What I Read In April

I've been all about reading and getting a few knitting projects completed for birthday deadlines during April. Here's what got read:

Loved this book! It has AB's signature "quirkiness" (including the fact that ALL the photography was shot with a phone!) and a TON of recipes I will actually be cooking! (Bourbon Bread Pudding anyone? --Yes please!) It was a great way to celebrate seeing his stage show (where I purchased my signed copy!) and a fun, fun read!

I really liked this book as the whole concept of taking time to be mindful of ingredients and putting together lunch in your work environment appeals to me. Reading the intro was one "aha" moment after another as lightbulbs kept going on at great ideas and suggestions. The recipes are sorted into seasons (availability of produce) and broken down into classifications of diets ( ie. raw, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, and omnivore) with info suggesting adaptations for other dietary needs. In a word this book is amazing!

Being a regular meditator attempting to get more mindfulness into the moments of life that are NOT on the cushion, this book is a wonderful tome! I have done a little reading on mindful eating and movement, but "seeing" is SUCH an obvious moment of mindfulness that I was overlooking it (just like the morel mushrooms in the woods!) I found the exercise prompts helpful and can imagine getting something new from each exercise every time I use it. I love the photographs and the drawings/sketches. Paired with the quotes or each taken alone, there is much to ponder and explore! I will be recommending this to my friends!

This novel is a character driven mosaic of life in a community in the aftermath of the disappeearance (and presumed abducton/kidnapping) of 5 year old Daisy Gonzalez. Each chapter is written from the perspective of a different character, building on the relationships (however tenuous) between them (neighbors, employers, former classmates, hairdresser/clients, church group members, etc.). As such, if you are expecting a straight narrative thread or linear unfoding of a "who dunnit," you will be disappointed. There are times you may wonder how what you're reading has anything to do with the story of the disappearance of Daisy. Forge ahead! You are being let in on the nitty gritty details of the lives of certain elements of Colliersville, Indiana.

For me, everything came together in the final chapter. I think this is because I have personal experience of visitations in avian form from recently departed love ones. Therefore, I LOVED the way Kennedy wrapped up the story!!

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC I received in exchange for this fair and honest review.

The Slanted Door: Modern Vietnamese Food

Being a lover and reader of cookbooks, I have many more tomes than can fit in my small kitchen cupboard. The solution, for me, has been to try out e-cookbooks! I recently picked up Phan's latest offering, The Slanted Door, when it was a part of the publisher's specially priced offering that passed through my email one day. If you love cookbooks and enjoy adventuresome eating/cooking, you will want to pick up a copy as well!

I love that The Slanted Door offers readers a bit of history of the restaurant after which the cookbook is named. As you read, you get a sense of San Francisco and the food scene therein. A travel guide within a cookbook is a "win win" to me! Phan also includes other stories and anecdotes about what it takes to run a food business, what the food he presents means to him, and glimpses into family life and history that connect readers and would-be at-home chefs to the dishes presented. This is what makes me devour a cookbook!

I like that dishes from all parts of the menu are included in the cookbook. If you are intimidated to try a full-blown entre (and you really shouldn't be with Phan's step-by-step instructions and careful coaching in each recipe), you can always start with an appetizer! Abundant explanations and gorgeous photographs accompany each recipe and provide encouragement. What a delight!

In this modern era with global connections, it's hard to imagine that anyone would find the ingredients in Phan's dishes to be too exotic. I live in the middle of America, in the "fly-over" zone where grocery stores have limited shelf space. However, I feel confident that I could procure most of the ingredients to make any dish in the book readily and locally.

Having this book on my e-reader is great because I can set it on the kitchen counter and follow along with the recipe as I cook, thus saving paper. (Do note it helps to increase the length of time before your screen times out before you start cooking if you don't want to have to swipe the screen with messy fingers!) While it will take a bit of getting used to (also, set it out of splatter range!), it makes me feel even more technologically savvy as well. I will certainly be indulging in more e-cookbooks in the future!

From the Publisher . . .

The long-awaited cookbook featuring 100 recipes from James Beard award-winning chef Charles Phan’s beloved San Francisco Vietnamese restaurant, The Slanted Door.

Award-winning chef and restaurateur Charles Phan opened The Slanted Door in San Francisco in 1995, inspired by the food of his native Vietnam. Since then, The Slanted Door has grown into a world-class dining destination, and its accessible, modern take on classic Vietnamese dishes is beloved by diners, chefs, and critics alike. The Slanted Door is a love letter to the restaurant, its people, and its food. Featuring stories in addition to its most iconic recipes, The Slanted Door both celebrates a culinary institution and allows home cooks to recreate its excellence.

About the Author . . .

Charles Phan is the award-winning Executive Chef and Owner of San Francisco's The Slanted Door and 6 other restaurants. He is considered to be the inventor of modern Vietnamese cuisine in the United States.

Born in Da Lat, Vietnam in 1962, Charles and his family - parents and five siblings - relocated to Guam just before the fall of Saigon. They spent two years on Guam before settling in San Francisco in 1977.

Always having had a passion for food, Charles opened his first restaurant, The Slanted Door, on Valencia Street in San Francisco's Mission District in 1995. It was an immediate popular and critical success. The restaurant played a significant role in the revitalization of this vibrant area.

In 2004, the nationally acclaimed, The Slanted Door, became one of the principal tenants of San Francisco's historic Ferry Building and was instrumental in developing this landmark into one of the country's premier food destinations.

That year, he also won the James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef of California and in 2011 was inducted into the foundation's Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America.

Since then, Phan has opened six successful restaurants, all located in San Francisco, a city with a famously vibrant food scene. His enduring vision to showcase farm-fresh, locally sourced ingredients and prepare everything from scratch has kept The Slanted Door Group of restaurants on the forefront of San Francisco's dining scene.

Charles' first book, VIETNAMESE HOME COOKING, hopes to inspire readers to make interesting, fast, flavorful and healthy Vietnamese dishes in their home kitchens. The book won an IACP award in 2012.

His second cookbook, THE SLANTED DOOR, offers one hundred recipes of modern Vietnamese food, cocktail and dessert. The book comes at the right time to celebrate James Beard Award's Outstanding Restaurant in May 2014 and its 20th anniversary in November.

Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life

This is the most important and profound book I have read in a long, long time!

I was a parish minister for 13+ years and in that time I sat with countless families at the bedside of their dying loved ones. Most often that vigil took place in a hospital setting, whether the ICU or the hospice suite. Sometimes I was called to the nursing home and, on a few rare occasions, to a home. Dr. Zitter's insight and wisdom on a topic that most Americans spend their lives and energy avoiding at all cost provides us with clear insights and a care-filled journey through the inevitable. For a time I served on the local hospice board and tried to make sure that local and area clergy were kept "in the loop" on end-of-life care options that might provide better spiritual continuity for their members. Dr. Zitter's book should be required reading not only for all entering the medical field and palliative care teams, but for all seminarians, social workers and all who care about making sure that the way we leave this life matches the values with which we lived life. Any and all book clubs willing to breach the subject of death and dying will find a wealth of topics to discuss. I will be spreading the word about this wonderful, helpful book to anyone and everyone who will listen!

My deepest thanks to Dr. Zitter for taking on this important subject and for this sage book!! My thanks to the publisher for providing me the free review copy in exchange for this fair and honest review.

From the Publisher . . .

An ICU and Palliative Care specialist featured in the Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary Extremis offers a framework for a better way to exit life that will change our medical culture at the deepest level.

In medical school, no one teaches you how to let a patient die.

