Being sick is not fun at all

The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick ~ by Gene Stone, 2010, health and fitness, 212 pages

Who does not want to be healthier?  The author wanted to find out what might actually prevent him from getting sick himself.  This book tells the stories of twenty-five people who each possess a different secret of excellent health — a secret that makes sense and that Stone discovered has a scientific underpinning.  There are:

1. food secrets — take garlic and vitamin C, eat more probiotics, become a vegan, drink a tonic of brewer’s yeast.
2. exercise secrets — the benefits of lifting weights, the power of stretching.
3. environmental secrets — living in a Blue Zone, understanding the value of germs.
4. emotional secrets — seek out and stay in touch with friends, cultivate your spirituality.
5. physical secrets — nap more, take cold showers in the morning.

There's a lot more, as you can see from this photo of the contents pages.  The stories make it personal, the research makes it real, and the do-it-yourself information shows how to integrate each secret into your own life and become the next person who never gets sick.

1. The topic of my Monday Musing post was a Mozart Concerto, HERE.
2. On TWOsday, I posted two photos my two daughters sent while traveling to visit me, HERE.
3. Wednesday's Word was "parasocial," HERE, pre-posted long before my daughters came to visit.
4. I didn't post while my daughters were here, so that's it for my blogging week.

is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Parasocial?

I have never even heard the word "parasocial," but it is Cambridge Dictionary's Word of the Year.  Okay, the article says parasocial relates to "a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence."  Since I've never "adored" a celebrity, I guess that could explain why I've never heard the word.

Dark skies ~ sun rays later

My twin daughters are taking their time coming to visit me, partly because of the weather where they are driving right now.  They sent me this photo of dark skies.  Later, they sent the one below.  Two daughters, two views of the sky.

Mozart's Bassoon Concerto

At lunch today, a couple of residents who sat down at my table started talking about their favorite music, sort of singing a bit of a song they liked.  But they both looked rather blank when I said my favorite is Mozart's Bassoon Concerto.  (Click on the labels below, if you want to hear a version of it that I have shared before about bassoons and Mozart.)  I'm not sure my two friends even know what a bassoon is, but it's what I used to play years ago  When I came back to my apartment, I called my friend Ginny in Tallahassee.  We played together in high school, and she now plays clarinet in the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra.

The ethical consequences of AI

Culpability ~ by Bruce Holsinger, 2025, psychological thriller, 380 pages

This is a suspenseful family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence — and Oprah's Book Club pick after it was published in July, 2025.

When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun.  In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work.  Yet each family member harbors a secret, implicating them all in the tragic accident.

During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash.  Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie’s future.  Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive.  And Lorelei’s odd behavior tugs at Noah’s suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident — suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal.  When Charlie falls for Monet’s teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI.

Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.

1. My Monday Musing post was about a book by Margaret Atwood, HERE.
2. On TWOsday, I posted about the second book in a trilogy, HERE.
3. Wednesday's Word was MaddAddam and the conclusion of that trilogy, HERE.
4. My subject on Thursday was four science fiction novellas in one book, HERE.
5. Friday's Book Beginning was about Alexei Navalny's 2024 memoir, HERE.
6. On CATurday, I wrote about cats again, HERE.  It's a big, heavy cat book!

is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

A cat book for Caturday

The Life and Love of Cats ~ by Lewis Blackwell, 2012, photography, 216 pages

The Life and Love of Cats takes us on an unforgettable journey; we travel from the homes of middle-America today, back to the demonized creatures hiding in the alleys of medieval Europe; from wild cousins on the plains of Africa to rare hybrid domestic breeds like the Savannah; and from fashionable show breeds to shelter cats lovingly rescued by volunteers.  Starting with the earliest records of domestic cats 9,000 years ago in Africa and the Mediterranean and moving to the present, the author weaves stories of one of humankind’s closest companions with a collection of more than 100 unforgettable images.  It's a beautiful book for cat lovers.

Someone on Amazon said, "It makes a statement on the coffee table."  I agree.  Because it is so heavy (4.9 pounds!), you could read it by leaning over the coffe table and turning the pages.  The pages are huge, so it isn't like you must hold this book up close to see the beautiful pictures.

(This picture is NOT from the book, but I like it.)

Beginning ~ with dying in an airplane

Beginning (page 5)

Dying didn't really hurt.  If I hadn't been breathing my last, I would never have stretched out on the floor next to the plane's toilet.  As you can imagine, it wasn't exactly clean.

I was flying to Moscow from Tomsk, in Siberia, and feeling very pleased.  Regional elections were going to be held in two weeks in several Siberian cities, and my colleagues from the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) and I had every intention of inflecting defeat on the ruling United Russian party.  That would deliver an important message that Vladimir Putin, even after twenty years in power, was not omnipotent, or even particularly liked in that part of Russia — even though large numbers of people there would watch talking heads sing the praises of the nation's leader on television 24/7.

Patriot ~ by Alexei Navalny, 2024, memoir, 496 pages

This is a posthumous non-fiction book authored by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and published by Alfred A. Knopf in October 2024.  A self-described memoir, Patriot is Navalny's second book, following Opposing Forces.  Patriot details Navalny's life and career.

Alexei Navalny began writing Patriot shortly after his near-fatal poisoning in 2020.  It is the full story of his life:  his youth in the U.S.S.R., his call to activism, his marriage and family, his commitment to challenging a world super-power determined to silence him, and his total conviction that change cannot be resisted — and will come.

In vivid, page-turning detail, including never-before-seen correspondence from prison, Navalny recounts, among other things, his political career, the many attempts on his life, and the lives of the people closest to him, and the relentless campaign he and his team waged against an increasingly dictatorial regime.

Written with the passion, wit, candor, and bravery for which he was justly acclaimed, Patriot is Navalny’s final letter to the world:  a moving account of his last years spent in the most brutal prison on earth; a reminder of why the principles of individual freedom matter so deeply; and a rousing call to continue the work for which he sacrificed his life.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.