Reviews, thoughts, ideas, and whatever else we have to say on books, movies, television, products, and just life in general.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Greeting Card Emergency David Ellis Dickerson- author of House of Cards
We will be giving a copy of his book: House of Cards, away tomorrow on Arc Friday giveaway. Hope to see you enter.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Email mistake on Policy Page and How to Submit a Review
Mistake
I need to apologize for the mistake on the Policy Page and the Submit a Review page. Somehow we are not able to access the email account. I should have noticed earlier, but I didn't. I've noticed many hits to both those pages in the past and I want to tell you how sorry I am for the problems. A new email has been added for contact on those pages. You can always comment on a post and we will get back to you. The new email address for contacting us is lisapeters AT yahoo DOT com. Thank you for your patience with us and I apologize again for the mistake.
ARC Giveaway Friday - The Lady's Slipper - Winner
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Book Review - Angelology - Danielle Trussoni
Author: Danielle Trussoni
Review: This book was interesting. I found it fast to read regardless of its large size. The link between the nuns and the Rockefellers pulled history into its pages, along with the story from WWII and the first expedition to the cavern. I was drawn in and looked forward to the climax. The cast of characters were diverse and different from the norm. Angelology was explained, it's quite an interesting discipline along with the history the author created made their world come to life.
As I approached the end I was concerned that there were not enough pages left to give the book a good ending and I’m sorry to say I was right. I realize that this was only number one, but I do not feel the book had an ending that was satisfying to me as a reader. It made the book feel rushed. The next book I imagine will start off right where this one left off, but I felt robbed at the end of this one. The story was detailed, long and then bam it was over. The end also did not mesh with what we had learned about Evangeline, her whole character changed in the blink of an eye and that was hard to swallow. I have high hopes for the next one, but then again I had high hopes for this one.
If you enjoy interesting stories weaved in and out of historical fact, you may enjoy this book. If you think you may like this, wait for the next one before reading this one, that way you don’t have to wonder what the heck? I do want to know what happens to Evangeline and the rest of the Angelologists, but then again by the time the next book comes out I may not even remember why. This series would be better read all together. At least that is what I hope.
I've read a few other reviews and I would like to know what you think. Did you like the end? Will you read the next one? Thanks for your comments.
Publisher: March 9th 2010 by Viking Adult
ISBN: 0670021474
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 464
Quick Review: 3 stars (out of 5), the story deserves a 3, and the end deserves a 1.
Why I Read It: David brought it home from the library, he thought it sounded like something I would enjoy.
Where I Obtained the Book: From our local library, I’m glad I didn’t waste money on it.
Synopsis: Sister Evangeline was just a girl when her father entrusted her to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in upstate New York. Now twenty-three‚ her discovery of a 1943 letter from philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller to the late Mother Superior of Saint Rose Convent plunges Evangeline into a secret history that stretches back a thousand years: an ancient conflict between the Society of Angelologists and the monstrously beautiful descendants of angels and humans‚ the Nephilim.
Author Biography: Trussoni graduated from University of Wisconsin–Madison summa cum laude with a BA in History and English (1996) and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she received an MFA in Fiction Writing (2002). Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Telegraph Magazine, The New York Times Book Review and Tin House, among other publications.
Falling Through the Earth: A Memoir was chosen by The New York Times as one of the Ten Best Books of 2006. Falling Through the Earth was recipient of the Michener-Copernicus Society of America Award, the Elle Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Award for April 2006 and was chosen as a Book Sense Pick for March 2006 and as part of Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers Program
Trussoni was a visiting writer-in-residence at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point, Wisconsin from September 2008 through May 2009
Other Reviews:
Monday, March 28, 2011
Book Review - The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
Title: The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Author: Mitch Albom
Review: This book is a tear jerker, it's sad, happy, and pulls on the heart strings. I enjoyed the story of the mans life and the different people he met along the way. The five people were people who lives had somehow intertwined with his. He had not even met two of them, but his life and theirs were forever changed because of each other. His wife was the love of his life and her life and death made a huge impact on his life.
