Book Review--Midnight Riot

Book Review

Rivers of London 

(a.k.a. Midnight Riot)

Written by Ben Aaronovitch

Narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

UK cover (a.k.a. the 'right' one)

US cover

My typical habit is to have both a fiction and a nonfiction book going either simultaneously (if I'm listening and reading print) or to alternate between each type of book.  But I had to break the cycle.

I listened, intently, to Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess with the intention of taking the lessons to heart and to put the principles into practice to ease my anxious thoughts.  However, my next read became available after a 16 week hold just after I finished. Just 10 minutes of listening to what seemed like the doom and gloom of the rise and prevalence of mental illnesses such as anxiety/depression/OCD (and more!) from Brain Energy (review coming soon), I knew I wasn't ready for the depth and breadth of the content at that time.

Hence breaking the alternating cycle. Since I had enjoyed Storm Front so much, I went in search of a read-alike and found a whole new fantastical world set in England!

In Rivers of London, our hero, Peter, is a constable who embarks on a journey of discovery, of awakening to power, and the understanding that reality has many more depths than he previously thought. The characters are interesting, very well fleshed-out, and relatable (even the god and goddess representations!).  There are twists and turns and unexpected history and events that rear their head throughout the story.  One of the things I appreciated is that Peter, our hero, comes to a gradual awakening to his gift of magic but is not a phenom that has instant control. He slowly learns, absorbs, and comes to grips with the power and complexity magic brings.

This might not have been a perfect buffer between my mentally draining nonfictions because there are some pretty intense and graphic scenes but it was a wonderful foray into a new series. And I will insert praise for the narrator here.  Kobna Holdbrook-Smith infused the characters with life and imparted the intensity of the story without being melodramatic or over-the-top.  Fantastic with applause all around!

Book Review--Storm Front

Book Review

Storm Front 

Written by Jim Butcher

Narrated by James Marsters

Sometimes, I am late to the party.  This is one of those times.

In my defense, there was a 12 year period of time that I was out of the U.S. living in Singapore (amazing) and Guam (fantastic) and Texas, in between (awesome).  Even when we were stateside, I was the mean mom who didn't let my kids watch much TV and we didn't have cable. That means there were a lot of American pop culture trends that passed by me.  

Now I'm trying to make up for that lack by exploring television shows that aired in the first decade of this century.  I came across a single season (such a shame they didn't keep it up) of The Dresden Files.  This fantasy show is set in modern Chicago but features supernatural elements and a practicing wizard P.I..  Wizards, magic, and mystery?  I'm in!  Enter in my new celebrity crush Paul Blackthorne (no, I haven't read his bio--if I find out he's married, I will be crushed instead of doing the crushing!).  Watching the credits, I realized the show was based on a book series that started in 2000 and if it's one thing I know... THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER!

I love it when I'm right!

The book was excellent with a well-rounded main character. Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a moral, hardworking, hardworn wizard who will find the perpetrator of a crime even at the very edge of reality.  We meet Harry when he is already established (although down on his luck) as a practicing private investigator making no secret of his wizarding abilities. His talent and power are fully realized so we follow along his journey to find the culprit as he uses the tools he has available as he searches them out, while scoping out attractive women along the way.  He and his 'assistant', an enchanted skull, combine knowledge to create powerful magic--a dynamic duo, indeed.  (Although I did appreciate the corporeal incarnation of Bob in the show which Terrence Mann portrayed so well.)

I have to insert some fangirling about the audio version of this book.  The narrator, James Marsters, was an exquisite match to the character.  The resonance of his voice, the inflections, the pacing, the ... everything was perfection! And it amused me to discover that this powerful voice performer... is also a screen actor playing in quite a few notable roles! Most recognizable to those of my generation, as Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series. I learn something new every day!

If you are a fan of the book series and haven't caught the single season of The Dresden Files, a word of caution. As with any translation from words to screen there are liberties taken; and this season seems to have incorporated and blended quite a few strings from the book series to make a different dynamic flow and some broad license with character names and traits.  Be forewarned!

