Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 54
January 21, 2024
Sunday Confessions #234
Hello Sunday! Welcome back to the weekly recap of what's been on the blog this last week.
Sunday Confessions #233~
Weekly Menu #540 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: This is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo~
Book Review: Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith
Weekly Menu #541 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Honor Among Thieves by E.K. Johnston~Book Review: Electric Dreams by Philip K. Dick~Sunday Confessions #235
4/100 2024 Reading Challenge~58/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~70/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~91/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge
Another great week. Happy reading, friends!
January 19, 2024
Book Review: Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith
My book review if Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith.
An impactful and rare memoir that engages and educates, Worthy is a courageous love song to self, to family, to life, and to the world.
From an unconventional upbringing in Baltimore, to an unconventional marriage to one of the most famous men in the world, adhering to the status quo has never been a familiar road for Jada Pinkett Smith. In Worthy, Smith strips herself of all the labels and stories crafted by others, and reclaims her narrative with radical self-love. Worthy teaches us who Jada is, and how to embrace our most authentic lovable souls.
If you can get past the first half, or even skip it if you want, you will find yourself actually reading a life story filled with emotions, love, trust, sorrow and sadness. This is what made the book.
I tried to dive into this book with an open mind, and not listen to all the hype around Jada Pinkett Smith, but I can see why her name keeps being thrown in the air. The book gets 3 out of 5 stars from me. Cut the book in half and I would have given it 5 stars.
Title: Worthy
By: Jada Pinkett Smith
Genre: Non-fiction
Pages: 416
Release Date: October 17th, 2023
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Summary from Goodreads:A gripping, painfully honest, and ultimately inspirational memoir from global superstar and creator of the Red Table Talk series Jada Pinkett Smith. In a media driven landscape that crafts narratives for our celebrities, Smith recounts her story in an intimate conversation with readers. Along the way, she explores her path to accepting her power as a woman, and her discovery that a strong sense of self is every woman’s right and saving grace.
An impactful and rare memoir that engages and educates, Worthy is a courageous love song to self, to family, to life, and to the world.
From an unconventional upbringing in Baltimore, to an unconventional marriage to one of the most famous men in the world, adhering to the status quo has never been a familiar road for Jada Pinkett Smith. In Worthy, Smith strips herself of all the labels and stories crafted by others, and reclaims her narrative with radical self-love. Worthy teaches us who Jada is, and how to embrace our most authentic lovable souls.
If you can get past the first half, or even skip it if you want, you will find yourself actually reading a life story filled with emotions, love, trust, sorrow and sadness. This is what made the book.
I tried to dive into this book with an open mind, and not listen to all the hype around Jada Pinkett Smith, but I can see why her name keeps being thrown in the air. The book gets 3 out of 5 stars from me. Cut the book in half and I would have given it 5 stars.
January 17, 2024
Book Review: This is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo
My book review on This Is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo.
Did you know that blueberries can help you cope with the aftereffects of trauma? That salami can cause depression, or that boosting Vitamin D intake can help treat anxiety?
When it comes to diet, most people's concerns involve weight loss, fitness, cardiac health, and longevity. But what we eat affects more than our bodies; it also affects our brains. And recent studies have shown that diet can have a profound impact on mental health conditions ranging from ADHD to depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, OCD, dementia and beyond.
A triple threat in the food space, Dr. Uma Naidoo is a board-certified psychiatrist, nutrition specialist, and professionally trained chef. In This Is Your Brain on Food, she draws on cutting-edge research to explain the many ways in which food contributes to our mental health, and shows how a sound diet can help treat and prevent a wide range of psychological and cognitive health issues.
Packed with fascinating science, actionable nutritional recommendations, and delicious, brain-healthy recipes, This Is Your Brain on Food is the go-to guide to optimizing your mental health with food.
I was able to take away a lot of interesting information from reading this book. Especially the parts about vitamins typical ADHD people are low on.
If you can get through the typical writing style of a non-fiction book on diet, the take away can be helpful.
Title: This is your brain on food
By: Uma Naidoo
Genre: Non-fiction
Pages: 384
Release Date: August 4th, 2020
Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
Rating: ★★★★★
Summary from Goodreads:Eat for your mental health and learn the fascinating science behind nutrition with this "must-read" guide from an expert psychiatrist (Amy Myers, MD).
Did you know that blueberries can help you cope with the aftereffects of trauma? That salami can cause depression, or that boosting Vitamin D intake can help treat anxiety?
When it comes to diet, most people's concerns involve weight loss, fitness, cardiac health, and longevity. But what we eat affects more than our bodies; it also affects our brains. And recent studies have shown that diet can have a profound impact on mental health conditions ranging from ADHD to depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, OCD, dementia and beyond.
A triple threat in the food space, Dr. Uma Naidoo is a board-certified psychiatrist, nutrition specialist, and professionally trained chef. In This Is Your Brain on Food, she draws on cutting-edge research to explain the many ways in which food contributes to our mental health, and shows how a sound diet can help treat and prevent a wide range of psychological and cognitive health issues.
