Cue obsessive sifting through the library catalogue to find any and all books on beading. This is the first batch:

The Illustrated Bead Bible: Terms, Tips & Techniques

By Therese Flores Geary

This is pretty much exactly what is sounds like. It’s not really the kind of book that you read cover to cover, but more a reference about beads and beading. I actually found it quite useful since I’m more of a I-don’t-know-what-to-call-it-but-I-know-what-I-like kind of beader. Online sellers often assume their buyers know all the terminology so it is a handy reference.

The Bead Bible covers beads, finishes, shapes, techniques, materials, findings (the metal bits that keep jewelry together ), and so on. There are an average (I’m guessing since I didn’t actually count) of about two colour pictures per page. Not one per definition, but more than I was expecting. Quite a few useful features are at the back: A Q & A for basics as well as an illustrated chart of bead shapes (helpful for people like me who need pictures instead of verbal descriptions for shapes), gemstone cuts, beading stitches and reference charts for gemstone hardness.

Creative Bead Jewelry: Weaving, Looming, Stringing, Wiring, Making Beads

By Carol Taylor

I took Creative Bead Jewelry out of the library because after a while you want to do more than just string beads on a single string/wire (not that those necklaces can’t be gorgeous). I have to admit that I flipped through it for the pictures more than I actually read it, but I did get a lot of ideas for new designs (which was my entire reason for looking at the book in the first place).

Although I haven’t tried any yet, there are a lot of practice projects in this book. Some come with diagrams, but others have entirely written steps so you have to be able to visualize from that (I’m pretty bad at doing that–I need the diagrams). It looks like it is designed for beginners since it includes diagrams for some of the weaving stitches and other techniques that are used in the projects.

Getting Started Stringing Beads (Getting Started series)

By Jean Campbell

I took this book out for the same reason as the book above (to get some ideas for stringing beads other than the obvious). It has some useful charts at the beginning, like bead sizes and shapes as well as definitions for tools, stringing materials, and various findings. There’s also a section on the basics of stringing (like finishing off the ends and attaching findings properly).

This book also has a bunch of projects in it. They are simpler than the ones in Creative Bead Jewelry in that they are mostly single string designs (not all, mind you). Despite the simplicity of the designs, the book really shows how much variety and interest you can get with a single string. That alone made it worth looking through the book for me, because you don’t always want to get into fancy stringing techniques.

And since I just received some colour-changing glass coffee bean beads in the mail, I’ll be wandering off to figure out what to do with those now:

The recipes came from The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health and The Moosewood Cookbook (1992 edition–I’ll address the one-star reviews for the 2000 version on Amazon further down).

Mashed Cauliflower

Cauliflower is still on sale, so when I came across this recipe I figured why not. It’s out of The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health: More Than 200 New Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for Delicious and Nutrient-Rich Dishes, which is also where I got the recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash, as well as Quinoa and Roasted Sweet Potato, and Tunisian Chickpea Stew. Oh yes, the forgettable Baked Fruit was from this cookbook too. Also, Maple-Glazed Root Vegetables.

Aaaaanyway.

This cauliflower recipe is supposed to have fewer carbs than mashed potatoes. It certainly doesn’t taste like mashed potatoes, but it’s easy enough to make (overcook cauliflower and mash with sauteed onions, more or less) and tasty enough to repeat.

Roasted Butternut Squash

I had to find something to do with butternut squash left over from the soup I made (I know if I stick it in the fridge I will inevitably forget about it until it goes bad). This recipe is actually part of a larger recipe for making a roasted vegetable salad, I think. This is quick and easy and the squash comes out firm rather than mushy (I hate mushy squash).

Basically, chop up a butternut squash into 1″ chunks, add a few teaspoons of olive oil and a 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme. Mix it up, put it in a pan in a single layer and cook at 400F for 20-25 minutes.

This recipe is my default for butternut squash. Easy and tasty enough to remake. Also, it’s likely to go with whatever else we have kicking around for dinner.

Quinoa and Roasted Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes were on sale and just about anything you make with them turns out yummy. Usually I just stick them whole in the oven for about 40 minutes at 400F and then let them cool a bit before peeling off the skin (leftovers are good on pizza). I’ve done that a lot lately though, so I was looking for something else to do with them.

