Book Owl’s Blog

With the huge popularity and success of David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding’s “Eat This Not That!” book, which taught us to make better eating choices from the grocery frozen food aisle to the fast food restaurants, they decided to get the whole family on board with their newly released book “Eat This Not That For Kids!”  A smart reference guide full of the best and worst food options for your children at popular chain restaurants and at the grocery store.  This book is a great tool at making better food decisions for kids.

Suzanne Somers newly released self-help book “Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness” gives detailing tips and advice on anti­-aging medicine, preventive care and proven remedies.  Her book explains how our body loses hormones as we age, creating an imbalance in our bodies.  Adding to this fact, the intake of processed chemicals in foods and pharmaceuticals are also having a damaging effect on our bodies.  Her book goes into the details with proactive advice on the newest treatments to live better and healthier lives.

The first book in The 39 Clues series, “The Maze of Bones” by Rick Riordan, starts off with the death of Grace Cahill. Stated in her will, her grandchildren are faced with a big choice: a million dollars or a clue! The clue begins the search to the family’s secret. There will be ten books in The 39 Clues series. The story begins with the first book, and continues with trading cards and an online game at the book series’ website www.the39clues.com. From what I understand, each book in the series will be written by a different children’s book author. The first book is by author Rick Riordan, who is best known for his popular children series Percy Jackson & The Olympians.

Percy Jackson The Olympians Series by Rick Riordan:
The Lightning Thief (Book 1)
The Sea Monsters (Book 2)
The Titan’s Curse (Book 3)

Now here is an interesting true life story to check out! Benjamin Mee took an opportunity leap at the chance to purchase his own zoo in October of 2006.  In his new book, “We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever,” Mee details the whirling road of his purchase experience accompanied by his wife and two children to becoming new owners of Dartmoor Wildlife Park with 200 wild animals!  As a student of animal behavior, Mee saw the potential the zoo could offer even though the animals’ homes and park was in poor condition.  With a strong list of goals and hard work, the doors reopened in July 2007 as Dartmoor Zoological Park.  Now that isn’t a story you hear about everyday!

Here’s one to put under your trivia hat. Did you know Sean Connery was once a milkman? I didn’t!  Sean Connery has just released his autobiography titled “Being a Scot.”  The famous James Bond man talks of his early life as a milkman in Edinburgh’s Fountainbridge neighborhood and discusses many topics from Scottish culture and life.  He has visited Scotland to promote his autobiography, but is currently living in Bahamas until Scotland gains its independence from the United Kingdom.  An Academy Award winner in the movie ”The Untouchables“, he has also starred in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “The Hunt for Red October“, and the list goes on.

With the beginning of the school year here upon us once again, teachers are pulling out and dusting off the ole book reading list for the new school session.  For many of us now adults, our minds hold the bitter memories of being instructed to read, prepare book reports and for the unlucky selected torture of oral presentations! Ugh!

With the busy world and swirl of our daily lives, it can be relaxing to drift into another world in a book.  Surprisingly, it can be fun to re-read a book from the ole school book list you haven’t read in years!  Revisiting a book again, you get a better understanding of events and sometimes even pick up statement meanings that were misunderstood in the first reading.  Take a walk down memory lane and re-discovery (or discovery for the first time) these popular titles:

Animal Farm by George Orwell
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Of Men and Mice by John Steinbeck
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

For every debate there are two sides.  Previously, the most read narrative on Democrat Barack Obama were his books “Dreams From My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope”.  With the growing concern by some that the media is displaying a certain image of Obama, books are popping up giving a different view.  Making this week’s top 20 best-seller list from Amazon.com and selling like hot cakes, these three books are turning heads:

“The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality” by Jerome Corsi

“The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media’s Favorite Candidate” by David Freddoso

“Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want to Kill Talk Radio, the Do-Nothing Congress, Companies That Help Iran, and Washington Lobbyists for Foreign Governments Are Scamming Us … and What to Do About It” by Dick Morris

Werewolves, vampires and humans… OH MY!  The popular teen series author Stephenie Meyer is getting lots of media attention with her new book “Breaking Dawn”.  The book is the fourth and last installment in the “Twilight” series.  As with the previous books in the series, the storyline takes place in a community where vampires and humans live among each other.  The plot tangles the relationship path of Bella (human), Edward (vampire) and Jacob (werewolf).  Starting off quick with a big event, the book gives the reader a web of details and surprises.

Books in the Twilight series:
“Twilight” (Book 1), “New Moon” (Book 2), “Eclipse” (Book 3)

Share your thoughts via comment:
What is your favorite Stephenie Meyer book?  Have you read any books from the “Twilight” series?

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who often appears as the health expert on Oprah’s Show, explains even if you are already aging at a rapid pace, it is not too late to turn things around!  So many people believe the older we become, it is almost certain our bodies will break down with age.  Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen discovery through intense research, this is not the case.  Both doctors feel aging is not a decline of our system, but a purposeful method the body uses.  Covered in their book, “YOU: Staying Young”, they further discuss in detail how to live a high quality life at any age.

