What I've Been Reading Lately

I just started law school.  My free time is fairly non-existent, which means that my time spent reading is even more non-existent.  I never in a million years thought that, on the rare occasions I do get to read, I'd turn to non-fiction.  Yet, here I am.

Beyond that, most of my reading has been focused on how to manage my life.  I have far less time than I used to for things.  I'm in the position of choosing very carefully how I spend my time because I have so little time for everything that's not law school.  But there are so many things I'm wanting to get into my day--exercise, leisure reading, cooking, and other activities that I enjoy.  So I've been reading and rereading a lot of books about time management and changing the way I think about and approach problems.

Two of my recent selections include...

SkinnyGirl Solutions by Bethenny Frankel  I've flipped through this one a few times since it came out.  It covers a great variety of things--health, daily life, and career.  One of the things I love about Frankel is her conversational, completely honest approach.  I feel like I'm having a drink or two with a girlfriend (sidenote, I initially typed "having a drunk"; clearly we know where my mind is!).  I also like how Bethenny talks about the struggle to achieve work-life balance.  I am definitely feeling that right now!  I love how she emphasizes health and taking care of yourself as an integral part of doing 84,000 other things.  If you aren't healthy, you can't do anything else.  This is something I definitely need to work on.

EveryGirl's Guide to Life by Maria Menounos  This one also covers the gamut.  I love how Menounos is very much a self-made woman.  I love the amount of space in the book that she uses to discuss organization--and on a budget at that!  She also talks a lot about being a one-woman business, which I kind of feel like I am right now.  She tackles style, emotional relationships, and health as well.  She has a follow-up book on weightloss.  Her approach to weightloss (but really, also everything else) is very down to earth and totally affordable.  She literally is the EveryGirl.

Here are two I'm about to pick up...

Big Magic by Liz Gilbert  I pre-ordered this one and am so excited to pick it up!  It deals with creativity, yes, but I thought it might have some interesting applications with legal thinking.  If not, oh well.  But I really think it will help me get in the habit of thinking outside the box and help me develop the artistry that really can be the legal profession.  The books discusses attitudes, approaches, and habits that foster creativity.  I really enjoy Gilbert's writing, so I definitely look forward to reading this one.

Getting Things Done by David Allen  I remember several people raving about this one in the not too distant past.  Like I already mentioned, I have a lot going on that I must do and a lot that I would like to add in.  I've been feeling like I've had a time management problem.  I ordered the book immediately.  Can't wait until it gets here.  I did some more research on the system this afternoon and I think it will really help.  It's supposed to help you organize your thoughts and to-do list and help you make the most of your time.  I listened to a TED Talk by Allen today that, I think, kind of previewed some of his philosophy and it was fantastic.  I took notes.

Now I just need to decide which book to read first!

WHAT LIFE ORGANIZATION BOOKS DO YOU RECOMMEND?

Julia Reviews The 7-Minute Back Pain Solution

Title/Author:The 7-Minute Back Pain Solution: 7 Simple Exercises to Heal Your Back Without Drugs or Surgery in Just Minutes a Day by Dr. Gerard Girasole, Cara Hartman
Publisher/Year Published: March 2012 by Harlequin Nonfiction
How I got this book: NetGalley
Why I read this book: I have significant back pain; I am the audience
Rating: 5 stars

Everything that you need to know about what is inside this book is in the title. Ah, organic pain solutions. I have been looking for you. But before we jump into my review, here is a little back-story. (Ha! A pun. We all know that I love those)

For the entirety of my collegiate career which spanned five years and now the two years since then I have had lower back issues. Disks bulging, a narrow spine, intense nerve pain, all fun stuff. I am still on pain meds and have had shots in my spine to numb the nerve in my leg, mostly to facilitate walking. For a while I have been looking for a mostly natural solution to the pain I live with. Then I saw this book.

As soon as I was approved for this galley, I laid down on the floor and tried the basic stretches. I was cautiously optimistic and assuming it wouldn't give me too much relief the first go round. I was surprised when after gently pulling and stretching my muscles with exercises I vaguely remembered from physical therapy I felt a small amount of relief.

