Brain Fitness by Professor Richard Restak M.D.

Optimizing Brain Fitness by Professor Richard Restak M.D. DVD & Paperback book 12 lectures 29 minutes per lecture Publisher: The Great Courses

Source: Bought through Great Courses for $20.00.

Book Description, Modified from Great Courses Website:
Your brain is constantly changing through a process known as brain plasticity. While it was traditionally thought that our brains were fully formed by adulthood, the truth is that our life experiences continually shape and mold our brains in fascinating ways. You can improve your brain in a range of areas, including memory; attention and focus; learning and creativity; and sensory acuity and fine motor skills.

Dr. Restak includes exercises that will enhance and improve your brain's essential functions, like:

-In one minute, name as many animals as you can without repeating them. You'll have to use your working memory to mentally eliminate animals you've already named. A desirable score is between 17 and 20 animals.

-Close your eyes and envision the room around you, and then open them and check for accuracy. Repeat this memory-recall exercise and pay closer attention to smaller details, such as the number of magazines on a table.


My Review:
Optimizing Brain Fitness is a set of lectures about your brain which included exercises and games to improve your brain function. The DVD set came with a course book that covered some of the highlights of each lecture. The professor was very focused on what he was saying, so he often didn't follow the director's cues about the camera changing. This was distracting. The visual components added little to nothing to the lecture, so it might actually be easier to follow these lectures as audio only.

In the first few lectures, I often thought, "okay, that statement obviously meant something significant to you, but it means nothing to me." It was technical, but the problem was more like he was leaving out connecting information which he assumed we knew. The course book didn't fill in the blanks. This got better as the lectures went on, though, and the last three lectures were pretty good in terms of being understandable and applicable.

I had hoped to learn about the research on brain plasticity and practical, everyday things to help improve my brain. He didn't usually explain the specific research studies behind what he was teaching. He did have some practical exercises, like knitting or cooking, but many of the exercises were basically things you find in brain-puzzler books. I'd rather spend my time cooking than doing puzzles that have no direct real-world application, so I was disappointed there weren't more "real life" workout examples. There was some good material in these lectures, but it could have been so much better.


If you've seen this DVD, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion in the comments.

Pompeii: Daily Life in an Ancient Roman City by Steven L. Tuck

Pompeii: Daily Life in an Ancient Roman City by Professor Steven L. Tuck, Ph.D. DVD & Paperback book 24 lectures 29 minutes per lecture Publisher: The Great Courses

Source: Bought through the publisher catalog. (The DVD format can get as low as $59.95 when on sale.)

DVD Description, Modified from Website:
While the account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 is compelling, Pompeii holds a much more intriguing story for historians: a tale of everyday 1st-century life, flash-frozen in time.

In the opening lectures, you'll consider the geology and geography of this region and learn about the area's pre-Roman settlers. Next, you'll hear how the city was rediscovered in the 1700s, and examine the cutting-edge excavation techniques used to uncover the city's buried treasures. Then Professor Tuck reconstructs a typical day of Pompeian residents, including:

-Follow Chryseis, a slave girl, as she accompanies her mistress to the public baths.
-Trace the steps of two city officials as they survey major civic structures and carry out their duties in local government.
-Attend the elaborate funeral procession of the exalted priestess Eumachia.
-Visit a fullonica—the ancient equivalent of a dry-cleaner—and meet the owner, a freed slave named Stephanus.
-Witness the rituals experienced by a young bride on the night before her wedding.

You'll gain remarkable insights into agriculture, commerce, civic planning, entertainment, local government, private life, and other aspects of the Pompeian experience. As you visit cliff-top villas, local businesses, civic buildings, and private homes, you'll examine the intriguing clues these structures hold about the lives of everyday individuals. Finally, you'll relive the cataclysmic eruption of 79 through computer reconstructions, images, and maps that trace the impact of Vesuvius on the surrounding communities.

To bring these structures to life, Professor Tuck shares exclusive photos he's taken of the surviving ruins and art, later artists' renditions of Pompeian life, videos, and remarkable computer reconstructions of these ancient structures.


My Review:
Pompeii: Daily Life in an Ancient Roman City is a set of DVD lectures on daily Roman life and Pompeii throughout its history. The DVD set came with a course book that summarized and covered the highlights of each lecture. The professor enjoys talking about Pompeii. He clearly conveyed the information and covered a lot of information without leaving me feeling overwhelmed.

I visited Pompeii and Herculaneum during one day back in 1997. It was an awesome experience, but I would have liked more time to simply "be" in the houses and streets and really look at everything. I felt like I was missing the significance of much of what I was looking at. I've watched documentaries and read books on the cities in an effort to capture what I was missing that day, but only this lecture series had everything I've been looking for. This is great resource for anyone going to visit the city (or who wish they could) or who are simply interested in the details of everyday Roman life.

As we get the history of the city, we visit various parts of the city through photographs and short videos. The professor pointed out the significance of what we're seeing and what it tells us about the people who lived there. He did a great job of explaining what information he used to come to various conclusions. I loved that he wasn't just "telling stories" to fill in blanks in knowledge but was using valid sources to help us understand what we really do know about what we're seeing and what life was like. I'd highly recommend this DVD lecture series.


If you've seen this lecture series, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion in the comments.

