Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Because this is a journal, and not a regular book it is hard to review. Therefore, I am going to post the description and then my thoughts.
Book Description:
The ultimate organizing resource for book-lovers and a self-published hit, Read, Remember, Recommend gives readers a one-stop shop to keep track of their reading. Featuring 60 cross-referenced lists of literary awards and notable picks (Pulitzer, National Book Award, 100 Best Books of the Century), this journal offers more than 2500 suggestions to help readers discover great literature and new authors. The journal also provides room to record books read, jot down thoughts and ideas, and keep track of recommendations, books borrowed and loaned, and book club history.
Unlike anything on the market, Read, Remember Recommend keeps readers coming back to bookstores to purchase recommended books, creates opportunities for add-on and return sales, and celebrates the readers’ love of books.
My Thoughts:
This journal is divided into 6 parts:
1. Awards and Notable Lists: It includes all of the big ones like the Pulitzer and some smaller ones. It is a check list in which you can check off if you Own, Recommend, To Read, or Want.
2. To Read: This is where you can keep track of what books you want to read.
3. Journal Pages: To keep track of everything you have read.
4. Recommendations: To list books that you would like to recommend to others.
5. Loaner Lists: To keep track of books that you have loaned out or borrowed yourself.
6. Resources: Online book-related information and a section of literary terms.
Though I don’t usually read books based on what awards they have won, I do enjoy reading the lists. There were books that I have read or heard of and there were quite a few that I hadn’t heard of. I found myself needing to go through the lists next to my computer so I could look up books I hadn’t heard of. I added quite a few book on to my TBR (to be read), doing this. 
Before I started book blogging, I use to keep a spiral note book to keep track of the books that I read and the books I wanted to read. I found it difficult to look up anything in it because it was not very organized. I think that this journal would help readers who don’t read a lot a bit with that. However, for the average book blogger like me, who averages at least 3-4 books per month there is not enough room. To record the details of all of the books I read. In theTo Read section, There is only room for 50 books. I could easily fill that up in a couple weeks.
I really enjoyed the resource section. There were website addresses for a bunch of book awards, book blogs, Social Networking sites, book exchange site, and more. She also included some fun sites which she call’s Read-Alike, in which you can put in the name of an author or a book and it will list authors and books that are similar.
I won’t be using some of the sections such as To Read or Journal for the reasons stated above. For keeping track of books I want to read and books I have read, I will continue to use GoodReads and of course, my blog. I have all of my own lists on GoodReads already, with way more books than this journal can hold. However, I will use this book as a reference book, and will refer back to the Awards Lists and Resources. Just for these two sections alone, this book is worth having.
4/5
Thanks to Carrie Gellin of Sourcebooks, Inc. for this book.  Carrie has generously offered one copy of this book to one of my lucky readers. Here’s how to enter:
For this giveaway, you must either be a follower/subscriber to So Many Precious Books already or become a Follower/subscriber.
1. For one entry, leave a comment and confirm that you are a follower. Please be sure to include your email address (if it isn’t available in your profile), so that I can contact you if you win. If I can’t find your email either in the comments or your profile, you will be disqualified!
2. For two more entries, post about this giveaway on your blog and leave link to your blog post in the comments. You will also get an entry for each person who tells me that they learned about this giveaway from you.
Sorry, the giveaway is open US and Canadian residents only.
The winner’s mailing address: NO P.O. Boxes.
Only one entry per household/IP address.
This giveaway will end on Friday, June 11th at 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email, so remember to include your email address in the comments, if it isn’t available in your profile! Winners must respond within three days or will be disqualified.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

When I arranged with Anna Balasi to hold a giveaway of this book, I was offered a copy for myself. Since I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, I couldn’t resist.

