I Want To Read: The Omnivore's Dilemma & In Defense of Food

I have been a busy moviegoer recently, and I've been lucky to see a run of good films, including Up, The Hangover, and Away We Go.

And then there's Food, Inc. A much tougher sell, I realize. It's difficult to talk about the food industry, I feel, because I don't want to sound pedantic or shrill. Yes, I was the kid who mooed at her parents when they ordered beef at restaurants, but I like to think that I've become more mature in understanding people's food preferences. On the other hand, that beef probably came from a cow who spent its whole life eating corn and standing in its own manure before being killed and sprayed down with all kinds of fun chemicals. Not to sound like a jerk, but: that's gross, right?

There are two well-known authors who offer commentary in Food, Inc.: Eric Schlosser, who wrote the excellent and highly recommended Fast Food Nation, and Michael Pollan, who wrote the two books I indicated in this post's title. Fast Food Nation covered the rise of the fast food industry, the state of farms that supplied the industry's needs (especially for beef, chicken, and corn), and the conditions for workers in slaughterhouses*. These topics are covered in Food, Inc. as well; it is my impression that Pollan's books cover other aspects of the food industry, including differences between more highly processed and organic foods.

Some people don't want to know where their food came from. Perhaps it's just because I am naturally curious, but I'm not one of them. I love to know these things, and try to adjust my grocery store purchases and restaurant choices accordingly. So these are on my to-read list, although I'm not sure when I'll get to them. Now that summer is in full swing and I'm at my summer job, I've realized that I may not have a lot of energy for books that require critical thinking. We'll see.

*To me, this was the most powerful part of Fast Food Nation. Again, not to be overly didactic, but even if you don't care about the treatment of animals or how food is processed, I think it is important to be aware of the people who do highly dangerous work so that we can have readily available meat.

PS - I promise my next post will be more lighthearted. Pinky swear.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

"I shall read now the names of those who passed the test," announced the pencil woman. "If your name is called you will advance to the third stage of testing, so please remain seated and await further instructions. Those whose names are not called are free to go."

Reynie's ears perked up. There was a third stage?

The pencil woman cleared her throat, but this time she didn't bother looking at the paper in front of her. "Reynard Muldoon!" she called out.

On her way out of the room, she added, "That is all."

-The Mysterious Benedict Society

Well, I'm back after another little foray out of town, which gave me some quality airport reading time with The Mysterious Benedict Society. It's a book I'm feeling ambivalent about, so it should be interesting to see how this post goes.

When I first spied Benedict at the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver last year, I was intrigued. It looked like exactly the kind of book I would have adored as a child. Benedict tells the story of Reynie Muldoon (I know, believe me), a smart, lonely kid who comes across an advertisement promoting an opportunity for exceptional children. This leads him to the series of tests (where the excerpt above comes in) and to a new group of companions who all have their own extraordinary talents. These children come together to fight...well, it's nothing good. It involves something called The Emergency. And a cunning adversary called Ledroptha Curtain.

Yes, Stewart has an affection for twee, overly worked names. Curtain I actually don't mind so much - he is the villain in a children's book, after all. Reynie is a bit much, I think, especially when one of his newfound friends is named Sticky. Oh, well, his real name is George - George Washington, that is. Sigh.

There's a fine line in children's literature between the clever and the overly precious. In Benedict, the names just happen to be a good example of how one can push it a bit too far, in my opinion. There's a reason Harry Potter is not named, say, Aloysius Bloom or similar. To me, Reynard Muldoon doesn't sound like a name. Well, maybe for a soap star.*

But how about the plot? About 100 pages into it, I was getting a bit worried. I certainly wasn't invested, and the sequel was already sitting on my bookshelf. At about 150 page mark, I started getting more interested, and I will say a couple of the plot twists were pleasant surprises. Things chug along pretty respectably once the children become embroiled in their mission, but it never quite turns into a pageturner.

I don't feel as though I have too much more to say, honestly. I'm not inclined to read the sequel right away, but I did like Reynie (despite his name) and will probably get to it eventually. For now, I think I might try Blackwater, another Swedish mystery (not Wallander, though).

*It actually is strikingly similar to Reynard Muldrake, the name Jose Chung chooses as a pseudonym for Fox Mulder in the X-Files episode "Jose Chung's From Outer Space." I'm just saying.

The White Lioness by Henning Mankell

He sat down on a rock, even though it was damp. All of a sudden his weariness and depression threatened to overwhelm him. With a sigh even he thought was pathetic, he decided he was as much at sea with his own life as he was with the search for Louise Akerblom's murderer.

