The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for We Don't Just Eat Lettuce!: Vegan Recipes for Carnivores

Because We Don't Just Eat Lettuce! was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.

Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.

IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.

This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.

Howlan

The cover is quite impressive, and it quite correctly depicts how exotic and tasty-looking vegetarian food can be. People who enjoy cooking or who are looking for a new diet to implement would go for the based on its cover. As for me, I am neither of the two, so; I am not going to buy this book. Reading the sample also does not change my views much. In the sample, the author has spoken about his own experiences regarding food, which though interesting not the main topic of the book, so I can not precisely say that the content was right or not. However, I enjoyed the writing style of the author. No typos were found in the first ten pages. The Official Review was present, and the reviewer states that it enabled readers to improve their health by changing to a plant-based diet.

First Ten review added on December 23, 2019, at 4:46 am by Howlan.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Mai Tran

I’m drawn to this book because of the title, and I would have read it even without the program and the official review. I love how the author has turned his cookbook into a memoir. It was fascinating how he became a vegan overnight after watching “Hungry for Change.” I’ve never heard of the show, but I think I’ll watch it soon. I’m definitely buying this book as it’s fun to read. The book seems well-edited apart from some punctuation issues and a faulty line break: “We sat down religiously at the table every night for dinner and ate a combination of roughly the same ten things: Swiss steak (cube steak), spaghetti and meat sauce, hamburgers and fries, hot dogs and canned baked beans, / Shake ‘N Bake pork chops with white rice, lima beans (yuck!) and Campbell’s Tomato Soup for sauce, carry-out pizza, chicken breast with green beans, and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese” (Location 47).

First Ten review added on December 23, 2019, at 3:49 am by Mai Tran.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

va2016

The cover and the title are indicative of the theme of the book. There are 4 Amazon customer ratings. The Amazon summary gives a clear description of the content of the book. As I am not interested in diet-related books, I would have skipped sampling the book if not for the First Ten program. As I sampled through the book, I found the narration describing the author's experience of how they moved to plant based diets. As I found the ideas and tips shared in the foreword really interesting, I am going to read this book in full and see what the author has to say about the plant-based diet and the recipes. I found the sample professionally edited. There were no grammatical or mechanical errors. What I liked about the book was its theme. I do not have any recommendations for improvement. Although I found one OBC review of the book, my decision to read the book in full is based on my own sampling.

First Ten review added on December 23, 2019, at 2:48 am by va2016.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Vickie Noel

My attention may not have been piqued to read this book outside the program based on its title or book cover. However, I got carried away with the sample. I liked the author's voice and saw sense in what he said. I'm a health enthusiast so I'm all about eating well and working out too. I agreed with Allyn's thought that "Moderate exercise is all you need" but that "Moderation in your diet, as often as we have it, is not necessarily healthy." Also, I liked how swiftly the author transitioned from unhealthy to healthy feeding through juicing fruits and veggies in just two days. That's definitely my kind of thing. I didn't spot out any grammatical errors; the book is obviously well edited. I'd initially placed the book in my "Not Interested" shelf even after reading the OBC review. But then, I changed my mind after reading the sample.

First Ten review added on December 23, 2019, at 2:43 am by Vickie Noel.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Lorraine De Vos

I would definitely have chosen to sample this book based on the cover, title and genre. The sample pages were very well written and I enjoyed learning about Allyn’s journey to becoming a vegan. I’m curious about the recipes and will definitely be adding this book to my reading list. It does appear to be professionally edited, and the official OnlineBookClub review served to confirm that I will enjoy reading this book. There is nothing I think that requires improvement.

First Ten review added on December 23, 2019, at 1:18 am by Lorraine De Vos.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

briellejee

Based on the cover and title, I think I wouldn’t have sampled the book. I am not into vegan diet nor will I want to be one. However, both aspects are witty and appealing. As for the first few pages, I liked how the author shared his experiences and his life during this life-changing decision. Readers can relate to his doubts and thoughts of turning into vegan. He was also able to address the question of most people wanting to be vegan: “can I do it?”. His words are full of reassurance and his experiences when he started changing his diet were convincing enough for those who want to switch preferences and lifestyle. However, I will not be buying the book. As I’ve said before, I have no intention on switching lifestyles, so this is not for me. I might recommend it to some friends. I find no noticeable errors and the official OBC review was persuasive enough to tell me to sample it.

