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Staff Picks...

Laura Hansen   Maryjude Hoeffel   Wendi Fogelberg   Donna   Jackson/Kids   Local Interest


Laura Hansen, Owner/Bookseller

I love language at least as much as I love story. You’re likely to find lots of lyrical writing in my selections. I rarely fall in love with a book written in a style the reviewer describes as “spare” or “sparse”. I demand good writing even in the mysteries I read. I also prefer stories that cover a short intense period of time; a day, a week, as opposed to multi-generational sagas.

I read literary fiction, mysteries, travel writing, an occasional memoir and I also read and write poetry.

My friends also know that I am a sucker for any book with water or a dog on the cover!

I'll also be participating in the Jackpine Writers' Bloc 20X20 Project this summer pairing 20 writers with 20 visual artists.

 

 

 

Title: music for landing planes by Author: eireann lorsung
Publisher: Milkweed Editions , $14.00, paperback

These poems are fresh, clean, pungent, and disntictly modern. Lorsung observes and distills. In her words "the whole world reduces". After spilling tea she finds "heat becoming balm". Her poems are suffused with the places she travels and the objects her collects for her art. (Learn more about her artwork at www.ohbara.com.) I've always been a fan of debut novels, and now I am becoming aware that I also have a passion for debut poetry collections.

"music for landing planes by" is a 2008 Minnesota Book Awards Nominee!


I have authored a poetry chapbook titled Diving the Drop-off. It is available at Bookin' It, the Gift Shop at GRAA, Mind, Body, Spirit in St. Cloud, Beagle Books in Park Rapids, and Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais. You can also click here to read a few samples of my poetry, where I've been published and what writing awards I've won. You can also read some of my work in The Talking Stick: Volume 16 "Finding The Words" available at Bookin' It and other Minnesota bookstores. Other publications you'll catch my "byline" in are the May/June 2008 issue of Lake Country Journal Magazine and the July/August 2008 issue of Minnesota Moments Magazine!

 

If anyone has ever accused you of "slumming" because your favorite hangout is a little ragged around the edges, here's a book for you --

Later, At the Bar by Rebecca Barry; a novel in stories May 2008 Trade Paper

Folks know I'm a fan of first novels and this one is a magical mix of hilarity and heartbreak. Barry takes us inside a small town bar chock full of small town characters you'll swear you've met before. Barry's patrons of Lucy's Tavern are so clearly drawn you could pick them out of a line-up. Sit down awhile with them, hear their stories, but watch out...they may stick you with the tab. Sound fun? You may also want to read JR Moehringer's memoir, The Tender Bar or Gwendolyn Bounds' Little Chapel on the River; A Pub, A Town, and the Search for What Matters Most.

Time Is A River by Mary Alice Monroe July 2008
Mia Landon travels to a mountain sanctuary near Asheville, North Carolina, while she begins her recovery from breast cancer. There, she discovers the long lost journal of a well-known fly-fisherwoman from the 1920s--an account which draws her back into the world around her.

Monroe's depiction of a woman coming to terms with life after breast cancer and her husband's betrayal is thoughtfully done and worthy in itself, but the setting and backstory are what really kept me hooked. I loved the mountain setting, the cabin by the river with its unusual contents, and the intriguing tale of a reclusive woman who was a master fly-fisher in the 20's. Monroe successfully and subtlety weaves the lessons of fly-fishing into Mia's story of recovery. A thoroughly restorative book.


Five Skies by Ron Carlson, Trade Paperback, $14.00, May 2008

The writing in Five Skies is beautiful, the characters and the uneasy way they give up thier stories, compelling. This is the kind of story I love; not a sprawling story of generations where you need a map and a family chart to follow along, but a tale of three distinct individuals living in close quarters over the course of a summer. Five Skies tells the unlikely story of three men - two well-honed by life and self-possessed and the other as young and raw and unsteady as they come. Carlson sets them to building a a ramp to nowhere in the wilds of Idaho, living rough and caring about nothing more than doing the best job they can do, and lets the story take over form there. It will hold you through the cold coyote-filled nights of May and well into the final days of a scorching hot August.

