A Smart Girl's Guide to Worry: how to feel less stressed and have more fun
American Girl nonfiction/advice books
Judy Woodburn and Nancy Holyoke, illustrated by Brenna Vaughan
ISBN: 9781609587451
Very specific and science-based (mostly CBT) techniques for conquering anxiety.
A very clear and straightforward advice book that focuses attention on the reality-warping aspects of worry and anxiety, and provides Cognitive-Behavioral-Therapy-based mental and physical techniques to counteract those negative impulses and move beyond fear-based thinking.
This isn't a match for a good therapist, but for your run-of-the-mill kiddo who is suddenly anxious about a particular subject or activity, or is growing awkward and walled-off as she grows older and feels less confident in herself, this is a great starting point, making it clear that everyone has to deal with worries, and while some people suffer more than others, there are techniques that will work over time to negate or quiet down those fearful or insecure thoughts.
Recommended.
Showing posts with label how-to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how-to. Show all posts
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Juv Nonfiction: School Rules (American Girl) by Emma MacLaren Henke & Stacy Peterson
Just in time for the school year, we've got new copies of some of the American Girl advice books. These are really great books, and I'm very glad to have them. As a bonus, the nonfiction books don't actually advertise for American Girl at all, which makes it much easier to review them with a clear conscience.
School Rules! tips, tricks, shortcuts, and secrets to make you a super student
American Girl nonfiction/advice books
Emma MacLaren Henke, illustrated by Stacy Peterson
ISBN: 9781609587437
A generalized preparatory handbook of habits, with a few "quizzes" to show basic tendencies.
This book is a very straightforward school prep guide. It addresses mental and physical habits to drop and to pick up, talks about procrastination and perfectionism, about the value of appearances vs content, and gives information about study habits and how to best learn new topics. It also talks about how to request help when needed, and how to handle the stress when projects or topics are difficult to master.
Basic, clear, straightforward, and science-based. An excellent book that balances excitement about school and learning with clear reassuring facts and advice.
School Rules! tips, tricks, shortcuts, and secrets to make you a super student
American Girl nonfiction/advice books
Emma MacLaren Henke, illustrated by Stacy Peterson
ISBN: 9781609587437
A generalized preparatory handbook of habits, with a few "quizzes" to show basic tendencies.
This book is a very straightforward school prep guide. It addresses mental and physical habits to drop and to pick up, talks about procrastination and perfectionism, about the value of appearances vs content, and gives information about study habits and how to best learn new topics. It also talks about how to request help when needed, and how to handle the stress when projects or topics are difficult to master.
Basic, clear, straightforward, and science-based. An excellent book that balances excitement about school and learning with clear reassuring facts and advice.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Nonfiction: TED Talks, Chris Anderson
TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking
Chris Anderson
ISBN: 9780544634497
Chatty and informative, with lots of tips and no hard rules.
Chris Anderson
ISBN: 9780544634497
Chatty and informative, with lots of tips and no hard rules.
Friday, January 22, 2016
2015 Review Round-Up: Nonfiction: The Patient's Playbook, Leslie D. Michelson
The Patient's Playbook: How to Save Your Life and the Lives of Those You Love
Leslie D. Michelson
ISBN: 9780385352284
A guide to choosing and navigating the American healthcare system to optimize health and safety.
Read December 2015
A sobering look at how messed-up our healthcare system is, and how absolutely critical it is for people to know how to stand up for themselves and organize themselves to gain the best care and the best medical outcomes for themselves. Solid tips for choosing a primary care provider, a hospital, a specialist, and for navigating the world of consultations, test results, and second opinions.
Really useful, well organized, and practical, with a lot of case studies and individualized examples, which I especially like reading. An excellent resource.
Leslie D. Michelson
ISBN: 9780385352284
A guide to choosing and navigating the American healthcare system to optimize health and safety.
Read December 2015
A sobering look at how messed-up our healthcare system is, and how absolutely critical it is for people to know how to stand up for themselves and organize themselves to gain the best care and the best medical outcomes for themselves. Solid tips for choosing a primary care provider, a hospital, a specialist, and for navigating the world of consultations, test results, and second opinions.