I read on and tried over a course of a few months the exercises in this book. I am still surprised how much they helped me, especially the stretches. I'd wake up in the morning too stiff to move, do the stretches I could, and then be able to get out of bed. It's pretty awesome.

This book isn't all stretches and exercises though. My favorite part was the different sections on life experiences. For instance, there was a whole section on how best to deal with your back during airplane travel, or driving, or working, or bathing! I liked being able to flip to the relevant section for me and check out the suggestions. There were some helpful tips.

I really enjoyed this book and plan on buying it to have as a reference guide for whenever I may need to look something up. The stretches in this book I have already incorporated into my every day life and I don't see those leaving anytime soon.

Though this may not apply directly to you, I figured our readers here would probably know someone with some back issues. Or even if you just wanted to learn some great back stretches, check this book out. It's a great resource for how to live life with the least amount of stress to your back, and that can be addabtalbe for anyone.

Regarding Jana and "Were You Raised by Wolves?..."

Were you Raised by Wolves?: And Seven Other Crucial Questions to Ask the One You Just Might Marry by Tobem Heim.

Publishing Info: Kregel Publications, April 12, 2010.

How I got this book: I won it as a First Read on Goodreads.

Why I read this book: It’s all in the spirit of the game! I always read and review the books I win, even if I only signed up to win them because the title was hilarious.


I signed up to win this from Goodreads because I thought the title was funny. Plus, it can be interesting to see how others view relationships. What I did not know was that this book dealt a LOT with Christianity. It would have been nice if their marketing strategy had included this, perhaps with a subtitle or SOMETHING. While I am a Christian, there are many different ways to approach Christianity and I did not like this author’s approach. I won’t go into my reasoning behind this, because everyone feels differently on the subject of God and religion. Needless to say, I should not have signed up to win this from Goodreads.

This review summarizes the content of the book, so you don’t really need to go and buy it… unless you feel that it might help you in your life.

The book deals with a lot of basic material. The author states in the beginning that he was engaged at 19, so I think that it was probably written for a rather young audience. He starts out by advising couples to discuss where they came from and how they grew up. Pretty basic. Address and discover weird habits. Obviously. Analyze why you are the way you are. Uh-huh... Clear the slate. And that's the whole first section. He gives you some discovery questions (questions the author has written out for you to ask yourself or your partner that either spur a conversation or help you decide if you should stay together) and some red flags (He's written red flags up in the hopes of helping you decide if you need to break up.). He does this at the end of every section. At this point, I'm not exactly impressed. There’s nothing groundbreaking that mankind has not already discovered and written about, but I press on.

The next section deals with communication. "Communication is the lifeline from which most other relational elements hang." Again, pretty basic. Anyone who does not know this should not be in a relationship (although… this is a sort of how-to book, so maybe the reader would not know this? I’m not sure). He discusses the communication model... and tells you that communication is a learned behavior--something you should have learned growing up. He encourages readers to clearly state what they mean and talk about things that bother them. This is all still really elementary to me.

Moving on. The next section addresses conflict resolution. He tells us it's normal to fight. It's human nature to be selfish, but we have unselfish models to look to. Yes, uh-huh. Then he gives us some principles for fighting. Know what you're fighting about, stick to the topic at hand, reach a "win-win" compromise, and remember you love each other (awww...). It would be lovely if it actually worked like this, don’t you think? I'm starting to think this book won’t ever impress me.

Next… money. The author explains that you need to assess your personal spending habits. Discuss how you live, aka... how expensive you are, before you get married. That's kind of obvious, right? Discuss how you save money and give it away. Mmhmm.

Then we have Friendships and Community... We need friends. His friends, her friends, and "their" friends. It's ok. Don't feel like because you're in a relationship you need to get rid of your friends. Oh, good. If your partner objects to a certain friend, work through it. Tell them why you love your friend and why they should love your friend too. Right. Encourage your partner's friendships if they build him up. Have friends of all ages, but preferably in your stage of life so they can act as peer mentors. Good grief. Don't abandon community. Ok. Are you still reading this review? I’m surprised I’m still writing it.

