The Instinct Diet by Susan B. Roberts, Ph.D. and Betty Kelly Sargent

This review is contributed by my husband. He really likes this diet philosophy, and is doing quite well with his changes in eating habits.

This book comes complete with much praise from "professionals" in the field of diet, weight loss, and health. The authors have many, many years experience in clinical research, primarily conducted at Tufts University, and this volume is dotted with many anecdotal stories from persons involved in the clinical trials of the diet techniques.

One soon realizes that the foundation for the Instinct Diet is a self-searching analysis of your personal relationship with food and eating. The five instincts detailed most certainly give a new insight into current (and past) food consumption habits. The first section of the book deals with these instincts.

Instinct number one is hunger. The book details means of confronting hunger head-on, and insuring that healthy meals and snacks satisfy hunger cravings.
Instinct number two is availability, and covers rather simple direction for keeping your kitchen environment free from those food items that can and will sabotage your best efforts at control.
Instinct number three is calorie density. Now you begin to get an education in calories and not only their effect on your body, but also an expose of the volume of calories in certain foods. Tips are given on making low-calorie foods more appetizing. The "sandwiching" technique is clever, to say the least.
Instinct number four is familiarity. Routines and rituals are graciously bashed and condemned. Direction is provided to assist even the most die hard, stuck in a rut individual the means to alter their comfortable, non-healthy eating habits.
The final instinct is variety. The premise here is that a restricted variety of diet often leads to hindering weight control. Variety as a tool can be skillfully manipulated to reduce the intake of unhealthy foods, and increase the intake of healthy foods. Clever, indeed.

Once the reader has completed the first section of the book devoted to the five instincts, the authors turn to the meat and potatoes of the volume. Uh, excuse me, I mean the broiled fish and non-starchy vegetable portion of the book. Shopping guides are listed, with detailed descriptions of items to be purchased in order to start the diet plans. Recipes make up a large portion of the book, with a wide variety (remember instinct five?) of dishes presented.

The program outlined in detail is comprised of three stages: The initial two weeks, Stage "I", followed by six weeks of the Stage "II" Keep It Going diet plan, and the Stage "III" maintenance plan. All three stages are explained in great detail.

The authors bring real life examples of success stories, coupled with the feeling of genuine concern they feel for you, the reader. With my diabetes prompted dietary requirements, I have "tweaked" this program somewhat for my personal use. However, simply reading the sections about the five instincts provided for me, as one of the book's references stated, a real paradigm shift in my thinking concerning my eating habits. I strongly recommend this diet book for that reason alone.

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

The novel, If Beale Street Could Talk, is primarily written from the perspective of a young pregnant female named Tish. So what’s the big deal? A lot of stories are written from the perspective of a female. This story is unique because the author is not a pregnant female, the author has never been a pregnant female, and most likely never will be a pregnant female. Mr. James Baldwin is all male. If Beale Street Could Talk is considered one of America’s classics, could this be because a male author is successful as writing female? Is Baldwin breaking the barrier between masculine and feminine writing? Can he be considered a genderless author? I think not.

Note that I said the story is PRIMARILY written from the female perspective. At one point Baldwin transitions and the fathers lead the story. I do not feel that Baldwin is a genderless writer, in fact, I feel that he is an extreme gendered writer, but unique in that he has mastered both very feminine ideas and masculine ideas. Let me explain with a few examples.

Tish is pregnant and the father, Fonny, is in jail. While Tish has a very supportive family she cannot help but feel alone sometimes. Whenever she feels alone she remembers her baby. Baldwin does an excellent job of describing how a woman physically feels when she is pregnant. “Then, it [the baby] turns, beating the water, churning, obviously becoming unspeakably bored in this element, and wanting out. We are beginning to have a somewhat acrid dialogue, this thing and I—it kicks, and I smash an egg on the floor, it kicks, and suddenly the coffeepot is upside down on the table, it kicks…” (pg, 158). Baldwin is able to explain how the baby is constantly interrupting Tish and by talking about the baby turning and “beating water” Baldwin seems to be describing something only the mother can feel, not someone on the outside feeling the belly. Baldwin takes a stand and makes it clear that he knows what is going on by using words like “obviously becoming unspeakably bored”. There is no playroom; he does not leave this section open for interpretation.

