BAM Challenge #4 - Beauty

Failure.

Serious failure. I attempted to find a book for this month. I even checked two different books out of the public library. I considered using a book I read several years ago, Beauty by Sheri Tepper, but that felt like serious cheating (yeah, I know, no one but me would have known).


Maybe I'll get one of the ones I checked out read during May, maybe I won't.

March BAM Challenge - Two for the price of one, but still on the last day of the month

I know, I know. Here I am, writing it on the evening of the last day of the month AGAIN. At least this time I finished my book a week ago.

And turns out, I've got two that I read that count. Well, the first one here sort of counts, but I'm so excited about it that I'm putting it here anyway.

Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook
Author: Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Genre: Cookbook
Any and all ages.

No, I'm not a vegan or even vegetarian, but I've been working on adding more meatless meals to my repertoire (says the woman who had carnitas tacos for dinner). I've been a fan of Moskowitz's Vegan with a Vengeance, and I saw this one on a blog...maybe over at Slashfood, but I'm not sure. I decided to take a look at it. This one is fantastic. It's got a lot of good basic cooking information - like what's Quinoa and how do you cook it, but also fantastic recipes. I've not made a lot from it yet, but I've been through it several times in terms of reading recipes. I can tell you that the black bean burgers and the chickpea cutlets are things of beauty.

My second book:

The Sunrise Lands
S.M. Stirling
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction
Age level: adult, older teen (particularly for violence)

About 20 years after the Change, when some laws of physics suddenly stopped working and the world was plunged back to a time without electricity, cars, or firearms, a messenger arrived from the Sunrise Lands, one who'd traveled all the way to what people believed to be the epicenter, Nantucket Island. He's come seeking the Sword of the Lady, whatever that may be. Rudi McKenzie knows what the Sword is - it's him, and the messenger's coming means he has to travel to Nantucket.

This continuation of the series that began with Dies the Fire doesn't disappoint. An alternate universe with the remnants of the old world all around. How, then, does this book fit in with the March theme of craft?

Wicca is a major theme - the McKenzie Clan, founded by Rudi's mother in the change year is a society where most of the society are practitioners of the Craft, as the founding members of the clan were Wiccans. Further, without any mechanized manufacturing capability, those who can work with their hands are true crafters again - everything that people use, from the bows and arrows that they hunt with to the food that they grow, harvest and preserve themselves is a true craft - but done from necessity rather than pleasure.

This was a good read, and if you like alternate universe stories, it's worth reading. I'm looking forward to the next installment, The Scourge of God, due out in September.

Book-a-month Challenge, February 2008

Why yes, I am doing this at almost the absolute last minute. In fact, I finished my book yesterday morning on the bus going to work. If it wasn't a leap year, I'd have been in trouble.

Title: Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America's First Lady of Food
Author: Susan Marks
Genre: Non-fiction, biography (well, of a fictitious person)
Age Level: Adult

This is the story of Betty Crocker, how the persona and image changed over time. For an 80 year old, she doesn't look so bad, does she? That 1986 version is kind of scary to me (image from here).

This was an interesting read - of particular interest to me were the depression and war years, and the way the company took the Betty Crocker persona and used it to help those at home when there wasn't much and during the war years when some items were rationed and others were in short supply. It's the story of a corporate icon that, in keeping with this month's theme, became part of the heart of the nation's kitchen. She helped home cooks adjust as kitchens became modern and in 1945 (at a youthful 24 years "old") was the 2nd most popular American woman.

It was a good read - I promise it didn't take the whole month to read it, but it's been a busy month out here in Arizona!

BAM Challenge #1 - The Time it Takes to Fall

My reading for the first month of the Book a Month Challenge is done. The theme chosen for this month was Time.

Basic Information:
The Time it Takes To Fall
Margaret Lazarus Dean.
Simon & Shuster, 2007
General Fiction, Adult

I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did - I tend to read a lot more science fiction and fantasy than general fiction, and I specifically wanted to break out of that with this one, though yes, I did stay in the fiction realm.

I ended up choosing this one over others because a)MPOW had a copy available and b)one of the subject headings was Challenger(Spacecraft) --Accidents --Fiction. I remember the Challenger accident very vividly, and the idea of fiction with it as a central theme intrigued me. What I got was something different, but still good. I got a central character who was just about the same age I was when Challenger exploded, which may have made this novel resonate just a bit more with me. This novel doesn't look at what it was like to be a child of the 80's, with all the cliches that includes. Instead, it's the story of change - and the ways Dolores & the others in her family deals with the changes. The space program and Challenger disaster frame the novel, but don't become overwhelming. While the main character may be a young teen girl, this is not a YA novel. Instead, it's a good read for adults who remember the excitement of the shuttle program and that awful day that Challenger was just gone.

BAM Challenge

I've signed up for the Book A Month Challenge that will begin in January - if you're interested in taking part, go ahead and sign up. It'll be fun!