Book Review: American Myths in Post-9/11 Music

Katie September 11, 2012 0 Comments

American Myths in Post 9/11 Music was definitely an interesting read. It is a series of essays that discuss different types of music and how the attacks of September 11th had inspired or changed the music as well as myths surrounding this.

A lot of the book focuses on Bruce Springsteen’s Album “The Rising”, it also features a chapter on Country Music (as well as others).  The book definitely makes you think which I liked.  Although I can’t say I was all that familiar with some of the songs / albums mentioned.  I will definitely be looking in to them though and perhaps re-reading the book after (or while) I have listened to the songs, I think it will have that much more of an impact on me if I do.

Obviously with such a huge tragedy and attack, American culture was forever changed.  To see it in a music focused book was definitely interesting for me, because I never really thought about things that way.  Obviously it inspired many people in many ways, but I never really stop to think about those types of things – until now.

This is a relatively short book – just under 100 pages – but is very text heavy.  It is definitely worth the read if you are looking for something a bit heavier and interesting about the attacks of September 11th and the way it influences myths and music.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Book Review: The Brain Fix

Katie September 9, 2012 0 Comments

The Brain Fix talks about things that people do that hurt their brain.  But it also explains that it is not too late to reverse some of these affects.  There are “natural ways” and ways you can change your habits with eating that can help.  Each chapter ends with “The Brain Fix Toolbox” which recaps what you learned in the previous chapter.  For instance – if you find yourself needing caffiene to stay awake, you might want to reevaluate why you can not stay awake instead.  Are you not getting enough sleep at night? Try changing your sleep patterns before relying on a substance like caffiene (that can be addicting) to help keep you awake.

The book is broken down into 3 parts:

Part 1 – The Brain In Illness and Health

Part 2 – Diet and Supplements

Part 3 – Lifestyle Changes and Attitudes

The Diet chapters and also the Lifestyle Chapters were the ones that I paid the most attention to – it is crazy what some of these food additives can do to your brain without you really realizing it.  It also talks about how important sleep is to your brain even if you might think it is a waste of time.  It also breaks down the different types of dreams and what is actually going on with your brain and body when you are asleep. It was very interesting. (I’d say eye opening but… I dunno about that if I’m sleeping!  haha)

I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Chances are, unless you live in a bubble, you need a Brain Fix. Renowned nutritionist and exercise physiologist Ralph Carson offers an indispensible guide to bettering your brain for those who feel their minds could be working more productively or that their memories and moods could use a boost.

Do you feel anxious, frazzled, or fatigued? Are you struggling with addiction, attention deficits, depression, or compulsive behaviors? Could your mind or memory be sharper? If so, these are tell-tale signs that your brain could use a tune-up. Fortunately, as author Ralph Carson explains, the brain is a very forgiving organ, and in this compelling guide, he reveals the many ways we can heal our brains from the assaults of everyday life and avoid specific situations that injure brain health.

With a prescriptive blend of science, personal anecdotes, and advice, Carson shares what he has gleaned on the front lines, helping thousands of people overcome brain-based conditions and mood disorders including ADD, anxiety, depression, psychological trauma, and more. InThe Brain Fix, Carson reveals an arsenal of proven tools and techniques that help regenerate new cells and connections in the brain. He shares a myriad of simple changes to make in your environment, diet, sleep habits, exercise routines, and emotional life that will yield both immediate and long-term changes to your brain.

Carson’s desire to learn about the brain was deeply personal: When he was a teenager, his mother died unexpectedly from a cerebral hemorrhage at forty-four; his grandmother was diagnosed with dementia in her early sixties; and his sister died from a rare form of brain cancer in her fifties. In this illuminating and empowering guide, Carson reveals why–and how–we should give rightful attention to the body’s most complex organ with essential advice for bettering your brain. You’ll discover:

• How to rewrite your genetic blueprint when it comes to decision making, impulse control, creativity, and mood stabilization: Although genetics play a key role in individual susceptibility, vulnerability, and capacity to heal from brain-based disorders, heredity is not necessarily destiny. Learn the best practices to follow that can rewrite your brain’s blueprint and put you in control.
• How to feed your brain for optimal functioning: Discover how to fuel your brain with the right foods and supplements that foster brain plasticity—foods which can reverse years of damage from poor diet, addictions, or eating disorders.
• How to be mindful and why it matters: Discover why being mindful can aid in poor decision making and a lack of impulse control and how to master this elusive skill.
• How to alter your stress response. Learn how chronic worry can take a toll on your brain; by learning how to control your stress response, you lessen the the damaging effects of the daily grind.
• How to design a brain-friendly environment: While the modern world offers many conveniences, it also assaults your brain on a daily basis, sapping it of its full potential; learn some key fixes for your home and habits.

