Body, Mind and Spirits

RHS Little Book of Small-Space Gardening

Anyone else stuck in Lockdown Berlin, nomading between crowded parks, barred from almost any allotment waiting list and sadly contemplating where to get their nature fix from now? Fear not - Katy Maguire is here to help! Because even if the only outdoor space you can claim is a north-facing measly window sill up on the 14th floor (you actually have pretty good light on the 14th floor - ed), she has got some suggestions for you. Fundamentally optimistic and pragmatic, this little book is a great help to get you started on the adventure of growing plants: full of good advice, encouragement - and even an instruction on how to create a small pond on your balcony.

Come as You Are

Rightly seen as a modern classic on the subject, Nagoski sets out to reframe most of what we thought we knew about sex. Aided by a long career as a sex educator and scientist, the author briskly sets out to measure up myths about sexuality to the actual science behind it. The more theoretical parts of the book are interspersed with the case studies of three different women, who struggled with their sex lives and came to Nagoski for help. A fair amount of what she explains is truly astonishing and likely to make the reader rethink her/his entire approach to sex. The book also includes questionnaires and tasks, which will help in this regard. My only caveat is Nagoski's overly bubbly and chummy style, which tends to put strong emphasis on click-bait structure and overwrought and sligtly confusing metaphors around gardening. Considering the input though, this is a minor squibble and doesn't detract from the book's overall achievement.

Expecting Better

Expectant parents get almost as many unsolicited book recommendations as they do pieces of advice from their friends, family ... and strangers on the street.
This recommendation comes every bit as unsolicited of course but I cannot help but think it should be prescribed by every doctor in the world after the first positive pregnancy test (even before in fact).
Oster is an economist and she has made it her mission to analyse the best data out there to help women make good decisions about their pregnancies (and by extension their partners too). If the long list of pregnancy prohibitions has ever seemed strange to you, this book will help you to differentiate between the very real dangers of some substances on your baby and the foods and drinks that really aren't that dangerous at all.
Oster's explicit goal is to help people make good evidence-based decisions so the book doesn't judge those who prefer ultra caution but it does help put the choice back into pregnant women's lives.

Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment

"The hungry judges soon the sentence sign,
And wretches hang that jury-men may dine;" so goes one of the couplets in Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock" - a satirical, cynical critique of British 18th century society. The message behind this couplet is however more or less exactly what the three authors of "Noise" (if I type their names out, my character count will be shot) look at from a more scientific, less cynical standpoint. Why is that judges are more generous with sentences when their stomachs are full? Or when their football team has recently won a game? Why indeed is there such disparity between sentences/insurance quotes/grading between apparently similar cases. What the authors zone in on is the background "noise" that make our decisions and judgements less rational and measurable than we might assume. With not only an excellent explanation of the problem but also tips on how to avoid it, this is an extremely worthwhile book to examine one's own decision making skills!

Losing Eden

Among headlines of rising numbers of mental problems among teenagers and ever smaller green spaces available to children, this book is an urgent und well-researched reminder of what we're really losing. Coming at it from various angles, Jones examines the importance of nature and wild spaces for our mental and physical well-being. The benefits are so clear, in fact, that even having a hospital bed with a green view instead of one of building has been shown to improve patients' recovery, to give just one example. Her focus here is on all humans but clearly children, still developing and without much agency, are easily the worst affected. Having schools without any outdoor space, of which there are at least 20 in the UK at the moment, should not be legal. Easily my favourite nugget of knowledge was that all babies, if left to their own devices, will eat soil, which turns out to contain important microorganisms the contribute to a lifetime of better gut health and mental health. So yes, my little one might loke like some sort of hippie dracula with his little soil stained mouth - but I'm playing the long game and will not disturb him.

The Comfort Book

Many of the affirmations - which is what I would say this book is - were actually comforting. Some anecdotes were a bit boring, or I just couldn't relate. But overall a good book, also a nice gift for someone who is into selfhelp but you don't want to give them crappy or redundant content.

Eat Feel Fresh: A Contemporary, Plant-Based Ayurvedic Cookbook

Also zu aller erst ist dieses Buch einfach unglaublich schön anzusehen. Die Farben der Bilder, ob von Speisen oder Eindrücken des Landes, es ist so bunt wie Indien selbst. Aber die Optik allein macht noch kein gutes Buch. Deshalb nun hier worum es geht und was sich im Buch befindet. Es stellt die ayurvedische Heilkunst vor, geht auf basenbildende Lebensmittel ein und enthält die Möglichkeit das eigene Chakra und Dosha zu bestimmen. Dieser theoretische Teil ist, wie ich finde recht ausführlich, aber Grundlage aller folgenden Rezepte und daher unverzichtbar. Einfach los kochen je nach Lust und Laune ist hier nicht. Man muss sich da schon etwas reinfuchsen. Aber alle Rezepte, egal ob für in der Früh, Mittag oder Abend, für Snacks, Beilagen Desserts oder Getränke, alle werden erklärt. Es wird in kurzen Sätzen zusammengefasst was sie bewirkten, für was sie gut sind. Auch sind Anmerkungen in den Rezepten enthalten, wie diese für andere Doshas abgeändert werden können. Verblüfft hat mich dabei auch, dass kaum exotische Zutaten zum Einsatz kommen und die benötigten Nahrungsmittel in Deutschland größtenteils gut zu bekommen sind.
Ich jedenfalls bin gespannt darauf, möchte mich ohne jegliche Vorkenntnisse ins Abenteuer stürzen und schauen was da dran ist, an dieser Heilmethode und Ernährungsweise. Die Ashwagandha-Kokosmilch ist jedenfalls schon mal sehr lecker.

Body, Mind and Spirits

New Releases

Our recommendations

Bestseller

Our customers recommend