Blogmania - Giveaways Galore - One Day Only

WELCOME To BLOGMANIA ! - GIVEAWAY CLOSED

My Blog is 90 of 123

You’ve arrived at exactly the right time to explore lots of new blogs, all of which, ARE GIVING AWAY A VERY SPECIAL BLOGMANIA GIVEAWAY(For One Day Only – April 30^th).

We’ve done all the work for you. No hunting or surfing. Each blog will have a number and each new blog link will have a number. These numbers will allow you to keep track of which blogs you’ve visited and how many are left to visit. Why not take a moment to make a list of blog numbers 1-123 and check off the blogs as you go.

I know you’ll want to visit as many blogs today as you can. So, if you see something that interests you on any of our participating blogs, why not bookmark that site. Later, when you have more time, you can discover all its fabulous treasures. There are links to other participating blogs below my giveaway.

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

MY GIVEAWAY and RULES:

Since I can't afford to ship to giveaway winners myself, I asked two of my favourite publishers if they could donate some books for giveaways and they said SURE!

To make sure this post doesn't get too long, you'll have to click through to the publisher's site to see more info about the books but be sure to come back and enter!

First up is from Tundra Books. I have 3 copies of Talking Tails by Ann Love and Jane Drake and 3 copies of Cyclist Bikelist by Laura Robinson up for grabs to a US/Canada resident. They are both children's nonfiction - perfect for this blog as I focus on nonfiction (for children, teens and adults) and children's (picture books to YA) reviews. That's a total of 6 lucky winners!

Talking Tails is a book for 9-12 year olds about the connection between people and pets.
Cyclist Bikelist is a book for 9+ with history of cycling, useful and fun info and how to select and maintain a bike.

Next up is from Annick Press. It's 6 books in 3. Each book is two sided with two stories in it. All three books, which are the first in the Single Voice series will be going to one lucky US/Canada winner.

Just Julie/I Am Not Emmanuelle by Nadia Xerra-L and Carine Tardeiu
Descent into Paradise/A Place to Live by Vincent Karle and Jean-Phillipe Blondel
Nothing But Your Skin/The Pool Was Empty by Cathy Ytak and Gilles Abier

You'll have to click through for summaries but they are YA stories (14+) and are fiction and the stories are provocative.

To Enter any of the giveaways, you'll have to fill in my form. Make sure you specify which giveaways you are entering. You can enter for all three (Talking Tails, Cyclist Bikelist and Single Voice Series)

I'm not requiring you follow me on Google friend connect but I'd love it if you would!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

If you have the time, a few bloggers are reviewing the books in the series today.

Just Julie: http://classicvasilly.wordpress.com, I Am Not Emmanuelle: http://cindysloveofbooks.blogspot.com, Descent into Paradise: http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com, A Place to Live: http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com, Nothing but Your Skin: http://upthetowerofbooks.blogspot.com/, The Pool Was Empty: http://heyteenager.blogspot.com

Find Some More Blogs and Giveaways!

(Blog- 1 – HOST OF BLOGMANIA) Between The Pages - http://betweenthelinesandmore.blogspot.com/

(Blog -2 – CO-HOST OF BLOGMANIA) The Black Sheep Dances - http://www.theblacksheepdances.blogspot.com

(Blog-43 - CO-HOST OF BLOGMANIA) Books, Books Everywhere - http://bookywooks.blogspot.com/

(Blog-68) Mama Librarian - http://mamalibrarian.blogspot.com/

(Blog-92) Groovy's Ruminations - http://groovybell.blogspot.com/

 (Blog-36) Along the Way - http://a-long-the-way.blogspot.com/

(Blog-8) A Mom’s Take - http://AMomsTake.Blogspot.com

(Blog-18) Aubut Family - www.aubutfamily.com

(Blog-109) Mommy’s Minutes - http://mommys-minute.blogspot.com

(Blog-118) Designs By Dawn Marie - http://designsbydawnmaire.blogspot.com

You Can NOT Enter by Comments

The Book of Knowledge by David Michael Slater

Stars: ****

CBAY Books (2009)
Teen Fiction/ YA Fiction
10 and Up (the ages given but labelled as YA)

Summary: The second book in the Sacred Books Series. It continues right where the first book left off. Between the various attempts on their lives, the assault on their father, and a shocking discovery about their deceased mother, Dex and Daphna have endured enough for a lifetime. They barely have enough energy to stand, let alone save the world. Unfortunately, they don't have a choice. If they work together, the twins might stand a chance of discovering the truth about The Book of Nonsense. But are they really working together?

First I must caution that this book is controversial. I don't want to give the story away at all but the story gives an unusual explanation for a major bible story that certain people might find offensive. It's not bad in any way but if you are very devout in your Christian beliefs and believe every word of the bible to be exact truth, you may not like this book. You can read a bit more about that at Beaverton Valley Times.

Personally I found it interesting and thought-provoking. It truly has me thinking about my beliefs, even though that was not the intention of the book at all. I don't participate in book clubs because I generally have no interest in discussing books after I read them (other than to provide a review.) However this is one of the few where I'd like to exchange emails with another adult who has read this book.

Although I think the Book of Knowledge (and The Book of Nonsense,) could perhaps use a bit of work, in general I really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to Book Three which says a lot as I don't normally read series. It keeps you thinking and wondering what's going to happen next and I can never guess correctly what's going to happen which I like.

