The Applique Handbook

I got a lovely package yesterday which had the book The Applique Book which is compiled by Casey York.  It was a giveaway  I won during a book blog hop from Sew How We Sew. Thank you to everyone involved for this great prize.

I normally do book reviews on my book review blog, but I haven't been updating it, even though I have a bunch of books I want to review.  So you don't have to go back and forth, I will tell you about the book here.

I really like this book, and not just because I got it for free.  The subtitle says 16 Quilt Projects; Learn from 21 innovative designers.  I really like that so many people were involved. It gives you a chance to learn a variety of styles and meet lots of new modern quilters.  It really shows the versatility of applique.  See the cover quilt - it is applique not pieced.

Anytime I sit on these steps, Zeus thinks it is time to get his belly rubbed. Be sure to rub his belly before you scroll down. Poor guy obviously doesn't get enough attention as he needs grooming.

 Most of the projects are really innovative.  They are not the same you see everywhere.  There are a couple of quilts that show the beauty of repetition and this is one of them.  The squirrel one on the cover is another. See how such a simple design can make such a big impact when it is repeated.

The quilts use different techniques too. You can try out a bunch and see what you like the best.  This one is reverse applique.   Just a pop of color adds so much to the quilt. The photographs are all gorgeous. You can see the quilting as well as the overall impact of the quilt.

 

This is one of my favorites.  It is more complicated to applique than some of the others, but the quilt is just gorgeous as is the setting for the photograph. The background is pieced and everything else is appliqued.

There is a little information about the designer in the gray box on the right.  There are also spreads of information about other designers who don't provide patterns, but do show lots of inspiring pictures.  When I first flipped through the book, this confused me, since I wanted to see how to make a particular quilt, but there was no pattern for it.  I looked forward and ahead to see what kind of pattern they did provide, and they didn't provide any pattern at all.  Now I see that these showcase designers have a gray bar around the page, but it isn't that obvious since there is gray throughout the book, including the profiles of the designers who did provide patterns.

The back cover does say there are projects from 12 designers and profiles of award-winning artists, and names them there.

I am glad that they did include these other designers, though, and the confusion is a minor issue that was readily remedied upon closer inspection.

Of course I had to show the circle quilt! Besides the beauty shot, there is a full spread picture of the quilt so you can see the whole thing. This one isn't innovative, except to make a large circle on an even larger background, but it is pretty, and is a great way to beautifully showcase your favorite fabric.

The book has 159 pages an there is a full size pattern sheet in the back.  You don't have to reduce or enlarge anything unless you want to change something.  The suggested retail price is $26.95 which I think is worth it to learn about a variety of techniques and a variety of different styles of quilting.

Crankiness

In my last post, I asked my readers to read a variety of books in order to get perspective and form your own reasoned opinion.  This book is one I would recommend to get a different perspective .A World Without Islam by Graham Fuller shows the history of the religions, and shows how some of the things that are attributed to Islam may not necessarily be accurate. It shows how the current war against terrorism really should not be a war against Islam. I haven't read very much of this book yet, because I am not a fan of politics or religious debate, and need some time to recover from the last book.  I got it from the library, so I don't need to review it.

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All right, enough religion and politics.  In quilting news, I have sewn on the binding to my simply squares quilt, and need to hand stitch it down.  I have also made a list of the next few Jane blocks I want to make.  When I first started, I worked on a few at a time, assembly style, making sure they all used a different fabric.  By doing them assembly style, each of the steps in the process - the cutting, sewing, pressing, logging onto spreadsheet, scanning - was much more efficient, and it made it easier to do several blocks at a time in one "project" instead of making each block its own project.

I haven't focused a lot on quilting.  Taking care of the dog, dealing with books that need to be reviewed, and doing general cleaning (shedding!) inside and outside is taking up my non-working time.


I bought some lawn furniture online, on sale and with a coupon, and the next day it was substantially cheaper at the same store.  I called the company which purports to have a price guarantee, and a no hassle return guarantee.  They said that since my new coupon is only for this week, they could not simply give me the price difference.  I would have to return the first order and rebuy the product.  I thought they could do that without them actually physically having to ship me a whole new package, but they (the representative and his supervisor) said they could not. They would have to ship me a whole new package.  Shipping is free, so they have to pay for additional shipping, and I have to return a 60 pound box to the store. This is a lose-lose proposition.  I explained to him that I am unwilling to carry 60 pounds, depending on whether it comes in one box or several, so I may have to open the box, and return the parts and pieces separately. He was fine with that.  Since the price difference is substantial, I decided to go ahead and process the order as they recommended.  When the UPS man came, he brought one big box.  I asked him to put it directly in my car, but it doesn't fit.

