Average Girl Reads

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

Genre: nonfiction, healthy living
On my TBR list?: no

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is called "a pocket compendium of food wisdom", and I think that it is a good description. I've read Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto and found a lot of fascinating information in it, but I would never be able to get my friends to read it. That's why I like this book. It is a distillation of what Pollan believes about food without all the statistics and such. Each page has a short saying on it to remind you of good eating habits, such as "Use meat as a seasoning." I could hand this book to my friends who say they don't have time to read, and in an evening they would get the gist of what this Michael Pollan they've heard of is talking about.

The edition I read was a tiny paperback that fit easily into my purse. In my mind that makes it more useful. I like the idea of having a little book I can carry with me that reminds me of why I'm trying to eat better. Many of the sayings are just different versions of Pollan's basic mantra ("Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.") and he admits as much. Still, it is a book that I would choose over the latest diet craze any day.

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The Fate of Katherine Carr by Thomas H. Cook

Genre: mystery
On my TBR list?: No

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Everyone has a certain storyline that is difficult for them to read. For me, it is stories about the death of young children. Once I became a mother, I could no longer accept such a thing as just part of the plot. So here is fair warning: if you have trouble with that sort of story, too, then you may want to turn away from this book.

This story follows George Gates, a former travel writer. His particular specialty was writing about places where people had mysteriously disappeared -- that is, until his own son vanishes and is later found to be murdered. George then gets a job at a small town paper and sticks to writing about local art exhibits and obituaries of local celebrities. One day he is drawn out of his numb existence by a retired police detective who is haunted by one particular unsolved missing persons case involving a woman named Katherine Carr.

Technically this book is a mystery, but if you are accustomed to reading "Murder She Wrote"-style cozies then you may not like this. Thomas H. Cook used a "story within a story within a story" device that isn't as confusing as it sounds, but it made the story drag for me. I can't picture how he could have told this story without having us read the other story, though.

It took a long time for this book to grab me, but I can't fault the writing. Cook's descriptions of George's anguish over the loss of his son were so vivid that I felt a tightening in my chest as I was reading. I pushed through, hoping that I would be rewarded with a satisfactory ending, but what I got reminded me of the endings of old-time radio shows like "The Shadow". I normally enjoy a good melodrama, but it didn't quite fit with the melancholy tone of the majority of the book.

What's the ultimate verdict? The story is beautifully written and the main character's sense of hopelessness really came through. However, nothing is spelled out as clearly as it would have been in a conventional mystery novel so I didn't come away with the feeling that the bad guys got their comeuppance. For that reason, I can't think of anyone to whom I would recommend this book.



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I'm back again, after skipping two Sundays of the Salon. As much as I enjoy writing these posts, it seems a waste to write one during the weeks when I am struggling through books I don't particularly enjoy. The past couple weeks fall into that category.

First, I had to dig my way through Life of Pi to satisfy my commitment to my 1001 Books pal, Maestra. I did not like it but I'm glad that I can check it off my list. My picks off the list haven't all been winners, so I harbor no resentment toward Maestra for picking it!

Next, I read The Fate of Katherine Carr (my own thoughts to come later this week). One of my real-life acquaintances recently joined Goodreads and I found it on his list. Strangely, we both started reading it at the same time without telling each other. I was ready to ditch it, but once I found out that he was reading it I stuck with it.

Are you seeing a pattern here? I feel compelled to finish books that people in my daily life are reading, even if I'm not enjoying the book. Perhaps it is because most of my circle doesn't read. When I find someone who does, I jump headlong into reading something in their favorite genre even if it isn't to my taste just so I can discuss the book later.

UP NEXT: Casting Spells is one of the books that has been on my TBR list for a long time, and I am looking forward to finally reading it. I'm hoping that it will be along the lines of the Sookie Stackhouse books -- a country town with a hidden paranormal life. I could use a fun frolic after the slog I've taken through more literary tomes this month!

