Licking the Spoon by Candace Walsh

This was an interesting memoir of one woman’s life experiences and her relationship with food and family through the years. Within her life story, we see her evolve from a young girl who goes through a great deal of life difficulties into a woman who has found happiness and a healthier relationship with food as she grows and changes through the years. I found this book to be well written, and at times both heart-wrenching and heartfelt. The author clearly had a very complicated life, as well as a love of cooking.

At times, I found her story hard to read, mainly because it seems to me that she was abused while still a child, and as she grew up she seemed to be developing an eating disorder that was complicated by her love of cooking a wide variety of types of foods. And though she didn’t appear to ever seek help for the eating disorder or have it too negatively affect her life, she did seem to overcome the triggers that caused her to experience the same pattern of eating problems while seeking therapy for some other personal issues.

I wanted to bring this up here because the patterns of abuse and eating disorders may be triggering for some readers. And while I felt for the author, as she struggled to overcome both these issues and the circumstances that periodically seemed to repeat and bring them back, it did make some parts of the story difficult for me to read. Those sections happened during what seemed to be some of the darkest points of her life. And again, she did find her way through and emerged stronger and healthier by the end of the book. And for that, I do applaud her.

The book is not entirely dark or depressing as she does have a number of happier memories and times that are talked about in her story. And the ending of the book is one where we do get to see her happy, healthy, and with something that should put a smile on anyone’s face.

During this book, the author talks about a number of cuisines that she grew up eating and cooking over the years, and those recipes are included in the last chapter of this book for anyone who would like to try them. (They do look like they would be quite tasty, so whether or not this book is one that is right for you, the recipes at the end still make the book a worthwhile read.)

I feel that this book would be a good choice for anyone who enjoys reading biographies about real people and the issues that they must overcome during their lives. It would also likely be enjoyed for the variety of recipes at the end of the book.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Adopting Grace by Anna Jinja

Grace is a Korean woman who was adopted as an infant by an American family in Iowa who are of Norwegian descent. Her parents also had several children of their own, so she has always been part of a large family. She married in college after discovering she was pregnant, so never really had a chance to discover who she was as an individual. For most of her life, she has focused on pleasing and taking care of those around her: primarily her husband and her children. Now, she and her husband are separated; he has been having an affair with his high school sweetheart and wants a divorce. Grace is starting her own business as a seamstress/dressmaker, and must figure out not only who she is on her own, but what she actually wants her life to be.

I read a review copy of this book and enjoyed it. I will admit that it wasn’t what I had expected when I first started reading. I expected it to be primarily about Grace being adopted more than anything else, instead, this story was about a woman who was in the middle of a divorce she didn’t think she wanted and trying to discover who she was going to be if she wasn’t primarily Mark’s wife. There were a number of issues and difficulties that she had to face and come to terms with, but all of it made this seem to me to be a story about her actually discovering herself for the first time.

She was no longer Mark’s wife & the mother of his children, but Grace, a talented seamstress and clothing designer, a sister, a friend, and the mother to two wonderful daughters. It was a story about a woman truly finding herself for the first time. It was a fascinating tale of self discovery, and something that I really enjoyed reading. (I do need to mention here that this book does not appear to have a kindle version as I could only find it in paperback form on Amazon.)

This book drew me in and kept me wanting to read. In the beginning, I will admit wanting to tell Grace that her husband was never going to be hers again more than once as for a long time she seemed to think that he would change his mind and return to her and their daughters despite the fact that his girlfriend and her son were moving in with him. But as she came to that realization and acceptance of it, Grace also began a friendship with the woman that was going to be part of her extended family, regardless of any initial desire to dislike and/or resent her for having been "the other woman."

I believe that anyone who enjoys nonfiction stories about people and the lives they thought they wanted and then discovering themselves after something unexpected happens that forever alters the life and plan they had created. I also feel that anyone who enjoys stories dealing with blended families or adults who were adopted from foreign countries would enjoy this book.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

GMC: Goal, Motivation, & Conflict by Debra Dixon

This book was required reading for a class that I am taking. And while parts of the topic seemed to be common sense to me, the book does have some very good ideas on how a writer can more easily not only discover their characters’ goals, motivations, and the conflicts they will face, but how to find ways to show each of those items to the readers as the story progresses.

