Claws and Saucers by David E Goldweber

If you are a Science Fiction, Horror and/or Fantasy movie buff, like me, then this is a must have for you.  I can’t tell you if it has everything but I will say that I was impressed by how many movies are in this book.  I love horror – the worst ones are my favorite.  I want cheesy and I want lots and lots of blood.  I don’t care if the plot makes sense – makes the movie more entertaining in a MST3K sort of way.

I love talking to the characters and questioning their motives. 

This book spells it all out – which are the good ones and which ones you’re gonna love because they are so bad.

This is not a sit and read sort of book.  You peruse like you’re picking up a date in a bar.  You chat up the pages and ask them out.  You explore the movies and, perhaps, come back and make notes.  This is the sort of book that needs to be shared and passed along. 

The only problem I have is that the new stuff won’t appear magically.  I’d love it if the book stayed current but, alas, they don’t.

However, that’s not going to stop me from working my way through this book and some of the worst movie fests my family has ever seen.

The World’s Creepiest Places by Bob Curran

Bob Curran has put together a book of actual locations around the world that have frightening histories.  Many of the locations are lesser known hauntings (at least to me).  The segments are fairly short and in depth.  There’s a lot of history in these pages.

However, I wished there had been pictures.  I am a very visual person and I like to look at the places that are being written about.  I would have loved to even just have a website I could go to that would link to pictures of these places.  In this day and age, there’s no real reason not to have access to that visual accompaniment. 

If you are big on hauntings or ghosts or even just eerie feeling sorts of places – this is a great book for you.  Many of Bob Curran’s selections are out of the norm giving the enthusiast a new set of places to explore.

Rabbit Housing by Bob Bennett

If you plan on raising rabbits, then you need this book in your library.  As the title suggests, this book is all about housing rabbits.  Bob Bennett offers a variety of plans and ideas for housing for raising your rabbits.  He offers clear arguments for materials and designs.

There’s not much more to the book and most of the designs are not fancy so this is not a book for leisure reading.  I did enjoy the book and look forward to attempting my own housing someday.  This is a perfect book for 4-H and FFA students as well as adults who wish to raise rabbits.

The Ultimate Survival Manual by Rich Johnson

Great Book!  My only disappointment was that my E-ARC was missing pages so I didn’t get the entire manuscript.

Rich Johnson has written an entertaining and informative guide to survival.  I’m big on survival information and I know that not everyone is.  This is an important book because we are in an environment that is unstable.  You don’t have to go out in the wilderness to be in a situation that requires survival techniques.  There’s a chance that there is a large amount of information in this book you will never need.  However, the one technique that you learn that later saves yours or someone else’s life is invaluable. 

This is a short book and each segment is brief.  Keep it in your bathroom and learn a trick or two every time you sit down.  On page one, I learned something.  Okay maybe learned is not the right word but I realized there was something I hadn’t thought of. Rich recommends that you keep an emergency bag in your office or place of work that includes rugged clothing, socks and a pair of tennis shoes.  The bag is available if you need to leave your work in a hurry and are not dressed for an emergency.  I would, almost, have thought it unnecessary but I guarantee that one day you wear the tight skirt or new dress shoes is the day that the weather turns and you have to evacuate or a shooter comes into the area and you have to flee.

It’s a scary and dangerous world out there.  I just think this book is an inexpensive way to protect yourself.

Home Baked Comfort by Kim Laidlaw

Beautiful book.  The recipes are elegant and stunning.  The pictures captivate the reader and leave you craving something hot and amazing out of the oven.  The recipes work in seasonal fruits at the peak of perfection.  The crusts are crisp and golden while the breads are soft and aromatic.

The instructions are simple with fairly common ingredients.

A nice touch is the brief interviews of various bakers from around the country.  Each offer their own perspective of baking and share a recipe.  Grab a cup of coffee and pour over this book as if you were visiting with a friend.  Kim Laidlaw has put together a book that was meant to be handed down to future generations – preferably covered in stains with sticky pages.

Family Camping Cookbook by Tiff and Jim Easton

Not sure I would recommend this book as much as Camp Cooking in the Wild but there is merit to owning this book.  I like that the Easton’s included information on how to incorporate foraged foods.  To me, that’s a big plus because I love to forage.  Their recipes are far more simple, as well, which is nice when you are cooking with children.

I like that they offer menus with shopping lists to make preparation super simple.  Not only that but they offer different menus based on age.  They even offer a vegetarian alternative. 

The book is broken up into environments such as the beach or the woods.  While much of the food is easy to prepare – they encourage a wide range of flavors and styles of cooking.  I never thought about grilling a butterflied leg of lamb while camping but I love the idea.  The more I look at the recipes the more I love this book.  I love ethnic food and this book is full of kid friendly foreign foods that we can make while out on vacation or adapt to make at home.

