You can’t judge a book by its cover, a person by their appearance or a wine by its label. However, in this case, Mommy’s Time Out wines deliver exactly what their label promises…a well-deserved break! Imported by Selective Wine Estates, Inc., Mommy’s Time Out wines are fun, drinkable, affordable and a great girlfriend gift this holiday season! The Moscato is the newest Mommy’s Time Out offering. Blended with the Garganega grape it is juicy with notes of fig and just the right amount of sweetness. Preferring drier wines, I was pleasantly surprised by how balanced this Moscato tasted. ... (Read More ...)
Having flirted with classical music forms at various points in her 20-year recording career, Tori Amos has finally committed in full. On Night of Hunters, her 12th studio album, the Peabody Conservatory prodigy draws on four centuries of European art music (Bach, Schubert, Chopin, Satie, among others), as well as on popular balladry and elements of contemporary musical theater, to create a song cycle by turns intricate and impressionistic, demanding and enchanting. There are no guitars on the album and, save for Amos’s signature Bösendorfer, no percussion instruments. Instead, the album’s... (Read More ...)
There may be a correlation, but you’re not sure. Do wrinkles directly contribute to crabbiness? Can the sprouting of gray hair cause a general miasma? And why do people think “Senior Moments” are so darn funny? You wonder, because you’ve spotted another wrinkle and two more grey hairs, you forgot where your keys are, and there’s nothing humorous about that. But getting older has its benefits, says Marc E. Agronin, MD. In his new book “How We Age”, he takes a look at aging – not from your body’s POV, but from your brain’s perspective. Growing up in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, Marc... (Read More ...)
168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam. A half-hour a day, that’s all you need. If you could somehow cram that extra thirty minutes into your already-overscheduled day, you might have a chance to get everything done. But alas, that’s not possible because you’re crazy-busy with never enough time. Isn’t everybody? No, says author Laura Vanderkam. As a matter of fact, there are people busier than you, and they find plenty of time to volunteer, start businesses, and run marathons. In the new book “168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think”, she explains how... (Read More ...)
IF YOU COULD PLAY GOD AND CREATE THE PERFECT LEADER FOR OUR TIMES, what would this person look like? You would want this person to be wise, able to comprehend many sides of complicated issues, and to create novel and innovative solutions to problems. You would want the perfect leader to be working for the good of the whole group, not just for personal power or glory. The perfect leader would inspire others by understanding their perspectives, capitalizing on their strengths, and overcoming their weaknesses. And the perfect leader would persist until a job was done, even if it meant personal sacrifice. You’ve just... (Read More ...)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows 278 pages/hardcover $22.00 The Dial Press, 2008 paperback edition to be released by Dial Press 5/5/09 ($14.00) “We clung to our books and our friends; they reminded us that we had another part to us.” Told entirely in letters, this charming and deeply moving novel celebrates the power of friendship, love, and books to sustain the human spirit. In Guernsey, one of England’s Channel Islands occupied by the Germans in World War II, an unusual book group forms. Begun as a ruse to fool the capriciously... (Read More ...)
Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult 477 pages/hardcover $27.95 Atria Books, 2009 Reviewed by Cindy Kane Bestselling author Jodi Picoult delivers another compelling mixture of family dynamics and ethics in her new novel. Handle With Care explores the emotional toll of caring for a seriously ill child and the repercussions of a medical malpractice suit that asks the question: Could a family have been better off if a child had never been born? The novel is told as a series of diary-style entries addressed to Willow, the daughter of Charlotte and Sean O’Keefe. The O’Keefes have coped with... (Read More ...)
Living in the Heartland chronicles three women’s search for identity, self-esteem, and happiness. It’s a compelling story of real Americans − women who are heroines not because of remarkable feats but in the graceful way they live in the face of challenges. Living in the Heartland: Three Extraordinary Women’s Stories available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com. Read the author’s blog at http://www.livingintheheartland.com/ Read More →
CHAPTER ONE Freedom. I stepped into the shower and inhaled deeply, allowing the heat to penetrate my aching muscles and soothe my nerves. Being a stay at home mom to two kids was a lot harder than I’d expected. Thankfully they’d both gone down fairly easily tonight, and I reveled in the knowledge that for the next few hours I was free. I heard Mark as he entered the bathroom, and I could tell he was trying really hard not to disturb me. He knew how sacred my nightly shower ritual was – the only time I really had to myself anymore. “Mark?” “Yeah.” “What is it? Is the... (Read More ...)
What were you doing during your junior year in high school? Chasing boys? Cheering on the home team? Worrying about the perfect prom dress (or if you were even going to make it to prom)? Fighting with your parents because of their crazy restrictive curfews? I don’t know what Hannah Moskowitz did to keep it real during eleventh grade. And considering she’s only nineteen, those days were, well, like, yesterday. I know one thing she did do, though. She got herself a little publishing deal with one of the biggest houses in the country. In the world. She wrote a book called Break, and it is easily... (Read More ...)
