
I loved this book and give it five stars. It struck me on many levels as it discusses the spirituality of creativity and making art, as well as techniques on writing better and enjoying reading more.
I usually avoid books that are about breaking the ten commandments, but this time I made an exception. There are some unsavory bits here, with graves and cadavers, stealing, and murder, but even more present is remarkable story telling in the tradition of Charles Dickens. You’ll love the main character, Ren, and will be rooting … Read more
Happy Earth Day! I give this important book a resounding five stars! My thirteen year old daughter is doing her science fair project on the water crisis; we’ve looked at and/or read most of what is currently published out there on the subject and this is our favorite! (The sticky tabs are facts for my … Read more

I loved this book and give it five stars. It struck me on many levels as it discusses the spirituality of creativity and making art, as well as techniques on writing better and enjoying reading more.

This book was a bit flat and I only give it three stars. A librarian highly recommended it to me as an “engrossing emotional saga,” and I only blog about it now to have you save your time and read something else.
I own (but have not yet read) Jeannette Wall’s blockbuster novel The Glass Castle, and since she’s recently written this prequel, I thought I’d start here. I’m glad I did, and now I’m primed to read the other. This is a story of the author’s gutsy grandmother, set in the early 20th century, mostly in … Read more
This is a fictional account spinoff from an actual proposal that a Cheyenne chief made in peace talks in Washington: give us a thousand white women to couple with our braves, and since our children belong to their wives’ tribe, this will assimilate us into the white culture peacefully. I thought this offer had interesting … Read more
As I said I would on the blog here, I pursued the above Andy Goldsworthy books, and really enjoyed reading them. They were inspiring, thought provoking and wonderful. My least favorite was the snowball book, and my most favorite is the one on the bottom, as it is the best overview of this man’s awesome … Read more
I really like this book a lot and give it a hearty five stars. It is wonderful to jump-start or freshen up your art if you are an experienced artist, but is also approachable enough to set the beginner totally loose, inducing them to soar. More than anything, it is total fun, without any overtone … Read more
This is a wonderful book; it is the best novel I’ve read in quite a while. I give it five stars. I enjoyed it on audio because it is told in two perfect voices, but I’m resolved to read it again in print because there are so many great bits that demand pondering and a … Read more
This book was exceptional; I give this audio version five stars. This is a true story of the Supreme Court’s baffling decision in the Kelo case to uphold arbitrary seizure and demolition of anyone’s private property by eminent domain to be handed over to private developers. This remains the most controversial ruling by the Supreme … Read more

Mark Kurlansky has a definitely different take on food writing, more steeped in history and culture and macro-cosmic trend than most. Having enjoyed his two previous history-of-food titles, Salt and Cod, I was interested in seeing his views of 1930’s era food in this country,
I do a lot with the inter-library loan system both for myself and my homeschooling kids. It’s great! I can “shop” for books from my home and they come in from all over to my Bethel library two blocks away. Right when I read reviews online, I can ask for the book without even getting … Read more

When I read the first of these two books, I was unsure if it was good enough to review here, but I liked it enough to read it’s sequel which I thought was even better.
This poet won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1996, and this is the first book of her poems that I’ve read. Her work was recommended to me by Julie Bogart, the author of my daughter’s writing curriculum, as something she particularly enjoys for herself, so I looked it up on inter-library loan. I found … Read more
I have finally read this popular book which has been on my reading list for years. As with so many others, I give it five stars for its compellingly evocative writing of both circus life and life in an assisted living facility. The menagerie of vivid characters were clearly drawn, the pace and the segues … Read more
I can’ t believe I actually listened to all of this horrible new book by Julie Powell. The subtitle is Marriage, Meat and Obsession, but it would be more aptly subtitled Butchery, Adultery, and Self-Loathing.
I really liked this book and have gotten good ideas from it. I give it five stars as it is more helpful than a lot of similar books. Mostly it outlines the twelve classic design motifs which I’d like to discuss soon on a separate post. (You may have already seen the beginning of my … Read more