Resistance by Owen Sheers

Donna told me this book was very good and we added it to her staff picks. What she didn't tell me was that it is absolutely fabulous. The writing is rich and lyrical, the story thought-provoking and the tension holds throughout. Sheer's story presumes that the Germans successfully invaded the British Isles in 1944. Sheers builds a finely written tale of the women of a Welsh village and their interactions with a German patrol that has been sent into their remote valley. Publishers Weekly calls it an "outstanding debut" and we completely agree.


Look who else is a fan of Resistance : Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants says "An astonishing and compelling study of human nature." Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl says "That rare gift, a literary thriller whose pages we turn slowly, savoring every word."

The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson (in stock!!)

When I was told the basic premise of The Pirate's Daughter, I wasn't so sure it would be my cup of tea. But this mostly fictional tale of Errol Flynn's dalliances in Jamaica and the difficult life of May, his illegitimate daughter, is remarkably believable and engrossing. The writing dances between Jamaican patois and formal letters, slipping in some truly fine metaphors and landscapes in between. The characters of Flynn and his famous and wealthy friends as well as those of the islanders, in particular May's mother Ida and her kin, are engaging and clearly drawn. This is a book filled with the desire for adventure, unfulfilled romantic intentions, and a bold and startling history.

Run by Ann Patchett (author of Bel Canto and Patron Saint of Liars)

Elegant, intense, and moving, Ann Patchett's latest novel offers immediate intimacy with and empathy for her characters. An adoptive father spends a snowbound night and day with his sons and a young girl whose mother is hosipitalized after pushing his son out of the way of an oncoming car. How she, and her daughter, came to be there and what it means for Doyle's family unfolds as quielty and gently as the snow that falls. Patchett is pure genius.

Caspian Rain by Gina Nahai

The writing in Caspian Rain is so lyrical and flowing that you almost forget just how hard life can be for someone who is doomed to be an outsider. Bahar, who marries above her station, finds that she is isolated from both the family and society she marries into and the family and friends she left behind. Set in Tehran, Iran in a time when Jews lived under a measure of protection afforded by the Shah, Bahar's story and that of her unfortunate family is beautifully told by her daughter. Nahai has written a novel that illuminates a complex society while offering up a very specific and moving story of one woman's desire to maintain her dignity and tenuous standing within a diffident society.

The Sound of Butterflies by Rachael King (in stock!!)

The Piano Tuner, Easter Island, Letters from Yellowstone, The Hungry Tide and nowThe Sound of Butterflies. Our book club loves it when I find them a "grand adventure" to read each year and this one will definitely be on our list. I've only read 4 or 5 books this spring and summer that really made me want to hunker down and read straight through and Rachael King's story certainly did that for me. The Sound of Butterflies engages from the very first page. King's writing style makes smooth sailing for the reader of this historical novel about an amateur naturalist whose voyage to the Amazon leaves him a changed man. More tortuous is the journey his wife must take to find the mystery behind his unnerving transformation. Rich in detail and well-researched.

The Elephanta Suite; Three Novellas by Paul Theroux

A master of the travel narrative weaves three intertwined novellas of Westerners transformed by their sojourns in India, in this startling and satisfying book. Excelletn for fans of VS Naipaul and Rohinton Mistry.

As always, Theroux's writing style is impeccable, the landscapes palpable, the characters clearly and heartbreakingly described. And yet this -- as is the case with so many tales of India - is not an easy read. Where this slim volume of three novellas succeeds most clearly is in its ability to cause discomfort in the reader, the same discomfort and distress that each of the American travelers navigate in their personal transformative journeys with the teeming soul of India as their enigmatic guide.

