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Category: Health, Mind, & Body

Review & Giveaway: Babushka’s Beauty Secrets by Raisa Ruder and Susan Campos

[ 122 ] August 31, 2010

Reviewed by Abby A.

Babushka’s Beauty Secrets: Old World Tips for a Glamorous New You by Raisa Ruder and Susan Campos was a great read, in every single way, and I haven’t even gone into the details yet.

Raisa Ruder provides us with all the secrets her Ukranian grandmother shared with her at a young age. These secrets brought me down a road of nostalgia very quickly and back to a time when I would watch my grandmother improvise curls by tying up my cousins’ hair with paper towels. That was the only way she had learned and figured it worked ten times better than the curling irons and manufactured rollers of today. If you’re looking for a natural way to stay beautiful, this book is perfect for you.

Saving money is a given as it provides recipes for everything from cures for under eye circles to self tanners. Save a bunch by just throwing together things you would toss away (who knew coffee grounds could provide a sun-kissed glow?) or even have stored in your cupboard for ages (honey makes a frequent appearance in the book).

After reading through the book I was eager to try out a recipe and got my hands on the “10-Minute Manicure” and to be honest, my hands are as smooth as ever. I’m excited to start using the more detailed recipes, such as the “Close Up Souffle”, used to minimize pores in one week. Babushka’s Beauty Secrets should be a definite staple in every girl’s, young and old, household. We are all pinching pennies in today’s economy; this book is a lifesaver and keeps your wallet from shrinking while enhancing your beauty on a pocket change budget!

Abby lives in coastal New Jersey and spends her free time writing anything from short articles to multi-chapter novels. She loves to read and her favorite book genres are Young Adult, Chick-Lit, and How-To/Guides.

Giveaway:
I have 3 copies of Babushka’s Beauty Secrets to give away!

Mandatory entry: Please comment on this post with your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another current giveaway and tell me which one you entered (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share/Save” button at the bottom of this post (1 entry each)
- Become a fan on Facebook (2 entries)

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on September 20th.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Wellness Central. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Blog Tour & Giveaway: Alexis by Alexis Singer

[ 184 ] August 9, 2010

Please join us for the TLC Book Tour of teen authored memoir series Louder Than Words! Know a teen who is interested in writing for the Louder Than Words series? Have them submit their story here.

Reviewed by Jennifer J.

In her senior year in high school, Alexis felt disconnected from her friends and her parents. The previous year in school left her feeling friendless and without anyone to talk her through her rough moments. She turned to the one place where she felt she belonged and was accepted by others, an online forum she referred to as The Board. Most of her time outside of school was spent on The Board talking about everything from music to politics to life in general. There was always one person on those forums that intimidated Alexis; at the same time, she was fascinated by this older man.

Then there was the instant message from that member that would change the course of her life. She knew she should ignore it and log off, but her curiosity got the best of her. Soon Alexis became dependent on the 37-year-old married man whom she knew only as “Phil”. She relished in the attention he gave her, and grew depressed when he ignored her for days on end. Alexis learned how to manipulate the situation, providing revealing and obscene photographs of herself in order to gain more of his attention. Though she knew her behavior was destructive, Alex did not know how to stop herself. She became careless in erasing the evidence of her illegal activities, and was eventually caught by her concerned and angry mother. Even as she received the help she needed, Alexis still longed for Phil. Alexis: My True Story of Being Seduced By an Online Predator is the story of these events in her own words.

I have always felt that writing is a great outlet for any type of pain. It allows the writer to put down all of his or her thoughts and feelings to paper and release it from the inside. In writing this gripping teen memoir, Alexis was able to finally let go of some of that pain and give other teens the opportunity to learn from her mistakes. Online predators are more common than we think, and as a parent it’s important to know the signs that might indicate something isn’t right in our children’s lives.

