Extreme Cakeovers: Making Showstopping Desserts from Store-Bought Ingredients, by Rick and Sasha Reichart, is just that ... cakes taken so far away from 'cake' you might not believe what you see ... well, at least for the early ones! Check out the cheeseburger and fries! While I will admit to mostly looking at the pictures and not reading the recipes, I actually did so here to be sure this was really done with cake! Don't miss the 'neon' jukebox or the motherboard! I enjoyed looking through this book, I cannot say how easy (or not) making these creations is. ;-)

Footnotes from the World's Greatest Bookstores: True Tales and Lost Moments from Book Buyers, Booksellers, and Book Lovers, by Bob Eckstein is an armchair tour of wonderful and quirky bookstores from, well, as the title suggests, all over the world. There's a bookstore in a mini-van, and one in what used to be a theater (think the Mt. Baker theater, like that), and one in a private house. There are some so tiny just one person can enter at a time, and others than can house hundreds at once. Loved the stories as to just who buys books (there are names you will recognize). :-)

Tall Reader recently loaned me the first of the Susan Elia Macneal Maggie Hope mysteries: Mr. Churchill's Secretary, and what a read it was! I started with a later book (see post for June 6, 2017) so it was nice to go back and see how everything got started. Again, there are spies, but also this time secret codes (in ads in newspapers of all places) and a father long thought to be dead. Good descriptions of London during the war, I thought.

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I'll admit to a fondness for books of 'bits' of information ... trivia, anecdotes, etc. on, well, just about any subject. This time it was Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: Strange Stories and Shocking Trivia from Inside the White House, by Cormac O'Brien. (It's not as lurid as it sounds). There's good and bad here about all the presidents (even a short entry on the current one). So many familiar themes: bribes, adultery, scandal ... ! And the criticism! That's not new, either. Why anyone wants to be president is a mystery to me! :-)

And, just to balance things out here, try Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Women of the White House, also by Cormac O'Brien. The author included short entries about the wives who died before their husband became president, a nice touch, I thought. And while a wife may have publicly supported her husband, behind the scenes they did not want to live in the capitol. In the early years several said they'd rather live on the frontier (think canvas tents)! I suggest reading these books at the same time, reading about both of them together.

Tall Reader loaned me America's First Daughter, by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie. It's written from Patsy Jefferson's view of her father's life. Well researched and with a nice writing style (with one glaring grammatical error throughout that probably only bothers me), it was an interesting read. That being said, I did not warm up to any of the characters, and it was time when husbands could, and did, beat their wives and children (not Jefferson, but the husbands of his daughters did). It's long been known that Jefferson died leaving a huge debt, but turns out it was not all his doing. As a good Virginian he'd taken on the debts of his sons-in-law. Also new to me was that Sally Hemmings (with whom he had several children) was the half-sister to his (deceased) wife. As I said, an interesting read!

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When I finished City Dog, Country Frog, with words by Mo Willems and pictures by Jon J. Muth I wondered if it would be something a parent would read to their child. It is about friendship, and loss. I shared it with Kiwi, who absolutely loved it! Thought it was great for reading to and with children, might even get a copy for the shelf in the house. (It really is a wonderful book, but it did make me cry)! This is also a four season book, and the illustrations are wonderful. I'd say, give it a try! :-) (Later: Tall Reader agreed with Kiwi). :-)

Here's another charming picture book from Wong Herbert Yee: Who Likes Rain? Follow a little girl, and her yellow umbrella, as she discovers who needs rain, who dislikes rain, and who loves the rain. Delightful!

Follow along as a fox looks for some place dry in Watersong, by Tim McCanna and illustrated by Richard Smythe. As with so many picture books, it's best when you read it out loud. I loved the sound of the words.

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I first spotted Peace Weavers: Uniting the Salish Coast Through Cross-Cultural Marriages, by Candace Wellman on a desk at the Archives where I volunteer. It was local and looked most interesting! Since native peoples were often NOT included in the census (or other records) the necessary research to write this book boggles the mind. This area avoided some of the violent confrontations seen elsewhere when settlers moved into an area where native tribes had lived for generations by virtue of the cross-cultural marriages. Some were good (the book follows four women) but there was still abandonment when white males moved back home (and often then had a 'proper' marriage to someone there). While I thought this was a bit dry from time to time, I did enjoy the local feel of it, and some wonderful descriptions of this area. And I admired these women, who were so strong and intelligent.

