Book Club: Blueprint for Revolution--Introductory Discussion

*Items marked with an asterisk are affiliate links. I may receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through these links. Thank you in advance!

Welcome to our first discussion thread for Blueprint for Revolution: How to use rice pudding, Lego men, and other nonviolent techniques to galvanize communities, overthrow dictators, or simply change the world by Srdja Popovic!

You can buy the book here or from your favorite book shop*: https://bookshop.org/a/8639/9780812995305

Let’s look at the cover, preface, and illustrations of Blueprint for Revolution before we begin digging into the book.

The cover image of the edition I have (and in the images for these posts) shows a person preparing to throw a bouquet of flowers and the text mentions rice pudding and Lego men.

As we’ve seen even in the last year, non-violent means of protest are not uncommon – consider the Portland Frog Brigade which has spread the idea of wearing frog and other inflatable costumes to anti-ICE protests around the United States as a means of non-violent protest. Bringing whimsy to protests also brings media and community attention which translates to pressure on those being protested and the regimes that support them.

When it comes to flowers, specifically, there’s a famous image titled “Flower Power” taken by The Washington Evening Star newspaper photographer Bernie Boston on October 21, 1967 at the March on the Pentagon protest related to protesting the Vietnam war. The image shows a protester inserting carnations into the barrel of a rifle held by a soldier. Others also were placing flowers in the rifle barrels, but this particular image was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1967. Initially, the photograph was not given much attention until it was entered into a photography contest and then became a popular symbol of peaceful protest.

Flower Power photograph by Bernie Boston, taken during the March on the Pentagon,
 October 21, 1967, Wikipedia

Many of you have probably heard the phrase “flower power”, but you may not know where it began. In 1965, poet/writer, Allen Ginsberg wrote an essay called “How to Make a March/Spectacle” in which he stated to hand out “masses of flowers” as a means of fighting violence with peace. He advocated giving flowers to those in power, the police, the press, and more. The phrase “flower power” quickly became popular, particularly related to peacefully protesting the Vietnam war. It spread quickly from Berkley, California to the rest of the nation even though Ginsberg didn’t actually use the exact phrase in his essay.

Learn more about the iconic photo here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Power_%28photograph%29

You can read more about Ginsberg’s ideas and essay here:
https://1965book.com/2014/11/05/november-19-the-berkeley-barb-publishes-allen-ginsbergs-essay-demonstration-or-spectacle-as-example-as-communication-or-how-to-make-a-marchspectacle-which-extols-the-use-of-flowers-in-pro/

You can learn about Popovic’s group, Otpor! here: https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/otpor-struggle-democracy-serbia-1998-2000/

Other than flowers and frog costumes, are there examples of non-violent resistance that you can think of?

Is there a form of non-violent protest or resistance that you practice, no matter how big or small?

In terms of the bullet points on the back cover, is there one point you are most interested in learning more about?

Leave your thoughts in a comment or find the post on my Facebook page and join the discussion there.

January and February 2026 Reading Achievements

Thanks to an unusual work schedule, I have a huge amount of time off which has skyrocketed how much I'm able to read. Since reading is my primary passion, I'm thrilled! 

January and February of 2026 have proven to be extremely fulfulling and I've read more, so far, this year than in the same timespan in years past. As of the end of February, I've finished 11 books. From 2016 to 2024, there have been many years were 11 books is more than half of what I read in an entire year! I'm definitely far ahead of my usual reading pace, even for my most prolific years. Of course, please don't judge your own reading spead or number of books against mine--we all read at our own paces and with our own preferences and habits; and, many of you don't have as much free time to read as I happen to enjoy.

Out of the 11 books I've read thus far in 2026, my favorites have been:

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

I Who Have Never Known Men is a piece of speculative, post-apocalyptic science fiction written in 1995 and translated from Belgian into English. It is haunting, heartbreaking, and beautiful. It is also deeply philosophical. 

The novel centers on a young woman who was captured as a young girl, along with 39 adult women, and kept for years in a cage overseen by male guards. An unexplained event takes place that causes the guards to abandon their posts and disappear at precisely the right moment, allowing the women to escape. By this point, the young girl has become a young woman. She is also the only one who has no memory of the world before waking up in this cage which allows her to be emboldened into taking chances the other women are too afraid to take on their own. 

The book spans several decades, despite how slim the volume is, as this group of women roams the world they emerge into as they search for other survivors and find ways to live and build a new type of community. This is a novel I will think about for the rest of my life.

