To be perfectly honest, I was hesitant to list the books I read in 2017. I honestly didn’t think I had read that many, and compared to years past, I haven’t.

But I averaged over a book a month, which isn’t too bad. Also, some of these books took me awhile to get through, sometimes because of length, and other times because the material was so dense, I had to take it in in small chunks. I also have review videos to go along with these titles, which can be found on my Book Reviews Playlist.

1. 100 Million Years of Food: What Our Ancestors Ate and Why It Matters by Stephen Le

Comment: Made some interesting points; had to read in short runs; a lot of info to process.

2. The Writing Life compiled by the National Book Award Winners

Comment: Some essays were interesting, some I skipped.

3. Knitting Yarns & Spinning Tales: a Knitter’s Stash of Wit and Wisdom edited by Kari Cornell

Comment: Quick read. Alright.

4. Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World by Sue Shephard

Comment: Very informative.

5. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Comment: Good story. Kept me hooked. Recommended.

6. The Knitting Diaries by Debbie Macomber, Susan Mallery, & Christina Skye

Comment: Macomber: romance w/ knitting sprinkled on top; Mallery: set in a yarn shop w/ a graphic sex scene; Skye: didn’t finish because too many injured animals.

7. The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Comment: Very good book for learning about where food comes from. Takes awhile to get through though.

8. Clara’s Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from the Great Depression by Clara Cannucciari

Comment: Reminded me of Nona/Grandma Lellie

9. Something to Food About: Exploring Creativity with Innovative Chefs by Questlove

 

Comment: Interesting, glad it was a free review copy.

10. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan

Comment: Nice follow up to The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

11. Only Skein Deep (Knitting Mystery #15) by Maggie Sefton

Comment: Let down. #14 was filler and set up for this one. Murder was an afterthought. Pregnancy main focus.

12. Finders Keepers: a Tale of Archaeology Plunder & Obsession by Craig Childs

Comment: Better than anticipated. Seedy underbelly of archaeology.

13. The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jefferies

Comment: Better than expected, but the wife was too passive for me.

14. Food Rules by Michael Pollan

Comment: Nice summary of both The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food.

Here’s my video book review on another one of Michael Pollan’s books: Food Rules.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3clj5fuspwI%5B/embedyt%5D

***This is a Sponsored Blog Post.***

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjxA9NtvFN8%5B/embedyt%5D

Author Bio

Random House Link

Amazon Link

***This is a sponsored book review.***

Title: The Tea Planter’s Wife

Author: Dinah Jefferies

ISBN-13: 978-0451495983

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vCCtM5_BjE%5B/embedyt%5D

Amazon link

More Information

Author Bio

FTC disclaimer: “I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.”

This book, Finders Keepers, gives insight to the seedy underbelly and black market world of Archaeology.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfEAyjnVNBI%5B/embedyt%5D

Amazon link 

 

I’ve been a long time reader of Maggie Sefton’s Knitting Mystery series. Only Skein Deep is the latest book in the series.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo1tdUcJiDA%5B/embedyt%5D

In this video book review, I speak on Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food: an Eater’s Manifesto, his follow up to The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmkulMq0Kgg%5B/embedyt%5D

***Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.***

Title: Something to Food About

Author: Questlove (Ahmir Thompson)

Summary from Publisher:

Questlove is a drummer, producer, musical director, culinary entrepreneur, and New York Times best-selling author. What unites all of his work is a profound interest in creativity. In somethingtofoodabout, Questlove applies his boundless curiosity to the world of food. In conversations with ten innovative chefs in America, he explores what makes their creativity tick, how they see the world through their cooking and how their cooking teaches them to see the world. The conversations begin with food but they end wherever food takes them. Food is fuel. Food is culture. Food is history. And food is food for thought.

Featuring conversations with: Nathan Myhrvold, Modernist Cuisine Lab, Seattle;  Daniel Humm, Eleven Madison Park, and NoMad, NYC;  Michael Solomonov, Zahav, Philadelphia; Ludo Lefebvre, Trois Mec, L.A.; Dave Beran, Next, Chicago; Donald Link, Cochon, New Orleans;  Dominque Crenn, Atelier Crenn, San Francisco;  Daniel Patterson, Coi and Loco’l, San Francisco; Jesse Griffiths, Dai Due, Austin; and Ryan Roadhouse, Nodoguro, Portland.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed the interviews, but not the Modern Art Photography between the interviews. I’m not into modern art. If you like reading about what inspires chefs, I recommend this book. If you’re into modern are photography, I recommend checking out this book.

Publisher’s website

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.*

Video book review of The Pleasures of Reading: a Booklover’s Alphabet by Catherine Sheldrick Ross.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JssD4VOEfes%5B/embedyt%5D

Thank you for stopping by and spending some of your time with me. If you enjoyed this video, you are welcome to subscribe so you don’t miss any new blog posts or videos.

Ever since taking my Nutritional Anthropology class last year, this title has been floating around the top of my To Be Read (TBR) pile. I finally got around to reading it.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz5-PzUkcOI%5B/embedyt%5D

Thoughts: I found this book thought-provoking and it caused me to really consider what I was buying and eating. My gut reaction to this book was to buy 5 acres, have livestock, and a large garden. AND that I should really only by grass-fed beef. Learning how much of a scam free-range and cage-free terminology was was shocking.

http://www.michaelpollan.com

Summary from Amazon:

“What should we have for dinner? Ten years ago, Michael Pollan confronted us with this seemingly simple question and, with The Omnivore’s Dilemma, his brilliant and eye-opening exploration of our food choices, demonstrated that how we answer it today may determine not only our health but our survival as a species. In the years since, Pollan’s revolutionary examination has changed the way Americans think about food. Bringing wide attention to the little-known but vitally important dimensions of food and agriculture in America, Pollan launched a national conversation about what we eat and the profound consequences that even the simplest everyday food choices have on both ourselves and the natural world. Ten years later, The Omnivore’s Dilemma continues to transform the way Americans think about the politics, perils, and pleasures of eating.”