Book Review: How To Avoid Your Future Crazy Ex

Katie April 13, 2020 0 Comments

I wasn’t sure how to take a book about a crazy ex written by a dude.  Every dude I’ve ever tried to date won’t date me because his ex was crazy and therefore I must be too because I am also female.  So I went into this book a little bit hesitant, but was pleasantly surprised.  One of the things noted in the book was that it takes 2 – if you betray her and she reacts to that betray poorly, you are at fault.  He also notes that it is important the identify signs before it is too late and has stories from buddies of his so it isn’t just all him going on about his own relationships.  Always trust you gut – if you think he/she is an abuser, stalker, liar, etc. Get out of there while you can.  The book has a lot of dark humor included but also was  and interesting different perspective of sorts.

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

About the Book

Nick Simon is a regular guy who tells it like it is. No psycho babble: just real talk, about real people, in real situations. There is no other way to tell it, when you have faced the implausible, surmounted the surreal and traversed the realms of absurdity. All that is left is the truth….

Crazy $#!* doesn’t just happen in the movies! Sometimes people have the capacity to swan-dive off the cliffs of insanity and blow a hole in your life the size of a nuclear blast crater.

How To Avoid Your Future Crazy Ex is a darkly humorous guide that uses true stories to identify the warning signs at different stages of any relationship. Ignoring these signs is akin to taking an all inclusive vacation to Chernobyl and Fukushima without a radiation suit. It could damage you and your offspring for life. It will cost you a fortune. Worse still, it could cost you your life and/or the life you thought you had.

Read this before it is too late. Prevention is better than the cure. Real ‘crazy’ does not go away! Real ‘crazy’ will forever and indelibly alter your life. There is only one foolproof way to deal with ‘crazy’: avoid it!

Book Review: Why Baseball Matters

Katie April 11, 2020 0 Comments

I was pretty excited that Why Baseball Matters had a female author since so many seem to write off any females that are fans. (I once went to a ballgame by myself and was “quizzed” by the guys around me until they felt I had sufficient enough knowledge to be at the game. Another female was not as lucky as she couldn’t pass their quiz and they made fun of her the whole game for not knowing what was going on.)  She goes into detail about how the game demands your concentration – whether it be listening to it on radio, watching TV or even in person (when it is arguably the hardest with no announcers to help you out!) and you need to know and understand what happened before to know why certain things are happening after.  I also liked how she talked about how people think it is “too slow” and therefore boring.  I find pitcher’s duels to be boring and would much rather a high-scoring (on both sides or at least my team) but I know I am in the minority there and there are many who find a great pitching matchup to just be the best of the best in watching and competition as well. (I just want everyone to run, run, run around those bases!)  It’s always interesting to read about other fans perspectives of the game and what they enjoy and what made them a fan and what teams they root for!

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

About the Book

A best-selling author and passionate baseball fan takes a tough-minded look at America’s most traditional game in our twenty-first-century culture of digital distraction

Baseball, first dubbed the “national pastime” in print in 1856, is the country’s most tradition-bound sport. Despite remaining popular and profitable into the twenty-first century, the game is losing young fans, among African Americans and women as well as white men. Furthermore, baseball’s greatest charm—a clockless suspension of time—is also its greatest liability in a culture of digital distraction.

These paradoxes are explored by the historian and passionate baseball fan Susan Jacoby in a book that is both a love letter to the game and a tough-minded analysis of the current challenges to its special position—in reality and myth—in American culture. The concise but wide-ranging analysis moves from the Civil War—when many soldiers played ball in northern and southern prisoner-of-war camps—to interviews with top baseball officials and young men who prefer playing online “fantasy baseball” to attending real games.

Revisiting her youthful days of watching televised baseball in her grandfather’s bar, the author links her love of the game with the informal education she received in everything from baseball’s history of racial segregation to pitch location. Jacoby argues forcefully that the major challenge to baseball today is a shortened attention span at odds with a long game in which great hitters fail two out of three times. Without sanitizing this basic problem, Why Baseball Matters remind us that the game has retained its grip on our hearts precisely because it has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to reinvent itself in times of immense social change.

Book Review: Yells for Ourselves

Katie April 10, 2020 0 Comments

Yells For Ourselves focuses on the 99/00 Mets team.  I was vaguely a Mets fan at this time – I remember them making it to the World Series but was in no way as invested with the team as I would be 5 or 6 years after this.  This book was originally a blog that got made into a book (that’s the dream, isn’t it?) and begin with Bobby V and goes through some of the team changes and highlights during this time.  I thought it was a very good retelling of the era – and really enjoyed going back to this time in Mets history!

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

About the Book

During the 1990s, as New York was transformed from a crumbling city into a vibrant metropolis, the New York Mets were anything but vibrant. Beginning in 1999, the team waged a battle to recapture the hearts of New York baseball fans from their crosstown rivals, and they came closer to succeeding than anyone dared dream. At the same time, mayor Rudy Giuliani—architect of this new New York and those rivals’ biggest cheerleader—was engaged in his own battles to win a Senate seat and to save his sagging legacy as savior of the city.

