The Primal Blueprint 21 Day Total Body Transformation:

The Primal Blueprint 21 Day Total Body Transformation By: Mark Sisson
Non-fiction: Food 192 pages
Book Count: 14

This book starts with a shorten description on the primal diet/ lifestyle and then has a 21 day challenge on how to jump into following the primal blueprint.

The Primal Blueprint:

The Primal Blueprint By: Mark Sisson
Non-fiction: food, science 273 pages
Book Count: 13

I started reading the web site that goes with this book, before reading the book, so not only does this book go over a number of things that all the other diet books that I have been reading, but also other writings from the same author.  However, this book also deals with more then just diet, but a whole lifestyle based on the best things that were part of early human life. Also the next two or so books that I read in paper form will also be from the same author as this diet works for me. 
The primal diet is much like that of the paleo diet, (no grains, lower carbs, based mainly on veggies, meat, and fruits.) But also allows for dairy for those that do not have issues with dairy and understands that you aren't going to follow the diet 100% of the time and lets you know the best options of non-primal foods.  It also includes a large amount of exercise info that also goes against conventional wisdom like the diet itself.  It includes most of your exercising time spend on lower energy exercising like hiking, walking, slower bike rides or playing backyard pick-up games of your favorite sports.  Plus, every once in a while going all out with sprints, fast biking and other similar work outs for a short time.  And last some level of strenght training. This book is a bit more strict then the website, (http://www.marksdailyapple.com ) so some of the things I said may be more about the website then the book, as see last entry on having read the book weeks ago. 

The Steampunk Gazette:

The Steampunk Gazette By: Major Tinker
Non-Fiction: Sci-fi/Fantasy, History, Pop Culture 249 pages
Book Count: 12

This is a book on all things steampunk.  It includes chapters on the main things of steampunk, with shorter two or so pages sub-chapters on many things with a lot of pictures and examples on all these things.  It deals with the history of steampunk, sub-groups, conventions, living steampunk and much more. 

It was a very quick and fun read which I would have posted about in the middle of the month, with more details, but as many of you know I was a bit busy. 

Wheat Belly:

Wheat Belly By: William Davis, MD
Non-fiction: Science, Diet 266 pages
Book Count: 11

Yes, I did check out a whole bunch of books from the same section of the library at once and now I feel like I have to read them all, even thought a lot of the information repeats itself, why do you ask?

Anyway this book as well as dealing with the importance of the effect that foods have on your blood sugar also deals with the way that modern wheat has been made and how it seams to be effecting people.  As some of you may know scientist and farmers have been working on grains that will make more food in less time for the last 50 years (they were working on it some since people domesticated plants, but in a slower less engineered way.)  This has lead to wheat that is much easier to grow, but also that has a different genetic make up then earlier wheats.  And it has also lead to an increase of people that have shown problems with eating this wheat (Celiac disease, gluten intolerance, other medical issues).  The author's belief is that the two things are connected.  This book first deals with the science and anidotial evidence to support his claim and then becomes a diet book about how to eat wheat free, including a few recipes.

The Golem and the Jinni:

The Golem and the Jinni By: Helene Wecker
Fiction: Fantasy 484 pages
Book Count: 10

This is the story of a female golem (clay person brought to life to serve their master in Jewish mythology.) and a male jinni (based largely on the original jinni found in Muslim stories.)  They both end up in New York City at around the turn of the century (1900's) The golem was made to be the wife of a man who brought her to life on the boat ride over to America and then died of a ruptured appendice.  She is found by a kindly old rabbi after she accidentally steals food because without a master she can hear the wants of everyone and a small boy was hungry. The jinni pops out of an oil bottle in a metalworkers shop having no memory of how he got there or why he is stuck in his human form.  From there the story is of two fish out of water in an intertwining circle with an unexpected ending.

Good Calories. Bad Calories:

Good Calories. Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease By: Gary Taubes
Non-fiction: Science, Food 460 pages
Book Count: 9

This book starts with the idea that much of what the public is taught about healthy eating is the product of bad science.  Not that the test done on diet were all that bad (although do to the inability of doing double blind test on what people eat there are limitations to using normal scientific protocols in the tests.) But that people have consistently interpreted the results of tests to fit their hypothesis/the current ideas on food. (Some he argues do to blindness, some to save face, some to save their job, and some because the test wasn't even testing what they thought it was. He also goes into detail on why they did this.) To argue this point he deals with the actual raw data relating to diet from the last century.  This makes this book very dense reading with a lot of footnotes, bibliography entries, and a large index.  They author's main point is that carbs and especially the highly processed carbs of the modern diet are the reason that people in Western and Westernized countries are getting fatter and dealing with weight related health problems like heart problems and diabetes. Because there are not large number of large scale studies that have looked at the possibility that a low-carb diet can help one lose weight or improve health or that compare the low-fat, low calorie diet with a low-carb one (At least not when this was written) when he deals with proving why he thinks this he has to use more individual cases and observations.   But, after dealing with the problems in the use of low-fat, calorie reducing diets, his theory comes across as something that at least looks promising.

Note to friends: Yes, I have lost weight, twice the amount that I ever lost on a traditional diet, also I am not hungry, and I'm only working out because I have more energy now. :)

15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes:

15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes By: Dana Carpender
Non-Fiction: Cooking 245 pages
Book Count: 8

Yes, more diet books. . .  I would apologize, but as most of my friends reading this are also dieting, enjoy. This book has a wide variety of quick meals, drinks, desserts and condiments all with info on their carbs, fiber and protein.  The ingredient list for most every thing can be found at the grocery store of a good sized town.  (Even many of the odder things I've seen at places like Wal-mart.) The most carb filled recipes have around 15 net carbs (total carbs minus fiber and/or other non-digested carbs.)  

Darth Vader and Son:

Darth Vader and Son By Jeffrey Brown
Fiction: Graphic Novel, Humor 64 pages
Book Count: 7

This book is a series of comics about what would it be like if Darth Vader had actually raised Luke and Lei. In the comics Luke is 4. It's cute and funny with lots of Star Wars jokes included.

TCIGT: Low-Carb Meals:

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Low-Carb Meals By: Lucy Beale and Sandy G. Couvillon, M.S., L.D.N., R.N.
Non-fiction: food, 364 pages
Book Count: 6

This book is not for any particular type of low-carb diet and so has a range of meals with between a couple to 30 net carbs per dish.  It also has sections for things that are less low carbs with ideas and cheats to make some of them lower; however, it also has some just  messing with the serving size, things like a corn and black bean "salad" with a serving size of a couple of spoon fulls (they note that it is more of a salsa but put it in with salads like that is going to be one of your veggies for a meal.) It also has meal plan ideas and all the normal sidebars that this type of book normally has.

Long Live the Queen:

Long Live the Queen (The Immortal Empire #3) By: Kate Locke
Fiction: Mystery, Sci-fi/Fantasy 311 pages
Book Count: 5

This is the end of this book series.  Info on book 2 can be found here. In this book she is still looking for the people behind the labs running tests on halfies.  She has also taken her role as the queen of the goblins and is dealing with a near revolution of humans.  And then there is the monster that almost kills Vex, the alpha of the werewolves and her boyfriend, who looks like her and might be her daughter.

