Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

A future world in which pleasure is continual and all babies are grown in test tubes and bottles and are adapted to certain jobs for which they are pre-selected. There are, however, a few "savages" on reservations.

This book was better than Nineteen Eighty-Four, but still not great.

Unglued

Making wise choices in the midst of raw emotions.

by Lysa TerKeurst

Do you ever come "unglued"? In this book, the author explores why that happens and offers thoughts and scriptures to consider when you feel bad reactions coming on.

Nineteen Eighty-Four

by George Orwell

The world is in constant war, people are watched contantly, and life is without any pleasure.

I had never read this classic and, since I generally enjoy classic science fiction, I thought I'd read it.  Quite disappointing.  It's a depressing book, really.

I'm dreaming of a green Christmas

Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes that Use Less and Mean More

by Anna Getty

A lovely book filled with lots of environmentally-friendly ways to celebrate.

New Complete Guide to Sewing

Step-by-step techniques for making clothes and home accessories

by Reader's Digest

This is a thorough reference manual for sewing clothing, curtains, quilts and more. To me, it looks like everything you could possibly need to know about sewing. There are also a few projects to make from commercially available patterns.

Eco-Chic Home

Rethink, reuse & remake your way to sustainable style

by Emily Anderson

Ways to reduce and reuse with instructions for many projects to use in various rooms.

I liked this book; it has some really nice ideas. But a lot of the instructions are very unclear, and twice (pp. 29, 175) the word "harkening" or "harkens" is used when the author meant "harking" or "harks." On page 97, I can't make heads or tails of the instructions for making a reusable snack carrier. On page 128, there are instructions for making a ladder clothes rack which call for "two identical wooden ladders" and later it says "the ladders should be open, with the steps facing out to the left and right." Oh, step-ladders. But the rest of the instructions are very confusing too. On page 172, "long-distance" should not be hyphenated. And on page 100, there's a picture with a plastic water bottle on a table; that is not environmentally-friendly.

I don't mean to be so picky, but I read a lot of books that have no errors at all. I have no formal experience or university education on proofreading, so if I can pick up on these things, a professional surely should. And if someone is writing a book with project instructions, they really ought to get someone to try making the project from those instructions before publishing the book.

Dombey and Son

by Charles Dickens

Proud Mr. Dombey puts all his hopes in his son, but the child (whose mother died in childbirth) dies, his daughter is ignored, his new wife leaves and at last, his business fails. Is Mr. Dombey ruined or is there still a chance for him?

I love Dickens, and I found this book, which I had never read, in a second-hand store. It's very long, but quite an interesting tale.