The Shunning

 

I read The Shunning by Beverly Lewis for the second time after watching the movie that came out recently. I read the book many, many years ago and had forgotten it. I followed up the rereading of The Shunning with the remainder of the books in the series. I had forgotten that I had read the rest of the series too. I guess they weren't that memorable.

The rest of the series:

The Confession
The Reckoning

I actually did not mind the first book. If you have any interest in the Amish community, it does pose some interesting questions though I doubt it is not very accurate in its portrayal. In the first book, Katie Lapp discovers she was adopted into an Amish family, her mother a desperate, English woman. This discovery causes her to question her faith and impending marriage to the community's Bishop.

The other two books deal with Katie's leaving of the Amish community and finding a long lost love. Sorry, spoilers.

The movie is a Michael Landon Jr. production. If you have seen any of the Love Come Softly series, you can predict the type of movie it is. There are a few liberties with the story, but thankfully, not as many as Love Comes Softly.



The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Deliciously G-Free

 

It's hard to review a cookbook when you haven't even tried any of the recipes. Elizabeth Hasselbeck is considered a controversial figure in the gluten free community because of bits of misinformation from her previous book and statements about celiac disease and the gluten free diet. I don't know - I think some people are overly harsh. Just like the rest of us, she has had to learn on her own how to eat gluten free. At least because of her fame, she can inform and influence in ways the rest of us cannot.

Anyway, about the cookbook. I have to say that there were few recipes I felt I needed to try. One huge flaw - and this is true of other cookbooks (Alton Brown I'm talking to you) - is the lack of pictures. I think with gluten free cooking it is even more important to have pictures because baked gluten free goods sometimes look a bit different.

The other reason I didn't try any recipes is that the majority of the recipes are easily adaptable recipes. Just substitute gluten free noodles for wheat noodles when making spaghetti. All of the recipes list the ingredients with gluten free whatever, which should be a given for those who use a gluten free cookbook. It was definitely redundant.

Because I didn't try any of the recipes, I can't give a fair review other than the presentation. If you have tried a recipe and it was good, let me know. I will say this probably wouldn't be at the top of my gluten free cookbook must haves.


The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Lye in wait

 

I've been doing some pretty heavy reading lately and needed something lighter to read. This book fit that need perfectly.

This book falls into the gentle mystery genre that focuses on a domestic craft. Joanne Fluke has written mysteries around a baker and Diane Davidson-Mott has more cooking mysteries. I know there are some based on quilters and others on knitting. This book is centered around a Sophie Mae, a soapmaker. She finds her handyman dead in her basement after drinking lye. On the surface it appeared as a suicide but sinister characters lead Sophie Mae to think otherwise. An investigation ensues with some danger and the usual cast of shady characters.

The story was a bit predictable, but in an enjoyable way. I liked it as it offered me a break from my other reading. It went fast. I did read the kindle version, which I found through a free promotion. The Kindle version had some formatting issues with inappropriate line breaks and messed up quotation marks. Even so, it wasn't too annoying.


The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Super Immunity

"The problem is that there are very few who can study this issue without their predetermined bias affecting their judgment. In modern times, nutrition has become like politics, with camps of various persuasions believing in the righteousness of their approach." -- Joel Fuhrman

The more I read about nutrition, the more I have come to realize how controversial the topic can be. Dr. Joel Fuhman explores how healthy food choices can boost your immune system better than any thing else.

It's easy to turn to pharmaceuticals when we get sick. But we can avoid the pharmaceuticals and getting sick by focusing our diets on healthy foods. He encourages the reader to eat dark, leafy green vegetables, some fruit, minimal proteins, and few carbs. He talks about how these foods provide the best nutrients for our immune systems. He explains the difference between macro and micro nutrients and the problems with pharmaceuticals.

Overall, I think this book is worth reading. It definitely made me look at the benefits of vegetables in a whole new way.



The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Wheat belly

 

At first glance this book appears to be another fad diet book and that is unfortunate. The book is much more than your average diet book. The title does grab your attention, and perhaps there will be many who will read it just because of the title.

This is the book that I wish had been available when I was researching the gluten-free diet. I wanted something that explained why eating wheat was making me sick. I had read other good, general overviews about being gluten free, but I wanted the science. Dr. William Davis takes the time to explain in an easy to read way how and why wheat is so bad. There may be skeptics who believe that avoiding "healthy" whole grains is dangerous. But there is now enough evidence to show, at least for some people, that wheat is indeed not healthy at all. He delves into the chemical makeup of wheat and how it acts on the body in a way that doesn't overwhelm you. He explains how wheat has been changed over time to increase yields without consideration of whether it is safe. He provides some words of caution about how to structure a gluten free diet so that it provides proper nutrients. Finally, he has some simple recipes.

I really liked this book. If I had read this book 2 years ago, I would not have been as hesitant to go on a gluten free diet. If you read this book and try a 30 day gluten free challenge, it may change your life.

There were a few things that William Davis mentions in his book but doesn't really explore. The first is that more women than men appear to be affected by celiac disease and gluten intolerance. I have always wondered why. He also can't explain why some people have no problem with wheat. They maintain a healthy, slim figure and can eat wheat with no reactions. It is not a negative against Dr. Davis, but I think there is plenty of room for additional research.



The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.