Amber Stults – Book Reviewer and Writer

Title: To Your Dog’s Health
Author: Mark Poveromo
Publisher: Poor Man’s Press
Printed: as part of The Tree Neutral Program
Source: Lisa Roe, Online Publicist

My husband and I are eating better than we were 10 years ago so it’s no surprise I’d be interested in what the Resident Corgi puts into his digestive system.  He ate Science Diet at the humane society.  It’s what the original Resident Corgi ate but I wasn’t entirely happy with it.  So I began searching for something else for the new Corgi.  After Science Diet I fed him one of the Nutro foods and kept finding expired food at the store.  It was discovered a diet high in corn meal or corn gave him dandruff.  Back to the drawing board…

This book is a quick read that explains how to make or pick a nutritious food for your dog.  It would have been a welcome addition when I was doing my research on what to get the Resident Corgi and now it just confirms I was on the right track.  We have an organic dog bakery in town that carries dog food but  it isn’t convenient to get to with regularity.  Our neighborhood store (it has three locations in the city) offers raw food and none of the mass market food brands like Pedigree or Science Diet.

The Resident Corgi is allowed to have “junk food” as snacks once in a while but his food and a majority of his treats are all organic.  To be honest, his diet is better than ours!

Poveromo is not a dietitian and doesn’t claim to be an expert in animal nutrition.  He writes from his own experiences and some of it is common sense.  For example, when switching from one food to another, do it gradually; it’s less likely to upset your canine’s tummy.  No food is 100% perfect and it’s okay to provide supplements to boost the immune system.  Isn’t that why we take multi-vitamins ourselves? 

I probably won’t use any of the recipes in the book – I don’t even cook for two people every day of the week.  And they’d probably be more helpful if they were scaled down to what to feed 10lb dogs.  Then each ingredient could be multiplied to the weight of the dog.  I’m not good at math but I’d likely make the recipe for a 70lb dog and divide it up for 2 weeks (the Resident Corgi is about 30lbs).  I have been known to make dog treats from time to time and this book will allow me to give the ingredients a more critical eye.

What’s nice is Poveromo doesn’t recommend or push any one specific brand in his book.  It truly gives the reader informaiton to think about and consider when choosing to make their dog’s food or buying a processed food.

Title: Moonstone
Author: Marilee Brothers
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Source: My Own Copy

Allie is a teenager living with her mother in a trailer on her uncle’s property.  Her mother, Faye, is busy trying to get disability.  Allie acts more like a responsible adult than Faye.  On the evenings Faye “consults” with her lawyer, Allie stays with Kizzy, the Romany gypsy the town likes to call “the witch”.  Allie notices strange things are beginning to happen when she receives an unexpected heavenly visitor.

This is the first book of the “Unbidden Magic” series.  Other titles include Moon Rise and Moon Spun.  Allie actually seems like a teenager.  She has two good friends she sticks up for, has a crush, and even takes the school bus.  Brothers manages to make Allie ordinary and extraordinary at the same time.  Allie discovers the power in the moonstone necklace Kizzy gives her and someone wants the necklace.  Badly.

I seem to find myself reading young adult quite a bit.  This strays from the orphan who discovers supernatural powers in so many ways it stays interesting.

Title: The Kitchen Shrink
Author: Dora Calott Wang, M.D.
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Source: Caitlin at FSB Associates

My best friend is a psychiatrist who works with military veterans so I was interested in reading what Dr. Calott Wang thought of the current medical system in the US.  The Kitchen Shrink is a memoir that reads like a string of stories to illustrate her points.

One example is how the family doctor who was paid upfront and treated like a family friend (or a respected community member) is now relegated to a physician number in a managed health care system designed to not pay the doctor.  I’ve seen her point firsthand.  Dr. Light delivered me when I was born and was at my oldest brother’s bar mitzvah.  If we hadn’t moved from California he probably would have been the family doctor until he retired or passed away.  Doctors I’ve had for several years (my family practitioner, ob/gyn, gastroenterologist, and opthamologist) I know well enough to ask about their families but newer doctors I would have problems recognizing them outside their office.  And I doubt they would recognize me. 

My insurance benefit form shows me the original cost of the services provided, how much was discounted, how much insurance paid and what is left for me to pay.  It’s difficult to make sense of it at times.  For example, I had blood drawn in May and June at the same facility for the same tests and yet the second blood draw was $25 less.  Who comes up with these figures?  It’s not difficult to imagine the paperwork hospitals and doctors need to fill out in order to get reimbursed for providing medical care.  Or to imagine doctors/hospitals hiring people to take care of the paperwork and deal with the insurance companies.