Jessica Zitter became a doctor because she wanted to be a hero. She elected to specialize in critical care—to become an ICU physician—and imagined herself swooping in to rescue patients from the brink of death. But then during her first code she found herself cracking the ribs of a patient so old and frail it was unimaginable he would ever come back to life. She began to question her choice.

Extreme Measures charts Zitter’s journey from wanting to be one kind of hero to becoming another—a doctor who prioritizes the patient’s values and preferences in an environment where the default choice is the extreme use of technology. In our current medical culture, the old and the ill are put on what she terms the End-of-Life Conveyor belt. They are intubated, catheterized, and even shelved away in care facilities to suffer their final days alone, confused, and often in pain. In her work Zitter has learned what patients fear more than death itself: the prospect of dying badly. She builds bridges between patients and caregivers, formulates plans to allay patients’ pain and anxiety, and enlists the support of loved ones so that life can end well, even beautifully.

Filled with rich patient stories that make a compelling medical narrative, Extreme Measures enlarges the national conversation as it thoughtfully and compassionately examines an experience that defines being human.

About the Author . . .

After two decades of caring for critically ill patients, Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH is a strong advocate for a new approach to caring for the dying. She practices the unusual combination of ICU and palliative care medicine at Highland Hospital, the county hospital in Oakland, California. Having herself participated in the default and indiscriminate use of technology with the dying and witnessed the resultant suffering, Dr. Zitter has come to view this situation as a public health crisis. She is committed to reorienting our care of the dying to a more collaborative process whereby the patient, rather than her organ or disease, is the primary focus of care.

Dr. Zitter’s first book, Extreme Measures, Finding A Better Path to the End of Life, (Avery, an imprint of Penguin-Random House, Spring 2017), offers an insider’s view of intensive care in America and its impact on how we die. Her essays and articles have appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, the Huffington Post, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and other publications. In 2005 she co-founded Vital Decisions, a telephone counseling service for patients with life-limiting illnesses.

Her work is featured in the Tribeca award-winning documentary, “Extremis,” which has been shortlisted for an Oscar, and is available on Netflix. This vérité film follows Jessica, her team and several patients and their families in the intensive care unit at Highland Hospital.

Dr. Zitter attended Stanford University and Case Western Reserve University Medical School and earned her Master of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. Her medical training includes an Internal Medicine residency at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and a fellowship in Pulmonary/Critical Care at the University of California, San Francisco.

Butcher, Baker: The True Account of an Alaskan Serial Killer

I picked up this book because, although Hansen went on his serial killing spree in Alaska, he is from my home state and I felt a need to find out if it was something in his early up-bringing in the Hawkeye State that set him on the path to such atrocity. The writing is clear and straight forward, taken from official records, interviews, etc. The book is especially good if you appreciate accurate timelines and sequences in your true crime.

From the Publisher . . .

The horrific true story of serial kidnapper, rapist, and killer Robert Hansen’s reign of terror in Anchorage, Alaska.

As oil boom money poured into Anchorage, the city quickly became a prime destination for the seedier elements of society: prostitutes, pimps, con men, and criminals of all breeds looking to cash in. However, something even worse lurked in their midst.

To all who knew him, Robert Hansen was a typical hardworking businessman, husband, and father. But hidden beneath the veneer of mild respectability was a monster whose depraved appetites could not be sated. From 1971 to 1983, Hansen was a human predator, stalking women on the edges of Anchorage society—women whose disappearances would cause scant outcry, but whose gruesome fates would shock the nation. After his arrest, Hansen confessed to seventeen brutal murders, though authorities suspect there were more than thirty victims.

Alaska State Trooper Walter Gilmour and writer Leland E. Hale tell the story of Hansen’s twisted depredations—from the dark urges that drove his madness to the women who died at his hand and finally to the authorities who captured and convicted the killer who came to be known as the “Butcher Baker.”

Nourishing Meals Delivers

This book is a godsend to folks who have dietary concerns which affect their health. Many people are looking for options which include dairy-free, gluten-free or soy-free dishes to provide optimal nutrition for their families.

This book is FULL of helpful tips, background information, and research. The best part is that it doesn't simply offer readers a small handful of recipes. We are talking about 484 pages filled with 365 easy-to-follow, delicious recipes you can start using on day one! And good news . . . you can find most of the ingredients at your local grocery store without having to find any specialty shops or mail-order sources. (Although on the off-chance you live on a secluded island accessible only by sea plane, online shopping sources are also included among the inclusive appendix at the back of the book.)

My thanks to Blogging For Books for the free copy I received in exchange for this honest review. From the Publisher . . .

It can be daunting to live a whole foods lifestyle in today’s busy world—even more so to prepare plant-rich, allergen-free meals that’ll get the whole family around the table. Popular blogger Ali Segersten and functional medicine expert Tom Malttere are a team devoted to teaching their children—and readers—the importance of living a whole foods lifestyle. Nourishing Meals makes it easy and fun with dishes that burst with flavor, such as their Cherry Pecan Salad, Butternut Squash and Pinto Bean Enchiladas, Chipotle-Lime Roasted Chicken, and Banana Coconut Cream Pie.

Every recipe in the book is free of the most common allergens: gluten, soy, eggs, and dairy, as well as refined sugar. And these dishes are designed to appeal to everyone, including vegan, vegetarian, seafood, and meat-eaters. In addition to wonderful food, Ali and Tom offer easy, doable steps to help you change your family’s health, tips for making the transition easier, and ways to get the kids excited about wholesome foods. They map out the best foods and recipes for every stage of having a family, from pre-conception and pregnancy through each year of a child’s life. And they explain in accessible terms what makes their recipes so effective for achieving optimal health. Originally self-published with an avid following, this edition will feature more than 30 new recipes, and many of the original recipes have been updated. This new edition will also include 100 beautiful all-new food photos featured in two inserts.

With an easy, tasty recipe for every day of the year, it’s never been simpler to adopt a healthy, whole foods lifestyle!

Natural Color Is Amazing

As someone who loves working with fiber via spinning and knitting, I was really excited to get my hands on a copy of Sasha Duerr's Natural Color. What an invaluable resource for anyone who loves natural products, color, and care of the environment!

Duerr provides readers with a great introduction to the world of natural dying. The book is structured around the seasons, which makes sense since the plants used to make the dye come into their prime at different times throughout the growing season. I find it interesting also that natural dye colors will vary depending on the specific soil and climate so that different regions and areas will have different color pallets.

I learned several things from reading this book. I really had very little sense of just how many natural plant sources provide such an array of color! I did not realize that one could, in several cases, alter the color outcome of the dye pot by adding different ingredients into the pot. I found it amazing that there are several sources of natural color that don't need anything added to the dye pot to make them colorfast. Nature is amazing!

Along with the various plants to gather seasonally, Duerr offers readers preparation instructions for getting your fabrics and fibers ready to be dyed. In each seasonal section of the book, there are a handful of "recipes"--hands on projects with instructions for dying anything from place mats and napkins to curtains, shirts and even a hat! Duerr provides tips within the recipes and in the introduction to each section's natural dye materials as to which will work the best for dying plant based fibers (cotton, linen, etc.) versus animal fibers (wool, alpaca, silk, etc.).

As someone who plans to keep this book and reference it often for upcoming fun with natural dying of yarns for truly unique projects, the one thing I recognize I am going to need by way of additional reading material to make the best use of Natural Color, is a field guide to plants in my area. Duerr's book does not offer a lot of help in identifying the specific plants by sight if you want to go out and gather some materials. It is important to have said guide so that you can avoid any "look alike" plants which may be poisonous. (For instance, where I live there is a plant which resembles Queen Anne's Lace which can leave blisters where it comes into contact with skin.)

