Hard to Swallow

With the school year winding down, I decided to not read any more novels, and stick with shorter magazine articles.

Hard to Swallow by Barry Estabrook, on page 71 on the May edition of Reader's Digest.

The article starts off with a story about a man who suddenly dies after experiencing severe stomach pains and diarrhea. Towards the end of his life, his behavior grew erratic and he started behaving like a drunk. He no longer recognized his own son.

Scary, right? And what's even scarier is that his death was caused by...a piece of cantaloupe. The fruit was contaminated by Listeria monocytogenes, a deadly pathogen.

This is so creepy...

Foul conditions, poor regulations, and too few inspectors are threatening our safety. Food-born illnesses are increasing every day. The article addresses all of these issues without sugarcoating anything. 

 

It kind of made me want to never eat food again...HA! What am I talking about? I would never be able to do that. But the article did make me question the safety of my food supply. The real enemy is what is inside, not around your body.

Great! One stop shop for cigarettes, liquor, and celery!

So make sure your food is clean, your hands are sanitized, and your grocery store is not a sketchy looking cardboard stand!

Deadly (Pretty Little Liars # 14)

Right now, I kind of hate myself for reading this book. For any of you who have read the Pretty Little Liars series, you know what I mean. And for those of you who have never read the series, I suggest you stop reading this right now, because I am too lazy to explain the first 13 books. The plot goes in circles and the series NEVER ends...case in point, Deadly is already book # 14.

OK, I've done it. I just googled the question, "Who is A?".

IT'S NOT REVEALED in the book! Which, by the way, I am not finishing now. However, Helper A is revealed, so I guess that was a good thing.
                                                                         How can such nice looking girls be so stupid?

And look at them, holding hands and walking past a perfect little picket fence, while their lives are at risk- wavy tresses flowing, dresses artfully torn, makeup fixed to perfection. Even the top left cloud is kind of cute...

Sigh...I have very mixed feelings for this series. I always find myself reading the next book in line because I feel like I owe myself the answer to the never-ending mystery.

But now I finally realize: Why would I do that when I have Google by my side?

50 Secrets Pets Won't Tell You

I decided to try reading something different today, so I skimmed an article in Reader's Digest.

50 Secrets Pets Won't Tell You

The title of the article really catches your attention, and it definitely made me more curious! The only pets I ever had were a hamster and a turtle...both are dead.

OK, maybe I'm not the best pet owner. So you can see why I wanted to know how to understand an animal's deepest darkest secrets. However, I will never be one of those people who run up to dogs and start cooing at the "adorable shape of their noses".

The article gave me a lot of information- both highly useless and entertaining. For example, "You may think its cute when I rub my butt on the carpet, but it probably means that I'm itchy and would like to see a vet" (Crouch 135). Oh, by the way, the article is written from the point of view of the pet, NOT the owner. I really hope you realized that from the quote above :)

Something else I thought was funny: "Excuse me for putting my bottom in your face, but you should consider it an incredibly high compliment. It harks back to when I was a kitten and would do the same thing to Mom so she could clean my bottom. It means I perceive you as a maternal figure" (Crouch 138).

Great! So first you scratch your dirty butt against my carpet, then you want me to clean it with my tongue?

I will never understand hardcore pet owners.

But anyways, this article was a nice break from the novels I read all the time, and it definitely had strong voice in it. And the pictures were just too cute!