Camp Cooking in the Wild by Mark Scriver

This is the perfect book for those learning to cook while camping or for those who want to do more than just roasted hot dogs while out in the wilderness.  The first part of the book focuses on learning the basics – what equipment, how to plan and pack your meals. 

Then comes the recipes.  They range from Effort Level 1 to Effort Level 4.  What I like best is that these are recipes that you would make at home.  It shows how you can cook like you normally do when you’re out in the wilderness.  You may not cook their recipes because you’ll learn how to cook your own.  I rather like that.

This is a great beginner book and a wonderful gift idea for those who want to spend more time outdoors but just don’t have the skills yet.

Cooking from the Farmer’s Market by Jodi Liano

A beautiful book from Williams Sonoma, Cooking from the Farmer’s Market did not disappoint.  The photography is colorful and enticing.  The recipes are varied enough that there is sure to be enough to warrant owning the book.

I was a little put off by the assumption that all Farmer’s Markets are the same.  I’ve been rather stunned to learn that’s not true as I follow blogs that offer seasonal cooking.  I live in Washington and, though we have an amazing farmer’s market, our seasons and variety of produce do not match what is offered in this book.

With that said, that doesn’t mean I can’t find the produce at our local Co-op.  I do appreciate encouraging local produce and learning to eat those foods. 

This would be a perfect book for those who have joined a CSA or get Bountiful Baskets.  I’m always trying to figure how to use some of the unique produce we get each week.

Edible Party Bouquets by Fox Chapel Publishing

When this title came up in the NetGalley catalog, I couldn't wait to review it.  I love the idea of edible bouquets and I'm always telling my husband that he should go into the business.  He's amazing when it comes to prepping beautiful food for parties (just wish he'd do it more often and perhaps would consider going into business).
This book totally blew me out of the water.  The bouquets were amazing.  The best part - they were all fairly simple.  The most complicated designs were created using cookie cutters making the work so easy. 
Not only were there fruit bouquets but Fox Chapel Publishing stretched the gamut by designing bouquets made of cinnamon rolls, wraps, mini pies, and tortilla chips.  Many of the designs were fully edible.
If you love to play with your food, this is the book for you.  Most of the bouquets don't require more than the food and skewers.  Some have you make foods from scratch while others have you use store bought ingredients such as a tree made out of chocolate covered mint cookies.
I'm thinking this might be a future Christmas gift for my husband and already gives me the best ideas for future party foods.

Sew Iconic by Liz Gregory

Sew Iconic is a step by step book to sewing ten dresses that have been featured in movies.  More than that, it’s an amazing reference for those who are learning to sew or wish to learn more.  The first section of the book breaks down sewing techniques such as resizing patterns, creating darts and attaching fasteners.  From there the book breaks down the techniques for sewing the ten selected dresses.

The book comes with the patterns on two sheets that the reader will have to transfer to cut out the pattern desired.  The dresses are in order of easiest to most difficult, starting with the brown and white polka dot dress from Pretty Woman.  Each dress section is broken down into information about the actress, the movie and the designing of the dress before going into recreating the dress at home.  The instruction finishes with how to achieve the same look as the actress with accessories and makeup.

There are two videos available online at the books Tumblr site to further assist with understanding how to make these dresses. 

All in all I think this is a great book.  I’m not sure I see myself in these dresses but I like the instruction given and would definitely add this to my craft shelf as a reference guide.  At this point in time, I feel it’s better to start making your own clothes again.  Not only can this guarantee that you love the piece but, with the cost of buying clothes that don’t seem to hold up to every day wear, it’s practical. 

Vampire Taxonomy by Meredith Woerner

Written like a science book, Vampire Taxonomy defines the various vampires from pop culture.  Meredith Woerner takes examples from the more popular vampire stories/movies and some lesser known to create a how-to sort of book.

She breaks down the vampires into five categories – Romantic Vampire, Villainous Vampire, Tragic Vampire, Halfsies, and Child Vampire.  Each category offers information on how the vampire looks, their preferred habitat and a variety of other factors.

Written tongue in cheek, this book is just fun.  It really gets one thinking about the differences and similarities of vampires in pop culture and in history.  This may not get a scientific award but Meredith did her research.

