book notes: july

The Fit-Bottomed Girls Anti-Diet by Jennifer Walters and Erin Whitehead
i decided to request this book for review because this year i have been working on a healthier lifestyle for me and my family. we are more active, eat fresher foods and less dessert, and its made a difference--i lost the babyweight a little faster than last time with less working out, and then five pounds more (30lbs lost since December!). i feel like i have more energy and can keep up with the kids (and carry the kids!) better. but i do want to continue to lose a little bit more, and i was curious to see if this book had any additional tips for living healthy that i hadn't thought or read of before. i was not disappointed!

i loved how easy to read this book was--it was broken down into steps in each chapter, followed by 10 suggestions on how to immediately implement what you learned. And what do you learn? how to create a healthy Lifestyle. The first half of the book was most useful for me--it gives tips on how to be more active in your everyday life, find exercise you Enjoy doing, find healthy foods that you enjoy and make you feel good. It was full of helpful tips like if you feel snacky, try doing something active for ten minutes before eating. The second half focused primarily on the mental/emotional side of things--how to feel good in your own skin, not strive for perfectionism, stay motivated. my only criticism is that the tone was a little cheesy in a you-go-girl way.

i would highly recommend this book to anyone who is sick of fad diets and wants to focus on becoming healthy even if becoming thin takes a long time.

(I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.)

The Foundling Wheel by Blas Falconer
Falconer writes about his family in a tender and genuine way. its rare to see a male poet focusing so much of his book on his children, so i found this book refreshing and i highly recommend it.

How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher
written during WWII and updated during the cold war, this book is part cookbook, part social commentary, part letter from an odd aunt. While much of the frugal advice is of the period, the wry tone of her writing is delightful—I think if she wrote a book about combustion engines or various types of grass or the migratory patterns of ducks, I’d read it. [ Yes, fisher, I will hunt down more of your books!].  I haven’t tried any of her recipes—yet—but its not really about the recipes so much as it is about a way of thinking about food and cooking. I highly recommend this book—interlibrary loan it or buy it straightaway!

Caribou by Charles Wright
my main thoughts on this book—“more poems by Charles wright.” Either you like his style or don’t—if you don’t, pass on this one. if you do, it is more of the same that he has always written.

Found  In Him: The Joy of the Incarnation and Our Union with Christ by Elyse Fitzpatrick
I generally like all of Elyse Fitzpatrick’s books—I’ve read four so far—and this is my second favorite of hers. Mostly a theology book—not the self-help type of Christian books, but a real decent theology book—the first half takes an in-depth look at the incarnation and the second half is about how the incarnation affects our lives. Though this wasn’t a light read, I highly recommend it.  here’s one of my favorite quotes, from the last chapter:

“the more you focus on how loved you are and how everything you need has already been given to you, the more peace, rest, and love you’ll experience. as his truth comforts and assures you, you’ll find that you don’t have to fight or worry or envy anymore. You can rest, and in that rest you will find a sweetness growing your soul that will delight and nourish those around you.”