Today, the Mecklenburg County Library Board of Trustees voted to lay off 84 people and cut salaries in order to avoid more serious cuts. I don't live in Mecklenburg County but I feel their pain. Several years ago, we had a similar budget shortfall here in Gaston County and library operating hours at all the branches were shortened. I still miss being able to go get books on a Sunday. If our library hadn't implemented the online reserve system, it would be difficult for a daytime worker like me to get books at all. Being able to pick out my books online is a big help because then they are waiting for me in a stack when I slide into my local branch right before closing. Still, it isn't the same as browsing the stacks like I did when I was a kid. Now a whole new group of people is going to be deprived of that pleasure.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

On my TBR list? No

One of the 1001 Books


My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Although I marked this book as "read" on Goodreads, I will admit that I skimmed a big chunk of it. Yann Martel does have a way with words and the musings on religion were especially lyrical, but I wasn't really interested in the basic premise of the book. The main twist (which I shall not divulge) came way too late; I was on the verge of chucking the book altogether when I came across it. The flashback nature of the storytelling gave me the happy ending before I even knew the twist so I didn't care about it when it came along.

The most enjoyable parts of this novel were the main character Pi's thoughts on religion and God. I identified with Pi's youthful sampling of several different religions, even though I didn't take it quite as far as he did when I was a teenager. There is a quote toward the beginning of the book that has stuck with me despite what I feel about the novel as a whole:

"We are all born like Catholics, aren't we -- in limbo, without religion, until some figure introduces us to God?"

All in all, I thought that there was much more "musing" than "doing" in this book. I suppose that is partly what separates a literary novel from a mass market one. So if you are the type of reader that prefers the run-and-gun approach of novels that throw you into the action by page two, then this isn't the book for you.



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Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream by Adam Shepard

Genre: part stunt memoir, part inspirational book
On my TBR list?: yes


My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I enjoy a good stunt memoir, so I was looking forward to reading this book. The premise sounded intriguing: a recent college graduate hits the road with $25, a sleeping bag, and a change of clothes to see if he can work his way up to a job, a savings account, and an apartment at the end of a year. I thought I would learn something new about the struggles of the working poor, but I was wrong.

There is nothing revolutionary about this book. The author stayed close to his hometown of Raleigh, NC because both of his parents were ill and he wanted to be able to get back to them quickly. That is admirable, but the "search" in the title made me imagine that Shepard went on a cross-country jaunt checking out the minimum-wage lifestyle in different areas. Instead, he took the train to Charleston and stayed there. This is more of a story about getting on your feet after college without your parents' help. He wasn't weighed down with two kids or a drug addiction or both. Since he knew he only had to pretend to be uneducated and down-and-out for a year, Shepard had the willpower to deprive himself of a lot of tiny luxuries like cable TV and trips to McDonald's. Yes, he stayed in a shelter for a while but he made it sound like a sleepaway camp.

After reading Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed (a book that incensed Shepard), this book sounds trite and PollyAnna-ish. Shepard's view is that the right attitude will take you anywhere you want to go. That may be true, but he writes as if he is the first person to discover that. The best compliment I can give this book is that it isn't weighed down by a lot of statistics, so you could possibly hand this to a recent high-school graduate as an inspirational book. However, even an 18-year-old knows people who have pulled themselves out of rougher circumstances that what were portrayed in this book.


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This past week has been a slow one for me, reading-wise. I've been trying to recover from a head cold which has morphed into a chest cold. Video games have also been taking up most of my leisure time. Not only have I been playing Dance Dance Revolution with M for exercise (lost 2.6 lbs last week -- woo hoo!), but I also developed an urge to play Virtual Villagers 3. After ignoring the tall stack of books on my bedside table for the past week, I'm feeling a little self-imposed pressure to read a few before they have to back to the library.

CURRENTLY READING: I'm still working my way through Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream and Life of Pi. I may finish Scratch Beginnings before the end of the day, but I haven't picked up Life of Pi since I mentioned it last week. As I mentioned, the description of the book didn't entice me to read it, and now that I've read a couple chapters my mind hasn't been changed. I'm committed to finishing it since I am reading it with a partner, but I may have to force it down like castor oil.

ON DECK: I have several non-fiction books on fashion, household management, and language in my stack. My sense, however, is that my readers want to know about the novels, and I have three on hand --




I anticipate that they will all be quick reads. The Invention of Hugo Cabret looks like a chunkster, but a good bit of it is illustrations since it is supposed to be part graphic novel. Once I push through Life of Pi, the rest of my stack should be a breeze!