GUT FEELING (CARNIE WILSON)

When Wilson's gastric bypass surgery was broadcast over the Internet in 2001, it made news not simply because of Wilson's role as singer/songwriter with the pop group Wilson Phillips, nor because she is the daughter of The Beach Boys's Brian Wilson, but also because she had been (and remains) an advocate for self-acceptance, regardless of size. Despite years of dieting, Wilson suffered with morbid obesity, which threatened her health with skyrocketing cholesterol levels, hypertension, sleep apnea, sciatica, breathlessness, and joint pain. Gut Feelings is a wonderfully candid revelation of Wilson's life from childhood to maturity.

Her weight problems were family rooted with nature and nurture both contributing and she frankly discusses her feelings about herself, her family, and her friends. After undergoing the bypass surgery, she lost over 150 pounds and had to relearn how to eat and, equally important, how to adjust emotionally to the new Carnie. Beyond the personal story, this book offers appendixes in which a bariatric surgeon, nutritionist, endocrinologist, and psychologist answer questions about open and laparoscopic gastric surgery. These appendixes are invaluable for anyone interested in weight-control surgery, but readers will get at least as much insight into it through the author's tale.

THE LAST VICTIM (JASON MOSS)

Moss was an 18-year-old college student at UNLV. While studying for his honors thesis, he established relationships with John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez, Henry Lee Lucas, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Charles Manson. He obtained samples of correspondence from and interviews with these men. Jason researched what would interest his subject the most and then cast himself in the role of disciple, admirer, surrogate, or potential victim.

In his book he mentioned that he was interested in a career with the FBI; he reasoned that gaining the trust of a serial killer, possibly learning more about their stated crimes or unsolved murders, was a way to distinguish himself as a job candidate.

It was with 33-time killer John Wayne Gacy, the "Killer Clown", that Jason forged the strongest relationship. Letters led to regular Sunday morning phone calls, during which Gacy trumpeted his innocence even as he gave Jason a guided tour of his world. In the book, Moss tells the story of his correspondence and eventual live meeting with Gacy shortly before Gacy was executed. According to the viewpoint informing the title of this book, Moss became Gacy's "last victim" after a face to face meeting in prison, in essence being overpowered by the mind of the serial killer. Moss felt that this misadventure allowed him to understand how a killer's mind works in not only controlling the vulnerable but also in terms of how to break them.

SHEER BOTTLED BLISS (IAN PARAMENTER)

Australia′s best-loved TV chef, Ian Parmenter, shares his experiences, starting with culture shock as the London journalist arrives in Perth in 1971, then moving on to the discovery of his beloved weekender by the Margaret River, and gradually transforming it into a winery producing 3000 bottles of chardonnay a year.

Enjoy his adventures and misadventures - which include the Home-made Cheese Disaster, battles with farm machinery, the annual gravel party - and the joys and triumphs of the first grape harvest. It′s a hilarious tale of country life and the ′sea change′ that we all dream about, with the added touch of classic recipes and fun variations on such dishes as Roast Lamb and the World′s Best Gravy, and Flaming Fruits with Meringue.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING (LAWRENCE DONEGON)

California Dreaming is the tale of Lawrence Donegan, an ex bass player turned journalist, living out a grim life in Glasgow. He’s always dreamed of going to live in America but it’s only when an old friend turns up and hugs him in the street (hug? In Glasgow?) that he gets his chance – his friend now runs a silicon chip company in Los Angeles and offers Lawrence a job.

Lawrence heads out with his girlfriend and soon discovers that he has no idea at all of what a silicon chip is or what on earth he might be doing in an office full of people who listen to Kenny G. More than that he can’t understand how everyone talks about how much money they make and how much they spent on their cars, homes and hair cuts. He finds himself wondering if he’s the only sane person in a neighbourhood of “..27 Mexican landscape gardeners, one black guy who worked in the café on the main street and ten thousand rich white folks with nice tans and big white teeth.”

He soon discovers that his American dream is to become a used car salesman. This comes about primarily with the ease that he’s talked into buying a car and the profit that the salesman makes. After wading through weeks of bureaucracy to get a salesman licence (?) he’s given a job after 30 seconds at the first place he walks into and is told to get out there and start selling with no training at all.

I rate this book 7/10 ( a very good example of a person that wanted to try something new)

ONE HIT WONDERLAND (TONY HAWK)

In the life and career of Tony Hawks, a couple of periods stand out as being highlights. In recent times, after a career as a comedian, he accepted a couple of stupid bets, firstly to hitchhike around Ireland with a fridge and later to play the entire Moldovan football team at tennis. It is not so much these events that were to be the highlights, but that he was able to write a book based on each of them. And very funny and well written books they were, too.

However, well before this, there was Morris Minor and the Majors, who had a Top 5 hit with a song called “Stutter Rap”. Drawing on Hawks’ first loves of music and comedy, he had for fifteen years been little but a “One Hit Wonder” – an artist who has one hit record and is never heard from again. Tony Hawks, however, isn’t happy with being a “One Hit Wonder”, as he feels he has the talent, if not as a singer, then as a songwriter, to hit the charts again. So he takes on another bet – to have a hit record, either as a writer or a performer, within 2 years.

As with his previous books, we follow Tony as he aims to win his bet. This takes him to the heart of country in Nashville, to the Sudan, and all over Europe. We also get to meet all the people Tony meets along the way, from Sir Tim Rice to Simon Cowell, who was just an A+R man at that point, and not the evil “Pop Idol” judge he became famous for being.The story is told in Hawks’ usual style, with what feels like complete honesty and in a chatty style that’s easy to read.

However, this is slightly less so than in his previous works, as he’s relying on a lot more people to assist him in winning his bet than before. This means that a lot more of the time is spent setting up meetings and discussing how to win the bet, rather than going out to win it and so a lot more of the telling is conversations with other people rather than Tony’s recounting of what happened.

I rate this book 7/10 (love the element of humor)