Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
Wanna Have Brainiac Kids? Top 10 Baby Books to Make Your Kid Smart
By the time your child blows out his or her first birthday candle, 70% of the brain’s development will be complete. This just goes to show how important it is to start molding your child’s values and brain power even before the baby comes out of the mother’s womb. Why do you think soon-to-be-moms are advised to listen to classical music or ‘read’ to their child while pregnant?
Now, the number one thing that you should remember is that as parents, you are your child’s first teacher. Fortunately for the parents, gone are the days when they would have to rely on flash cards or some old fashioned teaching tools to develop their child’s brains at an early age.
Today, you can use books, interactive games and similar tools to harness the brain power of your child. Naturally, you would like your kids to grow smart and able to handle anything that the world puts them up for later on – so it is better if you will start training your kids yourself.
So which baby books will make your kids smart? Take a look at our top 10 list of the books that you should read if you’re a parent who would like raise brainiac kids. The first half of the list contains books which parents can read to learn how to assist with their child’s motor, physical, mental and emotional development. Meanwhile, the second half of the list consists of books which parents can read to or read with their child.
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10. “Ten Little Ladybugs” by: Melanie Gerth
This story by Melanie Gerth was illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith and it’s the story of the ten little ladybugs that disappear one by one. Kids will have a lot of fun feeling for the three-dimensional ladybugs – while teaching them how to count, recognize colors and name the familiar creatures in the book’s illustrations.
So what are you waiting for? Get a hold of these top 10 books that will assist with your children’s mental development – and raise your kid to be the smartest that they can be!
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9. “Green Eggs and Ham” by: Dr. Seuss
Another Dr. Seuss classic is the “Green Eggs and Ham” book which has a short story with rhythms, repetitions and it’s available in lift-the-flap-book format. Babies will have a blast using their little hands to see through the flaps – so they’ll have fun reading, learning and playing all at the same time.
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8. “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” by: Dr. Seuss
Authored by Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, this book has lots of rhymes to keep a child engaged. It was actually first published in the 1960’s but until now, the book is still in publication, thanks to the riddles and the imaginative way that the author teaches children how to read. Even if you have a child who is below 3 years of age, this would still be a great addition to your collection of children’s books that can be used during bath time!
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7. “The Big Red Barn” by: Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown is a bestselling author of children’s books, and what makes “The Big Red Barn” stand out is the fact that everything about it will be loved by children of all ages. The vibrant colors showcase the stark difference between day and night, the details and the writing style is impeccable – it’s a children’s book classic that will allow your babies to calmly sleep as they grow their way into being smart kids.
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6. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by: Eric Carle
There’s no better book to buy for your kid than something which is already considered to be a classic. This book by Eric Carle has sold more than 12 million copies and has been translated to 20 languages. For parents who haven’t read it to their kids yet – it’s about the journey of a caterpillar who becomes a butterfly. With bright colors and simple pictures, you can have your toddler count the number of snacks that the caterpillar had.
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5. “How to Teach Your Baby to be Physically Superb: From Birth to Age Six (The Gentle Revolution)” by: Glenn Doman, Douglas Doman and Bruce Hagy
Another edition in the Gentle Revolution series of books is “How to Teach Your Baby to be Physically Superb: From Birth to Age Six”. What the book will teach you is that the intellectual and physical development of your child are dependent on other. Parents are given methods and exercises on how to assist the physical development of a child depending on age.
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4. “Baby Hearts: A Guide to Giving Your Child an Emotional Head Start” by: Susan Goodwyn, Ph. D. and Linda Acredolo, Ph. D.
Naturally, if you want your child to have a well-balanced development, you shouldn’t focus on just the mental or intellectual aspect. There’s no use raising a brainiac child if they will grow up to be emotional wrecks later on in life. With “Baby Hearts”, what you will read about is how important it is to develop a close relationship with your child so that their personality, self-esteem and understanding of others – even at such a young age – will unfold.
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3. “Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children Really Learn – And Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less” by: Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D; Roberta Mihnick Golinkoff, Ph.D; Diane Eyer, Ph. D
The authors of this popular book are child psychologists and the thrust of their child-rearing principles is to prove that hurrying a child’s mental development does not necessarily pay off. One of the most interesting theories taught by the authors is how to practice the 3R’s: Reflect, Resist and Recenter – and all these can be done through simple playtime.
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2. “How Smart Is Your Baby? Develop and Nurture Your Newborn’s Full Potential (Gentle Revolution)” by: Glenn J. Doman, Janet Doman
Gentle Revolution is a series of books on how children can be raised to reach their full potential. This particular book from authors Glenn and Janet Doman is actually an essential guide on how to enrich the first year of your baby’s life.
As mentioned earlier, a child’s brain becomes fully developed by the time that the first year’s birthday is celebrated, and the book offers effective tips on how to maximize a child’s developmental stage.
