The Mrs. & the Minister

Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry's Performing Under Pressure:  The Science of Doing Your Best When It Matters Most answers an age-old question:  "How can I do my best when it matters most?"  Stress, of course, depletes our ability to do well.  And when the stresses become overwhelming, it's not new news that we perform well below our ability.  It's also not new news that our culture is under considerable (and increasing?) stresses.  So Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry wrote this book in order to share what they have learned about how almost anyone can do their best when it matters most. As we know from experience, stress can come from anywhere.  Some of it is good, others of it is bad. And it's significant to judge what stresses are important and what ones are unimportant.  But once you've made those distinctions, Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry provide a strong scientific basis on which to build strong performances under pressure.  The first section explo...

Stress isn't my problem.  My response to stress is my problem. That's the message of meQuilibrium:  14 Days to Cooler, Calmer, and Happier by Jan Bruce, Andrew Shatte, and Adam Perlman.  There's no way to get rid of stress.  To even try is simply to create more stress.  But meQuilibrium shows us how to handle the stresses we have with peace -- and how to do it peacefully without radically altering our lives in the process. And there's plenty of research to back up their claims, too.  This book brings the benefits of positive psychology to bear, while integrating medicine and healthy treatment of the whole person.  So it's not a book to miss.  Nor is it a book to fly through. Take your time.  While I had hoped for more substance early on, I'm glad I took the time to read meQuilibrium at a pace that allowed me to process what it was advising.  There's great advice here.  From self-reflection, emotional management, sleep...

Food52 's Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes that Will Change the Way You Cook is a must-have for every kitchen shelf.  This cookbook includes recipes and tricks and tools that will literally "change the way you cook".  The recipes have something new and innovative, whether it's ingredients you'd never try or changing up the cooking techniques you've already had.  The photographs themselves are incredible, and add an element of appeal to experiment with the recipes. The genius of the book, though, is that so many of these recipes have never been published, not even on the website.  The English Porridge recipe is one I'll be trying immediately. I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.