I found this recipe kind of bland (although, now that I haul out my cookbook, I see that I marked it as ‘good’ when I made it). It wasn’t bad, but it certainly didn’t attain the requisite “Yum, I have to make this again!” level of enjoyment. Cooking is enough work that if I’m going to bother to follow a recipe, the results better routinely hit “Yum–must make again.” I don’t need a cookbook to achieve “Meh, it’ll do.” I can accomplish that by ad-libbing on my own, thankyouverymuch.

Part of the disappointment is that the sweet potato is steamed on the stovetop rather than roasted. Roasting brings out the sweetness of sweet potato in a way that steaming doesn’t, so that was a letdown. And the leftover spinach rotting in the fridge because I hate cooking with spinach is mocking me, daily. Eh, your mileage may vary.

Maple-Glazed Root Vegetables

I have to admit: I screwed up preparing this recipe so I can’t really honestly review it as it was supposed to be baked. I love roasted root vegetables in the winter, but usually recipes call for an oil/herb mix that you coat the veggies in and then bake. This recipe has that oil/herb mix BUT it also has a glaze that you add later in the cooking. I may or may not have added everything at once.

*cough* Oops *cough*

I wasn’t trying to modify the recipe. I was just having trouble holding the cookbook open and was going more by the ingredient list than the instructions. I have made this before, but I didn’t take any notes and I don’t remember if I screwed it up the last time too (I am nothing if not a creature of bad habits).

Obviously, it wasn’t memorable the first time I made it, so I suppose that says something.

Tunisian Chickpea Stew

I’m somewhat on the fence about this recipe. It’s not bad, but I’m not sure it’s thrilling enough to offset the amount of work it is (most of which is hacking up the squash, but with chronic pain issues in the my arms, shoulders, and upper back, that’s a consideration).

I’ve had much better stews from my vegetarian slow cooker cookbook … which I’ll not link to just yet because the Amazon reviews remind me of why I cook so rarely from that book.

Baked Fruit

This is another recipe I wasn’t thrilled with. Basically it’s sliced apples in maple syrup and lemon juice baked in the oven. It’s okay, but I can’t see making it again unless we use it as a hot topping for vanilla ice cream or lemon sorbet.

Hmm, now that I look back on it, so far this cookbook isn’t particularly great as far as keeper recipes go. I was not expecting that.

The other cookbook I cooked from was The Moosewood Cookbook. I have the 1992 edition, which was the first revision of the 1977 book. Apparently there is a 2000 version that sucks (based on the one-star reviews). Keep that in mind if you decide to buy this one. The 1992 revision is lower fat than the 1977 original–I have no idea what they did to the latest version.

Marinated Chickpeas

We usually have the same salad every night, made by the other half (that’s the extent of his “cooking”). It’s your basic tomato, lettuce, celery deal. It’s nice to have, but gets a bit bland sometime so if we have extra chickpeas hanging around we toss them on top. But even that is a bit bland.

The chickpeas in this recipe are marinated with fresh ginger, raw garlic, raw onions, and oil (there’s probably salt and pepper in there too). I really like these on salad. Actually, I really like these as a snack as well. This is definitely a recipe I’ll make again: quick, easy, tasty, and versatile (dump them on rice, salad, whatever floats your boat).

Cream of Asparagus Soup

This is actually the first recipe in the book. I’m generally not a fan of cream soups. The canned ones are vile–the less said about them the better. I took a chance though since asparagus was on sale and the recipe said low-fat milk was fine for the recipe.

The soup was actually pretty good. Cooking the asparagus was a bit finicky, but I think that’s more asparagus-related than recipe-related. It’s a bit too finicky to make regularly, but definitely a good cream of asparagus soup recipe.

In case anyone is wondering, I’ve tried a lot of recipes in this cookbook and have been happy with most of them. But I have an older version than what bookstores are selling.

If you’ve cooked these recipes or from these cookbooks, what did you think? And if anyone has the 2000 version of the Moosewood Cookbook, I’d be interested in your experiences with it. Apparently it’s different enough that they call it The New Moosewood Cookbook (whereas mine is simply a revised edition of the 1977 version).

This week I had to find a use for a cheap bag of onions, cheap cauliflower, and a dessert that was under 200 calories. The recipes I ended up trying were Roasted Caramelized Balsamic Onions, Cauliflower Steak, Pineapple Sorbet, and Lemon Sorbet. Whew! I don’t normally manage this many new recipes in a week.