You on A Diet:

You on A Diet by: Michael F. Roizen M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz M.D.
Non-fiction: Food, Science 354 pages
Book Count: 4

This book has a lot of the science of how a diet works with info on the way the body processes food as well.  Also I used a fast food receipt for the bookmark and left it in the book to mess with whoever checks it out of the library next.

Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails:

Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails By: Ted Haigh
Non-Fiction: Food, History 331 pages
Book Count: 3

This book not only has 100 recipes for drinks you may have never heard of before, but it also has the stories behind the drinks and info on where you can find some of the hard to find ingredients and more drink related info.  The drinks are from the earliest bartender's guides, to drinks that with a few changes and new name you can still find today. Some require unusual bitters, liqueurs, and fortified wines; but some you could make with things that a decently stocked home bar would have.

Style Me Vintage:

Style Me Vintage By: Belinda Hay
Non-Fiction: 109 pages
Book Count: 2

This book uses British words and names for things, which mostly are easy to guess the American word for.  It also has step-by-step instructions for hairstyles from the 20's to the 60's, as well as pictures of many of the steps and the finished look.  

The Glycemic Load Diabetes Solution:

The Glycemic Load Diabetes Solution By: Rob Thompson, MD
Non-Fiction: Health, Food, Science 242 pages
Book Count: 1

First, a note to my friends that read this blog.  I am not diabetic.  In the normal New Year's Resolution, "I'm going to lose weight/ get healthy this year," thing I decided to use the diet that in the past had giving me the easiest weight loss, which was watching my carbs, expecily the ones that don't come from whole fruits and veggies. . . You can eat all the broccoli you want, it doesn't count as a sugar.

Now about the book.  This book is written based off of the idea of the glycemic load, which is a lot like the glycemic index in that it is all about how a food spikes your blood sugar compared to a slice of white bread; however, instead of using the same amount of sugars for the test they used a serving size.  So although in the index carrots are a high index food, you have to eat 7 full sized carrots for the amount to equal a slice of bread.  In the glycemic load tests they used one carrot and their numbers were a lot better than bread. In fact most all foods that are not full of grains (and potatoes) are lower on the glycemic load, so the main point of the diet is to not eat many starches or sugary drinks (the drinks because your body doesn't notice the sugar and calories from drinks as well as foods).  It is not like the Atkins diet in that fruits and veggies are encouraged in this diet and even for foods that are discouraged, eating a little is OK. This book was also written by someone that eats the diet and has had weight loss and improved health because of it.  The book also has a ton of information on diabetes which would be helpful for someone with diabetes.
(Not: he also has books on this subject for people that don't have diabetes, but the library didn't have it in, and I wanted to read some books at the start of my diet to refresh my memory.)

New Year's Resolutions:

I noticed that I did not actually post what was my reading New Year's Resolution last year, making the posts labeled with NYR (for new year's resolution) look like a random collection of books with no connections, so for this year I will let you in on what gets the NYR label for 2014.  After reading an article that talked about a book that I have been meaning to read and even own I decided that this year I would read 12 books that I actually own a physical copy of.  As so often I end up reading the books that I get from a library first and then e-books and then never get to the books I own unless it's something that I just bought for a class or group, as when I go to return the library book I fine half a dozen more books that I want to read and start the cycle all over again.

Fortunately the Milk:

Fortunately the Milk By: Neil Gaiman
Fiction: Children's, Fantasy 114 pages
Book Count: 48

A funny thing happened on the way to pick up some milk from the corner store for this dad. . .

Pierre Toussant:

Pierre Toussant By: Arthur Jones
Non-Fiction: Biography 323 pages
Book Count: 47

This book is a modern biography of Pierre Tousant.  Pierre was born a slave in what is now Haiti. He moved to New York in the early days of America. and became a hairdresser at the command of his owner.  He ended up providing for his owner and their family with the money he made styling hair. Later he was freed and became a rather wealthy man for the time, but still had to deal with the racism and religious bigotry of the day. And is not in the process of being officially canonized a saint. It takes info both from earlier biographies and letters and news reports from the time.

Insane City:

Insane City By: Dave Barry
Fiction: Humor, Audio Book

This is the story of a lavish destination wedding. This is the story of a family of illegal aliens trying to make it to America. This is the story of an ape that does not like men.  This is the story of pot brownies and billionaires.  But above all it is the story about why it is important  that your cabbie knows how to get to the hotel, because if he did, none of this would happen.


7 CDs, 8 hours

Dec E-Books:

The Grimm Diaries Prequels Vol 1-6 By: Cameron Jace
Fiction: Fantasy, E-book

I Want it Now! A Memoir of Life on the Set of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory By: Julie Dawn Cole
Non-fiction: Memoir, E-book

Voyage with the Vikings: 1 AIO Imagination Station Books By: Paul McCusker and Marianne Hering
Fiction: Children, Religion, Sci-Fi, E-Book

To Kill An Armchair Husband, a dark comedy By: Terri Weeding
Fiction: E-Book

The Invention of Murder:

The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by: Judith Flanders
Non-fiction: History, Mystery 466 pages
Book Count: 46

A proper Victorian house was not complete with out figurines of murders on the mantel, well that is not completely true, copies of the houses were the murder took place, or pieces of the victims clothing that you cut off their cold, dead body were also completely acceptable.  This book is all about the way that the press and public dealt with and felt about murder, as well as how this resulted in the beginning of forensic science.  It starts with a quadruple murder in 1811 and ends with Jack the Ripper. There is lots of information in the dense pages of the book about famous and less well know cases.

America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't:

America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't By: Stephen Colbert
Non-fiction: Humor
Audio Book

Another book on America by Stephen Cobert.  This one on how we were the greatest nation on the earth and we will be the greatest nation on earth, its just the now that looks less than greatest.  Like all of his books it is very funny while still being social commentary at times.  Over all it was full of truthieness.

3 CDs c.3 hours

The Fairy Ring:

The Fairy Ring or Elsie and Frances Fool the World By: Mary Losure
Non-fiction: History, Paranormal, Biography
Audio Book

This is the story of the two girls that made the fairy photos that fooled people for years, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (who believed in fairies even before seeing the pictures.) It tells of their lives from the time that the cousins first started living together due to WWI, to after the truth of the photos came out decades later.
2 CDs 2 hours 26 min

The TAO of Martha:

The TAO of Martha By: Jen Lancaster
Non-fiction: Memoir, Humor
Audio Book

This is the story of a woman that spends a year trying to live like Marta Stewart in the hopes that it will improve her life. Only instead of living in a country estate with well behaved balls of fluff, she lives in the suburbs in a house with a kitchen gun safe (from the last owners) and a mix of a sick dog, other dogs and crazy cats at war with the rest of the house.  So things don't always turn out "Marthay".
7 CDs 8 hours 57 min

A Note to Self: Too Busy To Comment

As you my know I am super busy right now, and so I have A. not been reading that many stories and B. not had time to work on my blog. So before I forget the books that I have some how been able to read I am just going to list them so I can check to see if I read them if I see them later and think, "That book looks familiar" I can see that I read it.

