…and Blue Sky

 

 

I’m writing this month’s Show Us Your Books link-up post because I’ve been without cable and internet for a week now (THE HORROR!). Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has been reading lately!

Year of No Cluttern by Eve Schaub

Goodreads * Amazon

This book will be published in March 2017. I received an advance review copy from Netgalley.

This is a memoir written by a woman who decides to finally deal with the huge Hoarders-ish room in her otherwise normal-looking house. As you can imagine, this also includes dealing with all of the mental stuff the physical stuff brings up.

This was such a fun read. The author has a talent for sharing personal stories with a lot of humor, and let’s be honest, it’s a total guilty pleasure to get a peek into someone else’s home, even in text form. It’s interesting to watch her journey, including the realistic reaction to reading Marie Kondo’s advice. Although this isn’t a how-to book, it’s hard not to be tempted to go dig through some of your own stuff as you read!

 

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

Goodreads * Amazon

I’m not usually into short stories because I don’t feel like they give the opportunity to dive into a world and its characters in a real way. Roxanne Gay does the total opposite in this collection, though, developing interesting, layered characters in a matter of pages. It’s bittersweet, because I left pretty much every story wishing there was more to it. I think of them characters as “difficult” women as in “the opposite of simple”, but then – aren’t we all?

I should mention that many of the women in the story have dark stories, so I could definitely imagine some being triggering for those who have experienced abuse or the loss of a child. Despite the darkness, I found this tough to put down. I didn’t love every story, but overall the collection is great. (Bonus points to the author for RT-ing my tweet about a story!)

 

Just read @rgay ‘s story about a miner so empty after years of cold and darkness that he swallows the sun.
I understand.

— Crystal Ward (@Crystal11) January 5, 2017

(Difficult Women was also a complimentary copy in exchange for review via Netgalley!)

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

Goodreads * Amazon

We all know that throughout history, men have often gotten credit for the accomplishments of their wives or other women, and this book is an interesting fictionalized version of the story of Einstein’s first wife Mileva, who was also an accomplished physicist. She must have been a fascinating woman, studying such a complicated subject at a time when almost no women attended university, especially in what we’d now refer to as STEM fields. There’s an obvious current cultural tie-in, and I could say all kinds of things about women often having to work twice as hard as men for half as much credit, incredibly talented and qualified women being overlooked for certain jobs, etc etc etc but I think we’re all depressed enough about that right now, right?

The other main thing this story made me think about is how little we know about the private lives of beloved historical figures. The author had letters between Albert and Mileva to refer to, which were especially helpful for finding her “voice”, but the home life and romance and ultimate end of their time together all had to be created for the story. I don’t want to get all spoilery, but it did make me think about how early reality shows like the Osbornes were our first look at what celebrities are like outside of interviews, the red carpet, etc. (I mean, reality tv obviously has its fair share of fakeness, but it opened that window of “Oh, this famous singer hangs out on the couch eating tuna sandwiches, although she’s not quite sure that it’ fish.”)

I’d recommend this for fans of books like The Paris Wife (about Hemingway’s first wife). There’s a lot of struggle in Mileva’s life (I mean, it’s about Einstein’s FIRST wife, so we know from the get go that things don’t end well) so I wouldn’t really call it a light/upliting read, but it’s definitely an interesting portrait of a woman mostly forgotten by history. I hate giving things ratings, so I’ll go with “Worth reading, but not an all time favorite”.

Visit Life According to Steph and Jana Says to see what dozens of other bloggers have been reading lately!

Hey.

My plan was to finish this post up yesterday to get it up on Show Us Your Books Day, but instead after voting I came home and took a 2 hour stress nap, then watched the results unfold until the bitter end. I haven’ slept. Guessing most of you haven’t, either. Lots of love with everyone struggling to figure out how to face not only today, but the foreseeable future.

