DR. VONDA WRIGHT'S GUIDE TO THRIVE: Four Steps to Body, Brains, and Bliss, by Vonda Wright, M.D. Triumph Books, 213 pp., $24.95.

Yes, the very fit woman lifting a kettle ball on the book's cover is author Dr. Vonda Wright -- a practicing orthopedic surgeon, frequent TV expert and author of "Fitness After 40" -- not a model. But you can be more like her if you adopt her "four practical steps for thriving: A Vision, Action, Attitude and Achieve." If you do, in six months, you can improve your health -- and thrive, she says.

THE SCOOP

Photos of Wright and a hunky middle-age man clearly demonstrate exercises you can do at home, but you might want to ask a trainer if you're doing them right. She also offers tips on everything from nutrition to brain sharpeners.

THE BOTTOM LINE

"Did you know that there are 33 chronic diseases whose severity is diminished by a mere 30 minutes of exercise a day?" she writes.

NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses. Credit: Randee Dadonna

Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.

NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses. Credit: Randee Dadonna

Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.

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