Rate: 7/10
Pages: 274
Format: Paperback
Genre: CookBook/Health/Non-Fiction
Acquired from: Murdoch Books Australia
*I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own*
Heal Your Gut is an extremely informative and inspiring book. Lee takes you through the intimate details of her health journey, and how she has come to heal herself completely of autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia. Step-by-step she shows you how she did this, and how you too can completely change your life simply by altering what you eat and drink. Lee explains in easy to understand language and dialogue how the health and bacteria found in our gut can ultimately dictate our inner and outer health, influencing our hormones, weight, mood and energy. Included in the book are simple to follow weekly meal plans, for the all three phases of "spring-cleaning your gut". There are also over ninety recipes which are produced from organic and wholesome foods available readily and to everyone. I really enjoyed reading Heal Your Gut (as did my best friend; who I had to keep an eye on so she didn't steal the book)! So much of what Lee discusses in this book, I could relate to, and so could she. The simple truth is that gut, and other stomach related health issues are so prevalent in today's day and age, that we really need to stop and think about how we are treating our bodies. Out of myself and my closest friends, over half of us have stomach sensitivities, intolerances, allergies and/or serious stomach related health issues. For my full stomach-related health issues check out my previous review of That Sugar Book. I would definitely recommend this book to them all, and will! The four week Elemental Diet consists of eating/drinking only extremely easy to digest juices, smoothies and soups, and Lee recommends reintroducing solid foods slowly after this period to give your gut time to heal and adjust. That in itself is a big step, and something not to be done on a whim as you need to be very prepared, and in a situation where you are able to cook and dictates your own meals for over four weeks. This isn't a situation I am currently in, but as soon as I am, I intend to heal my gut and feast on some of the marvelous recipes included in this book. I also really loved the way Lee expresses the need not to only take care of our inner health, but also our outer health and spiritual health. She includes tips and advice on how to live an organic and clean life, with easy to follow suggestions and directions on how to make and use yoga, dry body brushing, meditation and chemical-free beauty and cleaning products. It also happens to be wrapped up in a beautiful and coherently clutter-free package making it a lovely addition to my shelves.
Rate: 7/10 Pages: 274 Format: Paperback Genre: CookBook/Health/Non-Fiction Acquired from: Murdoch Books Australia *I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own*
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This was either the third or fourth time I've read this book. I first discovered this beauty when my best friend lent it to me about five years ago. It is a short and simple book where Kerr shares the journey of her life, and the foundations she has built it on. These centre around positive thinking and the ultimate choice we have to have make each and every day; to be happy. The second half of the book consists of a large number of positive affirmations, surrounding happiness, health, career, relationships and other areas in aid of self love. I remember juts how deep an impact Treasure Yourself had on me when I was fifteen, and in the process of finding myself as a woman and trying to figure out just where I fitted in the world. It is perfectly suited in my opinion for young women, and helps them to see the enormous light and love that they have, and are able to share with the world.
