Ah-Choo Review

Ah-Choo! The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold by Jennifer Ackerman

Learn all you want to know about the common cold; how and where you are most likely to catch a cold, what works or doesn’t to fight one, why you can catch more than one a year, and much more. 

Ackerman goes through all the different studies that have been done on the common cold.  How and where you catch one, what can factor into whether you catch one, what are the best ways to avoid catching one and research on all the cold medicines and folk remedies that claim to fight one off.  There are a lot of interesting facts here about what a cold actually does to your body, what causes the different symptoms, why it is impossible to create a vaccine and many others.  (Did you know that you swallow about a quart of mucus a day?  And that’s when you’re healthy.  I’m not sure I wanted to know that but now I do.)  It is very informative.   There are a few words like turbinates and cytokines that I’m not sure exactly what they mean but the general idea is always clear enough.  It goes through a lot of the commonly used medicines and supplements and tells you what research and science says about them.  It also gives you some pointers on what to do for various symptoms.  If you are interested in the science of the cold definitely read this. And if you can find nothing that helps you this book could be useful but if you have something that you swear works don’t read this. Sometimes the science does not support theory and you don’t want to lose any placebo effect that might be at work.

Theme Thursday - Smell

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Hosted by Reading Between Pages.

Anyone can participate in it.

The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word) Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This week’s theme is – Smell



I could see sultanas poking out of a thousand-year cake, and its smell of candied orange peel livened my senses.

- The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye


I’m not really sure what a thousand-year cake is but it seems to have raisins and candied citrus peel. And now I want to try some.

WWW Wednesday (February 22nd)

To play along just answer the following three (3) questions...


*What are you currently reading?
*What did you recently finish reading?
*What do you think you’ll read next?

Leave a link to your post (or the answers themselves if you do not have a blog) in the comments of Should be Reading.



What are you currently reading?

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

The New York has just started the police force and some people don’t like it. It’s a dark time and a rather grim story so far but I like it.

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

I like Shakespeare and stories about Caesar and stuff like that so I’m liking this too. But it always takes me a little while to get into the swing of reading it.



What did you recently finish reading?

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett

Not my favorite Hammett but still full of noir goodness. 

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Planets by Dava Sobel – it’s a library book so I’ll have to return it sooner or later and I want to use it for my Non-Fiction Non-Memoir reading challenge.

What's in a Name Challenge

I've decided to join one more challenge.

Beth Fish Reads is hosting the What's in a Name Challenge.

Here's How It Works:

Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, read one book in each of the following categories:

A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: Bear Island by Alistair MacLean (review here)

A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title: Was Superman a Spy? by Brian Cronin (review here)
(Look! Up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane...)

A book with a creepy crawly in the title:  Wasp by Eric Frank Russell (review here)

A book with a type of house in the title:  Castle in the Air by Donald Westlake (review here)

A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title:  Hush Money by Robert Parker (review here) 

A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title:  Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (review here)

I don't have the book titles yet so I will fill them in as I figure them out.  I'll have to get going though or I'll never finish the challenges I signed up for.

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer Giveaways

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer is having a couple of giveaways you should check out.

For Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer Hubbard go here.  Ends March 8th.  Open to the US and Canada.

For an ebook copy of 77 Days in September by Ray Gorham go here.  Ends March 8th.  Open internationally.

For The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges go here.  Ends March 9th.  Open internationally.

For Angelina's Secret by Lisa Rogers go here.  Ends March 11th.  Open to the US only.

For The Muse of Edouard Manet by M. Clifford go here.  Ends March 11th.  Open internationally.

For Midnight Child by Bryna Butler go here.  Ends March 11th.  Open to the US and Canada.

For Milledgeville Misfit by T.L. Gray go here.  Ends March 11th.  Paperback copy giveaway open to the US only.  Ebook copy giveaway open internationally.

Good luck!

Vocab from The Disappearing Spoon and Before Versailles

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean


Lacrimator: a tear-producing substance (as tear gas)

Neologism: 1:a new word, meaning, usage, or phrase.
2: the introduction or use of new words or new senses of existing words.

Transuranic: (of an element) having an atomic number greater than that of uranium

Susurrus: a soft murmuring or rustling sound; whisper.

Heuristically: 1: serving to indicate or point out; stimulating interest as a means of furthering investigation.
2: encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error: a heuristic teaching method.



Before Versailles by Karleen Koen


Biddable: willing to do what is asked; obedient; tractable; docile

Ormolu: also called mosaic gold. an alloy of copper and zinc used to imitate gold.

Hautboy: oboe.