Packed with fascinating science, actionable nutritional recommendations, and delicious, brain-healthy recipes, This Is Your Brain on Food is the go-to guide to optimizing your mental health with food.
I was able to take away a lot of interesting information from reading this book. Especially the parts about vitamins typical ADHD people are low on.
If you can get through the typical writing style of a non-fiction book on diet, the take away can be helpful.
January 15, 2024
Weekly Menu #540 And The Book Of The Week
Hello Monday! Welcome back to my weekly menu where I share all the delicious recipes we will be making this week.The PNW was hit with a winter storm over the weekend and instead of wonderfully fluffy snow, we received what my husband referred to as "Hell Pellets." If you can't figure out what a hell pellet is, its sleet. We have a sheet of ice on our hill and yet people still try to go up it. Saw one person try to back up the hill. Lets just say, it didn't go well.
Anyway, the read of the week is Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson. This author doesn't disappoint. Can't wait to read this story.
Lets get to this weeks menu. Enjoy!WEEKLY MENU
Monday
Greek Braised Green Beans
Kids - Chicken Ramen
Tuesday
Chicken and Dumplings
Kids - Chicken and Biscuits
Wednesday
Meatball Soup
Kids - Pizza
Thursday
Gyudon
Kids - Beef Ramen
Friday
Portillos Chopped Salad
Kids - Chicken Salad
Saturday
Crockpot Chicken and Gravy
Kids - Chicken and Potatoes
Sunday
Leftovers Night
January 14, 2024
Sunday Confessions #233
Hello Sunday! Welcome back to my weekly confessions where I recap the blog happenings.
Sunday Confessions #232~Weekly Menu #539 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Domino by Phoebe Mcintosh~December 2023 Wrap Up~Book Review: The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart
Weekly Menu #540 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: This is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo~Book Review: Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith~Sunday Confessions #234
Everytime We Touch by Cascada
4/100 2024 Reading Challenge~58/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~70/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~91/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge
January is in full swing and so is my reading. I'm also finding joy in new recipes from different cultures. Last week, my husband and I tried Egyptian food, which was delicious. We also tried leek and potato soup. Not something I've ever had before.
Keep up with the good vibes in this new year and happy reading.
January 12, 2024
Book Review: The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart
My book review of The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart.
Title: The Butcher and the Wren
By: Alaina Urquhart
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Pages: 242
Release Date: September 13th, 2022
Publisher: Zando
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Summary from Goodreads:A thrilling debut novel told from the dueling perspectives of a notorious serial killer and the medical examiner following where his trail of victims leads
Something dark is lurking in the Louisiana bayou: a methodical killer with a penchant for medical experimentation is hard at work completing his most harrowing crime yet, taunting the authorities who desperately try to catch up.
But forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is the best there is. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of historical crimes, and years of experience working in the Medical Examiner's office, she's never encountered a case she couldn't solve. Until now. Case after case is piling up on Wren's examination table, and soon she is sucked into an all-consuming cat-and-mouse chase with a brutal murderer getting more brazen by the day.
An addictive read with straight-from-the-morgue details only an autopsy technician could provide, The Butcher and the Wren promises to ensnare all who enter.
The book started off strong and chilling. The scene was set for a creepy horror story with a strong protagonist. I dove into the book feet first with the promise of a thrilling ride I couldn't fathom, but was quickly let down by characters I couldn't connect with.
At times I couldn't tell if the story wanted to be true crime, a thriller or a horror story. It was a bit off-putting at times and really detracted from the plot.
I love Alaina Urquhart, but this wasn't my read.
January 11, 2024
December 2023 Wrap Up
Hello, welcome to Decembers book recap.
Really, this should be my year end recap. I was able to read a whopping 141 books last year, but here are the books I read in December only. If you would like to see all the other books that graced my blog, check out the previous Wrap Ups.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts
Katherine Arden
January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, she receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about haunted trenches, and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?
November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two men form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.
As shells rain down on Flanders, and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.
3/100 2024 Reading Challenge~58/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~70/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~91/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge
December was a great reading month, but January and 2024 has so much promise. I can't wait to see what's to come.
January 10, 2024
Book Review: Domino by Phoebe Mcintosh
My book review of Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh.
Dominoes opens in London, twenty-nine days before the wedding of a young couple. Layla is a mixed-race woman--with a Black, Jamaican mother and a white father she's never met--and Andy is a white man of Scottish descent. When they first meet at a party, they can't believe how instant their chemistry is, and how quickly their relationship unfolds. But the commonalities between the two outweigh their differences; funnily enough, they even share a last name: McKinnon.
Layla's best friend, Sera, isn't so sure--about Andy, or the fact that her best friend is engaged to marry a white man. As Layla's wedding date approaches, Sera prompts her friend to research her heritage more, and in the undertaking, Layla makes a shocking discovery: It's not just possible but extremely likely that Andy's ancestors enslaved Layla's in Jamaica, and that the money from that enslavement helped build his family's wealth.
