Three Books

"My Year With Eleanor" by Noelle Hancock Harper-Collins 295 pages $24.99
The book opens with her sitting on a beach in Aruba with her boyfriend. Her cell phone rings - "You're fired."

Back in New York, she notices an inspirational sign in a Starbucks - "Do one thing every day that scares you," Eleanor Roosevelt. Our Heroine decides to do this which is more or less a direct steal from Julie Powell's "Julia and Julie."

I made it to page 8 where I read "...my shrink a few days later at our bi-weekly session..." Slap! Book closed. I don't have the time, patience or energy to read another whiner from a selfish, navel-gazing spoiled brat. But, what else could be expected from the woman who was the founding writer of US Weekly's entertainment blog?

"Eat Like A Man, the Only Cookbook a Man Will Ever Need" by Esquire editors 223 pages $30
Buy an olivewood stirring spoon because it's a dense wood and unlikely to fray out anytime soon. Recipes included Jalapeno and Ancho Oatmeal, macaroni pie (mac and cheese baked in a pie tin) and a page on steaks. "Red" cattle are the same breed that produces kobe beef. A Texas firm HeartBrandBeef, started with 11 head of these cattle which were the only herd outside of Japan. These cattle were guarded by the Texas Rangers for 14 years while they grew to become a herd of 5,000.

Interspersed among the how-tos and recipes are interviews with chefs, essays on cooking and food-based fiction.

"Trust Me, I'm Dr. Ozzy - Advice from Rock's Ultimate Survivor" by Ozzie Osbourne Grand Central Publishing 274 pages $26.99
This is a very funny book. I'm enjoying it immensely because if Osbouorne did write it, he's matured considerably from his bat-head dining days. His advice is practical, his sentiments seem sincere and his euphemisms inspired.

And for medical junkies and hypochondriacs who are always wondering, "Hmm - should I call the doctor?" this is an excellent substitute consultant if you can't get through to your own doctor.