rebellion against the system that leads to his arrest and torture.

Airman by Eoin Colfer Conor Broekhart discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the king. He is branded a traitor, imprisoned, and force4d to mine diamonds under brutal conditions. He plans a daring escape.

Someone Named Eva, by Joann Wolf
Kidnapped from her village, Milada struggles to remember who she really is as she grows up in a Nazi reeducation school. This book is based on a true story.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief is set in Nazi Germany. Beginning in 1939, it focuses on a German girl, Liesel, who is sent by her mother to live with foster parents in a small town near Munich. As Liesel learns to cope with her new environment, all the pains she has endured, and the extreme unhappiness of pre-war and wartime Germany, she yearns to escape via reading. Her foster father Hans helps her learn to read, and Liesel finds books here and there — in a snowy graveyard, in a Nazi book-burning, and inside the local mayor's house. She has a few friends; first her neighbor and classmate, Rudy, and later the son of a soldier her foster father knew in WWI, Max, a Jew whom her new family must hide in their basement. While the toll of WWII, Allied bombing, and Nazi brutality increases, Liesel's world starts to crumble, but words and reading sustain her.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Set in a future post-scarcity dystopian world in which everyone is turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery upon reaching age 16. It tells the story of teenager Tally Youngblood who rebels against society's enforced conformity, after her new found friends Shay and David show her the downsides to becoming a "pretty".

August's Read: Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury

On the Big Island of Hawaii, Dylan's Scout troop hikes down into the desolation of an ancient lava flow to camp on a small beach below the volcano. It's beautiful. Peaceful. But there's a problem: Louie Domingo. He and Dylan share a secret history, and it lies like a shark beneath the surface of everything they do.

...Until the world comes apart.

Foreshadowed by two mysterious howling dogs, a disaster of unearthly proportions strikes. No one is spared its horror. But over the next hours Dylan learns the true meaning of leadership and the will to survive. More amazing still is that this story actually happened.

Reading Level: Ages 9 and up

208 Pages