A Review of Christopher Hart's Book, Doodletopia Cartoons

Christopher Hart's book, Doodletopia Cartoons is a quasi how-to book about drawing cartoons. It is divided into ten sections each featuring cartoons emphasizing different aspects of cartooning followed by drawing exercises to practice said concept.

What do I like about this book? The art. The cartoons have a really fun retro look, and they are well done. The humor. Mr. Hart is a funny man. He promises that  completion of the first chapter will enable you to run for public office and be elected president (p.11), makes unflattering personal remarks about his likely fictitious family (We're talking about you, Aunt Ethel, p.48) , and shares his personal opinion about the Hipster look (pp. 105-107). Pointers. Mr. Hart has helpful advice, e.g. "A small chest with slightly wider hips gives a humorous look to thin characters. (p.50)."

What don't I like about this book? In section 3, Draw the Other Half, Mr. Hart talks about symmetry. I disagree that this is what he's taking about. I think the real concept at issue here is proportion. His pictures are not symmetrical. Although I am giving him kudos for drawing his eyes the same size and shape. It's the other features that are asymmetrical. In his drawing exercises he gives a prompt, the completed picture, and a facing page with half of the picture for the artist to complete. Some of the prompts differ slightly from the half-cartoon, so it can be a minor adjustment if you're basing it off of the prompt. On a whim I completed one of the exercises completely symmetrically...it doesn't work out great. Not horrible. Just not great. I did think the exercises were really excellent practice for getting the proportions right - something I struggle with. My next issue is that I would have preferred maybe a little bit more instruction. Mr. Hart sometimes issues directives that aren't explained; the small chest/wide hips for thin characters is clearly illuminated, but "Draw the eyes on a tilted angle (p.38.)" and "Draw the hair flat on the sides but bumpy at the top (p.34)." work to good effect on the picture, but why and when?

I was going to flat out not recommend this book. Mr. Hart is witty, his art is great, and he has some helpful pointers. But his book, which is about two steps away from being a one-time use book, is retailing for about $17.00.  And although I like the book, for the most part, I think that price point is too high. When you stop and think about the time and expertise that were obviously put into this book, of course it seems completely reasonable. But what we're really looking at here is our budgets, not the artist's. For me to pay $17.00 for a paperback, it's going to be a special occasion or someone who's work I'm obsessed with (like Ben Hatke, but we'll talk about that later.). I give this one caveat: there are about 160 pages in this book. It is the length alone that makes me say, maybe you would be okay forking over the money. The other reason you might pay that is that a number of cartooning books ( many of them written by Christopher Hart) are similarly priced. But as I read and drew in this book, I kept itching to pull out another book. Which I finally did, and confirmed that, yes, I really do love that book. So here is my honest recommendation: Buy the book if you want, but seriously consider additionally or alternatively buying Action Cartooning by Ben Caldwell. It is an amazing resource for anyone truly interested in cartooning. Also take to heart Mr. Caldwell's recommendation that you purchase Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion about the book.

A Review of Anne Tyler's book, Vinegar Girl

I'm afraid I'm going to wax long, though perhaps not eloquently, on the subject of this book.

I did a lot of prep work before reading this book. First you need to know that this book Vinegar Girl is part of Hogarth Shakespeare's relaunch of Shakespeare's plays in modern settings, by famous authors. Anne Tyler is a Pulitzer prizewinning author retelling Taming of the Shrew. In preparation for reading this book, I read one of Anne Tyler's other novels (I was previously unacquainted with her work.), Digging to America. I read Taming of the Shrew, its Wikipedia, its cliff notes, and I even looked up an alternate version of the play, Taming of a Shrew, to read its completed induction (the partial induction is the framework of Taming of the Shrew). In addition, I watched McLintock and 10 Things I hate About You, both modern adaptations. I tried to watch the play on film, but I didn't like the suggestive physical humor, so I had to pass on that one.

Vinegar Girl is the story of Kate Battista, a thoroughly independent preschool assistant who manages her father's affairs while he conducts his scientific research. It is also the story of Pyotr Cherbakov, a Russian genius who has come to the states to be a research assistant, and who can't forget the loneliness of growing up as an orphan. With Pyotr's visa expiring soon, he and Dr. Battista decide to ask Kate to help him to adjust his visa status to "married to an American."

Actually, this book reminds me a lot of the movie The Proposal.

