Coop: A Family, a Farm, and the Pursuit of One Good Egg
Coop: A Family, a Farm, and the Pursuit of One Good Egg
by Michael Perry (Author of Population: 485)
Michael Perry is just one of those authors, one of those gifted few, who after you read a couple of pages you feel like you are curled by the fire listening to a master storyteller that you could listen to all night long. His narration is honest, thoughtful- interlaced with humor and always well written anecdotes that make you think about how the world is and how it ought to be.
Coop is an excellent book, split between memories in which Perry tells of how life was during his rural childhood and the other half is a modern day city peeps meet rural narration, or what he is living currently. The reason the childhood memories are triggered is that Perry is a country boy gone citified and then he and his family move back out to the country all the memories of life as a farm boy emerge. I loved both narratives, I enjoyed them each for their own reasons. I admired his parents, who had more children staying with them than the old woman in the shoe! They had natural children, adopted others and took in many (MANY) foster children a high portion of which were handicapped in some way and required a lot of care. So they captured me by their simple and very generous nature. The current day storyline of Perry and his wife in so many ways they reminded me of The Husband and I that I just couldn't not completely love it. He is tender and honest in his rendering of his life living with a woman who longs to embrace life as it comes-naturally (even if he doesn't). His humor reminded me of how The Husband writes about me and it endeared me completely to them as a couple.
As much as this book is a rich narrative about chickens, pigs, cows, and country chores it is much more an honest approach to purpose and life. Perry takes the reader easily word by word gliding on hard work, pure talent, and a voice that rises off the print to help you pull up a chair and get comfy. Coop has become that one book I mention everywhere I go and am not embarrassed to be a shameless promoter of. Michael Perry is a literary ROCKSTAR!! (although I hear he ain't too bad at keeping a tune either!) Coop is a blessing to read no matter who you are, or where you are in life- it will shed new light on your earthy travels for sure. Entirely 100% recommended- it even gets my stellar five chicken book award. Ya just gotta read it, I tell ya!
Michael Perry will be on Blog Talk Radio with Book Club Girl on Monday, June 7th at 7pm EST
Michael Perry's website: Sneezing Cow
ISBN: 9780061240447
Subtitle: A Family, a Farm, and the Pursuit of One Good Egg
Author: Perry, Michael
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Subject: Memoirs, Non-Fiction
Publication Date: May 2010
Pages: 384
All of the proceeds from purchasing items using my link affiliations to Powell's Books go to Living Water International a charity quenching global thirst and preaching the gospel worldwide. You can also donate directly if you would like. Thank you!!
My Little Red Book Giveaway
Last year I posted a review of My Little Red Book, and recently I was asked to offer a giveaway for this little gem of a book on my blog. "Of course!" I said, "I'd love too!" and that was that. What follows is my review which I originally posted in March of 2009- and after that and author video and the deets on entering this giveaway. You won't want to miss out on this opportunity, perfect for mother-daughter bonding!!
My Little Red Book written by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff is a conglomerate memoir of that sacred experience, which is a woman's first period. This splendid little anthology begins with the story of the editor getting her first period while on water skis in a bright yellow bathing suit, and moves from there to woman after woman, mothers and daughters, grandmas and aunts sharing their horrors, their joys and their stories of shame.
There is an account of a mother telling her daughter how amazing and symbolic this event is in their lives as African American women, she tells of how in the days of their great-grandmothers the beginning of menstruation marked a change from a girl to a woman. That day was feared as it meant that her slave value went up and therefore many times she would be sold away from her family to benefit the slave owner. I just couldn't shake that account, still can't.
Even now so many girls look upon the day of their first period with apprehension, fear, guilt, and shame however I find that this book is pioneer to change that. It is no Judy Blume and I thank God that it isn't as women are tired of learning about belted pads, which are so not happening anymore. The author wants this book to be more than just a collection of women telling their stories, but a breakthrough, a change in the way first periods (and periods in general) are perceived, and everyone's attitudes towards them.
