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Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Dan Hendricks is a seasoned hunter of people. Usually, the contract is to find someone and hand them over to whoever pays him, but he has no problem with taking anyone out. Someone in Sweden dies protecting someone else, and Dan's company figures out quickly that he isn't who he claimed to be. He was a hunted man, with a secret. Dan has to figure out the dead man's secret before the big, crooked government agency does. Category Mystery, Thriller Why I chose this book Kindle First My personal opinion (the review) I liked the story, and even though there's a ton of killing (10 in one day, Dan estimates at one point), I mostly enjoyed the book. But I can't recommend it. The language was too frequent. It added nothing to the story, I don't understand why it was included! Warnings Language: one character, Charlie, used terrible language, but no one else did Violence: frequent "Adult" situations: a coupl...

Concept: A guide to using herbs and spices in cooking. Author : " Jill Norman created the Penguin Cookery Library in the 1960s and 1970s, bringing many first-class authors to the list. She... is a leading authority on the use of herbs and spices." Goodreads  Food type: Herbs and Spices Monologue score  (1-10) (how entertaining, not the recipes): 3 - This book ended up being more of a reference book than and actual cookbook. However the pages did have interesting information like how it is harvested, what parts of the plant are used, how to store them, a description of what it tastes like, and flavors it would pair well with.   Difficulty level:  Difficult - many of them require uncommon or  specialty  ingredients. Most of the dishes given are ethnic dishes.  Approximate percentage of recipes I would be willing to try: 3% - Overall there were not very many recipes in this book. Mostly it told what herbs and spices might pair well with wha...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Since his mother's death two years ago, Magnus has been living on his own on the streets of Boston. He is tracked down by and Uncle who tells him he is descended from one of the Norse gods. Magnus doesn't want to believe it but when put face to face with a fire giant Magnus is set on a course to find out just how much truth was in what his Uncle was telling him.  Category: YA Why I chose this book: Written by a favorite author My personal opinion (the review): Rick Riordan is known for being cheeky. It's part of what makes his books fun. However, in Sword of Summer he took it too far. Honestly I felt like it was less about teaching Norse Mythology and more about how many pop culture references he could through in. (And many of those references are going to loose their meaning in the coming years making this book passe very quickly). Overall, I was very disappointed.  Warnings Language: One or two actual cuss words, but many many referenc...

Concept: All recipes are 400 calories or less per serving Author : Two Mormon Mom's who started a food blog.  Food type: Mostly lunches and dinners  Monologue score  (1-10) : 7.5. Best part is the side bar categories.  Difficulty level: Easy Approximate percentage of recipes I would be willing to try: While I was surprised that there were more recipes than I expected to like, I still was probably only interested in 20-30% of the recipes.  Sample recipes I'm interested in trying: English Muffin Breakfast Pizza Chipotle Chicken Corn Chowder Spaghetti Soup Honey Balsamic Drumsticks Hawaiian Sloppy Joes Chocolate Crepes Cremes with Bananas and Caramel 

Summary: Tells the story of the invention of the Ferris wheel.  Attention Span/reading level: Ages 8+, small paragraph on each page.  Good uses for book in teaching: About the invention of the Ferris Wheel, the Eiffel Tower, and the Chicago World's fair.  Favorite part: I learned that the cars were enclosed with velvet seats and windows. Also, Walt Disney's father worked at the Chicago World's fair and would tell Walt about all the inventions. This was some of the inspiration he used to build Disneyland.  Least favorite part?  W arnings/negative feedback?: Nothing really. Some of the sentences felt really choppy but but that is just a minor technical detail.   Review: Fairly simple and upbeat explanation of how the first "Monster Wheel" or Ferris Wheel came into being. Pretty illustrations. Good mix of story plus facts. 

Concept: Breakfast and brunch ideas Author : Bobby Flay - Famous Chef on Food Network. He has several restaurants and several accolades in the food world. One of the things I really like about him is that while he is competitive he isn't mean about it. When someone else does a good job he acknowledges it goodnaturedly. (Yes, I made that word up).  Food type: Breakfast and brunch ideas  Monologue score  (1-10) (how entertaining, not the recipes): 4 Difficulty level: Medium to difficult Approximate percentage of recipes I would be willing to try:  I was disappointed that half or more of the recipes here have alcohol in them. I know alcohol is a popular thing, but being a person who doesn't drink at all that made more than half the recipes inside out of the question for me. I understand that cookbooks will have recipes with alcohol but it was frustrating that the percentage was so high.  Also, I'm not the biggest fan of breakfast foods...  Though...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers):  Princess Cimorene lives in a very proper kingdom where everyone fulfills their expected rolls. Everyone except Cimorene that is. Between all her normal lessons she sneaks away to secret lessons with the castle fencing teacher, cook, and wizard. Each time her parents find out about these secret lessons they put a stop to them and tell her to be more normal. So, to make her life a bit more exciting she runs away and becomes Princess (housekeeper/helper) to Kazul the Dragon. Once there, she gets wrapped up in a case of intrigue among the Wizards.   Category:  Middle-school - teen fantasy Why I chose this book: Found it on a list of 25 books one should read in their lifetime  My personal opinion (the review): I immensely enjoyed this book. It has a bit of a feminist bent to it, but it's not overbearing. I don't really agree with the whole running away aspect, but I do like that Cimorene wants more out of life and s...

Summary:  Author David J. Smith has found clever devices to scale down everything from time lines (the history of Earth compressed into one year), to quantities (all the wealth in the world divided into one hundred coins), to size differences (the planets shown as different types of balls). Accompanying each description is a kid-friendly drawing by illustrator Steve Adams that visually reinforces the concept. By simply reducing everything to human scale, Attention Span/reading level: Ages 10+ - to really understand this book you have to have some what of a concept of a space, time lines, and quantities and the things the author compares them too.  Good uses for book in teaching: Science, history, quantities, Favorite part: Mine; A few of the pages I found really interesting were about the size of the continents, number of species of living things, energy, and life expectancy.  Least favorite part: None. W arnings/negative feedback: A few pages mention...

Summary: In 1710, a girl and her mother in Lyme, England, prepare a blackberry fool, picking wild blackberries and beating cream from their cow with a bundle of twigs. The same dessert is prepared by an enslaved girl and her mother in 1810 in Charleston, South Carolina; by a mother and daughter in 1910 in Boston; and finally by a boy and his father in present-day San Diego.   Attention Span/reading level: Probably 6+. My four year old sat through it, but lost interest and didn't really "get it." Good uses for book in teaching: Changes in food, technology, lifestyles, and families have changed throughout American History. Favorite part: Mine: The recipe at the end and the idea that I could recreate this recipe with my family.  Least favorite part?  W arnings/negative feedback?: None.  Review: This book had a really interesting concept. It was cool to see the changes in technology and cooking methods over time for making the same dessert.  It ma...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Natalie Barns is a college student and the oldest child in her struggling farmer family. In an effort to earn money to pay tuition, she takes a job at a costume shop. In time, she learns the shop holds a mysterious door, and the rest of the shop workers protect it with their lives. Category Fiction, Fantasy Why I chose this book Kindle First My personal opinion (the review) This book was great! I really enjoyed it. Plenty of action, plenty of believable human struggle, but also plenty of fantasy. I'll definitely buy the next book, when it comes out. Warnings Language: None Violence: Regular, but not graphic "Adult" situations: None Death: None Other: the main antagonists are arachnid-like creatures Movie rating equivalent PG Protagonist description Natalie is independent, she cares very much about her family, and she is focused on her future Point of view of story Third, focused on Natalie Book length Medium S...