Description: The squel to Leviathan With A Fish-Hook, Eileen has moved on to a new life in the city: a new home, new work, new friends, a new church. New pressures and dilemmas confront her, but the shade of Christopher is ever-present in her mind.

Verdict: Trust me, even though you might not be a Christian, you can still enjoy this brand new book, 'The Monster Behemoth.' Indeed, for that matter, you can really enjoy the previous one, 'Leviathan with a Fish-Hook' too!

The book addresses some real-life problems and the way that one event can affect someone in their everyday life. I enjoyed following Eileen on her journey and could empathise with her feelings. I am actually not a great reader and, if you hadn't guessed, I'm not a Christian, but I found the book both interesting and readable.

'The Monster Behemoth' is a fictional encounter set in England that shares the principal character Eileen’s quest to respond Biblically to the effects of change in her life. Eileen closes the door on her relationship with Christopher, sells her home in Holton, and moves to Allerton beginning a new life. Eileen becomes a friend you walk with through her life transitions, while learning from the challenges that change causes her to face.

The characters are realistic and the plot makes you want to keep reading more. It leaves you wanting to know what will happen next. And, with that said, I am truly looking forward to the third and final book in Russell's series, 'The Land of Nimrod.'

Description: Eleven-year-old Ellen is very excited to be going on vacation to Lake Okoboji in northern Iowa. She can hardly wait! Summer is Ellen's favorite time of year, and her favorite activity is going to the lake. But the nice, sunny weather Ellen expected has vanished into a week-long deluge of rain. What's a girl to do when it rains on her parade?

Verdict: If you didn't know, aged just ten, 'A Snowy Week' was released by this extraordinary children’s book author, herself now just 11! Indeed, written and illustrated by a wonderful new talent, Ellen Frances Keast has now released her sophomore book, 'A Rainy Week' - and it's just as compelling, trust me!

The story of when a nice, sunny day stops Ellen from hitting the lake, and having to occupy herself with other things in the meantime, if your children have ever been confined indoors during a vacation because of rain, well, Keast shows that there are many fun avenues of activity open to explore!

All contained within just 16 pages, 'A Rainy Week' (dedicated to her grandparents) begins at Lake Okoboji, a second home to her because she goes there so often. It's officially summer and she dreams of going to Arnold's Park to ride her favorite ride, the roller coaster. She also wants to play miniature golf and take a boat ride. But it starts raining, and raining, and raining even more. Lightning and thunder come into the mix too to spoil her plans.

So, she makes a new list of things to do. Entitled 'What to do while it's raining,' the list includes: Go shopping, bake cookies, learn a new card game, go to the children's theatre, spend time with the family, and much more. And so, come the end of the rainy week, one in which the sun never came out, she still managed to have the best week ever!

And, for those that loved the first book, and are already falling in love with the second one, you should all know that the next in the series will be 'A Sunny Week,' set in Hawaii.

Description: 'The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes' is a very special expanded edition of a classic - readers will enjoy the standards and new classics.

Verdict: If you're a purist about using *just* the slow cooker, even though the browning step produces more intense and balanced flavours and only one extra item to clean, this book isn't for you. If you aren't interested in a mixture of English/North American standards along with a number of spicy recipes (Korean, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Hungarian, etc.), or if you will have a difficult time finding the ingredients because your supermarkets has a limited selection, this book may not be for you.

But if you love a variety of national cuisines and can get the ingredients, you'll love this book. The Easy Chicken Paprikash (using canned soups and sweet paprika, easy to find anywhere) was amazing. The New Potato Curry (using curry powder available in any supermarket, although I made up my own mixture) was wonderful, even though I left out the fresh cilantro as I didn't have any on hand. Time required to clean the cast iron skillet for each recipe: 30 seconds.

There are a lot of slow cooker recipe books out there with great recipes for beans, stews, and soups. Get one of those if all you want to make are those great standards. Keep in mind, though, that you will find similar recipes in this book, such as Bakers' Potatoes with Onions, Creamed Onions, Shredded Chicken for tacos and sandwiches (no pre-browning!), Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole, Homestyle Chicken with Gingersnap Gravy, Pork Ribs and Beans, Pork Chops with Onions in Mustard Sauce, Pot Roast with Tomato or Gingersnap Gravy, Beef Noodle Casserole with Cheddar-Crumb Topping, Meat Loaf, Southwestern Brisket, Shepherd's Pie, Swiss Steak, Smothered Steak, Chicken Fried Steak, Mushroom Barley Soup, Black Bean Soup, and Seafood Gumbo.