On of my favourite stories in My Little Red Book is an essay by Gloria Steinem called "If Men Could Menstruate" (p. 114) it is over-the-top-funny and I just had to agree (not to her extreme, but still) if men did menstruate it would be a test of manhood, a time of the month filled with pride and glorification. What is wrong with us women!?! Not that periods are great, they really aren't that fun but we should see them as what they are, an amazing ability that we have to monthly remember our common bonds of womanhood, and well, that we have the god-given ability to pro-create!
I really enjoyed this book, it is a great resource to share with your daughter, I can't say that I would let her read every story (if she were my 12 year-old) as there is mature content in a couple of the stories, but it would be great to read through it together. My Little Red Book gets my full recommendation, it is spectacular in that it captures all the angles of a girl becoming a woman.
Personally though reading through this I feel slighted . No, it isn't anything wrong with the book, it is that I cannot remember really anything about my first period. I don't think it was that monumental, I wasn't apprehensive and I wasn't scared that I was dying. I don't remember it at all. I kept thinking throughout the book (and still) that there would be something to trigger my memory in one of the stories, I didn't find it. I can't even remember how old I was. I know I was around 12 or so, maybe almost 13 but that is a guess. My friends have told me of amazing dinners they go out to with their mothers, get their hair and nails done, get all fancied up and have a celebration of womanhood where they learn the importance of what is happening and how to handle it, and how to not be ashamed of who they are as women. That didn't happen for me, I bit my nails so getting them done was out, and I didn't like anyone messing with my hair or wearing fancy dresses. Oh, well!
Because the point of the book is to open women up to talk about their experiences, let's do it. If you are a women, what do you remember about this grand event which was your first period? Would you have wished your mom to make a bigger deal about it? Did she even know when you started?
To Enter the Giveaway of My Little Red Book:
1.) Comment on this post telling me your story (if you are a male, figure out something else interesting to tell me about).
2.) For an additional entry tweet about this giveaway and leave a separate comment (from the comment above) telling me you did.
3.) There are 10 copies of My Little Red Book available. For every 5 entrants I will add in another one of the available copies- up to 10 max.
4.) US/Canadian residents only, no PO boxes.
5.) This Giveaway is open through May 18th, I will select a winner on May 19th. Leave a contact email address, just in case you are a lucky winner!!
Make Love, Make War: Now is the Time to Worship
Make Love, Make War: Now Is the Time to Worship
Chapter by chapter Brian Doerksen (the Award-winning songwriter and worship leader) tells of the songs that have changed his life, molded him and how his own lyrics have challenged him to be different-closer to God. I love worshiping, and enjoyed reading Doerksen's thoughts on leading people in, but mostly how he was brought to his knees to praise. As we worship God we are communicating with Him in a way that can transform us, therefore we are waging war, and we are to love the war this brings. We are to long to be changed by God each time we come before Him, each time he tells us something new.
True worshipers will love and do battle, followers of Christ are called to spread peace just as much as they are called to be in the forefront fighting a spiritual warfare. This walk of a worshiper is not just in worship, but in how one lives, how one serves and also how one fights to protect what is most valuable in life.However it is often when we are singing out of love for God he will show us an area on which to make war, a segment of our life that He is calling us to surrender. In that sweet place of complete immersion in Christ we are challenged to make those changes happen. I can't even begin to describe all the things that Make Love, Make War covers. It is a book that will beg change in you, bring you to a place of better understanding of Christ and of worship and help you understand the importance of taking up your sword and making war.
At the end of each chapter are a couple short paragraphs on learning to work with your own songs- write music and learn to worship Christ. I loved reading what this worship song writing guru had to say about songwriting. I learned something from each chapter, each section and I loved how Brian Doerksen challenged his readers.I recommend this to worshipers and worship leaders alike- there is no reason every follower of Christ wouldn't be challenged by this book, to be closer to God and aspire to be made more like Him through worship and communion. Great read!!
