Victoria & Abdul by Shrabani Basu

This is a filler post. I saw a preview at the cinemas for a movie about the friendship between Queen Victoria and her Indian servant towards the end of her life. It was not coming out for another month or so, but I like to read the book first anyways (the movie was obviously based on a book). Unfortunately, I only read about 75 pages before giving up. And I never saw the movie ha.

At a high level, the story seems interesting. In reality, the writing was dry and nothing exciting actually happens. It has more of a historical feel rather than a story (i.e. no conversations). In this sense, the movie would probably be more entertaining.

Not a great post but I felt like writing about it since I gave it a chance. Sometimes you do not strike gold.

My rating for Victoria & Abdul: 1 star out of 5. Get it here!

1984 by George Orwell

Another back-dated post (see the intro in the Good Calories, Bad Calories review). This was the third book club book. Sadly, this was the last book club book of 2017. We tried to read The Leftovers, but we couldn't find a time to meet. Good news is we are hoping to start up again in 2018.

I have to admit after reading Catch-22 I was a little hesitant to read another classic. But 1984 was much better. It was an easier read and the storyline was entertaining. 1984 takes place in a country that is perpetually in war, monitored by the government, and where pretty much everything in life is manipulated. There are social classes, propaganda, and more. The story is about a man who rebels and tries to find out the truth.

With these classic books, I like to comment on how suitable each is for high school kids. I do not remember reading 1984 in high school, but this is one of the rare classics I have come across where I believe kids should be reading it as part of the curriculum. It is readable, relevant, and significant. 

The most fascinating thing to me is this book was written in 1949. It is still relevant today (maybe even more so than back then). It definitely makes the reader think. I cannot get over how relevant it still is today.

My rating for 1984: 4 stars out of 5. Get it here!

Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes

This post is back-dated. Here's the deal. I moved in July and had a lot to do related to that. Frankly, I did not read much in the second half of 2017 (the move, football season, coaching basketball). Excuses excuses. I did read a few books, but I never got around to writing posts about them. It is now early January and I am finally writing on the blog. I think it is worth back-dating them because I like to know when I read books, and writing these posts won't be too hard because I actually jotted down notes in the Note app on my phone (dorky I know). Without further ado...

I stumbled upon Good Calories, Bad Calories when I was searching for books on Amazon. It seemed controversial but very interesting. I have always been interested in nutrition so this was clearly right up my alley. The author attacks many common notions in nutrition - fats are bad, carbs are better, eat less, exercise more. Yet despite all this, obesity, diabetes, and other diseases are more prevalent than ever.  The author's opinion is that refined carbs (think white bread) and sugar are to blame, and that it is the kind of calories you consume rather than the amount.

He goes very in depth about the history of nutrition and where many common "facts" come from. He points out inconsistencies and controversies. Things like how Ancel Keys wiggled his way into the American Heart Association to push his theory that low-fat, low-cholesterol would reduce the risk for heart disease. His studies were inconclusive, but he was able to persuade the country. The author also points out many islands that had no diabetes, obesity, cancer, appendicitis, or other "western" diseases until those countries met traders who brought them sugars and refined carbs.

You can see how this can be controversial. I can see some bias as he tries to prove his point. That being said, this is probably the best nutrition book I have ever read. Very enlightening. However, it gets too detailed at times and is very technical later in the book. In fact, I could only read 15-20 pages at a time and I did not make it all the way to the end. This is not a book for the casual reader. For those in the nutrition field or who are genuinely interested, it is a worthwhile read. I wish he wrote this book in a more casual way.

My rating for Good Calories, Bad Calories: 4 stars out of 5. Get it here!