I was in a cranky mood the next day, and thought I should work from home and stay away from people.  I had two telemarketing people come to the door(one came twice), and one by phone,  and a relative came to inform me that she has involved me in a fight she was having with another relative.  I think I must have some magnet that radiates negative energy towards me. At least that day it was in full force.

I am fine now.  I have assembled the ottomans and the table of the lawn furniture and one of the two chairs, and I am happy with the set. I think I can get someone with a larger vehicle to help me take the other box back to the store.  The weather is getting better, and the house and the yard are slowly looking nicer. 

Radical Islam

The Fight of Our Lives: Knowing the Enemy, Speaking the Truth, and Choosing to Win the War Against Radical Islam by William J. Bennett and Seth Liebsohn talks about the bombings on 9/11 and the Fort Hood attack as examples of the way the United States has been soft and apologetic against the war on Radical Islam.

While I agree with some of the viewpoints, this book scares me, because I don't think the authors really distinguish the difference between the Muslims in general and the few radicals who are committing terrorists acts and justifying them in the name of a religion. There are lots of people of all religions who have committed terrorist acts in the name of a religion, i.e. the Ku Klux Klan.

Personally, I think that by calling this a war against a religion (or even the extremists in the religion), we are diluting what we are trying to set out to do. If a person who says he is a KKK member shoots an important person or a big group of people, we should absolutely go against that person. Also anyone who aided him/her, so maybe let's go after the gang. But if we go after that group, and all KKK groups in the state or the country, then it is going to be harder on our resources to take care of the original problem. I think we should have dealt with the original problem, and then expanded out to other problems.

And then if we go after all people in the town, state or , the U.S. or the entire world, who might have even stepped on the same sidewalk with any KKK member anywhere, then we are infringing on the rights of all those residents. Of course you have to interrogate even the ones who did not know the existence of any of the terrorists, just to be sure. Calling it a war against Radical Christianity will help you justify your cause, but somewhere along the line, it will become very easy to forget that just because they are from the same town or state or religion does not mean they are KKK members or have anything to do with that terrorist group.

I hope that we still remember the lessons we learned about the animosity against the Jews from World War II.  And the way we treated our Japanese residents after the war.

I was telling my SIL about this book, and she was surprised that I was willing to have anything to do with this book.  She thought that if I was opposed to a viewpoint, then I shouldn't be reading the book, and I certainly shouldn't be blogging about it and making others aware of the existence of the book.

One of the reasons this book bothers me, just like the other political books I have shown on this blog, is that it is such an extreme, biased point of view.  I don't think we should be fighting extremism with extremism. Some things the government did not catch before a terrorist act is due to the fact that hindsight makes them appear more serious and more clearly terrorist.  There are lots of facts in the book that I didn't know, and I am glad to know them now.  In fact, a lot of other book reviewers loved the book because of the facts they didn't know. I am wondering how many of the facts were spun out of recognition, and I know for sure that the other point of view was hidden. There were lots of important facts that I knew that weren't mentioned at all.

And speculations that were listed as clear facts. It isn't clear that the attack on Fort Hood was a terrorist attack and not by a lone gunman who had psychological problems. Wikipedia says " A year after the Fort Hood shooting, however, questions still lingered as to whether the incident was caused by mental health issues, and government agencies still had not officially linked Hasan to any radical terrorist groups." But the book uses it as a clear justification of why we can't let up on our war against Radical Islam.

But on the other hand, that is exactly why I do want to read it.  I want to know what people with varying viewpoints think, and hearing if from their own point of view is helpful.  I want to make sure that I know all sides of the story, and that the biased thinking I am hearing is offset by the biased thinking of the other side.  Yes, that leaves me more confused and not having a clear answer, but politics is never as clean as it is presented in these books.

It doesn't bother me that I am reading the book.  It bothers me that others might read the book and solely form their opinion based on it.  I say read the book, but only if you also read other viewpoints too so that eventually you can get a balanced view of what really happened.

