Eat the City:

Eat the City : a tale of the fishers, trappers, hunters, foragers, slaughterers, butchers, farmers, poultry minders, sugar refiners, cane cutters, beekeepers, winemakers, and brewers who built New York By: Robin Shulman
Non-fiction: food, history 335 pages
Book Count: 55

I actually finished this book about mid-way into November, but as you can see from the NaNoWriMo winners badge to the right, I was busy with other writing at the time.  From what I remember of the book it was an unexpected journey around the NYC of today and yesterdays, where people were making their own food inside the city itself. Important things I learned included: the history of Kosher wine in New York, how to make day glo honey, and why children and anyone who physically could possibly end up pregnant at any time in the future should not eat local fish in NYC.

Halloween Short Stories:

Here are the scary stories I read today.

Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts By: Jonathan Broughton, Rayne Hall, et al
Fiction: Horror, Paranormal, Short Story,E-Book

This is a collection of ghost tales, some are scary, some are sad, some are unexpected.  The ghost range from Victorian to modern times.  I was even surprised in one when the ghost starts singing a song from the late 80's as I thought they were from a much earlier time.  Also the stories are from both American and British authors and has the wording and spellings of both.

Benedictum: A Gothic Fairy Tale By: Anna Godiva
Fiction: Short Story, E-book

This is a short fairy tale about a cursed family.  The ending is unexpected and odd.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Trouble Maker 2:

Trouble Maker Book 2 By: Janet & Alex Evanovich Art By: Joelle Jones
Non-fiction: Graphic Novel, mystery, adventure 109 pages

Book Count: 54

The review of book one can be found here. This book finishes out the story of from book one.

I Ate The Sheriff:

A Holiday Book in Review

I Ate The Sheriff (Mallory Caine, Zombie at Law) By: K. Bennett
Fiction: Mystery, Paranormal 310 pages
Book Count: 53

This is the story of a lawyer who is also a zombie, but she is actually a likable person.  First, she tries not to eat people, but cow brains. And secondly she is an actual good lawyer both in that she is good at her job and she defends the innocent and the not totally guilty.  Also the area prosecutor that she deals with not only is Satan's son, the reason that she is a zombie but also her ex-boyfriend.  Besides these two there is cast of strange people and creatures who fight and epic battle between good and evil in this book.  This includes: werewolves, vampires, angels, demons, Pat Sajak, the ghost of the "Black Dalia",a cult, a fire breathing boy, gospel choirs, prophets, prisoners, bats, corrupt politicians, a sheriff that acts like its the old west, mobsters and more.

A Note to Self:

Naked Writing By: Glenys O'Connell
non-fiction: writitng, e-book

L. this is THAT book.

NaNoWriMo

AS you can tell by the pic to the right, we are doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which is November.  So we will not be reading as much and therefor not blogging as much.

Diary:

A Holiday Book in Review

Diary - A Novel By: Chuck Palahniuk
Fiction: 261 pages

Book Count: 52

This book is the diary that a women keeps about her life after her husband goes into a coma after a suicide attempt.  And it's about an artist that suffers for her art.  And it's about a creepy town full of weird rich people that are clearly up to something. 

Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues:

A Holiday Book in Review

Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues By: Diana Rowland
Fiction: Fantasy, mystery 312 pages
Book Count:51

This book is the sequel to the book reviewed here. This is a series where you NEED to read the book before in the series before this one, as it picks up almost directly after the end of the 1st one.  This book is all about brains. (And not all in the way that you would think in a zombie book.) Angel learns that she needs to get her GED as part of her parole.  She meets a lot of highly educated people that are friends of her boyfriend's family.  And there are synthetic brains and maybe some other zombie based testing done in a high tech lab.

Grave's End: A True Ghost Story:

A Holiday Book in Review

Grave's End: A True Ghost Story By: Elaine Mercado
Non-Fiction: Paranormal, e-book

This is the story of one family who lived in a haunted house for many years.  It is not as exciting as a fictional book of the type would be, but you really get into the mind of someone dealing with something that they can't explain and don't necessary even believe is really happening at times.  It also shows you unintentionally how much the Internet has changed life, as this story took place not that long ago in NYC, but the family spends weeks, months and years looking for information that now takes minutes to find. 

Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons:

A Holiday Book in Review

Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons By: Jane Austen and Vera Nazarian
Fiction: Classics, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery, e-book

This is another of the books that combines a work of classic literature with some unexpected pop-culture favorite.  In this case the main character has the ability to see angels and there are also treasure hunting dragons in it. (As well as demon influenced people with their own weather fronts and a duck of unusual size.)  This one is not as action packed as some of the other mash-ups, but still a fun twist on a classic, with a fair amount of humor in it.

Damned:

A Holiday Book in Review

Damned By: Chuck Palahniuk
Fiction: Paranormal 247 pages
Book Count: 50

This is the story of a 13 year old girl, named Madison, who dies and goes to Hell.  Each chapter starts with a short note she writes to Satan (kind of like a dead, anti-version of the Judy Blume novel.) It then tells about her life on Earth or Hell.  Madison, as a teenager is a bit of an annoying narrator, especially in the beginning she is always going on about, yes she knows what this or that word means, she's dead not stupid, or about how everyone hates the dead.  But the storyline besides that is full of unexpected twists and turns that make the whinny teenagerness bearable. 

Lunatics:

Lunatics By: Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel
Fiction: Humor, audio book

This is the story of two normal guys (well one is often called an idiot, followed by an apology to actual idiots for comparing him to one.)  Their story starts out as a normal fight between a crazed parent and the referee of his daughter's soccer game.  It soon escalates to run ins with the police, pirates, bears, terrorists, a black ops team (that doesn't exist), world leaders, and many more people your average pet shop owner and  plumber for NY would never meet.  The story is told by both men so you can see how drastically differently they deal with each thing. 




6 CD's 7 hour 4 minutes

Lullaby:

A Holiday Book in Review

Lullaby By: Chuck Palahniuk
Fiction: fantasy/paranormal 352 pages
Book Count: 49

A reporter working on a story about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome finds that a poem in a children's book of lullabies is actually a culling song that kills the people who hear it.  A real estate agent sells only haunted houses, the same haunted houses over and over again.  Two young Wiccans want to change the world in a way you wouldn't expect.  All these people get together, each wanting power, each for a different use.

September Books:

You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) By: Jeff Goins
Non-fiction: writing, e-book

An Honest Mistake By: Andrew Biss
Fiction: short story, e-book

Killer History: Why do they leave all the fun stuff out of the history books? By: Marek McKenna
Non-fiction: history, e-book

The Witch Who Made Adjustments By: Vera Nazarian
Fiction: short story, e-book

End of Aug.

