Review: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Seed Saving and Starting

A major benefit of saving seed and starting plants from saved seed rather than seeds or plants that have been shipped from another location is it allows you to grow plants that are better adapted to local environmental conditions.

This growers' guide starts off with a primer on pollination, gathers together tips on harvesting and storing seeds, collects advice on germination, stores details on vegetables and flowering plants, and sows the inspiration to save and to cultivate.

"What it really all comes down to is the pleasure of working with seeds - harvesting them, storing  them, sowing them, and nurturing the tiny seedlings that grow from them," says garden writer Sheri Ann Richerson, who also authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Year-Round Gardening and 101 Organic Gardening Tips.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Seed Saving and Starting
by Sheri Ann Richerson
Alpha, 2012

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Farm and Garden Book List Addition: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Seed Saving and Starting

Mouthwatering heirlooms, exciting hybrids, sensational herbs, colorful flowers - you dream of a garden overflowing with vibrant, healthy plants. Turn your dream garden into reality with seeds you save and start yourself.

With easy ideas on harvesting, storing, sowing, and nurturing your seeds into flourishing plants, this helpful guide gives you a sure path from start to success.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Seed Saving and Starting

by Sheri Ann Richerson

Alpha, 2012

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The Best in Books: Tinkers

At the time Paul Harding’s Tinkers won the Pulitzer Prize in 2010 it had only sold about 1,120 copies, according to Publisher's Weekly

. Since then, more than 360,000 trade paperback copies have been purchased.

"The weekly spike is also astounding: in the week before the announcement, Tinkers sold only 40 copies. The next week, immediately following its Pulitzer victory, it sold 1,042 copies, doubling its total sales in a seven-day span. The following week, sales continued to climb, reaching 6,131 copies, and weekly sales remained steady around 5,000 until January 2011, 10 months after it won the Pulitzer," the trade magazine reports.

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Now Reading: The Nature Principle

Now reading with the Outrider Reading Group ~
The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age by Richard Louv

In this new book, Richard Louv presents a compelling case that the time has come to re-envision a future that taps into the restorative powers of the natural world.

Dubbed "The New Nature Movement," this future-oriented emphasis on environmentalism and sustainability challenges all of us to make changes to the way we live.

Louv presents evidence that exposure to and cooperation with nature can boost mental acuity and creativity, promote health and wellness, build smarter and more sustainable businesses, and strengthen human bonds.

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Review: Neurogastronomy

Why do we like or even crave certain foods and avoid others?

Named and defined by the author, a Yale neurobiologist studying how the brain creates images of smells, "neurogastronomy" is a new science of eating that focuses on food favors.

Drawing on brain studies and food studies, this book explains the new field of investigation and how it holds "the promise of putting healthy eating on a new scientific basis."

A key premise of this book is that "humans have a much more highly developed sense of flavor because of the complex processing that occurs in the large human brain." Gordon Shepherd dismisses the idea that foods hold flavor as a common misconception and asserts that while foods contain molecules, the flavor of those molecules is actually created in our brains.

Neurogastronomy 

How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters

by Gordon M. Shepherd

Columbia University Press, 2011

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Why Another Social Network?

That's a very good question, and I'm sure that many smart people at Google asked the same question before they launched Google+.  

Google+ offers a bevy of features that allow you to share different things with different people. 

Google+ makes it downright simple to share particular things with only certain people. 

Facebook is invested in your sharing things with the widest audience possible, as the default privacy settings reflect. Lately, Facebook has gotten better about allowing you to choose who can see what, but Google+ was designed with choice in mind.

The Google+ Guide

Circles, Photos, and Hangouts

by Scott McNulty

Peachpit Press, 201

Book Stall Review: The Google+ Guide
Artwork: Réseaux Sociaux

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Review: The Google+ Guide

Launched on June 28, 2011, Google+ is a social network that recognizes that people interact with multiple circles of friends and acquaintances who may or may not overlap. It allows users to set up or join any number Circles of users linked by common interests, locations, ideologies or tastes.

