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Since I discovered Propel’s new formula contains hfcs, I have not been buying it. Considering how much of it I drank in the past, I really missed it. I decided to try the powder packets. They are tasty, and of course they do not contain hfcs. I’m happy.

Another challenge has been finding a good marinade. Our favorite marinade contained hfcs, so we have been searching for another. We liked the Paul Newman marinades ok, though they weren’t quite as flavorable as our old favorite. Recently, we discovered McCormick Grill Mates marinades which come in the form of powder packets. These are very tasty! The flavors really stick to the meat and only take 15 minutes to marinade. I like my marinades to have a strong flavor, and these definitely fit the bill. Yum!

In November, I posted a book challenge which involved reading 5 books “from the stacks.” This meant reading 5 books that you have never read from books that you already own. I was pretty sure that I could accomplish this, especially with Christmas in the middle of the challenge. I ended up reading the following (links to my reviews included):

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
Specials by Scott Westerfeld
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Only two of these books were for my book club, so I’m giving myself an extra pat on the back for reading more than what is “required” of my book club. I haven’t been reading too many additional books in the past year as my time is obviously limited with my new baby (can I call her “new” for the entire first year?). The Uglies series and The Last Lecture were pretty quick reads, but I still feel good about accomplishing this goal! I plan to continue to avoid buying books for as long as I can, though I’m sure I will need to make exceptions for book club.

It has been close to a month since I finished Specials, so this review will be a bit shaky. I enjoyed this trilogy about Tally and her adventures. The books were quick reads which is something that I appreciate from time to time! I know that one additional book, Extras, exists in the series so far. From what I understand, Specials is the last one that features Tally. This was my 5th book in the From the Stacks challenge, the challenge that required me to read 5 books without purchasing new ones. I received Specials for Christmas, is that cheating?

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

In Specials, Tally has been altered once again, not only in appearance but in attitude. She is now one of the elite members of Special Circumstances and has been modified with super strength, reflexes, and defenses. Westerfeld’s language once again effectively conveys her new attitude as he did when she became a Pretty in Pretties. She works together with Shay in the Cutters group. As I mentioned in my review of Pretties, I felt that the cutting in the series was inappropriately handled for the intended audience (teenagers). The Cutters cut themselves in order to give themselves clarity or feeling. I can understand introducing controversial topics in teen reading, but I saw no consequences. The cutting was more glamorized than anything. I am not suggesting censorship, but I felt that the handling of a controversial topic was disappointing.

Despite my problems with the cutting issue, I enjoyed the books! I would recommend them and his Midnighters trilogy as well.

I started reading Pretties as soon as I finished Uglies, and it marks the 4th book that I have read for the From the Stacks challenge. I am positive that I will be able to complete this challenge as I have already started reading Specials, the third book in The Uglies series.

I have to say that I enjoy Scott Westerfeld’s books. Both The Midnighters and The Uglies are teen series, and they read very quickly. Both have worlds that are somewhat unique, and he has developed terminology, mythology, and slang within those worlds. The Uglies is told from the third person limited point of view of Tally, and I appreciate how the language changes as Tally changes in the series. I recommend this series to those who enjoy light science fiction and to those who enjoy thinking about the flaws of utopian societies (as well as the flaws of modern day society).

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

Uglies ended with Tally turning herself into the authorities and requesting to be made Pretty. Pretties starts about a month after Tally’s pretty operation. Tally is not only Pretty in appearance, but she is also “pretty minded” where her biggest concerns are what to wear to the night’s party. I was somewhat annoyed by the language at the beginning of the book as it reflected Tally’s vapid new existence. As the novel progresses, Tally regains her clarity or “bubbliness” and the language transforms from valley girl back to normal. I thought that this was clever. Tally and her Pretty friends struggle to find a cure for their brain lesions, the ones resulting in brain damage to make the Pretties complacent. Turns out that becoming pretty has a cost as learned in the first novel, but the beauty of it is that you don’t know the difference when you’re a pretty bubblehead. Hrm, would you rather be intelligent or pretty?

I enjoyed Pretties, but I do have one problem with the series so far. The Pretties live their lives in a fog but have moments of clarity brought upon by boosting adrenaline. Alcohol causes their thinking to be even more muddled, which makes sense and is a good message to the intended audience (teenagers). The parts that I thought were wrong involved eating disorders and self mutilation. Tally and Croy starve themselves for weeks and this helps their clarity (though it is not their sole purpose in starving themselves as they are trying to remove tracking cuffs). One sect of Pretties called the Cutters determines that they clear their minds by cutting themselves. I didn’t like how cutting was glamorized in the series. This seems like a poor and reckless message to teenagers. I have not seen any consequences to the cutting in the series. I thought that this was worth a mention as it bothered me due to the targeted age group.

