Star Wars: Book of List by Cole Horton

 I was really excited to read this book for myself and my kids. We are huge Star Wars fans and have watched all the movies as well as the animated series.

Upon opening this book, my first reaction was, that's it?  This book was organized in "major" categories but I found the categories lacking or not stimulating enough for me to keep my attention.

This Book of List is fun in that it can start discussions among SW fans of what the author selected over what fans think but it's not comprehensive.  I wished they included more SW characters, especially from the Animated Series.  
The pictures, some are screen shots, and doesn't look as professional as I expect it to me.

This book is a fun read but not one that I would consider a keeper among SW books.

Something Needs to Change by David Platt

I am going through a stage in my life where I am trying to figure out how not to just be a pew sitter but be a doer. When I saw the title of this book I was intrigued. I've heard a lot about David Platt, good things from friends. Not only is this book written by David Platt but the title really caught my attention. 

This book is not a book which David gives a sermon/preach about how we need to do something for the world but this book is actually about his own personal journey as he was trekking through Nepal/Tibet and that region. David's journey is brought to light by entries from his journal and his experience with people who he comes in contact with.

I was especially moved by his honesty of his own faith and wondering what exactly is he doing himself for those in the world. You see his angst, brokenness and fear and anger in this trek.

This book really has caused me to ask myself what am I doing; how am being used by God for my community, the world around me. It's a call for us to get off our butts in the pews and take action, to be God's hand and feet in the world.

This is a must read for all, both believers and non believers. Warning, some of the stories are really hard to read but it's a reflection of what is happening in world and how we much rise up to speak up for those who do not have a voice.

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All of Which I Saw by Lucian Read

I remember when I watched Blackhawk Down, I was sitting in the theater and I couldn't stop my legs from moving up and down.  I could feel my heart beat rising throughout the movie.  I told my wife afterwards, "I feel like I was there."  There was such adrenaline surging through me as I was watching the movie.

All of Which I Saw by Lucian Read...I had the same reaction as I had that day I watched Blackhawk Down.

The pictures and his journal captured the essence of the brutality and devastation of the Iraq War, not only for the men and women of the Marine units he was embedded with but also the Iraqi people.

As a photographer myself, I was especially drawn to this book and wondered how Lucian would capture the war.  All I can say is "wow" his pictures to me captured what war is like, the horror, pain, grief, sadness, boredom, humor and devastation of it all.

One of my favorite pictures is the picture of all the 156 Marines and Sailors standing in the skeleton remains of a hotel that they fought for.  

Lucian's recollection of the events and his feelings really tied the pictures together; he was brutally honest and reflective of his time with the Marines.  Especially his "controversial" pictures at Haditha.

This is a great book and it's a book that I want my kids to see. For them to understand the sacrifices that men and women made for our country.

Half the Sugar, all the Love Jennifer Tyler Lee, Anisha Patel

Sugar, sugar and more sugar.  Addictive yet but delicious.  Actually who doesn't like sugar.  So when I saw this title, I was like, really, half the sugar in these recipes, especially for dessert?  How can that be?  I have tried various recipes by decreasing sugar but it didn't always turn out great.


Why not check this book out to see what's it's like? Besides this isn't just a dessert book but it's about cutting sugar out during breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and snacks.

What I actual reading was the introduction of why reducing sugar is important for our health and then goes to talk about various myth about sugar, like honey is healthier option  (dummy...it's still added sugar) or no sugar = no dessert.  I really like this portion of the book, it's very educational.

The author goes on to teach us how to read the nutritional labels, which can be pretty complicated. 

the recipes are all simple with easy ingredients that we all have in the pantry. For example, the granola, the only added sugar is a 1/4 cup maple syrup. Rest of the sweetness is from natural dried fruit.

I love how she has pictures of sugar cups on top which tells you with a visual how much sugar in each recipe and when possible compares the sugar in the recipe against what is generally added for the same recipe.

I highly recommend this book for all who are looking to cut back on their sugar but still get the delicious sugar taste in their food.

Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Build Your Bible IQ in a Year - Mark Moore

I've read and perused enough devotional book and when I was given an advance copy of Core 52 by Mark E Moore, I was like another devotional book.

But I have to eat crow. I really like this devotional book. It touches on the gospel but make it practical and easy to digest.

Each week it takes one verse starting from Genesis and gives a topic that's related to the verse and on first day of the week, you read that devotional, then rest of the week it ask you to memorize the verse of the week, read more related verses and what I love, it challenges you to put what you read into practice. How rare is that, a devotional book that ask you to put into practice what you read.

This is my goto devotional book now. I would highly recommend it.

Wilder Girls - Rory Power

The premise of the Wilder Girls is about a girls school that is being quarantined due to a breakout of Tox virus on the island. The Tox virus causes physical deformity with whoever catches it. So basically all the inhabitants of the island has some form of Tox virus; it appears the virus also affects the wildlife and nature.

The three main characters are: Hetty, Byatt (Hetty's best friend) and Reese and the premise of the story is really the relationships of the three girls as they navigate surviving on the island, in a way like Lord of the Rings, the strongest girls, like the Boat Shift, are the one who gets the food or have the power, not counting the headmistress and Welch, one of staff.

Note: there are themes of violence and LGBT in this book.

But the twist in the story is when Byatt goes missing and Hetty goes crazy because she can't find her friend so she and Reese sets out to look for Byatt on the island. What they find isn't what they thought.

Let your imagination go because if you catch the various clues along the way, you can sorta figure out where this story is going.

Don't want to spoil it so I'll leave it off. The story gets you think about the world and things that are happening around us, is there something more than what we see?

I enjoyed this book for the most part but something about the book didn't catch my attention as I hoped it would. Maybe I could not relate to the characters, not a page turner for me. I was going to pass this onto my teenager but I don't think she will enjoy this book.

A Contrarian's Guide to KNowing God - Larry Osborne

This title is indeed what it is, it's a contrarian's guide to what we all know about our relationship with God.

It's funny, I have heard all the things that's required to know and draw close to God. Such as being in an accountability group, faith that doesn't waver, discipleship, etc.  It can be a bit controversial given most of these are accepted and loved ideas in the Christian community but Larry is not afraid to stir things up.

I love the fact that he's not afraid to stir things up yet keeps focus on God and the ultimate goal of knowing God.



this is a recommended book for all who are seeking a contrarian perspective on knowing God.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for my review

The Healing Power of Essential Oil by Eric Zielinski, D.C.

My wife got into essential oil a couple of years ago and has been using it ever since.  At times I am not sure how real this is but she swears by it.  She mixes her own oil for headaches, stomach aches, muscle aches, etc.



This book is great because it gives her reference to what more she can use the essential oil for.  The different mixes she can use the oils for.

All I know is that essential oil are great for massages and smells great, especially in our boy's room.

I got this book from Blogging for Books.

All the Pieces Matter by Jonathan Abraham

When I heard Jonathan Abraham, who I have read his sports writing, was coming out with a book about The Wire, I couldn't believe it.

Finally, an oral history about one of the best TV series ever shown.  Of course that is up to debate among if it's one of the best but for me, it was one of the best TV series I ever watched.  My wife, she will be to differ but this is my review not hers.



For fans of The Wire, this book is a must have.  Such a fascinating read on how Ed Burns and David Simon conceived of this series, based on their own personal experience and living in city of Baltimore.  The casting of the actors/actresses, various plot lines and scenes (it was great to read about the "F*&K" scene with Bunk and McNaulty) and the significance of this show on the society as well as for those who have participated in it.

Many of the actors/actresses have now become household names, such as Idris Elba.

This is a great book about a great show and after reading the book, I want to re-watch the show and this time with new insight.

I received this book from "Blogging for Books" for this review.

Sweet Potato Soul by Jenne Clairborne

Soul Food and Vegan...to me is like water and oil. They just don't mix together.

So when I saw the detail of this book "100 Easy Vegan Recipes" I said "No Way." How can you have Vegan Soul Food. But then no one ever thought of Korean Tacos until Roy Choi did it.

