June Books

June books! It was a good month for reading. Maybe not so much for other aspects of my life, but I did get a few books in this month. LOL!

1. The Five Kisses by Karla Darcy
2. Never a Mistress, No Longer a Maid by Maureen Driscoll
3. Why Prohibition! by Charles Stelzle
4. 12 Health & Fitness Mistakes You Don't Know You're Making by Michael Matthews
5. The Silver Locket by Margarey James
6. The Office Idiot Review by Pete Sortwell
7. The Variant Effect by G. Wells Taylor
8. The Top 30 Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes for Busy Women by Sarah Jessica Cook
9. R is for Running by Ray Charbonneau
10. Snow Bound by Blake Crouch
11. Conduct Unbecoming a Gentleman by Wareeze Woodson
12. Weight Loss Motivation Hacks by Derek Doepker
13. A Father's Odyssey: 75 Marathons in 75 Days by Terry Hitchcock and Peter Jessen (June 30, 2013)

Yup, that's 13 books for June. Not bad. Some books were longer than others, but a book is a book. Always fun to get lost in the pages of a story.

Top Books

Why Prohibition! is probably my favorite of all the books this month. Remember, I'm a history person, so this book may not be your thing, but I loved it! The book was written in 1918 and gave all the reasons why prohibition needed to happen and how to counter-argue those who felt Prohibition shouldn't pass. I loved reading all the arguments for Prohibition. It really is crazy all the reasons given that I never would have thought of: after the war, Europe would need our grain to rebuild; non-drinkers do not get paid as much as they should because bosses take into account the drunks at work; if passed, imagine all the money the family will have for food and luxuries. What I liked especially about this book is knowing how Prohibition went. It's interesting hearing the very logical explanations for Prohibition, which makes sense but that just didn't actually play out the way the dry's anticipated. Such a neat read not only for the content, but also for the writing itself. The writing style of the turn of the 20th century is truly different than how we write today. It's a great book to expose yourself to that writing style!

The Variant Effect was a good book too. I'll be honest, it was a bit graphic in terms of violence, but it was a really cool book. In a world where drug companies come up with medications that get passed quickly by the FDA, this book tells the story of a drug that cured just about everything, then it turned out to be worse than any disease it cured. Think zombies meet drugs with lots of violence and there you go. I liked this one because I've been on a zombie book kick lately and while this book kinda fit into that genre, it wasn't about zombies. It was definitely one of those books that I kept trying to find time to read it when I should have been doing other stuff. 

Don't Read

This month, there weren't too many in this category. I'll be honest, none of the books in June were awful (thank heavens!), so while the following books are not "don't read" worthy, I just wasn't digging them.

The Office Idiot Review is supposed to be a funny book and I've read another one similar that was funny, but this one just didn't seem to hit the mark. The premise of the book is the whole book are reviews of products by one particular office, where the people overlap in their reviews. Some of the reviews for office products were funny. But, for the most part, the reviews fell flat to me. I just didn't find them very funny. Maybe it was the story lines being woven through the reviews that didn't interest me. But, for some reason this book just did nothing for me.

Conduct Unbecoming a Gentleman is a mindless romance novel. I like these, especially in summer. Sadly, this one just annoyed me. The whole time the male protagonist just stuck to his own prejudices and refused to see what was in front of him. I get that's the way these books are supposed to go, but ugh. Maybe there were just too many examples of how the female protagonist was the opposite of what he wanted so the reader could fully be just as frustrated with him as she was. I don't know. I liked the premise of the book, but it just bothered me how stubborn the make was in this one. It was a decent read and I finished it, but it did make me a little annoyed...never good for a mindless romance novel.

The rest of the books were ok. Nothing to write home about, but not awful. I just love the Kindle because of all the books I read these days, unless it's a history or running book, I can pick something up for free on it and not worry if it's a great book or not. Best.Christmas.Present.Ever!

What did you read in June? Any recommendations?  

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May Books

Here we go again! It is time to see what I've been reading in the month of May. Apparently reading was not high on my priority list! Wow. Just five books. I'm a little surprised. But, I'll be honest, I've been reading a book by the bed for the past few months and I think that has distracted me from other books.

So without further ado, here are my five books from May:

1. Coralina by Anica Valle

2. Just Evil by Vickie McKeehan

3. Get Off Your Ass And Run by Ruth Field

4. Zombie, Inc. by Christine Dougherty

5. Married By Midnight by Julianne MacLean

Alright, here's a first. I've already reviewed one of the books on this list. Yea. I was so disappointed in one of these books that I've already done a review. So, rather than giving you another discussion of Get Off Your Ass And Run you can just check it out here. It's much more in depth than these posts. Let's just say I have some fundamental disagreements with the author. 

So, if we take that book out of the equation, the rest of them weren't half bad. I really liked Just Evil and Zombie, Inc. Those two I would highly recommend. And honestly, there isn't anything wrong per se with Coralina and Married By Midnight.

Just Evil
When I was younger, I used to read these suspense/horror books all the time. I can't do movies at all. But, horror books? Bring it! The premise of the book is someone is killing people who are close to Kit Griffin, a woman whose mother was a famous movie actress living in Beverly Hills. Their relationship is almost non-existent, so when her mother is killed on Mother's Day, the police immediately question the daughter after speaking to Alana Griffin's lawyer and best friend. What happens next is a killing spree involving those close to Kit, bringing her more and more under the eyes of the police as she tries desperately to clear her name.

Helping Kit to clear her name are her aunt Gloria, her best friend Baylee, and the man she'd been in love with since she was a teen Jake. These three people will be the ones working to assist Kit convince a pair of detectives that Kit couldn't have been the murderer, but can they convince the police of this before the killer reaches Kit?

