The joy of family camping

by Herb Gordon

What to bring, what to do and how to do it. There were a few grammatical errors and I found the writing style rather choppy in the anecdotes.

Fodor's Walt Disney World 2010

This is a very thorough guide, but I didn't find it as helpful as The
Unofficial Guide.

Unjunk your junk food

by Andrea Donsky et al.

This informative book explains the problems with many food additives, describes conventional brands of many foods and gives healthier alternatives.

By Faith, Not by Sight

The inspirational story of a blind prodigy, a life-threatening illness

& an unexpected gift.

by Scott MacIntyre

Scott was born blind, but his parents treated him like a normal child and gave him the same opportunities they would have given any other child and taught him to act the way a sighted person would. He grew up listening to music and his family received a piano before his first birthday; he was captivated from day one. At 3, he began piano lessons and after a few lessons had learned all the notes and his teacher realized that he had perfect pitch. By the time he was 7, he was accomplished enough to be hired to play the keyboard in a wedding ceremony. He was homeschooled until age 14 when he took his SATs and scored high enough to get into college. He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of music in piano performance 5 year later, and discovered that day that he had stage four renal failure. Amazingly, he was able to travel to university in England that fall. He eventually had a kidney transplant because of a friend's incredible gift, and went on to be a contestant on American Idol where he made the top 8 and realized his dream of inspiring thousands of people.

What a fascinating story! This is a great book about overcoming almost impossible odds. Scott's story teaches to never give up, God can use the people around you to help you through any difficulty.

There were a few grammatical errors: on page 38, it says, "If I gave into fear...," but should say "in to" instead; on the next page, I thought "Running without abandon..." should be "with abandon" instead; and on page 183, he talks about wanting to "build back up to the notoriety I once had," and I thought "notoriety" was a poor word choice because of its negative connotation.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

In this futuristic, science-fiction story, a teen-aged girl, Katniss,
is chosen to compete against other teens in a gladiator-like event
which is televised to the whole country.

The One Dish Collection

from Canadian Living

This is a nice enough cookbook, but it's not too exciting and I didn't
even try any of the recipes.

Nurse Matilda

by Christianna Brand

The Brown children are very naughty, but Nurse Matilda bangs her stick and amazing things happen. Very entertaining. I read this to my children and they liked it.

La Tartine Gourmande

Recipes for an inspired life

by Beatrice Peltre

Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts. These recipes call for flours other than wheat: quinoa, buckwheat, etc. Several look really delicious.

The One Pan Gourmet

Fresh food on the trail
Perfect for: backpacking, canoeing, camping, kayaking, cycling

by Don Jocobson

This is a cookbook for backcountry camping, divided by cooking method: frying pan, pot, oven; subdivided by breakfast, lunch & dinner, and dessert. Also contains general cooking instructions for backpackers.

On page 101, Tasty Chicken Salad, he forgot to say that the chicken needs to be precooked.

This recipe looks particularly yummy:
Belly Bustin' Spuds

1/2  pound bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 large potatoes, sliced (we're talking big bakers here)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

In a pot over medium flame, cook bacon. Do not drain. Add onion, green pepper, and celery. Sauté until tender. Add potatoes, stir, and reduce heat. Stir occasionally. After 30 minutes, add parsley. Cook until potatoes start to fall apart.

Free-Range Chicken Gardens

How to create a beautiful, chicken-friendly yard.

by Jessi Bloom

A complete guide to caring for chickens and designing gardens for free-range.

Blessed Child

by Ted Dekker & Bill Bright

Jason and Leiah rescue a child from an attacked monastery in Egypt. The boy becomes famous as a healer in the US, but someone wants him dead.

This book was riveting, but seemed to say that enjoying God was equivalent to seeing a vision of beauty in everything around. While I don't dispute that people who are enjoying God do see more beauty in everyday things, the Bible teaches that enjoying God means enjoying and obeying His Word and spending time in prayer.