Daily Painting by Carol Marine

Daily Painting by Carol Marine ISBN-13: 9780770435332 Trade Paperback: 192 pages Publisher: Watson-Guptill Released: November 4, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Blogging for Books.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Jump-start artistic creativity, experimentation and growth, and increase sales--for artists of all levels, from novices to professionals. Author Carol Marine was suffering from painter's block--until she discovered "daily painting." The idea is simple: do art (usually small) often and post it online. Marine reveals the tips and tricks that helped her and other daily painters pick up the paintbrush and start creating beautiful, bountiful, marketable work.


My Review:
Daily Painting is a book about painting, though much of it applied to any art medium. The author paints mainly in oil, but watercolor and acrylic paintings and even an ink drawing are used in the illustrations.

I was already painting small and often when I picked up this book since I've found this a great way to learn how to paint. I still found this book encouraging and useful. She suggested working in 6" by 6" panels (or similar small size) and setting aside a regular time to paint--daily, weekly, whatever--so you can get regular practice.

She described what daily painting is, why you should do it, and the materials and set-up she uses (mainly oils to paint still life, but she also suggested other topics to paint). She then taught the basics of value, color mixing, proportion, and composition. She described how she works--a "loose" style in oils. Then she moved on to advice from different artists in dealing with artistic block. She wrapped up the book by describing how to photograph your work to post it online and how to sell your work online. She gave enough detail for all but the most novice computer users.

I was left wondering how one ships a painting in the mail--it's assumed we will, but it's not described. Perhaps there are no special considerations so she didn't feel the need to include it. Otherwise, she did a good job of describing daily painting and the process of photographing and selling art online.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Monstrously Funny Cartons by Christopher Hart

Monstrously Funny Cartons by Christopher Hart ISBN-13: 978-0823007165 Paperback: 160 pages Publisher: Watson-Guptill Released: October 14, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Learn to draw the silliest and scariest monsters, zombies, vampires, witches, mummies, and other creepy cartoon favorites. Cartooning master Christopher Hart teaches aspiring artists all the drawing tips and tricks they need to create laugh-out-loud renditions of their favorite monsters and scary creatures.

This cartooning guide shows readers how to capture the lighter side of these creepy creatures by combining them with Hart's incredibly popular cartoon drawing style. Taking readers step-by-step through each monster type, Hart demonstrates how to draw everything from terrifyingly silly heads to wacky comic strip-like scenes of monstrous menace.


My Review:
Monstrously Funny Cartons is a step-by-step drawing guide for making funny monster cartoons. Much of the text is spent making jokes, so the main learning is done by the reader copying the drawing steps to replicate Hart's drawings. Once you've drawn his cartoons enough, the theory seems to be that you'll be able to start modifying them to make your own funny monsters. His target audience appears to be teens (and adults) who have some basic drawing experience but are content to learn by imitation.

He covered zombies (25 pages), vampires (37 pages), monsters that go bump (11 pages), cartoon aliens (9 pages), mummies (17 pages), legendary monsters (7 pages), weird & bizarre (17 pages), and scenes/backgrounds (19 pages). So nearly half the book is on zombies and vampires. In this book, he likes to make monsters "funny" by exaggerating features, so he gives hints and shows how to do this.

The text was mainly jokes, but he did have some teaching text. It ranged from "His ears are created with a combination of straight and curved lines" (which is obvious from the drawing) to "Push up the lower eyelids for a vengeful expression" (pages 42-42). He often didn't explain why you should make the feature that way, so you're left to guess if it's whim (and can be modified) or if there's an important, underlying reason to it.

I can see teens having a great deal of fun with this book and quickly creating a range of monsters of their own. I really like to know the "whys" before doing something and had expected to quickly be making original cartoons, and this book didn't really leave me feeling confident. I did enjoy making some cartoon aliens, though, as that section gave a bit more detail on coming up with your own designs.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Chaucer's Tale by Paul Strohm

Chaucer's Tale: 1386 and the Road to Canterbury by Paul Strohm ISBN-13: 9780670026432 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Viking Adult Released: November 13, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
A lively microbiography of Chaucer that tells the story of the tumultuous year that led to the creation of The Canterbury Tales.

In 1386, the middle-aged Chaucer was living in London, working as a mid-level bureaucrat and sometime poet. Chaucer was swept up in a series of events that left him jobless, a widower, and living isolated in the countryside of Kent without the close circle of friends with whom he had shared his poetry. At the loneliest time of his life, Chaucer made the revolutionary decision to write for a national audience, for posterity, and for fame.

Brought expertly to life by Paul Strohm, this is the eye-opening story of the birth one of the most celebrated literary creations of the English language.


My Review:
Chaucer's Tale is a biography about Chaucer with a focus on the events that led to his decision to write The Canterbury Tales. Not a lot of personal details are know about Chaucer. The author took what the records do say about him and then gave details about what life was like for a person in that position. He also described the politics that influenced Chaucer's life.

For example, we're told details about what life was like in London and how noisy and poorly-lighted his London gatehouse apartment would have been. We're told what the controller of the London wool customs did and what serving on a parliament would have been like so we get an idea of what his jobs were like. We're told what the literary scene was like--how poetry was usually written in certain ways and how it was read to a small audience rather than read in written form.