I absolutely love the concept of the Louder Than Words series because it is about teens speaking to teens about their real life events. Programs such as Dateline appeal to parents, but I don’t think it’s a show I took seriously when I was the same age as Alexis. I would recommend this book to any parent of teenagers who spend a great deal of time online and interacting with perfect strangers. While there are some really wonderful people out there online, not every single one of them has the best of intentions, and it’s important to be able to tell the difference between those types.

Jennifer graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She occasionally dabbles with her own fiction writing, particularly with the Young Adult and Paranormal genres. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and daughter.

Giveaway:
1 winner will receive a copy of Alexis, courtesy of the publisher!

Mandatory entry: Please comment on this post with your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another current giveaway and tell me which one you entered (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share/Save” button at the bottom of this post (1 entry each)
- Become a fan on Facebook (2 entries)

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on August 30th.

Look for our review of Rae: My True Story of Fear, Anxiety, and Social Phobia on August 17th for a chance to win all 3 books in the series!

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by HCI Teens. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Giveaway: Fit for Life by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond

[ 90 ] August 8, 2010

3 readers will win a copy of Fit for Life by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond!

It’s the program that shatters all the myths: Fit for Life is the international bestseller that explains how to change both your figure and your life. Nutritional specialist Harvey and Marilyn Diamond explain how you can eat more kinds of food than you ever ate before without counting calories…and still lose weight! The natural body cycles, permanent weight-loss plan that proves it’s not only what you eat, but also when and how, Fit for Life is the perfect solution for those who want to look and feel their best. Join the millions of Americans who are Fit for Life and begin your transformation with:

* The vital principles that bring you permanent weight loss and high energy

* The Fit for Life secrets of timing and food combining that work with your natural body cycles

* A 4-week meal plan, menus, shopping tips, and exercise

* Delicious recipes and more.

Mandatory entry: Please comment on this post with your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another current giveaway (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share/Save” button at the end of this post (1 entry each)
- Follow Luxury Reading on Facebook (2 entries)

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on August 30th.

Giveaway copies are provided free of any obligation by Wellness Central. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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“Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel H. Pink

[ 3 ] July 13, 2010

Reviewed by Carly M.

In 1969, a psychology graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University began an experiment designed to test the effect of rewards on motivation. Two groups of adults were asked to use puzzle blocks to form a series of structures as quickly as they could. In addition to how well the adults performed the task, the graduate student also studied how interested they were in solving the puzzles themselves. During a break in which the scientist left the room, the subjects were secretly observed to see if they would continue playing with the puzzle pieces or if they would rather browse through the popular magazines provided to them.

Nearly all of the subjects continued to play with the puzzle pieces after the scientist had left, indicating that they received some enjoyment out of solving the puzzles. When one group was rewarded with a dollar for every puzzle solved correctly, they began to spend their entire breaks working with the puzzle pieces, perhaps hoping to get a head start on the next puzzle. However these subjects actually became slower and less efficient at solving the puzzles and when the financial reward was taken away, those subjects who had previously been rewarded completely lost interest in the puzzle pieces and abandoned them as soon as the scientist left the room. In contrast, the subjects that had not ever been rewarded financially remained interested in the puzzles, became very adept at solving them, and seemed to truly enjoy the experiment.

So begins Daniel H. Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. In the book, Pink talks about how the carrot and stick system that worked for jobs in the last century is no longer effective in the workplaces of today and could, in fact, be leading to less job satisfaction and poor employee performance. As jobs have become less repetitive and more creative, Pink argues that employees have begun to gain intrinsic satisfaction from doing their jobs well, but that satisfaction is decreased when they are offered rewards such as bonuses and higher salaries.

So is the secret to productivity to pay employees as little as possible? Daniel Pink doesn’t think so. He does, however, think that taking a more creative approach to employee rewards will allow employers to maximize their workplace potential. Pink lays out a comprehensive guide for increasing internal motivation in employees, based on scientific research and the success stories of major corporations.

I enjoyed this book, although I found the writing style to be a bit rough at times. Some of the information seemed to be buried under a mound of statistics and citations, but when I was able to get to it, it simply blew me away. I think this book is a must read for anyone responsible for motivating those under them, from employers and managers to teachers and parents. I recommend it highly.