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1. “Smart-Wiring Your Baby’s Brain: What You Can Do to Stimulate Your Child during the First Three Years” by: Winifred Conkling
What makes this one of the best baby books for parents who would like to raise smart children is the fact that Winifred Conkling author uses a straightforward yet compassionate language throughout.
It’s an all-in-one guide for parents which include readable charts and timetables, as well as tips on how to encourage the development of a child in the following aspects: speech, language, movement and motor skills.
What Makes for a Great Read? A Look a the Top 5 Must-Have Christian Books
Did you know that there are a lot of excellent Christian books out there which make for a great read no matter what religious belief it is that you may have? The good thing about reading a book focusing on a particular topic that you are interested in is that it not just increases your knowledge – but it also plays with your imagination and makes you really think and reflect on the words that you are reading.
Let’s say that you would like to renew and enrich your faith as a Christian. The best way to get a head start in this spiritual quest is by getting a hold of a really good Christian book. By doing so, you will get to enjoy the following benefits:
- Get to know more about the word of God.
- Get a clarification on the religious issues which cause you to be confused.
- To get encouragement from the example of others.
The Top 5 Christian Books which are a Must-Have
Now, if you are wondering what other Christians are reading, here is a quick look at the top 5 Christian books which are considered to be a must-have in the religious community:
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5. “How to Read a Christian Book” by: David L. McKenna
Before adding any title to your must-read Christian books list, the “How to Read a Christian Book” is a great way to begin your spiritual journey. Here, author David L. McKenna teaches avid readers how to choose a good Christian book. As the title of his book implies, you will learn exactly how to read a Christian book – in the true sense of the word.
Aside from learning how to choose a good Christian book, you will also learn how to gauge the quality of a good book, how to build your very own Christian books library, and more importantly, how you can read Christian books and turn your knowledge into a spiritual discipline.
All in all, “How to Read a Christian Book” is a definite must-have for those who are just starting to build a library for themselves – check out this title before adding any more to your Christian books library collection.
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4. “The Problem of Pain” by C.S. Lewis
Pain is something that everyone has experienced at one point in their lives or another. The subject of this Christian book by C.S. Lewis is an especially useful one now that the world is suffering from an economic meltdown, a flurry of diseases and a host of other problems.
On a more personal note, however, what this Christian book aims to do is answer the question on why God allows people to suffer through pain and suffering. C.S. Lewis is a master Christian apologist who believes that pain and suffering exists because of this selfish belief that most people have – which is that living a pain-free life means that God loves you more.
This is in reality a thin book but it will take you quite a while before reaching the third chapter because there is so much food for thought to digest. True enough, C.S. Lewis’ “The Problem of Pain” is something that every Christian must read.
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3. “It’s Not About Me: Rescue from the Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy” by: Max Lucado
The author of “It’s Not About Me…” is an evangelical preacher. Since Max Lucado started writing books about God, he has developed a loyal following. So what is it exactly about this particular Christian book which makes it a must-have for every American?
The problem in today’s world is that man never seems to be contented with whatever it is that he has. Rather than looking at what it is that you have, you tend to focus on the glaring lack of money, career opportunities, a loving spouse, and not having enough leisure time. Rather than having this thinking that the world revolves around me, myself and I, the book teaches people how to be less selfish.
Despite the fact that you are participating in a rat race of a world, you should take the time to sit back and reflect on the things that you want in life.
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2. “The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism” by: Timothy Keller
The author of the book is Christian Keller who uses the styles of literary classics to get his message across. Keller is a founding pastor of the Presbyterian Church in New York and among the many principles that you will learn in this must-have Christian book is that there are alternate beliefs aside from Christianity.
“The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism” is one of the best Christian books that you can ever have because it gives you a chance to re-evaluate the belief that you have as a Christian.
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1. “The Purpose Driven Life” By: Rick Warren
If thousands of people are to be believed, “The Purpose Driven Life” is one of the best – if not the best – Christian books out there. Divided into 40 chapters, the author does not suggest that you go through the entire chapter all at one time. Instead, the book should be read one meaningful chapter a day so that you can reflect on the chapter that you have read.
What this Christian book helps you out with is explaining the purpose of your existence in this life. You will also learn how to please God, you will get tips on how to overcome your weaknesses and how you can strive to have an attitude which is not unlike that of Christ’s.
As you can see, there is a variety of Christian books that you can take advantage of. Start your Christian library collection with these five titles and after reading through them, you can select the succeeding titles on your own. This is right after learning about what makes for a good Christian book – so that you can ensure that your Christian books library collection is excellent.
The Cream of the Crop: A Look at the Top 5 Best Books for Tending to Your Garden
Pruning, clipping, planting, digging, sowing – these are the things that you have to do on a regular basis if you have a garden to maintain. No matter how small or big your home garden is, what’s important is for you to learn about the basic skills on how to properly tend to your garden.
Naturally, your goal should be to make the plants grow healthy as they thrive in an environment where the soil is rich and there’s plenty of water and sunlight to ‘feed’ them.