Any Glass With Wine in it, is a Wine Glass! By: Nicholas Walker
Non-Fiction: Food e-book

Rediscover Catholicism- A Spiritual Guide to Living with Passion & Purpose By: Mathew Kelly
Non-fiction: Religion 317 pages
Book Count: 48

Inspire Me To Get Writing By: Carla Acheson
Non-fiction: writing e-book

Confucius Cat Says. . . By: P.R. Mason
Non-fiction: Humor e-book

The Full-Time Parent's Guide to Earning Extra Income By: Eric Richardson
Non-fiction: advice e-book

Meet a Jerk, Get to Work, How to Write Villains and the Occasional Hero By: Jaqueline Girdner and Ronald Hudson
Non-fiction: writing e-book

Every Item on Sale: How to Slash Your Grocery Bill By Over 50% By: Janice Kitson
Non-fiction: home ec. e-book

The Ghost at the Foot of the Stairs By: David Pickering
Fiction: short story, paranormal e-book

We All Married Idiots: Three Things You Will Never Change About Your Marriage By: Elaine W. Miller
Non-Fiction: religion, relationships e-book

Move it Mom! By: Marci Pliskin and Patti Dunn
Non-Fiction  e-book

Mad Science Institute By:Sechin Tower
Fiction: YA Sci-Fi 310 pages
Book Count: 49

2012 Family Guide to Groceries under $250 a Month By: Melissa Burnell
Non-Fiction: home ec. e-book

Secondhand Jesus By: Glenn Packiam
Non-fiction religion 224 pages
Book Count: 50

How to Feed a Family of 4 or More for Less than $200 a Month By: Melissa Burnell
Non-fiction: home ec. e-book

End of July-1st half of Aug.

Finger Lickin' Fifteen By: Janet Evanovich
Fiction: mystery 308 Pages
Book Count: 44

The Geeks' Guide to World Domination: Be Afraid, Beautiful People By: Garth Sundem
Non-fiction: pop culture, science, history, cooking, etc 288 pages
Book Count: 45

Simple Emergency Food Storage By: Jennifer Stanek
Non-Fiction: e-book

Couponing for Busy People By:Elle Marshall
Non-fiction: home ec., e-book

Blackbirds By: Chuck Wendig
Fiction: mystery, Sci-fi/Fantasy, paranormal 381 pages
Book Count: 46

The Furious Longing of God By: Brennan Manning
Non-fiction: Religion 144 Pages
Book Count: 47

This Blog is on Break.

We are taking a break from blogging for a time.  We plan on being back in time for our holiday posts.  While on break there will be a few notes to ourselves listing books we read, so we have them all listed in the same place, but no review, comment or other info on the stories.

Unholy Night:

Unholy Night by: Seth Grahame-Smith
Fiction: humor, audio book
Book Count: 43

This is the story of Christmas, if the wisemen were actually a set of thieves that were on the run.  And if for some reason you wrote the book based off what you remember of the story from Sunday school as a kid, but you looked up the names that traditionally were given to the wise men.  Not that I expected a lot of biblical accuracy from the book, but making John the Baptist years older than Jesus for no real reason is odd.  (The timeline is also messed with, but that is for the storyline.)  Unlike most other stories that deal with the event the main character is not Jesus, nor Mary, Joseph, or even one of the cute little animals in the stable; it is Balthazar a.k.a. the Antioch Ghost.  He is a man that vowed to destroy Rome and steals all of their treasure.  He is a man that believes in nothing but himself and leaves a wake of destruction and broken hearts all over the empire.  He is a man that has a dark past.  In short he is the last person you would think of being a hero in the story of Christmas.  But he is, as the one thing he hates more then the Romans is the Romans killing the innocent.

8 CD's 9.5 Hours

Three Books no Reviews:

Fashions of the Decade the 1950's by: Patricia Baker
Non-fiction: history, pop culture 62 pages
Book Count: 40

Baby Showers By: Amy Elliott
Non-fiction: 61 pages
Book Count: 41

Rebecca and Ana By: Jacqueline Dembar Greene
Fiction: history, 78 pages
Book Count: 42

Lobsters Scream When You Boil Them:

Lobsters Scream When You Boil Them: And 100 Other Myths About Food and Cooking By: Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough
Non-Fiction: Cooking 320 pages
Book Count: 39

This book is all about cooking myths; why they aren't true, what you should really do, and how the myths came about.  It also also has 25 recipes in it based off of the truth related to each myth.  As each entry is 2-3 pages it doesn't have the depth of a episode of "Good Eats" or some other books, but it is a good starting place for food myths.

Fearless Fourteen:

Fearless Fourteen By: Janet Evanovich
Fiction, Mystery 310 pages
Book Count: 38

The review of book 13 is here.   In this book Grandma becomes a goth gamer, Lula makes Tank faint and there is potato gun home defence system.  Also Stephanie needs to find one of Joe's distance cousins or learn to live caring for her teen aged son, and finding the missing millions from a bank robbery that might be under her feet couldn't hurt.

The Last Bookstore In America:

The Last Bookstore In America By: Amy Stewart
E-Book, Fiction
Book Count: 37

First, this book is in part about the end of bookstores because of e-books, and it is an e-book!  This is the story of a young couple starting out that find that they have inherited one of the last bookstores in America from an uncle the husband hasn't seen since he was a kid.  It is in part a love story to the bookstore and the word on paper.  It is also about weed, tax evasion, corrupt local politicians, Big Tobbaco, a former writer, and odd Californians.  In short it is a funny book full of unusual people and twists and turns.

Their Last Suppers:

Their Last Suppers Legends of Time and their Final Meals By: Andrew Caldwell

Non-fiction: history, biography, cooking 179 pages

Book Count: 36

This book has interesting premises; tell a short biography of a famous dead person as well as what their last meal and or favorite foods were with recipes. And for the most part it does that. The biographies are the type you would expect in a high school text book (short, simple, and including only the most well know parts/theories about the person's life.) The recipes are diverse and mostly updated so that the modern cook could make them. There are a few typos in the recipes making at least one recipe unusable and a number more confusing as they call for things that weren't on the ingredient list in the instructions. (Most give some idea of how much you need of it in the instructions, making it still possible to use the recipe.)

Lean Mean Thirteen:

Lean Mean Thirteen By: Janet Evanovich
Fiction: Mystery 310 pages
Book Count: 35

The review of the last book is here.

