#MMBBR #Review Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing by @jenniferweiner ‏@AtriaBooks @simonschuster ‏

"Generous and entertaining." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay * Nominated for “Best Memoir & Autobiography” by Goodreads Choice Awards 2016 * Named a “Best Book of the Year” by New York Post

"You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to read it again." —TheSkimm

“I'm mad Jennifer's Weiner's first book of essays is as wonderful as her fiction. You will love this book and wish she was your friend." —Mindy Kaling, author of Why Not Me?

"Fiercely funny, powerfully smart, and remarkably brave." —Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild

Jennifer Weiner is many things: a bestselling author, a Twitter phenomenon, and an “unlikely feminist enforcer” (The New Yorker). She’s also a mom, a daughter, and a sister, a clumsy yogini, and a reality-TV devotee. In this “unflinching look at her own experiences” (Entertainment Weekly), Jennifer fashions tales of modern-day womanhood as uproariously funny and moving as the best of Nora Ephron and Tina Fey.

No subject is off-limits in these intimate and honest essays: sex, weight, envy, money, her mother’s coming out of the closet, her estranged father’s death. From lonely adolescence to hearing her six-year-old daughter say the F word—fat—for the first time, Jen dives into the heart of female experience, with the wit and candor that have endeared her to readers all over the world.

I am a HUGE fan of Jennifer Weiner.  Her book GOOD IN BED was the one book that turned me into a reader.  That is something I have always wanted to thank her personally for.  What a gift she has given me.  In Hungry Heart, I was once again transfixed.  I escaped into the book and enjoyed every minute of it.  It was very hard to put down.  Her stories were honest, funny and fiercely brave.  I laughed, was moved to tears and was in awe of Weiner's ability to write in a way that was so easy to relate to.  She, again, has paved the way for woman!!!  Her grace and ability to touch the soul of her readers is what makes her so likeable.  I am such a huge fan and I HIGHLY recommend this book and ALL of her others as well!!!  

Jennifer Weiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fourteen books, including Good in Bed, The Littlest Bigfoot, and her memoir Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing. A graduate of Princeton University and contributor to the New York Times Opinion section, Jennifer lives with her family in Philadelphia. Visit her online at JenniferWeiner.com

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#MMBBR #Review 50 Wacky Inventions Throughout History by #JoeRhatigan #WackySeries #WalterFosterJr

Have you ever heard of a bike TV? Or a bird diaper? 50 Wacky Inventions Throughout History describes 50 inventions that seem too crazy to be true--but are! Whether useful, entertaining, or just plain silly, these mind-boggling inventions and gadgets from yesterday, today, and tomorrow will surprise and delight fun-fact lovers of all ages.

50 Wacky Inventions is a fun book that shows you just how creative and wacky the human brain can be.  This book has inventions like the chicken sunglasses, levitating bed, and a driving alarm.  It is one of those book that makes you want to get up and go start inventing.  I highly recommend this book to inspiring inventors and those that love history.  It really is wacky and fun and they really do seem too crazy to be real.

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#MMBBR #Review #NotebookDoodles Coloring & Activity Book #SuperCute #HennaStyle by @jessvolinski @Doriginals

Discover 30 notebook doodle henna designs to color with watercolors, colored pencils, markers, crayons, or gel pens.

Welcome to a happy and colorful world of notebook doodles! Inside this book you'll find 32 super cute Notebook Doodle animal designs that are just waiting to be filled with color. More than 20 fun color palettes are included to help get you started on your coloring adventure. Not only is coloring fun and relaxing, it's also a creative opportunity to be yourself by expressing how you feel through color. Whatever art materials you love to use watercolors, colored pencils, markers, crayons, gel pens they will look stunning on this high-quality, extra-thick paper. Each page is perforated, so when you re done, it can easily be removed to hang up or give as a gift. Because the best part of creativity is sharing it!

SERIES REVIEW:  These coloring books are FANTASTIC.  I love that the pictures have lots of shapes and design to them.  They are fun and whimsical.  I adore coloring pages with quotes because then I can use the pictures as thank you cards and for other occasions that would constitute a greeting card.  I feel that this is such a more personal way to let people know that you are thinking of them.  In addition to the practical purposes of the finished product, the actual process of coloring it both relaxing and therapeutic.  I make sure to set aside 20 minutes nearly weekly for coloring and I feel so much better when I get my time in.  I think there is something very wonderful that happens when you color and I found that is it one of my favorite things to do.  If you love coloring these books are for you!  

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#MMBBR #Review The Ultimate Guide to Raising Teens and Tweens by @douglasmhaddad #RowmanLittlefieldPublishers

Are you concerned or frustrated with the choices your child makes when it comes to their peer groups, study habits, and use of social media?