I enjoyed the Anne Tyler novel. I didn't enjoy Taming of the Shrew. I remembered liking it as a teenager, but found myself wondering why as I reread it. I found that the only way the play was palatable or even sensical to me personally was if you borrowed the complete induction from Taming of a Shrew. I was curious about how Anne Tyler would deal with the induction.

Answer: She didn't. Anne Tyler jumps right into her story; and I'm calling it her story deliberately. I can picture Ms. Tyler and the Bard chatting on a park bench. He's telling her all about an idea he has for a story. "No, no!" She protests. "Your story has good bones, " (that's how she phrases it, in my head). "But you're adding so much clutter. Here, I'll show you how to do it." So she outlines her story. And Shakespeare likes it. "I do, really. But it isn't my story. My story is about deception and perception; it's about control and submission. Yours is about fitting in, and belonging. It's about learning to be assertive instead of merely aggressive." Well, that's how it happens in my head, anyway.

Ms. Tyler has direct quotes "Kiss me, Kate" and shout-outs, and nods, and little jokes "Aha! A shrew." "Where?", but her story is only loosely based on the play. And I think it has to be, if you're going to turn a short play with little back story into a novel. And I'm going to be honest; I liked this book much more than its predecessor. I enjoyed it, and I'll probably reread it, maybe even soon.

That isn't to say that there weren't things I didn't like about the book.

Ms. Tyler has used profanity as a way of demonstrating brashness, frankness, and toughness. I'm sure that compared to contemporary novels her language usage is pretty minimal (one reason I usually confine myself to middle grade fiction) but I object to any instances of foul language, so I almost stopped reading when right out of the gate she took the Savior's name in vain.

I didn't like Kate's interactions with the preschoolers; she's supposedly been working there for six years, but we're supposed to believe that in that time she has neither learned to set a good example for the children, nor been fired. However, Ms. Tyler does use the preschool to demonstrate moments of tenderness in our main character.

Speaking of characters, I like the characters. They are well developed and have plenty of personality. Even characters introduced only briefly have endearing personality quirks and uniqueness. With the characters that do stick around, you come to understand them, and their believable motivations. I enjoy Ms. Tyler's writing style.

I enjoyed the ways that she snuck in actual events from the play without making them foreign to her own story and characters, despite telling a vastly different tale. I enjoyed the famous monologue delivered by Kate, restructured to carry Ms. Tyler's message.

I greatly appreciated that Ms. Tyler told a love story without getting smoky, steamy, or racy.

The story is set in Baltimore, and naturally references Johns Hopkins, since Pyotr and Dr. Battista are both employed there. I lived in the Baltimore area for two years, while my husband worked at Johns Hopkins as a postdoc, so for me, it's a little bit like reading about home.

Did Ms. Tyler succeed in the aims of Hogarth Shakespeare? You'll have to ask them, but in my opinion, not so much. Entire elements of the play are dropped. The entire subplot is subverted. The message and tone are entirely different. Anne Tyler has used The Taming of the Shrew as a vehicle to tell her own story, for which I believe we should all be grateful. I believe a faithful retelling of Taming of the Shrew would have required a young woman deliberately putting herself into an abusive relationship, and I think we can all agree we don't need that.

Should you read the book? Yes. It's well-written. I think you'll be happy if you buy it, and happy if you check it out from the library. I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. Maybe 3.5, because I really didn't like the language.

Should you read Hogarth Shakespeare's other stories? I couldn't say. It was evident from Goodreads reviews that I would not enjoy Jeanette Winterson's The Gap of Time, and I quit reading  Howard Jacobson's Shylock is My Name as soon as I hit the F word (Before that point though it was pretty clear that Jacobson's writing style is a bit above me.). So if you like Vinegar Girl, do not automatically assume you'll enjoy the others.

More about the book: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/239448/vinegar-girl-by-anne-tyler/
Author Blurb: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/31626/anne-tyler/

I received an advance reader's edition from Blogging for Books in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion about the book.

A Review of Amy & Adi's A Faithful Mom 2016 Planner

I have been meaning to get around to this for weeks, but maybe it's good I haven't, because now I've had more time to use it.

This is the planner I have. I took the image off the website, afaithfulmom.com. It was given to me by a member of my church as a gift.

This is a targeted product. This planner is geared to married women with children, who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (If you'd like to know more about the church, check out mormon.org. lds.org also has really great content, but is a little more geared toward people who are already familiar with the Church and its practices and beliefs.). I'll go a step further and say it's aimed at women who have children still at home.

