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Jami G. (jamiG) - , - Reviews

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Anything But Typical (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Review Date: 6/14/2014


With an increasing number of kids on the autism spectrum, this is a must read for teachers, parents, everyone. This first-person perspective gives one pause to consider how we treat people with autism. This book pushed my perspective to realize that different isn't always bad and just because I don't understand, doesn't mean someone isn't making perfect sense in their reality. This is a book about acceptance, compassion and self-awareness. Excellent for any young person as it shows that we're all self-concerned and struggle with how others will perceive us. Feel good story.


Blackbird House
Blackbird House
Author: Alice Hoffman
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 140
Review Date: 8/14/2011


A walk through time of the families and communities involved with a small farm home in Cape Cod. Follows the stories through two centuries with many ties from one to the other, giving a close look into personal lives and actions and the justifications behind them. Sadness and loss are mingled with the happy, sometimes bittersweet, moments that make up a life. A quick and interesting read.


The Book of Ayurveda
The Book of Ayurveda
Author: Judith Morrison
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 5
Review Date: 6/15/2009
Helpful Score: 1


This is a wonderfully concise explanation of Ayurveda with lots of visual and descriptive examples to help clarify the approach. The author perfectly points you forward and back throughout the book to help explain this very complex system as you join all the pieces together and create an understanding. Her simplification of Ayurveda makes implementing Ayurvedic practice something you can start to do immediately.
While she explains that diagnosis can be complex, the idea of seeing your constitution and being able to discern the constitutions of others can begin right away. It is, to a degree, an experiment you can make with yourself to judge how changes you make in diet, exercise, work and relationships affect your physical and mental well-being. I recommend EVERYONE to read this book. Even if you do not become a practitioner, it is a wonderful way to understand how we function as individuals and why different changes create the reactions they do in each of us.
If you have one book on Ayurveda in your home, this should be it.


Book of Shadows: A Modern Woman's Journey into the Wisdom of Witchcraft and the Magic of the Goddess
Review Date: 4/21/2009
Helpful Score: 3


This book was a page turner in that it had a storyline along with a lot of insightful information regarding the practices of Witches. Though it was maybe a bit dramatically written (as someone who tends toward the overdramatic, I'm not judging - I'm just saying), this usually tended to be beautiful, not melodrama. (But perhaps I am just jealous of the beauty and serenity of the experiences she described.)
This book is a good initiation for anyone who wants to know more about what modern-day Witches do and why. If you're looking for trouble or hysteria, be warned: it's real life, not newts and curses. Describes the respect for others and nature that most Witches embrace.
In the Appendix, there is a very nice Table of Correspondences, several Spells and a description of the Wheel of the Year. Also a thorough Resource List (with mags, centers, catalogs and events) and a list of Books of Interest that I thought was pretty on the money.
Overall, this is a good read for fun (even if not interested in Witches/Wicca), especially for women as the story focuses on her professional life in the music industry with a misogynist boss aptly named Hadus. Slightly feminist but mostly just realist and full of wonderful details of the Witches in her coven and their rituals and spells.


Carolina Moon (Abridged Audio Cassette)
Carolina Moon (Abridged Audio Cassette)
Author: Nora Roberts, Dean Robertson
Book Type: Audio Cassette
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 20
Review Date: 12/20/2009


Good story, keeps you guessing and surprised. Some explicit sexual encounters and rape/murder situations. Visually descriptive making you feel like part of the small town of Progress as you follow a woman's journey back to her hometown where, as a child, her best friend was raped and murdered. Relationships unfold after her return, culminating in more issues but finally ending in resolution.


Chicago Days Hoboken Nights
Chicago Days Hoboken Nights
Author: Daniel Manus Pinkwater
Book Type: Audio Cassette
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 2/9/2011


Chicago Days and Hoboken Nights is a joyful listen as Daniel Pinkwater walks you through various stages of his life and interesting influences and turning points. Funny, quirky and flowing.


Children's Letters to God
Review Date: 6/10/2012


Good perspectives from children. Great book to read with a little one to spark topics of conversation. Or to just read yourself and remember all the little things they say that make you chuckle, tear up and just plain love them more.


A Crooked Kind of Perfect (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Review Date: 3/15/2014


Fun "read". Perfect for family listening. The Dad in the story has an inability to be around people other than the family - and Zoe's friend Wheeler. This makes for some fun twists and turns in the story. A really happy tale.


Digging to America (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Digging to America (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Author: Anne Tyler, Blair Brown (Narrator)
Book Type: Audio CD
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 22
Review Date: 3/1/2013


Wonderful book that sees the immigrant view of "Americans". A story of two families who have adopted babies from overseas, one a more newly immigrated family and one much longer established in the US. The struggles and insights will now bring perspective to how I view my own actions. And those of others as well. Happy, sad, real.


