Summer book reviews

I've been busy reading! Who am I kidding, I make time for reading throughout the year. Reading is my oxygen. Some of you run marathons, some of you go to graduate school. Me? I read.

First, I started with a complete piece of trash and ended after two chapters. Martyr; an Elizabethan Thriller by Rory Clement is the novel in question. Gah, I just hate books that look promising but turn into some misogynist's vehicle to exploit violence against women and the general motif of women as pure sexual playthings. I got through two chapters before dumping it - every female character had either sex to offer the males or had met a grisly end at the hand of them.



Getting much better:
I've also finished The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Exquisite piece of research and thought regarding the complete corruption of our food chain by corporate money. As an Iowa girl, I felt such betrayal. I'd been raised to feel proud of our undulating fields of corn. Little did I know we were growing the nation's poison. How was a "corn-fed" Iowa girl to know that we completely chemically alter a cow's digestive system to feed them the corn? This is a must-read for all Americans. Next I'm on to The Compassionate Carnivore by Catherine Friend. The subtitle is How to keep animals happy, save Old MacDonald's farm, reduce your hoofprint, and still eat meat. If you haven't read her previous book Hit By The Farm go get it.


And a thumping good read: Loving Frank by Nancy Moran. Yes, we've all heard of Frank Lloyd Wright but you haven't heard the story. The writing is fine, but it's the story that drew me in, and often kept me up way past my bedtime.






Also finished Coop by Michael Perry. This is one midwestern author you don't want to miss. But first read his others: Population 485, and Truck. He writes from the heart, and you'll recognize yourself, your cousin Steve, your uncle Charlie, and your sister-in-law on every page. And you'll even meet some new characters to boot. All real, no fiction. His writing makes you want to just slow down, breathe some air, make some coffee, and call your folks.