Where do I go from here? he said to himself. I don't want anything to do with ruthless killers, with no respect for life. I don't want to get involved in a kind of violence that will be incomprehensible to me as long as I live. Maybe the next generation of policemen in this country will have a different kind of experience and have a different view of their work. But it's too late for me. I'll never be any different from what I am, a pretty good policeman in a medium-sized Swedish police district.

-The White Lioness

Those are the thoughts of Chief Inspector Kurt Wallander, a detective operating out of Ystad, Sweden. At that point in The White Lioness, poor Wallander has no idea how involved he will become in the ruthless violence of the story's villains, making decisions that cause him to even question his status as a "pretty good" cop.

It all starts as a missing persons case. Right away, just in his reaction to those circumstances, I realized that Wallander was a different sort of cop. He's not jaded, for one, not one of those world-weary policemen with a chip on his shoulder who's too smart for his own good. He's sick with worry over the case, especially because he has a hunch that it's not just a missing persons case - he has a gut feeling that it's murder. And he really, really doesn't want it to be.

Perhaps it's because he's Swedish, or perhaps it's just his personality, but Wallander is a remarkably human, relatable detective. He's not a genius, but he works hard and cares a lot - perhaps too much, for a cop. His work overwhelms his life, and he's crushed by the unrelenting strain of pushing through one terrible event after another. He cries a lot.

Not that I blame him, and that's part of the reason that I love him as a character. If I were handling a missing persons case turned murder investigation, which went on to have ties to ex-KGB agents and a South African hitman, I would be pretty upset as well. Wallander is a provincial cop, and he's really not equipped to deal with all of that. He does the best he can, which involves making quite a few mistakes. I found the novel all the more compelling for it.

The novel also goes for long stretches that don't involve Wallander at all, and focus more on characters navigating the political unrest of early 1990s South Africa. I found this part interesting as well - I studied that period in one of my favorite college courses - although I did miss Wallander during first extended passage set outside of Sweden. Mankell does an excellent job tying it all together, and I really was unsure how the good guys would be able to save the day.

I am absolutely looking forward to more Wallander books. I would definitely recommend them to mystery fans - although I know some people are not wild about sad sack characters, in which case you might want to steer clear. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, the BBC/Masterpiece Theatre Wallander series is also worth checking out - it definitely helped me to picture the Swedish seaside (which looks absolutely lovely). I myself am part Swedish, though I know next to nothing about the culture, so I appreciate Wallander for that reason as well.

Up next: I have quite a bevy of books to choose from at this point, but I think I'll go back to the YA well and try The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Favorite Bookstores: Heartwood Books, Charlottesville, VA

Last weekend I took a mini-vacation down to my former home of Charlottesville, Virginia. Besides being blessed with breathtaking scenery, Charlottesville also boasts more great bookstores than you might expect from a town of its size (ah, university towns). I thought I'd take a moment to plug my favorite, Heartwood Books.

I can't remember the first time I went to Heartwood after arriving in Charlottesville, I only know that poring over the many books there soon became one of my favorite activities on the Corner. I always enjoyed their selection as well as the friendly, low-key atmosphere. It's not a huge store, but the place is stuffed to the gills with old books (they're piled up on the floor), and how can any booklover resist that? There is always, always something to buy there - it's a bit dangerous in that way!

One of my favorite purchases from Heartwood is a book I still have never read: Nicodemus by Edwin Arlington Robinson. I bought it solely for the inscription. I'll have to paraphrase, since I don't have the book with me right now: "Merry Christmas to Arch, the nicest man we know." There's something so Frank Capra about that, isn't there? I felt like it needed a home - I'm sentimental, I know.

Upon my last visit, I bought two books: Burr by Gore Vidal and The White Lioness by Henning Mankell. I'm reading the latter now; it's one of the Wallander books, which I'm very excited to have found.

So, next time you're lucky enough to be in the Charlottesville area...

Heartwood Books
5 Elliewood Avenue
(On the Corner, across from the on-hiatus Biltmore Grill)

From McSweeney's: "Social Security Denies Gregor Samsa's Disability Claim"

This is a couple of years old, but it's new to me (and hopefully to you). I figure a little dose of German existentialist-related humor is good for getting through the middle of the week.

"Social Security Denies Gregor Samsa's Disability Claim"

Every time I read "I AM A GIANT COCKROACH," I can't help laughing.

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

"Look, this is going to sound weird. Do you know anything about Greek myths? [...] All those monsters," I said, "all the Greek gods - they're real."

-The Battle of the Labyrinth

When I was a kid, I loved Greek mythology. I had a book called D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths that I read over and over again. If you had told me that the Greek gods were real, I would have been really, really excited. (Clearly, I hadn't thought through the ramifications of having to worship the kind of fickle deities who might consign you to, say, push a rock uphill for all eternity.)

