New Job, New Place to Live and Book Reviews

I'm starting my fourth week at the new job and I really like it so far. I get to meet a lot of interesting people and it's a pretty easy job (a lot of typing envelopes, answering phones and putting information into databases). We've narrowed down our search for a new place to live and have found a condo that my hubby and I both like. I have to drop off the paperwork today after work and pay application fees, but hopefully our application will get approved in a couple days and we can go ahead and put down a deposit before someone else grabs it up. Meanwhile, I'm trying to mentally place furniture so we can make sure everything fits as we have definitely gained some furniture since the last time we moved.


I decided to stop using Maricopa County libraries as we are moving soon and there is no branch really close to me where we will be living, plus the main branch of Phoenix Public Library is literally 3 minutes from where I work, so it is super convenient and there will also be a branch library down the street from the condo. I'm still listening to Madame Bovary, which has some wonderful language in it, but then gets boring and tedious with long French place names and 19th century medical practices. Despite this, I am still interested how badly Emma will to screw up her life, with the totally oblivious Charles, before the end of the book. I have also just started a graphic novel version of Fahrenheit 451, which is a little bit easier to get through than the audiobook version. I don't know what it is about books written in the 1950s-60s, but I seem to have trouble staying focused on them.

It seems that I have managed to read 28 books since my last review posting. Those are predominantly mangas, children's picture books and cookbooks, since my attention span seems to be at a loss lately, but that is a pretty impressive amount nonetheless.

Children
Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
A very well done story about slaves with excellent illustrations, courtesy of Kadir Nelson. Henry was born into slavehood and at first lived with his mother and sisters until his master died and they were separated. When he arrived at his new master's tobacco factory, he met a girl who later became his wife and they had three children. When his family is sold to another man, he decides he needs to be free. So he ships himself to Philadelphia in a box, and gains his freedom. Recommended for ages 7 -12, 4 stars.

Flotsam by David Weisner
David Weisner is a genius! It's no wonder this book is an award winner as even though it is wordless, it is such a brilliant, original work of art. The illustrations are so good you literally are transported into another world. I love the one with the octopi. The book is about a young boy who likes to study things on the beach, such as crabs and starfish. He discovers an old-fashioned camera on the beach and goes to develop the photos. He gets these miraculous photos back and is amazed. He takes a picture with the camera and then throws it back in the ocean for someone else to find. Recommended for ages 5+, 5 stars.

The Three Little Pigs: An Architectual Tale by Stephen Guarnaccia
A cute picture book about The Three Little Pigs but each has a different architectural style that they imitate, like the third pig has a house that looks like Frank Lloyd Wright's house, Falling Waters. I enjoyed the end pages which featured architectural elements such as furniture, houses and housewares that were used in the book. It can be read to kids younger than five as the story is pretty simple, but only older kids and adults would appreciate the architectural/design elements of it. Recommended for ages 5-10, 3 stars.

Simeon's Gift by Julie Andrew Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton
Honestly I gave this book five stars because of the amazing Renaissance-like illustrations, that were so detailed and absolutely gorgeous. Definitely going to have to find more books illustrated by Gennady Spirin. The book comes with an audio CD of actress/singer Julie Andrews Edwards performing the book, which was created by her daughter Emma and herself.
The story is about a young lute-playing minstrel named Simeon who is in love with a noble lady named Sorrel. He thinks his meager income won't be enough for his girl so he sets off to gain more experience so he can write a song worthy of her. He sees and hears many wonderful things including great cities, soldiers, an abbey choir, and all manner of instruments. His head is so confused that he cannot really write his song properly, so he leaves the city and heads back home. On the way, he befriends a bird, fish and doe. When he arrives back home, his beloved is overjoyed at his return and his newfound friend, and suddenly his song pops back into his head fully completed and Sorrel loves it. He goes on to write many more. Recommended for ages 8+, 5 stars.
 
Coretta Scott by Ntozake Shange
The book is a very well-done biography, in the form of poetry, of civil rights activist and wife to Martin Luther King Jr, Coretta Scott King. I loved the poem by Ntozake Shange, about as much as her poem for the children's book "Ellington Was Not A Street." Kadir Nelson's paintings are amazing as usual, even my 6 month old enjoyed looking at them. Recommended for ages 7+, 4 stars.
 
Just Mommy and Me by Tara Jaye Morrow
I picked this book out because my nickname for my son is Monkeypants because he is so wiggly and climbs everywhere, plus I just thought the cover image was cute. He enjoyed me reading this book to him. This is an adorable book about a son who imagines him and his mother are monkeys and do things like eat bananas, take naps in the jungle and watch the sunset together. As another reader has said, would be great to read for Mother's Day. Recommended for ages 6 months+, 4 stars.
 
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
I randomly found this one at the library after trying to find some new books for my son, and since my hubby works in construction, I thought it would be a good fit for them to read together. It is a cute rhyming bedtime book about the trucks that work at a construction site: Crane Truck, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck, Bulldozer and Excavator. It has details that kids would enjoy like the trucks sleeping with teddy bears and blankets. I think this would be a great book to get for my son when he's a bit older as the text was kind of long for him now. Recommended for ages 2-5, 4 stars.
 
Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet
I have been waiting to read this book for ages but never had the time until now. It is a folktale about a young girl who goes with her mother to the tea plantation. Tashi is not old enough to pick the tea leaves, so she plays with the monkeys that live near the mountain instead. One day, Tashi's mother becomes really ill and cannot work and doesn't have the money to get a doctor. Tashi tries to pick leaves herself but the Overseer of the plantation just laughs at her. She is upset and explains her story the monkeys, and then falls asleep. When she awakens, the monkeys have picked special tea leaves for her. The Royal Tea Taster makes a surprise visit and finds out that her special leaves are Cloud Tea leaves, and promises to pay her a pouch of gold coins every year if she can get him more of the leaves. She agrees and takes the money. Her mother gets better, they thank the monkeys with fruit, and live off the money while drinking the special Cloud Tea. Recommended for ages 8-12, 5 stars.
 
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African-Americans by Kadir Nelson
Heart and Soul is a very well done history of African Americans in the United States (1700s - present day), narrated from the point of view of a Southern African-American woman (in a conversational tone) whose family history stretches from the 1850s to the present day. It includes a timeline and historical note from the author. The illustrations are phenomenal paintings, modeled by the author himself and portrait of some of his family members, and definitely the best part of the book. Recommended for ages 9-12, 5 stars.
 
The Aviary by Kathleen O'Dell
I picked this book by accident the last time I visited the children's department at the downtown Phoenix library. It was a good random find for browsing down the aisles of the fiction section. Although I figured out part of the storyline at the beginning of the book, most of it was a complete surprise and very well done.
The Aviary is about a 12 year old girl named Clara who has lived most of her life shut away in the Glendoover house, where her mother and a lady named Ruby take care of old Mrs. Glendoover. Clara's mother has always told her that she should never leave the house because she has a heart condition, and Clara has always kept away from the aviary where the five birds are kept, until one day she hears one of them say "Elliot," which opens up a mystery to the young girl. Who were the Glendoover family and what happened to their children, especially their baby son Elliot? What is the truth about Clara and her family's past? To find out, you must read this delightful little book. Recommended for ages 9-12, 4 stars.
 
Baby's First Year by Rick Walton
This was a very cute rhyming book about a baby's first year milestones, such as smiling, laughing, crawling, and walking. It would be good for a sibling of a new baby. Recommended for ages 6 months - 5 years, 4 stars.
 
Daisy and the Egg by Jane Simmons
Another cute picture book, with soft painted illustrations, for kids about to become an older brother or sister. Daisy and her mother are awaiting the arrival of Daisy's cousins and her new little brother or sister. Her cousins hatch first and eventually Daisy gets a new baby brother named Pip. Recommended for ages 6 months - 5 years, 3 stars.
 
