'French Women for All Season' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: French Women for All Seasons by Mireille Guiliano
Read by: Mireille Guiliano
Genre: Memoir / Self-help

I'll admit it. After finishing French Women Don't Get Fat I missed Mireille's common sense wisdom, anecdotes about growing up in the French countryside and her accent. So, I was delighted to find my little library had her sequel.

Listening to her thoughts about eating in season and for pleasure was such a relaxing way to spend my commute.

Sure, some of her advice is a little crazy or not at all based in reality. Her most outlandish story is about savoring one banana. Eating it for dessert ... on a dainty plate ... with a knife and fork ... and being too full/satisfied to eat the whole thing. So the second half goes into the fridge for later. Huh?

And I do so wish I had a weekly farmer's market to go to, packed with goodies from a large assortment of farms. I don't. And certainly not in walking or peddling distance. But I do agree with her about eating seasonally and locally. And I'm really trying to cultivate my eating pleasures and compensating when I've over indulged. Really! I'm trying!

Awww, Mireille! I miss her already.

Grade: Green Light

'Made By Hand' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World by Mark Frauenfelder
Ready by: Kirby Heyborne
Genre: Memoir/How To

I'm all for making by hand, so I thought this audiobook might be stuffed with fun ideas and tips.

Nope. It wasn't bad but without illustrations, it was hard to follow what was being talked about. Clearly, it's aimed at geeky men who like to tweak their iPods and soup-up hybrid cars. I do not fall in this category.

I might even question the wisdom of such a book to BE in audio, at all. I can't imagine building a guitar using a cigar box without some visual cues.

Grade: Red Light

'The Difference' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: The Difference by Jean Chatzky
Read by: Jean Chatzky
Genre: Self Help

Perky and smart, I've seen Jean Chatzky on the Today Show a bunch of times but I'd never bought her books. But, I could use some financial tips and, sure, I'd like to be a millionaire, so I pulled this one off the shelf. I figured, if even 1/4 of this information gets through my thick, numbers-deficient brain, it would be a win.

What I got was some good advice not all about money.

The Difference, Jean states in her clear, positive voice, isn't about being born with a trust fund or knowing your way around Wall Street (although those things certainly help), it's a state of mind. Your attitude. She sent a questionnaire to a bunch of people, including millionaires, and mined some common themes.

Interestingly, luck plays no part in financial wealth. In fact, Jean found the more you believed in luck, the less likely you were to be rich. Rich people believe they had some luck, yes, but earned what they have. Wealthy folks also sleep less.

So I didn't learn all there is about saving and spending money, but I liked the advice I got and thinking about my financial future during my commutes wasn't a bad use of time.

Grade: Greenlight