Ecoholic
Ecoholic: Your Guide to the Most Environmentally Friendly Information, Products, and Services
by Adria Vasil
371 Pages
Non-Fiction
Reference: Sustainable living, Home economics, Environmental awareness
W. W. Norton & Company
April 2009
I was looking for a book that told me if putting toilet paper in the trash or in the toilet was better/worse, if it is better to have a this chemical or that one in my coffee, and then Ecoholic was plunked into my hands! It is a complete guide to how to best take care of yourself, your home, your children and your planet all at the same time. Living sustainably can be very complicated, as it seems like the professionals are all on conflicting sides. Paper or plastic? Oh, wait-none! Because of the confusion it is easy to want to check out and just keep doing as you are doing, I get that and that is exactly what I did. Still I was curious, what effect does it really have if we all convert to the fluorescent bulbs, when they do last longer but contaminate the landfills with mercury? Those kinds of questions and a BILLION more will be answered in this book.
As for the kids, and health and being environmentally friendly- how could that ever work?? We want it and we want it now, and then our kids pick that up faster than this years Christmas toy. Ecoholic is excellent at providing answers for all of your questions of what is safe for everyone involved.
The table of contents includes: Bathroom Confidential, What Not To Wear, Green's Anatomy, Food for Thought, No Kidding Around, Homeward Bound, Home Improvement, Outer Space, I Get Around, It's All Fun and Games, You work Hard For Your Money (So You Better Green It Right), Big Issues. In each of these chapters Adria Vasil goes to great detail in giving you the skinny on the big picture.
I really enjoyed this book, well maybe enjoyed isn't the right term. I appreciate it. It really has brought me to a much better understanding of what I should watch for in the products I buy, what I should eat and what I should wash my hair with. I have made some big changes after reading Ecoholic. We now all use homemade or organic soaps and shampoos. Almost all of our food is organic. We think about what we buy and how it affects our planet. This isn't just a good book, it is one of those you can keep in your library and bust out for a stellar explanation of the way things are. Put it on your Christmas list, everyone should have a copy.
I am a Powell’s affiliate and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any book you buy using my links. Thank you!
One Hundred Butterflies
One Hundred Butterflies
Photography by Harold Feinstein
Author Fred Gagnon
128 Pages
Non-Fiction: Photography of Insects
Little Brown and Company
November 2009
When this colourful delight came in the mail I could barely pry out out of the hands of my two safari-ready boys. They were peering at the pages choosing their favourite butterflies and re-naming them with names all their own. I hesitated in pulling it away because they were enjoying it so much, so I just sat and let myself watch and listen to them. I think they would have done a better job with this review than me, with so many more exclamation points because of their sheer happiness each time the page was turned. They said things like, "each one is prettier and prettier" and "mom, this one should be called rainbow because it just has so many colours". Yes, it seems they could have published an excellent review themselves.
When I finally got my chance to look at it closely I felt their excitement as well, it really is impressive that each time you turn the page the butterflies and moths have that- I know this is real, but how could it be not digitally altered to be so beautiful- thing about them. This book is one hundred percent the best of both worlds. You know how when you are little (or not so little) and want the butterfly to just stay still so you can watch its colours? There are those who pin them and then have the beauty to look at as long as they want, but that was something I never wanted to do. One Hundred Butterflies allows the kids and I to have a looksy any time we want and we didn't even have to net and pin these suckers- yep, the best of both worlds.
One Hundred Butterflies would be the perfect gift for a kid who loves nature, or even one who needs to be exposed to it. Also it would be great for a person who isn't a kid, but still allows himself(herself) to sit and admire the beauty of creation, and butterflies are wonderfully good at being some of the most beautiful pieces of creation. I don't think it was written with kids in mind necessarily, but kids and adults who can still be filled with awe and wonder would delight in this book alike. Excellent book, pure loveliness.
I will leave you with a little more beauty, it is a poem by the photographer of this book, Harold Feinstein.
The wing of a butterfly,
The petal of a rose;
What a joy!
I celebrate every flower.
And yet, what a piker I am.This glorious planet of ours,
Mother earth,
Festooned with multiples
Of glory surrounded by glory.
Oh but I aspire,
From the depths of my soul
To pay tribute
To the array of wonder
We so often take for granted;
Wake up! Wake up!Look around you!
It is here!
Heaven on earth,
Our endless gift,
Give Thanks.-Harold Feinstein
What book has made you stop in your tracks weather you were an adult or one that you remember even now from your kid-days??