I picked up this book and read it and am sold that Soul Food and Vegan can go together.  I love how Jenne wrote this not only as a cookbook but also a book that tells stories of some of these iconic recipes.



For fans of soul food, also food lovers, this is a good book for your collection. Jenne's twist on make Soul Food into vegan (and somewhat healthier) version really does work.

By the way, great pictures.

Here is more information about Jenne Clairborne.

Jenne Clairborne


I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

The Air I Breathe by Louie Giglio

So I have heard Louie Giglio on the radio many times and I really like what he says  His talk/sermons are very easy to understand and hits to the heart.

When I saw this book, I had to read it. It talks about a subject "worship" that resonates with me as a Christian.  It has taken me a while but worship has become very important to my spiritual journey and the fact that this book is advocating that worship should be incorporated in every aspect of my life is very appealing to me.

This isn't a very long book, in fact it's short and concise, which I really like.  Louis focuses on what worship is and how we can take steps to worship God in all areas.

I would highly recommend this book for those who are fans of Louie Giglio and worship.















I received this book from Blogging for Books for a book review.

A Force So Swift by Kevin Peraino

If you are a student of history, you will love this book.  This is interesting in how the author has noted that the rise of Mao shaped the China of today. I guess in a way it did but there's much more to China today then the rise of Mao.

The author, Kevin Peraino, has meticulously researched this book and consolidated all the facts from various sources, including unclassified US government documents and put together a riveting story of the importance of the year 1949 played in rise of Mao and the downfall of the Nationalist (Chiang Kai Shek) government.

This is definitely a recommendation for history buff, especially for those interested in the recent rise of China in the world spotlight




I received this book from Blogging for Books for review

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

As a father with a daughter so loves to read, I am always looking for quality books with strong female characters and books with good value for my daughter to read.

When I saw the Wonder Woman book I was intrigued because of the character.  From my youth of reading comic books and watching the TV series (go Lynda Carter) I remembers how strong the character of WW was.




I love this story by Leigh Bardugo of how Diana, became Wonder Woman. But it's not just about her being Wonder Woman, but making decisions that were difficult to make in order to save a mortal, not just a mortal but a Warbinger.

The story covers all spectrum from being action packed to making choices in life that's big picture choices and friendship.

I highly recommend this book for girls/woman seeking a book that showcase woman as strong, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally.  Woman who are not afraid to risk it all for the betterment of the world.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

The Grand Central Market Cookbook by Adele Yellin and Kevin West

Ask any Angelenos about the Grand Central Market (note, not Grand Central Station) and most people will have some type of fond memory of frequenting GCM.

Having been in LA for over 20 years, I have to say that the GCM is to LA what Street Food vendors are to Singapore.  The Grand Central Market is a vital part of LA, a link to the past as well as a view of the future.

For those who are not familiar with the Grand Central Market, it's in the heart of downtown LA and are filled with produce and food vendors of all ethnicity.  I think in simpler times, it served a lot of the community with it's produce and food, but recently as downtown as gentrified, some has part of the market as also gentrified.  Whether that's good or bad, that's not for me to say, there are different points of view for that. That is a discussion for another time.

The GCM,  still have a mix of old time food vendors as well as food vendors gears more toward foodies.  There are some delicious food that are available and cater to all ethnicity groups.

If you live in LA, this book is for you. There is a good recap of history of the Grand Central Market, from it's beginning to where it is today.  It's a great read of one man's vision, Ira Yellin for GCM and how his widow wife has the great foresight that in order for GCM, it must adapt to the changes in it's environment.  Great pictures, past and present.  And most of all, recipes from some of the current food vendors.

I like how they broke the book out into different sections:
Breakfast
Tacocs, Etc
Carbs
Happy Hour
Meat & Fish
Veg
Sweets

Plus an index of recipes based on the vendors. I like how the recipes have been adapted to be used for home cooks.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Majors; Foreword by Ann Voskamp

This book about Katie Majors, who gave up her life in the US to move to Uganda and then founded an organization and then along with her husband adopted thirteen girls from Uganda.

