Review: The Art of EatingThrough the Zombie Apocalypse by Lauren Wilson

The Art of Eating Through the Zombie Apocalypse by Lauren Wilson

Story Rating: 3 out of 5

Link to buy The Art of Eating through the Zombie Apocalypse: A Cookbook and Culinary Survival Guide

Blurb:

Just because the undead’s taste buds are atrophying doesn’t mean yours have to!

You duck into the safest-looking abandoned house you can find and hold your breath as you listen for the approaching zombie horde you’ve been running from all day. You hear a gurgling sound. Is it the undead? No—it’s your stomach.

When the zombie apocalypse tears down life and society as we know it, it will mean no more take out, no more brightly lit, immaculately organized aisles of food just waiting to be plucked effortlessly off the shelves. No more trips down to the local farmers’ market. No more microwaved meals in front of the TV or intimate dinner parties. No, when the undead rise, eating will be hard, and doing it successfully will become an art.

The Art of Eating through the Zombie Apocalypse is a cookbook and culinary field guide for the busy zpoc survivor. With more than 80 recipes (from Overnight of the Living Dead French Toast and It’s Not Easy Growing Greens Salad to Down & Out Sauerkraut, Honey & Blackberry Mead, and Twinkie Trifle), scads of gastronomic survival tips, and dozens of diagrams and illustrations that help you scavenge, forage, and improvise your way to an artful post-apocalypse meal. The Art of Eating is the ideal handbook for efficient food sourcing and inventive meal preparation in the event of an undead uprising.

Whether you decide to hole up in your own home or bug out into the wilderness, whether you prefer to scavenge the dregs of society or try your hand at apocalyptic agriculture, and regardless of your level of skill or preparation, The Art of Eating will help you navigate the wasteland and make the most of what you eat.

Review:

This is the type of book that is best skipping around instead of trying to read straight thru. The author has taken a popular cultural theme and has attached it to a humorous version of “live off the land” survival book. To someone not into the zombie apocalypse, the material gets old fast. I do commend the author for combining the two themes and coming up with a book that rides the current zombie wave.

Reviewed by Joseph

Review: Nashville Songwriter: The Inside Stories Behind Country Music's Greatest Hits by Jake Brown

Nashville Songwriter by Jake Brown

Link to buy Nashville Songwriter: The Inside Stories Behind Country Music’s Greatest Hits

Story Rating: 3 out of 5

Blurb:

Nashville Songwriter gives readers the first completely authorized collection of the true stories that inspired hits by the biggest multi-platinum country superstars of the last half century—recounted by the songwriters themselves. Award-winning music biographer Jake Brown gives readers an unprecedented, intimate glimpse inside the world of country music songwriting.

Featuring exclusive commentary from country superstars and chapter-length interviews with today’s biggest hit-writers on Music Row, this book chronicles the stories behind smash hits such as:

Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind”
Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying,” “Southern Voice,” and “Real Good Man”
George Jones’s “Tennessee Whiskey”
Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” and “Cowboy Casanova”
Brooks & Dunn’s “Ain’t Nothing ’Bout You”
Lady Antebellum’s “We Owned the Night” and “Just a Kiss”
Brad Paisley’s “Mud on the Tires,” “We Danced,” and “I’m Still a Guy”
Luke Bryan’s “Play It Again,” “Crash My Party,” and “That’s My Kind of Night”
The Oak Ridge Boys’s “American Made”
George Strait’s “Ocean Front Property” and “The Best Day,”
Rascal Flatts’s “Fast Cars and Freedom,” and “Take Me There”
Kenny Chesney’s “Living in Fast Forward” and “When the Sun Goes Down”
Ricochet’s “Daddy’s Money”
Montgomery Gentry’s “If You Ever Stop Loving Me”
The Crickets’s “I Fought the Law”
Tom T. Hall’s “A Week in a County Jail” and “That Song Is Driving Me Crazy”
Trace Adkins’s “You’re Gonna Miss This”
David Lee Murphy’s “Dust on the Bottle”
Jason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor” and “Fly Over States”
And many more top country hits over the past 40 years!

