On My Bookshelf

just finished

just started

on deck

I really enjoyed The Emperor of All Maladies, Quiverfull, and South of Broad.  I was SO surprised at how much I enjoyed South of Broad, because I am not a Pat Conroy fan. Don't get me wrong; there were still multiple point in the book when I wanted to shout, "TOO MANY WORDS!", but overall it was a page turner.  

The Emperor of All Maladies was a difficult read.  It's filled with a lot of data, a lot of names, and a lot of scientific research.  All of it is fascinating and I learned a great deal, but it took me awhile to digest what I had read.  That said, I feel like I have a much better understanding of cancer, its history, and its future.  Really interesting stuff.  

Quiverfull was, in a word, frightening.  I enjoyed it and it was incredibly eye-opening, but it also made me sad.  It's a book that truly makes you think about religion and forces you to examine the negative aspects of it. 

Game Change is the book that the HBO movie was based on, but the book covers a lot more than the epic disaster/SNL miracle that was Sarah Palin.  It also focuses on the relationship between the Obama and Clinton campaigns.  For a political junkie like me, this book should be a quick read.  I can't get enough of stuff like this.

Wolf Hall and The Space Between Us have both been in my Amazon shopping cart for years.  I'm ready to finally bite the bullet and read them.  

Have any of you read any of these books?  I'd be curious to hear your thoughts!  Have you read anything good lately that I should add to my ever-expanding on deck list?

Brain Dump

source

None of these are really enough to form a complete post, but here are some thoughts that have been rattling around in the old noggin recently:

1.  I am fascinated by cults and extreme fringe religious groups.  Not in a "I want to join one" kind of way, but I just think the psychology and history of them is so interesting.  A few years ago I went on a Scientology binge and after reading as much as I could about it, I find it horrifically creepy. They have done some shady shit to people.  {NPR's "Fresh Air" had a great interview about a new book on Scientology last week}  Last year I was really into learning about the personality cult surrounding the Kim Dynasty in North Korea.  My new obsession is the Quiverfull and Christian Patriarchy movements.  The Duggars are what really made the Quiverfull movement famous, and although I have never watched that show and never will, I can't. stop. reading. about these groups.  This blog {Love, Joy, Feminism} in particular is what I've been reading.  The author was raised in a QF/CP home, but went away to a large state school for college and ended up leaving her faith.  She blogs about her experiences and keeps a list of other survivor blogs.  She's mentioned Kathryn Joyce a few times on her blog, so I really want to read this book.

2. I'm not sure what rock I've been living under, but I have recently discovered the blog Into The Gloss and I am in love.  I am a closet product junkie and it's written in such a fun, whip-smart tone.  I'm kind of embarrassed {but not really} to admit that I was waiting with bated breath for the conclusion of their series on foundation. The only problem is I am going to have to stop myself from buying everything they recommend.  The Kiehl's Rare Earth Pore Minimizing Lotion is at the top of my list because my pores are seriously OOC.

3.  I am pretty much obsessed with watching French Food At Home reruns on the Cooking Channel.  Does anyone else love Laura Calder the way I do?  She's kind of a bitch and she's a little quirky, but that is part of her charm. Also she has like a Miranda-complex going on, where sometimes she is drop-dead gorgeous and sometimes she is really strange-looking.  Very confusing.  Anyhoo, her show is like escapism for me since pretty much all I ever want to do is make and eat French food and daydream about moving to France.  I want to get every single one of her cookbooks.

4. I've been having random, super intense food cravings recently {no, I'm not pregnant}.  Like last Sunday morning, I woke up and all I could think about was cream puffs.  No real reason why.  I just NEEDED cream puffs. What is that? Does that ever happen to you?