Christie Aschwanden

I always appreciate books that can lead to immediate, useful action. Aschwanden's sensible assessment of the world of sports recovery is one such book, arguably the most valuable fitness book I've read because those actions are primarily about things we can stop doing. Once the evidence is fully explored, sports recovery is primarily about rest, especially sleep. Compression, cryo, supplements, and all the other treatments don't really seem to matter. If they do matter, it's likely for a show more combination of placebo effect and for the benefit that the time spent on treatments often mandates periods of inactivity. The author has both the sport and research cred to make her conclusions convincing. I just recovered some time and a new outlook on my weekly PT plan. show less

TL;DR: sleep beats all comers which are basically tailored placebos.

I held off on reading Aschwanden's book for a long time in fear of it being about "woo" that seems rife in exercise science adjacent communities. Instead of influencer talking points, Aschwanden instead presents a level-headed look at what's become a highly commercialized industry designed to exploit FOMO.

Beautiful Chickens. Really, the name says it all. This book is for those who love chickens (of the live type, not of the take-away food variety). It contains exquisitely styled chickens (yes, they did get washed and blow-dried) posing for the camera. It’s not just your average garden variety chickens and the more popular breeds (such as the Rhode Island Red) but the more exotic and rare chickens. This includes chickens with top knots, chickens with feathers on their feet, speckled show more chickens, bantam chickens, big chickens, gorgeous feathers, proud roosters, cute hens…the list goes on.
Beside the full page picture of each chicken is details about its breed and habitat. While this is not the kind of exhaustive list that you’d use to buy some chickens, it is a good starting point as it discusses eggs and breeding. The majority of chickens featured are from the UK and USA, but there are some chickens I’ve spotted in Australia as well.

Does this book have any negatives? Not really if you’re a chicken fan. The photographs by Andrew Perris are gorgeous. The information is concise and interesting. This book is for a niche market though; only chicken lovers (or their mothers) would buy it. It is definitely worth borrowing from the library too. I do believe that there are other Beautiful animals in the series, including pigs, cows, sheep and ducks. These would suit admirers of these animals down to the ground!

A fun book with some gorgeous birds!

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com show less

Overall, this book says what you'd expect (most recovery methods have little-to-no science behind them, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't use them). The beer study was a great example of the limits of science. I would love to try a salt water float tank someday.