Marsha K. (jkitil) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 18
A beautiful story about a life of creating sustainable agriculture. I learned about how asparagus is grown and that lettuce grows into a tall flower! It has made me appreciate the local Farmer's Market, which I go every Sunday now.
Marcie G. (CaliGhostHunter) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 14
The Kingsolver's resolve to live a year off the food grid is really food for thought. Obviously it's not a feasible goal for suburban folks to grow all of their own veggies and slaughter their own grass-fed turkeys, but she gives us some good ideas about being kinder to the planet by "eating locally", choosing food and products created as near to your own zip code as possible. It made me aware of how food choices I make impact a growing circle of people and the environment. Using her instructions I even tried making my own cheese from local milk, and it was delicious! It's a conscious-raising read. I liked it.
Helpful Score: 13
What a wonderful book...and written with such humor, as well as the facts or stats to back up what she is saying. This terrific story of an ordinary American family taking a year to eat consciously...buying food locally or growing their own...is a timely reminder to us that we need to be more aware of food--where it comes from, what industrial farms are doing to it and why we need to support local farming. This book really helped me connect the hunger problems around the world with my choices in buying food. I didn't expect to enjoy this book so much--such fun! Barbara Kingsolver helped me to "know" all the people of whom she spoke and took me personally into their lives and that of her husband and two daughters. Simply a wonderful book! One I definitely want for my own library as well as to share!
Michelle M. (hdmmomma) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
Such an interesting book-- the authors are definitely people who have thought a lot about their food choices and what these choices mean for themselves, other living beings and the planet. A good reminder that we support our values with every action and every action counts toward making the world what you want it to be.
I don't think I could do what they did (eating practically all local foods for a year), but I will be more thoughtful about what I select to feed myself and my family.
I don't think I could do what they did (eating practically all local foods for a year), but I will be more thoughtful about what I select to feed myself and my family.
Sarah S. (tigrrrl) -
Helpful Score: 8
Barbara Kingsolver does an amazing job portraying what life would be like if all of our sustenance came from less than a 120 mile radius. With a lot of planning and farmland she and her family were able to make it through one entire year of "local" eating. Her 3500 sq ft garden and orchard definitely puts my backyard garden to shame, but is inspirational to say the least. I thoroughly enjoyed the articles and essays contributed by her husband Steven L. Hopp throughout the chapters and the seasonal recipes by her daughter are great too.
While growing one's own food and slaughtering poultry at home may not be feasible to all of us urban residents, the premise of this book can still be incorporated into our own daily lives. Living in Southern California I have to wonder why am I buying Florida oranges at Vons when there are plenty more selections that are grown locally. Making conscious decisions about our food and getting to know the local farmer's markets can make a huge impact not only to our environment, but for our local economy as well.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a great resource for those who are just learning about the Slow Food movement without being too heavy on information. I am looking forward to reading the books that Kingsolver recommends in the index as well as boosting my vegetable garden's output this spring!
While growing one's own food and slaughtering poultry at home may not be feasible to all of us urban residents, the premise of this book can still be incorporated into our own daily lives. Living in Southern California I have to wonder why am I buying Florida oranges at Vons when there are plenty more selections that are grown locally. Making conscious decisions about our food and getting to know the local farmer's markets can make a huge impact not only to our environment, but for our local economy as well.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a great resource for those who are just learning about the Slow Food movement without being too heavy on information. I am looking forward to reading the books that Kingsolver recommends in the index as well as boosting my vegetable garden's output this spring!
Lorna C. (cookiemonster71) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 26 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
This is the kind of book that changes the way you view the world. I may not turn my back yard into rows of crops, but I am moved to buy more locally and more organically. Also, check out her website, a great resource.
Helpful Score: 5
If you're a Barbara Kingsolver fan, you will not be disappointed with her non-fiction. Ms. Kingsolver is able to transfer her great writing talent in this part-memoir, part-cookbook, part-homesteading manual. It is a fantastic read, if only for the amazing way she is able to express her thoughts.