Review:

We have all heard a phrase or sentence and thought "That would make a great country song title!" Well, prepare to have a lot of those while reading this book. Even if you are not a fan of country music the process of writing a song is intriguing. The book is arranged from oldest to newest and is easy to follow.

Reviewed by Joseph

Review: What Would You Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail? by Nina Lesowitz & Mary Beth Sammons

What Would you Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail? by Nina Lesowitz & Mary Beth Sammons 

Link to buy What Would You Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail?: How to Transform Fear into Courage

Story Rating: 3 out of 5 

Blurb:

"What would you do if you know you could not fail?" These words, attributed to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, have inspired tens of millions to face their fears and dare to follow their hearts. This can-do compendium is a veritable tool kit for transforming readers from reticent to role model. From the authors of Living Life as a Thank You, this volume present true stories of ordinary people with extraordinary fortitude. Authors Mary Beth Sammons and Nina Lesowitz have gone to the front lines of adversity and fear to surface the brave hearts who took action before they were forced to, confronting and overcoming their fears in inspirational ways. From world-class athletes, to spiritual teachers, to cancer patients, to ordinary people who took extraordinary action to transform their lives, these courage warriors teach readers to turn apprehension into action. Enriched with motivational quotes and power practices, this courage guidebook advises how to live life with guts and gusto. Readers learn to face and transform their fear, apply the art of tenacity when times are tough, embrace the lessons and gifts of a crisis that lead to personal growth, and simple, effective, and proven methods for confidence and courage.

Review:

This book is meant to inspire readers with stories of everyday folks overcoming bad situations in their lives. The thing is though, that after reading a few of these stories it was a real downer. Yes, the people overcame their adversity by the end of their tale, but those back stories really started to take their toll. And for that one success story from escaping abuse, or losing a job, or defeating cancer there are how many who don't? 

The authors had an interesting concept but in the end it was a little too depressing for me, despite the happy endings.

Reviewed by Elizabeth

Review: Jumping into the Parade: The Leap of Faith That Made My Broken Life Worth Living by Tim Brown

Jumping into the Parade: The Leap of Faith That Made My Broken Life Worth Living by Tim Brown

Link to buy Jumping into the Parade: The Leap of Faith That Made My Broken Life Worth Living

Story Rating: 3 out of 5

Review:

Tim Brown's Jumping into the Parade is a memoir that traces the author's successes and failures from childhood through adulthood. Following an aborted suicide attempt in his forties, he steps away from the ledge "both literally and figuratively" and manages to take control of his life. The book is one part recounting the stories of Brown's life, and one part inspiration for readers who seek to learn from his example, with a dash of faith thrown in to show how Brown sees God at work in his life.

This is a self-help book that's modeled after many others in the same vein. There's nothing wrong with it, but there's nothing new here, either. Yes, Brown had hardships in his life. Yes, he was depressed and nearly ended it all. Yes, he pulled himself out of his difficulties and made a conscious decision to be happy. The thing is that there are so many books like this out there that it's unclear what this one adds to the mix. For instance, the last chapter summarizes the lessons taught in the book. These lessons include such items as, "Learn from your experiences" and "Don't fear your fear." Good advice, sure, but it's been repeated elsewhere and these aren't exactly earth-shattering revelations.

One thing that seemed surprising about this book is that it was written before the author had much chance to see how well the changes he implemented in his life will work in the long term. Many of the changes happened in the past several years, and some are as recent as fall 2013. That being the case, it seems premature to say that the author's problems are permanently solved. It's unexpected that as early as fall 2014 he's already prepared to teach his secrets to others.

Overall, readers might identify with some of the personal experiences shared by Brown in his memoir. The book is told in an essay format with very little dialogue or action scenes. Some might prefer that style, while others might prefer it if he had chosen more of a "show, don't tell" strategy. If readers can gain insights and improve their circumstances through this book, then the author's mission will have been accomplished. But there's not much here that hasn't been seen in other similar works, and fans of this particular genre might walk away disappointed for that reason.

