"Contemporary Crochet" - Sys Fredens

There! 30 days worth of books. Haven't done that since 2013.

I haven't quite gotten up the nerve to crochet clothing yet... But I want to! I look through these books whenever I come across one. Some day...

Read Also:

Vintage Modern Crochet by Robyn Chacuhla.

Crochet Chic by Francine Toukou.

Colorful Crochet Lace by Mary Jane Hall.

"Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need" - Dave Barry

As always, a true laugh out loud read! I particularly enjoyed the list of states and what makes them "dynamic" since I would like to visit all 50 states someday.

Hoover Dam is the place to leave your kids while you go shoot craps. Disneyland costs a second mortgage to wait in line. Luggage is a scam. See Europe by bus so you don't miss a single ruin. All the wonderful tips to keep you informed.

Read Also:

The "Welcome to the U.S.A." series by Ann Heinrichs is quite cute and humorous.

How the States got their Shapes by Mark Stein.

Foxtrot's Say Hello to Cactus Flats by Bill Amend.

"The Book of Alma" - The Book of Mormon

One of the books in The Book of Mormon, the book of Alma is about the Nephites and Lamanites doing battle. So much about governments, war strategies, faith in God, and accountability.

It was well timed to be reading this during the election season. I learned so much about how a government could, and should, be run, how the people should vote, how to address problems and dissenters in one's nation. It was amazing how this book written between 91 BC to 53 BC has so many similarities to today!

Read Also: 

The Bible's "Book of Joshua."

Thomas Paines' Common Sense.

The United States Constitution: a graphic adaption by Jonathan Hennessey

"The Devil's Banker" - Christopher Reich

I really don't read a lot in this genre: adult thriller. I picked this out because it was about a forensic accountant (my husband's dream job) and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

A financial accountant has left his high-paying job, partner status, to join an espionage team routing out terrorists through their money trial. It's quite fascinating! Like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes bank teller.

Read Also:

Roger Hobbs' Ghostman.

I haven't read the following (I read almost ALL of my recommendations):

The Last Trade by James Conway.

Stephen W. Frey's The Chairman.

"Atlas of Lost Cities" - Aude De Tocqueville

I picked this up expecting it to have a chapter about Atlantis: speculations, theories, fun CGI pictures of what it might have looked like... However, this book is about real cities. It's a fascinating mixture of storytelling and history. The cities are all over the world, including North America, and the author visited the ruins of each one.

Ever think about where Babylon would be today? What is Hiroshima like today? Pompeii? Want to see a modern-day ghost town? Did you know... "The ghost town in [the Bond film] Skyfall really does exist - off the coast of Japan." pg.84.

Read Also:

Masada by Neil Waldman. (The city of Masada is included in the book.)

Christina Balit's Atlantis: the legend of a lost city. (Atlantis is not in the book.)

Simon Garfield's On the Map: a mind-expanding exploration of the way the world looks.

"Our Bodies, Our Shelves: a collection of library humor" - Roz Warren

So...the first 5 chapters were hysterical. Then she gets on a little bit of a soapbox. And then finishes up with more hysterical anecdotes.

If you've ever worked in a library, then you'll understand and agree with the author's perception that the library provides a never-ending wealth of material for humor. What I laughed at was I've had patrons exactly like those she describes! They are universal.

Read Also:

The Unshelved comic book series by Bill Barnes & Gene Ambaum. Love. them.

Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis is a collection of poems.

Matthew Battle's Library: an unquiet history is a trifle dry but digs up all the good stories.

"Porn for Women" - Cambridge Women's Pornography Cooperative

It's a humor book! Please, I don't do porn. I was almost too scared to pull this book off the shelf. (curiosity won out) But it's not what the title suggests...or author! Just look at the cover, it explains everything.

Read the introduction. What turns women on? Men doing chores, men being thoughtful, men listening. It's a funny book, and if your husband already does those things, it's not critical of them. There's a quiz at the end and my husband ranked top scores.

Read Also:

Alec Greven's How to Talk to Girls

John Gray's Truly Mars & Venus

Bob Raczka's Guyku: a year of haiku for boys.

"Frostings" - Courtney Whitmore

I've been getting into cooking...well, baking...well, food decorating. You know when they gives points for taste, originality, and presentation? I really only ace the presentation. But my frostings needed work. This has every variety of buttercream and flavored frostings! Pictures for everything recipe too! (My absolute requirement for any cookbook).

Gotta try the salted caramel and key lime frostings!!

Read Also:

The Nerdy Nummies Cookbook by Rosanna Pansino has great icing/frosting suggestions!

"Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron" - Michael Stackpole

Star Wars fan, right here. But can you really improve on the original 3 films? Not really, but you can certainly draw out all the things you love about it into books! They're exciting.

