Karen's Book Nook

As a Special Educator, I was looking forward to reading Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet, because I’m intrigued about what it “feels like” to be in his head and most especially, what the sensory issues are like.

About the book:

Born on a Blue Day is a journey into one of the most fascinating minds alive today — guided by the owner himself. Daniel Tammet is virtually unique among people who have severe autistic disorders in that he is capable of living a fully independent life and able to explain what is happening inside his head.

He sees numbers as shapes, colors, and textures, and he can perform extraordinary calculations in his head. He can learn to speak new languages fluently, from scratch, in a week. In 2004, he memorized and recited more than 22,000 digits of pi, setting a record. He has savant syndrome, an extremely rare condition that gives him the most unimaginable mental powers, much like those portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the film Rain Man.

Fascinating and inspiring, Born on a Blue Day explores what it’ s like to be special and gives us an insight into what makes us all human — our minds.

My thoughts: While some parts of the book were a bit dry and drawn out (the mathematical stuff for me…) I loved reading about what it feels like from his perspective. I was encouraged to see his growth and his adaptation to the world around him despite his sensory issues and his limitations due to Asperger’s. It was great to see him forming relationships and encouraging to see such a wonderful family.  I recommend this book to anyone interested in spectrum disorders and also for those who appreciate memoirs about successful people.

Rating 4.5/5

I read Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert while taking my daily walks.

About the book: Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely turns out as we had presumed. Why? As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, when people try to imagine what the future will hold, they make some basic and consistent mistakes. Just as memory plays tricks on us when we try to look backward in time, so does imagination play tricks when we try to look forward.

Using cutting-edge research, much of it original, Gilbert shakes, cajoles, persuades, tricks, and jokes us into accepting the fact that happiness is not really what or where we thought it was.

Smart, witty, accessible, and laugh-out-loud funny, Stumbling on Happiness brilliantly describes all that science has to tell us about the uniquely human endeavor to envision the future, and how likely we are to enjoy it when we get there.

My thoughts: This book was not what I was expecting at all. I thought it would be a zen type of book talking about the way to attain happiness and focusing on feelings and expectations, priorities, enjoying the simple things in life… etc.  What it turned out to be was a heavily science based look at the way the brain works and perspectives. I liked that it was read by the author and also that I took it in “3 mile doses” as it was a lot to digest. It was recommended to me by a friend and had it not been, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up as it’s not the typical read for me.

Rating 3/5

Just in time for Mothers’ Day I finished Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor.

About the Book:  In this wise and intimate dual memoir, Ann, and her mother, Sue Monk Kidd, author of New York Times bestselling novel, The Secret Life of Bees chronicle their travels together, and offer their distinct perspectives as a twenty-something and a fifty-something, each on a quest to redefine herself, and rediscover each other.  MORE HERE

My thoughts: I actually picked up this book based on the cover while browsing the new books in my library. Then I noticed that it was by Sue Monk Kidd. I loved The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair.  This was a memoir by Sue and her daughter Ann and told of their travels, relationship and individual stories of growth. It took place during the time frame that Sue wrote Secret Life and it was interesting to see that story unfolding in this book. It makes me want to pick it up again and re-read it. At first I wasn’t sure if I would get into this book but I really enjoyed it.

My Rating: 4/5

Counts towards: Library Challenge, 100 Book Challenge

I finally finished Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.

About the book: Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s revolutionary diet is not about willpower, it is about knowledge. Eat to Live offers a healthy, effective, and scientifically proven Six-Week Plan for shedding a radical amount of weight quickly. The key to the program’s success is simple: health = nutrients: calories When the ratio of nutrients to calories in the food you eat is high, fat melts away. The more nutrient-dense food you consume, the more you will be satisfied with fewer calories and the less you will crave fat and high-calorie foods. Eat to Live will help you live longer, reduce your need for medications, and improve your overall health dramatically. It is a book that will change the way you want to eat. Most of all, though, Eat to Live will enable you to lose more weight than you ever thought possible.

My thoughts: Since I’m a vegetarian and “mostly vegan” anyway, I was anxious to read this book. I love his philosophy and hope that I can incorporate what I learned into my day to day living. Giving up caffeine will be tough as will losing my taste for junk food. I don’t eat tons of it but do love chips and sweets. Eating meals will be no problem it’s the snacking that always does me in!  Although this was a library book, I likely will purchase it because I like the recipes in it and would like to pick it up when I start to waver in my eating for health lifestyle.

Rating 5/5

Counts towards: Library Challenge, 100 Book Challenge

Having a husband with Celiac’s Disease, I’m always interested in books about living a Gluten Free lifestyle. I picked up The G Free Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