Really useful, well organized, and practical, with a lot of case studies and individualized examples, which I especially like reading. An excellent resource.
Friday, September 4, 2015
Nonfiction: The Home Creamery, Kathy Farrell-Kingsley
The Home Creamery
Kathy Farrell-Kingsley
ISBN: 9781603420310
Nonfiction: cheese history, and recipes for soft cheeses, butter, cream-cheese, yogurts, and more.
Read July 2015
This was a prize for our Summer Reading Program, and it was a lovely fit. I have family that makes and sells cheese, and when I was young, my mother was big on colonial life and back to basics living, so we suffered through some overly enthusiastic and much less organized bouts of butter, yogurt, and cheese-making. I remember it being complicated, smelly, and generally resulting in failure, but the clear tone and reassuring directions in this handy guide make me want to give it a try once more.
The only thing I would have liked would be some pictures. There are a few very stylized illustrations, but an actual photo or a lifelike drawing would be a great help in determining if I'm doing things right.
Overall a lovely book, with clear descriptions of the tools needed, and directions for making all of the following: yogurt, kefir, butter, Piima butter, buttermilk, creme fraiche, quark, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese (also farmers cheese and pot cheese),ricotta, goat cheese (feta), mozzarella, and marscapone.
There are also some really nice recipes in the back. Highlights for me were the Cheese Blintzes, the Wasabi Rice Crackers, the Marinated Feta, and the Marscapone-Stuffed Dates (although I despise dates and stuffed the cheese into strawberries instead..., Penne with Herbed Goat Cheese and Tomatoes, and the Chicken Curry with Yogurt. Yum.
Kathy Farrell-Kingsley
ISBN: 9781603420310
Nonfiction: cheese history, and recipes for soft cheeses, butter, cream-cheese, yogurts, and more.
Read July 2015
This was a prize for our Summer Reading Program, and it was a lovely fit. I have family that makes and sells cheese, and when I was young, my mother was big on colonial life and back to basics living, so we suffered through some overly enthusiastic and much less organized bouts of butter, yogurt, and cheese-making. I remember it being complicated, smelly, and generally resulting in failure, but the clear tone and reassuring directions in this handy guide make me want to give it a try once more.
The only thing I would have liked would be some pictures. There are a few very stylized illustrations, but an actual photo or a lifelike drawing would be a great help in determining if I'm doing things right.
Overall a lovely book, with clear descriptions of the tools needed, and directions for making all of the following: yogurt, kefir, butter, Piima butter, buttermilk, creme fraiche, quark, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese (also farmers cheese and pot cheese),ricotta, goat cheese (feta), mozzarella, and marscapone.
There are also some really nice recipes in the back. Highlights for me were the Cheese Blintzes, the Wasabi Rice Crackers, the Marinated Feta, and the Marscapone-Stuffed Dates (although I despise dates and stuffed the cheese into strawberries instead..., Penne with Herbed Goat Cheese and Tomatoes, and the Chicken Curry with Yogurt. Yum.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Nonfiction: The Backyard Beekeeper, Kim Flottum
The Backyard Beekeeper (3rd edition)
An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden
Kim Flottum, photographs mostly by Kim Flottum
ISBN: 9781592539192
Nonfiction: a really exhaustive and heavily illustrated (and photographed) guide.
Read July 2015
I enjoyed the slightly snarky, tell-it-like-it-is tone that Flottum takes with her readers. She's dispensing valuable and clear-headed wisdom and history about bees and beekeeping, and clearing up a lot of misconceptions as well.
The edition is important to note, because this particular version has been written after the devastation of Colony Collapse Disorder, and even after the studies concluded that there wasn't a single cause for the terrible losses. Her guide takes into consideration the negative impact of pesticides, and has lots of advice for strengthening the hive and for maximizing the health of the bees, and for naturally (or as minimally-toxic as possible) ridding them of pests that would stress or weaken them.
