These New Nonfiction Titles are Hot, Hot, Hot

The phrases range from "Old age is not for sissies" to "Motherhood is not for sissies." As many "women of a certain age" will tell you, menopause also fits into the "not for sissies" category. Besides never being able to remember where you put things and why you walked into a room (this is labeled by experts as "trouble concentrating"), there are other joyful symptoms, not the least of these being hot flashes. I used to think hot flashes would actually be quite nice, seeing as how I am normally a cold natured person, but personal experience is telling me otherwise. If being put in a microwave oven on a high setting until you reach your boiling point is "quite nice," then I've hit the jackpot. Hot flashes are what sell fans and air conditioners that have settings rivaling ice age proportions. "The dead of winter" holds a certain appeal when a hot flash hits, because it's way cheaper to go outside when your body temperature goes haywire than to wait for the air conditioning to get up to speed. The Chinese, however, see the middle age years of a woman's life as a "Second Spring." In "Second Spring: Dr. Mao's Hundreds of Natural Secrets for Women to Revitalize and Regenerate at Any Age," the menopause years and beyond are met with special herbs, tonics, exercise and supplements that allow women to rejuvenate their bodies, minds and spirits in ways that traditional hormone replacement therapy and other medications cannot. Dr. Mao, where have you been all my life?

This new nonfiction title is just waiting to be checked out from the shelves of the Jasper County Public Library, along with these other new nonfiction titles.

Taking on a series of life-altering challenges leads A.J. Jacobs on one adventure after another in "The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life As An Experiment." This hilarious book finds the author going to the Academy Awards disguised as a movie star, reasoning that by doing this he can better understand the warping effects of fame and fortune. Another adventure leads Jacobs on a quest to commit to the use of cutting edge science in an all out effort to use only rational thinking, thus making the best possible decisions from what to buy at the grocery store to how to talk to his kids. Complete and utter honesty ushers in another of Jacobs' escapades, encouraging readers to "remove the filter between the brain and mouth" in a "radical honesty movement."

Meatless meals need not be bland when you check out "Vegan Lunch Box Around the World" by Jennifer McCann. Balanced international and American menus that include 100 recipes from across the globe offer meat, egg, and dairy-free fruit and veggie recipes that will please even the pickiest of eaters and offer a variety of palate pleasing vegan lunches to pack.

Gender stereotypes have been a subject of angst and debate for centuries. The difference between the male and female psyche have been examined by neuroscientist, Lisa Eliot, and after years of exhaustive research, Eliot zeroes in on the precise differences between boys and girls, erasing some of the myths and stereotypes that have followed the sexes over the years in "Pink Brain, Blue Brain" by Lisa Eliot.

When it comes to books, you may prefer to stick to Hot Topics, or you may run Hot 'n Cold about what you read. You may just like to read them for some Hot Fun in the Summertime, but if I were you, I'd get 'em while They're Red Hot. In any case, I have to wonder if you agree with my Pink Brain when I ask, is it hot in here, or is it just me?