When the politics went bad, Chaucer lost his support structure and had to re-think his goals. He had to change his audience and writing style, which tapped into the social and technical changes that eventually brought him to fame.

The book was a quick, easy read. As I was more interested in the historical background of Chaucer's life than the man himself, I thoroughly enjoyed the details about the time period and the influences that prompted the creation of The Canterbury Tales. If you're looking for a lot of personal details about the man or a detailed critique of his writings, this may not be the book you're looking for.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

The Baby Care Book by Dr. Friedman, Dr. Saunders

The Baby Care Book: A Complete Guide from Birth to 12 Months Old by Dr. Jeremy Friedman Dr. Norman Saunders ISBN-13: 9780778801603 Paperback: 448 pages Publisher: Robert Rose Released: September 14th 2007

Source: Borrowed from library.

Book Description from Goodreads:
The Baby Care Book is a clear, thoughtful and objective guide that helps parents raise a newborn. The subject of parenting is often confusing. The great value of this book is that it empowers parents with knowledge and allows them to make personal choices for each circumstance and situation.

Both authors are leading experts from the world-renowned Hospital for Sick Children. The Baby Care Book covers an extensive range of topics in clear, easy-to-understand language. Specially commissioned "real life" photographs throughout complement the text, providing additional instructions and information.

The chapters include: Getting Ready to Have Your Baby Your Baby's First Few Days Feeding Your Baby Your Baby's First Month Helping Your Baby to Sleep Your Baby's Months 2 and 3 Playing with Your Baby Your Baby's Months 4 to 6 Safety and Childproofing Your Baby's Months 7 to 12.


My Review:
The Baby Care Book is a book on baby care from prenatal to 12 months old. My my brother and his wife want to start their family. They asked my mom to be there when a baby is born, so she wanted to read up on the latest baby care information to make sure she remembered things correctly. I checked this book out of my library and gave it to her, and she gave me the following review of it:

"I was very impressed with this book. It covers everything you might have questions about and would be a good choice for first-time parents. It has good pictures--and many of them. It has a chart in the back for various illnesses and that chart directs you to the pages in the book that give more information. It's a good reference book for practical use. I recommended that [my brother and his wife] buy this book and read it."


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Moguls and Iron Men by James McCague

Moguls and Iron Men by James McCague Hardback: 394 pages Publisher: Harper & Row Pub Released: January 1, 1964

Source: Bought at a local book sale.

Book Description, Modified from Book Cover:
The construction of the first transcontinental railroad was a tremendous financial gamble and engineering marvel. This book tells the full story of the project from the earliest efforts of the brilliant engineer, Theodore Judah, to win private and government support for his dream, to the investigation of the Credit Mobilier after the track was laid in 1869, more than 10 years later. It describes how, after a Pacific Railroad bill was finally approved in 1862, the two rival companies, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific, drove toward each other battling terrain, weather, Indians, financial crises, and corruption.


My Review:
Moguls and Iron Men is a history about the building of the first transcontinental railroad. The author did a good job of showing the many factors that needed to come together to get the project started and how the building of the railroad changed the West. While an "engineering marvel," the author spent very little time and no real detail on the engineering feats. The focus was initially on the politics needed to get the project started and then on the race between the two railroads to lay their track faster.

Almost 50% of the book seemed to be about the politics and financial maneuvering needed to get the project started and completed. The rest was about what the press was saying about the railroad and using legends and reports to describe how the railroad was laid and what happened in and around these work camps. We are told how the work was done and the challenges (terrain, weather, Indians, financial) to getting the track laid. The story was a not a "heavy" read due to a lack of technical information and the focus on conflicts.

Overall, I'd been hoping for a more engineering and less financial history, but it was interesting and I learned a lot.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Make Comics Like The Pros by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente

Make Comics Like The Pros by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente ISBN-13: 9780385344630 Trade Paperback: 160 pages Publisher: Watson-Guptill Released: January 1, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Blogging for Books.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
A step-by-step guide to all aspects of comic book creation--from conceptualization to early drafts to marketing and promotion--written by two of the industry's most seasoned and successful pros.

Do you want to break into the comics industry? There are many creative roles available--writer, penciller, inker, colorist, letterer, editor, and more. Each creator serves a vital function in the production of sequential art at companies such as DC, Marvel, Image, and Valiant.

Veteran comics creators Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente take readers step by step through the comics creation process from idea to finished work, and along the way offer examples and insights from their own careers as well as their collaborators'. Not only that, but Pak and Van Lente also join forces with Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Colleen Coover to produce an original comic inside the book!


My Review:
Make Comics Like The Pros is a book on how to write (and otherwise create and sell) comic books and graphic novels. It's similar to Words for Pictures in that it talked about the importance of working well with all the other people involved in making a comic. This book gave more information on how to sell your own comic independently or through a publisher.

The authors talked about how to co-write comics and actually created a short comic, step-by-step, to show how it is done. For the art and editing parts, people that they have worked with described their job and gave some tips on how to do their job well. It focused more on comic books than graphic novels or webcomics, but a lot of the creation information also applied to those formats. I think this an excellent book for people wanting to understand how the comic industry currently works and to learn how to create a comic with others and sell it.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

I Stand Corrected by Eden Collinsworth

This is another review done as a member of Amazon Vine, so I'm posting a description of the book with a direct link to my review on Amazon.

