REVIEW: My Thinning Years by Jon Derek Croteau

January 18, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

A while back I received a note from a publicist asking if I would read and review Jon’s book: MY THINNING YEARS, which is subtitled, “Starving the Gay Within”. It had published this past fall. It took me FOREVER to get to the book, and then it took me a while to read it as Jon’s story is so heart-wrenching (though the book is under 300 pages).

This book is a memoir of Jon’s life growing up in Massachusetts and how he was stifled by an incredibly overbearing, opinionated, and demanding father. Jon’s life was made to be sports (whether he liked it or not). Jon’s proclivities as a child leaned more towards theater, dress-up, and singing, but his father was having none of it. As Jon matured, his tried to hide and deny his sexuality, instead exercising and running relentlessly, and dieting to the point of anorexia. Eventually, Jon is able to accept himself and make a life for himself, find love, and be happy.

I have to say – this book is at some points just heart-breaking. Jon’s father is determined to turn him into his ideal of “American boy” and it’s not a pretty process. Jon’s mother is the one who accepts him unconditionally, but she is just not strong enough to take on his father. It’s basically disaster after disaster and I just felt terrible for young Jon as he went through his younger years trying to escape his father’s wrath and trying to deny or hide his natural proclivities and talents.

Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. It’s brave of Jon to share his story with the world, and I hope that it helps other young people who may be at the point he was when younger.

Thank you for my review copy, Claire McKinney PR!

You can find this book at an indie bookstore near you — I am an Indie Bound Affiliate:

My Thinning Years

Review of Two Diet Books: THE DIABETES SOLUTION and THE ACID REFLUX SOLUTION – both by Dr. Jorge Rodriguez and Susan Wyler

January 16, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Time to get a little personal.

I’m not a big fan of sharing tons of personal info about myself on my blog. I have to think: who cares? You are here to read a review, not read about me. However, I wanted to give some information with this post so that readers can understand where I’m coming from.

Growing up, I was never a heavy person. I was always pretty average, even thin. All that changed when I was in my 30’s. I started putting on some pounds. I think it was stress, crazy schedule, more stress. Regardless, I trained for a marathon in 2002 and was looking pretty good again, and then I got married. And right away got pregnant. And then when baby 1 was four months old I got pregnant again. That was ten years ago and I’ve been overweight ever since. Like 50 pounds overweight.

Now, here’s the thing: my blood work and medical tests have always been great! Super! And while I am heavy, I exercise a lot. I love to exercise! I like to cook. We eat healthy. I have a fitbit and I know how much I’m doing. Basically I’m a bit stymied why I’m so heavy when I’m out running or doing aerobics and lifting weights and eating healthy.

Then in December I went to my physical, and my blood work no longer looked good. Suddenly my glucose level (usually 70-80) had edged over 100. My triglycerides (which have rarely been past 60) were up over 150. My cholesterol was over 200 for the first time ever. What was happening? So I requested a visit with the dietician at my doctor’s group. I also got two books: THE DIABETES SOLUTION through Blogging for Books and THE ACID REFLUX SOLUTION via Amazon (because I had never heard of acid reflux before I got pregnant and for the past two or three years it’s a daily thing for me).

But first let me tell you what the dietician suggested after reviewing my diet and exercise. Keep exercising. Keep eating, but add more protein at breakfast. Then have a bigger lunch with more protein. Then make dinner 50% veggies, 25% protein, and 25% complex carbs. That’s my daily goal right now. I will let you know how I make out. So far, I got through the holidays without denying myself stuff and did not gain weight. And my whole family is eating more veggies.

So – the books. First let me write about THE ACID REFLUX SOLUTION. (subtitled A Cookbook and Lifestyle Guide for Healing Heartburn Naturally) which I purchased in print form.

This is a great book. The goal of it is to understand why acid reflux is happening and then make some changes so that it is under control. The end goal is to not be reliant on prescription or OTC meds. Now I’ve read A LOT on acid reflux. I thought I knew everything, but I didn’t. I’ve made a few changes to my diet based on what I read and I am so happy to report that my acid reflux is pretty much gone! Amazing! I tend to avoid the foods that cause reflux to begin with but I did a few new things, based on what I read: I added ginger to my diet. I eat a very small piece of ginger after dinner most nights. I also stopped drinking so much with my meal. I’m a huge water drinker and I tend to drink about 12 ounces at dinner and 8 ounces before I go to bed at night. This book suggested I drink 30 minutes before or 45 minutes after dinner and not right before I go to bed as so much water could stretch my stomach. I also cut down on entree portion size (again, to add in more veggies). And we eat dinner earlier so that I can have hours before I go to bed after eating.