If you're interested, I read this book during the Clean Away the Clutter Readathon but as part of an activity for Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-thon I talked about seeing the Sacred Books Series made into movies.

Links of Interest: My review of The Book of Nonsense (Book 1), David Michael Slater,

Other Reviews: NONE YET

Buy The Book of Knowledge at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

Week With No Name Update: New Giveway!

Thanks to Hachette Book Group I have one more giveaway from last week. Sunday's review of Sex, Drugs and Gefilte Fish by Shana Liebman now includes a giveaway.

5 Copies, Open to US/Canada, No P.O. Boxes until May 5, 2010

Check it out!

UPDATE: I should have specified. You can't enter here. You have to go to the link above and scroll down to fill in the form. Comments are now closed here to prevent someone from trying to enter here.

Mailbox Monday - Apr 26

This is the day when I highlight all the new books that have come into my house since the last time I participated. Mailbox Monday is hosted at The Printed Page.

It's been a month since I did this, that's why it's so long:

The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook by Jillian Michaels (Random House)
The author is the Biggest Loser health coach. Info and recipes (already tried one!)

Chippy Chipmunk: Parties in the Garden by Kathy M. Miller (KSB Promotions)
Cute picture book with photos of a real chipmunk doing funny antics

Our Days Are Numbered: How Mathematics Orders Our Lives (McClelland & Stewart)
Not a book for everyone but I love math and it looks really interesting

Mr. Choli's River Trip by Chris Wardle (Author Contact)
Children's Fiction - Mr. Tinfish Series


Dinosaurs on the Move by Cathy Diez-Luckie (KSB Promotions)
Cut, colour and assemble moving dinosaurs

Plus-Sized Yoga: Beginners Yoga for People of All Sizes by Donald Keith Stanley (KSB Promotions)
Finally Yoga moves I can do!

God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World and Why Their Differences Matter by Stephen Prothero (Harper One, received for TLC Blog Tour)
Very interesting look at the 8 most popular religions and how they aren't all means to the same end.

The Cloud Seekers: A Pirate Ship in the Clouds by Robert L. Calixto (Author Contact)
Picture book

The Way to Stillness by Anne Alexander Vincent & Gayle Alexander (The Cadence Group)
"Powerful Tools for Those in Helping Professions."

The Pocket Therapist by Therese J. Borchard (Hachette Book Group)

Anger Busting 101: New ABCs for Angry Men and the Women Who Love Them by Newton Hightower (Bayou Publishing)

You can buy any of these at amazon.com and help support SMS Book Reviews

Sex, Drugs & Gefilte Fish edited by Shana Liebman + giveaway

This week is all about SEX! You can read more here but check back every day this week for reviews and giveaways.  

Well today's the last day of my Week With No Name event. I hope you've enjoyed yourself and entered a few giveaways. More importantly, I hope I haven't scared you away! I promise, no more sex books for a while!

UPDATE: This post is now a giveaway too! Thanks to Hachette Book Group

Stars: ***1/2

Hachette Book Group (2009)
Adult Nonfiction: Humour
266 pages
Forward by A.J. Jacobs

Summary:  Scoring weed for your uncle...Hanging out with porn stars on Christmas Eve...Eating nachos with the Mossad...Observing the Dyke Days of Awe...Getting held up at a Weight Watcher's meeting...Spying on your naked Hebrew School teacher. From Heeb magazine--the definitive voice of a proud, searching, and irreverent new generation of American Jews--this first-of-a-kind fast and fun showcase spotlights the hilarious and heartful raconteurial gifts of many of today's leading writers, comedians, actors, artists, and musicians.

This book wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. The stories are funny. It's just that I'm not Jewish enough to understand some of the jokes and words used. Even some of the references to Christianity I didn't understand. Each chapter starts with a comic, NONE of which I found funny. However the stories themselves were great. Some were shocking, some were alright, some were hilarious and some were intriguing. It was neat seeing a different side of Jews. I'm just trying to figure out if I should pass it on to any of my Jewish family members or not. I don't know if they would think the stories are funny or not.

The stories are not only about sex and drugs. The other chapters are Work, Youth, Family and Body & Soul. However some of the other chapters' stories included sex in the story. There is also a large amount of GLBT authors. It was nice not always hearing heterosexual stories. All the stories are American. I would have liked to see some Canadian stories.

The stories are by:

"today's leading writers, comedians, actors, artists" - Hachette

although I can't say I've ever heard of any of them. However I'm not up on the names of famous people.

Overall it's a humourous read but one that would be enjoyed more by someone who is more Jewish than I am.

Links of Interest: Heeb Magazine,

Other Reviews: Carol's Notebook, In Bed With Books, Madeleine's Book and Photo Blog, One Swede Read,

Buy Sex, Drugs and Gefilte Fish at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

The Best of Sexology edited by Craig Yoe

This week is all about SEX! You can read more here but check back every day this week for reviews and giveaways. 

Stars: ***

Running Press (2008)
Adult Nonfiction
430 pages

Summary: Sexology, founded in 1933, was America's first sex magazine. It ran for fifty years. This book is a collection of some of the kinky and kooky excerpts. 

Warning: This is the craziest book on sex I've ever seen. It's not for the prudish, faint of heart or easily embarrassed. It's WEIRD! Please if you are under 18, please don't read the rest of this post.

I guess back then people were obsessed with the weird part of sex. I guess we still are but these magazine articles are weird and I don't even know if I believe it all.

