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I don't review books I don't like!

*****= An all-time favorite
****  = Outstanding
***    = Above average
**      = Enjoyable
*        = Good, with reservations

Nonfiction

Within each category, the books are in order of rating, with the most recent reviews first.
Click on the book title to read the complete review.

Biographical

*****Diary of a Medical Intuitive, by Christel Nani, RN, PhD
*****Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
*****Leaving the Saints, by Martha Beck
*****The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness, by Joel ben Izzy
*****Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck
*****What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson
*****Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig
****Busting Vegas, by Ben Mezrich
****You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again, by Suzanne Hansen
****End of the Spear, by Steve Saint
****The Horses of Proud Spirit, by Melanie Sue Bowles
****The Story of My Life, by Farah Ahmedi with Tamim Ansary
****The Narrow Road, by Brother Andrew, with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
****Up and Down in the Dales, by Gervase Phinn
****Head Over Heels in the Dales, by Gervase Phinn
****Plan B:  Further Thoughts on Faith, by Anne Lamott
****Over Hill and Dale, by Gervase Phinn
****The Other Side of the Dale, by Gervase Phinn
  ****Journey from the Land of No, by Roya Hakakian
****Inside the Kingdom, by Carmen bin Ladin
****Love in the Driest Season, by Neely Tucker
****Burned Alive, by Souad
****The God I Love, by Joni Eareckson Tada
****The Waiting Child, by Cindy Champnella
****Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich
****The Christmas Box Miracle, by Richard Paul Evans
****Love, Greg and Lauren, by Greg Manning
****Sky of Stone, by Homer Hickam
****The Coalwood Way, by Homer Hickam
****The Oasis, by Petru Popescu
***The Unmistakable Touch of Grace, by Cheryl Richardson
***Tony and Me, by Jack Klugman with Burton Rocks
  ***Garlic and Sapphires, by Ruth Reichl
***Blowing My Cover, by Lindsay Moran
***Behind Enemy Lines, by Marthe Cohn with Wendy Holden
***Truth & Beauty, by Ann Patchett
***The World of William Steig, by Lee Lorenz
***To the Heart of the Nile, by Pat Shipman
***Uncle Tungsten, by Oliver Sacks
***Guarding the Moon, by Francesca Lia Block
***The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch), by Carroll Spinney with J Milligan
***I Choose to Stay, by Salome Thomas-EL with Cecil Murphey
***I Am the Central Park Jogger, by Trisha Meili
***Blue Dog, by George Rodrigue and Lawrence S. Freundlich
***Portraits 9/11/01
***Ice Bound, by Dr. Jerri Nielsen with Maryann Vollers
***A Year in the Maine Woods, by Bernd Heinrich
***Symphony of Spirits, by Deborah A. Forrest
***Diana's Boys, by Christopher Anderson
***The Walrus on My Table, by Anthony Guglielmo
**The Candidate, by Paul Alexander
**No Ordinary Lives, by David Johnson

Christian

*****A Generous Orthodoxy, by Brian D. McLaren
*****What Does the Bible Really Say About Hell? by Randy Klassen
*****My Descent Into Death, by Howard Storm
*****The Inescapable Love of God, by Thomas Talbott
*****A Year With C. S. Lewis, by C. S. Lewis
*****Unspoken Sermons:  Series I, II, and III, by George MacDonald
*****Glimpses of Grace, by Madeleine L'Engle, with Carole F. Chase
*****Discovering the Character of God, by George MacDonald
*****Knowing the Heart of God, by George MacDonald
****The Spiritual Journey Toward a Healed Marriage, by Charlyne Steinkamp
****The Power of a Praying Parent, by Stormie Omartian
****The Power of a Praying Wife, by Stormie Omartian
****A New Kind of Christian, by Brian D. McLaren
****Glimpses of the Devil, by M. Scott Peck, M.D.
****If Grace Is True, by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland
****Let Your Life Speak, by Parker J. Palmer
****Winged Life, by Hannah Hurnaud
****In the Spirit of Happiness, by The Monks of New Skete
****The Hope of the Gospel, by George MacDonald
****The Mystery of Marriage, by Mike Mason
****Wisdom To Live By, by George MacDonald
****Soul Survivor, by Philip Yancey
***All You Really Need to Know About Prayer You Can Learn From the Poor, by Louise Perrotta
***Miracles of Our Lord, by George MacDonald
***If God Is Love, by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland
***Reaching Out, by Henri J. M. Nouwen
***Breaking the da Vinci Code, by Darrell L. Bock, PhD
***A Calendar of Wisdom, by Leo Tolstoy
***Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, by Ace Collins
***Scribbling in the Sand, by Michael Card
***The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey
***George MacDonald in the Pulpit, compiled by J. Joseph Flynn and David Edwards
***A Reason For Hope
***The Prayer of Jabez, by Bruce Wilkinson
**His Name Is Jesus:  The Mysterious Yeshua Codes, by Yacov Rambsel