I was going to try to take pictures, but I didn’t manage it this week. Maybe next week. It would be nice to have pictures in my recipe binder to remind me of what a dish looks like.

Roasted Caramelized Balsamic Onions

Bags of onions were on sale for $1 so I bought first and figured out what to do with them later. I came across a recipe for roasting onions with butter, balsamic vinegar, and thyme in Moosewood Restaurant New Classics (p. 125). Why not!

I lined the pan with parchment paper (this significantly cuts down on whining from the other half who does the dishes) before putting the onions in and covering them with the butter/vinegar/thyme mixture. The recipe called for two large onions, but I only had medium and small so I put in four of those instead.

They turned out pretty tasty and got a “You can make this anytime” from the other half.

It looks like the recipe is over on Food.com, if you’re curious.

Cauliflower Steak

This is a recipe that my Mom got from Vij’s at Home: Relax, Honey: The Warmth and Ease of Indian Cooking cookbook (you can also find the same Cauliflower steak recipe over on Straight.com). I very rarely buy cauliflower because I’m not very fond of it steamed and I really don’t have any recipes for it (well, I’m sure I have recipes, somewhere in my collection of cookbooks, but I haven’t come across any that feature cauliflower yet).

Since this recipe was passed on from my Mom who had already made it, I didn’t make any changes other than cutting the salt in half (which is a default in our family since we’re not used to a lot of salt). Basically, this is a tomato masala sauce that you cook “pie-shaped” pieces of cauliflower in for about 15 minutes.

I found it a bit oily (it calls for 1/2 cup of oil but I would halve that next time) but other than that it was nice and spicy. The other half declared it the best cauliflower he has ever had, so the recipe is definitely a keeper with less salt and less oil.

One thing that I didn’t realize until I figured out the calories per serving, is that cauliflower is very high in Vitamin C (each serving, or 1/6th of a cauliflower head, is 120% of the daily Vitamin C requirement). Huh. Who knew?

Pineapple Sorbet

We’ve been eating ice cream lately since it has been on sale, but milk products do unpleasant things to my stomach so I had the brilliant idea of making sorbet (commercial sorbet around here invariably has milk products in it so buying it is out). Since pineapples were on sale, I looked for a pineapple sorbet recipe. Conveniently enough, the instruction booklet for my KitchenAid stand mixer ice cream attachment actually has one.

Pineapple Sorbet Recipe

• 1 cup cold water
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 1/2 cups chopped pineapple
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp lime or lemon juice

1. Mix water, sugar, corn syrup and salt together in a bowl until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Finely chop 1/2 cup of pineapple and set aside.
3. Puree five cups of pineapple and lime juice in a food processor.
4. Mix sugar mixture and pureed pineapple.
5. Freeze in ice cream maker.
6. Add chopped pineapple in last few minutes of mixing or mix in after.

Tasty. Easy to make. It calls for 1/2 cup of chopped pineapple (the rest is pureed) but I found I don’t like frozen chunks of fruit in my sorbet so I think I’ll just puree it all next time. Uses about one pineapple. Apparently the same recipe can be made with peaches so I’ll have to try that this summer if we get some good ones.

Lemon Sorbet

I found this recipe online at Cuisinart after I made the pineapple sorbet and the other half was looking a titch forlorn since he hates pineapple.

Tasty, but a little tart (I may have added too much lemon juice; I did lose count). The other half didn’t like the first spoonful (too tart), but it grew on him after a few mouthfuls and he’s now happily making his way through the container.

See you next week.

This is my cookbook bookcase (doesn’t everyone have a cookbook bookcase?):

Most of these are vegetarian or pescatarian, including an almost complete collection of Moosewood cookbooks (95% of the recipes I’ve tried from Moosewood cookbooks have been worthwhile which is a pretty good track record for a cookbook). I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to blog about this. Right now I’m thinking a weekly post of what I tried, how it turned out and which cookbook the recipe came from.

And if anyone else wants to join in, that would be nice too.

Thoughts?

Despite the cheesy name, I decided to check it out since it is now a free download (it was originally published by a major publisher over 30 years ago).

