Get ready to pay attention!
Because as the main character relives her life over and over again you’ll want to remember who’s who, what was what and when things happened the last times around.
Would I recommend it? Yes – a book worth paying attention to!
There I am, standing at the circulation desk of the library waiting as my pile of books gets checked out when yet another book catches my eye.
How could I have missed it? The cover is muted red with black and shiny gold highlights. The title “Wicked Bugs” sounds interesting but once I see that the subtitle involves the word “diabolical” I pick it up.
I pick it up and discover that it is one of those hard cover books.
Perhaps someone can help me out here because I have no idea what the technical term is for this kind of cover. All I know is that there are hardcovers, and then there are those hardcovers. Those hardcovers have a matte finish, feel extra soft in hand and once I’m holding a book with one of those covers it’s all over. The book practically screams to come home with me, I must know what’s inside. Need it even be said? – I love those covers.
Once I’m done swooning over my favorite cover I see that it’s a unique size. Squarish, but not so square as to be awkward, just enough to be different. Smaller and cuter (which is saying something since I count ten bugs on the front alone) than your average book.
So, there I am, abandoning my favorite librarian mid-conversation, already in love with a book I have yet to open.
I quickly page through it and it just gets better. Line drawings of giant bugs, fancy fonts, off set quotes, informative boxes, classifications at the top of the page including “Horrible,” “Deadly” and “Painful” and the paper -it’s good paper, thick paper, I love this book.
I toss it on the top of my already too big pile, attempt to ignore the look from John which is trying to subtly inquire if I’ll ever be doing the dishes again with this pile of books to read and say “This one too!” just in case there is some other library patron ready to swoop in and take my new favorite book from me.
Would I recommend it? Need you ask? I’ve already read it, but it’s not due back at the library yet so I’m keeping it around the house thrusting it at people and forcing them to read crazy, wicked bug facts while admiring the cover.
Also I have made a mental note never to move any further south, too many “wicked bugs” down there where it’s warm!
And a second mental note that I must next read Wicked Plants by the same author.
And that e-readers are probably not my thing.
And that while I just gave this a broad recommendation probably people who go through the roof when they see a spider wouldn’t appreciate the larger than life drawings involved.
And a final mental note that the rest of my mental notes should be on post-it’s as I’ve been staying up way too late reading to be able to remember all this stuff.
Flavia is back!!!
Of course to be fair she’s been back before this in I Am Half-Sick Of Shadows but I see I didn’t manage to write a post about that.
Sorry.
Would I recommend it? Yes! I’d recommend all five and this one I liked better than the last two.
If you haven’t already please, do yourself a favor, read The Sweetness At The Bottom of the Pie where it all starts.
Once we brought home Cows to the Rescue, which was pretty good, but nobody seemed to love it.
Chickens, on the other hand, now we are talking!
Not only do I just like chickens better but there is something really great about everyone shouting:
CHICKENS TO THE RESCUE! 
It flows off the tongue in a very pleasing way.
Would I recommend it? I would indeed.
Now I think I’ll go read it to my chickens- I’m thinking they are under-performing.
It’s all the drama that I have loved in Phillipa Gregory’s books on the royal families but set in Russia and narrated through the eyes of a female spy.
Would I recommend it? I’ll be looking for the sequel when it comes out!
The best I can describe these books is that they were like packages of Double Stuff Oreo cookies hiding in my cupboard.
Now, for me, packages of Oreos in the cupboard don’t last long. I intend to make them last for days, intend being the key word here. But they are just so fun to eat, supremely tasty, with the added bonus of being a comfort food that you don’t have to actually cook and so addictive that even if I just eat two… and two… and two… all of a sudden I have no more Oreos.
Do I get anything out of the Oreos other than a great sugar high and happy munching? Nope.
Will I continue to eat Oreos? Of course.
Do I love Oreos and recommend them to my friends? Without a doubt.
Start here!
Would I recommend these books? Only if you like Oreos.
No, seriously, they have nothing to do with Oreos. Other than that they are fun, addicting and, while I hate to say it – I fear I have to, nutritionally empty. But they are completely fat free, unless of course you eat them with Oreos – it’s your call!
For almost three years an amazing thing has been happening – I’ve been blogging.
And I love my blog, I really do.
I write, you read, it’s amazing.
Amazing and but for fifty years I could have been one of the women in the book:
Struggling to find time to hand write stories to bring to their friends to read and critique while surrounded by their collective children.
Typing copies up to be mailed in to magazines and editors just to get someone other than their best friends to read what they have to say.
And here I lay in my bed, no doubt killing my neck with my horrible posture, clicking away at my keyboard and then with the push of a button and the magic of the internet – there it is for anyone to read.
Amazing.
Would I recommend it? Yes. This book is, of course, about so much more than a group of writing women. And while there are many, books about a group of friends going through life together the voice of the main character really struck a cord with me this time.
I am curious to know if you’ve read it if you felt the same. Was it really a good read or did it just speak to me?
First off I’d like to clarify that I am talking the Olivia books.
The books by Ian Falconer.
The books where the first of them has that nice shiny silver Caldecott medal on it.
THOSE Olivia books.
(I have no comment on all other shows videos and books of a pig with the same name.)
The books where the face of the Olivia’s mother is one of the best parts.
From Olivia and The Missing Toy.
Those Olivia books are my favorite picture books, and I collected most of them after I had children.
Olivia goes to Venice came out about a year ago and I liked it but not so much that I had to have it. This year when I saw the newest title was Olivia and the Fairy Princess I rolled my eyes, thought the author was losing it but that Ivy would love it and brought it home from the library.
But, then I read it and was oh so pleasantly surprised.
Olivia, she’s got a problem with all the pink princesses.
Olivia, I had no idea you could get any cooler but with the line “If everyone’s a princess, then princesses aren’t special anymore!” you became my all time favorite pig.
Ivy who has joined the hordes of girls (and pigs) who love pink princesses was unimpressed but I, I have a new favorite children’s book!
I think the full title says it all:
The Tipsy Baker
What it doesn’t say is that the stories of the efforts that went into this book are entertaining enough to be a book by themselves!
Make it or buy it? Do you know how to make a book? Me neither. Buy it.
Hassle: Minimal. In fact here is a to link help you out: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Bread-Buy-Butter-Shouldnt/dp/1451605889/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353794791&sr=8-1&keywords=make+the+bread+buy+the+butter
Cost Comparison: The cost of the ingredients required to replicate these recipes alone would certainly make buying the book cheaper. Once you factor in goats and chickens it’s a no brainer.
Would I recommend it? Yes, we’ve happily made a handful of the recipes and it’s been the only cookbook we’ve read out loud together!
I tried to read this while putting Jane to sleep.
Big mistake.
I started snorting and giggling and then laughed so hard I cried which not only had the opposite affect that I was looking for with Jane but brought the other two girls over to see what was the matter with me.
Foolishly the next day I figured that that was no doubt a one time event and so it would be safe to read the book while putting Jane to sleep because it wouldn’t be that funny AGAIN.
I was wrong.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Would I recommend it? Yes.
Mostly.
I think so.
As John said “It’s a bit over the top>” and it is in a cursing, ridiculous, hilarious way. If you aren’t sure how you feel about that check out her blog, (http://thebloggess.com/) first.