His job at the amusement park was something he had to do following the death of his father and his life was forever changed. This author is great at the spiritual pull. What happens when we die? I loved the weddings he found his wife at and the way he asked that she return to the women she was when she died. He loved her and that is clear in the pages.
I enjoyed this book and even the tears.
Publisher: March 28th 2003 by Hyperion (first published 2003)
ISBN: 1401308589 (ISBN13: 9781401308582)
Copyright: 2003
Pages: 196
Quick Review: 4 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: I had seen the movie and wanted to read the book.
Where I Obtained the book: I found this at my inlaws house.
Synopsis: From the author of the phenomenal #1 New York Times bestsellerTuesdays with Morrie, a novel that explores the unexpected connections of our lives, and the idea that heaven is more than a place; it's an answer.
Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here?"
Author Biography:
Mitchell David Albom is an author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold over 28 million copies worldwide; have been published in forty-one territories and in forty-two languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies.
Other Reviews:
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday Recap of the Week
Sunday recap is a look at the books we reviewed this week. We would love to hear what you thought about these books and about our reviews. Did you think we missed an important point? What stood out to you? Will you read them or have you?
The Passage by Justin Cronin along with an author interview.
One was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming.
Friday ARC giveaway of Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran and a YouTube interview.
Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb.
Let us know what you think about these title. Thanks.
Let us know what you think about these title. Thanks.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Book Review - Treachery in Death - JD Robb
Title: Treachery in Death
Author: JD Robb
Publisher: Putnam
ISBN: 9780399157035
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 384
Quick Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: Number 32 in an ongoing series – got to keep it up.
Where I Obtained the Book: At my local library
Review: As I have said before this series is as much about the ongoing saga of the characters as the mysteries, as such I try to review both parts. The mystery was pretty solid this time out, police corruption on steroids offends Eve’s sensibilities, especially after the particularly weak showings the last few times. The real weakness is how quickly Eve deduces the facts of the case with her figuring out who the literal killer is coming from nowhere. She just assumes it was who it was and that’s that.
As for the relationships we see a few minor characters getting some airtime and becoming more rounded as they develop into a couple. We even get to see Mavis turn up again briefly as she has pretty much disappeared after being the main supporting character at the beginning of the series. I am guessing that she is there to expose Eve to a kid, preparing us for the next jump ahead in her personal development. I will lay money on some pregnant cop plots in the near future. Peabody also gets some lead time as she takes the lead on a case.
But after 32 books it takes something special to stand out for me in this series. This time was my media choice – a self contained digital book. This is the first one I have listen to and that was eye opening. First of all, that is not how I pictured Peabody’s voice at all; she sounded much to unconfident and dumb for me. Plus while the reader was very talented it became very evident she only had so many voices in her repertoire. As the minor characters began to make an appearance the quilt of the interpretation went down. The Captain was really bad and I am not positive, but I think I heard a pretty good Jar Jar Binks impression in there too.
The worse part of the audio book was I really heard what was being said. There is a lot, an awful lot of put me on a pedestal, over dramatic speeches by Eve in the book. Think of any comedy skit where the character does their “I am trying to get nominated for an academy award” speech, I care just too damn much! There are way to many of those moment s in the book and I guess I always missed them reading the series – I must lightly skim enough not to really register what they are. I know I skim the sex scenes because they always show up a few times per book and last 2.5 pages. Sex with Roarke is always multi-orgasmic because all he has to do is look at you and talk in his Irish lilt to send you over the edge. It must be very distracting in his day to day life to have the women losing control around him constantly.
Anyways, you can read this one to get a good sense of what he series is about, but you really should read from the beginning. If you are just looking for a straight mystery, there are much better choices out there. With the In Death series you are getting a whole world populated by “real” people, and that is why you read this series.
Synopsis: Detective Eve Dallas and her partner, Peabody, are following up on a senseless crime-an elderly grocery owner killed by three stoned punks for nothing more than kicks and snacks. This is Peabody's first case as primary detective-good thing she learned from the master.