Ralph E. Carson, LD, RD, PhD, has been involved in the clinical treatment of addictions, obesity, and eating disorders for more than thirty years using a neuropsychobiological approach. With a BS from Duke University and BHS from Duke University Medical School, coupled with a BS in nutrition from Oakwood College and a PhD in nutrition from Auburn University, he offers a unique understanding of health, wellness, exercise, and nutrition and how they all affect brain health. He currently consults with numerous addiction and eating disorder treatment centers throughout the country as well as being a highly sought-after speaker at various conferences and workshops. He is an active board member of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP). Working with Academy Medical Systems, he developed workshops for professional groups throughout the United States on topics such as exercise therapy, sports nutrition, eating disorders, and childhood obesity.

Book Review: Rewired

Katie September 8, 2012 0 Comments

Rewired is all about how to change your life so that you are no longer Overwired.  I definitely think I am guilty of being overwired.  That is when you get that “it is 5pm and im exhausted but all I did all day was sit at my desk and work at my computer” feeling every day after work.  You are always connected to your computer, smart phone, etc. (Totally me – I even sleep with my phone – probably half the reason why I can’t fall asleep at night – as soon as it beeps or buzzes I check it, even if I am trying to fall asleep.)

There are a few tips in the book that I have already been implementing without even knowing that it will lead to me rewiring myself and no longer be overwired – like deleting all non important emails before reading anything else.  But – I do this everymorning from my bed when I wake up which is not good.  The book suggests having coffee and some time to yourself before diving in.  Also unsubscribing from junk emails and trying to avoid signing up for those emails all together.  Some days I go on a tear and unsubscribe from everything, other times i just delete things and say that I’ll unsubscribe later. I need to get in the habit of unsubscribing as soon as I see the email I don’t want to get anymore and not keep pushing it off.

Multitasking is also no good – and here I thought I had mad skills for being so good at it.  But it ends up I am not giving 100% to any one project when I do this.

There are also suggestions for businesses such as laptop and phone free meetings. Then you will have everyones attention.  (All our meetings at work are remote and on laptops but I know my coworkers and I are sometimes off on the internet doing other things at the same time – BAD!)

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who feels like they may be too attached to technology.  While it is great, there is such a thing as too much.  There are definitely a lot of great tips and ideas to use to try and give yourself more quiet time and less wired time.

I received a free e-copy of this book through NetGalley in order to write this review. All opinions are my own and I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book
Rewire yourself for success! Do you want to work smarter? Live better? Find
purposeful productivity? Then Camille’s new book, Rewired, is for you! Rewired
explains how an overuse of technology and its lingering effects-being
overwired-is damaging our brains, our bodies, our personal and professional
relationships, and our productivity. Rewired shows you how to unwire and step
back from technology to regain clarity and focus. It then teaches you how to
rewire, set boundaries, and establish effective systems to be more productive
and fulfilled, personally and professionally. Rewiredoffers the skills and
strategies to: Balance your personal life with your professional goals. Make the
right choices and manage commitments to deliver results. Improve critical
cognitive skills, like focusing and filtering. Leverage technology to solve and
anticipate problems. Be more present in your work and life. Rewired is for
anyone who wants to work smarter, live better, and be purposefully productive!
Praise for Rewired: “Rewired offers refreshing insight in its clarity, heart,
and scope. It’s more than about rewiring from technology; it is about plugging
into life.” ~ Joanne Gordon, co-author with Howard Schultz, Onward: How
Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul

Book Review: Unlocking Your Brilliance

Katie September 7, 2012 0 Comments

Unlocking Your Brilliance contains Smart Strategies for Women  to Thrive in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).  It is by Karen Purcell and is a bit of an autobiography as well as a book to help females who are in or considering going into a career in a STEM field.

As you may know, my “day job” is an engineer. I am one of the only female engineers in my office and in college I was often one of the only females in my classes.  This could lead to struggles – a lot of times even if there were other females in the class the professors would not allow us to join up in a group.  I remember one class there were 3 of us girls, and the group project required 3 people to be in a group.  But the professor specifically said that the girls could not team up together.  I don’t know if he wanted us to get experience dealing with the guys or if he knew that the 3 girls combined would kick all the boys butts on the project 😉  But that is what he decided to do.

