Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, December 11th at 9am at the Emmet O'Neal Library for a discussion of Holiday Writing. Fiction, nonfiction, pagan, religious...you pick, then come tell us about it! Our December meeting is a potluck meeting so if you are so inclined, bring a small snack to share.
If you shared a book with us at this morning's meeting, please do get an annotation to me at your earliest convenience. And again, a big thank you goes out to Samuel for presenting the Reader's Advisory program at the most recent JCPLA Staff Developement Day!
Today, we talked about self help books and the many, many varieties out there. Pretty much, if you have a need for help and advice with anything, chances are very good that someone has written a book about it.
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
When world-renowned writer C.S. Lewis met Joy Davidman Gresham, his life changed forever. He first married her in a civil ceremony to extend his British citizenship to her so she could raise her sons in England, but he soon realized he sincerely loved her and went through a formal ceremony with her to show his love in the sight of God and man---and to sustain her after her diagnosis of bone cancer. When Joy’s cancer went into a sudden remission, Lewis dared to hope that she might be spared, that the miracle he had prayed for had occurred . . . but it was not to be. Joy died, leaving Lewis shattered with grief, resentment, and doubt about his Christian beliefs. Seeking an outlet for his tumultuous emotions, Lewis took to writing down observations in empty notebooks he found around the house. The final result of these jottings is A Grief Observed, now a classic in the literature of bereavement and one that does not shrink from the uglier and more frightening aspects of the grief process. Lewis, famous for his Christian apologetic works such as Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain, now had to deal with his own disappointment and rage over how God had dealt (or failed to deal with) this tragedy. “Is it rational to believe in a bad God? Anyway, in a God so bad as all that?” He also reflects upon his fear that he will forget what his wife was really like, as “I have no photograph of her that’s any good. I cannot even see her face distinctly in my imagination.” Bit by bit, as time passes and he recovers from the exhausting initial stages of grief and loss, Lewis slowly finds his way back to a degree of peace and faith: “Something quite unexpected has happened . . . suddenly, at the very moment when I mourned [her] least, I remembered her best . . . it was as if the lifting of the sorrow removed a barrier.”
As Madeleine L’Engle points out in her foreword to this edition, part of the great comfort offered by this work is Lewis’ willingness “to yell, to doubt, to kick at God with angry violence.” Not for nothing is anger part of the grief process, and if a reader needs a book that will make him feel safe with that anger, it would be hard to find a better one for that purpose than A Grief Observed.
Mary Anne, BPL Central Southern History
Live! Don't DIEt!: The Low Fat Cookbook That Can Change Your Life by Vicki Park
“Forget about calorie counting! Forget about dieting! Vicki Park did , and lost 165 pounds.”
Sounds too good to be true, right? But read on. This combination cookbook and lifestyle advice book isn’t trying to be a quick “miracle cure” of the weight-loss industry. Park, after realizing that fad diets left her feeling deprived and didn’t help with weight loss, decided that what was in order was not another diet but an entire lifestyle change. She didn’t want to give up her favorite foods, so she created recipes that removed most or all of the fat from the dishes she loved like fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and onion rings. She also developed her mantra for preparing and eating the new versions: “I will not let myself compare the taste of my low-fat foods to their high-far counterparts. I will simply enjoy them, without making any comparison.”
Along with low-fat and no-fat recipes, Park also shares tips about how to re-equip your kitchen for the low-fat lifestyle, how to use your microwave for healthy cooking, and how to work more activity and exercise into your life. Again, the emphasis is on changing habits: this isn’t a crash diet to be discontinued after a certain amount of weight loss, but a new way of thinking, cooking, and eating. And after sampling some of the recipes such as Moist and Tender Oven-Fried Chicken, Crisp Corn Salad, and Tuna Casserole—Again? I can truthfully say that this is enjoyable food, whether or not you need a weight loss plan. This is a fun and useful addition to any cookbook shelf or any self-help collection.
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History
The AKC's Meet the Breeds: Dog Breeds from A to Z from the American Kennel Club
Before you buy that cute puppy, do your homework and make sure you’re getting the right dog for you and your family. Meet the Breeds makes it easy to review the various dog breeds by presenting the essential information about each AKC-recognized breed in a compact and reader-friendly format. Along with color photographs that show each breed as both puppy and full-grown dog (so you know what you’re getting into before you take on that adorable English Mastiff puppy that will grow to the size of a middle linebacker!), the book features sidebars with information about life expectancy, activity level, grooming requirements, and temperament. Do you want a dog to go jogging with you, or do you want one that will be happy to be a couch potato? Do you live in a small apartment or do you have a 40-acre field to accommodate one of the active giant breeds? Do you need a dog that will be child-friendly? Make your list of requirements and check out Meet the Breeds to help you welcome the right dog into its forever home with you.