I got this book for free from Thomas Nelson so  I could review it.

Review: Lies the Government Told You

Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History by Judge Andrew P. Napolitano talks about government and politics, and how things aren't as always as he thinks they should be.   The book jacket says it:

reveals how America's freedom, as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, has been forfeited by a government more protective of its own power than its obligations to preserve our individual liberties.

The book is broken down into 17 chapters and goes through a wide range of issues.
Lie #1 All Men are Created Equal
Lie #4 Every Vote Counts
Lie #15 We Don't Torture 

It reminds us that laws are created by a group of diverse people, who find ways to negotiate, and laws and beliefs that aren't always consistent with each other. It is a very opinionated book, and I don't know enough about all the topics to know if important information is being left out or spun in a way that it doesn't reflect reality. Although I did not agree with all of it, and didn't know whether to agree with some of it, I found it to be an informative and interesting read.

I got this book for free from Thomas Nelson in exchange for this review.

Review: Blind Hope

Blind Hope: An Unwanted Dog and the Woman She Rescued by Kim Meeder and Laurie Sacher is about a worker at the Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in Oregon who adopeds a dog from a shelter who winds up having more problems than originally imagined.  The dog was blind.  The veterinarian recommended and Laurie decided to keep the dog.  This story is about their relationship, and the Christian lessons Laurie (and presumably Kim) learned from it.

I personally had a hard time reading this short book.  There is a forward by Kim Meeder, and her style of writing is completely different from the writing in the main part of the book, even though the story is told from her viewpoint.  I imagine that Laurie is the one who did a lot of the editing. It just felt awkward reading someone describing themselves in the third person. Also I imagine that Laurie took writing classes, and did thorough editing to make sure the book followed all the rules that teachers tell you to do - choosing vivid words, showing detail, etc.   I think the writing classes were taken overboard and I found the writing awkward to read. Here's a random excerpt:

From atop my trusted horse, Ele, I looked over at Laurie, mounted on Lightfoot, a gray Arabian gelding. Lightfoot is the most balanced combination of what I like to call "gentle fire" - he'd become one of our most beloved horses on the ranch. The ease with which Laurie sat on him divulged that they were dear friends. Laurie's dark blue helmet drew out and deepened the color of her eyes, already framed by her sweeping eyelashes. The combination was simply lovely.

I got this book for free from Multnomah Books in exchange of this review.

Review: The Upside of Irrationality

The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home
 by Dan Ariely

The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely has been moved to Millionaire Tips.

Review: Love at Last Sight

Love at Last Sight: Thirty Days to Grow and Deepen Your Closest Relationships by Kerry and Chris Shook reminds us that while love at first sight is important, it is really the ongoing relationships that matter. What you do with and for your loved ones on a day to day basis is more important.  In 30 chapters, this book outlines steps to take in 30 days to develop a closer relationship with the people you care about. What I loved about this book is that it isn't just about romantic relationships. You don't even have to be having a problem with the other person, you just have to want to get closer to them. You can develop a closer relationship with a parent, a child, a friend, a sibling, or anyone else that you want to get closer.

Some of the steps are common sense, but when we get frustrated in a relationship, we have a tendency to forget the tools we already have to solve some of our relationship problems. And sometimes we don't make the effort to do the things we know we should be doing. This step-by-step program makes sure we don't skip the steps we think are "too hard." And the chapters convinced me that each step was worth doing.

This is a Christian book, and there are quotes from the Bible, as well as quotes from other sources in it.

I think 30 days is fast, especially with someone you don't see everyday. Some chapters may take you more time to digest and implement, but any step you take towards getting closer to a loved one is bound to reap rewards for both you and your loved one.


I really liked this book, and would recommend it.

I received this book for free from the publisher, Waterbrook Press, in exchange for an unbiased review.

Reading

I am really good at procrastinating, and when we had a snow "storm", I sat down and read a couple of books instead of following the to-do list.  It felt so good, and both of these books were wonderful.

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The book review of Shaking the Family Tree by Buzzy Jackson has been moved to Millionaire Tips on Hubpages.

Acts of Faith is written by Eboo Patel book review has been moved to Millionaire Tips.

