Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them
Posted by ana_gurl | Filed under Books
Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them
J.K. Rowling
This cute little book was actually part of a pair (along with Quidditch Through the Ages) produced by J.K. Rowling for the charity Comic Relief. Written in a tongue in cheek manner, this book claims to be a copy of a textbook shared by Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, complete with margin notes and doodles! Purportedly written by one Newton “Newt” Artemis Fido Scamander, this book discusses magical creatures in J.K. Rowlings world, treating them all most seriously, and telling you a surprising amount about them.
Dreams From My Father
Posted by ana_gurl | Filed under Books
Dreams From My Father
Barack Obama
Elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama was offered a book contract, but the intellectual journey he planned to recount became instead this poignant, probing memoir of an unusual life. Born in 1961 to a white American woman and a black Kenyan student, Obama was reared in Hawaii by his mother and her parents, his father having left for further study and a return home to Africa. So Obama’s not-unhappy youth is nevertheless a lonely voyage to racial identity, tensions in school, struggling with black literature?with one month-long visit when he was 10 from his commanding father. After college, Obama became a community organizer in Chicago. He slowly found place and purpose among folks of similar hue but different memory, winning enough small victories to commit himself to the work?he’s now a civil rights lawyer there. Before going to law school, he finally visited Kenya; with his father dead, he still confronted obligation and loss, and found wellsprings of love and attachment. Obama leaves some lingering questions?his mother is virtually absent?but still has written a resonant book.
The Lost Symbol
Posted by ana_gurl | Filed under Books
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown
The Lost Symbol begins with an ancient ritual, a shadowy enclave, and of course, a secret. Readers know they are in Dan Brown territory when, by the end of the first chapter, a secret within a secret is revealed. To tell too much would ruin the fun of reading this delicious thriller, so you will find no spoilers here. Suffice it to say that as with many series featuring a recurring character, there is a bit of a formula at work (one that fans will love). Again, brilliant Harvard professor Robert Langdon finds himself in a predicament that requires his vast knowledge of symbology and superior problem-solving skills to save the day. The setting, unlike other Robert Langdon novels, is stateside, and in Brown’s hands Washington D.C. is as fascinating as Paris or Vatican City (note to the D.C. tourism board: get your “Lost Symbol” tour in order). And, as with other Dan Brown books, the pace is relentless, the revelations many, and there is an endless parade of intriguing factoids that will make you feel like you are spending the afternoon with Robert Langdon and the guys from Mythbusters.
Atkins
Posted by ana_gurl | Filed under Books
Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution,
Revised Edition
Designed to catapult your body into a state of fat meltdown, Dr. Atkins’s diet has taken America by storm. It targets insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. The bodies of most overeaters are continually in a state of hyperinsulinism; their bodies are so adept at releasing insulin to help convert excess carbohydrates to fat that there’s always too much of the hormone circulating through the body. This puts the body into a bind; it always wants to store fat. Even when people with hyperinsulinism try to lose weight–especially when they cut fat but increase carbohydrate consumption–their efforts will fail. This is why Dr. Atkins refers to insulin as “the fat-producing hormone.” Dr. Atkins’s diet is extremely low in carbohydrates, which helps to regulate insulin production and decrease circulating insulin; less insulin soon results in less fat storage and fewer food cravings. The diet is far from torturous, though–those who’ve tried it attest that hunger is not a part of this plan. Ninety percent of Dr. Atkins’s patients–more than 25,000 of them–have experienced dramatic weight loss. The book includes recipes for such luscious, low-carb dishes as lobster soup, zabaglione, sea bass, and blueberry ice cream, and even includes a carbohydrate gram counter and menus.
