Don's Book Corner

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

By the way, I got Everything I Want to do is Illegal  in the mail today and am enjoying it greatly.  I'm also about 1/3 of the way through Fast Food Nation...also a book on house framing, but got tired just looking at the pictures in it right now.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Read about a third of Everything I want to do is Illegal yesterday and had a hard time putting it down.  Joel Salatin is very entertaining in his story-telling, but I think that a lot of folks (ie. people who eat...) who should read this book will probably never hear of it, let alone read it.  My favorite story thus far is how the USDA accused him of selling processed meat (after having the meat butchered at a local meat locker with the halves and quarters labelled for the individuals they were intended for...)  After a week or two at an impass, he asked the USDA inspectors what THEY would do, and one suggested that he put a price per head of cattle and then make up the carcass weight price and call it "shipping and handling".  So, he charged $1 for a whole beef, $0.50 for a half, and a quarter for a fourth.  Then he charged $2/lb. carcass weight for the "shipping and handling" and the USDA cheated the government out of thousands of dollars in sales tax revenue by their own suggestion!  I got a good laugh out of it.  One of the reviews on Amazon was very unfavorable, but unless something drastically changes in the book, I think it's great so far and the person who wrote the review obviously had a score to settle with Salatin over something.  I'd love to sell copies of it at the local farmers market.  Americans should be insulted that the US government thinks they are too dumb to make their own choices about what they will and will not eat.  My mom had a friend who made goat cheeses and sold goat milk products from her home (which, of course, is illegal because she doesn't have the thousands of dollars invested in commercial kitchens and permits and inspections... so, mom worked out a deal with her where she traded Avon products for the cheese, so no money was changing hands.  Other people have worked out deals to mow her lawn or do other odd jobs for her.)  We had a neighbor with dairy goats when I was growing up and she used to help us fix fence and give us milk in exchange for hay.   She couldn't sell her milk of course, but she could "give" it away.  We just traded other stuff instead of dollars for it.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Getting close to the end of Salatin's book.  Really an enjoyable read, though it does get your hackles up.  I think there are more restrictions on farmers where he is than here, but yet there are too many even here.  I remember an Ag professor of mine in college who admitted that he would not feed his family his commercially grown stuff, and they used organic practices in their own garden, but didn't sell any of it because of all the hurdles to making it a viable business.  That's one of the reasons I changed majors in college... everything was driven by commercial agriculture and production at the price of quality... I just couldn't stand it anymore.  Majoring in Ag was kind of a dream-killer for me...I couldn't reconcile with the unsustainability of it all even though I wanted nothing more than a small family farm; when I would bring up sustainable agriculture, I'd nearly get laughed out of the classroom.

[Sassy]

Read another book by Taylor Caldwell  Testimony of Two Men as always, she writes a good book - always gets into world politics & the international bankers behind the scenes...  this was placed during 1890's through 1920's, industrial revolution, WWI, income tax etc.

Another book I read was A Man Called Peter by Christy Marshall on her husband Peter Marsall.  He was the chaplain to the Senate in the 40's...  in some of his sermons/prayers, he sounds like he is talking to us today, warning about the wars, economy etc.  Wouldn't be PC for some of the radical right wing "christians" of today... 

Finished a book by Irving Stone  Lust for Life  on Vincent Van Gogh...  interesting, what a crazy life he led. 

Just discovered the 2nd hand store at the dump - it's to raise money for the SPCA.  You can buy a stack of books for nothing!  I plan on making a trek there every-so-often     

[kyounge1956]

I have just discovered the Erast Fandorin mysteries, by Boris Akunin. I get them as audiobooks from my public library. The first one I listened to was Murder on the Leviathan, and I just started The Winter Queen, which is the first in the chronological sequence and also I think the first one written.

I also just picked up SketchUp for Dummies at the library. I finally found the site for older versions of SketchUp and have downloaded the right version for my computer. Maybe a bit of 3-D modeling will help me figure out the construction of those panelized cabins I find so fascinating, and to do preliminary design of the straw bale house I want to build.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Read another book by Taylor Caldwell  Testimony of Two Men as always, she writes a good book - always gets into world politics & the international bankers behind the scenes...  this was placed during 1890's through 1920's, industrial revolution, WWI, income tax etc.