Because I am all of those things, I fall pretty squarely in the demographic group this product was made for, so here's what I think:

First: I am reviewing this product, not the site or company, which I have about zero experience with. I have visited the website twice: once to price the planner ($36.99 + S&H), and once to get a copy of the planner image. At the website (again, afaithfulmom.com), you can see pictures of the inside of the planner, which I highly recommend doing. I am reviewing this planner because I love it. I am not being compensated in any way, and although I received the planner for free, it was a gift from a friend.

What's in the planner? 

The first two thirds of the planner are pretty standard: a year at a glance calendar (there is a typo, in mine at least, it's only half the year + 2017 calendar). A monthly calendar, followed by a weekly calendar, with a couple of note pages for each month. What's to like? Each month is tabbed, and has it's own quote for the month. It's pretty, and it's easy to get to where you're looking for. Each week is covered in a two-page spread. Each day has a long column and a short column as well as a separately shaded area for "Keeping Track," that has two sections with just enough space for a short note. One feature is the checklist to the side of each week, for goals you don't assign a specific day. I like this; I feel that I have more freedom to work on them. The downside is that these are the goals I usually procrastinate to the next week - including this blog post. Three boxes cross the top of each week: one for notes, one unlabeled, one labeled "Next Week." Each day includes a S_P_E_ for checking off scriptures, prayer, and exercise.

How do I use it? I use the monthly spread for appointments like babysitting, outings, or doctor appointments. I also include big events like my brother's wedding (Yay, Bud!) On the weekly layout I use the "Keeping Track" section for things I want to see right away - some goal I shouldn't put off, someone's birthday... On each day I use the main section to write down appointment details, goals, activities, or notes I want to track. Once date-night is a fait accompli, I go back and add a note about what we did, and my favorite part. I use the short section for household chores or things like "move pizza dough to fridge to thaw." I use the next week box mostly for prep that needs to be done in advance, like "buy gift to arrive by next week." The S_P_E_ checklist I love in theory, but I have yet to use it even when I do them. I love this first planner section. Do I feel that its offerings significantly differ from many other planner options? No, not really. So why am I strongly recommending this planner? It's all (almost all) in the back third.

What's back there? 

The first tab after December is Info. There's a page for emergency information I only picture myself needing if I lose my cellphone, or need to convey the information to another person, but it's probably good to have. The next page is for quick reference contacts. There's only room for twelve contacts, so choose wisely; I haven't dared put anything down yet, because the shortage of boxes. I would include two or three pages for this if it were up to me. Next up is the birthdays and anniversaries page. In this case, I like the one page format. One convenient location. There's also a page for a cards and invitations list. I imagine this is most helpful if you have a core group of people you invite to everything, which is probably what most of us do anyway. I wouldn't use it to make the guest list for a wedding (Yay, Bud!) unless you were trying to limit the guest list.

Next comes my favorite tab, Family. The first page page provides a space for Family Goals (Spiritual, Physical, Mental, Financial) and Family Highlights. The next page is called Staying Faithful, and there are six boxes: needs, wants, date nights, favorites, medications, sizes. At first, this page feels superfluous, because, don't we know these things about each other? But I really, really love it. Because you intentionally stop and think about these things. For wants I listed tablecloth, but my husband knows it's about wanting to make my surroundings beautiful and serene; he listed game shelves, but I know it's more about taking care of our things, and having the games accessible so we want to play  them more. There are similar pages for each child (date nights becomes activities) and it's brought each child more into focus. It's made me more aware that my eldest needs a secret lair and inventing tools, that my youngest needs more one on one time, and that my middle child needs art. My husband and I joked that we need to have two more babies, because there are five pages, but I suspect this is ample for a lot of families these days, even if my mother would have had to do most of us two per sheet. Next are scripture reading charts, Old and New Testaments, and the Book of Mormon; just having the charts makes us better about doing the reading - of course it also helps that the theme for Primary this year is I Know the Scriptures Are True. The next page is for vacation plans - which I thrive on, so I feel happier just staring at the page. The next twelve pages are Family Night plans for each month. Each page has a space for family goals, a space for your monthly focus/theme, a calendar schedule for five weeks of FHE assignments, a box for things to incorporate, a space for reflections, and a quote. The theme space is kind of genius; we've never really thought about having a unifying theme for the month. Ours is: Kinder to Each Other. And each week we're focusing on how following a Proclamation principle can help us be kinder. We're not super good about family meetings either, so the family goals list is pretty helpful to us as well. 

