Review: Chocolate

Chocolate : A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light 

by Mort Rosenblum 

This is the sort of book that is both satisfying and unsatisfying at the same time. Besides leaving you hungry, it touches on a lot of topics (history, agriculture, botany, cooking, manufacturing, marketing)and covers several continents. Because the author tackles so much, the text often feels fleeting. But I was excited to discover many new leads in reading and eating. A great place to start on "the chocolate trail," but may not satisfy the experienced foodie or the in-depth historian. (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

I love this quote which could apply to so many things in life:

"But as I listened to my various mentors argue away the afternoon, I finally caught on to the basic point of it all. With chocolate, there are no straight answers. There are only strongly held opinions."

Review: Skipping Christmas

Skipping Christmas

by John Grisham

I wanted to like this story, but eh. I didn't. Loved the first half of the book until the plot-pivoting phone call. The main characters plan on skipping Christmas for one year to give themselves a break from all the stress and the debt. Except, they don't skip it, and they still get stressed out and spend money. I guess the moral of this light-hearted story is... if you're going to be stressed and broke, better to do it together with your neighbors than alone during the holidays. Plenty of people will like this story's finale, but an introvert like me has a hard time warming up to it. (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

Review: 500 Bento Lunches

500 Bento Lunches: 500 Unique Recipes for Brillant Bento 
by Korero Books

This was a lovely book to look at. Small but densely packed with photos, recipes, and directions. The only reason I got rid of my copy is because of the guilt I had for owning such a beautiful cookbook but being too lazy to use it! (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

Review: Unschooling Rules

Unschooling Rules: 55 Ways to Unlearn What We Know About Schools and Rediscover Education
by Clark Aldrich

This book is really a well-written list of ideas about what is wrong with our current "education-industrial" model, not an exhaustive argument about the benefits of unschooling. It helps to be familiar with the concept of unschooling. The author does not waste any time over-explaining the movement or it's history. This book would be great for school boards and administrators to use for inspiration and brainstorming.

It's a quick read as each "rule" or observation takes no more than 3 pages and is written to lead right into the next one. In the back is a very useful index with a section each for school administrators, parents, or policy makers. I'm a staff member at a small college and a new parent, and this brief book gave me new perspectives from both angles. I enjoyed it enough that it's jumped from my library list to my PBS wishlist. (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

Review: One Thousand White Women

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd 

by Jim Fergus

A so-so, alternative-history book. Three things fell flat for me... 1) The way the accents (Irish and Southern) were written made me gloss over their dialogue. 2) Too many characters to fully flesh out any one woman. 3) The low points in this story's plot (torture, rape, battle, etc.) far outweigh any moments of tenderness or happiness. With that said, I did find it good enough to add Fergus' other fiction, The Wild Girl, to my TBR pile. (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSoup.com.)

Review: Walking the Rez Road

Walking the Rez Road

by Jim Northrup

First-hand accounts of contemporary life (post-Vietnam) on a Native Indian reservation through a mix of poetry and short story. I completely enjoyed how Northrup just goes for it in his poetry. (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

My favorite poem includes these lines...

Someone says we begin to die
the minute we're born.
Death is a part of life.
Who knows why the Creator
thins the herd.
Another old saying says
we must all be prepared
to give up those we love
or die first.
Take time to mourn.

Review: Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: A PracticalGuide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in YourRelationships

by John Gray

I read this book of curiosity. It's not that this book is wrong; it's impractical. People do exhibit the behaviors described in this book, but not because they are one sex or the other. The theories I can tolerate; the sweeping generalizations, I cannot. (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

It's been a long time since I read this book, and the older I get, the more I appreciate it. In this story, it's the adults that make the real trouble and cover up their prejudices with hypocrisy ranging from white-lies to night-time terrorism. Even I found myself asking, ‘Why do grown-ups complicate things so much?' Between the simple pace, the Southern small-town setting, and the Scout's one-person narrative, I really slowed down to enjoy it this time around. And it's not the book that's changed; it's me. (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

One of many excellent quotes from the book: 

"Dill was off again. Beautiful things floated around in his dreamy head. He could read two books to my one, but he preferred the magic of his own inventions."