Actively competing with Facebook and Twitter, Google+ had attracted more than 40 million users in its first six months.

Social networking products unique to Google+ include Stream (a newsfeed), Sparks (a recommendation engine), Hangouts (a video chat service), Circles (a friend management service) along with games and photo collections.

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The Google+ Guide

Circles, Photos, and Hangouts

by Scott McNulty

Peachpit Press, 2011

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Review: The Kitchen As Laboratory

Let's call it "quantum cooking" - the application of physics and molecular bioscience and industrial technologies to the preparation of common meals and and familiar dishes with greater control and awareness of the processes involved.

This is a culinary anthology of 33 essays by more than 50 contributing scientists engaged in the study of food presenting their findings with practical
applications for the kitchen.

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The Kitchen As Laboratory 

by Cesar Vega, Job Ubbink and Erik van van der Linden

Columbia University Press, 2012

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Good Old Books: Home Power!

When you figure out your personal wealth, you usually start by adding the value of your bank accounts, stocks, bonds, insurance policies, equity in your home and other real estate, and end up by counting the change in your pocket or purse.

Then you deduct your debts, The mortgage on your home is usually the big one, plus other loans. What's left after you subtract the total of your liabilities from your assets indicates very well how much strength and security you have, in a financial sense.

Or does it?

Things and services created in the home have an enormous impact on the quality of our lives.

Much of the basic productive work of our society is carried out in the home. Yet current economic thinking overlooks most home production. The food you grow in your garden and the bread you bake in your kitchen are not counted as part of the Gross National Product.

Home Power!

by the editors of Organic Gardening and Farming

Rodale Press, 1976

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Review: Louisiana's Award-Winning Recipes

Many of the recipes in this spiral-bound collection of Louisiana cuisine won recognition from the New Orleans Times Picayune newspaper in a special section of the state's best cookery. Others have been drawn from family collections like fine heirlooms, prized secrets passed down through generations.

"There are two primary causes for the distinctive flavor of Louisiana foods," writes co-author Harrietta Randazzo in the cookbook's introduction. "One is 'roux' and the other is 'seasoning.' A roux is a mixture of 1 part cooking oil and 2 parts flour cooked over a medium heat until brown (like peanut butter).

"The seasonings consist of onions, garlic, parsley, bell pepper, thyme, bay leaf, cayenne pepper and, of course, the basic salt and pepper."

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Louisiana's Award-Winning Recipes

by Missy Armstrong, Dottie Brewer and Harrietta Randazzo

Billion $ Baby Publications, 2002

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Book List Addition: The Kitchen as Laboratory

Eating is a multisensory experience, yet chefs and scientists have only recently begun to deconstruct food's components, setting the stage for science-based cooking.

In this global collaboration of essays, chefs and scientists advance culinary knowledge by testing hypotheses rooted in the physical and chemical properties of food.

The Kitchen as Laboratory

Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking

by Cesar Vega, Job Ubbink, Erik van van der Linden

Columbia University Press, 2012

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Good Old Books: The World of the Dolphin

What swims in the sea and looks like a fish - but isn't?

The dolphin - a mammal that has babies and nurses them with milk.

Dolphins are delightful friends to man. They plunge and play in the water
and swim so fast they can easily chase after ships.

This important book tells you everything there is to know about dolphins.

It discusses the dolphin in history and legend, the origins of dolphins,
who the dolphins' relatives are, physical characteristics of dolphins, the
sex and reproductive lives of dolphins.

The World of the Dolphin

by Chester Krone

Tower, 1972

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Review: The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher

The majority of birdwatchers are the backyard variety who put out a feeder or two and maybe a bird bath of sorts. Unlike serious birders who may travel long distances to add some rare birds to their life lists, home-based birdwatchers take enjoyment from watching the species that come to visit and return year after year.