There are loads of other suggestions and information in this book and I highly recommend it! It has lots of recipes, too, including some great soups!

THE DIABETES SOLUTION is subtitled:

How to Control Type 2 Diabetes and Reverse Prediabetes Using Simple Diet and Lifestyle Changes–with 100 recipes

I cut and pasted that — lol.

The first thing I have to say is that this book is a major wake up call. By the time I had read part one, I was pretty much freaked out about my health and my body. Reading the section on complications from diabetes scared me half to death, and the big message was “if you are over 100 for fasting glucose, you are PREdiabetic”. I took it as a call to action.

This was a very informative book. There is a section on medications that I did not read as I’m not on any medications. Dr. Rodriguez also has created a point system to help control sugar in the diet and to balance nutrients. I did not try to this yet. And there are many recipes included in the second half of the book, including list of foods that fit in the point system – the “blood sugar budget”. There is a later section on surgeries, which I also didn’t focus on.

I thought this was a great (albeit somewhat scary) read and I would recommend it to those who want to better understand diabetes, prediabetes, and similar conditions and then do something about it. The recipes look tasty and easy to make. I am considering the blood sugar budget (if I do it, I will post my thoughts on it). One of the themes here is that making several small changes can have a very big and positive overall effect.

Thank you, Blogging for Books, for my copy!

HFVB Tour: THE BLOOD OF THE FIFTH KNIGHT by E.M. Powell

January 15, 2015January 16, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’m happy today to be taking part in the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour of E. M. Powell’s THE BLOOD OF THE FIFTH KNIGHT!

This novel takes place in 12th century England, during the reign of Henry II. Benedict Palmer is called upon by King Henry to protect his mistress, Rosamund, as someone is trying to kill her. Henry is seeking an annulment from Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, and someone thinks this is to put Rosamund on the throne; in fact, Henry seeks to legitimize his marriage to his previous wife. Their daughter, Theodosia, is married to Benedict, but living quietly and secretly in the countryside in a small village. Benedict, a former knight of Henry’s, has to protect Rosamund (not an easy job), while his wife tries to carry on at home. The ante continues to be upped by the schemer, who will stop at nothing to get rid of Rosamund (and Benedict and Theodosia!) and support Eleanor.

I really enjoyed this book. I love reading about British history, and seriously, if you think this plot is complicated, you should know that a lot of it is based in fact and stories about Rosamund, Eleanor, and Henry. That said, you should know that there is some disturbing violence in this book; life in those days was not easy! I really liked the character of noble, yet human, Benedict (even if he isn’t based in truth). I hope there are more books in this series.

Apparently, this book is a sequel to THE FIFTH KNIGHT, but you can certainly read it on its own – I did. And thank you for my review copy!

Here’s a bit about the author (via HFVBT):

E.M. Powell is the author of medieval thriller THE FIFTH KNIGHT which was a #1 Amazon Bestseller. Born and raised in the Republic of Ireland into the family of Michael Collins (the legendary revolutionary and founder of the Irish Free State) she now lives in the north west of England with her husband and daughter and a Facebook-friendly dog. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America. She is a reviewer of fiction and non-fiction for the HNS. Find out more by visitingwww.empowell.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Just a note — mea culpa — originally this post was supposed to run on January 5, but I had written it down as January 15. I heartily apologize for those who stopped by looking for my review!

Find this book at an indie bookstore near you — I am an Indie Bound affiliate:

The Blood of the Fifth Knight

YA Review: WHEN by Victoria Laurie

January 9, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I pulled this title from Net Galley a while back as I’m a sucker for a supernatural story!

In WHEN, Maddie Flynn is a typical teenager who has the unique ability to see dates on people’s foreheads. She comes to realize that what she is seeing is their “death date” – the day they will die. As Maddie grows, her somewhat destitute mother sets up shop to make quick money with Maddie seeing clients to tell them their (or a loved one in a picture) death dates. Unfortunately, Maddie’s predicting gets her in trouble when she predicts a child’s death and that seemingly fine child soon comes up missing. She and her best friend find themselves caught up in the police investigation of the missing boy and several others. With the police more than skeptical of her abilities and no other real suspects, Maddie has to solve the mystery before time runs out.

