‘Book Review’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Book Review: The Little Linebacker

May 24, 2016 · Narrative

Man, it’s been forever since we’ve done a book review here, either kids OR adults. We’ve been reading, apparently just not writing about it. #goals

We are no stranger to children’s book author, Maria Dismondy, and have reviewed two of her other books, The Potato Chip Champ and Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun in the past. For her newest title, she teamed up with NFL middle linebacker, Stephen Tulloch, to tell the story of how he got started with his football career in The Little Linebacker.

The book begins when Stephen is first introduced to football, and follows his childhood as he plays ball with the town league and for the school, but receiving minor set backs along the way. Similar to Dismondy’s other books, the theme of perseverance and determination is prevalent in this story as well, which is always a welcome message to drive home to our kids. No matter what obstacle came along Tulloch’s path, he received good support from friends and family and kept focused on his goal, a goal that earned him ten seasons with the NFL, a career with the Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans, and the honor of being named one of the top 100 players in the NFL for two years in a row.

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Review: Better Blog Writing – How to Improve Your Writing to Keep Readers Coming Back for More

May 13, 2014 · Narrative

Back when I started blogging in 2005, blogs were still something new. Fresh. Different. Anytime I told anyone I had a blog, it was always met with a side-cocked head a la Scooby Doo. There was a small collection of food bloggers, small enough where we knew each other well, and a seemingly small group of non-food bloggers. And then, of course, Dooce.

Back then, blogs weren’t taken really seriously and they were merely ways to pass the time. The more popular blogs became, the more people wanted in. Especially as bloggers started to make money. Book deals. TV shows. Endorsement deals. Sponsored posts. Conferences. Many perks. New blogs pop up on the daily, many with hopes of making it big and dreams of quitting their full-time job in pursuit of blogging from home in their pajamas.

And then reality sets in.

Those of us that have been around since the beginning know the work that blogging involves. Besides the day-to-day routine of writing, editing, and photographing your own content, there is still the behind-the-scenes work of learning code, marketing your work, researching plug-ins, and much more.

It’s not all take-a-pretty-picture-and-write, repeat.

Especially if you want to make money at it. And this is even more true as you begin to work with clients on sponsored posts, advertising, and the like. More rules, deadlines, FCC compliance issues, competition, and responsibility.

Which means that like anything else, only the people that are most serious stick with it.

But one of the most common themes of having a successful blog?

We have to have a solid foundation of good writing skills.

While writing a blog is a very different animal than writing something that won’t live online forever, any written content starts with the basics: good writing. And “good” refers to engaging content as much as it refers to the technical aspects of it. Because, honestly, who wants to read a blog rife with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, boring content, and crappy pictures.

Blogging is fun, but it’s work y’all.

Enter Sarah Caron’s book, Better Blog Writing: How to Improve Your Writing to Keep Readers Coming Back for More.

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Book Review: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

July 18, 2013 · Narrative

I remember all the controversy when the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother originally came out a few years back. I made a mental note to add it to my “to read” list and eventually made a request at the library, adding myself to the already long waiting list.

I was curious about the controversy, to see if it really was that appalling, but also to get a peek into another mom’s (and culture’s) parenting style. And I got it.

A few weeks ago, I was at the lake with the kids, diving into the book. When they came to sit with me for a few minutes, for a drink break, I read them a section from Amy Chua’s book, more specifically what she won’t allow her children to do:

• have a play date
• be in a school play
• complain about not being in a school play
• not be the #1 student in every subject except gym and drama
• play any instrument other than the piano or violin
• not play the piano or violin

“See how easy you have it?” I asked them, really driving home Chua’s point that she believes that Western parents are too lax on their children. “You think I’m hard on you now, can you imagine if this was how I parented?”

The dividing line between how the Chinese parenting style versus how Westerners parent can perhaps best be summed up by a quote right from the book … “Chinese parenting does not address happiness…”, it addresses accomplishments. By many accounts, though, to be fair, Chua’s methods of extreme parenting do not wholly represent Chinese parenting across the board. Keep in mind, this is not meant to be a parenting book. It is more of a memoir of one woman’s journey. That being said, Chua is prone to sweeping generalizations, whether it comes to her own cultural background, Westerners, or even dogs.

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Book Review: Dwarf, A Memoir {Tiffanie DiDonato}

June 26, 2013 · Narrative

If I remember correctly, I first heard about Dwarf, A Memoir from a magazine review. I added it to my growing list at the library, and then a large share of the books I was wait listed for came in. All at the same time. I just finished this one last week, and I’m in a race against myself and library overdue fees to get the next couple read asap before they’re late.