If you’re one of those who consider gardening to be a chore, you might just change your mind when you learn about the benefits of this activity, which includes the following:
- Gardening is an activity which allows both the young adults and the elderly to get some
serious workout through the lifting, digging, sowing and pruning that they need to do - For those who are suffering from any illnesses, you can use gardening as a therapeutic activity to cure whatever is ailing you.
- From the fresh air that you will be breathing in, to the sense of being one with nature – gardening is an activity that will calm your mind and soothe your senses.
- If you’re planting herbal plants with a medicinal purpose, herbs for cooking or fruits and vegetables that are easy to grow, you will have a regular supply of fresh greens that will keep you healthy.
- Finally, gardening is an activity which helps develop your patience. In a world where everything seems to be almost instantaneous, it’s refreshing to know that there is an activity like gardening wherein you would need to wait for quite a long time before seeing the actual fruits of your labor. But once you see that first fruit, flower or when you see that your entire garden is healthy and continuously growing, the sense of satisfaction that you will feel is priceless.
The Top 5 Best Books for Tending to Your Garden
Now that you already have an idea about the many benefits that you will enjoy from gardening as an activity, let us countdown the top 5 best books for gardening:
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5. “The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses” by: Eliot Coleman
Okay, the title of the book may be a mouthful – but every word contained in the succeeding chapters of this comprehensive gardening book is worth a read. Even homemaker goddess Martha Stewart herself has only good things to say about Eliot Coleman’s book.
It’s chockfull of tips on how to choose locally grown organic food and grow them even during the harshest weather of the year: winter. Growing a garden may not be something that a newbie at this activity will attempt, but that’s exactly where the charm of the book comes from.
Once you successfully manage to grow a garden in the harsh of winter, you will be able to do it during the milder seasons of the year.
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4. “Creative Vegetable Gardening” by: Joy Larkcom
Despite the fact that you are planning to grow a food-producing vegetable garden, there is absolutely no need to sacrifice its aesthetic beauty. That is exactly what Joy Larkcom’s “Creative Vegetable Gardening” book is all about.
The author believes that no matter what size of a vegetable garden it is that you wish to grow, it can be as pretty as a conventional flowering garden. Like an artist, you will be able to combine beautiful textures with a slew of lovely colors in growing a gorgeous beautiful garden, without compromising the productivity of the vegetables that you will plant.
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3. “On Guerilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening without Boundaries” by: Richard Reynolds
If you live in a small apartment, you might not even consider growing a garden in your home, but reading Richard Reynold’s book might just convince you otherwise. “Let’s fight the filth with forks and flowers” is an apt description of how the author manages to convince the readers to make a pastime out of gardening other people’s plots.
It’s literally a book about guerilla gardening which delightfully guides you through a guerilla gardening movement which was started by the likes of Mao Tse-Tung and Che Guevarra. Whether your goal is to grow food or grow plants to beautify your surroundings, you can definitely do so – and do it beautifully, no matter how shabby the place you are planning to convert into a garden.
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2. “Salad Leaves for All Seasons: Organic Growing from Pot to Plot” by: Charles Dowding
The cover of this book looks green and sumptuous enough to eat, but wait until you get to read its content. In “Salad Leaves for All Seasons: Organic Growing from Pot to Plot”, Charles Dowding will teach you how to live a healthy and beautiful life by eating a serving of salad a day – which you have grown yourself.
Whether it’s a windowsill or a full-fledged garden, the book will teach you how to grow the greenest of leaves which are used for salads. There’s even a bonus of some excellent recipes so that you can truly produce and consume your own food. Dowding’s garden book deserves a spot in our list because it is well-written and the advice is as practical as you can get.
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1. “The Garden Primer: Second Edition” by: Barbara Damroch
It all starts with the basics – and whether you’re already an expert handling the shovel or if you haven’t touched garden soil ever before, Barbara Damroch’s “The Garden Primer” book is the best gardening book to help develop your gardening skills.
It’s basically a gardening encyclopedia minus the fancy terms. Chicago Tribune calls Barbara Damrosch an author who “delivers the goods”, and she really does. The 820-page book tells you about the principles of landscape design, what your plants really need, which gardening gear you should be wearing and how to choose which plants to grow in your garden.
There you have it, our top 5 list of the best books for tending your garden. These are all great reads that will make you forget the fact that you think of gardening as a chore. Instead, this almost therapeutic activity will be something that you’ll grow to love, because of the gardening skills and knowledge that you will develop along the way.
A Glimpse at the Top 5 Most Essential Parenting Books
In the workplace, you would usually get some sort of on-the-job training before actually handling the day-to-day tasks that will be assigned to you once you ‘officially’ start as an employee. Unfortunately for parents, they do not have the luxury of having on-the-job training when it comes to taking care of their kids. This is especially true in the case of first-time parents.
So if you want to properly raise your child, how can you educate yourself if you don’t have time to attend ‘Parenting 101’ classes? Perhaps the next best thing that you can do is educate yourself with the help of parenting books.