Reading: Uncle Sam's Plantation

The welfare system has problems.  There are policies that are made to help, but wind up hurting the situation. They lose the incentive to solve their own problems.  And people use the system to what they think is their best advantage.  If you only get help if your electricity is shut off, there are people who will deliberately not pay their bill until their electricity is shut off, so that they can get the help.  There are cutoffs for certain programs.  I have experienced and know several people who, by making an effort to help themselves, have wound up ever so slightly over the cutoff for lots of help.  There are moral and ethical issues about which is better, so we decided that we are better off in helping ourselves, but not everybody makes that decision.

On the other hand, there are people who did wind up getting into situations where they need temporary help.  If you got laid off, or had a major health crisis, then it seems like a little help is appropriate.  Chances are, that if you are financially disadvantaged, your friends and family members are also living on a shoestring, and would be less able to help you.  It is a complex, sticky situation. While there is a lot people can do to help themselves, there are some conditions that some people are born with that are beyond their control.  How do you help people that need help without making them dependent or tempt them to work the system to get the most they can?

In my view, there aren't any clear, simple solutions.  But we do need to find solutions, so a book that purports to provide them sounds like a worthy read.

I got the book Uncle Sam's Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It by Star Parker from Booksneeze. It is about how the "government manipulates, controls and ultimately devastates the lives of the poor."  The title was very intriguing.  I was expecting to learn more about what was wrong with the welfare system, and what she thought were plausible solutions.  I was trying to imagine what life would be like if there was no welfare.

A book that talks about different aspects of the system, and explains what is wrong with it, and suggests a better alternative for that aspect would have been nice.

I am having a hard time figuring out how to discuss this book without talking about politics.  This book obviously espouses the Republican philosophy, and is anti-Democrats.   I personally don't choose between either Democratic or Republican philosophy - I like parts of both.  The world isn't black and white, and it seems like you have to see it as such when you choose one.

It was a rambling book - talking about the difficulties of defining poverty, stating that raising the minimum wage meant either raising prices or laying off people, problems with her mother working while on social security, education, health insurance, etc.  I was struck by the fact that there were some facts that were pointed out without any citations, and but mostly it was conjectures that were purported to be facts without any evidence. There are no footnotes or bibliography.  There were also Republican philosophies that had nothing to do with the subject of the book.

She talks about the changing face of America, with fewer people getting married, more out-of-wedlock babies, etc., but doesn't state how this should affect policies.  I think the implication is that all of these things are a result of Democrat philosophies, and somehow going back to the old ways would be best, although she doesn't say how that could be accomplished.

I was looking forward to the "What We Can Do About It" part of the book, which was at the very end, but it seems like the only recommendation was "A bold Republican agenda." 

The book was interesting enough, but it is basically an Anti-Democrat book, and there were no realistic solutions. It spent so much time complaining and not enough time explaining how her way would be better.

I received this book for free from Booksneeze in exchange for my review. You can click on the link to read more reviews on this book.

Book Review: Chocolate Rabbit

Petra Sabine Manning, the author of Chocolate Rabbit, was born in Germany and moved to the United States. Her book is about a girl who was born in Germany and moved to the United States, and is loosely based on her life, so I figured I would get an authentic view of such a transition from someone who had been there. In the story, Nikki goes back to Europe for a job opportunity and learns to reconcile her past with her present. I don't know very much about German history, especially not from a German perspective, and learned a bit from the book. The book is very well written. I wanted to know more about Nikki, her life in America, and her life in Germany, and more about the chocolate rabbit analogy. I wanted to know more about German history. The book goes back and forth between the past and present, and does it well. It is not a suspense book, but it is suspenseful, and the author did leave us wanting to know more throughout the book.

This is a very good book. Only little things bothered me, and that had to do with transitions during the same time period. For example, we know that the family is visiting various people to pass out presents. However, it starts talking about the next visit, when you don't know they left the first family. It isn't hard to figure out the change of scenery, but it takes a second.

The other thing had to do with people's names. I have a hard time with names in general, even in a book with few characters. And sometimes the sudden name changes (Vati, Karl, and Herr Groebel all being the same person) and the appearance of new characters without warning kept on my toes. I understand that Vati probably means father, and Karl is his first name and Herr Groebel probably means Mr. Groebel, so they do make sense, but they were difficult for me to keep track of them all nonetheless.