It is another book to be kept on ones bedside table, to flick through at leisure and draw on in moments of the need. Rate: 8/10 Pages: 284 Format: Paperback Genre: Non Fiction/Self-Growth/Spirituality Acquired from: Brother and (now) sister-in law - Christmas Present (2011)
When I first read the blurb for Maybe in Another Life I was so intrigued! I had never heard or seen a premise like it and wanted to read it immediately. Then when I received it, I went on the Towny trip and it got left at home. *cue sad face*
Well I'm home now and early yesterday afternoon I felt like reading and decided to pick this up for a quick squiz. Well, you know how it is... four hours later I was reading the last page completely satisfied. The book follows twenty-nine year old Hannah Martin, and the consequence of a small decision made in her first night back in New York. Hannah has to decide whether to go home with her best friend, or to go home with her ex-boyfriend. Two very different results come from her choice, and every second chapter shows the way her life ends up as a result of them both. Hannah begins to live two very different lives in the two parallel universes, but will she still end up with the same guy? Is there such thing as fate or destiny, or do we have many? Maybe in Another Life was such a unique and interesting story and I loved each moment! I really couldn't tell you which Hannah, or world I preferred more, and I became more and more hooked the deeper I got into the book. I really enjoyed the characters, and the relationships that developed. I adored Hannah and Gabby's friendship, and could really relate to what it's like to have found a soul mate best friend. I found the story flowed extremely well, and I didn't once get muddled or lost in the different worlds. I was also so happy in the way the story wrapped up, and sobbed emotionally all the way through. Ask my Mum, she was on the couch next to me! Rate: 8/10 Pages: 342 Format: Paperback Genre: Adult Fiction Acquired from: Simon & Schuster Publishing *I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own*
I first had my eyes pried open and stunned when I watched That Sugar Film. I had been seeing snippets and mentions of it on the dear ol’ interwebs and was very keen to see the movie as I had a grand interest in wanting to know exactly what the deal with sugar is. I myself used to consider myself to have a big sweet tooth. I love pasta and chocolate and spent the first year of college eating nothing but it. Come the end of the year I had put on 5kgs and felt so sluggish and awful. Over the next three months I cut back the processed foods and sugar I was eating (plus spent a week not eating thanks to having my four wisdom teeth removed surgically) and lost almost all of the weight. I also started working out at the gym with my girlies and in all honesty, felt and looked amazing. It was at this point that I (back at college) discovered that I had grown a stomach sensitivity to certain foods. Essentially, the sweeter or richer something was, the less time it took me to dispel it quite violently. I used to LOVE cheesecake; every year for my birthday I would request it as my birthday cake. But I found that it now literally took ten minutes max for it to have me running to the toilet. I am not exaggerating. I once nearly vomited during a formal college dinner from it. Practically all deserts made me sick, which I guess was really a good thing. However, I didn’t see it as that, and was advised to try Yakult as it would correct the bacteria in my stomach. And hallelujah, raise the roof, I could tolerate ice cream again, just, and only if I had it within 24 hours of eating it. However, Yakult’s are pretty expensive (uni student remember) and weren’t available at the corner store when I was home from college. And then came my mother’s discovery, hey voila, a probiotic capsule not needed to be kept in the fridge. They helped so much, and I still take them a few times a week to this very day. And what do you know; soon enough I was back to eating countless amounts of sugar. But, significantly less than I could tolerate before; with certain things making me feel sick just thinking about them (red velvet cupcakes and Chinese which both tasted just as sweet on the way back up). So as you can see, I was very interested to see if the film could outline the issues I was having, and if there was a direct link to the sugar consumption. I certainly got more than I bargained for; in a good way!
That Sugar Book follows ex-sugar junkie, Damon Gameau as after three years off refined sugar, he begins a 60 day experiment looking at effects of eating a ‘healthy’ diet of the average Australian. The results? He gained 8.5kgs, added 7% to total body fat, and stacked on 10cm around his waist. His liver also went from the best 20% to the worst 20% and it was noted that if he kept on with his diet, that he would be on track to liver disease, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and other serious health issues. But one of the biggest things Damon noticed was how dramatically his moods and behaviour changed. He describes fluctuating foggy and manic states, and how edgy and irritable he became. The book is set out in four parts; The Experiment, The Science, The Good News and The Recipes. Essentially everything from the film is in here, but the book includes a lot more features and facts. I loved that it had much of the same humour from the movie, and you could rarely read a page without smiling or giggling. Gameau is a funny and easily likable guy, and this definitely shines through in his writing and its style. There is a fair bit of technical jargon in the book, but most of which Gameau explains in simple ways for those dummies out there like me. And to add the cherry on top (metaphorically of course, cherrys are full of sugar, gasp!), the book is full of fun illustrations and has a pretty package. I will be honest in saying that this book certainly does not have all the answers, but it has achieved its biggest and most important goal of raising awareness as to