Books on My (Virtual) Nightstand
My side of the bed doesn't have much room for anything but air, so by nightstand I mean just about any horizontal surface (or purse) in the apartment.
After reading In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan, I decided to go back and read its predecessor, The Omnivore's Dilemma. I'm only about 90 pages in, but already it's been an eye opener. I'm learning now about how corn-fed cattle fatten insanely fast and are ready for slaughter in 14-16 months (as compared to 5-6 years for their grass-fed brethren). However, cows are meant to eat grass, so corn makes them sick, which necessitates antibiotics. Also, the cows don't get sufficient nutrients from corn are fed a whole host of vitamins and supplements, including other cows' fat. Gross. We are forcing our meat supply to eat themselves and others (like chicken waste and feed). We picked up burgers from our local fast food chain, Burgerville last night (a chain that buys only local ingredients of the highest standard). It felt good knowing that the burger I devoured came from a cow in Oregon that was grass-fed and fattened on hay and grain. It never had to be treated with antibiotics and was never forced to eat another cow. Granted, it's still fast food, but I can feel a little better about indulging now and again.
Moving on from food, Witold Rybczynski's Last Harvest is filling a void in me that would normally be consumed by work (preservation, architecture and planning). Like many of Rybczynski's other books, he meanders through the history of America's residential architecture and neighborhoods in a way that is very accessible. I took Jesse to a lecture that he gave at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. a few years ago. It was fascinating, even for Jesse who has never studied architecture or planning. In the Last Harvest, Rybczynski covers the progression of real estate development from pretty early on in America's history right through a fairly recent project just outside of Philadelphia. Really, I think you should pick up this book at your local library. I am always satisfied by Rybczynski's insights on the home and neighborhoods -- clearly he's thought about this stuff for quite a while. Even though I'm only about 100 pages into the book, he has already softened (although not changed completely) my somewhat strong opinions against "neotraditional" planning (ie. New Urbanism and all of their Disneyesque incarnations). I guess if I can get past the aesthetics, the underlying concept is really quite good.
I also pulled a book off of my shelf that I haven't looked at in a while. True Urbanism: Living in and Near the Center. I received this book as a gift from Jesse's parents for Christmas a couple of years ago. I read selected essays that appealed to me, but now, I'm going back and reading it cover to cover. A lot of the principles covered in the book are in line with Jane Jacobs (one of my favorite authors on urban planning) and also really emphasize the reasons we moved to Portland. Not surprisingly, each essay highlights cities that were at the top of our list for ideal places to live -- Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, and San Francisco. Portland is included as a case study city for "True Urbanism" and made me love the city even more. Everyday, I find new reasons why I think that I will be truly happy here. It may not be your ideal place to live, but I'm quickly learning that it is the perfect place for me.
This third book isn't yet in my hands, but I think it will be a new addition pretty soon. I need to round out the non-fiction on my virtual nightstand. Apparently, Seth Grahame-Smith has taken Pride and Prejudice and skillfully spliced in words and phrases that set the Bennet girls in the middle of a plague involving the living dead. I heard the author on NPR reading a few excerpts and thought it was brilliant. At first, I dismissed the idea of turning a Jane Austen novel into a story about the living dead, but the more I thought about it (and discussed the premise with Jesse), the more I wanted to dive into the plot. We remake movies based on Jane Austen novels all the time, Clueless is a pretty good (or particularly bad) example. Artists are constantly remaking songs, so why not remake a novel? According to a few reviews that I have read, the book still reads very much like the original classic, just with a twist of brain eaters.
After reading In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan, I decided to go back and read its predecessor, The Omnivore's Dilemma. I'm only about 90 pages in, but already it's been an eye opener. I'm learning now about how corn-fed cattle fatten insanely fast and are ready for slaughter in 14-16 months (as compared to 5-6 years for their grass-fed brethren). However, cows are meant to eat grass, so corn makes them sick, which necessitates antibiotics. Also, the cows don't get sufficient nutrients from corn are fed a whole host of vitamins and supplements, including other cows' fat. Gross. We are forcing our meat supply to eat themselves and others (like chicken waste and feed). We picked up burgers from our local fast food chain, Burgerville last night (a chain that buys only local ingredients of the highest standard). It felt good knowing that the burger I devoured came from a cow in Oregon that was grass-fed and fattened on hay and grain. It never had to be treated with antibiotics and was never forced to eat another cow. Granted, it's still fast food, but I can feel a little better about indulging now and again.
Moving on from food, Witold Rybczynski's Last Harvest is filling a void in me that would normally be consumed by work (preservation, architecture and planning). Like many of Rybczynski's other books, he meanders through the history of America's residential architecture and neighborhoods in a way that is very accessible. I took Jesse to a lecture that he gave at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. a few years ago. It was fascinating, even for Jesse who has never studied architecture or planning. In the Last Harvest, Rybczynski covers the progression of real estate development from pretty early on in America's history right through a fairly recent project just outside of Philadelphia. Really, I think you should pick up this book at your local library. I am always satisfied by Rybczynski's insights on the home and neighborhoods -- clearly he's thought about this stuff for quite a while. Even though I'm only about 100 pages into the book, he has already softened (although not changed completely) my somewhat strong opinions against "neotraditional" planning (ie. New Urbanism and all of their Disneyesque incarnations). I guess if I can get past the aesthetics, the underlying concept is really quite good.
I also pulled a book off of my shelf that I haven't looked at in a while. True Urbanism: Living in and Near the Center. I received this book as a gift from Jesse's parents for Christmas a couple of years ago. I read selected essays that appealed to me, but now, I'm going back and reading it cover to cover. A lot of the principles covered in the book are in line with Jane Jacobs (one of my favorite authors on urban planning) and also really emphasize the reasons we moved to Portland. Not surprisingly, each essay highlights cities that were at the top of our list for ideal places to live -- Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, and San Francisco. Portland is included as a case study city for "True Urbanism" and made me love the city even more. Everyday, I find new reasons why I think that I will be truly happy here. It may not be your ideal place to live, but I'm quickly learning that it is the perfect place for me.
This third book isn't yet in my hands, but I think it will be a new addition pretty soon. I need to round out the non-fiction on my virtual nightstand. Apparently, Seth Grahame-Smith has taken Pride and Prejudice and skillfully spliced in words and phrases that set the Bennet girls in the middle of a plague involving the living dead. I heard the author on NPR reading a few excerpts and thought it was brilliant. At first, I dismissed the idea of turning a Jane Austen novel into a story about the living dead, but the more I thought about it (and discussed the premise with Jesse), the more I wanted to dive into the plot. We remake movies based on Jane Austen novels all the time, Clueless is a pretty good (or particularly bad) example. Artists are constantly remaking songs, so why not remake a novel? According to a few reviews that I have read, the book still reads very much like the original classic, just with a twist of brain eaters.
5 comments:
I'm sure that Oregon cow was a happy cow right up to the point it was executed, cut up into pieces and ground into chuck.
I wonder if his name was Angus?
I'm pretty sure it was dead when cut up into pieces and ground into chuck. Don't think you'll make me feel bad about that burger. It was gooood.
All of those books are high on my list. I mean SERIOUSLY, Erin, we have a lot in common. Why did I not realize this until you moved across the country? I think it's because I'm shy.
It's funny how that happens. I took a lot of things for granted in D.C. and realize now (that I have a limited selection of friends in Portland) how important the people in my life were -- even the ones that I didn't see every week.
That's why "executed" was first in the sequence of events... I don't think "they" could get away with the cutting and grinding first.
Mmmmmmmmmmm... cheese burgers.
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