But you'll also get Indonesian and Spicy Chinese Chicken, Chicken and turkey curries (spicy and mellow), Caribbean Pork Roast with Rum, Portuguese Pork with Clams, Pork Vindaloo, Morroccan Lamb, Lamb Keema and Korma, Greek Beef Stew with Onions and Feta Cheese, Korean Style Short Ribs, Osso Bucco, Potato and Cauliflower Dahl, and Caribbean Pepper Pot Soup.

If you're counting, that's nowhere near 150 recipes yet. And did I mention the desserts? Flans, crips, cobblers, custards, pudding, cake and, yes, cheesecake. This is a great book. If you want to move beyond the standards, here's your chance! [MT]

Description: The quintessential book of appetizers for any occasion, '750 Best Appetizers' features more than 750 recipes to choose from - cause they've to make sure home cooks have a selection to suit every possible occasion.

Verdict: '750 Best Appetizers' features 16 chapters built around specific types of dishes, such as dips and spreads, or specific ingredients, such as fish and seafood or cheese. Inside they have also also categorized - by presentation, since it's such an integral component to appetizers - many chapters that are organized by categories. Included are such titles as "Wraps and Rolls" and "Sticks and Picks."

Created and written by Judith Finlayson, a bestselling author whose life-long love of cooking has translated into sales of over 1 million copies of her books; and with additional depth from Chef Jordan Wagman, who has received national recognition from the James Beard Foundation and was nominated as a "Rising Star in North America," '750 Best Appetizers' shows us all that no matter how easy, or perhaps difficult they may be to prepare, a tray of appetizers can always seem celebratory!

Indeed, there is nothing like home-cooked food to make people feel welcomed. Home cooks can use this book to create hors d'oeuvres that will delight their family and friends - then relax and enjoy the party themselves.

Description: The Babycakes Cupcake Maker is one of the most popular entries into the small appliance category in recent years. Over one million units of this nifty and charming appliance were sold last year, with the numbers only expected to increase. '175 Best Babycakes Cupcake Maker Recipes: Easy Recipes for Bite-Size Cupcakes, Cheesecakes, Mini Pies and More!' is just perfect to place alongside yours!

Verdict: OK, let's get this straight from the start - Kathy and Roxanne are GREAT ladies and also fantastic recipe developers and cookbook authors! I couldn't be happier with this book that accompanies the actual counter-top product!

'175 Best Babycakes Cupcake Maker Recipes' is a great collection of cupcakes and savoy small treats. One of my favorite of Roxanne's creations is her lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting. My God it is to DIE for! Her trick is a tiny smear of caramel under the lemon frosting. Simply Divine!

I also really liked the Intro and section on making the Babycakes Cupcake Maker easy to use. This book is not just about cupcakes. There are lots of recipes for brunch items and other desserts too. It will allow the unit to be used so much more than for just cupcakes. The machines value just went up for me after getting this book!

I'll be honest, I have a large collection of cookbooks (I even have one of Kathy's other cookbooks), so knew this one would be equally as wonderful! , but I can already tell this one will be a FAVORITE. Who would have thought you could make Crab Rangoon, Tomato Bruschetta, or Coconut Cream Tarts in a cupcake maker? I love this cookbook ... and you will too, believe me!

Description: The humble potato is a culinary powerhouse and inspires adventurous and tantalizing fare - welcome to '300 Best Potato Recipes: A Complete Cook's Guide.' Enjoy! You're welcome!

Verdict: '300 Best Potato Recipes: A Complete Cook's Guide' features appetizers and snacks, soups and salads, side dishes, main courses, hearty vegetarian main dishes, baked goods and desserts that all come together to make up this vast and colorful collection of recipes.

The author, Kathleen Sloan-Mcintosh (who is also a food journalist and the owner and operator of the Black Dog Village Pub & Bistro in Bayfield, Ontario), also includes a complete history and origins of potatoes as well as a comprehensive chapter that covers hundreds of potato varieties.

Fascinating and informative from start to finish, '300 Best Potato Recipes: A Complete Cook's Guide' reveals to us a "desert island" vegetable ... if ever there was one! Indeed, one way or another, the potato appeals to all of us. Whether in the form of traditional comfort dishes or in the guise of the new and exotic, they are versatile, nutritious, inexpensive and unfailingly delicious. Indeed, no other vegetable, and few foods in general, can make those claims.

These are just some of the delicious possibilities that the humble potato offers in this wide and varied assortment of recipes: Classic mash de luxe, Garlic roasties with rosemary, Real English chips, Gnocchi-roni and cheese, Saffron potato cakes, All-American potato pancakes, Sweet potato-crusted shrimp and, with (too) many more to list here, delicious East Coast chowder too.