Bayou Bytes Blog

       Chani Nicholas is a popular Internet astrologer with a mass following. She has an  app , a  website , and social media accounts with a wealth of info on astrology told through a progressive lens. A lens that teaches this "pseudoscience" as a study towards self-acceptance. In first book,  You Were Born for This,  she teaches how to read your birth chart (a snapshot of the sky when you were born) with one  main intention: to help you grow in understanding yourself.      This book begins with her astrology origin story for the Introduction, followed by 5 chapters of a beginners' guide, and ends with both an Appendix and an Index for readers' ease. Reflection questions, affirmations, and journal prompts are used as check-in tools to grasp the 3 keys: the sun signs (life purposes), the moon signs (physical and emotional needs), and the ascendants and their rulers (details within!). If your familiarity with any of these t...

This book's full title is really Homewreckers: How a Gang of Wall Street Kingpins, Hedge Fund Magnates, Crooked Banks, and Vulture Capitalists Suckered Millions Out of Their Homes and Demolished the American Dream  -- just so you know what you're in for! And this is an engaging book-- a real must-read look into the high-stakes world of American home-ownership.  Detailed here is a horrific story of how settling down isn't *just* settling down-- it's a story about how generations of financial wheeling-and-dealing have conspired to make owning a home as difficult and as financially painful as possible. How much of your home is actually your home right now? How much of your home will continue to be your home in the future? This is the book that will renew outrage about America’s wealth gap, the state of American homeownership, and the systemic corruption within the American financial system. Are your eyes glazing over?  Stop it, because this book doesn’t just spill tea abou...

  One of the biggest acts of courage is in being vulnerable. Fear, anxiety, and shame are "emotions to overcome," yet seen as problems. Men especially are socialized to not talk about or share anything that can be used against them.      In this nonfiction by Justin Baldoni (actor/filmmaker of  Jane the Virgin  fame ), the author explores the harmfulness in upholding traditional masculinity. Societal masculinity states that men are supposed to be smart, rational, problem-solvers, and cut off from their emotions. Many aspects of "toxic masculinity" are discussed from the dad bod to the alpha/beta male. There's even insight from feminist author, bell hooks, who's stated that men "kill off emotional parts of themselves." Mostly, and b est of all, Baldoni pulls from his own experiences in such a human way, people from all genders will be able to relate.   At times heavy and emotional, he encourages the reader along with a light and empathetic tone. ...

         Whether new to financial literacy or not, Tiffany  Aliche , the " budgetnista, " is here to simplify it all for you. With over 300 pages (plus a handy Appendix at the book's end),  Aliche's  goal is to guide readers towards "financial wholeness."  Why live in fear when instead you can master your money and live in peace?        This book, packed with definitions and how-to steps, should be given an initial read through, then used as a reference guide thereafter due to its in-depth 10 chapters:   1. Budget Building   2. Save Like a Squirrel   3. Dig Out of Debt   4. Score High   5. Learn to Earn   6. Invest Like an Insider   7. Get Good with Insurance   8. Grow Rich- ish   9. Pick Your Money Team   10.Leave a Legacy          The first five chapters are for building a financial foundation, so if yours is sound-proof, move onto steps 6-10...

It's nearly the end of the summer! Immunizations are a hot topic, so let's review a recent blockbuster book about the history of medical research. At the time Henrietta Lacks died from cervical cancer at John Hopkins in 1951, doctors were routinely taking cell biopsies without obtaining informed patient consent. But once researchers discovered Lacks's cervical cancer cell line (called HeLa) was immortal, they used it to develop countless medical advances and vaccines (including polio vaccines). The line became commercialized, and lives were saved worldwide. Meanwhile, Henrietta Lacks's own family went without health insurance.   The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot doesn't just explore the impact of Henrietta Lacks and her unusual cervical cancer cells on scientific research-- it also tackles the importance of ethical research, racism and classism in American medicine, and informed consent. I would highly recommend this book to teens or adults inte...

 Framed spoons. There are framed photos of spoons all over the apartment set in the cult classic so-bad-it's-genius film The Room. The framed spoons are in the background of nearly every shot with a table, and that's because the art department wasn't allowed to replace the stock photos. Tommy Wiseau, the writer-director-producer-star of the film, wanted to hurry up and film the movie. The entire set was purchased directly from a thrift store's window display, and the art department had been concerned about the set looking as bare (as intended, in its former life.)  How does Tommy Wiseau have the money to almost single-handedly fund this film? Even by the end of the book, no one really knows; all author (and Room co-star!) Greg Sestero can do is take some educated guesses. Tommy Wiseau is a cipher; he's an unstable, unfailingly earnest and optimistic pistache of someone who bought the American Dream for 19.99 plus shipping and handling. His famous line from The Room-...

The ABCs of LGBT+ is a beginners guide to the LGBTQ community. I found this book on a recommended reading list and it had such high ratings I decided to check it out. ABCs is aimed at both individuals who are questioning their identity and allies looking for better understanding.   Now having read it, I can see why this stands apart from other LGBT introductory texts. A lot of introductions in this genre give you rigid definitions of each identity and leave it at that. Mardell sets this book apart with a much more user friendly format. By devoting the first section of the book to spectrums, Mardell reminds readers that it's rare a person fits perfectly into one category or another. The book also includes anecdotes from dozens of community members describing how they perceive their identities. It really helps to emphasize the variety within communities.   The author also follows through on the "+" in the title. Letters after the Q are typically less visible communiti...