A fun read, with lots of twists and turns. Multiple characters who are fairly well drawn out. The only downside to this one is I didn't realize it was part of a series (three all together) and there are some loose ends that aren't completely tied up at the end. Other than that, the book does a good job of tying up the important story lines by the end.

Zombie, Inc.
What would life be like years after the zombie apocalypse? How do the survivors keep going? Apparently, by starting a company that assists survivors with keeping the zombies at bay. But, is the company keeping zombies at bay because they are truly a menace to society or are they marketing zombies to a public that knows no different? This is the premise of Zombie, Inc.

Carl works for Zombie, Inc. and has for years. He is currently on his third trainee Dillalia, as last two died through various issues. Dillalia is all alone after her mother was killed early on in the zombie apocalypse and her father being killed when she was in her teens. For years, she worked for Zombie, Inc. in maintenance, but always dreamed of moving up. Working in Assessment was exactly what she hoped for...or was it?

Dillalia brings up questions that Carl doesn't want to answer, such as where are all the zombies coming from? How are there are always zombies available for R&D to find new methods of keeping the public safe? In working these problems out, Carl and Dillalia find out the answers they weren't sure they really wanted to know.

Another fun read, especially if you like zombie books. What I liked about this book so much is it is set in the future of the zombie apocalypse rather than the immediate aftermath. There aren't many books that look into what the future could be like if people survived. An interesting read, that makes you wonder whether zombies should have rights or treated like criminals in the post-zombie world.

Coralina
Coralina is the prettiest of the king's nine adopted daughters. She is spoiled and knows it. And when a local townsman bops her love interest in the head knocking him out and slinging her over his shoulder to be dragged back into the house after slipping out for a little adventure, she vows revenge against him. And she uses the only thing she knows, her looks.

Coralina plans to use her upcoming theater production, with the whole town in attendance, to show him up. But, in the process Coralina may have just lost her interest in revenge. Unfortunately, this change of heart may not have come quickly enough.

The storyline was interesting and there is a nice twist I wasn't expecting. Again, (and this is my fault) this book is part of a series that tells the story of each of the king's daughters. Coralina's story is told in its entirety, but there are hints of her sister's stories to prompt you to read the rest of the series. If you can also get them for free, it's a quick, but entertaining read.

Married by Midnight
A typical romance story - girl shames herself by running off with her tutor to be married, but is caught before doing so. Fiance takes the money offered by girl's father not to marry her, but her reputation is in ruins and is sent off to care for an ailing grandmother. A Lord threatens to donate all his money to charity if his sons do not marry by midnight on Christmas and while three of the four do so, finding their loves along the way, the fourth wayward son drags his feet. Eventually he agrees, but only after telling his brothers to find him a suitable bride - one who would not anticipate a traditional wedding and will be happy to allow him to leave her to continue his life abroad.

Unfortunately, these two who agree to abide by the contract are drawn to one another. As the weeks go by while preparing for the wedding, they start questioning the contract they signed wondering if they might be right for one another. Will they marry before Midnight, saving everyone's inheritance from going to charity or will they find they don't fit together?

I enjoyed this one and it was the perfect mindless read. The characters were entertaining and a nice little plot twist in the end made it interesting. It is a great beach read, even if the story is set at Christmas.

So, there ya go! This month's books with a bit more detail than usual. I think there may be more books in June for some reason. Who knows, but hope you enjoyed the review this month.

What have you been reading? Anything you'd recommend? Anything you were surprised with?

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Book Review: Get Off Your Ass and Run

As you know, I'm working on a weight goal. I'm also working on a running goal for the upcoming Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon. I picked up Bob Harper's The Skinny Rules and then decided to hit up Amazon for Jillian Michael's Slim for Life.

Then I started seeing a book called Get Off Your Ass And Run advertised on Facebook and it showed up in Amazon after picking out Jillian Michael's book. I had a gift card for Amazon, so I figured why not? Add it to the cart and let's get this party started!

This week I received both books in the mail on Monday (along with my Stride Box and Today's Mile t-shirt. It was a good mail day!). I was very excited to get going and started reading this one right away, as I had already finished Bob's book and that half marathon is getting closer and closer.

Now, I knew it wasn't a book for people who have been running for a while. I knew it was more of a beginner book, but I was ok with that. I'm having motivational issues and thought this might be perfect. I'll be honest, I kinda liked the irreverent title. I'm not afraid of language, so I thought this might be a bit of fun book to read.

And then I realized it's awful. The author is a trial lawyer who wrote the book while pregnant with twins, with no more authority to write a book about the best way to run than I. Now I'm not saying that people who run cannot be authorities on running, but after reading through her book I don't see anything other than her and her husband's running experience to speak for her.

I know I'm a weird person in terms of what keeps me moving when I want to stop. I have a tendency to negative talk myself to keep going. On a run, I'm ok with this. I curse myself out to finish off a tough run, to stop myself from giving up just because I'm hot, tired, sore, what have you. I try not to do the same thing in other areas of my life though. But, one of the methods the author wants you to use to motivate yourself is to look in the mirror and say "You Fat Bitch." Yes, in a world of anarexia, low self-esteem (which is a huge contributing factor to weight issues), and negative world views the author wants you to look in the mirror and call yourself a fat bitch in order to fix your weight issues. I'm sorry, but if I'm trying to find motivation to pick up a diet plan or get my feet out running, I don't think calling myself a fat bitch is going to do that. I think it's going to do the exact opposite.

