Review: Uprooted

Uprooted by Naomi Novik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The character development was very good and the story was interesting. It had a nice quick pace. Except for a couple of brief sexual scenes, this book could easily have been written for teenagers. The writing was simplistic. The magic was flowing and it was refreshing to be able to follow it. It was a truly enjoyable book.

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The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David A. Kessler

The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David A. Kessler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The first two parts of this book were repeats of information that I already had. I skipped several chapters in these areas - "Sugar, Fat, Salt" and "The Food Industry". The author really enjoys repeating himself. It was almost as if he needed page filling. I learned a few new things in part 5, but the breaking of habits is better covered in the book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. This was the first time I heard the term conditioned hypereating. I assumed all overeating was based on the same kind of addictive mental processes as alcohol or other drugs. The problem is that you cannot stop eating. The author suggests making rules and sticking to them. If you know you cannot control yourself around french fries, stop eating them. Period. No excuses. Unfortunately, the human brain is really good at excuses. So the author does give a list of specific steps you can take to help you end your overeating. One of my favorites is probably "conditioning cues with negative associations" - this is like imagining your french fries are moldy disgusting sickness inducing sticks of rotten potatoes. That makes french fries a whole lot less appealing.

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The Coward's Guide to Conflict by Tim Ursiny

The Coward's Guide to Conflict: Empowering Solutions for Those Who Would Rather Run Than Fight by Tim Ursiny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I admit it. I am a conflict coward. I am afraid to hurt others and to get yelled at. This book has changed my life. I am still afraid, but this book is thorough in it's techniques in how to overcome the fear of conflict. It tells you when and why you should engage in conflict. It tells you how to have the hard discussions, respectfully and compassionately. The book provides step by step instructions and many examples on how to engage in a healthy discussion.

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The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brené Brown

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brené Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book really talked to me. Almost every chapter taught me something about how I was being who I was "supposed" to be and not who I actually am. The author mentions that this is not a self-help book, and she is right in some ways. Most self-help books have a list of do this, then this, and you will achieve that. This book questions your assumptions about love, perfection, authenticity, and joy. It still helps you, as long as you are willing to be open to her messages and go along with her questioning.

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The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven

The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There were parts of the book that were good, but there were parts that were so sexist that I didn't want to finish the book. The characters were all a bit flat. The story line was interesting. I didn't like how the aliens were dealt with. The characters, both human and alien, kept mentioning how alien everything was, like the author was trying to convince me by saying it rather than letting the information flow. I can see why it's a classic, but there are better sci fi books out there.

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The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, this book did almost everything right. The plot was good, and I had no idea how it would end. Usually everyone dies or there is a wonderfully happy ending. This book surprised me, and I loved it.

The character development was excellent. You love Melanie right away and wonder what is going on with this kid's life. You hate the doctor, because she totally deserves it even though she is the only one trying to save humanity.

There was no real romance in the book and the adventure is not romanticized either. It's gross and dirty. I generally don't like gross and dirty, but it does add to the story. The only love relationship is the one between a student and a teacher, and it lasts to the very end.

Overall, it felt realistic, as realistic as you can get in such a dystopian future.

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The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer

The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since I started homeschooling my middle school daughter, I have read numerous books, websites, blogs, and articles on how to choose a curriculum. This book was one of the best guides in a well-rounded education. I admit that I skipped the elementary section, because that no longer applies to my daughter. I only skimmed the high school section, because I will check this book out from the library again next year to guide our choices in my daughter's education. The section in the back about how to pull your child out of school, socialization, applying for college, etc is not as well covered as in other books and online sources which tend to be more current. I highly recommend this book for the guidance on curriculum and how to instruct your child/student in a classical education. It is thorough, well documented, and easy to follow. I will admit that I spent a great deal more on books this year than last year, but in preparation for a college bound student, it is worth the investment.

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

There are some good suggestions in this book, but I couldn't get past the negativity to finish the book. There are several judgmental statements about people who try to clean/de-clutter over time versus all at once. The author believes strongly in the shock value of having a space perfect in one cleaning session. Unfortunately, I live in the real world and I get 15 minutes here and an hour there for cleaning and house maintenance. I don't get days at a time to completely de-clutter. In my journey towards minimalism, I have had a mental shift to de-own and reduce the amount of stuff in my house. Slowly, I have donated and/or trashed boxes and bags of items I no longer need, want, or use. According to the author, I will never achieve my goals because I choose to do this slowly. I would rather save myself the rest of the negativity in this book than read 1 or 2 hints on how to "tidy" my spaces. There are better books out there, like The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide.

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The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

The One Minute Manager by Kenneth H. Blanchard
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The management approach in this book was oversimplified. It had a couple of good points, like people who feel good about themselves produce good results. This is accomplished through realistic goal setting and knowing what a good outcome is. The one minute praising also helps with people feeling good about themselves. The approach seems a bit fake though. The last step in the one minute reprimand was a good reminder to not dwell on issues, but then what do you do with repeat offenses.

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Strong Is the New Skinny: How to Eat, Live, and Move to Maximize Your Power by Jennifer Cohen

Strong Is the New Skinny: How to Eat, Live, and Move to Maximize Your Power by Jennifer Cohen
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book and all the helpful information about changing your mentality to get fit. This is probably the part of the book that I will re-read as needed on my weight loss journey. I am about 70 pounds overweight and technically obese. I have been working out for a few years and I have gotten a lot stronger in that time, but I haven't really lost any weight. I was hoping this book would help me do that.