I got this book from Dorrance Publishing, Inc. in exchange for this review.

Genealogy and Quilting

I've known in my heart that genealogy and quilting go together.  But there isn't a family history of quilting, so I don't have any personal experience.

I got Philena's Friendship Quilt from the library.  The author of this book, Lynda Salter Chenoweth takes an album quilt she bought in California, and researches the people who signed it to figure out the story of the quilt.  Very good detective work.  She managed to find pictures and lots of great records.  There is a pattern in the back on how to make this quilt too.

I also found out that a reknowned genealogist, Myrt, now has a blog that combines these two passions.  I look forward to seeing what she does with it.

Review: You Changed My Life

This is a small book, with beautiful pictures, and short (1-4 pages), inspiring stories and Bible quotes throughout.  There is even a page where you can write who you are giving the book to, and how they changed your life.  I think the idea of getting a gift like this, even if it is a crappy book would be sweet.  But it isn't a crappy book.

The heartwarming stories are divided into these sections:  love, kindness, commitment, compassion, hope, courage, wisdom and friendship. Sometimes it is nice to take the time to make connections.  Instead of thinking about the day to day grind, and the list of things to do, we can pause and think about what really matters in life, and thank the people who have made a difference.

Many of the stories are about Christians and Christianity.  All of the stories have already been published in other books by Max Lucado. Since I haven't read any of his other books, this did not bother me, but I would imagine that someone expecting new stories might be disappointed.  Unless they are really happy that their favorite stories made it in the book.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson, through their Booksneeze program, in exchange for this review.

Edited to add:  Another review pointed out that the cover page includes the following note:  "One hundred percent of the author royalties from this book will benefit children and families through World Vision and other ministries of faith-based compassion."

Book Review: Same Kind of Different as Me

This is a true story about a homeless drifter, Denver Moore, who was a sharecropper, and a wealthy man, Ron Hall, who became an art dealer. They met through a woman named Debbie and wrote this book together. This one doesn't have the editing problems that the other book had. The book alternates talking about each of the two main characters, and goes through the history of their lives. There is a third main character - "the unlikely woman who bound them together", and although she was discussed in passing in the first fifteen chapters, she didn't seem all that unlikely.

The history is interesting enough, but it seems like there is only one suspense here, and that is, when do they meet and what they have in common? Maybe it is just my antsy mood this summer, but frankly, after fifteen chapters, I got tired of waiting, and decided that what they might have in common wasn't all that compelling. There are pictures in the back of the book, which told me the answer, and it is what I expected. This is a New York times bestseller, and supposed to be a really inspirational story, and maybe it is for some people. but I think it is one of those things that get so hyped up - a NYT bestseller and Barbara Bush even liked the book - that it can't live up to the hype, at least not for me.

I got this book from Thomas Nelson in exchange of my review.

Book Review: An American Bride

I haven't been able to post positive reviews for the books I have received so far from Dorrance. The books are okay, but these are small authors who haven't been published before, and for the most part, the books haven't been edited very well. I chose this book because it was one of their more popular books, and because it seems like an interesting story. It is about a young Saudi who travels to America for his education, and attempts to escape the overbearing culturally and religiously strict father. He meets a Christian woman he wants to marry.

Just like the Amish story, it is written by someone who isn't a part of the culture. The author, Fidelia Moore Parker,  is a Christian who lived in a predominantly Moslem community in Nigeria, but writes about Saudi Arabia and America.

This book has a few grammatical and typographical errors, and the writing was very awkward. I didn't enjoy reading it, and I decided to not to finish it. It explained things more than showed it, especially the bad treatment of women. Here's a quote I found especially humorous.

"Well, that ain't what I've seen. Get your dirty tobacco foul breath and your loser buddies off my premises before I have y'all picked up for trespassing. Y'all aren't my customers here. For starters, y'all got no money, and second of all y'all are harassing my customers. So, y'all better be be gone before you wish y'all were never here. Be gone like bugs be gone, before I blink my eyes go on."

I got this book from Dorrance Publishing, Inc. in exchange for this review.

Reading: A Summer Secret

I went to Booksneeze to order a new book, but it turns out that I forgot to do a review of the book I had already read. This is the young adult book I mentioned in my last book review.

