The Summary: Good afternoon VegNews Book Clubbers! We are at the end of the third week of our discussion of The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life by Melisser Elliott, and we've had some great conversation all month. Thanks so much for all of the great comments!

I brought up two discussion points last Monday. First, I asked you guys to share your favorite brands of clothing and makeup. All of the comments and tips were really helpful! Personally, I've been looking for a good brand of dry shampoo, so thank you, hands2health, for mentioning Hairfix. I might just give it a try!

I also asked if you guys have tried any of the recipes in the book as of yet, and a lot of you have, with positive reviews. I'm still jonsing for the Portobello Banh Mi, but they all look super good.

There is one more week of discussion of this fun book—please read the rest of the book to be ready for our conversation beginning Monday. Also, don't forget to pick up a copy of Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, which we will be discussing in February. Have a great weekend!

~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig

The Gist: Happy MLK Day VegNews Book Clubbers! We are now in the third week of our discussion of The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life by Melisser Elliott. I'm personally very excited about the holiday, because it gives me time to catch up on my reading. Don't forget that we will be reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safron Foer in February, so get a copy! We're actually selling the book over at the VN Store, so you don't even have to make a trip to the bookstore.

We read chapters four to six for our conversation this week. Chapter four covers non-food shopping, such as clothing, makeup, feminine hygiene, natural cleaning supplies, and even sex products. Elliott lists an array of brands for each area, giving a great guide for your cruelty-free purchases!

Chapter five talks food, and Elliott gives a detailed guide on how to stock your vegan kitchen. She includes canned food, dried food, baking ingredients, frozen foods, spices, tools, and other various staples. She also provides a sample menu, a list of non-vegan ingredients to look out for, and talks about what and what not to feed a non-vegan. If you are new to veganism, this is definitely the chapter for you.

Finally, chapter six contains recipes, and a lot of them! From breakfast to dessert, these recipes look to be a good start to help your vegan cooking take off. I personally want to make the Portobello Banh Mi Sandwiches, because I love everything sandwich.

The Discussion: Here are two discussion points to help get the conversation started. I look forward to hearing from you!

1. What are your favorite cruelty-free clothing and makeup brands?

2. Have you tried any of the recipes listed in chapter six? If so, which one, and how was it?

The Assignment: Please read the rest of The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life for our discussion on January 24.

~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig

Reading List

Happy Wednesday VegNews Book Clubbers, and I hope you're enjoying Quantum Wellness by Kathy Freston. This is a special post to bring you some very exciting news: the next three books that we will be reading! Without further ado, here are our first three titles for 2011:

January: The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life by Melisser Elliott
February: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safron Foer
March: Veganist by Kathy Freston

Veganist is not yet out, but it will be hitting bookshelves early February, so just hold tight! I look forward to discussing these titles with you!

~VegNews Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig