I am reading two books at the same time....one is fiction for entertainment and one is not but equally entertaining to me.

One of my favorite authors is Joyce Carol Oates and I basically read everything she has written. What I am reading now by her is the 20th anniversary edition of Blonde where she reimagines the inner poetic and spiritual life of Norma Jeane Baker as a child, a woman and a celebrity known as Marilyn Monroe. I love the behind the scenes of old Hollywood and the Blonde mystique surrounding Hollywood at that time. It depicts the manipulative and harsh realities of show business without naming too many names.

The other book is called Food Fix by Dr Mark Hyman and is equally fascinating. What we eat has tremendous implications not just for our health but for the planet, society and global economy. Dr Hyman explains how our food and agriculture policies and influenced by money and lobbies and shows the resulting spread of obesity, chronic disease, climate change, poverty, violence, social injustice etc. He doesn't pull any punches and I believe this book will change the way you think about and eat food....a real eye opener with pages of references.

The first book is because of the author and Marilyn Monroe's always fascinating history. The second book is because I am passionate about what we eat and am appalled at the lengths the Food, Tobacco and Big Pharma go to for greed with no thought to the devastation their policies cause.

And, by the way, although I do read digital books, I love the feel of a book in my hand that I can cart around anywhere.

Ah soapbox again

FL Mary