Gamine: 1: a neglected girl who is left to run about the streets.
2: a diminutive or very slender girl, especially one who is pert, impudent, or playfully mischievous.

Parterre: 1: also called parquet circle. the rear section of seats, and sometimes also the side sections, of the main floor of a theater, concert hall, or opera house.
2: an ornamental arrangement of flower beds of different shapes and sizes.

Parvenu: a person who has recently or suddenly acquired wealth, importance, position, or the like, but has not yet developed the conventionally appropriate manners, dress, surroundings, etc.

Walking Through Walls Review

Walking ThroughWalls by Philip Smith

(from the book jacket)

After a full day of creating beautiful interiors for the rich and famous, Lew Smith would come home, take off his tie, and get down to his real work as a physic healer who miraculously cured thousands of people.  For his son, Philip, watching his father transform himself, at a moment’s notice, from gracious society decorator into a healer with supernatural powers was a bit like living with Clark Kent and Superman.

Walking Through Walls is Philip Smith’s astonishing memoir of growing up in a household where séances, talking spirits, and exorcisms were daily occurrences, and inexplicable psychic healing resulted in visitors suddenly discarding their crutches and wheelchairs or being cured of fatal diseases.

While there are benefits to having a miracle man in the house, Philip soon discovers the downside of living with a father who psychically knows everything he is doing.  Surrounded by invisible spirits who tend to behave like nagging relatives, Philip looks for ways to escape his mystical home life – including forays into sex, surfing, and even Scientology.

By turns hilarious and profound, Walking Through Walls recounts Philip Smith’s often bizarre but always magical coming of age in a household that felt like a cross between Lourdes and the set of Rosemary’s Baby, and shows how he managed to map out his own identity in the shadow of a father who, truly, loomed larger than life itself.

I like the matter-of-fact tone that Smith uses in writing his story.  He is not trying to defend anything or trying to convince you of anything.  He is not trying to push anything on you.  He is just telling his story.  His story just happens to include physic healers who can heal over the telephone.  Whether you believe it is up to you.  And Smith does have an interesting story.  Growing up with a designer father who invented the bead curtain and also happens to be a physic healer (his mother seemed a bit unusual too) gives him a unique perspective on things.  He ends up leading a double life as he tries to be ‘normal’ at school and then comes home to people queued up to be healed by his father.  Sometimes, though, I do think the story becomes more of a biography of his father than a memoir of his own life and there are a lot of anecdotes about who his father knew and all the things his father did.  Smith also explains terms like ‘akashic records’ and talks about the different ways that his father worked and different techniques that he used.  Some of which was interesting because I know next to nothing about such things but at times he describes things in such detail and at such length (a whole page of yes/no questions he asks to locate a tumor for example) that it becomes tedious and then boring.  Whether you believe in physic healing or dispersing clouds with your mind or not, Smith still tells an interesting story about an unusual life.  His father was, of course, the important influence in his life and we needed to know about him but I was more interested in the parts of the story that focused on Philip himself instead of his father.  The parts that dealt with how he was affected by, and learned to live with and come to terms with his father’s celebrity and unusual vocation that sometimes made his life difficult.

Ranchero Review

Ranchero by Rick Gavin

(from the book jacket)

Repo man Nick Reid had a seemingly simple job to do: Talk to Percy Dwayne Dubois – pronounced “Dew-boys,” front-loaded and hick specific – about the payments he’s behind on for a flat-screen TV, or repossess it.  Yet Percy Dwayne wouldn’t give in.  Nope, instead he saw fit to go all white-trash philosophical and decided that since the world was stacked against him anyway, he might as well fight it.  He Hit Nick over the head with a fireplace shovel, tied him up with a length of lamp cord, and stole the mint-condition, calypso, coral-colored 1969 Ranchero that Nick had borrowed from his landlady – and he took the TV with him on a rowdy ride across the Mississippi Delta.

Nick and his best friend, Desmond, fellow repo man in Indianola, Mississippi, have no choice but to go after him.  The fact that the trail eventually leads to Guy, a meth cooker recently set up in the Delta after the Feds ran him out of New Orleans, is of no consequence.  Nick will do anything to get the Ranchero back – and it turns out he might have to.