A Summer Secret by Kathleen Fuller is a young adult novel about an 13-year-old Amish girl who has three brothers. She spends time in an old abandoned barn on a neighboring property to get some peace and quiet, away from all of her chores, even though her father has explicitly told her to stay away from the dilapidated abandoned structure. It turns out that there is evidence that someone else has been there. The book is about what happens that summer with this stranger. The stranger turns out to be a foster kid who was abused by the foster parents.

It was a fun book to read, and I had a hard time putting it down to do my own chores. The book does teach values - the children were kind to the stranger, and to each other. This book follows the same formula that all children's and young adult books and shows seem to have lately - that whatever the children find, they tend to keep it a secret from their parents. I found that a disturbing trend in books, because I don't think that is good advice for children. My daughter kept a lot of secrets, and it makes me wonder how much of that was the modeling of the characters she saw in books and shows. I can't fault this particular author for this trend though, because it does make the book more exciting - ooh a secret!

Disobeying parents, and keeping secrets, and not seeking out the parents' help just don't seem to be values I want for my kid. Also it bothered me that the stranger was abused by his foster parents. Yes, I am sure that it does happen, but it seems that every fiction I read about foster parents is that the parents abuse the kid. I certainly hope that doesn't happen in reality. I know I didn't abuse my foster kids, and I am sure that most of the parents are well meaning, and do it to help the child. There is no pay in it, just reimbursement for costs and expenses.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: Art of the Mental Patient

Having finished a young adult novel, I decided to try something more grownup. Dorrance has a large variety of books to choose from, and this one seemed interesting to me. I majored in psychology in college, and have watched several movies where the psychologist / teacher found meaning in childrens' drawings. I have always been fascinated with what kind of meaning psychologists found when looking at drawings.

It is a fascinating topic and I am glad that it is being studied and written about. What does it mean when a person chooses a certain color scheme, or draws jagged lines, or grotesque figures, or horrid dramatic scenes?

This book was written at a graduate degree level. Which means, since I was going from reading a young adult novel, I had to really focus to understand what I was reading. Also, the author was born and raised in Jamaica, then studied in Europe (France and England). I think the cultural differences might also have lead to some of the difficulties I had in understanding the text. I understood the sentences for the most part, but the logic seemed confusing to me. References to other psychologists seemed to be fleeting, and it has been a while since I've studied them, so I didn't always remember what that other famous psychologist said about a particular topic.

I did not like the layout of the book. The art - the drawings are at the back of the book, and I think they would have been better if they had been spaced throughout the book, used as examples, and presented larger and in color. Or at least page or plate number references, so I could see the actual picture being discussed. I am sure it is harder to properly place the drawings throughout the text, and maybe more expensive, but I think it would be worth the effort. A book about art shouldn't have the art as an afterthought in the back of the book.

Once I got over those two reservations, though, I really liked the book. I learned a lot about how art is interpreted and used in treating mental patients. I especially enjoyed reading the case studies.

When people find out I was a psychology major, it makes them nervous, because they are afraid I will psychoanalyze them. I'd rather let them stay nervous, so I don't tell them I can't, because I have no idea how. I know how they feel, though. When I am quilting, especially stippling, I always wonder what kind of meaning people will find in my doodles. They are just shapes, really, based simply on which way was easier to move the quilt sandwich. Don't look for meaning.

I received a complimentary copy of Art of the Mental patient and Its Functions as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

Weekend Update

Twice already, we have hosted a Japanese student through my daughter's high school's student exchange program. Last week, my daughter sent me an email that she wanted to participate again this year. Last year's program was canceled due to flu concerns.

I decided that maybe I should forgo another quilting marathon and do some spring cleaning. I had originally thought I would wait until this project at work is finished, but the program starts right when this project ends.

I have to admit that I think I got more cleaning done in each of my quilting marathons than I did this weekend. Fitting in some cleaning in a quilting marathon is pretty easy. Fitting in cleaning during a cleaning marathon, not so much. Of course it didn't help that I found this book on the library's website while I was looking for something else.

In The Fortune Quilt, a quiltmaker makes quilts that are waiting for a particular recipient she hasn't met yet. When she meets them, she gives them the quilt, along with their fortune. Seems like it could be a series, but it isn't. The fortune and quilt is given to this woman whose life is about to change drastically. The quiltmaker stays in the story, as a supporting role. It's a witty book. It isn't what you would expect from a fictional book about quilts, because most of then tend to be more politically correct. In this one, there is cursing, a Wiccan, a gay couple, a transgendered person, etc. I really enjoyed the book.