First Ten review added on December 23, 2019, at 12:29 am by briellejee.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Fu Zaila

The cover isn't that attractive, but I liked the blurb and the OBC review was quite promising. I liked the author's introduction and loved his reassurance that anybody can cut back on meat and dairy in a single night. The writing was clear and cohesive, and I liked how it shows the author's motivation behind writing the book. His aversion for lima beans was quite well mentioned and gave the book a unique personal touch. There wasn't anything I disliked. The writing was error-free and edited well. I'm looking for a guide to becoming vegan and this book seems like a perfect resource. I'd love to read further.

First Ten review added on December 23, 2019, at 12:09 am by Fu Zaila.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Chelsy Scherba

I enjoy how the author writes the book from a personal, memoir point of view. Although it was kind of gross reading about all the bad food he used to eat, it’s also relatable to a lot of people. He got put on medication and kept accruing health problems because he refused to change his diet. Finally, a run-in with a documentary about organic food led him to put healthy food in his life and create recipes for his restaurant. I’m familiar with Gerson therapy and healthy food because of the changes we made to handle my mom’s cancer. Our overall health has improved, but the meals get boring. I’d be interested in seeing what recipes are in this book since I know they would be both tasty and good for us. The review was positive and I didn’t really see any errors or typos. When I get some cash back from my Christmas expenses, I will consider getting this book.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 11:33 pm by Chelsy Scherba.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Ekta Kumari

This book is all about a vegan diet and trying out different vegan alternatives for an animal-based diet. The author shares his personal experiences as well as different vegan recipes with his readers with an aim to help those who are willing to switch to a vegan lifestyle. I would've sampled the book as I'm interested in the central subject, and I also liked the cover page and the title. I really liked sampling this book. The thing I liked the most was the author's friendly tone and his transparency in sharing his personal life. The "Foreword" section also explained the author's purpose for writing the book quite well. His experiences of opening his own restaurant and its struggles were also a great addition to give readers a look into his life and ambitions. His writing helped me relate with everything he said and wanted to communicate. And I definitely look forward to know some of his recipes, so I would read the whole book. Although this read looks fairly well edited for the most part, I did find one error. The error is in this sentence, "The results of weight loss, slowly cutting out medications, and a boost in energy were my motivation." I think this sentence should read "The results of weight loss, slowly cutting out medications, and a boost in energy were my motivations." Another round of editing would polish up the text. I did see an official review for the book before sampling it.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 9:31 pm by Ekta Kumari.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Mbrooks2518

I've become interested in having a healthier lifestyle, so I would have sampled this book even without The First Ten. From the official review, this seems like a good book to read to do that, and the recipes mentioned by the reviewer immediately caught my interest. I also like that the author included his own story about why he started eating a vegan diet. So I'm going to buy this book. I did not find any editing errors, and there is nothing that needs to be improved.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 8:03 pm by Mbrooks2518.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Scerakor

From the cover, blurb, and review of this book, I would not have read this book. I'm not really into vegan eating or interested in the lifestyle at all. After reading the first ten pages I didn't change my mind and therefore will not be buying and reading the rest of this book. I appreciated that the author, early on in the sample, states how he isn't a doctor and is just someone interested in passing along the benefits as he sees them. That being said, I really don't buy into the vegan lifestyle and therefore am not going to buy and read this one. I didn’t see anything specific that I would have wanted to change within the sample that I read and the book looked well written and edited. The official review did not affect my decision at all.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 6:44 pm by Scerakor.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Nuel Ukah

I like the title of the book. It drew my attention. I'm just wondering what the lettuce in the title is about. I'd read the book to find out about that and more. Reading the first ten pages did not change my mind from my original guess.

