Book Review and Giveaway - Splenda: The World of Sweet Drinks

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

I received Splenda World of Sweet Drinks: Recipes for Homemade Shakes, Punches, Hot Drinks, and More as a gift a few months ago when I hosted a Splenda themed party in my home. From the moment I saw it I became thirsty, I thought I was dehydrated because every single picture made me want to dig through my kitchen for the ingredients or even go out to the grocery store if they couldn't be found in the house.
I looked through the book a few days later and the same thing happened, every drink in the book looked delicious so this time I picked a few to try and after a little mixing I started pouring. Every single recipe I have tried from this book has been wonderful, the cold drinks, the hot ones, it doesn't matter they are all great. I've even served a few at parties I have had since.
Try Fizzy Lemonade (pictured on cover), the Frozen Almond Cappuccino and the Elegant Eggnog or you could just flip to any page, make whatever drink you land on and enjoy, I'm sure you will.

The Giveaway:
I am going to giveaway two Splenda gift packs. Both have a 76 Splenda Recipe Card Collection book (each recipe is on a sturdy tear-out card with color picture)and a stirring spoon, then one pack comes with a sample box of Splenda and the other one comes with a set of measuring spoons and cups. Two lucky readers will each win one gift pack.



How To Enter:
1. Leave a comment on this post, yep that's it just tell me what you think about this post/giveaway and you will get one entry.

2. Tweet about this giveaway, then leave another comment here with the url to each tweet. You can do this as many times as you like. That's right there is no limit on the number of entries you can earn this way. Just remember for each time you tweet it, return here and leave a comment with the url to the tweet so I can verify if you are the winner.

3. Comment on any other post on my blog, then come back here and leave a comment on this post letting me know you did and which other post you commented on. You can also do this one as many times as you like, one entry per other post that you comment on. Just remember to leave a separate comment here for every comment you leave on another post.

The Rules:
1. An email address is required so leave it with your comment (This is how I will contact the winners)
2. Two winners will be chosen using random.org
3. The winners will be contacted via email and will have 2 days to reply before a new winner is chosen.
4. Open to US address'
5. Ends on 11/20/09 @ 10PM CST. Good Luck!!!



Currently "Reading":
E-Book - The Wife's Guide to In-Laws by Jenna D. Barry
Book - Critical Mass by Kathleen M. Henry
Audio - None right now I just finished Pride, Prejudice and Zombies (review to come soon)

Book Review - Lorax, The Sweetest Fig and Stellaluna

Saturday, November 7, 2009

here are three more books that I finished during the Read-A-Thon. To make this process go smoother and faster because I have a lot of these older children's books to catch up on I am going to post the synopsis from amazon and then some quick thoughts from me for each title.

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Synopsis:

The now remorseful Once-ler--our faceless, bodiless narrator--tells the story himself. Long ago this enterprising villain chances upon a place filled with wondrous Truffula Trees, Swomee-Swans, Brown Bar-ba- loots, and Humming-Fishes. Bewitched by the beauty of the Truffula Tree tufts, he greedily chops them down to produce and mass-market Thneeds. ("It's a shirt. It's a sock. It's a glove. It's a hat.") As the trees swiftly disappear and the denizens leave for greener pastures, the fuzzy yellow Lorax (who speaks for the trees "for the trees have no tongues") repeatedly warns the Once-ler, but his words of wisdom are for naught. Finally the Lorax extricates himself from the scorched earth (by the seat of his own furry pants), leaving only a rock engraved "UNLESS." Thus, with his own colorful version of a compelling morality play, Dr. Seuss teaches readers not to fool with Mother Nature. But as you might expect from Seuss, all hope is not lost--the Once-ler has saved a single Truffula Tree seed! Our fate now rests in the hands of a caring child, who becomes our last chance for a clean, green future.

Quick Thoughts:

I love Dr. Seuss, his stories have heart with a point and they are fun to read, The Lorax is no different.

The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg

Synopsis:

Van Allsburg swings back into his most mystifying mode with this enigmatic, visually sophisticated tale of Monsieur Bibot, a "very fussy" French dentist who is given a pair of magic figs as a form of payment by an impoverished patient. The fruit, he's told, has the power to make dreams come true. The pragmatic Bibot scoffs at this, of course, but learns otherwise after eating one. Accordingly, he makes plans to use the second fig to become the richest man on earth (and to ditch Marcel, his oppressed terrier, for a string of Great Danes). The images in the book are unsettling, even ominous: Bibot lurking in a doorway with a rolled-up newspaper, ready to punish Marcel; Bibot gleefully clutching a pair of pliers as he prepares to extract an old woman's tooth; a frowning Bibot standing, fists clenched in anger, as his patient offers him the figs instead of cash. The dentist is a thoroughly unsympathetic character; readers will rejoice when the long-suffering Marcel gobbles the second magic fig and, in a poetically just ending, reverses the master-slave relationship. The sepia-toned illustrations are classic Van Allsburg, offering a visual study that is downright psychological; the artwork's spare lines and clean surfaces reflect the obsessively orderly Bibot's nature. Adults will appreciate Van Allsburg's acuity, while many children will relish the darker aspects of his story.

