What I read in February

I am a voracious reader and read pretty quickly (I won't bore you with pages per hour). As a result, books don't really take me very long to read. Now, in some instances this is a good thing: when the book is not what I expected it to be or it's boring, it's great. When I really LOVE a book, though, I have to force myself to slow down and really take it all in (or reread it). There are very few books I've outright abandoned mid-book, but I'm not above doing it because frankly it's just not worth my time or mental energy -pretty much any Jane Austen novel. I've never finished one. I'm sorry, I just can't.

Anyway, these are the books I read this month. 12 total, some of which I would totally recommend and others I wouldn't so much. I realize 12 is a TON of books in one month, but I'm not working and married to a grad student who is gone most of the week.

I've decided to use a 5 star scale because sometimes you need that extra middle star. I would highly recommend the 4 and 5 star books and sort of recommend the 3 star books depending on what you like to read. I'd recommend them in this order, even within the same number of stars, I'd rate some better than others. Occasionally I reserve the right to not assign a star value on the basis that some things need to be read no matter the quality of the writing or controversial subject matter. From March onward I'd like to write capsule reviews as I read the books, but the reviews below were written at the end of the month.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (witholding stars) Not originally on my list, though the sequel is. It's been on the best sellers forever, kids read it in schools and it was one of the most requested books at Big Corporate Bookstore all 3 years I worked there but I had never bothered reading it. And it was fascinating, beautiful, terrifying and most of all, inspiring. It's absolutely stimulating reading and shows that one person can make so much difference in areas that need it so much. Makes #firstworldproblems seem so completely trivial (wish I could remember that on a daily basis). I hope one day I have the guts to do something even 1/100th as impactful. Seriously, read this book.

Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton ***** Art/ art history. My favorite book that I read this month in terms of writing quality plus subject matter. Ms. Thorton spends time in 7 different areas of art: the auction, the crit, the fair, the prize, the magazine, the studio, and the Biennale.  She gets amazing access to some high profile artists, collectors, dealers and curators. It's all fascinating, well-written and incredibly informative. My personal favorite was the chapter about the critique; I participated in more than my fair share of them in photography as a critic, the person being critiqued, and an innocent bystander with nothing else to do. I was genuinely sad when this book was over, which doesn't happen enough. Definitely a new favorite.

The Year We Disappeared by Cylin Busby and John Busby **** Memoir. Another Advanced Readers copy. A memoir written by a daughter and father about a family dealing with the aftermath of a dangerous small town criminal who shot the father's face (a police officer) in a drive by shooting. It's a terrible story but interesting to read how it all played out from the two different perspective in such a small town. It reads like a fictional crime book which I don't normally read but it was so fascinating.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson **** Memoir. Bill Bryson is a "love him or hate him" kind of author, apparently, and I really like him. This was his memoir about growing up in Des Moins, Iowa and is funny, cute, and just slightly fictionalized for dramatic effect and to keep in the little kid spirit. I really loved this book and would highly recommend it for people who like playful books or books that tell about small towns.

America the Edible: A Hungry History From Sea to Dining Sea by Adam Richman **** Food writing. Written by the guy that hosts Man v. Food on the Travel channel (who is also a Yale graduate). Tells a lot of cute stories about his culinary travels but I found it weird he had to talk about his romantic conquests so much and I would have liked the book better without them. Gives a bunch of suggestions for each city mentioned, which I copied into my "travel" folder for future trips.

Turning the Tables: Restaurants from the Inside Out by Steven A. Shaw *** Food writing. In depth look at restaurants and how they work. I really liked seeing how a restaurant goes from concept to reality and the role a publicist plays in all of it (fascinating, actually). This book focuses more on the high end restaurants and has the big name chefs and restaurants to go along with it (including Alinea in Chicago and El Bulli in Spain). Provides great background information on both Zagat Guides and Michelin Stars, both of which I use on a regular basis. Interesting but I feel like much of the book is name-dropping just to name drop, but overall an interesting read worth your time.

My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster *** Memoir. Typical Jen Lancaster book. It's cute, honest, and amusing in a 21st century girl kind of way. A nice brainless book but kind of made me realize that even though I'm not addicted to reality TV, my life could do with a little more culture and a little less Martha Stewart Living.

Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup *** Memoir. I got this as an advanced reader copy from the bookstore, just for the record. They may have changed parts of it for the real printing. It's about a woman (a forestry chaplain) and her life after her husband (a cop) is killed. I cried a lot but it made me so thankful for AC and made me realize that somewhere down the line marriage is going to be more work than I expected but it's worth it. It's a little slow going, and took me a while to actually sit down and commit to reading it, though.

Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children by Ann Cooper *** I have a whole post on this book for later in the week. but I will say that if you're a teacher, parent, or intend to have kids, this is an absolutely fabulous book. For the intentionally childless, I'm sure there are better resources on how to change school lunches.

Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten *** Food writing. The earlier works of Mr. Steingarten. I really like him as both a critic and author, but I would recommend his other book (It Must Have been Something I Ate) more since it's more relevant and more recent, but it was fun to see how his writing style has both changed and improved.

The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich ** Fiction. Too many characters and too many stories told from too many perspectives. I love the setting in the Indian reservation and the story itself was great, but it was just all too much to comprehend unless you read it all in one sitting. I don't read much fiction but I'll make some exceptions. One of her other books is my absolute favorite fiction book, though.

The Flawless Skin of Ugly People by Doug Crandell ** Fiction. Pizza face guy and fat girl come to terms with their shared history while girl is at fat camp; the girl's family comes into play a lot towards the end though I can't tell you why. It's all very... it reads like an MFA story, actually. Trying so hard to be great that it takes itself too seriously. It's a great story, just one sided and tries too hard in execution.