• Extra Breasts in Women
• Sexual Vampirism
• Pregnant Men
• When Midgets Marry...
• Humans with Tails
• Adolph Hitler's Sex Life
• Sex and Satan
• Mechanics of Sexual Odor
• Chastity Girdles
• Wife Swapping
• Phantom Pregnancy
• and much, much more

The book includes many crazy photos. There are quite a few sets of bare boobs and a few other parts but nothing pornographic in any way. The book also has some old ads for sex books which are funny to read. Also some real questions people asked the magazine way back when. 

It's definitely not a book you'd read cover to cover. I've already owned it for almost a year and I've only read a few chapters (short chapters.) It's a fun read every once in a while when I'm looking for something kooky.

Links of Interest: NONE

Other Reviews: NONE YET


Buy The Best of Sexology at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

Guide to Getting It On by Paul Joannides, Psy. D. + giveaway

This week is all about SEX! You can read more here but check back every day this week for reviews and giveaways.

Stars:*****

Goofy Foot Press (2008)
Adult Nonfiction
928 pages

Summary: A guide on everything sex. Everything.

This is the BEST SEX BOOK EVER!  Sorry for yelling but it's true. It has just about everything in it and it's not shy about talking (or illustrating) the topic at all. If you are shy about sex, this may not be your book but no one's making you share it or talk about it to others. If you want to know better techniques this book can help but it also has scientific information that is interesting, helpful, but not over your head.

It's not just me that loves this book. The Guide To Getting It On has received 7 awards and has been an assigned text for sex ed courses across the US.


You can find a full table/bed of contents at the website. You can also read three free chapters, enter to win the book and send away for your free bookmarks and door hangers. If you buy the guide from the website, you get 40% off, the free bookmarks and door hangers and no sales tax.

I can't describe the book too much as I don't want to get to graphic on this blog but let's just say it covers all different kinds of sex, with graphic line drawings (which can be very helpful.) The only thing is that the book is a little male dominate sometimes as the author is male. However there is lots of information for women. Please make sure you check out the table of contents to see what I mean. The book is huge and will take you a while to get through it. It's heavy reading too so take your time, read a few chapters a night before bed, (or before lovemaking .)


Links of Interest: Guide To Getting it On,

Other Reviews: NONE YET

Buy Guide to Getting It On at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

*I purchased this book with my own money

GIVEAWAY CLOSED 

Oral Sex is the New Goodnight Kiss by Sharlene Azam (+ DVD Documentary)

 This week is all about SEX! You can read more here but check back every day this week for reviews and giveaways.

Stars: ****

Bollywood Filmed Entertainment Inc (2009)
Adult Nonfiction
136 pages

Summary: The new documentary and book chronicle the shocking sex lives of teen girls. Sharlene Azam examines the recent emergence of teenage prostitution in affluent suburbs. Middle class girls as young as 12 are having sex with up to seven men a night, several times a week, so they can go shopping.  This book and film are a wake up call for parents showing them how girls are groomed by our culture into seeing sex as "no big deal" and the attention-getting behavior that is leading some girls into trading sex for money, drugs or clothes.

Most people agree that today's girls are more sexualized than ever. Interestingly enough, Dr. Trina Read (who wrote the first book of this week, Till Sex Do Us Part), does not agree with this book. She says the book is not written based on research. Sharlene Azam may not have surveyed many pre-teen and teen girls from all over the country or world but the cases she talks about in the book and DVD are true. Perhaps it's more common in certain areas, I don't know but the idea that 12 year old girls are selling themselves for new jeans, a cool purse, or spending money is scary. The fact that they don't consider it prostitution is even scarier.

With every book purchase you get a free DVD documentary. Here's a bit about it:
Over 1 million people in Europe have watched the documentary Oral Sex Is The New Goodnight Kiss, which includes interviews with the young women in the book and other girls. The United States Anti-Trafficking Department of the Salvation Army is promoting its viewership. - from http://www.thenewgoodnightkiss.com

The documentary was short, about 30 minutes long and covered some of the stories from the book, just like it says above. It was scary to hear the voices of some of these girls, talking about recruiting their classmates. They said there was no way they would do it (trading sex for things) themselves but they had no problem recruiting other girls into it. When asked if they knew what happened to them, the girls say "nothing good, One got raped, one got pregnant." The scary part is that they don't even seem to care about the other girls. One even went so far as to say they deserved it.

Whether this problem is happening around here or not, I plan to keep my girls aware as they grow up. Aware of sexuality and sex, aware of self-respect and loving your body, aware of those who are out there to harm others, aware about the temptation to do drugs or prostitution and aware that I am here if they ever need to talk. 

The New Goodnight Kiss website offers book excerpts,  a PDF e-book about our Toxic Culture and info, clips from the documentary (actually I believe it's the whole documentary),.

Links of Interest: The New Goodnight Kiss,

Other Reviews: NONE YET


Buy Oral Sex is the New Goodnight Kiss at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

About "The No-Cry Separation Anxiety Solution" - the Newest Book by Elizabeth Pantley

Does it break your heart to leave your crying child at daycare, school, or with a babysitter? Do you worry and wonder how to help and what to do? Nearly all children experience separation anxiety - it's natural - but finding a solution can be difficult. Best-selling parenting author and mother of four, Elizabeth Pantley tackles this sensitive problem with her trademark gentle and respectful ideas.

