Poor Dingle! His job is to be Gramma's service dog. The problem is, Gramma can do everything for herself and doesn't need Dingle's help. He sits there every day bored. Finally, he has a bright idea for how to help. He enlists the aid of an engineer friend and soon finds that he can be a good service dog, even for an independent soul like Gramma.
With young children's books, I generally look to see how appealing it is to the child, as well as how useful it could be. As for appeal, Susan Anderson-Shorter did an excellent job. The illustrations are bright and colorful. A few sections on each page have great detail, while the overall page is simple enough for younger children to pick out items. As for use, I imagined a young child taking this book to a more elderly person to have them read it to them. Being a children's book, most of the people who use service dogs wouldn't be picking this up to read it. For a grandparent though, reading this to a child would provide the enjoyment of shared reading time and hopefully give them something to think about at the same time.
The story itself is cute and fun. On a purely entertainment level, it allows children to have a bright little escape into the book world. On a larger scale, the book teaches about the use of service dogs as well as the importance of allowing others to help us.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The Randolph Women & Their Men by Ruth Doumlele
The Randolph Women and Their Men paints a rich and vivid portrait of post-Revolution life in the South on the scale of Gone With the Wind - only this story is true. A professional historian, Ruth Doumlele has cleverly woven the many lives of the famous and infamous of that time into one seamless narrative. While the Randolphs hold center stage, their exploits bring them together with those influential people - such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison- who determined our nation's legacy.
Not only does Doumlele bring to life the significant events of those turbulent years, she also provides a scintillating view of the private lives of the privileged. Incest, betrayal, unrequited love- this book reveals the sometimes shocking, often poignant, always fascinating details of these remarkable women and their men. (Taken from the back of the book)
Though I loved the idea of this book, the reality was unpleasant for me. Though rich in history, I felt like I was reading a textbook from high school. The opening scene drew me right in, but the rest of the book put me right to sleep. If you're looking for a slice of history, this could be your cup of tea. My other issue with this book is the way that it skips throughout generations. There are so many characters and the way this book is compiled, it's nearly impossible to keep up with who's being spoken about. Unless, you have a notebook nearby and keep notes, you're not going to have any idea of which character is which or why you care about them.
Not only does Doumlele bring to life the significant events of those turbulent years, she also provides a scintillating view of the private lives of the privileged. Incest, betrayal, unrequited love- this book reveals the sometimes shocking, often poignant, always fascinating details of these remarkable women and their men. (Taken from the back of the book)
Though I loved the idea of this book, the reality was unpleasant for me. Though rich in history, I felt like I was reading a textbook from high school. The opening scene drew me right in, but the rest of the book put me right to sleep. If you're looking for a slice of history, this could be your cup of tea. My other issue with this book is the way that it skips throughout generations. There are so many characters and the way this book is compiled, it's nearly impossible to keep up with who's being spoken about. Unless, you have a notebook nearby and keep notes, you're not going to have any idea of which character is which or why you care about them.
Cover Girl LashBlast Mascara
Thanks to Bzz, I recently had a chance to check out Cover Girl's newest mascara. As a Bzzagent, they send me awesome products to try out and spread the word about.
My first thought when trying out new makeup is always the packaging. The mascara I tried was in a pretty purple wanded container, similar to the one pictured on the left. It's easy to handle and looks attractive. The wand on the inside is plastic, which actually seemed to work much better than the old bristled wands. The mascara doesn't cake and dry on it.
I was a little disappointed that it didn't seem to make my lashes longer, but it definitely made them look naturally thicker. Two swipes on each set of lashes left them looking bright and bold and noticeable.
How did LashBlast mascara hold up? Actually pretty well! I didn't end up with raccoon eyes, even after a strong bout of crying. The makeup removes quite easily even with just plain soap and water. It doesn't dribble down your face, regardless of activity. Best of all, I didn't get that 'dry eyes' feeling that comes with so many mascaras.
My first thought when trying out new makeup is always the packaging. The mascara I tried was in a pretty purple wanded container, similar to the one pictured on the left. It's easy to handle and looks attractive. The wand on the inside is plastic, which actually seemed to work much better than the old bristled wands. The mascara doesn't cake and dry on it.
I was a little disappointed that it didn't seem to make my lashes longer, but it definitely made them look naturally thicker. Two swipes on each set of lashes left them looking bright and bold and noticeable.
How did LashBlast mascara hold up? Actually pretty well! I didn't end up with raccoon eyes, even after a strong bout of crying. The makeup removes quite easily even with just plain soap and water. It doesn't dribble down your face, regardless of activity. Best of all, I didn't get that 'dry eyes' feeling that comes with so many mascaras.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
GOT BOOKS!!!
