Growing Up Duggar - Review

Growing Up Duggar: It's All About Relationships by Jana, Jill, Jessa and Jinger Duggar

Rating: 2 Stars

Description:  Ranging from 24 to 20 the 4 oldest Duggar girls of the TLC show 20 and Counting share their feelings about life and their beliefs.

Genre: Self-Help

My Impression:  When the Tornado was a baby we spent a lot of time being awake at 5am and the Duggar's kept me company.  While our religious beliefs don't line up I was impressed by their ability to run such a large family efficiently and the discipline it took to stay out of debt and make so much yourself.  I was interested in a more in depth look at how the family worked from the perspectives of the now adult children.  That wasn't what I got which is completely my fault for not reading the summary close enough!  This is a book for girls from I'd say around ages 8 to 14 who are trying to navigate through that difficult time in life and figure out how their religious beliefs can relate to what they see around them. I think it would be wonderful for that - especially for girls growing up in a religious homeschool environment.  The writing style is a bit clunky and it's obvious these girls aren't professional writers but the fact that they're trying to genuinely connect with girls does come through.  So while I'm clearly not the target market in age and religious beliefs I think it would be a beneficial to those that it is actually designed to help.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: No

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Only if you're looking for a book for your Christian homeschool group to read.

Dear Abigail - Review

Dear Abigail: The Intimate Lives and Revoloutionary Ideas of Abigail Adams and Her Two Remarkable Sisters by Diane Jacobs

Rating: 4 Stars

Description:  This is the story of Abigail Adams and her relationship with her 2 sisters.  Their relationship is explored in historical context through letters, narrative and documents of the time period.  It is also wonderfully illustrated with photographs or paintings of everything from the houses and people that factor in the girls' lives to the carriage they would've used.

Genre: Non-Fiction

My Impression: Abigail is definitely not an unknown wife of history.  Her role as John Adams' wife, friend and confidant has been clearly shown in a number of books and the mini-series HBO did a few years ago (LOVE - find it and watch it.  The casting alone is amazing).  I knew she was strong, intelligent and well-read but that was about it but really even that is shown not as Abigail herself but as Mrs. John Adams.  I know very little about Abigail herself, her family or her upbringing.  That is until I read this book.  Jacobs does a fantastic job presenting the information in a clear and informative manner without getting too bogged down in irrelevant detail.  It's really a fascinating look at not only the life of an early influential American woman but also just how women were brought up in America during the 18th century.  The relationships of Abigail's sisters and their families were explored which not only allowed me to get to know 2 women who I had never even really known existed but also helped flesh Abigail out a little more.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:  Yes

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Definitely - I already know a few people who may be seeing this book as a birthday or Christmas gift!

Secrets Underground - Review

Secrets Underground by Elizabeth MacLeod

Rating: 4 Stars

Description:  This is a detailed look at North American history through what's left buried underground.  From shipwrecks in San Francisco to Prohibition era tunnels in Saskatchewan this book covers both the well known and unknown stories as to what lies beneath our feet.  There is an in-depth look at the history that surrounds each item and discusses similar stories all through North America.

Genre: Children's Non-Fiction

My Impression:  Wow, this book is detailed!  There are sidebars and captions and sidebars to the sidebar.  Everything is well photographed and the author does a fantastic job of putting history in context.  This is not a book you pick up and breeze through.  This is one you study and discuss, look through again and then do extra research on something you read about.  The would be wonderful for a child in middle to late elementary school as well as anyone else who is interested in history.  I definitely look forward to reading it again in an actual hard copy as my main flaw with it was I didn't think it translated well to e-book format.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Yes.  I'm actually planning on buying a paper copy.  I think it will be a lot of fun for any of us to page through.

The Tastemakers:Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes but Fed Up with Fondue - Review

The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes but Fed Up With Fondue by David Sax

Rating: 4 Stars

Description:  David Sax takes the reader on a trip through food trends, food fads and the people who make them happen or have to deal with the consequences.

Genre: Non-Fiction

My Impression: The cover of this book was what really grabbed me initially and then I was intrigued my the concept.  Sax did not disappoint.  This was a detailed look at everything food trend related.  He covered cupcakes, artisan cheeses, gourmet burgers, health and diet trends, the people who make the trends happen both on the production and marking level, the effects of social media and what happens when a trend fades.  I was especially pleased in the food truck chapter when he very clearly explained both sides of the controversy surround them in a way that I sympathized with both sides.  This book was a fascinating look at food from almost an academic level.  There aren't recipes and Sax is a writer not a chef.  This is definitely a perspective I haven't read before and introduced  me to an industry that I wasn't aware even existed.  It was a great read though I did learn that it's a terrible idea to go into a specialty market while reading this book.  My trip to pick up a few dollars worth of bulk spices ended up with me walking out with chia drinks, fancy apples and cheeses, gummy bears and a bacon jam.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Yes definitely.  Especially to anyone interested in food.

