Lopsided: How Having Breast Cancer Can Be Really Distracting

Posted on June 11, 2008 by malenalott

Lopsided by Meredith Norton (Viking / On-Sale: June 16)

From the publisher: Lopsided is not your ordinary cancer memoir. Meredith Norton chronicles every step of her experience, starting with her bizarre symptoms while living in Paris to moving back home to California and living with her compulsive parents and their five television sets. Irreverent and incredibly funny, Norton rails against self-pity and victimhood and rants about the innumerable copies of Lance Armstrong’s cancer survival book pressed on her by well-meaning family and friends.

Alongside the harrowing portrait of her treatments, Norton offers equally amusing memories from her offbeat life. We see her childhood time during a somewhat racist ski trip, a family reunion at a Florida alligator farm, and her life in a tree house with a neighbor, who, despite being vegan, hates mice enough to taxidermy them into miniature versions of racecar drivers, Jesus, a UPS delivery man, and Sally Jesse Raphael.

Buy it at Amazon.

How much are you worth every minute?

Posted on June 11, 2008 by malenalott

In my early corporate days some self-help guru was advising people to track the time they “wasted” on frivolous activities by determining what the net value of each minute is. I believe at the time I made so little it would’ve only made me want to work less by doing the figuring, but you know big corporations thrive on just this type of statistic. Sure, you get a little behind when your server crashes at work, or say your wi-fi signal is too weak to actually work in bed, ahem, but Amazon purportedly loses a whopping $31,000 per minute that their site is down. Ouch. Very ouch.

What's on the Bookshelf?

Posted on June 9, 2008 by malenalott

Our TBR pile is nice and thick and juicy. Look for the following upcoming reviews on A/B!

Secrets of A Shoe Addict, by Beth Harbison

This is Not A Book, by Michale Picard

You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise L. Hay

Necklace of Kisses, by Francesca Lia block

Goddess for Hire, by Sonia Singh

Wives Behaving Badly, by Elizabeth Buchan

More Notes from the Universe, by Mike Dooley

How to Be Single, by Liz Tuccillo

Finding Your North Star

Posted on June 6, 2008 by malenalott

Finding Your Own North Star, Marth Beck

First line: “Melvin worked as a middle manager at IBM, and a miserable middle manager Melvin made.”

I’ve been a Beck fan ever since her first Oprah appearance, and many O articles later, I finally read the book, which proved to me why she was on Oprah in the first place. She’s spot-on, direct and relevant. Her quiz upfront told me I’d already found my North Star, but I still enjoyed reading it nonetheless.

For: The every-day folks who don’t buy into new-agey advice but just want to live a more meaningful life. –Malena Lott

The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Wisdom

Posted on June 4, 2008 by malenalott

The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Wisdom by Dalai Lama XIV Bstan-’dzin-rgya-mtsho (Author)

First line: “The basic fact is that all sentient beings, particularly human beings, want happiness and do not want pain and suffering.”

You can’t quite call this book pocket-sized since it is a small square hard-cover that’s heavier than it looks. But I’m fairly sure the book told me not to complain, so let’s overlook the aesthetics and get right to the good stuff – the words. I love that each page contains a truth or story about wisdom, so even if you just read one per day, you may find yourself a bit more enlightened, and wise, without realizing it.

For: general reflection on goodness and wisdom in all situations – Malena Lott

Buy it on Amazon.