The biggest issue I have with her book is twofold, but they go together. In Chapter 1, she writes:

Forget all that Pilates, yoga, Zumba, even gym sessions. Forget all of it. You will never have the body you want, nor the mental strength and stamina required to maintain it, until you understand and practice that running is the answer. It is the only answer. No exceptions.

Ummmm...what?  I understand the idea of being dedicated to your running plan, especially when you are a new runner. My issue is that other forms of exercise (including those Pilates, yoga, Zumba, and gym sessions) work different muscles, strengthen those used in running, and can in the case of yoga help with stress and flexibility. To tell someone that running is the only answer and to not do anything else until you have completed her training plan is absurd. Should a new runner do all of the above at the same time? No. Will you burn out? Maybe cause an injury? Yup. Should a new runner take it easy, see what works into their schedule, attempt to bolster their new routine? Again, yup. Insane to think and advocate otherwise.

The second issue I have with her assumptions can be summed up on page 18: "Exercise is the real key to weight loss, not food" (bold is how the line is in the book). Ummm...again, what? How can anyone make the bold statement that food is not a key component of weight loss? Google the phrase "you can't outrun your diet" and you will get 41, 900 pages in less than .25 of a second. Diet is key to weight loss. To ignore it or to trivialize it makes me wonder how much you really know about your topic.

She goes on to say "your current eating habits are not important - they are entirely secondary and much less critical than getting you outside and running." Her theory is you cannot concentrate on starting a running routine while changing and improving your eating. Start with her running program and ignore what you eat for now. How can you ignore what you are putting in your body when you are endeavering to start a running program that has it's own needs in terms of nutrition? And how can you ignore your diet when you are asking your body to burn many more calories than you have been without education, you will not know the best way to fuel pre- and post-run. There is no mention of this as she describes the first chapters on running.

The last big issue I have with her is her recommendation of not picking up running shoes immediately upon starting her program. She states on page 50: "wearing comfortable clothing and a pair of sneakers (don't buy new ones for the occasion - anything that's reasonably supportive will do at this stage), leave your front door and head out on foot for your nearest green space." For the first time runner, I can see how asking for an investment of $80-$120 may make someone balk, but in the long run having shoes that will cushion your ankles, knees, and body from the pounding running does to the body will stave off injuries. The author's training program is eight weeks and it isn't until you reach this stage where you either enter a 5k race or continue on does she recommend going to a running store (here I agree with her) and being fitted with shoes. It comes across as almost a reward. A reward for what? Making it that far without injuries?

I'll be upfront with you now, I have never had children. I have never had to bring my body back from having a child in either diet or exercise. So, when the author goes into Chapter 12 with "How to Recover Your Running Mojo Post-Baby/Injury/Illness - And Why Running Is Better than Therapy" it was no surprise that this chapter focused heavily on how to return to running and gaining back your motivation after having a child. The injury/illness portion of this chapter honestly felt like a add-on so to appeal to more people. In this chapter, she has several sub-headings: "Post-Childbirth Running," "First Timers" ("For the first-time runner who is also a first-time mom..."), "Old-timers" (If you ran before your pregnancy..."), and "Postpartum Depression." She then gives a list of how to get back into running after a long-term absence, but by focusing so much on post-baby running, I felt like this was more a book devoted to mom runners than to the general running population. While there is nothing wrong with talking directly to that group of people, your book is not marketed that way.

As I got further and further into the book, I didn't want to finish reading it. I was so frustrated with her push on the negative self talk, the running will fix everything, her small sample size in terms of her plan being effective (her, her husband, and her sister), and basically going against all the running and healthy eating advice I had ever heard. It shocked me that a publisher actually wanted to put this out there.

Would I recommend this book? No. Would I return it if I could? Yes. There are very few books I feel that way about (I'm looking at you Democracy In America), but this one is among the short list. I felt as if I could write a better book in terms of a beginning runner program for people who are overweight. Which is not a good thing when you are reading a book for helpful advice in motivating you in your running and weight loss efforts.

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? Is there a good running book you would recommend?


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April Books

It's that time again! Monthly book review. This month I read even fewer books than last month (only by 1 though!), but that's ok. It happens. It seems like I'm averaging 8-9 books a month. Without further ado, here are this month's books:

1. The Frenchman's Revenge by Taylor Lee (April 6, 2013)
2. How To Be A Totally Awesome Zombie by Melody Litton and Travis Thorton (April 6, 2013)
3. The Girl With The Cat Tattoo by Theresa Weir (April 8, 2013)
4. Out of Time by Monique Martin
5. Mistress Trevelyan by Jennifer St. Giles
6. Wild One by Danelle Harmon
7. The Skinny Rules by Bob Harper (April 28, 2013)
8. Plague Zone by David Wellington (April 28, 2013)

Top Books

1. The Skinny Rules by Bob Harper was probably the only book I would put in the Top Books list this month. I'll explain why a little later. I picked this book up because I am trying to find as much wisdom as I can to find the key to losing weight. The 20 rules are pretty straight forward and simple. Honestly, they aren't earth shattering or complicated. 

I enjoyed the tone of the book, as if Bob really is talking to you. He recognizes some of his rules aren't easy and he gives step down methods if going straight off is too tough. Once you are through the rules, you move onto the menus for the four weeks needed to start a new habit. The last chapter are the recipes for the menus in chapter two. 

This is what I will say. It's in hard back right now and at Barnes and Noble's cost me $28.00. I later saw it on Amazon.com for $15.00. If you are going to pick this one up (as much as I hate to say it), go the on-line route. $13.00 isn't to be sneezed at.

