Last week, I found out that I won a Kindle.  Not only a Kindle, but I was getting a free eBook (up to a $25 value).  This put me in a quandary.  I used to be a voracious reader.  I’d go into the library, get out a dozen books and read them before they were due back.

In recent years, though, I haven’t done much reading like this.  Nowadays, I still consume tons of information, but I get it from blogs, online articles, web comics, Wikipedia, and the like instead of a series of big, thick books.

So what book should I get?

One of the first ideas to pop into my mind was a cookbook.  One of the first to spring to mind was The Happy Herbivore Cookbook.  However, the Kindle version of this book costs a mere $4.49.  It seems like a waste to use an “up to a $25 value” offer on a book that costs under five bucks.  I also looked at 1,000 Vegan Recipes or 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes.  These were closer to the price point, but I decided that I have a ton of cookbooks already.

Next, I stumbled on The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking.  As a physics geek, I loved A Brief History of Time, so perhaps I’d enjoy this.  Then again, maybe I’d be better off with a science fiction story such as Earth Abides by George Stewart.

My final option, which many people have recommended to B, was The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  This is supposed to be a really good series and being able to pick up all three books for the Kindle in one purchase seems nice.

My Aloha Friday question for today is: What book would you recommend that I get?  Feel free to either pick one of the ones listed above or a completely different book.

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #108

I love science.  NHL does too.  So when I heard about James Lu Dunbar and his The Universe Verse series, I just had to check out his work.  I’ve heard it compared to a mixture of Carl Sagan and Dr. Seuss.  This is a very apt comparison.

I read the first of the series, Bang!, to NHL and JSL.  The book starts out before the Big Bang.  They describe the tiny speck that the Universe began as and then the tremendous explosion of the Big Bang.  The book covers energy cooling into matter, the formation of the basic forces (such as gravity) that dictate how matter behaves.  It goes on to describe the first atoms, how they gathered together into stars and finally how some of those stars became supernovas.

All along the way, the narration rhymes in a manner that would make the Cat in the Hat proud minus made up words.  All of the weird looking words here are actually scientific terms and are used validly.  This is a book that could be used by high school physics students.  It really takes difficult to understand terms and simplifies them without losing any of the wonder of it all.

Of course, considering the weighty subject matter, reading this to a 4 year old and an 8 year old was a risky proposition.  JSL was a bit bored by it, but I didn’t really think he’d enjoy it.  Honestly, the only reason he listened in was because NHL and I were reading it and he didn’t want to be left out.

NHL, my science geek-in-training, loved it.  He definitely didn’t understood all of the physics that was described, but I really didn’t think he would.  What he did understand, though, was that this was an extremely entertaining story of how the Universe was formed.

The second book in the series is called “It’s Alive!”  After a quick rehash of how the Universe was formed, condensed to a mere 3 pages, the book discusses planet formation, the beginnings of life, Evolution, biology, DNA, the food chain and more.  Unlike the first book, this one is in full color.  (Bang! was in black and white.)

I initially planned on reading this to NHL, but changed my mind.  My concern wasn’t about him not liking the book, but for brief references to sex.  Mind you, these are done within the context of evolution and genes combining.  There is absolutely titillating about the presentation. Still, the word was there and I didn’t want my 8 year old asking questions I wasn’t ready to answer just yet.  Here’s the panel in question.  I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you’d show this to a third grader.

There’s still one book that hasn’t been released yet.  After reading the first two, I eagerly await James’ final book of the trilogy.  Reading his blog, it appears that this will cover (in part), agriculture and civilization forming.  If the quality of the third book is as good as the first two, this will be one set that every classroom should have.

The two currently released books in the Universe Verse series can be purchased for $12.95 for the first book and $15.95 for the second.  You can also e-mail him and he’ll send you the PDFs for free.  These will definitely be eBooks that I’ll keep and go over with NHL and JSL as they get older.  I’ll even re-read them myself just for the pure fun of it.

Disclaimer: I received the first two books for free as PDFs, however, as mentioned above, anyone can do this.  No review was required and all opinions expressed above are my own.

I’ve long admired the work of James Hance.  He has a knack for taking classic fictional characters like Kermit the Frog, Darth Vader and He-Man and either crossing them with other fictional characters/situations or just displaying them differently.  (You can order prints of all of those images from James’ website.)  Wookie the Chew – The House at Chew Corner is no exception.

The story is a mash-up of two of my personal favorites: Star Wars and Winnie the Pooh.  Winnie the Pooh combines with Chewbacca to become Wookie the Chew.  Christopher Robin and Han Solo become Chrisolo Robin.  Piglet merges with R2D2 to become Droidlet.

The story unfolds as Wookie the Chew, having obviously inherited his appetite from Pooh, embarks on a mission to get something to eat.  Except, instead of honey, he’s looking for bobaberries.  (Tip: Don’t eat the cloneberries.  They all taste the same.)  Along the way there’s a hive of bees-crossed-with-tie-fighters, a balloon-crossed-with-the-Millennium-Falcon and a giant-tree-combined-with-the-Death-Star.

I’ll admit that the book wasn’t quite what I was expecting.  Having seen James Hance’s fabulous art, I thought it would be a picture book with few words.  Instead, it is mostly words with enough sketched artwork to see the story through.  While I was initially disappointed, that feeling changed upon reading the story to NHL.

At every turn there’s a saying or setting or character that calls back to both Star Wars and Winnie the Pooh.  The story was great and left us wanting more.  Indeed, Hance is working on a follow-up book titled “When We Were Very Jedi.”  Once the book is ready for ordering, you can bet I’ll be ordering a bunch.