I am a Powell’s affiliate and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any book you buy using my links. Thank you!
God*Stories
God*Stories: Explorations in the Gospel of God
by Andrew Wilson
302 Pages
Non-Fiction
Christianity
July 2009
David C. Cook
I started this book last night and finished it this morning. I couldn't put it down! The author, Andrew Wilson stormed the gates of hell when he drafted this one up, no question. GodStories is a powerful, life-changing yet incredibly digestible book on putting the punch back into God's word. The truth is that it has always been there, but we Christians have minimized it down to suit ourselves and fill our little cups. GodStories is about ambushing our limited view of God, and what He has done by the study of key verses and very short (most not even 3 pages long) devotional type blurbs that will cause the reader to think, remember and be transformed all in the same breath.
Andrew Wilson shatters the 'Christian' thinking when he puts God back into the Bible and not just any god, but the God who can actually change things, who is all-out Holy, and who has proved Himself to His people. These GodStories take the reader through the Bible from the Creation of the world to when we will see Jesus face to face in Heaven. By reading the sections I completely understand what the author means when he says, " If we are not careful, we can take a story about Jesus rescuing creation and reduce it into a story about ourselves. We can turn stories into statements, and poems into punchlines. We can miss the sweeping, triumphant, heartbreaking, and glorious stories that make up the gospel of God" (back cover, God*Stories).
I love understanding scripture better, understanding who Jesus is and how the prophecies led up to Him and the salvation He brought. It is so easy to make the stories about us, to strip them of all that brings transforming change and then wonder why there is no power in the Christians of this day. Why do we not stand where we should? Why do we not feel backed by each other through prayer? What has stolen our joy and life? It is our own lack of knowing God. What is worse is that we don't even want to know Him because the image we have of Him is so small it makes Him not even worth it.
This book shook me, changed me and made me think about so many things, manly how I myself am completely guilty of this behavour, and that I want to change it now. I recommend this %100, perfect for daily devotional, for small groups, or just to read through it like I did. I loved this book!
Have you ever had a book be the perfect book at the perfect time? What was it and why was it perfect?
I am a Powell’s affiliate and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any book you buy using my links. Thank you!
Fall Fest Cookbook Giveaway!
We all love yummy food, especially when it is cooked with time and care and excellent ingredients. And what is even better is when those recipes come from cookbooks that make you want to just cook food for your family all day long!
I have two of those type of cookbooks to offer to you my reader. Hachette has offered me three sets of these two cookbooks for a giveaway. Yes that's right! Each of three winners will get BOTH cookbooks, both. That is a good thing because after looking though mine I have no idea which I would have told you to choose over the other, although chocolate does always win out over actual meals for me- so that would probably be my choice.
These are the books:
How to Roast a Lamb: Greek Classic Cooking By Michael Psilakis, Barbara Kafka
Chocolate: A Love Story: 65 Chocolate Dessert Recipes from Max Brenner's Private Collection By Max Brenner, Yonatan Factor
Throughout the next couple of weeks I will highlight each of these books by cooking a scrumptious recipe of my choice to share with you! I know you are drooling already, so here is how to enter to the giveaway for one set of your own books.
How to enter the giveaway:
- Comment on this post telling me what your all time favourite cookbook is, and why.
- Tweet about the giveaway with a link back to this post.
(leave a separate comment here telling me you did)
Sorry, open only to US and Canadian residents, and no P.O boxes please. All entries must be in by the 29th of November the winner will be chosen 30th of November. Check back then to see if you got lucky!!
EDIT: WINNERS 
Thank you to all the entrants!!!! Stay posted, I know there will be more goodies for me to offer you.
I am a Powell’s affiliate and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any book you buy using my links. Thank you!
BEAR Portraits
Hachette Author Photo Image
BEAR Portraits
by Jill Greenberg
104 Pages
Photography of Animals
Non-Fiction
Little Brown & Company
Known for her artistic approach to celebrity photography and advertising, Jill Greenberg goes back to her roots of animal photography with this book- Bear Portraits. Don't worry, she still gets up close and makes it shinny- but the shine does not radiate off of human skin in this pretty read, but off of the silky smooth fur coats of bears. Closer than ever and sweeter than ever possible for humans, her lens captures the emotions of these not-so-gentle giants.
Jill Greenberg has done some controversial shoots in the past, one with distressed kids, labeled End Times. In that shoot she provoked the children to tears by giving them a lollipop and then taking it away. As much as I don't agree with those methods, or with her politics- I love this book so much that I can forget that about her. I adore the shots of the bears in Bear Portraits. I don't think even Greenberg would have tried to take a lollipop away from one of these huge and fuzzy models.
