The Well-Gardened Mind

   

The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature by Sue Stuart-Smith

Summary: A distinguished psychiatrist and avid gardener offers an inspiring and consoling work about the healing effects of gardening and its ability to decrease stress and foster mental well-being in our everyday lives.

The garden is often seen as a refuge, a place to forget worldly cares, removed from the "real" life that lies outside. But when we get our hands in the earth we connect with the cycle of life in nature through which destruction and decay are followed by regrowth and renewal. Gardening is one of the quintessential nurturing activities and yet we understand so little about it. The Well-Gardened Mind provides a new perspective on the power of gardening to change people's lives. Here, Sue Stuart-Smith investigates the many ways in which mind and garden can interact and explores how the process of tending a plot can be a way of sustaining an innermost self.

Stuart-Smith's own love of gardening developed as she studied to become a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. From her grandfather's return from World War I to Freud's obsession with flowers to case histories with her own patients to progressive gardening programs in such places as Rikers Island prison in New York City, Stuart-Smith weaves thoughtful yet powerful examples to argue that gardening is much more important to our cognition than we think. Recent research is showing how green nature has direct antidepressant effects on humans. Essential and pragmatic, The Well-Gardened Mind is a book for gardeners and the perfect read for people seeking healthier mental lives.

Angie’s comments: A lovely look at how gardening can help humans with a variety of mental issues. Hearing about some of the programs for those in prison or in hospital was inspiring. I did find myself spending more time outside after reading this!

Recommended for readers interested in gardening and mental health. 

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Strange Planet

  

Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle

Summary: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER

Straight from the mind of #1 New York Times bestselling author of NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette and 99 Stories I Could Tell Nathan W. Pyle, Strange Planet is an adorable and profound universe in pink, blue, green, and purple, based on the phenomenally popular Instagram of the same name!

Strange Planet covers a full life cycle of the planet's inhabitants, including milestones such as:

The Emergence Day

Being Gains a Sibling

The Being Family Attains a Beast

The Formal Education of a Being

Celebration of Special Days

Being Begins a Vocation

The Beings at Home

Health Status of a Being

The Hobbies of a Being

The Extended Family of the Being

The Being Reflects on Life While Watching the Planet Rotate

With dozens of never-before-seen illustrations in addition to old favorites, this book offers a sweet and hilarious look at a distant world not all that unlike our own. 

Angie’s comments: A cute comic book that reflects life in somewhat scientific terms. I definitely laughed out loud when reading all the humorous takes on modern human life. 

Recommended for readers of funny graphic novels.

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Hidden Valley Road

 

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

Summary: The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease.

Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. After World War II, Don's work with the Air Force brought them to Colorado, where their twelve children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. In those years, there was an established script for a family like the Galvins--aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony--and they worked hard to play their parts. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic. How could all this happen to one family?

What took place inside the house on Hidden Valley Road was so extraordinary that the Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health. Their story offers a shadow history of the science of schizophrenia, from the era of institutionalization, lobotomy, and the schizophrenogenic mother to the search for genetic markers for the disease, always amid profound disagreements about the nature of the illness itself. And unbeknownst to the Galvins, samples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues today, offering paths to treatment, prediction, and even eradication of the disease for future generations.

With clarity and compassion, bestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family's unforgettable legacy of suffering, love, and hope. 

Angie’s comments: A look at schizophrenia through the experience of one family. The story is shocking and sad, yet hopeful. Interspersed with the family's story is the medical story of how research into schizophrenia has developed. 

Recommended for readers interested in family relationships or schizophrenia.

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The Talented Mr. Varg

The Talented Mr. Varg by Alexander McCall Smith

Summary: In the second installment in the best-selling Detective Varg series, Ulf and his team investigate a notorious philanderer--a wolf of a man whose bad reputation may be all bark and no bite.
 
The Department of Sensitive Crimes, renowned for taking on the most obscure and irrelevant cases is always prepared to dive into an investigation, no matter how complex. So when the girlfriend of an infamous author who insists her bad-boy beau is being blackmailed approaches Ulf Varg, the department's lead detective, Ulf is determined to help. It's rather difficult to determine what skeletons hide in the hard-living lothario's closet, though. And while Swedes are notoriously tolerant . . . well, there are limits. Even for the Swedish.
 
The case requires Ulf's total concentration, but he finds himself distracted by his ongoing attraction to his co-worker, Anna, whose own fears about her husband's fidelity are causing a strain on her marriage. When Ulf is also tasked with looking into a group of dealers exporting wolves that seem more canis familiaris than canis lupus, it will require all of his team's investigative instincts and dogged persistence to put these matters to bed.

