January was an interesting month. As I alluded to in my goal recap post, I really refocused on my health in January. While I’ve never been unhealthy per say, I watched a couple of documentaries that really re-defined my notion of health and good food.
This lead me to begin reading up on health and wellness, and a few other topics. I followed the rabbit hole to a couple of great TED Talks on the topic as well.
What I Watched
Hungry for Change
The documentary that gave me that initial kick in the butt was Hungry for Change. I watched it in early January as it was suggested on Netflix.
Watching Hungry for Change stoked a few key changes in my own behaviour and eating habits.
Despite the cheesy acting in parts of the documentary, it’s very informative and confirms everything that I already knew but I guess didn’t really pay as much attention to as I should.
I would definitely recommend it.
Food Matters
After watching Hungry for Change, I wanted more information about what we are eating as a nation and how our diets can make or break our health. I watched Food Matters one Sunday and it kept me motivated to really look at what I was putting in my body and how it was affecting almost everything I do.
This made me interested in plant based diets (I am mostly a vegetarian, but there is still a lot to learn), which brought me to my next documentary:
Vegucated
My least favorite of the three documentaries but certainly worth a watch, this one focuses mainly on veganism and why people turn to it. There are a few people that are test subjects that start eating a vegan diet and it’s interesting watching their journeys. There is some compelling evidence as to why veganism can create such an impact and if you are on the fence between becoming vegan (or even just vegetarian) this will help you make up your mind.
What I Read
Not everything I read in January had to do with health; in fact, I read quite a lot in January. [The images in this post are mainly Amazon affiliate links. If you buy the book through Amazon by clicking the links, I get a small commission].
Based on the volume of material that I read in a month, you’d think it would be pretty expensive, but I actually read a lot and never really pay for the reading material. I did buy The Book Thief from Amazon because I read it after I had already spent all of my Swagbucks on the other reading material. You can use my referral link to sign up for Swagbucks (click this link) and get free points by searching; I redeem my points mainly for Amazon gift cards.
The Book Thief
What a great book. I truly loved this novel. The Book Thief is apparently now a movie (I don’t think I could handle seeing it on film), too. The novel is set in Nazi Germany and the point of view is that of death.
It’s happy, sad, and sometimes even a bit funny, and I can’t recommend it enough.
How to Instantly Connect with Anyone
How to Instantly Connect with Anyone: 96 All-New Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes is an interesting book, to be sure. Something about the author’s tone sort of bothered me, but there are some really good tips in this book that definitely have a lot of merit.
She also wrote another book – How to Talk to Anyone, which I will read, I think.
If you work in an environment where you must communicate with a lot of people, or even if you just want some networking tips, it’s good for that.
Y
Y by Marjorie Celona is a novel set in Victoria, which drew me to it. My Aunt emailed me to read it after she’d finished it. It was certainly a page turner, and while I have never lived in Victoria and have only visited a few times, it’s still nice to read a novel that is set in a place so close to home.
The novel tackles foster care and family dysfunction well, both topics which I am interested in.
A Long Way Gone
A Long Way Gone – Memoirs of a Boy Solider by Ishmael Beah is a heartbreaking but honest memoir of a child’s experience during the war in Sierra Leone.
It is descriptive and paints a pretty awful, graphic picture.
The saddest part to me, is the idea that people go through these horrors even still. The war in Sierra Leone wasn’t that long ago (ended in the early 2000’s) and it hasn’t stopped there.
We Are Water
I’ve always been a fan of Wally Lamb’s after reading She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True. We are Water is just as good, if not better, than the other two.
The novel is very long, and again, takes a look at family dysfunction and does a pretty good job of demonstrating how difficult it is to break a cycle. Whether the cycle is violence or sexual abuse, or something else, the point of the novel is pretty obvious once you get to the end. I’d recommend it.
What I Listened To
After I watched Hungry for Change, I looked up a TED Talk that was featured in the film. Jamie Oliver’s talk: Teach Every Child About Food is definitely worth a listen to.
Graham Hill’s “Why I’m a Weekday Vegetarian” was an interesting listen, though I’m not sure that doing something half the time is all that powerful.
I really enjoyed Mark Bittman’s “What’s Wrong with What We Eat”, as well.
All worthwhile.
The Book Thief is one of my top reads of all time. Which is why I don’t want to see the film.
(PS – do you really need to spam check twice? Tickbox and maths problem?)
That seals it I am giving The Book Thief a try even though it will probably give me nightmares and make me cry.
The Book Thief is amazing… I loved the book and cried all throughout the end and for quite a while afterward. The movie is beautiful but does not pull at your heart in the same way that the book does. I’ll admit to also having cried during the movie, but only because I remembered certain scenes from the book – emotional memory, if you will. I saw the movie with my stepmother who hadn’t read the book, and she (who has a much softer heart than I) didn’t find it to be sad.
I feel totally out of touch, as I haven’t seen/read/heard any of these. I think I’ll start with hungry for change, because if it’s on Netflix, it makes it that much easier for me to do!
I’ll have to watch the rest of those documentaries you mentioned (one day, one day). I didn’t love vegucated… it seemed light on facts to me, and used 100% emotion and only talked about emotion. Obviously that’s a big part of things, but I found it to be pretty disappointing.
I read A Long Way Gone awhile ago and my spouse pointed out a good point after reading it: there is a lot of allusion to rape, but never an acknowledgement of participation in it, which is likely. Just a thought. I found it to be disturbing because the guy is basically the same age as me, so I spent a lot of time thinking about what I was up to during the years he was talking about. My experiences were RATHER different.
I think that’s why I liked it. SO many documentaries are almost all facts, and don’t focus on emotions at all. It was extreme the one way though.
I didn’t think about that with respect to A Long Way Gone. It’s so sad..
Those are some great documentaries! I’m big into healthy food too, so I would also recommend you watch Forks Over Knives, Food Inc, and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. They’re all available on Netflix and are all worth watching.
I’ve watched all of those! I really liked Forks over Knives.
Nice choices! I’ve seen all those documentaries and loved them all. Forks Over Knives is also great.
How to Instantly Connect with Anyone sounds interesting, I think I might get that one for myself!
I’m eating cleaner because it’s more sustainable and I’m tired of being 30 pounds overweight 🙂