Eating Well Made Easy: Good and Simple Hemsley Sisters Show Us How

Eating well is hard (and expensive!). Anyone looking to start on a healthier eating journey should look no further than Good and Simple: Recipes to Eat Well and Thrive by Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley.

Photos of the food are appetizing and mouth watering and lots of great tips about how to eat well and a wide assortment of recipes to meet every need and satisfy every taste bud. Do not pass up the Cajun roasted cauliflower (my favorite in the book).

Blogger Note:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This review is entirely based on my opinion.

Arianna Huffington Wants Us All to Sleep Better Because Science Says So

The Sleep Revolution was the first of Arianna Huffington's books that I read, probably because it was the first one that sought to address an issue that was relevant to me. I don't know any adult with a career and children and a spouse and etc...that can honestly admit to getting enough sleep on any given night. I was interested in how this book played out so I read with enthusiasm.

The book started out well enough, even if it was rehashing the same tried and true basic notions that getting sufficient sleep was a vital part of being healthy. I found the examples and studies interesting and felt that the book was well-researched. (Which was it's downfall, truthfully, as well.) While I appreciated all the studies and scientific facts presented, it slowed the pace of the book down for me and I found myself tuning out.

I was hoping for some tips that would help me achieve a better night's sleep and while this book offered a lot of them, none were really new or anything I hadn't already tried.

All in all, this book is an interesting read if you want a basic overview of sleep but for me it just didn't provide any really useful practical information.

Blogger Note:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This review is entirely based on my opinion.

Finally, a FUNNY Book About Depression courtesy of Jacqueline Novak

Depression is not funny. It's not supposed to be. But maybe by taking a little of the pressure off us depressos (my favorite term coined/stolen from Jacqueline Novak and her book How to Weep in Public) wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. That's where this book comes in. How to Weep in Public reads like half a memoir and half a shared conversation with a friend about being depressed but in the lightest way possible. No self-help material here (thankfully!).

Be prepared to laugh at your depression in all it's many forms. Mostly, just feel okay about it and like someone else is in on it with you. I also have to commend the author because despite the fact that this book is meant to be light-hearted and funny, there is a note in the introduction that includes the number for the National Suicide Prevention hotline. For the times when depression isn't that funny after all.

Blogger Note:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This review is entirely based on my opinion.

Chrissy Teigen's Cravings Hit All the Right Spots

Who doesn't love Chrissy Teigen? She is absolutely adorable and funny and down-to-Earth, or at least that's how she comes across to her followers on Twitter & Instagram. Continuing her trend of inviting us into her life, Teigen has given us the cookbook that we've all been waiting for, perfectly titled Cravings.

Teigen completely embraces her authenticity in this book. From candid shots of herself beside hubby John Legend, to her famous food photographs, this book is the perfect hybrid cookbook slash coffee table book.

You get a sense of how important food is to Teigen through this book and it translates over into the recipes she's included. She is most known on Instagram for her food that is both man-friendly (read: meat and potatoes) and perfect for indulging in and her book hits all those marks perfectly, but also goes beyond that.

While there are plenty of recipes that you'd expect her book to contain (Frito Pie, Stove Top Stuffing crusted pork chops, Wings (!!)) there are also plenty of healthier fare to balance it all out.

If you like Chrissy Teigen in anyway, this book will not disappoint.

Blogger Note:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This review is entirely based on my opinion.

What I Read in 2015

So I started this year ambitiously enough with the intent of completing the PopSugar Reading Challenge. Turns out, I don't read things in order to fulfill a list of themes but I do better free-flow reading (I just kind of coined that term) and basically just reading what feels right. With that being said, here is my 2015 reading list.  Courtesy of the handy year end recap over at Goodreads.

I feel 10 books short of my goal of 50 books but I think I ended up going to quality over quantity this year, as evidenced by the fact that I gave up a lot of books that I just couldn't get into.

Happy Reading into 2016!

Wreck and Order by Hannah Tennant-Moore: A Book About Putting Yourself Back Together After Falling Apart

Wreck and Order by Hannah Tennant-Moore is a book that reads like a memoir in all the best possible ways. Right off the bat, I enjoyed this book and connected with it (mostly). I felt like the narrator, Elsie, was able to represent an accurate depiction of an almost-thirty year old woman from a (dare I say) feminist perspective. Elsie longs to do something with her life that matters by way of incompatible and toxic relationships, traveling to Paris and Sri Lanka and a long-term project of a French translated manuscript about cats. 