I Stand Corrected by Eden Collinsworth ISBN-13: 9780385538695 Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Nan A. Talese Released: October 7, 2014

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
A fascinating fusion of memoir, manners, and cultural history from a successful businesswoman well versed in the unique challenges of working in contemporary China.

During the course of a career that has, quite literarily, moved her around the world, no country has fascinated Eden Collinsworth more than China, where she has borne witness to its profound transformation. In I Stand Corrected, Collinsworth tells the entertaining and insightful story of the year she spent living among the Chinese while writing a book featuring advice on such topics as personal hygiene, the rules of the handshake, and making sense of foreigners. Scrutinizing etiquette, she explains Chinese practices and reveals much about our own Western culture. At the same time, I Stand Corrected is a wry reflection on the peripatetic career she led while single-handedly raising her son.

My Review: Link to my review on Amazon.

Bend Your Brain by Marbles Brain Store

Bend Your Brain by Marbles Brain Store ISBN-13: 9780804140096 Trade Paperback: 200 pages Publisher: Three Rivers Press Released: August 19, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Blogging for Books.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
This first book from the team behind Marbles: The Brain Store offers puzzles and brain teasers to help enhance memory, build problem-solving skills, and reduce stress. They've designed these puzzles to keep your mind flexible and fit.

Arranged in five key brain categories—visual perception, word skills, critical thinking, coordination, and memory—Bend Your Brain offers a variety of puzzles ranging from mind-warming (easy) to mind-blowing (hard!):

· Connecting the dots? More like working your spatial-orientation skills.
· Identifying famous smiles? Flexing your visual memory.
· Taking a closer look at your keyboard? Coding, storing, and retrieving.
· Word-doku? Summoning cognitive abilities like appraisal, inference, impulse control, and evaluation.
· Word scrambles? Tapping your brain’s association areas.


My Review:
Bend Your Brain is a puzzle book containing 151 puzzles to give your brain a workout. The puzzles were divided into 5 sections, and each section was focused on exercising a certain part of the brain. The first page briefly described what was going to be exercised in that section, and there was some brain trivia mixed throughout the book. One part had you physically doing things, like standing in front of a mirror and using your body to make letters. Some puzzles were intended to be cut out of the book and folded. There were word finds, mazes, crosswords, connect the dots, and variations on many other puzzle types.

It's intended for people familiar with puzzle books. The instructions were often too vague if you'd never encountered the puzzle type before. For example, the instructions said that you should do their Word-doku puzzle like a Sudoku puzzle. I've never done a Sudoku puzzle so had no idea of what to do.

The book seemed aimed at the older set. Some logos that they assume you're familiar with were not recognized by four people about 40 years old but were recognized by a couple that was in their late 60s. You'll do best at these puzzles if you watch a lot of television and know a lot of trivia. Incidentally, they also use a lot of "common phrases" that someone who didn't grow up in America wouldn't know.

I don't normally do puzzle books, but a book I recently read was pushing "exercising your brain" so I gave this puzzle book a try. It didn't make me a fan of puzzle books, but I don't think I was the intended target audience. I found some of the puzzle very easy--even ones that were supposed to be hard. I found some easy puzzles difficult simply because I didn't know the required trivia or because I found the instructions too vague. Some puzzle were "just right" and very fun. People who love puzzle books might enjoy the variety of different puzzles found in this one.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Fluent Forever by Gabriel Wyner

Fluent Forever by Gabriel Wyner ISBN-13: 9780385348119 Trade Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Harmony Released: August 5, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
For those who’ve despaired of ever learning a foreign language, here, finally, is a book that will make the words stick.

The greatest challenge to learning a foreign language is the challenge of memory; there are just too many words and too many rules. For every new word we learn, we seem to forget two old ones, and as a result, fluency can seem out of reach. Fluent Forever tackles this challenge head-on. With empathy for the language-challenged and abundant humor, Wyner deconstructs the learning process, revealing how to build a foreign language in your mind from the ground up.

Starting with pronunciation, you’ll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds. You'll retrain your tongue to produce those sounds accurately, using tricks from opera singers and actors. Next, you'll begin to tackle words, and connect sounds and spellings to imagery, rather than translations, which will enable you to think in a foreign language. And with the help of sophisticated spaced-repetition techniques, you'll be able to memorize hundreds of words a month in minutes every day. Soon, you'll gain the ability to learn grammar and more difficult abstract words--without the tedious drills and exercises of language classes and grammar books.


My Review:
Fluent Forever is a book on how people make lasting memories and how to use that information to quickly learn (and remember) the language of your choice. Don't throw out those grammar books and pronunciation guides, but put them to better work by using the latest research into how we make memories and how to make them endure. The research information can be used to remember anything more easily.

The rest of the book discussed how to apply the research to learning languages quickly: remembering new words and even grammar rules without getting bored or confused, how to learn words with a local (rather than American) accent, and how to become fluent in that language.

The author has a nice sense of humor and such an enthusiasm for the subject that reading the book was a lot of fun as well as interesting. Also, he pointed out free online tools (or alternative offline methods) to help you learn your chosen language effectively and then teaches you how to use those tools. It was very easy for me to understand and follow his instructions.