But Peabody soon stumbles upon a trickier situation. After a hard workout, she's all alone in the locker room when the gym door clatters open; and-while hiding inside a shower stall trying not to make a sound-she overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. It doesn't take long to realize they're both crooked-guilty not just of corruption but of murder. Now Peabody, Eve, and Eve's husband, Roarke, are trying to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down-knowing all the while that the two are willing to kill to keep their secret.
Author Biography: With a phenomenal career full of bestsellers, Nora Roberts was ready for a new writing challenge. As her agent put it, like Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and caffeine-free Pepsi, a pseudonym offered her the opportunity to reach a new and different group of readers. The first futuristic suspense J. D. Robb book, Naked in Death, was published in paperback in 1995, and readers were immediately drawn to Eve Dallas, a tough cop with a dark past, and her even more mysterious love interest, Roarke.The series quickly gained attention, great reviews, and devoted readers. Since the debut of Loyalty in Death (the ninth In Death book) on Halloween 1999 on the New York Times bestseller list, every J. D. Robb title has been a New York Times bestseller. While fans had their suspicions, it wasn’t until the twelfth book in the series, Betrayal in Death (2001), that the publisher fully revealed that J. D. Robb was a pseudonym for bestselling powerhouse Nora Roberts. Unmasked, Nora Roberts fans who hadn’t yet picked up one of the Robb books were quickly playing catch-up.
Other Reviews:
Friday, March 25, 2011
ARC Giveaway Friday - Madame Tussaud - Michelle Moran
Giveaway entries:
1 - Follow the blog and comment with your email address so we can contact you if you win.
Extra entries: Link this giveaway on your blog for 2 additional entries. Be sure to tell us this in the comment you leave.
Thank you and good luck.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Youtube trailer of author Michelle Moran's Madame Tussaud
We will be giving the ARC copy of this book away in Friday ARC giveaways tomorrow. Come back and enter. Thanks Lisa
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Book Review - One Was A Soldier - Julia Spencer-Fleming
Title: One was a Soldier
Author: Julia Spencer-Fleming
Review: This is the first I've read of this author, and it is number 7 in a series. The relationships between the characters are well established at this point, but I did not feel lost at all. Following along was not a problem and I felt like I knew many of them. I loved the way they interacted with each other and the book read like a country song(which I love so believe me that is a good thing.) Country songs can say anything, nothing is off limits and that is how this book is written. People die, people have sex, people cheat and cuss, people love and share. This is the story of life, life in this small town, but still life in general. Busy parents, kids and sports, love and loss, life!
I would love to go back and read the rest of the series from the start and maybe this summer I'll have the time. I suggest this book to anyone who enjoys a mystery, even with the small amount of romance mixed in. The chief of police and the minister(sounds like a bad joke) are partners in life and in this book they even tie the knot for real. Having not read the others in this series I can only guess how they got together and how their relationship developed by the comments made and the situations they find themselves in. They love each other, but they don't always agree(real life again.)
Read this book and maybe the whole series. It was tough to put down and I look forward to the next one. This author is easy to read, she made me laugh, cry and really think about my relationships with the people I love and care about. It was a good story. I feel like I made a whole town of new friends between these pages.
Publisher: April 12th 2011 by Minotaur Books
ISBN: 312334893
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 336
Quick Review: 4 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: I won this on Librarything and promised to read and review it.
Where I Obtained the Book: It was sent by the publisher.
Synopsis: Julia Spencer-Fleming’s debut novel, In the Bleak Midwinter, burst onto the mystery scene like a wild fire, snatching up almost every award imaginable. Since then, the series has only been picking up speed, the characters only digging deeper into our hearts. One Was a Soldier takes the suspense and heart-tugging to the next level, making for a truly devastating read.
At the Millers Kill Community Center, five veterans gather to work on adjusting to life after war. Reverend Clare Fergusson has returned from Iraq with a head full of bad memories she’s using alcohol to wipe out. Dr. George Stillman is denying that the head wound he received has left him with something worse than simple migraines. Officer Eric McCrea is battling to keep his constant rage from affecting his life as a cop, and as a father.
