The Mis-Education Years - August 2011

41. The Mis-Education Years - Ross O'Carroll-Kelly (Paul Howard)

256 Pages; Charity Shop

Ross O'Carroll-Kelly is a fictional teenager from the southside of Dublin, Ireland. The book is a diary giving us the characters "hilarious" exploits in his own posh Dublin 4 accent. He plays on the school rugby team, "roids the arse" of various girls and generally behaves like an "orsehole".

The Ross O'Carroll-Kelly series of books is very popular in Dublin and I guess most of Ireland but to be honest, I didn't enjoy the book. Probably a case of hearing how good it was for so long that by the time I got around to reading it my expectations had been raised beyond what was ever going to be possible for the book to live up to.

The Dublin 4 accent annoyed the "orse" off me too.

I might read the next book in the series to see if my attitude changes but I won't go out of my way to hunt it down. If it happens, it happens.

I give the Miseducation Years 2 "Total Filthies" out of 5

The Complete Book of Food Combining - August 2011

40. The Complete Book of Food Combining - Kathryn Marsden

480 Pages, Borrowed from Local Library

Food Combining (sometimes known as The Hay Diet) is something I've looked at a few times, especially after reading Fit for Life by Harvey Diamond a few years ago.

To be honest, it sounds like it makes sense but Harvey Diamond made it so complicated I didn't bother trying it. He had all these rules on when to eat, what sequence to eat in etc. and it really put me off.

Having said that, the one rule about only eating fruit on an empty stomach and no later than 30 minutes before a meal cured me of fruit-related acid reflux...so he's not all bad!!!

Anyway, the Complete Book of Food Combining is a different kettle of fish altogether.

Not too many rules other than the don't eat concentrated proteins with concentrated carbohydrates in the same meal. (and only eat fruit on an empty stomach!)

It's a straight-forward explanation of food combining, how to do it, how it has helped others and how it may help you, and loads of different recipes to try.

It's a great book that will take you from novice to master food combiner in just one read.

I award this book 5 "Easy to Follow Food Charts" out of 5

Green Living in the Urban Jungle - August 2011

39. Green Living in the Urban Jungle - Lucy Siegle

160 Pages, Bought online

I got this as a 3 for £10 deal online from a  bookseller I bought a book from a few years ago.

It offers various examples of how you can live a more "Green" life while living in an urban setting.

It's told with humour and there's plenty of examples of what the author did. It covers from absolute beginners which was great as I'm petty clueless about things like this. I recycle as much as I can but it's almost unconscious as we have a recycling collection every 2 weeks here so all I have to do is rinse and sort as I go.

I'l definitely try growing something in the garden and maybe using my bicycle more.

On the whole this book is a great user-friendly introduction to green living.

I give it 4 "Green Fingers" out of 5. It would have got a five if there were more step by step examples and projects.

July Round Up

Suzanne Collins 

July Round Up

Books Read in July: 4

Total Pages: 1372
Average Pages Read per day: 44.2

Sources of Books:
Charity Shop: 1
Library: 3

Genres:
Fantasy: 2
Sci Fi: 1
Non-Fiction: 1

For more about Suzanne Collins check out her website: http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

2011 so far:

Books Read: 38

Total Pages: 10,583

Average Pages Read per day: 49.91

Reading less as the days are now officially warmer and brighter, even in Ireland!

Sources of Books:
Charity Shop: 13
Library: 23
Amazon: 2 

Genres:
Fantasy: 8
Sci Fi: 14
Non-Fiction: 11
Crime: 2
Thriller: 2
Historic Fiction: 1