Don't Read

This was hard. I didn't find one that stood out like other months as being a bad book. I'll be honest, there is only one that I would say even comes close to don't read and so I will place that book here with why I only feel it's half a don't read.

1. The Frenchman's Revenge by Taylor Lee was a bit Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde honestly. The storyline itself was good with a half-French/half-Chinese man taking charge of a gang in California that takes on the corrupt California government. It is a romance as well with the main character focusing on marrying his love during all the action. The issue I have with the book is that while a romance novel may have sex scenes, the ones in this novel were exceedingly graphic and long. I finally got to the point where I skipped them altogether and just read the part about bringing the renegade gangs to heel. That part was well written, engaging, and kept you wanting to read.

I will say, this month many of the books were ok. Not fantastic, but not horrible. They were entertaining, but not jump up and down shouting about how fabulous they are. I enjoyed Out of Time (which is part of a serialization I can't quite manage to read in order) and Plague Zone. Out of Time follows a professor and his assistant as they are jerked back to New York City 1929. They must find a way to survive until the next eclipse of the moon in six weeks. The two take jobs in a speakeasy and must help bring down a supernatural being before they possibly make it home. Plaque Zone follows the travels of a man whose family is killed in the first wave of the Zombie infection. He goes from Chicago to California to Seattle to avenge their death by locating the zombie who killed them. Along the way he has to dodge zombies himself and the Colonel who set himself up as despot in the area around Seattle. These two books were good, but not great. I would recommend them for their entertainment value, but they aren't the best of the best.

What did you read this month? Read anything great? Share with me! I'm always looking for a new book!

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March 2013 Books

Wow. Run a half marathon and see how few books you read...

March
1. Titanic with Zombies by Richard Brown (March 1, 2013)
2. An A-Hole Gets in Shape by Andy Ostrom (March 4, 2013)
3. Kate's Kisses by Mary Manners (March 4, 2013)
4. Reinventing Claire by Darian Wilk (March 6, 2013)
5. Handbook for the Living Dead by R.I.Peace (March 7, 2013)
6. Fit is the New Skinny: The No-BS Truth About Getting Thinner, Leaner, and Stronger by Michael Matthews (March 7, 2013)
7. Lose Weight and Live Strong: The Ultimate Guide to Beat Obesity by Jane Willis (March 7, 2013)
8. Treason by Meredith Whitford (March 22, 2013)
9. I Wish I Knew That U.S. Presidents by Christopher W. Davis (March 24, 2013)

Top Books

Titanic With Zombies by Richard Brown. I will state right now, I am a Titanic fanatic. I have books, movies, watch the shows, read the articles, have been to the exhibit about five times, and when we go to Ireland we are going to Belfast to visit all the Titanic sights. I am a purist and think being too flippant desecrates the names of those who perished. With that being said, I loved this book! It was awesome how it mixed the Titanic historical story with the idea of a zombie outbreak on board. The author used real people to move the story along while using fictional people as the zombies. It had just the right about of true history, mixed with the zombie storyline that didn't detract from the historical significance. Really, I highly recommend this book.

Treason by Meredith Whitford. This book took me most of the month to get through, but that isn't a bad thing. It was a fabulous read! The writing is great, the storyline is engaging, and the history of it seems accurate (I'm not 100% up to date on my Richard III history). The book follows the life of Richard III through the eyes of his cousin, who comes to live with him when he is eight. The book contains a nice blend of history with the extra storyline of Martin, the cousin. This Kindle book took me longer than usual to read, but the writing was so good and the storyline so engrossing that I was ok with that. I looked forward to reading this book and was slightly sad when it ended.

I Wish I Knew That: U.S. Presidents by Christopher M. Davis. I will state here and now, I did not write this book under the male version of my name (my maiden name is Christina M. Davis). I read the vast majority of it on the way to and from Virginia Beach. It was a quick read with some interesting facts about the Presidents, First Ladies, and random Presidential facts. The writing is at a lower level, probably the book is aimed more at children than adults, but I'll be honest there are a lot of good information on some of the lesser known Presidents. The book starts with George Washington and continues up through President Barrack Obama. This book is a great refresher with some stuff you probably didn't know (I know there were lots of things I didn't know) and good to share with your kids. I will say, I have the Kindle version and the formatting isn't great, several times the "fact" is one letter per line centered. Not the easiest to read. I skipped the facts when this happened. Yea...I'm lazy that way.

Don't Read

Handbook for the Living Dead by R.I. Peace. Awful. Just awful. I like zombie books and I thought this would be fun, but no. The concept is the author is sharing how to adjust to being a zombie after being turned. I anticipated it being a funny, quirky book. It was not. I actually almost didn't bother with finishing it, but I did just because I was about halfway through. I really wouldn't recommend this book. At all.

This month I didn't have the same completion rate as January and February. No idea what happened this month. I know I read a good deal during my gym visits and I sure didn't get as many sessions at the gym as I should have. Hopefully April will give me a better completion rate.

Read any good books this month? Have you picked up any I've read? Your thoughts?

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February 2013 Books

Another month, more books! Here are this month's books, plus the good and the bad!