Reviewed by Peter

Review: Sprouted Soul: Whole Souled Poems by Doobie

Sprouted Soul: Whole Souled Poems by Doobie 

Link to buy Sprouted Soul: Whole-Souled Poems

Review:

Sprouted Soul Whole – Loved Poems by Doobie is a collection of rather short poems that describe the soul that learns to hurt and love over and over again. These poems range in descriptions from the use of sight all the way through various forms of weather. There is not a whole lot of description that can be given without giving away the poems.

Doobie provides very short poems that feel rather incomplete. These poems seem to just give a glimpse into the writer’s soul and what they feel when writing the poem. The best poetry comes from the heart and when a poet allows that emotion to shine so does the poem that they have written. Many of these feel as if the writer has forced the words to come forth making the poems lack the impact that the writer wants to convey. However, with all of that said it is obvious that Doobie has talent that as they write will come through so keep your eye on this poet. This particular set of poems receives a 3 out of 5 score simply because of the budding talent that is shown in these poems.

Reviewed by Unrequited Spirit

The Path Redefined: Getting to the Top on Your Own Terms by Lauren Maillian Bias

The Path Redefined: Getting to the Top on Your Own Terms by Lauren Maillian Bias

Link to buy The Path Redefined: Getting to the Top on Your Own Terms

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

It's hard to decide what to say about this book. The author Lauren Maillian Bias is described as a "serial entrepreneur," which seems to mean that she has started up multiple companies. These start-ups and the fact that they're all in different industries is noted on practically every page of the book. The reader is also not allowed to forget that Bias accomplished all of this before age 30.

Yes, her accomplishments are impressive, but the tone of the book, combined with the emphasis on the author's high-powered personal connections grew very old very quickly. Bias seems to be quite full of herself. Take this sentence as a sample of what you'll find throughout the book: "I worked really hard for nearly ten years and now I'm part of a powerful ecosystem of like-minded people who dream big and do big like me." (Yes, the words "I" and "me" appear multiple times in practically every sentence.)

This book is supposed to offer readers advice about achieving their own success, yet it reads more like a memoir designed to chronicle Bias's own achievements. For instance, a great deal of time is spent emphasizing the importance of having networks of important, influential friends. Bias calls these people for help, works with them to bring about future business ventures, and sits next to them on philanthropic boards of directors like one for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's all a bit too much for readers who are looking for suggestions to help start a new dog walking business or open a restaurant. Let's face it, if you're checking a book about entrepreneurship out of the library, you're probably not already sitting on boards of directors and starting up new ventures with a guy who runs a successful national skin care brand. In other words, explaining how to use high-powered connections probably isn't going to help people who pick up this book.

Speaking of unrealistic, Bias's first big success was a winery that she started at age 19. Allegedly it started out as a real estate investment. How many 19-year-olds have money to invest in real estate? So if you already have a network of rich, powerful friends and you're trying to figure out how they could be useful to your next business venture, this book might be up your alley. Alternatively, if you're looking for short, pithy ideas that guided Bias's success, look no further. For instance, she wraps up the chapter about negotiation with tips like these: "Be confident." And "You can't always put compensation first, especially when you're a rookie."

Overall, some sensible business advice can be gleaned from this book, but many of the stories recounted here probably don't pertain to regular people living normal lives. There are better books out there if you're looking for step-by-step practical instruction about starting a business or improving your odds of career success.

Reviewed by Peter

Review: Love, Life, & God: Getting Past the Pain by Renee Atler

Title: Love, Life, & God: Getting Past the Pain by Renee Atler 

Link to buy Love, Life, & God: Getting Past the Pain

Story Rating: 3 out of 5 

Review:

Love, Life & God is a collection of the author's personal life experiences, interspersed with poems and occasional song lyrics. It's written in a chronological memoir style with a great deal of detail in the names, times, and places recollected in the stories. The level of detail suggests that Alter had been painstakingly recording her experiences over the course of many years, as opposed to simply recalling events when she sat down to write a book.

A substantial portion of this book focuses on Alter's health challenges, which are extensive. She describes how they all came about, how they evolved, and the measures she and her doctors took to address them. Those measures include myriad prescription drugs, which she discusses as alternately helpful and harmful. Throughout all these circumstances, she makes an attempt to show how God was looking out for her or teaching her or guiding her. In that way, the book has an emphasis on spirituality.