High school track star Will Ellis is looking for some reason to keep on living after losing both legs to an IED. And down-onher- luck Tally McNabb has brought home a secret—a fatal one. Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne just wants Clare to settle down and get married—to him. But when he rules Tally McNabb’s death a suicide, Clare sides with the other vets against him. Russ and Clare’s unorthodox investigation will uncover a trail of deceit that runs from their tiny Adirondack town to the upper ranks of the Army, and from the waters of the Millers Kill to the unfor - giving streets of Baghdad.
Fans of the series have been waiting for Russ and Clare to get together, and now that burgeoning relationship is threatened in this next tantalizing novel by Julia Spencer-Fleming.
Author Biography: A military brat, Julia Spencer-Fleming grew up in places as diverse as Mobile, Rome, Stuttgart and Syracuse. Her debut novel, In the Bleak Midwinter, won the St. Martin's/Malice Domestic, the Dilys, the Agatha, the Anthony, the Macavity and the Barry Awards. A Fountain Filled With Blood received a Barry Award nomination, and Julia's latest Clare Fergusson novel, Out of the Deep I Cry, was a 2005 Edgar Award finalist. Julia lives in the Maine countryside with three kids, two dogs and one husband.
Other Reviews:
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Book Review - The Passage - Justin Cronin
Title: The Passage
Author: Justin Cronin
Review: This book is huge. It could be used as a weapon if you had nothing else, throw it hard at the assailant and run. Even with its massive size I read it all and loved it. Stephen King was quoted on the back about how if you read to page 20(or so) you’d be hooked and he was correct. I had a hard time putting it down and read it in only three days(I have five kids and they did not appreciate those three days.)
The story reminded me of Kings Stand, it had a similar theme, but it was also unique to itself. I’ve read other reviews and they always point out the Vampire aspect, but I didn’t see it like that. These creatures are not vampires; they are something new, different and frightening. The story jumped around from place to place, but I thought the transitions were smooth and easy to follow. I had no problem keeping up with the story and what was going on in the different characters lives.
Wonderful writing and an imagination to boot, this author has it all and I enjoyed this book immensely. At the end I was a bit confused, but then I found out that Cronin is writing a series not just a standalone. I was relieved to find that out and I can’t wait to read the next one. I could visualize the people, the monsters, the compound they lived in, the trek to find help and all the other things in this amazing story. I loved the characters and their fight for life against these blood thirsty monsters. The human spirit is alive and well in these pages.
I know this book is enormous, but it is worth it. Read this book and you will be transported to a world that is terrifying, yet holds great hope for the future. I can’t wait to read the next one.
Publisher: June 8th 2010 by Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345504968
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 766
Quick Review: 4 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: David brought it home from the library, I read the back and decided to give it a try.
Where I Obtained the Book: From our local library.
Synopsis: “It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.”
First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.
As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.
With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.
Author Biography: Justin Cronin is an American novelist. Awards he's won for his fiction include the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Stephen Crane Prize, and the Whiting Writer's Award.
Born and raised in New England, Cronin is a graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He currently lives with his wife and children in Houston, Texas where he is Professor of English at Rice University.
Other Reviews:
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday Recap of the Week
Sunday recap is a look at the books we reviewed this week. We would love to hear what you thought about these books and about our reviews. Did you think we missed an important point? What stood out to you? Will you read them or have you?
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.
The Poisoners Handbook by Deborah Blum.
Eat Your Peas Faithfully by Cherly Karpen.
The Lady's Slipper Giveaway.
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris.
Thanks for spending time with us.
The Poisoners Handbook by Deborah Blum.
Eat Your Peas Faithfully by Cherly Karpen.
The Lady's Slipper Giveaway.
Thanks for spending time with us.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Book Review - Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk - David Sedaris
Title: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary
Publisher: Liitle, Brown, and Co.
Review: This is an interesting little book that I was able to read in an hour. Sedaris takes a critical look at the weakness of human judgment through the anthropomorphizing of animals, but still retaining his very sharp wit. Most of the time I kept saying to myself this is a very strange book until one of the stories, or fables if you will, hit home.
