Hope Crossing - Cindy Woodsmall

Cara is being stalked. She has been for years, so when her stalker threatens to take her child, she knows it's time to do something drastic. In desperation she Uses her mothers old journal and follows a hidden clue that lands her in an Amish community. Things get off to a bad start, and she fears she is worse off than she was leaving her cramped apartment in NYC. But when one man surprisingly shows her grace, her future begins to look a little brighter. It's a long road, and one that's not easy, but soon Cara begins to find contentment. Her daughter is happy and she is making friends... Things are finally bringing to look up! As you follow Cara on her journey, you will meet all her friends and become immersed in their lives as well. Get to know Deborah and Ada, their shared heartaches and their triumphs. See Grey through his grief and into happiness. Meet Sylvia with all her determination and Aaron, the man once lost who is now found. And so many more. In a story that tells stories filled with headaches, grief, rejection and loss. You will also find love, happiness, acceptance and hope. I really enjoyed this book! I eagerly awaited my time in the evening when I could sit down and read. I have always enjoyed Cindy Woodsmall, and this was no exception. I also loved that all three books were bound into one large book, just made the adventure all the more exciting. Woodsmall did a great job with character development. Not only were they diverse in person, they all had such unique stories. I loved seeing how she weaved all their stories together. I love how, while her books are always feel good and light hearted, she deals with real issues. The cast of characters is always so varied and intriguing. Great book, love adding it to my growing Woodsmall collection. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Sketch! France Belleville- Van Stone

Get your drawing choice drawing pad, select your favorite drawing implement, and get cozy with this inspirational drawing diary of sorts. Go on a journey with an untrained artist, as she sketches her way into the category of accomplished artist. Learn how she began, what tools she uses, how to go digital and finding the time to draw. Flip through these pages and feel as if you are sitting down with the artist having an exclusive conversation. Get a peek at her sketches, the finished and left un-done. You'll even go on an alphabetical adventure of inspired ideas for your next sketch. So sit down, and sketch! Very enjoyable book! I was pleased right away by the publishing of this book. The pages are supple, but pliable at the same time. The creative cut and layout are very esthetically pleasing. And the book it's self is a fun quick read. I wouldn't recommend this as a guide or how-to type book. But more of an artists journey and discoveries as she learned to draw. But I would recommend it as inspirational.just seeing her start to finish, and utilizing a lot of her great and simple tips. Fun book for any sketchers collection.

A Kitchen in France

Follow Mimi Thorisson around on her farm with her large family as she shows you in beautiful full color, the process of farm fresh to table ready. Read her experiences and expertise as you prepare some of her delightful meals. Get cozy, and bring your appetite, because this French farmhouse table is set to impress. Your taste buds won't be disappointed when they discover the food is as good as it looks. Sink your teeth into a tomato tart, duck confit parmentier, Chou farçi or harvest soup. And don't forget to compliment it with a glass of comforting red. When you decide it's time to move onto the coffee, be sure to bring out the toulousaine violet meringues, galette pèrougienne or crêpes with salted-butter caramel. Your belly full, sweet tooth satisfied, this is sure to be a visual, intellectual and tangible feast for all ! This book is wonderful. So many great recipes to try. So very French. And more than the recipes, I loved how the photography transported me into her world. And her stories gave character to the foods she prepared. It made me long for a life like hers. (The farmhouse, fresh food, cozy cooking kind). This is a great book for foodies and French lovers alike. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Brave Genius

It's 1940 France. Right In the middle of WWII. Two men, leading entirely different lives become entwined, forming an unexpected friendship. Both will go on to earn a Nobel Prize in their line of work. And both will go on to lead extraordinary lives.

This is a pretty hefty book, starting with it's length. But also due to it's content. I found the war history to be engaging, as I usually do. Especially reading a out it from a new perspective. Camus I alreAdy knew through His literature , but Monod was new to me. A lot of this book was enjoyable, most all of it was interesting, but there were a lot of areas I felt dragged on or were disjointed. I am sure it's hard to make a book connect the dots when you are working with materials gathered over the years and from different resources, but I wish it would have had better flow at times. But overall, I think there was a lot of great and worthy content.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

DIY type

Brighten your desk, personalize your parties, monogram your wardrobe and decorate your home; all with famous chalkboard artist- Dana Tanamachi's creative flare! Get acquainted with her through a little bit of her background story. Then browse a few pages of her designs and ideas, including a supplies list! And then test your creative hand by using some of her very own stencils. With letter stencils in large and small sizes, you are bound to find a project worthy of lettering! While I appreciate Tanamachis work in general, I wasn't very impressed with this book. Her chalkboard art is fun, elegant and whimsical. This book however doesn't display much of that. There are a few pages of some basic lettering ideas, and then the rest of the book is literally two sets of stencils. Which I believe I will use, as I always find use for anything crafty. But the lettering is nothing fancy, I'd call it basic. I think if you buy this book looking for something really fun and creative, you may not find it here, but if you are only needing a pack of stencils, then this book may be what you want. The book however is, before the stencils, very cute a creatively done. i received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Underground Girls of Kabul

Meet Azita, wife, politician and mom who's fourth daughter is a bacha posh. ("Dressed like boy") Why is she dressing her daughter like a son? And is she the only one doing so in Afghanistan? That's what Jenny Nordberg is determined to find out. But the lips of the Afghani people are tight lipped with foreigners about their secret customs. But Nordberg is able to find more clues to her puzzle when shadowing a much respected Dr. Fareiba at her family clinic. Her she gets a behind the scenes look into what really happens when a mother brings a daughter verses a son into the world. And it's unlike any other place in the world, it is said Afghanistan is the most dangerous place to be a woman. Here at the clinic men wait outside while woman bring life into this world, the babies gender determining if they will go home in honor or disgrace. Or in reality, if they will go home at all, and estimated 50 women per day in Afghanistan die daily due to childbirth complications. And then meet the others of this book. There's Zahara, who after being brought up as a boy is now full of anger, worrying and vexing her mother with the idea she will get a sex change. And then what about Shukria, who knew nothing about the conceiving of babies until a few weeks before her wedding, at twenty years old, because she too was not raised as her true gender. What about Nader? She doesn't want to be a woman after her thirty years of masquerading as a boy, because she enjoys all the freedoms she has now that a woman, dressed as a woman could not have. (Just to name a few) It's a culture steeped in age old traditions that even most the country men/woman don't necessarily believe in, but will shrug their shoulders as if to say, it is what it is... Driven to do what's respectable by their families, and having little choice being born female, you'll find these underground girls of Kabul and the stories that make them. Really fascinating read! I am always excited to find out about other cultures, and especially if the author can draw me into their world with the ease of a good story teller. And that I found here. Not only was the content interesting, if not sad at some points, Norberg did a great job pulling me in. I loved all the differnt stories and applaud her not only breaking an uncovered story, but doing her research, providing facts and sayng nothing that held any sort of bias or ignorance towards cultures so juxtaposed to our own.

940 Saturdays

Did you know that from birth to 18 years of age there are 940 Saturdays?  Which is (obviously) the premise for this book. When you open the book you will see pages laid out in a journal style format.  Every page in this book in fact is created just for recording great Saturdays with your family. And tucked neatly into an envelope found at the back of the book is a tiny booklet full of ideas on how to spend Saturdays with your children.  Each activity is dissected into age categories, so as to best interest everyone in the party. And you will find all of this nestled in between a sturdy puff binding. 
The book is much larger than I had imagined, which will make recording information much easier, however, it lacks a lot in the creativity department. While the outside is eye pleasing, the journal pages could have been printed on a higher quality paper, as this will be used for a keepsake. The activity book as well would have looked nice in color. For any parent wAnting to record their children, this will be a useful book, but one I'd suggest they kept on the coffee table, as it's definetly not small enough to go along in their purse like a lot of other journals of this nature are.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Are you looking to create the next Spider-Man?
Do you want to start cashing in on your comic writing skills, but don't know how to "get in"?
Or maybe you're just curious about what exactly has to happen to create these larger-than-life characters of ink-world legend.

Enter the world of award-winning comic writer and veteran, Brian Michael Bendis, who, with a grandfatherly candor, peels back the pages of the esoteric "factories of 'gods'" and offers plenty of inside-industry insight, tips, and caveats for aspiring writers.

This tell-all book, "Words for Pictures", almost reads like a graphic novel. The layout engages the creative/artistic mind, with plenty of vibrant comic excerpts and pictorial examples on robust, semi-glossed pages. While a few spots were a little on the dry side for me (I'm not one of the brave souls trying to make it in the comic industry), overall, I found it fascinating to observe how it all ties together behind the scenes.

True to the title, this is not intended to delve into the business or technique of illustration. While it may briefly, and indirectly, reveal some aspects of the illustrators job, it does not make any great effort to go into detail.

This is not a step-by-step how-to book. This is a candid and practical look behind the scenes of the comic story-writing business, chock-full of tasty morsels of wisdom that you'll be chewing on until adamantium gets rust spots.