A Multitude of Benefits from Reading Parenting Books
Before counting down the best parenting books which are considered to be essential must-reads for all the moms and dads out there, let us first check on the advantages that you will have when reading one.
Here is a quick look at the benefits that you will get to enjoy when reading books about parenting:
- Instead of focusing on what you are doing wrong as a parent, these books will teach you how to respect the rights of your children while in turn teaching them to respect their own rights as individuals.
- You will feel more confident about how you can improve your parenting skills because these books are written by experts in the field who are parents themselves.
- Reading parenting books are a great way to invest in your personal growth as well as your child’s future.
The Top 5 Most Essential Parenting Books that Every Mom & Dad Should Buy
Whether you’re awaiting the arrival of your first baby, or if you’re already a parent of a young child who is looking for some tips on how to raise your child properly, here are the top 5 most essential parenting books that you should read:
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5. “What Mothers Do Especially When It Looks Like Nothing” by: Naomi Stadlen
This is not your run-of-the-mill parenting manual which teaches you how to ‘force’ an eleven-month old baby to sleep through the night. Instead, Naomi Stadlen’s book is gentle yet revolutionary in the sense that it goes beyond the basic skills that a mother should have on how to take care of her child.
As a psychotherapist, the thrust of “What Mothers Do…” lies in the principle that it is rarely necessary to tell a mother what it is that she needs to do. It may be a slow and often difficult process, but a mother can learn how to trust her child and herself for her to naturally acquire the skills needed to care for her offspring. All in all, the book teaches parents – especially mothers – how that quality ‘quiet’ time spent with the baby is one of the best ways to match the pace by which their babies live.
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4. “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk” by: Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of a parent-child relationship is how they can effectively communicate with each other – which means that one listens while the other one talks. This is exactly what is being taught in the book “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk” by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.
This parenting book is actually based on a series of workshops developed by the two authors and the subject is how to improve relationships within a household. If you’re having problems connecting with your child, communicating with your child or you don’t know how to make your child actually listen to you, then this parenting book which is applicable to any relationship is jus the answer that you are looking for.
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3. “Scream Free Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool” by: Hal Runkel
If you already have a chaotic household especially in the mornings when everyone has to prepare for work and school, how exactly do you keep your cool if one of the kids are being difficult? With this book by Hal Runkel who is a licensed family and marriage therapist, you will learn how to focus less on your child’s behavior and focus more on yours: and how you as a parent react to your child’s behavior.
New principles like ‘judo parenting’ are taught in “Scream Free Parenting” – which basically involves going with your child’s momentum. The author shares that even at a young age, you can allow your child to make his or her own decisions and live with the consequences later on.
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2. “Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care: 8th Edition” by: Benjamin Spock
Your own parents and grandparents may have a copy of an older edition of a Dr. Spock parenting book – and this is the new generation’s version of it. “Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care: 8th Edition” parenting book has been fully revised and expanded for today’s parents.
It includes everything that you need to know as a parent, from developing the basic skills that you have as a parent to complex topics like how to raise autistic children or what you need to know about international adoption. New parents will find the book especially helpful because it just plain makes parenting a lot easier.
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1. “The Mother of All Parenting Books: The Ultimate Guide to Raising a Happy, Healthy Child from Preschool through Preteens” by: Ann Douglas
What better way is there to cap off our list of than with “The Mother of All Parenting Books”? As the title suggests, this essential parenting book penned by Ann Douglas can serve as your ultimate guide on how to raise a happy, healthy child from preschool through their preteen years. After going through the rigors of rearing a young child, the next stage that both the child and the parents undergo is their preschool years and the more difficult teen and preteen years.
Ann Douglas’ book is a comprehensive guide on what you need to know about kids of this age, how they usually respond to your disciplining ways and how you can choose the best course of action depending on the ‘parenting emergency’ situation that you find yourself in.
By reading these five essential parenting books, you can arm yourself with as much knowledge as you need on how you can raise your child from being a happy and healthy baby to being a well-adjusted kid.
Soothe Your Senses with the Beauty of the Written Language: A Look at the Top 6 Best Contemporary Poetry Books
Whether or not you have a love of the written prose and poetry, you might have already gone through the ‘typical’ poetry books during your college years. Now, for the true-blue lovers of poems, you may have bought copies of the best ‘Prose and Poetry’ collections of some of the world’s most famous poets, including William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, John Keats, Pablo Neruda, William Carlos Williams, T.S. Eliot, William Butler Yeats, Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath and a lot more.
Aside from the classic poetry books, every year, there’s a standout collection of contemporary poems written by budding poets which are being published. Have you had a chance you to check them out? If not, read on to find out some of the most beautiful contemporary poetry books that you might have skipped out on reading.
