February 2006 Non-Fiction and Biography Book Reviews

The Three Incestuous Sisters : An Illustrated Novel
by Audrey Niffenegger

Harry N. Abrams
Hardcover
ISBN# 0810959275
Suggested Retail Price: $27.95 or as low as $12.78 from Amazon.com!

Audrey Niffenegger is the author who brought us the excellent tale of "The time Traveler’s Wife." Now she brings us a picture book for adults with a tales worth reading. It's a once-upon-a-time story about three sisters named Clothilde, Ophile and Bettine. One of the sisters is blonde, one is a redhead, and one has blue hair. A terrible storm comes and lightning kills the lighthouse keeper. The sisters who live in an isolated old house decide to send off the son or lighthouse keeper. The son's name is Paris. The three sisters all have a brush with a bad luck symbol like a black cat and broken glass. Paris is very handsome and the sisters become jealous of each other.

The ensuing tale of the sisters and their fate is fascinating and black like any proper adult fairy tale. The whole tale is darkly illustrated and staged making a very handsome coffee-table book for your grown-up visitors. No children allowed.

Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary
by Helene Henderson, Sue Ellen Thompson

Omnigraphics

ISBN# 0780804228
Suggested Retail Price: $123.00 or as low as $70.00 from Amazon.com!

Some businesses would find this book an absolute necessity. You might consider this source of information to plan for your retirement. Want to travel? Need to travel? You might want to write up a round-up of festivities available for your newsletter or newspaper. Are you strong? This is a heavy tome filled from cover to cover with lots of information about holidays around the world. You can find when holy days and other feasts are celebrated. This is a worldwide compendium remember, so you scan check out regional, Local and international events. There are some 2,400 events listed here and many of them sound very exciting.

Each entry includes all of the information you will want to know, including the dates, the persons to contact. There are feasts and commemorations listed here that will fascinate you. Above all you can learn about different religions and commemorations of historic events all over the world. You get details like the address to write to for information and the web sites you can look at if you are interested.

Who wouldn't be interested? It is big and heavy and fairly expensive. Go to your library and check if they have this fun reference book available so you can browse a bit. If your business includes international travel and marketing, the book more than pays for itself in time saved in research.

Scrapbooking: 100 Techniques With 25 Projects Plus A Swipefile O
by Sarah Beaman

Firefly Books Ltd

ISBN# 1552979598
Suggested Retail Price: $19.95 or as low as $13.15 from Amazon.com!

This is a wonderful book that is filled with information about this recently rediscovered hobby. Everyone has the makings for a family scrapbook, of course, and more and more people have been taking up this enduring hobby.

"Scrapbooking: 100 Techniques" is a comprehensive guide to enjoying this old-fashioned pasttime in this high-tech world. It is fully illustrated with lots of ideas and techniques presented and completely clear instructions. You can see 25 attractive projects that will inspire you to get out the old photo albums and some glue. Then you can create a lasting memory book for the family to enjoy.

The World of Jazz Trumpet : A Comprehensive History and Practica
by Scotty Barnhart

Hal Leonard

ISBN# 0634095277
Suggested Retail Price: $24.95 or as low as $16.71 from Amazon.com!

This attractive paperback book presents a full history of this style of music. You get a fine collection of interviews where you will meet and hear what fifteen pioneers of the jazz trumpet are quoted. There are also lots of bits about the trumpet itself. It’s parts and tips about using them. Many photos make this book full of pleasurable viewing and you can learn more about the trumpet and even the flugelhorn experts in the field will talk to you and show you the tricks and the tips you might not find anywhere else.

Scotty Barnhart was a featured soloist with The Count Basie Orchestra. He knows his stuff and he is sharing his extensive knowledge and love of jazz with us all.

Toll-Free Phone Book USA 2006: A Directory of Toll-Free Numbers
by Nancy V. Kniskern, Darren L. Smith, Penny J. Hoffman, Patric

Omnigraphics

ISBN# 0-7808-0807-X
Suggested Retail Price: $173.00 or as low as $145.00 from Amazon.com!

Businesspeople love this well-researched directory that lists toll-free telephone numbers in the U.S., and rightly so. In addition to the thousands of businesses included in the listings are associations and organizations, colleges, government offices, libraries and magazines. In addition to the toll-free listings you also find the regular address and telephone numbers. You can even find stock symbols of many companies. There are even Internet addresses now in this, the 10th Edition of this great directory.