Customer Comments

I really enjoyed Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer. It's perfect pre-summer reading for anyone interested in relationships between people, and between people and their environment. I listened to the audiobook version, which is read well by the author.

Michael Pollan has written an "Eater's Manifesto" that it well-researched and a pleasure to read. His advice - "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." - is simple and easy to follow. It has changed the way I think about food choices, shopping, and consumption. It's written with an American audience in mind, but I think that anyone eating a "western" diet can take away something important from this book.

This vegetarian cookbook is full of delicious recipes. I particularly enjoyed the Summer Risotto with Tomatoes, Leeks, and Fresh Corn.

This story of a father’s experience with his son’s meth addiction is an honest account of a difficult situation. As well as providing an insight to some of the universal aspect of addiction, it is also full of well-researched information.

Caution: if you read this book you may find yourself reconsidering how you use your money. Singer makes a compelling argument that those of us lucky enough to live in "rich" countries have a moral responsibility to help those living in 3rd world poverty. Singer makes his argument with with hard data and ethical reasoning, and provides information and a frame work for deciding which charities to donate your money to.

The Lonely Planet guide books are the best - and this one is no exception: tons of suggested walking routes, beautiful photos to inspire you, and clear, well-organized information.

Fantastic inspiration for a gardener itching to take advantage of spring!

Once you get past the missing apostrophe in the title of this book, it has a lot going for it. It covers a lot, is beautifully laid out, with plenty of photos letting you know what you're making, and the recipes (or, at least the one's I've tried) work beautifully. This book helped me make my first unsupervised roast chicken (which was delicious and moist), and opened my eyes to the oven-baked risotto. I'll never stand for hours over a stove stirring a risotto again!

This book is incredibly good. As well as being a compelling story (it follows the life of one of the Lost Boys of Sudan), it is incredibly well written. I read it over a weekend; I didn't get anything else done - I simply couldn't put this book down!

Basic background: Set it Dublin. Street busker (guy) meets Czech immigrant (girl) who happens to play the piano. They hit it off - she supplements his songs with keyboard and vocals, completes lyrics to pieces he’s written, etc., etc. The inevitable happens (ie. they are attracted to each other). The movie is full of cliché (although not at the end), and if the busker guy had said “Cool” one more time in the movie, I might have attacked the screen in an effort to strangle him, but I enjoyed it anyway, I think because I liked the music (sort of soft pop, but that’s OK), which really was central to the film. No big name stars, no flashy effects. Also in Once’s favor: unusual enough to keep it interesting. I don’t think it breaks any barriers or sets any new standards, but it’s a fun film.

Friends gave me Hungry Planet for my birthday nearly two months ago, and I’ve finally had a chance to sit down and read it. It’s a fantastic book, quite like anything else I’ve ever read: part coffee table book, part recipe book, part commentary on the differences (and similarities) that exist between the developed and the developing world. The basic idea of the book is this: Photographer Peter Menzel and his partner Faith D’Alusio travel to a variety of countries, all over the world, and document what people eat. Each family they visit is photographed sitting with a week’s worth of food, and the family is interviewed; the reader gets a sense of how food fits into the family’s life and culture. I’m not sure I’ll make any recipes in the book, but the family photos alone are eye-opening. It’s sobering to compare the weekly food consumed by a family in a first world country with that of a family living in a refugee camp.

I’ve seen all of the British version of The Office, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but it took me a while to warm to the American version. The first few episodes follow the British series very closely, and it was painful to watch. Then, the American version branched out in it’s own direction, and it got considerably better. It’s very different from the British series, but funny in it’s own way.

A series of short stories set in Brazil, all with an element of the supernatural.

This account of one family's attempt to eat locally has changed the way I buy and cook food.

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel that captures the immigrant's experience.

I was disappointed to find that I owned almost all the patterns in this book - most of them have been previously published in Rowan magazines.