Find I Who Have Never Known Men on Bookshop HERE or Amazon HERE.

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

Harbor Me is a a middle-grades chapter book set in Brooklyn and focused on a small group of Special Education students who are allowed time every Friday afternoon, before the end of the school day, to talk and share with one another without any adults present. 

The story is from the point of view of a girl who lives with her uncle while her father is away in prison. Her mother died when she is young and she aches for a mother-figure and lives with shame that her father is incarcerated. This is a beautiful story about personal shames, fears, and pain and how we can form close bonds with those around us--even when they seem so different and unlikely as allies. It is as much about found family as it is about healing. I have loved everything I've read by Woodson, but Harbor Me is easily my favorite of her books. 

Find Harbor Me on Bookshop HERE or Amazon HERE.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

At first, I was unsure about The Frozen River due to its length. it's quite a bit longer than much of what I typically read, but the further I got into the story, the more I was hooked! 

This is a piece of historical fiction based on very real people, taking place shortly after the Revolutionary War in the New England area of the United States. It is told from the perspective of a very real midwife: Martha Ballard. While the author takes many liberties and embellishes and fills in many details, there are real threads of history throughout the book; however, it was the fictional story Lawhon created that I loved. This novel is a mystery focused on rape, murder, power, and rivalry. Ballard--both in real life and in the novel--hold an unusual amount of power as a midwife in the late 1700s and uses her skills and smarts to not only help pregnant women, but also to solve the several layers of mysteries throughout the book. 

Perhaps what I loved most about this novel though, is that the fictional husband--also based on Ballard's real husband--is so in love with, supportive of, and respectful of our narrator in pretty much every way. The romantic in me definitely fell in love both with him and with one of the couple's fictional sons. This was a long novel, but I had a hard time putting it down to go do other things and read it quickly!

Find The Frozen River on Bookshop HERE and on Amazon HERE.

How About Now by Kate Baer

This poetry collection is a beautiful look at motherhood and being middle aged as a woman. Many of the poems were thought provoking, many were comforting, and some made me nod my head and think, "Yes, I recognize this. I feel understood by this." 

I could easily have raced through this poetry collection, but I was enjoying each and every poem to such a degree that I forced myself to slow down and savor every word. If you enjoy the poetry of Marie Howe, you'll love the work of Kate Baer!

Find How About Now on Bookshop HERE or Amazon HERE.

The Sea in Winter by Christine Day

I firmly believe that adults should be allowed to read books meant for children, and this novel is no exception! The Sea in Winter is a middle-grades novel and winner of the American Indian Youth Literature Award Middle Grade Honor. 

The novel centers on a young girl who dreams of a life on stage as a ballerina. Her dreams are upended by a devestating injury, a trip with her family, and re-injury. This is a coming of age novel as well as a novel about connecting with your roots, finding new paths through life, and much more. It is set in the Pacific Northwest (my favorite part of the world) and ties both the Indigenous history of the land with modern daily life. This novel spoke to me both as a parent and to my inner child who had to deal with heart breaks and shattered dreams growing up. I found this to be a comforting read in many ways and identified with both the children and the adults in the novel.

Find The Sea in Winter on Bookshop HERE and Amazon HERE.

The other books I've finished, so far, in 2026 are:

• Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh (also spelled TH1RT3EN)
• Darkhearts by James L. Sutter
• Reasons to Look at the Night Sky by Danielle Daniel
• Thieve's Gambit by Kayvion Lewis
• Black Ice by Hans Werner Kettenbach
• Goldenrod: Poems by Maggie Smith

Of these, the only one I would NOT recommend is Black Ice. For most of the book, I was enjoying how deliciously awful the main character (and most of the other characters) is, but at some point, the constant awfulness started to grate on my nerves and it became harder and harder to enjoy the novel. There was no release from the horrid nature of the characters in the midst of a murder mystery. The one character that could have been the counter-balance wasn't well enough developed and didn't have enough of a presence to be of any relief. I got far enough into the novel that I decided to go ahead and finish it, despite my belief that it's ok to put down a book if you aren't enjoying it, and I wish I'd just quit the book instead! The end was ridiculous and left too many loose threads. It wasn't a cliffhanger and it wasn't a prelude to a follow up novel. It just . .  . ended. 

What have you read so far in 2026?

January and February 2023 Reading Roundup

So far, in January and February of 2023, I've read far more than in the same time period the prior few years! 

In part, I've been making a conscious choice to sit down with a book instead of mindlessly scrolling or watching TV. I've also just been far less stressed than in the last few years, so it's been more natural to pick up a book without having to make a conscious effort. 

Links within the body of this post are affiliate links for Bookshop.org. Links at the end of the post are from Amazon.com. Either way, these may result in a small commission for me if you make purchases through these links. Thank you in advance!

In January, I finished:

• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (American fiction)
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (non-fiction; memoir; autobiography; poetry)

In February, I finished:

• Cold by Mariko Tamaki (young adult fiction; murder mystery)
• The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson (Contemporary British fiction; chick lit; Rom-Com; lighthearted and sweet)
• Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan (Contemporary American fiction; psychological thriller; family and friend relationships; near future climate crisis)

As of this writing -- the second to last day of February -- I am currently working my way through:

• No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib (Contemporary fiction; dramatic and tense but EXCELLENT)
• The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (Contemporary Swedish fiction; humorous)
• Animal Farm by George Orwell (Fiction; satire)

I have several other books in progress from months past, but these three are at the top of my list.

So far, the best book I've read in 2023 is Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan. Whoa! This book is tense, but I could not put it down! The book takes place in the near future amid a growing climate crisis that is making life nearly unbearable in what is an otherwise very typical suburban United States neighborhood. As the story unfolds, we see relationships  shift between a group of neighbors and their children. The kids are growing up and shifting allegiances. The parents are mostly trying to hold their lives and families together with varying degrees of success. Ultimately, everything unravels when one of the kids disappears into a sink hole. Cracks in all of the relationships -- family units, friends, and so on -- begin to form and unthinkable acts of violence occur under the cover of darkness. Although this was a devastating story, it was also exceptionally written and I highly recommend it.

What has been your best read so far in 2023?

BOOK REVIEW: Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Know My Name by Chanel Miller was by far the best book I read in 2020 (followed closely by Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi). Miller's book is a memoir about her experience as a sexual assault survivor, including the attack, the court case that followed, and rebuilding her life after physical, emotional, and mental trauma. 

I particularly enjoyed Miller's ability to weave memories of earlier times in her life into her telling of what happened to her. She is a master story teller, even when it comes to the awful, most horrifying bits. Miller's memoir is filled with both vulnerability and strength. At times I found myself openly weeping and crying while at other times I cheered and smiled large at her ability to find joy amid the depths of despair. 

After being attacked by Brock Turner on the Stanford University campus in 2015, Miller sunk into a deep depression that was only made worse through the madness of the criminal justice system. Instead, however, she fought her way back to herself and rebuilt her life. It is clear from her memoir though, that this also entailed dealing with long lasting trauma that may follow her and inform her choices and thoughts and overall being for the rest of her life. She chose over and over to not give in. She chose over and over to experience life and explore her interests. That's not to say it was easy and that's not to say she didn't go through periods where she did want to give up, where she did succumb to her fears and dark thoughts. But, she always climbed back out of the depths. 

Included in the memoir is Miller's victim impact statement which is a masterpiece that no one should ever have to write. It is a masterclass in how not to rape, how not to assault, how not to behave, how not to treat others. 

Miller's assault was not that long ago, but I am sure it will have a lasting ripple effect on her life, the lives of her sister and parents, on her friends, and others. I'm sure the intensity has and will continue to dial down over time, but the assault and all that came with it will always still be there, like a little grain of something in their shoes that they forgot about for the longest time. Then it shifts, and they feel it with every step until they try to remove it, but can't find it. It shifts again and they move on and don't feel it -- even forget about it again until, one day, there it is yet again. 

Every now and then Miller's attacker comes up in the news and do not feel a single bit sorry for him when the news is related to him having a hard time in life. He brought that upon himself. 

Rather than rewrite things I've already written, the rest of this post is primarily from comments I made in a small book group myself and three good friends read Know My Name. I've only edited a little bit for clarity and length. 

This was such a hard book to read, but I'm so glad that I did! I'm so glad I bought it instead of getting it from the library. I'll read it again, but not anytime soon. I know I'll recommend it to many people in years to come too. 

I'm struck by similarities with the Netflix short series "Unbelievable" which is excellent and based on real rape cases near Seattle and in Colorado. In both Miller's book and the Netflix show, there seems to be a clear division in the way men handled and treated victims compared to how women responded. There are some women who will take the "what were you wearing/doing/drinking" or "you should have kept your legs closed" stance and also some women who get embarrassed or don't want to to be involved in such intimate invasions, but I see it far more in men both in media and in life. It's unfortunate since men can be excellent allies -- and they aren't exempt from being victims as well. 

