Book #39: Spark

Title: Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
Author: John J. Ratey, MD

The idea behind Spark-- that exercise influences the way the brain works, is a great concept. But listening to the audiobook is painful. Ratey talks about the way that exercise works on a depressed brain, a hyperactive brain, an old brain, a menopausal brain, a child's brain, etc... and comes to the same conclusions-- exercise is good for the brain. I think it would have been better to buy the book and read only the relevant chapters. But if I'd done that and hadn't had the same message hammered home for nine hours, I'm not sure I would have put it into practice for my highly-distractible kids. We've been running, walking and scootering all over the neighborhood this week, and I'm seeing a difference in their mood and attention span, so I think it's working, but yowza, I probably wouldn't listen to this whole book again if someone paid me.