Tuesday, March 04, 2008

The Omnivore's Dilemma, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
My cousin gave me this for Christmas, and it took me a while to get through because of the very dense topic. Pollan covers food production in America, or rather the way we can get our food. Industrial farming, organic farming, natural farming, and basically the DIY idea. The book was great. I think Pollan covered everything really well and left me with a lot of things to think about. It made me want to live on a rotational farm the rest of my days. Anyway, it's dense with a lot of science that I don't quite understand, but it's worth it to read through that to get to the good stuff. Highly highly recommended. I think every American should read it. I know I'll be trying to pick up Pollan's new book In Defense of Food soon.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
I originally wanted to read Sometimes a Great Notion, but they didn't have a cheap paperback at the store when I tried, so I picked this up instead. I had seen the movie, so reading the book didn't bring too many surprises. For some reason, it took me a really long time to get through this little book. It was interesting, but for some reason didn't hold my attention enough. That might actually be due in part to getting internet in our apartment for the first time. Hmm. I just finished it last night and realized how much I love Kesey's style of writing. It's descriptive but plain, and very well put together, especially the dialogue.