Using the help of her army of Test Parents, Pantley has created a book filled with solutions. Whether your child is a baby, toddler or first grader, these tried and true techniques will help them to:

* Say goodbye at the door with a smile and a wave and no more tears.
* Conquer anxiety at daycare, school, parties, events and play-dates.
* Go to sleep peacefully - and stay in bed at naptime and bedtime.
* Feel comfortable with caregivers, babysitters, visitors, and other new people.
* Explore new places with joy and confidence.

Best of all, this step-by-step book INCLUDES A FREE MAGIC BRACELET that will help your child feel "magically" safe and secure whenever you're apart. It's just one of the many No-Cry solutions that will help you say goodbye to the stress of saying goodbye-and hello to a stronger, happier child.

You can find out more about this book and others at No Cry Solution

Do you have a Super-Glue Baby? Here's a video with author Elizabeth Pantley about the subject. (You can find more.videos on YouTube)

Sexaholics by Pynk + giveaway

 

This week is all about SEX! You can read more here but check back every day this week for reviews and giveaways.

NOTE: I won't be describing this book in too much detail as there are under 18s who visit this blog.

Stars: ***1/2

Grand Central Publishing (Division of Hachette Book Group) 2010
Erotica
336 Pages


Summary: Miki, Valencia, Teela Raye, and Brandi share one thing...they are all addicted to sex. United through Sexaholics Anonymous, these women try to recover from their dependence on wild, spontaneous, and even sometimes, dangerous sex. From whips and chains, to sex in public, they have done it all! Led by Dr. Rachel Cummings, each woman takes the first step to recovery by sharing her biggest sexual act with the group. SEXAHOLICS takes readers through the outrageous experiences of four women on their long path to success.

While this isn't the first Erotica I've read, I haven't read that many. I just never had a chance to until recently. So I can't really say if this has more sex than regular Erotica or not. It seems like all the other reviews I've seen are by people not familiar with Erotica either. I don't think this is light Erotica though. There isn't much romance in this book which I know there is in some Erotica. There are some feelings of course but it's not romance. I liked that there wasn't long spaces in between sex scenes. APOOO(review blog), who seems to be familiar with Erotica said:

"Sexaholics is definitely for the freakiest of freaks.  I recommend this novel to erotica lovers who like hard-core, steamy sex scenes and Pynk supporters."

Sexaholics has a LOT of sex in it, all different kinds, but it does have a storyline too. It isn't till the middle of the book or so that it really comes through but you soon see there is a story and the characters are developed enough that you can kind of see yourself as her. The ending was amazing and there were some shockers including one disturbing scene but I enjoyed the book both as Erotica and as a novel.

The beginning of the book includes an author's note that explains some basics about sex addiction, namely that men are the ones to most commonly be associated with it. Sex addiction is NOT just wanting lots of sex and Pynk did her research so that the book is factual and should be of special interest to those who feel they may be sexaholics. In fact at the end of the book she directs worried readers to the Sexaholics Anonymous website to do a quiz to see if they may have sexaholic traits.

My only problem was I kept mixing up the characters. If you read it within a few days time with no breaks, it's no problem. However if you read for a while, stop for a few days or more and then pick the book back up, it takes some time to remember which person was which.

Links of Interest: Pynk's Website, Sexaholics Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous,

Other Reviews: My Overstuffed Bookshelf, Just Jennifer Reading, Rhodes Review, APOOO,

Buy Sexaholics at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

*I received a copy of this book for review from Good Reads First Reads Program.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Nasty, Brutish and Short: The Quirks and Quarks Guide to Animal Sex and Other Weird Behaviour by Pat Senson

This week is all about SEX! You can read more here but check back every day this week for reviews and giveaways.

 Stars: *****

McClelland & Stewart (Division of Random House)

Nonfiction (Animals)

296 pages

Summary:  Birds do it, and bees do it, so do all animals, some of them in weird and wonderful ways. Quirks & Quarks' latest book explores the more bizarre behaviours of more than 100 creatures, from barnacles to Panda bears.

Okay so this book is only PARTLY about sex. Only two chapters cover sex in some form. First a bit about Quirks and Quarks in case you aren't aware of what that is:

Quirks & Quarks (Quirks) is a Canadian weekly science news program heard over CBC Radio One of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Airing since October 8, 1975, Quirks & Quarks is consistently rated among the most popular CBC programs, attracting over 500,000 listeners each Saturday from 12:00 to 13:00. - From Wikipedia

So how does the radio show have to do with the book?

"Over the years on Quirks & Quarks (the CBC Radio program that I host), scientists have told us about the extraordinary range of bizarre adaptations nature has come up with, to make sure that birds, bees, and every other form of life can "do it" successfully. [...] So, we've decided to gather together almost a hundred of these tales from over the last nine years, and put them together into a book for you." - introduction in book

I enjoyed this book SO much. I love reading about animals and everything in this book was incredibly interesting. Not one story did I skip, not one did I find boring. Not one! I think even someone who doesn't usually read nonfiction but loves animals or interesting/bizarre facts would enjoy this book.