American Afterlife: Encounters in the Customs of Mourning - Review

American Afterlife: Encounters in the Customs of Mourning by Kate Sweeney

Rating:  5 Stars

Description:  Sweeney takes the reader through a tour of the history of mourning and funeral practices in the United States.  There are several interesting detours into the increase in cremation, memorial photography, roadside memorials, obituaries, and mourning clothes.  All the information is presented in a fascinating and logical manner.

Genre: Non-Fiction

My Impression:  I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book when I got it from Netgalley to review.  I've read a few books from medical examiners that talks about the body but this books talks specifically about how those remaining deal with death.  I was really surprised with how interesting and unusual the book was.  I kept reading bits of it aloud to those around me and mentioning it in conversation.  When you consider the topic of this book that's pretty impressive.  Sweeney presented a wide variety of information in a way that was both extremely informative and retainable.  I kind of feel like I'm an expert on funerary practices at the moment.  I'm not sure when that will come in handy but if you want to know the differences in handling grief over the last 100 years I'm your girl.  Sweeney is going on my short list of authors to keep an eye on.  If she managed to make the subject of death fascinating, non-morbid and non-judgmental she could probably make just about any subject fascinating.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Yes

Looking for Anne of Green Gables - Review

Looking for Anne of Green Gables by Irene Gammel

Rating: 1 Star

Description:  This book is supposed to be an in-depth look at both Montgomery herself and the people and events around her that influenced the writing of her most famous book Anne of Green Gables.

Genre: Non-Fiction

My Impression: I've read books where either the writing style or the subject matter didn't interest me. I've read books where the characters or their decisions irritated me.  Very rarely do I come across a book that I actually dislike intensely.  Unfortunately, Looking for Anne was on of those books but because I had read all of Montgomery's books this year I felt like I should finish it.  There were really 2 primary problems with the book.  The first is that I never warmed to Montgomery.  I've read her books since I was a child but never read much about the author herself other than the basic summary that is included in the back of the books.  I knew she had been raised by and then taken care strict elderly grandparents.  I knew she had married later in life.  However, it seems that Montgomery was stuck in a prolonged adolescent.  Her feelings were regularly gravely injured and she was jealous and clingy in the majority of her relationships.  How books like Rilla of Ingleside came from the person shown in journal entries is a mystery to me.  My second problem with this book is the basic writing style.  Several times throughout the book she halfway introduces someone and then says "We'll get back to them" but when the story comes around to them I only had about a half memory of who they were.  The book followed no logical layout and the overly dramatic style wasn't really held up by her discoveries.  The only good thing that resulted from this book is I now have zero interest in collecting Montgomery's journals.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:  Absolutely not

Would I Recommend this Book?: Again, absolutely not.

Ramshackle Glam: The New Mom's Haphazard Guide to (Almost) Having It All - Review

Ramshackle Glam: The New Mom's Haphazard Guide to Almost Having It All by Jordan Reid

Rating:  4 Stars

Description:  The creator of the blog Ramshackle Glam put together this guide after her son was born.  In it are short chapters, many in list form, that detail everything from stuff you must absolutely have with a newborn down to clothing choices for actually leaving the house when the newborn is here.

Genre: Parenting

My Impression:  I've read a ton of the humorous type new parent guides. Some I love, some I didn't but Reid's book is a little different.  This is not really a parenting guide.  There are some parenting tips about things like traveling with a baby, but the focus of the book is about how to be a new mother.  There are sections that talk about how to get dressed quickly and look okay, a realistic makeup routine so you don't look like a zombie, how to readjust your vision of yourself from pre-baby to post-baby, how to hold onto what you enjoy pre-baby and make it work post-baby.  She genuinely loves her son and is genuinely happy in her life but does some pretty honest reflection of how she got there.  I took it as a good sign that 20 pages into the book I looked up her blog and added it to my feedly list!  Jordan comes off as more real than most books of this type do.  This would be a great book for an expecting mother or even one with a newborn.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Yes

The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster - Review

The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster

Rating: 3 Stars

Description:  While frantically looking for something in her home Jen Lancaster realized that her levels of clutter and chaos were detracting from her life.  After talking about resolutions for the new year she decided to spend the year living like Martha.

Genre: Memoir

My Impression:  I was so excited when I stumbled upon this book while browsing what my library had under the subject "Martha Stewart".  I've been obsessed with Martha the last couple of weeks for reasons I can't quite figure out.  The summary of this book read like the books The Happiness Project (which Lancaster actually references) and Julie and Julia had a baby with a sense of humor.  I was somewhat disappointed with what I found.  Unlike The Happiness Project there are no clear goals or set ideas Lancaster's working towards.  She mentions living like Martha but there's not much explanation for how she does it.  The vagueness of the whole thing kind of bugged me.  Also, there's a lot about her dog.  For most of the book I was wondering why she dragged Martha into the book at all because the book seemed to be mostly about her beloved dog Maisy being in the last stages of life.  While those parts were sweetly done it wasn't what I wanted from this book.  The parts where she does talk about copying Martha either for party planning or cooking I found very interesting but unfortunately these parts feel few and far between.  This book wasn't bad and if I had read any of Jen Lancaster's other books and really loved her I probably would've gotten more out of it.  However, I was looking for a book about a normal person trying Martha Stewart's methods and this just wasn't it.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:  No

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Only to someone who really loved Lancaster's previous books.  I wouldn't say don't read it but it definitely isn't a "You have to go out and get this book right now!"

