Summer Reading Roundup: Eating Animals

I'd never read anything by Jonathan Safran Foer before, but I was always drawn to his cover art. Eating Animals was no different, plus it was on a topic that matters to me, and I may have bought it for Robert this Christmas because I wanted to read it. Well folks, I finally got around to reading it, a mere 7 months later!

I get preachy enough on JOP that I'll spare you a point-by-point summary of this book, but you should know that it is really good, really thoroughly researched, really well written, and I am vividly sicked-out by the bacon that just a few weeks ago I (a "vegetarian") ate.

The premise is that we all know animal slaughter is disgusting; we all know factory farming is wrong. The information is there for all of us and nobody doubts how awful factory farms are for us, for the environment, for communities, and finally for the animals. So why do we ignore that and keep eating meat? "Because it tastes good." Weak! Don't start with the "protein" junk, either. Americans get way too much protein and it has a lot to do with our cancer incidence.

But don't take my word for it! Eating Animals, which is a quick, page-turning read, gets the solidest A.

Summer Reading Roundup: Mattaponi Queen

I've been on a short story kick recently, starting with some McSweeney's books I read while I was housesitting, going through Alice Munro's Runaway (which really deserves its own post), and winding up with Belle Boggs' Mattaponi Queen.

I bought Mattaponi Queen a few weeks ago, then when I was at Quail Ridge last weekend I saw that the author was coming this week! So for a few days I was reading Alice Munro's stories and Belle Boggs' simultaneously. I don't recommend this. The stories in Runaway pack a bigger punch and are better-constructed, but that is also a career-topping collection for Alice Munro. Belle Boggs, who is much younger, writes like the recent MFA that she is. Which isn't a bad thing, but I couldn't keep from comparing the two as I read. Maybe just don't try to read two similar books simultaneously in general!

The stories in MQ are really nice vignettes (or longer arcs) and the rural Virginian scenery is laid out beautifully. The characters are believable if not so heart-grabbing as Munro's; the pace is also not as quick, or it feels slower, which is sort of what I mean by the MFA style--the characters take a little longer to get in your head, and the overall feel is not so dynamic as it is ruminative. But I would recommend it. Did I grade the other book(s) with letter grades? If so, MQ gets a B+.

And! Belle Boggs was at Quail Ridge last night and I went to see her read. She and her mom pickled some stuff and made jams to pass out at her readings, so here is a jar of "Loretta's hot bread & butter pickles" (the pickles and jams were all named after characters...maybe there will be another collection of their recipes and cooking habits?) pictured next to the book. Isn't the cover art beautiful?? Obviously I brought my copy for her to sign. She asked if I was a writer, to which I replied "uhh...well..." because I don't know if "yes" is an honest answer to that, but neither is no. You know.

"Well, I teach high school," she said, and signed my book with all best wishes. She also pressed a four-leaf clover into the title page.

Read this book, everybody.