But it's more than that. And for those people who are interested in a more simple (and more satisfying) lifestyle that leaves much of the consumer driven worries at the curb, this book is for you. Kingsolver describes moving to a rural community with her family where they attempt to homestead their property. In addition to information about her garden and produce preserving endeavors, Kingsolver discusses raising and butchering animals, making cheese, and why raising heritage breed turkeys is not a Butterball enterprise.
As a long-time Kingsolver fan, I was thrilled with the book, and as a wannabe homesteader myself, I found her experience enlightening and informative. I highly recommend this book.
But it's more than that. And for those people who are interested in a more simple (and more satisfying) lifestyle that leaves much of the consumer driven worries at the curb, this book is for you. Kingsolver describes moving to a rural community with her family where they attempt to homestead their property. In addition to information about her garden and produce preserving endeavors, Kingsolver discusses raising and butchering animals, making cheese, and why raising heritage breed turkeys is not a Butterball enterprise.
As a long-time Kingsolver fan, I was thrilled with the book, and as a wannabe homesteader myself, I found her experience enlightening and informative. I highly recommend this book.
Sherri W. (triketrekker) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 41 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
I was really disappointed with this book. I only read about 100 pages and had to quit. It just wasn't interesting for me. Maybe it's because I am farm raised??!!
Carrie H. (robotwife) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
I really enjoyed this book. I definitely think about what I'm buying and what I'm eating differently now. Barbara Kingsolver has a quick wit about her, which made this book entertaining as well as educational.
Helpful Score: 3
A terribly important book! Fantastic, a must-read. Barbara Kingsolver and her family have produced a wonderful compilation about the importance of eating locally. They managed to avoid being at all "preachy" and included many relevant facts, and engaging witticisms.
An added bonus: recipes and handy tips for cooks and home gardeners abound.
HIGHLY recommended. I absolutely savored this book.
An added bonus: recipes and handy tips for cooks and home gardeners abound.
HIGHLY recommended. I absolutely savored this book.
Judith I. (JudithKY) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I like this book. It's on my "never give away or lend" shelf. One day, and I hope it's soon, I'll also be returning to Kentucky (although much farther west in the state than Ms Kingsolver) and I hope to grow my own food too. Oh, probably not to the extent that her family does. Can't really see me and my best beloved 'harvesting turkeys'. But I certainly wouldn't be unhappy buying locally produced poultry, meat and eggs for my use. And I could process that meat into sausage and smoked goodies, I'm sure.
The concept of the book is that Ms Kingsolver (yes, she of The Bean Trees and other novels of which I am a fan) and her husband and two daughters decide to live for one year on home grown or locally produced food. They set limits, what they can't grow they can only buy within the county or a certain radius from their house and it must be in season. And they DO it. (Yes, they had exceptions like bananas and coffee, but only one exception each). They even surprised themselves in their success. Each member of the family has a part to play in providing food for the family. The youngest raises chickens for eggs (and harvests the extra roosters for the freezer). She is so successful she is soon selling eggs to the neighbors. The older daughter and the husband also participate in the writing of the book with essays in every chapter regarding their contributions.
As a family, they dig, pull, push, plow, pit and pulverize until the earth yields it's goods. They make stuff, can stuff, freeze stuff and generally inspire me to get myself a plot of land, a freezer, several willing helpers and get back to the earth once again.
Do not feel too sorry for them though. It may seem like times are rough, but several chapters are travelogues of their travels and adventures both in Amish America and Italy as well. I could be a farmer in Italy, I'm sure.......well, I could travel from farm to farm eating my way across the country like they did anyway.
In these harsh economic times growing your own food is an economical thing to do. Given the more and more frequent recalls and warnings about the food which commercial producers expect us to eat it's really in self-defense that we make our own.
Of course, Ms Kingsolver makes it far more entertaining than this review. She includes some recipes too. And trust me, as inspiring as her prose and ideals may be, her discriptions of harvesting turkeys, while not turning me into a vegetarian, do make me see what a wonderful creature a butcher may be.
