#50BookPledge Book 7 The Kings Speech

The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi from Penguin Books 2010 was my 7th read in the 2012 #50BookPledge.  I picked the King's Speech as my next read by accident.  I have wanted to read it for a while, but had not gotten around to it.  Since I was caught up on my book club reads and had no physical books on hand I opted to download it from my local library.

I took me three days to read The King's Speech as it was a well written book with an even pace to it.  Although technically a biography about Lionel Logue, the speech therapist of George VI, it contained a great deal about the Royals and the history of the time.  I learned a great deal while reading The King's Speech that I didn't know. 

Overall The King's Speech was the perfect read for my weekend and I am looking forward to seeing the movie.

#50BookPledge Book 6 The Darlings

The Darlings by Cristina Alger from Penguin Books 2012

This review almost wrote itself and didn't feel like I was forcing it.  I received an ARC of The Darlings from Penguin Canada and have been looking for an opportunity to read it for the last little while.

When you hear a title like The Darlings and see the cover of this novel you expect it to be set during the late 19th and early 20th century during the Gilded age in the United States.  I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case.  The Darlings is a refreshing contemporary novel with the backdrop being the on-going financial turmoil on Wall Street that started in 2007.

This is a novel I had trouble putting down and was captivated by the storyline.  It is a story of intrigue and suspense with lots of unexpected turns.  The characters have a depth that is equal to their role and the interconnecting relationships add to the complexity of the story.  I am passing the book my husband to read, something I rarely do.

Overall the book was a good read but I found the epilogue out of place and would have preferred it not be there.

#50BookPledge Count on Yourself

Book 5 Count on Yourself (Take Charge of Your Money) by Alison Griffiths from Touchstone – a Division of Simon and Schuster.

Alison's latest book, Count on Yourself was the January Yummy Mummy Book Club pick. One thing that sets Alison apart from other finance authors is her style isn't my way or the highway, but rather she works on becoming your friend or confidant.

Count on Yourself is written by a Canadian for Canadians and was released when a number of us are looking at our RRSPs in the ramp up to tax season. The book is an easy read with lots of tips for you to manage your investments. Each of the four sections of the book covers a specific step in getting you to be your own money manger. I also like that Alison uses example of everyday people from all walks of life including her own experiences.

Part 1 talks about how we are willing to share almost all aspects of our life with our girlfriends, but the second the conversation turns to money, even a simple question that doesn't require you to share dollar amounts, we clam up. She doesn't get into the psychology of this but rather discusses that we have to talk about it so that we can learn about it and become proficient in managing our investments with very little time investment on our part. This section really drives home that we are not alone.

The second part deals with putting our financial closet in order. Not so much how to get control over debts, etc, but cataloguing the financial instruments and what we know about each item. The goal of this exercise is to make you aware of what you have and see if there are ways to trim what you need to managing (by having fewer items) to make things simpler. It was an interesting exposes and even the accountant in me hadn't previously considered such an inventory. I especially liked the idea of streamlining your user name and passwords for all aspects of your life, as much as is possible.

I felt that parts 3 and 4went together well, summing up the whole book. Not only do you need to make a plan before you take action but you need to have that plan in place so that once you take action you can reflect making sure you are doing as planned or make necessary changes. Those changes could be to your original plan or to keep your action on track with your plan. The examples and explanations in these two sections go along way to help anyone take control of their investments.

Count on Yourself (Take Charge of Your Money) is well worth the read if you want to understand your investments and take a more active role in understanding them. It has given me food for thought and I'm hoping to get my husband to read it. My problem is that the book reads as though it was written for women rather than both sexes so I'm not sure it will hold a guy's interest.

#50BookPledge Book 4 No Cry Picky Eater

The No Cry Picky Eater Solution by Elizabeth Pantley from McGraw Hill Ryerson, 2012

I admit I am one of those parents who, prior to reading this book, considered daughter to be a picky eater. Of particular concern to me is the lack of meat her diet and the overall volume of food she does or rather doesn't consume.

I have read Ms. Pantley's books in the past and used her methods with other challenges with great success. The same is true of the No Cry Picky Eater Solution which starts off telling you that what you consider to be picky eating is probably normal and your child will outgrow it before they are 8.

There were a ton of practical suggestions in the book to cover all kinds of families and situations. The biggest thing for me was getting a handle on appropriate portion sizes. There is a handy chart I hope to post somewhere in my kitchen as a reminder so I'm not surprised when my daughter only eats a quarter of a hamburger.

Another really helpful suggestion for our house was to wait 15 minutes between finishing the first helping of food or presenting dessert to give your child a chance to learn their own hunger/full cues.

As with all the other No Cry Solution books The No Cry Picky Eater Solution reminds the parent to step back and make the dinner table a friendly place to be not a battleground. I really enjoyed this book and am already seeing results with my intrepid child.

#50BookPledge Book 3 The Virgin Cure

Yesterday morning I received a copy of The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay from a friend of mine.  It was the book of the month for the Yummy Mummy Book Club and I was eager to start reading it so I could actively participate in the discussion. Anyhow in just over 24 hours I have complete book!