About the book:  Elizabeth Hasslebeck For years Elisabeth Hasselbeck couldn’t figure out what was making her sick. She asked doctors and consulted nutritionists but no one seemed to have any answers. It wasn’t until spending time in the Australian Outback living off the land on the grueling Survivor TV show that ironically her symptoms vanished. Returning home she pinpointed the food that made her sick — gluten the binding element in wheat. By simply eliminating it from her diet she was able to enjoy a completely normal healthy life. But that wasn’t all. Hasselbeck discovered the myriad benefits that anyone can enjoy from a gluten-free diet: from weight loss and increased energy to even the alleviation of the conditions of autism. In this all-inclusive book Hasselbeck shares her hard-earned wisdom on living life without gluten and loving it. She gives you everything you need to know to start living a gluten-free life from defining gluten – where to find it how to read food labels – to targeting gluten-free products creating G-Free shopping lists sharing recipes and managing G-Free living with family and friends.
My thoughts: Since we have been living this lifestyle for quite a few years now, the information about Celiacs and food was not new to me but good just the same. For someone new into the journey, the information is useful.  I personally was interested in her story of  discovery of her disease.  Also, because the G-Free person in my home is a male, I never paid much attention to Gluten in beauty products. In fact, I never realized that some cosmetics could contain gluten and should be avoided. There is also a chapter on eating G-Free for good health even if one does not have Celiacs.

Rating 4/5

Counts towards: Library Challenge, 100 Book Challenge,

My little purse book was The Power of No: How to Keep Blowhards and Bozos at Bay by Beth Wareham.  I read snippets here and there when I had a few moments.

About the book: The terrible yes years. You know them well: You’re suckered into working late and often, unflattering haircuts and poodle perms, back-fat-exposing blouses, too small jeans, treacherous friendships, and dudes who kiss like a Saint Bernard all because you couldn’t use that one little word that one little word with so much power N-O. More here.

My thoughts:  Much of this book was irrelevant to me because I’m not in the dating scene but I did get a few laughs from it. Her  writing style is “in your face” and she didn’t beat around the bush. It was a good little book to carry around and read in sections.  Since I feel that I have a good balance of commitment and being able to say No in my life, it wasn’t a “necessary” read for me but for some folks, it may be.

Rating 3/5

Counts towards: Library Challenge, 100 Book Challenge

I finally was able to get to  The Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi. I had it on request as soon as I saw her on Oprah and she mentioned it.

About the book:

In a career spanning more than thirty years, Patrick Swayze has made a name for himself on the stage, the screen, and television. Known for his versatility, passion and fearlessness, he’s become one of our most beloved actors.

But in February 2008, Patrick announced he had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Always a fighter, he refused to let the disease bring him to his knees, and his bravery has inspired both his legion of fans and cancer patients everywhere. Yet this memoir, written with wisdom and heart, recounts much more than his bout with cancer. In vivid detail, Patrick describes his Texas upbringing, his personal struggles, his rise to fame with North and South, his commercial breakthroughs in Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and the soul mate who’s stood by his side through it all: his wife, writer and director Lisa Niemi.

A behind-the-scenes look at a Hollywood life and a remarkable love, this memoir is both entertainment and inspiration. Patrick and Lisa’s marriage is a journey of two lives intertwined and lived as one–throughout their years in Hollywood and at home on their working ranch outside Los Angeles, and culminating in the hope and wisdom they’ve imparted to all who know them. This book will open the door for families, individuals, and husbands and wives to grow, bond and discover entirely new levels of love and sharing, proving that life shouldn’t be lived as a series of endings, but rather as the beginning of greater strength and love.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this autobiography and it was a quick read. It really was about his life, marriage  and career and didn’t focus on his illness. There is a mention of it in the last chapter and that ultimately was the reason to write the book in the first place but the story was definitely about his life and career not his death. Of course we all know how it ended but when this book was written he was still looking forward.

Rating 3.5/5

Counts towards: Library Challenge, 100 Book Challenge

I picked up The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook  by Murdoch because the colors of the photos really grabbed me and screamed  Buy Me!

About the book:

Product Description

Offering handy tips and advice to help get the most out of vegetables, this volume features double-page spreads on particular ingredients and recipes.

My thoughts: This was a different kind of cookbook as it grouped foods together by occasions rather than ingredients. The pictures were beautiful and made me hungry!  It wasn’t written in American English so the spellings of words were the European way.  I read the sidebar sections completely and scanned recipes that I found interesting. While I haven’t cooked any yet, they seem easy enough and I’m looking forward to trying them.

Rating 3/5

Counts towards: 100 Book Challenge,

Purse Book:  I Can’t Accept Not Trying, by Michael Jordan, on the Pursuit of Excellence.

From the jacket: In his own inspiring words, Michael Jordan, the most extraordinary athlete of our time, shares the rules he has lived and achieved by. Underlying his enormous accomplishments are a set of simple principles that provide the foundation for his entire life…

My thoughts: This was an little inspirational read. It’s more like a “words of wisdom” tidbit book.  I literally read it in minutes.  It’s a simple and straightforward guide to what makes him tick.

Rating 3/5

Started my new audiobook Pointing from the Grave: A True Story of Murder and DNA by Samantha Weinberg today while working around the house and going out and about.

About the book: Weaving together cutting-edge genetics and forensic criminology, courtroom drama and multiple perspectives, Weinberg’s book is an ambitious and riveting tale of crime and the science that has been developed to counter it. In 1984, Helena Greenwood, a chemical pathologist and successful executive in the burgeoning biotech industry, is sexually assaulted in her San Francisco home. Paul Frediani is eventually arrested as the primary suspect-after he is caught exposing himself to a 13-year-old girl. But following the initial arraignment, Greenwood is found viciously murdered in the front yard of her new home in Southern California. More here.