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The Bookwatch

Volume 9, Number 12 December 2014 Home | BW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Biography Shelf Christian Studies Shelf
Gardening Shelf Cookbook Shelf Military Shelf
Computer Shelf Audiobook Shelf Business Shelf
Crafts Shelf Art Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf
Health/Medicine Shelf Needlecraft Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf
Sports Shelf Travel Shelf Education Shelf
Theatre/Cinema Shelf Antiques/Collectibles Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

Uncle John's Weird Weird World
Bathroom Readers' Institute
PO Box 1117, Ashland, OR 97520
9781626861732, $29.95, www.bathroomreader.com

Uncle John's Weird Weird World is a compilation of high-octane trivia facts for the easily bored, and promises not a moment of dullness as it explodes such headliners as exploding toilets, a one-eyed shark, space toilets, beauty queens who were arrested, and more. An oversized format packed with vintage and contemporary photos and illustrations makes for a compelling format that balances text with inviting images that draw the eye and attention, resulting in a top leisure read recommendation for any who want high interest, facts, and fun embellishments.

Connemara Marble
Stephen Walsh
O'Brien Press
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
9781847175977, $25.00, www.dufoureditions.com

Connemara Marble: Ireland's National Gem comes from an author whose family business revolves around producing jewelry, gifts and souvenirs crafted from Ireland's Connemara marble, but goes a step beyond the crafting arena as it explores the history, geology, and crafting of Ireland's green marble. The story of how this marble came to be admired around the world is an involving one, and this book is a 'must' for any familiar with the marble and interested in its use and origins.


The Biography Shelf

Becoming Miss America
Kate Shindle
University of Texas Press
PO Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819
9780292739215, $24.95, www.utexaspress.com

Becoming Miss America: Behind the Rhinestone Curtain offers up a memoir of the author's year as Miss America 1998, but moves beyond this year to tackle a history of the pageant and what it means to be America's 'ideal woman'. From past winners, the evolution of American female identity and the pageant's changing image to past winners and crusaders who used their status to help change women's lives, this is a fine coverage that begins with an autobiographical account and evolves to tackle the stereotypes of womens' lives and public images. The result is a close, critical examination of not only the contest but its underlying meaning for generations of American female idols and their followers.

Robert F. Kennedy in the Stream of History
Terrence Edward Paupp
Transaction Publishers
10 Corporate Place South, Piscataway, NJ 08854
www.transactionpub.com
9781412853620, $39.95, www.transactionpub.com

Robert F. Kennedy in the Stream of History isn't just a biography, but blends in history and analysis to provide college-level readers, especially those in political science, with an overall reviews of the thought and work of Robert Kennedy. From what could have happened if the Kennedys had lived beyond the 1960s to how leadership is developed and how Bobby Kennedy pursued social goals beyond his times, this provides a wider-ranging survey than simple biography alone could have achieved; yet is firmly grounded in Kennedy's life as well as his times. Biography and political readers alike will want this!

Epilogue: A Memoir
Will Boast
Liveright Publishing
c/o W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780871403810, $25.95, www.wwnorton.com

Epilogue: A Memoir offers a powerful family memoir that centers on grief, the hidden world of an ordinary family, and the power of discovery. In only a few years the author lost his mother, his younger brother, and his father. At the age of twenty-four he was alone. EPILOGUE is his story of recovery, discovery, and change - and a document that revealed his father's second family. Chapters detail these world-changing events and how Boast came to realize some new truths about his past, present and future, as a result.


The Christian Studies Shelf

From Vatican II to Pope Francis
Paul Crowley, S.J., Editor
Orbis Books
Box 302, Maryknoll NY 10545-0302
9781626980891, $28.00, www.orbisbooks.com

From Vatican II to Pope Francis: Charting a Catholic Future provides a fine collection of essays especially recommended for Catholic readers interested in Vatican II and the modern evolution of the church. Contributors to this collection focus not on how the church arrived to this point, but where it goes from here, with questions tackling everything from the authority of religious liberty to the changing role of women in the church. The result is an important recommendation for any Catholic study collection concerned with the modern church and its direction.

