I am in school, so it is rare that I have much time to read for pleasure, although that is something I do. Lately I have had the leisure time to do so and I have been reading Michael Pollan's newest book, Cooked. It is a riveting book on the history of the different ways that we cook and the reasons, or possible reasons why. Pollan -for all of you who have never had the pleasure to read on of his books- is an incredible author. He has the ability to take the most mundane things in life and make them extraordinarily interesting; one of his books, A Place of My Own, is a book about him building a little work-shack on his property and the interesting things that he does and problems that he encounters while doing so. Who would have thought that, essentially, building a shed could be so interesting? The other books of his that I have read are equally as interesting. My goal for the summer is to finish the rest of them; he had written seven books, I have two and a quarter of them left to read... I can't wait. If reading about gardening and do-it-yourself architecture isn't your thing, I would still recommend taking a look at a few of his books: The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food, Cooked, and Food Rules. All of these books discuss food in different ways and allow you to look at it with a different lens; it is important to know the things that he is telling you about your food even if you choose not to listen to it -making an informed decision could help you somewhere down the road.
Other books that you could read -if you just don't feel like reading strictly about food right now- are Lights Out and Starting Strength. The first book, Lights Out, is a great read on sleeping and the very important role that it plays in our lives. Yes, we all know that sleeping is really important, but do we know why? Do we know what the melatonin does for us? Do we know what we should and shouldn't be doing just before bed if we want to get the most out of our sleep? What about the things that we use to fall asleep -TV, music, ect? What about seasonal eating and how sleep affects our appetites? All of these things are covered in this book. I will admit that some parts were dry or seemed repetitive, but the overall information in the book was really interesting, helpful, and showed the importance of making sure you sleep enough. The second book, Starting Strength, is a great book for a beginning lifter (or for someone like me who had just never read it...should have though. Haha...). It had a lot of information in it that was great and very helpful. There are some things that I disagree with the author, Rippetoe, on, but in what book isn't there some things that you disagree with what is written? He does a great job of breaking down some really big, basic lifts -squat, deadlift, overhead press, and power clean- and discussing each of them, why they are great, and how to do them.
The last book that I am excited to read is Carb Backloading by Keifer; I am excited because I have seem read results from real people and kind of want to see what the hype is about and why. I can't say much about the book, obviously, because I haven't read it, but it should be fun to read.
Anyways, those are some books that should keep you busy over the summer and help to increase your fitness, health, or random knowledge. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns...talk to me! Post on here or email me. I'd love to have or see some great discussions about fitness and health on here...that's is how, I believe, things can be truly learned.
-Chris
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