Reviews with TLC

Here are the Food Related Books I Read in 2020 How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss by Michael Gregor, M.D., FACLM - I'm not a fan of diet books, but I am a fan of Dr. Gregor's work because he focuses on scientific research. I read this book for this reason and found it quite interesting. Though I'm not interested in losing weight, I am interested in eating healthy. How Not to Diet is about eating healthy. For a more in-depth exploration of my thoughts on this book, please visit Eating for Health Not Weight Loss . One Hour Dairy Free Cheese: Make Mozzarella, Cheddar, Feta, and Brie-Style Cheeses --Using Nuts, Seeds, and Vegetables * by Claudia Lucero -  This book was easy to read and seems like it could be useful. I made a smattering of recipes from it but not enough to really find recipes to fit into our rotation of recipes. Artisan Vegan Cheese * by Miyoko Schinner - This recipes in this book were a bit more complicated than th

My reading list for 2020 was heavy on nonfiction. In fact, I didn't read any fiction at all, a rare year for me. I plan to incorporate at least some fiction into 2021, but we'll see. Right now I have so much nonfiction I want to read and research I need to do that fiction feels like a luxury. I'm sure I'll get back to it soon though. This list is my longest list year, by far. Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance - One of my two least favorite books I read in 2020, and perhaps in my life. I found this book to be reductive and stereotypical. He offered no new insights, and as a hillbilly found it quite insulting. Read more about my Hillbilly Roots  (also available on my blog, Write with TLC . (I disliked this book so much, I'm not providing a link to it.) Brave by Rose McGowan - This book is an intense look at the damage human beings can inflict on one other. McGowan's writing is blunt, bold, and raw. She shares her pain, her triumph, her anger, and her determination

When I decided to take a hiatus in July 2019, I didn't know how long it would last. By the end of the years, I'd decided it would last at least through 2020... And it has, sort of. Today is the last day of 2020, and I have decided to publish lists of the books I've read this year with a few comments, not full reviews, just a few comments. I am considering revamping this reviews blog and reinstituting it in 2021 with a monthly or bi-monthly book list rather than a weekly review. I enjoy sharing my thoughts on the books I read, and some books I really want to review. Others I don't. I'd rather not feel like I have to review a book just because I read it, so I might try this new approach. It won't be as structured as before, but I think it might be more useful. I still will not be taking submissions for reviews for the time being. If you'd like to follow what I'm reading in real time, please follow/friend me on  Goodreads . If you'd like to see when I p

I read several books of poetry in 2020 from a wide range of poets covering a wide range of topics. All the books as a whole were good, but some individual poems were definitely better than others. Here's a list of all the poetry books I read in 2020 with a thought or two on each as well as a link to buy many of them. Terra Incognita: Oregon Poets Write for Ecological, Social, Political, and Economic Justice - This book by Oregon poets has poems that range from in-depth and intense to light and playful all while exploring some very serious and current topics. I quite enjoyed it; however, I can't find a place where it can be purchased online. A Collection of Poems by Robert Frost - Reading this book of poetry inspired me, reminded me of my roots, made me think about my journey, touched my heart, and lifted my spirit. At times, it also plunged me into a melancholic state that felt like a lesson in life. It includes two of my favorite Frost poems - Stopping by Woods on Snowy Even

I've started playing around with guided journals the past several years. Sometimes I like them. Sometimes not. I often use them as writing prompts as much as journaling prompts, that is if they are conducive to writing. Not all are.  My 2020 Journals List Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice by Michelle Obama - This journal hit home in ways I didn't expect. The questions forced me think and to feel and to explore. Sometimes the questions pushed me into those places I didn't want to go and other times I had so much fun with it. I liked this journal so much, I gave it to a friend as a gift and might send it to a few others! In one of my few Instagram posts this year, I posted the following about this book. "I feel both sad and happy that I just wrote my last entry in Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice by Michelle Obama. Sad that I have no more prompts and happy for the journey! I often found myself hearing the prompts in her voice and

Here are the books I read to further my writing career in 2020. The Successful Author Mindset: A Handbook for Surviving the Writer's Journey by Joanna Penn - This book didn't have a lot of new material in it, at least for me, but it did remind me of how important it is to treat my writing like a business if I want to succeed. It also inspired me to think about my productivity and some bad habits I'd developed.   Productivity for Authors: Find Time to Write, Organize Your Author Life, and Decide What Really Matters by Joanna Penn - This book continued with the "I know that. Why am I not doing it?" pushes. Productivity for Creative People: How to Get Creative Work Done in an "Always On" World by Mark McGuinness - This book pushed me at times, bored me at others, irritated me at times but always seemed to make me look at my productivity and my productivity drains whether I wanted to or not. I think I read it too soon after Productivity for Authors. I won