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REVIEW: Building Projects for Backyard Farmers & Home Gardeners

May 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Book Cover

Title: Building Projects for Backyard Farmers and Home Gardeners: A Guide to 21 Handmade Structures for Homegrown Harvests
Author: Chris Gleason
Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing
ISBN: 978-1565235434
Pages: 160
★★★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) This is a practical and engaging guide to transforming an ordinary backyard into a productive farm. Homesteading is experiencing a revival among both rural and urban residents who want to get back to basics and live closer to the land. With this book, homeowners will obtain both inspiration and instruction for transforming their grassy yard into a lush farm that can produce all the food they need.

The author is an experienced woodworker and homesteader who shows how to plan and design a backyard farm. He offers expert advice for making all of the essential hard-working structures that are needed to sustain small-scale agriculture.

Step-by-step instructions are provided for 10 projects including green houses, beehives, rabbit hutches, raised beds, potting sheds, trellises, fences, and more. Readers learn how to create an irrigation system, harvest rainwater, and keep their farms environmentally sound. Each detailed plan is accompanied by the author’s clear, instructive drawings.

More than just a manual, the book also offers entertaining and enlightening interviews with both experts and “average Joe” farmers. We learn what motivates them to become backyard farmers, the lessons that they have to share, and maybe even a couple of funny stories along the way.

Review

My husband and I have been discussing changing our lifestyle for a while and becoming more self-sufficient.  After all, isn’t that our human right to be able to grow food in order to support our families? While many people are not in a place where they can have their own backyard farm or home garden (i.e. apartments or HOA restricted) we are blessed with a huge backyard and better yet, no HOA.

When I saw that I had the chance to review this book, I was incredibly excited. After all, we needed ideas on how to build things. Plus, we didn’t want to have to spend a ton of money. I know the saying goes — spend some to save some but we’d really like to limit that as much as possible. I felt that it was possible that Building Projects for Backyard Farmers & Home Gardeners would give us the ideas on how to do things ourselves.

One particular feature that I found particularly useful was that it tells you how many vegetable plants you need per person and how much space they will take up. For example, if your family is big tomato family then you’ll need 1-4 plants a person and it takes up about 48 sq inches.  Sweet. (Oh how I miss actually being able to EAT tomatoes.)

There are about 21 projects in this book including:

  • Rainwater Harvesting System – This is probably the most wonderful thing we could do for our own garden. In Florida we have two season (wet and dry). During the summer months, it rains almost every day. Then once “winter” hits, we often have a very dry season which puts us onto water restriction from the community. Harvesting our own rainwater would help us through those dry seasons. That is for sure!
  • Irrigation Strategies — These include overhead watering, drip irrigation, and soaker hoses.
  • Garden Cart – You move a LOT of stuff around while you are gardening and although people usually use wheelbarrows, they aren’t usually big enough for needs. If you have ever dragged around mulch, hay, or stone, you’ll understand what I mean. How many trips do you really feel like doing, anyway?
  • Compost Box – Compost provides an amazing fertilizer for gardens (plants, trees, whatever!) Plus it really puts our food scraps (including left over vegetables, fruit peels, etc.) to use. We get a TON of leaves from our Oak trees. I hate those darn trees, but the dead leaves would be a welcome addition to a compost box. I really like the idea that what we take from the Earth, we are also giving back to the Earth as well. It makes me sound like such a hippy, but I don’t care. There is something poetic about giving back to the garden that gives to you.
  • Vermiculture Bin – This is a bin created to use worms to speed up and improve the overall quality of your composting.  The worms in a vermiculture bin break down scraps and produce a very powerful and organic fertilizer (i.e. worm castings).
  • Easy Plank Raised Beds – Have you seen the raised garden beds for sale? They are often really expensive. I have seen many that are 200+$ for a handmade wooden bed. The good news is, you can make this yourself and it is EASY. You can make this project with scrap wood or the wood from wood pallets, which we get for free!
  • Stacked Lumber Raised Bed – Just another version of a raised bed. Personally, I really love the look of these! In this particular plan they give you directions on how to build a beautiful trellis, which is much needed for vine plants like tomatoes or cucumbers!
  • Potato Planter – Did you know that you can grow approximately 100lbs of potatos in a compact 2ft by 2ft area?  The directions they give includes wood made from a wood pallet. (Remember how I said you can often find them for FREE??!)
  • Tiered Lettuce Rack – ever think to shelve your lettuce? I had no idea that was even possible. I think lettuce is a must in gardens and this seems like a great way to conserve space and add a little variety to your home garden.
  • Wall of Tomatoes – I think this looks absolutely awesome! You will have to get the book to build it but it’s definitely a useful AND decorative wall of tomatoes. :)
  • Bean Leaner – I bet this would be great on an apartment patio.
  • Squash Ramp – This is a corral for your favorite sprawling squashes and melons. (Cantalope, cucumber, honeydew, pumpkin, etc.)
  • Grapevine Ladder – This is AWESOME and I cannot wait to make this. It’s like a pergola for grapes. Doesn’t that sound like the coolest concept? I think I will be doing this against our backyard shed.
  • Pea Trellis – Just like it says but the materials it recommends is actually pretty cool.
  • Greenhouse – Using a greenhouse will help jumpstart early plant growth before planting.  This project uses recycled windows. There is a window place near us who has a dumpster out back that has hundreds of old windows and guess where they will end up going — the dump. What a good way to recycle old windows!
  • Cold Frame – This is kind of the inbetween tool you would use from sprouting in the greenhouse and before planting into the ground. This helps allow the plant to harden off prior to planting.
  • Wire Mesh Cloche – This helps protect your plants from frost. Florida doesn’t get really cold, but when it does, it can do so really quickly and really irritate plants. Creating a wire mesh cloche would be a great project to add for the cooler months.
  • PVC Cloche – I swear, you can do so much with PVC that it’s a bit crazy.
  • Top Bar Bee Hive – We’re not doing bees – ever. But, I’d definitely love some organic honey. Yum!
  • Rabbit Hutch – Rabbits smell, big time. They are soft and cuddly and sooooo cute. But, they stink. The hutch in Building Projects for Backyard Farmers & Home Gardeners, though, is spacious and looks like it could be nicely personalized. If I was somehow tricked into getting a rabbit for the girls, though, the hutches in this book are ideal for us.

