Canine Conundrums and Cat Capers

I have been on quite a "non-fiction" reading binge lately but I could not resist the title of this new book. D. Caroline Coile, PhD & Margaret Bonham's Why Do Dogs Like Balls? More than 200 Canine Quirks, Curiosities, and Conundrums Revealed is a truly charming and interesting book. Being the "mom" of two rambunctious dogs, this book piqued my curiosity as to why dogs act the way they do. Coile and Bonham are both pet experts who detail, in this book, interesting and unusual questions that people have asked them about canines, and their answers to these questions. The book is organized in a "question and answer" format and is divided into nine sections and an index. The questions range from "Can dogs learn to read (imagine how much money that would cost you to buy books for them) to How good is a dog's sense of smell (100 million times the sense of smell of a person). The nine sections include: Dog Behavior; Canine Intelligence; The Dog's Emotions; The Canine Body; A Dog's Senses; The Sexual Dog; Dog Care; More Canine Questions and Dog Breeds. The index is especially helpful if you have a specific question you want answered and do not want to read the whole book. If you are a feline fanatic, don't be discouraged - Bonham and Coile have also published a book titled Why Do Cats Bury Their Poop? More than 200 Feline Facts, Fallacies and Foibles. The book has the same format as the canine title, and answers questions such as Can cats swim? and Is cat litter radioactive? This delightful cat book is as entertaining as the canine version and is perfect for the cat lover in you. But, take my word for it--it is hard to resist reading both of these books from cover to cover!

Delicious Low-Carb Baking

I am blaming the subject of this blog entry on one of my friends! We were casually talking several days ago about finding "the perfect lemon poppy seed" recipe. So, like any good librarian, I lodged this conversation in the back of my mind until yesterday when I walked through our libraries' cookbook section on the way to our biographies. If you are even an occasional cook, you can probably understand how hard it is to fly through the 641.5 non-fiction section and not get sidetracked by the beautiful covers and interesting titles of the cookbooks in the section. I know I am not the only person in Warren County that is enamored of cookbooks, because these titles circulate often! I remembered seeing a cookbook that I had copied an almond-poppy seed bread recipe from, and thought that it might also contain a lemon poppy seed recipe. The book, Baking With Splenda by JoAnna M. Lund and Barbara Alpert does indeed have a wonderful Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Coffee Cake recipe in it and best of all, it's sugar-free! If you are tired of the on-again-off-again cold weather we've been experiecing, this coffee cake recipe is a wonderful low-carb way to wish in the arrival of spring. The cookbook contains sections on a variety of different food recipes that are all baked with Splenda sweetener instead of sugar--from "Yummy Yeast Breads" to "Creamy Cakes" and even includes a section on "Grandma Jo's Baking Secrets" (did you know you can make powdered sugar from Splenda)? Can't get enough recipes for low-carb desserts? Try also Nick Malgieri's Perfect Light Desserts: Fabulous Desserts with Fewer Calories or Jackie Mills' The Big Book of Diabetic Desserts: Decadent and Delicious Recipes, Perfect for People with Diabetes. Be forewarned--these books will have you throwing flour around in your kitchen pretty quickly!

Not for the Faint of Heart

Flesh House by Stuart McBride is a dark mystery set in Aberdeen, Scotland. This mystery is suspensful and twisted and involves lots of scary moments. Detective Sergaent Logan McRae heads the investigation of the case featured in this book, which begins when body parts show up in a cargo container in Aberdeen's harbor. Detective McRae's last manhunt involved searching for Kenneth Wiseman, a brutal killer who terrorized the country until he was finally caught but acquitted eleven years later on a technicality. Now, Wiseman is missing, the killings have begun again and Detective McRae is convinced Wiseman is responsible. As the investigation becomes more involved, Detective McRae is forced to work with the senior officers assigned to the original case to try to figure out where Wiseman is hiding and if he is responsible for Aberdeen's newest round of killings. This book is not for the sqeamish--there are elements of cannibalism in the book as well as some gruesome descriptions of crime scenes. The plot is quick and the characters are well written, and Detective McRae is a tough, no-nonsense hero. I did enjoy the book's exploration of different places in Aberdeen and reading the Scottish dialect. This is the fourth book in this series: the other books are Cold Granite, Dying Light and Bloodshot.

