I have read and keep dipping into Hypnobirthing - The Mongan Method book. As the name suggests it is about Hypnobirthing and a particular method developed by Marie Mongan.
I was perhaps moderately skeptical before opening up the book but I have been amazed and impressed. …

I am aware of the Semi-Homemade franchise because the series is a regular on the Food Network channel. Sandra Lee is all about making great food but in half the time which is where the semi-homemade aspect comes in because half of the dishes are from scratch and the …

I do not know much about Southern Living the magazine; however, I do know a lot about Southern Living and I was definitely interested when I read the title of the book which is based on Southern desserts. Southern cookbooks are ubiquitous, but only a handful of them actually …

When it comes to food magazines, Taste of Home is one of my favorites because the recipes are usually shared from the kitchens of their readers. So when I found out they had a cookbook about appetizers which was put together with their reader’s recipes, I jumped at the …

I am not someone who subscribes to the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine; however, I have glanced at a few of their magazines which are all about home decor, living well, and entertaining. Within each of their magazines is a section for recipes. Some of the recipes are from …

If you have ever seen the Martha Stewart show, then you will know how generous she is with sharing her expertise in any given subject. In Martha Stewart’s Cooking School, she doesn’t hold out on any information for the home cook when it comes to mastering the art of …

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was an undisputed literary genius. He produced several masterpieces (”The Brothers Karamazov”, “The Idiot”, “Crime and Punishment”, “Demons”) that are well known to most lovers of literature in this world. “The Insulted and Humiliated” is not even close to being one of these masterpieces.
I suspect the …

This book is brilliant. It kept me up until 3am. It has a mix of action, love-triangle romance, supernatural beings, and is quite interesting. I love books like that. It’s set in Victorian London, a beautiful period of time. The love-triangle that Clare has set up is beautiful. It …

I recently read the book, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. I had already seen the movie and was somewhat reluctant to read the book since I already knew the story. My mom handed me the book saying, “You won’t be able to put it down”. She was absolutely right, …

This book is priced at $16.95(AUD) online. It’s the last book in a series of three books and as its name suggests, it focuses on algebra.
Maths has always been my weak subject and I have had a lot of difficulty understanding how algebra works, which is why I …

Well this book is amazing no doubt about that. But it is very different from the show on the CW, in the book Tyler who is a werewolf is a rapist and a killer who obviously rapes Caroline who is blonde in the show but brunette in the book …

The Darkest Night is my favorite book ever! I have read it at least seven times. And each time i cry at the end. The way Maddox treats Ashlyn is breath taking. And truth be told it makes you crazy jealous that you don’t have a handsome lord of …

“Fear and Trembling” by Amelie Nothomb is the epitome of a quick read. The edition I picked up had less than 150 pages, and it took me little more than two hours to read. I’m a slow reader, who really likes to take her time with the books she …

The concept that we are not alone in the universe has been the common theme of most science fiction ever since the very first outer space novel. Equally rehashed is the idea that advanced alien races existed thousands of years before mankind learned to master fire. Jack McDevitt is …

“Look Me in the Eye” and “Be Different” are both books by John Elder Robison. I had the pleasure of recently reading both of them. The openness and honesty of the books was refreshing. Mr. Robison gives us a glimpse into his life with Asperger’s syndrome and not finding …

As someone who’s interested in a variety of religious ideas and perspectives, I snapped up Karen Armstrong’s “Buddha” without expectation and only a general interest in the subject. I emerged half satisfied, but mostly imbued with an insatiable appetite to learn more.
She’s an extremely successful author, covering religious biography …

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (Not to be confused with “The Tibetan Book of the Dead”) was written by Sogyal Rinpoche and provides what is, to my mind the most comprehensive and digestible expression of Tibetan Buddhism available. It’s written specifically for an audience that is totally …

My friend recently bought me the book Crazy for You, by Jennifer Crusie. It is a romance book, and it has a cute dog on the front cover. The main character, Quinn McKenzie goes through a lot of interesting changes during the book. Some of the supporting …

If you have young children, nieces/nephews, or grandchildren who enjoy bedtime stories before bed (or any part of the day, really), this collection of stories is perfect! Instead of having your kids watch the movies for all the fairytale stories you grew up with yourself, why not read it …

This book is the first book of the H.I.V.E series, one that I’ve just read and already one of my favorite series. The main character’s name is Otto Malpense.
Otto is a 13 year old teenager who is drugged, kidnapped and taken to a secret school on an unknown island. …

This was one of the first makeup books I purchased, and I still keep it in my collection as a great bit of reference. Although I don’t think it’s entirely up-to-date, at least 80% of the makeup tips and tricks contained within can apply to any period. This is …

James Peterson follows up his bestseller “Cooking” about everything a cook would ever want to know about savory cooking with “Baking” which teaches you about the world of pastry.
The main thing I love about “Baking” is that it follows the same format as “Cooking”: there are hundreds of pictures …

This is my favorite bookstore and cafe in the Asheville area because of its local vibe and inventive coffee creations. With ample seating and a nice selection of books, this local book shop is the perfect place to while away the hours, reading a book and sipping your coffee.
Malaprop’s …

Billy Budd, a classic by Herman Melville, is by far the WORST book I’ve ever read.
For starters, Melville died while the book was still in progress. That means that those of us who decide to read the novel are stuck with more than a few paragraphs and chapters that …

Over the course of his career, Dean Koontz has written a great many truly excellent books. Unfortunately, he’s also managed to produce some monumentally poor ones. (Relentless comes to mind, but that’s a discussion for another review.) Although What The Night Knows is by no means terrible, it fails to …

