Challenge 18: A book with a blue cover

Ida's book: "Dietland" by Sarai Walker (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015)

So this is yet another book that have been on my to-read-list for a long time. I became aware of it through a fat activist network, but I was reluctant to actually read it: probably slightly scared of the inevitable truths it would make me aware of. Then a book shop offered 20% on all english books, and I thought, why not.

Comments:

Although it has only taken me just under a month to read this book, it was a slow start. The writing is excellent and I wanted to savour it; reading slowly and not rushing it. The main character's 'awakening' for lack of a better word is so well written and I follow her anger and wish for revenge, in fact, all the characters are believable and you sort of come to respect and care for them. As a fat woman, it hits close to home, and sometimes I just couldn't summon the energy to read on, it's a tough read sometimes, but then you get to the last 100 pages and I probably read them in a day or so (very typical reading behaviour from me). It's such a great book, and I will be sharing it with other fat women in need of an eye opener to the diet industry (land) that we live in. I'll probably return to it as well, in a not too distant future. Although I took my time (with most of the book) I still feel there is much to discuss and pick through, and I have a feeling it'll be one of those books that I will come back to time and again.

Challenge 17: A Book That Will Make You Smarter

The Last of the President's Men, Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster, 2015)

I've been looking forward to reading this ever since I met Alexander Butterfield at an event at the British Library.  He's an absolutely charming man and, when it turned out that we were heading in the same direction at the end of the talk, insisted on walking me back to the station.  He told me at the time that Woodward was writing this book, and now I finally get to read it!

Comments
This is a wonderful and insightful look inside the Nixon White House, and a very honest account of Butterfield's role in the administration and, particularly, in the taping system that would eventually prove to be Nixon's downfall.  Butterfield's memories reveal the complexity of Nixon's character, and how Butterfield was both charmed, intrigued, and also sometimes repulsed by the president.  Butterfield's dilemma once the Watergate hearings started is handled with sensitivity and honesty, and it's really great to read that side of the story.  My only regret is that the book focused pretty much exclusively on Butterfield's work for the Nixon administration, and didn't cover much more of Butterfield's fascinating career.  I'd heard some of this when Butterfield gave the talk at the British Library, and I was hoping to read more about it in the book.  Maybe they'll be another volume!  I'd definitely read it if there is!