So I never did finish writing about all the books I read this month, but I’ll go head and share the two I did get around to reviewing. After you check out what I read this month and then head over to Life According to Steph and Jana Says to see what dozens of other awesome bloggers have been reading, and fill your to-read list with all kinds of goodness. Then go out and hug someone who is really hurting to day.

Unf*ck Your Habitat: You’re Better Than Your Mess by Rachel Hoffman

Amazon * Goodreads

This book will be released in January, 2017. Got my advance review copy courtesy of the awesome folks at Netgalley.

I’ve followed the UfYH Tumblr for years. It’s not a daily read, but it’s great to open when you need some inspiration to get things done, kinda like turning on a Hoarders marathon. A lot of the book’s contents can be found on the website, if you have the patience to dig through like 5 years worth of posts. The book version is great if you’d prefer all of the suggestions and motivation in one place, though.

One thing I love about the UfYH book is that the author takes into account situations that most organizing or cleaning blogs or books don’t consider – things like living with roommates, dealing with mental or physical illnesses that make cleaning tough, or living in just one room of your parents’ house. She even includes an easy to follow guide for those times that you need to do a last minute emergency clean-up before something like an apartment inspection or important visitors. It’s the perfect hand-holding guide if you often find yourself overwhelmed and just not sure where to start.

If you’ve already got a pretty good handle on keeping your house looking great, you probably don’t need this book. But if you’re like me and often get so wrapped up in work and life that you often look up and notice that things have gotten out of control without you even noticing, or if you simply didn’t grow up in a home where you learned how to clean and maintain your space and you could use a breakdown of the basics, it’s definitely a handy guide.

Radical Self Love

Goodreads

I liked Gala’s blog back in its early years (I think I read around 2008 or 2009?) but I eventually stopped reading because that thing happened where a blogger gets popular and their whole writing/posting style changes (Rarely for the better) and they become something of a caricature of themselves. I’m always curious about books by bloggers, though, so I requested this one from Netgalley when I saw it was available there.

It’s strange… Gala is clearly a creative, bright woman, so why is 75% of her book totally generic self help stuff? It’s 2016… who is NOT familiar with the concepts of affirmations and getting rid of clothes you haven’t worn in the past year? Disappointing, especially since she seems to lead an unconventional life and so I’d expect her to have some more interesting advice, or at least fresh takes on the old standards. It felt more like a collection of “here are all of the points you should talk about when it comes to self help” than “here’s my unique take on life and happiness”.

Even with so much generic padding, the book did have a few bright moments, and I did get feel a little motivated to do things just from reading.

Unfortunately, it seemed like every time I’d be impressed by an interesting idea or suggestion, weird word choice or awkward phrasing would break the spell and bring me back down. For example, there are several instances n the  book that begin with “It may sound silly, but…” followed by something totally mundane. (The example I highlighted was “It may sound funny, but when it comes to shaking hands, a firm grip is very important.” ) Also a lot of instances where word choice came off like an old person trying to sound cool, or as just trying too hard to be creative and just coming off awkward instead.

An example: “It’s pretty common to believe that we’re just going to end up like our parents, but once you get hip to the fact that you can create your own life, those thoughts become as dated as disco!”

There are also countless prompts to visit her website to get additional info/tips from a companion guide. Why not put those things in the book? It comes across as desperately seeking pageviews (or probably newsletter sign-ups…  never visited the page). She also gives the URL to her blog page about tapping (EFT) at least a dozen times. Her “solve everything by tapping” philosophy is also a little worrisome. It’s great if it truly worked for her, but given that she claims it cured her eating disorder overnight, it seems like she’s bordering on giving unqualified “medical” advice. I was also amused that she said she first heard about it in 2006 when she claims it was “very fringe”. If I was introduced to it in early 2007 in middle of nowhere Missouri, it can’t have been THAT fringe. And although she claims in the book that she doesn’t know anyone it hasn’t worked for, I know I saw no results from it. Anyway, it worries me that a lot of younger girls will probably read this book and then wonder why their body issues or depression or other problems they should be seeking real help for aren’t being immediately cured by tapping on their head.  Recommending it as a way to work through problems is fine, but praising it as the magical cure to any issue really is not.