The concept of the book is that Ms Kingsolver (yes, she of The Bean Trees and other novels of which I am a fan) and her husband and two daughters decide to live for one year on home grown or locally produced food. They set limits, what they can't grow they can only buy within the county or a certain radius from their house and it must be in season. And they DO it. (Yes, they had exceptions like bananas and coffee, but only one exception each). They even surprised themselves in their success. Each member of the family has a part to play in providing food for the family. The youngest raises chickens for eggs (and harvests the extra roosters for the freezer). She is so successful she is soon selling eggs to the neighbors. The older daughter and the husband also participate in the writing of the book with essays in every chapter regarding their contributions.
As a family, they dig, pull, push, plow, pit and pulverize until the earth yields it's goods. They make stuff, can stuff, freeze stuff and generally inspire me to get myself a plot of land, a freezer, several willing helpers and get back to the earth once again.
Do not feel too sorry for them though. It may seem like times are rough, but several chapters are travelogues of their travels and adventures both in Amish America and Italy as well. I could be a farmer in Italy, I'm sure.......well, I could travel from farm to farm eating my way across the country like they did anyway.
In these harsh economic times growing your own food is an economical thing to do. Given the more and more frequent recalls and warnings about the food which commercial producers expect us to eat it's really in self-defense that we make our own.
Of course, Ms Kingsolver makes it far more entertaining than this review. She includes some recipes too. And trust me, as inspiring as her prose and ideals may be, her discriptions of harvesting turkeys, while not turning me into a vegetarian, do make me see what a wonderful creature a butcher may be.
Helpful Score: 2
This is an excellent and fascinating book that I would highly recommended to the nature fiend, garden lover, person on a quest to eat healthier and reduce your carbon footprint.
I was completely inspired by this book when I first read it a year ago to plant a garden. I was renting and unable at the time, but started shopping farmers markets because of it. I recently reread it and now am in a house and am planning my first garden!
It's a fascinating look into what your life could be like if you truly tried to raise your own food for a year! Enjouy!
I was completely inspired by this book when I first read it a year ago to plant a garden. I was renting and unable at the time, but started shopping farmers markets because of it. I recently reread it and now am in a house and am planning my first garden!
It's a fascinating look into what your life could be like if you truly tried to raise your own food for a year! Enjouy!
Debbie D. (mmbay) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
As a "backyard" farmer, I am interested in learning about others who try to live more simply. I enjoyed this book and have passed it on to several friends. I also read Michael Pollan's book, "The Omnivores Dilemma" which was good but dragged on a bit and got bogged down in the details. "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" was well written and moved along at a nice pace. The monthly narratives are interspersed with short fact finding articles and seasonal recipes--a feature I particularly like. I could imagine myself trying to feed my family only local foods, visiting an Amish farm, trying to breed turkey, etc.
I don't know how realistic it would be for the average suburban family to eat locally for an entire year(considering the time and money required)but I enjoyed reading about one family that did it.The book is certainly slanted toward the organic, all natural perspective as opposed to the Pollan book, but very worth the read. I highly recommend this book. It will give you a new appreciation for the food on your dinner plate.
I don't know how realistic it would be for the average suburban family to eat locally for an entire year(considering the time and money required)but I enjoyed reading about one family that did it.The book is certainly slanted toward the organic, all natural perspective as opposed to the Pollan book, but very worth the read. I highly recommend this book. It will give you a new appreciation for the food on your dinner plate.
A really interesting perspective about food and how we get it. Barbara and her family agree to eat locally produced food for a year. So, she's willing to eat locally grown meat, but not bananas due to their impact on nature. It's nice she is living her ideal life. It's also good she likes to cook. I admire her experiment and wish her well. It takes a lot of planning and effort to eat only locally-produced foods.
I gave this book to my father who grew up on a farm in the Great Depression. He liked the writing style, if not the idealism. I liked how her daughter and husband took turns adding their thoughts.
I thought the curiousity about the chickens and turkeys on her land was interesting. Barbara does find a good balance between idealism and going over the top. Some of it is idealism. Some of it is practical. All of it is well written.
I gave this book to my father who grew up on a farm in the Great Depression. He liked the writing style, if not the idealism. I liked how her daughter and husband took turns adding their thoughts.
I thought the curiousity about the chickens and turkeys on her land was interesting. Barbara does find a good balance between idealism and going over the top. Some of it is idealism. Some of it is practical. All of it is well written.
