My husband is a military history buff – if we are in a bookstore and get separated, I know I will find him in the military history section, and if I lose him in a public library, I just look in the 940s through the 990s. He has read hundreds of books on military history …
I’ve known people who have attended Drs. Neff and Germer’s 8-week MSC (Mindful Self-Compassion) program and raved about it. And I have heard recently that I would never talk to or about a friend the way I talk to or about myself, so the opportunity provided by Guilford Press and NetGalley to read The …
Many years ago, I read Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed and it knocked my socks off. When I saw Sarah Smarsh’s Heartland had been favorably compared to it and recommended to people who liked it, I jumped at the opportunity (provided by Scribner and NetGalley) to read it in exchange for my honest review. First …
I admit I wasn’t very familiar with Alyssa Mastromonaco prior to 2017. After Obama left office, I began to hear her on one of my two favorite podcasts, Pod Save America, from time to time. I loved hearing her stories about her time working for Barack Obama and her commentary about the current state of …
Amy Kauffman, a journalist at the Los Angeles Times, has been a “member of Bachelor Nation” for many years and, for awhile, she was able to attend studio events, screenings, etc. – until the show’s producers decided she was “too negative” in her commentary. I confess, I’ve watched more episodes than I would probably admit, …
Perhaps I should wait to write this, because I just finished reading it fifteen minutes ago and my head is still spinning. I scanned the reviews and found tons of 5-stars, and then several one-stars. I loved it, so I thought WTF? And then realized a few of those 1-stars were admittedly written by …
50 Hikes with Kids is a handy guide for anyone looking for guidance on finding great places to hike in the Pacific Northwest (specifically, Washington and Oregon). Although it is being promoted as something designed “for Northwest parents, educators, and caregivers that want to spark a love of nature,” my primary reason for wanting to look …
I’ve been thinking a lot about topics related to what I’d call “Healthy Living for Seniors,” which includes nutrition, exercise, positive attitude, and mindfulness. Frankly, I was spinning in circles, so I was particularly pleased to receive a copy of the new book Mindful Aging from PESI Publishing & Media and NetGalley in return for …
Manjusa Pawagi was in the prime of life: 47 years old, mother to 11-year old twins, with a rewarding career as a judge in the Court of Justice in Ontario, Canada. Then, in 2014 she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia, and this book is her memoir of the two years following …
I grew up on the beach back when the only acceptable hair was stick straight. Mine was curly. Not the fall-into-soft-ringlets-like-an-angel curly that my sister got — mine was the Bozo-frizz-around-the-face curly. I spent years hating it, straightening it, sleeping on huge rollers–you get the idea. A few years ago, I found someone who knew …
Seriously, if you think you know Vegas, because you have visited there anytime since about 1990, trust me – you don’t have any idea! People who grew up in Southern California in the 60s viewed Las Vegas as a sort of decadent place where people went to gamble, drink in the streets or wherever, stay …
I was somewhat familiar with Dr. Pennebaker’s work through his 2014 title Expressive Writing: Words That Heal, and as a lifelong journal keeper, his ideas have always resonated with me. So I was pleased to receive an advance copy of Opening Up by Writing It Down, Third Edition: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and …
In 1996 I remember reading A Civil Action, about a town in Massachusetts where people fought back against environment pollution. That book freaked me out, and made me conscious of the cavalier way our water supply can so easily be placed at risk by greedy corporations. When I heard about Dan Fagin’s book Toms River: A …