Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

In Defense of Food - bonus book club poll

In Defense of FoodMichael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, has a new book out titled, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. I recently picked it up (hey, it was on sale and I had a Christmas gift card) and started looking through it. I think it would make a great reading addition to the eating aspect of Project NoWaste.

So, I wanted to throw out the idea of running two book clubs simultaneously. We are already reading Affluenza, the book about curbing your spending. This new one is all about food consumption and it matches up nicely with being aware of what you are eating à la the Project.

If we started a new book club, I would begin posting discussions in early February so everyone has time to obtain it. If you have issues getting it from the library and need to buy your own copy, well you can assuage your purchasing guilt by passing it on to a friend when you are done or selling it to a used bookstore which I'm sure would be happy to take it off your hands.

What think ye?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't have a problem with two book club/discussions at the same time, but personally I would prefer if the books we're reading aren't brand spanking hot off the press, so that those of us who choose to borrow from the library instead of buy have a chance to play. (Usually a book has to be out for at least six months before the libraries around here will be able to get ahold of them). I submitted my library request for *Affluenza* about two weeks ago and it hasn't arrived yet -- hopefully it will arrive before y'all are done reading it! :) But I doubt *In Defense of Food* will be requestable yet. Although, I could be wrong. What about having the second readalong be one of the other two books you suggested along with *Affluenza*? (*Garbage Land* or *Plenty*) Just a thought, anyway.

Sue
Western Great Basin

Anonymous said...

Crunchy, I would love to - that sounds fabulous. I've already started reading it!

Ananda Devika said...

I'm really excited to read this one, too, but like Sue, I'll have to wait until the library gets it - it's on order, but I'm 12th in line...

Unknown said...

I love this book! I impulse bought it (apparently, I am suffering from Affluenza) a week ago, and it's a wonderful read. I really like Michael Pollan's writing, and it's a good book for affirming your choices.
Helped me with my resolve to eat better.

Deb G said...

I'd be interested, have a gift certificate I haven't used yet and I'm sure Pollan's worth it. Without the certificate though, I'm also in the would rather get from library or used group.

I would like to point out that Affluenza isn't new, first edition published in the 1990's and the second in 2005 (for USA anyway). That's one of the things that I find so scary about it....

e4 said...

Just finishing this book. I can't recommend it highly enough...

Anonymous said...

I've got gift cards from Christmas and a serious book addiction.

Count me in.

My only concern is that you will have the energy to do all of this. Don't spread yourself too thin, Crunch. We worry about you...

Crunchy Chicken said...

sue - as Deb pointed out, Affluenza has been out for a while. I totally appreciate the library aspect of things, which is why I mentioned it in the post itself.

Since I bought the book and am reading it and, most likely, will be posting about it anyway, turning it into a book club is more work, but something I enjoy.

So, Sandy, don't worry.

Back to the library thing. This has been brought up before. Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to organize 100+ people to all get their copies of books from the library at the same time, particularly since we try to read books of a more timely impact.

For those of you buying the book for the book club, I recommend looking into donating it to your local library system once you are done with it. That way, other people don't have to wait so long to read a copy and the message is viewed by a lot more people.

Lisa said...

I just bought this one so would be glad to participate. I skimmed through it already but need to go back and digest it more thoroughly.

Anonymous said...

I'm feeling the love for my library right...now! I requested In Defense of Food about two weeks ago and had it in my hands last week. Am still wading through Garbage Land (also from the library) and then I'm in for Pollan's book. Try your library -- you might get lucky, too.

Debbie said...

I just picked up a copy of it on disc and will be starting it just as soon as the last disc from my current book is done.

My wonderful library actually hosted a talk by Pollan last weekend -- I was so disappointed that I couldn't hear him though (I was in line when they ran out of room!). They broadcast it live on cable, though, so at least I got to see him that way. If my library doesn't beat me to it, I always request they buy books I want as soon as a publishing date is announced -- they almost always buy what I ask for. Yes, they are very, very good.

The Simpleton said...

I am envious of those with responsive library systems. Mine's behemoth-sized and apparently without much of a population of other simpletons. They'll ILL my requests for me--usually for about the cost of buying the book used.

She-Ra said...

I'm number 200 in line to get "In Defense of Food" from the library. Might take a few weeks... i'll follow along online though in the meantime.