BOOK 35: The Best of Colored Pencil, Volume 5, by Vera Curnow

Rating: 5 stars

Cover synopsis: The operative word for colored pencil as an art tool is control: The fine artwork in these pages shows the energetic and vibrant range such a controlled medium can project.

This book is what I was hoping to find in the first volume. It not only shows the versatility and inspiring images by colored pencil artists, but we also get a paragraph of insight from the artist explaining their inspiration and technique, and how they approach their work.

The art is also larger and easier to see in this volume -- there is usually only one picture per page. I flagged eight pages in here of pictures or techiques I'd like to try. Very inspiring. I wonder what the middle three volumes of this series have in store. To be continued...

BOOK 34: The Best of Colored Pencil, by the Colored Pencil Society of America

Rating: 3 stars

Cover Synopsis: Features full-color illustrations that show the variety of art obtainable with this versatile medium.

Once upon a time, I toyed with the idea of becoming an artist or illustrator. But then my practical side took over and I majored in journalism instead. My favorite art medium to work with was colored pencil. But I haven't drawn anything since my first child was born six years ago.

I've been wanting to tap my creative side again, and I remember coming across this series of books from the Colored Pencil Society of America several years ago. So I thought I'd check them out for some inspiration. (Turns out they're out of print, and my local library doesn't have them. Thank goodness for the Inter-Library Loan system! I'm technically borrowing this book from the Scranton, Pa., library.)

This is the first book in a 5-book series. And it's O.K. It shows a variety of colored pencil subjects and techniques. But this book is lacking because it doesn't tell me anything about the pieces except the title, and who drew it. I want to know more! Tell me about their inspiration for the subject. Tell me more about their technique or why they chose to draw it in a certain way. This is just a picture book, but it left me wanting more info. For instance, the black-and-white series by Ann James Massey -- is it really just blacks and greys? The incredible cross-hatch drawing of an eye by Linda Fennimore -- how did she do it?

There were a few intriguing projects in here, but nothing that really knocked my socks off. Still, I can't wait to get my hands on the other books in the CPSA series to see what they hold.

BOOK 33: The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin

Rating: 4 stars

Cover synopsis: This project is the result of the author's 12-month adventure in becoming a happier person. Her story will inspire readers to embrace the pleasure in their lives and remind them how to have fun.

I have a problem with self-help books that promise to increase your happiness. They usually advocate leaving your family, your house, your country, your religion, etc., to uproot your entire sense of normal. Let's face it: That's not practical -- nor is is necessary -- for most people. I was intrigued by this book because the author was determined to find more joy in her normal life. She didn't want to leave her husband. She didn't want to abandon her responsibilities.

I also found it appealing that Rubin is an awful lot like me. She's happy. She's not depressed. She's not recovering from some huge family tragedy. She just wants to get more out of her life. So she engages in 12 months of goals, drawing from what studies and great thinkers have said about increasing happiness. Things like decreasing clutter, thinking happy thoughts, biting your tongue, and generally trying to have more fun.

I especially liked a few of her "splendid truths," particularly "'The days are long but the years are short." I've been thinking about that concept a lot as a mom with small children at home. I also like the fact that in order to be happy, you have to ACT happy. And your happiness rubs off on other people. So the best way to make someone ELSE happy is to be happy yourself.

I only awarded the book 4 stars because midway through her projects didn't really apply to me, and she seemed to be losing steam, especially on her "spirituality" chapter. But she got it back in the end and, overall, this was a good, uplifting book.

BOOK 32: Betty Crocker's Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cooking Today

Rating: 5 stars

Cover synopsis: Do you want to eat a healthy diet, but don't want to give up on taste? These easy-to-prepare recipes are all designed with the new health consciousness in mind. With Betty Crocker, it can't only be simple to make -- it has to taste great. These 120 recipes prove that healthy eating can be enjoyed by the whole family.

This is another in a series of cookbooks I've been reading. Many were just perusals, but I read this one cover to cover, and flagged at least 30 recipes I want to try soon. I bought a copy of my own, I liked it so much.

This book is great because not only are they healthy recipes, but they're not complex. They don't call for strange ingredients, they don't take 2 hours to prepare and they're things I can actually imagine my kids eating. I'll be making the cornmeal-crusted catfish and the maple-glazed chicken this week.

Plus, there's a recipe for chocolate chip cookies and cheesecake in here. Fire up the oven!

April Status Report

April was a productive month! I read 9 books this month, putting my grand total at 31 so far. And I read quite a variety, too: Thick and thin books, very childish and very adult books, religious and secular books -- and even a grammar book for good measure.

I enjoyed this month tremendously. I didn't rate a single book lower than 4 stars. I wonder what the month of May has in store...

BOOK 31: Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis

Rating: 5 stars

Cover synopsis: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are returning to boarding school when they are summoned from the dreary train station (by Susan's own magic horn) to return to the land of Narnia -- the land where they had ruled as Kings and Queens and where their help is desperately needed.

This is book 4 in the Narnia series. Prince Caspian is the rightful heir to the Narnian throne, but his evil uncle plots to kill him. So Caspian must enlist the help of the magical creatures of Old Narnia (that have been forced to live in hiding for many generations). Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy (from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) are summoned back to Narnia to help.

I waffled back and forth about whether to give 4 or 5 stars. My main beef with this book is that it was too short. The action sequences seem to be abbreviated and we could have had more character development of Prince Caspian. After he runs away, we hardly hear anything of him any more -- but we hear plenty about the Dwarves (yawn).

And we learn that this is the last time Peter and Susan will go to Narnia, but there is no explanation given other than they are too old. But only a year has passed since they were last there, so I don't get it. But in the end, I settled on 5 stars because it was a good story with lots of action and interesting characters.

On to the next adventure!

BOOK 30: The Horse and His Boy, by C.S. Lewis

Rating: 5 stars

Cover synopsis: A boy named Shasta discovers he is not the son of a Calormene fisherman and decides to run far away to the North -- to Narnia. When he is mistaken for another runaway, Shasta is led to discover who he really is and even finds his real father.

This is the 3rd book in the Narnia series, but it happens before the 2nd book (The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) ends. And as much as I liked that better-known classic, I think I liked this book just a tad more!

Nail-biting adventure, mystery, mistaken identities, thrilling chases through exotic locales -- The Horse and His Boy was a treat for the imagination.