Ann M. (annmarin) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 23 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I enjoyed this book, even though to me the idea is preposperous in this day and age. Don't get me wrong, I am all for buying locally grown produce, and I adore farmer's markets, but this really takes it to the extreme. I'm not going to stop buying bananas because they don't grow within 100 miles of where I live, and I don't think in doing that I am ruining the world. Still, aside from some preachy parts, its a good read. The husband's sections left me a little cold, though... you'll see for yourself. Note if you like Barbara Kingsolver (bean trees, poisonwood bible) this is a work of NON FICTION.
Helpful Score: 2
Took me back to the farm I grew up on. Kingsolver is at the top of her writing game again in this one. Her family also contributes some very spot-on reality checks in the sidebars.
This was an amazing book. The story was interesting and well told but the additional short essays and articles scattered throughout the book made the read much more interesting than it would have otherwise been.
Danielle H. (schoolinmama) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I really wanted to read this family's experience of eating local. But the book is very wordy and has so much of the author's worldview and opinions. Which wouldn't be so bad, if she weren't also slamming those who don't share her views. Not sure if I'm going to finish it.
Helpful Score: 1
Her daughter should write a recipe book. I, for one, would buy it!
I thought the book ran a little long & I didn't find much value in her computation of food costs/savings at the end. I did not see a factoring in for additional electrical, water, other costs necessary in prep & maintenance/storage. There was also the initial outlay in equipment purchase and, if it were my household, repurchases due to breakage! This is not to undermine the family's efforts, admirable to be sure, but while I have a bookshelf of "healthy food books", if I decide to keep it, it will be for Camille's recipes.
I thought the book ran a little long & I didn't find much value in her computation of food costs/savings at the end. I did not see a factoring in for additional electrical, water, other costs necessary in prep & maintenance/storage. There was also the initial outlay in equipment purchase and, if it were my household, repurchases due to breakage! This is not to undermine the family's efforts, admirable to be sure, but while I have a bookshelf of "healthy food books", if I decide to keep it, it will be for Camille's recipes.
Susan G. (onstagegirl) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 81 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
If you are a gardener, you will enjoy this book. If you are a person trying to eat healthy, you will enjoy this book. If you are a person who wants to cut our ties to the petroleum industry, you will enjoy this book. Plus there are some awesome recipes for seasonal cooking included.
Karen D. (augieandlourock) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 117 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I thought this book was very interesting and I learned a lot from it.This book is very detailed.I loved hearing about this family growing their own food and how much work and effort they put into it.Some of the things she describes will have you laughing and I also liked how she explained about the food she grew compared to the supermarket food.I still think about what she said when I go grocery shopping.I highly recommend this book.I also liked hearing about the animals they raised for food .It was interesting to hear what her husband and daughters thought about this also.It kind of makes you want to go buy a farm and try growing your own food.
Helpful Score: 1
What a wonderful, affirming book for anyone trying to produce as much of their own food as possible. This year-long account of one family's attempt to eat only food produced wholesomely and locally is inspiring. The book is lyrically and compellingly written, and manages to capture much of the joy and wonder of vegetable gardening and poultry rearing, of reaping and preserving your own harvest, enjoying vegetables in their own season, and sustaining yourself on the fruits of your own labor.
This mindset will become more and more important as fuel costs rise--the days when a pound of bananas can be shipped from an equatorial region for less than the cost of a postage stamp will soon be over. Barbara knows that understanding nature's cycles and becoming more in tune with how food comes to be can only improve one's health and create a sense of gratitude for nature's bounty and those farmers who manage it responsibly.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who eats.
This mindset will become more and more important as fuel costs rise--the days when a pound of bananas can be shipped from an equatorial region for less than the cost of a postage stamp will soon be over. Barbara knows that understanding nature's cycles and becoming more in tune with how food comes to be can only improve one's health and create a sense of gratitude for nature's bounty and those farmers who manage it responsibly.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who eats.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book, as a gardener and individual with an interest in sustainability it was a delightful read. Also the recipes are quite good, and the small essays were all very interesting. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Robin M. (robinm) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 57 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is an important book for the times that we are living in right now; I wish I had found it earlier! Put it on your wishlist!