Sensing the Scriptures
Karfried Froehlich with Mark S. Burrows
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
2140 Oak Industrial Drive, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
9780802870803, $25.00, www.eerdmans.com

SENSING THE SCRIPTURES: AMINADAB'S CHARIOT AND THE PREDICAMENT OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION explores how Christians, from early times through the Protestant Revolution, interpreted the Bible and its meaning, and considers the five bodily senses as a basic organizing principle as it explores theological evolution. Chapters consider the difference between interpretive methods and spiritual goals that guide which interpretations, and study the roots of the process as it relates to the history and purposes of the Church. The result is a solid study recommended for any scholarly Christian collection.


The Gardening Shelf

Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation
Tradd Cotter
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
85 North Main Street, Suite 120
White River Junction, VT 05001
9781603584555, $39.95, www.chelseagreen.com

Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation: Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation offers new methods for urban and off-grid growing, making mushroom beers, and advancing the possibilities for morel cultivation, and is a pick for any advanced gardening or farming collection. It's a practical guide to advanced mushroom cultivation theory and techniques especially recommended for those who want to generate and expand spawn instead of purchasing it, and covers everything from lab techniques and low-cost cultivation alternatives to using mushroom farming to help heal the land and encourage better sustainability. The result is a technical, in-depth guide highly recommended for any interested in organic farming in general and mushroom-specific questions in particular.


The Cookbook Shelf

Extreme Brownies
Connie Weis
Andrews McMeel Publishing
1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO 64106-2109
9781449450328, $21.99, www.andrewsmcmeel.com

Extreme Brownies: 50 Recipes for the Most Over-The-Top Treats Ever is a collection of creative recipes from a pastry chef and restaurant consultant, crafted for home cooks and featuring unusual flavor takes on brownies and blondies. The focus is on texture and taste and includes recipes for brownies that blend the consistency of pudding or fudge with the flavors of added ingredients from raspberries and peanut butter to cheesecake. With their inviting flavor combinations and foolproof directions, pair these with full-page color photos and you have a winner recommended for any home cook seeking something different.

Good Cheap Eats
Jessica Fisher
Harvard Common Press
535 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118
9781558328433, $16.95, www.harvardcommonpress.com

Good Cheap Eats: Everyday Dinners and Fantastic Feasts for, $10 or Less is all about eating well on a budget, and comes from the creator of the website Good Cheap Eats: a busy mother of six who developed many of these innovative recipes. Some 200 recipes are compiled into over 70 mix-and-match dinner menus with color photos accenting meals designed for families of four that can be adapted for singles, couples, or any size family. The result is a easy focus on good food for busy families who would eat well even when on a strict budget.

Simply Thai Cooking, third edition
Wandee Young & Byron Ayanoglu
Robert Rose
120 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4P 1E2
9780778802822, $19.95, www.robertrose.ca

Simply Thai Cooking appears in its third updated edition, packing in over thirty color photos and a range of classic Thai dishes that can be easily located in any local grocery store. Here are such standards as spring rolls, satays, soups and stews, and all kinds of meat dishes. Each one contains about four steps of preparation and clearly outlines nutrition facts. A sidebar of description makes it easy to see which dishes will be appealing, making this a solid winner for any newcomer to Thai cuisine.


The Military Shelf

Osprey Publishing
4301 21st St, Suite 220B
Long Island City, NY 11101
www.ospreypublishing.com

BOLTACTION: TANK WAR (9781472807373, $24.95) is for wargamers who subscribe to the Bolt Action scenario, and provides a new supplement and new opportunities to expand player games into the armoured warfare circle. Engagements, battles, special rules and army options pack a gaming guide for those who would either build upon prior themes with existing armies or develop a new force with tank warfare in mind. Color photos and illustrations of tanks throughout enhance a powerful survey that is packed with war game scenarios and options, making this a 'must' for prior Bolt Action players. Bill Yenne's THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE ARMY: THE INVINCIBLE YEARS 1941-42 (9781782009320, $29.95) narrows the focus to the year when the Imperial Japanese Army was conducting its ground campaign in the Far East - but it offers up a difference in considering these events from the Japanese viewpoint. Chapters reveal their attacks, conquests, and battles using first-hand accounts from Japanese sources, making for a unique inspection of the tactics and approaches of the army during their offensive. Any interested in a specific analysis of this era will find Yenne's approach unparalleled in scope and content.


