Simply Sensational Divas Review » Book Reviews

How to Squeeze a Lemon

Tammy — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 22:31:12 +0000

TITLE: HOW TO SQUEEZE A LEMON: 1,023 Kitchen Tips, Food Fixes, and Handy Techniques

AUTHORS: FINE COOKING MAGAZINE

PUBLISHER: THE TAUNTON PRESS

PUBLISH DATE: 11/09/2010

Publisher's Synopsis: Ever wonder how to cut lemon wedges so they won't squirt you in the eye? Or what to do with those overgrown zucchinis from the garden? How to save that bread that just won't rise? In How to Squeeze a Lemon, home cooks and chefs alike will find a delightful and nearly endless source of cooking information reference. The follow-up to the IACP-award winning, How to Break an Egg, the wonderfully informative and entertaining How to Squeeze a Lemon is chock full of more than 1,000 fresh tips, kitchen-tested techniques, and smart substitutions that bedevil cooks every day, and all from the readers, contributors, and editors of Fine Cooking, one of America's favorite cooking magazines.

MY THOUGHTS:As a working mom of 6, I am all about tips and shortcuts in the kitchen. This book is chock full of tips and tricks. It is not necessary to read it in one sitting, it is easy to flip few a few pages as you find the time. Many of these tips I had already discovered but several new ones I have incorporated into my cooking routine now. My favorite tip was: use to the bottom edge of a ceramic coffee mug to sharpen your kitchen knives, I LOVE this tip, so easy and practical. I use it nearly every day. Some other great tips are: Protect your magazine while cooking by inserting it into a gallon-size zip-top bag, use a spoonful of flour keeps raisins from sinking, and use marbles to warn you when boiling water is too low. There are many solutions to problems that frequently arise when meal planning, this book is filled with enough tips to assure that you will find one to solve most every kitchen dilemma. The book has seven sections covering: kitchen gear, fruits/vegetables, meat/fish/poultry, techniques, the pantry, wine/beer, and what to do when things go wrong.

This was a useful book. Not all of the tips were relevant to me but to me it was definitely worth the read, anything to save some money, time or frustration in the kitchen.

I received a Kindle copy of this book to review so the lack of illustrations or photos really didn’t bother me.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Love Finds a Home: 3 Historical Romances

Tammy — Sat, 07 May 2011 17:24:01 +0000

Title: Love Finds a Home: 3 Historical Romances

Author: Wanda E. Brunstetter

Publisher: Barbour Publishing Release Date: July 1, 2011

Publisher's Synopsis: Bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter brings you three historical stories of finding room for love. Glenna Moore is desperate after she watches her gambling father jump hurriedly from the back of a moving train. Will a young reverend bring stability and love back into her life? Judith King’s life as a new schoolteacher takes an unexpected turn when a widowed father begins to captivate her thoughts. Will she muster enough courage to seek his love? Bev Winters’s job is an answer to prayer until her boss complicates her widowed life. Will her pride allow love after loss?

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this book. It is a light read. This book is comprised of three short stories of historical fiction and romance. Each story is unique and easy to read. I happen to be a mom of six so I really enjoy the short stories compilations, perfect for when I have a little time to escape but not a large time commitment. This was the first book by Mrs. Brunsetter I have read. Her “Amish” style of writing is clean and pure. The final short story in this book was my favorite. Twice Loved. A position in a used toy shop is an answer to prayer for Bev Winters who finds herself widowed with a young daughter after World War II. But when her employer shows her surprising kindness and a giving heart, she is unsure how to react and rejects his “pity”. This is a story of how a widow and widower who found love once and lost their loved ones. Will God restore their hearts and allow them to find love again. Read it and see. I recommend this book. Love Finds a Home will be released on July 1, 2011 and is available for pre-purchase now.