The judicious brown chicken tells the story of a chicken that sees the tragedy that strikes everyone around her as the will of God, usually because of some offense they have done. She even extends this perception to herself and the abusive relationship she is in. Anyway, reading that I was able to clearly see people in my life making the same short sighted judgment of others as an excuse not to love them.
I once had a psychology professor who approach top therapy was to just tell stories with some sort of moral. Eventually he said you would hit upon one that would reach your client and effectively redirect their lives. I came to appreciate this book in that perspective – read enough of these little tales and something will make you think; and the rest will just make you laugh.
I found the dog out to stud explaining to his significant other that it was just “work particularly amusing. You can’t go wrong with Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk if you want some quick, intelligent wit. Maybe not bedtime stories for the kids, but t=it should work for the parents.
We would love to know what you thought about this book. Thanks
ISBN: 9780316038393
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 159
Quick Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: Really enjoy David Sedaris
Where I Obtained the Book: At my local library
Synopsis: If animals were more like us, if mice kept pets and toads could cuss, if dogs had wives and chipmunks dated, sheep sat still and meditated, then in the forest, field, and dairy you might find this bestiary, read by storks, by rats and kitties, skimmed by cows with milk-stained titties. "I found the book to be most droll," might quip the bear, the owl, the mole, Others, though, would be more coarse. "Bull," could say the pig and horse. As to the scribe, they'd quote the hen: "Trust me, he's no La Fontaine."
Author Biography: David Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist and radio contributor. Sedaris came to prominence in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "SantaLand Diaries." He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994. Each of his four subsequent essay collections, Naked (1997), Holidays on Ice (1997), Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000), Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (2004), and When You Are Engulfed in Flames (2008) have become New York Times Best Sellers.
As of 2008, his books have collectively sold seven million copies. Much of Sedaris' humor is autobiographical and self-deprecating, and it often concerns his family life, his middle class upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, Greek heritage, various jobs, education, drug use, homosexuality, and his life in France with his partner, Hugh Hamrick.
Other Reviews:
FYI:
Friday, March 18, 2011
ARC Giveaway Friday - The Lady's Slipper - Deborah Swift
ARC Giveaway
We have an gently read ARC copy of this book, The Lady's Slipper, to giveaway. Giveaway winner announced 3/30/2011.
Giveaway entries:
1 - Follow the blog and comment with your email address so we can contact you if you win.
Extra entries: Link this giveaway on your blog for 2 additional entries. Be sure to tell us this in the comment you leave include a link.
Thank you and good luck. If you've read this book leave a comment about what you thought. We will only ship in the U.S. thanks.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Author interview with Deborah Swift author of The Lady's Slipper
This interview can be found at Historical Novels.info Here is the link to the original interview. We are giving a copy of this book away, details will be posted tomorrow at Friday ARC giveaways. Thanks
Deborah Swift Interview
December 7, 2010
HistoricalNovels.info interviews
the author of The Lady's Slipper
It was great to have Deborah Swift visit the blog on December 7, 2010, to talk about her debut novel The Lady's Slipper, about a seventeenth-century woman whose theft of a flower changes her life dramatically. Welcome, Deborah!Alice's shoes appear and disappear through the novel. Did you consciously set out to include these literal lady's slippers to echo the lady's slipper orchid, or did Alice's shoes appear on the page before you realized what you had done?
The idea of using a woman's shoe arose naturally from the name of the flower, and I thought it would be interesting if another character could have a similar fascination for her lady's slippers (shoes) as Alice has for the orchid. For someone poorer, material comforts might be more important than the natural world, and I wanted a contrast of priorities. So yes, it was intended from the outset. In my first draft Ella the maid referred to the shoes as "slippers," but later I decided it would be a better reader experience if the readers made the link themselves and changed the wording to "shoes" except for a single reference.
You write with great sympathy of your Quaker characters. Have you ever attended a Quaker meeting?
