Princess Diaries

Meg Cabot penned this young adult book back in 2001 and is the basis of the Disney movie. The story is about Mia Thermopolis who is raised as a normal teenager in New York City without ever knowing she is the heir to the throne of Genovia. The story is presented in a first person, journal style by Mia.


The story is cute and fast paced. It clearly shows the teenage angst of Mia and the difficulty she has transitioning into her role as a princess. I liked that the original story has her dad, who for some unknown reason is killed off in the movie. Unfortunately, her grandmother is not nearly as charming or likable in the book. The story does end rather suddenly, designed to get you to read the next book in the series.

Just as a warning to parents. The story does have some content that may be considered inappropriate for young teens. There is implied pre-marital sex between Mia's mother and her algebra teacher as well as some crude language. The story is for older teens. Also Mia is a supporter of nearly every liberal cause in existence including Green Peace, gay issues and other things. This may not be a problem for some parents, but something to keep in mind.

One last thing. The book is full of pop-culture from 2001. While it's hard to believe that much time has passed, some kids may not identify with some of it. For example being on the internet meant using the phone line, which caused a busy signal for anyone trying to call you. They may also not understand the debate between Xena Warrior Princess vs. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and many other things. This dates the book, unfortunately. If Meg Cabot had been a little more careful about some of those references, the book could have had a long shelf life. Instead, I think most people will remember the movie with fondness rather than the original story.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Sword of Shannara

 

If ever there was a rubber stamp of the J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, this book would be it. Terry Brooks pens a fantasy novel that is so similar to Tolkien that I had difficulty reading it

In this story a valeman (I can't remember his name) who is half elf and half human is the only remaining elven descendant who can wield a sword that can defeat the evil Druid. The valeman is accompanied on his journey to find the sword by his brother, another valeman, a prince, dwarf, and a mysterious Druid. The journey if full of high adventure and some tragedy that helps the valeman mature into his role.

If you were to create two columns that compares Lord of the Rings with the Sword of Shannara, you would easily see the similarities. In one list the major characters and events in the Sword of Shannara. For each one, there would be an equivalent in the Lord of the Rings.

I was unable to finish the book even though I persevered to about half way. When the main character is lost down a mountain river, I no longer even cared. A sure sign of giving it up. It is true that Terry Brooks has many dedicated, loyal fans for his series. It just wasn't for me.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Quitter

 

Are you tired of your day job? Ready to start your own business or move on to a new career? Jon Acuff gives some guidelines on how and when to quit your job. The book is heavily promoted by Dave Ramsey, who is involved in publishing it.

Jon Acuff has had many jobs in his relatively short career. Each time he was ready to transition from one job to another, he learned something about himself and how to smooth the transition. He shares many personal stories along the way in the hopes he can guide you through the same transition.

The book has its positive qualities. There is a lot of helpful, practical advice like don't quit your job without another job already in the works. Have a plan. Don't go into debt to finance your dream and other nuggets of helpful advice.

I did have trouble reading this book because I felt like the author lacked a depth of maturity and experience. It is true Jon Acuff has had several jobs and lots of experience of quitting, but there was something missing that could have made the book so much better. Nearly all of the anecdotes come from Jon Acuff's personal life. It would have helped tremendously if he had filled in with stories from other people who have transitioned from one job to another. One huge annoyance was Jon Acuff's bragging about his current job with Dave Ramsey. He didn't do this just once, but multiple times in each chapter about how his job with Dave Ramsey was his dream job. This is all well and good but rather annoying to the reader who may not have the same aspirations.


The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Artist's Journal Workshop

 

Have you ever wanted to keep an art journal? Cathy Johnson's new book may provide you with inspiration to try it. Cathy's perspective is that your art journal should also serve as your journal and include text and drawings of places and people you encounter. She encourages you to make this a daily habit. The book gives instruction on types of journals and basic art supplies. Some instruction is given on composition and laying out the design.

I liked the book and found it very inspiring. There are lots of examples from various artists. There is a URL link on the bottom of every page - a little overkill perhaps - that is supposed to have more art journaling pages for you to see. The URL was difficult to type in as it is long and rather difficult. Also, when you finally make it through to the right website, you have to register to see anything more. Too much work IMO. Instead, I found the authors blog which hosts several artists who share their journaling. I found that sufficient to subscribe to in my blog reader and to help keep up the motivation.

If you want to learn more about art journaling, this book would be a good place to start.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Sock knitting master class

 

I loved this sock knitting book. Ann Bud pulled together this collection of knitted socks from various popular knitting designers. Each sock demonstrates an advanced knitting technique. The cover of the book has a pair of stunning knee length socks with stripes and bands of intarsia. Other techniques include cabling, colorwork, and texture. A knitter could really improve their skills by knitting each sock in the book.

The book comes with a bonus DVD that features Ann Budd demonstrating how to knit a sock and discussing each sock in the book. The DVD is a great addition as it shows the basics of sock knitting, which is not presented in the book with much depth. There are a few oddities in the demos though. Ann Budd shows all the basics of sock knitting except for how to pick up the stitches along the gusset, if I remember right. She demonstrates how to prevent holes in the corners but nothing else. The camera angles are a bit weird in some of the demos. In places where a straight overhead shot would be best, we get a straight on shot or a strange angle where you cannot see what Ann is doing. Despite those deficiencies, it's nice to see another knitter knitting.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.