what sugar is doing not only to us as individuals, but to our societies and cultures all around the world. So what now you ask? Am I going to give up sugar?! Well, considering my bliss point (see film, book, app, or you know, Google it; for an explanation) is below normal, my sugar intake is much smaller than the average Aussie and I have never been a drinker of anything but water, so you’d think that I haven’t much further to go. But my friends; I do. I am definitely going to be reducing my intake of processed foods and sugar. I am taking on a whole foods lifestyle approach, but am not restricting myself with rules and regulations to overwhelm myself. I am excited for the healthy journey I am on and know that my body will sing my songs of praises. I cannot wait to try some of the yummy recipes which this book includes, and am hoping that Gameau and his girlfriend Zoe TuckerwellSmith will make a larger sugar free cookbook soon. *Update. I tasted some of the yummy recipes after I made them! They were all superb! Check out the pictures below! Rate: 8.5/10 Pages: 240 Format: Paperback Genre: Non-Fiction/Health/CookBook Acquired from: Pan Macmillan Publishing Thoughts and things I loved (as told from my little brown book) • “I flicked into hyper-drive and casually threw a wave to the Millennium Falcon as I sped by” –pg 29. • "It [sugar] is now found in 80 per cent of all items available in a supermarket” –pg 32. • "Sugar Addiction is not a moral failing; it’s a genetic condition, like asthma, which I also have. It’s just the way I was put together, it’s not my fault. On the other hand, I know what will give me an asthma attack, and it is my fault if I bury my head in the truck of a lime tree. And similarly, it would be a bad thing if I constantly stuffed myself with sugary foods. Because now I know better” –Stephen Fry, p. 64. *I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own* This book is the most powerful I have ever read. Just let that sink in, I still am. Considering you know, that I have legit read over a thousand books during my twenty years on Earth... And yet here we are. I honestly cannot remember where I picked this book up from, I think that it was probably from a bookfair or something. I have recently been dealing with some pretty heavy stuff and was really looking for a way to cope and just, deal with it. I of course, turned to books. I ordered a bunch which related to situations I had been from BD, but wasn't sure what to do while I waited for them to arrive. Then one day a video by Teresa Palmer on her Your Zen Life channel popped up on my YouTube feed. She talked about a lot of the stuff I kind of knew, but had been mostly ignoring or not implementing. About how happiness is ultimately a choice, and only one we can make. She also went on to talk about the fact that we can only change our own lives, and we are all in control only of that. This spoke to me a lot, as I have an almighty tendency to try to fix people, and I end up so devastated when I can't. So there I was, thinking about some deep, deep stuff, when I wandered into the rumpus room and pulled this book off the shelf. And there I was, getting my life ultimately turned upside down, in the best possible way ever. You can see below a picture of my copy of the book. Notice how many tabs there are? I literally tabbed anytime something really grabbed me, and as you can see, that was nearly every page, and sometimes, multiple times a page. Louise acknowledges so many truths which so many of us refuse to accept. That our minds and our spirits have complete control over so many things. That we are powerful beyond belief, but most of us never take the chance to get anywhere near our purpose or potential. I just cannot properly express the impact that TPISWY has had on so many different aspects of my life. My mindset, my attitude, my health, my diet, my relationships with others and with myself. My mind, body and spirit is growing in a way that I adore, and cherish and I am so very excited for the incredible journey that I am undertaking. I would truly recommend this book to every living person on the planet. But like Louise says, thats a job for you to take on, not me. xo Rate: 10/10 Pages: 238 Format: Paperback Genre: Non-Fiction/Spirituality/Self-growth Acquired from: Bookfair? Room is another story which I first was exposed to whilst on my daily IMDB checkup. It had an actress I really liked and the idea sounded intriguing; so low and behold, I watched the trailer, and loved it. Naturally I went out and found the book, which I had been seeing at bookfairs and opshops regularly, so I was pretty confident that I could pick it up second hand... and I did! Okay, now stay with me as I explain the premise. Five year old Jack lives in Room, with his Ma, Bed and occasional visits from Spider and Old Nick. There is TV, but the things on it are only pretend. Only Room actually exists. For those of you who still haven't got it, I'll make it real simple. Jack's Ma was kidnapped when she was nineteen, and has spent the last nine years trapped, alone. Until of course she had the miracle she called Jack. Heavy right?! The book is told completely from Jack's perspective, and the author did an absolutely astounding job of creating an authentic narrator, without making the storyline or development of the plot juvenile or lacking. Sure, there were things that Jack didn't understand, but they are crystal clear for an adult to see. It was truly such a special thing to really see the world for the first time again through Jack's eye. A wonder of a book, which I am very curious to be seen made into a movie. Rate: 8/10 Pages: 401 Format: Paperback Genre: Adult Fiction Acquired from: OpShop Thoughts and things I loved (as told from my little brown book) • Umm guys, Jack is swiping all that stuff... •"'Let me show you something'. He puts his [LEGO] car on the floor and steps on it, crunch. It's all in pieces. 'See?' says Steppa. 'No problemo. Let's start again'". - He just stepped on LEGO on purpose, everything is not okay! How is his foot not broken?!