The next tab, Personal, is like a reprise of the family tab with the goal page and reading charts. It also has a page for People to Visit. I assume this is for visiting teaching. I like that it includes a Birthday space, and the Notes section I see being very helpful for important things like allergies. I have a phobia about accidentally killing someone because I fed them something they were allergic to. I was annoyed that there are only five pages for notes about church meetings, but then I decided that with three active children distracting me, I'll be lucky to fill that, so I'm good with that now.

  

The next tab is Home, and my favorite part of that is the monthly meal plans. It has helped with making my grocery list, knowing which days I'm ready to entertain, and staying in my budget. There is a page for tracking whether you're staying on budget, which is nice, but we personally track on an excel file. Next, a cleaning schedule. The helpful part is that it's divided into daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. The next two pages are about emergency preparedness and more household management stuff; I'll be honest, I haven't done anything with this yet. 

Next comes the Holiday tab. It makes me feel happy all over. I am one of those people that has to have things to look forward to to cope with daily life, and here we have planning pages for Valentines Day, Independence Day, Easter Sunday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. 

The planner ends with a year at a glance calendar for 2017. Almost. There's a little pocket in the back that I use for my grocery lists and papers I need to take to church. 

The planner looks beautiful and feminine, and it consolidates the things that are the most important to me to track right now. It fits my needs really well. My bipolar disorder has made me more disordered than usual lately (Yay for being back on meds now!), and the planner has helped bring a measure of order to that chaos, so I'm not just happy with it, I'm grateful.

Let's talk about the price. $36.99+S&H. I am glad I got this planner for free. I would not have bought it on my own - even if I had known it existed. But now that I have used it, and seen what a helpful tool it is for me, I'm already planning to find a spot in my budget for next year's edition. Another planner company I priced runs about $43ish for their most comparable product, so I don't feel like the price is a problem...mostly. It could help more people if the price were lower. That's about how I see it. Over all, I am super happy with the planner.

A Review of Daria Song's coloring book, The Time Chamber:

I'm doing this review a little bit differently; I'll start off with the rating, and go from there. I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. Because I don't actually recommend that you buy this book. Not unless you personally inspect it, love the pictures, and want those specific pictures.

This may sound odd, since I, myself, am considering eventually purchasing its prequel.

And it may sound odd since the artwork is fairly gorgeous.

So let's talk about it.

I was super excited about this book, and longed to try it out. I saw its prequel, The Time Garden, reviewed on a blog and thought it looked amazing. So it's been at the top of my Amazon wishlist for a little while now along with a huge pack of gel pens, because this book just seems to cry out for metallic colors.

Here's my experience:

What did I like?

I like the pictures. There is a range from super detailed to plenty of white space. There is a range between highly geometrical to very fluid and organic. The pictures all loosely tie together. Some of the pages have a pretty kaleidoscope feel to them. Fair warning, there are a lot of repeated images and motifs - like that cover image? You're going to be seeing those cogs a lot.

I liked spending some art time with my kids. At first, I was feeling all Gollum about the book, and I didn't want my very young children to be scribbling outside the lines on my grown-up coloring book. Then I decided that it was more important to spend time together. So if you can stomach all the scribbles on your pretty picture, I recommend it. It has the benefit of being detailed enough to be more engaging to an adult than coloring a teddy bear with a balloon (although I still recommend that on occasion), and fun for baby too.

I like that it's cheaper than going to a show, and provides hours of entertainment. And I do mean hours, but we'll get to that.

It's fun. That's the whole point of these books. Stress relief.

I didn't end up with the huge selection of gel pens. I went with an 8 pk of metallic pens. I'm going to say that 8 colors of pen is inadequate for this book. Maybe if you were to use colored pencils and could play with the shading it would work to limit yourself, but I didn't want to bother with sharpening my pencils all the time - call me lazy. This book needs color. It needs shades.

The textual story is whimsical but negligible. It furthers the pictures rather than the pictures furthering the text.

So what didn't I like?

I don't like not being able to color all of the picture. There comes a point reaching into the crevices of the binding where it's just not worth the color. But it's annoying. I did see one book on Amazon with tear-out pages, so that's something to think about, but this problem would happen with pretty much any book, so it isn't book specific complaint.

I didn't like when it wasn't obvious what part I was coloring. I really hate when you're coloring something, with one color, only to discover you're actually coloring a completely different thing. Like you're coloring what you think is a horse's leg, but really it's the grass behind, or, in this specific case, you think you're coloring sky, but really it was supposed to be a leaf or vice versa. A small thing, but a pet peeve, nonetheless.

