So, What Do YOU Know about Javelinas?

TITLE: Javelina (Have-uh-WHAT?)
AUTHOR: Gene K. Garrison
ISBN: 978-1-4528725-3-7
GENRE: Children's

Synopsis:

This 38-page book about javelinas, wild pig-like animals that roam the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico, is chock-full of of excellent photographs.

The author took 20 of them. Another photographer, Al Brown, is credited with 12. This is the second edition, revised. Six pages have been added and the photographs upgraded.

Keep in mind that the book is nonfiction. There are no talking beasts. They simply live their lives raising families, foraging for food, avoiding enemies, napping wherever they please, and raiding gardens. They are not cuddly, sweet pets. They can be fierce when they need to be, and not everyone is pleased to see them around. There are others, however, who feel privileged to observe this animals in action.

The author, Gene K. Garrison, is one of the latter. She kept a camera on a cabinet beneath a window and very quietly, and without any sudden movements, picked it up whenever she noticed wildlife at a small waterhole outside. That's how the closeups came into being. She said, "I didn't mind being patient because I was having fun." Al Brown, too, enjoyed photographing javelinas in his yard. His were not as skittish as Garrison's, probably because they had been born in a neighborhood where houses were closer together.

Here's an excerpt:

They hear every sound —
footsteps making crunching noises
on gravel, squirrels scurrying,
a turtle plodding across the land.
They smell all of these things,
including us.

There is also a vocabulary list at the back of the book with phonetic pronunciation and definitions that children can understand. In some cases, adults could use a little help in this area. For instance," MESQUITE (mes-KEET) — a desert tree with fern-like leaves."


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:

Deb Hockenberry Recommends "Feisty Family Values"

TITLE: Feisty Family Values
AUTHOR: B.D. Tharp
PUBLISHER: Five Star (ME),
February 17, 2010
FORMAT: Hardcover
PRICE: $25.95, £18.39
PAGES: 271
ISBN-10: 159414849X
ISBN-13: 9781594148491

Reviewed by Deborah Hockenberry, Independent Reviewer

A cab stops in front of the Victorian mansion in a well-to-do neighborhood in Wichita, Kansas. The passenger fumbles through her wallet for the correct fare. Finding everything but thirty cents, she dives into her cracked vinyl purse in search of it. The passenger walks up the steps of the mansion to see if her cousin, Regina, will take her in. But why is she here?

Regina, a bitter lady, a snob and born with a silver spoon in her mouth, hesitantly lets her poor relation in. After all, Annabelle is family. Regina is sure that her cousin’s stay will only be temporary. It has to be temporary! What will the neighbors think and how did Annabelle get that black eye? Tillie joins Regina at the door and makes up Regina’s mind for her.

Tillie is Regina’s best friend. She also lives in the old Victorian. Tillie is the total opposite of Regina. She’s full of life, accepts people for who they are, never hesitates to tell Regina what she thinks and is also a gourmet cook. In short, she’s one feisty lady!

Annabelle is different from either Regina or Tillie. Life has made her a timid creature so she doesn’t really speak up much. She is so eager to please her cousin that she’s even willing to learn to cook the way Tillie does! Will Annabelle overcome her shyness?

Will these three women be able to live together as a family unit? After all, each lady is in her 60’s and life has made each totally different from the other.

What’s happening to Regina’s perfect life? Now, there’s a cat in the house not to mention the chaos of Annabelle’s three grandchildren that are there periodically. What has made Regina so bitter? We don’t find this out until the end of the book. To complicate matters even more, a hunk of a man moves in right across the street from the ladies. All three ladies fall for their handsome neighbor. Will he fall for one of them?

I highly recommend Feisty Family Values. This is a very compelling and relatable tale that I had trouble putting down. Everyone knows people like Regina, Tillie, and Annabelle.

B.D. Tharp’s book deals with cancer, parental abuse, child abuse, love in your 60’s and more. Not only did she touch on some very real issues in her book but she wrote a very entertaining one. Feisty Family Values keeps you turning the pages!

If you’d like to learn more about the author please visit her website at: http://bdtharp.com.

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The reviewer is Deb Hockenberry who blogs at http://thebumpyroadtopublishing.blogspot.com. Her reviews also appear at http://debsbookreviews.blogspot.com.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:

Bengal Book Award Winner Historically Accurate

River Passage
by p.m. terrell
Bengal Book Award


River Passage by p.m. Terrell recently won Best Fiction and Drama for 2010 in the Bengal Book Awards. The Nashville Metropolitan Government Archives has determined that River Passage is so historically accurate they have entered Ms. Terrell's original manuscript into the Archives for future researchers and historians.