The Computer Shelf

Metaprogramming Ruby 2
Paolo Perrotta
Pragmatic Programmers
2831 Eldorado Parkway, #103-381, Frisco, TX 75033-7438
97819412222126, $38.00, www.pragprog.com

Metaprogramming Ruby 2: Program Like the Ruby Pros teaches the basics of how to write powerful Ruby code, has been completely revised and updated to explain the basics of metaprogramming, and offers programmers the chance to absorb the basics of using it to tackle common programming challenges. Over thirty 'recipes' for success accompany examples from real life, while this edition covers the latest features in Ruby 2.0 and 2.1 and offers code from the latest Ruby reference libraries. From lookup methods to issues surrounding code injection, this is a 'must' for any Ruby programmer.


The Audiobook Shelf

Haunted
Randy Wayne White
Random House Audio Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 5th floor, New York, NY 10019
9781611763362, $40.00, www.randomhouseaudio.com

HAUNTED receives a vivid narration by TV and film actress Renee Raudman, whose extensive background as a reader of over three hundred audiobooks lends to another vivid rendition here. Hannah Smith is trying to stop a condo project while tracking her family history and facing down a possible historic haunted house, but she's bitten off more than she can chew when the ghostly possibilities turn dangerous. As the story evolves, Hannah will learn a lot more about ghosts, hauntings, and the house's history in this vivid story, which comes to satisfying life in audio.

A Path Appears
Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Random House Audio Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 5th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780385367820, $40.00, www.randomhouseaudio.com

A PATH APPEARS: TRANSFORMING LIVES, CREATING OPPORTUNITY receives a fine reading by Olivia Wilde who brings to life the struggles faced by women and girls around the world. It discusses global initiatives to help women, reviews a variety of methods used in the process of transformation and change, and makes for a powerful survey that incorporates the approaches and experiences of women and helpers from all walks of life. The result is a close inspection of the transformation process that changes lives, hearts and minds in an audio presentation perfect for any interested in women's history and social issues.

Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.HachetteAudio.com

Kip Tindell's UNCONTAINABLE: HOW PASSION, COMMITMENT, AND CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM BUILT A BUSINESS WHERE EVERYONE THRIVES (9781478982609, $30.00) comes from the Chairman and CEO of the successful TheContainerStore, and provides his insights on company secrets used to build his company - even during the 2008 recession. It was as early as 1978 when author Kip Tindell and his partners realized that space-saving solutions would attract a major audience. He not only opened The Container Store, but built his business using open employee communication, a focus on better services and price, and more. His focuses on the seven foundation principles of this business and its philosophy offers an outstanding survey that really comes to life in an audio narrated by Tindell himself. Nicholas Sparks' A WALK TO REMEMBER (0891478982654, $25.00) is narrated by Frank Muller, a classically-trained actor of stage who passed away in 2008, and whose voice lends to the sweet story of one Landon Carter, who remembers 1958, his last year at Beaufort High, and his love for the shy daughter of the town's Baptist minister. His tragic, evocative love story will immerse any with a prior affection for sparks' emotionally-charged writings, particularly since it comes to life in audio under Muller's smooth, compelling reading.


The Business Shelf

People Tools for Business
Alan C. Fox
Kogan Page USA
1518 Walnut Street, Suite 1100, Philadelphia, PA 19102
9781590792872, $16.95, www.koganpage.com

People Tools for Business: 50 Strategies for Building Success, Creating Wealth, and Finding Happiness shares tools any businessperson can use to create wealth and find success, and is based on the lessons Fox learned in the course of enjoying a profitable career. He presents his strategies for achieving lasting success and his discourse is narrated in a chatty first-person tone that makes it accessible and readable, while his tools are backed by case histories and examples of how they work in the real world. The result is a powerful collection of business tips recommended for any who would focus on people-oriented tools for achieving maximum business acclaim.

Why Motivating People Doesn't Work
Susan Fowler
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
1333 Broadway, Suite 1000, Oakland CA, 94612
9781626561823, $24.95, www.bkconnection.com

WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN'T WORK... AND WHAT DOES: THE NEW SCIENCE OF ENERGIZING, AND ENGAGING comes from a top leadership researcher, consultant and coach who offers some starting advice against the norm: stop trying to motivate people. People already are motivated; just in different ways. This book instead uses a scientific research model to provide a course of action to help leaders guide their people toward a particular kind of motivation that leads to increased productivity. It argues that typical leadership motivation routines are dated and that there are better alternatives, and it outlines an Optimal Motivation process to help people move away from dependence on external rewards. The result is a 'must' for any who would understand the latest insights on motivational processes.