Besides just given project ideas, we are also given the materials list, which is incredibly important and directions on how to make these projects. It’s not just an idea book, but a guide to create these projects into your own garden. Inspirational gardeners are also profiled and I found their stories rather interesting.

I only had a few issues with the book, one being the fact that such a highly image detailed book was very slow to load using the required Bluefire Reader app on my iPad. So if you are going to purchase this book, I definitely recommend getting the physical copy over the kindle or nook version. In fact, I don’t even think it’s available in e-format for the public so you probably do not even have to worry about that.

The other issue I had was that it only included two backyard projects for animals — the bees and the rabbit hutch. I would have loved if it included plans for a chicken coop and a chicken brooder. I mean, that’s a huge part of backyard farmers. That would have been more important then the rabbit hutch. (I mean, just how is rabbits needed for backyard farming? I don’t know…)

Overall, I found this book really informative and I cannot wait to utilize a lot of these projects in my own backyard garden.

 

Filed Under: 4 Stars, Authors, Books, Books, Chris Gleason, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Musings: Guess What? I FOUND THE BOOK!

May 18, 2012 By 3 Comments

I honestly thought no one would find the book that I was having trouble finding, based on its age and vauge description. For one, the 50s was a while ago and even though my Dad grew up with the book, he still doesn’t remember it. All of the sudden, just a few days later I receive this text message from my Mother-in-Law:

Tada!!!

Could this possibly be it?? I immediately went on a web search for the book Two Men and a Tree by Arthur I. Gates. (How could it be such a simple title?!) Was it really that easy?

Now, if I could just find a synopsis on the book. Maybe I could even find someone else talking about this book. If I could find just some verification that this was the correct book then maybe I could say, with certainty, that THIS was the book. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an actual synopsis anywhere. All I know is that the book was created for beginner readers by MacMillan Readers in the 1950′s (according to amazon)
.

Oddly though, which I didn’t anticipate, the book has two covers. The one that immediately comes up on the search didn’t look like what I had remembered. But, as it’s been about 20+ years since I’ve read the book myself, maybe my memory of the book wasn’t 100%.

I figured I would see if I could find if there was a copy somewhere that I could purchase (without breaking the bank). Then, I found this:

A different cover.

At the moment I saw this version of the book cover, I knew it. This was the book I have been looking for, for many years. I have found it at last.