If you are interested in natural dying and the colors produced by nature's pallet, you will definitely want to get a copy of Natural Color. My thanks to Blogging For Books for the free copy I received in exchange for this honest review.

From the Publisher . . .

A beautiful book of seasonal projects for using the brilliant spectrum of colors derived from plants to naturally dye your clothing and home textiles.

Organized by season, Natural Color is a beautifully photographed guide to the full range of plant dyes available, drawn from commonly found fruits, flowers, trees, and herbs, with accompanying projects. Using sustainable methods and artisanal techniques, designer, artist, and professor Sasha Duerr details achievable ways to apply these limitless color possibilties to your home and wardrobe. Whether you are new to dyeing or more practiced, Duerr’s clear and simple ingredients lists, step-by-step instructions, and detailed breakouts on techniques such as shibori, dip-dye, and block printing will ensure beautiful results. With recipes to dye everything from dresses and sweaters to rugs and napkins, Natural Color will inspire fashion enthusiasts, home decorators, textile lovers, and everyone else who wants to bring more color into their life.

About the Author . . .

SASHA DUERR is an artist, designer, and advocate for the slow fashion movement who works with organic dyes, alternative fibers, and the creative reuse of materials. She is a professor at the California College of the Arts with a joint appointment in textiles and fine arts. Her work has been shown in galleries and museums across the United States and abroad. In 2007 Duerr founded the Permacouture Institute with the Trust for Conservation Innovation to encourage the exploration of fashion and textiles from the ground up. Her extensive work with plant-based dyes and ecological principles through local land-based sources and community has been featured in the New York Times, American Craft Magazine, Selvedge, and the Huffington Post. She is the author of The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes.

Women In Science Is Awesome!

This book is awesome! For all those who are working to get girls into STEM, this is a valuable aid. Women In Science contains concise yet thorough introductions to 50 women who made a difference in a variety of scientific fields gathered together in one, fun and funky book.

Younger readers will be amazed at the rich and diverse history of women who have been at the forefront in various scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematics fields. Heck, this 50 year old reader was astounded to learn of some of these ladies! This will undoubtedly push these readers to dive in deeper either to specific types of science that will pique their curiosity or to learn more about the lives and times of these fascinating pioneers.

For older readers, this book is an invaluable reference tool which provides quick and concise overviews of the woman and her accomplishments....a perfect jumping off point sure to instigate further research.

Let me add that I love the layouts, the font, and really EVERYTHING about this book!! It should be a part of every elementary and middle school library and every teacher's classroom collection. If you have a daughter, granddaughter, niece or other girl in your life, please get her a copy of this book! If you are raising boys to celebrate the girls and women in their lives, get them a copy of this book!

My thanks to Blogging For Books for the free copy I received in exchange for this honest review.

From the Publisher . . .

A charmingly illustrated and educational book, Women in Science highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from the ancient to the modern world. Full of striking, singular art, this fascinating collection also contains infographics about relevant topics such as lab equipment, rates of women currently working in STEM fields, and an illustrated scientific glossary. The trailblazing women profiled include well-known figures like primatologist Jane Goodall, as well as lesser-known pioneers such as Katherine Johnson, the African-American physicist and mathematician who calculated the trajectory of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon. Women in Science celebrates the achievements of the intrepid women who have paved the way for the next generation of female engineers, biologists, mathematicians, doctors, astronauts, physicists, and more!

About the Author . . .

Rachel Ignotofsky is an illustrator and author based in beautiful Kansas City, MO. She grew up in New Jersey on a healthy diet of cartoons and pudding. She graduated with honors from Tyler School of Art's graphic design program in 2011. Now Rachel works for herself and spends all day and night drawing, writing and learning as much as she can. Her work is inspired by history and science. She believes that illustration is a powerful tool that can make learning exciting. Rachel hopes to use her work to spread her message about education, gender equality and scientific literacy.

Rachel is always available to answer questions or comments. email her at: rachelignotofskydesign@gmail.com

Let Your Mind Help You Lose Weight!

This book is life-changing!

I started a meditation practice two years ago which has had a huge, positive impact on my life. Meditate Your Weight: A 21-Day Retreat To Optimize Your Metabolism and Feel Great is THE tool I have been looking for to tie my meditation practice to my goal of losing weight for an important family event later this year.

Author Tiffany Cruikshank breaks the book into 3 parts. Part One includes a quick introduction to mindfulness meditation, including the science behind meditation, its affect on the brain and other body systems, and the “how-to” mechanics of sitting. I found it a helpful review and suspect that folks who are new to meditation may go through the opening materials slower than I did.

Part Two is made up of the 21 days of specific practice. Each day includes a reading which sets the stage for the daily topic and provides inspiration; instructions for the 3 to 7 minutes of sitting meditation; a couple of thought provoking questions to journal about immediately following the meditation time; a daily mantra to focus on throughout your day; and final suggestions for thoughts and feelings to be aware of as your day unfolds. In the week I have been doing, I find the process works well! I really like the combination of reading, setting it aside to meditate, and writing. I find my mind floating back to the ideas and themes several times through my day. I appreciate the encouragement to take a look at what happens during my meditation too!

In Part Three of the book, Cruikshank includes a “tool kit” which offers reader ways to meditate during movement/exercise, yoga poses that promote weight loss, and thoughts on mindful eating. (If you haven’t heard of mindful eating and are working on weight loss goals, you must do some reading on it. It is shocking how mindlessly most of us eat!!)

I intend to keep this book and go through the program more than once. I believe it will be a tool for positive change in my life. If you have struggled with losing weight, I would encourage you to get a copy of this book! Thank you to Blogging For Books for the free copy I received in exchange for this honest review.

From the Publisher . . .

THE MIND MAKEOVER THAT MAKES OVER YOUR METABOLISM

Hundreds of medical studies have shown the spectacular health benefits of meditation. Now Tiffany Cruikshank, founder of Yoga Medicine, puts that scientific research to good, practical use by incorporating easy-to-use, targeted meditations into a unique weight-loss program. This 21-day plan optimizes health as well as body image by tapping the hidden strength of the mind. We learn a whole new way to lose weight; and it takes just a few relaxing and energizing minutes a day.

Learn: • How to get started: advice for new meditators (no weird positions or chants required)
• 3, 5, 7, and 10 minute meditations that bust cravings, break self-defeating habits, stress-proof the body, and reboot the brain
• What to eat—and the top 5 foods to consider avoiding
• How to continue your success after your 21-day retreat
• Bonus: 10 stress-relieving, cardio-revving yoga exercises to complement the plan

Each day of the plan in Meditate Your Weight helps you explore and release what's weighing you down physically, emotionally, and mentally—the mental blocks, thoughts, habits, and behaviors that stand in your way—to make it easier to think more clearly, make better choices, and maximize metabolism. As you lighten up on the inside, you’ll lighten up on the outside.

Less stress=less belly fat. More calm + more balance = a healthier you.

About the Author . . .

Tiffany Cruikshank, Lac, MAOM, an internationally acclaimed yoga teacher, author, meditation, health and wellness expert, has a pre-med bachelor’s degree in Medicinal Plant Biology and Nutrition and a master’s degree in acupuncture an Oriental medicine with a specialization in sports medicine and orthopedics. She is the founder of Yoga Medicine and has treated more than 25,000 patients from around the world using yoga, acupuncture, nutrition, meditation and holistic health. Tiffany has been featured in Yoga Journal, Self, Marie Claire, Prevention, Forbes, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and Redbook and on Fox News among many others.

Fowl Language

If you are a parent, or about to become a parent, or want to know what may be going through your own parents' heads, this is the book for you!

