Author Rebecca Harrington (I’LL HAVE WHAT SHE’S HAVING) undertook a perilous journey in the name of journalism: surviving on wacky celebrity diets, including those of Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marilyn Monroe, Karl Lagerfeld, and more.

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I’LL HAVE WHAT SHE’S HAVING: My Adventures in Celebrity Dieting by  Rebecca Harrington

A hilarious look at the eating habits of the fit and famous–from Gwyneth’s goji berry and quail egg concoctions to Jackie Kennedy’s baked potato and Beluga caviar regimen–Rebecca Harrington leaves no cabbage soup unstirred in her wickedly funny, wildly absurd quest to diet like the stars.

Elizabeth Taylor mixed cottage cheese and sour cream; Madonna subsisted on “sea vegetables;” and Marilyn Monroe drank raw eggs whipped with warm milk. Where there is a Hollywood starlet offering nutritional advice, there is a diet Rebecca Harrington is willing to try. Facing a harrowing mix of fainting spells, pimples, and salmonella, Harrington tracks down illegal haggis to imitate Pippa Middleton, paces her apartment until the wee hours drinking ten Diet Cokes à la Karl Lagerfeld, and attempts something forbiddingly known as the “Salt Water Flush” to channel her inner Beyoncé.

Rebecca Harrington risks kitchen fires and mysterious face rashes, all in the name of diet journalism. Taking cues from noted beauty icons like Posh Spice (alkaline!), Dolly Parton (Velveeta!), Sophia Loren (pasta!) and Cameron Diaz (savory oatmeal!), I’ll Have What She’s Having is completely surprising, occasionally unappetizing, and always outrageously funny.

OUTLANDER author Diana Gabaldon speaks with Julie Kosin, editor at Harper’s Bazaar, about her books, writing process, and the Outlander TV adaptation. Filmed at the Random House Open House, 12/15/16.

Dear Readers,

I’m taking this time to let you know that I will be slowing down a bit with the blog. For most of my life, I’ve read a book a day. But a few years ago I started needing reading glasses, which I am not all that comfortable with, so that slowed down my reading. I do love reading on my Kindle or iPad sans glasses, but even that I find somewhat tiring as well. That slowed my reading down to 3-4 books a week. Yes, I can hear you laughing, I know that’s still more than most people read but for me it felt strange.

As I got used to that, I discovered another vision problem, this one a bit more serious than just aging eyes. I was diagnosed with a rare form of glaucoma called Narrow Angle or Angle-Closure Glaucoma. I am very fortunate to live near the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the best eye hospital in the country (US News & World Report) and had laser surgery called laser iridotomy. The ophthalmologist also has me using prescription eye drops.

A year or so later, I started having vision problems again. Blurry vision, night blindness, intermittent spots before my eyes, all of which made reading more difficult. I’ve now added another eye drop to my day which is helping a bit. I go back to the doctor next week and will see what he has to say.

Meanwhile, I’m down to reading just a couple of books a week and since my job keeps me on a computer for most of the day, which I find fatiguing to my eyes, it is also slowing down my review process.

Is there a bigger fear in life for a reader than losing one’s vision? Not for me. So I’m being prudent here, slowing things down, and I wanted to let you all know.

If you subscribe to the blog, you will be notified when I post a new review. Otherwise, check back when you can. I have some awesome videos to share, including an interview with Diana Gabaldon that Outlander fans won’t want to miss! And of course, I am still giving away books.

Thanks for your understanding, and hopefully this will just be a minimal setback. One can only hope for the best…

Wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas filled with beauty, love, joy, and good books!

Please share this with a small child that you love…

This year, every child in town wants a toy dog for Christmas, but Santa runs out before he can get to Polly’s house! So instead, Santa makes the holiday extra special by giving Polly a sweet, loveable, real puppy. Polly—and the puppy—couldn’t be happier! Story and illustrations by Irma Wilde.

*Brightly Storytime is a video series for kids that brings popular children’s books to life in a read-along format. Families and kids can enjoy watching and listening to narrated videos that include visual cues to help young readers follow along. This is a read-along version of the picture book THE CHRISTMAS PUPPY by Irma Wilde, a holiday classic originally published in 1953.

Brightly (www.readbrightly.com) is a Penguin Random House site that helps parents raise kids who love to read.