Because I am determined to avoid late fees this year.

While cheaper than buying the books, late fees really defeat the whole purpose.

Tiffanie DiDonato was born a dwarf, and while she was never falling into the “woe is me” camp, she longed to be like everybody else. To be able to flick on a light switch, reach a kitchen cabinet, or even learn to drive. You know, normal things that we sometimes take for granted. After she was born, her parents divorced because her Dad just wasn’t able to handle the extra pressures of a child who would be so dependent on her family. Although he did come back, and support her in spades, her parents never remarried.

Tiffanie, through the support of her family, though particularly her mother, made the decision to undergo three limb lengthening surgeries, each one more torturous than its predecessor. During the recuperation periods, it meant that Tiffanie would have to turn screws into her limbs multiple times a day to lengthen her bones as they healed. Her Dad was supportive, but couldn’t bear to see her in so much pain. After the final surgery, Tiffanie ended up gaining a whopping fourteen inches, placing her final height at four feet, ten inches.

The book goes into exhaustive detail when it comes to Tiffanie’s surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation, and more, yet only one chapter is devoted to Tiffanie attending college (which was after her surgery), and one chapter devoted to her meeting and marrying her Marine husband. As it’s billed as a memoir, I just think it should have given a little more billing to the other areas of her life as well, like college, adjusting to the dating world and starting a family. Those chapter were almost afterthoughts.

That said, it was still worth a read for a no-holds-barred look as to what her life is really like.

*This is the 10th book I’ve read in my quest to read 52 books this year.
1. Believe It, Be It
2. Touch and Go
3. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
4. Here I Go Again
5. Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture
6. Drinking & Tweeting and Other Brandi Blunders
7. Cleaving
8. 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess
9. What I Learned When I Almost Died

Psst … today was a double post day! You can catch a mini video and peek into our kitchen right here.

Book Review: What I Learned When I Almost Died {Chris Licht}

June 24, 2013 · Narrative

In an effort to catch up on my book reviews, finish a few books I’m in the middle of, and kick off summer reading, I’m going to do a week’s worth of book reviews here (some adult, some children, some pre-teen/educational). I believe I have at least one sponsored post due this week too, so there will be a double post day or two. And with that, we begin…

Chris Licht was a 38-year-old Executive Producer of MSNBC’s Morning Joe. He was on his way to a hotel in DC, after wrapping the morning show, when he was struck with the headache of all headaches. After a telephone conversation with his Dad, who is a doctor, he went straight to the nearest ER, which ended up being the one that former President Ronald Reagan went to when he was shot. Once at the hospital, and after a battery of tests from a rotating staff of specialists (including pulling a few strings to get consults with the best of the best), the resulting diagnosis was that Licht had bleeding on the brain and had likely suffered an aneurism.

Had I known What I Learned When I Almost Died was about Licht suffering an aneurism, I probably wouldn’t have read it. Because aneurisms terrify me. They come out of nowhere, with little to no warning, and all the sudden, you’re dead. The first time I remember even hearing about aneurisms is when the producer of Broadway’s Rent, Jonathon Larson, died from one, the night before the curtain was due to go up on his new show. I started getting migraines off and on a few years ago, and with my fear of aneurisms, I worry how I will know if it’s just a normal headache, a regular migraine, or that kind of headache.

Licht was a news guy that lived and died by his BlackBerry and his go-go-go work schedule. Between his personality and the nature of his job, he was on a never-ending hamster wheel. While the book briefly delved into Licht’s background, and how he ended up as the producer of Morning Joe, the book was largely about his brain aneurism, namely everything right before and after it. During his eight day hospitalization, he was forced to slow down, loosen the vice grip on everything and really let go of things that were out of his control. It also gave him an opportunity to see just how much his on-air team and colleagues care for him, and introduce a new dynamic to their working relationship.

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Book Review: 7 – An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker

June 1, 2013 · Narrative

When it comes to picking out books to read, my interests are all over the place. There are some genres that I typically don’t read, sci-fi, fantasty, and most romances, for example, but after that? Anything goes.

The only thing I try to do, when going from title to title, is to have some type of balance. A fluff or fun book followed by something heavier. And such is the case with 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.

If you’re a blogger or regular reader, Jen Hatmaker might be a familiar name to you. She is, after all, the author of 9 books and a popular blog.

7 follows along as Jen and a small group of friends decide to do more with less, railing against excess in an effort to be more intentional and give more to God. Each chapter focuses on a different area that Jen (and her family of 7, who is along for the ride) wants to cut back in, including food, clothing and more. In the first chapter, Food, Jen mentioned that watching the movie Food, Inc. terrified her children, I could definitely relate. I saw the movie a few months back and it was life-changing (review coming soon).