Another book I read was A Man Called Peter by Christy Marshall on her husband Peter Marsall.  He was the chaplain to the Senate in the 40's...  in some of his sermons/prayers, he sounds like he is talking to us today, warning about the wars, economy etc.  Wouldn't be PC for some of the radical right wing "christians" of today... 

Finished a book by Irving Stone  Lust for Life  on Vincent Van Gogh...  interesting, what a crazy life he led. 

Just discovered the 2nd hand store at the dump - it's to raise money for the SPCA.  You can buy a stack of books for nothing!  I plan on making a trek there every-so-often     

I like Taylor Caldwell as well.  I think I also bought A Man Called Peter at a yard sale and have it around somewhere, but I've not read it yet.  Salatin's book was both supremely entertaining and frustrating.... I'm still not through Fast Food Nation because I've left it in the truck as my "waiting" book to read when I'm sitting around waiting on something or someone, and I figured that way I had something good with me to read when I do finally end up in the hospital.  I noticed that people kind of look at you funny when you're reading a book titled Everything I Want to do is Illegal in public.   

I'm still waiting on two books I ordered from the homeschool convention to be delivered.  They were supposed to have gone out last Tuesday, but we haven't gotten them yet.  One is The Second Mayflower and I forget the title of the other.  They ran out at the convention... guess they were more popular than they realized.  The other one was from the HSLDA.  Also reading a bee keeping book and a dairying book from the homeschool convention that really don't have much to do with homeschooling but just sounded interesting.  Guess this is what you do when you don't have a garden to tend. 

[Sassy]

"I noticed that people kind of look at you funny when you're reading a book titled Everything I Want to do is Illegal in public."         Especially being ready to "pop"!  That would be funny, just to carry around the book to see people's expressions - they couldn't think you are too much of a threat at your stage of pregnancy but are probably really surprised that someone like you would be reading a book like that!   

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

I told DH they probably are thinking I'm some kind of terrorist carrying a "pregnancy" bomb.

[Sassy]

I just started reading "White Fang" by Jack London - read it in grade school, found it at the SPCA 2nd hand store, so decided to read it again - still good reading 

Read "Lust for Life", biography of Vincent Van Gogh & "The President's Wife" a biography of Pres. Andrew Jackson's wife - both by Oliver Stone - found a book at the SPCA that had 3 biographies in it - right now I'm reading "The Agony & the Ecstasy" biography of Michael Angelo, along with "White Fang". 

It is amazing the lives of the Impressionist painters...  that style of painting was not popular at all while they were painting, they lived some hard, desperate, poverty stricken lives in most cases - it wasn't until most of them died that their paintings became popular.

Andrew Jackson's wife had been married before she married Jackson.  Her 1st husband had a mistress (one of the slave girls) & left her several times, had a violent temper & sent her back to her family - he was highly jealous, didn't want anyone else to have her, started all sorts of rumors about her.  Divorce was unheard of then & only men could divorce their wives...  divorce isn't great, but the suffering that she went through, the gossip & false rumors about her reputation that her ex spread...  it was very difficult for her - she actually died of a heart attack right before Jackson took office as president of the USA probably due to all the stress.  She seemed like a wonderful, very loving & hardworking person with high morals, but due to that unfortunate choice when she was very young, she suffered for the rest of her life.   

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

I finished Fast Food Nation yesterday.  The copy I had was a more recent paperback edition with an additional epilogue added since the original publication of the book.  I can verify much of what he said about the meatpacking industry to be true.  In college, I had to tour and Excell plant and an IBP plant as part of a meat science course I took.  I couldn't eat beef for weeks after either tour.     (And for the record, we also toured a small local packer, Ralph's, and it was clean enough and humane enough that the whole class sampled their different smoked meats and jerky and so forth AFTER the tour.)  While I think it is a very well-written book, I don't agree that expanding the beauraucracy is the solution at all.  He spent a good deal of time in the last chapters outlining what Congress should do, but regardless of what they should/shouldn't do, we all know Congress is highly ineffective at dealing with that kind of change, plus too many fast food execs and meat packers are in bed with the politicians in the first place...  It is simplistic to think that passing a few more prohibitive laws will change the way business is done.  What is needed instead, IMO, is a grass  roots uprising.  People need to start refusing to buy feedlot beef, and refusing to eat fast food unless the food is clean and the animals and people making it are treated fairly.  If people quit eating at McDonald's unless they raised their standards for the way that their suppliers handle the food (as well as the way that they treat their employees and safety issues) I can guarantee that change would happen.  But, in spite of a growing movement in that direction, I think it may be too little too late.  I went to get milk last night and as I passed Taco Bell and McDonald's and Arby's there were long lines in the drive through and several cars in the parking lot... and that was at 8:00 at night.  In the epilogue, Schlosser commented that much of the original criticism of the first edition of his book was about how hard he was on the Republican party, and he was, deservedly so.  I think he could have found just as much to be hard on in the Democratic party, if he himself wasn't in favor of the Democrats' way of "fixing" things... (ie. spend more money, make a committee to oversee it, let the government fix it, etc.)  And he starts with the false assumption that it is the government's responsibility to ensure that our food is safe... ultimately, isn't that each individual's responsibility??  Overall, though, a very good read, and I may have to go veggie for a while after reading it though I know I'll always go back to eating steaks sooner or later... some of the chapters on meatpacking were enough to make a carnivore look longingly in the direction of a salad... kind of like reading Upton Sinclair when I was in high school.

[MountainDon]

I have to agree, we don't need any "food police". More bureaucracy is not the answer. And I honestly don't know what the answer is. I/we don't like most fast food anyways; but we did have a pizza from a local Pizzeria when we arrived back from the mountains Thursday.   

As for being turned off by the abattoir stories, it bothered me a little, but not enough to turn me away from eating meat. We don't eat much beef anyways; only good to excellent cuts of steak every so often. And only if I/we cook it ourselves. It's not worth eating if it's tough, is my motto.

In general I don't think people will uprise and turn against feedlot practices, fast food places, etc. They are too well ensconced in their daily life.

[glenn kangiser]

The exiting bureaucracy is not effective anyway so right -- we don't need more.

I did some welding and remodeling in a slaughtering plant where they butchered wild horses to sell for food overseas.

The USDA inspector was hardly ever on the job but the horses just kept going through- no matter.

[MountainDon]

I read a few books in the time away in the mountains. One of the most thought provoking was Escape by Carolyn Jessop. The surmane Jessop may rin g a bell to anyone who has been following the ups and downs of the Eldorado, TX child custody case.

Carolyn Jessop was married to a Merrill Jessop, a powerful man in the FLDS. (Notice, I refrained from using the cult word. But that's what I mean.) She was born into the FLDS in a multi generational FLDS family. As a child she was mistreated by her own mother and father. She was married to Merrill at age 18; his fourth wife. She had 8 children by him by the time she had enough of the physical, verbal and emotional abuse. Carolyn escaped after enduring 15 years in a family and community relationship that is hard to believe exists by the rest of us.

Unlike a few other women who had escaped life in the FLDS, Carolyn escaped with all 8 of her children. Most often a woman leaving had to abandon her children to the father. Even so her eldest two fought her tooth and nail all the way. They had been indoctrinated to believe the outside world was evil and that they would be damned to hell for all eternity should they leave.

Carolyn had the assistance of others who had left the FLDS once she reached Salt lake City. Without that help she and her children would have been rounded up like so many cattle and returned to Colorado City, AZ, the FLDS stronghold of the time.

Warren Jeffs was the leader at the time of her defection, the same Warren Jeffs who was arrested, convicted and emprisoned in 2006. The same Warren Jeffs who from prison still controlled the daily lives of the people when the were building their compound in Eldorado, TX.