Book Review--Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess

 Book Review

Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess

Written by Dr. Caroline Leaf

Narrated by Dr. Caroline Leaf

"Mom, I can't sleep," I'd complain

 My mom would always reply, 

"Go back to bed and think happy thoughts!"

I would meet with varying degrees of success but, in general, I would go snuggle under the covers with my blankie (and thumb in my mouth) and try to decide which happy thoughts to think.  It usually ended up with playing outside on a sunny day with a dog. But as I've gotten older, I have found it increasingly hard to 1. Pick a happy thought and 2. Think it long enough to impact me.

But Dr. Caroline Leaf maintains that it is never too late to learn to think happy thoughts.  Indeed, it is imperative to our mental and physical health to train or re-train our minds to think about positive things, let go of toxic thinking, and re-frame our understanding of how our brain and mind can work together.

One thing that stood out to me as I began reading this was that Dr. Leaf makes the clear distinction that our brains and are minds are separate entities.  Our brain is an organ that functions with physiological needs and output.  Our minds are our consciousness, our humanity, our sense of self and identity.  They are interdependent but separate in character. We train our bodies and our muscles to improve and we can do the same thing with our minds.  That, in turn, can benefit our brain and whole body.

Dr. Leaf details her "Mind Management Method" in Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess.  The book begins with a detailed explanation of her most recent experiment using both a control and experimental group of volunteers to determine the effectiveness of the 5 step targeted thinking process.  She outlines the parameters of the study, the measurements taken, and the variable tested.  After that, comes an in-depth look at the results of each group, what those results indicate, and then she describes how those results can benefit you.

The tested variable was the experimental group learning and using the 5 step Leaf Mind Management Method, based on what Dr. Leaf calls the Neurocycle which involves: 

    1. Gather

    2. Reflect

    3. Write

    4. Re-check

    5. Active Reach

The second half of the book shows what each of these steps entails and the impact they have on your mind and how they work within the neurocycle.  She then offers examples of how people have used these steps to alter their ways of thinking to become more adaptable and have a better quality of life by building the habit of positive thinking, replacing old bad habits of negative thinking.

Contrary to popular belief, a new habit is not formed in 21 days.  According to Leaf's research, it takes 63 days to make a habit and incorporate it into your life.  Her 5 steps are designed to be followed for 21 days and then use the following 42 days to reinforce the lessons learned in the first third of the cycle. Leaf describes how to use the method, including the writing portion but also provides information on an app designed around the 5 step method which provides an avenue for recording thoughts and progress and also has timers and prompts that you can set to notify you through the rest of the day.  While I can't speak to the app's efficacy, I will say that I am intrigued and convinced enough to try the 5 Step Mind Management Method the old-fashioned way and see if I can't turn some of my anxious thoughts around and go back in time to turn on my brain to again "Think Happy Thawts".

Book Review--Sleep No More

 Book Review

Sleep No More 

written by Jayne Ann Krentz

Here is the newest delivery of contemporary mystery, paranormal, romance entertainment from Jayne Ann Krentz!

I have read many (if not most) of Krentz' books over the past decades.  I find them enjoyable, interesting, and able to capture my attention. She writes characters that are sympathetic and relatable and adds just enough intrigue and mystery to keep me reading.  She writes under names for her historical and futuristic series (Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle, respectively) and will incorporate her characters and themes throughout all of them so that the reader, should they choose, can experience the ripples of characters' actions throughout generations.

Ms. Krentz has written many mainstream titles as well as several series including the paranormal. This is the first in a new trilogy of related characters that encounter the paranormal which adds an element of the undiscovered to the story. In this book, the two main characters are both on quests to discover what caused each of them to have experienced a period of transient global amnesia which caused them to lose memory of a whole night and which triggered their otherwise tame paranormal senses into sensory overload. These quests bring them together to form a partnership to investigate the occurence.

