Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi by Brian Leaf

Maybe a little bit unorthodox, but a fun memoir, especially for those who do yoga or want to find out more about getting the most out of yoga. and kripalu yoga.

Chapter 2:
" I wanted to practice and study yoga as much as possible, so I incorporated it into my Georgetown classes in every way that I could. For philosophy class, I wrote a paper entitled "Was Plato the Founder of Yoga?".... And for Catholic imagination class I wrote "Did Jesus Do Yoga?" 

There are yoga practice hints throughout the memoir and appendices with sample yoga practices, meditation techniques, guided relaxation tips, and Ayurvedic recomendations for a healthy lifestyle.

Title: Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi: My Humble Quest to Heal My Colitis, Calm My ADD, and Find the Key to Happiness by Brian Leaf will be released October 9, 2012.

About the author: Brian Leaf is the owner and director of the New Leaf Learning Center in Massachusetts. He has studied, practiced, and taught yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda for 23 years. Information:http://www.misadventures-of-a-yogi.com/praise.html

I received a review copy of the memoir from the publisher, New World Library.

Wordless Wednesday: Last Rose of Summer

Wordless Wednesday:The last rose of summer has a Georgia O'Keefe feel about it.

The Last Rose of Summer

  Thomas Moore(1779–1852)

’TIS the last rose of summer   Left blooming alone; All her lovely companions   Are faded and gone; No flower of her kindred,   No rosebud is nigh, To reflect back her blushes,   To give sigh for sigh. I’ll not leave thee, thou lone one!   To pine on the stem; Since the lovely are sleeping,   Go, sleep thou with them. Thus kindly I scatter   Thy leaves o’er the bed, Where thy mates of the garden   Lie scentless and dead. So soon may I follow,   When friendships decay, And from Love’s shining circle   The gems drop away. When true hearts lie withered   And fond ones are flown, Oh! who would inhabit   This bleak world alone?

 (from Bartleby.com : Great Books on Line)

By Royal Decree by Kate Emerson: Book Teaser

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB; choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.

Title: Secrets of the Tudor Court: By Royal Decree
Author: Kate Emerson
Published December 4, 2010; Gallery paperback

"Stubborn fools, you and Will both, to live in hope of a royal decree." (ch. 18)

The last wife of Henry VIII of England, Katherine Parr, gives harsh advice to one of her ladies of the court, Elizabeth Brooks, who is in love with Queen Katherine's brother, Will Parr, the new Earl of Essex. Will is divorced by Parliamentary decree from his unfaithful wife but has to remain single as long as his former wife lives, unless otherwise decided by the king, that is, overruled by royal decree.

I'm on chapter 20 of this third book in the Secrets of the Tudor Court historical series, having finished the The Pleasure Palace, and Between Two Queens. There are two more books in the series, At the King's Pleasure and the most recent, The King's Damsel. Based on life at the Tudor court of Henry VIII, the novels feature the lives of several noblewomen who are called to court at different times to serve the queen of the moment - there are six queens in all during Henry's tumultuous reign. Descriptions of the life of the 16th century court, its manners, dress, customs, and intrigue are deftly folded into the plots.

Thanks to the publisher for sending all five books for possible review.

About the author: 
Kate Emerson was born in Liberty, New York and received an A.B. from Bates College and an MA from Old Dominion University. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Maine.

October Cozy Mysteries

A few new October cozies from Obsidian and Berkley....just in time for the cooler weather.

If Mashed Potatoes Could Dancee
Mrs. Malory and A Necessary End,
A Marked Man,
A Grid for Murder,
Deadly Patterns.

The titles read like a cozy poem.

Book Review: The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura

Title: The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura, translated from the Japanese by Satoko Izumo and Stephen Coates
Published March 20, 2012; Soho Crime
Source: library

I was pleasantly surprised by this award winning novel by the young Japanese writer Fuminori Nakamura. He won Japan's largest prize, the 2009 Oe Prize, for this book and I can see why.

Not nearly as noir as I was expecting, the book shows the flaws and the humanity of this young man, a Tokyo pickpocket so skilled that he can unbutton a man's coat, take a wallet from the inside pocket, and rebutton the coat without being noticed or caught. Working in tandem with two others, he can even remove the cash and return the wallet to the unsuspecting victim's pocket in the flash of an eye.

The Thief targets only wealthy, well dressed Tokyo businessmen, as they walk along the street or ride on the subway. This is until he gets involved in more serious pickpocketing for gang members who have a political agenda. The noir ending I was expecting didn't happen, and there is hope for the Thief who risks his life to protect a young boy, a budding pickpocket, and put him on a path different from his own.

This was an easy read, only 211 pages. The dialogue and plot lines are both excellent.

Nakamura's first book, The Gun, has also won an award.

Visit Saturday Review of Books for a weekly collection of book reviews.

The Merde Factor by Stephen Clarke - Just What the Doctor Ordered

Title: The Merde Factor by Stephen Clarke
Release date: October 23, 2012; Century
Paperback: 304 pages
Genre: novel, comedy

I've been stressed out lately by several factors and reading serious thrillers hasn't helped calm me down. Luckily, The Merde Factor came in the mail, and loving and hating all things French, I took the book to bed.

It's making me laugh, especially when the French in the novel start hurling one-word insults at each other through the open windows of their apartment building.

I'm going back to bed with this one.

Book description: The hilarious new novel from the bestselling author of 1000 Years of Annoying the French.

Englishman Paul West is living the Parisian dream, and doing his best not to annoy the French. But things have been going very wrong: His apartment is so small that he has to cut his baguettes in two to fit them in the kitchen. His research into authentic French cuisine is about to cause a national strike. And Paul's gorgeous ex-girlfriend seems to be stalking him. Threatened with eviction, unemployment and bankruptcy, Paul realises that his personal merde factor is about to hit the fan.

Book Teaser: One Last Strike by Tony La Russa

"Injuries are part of the game, an adversity you have to get accustomed to overcoming because one way or another they factor into every season." (p. 52)

One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Game Back, and One Final Championship Season by Tony La Russa
Release date: September 25, 2012; William Morrow hardcover
Genre: sports memoir

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB; choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.