SquidLit Review

SquidLit Reviews have now been incorporated into Books at the Beach and I just want you to know that it was really easy!

I exported all of the SquidLit Reviews using the Tools option to an xml file on my computer. Then, using the same Tools option I imported the file into Books at the Beach. All of the blog entries appeared and in the right order. I had some minor adjustments to do to Categories but it was easy as pie.

This url, http://squid.crabbysbeach.com/blogs, is available for use if anyone would like it.

Books at the Beach now has a button on the sidebar of Crabbysbeach, so if you’re looking for a good book, see what the latest recommendations are. You can review a book and have your Amazon Associates code included by joining the Books at the Beach group.

Visit: SquidLit Reviews at Books at the Beach

Most people are familiar with PostSecret, but in case you aren’t here is the lowdown. According to Wikipedia, PostSecret is an ongoing community mail art project, created by Frank Warren in 2005, in which people mail their secrets anonymously on a homemade postcard. Select secrets are then posted on the PostSecret website, or used for PostSecret’s books or museum exhibits. Over 500,000 secrets have been sent since 2005 and you can find PostSecret on Twitter and Facebook, there are PostSecret events and chats, and there is even a PostSecret Community webpage.

The SquidLit Review by Kab of the PostSecret book has been one of the top-ranked reviews for quite some time now. It gives a good look at many of the Secrets and has a good interactive discussion going on what people think of it. She says, “these secrets serve as powerful proof that we are all fragile and partly broken, but that we are not alone in our problems. In reading others’ secrets, you find pieces of yourself: pieces you are afraid of, pieces you have grown to love, pieces you didn’t even know were there.”

I must admit that I was a little disturbed when I first read the secrets. Why do people have no one in their lives that they can share their secrets with? But many see it differently. Frank Warren gave them an outlet and, hopefully, it was cathartic. Many of them are beautifully artistic pieces.

What do you think? Have you sent in a secret? Would you?

Visit: A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book

What a great title and so true! The book “Time is a River” by Mary Alice Monroe was highly recommended by lensmaster Joan4, and I always pay attention to what Joan says.

According to Joan’s SquidLit Review, this book is for every woman who has struggled in some way or other. This particular book is the story of Mia, who has struggled through breast cancer and a divorce. That’s got to cover a few million women right there. I love what Joan says in her introduction.

“Time is a River made me feel good. Yes, it is a novel and yes, it includes some mystery and some romance. But the key to this book is in Mia’s emotional healing, facing her fears, becoming her own woman — and as Mia grows as a person, so do her readers.”

It sounds like this would be a great summer read, and if you like this one Mary Alice Monroe has several other books to choose from. If you like Joan’s review of the book, please nominate it for the Summer Sunshine Award. If Joan’s lens is chosen, $99 will be donated to Friends of the Park, a Pendleton, South Carolina non-profit.

SquidLit – Time Is A River by Mary Alice Monroe

Here is another summer read especially for women. If you are a guy, keep reading because I’m sure there is a woman in your life that might like this book.

Jeanine, known as IntuitiveHealer on Squidoo, tells what she likes about the book, The Summerhouse, right up front – it has romance, time travel, and becoming who you really are. Besides a great story, the underlying theme has to do with “how women friends help each other grow and heal.” I can really identify with this. As much as I love my husband, I’m not sure I could survive without my women friends.

Have you read this book or others by Jude Deveraux? Let Jeanine know what you think.

Visit: The Summerhouse

Two things intrigued me about this SquidLit Review of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell. First, the title. How could anyone have a thousand autumns? Secondly, it was written by Carol, also known as Stazjia. Carol is an avid reader and writer and always has something interesting to say.

Then it became even more intriguing when I learned that David Mitchell has received three Man Booker nominations and is the author of the book, Cloud Atlas, which I had heard two different people raving about in the past week. I had to know more.

Carol says, “It is beautifully written with such believable characters that I loved and hated them according to their actions and personalities.” The Daily Telegraph described it as complex and eloquent.

Jacob de Zoet is a foreigner working in Japan in the late 18th, early 19th centuries. He wants to make his fortune so that he can return to Holland to marry Anna. Jacob has to deal with morality issues as he faces much corruption among the traders. It sure sounds like a gripping read to me. As a matter of fact, Carol said that she couldn’t put it down.

SquidLit – The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by Stazjia

Are you looking for some good summertime reading? Lucy (LKW31) recommends Riders by Jilly Cooper as classic 80’s fiction. She says, “Jilly Cooper’s novels are great, especially Riders. Pure escapism for perfect summer reading. This is not a ‘highbrow’ book – this is a guilty pleasure to read over and over again!”

Riders is Lucy’s favorite of the Rutshire Chronicles series, which consists of eight books. It is about a group of talented horse show jumpers preparing for the 1984 Olympics and all of the ambitions, romances, and rivalries that go along with the territory. The front cover declares, “Cheeky, naughty, fun!” Lucy’s enjoyment of this book really shines through her review. I love the quote she highlights from the book – “The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness and kindness, can be trained to do most things.” Okay, maybe Riders would appeal mostly to the female gender.