Overall, I enjoyed Pretties and am enjoying Specials so far. I am planning to read other Westerfeld novels as well.

I love books! I received quite a few for Christmas this year. I can’t imagine ever getting to the point that I am bored and do not have anything to read. The From the Stacks Challenge really made me realize how many books that I have sitting on my shelves, just waiting to be read. I am hoping that I can refrain from buying any books for a while, though I may have to make exceptions for book club choices.

Here’s a summary of the books that I received as Christmas gifts:

I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away by Bill Bryson: It has been a while since I have read Bill Bryson, but I remember being amused by A Walk in the Woods several years ago. I have been wanting to read more of his travel memoirs and had a few on my wish list.

New England by Eyewitness Travel - I love the Eyewitness Travel guides! This isn’t exactly a book that I will read cover to cover, but I will enjoy looking through it for ideas for our vacation next Fall with my parents and my sister and brother-in-law. My parents gave it to us for Christmas since we are all taking the trip together next year.

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke - I read Inkheart, the first of this series, about a year and a half ago. I had heard that the second, Inkspell, ends in a bit of a cliffhanger. I decided to wait until the third book was released to continue reading the series. Inkdeath was released this year, and I look forward to reading both books when I get a chance! Inkheart has been made into a movie which is going to be released early 2009.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell - I have been wanting to read this one and The Tipping Point for a while. I read a few excerpts from The Tipping Point a few years ago and thought it would be something I might enjoy.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan - A friend recommended this book in the historical fiction genre. The novel is the story of Mama Borthwick and her love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright and is set in the early 1900s.

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris - We’ve been watching the HBO series, True Blood, which is based on the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris. I’ve read the first five books, and I need to catch up on the last 3. All Together Dead is book 7 in the series.

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore - A coworker recommended this book, and it sounded interesting to me and reminded me of On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony, which I enjoyed.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - This is my book club’s January selection. We thought it would be good to start the year with an inspiring selection. Plus, the book is short and we all wanted a little break from heftier titles. I plan to read this one soon and will post my review.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling - As a Harry Potter fan, I was looking forward to reading more by J. K. Rowling. Gabe picked up my new book the other day and has already read all the stories! It has inspired him to finally read the Harry Potter series (yay!). He’s on book one, so it may keep him busy for a while!

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris - I’ve read a few of his books. While I didn’t enjoy the latest as much as I thought I might, I definitely wanted to read some of his older books.

Take the Cannoli: Stories from the New World by Sarah Vowell - I had read and enjoyed The Partly Cloudy Patriot over 3 years ago (wow, time really flies). I wanted to eventually read more of her books. This is another collection of essays which I’m sure explores more of her quirkiness.

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell - This one sounded interesting to me, too, as it involves her travels around the country visiting various assassination sites and other historic places. I love how she embraces her geeky nature (in her case, drawn to various aspects of history, namely assassinations).

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld - This is the second book in the Uglies series, and I just completed it yesterday. I hope to post a review of it soon. I’m enjoying this series and look forward to Specials, the third installment in the series.

Specials by Scott Westerfeld - As mentioned above, this is the 3rd book in the Uglies series. I’m currently reading this one. One more book exists in this series, Extras, but I will have to wait until it is in paperback.

I’m starting to think that I will actually complete the From the Stacks Challenge! I selected another quick read to give myself a fair chance to complete the challenge. I had read and enjoyed Westerfeld’s Midnighters trilogy and decided I wouldn’t mind giving The Uglies series a shot. I received the first one for my birthday and the second and third for Christmas yesterday. I don’t believe Uglies to be a literary masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly kept my attention and left me wanting to read the rest of the series. I would consider this series to be categorized as “science fiction light” which suits me just fine as I enjoy a quick read now and again, and I’m not sure that I’m terribly interested in heavy sci-fi.

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

In Westerfeld’s world, everyone undergoes a series of surgeries to become “pretty” at their sixteenth birthday after spending the last four years as an ugly, separated from their parents and heavily monitored. Westerfeld’s world is essentially a flawed utopian society, and he clearly has some messages that he wishes to impart upon the reader. Today’s society’s obsession with being pretty and homogenized is taken to the extreme.

