Escape by Carolyn Jessop

I am fascinated by the FLDS culture - both non-fiction and fictionalized.  I've read a handful of books and articles and of course watch Big Love.  This is the first real account that I've come across and it was fascinating.  Carolyn Jessop escaped the Colorado City FLDS community in her early thirties with eight children (including one with serious medical needs and a preemie) and managed to secure her freedom from one of the most powerful men in the FLDS community run by Warren Jeffs.

Warren Jeffs is the one that most of us heard about in the last couple of years, on the run and capture in Vegas with wigs and a stash of cash.  Carolyn spent enough time in the Colorado City community to be able to reflect on the changes over thirty years from a seemingly more open and liberal society to the fanatical conservative compound that Warren Jeffs created in Texas.  Her awakening and realizations about the ways religion was corrupted by greedy men as mind control are captivating.

Carolyn Jessop's personal story is at once fascinating and terrifying.  The book itself could use some serious editing, but it strings you along nonetheless.  The tales of abuse are intense and the relationships between the Jessop family members alone are incredible.  Carolyn's struggles to protect herself and her children are inspiring.

There are too many more adjectives I could bring out to describe this reading experience.  The mind boggles, as they say.  I highly recommend this one.

Brooklyn Forager Post Round Up

The goal is to be more on top of getting things listed over here.  I think I'm up to date on the list for number of blog posts written (give or take a couple), but I haven't been listing or linking here for awhile.  Here are the ones that I missed:

• Scallion update!
• Ginger Scallion Noodles with a Twist
• Vermont Special: Earl's Eggs with Chinese Chives
• Sundays in Brooklyn: The Pizza Edition
• Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Rosemary Vinaigrette
• Meatless Monday: Spicy Garbanzo Burritos with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Date Afternoon: Polo and Danny Meyer picnic

Back in June, we went out to Governor's Island to check it out and to watch Prince Harry in a polo match.  The island itself was lovely despite the oppressive heat.  We couldn't see all that much of the polo since the grounds were pretty crowded and people had obviously gotten there quite early to set up picnic spots.

We did get to have food from Box Frites and Blue Smoke (Danny Meyer's catering company did the concession stands) and Austin got to see Prince Harry's horse ride by without Prince Harry when he took a tumble.  It was a lovely date afternoon which we followed up with beers on Water Taxi Beach with some friends who met us out there after the match.

New Recipe Round-Up

I've been tracking my new recipes in a list, but not so diligently.  I am going to catch up with a quick list of a couple and then I'll probably do a monthly round-up going forward.

For now, the recipes I've tried in the recent past include:
Tofu Basil Noodles with Mint Dressing
Broiled Five Spice Salmon with Sesame Black Bean Sauce
Crunchy Chickpea Salad
Sesame Balsamic Chicken

They each turned out well, but I haven't blogged about them yet.  I will try to remember and update this post with links or else they will get included in a Brooklyn Forager round-up when I get organized enough to put one together.

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

Did you read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? If you have any interest, you probably should.  Then read this one.  It's the second in the series about Lisbeth Salander and another insane mystery.  There's been some pushback because of the hype, but I really got into these books.  The second one is even more interesting to me because the scenery has been set and the reader gets to delve further into Lisbeth's character.  She is endless fascinating and a very interesting drama evolves throughout the book.  I am counting the minutes until I can read the third (and sadly final) installment.

Deerfield River Whitewater Rafting

I set off to Vermont this past weekend with some friends.  Usually our Vermont weekends are relaxing, but not so very adventurous.  This time we decided to head down to Massachusetts and go whitewater rafting.  The experience was fabulous and I can't believe that I didn't do this previously.

We spent a couple of hours on the Deerfield River near Charlemont, MA.  There were about 7-9 rapids all either Class 3 or Class 4.  I am definitely going to do this again - so much fun! (The picture above isn't our group, but that's the same company - Moxie Adventures - out on the same river.)

This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin

 I haven't been keeping up with my non-fiction reading this year, but that's because this book took me the last two months to read.  Partly I wasn't giving enough time to it, but also this book is fairly technical and in-depth, so it was slow going.

Overall, I found the book interesting - I think a lot more research has to be done, but reading about some of the theories and studies was engaging.  My main complaint is that it sells itself as the answer to some very intriguing questions like why a song gets stuck in your head and plays over and over.  In the end, that was one part of one page and I wasn't really satisfied.