(Image from Barnes & Noble)

"Addictive tech is part of the mainstream in a way that additive substances never will be.  Abstinence is not an option" (9).

I don't know about the rest of you, but I see my dental hygienist to get book recommendations.  Teeth schmeeth!  We chat about what we're reading.  My hygienist ingests a lot of non-fiction, a genre I tend to avoid, so I'm always excited when she steers me toward intriguing, informational texts.  When she started telling me recently about Irresistible by NYU professor Adam Alter, I knew I had to read it.  I'm glad I did, too.  It's an utterly fascinating book that sheds a harsh, eye-opening light on the addictive power of modern tech.

Alter begins by defining behavioral addiction as different from alcoholism, overeating, drug abuse, etc.  Behavioral addictions, he says, "arise when a person can't resist a behavior, which despite addressing a deep psychological need in the short-term, produces significant harm in the long-term" (20).  He cites examples of people so obsessed with playing video games that they don't eat, sleep, or socialize off-line for days on end.  Others can't look away from their phones long enough to push their child on a swing or converse with their partner at a restaurant.  These obsessions are dangerous to the addict's health as well as to that of those around them in ways both physical (driving while texting, for example) and emotional (ignoring one's child or spouse).  Even more disturbing, Alter says, is that these devices, games, and apps are purposely engineered to be addictive.

As chilling as Alter's descriptions may be, he also offers a glimmer of hope.  He talks about successful treatments being used at recovery centers for behavioral addicts.  He also recommends setting limits on screen time, especially for young children, and encouraging them to engage in real-life interactions.  The best way to stop an addiction, of course, is never to start one.  To that end, Alter proposes monitoring the use of addictive technology—both in ourselves and in our children—very closely.  After all, he says, "There isn't a bright line between addicts and the rest of us.  We're all one product or experience away from developing our own addictions" (4).  

Although Alter discusses all kinds of scientific studies and terms, Irresistible is written in a conversational tone that makes it easy to read.  The topic is compelling, Alter's examples are spot-on, and his message of warning comes across loud and clear.  This is an important book, one that is both timely and life-altering.  You're definitely going to want to put down your iPhone and give it a read.

(Readalikes:  I don't usually read books like this, so nothing is coming to mind.  Ideas?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a few F-bombs, plus milder expletives) and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Worth the Wrestle from the generous folks at Deseret Book.  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Lettie Louw has always felt different from her girlfriends, who are beautiful, flirtatious, and adept at attracting masculine attention.  Getting her heart broken as a teenager propels her to seek education, not love.  After medical school she returns to her small South African hometown to work in her father's clinic.  All around her, Lettie's former classmates are getting married and having children.  Love still eludes the young doctor, who throws herself into her career.  Fulfilled but still lonely, Lettie tries to ignore the aching in her heart, the longing for a blissful romance of her own.  

Marco Romanelli has suffered a broken heart of his own.  After risking everything to protect the Jewish woman he loved, being thrown into a Nazi concentration camp, and barely surviving with his life, he's still trying to recover his health.  When his brother invites him to leave their native Italy and join him in South Africa, Marco goes, hoping the warm, dry climate will help clear his vulnerable lungs.  The last thing he expects is to fall in love with his physician, an intriguing woman who doesn't recognize her own beauty and strength.  

As Lettie and Marco take tentative steps toward the kind of grand romance neither one of them ever expected to find, they encounter stumbling blocks big and small.  When a heartbreaking discovery threatens to tear their world apart, the couple will have to travel a crooked, unimaginable path that will take them in an unexpected direction.  Can their faith and love see them through?

It's hard to describe The Crooked Path by South African author Irma Joubert because, truly, the novel has no plot.  It tells a sweeping story that spans Lettie's lifetime, but it's an unfocused, episodic tale that plods along for nearly 400 pages without really going anywhere.  In trying to cover too much ground, it's unevenly paced, which makes it feel even longer.  I appreciate that the story is squeaky clean and uplifting without being preachy; still, the tome was a chore for me to read.  Maybe Joubert's prose was more impressive before being translated into English, but in the version I read, it's very passive, very flat, and very dull.  The characters are all (well, mostly) perfectly nice—they're also one-dimensional, boring, and pretty much interchangeable.  Overall, then, I just had a difficult time reading The Crooked Path.  While it comes to a satisfying conclusion, the read was not worth the effort for me.  Ah, well.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I'm not sure to what I can compare it.  Ideas?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of The Crooked Path from the generous folks at Thomas Nelson via those at TLC Book Tours.  Thank you!

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(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Wonder by R.J. Palacio and Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find