Make Your Own Board Game by Jesse Terrance Daniels

Make Your Own Board Game
by Jesse Terrance Daniels

ISBN-13: 9781635863413
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Released: August 30th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Tabletop board games are having a comeback, and especially within a younger, tech-y audience who enjoys the challenge and opportunity to work in an analog sphere. Game design expert Jesse Terrance Daniels teaches all the fundamentals of game design, from rule-setting to physical construction, along with original illustrations.

Readers will learn the “building blocks” of game design, including game components, rules, and gameplay mechanics, and then how to craft a game, with a variety of examples and design prompts. After completing Make Your Own Board Game, readers are equipped with a broad understanding of game construction and flow and ready to create games that are playable and satisfying, while also expressing the makers’ unique creativity and passions.


My Review:
Make Your Own Board Game talked about designing tabletop games like board, tile, card, and role-playing games (with the most time spent on role-playing). It's solely about the concept, not the manufacture or marketing of a game. The author started with pretty basic stuff, like playing cards are usually these sizes and have the same pattern on the back. You could figure these things out just from playing a variety of board games. He then moved onto game play rules. He explained a variety of ways to handle taking turns, using currency, etc., and the pros and cons of using the different methods. He sometimes pointed out or used an existing game to demonstrate the idea, but not always. At the end, he provided a few example games, from a basic game to a complex one.

The descriptions weren't always easy to follow. Since the author explained different ideas in different areas, he might refer to a concept (like a "bank") in one place but you have to flip to another section to learn about that concept. He pointed out some complex game play possibilities that might make a game more interesting, but it's also trickier to understand how to make it work. This is a good book for inspiration about the possibilities, but I would have preferred more examples of how the more complex ideas worked in an actual game play and the steps of actual game design.


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 Complete Guide to Anti-Inflammatory Foods by Lizzie Streit

The Complete Guide to Anti-Inflammatory Foods
by Lizzie Streit

ISBN-13: 9780785839644
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Chartwell Books
Released: June 14th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Researchers have linked low-grade, persistent inflammation to premature aging, heart disease, MS, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, psoriasis, arthritis, and cancer. The Complete Guide to Anti-Inflammatory Foods introduces 50 anti-inflammatory foods that can easily be incorporated into your day-to-day diet with tips and tricks to keep their anti-inflammatory properties active while preparing your favorite meals and snacks. Most anti-inflammatory foods are naturally vegan and gluten free, and include tomatoes, avocados, green beans, bell peppers, sesame seeds, walnuts, chickpeas, and more.

The guide explains how each food contributes to improving your health and well-being, and includes tasty recipe suggestions for combining several anti-inflammatory foods to boost your daily intake. The benefits of each food are listed, such as antioxidants and polyphenols—protective compounds found in plants—that may contribute to protecting against inflammation, as well as the nutritional breakdown of foods to help include them as part of restricted diets such as Keto or low GI.

Authored by Lizzie Streit, a renowned nutritionist and prolific contributor to Healthline.com, this anti-inflammatory guide demystifies which anti-inflammatory foods are the most worthwhile to include in your diet and includes a list of foods to avoid, while offering advice on assessing your diet along with a detailed guide to which health concerns may benefit from an anti-inflammatory diet.


My Review:
The Complete Guide to Anti-Inflammatory Foods is a basic guide to anti-inflammatory foods with profiles on 50 of these foods. Some of these profiles are categories of food (leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, mushrooms, peppers, berries, citrus, legumes, etc.) but most are specific foods (sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, artichokes, fennel, salmon, etc.). Each profile devoted one page to the information about that food and another to a picture of the food. The profile included brief information about the food's anti-inflammatory effects, how to select it and prepare it, best ways to cook it for the most anti-inflammatory effect, a few suggestions on ways to add it to meals, and consideration for those with special diets or medical conditions. The book also talked about anti-inflammatory and inflammatory foods (so you also know what to avoid) and ended with eight recipes. The recipes were sized for 4 people and included ingredients, cooking steps, easy alternatives, and a picture of the finished product. This would be a good introductory book for someone who doesn't know about anti-inflammatory foods.


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.

Weed-Free Gardening by Tasha Greer

Weed-Free Gardening
by Tasha Greer

ISBN-13: 9780760373231
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Cool Springs Press
Released: April 12th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Spraying chemical herbicides isn’t a smart solution for eco-conscious homeowners or pet parents. If that’s the case for you, the weed control prevention and control strategies outlined here by author Tasha Greer will have you growing flowers, vegetables, shrubs, and trees with little to no weed competition. Tasha’s organic approach hands you methods for both preventing weeds early in the growing season and managing weedy intruders year-round.

