Frommer's Norway by Darwin Porter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read this guide as part of my research for sights to see at the three ports I will be on my cruise.

I like Frommer's guides for the historical information about the country and its descriptions of its landscape. URLS for the websites of the attractions are given so that the information can be checked for current opening times and prices. It gives me the confidence to explore beyond the excursions recommended by the cruise line.

This book had information about all three Norwegian ports which is something Rick Steves' Scandinavia did not. This will be the guide from which I tear out the information and keep with me on my day trips.



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The Brain Trust Program: A Scientifically Based Three-Part Plan to Improve Memory, Elevate Mood, EnhanceAttention, Alleviate Migraine and Menopausal Symptoms, and Boost Mental by Larry McCleary

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I read books like this because I think the information will help someone I know, and yet, these are the people who will never read the book based on my recommendation nor will they listen to my short version of its recommendations.

The best I can do is incorporate into my own life its advice to eat a well-balanced diet with healthy fats and oils, such as medium-chain triglycerides oil, flaxseed oil, and the DHA found in fish oils. Challenge myself to exercise in new ways and explore new topics to learn. The book has mental exercises to do each day. It suggests you use mnemonics to memorize lists.

Yes, I recommend this book for the general reader for explains terms well. If the unfamiliar words bother you when a recommendation is made, simply take the book with you to your local health food store and knowlegdable clerks can help find products for you.



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The Smoke Dragon by Shane Jiraiya Cummings

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was free from Barnes and Noble on 2-23-2011, and it is still free a year later. A nice thing about Free Fridays is the opportunity to try a book from a genre I don't ususally choose.

This book is a 75-page story/novella which introduces the reader to Kaidan, Akio and Yumi who will appear in future novels, yet to be published by the names mentioned. A first chapter of one of these is included.

The setting may be "in a Japan that never was" but the author does a good job of evoking a mood with his storytelling. One thing I did not like was the specifying of incantations or mantras without working an explanation into the story for my curiosity took me out of the fictive dream several times in these few pages.

If you like Dark Horse Comics' Usagi Yohimbo, this may be a book you would like.


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Feed Your Brain, Lose Your Belly: A Brain Surgeon Reveals the Weight-Loss Secrets of the Brain-Belly Connection by Larry McCleary, MD

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


An ad for this book on www.goodreads.com website caught my attention just when I was in the process of setting up my Food & Exercise Diary for the DASH diet. I was intrigued by the synopsis and the reviews. I borrowed a copy from my library.

I have a hobbyist's interest in neuroscience so I had no problem following his hypothesis and logic for suggesting that a high carbohydrate-low fat diet might continue to contribute to a high enough level of insulin that glucose may be stored faster and released slower from its stores giving a hunger signal that encourages eating before the meal's calories are expended. McCleary suggests that a food plan with 25% carbohydrates from the lower end of the Glycemic Index, 55% Fat from things such as ground flax seeds, flaxseed oil, or coconut oil, and 20% protein which I can choose from salmon, nuts, and beans for my preference. It was not difficult to change the settings in my Food and Exercise Diary software. I can continue to use the healthy foods in my refrigerator and pantry. My only additional purchase was coconut oil. I think I don't feel as hungery as I did with the 55% carbohydrates, 27% fat and 23% protein of the DASH diet, plus the restriction of nuts, seeds, and legumes to 3 times on the DASH diet a week was too harsh for my meat-free preference. This FYBLYB diet had a clinical trial for only 6-weeks, and control group 2 (FYBLRB diet without supplement) averaged a 5 pound weight-loss during those 6 weeks. As I write this review, I have only been on it for 1 week with a 1 pound weight-loss.

The recommended exercise is basic. Walk for 30 minutes three times daily and use a pedometer to keep track of steps throughout the day. Basic weight-bearing exercises are to be done two or three times daily. Simple stretches round out the exercise program.

The one objection I have to this book is its recommendation to supplement the diet and exercise with McCleary's proprietary supplement called Vita-Loss which retails for $69.95/month supply and available at his website. I rate this only 3 stars for I don't know if I will be able to stay with its guidelines for the length of time I need to return to my healthy weight. If I get there, it will get one or two more stars.



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I also should give a shout out to the website for the weightloss software I use, Food and Exercise Diary

Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was previously a Free Friday selection from Barnes and Noble, and it is no longer free.

Chadwick tells an interesting story of the knight William Marshal who lived in the 12th century and whose life has been previously documented in poem and biography. His life was an adventure caught up in the courts of King Henry, Eleanor of Aquitaine, King Henry the Younger, King William and Prince John. Her writing gives the reader a sense of the time and the place as William Marshal travels between England and Normandy.

I recommend this to readers who enjoy well researched historical fiction and a well-told story. The saga continues in the book, Scarlet Lion.

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Organize for a Fresh Start: Embrace Your Next Chapter in Life by Susan Fay West

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book had been a Free Friday selection, and it is no longer free.



This book helps a reader whose processes and systems are no longer working because there may have been a major transition in the reader's life such as empty nest, downsize to a smaller home, elderly parent moving in, changing careers, and others. West uses the acronyms of REORGANIZE and SIMPLIFY to help the reader stay on track until the job is done and the home supports you in your new life.



I'm finding the book's charts and questionnaires useful as I work through a smaller transition, having a household with two retired adults needing to use rooms differently for full-time hobbies.



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Rick Steves' Scandinavia 2006 by Rick Steves

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book has information I will use when I am in the ports of Arhus, Denmark; Oslo, Norway; and Bergen, Norway. Geiranger, Norway is not included.



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Lonely Planet Dublin: City Guide by Fionn Davenport

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


These Lonely Planet books are an excellent book for planning for they includes the websites for attractions and museums.



These whet my appetite for the places I want to visit and for the places I did not know exist prior to my research.



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Throw Them All Out: How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich Off of Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals, and Cronyism That Would Send the Rest of Us to Prison by Peter Schweizer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read parts of this book to my husband when I was upset by what I read.

60 Minutes Nov. 13, 2011 episode http://www.tv.com/shows/60-minutes/watch... dares to ask the politicians about the trades and land deals discussed in this book.

I encourage all of us to read this book and ask our politicians what steps they are taking to eliminate what is referred to as honest graft.



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Hard Truth by Nevada Barr

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


There seems to be two groups of readers of the Anna Pigeon mysteries. I belong in the group that enjoys the settings and histories of the National Parks with a mystery. I'm not in the group which likes the darkness of "true crime" genre. I would put this one in the dark variety, and I don't recommend it to my friends who prefer the earlier books.



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Vigilante by Stephen J. Cannell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Vigilante is the eleventh book in the Shane Scully series about an LAPD Homicide detective.

I found it entertaining and hard to put down, and I read it in three days.

I recommend it to fans of Stephen J. Cannell's work.



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Darke by Angie Sage

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the most recent book of the Septimus Heap series.

Great adventures are in store for Septimus Heap who may start his Darke Week at the Dark of the Moon on The Longest Night. It is also his 14th birthday and the 14th birthday of Princess Jenna. A birthday celebration for both of them is planned at the Castle by Sarah Heap. The Darke power of a former villian has grown so that he can establish a Darke Domaine and get his revenge on all he feels have hurt him. It is also an opportunity for the redemption of Simon Heap.

I recommend this book for fans of the series. There is a weight of finality to the book as we readers see these characters come of age at fourteen.


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