In this book Stephanie Plum is wanted for the possible murder of her ex-husband Dickie Orr.  Because Dickie never changed his will after the divorce and my be worth millions due to his shady business partners Joyce Barnhardt spends her time following her to find Dickie and stop Stephanie from seeing the money.  Also Ranger and Joe work together to protect her as she deals with many buildings burning down and exploding beavers. (Literally small furry animals exploding.)

The Year of Living Biblically:

The Year of Living Biblically By: A.J. Jacobs
Non-fiction: religion,memoir, audio book
12 CD's 14.75 hours

In this book the author spends a year trying to follow all the rules in the Bible, literally. (With a proportional amount of time spend between the Old and New Testaments based on their lenght.) Which is especially odd as he is an agnostic, raised as a secular Jew.  He talks with many different Jewish and Christians religious leaders about there takes on certain passages as well as thoughts on religion in general.  We learn how hard it is to get a Jehovah's Witness in your door when you want one and hear Amish jokes from the Amish.

Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey:

Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey - Save BIG Money & Make the Grocery Aisle Your Catwalk By: Joanie Demer & Heather Wheeler
Non-fiction: Cooking, Home Ec. 246 pages
Book Count: 34

This book is writen by "The Krasy Coupon Ladies" of www.TheKrazyCouponLady.com .  It is all about how to best use coupons to save money.  It has a lot of useful information in it.  Most of it would be helpfull for people new to couponing.  But it also had information that even experienced couponers most likey don't know. 

Devil's Punch:

Devil's Punch By: Ann Aguirre
Fiction:Fantasy, Paranormal 316 pages
Book Count: 33

This book is part of the Corine Soloman series.  It is not the first book in the series, but it can be read as a stand alone book. 
In this book Corine is living in Mexico, learning how to use the magic she inherited with the help of Tia.  She is also rebuilding her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Chance.  Then a demon kidnaps her best friend and she has to go to Hell to find her.  While there she learns about her family history and has to decide if she will risk it all to save her loved ones.

Nadia G'sBitchin Kitchen Cookin' For Trouble:

Nadia G'sBitchin Kitchen Cookin' For Trouble By: Nadia G
Non-fiction: cooking 197 pages
Book Count: 32

This book stays very close to the format of the TV show, for example some of the things are exactly the same things said on the show (if not most, I haven't seen every one.)  So if you like the show you will like the book.  Also, if you like maple syrup and kind of Itailian words you will like the book.  And the food looks good too. 

The Nosferatu Scroll:

The Nosferatu Scroll By: James Becker

Fiction: mystery, paranormal 466 pages

Book Count: 31



This book is part of a series about a British cop and his antiques expert ex-wife. In this one they travel to Venice and get wrapped up with a vampire cult. The book intertwines both their story and that of a young woman kidnapped by the cult. Over all it is an interesting story, but there is some disturbing scenes as well as a Dan Brown feel of being controversial to sell book. (This story not as badly as the other in the series clearly are, but still it is noticeable.)

Duct Tape Bags:

Duct Tape Bags By: Instructables Authors
Non-fiction: e-book

This is a collection of 18 things that you can make out of duct tape, all are some sort of bag.  There are also links to many other duct tape things.  The instructions were mostly clear and there were many pictures.  The pictures are clear even in black and white, but if you had a color e-reader they would be even better. (Note: one author did not speak English as their first language, and one had some formatting issues.)  The bags range from a reinforced zip top bag to a camping backpack complete with frame and adjustable straps.

The Vampire Defanged:

The Vampire Defanged: The: How the Embodiment of Evil Became a Romantic Hero By: Susannah Clements
Non-fiction: Literature, History, Paranormal, Religion 208 pages
Book Count: 30

This book deals with the changing religious and cultural themes found in vampire stories.  It starts out with Dracula pointing out the way the story was about evil and sin as seen from a Christian world view.  It then talks about the works of Anne Rice and how they also deal with religious ideas but not in a way that has clear cut answers.  Next it moves on to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV only) and the spin-off Angel, where many different religions as well as secular ideas formed there universe.  Then  the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries and True Blood removed most religious themes from their vampire stories, and replaced them with purely cultural themes of discrimination, what makes one a human, and how laws/rules change in different cultures.  The last major series discussed is Twilight, which basically removed all religious issues with vampires and changed them into "vegetarian" super heroes.  It also talks some of a few other books and movies is slight details. 
The book is a limited, but interesting look into the way that changing culture changes our stories to match it.  It would be best if the reader had at least a basic knowledge of all the stories before reading this book.  You should also know that it is clearly written from a Protestant Christian Worldview; however, they are not writing in a way that condemns vampire stories and they try to understand the Orthodox/Catholic beliefs that combined with earlier folk beliefs to make up traditional European vampire stories. 

Ghost Writers In the Sky:

Ghost Writers In the Sky By: Anne R. Allen
Fiction; Mystery, E-book
Book Count: 29

Note: this review is based off of a free copy of the book I was given from the author.  I did get it after entering a contest for a free book on their blog. (here) But I was not the official winner. 

Next semi unrelated to the story thing: I wonder how e-books have changed the number of people reading forewords, and other info at the start of the book.  Most e-books start at the start of the story and not the title page, etc., so when this book started at the foreword, that's were I did.

This book is a Camilla Randall (aka: Dr. Manners) mystery.  It can be read as a stand alone novel.

Camilla didn't think her life could get much worse after her messy divorce and related money problems.  But then a story about her being into all sorts of kinky things makes front page news and she agrees to talk at a writers' conference at and old ranch in California just to get away from the story.  Unfortunately, not only does the story follow her: but the ranch's owner see ghosts, her gay ex-boyfriend who was outed by her ex-husband is there,  the conference is full of jerks, there's a celebrity impersonating transsexual dominatrix, anti-wine groups,  hidden rooms, scandalous letters, and then there's the dead body in the bedroom. As you might guess this story has a number of twists and turns as well as a collection of quirky characters that make for some odd and funny situations, but even with these the mystery stays central to the story.  Amazingly with all that is going on she almost has time for romance, horse theft and attacking ghosts with designer shoes.

Gutenberg the Geek:

Gutenberg the Geek By: Jeff Jarvis
Non-Fiction: e-book, history

This is the story of how Gutenberg ended up making the printing press.  It talks about how he was the first geek, an early entrepreneur, and changed the face of the world.  It was interesting to see all the work that went into making the press.  It also at the end talks about the way the Internet is like the printing press and why the author feels that it is very important that it not be limited in any way especially by governments. 

