This has meant, by and large, that my largest sources of protein are eggs, milk and soy. I got back into milk drinking five years ago mostly by tricking myself into thinking the organic milk didn’t have the hiccups I was worried about with milk in general. And, from a certain standpoint that is probably true. Organic milk won’t have any of the hormones and antibiotics typically fed to animals. But, now I’ve come to realize (thanks to Michael Pollan) that this doesn’t mean that this is milk from cows that have ever actually seen a pasture and that they aren’t over milked. I can’t decide what the best course of action is now that I have this information. Maybe I should try getting my milk straight from a local farmer? I am open to suggestions.

I’ve been getting my eggs from the Farmer’s market and when that wasn’t feasible, I try to buy eggs that are labeled organic and cage-free. This was something I happened on in the past year sort of by accident; it wasn’t a big political or personal decision. I just really, really like eggs (I’m making myself deviled eggs as we speak), and thought that the farmer’s market eggs tasted really nice. Also, it just seemed to be that cage-free chickens probably have a better life. And, thanks to Michael Pollan, I have some confirmation of this. In his book, he describes what can only be called “chicken madness” where laying hens freaks out and rub themselves featherless and raw against their cages. And, that’s just not okay. We may have dominion over animals, but we shouldn’t drive them crazy.

And, I think it may have an effect on what I eat. But, I like being part of the system. I love eating things like mangoes and pineapple and, while it is possible to grow these things organically (I visited an organic farm that grew mangoes in India), you don’t often have a choice in the supermarket. Also, these things have to come from someplace. The only time one of these has ever been “local food” for me was when I actually lived in India (and they were out of season the six months I was there anyway.) It would be irresponsible to grow these things locally any of the other places I’ve lived. So, at least part of the system suits me. So, the first change I’m thinking about making is giving the old college try to actually getting things that are grown around me from people who live around me.

But, as I mentioned earlier on, I need to not feel guilty about this. If I’m hungry and I give in and buy a bag of salad driven cross-country from California, I am allowed to let it slide. We’ll see how this goes.

In this book, we’re taken back to the real beginning, the “Jenna thing” that is alluded to throughout the first book. Toby, who has been discussed, returns to town and freaks the girls out. Toby’s secrets become apparent. Some of the girls secrets are outed, too.

In short, this is more terrible people doing hateful things to each other. It was wonderful, like watching a soap opera without having to be home in the middle of the day or remembering to set your TiVo.

That sounds fun, right? (Well, it sounds fun if you’re a nerd like me.)

And, the book isn’t bad. I just don’t feel like it is what I was promised. There are not a lot of “roots, bones, piths and secret parts”. There are some but not for every word. And, some of Blount’s “pith and innards” seems to be features of sounds or phonology that he points out to support his thesis that language isn’t arbitrary. But, a lot of language is arbitrary. It is actually a design feature. It has the flexibility that it has largely because of its arbitrary parts. But, whatever. I’m trying to not be a linguist, just someone who is interested in words here.

There were a lot of anecdotes in the book. Some of which were funny, some of which were just, well, anecdotal. And, often not having to do with the words but rather one instance of one word’s usage.

My friend Melissa recommended it to me. And, I looked for her review of it just now to see if she liked it. Because I have to say that my opinion of the book is coming down on the side of ‘boo’. Anecdotes about your life in words can be fun. But, believe me when I say (after reading 1 semester and 1 summer session’s worth of papers on etymologies) where words come from is sometimes surprising, often fun, every now and then shocking and always interesting. I expected so much from this book based on its title, and it just didn’t deliver.

The heroes have to go across the country in order to rescue one of their own in addition to the Goddess. Throughout the adventure, Percy, Grover and Thalia discover an inconsistency about the newest hunter Bianco and her brother’s Nico past that may turn out to be dangerous for the whole world.

In the end, as one would expect, there is an excellent battle between a Titan and the heroes and I was shocked, shocked! (well…not that shocked) by some of the decisions which the characters make. They are still fighting to save Luke from his own decisions and we know a little bit more about the prophesy and who it is about. This was a good little read. As exciting as the first two. It made me want to pick up the next one.

Right now, I’m reading Constructions for a class (this is not likely to receive mix tape treatment), The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Crimson Petal and the White. These last two may very well get their own mix tapes. Percy Jackson is a demigod, the son of Poseidon, and quite the little badass. His adventures are fast reads (reading teen fiction will do that for you) and are terribly entertaining. This one is book four. And, the Crimson Petal and the White is a look at Victorian England from multiple perspectives. Its seven hundred…thousand (hyperbole) pages long but so far its been terribly interesting. It starts off following a prostitute and then moves its way up through society. The mix tape potential is astounding. I could possibly do a song for each person that is followed!

Now, why am I bringing this up now? Well, when the NaBloPoMo people sent me an email to say that February’s topic for anyone up to the challenge of blogging everyday of the shortest month of the year was “love”, I thought, “Hey, wouldn’t it be interesting to come up with a mix tape representation of the many different kinds of love at there in the world?” (Even more interesting when one considers how odd and awfully awkward I am when it comes to any kind of human interaction.)

You may have noticed that I’ve been ending entries with songs. I am collecting these things into a list so that I can put them together as a mix. So, you’ve been warned.

Anderson does an excellent job of portraying the tension created by the feelings Melinda is having (or trying not to have) and the image she is trying to project to the world. This book was heartbreaking but it was beautiful. And, the climax… well, it was thrilling and a little frightening. This was a wonderful book and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

So, this year I have decided that I will not fall down on the job! I will succeed! So, I’ve added a number of things that have been recommended to me in the past year (along with a number of things that my book group has selected) to last year’s list in order to come up with this year’s list. There is only one change I am making. Last year, Ivanhoe was on the list because I thought that was something I already owned. Turns out, what I own by Sir Walter Scott is actually Rob Roy.
It will be replacing Ivanhoe on the list this year.

So, starting with Last year’s books first:

• Silas Marner by George Eliot
• Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
• Compassionate Carnivore by Catherine Friend
• On the Wealth of Nations by P.J. O’Rourke
• Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson
• Break, Blow, Burn by Camille Paglia
• The Eight By Katherine Neville
• Begin Anywhere by Frank Gianpietro
• The Horse, The Wheel and Language by David Anthony
• How Language Works by David Crystal
• The Ode Less Traveled by Stephen Fry
• The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
• The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Farber

And, then adding:

• Alphabet Juice by Roy Blount Jr.
• The Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
• Ibid by Mark Dunne
• The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
• The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan
• The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
• Speak by Laura Halse Anderson
• Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
• Jaws by Peter Benchley
• Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 by Erica Fischer
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
• Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
• Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson
• Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
• In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower by Marcel Proust
• The Stuff of Thought by Stephen Pinker

And, four more books to be determined. So, the rules are as they’ve always been. I can read whatever I want, on the list or not. But, I am challenged to make it through at least these 30 books. (Which, yes, I still realize, includes Ivanhoe.)