A Collection of the Top 6 Best Contemporary Poetry Books
Here, we will take a look at some of the most beautiful contemporary poetry books which were published between 2004 and 2009, some of which you might not even have heard of but are still worth reading:
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6. Turning to Fiction: Poems” By: Donna Masini
Billy Collins describes Donna Masini’s poetry book as “A virtuoso conductor of the orchestra of the broken heart.” That sentence is as apt a description as you can get about the author’s poetry collection. That sex is often adulterous, that heartbreak morphs into human loss and that the loss of a lover leads Masini to Jane Eyre – these are just a few tidbits on how the lines of Masini’s poems manage to capture the heart and imagination of her readers through her poems.
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5. “What Is This Thing Called Love: Poems” by: Kim Addonizio
Charming and unashamed – these are the two best words to describe the modern free verse poetry of author Kim Addonizio. This is already her fourth venture in writing a collection of verses and the “What Is This Thing Called Love: Poems” is as modern as you can get.
The subjects of the book range from the sex, to mourning, to how difficult it is to raise a daughter. As one reviewer succinctly puts it, this is probably the only book published in its year where every poem rocks.
Going through the pages of this little treasure of a book, you would see that the poems are divided into sections: Section 1 – Sex; Section 2 – Death/Sickness/Old Age; Section 3 – Birth/Human Nature; Section 4 – Decadence; Section 5 – Writing Poetry/Creation. Smart, sassy, youthful and unapologetic, Kim Addonizio’s poetry book is as ‘rock’ as poetry gets.
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4. “The Maverick Room: Poems” by: Thomas Sayers Ellis
If you’re looking for a classic-sounding poetry book which has a contemporary feel to it, then you will love “The Maverick Room: Poems” by Thomas Sayers Ellis. The author already has two poetry books under his name, “Groovallegiance” and “All their Stanzas Look Alike”.
Much like his first two attempts at writing a poetry book, the techniques used by Sayers-Ellis works – his thoughts are that of an intellectual, his language gritty. The title of the book is that of a club and you probably can’t resist the way that he wants you to participate in his prose with lines like “Raise your hands. Holler at me!”
True enough, contemporary poetry will not be an interesting without the likes of Sayers-Ellis who manages to make you feel, taste and almost hear the sentiment behind his poems.
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3. “Teahouse of the Almighty: Poems” by: Patricia Smith
Published by Coffee House Press in 2006, this book is a collection of poems from a woman whose last work was released 13 years before this one came out. Ed Sanders is the man who chose the pieces for the collection and he said that he was weeping for the beauty of the author’s poetry when he reached the end of the final poem.
“Teahouse of the Almighty: Poems” is actually a Coffee House National Poetry winner, showing just how much of an artist the author is in every sense of the word. Some of the topics that she touches on include sex and sexuality, her heritage, the ‘trouble with the blues’, the joys and pains of being a mother. The depth by which she knits languages to produce poetry in this book is such an experience that will surely touch your heart.
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2. “National Anthem” by: Kevin Prufer
Should politics and poetry mix? In this collection of poems by Kevin Prufer, that definitely seems to be the case. His work is almost a personal journal of his views about life, love, politics and the beauty of the world around. One of the most interesting pieces in his “National Anthem” collection is his depiction of the life in contemporary America, wherein a boy is locked in the trunk of a car, refusing to die.
Shockingly true with gripping language and bald descriptions, “National Anthem” is a must-have book for everybody who wants to know the true place of politics in poetry.
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1. “Collected Poems” by: Michael Donaghy
The author of this poetry book, Michael Donaghy, may have passed away in 2004, but the beauty of his poetry lives on. His “Collected Poems” book was published about five years after his passing. According to poet-critic Sean O-Brien, Michael Donaghy is seen as one of the representative poets of the age and the publication of this book is a feat in modern literature. What you will get out of this book is a collection of his more ‘mature’ poems, full texts from his four published volumes, and a number of uncollected pieces.
If you have missed out reading most of these poetry books, then you might want to make it a habit to update your reading list. This is especially true when it comes to poetry – because there’s always a budding poet who will manage to sneak into your heart, mind and soul through the language used in the prose.
Top 5 Reads for Young Adults
Many disgruntled old fogeys have this notion that reading is a lost art, at least amongst today’s teenagers. They derive that notion from the fact that teenage lifestyle these days is a far cry from the one enjoyed by these old people when they were still teens themselves. Teenagers these days are seen as having no time or patience to sit down and indulge in reading a book.
Well, unlike these elders, teenagers today have the advantage of technology. Their access to information is unprecedented in its ease, and instead of books, they have Blackberries, laptops, portable reading devices and other such gadgets. Teenagers today may not have books in their hands, but that does not mean that reading is a lost art amongst them. The books just found a new form.
Having said that, there are books that are considered must-reads for teenagers, and many of these books are ones that these young readers actually enjoy reading. The list is extensive, but here are five beautiful books that should be read by teenagers.
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5. Pride and Prejudice
No list of must-read books for teenagers should be without Pride and Prejudice. This classic is probably the most loved of all of Jane Austen’s books, spawning various renditions in film and television and alluded to in many other works.