Yells For Ourselves chronicles the 1999 and 2000 seasons of the New York Mets, and explores how local and national politics were interwoven with the obsessions of a baseball-mad city. It paints a picture of this forgotten time in the history of baseball and New York, when new ballparks, rapid expansion, and “enhanced training methods” caused a home run explosion; when rising free agent salaries separated teams into the Haves and Have Nots; and when a politico’s answer to the question Mets or Yankees? could make global headlines. Above all, Yells For Ourselves captures what happened when an underdog struggled to find an identity in a city with no room left for lovable losers.

Book Review: The Vagina Bible

Katie April 9, 2020 0 Comments

The Vagina Bible has all the details on anything and everything you’d ever want to know about your vagina. (Or any vagina, I guess.)  There are a lot of myths that are dispelled and it is written by an OBGYN so you know that the author knows her stuff! At the end of each chapter there’s a nice little recap so you can make sure you’re following all the important parts.  I actually learned a lot reading this and I always prefer to read books like this since I can be shy or embarrassed to ask questions.  (Although I will when absolutely necessary!)

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

About the Book

Instant New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller!
Boston Globe bestseller
#1 Canadian Bestseller

OB/GYN, writer for The New York Times, USA Today, and Self, and host of the show Jensplaining, Dr. Jen Gunter now delivers the definitive book on vaginal health, answering the questions you’ve always had but were afraid to ask—or couldn’t find the right answers to. She has been called Twitter’s resident gynecologist, the Internet’s OB/GYN, and one of the fiercest advocates for women’s health…and she’s here to give you the straight talk on the topics she knows best.
 
Does eating sugar cause yeast infections?
 
Does pubic hair have a function?

Should you have a vulvovaginal care regimen?
 
Will your vagina shrivel up if you go without sex?
 
What’s the truth about the HPV vaccine?

So many important questions, so much convincing, confusing, contradictory misinformation! In this age of click bait, pseudoscience, and celebrity-endorsed products, it’s easy to be overwhelmed—whether it’s websites, advice from well-meaning friends, uneducated partners, and even healthcare providers. So how do you separate facts from fiction? OB-GYN Jen Gunter, an expert on women’s health—and the internet’s most popular go-to doc—comes to the rescue with a book that debunks the myths and educates and empowers women. From reproductive health to the impact of antibiotics and probiotics, and the latest trends, including vaginal steaming, vaginal marijuana products, and jade eggs, Gunter takes us on a factual, fun-filled journey. Discover the truth about:

• The vaginal microbiome
• Genital hygiene, lubricants, and hormone myths and fallacies
• How diet impacts vaginal health
• Stem cells and the vagina
• Cosmetic vaginal surgery
• What changes to expect during pregnancy and after childbirth
• What changes to expect through menopause
• How medicine fails women by dismissing symptoms

Plus:

• Thongs vs. lace: the best underwear for vaginal health
• How to select a tampon
• The full glory of the clitoris and the myth of the G Spot

. . . And so much more. Whether you’re a twenty-six-year-old worried that her labia are “uncool” or a sixty-six-year-old dealing with painful sex, this comprehensive guide is sure to become a lifelong trusted resource.

Book Review: Words from the White House

Katie March 13, 2020 0 Comments

Words from the White House is all about words and phrases that are made popular by or were created by Presidents!  There is a section on firsts- Jefferson the first to wear long trousers and George HW Bush the first to publicly refuse Broccoli.  Madison came up with the term “squatter”, Wilson dropped the “The” before “Congress”.  There’s also an A-Z list of all the words and it is interesting to see where they began to gain popularity (or existence) and how many are still used today!

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

About the Book

“A compendious, entertaining look at our nation’s leaders through words and turns of phrase.” — Kirkus Reviews

From George Washington’s “New Yorker” and Thomas Jefferson’s “pedicure” to Theodore Roosevelt’s “lunatic fringe,” Richard Nixon’s “silent majority,” and Donald Trump’s “covfefe,” this entertaining and eminently readable volume compiles words and phrases that were coined or popularized by American presidents. Discover the origins of “bloviate” (Warren G. Harding), “military-industrial complex” (Dwight D. Eisenhower), “misunderestimate” (George W. Bush), “squatter” (James Madison), and other terms that have helped define American culture. The entries are listed alphabetically, featuring a definition and — in most cases — a brief discussion that places them in historical context.

“Thoroughly enjoyable.” — The Washington Post

“The author is an essayist and lexicographer who presents this entertaining look at how presidents have used and shaped our language.” — The Dispatch (Columbus)

Book Review: Music Is My Life

Katie March 12, 2020 0 Comments

Music Is My Life has a lot of ways to help you cope with life through music – cry it out, get creative with it, shout about it.  Of the artists mentioned in the book, I had seen about 10 of them live, which was pretty cool.  There are song examples and facts about them and they are all split by your moods so you can choose your playlist based on how you are feeling.  There are some really cool illustrations in this book and all  genres and eras of music seem to be included so at least someone you’re interested in should be in here!