I want to order more books by Lani Diane Rich, but I think I'd better wait until I've done some serious cleaning.

Book Review: Money Answer Book

"Personal finance is 80% behavior and only 20% head knowledge" according to the quote on the back of the book. The Money Answer Book by Dave Ramsey helps you gain the 20% knowledge and helps you work on your 80% behavior so you can straighten out your finances. It's a small book, 170 pages, which is formatted in short, bite-sized question and answer sections, and very easy to read language. Taking care of money isn't hard, but you do have to be willing to make the effort.

It is a good beginner book for people who haven't focused on their finances, and need to start from the basics. He creates guiding principles that should work for most people, so that there is a framework upon which to base your financial actions. The rest of the chapters contain more details, even though there isn't in depth detail on any particular topic.

Since the book is for everyone, and not customized it to the individual, it does have some advice that might not be as sound for each person. For example, he says to pay off your smallest debt first. This way there is a win, and you can see progress. Personally, I don't need the small win, and paying off the highest interest rate loan would pay off all the debt faster. Some people are able to see the long term effects (and are geeky enough to create spreadsheets to see how many months they are shaving off the loan.) But paying off debt is a good thing, no matter the order, and depending on the size of your small loan, having one less debt to keep track of could help too, especially if it prevents the possibility of another late fee.

This would be a good book to gift to a newly married couple, or to a young person just starting out life on their own. Even if they don't read the whole book, they could get enough questions answered without having to admit to anyone that they don't know something.

I got the book for free from Thomas Nelson publishers in exchange for an unbiased review.

Book Review: Rhyming Pretzels

I decided to try a different publisher for my book reviews. Dorrance Publishing sells a larger variety of books, mostly from new authors. The book I chose was Rhyming Pretzels, The Word-Play Game with a Comical Twist by D. R. Curtis.

The concept is pretty simple, you make a paragraph or story, around 5 sentences long, using as many words as you can that rhyme. The word pretzel is supposed to have a comical, surprise, thoughtful or insightful twist. There are lots of pages, with lots of space for you to add your pretzel. On each page, she provides you with lists of words that rhyme to get you started.

It is an interesting concept, and she does say that we have to use our mind actively and be positive in creating these pretzels. Personally I find it pretty intimidating to create my own comical twists. And I think it would have been useful to have bought a rhyming dictionary instead of having them provided in this format.

I think it would be great for people who work with words, or who are witty, or enjoy playing word games and want to try something different.

I received a complimentary copy of Rhyming Pretzels as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

Book Review: If I Could Ask God Anything

This book has a lot of different questions that children ask, and provide parents with answers so they can sound like they know what they are talking about. There are cute questions like "Does God ever sleep?", to knowledge questions, "What is Lent?", to real life questions, "Why do people have to die?" They are answered in simple, easy to understand language, and provide good guidance for both the children and the parents.

I do have to admit that after reading the Islam book, this book did irk me in little ways. Let me give you a couple of examples. In the question, "What's the biggest difference between Christianity and other religions?," the answer was

Christianity is not just another religions that teaches about God. Christianity is a religion centered on having a personal relationship with God. This is possible because Christians believe that God is alive. God is real. God has a special plan for the world and for each person in it.
Most important, Christians believe that God loves the world and all the people in it (John 3:16). God loves you!

That's the whole answer. First of all, it doesn't really answer the question. And there is an implication that people in the other religions don't center on having a personal relationship with God, which is absolutely not true.

Another example, in a similar vein. The question is "Can I have friends who aren't Christians?" The answer:

Yes, it is possible to be friends with people who do not know Jesus. God loves all His children. God wants us to love everyone too. At the same time, it is important to remember that because we are human, we are easily influenced by others. Good friends can be a good influence. Bad friends can be a bad influence.

It is absolutely true that there can be good friends and bad friends, but it seemed irksome that that warning was put right there, again because of the implication. There can be good and bad friends of any religion.

It is a good book, but as with any book about any topic that deal with answers for children, you may want to read them first and be sure you agree with them before you read them to your child, and / or supplement them with information of your own.

Full disclosure: Thomas Nelson provided me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.