book review, children's, nonfiction

Happy Llamakkah! by Laura Gehl and Lydia Nichols (Review)

Celebrate Hanukkah with the Llama family in this joyful, rhyming picture book. Follow along with the Llama family’s Hanukkah traditions as they light their menorah, spin the dreidel, fry latkes, and more. Laura Gehl’s lively rhyming text and Lydia Nichols’s vibrant illustrations make for a festive read. The book also features kid-friendly back matter, with expanded information on the holiday’s history and traditions… Read More Happy Llamakkah! by Laura Gehl and Lydia Nichols (Review)

book review, nonfiction

Mad and Bad by Bea Koch (Review)

Regency England is a world immortalized by Jane Austen and Lord Byron in their beloved novels and poems. The popular image of the Regency continues to be mythologized by the hundreds of romance novels set in the period, which focus almost exclusively on wealthy, white, Christian members of the upper classes. But there are hundreds of fascinating women who don’t fit history books limited perception of what was historically accurate for early 19th century England. Women like Dido Elizabeth Belle, whose mother was a slave but was raised by her white father’s family in England, Caroline Herschel, who acted as her brother’s assistant as he hunted the heavens for comets, and ended up discovering eight on her own, Anne Lister, who lived on her own terms with her common-law wife at Shibden Hall, and Judith Montefiore, a Jewish woman who wrote the first English language Kosher cookbook… Read More Mad and Bad by Bea Koch (Review)

book review, children's, nonfiction

The Maine Coon’s Haiku by Michael J. Rosen & Lee Anthony White (Review)

Some cats have names that suggest far-off lands, like the Turkish Angora and the Norwegian forest cat. Others allude to places closer to home, such as California’s ragdoll and the Maine coon. Set against Lee White’s graceful illustrations, with intriguing facts about each of twenty breeds at the end, this charming haiku collection for lovers of America’s most popular house pet provides the purr-fect book to curl up with… Read More The Maine Coon’s Haiku by Michael J. Rosen & Lee Anthony White (Review)

book review, nonfiction

The Illustrated Bestiary by Maia Toll (Review)

Author and spiritual wellness guide Maia Toll turns the insight and wisdom that birthed The Illustrated Crystallary and The Illustrated Herbiary — her best-selling volume on the mystical power of plants — to the mysteries of the animal kingdom. She profiles the mystical, meaningful traits of 36 powerful animals and explores how those traits can guide our intentions, inform our actions, and offer wisdom and insight… Read More The Illustrated Bestiary by Maia Toll (Review)

book review, nonfiction

The Vagina Bible by Jen Gunter (Review)

So many important questions, so much convincing, confusing, contradictory misinformation! In this age of click bait, pseudoscience, and celebrity-endorsed products, it’s easy to be overwhelmed–whether it’s websites, advice from well-meaning friends, uneducated partners, and even healthcare providers. So how do you separate facts from fiction? OB-GYN Jen Gunter, an expert on women’s health–and the internet’s most popular go-to doc–comes to the rescue with a book that debunks the myths and educates and empowers women… Read More The Vagina Bible by Jen Gunter (Review)

book review, nonfiction

The Art of Making Memories by Meik Wiking (Review)

Every year, we are given a fixed number of days. Some days pass us by without leaving a trace and some days we remember forever. Do you remember your first kiss? Or how the first rays of the spring sun feel? Or how about the best meal you ever had? These memorable experiences are characterized by intensity of perception, depth of feeling, or sense of profound significance causing them to stand out in our mind and involve a heightened sense of wonder and awe… Read More The Art of Making Memories by Meik Wiking (Review)

ARC review, book review, nonfiction

Monster She Wrote by Lisa Kröger & Melanie R. Anderson (ARC Review)

Weird fiction wouldn’t exist without the women who created it. Meet the female authors who defied convention to craft some of literature’s strangest tales. And find out why their own stories are equally intriguing. Everyone knows about Mary Shelley, creator of Frankenstein; but have you heard of Margaret Cavendish, who wrote a science-fiction epic 150 years earlier? Have you read the psychological hauntings of Violet Paget, who was openly involved in long-term romantic relationships with women in the Victorian era?… Read More Monster She Wrote by Lisa Kröger & Melanie R. Anderson (ARC Review)

book review, food & drink, nonfiction

Asma’s Indian Kitchen by Darjeeling Express (Review)

Let Asma Khan feed your soul with this collection of authentic Indian recipes. Award-winning restaurant Darjeeling Express began life as a dinner party with friends; Indian food lovingly cooked from family recipes that go back generations. In this book, Asma reveals the secret to her success, telling her immigrant’s story and how food brought her home. The recipes pay homage to her royal Mughlai ancestry and follow the route of the Darjeeling Express train from the busy streets of Bengal, through Calcutta… Read More Asma’s Indian Kitchen by Darjeeling Express (Review)