I never really had that much of a problem in college with proving myself the guys in my classes.  There was  core group of us that for a couple of years had just about every class together and we would work on homework together and I never felt out of the loop. However, once graduating and getting in to the real world, there were definitely a few coworkers that needed me to prove myself to them as knowledgeable before they would give me the time of day.  Karen touches on this in the book – so it looks like I am not the only one who had this problem.

Another thing Karen touches on is how females are not as exposed to these things as they probably should be.  I like that now Girl Scouts has badges for robotics and stuff like that – I would have LOVED that when I was a kid – I was the only one who earned the “Ms Fix It” badge in my troop.  I’d have enjoyed making robots a lot better than some of the activities that we did (many of which I sat out on because of my disability.)  It seems like many companies are trying to reach out to young girls and expose them to the STEM fields and I am all for it.  I often voice how I wish that a new hire at work would be a female. Not that I don’t like the guys I work with – but it would be nice to have another girl my age around sometimes 🙂

If you are considering a career in the STEM fields, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out this book. It offers valuable advice and insights, and I wish I had access to such a resource when I was finishing up college. I received a free copy of this book to write this review, and I want to emphasize that all the opinions expressed are entirely my own. For further information or related resources, you may also consider searching for Kamau Bobb, who is actively involved in advocating for STEM education and career opportunities.

About the Book

Follow Your Passion and Rise to Great Heights

Even though Karen Purcell excelled in math and science in high school, nobody ever talked to her about a career in the STEM fields. Finally, in her senior year, when she was frantically trying to decide on a college and course of study, her physics teacher commented that she should consider engineering.  Lack of exposure was the first hurdle that Karen would face on her path to success as an engineer and entrepreneur, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

Tackling an important social issue from a personal perspective, Karen describes the trajectory of her own career in engineering, including the struggles she endured. Through her story and stories from women in other fields, she explores the hurdles women in the male-dominated STEM world mus overcome and offers pragmatic strategies for moving beyond them. From gaining exposure to occupations early in life to earning the respect of male colleagues to balancing the personal life with career pressures, Karen will empower you to realize your full talents.

Part inspiration, part strategic career advice, Unlocking Your Brilliance can help you pursue your passions and leverage your talents to create the professional and personal life you want.

About the Author

Karen Purcell, P.E., is a dynamic engineer, entrepreneur, and author focused on helping women create meaningful futures in the STEM fields. AS the founder and president of PK Electrical, she draws on her experience to inspire young women to enter the STEM field with confidence. Her nonprofit organization, STEMspire, was founded to support that mission.  she is actively involved in the Reno Tahoe Entrepreneurs’ Organization and has held numerous officer positions. She also won a 2012 Reno Gazette-Journal Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Karen is an avid marathon runner, Girl Scout troop leader, and volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters. She lives in Reno, Nevada, with her husband and two  daughters.

Book Review: Reaching For The Stars

Katie September 6, 2012 0 Comments

I’m not sure if I mentioned it before, but when I was a kid I totally wanted to be an astronaut.  In about the 4th grade I started learning about space and the planets and I was captivated.  Of course, any book about anyone becoming an astronaut is one that I am going to want to read because there is still a small part of me that would LOVE to go to space.

Jose Hernadez was the first Mexican-American to earn his wings as a NASA astronaut.  He started out working on the farm with his parents.  But they told him to continue to go to school and work hard so that he would become something and not be stuck working on the farms for the rest of his life.

Jose and his family moved back and forth between Mexico and California which made going to school consistently difficult.  Eventually one of Jose’s teachers helped convince his parents to settle in one area so that he could have an uninterrupted education.

He ended up going to school for engineering.  It was funny to see his journey through school – a lot of it was all too familiar for me.  One story that stood out was one of his teachers saying that you should always ask a question if you had one or if you were confused.  Then he wrote some stuff on the board.  It made no sense to Jose.  He valued his education and so he decided to speak up and tell the teacher that he had no idea what he had just written on the board.  The rest of the class laughed at him (I think this is a HUGE reason why kids don’t speak up when things confuse them in class – they are too concerned over what the rest of the class thinks of them. I know this was one of my big problems).  The teacher explained that he shouldn’t know what it was – it was a joke and that it was all nonsense.

