4 days agoThe Library Book by Susan OrleanThe perfect book for anyone who loves books and/or the libraries that house them, Susan Orlean tells the fascinating and devastating story of the Los Angeles Central Public Library fire of 1986, the single biggest library fire in the history of the United States — and one that remains unsolved…Libraries8 min read
Jul 27The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin LorrI don’t do much grocery shopping at the store anymore — used to all the time, of course — but now the quick, easy, depersonalized convenience of clicking a few buttons on my iPhone and having food delivered to my doorstep is not only time saving and freakishly efficient, but…Groceries10 min read
Jul 20The Genome Odyssey by Euan Angus AshleySomehow this book made it into the bargain bin at my local bookstore, and since I really enjoyed The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson I thought I would enjoy this one as well. In The Genome Odyssey, Dr. Ashley recounts his personal history as a doctor in the so-called ‘genomics’…Genome13 min read
Jul 2Heal Your Relationship With Food by Juliet Rosewall, Amy Chisholm, and Maureen MoerbeckLast year I created a college-level class called Eating, Moving, and Sleeping, a pass/fail course meant to give students a bit of a fact-or-fiction primer on some of the common misnomers that exist in the health and wellness world. Most of the students enjoyed the class, but some others remarked…Mindful Eating12 min read
Jun 27Move by Caroline WilliamsOne of the newest (and best) books I’ve read about the links between exercise, movement, sleep, brain health, mental and emotional health, and overall wellbeing. I try to keep as up-to-date as I can on all of this material for my classes and clients, and Move is packed with some…Exercise14 min read
Jun 22Mental Immunity by Andy NormanI remember as far back as middle school I had a very, very difficult time comprehending or understanding anything that even resembled “philosophy”, or any book, assignment, or lecture that broached upon the teachings of Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle — to name just a few of the guys that we…Philosophy16 min read
Jun 13How I Built This by Guy RazA book based on the popular podcast of the same name, Raz does a wonderful job here telling the stories of the trials, tribulations, successes, failures, errors, and lessons learned from the founders of some of the world’s most well-known and noteworthy companies and brands: Southwest Airlines, Clif Bar, Spanx…How I Built This13 min read
Jun 4First Principles by Thomas E. RicksIn the aftermath of the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings these past few weeks, I found myself craving some sort of answer or explanation as to what was happening. Something, ANYTHING, that could help me understand how we got to this point. I thought about digging into books about the Second…Thomas Jefferson14 min read
May 29Showtime by Jeff PearlmanAlthough the HBO series of the same name was very, very entertaining, I found myself unsatisfied with the actual facts of what went down. Was Jerry West that much of a paranoid dick? Was Kareem that moody? Did Magic seriously have sex with that many women? Was Jack McKinney —…Magic Johnson5 min read
May 24Changeable by J. Stuart AblonExcellent book, recommended by some therapist friends of ours and a perfect primer for some creative problem solving — in and out of the home. Dr. Ablon is an advocate of something he calls CPS (Collaborative Problem Solving), and it’s counterpart, Plan B, where you (parent, teacher, manager, etc.) work…Mass General Hospital11 min read