The main character, Tally, is an ugly and is just weeks away from becoming a pretty and moving to New Pretty Town where she will be able to attend parties every day and become truly happy. She can’t wait. Her best friend has already undergone the transformation, and she longs to join him. In the meantime, she meets Shay. They learn that they share the same birthday, and they quickly become friends. Shay is not as enthusiastic as Tally. They spend weeks performing practical jokes and getting into trouble as many uglies do in the last months before their surgery. Just before their birthday, Shay reveals that she is running away to a secret society called The Smoke where other uglies are creating a life and opting to forgo the surgery. Brainwashed since she was very young, Tally cannot understand why anyone would want to avoid the pretty surgery. Shay runs away without her. On her birthday, Tally believes that she is getting ready for her transformation and soon learns that she will not be allowed to have the surgery unless she betrays her friend and leads the authorities to The Smoke.

Believing that she has no choice, she sets off on an adventure to find the smoke with a cryptic note full of riddles that Shay left for her. When she finds The Smoke, things get a bit more complicated as she learns more about the secret society and their ways. She falls for David who has been raised in The Smoke and leads uglies to their camp. His parents are doctors and have inside information about the pretty surgeries, revealing that they alter both your appearance and your brain, basically causing brain damage that makes you complacent. All of this makes Tally give more thought to her original decision to betray Shay and her new friends in The Smoke. Hrm, would you rather be intelligent and ugly or dumb and pretty?

I enjoyed the book, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. It was a very quick read, which is what I needed right now! So far, I think that The Midnighters is probably a better written series. I still like Uglies and recommend it to others who enjoy teen sci-fi or fantasy.

I finished reading this one several days ago, and it is a part of the From the Stacks Challenge that I am attempting to complete. I have my work cut out for me as this is only book number 2 that qualifies for the challenge. I think I can make it as I have some quick reads on my bookshelves (and got a few more for Christmas!). I enjoyed A Girl Named Zippy, though I found that it didn’t keep my attention as well as some other memoirs that I have read. Overall, I would recommend it. I had picked up and read the first few pages at a friend’s house and decided to put it on my list of “to read some day.” I received it for my birthday this year.

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW

A Girl Named Zippy tells the story of Haven Kimmel’s childhood. I have read a good number of memoirs, so it was surprising to read about a childhood that was more or less a happy one. The story could be anyone’s who grew up in a small town in the midwest, but she does tell it in an interesting (and often laugh-out-loud) way. It took me a little while to realize that I was not reading about another extremely dysfunctional family with unbelievable disasters or horrific living conditions. I have to admit that I’m often drawn to those for some reason, so I suppose it is refreshing to read a memoir that doesn’t make me question humanity.

I was entertained by the small town stories and related to a few, even though my small town wasn’t nearly as small as hers! Sometimes her storytelling made me snicker out loud (Gabe never asks me why I’m laughing when I’m reading a book - I guess he’s used to it). I would be interested in reading more of her memoirs.

The Red Tent was November and December’s selection for book club (due to the holidays, we are only meeting once for both November and December). This book is also my first completed book for the From the Stacks challenge. This means I have to read 4 more books from my list (or Christmas gifts) between now and the end of January! I enjoyed The Red Tent well enough, but I would not list it as one of my favorites. It’s not one that I would ever read again (and yes, I do sometimes reread certain books). If someone were considering reading it, I wouldn’t turn them away from it, but I doubt that I will go out of my way to recommend it either. I do believe that the book was an excellent book club choice, and I look forward to next week’s discussion.

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW

The Red Tent is historical fiction set in biblical times, and the title refers to the place where women gathered during their periods and childbirth. The novel focuses on the life of Dinah and her four mothers, the four wives of Jacob. The bible only mentions Dinah very briefly, and Anita Diamant expands upon her life in great detail. My previous knowledge of Jacob and his many sons was limited to the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, so I was unsure about how much creative license that Diamant was taking with events and details. It seems like the major details are in the bible as she describes them, and it’s the life of the women that is brought to the forefront. I liked the idea of showing another side to the better known biblical stories.

I’m having trouble writing a meaningful review, so I will point you to fellow book club members Cindy and Audrey for their opinions on this month’s selection.