Though most literary critics warn against reading too much into this book’s title, Pride and Prejudice can be said to be a novel describing the dangers of sticking to one’s prejudices because one’s pride calls for it. The entire novel spins around the idea of misunderstandings and misinterpretations of intent amongst the characters, which created hindrances to their own happiness. Is this not a common concern faced by teenagers today – forming opinions out of prejudice but without the right information, thereby “judging a book by its cover”?
Teenagers do read, and they do enjoy spending their time reading. There are so many books that hold a huge appeal amongst teenagers, regardless of the genre and the date the book was first published.
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4. The Lord of the Rings
Most teenagers today know of The Lord of the Rings as that very, very long trilogy of movies that starred, amongst others, the British hottie Orlando Bloom. But a good many of these teenagers who first encountered the story through the movies found themselves reading the book.
And indeed, The Lord of the Rings is one classic must-read for all, not just for teenagers. Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, it spawned an entirely new literary genre that we now know as the high fantasy genre, and has thus influenced many writers, not just of science fiction and fantasy, but also of mainstream fiction.
What is The Lord of the Rings all about? It is, basically, an epic tale of the fight between good and evil; of high adventure that spanned whole territories and fraught with so much danger; of friendship that crossed the barriers of race; of facing unshakable destiny head-on; of sacrifice; and most especially, of brotherly love in the purest of senses.
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3. The Joy Luck Club
The struggle that mothers and daughters have to go through in order to understand each other is an age-old struggle that transcends races, classes and generations. Each mother strives to create perfection out of her own daughter and each daughter fights what she sees as her mother’s manipulation to make her something that she is really not. But at the heart of it, the truth is that a mother and her daughter are simply a pair of mirrors reflecting each other, one looking at her past whilst the other faces her possible future.
That is one way to look at Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, a bestselling book that first came out in 1989 and was later turned into a film starring actress Ming-Na and other leading Asian-American actors. The Joy Luck Club is the story of four Chinese women who immigrated to the United States, each with a colorful but sorrowful past in mainland China. Each of these women has a daughter, and each mother-daughter pair is faced with a mutual misunderstanding of each other. In the end, they all discover that despite the cultural barriers, each share the same, enduring spirit.
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2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1.One of the most common life struggles that a teenager gets to face, regardless of what era he or she was born in, is the struggle for self-identity and finding one’s place in this world. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the acclaimed poet Maya Angelou tells us what it was like to grow up as a black teenage girl in a close-knit community in Arkansas before the Second World War.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first in a series of six autobiographies that Maya Angelou wrote to describe her childhood, her teenage years and the early years of her young adulthood. This book in particular describes the bewilderment of a very young girl sent away to live with her grandmother at a very young age, the confusion created by having to bow down to the white folk despite being obviously better than them, and the tragedy of being abused as a child hardly twelve years old.
Published in 1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the most popular and most critically acclaimed of all of Maya Angelou’s works. The tone of the story is very poignant, uplifting in some parts and heartbreaking in others, and with each word beautifully written like poetry in prose.
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1. Dune
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
So goes the mantra that is central to this tale of struggles, betrayals, discovery of truths, and coming of age. This tale belongs to Paul Atreides and it tells of how he lived to face his destiny as the Muad’Dib of the desert planet Arrakis.
Frank Herbert’s Dune is a science fiction classic, well-loved by readers of all ages, including young adults. It was awarded a Hugo Award in 1966 and was the first novel to win the Nebula Award in the same year. Although it was published some fifty years ago, the struggles of Paul Atreides still echo for many young adults.
Top 10 Must-Read Classic Books
There are innumerable classic novels in history, but there are only few that have touched, captured, and influenced countless generations.
In the first part of the list are some of the greatest literary works of all time, which have garnered interest from literary and non-literary circles alike. In the second part of the list are five best classics from which we will recognize age-old themes still experienced by the society in the past and in today’s world.
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10. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: A Novel of Societal Equality
Pride and Prejudice is one of the few classics loved by the mainstream. The book follows Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy, two lovers separated by social status and clashing viewpoints. The book explores the prejudice faced by the lower social classes as well as the role of women in society. The novel is written in a poignant and witty manner that made Jane Austen a classic favorite among literature lovers.
Pride and Prejudice was second in UK’s Best Loved Books in 2003, and was first in an Australian survey of the 101 Best Books Ever Written. It was also adapted into a film in 2005 with Hollywood actress Kiera Knightley playing the feisty, opinionated, and much adored Elizabeth Bennett.
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9. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: A Novel of Injustice and Redemption
Les Miserables was greeted by critiques and negative reactions upon release, but it became commercially successful. Today, it is considered as one of the most important novels ever written because of its sensational look into the lives of the poor and oppressed. It has been turned into films and TV films, as well as adapted into a Paris musical, which became one of the most successful musicals ever made.