Easy Bake Coven By: Liz Schulte
Fiction: Fantasy, e-book

Catching Fire (The Second Book of The Hunger Games) By: Suzanne Collins
Fiction: Sci-Fi, YA, 391 pages
Book Count: 46

(I HAD to read this before the movie came out, so if we don't end up seeing this I am going to be upset!)

When God Whispers Your Name By: Max Lucado
Non-Fiction: Religion, audio book
4 CDs 4.25 hours

Rebuilt:

Rebuilt By: Michael White and Tom Corcoran
Non-Fiction: religion 280 pages
Book Count: 45

This book is the story of changes that one church in Maryland made in order to "rebuild" their parish. This is also a book that everyone working at my church office has read, and has been in part the subject of more then one homily as well.  So that is why I read it.  It was an interesting look at how modern people often view church and ways that changing that can improve the life of a parish as well as make it a place where the unchurched people can feel welcome to investigate church.  It deals a lot with seeing what is working in other churches, but not blindly coping things, rather looking at what is the underlying reason that something works.  It also has a lot of on-line resources for more information.

Wise Blood:

Wise Blood by: Flannery O' Connor
Fiction: religion, 248 pages
Book Count: 44

First, a warning for people that do not know this author. This author was a Southerner that wrote about Southerners during the 1940's -50's. She also explored issues of race in her works, so it includes characters that say things that can only be said by rap stars today.

The story itself is odd and haunting.  It is a story of many people who are lost, not usually physically but in the very essence of their being.  It is also a social commentary of many things, using a combination of comedy, tragedy,and drama to make the readers think much more then anyone in the book does. It is the type of book that is hard to write about.

The Saint Louis de Montfort Collection:

The Saint Louis de Montfort Collection By: St. Louis de Montfort et al, Ed. by: Catholic Way Publishing
Non-fiction: e-book, religion, biography, c.762 pages
Book Count: 37-43 (a 7 book collection)

This book is a collection of books by and about St. Louis de Montfort.  It includes all of his major works as well as a biography of his life.  There are some issues for readers in this edition of the books. One there are a number of passages that have not been translated from the Latin and there is no in text translation for them. (And no Le Ann I can not translate them all for you.) Also there are a number of typos in the books.  Most of them are small and easy to tell what it should be, but towards the end of the book there are more typos and a few cause the passage to mean something different/opposite of what it should read.  But given the small price I still would recommend it to people that are interested in the works of St. Louis de Montfort.

Al Capone Does My Homework:

Al Capone Does My Homework By: Gennifer Choldenko
Fiction: children’s, historical 212 pages
Book Count: 36

This is book three in the series. Click here for book two's info.  In this book the dad gets a promtion, thier house sets on fire and Al Capone "helps" with homework. 

The Gnome and Mrs. Meyers:

The Gnome and Mrs. Meyers By: Susan Klein
Fiction: E-book

This is a light read about a middle aged widow who wins the job of being the first human in an gnome exchange program.  A gnome comes to live with her and they have related adventures.  It is a fun story, but clearly is self published and includes sketches at the end of each chapter.

The Ghost and Mrs. Hobbs:

The Ghost and Mrs. Hobbs By: Cynthia DeFelice
Fiction: Mystery, Children's, Audio Book

This is the second book in a series about a young girl, Allie, that can see ghosts.  You do not need to read the first book in the series to enjoy this book.  In this book Allie,  is haunted by a younger good looking man, who seams to have something to do with the old, scary lunch lady at her school.  It also is connected with fires.

3.75 hrs 3 CDs

Dave Barry I'll Mature When I'm Dead:

Dave Barry I'll Mature When I'm Dead : Dave Barry's Amazing Tales of Adulthood By: Dave Barry
Non-fiction: Essays, Humor, Biography, Audio Book

These essays are almost all new stories about being any adult.  It includes info o dating, being a parent, technology, and his versions of a couple of famous TV shows and books.

4 hrs. 16 mins. 4CDs

The Shadows:

The Shadows: The Books of Elsewhere By: Jacqueline West
Fiction: Children's, Fantasy, Audio Book

When Olive moved into an old Victorian mansion, she knew something was odd.  There were all sorts of old, odd things left over from the last owner, a little old lady that died in the house. There were paintings that just didn't look right, and were glued onto the walls.  And then she found the magic glasses and the talking cats.  She learns that she can explore the paintings, going into them with her glasses, and she learns that there is something sinister behind the house and the paintings, but she has a hard time finding out who and what. 


5 hrs. 30 mins. 5 CDs

Sovereign:

Sovereign The Book of Mortals- Book #3 By: Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee
Fiction: Sci fi/Fantasy, religion, 327 pages
Book Count: 35

The review of the second book in the series can be found here. This book is the ending of the series. 

The book picks up years after book two.  There are only a few Mortals left and they are being hunted by both the Dark Bloods and the Immortals.  Then one of them make a virus that will kill both the Dark Bloods and the Immortals, the only down side is that it could turn them back to what they were before they ever encountered Johnathan. The scientist will not listen to anyone that points out that that will destroy them too, and is going to release the virus no matter what.  Rom runs to Feyn to try to save her and Jordin runs to the desert to find Roland and save the Immortals.

Thank You Notes:

Thank You Notes by: Jimmy Fallon with the writers of Late Night
Non-fiction: Humor 164 pages
Book Count: 34

This book is a series of "letters" written to various things, places, and people in the style of the thank you notes on the show.

Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese:

Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese: A Guide to Wedges, Recipes, and Pairings By: Tenaya Darlington
Non-Fiction: Cooking/Food, 243 pages
Book Count: 33

This book is a guide to artisanal cheeses.  It includes info on the taste, "personality", food to eat with, and wine and beer to drink with each cheese.  It also has info on many cheese makers, the store Di Bruno Bros., recipes using cheese, and other beginner info on cheeses.

Note to Self: The Great Gatsby:

The Great Gatsby By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fiction: Classics 180 pages
Book Count: 32

Born To Kvetch:

Born To Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods By: Michael Wex
Non-Fiction: Religion 303 pages
Book Count: 31

This book deals with many common Yiddish words and phrases, their meanings, history, and pronunciation.  Do to the nature of the language you also learn about the history of Jews in Europe, the Jewish religion, and Jewish way of thinking.

The Queen is Dead:

The Queen is Dead (The Immortal Empire 2) By: Kate Locke
Fiction: Mystery, Sci-fi/Fantasy 333 pages
Book Count: 30

This book is the second in the series of the book that I reviewed 2 days ago.  In this book Xandra's half brother, Val (same Vamp dad, different courtesan mother) is kidnapped in connection with the group that is running test on half-bloods.  Once again Xandra must work to find him. Although this time she has the help of Vex her werewolf Alpha of a boyfriend, Penny Lane (Val's half sibling who is the best cross-dresser in London and also works at the club he disappeared from), her half sisters, and the goblins, she is still wrapping her head around what she learned about herself in book one.  And not only do unknown aristocrats hate her, the Human League (an anti non human terrorist group) are after her, and she and Queen Victoria aren't all that friendly. 

Better Than Fiction:

Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales From Great Fiction Writers Edited By: Don George
Non-fiction: Travel, Memoir 320 pages
Book Count: 29

The title of this book tell you most everything you need to know about this book.  It is 32 true stories about travel that were written by fiction authors. Before each story is a short Bio on each writer including things that they have written in the fiction world.  The stories themselves cover a range of emotions and locations.

