Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

WTF Am I Supposed to Eat? A Dieter's Manifesto by C.J. English is an engaging book that will encourage readers on their journey of pursuing health. The book throws light on what it really takes to lose weight, what it really takes to keep weight off, the truth about what is really healthy, and what will actually kill us. The author encourages readers to first find out what works out for them, which is actually the key to weight loss, and then work on that to build the foundation for lasting weight-loss results. Filled with some lip-smacking recipes, the book guides readers to follow a healthy diet plan and make losing weight enjoyable.

The book is informative and does not make weight loss seem to be a hard task as the author asks readers only to make small changes so that they can produce small results over a long period of time. Diet books are usually all about changing overnight or changing habits more than one can handle, but this book has good suggestions and tips to put a stop to weight gain. The recipes look delicious and they focus on maintaining healthy eating habits. The book is refreshing and fun to read and makes weight loss look easy and fun. The author makes readers look at dieting in a different way and gives good information on how to make a vegetarian diet tasty. It is definitely a must-have and a must-read for all those who want practical, healthy, and easy guidelines for better living.

Reviewed by Ann Neville for Readers' Favorite

The Tao of Sudoku - Volume 1, written by Cristina Smith, is a compilation of philosophy and Sudoku puzzles. The puzzles themselves (100) are graded easy to medium in difficulty, but this is not just a puzzle book. Smith encourages readers to consider the art of Sudoku as yoga for the brain. And to promote whole brain health, along with the puzzles, there are uplifting and thought-provoking quotes and facts about how Sudoku originated and its benefits. Think you can't do Sudoku because you're hopeless at maths? Think again. As Smith suggests, solving a Sudoku puzzle doesn't take any maths ability at all - it's all about patterns, not adding, subtracting or calculus. But it does give that satisfying buzz of piecing together the why and how of the particular pattern involved .

I love Sudoku, especially the hard puzzles that challenge me. And I loved The Tao of Sudoku, compiled by Cristina Smith. Not because the puzzles themselves were particularly challenging (being rated as easy to medium they are not very difficult), but because this book challenged me in other ways. It challenged me to consider Sudoku not just as a fun hobby, but to use Sudoku as a meditative tool, too. I now see Sudoku as yoga for the brain. It increases my mental skills and boosts my creativity and is a personal growth tool. The fact that it reduces the risk of early dementia and Alzheimer's can't be dismissed either! At the bottom of every page is a quote, each one of which could be applied to just the Sudoku puzzles. But they also relate to life in general and are food for the soul. Interspersed throughout the puzzles are also snapshots of interesting facts, for example: where Sudoku originated. So I found The Tao of Sudoku is not just another Sudoku book - if you are looking for something that stretches your mind, nourishes your soul, and is entertaining and fun, this is the book for you. I recommend it unreservedly.

Reviewed by Sarah Stuart for Readers' Favorite

The Four Secrets Your Dentist Never Told You: White Teeth, Pink Gums, Fresh Breath For Life by Dr Garry Bonsall sets out to debunk the myths that have developed over the generations about the best way to care for your teeth. It is an attempt to treat thousands, if not millions, more patients than he could ever hope to see personally in his consulting room, and annoy other dentists who will no longer be able to charge a fortune for doing dental work that patients who follow this advice will not require. Finally, he aims to end the most widespread disease in the world, which is, shockingly, gum disease. This results in the loss of teeth and the reduction in both physical and mental health of every individual sufferer.

Dr Garry Bonsall opens The Four Secrets Your Dentist Never Told You: White Teeth, Pink Gums, Fresh Breath For Life with the background to his passionate desire to prevent gum disease: the distress of his own father who, at the age of only fifty, was advised to have all his teeth removed. A dental student at the time, Dr Bonsall became determined to find an answer: the result was the four secrets. My initial reaction was to feel a trifle smug. I had already implemented secret number one on the advice of a new dentist. Oh yes? There was nothing wrong with the advice: it simply didn’t go far enough, and after reading secret number two I went shopping, dated my purchases, and placed the items where Dr Bonsall instructed. Reading secret number three had me back to smug, but not for long! Secret number four has caused a revolution in our household: a bloodless revolution.

Reviewed by Faridah Nassozi for Readers' Favorite

Ever wondered how it would feel to travel across America on a bicycle? Well, wonder no more. Neil Hanson gives you a chance to enjoy this incredible experience through his eyes and soul. Pilgrim Spokes (Cycling East Across America) is the second and final installment of his bicycle pilgrimage across America in just over 30 days. But his is no ordinary narration. It goes beyond merely telling a story of the places he visited and the people he met along the way, to give you his thoughts and feelings as he threw his heart into the journey and the profound way the experience touched his soul. This second part of his tale is a seventeen-day ride through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Maryland, and he takes you beyond the surface of the journey into life itself.

