2024
January 2024
Animal, Vegetable, Junk by Mark Bittman
- Physical library book
- Started: January 2nd, 2024
- Finished: January 28th, 2024
- Rating: 5/5
I almost gave up on this book about two or three chapters in because of how dense it is, but I decided to read one more chapter before calling it quits, and I'm very glad I did because I got hooked. It took a while to reel me in, but once it did I was very excited to read this book. It summarizes human history through the lense of food studies and how food and agriculture influences so many aspects of life, and summarizes how and why our current food system is so fucked up and the different directions we could be going depending on what actions we take now as a collective. It's such a good book just for encapsulating all of my feelings and knowledge about my work in food studies, anthropology, and agroecology. Really really recommend this book to anybody interested in food justice and agroecology in any way, it's a good intro into what this is all about.
How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie Inc.
- Libby audiobook
- Started: January 5th, 2024
- Finished: January 10th, 2024
- Rating: 4.5/5
This one is a classic self-help/self-development book recommended by everyone under the sun, and I am glad that I read it. It is a quite short and easy book to listen to while working, and I feel like I learned a lot. As somebody who has never really been good at social interaction or being likeable by people, it's nice to see these kinds of tips and advice presented in a straight-forward and logical way. People are confusing so having guidelines is nice. This is definitely a book I would buy and keep around for future reference or re-reading.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- Libby audiobook
- Started: December 27th, 2023
- Finished: January 4th, 2024
- Rating: 4/5
This is another book started in 2023 and ended in 2024, but it feels more like a 2024 book in my mind because I really started zooming through it in the latter half of the book this month. It's a book I've heard talked about and referenced so often because of its popularity, so when I saw it in the Libby catalogue I figured it'd be good to figure out what the hype is all about as I'm doing my regular driving. And now I see why, because this book is fucking insane. Even though I could easily figure out the major plot twist, in part because of hearing about it from others, its own popularity didn't really spoil it for me in this case because I was still riveted by every twist and turn. At some point, though, the book did take a turn from more entertaining to more stressful, but I did still want to finish it and find out what happened in the end. A little bit sad for me when the sociopathic narcissist wins in the end because of my own past with relationships of that nature, though certainly not to this fantastical level lol. I did enjoy it overall though, and I like reading bestsellers to finally be able to know what people are talking about when this kind of thing is referenced in pop culture and whatnot.
Jan 6 2024
2023
December 2023
The Good Food Revolution by Will Allen
- Physical library book
- Started: December 16th
- Finished: January 2nd, 2024
- Rating: 5/5
I'm counting this as a 2023 book since I read a large majority of it in 2023, I just couldn't quite finish it in time for the new year. Not because of a lack of motivation to read, though, because I absolutely loved this book. It made me cry a few times during reading, especially the last chapter. Allen's writing touches on a lot of topics that I care about so deeply as somebody wanting to work with food systems, especially helping provide healthy food and access to natural spaces to marginalized and under-privileged groups. It's really cool to see a biography of somebody who has done exactly the kind of work that I want to do, to see that it's possible. Seriously such a good read.
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
- Physical library book
- Started: Don't remember. September or October-ish?
- Finished: December 14th-ish
- Rating: 2/5
Thoughts: Michael Pollan is annoying. I dislike that he talks down towards poor people or people who eat a more industrialized and processed diet. Him saying that if people can afford phones, they can afford organic food from Salatin's farm is absurd and stupid. I also dislike that he shares misinformation about food archaeology (my specialty!) when talking about corn and how it was "found" (actually domesticated over thousands of years) by Mesoamericans. He does share an important message about our food system in some ways but, ugh, do it in a less pretentious way next time? I read this because he's such a big name in food studies that I figured I should, and now I know why food studies is filled with some of the worst people you'll ever meet if they're learning from this dude. Will try to find a book that I can be more positive about next time so I don't sound like I'm complaining 24/7. Which I almost am! It's more like 23/6, though, and we gotta get that straight.
16 Dec 2023