The Crafts Shelf

Timeless Wire Weaving
Lisa Barth
Kalmbach Books
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
9781627000765, $19.99, www.kalmbachbooks.com

Timeless Wire Weaving: The Complete Course provides thirteen projects that blend wire with seed beads and various components to make lovely wire earrings, necklaces and bracelets, and uses step-by-step how-to photos and clear instructions to provide a complete course in a book on using wires to make jewelry. From creating wire clasps and using connectors to different effects, this teaches techniques master wire weavers use in their design process. The result is a survey recommended for any who would learn how to apply the latest jewelry-making techniques.

Micro Macrame Basics and Beyond
Raquel Cruz
Kalmbach Books
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
9781627000468, $21.99, www.kalmbachbooks.com

Micro Macrame Basics and Beyond comes from a jewelry artist who teaches how to turn cords, knots and beads into jewelry. Step-by-step directions for seventeen colorful projects focus on creating different knots for different purposes, teaching how to use common jewelry cord in micro-macrame projects that go far beyond potted plant holders and the typical vision of what macrame is. The result is a fine artist's guide perfect for any pursuing a different kind of jewelry project.


The Art Shelf

Pen & Ink Tattoos & The Stories Behind Them
Isaac Fitzgerald and Wendy MacNaughton
Bloomsbury Press
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
9781620404904, $22.00, www.bloomsbury.com

Body art is a specialty these days and so many sport 'tats' that it's easy to forget that many of these decorative embellishments actually have a story behind them. This collection covers these stories and offers insights on the tattoos of ordinary people with often-extraordinary tales to tell. Each story includes illustrator Wendy MacNaughton's artwork, which accompanies fun tales of tattoo inspirations and creations. Any with an interest in tattoo art will find this a fun, intriguing pairing of story and art.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Large Animal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians
Laura Lien, et.al., Editors
Wiley-Blackwell
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
9781118346716, $64.99, www.wiley.com/go/veterinary

Large Animal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians provides a fine, detailed guide on caring for horses, cattle, and pigs and is intended for veterinary students who want to learn everything possible about large animal medicine. It's presented in color and provides chapters specific to species, along with clinical applications and topics ranging from nutrition and clinical diagnostics to reproduction, disease, and restraint. The book comes with a companion website that includes Powerpoint illustrations of all book features, a large animal breed ID image bank, and more. The result is a fine student text that is especially recommended for any veterinary technician studying large animal care.

Handbook of Canine and Feline Emergency Protocols, second edition
Maureen McMichael
Wiley-Blackwell
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
9781118559031, $69.99, www.wley.com/go/veterinary

The second updated edition of Handbook of Canine and Feline Emergency Protocols provides a step-by-step key to managing animal emergencies in small practices, and packs in over 165 complete protocols for triage, as well as stabilizing and handling patients. It's arranged by category of emergency, it provides step-by-step procedures, and it offers clear guidelines and the latest information on imaging, diagnosis, and treatment. Add a lay-flat binding format designed for use with a patient and color illustrations and bibliographic references and you have an important handbook no vet practice should be without.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Generic
Jeremy A. Greene
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
9781421414935, $29.95, www.press.jhu.edu

GENERIC: THE UNBRANDING OF MODERN MEDICINE comes from a physician and historian who offers a history of not just the development of generic drugs, but how they differ from the original. Within his examination are important insights on how drugs are made, what parts of a pill really matter, issues of therapeutic similarity and difference, and more. It's a wide-ranging history that embraces ethical, scientific, health, and economic issues and it provides insights on the history of generic drugs in America and the problems associated with scientific and medical changes in the public eye. The result is a survey that belongs in any health collection and many a general-interest holding.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Bead Crochet Basics
Candice Sexton
Kalmbach Books
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
9780871164469, $21.99, www.kalmbachbooks.com

Making bead crochet jewelry can be relaxing and fun, especially with a step-by-step guide that includes DVD and explorations of all the basics, from tools and materials to how to make some 22 bead crochet projects. Full-page color photos accompany materials descriptions and a range of jewelry-making endeavors that are perfect for even beginning crocheters or jewelry-makers. The result is a recommendation for crafts and needlework collections alike.

