Just Jennifer

The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (And Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life by Andy Miller (Harper Perennial, December 2014)

In the tradition of Henry Miller’s (no relation) The Books in My Life, editor and writer Andy Miller writes homage to his love of reading by reading classic novels, and some not so classic.  He sets his sights high, fifty pages each day and begins with Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita.  Some books he is rereading (Of Human Bondage) as he didn’t finish them the first time he tried them; others are books he has said over the years he read (but didn’t really) and some find their way on to his “List of Betterment”.  Miller had planned to start with a dozen or so books, but to his chagrin, he had missed many more classics along his way to forty than he thought (Jane Eyre, War and Peace, Don Quixote) and his list soon numbered around fifty titles.  With a fair amount of self-depiction along the way, Miller talks about his successes (he was surprised to learn he enjoyed Middlemarch) and his less than favorite books (The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart) honestly.  While not meant as a literary criticism, this book offers some unusual insights into the classics and not so classics: who else could successfully compare Moby Dick to Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code.  The book is filled with quotes and footnotes for the true book geek and three appendices in the back of the book include Miller’s List of Betterment, The Hundred Books that Influenced [Me] Most and Books [I] Still Want to Read offer more books to be added to any to-be-read or re-read list.  Readers can go to his website: www.mill-i-am.com for updates on his ongoing project.  Anyone who has ever wanted to embark on a reading project will find much in here to enjoy.

Just Jennifer

Clean Slate: A Cookbook & Guide: Reset Your Health, Detox Your Body & Feel Your Best (Editors of Martha Stewart Living)

The holidays will soon be over and the new year upon us; many people will use this as a starting point and vow to eat healthier throughout the coming year.  But where & when to start?  Clean Slate is a good choice, even if it is the middle of March when people decide to revamp their eating habits and lifestyle.  Filled with easy to understand advice, lists of “super foods” presented in an accessible way, a 3-day or 21-day detox plan and almost a hundred recipes that use ingredients that are easily found in most supermarkets and that readers may already have in the cupboard, Clean Slate will have readers back on track in no time.  The recipes are clearly written with a bit of explanation as to which benefits each star ingredient will provide.  A section with two dozen juices and smoothies will offer a variety of choices: detoxify, recipes with anti-inflammatory properties, energizing and hydrating, and will inspire readers to try new combinations.  Recipes are labelled vegan, dairy-, nut- or gluten-free as appropriate for people on special diets.  A recipe chart in the order of the recipes indicates which of these recipes has each property.  A thorough source list includes not only where readers can find equipment and ingredients, but websites with useful dietary and healthful information to assist readers in starting a new eating plan.  The Martha Stewart Living trademark clean design translates well in this cookbook with simple type and inviting pictures.  The only thing that is slightly disconcerting is that the attribution to the nutritionists who vetted the information is tucked in the back, two-thirds of the way through the acknowledgements.   

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

Just Jennifer

Novel Interiors by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti, Photographs by Ivan Terestchenko (Potter Style)

Designer Lisa Borgnes Giramonti has found and restaged rooms that are reminiscent of over sixty novels and invites readers to take inspiration from her groupings: British Cozy Cottage Charm (Dickens, Austen and Gaskell), more structured, formal rooms (Wharton and James), a more casual, outdoorsy approach (Willa Cather), glitzy and glamorous (who else but Fitzgerald), bold and a bit chaotic (Dinesen or Katherine Mansfield) or dramatic (Wilde and Proust) or following her examples, find your own styke from your favorite author or novel.  Lavishly illustrated and heavily peppered with literary quotes, the “how-to” text may appear a little sparse unless you’ve first read the foreword that explains these rooms and photos are meant to be starting points rather than step-by-step instructions to help you design the room of your dreams and comfort.  Each chapter begins with a few brief sentences to set the tone and concludes with “Finishing Touches” such as embroidered door hangings and brass samovars in “Anything Goes”.  “Living au Natural” includes a section on how to plant a medicinal potted garden and a list of glamorous cordials is included in “Oh, the Glamour of It All”. 

A chapter after the rooms lists the authors, their novels and what specifically about each inspired Giramonti.  A thorough Source appendix gives readers ideas where to find furnishings and accessories of the periods, though not the specific items found in the photographs.  Location credits are listed alphabetically by the residents’ last names and are mostly found in California, though one location can be found in nearby Bernardsville, though it is up to the reader to determine which one it is.  The most frustrating part of this well-indexed book of inspiration is all the interesting and enticing shelves of books shot too far away too allow most of the spines to be readable.   A book that you will be able to turn to time and time again for either inspiration or just entertainment.   

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.