Lots of good info, but I would also say that the photography and illustrations are not to be overlooked here. I am a visual learner, and having this wealth of really beautiful and very well composed, clear, illustrative photograpy to study is extremely helpful.
An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden
Kim Flottum, photographs mostly by Kim Flottum
ISBN: 9781592539192
Nonfiction: a really exhaustive and heavily illustrated (and photographed) guide.
Read July 2015
I enjoyed the slightly snarky, tell-it-like-it-is tone that Flottum takes with her readers. She's dispensing valuable and clear-headed wisdom and history about bees and beekeeping, and clearing up a lot of misconceptions as well.
The edition is important to note, because this particular version has been written after the devastation of Colony Collapse Disorder, and even after the studies concluded that there wasn't a single cause for the terrible losses. Her guide takes into consideration the negative impact of pesticides, and has lots of advice for strengthening the hive and for maximizing the health of the bees, and for naturally (or as minimally-toxic as possible) ridding them of pests that would stress or weaken them.
Lots of good info, but I would also say that the photography and illustrations are not to be overlooked here. I am a visual learner, and having this wealth of really beautiful and very well composed, clear, illustrative photograpy to study is extremely helpful.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Nonfiction: Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Edited by Laurie Lamson
Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror: Speculative Genre Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers
Edited by Laurie Lamson
ISBN: 9780399165559
Read June 2015
Collects exercises and encouragement from:
Steven Saus
Jule Selbo
Glenn M. Benest
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Kate Bernheimer
Vincent M. Wales
Lisa Renee Jones
Piers Anthony
Aimee Bender
Kim Dower
Brian James Freeman
Brittany Winner
Vonda N. McIntyre
Kealan Patrick Burke
Sabrina Benulis
Elliot Laurence
Steven Barnes
Diego Valenzuela
Danika Dinsmore
Xaque Gruber
Sequoia Hamilton
James Wanless
Michael Reaves
Raymond Obstfeld
Lois Gresh
Michael Dillon Scott
William E. Nolan
Christine Conradt
Derrick D. Pete
Todd Klick
Sara B. Cooper
Ben Thompson
Edward DeGeorge
Lisa Morton
Jan Kozlowski
E.E. King
David Anthony Durham
Mark Sebanc
Melissa Scott
L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Janice Hardy
Kij Johnson
Chris Howard
Nancy Kress
Harlan Ellison
Pen Densham
Douglas Mcgowan
Marc Scott Zicree
Richard Bleiler
Brianna Winner
Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein
Wendy Mewes
Eric Stener Carlson
Diana Peterfreund
Karen McCoy
Eric Edson
Bruce McAllister
Jeffrey A. Carver
Derek Taylor Kent
Jessica Page Morrell
Stacey Graham
Mark Sevi
Brad Schreiber
Reggie Oliver
James G. Anderson
Gabrielle Moss
Vanessa Vaughn
Maria Acevedo
Jack Ketchum
Rainbow Reed
J. Michelle Newman
Lillian Stewart Carl
Jody Lynn Nye
Scott Rubenstein
Lance Mazmanian
Simon Clark
John Skipp
Ramsey Campbell
David Brin
John Shirley
Jay Lake
Nicholas Royle
Jeremy Wagner
Dana Fredsti
Peter Briggs
Sharon Scott
Joe R. Lansdale
Whew!
All of those lovely authors and writers and industry-persons took time from their schedules to offer advice and exercises and encouragement. Lots of them didn't mesh with my writing style, some of them were weird, some of them were self-congratulatory (very few of those) and some of them were like little golden nuts to squirrel away into my writer's file to pull out when I need a boost.
A fun resource, and a great summer read.
