Helping People Change by Melvin L. Smith, Ellen Van Oosten, Richard Boyatzis

This is an interesting look at how peole can coach others, leading with compassion. They use stories and reading guides to help people become the best coaches that they can be, whether in work or in the rest of their lives. 

There were a LOT of initialisms in this book and quite a few sound very similar if you are listening to the audiobook. Some parts were also repetitive. I couldn't tell if that was to cement learning or whether it was filler to bulk out the book. It was also a little overly optimistic. I don't mind that in a cozy mystery but I refer my nonfiction to be a bit more pragmatic.

Three stars

This book came out August 20, 2019

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! Liza Minnelli

I didn't know much about Liza Minelli before this book but found her stories fascinating. Did she talk about many, many, many times about how her family had an illness and it was substance abuse? Yes. But she is raw and honest and reads the book herself which is a delight. I hadn't realized she was a part of the fashion show at Versailles and that moves a book about that evening up on my TBR list. 

Four stars

This book came March 10, 2026

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Stop Letting Everything Affect You by Daniel Chidiac

This was a very short, straightforward book. Because the topics tend to be broad, not everything will apply to everyone, but like most self-help books, you take the bits that can help, and leave the rest behind. Nothing was really new and some parts were weirdly framed as if training people on how to weaponize therapy rather than actually learning from it. 

The religion thrown in without warning was a bit abrupt. I don't mind, just like some context before I'm already into the book.

Two and a half stars

This book came out July 1, 2025

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Girls Who Beat the Odds by Maj. Gen. Mari K. Eder

stars

This book comes out September 8, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Sourcebooks and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam, narrator: Elizabeth London

As with many of the nonfiction books I read, this doesn't have any especially groundbreaking material. But the hook is interesting, even a decade and a half after the book was written.  One of the things that happens in our lives is that we fritter away time. But if we track our time, pay attention to what we do, we might actually get more done. This is always a good reminder, especially when we have more things than ever to distract us.

There are a surprising number of references to Bel Canto, though it was a hit at the time this book was written.

Four stars

This book came out May 26, 2010

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Mind Magic Audiobook by James R. Doty

I normally love reading books about scientific discoveries, even if I can't always understand all of it. This book, however, reminded me of some of the healing frauds that were so prevalent in the late 80s/early 90s. I also have to say that the "Manifesting" language also reminded me of some really bad churches. So, most of this book I listened to with great skepticism, even knowing that it came from the mind of a neurosurgeon. I did like how he mentioned that it could be the fact that you are concentrating on a goal that leads to to achieving it - not just manifesting it

Three stars

This book came out May 7 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

How to Menopause by Tamsen Fadal

I really enjoyed this book. It's so informative and the author often encourages you to work with your doctor and to find what works for you. I really dislike books that are all or nothing. However, there is a certain assumption of access to care that may not apply to every reader. 

Even though I am in the group for peri-menopause, I didn't think I was having any symptoms. But, there are 34. 34 symptoms of menopause. And a whole bunch of things I thought were related to another health issue made more sense as being related to my age. 

Fadal covers any number of topics including sleep, brainfog, yoga, sex, eating, clothes, community, . For each of these, she goes through potential solutions both medical and not. I was happy to learn that the diet (close to the Mediteranean) that I am on for my high cholesterol is also recommended for menopause. 

Four and a half stars

This book came out 

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own 

The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded by Michael D. Watkins

This was a really interesting book in how the ideas for getting up to speed in a new job should be prioritized. I enjoyed that the author prioritized learning the company's culture over making immediate changes. I don't love the layout of authors telling stories around why their programs work (So-and-so did this thing and here's one example of why that failed). I really enjoyed the narrator but would advise people to read the e- or physical book. There were a lot of references to charts that probably would have been helpful to see. 
Was it perhaps written with an overly idealistic idea of most companies? Yes, yes it was. But that doesn't mean there aren't some good takeaways. It is perhaps geared a little bit more toward the upper echelon than frontline managers so may not be AS useful for them.

Four stars

This book came out September 18, 2003

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Read Your Mind by Oz Pearlman

I hadn't heard of this author before, just enjoy reading books about how to be successful. Coming from a mentalist, it makes sense that most of the habits have to do with working with people. Nothing really ground breaking but an interesting way to experience them, through various tricks that he used in both his magic and mentalist shows. I love hearing about memory tricks, but they don't work for everyone. He trains people on the alphabet backward using a storyline and pnemonic but assumes that people will remember that particular device. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out October 30, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own 

Hiding in the Bathroom by Morra Aarons-Mele

I can't quite put a finger on why this book didn't resonate with me more. Maybe because it's more of an introvert's guide to navigating the corporate world (as opposed to the regular world). Maybe the audiobook was not the best way to consume this information. Maybe it was that parts of it felt tone deaf; the author was very lucky in her resources but didn't seem to factor that in to her success. I think a large part is that the title and description make it seem like something it is not. If it were marketed as a book to help introverts network, that might have better set expectations. 

Three stars

This book came out September 26, 2017

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Learning and Development Essentials by Albert Singh, Vibrant Publishers

A nice, basic book that is a decent introduction to Learning and Development. It covers things like basic theories of not only learning and development but of learning. It covers some of the tools that you might need if you are developing an L&D program and even touches on data gathering and reporting. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out July 18, 2026

ARC kindly provided by BooksGoSocial and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Family of Spies by Christine Kuehn

Kuehn didn't know the story of her family until a filmmaker sent her a lettter. At first, she ignores it, thinking that it must be a mistake, he must have meant some other Kuehn's. But as she digs into her family's past, she discovers that her family was more invovled with WWII than she ever knew. 

It's an interesting story that certainly has missing pieces bcause Kuehn's aunt burned much of the family's memorabilia and most of the people involved are dead. 

Kuehn did a LOT of research to put her files together. And most of the work was done pre-internet so she had to figure out whereto go to even look to find information. 

Four stars

This book came out November 25, 2025

Hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Hotter by Laura Clery

Clery is a well-known internet personality whose most memorable character is probably Pamela Pumpkin. I didn't know much about her but I've been on a biography kick lately and picked this book up. 

I was not expecting to find out about her marriage imploded as her husband spiraled further and further into some sort of madness. We get a deep look into the answer of "why did she stay?", at least her version of it. And it makes sense in that it was very much a case of a frog being boiled. Did she make bad decisions even after her divorce? Yes, she did. She's very up front about that. 

This is more a selection of essays than a coherent book which threw me off but I did, ovrall, enjoy her stories and a glimpse into the life of someone who is trying to do the best she can by her children and then for herself.

Four stars

This book comes out July 14, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Gallery Books and NetGalley

Opnions are my own

The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

This book is made up of short chapters looking at how we can survive in our current world. Specifically, looking at it through the lens of the matsutake mushroom. This is a mushroom that grows where things have been destroyed and there are whole communities built around finding them. For me, the description of the communities was the best part of this book. 

It was an interesting collaboration of ethnography and anthropology. I didn't always understand the points the author was trying to make. I also thought the subtiled was misleading as this book wasn't particularly political.

Three stars

This book came out November 28, 2017

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Freedom by Angela Merkel, narrator Juliet Stevenson

I was a little intimidated by the 27 hour listening time but was intrigued by a woman who I only knew a little about. And I'm glad that I picked up this book. Not only is it well-written, Merkel has lead a fascinating life. The narrator was a perfect fit, reading the book as I imagine Merkel would, albeit in German. 

As the foreward notes, the book is almost equal between her time out of the chancelloarship and in it. She starts at the beginning, growing up in the GDP, eastern Germany. She was born before the Berlin Wall went up, and was old enough to understand what happened when the wall came down. 

During her time as the Chancellor of Germany, Merkel dealt with any number of political pitfalls. There is a large section given to refugees in Germany. She also crossed swords with Putin and spent time with both Bush and Obama (she speaks of the latter two highly.) She speaks very... professionally about President Trump.

Four stars
This book came out January 1, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Says Us! Scripts and Quips from Says You! Vol. 2: The Words Spread by Richard Sher

Such a fun way to consume one of my favorite radio shows. It's even better to listen to them but this wasn't bad. Twenty games of six rounds each, consisting of games like defining words, guessing the best definition, and terrible (-y good?) puns. 

Best consumed slowly. 

Five stars

This book came out in October 2012

Hard copy I kept

Opinions are my own

Replaceable You by Mary Roach

I usually read Roach's books in hard copy but the audiobook was available sooner. I'm not sure if that contributed to my not enjoying this book as much as usual. Like in most of her books, Roach does a deep dive into a particular topic, this time in the ways that we enhance and recreate our own bodies. Some are practical ways like new hearts or intubation but there are also skin grafts, hair transplants, and plastic surgery that she explores. A lot of it was matter-of-fact but I was surprised to hear that one person told Roach that being intubated was a relief as it allowed her to breathe for the first time in awhile. 

Three stars

This book came out September 16, 2025

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

You Wanna Be on Top? by Sarah Hartshorne

I didn't pay attention to the subtitle when I reserved this book. I didn't realize this was a memoir and thought this was a history of ANTM. It took me a bit to pivot into enjoying this book, but I was quickly on board. 
Sarah starts her story when she's in college, her friend(s) encouraging her to try out for the show. She walks us through her tryouts with a glimpse into how her own life was edited to make her more interesting for the audience. 

Four stars

This book came out July 8, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

  Opinions are my own

You with the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate

I've been on a run of celebrity biographies lately and have to say that I enjoyed this one. Applegate talks about most of the things that I think fans would want to know about. There are a number of names redacted and she has memories that she just can't bring to the fore for various reasons but we get to know about this amazing person who has been acting since she was a child. She talks about her childhood, the famous people she's met at various stages of her life, the shows and movies that she was a part of, and how she is dealing with her MS diagnosis. 

Four stars

This book came out March 3, 2026

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Salt, Sweat & Steam by Brigid Washington

Washington opens with the story of her reason for joining the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), Joseph. She details her romance with this man and the heartbreak that occurs when he breaks up with her. So she does what any sane human would do to mend her heart, dive head first into an expensive learning program that, initially, she's not sure she should even take. 

She describes her roommates, her classes, her instructors, and the food. The storytelling around each topic is straightforward and matter of fact. 

I was lucky enough to get both an ebook and an audiobook. If you have the option, I recommend the audiobook. Washington reads it herself making it that much more personal. While the ebook was fine, the audiobook is enjoyable as many passages seem more like conversation than the written word. Overall, this book is fine but parts feel disconnected from each other, more like sections than a smooth story. The food descriptions make the book while her romance (?) with Leo definitely detracts. But Washington does show all sides of herself, even the ones that don't listen to her friends and his family not to follow this romance. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out April 28, 2026

ARCs kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own