This is my absolute favorite cookbook ever. I don’t normally like using cookbooks, but everything I have tried in this book is amazing. For anyone who likes to cook, go out and pick this up right away!
First off, Crisp is an absolutely beautiful book. So much consideration was put …

I like to pick up travel books in places I’m interested whenever I can, especially if they’re on sale. Although it’s about five years old, the majority of the information is still relevant, and the book is one of the better travel guides I’ve come across.
The book prided itself …

Even though I tend to frequent local book stores over chains such as Barnes and Noble, I do visit this Barnes and Noble quite a bit both for its convenience and selection. This rather large location is located within Biltmore Park, and it’s the only book store in the …

A web advertisement for John Gilstrap’s latest book intrigued me. I’d never heard of him before, but the ad was loaded with praise from book reviewers and other established authors of thrillers, so I thought I’d read one of his books.
I settled on “At All Costs”, his second novel, …

I am doing grade four piano theory at the moment and ‘Master Your Theory’ by Dulcie Holland is the book I’m currently using. I have used other theory books before but this version gets straight to the point and teaches you what you need to learn right away. The …

Cooking by James Peterson promises you over 1500 pictures and step-by-step help with each technique, and the book lives up to that promise.
After using my friends and family as test subjects for my cooking, a friend suggest that I start entering recipe contests to help build my creative skills …

Learning how to be creative when it comes to using Philadelphia cream cheese has never been easier with the easy to follow Kraft cookbook based on everything cream cheese.
I was lucky to have found the Kraft cookbook because I was just browsing through the area in Wal-Mart where the …

The Complete Book of Business Plans is the ideal book for business owners struggling to write their business plan. The book was written by two professional business plan writers, so when you follow through each chapter they are guiding you with their expertise to give you a winning business …

All About Technical Analysis by Constance Brown actually isn’t a very well explained book. I originally got this book because it was published by McGraw-Hill. I find that McGraw-Hill books are usually well explained. The languages used in the books are usually pretty simple and easy to understand. However, …

I recently watched the movie “Seabiscuit”, for the second time, and was reminded how well the story was told. All the characters’ motivations were perfectly understandable, even though their actions might, to a casual observer, seem rather strange. It was years since the movie came out, so I was …

My dad and I picked up this book before we traveled to Iceland, and we probably should have read it more to get more out of our trip! It’s a really good guidebook with plenty of color photographs to inspire you for your trip. Every time I look at …

I picked up this small hardback book as a funny stocking stuffer for my dad, and it’s one of my favorite things to pick up and browse through in the bathroom. Although it’s not big, it’s the perfect book for something entertaining while in the bathroom.
I got this book …

This is a really odd book that I never would have picked up for myself; however, I was pleasantly surprised when I began reading what was a gift to my dad from one of his friends. They are both outdoorsy people, and they often trade books as Christmas gifts. …

The namesake island for our fiftieth state is often less-visited than the other islands, and yet, after reading this book, you will definitely want to go. There is beautiful photography to entice its readers that is supported by solid information and helpful tips to plan a visit.
As a former …

My dad found this odd little book at a yard sale, and it’s a really interesting read for anyone interested in gardening or the outdoors. Although most people think of spring and summer flowering gardens, this book is a collection of information and pictures of winter plant species. It’s …

With everyone on a budget these days, day trips have become popular, and Colleen Anderson must have been ahead of the curve when she wrote this book. Although it came out in 1998, it still offers great planning tips for having a fun trip in West Virginia that is …

Having visited West Virginia countless times practically since I was born, this book was a refreshingly informative source of information about places that even I had not seen. Although the book is small, it packs a lot of information into a small book. Perhaps it’s because these are places …

OK, I don’t have any kids, but I still really enjoy this book. I’ve lived in Ohio all my life, and I wanted to find some fun stuff to do. Maybe I’m really a kid at heart, but this book is a great resource for inexpensive and unique places …

For outdoor enthusiasts visiting Ohio, this is the must-have guidebook to decide where to go based on what you want to do. With photos and tons of information about each of the 72 state parks in Ohio, this book is an excellent resource.
The book is organized in alphabetical order, …

I’ve been a fan of Stephen King for *nearly* as long as he’s been publishing, so of course I had to read the new novel, 11/22/63, as soon as I could get my hands on it. It’s never going to be one of my favorite Stephen King novels, but …

The full name of this book is “The Perfectionist’s Handbook: Take Risks, Invite Criticism, and Make the Most of Your Mistakes.” There probably isn’t anything in it you haven’t read before. I know there was nothing in it *I* hadn’t read before. The main difference between this books and others …

The storyline of Memoirs of a Geisha follows a girl who is pushed from place to place. The girl is seen as different because of her unusual eye color; a watery blue. This was obviously a story about how beauty can come in an unusual form as it follows …

I liked this craft book quite a bit, even though I’m not a huge Martha Stewart fan. It runs about 360 pages, and is a hardcover book that retails for $24.99. It has a lot of projects in it, some of them quite lovely.
If someone was buying this looking …

All in all, Gooseberry Patch: Christmas All Through the House is an attractive and inspiring book of Christmas projects. It’s a hefty paperback, at about 500 pages in an 8-1/2 by 11 inch format. I’d say about half of the projects have pictures furnished — full color ones of …

I used to adore John Grisham novels. His first books: A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Client — were exciting, enthralling novels. Grisham’s experience in law gave him the background to write legal thrillers, and his personal talent made them good ones. Over the …