If the writer doesn’t know what drives a character, or what lengths they are willing to go to in order to achieve those goals, how can they possibly express that to their readers? In order to help the writer with this concept, the author of this book has shown us some simple charts that will help to define both the internal and external things that drive a character, and make each of them unique.

I did appreciate these charts & the ideas behind each of them, as it makes the goals, motivations, and conflicts quite clear to the writer, and allows them to develop their plots accordingly. I also loved the  examples provided to us by Ms. Dixon. I may not have seen each of the movies that she used as an example, but even the ones I was unfamiliar with provided enough of a context for me to understand the intended story of those films.

In addition to these charts and examples, Ms. Dixon talks about the purposes of scenes, what makes for a good and useful scene, and what might be an unnecessary scene. Again, examples are provided for each. And there are exercises throughout the book that should be helpful for most any writer.

Another topic that is discussed involves query letters, and the recommended way to format one to encourage an agent or publisher to want more information about a story, thus decreasing the likelihood of a rejection. (This seems like a helpful topic for most writers.)

Overall, I believe this would be a very helpful book for writers, as well as editors (both copyeditors and developmental editors). The exercises can easily be applied to any book that has been written, whether it is one that has been published or one that is being edited prior to publication or submission for publication.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

This book was assigned reading for a class that I am taking. While it is a good book and I did find parts of it helpful, for me, this book seemed rather basic. I do a lot of reading (of both fiction and non-fiction) every single day, so I regularly notice many of the things that are talked about in this book. For me, I felt like the author was telling me things I already knew, though I do recognize that in general, that may not be the case for others who read this book.

That being said, for anyone who is new to writing fiction or who wants a little refresher to help with their plots and the structure of their story, I do believe that this book would be quite useful. It includes a large number of examples and explanations of the why and how behind what the author is attempting to explain. The book also includes a large number of exercises for those seeking to improve their skills when it comes to developing their plot and story structure.

The exercises are clearly well thought out, and the reasons for why each exercise should be helpful are well explained. So anyone who has questions about plot and story structure will likely benefit from reading this book and trying at least a few of the recommended exercises.

I do feel that this book is likely to be of more help to newer writers than to those who have been writing and have had several pieces of their work published. It may also be of help to beginning developmental editors. (This book does not deal with grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, or point of view, so is less likely to be of much help to copyeditors, though they might also find some of the subjects covered by this book useful.) But overall, I do feel it would be a helpful and useful book for any fiction writer.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Deep Point of View by Marcy Kennedy.

This is a book in the Busy Writer’s Guide series that was required reading for a class I am taking. This book holds a lot of very useful and helpful information. It touches lightly on what the different options for point of view look like, and the differences between each of them. As this book is specifically about what a deep point of view is and what it is used for, the other point of view options are not described in great detail within this book. So if you are looking for a book that delves more deeply into each of the point of view options, you would be better off reading Ms. Kennedy's book on Point of View instead. (I have previously posted a review on that book as well.)

Deep Point of View involves experiencing things within the story from one character’s viewpoint, almost as if you were that character. This can sometimes be difficult to appropriately master as there are many pitfalls that a writer can too easily fall into. But when done correctly, it really brings a story to life.  This book offers tips and examples throughout to show us what works, what doesn’t, and why. For anyone looking to write using a deep point of view for one or more characters, this is a very good book to read.

I would recommend this book for anyone seeking to write using a deep point of view. It will help you know what to watch out for in order to spot areas where you might have accidentally slipped out of a deep point of view. It covers many issues, such as head hopping, “as you know” problems, transitions between the point of view characters, as well as other issues that may arise. It also offers potential ways to spot such problems and how they can be fixed once found.

The biggest issue I had with this book, is that like the other book in this series that was written  by Ms. Kennedy, much of the text appears to have been printed in gray ink rather than black. And that makes it difficult for me to read as it causes me some eye strain. But other than that, I feel it is a book that can be of great help to both fiction writers and editors.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Point of View in Fiction by Marcy Kennedy

This book was required reading for a class I am taking. I found it to be an interesting and helpful book describing and explaining the various points of view. Ms. Kennedy does a wonderful job of explaining what each of the differing points of view are used. She also explains when and why it may be better to use one rather than another in your writing, and she points out that as with all writing, there are very few rules that cannot be broken given the right circumstances and author preferences. She then gives examples of why avoiding certain points of view in certain circumstances is generally considered a good idea.

Ms. Kennedy also explains how to change point of view characters without creating “head-hopping” problems, and why “head hopping” tends to create new or other problems in a story. There are ways and locations where changing the point of view character is easiest, but this book also shows examples of places and methods that, though not used as often, can provide other good locations for the writer to change between point of view characters.

I do like that this book gives easily understandable examples of what is done well and shows how and why problems often occur with incorrectly used point of view changes. Seeing both the good and the problematic ways things are sometimes written make it simple to fully grasp the concepts being described and then shown. The author also lists clues to look for that may indicate one of several different point of view errors being used. This is something that I found quite helpful.

The biggest problem that I had with this book involved the design of the book. It was printed using gray rather than black print. For me, this made it difficult to read at times due to the lighter colored text causing me some eye strain. Had it been printed in black rather than gray, I would not have had those problems. But that is an issue for me and may not be one for other readers.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

How to Write Dazzling Dialogue by James Scott Bell

This is a book that was required reading for a class that I am taking. Despite it being part of my course materials, I enjoyed reading this book; it didn’t feel like I was reading a textbook. I found it to be very informative without being boring. It offers a lot of information and helpful advice about what causes many dialogue problems for writers and a variety of ways to fix these problems. As there is no one correct way to do anything when it comes to writing, there are a variety of exercises described for writers to try in order to improve their own dialogue writing skills.

Dialogue is something that a reader wants to flow naturally without feeling forced or obvious. There are many ways to do that, and while it may seem a simple matter, anyone who has sat down for the first time, trying to write natural sounding conversations that won’t leave a reader wondering why you are choosing to include it in the story, but that are also not so ‘right in your face’ obviously meant to get vital information to the readers likely already knows how difficult it can be. I like the way in which this book approaches the subject and offers a variety of different methods for a writer to work on improving something that is often more difficult to get right than readers may realize.

The exercises and suggestions offered in this book are fun and interesting, as well as varied. Some of the ideas may work better than others for different people. I enjoyed reading this book and giving some of the exercises a try. I think that anyone who is a writer, an editor, or who hopes to become either at some point in the future could benefit by reading this book and practicing some of the suggestions that Mr. Bell gives us.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writersby Renni Browne & Dave King

This textbook is one that was strongly recommended for a class that I am currently taking. It covers a fair amount that can be problematic, especially for writers who have not previously been published. It covers such topics such as show versus tell,  characterization, exposition, point of view, voice, and more.

There is a lot of useful and helpful information in this book, along with examples of what the authors are talking about. There are also exercises in each chapter for the reader to put into practice what each lesson was about. The “answers” to the exercises are at the end of the book rather than at the end of the chapter with each exercise. I personally would have preferred them to be on the pages immediately after the exercises themselves, but being able to look at a potential solution to each one is in itself helpful, no matter where in the book it winds up.

I would recommend that anyone reading this book attempt to complete them as it lets you put into practice what you are trying to learn. They are useful and the explanations on their answers are also helpful in teaching the why behind the choice to change the passage in certain ways.

At times, this felt very much like I was reading a textbook, which is what it is, however that aspect does at times make it a little less interesting (causing it to feel a bit "dry") to me than the previous book assigned in this class. But overall, I believe this is a helpful and useful book for anyone seeking to not only improve their writing, but who is seeking to improve their self-editing skills in order to strengthen the impact of their stories.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

5 Editors Tackle The 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing by C.S. Lakin with Linda S. Clare, Christy Distler, Robin Patchen, and Rachel Starr Thompson

This book was recommended for a class that I am taking and having read it, I can very easily understand why. I have since recommended it to someone I know who is working on writing their first novel as I believe this book will be extremely helpful for them during the writing process. It very clearly describes the main problems that many authors face when writing a novel, and it offers potential solutions for each of these issues.

This book covers quite a bit of information, so it may take some time to read and fully absorb all of the knowledge and wisdom that it is attempting to share. But I can honestly say that those who take the time to read it and attempt to eliminate any of the “fatal flaws” that may run through their writing will not be disappointed with the results and improvement in the responses to their own tales.

While I have not written a book myself, given that I have reviewed a number of books, I was already familiar with a number of these fatal flaws and have seen them in some of the books that I have read and reviewed over the years. I may not have always been able to put into exact words why something may have bothered me about a story, but when reading the descriptions of those same issues and the potential ways to solve or avoid them, those reasons become much clearer.

This book is an excellent source of information for anyone who is writing a novel or even a short story. It will definitely help with avoiding quite a few pitfalls whether you are planning on trying to get your book published through a publisher or are planning on publishing independently. It can also be helpful for anyone just wanting to improve their storytelling skills in general. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is writing a story to share with others. It is a fantastic resource book for both new writers as well as for anyone hoping to improve on existing skills.

If you are a writer, this is one book that I highly recommend adding to your collection. This is also one that I feel could be very helpful to editors, specifically developmental editors, as it helps the reader to recognize at least some of the potential problems that authors might inadvertently incorporate into their writing. (I know that I have been guilty of some of them myself, and I've never written or tried to publish a book.)

The Ultimate Meal Prep Cookbook” by America’s Test Kitchen

Recently, my husband checked this cookbook out from the library for us to look through to see if it might work for us. We often find that while one or two recipes in a cookbook work well for our family, there’s rarely more than that. But this book was different. We found quite a few recipes that we could use with only minor alterations of substitutions of ingredients. 

I was really impressed by the format of this book. It discussed not only ingredients, but storage options for leftovers as well as foods that had not yet been cooked, simple methods of cooking various foods, what changes to make if you are using dried ingredients rather than fresh ones, and it divided things into weekly meal plans that utilized a lot of the same ingredients in different ways so that you could reduce the number of shopping trips/ amount of items needed to purchase for the meals on that week’s recommended dishes.

The book also provides grocery lists for the various dishes, including either the full week’s meal plans as suggested as well as separated by individual dishes if you don’t intend to make all of the items listed in any of the weekly menu plans they’ve suggested. That made it really convenient for us as quite often we’ll like a dish from one grouping but not the others for the rest of that week.

The book provides complete and easy to follow, step by step cooking instructions on how to make the various dishes that have been thoroughly tested out by America’s Test Kitchen so that they will be easy enough for those of us with little or no cooking experience to follow. And for me, that alone was a huge plus over other cookbooks that are not designed for new or inexperienced home cooks to be able to easily follow & end up with a delicious meal. 

I also like that at the back of the book it includes nutritional information on each dish so that anyone watching what they eat can clearly see the information they might want or need in one location, as well as a chart for conversions and equivalents for ingredient portions and an index to make it nice and easy to find a dish without needing to know which meal grouping it was in. 

I found this book very well organized and extremely helpful. And after having made a few of the meals for ourselves & loved them, we ordered a copy of this book to keep in our home library as we will soon need to return this one to the library. If you think this book sounds like it might be a good one for you as well, I recommend starting out by borrowing it from your local library to test out a few of the dishes yourself. I suspect you’ll also wind up finding it a good one to buy for yourself as well, but this way you’re not out any money if it turns out not to be right for you.

"The Year-Round Solar Greenhouse: How to Build a Net-Zero Energy Greenhouse" by Lindsey Schiller with Marc Plinke

My husband and I are planning on turning an old gazebo into a greenhouse to extend our growing season this year. I read this book to see if it could help me with the planning stages of a greenhouse. (It's currently winter here, so nothing can be done for a few more months.) 

Reading this book gave me a lot of information that I didn't know anything about previously. While much of what I learned won't work for what we want to do, I did gain a lot of ideas that should work and will get us a long way towards actually building our greenhouse and having it work without needing to use electricity to keep it warm enough as the temps begin dropping in the fall and allow us to start our plants earlier in the spring.

In other words, while this was not a step by step guide on how to get our DIY greenhouse built, it did provide a lot of help in understanding what we'll need to do and how to go about doing it. Will we still run into other unconsidered problems along the way? Most likely, yes. But after reading this book, we learned what won't work for us and why, as well as providing us with a lot of ideas about what will work. 

So I would recommend this book for anyone who needs to learn about different types of greenhouses and is considering buying or building one for themselves. I found it to be very helpful overall.