So here is a bit about what you'll find in each chapter and then I'll share some of my favourites:

Chapter 1 - The Battle of the Sexes (sex, sexual organs, which gender is top and more)
Chapter 2 - Impressing the Other Sex (Calling to mates, showing they are a better mate than others)
Chapter 3 - Parenting Skills (interesting and funny ways they raise babies)
Chapter 4 - Lunch, Anyone? (foraging for food and avoiding becoming a meal)
Chapter 5 - Parsing Parasite Peculiarities (Beetles, Ants, Parasites and Caterpillars)
Chapter 6 - Higher, Faster, and Stronger (Super Animals!)
Chapter 7 - The Other Weird Behaviour (various - washing with urine, worm hibernation, clownfish sex, flatulent fish and more)

I found all of them interesting and some shocking  Here's a teaser tidbit from the ones I loved the best:

• The beetle larvae that deceive a bee, hitch a ride and steal their food
• The bedbugs that can taste with their penises to tell if they've mated with a female before or not
• The redback spider that mates and is eaten at the SAME time.
• The barnacle with the world's largest penis (for body size)
• The nectar bat whose tongue, when not shooting out to get food, goes down the throat and is attached between rib cage and heart.

Links of Interest: Quirks & Quarks,

Other Reviews: NONE YET

Buy Nasty, Brutish, and Short at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Till Sex Do Us Part: Make Your Married Sex Irresistable by Dr. Trina E. Read, D.H.S. + Giveaway

This week is all about SEX! You can read more here but check back every day this week for reviews and giveaways.

 Stars: ****1/2

Summary: Cliché has it that, once the I do's are spoken the sex-life slowly diminishes. Dr. Trina Read presents a brilliantly simple explanation for this unfortunate phenomenon, as well as the key to ending the cycle of diminished sexual connection between married couples. Read contends that married women must learn to have married-woman sex, instead of insisting on pursuing the same single-woman sexual patterns they once knew.

I came across the author's website because I'm a member of the Yummy Mummy Club which has articles by Dr. Trina Read. Through her website I found out about her book and was intrigued so I asked about a review copy and here we are.

Although not officially married, I've been together with my significant other almost 6 years and common law since January 2006. We consider ourselves married. I will openly admit that your sex life changes when you've been married from what it was like when you were dating or even newly a couple. If you too are a married woman of more than 3 years, you most likely agree.

Dr. Trina Read is an expert on women's sexuality. She's a sex coach (not sex therapist) who conducts seminars around the world. She has authored other books and is a columnist for Mompreneur magazine, HitchedMag.com, ParentsConnect.com and makes regular TV and radio appearances. So basically what I'm saying is she KNOWS her stuff.

The main idea is that married women are stuck on single-woman-sex and need to realize things are different now but that different doesn't have to mean blah. I'm going to give you the premise about this whole idea because giving that to you is not giving away the book. You won't know what to do with that knowledge without the book. The premise is:

"Men see sex as a means toward intimacy, while women see intimacy as a means toward sex. Single-women sex is based on the male way of having sex. (neither right nor wrong and certainly not a reason to point a finger of blame." - pg 25

Here's an overview of what to expect in the book:

Chapter 1 - The basics of the single-woman sex versus married-woman sex concept
Chapter 2 - Taking responsibility and figuring out why you don't enjoy sex as much as you could.
Chapter 3 - Getting rid of single-woman-sex baggage
Chapter 4 - Talking to him about sex, communication
Chapter 5 - Creating the sex life you want
Chapter 6 - Emotional intimacy and sexual self-confidence
Chapter 7 - Making your body your sexual ally
Chapter 8 - Having sex on your terms
Chapter 9 - Making married-woman sex stick

I found this book a valuable resource and I think reading some sections many times will help it's ideas sink in and help me do what I need to, to make it work. Let me just clarify that this book is NOT for those who are having complicated marital problems and haven't had sex in years. This is for those, whose marriage is good enough or even awesome but whose sex life isn't as it should be.

At the Till Sex Do Us Part site you will find lots of information including video and audio clips about the book and where else she can be found, and excerpt of chapter one and more.

Links of Interest: Till Sex Do Us Part, Dr. Trina Read, Mummy Sex (Dr. Read's blog on Yummy Mummy Club),

Other Reviews: NONE YET

Buy Till Sex Do Us Part at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

I'll be participating in Blogmania - April 30th!

*I'm re-posting this as instructed. If you haven't heard of Blogmania yet, you can find all the info here. Basically though check back here April 30 and enter my giveaway and then continue on to more thann 100 blogs and enter their giveaways. April 30th ONLY.

Blogmania Early Bird Check List:

We want all of our visiting guests in our first Blogmania Event scheduled for April 30^th to Get On Their Marks-Get Set…  

It’s not time to go yet, but if you want to have the most fun and scoop up as much loot as possible, here are a few Early Bird Reminders to help you do just that.

1.     1.   Be at any of the blogs participating in the Blogmania Event as early as possible on April 30^th.   The easiest way to find a Blogmania Blog is to look for the Blogmania Badge.

2.      2. This is an international event, so understand that there will be some differences in time zones.  My advice is to start early and stay late to catch all the blogs.

3.      3.  Each blog will have their own giveaway requirements. Read them carefully, follow through, and then move on as quickly as possible. If you run across a blog that you really like and want to spend some time exploring, copy their URL and then visit them after Blogmania is over.

4.      4.  We will have a 100+ blogs for you to visit. Each one will post their number like this. ( This is blog 47 of 100) This is to help you keep track of which blogs you’ve visited, and which ones you still need to reach. I’d suggest that you prepare a blog sheet which is numbered from 1 – 120, then mark off each numbered blog as you visit them.