The book seems to be professionally edited in the bit I read. I didn't notice any error. What I like most is the author's profile and experiences. Being in the restaurant business for about 38 years makes his work credible. This book is all about dieting and healthy eating. I did not notice any thing that needs improvement. There is an Official OBC review for this book.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 3:25 pm by Nuel Ukah.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

desantismt_17

This book’s title and description made me curious. As a mostly vegetarian, I always find traditional meat dishes made without meat fascinating (such as veggie burgers of different varieties). Before sampling, I was thinking about reading. After sampling, I’ll read this. The book appears professionally edited. I noticed no errors. Having gone from thinking I needed meat with every meal to going a week or more without having meat at all, I understood where the author was coming from in terms of changing one’s diet. The author’s description of his thoughts regarding processed meats in chapter 1 was a familiar one. When I was eating a diet mainly of pre-packaged meats, I had a very similar “I’m healthy enough” mind set. I also recognized the author’s description of feeling better once he mainly cut out meat. I had much the same experience. In short, I could relate to this book easily and am interested to hear what else the author has to say. I have no improvements to suggest at this time. I didn’t see an OnlineBookClub.org review, but I’ll read this regardless.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 3:00 pm by desantismt_17.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Yoli García

I think the cover’s design could have been better, so I would not have sampled this book without this program. The OBC review made me consider reading this book. I thought learning about healthy eating habits and being vegan sounded fascinating. I did not find errors in the sample pages. I liked that the author summarized his life’s work in the restaurant business and his eating habits in the first chapter. It was succinct and compelling. I also admired how he was able to change his diet overnight. However, I did not care about the practice of juicing. I will not read the book because the juicing part put me off.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 5:36 am by Yoli García.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Alice Heritage

I would have sampled this without the programme because I have a vegan daughter and a son who likes to eat meat. Therefore, recipes "for carnivores" are perfect! I was also impressed with the health information in the sample, which confirmed that it's worth buying a copy. The book seems professionally edited, though I noticed this error: "Fruit and vegetables fight cancer because they were loaded ..." - this should read "they are loaded". I particularly like the way the author tells his story and specifically mentions that he lowered his bad cholesterol and blood sugar by eating a plant-based diet. A potential improvement could be to make it possible to view some recipes, or at least gain more idea about these in the sample, as I am curious. I saw the OBC review when it was first published and became interested in the book then.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 5:35 am by Alice Heritage.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Kajori Sheryl Paul

'We Don’t Just Eat Lettuce!' is a book written by Allyn Raifstanger. The title, cover, OBC review and Amazon review did a good job at convincing me to give this book a try.

The sample of the book leads me to believe that it is a on-fiction book. It is the author’s story of becoming a vegan overnight. I like how the author gives a reason of becoming a vegan. The language us relatable. I found some errors. For example, that should have been a apostrophe after “Massachusetts" in “..University of Massachusetts ‘Hotel, Restaurant, and Travel Administration’.. “ I do not think that it is professionally edited. I will give this book a skip as I am not in the mind-frame to read a book of this genre as of now.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 3:56 am by Kajori Sheryl Paul.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Cristina Chifane

I'm interested in changing my eating habits, so I'd have probably sampled this book even without the first ten program. I've often wondered if I could be a vegan. Considering the author's 30 years experience, I think I could learn many valuable things from this book. I'm not thrilled about the cover, but the title is funny and eye-catching. Although there are only 4 customer reviews, they all praise the book for its great recipes and sound nutrition advice. In the sample I liked the author's simple, conversational style in which he talks about his childhood experiences in terms of food and eating habits. As far as the editing is concerned, I noticed an extra blank space: ([...] baked beans, [blank space] Shake 'N Bake pork chop with white rice [...] - 20% of Sample) and the use of a semicolon instead of a colon ("But my wife could hardly believe it (;)" "Never in a thousand years [...]" - 85% of Sample). Since I want to learn some new recipes and the OBC reviewer strongly recommends the book, I'd love to add it to my reading list.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 2:58 am by Cristina Chifane.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