I recommend this for any animal person, any bear lover, or photography freak (yes, that is me too), or for kids as well. The boys and I read this (note: looked at it) and they were so absorbed in the expressions that they made up their own words for the pictures "he's saying, 'I think I am MAD!'" . There are quotes on many of the pages, ones that aren't cutesy or clever- quotes that are actually good!
The bear portraits are so perfect and amazing that the reader will want to pet the fir on the page, and as the page is turned jump back realizing the ferociousness of the teeth and the size of the animal. These are not teddy bears! I highly recommend this Bear Portraits, perfect for that animal lover on your list for Christmas young and old alike with enjoy this read.
I'll leave you with a bear:
Images by Jill Greeneberg
Click here to buy BEAR Portraits and support Powell's Books an Indie Bookstore:
I am a Powell's affiliate and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any book you buy using my links. Thank you!
God Made Your Body and How God Makes Babies by Jim Burns
My husband and I had just started talking about when we would tell the boys about the amazing miracle of babies. Yes, that is right, of sex, fertilization, conception and the process of how babies are made. I know they are young (only 3 and 5 to be exact) but they have questions, they watched Milo and Otis and saw the little puppies "popping out of the doggies behind" and then came even more questions. So when do we as parents tighten all up and avoid and when do we just answer straight on what really should be discussed just like anything else? Well, now or never right? For us, for our family, the time is now.
We decided that having "the talk" is weird, it is hard for parents and hard for kids so Brad and I had mentioned several times how we wanted to just tell the boys what we thought was age appropriate at each step and then, really they wouldn't even remember having "the (horrid) talk". We were jazzed about this new idea of ours!
It seemed like days later that I was jumping for joy when I was offered by Bethany House Publishers two books that were hot off the press. They are from the Pure Foundations series by Jim Burns the first one is God Made Your Body for ages 3-5 and the second book in the series is How God Makes Babies for ages 6-9. When the books came and I saw them I was even more excited to sit down with the boys and read them together.
A couple of days ago we read God Made Your Body in which Jim Burns explains through very appropriate pictures, and simple non-detailed language that God made us all unique and special, different and beautiful. Gracefully Burns moves on to name the differences between boys and girls, and how that will make them moms or dads in the future. The part I was most worried about was the initial intro into the actual sex part, but the boys got it completely the first time. Since it is easy to worry about that I wanted to include that portion of the book for you, so you can decide for yourself, but I think he does a spectacular job.
"To make a baby, a mommy and a daddy come together in a special way called making love. Making love is something God made just for a husband and a wife to enjoy together.
When a mommy and a daddy make a baby, they each give one special part of themselves. the daddy gives a part called a sperm. The mommy gives a part called an egg. the sperm and the egg join together inside the mommy and form an embryo. All babies begin as an embryo..." (Jim Burns, God Made Your Body p. 19)
While reading that to the boys the first time, I wondered if they would get it. Both my 3 year old and 5 year old understood it completely. They wanted to repeat the process to me twice and then said, "that is cool that God does that". And were ready to finish up the rest of the book that talks a little about the development of the baby in the womb, about birth, and adoption and ends explaining that no matter how your family has come together that God made you a family and how special that is.
I am a full fledged believer in these books now. It really helped me figure out a better way to describe the whole process in a simple, straight forward way with just as much detail as they need at this age. Now if you ask my littlest how babies are made, he says " they are made from one part of the daddy, the sperm, and one part of the mommy, the egg. They join together to make the baby". Okay, it is as simple as that, our first sex talk was a cake walk. I certainly don't have things all figured out, but this proved to be a lot less difficult than I had ever anticipated. I am so thankful that there are books out there that match up so 
perfectly to what our views are on how and when to talk to children about sex. Laying the foundations for healthy sexuality (especially today) is very important.
The Next book in the series, How God Makes Babies is for ages 6-9 and we will wait to read it until the boys are in that age group. But, since I already know how it all works I read it and I can tell you the deets. It is the basic concept of the first with a lot more detail, really all the detail that they need about the process up until pre-marital counseling! Ha. Well, maybe not, but it is enough to definitely have them understand the whole process easily. It is more information than I ever understood from any sex ed in school that is for sure, but it is done in a Godly way and that really is the key in both of these books. I stand by them %100 and know that parents wouldn't need to cringe the way they do if they would just help themselves out and explain things when kids ask, a little younger maybe than they think, but why wait?