Les Miserables can be compared to The Count of Monte Cristo and Crime and Punishment as it combines the themes of justice and redemption. It seems to explore the other sides of these themes. The protagonist, Jean Valjean, was faced with a punishment that did not fit his crime and, in the end, also found redemption.
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8. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky: A Novel of Justice
Crime and Punishment was the first great novel in Dostoevsky’s age. The novel revolves around Raskolnikov, a young man who murders an old woman believing that it will be for the common good. In the story, Raskolnikov faces justice for what he did, not from the law, but from his own conscience.
The novel has been adapted into several films and TV serials. One of the films was released in 1993 and starred Hollywood actor Patrick Dempsey. Crime and Punishment is one of the greatest works in classic literature that touches on themes that we still heavily encounter nowadays.
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7. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: A Novel of Vengeance and Redemption
The Count of Monte Cristo is Dumas’ most popular work and one of the bestselling books of all time. Even as an adventure story, The Count of Monte Cristo has a lot of profound emotional themes. It tells of Edmond Dantes, who was condemned to life imprisonment, escaped, found the treasure of Monte Cristo, and planned his revenge. He, however, sought vengeance but found redemption.
The story has been adapted into several movies, the most popular of which is the 2003 version with Hollywood actor Jim Caviezel. The Count of Monte Cristo also spurned three plays, a stage musical, Japanese mangas, and unofficial sequels. This is one adventure novel you should not miss.
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6. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger: A Novel of Growth and Rebellion
Catcher in the Rye is a famous story about teenage rebellion and is one of the most censored books because of its rebellious themes and profane language. The novel is often challenged, but a lot of schools nowadays assign it as literary reading. The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has also become literature’s most famous teen icon. The story told of Caulfield’s experiences in New York where he explores the harsh realities of life.
Aside from being one of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books, it is also in Time’s 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005 and of the 20th century. Famous actors Jack Nicholson, John Cusack, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Tobey Maguire have all expressed desire to play Holden Caulfield, but author J. D. Salinger has refused all plans for a screen adaptation of the highly elusive novel. Intriguing, isn’t it?
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5. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov: The Controversial Classic Novel
Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita entered the literary scene in 1955 and immediately became controversial due to its subject: a man’s obsession with a 12-year-old girl. At the same time, however, the novel became loved for Nabokov’s innovative writing style. Lolita was later on translated into Russian, adapted for the stage, inspired poetry collections, and was adapted into two films. The screenplay of the first was written by Nabokov himself.
The novel, written in English, was one of Time’s 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923-2005. From then until now, no other novel has braved the controversial subject of child sexuality as Lolita did.
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4. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien: The Beloved Epic Classic
The presence of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings on this list is to be expected. After all, who have not seen the live-action epic trilogy by New Line Cinema? The Lord of the Rings won worldwide acclaim, with the final installment winning 11 Oscars awards. Soon after, the novel’s popularity was revived, and it became the first in UK’s Best Loved Books in 2003.
The fantasy novel told of Middle-Earth’s salvation from Dark Lord Sauron with the help of the Fellowship of the Ring, led by Frodo Baggins, a hobbit, a fictional race Tolkien cleverly created. The novel, written from 1937 to 1949, intermingled fantasy, philosophy, and religion. It also opened up the doors for more literary fantasy works, a lot of which rocked, and are still rocking, the literary world.
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3. The Iliad by Homer: The Famous Epic Poem
Homer’s The Illiad is one of the greatest epic poems. The heroic classic covers the finale of the Trojan War, and includes some of the most famous events in the war such as the combat between Paris and Menelaus, the gods’ intervention, and Achilles’ defeat of Hector. The Iliad has been translated into English by countless authors.
The fame of The Iliad cannot be defined. It was used by Robert Browning and William Shakespeare himself as inspiration. The Iliad was also turned into the popular Hollywood movie starring Brad Pitt as Achilles in 2004. The movie, now the 64th top-grosser, raked in $133 million in the U.S. alone and $497 in worldwide movie sales.
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2. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert: The Second Greatest Novel Ever Written
Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary revolves around Emma Bovary, a plain doctor’s wife who had a highly romanticized view of the world that led her to search for something greater, in the process having an affair and going into debt. In literature, Madame Bovary is widely praised for Flaubert’s detailed and meticulous writing.
Madame Bovary has been adapted into several films and TV series, and was loosely adapted in both film and literature. It is now considered one of the most influential novels in history, and it has won the second spot in The Top Ten, following closely behind Anna Karenina.
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1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: The Greatest Novel Ever Written
Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina tells the story of Anna, a woman of high society who was criticized for having an affair with the man she loves. The success of the novel lies in Tolstoy’s writing, which even famous authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky and Vladimir Nabokov described as “flawless.”
Anna Karenina won the top spot in J. Peder Zane’s The Top Ten, a book that compiles the ten greatest books taken from the top ten lists of 125 contemporary writers. It has also been referenced in mainstream television shows and in literary works by authors Vladimir Nabokov, R. L. Stine, Haruki Murakami, and Milan Kundera. Even Oprah recommended the book back in 2004, making it even more popular.
