January 2022 Books

 American Grown by Michelle Obama inspired me to rethink our backyard garden and find ways to make it more productive. Vegetables fresh from the garden are so tasty and healthy. I want to grow more, but I often slack off because I want to enjoy other things.  Obama and other contributors are very upbeat and optimistic about gardening.  American Grown shows garden plans, the benefits of gardens, the benefits of moving more, and the benefits of eating more vegetables. I did, however, take issue with some of the nutritional information cited regarding other dietary choices as I know there is research that contradicts it. There are several recipes included in the book, a few would even qualify as vegan or vegetarian, and I plan to adapt some of them for my household and possibly my cooking blog, Vegan Cooking with TLC.

Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau was an interesting read. I had long wanted to read both works, so I was happy to find them in one book. I really thought I'd read Thoreau in high school, but I didn't remember either of these works as I read them though some passages seemed vaguely familiar. Walden is filled with descriptions of nature that plopped me right in the middle of the forest with Thoreau. The way he used nature to drive home points about human arrogance and so-called civil society was both intriguing and discomfiting. Thoreau had some interesting thoughts on life and living. Both Walden and Civil Disobedience contained elements that felt like he was working through his own thoughts and positions on a number of issues of the day. While he often sounded confident, there were times when he seemed to contradict himself in regards to the positions he was discussing. I'd often heard people talk about his general anger toward government, but I can't remember ever hearing anyone discuss his disdain of governmental support of slavery and war. I found that quite interesting, especially for the times in which he lived. While I rather enjoyed the book and would recommend it, I was quite glad to finish it. I would also recommend reading it in doses. I got a bit anxious to finish it and wonder if I would've gotten a little more out of it if I'd taken a bit more time with the last 30 or so pages. Oh, well, I own it, so I can always revisit it at a later date...


Ongoing:

 The Complete Poems of Bertolt Brecht by Bertolt Brecht is a very long book of poetry. I read a few poems each night. They are translated from German to English. I am enjoying them thus far, some more than others. He isn't shy about taking on uncomfortable topics. I'll share more of my thoughts as I read more. As this book is 1071 pages, expect it to show up for several months.

Your Body Is Not An Apology Workbook by Sonya Renee Taylor will probably take me a few months to complete. I started it at the beginning of January and am moving through it a bit more slowly than I expected. Some of it feels irrelevant to my life but other parts feel highly relevant. And sometimes I find those things that I want to think are irrelevant are just pushing me to examine things that make me uncomfortable. I'll share more as I work through it.


52 Lists for Calm: Journaling Inspiration for Soothing Anxiety and Creating a Peaceful Life by Moorea Seal - I started this journal, but it will take all year to complete. It's a list journal with prompts that one fills out weekly rather than daily. So far, so good.

52 Lists for Bravery: Journaling Inspiration for Courage, Resilience, and Inner Strength by Moorea Seal - This is another list journal I started at the beginning of the year. Like the one for Calm, it is a weekly list journal with prompts. Again, so far it is going well.


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