Adult
China Modern: 1oo Cutting Edge, Fusion Style Recipes for the 21st Century by Ching-He Huang
I have made Vietnamese and Japanese food at home, but honestly Chinese food is pretty intimidating with the complicated recipes and ingredients I've never really tried. However, Ching makes the recipes easy to understand and most of them look really tasty. She has some traditional Chinese recipes, East/West fusion and Chinese mixed with other Asian cultures. Easy recipes like Chili and Pepper Squid, Lychee and Vanilla Ice Cream; to more complicated ones like Vegetable Bao (steamed buns) or Once-a-month Savory-Sour Vegetarian Noodle Soup. 4 stars.
 
Gary Rhodes New Classics by Gary Rhodes
I will say that the author/chef was very thorough in his research of the recipes and their backgrounds. That was the part that I really liked. However, after having read many cookbooks and websites on classic British cuisine, I have seen most of these recipes before so I didn't find many recipes that I wanted. The other problem is lack of money to buy specialty ingredients, like suet, which is cheap in Britain but expensive over here. 2 stars.
 
The Three Chimneys: Recipes and Reflections from the Isle of Skye's World Famous Restaurant by Shirley Spear
I enjoyed this becoming a chef memoir of the author and her recipes from her gorgeous little restaurant and B&B in northwest Skye. I had been to this western island of Scotland when I was studying there in 2004, although I only went to the SW portion (It is very ruggedly beautiful). The recipes and photos of the food were gorgeous, though a good number of the ingredients would only be accessible if you lived in the UK or could afford to buy them online. Neverless, it was an enjoyable read about a foray into the restaurant business from two amateurs that turned into an enormous success. 3 stars.
 
The Museum Vaults: Excerpts from the Journal of an Expert by Marc-Antoine Mathieu
The cover looked interesting, so I picked this up in the Teen graphic novel section at the downtown library (although I don't believe it should've been in the teen section). It was a futuristic look at the Louvre in the fictional subbasements, where the collection is now stored. The graphic novel was making fun of art history and curatorial practices, which I found kind of funny as I majored in art history and museum studies in university. Overall, I thought it was pretty boring, though I liked the Escher-esque black & white art. 2 stars.

Kazu Kibuishi, Hiromu Arakawa, David W. Cowles, and Giada De Laurentiis

I'm excited about my interview tomorrow with Everest College, although I do tend to get nervous around committee interviews. Luckily it is easy to get to, and I hope to have a few to walk around the library if we don't do it in the interview. I started to listen to the audiobook version of  Madame Bovary today, which was a Banned Book Club pick, which I am temporarily not doing until we move to the new place. 

Young Adult

Flight, Volume 1 edited by Kazu Kibuishi

I picked up this volume after picking up Kibuishi's "Amulet, Book 4: The Last Council," and finally decided that I wanted to read more of the author's work. The book is a collection of up-and-coming comic/graphic novel creators, and they are all-based on the idea of flight. My favorites were Derek Kirk Kim (author of "Good as Lily"), Kazu Kibuishi, Jake Parker, Vera Brosgol (author of "Anya's Ghost"), Jen Wang, Neil Babra, Rad Sechrist, and Phil Craven's work. Recommended for ages 12+, 3 stars. 

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 2 (Fullmetal Alchemist #2) by Hiromu Arakawa

In this volume, Ed and Al go with Colonel Mustang (the Flame Alchemist and Ed's superior officer) to see the leading specialist on biological transmutation, Shou Tucker, the "Sewing Life Alchemist". Ed is excited to get into Shou's archives to do research and Al befriends Shou's daughter. Everything is going great until Ed realizes the truth behind the chimeras that Shou creates. For his transgressions against God, a mysterious man kills both Shou and his new creation, and tries to kill more state alchemists. He manages to severely damage both Ed and Al, so much that they have to go to the mechanic back in their home town. On the way there, Major Armstrong recognizes a doctor from the civil war who used to work for the military. The reader finds out that he is/was working with the two shady characters from the first book, Lust and Greed. Their mission is never explained, but it seems that they are up to no good.

I liked this book, but I wished they explained more about the Shou Tucker and his daughter part like they did in the anime. It is one of the most disturbing part of the series. My favorite part was the introduction of Alex Louis Armstrong, the "Strong Arm Alchemist". I thought his character was hilarious in the anime. Recommended for ages 14+, 3 stars.

Adult
The Deli Maven's Cookbook by David W. Cowles

Well I definitely know more about the origin of the Jewish Deli than I ever knew before. The author breaks it down into many categories, not all of which I really think should be in the book, but there ya go. He first describes what a deli is, his search for a good deli in Washington state, and true tales of the deli (including quotes and jokes). He then describes the recipes for the items one usually finds in a deli, such as homemade pastrami, beef brisket, pastrami lox (which is apparently lox cured like pastrami), potato knishes, lox/scrambled eggs/onions (which I had never tried until the other day at a breakfast place and was delicious), cheese blintzes, Dilly Deli Horseradish Mustard and more. 3 stars.

Weeknights with Giada: Quick and Simple Recipes to Revamp Dinner by Giada de Laurentiis

This is an ARC from Netgalley. 

Normally I love watching Giada on Food Network, she always makes yummy looking Italian recipes and it is pleasant to watch her show. Giada's daughter will be 4 years old by the time the book is published and the author wanted to make more healthy meals for her family and share them with others. Now as a new mom, I can appreciate what she is trying to do. While the pictures make the recipes look even more appetizing, I found the recipes to be a bit too mainstream and boring. 2 1/2 stars. 

Laura Lee Gulledge, Vera Brosgol, Trevor Marriot and Hiromu Arakawa

Jan 22 Book Reviews, Part II: 

Young Adult

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge
I picked this up by accident at the library while browsing the last time, as I was feeling like some new graphic novels and it looked interesting. This journal style graphic novel is about Paige, a shy 16 yr old girl from Charlottesville, Virginia who moves with her writer parents to New York City. It is a huge change for her, not only because she moved in the middle of her junior year of high school but because she doesn't know anyone and it feeling rather lonely. She decides to reinvent herself by keeping this journal sketchbook and making new friends, who she in turn helps out with their creative adventures. I thought it was really well done at showing what it is like to be a very introspective quiet girl who wants so desperately to fit in but doesn't want to do the wrong thing (I know I have definitely felt this way, more so in college than high school, but I also moved the middle of high school so I know how she feels). She ends up publishing her own mini magazine of drawings, which she calls Pages by Paige. Recommended for ages 14+, 5 stars.


Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
I've been wanting to read this one forever but never had the time until now. It was well worth the wait, although I thought the story was a little slow at times. Anya's Ghost is about a high school Americanized Russian teenager named Anya. She seems constantly annoyed/embarrassed at her mother and brother, only has one friend and never quite seems to fit in anywhere. One day while cutting through a park, she falls down an abandoned well and meets a ghost named Emily who follows her to school. At first they get along and Emily helps her out with schoolwork and flirting with Sean, the boy that Anya likes. This is until Anya finds out what Sean is really like, a humongous jerk, and that the only reason that Emily is helping her out is to live through her, as she never got the chance. Anya decides to investigate Emily's murder and turns out that things are not as they seem and suddenly everything starts going pear-shaped. What is Emily's real story? Will Emily and Anya ever really be happy? To find out, read this intriguing graphic novel. Recommended for ages 12+, 4 stars.