48 hours is all you have! 48 hours is all you need! Book bloggers across the US and Canada are giving away books, books and more books! Click here to see a listing of sites that are offering book giveaways! Hurry! 48 hours was not a joke, and the clock is ticking!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Spirit by Andrew Feder
I read an average of 7-10 books a week. They vary from flighty romance to historical nonfiction. I read everything from books on how to fix the government to books on who Miss Elaine was dating in the 1400's. Most of the books I read are middle of the road. On a 1-5 scale, most of them fall in the 2-4 category. Luckily I've only come across 2 books in my lifetime that have registered on the scale of 1. On the other end of the scale, we have 5. Books that I'd rate a 5 are difficult to come by. These are the books that I can't put down. The ones I read while taking a bath, vaccuuming, driving (ok, I made that one up!). These are the few, the rare, books that I deem worth of telling my 'reading family' about. Spirit definitely made it to the 5 category!
In this book, we have Randall Lender. He's a spiritual guru who's life is spent trying to enlighten others. His life is filled with love and the sharing of that love. He's also a wanted man. His 'preaching' has been showing people how organized religion, the government and even operations designed to aid humanity are actually sucking the love and life out of us.
The Guilders are a group of men from different organizations. We have every one from a rabbi to the Dark One. The Guilders know that lender is a threat to their very existence and want him taken care of, and not in the 'get him a stripper and a bottle of Jack' sort of way.
Lender decides to cancel his appointments for one afternoon, taking a much-needed break to relax. He decides to astral project himself out of his body and go 'astral surfing'. Instead of being pulled back into his body, however, he finds himself in someone else's. This body is covered in warmth and he finds a murdered woman right beside him. As he discovers the murder weapon in his hand, the police swarm him.
Lender's spirit has been trapped in the body of Johnny M, a mob assassin. Now Lender is trapped, not only in the wrong body, but in the midst of the mafia, the government and the police. Not only that, he's in a war to save his very soul. He is a WARRIOR OF LIGHT!
Seriously, this was just such a fun book for me! I haven't read any of Feder's work before, although I'm not sure why. The plot behind the book is pure genius and I wonder why no one's thought of it before. They mystery is welll-done. The characters are quirky and alive. Fast-paced reading and cliffhangers keep you turning page after page. Best of all, for me, the sex scenes were delicious! Anyone who knows my reading knows that I nearly always skip over the sex scenes in books. They just aren't for me. I don't really care about anybody else's love rod or where they're sticking it. Feder made this fun for me though :) I swear he had to have Googled horrible cliches to write these scenes. No woman is going to read these sex scenes and swoon. I'm sure a few men would love them, however! For me, I giggled right through them and enjoyed every single 'hackey sack' moment :)
Overall, this book is a gem and one I've been suggesting to family and friends alike. I definitely wouldn't call it classic literature, but it's a wonderful read. It also contains some thoughtful information regarding spirituality and religion.
In this book, we have Randall Lender. He's a spiritual guru who's life is spent trying to enlighten others. His life is filled with love and the sharing of that love. He's also a wanted man. His 'preaching' has been showing people how organized religion, the government and even operations designed to aid humanity are actually sucking the love and life out of us.
The Guilders are a group of men from different organizations. We have every one from a rabbi to the Dark One. The Guilders know that lender is a threat to their very existence and want him taken care of, and not in the 'get him a stripper and a bottle of Jack' sort of way.
Lender decides to cancel his appointments for one afternoon, taking a much-needed break to relax. He decides to astral project himself out of his body and go 'astral surfing'. Instead of being pulled back into his body, however, he finds himself in someone else's. This body is covered in warmth and he finds a murdered woman right beside him. As he discovers the murder weapon in his hand, the police swarm him.
Lender's spirit has been trapped in the body of Johnny M, a mob assassin. Now Lender is trapped, not only in the wrong body, but in the midst of the mafia, the government and the police. Not only that, he's in a war to save his very soul. He is a WARRIOR OF LIGHT!
Seriously, this was just such a fun book for me! I haven't read any of Feder's work before, although I'm not sure why. The plot behind the book is pure genius and I wonder why no one's thought of it before. They mystery is welll-done. The characters are quirky and alive. Fast-paced reading and cliffhangers keep you turning page after page. Best of all, for me, the sex scenes were delicious! Anyone who knows my reading knows that I nearly always skip over the sex scenes in books. They just aren't for me. I don't really care about anybody else's love rod or where they're sticking it. Feder made this fun for me though :) I swear he had to have Googled horrible cliches to write these scenes. No woman is going to read these sex scenes and swoon. I'm sure a few men would love them, however! For me, I giggled right through them and enjoyed every single 'hackey sack' moment :)
Overall, this book is a gem and one I've been suggesting to family and friends alike. I definitely wouldn't call it classic literature, but it's a wonderful read. It also contains some thoughtful information regarding spirituality and religion.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Fearless: The 7 Principles of Peace of Mind by Brenda Shoshanna, PhD
When I first received this book, I had to chuckle. It's rather a large book to just list 7 principles for peace of mind. By the time I finished, however, I had a completely different mindset. It's rather a tiny book for all of the information that it holds.