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

About the Book

Do you remember the first time you discovered an artist you really loved? Have you listened to them over and over again at different points throughout your life?

This book harnesses that feeling, by collecting together 80 of music’s finest artists to guide young people through the good, bad and sad times. Whatever the feeling, these artists have been there and sung about it. Organised by mood, young ones can dip into the library to discover new artists from decades past to present day.

Fall in love with Mariah Carey, shout about it with Nirvana, love yourself with Lizzo, or cry it out with Adele. With 80 artists, bands, and composers from all genres (including classical) there’s something for every family member to love and recommend to the next generation.

Each entry contains biographical information on each artist, lists must-hear songs, and has accessible musical analysis from author and journalist Myles Tanzer. Every artist is captured in full-colour, rocking art by Ali Mac. With information at the front on how to soundtrack your mood, and information at the back on how to listen to and make your own music.

A pitch-perfect first introduction to music for tweens. 

Book Review: Stars Before Bedtime

Katie March 11, 2020 0 Comments

Stars before bedtime is all about the different constellations in the sky.  There are icons for exercises you can do for relaxation before bedtime throughout the book.  I found the stars and constellations in this book to be so cool, that while I was in Jamaica and out on the beach watching the Hanson concerts each night, I would try to see what constellations I could find.  I was able to spot Orion’s belt on my own, but I also used the app “SkyView” to look for even more and was able to find my Zodiac constellation and many more.  If you have a child who is interested in the stars this may be a great book to use before bedtime and combined with the app may be a really cool “hands on” so to speak project for them!

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

About the Book

Create a calm bedtime ritual with this debut book in the Before Bedtime series, Stars Before Bedtime – a soothing journey through the glittering constellations of the night sky woven with tried-and-true sleep exercises from the best-selling author and clinical psychologist Dr. Jessamy Hibberd.

In this fast-paced world, relaxing and preparing for sleep can be difficult for children. This beautiful, fact-filled book helps ease bedtime struggles with mindfulness, muscle relaxation, gentle yoga poses, visualization, and other exercises proven to help kids release stress and anxiety, clear their minds, get ready for bed, and fall asleep faster while also boosting happiness and improving overall health.

With gentle, calming artwork from the wonderfully talented Hannah Tolson and simple, melodic text, children explore the sky’s constellations and the mythical stories behind them as they get their minds and bodies ready for bed. Each exercise, called out by a moon symbol, is simple and easy to do. Usher in calm with these and more soothing techniques:

Stretch out on your bed like the snake-like constellation Draco the Dragon—take a deep breath in through your nose and then breathe out all the air through your mouth, making a hissing sound, just like a slithering snake!Close your eyes and picture the ship from the constellation Argo Navis in your head. Now climb on board and let’s go on an adventure. You are the captain of the ship. Maybe you’ll dream of floating through a moonlit sky on broad wings, like Aquila the Eagle. Or perhaps you’ll drift down a glittering stream with Cygnus the Swan.Hold your hands together just like Castor and Pollux, the twins of the constellation Gemini. Rest them on your chest—can you feel your breath moving in and out as your chest rises and falls?

The pages are self-contained so you can start anywhere and complete as many, or as few, exercises as you like. Join your child as they complete the exercises—you might just find something that works for you, too. Tips on mindfulness and extra resources for parents are included at the back of the book. Stargazers of all ages will love this journey through constellations.

Good sleep is essential for growing brains. Each beautifully illustrated book in the Before Bedtime series helps curious children prepare for sleep by uniting a different intriguing non-fiction topic with sleep-inducing mindfulness exercises; an effective alternative to the traditional bedtime story. Fascinating facts are paired with guided relaxation techniques inspired by the topic for a peaceful routine that not only leaves bedtime battles far behind but equips children for success in a hectic world.

Book Review: Cryptocurrency

Katie March 10, 2020 0 Comments

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency, like bitcoin.  Crypto means hidden.   Bitcoin uses block chain technology to be created and if you lose it, it is gone forever.  There is a story in this book about someone who buried a hard drive with bitcoin on it – now worth $127 million and it is totally missing.  There are definitely pluses and minuses on using cryptocurrency so it will be interesting to see how things evolve.

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

About the Book

Cryptocurrency is a new digital form of money. It can be transferred, it doesn’t involve banks, and it can be used to purchase items on the internet and in some stores. As cryptocurrency gets more popular and widespread, it will impact people’s lives in new and important ways. Includes glossary, websites, and bibliography for further reading.

Book Review: Online Search

Katie March 9, 2020 0 Comments

Online Search teaches about the ways you can find things on the internet.  It starts by explaining how early computers were HUGE! and that computer programming is basically a more complex way of saying to give a computer instructions.  Searches aren’t always accurate, but it depends on what you tell it to look for as it can take things very literally.  It also talks a little bit about data privacy concerns – which is a big deal for everyone – and comes up a LOT in my cyber security grad classes!

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

About the Book

Online searches help people find information on the internet. Search engines can help find anything from the weather forecast to an episode of a favorite TV show. With more and more devices performing searches, people can find the information they need anywhere. Includes glossary, websites, and bibliography for further reading.