THURSDAY: Chess for Kids

This is one of two books we found at our local library to teach kids (and their less than enthused parents) to play chess. I found it easy to read and understand, as did my son. There's a lot to keep track of, in chess, so if your child really wants to know how to play, this is a book to keep close by!


[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: Connecting Boys with Books

It's no secret that boys, on the average, are struggling at school. This book, targeting librarians, but useful for teachers and parents, addresses the needs of boys in relation to books - as tools to help with overall learning/education as well as tools for negotiating social scenarios and the ups and downs of life.

I found this little gem on the shelves of my local library. It includes recommendations of books for boys, areas boys gravitate toward for reading (non-fiction, humor, fantasy/SciFi),and ways to make libraries welcoming (times/spaces for snacks/talking, after school programming, male staff, chess/gaming activities, reading challenges, etc.). Lots of recommended books I can't wait to try. 

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: Encyclopedia of Classic Quilt Patterns

Yep, another quilting book! I have been searching for a book of patterns that I could look through and mark up based on quilts I would like to make some day. This book was FILLED with examples. Each example had a picture of a quilt, a pattern for the block pieces, fabric requirements and instructions for putting the block together. Some of my favorites are: Flower Reel, Hanover Tulip, Iris in My Garden, Pennsylvania Tulip, Tulip Treats and Wandering Star.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: The Quilting Bible

One of my dreams is to make a quilt - in fact, I'd like to make one this year. So I am always looking for resources to help me figure out how to do it. This book is a great resource. It has clear explanations and great pictures covering everything from cutting shapes to putting the whole thing together.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: Star Wars Character Encyclopedia

Great book for the Star Wars fan in your house or life. Each page describes a character and lists statistics like species, height, allegiance and home world. Scene shots from the show are accompanied by additional story details. My niece and my son poured over it, page after page. As she was looking for her favorite female characters, she didn't linger as long as he did.


[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: Precious Moments Collector's Guide

I used to collect Precious Moments - I was in the clubs, regularly buying new pieces, etc. But I haven't really been interested them in awhile. I saw this book at my library, and picked it up for nostalgia sake.

It was nice to look at the pieces I remembered from when I paid closer attention. I really enjoyed looking at the new line of Disney pieces with the princesses, Toy Story characters, Mike and Sully, etc. They are so cute!

This is a good resource for collectors to track the value of their pieces. For non-collectors who are fond of the cute little people with the teardrop eyes, it's just a fun visual treat.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: LEGO: A Love Story

If you know our family, you should not be the least bit surprised that I am reviewing this book! We love LEGO bricks at our house. (In reading this book, I discovered that it is bad form to call the bricks "Legos." I still do, though. LEGO is the company name, and the bricks are bricks. Thus, "LEGO bricks.")

This book is something of a memoir. The author chronicles his discovery of a community of adult LEGO builders - as well has his own re-discovery of the joy of building. The book highlights entities, events and places such as the Toy and Plastic Brick Museum in Ohio, Brick Link, BrickJournal, etc. 


I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I love the creativity that comes when a group of people gather with a large pile of bricks - whether those creations come from my seven-year-old, or a group of thirty-somethings who building life-sized creations. A year or two ago, a children's museum in the area had a LEGO display that was fantastic. I could have spent the whole day there admiring the creations. If you love - or loved - LEGO bricks, check this book out.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunder

Our family has dipped a toe in the Percy Jackson pool, and a lot of questions have come up about Greek mythology. I requested this from the library, thinking a kids' introduction to myths would be a good starting place.

I was surprised to find out that this was done in a comic/graphic novel format - brilliant. The stories covered include King Midas, Pandora, Pygmalion, Persephone, Arachne, Perseus, Pyramus and Thisbe, Icarus/Minotaur, and Hercules.

The comic format downplays some of the gross parts of the stories (which is a great). The pictures make the stories easier to relate to for visual learners. There are also some fun, silly bits in the stories, like a running joke with naked sheep. I think this would be a good starting point for anyone interested in Greek mythology.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY:Socialnomics

I read about this book online and requested it from the library to just skim through. The writing style was so engaging, though, I read the whole thing cover to cover in an afternoon. It gives an analysis and examples of the impact of social media on news, business, communication, dating and politics. There was also a section about the impact of social media on books and publishing that I found especially interesting. Some of the other interesting examples (for me) included a fantasy football podcast and the Facebook game, Scrabulous.

If you at all interested in social media and it's crazy amount of growth and impact on society over the last few years, check out Socialnomics.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY:The Young Author's Do It Yourself Book

This is a resource I wish I had discovered last September as I was preparing for my first year of Creative Writing Club. This resource is a kid-friendly description of the writing process from getting an idea through editing, illustrating, binding and promoting. combine this resource with materials from Bare Books, and you have a great starting place for young writers in your life.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: Eat the Cookies, Buy the Shoes

Check out that title - why wouldn't you want to read a book that tells you to eat cookies and buy shoes?!

The basic premise is that discipline has it's place, but not at the expense of enjoying and celebrating the life God has given us. We should set reasonable goals and expectations for ourselves and celebrate our achievements (with moderation). This was a very encouraging book! Check it out.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer

I don't think I have mentioned recently how truly fabulous our library is. All of the new books are shelved together near the front of the library, so I can just scan the shelves for titles that jump out at me and this one did.