OliviaLouise

Based on the review, I was not interested in this book because I am not vegan for cultural reasons. After reading the sample, I like that the author touched on his non-vegan childhood and his distaste for the things he ate then (Swiss cheese and cubed steak, for example). The stark contrast made the authors’s current vested interest in the topic more interesting. I did find some editing errors, such as commas after conjunctions at the beginnings of sentenced. One example can be found at 13% of the sample: “Also, the Berkshires of Stockbridge...” I am not interested in finishing this book because of lack of relevance and disinterest in the topic.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 1:56 am by OliviaLouise.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Washboard

This is not a genre I normally read. The title and cover art are eye-catching. The official review makes the book sound appealing. The introduction to the book discusses the author's background and why he chose to write this book, including how he became vegan and some recipes from his restaurant. I did not notice any errors in my reading. I won't be continuing to read this one, as it is not a genre I enjoy.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 12:33 am by Washboard.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

LV2R

The book cover is OK, but a little dark. The title is good and makes me want to know what kind of Vegan recipes would be tasty for meat-eaters. The Amazon blurb described the author as a chef and restaurant owner who gives Vegan recipes that include Cajun, Italian, and Oriental food that satisfies carnivores. I wanted to read the sample. The author shared some about his childhood and the things that he ate. Later in life, he became a Vegan almost overnight to lose weight, to not need medications, and to boost his energy levels. I best like that he shares in his book a plant-based diet that is “fun, delicious, and healthy.” I want to know what recipes the author shares that a meat-eater like me would find tasty. I also want to know how to eat healthily. The book seems to be edited well, as I did not notice any errors. I just noticed extra spacing on one line at 20% of the sample: “... canned baked beans, (about half of the line had empty spaces and then the sentence continued on the next line) Shake ‘N Bake pork chops …” The OBC review included that vegans avoid “processed foods high in fat, salt, and sugar.” The reviewer included that the author lost 25 pounds in the first 60 days and his energy level increased following a plant-based diet. The review confirmed for me to read the book and find out what Vegan recipes the author included.

First Ten review added on December 22, 2019, at 12:21 am by LV2R.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Catherine Hsu

If I had not read the sample, I would not have read the book as I do not read this genre. After reading the sample, I have not changed my mind for the same reason. I liked how the first chapter brought it back to the title, and I liked the little anecdote about Breaking Bad, but overall I am not a foodie and did not really find myself engaged by the book. Other than some formatting issues like the extra spacing around the number for the 12th footnote and extra spaces after "Animal fats , dairy, refined sugar..." I did notice many errors, so perhaps some minor professional editing is needed for these small things. I did not read an official review but that did not affect my decision.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 11:55 pm by Catherine Hsu.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Juliana_Isabella

I probably wouldn't have chosen this book since I don't generally use cookbooks, but I did see that it had a positive review. I found one grammatical mistake on page 5 of the forward, which involved a compound sentence that was missing a comma ("Then, I opened Allyn's in 1991 and I've been here since."). Although I appreciate that the author made the vegan diet more approachable by including his personal story, I have been a vegetarian for years, and I'm not looking for new recipes right now. Because of this, I won't be finishing the book.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 11:39 pm by Juliana_Isabella.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda

From the cover and the blurb, I was ready to dive into this book with incommensurable enthusiasm! I've been trying to introduce many more plants into my diet and I loved the humorous title and the premise of the book. The blurb is very well written and the cover is funny and catchy. However, having read the first ten pages I won't buy this book and there's only one reason for it. The author seems to promote or be affiliated in some way with the Gerson Institute and I have serious qualms with this therapy and the unbelievable healing capacities it promises. It can be very risky, especially for people suffering from cancer and it can prevent them from getting other kinds of treatments. I loved the light-hearted and relatable narrative voice and the premise of the book in general, but this prevents me from trusting the author. The book seems well edited and I only found one mistake in the position 51 on the Kindle app it says "After a couple years" missing the preposition "of". The book has an official review that I especially liked and that would've heightened my enthusiasm if I hadn't sampled the book first. The only thing I think should be improved is including a disclaimer about the risks of the Gerson therapy.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 10:12 pm by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Jeremie Mondejar