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (April 2008) is fresh, brutal, powerful and engrossing. What a distinctive voice! I highly recommend it. (Touches on India's "Electronic City" (Bangalore) that we are introduced to in Theroux's The Elephanta Suite. These two books would make a great pairing.)

Adiga writes in a one-of-a-kind voice in this novel of an Indian Driver who calls himself The White Tiger but who is referred to as Country-Mouse by his peers in the servant class. In an intriguing plot device, our "hero" writes emails to the Premier of China who is scheduled to visit India. In these emails Balram (The White Tiger) wishes to dispel, in advance, the false picture of Modern India that the government will no doubt show the visiting Premier. Balram sets about depicting the true India by telling in nightly installments the story of his own life as he scratches his way up from poverty to entrepreneurship.
Click here to play the NPR interview with the author.

The View From Garden City by Carolyn Baugh; 8/2008; Forge Hardcover

I can just imagine the lively book club discussions that will arise from Carolyn Baugh's The View from Garden City. Through the eyes of an American student living in Cairo we meet a group of Egyptian women, women who endure, who struggle alone and in family groups, who tell their amazing personal stories with grace and grim-good humor. Baugh injects ample descriptions of the city and of local customs, details that allow the reader to feel the stangeness and sprawling scope of the city. Baugh's strength, however, is in unfolding the stories of the women of Garden city as they open their lives and their hearts to the novel's American narrator.

Mudbound; A Novel by Hillary Jordan March 2008

You can feel the salt in your eyes and the sun-baked mud on your arms. You can feel the quiet desperation straining along your shoulders like a drawn bowstring. Hillary Jordan's portayal of sharcropping in the Mississippi Delta in the 1940's is exceptional. A wonderful reading experience.

 



Have You Found Her by Jancice Erlbaum available 02/12/2008 $14.00

Twenty years after she lived at a homeless shelter for teens, Erlbaum went back to volunteer. There she met Sam, a 19-year-old junkie savant whod been surviving alone on the streets since she was 12. Written with startling candor, this is the story of one womans quest to save a girls life. -Publisher Marketing

Erlbaum's memoir of the two years she spent trying to save the life of a young woman she met at a homeless shelter is as fascinating to read as it is frustrating. Have You Seen Her is one of those once in a decade books that you want - in equal measure - to read straight through and to lay aside in frustration. The frustration, of course, mirrors that of the author's as she tries to understand the self-destructive behaviors and tangled weave of lies that feed the relationship. Erlbaum becomes a friend, a would-be counselor, pseudo-mother and true co-dependent as she is pulled between her need for emotional distance and her determination to remain faithful and compassionate. -Laura Hansen

The Animal Dialogues; Uncommon Encounters In the Wild by Craig Childs

Finally, I've found my non-fiction pick of the season. I fell in love with the tenor of this book even before I finished the Author's Notes and Introduction. Occasional MPR commentator and full-time naturalist, Childs (House of Rain), writes vividly about his encounters with wild creatures in language that is immediate, spellbinding and deeply moving. He describes being so in the moment, completely immersed in the natural world of the animals he meets, that he refers to the end of those encounters as "becoming human again". Here is a book for the outdoor enthusiast, the amateur naturalist, the thrill-seeker (yes, there are Canadian whitewater rapids and tales of Alaskan bears), the animal lover, and those of us who feel understanding our animal counterparts can help us "become - authentically - human again."

Skinner's Drift by Lisa Fugard

In this beautiful and brutal debut novel, the new South Africa comes to life with its violent history, as Eva van Rensburg confronts her dying father with a terrible secret from her childhood. This piercing novel with its powerful sense of place, fine-tuned language and clearly drawn cast of characters is an engrossing read. Book Clubs will want to discuss the various viewpoints and how the story might be told differently based on a person's place in that society.