Thank you to my Mother-in-Law and to Susan for finding this book for me. I cannot wait to read it to my girls. :)

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday Firsts: Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

May 18, 2012 By 1 Comment

moon3 (2)

Blogger Meme: Friday Firsts :!: I try to tweet about all participants, so don’t forget to include your Twitter username if you want to be notified of your tweet mention! :!: The first line can make or break a reader’s interest. Just how well did the author pull you in to the story with their first sentence? To participate in this weekly book meme is extremely easy.

  • Grab the book you are currently reading and open to the first page.
  • Write down the first sentence in the first paragraph. (If you want to use 2-3 sentences, that is okay but limit it to the very beginning.)
  • Create a blog post with this information. (Make sure to include the title & author of the book you are using. Even an ISBN helps!)
  • Did this first sentence help draw you into the story? Why or why not?
  • Come back to this blog post, hosted on WellReadReviews.com and add your comment to the post.

That’s it :)

Here is my Friday Firsts: Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (ISBN: 978-0553386790) 720 pages.

“We should start back,” Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them. “The wildlings are dead.”

Fantasy is not my normal genre. I get overwhelmed easily by names I’ve never heard of and lands I have never heard of. In fact, I have started this book a few times, but am finally getting into the groove of reading this novel (which I am enjoying.)

The first sentence definitely drew me in. It caused me to wonder, “Just why are the wildlings dead?”

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

Here is the first volume in George R. R. Martin’s magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R. R. Martin’s stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.



Filed Under: Friday Firsts, General, Memes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Lovely Knits for Little Girls: 20 Just-Right Patterns, Just for Little Girls

May 16, 2012 By 3 Comments

The Book Cover

Title: Lovely Knits for Little Girls: 20 Just-Right Patterns, Just for Little Girls
Author: Vibe Sondergaard
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 978-1600855030
Pages: 144
★★★★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) While project books for making baby knits abound, what happens when your little cherub turns two? Lovely Knits for Little Girls solves the problem beautifully, with twenty patterns for pint-sized vests, dresses, sweaters, and skirts—all brimming with pretty, girly details. Forget about baby-weight yarn, tiny needles, and fussy patterns for clothes that are quickly outgrown. For Lovely Knits, knitwear designer Vibe Sondegaard creates a bright, stylish, little-girl wardrobe of fabulous projects that knit up quickly and allow knitters plenty of opportunity for trying a few design tricks (cables, bobbles, lace patterns) on a manageable, kid-sized scale. Best of all, the pattern shapes size up or down easily (with back of book instruction on doing just that), making this collection versatile enough to use again and again.

Review

I guess this will just be a mini review as there isn’t much to talk about in regards to a knitting book. While I loved the overall look of the book and as a photographer I appreciated the pictures, I just don’t think it was awesome. For a knitting book, it is average.

Lovely Knits for Little Girls is supposed to be a book on lovely knits for little girls. Well, honestly, little girls really wouldn’t want to wear anything in this book. There wasn’t a single item of clothing that I could look at and think, “Yes, this would make a lovely gift for a little girl.” I really didn’t like anything. The items looked fine in the photos, but in real life, that may be another story.

Another thing is that this book requires seaming and it seemed rather complicated extra step for such basic looking patterns especially since you can get a lot of patterns that knit seamless on Ravelry.com. The cloths aren’t really stylish, at least in American terms of what style is. This looks more like a book geared towards a grandparent, in which they think their child wants to wear.

If you have found this review because you are looking for adorable knits for little girls, I recommend the following links/designers.

These designers mentioned have created, in my opinion, the just-right patterns for little girls. I do not feel the book Lovely Knits for Little Girls comes close.

 

 

Filed Under: 3 Stars, Authors, Books, Books, Reviews, Vibe Sondegaard Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Teaser Tuesday: To the Nines by Janet Evanovich

May 15, 2012 By 5 Comments

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page * BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

To the Nines by Janet Evanovich (ISBN: 978-0312991463)

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

Stephanie Plum’s got rent to pay, people shooting at her, and psychos wanting her dead every day of the week (much to the dismay of her mother, her family, the men in her life, the guy who slices meat at the deli…oh, the list goes on). An ordinary person would cave under the pressure.But hey, she’s from Jersey.

Stephanie Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton, but she’s pretty darn good at turning bad situations her way…and she always gets her man.