This book explores the her journey of being a mother to these girls and how tragedy called her to ask God, "Are you there God?"  "What is happening?" "Why are you not here?"

It's a story about faith and grappling with our faith and God during times when it's so hard and lonely. When things does not make any sense.

But in the end, hope in God sees Katie and her family through these times.  It's a good book, uplifting yet realistic about faith journey with God.



Author Info

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook by Coco Morante

So I got my wife the Instant Pot (we call it InstaPot) after all our friends rave about this wonderful device.  At first I was thinking, why do we need another appliance, and a pressure cooker at that.  Is it really a time saver that everyone one raves about.

Well, after having this for the past six months, I can tell you it's such a great appliance.  My wife uses this at least once a week and has made many great dishes with it.

When I saw The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook, I knew I had to get it.  It would be great to expand our recipes for the Instapot.

In reviewing this book I like how this book is separated out into different sections, like breakfast, vegetables, grains, meat, dessert. The recipes appear to be very simple, using the functions of the IP, like saute instead of a separate pan/pot.

This is a good primer on the IP, with the beginning section on how to use or make better use of the IP.

However, I wish there were more recipes in the book, especially for the breakfast, though that section was skimpy.  Also, would like more pictures of the dishes in the book.

Otherwise, I would recommend this book to someone who want to expand their recipe collection for the instapot.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

Rewordable by Team Rewordable.

One of the great things as my kids get older, we can start introducing games to our family nights.  It started off with UNO, then Bananagrams, and progressed to more adult games like Risk and Ticket to Ride.

Our kids love to play word games so it was great for us to see the game Rewordable by Team Rewordable.


This word game is great for teaching my kids about new words and vocabulary.  The players get cards that are fragments of a word and you can either form your own words or add onto existing words from another player to steal their points.

Here is more info about this game
More information

It's fast paced and really fun, even for our 6 year old (with help of his mother).  For those who love Scrabble and Bananagram, this game is up your alley. Warning if you play for kids just make sur ey you are careful of the words you make up. 😀

I would highly recommend this game, not only because it's fun but it's also educational in teaching kids about building their vocabulary.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Magna Art - Mark Crilley

When I saw this book, I had to have this book for my daughter. She has recently got hooked onto magna books and love drawing the characters in the book.

















Maybe it's because I'm an old ma but I can't figure out the appeal of magna but my kids love it. This book is great because it give a background of the characters in the book and the creative idea behind the character.  That is somewhat interesting.

I like the fact that Mark goes through different style of drawing these characters to help the readers understand and for those who want to pursue a creative aspect of this art form, insight on how each character is conceived.  My daughter likes this book but she wished that it included some instructions on how to draw some of the Magna characters. But that is probably for another book.

For a fan of Magna, especially one that likes to understand the background stories of Magna characters, this book is a must.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Food52 Ice Cream and Friends by Editors of Food52

Food52 is a website that started by foodies who love food and to eat.

They have come out with this cookbook all about ice cream.  What's not to love about a book dedicated to ice cream??







Like their website, this book is visually appealing, the photography is great, the recipes are easy to make, and I really like the that fact of being able to make their ice cream without a ice cream maker.

There are just so many variations; it's like thinking out of the box which I love.  You have to willing to go in with an open mind that ice cream flavors are more than just vanilla, chocolate, rocky road, etc.

You can experiment with lemon grass, peanut butter, cayenne pepper, and even grilled watermelon.

Warning: If you are averse to whole milk, sugar, heavy cream and milk chocolate, this book is not for you.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

We Stood Upon Stars - Roger W. Thompson

If you love the outdoors and you love God, this book is for you.  This book is a collection of essays by the authors of the various places he has travelled through the West.  Not only is it a travelling memoir but Roger wraps his travel with God listening and finding God.




More information about the book

It's cool that he is able to incorporate God in his travels and how he views the outdoors.  This is often taken for granted or overlooked the vast and marvelous creation of God.

This books makes me want to travel and follow the path or my own path to explore and see the world and marvel upon God's creation.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.