Spit, Scarey Ann, and Sweat Bees by Kathryn Tucker Windham - Review

Spit, Scarey Ann, and Sweat Bees by Kathryn Tucker Windham

Rating: 5 Stars

Description:  This is a short, prettily bound book that focuses on the superstitions that surrounded Kathryn Tucker Windham as she was growing up in a small Alabama town in the 1920s and 30s.

Genre: Memoir

My Impression:  I love Windham's books and this is no exception.  Reading this is a bit like sitting with my grandmother as she tells stories about her childhood.  Not sure how this would translate to people who didn't grow up in the south but for those that did there's a magical quality.  I was very excited to find a copy of this in a local bookstore and even more pleased that it contained mostly new to me stories and pictures.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:  Always

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Yes

Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin - Review

Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin

Rating: 3 Stars
Description:  A little while after writing The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin was hit with a wave of homesickness in her own home.  She spent the next 9 months trying to make her home more homey.

Genre:  Self-Help

My Impression:  Ehh.  I got a lot out of The Happiness Project so I was really looking forward to reading about her next project.  I was pretty disappointed by this one though.  I found the first 3 chapters useful but after that it was kind of same old same old.  This book felt like kind of a stretch - like the publisher was pushing for a new book so this was thrown together when there really wasn't enough new information.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:  Yes though I'll probably wait until I could get it from the library.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  No.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - Review

The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

Rating:  5 Stars

Description:  Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany on the bus one morning that although her life was great she wasn't as happy as she should be.  She spent a year trying to change that and this book is the result.

Genre:  Self-Help

My Impression:  Despite the 5 star rating I actually have mixed feelings about this book.  To start with it wasn't what I was expecting.  The back says it is a memoir/self-help.  I was really expecting more of a memoir and this book was firmly in the self-help square.  Also, I really didn't like Gretchen or her husband.  These are not people I would want to go to coffee with or chat with during kid activities.  I've met a few people that Gretchen reminds me of and I tend to do my best to avoid them. That being said when I put all that aside and focused on what the book was actually saying the impact in my life was huge.  There was nothing mind blowing and many of her discoveries I'd already figured out about myself (in particular the living in an atmosphere of growth).  However, this format really gave my husband and myself a foundation to really start talking about what we could change in our own lives to enjoy it more and not be buried under the endless tasks of home ownership and child responsibilities.  The chapters that really spoke the most to me were the chapters on fun and money.  While I don't intend to reread this book I did take notes on the points that seemed most important to me and I do plan to read her next book.  I've also noticed that by just thinking about how to be happier and talking about how to be happier I actually am happier and more enthusiastic about what's going on around me.  So even though the actual reading experience was more text book than escape and even though Gretchen herself annoyed me quite a bit the fact that this book made me feel happier and lighter earns it 5 stars from me.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Yes

Reviews - Bossypants and Mary Poppins

Bossypants by Tina Fey
Rating: 3 Stars

Description:  Bossypants is basically a general biography of Fey and her career.

Genre: Humor, Biography, NonFiction

My Impression: Unlike what feels like most of the world I don't have a huge crush on Tina Fey.  I thought she was the only person on Saturday Night Live who made it worth watching when she and Jimmy Fallon did Weekend Update together.  I've enjoyed what I've seen of 30 Rock though it's not on my must watch list of shows at the moment.  So all in all I have pleasant but mostly neutral feelings about her not an overwhelming desire for her to be my BFF.  Bossypants had gotten so raved about that I finally decided to read it and for the most part I enjoyed it.    There is nothing particularly in depth or personal about the majority of the stories.  I definitely didn't feel like I had a greater insight to who Fey is after reading it other than fame seems to have snuck up on her.  In insight into how comedy works both in improv situations and on SNL was interesting.  I laughed a few times and smiled a bit more but it definitely wasn't the funniest book I've ever read.  It actually reminded me a bit of Mindy Kaling's book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? but I enjoyed Kaling's writing style a bit more.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Probably not.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  No - I would recommend Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling over this book

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Rating: 2 Stars

Description: Mary Poppins is the story of a magical unusual nanny who blows in with the wind the take care of the Banks children.

Genre: Children/YA, Classics

My Impression: I've been reading a lot of children's classics lately thanks in part to the library and what is free on my Kindle.  Most of them I've loved.  When I saw Mary Poppins at the library I was thrilled.  I've watched the movie a few times but it's been awhile though I remember liking it.  I expected magical nonsense and got lots of nonsense and while there was a magic in the book it didn't translate to a magical reading experience.  Mary was vain, prickly and frankly just not very nice.  The stories were disjointed and the book itself read more like a collection of short stories than an actual book.  This is one of the few books that I've enjoyed the movie more.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:  No, not interested. Though I might read a biography about P.L. Travers

Would I Recommend this Book?:  No, there are so many other classics to read that were so much more entertaining.