Computers

****The Art and Science of Web Design, by Jeffrey Veen
***Learning Web Design, by Jennifer Niederst
***Cheap Web Tricks, by Anne Martinez
***Poor Richard's Web Site, by Peter Kent

Cross-Cultural

****The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt
****A Castle in the Backyard, by Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden
****As the Romans Do, by Alan Epstein
****Sixpence House, by Paul Collins
****The Way of the Wanderer, by David Yeadon
****There's No Toilet Paper . . . on the Road Less Traveled, edited by Doug Lansky
****Wild Writing Women:  Stories of World Travel
****Not So Funny When It Happened, edited by Tim Cahill
****The Philosopher's Demise, by Richard Watson
****River Town:  Two Years on the Yangtze, by Peter Hessler
****Ripe for the Picking, by Annie Hawes
****My Love Affair With England, by Susan Allen Toth
****A House Somewhere, edited by Don George and Anthony Sattin
****Walking the Bible, by Bruce Feiler
****Angles of Reflection, by Joan L. Richards
****Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes
****The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by T. E. Carhart
****The Hills Is Lonely, by Lillian Beckwith
****Driving Over Lemons, by Chris Stewart
***Our Paris, by Edmund White with drawings by Hubert Sorin
***The Secret Life of the Seine, by Mort Rosenblum
***Notes from a Roman Terrace, by Joan Marble
***Bringing Tuscany Home, by Frances Mayes
***Fly Fishing the River of Second Chances, by Jennifer Olsson
***Slipping into Paradise, by Jeffrey Mousaieff Masson
***Bill Bryson's African Diary, by Bill Bryson
***Abraham, by Bruce Feiler
***Tuscany:  True Stories, edited by James O'Reilly and Tara Austen Weaver
***Spanish Lessons, by Derek Lambert

Current Issues

  ****The End of Poverty, by Jeffrey D. Sachs
****Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins
****The Middle of Everywhere, by Mary Pipher
****Moyers on America, by Bill Moyers
****Losing America, by Senator Robert C. Byrd
****Running on Empty, by Peter G. Peterson
****The Pentagon's New Map, by Thomas P. M. Barnett
****The Working Poor:  Invisible in America, by David K. Shipler
****Unfinished Business, by Dr. Julianne Malveaux and Deborah Perry
****The Soul of Capitalism, by William Greider
****Rogue Nation, by Clyde Prestowitz
****Of Paradise and Power, by Robert Kagan
****The Case Against Lawyers, by Catherine Crier
****Longitudes and Attitudes, by Thomas L. Friedman
****The Threatening Storm:  The Case For Invading Iraq, by Kenneth M. Pollack
****In Search of America, by Peter Jennings & Todd Brewster
****From the Good Earth, by Michael Ableman
****Suburban Nation, by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck
****Nickel and Dimed:  On (Not) Getting By in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich
***Terrify No More, by Gary A. Haugen with Gregg Hunter
  ***Selling Women Short, by Liza Featherstone
  ***The 9/11 Commission Report
***Homegrown Democrat, by Garrison Keillor
***Seven Money Mantras for a Richer Life, by Michelle Singletary
***What's So Great About America, by Dinesh D'Souza
***Bible Code II:  The Countdown, by Michael Drosnin
***Unfinished Business, by Harlan Ullman
***The Lessons of Terror, by Caleb Carr
***Hope Meadows, by Wes Smith
***Living a Life That Matters, by Harold S. Kushner
***The Coming Anarchy, by Robert D. Kaplan
**The Tending Instinct, by Shelley E. Taylor
**Crashing the Party, by Ralph Nader