I definitely tap into that part of myself when I read Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, of which The Battle of the Labyrinth is the fourth book. Percy Jackson is an ordinary kid living in New York who discovers at the age of 12 that he is the son of Poseidon. Accordingly, every summer he goes to Camp Half Blood to train himself to fight the kind of wicked monsters that populate the Greek mythological scene. Over time, he discovers that the Titans (the original gods overthrown by the Olympians) are trying to reclaim their power, and a prophecy suggests that he might be the one who has to stop them. If you're saying to yourself, "Hey, isn't that a bit of a Harry Potter ripoff?" the answer is yes, it sort of is.

Although Riordan does a great job of capturing the voice of a young teenage boy, his stories never rise to the level of Harry Potter. I've never found myself as emotionally invested in Percy's world - in The Battle of the Labyrinth this was particularly evident, as a fight plays out that is quite reminiscent of the invasion of Hogwarts in the 6th Harry Potter book. The Hogwarts invasion had me in tears; The Battle of the Labyrinth's big fight didn't resonate the same way.

That being said, the Percy Jackson series contains some interesting ideas - I particularly like the concept that having ADHD and/or dyslexia is linked to being a demigod. I also appreciate that the series is a great introduction to the characters of Greek mythology, and Riordan showcases a lot of them. Kids reading The Battle of the Labyrinth, for example, become well acquainted with the story of Daedalus. There are also a host of entertaining (and occasionally surprisingly complex) characters, including Nico di Angelo, the tormented son of Hades, and Grover, a satyr who embarks on a quest to find the god Pan.

One quick note: In an earlier post, I extolled the virtues of reading YA books while travelling. Well, I took The Battle of the Labyrinth to read on the train this weeked. My neighbor was reading The Yiddish Policeman's Union. The man across the aisle was reading Slaughterhouse Five. I was definitely dragging down the row's standard for highbrow literature.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.

-Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I am not a zombie person. I know there are some people who really geek out over them, but the only pop culture zombie exposure I can recall is my viewing of Shaun of the Dead (which I enjoyed, but also probably would have benefited from a greater zombie love on my part). Oh, and I believe there was an episode of The X-Files as well.

However, I am definitely a Pride and Prejudice person. I couldn't put down the book the first time I read it, in high school. I own the acclaimed miniseries and even enjoyed, to a lesser extent, the more recent film version (minus the awful ending).

When I first heard about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I was intrigued - despite my lack of interest in zombies in other situations, I couldn't fight the amusing possibilities of such incongruity. The premise is simple (the title pretty much says it all, no?): it's everything you remember from Pride and Prejudice, with the addition of a plague of "manky dreadfuls" terrorizing the country. Elizabeth Bennet, already one of literature's most independent-minded heroines, is a natural fit as an accomplished warrior defending England against the undead. Mr. Darcy, naturally, is quite an able warrior himself. Their romance plays out much as it always has, except with more mentions of succulent brains. There are also ninjas involved.

This book could have been just a clever concept that lost steam quickly, but I thought it turned out quite well. I was entertained throughout, although I did wince a bit at some of the additions (must Elizabeth relish the idea of holding a still-beating heart so?). I also found that Grahame-Smith was able to establish the premise to such an extent that it flowed rather well, which made his occasional crude jokes a bit confusing: Elizabeth tying modesty strings around her dress when standing on her head = appropriate; Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy sharing knowing looks during sexual innuendo = inappropriate. Or perhaps that's just me. It's just a small point, really - overall, it was quite fun.

Next up: Well, I'm a bit behind as I was out of town for the weekend. (I know, the horror.) I read the 4th Percy Jackson book, so I will try to review that in the next day or so. I have a few choices for my next read, so perhaps it will be a surprise...well, until the Percy Jackson review at least.

Recommendation from Conan O'Brien

From the June 5th Entertainment Weekly.

Conan's Must List #10: "My Father's Tears and Other Stories by John Updike - The late John Updike was a better writer than anyone you are reading right now. If you have not read this book (out June 2), read this book, then read everything else by John Updike. If I have not made myself clear, read lots of things by John Updike."

I've never read any Updike - well, I think I read a few pages of Rabbit, Run, then put it down and forgot about it. Whoops. I tend to trust Conan, though. I mean, he did write the "Marge vs. the Monorail*" episode of The Simpsons, after all. Oh, and he went to Harvard as well, so presumably he learned some literary stuff there.


*The episode contains one of my favorite Simpsons exchanges ever:

Marge: [on radio] Homer? Homer!
Homer: Y'ello?
Marge: Homer, there's a man here who thinks he can help you!
Homer: Batman?
Marge: No, he's a scientist.
Homer: Batman's a scientist?!
Marge: IT'S NOT BATMAN!