Quick Thoughts:

The illustrations alone are worth picking up this book, they are beautiful. My son was entranced though he did not get the twist at the end of the story. At just under 3 years old it is a little deep for him but he enjoyed listening to the story and looking at the pictures even if he didn't quite understand every part.



Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Synopsis:

Baby bat Stellaluna's life is flitting along right on schedule--until an owl attacks her mother one night, knocking the bewildered batlet out of her mother's loving grasp. The tiny bat is lucky enough to land in a nest of baby birds, but her whole world has just turned upside down. Literally. Stellaluna's adoptive bird mom accepts her into her nest, but only on the condition that Stellaluna will act like a bird, not a bat. Soon Stellaluna has learned to behave like a good bird should--she quits hanging by her feet and starts eating bugs. But when she finally has an opportunity to show her bird siblings what life as a bat is like, all of them are confounded. "How can we be so different and feel so much alike?" one asks. "And how can we feel so different and be so much alike?" asks another. "I agree," Stellaluna responds. "But we're friends. And that's a fact." Anyone who has ever been asked to be someone they're not will understand the conflicts--and possibilities--Stellaluna faces.

Quick Thoughts:

When I worked at Barnes and Noble customers would request this book time and again singing it's praises so I know there are going to be some people who can't believe this but...I didn't get it. I mean I understood the story but it didn't move me in the way it seems to have moved so many others.

Currently "Reading":
Magazine - newest issue of Budget Travel
Book - A Wife's Guide to In-laws: How to Gain Your Husband's Loyalty Without Killing His Parents by Jenna D. Barry
Audio - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Book Review Clovis Crawfish and His Friends and Clovis Crawfish and the Petit Papillion

Friday, November 6, 2009

Ok these are a couple more book which I checked out from the library for the Read-A-Thon but these are different because I didn't actually get around to reading these during the actual Read-A-Thon.

Clovis Crawfish and Petit Papillon follows Clovis (who I am guessing you know is a crawfish) as he watches a catepillar turn into a butterfly. At first he is worried because his dear friend, Bertile the butterfly's baby doesn't look like her but with patience he sees that the baby is just as beautiful as his Mother.


Clovis Crawfish and His Friends has a bit more adventure in the Louisiana bayou as Clovis Crawfish tries to prevent M'sieu Blue Jay from making a meal out of his friend Gaston Grasshopper.

I didn't love these books and neither did my son. Their are a lot of cajun (which is kind of French) words mixed in through the book which makes it pretty hard to read for someone who is neither cajun or a French speaker so I could never get a good flow going having to pause on every page to figure out the pronunciation of a word. I think for someone who either speaks French or has a child who loves these books and so reads them over and over they would be great but for me they just didn't stick.


Currently "Reading":
Magazine - newest issue of Budget Travel
Book - A Wife's Guide to In-laws: How to Gain Your Husband's Loyalty Without Killing His Parents by Jenna D. Barry
Audio - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Book Review - Dinosaur Time and Mr. Putter & Tabby Feed the Fish

Finally I am getting around to finishing the reviews of the books I read during the Read-A-Thon. Here are two that both myself and my son just loved, the first is Dinosaur Time by Peggy Parish and the second is Mr. Putter & Tabby Feed the Fish by Cynthia Rylant.


The fact that my son loved Dinosaur Time was not a big surprise to me, he has recently discovered the new PBS show Dinosaur Train and has been rapidly developing a love for the large lizards. This is a great introductory to Dinosaurs for any young person looking to learn about the real creatures that used to roam the Earth. Each page is dedicated to a different dinosaur with a great illustration and paragraph about the dinosaur such as it's eating habits and distinctive features as well as a pronunciation guide so you can sound like Dr. Scott the Paleontologist (From Dino Train). Dinosaur Time is a Reading Rainbow Book and gets two big thumbs up.


Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish is a fun, friendly book. It makes me want to use the word wholesome, but not in a disgusting sticky sweet kind of way but in a true life that's just a good guy kind of way. I want to reach into the book and pinch Mr. Putter's cheeks while simultaneously giving him a big hug. This tale of an older man and his pet cat, Tabby purchasing some fish then having to ultimately give them away to their neighbour because of Tabby's fish problem (bat, bat, bat) also speaks to my son who loves pointing out the fish and the kitty and was actually able to read a few of the chapter titles. Another two thumbs up, I will be picking up more Mr. Putter and Tabby adventures at the library soon.

These aren't new books, Dinosaur Time was published in 1983 and Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish in 2002 but they stand the test of time.

