Gasp!

Merry Christmas!

All the reviews in the world!

Maybe, almost.

I'm trying to wrap up 2007, and it looks like I forgot to post links to a few of my Birmingham News book reviews. Some of these are not web-formatted, so they look a little weird. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Ready?

"Grief's Courageous Journey: A Workbook," by Sandi Caplan & Gordon Lang appeared November 12th in the health section.

"Unlike other books that only talk about the grieving process, the authors gently guide readers through journey. It's a necessary trip."

"New Stories from the South: The Year's Best - 2007," editor Edward P. Jones appeared on the book page November 25th.

"In "New Stories from the South: The Year's Best - 2007," editor Edward P. Jones looked for stories that would leave a lasting impact. "I should confess," he writes in his introduction, "that I did not feel I could choose any story that seemed to have been built solely around some anecdote, a story of one note, as it were." His selections for this annual anthology resonate, and together, the stories describe an area of the country in transition."

I didn't like this book, so no free advertising on Gasp. NO SOUP FOR YOU either. Readers should proceed at their own risk. It appeared November 26th in the health section.

"You've seen those prescription drug commercials on television: Medical terms, scary symptoms and statistics mingled with small talk, as if it were normal to rattle off complex data while eating croissants. That's exactly what it's like to read..."

And finally, on page 2D of today's Birmingham News, "Living Well: 21 Days to Transform Your Life, Supercharge Your Health and Feel Spectacular," by Montel Williams.

"When talk show host Montel Williams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis he thought his life was over. Doctors told him to quit his show, avoid stress and all physical activity. Instead of preparing to die, he learned to manage his disease through healthy living. His book, "Living Well: 21 Days to Transform Your Life, Supercharge Your Health and Feel Spectacular," provides a sound plan for people looking to drop weight and feel great."

Dream Bit

This morning I had a dream that said I should write plays along with everything else. Sigh.

Review: The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size by Julia Cameron

Two months before getting my MFA, I envisioned a door shutting. It was the door to my own voice. Three difficult years followed. I could edit my poems, and I could write in my journal. I made an attempt at writing short stories. Playwriting, my most comfortable creative outlet, was a completely closed door.

Whenever people talk about writer's block, they usually think that it has something to do with a lack of discipline. "Just do it. Sit there and write." But it wasn't that easy. For me, the block had a slew of extenuating circumstances that went far beyond discipline. It had to do with violence and identity, being in hiding and worthiness. The past, the "back there." I didn't want to do anything that reminded me of who I was previously, and I certainly didn't want to found.

Still, when you silence yourself - whether by choice or fear - the part that remains will continue to speak. It will chase you down the street, slide into bed with you at night and wrestle you until you listen to it.

That's how I became familiar with Julia Cameron's work . Her books on creativity, coupled with attending a meditation and healing school, got me writing plays again. Once I allowed myself to do the exercises in The Artists Way, it freed my voice enough that I could yell out a primal scream on the page.

So is her newest book,The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size as good as The Artists Way? Read my review and find out. It appeared on newstands in Monday's Birmingham News.

Doctor, the patient is unresponsive

This is what happens: Every time I take a vacation, I have a hard time getting back on the treadmill.

It's a heck of a time for me to have no motivation. I made a promise to myself that when I came back from vacation, I would slow down. This is part of my overall plan to not do so much; not read so much; not do anything.

My goal for next year is to scale back in some areas so I can pay proper attention to what matters. I'm launching a project in January, which will eventually take most of my time. I'll talk about it more in the coming days. Sorry to be vague right now.

I'm still doing reviews. I haven't posted links for many of them. Over the next few days, I'll try to catch up on that. The reason I post links isn't to brag about how many reviews that I do. Rather, it's a nice way of letting authors know that they have been reviewed. Authors search for their names on the net, and voila. That seems to be the way that authors figure out that they've been reviewed. Clipping services are way passé.

I might post my New Year's Resolutions soon. Some of them may surprise you.

Reading List for 2008

You guys left some amazing recommendations for me during my time off. It's taken me a while to figure out which one resonates with me the most since they all look so good. Let's take a look at what was left in my comments section.

(Please note that the summaries are from my research on the net, and probably don't fully describe the experience of reading the book. In fact, if you have anything to add to these descriptions, feel free to comment. We all know that the net is SO reliable.)

Book Review: I Won't Survive... I'll Thrive! by Aurea McGarry

I forgot to mention that along with the big diet and fitness article, there's a book review on the second page of the Health section in today's Birmingham News: I Won't Survive ... I'll Thrive! How I Overcame Domestic Violence, Cancer, And Much More, by Aurea McGarry.

An excerpt from the review:
"She and her brother both survived their illnesses, and McGarry learned a few lessons along the way. Rather than relying on visualization or unconventional methods, McGarry focused on prayer, faith and the Bible. She shares her experiences with the confidence of a wise teacher. "

Buy a copy or read more about it here

Going on a diet for the New Year?*

On the front page of the Health Section in today's Birmingham News, I review five diet and fitness books. The name of the article is "Work off that Santa belly: Diet, exercise books are the gifts that keep on taking off the pounds. "

The chosen five are:

• The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain To Think Like A Thin Person by Judith S. Beck, Ph.D
  
• Extreme Fat Smash Diet by Ian K. Smith, M.D
  
• Goal Digger Fitness: Look, Feel, And Perform Your Best With A Breakthrough 14-Day Exercise Plan by Eric Harr With Alexa Joy Sherman.
  
• The Four-Day Win: End Your Diet War And Achieve Thinner Peace by Martha Beck, Ph.D
  
• Men's Health TNT Diet: The Explosive New Plan To Blast Fat, Build Muscle, And Get Healthy by Jeff Volek, Ph.D And Adam Campbell.

Also mentioned in the article:

• The Cardiologist's Wife's Chocolate Too! Diet: No Sugar, No Fat & Luscious by Joyce and Robert G. Schneider, M.D.
  
• The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess by Lou Schuler
  
• The Calorie King Calorie, Fat & Carbohydrate Counter 2008 Edition by Allen Borushek
  
• Younger Next Year for Women: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy - Until You're 80 and Beyond by Chris Crowley & Henry S. Lodge, M.D.
  
• Beck Diet Solution Weight Loss Workbook: The 6-week Plan to Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person by Judith S. Beck, Ph.D.

*This is strictly a rhetorical question. I am not implying that you need to lose weight. Don't be silly. You look fabulous!

Quiet respite

"No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one."

---Elbert Hubbard

I arrived back from Myrtle Beach several days ago. It was a quiet respite, almost eight days without the internet. It was difficult at first, and I'll admit to checking my email via my cell phone on occasion. But once my cell phone battery died, I had to go cold turkey. It was painful.

I'll post pictures of my pain shortly.

When I first got to my parents' house, I put the phone and computer cords in a closet so the cats wouldn't get to them. As soon as I did it, I forgot about it. Several days later, I looked for the cords and couldn't find them. At the time, it appeared that I left them back in Alabama.

On the ride home, my Mother phoned Jethro's prepaid Virgin Mobile phone to tell him that she found the cords. She express mailed them to me, just in time for Tuesday... Though nothing significant was scheduled to take place on that particular day. And nothing did.

My next few posts will take care of business, including a few things that happened while I was gone. I'll also pick a book from the very cool recommendations that were left during my absence. I've closed the last thread. You snooze, you lose.

Actually I just need some time to do a little research on the selections. I have a terrible feeling that I'll decide to read all of them. Consider me compulsive that way.