Review: Teaching Montessori in the Home

Teaching Montessori in the Home
by Elizabeth G. Hainstock

Too simple. It would be better had the chapter about "Making your home Montessori equipment" been at the front of the book, and each toy had a page number to refer to its step-by-step exercise. I hope the newer editions are better than this 1968 printing. Not entirely worthless; it's just that thre are plenty of better Montessori books. (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

Review(s): Bad Cat & Bad Dog

Bad Cat: 244 Not-So-Pretty Kitties and Cats Gone Bad by Jim Edgar

Not much to read in this book, but it is wicked fun! I enjoyed this more than Bad Dog because cats, for some reason, have a natural flair for posing.(Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

Bad Dog : 278 Outspoken, Indecent, and Overdressed Dogs
by Harry Prichett, Rob Battles, and R.D. Rosen

I liked this book, but not as much as Bad Cat. The dogs' outfits are so embarrassing, it's painful. (Originally posted at PaperBackSwap.com.)

Review: The Birchbark House

The Birchbark House

by Louise Erdrich

Having never read either series, I coincidentally read this book just after finishing the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. I loved it - hands down. Louise Erdrich's series is a wonderful blend of realism and fantasy that weaves day-to-day details of Ojibwa life with supernatural/spiritual flourishes. Also to the author's credit, this and the following two books, The Year of the Porcupine and The Game of Silence, are not without sadness. It would make a good project to read Wilder's Little House on the Prairie in comparison to Erdrich's The Birchbark House. Both fictional stories take place in the late 19th century and are written from a young girl's point-of-view. Both stories take place during the time of pressuring Indians out of their homeland to move onto reservations. This tense theme lurks in the background without overshadowing each simple, heartfelt story. I cannot wait to find out if there will be a fourth book! (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

Review: Dexter in the Dark

Dexter in the Dark (Dexter, Bk 3) 

by Jeff Lindsay

I devoured this book in two days! I found myself thinking about the tension during work and couldn't wait to get back to it. Felt that the ending of this story was a bit of a let-down, but I forgive that considering how thoroughly I enjoyed the build-up. My favorite so far in the Dexter series. (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

Review: Basic Montessori

Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-Fives
by David Gettman

Picked this up from the local library in order to introduce myself to Maria Montessori's methods. Definetly a dry read, no getting around that fact. It served as a fine, if not excellent, introduction to Montessori. I found it much more useful as a d.i.y. guide to make the toys, and it did lead me to rearrange the living room to better accommodate my toddler. (Originally posted as SquareSpot at PaperBackSwap.com.)

Quote: Silence

"We can't underestimate the value of silence. We need to create ourselves, need to spend time alone. If you don't, you risk not knowing yourself and not realizing your dreams."

- Jewel quoted by Buffy Childerhose from From Lilith to Lilith Fair : The Authorized Story

Review: Under a Flaming Sky

Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894

by Daniel James Brown

Ditto what the previous reviewer said, "This book is not for the faint of heart." The book's narrative follows people fleeing - successfully and unsuccessfully - from a firestorm that raged across Northern Minnesota. I was "name-dropping" this one to my fellow Minnesotans weeks after I read it. Really got my adrenaline pumping. (Originally posted as SquareSpot on PaperBackSwap.com.)

Review: I Thought My Father Was God

I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project
Edited by Paul Auster

One night, I started to read this thinking it would be good 'bedtime material.' Each micro-memoir was like a cliffhanger that kept me turning pages. I ended up devouring half the book that first night. My pace slowed down as I came upon the darker stories in the War, Love, and Death chapters. Even the introduction is an interesting backstory about how the National Story Project started on National Public Radio. The 179 stories in this book are organized into thematic chapters (Animals, Objects, Families, Slapstick, and so on...) which serves 'mood-reading' very nicely. Very enjoyable book that keeps me coming back. (Originally posted as SquareSpot at PaperBackSwap.com.)