The side characters are fun to interact with and move the plot along in a satisfying manner.  As this is the first in the newest trilogy, there was some resolution but also a preview into the larger game being played that will involve more people in the future. Reading Krentz is an enjoyable afternoon or weekend endeavor; curl up with a good book and a dog (or other pet of your choice) and you will have a guaranteed good time.

Book Review--Bookish People

Book Review

Bookish People

Written by Susan Coll

Narrated by Alexa Morden 

This is book is harder to review because it exposes my personal bias. And I have to admit to it.

I prefer plot-driven stories.  I like action.  I like things to move along towards an inevitable end (and if it's not a happy ending, the book might find its way launched across the room).  Bonus points if there's fantasy and/or mystery components.  That's why I like fiction--it can take me to another world.  For my personal enjoyment in reading, it is escapism.

I read Bookish People.  It is character-driven. Not in my usual repertoire.

I admit.  It was slow.  But that's because it's intended to be.  When we are going through our lives, some days zoom by but some linger.  When I am going through a challenging season in life, time can almost seem to stand still.  And that oddly warped perception is what Coll captures in her story.  She takes a snapshot of the intertwined lives of normal people and walks the reader through their good days and bad days, their thoughts and emotions, their reactions to their situations and the people they come into contact with. You can feel the inevitable march towards a collision of lives but it doesn't feel ominous or threatening; it is a slow anticipation of what is to come.

This slow-burn leading up to final event was reminiscent of when I watched Napoleon Dynamite.  A lot of "where are we going with this?" culminating in a fantastically adorable scene and a lot of re-visting of the cute occurrences that led up to the finale.

I appreciated this meander outside of my normal parameters and urge readers to consider stepping outside of their comfort zone.

Did I mention there's a tortoise?!

Book Review--The Year of Less

 Book Review

The Year of Less: How I stopped shopping, gave away my belongings, and discovered life is worth more than anything you can buy in a store

Written by Cait Flanders

Narrated by Cait Flanders

I don't aspire to absolute minimalism in my life.  I feel there is value in being surrounding by things that I visually and physically enjoy and that some extraneous things in life bring aesthetic beauty to my existence.  That being said, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.  And, as I told my kids as they were growing up and we clashed about cleaning and organizing, 

"The more you have, the more you have to take care of."

        --Lisa Collins, fairly unsentimental mother of three

I am a chronic streamliner.  Which means I am always looking out for more efficient ways to do things; processes that will make common chores routine and easy to make habitual.  This frequently shows itself in desiring new organizational systems that will compete with clutter. Unfortunately, I am also a member of a consumerist society where marketing abounds touting the newest, brightest, and best things to make my life easier.  This is a constant battle between getting and having, needing and not needing, wanting and not wanting. I think this comic from the immortal Calvin and Hobbes is painfully accurate.

I remind myself again and again to be honest with myself about my 'wants' versus my 'needs'.  That doesn't mean I can't ever get things that I want and don't necessarily need but I try to be conscious of my motivations.

When I ran across the title of Cait Flanders' book The Year of Less: How I stopped shopping, gave away my belongings, and discovered life is worth more than anything you can buy in a store as I was browsing Hoopla* for my next read, I was intrigued and checked it out.

I was anticipating a helpful guide on how to stop spending as much money, de-clutter my house, and tips on focusing extra time on what matters in life.  I was not prepared for a confessional memoir from a addictive personality that detailed more about life trauma than the 'how to' help myself.  As I am admittedly unsentimental of a more pragmatic nature, I do not relish immersing myself in a stranger's agonizing emotional upheaval.  Friends and family, I will always make time for but I do not need to adopt the distress of a random parvenue. And for most of the book, all I could think of was the author would have a more enjoyable life if she invested in therapy to bring self-awareness much sooner.