Do you have horror stories about having "the talk"? Oh, do share! Do you wonder when to share with your own kids? Or do you have strong feelings about this topic? Spill it.
Buy these books from Powell's Books:
God Made Your Body by Jim Burns (Pure Foundations)Ages 3-5
How God Makes Babies by Jim Burns (Pure Foundations)Ages 6-9
Book Review: The Photographer
The Photographer: Into War-Torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders
by Emmanuel Guibert, Frederic Lemercier and Didier Lefevre
267 Pages
Memoir Graphic Novel/Photography
Published by First Second
My Rating of The Photographer: 90/100
Didier Lefevre, a photographer from France joins in with the physicians working through Doctors Without Borders. He left his home, Paris, after packing up his apartment and settling everything before heading out on this expedition. Once in Afghanistan his mission has begun, he follows the MSF (or Doctors Without Borders) taking pictures of their journeys through the rural villages setting up clinics and working on patients. When he sets out, it is obvious that he has no idea what toll this expedition will take on him emotionally and physically. He is very naive at times, he gets bored easy, and when he hears the MSF are going to take a different route back in order to treat some other villages, he can't handle the extra wait in getting back to the city, and essentially back home. When Didier decides to leave the comforts and safety of the MSF group and head back on schedule, it is 
not until they are gone that he begins to understand what is so important about having a good understanding of the native language and established relationships- he has neither. Death is more likely the outcome of this choice than survival.
This is an outstanding graphic novel, filled with photos taken while Didier Lefevre paired with the art excellence of Emmanuel Guibert. The Photographer continues to recieve notice around the world, for an inside view of a desperate war-related experience. What most amazed me was how naive Didier was when he got on the plane leaving Paris, and the growth that is shown by the end of the book. He is a fighter, and when in the beginning he thinks he is setting out for an adventure, in the end that same adventure is what is making him fight for his life.
I have never read a book like this one, since I love photography and I love art it was sure to be a hit. What I enjoyed even more was the honesty, the way Lefevre displays his stupidity, and how he chooses to place himself in circumstances that are really bad. It is through just this honesty that he is more real, more alive and just more human. I could relate to his feelings of desperation, loneliness and sadness, it was easy to follow him on this journey and somehow know that it would have been possible for me to make those same choices. He is driven to get the best shots possible, even if it does mean a risk. If you like graphic novels, this is a great one, the photos making it even more interesting- it is photo journalism at its best along with a desperation for life, and to life to tell the tale. I highly recommend this book, it is still making me think.
What is the cost of adventure?
If a story is not fought for with your very life, is it much of a story to tell?
Book Review: Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
An African Childhood
by Alexandra Fuller
315 Pages
Childhood Memoir Zimbabwe
Random House
Published 2001
In a land not her own, but not really being connected to anywhere else is how little Alexandra Fuller grew up. Living in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), enduring the war and racial turmoil, Alexandra (aka Bobo) grew up almost raising her parents as she raised herself. Her mother was mentally unstable after loosing several of her children in childbirth or shortly after, and very maniacal in her pleasures and hatreds. Her father worked most of the time, and when not working he joined up with the white side of the government in the Rhodesian Civil War. They allowed (I could even go so far as to say encouraged) their daughters at a very young age to drink alcohol and smoke. The only rule was that they didn't get caught smoking at boarding school or they would be kicked out.
This is a book of what it would be like to grow up in a country where you don't fit, where you parents express racism outwardly, where you have to live in a gated home and go away to boarding school from very early on. Also a place where schools are segregated into A Schools, B Schools and so on depending on your race and skin tone. What shocked me the most was the racism of her parents, but more than that was how Bobo somehow managed to not embrace it herself. There are several key moments in the book where you realise that she is going to end up just fine, that almost in spite of her parents ideology and beliefs, she will be different than them.
I loved reading Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (actually listened to it). Alexandra Fuller skillfully tells her story, and when she does, even the horrors of it all seem to have a tinge of hope. I don't like downer and gloomy books, and this is not one of those, but she isn't cheery for no purpose, I would say just optimistic. I loved Bobo as a young girl, and the older she got the more I felt like I knew her. She is an excellent writer, storyteller and lived an extreme life, I am so glad that she told her story, I am a better person for having met her, if only through her book.I don't even love memoirs and I loved this read! So if you are a non-fiction buff or love memoirs you would probably enjoy it all the more!
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight gets my special best books prize, the "Stellar Five Chicken Award" because chickens are so much better than stars, it really is just that good!