Lazarus Awakening

Tammy — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:57:53 +0000

Title: Lazarus Awakening Author: Joanna Weaver My Thoughts: Joanna Weaver has a gift. Weaver’s conversational writing is so easy to read; however, her words impacted my heart deeply. She uses the biblical story of Lazarus and how Jesus raised him from the dead to encourage her readers to delve deeper into a love relationship with the Lord. We need to invest time into that relationship so we can hear His voice and in return He will set us free from mediocre living, and give us an abundant life. We need to surrender ourselves completely to Him in order to move into that new life. I find this the hard part, letting go. Weaver said that we need to relax and just let Jesus love us. Stop trying so hard and just let go, choose to believe that He loves us unconditionally.

Weaver explains that the Lord wants to resurrect our hearts as he resurrected Lazarus’ body, through abounding undeserved, unearned love. Nothing we can do will ever make Him love us more. All we have to do is accept His love. Jesus loves us so much that He is willing to wait until we are willing to die to ourselves and only then can He restore us. Only after what we have been clutching onto dies can we begin to become new.

Weaver’s study guides that allow us to even get into His Word deeper and discover what stones need to be rolled away and how to get us out of our own tomb. Weaver also includes appendixes that provide websites and resources for resurrected living, reminding us who we are in Christ, how to unwinding grave clothes, and recognize what holds us in a "grave" in life.

About the Author: In Lazarus Awakening Joanna writes about getting God’s love from our heads to our hearts. We all know Jesus loved Mary – look how she worshiped. And we can understand why He loved Martha – after all, look how she served. But what about those of us who don’t know where we fit in the heart of God? Lazarus Awakening explores the tale of the third follower – Mary and Martha’s brother, Lazarus. We never hear him speak, we never see him serve. The only thing of any significance that Lazarus did was to die. And yet, the Bible is clear. Jesus loved Lazarus. And He loves you and me as well. Lazarus Awakening looks at different aspects of the story we find in John 11. We learn what it means to be a friend of God and begin recognizing the tombs we spend far too much time in. Find out more here.

Joanna is celebrating the release of Lazarus Awakening with the Heart of God KINDLE Giveaway!

In Lazarus Awakening Joanna writes about getting God’s love from our heads to our hearts. We all know Jesus loved Mary – look how she worshiped. And we can understand why He loved Martha – after all, look how she served. But what about those of us who don’t know where we fit in the heart of God? Lazarus Awakening explores the tale of the third follower – Mary and Martha’s brother, Lazarus. We never hear him speak, we never see him serve. The only thing of any significance that Lazarus did was to die. And yet, the Bible is clear. Jesus loved Lazarus. And He loves you and me as well. Lazarus Awakening looks at different aspects of the story we find in John 11. We learn what it means to be a friend of God and begin recognizing the tombs we spend far too much time in. Find out more here.

One grand prize winner will receive:

* A Brand New KINDLE with Wi-Fi
* Having A Mary Heart in a Martha World
* Having A Mary Spirit
* Lazarus Awakening

Joanna will also select two additional contest entrants to receive copies of her trilogy. Enter soon by clicking the icons below and then tell your friends. Hurry the contest ends April 16th. The winner will be announced on Joanna's blog on April 18th.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Reluctant Entertainer: Book Review

Tammy — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 03:55:49 +0000

Title: The Reluctant Entertainer:

Every Woman's Guide to Simple and Gracious Hospitality

Author: Sandy Coughlin

Publisher: Bethany House (August 1, 2010)

Publisher's Synopsis: Real Entertaining for Real People

True hospitality is not about being perfect, cooking a fancy meal, or spending a lot of money. Rather, it's about an open door and an open heart. Rather, it's about an open door and an open heart. Popular blogger Sandy Coughlin offers a simple but savvy approach to help women break free of the anxieties that keep them from opening their homes. Emphasizing the forgotten goal of entertaining--connecting deeply with others--she shows how women can use the gifts and talents God gave them to reach out in love.