Historical

****Walking Forward Looking Back, by John Labriola
****One Nation:  America Remembers September 11, 2001
***The Lost Painting, by Jonathan Harr
***Founding Mothers, by Cokie Roberts
***Farewell to Model T; From Sea to Shining Sea, by E. B. White
***America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction, by John Steinbeck
***Among the Heroes, by Jere Longman
***Taliban, by Ahmed Rashid
***Saddam's Bombmaker, by Khidhir Hamza
**The Wrong Stuff? by Phil Scott
**Before the Flood, by Ian Wilson
**The Riddle of the Compass, by Amir D. Aczel
**Seabiscuit, by Lauren Hillenbrand

Humorous

*****Life Among the Savages, by Shirley Jackson
****Here Speeching American, by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras
****The Complete Peanuts:  1955 to 1956, by Charles M. Schulz
****The Complete Peanuts:  1953 to 1954, by Charles M. Schulz
****How To Remodel a Man, by W. Bruce Cameron
****The Complete Peanuts:  1950 to 1952, by Charles M. Schulz
****Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss
****Pooh and the Philosophers, by John Tyerman Williams
****It Must Be True, by Denys Parsons
****Traveling While Married, by Mary-Lou Weisman
****I'm a Stranger Here Myself, by Bill Bryson
***Dave Barry's Money Secrets, by Dave Barry
***The Sweet Potato Queens' Wedding Planner/Divorce Guide, by Jill Conner Browne
***Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris
***Hotel Bemelmans, by Ludwig Bemelmans
***Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel, by Scott Adams
***Peanuts:  The Art of Charles M. Schulz, edited by Chip Kidd
**Dave Barry Turns 40, by Dave Barry
**I Am What I Ate. . . And I'm Frightened!!! by Bill Cosby
**Boogers Are My Beat, by Dave Barry
**My Life in Jokes, by Bob Hope with Linda Hope

Knitting

****The Knitting Experience Book 2:  The Purl Stitch, by Sally Melville
****The Knitting Experience Book 1:  The Knit Stitch, by Sally Melville
****The Best of Lopi, compiled by Susan Mills and Norah Gaughan
***Knit Lit, edited by Linda Roghaar and Molly Wolf
***Zen and the Art of Knitting, by Bernadette Murphy
***Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac, by Elizabeth Zimmerman
***Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, by Cat Bordi
***The Big Book of Knitting, by Katharina Buss
***The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, by Ann Budd
***Viking Patterns for Knitting, by Elsebeth Lavold

Mathematical

  *****Count Down, by Steve Olson
****Feynman's Rainbow, by Leonard Mlodinow
****In Code, by Sarah Flannery with David Flannery
***Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
**The (Mis)behavior of Markets, by Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard L. Hudson
**The Joy of Pi, by David Blattner

Medical

****Against Depression, by Peter D. Kramer
****Depression Fallout, by Anne Sheffield
****Heal Your Headache, by David Buchholz, M.D.
****Secrets, Lies, Betrayals, by Maggie Scarf
****Natural Energy, by Erika Schwartz, M.D. with Carol Colman
****The New Sugar Busters! by H. Leighton Steward, Morrison C. Bethea, MD,
Sam S. Andrews, MD, and Luis A. Balart, MD
****The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution, by Frederick Hahn, Michael R. Eades, MD, and Mary Dan Eades, MD
****Dr. Folkman's War, by Robert Cooke
***Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover, by Bob Greene
***Breathe Well, Be Well, by Robert Fried, PhD
***8 Minutes in the Morning for Real Shapes, Real Sizes, by Jorge Cruise
***My House Is Killing Me! by Jeffrey C. May
***Pain Free for Women, by Pete Egoscue, with Roger Gittines
**Pain Free, by Pete Egoscue