As I began reading Robert Olmstead's Coal Black Horse, I immediately felt as one with the traveler who crosses remote and dusty roads bearing a fateful message. Not since disovering Joe Coomer's The Decatur Road back in the 80's have I found myself so quickly transported by the language of a book and its sure-footed cadence. Olmstead uses language like a seduction, one that lulls both the reader and the main character, fourteen year old Robey, into a waking dream-state. I wanted to ride Olmstead's words hard and fast past the horrors of war and to hold on to the reigns of his story until I was safely back at Robey's mountain home. This is a book, like Elie Wiesel's Night and Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, that everyone should read at some time in their lifetime. (Available in Trade Paperback, May 2008.)

City of Thieves by David Benioff -- Just released!

Benioff writes of harrowing times with amazing gentleness and good humor. A mis-matched pair of prisoners - both accused of minor crimes - are released by a Russian officer in need of a favor. The two unlikely companions join together on an adventure that will take them behind German lines and ally them with a band of resistance fighters. Not once did I forsee how this engaging tale would end.



The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (September 2008)

In his remarkable debut, Stieg Larsson tops even the disturbing tales of fellow Swede Henning Mankell. This mystery is rich in detail, full of plot twists, and complicated by familial antagonism and deception, yet is cleanly and cleverly told. Larsson tells the story of a financial reporter who takes on a major coporation and loses and while in retreat from his humiliationg defeat is hired by a Swedish Industrialist to write a family history. Blomquist is aided in his research by a disturbed but brilliant young woman who can hack into anyone's life, including Blomqusit's own. Intense and absorbing and at times brutal in its depictions of the dark side of human nature.

The Last Kashmiri Rose by Barbara Cleverly

Every so often we stumble onto a great book we'd missed along the way and wonder how that happened. The Last Kashmiri Rose is just such a book. I've been reading quite a few books that take place in India and neighboring countries recently and this title popped up in one of my book searches. Set in the last days of British rule, here is an old-fashioned thinking man's (or woman's) mystery where crime is solved by interview and intuition and little physical evidence. I am thoroughly looking forward to reading more in this series and you will too. A "New York Times" Notable Book.

Looking ahead: January 2009

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn
January 6, 2009 $25.00

A Beautiful Place to Die
is a roaring good mystery. Malla Nunn combines issues of race, politics, and small town power struggles in this powerful, provocative, and atmospheric novel. Rural Jacob's Rest, South Africa in the 1950's is held in an uneasy truce between blacks, coloreds and the ruling whites until someone crosses social taboos and a policeman ends up dead. Detective Emmanuel Cooper is sent to investigate and finds himself in a writhing bed of lies and betrayal and ends up fighting not only for the truth but for his life.

The Archivist's Story by Travis Holland

It is not uncommon for us at Bookin' It as a group or in pairs to enjoy the same book or style of book. Examples abound...we ALL loved Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (who wouldn't?)and both Maryjude and I chose Pine Island Paradox as a book we wanted to share (me as a staff pick and Maryjude with her Spiritality Book Discussion Group) and Donna and I can't get enough of some of our favorite mystery writers such as Ian Rankin and Henning Mankell. Here is another title Donna and I both thought worthy of sharing with you -- our customers and fellow readers. See Donna's review in her staff picks. NOW AVAILABLE in trade paperback!

The Archivist's Story - a review from Publisher's Weekly Staff Top Picks of 2007 ---

Moscow 1939; Soviet Russia in all its totalitarian glory. Two pages in, and I'm walking the snowy streets of Moscow filled with paranoia and the terror of life under Stalin. This first novel, with its flawed hero assigned to authenticate a manuscript confiscated from the imprisoned Isaac Babel, has the clout of those 19th-century Russian classics. —Louisa Ermelin

The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin; An Inpector John Rebus Mystery Novel

Classic Rankin with plenty of the sights and sounds of Edinburgh and Inspecotr Rebus thumbing his nose at his superiors yet again. This time John and Siobhan dig into a possible diplomatic suicide at the G8 Conference as well as a series of murders connected only by a Sexual Predator Alert Website. Sibohan, distracted by the presence of her parents who are in town for a Feed the Hungry March, juggles loyalties at the same time she strives to keep John from sinking both their careers.

