As you can see from the accompanying photograph, taken by Tulsa World staffer Brandi Ball, a lot of books come to the newsroom. And by "to the newsroom," I mean, "to the table behind my desk."
We get everything: hefty non-fiction tomes of history, finance, biography, philosophy; memoirs of the famous and the "who the heck is this person, and why would anyone want to read about his/her miserable existence, even if they do claim to have found inner peace/closure/God/etc. when all is said and done?"; self-published poetry with earnest cover letters attesting to the importance of the verses contained within; mysteries; romances; cookbooks.
And self-help books.
Of course we -- being something of a one-man show when it comes to matter literary at the Tulsa World -- can't read and comment on everything.
But as this is the beginning of a new year, it behooves us to take a slightly closer look at the books we receive that offer the promise of remaking us in the image of whoever wrote said book.
The way we'll do this is through "Rules of Thumb," which will be a series of random blogs that recount what we've encountered by thumbing randomly through a given self-help and/or inspirational book.
For example, sitting before us is a copy of "Power Up: Unleash Your Natural Energy, Revitalize Your Health and Feel 10 Younger" by Woodson Merrell, M.D., with Kathleen Merrell.
This paperback, published by Simon and Schuster, also "Includes the 21-
Day Plan for Optimal Energy, Radiant Health, Ideal Weight."
So here goes: Page 178 -- from the chapter "Power Rest: How to Recharge Your Batteries:
"A Good Pillow -- This is an easy change that can make a huge difference...A very convincing 2001 German Sleep Medicine Lab study found that changing to a medium-firm pillow (the firmest was of no advantage) significantly improved both non-REM and REM sleep for people who have trouble sleeping without other underlying conditions or causes....I highly recommend that you examine the range of nonallergenic foam pillows on the market and get one....you also want to toss your pillow into the dryer every few months to kill dust mites."
Personally, I feel more rested already...