Fruits Basket Vol 1:

Fruits Basket Vol 1 By: Natsuki Takaya
Non-Fiction: Manga 211 Pages
Book Count: 28

Tohru Honda is a high school girl who lives in a tent after the death of her mother.  It turns out the land that she is camping on belongs to the Sohma family.  They invite her to live with them as their maid/cook.  She agrees and ends up learning the family's secret; they turn into the animals of the Chinese zodiac when hugged by members of the opposite gender.  The member of the family that she goes to school with is the rat.  His big brother is the dog.  And another member of the family moves in.  He is the cat, who is not a true member of the zodiac.  Much like in the story of the Chinese zodiac he hates the rat. 

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi vol 7:

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi vol 7 The Power of Negative Thinking By: Koji Kumeta
Non-fiction, Manga 169 pages
Book Count: 27

In this volume we learned about attachments, priorities, groups, wooden string, 1/2, supply and demand and types of things.  We also meet a couple new people and a number of negative clones.

Joyful Momma's Guide to Shopping & Cooking Frugally:

Joyful Momma's Guide to Shopping & Cooking Frugally By: Kimberly Eddy
Non-fiction: Home Ec., cooking, religion 144 pages
Book Count: 26

This book is a good basic book for someone starting out working on saving money.  It did have a couple of tips that were new to me, but most of them were things I already knew from other books or from learning on my own.  There were also a number of recipes in the book as well.  These all looked tasty and had a lot of hints/tips/variations to make them cost effective no mater what things are on sale that week in the store.  It would be a good book to give someone starting out on their own.
Note: I labeled this book under religion as it does have a few Bible quotes and things about Christianity in it.  It is not overly religious. 

Missing Kamikakushi No Monogatari vol 1:

Missing Kamikakushi No Monogatari Vol: 1  Story by: Gakuto Coda Art by: Rei Mutsuki
Non-Fiction: Manga, mystery, paranormal 172 pages
Book Count:25

This manga is based off a series of novels by the same name.  In this volume we meet Kyoichi Utsume, known by his friends in the Literature Club as "His Majesty, Lord of Darkness."  We also meet Ayame, a mysterious girl who might be a ghost, wind maiden, or a kamikakushi (stealer of souls).  When His Majesty dissapears his friends talk about his dark past and try and come up with a way to rescue him. 

How I Write Secrets of a Bestselling Author:

How I Write Secrets of a Bestselling Author By: Janet Evanovich with Ina Yalof
Non-fiction: writing 240 pages
Book Count: 24


This book is a series of questions that were asked on Janet Evanovich's website that have to do with writing and her answers.  They are divided up by subject and some of the questions are also answered by Ina Yalof and or Alex Evanovich (Janet's daughter and webmaster.)  They include the whole range of writing from: How do you come up with ideas to What's a book tour like?  The include many examples of the Stephanie Plum series and was written after book 12, so if you are reading the books wait until you finish 12 to read this as this book includes an outline of book 12.

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi vol 6:

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi The Power of Negative Thinking Vol 6 By: Koji Kumeta
Non-fiction: Manga 169 pages
Book Count: 23

No review as you heard it a million times before and the ghost doesn't want any expectations in this volume. 

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi vol 5:

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi The Power of Negative Thinking vol 5 By: Koji Kumeta
Non-Fiction: Manga, 169 pages
Book Count: 22

In this volume there are more holidays as well as seasons.  We meet another member of Zetsubou-Sensi's family and one more of the students. 

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi vol: 4:

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi The Power of Negative Thinking vol 4 by: Koji Kumeta
Non-fiction: Manga 180 pages
Book Count: 21

In this volume we have a summery of a previous volume (of what I don't know but something.)  We also celebrate holidays and learn that the authors clearly have no idea how long the gestational period of a human is.

Ghosts, Spirits, & Hauntings Am I Being Haunted?:

Ghosts, Spirits, & Hauntings  Am I Being Haunted? Edited by: Michael Pye & Kirsten Dalley
Non-Fiction, Paranormal, essays, 203 pages
Book Count: 20

In short the answer to the question in the title is: no, maybe, Nessie is a ghost, and you must ask a parapsychologist to find out.  It is a collection of essays from many different authors.  They mostly talk about studying ghosts and psychic abilities.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children By: Ransom Riggs
Fiction: Fantasy, history 351 pages
Book Count: 19

Jacob grew up with his grandfather's stories of monsters and peculiar children on a magical island.  He even had some odd pictures of the kids.  As he got older Jacob stopped believing the stories as literally true.  His grandfather was an Eastern European Jew during WWII, clearly the monsters were the Nazis and the only thing remotely unusual about the kids was that they were also Jewish.  The island was a remote one that was part of the UK so its only magic was that it was safe.
 And then the monsters come after his grandfather and he sees one.  It looks just like the monsters in the stories; rotting skin, tentacle tongues, black eyes.  Jacob then start putting the clues his grandfather gave him together to find the truth of all the stories about the peculiar children he grew up hearing.

Creative Writing Demystified:

Creative Writing Demystified By: Sheila Bender, M.A.
Non-Fiction: Writing 207 pages
Book Count: 18

This book is about how to improve your writing.  In each section there is information about a writing technique, style, etc and then ideas on writing exercises you can do to improve that thing.  It includes ideas from many different writers and for all types of creative writing. 

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi vol 3:

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi The Power of Negative Thinking vol 3 by: Koji Kumeta
Non-fiction, Manga 169 pages
Book Count: 17

In this volume there is : a gross-out test, another student, a minimum cultural festival,  not a field trip, amakudari, idols, more family, hibernation, and a dark stew.

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi vol 2:

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensi The Power of Negative Thinking Vol 2 By: Koji Kumeta
Non-fiction: Manga 169 pages
Book Count:16

In this volume we deal with wishes, Commodore Perry, the secret of the universe, shadows, trips, we meet some more students and learn about Sensi's family.  Also there is the oddest way of arranged marriages which results in some unusual results.  And at the end of each book is page notes on things someone not from Japan might not know.

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei vol 1:

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei  - The Power of Negative Thinking vol 1 By: Koji Kumeta
Non-Fiction: Manga
Book Count: 15


Classroom 2-F is unusual. First there is the teacher "Mr. Despair" who is suicidal, and even made a list of all the best places and ways to kill himself. Then the students are even odder. There is the always optimistic girl, the shut-in, the stalker, the illegal alien that bought the identity of a student, the split personality and even the "ordinary" one wouldn't be in any other class. In this volume each chapter introduced a new unique character.