 

Prayer of the Dragon by Eliot Pattison; A Detective Shan Mystery

It is good to see Eliot Pattison and his Detective Shan back in proper form after a somewhat dissappointing outing in Beautiful Ghosts which seemed to push the series too far to the mass market thriller side of things. Here we have the deeply thoughtful and yet still gripping storytelling that first propelled the series forward in Skull Mantra and Water Touching Stone. As a bonus, we have an intriguing study of the link between the ancient Tibetans and the Navajo peoples of North America. The switch to a new publsher (SOHO Crime) has been a good one for fans of Shan. Available now..


On March 18, Prayer of the Dragon author Eliot Pattison was interviewed on PRI’s The World to discuss the situation in Tibet. Listen to the interview at: http://www.theworld.org/node/16735

“This novel taught me more about Tibet—modern and ancient—than I had managed to learn elsewhere. . . . It’s a powerful picture of courage in the face of tyranny.”—The Washington Post

Lost by Michael Robotham is positively cinematic! London Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz finds himself on the out-and-out with his peers as he races to save the life of a child missing three years. Her presumed killer has long since been convicted, yet new evidence indicates he may have been wrongly accused. Against his superiors wishes DI Ruiz attempts to deliver the ransom...with disastrous results. Having devoured this one whole during my short vacation, my hardest decision now is whether to go back and read Robtham's debut "Suspect" or .....

 

 

....move straight away to his latest thriller, the well-reviewed "Night Ferry" released in hardback this summer.

Review quotes for "Suspect: "
"Readers will forget their own jobs, meals and families while they race to find out which one of his targets the killer actually hits before he's brought down." --"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review) .

Review quotes for "Night Ferry : "A gripping thriller and a searing tale of the search for redemption, "The Night Ferry" is Michael Robotham’ s finest novel yet.

In a Dark House by Deborah Crombie This complex tale may be Crombie's best since Dreaming of the Bones which was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and one of the 100 Best Crime Novels of the Century. In this outing, Duncan Kincaid and his former partner, Gemma Janes, find their seperate cases coming together in one intricate puzzle as they search for a London arsonist and clues to the identity of an apparent fire victim.

 

 

Water Like A Stone by Deborah Crombie There is so much to love in this new Ducan Kindcaid/Gemma James mystery. First off, we get to meet more of Duncan's family and see Duncan and Gemma "at ease" on their Christmas holiday away from London. Second, we get to go inside those fascinating 7 foot wide narrowboats that ply the English interior by canal. I love a good travelougue tucked into my fiction reading. And the mystery satisfies, too! Now available in paperback; $7.99.

Crombie's latest in hardback,Where Memories Lie, has just arrived in Hardback. I'm about a third of the way through....thank heavens there is a holiday weekend on the way for me to catch up on my reading. Crombie's mystery novels deserve to be read staight through in one big gulp!

Lyn Hamilton's Archeological Mystery Series is a great way to travel the globe at minimal cost! I first got hooked on this series, featuring Canadian antiques dealer Lara McClintoch, when I read Hamilton's third book The Celtic Riddle. After a disspointing outing in The Moai Murders, I am glad to find Hamilton (and McClintoch) back in top form in The Chinese Alchemist (just released in mass market paperback).



For fans of Ian Rankin, Henning Mankell or Karin Fossum -- I've found another must-read author -- Araldur Inridason. I'm sure you'll be zipping through the three books in this marvelous Icelandic Mystery series as complusivley as Donna and I have been. The first, Jar City, will get you hooked and the most recent, Voices, will leave you wanting more of the melancholy and enigmatic Detective Erlandeur. The next Erlandeur/Reykjavik novel to be released in the US will be The Draining Lake (September 2008/Hardback).