My Thoughts:

This beautiful, elegant book was absolutely not what I expected. I expected a Martha Stewarty how to book about entertaining. What I read was a very delightful and entertaining book about the lifestyle of entertaining.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I was married to a minister for seventeen years. I entertained in my home very often (usually more than once a week). I considered myself very good at it. It came easy for me. But that was another lifetime ago. I now have six children and work outside of the home. I remarried and we now live in StephenKingsVille, Texas. We have lived here for two years now and we have not even had the time to meet any friends here.

Reading Sandy Coughlin’s book, The Reluctant Entertainer, brought back to mind the joy I once experienced through “entertaining” in my home. I truly enjoyed it. Now I have the desire to try to get back that part of my life I now realize I miss!

Sandy gives hints, tips and recipes to make the actual entertaining aspect of life easier. But this beautiful book is so much more than that. Honestly it is not worth trying to find words to describe the book, you just really need to get your hands on a copy of it and READ IT! This is a high-quality book, with beautiful photos and graphics, and many recipes that any women would love to make, with every day ingredients and simple instructions.

I have reviewed many books but this book I thoroughly and completely enjoyed. And I will not be giving away the copy that was provided to me because I have underlined many parts of it and dog-eared a ton of pages. This will be a re-read for me too.

I felt the strong urge to email Sandy Coughlin when I was only on page 42. I did too, that was a first for me. I have since subscribed to her blog and have plans to subscribe to her friends’ blogs as well. This is an absolute: MUST READ

14 Secrets to Better Parenting: A Book Review

Tammy — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:55:22 +0000

Title: 14 Secrets to Better Parenting: Powerful Principles from the Bible

Author: Dave Early

Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.

I enjoyed this book. Dave Earley bases his “14 Secrets” from the Bible’s book of Proverbs. From “Concentrate on Wisdom” to “Help Them Experience God for Themselves,” these principles will help every parent learn use scriptures of the Book of Proverbs to raising successful children. Each Secret has a “A Look in the Mirror” section at the end to allow readers to do a self-evaluation on how the reader is currently applying the biblical examples of parenting as taught in the Book of Proverbs.

The section that most applied to me was “The Four Perils of Folly”. I have been been researching how to help my children overcome a poor example of foolishness that was present in my former marriage. Mr. Early spoke directly to my heart regarding this area and I believe it accurately describes foolishness and the ramifications of parenting with “folly” and then offers ways to overcome it.

The author continuously quotes scripture from Proverbs to keep his teaching scripture based. I highly recommend this book for newer Christians and especially parents that love application of scripture.

This book will be available on or near April 1, 2011.

(Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.)

Why God Matters – A Book Review

Tammy — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:47:53 +0000

TITLE: Why God Matters

AUTHORS: Karina Lumbert Fabian and Deacon Steven Lumbert

PUBLISHER: Tribute Books

PURCHASE: at Amazon

MY THOUGHTS: The authors of Why God Matters encourage new believers to “recognize the constant presence of God within them.” This book shares their own experiences and their own journeys to spirituality while encouraging others to continue to delve deeper in the search for Why God Matters to the reader. This book is good for those pondering taking that extra step. No opinions or doctrines are pushed at the reader, just stories of encouragement.

CONNECT:

Karina Fabian Facebook
Karina Fabian Twitter
Karina Fabian Blog
Tribute Books Twitter
Don’t forget to check out the other blogs participating in this blog tour. You can check them out here.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Magician’s Book – a review

LaDonna — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 16:53:00 +0000

TITLE: The Magician’s Book

AUTHOR: Laura Miller

PUBLISHER: Little Brown and Company, 2008

Are you one of those people that feel you have to plow through a book and finish it to the end? I am. Or, rather, I was. I am slowly learning that I don’t have to finish a book if it’s not “talking” my language. Or if I’m just not getting it.