Bestsellers Top Writers Tell How:

Bestsellers Top Writers Tell How By: Richard Joseph
Non-fiction: Biography, Writing 284 pages
Book Count: 14

This book has interviews from 23 authors with information on how they started writing, how they do their writing, and other writing related information. There are a wide range of British and American authors interviewed in this book. It also includes information on how the book came about and comments on when the writers give opposite advice from each other. Due to its focus it includes info that many other biographies about these authors do not include or do not go into details about.

Awkward Family Photos:

Awkward Family Photos By: Mike Bender and Doug Chernack
Non-fiction: Humor, Pop Culture 187 pages
Book Count: 13


This book is from the same people who made the web site of the same name. It includes all sorts of awkward, odd and embarrassing photos of families. There are also comments by people in the pictures and awkward stories about all sorts of family members.

Happy Easter

Happy Passover

Ring Around the Rosie:

Ring Around the Rosie By: Jen Wylie
e-Book: short story, fantasy,YA

This short story is based on the children's song; however, you only learn that at the end of the story.  Most of the book is about a teen who plays the flute and a strange pan pipe player in the park.

Dwelling in His Presence / 30 Days of Intimacy with God: A Devotional for Today's Woman:

Dwelling in His Presence / 30 Days of Intimacy with God: A Devotional for Today's Woman By: Cynthia Heald
Non-fiction: religion 186 pages
Book Count: 12

This book of 30 days of  devotions is designed to be a quick read but with individual prayers/activities to do to enrich the experience.  They all have the same basic formula: bible quote, thoughts on the quote, a story from the author, thoughts to pray/meditate/write about dealing with the quote, a related quote from a well known Christian writer/minister/etc., and a prayer.  The only thing that isn't consistent is what version of the bible her quotes are in.  Bible quotes are used frequently throughout each day's reading but sometimes she will use 3-4 different versions in the same day, everything from the New King James to The Message.

The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible!:

The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible! By: Otto L.Bettmenn
Non-Fiction: History 197 pages
Book Count: 11

This book is on the Gilded Age and why life back then was horrible.  It covers many areas of life like houses, work, crime, food, health,travel and leisure.  You learn about the dangers of crossing a road, when the word smog was created, and why anything you ate or drank would kill you.  It is amazing that anyone lived to die in WWI. 

Ghosts The Complete Guide to the Supernatural:

Ghosts The Complete Guide to the Supernatural By: Zachary Graves
Non-Fiction: Paranormal 185 pages
Book Count: 10

First, given the author's name, how could they not write about ghost?  This book does have some good information on ghosts, but is in no way the complete guide to them.  The sections on: real haunted places, ghosts in films, books with ghost and other ghosts in the arts were a good starting point to studying the topics.  The parts on religions/beliefs on ghosts/spirits and holidays about them are all too short/general to be useful and there are other books that deal with the subject better.  Also he is clearly in the pocket of Big Achient Egyptian Polytheism with his needless attack of Akhenaten. So over all an OK starting place for the study of historic and fictional ghosts. 

Zen in the Art of Writing:

Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity By: Ray Bradbury
Non-fiction: Writing, Essays 152 pages
Book Count: 9

This is a collection of essays and poems that are all related to writing and being a writer.  They also have a lot of information about Ray Bradbury's life and how/why he wrote different stories in them.  The essays are from a number of years and were published in other books and magazines.  The advice is practical and doable, but you will want to read it five years before yo want to be a writer. 

Portuguese Irregular Verbs:

Portuguese Irregular Verbs By: Alexander McCall Smith
fiction, humor, audio book
4 CD's 4 Hours

This book comes before the other book about Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld that we have reviewed.  That review can be found here.

In this book he gets a "friend" into a duel, learns tennis from an old rule book, breaks into a library and in general travels the world creating trouble.

Still Coming:

Still Coming By: Joseph Flynn
Fiction: Mystery, E-book

A small, but prestigious college receives some unusual letters, for each person that the school turned down they got a letter written in red, bloodlike ink only saying "Still Coming".  They are all posted from the right cities, and there are slight differences in handwriting but besides that they are identical.  From that time on things get odd in the small town nearby; ghosts, lights messing up, fires, angry mobs, etc. 

40 Unforgettable Dates with Your Mate:

40 Unforgettable Dates with Your Mate By: Gary and Barbara Roseberg
Non-fiction: Religion, Relationships 208 pages
Book Count: 8

This book is a collection of date ideas for married couples based of a survey of love needs completed by a number of Christian couples.  The ideas are mostly simple. They do note the complexity of set up, price and flexibly of each date.  They also include questions to ask each other on the date.  They are set up in 5 levels that are meant to be increasingly complex; however, most of the questions are things that most people in a healthy relationship would already know (i.e.level 4 question of who your husband's friends are.)  It might be helpful for newlyweds or people who are having relationship problems.   

THE ACCIDENTAL EXISTENTIALIST:

THE ACCIDENTAL EXISTENTIALIST By: Joshua Graham
Fiction: E-book, Short Story

Note the title is as written. 
In this story a man fakes his own death to get revenge on the man that killed his child.

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland:

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland By: Patton Oswalt
Non-Fiction: Essay, Humor, Memoir  262 pages
Book Count: 7


This is the strange mixture of writings that you would expect from a comedian like Patton Oswalt:  part essays, part memoir, part intentionally bad screenplays and part epic poem in ode to a D & D character. All of it entertaining.

These Hellish Happenings:

These Hellish Happenings By: Jennifer Rainey
Fiction: Paranormal, Humor, Romance 376 pages
Book Count: 6

Jack Bentley is an over 300 year old vampire who works retail.  If centuries of angry customers wasn't enough, he made a deal with the devil to escape a vampire hunt and now it's his time to pay.  His new job is at the offices of Hell.  Which are almost as bad as the office in "Office Space" (he at least doesn't have to come in over the weekend.)  But, even in Hell vampires are second class citizens.  And his only way to escape an eternity of tiny apartments and buses that smell is getting the demon who brought him in to let him live with him.

Cursed Immortals: Judas and the Vampires:

Cursed Immortals: Judas and the Vampires By: Aiden James with J.R. Rain
Fiction: paranormal, e-book


This book has two books in it, both are the 1st book in a series.  Book one is Plague of Coins of the Judas Chronicles which is the book written by both authors.  Book two is The Vampires' Last Lover of the Dying of the Dark series.