Currently "Reading":
Magazine - November issue of Good Housekeeping
Book - A Wife's Guide to In-laws: How to Gain Your Husband's Loyalty Without Killing His Parents by Jenna D. Barry
Audio - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Book Review - Tales of Oliver Pig and Frog and Toad Together/Read-a-Thon Recap

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

During the Read-a-Thon I read a lot of kids books for the simple reason that I have a kid, a 2 year old to be exact and if there was any way I was going to get any reading done I was going to have to compromise on content. With that in mind two of the books I read were Tales of Oliver Pig: Level 2 (Easy-to-Read, Puffin) by Jean Van Leeuwen with pictures by Arnold Lobel and Frog and Toad Together (I Can Read Book 2) by Arnold Lobel.

I really enjoyed reading the five tales of Oliver's life at home in Tales of Oliver Pig. Oliver and his family members are very lovable characters who are warm and face life with a gentle humor. There is one issue that I had with this book though I am not sure children would think of it the same way. Although each story showed Oliver at home they didn't exactly flow together. Each story stood on it's own. If they were read separately many one each day I don't think it would seem strange maybe it was just because I read the whole book in one sitting. Overall though I give it thumbs up.

The Frog and Toad books are ones that people requested a lot while I worked at the bookstore too. Again for whatever reason I never got around to reading any of them so when the Read-a-Thon came up I figured it was the perfect opportunity. Plus my son is becoming interested in longer books now so I though this would be a god one and boy was I right. I don't know why exactly but Frog and Toad seem to have some kind of magic that kids just understand. As soon as I started reading Frog and Toad Together to the little guy he was mesmerized, he listened intently to every single word and enjoyed pointing out and describing the activities of Frog and Toad in all the pictures. I will definitely get more Frog and Toad books in the future, these will be great books to offer as he grows into reading on his own.

Currently "Reading":
Magazine - November issue of Good Housekeeping
Book - A Wife's Guide to In-laws: How to Gain Your Husband's Loyalty Without Killing His Parents by Jenna D. Barry
Audio - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Book Review - Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne/Read-a-Thon Recap

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Back when I worked in the bookstore people would ask for this book left and right. It was required reading for lots of schools in the area and on top of that kids just love the series. They would actually recommend it to their friends and once they read one they would just devour all the rest of them. Even though they are pretty short I never picked one up when I was there but now with the read-a-thon I checked the first one in the series out of the library to fill my reading time.

"With an entertaining blend of fact, farce, and fantasy, Osborne tells the story of Jack and his sister, Annie, who take a trip in a magic tree house and land in a time 65 million years ago. They find dinosaurs and volcanoes and adventure. Veteran storyteller Osborne builds the power of reading into the story: it's the books in the tree house that give the kids the magic to travel and see far, far away."--Booklist.

This book was an easy read due to it's length and pageturnability. The story makes sense as much as a time travel story can and the characters are believably brother and sister they don't overly love or hate each other which is something that can be annoying in children's stories. I totally see how kids can get into these stories, they travel through time make friends with some dinosaurs, get in a tangle with some others and are back home before dark.

I greatly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in the future, maybe I will pick up a bunch of them next time to boost my book total numbers for the next read-a-thon.

Currently "Reading":
Magazine - November issue of Good Housekeeping
Book - A Wife's Guide to In-laws: How to Gain Your Husband's Loyalty Without Killing His Parents by Jenna D. Barry
Audio - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Book Review - Stop, Rest and Think by Fuad A. Kamal

Monday, October 26, 2009

I recently received Stop, Rest, and Think by Fuad A. Kamal for review. Stop, Rest and Think is a short book (119 pages) in three parts, Part I is made up of reflections, passages, quotes, quick thoughts very much the self improvement part of the book little things that make you stop and think, Parts II and III are short essays and stories with a definite anti-war slant these stories don't preach to you but are meant instead to make you again stop and think.

You can take in the whole book from front to back rather easily due to it's short length but one of the great things about this book is that you do not need to be read each entry in order. All the part compliment each other making for a full reading experience but you can pick it up, turn to any page and start reading without the need to worry if you "missed something."

Every time I read a few pages in this book I wanted to go straight to my computer or journal and write. I wanted to share my thoughts on the topics brought up in Stop, Rest and Think. Passages like:

Sometimes, failure (or fear of it) forces one to
learn how things work far beyond one
would have thought possible (or necessary.)

make me want to say Amen. And what about this one:

If you see a person following their heart, support them
if even with just a word. If enough people
did it, the world would be transformed.

That is so true, sometimes it is hard to do because you don't want to interfere but think of how good you would feel if someone just stopped to say 'good job' when you were working on a particularly hard project. Here is one last passage:

There is so little time to truly enjoy one's parents.
Don't waste a golden opportunity.

This is true not just of parents but of all the people who are truly important to you, figure out who those people are and tell them so, hang out with them, tell them nice things, hug them, you will regret it if you don't.

So all-in-all Stop, Rest and Think is a little book with a lot of say in a very thought provoking way, which seems to me to be exactly what Fuad A. Kamal set out to accomplish.

Currently "Reading":
Magazine - The New National Geographic Kids
Book -
Audio - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Seth Grahame-Smith