Carly lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and their two cats. Her favorite thing to do is to curl up by a window with a library book. When she isn’t reading, she’s usually writing on her blog at www.beingcarly.com.

This book was provided free of any obligation by Riverhead Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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“Surviving Your Doctors” by Richard Klein, MD

[ 5 ] July 10, 2010

Reviewed by Scott B.

One hundred thousand die every year in the United States because of medical malpractice, and this fact needs to be discussed openly. Thus, we have the reason and purpose of Surviving Your Doctors, written by NYC-area physician Richard Klein, who implores us that “being an active participant in one’s health care is essential for survival.”

Amazing as it sounds, it seems that doctors and nurses still do not wash their hands enough! Hence the prevalence of infections acquired during surgery and other procedures. Five percent of doctors are responsible for 50 percent of malpractice payments, says Klein, and 50 percent of hospital deaths. The good doctor then gives us many things we can do to at least try to protect ourselves and loved ones from becoming one of these statistics.

Dr. Klein has testified on the behalf of plaintiffs at malpractice hearings for 25 years and wants to walk us through all areas of the medical world—doctor’s office, surgery, ER, insurance, etc. Although generally informative and useful, some of Klein’s advice amounts to lessons on “how to go to the doctor,” “how to go to the gynecologist,” “how to go to the ER,” or “how to be pregnant.” However, his statistics and stories concerning the prevalence of medical malpractice are a stiff reminder for any who still persist in seeing doctors as gods. Case histories of needless injuries and deaths are the most useful—and frightening—parts of the story.

His mantra that the United States ranks 37th in the world in health care (according to the WHO) is repeated often. The book is also a thinly veiled argument for the single-payer health system, until the last chapter, where it is argued for openly. ObamaCare, anyone? Malpractice is the main focus, but, according to Klein, a single-payer system will somehow mitigate the problem. He does, however, contradict himself on Medicare (which is single-payer for the elderly). Early in the book he says that Medicare started out great—no referrals needed, government paid on time—but now Medicare rejects more and more treatment. It is now a mess, he says. But in the last chapter, Medicare can do no wrong—very efficient, only 2 percent of the money goes to administrative costs. Whereas, and this is another motif of the book, those evil, money-grubbing private insurance companies use up 20 percent to pay their executives.

This a useful and important book to be sure, but one that could have benefited from a more aggressive editor to cut out much of the repetition and padding pabulum. Its 202-page text could have been made half as long, put into a nice-sized trade paperback, and been sold prominently at pharmacies—and doctors’ offices! This endnoted volume comes with an extensive bibliography and Internet resources for becoming your own best advocate in the medical system.

F. Scott, now a copy editor by trade, is a once-and-future Latin teacher. He pursues his passions for brain plasticity, jazz piano, and golf in southeast Massachusetts. He lives alone with Cicero, Shakespeare, Mozart, and Ella Fitzgerald.

This book was provided free of any obligation by Newman Communications. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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“Skinny is Overrated” by Danielle Milano, MD

[ 6 ] July 8, 2010

Reviewed by Poppy J.

In Skinny Is Overrated, Dr. Danielle Milano discusses the facts of weight loss, and offers real guidance for anyone struggling with a weight issue. The main premise of the book is that being skinny should never be the goal of a weight loss program. One should strive for a healthy lifestyle, not for a certain number on a scale after weeks or months spent dieting. Skinny Is Overrated encourages readers to embrace the healthy aspects of their heritage and incorporate those healthy food choices into their daily life.

The weight loss plan promoted in Skinny Is Overrated includes creating goals and sticking to them. These goals are meant to be in line with a healthier lifestyle. Dr. Milano suggests keeping a log and developing a schedule that works with the reader’s lifestyle, and stresses the importance of keeping active on a regular basis.