It was a hoot sitting on the deck with my husband who picked up the book first. He laughed out loud several times! And just as when we watch the ABC program, The Middle, he exclaimed several times, "This is too true!"

Fowl Language is so easy to relate to! Neither of us was familiar with the online cartoon world of Fowl Language, but I can assure you, the situations are real, as are the reactions! If you want a quick, fun read about the trials and tribulations--and the humorous parts too!--of parenting, you must read this book!

My thanks to the publisher from whom I received a free copy of the book in exchange for this honest review!

From the Publisher . . .

The popular parenting webcomic featured on HuffPost, Buzzfeed, and Upworthy is now a book! The perfect gift for baby showers and for those already in the throes of parenting, Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting is here to let you know that you're not alone. Parenting is hard and often gross. Laughing about it helps. If you liked Toddlers Are A**holes, you'll love Fowl Language!

Parenting can be a magical journey full of bliss and wonder . . . if you're on the right meds. For the rest of us, it's another thing altogether. Fowl Language Comics takes an unvarnished look at the tedium and aggravation of parenting, while never forgetting that the reason we put up with those little jerks is that we love them so damn much. By poking fun at the daily struggles parents face, these cartoons help all of us feel less alone in our continual struggle to stay sane.

Brian Gordon, creator of Fowl Language Comics, has two small children of his own and knows well the trials and tribulations that go along with raising them. With more than eighteen years of experience in humorous illustration, writing, and cartooning, Brian's visual point of view is memorable, authentic, and instantly recognizable. From Brian: "They say 'write what you know.' Well, I don’t know much, but I do know what it’s like to be the father of two brilliant, beautiful, bat-shit-crazy kids."

Launched in July 2013, the relatable humor of Fowl Language broke out on HuffPost Parents, Pop Sugar Moms, Bored Panda, Awkward Family Photos, and countless other humor and parenting blogs. Thanks to more than 200,000 fans on social media, including Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram, it continues to grow in popularity at a rapid pace.

About the Author . . .

"A million years ago, Brian Gordon spent his time staying out late, hitting the clubs and eating at fancy restaurants.

And then suddenly ... CHILDREN. While he loved being a dad more than anything else, he also noticed that at times, parenting can be a total crap-fest.

In the summer of 2013, Brian began drawing Fowl Language as a fun (and often profane) way to vent his frustrations. After getting laid off from his job as a greeting card artist, he decided to pursue the comic full-time. His work quickly became an Internet viral sensation, and is shared regularly by millions of people all over the world."

Cook Healthier Foods

I happen to be one of the millions of Americans who teeter on the verge of cholesterol numbers that concern my doctor. The American Heart Association's Healthy Fats, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook arrived just in time for my final round of "please let me try diet and exercise" rather than medication plea to my doctor.

I am so thrilled with this cookbook, I cannot tell you!

The subtitle, Delicious Recipes To Help Reduce Bad Fats and Lower Your Cholesterol is spot on. These are some delicious recipes! We had already lowered the amount of red meats in our diet a couple of years ago, so I was very happy to have new poultry and fish/seafood recipes to try. One key, it seems to me, that runs throughout the book is the addition of spices that you might not have used or considered before which take away any and all sense of "missing out" where the fat content has been reduced or eliminated. For example, the recipe for Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken adds a bit of ginger along with the paprika when seasoning your meat. (p. 144) This is brilliant and we both enjoyed this little addition immensely.

You are going to find recipes for any and all times of day, types of foods, and diets. Yes, there are vegetarian dishes included. There are also breads, breakfast, and desserts!

What I found myself turning to and really using were the Appendixes at the back of the book. These include helpful tips and strategies for healthy shopping, healthy cooking, healthy dining out, and the science behind all recommendations. There are even sections of risk factors for heart disease and warning signs of heart attacks and stroke. This could potentially be some life saving information!!

I have had the wonderful opportunity to review many cookbooks. I love cookbooks, cooking, and eating! Healthy Fats, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook will be my main go-to cookbook for the foreseeable future. (Even when using others, I will have it open to the tips on making other recipes healthier and more heart friendly!) Thank you to Blogging For Books for the review copy I received in exchange for this honest review. You have helped to change our lives for the better!

From the Publisher . . .

The classic cookbook for achieving heart health and wellbeing through a diet that is low in cholesterol and saturated fat--updated and revised with 200 recipes (including 50 new to this edition)

Lose the bad fats, but not the flavor.

Now in its fifth edition, American Heart Association Healthy Fats, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook provides the most up-to-date information on heart health and nutrition. Good-for-you food should also be satisfying, and the American Heart Association reveals how easy it is to replace the bad fats in your diet with healthier ones. This classic cookbook offers more than 200 tempting dishes, 50 of which are new, including:

· Fresh Basil and Kalamata Hummus · Triple-Pepper and White Bean Soup with Rotini · Taco Salad · Hearty Fish Chowder · Chicken Pot Pie with Mashed Potato Topping · Balsamic Braised Beef with Exotic Mushrooms · Grilled Pizza with Grilled Vegetables · Stovetop Scalloped Tomatoes · Puffed Pancake with Apple-Cranberry Sauce · Mango Brûlée with Pine Nuts


The perfect companion for today’s healthy cook, this indispensable collection of recipes proves you can eat deliciously and nutritiously.

About the Author . . .

The AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION is the nation’s premier authority on heart health. Its bestselling library of cookbooks and guides includes American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook, Fourth Edition; The New American Heart Association Cookbook, Seventh Edition; American Heart Association No-Fad Diet; American Heart Association Low-Salt Cookbook, Third Edition; American Heart Association Meals in Minutes Cookbook; American Heart Association Low-Calorie Cookbook; and American Heart Association Quick & Easy Cookbook.

Getting Your Collage On

Being an avid journal keeper and scrapbooker, I am thrilled to have received a copy of Eleanor Shakespeare’s Collage This Journal. It is a great tool to help you collect and record the moments in life you’d like to hold onto and pass on to others for posterity.

What I love about this journal are the wide variety of prompts to spark your creativity. "Redesign the cover of your favorite book(s). How did you see the world as a child? How do you see it now?" The idea is to respond with a collage of items, though sketching and writing are encouraged as well.

The page size is plenty to allow for some fun. It is also great because you could easily tuck it in your bag and work on it while on the go. (This would have been a great way to fill some time on my 18 hour Astral ride!) The color scheme on the pages is mostly neutral, allowing you to take the prompt in any direction you like.

Seasoned collage artists may find the journal restrictive only in that the pages and binding realistically only allow for flat items to be included in the collage. You’re not likely to find it handy to incorporate bulky items like tiles, beads, flora, stones, etc. (Not a problem for me.) I am carrying the journal with me and looking at all kinds of paper ephemera (printed napkins, advertising flyers, even cereal boxes!) in new ways!

Many thanks to Blogging For Books for the review copy I received in exchange for this honest review.

From the Publisher . . .

This irrisistibly iteractive journal is filled with dozens of clever ideas for recording your life, such as “Make balloons out of photos from special and happy occasions” or ”Fill the genie’s lamp with wishes.” The author/illustrator’s wonderfully layered photo-illustration montages invite readers to mix media, too, and make this keepsake truly their own.

About the Author . . .

ELEANOR SHAKESPEARE is an illustrator and designer based in London known for her photomontage imagery. She combines found ephemera with hand-lettering and texture with color to create unique illustrations. She has illustrated for The Telegraph Magazine, Therapy Today, Times Higher Education, The Baffler, BoneshakerMagazine, and Noble Rot Magazine.

