The Little Book of Lagom by Jonny Jackson & Elias Larsen

Jackson & Larsen’s Little Book of Lagom is all about learning to live in simplicity. Lagom is a Swedish word that means ‘just the right amount’. I loved the sidebar explanation for how it possibly came about, deriving from the phrase ‘laget om’ or ‘around the team’, used by Vikings. Lagom is a concept that can be incorporated into any and all aspects of your life, helping you to find enjoyment in simplicity.

There are four parts, a conclusion, and a resources chapter. Part One looks at incorporating Lagom into the home, with subsections dedicated to the kitchen and the garden. Part Two focuses on diet, Part Three on work/life , and the final part covers your needs versus the needs of the many, and how to balance them. This as a quick read, and a good introduction to this Swedish notion of ‘just enough’.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

 

Secrets of Ayurveda by Gopi Warrier, Dr Harish Verma, Karen Sullivan

Secrets of Ayurveda is a clear, concise guide to this unique holistic healing system, and is a perfect introduction for beginners. This book is divided into four chapters. The first is about the history of Ayurveda, and there is a questionnaire to help you learn your own Ayurvedic ‘constitution’, or make-up. The next two chapters look at various therapies and dietary concerns. The final chapter focuses on ways you can use Ayurveda at home, but stresses you should seek a practitioner’s guidance, most especially in learning your dosha, which provides the framework for everything in an Ayurvedic program.

I was fascinated to learn that, despite being thousands of years old, Ayurveda put forth that the body is made up of cells, and that ‘invisible’ (microscopic) organisms can cause disease. I took the questionnaire to find my dosha and came up with nearly even between pitta and vata. I found the diet information useful, along with the yoga suggestions. Reading this book has triggered my interest in learning more about this millennia old healing system, and has me considering finding a practitioner to work with.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

 

Crime Rhymes: From Bad to Verse by Dixie Whitted

Laugh til you cry with this crazy collection of crime rhymes!

Witted’s Crime Rhymes: From Bad to Verse is a repository for some of the most amusing crime poems around. All are funny, and most are in limerick style. Interspersed with the poems are illustrations depicting favoured scenes from the poems. There are three main groupings of poems. Lethal, Little Limericks, followed by Holmes, Sweet Holmes, and finishing up with Lizzie Borden. The latter two groups are pretty self-explanatory. Piles of poems referencing Sherlock, or the infamous Lizzie Borden. The first, Lethal Limerick, dealt with a whole mess of different crimes, from burglary to murder. After the poems there’s a brief short story, The Adventure of the Stainless Spinster,  that pits Sherlock against Lizzie Borden. If you love poetry, mysteries, or crime stories, be sure to check out!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and , for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

 

The Joy of Doing Nothing by Rachel Jonat

Learn to create calm times in your daily life to recharge and rejuvenate the soul.

The Joy of Doing Nothing by Rachel Jonat is a delightful guide to helping the reader regain one of their most valuable assets- their time. This book is all about finding the time to simply sit and recharge, a priceless ability in this day and age. There are six sections covering the philosophies behind doing nothing, learning to reclaim your time, and say ‘No’, family life, home & work, and other activities like hobbies and such.

One big lesson of this book is to not feel guilty for claiming time to do nothing. I have this problem a lot. I suffer from an autoimmune condition that saps my strength and energy. I have forced periods of doing nothing because I simply have no choice but to recharge. Yet, I always feel guilty. Reading this helped me find more joy and less guilt in it.

I do feel that the admonishment to “do nothing” was overused, and some things could have been consolidated. Overall, great introduction to learning to find the time you need to recharge and rejuvenate.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Adams Media for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.