God Save the Queen:

God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire 1) By: Kate Locke
Fiction: Mystery, Sci-Fi/Fantasy 348 pages
Book Count: 28

The main premise of this story is that the plague caused changes in the DNA of the royalty. Some became vampires, some werewolves, and some goblins.  Queen Victoria is still on the throne in her 175th year of rule.  She is a vampire, the werewolves live in Scotland and the goblin live in the London underground and are seen more as animals then people.  Most of the people are still humans and there are half-bloods, which work mainly at jobs protecting the vampires and werewolves.   As you can tell this book is alternative history book, that feels a little steampunk at times (their clothing is still Victorianish) but although there are different names for things cars run on gas, computers and cell phones on electricity etc.

The main character is Xandra a half-blood with a vampire duke as a father and a human courtesan who is a carrier of the plague DNA as a mother.  Her half sister (same father different courtesan mother) is taken to Bedlem (with is still a mental hospital in this world) and then kills herself.  Or at least that is the story.  Xandra doesn't believe that she is dead.  First because of her gut feeling, but when she sees the horribly burnt  body she notices that one of the few parts of her body that is still recognizable (her teeth) aren't right.  This sets her up on a mission to find the truth that leads her to find our much more then she wanted to about herself, her family, and the world around her.

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong:

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong By: Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks
Non-fiction: Graphic Novel, YA 280 pages
Book Count: 27

The first thing you need to know about this book is the title on the cover runs out of space and does the curve down to fit it in. So you know it in fact will go wrong.  This story is a twist on the classic nerds vs. jock story.  Both the robotics club and the cheerleaders want the same money for each of their groups. The captain of the basketball team is friends with the leader of the robotics club and dated the captain of the cheerleaders, so he gets stuck in the middle of the argument. First the robotics club leader runs for student president to get the money.  So the cheerleaders sign the basketball captain for president and campaign for him as he won't. Both campaigns get messy and that's when the story takes a surprising turn.

The Henchmen's Book Club:

The Henchmen's Book Club By: Danny King
Fiction: Humor, Literature, Pop Culture, E-book
Book Count: 26

This book is about a British guy who starts a book club.  Sure he works for a secret organization that supplies super villains with their help. Sure he is a henchman, goon, hired thug, etc. He isn't really a bad guy or anything, most of the time he's guarding the vending machines.  In short this book is a humorous spoof of movies like the James Bond series and Arnold Schwarzenegger films. And fact two of his nemeses in the book is a British spy that has to always makes witty comments and innuendos (but don't call him a civil servant) and an American with unusually large muscles who's answer to everything is violence.
 But he only wants to get out of the job alive and with some money, which he only gets if the boss doesn't screw everything up with their need for drama and overly complicated plots.  To pass the time he and some other henchmen start a book club. Then his book club becomes a secret organization with in a secret organization which leads to the dramatic ending.

Other People's Rejection Letters:

Other People's Rejection Letters: Edited By: Bill Shapiro
Non-fiction: 192 pages
Book Count: 25

As the title points out this book is full of rejection letters.  There are from people of all ages, from the many different years, and on many different things.  It includes break up letters, firings, and much more.  Some famous rejection letters include a military report on Jimi Hendrix, F. Scott Fitzgerald's opinions on his daughter, and an art museum rejection for Andy Warhol. Although, there is only the actual letters in the body of the book, there are some that are groupings for one person's many rejections and at the end there is stories and more information on some of the letters.

Gross America:

Gross America - Your Coast-to-Coast Guide to All Things Gross (Featuring Brains in Jars, Frozen Dead Guys, Candy-Coated Insects, the World's Only Poop-fueled Streetlamps, and much more!) By: Richard Faulk
Non-fiction: travel 250 pages
Book Count: 24

This book is a lot like the show "Mysteries at the Museum" but only dealing with gross things.  Sadly, there is apparently no gross things in my state and the near-by states are filled with museums filled with STDs. It includes things that you would expect in a book like this; the Mutter Museum, the SPAM Museum, and the Cockroach Hall of Fame and Museum.  And it includes less famous things like; a restaurant named after a cannibal, flameless cremations (which are a lot like pressure cooking someone into goo), and a biography bound in the subject's own skin.

At Large:

At Large By: Lynne Murray
Fiction: Mystery 288 pages
Book Count: 23

Josephine Fuller is a plus sized women that is comfortable in her skin.  But when she runs into the husband of the woman that her ex-husband was last with, things go down hill fast. First, she gets fired from the charity that she was volunteering at. Next her ex's lover gets killed and she's the one that finds the body. From there she is at the center of a murder mystery that leads her to piss off a group of vegan lesbians, get offered a job in the pron industry, have her home cleaned by a medium, and much more. Over all I liked the book, but the ending seamed a bit hurried.

Murder in the Place of Anubis:

Murder in the Place of Anubis By: Lynda S. Robinson
Fiction: Mystery, Historic 218 pages
Book Count: 22

As you might have guessed this book is a murder mystery that takes place in ancient Egypt.  It takes place during the reign of King Tut and deals with the issues that his father/father-in-law Akhenaten caused with his changes to the country's religion and capital, and is not just in King Tut's lifetime because he is so well known. This book is the fourth book in the series, but is a read alone book.

Point Your Face at This:

Point Your Face at This By: Demetri Martin
Non-fiction: Humor, Art 288 pages
Book Count: 21

This book is a collection of humorous pictures. Which made the book reading for this book that I attended interesting, as you really can not read the book out loud. So, in short always go to book reading for books without words.

The Tinkerers:

The Tinkerers: The Amateurs, DIYers, and Inventors Who Make America Great By: Alec Foege
Non-Fiction: Biography, Econ, History, Science 198 pages
Book Count: 20

This book is on America's history of tinkering, how it changed history and modern tinkering.  It deals both with physical tinkering and non-physical tinkering.  It does this by telling the story of many different people, groups and products connected to tinkering.  Some things it covers include Edison (although it is light in pointing out what a jerk he was,) the PARC corporation, MP3s, derivatives, Angry Birds, Ben Franklin, and Segways.

400 Calorie Fix:

400 Calorie Fix By: Liz Vaccariello
Non-fiction: Food, 414 pages
Book Count: 19

I read this book as a friend recommended it as a book that was helpful for eyeballing the size of food and the number of calories in it.  They did not recommend the diet itself.  After reading the book I can see why.  The book does have a number of useful guides to how big a serving size of different things are and it does help you see the number of calories in different things.  But the diet itself is something I can not believe would make it past the ask your doctor first stage.  For starters the author suggests that you eat 400 calories at a time (hence the book title). This works fine if you are having 4-6 meals a day, but for when you are dieting they have a 2 week plan where you eat 3 meals a day, or 1200 calories. Even they point out that you need to take a vitamin with this, as it is impossible to eat all the nutrients you need with so few calories.  And the recipes that they have in the book, for the most part do not use the swap outs and changes that most diet books use.  For example the meal salads will be 2 cups of lettuce and then a couple of tablespoons of cheese and nuts, using up all your calories on small amounts of high calorie foods instead of large amounts of different low calorie veggies.  A meal might be a couple of deep fried chicken wings and a beer or it could have 2 peaches for a side, because that's how many calories are left, and the fact that most people wouldn't eat two whole peaches at one time is irrelevant.  They also make the outrageous claim that you won't feel hungry on this plan even though you are on a starvation diet and their preset 2 week meals has days where both your lunch and dinner are a salad or a sandwich so it isn't even varied foods.