I found this article from Mental Floss magazine, and thought it was interesting so wanted to share…

Why Are Blue and White the Hanukkah Colors?

by Amanda Green

If you’ve ventured out in public since November 1, you’ve probably noticed Christmas decorations in red and green. The two colors are so synonymous with the holiday that a tree decked out in other shades can feel downright subversive. But Christmas isn’t the only holiday with its own color scheme. Hanukkah paraphernalia—from candles for the menorah to this 11 foot inflatable lawn bear with a dreidel—tends to come in blue and white or blue and silver.

The most obvious explanation for blue and white Hanukkah colors is the Israeli flag, designed by the Zionist movement in 1891 and officially adopted in 1948. The flag’s blue stripes symbolize those found on tallitot, traditional Jewish prayer shawls that are worn at synagogue, bar or bat mitzvahs, and Jewish weddings. So why are there blue stripes on tallitot? According to the Bible, the Israelites were told to dye a thread on their tassels with tekhelet, a blue ink from a sea snail, “so that they may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them.”

In 1864, the Jewish poet Ludwig August Frankl named blue and white “the colours of Judah” in a poem not so surprisingly called “Judah’s Colours.” An excerpt: “When sublime feelings his heart fill, he is mantled in the colors of his country… Blue and white are the colours of Judah; white is the radiance of the priesthood, and blue, the splendors of the firmament.”

Blue and white come with universal associations, too. White suggests purity, peace, and light. Blue is associated with the sky, faith, wisdom, and truth. (The expression isn’t “true blue” for nothing.)

And what about the silver we see in Hanukkah decorations? Well, some people think the holidays call for a little more sparkle, not to mention the popularity of silver menorahs. Blue and white clearly aren’t just the colors of Hanukkah. They’re symbolic all year long. L’chaim!

This article originally appeared in 2012.

 

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This is Gloria from Oswego IL – she was a winner of the International Thriller Writers Bookshelf, winning all these signed thrillers. Doesn’t she look happy?

This could be you! All you have to do is enter for a chance to win. Plus, if you subscribe to the newsletter or follow this blog, you get an extra entry into every contest you enter. Check out the Win Books page for more information on how you to enter this month’s contest.

Best of luck! And congratulations, Gloria!

Linda Fairstein (author of INTO THE LION’S DEN) talks about the first mystery she ever wrote… as a fifth-grader.

for the third to sixth graders you know and love…

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Into the Lion’s Den

The Devlin Quick Mysteries, Book 1

Watch out, Nancy Drew—Devlin Quick is smart, strong, and she will DEFINITELY close the case in this thrilling new mystery series for girls and boys from New York Times bestselling author Linda Fairstein

Someone has stolen a page from a rare book in the New York Public Library. At least, that’s what Devlin’s friend Liza thinks she’s seen, but she can’t be sure. Any other kid might not see a crime here, but Devlin Quick is courageous and confident, and she knows she has to bring this man to justice—even if it means breathlessly racing around the city to collect evidence. But who is this thief? And what could the page—an old map—possibly lead to? With her wits, persistence, and the help of New York City’s finest (and, okay, a little bit of help from her police commissioner mother, too), Dev and her friends piece the clues together to uncover a mystery that’s bigger than anyone expected—and more fun, too.

With all of the heart-pounding excitement that made her internationally bestselling Alexandra Cooper series a hit, Linda Fairstein paves the way for another unstoppable heroine . . . even if she is only twelve.

Into the Lion’s Den by Linda Fairstein. Dial Books (November 15, 2016). ISBN: 978-0399186431. 320p.

After reading the book in 10 minutes, comedian Jo Firestone gives a report on Charles Dickens’s OLIVER TWIST. Please sir, we’d like some more time to study.

Actually, learning to read a book in 10 minutes is an excellent skill to have when you just want some broad information about a bunch of titles. I have taught this over the years and use it myself – not to review books, but to have an idea about new books and sometimes I find a book I was to actually read. Check it out, courtesy of the American Library Association and Jessica E. Moyer:

http://www.alaeditions.org/blog/62/how-read-book-10-minutes

They may be nameless actors in generic stock footage, but there is no doubt that Stock Video Women love to read. Let them show you 11 of their favorite reading methods. Can you dig the funky jams?