Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday- The Books Made Me Do It!

This week, The Broke and the Bookish is inviting everyone to share their list of ten things they wanted to learn after reading a book.  Going through my list of read books, I realized books have a tendency to shape us without our even noticing it.  I mean, my life may have turned out differently if I had read other books or just not read at all.  It's a little scary when you think about it!  Here's what books made me do (if only for a short time).

books made me do it

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barabara Kingsolver made me want to eat local.  I grow my own tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, zucchini, and lettuce right on my deck, and I buy most of my meat locally, where I can be sure the animal was raised humanely.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman made me want to sign up to be a lighthouse keeper.  Which, is very nearly a nonexistent job, because nearly all lighthouses are automated now.

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova made me want to learn how to paint.

The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather made me want a tiny house.  After her divorce she moves into a little cabin on the shores of Lake Michigan and lives on a shoestring budget.

1984 by George Orwell made me want to move to the middle of no where and made me a little paranoid for a while.

Bogtrotter by Richard Coffey
made me want to build a home sauna and learn to bake in a wood stove.   I mean, just in case the paranoia gets to strong and I have to head to the woods.

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg made me want to move to the beach and collect shells and think deep thoughts.  But mostly just move to the beach.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson made me want to learn coding and how to hack.  Not to become a hacker, just how to do it.

The Orchid Thief by Susan Orelan made me want to start an orchid collection.  The way they describe orchids and give you history of their commercialization, I guarantee it'd make you want to go stomping around the Everglades too.  Two cats who think plants are toys make this impractical, but I do admire them anytime I see one in a store.

Into the Wild by Jack Krakauer planted the first seeds of simplifying.  When Chrisopher McCandless got rid of everything he owned, people thought he was crazy, but at times it sounds really liberating.

What books have shaped the persons you've become?  And check out the link up to see what everyone else posted over at The Broke and the Bookish.

http://www.brokeandbookish.com/2016/07/top-ten-things-books-have-made-jamie.html

12 comments:

  1. Animal,Vegetable, Mineral is what got me started on the eating local and organic bandwagon as well.

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    1. I can't imagine being as strict about it as the author and her family were, but it really brought up lots of good points. The Feast Nearby focuses a lot on local eating too.

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  2. Great Top Ten! I don't know if I would be getting rid of everything, anytime soon...It's all fun and games, until someone dies...In the wild...
    My Top Ten Tuesday!

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    1. I just think it'd be so liberating not to have to worry about day to day stuff, like get the struts fixed on my car or paying bills or vacuuming up cat hair tumble weeds that I see floating down the hallway. But, you're right. It's all fun and games till you find yourself starving in an old school bus in Alaska in the winter.

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  3. HA! I can't wait to read 1984 and see what kind of effect it will have on me. I like your reaction to it! :D Great post!

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    1. I think the creepiest thing about 1984 is that it was written in 1949. It was about 60 years ahead of it's time.

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  4. I've always wanted to read The Swan Thieves! It is the first time I see it mentioned on the blogosphere. Thanks for reminding me. Your post was lovely! Good job!

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    1. The Swan Thieves was great! Sad, and a little odd, but I really enjoyed it.

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  5. If I remember right, "The Light Between Oceans" made me think being a lighthouse keeper sounded miserable! I don't think I could go that long with so much solitude, stuck on a tiny island. For a couple weeks, sure, but definitely not months or years at a time!

    I love Barbara Kingsolver and "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" is on my to-read list. My husband is in the military and we recently moved from Ohio to Hawaii; we're in the process of planting a little veggie garden in our backyard, but I'm desperately missing the wonderful butcher shop we'd go to in Ohio filled with local meat. That's much harder to come by here!

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    1. I wonder if the solitude would drive me up a wall, like it did Isabel. I think Tom handled it pretty well. But, you're right, I don't think I could do it for years and years. And oh my gosh, I just watched the trailer for "The Light Between Oceans" and it teared me up! I remember just feeling like my heart was being ripped out while watching it, I don't know if I could watch the movie even thought it looks gorgeous!

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  6. Yay for eating local! (I dnf'd Animal, Vegetable, Miracle after the first chapter or so... but I kind of want to try it again, since that was several years ago. But that's besides the point.) Also, The Feast Nearby and Bogtrotter sound interesting!

    Serena
    poetree {blog} | editing services

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    1. I will admit, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" got a little long in the tooth in the second half, but I did make it through. Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" was pretty good too. "Feast Nearby" has a yummy maple sugar cookie recipe I've made a couple times. But, it takes a lot of maple syrup, so if my dad did make it, I probably wouldn't be as keen on it, since real syrup is expensive

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