The Eagle and the Rose: A Remarkable True Story
The Eagle and the Rose: A Remarkable True Story
Author: Rosemary Altea
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 21
Review Date: 6/15/2009


While many may read this and think it made-up, which the author firmly addresses can be the case, her level of detail makes it clear to her clients that what she sees is real. This is truly a wonderful book with many lessons on how to live compassionately. The author often shows her less than compassionate side and describes experiences that bring her to a more loving way of perceiving and behaving. I know that there is something after this life based on my personal experiences. When my grandmother passed, she spoke to all her sisters and brothers who'd gone before; it was obvious she was not alone at death. When my husband's brother was a boy and died momentarily in surgery, he explained to his mother that he'd "seen Grandpa" and "he had legs!"; the last time he'd seen him was in the casket. It's wonderful to think that our loved ones are still nearby in so many ways, that they know we care for them and grieve for them and want us to be happy knowing they are still growing and happy and that we will see them again.
The author's journey to becoming a medium is interesting and she fully shows her own disbelief and doubts throughout the process.
The only detraction would be a slight bit of repetitiveness and focus on the bad things that had happened to her. Perhaps this helps others to hear multiple times how she knows this may seem unbelievable or it may help others to hear over and again the details of the horrors she encountered through her life; perhaps there is a message that "you too can overcome the horrors in your life". But it gave a bit of a victim mentality to the reading which I don't believe the author truly has.
Overall, an interesting read with lots of great stories of people finding peace with their relatives who'd passed from life on the earth plane.


The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, Bk 1)
The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, Bk 1)
Author: Jasper Fforde
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 733
Review Date: 4/21/2009
Helpful Score: 2


Wonderful writer with a bit of sci-fi and romance and mystery all wrapped into one. When I first read this book a few years ago, I had no idea who Charlotte Bronte was or anything really about Jane Eyre. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the story and was able to piece together the details of that book as well.
The focus on all things literal, the intros to each chapter (with scraps of info from other books, diaries and manuals from the Thursday Next world), the time jumps back and forth - all make this a super fun read.
Thursday Next is a fun, smart and courageous character whose family and world is full of wonderful characters. I HIGHLY recommend this series.


Ford County: Stories
Ford County: Stories
Author: John Grisham
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 122
Review Date: 3/23/2015


Excellent look at impoverished families in the South. Real world and detailed, these stories bring the characters to life in a way that even the despicable ones become admirable in some way. Quick and entertaining read.


Ghost Country
Ghost Country
Author: Sara Paretsky
Book Type: Audio Cassette
  • Currently 2.5/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 1/24/2011


Interesting book which is very different from previous works I've read from Sara Paretsky. Nothing like the VI Warshawski novels. While still based in Chicago, this story tells of a family's struggle with teenage angst and identity issues that come with the transition to adulthood. Intermingled are the father's own identity struggles. With twists and turns, you follow the journey of these women's path to enlightenment.


The Greatest Gift of All Is-- A Son Like You: Words to Share With a Wonderful Son (Blue Mountain Arts Collection) (Blue Mountain Arts Collection)
Review Date: 7/8/2012


This is a wonderful book of positive sharing. Perfect for any son. Helps you say the things that are sometimes hard to say but that you feel very deeply.


The House of Tomorrow
The House of Tomorrow
Author: Peter Bognanni
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 9
Review Date: 5/28/2015


Well-written story of two young misfits as they figure out life. Beautifully loving but full of punk attitude. Big focus on geodesic domes of Buckminster Fuller - quite interesting. Broken families made whole through pain, separation and eventually communication, trust and faith. Good teen read.


How to Conquer Clutter
How to Conquer Clutter
Author: Stephanie Culp
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 24
Review Date: 11/4/2012
Helpful Score: 1


Having read and skimmed through many books on clearing clutter, I found this one to be very well-written and usable.
Starting with an overview of clutter and its costs, the author quickly moves to how to make a plan for conquering clutter and even a 10 Commandments of Clutter. The majority of the book is an organized alphabetical list of clutter types with truly great ideas There are also several Clutter Checklists to keep you headed in the right direction.
At the end are reminders to live by, questions, a list of container types and their best and unique uses. The author finishes with a Resource list in case the book is not enough.
This book is a great motivator and will help you find solutions.


Hugs & Kisses
Hugs & Kisses
Author: Bruce Davis, Genny Wright, Ginny Wright
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 6/10/2012


Great book for building a positive sense of self-worth.


The Hundred Secret Senses
The Hundred Secret Senses
Author: Amy Tan
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 309
Review Date: 5/27/2013
Helpful Score: 1


Great story which gives one much to ponder. Magical and enlightening.


Hunting Badger (Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, Bk 14)  (Audio Cassette) (Unabridged)
Review Date: 12/6/2009


Good mystery about a Ute Tribe's casino robbery and the resolution by the Navajo Tribal officers Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn (retired). Interesting tribal mythology and relationship struggles and realizations woven into the tale. A good listen and good food for thought.


If I Stay
If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Book Type: Audio CD
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 8
Review Date: 8/22/2010
Helpful Score: 1


Very interesting teenage perspective. Surprising from the beginning and keeps you thinking and wondering what will happen, even after it's over. Tough choices, well thought out, emotional. A good listen.


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