Women are constantly held to double standards from birth and both Miller's book and "Unbelievable" highlight that fact. As I was finishing Know My Name, I also was reading the poetry collection Wild Embers by Nikita Gill which was the perfect compliment to Miller's memoir. The poems feature themes about the double standards women are held to, about boys and men being given a pass for bad behavior because of the idea that "boys will boys", and how women are forced into the defensive position when we deserve to stand strong and not to be subjected to abuse. 

I loved Miller's book (and "Unbelievable" and Wild Embers), but it provokes a strong emotional response as a reader and was difficult, at times, as a result. I was struck by Miller's ability to create vivid images and to craft metaphors while mining the depths of her memories and lived experiences to create context, emotions, and so on.

I hope you'll consider reading Know My Name by Chanel Miller. I think about it regularly even though it's been months since I read it. 

You can buy a copy of Know My Name on Bookshop HERE.

Or find it on Amazon HERE. 

Or look for it at your local library. 

As of my writing this, "Unbelievable" is available on Netflix HERE.

You can find Wild Embers by Nikita Gill on Bookshop HERE.

Or on Amazon HERE.

Or try your local library.

Please note: links may be affiliate in nature. Making purchases through such links may result in a small commission to me at no cost to you. Thank you in advance. 

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin ~*~ Chapter 1: January

In my last post, I wrote about setting up my reading journal for 2021 and the books I planned to read in January. To be honest, I thought by January 9th, I'd have read a lot more than I actually have, but life gets in the way, right?

That said, it's not like I've done no reading at all. I've made much progress in two books not on my January 2021 plan but which I'd started previously and just hadn't finished yet -- The Chemistry of Tears by Peter Carey and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. And, I added two books that aren't on my original January list: The Odyssey by Homer (Robert Fitzgerald translation) and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

I'd started Crooked Kingdom quite some time ago and have been reading it in fits and starts -- I'm enjoying it, but I'm not so fully captivated that I feel compelled to read it quickly. The Chemistry of Tears was given to me by a friend on Christmas Eve and I do love it, but I've had competing interests and general life ups and downs to contend with.

Then, I suddenly had a surge in tutoring requests for literature and composition. Thus Catcher in the Rye and The Odyssey were suddenly on my list -- I always read books following my students' course reading schedules so that I can best advise them in their studies. Not only that, but I have another student starting The Odyssey this week (hopefully the same version as the first student, but we'll see!).

But, let's switch it up and talk about The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. 

I've read Rubin's book a couple of times and the new year seemed like the perfect time to start since the structure of the book follows the months of the year. The topic -- The Happiness Project -- should make it pretty obvious what the book is about: a project undertaken by Rubin to increase the amount of happiness in her life. Each month, she tackled a different theme or idea.

So, let's dig into January.

In the book, Rubin's themes for January are vitality and boosting energy. She also sets some specific goals for the month:

• Go to sleep earlier
• Exercise better/more
• Organize and declutter
• Take care of a nagging task
• Act more energetic

Rubin delves into the science behind why some of these can improve one's life, but she also talks about her own successes and failures in tackling each item on the list.

For myself, I'm a night owl and have a really hard time getting to bed at an hour that anyone might consider reasonable. My goal has been 3am for a long time, but I'm trying to be ASLEEP by 2am. With increasing requests for tutoring by students in several time zones, I find it helpful to go to sleep and wake up earlier. So far, I'm only doing so-so in this area. The only time it wasn't a struggle were all the years I worked night shift in hospitals.

As for exercising better and more, my kid and I have made it a point to get out and take regular walks -- usually four to five per week, weather permitting. We've been gradually increasing our distance and we both have noticed the benefits to our mental AND physical health. At some point, I'd really like to get back into bicycling and swimming, but the weather right now isn't my favorite for cycling and I'm waiting until Covid-19 is better under control before I head to a pool again.

When it comes to organizing and decluttering (Rubin's actual bullet point is "Toss, restore, organize"), I'm a natural, but Covid-19 and inheriting all of my uncle's stuff when he died, as well as all of his best friend's stuff (a story for another time), has overwhelmed me and resulted in tons of clutter and stuff to toss or restore or organize! Thankfully two friends are doing a lot of decluttering and organizing right now, so we've been able to hold each other accountable. We've all been getting a ton taken care of! With regard to the "restore" piece -- I've always checked our laundry as I sort it or fold it, and I pull out items that need repairs. Right now, I have two shirts with tiny holes that I'll repair (or restore). 