In Plague of Coins Judas did become immortal after trying to kill himself (twice) for betraying Jesus; however, he isn't a vampire or evil.  He does look the same age as he did 2,000 years ago.  He also must find all of the coins that he got for the betrayal before the Second Coming in order to have a chance to get into Heaven.  In this book he as well as his son (who looks twice as old as his dad.) are looking for one of the coins in Iran.  Their trip gets overrun by the US government who want them to look into a Russian who is looking for the garden of Eden. 

In The Vampires' Last Lover Txema a 19 year old girl who carries her family's two teardrop birthmark on her neck, finds out the truth about her family tree.  Not only were they royals, but their family is connected with vampires.  And there are 2 groups of vampires.  One is human like and the others are more animal then man.  The second group are out to get her and the first say they want to protect her, but Txema isn't so sure. 

Dear Coca-Cola:

Dear Coca-Cola By: Terry Ravenscroft
Non-Fiction: Humor, E-book

This is a series of letters between the author and companies.  It is written in the United Kingdom so there are some spellings and products that are not used/found in America.  Some of the correspondences deals with accidentally eating dog food, making 1000% more caffeine coffee, making rice pudding with chicken soup, naming a horse after a product, and odd tour requests.  All subjects have more then 2 letters being sent back and forth. 

Essays in the Art of Writing:

Essays in the Art of Writing By: Robert Louis Stevenson
Non-Fiction: Writing 46 pages
Book Count: 5

This short book is about how Stevenson wrote his stories and his thoughts on the art of writing.  I found the part about his writing which is the second half of the book interesting.  The part on the art of writing was not at all what you would expect from someone that is known best for writing adventure stories about pirates. It was very much about the "art".  There were times that 1 sentence took up nearly 1/2 a page.   Some of the ideas about use of letters and sounds repeating in works might be useful in poetry, but most of it wasn't practical information for writing as much as ideas on the ideals of the written word.

Ghost College:

Ghost College (The Ghost Files #1) By: J.R. Rain and Scott Nicholson
Fiction: paranormal, short story, e-book

This series of stories are about a couple that investigate hauntings and remove the ghosts.  The wife is very sensitive to the paranormal after talking with her dead father as a child.  The husband is very logical and doesn't actually believe in ghosts, even after working in this line of work for some time now.  In this case they are investigating a haunting at a small Christian college in California.  The school has a long past as a seminary, orphanage, school and college.  Before they even finish talking to the school's president a ghost of a Victorian girl manifests, but it's clear that there is something much darker there too.

Cursed!:

Cursed! By: Scott Nicholson and J.R. Rain
Fiction: Mystery, Paranormal, E-Book

Albert Shipway is having the worst day of his life.  When on his way to lunch a little old lady curses him with his worst fear (and she seams to know about the mouse that killed his best friend as a kid.)  When he gets back to work the cops are there because his ex-girlfriend is dead, and it looks like his crazy not quite ex wife killed her and took his child (which he didn't even know about.)  From there things get weird. 

Earl Lindquist: Accountant and Zombie Killer:

Earl Lindquist: Accountant and Zombie Killer By: Victor Methos
Fiction: Short Story, Paranormal, E-book


This story starts out as your average person during the zombie outbreak story type.  This one with a bit of a humorous take on it.  But then half way in the story completely changes in a way that to say anything would give things away.   Still a good story, just a bit more touching then I expected, but as a plus Samurai swords!

Zombies at the Door, Planning for the Inevitable:

Zombies at the Door, Planning for the Inevitable By: Charles M. Pulsipher
Non-fiction: humor  68 pages
Book Count: 4


This short book is a how to guide for what to do when the zombies attack.  It includes directions of things that you need to do ahead of time (which are mostly useful emergency information, first aid kits and supplies.)  It also has information on what to do once there are zombies. (Hint: no matter what you do, DO NOT go to the mall.)  As well as basic information on zombies and why the author feels that it would be the most likely correct ideas, if there were zombies.

THE ACCIDENTAL EXORCIST:

THE ACCIDENTAL EXORCIST by: Joshua Graham
Fiction: Short Story, E-book, Paranormal

A forensic psychiatrist is haunted by a case of a woman that killed her own children.  She clearly isn't sane, but she seams to be more then just insane, like evil itself is inside of her.  (Note : title is written as it is on the book.)

The Manga Guide to Electricity:

 
The Manga Guide to Electricity By: Kazuhiro Fujitaki Art by: Matsuda
Non-Fiction: Manga, Science 200 page
Book Count: 3

This book teaches high school/beginning college level electrical science using manga. Its storyline is about a girl from an extratresteral land called Electopia who gets sent to earth to learn about electricity and moves in with an electrical engineer. It covers all the basics about electricity; types, circuits, battery types, generators, AC/DC, conductors, diodes, transistors, currents, waves, volts and the equations connected to them. Most of the information is presented as part of the manga but there are also sections after with just the science and math.

The Curse of the Holy Pail:

The Curse of the Holy Pail (The Odelia Grey Mysteries) by: Sue Ann Jaffarian
Fiction: Mystery, Cozy 384 pages
Book Count:2

This is a book about old Westerns, collector lunch boxes, and murder.  As the title points out it is part of a series of books that star Odelia Grey; who is a middle aged, curvy, paralegal that is always in the wrong place at the right time. 

Desperate Housedogs:

Desperate Housedogs By: Sparkle Abbey
Fiction: Mystery: cozy, chick lit  202 pages

Book Count: 1

This book is the 1st in a series written by 2 mystery writers about a pet therapist.  Their pen name is taken from the name of their pets. 
This book deals with the death of the owner of two German Shepherds who Caro Lamont works with.  She was also one of the last people to see him alive.  Do to an odd fight that she has with a cousin over who inherited their grandmother's broach, she also "breaks" into the dead man's house the day after he died to find the jewelry.  Because of this she meets an aging rocker who loves dogs (and her friend), and finds a little black book, filled with all the secrets of the neighborhood (only it's in a code.)  From then on she is determined to solve the case. 

A Book in Review: Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go

Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go By: Les Ederton
Non-Fiction: Writing 256 pages
Book Count: 104

This book is all about writing a great beginning to a story.  It also deals with the rest of the story too, but it's main point is that a story must "hook" you from the start if you are going to read the rest of the book.  It uses a lot of examples from books, short stories, and movies.  It also asks agents and editors questions about what they look for as well as hate in stories. 

A Book in Review: The Misanthrope's Guide to Life (Go Away!)

The Misanthrope's Guide to Life (Go Away!) By: Meghan Rowland and Christ Turner-Neal
Non-fiction, humor 224 pages
Book Count: 103


This book is the ultimate guide for people who hate people.  It covers diverse topics like travel, work, love, holidays, death and more.  It is written by the creators of 2birds1blog.com . It also includes quizzes so you can find out if you are a misanthrope and what kind. 