This guide serves the backyard variety with sharp photos and descriptions of the 100 most common birds found in home gardens of North America. Field guides to the other 8,900 species of birds worldwide are available elsewhere, but this one provides detailed instructions for setting up backyard feeding stations, building ponds and windbreaks, and choosing plants for the landscape that will attract birds to the yard.

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The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher

by Robert Burton and Stephen Kress

Thunder Bay Press, 2012

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Book Excerpt: Introducing Tea

Western Europeans first learned of tea in 1559 from Venetian writer Giambattista Ramusio's book Delle navigationi e viaggi (Voyages and Travels), in which the drink is referred to as chai catai and touted as a cure for "headache, stomachache, pain in the side or in the joints."

Ten Tea Parties

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Book List Addition: Travels With My Lovers

A shocking discovery about her husband forces an independent career woman and mother of two out of her comfort zone and into the world of dating. Convinced that traveling is the consolation she needs for her devastating wound, she picks herself up, and travels to Europe, with and without her kids.

In a series of voyages at different stages of her life, she unexpectedly finds love - in a myriad of languages.

Travels With My Lovers

by Erica Miner

1st Book Library, 2002

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Review: Food and Faith in Christian Culture

The way to man's heart is through his stomach, and to his soul as well. The remarkable success of the Christian faith can be largely attributed to an evangelism of food and meals.

This collection of essays on Christian eating and fasting demonstrates how food has shaped, affirmed and spread the faith throughout the world. Exploring topics ranging from the culinary life of 14th Italian monks to 19th Presbyterian missionaries in New Zealand proselytizing with food among native peoples to contemporary Christian weight loss programs, the chapters proceed chronologically and conclude with quiet meals at a 21st century Benedictine monastery in England.

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Food and Faith in Christian Culture

by Ken Albala and Trudy Eden

Columbia University Press, 2011

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Review: Mobilizing Web Sites

Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets are likely to surpass PCs as the most common sources of web access in the near future. Anyone with a web site, consequently, has to consider the impact this will have on visitor traffic, user experience, accessibility and e-commerce.

This book describes design and coding techniques for making web sites initially created for desktop PCs accessible and user-friendly on small screen devices. It includes lessons and case studies on mobilizing layout, navigation, images, text and forms.

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Mobilizing Web Sites

Strategies for Mobile Web Implementation 

by Kristofer Layon

Peachpit Press, 2011

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Cookbook List Addition: Salty Sweets

In a cookbook dedicated to the delicious marriage of two flavors, author Christie Matheson offers recipes for mouthwatering treats like Salted Caramels, Butterscotch Brownies, and Nantucket Sea Salt Ice Cream. '

A touch of salt makes all the difference in the candies, cookies, cakes, puddings, fruits, ice cream, and dessert sauces featured in this collection.

Salty Sweets

Delectable Desserts and Tempting Treats with a Sublime Kiss of Salt

by Christie Matheson

Harvard Common Press, 2010

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How-To Book List Addition: Mobilizing Web Sites

Everyone has been talking about the mobile web in recent years, and more of us are browsing the web on smartphones and similar devices than ever before. But most of what we are viewing has not yet been updated for mobile presentation. How can designers bring more of the web up to speed with the capabilities of today's mobile devices?

In Mobilizing Web Sites: Develop and Design, author and designer Kristofer Layon addresses that elephant in the room --the many existing web sites that we manage on a day-to-day basis-- and walks through techniques that web designers can use to make these legacy web sites better-suited for
mobile viewing.

Mobilizing Web Sites

Strategies for Mobile Web Implementation

by Kristofer Layon

Peachpit Press, 2011

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Review: Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Dummies

The diet of Mediterraneans is credited by health professionals for lower rates of coronary artery disease, diabetes and fewer cancers among their population as compared to Americans.

Consuming lots of fruits and vegetables, legumes, olive oil, fish and poultry, nuts, cheese and yogurt, and red wine obviously has benefits, along with a less stressful and more active lifestyle.

While primarily a cookbook with 160 recipes inspired by Mediterranean cuisine, this book is also an introduction to the lifestyle of the region and how that influences food choices and meal planning.

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