Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein

Stars: ****1/2

Subtitle: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices and Take Back the Birth Experience

Summary: After making "The Business of Being Born", Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein decided to pool their information on childbirth and create a book. The goal of the book is to help pregnant women make informed decisions about their birth instead of just doing whatever they are told by others. The authors seem to favour a more natural approach but give you the ups and downs of the different choices and ultimately let you decide what's best for you.

Topics include: WHERE to give birth, Obstetricians and Midwives, Doulas, who should be at birth, section for sexual abuse survivors, epidurals, inductions, electric monitors, episiotomies/vacuum/forceps, C-section and VBAC, loving your labor and bonding with baby. I can't find the name of it but I read a similar book when I was pregnant the first time (2005) and it seemed to have been an older book but it was very informative. This book covers most of the same topics but has less on each topic. This however is probably a good thing as most parents wouldn't have read the first book I mentioned as it was very long and technical.

In between words from the author are short stories of "Birth Goddesses" which are real people (sometimes celebrities) who had an exceptional birth or stood up for what they wanted or something similar. These stories can be inspirational. You'll also find some sidebars on such topics as breech birth, questions to ask your doctor, drug-free induction, breathing techniques and more.

My only qualm about the book was that it's health information is U.S. specific. I'm Canadian and so the talk about insurance and costs of birth didn't apply. However you can just ignore those parts and find out your own insurance info. But I do think it's important to know.

I think knowing your options and making a thorough birth plan is VERY important to any pregnant women. If you are pregnant or plan to be soon, get this book.

Links of Interest
My Best Birth (ning community by authors), Your Best Birth Q & A Video, The Business of Being Born
Buy Your Best Birth at Amazon.com

Other Reviews
The Opinionated Parent, Devourer of Books

Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Seeing is Believing

Stars: *****

Ripley's has been reporting on the world's weirdest sites for I don't know how long. Each year since 2005 they publish an annual. It's basically a huge compendium of oddities. The 2010 version is this book, Seeing is Believing.

Just to give you an idea of what's included in this book, here are the chapter headings: Strange But True, Extreme Earth, Incredible Feats, Unusual Customs, Crazy Creatures, Travel Tales, Fantastic Food, Body Oddity, Strange Sites, Artistic License, Amazing Science and Beyond Belief. I'll mention more about some of what I read later.

In addition to all these strange facts, you'll find 100s if not 1000s of color photos, some Ripley's Research side bars which explain some extra info on certain info tidbits and occasional little reminders to check out the Ripley Books website for videos that match some of the stories in the book. If you want to get an idea of the layout, check out the Annual section of the website and choose the Look Inside! link.

Now I'd like to share a few of the stories I found most interesting:

pg 28 - In August 2007, bathers in the sea at Yamba, Australia found themselves in what looked like a giant bubble bath, when thick sea foam started to wash in on the beach. (believed to be organisms, dead fish and seaweed churned by the waves)

pg 73 - Competitors taking part in the Shepherd's Shemozzle race in the annual Huntaway Festival in Hunterville, New Zealand have to bite into bulls' testicles and carry them along a course as part of the endurance race.

pg 86 - Psychological counselor Xu Yiqiang demonstrated the art of hypnotizing chickens in Xi'an, northwest China, in 2007. (photos included!)

pg 160 - Rick from Montreal, Canada, known simply as "Zombie: is covered head to toe in corpse-like tattoos, complete witha skull etched on his face, a detailed spine down his back and brains painted onto his head. His amazing body-art took more than 24 hours to complete and cost almost $7000.

Links of Interest
Follow @RipleyWorld on Twitter. *highly recommended*, Seeing is Believing Book on Facebook, The Official Ripley Blog,
Buy Ripley's Believe It or Not! Seeing is Believing at Amazon.com

Other Reviews
Cupcake Witch, She is Too Fond of Books, Steph Su Reads, Worducopia, Cindy's Love of Books, Melissa's Bookshelf, A Bookworm's World, Book Reviews by Bobbie, Bookin' With Bingo,

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

Stars: *****

Summary: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is the immensely engaging and inspiring true account of an enterprising African teenager who constructed a windmill from scraps to create electricity for his entire community. William Kamkwamba shares the remarkable story of his youth in Malawi, Africa. A nation crippled by intense poverty, famine, and the AIDS plague—and how, with tenacity and imagination, he built a better life for himself, his family, and his village. The poignant and uplifting story of Kamkwamba’s inspiration and personal triumph, co-written with Bryan Mealer, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind has already won ringing praise from former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore as well as Paolo Coelho, internationally bestselling author of The Alchemist.