Edited by Laurie Lamson
ISBN: 9780399165559
Read June 2015
Collects exercises and encouragement from:
Steven Saus
Jule Selbo
Glenn M. Benest
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Kate Bernheimer
Vincent M. Wales
Lisa Renee Jones
Piers Anthony
Aimee Bender
Kim Dower
Brian James Freeman
Brittany Winner
Vonda N. McIntyre
Kealan Patrick Burke
Sabrina Benulis
Elliot Laurence
Steven Barnes
Diego Valenzuela
Danika Dinsmore
Xaque Gruber
Sequoia Hamilton
James Wanless
Michael Reaves
Raymond Obstfeld
Lois Gresh
Michael Dillon Scott
William E. Nolan
Christine Conradt
Derrick D. Pete
Todd Klick
Sara B. Cooper
Ben Thompson
Edward DeGeorge
Lisa Morton
Jan Kozlowski
E.E. King
David Anthony Durham
Mark Sebanc
Melissa Scott
L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Janice Hardy
Kij Johnson
Chris Howard
Nancy Kress
Harlan Ellison
Pen Densham
Douglas Mcgowan
Marc Scott Zicree
Richard Bleiler
Brianna Winner
Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein
Wendy Mewes
Eric Stener Carlson
Diana Peterfreund
Karen McCoy
Eric Edson
Bruce McAllister
Jeffrey A. Carver
Derek Taylor Kent
Jessica Page Morrell
Stacey Graham
Mark Sevi
Brad Schreiber
Reggie Oliver
James G. Anderson
Gabrielle Moss
Vanessa Vaughn
Maria Acevedo
Jack Ketchum
Rainbow Reed
J. Michelle Newman
Lillian Stewart Carl
Jody Lynn Nye
Scott Rubenstein
Lance Mazmanian
Simon Clark
John Skipp
Ramsey Campbell
David Brin
John Shirley
Jay Lake
Nicholas Royle
Jeremy Wagner
Dana Fredsti
Peter Briggs
Sharon Scott
Joe R. Lansdale
Whew!
All of those lovely authors and writers and industry-persons took time from their schedules to offer advice and exercises and encouragement. Lots of them didn't mesh with my writing style, some of them were weird, some of them were self-congratulatory (very few of those) and some of them were like little golden nuts to squirrel away into my writer's file to pull out when I need a boost.
A fun resource, and a great summer read.
Monday, December 23, 2013
On Writing, Stephen King
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King
ISBN: 0684853523
Read December 15, 2013
Nonfiction: personal and professional memoir of author Stephen King.
I have had this book on my To-Read list forever it seems, and finally decided to pick it up. I don't know that I feel the same way about plot (he doesn't like the idea of plotting) and I'm not sure that I'm right there with him on "excavating" existing story ideas, like revealing the David hidden inside the marble. However, those two little personal approaches aside, he has presented an excellent and compulsively readable treatise.
He's also presented a fairly intimate portrait of himself, and I was a bit shocked at the forthright nature of his confessions of drug and alcohol abuse. Him including a biography of sorts wasn't necessary to the theme, and I thought it was very brave and open of him to do so, in the hopes that background information would help to make the advice ring more true.
When I put a book to the side for a long time, especially if it's one that I have expectations about, I'm often disappointed when I finally get round to it. This time, I wasn't let down in the least, and instead, I'm heading into the holidays with a more determined attitude towards my own creative outlets and my commitments to them.
Stephen King
ISBN: 0684853523
Read December 15, 2013
Nonfiction: personal and professional memoir of author Stephen King.
I have had this book on my To-Read list forever it seems, and finally decided to pick it up. I don't know that I feel the same way about plot (he doesn't like the idea of plotting) and I'm not sure that I'm right there with him on "excavating" existing story ideas, like revealing the David hidden inside the marble. However, those two little personal approaches aside, he has presented an excellent and compulsively readable treatise.
He's also presented a fairly intimate portrait of himself, and I was a bit shocked at the forthright nature of his confessions of drug and alcohol abuse. Him including a biography of sorts wasn't necessary to the theme, and I thought it was very brave and open of him to do so, in the hopes that background information would help to make the advice ring more true.
When I put a book to the side for a long time, especially if it's one that I have expectations about, I'm often disappointed when I finally get round to it. This time, I wasn't let down in the least, and instead, I'm heading into the holidays with a more determined attitude towards my own creative outlets and my commitments to them.
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