A Book in Review: Twelve Sharp

Twelve Sharp By: Janet Evanovich
Fiction: Mystery 310 pages
Book Count: 102


The review of the last book is here.

In this book they are hiring more bounty hunters, and a new office worker, named Pickle.  Also Ranger is wanted for the kidnapping of his daughter.  Not that he did it, it only looks like it was him.

A Book in Review: Me, Myself and Why?

Me, Myself and Why?  A Modern Threesome By: Mary Janice Davidson

Fiction: Mystery 302 pages

Book Count:  101

This is the story of three sisters that work for a special division of the F.B.I.  Well, actually only the oldest sister does, but as they are all in one body the others show up from time to time.   And what makes the F.B.I. division so special is that they hire people with multiple personality disorder as well as other mental illnesses, so everyone there knows about the three of them.  Cadence, the main personality, is working on stopping the ThreeFer serial killer, who always kills in groups of three.  Her “sister” Shiro pops out whenever her life requires fighting, and to help put the clues together.  The last “sister” Adrienne is just crazy and her parts of the book are written in free form poems.  Along with working on this crime that seams in some way connected to her, Cadence is also trying to date.  (Which is hard to do when her one sister cancels dates on her.  And they both pop up during dates.) 

A Book In Review: How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming By: Mike Brown

Non-fiction, science 255 pages

Book Count: 100

This book is written by the person whose discovery of an object larger then Pluto and farther away in this solar system resulted in Pluto no longer being called a planet.  It tells the story of his quest to find the 10^th planet, and everything that happened during it.  You learn a lot about modern astronomy in this book as well as the history of the 9 planets that we grew up with. 

A Book in Review: America’s Hidden History

America’s Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation By: Kenneth C. Davis

Non-fiction: history 234 pages

Book Count: 99

This book deals with stories of things that happened in America from the first Europeans the visit it to the early days of the USA that we don’t learn about in history class.  Each section has a timeline, quotes from people involved, the story of the event and then an afterwards.    Some of the events are things that most people have never heard about and some are detailed accounts of things that are mentioned in history classes, but not in great detail. 

An Audiobook in Review: The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs By: Alexander McCall Smith

Fiction: Humour



This book starts out when a German professor of language (or more exactly irregular Portuguese verbs) takes a trip to America to do a talk, where they were expecting a similarly named German professor of veterinary science. (Who is an expert in the sausage dog and dead.) From there things take many turns for the weird. A number of times it is clear what the twist is before it happens, but that does little to stop it from being funny, (although, it is more of a groaning at the event then laugh out loud funny.) In the end the story ends where it starts, with a sausage dog.



4Cds 4 hours

An Audiobook in Review: From Hell wih Love

From Hell wih Love By: Simon R. Green
Fiction, fantasy, paranormal

This book is part of the Secret Histories novels; however, it can be read alone.   In this book Eddie Drood is chasing after the mysterious Apocalypse Door, when his grandmother, the family matriarch is killed and he and his girlfriend are the prime suspects.  Also they learn about a family as old as the Droods that want to destroy them.  The Bride of Frankenstein also shows up in this book as do many other one of a kind characters.

10 CDs, 12 hours

A Holiday Book In Review: Joe Sixpack's Philly Beer Guide

Joe Sixpack's Philly Beer Guide By: Don Russell
Non-fiction: Food and Drink 211 pages
Book Count: 98

This book is on all things beer in Philly and the surounding area.  It includes information on local bars, brewpubs, breweries, stores, homewbrew suplies and most anything else beer related in the area.  It is part travel guide and part book on beer types, brands etc.

Holidays

You may have noiced the lack of super holidayness. Afte like 5 years of this we have run out of ideas for the time. So we are giving it a rest. Maybe next year. And now back to the books.

Happy Advent

A Book in Review: The Stardust Kid

The Stardust Kid By: J.M. De Matteis & Mike Ploog with Nick Bell & Dave Lanphear
Non-Fiction: Graphic Novel, Children, Fantasy 128 Pages
Book Count: 97

This is a fantasy adventure book for kids around age 8-12. It's the story of a boy named Cody who is friends with an ancient being from before time and outside of time (which makes the storyline quite unusual.) His mirror (like a soul mate only more so) has turned against the world of humans and tries destroying it. So Cody, his human best friend and their little siblings must try and save the world.

A Note to Self: How They Croaked

How They Croaked - The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous
Non-Fiction: children's, history 161 pages
Book Count: 96

Long time readers of this blog will know that when we read a non-fiction book that has "facts" in it that we know are incorrect (without some supporting information showing new research etc.) we wonder about the truth of all the new to us information in it. This book had multiple cases of this. It also was written in a way that clearly showed the author's opinion on many things(religion, politics, etc). As these two things colored my thoughts on the book sooo much, I'm not going the review it.

Holidays of Yesterday:

With sooooo many holidays that happened yesterday (some that we may never see again) we forgot about another one. Yesterday was Pocky Day/ Pretz Day in Japan. Yes, that’s right Japan has a whole holiday to celebrate stick shaped snack food. Now we don’t know how big of a thing it is there, but it is big enough that it has stayed up on Wikipedia for at least a month now. (So it’s most likely not just a prank.) Has anyone else heard more about this day, and what they do for it besides the eating of stick shaped snacks?

This is Spinal Tap quotes:

“In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history, an ancient race of people... the Druids. No one knows who they were or what they were doing...”
“I do not, for one, think that the problem was that the band was down. I think that the problem *may* have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being *crushed* by a *dwarf*. Alright? That tended to understate the hugeness of the object.”
“Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It's just not really widely reported.”
“It's like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black.”
“You can't really dust for vomit.”
“We're very lucky in the band in that we have two visionaries, David and Nigel, they're like poets, like Shelley and Byron. They're two distinct types of visionaries, it's like fire and ice, basically. I feel my role in the band is to be somewhere in the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water.”


And of course the reason for the whole holiday:

Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...
Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Nigel Tufnel: Exactly.
Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
Marty DiBergi: I don't know.
Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven.
Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.

Happy: Binary Day, Nigel Tufnel Day, Veteran’s Day

(In Alphabetical order)

A Book in Review: Eleven on Top

Eleven on Top By: Janet Evanovich
Fiction: mystery 405 pages
Book Count: 95

The post on book ten can be seen here.