February
1. Scarlette by Davonna Juroe (February 1, 2013)
2. Killer Cat: A Prison Journal by Michael Aguilar (February 2, 2013)
3. Inside the Mind of the Brain Dead Kind by Walter M. Lake (February 2, 2013)
4. Interesting Fitness by Jonathan Kamp (February 3, 2013)
5. Best Inspirational Quotes Ever! World's Most Powerful Inspirational Quotes & Motivational Quotes Manual by The Success Sculpting Coach (February 3, 2013)
6. America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 by Alfred W. Crosby (February 3, 2013)
7. The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson (February 6, 2013)
8.  The History of the World According to Facebook by Wylie Overstreet (February 11, 2013)
9. Royal Bachelor by Trudi Torres (February 11, 2013)
10. Lynna's Rogue by Kitty Margo (February 20, 2013)
11. The Stress Free You: How To Live Stress Free and Feel Great Everyday Starting Today by Elizabeth O'Brien (February 22, 2013)
12. The Spice of Life by Jennifer L. Jennings (February 23, 2013)
13. Cracked by Tara Logan (February 25, 2013)
14. Venice Vampyr by Tina Folsom (February 25, 2013)
15. Pandemia by Nick Lancaster (unsure)

Top Books

Best Inspirational Quotes Ever! World's Most Powerful Inspirational Quotes & Motivational Quotes Manual by The Success Sculpting Coach (February 3, 2013)

America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 by Alfred W. Crosby (February 3, 2013)

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson (February 6, 2013)
The History of the World According to Facebook by Wylie Overstreet (February 11, 2013)

So many good books this month! Yea! Always good to see ones that were worth the read. I'll admit Best Inspirational Quotes Ever! World's Most Powerful Inspirational Quotes & Motivational Quotes was an easy read, but it was exactly what I was looking for this month. I wanted to find some quotes to motivate me throughout the year and I am pulling from them for Motivational Mondays. I really liked it. 

America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 was a real book, not an ebook. It was very good and very helpful for my research. It had a bit more medical technical jargon than I was able to handle, but overall a very good book. I am sure I will be able to utilize it in my book.

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back was just one of those fun, teenagey type books. I love Cinderella and thought this could be fun. It was a fun, silly book that if you like romance you'll like. I did think the book title was a bit off though. The main character, the ugly stepsister, really wasn't. She was a pretty, smart girl who's stepsister seemed to have it all. I think the title may have been a bit more mental than physical, which is really what the Cinderella story was. Overall though, I liked it. I laughed and really just enjoyed the story.

The History of the World According to Facebook was another real life book. Hilarious! I recommend you buy this book right now! It's a quick read, but so freaking funny! It starts all the way back at the Big Bang and goes pretty close to 2012. It covers just about every major historical happening in history, some more than others, but in a fun way. It is short, which might be the only negative I have regarding the book; I would have loved for more details.

Don't Read

Killer Cat: A Prison Journal by Michael Aguilar (February 2, 2013)

Pandemia by Nick Lancaster (unsure)  

I was very excited by Killer Cat: A Prison Journal. I love thinking my cats have their own thought process on this whole "pet" thing. But, it didn't live up to expectations. It was a true disappointment. It just really annoyed me. It was mostly negative, rather than funny. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't find that funny. And the amount of effort the cat put into trying to kill the owner? I don't know. I like to think my cats would just rather be free than kill me off.

Pandemia had hit for me all over it. And then it ended. Seriously. In the middle of the two main characters riding cross country to NYC to find the wife's sister in the middle of a virus outbreak. I realized quickly that in small print the cover said Part 1. It wasn't the full book. Now I can't be too mad, it was a free book, but I anticipated the whole thing. And it was really good. I was getting into it. I was rooting for the characters. I was thinking the wife was an idiot for wanting to drive from the Mid-West to NYC to check on her sister in the middle of what was turning out to be a worldwide pandemic. Then bam! End. Haha! Go buy the rest of the book. Blargh! This did not make me happy. Now, if you chose to purchase the whole book, I would say you would probably like it. Unless something odd happened, I bet this book would have been on my Top Books list, but since it was only Part 1? Not so much.

So, that's my books for February. One more than January in several fewer days. What about you? Did you read anything good this month? Check out any of the books I read last month? I would love to hear about it!

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Book Review - Run Your Butt Off

Run Your Butt Off: A Breakthrough Plan to Lose Weight and Start Running [No Experience Necessary] 

by Sarah Lorge Butler, Leslie Bonci, and Budd Coates

Rodale Books: 2011

A few weeks ago I purchased three books on running and nutrition as I'm looking for some help in the diet area of the running equation.  If you receive the Runner's World emails, you have heard of this book.  I saw it at our local bookstore (yes, I went to a physical bookstore.  Crazy, right?) and decided to give it a try.

The reason I picked it up was I liked the idea of a book laying out how a runner needs to eat to  be successful.  I had a feeling the running portion would be stuff I already knew since I've been running since 2007, but I'm not against learning more.  Who knows?  Maybe there would be some golden nuggets in here to help me with my running.  I'm a slow runner, so I'll take all the help I can get!

I'll be honest, I did not get as much out of this book as I hoped.  As much as I anticipated it being written at a complete beginner's level, it was more so than I thought.  I'm going to give you what I liked about it and what I didn't and let you make your own decisions.  If you like it and think it will help you, there's a link up there under the image to Amazon, though I did pick it up at my local book store under the fitness section.

Pros

1. The authors stress speed is not important in this process.   They encourage you to go out and run about the speed you walk.  I know that sounds counter-productive to what you may think running is, but their goal is to get you to run the program, speed can come later.  When talking to new runner's I say the same thing and not because I'm a slow runner.  I say this because I know how defeating it can feel to go out and feel like you're running so slow that people are walking faster.  It's important to get used to the movement and routine of running; to feel the success of following the plan and increasing the run time and decreasing the walk time.