- ISBN: 9781434766823
- Subtitle: Now Is the Time to Worship
- Author: Doerksen, Brian
- Publisher: David C. Cook
- Subject: Christian Life - General
- Publication Date: August 2009
- Language: English
- Pages: 253
All of the proceeds from purchasing items using any of my link affiliations (Powell's Books or Toms Shoes) will go to Living Water International a charity quenching global thirst and preaching the gospel. You can also donate directly if you would like. Thank you!!
NurtureShock (the best parenting/child studies book I have EVER read!)
Nurtureshock: New Thinking about Children
This is the best parenting/child development book I have read ever!! I just cannot recommend this book enough. Every time I think about it I want to grab whoever is next to me and tell them that this book is so important and each individual who has any contact with children at all should read it. I wish you could see the full extent of my smile and how I was nodding up and down with my head like a car dash toy pretty much the whole way through NurtureShock. It is sickingly good.
There were several chapters that gave me the chills as I read them, one is the first chapter which is titled The Inverse Power of Praise, and subtitled "Sure, he's special. But new research suggests that if you tell him that, you'll ruin him. It's a neurobiological fact". Okay, so you can probably see where that is going-but the amount of research and time proved what I have known since day one with my boys. My oldest is very smart and educational success comes easily, however I have noticed that he is much quicker to give up than his younger sibling if he doesn't get it right the first time. That is a key of this chapter, that the way we praise our children makes a world of difference as to if they will quit or try until they get it. I can't tell you just how important this chapter is to me, especially since I am staying at home with the boys and we are homeschooling. The second I got this info I tried it and it is completely true- he started to be proud of how hard he was working and not give up as quickly!!
Another chapter (Chapter 3) Why White Parents Don't Talk About Race, subtitled "Does teaching children about race and skin color make them better off or worse?" was shocking! This one will BLOW YOUR MIND. Study after study shows that children DO notice racial differences even if their parents never mention it at all. What this does is it causes them to think that they aren't supposed to notice these differences either-but since they do notice they begin to think all sorts of negatives about why their parents don't want to discuss it.
This chapter as well proved to be completely true in our home. We have been around people of different races, they have friends with different skin tones so I figured-hey why cause distinctions where there shouldn't be any and thus ignoring the issue. I mostly did this because I really had no idea how to talk about it or what to say. Immediately after reading this chapter in the book I began telling the boys about different races, and that we needed to be sure to treat all people equal no matter if they have dark skin, light skin...and so on. Jackson's face lit up and he said, " I was wondering why all those men who play football looked like they have dark skin but I think they are just dirty-they probably smell bad too". I could not believe I was so naive as to think kids could figure out such a difficult issue without my guidance. I guide them in everything else! My negligence could have been really bad if I hadn't figured it out while reading this book. Kids will make guesses as to why others are different and without a parent's guidance they will generally make very wrong assumptions. Now I tell all my friends-"Don't hide race from your kids, they see it!". My kids are 5 and 3 and they noticed already. I now am an advocate for discussing race with children!!
Those are just two of the chapters in the book and you see how it gets me going!? The other chapter titles are:
1. The Inverse Power of Praise "Sure, he's special. But new research suggests that if you tell him that, you'll ruin him. It's a neurobiological fact"
2. The Lost Hour "Around the world, children get an hour less sleep than they did thirty years ago. The cost: IQ Points, emotional well-being, ADHD, and obesity"
3. Why White Parents Don't Talk About Race "Does teaching children about race and skin color make them better off or worse?"
4. Why Kids Lie "We may treasure honesty, but the research is clear. Most classic strategies to promote truthfulness just encourage kids to be better liars",
5. The Search for Intelligent Life in Kindergarten "Millions of kids are competing for seats in gifted programs and private schools. Admissions officers say it's an art: new science days they're wrong, 73% of the time"
6. The Sibling Effect "Freud was wrong. Shakespeare was right. Why siblings really fight"
7. The Science of Teen Rebellion " Why for adolescents, arguing with adults is a sign of respect, not disrespect-and arguing is constructive to the relationship, not destructive"
8. Can Self-Control Be Taught? "Developers of a new kind of preschool keep losing their grant money-the students are so successful they're no longer "a-risk enough" to warrant further study. What's their secret?