Okay, wow.
Book 1- Cool. Book 2- This is like, getting epic! Book 3- HOLY FREAKING HEKK! AMAZING!!!!! I mean, is that enough to explain my feelings for this book? No?! Okay, well here goes... From page one I was hooked, and not just 'Oh I think I'd like to keep reading', but "Wait, did I just read 100 pages while I was taking a five minute study break?' and 'I'll stop reading at 1.30, okay 2.00, fine 2.30, crap it's almost 3.00!' and "Good night parents, I'm off to bed" "But Jem, it's only 7.30..." "And?!? My book awaits!". Painting a good enough picture yet?! It was addicting, and any reservations or issues I had with the first two books didn't exist here. I was so engaged and god-damned invested that it really isn't normal, and I should probably see someone... What actually happened in the book you ask?! Well my friends, that is a bit hard to say considering its, you know, the final book! But fine, I'll try and describe it without spoiling the intensity that is this Crystal Kingdom! Bryn is on the run after being framed for an act of treason which she didn't commit. Her whole world has been tipped upside down and pulled inside out. Now she is allying with the man who tried to kill her father, and seeking aid from the most brutal of the troll kingdoms in order to save her own tribes'. But in doing so, will she end up destroying them, or hurting those she loves?! And of course, the romance! I was so, so, so happy with the romance in Crystal Kingdom. It was near damn perfect! In the Trylle series the couple I shipped didn't end up together, and I was so terrified that it would happen again in this book... but it didn't! They're totes a canon now! Who is, you ask?! Not telling, I say! I felt that the content was a lot more mature than some YA fantasy, which was so refreshing! Not one single character, (okay maybe one, but she was meant to) irked me. I had such strong emotions for so many of the characters, and found that I could really relate and connect with them. This of course led to some screaming, crying and asking myself WHY?!!?!!?!! when the shit started to get very real. It's still hard to talk about, and I'm not giving spoilers so don't even bother asking. Just don't expect to go to sleep straight after finishing it, or think that you will get out without any emotional scaring. You've been warned! Rate: 9/10 Pages: 422 Format: Paperback Genre: YA Fantasy Acquired from: Pan Macmillan Publishing Thoughts and things I loved (as told from my little brown book) • "When they'd first been assigned to her [Tilda], I'd heard the recruits snickering about how easy they'd gotten it because she was pregnant and a girl. None of them were snickering now." -pg 247 • "If we had been attacked, I imagined her [Lisbet] still dancing to the music, like the orchestra that had played on as the Titanic sank." -pg 278 •*2 hours after I finished the book and went to bed* ...What even is life... • I HAD A DREAM WHERE I WAS AS BAD-ARSE AS BRYN! It was awesome!! *I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own* Q & A with author Amanda Hocking!!! 1. What inspired you to create the world behind the Kanin series? The Kanin series is a spinoff of my previous trilogy, the Trylle, and both of them were inspired by Scandinavian folklore about trolls as beautiful, cunning, and ill-tempered. With the Trylle, I showed the world from the point of view of the aristocracy, but with the Kanin, I wanted to showcase the world from view of someone who grew up in it, fighting in the trenches. I was also really inspired by a trip I took Canada and Alaska, and the beauty and magic of the landscape. I also took inspiration from the works of Alexandre Dumas, particularly The Three Musketeers, which was one of my favourite stories growing up. 2. How do you choose the names for your characters? With the characters in the Kanin Chronicles, I looked at popular and historical names from Scandinavia, which is how names like Tilda and Linnea were chosen. I also went with a more typical spelling for names, so I chose Viktor vs Victor and Konstantin vs Constantine. And some names I chose just because I liked, like Ember. Ridley was named after the director Ridley Scott, who has made so many of my favourite films, like Blade Runner, Alien, and Legend. 3. Do you ship any of your characters with characters from other fictional works? If so, who? I hadn’t really thought of it before. But I think Bryn would have a lot of fun with Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow, and I think Ember would have a huge crush on Hermione Granger. I’d also be interested in seeing what trouble Konstantin would get into if he paired with Poison Ivy from Batman.