2. I generally follow the Weight Watchers program for weight loss, but the Run Your Butt Off plan calls for calorie counting.  They lay out exactly how you come to the number of calories you should consume if you do nothing (basically if you want to maintain), then how to determine what you need to consume based on your activity level before exercise.  From there, they explain the concept of cutting x-number of calories from your diet to lose weight.  For the first time, someone explained how to get to the magic number of calories a day without resorting to the generic 1200 a day.  I appreciated this and how they explain that the number of calories per day will decrease as you become fitter.  They include the formula to figure out the number or direct you to Runner's World to do the equation on-line.

3. Personal experience.  I am a sucker for hearing success stories.  Tell me what you are proposing has worked for normal people and I'm more likely to take you seriously.  The book is based on a test panel of 16 real people (yes, the sample size is pretty small).  The authors laid out the results of the test panelists, no sparing the news that not everyone stayed in the program or even lost weight.  Throughout the book, the authors share the stories of the participants, including their name, age, job, goals, starting weight, and ending weight with before and after photos.  Then each participant answers a few questions about their experience with the program.  It helps to see the type of people who participated and finding someone similar to myself in their ranks.

4.  At the end of the book, the authors put a Workbook section with logs for weight, running, and a food diary.  Each of which they encourage you to use throughout the program.  I believe in the food diary and I always enjoy writing down my workouts (I usually use the website Daily Mile).  But, if you're new to this, having something already laid out for you to use rather than being encouraged to do so, but not knowing how to is really great.  

Cons

1. Personal pet peeve of mine.  There are lots of pull-out quotes throughout the book.  I love pull-out quotes, if they give you additional information.  If all they do is pull-out a sentence from the text body they are worthless in my opinion.  On almost every page there are pull-out quotes of worthless information.  It bothered me because it is the perfect opportunity to add information, clarify something said, or give an example.  They really were a waste of space.

There are some nice one-on-one information from each of the author's throughout.  These are great.  It is the actual pull-out quotes in teal that I have an issue with.

2. For me, having run for a little over 5 years, the running portion of this book really is for a never before runner.  It's a great start and I appreciate they encourage you to go at your own pace, repeat weeks as needed, focus on yourself and not compare your journey to others, but there isn't much for someone who has been running.  I had hoped for some tips, but there wasn't much.  I say this is a con for me.  For a beginner runner, someone just starting out and nervous about it, it is perfect.  

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Believe it or not, with double the positives than negatives, I wasn't really impressed with the book.  My overall impression is the information is basic.  For the most part, I already knew the bulk of it and didn't get much new from it.  Since I was looking for some help in the diet portion, I felt that the information was what you could get anywhere.  Of course, I have been trying to lose weight for years and read as much as I can on the subject in the hopes of reaching my weight loss goal.  I obviously know more than someone starting out.  I get that.  I just felt that the book didn't give me much new to work with.

Overall, would I recommend this to someone just starting out running in the hopes of losing weight?  Yes.  I think it has all the points you need to use running as a method of weight loss.  It's easy to read, takes into consideration a beginner's fears, shares honest responses from the test panel, gives you worksheets to use, and encourages you to keep at it.  But, for the person who is a runner already and is looking for methods of tweaking your diet/running routine it is too basic.

I have not been paid for this review, nor did I receive the book in exchange for a review.  I bought the book on my own in the hopes of helping my diet intake and running. All impressions are my own.

Book Review

Running and Fat Burning for Women

Jeff and Barbara Galloway

As you may know, I ran my first half marathon this past February.  I started my training in December 2010 and worked my way through until the race on February 27, 2011.  During that time I had what I affectionately termed "Operation 20" where between November 2010 and February 2011 I would lose 20 pounds.  It was doable and I really felt that those 20 pounds would come off so easily with me training for a half marathon.  I mean, come on!  I'm running mileages higher than I've ever run before every week!  How could I fail to lose weight?  Well, "Operation 20" was a failure.  Did not lose 20 pounds during that time period.  I basically stayed the same.  Why?  Because your body wants you to compensate for all the calories you burn while exercising and it takes a pretty strong person to stand up and say NO! 

I am now training for my second half marathon (Philadelphia Half Marathon - Best Time of Your Life!) and I'm trying to go into this more educated.  So, I hit my local Borders to grab a book on half marathon training and came across Running and Fat Burning for Women by Jeff and Barbara Galloway.  I was intrigued by the title as I will be running, I am a woman, and I want to burn some fat.  I also noticed it was written by Jeff Galloway and his wife.  The same Jeff Galloway of the Galloway Marathon Training Program, 1972 Olympian, author of numerous books, monthly columnist for Runner's World, and organizer of the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, GA.  He kinda has credentials.    So, I grabbed that (along with a half marathon training book) and proceeded to the check out.

The first thing I will say about this book is it is exceedingly readable.  Written very conversationally, lots of white space, large type, and pull-outs, it is easy to get through and a quick read.  The book is broken up into six segments: Women's Issues, Eating With a Purpose, Exercise is Fun! If You Stay in the Fat-Burn Zone, Motivation, Tips & Techniques, and Troubleshooting.  Each segment is broken up into sections and each section has bolded subsections, photos, and personal stories of people the Galloways have worked with.  This set-up keeps the book moving, I was able to read the close to 200 page book in just a couple of hours.

What I'm taking away from their theory on fat burning and running is two-fold:

1. Food is fuel for the body.  It is not a reward for getting through a bad day, reaching a goal, or celebrating with family and friends.  The purpose of eating is to fuel your body to do what it needs to do.  If you're running, you need to ingest the right combination of foods and liquids to keep your body in condition to do what you're asking it to do.  I've known this, but never really had a plan laid out that explains exactly what your body needs and how often you should be fueling it.  They do a good job of laying it out for you, rather than just vaguely saying food is fuel and assuming you can figure out what to do about it.

