Thursday, January 9, 2014

Nonfiction: The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker's Guide To Making Travel Sacred

The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker's Guide To Making Travel Sacred

I read this book because I love travel, yes love, not like. I also understand that travel changes people over time and in itself can be a very spiritual experience. The author of this book, Phil Cousineau, also understands this point and has traveled many places all over the world in a spiritual journey. 
Throughout the book he gives advice on people wanting to make a spiritual pilgrimage, and gives details on what happened to him. There are photographs that show popular pilgrimage sites, as well as quotes from famous travels from before. I give this book 5/5 stars because the author shows personal experience along with details from other travelers. He gives advice but doesn't talk down to the reader.

"Geared toward the modern-day pilgrim looking for inspiration and spiritual tools for the road, The Art of Pilgrimage weaves stories, myths, parables, and quotations from famous travelers of the past with practical suggestions and accounts of people on the sacred way today." Book description from Goodreads. 
                                        
                                     144951 

                                     Good Day and Good Reading

Books I'll Be Posting In The Future

Hello :)
I haven't been posting that often recently and have decided that my blog needs a little more direction. I was posting just any nonfiction or fiction book reviews. 
From now on my reviews will be on books of the spiritual nature. These might be fiction, or nonfiction. They might be new age or Christian, Muslim or Hindu books. The books will be literature pertaining to spirituality, whatever the religion or stance may be.
I'll try to post at least one or two posts a week in the near future.
Good Day and Good Reading

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Fiction Book of the Day: Bunnicula

Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe

I read this book dozens of times when I was growing up. My school library might have well as let me buy it how often it was checked out to me. It is technically a children's book, but I bet young adults would like it, too as the story is very interesting.

"Before it's too late, Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household -- a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits...and fangs!"   Description by Goodreads

Bunnicula (Bunnicula, #1) 

 Good Day and Good Reading


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Everything Guide to Writing Nonfiction

The Everything Guide to Writing Nonfiction by Richard D. Bank

I bought this book a few years ago because I want to write. I thought it would be helpful getting ideas on how to write articles, maybe even have advise on how to get published. It does. And it has much more. It has chapters on different types of nonfiction like biographies, parenting and family, religion and spirituality, previews, and even opinion pieces. It is organized in a nice fashion and has a section towards the back about how to sell your work or get published. 

"Everyone wants to be a published writer. But only a few manage to break into print. In this guide, Richard D. Bank provides expert advice to help you reach your goals of writing and selling articles, essays, and books. Featuring step-by-step instructions covering all aspects of writing, including how to:
Master the elements of creative nonfiction
Conduct interviews and take accurate notes
Find your unique voice
Develop good research and editing skills
Write with authority and confidence
Sell writing to periodicals and publishers
Whether you want to write an intimate memoir, a magazine story, or a scholarly article, you?ll find all you need to see your bylines in print."   Description by Goodreads.

                               The Everything Guide To Writing Nonfiction: All You Need To Write And Sell Exceptional Nonfiction Books, Articles, Essays, Reviews, And Memoirs (Everything Series) 
                                             Good Day and Good Reading

Monday, May 20, 2013

Vegetarian Cookbook: Fields of Greens

Fields of Greens by Annie Somerville

This is my favorite vegetarian cookbook. It has hundreds of recipes and many are very delicious. There are some unusual recipes that call for different ingredients (leeks, sprouts etc.) However, these many not be that unusual to you. I come from a "meat and taters" family so they are not common foods in my house. 