GAH!! When you're nearly finished your review and the site crashes! Oosahfabah... *breathes deeply*
I was quite dissapointed with this book. I have dealing with some serious family issues and went looking for non-fiction books to find out how other people handled the effects of mental illness on family members. I found Invisible Girl online and purchased it straight away as the blurb stated that Mariel's family had many of the same issues within my family. It even said that she expresses how she dealt with them and still does. The inside of the book is quite pretty; with illustrations and "to think about"sections. It started out coming from the perspective of a little girl's journal and I thought that as she aged, the writing would progress. Unfortunately it didn't, and the whole book was told with very, very basic language features and vocabulary making the book really lack depth or detail. Everything seemed very foggy and it was really quite hard to get a lot of meaning or connection out of. I finished it feeling deflated and unsure of who the targeted audience for this book would be. The language in it implied that it was for really young kids (5-10), but the vocabulary would have been too hard for them to read and besides what is the purpose?! To tell kids they're not alone and that everything will be okay in the end? But that kind of irritated me because it didn't offer any practical advice; apart from a general theme that you just have to put up with it and maybe call a hotline. For the price of the book, and what it actually consisted of, I am very dissapointed and feeling like I wasted my money. Rate: 5/10 Pages: 160 Format: Hardback Genre: Non-Fiction Acquired from: BookDepository.com Thoughts and things I loved (as told from my little brown book) • Sad life • WHERE IS THIS GOING?! • I am so confused about the audience! It has been over a week since I finished this book, but I have quite the hectic time since and this is the first chance I have had to write up a review. Overall I quite enjoyed Zarkora, I found it to be a really good middle grade story and thought that it would definitely spark interest in younger kids/teens to take up reading. For that reason I really tried to keep an open mind about it. However, as a twenty year old avid reader; I found it to be very predictable, cliché and a little tiresome. It is with mindset that I review it. There were a significant amount of content and characters which paralleled with other fantasy novels; and Rohman's character was far too much like Hagrid for me to be able to make him into his own character. My buddy reader said that "It totally felt like we were checking off stages in a quest video game" and I honestly couldn't have said it better myself. I did quite like that though, but just got irritated that everything they needed would just magically appear, and they really didn't have to work for much. I really loved the poems that told of the tasks they had to complete to get the swords; but the actual tasks were quite dull, and I admittedly skimmed through them pretty quickly. I would absolutely recommend this to younger (8-12 year olds) kids who need something light, fun and adventurous to kick start their reading life; just not anyone else. Rate: 5/10 Pages: 279 Format: ARC Paperback Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Acquired from: Hatchette Australia Publishing Thoughts and things I loved (as told from my little brown book) • A good beginners book • Very Eragon-esque • I need to go to that library! *I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own* |
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