As Jen tackles each of the 7 different areas of her life, the reader comes away with many little tips that they can implement in their own life, if they’re looking to cut back as well. She writes with a dry wit, which is appreciated because it felt like real humor and reality, as opposed to humor for humor’s sake, and since some of the topics are a bit heavier, it was a nice way to keep the reader engrossed in her journey as it unfolded.

At the end of each month (and chapter), I would have loved to know how the previous months’ challenges were integrated in the future. For example, in the Food chapter, Jen decided that she would only eat or drink from a list of seven different foods, to limit excess and waste, and heighten appreciation and creativity. But when her family moved onto the clothing chapter (wearing only seven items of clothing for the entire month), did the food challenge piece continue? And I would have loved a little more closure at the end, and to know how much of the restrictions continued.

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Book Review: Cleaving by Julie Powell

May 10, 2013 · Narrative

Let me preface this by saying I have a bad taste in my mouth from Julie Powell. From years ago, when she slammed bloggers left, right, and center. Quickly forgetting that blogging, as part of her ode to Julia Child, was how she struck her own claim to fame.

And on that basis, I had little to no interest in reading anything she had to write.

But I’d like to think I can have a (somewhat) open mind. When Julie & Julia was published, my sister bought it for me. And I read it. Mostly because I adore Julia Child and all her unapologetic but brilliant ways. And I loved the Julia Child sections of the book, as I knew I would.

And when the movie came out, I went to go see it, again loving the Julia Child parts.

A few weeks ago, I was at our local used book store, and happened to see a copy of Julie Powell’s second book, Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession. And for a whopping two bucks, I decided to give her another chance.

It was, in a word, insufferable.

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Book Review: Drinking & Tweeting and Other Brandi Blunders {Brandi Glanville}

April 18, 2013 · Narrative

When I was choosing books to read during Spring Break, I wanted a mix of genres, and I picked things that were breezy and light, and things that were a bit heavier and required concentration. Andy Cohen’s book was definitely under the “breezy and light” category, as is the book for today’s review.

Brandi Glanville is on the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but perhaps outside of that, she is more well-known for her husband leaving her and their two young boys to take off with country singer LeAnn Rimes. Brandi’s first book, Drinking and Tweeting and Other Brandi Blunders, is a little bit about her previous modeling career, her marriage breaking up, dating after divorce, her dealings with LeAnn, and her start on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

If you’ve ever seen the show or heard Brandi in an interview, this book is written exactly how she talks. Pretty much no filter, no holds barred. In theory, I think that’s great. But as a mom to two young kids myself, I can only wonder about how she’ll feel when her kids are old enough to discover it and read it. She has a bit of a sailor’s mouth, shares many intimate details, and one of her favorite ways to refer to readers is by saying “ladies and gays.” The latter of which is done often enough that it feels like it’s more for effect, as opposed to being natural and unforced.

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Book Review: Here I Go Again {Jen Lancaster}

March 15, 2013 · Narrative

Sometimes, when life gets a little heavy, you just want to escape into the pages of a good book. And author Jen Lancaster is pretty good at allowing the reader to do just that. In her latest novel, Here I Go Again, we meet our heroine, Lissy Ryder, as she is starting a new, and quite unplanned, chapter in her life. At thirty-seven years old, while she has fond memories of her days as a high school “mean girl”, she just can’t figure out how it all went downhill to where she is now … living with her parents, ousted from her job, and split from her husband.

After being given a potion following a high school reunion, Lissy has the ability to go back in time and right some wrongs with her former classmates and friends. But as any fan of Marty McFly and the Back to the Future movie franchise knows, once you mess with something in the past, everything that happened since then shifts and becomes undone. And such is the case with Lissy.

The book has witty and sharp moments, and fills the need as a light read, but I think that Bitter is the New Black remains my favorite Jen Lancaster book. If you have an upcoming Spring Break flight or need a beach read, this might be just the thing. I’m all over Lancaster’s next title, The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING, Or Why I’m Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog.

If you’ve read Here I Go Again, or plan to, or are a fan of Jen Lancaster, you might want to visit the BlogHer Book Club Discussion right here.

*I was provided a copy of this book as part of my participation with the BlogHer Book Club.

*This is the 4th book I’ve read in my quest to read 52 books this year.
1. Believe It, Be It
2. Touch and Go
3. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Book Review: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years {Donald Miller}

February 28, 2013 · Narrative

I started reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years about a month ago, and I feel like it took me forever to get through it. Part of that is because I am usually reading a few books at the same time, but the other reason is because I felt like I started struggling with this one about halfway through. And as I sat down to write this review, I tried to figure out why.

