SuperFoods Rx by Steven Pratt, MD and Kathy Matthews, 2004, William Morrow, $24.95, hardbound, 336 pages. Category/Genre: health. Cover: tasty. Where we got it: borrowed it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
'SuperFoods' are those whole foods that provide massive amounts of nutrition -- in other words, the most healthful foods you can eat. There's a ton of information in this book, from what each of these foods can do for you, to the nutrients each contains, to how you can incorporate each SuperFood into your diet.
Where possible, substitutions for the SuperFoods are given -- so if you don't like oranges, for instance, you can have lemons, white or pink grapefruit, kumquats, tangerines, or limes instead. Pratt and Matthews say how many servings of each food you should try to get each day, and they also provide a smattering of recipes, some of which sound quite tasty.
If you like this one, try: Suggestions?
Ruby-throated Hummingbird by Robert Sargent, 1999, Stackpole Books, $19.95, softbound, 85 pages. Category/Genre: reference. Cover: good. Where we got it: borrowed it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
This book grew, in part, out of a long-time study of hummingbirds by the author. The chapters are: General Description and Natural History; Spring Migration; Breeding; Feeding and Foraging; Social Interaction and Communication; and Fall Migration and Winter Strategies.
This book teaches a lot about ruby-throats, including some information which may surprise the reader. For example, ruby-throated males are quite aggressive and territorial, and will even tear each other's feathers out in a fight. Predators of this tiny bird include praying manitses, certain spiders, tree climbing snakes, larger birds, and even toads and frogs.
There are some truly beautiful photographs in this book; we get to see both male and female ruby-throats in flight, chicks in a lichen-covered nest, fighting ruby-throats, and feeding ruby-throats.
If you like this one, try: Suggestions?
Smart Cookies by Jane Kinderlehrer, Illustrated by Claude Martinot, 1985, Newmarket Press, $7.95, softbound, 170 pages. Category/Genre: cooking. Cover: pretty good. Where we got it: borrowed it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble.
Along with 80 high fibre, low fat, no sugar cookie recipes, Kinderlehrer gives information on the ingredients that make these cookies 'smart.' For example, oats provide B vitamins, calcium, potassium, and protein, as well as offering little in the way of sodium. Using items like maple syrup and maple syrup granules, which contain only 65% sucrose (as opposed to the 99% cane sugar has), will help alleviate fluctuations in blood sugar levels.
There are recipes for cookies for pregnant women, vegetable-based cookies, college survival snack cookies, cookies for executives, heart-healthy cookies, and more.
Kinderlehrer also lists the nutrients found in the ingredients, although she doesn't tell how much of each nutrient is present. She does, however, mention the calories in each serving.
Some of the ingredients sound really good; others you may have to get used to.
If you like this one, try: Suggestions?
Cross River Traffic: A History of London's Bridges by Chris Roberts, 2005, Granta Books, $27.00, hardbound, 196 pages. Category/Genre: history. Cover: quite nice. Where we got it: prezzie. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble.
Central London has seventeen bridges crossing the Thames. This book explores the history of the current bridges and that of the bridges that came before them. It also examines why these crossings are situated where they are, as well as looking at the effects the bridges have on the communities involved.
Black-and-white photographs by a variety of London-based photographers punctuate the book, which includes lots of intriguing stories. Here you will find tales of suicides, terrorist plots, ghost stories, and of course, sex.
There are appendices, which contain extra information relating to the Thames and the builders of the bridges.
This book was written by someone with a true love of London and its history. If you want a book that takes a look at a part of London that is usually ignored, you'll want to try this one.
If you like this one, try: Suggestions?
Japanese Book-Binding: Instructions from a Master Craftsman by Kojiro Ikegami, 1986, Weatherhill, $34.95, hardbound, 127 pages. Category/Genre: how-to. Cover: understated, but we don't care for the green. Where we got it: publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
This book covers virtually every major binding style in Japan's approximately 1,500-year history of binding. If you are looking to make any of the major, historically important styles of Japanese bindings or traditional book cases, this volume is the one for you.
Firstly, the author goes over the tools and materials essential to this craft; he then outlines the basic binding procedure, a stitched four-hole book. After that are five variations on the four-hole book, four types of accordion book, six kinds of ledger or memo pad, the handscroll, and so on. Three types of book cases are included, as is a chapter on how to mend Japanese books.
For history lovers and craftsmen alike.
If you like this one, try: Suggestions?
About Birds by Cathryn Sill, Illustrated by John Sill, 2013, Peachtree, $16.95, hardbound, 35 pages. Category/Genre: reference. Cover: excellent. Where we got it; publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
Another terrific installment in the 'About . . . ' series, this one follows all kinds of birds, from robins to roadrunners to herons to hummingbirds, and tells what they all have in common . . . and some things that make them different.
After introducing birds, the book has extra information about each of the illustrations, or plates, in case readers want to learn more. Plus there are a glossary, bibliography, and websites listed.
If you like this one, try: About Penguins, by Cathryn Sill.
About Penguins by Cathryn Sill, Illustrated by John Sill, 2009, Peachtree, $15.95, hardbound, 41 pages. Category/Genre: reference. Cover: excellent. Where we got it: publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
This book is a first look at penguins for children. It explains what penguins are, how they live, and what they do, going over the basic traits that all penguins share, plus a few they do not.
There are 17 different kinds of penguins, and this book touches on all of them. After the first look, readers may read the Afterword, which explains more about each plate (illustration). Also included are a glossary, a bibliography, and useful websites.
As always, author and teacher Cathryn Sill and her noted wildlife illustrator husband, John Sill, do a bang-up job.
If you like this one, try: About Birds, by Cathryn Sill.
