We like reading about food; the cooking of it and the eating of it. We're about halfway through Heat by Bill Buford and have enjoyed every page. Next up for us: Barbara Kingslover's new book; Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
We heard about it on Sew Green, and were immediately intrigued. Especially when we read this self-deprecating and humorous beginning:
"As the U.S. population made a statistical mad dash for the Sun Belt, one carload of us jumped off that ship and headed for the promised land, where water falls from the sky and green stuff grows all around. Our family was about to begin the adventure of realigning our lives with our food chain.
Naturally, our first stop was to buy junk food and fossil fuel."
posted originally from: AT:Chicago
This is definitely on my list of must-reads ... Reminds me a little of The $64 Tomato, which was wonderful. Any other good recommendations out there?
view mh330's profile
I read the essay this book is based on several years ago, with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, it really made me hungry for ways to bring that kind of sustainable living to the cities and suburbs where most Americans live, in a way that is feasible for most people. On the other hand, I thought it was yet another example in the ever-widening genre of I'm Not Only Richer Than You, I'm Also A Better Person.
And on a third hand, it got my suburban and politically moderate dad growing his own vegetables and composting. I'm all in favor of anything that changes someone's outlook, even if it personally rubs me kinda the wrong way.
view the opoponax's profile
It's really well-written, not holier-than-thou at all, she has a lot of great stories and fun recipes and ideas. I got a lot of inspiration on what to do with all the wacky stuff in my CSA box and she is just a great writer. She's not preachy at all but I was so inspired by it, I'd read it before you decide it rubs you the wrong way, Opo. It makes me want to plant a garden and not slack of and go to Raley's instead of the Co-op. And make my own cheese. And I HATE being preached at. She's a good writer, give her a chance.
view Anne (in Reno)'s profile
Anne, what rubbed me the wrong way was the essay she published a few years ago that is on the same topic as this book (the year she and her family spent growing their own food). I may or may not read this book, but I do have the right to my opinion about another piece by the same author on the same subject which I have actually read.
It wasn't so much that she seemed holier than thou, per se. In fact what really bothered me was that she seemed to think that just anybody could do what she did, not seeing the many, many obstructions to most people growing all their own food. As I said, "Not only am I richer than you, I'm also a better person" -- in other words, the way that unseen privilege enables people not to see the ways they have more than others, or are uniquely placed to act in certain ways. So they see their actions as morally "better", when others are confined to certain patterns mainly because they have less (not because they are bad, or selfish, or lazy).
As I said, one aspect of my opinion was that it started me thinking about ways some of Kingsolver's ideas could be brought into the mainstream and made accessible to people who have to live in cities and suburbs in order to be near jobs that make their lives busy (Something Kingsolver didn't seem to grasp in the essay I read, she kind of seemed not to understand why anyone would live in a city, or why anyone would choose to buy processed food from a supermarket). And from there, I started thinking about ways our lives could be organized that might give us more space and time for growing food in an urban landscape. So obviously her ideas are thought provoking, I just didn't always like her tone.
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