Wreck and Order by Hannah Tennant-Moore, Penguin Random House

This was the Eat, Pray, Love for the modern twenty-something. Honest, unapologetic and full of promise. It's rare to read a book that unintentionally speaks for young women's yearnings to belong in the world and have something of their own. In lieu of bad relationships and a product of the 50% divorce rate, Elsie wants to have her own legacy and own meaningful life project, which to her comes in the form of an ambitious and sometimes a lost-cause translation endeavor. I dare you to show me a young woman who doesn't long to find herself apart from who she is as a daughter or in the confines of a relationship. These relationships, while wrecking her, also give her the desire to fully live a life of new experiences.

Her travels, while being the most unrealistic part of the novel (really how many almost thirty-year olds do you know whose fathers foot the bill for not only Paris living, but also a sojourn to Sri Lanka?) also echo the general notion of loosing oneself in order to discover a better understanding of oneself.

An enjoyable novel that left me with a slight case of wanderlust and hungry for the next serving by Tennant-Moore.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

I'm Dreaming of a Book-Filled Christmas

There is something magical about the Christmas season in and of itself, but to awake to the promise of brand new books, not yet opened, laying in wait under the tree was the ultimate joy.

Now that I'm older I still love to receive books for the holidays but my tastes have become slightly more refined. Books now serve as not only a pleasurable pastime but also as a means of self-definition. Walk into my apartment and you are instantly greeted by bookshelves. Eye the bookshelves and you can get a pretty good idea of who I am, what I enjoy and my overall character (no pun intended). But books are also a shared experience for me now, as well. I'm a mother and I've worked very hard to instill a love of reading in my son.

I was recently contacted by Ryan from invaluable.com and offered an interesting opportunity: to write about what my ultimate literary collection would look like. Invaluable is an online auction marketplace that has a range of things up for auction including collectibles and first edition books. Imagine, if money was no object, if that long-lost edition I so desperately sought was within reach, what books with line the stacks of my dream bookshelf? I was intrigued. So I dug deep. And this is what I came up with:

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan (have the tattoos to prove it!) and to have an assortment of editions of this classic would be the perfect way to start my ultimate book collection. The bindings themselves are so unique and would add a splash of color and whimsy to the visual end of my bookshelf as well.

Alice collection. Invaluable.com

2.  James Joyce, Collected Poems.

One of my favorite things to read in Winter is Dubliners by James Joyce. It beautifully translates all the feelings of melancholy that one would normally associate with that time of year. But my appreciation of Joyce goes beyond that one short story. A collection of Joyce's poetry would be an essential on my bookshelf.

Collected Poems of James Joyce. invaluable.com

3.  Green Hills of Africa by Ernest Hemingway.

My list wouldn't be complete if I didn't include some Hemingway. After all, Papa was a master of literature and he deserves a space on my dream shelf. Of course A Moveable Feast would be my top pick but Green Hills of Africa is quintessential Hemingway on safari trope.

Green Hills of Africa, Hemingway. invaluable.com

4.  Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. 

I chose this selection because I wanted something that was collectible while still being accessible for my son. Something that I am GREATLY looking forward to in the upcoming year is sharing the magic of Harry Potter with my son and this first edition collection would be the perfect modern touch to my dream bookshelf.

Harry Potter set, J.K. Rowling. invaluable.com

5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I have a feeling this book gained a resurgence in popularity after the 2013 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. This has always been one of my favorites. I think it's the mix of growing up on Long Island and the overall aesthetic of excess and sorrow captured beautifully in this book that has me re-reading it at least once a year. But how great would it be to have a first edition of this gem on my bookshelf? The Cugat eyes over the deep blue backdrop? A must for this girl's dream home library!

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. openculture.com

So there you have it, my dream book shelf. Santa, if you are reading this you can feel free to bring me any of the above (I'm definitely on the Nice List this year!). Now it's your turn. What books are must-haves for your library? Share in the comments!