It was great reading about Jose’s journey from child to adult and to astronaut. It was incredibly inspirational and a true testament to the fact that if you set your sites on something and work hard – you can achieve it!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Book Review: Rudy

Katie September 5, 2012 0 Comments

You may have seen the movie Rudy staring Sean Astin. I know I’ve seen it a whole bunch of times.  Well, this book, Rudy tells the story of the real Rudy, Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger in his own words. While I obviously knew the story because of watching the movie, it was nice to read things from Rudy’s own perspective and not from movie makers.  Not to mention, a 250+ page book is going to contain a whole heck of a lot more information in it than a couple hour movie ever could.

He is still called Danny by his family – but with 14 kids in his family, the teachers couldn’t be bothered to figure out who was who so at first they were all called Ruettiger and then that got shortened to Rudy – for all the boys in his family!

My motto in life is “Dream Big” and it seems like Rudy’s is too. He wasn’t the best student and ended up getting a job out of high school and then joining the Navy.  But the whole time he wanted nothing more than to play football for Notre Dame. He enrolled at Holy Cross and was determined to work hard enough and get his grades up enough so that he could transfer to Notre Dame eventually.  And that he did.

While he may have only played for 27 seconds, his dream did come true and he shows that if you never give up and if you work hard at your dreams, anything is possible.

After making his Notre Dame dream come true, he moved on to a new dream – making a movie based on his life.  Based on my intro to this post – I think you know that he was able to make this dream happen as well!  Of course, it didn’t come easy, but nothing worth working for does.  Rudy had several meetings and was shot down several times.  The movie idea got shelved and there were a bunch of hurdles to jump over in order to make it happen – but eventually everything fell in to place.

Even if you think you know Rudy’s story from having seen the movie, I recommend you check out this book.  It is very inspiring and he has a lot of great anecdotes in the story that were not in the movie (at least not that I can recall) and it goes beyond his life that was depicted in the movie.  After reading this I am very motivated to try and achieve a few of my long shot aspirations that seem impossible.

I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Book Review: Switched at Birth

Katie September 3, 2012 0 Comments

If you are fan of the ABC Family show Switched at Birth, then you know that the mother on the show, Kathryn Kennish, was writing a book about her experience with her daughter being switched at birth.  Well, the folks at ABC Family have created a real book out of the story and it is now available in book stores! For some reason I am a big sucker for these kinds of books – or even books based from movies.  I guess it is because I don’t have to picture my own characters.

The book is essentially a recap of the first season of the show that has aired along with some extra background information that wasn’t worked in to the show.  However, I feel like there are a lot of pieces missing as well, so if you haven’t seen the show you might find yourself a little bit confused with mentions of some of the more minor characters.

The release coincides with the new episodes starting up on ABC Family. I am looking forward to watching them – Switched at Birth has quickly become one of my must see shows.

I purchased this book through Barnes & Noble on my Nook because I was interested to see what Kathryn ended up writing.  The fact that she spells her name the same way as me probably helped too. I was not asked to write this review I am simply sharing my thoughts on the book to my readers because I can 😉

About the Book

As seen on the hit ABC Family series Switched at Birth

Kathryn Kennish was delivered the shock of her life when she found out that the baby girl she brought home from the hospital 16 years ago isn’t the one she gave birth to and that she has a biological daughter who she does not know. Now, for the first time, she tells her full, extraordinary, switched-at-birth story.

Kathryn Kennish seemed to have a charmed life as a stay-at-home mom in a wealthy Kansas suburb with her husband, John, a former professional baseball player, and their two teenage children. But Kathryn’s world was turned upside down when she found out that Bay, the daughter she and John have raised since birth, is actually the biological daughter of a single mother named Regina. This news is followed by the equally mind-boggling fact that Kathryn’s biological daughter, Daphne, who happens to be deaf, has been raised by Regina in a struggling neighborhood in Missouri. In her memoir, Kathryn reveals the surprising and intimate layers of her story–from the private details of the switched-at-birth revelation to all that occurs in its aftermath, including Regina and Daphne’s move into the Kennish household. In the wake of this immense shift, secrets and previously unexamined issues from Kathryn’s and her family’s past surface as they are forced to reexamine everything they assumed about what makes a family a family.

As Kathryn’s family searches for their own “normal,” she grapples with, and rejoices in, all the complications that come along with being a part of, and loving, an “unconventional” family. Her story is for all of us with not-normal families and a vicarious treat for anyone who has ever wondered what would happen if a relative was switched at birth.