I think the biggest reason is that the book is really many stories within a story. Donald Miller, the author, was approached to make a movie based on his memoir. And as he works to find stories and events that would translate well to the big screen, and really edit the story of his life, he finds that most of his every day moments aren’t big-screen worthy, so he sets out to live a better story, largely in an effort to make a better movie. So the book is all these little vignettes, as he makes different choices and embarks on new adventures (bike riding from Los Angeles to Washington DC, for example, and hiking in Machu Picchu in an effort to impress a girl). And, as you’re reading, they smack of flashbacks, and when it comes to television programs and movies, I’ve never been a fan of flashbacks. And I think that since that’s how it felt in this book, its choppiness distracted me.

That being said, I liked the underlying theme of the book and that’s what held me in until the end. The continuing thread throughout the book is about encouraging the reader to live a better story, and that “great stories go to those who don’t give in to fear.” And isn’t that the truth? Instead of sitting at home glued to his television, or sleeping in morning after morning, Miller began saying yes, surprising even himself sometimes, to things that he had never done before. Trying to get the attention of a girl he met out one night, he casually mentioned that he had always wanted to hike the Inca trail in Machu Picchu, thinking that it would grab her interest. She responded accordingly, and although he had never been to Peru before, nor hiked, there he was. Living a better story.

By rewriting his story and focusing on the necessary parts of (his own) character development, it caused Miller to re-examine his own life and what was missing from it. As a writer, he was writing about stories, but found that he wasn’t living his own, coming back to an empty house without a connection. He was too busy living his daydreams and not living his life.

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Book Review: Touch and Go {Lisa Gardner}

February 17, 2013 · Narrative

When I was in high school, I became obsessed with True Crime books. Out of everything I read, it became my go-to genre, leaving the twins of Sweet Valley High far behind. Flash forward to a few years later when I was dating a cop, the interest in True Crime only intensified. These days, I don’t read True Crime nearly as much, but crime tv certainly fills up our DVR, with everything from the Law & Order franchise to Criminal Minds. The latter of which I don’t watch when the kids aren’t home. Because for some reason, it scares me way more when I’m by myself than when they’re home.

Go figure.

So when I got an opportunity to review Lisa Gardner’s newest book, Touch and Go, steeped in mystery and good ‘ol whodunit, I was all set to revisit some of my favorite old stomping grounds. The story revolves around a perfect little family that just vanishes into thin air. With the help of the FBI, Private Investigator Tessa Leoni starts delving into what happened to the family, unraveling more secrets and mystery with every chapter, and the more she finds out, the less perfect the family becomes.

Author Lisa Gardner is known for being an expert researcher and has a way of detailing police procedures and forensic evidence that keeps you hooked … and wanting more. Most books take me weeks to finish, due largely in part to those two kids I care for, but this book I finished in just a few days. Gardner has a certain descriptive flair with words that really goes far to paint a very vivid picture. You can close your eyes and envision exactly what she had in mind when she wrote her words, and that kind of storytelling is the best way to draw you in.

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Book Review: Believe It, Be It {by Ali Vincent}

January 5, 2013 · Narrative

One of my ongoing goals, year after year after year, is always to read more.

I loved reading as a child and teenager, and would hole myself up in my room for hours on end.

I still love reading just as much now as I did then, but as a mom to two young children, it is just more challenging to carve out the time to do so.

Because at the end of the day, sometimes all I want to do is crash with nothing more than the remote, some bad reality tv, and a big glass of iced water.

The thought of reading sentences, and fully comprehending them, is sometimes too much to bear.

But I always aim to do better.

And with that, on January 4th, I have already read my first book for the year. Notable in and of itself, but even more so because it has been sitting on my bookshelf, unread, for a good two years.

One down, many many many many more to go.

If you are a fan of The Biggest Loser, Ali Vincent is no stranger to you. If you’re not, she was the first woman to win The Biggest Loser (2008). And she looks amazing.

Believe It, Be It was a quick and easy read, giving some behind-the-scenes peeks into the show, discussing her strategy, and how her weight gain all started. Although it largely is about the story of her weight loss journey, there are motivational bits throughout that can help kick start you on any journey. Ali is honest and candid as she relays her own story. Her trainers, particularly Jillian, are big advocates of getting to the root of the weight gain, because if you don’t figure out the cause of why it all happened, you might not be able to prevent it from happening again.

“Don’t go on just wanting something. Start consciously planning where you want to be.”

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