Emma, Volume 2 by Kaoru Mori
I liked this volume better than the first because of the character development. In Volume 2, Emma finally get to go on an outing with William, to the Crystal Palace to look at the exhibits and their relationship finally begins. Her employer Kelly dies and she decides to leave town, and tries to meet up with William but they miss each other. We get to meet William's brothers and sisters, and they are scandalized when they learn about Emma (esp his youngest sister). Meanwhile Evelyn, the girl that William's father wants him to marry, has become friends with William's older sister and is starting to fall in love with William. I can't wait to see what happens in Volume 3! Recommended for ages 12+, 5 stars.

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 1 (Fullmetal Alchemist, #1) by Hiromu Arakawa
This manga version of Fullmetal Alchemist is pretty much exactly like the beginning of the anime series. I had watched the original version of the anime but was told by manga fans that reading the manga version or seeing "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood" was better because it gave the actual story. Volume 1 explains how the Elric brothers, Edward the eldest who is the State Alchemist and his younger brother Alphonse whose soul is trapped in a suit of armor. This occurred when the brothers tried to use alchemy to bring back their dead mother and forgot the rule of equivalent exchange, so Al lost all but his soul and Ed lost his right arm and left leg. He is called "fullmetal" because he has all metal appendages to replace the ones he lost. They have two adventures in this volume, the first to a town where a man claiming to be a priest who performs miracles supposedly possesses a piece of the Philosopher's Stone. The second is about a mining town owned by a tyrant military man who taxes the occupants nearly to death. Recommended for ages 14+, 3 stars.

Adult

Master Chef Tom's Burns Night by Tom Bridge

A e-book guide to doing your own Burns night (usually celebrated around Robert Burns' birthday, Jan 25), it gives you a basic introduction of what the event is and includes recipes you can use to create your own menu.
3 stars. 

Jack the Ripper: The 21st Century Investigation by Trevor Marriot

I would like to preface this review by saying that if you do not like very graphic and detailed descriptions, with some pictures, of crimes, then this is not the book for you. I first became interested in Jack the Ripper in high school after I read a book about the subject. I was fascinated and horrified by what happen, and I guess part of the appeal is wondering why in the heck someone would do something like this. I've seen the Patricia Cornwell special that she did in the late 90s, and while it was interesting, I don't believe the mystery could be tied up in that complete a package like she made it out to be.

In this book the author, a former Detective in London, breaks down the murders into manageable chunks that makes everything easier to understand. The five "canonical" murders as he calls them, are discussed in detail which includes the actual court proceedings, along with four additional murders which may or may not be attributed to the Ripper. The second part describes the possible motives for the killer, the evidence, the Ripper letters (which the author basically says were all manufactured by journalists of the day), a list of eleven suspects that the author doesn't believe did the murders and a final suspect that he believes committed not only the 5 canonical murders, but also at least 6 others all over the world. I thought it was a very well done book. 4 stars.

Anne Burrell, Calista Taylor, and Stephen Savage

So I got a no from the Diocesan House on the job there and also a no from the PT Recreation job. My paid internship interview with the State Library went well on Tuesday I think, so I'm just waiting to hear back from them. In the meantime, I will include my latest couple of books read. 

Children

Where's Walrus? by Steven Savage

One of the selections for the Mock Caldecott, this was one of my least favorite of their selections. The illustrations were cute, but the story left a little to be desired, even the baby got bored with it. In this wordless picture book, a curious walrus decides to leave the zoo and go exploring in the city, while the zookeeper follows him. He finally ends up at a diving competition where he takes the first prize, so the zookeeper decides to built him a diving board so he can do that at the zoo. Recommended for ages 5 month - 5 yrs, 2 stars. 

Adult

Devil on a Sparrow's Wing by Calista Taylor

Loved this book, but was disappointed at the suddenness of its ending, hence the four star rating instead of five (though I devoured this book faster than the first). This volume of the Viridis series was more about adventure, though there was a little mystery thrown in from the viewpoint of wondering what would happen next. 


At the beginning of the book, Phoebe has just recently married Seth and they are living together happily. Phoebe has created Sanctis, another herbal concoction based off Viridis that sharpens one's senses. Needless to say, when the two herbals are mixed, there are some interesting outcomes. We, the readers, are finally introduced to Gavin's family who live in the Highlands and are practically a family to Seth as well. After an encounter with Gavin in the Highlands that ends in some inappropriate things accidentally happening, Seth storms off in a rage and is seems to have been blown up in an explosion at the Tinkerer's Guild. Phoebe is devastated and it takes her over a year to get over it. Will she be able to find love again? Is Seth really dead? Will Gavin ever have his love of Phoebe realized? To find out, read this fascinating sequel to Viridis. Kindle ebook, 4 stars. 


The real taste of delicious Indian sweets by Karissma
I love Indian sweets, especially Galub Jamin and Jalebi, so I wanted to give this cookbook a try. The book contains a description of each dessert (though I wish there were pictures with the description instead of with the recipes).The recipes are short and simple, but my gripe is that the author switches from English to metric measurements and doesn't explain what some of the Indian ingredients included in the recipes are. 3 stars. 


Cook Like a Rock Star: 125 Recipes, Lessons, and Culinary Secrets by Anne Burrell
I watched her interview with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, and I liked her before that after watching her cooking show on Food Network. Her cookbook is not conceited like other major chefs, and she doesn't talk down to you like you're an idiot. I knew that she worked with Mario Batali (he wrote her Forward for this book) but I never knew that she had trained in Tuscany. As a result of this, most of her recipes have an Italian slant. I like who she divided the recipes into traditional Italian dining categories (minus the first one): Piccolini ("little nibbles"), Firsts (Appetizers), Pasta, Seconds (Meat Dishes), Sides and Desserts. I love her cheese, mushroom, and prosciutto dishes; esp the Goat Cheese Cheesecake, Parmesan Flan, Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Crispy Prosciutto and Mint, Wild Mushroom Ragu, and the Spinach & Ricotta Gnocchi with Fontina Fonduta.  4 stars. 

Brenda Novak

I have been keeping pretty busy reading Netgalley, but needed to take a break after I finished this latest book as I had read about 600 something pages in 3 days on the computer, which was killing my eyes. I'm currently reading this random book I picked up called Jamrach's Menagerie, but haven't quite decided if I like it yet or not. Might go straight to the book I've had on hold forever and finally got, Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus #2). 

Adult

The Bastard by Brenda Novak 

Ok I must admit that I haven't read a romance novel since I was in middle school, but I saw this on Netgalley as an ARC and decided to give it a chance. It was better than I thought it would be, though a bit predictable at times. I liked that the heroine was feisty and could take care of herself, despite being an aristocrat, and that hero was not the bastard (literally and figuratively) that I thought he was.  

Jeannette, a young French girl, and her family have escaped the French Revolution and traveled to England where she is about to marry Lord St. Ives, a rich old man. She doesn't love him, but is trying to protect her family and provide for them. On her wedding night, she discovers that her husband is impotent and willing to use his friends to impregnate her, so she escapes and ends up on a Navy ship. It is there that she meets 2nd Lt. Treynor, who she ends up falling in love with. Will they get together in the end? Read the book to find out. 4 star. 

George O'Connor, Ashley Koff, Laurent de Brunhoff, Mercer Mayer and Christina Tosi

I've been reading quite a bit lately, and totally forgot to write this post after I finished watching my new show tonight, Whitechapel, a cop show on BBC America. So I popped back on to post these reviews before bed. 

Children

Babar's Mystery by Laurent de Brunhoff

This book was a cute story about Babar and his family going to the sea, the Old Lady wanting to write a novel and a mystery about a stolen piano, Babar's car and statue. I got it for Liam, but will save it for him when he gets a bit older. Recommended for ages 5+, 3 stars. 

Just Me and My Mom by Mercer Mayer

I loved Mercer Mayer books when I was a kid and I love being able to share them with my son. This book was a cute story about Little Critter going to town with his mom and having some crazy adventures, but ultimately having a great time together. Recommended for kids ages 0-5, 4 stars. 