Do you feel your child is pushing you away and your connection is weakening?

Are you unsure of the next steps you should take to help your child succeed?

A whole new set of parenting concerns arise during tween and teenhood that can be overwhelming for any parent. The Ultimate Guide to Raising Teens and Tweens offers a step-by-step plan for raising your adolescent through this tumultuous time. Douglas Haddad provides specific, proven tools for you to help your child become a problem solver and grow to be smart, successful, and self-disciplined.

In The Ultimate Guide to Raising Teens and Tweens, you will:

• Discover the secrets of effective communication with your child
• Learn the techniques to stop behavior problems right in their tracks when they happen
• Know the strategies to best motivate your child and unlock their potential
• Find out how to set appropriate limits and hold your child accountable for their actions
• Understand today’s “child-limiting challenges” and the solutions for handling them with your child

Every parent wants the best for their child, and these years can be fraught with challenges: bullying, violence, gambling, sex, smoking, alcohol, substance use, eating disorders, depression, suicide, unhealthy eating, lack of physical activity, etc. Making sense of these challenges, this book offers exercises for incorporating the ten child unlimited tools into your parenting style and anecdotes to illustrate strategies and techniques. Supported by current research, the tools found in these pages will serve as a guide for any family with tweens or teens.


Douglas Haddad is an award-winning middle school teacher, best-selling author, and parenting and education expert. He is the author of THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO RAISING TEENS AND TWEENS: STRATEGIES FOR UNLOCKING YOUR CHILD'S FULL POTENTIAL. Haddad has been awarded the 2016-2017 “Teacher of the Year” in his Connecticut school district and is serving as a Teacher-Ambassador in Public Education in the State of Connecticut. He has taught over 2,000 students in his 17 years as an educator, working with children from all different backgrounds and abilities and has helped them transition from being kids into young adults. 

Douglas is a regular guest expert on television, blogger, contributing writer, and has been featured in many national print and online outlets. He has worked as a coach, mentor, personal trainer, nutrition counselor, and tai chi ch'uan and reiki master. He is certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a Performance Enhancement Specialist for elite athletes. 

I don't have teens yet, 3 years away, but I know that time is coming.  It is never to early to preemptively plan for the future.  I was on a week and a half vacation and spent a lot of time driving across county, so I had lots of time to dive into this book.  It was one of those books that was perfect for taht, as I could pick it up and read a bit here and a bit there.  

There is so much to love about this book:

• The way it was laid out makes it easy to reference what you want to know/learn or access what you need to read about based on life circumstances.
• Personal stories that make the content easy to relate to.
• Allows parent and child to find effective ways to talk/relate to each other.
• Cover lots of important topics like: sex, violence, smoking, alcohol/drug use (just to nane a few).
• It is strength based.
• Easy technique that can be practically applied to real life.
• Calls for accountability for behaviors. 
• Researched and thorough content.
• Too many other reasons to list.

This book is a great guide to helping both parent and child navigate through the preteen and teen years.  Kids may not come with an owners manual, but we can find way to figure out easier and more effective ways to parent.  

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#Review #Almanac2018 @NGKidsBooks #NationalGeographicAlmanacs

Kids can have fun keeping up with our quickly changing world with the New York Times best-selling Almanac, packed with incredible photos, tons of fun facts, crafts, activities, and fascinating features about animals, science, nature, technology, and more. New features include three chapters on engineering and technology, space and Earth, and life sciences; a guide to New Orleans, just in time for its 300th birthday; an updated Fun and Games chapter filled with all-new games, jokes, and comics; all new weird-but-true facts, crafts, and activities; 18 Facts for 2018 feature in every chapter; updated reference material, and much more.

This book is quite speculator! Within this amazing book there are 500 photos of some of the coolest things to grab our attention for 2018.  In addition to all the fabulous photos, there are facts and tidbits galore.  While you peruse the book you can look through the chapters and read things that interest you the most.  The chapters are: Your World 2018, Awesome Exploration, Amazing Animals, Going Green, Engineering and Technology, Wonders of Nature, Fun and Games, Space and Earth, Culture Connection, Life Sciene, History Happens and Geography Rocks. When this book arrived my son was instantly reading it bouncing from topic to topic...all I heard was "Did you know that...." followed by some amazing factoids and "Wow, look at this..." followed by me looking at some crazy cool things. These are the type of books that capture the attention of young readers because they have amazing vibrant photos with fun facts, game, puzzles and digital extras. I love that I can trust that my child will be learning interesting and important facts and that their attention will be captured over the summer with this book. Every time you open it up you read you learn something new. This will be a staple read for my boys over the summer!  BUY THE BOOK:

#MMBBR #Review #TheSunshineSisters @JaneGreen ‏@BerkleyPub #FirstLine

“A warm, satisfying tale about the love that binds even the most dysfunctional of families.”—People
“With clear prose and a straightforward plot, Green spins a breezy story.”—The Washington Post

“All women will recognize something of themselves in one of the Sunshine sisters. Jane Green’s best yet. I raced through this.”—Jojo Moyes, New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You and Paris for One and Other Stories

The New York Times bestselling author of Falling presents a warm, wise, and wonderfully vivid novel about a mother who asks her three estranged daughters to come home to help her end her life.