Martingale & Company
19021 Avenue NE, Bothell, WA 98011
www.shopmartingale.com

Megan Kreiner's BATHTIME BUDDIES: 20 CROCHETED ANIMALS FROM THE SEA (9781604684155, $22.99) provides new patterns for bathtime seahorses, whales and more: soft tub toys that can be made from water-friendly materials from terry cloth to yarns, and which offer youngsters a fun sea-oriented bath toy. Crocheters who already have skills will find this a fine collection that includes patterns, stitches, full-page color photos of finished creatures, and close-ups of crochet methods. The result is an outstanding survey packed with fun projects that are easy to reproduce. Katja Marek's THE NEW HEXAGON (9781604683844, $26.99) teaches the basics of how to use hexagons to make unique quilt blocks. From choosing among some 52 patterns for 6' blocks to dividing shapes in an outline, this provides a wealth of projects based on a different kind of hexagon usage, and is a pick for any quilter, especially those already familiar with old-style uses who want an expansion on the theme.
Perfect Quilts for Precut Fabrics


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Secret Chamber Revisited
Robert Bauval
Bear & Company
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781591431923, $25.00, www.bearandcompanybooks.com

Secret Chamber Revisited: The Quest for the Lost Knowledge of Ancient Egypt provides a fully updated new edition that includes new color photos and more insights on the author's own investigation of events at Giza and the role played by ex-Minister of Antiquities Dr. Zahi Hawass. Prior familiarity with the book or its basic concepts will lend to the excitement over this new updated edition, which explores what lies behind the mysterious doors at the end of the Great Pyramid's star shafts and what is the real purpose of chambers within the Pyramid. Collections strong in new age Egyptian mysticism will find this a solid examination of ancient texts and modern investigations.

Unidentified: The UFO Phenomenon
Robert Salas
New Page Books
c/o Career Press Inc.
220 West Parkway, Unit 12, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
9781601633422, $15.99, www.newpagebooks.com

In 1969 the U.S. Air Force issued a statement that stated that no UFO ever investigated by the military indicated any threat to U.S. security. This blanket statement has since been proven untrue by many military officers and by studies documenting incidents involving UFOs and nuclear weapons, and this book reveals how an important federal study was buried to cover up the reality of UFOs. UNIDENTIFIED publishes evidence that the Colorado study team knew about UFO-related missile shutdown incidents but didn't include them in this report - and it reveals how world governments have conspired to keep a huge secret. Any interested in UFOs MUST have this investigative study.

Llewellyn Worldwide
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
www.llewellyn.com

Steven A. LaChance with Shannon N. Lusk's BLESSED ARE THE WICKED: THE TERRIFYING SEQUEL TO THE UNINVITED (9780738738963, $16.99) is recommended for any collection strong in paranormal stories, and offers more accounts of the ghostly Union Screaming House and its demonic possession. Steven A. LaChance lived with this darkness and the story of his family's trauma was related in his first book, The Uninvited. Marked by the supernatural trauma, they now find it follows them - and this book is a powerful testimony to events that dominate his world. Any who love paranormal true stories will find this a vivid, compelling read! Kristy Robinett's FOREVERMORE: GUIDED IN SPIRIT BY EDGAR ALLAN POE (9780738740676, $15.99) provides new age readers with an excellent discussion of how Poe helped author Robinett to become a psychic medium. Poe, as portrayed here, was a sleuth who worked with law enforcement, and he mentors Kristy as she focuses her para-abilities on murders and missing persons of past and how these affect modern experience. Her survey of her own personal and psychic growth makes for an invigorating, engrossing read. Kristoffer Hughes' THE JOURNEY INTO SPIRIT; A PAGAN'S PERSPECTIVE ON DEATH, DYING & BEREAVEMENT (9780738740751, $19.99) provides a discussion of death and the afterlife from the perspective of a Druid priest author who explores the three Celtic realms of existence and how grief and mourning play into matters. Exercises, meditations and rituals accompany discussions of the discoveries to be made from these transitional points.