5.      5.   All blog links provided will also have a number like (Blog 89 of 100). Look for the blogs that you haven’t yet visited and follow those links until you’ve checked off all the blogs on your sheet.

6.      6.  We have all types of blogs participating in Blogmania, which means that the range of items in their giveaways are diverse. I have previewed many and they are awesome.

7.      7.  Why not contact a friend and partner up. Compare notes, share loot, or organize your own friendly neighborhood Blogmania Competition.

This is our first Blogmania Event, but it isn’t our last. Blogmania is a bi-yearly Giveaway Extravaganza. In fact, our next Blogmania Event will start September 15^th,  and do we have some cool stuff planned for you! So keep in touch with our Blogmania Blogs, because they will be giving sneak previews, secret codes, and who knows what else in the weeks and months ahead.

Temperament Tools: Working with Your Child's Inborn Traits by Helen Neville and Diane Clark Johnson

Stars: ***1/2

Summary: Research shows that many challenging behaviours are connected to a child's inborn temperament. When you understand what makes your child tick, you can adapt your parenting style to the individual needs of your son or daughter. Temperament Tools describes many types of children and offers you strategies to help life go more smoothly.

I picked this book up on my own at the library to try and understand my children better. It has you rate your child on a scale for eight different traits: Activity, Adaptability, Approach to New Things, Frustration Reaction, Intensity, Mood, Regularity and Sensitivity.

After rating your child and rating yourself (to compare) the book offers lots of tips and hints. The relationship between where you rate and where your child rates will determine some of your difficulties with your children. For example I always thought that since I'm highly emotional I'd understand my emotional child more and be sympathetic That's not how it is though. When one of us gets frustrated or upset the other gets annoyed and frustrated as well because we pick up on each other's emotions so we get frustrated with each other because they're being upset is making us upset.

After seeing how you and your child rate you can look at the traits your child is highest or lowest in and figure out what temperament your child fits in to. Some children are harder to place than others. The book labels each temperament as an animal, such as Tarita Turtle, Walocka Whale, BeiLing Bluebird and more. My younger child is a Tiganda Tiger for sure but my elder child only sort of fits into the BeiLing Bluebird. It all depends on how much they are at the extremes (high or low) for each trait.

The book was helpful in that I saw how similar or dissimilar my children are with me when it comes to certain traits and I was reminded that I need to keep my cool with my children because they aren't trying to annoy me on purpose, they're just being themselves. This book isn't the be all and end all of figuring out your child's temperament and how to work with it but it's a start.

Links of Interest: Temperament Tools Website,

Other Reviews: NONE YET

Buy Temperament Tools at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

Celebrating National Poetry Month with Poetry Reviews

April is National Poetry Month and SMS Book Reviews is participating in a National Poetry Month Blog Tour. The Poetry Tour is being hosted at Savvy Verse & Wit, a great blog for poetry enthusiasts and book lovers.

If you've been following the tour you'll recoginize the first book I'm reviewing but after you read that, check out my second review.

The Tighty Whitey Spider and More Wacky Animal Poems I Totally Made Up by Kenn Nesbitt
Stars: *****

May I just say, this is the BEST poetry book for kids I've EVER seen. No they didn't pay me to say that, it's true!

I'm not a big fan of poetry. I never have been. I don't like short stories either so to me, most poetry is like even shorter stories. I've read (and reviewed) a few poetry books but I'm quite picky. This poetry book is full of animal poems.

Some are short and some are a bit longer but none are very long at all. They have all kinds of new words but they aren't over the head too much. My niece is going to just love this book. You can hear the author read from some of his poems on the web. The poems you can hear online are marked and a few of the poems can be sung to popular tunes.

When I say the poems were funny, I'm not kidding. I was laughing out loud and I'm a an adult. I was telling the poems to everyone in my house whether they wanted to hear them or not. My brother enjoyed them too and wants a copy of the book (he's 32.) The drawings that accompany the poems are line art and they are so cute. I just want to colour the whole book in! I don't believe in drawing in books but it's so hard not to. They look like colouring pages.

I highly recommend this book to ALL children, whether they normally like poetry or not. 

You can read Kenn Nesbitt's first book My Hippo Has the Hiccups online (or download it if you'd like) at http://www.zinio.com/kennNesbitt until the end of April!

Links of Interest: My Hippo has the Hiccups Online (as mentioned above), Poetry 4 Kids (website run by author), 

Other Reviews: Jenn's Bookshelves, Booking Mama,

Buy The Tighty Whitey Spider at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

Teahouse of the Almighty: Poems by Patricia Smith
Stars: ***

Coffee House Press 2006
National Poetry Series Winner

On a completely opposite end of the spectrum from the above poem book is this one. This one is for adults only and is full of longer, harder to comprehend poems. I won this book from the readathon a few years back. It seems like a good book but is not one I'd pick up on my own. The main reason I don't like poetry is I find it hard to understand most of the time. However for someone who appreciates poetry more and has no trouble understanding most poetry, I'm sure they'd like this book.

I must caution that the book has strong language and sexual terms and acts in it as I know some people are turned off by that.  On the plus side, the poems were creative. A few times, a news report was listed and a poem was created based on that. There's even a poem crafted from a funny title of a spam email. There's one long one titled 10 Ways to get Ray Charles and Ronald Reagan into the Same Poem.

