Living locally

I'm reading an interesting non-fiction book right now by one of my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver. The book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" is about how her family spent a year attempting to eat only foods grown either on their own farm or within the local community. It's an interesting chronicle of growing your own food -- including chickens and turkeys that they butchered themselves -- and a reminder of how different grocery store food is from the home-grown variety. It's got me to thinking that I should try to freeze or can vegetables and fruit that I buy this summer from the local farmer's markets, and save it for next winter when good produce is in short supply. Here's the website that goes with the book.

Richistan

I just finished reading a new book called "Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich" by Robert Frank. It took me just four days to read (about 1-3 hours per day) and I loved every minute of it!


I am fascinated by the growing problem of income inequality in the US and this book drives home just how out of whack it's become. The author, a Wall Street Journal reporter, covers all facets of the lives of the ultra-wealthy (those with $10 million or more in assets) and shows how they live such different and removed lives from the rest of us that they've essentially created their own country, which he calls "Richistan." The author almost makes fun of this group, with his tone of voice, but it's also a very serious book in that he has laid out with exquisite detail just how far removed the ultra wealthy have become.

You can read more about it on the author's blog and hear a clip from an NPR report on
NPR's web site

Goodreads

I've just learned about a social networking site for book lovers! It's called Goodreads. There you keep a list of books you've read or books you want to read and you can get recommendations from other people or give recommendations. So you can find people who read something you liked and see what else they have read to get new ideas! I love it! I've added myself and I'd love to see you there too.