Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is hilarious. I think that I am going to get this book for every soon to be parent from on. I know I can be evil sometimes...teehee.
 To me this was one of those book that were unputtdownable.This was a great book for my wife and I to read before we add another one to our crazy lives.

Basically, this is book of “bits” about Jim’s experiences becoming and being a father.Jim and his wife currently have five children and they live in a two-bedroom apartment in NYC. Yes, you do the math. The “bit” about how they have to put the kids to bed each night is like one of those logic problems from the SAT (Dan has to sit next to Jane and Sue, but he can’t sit next to Carl or . . . you get the idea).
Gaffigan manages to mix the right amount of snark and heart into these stories and most of them made me laugh out loud (yes, in the bathroom) at least once. Some of my favorites include the discussion of how naps are “pay day loans” or why parents give in to McDonalds. The chapter, “Are You Done Yet?” where he discusses the growing dismay of his friends and family as he and his wife exceed the normal couple allotment of two children is brilliant.
Though Gaffigan mines his home life for comic gold, some things are clear. He loves his wife, he loves his kids, and he loves his life—even though it is chaotic, sometimes impossible, and exhausting. This book made me wonder how much fun it would be to grow up in the Gaffigan household—I suspect that the next generation of standup comics is in the making.

League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth by Mark Fainaru-Wada, Steve Fainaru

League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth by Mark Fainaru-Wada, Steve Fainaru

Completed: Feburary 2014
Length:399 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

This book reveals how the NFL, over a period of nearly two decades, sought to cover up and deny mounting evidence of the connection between football and brain damage.
Comprehensively, and for the first time, award-winning ESPN investigative reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru tell the story of a public health crisis that emerged from the playing fields of our 21st century pastime. Everyone knew that football is violent and dangerous. But what the players who built the NFL into a $10 billion industry didn’t know – and what the league sought to shield from them – is that no amount of padding could protect the human brain from the force generated by modern football; that the very essence of the game could be exposing these players to brain damage.
In a fast-paced narrative that moves between the NFL trenches, America’s research labs and the boardrooms where the NFL went to war against science, League of Denial examines how the league used its power and resources to attack independent scientists and elevate its own flawed research -- a campaign with echoes of Big Tobacco’s fight to deny the connection between smoking and lung cancer. It chronicles the tragic fates of players like Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster, who was so disturbed at the time of his death he fantasized about shooting NFL executives; and former Chargers great Junior Seau, whose diseased brain became the target of an unseemly scientific battle between researchers and the NFL. Based on exclusive interviews, previously undisclosed documents and private emails, this is the story of what the NFL knew and when it knew it – questions at the heart of crisis that threatens football, from the highest levels all the way down to Pop Warner.

Fiction or Non-Fiction? Genre? Non-fiction-sports

What lead you to pick up this book? I am a die-hard football fan(Vikings). I saw the Frontline special on this subject. I figured it would be a great read. I was not disappointed.

Summarize the Plot: In the League of Denial it traces the history of the battle over head injuries being suffered by NFL football players. It actually is impacting all football players. It has become a battle between scientists and those in the league who are denying the seriousness of the problem.

What did you like most about this book?

I liked the way that the authors went through to show the way the league tried to deny that football was not the cause for former player with brain damage. It was sad to read some of the cases at what the former players and their families went through.

What did you the least?

The man that discovered the link seemed that he did not get the amount of credit that he rightfully deserves.
What did you think of the writing style?
I thought this book was easy reading. I think that a non-football fan could easy pick this book up and read it with no issues whatsoever.
What did you think of the ending? The book ended on a high note, that the league is starting to take responsibility of a dangerous workplace.The league is starting to take some responsibility for they way the concussion crisis was handled.  

One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey by Sam Keith

Why I Read It: My wife and I are loving the Alaska shows that have been on the Discovery channels. It a dram of our to move up there or in NW Wisconsin and be more self-sufficent(no we are not those crazy preppers).

This an inspiring book. It is from the journals of Richard Proenneke. He was in his 50s when decided to leave the life of the Lower 48.

In the 1970s, he chronicled his life in Alaska for 16 months building his homestead his with own two hands. His perspective of the nature around him.
Now his cabin is entrusted to the Park Service.
This book makes you think,"What do you really NEED?"
This book is an inspiration to me. Someday…Someday.

What I Liked: I enjoyed the way that we brought in Richard' everyday life while being the ONLY person in the area bwsides the occosioal hunters. Oh yeah and his brush pilot Babe.

What I Disliked: The only problem with the book that it was DRY at some points of the book..:) 

Food Inc.by Participant Mediaon

Title:Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It
Author: Participant Media
Rating:  4/5

Review Summary:
I will be honest I saw the documentary a couple years back and I loved it. I am not that sure what took so long for me to FINALLY pick up this book.

This book is an anthology of articles and essays on the topic of food production in the U.S. It is a companion book to the recent documentary of the same name.

I really liked this book, if you want to learn about the food that US food industry is feeds us this is great starting point. I goes into the backgrounds of so many industries. It shows how large of a roll the politics does place in the food industry.

in the end the morale of the book is it is out choice. Choose wisely, and educate yourself about where our 'food' comes from. It is horrifying. The good news is, you can opt out of this system today. The bad news is, you probably won't. I know that it's been difficult for me to change many years of bad eating habits. I've made some real progress, but I still have a long way to go.

The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul

The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul
My rating:Back It Up

Summary: 

This Much Is True: You Have Been Lied To

· The government is expanding.
· Taxes are increasing.
· More senseless wars are being planned.
· Inflation is ballooning.
· Our basic freedoms are disappearing.

The Founding Fathers didn't want any of this. In fact, they said so quite clearly in the Constitution of the United States of America. Unfortunately, that beautiful, ingenious, and revolutionary document is being ignored more and more in Washington. If we are to enjoy peace, freedom, and prosperity once again, we absolutely must return to the principles upon which America was founded. But finally, there is hope . . .
 
My Thoughts:

This is a read that is WAYout of my comfort zone. I figured that I would pick up this book and try to become a more informed voter on the issues that are haunts America today. 

Before reading this book I heard of Ron Paul. I was not that sure who he was and what he stood for. After completing this book I am now a fan of his. In the book he does not jerk your chain and does try to take a different spin on a topic, but it heads the same results. I really enjoyed learning about the purpose of the constitution. I agree with the philosophy of smaller government and more liberty and independence for the people.

In the book he makes you think about the issues that he raises. This is good way for anyone to get into politics. This is a great read for anybody that wants to be a more informed voters in America today.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

The Last Lecture
Author: Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
Narrator: Erik Singer
Genre: Nonfiction
Year: 2008  
Acquired: Library
Rating: 4.5/5


Book Description from Barnes and Noble:

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"—wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

Book Review:

This is a book I think that everyone should read sometime in their lifetime.In the book Randy Paush is diagnosed with 10 tumors in his pancreas and has only months to live. If this happened to you what would you do? There are many people that would feel sorry and be down on themselves. Randy displays that is not what he did. He lived life to fullest and in the moment even after he found out about his condition.

I did identify with him every so often throughout this book. I am I huge sports nut, a complete geek as well as father of a daughter. If I were to go now, Aqua Girl would have little memory of me as well. This is what was hard for me throughout this book. I like that he made DVDs of messages to his children as well as videos of them spending time together.

The Last Lecture shows people to enjoy life and will the little things really matter in the end. To me this book changed me of how I look at life and put so many things in perceptive. 

I am glad that I left early for work a week or so ago and went to my local library and took a look at the audiobooks. I saw this book and figured i will give it a try. Now looking back on it I am glad that I made the choice to read this breathtaking book.