Tuesday, December 31, 2013

The Blank Cookbook: For Your Recipes

The Blank Cookbook: For Your Recipes
by James Laymond Publishing

From The Publisher: The Blank Cookbook is a best-selling resource for storage and preservation of your recipes or the recipes of someone you care about. It's designed so that you can easily record your favorite recipes and find them again when you want to use them or pass them down to future generations.

It's perfect for:
  • The family chef,
  • Professional chefs,
  • and beginning chefs wanting to have a blank cookbook that can be filled with recipes enjoyed by family and friends.

The Blank Cookbook is a book that you write that can be used for:
  • Personal use and reference,
  • Gifts to family or friends who enjoy your cooking,
  • A journal,
  • and can be passed down so future generations can experience cherished family recipes that brought people together in the past.
The pages of this blank cookbook are ordered with specific sections for:
  • Ingredients needed,
  • Preparation directions,
  • Cooking directions,
  • Serving notes to help you store the information required to consistently produce quality results,
  • and family memories associated with food (whose recipe was it, whose favorite food, what family events or traditions featured this food).
Its simplicity and ease of use makes it useful and fun. It makes a great gift for mothers, fathers, newlyweds, graduates, aspiring cooks or as a house-warming present.
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Monday, December 30, 2013

Waking Up Dead

From the Publisher: When Callie Taylor died, she expected to go to heaven—or maybe hell. Instead, when she was murdered in Dallas by some jerk with a knife and a bad-mommy complex, she went to Alabama. Now she’s seen another murder, and she can’t just let it go; she must find a way to make sure the police figure out who really killed Molly McClatchy before an innocent man goes to prison, all the while trying to determine how and why she woke up dead in Alabama.

My Review: Waking Up Dead is great for anybody looking for a good read. It's only 226 pages and it has no lag in the story. I started this book later in the day and read until I was too tired to read anymore. I picked it back up the following afternoon and read the rest of it! I literally could not put it down! The story starts off with Callie Taylor being murdered in Dallas and waking up in a small town in Alabama. Callie doesn't know why she's there and also she can't figure out why she can't go past the city limits sign. Every time she tries, she ends up back in the middle of town. She's trying to get used to back in the middle of town. She's trying to get used to being a ghost so she gets into a routine of going from house to house just to be around "normal" people again. One night while "haunting" Rick and Molly McClatchy, Molly is murdered and her husband is put in jail. The only thing is, Callie knows who did it and it wasn't Rick. She just has to find someone alive to help her prove it. From there Collins (the author) takes her readers on an adventure to find a killer!

Even though Callie's a ghost, she forgets sometimes that she can no longer do human things. Like open a door, talk to people or sleep. So she goes on a mission to find someone who can help her bring the killer to justice. It's a hilarious story but also clever and touching. Callie meets, and makes some new friends. Ashara, Maw-Maw and Stephen. The three of them help Callie find evidence and put the pieces of a very scattered puzzle together. But in the end, will they wake up dead like Callie? Or do they get to the killer in time before he has a chance to kill again? You'll have to get the book and find out! You can order your copy from Amazon.com.

I do want to note that there are some scenes in the book that might be a little graphic. Like when Collins is explaining the murder of Molly McClatchy and also there is another scene toward the end of the book but it's not as graphic. All in all, it's not too bad but I did want to point it out. And there is also some language as well, but it wasn't bad enough for me to put the book down.

I really did enjoy this book and I do hope there is another Callie Taylor mystery on the way! Hint, hint ;) Maybe one where we can follow Callie as she finds her own killer?? But any Callie Taylor ghost detective mystery would be great! I am a fan :)

**** 4 stars I really liked this book!

Once again, you can order your copy from Amazon.com.

Friday, December 27, 2013

The Invasion of Heaven: The Newirth Mythology, Part 1

From the Publisher: Psychologist Loche Newirth becomes hunted when he sees a painting that opens a window into the afterlife. An ancient order of men seeking to control the art pursue him across the world, through centuries, into madness and beyond.The first part of Michael B. Koep's The Newirth Mythology-The Invasion of Heaven is mystery, adventure, myth, betrayal, murder and madness.

Psychologist Loche Newirth wonders if it was his fall: the fifty foot drop from the rocky cliff to the icy water below. Is this why he has been hallucinating? Or is it because one of his clients is dead, or his mentor has gone mad, or that his wife is leaving him? He can't bring himself to believe what he has been seeing. Insane things like a massive, searching eye. He sees it in the water below the cliff. He sees it in mirrors, on walls: a massive, crystal blue iris and fathomless pupil there in the center of his life, looking at him.

To find the answer, Loche pens the recent events of his life into a book and leaves the work behind for his mentor Doctor Marcus Rearden to interpret. As Rearden reads he plunges into the harrowing depths of Loche's reality: his loss of a client, the discovery of an unknown past, an ancient conflict over possession of the human condition, the awesome reality of the gods walking among us, and the crimes of humanity invading the hope that lies beyond the grave.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Book Journal

There are several book journals out there, but I've found one that I believe to be one of the more, if not the most, complete and user friendly. It's simply called, "The Book Journal: Your Reading Adventure" by James Laymond Publishing.

One of the first things that I found useful (very useful) was the do-it-myself Table of Contents. That's where I write down the title of a book and the page number of The Book Journal where I put my entry about it. So if I want to find my notes/entry about "The Last Hybrid: Bloodline of Angels" by Lee Wilson, I can quickly find it and remember that detail that I had forgotten or the observations I had about the title.

The book provides two pages for each entry, providing basic information-gathering areas such as the title, genre, setting, year written, publisher, main & minor characters and other books by the author. Then it has you rate the book based on several areas such as writing quality, pace, plot, character development, and others before finally having me rate the book over all. Then it provides a full page for me to make whatever notes and critiques that I wish. It's an eye-opening, self-exploratory adventure.

It also has a section for those of us in book groups, allowing me to keep track of the books read by the group, things said in our meeting, my notes from meetings and other details including a calendar for meetings.

The book also has a section of books I've lent out to people (the book calls this section "My Lent List" which I think is cute). This is helpful because often times people will borrow a book from me and forget to ever return it. Then one day I go looking for a certain book but can't remember that I loaned it out or to whom I loaned it. So it's extremely helpful.

The Book Journal also has a list entitled "My Favorite Books," "My Wish List" and a couple other nifty areas you'll discover when you make it yours. It's a helpful journal for avid readers and I think would make an excellent Christmas or birthday gift for people on your list who like to read, are students, teachers, etc.