The Sports Shelf

Human Kinetics
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
www.humankinetics.com

Kevin G. Thompson's PACING: INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE (9781450421232, $24.95) provides keys to the latest research and science involved in developing a pace for a strong finish, and offers athletes and trainers plenty of insights into why this part of the process so often goes awry. From the biological and psychological purposes of pacing science and six commonly used pacing strategies that are discussed in detail to pacing strategies for sports ranging from running to swimming for both individual and team competition, this blends scientific research and profiles world-class athletes and coaches, showing how to develop the ideal pacing plan for all kinds of competitions. It's a 'must' for any sports collection. Jack Daniels, PhD's DANIELS' RUNNING FORMULA (9781450431835, $21.95) appears in its third updated edition to provide a review of the best training program for a runner, and comes from a running coach and exercise physiologist who here provides a research-tested, results-proven approach for getting the most from a training routine. From choosing a program and targeting a race to regaining conditioning after a hiatus from running, this edition has been completely updated with new chapters on altitude training, seasonal programs, and treadmills, and allows runners to create and customize a program based on individual abilities and needs. Highly recommended!


The Travel Shelf

Ultimate Signspotting
Doug Lansky
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
9781743604625, $9.99, www.lonelyplanet.com

Ultimate Signspotting is quite simply a fun collection of absurd and hilarious signs from around the world, and offers a slim pocket-sized collection in full color. It will make the perfect gift for any avid traveler: it's easy to tote, it's packed with local flavor, and it holds such fun observations as a Chinese sign advertising three styles of coffee: milk, tasteless or strong; or a puzzling road sign advising 'Unnecessary Repetitive Driving Prohibited'. It's a hilarious, fun read for any who enjoy either travel and other cultures, or the incongruities of signage.


The Education Shelf

Corwin Press
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320-2218
www.corwin.com

Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey with Heather Anderson & Marisol Thayre's TEXT-DEPENDENT QUESTIONS: PATHWAYS TO CLOSE AND CRITICAL READING (9781483331379, $34.95) is directed to teachers of grades 6-12 and outlines the best ways to use text-dependent questions to supplement close reading. From recommended text and questions and examples from across content areas to developing TDQ and applying it to curriculum reading lessons, this considers general understanding, interpreting an author's purpose, considering how text inspires further research and critical reading skills, and more. The result is a program teachers can use as a powerful professional development tool throughout the K-12 years. Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey's MAKE LEARNING PERSONAL (9781483352978, $38.95) provides a fine survey of personalized learning strategies and uses Universal Design for Learning principles to offer teachers a different kind of classroom approach. This system includes tools for reducing barriers to learning and interaction, and pairs teachers' own stories of working in this environment with discussions on how to develop a personalized learning routine. From identifying who are learners and how to adapt or adopt models for particular classrooms or schools to considering changing roles of teachers and students, this is a powerful text recommended for any teacher who wants to cultivate a different classroom model.


The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

The Room: The Definitive Guide
Ryan Finnigan
Applause Books
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing
33 Plymouth St, Suite 302, Montclair, NJ 07042
www.halleonardbooks.com
9781480390966, $24.99, www.applausebooks.com

The Room: The Definitive Guide covers the largest pop culture production in modern times: a top theatrical release since 2003. But one needn't have familiarity with The Room in order to appreciate this guide: which explains the film and the art of its making. Chapters consider key scenes, their making, and use cast interviews to discuss both behind-the-scenes production and the nature of the film's cult following. The result is a powerful analysis that is designed with film readers in mind.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

Whitman Encyclopedia of Mexican Money V. 1
Don and Lois Bailey
Whitman Publishing
4001 Helton Drive, Florence, Alabama, 35630
9780794834074, $39.95, www.whitman.com

Whitman Encyclopedia of Mexican Money V. 1: An Illustrated History of Mexican Coins and Currency provides the first in a projected four-volume encyclopedia on the topic and is recommended for collectors and historians who want an overview of the history of Mexican coinage. Two scholars worked with coin collectors, dealers, museum curators, government officials and more to produce this series. This first book covers pre-Columbian money to the colonial era, covering all coins issued during revolutions, reform periods, for commemorative programs, and more. It also explores tokens, sets and decorations also of interest to numismatics.


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Oregon, WI 53575-1129
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