Book Review: Grow a Sustainable Diet: Planning and Growing to Feed Ourselves and the Earth

The book, Grow a Sustainable Diet, is filled with in-depth information on planning and growing a garden that will not only provide food for the whole year but will also increase soil viability. Author Cindy Conner brings both research and personal experience to the table as she talks about living a sustainable lifestyle.

The beginning of the book discusses planning out a space for a garden, what different set ups the author has used and why. Through hand drawn maps and diagrams the reader can see how Cindy's garden has changed over the years as she gained experience.

There are a ton of worksheets in the book to help both beginners and veterans optimize their space and yield. There's even a chart to track the temperature and rainfall each year so the gardener can better plan their planting and harvesting.

The most interesting part for me was the discussion on cover crops and ways to boost the nutrients in the soil without buying fertilizer. I tend to have trouble keeping house plants alive so this section was kind of fascinating to me.

Grow a Sustainable Diet is definitely geared towards people with a decent amount of land and at least a little gardening experience. Not to say that beginners won't benefit from it, but the amount of information is a bit overwhelming.

While this book isn't very relevant to my current situation, I live in an apartment, I plan on hanging onto it for when I am able to start my own garden.

I received a digital copy of this book through NetGalley and New Society Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

This book comes out on April 15th 2014

Book Review: Taekwondo Black Belt Poomsae: Original Koryo and Koryo

Written by two Tae-Kwon-Do masters, this book contains some interesting information on the origins of the art as well as a detailed walk-through of the Koryo form (pattern) or poomsae. The beginning of the book traces the roots of several different martial arts throughout Asia. Tae-Kwon-Do, in its current form, is a fairly new martial art which has origins in Korea, Japan and China. Secretive hand to hand combat training grew out of these countries due the ban on weaponry at the time. Much like Capoeira, which was started by slaves in Brazil to give themselves a better chance at escaping, dance like forms helped to keep martial arts practitioners under the radar.

The authors of the book stress the importance of Tae-Kwon-Do students learning not only the movements of the art but also the history and philosophy. Understanding the art is not possible without understanding where it came from and on what principals it was based. 

The end of the book contains a walk through of both the Original Koryo and Koryo forms. Each step of the forms are accompanied by a photo and instructions on execution as well as a diagram showing foot placement. After the forms, there are a series of photographs depicting the martial applications of each movement. 

I studied Tae-Kwon-Do as a kid and ended up getting my 1st degree black belt. Although the school I was taught at used the ITF forms so I never learned Koryo. This book expanded on my knowledge of Tae-Kwon-Do's history a great deal. I knew about General Choi, the Hwarang and the Silla but not about how influential karatedo was in the creation of this unique Korean art form. Taekwondo Black Belt Poomsae also gave me the opportunity to learn a new form in an easy to follow format. 

I enjoyed this book, and as a historical reference I think most people will be able to get some use out of it. However, there is a lot of content that would be best understood by an experienced martial arts practitioner. So for anyone looking to delve deeper into their Tae-Kwon-Do practice this is a very informative read, but unless the reader has studied martial arts to some degree the technicality of this book will likely overwhelm them.

Regardless of the technical aspects and the large gap in my practice of Tae-Kwon-Do I got a lot out of this book. Thank you Doug Cook and Richard Chun for a fascinating history of the art and an explanation of a form I had never seen. 

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and YMAA Publication Center Inc. in exchange for an honest review. 

To view this title on Amazon go to Taekwondo Black Belt Poomsae: Original Koryo and Koryo

Book Review: The ABC's of Yoga for Kids

This book introduces yoga poses to kids in a fun way. There are illustrations for every pose as well as a rhyme about how to do it. The illustrations are of kids performing the yoga poses and pictures that go with the name of the pose. In the picture of the Dog pose, for example,  there is a boy doing the pose next to a puppy stretching in a similar position. The rhymes explain how to do each one and emphasize not stretching beyond what is comfortable, not to mention they are rather entertaining so it does not seem like a lesson.

I started reading The ABC's of Yoga for Kids with my oldest daughter (7) Sky. She has never really been interested in stretching as she always wants to run and move, so I wasn't sure whether she would enjoy the book or not. To my surprise, Sky loved the book and actually remembered how to do most of the poses she had learned when we read it the next day. Of course, she still wants to move a lot during the exercises but the fact that she stops long enough to try them is a huge win in my book.

While older kids may not enjoy the ABC theme or simple explanations, as an adult I got a lot out of this book. I have some experience with yoga (okay rather shaky attempts at yoga) and I enjoyed the fact that this book made it simple and fun. I imagine if I were to seriously practice I would need to find some more comprehensive instruction but for just starting out this worked well for me.

I got to read a digital copy of this book for free compliments of NetGalley.

To view this book on Amazon go to The ABCs of Yoga for Kids

Book Review: Street Smart Vegan: A Simple Guide To Going Vegan

This book has a ton of great information not only on going vegan but also on eating right. Jay Wesley Anderson does a great job of showing the benefits of the vegan lifestyle without preaching to the readers. He outlines the dangers of chlorine, fluoride, high fructose corn syrup and aspartame as well as the problems with dairy and meat. Not to mention he backs up all his claims with hard evidence. The best part about this book was that it was easy to read and even though there is a lot of information packed into the pages it doesn't feel overwhelming.

The only negative thing about this book is that it has some editorial errors. There's a few places where words are doubled up or misplaced.

A few years ago I was having some digestive problems and cut meat out of my diet for about 6 months. During that time I felt better and seemed to have more energy. I have been toying with the idea of becoming a vegan for some time now and this book gave me a few more reasons to give it try. I think I just found another new years resolution.

I got to read this book for free compliments of Story Cartel.

The above review was originally posted on Amazon.

This book is a really good reference guide for starting out on the path to becoming a vegan. The recipes look like they would be good although I have no idea where I would find wheat-grass juice, among other things, in my town. There are also a few websites listed with vegan recipes if the ones in the book don't look appealing. 

I really enjoyed the interview with the guy that lost 125 lbs by going vegan. He gave some great insights into what it was like and what he ended up struggling with. 

Regardless of whether the vegan diet/lifestyle appeals to you this book has some great information on healthy living. 

To check out this book on Amazon Street Smart Vegan: A Simple Guide To Going Vegan