If you’re doing exactly what you want for a living and have no regrets or unfulfilled dreams, then this book is NOT for you. If you have dreams, but don’t know how to make them come true, this book IS for you. If you don’t know what your dreams are, this book IS for you.

Unlike most books of this type, this book is based on the premise that we are flawed individuals and that we don’t need to turn into perfect superbeings in order to live the life that we want (good thing too, because that’s never going to happen with me). This book is for the procrastinator, the person who starts a diet on Monday and has fallen off the wagon by Wednesday (if he or she even lasts that long).

The first part of the book is focused on discovering what your dreams are. The premise is that we are told too soon as children to be practical–stop dreaming, stop being silly, stop thinking grand thoughts. Even if we are allowed to keep dreaming, most of us are not taught how to explore our interests. That’s part two of the book: how to get from dream to reality.

Everyone should check out this book and since it’s free there’s no excuse not to.

One-line review

Movies are used to illustrate various business lessons, which makes the lessons easier to learn for those of us whose eyes glaze over when faced with learning business concepts.

What drew me to the book

I work for myself online–much of it related to writing, editing, and web sites. The business side of things is something that I learn as I go (business was conspicuously missing from my college curriculum). Since textbooks and business books generally put me to sleep, I was interested in The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons from the Movies because it sounded like a more entertaining way to learn.

My thoughts on the book

The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons from the Movies does a good job of pulling business lessons from a wide range of movies (1941-2009). A different lesson, given as the chapter title, is taken from each movie (though some chapters use more than one movie). I have not seen all of the movies, but I have heard of many of the ones that I haven’t seen and I still got the point of the lesson from movies that I haven’t heard of at all.

The wide range of movies is nice because it helps reach a wide range of people rather than a particular generation. There are plenty of movies from different genres as well.

This is the kind of book that, as an employee, you wish your manager had. Or as a student, you wish your instructor had. It’s an easy read, but it’s also a valuable reference for instructors, managers, and speakers because it provides a handy resource of stories that help convey particular business lessons in a way that people will actually understand.

The movie theme is carried out very well in this book from the terminology used for the sections (called “Takes”) to the renaming of the preface and conclusion to “Establishing Shot” and “Final Shot.” The theme is continued in the design elements throughout the book (not just the cover). Each chapter title page has a director’s chair with the name of whichever co-author wrote that particular chapter. A little box that looks like a ratings box is also included, but instead of a rating it includes the business themes for the movie being discussed. I appreciated the attention to detail in keeping the theme front and centre for the reader without overdoing it.

Find this book online

The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons from the Movies: Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

One-line review

An indispensable book on editing for the layperson that applies to more than just business editing–the cover does not do the content justice.

What drew me to the book

Jim Taylor, the author of Quick Fixes for Business Writing, was giving a workshop on his eight step editing process through the Editors Association of Canada (EAC). I wasn’t inclined to go until other editors (some with 30 years of experience) raved about previous workshops by Jim Taylor. I reconsidered, but ultimately couldn’t make it but there was mention of a book based on the workshop so I tracked that down at my local library.

My thoughts on the book

I have a confession to make: You know the person who judges a book by its cover? I have to admit that’s me. The cover of Quick Fixes for Business Writing has a very low-budget feel to it that would have put me off without the background that pushed me to check out the book in the first place. It’s also double-spaced (which seems an odd choice to me) and has neither a table of contents nor an index. The content, however, is great. So great that I actually ordered my own copy from the publisher (they only sell direct) for my reference library (that would be the bookcase next to my desk).

So why did I like this book?

It helped me get a handle on one of the toughest problems of editing, which is fixing a piece of writing without imposing your own style and voice onto it. This book’s subtitle is An Eight-Step Editing Process to Find and Correct Common Readability Problems and that’s what makes it valuable: It gives you a system to assess a particular writer’s most pressing editing needs as well as a system for pinpointing what types of things need changing and why. The why is important because as an edit becomes more invasive it becomes more noticeable to the writer (and many writers will question why you are rearranging or changing their words).

This book is written for the layperson, in particular the business manager who has to edit reports or other documents written by subordinates and co-workers. The eight steps move from least invasive (changes least likely to be noticed by an author) to most invasive (rewriting sentences and rearranging paragraphs). It is written in a straightforward and conversational way that guides you through what to do, how to do it and why to do it.