I believe this to be a must read book. It left me with no doubts that the FLDS is evil and that all who live within the FLDS community are either victims of abuse or abusers. Sometimes they are both; abused as youngsters and then abusers as adults. However, under the guise of a church thay are allowed to continue.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

I have to agree, we don't need any "food police". More bureaucracy is not the answer. And I honestly don't know what the answer is. I/we don't like most fast food anyways; but we did have a pizza from a local Pizzeria when we arrived back from the mountains Thursday.   

As for being turned off by the abattoir stories, it bothered me a little, but not enough to turn me away from eating meat. We don't eat much beef anyways; only good to excellent cuts of steak every so often. And only if I/we cook it ourselves. It's not worth eating if it's tough, is my motto.

In general I don't think people will uprise and turn against feedlot practices, fast food places, etc. They are too well ensconced in their daily life.

I don't think the book would totally turn me off meats if I didn't know that the chapters on meat packing were so accurate.  Touring IBP and Excell (and they didn't let us on the kill floors, period) was enough to do it in college though.  However, the little local meatpacker was very clean and they worked at a slow enough pace to do a good job.  I'd eat anything that came from Ralph's, and that's why I'll pay twice the price to buy their meat, too.  And Don, I tend to be a bit of a cynic about things changing, too... after all, even with the gas prices near $4 a gallon, I don't see people running around less in their cars or walking/biking more.  I think people are firmly entrenched in their consumerist habits.

[desdawg]

Given all that is going on with the economy I decided to read "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton Malkiel. Seems kind of timely for me even though it has been around for a while. There is some interesting history contained in that book and some insight into the psychology that moves the market.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

I'm almost finished with Homeschooling: the Right Choice by Christopher Klicka of the HSLDA.  He was one of the keynote speakers at the home school conference this year.  While I think he should fire his editors for neglecting their duties, the book is well-researched and full of numbers and statistics and overall an interesting read.  In the first segment of the book, the grammar, syntax, and structural errors drove me nuts to the point I almost didn't want to finish reading it unless I could do it with a red pen in hand.  The middle section is written better and has fewer errors missed by the editors.  If it didn't take on the tone of superiority, I think it would be convincing enough to talk fans of the public schools into homeschooling... It feels like reading prescriptive advice rather than being drawn in and persuaded.  Good thing I'm already persuaded to homeschool.  There were a few chapters that were very well-written and very persuasive, though.  His writing style is cumbersome (after all, he's a lawyer used to legalese) but the information is good, and there are a few exceptional chapters.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

I've been reading The Family Cow by Dirk Van Loon.  Some of it is a little dry, but I thought the following was really funny:
  If cows are out of water or food or they're late being milked, they let the world know it with an insistent mooing.  (I have read that Brahmans don't moo-- that they grunt.  This has me wondering if a Brangus munts or groos.)

It's nice when writers enjoy their subject enough to have a sense of humor about it, particularly when it is something like a book about livestock or gardening, etc.  This should be a quick read.

[MountainDon]

I've read a bunch so far this summer. It's what I do in the evenings up in the mountains. I haven't kept a list of everything, but some that linger in my memory include:

Citizen Soldiers by Stephen E Ambrose. The book takes the reader from D-Day through to the surrender of Germany with the focus being stories about the experiences of both American and German soldiers. This is more about the men than the battles although the terror of war comes through clear.

What If?, a collection of articles and esaays by many military historians wondering, speculating on "what if..." this or that did or did not happen... how would that have possibly affected history. One section was about the American Revolution, noting 13 different events that could have had the War going either direction. It sure wasn't a sure thing. I was reminded that many folks don't realize that America declared it's Independence in 1776, however the War of Independence actually began in 1775 and lasted until 1782. January 1783, depending on who you read. I wonder of today's Liberal Left would have the stomach to continue the battle that long?

Wars of Blood and Faith by Ralph Peters. A couple/few points he makes/opines... Too many Americans refuse to take our enemies seriously... those enemies will use nuclear weapons if allowed to possess them.... religious wars are impossible to prevent because our enemies desire them... the Middle east is headed for greater chaos...

