Non-Fiction

It’s All Too Much

2008, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

As much as I really enjoy watching Clean Sweep on TLC and as much as I appreciated the gift of “keep, sell, trash” signs and tarps given to me by the small children a few years ago, I just did not love Peter Walsh’s It’s All Too Much.

It’s not a bad book, I just think Walsh is better in person than he is in a book. Too many exclamation marks. He said “you don’t know this or you wouldn’t be reading this book” or “you don’t believe this or you wouldn’t be reading this book” or something like that about a zillion times. And really, he’s wrong. And even if/when he isn’t, it just was not necessary to say it over and over and over again in the first five chapters of the book.

I liked it much better when he quit with the psycho-analysis and preachy stuff and moved into the “this is how you de-clutter this space” sections.

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Daughter of the Queen of Sheba

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, From the Stacks Challenge, Non-Fiction, Women /

Daughter of the Queen of Sheba is an orange Penguin book on my “From the Stacks” challenge, and probably the last book from that challenge that I’ll read for awhile. I realized last night that I’m going about my challenges all wrong and that I should hang onto the books from that one ’til summer when library visits will probably be few and far between. So, anyway, about the book.

Non-fiction, memoir from Jackie Lydon. Interesting in that watching a never-ending train wreck sort of way. Also depressing in that mental health care in this country STUNK in the 70s and 80s and isn’t a whole lot better now sort of way.

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Food Synergy

2008, Books in Bed, cookbooks, Non-Fiction /

My friend Elaine Magee sent me a preview copy of her new book Food Synergy: Unleash Hundreds of Powerful Healing Food Combinations to Fight Disease and Live Well and I almost forgot about it! I just happened to glance up at the bookshelf one day last week and saw it and realized I didn’t take it to Charleston to read over the holidays like I’d planned. So, I read it yesterday.

First, it reads just like Elaine talks which is something I always find amusing about her books. Since I know her and have talked to her often, I can hear her voice as I’m reading.

Next, because I’ve been listening to Elaine talk about Food Synergy for years, I felt like I was taking a refresher course rather than learning anything really new.

As always with Elaine’s books, I loved the menus and the handy charts and the recipes. As soon as I finished, I handed the book to TW and told her she could plan next week’s menus using Elaine’s Food Synergy tables, menus and recipes.

The book isn’t available until March 4, but you can pre-order a copy on Amazon – right now it’s listed at $13.57. Well worth it if you’re interested in using a healthy diet to BE healthier.

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X Stands for Unknown

2 Comments / 2007, A to Z Challenge, Books in Bed, Don't Read This, Non-Fiction /

Aye yi yi. I was so desperate for a book with an X in the title for the A to Z challenge that I immediately jumped at the suggestion by Framed and Booked to read Asimov’s X Stands for Unknown. I should have known this was not a great choice when I couldn’t get it from my library and it never appeared from my inter-library loan request. I should have really known this was not going to be my kind of book when I couldn’t even get a used copy on Amazon. But still, I was desperate to finish so I tracked down a used copy somewhere else and I started reading it a few days ago.

Or if I’m honest, I started skimming it a few days ago and just finished skimming it.

It’s non-fiction and not science fiction. It’s full of math and science. It’s boring as hell. Except for the introductory essays of each chapter – those, I liked. I also enjoyed a few of the chapters on The Bible indicating the earth is flat, ungilding gold, and one about comets. Otherwise… bored stiff.

But, this leaves me with just two books from my A to Z challenge, one we’re halfway through on audio and the other is also on audio, just waiting for us to listen to it.

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Sweet Swan of Avon

1 Comment / 2007, A to Z Challenge, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Women /

Another book I should have read ages ago. It’s been living on my bookshelf since BlogHerCon06, thanks Blogher and Robin! Sorry it took me so long to read but Sweet Swan of Avon was worth waiting for.

I enjoyed it.

But I would since I totally don’t think Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare. I’m not sure Mary Sidney wrote Shakespeare either but it’s a heck of a lot more possible than Shakespeare writing Shakespeare.

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On Becoming Fearless

1 Comment / 2007, A to Z Challenge, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction, Women /

Yes, another book I own (thank you Arianna and BlogHer) that I never quite made time to read. On Becoming Fearless was better than I expected.

Better because I’m not a huge Arianna fan. I think she’s interesting. I like her blog. But no fan love here and I didn’t really know what to expect. The chapter on being fearless in relationships was a little flat – the chapters on parenting, money and work were much better.

Overall – a pretty good “self help” type of book.

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Rejuvenile

2 Comments / 2007, A to Z Challenge, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

So, I’m a Rejuvenile, sort of. Not as hardcore as some people, (like TW – I don’t skip), but definitely a Rejuvenile. My desk is full of toys. I have toys on my Christmas list. I cannot imagine joining a kick ball league or taking up roller skating again, though.

As I was reading the book, it brought lots of people to mind – TW for her love of skipping (and about an hour after I read that particular chapter, some 40 year old dude was skipping through Target on Black Friday, sheesh), Ken ’cause of his toy collection, my dad and his war game thingies. This brought me to a conclusion – I’m not sure I know anyone who is NOT a Rejuvenile.

Interesting book. I’m glad I finally made time to read it (and that I had it on my A to Z list.)

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Books I read on the plane

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Non-Fiction, Young Adult /

You may remember that I said I prefer reading chic lit or YA when I fly and that’s what I read on my trip home from San Jose yesterday. Unfortunately, neither of the books I read were all that great.

First was a “Caught Reading Novel” called Playing With Fire. All that did was depress me. It was geared for high school students and high school students should have a higher reading level than this – and they don’t. Which was what depressed me. I’m glad I read it, just so that I could be reminded that not everyone is a reader. Depressing, isn’t it?

Then, I read Writing Magic which was written by the author of Ella Enchanted. It’s a non-fiction “how to write” bit written for middle schoolers and it was slow and a wee bit boring. But then again, I’m not a middle schooler. So I’m cutting it some slack. If it wasn’t due back to the library, I’d hand it to Liz and RJ and see what they think (particularly RJ, the writer in the family.)

I will share one little tidbit that made me laugh out loud, much to the interest of the two men seated beside of me (both of whom were amused that we all three had iPhones and that I was reading children’s literature and writing away on a tablet PC.) On the invisibility of the word “said”….

Avoid other noticeable words, like affirm, allege, articulate, assert, asseverate (a word I’d never heard before I started writing this), aver, avow, claim, comment, confabulate, contend, declare, express, hint, mention, observe, opine, pronounce, profess, remark, utter, voice. I don’t mean that you shouldn’t ever use these perfectly fine words. I just mean don’t use them as a substitute for said.

Damn good advice.

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