I attended Quaker meetings as part of my research, but am not a regular attender. From my experiences there I admire the Quakers' lack of dogma, and their idea that each person must enquire for him/herself. Of course there are many different types of Quakers now, but they all have the silent meeting at their heart. I am also interested in why attending to silence - an absence, can make people re-assess what is meaningful.
Are there circumstances under which you might, yourself, be tempted to steal a flower?
On spring walks I am always tempted to come home with armfuls of bluebells or other wild flowers, but if everyone did that we would have no wild flowers left, so I refrain. Finding out so much about the fight to preserve our native species means I won't be tempted, besides - Alice's experience has put me off!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Book Review - Eat Your Peas Faithfully - Cheryl Karpen
Title: Eat Your Peas Faithfully
Author: Cheryl Karpen, Art by Sandy Fougner
Review: This is a cute little book, the cover will draw you in, the inspirational words and Bible quotes will keep you reading. It won’t take long to read(only 72 pages of charming art and delightful phrases), or you can read a page a day to make it last. This would make a great gift for a good friend who is having a hard time. I could see a good friend of mine giving this to me(especially after the pity party I hosted myself a few weeks ago.)
We all have difficult times, bad weeks, discouraging days and this is a nice reminder that someone is always there and that we are loved. Get this book and give it as a gift to someone that is having a hard time, include your phone number so they know you are serious about being there for them(this an idea from the authors notes.) We all need reminders that we are loved and cared for, this is a good one.
I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you think that books like this are helpful? Would you like to receive one? There are no wrong answers. Thanks
I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you think that books like this are helpful? Would you like to receive one? There are no wrong answers. Thanks
Publisher: April 5th 2011 by Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
ISBN: 9781404189775
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 72
Quick Review: 4 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: I picked this as my next book on Booksneeze.
Where I Obtained the Book: I received this from the publisher.
Synopsis: Mama always said, “Eat your peas. They’re good for you!" These peas are sure to be your favorites! If you’re looking for a meaningful way to encourage and inspire that special someone in your life, look no more! Eat Your Peas® Faithfully is a 3-minute read with a forever message. Small doses of Godly wisdom and simple truths are graced with delightful hand illustrations to transform anyone’s glimmer of faith into bright shining beacons of hope. It’s a wonderful keepsake and reminder that they are loved—by God and you!
Author Biography: Cheryl Karpen is the founder of Gently Spoken, publishing home of the wildly popular Eat Your Peas® series. She is in demand nationally as a motivational and inspirational speaker for groups that range from CEOs to soccer moms.
About Sandy Fougner – Illustrator: When I first started illustrating and hand-lettering Cheryl’s books, the process reminded me of raising children…
Early sketching is like labor and birth. You are becoming acquainted with the words and forming images in your mind of what the pages will be. This stage is painful at times, yet somewhat easier with each book/child~ or at least you know what to expect! Final sketches are like babies, toddlers, and kids…a fun time. You are feeling good about your plan, still in pencil, still changeable. And then there are finals in ink, with all the intensity of the teen years. Hold that pen steady… and “walk lightly in the studio, I’m doing finals!” By the time we are into the printing process (proofing, press checks, etc.) it’s like sending kids off to college, complete with the twinge of loss and a parent’s hope their gifts will make a difference out in the world. And that is my parting wish for every book— every loving line and pen stroke—that someone will feel encouraged and treasured in new ways.
Early sketching is like labor and birth. You are becoming acquainted with the words and forming images in your mind of what the pages will be. This stage is painful at times, yet somewhat easier with each book/child~ or at least you know what to expect! Final sketches are like babies, toddlers, and kids…a fun time. You are feeling good about your plan, still in pencil, still changeable. And then there are finals in ink, with all the intensity of the teen years. Hold that pen steady… and “walk lightly in the studio, I’m doing finals!” By the time we are into the printing process (proofing, press checks, etc.) it’s like sending kids off to college, complete with the twinge of loss and a parent’s hope their gifts will make a difference out in the world. And that is my parting wish for every book— every loving line and pen stroke—that someone will feel encouraged and treasured in new ways.
Other Reviews:
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