Tagging Along With Bill Through Britain

Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island is a fun romp around Britain through the eyes of an American ex-pat. If you enjoy PBS travel programs and/or British comedies, or frequently find yourself watching BBC America from your satellite provider but haven’t read this book, you jolly well better hoof off to the nearest book store or library and procure a copy for heaven’s sake!

Bryson lived in England for a number of years, having married a British nurse. One day after 20 years or so of being a part of the British landscape, Bryson and his family decided to move back to the United States. Notes from a Small Island is a memoir of the seven-week “farewell” trek through England, Wales, and Scotland Bryson made before departing. If you have read A Walk in the Woods (recently made into a film starring Robert Redford), then you know that Bryson is a walker. It is a habit he perfected during his years in Britain. Much of the journey he takes readers on is a walkabout through the countryside.

“I picked a mercifully level footpath and followed it for two miles through woods and fields along the crest of a secluded hanging Valley to rejoin the coast path at a lonely and dramatic eminence called Houns-tout Cliff. The view once again was stunning: whale-back hills and radiant white cliffs, dotted with small coves and hidden beaches washed by a blue and infinite sea. I could see all the way to Lulworth, my destination for the day, some ten miles and many daunting whale-back to the west.”

In addition to rich descriptions of the landscape, villages, and people Bryson encounters on his journey, there is also a good smattering of the irreverent humor one expects while reading anything by this author. I had many good laughs aloud (much to the consternation of my husband seated at the opposite end of the couch trying to make his way through the latest George R. R. Martin epic, A Dance With Dragons) as I joined Bryson’s farewell tour.

As an example, Bryson begins chapter 20 with: “I took a train to Liverpool. They were having a festival of litter when I arrived. Citizens had taken time off from their busy activities to add ice cream wrappers, empty cigarette boxes, and plastic carrier bags to the otherwise bland and neglected landscape. They fluttered gaily in the bushes and brought color and texture to pavements and gutters. And to think that elsewhere we stick these objects in trashbags.”

His tale of the sign he found where a grumpy landowner did not want anyone turning around in their driveway, or the elderly train enthusiast he encountered on the train to Llandudno in Wales were a hoot! I can easily imagine that travelling with Bryson would make for a fun time. And indeed, it has each and every moment I have spent reading his books. The book should come with a warning that you may get some funny looks from people around you when you break into laughter in public. That being said, I would encourage you to read it--especially with a pint in hand and a marathon of British documentaries playing in the background.

From the Publisher . . .

Before New York Times bestselling author Bill Bryson wrote The Road to Little Dribbling, he took this delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation of Great Britain, which has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie’s Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey.

About the Author . . .

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa. For twenty years he lived in England, where he worked for the Times and the Independent, and wrote for most major British and American publications. His books include travel memoirs (Neither Here Nor There; The Lost Continent; Notes from a Small Island) and books on language (The Mother Tongue; Made in America). His account of his attempts to walk the Appalachian Trail, A Walk in the Woods, was a huge New York Times bestseller. He lives in Hanover, New Hampshire, with his wife and his four children.

Get Locally Laid

I like chicken, both meat and eggs. I might as well get that confession out of the way at the outset.

My grandparents on both sides were born to farm families and spent some of their lives working farms as well. My parents were the first exception to this, and I am a city girl, through-and-through. Luckily for me, my maternal grandparents still farmed during my childhood years so that I was privy to the knowledge of from whence my food came. I helped my grandma turn the earth for the chicks to eat the grubs and worms, gather eggs in the hen house, and took part in the autumn slaughter and cleaning of chickens to be put up in the freezer and turned into stews and casseroles over the winter months to follow. (I’m still haunted by images of headless chickens flopping around the butchering yard until their nervous system’s electrical impulses were spent. Just the idea of the smell of burning pin feathers during plucking can turn my stomach to this day.)

Thus I found Lucie Amundsen’s book, Locally Laid, thoroughly engaging with it’s sometimes humorous and always educational story of her family’s adventure into sustainable, middle agriculture egg production.

The fact that Locally Laid is a company from neighboring Minnesota added to the pleasure of this read for me. I lived in the Twin Cities for a few years and have visited Duluth numerous times. Familiarity with the landscape, the weather, and the ethos of the area makes Amundsen’s words ring all the louder and truer.

I have a lot of admiration for Amundsen and her husband. He had a vision and they both sacrificed and worked (you could say struggled!) to bring the dream to fruition. The stories she relays of the making of their farm and brand are harrowing and humorous, full of pain and triumph and plenty of school-of-hard-knocks learning. The insights gained and shared will benefit everyone who has a vision of something better which takes grit and true determination to bring to life. (That is to say, there is something here for ALL of us!)

Locally Laid is a quick, delightful, and thought-provoking read. I feel I learned a great deal not only about the egg and chicken producing business in the United States, but also about food sources, sustainability, and the true cost of the food choices before me every time I open my wallet to pay. For this insight I am truly grateful! If you have even the slightest inkling to stop and think about the food you eat and feed your family with, I highly suggest you read this book! (Besides, who doesn’t love the idea of free-range chickens happily roaming the prairie of northern Minnesota?)

My thanks to Penguin Random House for the review copy I received in exchange for this honest review.

From the Publisher . . .

How a Midwestern family with no agriculture experience went from a few backyard chickens to a full-fledged farm—and discovered why local chicks are better.

When Lucie Amundsen had a rare night out with her husband, she never imagined what he’d tell her over dinner—that his dream was to quit his office job (with benefits!) and start a commercial-scale pasture-raised egg farm. His entire agricultural experience consisted of raising five backyard hens, none of whom had yet laid a single egg.

To create this pastured poultry ranch, the couple scrambles to acquire nearly two thousand chickens—all named Lola. These hens, purchased commercially, arrive bereft of basic chicken-y instincts, such as the evening urge to roost. The newbie farmers also deal with their own shortcomings, making for a failed inspection and intense struggles to keep livestock alive (much less laying) during a brutal winter. But with a heavy dose of humor, they learn to negotiate the highly stressed no-man’s-land known as Middle Agriculture. Amundsen sees firsthand how these midsized farms, situated between small-scale operations and mammoth factory farms, are vital to rebuilding America’s local food system.

With an unexpected passion for this dubious enterprise, Amundsen shares a messy, wry, and entirely educational story of the unforeseen payoffs (and frequent pitfalls) of one couple’s ag adventure—and many, many hours spent wrangling chickens.

About the Author . . .

Lucie Amundsen is a writer, marketer, and reluctant farmer. She co-owns Locally Laid Egg Company, a farm that provides pasture-raised eggs in Minnesota, Iowa, and Indiana. She sits on the Hartley Nature Center board and is an active volunteer with Duluth Community Gardening Program. Amundsen also holds a master’s of fine arts in writing from Hamline University. A former contributor to the Minneapolis Star Tribune and former editor at Reader’s Digest Association, Amundsen has written for scores of publications during her freelance career. She lives with her husband and two children in Duluth, Minnesota.

The Path To the Good Life

Who among us has not wondered whether or not there might be something more to life than our current circumstances have to offer? I would venture to guess that it is part of life to look at the world around us every now and then and ask the age-old questons: Why am I here? How did the world and my life get to be this way? How can I be happy?

Michael Pruett and Christine Gross-Loh softer some answers to these questions from Chinese philosophers in their new book, The Path.

It's been a while since I was in school. The basis for this book is Puett's popular class at Harvard on Chinese philosophy. It turns out students were flocking to Puett'so class in droves, making it one of the most popular courses at the university. Something in these ancient texts and teaching was resonating with the questions so many young people harbored about the direction of their lives and our world today. They were hungry to find a way to have a good life.

