"The Easy Nature Guide: Easy Wild Food Guide" by Neil Fletcher

Spring 2012 in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park
copyright Keri Withington

If you enjoy spending time in the great outdoors, you may have wondered which plants are edible (and which you should avoid).  Perhaps you're interested in survival skills or a zombie apocalypse kit, or perhaps you're just curious about wild foods.  Whatever your reason, The Easy Nature Guide: Easy Wild Food Guide is a good starting point for learning about wild foods in the United Kingdom.

This book is divided into sections by season, and is also searchable by food type and location.  It includes pictures and descriptions.  Many wild food guides or scavenging guides contain this information, but this one also includes other useful tips and preparation ideas.  For some of the items, like fungi, I would still recommend checking with an experienced person before eating.  However, this will help you start enjoying wild food.

For my book review of Fletcher's Easy Wild Food Guide, click here.

"Blood Red, Snow White" by Marcus Sedgwick

Some novels give you exactly what you expect (like Kelley Armstrong's books), and there's something to be said for consistency.  Some books disappoint you (for me,  "Eat, Pray, Love").  Other books are so utterly surprising that they take your breath away.  Whatever expectations you had shatter, and you are completely spellbound in the story.

"Blood Red Snow White," by Marcus Sedgwick, is one of these rare books.  It was charming, entrancing, and powerful.  It weaved together Russian history, fairy tales, and beautiful writing in such a way that I was completely engrossed by the book and disappointed when it ended (only because it meant that I had to stop reading).  I wish that I had written this book, but--as I didn't--I am so glad that I read it.

To read my full review of Sedgwick's "Blood Red, Snow White," click here.

"A Slice of Organic Life" edited by Shererazade Goldsmith

Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
August 2012, photo by me (Keri Withington)

I am very interested in the idea of living a more organic life.  My husband and I dream of buying a small farm where we could grow most of our own produce, keep a small amount of livestock, and install renewable energy sources.  Although we aren't in a position to realize this dream yet, we do try to live a more organic day-to-day life in our normal activities.  Whether it is eating less processed food or composting our garden waste, the benefits are clear for both us and the planet.

Given this captivation with organic living, I was immediately drawn to the attractive coffee table book "A Slice of Organic Life."  It is beautifully presented, and provides a great sampler on organic life.  Whether it is a lifestyle that already interests you or something that is new and you're mildly curious, this book will have some information for you.  It is very accessible no matter what your situation is.  I would have this book out on my coffee table (if I didn't have a toddler and could keep a nice coffee table with books), but even if not it's definitely worth flipping through.

To find out more about A Slice of Organic Life, please click here.

"The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown

Although I'm a voracious reader, I don't always have a huge amount of interest for extremely popular books (think Michael Crichton, etc.).  Sometimes I read them, though, just to see what all the hype is about and to be able to discuss them with others.  I did this with "The Da Vinci Code" when it was the huge book of the year, and I read Dan Brown's most recent book, "The Lost Symbol", as well.

In true Dan Brown fashion, "The Lost Symbol" features adventures around a well=known world city involving a secret group and lots of symbols/clues hiding in plain site.  It had some entertainment value, but--to me--it was an unremarkable book.  The most interesting part for me was the role of freemasonry in American history (some of what is told is true; some is fictional).  It was a topic that I would be interested in reading a non-fiction book about.

To find out if "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown is an accurate depiction of freemasonry, click here.  Also "The Lost Symbol" brought freemasonry into the spotlight.  Do you think it revealed too much about this traditionally secretive group?  Click here to read some of the debate.  (Feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you think as well.)

"Midnight Never Come" by Marie Brennan

I recently took the kids to the library.  It was a branch that I had never been to before, but that they have often visited with daddy.  As soon as we walked through the door, Miriam (my six-year-old) grabbed my hand and said, "Come on, mum, I'll show you where the good books are."  She promptly led me to an aisle that had the fantasy section on one side and the non-fiction on the other side.  She was right; she did lead me to some good books (including "The New Feminist Agenda", which I checked out and will write about soon).

She's six, so she suggested that I read a book about fairies or dragons (and pointed out several suggestions).

Marie Brennan's "Midnight Never Come" is a book about fairies, but not anything like my daughter imagined.  These fairies (faeries) are incredibly political and live in Elizabethan England.  Their court is just as vibrant and dangerous as its human counterpart, and the two are often closer than either group would want to admit.  This is not your children's fairy story...but it's also not everything I could have wished for in a fairy story.  For a story about fairies, it was lacking magic, not in subject, but style.

For my full review of "Midnight Never Come", click here.

"I Sing the Body Electric" by Ray Bradbury

What a title!

Bradbury gave this collection of short stories a bold title reminiscent of Walt Whitman's confident and beautiful poems. Unfortunately, for me, the book didn't live up to its title. I Love Ray Bradbury, I truly do, but this was the book of his that I've enjoyed the least (I haven't read them all yet, but I'm working on it.)

It sounds like it would be fantastic (there's even a story with a robot Abraham Lincoln for goodness sake) but it just seemed more contrived to me than his other writing.

I'm glad that I read it, but it wouldn't be the Bradbury book I'd recommend.  Instead start with "The Martian Chronicles", "Fahrenheit 451", or even "Farewell Summer".

"Goddess of the Rose" by P.C. Cast

We all know the story of "Beauty and the Beast".  It has been adapted into children's movies, inspired art work,  and helped to shape the romantic ideas of multiple generations.  Compared to the wimpy princesses traditionally featured in fairy tales, Belle is always portrayed as smart and strong willed.  She's a heroine I find far easier to relate to (and that I'd rather my daughters emulate as well).  Even the Beast is a fascinating character (if far more interesting as the Beast than the prince...I can remember as a child how we quickly discarded the transformed prince doll and played exclusively with Belle and the Beast).

In "Goddess of the Rose", P.C. Cast combines the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale with other myths (notably the Minotaur) and a modern twist.  The rose takes on even more importance than you're used to, and becomes a powerful symbol for her rather than just a token for him.  It is a symbolic, romantic novel that will keep you entertained and perhaps longing to meet a Beast of your own (and start a rose garden).

To read my longer review of "Goddess of the Rose", click here.
To find out more about "Goddess of the Rose" and P.C. Cast's whole Goddess series, visit her official website.