Helpful Score: 1
Slightly preachy, but very interesting and the recipes are great!
Ellen C. (marathonmom) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 25 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Barbara Kingsolver's documentation of a life living entirely off the land for a year on her farm in Virginia. This book is a group effort by Dr. Kingsolver and her family - husband and two daughters. Each contributes expertise and observations on their effort to be entirely self-sufficient. I admire the mission that this family engaged in, and I appreciate the care and passion that all members of the family brought to their descriptions of their year. This effort, and the book written to detail their journey, are both to be admired. I was particularly taken with the chapter on making cheese - so much so that I bought a kit and tried it myself. Gotta admit, its harder than might be imagined after reading the description in the book. I'll never take mozzarella for granted again!
It is preachy and can get a bit labored but the section about the roosters learning to crow and the passages on learning about turkey mating had me laughing until I cried.
Our food, what we eat, where it comes from, how it is produced -- is such a hot topic right now. Barbara Kingsolver is such a wonderful writer that it would be difficult to do better than starting with, or adding, this book to your reading pleasures.
This book is very interesting. I learned so much about food, how to raise it and living a mostly self sustaining lifestyle. This is a great life that alot of us would love to live, and it's cool to read the process written out in great detail. I could just taste and smell the wonderful, fresh food as I was reading about it. I am a sucker for any fruits or veggies especially if they are garden fresh or canned homemade. Kingsolver writes in detail that makes you feel as if you were there right along side of her wishing you had access to these awesome foods. I will be keeping this book because there are some great recipes in it that I can't wait to try this summer!!
I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. The reason it didn't get a full 5 stars? Some chapters had entirely too much rambling info. I did skim over quite a few parts here and there just to get back to the story. This book also took me 3 weeks to read, which means, it didn't hold my attention quite enough to want to finish fast. It was overall a great read though and packed full of lots of great info!
http://www.hoteatsandcoolreads.com/2012/03/book-review-animal-vegetable-miracle.html
I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. The reason it didn't get a full 5 stars? Some chapters had entirely too much rambling info. I did skim over quite a few parts here and there just to get back to the story. This book also took me 3 weeks to read, which means, it didn't hold my attention quite enough to want to finish fast. It was overall a great read though and packed full of lots of great info!
http://www.hoteatsandcoolreads.com/2012/03/book-review-animal-vegetable-miracle.html
Loved it so much I bought a permanent copy to keep.
Victoria C. (natasha008) - , reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 5 more book reviews
I did enjoy this book, it's an interesting concept to eat food only from your own local area and it made me want to do the same, or at least think more about where the food I am eating is coming from.
I found the authors to be a little preachy and condescending at times but perhaps that wasn't their intent.
It would be a great book if you are interested in gardening or producing your own food.
I found the authors to be a little preachy and condescending at times but perhaps that wasn't their intent.
It would be a great book if you are interested in gardening or producing your own food.
Barbara Kingsolver and her family move from the desert clime of Arizona to the wooded, fertile landscape of southern Appalachia. Here living in a fertile land, they resolve to spend a year eating locally. The beginning of their year of being locavores begins in March when they are waiting for the ground to thaw and the asparagus to grow. With a few exceptions they depend on food purchased from local farmers and sold at farmers' markets until they are able to eventually harvest from their own gardens.
This experiment includes not only locally grown fruits and vegetables, but home-grown animals as well. Even on their travels they try to eat with this locavore mindset and Kingsolver shares with the reader about locally grown foods from some other areas of the world as well.
Kingsolver takes the reader month by month through their experiment rounding out the story with facts and histories about plants and animals they learn about.
Kingsolver is a warm, humorous and intelligent wordsmith and I look forward to reading more of her books.
This experiment includes not only locally grown fruits and vegetables, but home-grown animals as well. Even on their travels they try to eat with this locavore mindset and Kingsolver shares with the reader about locally grown foods from some other areas of the world as well.
Kingsolver takes the reader month by month through their experiment rounding out the story with facts and histories about plants and animals they learn about.
Kingsolver is a warm, humorous and intelligent wordsmith and I look forward to reading more of her books.