As for tackle a nagging task, well, January is pretty much the perfect time to start working on taxes, right? Yep, that's what I'm tackling. Ick... But, I know the sooner it's done, the happier I'll be!

And, acting more energetic...I'm naturally a low energy, shy, introvert (note: not all introverts are shy, but I am). As my tutoring student requests are rising and I'm taking on more students, I've found myself having to act more energetic, upbeat, and extroverted than I really am. All three of the students I've met with in the past week have commented on how upbeat and energetic I seem to be and how they like it! But, as a hardcore introvert with a shy streak, you can bet I need a few hours after each session to decompress!

I plan to come back every month to review my reading of that month's chapter in The Happiness Project and how it relates to my own life. Have you read it? What did you think? 

Grab a copy of The Happiness Project:

On Bookshop HERE.

On Amazon HERE.

Or at your local independent bookshop or library.

Learn more about my January 2021 reading list in THIS blog post or buy books from the list at Bookshop HERE.

And, if you or your child are in need of a literature or writing tutor (or both), you can find more information about my tutoring practice and offerings HERE.

BOOK REVIEW: The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Annie Raser-Rowland and Adam Grubb

Several years ago, I tutored a teenaged boy who had a curious habit when it came to eating his after school snacks. This young guy, we'll call him Joe, would take the tiniest bites of his snacks and roll the bites around in his mouth with his eyes closed, chewing far more than necessary, and then swallow the bites. When I asked him about this little habit, he told me it was so that he could really enjoy what he was eating and that by closing his eyes, taking tiny bites, and holding the bites in his mouth while chewing and moving them around for longer than necessary, he created a fuller, much more enjoyable experience for himself. He said he was teaching himself to really enjoy and engage with what he consumed, and that in doing so he was also practicing self control and limiting portion sizes too. He was learning to recognize that great joy can be gained through small experiences and was saving himself many calories (he'd spent several years overweight and out of shape) and quite a lot of money (thanks to not over consuming).

What my student was doing falls under the title of frugal hedonism and today's book review is all about the concept.

Title: The Art of Frugal Hedonism -- a guide to spending less while enjoying everything more

Author: Annie Raser-Rowland and Adam Grubb

Publisher: Melliodora

Year published: 2016

ISBN: 9780994392817

Genre: non-fiction, lifestyle, frugalism, hedonism

Pairs well with freshly baked cookies, 

your favorite coffee or tea,

and your favorite reading chair.

I first read The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Annie Raser-Rowland and Adam Grubb when it was first published in 2016, and I greatly enjoyed revisiting this little treasure trove of tips, hints, and ideas for how to live better while spending less.

I haven't always been a frugalist or hedonist, but when I discovered that the two ideologies could co-exist, I was converted to both!

A frugal hedonist is a person who understands and takes pleasure in enjoying life to the fullest while also being fiscally conservative. Frugal hedonists aren't necessarily scouring the Goodwill for their next pair of jeans or dumpster diving for tonight's dinner, but they might if they see something that's high quality and worth the energy and effort. A frugal hedonist could just as likely be shopping at Goodwill or pulling a nightstand out of a dumpster as spending over $100 on a pair of shoes that they know are high quality and that have a lifetime guarantee and thus will last years rather than the short life span of a cheap pair of sneakers from the discount store. They understand that they have skills and knowledge that might be useful to their neighbor and vice versa and are happy to trade and barter. They understand that an experience is more valuable than an object. They understand that making small shifts here and there can bring significant improvements in their quality of life without making huge financial outlays.

And, Raser-Rowland and Grubb explore all of this and more in their book.

The Art of Frugal Hedonism is an easy read, thanks in large part to how it is organized with brief chapters ranging from one to five page and written in such a way that you could read the book straight through like any other book, or you could dip in here and there for a tip or pick me up or inspiration as you see fit. The writers both have great senses of humor as well, lending the book a friendly and upbeat tone that also adds to the immense readability. They don't use any fancy terminology and don't get bogged down in statistics and calculations to try to prove their points which I've seen in other books on the same topic. Instead, Raser-Rowland and Grubb keep things simple and easy to understand for the regular reader. 

