Archive for September, 2009

“The Cupcake Kit,” Elinor Klivans

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Pros: Extremely useful for beginner or non-ambitious cupcake decorators!
Cons: Has a narrow purpose
Rating: 5 out of 5

Review book (published 2009) courtesy of Chronicle Books.
Also posted on Epinions.com.

 

I love cake. I ADORE cupcakes, which are small, portable, easy-to-indulge-in tidbits of cake. They’re more fun if you decorate them a bit, make them a little snazzy, but it’s hard to find a good middle ground. There’s a ton of cake-making equipment out there, but maybe you just want a simple swirled icing, nothing too fancy, and you don’t want to spend much money to do it. There are books by the dozens teaching you how to make elaborate icing flowers, but maybe like me you just don’t have that kind of artistic talent—or hands that steady! (Let’s face it—anything fancy I try to make is going to eventually turn up on Cake Wrecks.) Or perhaps you do want to get into decorating on a larger scale, but you want to start small, keep things simple until you get the hang of the basics.

In any of these cases, Elinor Klivans’s Cupcake Kit: Recipes, Liners, and Decorating Tools for Making the Best Cupcakes! just might be the answer to your prayers!

 
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“Pestos, Tapenades & Spreads,” Stacey Printz

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Pros: Wow. Umm, and did I say, wow?
Cons: None
Rating: 5 out of 5

Review book (published 2009) courtesy of Chronicle Books.
Also posted on Epinions.com.

 

I’ve always enjoyed pestos & tapenades, but I never went out of my way to have them. I never would have placed them among my favorite foods, that’s for certain. Now, after using Stacey Printz’s Pestos, Tapenades, and Spreads: 40 Simple Recipes for Delicious Toppings, Sauces & Dips, I’ll be making and eating them far more often!

 
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“To Catch A Bride” by Anne Gracie

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Pros: Great use of humor, good depiction of attitudes of the time
Cons: I would’ve enjoyed just a touch more tension between the two
Rating: 4.75 out of 5

Review book courtesy of Penguin Group

 

Rafe Ramsey is not looking forward to the upcoming marriage that his brother, the Earl of Axebridge, has set up for him. The terms, once he found out about them, incensed him so much that to escape for a while, he is going to Egypt in search of Ayisha Cleeve, who disappeared six years ago. When he arrives in Egypt and finds Ayisha, he is amazed to find instead of a pampered, frightened girl, a young woman with honor and courage who has survived on the streets using her wits. It is up to Rafe to convince her to return to England with him, to be reunited with her grandmother. But the more time he spends with Miss Cleeve, the more fascinated he is by her. And when she risks her life to save his, will they be able to deny the attraction that is rapidly blossoming between them?
 
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“The Lost”

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Pros: Enjoyably mysterious tales
Cons: One ending that left me a little flat
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review book (uncorrected proof) courtesy of Penguin Group.
Also posted on Epinions.com.

 

The Lost is an anthology of four stories in “a world where the rules of love, of time, and of place can be forever lost.” Or in other words, reality is just a little bit flexible and mysterious!

The anthology starts off with an Eve Dallas story from J.D. Robb, Missing in Death. I’m once again reminded of Nora Roberts’ uncanny skill with words, as she manages to establish her unusual future setting in just a half-page of personality-filled writing. Also as usual, there are plenty of quotable lines in her tale of a disappearing corpse, a missing witness, and some unusual—and dangerous—technological developments. As always, her hard-boiled detective Eve Dallas is a joy to watch, and there’s plenty of Roarke, Peabody, and other major characters to satisfy fans and interest new readers.

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“Virus of the Mind” by Richard Brodie

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Pros: Well-defined terms, clear explanations
Cons: Chapter on disinfection could have used a little more detail
Rating: 4 out of 5

 

There is a theory that memes (”units of information in a mind whose existence influences events such that more copies of itself get created in other minds”) , like viruses, exist to replicate themselves and so must infect as many people as possible. This idea draws from ideas in the fields of psychology, biology, and anthropology, and Richard Brodie’s book is based on the work of several scientists including Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Douglas Hofstadter. He explores not only what memes are (from the perspective of various fields) but why they are so effective at replicating and infecting us. Brodie also examines  how these viruses can be created, and how, knowing about these and how they’re created, we can disinfect ourselves and lead the lives we’ve always wanted to lead.

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“What A Pirate Desires” by Michelle Beattie

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

Pros: Memorable setting, wonderful secondary characters
Cons: Pirate nemesis falls a little flat
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review book courtesy of Penguin Group

 

Samantha Fine lost her family at a young age to a pirate named Dervish. Determined to avenge them, she becomes the pirate captain Sam Steele and sails the Caribbean looking for him with little success. Her luck may soon change, though, because Luke Bradley, a former crew member of Dervish’s, has been imprisoned and Samantha’s breaking him out so that he can lead her to Dervish. But the one thing that Samantha hadn’t counted on was the growing attraction between the two of them, and it’s hard to avoid someone on a ship. As the two of them make their way toward her goal, their passion mounts. What neither of them knows, however, is that a ghost from Samantha’s past is rapidly bearing down on them…
 
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“The Spicy Bedtime Companion,” Joan Lloyd

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Pros: Great way to spice up a relationship!
Cons: Some flat limericks; won’t be everyone’s style
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Review book courtesy of Penguin Group.
Also posted on Epinions.com.

 

Joan Elizabeth Lloyd’s The Spicy Bedtime Companion: Erotic Stories and More is an unusual collection of short erotic stories, bawdy limericks, and odd bits of sexual trivia. The stories range from the fantastical (an erotic experience inside a virtual game realm, or the writer whose erotic story comes to life) to the so-real-you-could-live-it (a handful of stories about couples rekindling the flames of passion through experimentation).
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