I sampled the book, I notice that the book is also a memoir of the author; the OBC review confirmed that partly of the book is a memoir. However, I will not buy this book today because Vegan diet for the meantime is not suitable for me. I need meats to fight against hypothermia. The book is American based, which best fit for the American people. I am an Asian, we have grown up vegetables in our backyards or even in the pots. In the portion I read seems professionally edited since I did not notice any typos.

I like how the author incorporates his lifestyle to understand this book. The concept of the book is American based, but not fitted to all race and culture. The OBC review did not affect my decision.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 8:43 pm by Jeremie Mondejar.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Juliet+1

Based on the title, cover, blurb, and OBC review, I didn't think I would want to read this book. Having been a vegetarian for a long time, I would be interested in the recipes, but it seems they are not a large part of the book.
Reading the sample pages confirmed that much, if not most, of "We Don't Just Eat Lettuce" is about changing to a vegan diet, why and how one should do it, how to shop, what to buy, etc. I would rather buy a book that assumes the vegan outlook and provides many recipes.
The writing and editing are excellent. It would be helpful to have a Table of Contents so that one can estimate the number of pages devoted to personal history and advice versus recipes.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 8:29 pm by Juliet+1.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

kperm

As I am not vegan and don't follow any diets, I thought that this book would not be interesting for me. However, I saw the official review of this book, and it piqued my interest. After reading the sample, I decided to read this book. I think that it is very useful, informational, and motivational. It made me reconsider my dietary choices. What I liked the most about this book is that it is delivered in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner. When I finished the sample, I wanted to continue reading it. I noticed a few punctuational errors in the text. For example, there should be a comma separating the conjunction in the compound sentence:
"In catering, you're on your feet all day and I must have put 10,000 steps a day, though I had no Apple Watch back then to let me know."

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 7:05 pm by kperm.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Brenda Creech

I have been interested in the vegan diet, so the cover and title of this book intrigued me. Without reading anything else, I would have checked it out. After reading the official review, I was intrigued, but the plant-based protein is the biggest obstacle for me. I was raised a carnivore and have eaten meat for a very long time. I am intrigued by the health improvements and the weight loss the author talks about, as both areas are my goal. After reading the sample, I have decided I want to read this book. It seems to be professionally edited as I found no errors in what I read. I do wish there had been a couple of recipes included in the sample so I would have some idea if there would be things I could tolerate eating. I am definitely going to give this book a try. From the sample and review, it sounds like what I have been looking for.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 6:02 pm by Brenda Creech.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

unamilagra

Before sampling this book, I would not have picked it up. Despite the nice things the OBC review had to say, I am not interested in changing over to a vegan diet. I read the first ten pages, which consisted of the Foreword and the first part of Chapter One. It sounds like the author has made great strides in his journey to health, and hopefully this book will inspire many others to lead a healthier lifestyle too. That said, there wasn't anything that really grabbed me personally and made me feel inspired. I don't suffer from any health issues, and I lead a healthy lifestyle that I'm happy with. The typical baby boomer habit of describing his idyllic childhood at the beginning of the book also made me feel like I have little in common with the author. I don't plan to continue reading this book. I didn't notice any errors in the section I read.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 4:59 pm by unamilagra.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Nikolas Farmakis

I would not have sampled this book, as I was not intrigued by the title, the book cover, or the genre, as I am not interested in books that discuss diets. I will not read this book because I found it boring and monotonous. I am not interested in changing my diet to a plant-based diet, as I have no health problems, and the author's story about his change to a vegan diet is irrelevant to me. The sample had no errors, so the book has been professionally edited. What I liked most about this book was that the author was descriptive and original in his narration. He wrote about how he transitioned to a plant-based diet in an original way, engaging the reader in the book. To improve, the author should add more suspense, tension, and drama, but he should also remove irrelevant details from the book to make it less boring and more intriguing. The book had an Official OnlineBookClub review, which did not affect my decision.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 4:19 pm by Nikolas Farmakis.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Sarah_Khan

At first glance, I would not have picked up this book because I am not interested in a vegan lifestyle. I do like the cover and title. The first few pages seem well edited. I appreciated that the author chose to share his life story with us and he even mentioned his health issues. I think this book could be great for vegans or people who are interested in cutting down on meat. Personally, it is just not my thing. I do not think the author needs to change anything. I did not read any OBC review.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 3:22 pm by Sarah_Khan.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

MsH2k

I would have read the blurb even if I had not been part of this program. The sandwich on the cover looks tasty and is appropriate for the content of the book. The author’s name is interesting, too. The sample pages had a friendly, informative tone, and the information can be life changing. Alas, it sounds like a lot of work that I’m not ready to do at this time, so I will not buy this book. I may regret it later. I noticed two grammatical errors in the sample pages. At loc 58, a comma is missing: Washington[] D.C.
At loc 98, a comma is missing before the coordinating conjunction separating two independent clauses: My wife and I had a great thing going[] and life was good.

The featured OnlineBookClub review was great, but it had no bearing on my decision not to read this book. I’m just lazy.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 3:09 pm by MsH2k.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Theresa Moffitt

I was not attracted to the cover of this book. The title conveys what the book is about. It tells me it’s a book for vegetarians. The photo of the burger does not look appetizing or attractive to me. I would not have picked this book up based on the cover alone. I haven’t read a review of this book yet. The first ten pages provide a history of the author’s life growing up in Massachusetts. He describes his Norman Rockwell life. He gives brief descriptions of the meals and restaurants he frequented growing up. It was only later in life that he stopped eating meat. He describes how he entered the restaurant business and how eventually he changed what he ate for a healthier lifestyle. He wanted to introduce people to vegetarianism. The first ten pages were interesting and well written. I didn’t see any errors in the first ten pages, so I believe the book was professionally edited. I am not interested in vegetarianism or veganism, so I will not finish reading this book.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 3:00 pm by Theresa Moffitt.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Kaitlyn Canedy

I chose to read the sample because of the subtitle, "Vegans Recipes for Carnivores". To be honest, in the past week, I have been slowly removing meat from my diet for health reasons. I enjoyed the author made it easy to understand the vegetarian and vegan diet through his book. Recipes and photos are provided to help assist those who are new to these diets or want a change of pace. I will be passing on this book because I am not the best cook and I do not feel that the recipes would benefit me. I don't think that the author can do anything to improve We Don't Just Eat Lettuce! I did not see any grammatical errors in the book's sample either. The Official OnlineBookClub Review of this book provided a lot of information and was beautifully written, but it did not influence my decision to read We Don't Just Eat Lettuce!

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 2:47 pm by Kaitlyn Canedy.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

ritah

Based on the cover and title, I would have sampled the book because it appealed to me. I read the official review and sampled We Just Don't Eat Lettuce! I liked that the author took a leap from his corporate job to starting his own business, Allyn's Café. The book appeared professionally edited and I saw no areas that needed improving. As a vegetarian, I'm so excited to see and try the vegan recipes shared in this book, which is why I'll be reading the rest of it. I also love that the author speaks on health and the difference the meals made for him.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 1:25 pm by ritah.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

HRichards

I normally wouldn't have picked this book up considering I'm not really interested in vegan cooking. Having read the sample I won't be continuing on with the book since it just isn't anything I'm interested in or have a use for. The sample deals with the author talking about their childhood and the food involved in it. He talks about training as a chef and his interest in plant based cooking. The author talks about turning to veganism after realizing when he thought he was healthy, he actually wasn't. The writing is good and I didn't notice any grammar errors. Those who like cooking and are interested in plant based recipes might like this book. I just have no interest in this type of food. I read the OBC review of the book, but it did not change my opinion that I really would have no interest in this book.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 1:05 pm by HRichards.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Emy Katherine