Hungry Souls:

Hungry Souls Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory By: Gerard J. M. Van Den Aardweg

Non-fiction: Religion 151 pages

Book Count: 18

First a religious book of ghost stories is either the most boring book of ghost stories, or inversely the scariest. It's not scary as it is all true stories most with some level of documentation and often told by religious people who gloss over all the strange noises, moving objects, odd dark humanoid forms that make ghost stories scary. (Not that the author isn't saying that those things and other things that people think about when talking about ghost or even other paranormal events aren't true. As he is.) But it is also the most scary in that the ghost often describe their suffering in purgatory, or in one case Hell, which is worst then some dead guy jumping out and yelling "Boo!"

As you can tell this book is mostly a theology book that deals with the afterlife by telling stories of people that came back. Some stories are from near-death experiences, some from souls in Hell or Purgatory, and a couple from Heaven. It also deals with the Purgatory Museum in Rome, which is a part of a church that has things like prayer books with hand prints burned into them from visions/ghosts/souls of people in Purgatory. Mostly it’s a lot of dead people asking family members or holy people to pray for them, and then some important theological information relating to their requests.  It has a large number of in depth footnotes and also a bibliography of books in multiple languages.  Also although unlike many religious books having to deal with ghosts it’s answer isn’t “they are all fakes” or “they are all demons” it does point out that like all supernatural visions and visits it’s not something you should try and force to happen by doing things like going to a psychic.

Who Was Dracula?:

Who Was Dracula? Bram Stoker's Trail of Blood
Non-Fiction: History, Classics, Biography 298 pages
Book Count: 17

As you can see from the title this book is on Dracula the book / vampire and not on Vlad Tepes a.k.a. the Impailer.  This book looks at who Dracula was by looking at the life of Bram Stoker and devoting a chapter to each person in his life who might have influenced his classic story.  It also managed to do a good job of interweaving the life story of Stoker as well as his famous book throughout, so although each chapter is mainly about one person in his life it also tells his story in a largely chronological order.

June E-Books:

Edible History: Easy Ancient Celtic, Gallic and Roman Techniques for Leavening Bread Without Modern Commerical Yeast By: Cassandra Cookson
Non-Fiction: Cooking, E-book

The title of this book is almost longer then the book itself.  It has one Celtic, one Gallic and one Roman method for gathering wild yeast to make bread with. Each method is rather easy and it has a good amount of historic information in it as well, but I am glad I picked it up for free as the methods used can be found quickly on-line or in more comprehensive books on the subject.

Miracle at the Museum of Broken Hearts By: Talli Roland
Fiction: Chick Lit, E-book

What happens when a hopeless romantic gets a job setting up a museum dedicated to broken relationships? And her boss has a broken relationship with his mother? And her boyfriend is a jerk? Craziness, that's what.

Armed Gunmen, True Facts, and Other Ridiculous Nonsense: A Compiled Compendium of Repetitive Redundancies By: Richard A. Kallan
Non-Fiction: Writing, Humor, E-book

This book is about tautologies, which are a form of redundant phrases. It has a phrase followed by humorous definition and then similar phrases.  As well as some areas of prose filled with tautologies.  Most of the book is slightly funny by it's noting of redundant phrases that we use in day to day life without thinking about how redundant they are.  However there are a few phrases that aren't necessary redundant.  For example it lists good Samaritan as one, however a Samaritan is simply someone that was from Samaria and even in the Biblical story where we get the phrase from it in no way implies that Samaritans are noted as especially good, in fact it was a surprise that the Samaritan was the good guy in the story.  It also lists Easter Sunday, because Easter the day is on Sunday, but Easter the season is much longer in a number of churches and so they do have Easter Monday etc.

There's no taste like home: Beer-making for the complete novice By: Jan Colombini
Non-fiction: Cooking, E-book

First this book appears to be written in the UK. Which if this book is a true example of the home brewing movement in the UK, it's about 40 years behind America in home brewing.  The simple beer making in this book is buy a can of pre-hopped malt, add water and table sugar, heat, cool and add the packet of yeast from the top of the can. So it is not a good book if you want to learn how to make beer.  It is very useful on information on the history of beer, starting with the 1st beers up to modern times.

The Bad Catholic's Guide to the Catechism:

The Bad Catholic's Guide to the Catechism: A Faithful, Fun-Loving Look at Catholic Dogmas, Doctrines, and Schmoctrines By: John Zmirak
Fiction: Religion, Humor 272 pages
Book Count: 16

This book is part of the Bad Catholic's series which we have already reviewed the one on holidays and the one on booze.  This one is a little less humor and more on the actually beliefs. (There is a sidebar of "questions from your stoner neighbor" and the humor within the main writing its self, but as it is dealing with such heady and complex subjects there is less joking around.) As such I did not enjoy it as much as the others, as the thing that I like about the whole series is the way it is a funny book that also sneaks in some interesting things that you might not know about the faith.  But it was a good intro to how a catechism works and some of the things in it, which is a book that can be daunting to anyone that isn't an expert on religion, so it is a very good book for that.

Rembrandt's Ghost:

Rembrandt's Ghost By: Paul Christopher
Fiction: 347 pages
Book Count: 15


I got this book expecting it to be a Dan Brown type novel, but about art.  From it's first sentence-paragraph it did not disappoint on following that formula. There were insane amount of coincidences, the main characters almost died over and over again only to be fine a couple of paragraphs later, there was tons of danger, "facts" all over the place and as a plus everyone had at least 5 names and maybe a couple of titles. 

May E-Books:

Note: All titles are written the way that they appear in the e-books.

Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century By: Sean Patrick
Non-Fiction: History, Biography

Although this book is in part about Tesla, it is mostly about how the creative mind works and things that you can do to increases your creativity.  It does this by going over the main points of Tesla's life. But if you were looking for an in dept biography of Tesla or wanted more details on how much of a jerk Edison was this is not the book you want.

How Much Do You Weigh?: The Stigma Defying Photobook By: Erin Nieto
Non-Fiction

This book is a series of photos of women of all sizes and ages along with how much they weigh. It was made to work on ending the taboo on talking about weigh. It also includes quotes from the women about why they wanted to do this and what they hoped it would do.

Beginners' Guide To Coffee At Home: Coffee basics for coffee enthusiasts. By: A. Edward Gur
Non-Fiction: Cooking

The title tells you all you need to know about this short book.  It's on making coffee at home.

So Easy Herbal: Ten Herbs How To Grow Them Use Them And Save Money By: Karon H. Grieve
Non-Fiction: Cooking, Home Ec.

This short book is about ten herbs that are easy to grow at home and have a number of uses.  If you know nothing about herbs and gardening this book doesn't have quite enough information in it.  If you are experienced on herbs and growing plants this book is too simple. It would work as a quick refresher for more beginner level herb users.

Seven Exes Are Eight Too Many By: Heather Wardell
Fiction: Humor, Romance, Chick Lit.