 This is the first self-help book I've ever read. I stumbled across Laziness Does Not Exist just after the review of How to be Fine: What We Learned From Living by the Rules of  50 Self Help Books  had been posted, and its critique of the self-help genre was still rattling around in my head. Though I had little interest in the genre, a book that would absolve me of the guilt of laziness seemed like a good place to start.   Devon Price, author of Laziness Does Not Exist , is a social psychologist. In this book, they discuss how humans have been taught that time spent doing nothing is time wasted. There is constant societal pressure to do more. Even people with packed professional and social calendars are made to feel like they are still not accomplishing enough.   Price also unpacks the cruel way in which the word "lazy" is applied to people as a way to blame them for their circumstances. We see this frequently in reference to a child struggling in cla...

You may know Anne Bonny and Mary Reed, but most female pirates get left out of prominent pirate literature. In Pirate Women,  Laura Sook Duncombe rights that wrong, with stories of the coolest women who sailed the seas.  Duncombe shares stories of who these women were, why they left their homes, and their most impressive deeds. Until reading this, I'm sad to say I had never heard of many of these pirates. But their successes certainly rival those of their male counterparts. Duncombe covers pirates from all over the globe, some of whom lived outside of the traditional Golden Age of Piracy. Each chapter focuses on a different woman, and overall the book is an exciting read.  For readers who have always been fascinated by pirates, this is a fun resource to add to your collection! You can find it at your local library here .  This book is aimed at adults, but if you have a younger reader with a love of pirates, Laura Duncombe also wrote a Young Adult version that covers ...

The full title of this truffle-based true crime exposé is Truffle Underground: A Tale of  Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World's Most Expensive Fungus , and it makes the topic of this book pretty clear. Being personally averse to anything resembling a mushroom, I have always avoided truffles. But even I've heard the hype, and heard how expensive they are. So when I saw this book promising to reveal the secrets of the truffle, I needed to know.  Ryan Jacobs was certainly in danger as he investigated the truffle trade. He stumbled upon farmer feuds, sabotage, and all kinds of shady dealings. He also revealed how such a black market could exist in the first place. In short, I learned 1.) truffles are nearly impossible to cultivate, and 2.) once you harvest a truffle, it degrades incredibly fast. If you're lucky enough to grow one, you have to sell it immediately . And from these two truths spring all kinds of plots to steal truffles from other f...

Written by the iconic actor who played Westley, this behind the scenes account is filled with Elwes' memories of being on the set of The Princess Bride .  As You Wish  looks back at how Elwes got involved in the project, how he met the other actors, the technical aspects of filming, as well as antics on set. The book even includes a section of photos from set. It's a nostalgic and touching account of his experiences, and I would recommend re-watching the movie after  reading this. It was satisfying, and in some cases impressive, to re-watch the scenes Elwes described after reading his tales.  Originally published in 2014, this book is a must-read for Princess Bride fans. 

I am a sucker for self help books. There is something so satisfying about sitting down and reading a book that tells me my life can be whatever I want it to be. All I have to do is follow my dreams, regardless of my financial situation or how likely actually following some of the steps might leave me homeless. Inspiring. The one thing about self help books is that they have good tips if you go through all the pages and take only a grain of salt from the mounds and mounds of sodium laden advice. Most of the authors of such books have one of two things going for them: they are already financially secure/have people helping them OR they have a small patch of really good luck that gives them the boost they need to start their flight towards success. If I read one more story about someone who quit their job and booked a flight to Hawaii all in the same day, I might actually rip my hair out. It’s just not practical for the everyday person. Still, I check these books out because after I c...

DuPont was one of the world's largest chemical companies, with an empire built on innovations like Teflon, and a reputation for rigorous health and safety procedures. The first reports of the deadly chemicals used in Teflon production appeared in the news in the early 2000's. It was the first the public had heard of the dangers of PFOAs, and the lawsuits being brought against DuPont for its use of the substance. DuPont, for all it's respect in the chemical community, had engaged in a fifty year cover-up. Early studies of PFOA revealed to DuPont that it could impact liver and kidney function, and cause cancer and birth defects. Instead of disclosing this information, they kept quiet, while workers on the floor practically bathed in the stuff. They dumped the PFOA-laden waste in unlined landfills in Parkersburg, West Virginia, where it quietly seeped into the groundwater... When the toxic water trickled offsite and reached Earl Tennant's cattle farm in the 1990...

Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It is definitely categorized as a self help book. It's a genre that a little odd to try to review, but here goes. This book is aimed at people who are trying to teach themselves a new language, a notoriously difficult task if you don't have learning partners or traditional immersion. So Gabriel Wyner sets out to break down how  your brain processes new languages and how you can hack that process to make words and grammar stick with less effort.  I love languages, and I figured a book that was so confident it could hack my brain was worth a shot. I've always had a difficult time reading self help books. To me, their tone always feels a little off,  both off-putting and encouraging. And  Fluent Forever  did have this tone, but the author is comfortably fluent in at least six languages and I so desperately wanted to know his secrets, so I stuck with it. In truth, the methods he describes ...

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz The author has created of series of self-help books based on ancient Mexican Toltec wisdom and spiritual practices. In this book, he claims that reality is a collective dream state and Dream of the Planet is an accepted societal culture. With this in mind, he proposes four ideas that if followed will help you live a happy and peaceful life: Agreement One: Be impeccable with your word Agreement Two: Don’t take anything personally Agreement Three: Don’t make assumptions Agreement Four: Always do your best This book was highly recommended to me so I wanted to give it a fair chance. There are aspects that I found very important and useful and others I had to let go. One example of this first agreement, be impeccable with your word ,  is that the Toltec are a spiritual people and words are very powerful. They feel that they carry magical power, an aspect that I let go. He also says that w...