Booking It February 2014

 

 

Well my reading hasn't slowed down.  I read a few books this month. I am once again on a non-fiction kick. Check out what the ladies are reading over at Life as Mom - Booking It 2014.

I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had by Tony Danza.  I picked this up on a whim.  I thought it was excellent look at a inner city school and the challenges that new teachers face whether they are famous or not.  One of the things Tony Danza touched on the concept  I often am reminded of when I am teaching my kids - Sometimes you need to get out of their way.

Claiming Ground by Laura Bell.

In 1977, Laura Bell left her family home in Kentucky for a wild and unexpected adventure: herding sheep in Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin. The only woman in a man’s world, she nevertheless found a home among the strange community of drunks and eccentrics, as well as a shared passion for a life of solitude and hard work. By turns cattle rancher, forest ranger, outfitter, masseuse, wife and mother, Bell vividly recounts her struggle to find solid earth in a memoir that’s as breathtaking as it is singular. - Amazon

Claiming Ground was mentioned in our library's "What to Read Next" column as a book you would like if your liked  Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  Wild is our Whatcom Reads book for the year.  I thought Claiming Ground was interesting and the writing kept drawing me back in.   Often I felt like the story jumped around.  Some things are alluded to but not really explored. I read another review somewhere else that the person had to keep reminding themselves that this is a REAL person.  I found myself doing that.  There are no fairytales here.

A Memoir- Hungry - What Eighty Ravenous Guys Taught Me about Life, Love, and the Power of Good Food by Darlene Barnes.  Darlene was a Frat House Cook.  She discusses her journey to become a cook and how she introduced the guys at the Fraternity to real food.  I thought this was an interesting funny enlightening book.  I love that she cooked for Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity on the University of Washington Campus. I live in Washington State so I felt the local connection. Darlene said the guys taught her more than she taught them. The book also includes recipes. Darlene has her own blog.  Darlene is in the process of buying a farm in Skokomish, Washington.