Book Review Time!

Oh I know you're so excited for this, aren't you?! :)

Strangling Your Husband is NOT an Option

So I read this book lounging on the beach this summer and got a lot of strange looks for it. My mom recommended it and it's totally not what it seems. It's actually all about how to be a better wife.

Quick anecdote- Trav got home from a stake priesthood meeting a few weeks ago and I asked him what I always ask him..." Sooo, what did you learn?!" He raised his eyebrows and gave me that {you know} look, then sighed and said, "I learned what I always learn... how to be a better husband". I had to giggle. They really seem to give it to the men... and don't get me wrong, I think it's great- but the girls never have lessons on how to be a better wife. We are taught to be better mothers, visiting teachers, friends, etc. but I can't recall a single lesson on being a better wife. I said this to Trav and he quipped, "Ya, isn't that the reason all those bras were burned in the 50's?" Hmmm, something like that, maybe. But in all honestly, I really think it's great to focus on being a better wife. Some of the author's advice seemed like common sense and some of it seemed to apply more to couples who have been married 25+ years and have kind of {lost it}, but regardless, it was good to be reminded of all the little things (and big things) that will help your marriage be stronger. It's written by an LDS author, so I don't know how easy it would be to find in a local library, but it would be worth the search!

Ender's Game

I read Ender's Game for book club a couple months ago and noticed all the men that made comments about how it was their favorite book. I would definitely call it a {boy} book, but it seemed everyone in book club enjoyed it. I don't think I can say as much- it wasn't really up my alley- but I can see why people like it. It is fantasy and got a little weird for me... (aliens {buggers if you will} and such), but I'm glad I read it because I've always heard so much about it. Won't be reading any sequels though!

How to Win Friends and Influence People

 Here's another embarrassing title....

This is another book that I wanted to read because of how much I've heard about it. I loved it! It's really just all about human behavior and how to get along with people and be agreeable. It's a book I want to buy because you would need to read it every year or so to be reminded of the principles. Such as:

Don't criticize, condemn or complain.

Give honest and sincere appreciation

Become genuinely interested in other people

Smile

Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

Make the other person feel important- and do it sincerely

And lots more!

I felt embarrassed to tell people about the book, because I imagined they thought I was schemeing and plotting on how to get people to like me or be popular, but that really wasn't the point. Human behavior in general just really interests me and this really held my attention. I was surprised at how much sense all his principles made, and yet so often, we do the opposite, hoping the get the same result. The points I listed might sound unoriginal, but after reading all his examples and really examining how most people behave, you realize how difficult they can be! Especially the principles he brings up near the end of the book including "The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it" and "Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say 'You're Wrong'."

What's terrible, is that even after being completely convinced of the validity of all his points, I could still see myself not acting that way. It's just really hard! When you boil it all down though, I think the book could be called, How to Be More Christlike. And of course that's something that we will work our whole lives at. But of all the books in this review, I think I would recommend this one the most!

Eat ,Pray, Love
 This book has gotten a lot of publicity, so I picked it up a long time ago at Target, meaning to buy it, then read the back cover and was completely uninterested. Now since the movie has come out, it rekindled my interest... so when I saw it for a $1 at a garage sale, I figured, why not? Ugh. "Why, do" would be a better question. It's divided into 3 parts, and 1/2 way into the first part I wanted to stop. But I kept reading purely out of a desire to just finish it. I hate not finishing a book. It's basically about a woman who is searching for happiness... so she gets a divorce and traveles to Italy, Indonesia, and India to find it. I thought she came across kind of whiny and self involved. I felt like, if she was trying to be inspirational, then I didn't learn much more than the fact that I will need a year of my life and plenty of money to spend in foreign countries to find it. Around the middle of the book, when she was having yet another mental breakdown, I thought it was going to create one of my one! I'll admit, that I did enjoy the end of the book, and it might have tricked me into thinking I liked it as a whole, but when I thought back on all the other chapters, I was able to keep my wits about me and remember that it was really pretty awful! Quite a waste of time and not a book I'd recommend. Find the missionaries if you want to find happiness.

Catching Fire

 This is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. It is also a fantasy book, but I loved the first one! It completely absorbed me and I couldn't put it down. I LOVE books that do that. This one was pretty good, and also a quick read, but while the first one felt more adventurous, this one had more of a sad overtone. Which isn't a good indicator, because that's all I've heard about the third one that came out last month. Oh well, I'll still be reading it!

The Gift of Fear

 I think I already spotlighted this book about a year ago, when I read it the first time, but I read it again last month when I picked it for book club. I could basically go on and on about this book, but I'll just say that I consider it a "must read". Especially if you're a scardy cat like myself. I got the impression that many other "scardy cats" were too afraid to read it because they thought it would only make them more afraid. It's does completely the opposite! It is empowering and informative. It reminds us all to follow our intuition. It is of course, non-fiction, and reads a bit like a text book, but there are lots of stories to keep you interested. Go check it out! :)

Toxic Food Syndrome

This is a really quick book that my mom left for me to read after their visit. It only took me an hour or two to read, but it was really interesting. It basically says that our bodies are very individualized and react to food in individualized ways. Some very normal foods could be considered poisonous to us. You can find out by having a specific blood test done (not your normal blood, allergy test) that tests your blood with a ton of different food extracts to see how the cells react. Once people have found out what foods are "poison" to them, they've seen symptoms such as arthritis, stomach problems, migraines, etc. disappear. I SO want to get this done! In the meantime, however, I did get a good tip from a Nurse Practicioner who said aloe vera juice is very soothing for the bowels and worked for her friend who had ulceratice colitis. I gave it a try and it worked! Hip hip hooray! I couldn't be more grateful. I consider that stuff liquid gold now.