Books for Dudes: Spring Self-Improvement
Featuring Tal Ben-Shahar, C.J. Peterson, and James Wesley RawlesBy Douglas Lord — Library Journal, 4/1/2010
I gained about ten pounds this winter—gross. Not only that, but the kitchen faucet’s outflow has slowed to a trickle, the garage door opener broke, my soon-to-be teenager is giving me lip, a total assh0le is in the cube next door, and oh, my goodness, you know what? I’m feeling a bit unprepared for all of this on multiple fronts. Spring has sprung, time to amp it up; books to the rescue!
In my humble opinion, self-improvement comes at a premium. Gains in one area (dietary pleasure, say) are often offset by failures in another (yeah, tubby, unsightly weight gain). Like, I got a bread machine from my pal Ray, but, damn, if that bread isn’t so good that I’m constantly making— and eating—bread. Keffir, the delicious yogurty beverage that traces its roots to the Caucasus, is supposedly good for you, though maybe not in the quantities I drink it. And the time I spend having fun outdoors is time taken away from spackling that freaking drywall where the doorknob hits or getting one step ahead of my teen daughter via a psychology book. Gains in all areas have to be bumped along constantly, like tending a garden. It’s the yin and the yang. Khrushchev and Kennedy. Mary Anne and Ginger.
So while I became an indoor cycling instructor last month, ask me about knee compression problems in two or three years. My LDL level is so low, it can’t be read by the machine. But you bet that three bags of groceries cost me $83 last Tuesday.
So here are some books on bettering relationships, getting healthy and happy, eating (or not eating, as the case may be), and surviving.
Backyard Homestead: Produce All the Food You Need on Just a Quarter Acre! Storey Pub., dist. by Workman. 2009. 368p. ed. by Carleen Madigan. ISBN 978-1-60342-138-6. pap. $18.95. GARDENING
For dudes who want to get back to the land when they have only a wee bit of land to get back to, this is a great introduction to home vegetables, backyard fruits and nuts, herbs, poultry, meat and dairy, and food from the wild. It covers the crop growing gamut: small-container gardening, growing from seeds, vertical and trellised agriculture. There’s basic coverage of all our vegetable friends, from the crazily named rutabaga to the humble leek. There’s how to on storing fruits and vegetables in glass jars (called “canning”; shouldn’t it be called “jarring”?). The sections on raising goats for meat and milk are fascinating; give me a Nubian dairy goat (tip: look for a soft, wide, round udder. But who doesn’t know that?), plus a few African Pygmies for meat and, dude, I am set for life—until they try to take away my remote control, that is. There is even how to for growing, harvesting, threshing, and winnowing your own grains (e.g., barley, rye, buckwheat) and baking bread. The next adventure in dudeland: yogurt making.
Ben-Shahar, Tal. Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment. McGraw-Hill. 2007. 224p. ISBN 978-0-07-149239-3. $21.95. PSYCH
C’mon, get happy! sang Keith Partridge and the gang in 1970*. Ben-Shahar (BS to his friends) is a professor at Harvard, but don’t let that throw you. His personable approach to positive psychology shows, through examples and explanations, how dudes can mix short-term pleasure with long-term meaningfulness. The key is constant self-awareness. This is good, clear, and focused; dudes unafraid to stretch their gray matter will benefit immensely from the output of BS’s big brain. Differentiating between actual happiness and other states that Americans often confuse with happiness—wealth, success, advancement, pleasure—is itself eye-opening. BS advises readers to work their life’s calling. If grasshopper, you ask, what’s that? Try Richard Nelson Bolles’s The Three Boxes of Life and How To Get Out of Them.
Carter, Jay. Nasty People: How To Stop Being Hurt by Them Without Stooping to Their Level. 2d rev. ed. McGraw-Hill. 2003. 112p. ISBN 978-0-07-141022-9. pap. $9.95. PSYCH
In this provocative 100-pager, Carter explains that when folks go from occasional jerk to full-time jackass, they often become “invalidators” who use “various suppressive mechanisms to chop away” at the self-esteem of others. Even good friends can be invalidators, and you can spot them with their giveaway characteristics: egotism, arrogance, entitlement, and feathered pimp hats. Oddly, most of the invalidators in this book are she’s. Freudian? Methinks not. Carter cannily explains how full-time victims become trapped over long periods of time and how the cycle of invalidation can pass across generations and through Jungian archetypes. Reader beware, however: solutions are a bit vague. Suggested coping tactics include ignoring or mirroring the jerk, or sawing them up into little chunks for gradual disposal into a fast-flowing stream. Breaking negative patterns (especially with spouses) takes time and effort, but many nasty bosses can be manipulated into affinity. The sensible moral of the story is to “[b]e careful whom you depend on for your self-esteem.” Other books in the series include Nasty Bosses and Big Nasty Men at Turnpike Service Stations.
Creative Pub. Eds. Black & Decker Complete Photo Guide to Home Improvement: More Than 200 Value-Adding Remodeling Projects. Creative Pub. International. 2009. 560p. ISBN 978-1-58923-452-9. $35. DIY
In which denim-clad men and work-booted, pony-tailed, mom-jean-wearing women measure, fix, and construct various aspects of homes. Coverage of the entire home, from attic to basement, are illustrated well enough to make a grown man drool. From installing a new vanity to a sleeper floor in the basement, this offers enough instruction to step you through the major operations of each project, but watch out—it does not deal with covering everything that can (and will) go wrong or be freaky with your miserable excuse for a house. From installing metal ceilings to ceramic tile to three ways (three way switches, you filthy-minded galoot!), it’s all here. Other topics to pique your dude radar: installing wallboard. Bullnose edging. Installing an undersink garbage disposal. It might as well be a picture of Jessica Simpson—you can’t look away, can you?
Keirsey, David. Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, and Intelligence. 2d rev. ed. Prometheus Nemesis Book Co. 1998. 584p. ISBN 978-1-885705-02-0. pap. $15.95. PSYCH
This huge tome is probably the closest we’ll get to that most unscientific area of life: figuring people out. Though it uses many elements of Meyers-Briggs, it’s less a personality test than an über “typing” tool that sorts people according to observable behaviors. It does so not reduce people to some sort of lowest-common denominator, but as an aid to communication. The insights readers gain will foster cooperation among people who don’t normally relate, like Bret Baier and Barack Obama. The insights one gets about one’s self (unless you’re schizophrenic, then it’s one’s selves) and those around us are eerily accurate. It typed me as a jerkoff right off the bat. Each of the four main temperaments—artisans, guardians, idealists, rationals—has different gifts and qualities. PUM has lots of food for thought for readers to sift through and consider, along with clues about people’s traits that are helpful and practical, maybe even explaining that dude in the cube next door. He’s not surly; he’s a rational. Three areas of life are explored: mating, parenting, and leading. If something helps families or workmates relate, I’m all for it. Because, as even that moron idealist Jean-Paul Sartre knew, hell is other people.
Popular Mechanics Eds. When Duct Tape Just Isn’t Enough: Quick Fixes for Everyday Disasters. Hearst, dist. by Sterling. 2007. 216p. index. ISBN 978-1-58816-732-3. $12.95 with spiral binding. DIY
The “everyday dilemmas and ‘disasters’ we face,” write the editors, “range from the serious to the merely annoying, but all are cause for concern to those who care about their homes and yards.” This book provides over 200 genius fast fixes with simple line illustrations that even a savant like master tape measure guy will find helpful. The quick toolbox tips alone are worth the book’s price: store blackboard chalk with metal tools to suck up moisture and prevent rust. Freeze paint-laden brushes without cleaning them; once thawed they’re ready to go again (provided it’s the same paint). Each chapter contains dozens of fixes on topics ranging from maintenance and cleaning (hydrogen peroxide and a toothbrush on grout lines, ammonia and dish soap for those all-too-frequent and pesky blood stains on your carpet) to structural quandaries (repeatedly apply nail polish to fill a BB gunshot hole in a window). A hearty index tops things off as satisfyingly as a masseuse finishes off a happy ending. (See LJ‘s original review.)
Rawles, James Wesley. How To Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times. Plume. 2009. 336p. ISBN 978-0-452-29583-4. pap. $17. DIY
Rawles’s book is intended to prepare dudes for when America goes in the dumper due to an influenza pandemic, terrorist attack, comet strike, massive currency devaluation, or whatever calamity breaks what he terms “the big machine.” Not only no more Wal-Mart, but no more electricity or running water. Can you imagine? John Lennon could when he sang, “Imagine all the people…living in their pooo/ You oooh ooo oo oooooh….” These aren’t paranoid ravings, it could totally happen, and Rawles persuades readers to be as prepared as possible. Living sans power for even one day is, for most of us, uncomfortable. Doing it in the wintertime with a baby with little or no civil/government help gets into Scaryland (see The Road). A “deep larder” is essential, as are tools, medical supplies, vehicles, and means of self-defense. Rawles is neither alarmist nor reactionary, just an advocate for commonsense preparation. CPR, first aid, volunteer firefighting, canning, and amateur radio are among the most useful mad skillz a dude can have. Checklists—fitness lists (keep dentistry up to date and your back strong) and food lists (have a huge stew pot able to fit a goat)—help organize this reasonable methodology for the hell that approacheth.
Villepigue, James & Rick Collins. Alpha Male Challenge: The 10-Week Plan To Burn Fat, Gain Muscle and Build True Alpha Attitude. Rodale. 2009. 336p. illus. ISBN 978-1-59486-931-0. $26.99. HEALTH
“Your engine has stalled. The only thing moving fast and furious is your hairline.” Well, my mine may be all gray, I do have a full head of monkey hair. The authors claim that I’m a mere 70 days away from “a revolutionary transformation of [my] body and mind.” Will it work? Hell, yeah! It’s not just about diet and hard bodies either—building psychological toughness is a program goal. Workouts and encouragement are supplemented with advice, suggestions, and attitude drills. Nothing to do around the house? Get off your ass and help out a neighbor. Take an online or adult ed course (like Rawles, above, told you to) or learn a new language. Gym-heavy and crossFit workouts cover 100-plus illustrated pages. Incorporating fit choices into your daily routine earns you alpha points (a system way better than Deal-a-Meal). While taking the stairs gets you two points and walking five minutes to lunch gets you five, seeing food more as fuel than happiness/gratification is the key. The journey is the reward.
Walters, Terry. Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source with More Than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You. Sterling. 2009. 304p. illus. index. ISBN 978-14027-6814-9. $30. HEALTH
“For maximum nutrition, we’re better off eating close to the source and relying on Mother Nature for seasonal produce to keep us in balance,” writes Walters. She also encourages us to eat. The book’s bulk (81.48 percent, in fact) is made up of recipes with a wee bit of information about a key ingredient (e.g., tomatoes) and a tip or two (e.g., refrigeration kills their flavor). Thus we consider arame, a sea vegetable. Even the word is weirdly attractive, like that chick from high school with the lazy eye. It ain’t freaky, and Walters provides a recipe highlighting it along with lots of other recipes for healthy versions of familiar foods (e.g., raisin nuts bars). But it’s not just recipes, and, refreshingly, it doesn’t treat nutrition and dietary approach as distinct entities. It’s really a realistic and holistic primer on the benefits of eating food in its natural state. “[T]he more our food is processed,” she writes, “the more its natural nutrients are lost.” True dat. Tips (e.g., change over to unprocessed foods gradually) complement introductions to tools (e.g., rice cooker), cooking methods, and what to look for in grains, veggies, oils, etc. The index and glossary allow you to find stuff fast.
Zinczenko, David & Ted Spiker. The Abs Diet: The Six-Week Plan To Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life. Rodale. 2006. 304p. illus. ISBN 978-1-59486216-8. $15.99. HEALTH
I’m 40. I’ll do anything for a six-pack except diet and exercise. This book, an incredibly worthy primer on eating healthily, helped. It even helped my grumpiness. It’s not a diet per se; it’s a dietary approach championing certain foods, like almonds (and other nuts) and raspberries (and other berries) that fuel you better than crullers. You’ll burn nutritionally dense fuel cleaner and faster (like Evel Knievel!). Avoiding saturated fats will also help, both in terms of your general heart health and s well as decreasing the amount of crap calories you throw at your abdomen. Dudes will see most of the benefits around their bellies because that’s where we store fat (there are two types: subcutaneous and visceral. Both suck). The Abs Diet has no pills, creams, gels, or powders. Along with smoothies made with peanut butter and oatmeal, there’s sensible eating advice (e.g., eat small, frequent meals; drink lots of water) and many exercises for your core. It ain’t magic, but it works for me.
Extra Credit: Diet Don’ts
Smith, Ian K. The Fat Smash Diet: The Last Diet You’ll Ever Need. St. Martin’s. 2006. 160p. illus. ISBN 978-0-312-36313-0. pap. $12.95.
Smith, Ian K. Extreme Fat Smash Diet. St. Martin’s. 2007. 240p. illus. ISBN 978-0-312-37120-3. pap. $13.95.
Smith, Ian K. The 4 Day Diet. St. Martin’s. 2009. 256p. illus. ISBN 978-0-312-60559-9. pap. $14.99. HEALTH
Aside from having the most insincere smile of anyone I’ve ever seen, Smith (TV’s Biggest Loser series) offers crappy advice. Insulting exclamation points! and PHRASES IN CAPS like DON’T QUIT! add insult to the injury that is FSD. A “detox phase” eliminates unnatural foods and advocates fruits and vegetables, but, unbelievably, disallows healthy meats and fish. Why? Sans explanations or nutritional advice, Smith moves on to a “foundation phase” that reintroduces “healthy” items, including many ridiculous suspects like diet soda and Rice Krispies. (Dude, there are superior sources for any nutrient found in Rice Krispies.) The diets in EFSD are constructed so that “most people will lose 12 pounds after three weeks.” If you’re a dude large enough to lose 12 pounds in three weeks, don’t! Losing that much weight in that short amount of time is going to hurt your internal organs more than it can help you. Most of the information is commonsense: stay hydrated, reduce stress, get enough rest. True, as Smith writes, “bagels are not your friends.” But his suggested replacement breakfast of instant oatmeal with fruit rate pretty high on the glycemic index. Have you not seen Sugar Stacks? A little Terry Walters goes a long way here. The “best” of the titles is 4DD, which instructs a wee teeny bit about reasonable goals and motivation. “Train your mind,” writes Smith, “to recognize and seek the more enduring pleasure” of “good” food. But like the other books, the advice is mysterious. Eat Cocoa Puffs and pizza, but heaven forbid yogurt with fruit on the bottom. If you are age six or under, go ahead and enjoy your Marshmallow Froot Loops. Otherwise, c’mon. All the titles have additional info like recipes, BMI calculators, and total bullshit about caloric expenditures during exercise. But Smith is remedial stuff; if you need to be told that donuts are a no-fly zone, you have more than diet problems; you have stupid problems. Move more, eat less and better.
*And yes, I still get a joyful frisson watching that cartoon partridge shake off her shell.Talkback
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