wednesday october 11
When I finished reading Variable Star for the first time the other day, I gave a long sigh of satisfaction. It’s one of Robert A. Heinlein’s stories but Spider Robinson actually wrote it. The Robert A. Heinlein estate asked him to write this story outlined by Heinlein in 1955.
I have to give Spider Robinson a lot of credit for his work. It could not have been easy. He started with an eight page handwritten synopsis, fourteen 3X5 index cards with extensive notes, his knowledge of Heinlein’s work and his long friendship with Heinlein. The result is vintage Heinlein, or vintage Robinson or both.
Continue Reading…
tuesday august 15
When someone brings a book back to the Library saying, “This is the best book I ever read,” I pay attention to that title. Even if it’s not the best book I ever read, it’s probably a very good book.
Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson is one of those titles. What a gem! You can tell Jackson is a Southern writer because Alabama is in the title and she’s got one of those names. I mean the ones we tend to give to girls down South honoring their fathers or other significant men. I can talk about this because I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. In my own family, my grandmother gave most of her children a variation of her husband’s name, both girls and boys.
Continue Reading…
monday august 07
Diet cookbooks are perennial favorites on the cookbook aisle. Even though there are some reports that low-carb cooking is slowing down, low-carb diet books and cookbooks are still available at the Public Library.
One of my favorite authors is George Stella from the Food Network. George Stella’s Livin’ Low Carb: Family Recipes Stella Style and Eating Stella Style. Low-Carb Recipes for Healthy Living have easy to follow and easy to prepare recipes. I like Stella because he’s low-key. His approach is geared towards fresh and natural ingredients.
There are two South Beach Diet Cookbooks, the original South Beach Diet Cookbook and the South Beach Quick & Easy Cookbook. These are both by Arthur Agatston, author of the original South Beach Diet.
Continue Reading…
tuesday august 01
Summer time and the tomatoes are ripe! BLT rules! Or just T for tomato. It won’t be long before our peaches are ripe, too. Then, there’s the ubiquitous zucchini. I never worry too much about having too many of them. Some of my friends know how to make zucchini bread. When all else fails, there’s always the compost heap.
When I was a child I did my share of slicing, dicing, shelling and peeling for the freezer and pantry. Mom called the other day to tell me she’s been freezing okra. I’ve chopped my last pod of okra.
For everyone else there are cookbooks about preserving the fresh fruits and vegetables of today to enjoy next winter.
Continue Reading…
monday july 24
I recently read Two Cats and the Woman They Own or Lessons I Learned from My Cats by Patti Davis.
Ward Schumaker's sensitive illustrations lift this small book out of the ordinary.
Cat lovers will recognize several universal kitty moments. Each chapter has a Life Lesson attached to it. Life Lesson 2 says, "There is an art to properly receiving gifts. Even if you don't like the gift, you should cherish the giver and praise her generosity." The gift in this case was a large dead rat.
Continue Reading…
tuesday july 18
This morning a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk perched on the edge of my deck. As I watched the bird with his striped front turn his head watching for small bird prey I thought about the amazing book To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifelong Obsession by Dan Koeppel. I listened to the audio book version during the chill autumn days last year.
In addition to examining the complex relationship between Koeppel and his father, Koeppel discusses the rules of the science/sport, obsession. Bird-witched! How Birds Can Change a Life by Marjorie Valentine Adams is a complementary bird-watching book. This collection of articles by a major contributor to birding in America helps the beginner understand how and why the rules of the American Birding Association work.
Continue Reading…
monday june 26
That's me. The #1 fan of eBooks. The Ohio eBook Project was obviously put together with my needs in mind. OK, I had to buy the MP3 player and a PDA to download the material but sometimes I need to be pushed.
My new car has the built-in MP3 connection.
You only need your library card, your pin number, a home computer, and a couple of electronic toys, i.e., a PDA or MP3 player that's not an iPod.
You can get to the Ohio eBook Project on the Library's Home Page. Scroll down to find the yellow splotch that says Digital Books. All instructions and the software necessary are available on this site.
On my PDA, I read A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, The Birthday of the World and other stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, and a fascinating book by Ann Patchett, Truth and Beauty: a Friendship. My current selection is the most recent Amelia Peabody mystery, Tomb of the Golden Bird by Elizabeth Peters.
On my MP3 player, I listened to Julie and Julia by Julie Powell, Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery, Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters, and an interesting biography, Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinor Pruitt Steward.
Continue Reading…
thursday june 08
I love a book that sneaks up on you. Leafing through the pages of Cass Turnbull's Guide to Pruning I noticed chapter 3 on water sprouts and suckers. Maybe this expert can explain the difference between the two terms.
She did. The good news is that now I know the difference. The bad news is that my pear trees will take a while to recover. I read another chapter and another. A reference to PlantAmnesty made me realize that it might be a good idea to read the Introduction. And the Foreward. And so forth. I did skip the part about pruning escallonia. She lives in Seattle. I live in Cincinnati. Escallonia is not an option for Cincinnati.
Her humor works for me, too. Turnbull has headings like Justifiable Arboricide and quotes the Indian chief in the movie Little Big Man. "It's a good day to die." The line drawn illustrations are perfect. Figure 6.4 shows three uses for retired pruning holsters: a piercing object, Chia Pet, Lunch box. Cute but not over the top.
Turnbull wrote each article for PlantAmnesty's newletter. She digs down to get to the root of pruning problems. She cautions that it sometimes feels counter-intuitve to prune the right way. More importantly, she explains why shearing isn't the best solution and that even pruning won't keep a shrub from growing to its ultimate size.
Continue Reading…
Read the books. Saw the movies. Listened to the audio books. Waiting for the next Harry Potter appearance. Sigh. 
Good News! There are other authors writing about wizards.
My latest favorite wizard-writing author is Martha Wells. The Fall of Ile-Rien is full of magic, wizards and a quest. Tremaine Valiarde has the last magical sphere that might help the wizards of her country combat the enemy known as The Gardier.
Like many other fantasy novels, a group of varied individuals, slowly form a family unit going outside the bounds of Ile-Rien society. Together they turn the tide of war, culminating in a final battle of wits and wizardry.
I really enjoy reading series that take three or more books to fully explore magical worlds and their rules governing magic. Wells writes a fast-paced and enjoyable fantasy for anyone craving wizards.
I'm still waiting for the Harry Potter to come, but I'm reading and enjoying other wizards right now!
The Wizard Hunters - Book One of the Fall of Ile-Rien
Ships of Air - Book Two of the Fall of Ile-Rien
The Gate of Gods - Book Three of the Fall of Ile-Rien
Continue Reading…
