The October MMM book club poll

[grantmeaname]

This thread will be home to the MMM book club October book selection poll and nominations. The theme for October is Nutrition and Exercise.

Below, feel free to nominate and campaign for your book of choice!

So far, we've seen nominations for:
The Primal Blueprint, one of the founding works of the paleo diet, written by Mark's Daily Apple's own Mark Sisson.
4 Hour Body, written by the same Tim Ferriss that wrote the 4-Hour Workweek, which MMM reviewed back in February.
Born To Run, about the barefoot marathoning Tarahumara in Mexico, and barefoot running more broadly.

(Five bucks says I'll put on my anthropologist hat and have a field day with whatever we pick.)

[arebelspy]

(Five bucks says I'll put on my anthropologist hat and have a field day with whatever we pick.)

Which one?

I'm guessing this:


Or hopefully this:

[Donovan]

Once the choice's don't say "dummy" I'll probably be voting for The Primal Blueprint.  I'm not sure I trust Ferriss' 4 Hour Body. We'll see.

By the way grantmeaname, I notice you've got "Finance and the Good Society" up for your own reading.  Have you skimmed it at all?  I took the author's Financial Markets class through Open Yale this summer and have been curious to see what he wrote.  He was one of the best lecturers I've heard, and he had some very good ways of explaining how the functions of the economy work to benefit the general population.  After growing up with grandparents and teacher's who generally didn't like banks/investments/etc, it was quite an educational experience.

[Donovan]

Oh wait this is nominations too!

In light of MMM love of barbell's and the general populace's apparent fear of them, I think Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength would be a good choice :)
It's a good, deeply in depth primer on the basic barbell exercises (squat, bench, deadlift, clean, and press), along with a section in the back about programming up through an intermediate level of strength.

[velocistar237]

In Defence of Food by Michael Pollan

I'm not thrilled with any of these options. Surely Irvine's The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy would have application to physical health?

[grantmeaname]

By the way grantmeaname, I notice you've got "Finance and the Good Society" up for your own reading.  Have you skimmed it at all?  I took the author's Financial Markets class through Open Yale this summer and have been curious to see what he wrote.  He was one of the best lecturers I've heard, and he had some very good ways of explaining how the functions of the economy work to benefit the general population.  After growing up with grandparents and teacher's who generally didn't like banks/investments/etc, it was quite an educational experience.

I haven't even opened it yet, sadly. I'm still working, plus I'm in 18 hard hours of school, so it'll be a few weeks before the pace slows down to the point that I can read for enjoyment.

[James]

Once the choice's don't say "dummy" I'll probably be voting for The Primal Blueprint.  I'm not sure I trust Ferriss' 4 Hour Body. We'll see.

I read the top two reviews on Amazon regarding 4 Hour Body, and it gives the two extremes in reviews a book can have.  The first is an absolute love fest, and the second the reverse.  I would probably find it fascinating, but wouldn't implement much if any of it.

[arebelspy]

Nominate until the 14th, a week for voting until the 21st, then people have just over a week to get the book?

[grantmeaname]

That's a reasonable timetable, yeah.

[Kriegsspiel]

The 4 Hour Body was ok...   Most of the things he touts as low cost high reward aren't really high reward at all, his lifting recommendations are not well thought out, and a few of his methods are fairly high cost.  However, he does have some great tips in there (cold showers before bed being my favorite), and his diet program is pretty solid.

[AdrianM]

I vote for

"The Primal Blueprint, one of the founding works of the paleo diet, written by Mark's Daily Apple's own Mark Sisson."

Have begun reading it myself.

[beav80]

I nominate Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, and 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler.  Wendler is great, 5/3/1 and the accompanying templates are really a great long-term approach to training with a barbell.  Rippetoe definitely breaks things down well and thoroughly in other things I've read of his (and an earlier edition of Starting Strength).

[Annie get it done]

I recommend:

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
John J. Ratey (Author), Eric Hagerman (Contributor)

A groundbreaking and fascinating investigation into the transformative effects of exercise on the brain, from the bestselling author and renowned psychiatrist John J. Ratey, MD.