In fact, the only downside to this book is the shipping cost.  The book itself is a steal at $5.  However, shipping costs $10!  The solution?  Get a bunch of family, friends and co-workers to order with you.  Shipping rises to $15 if you order 5 or more books, but it still winds up being cheaper per-book.  Place one order for five books and the cost per book (price + shipping) drops to $8.  Plus, each book comes signed by the author.  (Custom dedications are available as well.)

I’ll close with a few photos of the book and of NHL reading it.

Disclaimer: I didn’t receive anything in compensation to review Wookie the Chew.  I purchased the book with my own money and liked it so much that I thought I’d share my thoughts on it.

There are many things that dads will do for their kids that they previously would never have thought of doing. At the risk of stereotyping, I doubt any guy without kids would spend a day on the couch watching a Dora the Explorer marathon. Neither would he play on the floor with plastic dinosaurs (at least, not with other grown-ups watching on). And he definitely, positively, would never paint his toenails purple. Of course, once we guys become dads, these “never ever” activities become “always” so long as they bring a smile to our kids’ faces.

In My Purple Toes by Blair Hahn, the father of the story is introduced as having purple toenails. (This is explained in the forward as having happened when a dad brought his teenage daughter to a nail salon for a pedicure.) Instead of being embarassed by his colorful toes, he revels in them. He walks barefooted, showing off his purple toes, in all seasons (though his toes get cold in the winter) and enjoys spending time with his family and their non-purple toes.

I read this book to both NHL and JSL. They both enjoyed the story as well as the little extras within it. (For example, there’s a purple-toed frog “hidden” on every page.) I also enjoyed that the book was interactive in that is asked the child questions (such as “Where are my purple toes?”). When I got to the end, JSL asked me to read it to him a second time. How could I refuse?

In addition to their website, where you can purchase My Purple Toes for $10.99, the author also has a Twitter and Facebook presence. (No word on whether he tweets with purple fingernails.) Also, a second book, titled My Purple Kisses, should be released in time for Valentine’s Day 2011. Finally, a portion of the proceeds from My Purple Toes goes to the nonprofit organization Soles4Souls which collects and distributes shoes free of charge to people in need.

Disclaimer: I did this review as part of a campaign on Family Review Network for My Purple Toes. I received a complimentary copy of My Purple Toes to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own and no other compensation was received.

The GeekDad Book Giveaway has ended.  I used Random.org to pick a winner among the 25 entries.

The winner is comment #8 made by Kevin(The DADvocate).  I’ve e-mailed him and he has 48 hours to accept his prize.  Congrats to Kevin and thanks to everyone who entered.  For everyone who didn’t win, you can purchase the book for under $10 on Amazon.com.  It is even eligible for free shipping if you spend $25 or more.

Thanks to winning a contest over at Dad of Divas, I was able to check out the new book Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share by Ken Denmead. I was instantly overwhelmed, but in a very good way.

The book recognizes that not every dad is your stereotypical sports-loving, beer-drinking man. Some of us like Star Wars, role playing games, and other things of a geeky inclination. Since dads love sharing their favorite activities with their kids, the question becomes: How do we share our love of science, technology and other geeky subjects with our kids? Sharing some items might be easy. You can sit down with your kid and have a Star Wars marathon, but others might not be as easy to share. Chances are, a 7 year old won’t quite understand or have the patience for an adult-level role playing game.

Read more of this article »

NHL used to be such a good eater. He would eat just about anything we gave him. Then, around when he turned two and a half, his culinary adventureness shut down. Suddenly, he developed a list of “approved” foods and vegetables were definitely *NOT* on the list.

When I first heard about Missy Chase Lapine, The Sneaky Chef, I’ll admit I was skeptical. The idea of sneaking the veggies into him just didn’t sound right. I wanted him growing up knowing that carrots, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and cauliflower were tasty as well as good for you.

Missy explained in her book, however, that sneaking the veggies wasn’t a substitute for giving kids stand alone vegetables. However, you won’t need to turn broccoli into a battle. You will know that the rest of the meal has some hidden goodness so your child will be getting good nutrients whether or not they eat their veggies. Without a ton of pressure, kids might actually be more likely to eat some of their overt veggies.

I purchased her first book and tried out a few of the recipes. I found that, sure enough, my kids couldn’t tell what was in them. So when I heard that Missy had a new book out, I just had to try it. Missy’s new book is called The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue: 101 All-New Recipes and “Sneaky” Tricks for Creating Healthy Meals Kids Will Love.

“To The Rescue” contains some improvements from the original Sneaky Chef. For example, recipes include nutritional information now. We took it out from the library and I tried a few of the recipes. As with the first book, my children didn’t realize what was hidden in their food. Whether it was wheat germ, yams and carrots in the chocolate chip bon bons or cauliflower and zucchini in the eggs, they were none the wiser. And lest you think that you need to make everything from scratch, Missy showed how to take box mixes for everything from pancakes to cake and add additional hidden goodness.

There were so many good recipes, in fact, that I decided to buy the book. It turns out that being sneaky can be good for your kids, and quite delicious to boot. I look forward to making many more sneaky meals for my children. In fact, I would recommend it for families with picky eaters of any age.

Disclaimer: This review consists of entirely my own opinion. I didn’t receive anything in compensation for this review, but decided to review the book (and recipes) because I honestly enjoyed it.