In To The Nines, her cousin Vinnie (who’s also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, an immigrant who becomes an illegal alien by violating his Visa and extending his stay in the United States. When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word “hunter…”In a race against time that takes her from the Jersey Turnpike to the Vegas strip, Stephanie Plum is on the chase of her life.

Teaser:

“My grandmother is a little Cuban woman who cooks all day and speaks Spanish. Your grandmother watches pay-per-view porn.”

“She used to watch the Weather Channel, but she said there wasn’t enough action.”

Gotta love this series! <3



Filed Under: General, Memes, Teaser Tuesday Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

May 14, 2012 By 8 Comments

The Book Cover

Title: Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard
Author: Jessi Bloom
Publisher: Timber Press
ISBN: 978-1604692372
Pages: 224
★★★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) Many gardeners fear chickens will peck away at their landscape, and chicken lovers often shy away from gardening for the same reason. But you can keep chickens and have a beautiful garden, too! Fresh eggs aren’t the only benefit — chickens can actually help your garden grow and thrive, even as your garden does the same for your chickens.

In this essential handbook, award-winning garden designer Jessi Bloom covers everything a gardener needs to know, including chicken-keeping basics, simple garden plans to get you started, tips on attractive fencing options, the best plants and plants to avoid, and step-by-step instructions for getting your chicken garden up and running.

For anyone who wants a fabulous garden where colorful chickens happily roam, Free-Range Chicken Gardens is the guide that will bring the dream home to roost.

Review

I have been debating having backyard chickens for a while. I was torn between a few ducks, or some chickens. We had ducks in our “backyard” at the apartment and they would often come to our porch to greet us for food. I don’t know why, but I really love birds. I knew that when we moved to the house (where we live in the ‘woods’ pretty much and have a HUGE backyard) that I would want to actually have ducks, or chickens.

It is this book, Free-Range Chicken Gardens, that sealed the deal on having chickens instead of ducks, though. The book is filled with amazingly beautiful pictures of backyard gardens in which the chickens are free-range. To me, these gardens look like heaven! They have a certain oasis feel, that is for sure. Imagine the great eggs that come from a happy and healthy chicken vs commercial caged chickens.

But it’s not just pictures, but incredibly useful information. We, as potential chicken owners (or just readers),  are presented with images with a few popular chicken breeds with some descriptions. Bloom helps us decide which breed is best for us (we decided on the silkie, by the way.) The silkies are docile and friendly and are great for children. But there are many varieties and no two families are exactly the same in specific chicken needs. While some are more for pets (as silkies are), some are more for meat, and some for eggs.

Free-Range Chicken Gardens is not just a book about gardening, but also a really in depth guide to raising chickens AND creating a garden habitat that would be both beautiful and beneficial for free-range chickens. I was incredibly impressed with this book and will definitely look to it often when deciding what to place in our own backyard habitat.

If you are in to sustainable living/homesteading, then I definitely recommend this book. Free-Range Chicken Gardens has dual purpose — information AND pictures. A book that you can keep on your coffee table, fit this selection into your green home as soon as possible.

Filed Under: 4 Stars, Authors, Books, Books, Jessi Bloom, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: January First by Michael Schofield

May 12, 2012 By 3 Comments

Book Cover

Title: January First: A Child’s Descent into Madness and Her Father’s Struggle to Save Her
Author: Michael Schofield
Publisher: Crown
Pub Date: August 7th, 2012
ISBN: 978-0307719089
Pages: 288
★★★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) A brilliant and harrowingly honest memoir, January First is the extraordinary story of a father’s fight to save his child from an extremely severe case of mental illness in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Review

January First is a highly emotional and intimate story of the Schofields and their relentless battle to find a diagnosis for their daughter January’s condition. Affectionately called Jani by those that know and love her, Jani has an incredibly devastating and rare lifelong form of mental illness; childhood onset schizophrenia.

Infact it is so rare to be diagnosed with schizophrenia as a child that if you look up the term “childhood onset schizoprhenia”, you will find Jani’s name everywhere. Diagnosed at only 5, Jani is one of the youngest children ever to be diagnosed with schizophrenia; a condition that does not usually erupt until later on in life.

What is schizophrenia?

Fortunately, schizophrenia is rare in children, affecting only about 1 in 40,000, compared to 1 in 100 in adults. The average age of onset is 18 in men and 25 in women (credit/source.)