A woman desperate to find love signs up for a dating TV show.  She gets picked for the show and after signing a contract that requires her to pay thousands if she backs out she finds out that the show is more like "Survivor" mixed with the dating and all her teammates are exes of hers, and the other team is another ex and all his exes.  Also everyone else there was also tricked into being on the show and can't leave without paying either. So she is stuck on a island with a suitcase full of sexy dresses and 7 men she never wanted to see again who don't want to be there either.

Queen Victoria's Book of Spells:

Queen Victoria's Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy Edited By: Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Fiction: Fantasy, Short Stories, Historic 336 pages
Book Count: 14

This book is an anthology of fantasy short stories that take place in the Victorian era.  Like many anthologies there are some great stories and some less then great ones.  A few stories have almost no fantasy in them. One only hints at a myth that people that are into Celtic Mythology would know, and another starts out like it was going to be something big, and turns into an analogy. There was a rather surprising story about what happened after "A Christmas Story." There were also a number of more typical stories in the genre with magic, or fairies and things like that. And at the end there is information about the writer and editors as well as other books to read.

Hell:

Hell By: Robert Olen Butler
Fiction: 232 pages
Book Count: 13

This book is written following the quote that, "Hell is other people." Sure the rain in hell dissolves you into a pain filled blob, and sometimes you get burned up, and if you think it is hard to keep up with modern technology, try going from a life of quills and ink pots to emails, but for the most part this hell is like earth only greyer and sadder, and the worst thing in it is all the people (human and demon,) and the ironic/annoying punishments (which are caused by the demons or the people themselves, so still back to people.) This story centers around a news reporter, who meets up with many figures from history: Virgil, Judas, Nixon, Ann Boleyn, Shakespeare, Bogart, J. Edgar Hoover, and members of the Bee Gees to name a few. (Note: in this story almost everyone is in hell, so the list of people in it is not based on how good or holy any of the people are or aren't.) He hears that there may be a way out of hell and into heaven and goes about  looking for it and learning more about himself and hell. 

Dodger:

Dodger By: Terry Pratchett
Fiction: historical, YA, 360 pages
Book Count: 12

This book does not take place in Discworld, but in Victorian London.  It also isn't a retelling of "Oliver Twist", so much as a story that if real might have influenced Dickens in his writings. (As he is one of the main characters in the story.) The book is about Dodger a young man that makes his living finding things in the sewers (or toshing), and also other odd and end jobs that may or may not be legal.  One rainy night he saves the life of a young women that is being attacked by a couple of men. Their lives become intertwined in an adventure that includes international intrigue, hobnobbing with the rich and famous, assassins, Sweeny Todd, cross dressing, the Peelers, Roman mythology, and espionage.

April E-Books:

Village Books By: Craig McLay
Fiction: e-book

A book set in modern day Canada about people that work in a small locally owned book store. 

How To Write a Book This Weekend, Even If You Flunked English Like I Did By: Vic Johnson
Non-fiction: Writing, E-book

Although I didn't expect it to really show how to write a book in that short of time, I wasn't expecting it to be about how to record a "how to" book in a weekend and then send it to someone else to write it.  It would be a use full book for writing a large term paper, if at the end of it you actually typed it out yourself instead of paying someone else to.

Great Kids In History By: Michael Williams
Non-Fiction: History,bio, e-book

This book is a collection of short biographies of kids that did important things when they were still young. It does give information about their adult life, and for a number of them the time that they did important things they were considered or were adults.  For example, it talks about Mary Shelly writing Frankenstein when she was in her early 20's and about how Edison had learning disabilities as a kid and then as an adult invented tons of things.  It also has a few editing issues and incorrect information (i.e. in the story of the girl that named Pluto, they didn't note that it is not still a planet.) But, overall it is a good starting place to learn about these people.

For Book Count Only:

The Lamb's Supper By: Scott Hahn
Non-fiction: Religion 163 pages
Book Count: 11

I was one chapter into the book when I noticed that I already read this book.

E-books March

The StoryADay.org Guide to Breaking Writers' Block By: Julie Duffy
Non-fiction: writing, e- book

This book is full of tips and ideas on how to deal with writers block.  It is a quick read so it itself is not a reason to continue not writing.

19 Lessons on Tea By: 27 Press
Non-fiction: food/cooking, e-book

If you are looking for a basic guide for beginners for tea buying, drinking, and making this would be a good book for you.  It deals with the main types of teas and styles and reads much like the beginners guides for things like wine and beer.

Basic Soap Making: All the Skills and Tools You Need o Get Started ed By: Elizabeth Letcanage
Non-fiction: Home ec, e-book

If you are looking for a book on making soap out of glycerin and adding colors, scents, and plant matter this is not that book.  If you watched the soap making scene in "Fight Club" and said "I'd like to do that" then this would be a good start. (Note: it has no recipes that involve human fat.) This book starts with Lye and plant and animal fats/oils and makes soap from scratch. There are some things about adding things to this soap but most of the book is about how to make soap safely.

I Have Loved You: Getting to Know the Father's Heart By: Cynthia Heald
Non-fiction: Religion, e-book

This book is a devotional about the love of God. It has a good mix of reminding the reader of God's great love for them, and showing them how to grow in holiness. It is a bit annoying with its changing between the different versions of the Bible that it uses.

Consider the Cross: Devotions for Lent By: Kirsten Oliphant
Non-fiction: Religion, Holidays, e-book

Avoiding the problems of the book above this book gives you what Bible verses to read for each day and lets you pick what ever Bible you want to use. It also goes through the last week of Jesus' life in 40 days so that you can use it for Lenten reading.

Vogue Fashion:

Vogue Fashion: over 100 years of style by decade and designer, in association with Vogue By: Linda Watson
Non-fiction: 392 pages
Book Count: 10

The extended title of this book tells almost everything you need to know about this book.  The first 3rd goes from decade to decade going over the main fashions and designers of each time. The rest of the book lists designers and companies with important information for each.  The one thing that is important to note is the it is writing mainly for the British publication of Vogue, especially when talking about the fashions by decade.  Because of this the information of the 1940's -1950's is a bit different then in America, due to the difference in how long WWII affected supplies between the two countries.

Vintage Fashion:

Vintage Fashion By: Emma Baxter-Wright
Non-fiction: 211 pages
Book Count: 9

This book deals with the fashions of 1900 to 1990.  It covers major styles, fabrics, details, cultural issues that changed fashion, and designers of each decade.

Note to Self: E-Book

Seed Starting- The First Step to Gardening By: Gary Emmett
Non-fiction: E-book

Unlike what many of the reviews on Amazon said this is a VERY basic book on starting seeds indoors for a garden.

Between Heaven and Mirth:

Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life By: Rev. James Martin, SJ
Non-fiction: religion 236 pages
Book Count: 8

Given that the author of this book is a Jesuit priest you would expect that this book would be about only Catholic spirituality, or at least general Christian beliefs ( as Martin Luther is on the cover art.) But although most of it is Chriatiany it includes quotes and information from Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and New Age sources as well as modern psychology.  It is however a uniquely modern and very American book, as a good part of the beginning of the book deals with how the dour, hard working, fun hating Puritans helped us believe that religiousness equals seriousness.  Much of the book is stories of how the Bible has humor in it, joy and humor in the lives of the saints, and some what corny jokes involving religious people. Over all it is a deep book, that doesn't take itself that serious, making an easy read of a complex subject.