My friend Cindy posted a link to an interesting book challenge. The From the Stacks Challenge challenges you to read 5 books between November 1st and January 30th without buying new books. I’m planning to take on this challenge. I have a book buying habit. I just can’t help myself. I LOVE books. I have always loved the idea of having a room dedicated to being a library in my house, and now we finally have one. We have plenty of space for new books (though have decided to limit ourselves to owning only what can fit on our library bookshelves). I just can’t resist coming out of a bookstore with an armful of books. My wishlist is never ending! Though often it seems that my eyes are bigger than my brain, and I have stacks of books in my house that need to be read. I even have an entire bookshelf dedicated to books that I have borrowed from friends. It’s time to start digging into these unread treasures. I can’t begin to list them all, but I have listed below a large number of possibilities for me to choose from when doing this challenge. This is not an exhaustive list of my options. Hrm, this is a real eye opener for me!!!

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe by Douglas Adams
Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey
Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben
Drop Shot by Harlan Coben
Just One Look by Harlan Coben
Dancing in the Dark by Dee Davis
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane
Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis
Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
Rainbow: The Story of Judy Garland by Christopher Finch
World Without End by Ken Follett
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
Dead Sleep by Greg Iles
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
The Seventh Sense by T. J. MacGregor
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Gabriel by Garth Nix
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
A Short History of a Small Place by T. R. Pearson
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
Second Glance by Jodi Picoult
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
Russka by Edward Rutherfurd
Flyte by Angie Sage
Magyk by Angie Sage
Physik by Angie Sage
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Ptolemy’s Gate by Jonathan Stroud
Devil in the Details by Jennifer Traig
An Audience for Einstein by Mark Wakely
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Now that we have the responsibility of raising a child, we are looking at our own habits to see what we need to improve. I thought that in addition to our Green Challenge, we could start a Healthier Living Challenge. I’m thinking that this can be a variety of things - eating healthier, introducing a new healthy recipe, or exercising, for example. The first challenge is something we’ve been doing for the past 2 months. We are no longer purchasing any groceries that contain high fructose corn syrup. Adding this to the dairy free restriction has definitely been a challenge. We carefully read just about every label before placing them in our shopping cart!

Here are a few foods that do not contain high fructose corn syrup or dairy (and I know that some of these products are not the healthiest or necessary, but that’s for another month):

Heinz Organic Ketchup: This is the only brand and type of ketchup in our local Harris Teeter store that does not contain high fructose corn syrup. The taste is a little different than normal ketchup. Surprisingly, it seems a little sweeter! I think it’s one of those things that you don’t notice the difference unless you’re comparing the tastes one after the other. We started using this in our Stuffed Bell Peppers recipe and now use it for all of our ketchuping needs.

Thomas’ Square Bagelbread: It’s a challenge to find bread that does not contain milk products or high fructose corn syrup! We have found the tasty Thomas’ Square Bagelbread and love the wheat and everything varieties. Neither contain dairy or high fructose corn syrup. They have been perfect for sandwiches, hamburgers, and breakfast or snacks (the wheat variety with a little non-dairy “butter” and cinnamon sugar, yum!).

Spicy Sweet Chili Doritoes: Snacking is one of our weaknesses. We will possibly address this in a future month, but for now our snack options are at least somewhat limited. I was disappointed to find that Wheat Thins (I love the Sundried Tomato variety) have high fructose corn syrup. I was surprised to find that all Doritos fit our new criteria! I was also excited to find that they have at least one non-dairy variety: Spicy Sweet Chili. As far as I know, this is the only one. This has been great for road trips as junk food seems to be a necessity when I’m driving… Many chips and crackers have high fructose corn syrup, so at least our snacking choices are somewhat healthier now.

Paul Newman Marinades: The majority of dressings and marinades contain high fructose corn syrup. We had to stop buying our favorite marinades and search for new ones. We found that all of the Paul Newman marinades were free of high fructose corn syrup. We haven’t checked the dressings, but I’m guessing that those may be free of it as well. The ones we have tried have been quite tasty so far!

The Immaculate Baking Company’s Better Bakes Ready-to-Bake Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough: We found these in Harris Teeter one day before our avoidance of high fructose corn syrup. I’m not sure if other cookie brands contain hfcs, but the exciting thing about this particular cookie dough brand is that they are dairy free! I’m not sure if all of their varieties are dairy free, but I was excited and surprised to find a chocolate chip cookie that fit our restrictions. Yum!

Quaker Simple Harvest & Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars: We have granola bars for snacks and breakfast-on-the-go all the time at our house. I was disappointed when I found out that the regular ones that we used to get not only contained dairy products but also high fructose corn syrup. We have since discovered Quaker Simple Harvest granola bars. They even have a chocolate chunk variety that does not contain dairy! We love these! The Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars also have varieties that are both dairy and high fructose corn syrup free.