This is the case with The Magician’s Book. Now, don’t get me wrong, the material is great! What I have read I have truly enjoyed. But it’s above my comprehension level. I felt I had to have a dictionary beside me while I read to truly understand what the author, Laura Miller, was saying. Really and truly this isn’t a bad thing and I’m sure that many lovers of Lewis’ Narnia would enjoy what Ms Miller has to say and it causes growth in readers like me.

Honestly, I read about 55 pages. Those 55 pages took me probably six months to read and I’ve read numerous other books in that same time frame. I actually want to quote my most current read, The Read Aloud Handbook:

“In Book Lust, [Nancy] Pearl offers advice to adults that can apply to both reading to children and to children’s own reading. She calls it the ‘Rule of 50’: If you’re fifty or younger, give every book about fifty pages. If you’re over fifty, then subtract your age from one hundred and give it that many pages.” (page 69)

I am applying The Rule of 50 at least for right now. I can’t say I’m giving up completely; I’m hoping to increase my vocabulary and my level of reading and come back to this book. I’m sure this book is for someone and that many have enjoyed it. (In fact, even though my brother said he wouldn’t be interested because he loves Narnia so very much and I think was worried she might affect his nostalgia, I’m sure he’d really enjoy it.)

So for now, I am can only review what I’ve read.

Material / Content: 4 stars.

You can connect with the author and discuss the book in the following ways:

Twitter

Website

Facebook Group

Author’s Facebook Page

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Why God Matters – a Catholic resource

LaDonna — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:13:00 +0000

TITLE: Why God Matters

AUTHORS: Karina Lumbert Fabian and Deacon Steven Lumbert

PUBLISHER: Tribute Books

PURCHASE: at Amazon

WHAT DO I THINK: I think this is a great resource for someone who is searching and looking to strengthen and deepen their fledgling faith. This book is full of real life stories with life application sections to get the readers thinking and digging a little deeper. I believe this book meets its intended purpose of taking a new believer to that next step of faith.

CONNECT:

Karina Fabian Facebook
Karina Fabian Twitter
Karina Fabian Blog
Tribute Books Facebook
Tribute Books Twitter
Don’t forget to check out the other blogs participating in this blog tour. You can check them out here.

Shadow – a book review

LaDonna — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:05:00 +0000

TITLE: Shadow, the Curious Morgan Horse

AUTHOR: Ellen F. Feld

ILLUSTRATOR: Jeanne Mellin

Publisher: Willow Bend Publishing

Price: 15.95. or at Amazon.com.

Shadow, the Curious Morgan Horse is a sweet story about a little horse who learns all about the world around her. She goes through a broken fence and gets lost. She finds a friend who helps her get back to her mother in the pasture. She had a lot of fun exploring but was so happy to be close to her mother again. The world can be a scary place, but when we explore within boundaries and with someone who has been there it is a little nicer.

At first I found the story a little daunting for a children’s book. Lots of words, not so many pictures. I’m so glad I got over that and read the story. It is very sweet. The pictures are well drawn and very beautiful. Some I would like to frame for my eldest daughter’s bedroom wall.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A Review – Frankie the walk ‘n roll therapy dog visits libby’s house

LaDonna — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:35:00 +0000

Frankie the walk ‘ roll therapy dog visits libby’s house
by Barbara Gail Techel
illustrated by Victoria Kay Lieffring
published by Joyful Paw Prints

You can read my review of the first book about Frankie here. In this book, Frankie and Barbara have gone on to become a therapy team. Frankie (via Barbara) tells some of their adventures when visiting those in a nursing home and a seniors assisted living facility.

“Ready? Set? Here we go, Frankie,” Mom says excitedly. “We are off to Libby’s House to bring smiles to the residents.”

I really enjoyed this book, more than the first one. The first was necessarily sad; the story needed to be told. This one, however, is all about the difference we can make in the world, just by being who we are and stepping out of our comfort zones just a little bit.

For more information, a place to purchase this and other books click here.

To keep up with Frankie’s activities, visit her blog.

Follow them on on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/walknrolldog

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinions.