Author: Oliver Sacks
By Picador

A Music-Loving Neurologist Tells Us About Extreme Forms of Musical Interaction, 2008-01-26
Musicophilia made me realize how others perceive music. It was a shock. I assumed that everyone experienced music the same way. Wrong!

Do you ever ask anyone what happens when they hear music? I didn't before I read this book. Now I plan to ask everyone.

Dr. Sacks has the kind of fine writing style and awareness of music that makes his tales seem as appealing as the cases that Dr. Sigmund Freud wrote about. As Dr. Sacks pointed out, Dr. Freud didn't care for music so that gentleman failed to investigate and report on many of the phenomena in this book.

We don't exactly know why the mind and body interact with music in the ways that they do. Part is undoubtedly heredity. Part is undoubtedly due to exposure to musical influences. Some may relate to the language spoken in the home. Difficulties with seeing may also be an influence. Injuries to the body and brain can play a large role. Dr. Sacks does a masterly job of using case after case to explore one aspect or another of these dimensions so that a complex picture emerges that's even more remarkable than the brain processes involved in reading.

One of the biggest surprises in the book is that musical talent seems to be inhibited by some parts of the brain. In similar way, music can also inhibit some other brain functions that we would like to get rid of.

I had always wondered about those with perfect pitch, and the book explores that. There are also wonderful sections on other seemingly inherited musical abilities.

Dr. Sacks adds a lot of perspective to the history of music by making observations about various composers and the way that their compositions reflect certain musical abilities than others while explaining how the mental processes are different. Today, we can map the brain's activation in order to get clues about why certain behaviors are possible. That final perspective adds a lot to the case histories.

If you are like me, you'll find some of the cases to be heart-wrenching. I was comforted a bit to realize that music made those sad lives better so there's reason to rejoice in that sense.

So what was my big personal discovery? When I listen to classical music of any kind, I can choreograph a ballet along with costumes, sets, and props to go along with the music that I see in color when I close my eyes . . . even if the music has never been used for ballet. I didn't realize that others usually don't do that. What a wonder!

Author: J. Mark G. Williams, John D. Teasdale, Zindel V. Segal, Jon Kabat-Zinn
By Guilford Publications

The Penny Dropped, 2008-06-14
Having suffered depression for 2 years following a particular incident and very bad year this book allowed me to connect my emotional and physical systoms. Explaining in plain english what to do to stop the self turmoil. I am not saying this offers a cure but it certainly offers everyday coping mechanisims that are easy to introduce and stop decline. Highly recommended.

Author: Christine A Padesky, Dennis Greenberger
By Guilford Publications

The old made new, 2008-03-07
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Author: Frederic Delavier
By Human Kinetics Europe Ltd

Excellant Illustrations!, 2008-06-19
I personally used most of the exercises to great affect. The illustrations really assist to get the exercises to pinpoint precision. It also assists in avoiding injury with the highlighted warnings. I was not after a huge book, its portable enough to fit in any sports bag to have a browse before starting a workout. The instructions are very easy to follow, a great read for all seeking to improve their workout regime.

Author: Paul Gilbert
By Robinson Publishing

My crutch, 2008-04-11
I was lent this book by my CPN not long after I was first diagnosed with quite severe depression in August 2007 & it soon became something of a crutch for me - I had to order a copy for myself so her other patients could benefit from her copy. I agree that, initally at least, it probably wouldn't work on its own but in conjunction with therapy and/or medication it is a great book. It was good to read & think 'I know that feeling' - it made me feel like there was still some fine thread linking me to the world people around me inhabit.

In a strange way it helps that Paul Gilbert is a clinical psychologist who has himself suffered with depression; it means he writes in both a practical and informative style. The book is medical without being hard to follow & helpful without being pink fluffy cloudy.

Author: Sue Gerhardt
By Brunner-Routledge

Why love matters is a conversation starter, 2008-03-10
Taking the book with me on the bus or at the Waitrose checkout or at the barbers shop or Sussex University its title attracts attention. In the brief encounters which follow I enjoy speaking to parents whose infants obviously enjoy what's going on with the adults. I'm able to affirm that the love care and attention they give the child in those early years do make a difference and will set her up for life. To older people, and I am elderly, I speak of the 'forgiving space' that Sue Gerhart gives me in which to understand my chequered life. As Kierkegaard said 'Life must be lived foward, but it can only be understood backwards.'

Author: Felicity Taylor, Rosalie Hutton, Glenn Hutton
By Learning Matters Ltd

Worth the £15, 2008-06-12
It did piss me off that I had to pay £65 to take a test when I already had the grades to get into medical school, but that's how it is these days. And seeing as I forked out £65 for the test, why should I fork out another £15 for a book to help me pass? BECAUSE THIS £15 WILL HELP YOU FULFILL YOUR AMBITION OF GETTING INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL! It's that simple. This book helped me get round the crazy abstract reasoning section by explaining what the exam questions were actually asking of me. If it wasn't for this book I would not have scored a 700 average and certainly would not have my place secured on the graduate entry 4 year course at Newcastle. BUY THIS BOOK! £15 Vs. a fulfilling career - you decide!

Author: Carolyn Boyes
By Collins

By Pharmaceutical Press

Author: Allen Carr
By Penguin Books Ltd

the world can't thank Mr Carr enough, 2008-07-04
I have smoked for 13 years 5-10 cigarettes a day. In the last few years I have contemplated quitting, but never felt I could do it. I knew that I wouldn't last quitting only with will power, I definitely didn't believe in the NRT. I stumbled across a recommendation of this book on an internet forum and thought, that this might be it. I will try. Went to the book shop immediately, got the book, read it in about 10 days - slowly and carefully, and quit. That was three months ago. And I know I won't smoke again ever in my life. Mr Carr developed a very clever, kind and unpatronising method and in my opinion he needs a posthumous Nobel Prize for what he has done for millions of people so far and what he will keep on doing for millions of people in the future. My boyfriend quit as well, 3 weeks after me and is a very happy non-smoker. Mr Carr RIP.