Musings

*****How We Choose To Be Happy, by Rick Foster and Greg Hicks
*****How Good Do We Have To Be? by Harold S. Kushner
*****Waking the World, by Allan B. Chinen, MD
*****Once Upon a Midlife, by Allan B. Chinen
*****Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
*****A Circle of Quiet, by Madeleine L'Engle
*****Walking on Water:  Reflections on Faith and Art, by Madeleine L’Engle
****The Irrational Season, by Madeleine L'Engle
****The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, by Madeleine L'Engle
****Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers, by Fred Rogers
****How Can We Keep From Singing, by Joan Oliver Goldsmith
****Letters to a Young Therapist, by Mary Pipher
****Sweeping Changes, by Gary Thorp
****The Opposite of Fate, by Amy Tan
****Astonish Yourself! by Roger-Pol Droit
****Of Other Worlds, by C. S. Lewis.  Edited by Walter Hooper
****Small Wonder, by Barbara Kingsolver
***My Therapist's Dog, by Diana Wells
***Pitching My Tent, by Anita Diamant
***Money, a Memoir, by Liz Perle
***It's Not Easy Being Green, by Jim Henson, edited by Cheryl Henson
***Nothing Left Over, by Toinette Lippe
  ***Being Perfect, by Anna Quindlen
***The Meaning of It All, by Richard P. Feynman
***Finding Time for Serenity, by Barbara Cawthorne Crafton
***Life's Work, by Lisa Belkin
***Loud and Clear, by Anna Quindlen
***14,000 Things To Be Happy About, by Barbara Ann Kipfer
***Which Way to the Future? by Stanley Schmidt
***At Home in the World, by Daniel Pearl, edited by Helene Cooper
***Meditations on Middle Earth, edited by Karen Haber
**The Importance of Being Lazy, by Al Gini
**Tales From the Couch, edited by Jason Shinder

Parenting

****Room to Grow, edited by Christina Baker Kline
****There Are No Shortcuts, by Rafe Esquith
****Raisin' Brains, by Karen L. J. Isaacson
****Raising a Reader, by Jennie Nash
****The Myth of Laziness, by Mel Levine, M.D.
****Discipline:  The Brazelton Way, by T. Berry Brazelton, M.D. and Joshua D. Sparrow, M.D.
****A Mind at a Time, by Mel Levine, M. D.
  ***Ready or Not, Here Life Comes, by Mel Levine, M.D.
***Babyhood, by Paul Reiser
***Smart Boys, by Barbara A. Kerr, PhD, and Sanford J. Cohn, PhD
***The Baby Owner's Manual, by Louis Borgenicht, M.D., and Joe Borgenicht, D.A.D.
***Why Boys Don't Talk and Why We Care, by Susan Morris Shaffer and Linda Perlman Gordon
***97 Ways to Make a Baby Laugh, by Jack Moore
***The Trouble With Perfect, by Elisabeth Guthrie, M. D., and Kathy Matthews
***Coloring Outside the Lines, by Roger Schank

Photography

*****Miracle:  A Celebration of New Life, by Anne Geddes and Celine Dion
****In Focus:  National Geographic's Greatest Portraits
****Lighthouses of Europe, photographs by Philip Plisson and Guillaume Plisson, text by Daniel Charles
****Shoot Like a Pro!  Digital Photography Techniques, by Julie Adair King
****Earth from Above, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
****Remarkable Trees of the World, by Thomas Pakenham
****The Universe:  365 Days, by Robert J. Nemiroff and Jerry T. Bonnell
****The Sea, photographs by Philip Plisson
****The Earth from Above:  365 Days, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
****America 24/7, created by Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen
****Lighthouses of France, photographs by Jean Guichard, text by René Gast
****The Complete Guide to Digital Photography, by Michael Freeman
***The Treehouse Book, by Peter and Judy Nelson with David Larkin
***Shoot! edited by Liz Harvey
**Travel Photography, by Susan McCartney

Poetry

****Good Poems, selected by Garrison Keillor
****A Poem a Day, edited by Karen McCosker
***Poem a Day, Volume 3, edited by Retta Bowen, Nick Temple, Nicholas Albery, and Stephanie Wienrich
***Poem a Day, Volume 2, edited by Laurie Sheck
***Committed to Memory:  100 Best Poems to Memorize, edited by John Hollander
***Gilgamesh, rendered in English by David Ferry
***Poems To Read, edited by Robert Pinsky and Maggie Dietz
***The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, selected by Caroline Kennedy
***Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages, selected by Harold Bloom

Reading

****Walking a Literary Labyrinth, by Nancy M. Malone
****Remarkable Reads, edited by J. Peder Zane
****The Child That Books Built, by Francis Spufford
****Biblioholism:  The Literary Addiction, by Tom Raabe
***A Passion for Books, edited by Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan
***Where Books Fall Open, paintings by Bascove