As I noted, this was my second time reading The Art of Frugal Hedonism, but it probably won't be my last. Both times I've read it, I gleaned great tips and ideas and inspiration for my frugal hedonist journey. The first time I read the book, I was much more focused on the frugal aspects of my life journey. This time, I was much more focused on increasing the hedonistic aspects of life while staying committed to my frugalism. 

Raser-Rowland and Grubb make it clear that you don't have to give up all of your daily pleasures in order to pinch your pennies until they turn into diamonds, in fact, I think they'd be horrified if anyone came away with the impression that their book was simply about wealth building through extreme frugality! No, they greatly encourage significantly increasing your life enjoyment, but without sacrificing your financial stability -- in fact, you can significantly increase your joy in life while also increasing your financial stability. Doing so may require changing some habits and may be even more challenging amid things like the pandemic going on worldwide as I write this, but it can be done.

I urge you to start by baking some cookies or a nice quick bread as you sit down to read The Art of Frugal Hedonism. As you put together your cookies or bread, take pleasure in the act of measuring and mixing and shaping. Smell your ingredients and think about how lovely your home will smell once they are combined and baking in the oven. In the US, we are moving swiftly through fall so I also think about how cozy and warm my home will be during and after baking. I like to put on some soft music as I work in the kitchen, and I clean and put things away as I go -- done with the vanilla? Put the jar back in the cupboard and move on to my next ingredient, smelling or tasting things as I go or noting the various colors and textures. As the oven warms, I take a moment to be thankful for my apartment which I love so much. Once all the utensils and bowls are in the sink and my cookies are in the oven, I set the timer and grab my book for 15 minutes of reading joy while sitting in my favorite chair and sipping some lovely warm tea while I read. As I move further into the book, I close my eyes as the first hint of baking cookies starts to fill the air and I inhale deeply, thinking about how delicious the cookies will taste when they are done. And, with my first cookie, I eat it in tiny little bites, feeling and tasting and savoring each one.

That, my friends, is the peak of frugal hedonism for me! 

If your looking to up your life enjoyment while being more mindful of your financial situation, I urge you to consider reading The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Annie Raser-Rowland and Adam Grubb. This is one that I plan to read again and again, so although I read a library copy, I plan to buy a copy for myself.

You can get it from independent book sellers via Bookshop HERE.

Or, buy a copy from Amazon HERE.

Links in this post may be affiliate links in nature.

Purchases through these links may result in small commissions

for me at no added cost to you. Thank you in advance!

BOOK REVIEW: Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi

I have enjoyed watching Padma Lakshmi cooking or talking about cooking for several years, but after watching her show "Taste the Nation" on Hulu, I decided to look for her cookbooks at my local library. Naturally, there is a long hold list for the one that my library has -- Tangy, Tart, Hot, and Sweet -- so I settled for her 2016 memoir, Love, Loss, and What We Ate. 

Although the memoir was not the best I've ever read, I still enjoyed it very much. Within the first twenty pages, I was drawn in with both my wanderlust and tastebuds ablaze! Lakshmi has me wanting to travel, to cook, and to eat new foods.

The memoir follows Lakshmi's life back and forth between the United States and India, as well as to London, Paris, and Miland. She describes in beautiful detail her extended family and the importance of food in her life from a very young age and uses food to explore her relationships with her family members, friends, and lovers. 

I had no idea Lakshmi had been a model, nor that she'd been a television host in Italy, and until watching "Taste the Nation", I'd never really noticed the large scar on her arm (even though I'm sure I've seen it before!). Lakshmi's background is at once highly familiar and exotic. She had many of the same struggles as a teenager as myself and many others, but she also straddled two cultures. She was raised by a single mom and had to navigate two different stepdads and the resultant challenges in her relationship with her mom and these men. 

Lakshmi also goes into great detail about her difficult marriage to Salman Rushdie and the lingering effects it had on her psyche and her post-divorce relationships, and she is quite frank and open about her struggles with endometriosis and fertility. I took comfort in several aspects of her story, as memoir readers often do, and saw myself reflected in many of her experiences. 

I do wish that the book had a been a bit more tightly edited and that there were more recipes sprinkled throughout. While I don't mind a metaphor here and there, they are quite heavily used in the first half of the memoir -- occasionally so frequently that I almost put the book down. And, I'm a sucker for a memoir that includes recipes, but again, there were several in the first half of the book and then far fewer in the second half. I would have loved a recipe with every chapter or every other chapter, especially since so much of the book revolves around food, spices, and the pleasure of eating. 