I didn't like how long it takes to do the pages. I've done one full page, and a smattering of things on other pages. This actually amounts to many hours of coloring. The time you have to put into the pages does take away from the continuity of the book, but you can read it when you're done. The thing is, sometimes, I just want to color and finish something in one sitting.

"But wait," you say, "these are really minor things. Why aren't you recommending the book?" I am not recommending this book because in the course of my coloring I saw at least five grown-up coloring books that were cheaper, had pretty pictures, and also had the added benefit of having smaller sections that you could color quickly, for those de-stress quick fix moments when you're still boycotting the bear and the balloon.

A final thought:

I didn't recommend the book. Does this mean I'm anti-recommending this book? Absolutely not. If you glance through it, love the pictures, think it looks fun, then go for it. It costs less than some of the salads I've seen at fast food joints; I don't think you're going to be crippled by buyer's remorse.

Want to look before you buy?

http://www.readitforward.com/time-garden-time-chamber/

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion about the book.

A review of Matt Sewells book, Owls: Our Most Charming Bird

        As a young child, I used to look through my mother's bird book with her. I chose to read Mr. Sewell's owl book partly based on those early experiences, and partly because of a comment I'd made to my husband shortly before discovering the book. "It's funny..." I'd said to my sweetheart. "When the owl craze first started, I thought it was hideous; now I see something with owls on it, and I think, "Look at those cute little owls."" It's scary how being inundated by something can change your opinion over time, without you thinking about it.

        So here I've gone from eagerly awaiting the end of all things owl to reading a book alleging that owls are our most charming bird.

Here are some of my thoughts about this book:

This is not your Mama's bird guide. This book does not contain standard entries for the birds habitat, diet, and gestation. It's more like a cross between an art journal, personal commentary, and random facts. This is not a scholarly book, though that is not to say it is unresearched. If you're already an owl buff, this book is probably funnier to you. Mr. Sewell waxes very poetic, uses hyperbolic and evocative imagery, and throws in a few humorous remarks here and there.

The art is gorgeous. Mr. Sewell's format is a one page illustration, faced by one page of text, sometimes only a paragraph. I loved looking at the pictures, and enjoyed the "Spotting and Jotting" section at the end, where Mr. Sewell provides an illustrated checklist for all the owls in his book. Although, I must say, some of his pictures disappointed me from a learner's standpoint - like how he only drew the head of the Burrowing Owl (p.104) and then talked about the owl's super long legs that make it a great sprinter.

This book is, surprisingly, a good bonding opportunity. My children sat on, or next to, me for an unexpected length of time listening to me read the descriptions and trying to say the scientific names of the owls, while they looked at the pictures.

If you really want to know if you'd like this book, I can show you in one page - two really, since the illustration is a page by itself:

Flammulated Owl, Psiloscops flammeolus

"I was a bit disappointed when I looked up 'flammulated' in the dictionary; it doesn't mean 'flammable feathers,' nor is it a fancy phrase for a forest fire. It just means 'a reddish color,' which, if you ask me, is a bit of a dull moniker for one of the oddest and smallest owls in America - especially when you factor in a coat of feathers as incredible as hers. She looks like a little wet owl who has been rolled in a dusty elixir - a potion concocted from a pinch of leaves from an autumnal, amber forest floor, which are then delicately crushed to a fiery dust and transfused with a handful of sparks, and a bit of eye of newt and toe of frog mixed in for good measure. Magic!" (pp. 68 & 69)

        Did you like it? If you did, you'll like the book. If it was too flowery and didn't contain enough facts and figures to suit your taste, pass. Check out a more scholarly tome from your local library.

        I fall somewhere in the middle, which is why I'm going to give this book 3 out of five feathers. Did I enjoy the book? Yes. Would I buy it? No. Would I check it out from my local library? Probably.

Who should buy this book?

Dentists and Doctors. This would be a great waiting room book for those of us who didn't bring our own reading material, but don't care who broke up with who, or who forgot to put on their makeup this morning. I don't mean this facetiously; if you are a dentist or a doctor, particularly one with long wait times, I actually highly recommend this book.

Avid bird/owl lovers. You'll like the pictures and I'm sure you'll enjoy all the stuff we laymen missed out on.

People shopping for strangers. If I needed a gift for you, dear stranger, I'd consider picking this up. It is beautiful, and not too highly technical, and doesn't scream impersonal, or worse, too personal.

Want to know more about Matt Sewell? Try www.mattsewell.co.uk

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion about the book.

