Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Yipes! Another Book List?
It may be possible that I read too much. What's worse, I don't ever feel guilty or feel like apologizing for my bad habit. If I go too long without a book in my hand, I start to sweat. I've been known to snort a book that has been freshly printed just to banish my withdrawl. Sigh--I'd feel ashamed, but some addictions are worth it:
Book Recommendations to Survive the Snowfall (if you're in a snowy region, that is) when it is supposed to be SPRING:
1.) Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow: imagine a world in which death has been conquered. Picture a place where people simply make themselves "sleep" for a few hundred years or so when they get tired of life. Picture a world with no disease, where wars have been conquered, in which a man over two hundred years old has found something worth starting a fight over. The issue he must defend to the death (and he does die and get resurrected more than once): whether or not Disneyland's attractions should be changed to a "virtual" experience instead of being something real. This sci-fi fantasy is too much fun to be ignored. Oh, yeah--and Doctorow is a good non-fiction writer too. You may remember him from that s'wonderful magazine Salon.
2.) The Science of Discworld Series by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen (with permission by Terry Pratchett, one of my favorite writers ever): I have to recommend all three tomes because, well, they're simply wonderful and who can stop with just one, anyway? They have a little bit of fiction mixed in with a fabulous history of science with a bit of philosophy thrown in for good measure. They also possess Pratchett's wonderful sense of humor, which makes 'em priceless. The great thing about these books is they're informative enough that you can tell yourself that they're good for you while you're busy having fun. The only drawback to these books is you can't easily find them in the United States. I was a lucky woman because my sister-in-law Renee actually bothered to find my Amazon wishlist and bought them for me for Christmas. By sending these my way, she also managed to give extra presents to my husband Tony, who stole the books first in order to make sure they were "quality enough for you to read, honey--wouldn't want you to be reading something that isn't good enough for you, right"?
3.) Sunshine by Robin McKinley. I love my sister in law, Renee, but since she's sent these books my way, I've found new levels of adoration to bestow upon her. The woman has good taste in tomes. The book was hardcover with no jacket and a black binding, so I had no clue what I was in for when I read her recommendation. Trusting Renee's judgement, I went ahead and gave the book a chance. Good thing, too--it's right up my alley as a horror/science fiction/fantasy addict (and I'm really picky about the books in these genres because so many authors are too cliched or suck outright). When I first started reading the text (I've read a lot, but had never read Robin McKinley before) I thought it was a story about an innocent baker in a coffee shop. Silly, silly me. Trust me, gothic fans--this one's a keeper.
4.) The Joffrey Ballet Schools Ballet Fit by Dena Simone Moss and Allison Kyle Leopold. I don't usually recommend fitness or exercise books because everybody already knows about them anyway, but this one was so well done that I have to express admiration.
If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know I have Multiple Sclerosis. This "scum-sucking pig of a disease" involves having your immune system attack and destroy the protective covering around your spinal cord and the "thinking stuff" in your brain. Once the protective layer is gone, the immune system often starts to destroy your nerves, causing a whole host of problems including physical disability for many people.
I LOVE to move. I also love dance. I was naturally clumsy as a kid and a young adult, so when I got to age twenty I decided, "This sucks--I'm going to take responsibility for my physical failings and start getting in shape". Since that decision over a decade and a half ago, not a week has gone by in which I did not work out consistently. Lately, it's been over three years since I've skipped a DAY without some sort of movement. When you have MS, degeneration of physical abilities is a BIG problem, so regular exercise can help delay physical problems. Ballet is WONDERFUL as a discipline that has taught me to be more graceful, more conscious of each muscle in my body responsible for movement as well as forces you to learn how to maintain balance, another important skill that is put into jeapardy by MS. The center work/abdominal/back work I've done in ballet has helped me compensate for demylinization that occurred in my spine (most of that protective coating has grown back, by the way--my immune system sticks to eating my brain now) which has spared me a LOT of pain that I'd otherwise suffer. Therefore, although I realize I'm never going to be a world-famous dancer (nor do I wish to be) I search incessantly for good guides and sources to help me improve my skills outside ballet class. Finding sources is not an easy task for an adult learner!
Ballet-fit is an EXCELLENT introduction to the discipline, and it's aimed at folks like me rather than the young'ins who may end up being world renowned ballet stars. It's technical information for various movements has saved me from injury more than once, the etiquette tips have been life saving when taking a class in a new city for the first time in my life. Ballet may not be that aerobic (although trust me--it really can be), but when you have spinal damage that makes you need to select exercises that aren't high impact because they compound the problems already there, ballet is a wonderful choice. Everything has been covered here--even the decision to go on point, which my instructor insists I should give a shot to. If you love the discipline, get this book and start practicing the tips.
5.) Envy by Joseph Epstein. I'm going to admit that I have yet to be let down because of lack of information or quality about New York Library's Seven Deadly Sins books. I've read every single book in the series I can get my hands on, and they make for intelligent and amusing reading. Epstein's style is so readable you won't even notice that you're learning (but if you want to just laugh, make sure to read Wendy Wasserstein's Sloth, as that book is WONDERFUL).