Since pretty much everything in the book is either common knowledge or covered on her blog, I feel like it would been so much better if she’d written a book about something like using your uniqueness to grow an online following/presence, since she’s definitely been successful at that.

I saw a Goodreads review that said, “It’s fun to read in a Cosmo Magazine kind of way.” and I feel like that hits the nail on the head. Entertaining, but take the advice with a grain of salt and don’t expect anything too deep.

One of these days, I will become the kind of person who finishes my monthly Show Us Your Books link-up post sooner than the night before it’s supposed to be published. (Today is not that day.) Also in line with what usually happens, I’ve somehow only finished a couple of books this month, despite being in the middle of approximately 897 of them. I really have to start focusing in on one or three at a time so I can actually review them!

Dispatches from Pluto by Richard Grant

Amazon * Goodreads

I’m a sucker for a good “person moves to a new place and tells you all about their experience” memoir. In Dispatches from Pluto, the author and his girlfriend move from NYC to the Mississippi Delta – a place about as diametrically opposite from their previous home as possible while still being in the US. It’s an in-depth look at the culture, race relations, poverty, and social norms of one of the most unique areas of the South from an outsider’s perspective. As great of a job as Grant does getting to know a wide variety of people and showing all different facets of life in the Delta, I think that the important thing to keep in mind when you’re reading this kind of book is that no matter how much the author tries to capture a place, you’re reading one person’s experience there. Another person could move next door, hang out in different local places, befriend different people, and have a completely different experience, and they’d both be valid.

I got an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my review, so I’m not sure if the final book was the same, but the one I read ended fairly abruptly, as if it really needed an epilogue to tie everything up. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the author’s writing style, humor, detailed research, and overall sense of storytelling.

And now, a brief note from my kitten, Captain Kitten:

VC B cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc      ————————————————————————————————————–000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

I have no idea what that means, TBH, but it was his first time blogging so I think we should applaud his efforts and maybe give him a book deal?

Cure: A Journey Into the Science of Mind Over Body

Amazon * Goodreads

I’m always fascinated by the potential our minds and bodies may have that hasn’t yet entirely figured out. Everyone has heard of the Placebo Effect, but this book dives into other ways that the mind can have huge effects on your overall health, immunity, response to pain, and more. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this book was way more scientific and less “woo woo” than I originally expected. It examines various practices that draw upon the mind/body connection to treat medical problems. It reminds me a little of Mary Roach’s books in that it makes complicated scientific subjects easy to understand without dumbing them down. An easy read with substance.

A couple of snippets that I found especially cool:

*If you have an active social life, your body is likely to boost your immune system to keep you from catching anything from the people you’re around. Alternately, if you tend to be alone more often, your body focuses instead on protecting you from physical attacks.

*Fatigue is the brain’s way of keeping you from causing your body damage. In many instances when you feel fatigued, you actually have plenty of energy and resources left, but your brain is sending you the signal that you don’t because it’s worried you’ll overdo it, so it convinces you you’re totally worn out well before you actually are so that you have a nice safe margin of error.

* A study found that a 7 week program teaching parenting skills in a disadvantaged community led to measurable physical differences in kids who were a part of the program, even when they were tested almost a decade later.

There are a lot of fascinating cases detailed in Cure, which reminded me a bit of Oliver Sacks’s books. The mind-body connection is definitely an area of medicine I’d love to see a lot more research and development in, but of course treatments that are likely to result in less medication aren’t exactly getting bazillions of dollars in research funding from the big drug companies.  Most of the theories of treatment covered in this book are still being tested and fine-tuned, but it was definitely enough to get me back into a daily meditation practice. Can’t hurt, right?

(I received my copy of Cure from Blogging for Books in exchange for sharing my thoughts on it.)

Head over to Life According to Steph and Jana Says to see what everyone else in the link-up has been reading this month!