Children and Young Adult

Athena: Grey Eyed Goddess (Olympians #2) by George O'Connor

Once again, another brilliant graphic novel by author/illustrator George O'Connor. This second volume in the series focuses on Athena, goddess of Wisdom, War, Strategy, Crafts and Cities. She was always my favorite Greek diety, and I even named a stuffed owl I got Buboe after her owl in the movie "Clash of the Titans". 

I'm glad he included a genealogy in the front of the book as it gets very confusing at times to remember which child is from which mother. I knew how Athena had been born (sprung out the head of Zeus fully formed and grown up), but I never knew that Zeus had eaten her mother Metis to avoid a prophecy, and she had been born/grew up inside his head. I found the story of how she got the name Pallas interesting as well as how she got the Aegis and added to it. As with his "Hades" graphic novel, the "Greek Notes" in the back of the book are so fascinating and give more depth to the story (ex. how Hephaestus came to be born). Recommended for ages 10+, 5 stars. 

Hera: The Goddess and Her Glory (Olympians #3) by George O'Connor

I really enjoyed this version of Hera's story as it showed her not like she is traditionally portrayed, as the jealous and vengeful woman, but as a loving wife who knows what she wants and goes and gets it. I liked how the author described her as "the one person that Zeus well and truly fears (pg 68)." I didn't know until I read the previous volume on Athena that Hera was Zeus's second wife, but I find it interesting that knowing Zeus's wondering eye, she demanded he properly marry her and make her his wife and equal. Yes, she caught her husband cheating many times and punished his mistresses and their offspring, the best example being Heracles, whose name coincidentally means "The Glory of Hera". The story of the creation of the Milky Way was probably one of the most interesting ones in the graphic novel, as was the women's tale of Hera's renewal ceremony at the end of the book. Recommended for ages 10+, 5 stars. 

Adult

Mom Energy: A Simple Plan to Live Fully Charged by Ashley Koff R.D. and Kathy Kaehler

This was an advanced copy I got from Netgalley. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book, especially the Reorganizing and Rehabilitation sections. The purpose of this book is to give busy moms more energy with a three-step strategy: Reorganizing your priorities and eating habits, Rehabilitating your body by taking better care of your digestive system, detoxing and supplementing it with vitamins, and Recharge your body by exercising, getting enough sleep and remembering to fit in some playtime. It discusses how energy is related to metabolism, lack of a balanced diet/sleep, hormones, and health conditions. There is a quiz to judge your current energy levels (3 groups of scores) and one to tell you what is stealing your energy and how to tailor your energy makeover (5 profiles). The back of the book features exercises you can do at home. 3 stars. 

Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi

This was an ARC from Netgalley. 

I loved the Momofuku (which means "lucky peach") cookbook and the story of how chef David Chang created and developed the Momofuku Restaurant Group, which included the Noodle and Ssam Bars, Ko, and Ma Peche. I even loved the website (momofukufor2.com) where two fans created recipes out of the cookbook and blogged about it. I've never been to these restaurants but I know I would love the Noodle & Milk Bars. So I was very excited to see this cookbook. I like the way they make the cookbook personal by telling the chef's story at the beginning before they start in on the recipes, then like all good cookbooks, they follow with ingredient, equipment and techniques lists. Each recipe had serving suggestions, i.e. other recipes in the book that either used the recipe in it or with it. Most the of the recipes I wasn't a particular fan of because of their long format and multiple-parts, like restaurant cookbooks tend to have. I was fascinated with some of the recipes for their crazy combinations, like the Candy Bar Pie (I mean who wouldn't like a pie with pretzels, salted caramel, peanut butter nougat, and chocolate), the Cinnamon Roll with the liquid Cheesecake instead of Cream Cheese frosting and the Thai Tea Parfait with Lemon Marscapone and Thai Tea Crunch. 3 1/2 stars. 

Alison Behnke and Art Donovan

Since I have started reading books for Netgalley, I've decided to post reviews more often. These are two that I have finished in the last five days. 

Children

The Little Black Dress and Zoot Suits: Depression and Wartime Fashions from the 1930s to 1950s by Alison Behnke

I got an advanced copy from Netgalley. 
This was a well-done and well-researched book on the fashion and hairstyles of men and women from the 1930s - 1950s. It is really amazing how much of the fashion from these eras influenced how we dress today. Things such as blue jeans, khakis, crew cuts, the "preppy" look, leather jackets and tshirts, bikinis, and fedoras are still used today. The author has a detailed bibliography at the end of the book, as well as suggested reading and websites, and films. 


I enjoyed the book for the random facts that were in it, such as: zippers appeared on women's fashion in the 1930s, although they had been on men's fashion starting in the late 1800s; the famous Rosie the Riveter poster was created by Westinghouse; bikinis were invented due to post WWII cutbacks on fabric, even though it was considered improper for women to expose their navels in public; and Elsa Schiaperelli's Lobster Dress had a lobster painted by surrealist artist Salvador Dali. I loved that the author mentioned lesser known designers like Edith Head (famous for Hollywood movie costumes) and Emilio Pucci, acknowledged the impact that Hollywood and the military had on daily fashions and hairstyles, and even talked about famous photographers that photographed during that time period. Recommended for ages 9+, five stars.   


Young Adult & Adult
The Art of Steampunk: Extraordinary Devices and Ingenious Contraptions from the Leading Artists of the Steampunk Movement by Art Donovan

I got the book as an advanced copy from Netgalley. 
This book is the result of a Steampunk exhibition at Oxford University's Museum of the History of Science, which ran from October 2009 - Feb 2010, and was curated by the author (who also designs Steampunk light fixtures). While the exhibit focused on the Steampunk art and the artists that created them, it also featured "original Victorian and Edwardian instruments and machines that exemplified the roots of Steampunk art" (pg 19). Despite the popularity of Steampunk literature and fashion etc, this museum exhibit was the first of its kind. I found it interesting that there weren't only Steampunk clothes and jewelry, but also car motors and engines. 


The book featured "Steampunk 101," which breaks down the term, what it is, where it comes from and how sci-fi fits in with the term. This section explains the purpose of gears and goggles, and the appeal of Steampunk. While I did not know any of the artists, I found their work fascinating and their creator names amusing.  


I loved the Shiva Mandala on page 14 & 15, the Beholder Robot Sculpture on pg 50, Lunar Period on pg 66, The Lady Raygun on pg 72, Datamancer Ergo Keyboard on pg 104, Datamancer Steampunk Laptop on pg 108, and the Flying Civil Servant on pg 115. Recommended for ages 12 +, five stars. 

Jobs, Books, Clubs and Netgalley

So I've been striking out left and right with jobs. All four of my recent job interview have ended with rejections, and then I've 3 other rejections aside from the interviews. So I'm pretty frustrated again. At least my hubby has a job so we're finally able to pay some of our bills on our own. I'm still finding library jobs to apply to though, so I will keep trying. 

The only things that have been keeping me sane have been the books I pick up from the library and joining a few local Meetup groups. The best two lately have been Scott Westerfeld's Goliath (Leviathan #3), which was awesome and even though it was over 500 pages, I managed to finish in a couple days and Alia Yunis's The Night Counter, which was a surprisingly excellent book. Last month I reread Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle for a Banned Books Book Club that I joined. Despite being a librarian, I've never been to a book club meeting ever. This one was a lot of fun. The book we are reading this month is Upton Sinclair's commentary on immigration and the meat packing industry, The Jungle. I have also joined a mom's group, where mom's with young kids get together for play dates. I also joined a crocheting group and have started another scarf. I'm not talented when it comes to crocheting, and can only do basic stitches (single, double and triple crochet) but the repetitive action is relaxing for me. I went to my first meeting on Sunday and had a lot of fun talking to the ladies in the group! I'm hoping maybe I can learn some new stitches and maybe get to work with some new fabric. 

