375. The Bad Place by Dean R. Koontz

BOOK REVIEW: The Bad Place by Dean R. Koontz

If you thought Stephen King's books were horrifying, be prepared to shed tears as your eyes feast on the pages, digesting one gruesome detail after another.

Frank Pollard awakens in an alley, knowing nothing but his name - and that he's in great danger. Having taken refuge in a motel, he wakes again only to find his hands covered in blood. Over the next few days Frank develops a fear of sleep, because each time he wakes he discovers strange objects in his hands and pockets which are far more frightening than blood.

Bobby and Julie Dakota are private investigators who take on Frank's case out of compassion and curiosity. It seems a simple job but as the Dakotas are drawn into mysterious realms they encounter an ominous figure stalking Frank. Their lives are threatened, including the life of Julie's Down Syndrome brother.

A classic story of good versus evil given a darker twist you will be riveted to your seat. Think of two human bodies teleporting and getting atoms scrambled, only to be reconstituted with teeth where the nose should be and other horrendous images. Just hope you don't get nightmares reading this...

374. The Breakfast Bible by Seb Emina & Malcolm Eggs

 

BOOK REVIEW: The Breakfast Bible by Seb Emina & Malcolm Eggs

Ahhh, breakfast, the most important meal of the day. What's better than having a steaming cup of coffee plus some scrambled eggs and toast. But did you think breakfast was this simple? Wrong! This book brings to light what breakfast truly is.

The Full English Breakfast is elaborated in full detail for each of its components like eggs (scrambled, poached, fried, etc.) to types of bacon and sausages and the rest of the requisite nine.

Get acquainted with breakfasts from around the world like shakshuka from the Middle East and biscuits and gravy from the US. 

Drinks are obviously a part of the breakfast including the ubiquitous coffee, tea and juice. What's more surprising was a section on breakfast cocktails for the boozy breakfaster!

I thoroughly relished this book from cover to cover. Now I feel how many years of my life are wasted by not eating a hearty breakfast!🤣

373. The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat by Tim Spector

BOOK REVIEW: The Diet Myth - The Real Science Behind What We Eat by Tim Spector

As a foodie, I have always been on a roller coaster of weight management. I always had a lot of questions like why does one person eat a certain meal and gain weight, while another loses pounds? This book was completely insightful.

The answers are much more surprising - and fascinating - than we've been led to believe. The key to health and weight loss lies not in the latest fad diet, nor in the mantra of 'eat less, exercise more', but in the microbes already inside us.

Drawing on the latest science and his own pioneering research, the author demystifies the common misconceptions about fat, calories and more. Only by understanding what makes our own personal microbes tick can we overcome the confusion of modern nutrition, and acheive a healthy gut and body.

For my review, this was a great book which made serious reading very light and understandable. I'd recommend this to my foodie friends and I know some of you are too!

 

372. Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams

BOOK REVIEW: Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams

After a long hiatus due to my job restrictions, I'm finally back with a long overdue book review. Interestingly, this book is about the much debated ancient city that the Aztecs built. Let's dive in!

In 1911, Hiram Bingham III climbed into the Andes Mountains of Peru and "discovered" Machu Picchu. While history has recast Bingham as a villain who stole both priceless artifacts and credit for finding the great archaelogical site, the author set out to retrace the explorer's perilous path in search of the truth.

This book is the author's fascinating and funny account of his journey through some of the world's most majestic, historic and remote landscapes guided only by an Australian survivalist.

After reading this book, my adventurous side was itching to make a trip to actually experience the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. For those intending on visiting Peru, make sure this book is in your backpack!

371. Entanglement: The Secret Lives of Hair by Emma Tarlo

BOOK REVIEW: Entanglement - The Secret Lives of Hair by Emma Tarlo

Let's face it, we women and men are especially vain about our full heads of hair. When disaster strikes in the form of alopecia in middle age or thin hair, we tend to seek out solutions and wish for a miracle.

When it's not attached to your head, your very own hair takes on a disconcerting quality. Suddenly, it's strange. Hair finds its way into all manner of unexpected places, far from our heads, including cosmetics!

Whether treated as waste or as a gift, relic, sacred offering or commodity in a billion-dollar industry for wigs and hair extensions, hair has many stories to tell.

Collected from Hindu temples and Buddhist nunneries and salvaged by the strand from waste heaps and the the combs of long-haired women, hair flows into the industry from many sources.

Entering this strange world, the author travels the globe, tracking its movement across India, Myanmar, China, Africa, the US, Britain and Europe, where she meets people whose livelihoods depend on hair.

Viewed from inside Chinese wig factories, Hindu temples and the villages of Myanmar, or from Afro hair fairs, Jewish wig parlours, fashion salons and hair loss clinics in Britain and the US, hair is oddly revealing of the lives of all it touches.

From fashion and beauty to religion, politics and cultural identity, the author explores just how much our locks and curls tell us about who we are. Full of surprising revelations and penetrating insights, this book will change the way you see hair forever.  

 

370. Tragic Shores: A Memoir of Dark Travel by Thomas H. Cook

BOOK REVIEW: Tragic Shores - A Memoir of Dark Travel by Thomas H. Cook

Pain and suffering is an integral part of life. Many countries the world over have suffered and are still suffering. In this memoir, the author has related an exciting concept of dark tourism, tourism based on all the suffering encountered through wars, suicide and other sad means.

Traveling from a slave trade fortress in Ghana to San Francisco's suicide bridge, the Golden Gate; from the battlefields of Verdun to Hawaii's leper colony; from Auschwitz to Ground Zero, the acclaimed and prize-winning crime author reflects on what these places tell us about the past and the present of the countries they belong to.

At the same time, the author's first work of non-fiction shines a light on what it means to be human.

Written in vivid prose, this is at once a personal memoir of exploration - both external and internal - and a strangely heartening look at the comforts that can be won when we confront mankind's heart of darkness.

I personally have been to Tuol Sleng in Cambodia, a genocide museum that was the site of beheadings and torture. I could almost feel the lost souls and hear the cries of those who suffered. This book was such an eye opener that it doubles both as a destination guide and exciting read. Highly recommended!

369. Picnic in Provence: A Memoir with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard

BOOK REVIEW: Picnic in Provence - A Memoir with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard

France is a beautiful country, both its people and most importantly, food! The French show love through food and French kids are the first to be introduced to a wide array of adult foods so as to sharpen their taste buds at an early age. The author portrays the love of food and family in this wonderful memoir.

10 years ago, the author, who's a New Yorker, followed a handsome Frenchman up a spiral staircase to a love nest in the heart of Paris. Now, with a baby on the way, the author takes another leap of faith with her husband, Gwendal, when they move - lock, stock and Le Creuset - to the French countryside and open an artisanal ice cream shop.

Filled with such enticing recipes as stuffed zucchini flowers, a fig tart and honey-and-thyme ice cream, this book is the story of everything that happens after the happily ever after - an American learning the tricks of French motherhood, a family finding a new professional passion, and a cook's initiation into classic Provencal cuisine.

With wit, humor and a scoop of wild strawberry sorbet, the author reminds us that life - in and out of the kitchen - is a rendezvous with the unexpected.

Elizabeth's previous book, Lunch in Paris, is said to be equally good but I only managed to get my hand on this one from the BBW sales. I can't wait to get my hands on the first book!