Wedge Antilles (my favorite character!) is in charge of Rogue Squadron now that Luke is doing Jedi stuff. He forms Rogue Squadron, X-wing pilots with nothing to lose and enjoy ignoring the rules.

Read Also:

I really don't read this genre a lot...think of it like The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy: a small band of people working outside the law but with the law's blessing.

I've always wanted to read David Weber's "Honor" series.

By the end, I realized it was very similar to the TV show Firefly.

"Robin Hood: the mythic biography" - Stephen Knight

Thought Robin Hood was real? Thought he was handsome? Thought he was noble? This is not the book for you! Anyway, if you like to read a thesis which has become someone's life's work? This is it!

Follow the trail of Robin Hood from local village dance figure and legend to Hollywood icon and Legendary. And how he made it that far.


Read Also:

Sandra Curtis' Zorro Unmasked: the official history gives you a real, live history of a fictional character.

The Science of TV's the Big Bang Theory by Dave Zobel reads just like a physics report tipped with reasons to keep reading.

The Man Who Never Was by Ewen Montague...for the title (hee hee!)

"The Man Who Never Missed" - Steve Perry

This was good, but weird. Involved, but not long enough. Deep, but gruesome. It's like a book you want to recommend but you feel like you let someone down if they do read it.

Seriously, I enjoyed reading it, but I hesitate to recommend it because it does have a lot of graphic language and it felt short-lived. It feels like it's book 1 of a series only there isn't a book 2. (It is book 1 of 8 in the "Matador" series but ... you'll have to read it to see why).

Khadaji is a bar owner on a planet loaded with Confederation soldiers. He goes out at night and paralyzes almost 3,000 of them. Khadaji is a soldier in the Confederation army, a governing body for the galaxy. After a slaughter of a battle, he deserts. Khadaji is in training for Sumito, a martial art. He stinks at it. Khadaji is a student on a planet designed for education. He learns a lot, including how and what drugs are worth smuggling.

Read Also:

I feel kinda bad about this but...the Firefly TV series by Joss Whedon again.

David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series.

"When Calls the Heart" - Janette Oke

Christian romance...also a TV film by Hallmark...I don't think it gets any cheesier than that. But it takes place in Canada! RCMPs and heart-wrenching losses, a welcoming community and a girl who is "clutzy." All the elements are there.

At least I read the book!

Elizabeth Thatcher heads west to teach school. What she finds is a community full of children who want to learn, grateful parents regardless if their children are school-age or not, and eligible men! Hmm...seems mighty convenient...

Read Also:

Rosslyn Elliot's "The Saddler's Legacy" series; book 1 is Fairer Than Morning.

Lynn Austin's "Refiner's Fire" series.

Francine Rivers "Lineage of Grace" series. Ruth's story: Unshaken.

"The Underdog and Other Stories" - Agatha Christie

Who doesn't love a good mystery? And Agatha Christie is the Dame!

Nine of Christie's famous detective's stories, Hercule Poirot learns something about what appears mundane, can turn into cases he can't let go.

I am always amazed by the techniques Christie uses in her mysteries. These were some of the simpler ones (they are short stories) so I wasn't blown away. However, they were interesting for what can be learned about British society. My favorite might be "The Adventures of the Clapham Cook."

Read Also:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Red-Headed League" had some similar elements to the Clapham Cook story.

Susan Elia MacNeal's "Maggie Hope" series are British WWII mysteries.

Ashley Gardner's "Captain Lacey" series are Regency England mysteries. (I didn't like these ones that much, dark and all, but the detailed backgrounds are fascinating).

"The Wit and Wisdom of Downton Abbey" - Jessica Fellowes

Yes, I'm part of that fandom. And you want to know why? You really don't but anyway, it's because they put a lot of stock in the dialog. It's a sharp, witty, full script. None of this blow up a car, jump into bed, say "it's complicated" in order to get out of writing a scene. Downton Abbey relies on it's script, rather than merely requiring one.

It's the thought-provoking lines from Matthew, the eye-opening ideas of Brandon, the insults of Mary, the truth of Mrs. Hughes, the love of Mr. Bates, the ever classic (let's be honest, our favorite) retorts of Lady Grantham. Enjoy trying to remember where in the show these lines come from!

Lady Grantham: "It's like living in a second-rate hotel where the guests keep arriving and no one seems to leave." -pg. 111

Read Also:

It may be a little difficult to find, but Allan Gould's Anne of Green Gables vs. G.I. Joe: friendly fire between Canada and the U.S. was hysterical!

The Bro Code by Matt Kuhn (supposedly by Barney Stinson) is full of great one-liners of Barney in "How I Met Your Mother."

And...yeah, Dave Barry.

"Traitor" - Sandra Grey

I love me my Christian romance! I'm a little weirded out by Mormon romance...

Marie is a Mormon Allied spy in France. Rolf is a Mormon Nazi major. They cross paths, and through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, they manage to make it through the war.

I just realized how dull this book sounds. But it's really not! I was surprised by how interesting it was. (If her research was done right,) the details of how Mormons lived in Nazi Germany were fascinating. I also think her side characters bumped the plot up. How contemporaries reacted to Mormons is not often discussed in your average WWII story.

[Heads up: it's a trilogy.]

Read Also:

Hadassah: one night with the king by Tommy Tenney is a WONDERFUL(!!!) novel about Esther, a religious girl placed among non-Jews. I like these books for the understanding that develops on both sides.

If you'd like to commit to a huge endeavor: The House of Winslow series by Gilbert Morris follows a family through the history of America. A highly religious family, each member must gain their own faith while living through historical eras.

Romeo and Juliet comes to mind...

"Dr. Seuss Goes to War" -Richard H. Minear

Dr. Seuss Goes to War: the World War II editorial cartoons of Theodore S. Geisel was a fascinating portrait of where Seuss began: writing editorial cartoons, propaganda, and early artwork before he wrote children's books.

What some of our favorite children's authors did during the World Wars.

Read Also:

The Journey that Saved Curious George: the true wartime escape of Margret and H.A. Rey by Louise Borden.

Walt Disney: the man behind the magic by Tamra Orr.

Winnie: the true story of the bear that inspired Winnie-the-Pooh by Sally Walker follows Winnie's journey during World War I.

The "Who Was...?" series for children is awesome, reads like a novel, has all the details. I'd like to read Who was J.R.R. Tolkien? by Pam Pollack

"Blood of Tyrants" -Naomi Novik

It's finally here. I've recommended this series multiple times for both Adult and Children's books. This is book 8 and still going strong... Temeraire, where dragons are tame. Lawrence, a naval captain, inadvertantly is bonded with a dragon upon it's hatching. He then becomes an aviator, fighting Napoleon and traveling all over the world.

The last 2 books weren't as good as the first books but Blood of Tyrants starts out strong: Lawrence has amnesia and can't remember Temeraire. Oh, and he's also washed ashore in Japan. It comes back to him piecemeal, as they travel to Russia to be present for Napoleon's invasian. And remember the scorched earth policy, one of the few things I remember from social studies class? Yup, in the book!

Read Also:

Patrick O'Brien's Master and Commander series, though I've never read it, sounds like it reads the same. The writing style is a little more sophisticated. Also, Napoleon, naval ships, it's all there except the dragons.

E. M. Forester's Hornblower series is also same sans dragons.

For the kids, How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell.

"Beautiful Lego" - Mike Doyle

It's a picture book for adults!! If you like LEGO... If you're fascinated by LEGO... If you play with LEGO... If you create with LEGO... This is an amazing book of what can be done with LEGO.
It's a collection of works from LEGO creators around the world. There some interview and a lot of cool pictures!

By the way, that is a LEGO structure on the cover. Yeah, I had to look close when I realized that.

Read Also:

Logo Life by Ron von der Vlugt.Other People's Rejection Letters by Bill Shapiro.

There's a book out there that I can't get at a library (yet) but I'm excited to read called Bookshelf by Alex Johnson. It's about bookshelves as art.

"Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders" -John Mortimer

You may have heard of the British television show and Yes, this is one of the books the series was based on.

Rumpole is writing his memoirs, recounting his first case as lead council. A boy is on trial for the murder of his father and his father's best friend. The case brings back memories of WWII, airplane pilots, and accusations of treason. While Rumpole glories in his first case, a few past flames resurface.

The writing is a little more styled. I'm not unfamiliar with it but I do a lot of rereading to make sure I understand what's going on. I really liked Rumpole; he's fun and rebellious but disciplined.

Read Also:

Rumpole is a little like Perry Mason, series by Erle Stanley Gardner, in that the lawyer solves the case and the defendant is always not guilty.

British murder mysteries: Agatha Christie's are the best!

"Pericles: Prince of Tyre" -William Shakespeare

Every once in a while, I read a Shakespeare play. First, to keep my skill up and second, I want to read all of them eventually.

Pericles is on the run, wins a princess by in a contest, and marries her. His wife gives birth during a storm on a ship as they travel back to Tyre. The wife dies and Pericles leaves the child with a nurse. The wife lives, the child is run off by the jealous nurse, and in a classic Shakespeare Act V, they all find each other in the end.

Pericles is one of the easier plays of Shakespeare I've ever read. There is a lot more rhyming and it's fairly short.

Read Also:

Some parts are like the fairy tale, Snow White.

Others are like the myth of Hippolyta and Atalanta.

Still more like The Princess Bride.