by Louie Jerome

Psychic or crazy? At five years old she realised that she was different.  Fear of punishment and ridicule led her to keep her amazing secret.

At five years old she knew that she was different and a meeting with a faith healer showed her just how wonderful the gift of healing could be. Peter and the nameless black dog were her constant companions and after being punished for telling lies she started to keep her secrets to herself. The small girl built a wall around herself and that wall still remained in place during most of her adult life. A terrifying encounter with a ouija board stopped her from meddling in the dark side of magic and a lesson in tarot reading opened her eyes and heart to the idea that there was something much more powerful than the human mind at work in the universe. She developed an uncanny empathic understanding for the troubles of others and continued to explore her own spirituality. This is the story of how a little girl dared to be different and grew into a woman who describes herself as not like other people.

Read hi-lights of this new book here.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – An Easy Household Guide ~ Book Review
By Lillian Brummet

I was very excited to review Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – An Easy Household Guide by UK author, Nicky Scott. Because my husband and I wrote Trash Talk, which is a similar guide written for North Americans, I was very interested to learn how individuals in the UK are dealing with reducing waste.

With the 96-page book, the author attempts to provide a guide for people to follow; “in a world of confusing messages” where overwhelming environmental problems weigh down our hearts, Nicky hopes to encourage readers with positive information. Cute little illustrations by Axel Scheffler accompany most of the pages, adding a little touch of humor.

One of the first things Nicky discusses is the importance of refusing to purchase over-packaged items – in fact he states it is the main focus of the book, and it does briefly discusses avoiding disposables, things that cannot be recycled and those that are made from all virgin materials. Whereas the book seems to concentrate on how to reuse or recycle existing trash, it also comments on seeing the reuse, repair or recycle potential for products we are considering buying. He also suggests taking advantage of re-fill retailers (i.e. in Canada: Body Shop, Sampson Soaps, etc) and bulk outlets (grocery stores, bulk products at hair salons, etc). The author mentions that maintenance increases the likely hood of reuse and stressed donations and private sales. Tips are included on ways to make the recycle system run more smoothly and interesting UK statistics.

Chapter three hosts 59 pages of an extensive A-Z guide for items that are commonly found in waste bins. What to do with Fluorescent and CFL bulbs, funeral alternatives to consider, what the various numbers on plastics mean -it’s all covered here in this tidy book. I found the information about all the different kinds of batteries, particularly the button-cell variety (watch, camera, calculator, etc), quite interesting. Interestingly, I never considered donating furniture too battered for reuse to upholsterer businesses and classes, where they may wish to reuse the frame to make new furniture.

Readers may find that some of the information is repetitive and Chapter four seems to reiterate what the book is trying to say. I enjoyed chapter five, which discusses the future of zero waste and cleaner waste (less toxic or greenhouse gas producing), very much. The book closes with an excellent resource section that offers roughly two-dozen organizations along with their contact information and lists about thirty books that are certain to make the environmentalist in you drool with anticipation.

Nicky Scott, Chairperson for the National Community Composting Network (CCN) in the UK, is the author of three small books (roughly 4 x 6 inches) dealing with waste reduction and has appeared in two videos about composting. His interest began while working at a compost business as a young man, and the passion grew while he studied at the UK’s leading organic research organization, The Henry Doubleday Research Association. As initiator and Secretary of one of the first community composting projects, which continues to created jobs, and the head of the newsletter for the CCN organization – he is a busy man. Between all this, he squeezes in time to run workshops and give lectures. In his spare time, Nicky is a musician and artist.

Author: Nicky Scott
Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Publisher: Green books (UK)
ISBN: 1-903998-40-9

~ Book Reviewer: Lillian Brummet - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment – Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry. (http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)

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The Good Husband of Zebra Drive

by

Alexander McCall Smith

The latest book from the No1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series.

Precious Ramotswe is a woman who is proud of her traditional build and there is never a dull moment in this latest addition to the series.

There are staffing problems at Zebra Drive and Mr J.L.B. Matekoni wants to deal with the case of an errant husband. Mma Ramotswe doesn't really thing that a man can deal with these things in the same way that a real No1 lady can.

There are a couple of tricky cases but in the end Precious can always rely on the long suffering Mr J.L.B. Matekoni (her husband, but we never get to know his name!)

These books are set in Botswana and they are fun, light reading. There is always a laugh and something going on in the life of Precious Ramotswe. These books can be read as a series but each one is also a complete story on its own. Great reading!

Other books in this series include :

No1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tears of The Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, Kalahari Typing School for Men, Full Cupboard of Life, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, Blue Shoes and Happiness, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive.

 

 

 

 

HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

BY J.K. ROWLING

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a modern fairytale. Imagine sleeping for ten years under the stairs and then finding that you are in a world where anything impossible because of all that magic and wizardry. Then you discover that you are a real wizard yourself and you can learn to do these things.

Harry goes off to Hogwart's to learn magic but not before he has a lot of trouble with Uncle Vernon and his equally unpleasant wife. Harry Potter is enjoyed by children and adults and leaves you literally clamouring for more.

If you haven't yet ventured into the world of Harry Potter you don't know what you're missing. Great tales of fantasy and intrigue which will make you thirsty for more.