Louis Eguaras is a famous chef at the Le Cordon Bleu Program at the California School of Culinary Arts. In this book he shared 101 tips that can be used in the kitchen and for those who are trying to break in to the profession of culinary arts. 
The tips seem fairly random and not in different categories, so you have to read through the entire book to get to the tips that you are interested in. However, since the books is quite short to begin with, that’s not really a big issue. I just prefer a little more organization. There are some very useful tips for the people who haven’t cooked very much as well as tips for people like me, who enjoy spending a lot of time in the kitchen. 
I was hoping that this book would give me a few tips to improve my cooking/preparation techniques. The book delivered. For one thing, I found out that I was holding my knife incorrectly. I practiced the tip and am chopping a lot faster and safe now. There were quite a few tips that were geared towards restaurants and opening restaurants. Those weren’t tips that I found helpful but people in the profession would.
There was one tip that I know to be incorrect and even dangerous. Tip number 73 had tips for first aid. One of them included a tip for choking. It said, “Alternate” five and Five. With the heel of your hand hit between the shoulder blades five times. Next give five abdominal thrusts as you stand behind the person (Heimlich manoeuvre). Repeat until blockage is dislodged.” 
Since I am a social worker, I have to re-certify in first aid and CPR annually. DO NOT HIT BETWEEN THE SHOULDER BLADES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!!! This is an extremely outdated manoeuvre and can cause the stuck food to get lodged into a lung. That can be life threatening! The first thing to do is to tell somebody else to call 911. Then ask if the person can speak. If they can or they are coughing, just encourage them to cough more until the food dislodges itself. If the person can’t talk or cough, perform the Heimlich manoeuvre, only if you have been trained on how to do it. If the person passes out and isn’t breathing at all then you have to do CPR. Again, only if you have been trained to do so.
I would have given this book a higher rating if the first aid mistake wouldn’t have been in it. It really scared me that millions of people could buy this book and use that tip unknowing the damage it could cause. I hope that it is corrected in future editions and that a warning of some sort is inserted into the current edition.
3/5
Thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for this book.
Have you reviewed this book? Please leave a link to your review in the comments so I can add it to this post.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 15, 2010
Posted in Books Read in 2010Immigrant Experience  | 3 Comments

For those of you who have been reading my blog within the last year, you know that my newest favourite short story author is T. C. Boyle. I thought it only fair to read a novel to compare with his longer writing.

Candido and America are illegal immigrants living in the outer jungle of Los Angeles California. They came here to make a better life for themselves and their unborn child. They don’t have high aspirations. They want a job that will put food in their bellies and a proper roof over their heads.
Delaney and Kyra live with their son within a gated community in Los Angeles, with the outer jungle behind them. Delaney is a nature writer for a magazine and is a stay at home dad. Kyra is a high power real-estate broker. They consider themselves healthy and eco conscience. Their son and them are partial vegetarians.
The story opens with Delaney driving and running into Candido by mistake. He wants to help the man but he just motions for money and Delaney gives him the $20 in his pocket. Candido limps off and Delaney drives home. He feel terrible about what happens both for the man and the possible legal ramifications if he is to be reported as a hit and run driver. His lawyer/neighbour puts his mind at ease but he still thinks about the man and wonders if he survived.
Because of the accident, Candido isn’t able to try to find work for awhile. America goes to the “make-shift” work exchange for illegal’s, every day and finally finds work cleaning Buddha statues. However, one day on her way back to their camp site she gets stopped by 2 illegal immigrant men. They take her money and rape her. By then Candido is ready to work and he starts going on the daily walk to the exchange, leaving America at the camp site where he thinks she will be safe. 
At the same time, Delaney and Kyra are having problems of their own. A coyote gets into their yard and kills one of their dogs. Kyra is devastated. The strata has a meeting and Delaney interrupts it to tell people to stop leaving litter and food out. He believes that is what is attracting the coyotes to their neighbourhood. He gets kicked out of the meeting for being off topic.
Delaney and Kyra decided to have a chain-link fence in their yard but eventually another coyote jumps over it and kills their other dog right in front of them. One of the jobs Candido gets is to help put up a chain link fence. Yes, the same fence. Candido and Delaney don’t see each other then but they will see each other again, later in the story. Eventually their lives intertwine to a devastating way.
T.C. Boyle has a special relationship with words. He can write both short stories and novels equally well. I listed to the audio version of this book and Boyle was the reader. It rarely works for me when an author reads their own material. They don’t all have the gift of narration as well as the gift of words. Boyle has both! He made his characters come to life.
Boyle tackles ethical and political issues with respect and makes the reader feel compassion for both sides. I can hardly wait to read another novel and more short stories by T.C. Boyle.

4.5/5
Also reviewed by:

Caribousmom

Have you reviewed this book?  If so, please leave the link to your review in the comments and I will include it here.

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.