Overall, if you enjoy memoirs, food, and travel, I do think Love, Loss, and What We Ate is well worth your time, just be prepared for the metaphors and uneven spacing of recipes. I enjoyed it enough that I likely will re-read it at some point in the future. 

You can find Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi on Amazon HERE or Bookshop.org HERE.

Have you read Lakshmi's memoir or used her cookbooks? If so, leave a comment and let me know what you thought of them.

My favorite Frida Kahlo books

Each week I participate in a baking challenge celebrating women in history, and this past week's theme was the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. I have long been a Frida fan, discovering her in high school at a time when I felt very much out of place in my family and my school. I was artistic (but not yet confident enough to call myself an artist), dressed semi-eccentrically, and had political ideas that were quite different from those of much of my family. As many teenagers tend to do, I looked outside of my family for others I might identify with. I'm not Mexican, didn't consider myself an artist at the time, and so on, but I still saw something of myself in Kahlo.

Years ago, I had a sizeable collection of books about Frida, but due to money woes in my 20s, I sold all of them -- this, my dear readers, is one of my biggest regrets when it comes to books! I wish I'd held onto them!

Fast forward to the past four or five years, and I've started to rebuild my Frida Kahlo library and thought I'd share my books with you (I'll share the dishes from my Frida Kahlo themed cooking in a future post). 

I have four Frida Kahlo books, of which two were bought at the Victoria and Albert Museum (or V&A) in London, England, one was bought in the United States, and one was bought at the beautiful El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore in Buenos Aires, Argentina (more on El Ateneo Grand Splendid in a future post). However, all four are available to purchase in the United States. I love these particular books because they are colorful and full of vivid images and don't shy away from some of the realities of her life. 

The first two books are children's books written in English. Despite being for kids, these are both easily enjoyable by adults too. 

Library of Luminaries: Frida Kahlo -- an illustrated biography by Zena Alkayat with illustrations by Nina Cosford

While the illustartions in this book are not Frida's own art, they are highly engaging and help to tell the story of Frida's life. The text and artwork are both equal parts whimiscal and serious. I love looking at the pictures and seeing little details that I've missed previously. It feels like every time I open this little book, I see something new. I also like that the text looks like handwriting instead of a normal book font. 

Buy it on Bookshop HERE.

Buy it on Amazon HERE.

V&A Introduces: Frida Kahlo published by and For the V&A Museum, London, England

I had the great fortune to visit the V&A Museum in London when they had a Frida Kahlo exhibit in 2018 and it was one of the best museum exhibits I've ever attended! While photos weren't allowed inside the exhibit, you can learn more about it and HERE.

This little book is a highly colorful, richly illustrated children's book that, like the one above, does not shy away from the details of Frida's life and perhaps goes a bit further into them than the first book, though without being gruesome or too "adult" in theme. It is superbly illustrated and gives bite sized details and information rather than being a regular text that goes straight from start to finish.

Not currently available via Bookshop.

Buy it on Amazon HERE.

Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up published by and For the V&A Museum, London, England

This is the book that was developed for adult visitors as an accompaniment to the V&A Frida Kahlo exhibit I attended in London in 2018. And, wow, is it packed with information, photos, artwork, patterns, color, and so much! It's easy to dip into the book here and there or simply read it cover to cover. The book covers much of Frida's life, as well as how she presented herself to the world and to herself and those in her life.

You may notice that the title is a little bit of a play on words: "Her Self" versus "herself". Much of the exhibit was focused on a tension between Frida presenting herself as fiercely and proudly Mexicana while also contending with her incredibly damaged body which caused her pain for her entire life, contrasting both with her life as an artist, a wife, a daughter, a revolutionary, and more. There was also a strong focus on her clothing and artifacts from Kahlo's life, including beauty objects and tools, notebooks and journals, art supplies, family photos, professional portraits, her own artwork, her husband's artwork (Diego Rivera), and more. The exhibit included clever use of mirrors to create illusions and different ways of viewing many of these objects. And, many of the display cases were designed to look like beds since large portions of Frida's life were spent confied to her bed. Many of the objects and works of art had not been displayed until a couple of years prior to this exhibit, so it was interesting to see parts of her life that had been closed away from half of a century. You can explore some of the exhibit HERE.

Buy it on Bookshop HERE.