False Friends Faux Amis Book Two by Ellie Malet Spradbery

Don’t let the title of this book mislead you. This is not a teen drama but a French conversational. It’s an interesting title but the information is quite solid. The book is broken into six sections – False Friends; French Expressions; Twins, Triplets, etc.; Lists, Miscellaneous; and English Expressions. False Friends focuses on words that sound the same in English and French except don’t necessarily mean the same thing. It’s an interesting look at the two languages because you get the feeling they should be the same. French Expressions covers some familiar phrases and some not so familiar. Twins, Triplets, etc. – French words that have more than one English meaning. List – series of words with a common theme such as insects, birds, and words associated with automobiles. Miscellaneous says learn to play cards in French but I didn’t get how the words were associated. English Expressions – just as it says, English expressions translated to French. This is not a book for a casual learner. This is designed for someone who wants to move deeper into the French language. There’s little pronunciation information for the words nor information on how to add them to sentences. I believe the author assumes the reader is already familiar with the language. I’ve had French in high school and college and I still found some of the words and phrases beyond my understanding but it was definitely fun to read through.

Baby’s in Black by Arne Bellstorf

Wow what a sad and wonderful history. I picked Baby’s in Black because it had something to do with the Beatles (my family are huge fans). This is the story of Stuart Sutcliffe who was the original bassist for the Beatles when they started in Germany in 1960. Stuart did not consider himself a great musician but followed for the sake of his friend John Lennon. He was soon discovered by Astrid Kirchheer. They fell in love and she nurtured the artist that he was meant to be. Sadly, Stuart had an underlying illness that the doctors were unable to determine which resulted in his death. The beauty of the story is in the telling of their relationship. Drawn in black and white, this graphic novel has a haunting yet light touch. You can’t help but feel for both Astrid and Stuart who never were able to marry. His future was so bright and yet was not meant to be. That did not mean that he didn’t influence the lives of others who went on to have amazing careers. This is a must have for any Beatles fan even though it does not focus on them exclusively. The story is simple and fairly modest making it suitable for young fans.

Agaves by Greg Starr

Agaves are a type of succulent plant characterized by rosetta-like structure – leaves that spread out from the base in a circle. Interest in these plants for landscaping grew in the 1980s but it wasn’t until the turn of the century that Agave’s popularity surged. They are drought and heat tolerant plants that are naturally found in the southwestern region of the United States and into Mexico. Greg Starr offers information on how to incorporate Agave plants into your landscape regardless of where you live. Some species can tolerate severe cold while others can tolerate wetter climates. He goes on to explain how you can help your Agave thrive even in the less than ideal conditions. The majority of the book is a detailed explanation of each species of Agave. With each description, Greg Starr offers landscaping information and how best to raise that particular species. He includes information on where they can be found in nature and what conditions can be found there. The book is beautifully photographed with pictures of Agaves in various states of growth. The information appears to be simple but until you put it to use I couldn’t really say. I would have liked to have a reason to grow Agaves instead of they look neat. I wish the author would have sold the idea better but then if you weren’t already interested you probably wouldn’t be picking up his book. I like gardening books but I have limited experience and even less space. I would have loved to find out how to eat an Agave plant or to learn which were edible and how to harvest them.

The Naked Foods Cookbook by Margaret Floyd and James Barry

The concept of naked eating is to eat clean, whole, unprocessed foods. The authors ask that you investigate your food before bringing it into your kitchen. This is not only a good practice for the environment but will allow the preparer to create more healthy dishes. The first few chapters of this cookbook explain the concept of eating naked as well as how to stock your kitchen and preparation methods. The recipes contained have vegetarian versions and all are gluten-free. The authors are supportive of raw organic milks but include ways to make dairy free milks at home. I liked that the recipes varied from raw to cooked and included vegetarian and meat ideas. The recipes are all rated based on difficulty and easy to find. The book ends with sample menus and food seasons. All in all this is a good book for those who are investigating eating raw, vegan or unprocessed.

Death of a Dreamer by Alison Behnke

The story of the tragic killing of John Lennon, Alison Behnke offers a well-rounded view of not only the death of John Lennon but of his life, the life of his killer and the world they lived in. The book has six chapters each focusing on a separate part of the story. Chapter 1 is a brief biography of John Lennon with Chapter 2 shifting to focus on his political side – the side that fought for freedom and peace as well as the politics that surrounded him. Chapter 3 switches sides and offers the biography of Mark David Chapman. This is the lesser known part of this story. Mark David Chapman was a complex and sympathetic character who, to this day, is still shrouded in mystery. Chapter 4 gives the reader detailed information of the days that lead up to the assassination of John Lennon from both perspectives. Chapter 5 is the trial and the conviction of Mark David Chapman. The book ends with the standard wrap-up and where are they now. Anyone interested in the Beatles and John Lennon would benefit from this book. It is written for a juvenile audience and does a fair job of explaining all the roles and words that come into play. I was fascinated by the story. In the end, it was hard to draw sides. While Mark David Chapman did commit a heinous crime, I can’t help but feel sorry for him and feel that a life in solitary confinement is more than a punishment. I find that the world surrounding this incident has nearly as much fault and I am not alone. It makes me wonder what the world could be like if we strive to give peace a chance and if political conflicts can ever be solved.