Laurie S. (LaurieS) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 504 more book reviews
This is the story of a family who decides to leave city life to move to their 100 acre property in the country where they will live off the land and eat locally in order to do their part to save fossil fuels and the planet. Sounds like a lovely fantasy. If only an ancestor of mine had left me a farm Id be all set but I'm not bitter.
My first obstacle however for achieving this wouldnt be the lack of a farm but talking my preteen/teenage kids into the endeavor. Did I mention the kids in this book are teen and preteen age? Id love to know how the Kingsolvers talked them into this without endless whining, ranting, pouting and crying. How did they pull these kids away from everything familiar, especially their friends for an entire freaking year and get them to cooperate? I need that secret ritual spell or those mood altering pills that they surely must have stashed in the kids last Twinkie. My kids freak at the mere whisper of moving, never mind giving up Reese's cups. If you have little kiddies and dream of doing something like this dont wait. Trust me on this one. Once they make friends it is over. Maybe Kingsolvers kids didnt have friends because I honestly dont know any kids their age that wouldnt put up even a minor stink about switching schools. But maybe all of the kids I know are just brats.
I listened to the audiobook of which the bulk of the story is read by Barbara Kingsolver, with her husband butting in at the end of the chapter with helpful tidbits of information for further research and her daughter adding bits about meal plans and recipes. She also adds a few short snippets about her experiences with this project and about her life growing up on a farm and in the kitchen. She sounds like a great helpful kid and an atypical teen. The Kingsolver's seem like very lucky people.
I found this entire book extremely interesting. I already know about GMOs and big agri-business and the mess of our food system so I didnt learn a whole heck of a lot new here. Kingsolver also doesnt go into the minutia of starting up a farm which is more of what I was expecting (and hoping to glean) from this book. From the gist of things I believe she grew up on or around a farm/garden her entire life and already knew how to do everything. Instead she focuses more on how they made do with only foods grown locally; on their farm or those nearby. I think she went a tad overboard when she went on about her views about tobacco farms and began to equate the harvesting of her animals to the beheading of a lettuce but overall I didnt find her preachy or as obnoxious as some have mentioned. Ill never be able to do as they did and buy 100% organic and local however. Despite what she claims, it is much more expensive and time consuming and requires a whole lot of advance planning and trips to various markets. I've done the research in my area and the numbers don't work out in my favor. So I will do what I can until I win the lottery and it will have to be good enough for now.
Though it sounds like a huge amount of work their journey is enviable. It has inspired me to spend more time working in the dirt and to put our compost to good use rather than using it to enrich flower beds. I planted garlic in the fall and am going to baby it instead of ignore it and hope for the best as tends to be my habit. My bigger goal is find a spot and dig a trench for an asparagus bed. I hadnt realized they reward you for years with just a TLC. Thats my kind of veggie. More importantly this book made me think differently about the hours I spend slaving away at the stove and made me look at the work as less of a chore and more of an act of love for my family and for myself. Sometimes when Im exhausted I need a nudge to keep me going and this book did the trick. Ill probably keep this on my Ipod for inspiration when Im feeling lazy or overwhelmed.
My first obstacle however for achieving this wouldnt be the lack of a farm but talking my preteen/teenage kids into the endeavor. Did I mention the kids in this book are teen and preteen age? Id love to know how the Kingsolvers talked them into this without endless whining, ranting, pouting and crying. How did they pull these kids away from everything familiar, especially their friends for an entire freaking year and get them to cooperate? I need that secret ritual spell or those mood altering pills that they surely must have stashed in the kids last Twinkie. My kids freak at the mere whisper of moving, never mind giving up Reese's cups. If you have little kiddies and dream of doing something like this dont wait. Trust me on this one. Once they make friends it is over. Maybe Kingsolvers kids didnt have friends because I honestly dont know any kids their age that wouldnt put up even a minor stink about switching schools. But maybe all of the kids I know are just brats.
I listened to the audiobook of which the bulk of the story is read by Barbara Kingsolver, with her husband butting in at the end of the chapter with helpful tidbits of information for further research and her daughter adding bits about meal plans and recipes. She also adds a few short snippets about her experiences with this project and about her life growing up on a farm and in the kitchen. She sounds like a great helpful kid and an atypical teen. The Kingsolver's seem like very lucky people.
