Now, I had promised that this week’s column would see the final wrap-up of my Omnivore’s Dilemma writings, having finally finished the book after roughly 6 months and about 4 other books in the interim. I had mentioned that a few friends of mine were also either reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma or had already read it, and that I wanted to get their take on the book before closing the book on…well, the book.

I did have a chance to touch base, to varying degrees, with these friends, and here are their thoughts:

My favorite book editor, who had initially recommended I read the book, felt that, felt it was incredibly informative and a great book to recommend (as had been done for her, in the first place), though also an incredibly dense read. I have to agree, since I honestly couldn’t read too much at a time. I mean, I really had to digest the book in much smaller pieces. Where she mostly skimmed the final part of the book, I felt the obligation to accomplish this daunting task of a tome, and actually give the end the same level of attentiveness I had given its prior chapters. In any case, we both agreed that, though a tough and wordy read at times The Omnivore’s Dilemma was well worth the effort.

A holistic nutritionist with whom I am acquainted expressed that, though she’s glad the book is out there, and that people are reading it – learning more about the food they consume – much of the information therein is flatly wrong. I haven’t been able to follow up with her to find out exactly what, but this is the same person that crusades against soy and alfalfa sprouts as unhealthy foods. In any case, she too skimmed through the latter part of the book.

Finally, I called up one of my oldest friends who is, at present, studying for her degree in nutrition (forgive me my foible that I can’t recall whether this will be her second bachelor’s degree or whether this is for a graduate program). I had recommended the book to her when I was a mere hundred-or-so pages in. She answered the phone as though I had woken her from a deep sleep…at 8:45 in the evening. I apologized and excused myself only for her to call me back, wide awake, a few minutes later. Before I could bring up the subject of how she enjoyed (or didn’t enjoy) the book, she said, “I don’t know what happened. I must have fallen asleep. One minute I was reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and the next it was three hours later and my phone was ringing.” Yes, folks, the book actually put her to sleep. I am telling you: It. Is. Dense! Time will tell how she will feel about the book upon its conclusion, but for the time being, she is heartily enjoying smaller, more digestible (pun intended) portions of the book, mostly patiently – though, at times, frustratingly – as she collects one more fascinating tid-bit after another.

Final conclusion: I recommend the book, but I recommend it as a good book-on-the-side. Take all the time you need to read it, enjoying other books at the same time. You will finish it when you finish it, and you will have learned a great deal about the food you and everyone you know eats…at which point you may wish you didn’t. Michael Pollan, thank you for taking the time. I just wish you hadn’t taken so much of mine, as well.

a few days since finishing The Omnivore’s Dilemma, I have yet to have that conversation with my friends who have also survived Mr. Pollan’s opus (see what I did there? Oh, the cleverness of me). I hope to in the coming week to report back and finish up my writing about the tome in next week’s column.

In the meantime, I’ve been taking a break before starting The Zombie Survival Guide to work on polishing off a book I started a few months ago but never finished, Al Franken’s Oh, the Things I Know! A Guide to Success, or, Failing That, Happiness. It’s more of a pamphlet in the Thomas Paine sense of the word, and widely unread as it is not one of his more popular political books like Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right (which I have also read, along with two other books by Franken).

I suppose I’ve been motivated to complete this half-finished book by Franken’s recent election to the US Senate, representing the state of Minnesota. It was a long and drawn out process and, at the time of this post, I’m not even sure if the recount has been certified or if Franken has been sworn into office. In fact, his opponent, incumbent Norm Coleman, still has suits pending regarding the recount in hopes the election may still go in his favor.

I’m not going to comment on any of that, however, because as it pertains to this particularly apolitical book, I just think Al Franken is terrific comic. So, no matter what your political affiliation, if you want a good laugh at how certainly not to live your life, this may be the book for you. And for those of you who would like to see Franken go all the way to the White House some day, he wrote that farce 8 years ago: Why Not Me?: The Inside Story of the Making and Unmaking of the Franken Presidency.

Politics aside, with chapters like “Oh, The Mistakes You’ll Keep Repeating,” “Oh, The Advice You Should Ignore,” and “Oh, Are You Going to Hate Your First Job,” Oh, The Things I Know is a fun and quick read, and a pleasant diversion from the non-stop 24-hour news channels’ depressing coverage of what’s in store. And tune in next week for the my concluding discussion on The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

In follow-up news, how’s the New Year’s Resolution working out so far?

I’ve spent 11 hours of the past 48 on a bus, and let me tell you, I got some reading done! I am currently on the last chapter of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, determined to finish by the end of my Maryland weekend. Most recently, I’ve been reading about hunting and gathering. As author, Michael Pollan, goes pig hunting and mushroom foraging, he goes to great lengths to deal with the experiences in a manner that brings the reader into the adventure while remaining remarkably unbiased in his description, all of which is fascinating. I like reading to learn, and this books is full of painfully interesting facts about the food we eat, don’t eat, and eat but probably shouldn’t

Three of my friends (of which I know) have also read this book (who who recommended it to me, one who, as a nutritionist, I guess correctly had read it, and one to whom I recommended the book when I began reading it, way back in August – to be fair, I’ve read four other books since that time, as well). I’m looking forward to finishing the book and having the opportunity to discuss it with them, to get other people’s perspectives. In next week’s column, I’ll have a chance to talk about that a little bit, as well as whatever new book I’ve started (hopefully The Zombie Survival Guide).