Mortal:

Mortal: The Books of Mortals By: Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee
Fiction: Sci-fi/Fantasy, Religion 418 pages
Book Count: 7

My review of the 1st book in the series is here. Also if you haven't read the first book, this is not a series that you can randomly pick out a book of. Warning: spoilers.


This book takes place nine years after the end of the 1st book. Jonathan is turning 21, the age when he can become the Sovereign. The nomads and the new Keepers now number 1,200 and they all have the blood of Jonathan in them, with the life that that gives to people. (Note: there are way to many blood transfusions in this book, I get the important symbolism and all, but still.) But Saric is back with 12,000 Dark Blood warriors, men that have also been changed by alchemy or with Saric's blood.  Also he finds Feyn and turns her into a Dark Blood before Jonathan's birthday making her the legal Sovereign, but his servant.

Vintage Fashion Accessories:

Vintage Fashion Accessories By: Stacy LoAlbo
Non-Fiction 251 pages
Book Count: 6

This book deals with accessories from around 1900 to the 1980's.  The majority of the accessories are from the 20's - 60's. Each chapter deals with one type of accessory, with a short amount of info on the history and changes in styles of the thing and then many pictures of different accessories with their age, price and other info on it.

New Dress a Day:

New Dress a Day The Ultimate DIY Guide to Creating Fashion Dos from Thrift-Store Don'ts By: Marisa Lynch
Non-Fiction: 200 pages
Book Count: 5

If you have ever found a dress at a thrift store and thought, "this would be a great dress if it wasn't so dated because of X," then this book is for you. It shows how different types of common thrift store dresses, shirts, and skirt types can be updated into clothes that look modern, or at least retro instead of just old.  If you have a basic understanding of sewing you can do any of the projects, but most of the ones even have no-sew options for people less skilled in sewing.  It is based off of the writer's blog where she made a "new" dress a day out of old ones.

Jan. E-books Part:2

Homesteading Handbook Guide On Self Sufficiency Everything You Need To Know By: Dalbert Burton
Non-Fiction: Home Ec, E-book

First this book appears to be from England. This makes the 1st chapter on laws on changing your gardening area useless.  Also I do not think that homesteading means the some thing in England as in the US as it has advice like "It is usually better to maintain a garden that is small than a big one," and half the advice is about non-food gardening. Also it has lines like this, "An organic topping that is utilized in the process of retaining moisture in garden soil is garden mulch which is organic."

Legends of the Renaissance: The Life and Legacy of Lucrezia Borgia By: the Charles River Editors
Non-fiction: History, e-book

This book is full of information about the whole life of Lucrezia Borgia and a fair amount of information on her also famous father and brothers.  There is a lot less poisoning in this then you would think. And surprisingly there is no proof of her doing any actual poisoning. (Although, giving the level of medicine at that time, there were few cases in which they could prove poisoning.)

Glycemic Index Diet By: Jennifer Collins
Non-Fiction: Cooking, E-book

This book has a short intro about what the glycemic index diet is and a few notes on foods that are high, medium or low on the glycemic index. The rest of the book is recipes. There are a couple of typos in the recipes, but nothing that would prevent you from being able to make them.

Dining With The Doctor: The Unauthorized Whovian Cookbook By: Chris-Rachael Oseland
Non-Fiction: Cooking, TV, E-book

Note: this book was written by Americans but has both American and English measurements, word use and in general tries to be useful for people on both sides of the pond.  It is a collection of recipes for Doctor Who fans. There is one for each episode from the start of the 9th Doctor to the Christmas special " The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe". There is also an entire chapter on different versions of fish fingers and custard or at least things that look like them.  The recipes vary between things that were in the show, were of that time, look like (non-food) things in the show (the TARDIS, Cybermen, Ood, etc) or were just inspired by that episode. The book is written in a fun light hearted way including joking about how your just going to go out to the store and buy frozen chips/fries instead of making them from scratch for a recipe but "since this is a cookbook, we'll maintain the adorable pretense that you're actually going to cook instead of taking the easy route" and on the recipes that require Nuttella acknowledging that you may just eat 1/2 the can on it's own. Even for the recipes that were making the food look like some Doctor Who alien they mostly sounded tasty (there was an occasional food used for a decoration that you might like to take out before eating, like the egg for the eye in the Dalek Set's Head, which was mostly alcholic jell-o in a brain mold with tentacles attached.) There are a number of things in this cookbook that would be great for a Doctor Who party, but there are also many ones that you could make in everyday cooking and many tasty looking drinks as well.

Amelia's Last Secret By: Eric Wilson
Fiction: History, Short Story, E-book

This short story is about what might have happened to Amelia Earhart when she disappeared.  It is based off of some of the theory's about what might have happened and also tells a story of a Navajo windtalker that finds something of hers well after she disappeared.  The story goes from the start of the last leg of her around the world trip to modern times.

Forensic Detective:

Forensic Detective: How I Cracked the World's Toughest Cases By: Robert Mann Ph.D
Non-fiction: Science, History, True Crime 240 pages
Book Count: 4

This book is written by a forensic anthropologist and deals with real life cases that they have worked on.  The cases range from working on the 1st victim of Jeffrey Dahmer to the remains of vets from WWII on. There is also a chapter on the body farm, where they study how bodies decompose in different situations. And a fair amount to details on how they work on a case. 

Sherwood Ltd.:

Sherwood Ltd.: By: Anne R. Allen
Fiction: Mystery 274 pages
Book Count: 3

This is book 3 in the Camilla Randall Mysteries and takes place a short while after Ghost Writers In the Sky. In this book Camilla (the manner's doctor) is so desperate that she is house sitting for her friend (who doesn't know she is there.) When scrounging in a dumpster for enough recyclables to buy some milk, she is almost attacked by a coyote and fights off some perv. (She later finds out that he might not have been acting as a perv in the alley, but interested in her writing as he is the owner of a publishing house that sells erotica, but wants to do non-erotic books as well) A short time later she finds a dead body in the same area. But, she soon has bigger problems to deal with when her friend's boyfriend gives her a one-way ticket to anywhere she wants that isn't there. She ends up going to England to take Mr. Sherwood up on his book deal.  From there her life gets turned completely upside down as she deals with crooks big and small in a modern day Robin Hood story, or maybe Peter Pan?

Forbidden:

Forbidden: The Books of Mortals By: Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee
Fiction: Sci-fi/Fantasy, Religion 436 pages
Book Count: 2

First a note on the labels. This story takes place in a future, where due to an apocalyptic level event and a virus created by alchemist, they have almost no technology and have fear as their only emotion. So on one level it's sci-fi, but it reads like a fantasy due to the olden feel of the world and their choice of names for things. Also, this book doesn't talk about any real world religions at all, but given what I know of the authors I knew that this book would be on some level a religious book, even before it became clear that one of the characters is going to be a very Christlike figure in the next book.

