Misha Collins

I fully admit that I wanted this cookbook at first solely because I *ahem* hold Misha Collins in high esteem, first as Cas in Supernatural and now also as the goofy, sweet, full-of-kindness-for-the-world sort of person he seems to be. (Read: I. Am. A. Fan.) So, I convinced my 11-year-old son to get it for me for Christmas (no shame!), and it's the first cookbook that I've actually read cover-to-cover. And it's completely worth it. Misha and Vicki (his equally awesome partner, whom I now also show more love to bits) have an excellent approach to introducing possibly-reluctant kiddos to all sorts of healthy and adventurous foods. The theory and practice seems sound, and I love their openness about their own successes and failures in parenting: they're happily candid about not being or pretending to be perfect parents, and there's a lovely sense that they're not completely comfortable with writing a book about even this one aspect of parenting without stressing that they're not be-all authorities on the subject. Also, the recipes look very doable and very good - I've marked tons of them that we will definitely be trying.
Charlie has been, from an early age, a happy helper in the kitchen, but after reading this I realize that I could be even more open to food adventures and letting him have more autonomy in the kitchen (not that he'll go crazy with ingredient combinations - it's just not his style (he is a "cautious fellow," after all (his words, not mine (I swear I'm not making that up)))). It has also been a good reminder that it doesn't have to be time-consuming or difficult to cut the convenience of processed food out of the mix and out of the house. In short, highly recommended. show less

Look. We all know poetry is not in my wheelhouse. I can't tell you why a poem does or does not work in any kind of objective way. I cannot, beyond maybe spotting some botched meter or pointing out some nice alliteration and assonance or clocking some of the most obvious forms, tell you how poetry is doing what it's doing--not like I can with fiction. I haven't studied it (much) or written it (much) or taught it (ever). I can only tell you whether a poem works for me. And these poems? Almost show more to a one, they worked for me.

When a poem works for me, it is because it has captured a moment, or sketched an image, or invoked a feeling--if I'm lucky, and the poem and I are getting on *real* well, it has done all three at once. The poems Collins has collected here, each of them has done at least one of those things. Some of them planted a sharp image in my mind, some of them punched me right in the gut, some of them gave me that "oh! someone else feels that too" feeling. Will they work for others? Will they work for people who aren't already fans of Collins, who don't already feel some kind of affinity--even if tenuous and only, really, imagined--with him? I can't say. But I think it's probably worth finding out.

The Poems I Liked Best Were:

"A Five Point Eight"
"Brown Hens"
"These Hours"
"The Bell Curve"
"Black Cat"
"Smog Cutters"
"These Days"
"Men in Woods"
"The Fly"
"Present. Tense." show less

In general, I'm not a big fan of modern poetry. If it's post-Donne, I tend not to be interested. And so I usually stay clear of poetry collections. But when Misha Collins publishes a book of poems, I make a rare exception. My favorite of the bunch:

June Second
This morning, we walked outside
And the street was covered in freshly fallen Jacaranda petals:
A blanket of floppy purple snow.

I complained.
"We wait all year for these flowers,
And they're gone in a week."

"Hmm," she said,
Crushing wilted show more purple blossoms with her shoes.
"Hmm what?"
"I haven't been waiting for anything."

But she has.
I know it. show less

A short collection of deceptively simple poems, mostly about love of some kind, but never sappy. Easily read in a very short sitting, the style may remind you of Mary Oliver, although Collins's subject matter is quite different. Many of the images in these little gems will surely take up permanent residence with me--purple flower petals crushed underfoot, a father's strong hands, an old dog leaning against his human while she cooks bacon...

Collins the poet/actor/father/activist is also the show more founder of Random Acts, a philanthropic volunteer organization that facilitates what the name suggests. You maybe should check out both the book and the charity. show less