Flanders is the author behind Blonde on a Budget, a personal financial journey blog.  I had never read any of her previous journeys through alcoholism, credit card debt, and weight loss so I was unprepared for the raw reality of someone detailing their trauma in what seems to me a public therapy forum. There are nuggets of practical tips sprinkled throughout the journal of adversity and, finally, a short but helpful guide in the epilogue.  However, it was not a journey I enjoyed.

All of that being said, I know many people who find value, solidarity, and healing in walking through someone else's life and trials.  It can bring a sense of belonging and the idea that they are not alone in their struggles.  This is a book that will appeal to those readers (and you know who you are).  But in reading as in life and organizing/decluttering, knowing yourself is the best path to contentment.

*Hoopla is an excellent source for audiobooks, ebooks, movies, and music. Check with your local public library for free access to this amazing service!

Book Review--Vitamania

 Book Review

Vitamania: Our Obsessive Quest for Nutritional Perfection

by Catherine Price

Narrated by Erin Bennett

Are you getting enough Vitamin C?  Do you need St. John's Wort for depression? Are you making sure you take a daily multivitamin? Curcumin for inflammation? What about your fish oil for your Omega 3s?

The list could go on... and on... and on...

There are tens of thousands of supplements on the market and the supplement industry makes billions of dollars every year selling products advertised to increase health, wellness, and longevity.  But the hard thing to swallow (besides some nasty tasting potions) is that we know so little about vitamins and minerals and how they function within our bodies.

Price addresses this in her book Vitamania, discussing the surprisingly recent discoveries of vitamins and nutrient deficiency diseases.  The human body is so complex that the more we learn about how it functions, the more questions we have and the more convoluted the answers become as scientists forge a path through the data. Scurvy is cured by Vitamin C. Vitamin C also helps with wound healing but rubbing it on your skin will not provide that function; it comes from its assistance in making collagen within the body.  And while the debate still rages over taking Vitamin C to combat a cold; taking megadoses only leads to wasting money as the excess is excreted in your urine without being used at all. This happens because it is a water soluble vitamin, meaning extra amounts are flushed out of your system with hydration.  Other vitamins are fat soluble, meaning they add up in your system and are stored with in fatty tissues which makes them easier to overdose on as they are not processed and used as readily as water soluble ones. Question: do you know which is which?

If the mystery surrounding the function of vitamins within your body isn't enough to make you pause and think, consider the vocabulary that lumps our 13 vitamins into a category that often includes minerals.  And is utilized in marketing platforms under the umbrella of supplements.  And supplements can mean an incredibly wide variety of chemicals, plant derived matter, and even placebos.

Price goes on to delve into the murky waters of vitamin, mineral, and supplement regulation.  Of which there is so little oversight into quality control that it frightens me to think of the what I may have ingested with any company's "proprietary blend".  Legislation has been a back and forth battle with the consumer caught in the middle.  While our medicines undergo rigorous testing, quality control checks, and monitoring, a survey of supplements might have you discovering that the capsule of all-natural sexual health medicine you are taking actually contains half a pill of Viagra.  Or that your St. John's wort works against your antidepressant medicine canceling out the benefits of both and potentially interacting with many other prescription medications.

Additionally, no warnings or interactions are required to be on labels.  Most often what you will find is a statement along the lines of "This product is not intended to diagnose or treat any illness" but no further safety information to go along with the grand claims of the potential (but not proven) benefits. There are court cases going back decades fighting over the rights of the supplement companies to market their products with impunity versus the cases of individuals whose lives were destroyed or ended by misleading claims and little knowledge of side effects or interactions.

Price takes this very controversial topic with a very shady history and breaks it down into its component parts to learn more about individual aspects as well as the subject as a whole.

If you do or have thought of taking a supplement, even one recommended by a doctor, this is an excellent book to read to learn about what and who to ask to take hold of your wellness.  Knowledge is power and knowledge is health.

Note*: I read this by audiobook and the narrator, Erin Bennett, was wonderful.  She has as mellifluous voice that is soothing without being soporific meaning she has a lovely voice that won't put you to sleep so you can enjoy the content of the book.