Lost Connections - Johann Hari

Description

Depression and anxiety are now at epidemic levels. Why? Across the world, scientists have uncovered evidence for nine different causes. Some are in our biology, but most are in the way we are living today. Lost Connections offers a radical new way of thinking about this crisis. It shows that once we understand the real causes, we can begin to turn to pioneering new solutions - ones that offer real hope.

Review

I was interested to read this book from a viewpoint of how we might prevent depression, if, as the author claims they know why it happens. Also to be an advocate for those that suffer, to try to be informed.

The book has several pages of mainly celebrity endorsements at the beginning some of which had attracted me to the book, however know I have read it I wonder did any of these people actually read the book? Then came the longest prologue I have ever read followed by an even longer introduction. 

This is not in my opinion a self help book - if you are depressed wading through this book I would not think as helpful to you - there may be some useful nuggets in there, but really the style of writing is more text book than self help with lots of research quotes. Although the author has suffered from long term depression I'm not sure many people would identify with him and his experiences.

Once the book began to examine the placebo effect and the history of anti-depressants I began to be more interested. Then I got angry as I read about drug trials and how they can be manipulated just like any statistics to show what the drug companies want them to. Basically the legal way this is achieved. I felt the way in which this was explained was very down to earth and easily understood. 

Unfortunately the book does repeat itself several times - in fact the author sets this up by saying he will be going over this again later in the book. In a paper version this would be ok but on a kindle I found it a little annoying as I couldn't easily dip in and out. 

I did find a lot of the book interesting. Some of the authors conclusions about the lost connections are being put into practice in the NHS with courses in some areas of the country being offered to people in art, pottery etc and to also provide a connection to others. 

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for an ARC to review.

If Only I Could Tell You - Hannah Beckerman

Description

Audrey's family has fallen apart. Her two grown-up daughters, Jess and Lily, are estranged, and her two teenage granddaughters have never been allowed to meet. A secret that echoes back thirty years has splintered the family in two, but is also the one thing keeping them connected.

As tensions reach breaking point, the irrevocable choice that one of them made all those years ago is about to surface. After years of secrets and silence, how can one broken family find their way back to each other?

Review

This is a beautifully written book with a secret that has been kept for over 30 years, but I found it to be a different secret to different people. 

I spent most of the book imagining what the secret could be. We are taken back in time to 30 years ago on several occasions and the day is replayed from a different characters view point. There is also a horrific incident back then which is played down in the book, but I found quite haunting apart from the actual secret. 

Not known for my patience, I did think at some points that the secret could just be revealed, and then when it was I was still impatient for the different characters to resolve their issues with one another. There are also some back stories from the other characters that aren't fully explored, maybe they could have been given more time in the book. Audrey herself is fighting her own battle and the fact that her daughters are estranged was so sad to me. However, she finds her own salvation in so many ways and some of the scenes with her grand daughters were so lovely to read.

Near the end of the book the novel is transported to New York and I feared that it was going to be tied up a little too nicely with a character from earlier in the book happening to be there too. Luckily it was not what I imagined and I can see that the author used the character as a bridge to the conclusion she wanted to reach.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks go to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an ARC to review.

Literary Places - Sarah Baxter

Description

Inspired Traveller’s Guides: Literary Places takes you on an enlightening journey through the key locations of literature’s best and brightest authors, movements, and moments—brought to life through comprehensively researched text and stunning hand-drawn artwork.

Travel journalist Sarah Baxter provides comprehensive and atmospheric outlines of the history and culture of 25 literary places around the globe, as well as how they intersect with the lives of the authors and the works that make them significant. Full-page color illustrations instantly transport you to each location. You’ll find that these places are not just backdrops to the tales told, but characters in their own right.

Travel to the sun-scorched plains of Don Quixote’s La Mancha, roam the wild Yorkshire moors with Cathy and Heathcliff, or view Central Park through the eyes of J.D. Salinger’s antihero. Explore the lush and languid backwaters of Arundhati Roy’s Kerala, the imposing precipice of Joan Lindsay’s Hanging Rock, and the labyrinthine streets and sewers of Victor Hugo’s Paris.

Delve into this book to discover some of the world’s most fascinating literary places and the novels that celebrate them.

Review

Wow! What a fantastic book this is. Quite often when I read books I end up going onto Google maps to see the actual places - this book is a literary version of that and more. The paintings in the book alone are just worth buying this book in my opinion, they are just gorgeous. 