I found this entire book extremely interesting. I already know about GMOs and big agri-business and the mess of our food system so I didnt learn a whole heck of a lot new here. Kingsolver also doesnt go into the minutia of starting up a farm which is more of what I was expecting (and hoping to glean) from this book. From the gist of things I believe she grew up on or around a farm/garden her entire life and already knew how to do everything. Instead she focuses more on how they made do with only foods grown locally; on their farm or those nearby. I think she went a tad overboard when she went on about her views about tobacco farms and began to equate the harvesting of her animals to the beheading of a lettuce but overall I didnt find her preachy or as obnoxious as some have mentioned. Ill never be able to do as they did and buy 100% organic and local however. Despite what she claims, it is much more expensive and time consuming and requires a whole lot of advance planning and trips to various markets. I've done the research in my area and the numbers don't work out in my favor. So I will do what I can until I win the lottery and it will have to be good enough for now.
Though it sounds like a huge amount of work their journey is enviable. It has inspired me to spend more time working in the dirt and to put our compost to good use rather than using it to enrich flower beds. I planted garlic in the fall and am going to baby it instead of ignore it and hope for the best as tends to be my habit. My bigger goal is find a spot and dig a trench for an asparagus bed. I hadnt realized they reward you for years with just a TLC. Thats my kind of veggie. More importantly this book made me think differently about the hours I spend slaving away at the stove and made me look at the work as less of a chore and more of an act of love for my family and for myself. Sometimes when Im exhausted I need a nudge to keep me going and this book did the trick. Ill probably keep this on my Ipod for inspiration when Im feeling lazy or overwhelmed.
Cynthia L. (Honeygirl62) -
I haven't thought this much about the source of my food since I read Farm Sanctuary three years ago. I learned so much about when vegetables are in season and at the peak of their flavor. You actually feel like you can do something about it by buying locally...you don't have to have your own farm or garden. You don't even have to can or freeze, although you should if you want to enjoy those local in season fruits and vegetables in the winter when nothing local is in season. The author interspersed all this information with humor and stories of her own family and friends in her year long experiment with eating locally. I highly recommend this book.
Karen D. (allyall) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 27 more book reviews
I really enjoy reading this book. It is just a lovely read about a year of gardening and eating locally. There are interesting tidbits about the area and the plants.
I really enjoyed this book. As a HUGE fan of B. Kingslover, I was very interested to read her account of this year in her life; and was not disappointed. Much "food" for thought. Occasionally, it could get mired up in it's preachy tone, but just when it did, she would bring it back down a notch. If you have an interest in how and what you eat, and/or enjoy Ms. Kingsolver's works, i highly suggest this book!
Catherine C. (c-squared) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 181 more book reviews
I absolutely loved this book. It was informative, inspiriting, and infused with Kingsolver's dry humor. I'm inspired to change the way I think about, acquire, and consume food.
Great book.
Carrie E. C. (cef424) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 67 more book reviews
Great book! I learned alot...
Amanda H. (emmy817) reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 3 more book reviews
This is one of my favorite nonfiction books--I enjoyed following her journey eating foods only available locally.
WONDERFUL book. This book will influence my buying and eating practices. I recommend it.
R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on + 1453 more book reviews
Ee-eu! I abandoned this book after page ten but I admit I skimmed many sections, read the ending and checked out the references, sidebar sources and organizations listed at the end. I've had a garden all my life and enjoy the freshness of what I can grow. However, I still enjoy being able to find bananas, papayas, pineapple, kiwi and other good foods that provide the wonderful variety I enjoy at my table. Incidentally, I cannot grow these foods in the climate where I live nor can I find the many marvelous cheeses that I adore. My first impression was that the author moved to this location to please her husband, and, incidentally, wouldn't it make a good book? Perhaps fiction is a better genre for such a talented writer.
A great read...really thought provoking
I loved this book and it truly inspired me!
Great info and story. It's a keeper
Very interesting. Actually, it gets better as you go along--the first bit is kind of preachy.
I love to read Barbara Kingsolver and I love the subject she writes on but the book seems contrived.
