Sharing the bookish love.

Five random books from my well-loved bookshelf:

• Gaining: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders by Aimee Liu. 

This is a brilliant work of non-fiction which was released last summer. I got it immediately, devoured it, colored half of it yellow, and picked it clean in impromptu book club sessions with a good friend of mine who also appreciated this groundbreaking material. There is a ton of scientific jargon well explained with thoughtful writerly prose that explain a whole hell of a lot about what goes on in the minds of people who suffer and have suffered from eating disorders. My favorite thing about the book is how she has three categories for anorexics and bulimics, and goes on to explain in detail the differences and similarities between them.

"The first group: Overcontrolled, includes most restricting anorexics and a minority of bulimics. They avoid social contact; tightly control their appetites for food and for sex; limit their pleasures; and withdraw from excitement, sensation, and risk... the second group: Perfectionistic, includes most bulimics and a minority of restricting anorexics. These are the conscious 'good girls' who aim to please, excel, and conform. They worry about the details but are often so fearful of making a mistake that they can't get their work in on time... the third group: Undercontrolled, is split about evenly between bulimics and anorexics who binge and purge. Their emotions are intense, their behaviors impulsive, they tend to fly into rages instead of expressing their anger passively or turning it inward, and they desperately seek relationships to soothe themselves." - Gaining, p. 37.

Everything about this book is insightful and an absolutely necessary read for everyone; not just people who have experienced eating disorders first or secondhand. 

• The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain by Alice W. Flaherty.

I've had this book for several years now, and re-read it about once a year. There is so much fascinating information in here! Flaherty is a neurologist and professor at Harvard Medical School. Obviously, she knows her shit. She also has personal experience in a mental ward when she was dealing with post-pardum depression after the birth of her twins, which I find fascinating. A revered neurologist had to be institutionalized... huh. I go back and forth on what I believe is right in regards to psychiatry, which means I need to study it even more. I love neuro-science. The brain, and the connection between the brain and the more esoteric "mind" is fascinating and I relish information on these subjects. This book overflows with it.

• The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore: Living Fully, Loving Freely by Alan Cohen. 

This used to be most favorite-ist book, like, ever. Now I cringe a little, remembering how completely into the who "New Age" scene I was. Oh well, everything is a learning experience, and I know that I always jump head first into things in order to learn to swim and figure out what my strengths are and where my passions lie. I still love this book. It's full of important realizations, not to mention Cohen's life story is interesting stories. For a second it makes me feel boring, but then I remember that if I were to write out my life story people would probably find it quite intriguing. Not to mention I'm only 24 and when Cohen wrote this he was in his forties. Maybe. That might be a lie. Let's say anywhere between late 30s and early 50s because I'm too lazy to search the book or the internet for this completely irrelevant fact. Anyway, Dragon is full of thought-provoking, cud-chewing spiritual topics that will have you crying and laughing and going "hmm..." for several nights, for sure.

• A Language Older Than Words by Derrick Jensen. 

I. love. this. book. I love Derrick, too. He's my current L.U.T.-hero. (Look Up To). A fascinating and incredibly humble man, he uses his dark past and deep nature to save the Earth. Literally. This book is a work of creative non-fiction, and also a memoir. He reveals a lot about his life, and goes into detailed theorizing of how our core relationships and communities mirror our civilizations relationships with the planet and all other beings living on it. Derrick has written several other books as well, including the fantastically received Endgame: Volumes 1 and 2. I am a bad Derrick-follower (in a non-cultish way, promise) and haven't read them yet. And while I'd prefer to support my most favorite feminist bookstore, I was given a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble and those books are expensive. Maybe I'll buy Volume 1 with the gift card, and Volume 2 at Bluestockings... check out Derrick's website for more information on anti-civilization beliefs. The link is over to the right in the blogroll!

• The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, M.D.

Another delicious brainy book. Brizendine does an excellent job NOT boring the reader with too much scientific blah blah babble, and yet doesn't weaken any of her arguments in the process. She is a neuropsychiatrist, so obviously I am enthralled. She takes the reader through the birth of the female brain, the teenage years, love, trust, sexuality, becoming a mother, emotions and feelings, and the mature female brain. You'll be hooked and craving more, I guarantee it.

I'll keep doing these periodically until I run out of books. And I assure you, my selection is random. Normally I'm much more chart-y and meaningful than that but...it was pretty much "which ones fell on the floor first". 

Until next time...

-Jacque