This incredible book was published October 09 by HarperLuxe, a division of HarperCollins. I fully intended to review it in October but things didn't work out that way. I love reading about life in Africa and reading stories of people who are very poor come into their own and succeed makes me hope for the future.

The book is not only about how William made a windmill but starts from when he was younger and spending his days playing to as he gets older and tries to continue his schooling, through a famine, spending his days reading books from the library, learning about electricity, trying things out for himself, working his way up to a windmill, getting electricity into his home and eventually getting noticed. The last few chapters cover what people noticed him and what was done afterward.

The story was very interesting and I rooted for him when he was figuring things out and feeling sad and worried when his city was going through the famine. William Kamkwamba is a remarkable man and I bet his parents are so very proud of him. I fully agree with the following testimonial about the book:

This book should be required reading in our schools where far too many students drop out because they, apparently, do not value education. Mr Kamkwamba doesn't just tell about the windmill and how he built it, he describes life and culture in Malawi, the struggles and horrors of the hunger season (which puts faces and hardships on the word, famine) and because of the famine the lack of fees that would allow him to continue in school. He foresaw that life could be different-better and pursued his dream to completion. This is a wonderful, positive story. Thanks for giving me an early opportunity to read it, learn and have hope in young people again.

Dorothy @ Books & More in Albion, MI

Dorothy Dickerson

Thanks to HarperCollins and Shelf Awareness for the opportunity to read this book.

Links of Interest
Browse Inside or View Discussion Guide or visit The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
On Twitter? Follow the book @malawindmilbook or the author @wkamkwamba

Buy The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind on Amazon.com

Other Reviews
Ramya's Bookshelf, The Novel World, Killin' Time Reading, Starting Fresh (talks a lot about what the author is up to now)

I missed everything... :(

I love reading and I love writing reviews and participating in special events in the book blog community. However since July I've gone into a funk that's made me not read as much and not want to blog. I'm just starting to get back into everything but I'm saddened to find out I missed:

Book Blogger Appreciation Week
The 24-hour Read-a-thon
Bloggiesta
Blog Improvement Project (I'm now way behind)

and probably more I can't think of right now. I am so mad! It's my fault but still, why did I have to lose interest when all the cool events were going on? I hope 2010 is better.

Top 10 Great Books for Children (from CTTC)

The Canadian Toy Testing Council has announced their top 10 books for children and I wanted to mention (and link to) the two books in the list that I've reviewed:

Bradley McGogg the Very Fine Frog by Tim Beiser
Chicken, Pig, Cow by Ruth Ohi
(the sequel to this book just came in the mail yesterday so keep an eye out for the review)

You can find the whole list at the Canadian Toy Testing Council.

Review Catching Up (Various)

Julia's Kitchen Wisdom by Julia Child
Subtitle: Essential Techniques and Recipes From a Lifetime of Cooking

Stars: ****

This little volume is a small book of cooking wisdom from none other than Julia Child which was released in honour of the Julie & Julia movie with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams that came out. Although I like cooking, I'm still learning and I don't know the fancy names of most techniques or the specific way to do them. This book is different from your usual cookbook because it's less about recipes and more about technique, although there ARE some recipes.

Contents are as follows: Soups and Two Mother Sauces, Salads and their Dressings, Vegetables, Meats/Poultry/fish, Egg Cookery, Breads/Crepes/Tarts, Cakes and Cookies and Kitchen Equipment and Definitions. Here is a very SMALL list of things you'll learn: Using Simmered Mushroom Caps as garnish, Cooking with Wine, How to properly dredge, How to tell when homemade bread is done, and much, much more. My only real complain is lack of photos. There were some times I would have liked picture demonstrations but for the most part, I suppose you can get by without photographs. I especially like the last chapter which explains the difference between baste, beat, blanch, fold, mince, puree, saute, toss and more.

You can find a MUCH better review of this book at Books I Done Read. Thanks to Random House for the book.

