Photo Project Day 8: REVIEWS

Over the course of the last few weeks I have read and watched quite a few interesting items.  The husband and I aren't big TV viewers (except for sports and the occassional Netflixed show), and it's always interesting when we're around other people who watch a lot of TV.  We hear a lot about random, brain-numbing shows, and then it's always entertaining to watch their eyes glaze over as we talk about the latest documentary we've viewed. ;-)  And speaking of documentaries, we just watched The Cove this weekend.  If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth watching.  It's about the hidden dolphin industry in Japan.

However beyond documentaries, I've also been reading quite a bit again and several have been really interesting books.  Although I must say I was quite disappointed in both the book and the film on No Impact Man.  After following his blog over the course of the year, I felt the book was not easy-to-read and unorganized.  The way the chapters were put together did not create for an easy flow of his story, and I felt the same way about the film.  In fact, my husband did not know much of the background of No Impact Man and he felt that much was assumed to be known about it.....meaning that we both walked away from the film before it ended. 

But back to the other books:

If you are at all interested in the recent health care debates, I highly suggest Reid's The Healing of America.  After going through the public health program, I feel that this book would be an excellent addition to many of the courses and I learned a lot about health care systems throughout the world.  Reid takes a global comparative glance of health care systems including their insurance mechanisms, as he searches for a solution to a personal health care issue.  His initial discussion gives an overview of the four primary health care systems that exist in the world (which all are used in the USA), and he searches out examples of each throughout the world.  Regardless of one's take on the current debates, it's an educational read.

Currently, I am in the process of reading Half the Sky: Turning Opression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Kristof and WuDunn.  Another incredibly interesting read centered on the various ways that women are oppressed and struggle throughout the world including: lack of education & rights, rape as a tool of war, lack of health care access, poverty, enslaved prostitution, etc.  At the end of each chapter, there is a discussion of someone or program that is attempting to help that particular situation however.  The book is to empower others to create change.  While my reactions have been mixed, I've definitely increased my knowledge on these issues more than I ever could have imagined. 

I also recently read Pollan's In Defense of Food.  Between this book & the documentary Food, Inc the United States "should" learn to change the way it eats.  I walked away after reading this newest book of Pollan's less weary of eating whole fats, less concerned about individual nutrients and instead reminded more of the benefits of eating whole meals, and more into reading the ingredient labels of the processed foods we do eat.  Definitely a read that everyone should tap into.

And within the last few months, I finally conquered The Confessions of An Economic Hitman.  While this book will leave you annoyed with the author by the end, the information and his confession discussed in it (primarily in the first half) leave you with a new understanding for the mess of the world, thanks to our nation's business and government interests....

Two books that leave you feeling amazed at the capacity of individuals: The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears and Strength in What Remains.  And as mentioned in a previous post, the documentaries The Garden (the struggle over an inner city garden in a food desert of central Los Angeles) and Dear Zachary (murder, emotion, legal systems, family) were incredible.

I always keep a running list of books that I want to read.  I usually add to it by titles mentioned in books that I'm currently reading, mentions from friends, or reviews from magazines.  And since I don't seem to be getting called to sub, I'm relishing these final weeks by reading, cooking, relaxing, and hanging out with the dogs. ;-)

What are you reading?  Any good suggestions