The Path introduces readers to the overarching concepts developed through the ages by Chinese philosophers and works such as Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Inward Training, and others. Puett lays out the general concepts of each school of thought and weaves that thinking together with examples of modern-day scenarios which provide examples of how such philosophy would play out in our lives today. It is, in a word, brilliant!

I would encourage everyone to get a copy of this book! Great discussion will come from reading it, and you may find yourself looking to delve deeper into some of the writings of these wise teachers from the past. The Path will be joining a select group of books on my shelf which I reread every year. My thanks to the publisher for the free ARE I received in exchange for this honest review.

From the Publisher . . .

For the first time an award-winning Harvard professor shares his wildly popular course on classical Chinese philosophy, showing you how these ancient ideas can guide you on the path to a good life today.

Why is a course on ancient Chinese philosophers one of the most popular at Harvard?

It’s because the course challenges all our modern assumptions about what it takes to flourish. This is why Professor Michael Puett says to his students, “The encounter with these ideas will change your life.” As one of them told his collaborator, author Christine Gross-Loh, “You can open yourself up to possibilities you never imagined were even possible.”

These astonishing teachings emerged two thousand years ago through the work of a succession of Chinese scholars exploring how humans can improve themselves and their society. And what are these counterintuitive ideas? Good relationships come not from being sincere and authentic, but from the rituals we perform within them. Influence comes not from wielding power but from holding back. Excellence comes from what we choose to do, not our natural abilities. A good life emerges not from planning it out, but through training ourselves to respond well to small moments. Transformation comes not from looking within for a true self, but from creating conditions that produce new possibilities.

In other words, The Path upends everything we are told about how to lead a good life. Above all, unlike most books on the subject, its most radical idea is that there is no path to follow in the first place—just a journey we create anew at every moment by seeing and doing things differently.

Sometimes voices from the past can offer possibilities for thinking afresh about the future.

About the Author . . .

Michael Puett is the Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and Chair of the Committee on the Study of Religion at Harvard University. He is the recipient of a Harvard College Professorship for excellence in undergraduate teaching.

Christine Gross-Loh is a freelance journalist and author. Her writing has appeared in a number of publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and the Huffington Post. She has a PhD from Harvard University in East Asian history.

Ooo la la! Coloring Parisian Style

French was the language I chose to take through high school and college. I am, admittedly, a bit of a Francophile. What makes this coloring book extra-delightful, in my opinion, is the addition of my favorite furry friend to the Parisian landscape. Cats!

In the introduction to the book, Won-Sun Jang writes,

"Before I knew it, cats began to find their place in my life.

I work from home, and I found myself wanting to share my day with someone. That’s when I met my first cat, Eva. After that, cats started to fill my empty spaces. They would stay near me—by the desk, beside the table, and under the bed before I went to sleep. Cats seemed to be close by all the time.

In order to learn their subtle language, I discovered that patience and observation is key. I was inspired by their smooth and fine movements, their eyes shining with a variety of colors, and their charming communications. The illustrations in this book are proof of such inspiration.

At first cats may seem cautious and shy. But they have a surprising charm. They approach you slowly and one day you realize they have taken over your entire life. I hope this book will become as enchanting as cats are. Fill in the blanks using your creativity.

The sketches, lines, and patterns in this book leave room for you to express your individuality—because a cat’s charm cannot be expressed in just one way! So, without further ado, I invite you to a magical world of cats as they slink through the streets of Paris and into a realm of imagination."

Jang's illustrations are so lovely. She has gotten the feline figures just right. As I look through, it's difficult to decide where to begin coloring as each image evokes memories of pets who have been part of my life through the decades.

I also appreciate that the scenes include both intimate settings within the sophisticated apartments of Paris and wider scenes amid the streets and sites of the beautiful city.

It is also fun that Jang so aptly illustrates a variety of breeds of cats! Bravo!

If you've been contemplating jumping aboard the adult coloring craze, but haven't taken the leap yet, I would suggest curling up with some French kitties, colored pencils or markers in hand, and relax. I believe Cats In Paris would pair well with a nice French wine as well!

Thank you to Blogging For Books for the free review copy I received in exchange for this honest review.

From the Publisher . . .

This gorgeously illustrated adult coloring book draws readers into the secret world of cats in Paris as they explore the city's most famous (and feline-friendly) spots.

Say bonjour to the cats of Paris as they slink through its fabled streets and alleyways, from Montmartre to the Shakespeare and Company bookshop and into a feline-filled land of playful imagination. Featuring intricate pen-and-ink drawings of tabbies, Persians, Siamese, and more, this evocative coloring book’s frisky kitties lie in wait for your colorful stylings.

About the Author . . .

Won-Sun Jang is an award-winning Korean illustrator whose work has appeared in Vogue Korea, Elle Korea, Bazaar Korea, and InStyle Korea, and clients include MAC Cosmetics and Clinique. Winner of the Children’s Books Illustration Award from Kemongsa Publishers, she currently works as a package designer in Seoul, Korea. Since meeting Eva the Norwegian Forest Cat fourteen years ago, she has fallen in love with cats and the inspiration they bring to her art.

The Longevity Kitchen

If you are interested in a healthy diet to help optimize your wellness and promote longevity, you are going to want to run out and pick up a copy of The Longevity Kitchen: Satisfying Big-Flavor Recipes Featuring the Top 16 Age-Busting Power Foods by Rebecca Katz.

The book features everything you would expect to find in a cookbook: delicious, well-written, and easy to follow recipes grouped in intuitive sections (“Life-Enhancing Soups and Broths,” “Vital Vegetables,” “Protein-Building Foods,” etc.), beautiful, full-page color photographs of scrumptious dishes, nutritional information for each recipe, notes and tips to help ensure your success, and an extensive resource directory to help those of us in less urban areas acquire some ingredients and supplies that may not be available in our area.

What is unique to Kates Longevity Kitchen is the first three chapters of the book. There Katz walks readers through a fascinating tour of the body’s various systems such as bones & muscles; the immune system; the gut, liver, and kidneys; the respiratory system; etc. She explains how each system is designed to work and the fuel needed to help it do so. In chapter two, Katz discusses how the foods we eat can play either a harmful or healing role in our bodies. She provides readers with an extensive list of nutritious, healing foods, detailing the benefits of each. I found this both fascinating and enlightening! Finally, Katz offers readers some words of wisdom in making the most of the book. I found her list of questions regarding discovering your culinary GPS thought-provoking and a bit unnerving in places which highlighted some of my poor habits!

The Longevity Kitchen will be making a permanent home on my counter as it becomes my go-to standard in cooking for my family in the days ahead. I’d like to thank Blogging For Books for the review copy I received in exchange for this review.

From the Publisher . . .

A collection of 125 delicious whole-foods recipes showcasing 16 antioxidant-rich power foods, developed by wellness authority Rebecca Katz to combat and prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, inflammation, arthritis, and other conditions that plague American adults, enabling readers to live longer, healthier lives.


In this collection of more than 100 recipes that combine smart nutrition and superb flavor, culinary nutrition pioneer Rebecca Katz highlights the top sixteen foods proven to fight the most common chronic conditions. Katz draws on the latest scientific research to explain how super foods such as asparagus, basil, coffee, dark chocolate, kale, olive oil, sweet potatoes, and wild salmon can build immunity, lower cholesterol, enhance memory, strengthen the heart, and reduce your chances of developing diabetes and other diseases.

This practical, flavor-packed guide presents the most effective—and delicious—ways to use food to improve the performance of every system in the body. Katz explains the health advantages of each main ingredient, and includes menu plans to address specific symptoms and detailed nutritional information for each recipe.

Easy-to-find ingredients are incorporated into a powerful arsenal of tantalizing recipes, including:
• Roasted Asparagus Salad with Arugula and Hazelnuts
• Costa Rican Black Bean Soup with Sweet Potato
• Black Cod with Miso-Ginger Glaze
• Herby Turkey Sliders
• Thyme Onion Muffins
• Yogurt Berry Brûlée with Almond Brittle

Based on the most up-to-date nutritional research, The Longevity Kitchen helps you feed your family well and live a long and vibrant life.

About the Author . . .

As the senior chef-in-residence and nutritional educator at one of the country’s leading cancer wellness centers, REBECCA KATZ, MS, is the culinary link bringing together physicians and patients with a common goal: eating well to maximize cancer treatments, minimize side effects, and improve outcomes. She is the founder of the Inner Cook, a Bay Area culinary practice that specializes in meeting the specific nutritional and appetite needs of cancer patients, and a senior chef at Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Marin County, California. Katz has been a guest chef and lecturer at top academic medical centers throughout the country, including the annual Food As Medicine conference.

Coloring With Daria Song

I have always loved to color. There is something very calming and soothing about laying down color, be it marker, crayon, or pencil, on a smooth sheet of crisp, white paper that gives my spirit a lift. That’s why I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of Daria Song’s newest offering, The Time Chamber: A Magical Story and Coloring Book.

Song’s illustrations are detailed without being overwhelming or intimidating. The simple story line adds a spark of fun to the coloring experience. (Although I do wonder how many rebels will be coloring the fairy with some other color of hair besides red!) This is an adult coloring book that could easily serve as a way to spend time coloring with a younger artist at your side. I like the fact that she has left room for relative input by readers in some of the images. I also found the hidden pictures key at the end helpful. And if you like surprises, don’t miss what’s hiding under the book jacket!

The paper used in the book is a bright white, smooth, and heavy sheet which will hold up to just about any type of material you choose, including markers. I don't know that I'd try painting in it, that could get messy and potentially interfere with other pages.

I'd like to thank Blogging For Books for the free ARC I received in exchange for this review.

From the Publisher . . .

Korean artist Daria Song’s sequel to The Time Garden takes readers on a visual journey into a magical nighttime world seen through the eyes of a fairy.

This second book in the bestselling Time coloring series features the voyage of a fairy who, when the cuckoo clock chimes midnight, enters the human world. To the tiny fairy, everything seems enormous and magical, from the curtains to the chandelier to a mystical rowboat that takes her further into an inky adventure. With her she packs her favorite items, which colorers can find throughout the book’s pages: an owl-feathered pen, a star-scented spray, a time tape measure…even the key to the time chamber itself!

Filled with the imaginative, intricately detailed illustrations Song’s readers have come to love, The Time Chamber presents a view of our world made new—and ready for coloring.

The Time Chamber features extra-thick craft paper, ideal for non bleed-through coloring, and the jacketed cover with flaps is removable and colorable. Special gold-foil stamping on the cover and spine and a To/From page make it perfect for gifting to adults and kids alike.

About the Author . . .

DARIA SONG is an author and artist with a master’s degree in fiber arts from the Ewha Womans University Graduate School of Fine Arts. Winner of the Kyung Hyang Arts Contest, Song has exhibited at numerous galleries and museums in Korea, Singapore, Turkey, and Hong Kong. She is a lecturer at the Kaywon School of Arts and her illustrations can be found in Amore Pacific and SK Planet. She spent five years of her childhood in San Francisco before returning to Korea, and the sense of wonder and mystery that comes from living in a far-off place inspired her internationally best-selling adult coloring book, The Time Garden.

Food52 Baking Is a Treat

I consider myself blessed to come from a long line of solid cooks who know their way around a kitchen. My mother was in her element baking dozens upon dozens of cookies and breads for Christmas. My grandmother kept a variety of freshly baked treats in her kitchen "just in case company stops by." Both would appreiate Food52's newest offering, Baking: 60 Sensational Treats You Can Pull Off In a Snap.

Personaly, I'm thrilled that the 60 treats includes some breakfast treats (I have a love affair with scones going) and some savory delights (pizza dough! Basil onion cornbread! Cheese crispettes!) for times you want a special something that's not sweet. The recipes are divided into seven sections: breakfast, cookies & bars, fruit desserts, custardy cakes & puddings, everyday cakes, special occasion cakes, and savory baked goods. The recipes themselves are clearly written with ingredients listed in a column on the left, an introduction to begin (which often includes serving suggestons, help with less familiar ingredients, and personal anecdotes from the contributor'a experience), and step by step instructions below. Any special technique instructions are also included at the end. (This is why it is always a good idea to read any recipe through to the end before beginning.) For example, p. 63 instructs readers "How to Cut in Butter."

The fact that each section is delineated by a full-spread color photo (try not to drool) and each recipe includes an equally scrumptious image (if only it were scratch & sniff!) had me me ogling the pages like teenaged boys who've gotten their hands on their first swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated. What really hooked me in and made me fall in love with this book were the slight twists on familiar treats that made me exclaim things like "of course!" and "genius!" aloud. The addition of cinnamon and yogurt in "Bestest Banana Bread" now seems like something I should have known before. The recipe for Spiced Parsnip Cake (parsnips replacing carrots) is pure genius. And although it sounds really odd, I'm willing to trust the authors that the addition of a can of tomato soup will enhance a spice cake with cream cheese frosting in ways that will leave your guests asking for more.

I'd like to thank Blogging For Books for the review copy I received free in exchange for this review. I am thrilled to add this to my cookbook collection and look forward to baking delicious treats from it for years to come!

From the Publisher . . .

A stunning collection of hassle-free recipes for baking cakes, cookies, tarts, puddings, muffins, bread, and more, from the editors behind the leading food website Food52.

Whether it’s the chocolate cake at every childhood birthday, blondies waiting for you after school, or hot dinner rolls smeared with butter at Thanksgiving dinner, homemade baked goods hold a place in many of our best memories. And that’s why baking shouldn’t be reserved for special occasions.

With this book, curated by the editors of Food52, you can have homemade treats far superior to the store-bought variety, even when it feels like you’re too busy to turn on the oven. From Brown Butter Cupcake Brownies to “Cuppa Cuppa Sticka” Peach and Blueberry Cobbler, these sixty reliable, easy-to-execute recipes won’t have you hunting down special equipment and hard-to-find ingredients or leave you with a kitchen covered in flour and a skink piled high with bowls. They’re not ordinary or ho-hum, either: ingredients you’ve baked with before (and some you haven’t – like black sesame, coconut oil, and lavender) come together to create new favorites like Baked Cardamom French Toast and Olive Oil and Sesame Crackers. Filled with generations’ worth of kitchen wisdom, beautiful photography, and tips you’ll return to, Baking is the new go-to collection for anyone who wants to whip up something sweet every day.

Two Titles For Your Consideration - Tacos & A Mystery!

BOOK ONE

I believe I have never eaten a "real" taco.

I'm not easily intimidated by cooking/food books, however, Alex Stupak's Tacos: Recipes and Provocations, left me quivering. Not only did I discern a visceral sense that I would never be able to measure up in the taco making realm while reading Stupak's book, I also sensed a longing for said "real" taco that may never be fulfilled. All in all, I felt a bit empty.