Symptoms usually include: (credit/source)

  • Social withdrawal
  • Hostility or suspiciousness
  • Deterioration of personal hygiene
  • Flat, expressionless gaze
  • Inability to cry or express joy
  • Inappropriate laughter or crying
  • Depression
  • Oversleeping or insomnia
  • Odd or irrational statements
  • Forgetful; unable to concentrate
  • Extreme reaction to criticism
  • Strange use of words or way of speaking

Other symptoms include delusion, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and disorganized behavior. To learn more about schizophrenia, feel free to visit the following sources: (Link 1) (Link 2) (Link 3)

January First begins prior to the schizophrenia diagnosis so we are really pushed into these incredibly personal and emotional moments in the lives of Michael and Susan while they are searching for the cause of their daughter’s peculiar behaviors.

The first time that I had about Jani, I was searching on youtube. If you are familiar with youtube, you can understand how you can start searching for one thing and end up in a very different place. Somehow I ended up at this video:

Did you watch it? Good. You need to. You need to see this amazing family. Immediately I was completely fascinated by this little girl. The delusions and lack of sleep have taken a toll on her little body, as evident in the circles around her beautiful eyes. But there was something that I found so intriguing about this family.

Incredibly intelligent, Jani wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Her love for animals and for helping others is apparent even when bits and pieces of the psychosis shows itself and tells her she wants to be a ‘number checker’. Number Checkers, according to Jani, are like doctors or nurses for numbers and keep the numbers healthy. But her delusions aren’t always that easy. In fact, she has physically hurt both her parents with such intensity and force unseen normally in a little girl, that it would resort to very drastic measures to keep her and her family alive.

Michael Scofield paints the picture of what it is like to be involved in the daily life of a family caring for a loved one, a young child, with schizophrenia (who also happens to have a genius IQ.) But even more importantly, he paints a picture of a family experiencing the unknown and the terrifying. Through January First, we walk step by step with the Schofields in search for the answer.

If you would like to learn more about schizophrenia, please pick up the novel January First, and read it as soon as you can. Once I started the very first page, I could not put it down until the last page and I don’t often read a lot of memoirs but this one is absolutely fascinating. Because January First is written by Jani’s father, it is very easy to relate to and I didn’t feel like everything was above my head. Michael does not use difficult terminology but instead fills the pages with raw emotion and explains it to us in such a way where its difficult to differentiate between his feelings and our own.

January First is a captivating and inspirational read. To support Jani, check out the family website Jani’s Journey. You can also find them on Facebook located at The Jani Foundation.

Filed Under: 4 Stars, Authors, Books, Books, Michael Schofield, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday Firsts: To the Nines by Janet Evanovich

May 11, 2012 By 4 Comments

moon3 (2)

Blogger Meme: Friday Firsts :!: I try to tweet about all participants, so don’t forget to include your Twitter username if you want to be notified of your tweet mention! :!: The first line can make or break a reader’s interest. Just how well did the author pull you in to the story with their first sentence? To participate in this weekly book meme is extremely easy.

  • Grab the book you are currently reading and open to the first page.
  • Write down the first sentence in the first paragraph. (If you want to use 2-3 sentences, that is okay but limit it to the very beginning.)
  • Create a blog post with this information. (Make sure to include the title & author of the book you are using. Even an ISBN helps!)
  • Did this first sentence help draw you into the story? Why or why not?
  • Come back to this blog post, hosted on WellReadReviews.com and add your comment to the post.

That’s it :)

Here is my Friday Firsts: To the Nines by Janet Evanovich (ISBN: 978-0312991463) 352 pages.

My name is Stephanie Plum and I was born and raised in the Chambersburg section of Trenton, where the top male activities are scarfing pastries and pork rinds and growing love handles. The pastry and pork rind scarfing I’ve seen firsthand.

You have to love Janet Evanovich. She really catches you from the beginning so it makes starting the novels easy peasy, which is great because I do not like starting novels. I expected to be caught from the very first sentence.

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

Stephanie Plum’s got rent to pay, people shooting at her, and psychos wanting her dead every day of the week (much to the dismay of her mother, her family, the men in her life, the guy who slices meat at the deli…oh, the list goes on). An ordinary person would cave under the pressure.

But hey, she’s from Jersey.

Stephanie Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton, but she’s pretty darn good at turning bad situations her way…and she always gets her man. In
To The Nines, her cousin Vinnie (who’s also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, an immigrant who becomes an illegal alien by violating his Visa and extending his stay in the United States. When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word “hunter…”

In a race against time that takes her from the Jersey Turnpike to the Vegas strip, Stephanie Plum is on the chase of her life.