9. Plays Well With Others "Why modern involved parenting has failed to produce a generation of angels"
10. Why Hannah Talks and Alyssa Doesn't "Despite scientists' admonitions, parents still spend billions every year on gimmicks and videos, hoping to jump-start infants' language skills. What's the right way to accomplish this goal?"
Again after I wrote all those out I thought, " I need to read Nuture Shock again!!!" Uh-oh! I really just can't tell you how much I think this book will blow you away. I didn't %100 agree with every single thing, but really about %99 of it for sure. I can almost guarantee that you will probably want to underline and pass this book around to your friends. It is the best parenting book that I have read ever. EVER. And captivating to read too- you will understand for the first time so many things that you thought you already knew. A MUST READ.
- ISBN: 9780446504126
- Subtitle: New Thinking about Children
- Author: Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
- Publisher: Twelve
- Subject:Parenting, Child rearing, Child Development, Children's Studies
- Copyright:2009
- Publication Date:September 2009
- Pages:336
I am an affiliate of TOMS SHOES and Powell’s Books and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any item you buy using my links. Thank you!
Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together
Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together
Devotions need to be a priority, weekly, daily- that is up to you, but there needs to be time set aside to nurture and grow that relationship which is of utmost importance- the one between a couple and towards God. So often when you don't it is easy to nag each other, pick fights or feel like your marriage is a working relationship, or maybe a black hole depending on how dramatic you are. Over the years love hits the backseat and romance has departed for good after you spend a good amount of time pushing your spouse away. I suggest devotions together, they bless us every time we do it, and we see the rewards big time. It doesn't have to be this book, it could be one that speaks to you, or reading the Bible together- but don't put it off.
Brad and I have made our way peeking into several different devotion books over the 8 years of our marriage. I thought this one would be the same, but this time this book hit the mark. The initial devotions seem a little to simple and straightforward (just blah) so we almost tossed the book into the pile of devotional books that haven't quite cut it.However, Closer gets better and better (or was it my attitude that improved?) I recommend sticking with it through at least the first 5 devotional sessions and you will find yourself and your spouse in a deeper place with God and a closer place as a married couple.
Jim and Cathy Burns co authored this book, I have been blessed by them in the past as Jim Burns wrote several amazing books for age appropriate sex education which I love, LOVE. This devotional book is good, and I recommend it. Our typical devotions set begins with some worship, then we read and answer the questions from on chapter of Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together, then read a chapter of the Bible, and close it off with prayer for each other. We have grown, and God has grown in us through this time. There is nothing more we could ask!
Do you have a favourite couples devotional book that you could recommend to me?? We're going to be done with this one and I would love some suggestions on ones that aren't cheesy and that really dive deep. Ideas anyone??
ISBN:9780764207037
Subtitle:Devotions to Draw Couples Together
Author: Burns, Jim And Cathy
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Subject: Christian Life - Devotional
Christian Life - Love & Marriage
Publication Date: October 2009
Pages: 222
I am an affiliate of TOMS SHOES and Powell’s Books and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any item you buy using my links. Thank you!
My Life in France
We all have our obsessions in life, right now mine is running but sometimes it is cooking, or candy or chicken farming. I can't imagine what it would be like to have an obsession, or I guess a passion which lasted for over 20 years- or after reading My Life in France I guess I can. This book part autobiography, part biography by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme is a story of love at first sight, and the choice to keep on loving no matter what adversity that love would bring. Julia fell in love with France, and food and with her sweetheart, Paul Child. Not only did she love food, she loved other people to love it too and so she wrote a number of cookbooks targeted at the American cook on her favourite subject-French cuisine. These books filled her life, consumed her thoughts, took her time more than many of us would have given for a dream. But after reading this book and getting to know Julia the way I do now, I don't know what would have been able to anchor her energy if she hadn't had it focused on these cookbook projects and then later on, the TV shows. Her determination is nothing but astonishing.