"The opening of Greens Restaurant on San Francisco Bay in 1979 changed forever the image of vegetarian cooking in America.  From the restaurant's imaginative mix of casual elegance, exciting tastes, and a subtle message of health and harmony, a distinctive cuisine was born that has continued to bring joy to many thousands of diners every year as well as to the hundreds of thousands of readers who delight in The Greens Cookbook. In its latest incarnation, the restaurant has evolved toward a lighter, leaner, simpler cuisine, one that keeps all the spirit and refinement of the original menu but depends more on the excitement of sparkling fresh produce and its integral relationship to the dishes it inspires.
In close to 300 original recipes, the new Greens style includes exuberant salads, soups, the legendary crusty Greens pizzas, curries and hearty stews, grilled vegetables, and intriguing turnovers made with filo pastry, tortillas, and savory doughs.  And of course there are heavenly breads and the famous desserts, like ginger pound cake with poached apricots and cherries.  This cornucopia of brilliant dishes focuses on tantalizing tastes, with a new simplicity, clarity, and liveliness as its hallmark.
Annie Somerville, the executive chef at Greens, goes right to the heart of the matter: extraordinary produce that's bursting with flavor, color, and texture.  Some of her favorites--like crinkly Bloomsdale spinach, candy-striped Chioggia beets, succulent Rosefir potatoes--are highlighted in the text for gardeners and farmers' market aficionados.  But the Greens style is above all accessible; ordinary red beets will be just fine if more exotic varieties are unavailable.  To help with availability, there's information on locating farmers' markets throughout the country as well as sources for plants, seeds, and local resources.
Because the garden is at the center of this book, readers are encouraged to try their hand, in tiny backyards and windowsill boxes if necessary.  Invaluable growing tips are offered from Green Gulch Farm, the source of much of the stunning produce served at the restaurant.  Other special features include a section on low-fat cooking and another on pairing wine with vegetarian food.
All of the abundance and exuberance that the title Fields of Greens implies is here, for the novice as well as the expert, for simple last-minute meals as well as extravagant occasions.  For truly inspired contemporary vegetarian cooking, Fields of Greens is the essential sourcebook.

Annie Somerville trained under Deborah Madison, the founding chef at Greens Restaurant.  Under Somerville's guidance as executive chef, Greens has become a culinary landmark.  Her work has been featured in Gourmet, Food & Wine, Ladies' Home Journal, SF, and California magazine.  She also contributed to The Open Hand Cookbook and Women Chefs cookbook."  Description by Goodreads.


If you are vegetarian, or have "vegis" in the friend or family circles of your life this could be a very useful book to have.
                       
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                                                Good Day and Good Reading

Fiction Book of the Day: Congo

Fiction Book of the Day: Congo by Michael Crichton

" Deep in the African rain forest, near the legendary ruins of the Lost City of Zinj, an expedition of eight American geologists is mysteriously and brutally killed in a matter of minutes.

Ten thousand miles away, Karen Ross, the Congo Project Supervisor, watches a gruesome video transmission of the aftermath: a camp destroyed, tents crushed and torn, equipment scattered in the mud alongside dead bodies -- all motionless except for one moving image -- a grainy, dark, man-shaped blur.

In San Francisco, primatologist Peter Elliot works with Amy, a gorilla with an extraordinary vocabulary of 620 "signs," the most ever learned by a primate, and she likes to fingerpaint. But recently, her behavior has been erratic and her drawings match, with stunning accuracy, the brittle pages of a Portuguese print dating back to 1642 . . . a drawing of an ancient lost city. A new expedition -- along with Amy -- is sent into the Congo where they enter a secret world, and the only way out may be through a horrifying death . ."   Description by Goodreads.


This is one of my favorite works by Crichton, although I love every book I've read by him. Congo and The Jurassic Park series, including Lost World, are my favorites. Most people consider them horror, I personally label them adventure, horror mix. A good read for someone who's not into Indiana Jones Adventure but still likes some, and also who's not into horror as extreme as Stephen King. This is a good medium and very well written. I don't like to give spoilers so all I'll give on the plot is the description with the addition of the ending is very shocking. That is all.

                                 Congo


                                            Good Day and Good Reading

Nonfiction book of the day: Country Diary Herbal

Nonfiction Book of the Day: The Country Diary Herbal by Sarah Hollis

I got this book at my local library and love it. I've checked it out many times and enjoy it for many reasons. 1st, it has gardening tips and advice for pretty much any herb. It has an A-Z reference of all the herbs mentioned in the book (they are in alphabetical order all through). It has drawings instead of pictures, which I find both an advantage and disadvantage. A drawing points out the main details you should see in the plant, ex. the color of the leaves, the shapes of the stalks, or how bushy it grows to be. However the obvious drawback is that you're not actually seeing the plant, so therefore the colors can be off, and if your plant isn't doing the best it may not look anything like the image in the book.
In general I'd rate this book at something of a 6-7 out of 10 for an herb book. I've only read a couple others that have surpasses this one in the amount of herbs listed which is why this has such a good review.
Couldn't find a review on goodreads or Amazon for this book.   

                                 

Good Day and Good Reading