Filed Under: Friday Firsts, General, Memes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Judge a Book by It’s Cover: The Selection by Kiera Cass

May 10, 2012 By 5 Comments

judgeabookbyitscover

When you’re at the book store (or shopping online for a new read) and you’re going up and down the aisles, what makes you stop and look at a book? The cover, right? Well – it does, for me! What are your thoughts when looking at some covers? Do you find yourself drawn to a book based on a well put together cover? Or does a badly created cover turn you off and make you walk right past the book, never to be picked up again?

The cover I plan on discussing this week belongs to the book The Selection by Kiera Cass (ISBN: 978-0062059932):

 

United States Cover (L) and United Kingdom Cover (R)

From the moment I saw this (US version) cover, I loved it. Maybe it’s the color, as this shade of blue is one of my favorite all time colors. The fluffy dress and the glimmer. It really pops out to me and says, “Pick me up!”

The cover tells me that this is a book about high-class living but the title, The Selection, says that maybe the girls aren’t exactly born into royalty. Will I be able to relate to this character?

The United Kingdom Cover is pretty similar. (Why is it that the same company has to create a separate cover for another country, anyway?) Sometimes the UK covers are completely different, but this time it is pretty similar. They added a touch of pink to the background (not a huge fan of) but I do like the pink they used in The Selection title. The crown also stands out more, which I like. The blue also seems a BIT toned down and so I like the blue on the United States cover, more.

So what do you think of The Selection‘s cover?

Now that you have thought about the cover, here is the synopsis (as taken from Amazon.com):

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Was it what you thought? Does the book cover affect your opinion on the synopsis? Do you want to read it more, or less?



Filed Under: General, Judge a Book By the Cover, Memes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Teaser Tuesday: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

May 8, 2012 By 9 Comments

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page * BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:


Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (ISBN: 978-1423124528)

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit.  These aren’t the fairies of bedtime stories; these fairies are armed and dangerous.

Artemis thinks he has them right where he wants them…but then they stop playing by the rules.

Teaser:

How does one describe Artemis Fowl? Various psychiatrists have tried and failed.

I have heard of the Artemis Fowl books for years. But as of lately, I have heard from a lot of other book bloggers that it is one of their favorite series so I decided I would at least try it out. So far, the first sentence definitely draws me in!

Have you heard of Artemis Fowl? Does it live up to the hype?

Filed Under: General, Memes, Teaser Tuesday Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday Firsts: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

May 4, 2012 By 3 Comments

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Blogger Meme: Friday Firsts :!: I try to tweet about all participants, so don’t forget to include your Twitter username if you want to be notified of your tweet mention! :!: The first line can make or break a reader’s interest. Just how well did the author pull you in to the story with their first sentence? To participate in this weekly book meme is extremely easy.

  • Grab the book you are currently reading and open to the first page.
  • Write down the first sentence in the first paragraph. (If you want to use 2-3 sentences, that is okay but limit it to the very beginning.)
  • Create a blog post with this information. (Make sure to include the title & author of the book you are using. Even an ISBN helps!)
  • Did this first sentence help draw you into the story? Why or why not?
  • Come back to this blog post, hosted on WellReadReviews.com and add your comment to the post.

That’s it :)

Here is my Friday Firsts: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (ISBN: 978-1416914297) 464 pages.

The formidable glass-and-steel structure rose from its position on Front Street like a glittering needle threading the sky.

The sentence, although well written, did not immediately draw me in. In fact, I had started this book almost immediately after I finished City of Bones, which was a while ago. But  for some reason, I couldn’t get into it. I pushed through, though and am currently enjoying my read. :)

City of Ashes

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who’s becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn’t ready to let her go—especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary’s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil—and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings—and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City’s Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.



Filed Under: Friday Firsts, General, Memes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

May 3, 2012 By 3 Comments

The Book Cover

Title: Wither
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Pages: 384
★★★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years–leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement; her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next; and Rhine has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

Together with one of Linden’s servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Review:

I received this book a while ago as an ARC directly from the publishing company. I was incredibly excited to add another dystopian to my library and I just loved the cover. (For some reason the girl on the cover kind of reminds me of Mandy Moore — am I the only one that thinks this?)