Trail Riding for Half a Century. A pictorial of my 4 wheel drive club, the New Mexico 4 Wheelers.  It's been in continual existence since August 1958; not too many clubs of any kind can make that statement. The equipment sure has changed, but the landscape remains more or less the same. Just had to toss this in to see if anyone reads this.

[Sassy]

"I was reminded that many folks don't realize that America declared it's Independence in 1776, however the War of Independence actually began in 1775 and lasted until 1782. January 1783, depending on who you read. I wonder of today's Liberal Left would have the stomach to continue the battle that long?"

I don't consider myself anywhere near the liberal left - am on the ultra conservative side for the Republic & the Constitution.  I would support a war for freedom - but not pre-emptive strikes, policing the world etc (that sounds like a quote from Ron Paul).  I think the biggest "terrorist" threat we have right now is our own gov't & the Nazi state they are turning our country into... 

Does anyone know about the honor Bush was given by the Israelis this past January?
http://www.templeinstitute.org/megillat-bush.htm  Pretty interesting...  hmmm  Check out Gog & Magog in the Bible, also check out the readings in the Talmud & what those that follow the Talmud think of the Goyim...  Also check out Great Britain's  Guildhall - http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/SESLL/Stella/STARN/prose/GALT/GOG/gog.htm which house statues of Gog & Magog. 

Also check out this website on The Scroll of Bush http://www.texemarrs.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=catalog&Product_Code=pop_1308

I've read several books - mostly novels this summer - also some books on different aspects of Christianity.  Read the Street Lawyer by John Grisham - don't think I've ever read any of his books before - I was pleasantly surprised.  Just some light reading, also re-read White Fang, also fun reading, just completing a trilogy by Robin Hardy - midaevil fantasy reading with a Christian twist...  re-reading TheHalliburton Agenda, & also reding Jesus, God by Nature.  Sometimes I'm so into a book that I don't get on CountryPlans or I'm at work & too busy...  I get a lot of books from the SPCA "yard sale" for next to nothing, stop by there every so often - so glad I finally went over there!  Instead of buying books - don't ever get around to going to the library - I should, but they don't have a lot of the books I'd like to read. 

I need to re-read House of Bush, House of Saud... 

Yes, Don, I, for one, read this topic 

[MountainDon]

I've read a number of Grisham's novels, but nothing for the last few years. He does write an engaging tale as a rule.

White Fang! Jack London; that's an oldie, must over a hundred years old by now. I read it in high school, as a requirement. Than I got turned on to his other books. I recall liking The Call of the Wild and The Sea-Wolf

I use our public library a lot; on occasion they've even taken a suggestion of mine for books to add to the collection.   

[desdawg]

So much to read so little time. No wonder people watch TV. You can get the essence of a story in 1-1/2 hours that takes days to read.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

I always liked Jack London, too.  The girls found my copy of Call of the Wild the other day and put it on their bedtime reading list after we finish the rest of The Story Girl and Robinson Crusoe.  Sometimes I think they aren't listening, but they'll still bring up parts of the story of Treasure Island, which I thought they were really too young for.  Still their favorites are the Little House books, though.

It's funny.  Since Sylvia was born, I've read at least four books.  I don't think I was ever able to read that much when the big girls were little.  In part, it is because the girls don't care now what I'm reading, as long as I read it out loud.  I figure they learn a little from it as well, so while they're playing in the bathtub, I'm reading books about livestock or homeschooling or whatever, and they don't care.  And... I get to read.     Of course, I don't think I've read the newspaper since around the beginning of MIL's visit.  Oh well, maybe by the time I dig the coupons out they won't be expired!

[Sassy]

My mom used to read to my sister & me every night.  I loved it!  She was a reader & I guess I picked that up at an early age...  I remember Black Beauty especially - funny I can't recall any other books but she read to us every night until I was in Jr High, I think. 

[glenn kangiser]

I read every dog book I could find when in school - and equipment repair manuals.  Now I try to keep up with Countryplans and article reading.

[ScottA]

I've read a lot of Tom Clancey books and various histrory books, mostly about the railroads and WW2. This may explain why I'm so mixed up.