Pilgrim Spokes (Cycling East Across America) is more than just a physical journey. Neil Hanson gives you more than the usual "sights and sounds" narration and takes you into his mind and soul. This is not just a recounting of how he got from city A to city B and who/what he may or may not have seen there. It is a journey of reflection and realization. The beautiful style and visual descriptions bring forth the essence of his whole being as he savors the magic of it all. For me, it was especially inspiring when he mentioned that work interrupted the journey. Right there and then I realized that he did not wait to retire or use any of those excuses many of us usually give to put off things that we desire to do outside our everyday routines. This was a optimistic reminder that, as long as you are passionate enough about something, you can make time for it without necessarily putting the rest of your life on permanent hold. A blissful and captivating read.

Reviewed by Roy T. James for Readers' Favorite

Weight Training Without Injury by Fred Stellabotte and Rachel Straub takes the reader through the fundamental movements of weight training with over 350 step-by-step photographs, which show the correct methods to adopt and the common injury-promoting pitfalls to avoid. The book shows you what works and what doesn’t, and explains why. The content is based on the training methods developed by Fred Stellabotte over the past 50 years and is complemented by extensive scientific research, so whether you are just beginning or are well established you can easily learn proper form and prevent any mishaps. To help you really understand the basics, each chapter begins with the Key Points for a Safe and Effective Exercise.

Weight Training Without Injury by Fred Stellabotte and Rachel Straub is a comprehensive guide for weight training. Completely illustrated with high quality photos, this book leaves nothing to wonder about with regard to weight training. In addition to all this, there are professional tips to make the workout program conducive to one's goals, whether it be to enhance safety or exercise selection, making this book a Bible for those involved in weight-training practice. This is an excellent companion for all athletes to achieve a thorough understanding of how to weight train—especially without injuries.

The comprehensive notes accompanying each illustration and the index at the end elevate the status of this book to that of a reference manual, which is useful equally for the novice, professional, or trainer.

Reviewed by Vernita Naylor for Readers' Favorite

In the 21st century there has been a rise in illnesses and diseases from Alzheimer’s and diabetes to autism. Have you ever wondered why this is so? Galit Goldfarb gives us a clue in The Guerrilla Diet & Lifestyle Program: Wage War on Weight and Learn to Thrive in the Modern Jungle. Galit shows us that, due to our eating and lifestyle habits, diseases are affecting us. Yes, we are living longer, but our quality of life is being quickly being eroded. Now the question is this: is knowing that you can live longer but be unhealthy worth it? I say not.

The Guerrilla Diet & Lifestyle Program is power-packed with researched information to help you better understand and learn how the foods that you eat and how living a sedentary lifestyle affect your well being. Galit offers a 30-day Diet and Lifestyle Program that can benefit you in living a healthier and well-balanced life.

Reading The Guerrilla Diet & Lifestyle Program by Galit Goldfarb was great for me. I had begun to adopt a more vegan and Mediterranean diet. For me, this is not merely a diet in the sense of starting something and then stopping once I have reached my weight goal. Instead, it is a way of eating for the rest of my life. Food does affect us in many ways and we suffer without a balanced lifestyle. Health issues cause rising health care costs due to medications, hospitalization, and surgery. Don’t wait for a health scare to make a diet and lifestyle change. Do it now.

Reviewed by Ryan Jordan for Readers' Favorite

Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated by Dana Ayers is a great read. I'm not a runner, though I used to be before life caught up with me. This work is full of anecdotal stories about the author, such as the failure of a swing set and training for races, but it's also full of humorous tips and a lot of imaginative storytelling that really brings it to life in a creative way. There are quotes at the beginning of each chapter, and each of them is really interesting and pertains to the relevant work and chapter.

A good example of this is in the chapter about cross-training. I'm sure everyone has at least a modest idea of what cross-training is all about, but the author gives us a description of various activities and how they relate in her life. She describes a cut-throat game of moon-bouncing, which is just bouncing in a bouncy house for exercise, and she even adds in a game her friends came up with where they pull the plug on a bouncy house and everyone tries to escape. This has nothing at all to do with training to be a runner, but it does make the work more entertaining and gives the author a personal and friendly quality that makes the work more engaging.

Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated by Dana Ayers isn't necessarily a training manual about how to win a marathon, but it will give you inspiration and the encouragement to enjoy life and make yourself a better person. Great little anecdotes!

