Essential Books: the Daily Channel

In & Out of the Kitchen (in Fifteen Minutes or Less)

by Anne Willan

This is the best cookbook I have ever read. It's clear, inspiring, beautifully well-designed, thoughtful and fun. It will save you time as you become, in the kitchen and perhaps elsewhere, the magician you always knew you were.

So simmer on over to Amazon.com and read the great reviews of this wonderful cookbook

Real Age : Are You As Young As You Can Be?

by Michael F. Roizen MD., Elizabeth Anne Stephenson
It's a gimmick, but a fun one: everything you do has the effect, statistically in the aggregate, of changing your life expectancy by a specific amount. For example, just flossing between your teeth every day will in the long run make you up to 6 years younger. The reason is real, but not fully understood, and intriguing.

Dr. Roizen makes a convincing case (unless for some medical reason it will kill you) for taking aspirin, vitamin C, vitamin E, and folate supplement (folic acid) daily, and he also argues conclusively, convincingly, and charmingly that IT IS BETTER TO EAT YOUR DESSERT FIRST.

There are better and more comprehensive books available on diet and exercise, but I think the dessert first recommendation alone is worth the price of a hardback, don't you? For the paperback, you'll have to wait until the coming of the next millennium. Will you be alive to enjoy it? Or do you just... feel lucky?

Organizing from the Inside Out : The Foolproof System for Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life

by Julie Morgenstern

Begin by asking why you want to be organized, and proceed from there. Julie is comprehensive and wise. And entertaining. And she'll really help you get organized, too.

Get Organized

Creativity Inside Out

by Terry Marks Tarlow

This is a entire book on teaching creativity, mainly organized for the use of grade school teachers. It has lots of enjoyable exercises, and is useful to adults too, provided they are creative enough to make use of it. And isn't that the point? This book has given our family many happy hours of fun, and good ideas.

Get Creative

Give me a Moment and I'll Change Your Life

by Alan Lakein
Years ago I enjoyed Alan Lakein's other book, "How to get control of your time and your life", and had the experience of meeting Lakein himself, a relaxed and funny guy. So I was quite interested to see what he was up to these days.

In this slim hardback, Lakein reveals himself as a real thinker about daily life. His gentle examination of what a moment really is -- and can be -- lacked any hint of remonstrative or imperative tone. In its mixture of play and seriousness it reminds me of a zen approach, but adjusted to the fast pace of modern life.

reviewed March 5, 1999

Power Sleep

by Dr. James B. Maas
Over 1500 students enroll in Dr. Maas' Psych 101 course at Cornell. Why? Because they will learn something of lasting value: the value of sleep, and how to achieve it. This entertaining book encapsulates and extends his essential insights on sleep. You don't need this book, unless of course you already get plenty of sleep. And upon that closing argument, the defense rests.

reviewed Jan 20 1999

A little information ...

can make a big difference.

The Oxford English Dictionary : CD-Rom (unabridged edition) ,Oxford University Press, is more than a little information.

This is the best way to use 'the big book,' searching the entire contents of the greatest dictionary ever compiled. No magnifying glass, no heavy tomes. Just the results of your infinite and subtle curiosity.

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