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

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.

Reading another one by one of my favorite educators, Esme Raji Codell.  It’s a booklist of sorts with lots of suggestions of children’s literature throughout the ages.

About the book:

Are children reading enough? Not according to most parents and teachers, who know that reading aloud with children fosters a lifelong love of books, ensures better standardized test scores, promotes greater success in school, and helps instill the values we most want to pass on.

Esmé Codell-an inspiring children’s literature specialist and an energetic teacher-has the solution. She’s turned her years of experience with children, parents, librarians, and fellow educators into a great big indispensable volume designed to help parents get their kids excited about reading.

Here are hundreds of easy and inventive ideas, innovative projects, creative activities, and inspiring suggestions that have been shared, tried, and proven with children from birth through eighth grade.

Rereading two books by an inspirational teacher… Rafe Esquith. I read them both a few years ago but pulled them back out again. Good teachers are always learning and it’s important to remember why we wanted to teach in the first place, especially during a trying year…..

Reading paper books is tough now that I’m in school but I’m still squeezing in some audio books while commuting and working around the house. Today’s book is Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope by Jenna Bush.

Written and read by former First Daughter, Jenna Bush.

About the book:

Ana’s story begins the day she is born with HIV, transmitted from her mother, who dies just a few years later. From then on, Ana’s childhood becomes a blur of secrets—about her illness, her family, and the abuse she endures. Shuffled from home to home, Ana rarely finds safety or acceptance. But after she falls in love and becomes pregnant at seventeen, she embarks on a journey that leads her to new beginnings, new sorrows, and new hope.

Based on her work with UNICEF and inspired by the framework of one girl’s life, Jenna Bush tells the story of many children around the world who are excluded from basic care, support, and education. Resources at the back of this book share how you can help children like Ana and protect yourself and others.

Finally getting to The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle on audio. It’s nice to listen while I take my early morning and evening walks around the lake. Perfect timing before my crazy-busy life starts when I get back.

About the book: To make the journey into The Power of Now we will need to leave our analytical mind and its false created self, the ego, behind. From the beginning of the first chapter we move rapidly into a significantly higher altitude where one breathes a lighter air, the air of the spiritual. Although the journey is challenging, Eckhart Tolle offers simple language and a question and answer format to guide us. The words themselves are the signposts.

I also started and completed James Patterson’s The 8th Confession yesterday but for some reason, Now Reading can’t find the book.

About the book:

Someone is killing the richest people in the city—and it’s the Women’s Murder Club’s scariest investigation ever.

APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING
At the party of the year, San Francisco’s most glamorous millionaires mingle…while someone is watching—waiting for a chance to take vengeance on Isa and Ethan Bailey, the city’s most celebrated couple. Finally, the killer pinpoints the ideal moment, and it’s the perfect murder.

BUT THE TRUTH CAN BE DEADLY
While Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates the high-profile killings, someone else is found brutally executed—a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless. His death nearly falls through the cracks, but reporter Cindy Thomas hears about it and soon discovers the victim may not have been quite as saintly as everyone thought.

LET THE CONFESSIONS BEGIN
As the hunt for two criminals tests the limits of the Women’s Murder Club, Lindsay sees sparks fly between Cindy and Lindsay’s partner, Detective Rich Conklin. The Women’s Murder Club now faces its toughest challenge: Will love destroy all that four friends have built? James Patterson serves up a double dose of speed-charged twists and shocking revelations. And remember, this is the only Murder Club episode of the year.

Also Reading Today: Swimsuit by James Patterson but it won’t link with Now Reading either.

About the book:

The scariest and most satisfying James Patterson novel since Kiss the Girls

THE BEACH…
A breathtakingly beautiful supermodel disappears from a swimsuit photo shoot at the most glamorous hotel in Hawaii. Only hours after she goes missing, Kim McDaniels’s parents receive a terrifying phone call. Fearing the worst, they board the first flight to Maui and begin the hunt for their daughter.

…WILL NEVER BE…
Ex-cop Ben Hawkins, now a reporter for the L.A. Times, gets the McDaniels assignment. The ineptitude of the local police force defies belief—Ben has to start his own investigation for Kim McDaniels to have a prayer. And for Ben to have the story of his life.

…THE SAME FOR YOU AGAIN.
All the while, the killer sets the stage for his next production. His audience expects the best—and they won’t be disappointed. Swimsuit is a heart-pounding story of fear and desire, transporting you to a place where beauty and murder collide and unspeakable horrors are hidden within paradise.

Today’s book is Against Medical Advice by James Patterson and Hal Friedman. Since it’s school vacation week, I hope to read a lot and plan to mix up the genres.

From the Jacket: One morning when he was almost five years old, Cory Freidman woke up with the uncontrollable urge to shake his head. From that day forward, his life became an agony of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances. Cory embarked on a 13 year odyssey of medication upon medication, treatment upon treatment….

Picked this one up at the school book fair and it’s a good one to get some ideas for some outside units with my students. I’m such a nature lover, books like this attract me all the time. <3  I’ll be scanning i love dirt! by Jennifer Ward looking for good ideas.