It took me a while to get to this novel, but I finally decided to make some room and start it. I had been in a reading slump for months and I needed something that would really get me going again; diving back into the pages that I love. Unfortunately, I kind of wish I hadn’t. Looking at the pretty cover is good enough. Really.

Honestly, this book annoys me along the same kind of lines as Twilight. For some reason, it is uber popular. Just look at the reviews on Amazon. Many have read Wither and many like it. But, I find the plot full of holes, boring in many parts, creepy (in a sexually skeevy kind of way), and believe that it does a fabulous job of spreading the wrong message to our youth.

I am going to be really frank — I think this is a horrible novel. In fact, I am surprised that I finished it at all. On one hand you have a story with a lot of potential and on the other, it’s not well-written. Very much like a train wreck, I can’t stop watching/reading.

I am not sure I would completely consider this a dystopian novel. It’s almost kind of a fantasy, wanna-be dystopian. For the most part, the world is going on as normal. Wanting to cure cancer, and doing so, scientists created a bigger problem. Genetically, women were unable to live past 20, and men 25. I really liked the idea that humanity was as ticking time bomb due to overzealous scientists. It even makes sense to me that in order to continue on the human race, babies must be made at an earlier age. But why the kidnapping and rape? Why couldn’t the willing, make the conscious decision to have a baby early and do so through IVF?

This brings me to my first issue. Realistically women live longer then men. But how is this supposed genetic mutation killing women at 20, and men at exactly 25? Why are women the weaker of the sexes? Then, there is this whole society of rich men who kidnap women and force them into polygamous marriages at an incredibly early age — for what purpose? Well to have babies and provide good eye candy, of course!

Duh.

These selected child-brides, who are (suspiciously) only beautiful — are kidnapped against their will and drugged. Then, though it doesn’t exactly say– the fat, ugly, or disabled are killed in the back of the van. Based on how superficial the novel is, I am going to make a wild guess as to why the women were killed rather then returned to their homes. Many girls kidnapped from their loved ones, and only 3 selected to be forced into marriage and baby making. 3!

*Grumbles*

Whatever.

Lindon, a rich young man of approximately 21, is a clueless man-kid who does what his doctor Daddy says. That includes marrying multiple girls at once, having his way with them, spreading his seed — and all this even though he’s in love with a dead girl. Why he doesn’t question the morality of what is going on, I’ll never know. But he is happy to think with his penis consumate his marriages. That’s all that matters; that he is doing his part in extending the human race!

What is entirely gross and skeevy about the entire book (written for teenagers, might I add) is that one of the wives is barely 13 years old when she loses her virginity to her 21 year old husband and gets pregnant. And, you know, that’s acceptable — I guess? Gross.

But I guess we’re not supposed to have an issue with the sex with minors and banishing them to their bedrooms, only to come out and look pretty because — well, the wives are well taken care of. They get whatever they want, whenever they want, because without their wombs — the human race will die off!!! Oh noes! What a great excuse for all skeevy sex offenders. “Sorry, child — but you’re mine now or the world as we know it will end!”

Way to glorify polygamy, child rape, and sex trafficking, and get rich off it, DeStefano. *Claps* Brraaa-vo. (Anyone else grossed out that this type of book was published by popular Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers?) Is this the kind of message we want our young readers to read? Seriously?

On top of yuckies I felt while reading this book, DeStefano showcased her amazing logic and research skills and made Florida have 4 seasons!!! Oh Em Gee! You see, as a native Floridian, I have always wanted 4 seasons. Unlike the rest of the world, we just have two, wet and dry. Or you could just call it hurricane season and drout season. If you want to be technical, we do have four seasons, but they aren’t as eventful as the rest of the world. Florida is hot and humid with a lot of rain and a few days of cold. But, according to DeStefano, our trees had leaves that turned multiple colors before they fell to the ground. Suddenly, I feel really jipped because in MY Florida (the real one), most leaves just turn brown and die. So boring and not at all remotely beautiful.

Our hurricane season is usually during the warmer months — June to November. (Yes, Florida is pretty warm all the way through November.) But in this novel, one minute there is a rainless hurricane and another it is snowing blizzards. Not only does that not even make sense, but Florida does not have snow.

Okay, okay — you just went and researched snow in FL. Sure, we’ve had “snow” — ice that falls from the sky. But no way in heck would anything constitute being called a blizzard, or trekking through inches. It is too humid in Florida, and Florida is physically unable to have that sort of snowfall. Some readers may argue that this is a dystopian novel so anything could happen — but I am going to stop you there. The whole premise of the novel was built around the fact that scientists altered genetics. There wasn’t some huge chemical warfare, bombs, or disease. It was science altering genetics to cure cancer. Last time I checked that doesn’t suddenly cause complete climate changes.

For some reason the whole Florida thing REALLY bugged me. I mean everyone knows Florida to be tropical and I am pretty sure people, for the most part, know that Florida is not known for snow. Who was the fact-checker and how on Earth was this not caught prior to publication? SOMEONE must have a brain, right? I really love Simon & Schuster so I am going to forgive them, this one time, for publishing this.. thing. I really don’t know what you’d call it, but its not literature.

But, anyway — that is just my opinion. For some unknown reason many people like it (or they just don’t know any better..) So give it a try for yourself, if you care.  But, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

You have been warned.

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Filed Under: 2 Stars, Authors, Books, Lauren DeStefano, Ratings, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Teaser Tuesday: January First by Michael Schofield

May 1, 2012 By 3 Comments

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page * BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

January First: A Child’s Descent into Madness and Her Father’s Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield (ISBN: 978-0307719089) — to be released August 7th 2012

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

A brilliant and harrowingly honest memoir, January First is the extraordinary story of a father’s fight to save his child from an extremely severe case of mental illness in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Teaser:

What hurts so much is that I know Susan is right. And that is why I hate her so much right now. Janni was having the time of her life, happier than I can remember her being in years. I wanted her to find happiness, but not in a psych ward.

 

Review coming in the next few days!

Filed Under: General, Memes, Teaser Tuesday Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Teaser Tuesday: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

April 24, 2012 By 5 Comments

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page * BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (ISBN: 978-1442409064)

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years–leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement; her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next; and Rhine has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

Together with one of Linden’s servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Teaser:

“I can’t do this,” I say, catching my breath. But isn’t the brief sprint that’s winded me. My chest is tightening. My vision blurs around the edges. “I Hate it here. I hate everything about this place. I —” My voice breaks.

Filed Under: General, Memes, Teaser Tuesday Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: My Monster Burrufu by Alberto Corral

December 15, 2011 By 3 Comments

Title: My Monster Burrufu
Author: Alberto Corral
Illustrator: Alessandra Sorrentino
Pages: 102
★★★★★

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com) Seven-year-old Olivia has just moved to a new house — the same house where a lonely monster named Burrufu lives hidden in a secret attic. One night, unable to resist the smell of delicious cookies, Burrufu sneaks out and is discovered by Olivia. The two soon learn that you can find friendship in the most unexpected places. ‘My Monster Burrufu’ is a story of overcoming fear, a curse, and a most unusual monster who learns from a little girl how to trust his heart.

Review: I found My Monster Burrufu to be a cute short story of a little girl, who in a way, reminds me a bit of my Carli. She is outgoing and friendly and has a ton of energy. But most importantly, she pays no attention to society standards of “normal” and will befriend just about anyone who needs a friend.

Burrufu is a monster that is used to being an outcast and so therefore hides in the attic, writing novels to pass the time. He hates rejection and more than that, he hates the idea that he scares people. So when Olivia finds him, he doesn’t really know how to react. Naturally, defensive. He didn’t want to be hurt!

Although the book was a bit simplistic in writing, it definitely has a great message and would make a good read aloud. The book says that it is good for ages 9 and up, but I think it is more appropriate for ages 6-9. If you’re a teacher or a parent looking for a good read aloud; a book during quiet time, or bed time, then I do recommend My Monster Burrufu. It’ll open the lines of communication and help children learn about the importance of tolerance and acceptance.

Filed Under: 3.5 Stars, Books, Children, Ratings, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Teaser Tuesday: The Death Cure by James Dashner

October 25, 2011 By 21 Comments

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page * BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

The Death Cure by James Dashner (ISBN: 978-0385738774)

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

Thomas knows that Wicked can’t be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they’ve collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It’s up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.
What Wicked doesn’t know is that something’s happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can’t believe a word of what Wicked says.
The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine.
Will anyone survive the Death Cure?

Teaser:

“How many of you are there?” Thomas asked her. “Are there more coming?” She didn’t respond at first, but Minho leaned forward until his gun was actually touching her cheek.

Filed Under: General, Memes, Teaser Tuesday Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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