Top 5 Best Gardening Books
Pruning, clipping, planting, digging, sowing – these are the things that you have to do on a regular basis if you have a garden to maintain. No matter how small or big your home garden is, what’s important is for you to learn about the basic skills on how to properly tend to your garden.
Naturally, your goal should be to make the plants grow healthy as they thrive in an environment where the soil is rich and there’s plenty of water and sunlight to ‘feed’ them.
If you’re one of those who consider gardening to be a chore, you might just change your mind when you learn about the benefits of this activity, which includes the following:
- Gardening is an activity which allows both the young adults and the elderly to get some serious workout through the lifting, digging, sowing and pruning that they need to do
- For those who are suffering from any illnesses, you can use gardening as a therapeutic activity to cure whatever is ailing you.
- From the fresh air that you will be breathing in, to the sense of being one with nature – gardening is an activity that will calm your mind and soothe your senses.
- If you’re planting herbal plants with a medicinal purpose, herbs for cooking or fruits and vegetables that are easy to grow, you will have a regular supply of fresh greens that will keep you healthy.
- Finally, gardening is an activity which helps develop your patience. In a world where everything seems to be almost instantaneous, it’s refreshing to know that there is an activity like gardening wherein you would need to wait for quite a long time before seeing the actual fruits of your labor. But once you see that first fruit, flower or when you see that your entire garden is healthy and continuously growing, the sense of satisfaction that you will feel is priceless.
Now that you already have an idea about the many benefits that you will enjoy from gardening as an activity, let us countdown the top 5 best books for gardening:
5. “The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses” (Eliot Coleman)
Okay, the title of the book may be a mouthful – but every word contained in the succeeding chapters of this comprehensive gardening book is worth a read. Even homemaker goddess Martha Stewart herself has only good things to say about Eliot Coleman’s book.
It’s chockfull of tips on how to choose locally grown organic food and grow them even during the harshest weather of the year: winter. Growing a garden may not be something that a newbie at this activity will attempt, but that’s exactly where the charm of the book comes from.
Once you successfully manage to grow a garden in the harsh of winter, you will be able to do it during the milder seasons of the year.
4. “Creative Vegetable Gardening” (Joy Larkcom)
Despite the fact that you are planning to grow a food-producing vegetable garden, there is absolutely no need to sacrifice its aesthetic beauty. That is exactly what Joy Larkcom’s “Creative Vegetable Gardening” book is all about.
The author believes that no matter what size of a vegetable garden it is that you wish to grow, it can be as pretty as a conventional flowering garden. Like an artist, you will be able to combine beautiful textures with a slew of lovely colors in growing a gorgeous beautiful garden, without compromising the productivity of the vegetables that you will plant.
3. “On Guerilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening without Boundaries” (Richard Reynolds)
If you live in a small apartment, you might not even consider growing a garden in your home, but reading Richard Reynold’s book might just convince you otherwise. “Let’s fight the filth with forks and flowers” is an apt description of how the author manages to convince the readers to make a pastime out of gardening other people’s plots.
It’s literally a book about guerilla gardening which delightfully guides you through a guerilla gardening movement which was started by the likes of Mao Tse-Tung and Che Guevarra. Whether your goal is to grow food or grow plants to beautify your surroundings, you can definitely do so – and do it beautifully, no matter how shabby the place you are planning to convert into a garden.
2. “Salad Leaves for All Seasons: Organic Growing from Pot to Plot” (Charles Dowding)
The cover of this book looks green and sumptuous enough to eat, but wait until you get to read its content. In “Salad Leaves for All Seasons: Organic Growing from Pot to Plot”, Charles Dowding will teach you how to live a healthy and beautiful life by eating a serving of salad a day – which you have grown yourself.
Whether it’s a windowsill or a full-fledged garden, the book will teach you how to grow the greenest of leaves which are used for salads. There’s even a bonus of some excellent recipes so that you can truly produce and consume your own food. Dowding’s garden book deserves a spot in our list because it is well-written and the advice is as practical as you can get.
1. “The Garden Primer: Second Edition” (Barbara Damroch)
It all starts with the basics – and whether you’re already an expert handling the shovel or if you haven’t touched garden soil ever before, Barbara Damroch’s “The Garden Primer” book is the best gardening book to help develop your gardening skills.
It’s basically a gardening encyclopedia minus the fancy terms. Chicago Tribune calls Barbara Damrosch an author who “delivers the goods”, and she really does. The 820-page book tells you about the principles of landscape design, what your plants really need, which gardening gear you should be wearing and how to choose which plants to grow in your garden.
There you have it, our top 5 list of the best books for tending your garden. These are all great reads that will make you forget the fact that you think of gardening as a chore. Instead, this almost therapeutic activity will be something that you’ll grow to love, because of the gardening skills and knowledge that you will develop along the way.