I also joined Netgalley, which I had heard snippets about before, but never thought to join. It is basically where book reviewers and librarians can get advanced digital copies of books and do reviews on them. It looks pretty awesome so far, when I was browsing some of the books I could get, which were so far mostly graphic novels. But I only signed up today, so we'll see what happens. 

Laini Taylor, Jane Yolen, C.W. Gortner, Michelle Moran

Haven't done book reviews since August, as I've been rather busy learning to be a mother and applying for jobs and interviewing, but I have managed to read a few books since then. I am currently reading a random fun book called The Secret History of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer, figuring it would be an in-between book, between historical fiction and YA books, as that has been mostly what I've been reading lately. 

Children

Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters by Jane Yolen

Cute rhyming picturebook about two little monsters who are getting ready for bed. 4 stars, recommended for ages 3-8. 

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

I discovered this book by accident when I found the video of the author performing the book with a couple of guitarists. All the kids in the video loved it and I thought it was pretty adorable too. Pete gets some white shoes and then proceeds to step into all different colors and every time he does, he sings a little song about his shoes. Very good book for storytimes. 4 stars, recommended for ages 3-8. 

This Little Piggy with CD: Finger Plays, Clapping Games, and Pantomime Rhymes by Jane Yolen

A book of mostly British & American nursery rhymes (predominantly ones I had never heard of)that are used for babies and toddlers. They are in the form of lap songs("To Market, To Market"), finger plays ("Where is Thumbkin?")and clapping games ("Pease Porridge Hot"). I loved the background knowledge on each of the songs, along with fairly detailed instructions for each of them. I love the illustrations, which are nice for kids to look at, though I agree it is hard to hold up the book and perform the songs. Good resource for new librarian or parent.  4 stars, and recommended for ages 2+.

Young Adult

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I had been waiting for months for this book to come out and it was so good, I finished it in two days, could not put it down. Laini Taylor is such an amazing writer with fantastic detailed descriptions of everything that is happening with the character and her stories just draw you into the book and make you never want to leave. Which made things kind of frustrating when you found out that this is the first book in a series and you will have to wait at least another year for a sequel (though I am secretly glad that we will hear more from the main character as she is one of the most interesting ones I've ever read about).

This book is about Karou, a 17 year old girl who lives with an unusual family and always feels alone. She wants someone to call her own, someone to complete her. She is a fantastic artist and is famous for her notebooks, in which she draws these otherworldly characters that her classmates can't stop looking at. Everyone thinks they're fantasy, but it turns out they are real. One day, on one of her errands she encounters an angel who nearly kills her, though she doesn't know why. As the angel comes back to find her, she begins to unravel things about her past that she had forgotten. Will Karou ever find true love? Who is the angel and what connection does he have to her? 5 stars. Recommended for ages 15+.

Adult

Nerfertiti by Michelle Moran

A well-researched and interesting take on one of Egypt's most famous queens, this book is seen from the viewpoint of Nefertiti's sister Mutny. I really liked Mutny's character who had a good head on her shoulders compared to Nefertiti, who just came off selfish, whiny, and a little bit sad. While I enjoyed the book about the Heretic King (Akhenaten) and the Amarna period for its lush historical detail, I would give this book 3 1/2 to 4 stars for it's long-windedness. I would be interested in reading her book on Mutny's daughter Nefertari, The Heretic Queen. 4 stars. 

Brigid of Kildare by Heather Terrell

I really enjoyed this feminist viewpoint of the life of the Irish fifth century St. Brigid and her fascination with the Virgin Mary. The book gave a history of the saint and how she came to create the Book of Kildare, an intricately designed work that contained the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John but prominently featured a gorgeous illustration of the Virgin Mary at the beginning of the text. The novel switched back and forth between 5th century Ireland of Brigid and Roman scribe Decius and modern-day Ireland when a historical appraiser named Alex discovers the Book of Kildare in a hidden compartment of a reliquary box in the Catholic convent of St. Brigid. Reading this books makes me want to discover more book about the Druid culture and Early Christianity and how these two were blended to encourage more people to join the faith. 4 stars. 

The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner

Ok I realize that I am reading this from a 21st century woman's point of view and not a 16th century woman's POV and that is a little skewed, but this book pissed me off. I would not have put up with what Juana of Castile went through, betrayed by her husband and father and sequestered away in a castle to rot. Despite this, I enjoyed reading about her story as I didn't know much about Spanish royal history or about Juana herself. 

Juana of Castile's parents were the famous Queen Isabel of Castile and her king consort, Fernando of Aragon. I never knew that her father wasn't a king of the loosely united Spain, and that his hunger for power eventually led to him screwing his own daughter out of her rightfully earned crown. Juana married Philip of Flanders, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. At first, their marriage was full of love and passion but as her husband's ambition became more prevalent at the urging of his advisor, he started to become more greedy and their marriage went downhill. She had five children, one of which became Charles I of Spain/Charles V of Germany and another became the famous Philip II of Spain. 4 stars. 

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

I loved this book even more than I liked the author's book "Neferiti". This book was set in about 30 BC when Selene's father Marc Antony is defeated by Octavian (who later becomes Emperor Augustus) and kills himself, as does his wife Cleopatra. Selene and her her twin brother Alexander are brought as "guests" of Octavian and live in his sister Octavia's house in Rome with all of her children from previous marriages. It was very interesting to read this book about the early part of Augustus's reign, and to see major players such as Selene, Marcellus and Tiberius as teenagers. The author take liberties with inventing the character of the Red Eagle, who fights for slave's rights and tries to assasinate Octavian. I was happy to see, at the end of the book, that Selene did end up making a love match and was able in her own way to recreate Alexandria, though she was never allowed to go back to Egypt. 5 stars. 

International Literacy Day

Today, Sept 8, is International Literacy Day. I know the importance of early childhood literacy after working with the South Carolina State Library to create a directory of South Carolina literacy organizations and to help with the literacy calendar for children ages 0-7 and their families (http://daybydaysc.org/About/print-version). One of my Facebook library groups posted a video about the holiday, and there was link to this video in it about the importance of literacy as education from the Ambassador from Bangladesh to the United Nations. It is a bit long but has a good message. 

Today is my first library job interview since I stopped working back in May. So wish me luck!

Melanie Benjamin, Laini Taylor, Maggie Stiefvater, and Gail Carriger

Here is another edition of my book reviews. I have been lucky to find more adult books that are fascinating and that I have read recently. I am currently reading Rip Tide (Dark Life #2), the recently released sequel to Kat Falls excellent first book, Dark Life. I can best describe it as an underwater western dystopia. 

Children

Fannie in the Kitchen: The Whole Story from Soup to Nuts of How Fannie Farmer Invented Recipes with Precise Measurements by Deborah Hopkinson

Since I grew up with the Fannie Farmer Junior Cookbook and my mom used her regular cookbook, I thought this story about Fannie Merritt Farmer would be a fun read. The book is told from the viewpoint of Marcia, the would-be helper and daughter of Fannie's employers, the Shaws. Fannie was the first person to write down the recipes and use precise measurements, and her cookbook has been helping people learn to cook since 1897. Recommended for kids aged 5+, 4 stars. 

Young Adult

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

A brilliant book of short stories about kissing and first loves/lust from the author of the faerie books "Blackbringer" and "Silksinger," both of which I loved. The first story, "Goblin Fruit" tells the story of a plain girl taken in by a goblin masquerading as a beautiful young man who offers her fruit that could kill her. The second story, "Spicy Little Curses Such as These" is the story of a girl cursed at birth who can kill if she talks. The third, "Hatchling" features a girl and her mother running away from a secret world where their queen keeps little girls as pets and breeds their replacements. The stories sucked you in from the beginning and the writing is gorgeous and descriptive. Also Jim Di Bartolo's (the author's husband) illustrations are fantastic and perfectly fit with the wonderful stories. 

