How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
325 pages
 
What’s it about?
How would you choose to live if you were going to live centuries? How would your relationships work?  How would people receive you?  Well in this novel we meet Tom Hazard.  It is the present day and Tom is still alive and well, yet Tom was born in 1581…
 
What did it make me think about?
This is an imaginative story of a man who does not age at the normal rate.  I am a sucker for time travel novels and this book shares some with that genre.   
 
Should I read it?
This was a fun book that also made some interesting observations.  It has a good main character and a plot that moves along.  It would make a great vacation read!
 
Quote-
“I often think of what Hendrich said to me, over a century age, in his New York apartment.
            ‘The first rule is that you don’t fall in love’, he said. ‘There are other rules too, but that is the main one.  No falling in love.  No staying in love.  No daydreaming of love.  If you stick to this you will just about be okay.’”
 
If you liked this try-
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His yeats of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
​Exit West by Moshin Hamid
*Levels of Life by Julian Barnes

8 1/2 stars

Brain Food by Lisa Mosconi, PhD, INHC
326 pages
 
What’s it about?
Lisa Mosconi is both a neuroscientist and a certified integrative nutritionist.  In this book she delves into the question of what to eat for the health of your brain.  

Here is link to her TED talk that covers a lot of the same material.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twG4mr6Jov0
 
What did I learn?
my biggest take aways- in no particular order

-drinking natural spring water is really important.  Think 8- 8oz.  glasses a day.

-try to eliminate white sugar/ white flour foods.  

-Try a little honey, coconut sugar,  or maple syrup to sweeten foods.

-eat plant based foods

-best overall brain food is caviar...
 
-eat cold water fish a couple of times a week
wild caught salmon, mackerel, blue fish, sardines, and anchovies
 
-eat  2-3  eggs a week
 
-exercise
 
-sleep well
 
-play board games or card games for maximum benefits

If you drink make it a 5 oz. glass of Red wine and not too often...

red meat and pork- only 1 to 2 times per month
 
Should I read it?
​If you have any interest in brain health then this book is informative.      

Quote-
 "In terms of brain activity, foods that metabolize quickly into sugar and contain very little fiber are the worst you can eat.  These include sugary beverages, sweetened fruit juices, baked goods, and candy, as well as white-flour foods such as pasta and pizza". 

8 1/2 stars

​And Now We Have Everything by Meaghan O Connell
226 pages
 
What’s it about?  
Meaghan O’ Connell is in her late twenties when she finds herself engaged to be married, and then unexpectedly pregnant.  This is the story of her journey into motherhood.  
 
What did it make me think about?
This is a honest look at a hard transition in life.  Meaghan is brutal about the good and bad of becoming a mother before she was ready.  Not only how it changed her body- but how it changed all the relationships in her life.  
 
Should I read it?
A big takeaway from this book is how self-aware people are these days.  I am sure social media has played a role in this- and this trend is endlessly fascinating to me.  Meaghan’s ability for self-examination is quite remarkable.  In many other ways this book took me back.  Although I did not always feel as Meaghan did- her honesty was refreshing and it made me remember days where my biggest accomplishment was getting  a shower and wearing clean clothes.  
 
Quote-
“Most of us swore we were not interested in having children, and those who might be were supposed to act blasé about the idea.  The only acceptable response other than "God, no" to the question of wanting children was "Oh, maybe someday."  Wanting to have a baby was desperate quality in a woman, like wanting a relationship multiplied by a thousand, and it got more desperate with age. "

If you like this try-
​The Nest by Cynthia D''Aprix Sweeney
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
​Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

​8 stars