No such luck. Other than getting stronger mentally to deal with changing the way I eat, this book did not deliver. The diet is missing significant pieces of information, like numbers of portions of carbs, fat, and protein. The diet examples are inconsistent with the protein recommendations, so no help there.

The workout descriptions are confusing sometimes and they have few pictures. Luckily you can look up most of the exercise names and find pics online, but you would hope they would already be in the book. For most of the exercises, there are no modifications listed. For an obese person, someone with joint problems, or someone who is weak and new to exercising, modifications are necessary to progress to the level of doing the exercises properly. For a better strength training progression, check out Body by You The You Are Your Own Gym Guide to Total Women's Fitness which has pictures and descriptions and gives you a step by step guide to progress through various exercises.

The exercises also don't indicate which muscle groups you are working. My biggest problem with the exercise routines is that exercises are listed that are not in the book. It was like the exercise sections of the book were not proofread.

Overall, I am glad I didn't buy this book and I would not recommend it to anyone as an exercise (or nutrition) guide. There are much better books out there.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

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The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life by Chris Guillebeau

The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life by Chris Guillebeau
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I was really hoping to learn something new about happiness from this book. That definitely did not happen. This book could easily have been understood just by reading the first appendix. In the first chapter, he decides to define what a quest is. I didn't agree with his findings. According to the author, worthy personal pursuits like losing weight, getting fit, or quitting smoking are not lifelong focus types of activities. Suffice it to say we didn't get off on the right foot with this book.

Further reading resulted in long explanations of goal setting and alternate statements of Just Do It. Anyone who has had a big dream will know immediately what he is talking about. The anecdotes were disappointing in some respects. He justifies their pursuit of a quest over other life values, like friends and family.

Overall, this is a book I should have skipped reading.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

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The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by Francine Jay

The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by Francine Jay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have read many books on de-cluttering and organizing and getting rid of stuff. This book had some very good insights into why we hold on to things and how to let them go. Some of this was about me being ready to hear the message, and some of it was the way the author explained the reasons for letting go of things. My closet is only half full now, and it is a little closet. It is not a walk-in or a double door kind of thing. I realized when I read the book that I wasn't wearing most of the clothes and some of the clothes I was only wearing because it fit. I didn't like it anymore. I realized that I didn't have to keep anything I don't like. Even if I spent good money on it, even if it was a gift. Someone else might really like it and use it, instead of it sitting in my closet year after year. I would have given the book 5 stars, but the last couple of chapters got a bit preachy about researching purchases even the small ones. After all the talk about minimizing stuff and minimizing what we commit our time to, the author wants to add a bunch of to-dos to our list. No thanks.

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Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many of the ideas were not new to me, but much of the book was thought provoking and changed my mind about what being minimalist is and choosing what is essential.

Only in the here and now are you able to execute. We spend so much time planning for the future or thinking about our past that we fail to execute what is essential in the moment.

This book details how to change your thinking so that you can reduce your activity to what is essential for your goals, your life, and your stuff. Learning to say no. Getting enough sleep. Figuring out what to de-clutter. My favorite question in this book - If you didn't already own it, would you buy it now? I got rid of so many things in my house asking this one question. Things I had been holding on to for years. Things I don't like or use, but I kept because I had spent good money on them.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

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Think Like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt

Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain by Steven D. Levitt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

None of the ideas to "think like a freak" are really new. Coming at problems or questions from a different angle. Approaching an issue with fresh eyes (like a child). The book is told in such an interesting way that it is still a very enjoyable book. From my personal experience, an education or experience in a line of work that involves routine problem solving (science, engineering, programming, etc.) would expose you to these concepts.

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City at the End of Time by Greg Bear

City at the End of Time by Greg Bear
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So confusing. What was this story about? I couldn't put it down; I had to finish it. The character development was okay. It focused on some characters, but sort of glossed over some of the main characters. Can you even say this story had main characters? It's about beginnings and endings and gods and chaos and nothing and everything. It's a weird story.

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Fat Chance by Robert H. Lustig

Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease by Robert H. Lustig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"A calorie is not a calorie." I have seen some evidence of this personally. When I eat sugar, I gain weight faster. Some of this information was new to me. I especially liked the detailed descriptions of how our bodies process food. Some parts of the book seemed distorted, like he was playing with numbers to get you to believe his point of view. I still prefer a whole foods approach, still has less sugar, but you evaluate your food based on nutrient density rather than sugar and fiber content. I do agree that sugar at the levels most Americans eat it is toxic and that needs to change.

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Superparenting for ADD by Edward M. Hallowell

Superparenting for ADD: An Innovative Approach to Raising Your Distracted Child by Edward M. Hallowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a great book for focusing on the strengths of a child who has ADD. After being constantly told about what my daughter could not do and would always have problems doing, this book calmed my fears. School will always be a struggle in a traditional classroom, but my daughter doesn't learn everything at school. Later in life, there are plenty of jobs that actually use the strengths that a lot of people with ADD have.

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The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another one of those books that really changes the way I see myself. My day to day actions may not be the conscious decisions I thought they were. It is too hard for our brains to evaluate every situation in our lives and make decisions, so our brains learn routines - habits that help us make it through the day. Some habits we cultivate, like exercise, because they are good for us, and some we just can't seem to stop. This book helped me see my habits in a different way. I am hoping that I change some of the habits that I really don't like.

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