Feed the Resistance: Recipes + Ideas For Getting Involved

Feed the Resistance: Recipes + Ideas For Getting Involved, Julia Turshen, 143 pgs.

Julia Turshen has compiled a small selection of recipes, interspersed with short essays focusing upon the power of food and its relationship to positive and progressive social activism. The recipes include an ample amount of vegan and vegetarian options, and they are all well organized and easy to follow. Of particular interest is the Spicy Tandoori Cauliflower with Minted Yogurt, as I have a deep seated love of any food that takes inspiration from the Indian subcontinent. There are some more difficult to acquire ingredients within the book (elk meat being a prime example), though alternatives are given. As for the essays the are sprinkled throughout the book, Mikki Haplan's contribution on practical activism is highly topical, and highlights a good way to stay involved, no matter where you fall on the political spectrum.

The Accidental Alchemist

The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian  360 pp.

You don't think of alchemists as particularly sympathetic or compassionate people but Zoe Faust is not a typical alchemist. In fact, she doesn't want to be an alchemist at all but circumstances have forced her to renew her talents in that area. The appearance of a living stone gargoyle named Dorian in one of her moving crates and the dead man on her front porch mean she must dust off the old crucibles and get to work to save the dying gargoyle and prevent a new friend from being wrongly convicted of murder. And she is trying to keep a troubled local teen from getting in more trouble. On the plus side, Dorian is a gourmet chef who is happy to keep Zoe fed while she works on the problem of his impending demise. This is a light read with fun characters set in a crunchy-granola Oregon town Zoe has moved to in an effort to escape her past. It is the first book in a series and I just might go on to book two.

Porcelain

Porcelain: A Memoir by Moby, 406 pages

Electronic artist Moby (best known for his 1999 album Play) recalls his professional career, from the days of living with squatters in a former factory in Connecticut while dreaming of being a NYC deejay to touring the world for his first album, from awkwardly and soberly dancing at raves to the creation of Play. It's a fascinating story, filled with more debauchery than you'd probably expect from the bald vegan. He makes clear his dedication to animal rights, as well as his evolving religious beliefs only rarely coming across as holier-than-thou; indeed, when he tells a story in which he does seem uppity, he quickly checks himself. I'm not sure I could handle the rockstar lifestyle he lived in the 1990s (which is when this memoir largely takes place), and I get the feeling that some of the stories are a bit embellished (nobody can remember their conversations, much less the exact words, when they're eight tequila shots into a full night of partying), but it was still an enjoyable read.

Bonus for audiobook listeners: Moby reads it himself, and provides the opening and closing music.

Eat and Run

Eat and Run / Scott Jurek 260 pgs.

Scott Jurek was featured in "Born to Run" one of my favorite books of 2009.  This memoir is interesting partly because it is also a bit of a cookbook.  Jurek went from a carnivore and hunter to a vegan all to help his running.  He is an ultramarathoner which is another word for "insane".  He regularly runs races of 100+ miles.  Another way these people compete it to run for 24 hours and see how covers the most distance.  Crazy stuff.  But Scott is a bit surprised by his success. He was regularly beaten at shorter distances and in cross country skiing.  The book doesn't really explain his success.  He is competitive, of course, and seemingly immune to pain, which he freely admits is a large part of every competition.  He give some simplistic advice on how to get started but that is not the reason to read the book.  In the end, his is a compelling story of dedication and achievement, oh yea, and the love of cooking.

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