Brain Rules by John Medina

Did you know that your eyeballs edit what you see before they send it to your brain? Did you want to? This book will explain that and more. How do we think? Why don't we remember the way we think we do? What do you mean there's no such thing as multitasking? (Truly, we cannot think about two things at once, we can only swap back and forth quickly.) There is an amazing amount of information in this book, and it's not the dry read you might expect out of an analysis of brain function. It's informative, entertaining, a little scary in spots, and a book we should all read. What is more important to us than how we think?


Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salads by Christine Avanti

Ever wondered why diets don't work? So did I. Now I know, or at least I have a better perspective on it. A big part of it is sugar. When we eat sugar or carbohydrates, we digest them very quickly. In about two hours. This makes our blood sugar peak, quickly and high. Then we run out of food, and our bodies scream for more. Just one more cookie. Half a muffin. Anything. Trouble is, when our blood sugar peaked, some of it was stored as fat. And once it's stored, our bodies want to keep it. If they can make us eat more, they will do that instead of give up what they have.

On the other hand, when we eat balanced meals, with a healthy does of protein in them, we digest slower. Our blood sugar peaks lower, so we don't store that fat. And we aren't hungry again for about four hours. Also, since we don't crash so fast, we have more time to plan another healthy meal instead of racing to the cookie jar in desperation.

There are a lot of recipes in this book. Some of them I don't agree with. Some of that is on the basis of personal taste, some of it is on the basis of other health factors I think should be emphasized more. Luckily, there's plenty of food out there, and the guidelines are good.

There is also an exercise program in here. I only tried part of it, I think it's a bit ambitious for anyone who doesn't already exercise. (I do, but different exercises.) It's not that you can't do it, I'd just take it a lot slower than it is in the book.


Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

I love all of Terry Pratchett's books. Since he has been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's, we don't know how many more books we will get out of him, and that makes each one even more precious. I've reread this one three times already. It's about people. His books are always about people. It's about who we are, and what makes us who we are, and how this is both good and bad. Mostly we become who we are without thinking about it. We follow in the paths that seem obvious, because we grew up with them. We watched other people becoming who they are, and we become the piece of the puzzle that we most easily fit. It can be a great strength. And it can be the biggest mistake of our lives, and other people's lives, when we do it without thinking. We accept the unwritten rules, and in most cases that's good. We don't cross the yellow line the middle of the road, we don't write in library books, we don't write text messages while driving. (I hope!) Trouble is, some of those rules should be challenged. The ones that keep us in our place. That keep us from being "no better than we should be". We should be everything we can. It's too easy to just accept. It's hard to lose weight. It's too late to go to school. I'm no good at it. I don't know how. Find out! Try it. Just once. Even if you fail, you will have tried. And you can learn more from your failures than you do from your successes. You can learn who you are, and what makes you who you are. He puts it much better than I can. Read the book. Read them all. They are incredibly entertaining, and when you read them again, you find other, subtler stories beneath the surface. He is my favorite author for a reason.


The 5 Minute Face by Carmindy (from What Not to Wear)

I don't know anything about makeup. It seems that all women are supposed to absorb the knowledge by osmosis, but I never did. This book taught me all the things I didn't know. Okay, maybe a few details I'm still not completely clear on, but it covers reams of information. What to do for different skin types, different ages, different looks. It even has a list of suggested makeup in the back, with brand names and product names. I may not do my face every day, but now I know how to do it when I want to!