I really liked this book! Maddie was an interesting and strong character, and I found the whole concept of seeing death dates on people’s foreheads as a unique and clever twist. I would have loved this book as a teenager!

Review: VERONICA MARS by Rob Thomas #2 Mr. Kiss and Tell

January 5, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

So I discovered VERONICA MARS on the plane last summer. I thought I was tuning in to a remake of the old flick “The Eyes of Laura Mars” (anyone remember that?) but then I realized I was watching some trendy teen solve mysteries. It was fairly entertaining and I enjoyed the movie. When I saw this book come up on Edelweiss I snagged it to review.

In this story, Veronica is hired to find out what happened at a trendy hotel in Neptune. A young woman was found raped and nearly beaten to death in a garbage dump after having visited the hotel the night before. She has no memory of that attack. Oddly enough, the hotel video footage shows the girl arriving and visiting the bar, but then leaving by the stairs and never exiting the building. A young hotel worker, who turned out to be illegal and was sent back to Mexico, is blamed for the attack. Veronica is not so sure, though. How did the victim leave the hotel? Is she telling the truth? And if she’s not, why not? These are just some of the questions that Veronica sets out to answer.

I enjoyed this book, though I think it would have helped if I had read the earlier book in the series (there were many references to it, though some were familiar due to the movie I saw). It is a fairly easy read and well-plotted. Veronica is plucky and smart. She has her issues with her boyfriend and with creating her own identity away from her father’s. I would definitely read another Veronica Mars book!

Thanks, Edelweiss, for my ARC to review!

Review: NORA WEBSTER by Colm Tóibín

January 3, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / 2 Comments

I missed getting NORA WEBSTER on Net Galley, and heard a lot of great things about it, so I got it at the library. At the same time, some of my friends really disliked this book, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. NORA WEBSTER is the story of Nora, a young woman with four children who is widowed and living in Ireland in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The story starts with the death of Nora’s beloved husband, Maurice, and follows her through her period of mourning and into the life that she eventually creates for herself.

This book moves at a rather slow pace, but I think that this is essential. Nora in the beginning is bogged down by grief, to the point where she can barely take care of her children. The pages felt so “grey” to me. I could feel her desolation. To be able to paint Nora’s inner self so perfectly through what surrounds her, to have the pages literally convey her mood, well – all I can say is that Tóibín is a gifted writer.

Nora gets a job and connects with some friends and her sisters. She also starts to sing. Eventually she slowly comes out of her shell – a shell which was created before Maurice died, as she had surrounded herself in her family and pretty much cut herself off to escape from her small town surroundings. She begins to realize that people actually respect her and are trying to help her.

I think one of my favorite parts of this story was when Nora auditioned for the Wexford choir. Her voice teacher had built her up so much and when she went, well, she pretty much was awful. Somehow, I loved the fact that she wasn’t amazing or wonderful. And I loved even more how she just carried on. She didn’t stop singing or blame them; she realized that her singing was for herself and it didn’t matter what others thought.

Nora reminds me of an Irish Olive Kitteridge. She’s not perfect or even terribly likable, but she is very human.

You can find this book at an Indie near you – I am an Indie Bound affiliate:

Find NORA WEBSTER at an Indie

Kids’ Review: BLACKWATER BEN by William Durbin

January 2, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I received a copy of BLACKWATER BEN a while ago from my friends at University of Minnesota Press. They do wonderful books for young readers (usually historical fiction) that are rooted in Minnesota history and I’ve loved everything they have ever sent me. I have to apologize in that I managed to lose this book TWICE – a record for me – and it has taken forever for me to finish and review it!

BLACKWATER BEN focuses on young Ben Ward, who, in 1898, joins his father at a lumbering camp in the Minnesota woods to work as a cook’s helper. The life of the lumberjack is not an easy one, and Ben has to learn to navigate the different personalities of the crew, along with the somewhat distant personality of his widowed father. Along the way, a scrappy young orphan boy, Nevers, joins them, and Ben has a friend to help him work (and play). Ben wants to know more about his mother, though, and his father is not very forthcoming; a friendship with one of the men at the camp, though, may give him more information.

I really enjoyed this book, which is a great pick for middle grade readers. Ben has various adventures, but throughout, the reader learns a lot about life in the camps at that time. I loved the differing personalities of the various men at the camp. That was a hard life!

I thank University of Minnesota Press for my copy. I think this would make a great book for a school library or to be used in class.

You can find this book at an indie near you (I am an Indie Bound Affiliate):

Find Blackwater Ben at an Indie

HFVB Tour Review: THE UNQUIET BONES by Mel Starr

December 31, 2014April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

So happy today to be taking part in Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour’s Blog Tour for Mel Starr’s THE UNQUIET BONES. If you read me regularly, you know I love historical fiction and I also love mysteries, especially cozy mysteries. This book combined both of those loves in a fun and fast read. And – it’s just the start of a series centering on this main character and his mystery solving in medieval England.

Hugh of Singleton is an educated and intelligent man or somewhat noble birth (but not wealthy). He chooses to work as a surgeon after attending training in Paris and is making a small living doing this when he is called to administer to a local, powerful lord. Lord Gilbert then calls upon Hugh to solve the mystery of some bones found in his cesspool – bones that are distinctly human. Hugh sets about solving the mystery or the bones found (which appear to belong to a teen age girl) and in doing so, unearths more forgotten secrets. Will he be able to find the killer? According to Lord Gilbert, he is going nowhere until he does!

I really enjoyed this book and am thrilled that it is just the first in a series. I could see this fitting so well on the BBC as a weekly series! Hugh is a likable character and the medieval setting will surely make you happy you live now! I always love to learn new things when reading historical fiction, and this book seemed very well-researched. When you think of all the things you could die from back then – things that are rather easily managed today for the most part – it does make one stop and pause (and be thankful for anti-biotics!). I found the mystery well-plotted (even though I did figure it out!), and the extraneous characters served to move the plot along.

I would love to read more of Hugh de Singleton’s adventures! Thank you so much for having me be part of the tour and for my review copy (which I swiftly gifted to my husband as I know he will love it!).

Read more about Mel Starr on his website:

http://www.melstarr.net

Review: AS CHIMNEY SWEEPERS COME TO DUST by Alan Bradley

December 29, 2014April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / 4 Comments

Oh that Flavia is at it again!

If you read me you know I love this series about young scientific genius Flavia at her decaying manor house in 1950’s England with her morose and distracted father and self-absorbed older sisters. Flavia’s voice makes me laugh out loud. Her antics are always fun to read. Her genius is quite amazing. Yes, she is one of those characters I wish could just come to life!

In this installment, twelve-year-old Flavia has been “banished” to her mother’s old boarding school in Canada. She makes the Atlantic crossing via ship with a rather dour couple (members of the board of overseers for her new school). Poor Flavia has hardly arrived, exhausted and lonely, when a dead body falls from her chimney and she is thrown into the middle of an unsolved mystery. Of course Flavia has not yet learned to let sleeping dogs lie, and she begins to uncover secrets and past misdeeds that some would prefer to keep buried…

What can I say? I love this series and I love Flavia. It combines mystery, humor, and a protagonist you can’t help but like along with a setting in the past. Love, love, love — that is all!

Find it at an Indie!

I am an Indie Bound Affiliate

Review: VANESSA AND HER SISTER by Priya Parmar

December 27, 2014April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

I saw this come up on Net Galley and realized how little I knew about Virginia Woolf so I requested it. This was a truly fascinating account of Virginia and her sister Vanessa and their lives in London in the early 20th century, along with their highly gifted friends. This group came to be known as the Bloomsbury Group.

Please note the following may have some plot SPOILERS.

Parmar does an excellent job of portraying Virginia’s genius intellect, coupled with her extreme emotional neediness and her mental instability. Both women had suffered severe loss in their family and were quite devoted to each other. However, Virginia’s connection to her sister bordered on the unhealthy and was almost obsessive. At times reading this novel, I felt so sorry for Vanessa. Virginia pretty much worked to take over anything she had, and then she usually destroyed it (including Vanessa’s marriage). Vanessa herself was a gifted artist, but her life and relationships and talents were hindered, in my opinion, by her sister’s overpossessiveness.

Throughout the book we are treated to glimpses into the social interactions of their partners in the group of intellectuals (writers and artists mostly) that became the Bloomsbury Group. The story is told from Vanessa’s point of view but also through telegrams, letters, diary entries, etc. I really enjoyed this book, though it was a bit depressing. I could have kept reading for about another 10-15 years of their lives! Kudos to Ms. Parmar on what I believe is her debut novel.

Find Vanessa and Her Sister at an Indie (I am an Indie Bound Affiliate)