Julia Child's over-the-top expressions and larger-than-possible gestures bloom through the pages of this book and made me laugh over and over and over. I have seen her cooking show, and I watched Meryl Streep's impersonation of this eccentric gentle giant,none of which have left me doubtful of Child's well deserved claim to fame, however My Life in France is what made me fall completely in love with her. I love her clown-like and completely lovable qualities. I am not obsessed, as I would consider one certain Julie Powell type level of obsession-still I am in awe and admiration of Julia Child (and Paul for that matter) for so many reasons beyond entertainment's sake. Mostly that they just didn't quit, they loved, loved strong, loved fast and hard and when adversity struck they loved harder and held each other tighter. My life in France is not just the story of Julia Child, as Julia would only be half of what she was without Paul Child.
My Life in France is an extremely gallant attempt to narrate and contain the larger than life story of Julia Child. I do believe as much as that woman can be contained, and although I caught her stretching off the pages towards me, this book does the job spectacularly. If you enjoyed the film Julie & Julia, or if you like cooking or would like to be inspired to reach a goal and conquer a dream- snap this read up!!! I wholeheartedly recommend this book!! (It earns my top of the top award of Stellar Five Chicken Book)
Paul and Julia were keen on sending out lovely valentines like this every year. Too cute!
Bon appétit!
- ISBN:9780307277695
- Author: Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme
- Publisher: Anchor Books
- Author: Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme
- Author: Child, Julia
- Author:Prud'homme, Alex
- Subject: History, Cooking, Personal Memoirs
- Cookery, french
- Copyright: 2007
- Publication Date: October 2007
- Pages:352Did you read this?? What did you think? Would you consider yourself a cooking fanatic?
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America
A middle aged journalist, Barbara Ehrenreich notes the obvious gap in coverage on a whole segment of society, the poverty level wadge earners (or the working poor). She chooses to go undercover (a la old school) and see if without her degrees (and a Phd.) and without her 'luck' and experience in past jobs- with that off the record, where would she be? Would it even be possible for her to survive financially? She does nothing but strip herself from her entitled position as a middle class citizen and education just to see if she can survive on what millions of Americans aim to survive on. These citizens who give their sweat and tears to work full-time, seven days a week, for the whole year earning a poverty-level wadge in aim to survive. Barbara Ehrenreich decides that now is the time to find out so she strips herself of all her advantages and God knows what will happen.
Accepting jobs from working at Walmart, to housecleaning, and witnessing she is shocked to find that each of these jobs require her to put herself fully into it in order to keep up with the flow, and keep her job. The jobs all have things in common, they are high intensity, high stress, and demanding and yet they are minimum wadge or barely over that. She chooses 3 different cites where she is going to try and make it work- and she soon finds out that just one job is not enough, if she wants a roof above her head she'll have to be working at least two demanding jobs at a time. She soon realises that she has discarded, along with her privilege so much of where her securities were resting. No longer covered for medical expenses, dental mishaps or even just knowing that she could fall back on her education or rely on wealthy family members for a difficult season- the stress of just getting by is so much more than numbers, it is the heavy weight that one can only understand if one has been in that spot.
I strongly believe that every single person should read Nickel and Dimed, especially the overly wealthy (or those who have that type of attitude) and the working poor, every middle class white, every underpaid minority- this book crosses all the barriers and brings up issues that through knowledge we could change. The working poor is responsible for so much of the upper and middle class' benefits, but generally they aren't seen for the work they do, but just as a job, a label- as if that where their dream in life when they were 4. Barbara puts a face on the working poor, a face that you won't be able to forget even if you aim to. I highly recommend this Nickel and Dimed for perspective, awareness and so much more!
Nickel and Dimed is A New York Times bestseller, and Notable Book of the year but besides all those awards it is really- a must read.
Have you read this?? What are your thoughts? Is there another book, like this one, that has challenged your view on our societies set-up? Please share!
- ISBN:9780805088380
- Author: Barbara Ehrenreich
- Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
- Subject: Poverty, Economic Conditions, Labor & Industrial Relations - General
- Working poor - United States
- Poverty - United States
- Copyright: 2008
- Publication Date: June 2008
I am an affiliate of TOMS SHOES and Powell’s Books and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any item you buy using my links. Thank you!
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