I generally enjoy historical fiction because I usually learn something I didn't know before or am able to relate to other books I've read and The Virgin Cure didn't fail me.  From the very beginning of the novel Ms. McKay presents a detailed description of the slum conditions in New York City during the late 19th century.  With her attention to these details she is able to better draw the reader into the story making you feel as though if not part of the action at least an observer with a front row seat. 

In addition to the lead character of Moth, who you can't help but feel how badly she wants to be loved, the secondary characters are well developed making the story that much more authentic.  Ms. McKay keeps the reader engaged throughout the story with twist and turns that are meant to move the story forward. 

The Virgin Cure is well written complete with side bars that add information about the time period to the reader.  Unfortunately, the myth of The Virgin Cure still persist today only instead of curing syphilis it is thought to cure HIV AIDS.  Furthermore the idea of children being forced to become adults before their time is something you can find in different parts of the country/world today.

A definite read for anyone interested in historical fiction written by a Canadian author.

#50BookPledge Book 2 Madame Tussaud

Review of Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran from Broadway Paperbacks 2011

This is very extensive history of one famous woman's life during the extremely turbulent French Revolution. I found the time line of the French Revolution and list of key characters at the start of the novel helpful as I moved through the book. The additional information at the end of the novel starting with After the Revolution clarified lingering questions and brought the book full circle.

My initial thoughts was that there were way to many small chapters, however, upon reading the novel I found that these divisions corresponded to the major events of the Revolution. As I read the book I found these smaller chapters allowed for more detail making it easier to understand what was happening.

Ms Moran does a wonderful job of creating tension early. She explores what it is like to have to live your life in both camps in order to ensure that you don't insult anyone or lose your station. Marie and her family negotiate the political atmosphere exceptionally well without forsaking their principals.

I don't know much about the French Revolution so this was a nice introduction to an important historical event. Ms. Moran did a great deal of research and provided lots of information to help the reader learn while still enjoying the book. As I was reading I found lots of similarities between the French Revolution and both the America War of Independence and the Civil War where families were divided depending on loyalties.

The use of a female lead character as well as several of the supporting characters being female made for an interesting perspective on the situation. I was disappointed that the focus was on the events in Paris and not what happened outside of the capital.

Overall this was a good book and I am looking forward to reading more of Michelle Moran's books.

#50BookPledge Book 1 The Secret Life of Stuff

I am trying to read 50 books during 2012 which works out to roughly one book a week.  My rules are flexible and audio books are included.  I've also decided that if I don't like a book I've borrowed from the library I'm not going to force myself to finish it because there are a lot of great books out there just waiting for me to find them  Well enough about the challenge, here is my first review.

Review of The Secret Life of Stuff: A Manual for a New Material World written by Julie Hill, released by Random House UK, January 2011.

I have a casual interest in books that challenge me to think about how I can live a less resource heavy lifestyle. The Secret Life of Stuff: A Manual for a New Material World (The Secret Life of Stuff) was just that kind of book, forcing me to really think about the world around me and the resources consumed. This wasn't your typical “green living” book that discussed ways to reduce your individual impact on the World by only buying/consuming natural products, but rather an all encompassing overview of both the natural and synthetic. The primary message of this book is that we need to be aware of where the stuff we consume comes from and what will happen to that same stuff when we no longer have a use for it. I really enjoyed The Secret Life of Stuff and spent a great deal of time discussing several of the issues presented with other people.

Ms Hill promotes the concepts of reduce and reuse over recycle as the latter is fraught with issues the least of which is finding markets for the products ready to be recycled. She covers how household waste diversion is the norm, but that business and industry aren't held to the same standards even though the results would be much greater.

The Secret Life of Stuff tackles the question many consumers who are trying to make a difference asks – How much difference can one person/family make? There are several examples in the book that explain this and in reality it depends on the item in question.

The Secret Life of Stuff explores why “natural” isn't always the best choice as illustrated by the analysis of cotton. This is one of the most resource intensive crops and even if you can find organic cotton, chances are that is has some negatives associated with it as well. This isn't to say that the author doesn't find value in some “natural” products including bio-plastics, created from food crops or better yet food waste. Instead it is just that all of the inputs need to be considered.

The Secret Life of Stuff is a really well written, easy to read book that forces the reader to think about the things in our World, the environmental costs, disposal and everything in the middle. It is a proponent of products being created with the end of life for that product considered at the time of manufacture and therefore best able to be recycled. For anyone who is looking for an introduction into the social environmental issues facing the global community I recommend this book. If you want to know more when done reading it Ms Hill has an extensive list of her sources (98 pages worth in my e-edition).

Random Read Historical Fiction Challenge

 

So I have to read one of these books:

The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak (Available January 3. Check out the video trailer!)
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich
The Salt Road by Jane Johnson
Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
Anything in the Outlander or Lord John series by Diana Gabaldon (If you haven’t met Jamie Fraser yet, are you ever in for a treat!)

I wish I could do the last, but sadly I've read all the Outlander Series and can't seem to get interested in the Lord John Series.

The Virgin Cure is probably the easiest since it is the book for Yummy Mummy Club Book Club this month and I can borrow it from a friend.

Definitely looking forward to the challenge.