Like I said, and to prove my argument, Baldwin not only writes extremely well as a woman, he also writes extremely well for a man. There is a part in the book where Joseph (Tish’s father) and Frank (Fonny’s father) are sitting in a bar discussing what the two will do to help Fonny get out of jail. This part of the story is heavy dialogue between the two men. The story is still “in Tish’s view” but she does not play a role in what is happening, she is simply discussing events that she heard about later (122). Frank expresses his love for his son. He describes Fonny as “…a real sweet manly little boy, wasn’t scared of nothing—except maybe his Mama. He didn’t understand his Mama…I don’t know what I should have done. I ain’t no woman. And there’s some things only a woman can do with a child.” He expresses that women are supposed to be raising the kids because they can do something men cannot. Frank feels bad that he could not “save” Fonny from jail, so what does Frank do, he blames the woman. Patriarchy anyone?

Baldwin is able to take two sides, Tish and Frank, and be very feminine and very masculine. Baldwin can describe a woman’s physical feelings of being pregnant yet he can also portray a patriarchal idea. Even though he can do both, I would not call him genderless, but rather gender extreme, for both genders.

Cross by James Patterson

Cross is the 12th offering by James Patterson showcasing Alex Cross, master forensic detective. You are presented with all the details of the horrific unsolved murder of Alex’s wife, which occurred years ago in the series timeline.

Cross is pulled into a search for a demented serial killer, known as the Butcher, by his former partner John Sampson. Having left the FBI and now building a private counseling service, Cross reluctantly joins in the search for Michael Sullivan, the Butcher. Lo and behold, Cross soon realizes that there is a tie between the Butcher and his wife Maria’s murder.

Patterson weaves a tale of mayhem and murder, with the story told from the viewpoint of both Cross and Sullivan. Rapid fire short chapters fill the book, as Patterson takes the reader back and forth between Cross and Sullivan. Graphic violence becomes, unfortunately in this case, more important than plot development. I was disappointed in the lack of character in this Patterson novel.

There is plenty of action in Cross, replete with Cross, the Butcher, FBI agents, and an assortment of mob characters who are ironically also after the Butcher. You may enjoy Cross as a quick read. Patterson however, has produced better quality stories.

Cross Country by James Patterson

Cross Country is the 14th in Patterson’s series of mystery/thrillers featuring the brilliance of forensic Detective Alex Cross. Cross has seen it all: murder, mayhem, and madness at its worse. At least until this story was penned. The descriptions of human cruelty and depravity offered in this thriller present us with the most graphic, unsettling scenes yet portrayed by Patterson.

The story really begins when a gang of ruthless teenagers invade a home, then proceed to terrorize and kill and entire family of five. Cross is called to the scene by his lover/fellow Detective Brianna Stone (Bree) and discovers that the mother of the massacred family is none other than his first romantic involvement from college days, Eleanor Cox. More grisly murders occur in the Washington DC area, all connected by one thread: All victims and their families were investigating the crime syndicate controlled by the Nigerian warlord Tiger. In addition, Cross discovers that his first love, killed by the gang, was recently in (you guessed it) Nigeria, Africa. “Ellie” was working on a book exposing the rampant crime in central Africa. Cross fishes for information from the CIA, but comes away with nothing but the feeling that there is more to the story than the CIA is willing to admit.

Cross heads to Nigeria in pursuit of the Tiger, having come up short in the pursuit of the warlord in the U.S. In true Alex Cross style, he immediately finds trouble in Nigeria. Corrupt officials, unspeakable crimes, and graphic violence meet and follow him across Nigeria. He ends up in an African prison, where for three long days he endures torture until the CIA finally springs him. By the time Cross is deported, the body count has reached horrific proportions.

Back in the States, tables are turned when Cross realizes that the Tiger is back, hunting Cross. The story becomes typical Patterson and the ending does not disappoint. However, this yarn is more action than the usual psychological fare Patterson’s readers usually expect. Warning: Not kidding about the graphic nature of the material.