Angie’s comments: This is just funny. The mysteries, although low stakes, are interesting and Ulf Varg is a unique character. It does help to read the first book in the Detective Varg series, although you don't have to. 

Recommended for readers who like zany characters and light mystery. 

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The Medical Checkup Book

The Medical Checkup Book: Understand the Tests You Need to Keep Your Body and Mind Healthy  by Jess Baker 

Summary: Written by experts and packed with user-friendly information and practical lifestyle advice, this is the ultimate guide for anyone interested in their health. Knowing which health checks and tests to get when can prevent illness and problems, and even save your life. This easy-to-use guide explains all the common health tests so that you can understand and manage your well-being. 

When you've had a physical, how often do you understand what the results really mean for your health and your lifestyle? You've probably heard of good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, but what does that mean? And what can you do if you're told your bad cholesterol is high? Why are there two figures to show your blood pressure? Is weight gain hereditary? 

Be proactive in managing your health by learning more about how it is measured. Discover what factors influence medical tests, and what lifestyle changes you can make to keep fit and healthy for longer. Explore the variety of tests and screenings you may undergo at a doctor's or workplace health assessment - find out what is tested, why it is tested, and what the results mean. The Medical Checkup Book is the only visual guide to explain all common medical tests and what preventative measures you can take to minimize the risks and maximize your health. 

Angie’s comments: Beyond just tests, this book explains the major systems of the body and how the body works. The diagrams are usually easy to understand, and I appreciated the simple explanations of different health tests.

Recommended for readers who want a basic explanation of the body and medical tests. 

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This is Shakespeare

This is Shakespeare by Emma Smith

Summary: An electrifying new study that investigates the challenges of the Bard's inconsistencies and flaws, and focuses on revealing--not resolving--the ambiguities of the plays and their changing topicality

A genius and prophet whose timeless works encapsulate the human condition like no other. A writer who surpassed his contemporaries in vision, originality, and literary mastery. A man who wrote like an angel, putting it all so much better than anyone else. Is this Shakespeare? Well, sort of. But it doesn't tell us the whole truth. So much of what we say about Shakespeare is either not true, or just not relevant.

In This Is Shakespeare, Emma Smith--an intellectually, theatrically, and ethically exciting writer--takes us into a world of politicking and copycatting, as we watch Shakespeare emulating the blockbusters of Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd (the Spielberg and Tarantino of their day), flirting with and skirting around the cutthroat issues of succession politics, religious upheaval, and technological change. Smith writes in strikingly modern ways about individual agency, privacy, politics, celebrity, and sex. Instead of offering the answers, the Shakespeare she reveals poses awkward questions, always inviting the reader to ponder ambiguities.

Angie’s comments: Reading or watching a Shakespeare play? You might want to pick up this book, which features essays on several plays. Emma Smith focuses on different issues for each play. Her viewpoints are different from what I learned in school, and I now have a different perspective on Shakespeare and appreciate the plays more. 

Recommended for readers who are interested in Shakespeare, or who aren't but think that they should be.

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And the Killer Is...

And the Killer Is... by G.A. McKevett

Summary: PI Savannah Reid has delved into the ugly side of SoCal's celebrity culture more than once. But the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency may have bitten off more than they can chew when a Hollywood legend makes a deadly comeback...

It will be a cold day in San Carmelita before Savannah skips over a high-profile homicide case, especially one attached to a tasty reward. But when 90-year-old former silver screen siren Lucinda Faraday is murdered inside her derelict mansion, serving justice comes with unsavory risks. The fallen star, considered one of the most beautiful women of her time, was found strangled by a pair of vintage stockings amid a hoard of garbage and priceless memorabilia. Now, Lucinda is making headlines again--and, like in the past, her name is connected with the worst kind of scandal . . .

As a quest for answers reveals sleazy secrets about the victim's history, the Moonlight Magnolia Agency soon discover that corruption, addiction, and blackmail were as rampant in the good old days of Hollywood as in the present--maybe even more so. Balancing a suspect list longer than Lucinda's acting credits and evidence that could destroy the reputation of people still alive, can Savannah outsmart the culprit before she or someone else get reduced to tabloid fodder next?

Angie’s comments: And the Killer Is... is number 25 in the Savannah Reid series, but it works well as a stand alone. I must admit I haven't read this series before, but I was able to jump right in and feel at home with all of the characters. The tone is down-to-earth, and Savannah's family seems like a family anyone would know. The mystery was enticing, and I didn't really figure out the murderer until the reveal.

Recommended for readers who like cozy mysteries. 

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