River Passage is based on the true story of the Donelson journey that left Virginia bound for Fort Nashborough (now Nashville, TN) in the fall of 1779. Their goal was to bring businessmen and community leaders westward to expand America. Terrell's ancestors, the Neely family, were on that expedition. The trip was expected to take four weeks. Instead, more than four months after they left, a ragtag group of survivors limped into Fort Nashborough with a harrowing tale. Their river journey had taken them through hostile Indian Territory at the height of the Chickamauga Indian War. They also faced frostbite, near starvation, disease, deadly rapids --and a mutiny. The Indians attacked them over hundreds of miles, capturing some of the settlers, killing or wounding others, and leaving a few to tell the tale.

For more information about the journey, visit http://maryneely.com/journey.htm and for more information about the author, visit www.pmterrell.com.

Terrell is also the author of the historical suspense Songbirds are Free acclaimed suspense/thrillers Exit 22, Ricochet, Kickback, and The China Conspiracy and four nonfiction how-to books on using computers.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:

Movies, Trivia and an Egyptian God?

Serket's Movies: Commentary and Trivia on 444 Movies
By Cory Hamblin
RoseDog Books
ISBN: 978-1-4349-9605-3

Reviewed by Wesley Britton

It’s difficult to pin down the intended audience for this collection of capsule movie reviews. It’s clearly not researchers. I’m not sure it’s film buffs either. In fact, author Cory Hamblin candidly admits he’s not a film expert, “just a guy from a small town who enjoys watching movies.” Admitting his major source is his aunt’s DVD collection, he adds that he’s not interested in films with political messages. “Most Americans from small towns . . . are just looking to have an enjoyable experience at the movies. What we would like to see are more movies with positive portrayals of America, our military, families, men, and God.” Illustrating the informal nature of his reviews, Hamblin states the title of the book draws from his “online moniker”: “Serket is the name of one of the earliest recorded Egyptian kings . . . it has no direct correlation to the contents of the book.”

Hamblin also stated his choice of movies had much to do with the amount of trivia he could find on them, and trivia is really what his book is all about. The “commentary” is about as long as your average Tweet. A case in point is Hamblin’s overview of A Beautiful Mind which reads, in whole:

This is a noteworthy movie based on a true story. Brilliant mathematician
John Nash (Russell Crowe) is on the brink of international acclaim when he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. Only his devoted wife (Jennifer Connelly) can help him.

I have a bachelor’s degree in economics, and during my last
Semester I took a class on industrial organization. We learned
about game theory and the Nash equilibrium.

The film was inspired by the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-nominated
1998 book by Sylvia Nasar. The scene in the movie in
which mathematics professors ritualistically present pens to Nash
was completely fabricated. No such custom exists. What it symbolizes
is that Nash was accepted and recognized in the mathematics
community. The scene in the movie when Nash thanks his
wife, Alicia, for her continued support during his illness is also
fictional. At the Nobel Prize award ceremony, His Majesty, the king of
Sweden, hands each laureate a diploma, a medal, and a document
confirming the prize amount. The laureates do not give acceptance
speeches. Laureates are each invited to give an hour-long
lecture; however, the Nobel committee did not ask Nash to do so,
due to concerns over his mental health.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:

Entertainment Host Reviews Eric Clapton's Autobiography

Clapton: The Autobiography
By Eric Clapton
New York: Random House, 2007



Reviewed by Wesley Britton. Originally for Wesley Britton’s Entertainment Scrapbook


Every once in a while, I have time to pick up a book not related to radio interviews or my other projects. As a result, this review is a bit behind the curve. Well, perhaps your own bookshelf is like mine—here is a pile of must-reads, here are titles that just arrived in the mailbox, and over here are books I’m eager to read when I’m caught up with all the obligatory work. Ah, the desk is clear tonight—why not spend a few hours with ole EC who, even if he’s not God, is at least in the pantheon of those who once seemed to be messengers from above?

Of course, the story of Eric Clapton is more than well known—and he’s not alone. Memoirs of rock stars, especially those written by icons of the ‘60s, tend to follow a similar arc. First, we’re often told about the working-class backgrounds of young boys sparked into life when they heard the records of their idols. For British youth, these usually meant blues masters like Robert Johnson or early rockers like Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Then, the autobiographies trace how the devotees bought their first instruments, practiced diligently on them, knocked about with friends in various ensembles, and then recount how they came to fame with hit records and life on the road.

Then, too often, fame brings the excesses of sexual, alcoholic, and/or drug addictions. Years, decades go by with music taking a back seat to the pursuit of the highest highs accompanied by the lowest lows. Finally, the addictive cycle is broken and the musician finds peace, stability, self-awareness, and rehabilitation. And gratitude they survived at all.