Did you know you can beat stress, lift your mood, fight memory loss, sharpen your intellect, and function better than ever simply by elevating your heart rate and breaking a sweat? The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic exercise physically remodels our brains for peak performance.

[Kriegsspiel]

Incontrovertible, eh?

[sideways8]

Annie it's funny that you bring that up because part of the reason I even bother working out is because I've felt for a long time that it sharpened my brain. A sharp brain comes in handy when trying to learn anything by Bach. You can add "enhances musical abilities" to that list.

[grantmeaname]

No suggestions for a bit now. Shall I throw up the poll?

[arebelspy]

Yes.

[James]

Yep

[grantmeaname]

Poll's up. Vote away!

[arebelspy]

The embedded links to the books and some of the authors is neat; well done.

[James]

Shoot, I feel like an idiot.  I thought I nominated The Paleo Solution by Wolf, but I posted it under the August poll not this thread.  Oh well...

[grantmeaname]

Let's give this another day or two and we'll call it. There's still time! Your voice can be heard.

[velocistar237]

Have the voices been heard?

[James]

I'm happy with the book in the lead right now, it wasn't my vote but I'm looking forward to it.

[grantmeaname]

Votes are in, everybody! (Sorry I forgot to lock it a couple days ago...)

The Primal Blueprint made a strong showing, and should come back in a future poll, but October's book is Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. If you haven't already, get your copy from the library like a good mustachian, and you can be tearing through it with the rest of us next Monday!

[arebelspy]

Hmm, my library appears to have a copy of a 2008 edition, Thorndike Press and 2008 Penguin Press.  I hope they have the same page numbering..

Ordered a copy.  Thanks GMAN!

[Melissa]

I thought that would be the winning book so I had already placed a request for it at the library.

Going to pick it up tomorrow morning-I can't wait!

[BZB]

Yay - just requested it from my library

[Russ]

I just got my copy today, along with Food Rules, by the same author, just for kicks. I saw it while I was looking for Defense of Food, and remembered it was mentioned in a MMM post some time ago.

[kkbmustang]

I went to a lecture by Michael Pollan at SMU last February. It was phenomenal. I had read The Omnivore's Dilemma (disturbing) before, but not In Defense of Food. I found Food Rules somewhere on the internet and read it. He was a very energetic and lively speaker. If he is ever speaking in your area, I'd recommend splurging on the tickets. Well worth the price of admission.

I'm looking forward to reading In Defense of Food.

[grantmeaname]

I liked it much more than Omnivore's. I'm looking forward to rereading it.

[grantmeaname]

Last (two)month, putting the club in my signature got 51 clicks in 8 countries!

Use this URL (http://bit.ly/QxfF2V) in your signature to promote the club. If you want.

Edit: boo, my book won't be in for a couple of days. Oh well.

[Kriegsspiel]

I finished it a few days ago.  It was ok... I mean, I don't think anyone could say his recommendation for eating are bad.  Seemed pretty sensible, I think he walks down the middle as opposed to resorting to crazyness.

[arebelspy]

Today I picked up the copy I had put on hold at the library. 

It's the large print edition.  Ugh.

So now my page numbers won't match up with everyone and I'll have to turn the dang page every other paragraph.

/first world problems

Looking forward to reading it!

[velocistar237]

It's the large print edition.  Ugh.

Reminds me of the time my wife picked up Father of the Bride from the library, and it turned out to be for the sight impaired. Every second of silence in the film was filled with a narrator describing the scene.

[James]

I bought a used copy for $5.  I like using the library, but for books like this I am starting to do more buying so that I can keep the book for reference, let my wife or kids read it, pass it on to others at work or my extended family, etc.  I don't buy every book I want to read, even buying used that isn't a good idea, but buying a book every couple months, especially if I can get it cheap, makes sense for me and helps spread good ideas to others when I pass it on.