This book is fun to read.  It travels all around Mississippi (mostly from Sonic to Sonic) and goes from a simple TV repo job to car theft to kidnapping to an all-out war with a meth dealer.  And it does it with a sense of humor and is told by a narrator who knows how to turn a phrase.  But it is not all that long on plot.  There is a story here that you can follow from beginning to end.  It’s not that it doesn’t have a discernible story line; it’s just that sometimes it felt like the story line was just a convenient way to introduce us to all the characters the author wanted us to meet.  Are some of the characters slightly clichéd and lacking in depth?  To some degree, yes.  But are the characters interesting?  I think so, yes.  And well worth the time you invest in this book to meet them all.  There’s a lot of action and the story moves quickly from one crazy situation to the next which sets a good pace and makes for a quick read.  I think it is the kind of book that is best enjoyed if you don’t think too much about it.  You shouldn’t worry about where it is all going, don’t try to discern great meaning or figure out some mystery.  Just sit back and enjoy the ride. 

Theme Thursday - HEAR

 

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Hosted by Reading BetweenPages.

Anyone can participate in it.

 

The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word) Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This week’s theme is –HEAR (listen, anything else you can come up with the ear’s action)


Her voice was sour as ripe lemons. I heard her drop an Alka-Seltzer into a glass of liquid.

- Storm Front by Jim Butcher

WWW Wednesdays (Feb 8th)

To play along just answer the following three (3) questions...


*What are you currently reading?
*What did you recently finish reading?
*What do you think you’ll read next?


Leave a link to your post (or the answers themselves if you do not have a blog) in the comments of Should be Reading. 



What are you currently reading?

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

A whole lot of secrets and deceit and I have no idea how it will all turn out.


Storm Front by Jim Butcher

I thought I’d give the Dresden Files a try. So far I’m liking it



What did you recently finish reading?

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

A young adult book that tells the ‘true’ story of Alice in Wonderland.


Role of Honor by John Gardner

James Bond. He beats the bad guys and gets the girl.



What do you think you’ll read next?

I received a review copy of The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye that I think I’ll get started on. It takes place during the potato famine when and the NYPD is just being formed.

Bookin' With Bingo Giveaways

Bookin' With Bingo has a bunch of giveaways going on.

For If Fried Chicken Could Fly by Paige Shelton go here.  Ends February 15th.  Open to the US only, no PO boxes.

For The Summer Garden by Sherryl Woods go here.  Ends February 17th.  Open to the US only, no PO boxes.

For Cake on a Hot Tin Roof by Jacklyn Brady go here.  Ends February 17th.  Open to the US only, no PO boxes.

For the audio book Private: #1 Suspect by James Patterson go here.  Ends February 19th.  Open to the US and Canada, no PO boxes.

For Ali in Wonderland by Ali Wentworth go here.  Ends February 19th.  Open to the US only, no PO boxes.

For Gourmet Gifts by Dinah Corley go here.  Ends February 19th.  Open to the US only, no PO boxes.

Bingo always has wonderful and plentiful giveaways.  Check out the list here.  And keep going back.  New ones are added all the time.

Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge

My Book Retreat is hosting the Non-Fiction Non-Memoir reading challenge.

I'm going to go for the Bachelor's Degree level which is 15 books.

If that is too much or not enough for you there are other levels to choose from. Check them out along with the rest of the rules at My Book Retreat.

And remember NO MEMOIRS!



1. Ah-Choo!: The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold by Jennifer Ackerman (Review here.)

2. The Planets by Dava Sobel (Review here.)

3. The Knight in History by Frances Gies (Review here.)

4. Circumference by Nicholas Nicastro (Review here.)

5. Sweet Invention by Michael Krondl

6. Culinary Reactions by Simon Field (Review here.)

7. Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Fred Bruemmer (Review here.)

8. Euclid's Window by Leonard Mlodinow (Review here.)

9. The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray (Review here.)

10. The Law of Superheroes by James Daily, J.D. and Ryan Davidson, J.D. (Review here.)

11. Speaking American by Richard W. Bailey (Review here.)

12. Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer S. Holland (Review here.)

13. Black Count by Tom Reiss (Review here.)

14. The Lost Chalice by Vernon Silver

15. Annoying by Joe Palca

Books in 2012

I hope to read at least 100 books this year. Let's see if it works out.