Reviewed by Vernita Naylor for Readers' Favorite

Experiencing a well balanced life is crucial for one’s quality of life. In Race Stronger Live Longer! A Physician's Guide to Wellness for Athletes by Mark E. Song, M.D., the author takes exercising to another level. Dr. Mark E. Song is an emergency physician who has been practicing for over 30 years, but he is also a Triathlon competitor. As both a physician and an athlete, he has not only seen a lot in the emergency room, but he himself has experienced a lot as an athlete and has personally seen his competitors, that competed alongside him in several IRONMAN® competitions, suffer. “This book is intended to be a source of information for athletes and for the community at large with the desire to improve their quality of life in the long term,” says Dr. Song. He demonstrates how valuable one’s approach to exercise and wellness is, from everything that we consume to everything that we do; it all affects the body.

He touches on a wide array of subjects from the food you eat pre and post competition or training; the effects of being dehydrated; the effects of excessive loss of salt and potassium; how important it is to have the proper amount of electrolytes in your system; the truth about supplements; cardiovascular risk factors, including a chapter dedicated to Tips for an IRONMAN® Race for a Lifetime that has useful nuggets for everyone. Dr. Song’s Circle of Wellness: Goals, Fitness Plan, Nutrition, Mental Approach and Knowledge outlines some crucial factors to help one become more focused yet create a strategy of attack. Wait, there’s more. Dr. Song has an appendix with a wealth of information that can help you in making your competition, exercising regimen or training a success.

I do not run marathons and definitely do not participate in triathlons, but I am a power walker and occasional weight trainer, and on an average I walk about 4-7 miles three to four times a week and lift weights about three times a week, depending upon my schedule. As Dr. Song mentioned in Race Stronger Live Longer! A Physician's Guide to Wellness for Athletes, your workout can be a great one or a disaster depending upon pre-meal, hydration, weather conditions and, for me, especially sleep. All of these factors truly affect my outcome and how I will recover afterwards. Dr. Song has provided me with some great nuggets that I can use to restore the electrolytes I lose due to excessive sweating. One thing that I never thought about was to perform pre and post weigh-ins to determine how much water I lost and need to replace. Race Stronger Live Longer! A Physician's Guide to Wellness for Athletes by Mark E. Song, M.D. will be a tool that I will definitely be using and referring to for my exercise regimen in the near future.

Reviewed by Gisela Dixon for Readers' Favorite

Master Stress: Tame Your Inner Monster (My Guide) by Rebecca Richmond is a comprehensive, all-in-one guide for a calmer, more peaceful, stress-free life. This book includes literally hundreds of tips and techniques to soothe your inner self and reduce stress in your life. Master Stress: Tame Your Inner Monster is neatly divided into chapters on all aspects of life, including work, study, relationships, finances, sleep, diet, and exercise. Each of these areas is carefully discussed and Rebecca Richmond provides several exercises throughout the book to reduce or eliminate stress, accompanied by simple, practical suggestions for better life management. The book also covers aspects of self-awareness and personal development, and helps readers to understand that working on the internal aspects such as one’s health and self-esteem is just as important as, or even more important than managing the external aspects such as work and finances.

I have read many books on the subject of stress and self-improvement, and I found that this is definitely one of the better books in this genre. I found it to be all-encompassing because every subject related to life and stress was discussed in a very pleasant, easy-to-understand way. I also loved the various techniques described in the book such as breathing exercises, meditation, the concept of mindfulness, etc. that I felt were so simple to do and practice. I would highly recommend this book to everyone. In the fast-paced world we usually live in, I believe everyone can benefit from a more peaceful way of life, and this book may provide some guidance in the right direction.

Reviewed by Melinda Hills for Readers' Favorite

When you are finally finished feeling unhappy with your looks, energy level and attitude towards facing each and every day, this is the only book you need to make a profound change! 5 Evolutions For Sustainable Weight Loss: Evolve Your Mind to Transform Your Body by Dr. Tommy Voris is the ultimate guide for getting to the root of the issues that cause you to be overweight. Dr. Voris outlines 5 evolutions or changes that need to be made to achieve permanent control over your relationship with food. Not just a matter of diet and exercise, Dr. Voris clearly explains how psychology is the major factor behind the unsuccessful attempts of so many people to lose weight and keep it off. In addition, he provides step by step instructions for facing these ingrained issues and overcoming the obstacles to success. Convenient pdf downloads are available for writing the ‘assignments’ suggested in the text so you can mark your progress and keep track of the changes you make in your life.

5 Evolutions For Sustainable Weight Loss: Evolve Your Mind to Transform Your Body by Dr. Tommy Voris is the product of many years of personal growth, development, trial and error that finally led to success. It is extremely well written in a friendly, conversational tone and provides support, understanding and guidance so that virtually anyone can achieve the gift of permanent, sustainable weight loss. Not an easy ‘fix’ by any means, following the steps offered in this text requires a lot of hard work and deep soul-searching to overcome years of excuses and subconscious traps. With a solid anchor in psychology, 5 Evolutions For Sustainable Weight Loss is no gimmick or trick but sound advice for becoming the best person you can become – from not only a weight loss perspective but in your overall attitude towards life.