2 quick reviews

TITLE: What to Eat When: A strategic Plan to Improve Your Health and Life Through Food (352 pages)

AUTHOR: Michael Roizen, MD and Michael Crupain MD

PUBLISHER: National Geographic

PUB. YEAR: 2019

SETTING:  N/A
FORMAT:  - print (library)
RATING: 3.5/5 stars

I saw this book on the "new books" shelf and it seemed like a worthy choice to start 2019 off on the right foot. I liked that it was written by (2) doctors and although I loved the way the book was organized, much of the information was not new to me.

In this book you will learn how to use various foods to increase your longevity and improve the way you feel. The authors claim that out bodies are designed to eat more in the morning and less in the evening for optimal effectiveness. They recommend eating only in the daylight hours if possible and consuming all your food intake in a 12 hour period - ie: 6a.m.-6p.m (no snacking afterward).  We adopted this type of eating style 3.5 years ago when I retired and I lost about 12 lbs without dieting. 

This is definitely not a weight loss book, it's full of ideas for healthier alternatives and better food choices.  I liked the way the book was organized and, that the book has different step by step suggestions for different lifestyles. I do admit to skimming sections where I didn't feel that the info was new or relevant but, overall, it's a book worth checking out (if your library has a copy)

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TITLE: The Lady with the Purple Hat (162 pages)

AUTHOR: Otilia Greco

PUBLISHER: iUniverse

PUB. YEAR: 2017

SETTING:  Switzerland and an English Village
FORMAT:  - print (library)
RATING: pass

I saw this slim book on my library shelves and decided to give it a try.  It's about a woman in the midsts of a divorce battle who wants to be a widow not a divorcee.  Her mission is to see that her husband dies before their divorce becomes final (they've been battling it out for 10 years).  As the story opens her husband is in a hospital bed dying of cancer, but his death is not coming fast enough for Daisy. She decides to speed things up, donning a huge purple hat she heads to his hospital room planning to poison him, but, her plan doesn't work out as she had hoped.

The story goes back to the time when the couple met and paints Daisy as a money hungry, status seeker from the very start. She's not a character you could ever like or sympathize with and, although she tries to reinvent herself in the end, by then, I just didn't care what happened to her. A very quick read, I was actually surprised to find something like this on the library shelves. I just can't recommend this one, sorry.

A Series of Catastrophes and Miracles: A True Story of Love Science and Cancer; Mary Elizabeth Williams

A Series of Catastrophes and Miracles: A True Story of Love Science and Cancer

 Mary Elizabeth Williams - National Geographic Partners - 2016

"A wry, witty account of what it is like to face death—and be restored to life."

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"August 15, 2010 - My last Sunday with an intact head is a glorious one for the family to go to Govenor's Island"

Mary Beth Williams is a journalist, married with two young daughters, she was forced for deal with the fact she had Stage 4 Melanoma. In her book she shares her two year battle and her participation in a new immunotherapy treatment which stopped her cancer in its tracks.

Although the author is clearly a survivor, she shares other stories of loved ones and friends who were not as lucky as she was. The author's story pulls you in quickly and, although a story about someone battling cancer should not be enjoyable, this one was  The author is skilled at using humor at just the right times and her writing is honest and down to earth. She has a way of turning her personal medical crisis experience into a compulsively readable story.  I learned a lot about new cutting edge process and treatments as well.

If you tend to shy away from stories about illness and cancer, don't let this one slip by.  This is a story to be embraced, it's a story I'll remember.

4.5/5 stars

(library)