2. Exercise does not have to be push til you drop.  Many times, adding in smaller activities can help with your overall fitness and weight loss.  

Several short exercise sessions a week can burn fat every day.  The secret is to have a series of gentle exercises which you can do throughout the day.  You want to enjoy these activities, and they must be easy to insert into your lifestyle.

Walking for example, offers an almost unlimited opportunity for burning fat, while allowing you to feel better the rest of the day.  Instead of sitting down while you are watching kids, waiting for a meeting or appointment, WALK!  The steps add up.  (Galloway, 23)

I took this piece of advice to heart, and while I haven't fully implemented all they propose, I started adding a bit more walking into my average day.  I have a half mile walking commute three days a week.  I decided to show up a tad bit early (15 minutes) and add some distance to this.  I then try to get out at lunch for about a 20 minute walk.  After work, I add on additional distance as I walk back to my car.  These simple three things added 1.5-2 miles a day to my commute.  They didn't cost me anything, I never got out of breath, and had it not been 90+ degrees these days, I wouldn't have gotten hot.  At the end of the week, I had 7.5 miles of walking in rather than 3 miles and it didn't take me much to get in that extra 4.5 miles.

I enjoyed this book and I have a feeling it's going to be one I refer back to throughout the next few months as I incorporate more and more of their suggestions.  Some of their suggestions are big changes for me and will take time to work in, but I see the logic behind what they propose and I believe that even working in a few of their suggestions will help me in the long run.

Book Review

The 33-Year-Old Rookie: How I Finally Made It to the Big Leagues After 11 Years in the Minors*

Chris Coste

I'm a big baseball fan, with the Philadlephia Phillies being my team.  Been following them since I was 12, which is quite a few years at this point.  ;-)  Until their recent ascent into actual success, there hadn't been much out there to read on the team.  With the winning of the 2008 World Series, my limited horizons opened with all sorts of books coming out.

That being said, The 33-Year-Old Rookie: How I Finally Made it to the Big Leagues After 11 Years in the Minors came out in 2008, two years after Chris Coste, back-up catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies made his major-league debut with the team.  When the book came out, I wanted to read it.  I am a Chris Coste fan.  His story shared by the media had me rooting for him throughout the 2006 season.  But, when it came out in hardback, it was $25.00.  A little out of my price range.  Eventually, I found it on the Bargain Books section in a Borders that was closing (due to the bankruptcy) and snatched it up.

I pulled it off the shelf the other day to read, as we are in full-fledged baseball season now and it seemed appropriate.  And I will say, it was a great read!  A quick read at 196 pages, Coste writes in a conversational-style that almost makes you feel as if he's talking directly to you as he tells his story.  He kicks off his story with Phillies Spring Training 2006.  He goes through the entire Spring Training in Florida, sharing how it felt to be with the team, meeting all the "stars," and how his talent seemed to finally be recognized.  I really enjoyed this chapter, as I remember the 2006 team and it was great reading about the guys on the team in a more intimate manner.

My biggest issue with the book comes next.  From Chapter 1, all about his experience in the Phillies 2006 Spring Training camp, he takes Chapter 2 into a whole different direction, specifically his childhood and the start of his story.  It was jarring to say the least.  I was anticipating hearing how the 2006 season went for him, but instead he takes the reader back to where it all began, his childhood.  Obviously, at some point he's going to take you back to how he got started in baseball, where he played, what struggles he overcame to get to the Major League level, but it was disconcerting the way he opened his book with being in with the major league team then jumping backwards 30 years.

Once you get past that jolt, he writes well.  His background is compelling and I found myself rooting for a guy that I already liked.  His dedication to the sport and his drive to succeed really made his ultimate call-up that much more special.  And eventually, the book gets around to that (in chronological order).  He also shares photographs of himself throughout his baseball career and as a photographer myself, gives credit to those who took the photographs (including teammate Shane Victorino).

Coste's The 33-Year-Old Rookie: How I Finally Made It to the Big Leagues after 11 Years in the Minors is a great read for an Philadelphia Phillies fan or anyone who wants to read about someone dedicated to their dreams.  Coste never became a huge star in baseball, not like a Ryan Howard or Mike Schmidt, but he became a fan favorite in Philadelphia.  He currently is a free agent and is working with Comcast SportsNet on their pre-and post-game shows for the Phillies, as well as Daily News Live.  Check him out on the web at Chris Coste.com.

* I have the book in hard back not Kindle, but Amazon shows a different cover currently than the one I have.  Apparently, he has updated his book since 2008 to include information on the 2008 World Championship season.  I used this image only to show the version of the book I read.

Book Review: The Madman of Venice

The Madman of Venice

Sophie Masson

I read a lot.  Like more than anyone really should.  Seriously.  Love books.  Sadly, I dislike how much books cost these days.  Expensive!  So, four times a year local library has this amazing book sale and I load up.  Individual books are $2.00 for hard back, $1.00 for soft back, and a paper grocery bag of "mystery" books (known only by the genre - sci fi, mystery, biography, romance, etc.) for $1.00.  I usually end up with about $10 worth of books, including one grab bag.  The grab bag rocks honestly.  Inside is anywhere from 15-20 paper back books.  It's great!

Last time I hit up the ole book sale, I grabbed this book The Madman of Venice.  Mostly I picked up because I hit Venice last year and ever since then I've been obsessed with all things vacation.  I'm a big historical novel person and tying that into my recent vacation destination obsession?  Well, the book made it's way into my pile.