Relationships

*****NOT "Just Friends," by Shirley P. Glass, PhD
*****You Don't Have To Take It Anymore, by Steven Stosny, PhD
*****The Script, by Elizabeth Landers and Vicky Mainzel
*****How One of You Can Bring the Two of You Together, by Susan Page
*****The Divorce Remedy, by Michele Weiner Davis
*****For Women Only, by Shaunti Feldhahn
*****Love and Respect, by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
****The Dance of Intimacy, by Harriet Lerner, Ph.D.
****You Just Don't Understand, by Deborah Tannen, Ph.D.
****Getting the Love You Want, by Harville Hendrix, Ph.D.
****The Dance of Anger, by Harriet Lerner, Ph.D.
***You're Wearing THAT? by Deborah Tannen
***Why Do I Love These People? by Po Bronson
***The Introvert Advantage, by Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D.
***The 100 Simple Secrets of Great Relationships, by David Niven, PhD
***The One Minute Apology, by Ken Blanchard and Margret McBride
***Truly Mars and Venus, by John Gray, Ph.D.
***Connecting, by Sandy Sheehy

Science

****Animals in Translation, by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson
***Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell
***The Botany of Desire, by Michael Pollan

Travel

****Imagined London, by Anna Quindlen
****A Woman's Passion for Travel, edited by Marybeth Bond and Pamela Michael
****The Impressionists' Paris, by Ellen Williams
****Castles of Britain and Ireland, by Plantagenet Somerset Fry
****Castles and Ancient Monuments of Scotland, by Damien Noonan
****Dorling Kindersley Travel Guides:  Scotland
****Knopf Guides:  Scotland
****The Road from the Past, by Ina Caro
****Storybook Travels, by Colleen Dunn Bates & Susan LaTempa
****Italy Travel Books
****Eyewitness Travel Guide:  Germany
****For the Love of Ireland, edited by Susan Cahill
***City of the Soul, by William Murray
***Living in Rome, by Bruno Racine, photographs by Alain Fleischer
***Sahara, by Michael Palin
***Fodor's City Pack:  Amsterdam, by Teresa Fisher
***Neuschwanstein, by Gottfried Knapp, photographs by Achim Bunz
***My Paris Sketchbook, by Alain Bouldouyre, text by Christophe Auduraud
***A Traveller's Companion to Venice, edited by John Julius Norwich
***Essential Venice, by Tom Pocock
***My Italian Sketchbook, by Florine Asch
***An Innocent in Ireland, by David W. McFadden
***The Best American Travel Writing 2002 edited by Frances Mayes.  Series editor, Jason Wilson
***Castles of England, Scotland and Wales, by Paul Johnson
***Pimsleur Language Programs: German: Complete Course I, Part A
***Pimsleur Language Programs: German: The Complete Course I: Beginners/Part B
***Fodor's Exploring Scotland
***In Search of Ancient Scotland, by Gerald M. Ruzicki and Dorothy A. Ruzicki
***A Day in the Life of California 
***Timeless Places: Venice, by Alexandra Bonfante-Warren 
***Holland, by Brian Peterson.  Text by Helen Colijn. 
***France, by Russell Lamb.  Text by Dan Harder
***Romantic Irish Landscapes, by Iain Zaczek
***Fodor's Around Paris With Kids
***The Grown-up's Guide to Living in France, by Rosanne Knorr
**Italy in Mind, edited by Alice Leccese Powers
**Venice For Pleasure, by J. G. Links
**Insight CityGuides:  Venice

Writing

*****A Writer's Paris, by Eric Maisel
*****Writing About Your Life, by William Zinsser
*****If You Want To Write, by Brenda Ueland
*****Madeleine L'Engle Herself: Reflections on a Writing Life, compiled by Carole F. Chase
*****Bird By Bird, by Anne Lamott
****Seven Steps on the Writer's Path, by Nancy Pickard and Lynn Lott
****Write Away, by Elizabeth George
****The Writer's Book of Hope, by Ralph Keyes
****The Weekend Novelist, by Robert J. Ray
****Take Joy!  A Book for Writers, by Jane Yolen
****Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life, edited by Barnaby Conrad and Monte Schulz
***Writers on Writing, introduction by John Darnton
***In Search of the World's Worst Writers, by Nick Page
***A Writer's Book of Days, by Judy Reeves
***Sometimes the Magic Works, by Terry Brooks
***Dear Genius:  The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, collected and edited by Leonard S. Marcus
***Beyond the Words, by Bonni Goldberg
***Where Inspiration Lives, edited by John Miller and Aaron Kenedi
***Immediate Fiction, by Jerry Cleaver
***It's a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World, by Olga Litowinsky
***Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes, by Raymond Obstfeld
***Letters To a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rillke
**The Plot Thickens:  8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life, by Noah Lukeman

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Copyright © 2005 Sondra Eklund.  All rights reserved. 

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