Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto is almost a continuation of what he started in the The Omnivore's Dilemma. But here he goes further and takes on the nutrition "industry". You know who they are - the folks that keep telling you that you need to eat more of this or that, but don't eat THAT - cause that will kill you. But then the next month - somebody else does a food study that totally negates what the previous one did. And that, he points out is part of the problem - just who is doing the study, who is paying for the study, and why? He goes into the background of the rise in these health studies. And it is very interesting to see what is "behind the curtain."

His mantra is fairly simple in the end : "Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants." And he goes on to explain it within detail. Will this book change your diet? Maybe. Maybe not. But it will definitely awaken your eyes to the nutrition industry and have you studying your plate a little closer. And perhaps you will be paying a little more attention to the fuel your body craves. Everything in moderation! A very good read.

Pretty Poison

Pretty Poison by Joyce and Jim Lavene is the first in a series with the character Peggy Lee. Dr. Lee is a botanist with a special interest in poisonous plants. She is a cop's widow recovering from the violent death of her husband. She is now lecturing at a college and running her own urban gardening business. And her life gets a jolt when the husband of one of her customers is found dead in her shop.

The authors do a great job with an older character restarting her life. They have a great character with a zest for life and it shows in the diverse amount of friends she has. The mystery was just okay - but I'm hoping the growth of the character will bring this series along. A fun read.

Herbal Mysteries with China Bayles

Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert is the first book in the China Bayles series. We are introduced to her and her small Texas community. She is an ex-lawyer who got off of the fast track and is making a life for herself and her herbal shop. One of her best friends in the community dies. But is it really suicide like the police want to think? She was ill, but had a strong sense of self and was busy fighting against a new regional airport. Was it her enemies on the council? Or was the mysterious visitor she seemed to have? The more China discovers the more questions arise to the surface.

The author sets up a great character and her friends in their first outing and follows it with a great mystery to boot. Let's hope the energy level is kept up in the rest of the series. I'm looking forward to the next one. A fun read.

Okay- since I started this post - I have gone on a wild reading jag and have read the next seven books. And I really love this character and her world. And it is best to read them in order to see how this cast of characters grows. These books will become your new friends. And now I'm itching to see what herbs will grow in my garden... Try them. They are fun!

Ain't Myth-Behaving

Katie MacAlister's book Ain't Myth-Behaving takes romances to a different level. One can count on her books to be fun and have a sense of whimsy - but this one might win! It contains actually two novellas. One tells the story of an Irish god who needs to get married by Beltane otherwise he will cease to exist. His usual goddess has run out on him, but he has met this lovely American tourist who seems to fit the bill. How does he convince her he is real?

The other tale is one of cursed Vikings who only appear on a stretch of Scandinavian coastline. When Brynna is rescued by them - a tale unto itself - one Viking realizes that she may be able to break the curse. Will she help them out? How do you bring home a bunch of Vikings for a family dinner? Anyone know where Odin lives now days?

Brush up on your gods and goddesses folks. You might need it. Myths can be fun. A great read.

It Happened at Christmas

First of all - yes, I am stilling reading Christmas stories after the holiday. So sue me. Sometimes one needs the extra lift. And some Christmas romance stories are not like the others. The anthology, It Happened at Christmas with pieces by Penny Jordan, Helen Brooks and Carol Wood is a great collection of different stories.

One can read romances set completely in the houses of the high and mighty and the folks go from one gala to the next. Don't get me wrong, those can be fun to read too, but these tales are set in out of the way places from the typical romance spot. One story is set on the Isle of Dogs in the East end of London. A new doctor comes to help out his uncle's practice with the poor in the neighborhood. The nurse and the doctor do not see eye to eye on remedies. Another story is set in a mill town where a girl needs to find out if a mill owner with a bad reputation - is really the ogre he is said to be. The other story is a about how a factory girl with a family to support gets a new job as a tenant on a farmer's land.

Definitely different Christmas stories. Take a look. A fun read.

Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget

Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget by Marianne J. Legato is not you’re usual "let's study the social differences between the sexes" book. There is more science than societal antidote here. Somethings I learned: facts like men's brains are bigger than women's but women's brains have more interconnectivity between the different sections. And the fact that men's ability to process language and to understand what is said to them starts to diminish as early as age 35, while women preserve this function until after menopause.

A great primer on the study of the brain and other gender differences and it is written in an easy to understand style - for the lay people out there. An interesting read.

Keeper of the Bride

Talk about having a bad day. Nina is left at the altar. She looked great, the church looked great, the groom decided he was a no show. Just as she is getting a ride home from the reverend, the church blows up. So now she gets to wait around in her bridal gown to have the investingating detective inform her - that it was not a gas leak. It was a bomb. And by the way, did she or her fiance have any enemies willing to kill them?

Thus begins the roller coaster ride in Tess Gerritsen's Keeper of the Bride. Nina just wants to go home and get out of her gown, but now she gets a ride home from the cop - Sam. Sam just wants to find out why some one would bomb this ER nurse. He doesn't want to get involved with an "emotional" ex-bride, but then more accidents happen, and more bombings. Just who is trying to kill this nice woman? And why?

Gerristen keeps the reader on the edge as the plot gets more twisted and the action gets faster. The more things are discovered, the more questions there are, and Sam, Nina and his team are trying to connect the dots before the killer strikes again. A fun and fantastic read.