The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids by Helen Olsson

Camping with children can be difficult but Helen offers a simple guide to make the trip more successful for everyone involved. She starts with planning. Planning an outing is a tough thing to teach so instead she offers some points to consider when planning a camping trip. Location is everything and researching the campsite you are going to will ease surprises when you arrive. Prepare your children with fun books about camping and information about activities you can do. For me, gear is the hardest part. Helen has nicely broken down all the parts that make up a great campsite and how to shop for them. She includes bringing along a play tent to keep the kids occupied while you set up. Then comes section 2, arrival at the site. Helen offers an amazing detailed description of setting up a campsite. I don’t think I have ever seen a better manual and I have read a ton of camping books. She offers a chapter on camp food with recipes. Then goes on to offer games and activities to keep children occupied. The book ends with a section on hygiene, first aid and safety. Camping is a daunting activity for any beginner. Add children and camping becomes forbidden. Helen Olsson has created a simple guide to break down those barriers and get the family out into the woods. I can see so much potential for this book from scouting groups, youth groups to just learning to enjoy nature as a family.

Unintentional Humor by Brent and Linda Gund Anderson

Autism is a hot topic these days. The news is filled with new research. Bookstores offer the latest cure or diet treatment as well as volumes of how to parent a child with Autism. In all of this slips this little book that offers a different view into the Autistic brain with a little humor. Brent Anderson has Autism. Speaking to Brent was often a challenge for his mother Linda Gund Anderson. He’s not stupid or retarded, Brent’s brain is just more literal than what we consider normal thinking. Unintentional Humor is not a peek into Autism as much as it’s a Gilbert and Sullivan poke at the English language. This illustrated tome picks at those phrases we use without thinking and offers a peek into what those phrases mean to someone with a literal mind. Linda said that when Brent and Alan J Lewis (the illustrator) were working on the book, there was a lot of Alan agreeing with Brent. Perhaps Alan has a literal mind and maybe we all are just so comfortable with these phrases that we don’t stop to think about the ridiculous words that come out of our mouths. I will say that my friend and I would often giggle about a particular phrase my father would use “sh*t fire and little fishes.” We had (and still have) no idea what it really means but it was sure fun to say. I can’t say enough about this book to make you really understand what a wonderful addition it is to your library. It was important to the Andersons to make this book accessible to all ages so it’s reader friendly for even young readers. There are explanations and origins for the phrases at the back of the book. There are so many things one can do with this book. For more information, visit www.celebrateautism.com. Keep an eye out for Linda and her van, she just may be coming your way.

Warriors and Wailers by Sarah Tsiang

Sarah Tsiang offers an interesting view into ancient China through the jobs one could hold during that time. She starts with a brief explanation of Chinese Dynasties and the overall feel for the country. Written for juvenile readers, Warriors and Wailers breaks down the culture through jobs from Emperor to Philosopher to Robber. It’s a unique view into a culture. I didn’t realize how many jobs women did hold over the years and that education was important long ago. I liked that a child of a poor farmer could raise up their status with an education and the civil service test. This is a difficult book to review but I enjoyed it. The information was new to me and opened up a mysterious culture for me. We neglect to realize how our jobs not only define ourselves but our society around us. This is a good book for upper grade school or middle school. It’s short segments with lots of illustrations but the material is slightly mature for a young reader. There is information on women’s roles and how they shaped the country. There’s talk about war and violence but in a very educational platform. China has a very gory past but it’s prettied up here.

Allergy-Friendly Food for Families by Kiwi Magazine

This is a great book for families who have recently had a child diagnosed with a gluten, dairy, nut, soy or egg allergy or are learning to juggle multiple food allergies. The book starts off with tips for food safety and reducing cross contamination. It goes on to an FAQ section with experts before moving onto the recipes. The recipe section is coded with the 5 allergens – gluten, dairy, nut, soy, egg. Each has its own color square on the edge of each page so that locating recipes with that particular allergen gone is easy to do. The recipes are broken into meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, snacks, and parties. There are some rather neat features with this book. The first thing I noticed is that most of the recipes omit the allergen instead of trying to come up with a substitute. There are substitutions in this cookbook but not as many as other cookbooks have offered. I know that when we were gluten free it was far easier to come up with recipes that didn’t use gluten foods than it was to replace the gluten foods. The next thing I noticed was these cool sections on cooking with your kids. So many forget to teach their children how to cook and when it comes to food allergies, learning early is best. I loved the party section because there are always parties from birthdays to class parties and it’s nice to have beautiful ideas that taste good. The book wraps up with Building an Allergy-free Pantry. This is a great tool. It helps the user create a list of staples and explains the reasons why these ingredients are so important (including tips for using the item). I would gladly recommend this book. My only complaint is that it didn’t come out when we needed it.