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