I've not read anything else by Mitch Albom except one article in the Detroit Free Press about the dangers of synthetic marijuana.  -The tone was indeed grim.  But a recent piece of his, I have to shout about...The Timekeeper.  It weaves the stories of father time, an old man, and a teen together.  They each have their problems, all dealing in the concept of time: not enough of it or too much.  -and father time, well he is being punished for creating time!  For such a short book, it'll make you think.  It was the first book to summon up that overwhelming 'happy-sad' feeling for me... with those plot culminating sentences at the end...  and (I'm not ashamed to say) I'll repeat to myself long after, just to prolong the impact.

For young (and old!) inquiring minds, this book is wonderful. Filled with eye-pleasing illustrations of the endless world of life casings. Cover to cover, this book features egg-bearers of all sorts: birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. View the dappled ovals, the striated capsules, and the curly twined pouches. Thoroughly labeled for an elegant display of information and a downright delightful experience.

This is just the sweetest Christmas story about a little girl and her daddy. Pyn and Papa Oother live in the mountains and the snow seems eternal. Oother is a brawny mountain man who doesn't want a Christmas tree because it reminds him of Pyn's mother. But little Pyn brings the memory of her mother back by venturing out -her tiny self and her tiny ax, through waste-deep snow on a Christmas mission. Join them as Pyn rekindles long extinguished sentiments in Papa... guaranteed to warm your heart as well.

Hieronymus Bosch. Hee-ur-ahn-ih-mus Bosch. This artist's own name is a quandary! Open this book and you'll find a treasure of equal standing. It's all about his famous painting Garden of Earthly Delights. If you've ever seen it, you know there's a LOT going on. Maybe you remember scratching your head while considering the landscape, bustling with people and animals, strange contraptions and large fruit. Well this book is about one critic's attempt to make some sense out of the haunting innuendos of Hieronymus' creation. Take a good hard look at the mini scenes, zoomed in. Surreal as Dali and thematic as Alighieri, if you like a good mystery, this is a gem in your collection.

It’s exceptional to be different! Boldly illustrating this concept is the true story of Alexander Calder in the book, Sandy’s Circus. Bursting forth from a world of conformity, Alexander (aka Sandy) breaks the mold by sculpting faces; not out of stone, but out of wire!Over his life time, Sandy’s expansive creativity has led him from making small wire characters to somehow constructing monumental size metal works that continue to astound the eyes that befall them. Would it have happened had he not known it was keen to accentuate his gift? Sandy’s Circus is a satisfying drink of water for any seed that thirsts for creative inspiration. Drink up!

In the first few pages we meet Liam, and we can tell right away by his red hair, he is a special boy. He lives in a city, greyed by pollution. Everyone stays indoors. Liam, however, is young and yearns to explore his world! Undeterred by neither the pollution nor rain, his curiosity leads him to discover a section of Earth that could use a little tender loving care. In no time at all, Liam's garden takes the city by gentle storm. Abundant with thought provoking illustrations of a utopian garden world, this story fosters the notion to our young ones that paradise is not out of reach!

We live in a world of convenience: drive-thru pharmacies, phones with cameras and music, and even interactive books that read themselves aloud. Likewise, in the event that life poses a problem, the solution is simple: Google or E-how. -But what if you can't Google? What if you won't? What if you don't want to filter through the millions of potential solutions that bombard your screen the moment you type in a question? My point is, this wonderful world of convenience can be a bit cluttered, and perhaps you want something a bit more... clean? Enter the Reader's Digest 1,001 Easy-to-Follow Instructions on How to Do Just About Anything! This handy dandy reference guide is as concise as a dictionary and has colorful diagrams for visual walkthroughs of the solution. Chuck full of valuable information for any situation you could think of, this book solves everything from dog training to de-squeaking your shoes; to avoiding a fight with a duvet cover to converting vinyl records to digital... the list just goes on and on! Keep it in the car, in the garage, at the cabin. -And as you thumb through it, treasure the nostalgic feeling that comes from referring to a book rather than the internet for guidance. I know it's extremely cheesy, but in the short time I've owned this book, my moments of joy have been so many that I thought they ought to rename this book 'Serendipity'!