I learned Spanish back in high school and periodically try to re-learn it. It's probably been a good refresher exercise, but I usually get bored with it and so leave off when I get busy with other things. I've started following his system to (re)learn Spanish, and it's a lot more fun than other methods I've tried. It's designed to be fun. I'm also remembering things a lot better, which encourages me to stick with it. If you're serious about wanting to learn a new language, I'd highly recommend this excellent resource.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Foundations in Comic Book Art by John Paul Lowe

Foundations in Comic Book Art by John Paul Lowe ISBN-13: 9780770436964 Paperback: 160 pages Publisher: Watson-Guptill Released: August 12, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Artists seeking a way to break into the exciting world of sequential art first need to master the tools, techniques, and habits used by their favorite pencillers, inkers, and digital artists for creating dynamic, exciting comic artwork.

In Foundations for Comic Book Art, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) enlists one of its top instructors, John Paul Lowe, to provide aspiring comic book makers with a thorough primer for creative comics. This book features must-know concepts like contour drawing, mastering perspective, using photo-references, and adding digital patterns. Examples from the works of SCAD faculty, alumni, and students are paired with Lowe’s easy-to-follow, step-by-step lessons and exercises for readers, demonstrating the vital processes all would-be sequential artists have to know.


My Review:
Foundations in Comic Book Art contains concise, easy-to-follow information on the principles of drawing for those interested in sequential art.

Throughout the book, he gave interesting exercises for the reader to do to improve their drawing. The author talked about the basic materials needed to start. He explained freehand drawing, contour lines, perspectives, and figure drawing. He explained some information specific to laying out sequential art and the materials needed to thumbnail, pencil, and ink the images. There were detailed sections on using pen nibs and brushes to ink and basic and advanced inking techniques. There was also a section on using Photoshop to create grids and to add patterns to scanned-in artwork. The illustrations did an excellent job of showing what the author explained in the text.

So it's a very informative and useful book. This book is probably best for a beginner artist interested in drawing comics and the artist who doesn't know the technical processes involved in drawing comics. However, this book didn't go into what it's really like to be involved in comics as an artist or how to best tell a story using the art (since the art carries half the storytelling load in comics). It's also pretty light on using digital tools to make comics. But it does well at what it set out to do.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case by Michael A. Ross

This is another review done as a member of Amazon Vine, so I'm posting a description of the book with a direct link to my review on Amazon.

The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case by Michael A. Ross ISBN-13: 9780199778805 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Oxford University Press Released: October 14, 2014

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
In June 1870, the residents of the city of New Orleans were already on edge when two African American women kidnapped seventeen-month-old Mollie Digby from in front of her New Orleans home. It was the height of Radical Reconstruction, and the old racial order had been turned upside down: black men now voted, held office, sat on juries, and served as policemen.

In The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case, Michael Ross offers the first full account of this event that electrified the South at one of the most critical moments in the history of American race relations. Tracing the crime from the moment it was committed through the highly publicized investigation and sensationalized trial that followed, Ross paints a vivid picture of the Reconstruction-era South and the complexities and possibilities that faced the newly integrated society.

My Review: Link to my review on Amazon.

Words for Pictures by Brian Michael Bendis

Words for Pictures by Brian Michael Bendis ISBN-13: 978-0770434359 Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Watson-Guptill Released: July 22, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Blogging for Books.

Book Description, Modified from Book Cover:
Best-selling Marvel Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis reveals the comic book writing secrets behind his work on The Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man, All-New X-Men, and more.

Bendis guides aspiring creators through each step of the comics-making process—from idea to script to finished sequential art—for comics like Ultimate Spider-Man. Along the way, tips and insights from other working writers, artists, and editors provide a rare, extensive look behind the creative curtain of the comics industry. With script samples, a glossary of must-know business terms for writers, and interactive comics-writing exercises, Words for Pictures provides the complete toolbox needed to jump start the next comics-writing success story.


My Review:
Words for Pictures is a book about breaking into and working for the commercial comic industry. The author described what it's like to work professionally as a writer who must work with an editor, artist, letterer, etc. The book was filled with interviews with various editors, artists, and writers who described how to best work together and about business aspects that you should know. The book was also packed with comic art by the various people who were interviewed. If your goal is to write for Marvel or Dark Horse Comics, and you want to know what to do to get the job, what will happen after you do, and how to keep getting jobs, then this book will certainly help you a lot.

On the other hand, I had expected a little more information about handling the challenges of writing for a graphic novel or serial-comic format (compared to writing text-only stories that contain a complete story within one "book"). I also would have been interested in more information about producing web comics, independent comics, and graphic novels. He did talk some about these topics, but he mainly focused on working for comic book publishers. This is fine, but perhaps a more accurate subtitle would be "the business of writing comics."


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Mix & Match Guide to Companion Planting by Josie Jeffery

The Mix & Match Guide to Companion Planting by Josie Jeffery ISBN-13: 9781607746331 Hardback spiral bound: 104 pages Publisher: Ten Speed Press Released: March 11th 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
With its unique split-page mix-and match system, The Mix & Match Guide to Companion Planting is a colorful visual gardening guide to which vegetables, fruits, and herbs grow best with one another, and which do not. All you have to do is choose from the plant directory to find the perfect plant pals. Each central crop has a row of colored dots along the top and bottom of the strip showing its "requirements"--that is, what it's looking for in a companion plant, whether it be a support while growing and a pest deterrent or a soil conditioner and a nutrient accumulator. Turn the strips and match the dots to find your plants' best friends. The more dots that match, the better the chance your plants will flourish.