Little did I know that this book was a teen book.  LOL!  I was so excited about the idea and setting that I failed to notice the website for the book - www.randomhouse.com/teens.  :-)  Ah well.  I decided I bought the book because it sounded interesting, might as well give it a shot.

Honestly, it's not a bad book.  As I was reading it, I could tell the book was written a tad bit below my reading level,  but it was well written.  The plot follows two story lines: the disappearance of a teenage Jewish girl from Venice's Ghetto and the pirating of British merchant vessels off the shores of Venice.  The story starts out very cryptically with two teenagers in the wrong place at the wrong time in 1587 Venice.  After this quick start, we forward to London in 1602 and are introduced to Celia Ashby and Ned Fletcher.  Ned is a clerk to Celia's father Master Ashby, who has been charged by the merchants he works for to visit Venice to investigate why their ships are being seized by pirates.  Before heading off to Venice on behalf of his employers, he is visited by Emilia Lanier, a musician and poet in the court of Queen Elizabeth 1.  She comes to the Ashby's asking for assistance in locating a missing Venetian girl who has disappeared after being accused of witchcraft by a powerful Venetian family.

This visit sets the stage for our heroes, sending them into a mystery involving multiple families, intrigue, murder, lies, and danger.  A fun read for an adult (who completely didn't notice it was a teen book!), but really a great read for a teen.  Celia Ashby is a modern day Nancy Drew, helping her father work out the mystery, while following her own leads to track down the missing girl.  Ned Fletcher, just like Nancy's Ned, is there to assist and to make sure she stays safe.  Between Celia, Ned, Master Ashby, their Venetian friend Orlando Leon, and the missing girl's family the mystery eventually untangles, with a few twists and turns that even an adult will be surprised with.

Book Review

I am a HUGE reader.  I can get through a 250-300 page book in a few hours kinda reader. So, I've decided that I'm going to share what I'm reading with you in an attempt to help share some good reads.  I'm a big history person, so a good amount of what I read is history/biography, but I also read sports, non-fiction, some sci-fi, cheesy historical romance, and photography books. I know I sometimes have a hard time deciding on a book, so I figured I'll share what I'm reading and maybe it will help you find your next read.

 American History Revised: 200 Startling Facts That Never Made It Into the Textbooks

I will state upfront, I have not finished this book...yet.  But, I am enjoying it so much that I decided to review it first because honestly, I can't imagine it won't be as enjoyable to the end as it has been from the beginning.

The author, Seymour Morris, Jr., indicates in the preface that he wrote this book after being out of the country for about 16 years and being constantly being questioned about America.  He states, "the best way to diffuse hostility and single-mindedness was to entertain my audience with little-known stories of history that suggested greater knowledge than theirs, but with humility and a broad perspective." I find this to be true as well, honestly.  Meeting people from outside the U.S. is fantastic, but often they treat this country with hostility or a great-than-thou attitude (meaning their country is better than the U.S. because of x, y, and z.).  I appreciate Morris' approach to this, as there are times when I am uncertain as to how to proceed with them.  While I appreciate the contributions to humanity each country has brought to the world, I also believe that many of the greatest advancements have been made here and while one can not say that the U.S. has not stumbled in some of it's actions, overall the actions have been no less than those of other countries.

Within 10 chapters, Morris breaks down numerous little-known facts throughout history, many of which counter-act what our traditional history books would have us believe.  And I for one love it!  There are so many antidotes of historical significance that are left out of our history books that honestly make for better history.  One of my favorite examples is the night Washington crossed the Delaware, a turning point in the Revolutionary War.  The basics we can all recall - on Christmas day in 1776, George Washington decided to attack the British at Trenton, NJ, hoping a victory would buoy the spirits of the colonials.  What I remember from my history classes is he crossed the Delaware, marched up to the encampment and won a decisive battle.  Go America!  What gets missed in this telling, and what I believe would make the telling so much more interesting, is the number of times the British were informed of the coming attack and did nothing.  First, a contingent of American soldiers came across the Hessian guards and killed them.  When the bodies were discovered, rather than thinking it was the work of soldiers, the British believed it to be the work of local farmers and dismissed it.  The commander returned to his Trenton tavern, neglecting to tell the guard to watch the river, when advised to send out a mounted patrol, he declined, saying it could wait til morning.  Around midnight, after a night of card playing and drinking, a loyalist farmer tried to speak to the commander, who refused him entry.  Still wanting to warn the commander, the farmer sent a note telling him that the Americans had crossed the Delaware.  After receiving the note, the commander put it in his pocket, never setting eyes on it.  Within three hours, the commander woke to the surprise of General George Washington and his troops about to attack.  Personally, I like this telling of Washington crossing the Delaware to the staid and boring rendition we get in our average history books.  How much more interesting is it to know that three times the British were warned of an attack and yet they dismissed it? 

The entire book is laid out in such a format, little known facts about some of history's most famous events, people, and places, laid out in chronological order.  Easy to read, short bursts of facts, and fun tid-bits of information that make traditional history telling pale in comparison.  Morris writes in easy to understand language, not stuffy or boring.  He throws in little quips and dare I say snarky comments here and there that I honestly found perfectly acceptable and appropriate.  Maybe because he wrote what I was thinking as I read the section?  This is not your momma's history book, but a fun, intellectual challenge that proves history is anything, but boring.

Personally, this book to me is a fantastic read and should be an addition to the history textbooks used in high schools across the country.  To those who claim history is just a bunch of dry facts that have nothing to do with today, read Morris' book.  I think you'll find one or two gems that will disabuse you of that notion.