What I'm Reading

Hi, friends! I hope you are enjoying a labor-free Monday with good food and great company. In celebration of a day off around the country, I thought I'd share with you what I'm currently reading...

Okay, so I'm all over the place here. I know. I like to call it "well-rounded." :) Anyway, here's a little snippet about each one:

Blood, Bones, & Butter is fabulous. Food writing is some of my favorite. Hamilton's writing is just so wonderful - taking you places and feeding you things with her words. Here's a favorite passage from the book, “But it was from him - with his cool, long sideburns and aviator sunglasses, and box of watercolor paints (and artist's paycheck) - from him we learned how to create beauty where none exists, how to be generous beyond our means, how to change a small corner of the world just by making a little dinner for a few friends.” Love it! A must-read. P.S. I recently heard they are making this into a movie! How wonderful!

Love Wins is another great read. Phil and I have been reading this one together. A slightly controversial book, Bell discusses the possibility that maybe Christ died for everyone, not just those that have a club membership. Really, it just asks a lot of questions about Christianity and life on earth and how the two are one. One of my favorite passages (makes me cry every time) is "If this understanding of the good news of Jesus prevailed among Christians - the belief that Jesus’s message is about how to get somewhere else - you could possibly end up with a world in which millions of people were starving, thirsty, and poor; the earth was being exploited and polluted; disease and despair were everywhere; and Christians weren’t known for doing much about it. If it got bad enough, you might even have people rejecting Jesus because of how his followers lived. And that would be tragic." Kind of like a good kick in the stomach. 

Bringing Up Bebe is super interesting as well. Druckerman observes French parents to figure out exactly how they get their kids to sleep through the night as a newborn, eat nearly everything, and behave well in public. It is extremely intriguing, especially as she points out some of the major differences between American and French parenting styles. While I disagree with some of the methods she observes, I find some of it very appealing. Here's a snippet, “When I ask French parents what they most want for their children, they say things like "to feel comfortable in their own skin" and "to find their path in the world." They want their kids to develop their own tastes and opinions. In fact, French parents worry if their kids are too docile. They want them to have character. But they believe that children can achieve these goals only if they respect boundaries and have self-control. So alongside character, there has to be cadre.” 

Have you read any of these? What did you think? What are you reading? What should I read next?
-L