Links of Interest: Patricia Smith,

Other Reviews: So Many Books,

Buy Teahouse of the Almighty at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be sure to check Savvy Verse & Wit for the rest of the tour stops.

Horrid Henry's Joke Book by Francesca Simon

This review is part of a Horrid Henry Joke Book Tour through Sourcebooks

Stars: ***1/2

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (2010)
Children's Fiction
Ages 7-12

Summary: Horrid Henry’s Joke Book features chapters dedicated to jokes much too rude for Mom, jokes not to tell your teacher, wisecracks for your baby-sitter (just make sure you can make a quick getaway!), underpants and stink bomb witticisms, and more humor from Moody Margaret, Sour Susan, Aerobic Al, Beefy Bert and Dinosaur Dave. 

I love Horrid Henry books so I just had to review his joke book. It definitely wilder than any joke book I read as a kid. A few of them had me with an open mouth wondering if it's really appropriate for young kids but I guess they aren't that bad. Especially for 10 and up.

Even though they are simple jokes, they are really quite funny. Even as an adult I was laughing out loud to a lot of them. There were a few jokes I'd heard before but most of them were new which was nice. I was afraid of hearing the same old jokes over and over again.

Here are some favourites:

What's an insect's best pick up line?
Is that stool taken?

What do you call a dinosaur with one eye?
A Do-you-think-he-saur-us

What do you call a crocodile at the North Pole?
Lost.

Recommended for kids everywhere!

Links of Interest: Horrid Henry Website, Horrid Henry Online Game,

Other Reviews: NONE YET

You can search my blog for "Horrid Henry" to see my other Horrid Henry book reviews

Buy Horrid Henry's Joke Book at amazon.com and support SMS Book Reviews

*I received a copy of this book for review but all reviews are honest and not affected by how I acquired the book.

The Week With No Name - April 19-25, 2010

I know you're wondering, WHAT is The Week With No Name? It's the newest "event" on this blog. During April 19-25, 2010 I'll be posting reviews and giveaways of books related to Sex. WAIT! Don't run away. Please keep reading.

Don't worry, each review will not go in to very much detail because there are children who visit this site occasionally. Although I review children's books, I never meant for this to be a blog for children to go to. I am telling adults about books they might want to buy for their children. I'll share just enough to help you decide if the book might be for you.

Anyways, I have a bunch of different sex books for you. From Animal Sex to having Single Woman Sex even after being married, to the big how-to, to Erotica to information on how our kids are in a more sexualized world than in the past, it'll be right here.

I have at least one giveaway set up and I'll be seeing about a few more. All entries will be collected on a Google form that is only visible by me and I will NOT be announcing the winner or in any way mentioning who has entered. I promise complete privacy. I'll ask the person shipping to the winners to not mark the book title on the outside of the package. All entrants must be 18 years old or over.

Don't be shy, come over and see what I've got. Everyone does it and there's nothing wrong with talking about it! If you are brave enough and want to help me get the word out, please feel free to take the button above and post about it. Thanks.

Clean Away the Clutter: Wrap-Up Post

Well today's the last day of the Clean Away the Clutter Read-A-Thon held by The Neverending Shelf.

I had TONS of fun and it really helped me get back into reading as I was in a bit of a lag. I got lots of reading done and the activities were fun.  I would definitely participate again if it's hosted again.

Final Stats

Total Books Finished:7
Books Started But Not Finished: 1
Total Pages: 1921

This total is hard to compare to others though because 270 of those pages was from a book with barely any words on each page, 150 pages were from children's nonfiction book and 400 pages were from a very small book.

Books:

The Book of Knowledge by David Michael Slater
Finding Anyone, Anywhere, Anywhen by Noel Montgomery Elliot
Without Sin by J. Tomas
Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti
Nibbling on Einstein's Brain by Diane Swanson
Wow: A Handbook for Living by Zen Ohashi and Zono Kurazono
Nasty, Brutish and Short by Pat Senson (the book I'm not done with yet)

24-Hour Readathon - End Survey

Well I decided to go to sleep at 6:15 this morning. I could have stayed up ( I normally do) but I just really wanted to go to sleep and I'd done a fair amount of reading.

My final stats are 10hr 4 min of reading. I read 688 pages + 30 minutes of Audio (Audio's not for me)

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Usually the daytime hours fly by and hours 21-23 are the slowest.
 
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti (MG fiction) was a great read as was Nibbling on Einstein's Brain by Diane Swanson (Children's Nonfiction)
 
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I've thought long and hard about this. I didn't enjoy myself as much this year. I'd like for all or most all of the mini-challenges to be open for the entire period. It's neat to look for winners each hour but I'd get so much more reading done if I knew I could check in and do mini-challenges whenever I wanted. I tried to check in less this year but I basically have to check in every hour still to make sure there aren't any challenges that are only on hour long. Or even if they were all 4 hours long. I could check in every 3 hours and still have time to do the challenges before the fourth hour is up. Except the one in the middle of the night that asks if you're still up, that should be one hour only like it is.

Also I'd like to see more shorter mini-challenges. Ones where we comment on the post are much better than writing up our own post. Of course if you are posting book covers or videos you need to make your own post but otherwise, I'd rather just comment. I'm already filling my feed and blog with readathon posts. The less the better. Most of the challenges I did took me over 30 minutes to do which is 30 minutes I could have been reading. A few should be longer, most should be shorter and easier.

The Reader of the Hours should be up more than one hour too so I have a chance to visit them. I guess they wouldn't be Readers of the Hour then. 