One of my favorite lines from the first story describes how the main character, a plain-looking gypsy girl named Kizzy, dreams of becoming a more fascinating young woman. Page 41: "Kizzy wanted to be a woman who would dive off the prow of a sailboat into the sea, who would fall back in a tangle of sheets, laughing, and who could dance a tango, lazily stroke a leopard with her bare foot, freeze an enemy's blood with her eyes, make promises she couldn't keep, and then shift the world to keep them." Recommended for teens aged 13+, 5 stars. 

Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3) by Maggie Stiefvater

In "Forever", Grace has been missing for several months and everyone seems to think Sam has either abducted or killed her. She has been a wolf and finally comes back to Sam, though she can't control her shifting. Sam is working through his past history with Beck, his adopted father. Cole is trying to find out how the wolf genes work and how to keep it under control. Isabel is still trying to figure out how she feels about Cole, and her father is trying to establish an aerial wolf hunt. 

I really wanted this book to be good because it was the last book in the trilogy and because "Linger" was such a disappointment to me. However, it was not, but left me with more questions as the author just left parts of the story wide open and didn't explain things. The ending was way too abrupt too, especially after building it up for the entire book. There just wasn't the passion and good writing of "Shiver". Overall, I would give it 3 1/2 stars. Recommended for teens aged 13+. 

Adult

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin

I really enjoyed this historical fiction account of the life of Ms. Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump, a little person who led a really impressive life during the 19th and early 20th centuries. I had heard of her before whilst reading a book on P.T. Barnum, who I have been fascinated with since high school, as she was part of his American Museum in NYC as well as touring with him on the road. It turns out that she was also a good friend of his, along with her later husband Charles Stratton, aka General Tom Thumb. She had the opportunity to travel the world and meet royalty, and lived for performing for others. 5 stars. 

The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

I've never read any of Arthur Conan Doyle's work before, but the idea of this book was just so fascinating that I felt that I had to give it a try. The book did not disappoint. The book skips back and forth between 2010 and 1900, in alternating chapters. In the present time, we discover that a prominent Sherlockian scholar named Alex Cale (who has supposedly found the lost diary of Arthur Conan Doyle) has been mysteriously murdered. A brand new member of the Baker Street Irregulars (the premier Sherlock Holmes society), Harold White, decides to take it upon himself to solve the murder and find the now missing diary. The chapters in the past talk about Arthur Conan Doyle and a murder mystery that he is trying to solve himself with the help of his friend, fellow author Bram Stoker. 

At first I found the jumping back and forth between eras to be a bit annoying, and found the present day story took a lot of time to get interesting, while the 20th century story was fascinating from the beginning. I do think that even those folks, such as myself, who have never read any Holmes & Watson stories will be intrigued by this book, provided they can wait a bit for the 21st century story's action to catch up with the rest of the book. I would love to read more about Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker and Sherlock Holmes. 4 stars. 

Heartless (The Parasol Protectorate, #4) by Gail Carriger

Another brilliant book by Gail Carriger! This really is one of the most hilarious series of books I've ever read. In this volume, Alexia is eight months pregnant and waddling her way through another mystery, after she gets a warning, from a ghost, that the Queen will be attacked. Alexia's sister Felicity has joined the Suffragette movement and moved in with her. We learn about the secret proclivities of Professor Lyall, who was involved with the first plot to kill Queen Victoria, and what really happened when Conall took over the Woolsey Pack. 

Alexia's insights while very pregnant cracked me up as I also recently given birth. The middle part dragged a bit, but the spectacular ending more than made up for it. I liked that Conall was much more loving and worried about Alexia in this volume. I can't wait to see how Ms. Carriger ends the series in the next book! 5 stars. 

Life Update

Being a new mom makes me physically exhausted, which makes me not want to do anything. I enjoy snuggling with Liam and sleeping when I can though. I have started applying for jobs again and have applied for seven in all since I started two weeks ago, and have just got my first rejection letter. Luckily it was one of the jobs that I didn't really want but figured I would apply for anyways, the non-library admin position. 

I have been able to catch up on reading, though I'm still way off my 200 books read this year goal. I recently finished the new Gail Carriger book, Heartless, which was amazingly hilarious as usual. It made me want to start regularly drinking hot tea again, well that and the high tea that I had with my family and friends the other day. Ok, it also made me crave cucumber sandwiches and British tea cookies. 

I've started playing MMORPG games again. Originally my hubby and I did it so we could play online together again, but my laptop's graphic card isn't very good so games don't always work on there. We tried this cool-looking game called Dragon's Nest, that looked like anime, but I had to set the graphics so low that it didn't work. So now I'm trying a game called Forbidden World from the makers of another game I had previously tried called Perfect World. Very pretty graphics even on the lowest setting, but it keeps crashing my system because the graphics card is overheating. However, I have managed to install it on my dad's computer and I play it when it is available. 


All the things I have mentioned above is what has been keeping me somewhat busy, but I would love to meet some more people my age so I have a chance of not going stir crazy being stuck in this house all day everyday. 

Catherine Webb, Rachel Holmes, Elana Johnson, Megan McCafferty, Cassandra Clare, and Rick Riordan

I know it has been absolute ages since I did one of these (basically since before I moved to Arizona) and since I just finished two books I've been waiting months to read, I figured it was time to do another set of reviews and recommendations.


Children and Young Adult
The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles, #2) by Rick Riordan

I enjoyed this book and read it relatively quickly, though I liked it less than the first book. Like others have said, I really loved the addition of the god Bes and the Anubis-Sadie-Walter "love" triangle, but thought there was not enough of the major gods like in the last book, more of them mentioned in passing. 


In this volume, Sadie and Carter Kane have five days to find the three scrolls of the Book of Ra to awaken the Sun God and former ruler of the gods and stop Apophis, the Snake of Chaos who is trying to escape and destroy the world. I thought the plot twist involving Walter, one of the Kane's new magician initiates, was the most interesting and I look forward to hearing more about him in the next book. I also liked that they further explored the Duat, the magical world of the gods. Highly recommended for ages 10+, 4 stars. 

Young Adult
The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle by Catherine Webb

First off this book is a historical fiction with a touch of fantasy in it, but I don't believe that it qualifies as a steampunk novel due to the lack of advanced technology. I picked this up on a whim while browsing the YA section of my local library, trying to find something to read. Now I will say that while I enjoyed the book, I found it to be overly descriptive in some places, so much so that it kind of made the story slow down to a snail's pace. I personally like overly descriptive things but it took me 4 days to read this book, when normally a book this long would take 2 days. 


Horatio Lyle is a Special Constable (detective) for the police during the Victorian era (1863) and is also an amateur scientist. He is summoned to the palace for a very important mission, to recover a cultural artifact known as the Fuyun Plate. He is later joined in this endeavor by a local pickpocket he discovered named Tess and Thomas, another science enthusiast and the son of Lord Elwick. Soon all three are drawn into a crazy world of Chinese agents and mysterious green-eyed hypnotists who all seem to be coming after the Plate. Will they be able to find it in time and give it back to the Crown? What is the real purpose behind the Plate and why are so many people after it? To find out, you must read this book. Recommended for ages 12+. 3 1/2 stars. 


