Glamour Cakes

This book is sumptuous and breath-taking! This is food art! hopefully there are people in our library community who will invest the time to make some of the creations in this book - for me - I am content to just look and marvel at what can be achieved. Butterflies, cherubs, white chocolate cigarillos, flowers and spots - who would have thought they could be so magical. For an elegant and sophisticated cake try the American Retro or Venetian Carnival....or lose your heart to Lavender Fields or Cherry Envelope. Extensive step-by-step instructions with pictures show how to make the cakes, icings, edible garnishes and how to construct your very own Glamour Cake.
Wendy

Teatime for the Traditionally Built

All Alexander McCall Smith fans of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series can relax with a cup of bush tea and a large slice of cake. The latest - the 10th in the series - does not disappoint. Mma Ramotse looks into the local soccer team to find out why they are losing with some help from her adopted son, Pusa. Meanwhile, her assistant, Grace Makutsi, has to see off an inferior graduate from Secretarial school who is trying to steal her fiancee. It's a pleasant read with gentle humour and a reinforcement of traditional values.

Enjoy!!!!!

Wendy

Envy the Night

A terrific read from Michael Koryta.
You might be interested in these other blogs' views of this work.
http://americareads.blogspot.com/2008/08/pg-69-michael-korytas-envy-night.html
http://page69test.blogspot.com/2008/08/envy-night.html
How does a son cope with his inheritance when his father was a successful FBI agent turned serial killer and he trained his son to be quicker and more deadly then his enemies?
Taut and with the obigatory plot twists, this kept my interest although I did feel a bit water-logged by the end.
Wendy

The Wisdom of Birds

Subtitled "An Illustrated History of Ornithology", this is a detailed book full of surprising knowledge. Starting with Aristotle, through the ages, men (mostly men) have studied and written about bird biology and behaviour. In the early days of modern academic study, the scientific men were dismissive of the vast store of knowledge built up by amateur bird watchers and bird keepers but as time went by, this knowledge was synthesised and led to much greater understanding. I found the historical insights of most interest.
Why was an egg-laying cockerel burnt at the stake?
Which of Mozart's compositions was based on the song of his pet starling?
How was the role of bird song and plumage display interpreted over the years?
How did they eventually discover that some birds migrated and didn't actually spend the winter hibernating at the bottom of frozen ponds?
All wrapped up with a discussion on how scientific thought and process generally developed and affected the study of birds especially the great legacy of Charles Darwin - Natural Selection.
You can learn a lot (even if , as I did, you skip some of the more technical explanations) and also enjoy the reproductions of illustrations from famous historical bird texts.
Wendy

Poetry for Young People - Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

I'd often read references to Emily Dickinson's poetry, generally in novels where young American women studied her in college, without ever having read her directly. This is an introduction to her for young people - or for anyone who wants to enter a simpler (and better?) world.

Wendy