The WINELOVER'S MYSTERY BOOKS by Michele Scott are the perfect antidote to grey end-of-winter days. Set in the California wine country and splashed with colorful characters, these mysteries are as light as a Pinot Grigio, filled with sun, recipes for foodies and wine-lovers and plenty of good humor. If you find, like so many fans of Janet Evnaovich do, that a little laughter and a touch of romance pairs well with sleuthing, then these three books will be just right for you. The third in the series, is Silenced by Syrah. Number four, A Vintage Murder, is here now, too!. All are paperback originals. These are as crisp, light and refreshing as a Sauvingon Blanc. Perfect for summer reading.


Maryjude Hoeffel,
Spirituality Book Discussion Group (SBDG) Coordinator/Bookseller

My book diet consists mainly of spirituality titles, historical fiction, non-fiction history and adventure, with some memoir and travel thrown in for good measure. Books that explore other cultures are also favorites of mine.


Here are my picks from what I've been reading lately.




 

 

 

Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup
Kate Breastrup's husband, a Maine State Trooper, had dreams of a second career as a minister but his untimely death ended them. Instead, Kate decided to enter the seminary herself and upon her ordination, she became one of the first chaplains appointed to the Maine Warden Service, the agency called upon in search-and-rescue missions. In her moving and often funny book, Braestrup relates her own journey from grief to a new faith and happiness, while telling the stories of those she serves: the anxious families awaiting word and the wardens who often have to give the news the families fear to hear.

Now in Trade Paperback!

Simply Organic - A Cookbook for Sustainable Seasonal and Local Ingedients by Jesse Ziff Cool
Both a primer on eating organic, locally-grown food and a wonderful cookbook. Organized by season and illustrated with beautiful color photos. I'm going to try the Herb Garden Angel Food Cake (with roses and basil in the batter!)

 

 


Comfort Prayers - Prayers & Poems to Comfort, Encourage & Inspire by June Cotner
In this small volume, you'll find soothing words for life's hurts, disappointments, and losses along with messages of encouragement and inspiration. Cotner, the author of Graces and Pocket Prayer Cards, has edited another volume perfect for your own bookshelf or for gift giving.

 




Collage, assemblage, and Altered Art - Creating Unique Images and Objects by Diane Maurer-Mathison
Last month I took a collage class at the Great River Arts Association and had so much fun playing. So you can imagine that I went ga-ga over this book .Lots of projects to inspire and get your creative juices flowing, with clear instructions for a variety of techniques. Color photos throughout.





The Expeditions by Karl Iagnemma
I was drawn to this book because it's set in 1844 Michigan, the state where I was born. I'm also a fan of historical novels, but this one, a first novel, is more than the tale of an expedition to the uncharted Upper Peninsula. It's really the story of 2 journeys - one of a teenage boy, seeking adventure in an untamed wilderness, the other of his estranged father who travels to that same wilderness to find his son. With beautiful language, Iagnemma deftly explores family bonds, deceit, religion and redemption.




Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: the Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francoise
Here's the answer for all of us who enjoy artisan bread, but who don't have the time for the classic time-consuming process. Hertzberg, a physican and serious hobby bread baker, developed a recipe that cuts the prep time to a minimum. No kneading and the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for two weeks. When you want to bake a loaf, just whack of a piece, form it and let it rest a bit, then bake! He teamed up with pastry chef, Zoe Francoise to write this book, which includes the master recipe as well as many variations including pizzas, whole grain breads, even caramel rolls! Yumm! PERSONAL ENDORSEMENT: I have been baking this bread for several months now and it's wonderful!

How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, M.D.
I think Groopman has done every patient a service with this enlightening book. By examining what influences a doctor's thought processes, Groopman helps us become better partners with our physicians by learning to be aware of what might lead our doctors to make what he calls "cognitive errors." This is not a doctor-bashing book; it's a much-needed guide to improve communication with our doctors, and thus, we hope, the outcome of our health care.