Possession (Possession, #1) by Elana Johnson
I had been waiting 1 1/2 months to read this book and I was happy to finally pick it up from the library. I really loved this book, as the author was so good at climaxing the action until the end, however the ending itself was so anti-climatic in comparison to the rest of the book that I knocked it down one star. It was also hard to follow at times as one character would be talking and then all of a sudden the first character would be inside the second's head, so it got kind of confusing. It seems that the author does plan on making the book into a series, so maybe that will redeem the first book a bit. As a side note, I think I have discovered my second favorite kissing writer after Cassandra Clare (that is someone who writes about kissing in such a way that you can imagine yourself in the story as the main character). 


The story is kind of hard to explain, but I will try. It is a dystopian tale and individuals known as the Thinkers control everything that people in Goodland think and do, and so the whole population is pretty much brainwashed. The main character Violet/Vi is a small scale 15 yr old troublemaker who gets busted while out with her best friend, a boy named Zenn, and it's clear that she has been in love with him for a long time. She ends up in prison where she meets Jag, an inmate from the Badlands, but as she gets to know him, she realizes that all things are not as they seem. The man in charge of the Thinkers is this guy named Thane who wants to recruit Vi and Jag for their powers of control, that only Vi is starting to realize that she has. So Jag and Vi spend most of the book running away from the Thinkers and running towards a safe area, falling in love along the way. Will they make it? Or will Thane capture them? You need to read this exciting new book to find out. Recommended for ages 14+, 4 stars. 


Bumped (Bumped, #1) by Megan McCafferty
I originally picked this book as one that I might read but wasn't that interested in reading, at least in compared to others that were coming out. However, I really enjoyed the book and finished it in a day. The concept of the book was very interesting and I could totally see it happening in the future. The ending was annoying, i.e. they ended it after they should have. Because of that, I have given it 4 1/2 vs 5 stars. Recommended for ages 14+.


The book is kind of hard to explain, but I will try. So basically a virus has wiped out the ability for anyone over the age of eighteen to have children, so teenage girls aged 14-18 are prized as breeders. Girls who can get pregnant are treated like rock stars and can get up to 6 figure money deals, in addition to paying for cars and college. Melody got such a deal but has been waiting for the perfect partner to "bump" with. In the meantime, she has learned that she has an identical twin sister named Harmony who showed up on her doorstep trying to convert her to God, and convince her sister to not be a breeder. Melody has a best friend, a boy named Zen, who she secretly likes but has never become involved with him because he is not considered "bumpworthy" material. Once Melody gets to know her sister Harmony, her whole world is turned upside down. 

City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments Series #4) by Cassandra Clare
No, it didn't really take me this long (10 days) to read this short book. However, I did give birth whilst reading it and taking care of a newborn takes up most of a person's time, so I should be forgiven. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and was about 3/4 done with it after reading it a couple days. 


This volume is about Simon and his new role as a Daylighter and the Mark of Cain that Clary gave him in the last book. It also features a mysterious villain turning babies into monsters and causing general mayhem and a potential power struggle amidst the vampires. I'm glad that this book was more about Simon, as I really like his character in the other books. The person behind all the craziness going on throughout the book was a total surprise and it definitely kept me riveted till the end to find out what would happen to her. I did wish that Simon would go ahead and tell Isabelle how he really feels about her. The ending was a bit of an annoying cliffhanger and there will definitely now be a fifth book. Overall I give it 4 1/2 stars and recommend it for ages 15+. 


Adult
African Queen: The Real Life of the Hottentot Venus by Rachel Holmes
A well-done and well-researched biography/history of Saartijie Baartman, the so called Hottentot Venus from South Africa, it tells her whole tragic story and how she was exploited both during and after her lifetime. The book was a bit graphic at times, especially in reference to the obsession of 19th century scientists to sexualize the African female as proof of white supremacy, and their demanding to see her nude (which she never willingly did while she was alive). I did find it interesting that not only did she die in France but was not repatriated back to her home country of South Africa until 2002, after her skeleton, genitals and brain had been on display from 1815-1970s. She was used not only as cause for repatriation of African artifacts, but also as a symbol of her country and women's rights therein. 4 stars. 

Stuff going on here lately

We have spent the past week getting used to living in Arizona, and I think it's going pretty well, minus the weather. The movers came last Monday and my parents hired two helpers, which managed to squeeze all of our furniture and extra stuff into storage. Of course we can't take anything out now, but don't think we'll be moving for awhile, so we should be okay. I got a hair cut, which is totally necessary in this weather where I am sweating all the time anyways (would rather be doing it with shorter hair than longer). I got my new Arizona driver's license the same day and my picture didn't come out too horrible. I am discovering a bit how to drive in the NW Valley, where my parents live, though I've not attempted Phoenix yet as I still find it insanely confusing. I've only been on the highways once, to drive my parents to the airport and that was intimidating. It's like my hubby says, the towns in this area are more like subdivisions in one giant town because they are so close together. It's really confusing sometimes when you're driving around and you enter two or three different towns in the space of a couple of miles. For example, we live in Sun City but if you go a mile in one direction, you end up in Youngstown and the other direction, you end up in Peoria, but there are pockets of Sun City mixed up with these other towns to make it even more confusing. So it is better for me to go by directions vs. city names as they're all squished together. 

The local library system, Maricopa County, has 17 branches and most are in the NW Valley. I decided to try out the NW Regional branch first, which has a nice children's section and seems to do storytimes regularly. It is right next to a huge park/sports complex with a gigantic kid's play area. It also is right next to a lake where you can go fishing, and there are lots of ducks and we even saw an egret there. I may end up going to another branch in the future, but for now, this one is close enough that it works for me. The only thing I don't like is that you are only allowed 10 books on hold, and I've already got six on my list. Most of them are books that aren't coming out for awhile, so I've got a bit of a wait. I picked up an interesting book called As Always, Julia, which is about the letters written between Julia Child and Avis DeVoto. Now if you have seen the movie Julie & Julia or read Julia Child's brilliant memoir My Life in France, you will know that Avis was a great friend of Julia's that she "met" by accident. Their letters are a fascinating look at the culture and politics of the 1950s onwards, especially about women and cooking. However, it is pretty dense as it is mainly just their letters, so not sure if I will be able to finish it now or will have to try it again later. 

I saw my new Nurse Practioner and I liked her, though she will not be my main medical person. I'm supposed to meet the doctor on the 25th. Hopefully I will have been able to start processing my Medicaid application by then, which I need to start on tomorrow. This doctor's office is much more organized/professional than the last one, and the hospital looks really nice. I'm hoping John and I and maybe my parents can get a tour of the maternity wing of the hospital next weekend. Meanwhile, me and the baby are doing just fine. Other than having a bit of time adjusting to the heat. This Friday it was up to 99 degrees F again and I thought we were going to melt in the house. My hairdresser in Columbia wasn't kidding when she was talking about being pregnant in the summer (she had both her kids in July). She told me that she used to wear next to nothing and still be melting, and I'm already feeling the same way. Plus with the little one kicking a whole lot more and my belly feeling like it is swelling to massive proportions that makes things more interesting. Sometimes I feel like I have to sit in very unladylike positions just so I can be cool and comfortable. That and with the heat, all I want to do is sleep, even it is a sweaty sleep. Anyways, I'm off to bed. 

Kat Falls, Sara Gruen, Arthur Slade, Diana Wynne Jones and Jenny Han

I am taking a break from packing to write a review post of the books I've been reading since April 17, which isn't a lot, but does include one adult book (which I hardly seem to read these days, but I've been waiting months to read this particular book). We've got most of the house packed but still doing bits and pieces in a couple rooms, and then of course we have to clean the whole place before the closing inspection. Not that we're expecting any money back, our dog has seen to that, but it's just something we gotta do. While I am a little annoyed that our moving truck won't be here till Tues afternoon vs the morning, I am glad that it didn't get delayed until the following day. Anyways, on to reviews, which contain some spoilers. 