Book Recommendations to Survive the Snowfall (if you're in a snowy region, that is) when it is supposed to be SPRING:
1.) Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow: imagine a world in which death has been conquered. Picture a place where people simply make themselves "sleep" for a few hundred years or so when they get tired of life. Picture a world with no disease, where wars have been conquered, in which a man over two hundred years old has found something worth starting a fight over. The issue he must defend to the death (and he does die and get resurrected more than once): whether or not Disneyland's attractions should be changed to a "virtual" experience instead of being something real. This sci-fi fantasy is too much fun to be ignored. Oh, yeah--and Doctorow is a good non-fiction writer too. You may remember him from that s'wonderful magazine Salon.
2.) The Science of Discworld Series by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen (with permission by Terry Pratchett, one of my favorite writers ever): I have to recommend all three tomes because, well, they're simply wonderful and who can stop with just one, anyway? They have a little bit of fiction mixed in with a fabulous history of science with a bit of philosophy thrown in for good measure. They also possess Pratchett's wonderful sense of humor, which makes 'em priceless. The great thing about these books is they're informative enough that you can tell yourself that they're good for you while you're busy having fun. The only drawback to these books is you can't easily find them in the United States. I was a lucky woman because my sister-in-law Renee actually bothered to find my Amazon wishlist and bought them for me for Christmas. By sending these my way, she also managed to give extra presents to my husband Tony, who stole the books first in order to make sure they were "quality enough for you to read, honey--wouldn't want you to be reading something that isn't good enough for you, right"?
3.) Sunshine by Robin McKinley. I love my sister in law, Renee, but since she's sent these books my way, I've found new levels of adoration to bestow upon her. The woman has good taste in tomes. The book was hardcover with no jacket and a black binding, so I had no clue what I was in for when I read her recommendation. Trusting Renee's judgement, I went ahead and gave the book a chance. Good thing, too--it's right up my alley as a horror/science fiction/fantasy addict (and I'm really picky about the books in these genres because so many authors are too cliched or suck outright). When I first started reading the text (I've read a lot, but had never read Robin McKinley before) I thought it was a story about an innocent baker in a coffee shop. Silly, silly me. Trust me, gothic fans--this one's a keeper.
4.) The Joffrey Ballet Schools Ballet Fit by Dena Simone Moss and Allison Kyle Leopold. I don't usually recommend fitness or exercise books because everybody already knows about them anyway, but this one was so well done that I have to express admiration.
If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know I have Multiple Sclerosis. This "scum-sucking pig of a disease" involves having your immune system attack and destroy the protective covering around your spinal cord and the "thinking stuff" in your brain. Once the protective layer is gone, the immune system often starts to destroy your nerves, causing a whole host of problems including physical disability for many people.
I LOVE to move. I also love dance. I was naturally clumsy as a kid and a young adult, so when I got to age twenty I decided, "This sucks--I'm going to take responsibility for my physical failings and start getting in shape". Since that decision over a decade and a half ago, not a week has gone by in which I did not work out consistently. Lately, it's been over three years since I've skipped a DAY without some sort of movement. When you have MS, degeneration of physical abilities is a BIG problem, so regular exercise can help delay physical problems. Ballet is WONDERFUL as a discipline that has taught me to be more graceful, more conscious of each muscle in my body responsible for movement as well as forces you to learn how to maintain balance, another important skill that is put into jeapardy by MS. The center work/abdominal/back work I've done in ballet has helped me compensate for demylinization that occurred in my spine (most of that protective coating has grown back, by the way--my immune system sticks to eating my brain now) which has spared me a LOT of pain that I'd otherwise suffer. Therefore, although I realize I'm never going to be a world-famous dancer (nor do I wish to be) I search incessantly for good guides and sources to help me improve my skills outside ballet class. Finding sources is not an easy task for an adult learner!
Ballet-fit is an EXCELLENT introduction to the discipline, and it's aimed at folks like me rather than the young'ins who may end up being world renowned ballet stars. It's technical information for various movements has saved me from injury more than once, the etiquette tips have been life saving when taking a class in a new city for the first time in my life. Ballet may not be that aerobic (although trust me--it really can be), but when you have spinal damage that makes you need to select exercises that aren't high impact because they compound the problems already there, ballet is a wonderful choice. Everything has been covered here--even the decision to go on point, which my instructor insists I should give a shot to. If you love the discipline, get this book and start practicing the tips.
5.) Envy by Joseph Epstein. I'm going to admit that I have yet to be let down because of lack of information or quality about New York Library's Seven Deadly Sins books. I've read every single book in the series I can get my hands on, and they make for intelligent and amusing reading. Epstein's style is so readable you won't even notice that you're learning (but if you want to just laugh, make sure to read Wendy Wasserstein's Sloth, as that book is WONDERFUL).