There are many books out there that detail authors' struggles with all manner of ailments, including cancer, drug addiction, and mental illness. Frankly, this reviewer doesn't usually have much interest in those types of books. I get the impression that they're primarily cathartic exercises designed to help the authors work out their own personal demons, which is fine. 

The place where Alter's book shines is in the chapters where she temporarily forgets her various ailments (and allows the reader to forget them, too) and concentrates on telling stories about people she's encountered throughout her life. She describes many fascinating individuals who lead unusual lives. For instance, Allen lives in the country, keeps chickens, feeds zillions of cats, and works a newspaper route to support himself. Alter offers vivid descriptions of her life with Allen, including funny and informative details about chicken behavior and how someone can feed and care for that many cats. Their concern for all those animals was touching.

This book is a mixed bag. I was depressed by parts (chronic illness) but enjoyed other parts (chickens giving themselves dirt baths). Overall, the message that potential readers should get from this review is "Enter at your own risk." Which, by the way, is also the message that should be posted at the entrance to Allen's chicken/cat farm.

Reviewed by Peter 

Review: Financial Guide For Single Mothers: Secure Your Family Welfare by Amit Eshet

Financial Guide For Single Mothers: Secure Your Family Welfare by Amit Eshet
Link to buy
ASIN B009W7QWL8

Rating: 3 out of 5
Review:

I went into this book with preconceived notions about it, but was pleasantly surprised by the first chapter. Books and articles about managing personal finance typically offer the same advice: make a budget and stick to it, pay off high-interest credit cards, get a part-time job over the holidays so you don't go into debt buying presents, etc. Sure, it's all good advice, but none of it will help if you have an immediate problem feeding your children or keeping a roof over your heads.

Financial Guide for Single Mothers starts off by suggesting places readers can go for help, whether they need money or food. The book acknowledges that child support isn't possible for many single moms, sometimes because the father of their child(ren) isn't working so has no wages to garnish.

Later in the book, the author gets to the obligatory budgeting section and does suggest finding a supplementary income stream – specifically checking online for work-at-home opportunities. That advice is questionable at best because of the number of scams floating around out there. If you're looking for extra money on the internet, it's more likely that you'll accidentally end up sending cash to a fake Nigerian prince than finding a legitimate job.

This book of financial basics is uneven in spots. For instance, the first chapter examines governmental and charity sources that can provide single mothers with cash and food assistance. Then the next chapter is a pep talk about how to convince yourself that money isn't evil and if you have money it doesn't mean you're a bad person. Following this is a chapter about financial aid for single moms who want to return to school. All of this information is valuable, but it's presented in a strange order that's a little jarring.

Readers could use more specific details in spots to give them a head-start on finding the help they need. Chapter 3 focuses on scholarships specifically for single moms so they can attend college. Scholarship organizations and brief descriptions of who qualifies for the money are listed, but there aren't any websites provided. It would be helpful if website links and a link to application criteria were offered.

The chapter on loans and interest also left something to be desired. It was too short and over-simplified. The author offered a link to another book on the topic, but many readers will balk at having to buy another book when they had expected their questions to be answered by this one. Also, this chapter wrapped up by saying that using loans properly can "Leverage your finance situation," but there's no explanation of what that means.

At only 46 pages, this is a short read, but those pages offer an overview of a very broad topic. Author Amit Eshet's tone is helpful and understanding. The book feels like the reader is being given advice by an experienced friend who isn't judging the reader for whatever financial circumstances she finds herself in. It also suggests enlisting the aid of one's children to help achieve financial goals. There's no reason that children must become the enemy while grocery shopping on a budget.

Another good thing about this book is that each chapter ends with "Action Items." They list actions the reader should take to achieve specific financial goals. Some of these items are more difficult and time-consuming than others, and some readers might be frustrated by having to do the equivalent of homework. However, this book doesn't pretend that it will do the work for the reader; gaining financial security is a challenge that doesn't happen overnight. But with a little information and a plan, it's definitely possible. 

Reviewed by Peter