There's a chunk of information up front about terms and safety, but it is reader-friendly (not so dry and boring you don't want to go on to the projects). The projects range from the cute and quirky (jewelry, note pads) to the pretty geeky (bronzed first cell phone, USB desktop fan, and keyboard buttons as shirt buttons). 

A fun book just to scan, but for those with more electrical skills than I have, it can be a fun how-to book as well.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Sorry this is late today!

I picked this up on the recommendation of another blog. I haven't read the author's other works. This is a memoir that jumps around a little. A third of the way through I would have been hard-pressed to tell you in a sentence what it was about. I enjoyed what I read, but I couldn't get it all to hang together. I pressed forward and I'm glad I did. I really liked what he had to say about "story." He talked about the things we remember - and choosing to do things in our lives that are worth remembering - things that make our lives a good story. He also talked about keeping our stories in perspective with the bigger Story. My favorite quote is, "I am a tree in a story about a forest."


There are powerful stories related here, but I will take away more the messages about what sort of story I am telling - and what story I want to tell - with my life.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: The Art of Eating In

A woman living in New York City decided to forgo all the amazing restaurants in her city and instead eat at home - and she blogs about it.

Now she's written a book about her experience and how it impacted the rest of her life (How do you date when you don't eat out?)

I enjoyed reading about Cathy's journey. She experienced all sorts of interesting things like dumpster diving at stores and restaurants as they throw out things they don't sell, as well as community tours to learn what to eat in the "wilds" of her city. Her particular brand of cookie is a pretty "fussy" for someone like me who doesn't even like to cook the simple things. But reading the book did inspire me to want to eat in more often.

Check out The Art of Eating In. 

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: Author Mama

From the woman who brought us Writer Mama and Get Known Before the Book Deal comes an e-book about writing a book - Author Mama 

I am a big fan of Christina Katz' other writing-related books - as well as a fan of her blog and e-zines. But I am generally not a huge fan of ebooks. I have only bought one other and that was from a writer I really like whose books are not carried in my area. I had my choice between a physical book or an ebook, and the ebook price was too good to pass up. But I like having a book in my hand - a book I can either take notes on or take notes IN. I know I can print off an ebook, but I don't relish the impact a 130+ page ebook would make on my already-expensive computer ink supply. So it takes something special to make me buy an ebook.

I think Christina Katz' work is that kind of special. The book goes through the different stages of getting a book published. She shares from her own authoring experiences plus shares how the current state of publishing changes the experience for current and future authors. Most chapters come with recommendations or activities for readers to try out. 

I'm not really sure what is happening with my writing aspirations right now, but despite that, I really wanted to read what Christina had to say, and I found all sorts of information, advice and encouragement. If you are an aspiring author, check out the ebook, Author Mama.


[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: The Herb Garden Specialist

Our library has a few books in this series - like The Small Garden Specialist (Specialist Series), The Orchid Specialist: The Essential Guide to Selecting, Growing, Displaying, Improving, and Maintaining Orchids (Specialist Series), and The Container Specialist: The Essential Guide to Planting in Containers and Designing, Improving, and Maintaining Container Gardens (Specialist Series) - including this book - The Herb Garden Specialist.

I love how these books are laid out. The illustrations are in color. Each culinary herb listed in this book includes notes on uses of the herb, how to harvest it, and taking care of it. 

If you are looking for some reasonably priced gardening resources that are easy to understand, check out this series by David Squire. They are the first books I would seek out to expand our garden.


[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: S is for Story

I picked this book up for Writing Club as (1) an example of an alphabet book and (2) because it is all about writing. It is fantastic. Each letter of the alphabet stands for a writing term that is set in a small paragraph of verse. The sidebars of each page explain the concept a little more. The illustration style is not my personal preference for style, but they work together well with the content. I am even thinking I could use the 26 letters as the structure of of next year's Writing Club Curriculum. 

Great alphabet book. Great writing resource for kids. Check it out! 

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: Crafty Superstar

Great book filled with great questions to help readers decide if a craft business is right for them. The illustrations set up a great "feel" or "voice." There are templates and down-to-earth information. If you have ever considered starting a craft business, start your research with this book.

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: Life with Favre

About a month ago, I posted that this book was in my "waiting to read" pile. I finally got to it and found it completely delightful.

I was much more interested in the Favre/Rodgers dynamic, and the personal stories about the players during the year or two of transition than some of the game play by play that was included in the book. I think my husband, and football fans who are more "students of the game" would have gotten more out of those portions than I did.

I took great joy in reading out loud to my husband the sections about Rodgers' Wonderlic scores, and his triumph after people doubted him at the various levels of his football career. I would highly recommend this book to Packer fans. It was a terrific read - especially in this dry months before training camp starts up!

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.]

THURSDAY: 102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1500 Words or Less

102 Ways examines magazine, newspaper, corporate and "other" short writing forms for freelancers. Each entry describes the form as well as how to get work in that area. 

I read a lot about writing, so there weren't a ton of surprises in the book, but the sections on how to find work in a particular area were helpful.

There are no easy answers in this book. There is still a lot of hard work involved. Not only do you have to write and polish the piece to make it publishable, but you have to dig to find the right place to submit it. This is a good resource to get you started, but the work is up to you. 

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]