1. We, the Accused by Ernest Raymond

2. The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

3. Ah-Choo!: The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold by Jennifer Ackerman

4. Back to the Stone Age by Edgar Rice Burroughs

5. Ranchero by Rick Gavin

6. Hero by Mike Lupica

7. Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston

8. The Dragon Scroll by I. J. Parker

9. Black Wave: A Family's Adventure at Sea and the Disaster That Saved Them by John Silverwood

10. A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

11. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

12. Role of Honor by John Gardner

13. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

14. The Innocent by Harlan Coben

15. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett

16. Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

17. The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

18. The Planets by Dava Sobel

19. Was Superman a Spy? by Brian Cronin

20. Hush Money by Robert Parker

21. Wasp by Eric Frank Russell

22. One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde

23. The Knight in History by Frances Gies

24. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

25. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

26. Remote Control by Jack Heath

27. Castle in the Air by Donald Westlake

28. Bear Island by Alistair MacLean

29. Dragonbreath: No Such Thing As Ghosts by Ursula Vernon

30. Circumference by Nicholas Nicastro

31. Numbers by Rachel Ward

32. Mutiny on the Bounty Charles Nordhoff

33. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

34. How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend by Gary Ghislain

35. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

36. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

37. The Hate Genius by Kenneth Robeson

38. The Black Tower by P.D. James

39. The Child Thief by Brom

40. Whiplash River by Lou Berney

41. Logan: A Trilogy by William Nolan

42. The Bull From the Sea by Mary Renault

43. The Sea Egg by Lucy Boston

44. The Time Travelers' Handbook by Lottie Stride

45. Glaciers by Alexis Smith

46. Cryptozoology A to Z by Jerome Clark

47. The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers

48. Saints Astray by Jacqueline Carey

49. Three Men in a Boat (GN) by Jerome Jerome

50. Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert by Michael Krondl

51. Hatter M Vol. 1: The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

52. Meg by Steve Alten

53. The Book of God and Physics by Enrique Joven

54. Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

55. The Dolphin People by Torsten Krol

56. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

57. The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant by Michelle Cuevas

58. A Cup Full of Midnight by Jaden Terrell

59. Culinary Reactions by Simon Quellen Field

60. Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Fred Bruemmer

61. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

62. Euclid's Window by Leonard Mlodinow

63. F in Exams by Richard Benson

64. Me Write Book by Graham Roumieu

65. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

66. The Elements by Theodore Gray

67. The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

68. Icarus at the Edge of Time by Brian Greene

69. The Law of Superheroes by James Daily

70. Pyg by Russell Potter

71. Speaking American by Richard Bailey

72. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

73. Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer Holland

74. Harry Lipkin, Private Eye by Barry Fantoni

75. Deadly Image by Edmund Cooper

76. The Shark King by Kikuo Johnson

77. Julia and the Master of Morancourt by Janet Aylmer

78. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

79. The Mourner by Richard Stark

80. The Black Count by Tom Reiss

81. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

82. The Black Forest by Todd Livingston

83. The Tick: The Naked City by Ben Edlund

84. The Lost Chalice by Vernon Silver

85. Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

86. Looking for Przybylski by K.C. Frederick

87. Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

88. To the Castle by Dorothea Malm

89. Tarzan and the Leopard Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs

90. Annoying by Joe Palca

91. Enter Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

92. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

93. Runemarks by Joanne Harris

94. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

95. Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom

96. Just One Look by Harlan Coben

97. The Girl of the Sea of Cortez by Peter Benchley

98. Uncertain Allies by Mark del Franco

99. The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare

100. The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show by Ariel Gore

101. Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula by Loren Estleman

102. Live by Night by Dennis Lehane

103. Put a Lid on It by Donald Westlake

104. Far World: Water Keep by Scott Savage

105. Far World: Land Keep by Scott Savage

106. A Gentleman of Leisure by P.G. Wodehouse

107. Ernestine by Pauline Innes

108. Conned Again, Watson by Colin Bruce

Eclectic Reader Challenge

Eclectic Reader is running a challenge this year designed to push readers out of their comfort zone.  You have all of 2012 to read and review a book from 12 different genres.

Genres

1. Literary Fiction -- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (review here)

2. Crime/Mystery Fiction -- A Cup Full of Midnight by Jaden Terrell (review here)

3. Romantic Fiction -- Julia and the Master of Morancourt by Janet Aylmer (review here)

4. Historical Fiction -- The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (review here)

5. Young Adult -- The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks (review here)

6. Fantasy -- Storm Front by Jim Butcher (review here)

7. Science Fiction -- Wasp by Eric Frank Russell (review here)

8. Non Fiction -- The Planets by Dava Sobel (review here)

9. Horror -- Meg by Steve Alten (review here) 

10. Thriller/Suspense -- Just One Look by Harlan Coben (review here)

11. Classic -- Moby Dick by Herman Melville (review here)

12. Your Favorite Genre -- Nefertiti by Michelle Moran (historical fiction) (review here)


I don't know the titles I'll be reading so I'll fill them in as I go along.  Along with the 12th genre.  Since my favorite genre is on the list already would it count if I read to from the same genre?

Well, I'll figure it out.  If it sounds like something you'd be interested in trying you should pop on over to Eclectic Reader and read the rest of the rules.