In this book Stephanie gives up on being a bounty hunter all together. But that doesn't stop her cars from blowing up, or anything else as it looks like one of her past cases has come back for revenge. She tries setting the record for the most jobs in the shortest amount of time between explosions. And speaking of explosions her sister's wedding it just days away.

Do Not Let Mr.Bean Near Your Turkey

A Turkey By Any Other Name. . .

Turkeys have many odd names from around the world, showing that no one had any idea what this American bird was. Here are what some of them translate into in English.

- Roman Rooster
- Ethiopian Bird
- Egypt
- Greek Bird
- French Chicken
- Peru
- Dutch Chicken
- Indian Bird
- Calicut (India)
- Chicken from India
- Rooster of India
- Native Fowl
- Western Chicken
- Elephant Chicken
- Big Chicken
- Cough up a Brocade Chicken
- Cough up a Ribbon Chicken
- Fire Chicken
- Peafowl
- The Great Duck
- Big Bird
- Seven-faced Bird
In short the turkey is a large chicken from some country (possibly India) that you should stay away from if it is coughing.

Marie Curie's Birthday

Today is Marie Currie's 144th birthday. She is best known as the Nobel prizes winning scientist that single handedly disproved 1/2 of all comic book heroes origin stories. . . so remember kids radiation kills.

A Holiday E-Book in Review: Beer Is Proof God Loves Us

Beer Is Proof God Loves Us Reaching for the Soul of Beer and Brewing By:Charles W. Bamforth
Non-fiction: Memoir, Food



This book is a combination of a memoir and a history of modern brewing. It was written by an English man and so has British words in it, but it includes a lot of information on the US, German, Belgium and other big brewing countries. As it was as much about the author as about beer it does include a lot of personal opinions about beer, politics and religion. Also, he did work for Anheuser-Busch, and sees no problem with "bland lagers" as he himself calls them. Although, much of the praise that he gives them are based on their consistency. But I have issues with someone that thinks its just a matter of personal taste if you like the yellow water that passes for American Lager, but then decries against Alcopops (Flavored Malt Liquor)because many brewers (and from the context that includes him)think that "their very existence jeopardizes the long-term existence of beers as they know and love them for the simple reason that younger drinkers who are challenged by bitter products will not gravitate from these sweeter and easier-to-drink alcoholic products." Also, 1/2 of this book is the notes on the end, but many of the notes are just more personal stories.

Thanksgiving Songs:

Look. look at all the songs we have for this major holiday. . . some one really needs to work on this. Why is it that Christmas has a ton of songs about everything from what the holiday is actualy about to the weirdest Christmas gifts ever, but many of the other ones get stuck with a handfull of songs that were only written in the last 60 years that somewhat have to do with some part of the day? Anyway enjoy.






OK, there are a few more Thanksgiving Day songs out there, but name 3. Unless you are a kid singing silly songs about turkey and mashed potatoes in school, or you have a favorite artist that happenes to like Thanksgiving a lot, or you looked it up on youtube I doubt that you can. Maybe later this month if I have a day that I don't have anything for, I'll share some of the youtube ones as well, but it's slow right now, and their are only so many songs about eating turkey you can lissen to before lunch.

A Holiday Book in Review: Yetis, Sasquatch & Hairy Giants

Yetis, Sasquatch & Hairy Giants By: David Hatcher Childress
Non-fiction: Paranormal 378 pages
Book Count: 94

This book is odd, like most on the subject it seams to be written to show people the legitimacy of Bigfoot research and that they exist. However, it uses Wikipedia as a source more then a professor would allow on a school paper. Also it includes random pictures of the cover of the "Weekly World News". It starts by talking about giants in history and legends as if the next step from really tall people is a Sasquatch. Much of the book is just quotes of people's stories of seeing a yeti, Bigfoot, grassman or any of the other names for the same or similar animals. It talks more about cases that seam to be faked then the most reliable Bigfoot information. It does have a bibliography in the back and notes where each story is from, but that is the extent of scholarlyness in the book.

(Also, this ends the Halloween books that I didn't finish before the holiday.)

A Holiday Book in Review: The Book of Pirates

The Book of Pirates By: Jamaica Rose and Captain Michael Macleod
Non-fiction: Children's, activities, history, 219 pages
Book Count: 93

(Yes, I was a little off in the book reading timing for the holidays.)

As we read a book on ninjas it is only fair to read a pirates one too. (given that they are natural enemies of each other.)

This is a book for kids all about pirates. It includes information on real pirates, pirates in books and movies, and pirate activities that kids could do. (some with a little adult help.) It has a good mix of information on pirates: including female ones, Chinese pirates, modern ones and other things that often get overlooked in books. It also names websites that have more information or where you can get supplies for the activities in the book.

Quotes on Death by Dead People

~ Nothing can happen more beautiful than death. - Walt Whitman
~ First our pleasures die - and then Our hopes, and then our fears - and when These are dead, the debt is due, Dust claims dust - and we die too. - Percy Shelley
~ Death lies on her, like an untimely frost Upon the sweetest flower of all the field. - William Shakespeare
~ Is death the last sleep? No, it is the last final awakening. – Sir Walter Scott
~ Call no man happy till he is dead. – Aeschylus
~ Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh. - George Bernard Shaw
~ One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation. - Oscar Wilde
~ Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. - Mahatma Gandhi
~ Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered -- either by themselves or by others. - Mark Twain
~ Thank Heaven! the crisis --The danger, is past, and the lingering illness, is over at last --, and the fever called ''Living'' is conquered at last. - Edgar Allan Poe
~ The hour of departure has arrived and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better? Only God knows. – Socrates
~ Death and love are the two wings that bear the good man to heaven. – Michelangelo
~ As a day well spent brings blessed sleep, so a life well spent brings a blessed death. - Leonardo da Vinci
~ Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. - J.R.R. Tolkien
~ I'm not afraid of dying. To me dying is like getting out of one car and into another. - John Lennon
~ Why should I fear death? If I am, death is not. If death is, I am not. Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not? - Epicurus

Holidays in November

1 All Saints Day
Day of the Innocents – 1st Day of the Dead
2 All Souls Day
Day of the Dead
9 World Freedom Day
11 Armistice Day/Remembrance Day/Veterans Day
Pocky Day
Metal Day
13 World Kindness Day
14 World Diabetes Day
15 Winter Lent
16 International Day for Tolerance
17 International Students’ Day
19 International Men’s Day
World Toilet Day
20 Universal Children’s Day
21 National Adoption Day
World Hello Day
World TV Day
24 Thanksgiving
25 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Black Friday
27 Start of Advent
28 Cyber Monday
30 Cities for Life Day