Furry Logic by Jane Seabrook

Furry Logic – 10^th Anniversary Edition

By Jane Seabrook

Jane Seabrook has a delightful way of matching witticism with warm-fuzzy faces!  The expressions and details of her illustrations are absolutely fantastic!  She chose the perfect creature to portray each wisdom nugget in this book.

For people who are animal lovers this book is a must!  It is a perfect gift for any pet owner in your circle of family and friends.  As I turned each page I couldn’t wait to see what animal was next.  The life advice on each page was very clever.  Sometimes the words will bring you to tears and other times they will bring a deep belly laugh.  Either way, the wisdom contained in this book makes you pause and ponder.  You will definitely have “aha” moments as well.  Thought-provoking, challenging, intriguing, discussion starter, awakener of idea - from the first page to the last this treasure of a book is worth its weight in gold.

The Chia Cookbook

By Janie Hoffman

This recipe book intrigued me because of its emphasis on chia.  I’d heard so much about it and wanted to know how to use it.  This recipe book was the perfect choice!  It is even better than I hoped.  The photographs of the finished recipes are exquisite!  This book is a feast for the eyes as well as for the stomach.

The book is divided into six parts:  juices/smoothies/shakes, healthy mornings, snacks/small bites, salads/soups, main dishes, and desserts/sweet nibbles/cocktails.

The introduction is a intriguing narrative by the author on her journey through several auto-immune diseases to health.  She credits the chia seed as one of the main reasons she regained her health.  She states that she has more energy now than she ever has in her life.  She is also free of any symptoms of her past disorders.

Hoffman then goes on to list the nutrients found in chia and the  benefits of consuming chia which include weight loss.  She gives detailed descriptions of the type of chia seeds, tips on choosing and using chia.  There are also instructions regarding using chia as a flour or egg substitute.

Then comes the most fun part when you dig into the recipes.  They look fantastic and taste even better.  It’s just a bonus really that chia seeds are so healthy for us!   What I like about this recipe book is that the recipes were not hard to understand.  They were simple and straightforward but using unusual   combinations of ingredients so that the recipes seem exotic and exciting!

In This House We Will Giggle by Courtney DeFeo

This is the most fabulous book of faith and fun!  Courtney Defeo is down to earth, honest, witty and encouraging.  Her words are insightful and comforting; challenging and assuring!  This book gives hope!

I can't say enough about this book!  I am buying extra copies for my children as they raise our grandchildren.  And I plan to buy extra copies to give away as baby shower gifts.  Every Christian family should own this book!

I could not put this book down.  I read it in one sitting ~ eager to read the next page.  The spiritual insights are deep yet Defeo writes in a way that is easy to understand.  Her ideas, activities and plans are practical and yet packed with imagination, creativity and adventure.

Each chapter has one virtue such as patience that is highlighted.  Defeo has broken it down to 12 virtues, one for each month of the year.  In each chaper you will find specifically for that virtue:  a scripture to memorize, a Bible story, modern day applications, questions to discuss with your child, activities to do as a family, and loads of fun games, journaling ideas, and more.

Billy Joel – The Definitive Biography

By Fred Schruers

Schurers has made Billy Joel a down-to-earth person in this biography.  This book is a look into the life and mind and heart of a musical icon.  We see Billy Joel not just as the superstar but as a little boy with heroic ancestors, a painful childhood and struggles to achieve the American dream.  This book is not meant to make us love Billy Joel.  It instead shows us who he is, how his character was developed, decisions he made in personal relationships and in the music industry that made him who he is today.

However, fans of Billy Joel will love all the rich details of his personal life and the intimate stories behind his hit songs. This book carries many unknown facts about Joel’s early life.   Others who are interested in music or immigrants who came to America will also enjoy this book because it is rich in musical and American immigrant history.

Say YES to bread!

Bread Revolution by Peter Reinhart is fantastic!

In these days of confusion over what foods are truly healthy for us comes this revolutionary book on the art of bread making.  Reinhart combines common sense, artistry and nutritional facts to create a truly delight cookbook devoted to bread.

Sections in this cookbook include:  sourdough primer, sprouted flour breads, whole grain breads, whole milling, seed breads, fruit and vegetable breads and gluten free breads.  Included in the bread sections are cracker, cookie and biscotti recipes.

Each recipe has extremely detailed instructions with step-by-step photographs to enhance the understanding of the process for each type of bread.  Each recipe also has variations at the end so you can put your individual stamp on the bread you make for yourself and others.

Hatsheput

Hatsheput

The Woman Who Would Be King

Hatsheput’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt

By Kara Cooney

Cooney’s book gives detailed facts about Egyptian culture and the life of one of its rulers:  Hatsheput.  It begins with explaining how Egyptian history is recorded.  She explains how their religious beliefs, traditions and ceremonies shared their political structure.  This leads into the child-rearing practices and the training of royal offspring.  Royal children were taught leadership skills and expected duties of rulers.  Amongst royal siblings incest was a common practice to produce future male rulers.  Cooney sites incest as a possible reason that Hatsheput was unable to produce a biological heir.

The rest of the book tells of her rise to power, how it was possible for her to succeed in a male dominated society and how she maintained her power.  Suggestions for her success lie in her ability to connect herself with powerful rulers of her time including her own tutor.  Hatsheput also portrayed herself as masculine and strong and later as the wife of their god to authenticate her power and authority.

The book ends with photographs of building projects of Egypt and descriptions of the mummifying process.

While this book contained a lot of interesting facts I found it disturbing in its graphic description of sexually explicit religious practices.  I also found it a bit dry as there was not any emotional data such as diaries from which to draw an understanding of Hatsheput’s feelings or thoughts during her reign.

I received this book free from the publishers and was not required to write a positive review.

The Christmas Story for Children

By Max Lucado, Randy Frazee, and Karen Davis Hill

The illustrations of this book are gorgeous!  They are beautiful with tender feelings conveyed.  The cover caught my eye immediately and I was not disappointed by the art work in the book.  It was a treat for the eyes.

This is the best book I’ve read for young children to explain the incarnation of Christ.  Of all the ways I’ve heard it explained to young children about the miracle of Mary having a baby when she wasn’t married yet – this book’s words are the most precious, gentle and wonderful way I’ve ever heard to help a young child understand.  The story details the time before Christ’s birth up to his baptism and beginning ministry in words that children can relate to.  I liked the description of the special people God had prepared for the birth and ministry of His Son:  Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and John the Baptist.   It is interesting, engaging and emotionally touching.  It makes Jesus real.

I received this book from the publishers and was not required to write a positive review.