Now about the book itself. I really enjoyed the story. The story starts out as the story of Rom, a normal young guy living in the capital of the world and working singing in funerals, writing music (which is quite hard in a world without emotions,) and doing odd and ends type jobs to make ends meet.  Then an old man who says he knew his dad hands him a package and talks of a group called the Keepers before being killed by Citadel (the inner city of the rulers) guards.  This is shocking on many levels. First, killings do not happen. Second, as far as he knew his father lead a normal life and died from a fever years ago. Third, now he is the Keeper of a strange parchment and a vial of blood and on the run from the law. From there his life is completely changed.

Jan. E-books Part 1:

India's Most Delicious Recipes By: Chef Ban and Tara Alexander
Non-fiction: Cooking, E-book

This book does have a good selection of Indian food, both vegetarian and none.  The recipes do look tasty, but about 80% of them required special ingredients or in one case tools.  The book makes no note of what to do if you can not find this ingredient even though I have seen other recipes for the same foods that do work around it.  And I know that you can find anything on-line, but most of the recipes call for curry leaves, a plant I have only found in the gardening section of a store, and on line goes for $4+ for an ounce (plus shipping.) So if you like Indian food and have a curry plant, then this book would work for you. Otherwise, I'm glad I got this when it was free.


Legends of the Middle Ages: The History and Legacy of the Knights Templar By: the Charles River Editors
Non-Fiction: History, E-book

This short book is an introduction to the Knights Templar. It is written to explain the actually proven history of the group, but also lets you know about common myths about them both modern and historic.


The ABC's of Freezer Cooking By: K.M. Logan
Non-fiction: Cooking, E-book

This book is an intro to freezer cooking using each letter of the alphabet as the start of each hint. It also includes recipes that work well when freezing.

Yours, Mine and Ours:

Yours, Mine and Ours By: Mary Janice Davidson
Fiction: Mystery, 334 pages

Book Count:1

This book is the sequel to the book reviewed here. In this book all three sisters are dating Patrick, Cadence's best friend's brother. And they are dealing with finding another serial killer, one that has been killing for decades.  Also, there is a hot new doctor in the hospital's blood bank, Shiro makes a friend with a new co-worker that thinks her mirror image is out to get her, and Adrienne "adopts" a dog from it's ex-con, abusive owner. (Which isn't OK with their apartment lease.)

E-book Notes:

A quick note to remind me of e-books that I read, but have no desire to comment on or review.

The Art of Frugal: Feeding a Family on a Budget By: Kaylee Cole
Non-Fiction: Home ec., e-book

THE HOLY SPIRIT: Amazing Power for Everyday People By: Susan Rohrer
Non-Fiction: Religion, e-book

End of the Year Stories:

The Time Travelers' Handbook: A Wild Wacky, and Woolly Adventure Though History By: Lottie Stride
Fiction: Children's, history, e-book

First, I got this book as a gift from someone that clearly didn't read that this book was made for a 7 year old.  So when I started reading it I thought that it was an adult novel, and was incredibly disappointed in it.  But if I was a 7 year old that liked history or adventure stories it would be a good book to read.


Ladle Rat Rotten Hut ( A Grimm Diaries Prequel #4) By: Cameron Jace
Fiction: Short Story, E-book

This short story is about little red riding hood as told from her with a lot of things different from the story you know. It is a part of a whole series of books with a new twist on these type of fairy tales. After reading this I plan on reading more of the series.



Herbs Gone Wild! Ancient Remedies Turned Loose By: Diane Kidman
Non-Fiction: Health, Gardening, Cooking, E-book

This book is all about using herbs and other natural remedies in first aid, minor injuries, and as part of a medical treatment plan. It was a good beginner book for herbal remedies; both in the way it explained the basics of it and it wasn' like many books on the subject where a major chunk of the book is on how evil all Western medicine is and/or New Age ideology. It has information both for people that just want to go to a store to buy herbs and people that will grow or find the plants in the wild.

Somewhat Saved:

Somewhat Saved By: Pat G'orge-Walker
Fiction: Chick Lit, Humor, Religious,  Audio Book

First, why would any church hold a conference in Las Vegas when they all aren't from the area and a number of them think gambling is a sin? Because that only adds to the humor.  This story is about a group of women that get sent to the annual Mothers Board Conference, two who are on the board and one who is running for president, because the local tabloid paper said she would and the preacher thought it was a good idea. From there things get crazy, and heartwarming, and uplifting, and more crazy as they find out more about themselves, each other and a very special girl who has more to do with them than they know. 

9 CD's 11 Hours

E-book Short Stories

Creepy 2: A Collection of Scary Stories By: Jay Krow, Jeff Bennington, & Katie M. John
Fiction: Short Story, Horror, E- book

This was going to be a part of the books I read on Halloween, but I was 2 stories short. So, I forget most all of what it was about, besides ghosts.

There's a Dead Elf in Santa's Workshop (a short Derk Shriver mystery) By: K.C. Flynn
Fiction: Mystery, Short Story, E-Book

A short murder mystery about a dead elf in a Santa's Village type amusement park in Nevada.

Never Eat Zombified Chicken (The Adventures of Kevin Curmudgeon) By: William Bienz
Fiction: YA, Short Story, Sci-Fi, E-Book

This is the story of a boy who wins a contest to go to NASA, after writing an essay about what he liked about space.  He liked that it was quite, TV signals come from space and he wants to send Susie Brown (a girl from his school) into it. Susie Brown also won the contest. After this fishy start things only get worse. They accidentally get launched to the moon, only to find that they weren't the first ones there. The moon is populated by a civilization descended from the hillbillies that accidentally got sent to the moon before the "first lunar landing". They have survived using alien tech, and life there is nothing like modern earth.

The Night They Nicked Saint Nick (A Christmas Story for the whole family) By: Carl Ashmore
Fiction: Children, Short Story, E-Book

This is not a story that all the kids listen to sitting around grandfather in front of the fireplace, no matter what the title says. But it is a fun short holiday story for kids. Santa got kidnapped and the main character, Derek a 7 year old boy, must save Christmas. Why? Because he will be the next Santa Claus, or Father Christmas because it is British with British spelling and word use.

Hunger Games:

Hunger Games By: Suzanne Collins
Fiction: YA, 374 pages
Book Count: 57

And now I can see the movie.

Undead and Unwed:

Undead and Unwed by: Mary Janice Davidson
Fiction: paranormal, chick lit, 255 pages

Book Count: 56

This is book one in the Queen Betsy series.  In this one we find out how Besty became a vampire and then the queen of them. (It was prophesied, and there were shoes involved.) Also we meet Besty's best friend Jessica, her new sidekick Marc, Sinclair and many more people and vampires.

Martin Misunderstood:

Martin Misunderstood By: Karin Slaughter
Fiction: Audio book, short story

This story is a comedy of errors about a unloved man and a series of murders.

2 CDs 2.5 Hours

The Spellman Files:

The Spellman Files By: Lisa Lutz
Fiction: mystery, humor, audio book

Imagine a family in which almost everyone one was a private eye: both parents, the addiction ridden uncle, the 20 something daughter, and the 14 year old daughter. (the oldest son is a lawyer.) Now imagine that all the private eyes lived in the same house and no one completely trust each other. Throw in a number of ex and future ex boyfriends, petty crime, double lives, and a missing person and you have this book.


8 Cds 9.75 hours

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.