New word: Zymology – the Science of Fermentation

Visited the library today. This is what I came away with:

I have been wanting to try to ferment for awhile now, so I decided to read up on it and give it a go. Plus I spied Jamie Oliver’s Everyday Super Food on a nearby shelf, and just decided to throw that in as well.

I recently read a post titled Vegan Summer Reads: 7 Inspiring Books for Conscious Living. Being mostly (but not fully committed) vegetarian, I dabble with the idea of veganism – meaning I enjoy learning about it, try a dish here and there, but don’t see myself giving up cheese any time soon. However, this list included a few books that would be of interest to more than the vegan community, such as books about plastic and eating for the planet. Learning more ways of ‘conscious living’ can never hurt.

I cannot stand for food to be wasted. At home we preserve extra food, whether freeze, pickle, or dehydrate – time to add fermenting to the toolkit.

Reading tonight, farmer’s market tomorrow.

And if you’re wondering about zymology – Eduard Buechner won the 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for understanding that fermentation occurs because of enzymes produced by microorganisms. So now you know.

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10 Charles Dickens Novels Everyone Should Read

In the new year I must get to reading Bleak House – it’s been on my shelf since I picked it up secondhand months ago. I’ll admit I was a little put off Dickens after attempting Nicholas Nickleby, afraid I’d waste my time slogging through hundreds of pages before giving up. Confidence renewed.

Interesting Literature

The best Charles Dickens books, and why you should read them

When he died aged 58 in 1870, Charles Dickens left behind fifteen novels, five Christmas books, several volumes of travel writing, and dozens of journalistic pieces and short stories. But what are the ten books that best exemplify Dickens’s genius, his unique comic achievement, and those qualities which we tend to think of when we hear the word ‘Dickensian’? Undoubtedly a fool’s errand. But we’ll give it a go anyway, if nothing else because it’s an excuse to share some great trivia about Dickens’s finest books.

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An Awesome List of Short-ish Books

A worthy list indeed; I may add all of these to my To Read list! I’m usually not interested in book reviewers. This is the first time I’ve come across Maureen Corrigan, and I think I’m a fan. From the way she writes it’s evident she is intelligent, a prolific reader and lover of books.

http://www.npr.org/2015/12/07/458461851/maureen-corrigans-best-books-of-2015-short-ish-books-that-pack-a-big-punch

No Schedules, 100 Notable Books and My Top Ten Books of 2015

Well. I’ve been away from my projects for awhile but life is just like that and I’ve decided I don’t have to make myself have a schedule that will only result in my feeling bad when I don’t adhere to it, because feeling bad for no good reason is something I try to avoid. I prefer to live in an undisciplined, do-as-I-please and take-it-or-leave-it style. Just had to get that off my chest.

As a result of being away from my projects, I have a head filled with things to get out into the world! I foresee a smattering of posts getting done today.

To start with, the title “100 Notable Books of 2015” really caught my eye. Oooh, how many have I read? I was admittedly a bit surprised to find that I have not read a single book that the New York Times editors deemed the most notable of the year (as a side note, 2015 is not over yet – poor authors who have not yet published and missed their chance). Needless to say I found a few to add to my To Read list so it was worth a look anyway.

However it inspired me to create my own list as a means to look back on what I’ve read this year. I set a goal to read 50 books and am currently on numbers 44, 45 and 46 so I reserve the right to change depending on what I have yet to read in the next 33 days. In no particular order (that would take me ages to decide) I present to you:

My 10 Favourite Books of 2015

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

Worst Person Ever by Douglas Coupland

The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg

The Dog Stars by Peter

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St John Mandel

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

This is the Life by Alex Shearer

The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomons

The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty by Sebastian Barry

Cooked by Michael Pollan

There you have it. Apparently I was big on Fiction in 2015. What books are in your Top 10 of 2015?

USA Today ‘New & Noteworthy’

This week’s list from USA Today is an interesting mix, a couple to add to the To Read list (Whoopi Goldberg – always good for a laugh, and Elvis Costello – don’t know much about him but a singer/songwriter’s life should be a good story) and one to add to the Gift Ideas list – Humans of New York. If you’re not familiar, I urge you to check out Brandon’s site (humansofnewyork.com) and follow HONY on Facebook. He manages to capture real life, people’s triumphs, fears, personalities, emotions, with a photo and a snippet of conversation. The Facebook comments can be nearly as inspiring as the stories.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2015/10/11/books-new-and-noteworthy/73388902/