Buy Julia's Kitchen Wisdom at Amazon.com

Dear Jo: The story of losing Leah ... and searching for hope by Christina Kilbourne

Stars: *****

Summary: Maxine and her best friend Leah used to have so much fun chatting with boys online. So what if Max and Leah lied about their ages and where they lived? But when Leah disappeared, Max realized they weren't the only ones telling lies online. Through her daily journal entries, Max shares the crushing loss of Leah and her desperate efforts to move on after all that has happened.

This was an AWESOME book but also heart-wrenching. This particular story isn't true but unfortunately, kids and teens being abducted by someone they met online IS true. Sharing this story with your preteen or teen may scare them but it will hopefully scare them from sharing personal information online.

The story is believeable and includes everything that a person in this situation would go through. The before part, right after the incident, finding out bad news, going to counselling, doing bad in school because you're depressed, working with the police, working things out in your mind and coming to terms with what happened, healing and moving on.

Other Reviews: Semicolon
Thanks to Lobster Press for the book!

Buy Dear Jo at Amazon.com


Psychos, Players, Punks and Pervs: How to Become the Ultimate Guy Detector by C. Dean Hall, M.S.

Stars: ****

At first look this book seems like a book for rape prevention but it is intended as more than that. Here's a quote from the publisher:

"Our research proves doctors, therapists, teachers and parents all agree that it [the book] stands apart because of its uncanny ability to engage, inform and protect girls regardless of their age or level of maturity. Our hope in publishing this book is that we may have played a small part in helping you, and the girls you love, to safely lead happy, healthy lives."

You can take a look at the Table of Contents and download some sample pages at The Guy Detector (the website for the book.) It is intended for teens to collage age but I would recommend 18 and under. I showed it to my 20 something friend who is dating and she said it was young for her. The book is more for those who haven't dated yet or haven't dated much or seriously. It has some good points although I can't say I necessarily learned anything but then I'm not the target age and I'm married so it's not like I'm dating either. I do plan on sharing it with my daughter's when they're older though.

For the sections on psychos, players, punks and pervs shows you how to spot one (e.g. Players view every female as a potential score and identify women who are insecure and need to feel loved, attractive or important.) You'll also find a story about a girl who got caught up with that type of guy (doesn't say whether it's a true story or not) and finally some advice on how to get away from that guy. The only problem with the book is it's hard to find. Amazon.com has it, Barnes and Noble and Chapters do not. You can buy it online from The Guy Detector website too.

Thanks to Inner Vista Press for a copy of this book.

Buy Psychos, Players, Punks and Pervs at Amazon.com

Backtalk: 4 Steps to Ending Rude Behavior In Your Kids by Audrey Ricker, Ph.D and Carolyn Crowder Ph.D.

Stars: ****

This is a short, (under 200 pages,) book to help you end backtalk from your kids from preschoolers to teens. I have a back talker so I was interested in reading this book. (Fireside (S&S) 1998) It has some good points which I've implemented (when I'm not already too frustrated to do them hehe) and it's helped. I can't say it works 100% mainly because I am not doing the 4 steps all the time, properly. That's the problem with any behaviour system book... it requires you to do each and every step in order, properly or it doesn't work. This sounds easy before you have kids but once they're here, you realize it's not that simple. It does have some good points though and also includes how to deal with your children's friends who backtalk.

Buy Backtalk at Amazon.com

Green Books Campaign: The Adventures of an Aluminum Can

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.
(Logo credit: Susan Newman)

Stars: *****

Summary: Peek into this diary of an aluminum can as it goes on a journey from inside a bauxite rock under the beaches of Jamaica, to the manufacturing line, to the store shelf, to a garbage can, and finally to a recycling plant where it emerges into its new life...as a baseball bat!

I think recycling is very important and that most people don't realize how important it really is. I am very happy to see this book in print, I hope it will help the next generation to learn about recycling and how important it really is.

The Adventures of an Aluminum Can is from Little Green Books at Simon & Schuster. The book itself is made from 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper. So it's about being green and was made green too!

It's a cute little story about a speck of alumina that is found under the ground and is brought to a refinery and processed into a can. It shows each step from the speck to the can and then after the can is used it's recycled and remade into something else. I won't spoil the story but what the (girl?) can is made into lasts a long time and is used by many children which makes her very happy. It's written almost like the aluminum is writing a diary. The pictures are adorable as you can probably see from the cover. I've read other pictures books on recycling but this is definitely the best.

Buy The Adventures of an Aluminum Can buy Amazon.com