Divided into chapters for each book with a painting setting the scene. Some of the books I have not read and now I want to read them. I often find that if a book is mentioned in a book I am reading I have to check it out, and often end up reading it. So imagine, this book contains so many lovely books that I now want to read based on the background this book supplies. Also the reverse now applies - places I want to visit! A couple of my favourite authors are also included in this book, Gabriel García Márquez and Isabelle Allende and it was good to find out more about those books.  

Well written in an interesting and informed style - just the right amount of text to get the feel of the book, the place it's set and not feel either cheated it's too brief or too long you get bored.

A book to dip into again and again to read and just to admire those lovely paintings too.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion Publishing. The book is out on 5 March 2019.

I Owe You One - Sophie Kinsella

Description

Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” And since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will?

It’s simply not in Fixie’s nature to say no to people. So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, she not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, an investment manager, scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she?

But then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life, and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie’s buttons. As always, she wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. No sooner has Seb agreed than the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favours to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?

Review

I have read all of Sophie's previous novels but something about this one just felt a little jaded. It didn't help that I hated the lead character's name of Fixie - sure she can't help fixing things but it was not endearing the character to me at all. For the first third of the book I really struggled to get into it, usually I would be reading away and finish a Sophie book in a couple of days. It was a little de ja vu from previous books with a slightly dippy character who can say anything in her head but not in real life. Her childhood crush Ryan was such an awful character that I couldn't believe she couldn't see through him.

Luckily just after the third part of the book I began to enjoying reading it. Things changed up and it actually became a good story that I wanted to read. The characters began to be fleshed out a little more and it seemed with the liberation of Fixie the book also became a little more liberated itself. I particularly liked the sparing between Fixie and Briony who is Seb's girlfriend. The skating scene was fabulous and I really felt like I was there watching it all. A good ending - so all was ok in the end and I await the next Sophie book. 

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC to review.

The Source - Dr Tara Swart

Description

‘[Like] the self-help success The Secret, but cooler and more sciencey.’ - Evening Standard

Life-changing opportunities pass us by every day – now we can train our minds to seize them

Self-help books like The Secret promise that we can tap into the 'law of attraction' to control our destiny, simply by changing our thoughts. If we strip away the mystique, at the heart of this idea is a fundamental truth that is backed up by the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience: most of the things we want from life – health, happiness, wealth, love - are governed by our ability to think, feel and act; in other words, by our brain.

Dr Tara Swart, a neuroscientist and executive coach with a background in psychiatry, is convinced beyond all doubt of our ability to alter how our brains work - and transform our lives. In The Source, she draws on the latest cognitive science and her experience coaching highly successful people to reveal the secret to mastering our minds.

With a four-step plan to awaken the power of your brain, this unique guide to life combines science and spirituality in a way that is open-minded and practical. Discover how to:
- Challenge 'autopilot' thinking and rewire your brain's pathways to fulfil your potential
- Manifest the things you want by directing your energy towards your deepest values and ambitions
- Harness the power of visualisation to prime your brain to grab opportunities and take control of your future
- Attack life with confidence, dispel fear and avoid negative thinking

Unlock your potential today – you are just four steps away from building a new confident you.

Review

I admit that when I read a book blurb that says you are four steps away......... - then I expect to open the book and hit the ground running. Unfortunately that was not what happened in this book. I was good and read the intro blurb which I would usually skip, thinking I would be rewarded with "the goods" straightaway afterwards. 

What happened instead was I read a lot of background and a lot more and then some. It was ok, in fact a lot of it I was already aware of through other books I have read. For other readers this may not be so laborious as it felt to me. What was good was the science that was shown to back up what I already knew. I haven't read The Secret so can't comment on how the books compares with that as other reviewers have.

My favourite quote used in this book was this:- 

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who can't read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn    AlvinToffler

Then I got to the action part and I discovered it involved writing a journal and that this was the only way to proceed. So, if you are not one for writing down your thoughts this may not be the book for you. I personally don't like journalling but carried on and took what I could from the book, in the main preparing an action board.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC to review.

Happy Ever After - Paul Dolan

Description

'A passionate, provocative book. It isn't just a self-help book. It is a manifesto for a better society' Sunday Times

'One of the most rigorous articulations of the new mood of acceptance...a persuasive demolition of many of our cultural stories about how we ought to live' Oliver Burkeman, Guardian

Paul Dolan, the bestselling author of Happiness by Design, shows us how to escape the myth of perfection and find our own route to happiness.