Such is the tale of Eric Clapton who candidly admits, again and again in his memoirs, that his road was one paved with bad choices. Sharing all but the most graphic of details, “Slowhand” (who gives new meaning to the moniker by revealing he typed out the MS using one finger on his computer) talks about his painful childhood as a virtual orphan raised by his grandparents and how the blues became his lifeblood. From his earliest days, Clapton was a mix of a strong ego—being such a purest he left the Yardbirds when they went commercial—and a man plagued with deep feelings he was unworthy of romantic relationships that could blend sex with friendship. The latter would become a recurring pattern in his life, resulting in a string of liaisons doomed by first heroine and then alcohol.

As a result, the story of Clapton’s life begins with a slow building of energy filled with youthful excitement, idealism, and then stories of playing with the legends of his day, Cream, John Mayall, Jimi Hendrix. The rise in his fortunes hits its top with the Delany and Bonnie-inspired first solo album and the powerful creativity of Derek and the Dominoes. From that point forward, twenty years go by as nearly as painful to read about as they must have been to experience. One wonders how Clapton was able to produce any music at all during these years and it’s not surprising much of his output from the late ‘70s forward was so lean and limp in both the studio and on stage. Clapton himself expresses little pride in much of his work during this period. For example, he spends more time talking about his affair with Yvonne Elliman than the hours he spent in the studio producing 461 Ocean Boulevard. Then again, considering the amount of intoxicants in his system, it’s difficult to see how much he could remember as his abilities declined and his obsession with Patti Boyd Harrison went every which way but right.

Finally, with age comes wisdom and freedom from the old patterns. After kicking his sexual and substance dependencies, Clapton turns his attentions to helping other addicts and investing time and money in genuinely making this world a better place. Once again, Clapton’s writing style takes on an uplifting tone even if the final chapters are filled with descriptions of sailing, beaches, and fly-fishing that read like extended blog entries.

Frankly, this is an autobiography likely to interest Eric Clapton fans and few others. Fortunately, Clapton has legions of admirers and rightly so—but they’d be better rewarded playing the music than delving into the missteps of an obsessed lover who confesses to sleeping with an overweight “witch” because she claimed to have the power to return “Layla” to his bed. Did we really need to know this? Perhaps it’s just me, but I’m not interested in the details of sexual dysfunction—it’s the music I want to know about. There are nuggets, as when Clapton shares the humorous origins of “Wonderful Tonight,” his response to Patti taking too long to get ready to go out. But the humor dissipates when we learn Clapton had difficulty playing the song after his break-up because of its associations with “Nell”—the name Clapton gave Patti to distinguish his Pattie from the person once wedded to George Harrison. I was happy to learn Clapton thought as little of “I Shot The Sheriff” as I did, a song I never thought was worthy of the airplay it earned. Of course, it’s impossible not to feel the pain Clapton suffered over the death of his son, Conner. But such anecdotes and revelations are scattered in between lengthy descriptions of revolving bed-mates and drinking binges, making much of the book easier to skim than digest whole. In the end, I was filled with relief—both for Clapton himself and for me, the reader

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Reviewer Dr. Wesley Britton is co-host of online radio’s “Dave White Presents” which features interviews with a wide range of entertainers. Past programs are archived at www.audioentertainment.org/dwp. He is also author of four books on espionage and runs www.spywise.net. Wes teaches English at Harrisburg Area Community College.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:

Can a Book Be a Vacation? Holly Weiss Thinks So

Crestmont
By Holly Weiss
Historical Fiction
ISBN 978-1-935188-10-0
Publication May 2010
StarPublish LLC

Reviewed by Betsy Rider, owner of Indie Bookstore, Otto Bookstore, Williamsport, PA

Can a Book Be a Vacation?

Take one with Holly Weiss in 1920’s Eagles Mere in the new book, Crestmont.

Four years ago, Holly Weiss, a music teacher and former opera singer, stayed at the Crestmont in Eagles Mere. She was captivated by the peaceful ambiance of today’s Inn and by the rich history of the founder and previous owners. So she wrote a book about them, filling out the known facts with fictionalized motivations and relationships.

After briefly sketching the Native American legend about the creation of the unique spring-fed lake from the tears of the mourning Great Spirit, Weiss re-creates the inspiration of William Warner, a visitor from Germantown who saw a challenge in the cyclone ravaged hill-top overlooking the crystal clear lake. Warner, who was driven by a need for excellence in all his endeavors, planned the Crestmont and hired two hundred carpenters to complete it in a year’s time. It was to be the very best in accommodations and in service. His staff was trained to anticipate every need and whim of the guests. His memory of the desires of the previous years’ visitors never failed to impress one and all.