My Review:
The Mix & Match Guide to Companion Planting will help you match up plants that will help each other out, but it gave only a minimal, generalized explanation about how companion planting actually works.

The last half of the book has each page divided into 3 strips. The top strips are plants that will deal with above-ground problems, like it attracts beneficial insects, deters pests, prevents disease, acts as a physical support for climbing plants, acts as a sacrificial trap crop, or provides shade for other crops. The middle strip contains the garden crops that you are trying to find above ground and below ground companions for. The bottom strip contains plants that help with below ground problems like it supplies nutrients, deters soil pests, suppresses weeds, improves the soil, or improves flavor or yield.

Each card has a code along the top and/or bottom of the card to indicate what that plant does (for the companion crop) or what that plant needs help with (for the main crop) listed. You find the main crop that you wish to grow, then flip through the top and bottom cards to match as many of these codes as you can to find a good companion. Unfortunately, the page explaining the code meanings was near the front of the book instead of with the mix-and-match pages, but knowing the codes isn't actually necessary to use the chart.

Each plant's card/strip gave some growing information. There were specific "good to grow with" or "avoid growing with" plants listed on some individual plant cards. Many of these mix-and-match groupings were new to me, so I can't currently comment on how effective this matching system is. However, this mix-and-match system is very easy to use.

The crops covered by this book: Central Crop - apple, apricot, asparagus, beet, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, cherry, cucumber, eggplant, grape, lettuce, parsnip, peach, pear, pepper, plum, potatoes, raspberries & other cane fruit, strawberries, tomato, turnip, zucchini & summer squash.

Above Ground Companion - basil, chervil, chives, cilantro & coriander, dill, fennel, garlic, hyssop, lavender, leek, mint, nasturtium, onion, oregano, parsley, pyrethrum, rosemary, rue, sage, savory, southernwood, sunflowers, sweet corn, thyme, wormwood.

Below Ground Companion - alfalfa, beans (bush and pole), fava beans, borage, caraway, chamomile, clover, fenugreek, foxglove, horehound, larkspur, lupine, marigold, marjoram, mustard, pea, petunia, phacelia, radish, rye, spinach, tansy, tarragon, bird's foot trefoil, yarrow.

The first 46 pages of the book covered other information about gardening. Much of it was extremely basic information about gardening that I'd expect anyone interested in companion gardening to already know. Yet the information was so brief that you'll need to look up further information if you want to successfully do that activity.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Victorian City by Judith Flanders

This is another review done as a member of Amazon Vine, so I'm posting a description of the book with a direct link to my review on Amazon.

The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London by Judith Flanders ISBN-13: 9781250040213 Hardcover: 544 pages Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Released: July 15, 2014

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
An extraordinary, revelatory portrait of everyday life on the streets of Dickens' London. The nineteenth century was a time of unprecedented change, and nowhere was this more apparent than London. In only a few decades, the capital grew from a compact Regency town into a sprawling metropolis of 6.5 million inhabitants, the largest city the world had ever seen. Technology—railways, street-lighting, and sewers—transformed both the city and the experience of city-living, as London expanded in every direction.

Now Judith Flanders, one of Britain’s foremost social historians, explores the world portrayed so vividly in Dickens’ novels, showing life on the streets of London in colorful, fascinating detail. Judith Flanders leads us through the markets, transport systems, sewers, rivers, slums, alleys, cemeteries, gin palaces, chop-houses and entertainment emporia of Dickens' London, to reveal the Victorian capital in all its variety, vibrancy, and squalor.

My Review: Link to my review on Amazon.

Love Isn't Supposed to Hurt by Christi Paul

Love Isn't Supposed to Hurt by Christi Paul ISBN-13: 9781414374130 ebook: 200 pages Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Released: May 18, 2012

Source: A free eBook offer.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Like millions of other women, Christi Paul blamed herself for the emotional abuse heaped on her by her first husband, whose violent, profanity-laced tirades left her feeling as though she had no value, no self-worth, and nowhere to turn for help. Then one day, when Christi was taking refuge in a church parking lot, the verse “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” popped into her head. In that moment she realized she did have someplace to turn after all. Holding fast to her faith, Christi began the arduous process of rebuilding her self-image and regaining control of her life.


My Review:
Love Isn't Supposed to Hurt is a memoir about (primarily) verbal abuse. I appreciate that the author wrote this book. A teenage girl that I care about seems remarkably willing to date boys that treat her poorly, and this book helped me understand better where she might be coming from emotionally. The author explained how she meet and married a man who was verbally abusive, what it took for her to leave the situation, and how she healed afterward. She includes some questions in the back that she found helpful to think through.

The author was very clear that verbal abuse is wrong and no one deserves this abuse. However, one of the author's counselors apparently wanted her to discover so many positive outcomes from surviving the experience that she'd be willing to thank her husband for the abuse. Huh?! That's sick! As a Christian, she should be thanking God for bringing positive lessons and growth from the experience, not thanking the person who did the abuse. Anyway, it's worth reading despite this.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

The Splendid Century by W.H. Lewis

The Splendid Century by W. H. Lewis Hardcover: 306 pages Publisher: William Sloane Associates Released: 1953

Source: Bought at a used book sale.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Pleasures and palaces are, of course, a part of this vivid account of France under Louis XIV, but the author also explores the political, economic, social and artistic forces that developed during the long reign of the Sun-King.