Be ambitious; find everlasting love; look after your health ... There are countless stories about how we ought to live our lives. These narratives can make our lives easier, and they might sometimes make us happier too. But they can also trap us and those around us.

In Happy Ever After, bestselling happiness expert Professor Paul Dolan draws on a variety of studies ranging over wellbeing, inequality and discrimination to bust the common myths about our sources of happiness. He shows that there can be many unexpected paths to lasting fulfilment. Some of these might involve not going into higher education, choosing not to marry, rewarding acts rooted in self-interest and caring a little less about living forever.

By freeing ourselves from the myth of the perfect life, we might each find a life worth living.

Review

Based on the description for this book I thought I was going to be reading a self-help book. But instead I found it to be more like a text book for academics on the subject of happiness complete with graphs, or in the case of my kindle ARC no graphs, which wasn't helpful. I can only assume if you buy the kindle edition there will be graphs.

I was off to a bad start with this book when the author proclaimed that as an LSE professor he was not expected to swear. He then goes on to say that there is no correlation to swearing being due to poor vocabulary/and or low intelligence. There is however evidence to suggest that students pay more attention to a teacher who swears! That's my exclamation point. The author then says that swearing is only ever harmful when it is aggressive or abusive and proceeds to litter the book with swearing as if to prove his point. This I found unnecessary and crude and felt it didn't help me learn in the slightest.

The book carries this rather sanctimonious attitude throughout and really I felt I was being preached at. Yes, there are studies in the US and UK reported with "x" results - but we all know about statistics! I thought this book was going to be a little bit more real life than quoting research at me.

At the beginning of each chapter you are asked  two questions about yourself and then the same two questions thinking about them in relation to a friend - at the end of each chapter the conclusion is then revealed. When I wrote papers my conclusion had to be a paragraph - succinct, sum up what I had written. Unfortunately the conclusions in this book were so long winded and over many pages, that I lost the point of the conclusion. 

There were a few glimpses of things that I thought - "now this is interesting" but they passed and in the main I found the book unappealing. If you are going to be writing a thesis I can imagine you will find plenty of material to quote in this book. If you are just someone interested in being happier maybe look up the art of hygge!

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

The Forgotten Guide To Happiness - Sophie Jenkins

Description

A life-affirming debut, perfect for fans of Rowan Coleman and Lucy Diamond.

You can lose your memory, but you never forget how to love…

Lana Green has a talent for pushing people away. As a writer, she’s perfectly happy to be left alone with her books. But when she meets Jack Buchanan and Nancy Ellis Hall, Lana’s solitary life will change for ever.

Nancy has dementia, and social services believe this makes her vulnerable. But Lana can see the funny, brilliant woman underneath the illness.

As Lana and Jack struggle to keep Nancy out of a care home, Lana starts to question everything she ever thought mattered.

Because what’s the point in stories, if there is no one to share them with?

Review

I wasn't really sure what this book was going to be about exactly - I was intrigued by the idea of Lana (28 yrs old) becoming a house mate with an 80 year old woman. Once I began to read this book I was just hooked straight in - it felt like coming home, I just instantly clicked with the character of Lana.

Maybe it helps because Lana is a writer and I am always intrigued by writers. We also get to follow her to the publishers for a little chat about her newest book and other writer type things. I just loved it! If that wasn't enough she then she moves in with Nancy who is an octogenarian famous writer - two writers in one book!  I just loved the description of Nancy's house too. Unfortunately Nancy has dementia and there was a whole other side to the story with her forgetting most of the time what she was doing and getting muddled up. I felt that the dementia aspect was very true to life and well written. 

Lana has a bit of a writers block but she needs to pay her way in the world so she begins to teach a writing course and I found the little insight into writing techniques fascinating and it became a book within a book. There were also the would be writers on the course and their stories too along with Nancy who Lana invites along. Lana feels if she could only take some tips from Nancy, get to know her technique she could be a better a writer.

Aside from all the girl fan writing stuff there is a love story here too. Nancy has lost a love but maybe she's found another - or has she. A little bit of will they won't they which by the end had me racing to find out - well will they or not! 

A lovely gentle read which I was sad to finish. I just loved it - did I say that already! I'm giving it five out of five stars. My thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for my ARC to review.