Dr. Milano goes over the trans fat myths and lists foods that should and should not be eaten. Different fad diets are discussed in detail. All of the misconceptions surrounding poly, mono and saturated oils and fats are explained, as well as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) warnings, fat free substitutes and other process foods. Dr. Milano also explains the concept of BMI, and advises that it’s best to forget about the BMI chart and focus instead on eating healthier foods daily.

While some of the information has been extensively covered in other resources in the past, the book was well worth reading. Skinny Is Overrated offers great advice on how to live better and take the steps necessary for creating a better life today, without relying on the excuse of taking those steps tomorrow.

After a decade of working in several NYC law departments and teaching, Poppy decided she enjoyed writing full-time. She currently works as a freelance writing consultant, and lives with her husband and sons on the East Coast.

This book was provided free of any obligation by Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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“The Best Sex of Your Life: 101 Secrets Every Woman Should Know” by Jennifer Hunt & Dan Baritchi

[ 3 ] June 6, 2010

Reviewed by Carly M.

It used to be that when a person had a question about sex (particularly a young person), they were forced to ask their friends, parents or doctors if they didn’t want to muddle through and find the answer for themselves. Today, we have the Internet and it is positively humming with everything you’ve always wanted to know (and the things you never wanted to know) and the world’s sex life.

In this vast and revealing pile of information, a few websites stand out as absolute experts. One such site is www.AskDanAndJennifer.com, a question and answer site about sex and relationships that has more than 400,000 readers a month.

The book The Best Sex of Your Life is written by none other than Dan Baritchi and Jennifer Hunt, the experts who run www.AskDanAndJennifer.com. Therefore, you might think that this is the quintessential must-have-read for anyone interested in improving his or her sex life. After all, the topics covered in the book range from starting out to spicing up to setting records. Basically, if you can dream up the question, they’ve answered it in this book, with absolute no grey areas left to the imagination.

Unfortunately, although the range of topics is impressive, the answers given are not. From what I can tell, the target audience for this book seems to be young people who have not yet gotten to the point of having an actual sex life and are simply seeking information. I feel that anyone past the point of the initial awkward stage of getting used to making love has probably discovered all of the tips and tricks hidden in these chapters.

In all honesty, I would not even recommend The Best Sex of Your Life for young people, as some of the information was misleading if not downright wrong. A particularly memorable chapter explained that men will not be tempted to visit a strip club if he is satisfied in his relationship. Unfortunately, that basically means that any man who wants to go to a strip club is in a failing relationship with a woman who isn’t meeting his sexual or emotional needs.

Regardless of your view on strip clubs and their worth in society, you have to admit that that’s a pretty heavy burden for young women to bear. My advice is to skip this book and find one that celebrates and encourages healthy and happy sex without pointing the finger of blame at anyone.

Carly lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and their two cats. Her favorite thing to do is to curl up by a window with a library book. When she isn’t reading, she’s usually writing on her blog at www.beingcarly.com.

This book was provided free of any obligation by FSB Associates. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Giveaway: “This Is Why You’re Fat” by Jackie Warner

[ 108 ] June 1, 2010

Publisher’s Description

“Being fat isn’t your fault; staying fat is.” That’s what Jackie Warner, America’s favorite no-nonsense celebrity fitness trainer tells her own clients, and that’s why no one delivers better results than Jackie does.

Now for the first time, Jackie shares her revolutionary program, showing readers the best ways to drop pounds and inches fast, without grueling workouts or deprivation, and keep them off for good! Her two-tiered approach provides a complete nutritional makeover and a failure-proof condensed workout routine PLUS all the emotional support and encouragement you need to get to the finish line and beyond.

Giveaway:

I have 3 hardcover copies of This Is Why You’re Fat to give away!

Mandatory entry: Please comment on this post with your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via email. You must verify the subscription. (2 entries)
- Enter another current giveaway and tell me which one you entered (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share This Blog” button at the top of the sidebar (1 entry each)
- Become a fan on Facebook (2 entries)

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on June 15th.

Giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Hachette Book Group. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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