What seemed like a fairy-tale romance is suddenly derailed as Layla begins to uncover parts of her history and identity that she never could have imagined--or had simply learned to ignore. The task takes her to Jamaica for the first time, where she meets family members for the first time, and uncovers truths about her family's history that will change the way she thinks about herself and her future. As the clock ticks down to her wedding--four days, three days, two days--Layla must make a decision: commit to the man she loves or expose a shameful history that has gone unspoken for far too long.
Conversation-starting, open-hearted, and unforgettable, Dominoes shows us that only by fully confronting the past can one hope to move forward.
Layla was a wonderful character. She seemed sweet, but strong. At times her emotions got the best of her, but it made the her feel real and relatable. Sera frustrated me from almost the very beginning, but that's what created tension throughout the story. I wanted to slap her, but at the same time hug her. She had unhealed trauma that spilled over into her relationship with Layla.
I think where the story really came together for me was the trip to Jamaica. Layla really wanted to know her roots. Painful roots, but part of her DNA. Her character really came full circle here. She grew into a full, complete person and she was able to move forward.
Title: Dominoes
By: Phoebe McIntosh
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 288
Release Date: March 12th, 2024
Publisher: Random House
Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:A tender and provocative debut novel about a mixed-race British woman who makes the shocking discovery in the days leading up to her wedding that her fiancé's family may have enslaved her ancestors
Dominoes opens in London, twenty-nine days before the wedding of a young couple. Layla is a mixed-race woman--with a Black, Jamaican mother and a white father she's never met--and Andy is a white man of Scottish descent. When they first meet at a party, they can't believe how instant their chemistry is, and how quickly their relationship unfolds. But the commonalities between the two outweigh their differences; funnily enough, they even share a last name: McKinnon.
Layla's best friend, Sera, isn't so sure--about Andy, or the fact that her best friend is engaged to marry a white man. As Layla's wedding date approaches, Sera prompts her friend to research her heritage more, and in the undertaking, Layla makes a shocking discovery: It's not just possible but extremely likely that Andy's ancestors enslaved Layla's in Jamaica, and that the money from that enslavement helped build his family's wealth.
What seemed like a fairy-tale romance is suddenly derailed as Layla begins to uncover parts of her history and identity that she never could have imagined--or had simply learned to ignore. The task takes her to Jamaica for the first time, where she meets family members for the first time, and uncovers truths about her family's history that will change the way she thinks about herself and her future. As the clock ticks down to her wedding--four days, three days, two days--Layla must make a decision: commit to the man she loves or expose a shameful history that has gone unspoken for far too long.
Conversation-starting, open-hearted, and unforgettable, Dominoes shows us that only by fully confronting the past can one hope to move forward.
Layla was a wonderful character. She seemed sweet, but strong. At times her emotions got the best of her, but it made the her feel real and relatable. Sera frustrated me from almost the very beginning, but that's what created tension throughout the story. I wanted to slap her, but at the same time hug her. She had unhealed trauma that spilled over into her relationship with Layla.
I think where the story really came together for me was the trip to Jamaica. Layla really wanted to know her roots. Painful roots, but part of her DNA. Her character really came full circle here. She grew into a full, complete person and she was able to move forward.
Final Quote:
“Shouldn’t throw you too much,” I added. “Same spelling. Different person."
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I couldn't put this read down. read it from start to finish in one sitting. There's so much to unpack between these covers, but worth every word.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
January 8, 2024
Weekly Menu #539 And The Book Of The Week
Hello Monday. Welcome back to my weekly menu where I share all the delicious recipes we will be making this week.
A full week of January is over and so far, the kids are doing great. We got them back to school last week with only some anxiety issues, but they did great handling themselves. After school we cuddled and talked for hours. It was great.
This weeks read is Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith. I've been wanting to read this one to see what all the hype is about, but it was always at the bottom of my TBR. Time to put it at the top. Time to see what Smith has to offer.
Lets get to. Enjoy!
WEEKLY MENU
Monday
Kids - Chicken Nugget skewers
Tuesday
Kids - Pita Grilled Cheese
Wednesday
Kids - Bird Dogs
Thursday
Kids - Cheese Pizza
Friday
Kids - Chicken Ramen
Saturday
Kids - Cheese Quesadilla
Sunday
Family Night
January 7, 2024
Sunday Confessions #232
Hello Sunday! Welcome back to my weekly confessions where we recap what's happened on the blog.
The first week of the new year is over and so far so good. Nothing world changing happened and for the most part it was pretty easy.
Lets recap, shall we?
Sunday Confessions #231~Weekly Menu #538 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: The Stalker by Sarah Alderson~Book Review: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Weekly Menu #539 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Domino by Phoebe Mcintosh~Book Review: The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart~Sunday Confessions #233
Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie
1/100 2024 Reading Challenge~58/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~70/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~90/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge
I kinda hate having to start over on my reading challenge, but it is a new year. Back to the beginning. Happy reading, friends!