Dr. Mehmet Oz is the Vice-Chair of Surgery and Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Columbia University.  Dr. Michael Roizen is Chair of the Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, and Pain Management at the Cleveland Clinic.

Additional books:
YOU: The Owner’s Manual
YOU: On A Diet
YOU: The Smart Patient

For those of you who haven’t gotten around to reading “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J. K. Rowling yet, you better hustle if you want to read it before the movie release!  The countdown begins as the movie is scheduled for November 21, 2008.  This is the sixth book in the Harry Potter series.  The book covers Harry Potter in his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Harry discovers a book marked “This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince”, learning more about the dark past of Lord Voldemort.  The path follows an extreme darker side than any of the previous books.  The seventh book in the series is “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

Entry Update 8/15/08:
I recently read an announcement stating the movie release has been pushed back to July 17, 2009.  Well, it seems you have a lot longer to catch up on reading if you fell behind, but its unfortunate for those looking forward to seeing the movie.  Another 8 more months additional wait!

Share your thoughts via comment:
Which Harry Potter book did you enjoy the most or least?

Related Info: View additional Harry Potter and reference books

Maybe I never noticed it so much in the past, but it seems like sooooo many celebrities are writing or just published a memoir of their lives lately.  A few that I recently spotted were:

William Shatner’s book titled “Up Till Now.”

Madonna’s brother, Christopher Ciccone, wrote “Life With My Sister Madonna,” co-authored by celebrity biographer Wendy Leigh.

I read an article that Larry King (Yes you heard it right, Larry King!) is working on his book titled “What Am I Doing Here?”.  Its suppose to cover everything from his childhood in Brooklyn to his multiple marriages.  It will be published by Weinstein Books on Father’s Day 2009.

Lil Kim and Foxy Brown both were suppose to be working on their books for Simon & Schuster, but are now being sued by Simon & Schuster intending to get its money back after paying out generous advances for books that the ladies never completed. 

Robert Downey Jr. has postponed his plans to write a memoir, returning his advance to publisher HarperCollins.  It was never stated why he decided not to at this time.

I guess all these memoirs goes with the quote “Inquirying minds want to know!”

Share your thoughts via comment:
Who would you like to see write a memoir?  Have you read anyone’s yet?

V. C. Andrews lastest novel, “Secrets In The Shadows” (April 2008), is the second book in the Secrets series.  It follows the story of Alice, who enjoys the comfort zone in the attic writing poetry and painting pictures.  With a courage decision to emerge out of her shell, she quickly finds her life blossoming.  In the excitement of attending the prom, tragic hits, plunging her into a shattering new life where she discovers the secrets in the shadows. 

The first book in the Secrets series is “Secrets In The Attic” (September 2007).

Share your thoughts via comment:
Which V. C. Andrews book would you recommend to someone to read?  Have you read any of the books in the Secrets series?

The classic children’s picture book, “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak was written in 1963.  It tells a tale of a little boy named Max, who has quite an imagination.  When causing mischief in his wolf costume, he is sent to his room as punishment.  There a deep forest grows with a discovery of wild monsters!  With a stern stare Max conquers and becomes King of all Wild Things.  Soon being home sick, he decides to travel back home, finding his supper waiting for him still hot!

Additional Books by Maurice Sendak:
Chicken Soup with Rice : A Book of Months
In The Night Kitchen
Pierre : A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue

Share your thoughts via comment:
What is your favorite Maurice Sendak book?

With the price of groceries constantly going up, everyone is feeling a wallet pinch.  Right now is the perfect time to try your hand at growing some of your own vegetables, herbs or fruits.  You don’t need a large piece of land property.  Herbs can be grown in a small window box.  Vegetables can be grown in a medium planter pot.  A fruit tree or bush can be grown in the backyard, frontyard, or in a medium to large planter pot.  Have some fun with it.  Get a family member, neighbor or friend to plant some things too! Both grow different items, have fun swapping grown goodies and sharing your plant progress stories. Its a great feeling to see your results, know you saved money and enjoy eating your own homegrown foods!  I have a blackberry bush in my backyard.  I recently picked over the last couple of weeks about 5 pints of blackberries.  I checked the grocery store prices, $4-$5 just for 1 pint!  (The blackberry bush was purchased last year for about $3, it produced berries last year too.) Sweet savings!

Share your comments:
What are you currently growing? Have any book title suggestions that can help a beginner get started?

Related Info:
“Keeping the Harvest: Preserving Your Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs”
by Nancy Chioffi & Gretchen Mead.

“How to Grow Vegetables and Berries” by Sunset Editors

“Your Backyard Herb Garden” by Miranda Smith

I had to chuckle when I came across this book titled “The Hamburger: The History” today.  I didn’t expect to find a book devoted only to a hamburger, but then again, crazier books are out there.  So it perked my curiousity, what could this book actually provide besides making me hungry?  Well a closer looks shows a long history path for the hamburger, from the early White Castle chain to McDonalds to many twists and turns.  It even mentions Morgan Spurlock.  Remember him?  He was the one who did the documentary of his 30-day McDonalds diet.  Now thinking about it, I guess this American favorite food did deserve a book of its own! 
“The Hamburger: The History” by Josh Ozersky