The opening account of Louis XIV's private life and loves sets the pace for this provocative account of a century that was a time of transition, dissatisfaction and progress. This was the age of Moliere, Racine, Corneille...the age of the salons and the graceful correspondents. And also an age that sent thousands of Huguenots to the galleys, the notorious death ships that served as seventeenth-century concentration camps.


My Review:
The Splendid Century is a history covering various aspects of life in France during the reign of Louis XIV. The first chapter was mainly about the king's scandalous love life and grandiose beliefs about himself. The rest of the book talked about what life was like for everyone else.

The author researched records, correspondence, and journals to get the impressions of people living at that time. He discussed why Louis XIV set certain policies, how they worked out in reality, and you could see how this set things up for the people in later generations to decide they didn't need nobles and royalty at all.

The author talked about what life was like for nobles, especially those at court, and for commoners of all sorts. He covered the religious institutions and the religious conflicts, how the army had been organized and was re-organized, what life was like in the country and in the towns, how doctors were trained, how women were educated and how this changed, what life was like on galley ships and on passenger sailing ships, some of the court etiquette, and some well-known writers of the time.

No topic was covered in every detail, but he gave the reader a taste of what he thought was most interesting. I did not find every topic equally interesting, but I liked how he explained the impact of various actions and policies rather than simply giving facts. Overall, I'd recommend this book to those interested in this period of French history if they don't mind the somewhat academic (e.g. "this is how the tax system worked") nature of parts of it.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik

This is another review done as a member of Amazon Vine, so I'm posting a description of the book with a direct link to my review on Amazon.

Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik ISBN-13: 9780544236042 Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Released: May 27, 2014

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Why is glass see-through? What makes elastic stretchy? Why does a paper clip bend? Why does any material look and behave the way it does? These are the sorts of questions that Mark Miodownik is constantly asking himself. A globally-renowned materials scientist, Miodownik has spent his life exploring objects as ordinary as an envelope and as unexpected as concrete cloth, uncovering the fascinating secrets that hold together our physical world.

From the teacup to the jet engine, the silicon chip to the paper clip, the plastic in our appliances to the elastic in our underpants, our lives are overflowing with materials. Full of enthralling tales of the miracles of engineering that permeate our lives, Stuff Matters will make you see stuff in a whole new way

My Review: Link to my review on Amazon.

Natural Disasters That Changed the World by Rodney Castleden

Natural Disasters That Changed the World by Rodney Castleden ISBN-13: 9780785822288 Hardback: 576 pages Publisher: Chartwell Books Released: April 1, 2007

Source: Bought the book.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Contains 170 natural disasters, their causes, their impact on people and landscape, and their significance on the world around us.


My Review:
Natural Disasters That Changed the World is a world history viewed through brief accounts of the natural disasters that influenced history. While mainly about natural disasters, several shipwrecks were included even though the disaster was mainly caused by human error. Not every disaster had a clear "this changed the way we do things" summary at the end, though sometimes the point was how we keep building in areas or doing things that will lead to tragedy when the natural disaster strikes again.

Even with a book this thick, it would have been difficult for the author to go in-depth on 170 different disasters. He briefly described the mechanics of how each type of natural disaster (hurricane, earthquake, tornado, landslide, flooding, etc.) occurs at least once in the book. Most of the entries were about 2 pages long and read like a newspaper report--this happened at this time, then this happened, and this much damage was done." From the back cover description I'd read, I expected a lot of first-hand reports of what it was like to live through the event, but first-hand accounts were rarely given and usually brief.

Overall, the book was interesting, but the disasters all started to sound similar by the end of the book. The events chosen for the pre-history part of the book were speculative and vague, and I didn't really get any value out of them. I think I would have enjoyed more details and first-hand accounts for fewer--though significant--disasters rather than such brief overviews.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Sea and Civilization by Lincoln Paine

This is another review done as a member of Amazon Vine, so I'm posting a description of the book with a direct link to my review on Amazon.

The Sea and Civilization by Lincoln Paine ISBN-13: 9781400044092 Hardcover: 784 pages Publisher: Knopf Released: October 29, 2013

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
A monumental retelling of world history through the lens of maritime enterprise, revealing in breathtaking depth how people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, lake and stream, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world’s waterways, bringing together civilizations and defining what makes us most human.

Lincoln Paine takes us back to the origins of long-distance migration by sea with our ancestors’ first forays from Africa and Eurasia to Australia and the Americas. He demonstrates the critical role of maritime trade to the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley. He reacquaints us with the great seafaring cultures of antiquity like those of the Phoenicians and Greeks, as well as those of India and Southeast and East Asia, who parlayed their navigational skills, shipbuilding techniques, and commercial acumen to establish thriving overseas colonies and trade routes in the centuries leading up to the age of European expansion. And finally, his narrative traces how commercial shipping and naval warfare brought about the enormous demographic, cultural, and political changes that have globalized the world throughout the post–Cold War era.

My Review: Link to my review on Amazon.

Back to Normal by Enrico Gnaulati

This is another review done as a member of Amazon Vine, so I'm posting a description of the book with a direct link to my review on Amazon.