Ronni Sunshine left London for Hollywood to become a beautiful, charismatic star of the silver screen. But at home, she was a narcissistic, disinterested mother who alienated her three daughters.

As soon as possible, tomboy Nell fled her mother’s overbearing presence to work on a farm and find her own way in the world as a single mother. The target of her mother’s criticism, Meredith never felt good enough, thin enough, pretty enough. Her life took her to London—and into the arms of a man whom she may not even love. And Lizzy, the youngest, more like Ronni than any of them, seemed to have it easy, using her drive and ambition to build a culinary career to rival her mother’s fame, while her marriage crumbled around her. 

But now the Sunshine sisters are together again, called home by Ronni, who has learned that she has a serious disease and needs her daughters to fulfill her final wishes. And though Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy have never been close, their mother’s illness draws them together to confront the old jealousies and secret fears that have threatened to tear these sisters apart. As they face the loss of their mother, they will discover if blood might be thicker than water after all...

#FirstLine ~  Prologue:  All those years when Ronni thought she was sick, all those years convinced that every mole was melanoma, every cough was lung cancer, every case of heartburn was an oncoming heart attack, after all those years, when the gods finally stopped taking care of her she wasn't scared. 

Green is an amazing storyteller and this book was incredible.  I felt like this is one of her best books yet!  She has a way of pouring herself into her books and you can tell when you read it.  I feel like this book has so much heart and richness in story!  What an engaging read.   Green can just really cut to the quick and capture family dynamics like none other.  She gets at the complicated relationships, but does so with subtle humor and honesty...never shying away from tough topics.  This book is a MUST read for summer and perfect for any book club!!  A new favorite of mine! 

Jane Green is a bestselling author of popular novels. She has been featured in People, Newsweek, USA Today, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan. She lives in Connecticut with her family. 

Connect with Jane: Facebook.com/AuthorJaneGreen

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#MMBBR #Review #FitterFaster :The Smart Way to Get in Shape in Just Minutes a Day #RobertJDavis

A lifetime of fitness in just minutes a day.

I don't have time . . . I'm too tired . . . I hate gyms . . . These are among the most common excuses for not exercising. But the truth is that getting in shape requires less time and effort than you might think.

Examining everything from pre-workout stretches to post-workout protein shakes, this science-backed book slices through fitness fads and misconceptions to reveal how you can exercise quickly and effectively. For example, is it best to exercise in the morning? Does aerobic activity burn more fat than weight lifting? You'll also learn how to get and stay motivated, what equipment to buy (and what not to waste money on), which dietary supplements really help, and how to combat muscle soreness. Fitter Faster explains how to:

Find the right balance between cardio, strength, and stretching - Slash workout times with high-intensity interval training - Prevent boredom - Enhance fat-burning

The accompanying Fitter Faster Plan, developed with celebrity trainer Brad Kolowich, Jr., pulls everything together. Requiring as little as 15 minutes a day, these quick workouts maximize efficiency--allowing you to reap the greatest benefit in the shortest possible time...all without ever having to set foot in a gym.

With photographs illustrating each exercise routine, this eye-opening book will forever change the way you work out-- and help you get fitter faster.

This book makes a good addition to a healthy lifestyle and exercise.  This book allows a motivated person to get results working out with a variety of workouts that are easy enough for beginners and hard enough for those who work out often.  There is everything you could ever need to really get going.  I started a fitness journal and that helps to keep me on track.  This makes me super happy and was one of my biggest takeaways from this book. You can workout anywhere and start at anytime.  Now is a good a time as any, so grab this book, get reading and get moving!!!  

Robert J. Davis, Ph.D. is an award-winning health journalist whose work has appeared on CNN, PBS, WebMD, and in The Wall Street Journal. The president of Everwell, he hosts its popular myth-busting “Healthy Skeptic” videos. A graduate of Princeton University, he holds a master’s degree in public health from Emory and a PhD in health policy from Brandeis University, where he was a Pew Foundation Fellow.

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