According to Weiss’ fictionalized time-line, when Warner’s health deteriorated slightly more than a decade after the opening, his daughter, Margaret Woods and her husband, William, continued his legacy of outstanding hospitality. When Margaret Woods died in 1941, her daughter, Peg Dickerson, ran it until her health gave out, thus seeing it through three generations of the same family. It was sold in 1977 to a couple who replaced the “Big House” with condominiums.

But I get ahead of myself. The owning and running of the legendary Crestmont is only the background for a moving story of Gracie Antes, a young girl trying to find her place in the world outside her repressive family upbringing in Moravian Bethlehem. She could sing. She knew it, even if nobody else did. But she needed money to follow her dream of singing in the Vaudeville circuit. So she answered an ad for summer employment at the Crestmont in Eagles Mere. She left her home and didn’t tell anyone she was still alive for a month and even then she didn’t tell them where she was working.

Gracie grew from a shy, young dreamer with a pocket full of words she needed to look up and a notebook nowhere near full of the names of the friends she made, to an assured young woman who found her family and place in Eagles Mere, where she discovered singing was only one of her many talents.

Even more compelling for me was the character development of Margaret Woods, who was drowning in her father’s legacy of outstanding service to their clientele. She never took time for herself and didn’t discover until long after his death that her father had found a retreat in an attic hideaway. That he needed respite from his responsibilities too. When a mistake made by Gracie sends her into a debilitating depression, she barely copes until her family and a favorite older employee gradually help her recover her former energy.

The book is filled with just enough other characters to welcome you into their world: PT, the young manager of the Inn’s bowling alley (and all around go-fer) who escapes his murky past by pouring himself into his piano jazz; Dorothy, a teacher who leaves her classroom to wait on the pampered rich and oversee the young staff; Bessie, an angry housemaid who hides her hurt under her anger; Mrs. Cunningham, an elderly blind lady who needs Gracie’s help and care while providing love and understanding in return; and the most famous guest, Rosa Ponselle, an opera singer who also takes Gracie under her wing.

The author has researched her material with the same kind of thorough care that the legendary Inn provided. Her knowledge of the American culture of the “Roaring Twenties” serves her well. She liberally sprinkles references to neighboring towns and events. Her pace is leisurely and her characters lovable. Readers will feel refreshed after their vacation, reading “Crestmont.”


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Holly Weiss will be signing her book at the Otto Bookstore in Williamsport, PA, this Friday. Learn more about Crestmont on the bookstore's Web site www.ottobookstore.com



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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:

Practitioner Describes the Art of Dreaming

Title – The Sorcerer’s Dream: An Initiation into the Sorcerer’s World
Author – Alysa Braceau, Dreamshield
Genre or category - Religion & Spirituality
ISBN – 978-1609101565


About The Sorcerer’s Dream: An Initiation into the Sorcerer’s World

This is the autobiographical story of a young woman bumping into the enigmatic sorcerer Running Deer and her initiation into the sorcerer’s world and mastering conscious dreaming. It takes the reader throughout the magic realms of the unknown and gives a new approach to the traditional training of women sorcerers.

The riveting autobiographical account The Sorcerer’s Dream written by Dreamshield takes the reader throughout the magic realms of the unknown and mastering conscious dreaming. This book, following the traditions of Carlos Castaneda and others, gives a new approach to the traditional training of women sorcerers.

The author describes her initiation into the surrealistic world of dreaming and magic, following the teachings of ‘Man of Knowledge’ Running Deer. In the heart of Amsterdam, a thrilling stride unfolds in obtaining the knowledge of the Second Reality on the way to the ultimate goal: finding the Totality of the Self!

The combination of unusual instructions and experiences within the sorcerer’s world and the level-headedness of a very Dutch woman offers the reader excitement and contemplation on the way to the source of this reality, finding the ultimate self through the experiences and understanding of Dreamshield herself. Up until the last page the reader remains intrigued whether Dreamshield will reach her goal.

Right by the author’s side or facing her stands the character of Running Deer. Sometimes mysterious, then challenging, strict as a guru, or vulnerable as a visitor in a foreign country. However, the precise description of these distinctive steps on the road to her initiation stand like milestones in the landscape of this unique history.

About Alysa Braceau, Dreamshield

Dreamshield (Alysa Braceau) studied social work and is a freelance journalist who writes for newspapers and magazines. She has a healing practice and gives workshops about the Art of Mastering Conscious Dreaming and Dream Healing.

About this first publication she says: "The theme of these passed four-and-a-half years have been the sorcerers tradition. I have carefully recorded my personal experiences which has finally led to this book. Apart from that, writing it has given me great pleasure. The Sorcerer's Dream has become more than a personal account because the interested reader is presented with the technique to learn and practice the North American tradition of the Art of Dreaming (the skill of conscious dreaming) him/herself.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below: