Abram's Daughters

It's one thing when you read about people trudging through ice and snow, but it's another to read it while hearing the wind rushing just outside your window. The Abram's Daughters series by Beverly Lewis is five books all about the lives of one Amish family in Lancaster County, PA. It's full of agony, romance, drama and Christian themes: everything you'd expect in a Beverly Lewis novel. I spanned the scope of emotion while reading this, even to the point of wanting to throw books two and three across the room when finished.

All in all, they're a good read. Definitely more suited for the female psyche, but they earned a solid 3.

Sandman fin

Well finishing this book didn't take as long as I'd thought. I enjoyed all the stories apart from "The Tempest." As I should have guessed, the star character is Shakespeare, and for some reason I couldn't get into it.

The best quote from this entire book is from the Sandman himself. "It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But the half-wit remains a half-wit, and the emperor remains an emperor."

I'll probably read the rest of the series, but wont' be reading this one again. It's earned a very high 3.

Absolute Sandman

When you approach a graphic novel, you don't expect it to be 8 1/2" x 14" and over 600 pages long, but with Absolute Sandman by Neil Gaiman, that's what you get. If you've never read any of the Sandman series, think of a darker version of Terry Pratchett. I'm currently reading volume 4 of the series which includes the stories "The Castle" from Vertigo Jam #1, "The Kindly Ones", "The Wake", "Exiles", and "The Tempest".
Having just finished "The Kindly Ones", I can say my thumbs are both up so far. The story is very captivating and the creativity of the artists keeps me asking "How did he think of that?"

Absolute Rage

Despite the title, this is one of the few "absolute" books that wasn't smutty and/or offensive. Absolute Rage by Robert K. Tanenbaum is actually pretty great. Yes, the characters are a bit one-sided, but I LOVE them. Tanenbaum is hands-down a good author and a great legal mind. This book has quirkiness, suspense, a bit of romance thrown in there.
I was a little disappointed about how much romance was thrown in toward the end, but it was paired well with the explosions. If you don't mind a bit of language, I highly recommend this book. A definite 4!

Year In Review

Happy New Year everyone! Here are all the books I read from the tour according to their ratings. Enjoy.

0
About Behaviorism by B.F. Skinner
About Modern Art by David Sylvester
About My Life and the Kept Woman by John Rechy
About Schmidt by Louis Begley
Above the Law by J F Freedman

1
About Looking by John Berger
Above Us Only Sky by Marion Winik
Abraham's Children by Jon Entine
Abraxas and the Earthman by Rick Veitch
Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner

2
Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power by Richard Carwardine
The Abenaki by Colin G. Calloway
Abenteuer Hund
Abingdon Marriage Manual by Perry H. Biddle Jr.
The Able Gardener by Kathleen Yeomans
The Abolition of Slavery by Suzanne Cloud Tapper
Abomination by Colleen Coble
Abortion by Richard Brautigan
About Buttons by Peggy Ann Osborne
Ablutions by Patrick DeWitt
About My Sisters by Debra Ginsberg
About Pets
About Your House by Bob Yapp
Above Chicago by Robert Cameron
Above Suspicion by Linda La Plante
Above the Law by Jerome Skolnick
The Abrams Guide to American House Styles by William Morgan
Absinthe: History In a Bottle by Barnaby Conrad III

3
Heloise & Abelard: A New Biography by James Burge
Abigail Adams: Witness To a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober
The Abolition of Britain by Peter Hitchens
Aboriginal Art of Australia by Carol Finley
The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
About Alice by Calvin Trillin
About Cows by Sara Rath
About Philosophy by Robert Paul Wolff
About the Author by John Colapinto
About the Author by Alfred Glossbrenner
About This Life by Barry Lopez
Absent In the Spring by Mary Westmacott
Absolute Friends by John Le Carre
Absolute Poison by Geraldine Evans

4
The Abominable Dr. Faust by H. Takei
About a Boy by Nick Hornby
About Grace by Anthony Doerr
Above All Be Kind by Zoe Weil
Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce Feiler
The Abs Diet for Women by David Zinczenko

Absolute POISON

I've decided that 200 pages is the perfect length for a book. And if the chapters are short enough, I can finish the whole thing in just a day. Absolute Poison by Geraldine Evans is a murder mystery set in England (the best place for murder mysteries). I don't know why so many murder mystery authors are female, but Evans does the genre justice. It wasn't so compelling that I was on the edge of my seat, but the book did provide an entertaining diversion.

Like so many of these books, I give it a 3

Absolute Friends

Finished! Yes, this book is very anti-Western and pro-Communist in nature, but hey. It's a good book. If you are interested in world events and spy stories, I definitely recommend it.

3

Absalom, Absalom

I feel like I've just forced myself to eat a whole head of raw cabbage on the statement that it's "good for me." William Faulkner is something else. First of all, I got to deal with the n-word constantly. Given the time, this is understandable. But that's not what made this book painful to read. There is no variety in characters. Sure, they all have various backgrounds, but their style of speech is unbelievably all the same: stream of consciousness. No one talks like this. At least not more than one character per book. After chapter two, I was able to catch a certain flow, but it was still nearly impossible to care about the story line.

To demonstrate the long-windedness of everyone involved, consider this. The book is 303 pages. There are, however, only 299 paragraphs.

Sadly, this only merits a 1.

Commies and Amish

Ah the Holidays! I had an idea I'd be getting more reading time in this week, but turns out family keeps me pretty occupied. That's a good thing, btw.

I'm currently reading Absolute Friends by John Le Carre. It took me a chapter to really get into it, but I'm enjoying it so far. Our main character is a British man whose life has led him into the thick of political life. Son of a British Army officer, co-conspirator with Communists, and accidentally turned into a British spy. The 1st chapter takes place in the present, but starting in chapter 2, we get a flashback leading through his childhood, presumably to end right back where we started.

I'm also still reading through the Abram's Daughters series by Beverly Lewis. I've still 2 books to read before I can give any real opinion and believe me, the opinion has wavered quite a bit so far.

Absolute Smut

Still not done with the "Ab.." section, but I've run across a long list of books in the library beginning with the word "Absolute." For some odd reason, most of these books seem to be full of smut. I thought Absolute Fear by Lisa Jackson would be different, but I only got two pages before changing my mind. Moving on...

Absinthe: History In a Bottle by Barnaby Conrad III

As much as I love absinthe, this book didn't get interesting till the middle. The first 6 chapters talk exclusively about various artists who influenced and WERE influenced by The Green Fairy. The only problem is that more is said about the artists, than the drink itself.

So for those of you who don't know, the 1769 recipe for absinthe contains the following herbs: wormwood, anise, hyssop, dittany, sweet flag, Melissa (a type of mint), coriander, veronica, camomile, parsley, and even spinach.

As a response to some of the less than scientific medical experiments attempting to prove that absinthe causes epilepsy, Van Helmont conducted his own experiment as follows:

"Tank A was filled with three liters of distilled water, chemically pure, boiled and allowed to cool at air temperature; the bottom of the tank was filled with gravel sterilized at 130 degrees Celsius; in the tank were placed two freshwater fish, two saltwater fish, and a frog; a little wooden ladder (sterilized at the same time as the gravel) would permit the frog to leave his tank.

Tank B was filled with three liters of seawater (gathered at Trouville, at the end of the jetty-promenade) and lined with gravel and a ladder as before, and in this tank were put two freshwater fish and a frog.

Tank C was filled with three liters of spring water (from Dhuys), gravel and a ladder, and in it were placed two saltwater fish and a frog.

Tank D was filled with three liters of spring water (Dhuys) and one centiliter of sixty degree commercial absinthe. No special brand name. Only a frog was placed in this tank with a ladder and the gravel.

This is what resulted:
1) The four fish in Tank A died; the frog left to lodge himself in Tank D.
2) The two fish in Tank B died; this frog also went to Tank D.
3) The two fish in Tank C died; the third frog joined his colleagues in Tank D.

Van Helmont concluded:

1) Distilled water, chemically pure and boiled, is a poison since the four fish plunged in it died quickly; the frog did not give his last salute and took refuge in Tank D.
2) Sea water is a poison, since the two fish placed in it died quickly; the frog left hastily."
3) Spring water is a poison, since the two fish put in it also died.
4) Spring water with a small quantity of absinthe spirits is a very clean environment because the four frogs took refuge there and seemed to stay there with pleasure."

Because this book is outdated and the US has legalized absinthe again, I'm forced to only give it a 2 although the author gets kudos for having such a cool name.

Absent and losing my mind

Mary Westmacott is the name Agatha Christie used when writing romances, but this book is definitely not a romance by modern standards. The main character, Joan, is not meant to be loved by the reader. Pitied perhaps, but not loved. She is so naive to the way she hurts people that she mistakes their criticism of her as either impertinence or compliments. Assuming she is well-loved and more importantly, loving, she finds herself stranded in the desert with nothing but her own thoughts as companions.

Pieces of memories start coming to her mind that make her begin doubting whether she really is loved or if people are happier without her. During one of these memories, I particularly love an exchange between her husband and her oldest daughter. Rupert (the husband) weaves a logical, indisputable argument as to why Averil (the daughter) should not run off with a married man, 20 years her senior. So calm and firm in the face of a panicky situation.

I won't spoil the ending, but I am FRUSTRATED!! Since no one was murdered, I supposed Christie had to make up for it by leaving off a happy ending. *sigh* I'm glad I read it, but it's not exactly one you can read twice...at least not soon.

I give it a good, solid 3.

Absent In the Spring

This day just keeps getting better. This morning I went to my library and picked up this book. Small inconspicuous little novel, black, leather-bound, with nothing but the title and author in small print on the spine.

During my quite brief lunch break at work, I cracked it open and started at the first few pages. The language instantly placed me in the earlier half of the 1900's and the writing style was engrossing. Work picked up pace and I didn't get to read any more till getting home just now. After finishing the first chapter I wondered to myself when it was written. Looking at the spine it read "Mary Westmacott". Doesn't wring a bell. And then flipping to the first couple pages, I read again "Mary Westmacott: Known to millions as Agatha Christie" Copyright 1944

Abs and multiplication

Chapter 5 is all about calculating your body fat, perfect weight, waist-to-hip ratio, etc. One thing I DO like about this diet is that it's rather simple and relies heavily on the dieter's level of self-control.

Once we get to the middle of the book is when I start getting really hungry. Zinczenko lays down the what and how of each of the Abs Diet Power foods and suggests loads of recipes and meal plans. *drool*

The last half of the book is all about exercise and how to best make it part of your life. He even does a chapter on how to work the diet around those pesky feminine hormones.

All in all, I'd say this is a pretty good plan. I'd have to prove it to believe it, but for now I'm gonna stick with copying down some of those recipes and reminding myself to get some exercise. I have a feeling I'll be reading this again.

4

Abs. Need more proof?

The whole second chapter...is basically an extension of the first. If the first was about why obesity is bad, the second is about why the Abs Diet is good. Zinczenko starts off with a simple two page (4 column) shopping list, after which the diet is described as a "simple plan."

And what is the simple equation? more food + more exercise = less flab

One thing I've gotta give this book credit for is the fact that it makes me hungry. Hungry for good foods. And because it pokes fun at the Atkins diet. A few things did make me nervous though, and that's Zinczenko's suggestions for lowering blood glucose levels.

High Fructose Foods Replace With
Regular Soda Diet Soda
Commercial Candy Chocolate
Pancake Syrup Real maple syrup
Frozen Yogurt Ice Cream
Fruit-flavored yogurt Organic yogurt
Pasta Sauce Sugar-free pasta sauce
Energy Bars HFCS-free energy bars

Diet soda? Really? Haven't "they" proven that diet sodas make you crave more fatty foods? hmmm... And I'm a bit skeptical of ice cream being better than frozen yogurt, but I can't complain cuz I LOVE ice cream.