Lucy is a fairly new writer to Squidoo but she is already making a splash. Not only does she know how to write a really great book review, but her other 19 lenses are all extremely well done and she has already been awarded a Lens of the Day!

If you are looking for more summer reading options, check out Lucy’s Top 10 Books for Lazy Summer Reading.

What happens when you have two SquidLit Reviews on the same book by two of the best Squidoo lensmasters around? Well, for me, it felt like hitting the jackpot. The book Julie and Julia by Julie Powell was reviewed by lensmasters JaguarJulie and Treasures-by-Brenda.

I did not read the Julie and Julia book but I did see the movie and loved it. This story would appeal to cooks, Julia Child fans, and bloggers alike. Imagine starting a blog, which turns into a book, which turns into a movie starring Meryl Streep.

So, what about those reviews? They are both well worth reading because these two really know how to put together a lens. How are they different? Each brings their own unique style to the table, so to speak.

Brenda tells us some interesting tidbits about how the hardcover of this book is now a sought after and valuable item and how the name of the book was changed between the hardcover and the paperback. She opens with a poll, asking whether we have read the book, are thinking about it, or have no interest in this type of book. Several excerpts of reviews by others are scattered throughout and she points out where you can get first edition copies, blu-ray movies, and audiobooks.

Julie starts her SquidLit off with a poll about favorite recipes and further in the lens has some great photos of some of Julia’s recipes – French Onion Soup and Ham and Gruyere Crepes. Rather than a poll rating of the book, she offers a duel – did you like it or not and why? Like Brenda, JaguarJulie also offers review excerpts and links to those who are blogging about the book. Towards the end of her review, she has a section on Julia Child and highlights several of her cooking books.

Two great lensmasters, two great SquidLit reviews, each offering something a little different.

Review by Treasures-by-Brenda
Review by JaguarJulie

Sylvia (boutiqueshops on Squidoo) asks us to take a look at our surroundings.

“Do you feel happy about what you see? Are you surrounded by things that provide real value to you and are easy to find, or are you surrounded by mountains of stuff (and simply looking at that stuff makes you feel bad)?”

If you feel the latter, she thinks that the book “Throw Out Fifty Things” by Gail Blanke might be just the book you need.

Sylvia is a very entertaining writer and one senses in her review that she has found this book to be very useful in her own life. It deals not only with the clutter in our homes, garages, and attics but also the clutter in our minds. Physical and mental clutter seem to go hand in hand. Here’s what struck Sylvia the most.

“What is a real blessing to me in this book is that Gail helps us take a look at that “baggage” that accumulates in our hearts and minds until we can barely function. Regrets, insecurities, perfectionism, inadequacies and more – she helps us take a good hard look at our stinkin’ thinkin’.”

Whether we collect physical things or not, I would say that most people could relate to what Sylvia says about mental clutter. The premise of the book is that if you can go through your house and pick out fifty things to get rid of, you cross a psychological barrier of sorts that can help with both physical and mental clutter. Sylvia gives an incredibly deep and insightful look at this book and I highly recommend reading it.

My only comment is that I hate throwing things in the trash and I’m not sure if the book goes into ways to get rid of your stuff by getting it to someone else who can use it. One person’s junk is another person’s treasure and all that.

Visit: Throw Out Fifty Things

The great photographer Alfred Stieglitz (married to Georgia O’Keefe) is known for his cloud studies. In a 1923 article titled, How I Came to Photograph Clouds, he writes that he decided to photograph clouds to see if he had really learned anything about photography in 40 years. He wanted to put forward his philosophy of life through clouds. With his final exhibit, he wanted to have photographs that no one would ever forget and that would inspire a composer to write a symphony about clouds.

Lensmaster LKW31 has her head in the clouds (in a good way). She is “a proud member of the Cloud Appreciation Society, and an avid cloudspotter.” The opening line of her SquidLit review of The Cloudspotter’s Guide had me hooked immediately. She begins, “I am always falling over and bumping into things, and Gavin Pretor-Pinney is solely responsible! I have always appreciated a good cloud, but after reading the Cloudspotter’s Guide I find even a sky blanketed in grey fascinating. I can’t stop looking up at the clouds!” This is a woman I can relate to.

Clouds are fascinating, constantly changing, and often beautiful (even when they’re angry clouds). The Cloudspotter’s Guide will teach you about clouds, but there is much more than science to this book. LKW31 calls it “inspiring, humorous, and philosphical” too. If you’re interested, she also has lenses on clouds, rain, and rainbows.

Field of Compassion is Judy Cannato’s latest book melding science and spirituality. She is one of my favorite authors because she loves science as much as I do and can explain it in layman’s terms. In this book, she explains the latest research involving morphogenic fields, and proposes that a field of compassion is developing and is essential to our future.

In her preface to the book, Cannato begins,

“This book is for mature readers only. It is not a self-help program. It is not about building self-esteem. It is not intended to convince you that God loves you. Neither is it an attempt to tell you about the many potentially deadly crises that beset our world…. The purpose of this book is two-fold. First, to invite you to transformation that will change the way our species lives. Second, to suggest ways that we may walk this terrain together.”

Find out more at my SquidLit on this book – Field of Compassion. Or her previous one – Radical Amazement.