Children

Monsters Eat Whiny Children by Bruce Eric Kaplan 

I thought the title was hilarious, which is why I initially picked it up. The story is about two whiny children named Henry and Eve, whose father warned them to stop or monsters would come and get them, and one day a monster did come. The funny part came when the monster and his wife/neighbors are arguing about how to prepare the children, i.e. in a salad, burger, cake, vindaloo (Portuguese-influenced Indian curry), and cucumber sandwiches. But the children escape so the monsters end up eating plain old cucumber sandwiches, which should be made with butter.

The funniest part of this story is not the story itself but a review I saw before I posted mine from a mother who read the story to her children and frightened them so much that she only has to threaten calling the monsters and her kids stop whining. I agree with her that the humor is more for parents than their children, but it is a cute book. Three stars, recommended for children aged 5-12. 

The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood

Love the descriptions of the different kinds of the quiet, ones I wouldn't normally think about such as "don't scare the robin quiet, last one to get picked up from school quiet, right before you yell 'SURPRISE' quiet, and what flashlight quiet." Plus I love the illustrations that have been toned down, from typical bright colors to emphasis the quiet within the book. Great for storytime or bedtime! Five stars, recommended for ages 3-8.

La lagartija y el sol/The Lizard and the Sun: A Folktale in English and Spanish 

by Alma Flor Ada

I loved this Aztec folktale, in Spanish and English, about why lizards like lying in the sun. One day the sun just disappears and all the animal and people are afraid, but the lizard goes searching for it. He finds her and with a little help from the emperor, a woodpecker and the people wakes her up and gets her going again. I love all the details in the book from the architecture to the clothing on the emperor. Very well done interpretation of this story, which apparently started out as a paragraph. Five stars, recommended for ages 7+. 

Children  and Young Adult

Dark Life (Dark Life #1) by Kat Falls 

Another book I discovered at the Teen Services Workshop, this book was described to me as a fantasy western, which intrigued me enough to pick it up and try it out. And it pretty much is just that. Basically the story premise is this: The eastern seaboard of the US has fallen into the ocean creating two separate societies, the Topsiders who live on land and those who live in the subsea territory. Gemma, a Topsider, comes to the subsea and meets Ty, a born subsea dweller, who helps her to find her brother. Meanwhile there is a roving group of outlaws that threatens to destroy the territory and the gov't says they must be captured or they will close the territory down. Will the outlaws be captured? Will Gemma ever find her brother? To find out, read this fascinating undersea adventure. Four stars, recommended for ages 10+. 

The Dark Deeps (The Hunchback Assignments #2) by Arthur Slade

The second book of the series finds Modo and Octavia posing as husband and wife and heading to New York in search of a missing fellow British agent. Once they arrive, they find out that he is dead but can't figure out by whom, and then there is the mysterious note with the words "Big Fish" and a location. What is this Big Fish? Is it part of the Clockwork Guild or something else? What is the organization's master plan? 

*Spoilers*

Overall I enjoyed the book and especially learning about Icaria, and everything that the Captain had achieved underwater. However, I thought the story lacked a bit of the excitement of the first book. The Griff character was particularly evil and crazy, but at the same time you feel kind of sorry for him, kind of like Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'm hoping the author continues the series and we see more of Colette, the half-Japanese/half French spy, as the end of the story made her seem more intriguing. Four stars, recommended for ages 11+. 

Shug by Jenny Han

I loved this book! I thought it was interesting that the main character's mother named her after the really vivacious character in "The Color Purple," but gave the less colorful name to her sister, which seemed kind of backward. Shug (aka Annemarie) is a twelve-year old going into the 7th grade. She likes her best friend Mark but has never been able to tell him so and since school started again, everything has started to change in her personal and school life, which she hates. She wants things to go back to the way they were, but she is growing up and moving on. An example of this is on page 144, when Shug says "Come to think of it, things were easier when it was just me and Mark, too. But the old me and Mark, without any of the love stuff. Life was simpler. Life was riding bikes and kickball and cherry Popsicles." I know exactly what she means there as I had a similar situation with a boy in middle school. I met him in 6th or 7th grade and we were best friends, only somewhere along the way I got a huge crush, but he never noticed me as a girl, just as his friend. Then when we got to high school, he was too cool for me and yeah, broke my heart a bit. So I can totally relate to her after her 7th grade dance, when she overhears Mark saying on page 220, "Annemarie? Come on, she's barely even a girl," and is totally crushed. Five stars, recommended for ages 10+.

One of the first things that jumped out at me about this book was Shug's description of pretty and plain girls as compared to butterflies and moths. She says on page 11 "It's like moths. They're the same as butterflies, aren't they? They're just gray. They can't help being gray, they just are. But butterflies, they're a million different colors, yellow and emerald and cerulean blue. They're pretty." I've always loved that word "cerulean," its's a great descriptor.Later on at the end of Chapter 11, Shug is talking about letting friends you knew in elementary school go and says on page 74 "It's like trying to shimmy up a rope with a moose tied to your ankles. You've just gotta cut that moose loose." I just thought that was hilarious. The author is really good at putting in references that most twelve-year olds probably wouldn't use, but with the quirky Shug, it seems possible. Like when Celia knows of the play "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" because her sister was supposed to read it and she compares being paired with her worst enemy as "a Faustian bargain (minus the blood part)." 

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

I was watching the Miyazaki film version the other day (which I love) when I had learned that the author of the actual book had died. So I figured it was time to read the book. The book is way different from the movie, though the basic plot line is the same. 

Sophie works at a hat shop and leads a pretty boring life, until one day, when the Witch of the Waste comes into her shop and decides to turn her into an old woman. Sophie leaves town and ends up at the Wizard Howl's moving castle, where she hires herself on as a cleaning woman to Howl, his apprentice Michael and Calcifer, the fire demon. They are pursued by the Witch of the Waste, who has put a curse on Howl and Calcifer, and Sophie must figure out what it is in order to free herself from her own curse. 

The main difference between the film and the movie is that in the movie, Sophie only has one sister, while in the book she has two. The Witch of the Waste seems to stay beautiful throughout the book, whereas in the movie she ends up becoming blob-like and helpless halfway through. In the book: Michael is in love with Sophie's sister Martha, while Howl seems to be wooing her other sister Lettie. Wizard Sulliman is a man and has disappeared due to the Witch of the Wastes, along with the King's brother, Prince Justin. The whole Sulliman/Justin thing I thought was very odd and a bit unneccessary. If there are more books on Sophie and Howl, I would be interested in reading them. Four stars, recommended for ages 10+. 

Adult

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I loved this audiobook, even though it took me ages to finish (though not for lack of interest). The switching viewpoints I thought was going to be annoying, but once you got into the book, you didn't really notice it. At first, my favorite character was 90 or 93 yr old Jacob with his crotchedyness that made me laugh out loud, but it was only towards the end of the book that I really started to fall in love with 23 year old Jacob's story as well. 

So the main point of the story is the older version of Jacob in a nursing home as he is reminiscing about his younger self at 23. At the beginning of the story, he is attending vet school at Cornell until his parents die in a tragic car accident leaving him totally devastated and without the will to finish school. So he runs away and ends up joining a circus by accident. He eventually becomes the vet for The Benzini Brothers' Circus and it is here that he meets the people who will change his life, such as Walter, Marlena, August and Big Al and the elephant, Rosie. I really did not want to stop listening to it, because every time I got in the car, there was something fascinating/fun to listen to. I had forgotten that circuses traveled by train in the 1930s, but then I remembered the movie "Dumbo." I have always found circuses to be fascinating, esp Ringling Brothers because of the P.T. Barnum connection, so this whole storyline immersion in the behind the scenes of a circus was amazing. I was happy too because I managed to finished the book the day before the movie came out in theaters, which I do want to see, though I think the book will be better. Five stars and highly recommended.