A Review of Gretchen Rubin's book, Better than Before

               

              When I read Gretchen Rubin’s famous book, The Happiness Project, it changed my life. I don’t even remember most of her points; what I do remember is one of her Rules for herself: Be Gretchen. It means that even if everybody else does something a certain other way, or even if we ourselves have visions of ourselves being something we’re not, we need to know who we are and be true to that identity. Simple stuff, but life-changing. I can now openly admit that I celebrated my fifth anniversary at Wendy’s because I wanted to, and that candlelit dinners are just too dark, and I couldn’t eat in an expensive dress because I’d spill on it – even though I have this image in my head of tuxedos, chandeliers and candlelight.

              

                I also read Happier at Home, but in that case all that lingered with me is the title. I need to be happier at home. Got it. Actually, I felt like most of her book had been lifted from her blog. Which I haven’t ever read, so this might just be me being judgmental.

                

                I’ve been thinking about habits for a long time now. Things I’d like to stop doing, things I’d like to start doing… Everybody has things they’re working on. So when I learned that Mrs. Rubin has written a book about habits, I was immediately interested. And I stayed interested, in spite of a few moments in the book that seemed to go out too long, or be irrelevant, or not fit into the section of the book they were in. I persevered through those brief moments of discord and plowed through.

Here are some of my thoughts about the book:

It’s relevant. Mrs. Rubin herself posits the question, paraphrased, “Why should anybody read this book if there isn’t a blanket solution for everybody?” And her observation is spot on: because we can learn from each other. Reading about the experiences of others gives context to my own, and makes me think about things I wouldn’t necessarily be pondering otherwise.

It’s not new stuff, but it’s valuable. With few exceptions, what you’re reading is information you’ve probably heard before – like tracking yourself, and external accountability. This book is basically a review of the literature, with helpful personal anecdotes thrown in. And that’s the benefit. Someone else, Gretchen Rubin, has tirelessly sifted through the literature and compiled it in an easily digestible format. It’s as though we have a personal assistant we’ve set to researching a topic that interests us, but that we can’t be bothered to take the time to research on our own. Mrs. Rubin also exposes us to the writings of others, such as Samuel Adams and Bertrand Russell, which is a treat in and of itself.

It’s a place to start. Mrs. Rubin’s book is not an action plan. It’s a menu. Here we can pick and choose, try or not try, decide what’s for us. And us is important. That’s been a key point in each of these self-improvement books. That when we understand ourselves we can make choices that ultimately lead us to be happier, better people.

What didn’t I like about this book? Chiefly, that some of the things that were presented as part of knowing yourself seemed like things that ought to have been habits we are striving to change. Such as being a procrastinator, or a night owl. A book of scripture particular to my personal religion (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), the Doctrine and Covenants, says straight out that we need to “cease to be idle… retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invorated.” (D&C 88:124). I also didn't like the occasional profanity, or brief references to sex. I felt they could have been omitted. That being said, please understand that I object to all profanity and casual discussion/mention of sex. This is not a trashy book.

               I don’t always agree with her research, and I don’t always agree with her conclusions, but that doesn’t change the fact that this book has already helped me start my journey to being “better than before.”

I’m giving this book a gold star. 

Want to know more about Gretchen Rubin? http://www.gretchenrubin.com/about/

Want to try before you buy? Read/listen to an excerpt; link on: http://gretchenrubin.com/books/before-after/buy-the-book/

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion about the book.

To the CVS Pharmacy Employee Who Helped Me Get My Misdelivered Package

Dear, ... I don't know. I'm sorry, you told me your name, but I don't hear very well over the phone.

Thank you so much for your help. When I called you and asked you if you could find my package, and make sure the UPS guy could pick it back up, you were so helpful. You had me hold on the line while you located the package and dealt with it immediately. I know you stuck a HUGE note on the box, making sure there would be no confusion.

When my package went astray once more, you tried to do your best to help me figure out where it had gone. You couldn't have, UPS lost it on their truck and I had to drive to pick it up. But you were so polite, helpful, courteous, and concerned. I really felt like you cared about my problem, even though you had nothing to do with the situation. I've never shopped at CVS, but you've given me a better impression of the store, and its caliber of employees.

And I can't tell you how happy I was to get my package. It's a present for my fifteen- month-old. It's a play center shaped like a car, and she loves it so much! Thanks for being a bright spot in a dark day...literally. My power was out and I was sitting in the dark when I called you. God bless you, Sir!

Sincerely,
Karyn