Books

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Shopping for a greener, cleaner world

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008

“Every single purchase we make has an environmental impact because the making of things uses energy and water and resources,” Diane MacEachern explains. “At home, at work, where we volunteer, where we recreate - all of those purchases give us enormous power to get the world we want.”

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Solving the mystery of mental pause

Monday, Oct. 27, 2008

If it happened once, it happened three times this weekend - my memory failing at an inopportune time. ("Omigosh! What IS her first name!?!") What an appropriate time to revisit my interview with Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, author of “Carved in Sand: When Attention Fails and Memory Fades in Midlife.”

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Here's the story, and it's a doozy!

Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008

Who knew little Marcia Brady was behaving so badly behind the scenes? Well, we ALL do, now. Maureen McCormick has a new tell-all in the bookstores and it's a little TMI for me.

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"I pimped for my 80-year-old father."

Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008

It's not EXACTLY what you think...but close. Bob Morris' book, "Assisted Loving: True Tales of Double Dating with My Dad," chronicles his "year of dating dangerously" with his recently-widowed father. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll lock your parents in their rooms until they're 95.

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Humor for the similarly afflicted

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008

Times are bad enough. Throw menopause into the mix and it's a wonder we all aren't imploding, literally. This hilarious little book promises a brief reprieve for anyone feeling the heat.

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I Heart Ranch Dressing

Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008

I don't know if it's the title, the hilarious photos, or the knee-slapping truisms contained this book by attorney/comedy writer C.L.Freie, that make me laugh till I cry, but who cares? I need to laugh and "I Love Ranch Dressing And Other Stuff White Midwesterners LIke" does the trick!

A sneak peek into "Guyland"

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008

My mind would appear to be on the opposite sex today, but I wanted to share two interviews with the author of "Guyland: The perilous world where boys become men." As a mother of a 26-year-old "guy," I found his revelations fascinating... and more than a little frightening.

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Author of "100 Things to Do Before You Die" dead at 47

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008

Oh, the cruel irony of it all. Dave Freeman, co-author of "100 Things to Do Before You Die," passed away this week from injuries sustained in a fall at his home. He was just 47.

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Nina's top ten looks for fall

Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008

Nina Garcia - she of "Project Runway" fame and the new fashion director at Marie Claire mag - has a new book: The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own. Thankfully, she's paring down that list to ten 'must-haves' for fall. And they all seem doable at any age.

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Good story today on... (now, where was I?)

Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008

Having cut way down on carbs, I was glad to read in today's story on Forbes.com that low-carbing is one of the ways to stave off Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, the author of "The Anti-Alzheimer's Prescription" also ties hot flashes and estrogen depletion to memory loss.

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What I'm trying to read

Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008

I'm spending my down time - what there is of it - with two tomes: Lonely Planet's guide to New Mexico (as prep for imminent vacation) and "Up for Renewal" by Cathy Alter, a surprisingly entertaining read.

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Dr. Oz to the rescue?

Friday, July 18, 2008

Who among us doesn't love Dr. Mehmet Oz and his adorable sidekick, Dr. Michael Roizen? Between the two of them, they can turn an Oprah show into the biology class you WISH you would have had in high school. Now, as if answering my personal plea, they've come up with a CD to help me breathe, meditate and relax.

When chicks flock back to the nest

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

In August, my two chicks are returning to my precious empty nest. I'm not that upset about it, but this piece in the Orange County Register makes me wonder whether I should be charging my little chickadees room and board by formal agreement.

Anything but "Grandma"

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

I don't have any grandkids, that I know of. But when I do, I'll be darned if I'm going to let one of those little rug rats - irresistible though they might be - call me "Grandma." That's why I loved this column in the Contra Costra Times.

Why do men die first?

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Before my dad died in March, I might have brushed past the new health book called "Why Men Die First." I've always been aware that women live longer than men, but never fully considered why until an interview with the book's author this morning on the Today show.

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