The flow of the book is good but I had to stop about two-thirds of the way through to give myself a break.  It was depressing.  I took two days off to read something lighter before returning to it.  Some of the changes and consequences Dr. Calott Wang describes were only visible to her in hindsight.  I think her book is a good place to start a discussion on how the medical profession became the health care business.

Author Bio
Dora Calott Wang, M.D., is a psychiatrist with degrees from the Yale School of Medicine and the University of California, Berkeley. She was awarded a prestigious writer’s residency from the Lannan Foundation. Dr. Wang has been in private practice and served on hospital staffs, and is currently a medical school professor. She lives in New Mexico with her family.

For more information please visit www.doracalottwang.com and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.

Title: Bleeding Heart Square
Author: Andrew Taylor
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Source:LibraryThing Early Reviewer from February 2009 batch that arrived in January 2010

Lydia Langstone leaves her aristocratic husband to live with her father in the seedy Bleeding Heart Square until she decides how to proceed with her life.  It is 1934 – she has no money and no practical skills to earn a living.  Her mother and stepfather would only urge her to return to her husband which she won’t do after he hit her.  Her father is a stranger to her but the social niceties of the era will not allow him to turn her away.  The boarding house he lives in is under scrutiny by the police.  Without meaning to, Lydia finds herself involved in the mystery of what happened to the boarding house owner’s wife.  Can she trust anyone who lives in Bleeding Heart Square?

Taylor has created an atmospheric mystery with twists.  Some of the twists are obvious but not all of them.  Months after reading this, the plot is easy to recall but the characters aren’t as easy.  This was enjoyable while reading but won’t leave a lingering impression.

Title: The Girls’ Guide to Rocking
Author: Jessica Hopper
Publisher: Workman Publishing
Source: LibraryThing EarlyReviewer June 2009 Batch

My oldest brother played guitar and sang in a band.  I figured I could too until he tried to teach me how to play.  He’s left-handed, I’m right-handed and the guitar was too big for me.  It was too hard so I gave up.  There were no rock camps for girls and of course no Girls Rock! to watch.

This book is the answer to my 8-year-old self.  It tells the reader where to find instruments and equipment, how to tell if they’re damaged, and how to care for them. If the new rocker decides to write songs, record or go on tour, this book has related sections that will encourage and inform.

Throughout the book are eye-catching sidebars of informational nuggets.  Some of the topics include: female solo artists to view on YouTube (some of whom I’ve never heard of); books about female rockers; and five keys to keeping your band together.  These sidebars combined with the appendixes will open up the reader to some new influences.  And for mom or dad will bring back some fond memories.  Even if your child doesn’t want to learn how to play music or be part of a band, there is enough resource material to point parents and children towards music related discussions.

About the author:

Jessica Hopper is a music and culture critic whose work regularly appears in Chicago Reader, LA Weekly, SPIN, ANP and Chicago Tribune and has also been included in DaCapo’s Best of Music Writing 2004, 2005 and 2007. She is also the music consultant for the public radio show, This American Life. Her widely-anthologized essay, “Emo: Where the Girls Aren’t” was described as “influential” by The New York Times.

Holding fast to the music-is-my-life credo, Hopper has also done time as a tour manager, band publicist, DJ, touring bassist, Girls Rock Camp booster, and fanzine publisher. She lives in Chicago.

Title: Twice Dead
Author: Kaylana Price
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Source: Winning from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer February Batch

 Here’s the back cover blurb:

Newly undead shifter-turned-vampire Kita Nekai is coming to grips with the reality that her cat has not awakened since her change.

What she needs is a little time to adjust to her new liquid diet and the increasingly complex attraction to her sire, Nathanial. What she gets is a headless harlequin. With the body count rising, Kita is dragged into a dangerous game of vampire politics. Her involvement draws the attention of an ancient vampire known as the Collector who has a penchant for acquiring the unusual – like a pureblood shifter-turned vampire.

Kita still has unfinished business of her own and finds herself deeper in magical debt.

It’s a bad time to be a kitten who can’t slip her skin.

This is the second book in Price’s “Haven” series.  I’m usually hesitant to pick up a book in the middle of a series but since I won it as one of my Early Reviewer books I didn’t have much choice.  It was no problem at all getting caught up with the who’s who, what happened before and what was happening now.  This was an ebook and I read it on my iPhone with the Dropbox application.