Although the focus of the book is editing business writing, the principles and steps can be adapted to other types of writing. If I’m faced with editing my own writing, I now pull the book off the shelf and start going through the eight steps. Having the steps prevents that paralysis phase of not knowing where to begin–especially with a long piece of writing.

About the book author

Jim Taylor can be found online at his blog.

Find this book online

Quick Fixes for Business Writing: Productive Publications US | Canada

Fascinating ideas on society’s view of talent, but concerns about the quality of fact-checking tarnished my enjoyment of the book.

What drew me to the book

I’ve been reading about making a career of what you like doing, which led to an exploration of the nature of talent and success. Also, I figured it was about time I read this very popular book by Malcolm Gladwell (whom I have never read before).

My thoughts on the book

In Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell uses case studies to support the contention that talent does not explain people who lie outside the norm (outliers) with respect to success. Instead, Gladwell suggests that opportunity, experience, a minimum IQ, social acumen, and legacy (cultural and linguistic) explain outliers. He does not discount hard work, but rather suggests that hard work alone is not enough–an idea that runs counter to cultural beliefs. Gladwell didn’t come up with the theories he discusses (as his extensive list of cited sources indicates), but he has put them together in a very accessible format.

The case studies include a number of well known people, groups, and incidents:

• The Beatles,
• Bill Gates,
• the founders of Sun Microsystems,
• the Hatfield-McCoy feud
• the stereotype that Asians are good at math,
• the safety record of Korean Airline/Korean Air

The very idea that culture is a factor in success is politically incorrect. I was satisfied that Gladwell used studies and statistics to support the ideas that he put forward in the book rather than speculation or prejudice. However, statistics and studies must be interpreted through one’s own world view. In some cases, I disagree with the interpretation.

Gladwell’s explanation for the stereotype that the Chinese are hardworking is that rice farming is more intensive on a daily basis than the type of farming that is done in the West. In particular, he suggests that during the winter most Western farmers hibernate and do very little work at all. I find the assertion about Western farming difficult to reconcile with what I’ve heard of homesteading from my extended family (some of whom continue to farm the same land today).

I found the chapter “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes” particularly interesting so I handed Outliers to the pilot in the household. After reading that chapter, he wasn’t inclined to read the rest of the book because of what he deemed inexcusable factual errors in the description of the landing scenario, the plane, and pretty much anything to do with the mechanics and procedures of aviation. He had no issues with Gladwell’s argument that cultural norms affecting the interaction between pilot, co-pilot, and air traffic control can contribute to plane crashes.

While none of the facts that were wrong (according to my subject matter expert) affected the theory, the fact that there were so many errors in a single chapter worries me. It calls into question the fact checking in other chapters. Unless you’re an expert on a particular topic, it’s difficult to catch inaccuracies so while the theories put forth in Outliers are interesting I wouldn’t use them in an argument without doing my own background research.

About the book author

Malcom Gladwell can be found online at his site Gladwell.com. He is a staff writer at The New Yorker and has published a number of books, including Outliers: The Story of Success, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures, and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.

Find this book online (links go directly to book page)

Amazon.com * Amazon Canada * Amazon UK

Surprisingly useful ideas, but the high list price of the book is a turn off.

What drew me to the book

Being somewhat bored with my book blog, I’ve been looking for ideas to revitalize Booklorn in this sparkly new year. I came across this book cruising the digital shelves of my public library and decided to see if it could get me out of my slump.

My thoughts on the book

When I first looked through this book (while eating New York Fries with mayonnaise in the food court, but I’ve been informed that none of you care), I was disappointed. The ideas seemed fairly obvious and geared toward the general personal blog. I finished the book in less than an hour.

Once I gave my brain time to digest the suggestions in the book, I was a little more positive. I started to see possible blog posts for niche blogs. I started being more creative and thinking outside of the box. I flipped to the back of the book to see if I might want a copy for my bookshelf: $25 CDN/$20 USD for 128 pages including index. I decided that I wasn’t quite as inspired as that.

This is a slim book, divided into five chapters based mostly on how much time you have to write your blog post:

1. Fifteen Minutes to Fame
2. Thirty Minutes Away from the TV
3. An Hour at the Screen
4. Take Your Time
5. Think Like a Writer

Each chapter has 20 ideas, with one idea per page. The main idea is the title of the page, which is accompanied by an explanatory paragraph that often includes an example of the idea in action from a real blog (but not the actual blog post). The ideas are varied enough that you are likely to pick up at least a few new ideas that you can rework for your blog no matter how narrow your topic.