Buy it on Amazon HERE.

Now....best for last!

Frida by Sebastian Perez and Benjamin Lacombe

While I truly love the above three books, I wanted to save the fourth for last. This book is truly one of my treasures! I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina around the time of its publication and first saw it at the gorgeous El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore, but I didn't buy it. I thought I would just pick it up when I returned home. Well, when I got home, I looked the book up on Amazon and the only copies available were over $100 each! I was shocked! My uncle was still in Argentina and graciously went back and bought the book for me. I treasure the book to this day because it's so incredibly beautiful and becuase my uncle was willing to go back and buy it for me. He died from a brain tumor just six months later and I miss him every day.

Anyhow, back to this amazing book! 

This book is a MASTERPIECE! While it does not contain Frida's actual art, the illustrator captured the essence of Frida and her art on every page. But, what's even more incredible is that every three to four pages are layered in such a way that pieces of the top two to three pages are cut away, revealing portions of the pages beneath. This book is so visually interesting that I don't even care that I'm not fluent enough (yet) to read the book (it's written in Spanish)! This book is a true piece of art in and of itself! Everyone that's come to my home and looked through it has been blown away! Like the other two children's books I've mentioned, this one also does not shy away from some of the harsher realities of Frida's life, but the artwork also includes many references to some of her more disturbing paintings (and those that are less difficult to view). Please keep that in mind if buying this for a child.

I'm happy to say it is now available in the USA for a much better price (ranging from $25 to $50 on most websites). 

Buy it on Bookshop HERE.

Buy it on Amazon HERE.

I look forward to sharing my Frida Kahlo cooking and baking with you in a future post, as well as photos from my visit to El Ateneo Grand Splendid, and more.

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Big City, Small Chickens – BOOK REVIEW: City Chickens by Christine Heppermann

Please note: This book review is cross posted at Mom2MomEd.

Title: City Chickens

Author: Christine Heppermann

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Year published: 2012

ISBN: 978-0-547-51830-5

Genre: non-fiction; children’s literature; agriculture; lifestyle

Pairs well with a vegan meal on the back porch, overlooking a garden and free roaming chickens.

Cluck, cluck, cluck!!!! That’s the sound of the lady chickens in that urban backyard you just walked past.

Wait, what? Chickens in the city?

YES! Urban chickens and urban homesteading are becoming more and more common, but that doesn’t mean life is always clucks and feathers for chickens. City Chickens by Christine Heppermann is all about the plight of many chickens in urban areas, but more specifically in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She traces the story of a husband and wife in the city who have devoted their lives to rescuing chickens (among other animals) and finding them new homes.

The book is part biography, part fun and informative story, and part social awareness.

This is a great, but very honest and real, look at what happens to many chickens and how their lives are improved by kind rescuers. I highly encourage you to read this book with your kids or in your classroom, but be forewarned that there are a couple of disturbing photos of chickens who have been used in cockfighting and who are kept in chicken cages. These disturbing situations are described as well, but not in too much detail, in order to bring awareness to how chickens are abused and how they should be treated instead. The book is mostly about how great chickens are and how fun they can be to keep and care for when rescued and taken care of properly.

In addition to profiling the owners of Chicken Run Rescue in Minneapolis, the author also profiles a adolescent Abigail and her rescued chicken, Billiam, as well as other chickens and their rescuers. I think young readers in particular will like that there is a profile of a young person and that other children are also featured in the book. The very back of the book also offers a list of resources for learning more about chickens, including how to include lessons about chickens and life cycles without hatching chicks in the classroom – a large reason why many chicks are abandoned.

City Chickens also talks about keeping chickens healthy and some of the health problems that abandoned chicks often suffer. The author notes that if you keep urban chickens, it is important to find a veterinarian that is able to provide proper chicken care which may not always be easy to find in an urban area.

I loved this little book, and I think you should pick it up to read with your kids or in your classroom. My son and I are planning our own little homestead and urban oasis (we’re moving from the country back to the city!) and want to raise chickens for their eggs, as pets, and also as insect control in our garden (all of which are noted as options in City Chickens), so I headed to the library to find books about chickens. Most of what I was found was far beyond what I was looking for which brought me to the children’s section and City Chickens!

As with many of the books I review, I found City Chickens Christine Heppermann at my local library. However, you can also find it on Amazon HERE.

Do you raise chickens? Have your kids participated in chicken hatching projects at school? Drop a comment and let me know!

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