Next... Faith and religion. The author tells us that if we're not both "believers" the relationship will end in heartache. This adds to why I think this book needed a religion disclaimer on it somewhere. People who do not believe in having such a religious slant in life will be frustrated with their purchase. There have been hints at religion all through the book, but from here on out it’s a much more prominent theme. If it's not secular writing, it should say so in order to inform all readers and potential readers of what they are getting in to. This whole section discusses finding someone with a common religion, but in a less generalized way.

Moving on to Career and Calling. Careers matter. Go figure… Differentiate between a career (money) and a calling (service or a mission from God). If you don't, you won't be able to make ends meet. If you're involved in online dating or a long-distance relationship, discuss where you will live. Duh. Almost done!!

Then we move on to children and family life. Whoa! Did I miss something? What happened to the discussion of marriage in general? The book does not cover it anywhere, or the discussion of intimacy. Why, you ask? The author feels that sometimes it's not appropriate to have such discussions until several years into a marriage. Seriously? I don't agree with this at all, but whatever. Moving on. Kids will affect your lifestyle... yes... See how your partner interacts with children because you could learn a lot from that. Obviously.

The book ends with the author’s conclusion. He summarizes the book: observe your significant other, ask for feedback from your family and friends about your significant other, and be honest with yourself. Then he gives you some reflection questions to ask yourself… just in case you have not decided by page 125 if you should continue being with this person.

And that’s the end. Obviously, I was quite disenchanted. It was all just so basic and common sense. It felt like the book was directed towards a very young audience, and perhaps it was. I wasn't too clear on that. Sadly, I don't think I liked anything more than the title. I'm sorry I didn't like it, because the publisher paid to send me a free copy... and kind of wasted their money. I always feel bad when I have to write a bad review, but I had to be honest.

I’m sure there are readers out there who will find this book useful, especially if they are in their first relationship. I can’t really blame the author for my bad feeling towards the book. He makes a lot of valid, but incredibly basic, points. Every serious couple (a couple considering marriage) out there should know that communication is everything. They should know and have already discussed the questions the author poses. I blame the marketing team for not clearly directing this book towards the correct audience. This book gets no stars from me because I had to really force myself to finish it.

Julia Reviews "Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo"

Title/Author: Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo by Beth Whitman
Publisher/Year Published: 2009 by Dispatch Travels
How I got this book: Checked out of the library
Why I read this book: I love traveling. I am at that point in my life where I have no one to travel with me. I am a woman.

When I saw the title of this book, I was in a particular funk. "Woe is me! I have no boyfriend to force to go to exotic places with me! What is a poor, soon to be out of college single woman with the travel bug going to do?" Then the heavenly search engine gods led me to this. "Hurray!" I cried, "I am a woman, I am solo, I have wanderlust! I must have this essential guide!"

I don't know if I had it in mind that this was going to be the holy grail of travel experience, but upon hastily flipping though the pages right after checking it out of the library, I found myself slightly grounded. "But wait, I know all about passports and visas. I know how to pack. I call shenanigans!"

While reading book, I found myself skimming over too many of the sections for me to have learned as much as I had hoped. Most of it is common sense for the seasoned traveler, even if you have never gone solo. There are some nuggets of good information, including a glossary of really handy websites. I found myself gaining the most useful tips from the anecdotes provided by women who have been there and done that. I never knew much about getting flown out of a country for medical treatment, but hearing the woman's story first hand about how it all turned out and the important role her travel insurance played is going to stick with me.

If I had to resubtitle this book it would be "The Essential Guide for the New Woman Traveler" because that's really what it is. I would highly recommend this book if you are new to the international, and maybe even domestic, travel scene. It's not a bad book, just not what I was expecting as someone who though not alone has already done it.

I give it three and a half stars.


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