The story was gripping from the first page and I didn’t want to put it down.  An alien shapeshifter turned vampire?  It sounds crazy but it works.  And how could I not like Nathanial, the vampire with a dog who lets Kita’s shapeshifter friend stick around until he can return to their planet?  Kita finds she’s no longer able to shift to her cat form nor is she able to communicate with her sire as expected.  Her sense of smell is greater than other vampires and when combined with her catlike curiosity and independent streak naturally makes her the one who investigates what is going on with the headless harlequin.

Title: Raw Redemption
Author: Lacresha Hayes
Publisher: Living Waters Publishing
Source: .pdf copy from the author

I wanted to like this book.  Lacresha is the founder of the Write it! Publish it! Market it! online group of which I am a member.  Her enthusiasm is infectious and she often comes up with new topics of conversation when the group starts to get quiet.

The cover and title are intriguing.  Cheyenne has left her family and past behind in Maryland.  Her presence is requested when her uncle is on his deathbed.  He’s a wealthy womanizer and abuser who recently found religion.  Cheyenne’s double life in Los Angeles includes  a side gig as a paid escort.  James is a client she’s unwilling to admit she loves. 

The story had promise but needed some additional editing to work for me.  Cheyenne has a lot of aunts and uncles – I couldn’t keep their names or how they were related straight in my mind.  The subplot about an unknown brother felt rushed. 

I did like the character of James.  So often in novels with a romantic element, the lovers have misunderstandings or try to change each other.  James only wanted Cheyenne to know she was loved and was worth loving. 

Other reviews of Raw Redemption are available on Goodreads.  Lacresha is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books.  Her site is at http://lacreshatheauthor.weebly.com and she loves to hear from readers.

Title: When Will There Be Good News?
Author: Kate Atkinson
Publisher: Back Bay Books / Little, Brown and Company
Source:Miriam at Hachette Book Group

Atkinson’s writing pulls the reader into another world where bad things happen but there is always someone who wants to prevent the bad things or pick up the pieces afterwards.  The first part of the book, titled “The Past” takes the reader to a summer day thirty years before the present day tale begins.  The reader gets so caught up in the the events of that day it takes a while to realize the little girl is now a woman with her own family.

Jackson Brodie and Louise Monroe (both featured characters in One Good Turn) do more than cross paths and have made permanent marks in each other’s lives.  As far as I can recall, this is the only book I’ve read in which a secondary character gets primary character billing in a sequel.  I read somewhere Walter Mosley has done this but I’ve not seen it for myself. 

Most of the time I read a book in a vacuum because there isn’t anyone else to talk to about it.  The readers in my life either don’t read the same books as me or they read them years after I do.  This is one of those books I wish I could talk to someone about.  The ending caught me by surprise and my heart broke a little.  Some authors believe in putting their characters through hell to create a metamorphosis.  All I can say without providing any spoilers is there better be a happy ending but I doubt it’s coming.

Author Bio
Kate Atkinson lives in Edinburgh. Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum,was named Whitbread Book of the Year in the U.K. in 1995, and was followed by Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Not the End of the World, Case Histories and One Good Turn.

Title: The Little Giant of Aberdeen County
Author: Tiffany Baker
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: The Columbus Metropolitan Library (I’d requested a copy via Bostick Communications in April.  When the opportunity to interview Tiffany came up, I began reading a library copy of the book.)

The title character of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is Truly Plaice.  When younger, she wishes she could wear pretty dresses like Serena Jane, her beautiful older sister.  Truly’s increasing size leaves her with only boys clothing in her wardrobe.  As she leaves behind the conventions of the 60s the townspeople begin to ignore the largest person in town.  Amelia and Marcus are two people who seek her company and never let go.

The first chapter grabbed me.  It told me a lot about Truly’s circumstances before going into the past.  This was not the chick-lit or beach read promised via recent publicity promotions.  I knew from previous book blogger reviews this was not going to be one of those books.  Decades of Truly figuring out what she likes best in life, dealing with her childhood tormentor and living her life as an invisible entity reads more like women’s fiction. 

This is Tiffany Baker’s first published novel.  She’s created memorable characters and woven together several subplots.  Dr. Bob Bob Morgan is one of the most detested characters I’ve read in a long time.  He’s cruel and full of pride – not a lovely combination for Truly.  Amelia’s quiet, steady presence provides support when Truly becomes a mother to her nephew.  Marcus… well, you’ll have to discover more about him on your own. 

Come back tomorrow for an interview with Tiffany Baker!

My review of Shadow of the Antlered Bird by David Sklar is now available at Niteblade.  It has a fairy world with a non-cute population.