Tuesday, July 31, 2012

CSBL - Books 19, twenty, 21, twenty-two, 23

CSBL - Coming Soon Book List...

Here are the books that are on my "MUST READ" list.

My mom recommended Color Me Butterfly and A Thousand Splendid Suns (a highly recommended book that I've been putting off)...

Look forward to their reviews. 

Pray for me Saints. 


P.S Thank you so much for all the book recommendations - keep them coming!

Not on track...


AAAUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH....I should be on book 20... according to my calculations. Yikes.

Books 17 and Eighteen

17. Broken: When Special Agent Will Trent arrives in Grant County, he finds a police department determined to protect its own and far too many unanswered questions about a prisoner’s death. He doesn’t understand why Officer Lena Adams is hiding secrets from him. He doesn’t understand her role in the death of Grant County’s popular police chief. He doesn’t understand why that man’s widow, Dr. Sara Linton, needs him now more than ever to help her crack this case.

While the police force investigates the murder of a young woman pulled from a frigid lake, Trent investigates the police force, putting pressure on Adams just when she’s already about to crack. Caught between two complicated and determined women, trying to understand Linton’s passionate distrust of Adams, the facts surrounding Chief Tolliver’s death, and the complexities of this insular town, Trent will unleash a case filled with explosive secrets—and encounter a thin blue line that could be murderous if crossed.


Review: Whew. The police force is quite CROCKED in this book. The reason for the killing doesn't quite add up to the brutality of the murders. But I found myself more interested in Sara and Will and Tommy than our two murder victims. All in all, get ready for some twisted mess if you read this book. I definitely recommend it.  


18. Work Hard.Be Nice: When Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin signed up for Teach for America right after college and found themselves utter failures in the classroom, they vowed to remake themselves into superior educators. They did that—and more. In their early twenties, by sheer force of talent and determination never to take no for an answer, they created a wildly successful fifth-grade experience that would grow into the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), which today includes sixty-six schools in nineteen states and the District of Columbia.

KIPP schools incorporate what Feinberg and Levin learned from America's best, most charismatic teachers: lessons need to be lively; school days need to be longer (the KIPP day is nine and a half hours); the completion of homework has to be sacrosanct (KIPP teachers are available by telephone day and night). Chants, songs, and slogans such as "Work hard, be nice" energize the program. Illuminating the ups and downs of the KIPP founders and their students, Mathews gives us something quite rare: a hopeful book about education.


Review: KIPP school's beginnings. Inspirational. A quick read. Definitely worth the read - especially if you are interested in the educational system.

Books Fourteen, 15, Sixteen

14. Giada's Everyday Italian: In her hit Food Network show Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis shows you how to cook delicious, beautiful food in a flash. And here, in her long-awaited first book, she does the same—helps you put a fabulous dinner on the table tonight, for friends or just for the kids, with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of flavor. She makes it all look easy, because it is. Everyday Italian is true to its title: the fresh, simple recipes are incredibly quick and accessible, and also utterly mouth-watering—perfect for everyday cooking. And the book is focused on the real-life considerations of what you actually have in your refrigerator and pantry (no mail-order ingredients here) and what you’re in the mood for—whether a simply sauced pasta or a hearty family-friendly roast, these great recipes cover every contingency. So, for example, you’ll find dishes that you can make solely from pantry ingredients, or those that transform lowly leftovers into exquisite entrées (including brilliant ideas for leftover pasta), and those that satisfy your yearning to have something sweet baking in the oven. There are 7 ways to make red sauce more interesting, 6 different preparations of the classic cutlet, 5 perfect pestos, 4 creative uses for prosciutto, 3 variations on basic polenta, 2 great steaks, and 1 sublime chocolate tiramisù—plus 100 other recipes that turn everyday ingredients into speedy but special dinners.

What’s more,
Everyday Italian is organized according to what type of food you want tonight—whether a soul-warming stew for Sunday supper, a quick sauté for a weeknight, or a baked pasta for potluck. These categories will help you figure out what to cook in an instant, with such choices as fresh-from-the-pantry appetizers, sauceless pastas, everyday roasts, and stuffed vegetables—whatever you’re in the mood for, you’ll be able to find a simple, delicious recipe for it here. That’s the beauty of Italian home cooking, and that’s what Giada De Laurentiis offers here—the essential recipes to make a great Italian dinner. Tonight.

Review: It has amazing reviews for a reason. Simple, delicious, and full of incredible tips. If you enjoy Italian - get this cook book immediately.

15. Happiness Project: Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project. 

In this lively and compelling account, Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.

Review: This was the book that surprised me the most. It's outstanding. Not self-helpy or preachy - just simple. Makes me think - what can I do to make myself happier?

16. Silver Sparrow: With the opening line of Silver Sparrow, “My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist,” author Tayari Jones unveils a breathtaking story about a man’s deception, a family’s complicity, and two teenage girls caught in the middle. 

Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon’s two families—the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode when secrets are revealed and illusions shattered. As Jones explores the backstories of her rich yet flawed characters—the father, the two mothers, the grandmother, and the uncle—she also reveals the joy, as well as the destruction, they brought to one another’s lives. 

At the heart of it all are the two lives at stake, and like the best writers—think Toni Morrison with The Bluest Eye—Jones portrays the fragility of these young girls with raw authenticity as they seek love, demand attention, and try to imagine themselves as women, just not as their mothers.

Review: I read this in one sitting. It's incredible. MY FAVORITE SUMMER READ SO FAR. Get it now.

Books 11, Twelve, 13

All book descriptions are from Amazon. 
11. French Women For All Seasons: From the author of French Women Don't Get Fat, the #1 National Bestseller, comes an essential guide to the art of joyful living—in moderation, in season, and, above all, with pleasure.

Together with a bounty of new dining ideas and menus, Mireille Guiliano offers us fresh, cunning tips on style, grooming, and entertaining. Here are four seasons' worth of strategies for shopping, cooking, and exercising, as well as some pointers for looking effortlessly chic. Taking us from her childhood in Alsace-Lorraine to her summers in Provence and her busy life in New York and Paris, this wise and witty book shows how anyone anywhere can develop a healthy, holistic lifestyle.

Review: I read the first book, French Women Don't Get Fat. I loved it - but by the second installment - I'm over it. I think the difference between the books is that when I read the first book, I'd never been to France. By the second book, I had been to Paris. It is a beautiful place, but a lot of smoking, a lot of VERY thin women, and...not quite as "fanciful" as I expected... I think I'll take some of the advice, but if there is another book that comes out - I will skip it. Read the first book...it's far better.


12. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder: Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar and Lake Eden, Minnesota's own amateur sleuth extraordinaire, returns in "Lemon Meringue Pie Murder" to track down the killer of a neighbor with a sweet tooth.It's summer in Lake Eden and Hannah's younger sister Michelle is coming home for a visit. But before the family reunion can get under way, Hannah discovers the body of a local resident in the woman's basement. The only clue is one of Hannah's luscious lemon meringue pies on the kitchen counter with only one slice missing...even though from the looks of the victim's kitchen, she was planning an intimate dinner for two.Includes nine original cookie and dessert recipes for you to try!

Review: Same story as French Women - read the first one. I'm over it. The series reminds me of the Ladies Detective Agency series. Although I liked the LDA series better, both series have simple and sweet lead detectives and the crimes are not brutal and dark. Think Monk television series. The only thing with these series, esp. Lemon Meringue, is that it gets old. I want more from the main character and the people around her. I want to go deeper. All in all, I'm taking a break. It's definitely not a series where I can read the books back to back...


13. Sunday Brunch Club: Meet Capri, an attorney at a top Houston firm. She seems to have it all together all the time until a seductive client topples her self-control. Then there’s Jermane, a devout Catholic who met her husband in law school and has never been with another man. But now her workaholic marriage is threatened by temptation.

Angel, on the other hand, sees men merely as a means to sex. Her scorn for love of all kinds—godly or otherwise—is challenged by a serious health scare. Meanwhile, Jewel bases her dating choices on the size of a man’s bank account until she meets a new flame who causes her to reconsider her requirements.


Finally, there’s Lexi, the link between the ladies, who provides sage advice while praying for Mr. Right. But what happens when depression hits hard?

Through conversation and consolation, these dynamic characters provide one another with divine inspiration—encouraging readers to root for them along the way.


Review: This book was great. You will find yourself frustrated with each one of  the characters at different times in the book. Some compare it to Waiting to Exhale - I haven't read it. But will say that it's definitely better (to me) than Getting To Happy.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Book Ten: The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life

amazon.com:  Do you think that healthy food couldn't possibly taste good? Does the idea of "eating healthy" conjure up images of roughage and steamed vegetables? Author Ellie Krieger, host of Food Network's Healthy Appetite, will change all that. A registered dietitian, Ellie is also a lover and proponent of good, fresh food, simply but deliciously prepared. And she's not about denial--no nonfat foods here, because when you take the fat out of natural foods, in go the chemicals. Don't deny yourself butter--use a pat of it, but put it front and center on those mashed potatoes, so you can revel in it with all your senses. The Food You Crave is all you'll need to change the way you eat and change the way you feel. It contains 200 recipes that cover every meal of the day and every craving you might have. Every recipe contains a complete nutritional breakdown, as well as tips on ingredients and techniques that will keep you eating smart and eating well.

Review: Yes, this is a cookbook. Yes, this is a revisited book. I thought I should include it though, because I read through this as a book. There is so much helpful information in this book about healthy eating. The important FIVE: whole grain, fruits/veggies, lean meats, fish, beans/nuts/legumes. If you are a cook and find yourself reaching for the same recipes, boxes of food, or snacks - pick up this book! It has amazing reviews, recipes, and information!