Why Aren't You Reading These Books?

Some top quality non-fiction selections have crossed my desk in the last couple weeks that I want to share with you. They'd also make great gifts for someone on your list.

Late, Lost and Unprepared
a Parent's Guide to Helping children with Executive Functioning

Do your children forget they have homework to do, or faithfully complete the work only to leave it home? Are they always running late in the morning? Do you get to soccer practice only to find he's left the water bottle or shin guards behind? Does she always forget to tell you about that school project (due tomorrow) or the forms she needs you to sign?

The ability to finish a task, plan and organize, and easily transition from on situation to another are examples of executive functions. Executive functions help us manage life tasks of all types. Children with executive weaknesses face a number of challenges: at school, at home, in the family, in social activities, in relationships and emotionally.

This award-winning new book offers specific time-tested strategies and creative interventions you cant teach kids to help them manage executive weaknesses. (Late, Lost and Unprepared, Woodbine House, $19.95)

Fat Chance
Julie Hadden may have only been first runner-up on Season 4 of The Biggest Loser (she lost by only 8 lbs), but the techniques she learned to develop a better self-confidence and self worth are lessons anyone could benefit from. On top of that, shortly after the show, stay-at-home Mom Julie and her husband adopted a beautiful baby boy. So, as a time-starved Mom (like the rest of us), she's put together budget-friendly and time-saving tips for healthy eating and exercising, like Playground Cardio and exercises you can even do while standing in line at the grocery store. Julie's book is full of the blessings she gained from *not* coming in first--for example, although she and her husband made the decision to sell their car so that she could stay home with the kids, Julie and her teammate won a BL challenge where the prize was a new car (Fat Chance hits the shelves in December).

The Encyclopedia of Haunted Places Ghostly Locales from Around the World
The success of movies like Paranormal Activity and TV shows like Ghost Hunters and Ghost Whisperer shows how intrigued people are by the inexplicable. Maybe you love to be scared. Or maybe you just want to keep Halloween going year-round. Whatever the reason for your own morbid fascination, this book has you covered!

The authors--written by dozens of the world's leading paranormal investigators--gather their research notes, location backgrounds, first-hand accounts, and many anomalous photographs featuring ghostly manifestations for the hundreds of haunted listings in this directory, crossing the globe to bring ghost stories from every continent. You can look up your own state and take a day trip to a nearby haunted house or hotel, or if you fear you have some less than friendly spirits inhabiting your own place, use the included appendix to find a paranormal expert near you. (Now available in paperback, 9.99 from Amazon).

You know, the more I think about it, the more I think you SHOULD be reading these books.

Which is why I am giving away a copy of The Encyclopedia of Haunted Places to one lucky reader!

To enter, just leave a comment below (if you have your own ghost story, I'd love to hear it). For additional entries, Tweet or blog about this contest and leave a link, or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Good Luck!