Control annual weeds by disrupting their natural lifecycle. Learn the whys, hows, and whens of weed-inhibiting mulching techniques. Eliminate deep-rooted perennial weeds by eradicating them at their source. Meet the best and most effective weeding tools available to homeowners. Discover many ways to keep weeds out of the vegetable garden while ensuring healthy and productive soil. Implement a practical plan to gain long-term control over weeds. In addition, you’ll find resources for weed identification, tips for getting rid of invasive plants, useful ideas for handling areas completely overtaken by weeds, and dozens of “weed hacks” to make life in the garden so much more beautiful.


My Review:
Weed-Free Gardening is a guide to organic gardening methods to control weeds. In the introduction, she talked about what a weed is and a history of weeds. She talked about different categories of weeds, from plants that you didn't intend to grow there but which might be helpful to plants that will take over your garden if you don't get rid of them quickly. She talked about a wide variety of techniques and tools that you might try out, but this was more of an overview of different things to try and why they work. She explained how these techniques disrupt the weed's lifecycle, starting with preventing germination with things like mulches or no-till techniques. There's enough information to be able to try out these techniques and see which ones work best for your situation. Overall, I'd recommend this gardening book.


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 Brain and Pain by Richard Ambron

The Brain and Pain
by Richard Ambron

ISBN-13: 9780231204873
Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Released: March 1st 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Pain is an inevitable part of existence, but severe debilitating or chronic pain is a pathological condition that diminishes the quality of life. The Brain and Pain explores the present and future of pain management, providing a comprehensive understanding based on the latest discoveries from many branches of neuroscience.

Richard Ambron--the former director of a neuroscience lab that conducted leading research in this field--explains the science of how and why we feel pain. He describes how the nervous system and brain process information that leads to the experience of pain, detailing the cellular and molecular functions that are responsible for the initial perceptions of an injury. He discusses how pharmacological agents such as opiates affect the duration and intensity of pain. Ambron examines new evidence showing that discrete circuits in the brain modulate the experience of pain in response to a placebo, fear, anxiety, belief, or other circumstances, as well as how pain can be relieved by activating these circuits using mindfulness training and other nonpharmacological treatments. The book also evaluates the prospects of procedures such as deep brain stimulation and optogenetics.

Current and thorough, The Brain and Pain will be invaluable for a range of people seeking to understand their options for treatment as well as students in neuroscience and medicine.


My Review:
The Brain and Pain explains how the human body senses pain and the parts of the brain involved with suppressing, increasing, or even caring about the pain. The author used scientific language and expected you to remember what each technical term meant so you could understand what he explained later. The target audience seemed to mainly be people who are developing drug interventions (as he explained potential pathways to target), but he did talk about how meditation, placebo, and hypnosis can change how we experience pain. He described in detail how the body senses an injury on your skin, then he talked about visceral pain. He talked about how current drugs work to suppress pain, what we know about chronic pain, and the challenges faced when developing a pain drug. Overall, the book was very informative. I learned some interesting things that anyone can do to help with pain.


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 Big Book of Invisible Technology by Chloe Taylor

The Big Book of Invisible Technology
by Chloe Taylor

ISBN-13: 9781646112517
Paperback: 152 pages
Publisher: Rockridge Press
Released: July 21st 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Learn to see how modern technology is all around us―a hands-on approach for kids 8 to 12. Bluetooth brings beautiful music to your ears―but how, exactly? Using technology and building with technology are two different skill sets―and a twenty-first-century kid will need to understand both. The Big Book of Invisible Technology offers ways to explore how things work for kids in fun, hands-on ways.

From the invisible Internet to driverless cars and drones, this book shows you how things work for kids, using step-by-step experiments. Then apply your knowledge and learn how you may, one day, bring real and important change to our lives. Are you ready to solve some of Earth’s biggest challenges with technology? The future needs you.

In this book on how things work for kids you’ll discover: Important tech-related words are highlighted in bold along with their definitions, in a virtual dictionary of how things work for kids. Nine applied experiments will inspire you to learn while doing―like taking apart and safely rebuilding an old keyboard or remote control. Discover how to brainstorm as you plan ways to positively influence our planet.