As I do not read non-fiction books, I would not have read the book without The First Ten program. Reading the free sample and the OBC review did not change my mind. Throughout his book, the author shares how he resolved his health problems by following a plant-based diet. He also includes different recipes in the book to help you improve your health. I found the Amazon blurb descriptive; furthermore, the simple writing style and conversational tone made the sample enjoyable to read. I did not find any typos or grammatical errors, so the book seemed to be professionally edited. All in all, it sounds an informative book for those who are interested in vegan diets. Sadly, I am not the target audience.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 12:54 pm by Emy Katherine.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

gen_g

I have come across a very positive review of this book, and it has piqued my interest. There are a couple of errors present in the book; at 13% in the sample, there is a missing possessive apostrophe in "...the University of Massachusetts(') 'Hotel, Restaurant...". I would advise that the book undergo more editing to rectify these errors. However, I liked that the author saw fit to include a foreword, where he tells a condensed version of his life story. He speaks about his childhood, where he ate a lot of processed foods like pizza, spaghetti and TV dinners (once in a while), and how his rising cholesterol and blood sugar, along with him watching food documentaries like The Beautiful Truth made the author decide to cut down on his heavily meat-based diet, i.e., going vegan. I also like the style of writing, as it is a very engaging narrative. I will be purchasing the book today.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 12:36 pm by gen_g.

Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Laura Ungureanu

The cover didn't make a good first impression, but the review made me nostalgic about the times I tried to go vegan and failed. So in honor of those times, I deecided to give this book a try. The author talked about his experience in the hotel and restaurant industry and how he planned to write a cookbook, but came up with something more. It's a great book for people who want to go vegan and don't know how, and for people who want to lose weight and live a healthier life. I like the idea of this book, but it gives me the vibe of a memoir and a motivational book, and I'm not into those. I didn't find anything wrong with the editing in the sample.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 12:34 pm by Laura Ungureanu.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

cpru68

Readers are introduced to the author kind of in a memoir type opening to this book. He recounts his humble beginnings in a small town where the family ate meals together at the table. Mostly prepackaged foods, but during a time when there were not a lot of fast food restaurants around. He went on to work at McDonald's and an ice cream shop as a teen, which led the way to earning a Bachelor of Science and working in the hotel industry. Eventually, he bought a space and started his own restaurant. At 40, his cholesterol was noted as high and he was put on medication, but he kept on eating his regular diet. This book is about his transition to a plant based diet that offers advice and recipe ideas.

I won’t be finishing this book. I’m working with a naturopath who has me on a eating plan much similar to what is described in this book, so I’m not in need of the material right now. I did enjoy the opening pages, and I think it will benefit many. While the review offered more great insight into the book, it didn’t sway my decision to read it.

I believe this has been professionally edited. I found just a couple of slight things. In location 36: Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” was written about the people and places that surrounded me.

I think the word “and” might be missing before the word “the”.

In location 39: Life was simpler then than it is now.

The then and the than make this a rather awkward statement. It should read: Life was simpler “then”, more than it is now.

Other than those two slight things, I think this has been properly edited.

I appreciate the opportunity to have read the opening pages of this and will send it out on my social media for others to look into. I probably wouldn’t have found this without the online book club.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 11:05 am by cpru68.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Shrabastee Chakraborty

The title says all one needs to know about the contents. The official OBC review praises many aspects of the book. The first ten pages go smoothly, without any obvious error. However, forsaking meat and dairy products in diet is not something I am interested to read about. The first ten pages seemed uninteresting as they presented a synopsis of the author's life, career and food choices. The writing seemed rather flat. Based on this, I am not going to read the book.

First Ten review added on December 21, 2019, at 10:22 am by Shrabastee Chakraborty.

Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Total ~ 40%

We Don't Just Eat Lettuce! earned a score of 40%.

In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 40% plan to read the whole book.

IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.

Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.

Go to main Bookshelves page for We Don't Just Eat Lettuce!