The book is lovely to look at and inspiring in its attempt to familiarize us gringos with the foods that are so much more familiar to those living closer to the southern border and beyond it in foreign lands. Although my part of the country has some immigrants from Mexico and points south of there, most people in my immediate area equate Mexican food, and tacos, with the national chains. For us tortillas come in "shelf stable" packages that last forever, and salsa comes in jars or packets.

Thus the overwhelm I felt when Stupak writes, "There is absolutely no substitute for a fresh, homemade tortilla, and suggesting any kind of store-bought alternative would keep me up at night. To fully use this book as it's intended, you have to reconcile to the idea of making your own." (p. 27) Despite my gut screaming, "Turn back! You're in too deep!", I forged ahead with the discussion of types of corn. (I live in Iowa. I am surrounded by fields of field corn. Every kid in Iowa gets a detailed education on the bamboo-related grass that is corn which is growing all around us. Still, onward I read.) Stupak presents an interesting and detailed account of the types of corn, the process needed to make field corn digestible, and the tools and machinery needed to make it happen. On page 33 you learn the truth: masa fine enough to make tortillas with cannot be made at home. He tried. Extensively. It did not work. (At least according to his standards--yours may vary.)

I was quite disappointed at this stage of the reading, because I realized I was never going to make a tortilla.

I'm glad I kept reading, however. I eyed all the recipes for the delicious varieties of tortillas Stupak offers with equal parts longing and jealousy. There is a wonderful section on the many different types of chilies available along with their various attributes (taste, heat, etc.). I found this very educational. I wanted to be able to taste the different proteins that Stupak offers readers. The wide variety of salsa types blew my mind: I had no idea there were so many options to choose from!

If you are a serious foodie or a very adventurous cook, you may want to get your hands on a copy of Stupak's Tacos. Perhaps you've never really spent much time considering the taco from the perspective of artful cuisine. This book affords you that opportunity. Thanks to Blogging For Books for the free copy I received in exchange for this review!

From the Publisher . . .

Superstar chef Alex Stupak’s love of real Mexican food changed his life; it caused him to quit the world of fine-dining pastry and open the smash-hit Empellón Taqueria in New York City. Now he’ll change the way you make–and think about–tacos forever.

TACOS is a deep dive into the art and craft of one of Mexico’s greatest culinary exports. We start by making fresh tortillas from corn and flour, and variations that look to innovative grains and flavor infusions. Next we master salsas, from simple chopped condiments to complex moles that simmer for hours and have flavor for days. Finally we explore fillings, both traditional and modern–from a pineapple-topped pork al pastor to pastrami with mustard seeds.

But TACOS is more than a collection of beautiful things to cook. Wrapped up within it is an argument: Through these recipes, essays, and sumptuous photographs by Evan Sung, the 3-Michelin-star veteran makes the case that Mexican food should be as esteemed as the highest French cooking.

About the Author . . .

(From his Facebook page): Alex Stupak is the chef and owner of Empellon Cocina and Empellon Taqueria in New York and is one of Food & WIne's Best New Chefs 2013.

His address on the Web is:
http://www.empellon.com/


BOOK TWO

I really enjoyed returning to a mystery and discovering a new author whose writing I found engaging.

Secret Sisters is written mainly from the viewpoint of the main female character, Madeline Chase, who is called back to the scene of her traumatic childhood incident that has changed the lives of several people. She arrives just in time to witness the death/murder of the man who has been the property's caretaker for the intervening 18 years. From there, I found it a compelling read with a variety of suspects, motives, and danger to keep me flipping pages as quickly as possible.

One of the things I really enjoyed about the book is the fact that there were several crimes that had to be sorted through. The 18-year old incident that involved Madeline and Daphne, revealed an older murder two states away and prompts a closer look at the current deaths for signs murder too. This makes the perpetrator unfold more dastardly deeds in an attempt to throw off suspicion.

The romance part of the mystery didn't bother me as I thought it potentially might. (I generally like to keep my genres separate.) It is integrated into the overall story in such a way that it unfolds naturally but does not detract from or overpower the mystery.

If you enjoy a good "who-dun-it" that keeps unfolding even when you think it has wrapped up, you need to give Krentz's Secret Sisters a read. (Be warned that it does involve a child abduction and near rape, if that is a trigger for you.) Thanks to the publisher for the Advance Reading Copy I received in exchange for this review!

About the Book . . .

No one does romantic suspense better than Jayne Ann Krentz. Now, the New York Times bestselling author of Trust No One and River Road delivers a novel that twists and turns into a read that will leave you breathless.

Madeline and Daphne were once as close as sisters—until a secret tore them apart. Now it might take them to their graves.

They knew his name, the man who tried to brutally attack twelve-year-old Madeline in her grandmother's hotel. They thought they knew his fate. He wouldn't be bothering them anymore...ever. Still their lives would never be the same.

Madeline has returned to Washington after her grandmother's mysterious death. And at the old, abandoned hotel—a place she never wanted to see again—a dying man’s last words convey a warning: the secrets she and Daphne believed buried forever have been discovered.

Now, after almost two decades, Madeline and Daphne will be reunited in friendship and in fear. Unable to trust the local police, Madeline summons Jack Rayner, the hotel chain’s new security expert. Despite the secrets and mysteries that surround him, Jack is the only one she trusts...and wants.

Jack is no good at relationships but he does possess a specific skill set that includes a profoundly intimate understanding of warped and dangerous minds. With the assistance of Jack's brother, Abe, a high-tech magician, the four of them will form an uneasy alliance against a killer who will stop at nothing to hide the truth....

About the Author . . .

The author of over 50 New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 35 million copies of her books in print.

Owls A Most Charming Book

As a person who is enamored of owls, I was eager to get my hands on a copy of Matt Sewell's little tome, Owls: Our Most Charming Bird. Its arrival in the post sent me into a flurry of reading; enraptured, I did not put it down until it had been read in one fell swoop!

The book provides a very basic narrative description of the owls Sewell has chosen to illustrate. At times, bits of humor are interwoven in these descriptions which caused me to smile and chuckle as I read.

Do not get this book if you are looking for a field guide to take out into the woods to help you identify specific species by photograph. DO run out and grab a copy if you enjoy lovely watercolor illustrations that provide a sense of personality for each bird. I found myself lingering longer over the illustrations than I did the text, even though Sewell uses some delightful words throughout. (Who doesn't like a book that uses words like "flammulated" and "hullabaloo"?)

I found Sewell's book to be a delight! I plan to keep it on my shelves and share it with youngsters who come to visit as my way of passing along a love for owls! Thanks to Blogging For Books for the ARC I received in exchange for this review.

From the Publisher . . .

An enchanting illustrated guide to owl species of the world.

In this beautiful and highly giftable art book, artist and ornithologist Matt Sewell captures 50 species of the world’s most evocative bird: the owl. Using pop-art watercolors and accompanied by witty and irreverent descriptions, Sewell expresses the individual characters of owls as never before. From tiny elf owls to huge Eurasian eagle owls, from the haunting barn owl to the elegant great horned owl, these wise, magical birds are otherworldly in their striking colors and stature. It’s not just birdwatchers who are obsessed: Owls are a perennial favorite in pop culture, decorating, and among children as well as nature lovers and serious birders. From David Sedaris’s Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls to Harry Potter’s pet Hedwig, and throwback interest in Twin Peaks (which is returning to TV in 2016) and its trademark spooky owls, these birds are here to stay.

About the Author . . .

MATT SEWELL, who has been described as “the Banksy of the bird world,” is an avid ornithologist and artist. He is the author of Our Garden Birds (2012) and Our Songbirds (2013), and has illustrated for The Guardian and Big Issue amongst many other publications. His art has been exhibited in London, Manchester, New York, Tokyo, and Paris.