My Review:
The Big Book of Invisible Technology provides a simple overview of how modern technology works. It's targeted at ages 8 to 12, and the word variety used is appropriate for that age range. However, the concepts were discussed at a level that younger kids could follow. The author provided some history about the technology and gave a simple explanation of how it worked. There were also a number of activities like pretending to code by telling someone what to do to complete a task. Since there are whole books out there that teach kids in this age range to actually code, I felt like these were very simple activities and not very challenging for this age range. The author covered coding, the Internet, Bluetooth and cellular technology, robots, smart devices, 3D printing, drones, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality. There was also a section about what might be possible in the future, but it was mostly prompting the reader to dream about what they might like to see.


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.

Mindful Artist: Birds and Botanicals by Monika Cilmi

Mindful Artist: Birds and Botanicals
by Monika Cilmi

ISBN-13: 9781600589263
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
Released: February 8th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Mindful Artist: Birds and Botanicals features tips, techniques, and step-by-step projects for working mindfully with Japanese ink and brush pens to create elegant artwork featuring birds, flowers, plants, and more.

While harnessing the power of meditation, you will learn to create personalized pieces in black ink as well as color. There's no need to follow the instructions exactly; just make what inspires you. Begin with an introduction to mindfulness and the connections between art and meditation. Then dive into detailed sections on the tools and materials needed to create the art in the book, as well as inking and coloring techniques, including brushstrokes. The step-by-step projects that follow take you through the process of creating your own ink-and-brush art, with large images that illustrate the techniques and detailed, easy-to-follow instructions for brushwork, adding color, and more. The layout design is airy and contemporary to match the art style.

The Mindful Artist series from Walter Foster Publishing encourages artists to enjoy working in their favorite media to create relaxing, reflective art. With this series, artists of all skill levels can learn to focus on enjoying the creative process, rather than worrying about the end result.


My Review:
Mindful Artist: Birds and Botanicals described meditative brush pen drawing for 11 birds and 5 flowers. The projects didn't look like specific types of birds, though they were posed in a variety of positions. The flowers were also usually vague "flowers" rather than specific types. The author focused on describing how to make the experience meditative rather than on things like proportion. The point was the process, not the end result. The text and step-by-step illustrations showed what part to draw next. There were some tips on getting the stylized look using brush pens, but most of the instructions were along the lines of "draw a few short, curved strokes around the center." Most of the projects were in black ink, but some added bright colors. Overall, I'd recommend this book to people interested in "mindful" art.


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.

A Taste for Poison by Neil Bradbury

A Taste for Poison
by Neil Bradbury

ISBN-13: 9781250270757
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Released: February 1st 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
As any reader of murder mysteries can tell you, poison is one of the most enduring—and popular—weapons of choice for a scheming murderer. It can be slipped into a drink, smeared onto the tip of an arrow or the handle of a door, even filtered through the air we breathe. But how exactly do these poisons work to break our bodies down, and what can we learn from the damage they inflict?

In a fascinating blend of popular science, medical history, and true crime, Dr. Neil Bradbury explores this most morbidly captivating method of murder from a cellular level. Alongside real-life accounts of murderers and their crimes—some notorious, some forgotten, some still unsolved—are the equally compelling stories of the poisons involved: eleven molecules of death that work their way through the human body and, paradoxically, illuminate the way in which our bodies function.

Drawn from historical records and current news headlines, A Taste for Poison weaves together the tales of spurned lovers, shady scientists, medical professionals and political assassins to show how the precise systems of the body can be impaired to lethal effect through the use of poison. From the deadly origins of the gin & tonic cocktail to the arsenic-laced wallpaper in Napoleon’s bedroom, A Taste for Poison leads readers on a fascinating tour of the intricate, complex systems that keep us alive—or don’t.


My Review:
A Taste for Poison explored how eleven different poisons work on the body. The author covered poisonings using insulin, belladonna, morphine, strychnine, ricin, aconite, cyanide, potassium, polonium-210, arsenic, and chlorine. He told about one or more cases that used the poison, then described the symptoms, how it could be treated if caught in time, and the biological details about how the poison disrupts the normal functioning of the body to create the symptoms and death. Most of the murders were from the mid-1800s to modern day, with a focus on relatively recent cases in England and America. The cases were told briefly but in an interesting way. The biochemistry details were easy to follow, with enough detail to follow what goes wrong without getting too bogged down in the science. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting book.


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.