4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I know my above answer may make you think I didn't like any of the read-a-thon and that wouldn't be true. I love the read-a-thon and  I am SO grateful for those who help run it.  As I mentioned before, the tweeting aspect is fun. I made myself not do it so much this year but it's a fun option. I love the mini-challenges in general, they are so needed to break up the reading. I LOVED the you tube videos that were shared in the later update posts. I love the prizes for the most part, even though I didn't win any (yet.). I also LOVED the cheerleaders poems and cheers. So cute!
 
5. How many books did you read?
I finished 4 books but two were already started before this readathon. Also I'm 1/4 into another one.
 
6. What were the names of the books you read?
Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti, Without Sin by J. Tomas, In Ecstasy by Kate McCaffrey, Nibbling on Einstein's Brain by Diane Swanson and I started Nasty, Brutish and Short by Pat Senson.
 
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
Nibbling on Einstein's Brain by Diane Swanson. It's children's fiction but REALLY interesting. It's all about telling good science from bad science and how to tell if research and reported research is as accurate as it may sound. Very important information for everyone!
 
8. Which did you enjoy least?
They were all good. Nasty, Brutish and Short by Pat Senson however should have been read earlier on. It's a bit too scientific for the wee hours of the morning. But there's nothing wrong with the book, just when I read it.
 
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? N/A
 
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I will definitely be participating in October. I've only missed one read-a-thon since it started. I think however I'd like to run a mini-challenge in October. I'll have to start thinking.

Readathon - Last Update - I'm going to bed

I could stay up but I don't want to. I'm exhausted and I want to sleep. I'll do the end of readathon survey when I wake up tomorrow.

Title of book(s) read since last update: WOW: A Handbook for Living

Pages read since last update: 74
Running total of pages read since you started: 688 + 30 minutes audio
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 25 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 604 minutes (10 hr 4 min)


How did I read 74 pages in 25 minutes? WOW has barely any words on each page!

24-Hour Readathon - The Hungry Readers Mini-Challenge

This mini challenge is hosted by The Hungry Readers.

We are to post about what we've been eating.

I was just realizing how much junk food I've eaten today. I'm going to have to eat really healthy after this and do lots of exercising to make up for it.

Today I've had: Fruit Loops Cereal, Pizza and Iced Tea, More Pizza and Rootbeer, Easter Candy and Chocolate and I'm about to have more Pizza and root beer.

I usually eat chocolate and drink pop to help keep me awake because I don't drink coffee but I was thinking that really, caffeine wakes you up a for a bit but then makes you more tired. We should really be eating healthy to get proper energy.

My camera doesn't take good photos so here's some photos through Flickr (but these are what I've been eating)

 From meddygarnet on Flickr

From pbeens on Flickr

From Bakersanon on Flickr

From jetalone on Flickr

24-Hour Readathon Hour 19 Update

I'm still awake! I'm eating chips, drinking water and I'm currently reading from two books:

Nasty, Brutish and Short by Pat Senson
Nibbling on Einstein's Brain by Diane Swanson

Pages read since last update: 150 + 30 minutes audio book
Running total of pages read since you started:  528 + 30 min audio
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 231 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 491 minutes (8hrs 11 minutes)
Mini-challenges completed: Indie Store

24-Hour Readathon - Two Mini Challenges

Here are Hour 17's two challenges.

The Get the Heck Out of Here Mini Challenge is hosted by Literate Housewife and asks me to answer a few questions.

1. What steps did you take to ensure you’d be able to read as much as possible today? I was going to send the kids away all day and night but I had a birthday party to go to. Also Friday night I was out and needed a babysitter. So my niece (12) babysat friday night and slept over. She took care of my kids in the morning before the party while I read a bit and then we went to birthday party. After party the kids went to my parents house and are still there. They are staying overnight and won't be home till late afternoon tomorrow so I can sleep in.  I bought easy foods and drinks and got my pile ready so I wouldn't spend too much time hemming and hawing over books.
2. Of those steps,  which proved to be the most beneficial to your day? Getting the kids out of the house has been a big help. I've done the readathon with them here and they are just too young. They want mommy to do EVERYTHING even if daddy is here.
3. Is there anything you might do differently next time? I am so glad you asked this question as I've been thinking about this all day. Each year I try something a little different to get myself to read more and it never works. I definitely need the kids out but I need them gone ALL DAY and night or all day and hubby lets me sleep in at least. It's not up to me but if every mini challenge was open all 24 hours it woudl help because I wouldn't have to check in to the computer as much. I could check in every 3 or 4 hours and do mini challenges. I'm still brainstorming for October.

The Early Favourites Mini-challenge is being hosted by Literarily Speaking.

She asks:

In this mini-challenge, I'm asking you to tell me about the first book you remember loving. I'm talking, soul-searing, blood-boiling, can't-get-enough-of-it love. This book doesn't have to be from your childhood but it can be. Just write up a quick post telling me what the first book you absolutely loved was and why you loved it. If you want to include some stories about your history with this book, please do!

Well. I don't know about one specific book but I was addicted to The Babysitter's Club Series. I read every book I could find at the library, sometimes more than once. I read them for many years. I read other series too but I didn't love them as much. A close second would be the Goosebymps books by R.L. Stine. The only other book I can remember reading younger than that is a few Beverly Cleary books and Amelia Bedelia but I don't think I LOVED them.