Taking both eastern and western philosophies and religions, Dr. Shoshanna has created a book for everyone regarding how to take control of your life. She shows us how to remove fear and fantasy from our daily lives. The importance of being oneself and knowing oneself is something that we all need to be interested in. I wouldn't necessarily consider this a self-enlightenment book, although that's what I took away from it. Shoshanna uses several stories as comparisons to get her point across.
For myself, going through a period of change in my life, I found this book particularly helpful. It explained to me the importance of not only embracing change, but enjoying it in all of it's chaotic glory. I strongly suggest this book for anyone who's going through a divorce, lonely, looking for love, looking for enlightenment, or simply wanting to know themself and their surroundings better. Though at the beginning the book comes across as dry, stick it through until the third and fourth chapters. It definitely picks up and flows better and the knowledge contained is immeasurable.
Taking both eastern and western philosophies and religions, Dr. Shoshanna has created a book for everyone regarding how to take control of your life. She shows us how to remove fear and fantasy from our daily lives. The importance of being oneself and knowing oneself is something that we all need to be interested in. I wouldn't necessarily consider this a self-enlightenment book, although that's what I took away from it. Shoshanna uses several stories as comparisons to get her point across.
For myself, going through a period of change in my life, I found this book particularly helpful. It explained to me the importance of not only embracing change, but enjoying it in all of it's chaotic glory. I strongly suggest this book for anyone who's going through a divorce, lonely, looking for love, looking for enlightenment, or simply wanting to know themself and their surroundings better. Though at the beginning the book comes across as dry, stick it through until the third and fourth chapters. It definitely picks up and flows better and the knowledge contained is immeasurable.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Quicksand by Marilyn Randall
Imagine that you're sitting in a large overstuffed chair in a comfortable room. An older lady is sitting in another chair across from you. As you sip your tea and munch on cookies, you say, 'Tell me about your greatest love.' The woman goes to a shelf on the side of the room and removes a large ornate box. Upon returning to her seat, she opens the box, revealing several papers. As she begins to speak, you find yourself in a different world.
This book is the story of Natalie, a white woman in her 60's and Randy, a large black man in his 50's. After Natalie buries her husband, she begins looking for love on the internet and finds Randy. As soon as they meet, they know that it's a love beyond anything they've ever known and they must be together. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the story as Natalie tells it.
As I began this book, I was confused. I started noticing behaviors in the characters that were less than perfect. Of course, this makes them realistic, but for being such a grand love story, I found myself confused at all of the issues between them and how quickly they were set aside. It's difficult to explain until you read it. I was under the impression that this was a fictionalized story of the author's own life, and it very well could be, but at the gritty end, I find that it is indeed fiction and all of my worries for the author were unfounded.
Each chapter starts out with a poem that is written in regards to what is going on in that chapter. Most of them are beautifully verse and it's quite worth the purchase price of the book just for the poetry. If you're not a poet or poetry lover, however, you can easily skip through the poems and simply read the story.
At the core of this story is the interracial issues that the couple share. Not only do they have outside influences such as family and friends, they find that they have differences in their expectations and treatments of each other. Natalie attributes this to their being of different colors, but most couples deal with the same issues. We all come from different backgrounds and must learn to coexist.
Though in the beginning I found myself confused about why the couple were together, by the time I reached the end of the book I was in love. The way Natalie tells the story is that of a woman in love who is happy to take part of the blame for the issues and do her best to make excuses for her partner. She becomes a confused, lovable part of your life that you hate to lose when the book ends. Though the cover of the book kind of scared me off, this book should definitely not be judged by it's cover. There is a truely wonderful story hidden inside.
This book is the story of Natalie, a white woman in her 60's and Randy, a large black man in his 50's. After Natalie buries her husband, she begins looking for love on the internet and finds Randy. As soon as they meet, they know that it's a love beyond anything they've ever known and they must be together. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the story as Natalie tells it.
As I began this book, I was confused. I started noticing behaviors in the characters that were less than perfect. Of course, this makes them realistic, but for being such a grand love story, I found myself confused at all of the issues between them and how quickly they were set aside. It's difficult to explain until you read it. I was under the impression that this was a fictionalized story of the author's own life, and it very well could be, but at the gritty end, I find that it is indeed fiction and all of my worries for the author were unfounded.
Each chapter starts out with a poem that is written in regards to what is going on in that chapter. Most of them are beautifully verse and it's quite worth the purchase price of the book just for the poetry. If you're not a poet or poetry lover, however, you can easily skip through the poems and simply read the story.
At the core of this story is the interracial issues that the couple share. Not only do they have outside influences such as family and friends, they find that they have differences in their expectations and treatments of each other. Natalie attributes this to their being of different colors, but most couples deal with the same issues. We all come from different backgrounds and must learn to coexist.
Though in the beginning I found myself confused about why the couple were together, by the time I reached the end of the book I was in love. The way Natalie tells the story is that of a woman in love who is happy to take part of the blame for the issues and do her best to make excuses for her partner. She becomes a confused, lovable part of your life that you hate to lose when the book ends. Though the cover of the book kind of scared me off, this book should definitely not be judged by it's cover. There is a truely wonderful story hidden inside.
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