If I could pick up a copy for $10, I would do it without hesitation. At $25 CDN ($20 USD), I’ll just take it out of the library the next time I need inspiration.

About the book author

Margaret Mason can be found online at her sites MightyGirl.com and MightyGoods.com, as well as at The Morning News.

Buy this book online (links go directly to book page)

US: Amazon

Canada: Amazon Canada

Europe: Amazon UK

Book details

Paperback: 128 pages (NOT 144 pages as you see mentioned elsewhere)
Publisher: Peachpit Press (2007)
ISBN-10: 032144972X
ISBN-13: 978-0321449726

Disclosure

I took this book out of my local public library. I get a few pennies if you buy through one of the links above based on my review.

The Book

Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us: A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected by Jessica Page Morrell is exactly what the title claims it is. In a blunt, sometimes sarcastic, manner, developmental editor Morrell takes you through the various aspects of a manuscript. From beginner faux pas like extraneous adjectives and adverbs to more subtle elements like creating suspense and using sensory details, she points out what sorts of things will get your manuscript tossed into the circular file and provides direction on how to fix these issues.

The Review

I’ve read a previous book by Jessica Page Morrell that is heavily sticky-noted and reread at least once every year. What I liked about that book is that Morrell went beyond the beginner level of writing and got into the more subtle elements of what makes writing good. Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us covers both beginner level issues and more subtle issues that might be keeping your manuscript from being published.

The tone is occasionally snarky and it’s no secret. Even the cover design is a bit snarky, suggesting that manuscripts are used as coasters. Chapter one begins like this:

Dear Wanna Be a Published Writer:

This isn’t a book about false promises or cheery rah-rahs. This book never claims that anyone can write a best seller or become a billionaire just by typing away, or even that writing is the greatest joy because, after all, we cannot forget about dancing, chocolate, and sex. Rather, it’s written by a Demon of Harsh Reality and meant as a hefty dose of reality along with encouragement to keep trying, to keep learning. Because writing is a craft, and it can be learned.” –pg 9

For the most part, the tone is blunt but helpful so the occasional snark isn’t hard to take (I have been known to be somewhat snarky myself so this sort of thing doesn’t bother me in the least, particularly when the advice is clearly good). If you survived Miss Snark‘s blog you’ll find that Morrell is much gentler overall, but equally informative.

The chapters cover beginnings, plot, structure, mood, dialogue, characters, scenes, and emotions. There are also chapters on memoirs, doing a final edit, and not driving your editor insane. As well as an index, the back of the book has two glossaries: fiction lingo and publishing lingo (which is nice, because sometimes it feels like everyone else knows these terms even if you don’t).

Each chapter is divided into chunks with headings and subheadings, which makes the book easy to scan to find what you are looking for. There are recurring elements in each chapter, like a reading list of books focused on a particular topic. I found that I often have at least one of the books listed in the reading list and since I’m happy with the ones I have, I’m inclined to check out some of the others on the list when I have time.

A ‘Quick & Dirty Tips’ list that summarizes what you need to take away from the chapter and apply to your writing is included at the end of each chapter. Since I use most writing books as reference books, I find that list helpful in refreshing my memory (it also lessens the need for me to take my own notes, which I inevitably lose). There is also a short ‘Try This’ exercise in each chapter that helps you address a particular problem. It’s one thing to know that you have a certain problem and quite another to figure where to start to fix it so the ‘Try This’ sections are particularly helpful because they give a place to start–even if it’s just taking a highlighter to your manuscript to see how often you use modifiers or sensory details to convince you that you do indeed have a problem (or reassure you that you don’t).

The Verdict

This one is a keeper. Jessica Page Morrell, as a developmental editor, helps authors polish their manuscripts for a living and it shows. If you need to polish your manuscript, going through this book will help you find your manuscript’s weaknesses and figure out what to do about it (assuming, of course, that you can acknowledge that your manuscript has weaknesses–if you can’t, then no book will help you).

You can find Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us: A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected at amazon (US, Canada, & UK), as well as at other online and retail booksellers.