Author Website: Alexandra Fuller
If you enjoyed Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight you should check out The Glass Castle
How have you changed your story? Would you say when you are in the midst of tough situations you are optimistic or pessimistic?
Book Review: Secondhand Jesus
Author Photo by Audrey Hannah Photo
Secondhand Jesus
Trading Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith
by Glenn Packiam
217 Pages
Non-Fiction
David C Cook Publisher
Christian Faith-General
Does God believe in the "American Dream"? Is He around just to make cuts feel better and pain go away? Do you really know the God you say you are serving? Are your notions of God secondhand? These are some of the questions Glenn Packiam will run by the reader in his book Secondhand Jesus. He does not cower from the truth, Secondhand Jesus aims to destroy the myths that there are shortcuts to knowing God. While reading this you are likely to realize that you believe many more rumors of God than you would feel comfortable with. If you found Jesus while in search for an easier faith, or CliffsNotes, or just a spiritual journey with beginning and end, you will be challenged in Secondhand Jesus.
When God puts His foot down we all feel the pressure, especially if it is right on top of a dream of ours. Our first thought should be, "well God does know better" and "whatever I am going through will only lead me to know Him more" but that takes a certain level of relationship with God. If that foundation isn't there, we won't realize it in the easy times but when the difficulties come around we will curse and scream and quit because He didn't do what I thought he should. It is time to take God from where we have him at arms length and allow His embrace to cover us, both in the joys of life and the pain.There are many myths that our culture preaches that are not accurate in accordance with what the Bible says about God.
A circular trail of rumors can become verifiable truth, community's dogma, in less than a generation.
- If you believe it, you can receive it.
- God knows your heart.
- God just wants you to be happy.
It sounds right. People we respect say it, people who know a lot more than we do. And we don't want to miss out on something that might be true. We've heard it for so long, nobody has stopped to ask if it's true or why we think it might be. (Secondhand Jesus, p. 44)
There are experts in medicine, photography, gurus of even the lost arts of Nintendo and Atari, if we are into that we respect them, we take their word as truth. With God, we do that too, if someone knows better than us many times we take their word as our sole source to God, we get lazy and apathetic thinking the Bible experts will find the verse that we were thinking of, or be able to explain salvation in an easier way to understand. Leaders are good, they are there for a reason, but there place is not that of God, they are humans too, mistakes will be made and they will fail--if your faith is in a human, you will be let down. Don't live on rumors, on what others say, search the scriptures, know what you are agreeing to when you place God as Lord in your life.
The whole premise of Secondhand Jesus comes from Job 42:5-6 (The Message):
I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand--from my own eyes and ears! I'm sorry-forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.
That is the climax of the book of Job, and for me it really cut to the chase. I do not long to know God the way that I should, or enjoy him just for him as much as I need to. Secondhand Jesus re-enforced so many things I already knew and believed and at the same time it brought forth new ways of saying it that broke through to me--powerfully.
Secondhand Jesus impacted my life, Glenn Packiam made me think more clearly of God and who He is, but mostly it told me and taught me to search for myself, not out of guilt, pride or piety but out of love and a hunger to know God better daily. If I am at this same spot spiritually in even one year I will be guilty of living a passionless walk with God. I have heard it said this way, "if you aren't making an effort to move forward, know that you are drifting backwards". I loved this book, I am challenged, renewed and stirred--I would recommend it to any Christian, no matter where you are in your walk, it will get you thinking straight and challenge you too. I highly recommend it.
Visit Glenn Packiam's Blog and read the first chapter of Secondhand Jesus
Hear what Glenn Packiam has to say in this Secondhand Jesus YouTube Book Trailer:
Winners of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Home
The Winners of Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home are:
Who said: This sounds like such a helpful book. I always find I’m either compulsively tidying daily or tearing the house apart in a month long cleaning binge. I need to learn a good routine to keep things orderly.
*Molly
Who said: I would love to be entered in the contest. Since going back to work (nearly) full-time, my house has truly suffered.
Are you familiar with flylady.net? She has a number of quick tips and she is even on twitter to remind you to do certain tasks: @flylady
Great review and if I don’t win…I know I will definitely add this book to the TBR list
*Kailana
Who said: Enter me! I hate cleaning, so maybe this will make a difference! lol
Winners please send me your addresses? bethany(at)dreadlockgirl(dot)com
What did I think about Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home?
Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home is the most amazing cleaning book I have ever had/read/used. I hate cleaning and I love this book, it is an inspiration to me.
Dreadlock Girl Book Review: Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home
Find it at Powell's Books: Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home