If you ever wondered about the Peace Arch up there in Blaine, then this is the book for you: Sam Hill's Peace Arch: Remembrance of Dreams Past, by Richard Clark. From an idea, to construction, dedication and on through to an appendix filled with poetry it inspired, this is a book filled with information! Early on, when a call went out for volunteers to help with construction, the foreman laughed when two young (and small) girls from White Rock showed up. He soon learned they were strong, and worked hard. They volunteered in honor of those who did not return from WWI. There are explanations for the words inscribed on either side, and the gates on the inside. Many groups held services and celebrations there. One Easter service was actually canceled due to rain. (!) And one by the scare of poliomyelitis. There is a chronology all all these events, as well as one for the groups so I will admit I skimmed along here, slowing down for the ones that most interested me. There actually had to be a discussion as to whether or not to provide public restrooms! There have been political rallies, and nativity scenes, and more. Really, an interesting book (with just a bit of skimming). :-)

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I love books on words, and A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi: Words We Pinched from Other Languages, by Chloe Rhodes was one of the best of my recent reads. Many of the words included will be familiar, some will be new, and a few, you will learn, don't mean what we think they do ... at least not originally.

Our language is full of so many ways of saying things, and I enjoy finding the perfect word when I'm writing a letter, email, post, or short story. Which means, I love my thesaurus! There are many available, and mine is probably dated now, but I have been known to pick up Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus in Dictionary Form (edited by the Princeton Language Institute, Barbara Ann Kipfer, Ph.D., Head Lexicographer) and just browse!

Language is not static, it changes all the time, which means many people have many opinions on what words are 'proper' and so on. I could not pass up a book with such a great title as Bad English: a History of Linguistic Aggravation, by Ammon Shea! Did you know that OMG (then it was O.M. G.) was used as early as 1917? Or emoticons as early as 1887 (and possibly before)? My favorite chapter, though, was about words that were once frowned upon: use 'limb' never (gasp) leg. Use pantaloons, not pants. And "it's" ? well, that is just plan vulgar, use 'Tis! Although that came from 1767, I think I agree, I much prefer 'tis! :-)

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I had some mixed feelings about this book. I was taught to treat any book with care, not break the spine, not to write in it, and so on. Here, in the opening pages you are told to write your name in the book, read it until the pages fall out and to leave your fingerprints in it! What a different approach from my upbringing! Still, I did enjoy The Book No One Ever Read, by Cornelia Funke. Seems books want to be read! Watch for familiar authors and titles. :-)

This book is about acceptance, something seemingly lacking these days. Jacob likes dresses, and wants to wear one to school. He is teased, but the teacher tells the students that there was a time when girls could not wear pants (been there, done that, so glad it changed), so why couldn't a boy wear a dress? Thanks to Constant Reader for suggesting Jacob's New Dress, by Sarah and Ian Hoffman, illustrated by Chris Case.

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The Hello Girls: America's First Women Soldiers, by Elizabeth Cobbs was a fascinating and frustrating read. In 1917 telephones were connected with wire and required an operator to connect calls. Seems men were not all that good at such a job, and as they were needed for 'more important jobs', the military needed someone to work the phones. Women were the answer. Educated, bilingual (French) women. Dozens, hundreds, of women volunteered. They were given uniforms, a modicum of training, and sent overseas (many wanted to be as close to the front lines as possible). They served with honor and dignity under horrifying conditions. And yet, when they came home, the Army denied them any benefits at all, saying they weren't actually part of the military (as in not soldiers). It took decades to rectify this. Good read, but as I said, frustrating!

Alan Pinkerton was a man ahead of his times. Practically from the day his detective agency opened he hired women as operatives, not office staff. The Pinks: the First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, by Chris Eness tells about several of them. They worked undercover, behind enemy lines, and in dangerous situations (think assassination attempts). What an exciting read!

There is not much to be found on Kate Warne, the records of her time at the Pinkerton Agency were destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871, but using what is available, and her talents as an author, Greer Macallister has written a most readable historical novel. It was fun reading Girl in Disguise so soon after The Pinks because the cases were still fresh in my mind. I enjoyed the possibilities of what might have happened, and what might have been said. Hard to put down!

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