The language of social media has moved beyond 'friends' and 'posts' and 'like' to a time-wasting mess resembling a dorm room during Finals week.

There must be a better way.  With Google’s move into social media with Google+ I think we finaly have a way to manage the mess.

… Read full post »

Somewhere along the way,
people who love watching cooking shows
stopped getting off the couch,
turning cooking into a spectator sport.

Many people, busy and distracted, reach for fast food and convenience products when just a few ingredients and a little technique can provide satisfying, nutritiou… Read full post »

For many of us, "the old country" conjures up images of our grandparents, who told stories of life in another country before coming to the United States. For some though, the stories remain in our minds and must be written. The pace of life, hardships endured, and thoughts of family, food,… Read full post »

How will we reminisce when all our bits of data are obsolete?

The Future of Looking Back is a small book that delivers a big message on how to preserve personal values in today’s tech society.

Part 1, Stuff and Sentimentality, considers why we keep things and how to transfer… Read full post »

The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master, by Martha Alderson is a lovely writing companion from Adams Media.

Instead of drafting and redrafting your plot, characters, and story, get it right the first time by following the blueprint Alderson hands y… Read full post »

 

If you appreciate well-worn objects for their simplicity, you’ve got the idea of wabi-sabi. Wabi comes from harmony, simplicity, and being in tune with nature. Sabi means “the bloom of time.” We’ve become a generation of stuff, and the principles of wabi-sabi…

Read full post »

Street Food: Authentic Snacks from Around the World, by Carla Diamanti, Fabrizio Esposito

 

From authentic Spanish cuisine in Basque Country to the culinary mosaic of Japan, street food takes on a life of its own around the world. Street Food presents an array of images,… Read full post »

  “When we choose a typeface, what are we really saying?

What impression do we hope to create?”

Just My Type: A Book About Fonts provokes discussion on the fascinating world of fonts. Typefaces are about 560 years old and represent some of the most important and least-appreciated gr/…

Read full post »

Wild Mind: Living The Writer’s Life, first published in 1990, is reissued for 2011, along with three other beloved titles by Natalie Goldberg, in digital format, published by Open Road. The others in the series are Thunder and Lightning, Long Quiet Highway, and Banana Rose.

 All fo…

Read full post »

Patricia Fry, Executive Director of the Small Publishers, Artists & Writers Network in Southern California, unleashes a stream of proven ideas to help you become a powerhouse author. Fry moves past author marketing 101 with her creative, proven ideas to promote your book.

Fry is a writer’s…

Read full post »

If you’re like most of us, you can’t resist peering at a handwritten list on a nearby café table, or glancing at a list your seatmate in 23B is writing. Now imagine this: You’re an author, who happens to work as the curator of manuscripts at the Smithsonian Institution Archiv… Read full post »

As I write this, at 8:00 a.m., leaf-blowers are making horrendous noise below my balcony. They are moving leaves around the parking lot, in ways a broom could do with much less noise.

So it was with great joy that I spent a few quiet evenings reading In Pursuit of… Read full post »

Happy Now? is a humorous novel, despite the concept: following a young wife during the weeks after her husband’s suicide on Valentine's Day.

 

Much of this entertaining novel involves Claire’s relationship with her family. They are there to help her through the loss of he… Read full post »

Writing this review first required I solve a big problem: How to review a book that’s bigger than my computer.  Gorgeous, isn’t it?

 

 

The Red Book is best described as a work of  psychology in a literary form, not meant as scholarly, but… Read full post »

 

 

Donald Maass, an agent for over thirty years, sees far too many manuscripts that are just not great, with no clue as to why. But then he sees many terrific novels and knows they will succeed. The Breakout Novelist is geared to writers who already know… Read full post »

In Lastingness: The Art of Old Age, Nicholas Delbanco takes us inside the lives of geniuses in the world of art, literature, and music to learn what happens to artists who endure. Why is someone creative until age 30, and then never again? How do some/… Read full post »

Covering Florence and surroundings, as well as Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Livorno and more, you’ll see Tuscany like a native with Secret Tuscany.

Go beyond architecture, hotels and cafes, to learn the legends, secrets and origins of place names (toponymy). There’s not a sidewalk crack… Read full post »

_{NEWS UPDATE: Secret Venice received the Gold Medal at the major worldwide "Independent Publisher’s award" in the United States, as the best travel guide of the year 2011. And, at the Prague Book Fair 2011, Secret Venice was also awarded the 3rd place for the best travel guide.}

 Secret Veni… Read full post »

Deep in the midst of a Chicago winter, I've just had the pleasure of reading 1000 Sacred Places: The World's Most Extraordinary Spiritual Sites, by Christopher Engels.

The beauty of 1000 Sacred Places far exceeds this reviewer's grasp of words. Let me share the basics with you now,… Read full post »

 

Wine is a topic of great passion among those who enjoy the simple pleasures of good food and good friends. My recommendation for best book gift of the holiday season can enhance your palate and knowledge. The Wine Year, by Rosalind Cooper combines approachable knowledge with the lust of travel,…

Read full post »

Judge this book by its cover... the writing is equally beautiful. You’ll be glad The Art & Craft of Fiction has such a gorgeous cover, because you’ll keep this book by your side for a long time. 

 In three parts, author Victoria Mixon walks you through:

I.… Read full post »

If you haven’t seen the Eat, Pray, Love film yet, I won’t spoil any plot secrets. If you have seen it, and are ready to make your own adventure, Lonely Planet paves the way with three guidebooks leading you on the path to your own quest. For many… Read full post »