"Witchy" and Mysterious

One of my favorite mystery series is the "Ophelia and Abby" series written by Shirley Damsgaard. To me, this series has a lot of positive elements in it, such as the fact that the main character, Ophelia Jensen, is the Librarian in the small town of Summerset, Iowa. But....she is also a witch, and is descended from a long line of witches! Ophelia's grandmother, Abby, is a witch too (and a fabulous gardener) who learned her skills from her family as she was growing up in the hills of Appalachia. Ophelia is a reluctant user of her powers, and her relunctance contributes to her charm. She is also an animal lover (she has dogs and a cat) and a new mom--but you should read the series to find out the rest of those details. Ophelia tries very hard to live a nice, normal, quiet life in Summerset, but somehow she always ends up embroiled in messes. This is especially irritating to Sheriff Bill Wilson, who always seems to be the one trying to clean up the messes. In Damsgaard's latest book in this series, The Witch's Grave, Ophelia is attending a library fundraiser at a winery, where she meets handsome, charming, mystery author (did I mention Ophelia loves reading mysteries) Stephen Larsen. She is enjoying Larsen's company and flattery when suddenly, a shot rings out from the trees surrounding the grape vines and Ophelia is shocked to see that Larsen has been hit! Who shot Larsen? Why was he shot? Was Ophelia the intended target? Ophelia, with the help of Abby, her friends, and plenty of strangers, must solve the mystery before it's too late! This is a great mystery with some nice supernatural elements and great characters. Try reading this series and I bet you will be as "charmed" as I am by Ophelia Jensen.

Black Widows Can be Deadly!

My latest mystery find is a book titled The Black Widow Agency, written by Felicia Donovan. Billed as a "mystery series with a CSI edge," the series stars four tough, savvy women who run the Black Widow agency. The four women are very different from each other and each contributes her own unique skills to the agency. Katie, the agency's owner, is an ex-cop who excels in undercover work; Alexandria is fond of wearing black and is the "cybergoddess" of the group; Jane is the left-brained genius; and Margo is the office manager and gourmet cook. In the first installment of the series (the second book was published in 2009 and is titled Spun Tales), the agency's client, Amber Gordon is drugged, framed, fired from her job and in danger of losing custody of her daughter. The agency members band together and use all of their skills to bring justice to Amber and capture the perpetrator, Amber's ex-husband. Author Felicia Donovan is employed by a New England-based police department and uses her experiences in law enforcement technology to add authentic experiences to this book. I really enjoyed the comraderie exhibited by the agency's members and how they all banded together to get "the bad guy." This book was a very entertaining and quick read, and I look forward to reading more books in this series!

Read the 2009 Newbery Award Winner Book!

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is the Newbery Award winning book for 2009. I just finished reading the story, and I truly enjoyed reading the book. The premise of the story is this: three of the four members of a family are murdered one night and the baby, through his own ingenuity, crawls out of his crib, down the stairs and out into the town. He wanders around and eventually takes up residence in a graveyard, where he is named Nobody Owens. From this point, the story spirals off into a fabulous, fantastical, wonderful story of relationships, personalities and clever writing. This book was written for a Juvenile audience, but I think that both kids and adults will enjoy this story--I think it's the perfect story to read together with your child! My favorite part of the story is the whole "experience" aspect of it-from page one you are hooked and totally immersed in Nobody's world and it is an entirely believable one. Neil Gaiman has written many other books (Coraline--which is currently being made into a movie--Interworld, M is for Magic) and is the author of the Sandman series of graphic novels. He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the Bram Stoker Award. Neil Gaiman is originally from England, but now lives in the United States--visit him online at http://www.mousecircus.com/.

Share the World of E. Lynn Harris

E. Lynn Harris' newest book is titled Basketball Jones, and is the story of Aldrige James "AJ" Richardson, a sophisticated African American man living in Atlanta. AJ is the longtime boyfriend of Drayton Jones, an NBA star, who keeps him well-fed, well-dressed and in a nice house. AJ follows Dray all around the country, moving to a new town when Dray is traded to another team and flying to his away games. Although AJ is an interior decorator and has his MBA, his only job is taking care of Dray's needs. AJ and Dray's relationship is a tightly-kept secret, due to Dray's fears that having a boyfriend will affect his success in the NBA. When Dray's teammates start questioning Dray's lack of female companionship, Dray decides to put the wagging tounges to rest by marrying Judi, an ambitious woman very interested in having a professional basketball player as her husband. For AJ and Dray, living a secret life is like living in a house of cards because one false move could cause their entire life to shatter! As stated on the book jacket, this book "explores the consequences of loving someone who is forced to conform to the rules society demands of its public heroes." This book is a typical E. Lynn Harris story, filled with drama, backbiting, secrets, betrayal, and an intense examination of AJ and Drayton's relationship. I also enjoyed that part of the story's action occurred in post-Katrina New Orleans and with Brad Ptt's Housing Foundation in the city.