The exhaustion breakthrough

I read the Exhaustion Breakthrough by Dr. Holly Phillips in hopes that I could find some insight on my chronic fatigue. Since I read this book a while ago, I can't really remember a lot of details about her suggestions. Most of the suggestions are common sense : eat right, get better sleep, and exercise.

Sleep is a big factor and having good sleep hygiene is important. Turn off electronics, have a night routine, etc. Try to get around 7 hours of sleep a night. Eating right includes eliminating convenience foods and replacing your diet with minimally processed, whole foods. And yes, exercise but not too much. This kind of advice can be found in many places and it will probably help the person who has normal fatigue. She also advises a person be evaluated for thyroid problems and other conditions that contribute to fatigue. The book does focus on women since women tend have more trouble with fatigue and are more likely to be diagnosed with fatigue problems.

Unfortunately, her book does not really help a person who has chronic fatigue. I can say this because I have implemented some of her strategies. A squeaky clean diet, gentle exercise, and good sleep hygiene have helped me but it has not broken through the exhaustion. I have several theories as to why, but Dr. Phillips does not really deep dive on the subject. So this book is not really helpful for those who suffer from chronic, unrelenting fatigue.

The book is not terrible and may help those with normal fatigue.

Book rating: 3.5 stars

A Room with a View

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster is a classic. I picked up the book because I liked the movie version with Helen Bonham Carter and Maggie Smith. The book and movie are quite similar, though the book has a bit more depth.

In the story Lucy and her older chaperone, Charlotte, are traveling Europe. In Italy they were expecting a room with a view of the river Arno but are disappointed on arrival that they did not. After much discussion another hotel guest agrees to switch rooms with them. That hotel guest is a very handsome young man that is also a bit of a free spirit. Lucy forms an attachment to him and a romance ensues. As their journey continues to Rome, Lucy meets Cecil, a person who is more serious in life and a more likely life partner.

The story is an allegory, from what I've read. I guess I didn't think all that deeply about it. On the surface the story is a love triangle. It is also a story about a young woman coming into her own as an independent woman who knows her own mind. Regardless, I liked the story and the movie.

Book Rating: 5 stars

The life-changing magic of tidying up

I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo a few years ago. The book took the internet by storm and there were many youtube videos of people applying her principles. The book is mostly text based with a few illustrations.

I suppose we are looking for that magic formula that will help us stay organized and tidy. Perhaps this is why the book is so popular. The book is in two basic parts. The first part is about tidying up. In this there is no real innovation from other organizational books and ideas. Kondo has you declutter in categories. First, it is clothes, then books and papers, and later other areas. She has you select each item as you sort and ask yourself if the item gives you joy. If it doesn't, then you either donate or toss it. She believes each item in your life should bring you joy, not stress and worry. Other organizers do similar things by emptying a room and only adding back things that you really use or need. This part includes specific ways to fold clothing so that it takes up less space and helps prolong their useful life.

The second part is really about habits. One example is that Kondo cleans out her purse at the end of each day so that it does not become a clutter trap. There are also habits that help with sorting mail and kitchen clean up. The point is to create habits which prevent clutter from becoming a problem in the first place.

I liked some of Kondo's suggestions. I applied her suggestions on how to fold and store clothing and it has made a difference, especially with socks. Folding over the tops of socks does shorten the life of the elastic. Instead lay the socks together and fold them in thirds and file them into your sock drawer. Other principles, I just haven't gotten around to applying. If you read other reviews, people struggled with some of the more spiritual aspects of her organizing method. It's hard to thank an inanimate object for their service at the end of each day if you don't believe that object really cares. Still, I can understand an overall sense of gratitude for the things you do have.

Overall, I liked the book and felt it helped motivate me to organize and clean up.

Book Rating: 4 stars

Innovator's Dilemma

The Innovator's Dilemma is a book about disruptive technologies and how companies either adapted or not. Some companies go out of business because they either failed to recognize a new technology or because they fail to act on a new technology. Other businesses succeed because they do adapt quickly. So what is the dilemma? Company owners and managers have to make decisions about new investments and it can be difficult to know when and how much to invest. It's those decisions that lead to success or failure.

The author, Clayton M. Christensen, examines a few case histories exploring this dilemma. He tries to provide examples and perspective so that company owners can be a bit more aware of their business and new technologies. The most interesting case history was the study on hard drive manufacturers. Moore's law comes into focus and new hard drives became more powerful and smaller. Companies that adapted quickly did well, others did not because they could not see ahead. This case history was interesting to me because I have a fascination with computer history.

Another example was the evolution of the typewriter versus word processing on computers. If I remember correctly, the example compared the actions of IBM to Smith Corona, with IBM eventually coming out on top.

Aside from those two examples, the rest of the book was fairly boring and a bit out of date. I don't feel the book provided all that much help in trying to deal with disruptive technologies. It is a dilemma and the marketplace is constantly changing as new technologies are developed. I'm not sure there is much that can be done to prevent a business from failing. It takes an insightful owner who is willing to risk that a business has a chance of both surviving and succeeding long term.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I may earn a small referral.

I am number four

I am number four is a young adult book by Pittacus Lore. The main character is John Smith, a teenager who is trying to keep a low profile. He and several other children escaped their planet to hide out on earth until they can develop their legacies (or powers). Each child has a guardian who protects and hides them. But the bad aliens from their home planet is hunting them down one by one. John Smith is number four, which means three others before him have been found and killed. This is John's story of survival.

I also read book 2 and 3 in the series, The power of six and The Rise of Nine. The books are great action reads. The story is interesting, though a bit predictable like others with similar storylines. (How many kids with special powers/abilities do we really need?). I probably would have finished the series out if the last book had not been checked out when I was ready for it. I kind of lost interest waiting. Still, these would be great stories for reluctant teen boys, and girls seem to like it just as well.

An I am number four movie was made based on the first book and I remember liking it. It didn't seem to get much traction and no other movies have been made.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog.

Shattered Dreams

I have read a few books about the Fundamentalist Mormon groups in Utah. These are groups of people who have split off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints because they wished to continue practicing polygamy. After the original split, there have been further splits dividing the people and families over differences about leadership and doctrine. One of the more famous, recent groups was led by Warren Jeffs in Colorado City and Hurricane, Utah. Some of these groups also include the Allred's (Salt Lake Valley), Blackmores (in Canada), and the LeBaron's (Mexico). All of these groups are related to each other in some way and each group has had their own difficulties. I find these groups interesting, both in their beliefs and lifestyle. The group I knew least about were the LeBaron's in Mexico. I came across Shattered Dreams : My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer at the library and had to read it.

Many of the books on this topic are written by women who lived in one of these communities. They usually explain how they were raised, what they were taught to believe, and then the life choices they made. Shattered Dreams is no different, but the story is fascinating. Irene secretly marries her husband Verlan as a second wife as a teenager and is quickly sent to Mexico. There, Irene and her sister wife endure a foreign land, language and a shared husband. They experience extreme poverty as they struggled to eke out a living in one failed farm after another. Pretty soon Irene has children and the stress and strain is palpable, but she never truly waivers in her faith. She is determined to live her beliefs. Then her husband decides to marry again. And again.

Eventually, she does begin to waiver. After the years of extreme poverty, constant moving in Mexico and South America, and multiple sister wives, Irene escapes with her children back to the United States. It's about this time that the religious leadership of her group begins to fracture. Her husband's brother Ervil murdered several people in the name of religion and his hit list included Irene and her family. After Verlan's death, Irene leaves polygamy for good.

The story is both honest and real. It's a bit rough. You question why any woman would willingly choose to live as she did. And yet, you have sympathy for her as she explains why she stayed as long as she did. This book is well worth a read.