Category: Non-Fiction

All Birds Have Anxiety – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

4 out of 5 stars.

All Birds Have Anxiety is the third in a series of books that Kathy Hoopmann wrote about different types of mental illnesses and developmental disabilities. It was a good book about an important subject matter, but not my favorite in the series.

BirdsAnxiety

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Synopsis

Life as a bird can be stressful! From worrying about airplanes, windows, and getting enough worms to eat, it is clear that birds can be anxious beings. Through a light-touch, quizzical depiction of bird behaviour, All Birds Have Anxiety uses colourful images and astute explanations to explore with gentle humour what it means to live with anxiety day-to-day, and how to begin to deal with it.

Following the style of the best-selling All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome and All Dogs Have ADHD, wonderful colour photographs express the complex and difficult ideas related to anxiety disorder in an easy-to-understand way. This simple yet profound book validates the deeper everyday experiences of anxiety, provides an empathic understanding of the many symptoms associated with anxiety, and offers compassionate suggestions for change.

The combination of understanding and gentle humour make this the ideal introduction to anxiety disorder for those diagnosed with this condition, their family and friends and those generally interested in understanding anxiety.

Bluebird&StarsLine-GrphGdn
© Graphic Garden

Review

While the information in this book is great, there was just something about it that seemed “off”. I can’t even really put my finger on it, but I definitely didn’t like it as well as I liked the previous books, All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome and All Dogs have ADHD.

However, the information given was very well done. Simple language is used to help kids understand what anxiety is and what it might feel like in their bodies. The book discusses how to overcome anxiety as well in simple steps that are easy for any age to follow. Things like facing your fears so they don’t become even more overwhelming in your mind, controlling your breathing, etc.

The photos of the birds are beautiful and many of them seem to be experiencing anxiety when we look at them. I believe they can help children realize that they’re not the only ones feeling the way they do.  It can also help parents and other family and friends realize that this is a real issue and not something the child is doing to garner attention or get out of doing something.

All in all it’s a decent book and I do recommend it.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's Musings2 Comments

2 out of 5 stars.

The Man who Loved Books too much by Allison Hoover Bartlett book cover - background of a bookshelf with gilded-covered books, silhouette of a man in a hat imposed on top

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line of books - some stacked, some standing, some leaning - books are blue, brown, red, green, and yellow
© Graphic Garden

Synopsis

Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be.

Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed “bibliodick” (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him.

Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them.

Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love.

line of books - some stacked, some standing, some leaning - books are blue, brown, red, green, and yellow
© Graphic Garden

Review

The Man who Loved Books too much: the true story of a thief, a detective, and a world of literary obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett is unfortunately not the fascinating tale I was hoping for. I thought perhaps I was biased in my opinion because I had just finished Flawless, but then I read other reviews and found others who felt the same way.

I was hoping that this book would at least bring a glimpse of the not-so-nice side of the rare-book trade and collecting, but no, you didn’t get that at all. Our main character, John Charles Gilkey is not as fascinating as Ms. Bartlett seems to find him. He’s a thief. He’s not noble thief; he steals simply because he wants the book. He’s not a particularly smart thief either; he simply uses a stolen credit card or writes a bad check. He’s just your run-of-the-mill thief.

Maybe I would have been okay with that portion of the tale if I really believed the man actually loved the books. He doesn’t. He feels entitled to have them, so he steals them. It’s not about the artwork on/in a first edition; it’s about the prestige that comes from owning that first edition. It’s not about the stories inside the covers either. He doesn’t seem to care about that either. He simply feels like wealthy people should have a large library and therefore he’s entitled to what he wants to have.

This book was unfortunately, totally disappointing and I do not recommend it.

line of books - some stacked, some standing, some leaning - books are blue, brown, red, green, and yellow
© Graphic Garden

Thomas the Tank Engine: Owners’ Workshop Manual – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

4 out of 5 stars

Haynes Thomas the Tank Engine Owner' Workshop Manual - dark blue background with Thomas the Tank engine on the front

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Graphic Illustration of Thomas the Tank Engine and the Thomas & Friends logo - Logo has read words in a blue-outlined cloud. Thomas is a blue tank steam engine sitting on railroad tracks and has #1 painted on his side.

Synopsis

This innovative book applies the Haynes treatment to one of the most popular children’s characters. Inspired by the world-famous Haynes manuals, this book explains how Thomas works, how his driver operates him, and how the engineers of the Sodor railway keep him in tip-top condition. Some of Thomas’s friends also feature, with Henry’s overhaul, for example, offering the chance for young readers to see how a steam engine is taken apart and refitted. This brightly designed book will delight children and parents alike.

Graphic illustration of Thomas the Tank Engine riding on rails - Blue tanks steam engine with #1 painted on the side

Review

Thomas the Tank Engine: Owners’ Workshop Manual by Chris Oxlade is a semi-fictional account of how to repair things that go wrong on Thomas and his friends. This is a great book both for Thomas the Tank Engine fans and young train enthusiasts.

In the tradition of Haynes’ other repair manuals, this volume is filled with appropriate details and information for fixing common problems. Even tho’ Thomas is a fictional character, the manual provides accurate information about a steam engine’s parts and design.

I’d highly recommend this for any Thomas fan or steam engine fan! A great book!

Graphic Illustration of Thomas the Tank Engine and the Thomas & Friends logo - Logo has read words in a blue-outlined cloud. Thomas is a blue tank steam engine sitting on railroad tracks and has #1 painted on his side.

 

As You Wish – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

4.5 out of 5 stars.

As You Wish by Cary Elwes book cover - beige background with photo of Cary Elwes dressed as the Dread Pirate Roberts with sword drawn

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Line of gold crowns with alternating green, red, and blue tips
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Synopsis

From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes a first-person account and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cult classic film filled with never-before-told stories, exclusive photographs, and interviews with costars Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Mandy Patinkin, as well as author and screenwriter William Goldman, producer Norman Lear, and director Rob Reiner.

Cary Elwes was inspired to share his memories and give fans an unprecedented look into the creation of the film while participating in the twenty-fifth anniversary cast reunion. In As You Wish he has created an enchanting experience; in addition to never-before seen photos and interviews with his fellow cast mates, there are plenty of set secrets, backstage stories, and answers to lingering questions about off-screen romances that have plagued fans for years!

With a foreword by Rob Reiner and a limited edition original poster by acclaimed artist Shepard Fairey, As You Wish is a must-have for all fans of this beloved film.

Review

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of ‘The Princess Bride’ by Cary Elwes with Joe Layden is a wonderful and funny book of anecdotes and other tales of happenings on the set during the making of ‘The Princess Bride‘, a cult-classic movie from the 1980s.

Cary Elwes has a very humble and self-depreciating manner in his narration. He talks about feeling like he is this “nobody” versus Rob Reiner and all the other “Hollywood greats” who worked on the film; not that they ever made him feel that way, it was his own lack of self-confidence. He tells most of the story through his own point of view, but there are parts where the other major actors from the film add their own memories and stories.

Even though he has passed on from this world, Elwes and the other actors do a great job remembering Andre the Giant – sharing stories about him and their interactions with him.

I couldn’t stop laughing while reading all the anecdotes. For me, the best part was that even tho’ I knew some of the stories and the trivia about the movie, it didn’t detract from this book at all. Some stories I knew and some were new to me. Together they made a magical retelling of the making of the movie.

Come live the making of one of the biggest cult-classic movies ever through the eyes of its cast! You won’t regret it!

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

3 out of 5 stars.

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 book cover - red background with drawing of Krakatoa before it erupted

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Erupting volcano line drawing

Synopsis

Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman, examines the legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa, which was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogotá and Washington, D.C., went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The sound of the island’s destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. Most significant of all — in view of today’s new political climate — the eruption helped to trigger in Java a wave of murderous anti-Western militancy among fundamentalist Muslims, one of the first outbreaks of Islamic-inspired killings anywhere. Krakatoa gives us an entirely new perspective on this fascinating and iconic event.

Lava spurting up from the ground

Review

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester is about the incredible eruption of the volcanic island, Krakatoa, in 1883 and the damage and destruction that followed.

I enjoyed the science and the personal reflections from victims and survivors in this book, but the amount of detail that Mr. Winchester included became frustrating in spots. For example, much like Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens, there were tangents that really weren’t necessary to the book. In this case, Mr. Winchester feels the need to provide us with the whole history of Lloyd’s Insurance out of London. It’s not necessary to the story line and it becomes very boring and tedious.

That being said, the research he conducted and the way he crafted the book with a mixture of science and personal tales work very well together. I still enjoyed the book, but if you read it, beware of the seemingly never-ending history section on Lloyd’s of London.