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History
The Noticer: Sometimes You Find Perspective, and Sometimes Perspective Finds You by Andy Andrews
Kelly, Springville Road
How Do You Kill 11 Million People?: Why the Truth Matters More Than You Think by Andy Andrews
Kelly, Springville Road
The Happiness Project: or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin
April, Pinson
Happier At Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life by Gretchen Rubin
April, Pinson
Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape by Danica McKellar
New York Times bestselling author and mathemetician Danica McKellar tackles all the angles—and curves—of geometry In her three previous bestselling books Math Doesn't Suck, Kiss My Math, and Hot X: Algebra Exposed!, actress and math genius Danica McKellar shattered the “math nerd” stereotype by showing girls how to ace their math classes and feel cool while doing it. Sizzling with Danica's trademark sass and style, her fourth book, Girls Get Curves, shows her readers how to feel confident, get in the driver's seat, and master the core concepts of high school geometry, including congruent triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, proofs, theorems, and more! Combining reader favorites like personality quizzes, fun doodles, real-life testimonials from successful women, and stories about her own experiences with illuminating step-by-step math lessons, Girls Get Curves will make girls feel like Danica is their own personal tutor. As hundreds of thousands of girls already know, Danica's irreverent, lighthearted approach opens the door to math success and higher scores, while also boosting their self-esteem in all areas of life. Girls Get Curves makes geometry understandable, relevant, and maybe even a little (gasp!) fun for girls. (from Amazon.com)
Samuel, BPL Central BST
The Plan: Eliminate the Surprising "Healthy" Foods That Are Making You Fat--and Lose Weight Fast by Lyn-Genet Recitas
Mondretta, Leeds
The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters by Sarah Susanka
Sarah Susanka, best known as an architect and proponent of the "Not So Big" philosophy of architecture and interior design (i.e. quality over quantity), has written a self-help book applying the same less-is-more ideas to everyday living. With the help of an advisor, she demonstrates how small changes can make a big impact on our success and happiness. She applies these ideas to herself and discusses the outcomes, suggesting ways to examine our lives, eliminate the "clutter" and focus on the things that really matter.
Maura, Trussville
Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life by Gail Blanke
Life coach and motivational speaker Gail Blanke tells us how to eliminate physical and mental/emotional clutter by letting go of things (recycle, donate, discard) and old grudges, disappointments, negative experiences, etc. Each chapter focuses on a specific room or area for clearing out and describes the increase in energy and motivation we should gain from each completed project. She uses the term "life plaque" to describe the gunk that builds up around us and prevents us from living a more fulfilling life.
Maura, Trussville
This is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude and More--For Young and Old Alike by Augusten Burroughs
Maura, Trussville
The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by Dr. David Kessler
Dr. Kessler makes the biology behind the overeating impulse, if not easy to defeat, at least easier to understand and combat. Habit and addiction are tough to fight where food is concerned. Unlike with a drug or alcohol addiction, one cannot simply abstain from eating. It's an addiction that you must manage in the face of constant confrontation. It isn't easy. Some days it doesn't even feel possible. However, reading about the science behind why I sometimes feel like I'm losing my mind is comforting and strengthening, possibly even enough to win my battles today. And if I win them today, I just might tomorrow. Who knows what good habits may emerge...
Holley, Emmet O'Neal
O's Best Advice Ever!: Make Over Your Life with Oprah and Friends, Including Dr. Oz, Bob Greene, Suze Orman, Dr. Phil, Martha Beck, and More by Oprah Winfrey
This is a glossy compilation of the best advice and wisdom from Oprah Winfrey’s magazine, O, the Oprah Magazine and from twenty-five years of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah shares her personal advice, selections of interviews with famous people from The Oprah Winfrey Show, and information from contributors to her magazine and show on the topics of: health, fitness, money, happiness, and relationships. The book is conducive to being read in short segments of time or to being used to refer to topics of interest; as the articles in it are a few pages in length. Fans of Oprah Winfrey and those looking for quick, not in-depth advice on a number of topics will enjoy this book.
Leigh, North Birmingham
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice On Love and Life From Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed
Before Cheryl Strayed was the best-selling author of the memoir Wild, she wrote the anonymous advice column Dear Sugar for online literary magazine The Rumpus. As Dear Sugar, Strayed consistently answered the emails of troubled readers with thoughtful, gut-wrenchingly honest responses. Wild lovers will want to read more of Strayed's own journey but anyone struggling with issues of the heart will find sound advice within these pages. Highly recommended.
Amanda, Emmet O'Neal
Adulting: How to Become a Grown Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown
As the author of the popular blog Adulting, Kelly Williams Brown has been spreading good common sense advice for a few years now. In her first book (I say first, because I hope there will be more to come) Brown writes accessibly with friendly ease. It's as though your cool older sister is telling you how she messed up after college and how you can avoid making the same mistakes. Topics include domestic, professional, and social advice. Brown's penchant for quoting gangster rap and fey illustrations keep Adulting from being preachy.
Amanda, Emmet O'Neal
The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING; or, Why I'm Never, Ever Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog by Jen Lancaster
This book is part self help but is all funny. Lancaster decides after a year of not feeling her life is working for her, that she'll institute a new regime of following Martha Stewart's rules for all areas of her hearth and home. So from gardening, baking, decorating, organizing, to throwing parties and more she looks up and does (mostly) by the book what the Stewart Empire recommends. Sometimes she takes shortcuts and fails, miserably and hilariously. It is these moments that really shine and stick with the reader. I listened to the audiobook which Lancaster narrates. It was literally laugh out loud enjoyable and while I'm sure her written works are just as good, I highly recommend her audio versions. Her comedic timing is perfect. Through her trials and (many) errors she realizes that living a year of Martha really did help her improve so many areas of her life. I think the most fascinating part of Lancaster's writing is that as you travel along her year of self improvement you feel as though you know her, really know her. She has a way of making the reader feel intimately involved in her crazy, wild, funny life. Even if you don't walk away improved in your domestic skills, you will walk away feeling better about yourself and happier I assure you.
Gina, Gardendale
What are YOU reading?
Holley