Courage - Portraits of Bravery in the Service of Great Causes by Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, asked himself this question: "What is it that drives some men and women to make difficult decisions and perform stunning acts of courage against the odds when easier and far less dangerous alternatives are open to them?" This book is Brown's attempt to answer that question. Illuminating portraits of eight men and women whose ideals can inspire us all.
Coming in April, 2008

 

 

Little Klein by Anne Ylvisaker
This Midwest Booksellers Association's "Midwest Connections" pick is a small jewel and a wonderful read-aloud. Ylvisaker's language perfectly captures the feel of a 1950's-era, rural midwest river town and its characters. Always referred to by his mother as "frail", Little Klein could not measure up to his big brothers in size, but his heart was big. Along with his beloved, and hard-fought for dog, LeRoy, Little Klein has aventures both big and small, the last of which will test his courage and his stature.

 


Do Unto Otters - A Book About Manners by Laurie Keller
Adults at the book fair I was at recently came over to my table to see what all the laughter was about. I just couldn't help it; Keller's book is the best kids' intro to the Golden Rule I've read. Rabbit is surprised to discover that The Otters, have moved in next door. He wonders if he'll get along with his new neighbors when his friend, Owl, reminds him of the rule put forth by Socrates for maintaining harmonious relationships. The illustrations are priceless!

Mixed Media Nature Journals - New Techniques for Exploring Nature, Life, and Memories by L.K. Ludwig
This book really drew me to it when I saw it on the shelf. It combines two loves of mine: the natural world and the creative spirit. You will find plenty of inspiration in these pages and clear instructions for more than a dozen projects.

AND MORE...

 


Artful Journals - Making and Embellishing Memory Books, Garden Diaries & Travel Albums by Janet Takahashi
More ideas for creating journals that reflect your interests, from gardening, to travel, kids' quotes to weddings.

 







AND WHILE WE'RE ON CREATIVITY...

The Artists's Way - A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
You're right, this book isn't new; in fact, it's 16 years old, but it's new and tremendously meaningful for me. My sister, Margaret, gave it to me for my birthday several years ago and it languished on my bookshelf for all that time. Monica, another sister, insisted recently that I remove it, read it, and DO IT (it's a 12-week program for recovering your creative self). I'm nearly half-way through and am so excited about whats' been happening with my creative life that I just had to recommend this book.

The Not So Big Life by Sarah Susanka
Susanka, a former Minneapolis architect and proponent of the "Not So Big House" philosophy, has written an inspiring book helping readers to "remodel" their lives, learning in the process how to make room for things that really matter. Using architectural principles such as "Composition", "Bigger Isn't Necessarily Better", and and "Openability", Susanka gives the reader a blueprint for a new way of living. Now available as a Trade Paperback; $14.95

 

 

 

Wendi Martin-Fogelberg, Bookseller/Horsewoman/Crafter

Here's a fun book for anyone who loves to entertain...

I used ideas from this book to help me decorate the tables for the June Author Tea Retreat at Linden Hill and everyone was really wowed by the mix of 10 different napkin folds. The photos do a great job of showing the folding steps. Sometimes I completed them without even referring to the written instructions. This book has napkin folds for both cloth and paper napkins, and from simple to elegant to whimsical.

Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish

The delivery of a UPS package with a pair of red high top sneakers filled with ashes and a note...the lives of 5 women will change forever.

As they set off on a traveling funeral for their friend Annie they encounter miracles, fun, secrets, broken hearts and second chances.

Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral is a heartwarming, fun adventure that I someday hope to go on.




Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This book is fantastic. Gruen's depiction of circus life in the dust bowl years is gritty and realistic, her characters drawn with bold , bright strokes. On the surface Water for Elephants is about the life of a young man whose family is displaced from their home leaving him uable to finish his Veterinary education. In a moment of blind desperation he hops a train which he soon learns is owned by a second rate traveling circus. He becomes the shows unoffficial Vet and the self-appointed p