Back to Normal by Enrico Gnaulati ISBN-13: 9780807073346 Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Beacon Press Released: September 17, 2013

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
A veteran clinical psychologist exposes why doctors, teachers, and parents incorrectly diagnose healthy American children with serious psychiatric conditions.

In recent years there has been an alarming rise in the number of American children and youth assigned a mental health diagnosis. Current data from the Centers for Disease Control reveal a 41 percent increase in rates of ADHD diagnoses over the past decade and a forty-fold spike in bipolar disorder diagnoses. Similarly, diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder, once considered, has increased by 78 percent since 2002.

Dr. Enrico Gnaulati, a clinical psychologist specializing in childhood and adolescent therapy and assessment, has witnessed firsthand the push to diagnose these disorders in youngsters. Drawing both on his own clinical experience and on cutting-edge research, with Back to Normal he has written the definitive account of why our kids are being dramatically overdiagnosed—and how parents and professionals can distinguish between true psychiatric disorders and normal childhood reactions to stressful life situations.

My Review: Link to my review on Amazon.

Reconstructing Ancient Linen Body Armor by Gregory S. Aldrete

This is another review done as a member of Amazon Vine, so I'm posting a description of the book with a direct link to my review on Amazon.

Reconstructing Ancient Linen Body Armor by Gregory S. Aldrete ISBN-13: 9781421408194 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Released: March 1, 2013

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Alexander the Great led one of the most successful armies in history and conquered nearly the entirety of the known world while wearing armor made of cloth. How is that possible?

An extensive multiyear project in experimental archaeology, this pioneering study presents a thorough investigation of the linothorax, linen armor worn by the Greeks, Macedonians, and other ancient Mediterranean warriors. Because the linothorax was made of cloth, no examples of it have survived. Combining traditional textual and archaeological analysis with hands-on reconstruction and experimentation, the authors unravel the mysteries surrounding the linothorax. They have collected and examined all of the literary, visual, historical, and archaeological evidence for the armor and detail their efforts to replicate the armor using materials and techniques that are as close as possible to those employed in antiquity.

By reconstructing actual examples using authentic materials, the authors were able to scientifically assess the true qualities of linen armor for the first time in 1,500 years. The tests reveal that the linothorax provided surprisingly effective protection for ancient warriors, that it had several advantages over bronze armor, and that it even shared qualities with modern-day Kevlar.

My Review: Link to my review on Amazon.

Bird Homes and Habitats by Bill Thompson III

This is another review done as a member of Amazon Vine, so I'm posting a description of the book with a direct link to my review on Amazon.

Bird Homes and Habitats by Bill Thompson III ISBN-13: 9780618904464 Trade Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Released: September 10, 2013

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Which birds use nest boxes? What’s required to maintain a birdhouse? What kind of habitat will attract which birds? What does it take to be a bluebird trail operator? What does it mean if baby birds or eggs disappear from their nest?

It’s easy enough to hang a birdfeeder. But there are plenty of other things that can attract birds to a landscape—and, in fact, birds need four essentials: food, water, shelter, and a place to nest. The more of these elements a yard has, the more attractive it is to birds.

My Review: Link to my review on Amazon.

"Marketplace of the Marvelous" and "Kill or Cure"

I realize I haven't been posting many nonfiction book reviews lately, but I have been reading them. I've been getting them as a member of Amazon Vine and, if I understand the terms correctly, I'm not allowed to post my review of the Vine books anywhere except on Amazon. I have read some interesting books, though, so I thought maybe I'd post a description of a book (or two) with a direct link to my review on Amazon.

Marketplace of the Marvelous: The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine by Erika Janik ISBN-13: 978-0807022085 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: Beacon Press Released: January 7, 2014

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Despite rampant scientific innovation in nineteenth-century America, traditional medicine still subjected patients to bleeding, blistering, induced vomiting, and sweating. Many patients ran with open arms to burgeoning practices that promised new ways to cure their ills. Hydropaths offered cures using “healing waters” and tight wet-sheet wraps. Phineas Parkhurst Quimby experimented with magnets, while Daniel David Palmer reportedly restored a man’s hearing by knocking on his vertebrae. Lorenzo and Lydia Fowler used their fingers to “read” their clients’ heads. Samuel Thomson introduced a range of herbal remedies for a vast array of woes.

Bizarre as these methods may seem, many are the precursors of today’s notions of healthy living. We have the nineteenth-century practice of “medical gymnastics” to thank for today’s emphasis on regular exercise, and hydropathy’s various water cures for the notion of regular bathing and the mantra to drink “eight glasses of water a day.” Though many of these cures were discredited by advances in medical science, a surprising number of the theories and ideas behind the quackery are staples in today’s health industry. Janik tells the colorful stories of these "quacks."

My Review: Link to my review on Amazon.

Kill or Cure by Steve Parker ISBN-13: 978-1465408426 Hardcover: 400 pages Publisher: DK Adult Released: October 21, 2013

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Telling the compelling stories behind mankind's never-ending quest to cure every disease, Kill or Cure uses a text-rich narrative combined with DK's beautiful visual design to trace the extraordinary history of medicine. Using panels, timelines, and thematic spreads, Kill or Cure tells the dramatic tale of medical progress.

My Review: Link to my review on Amazon.