I know this book was all the rage a few months ago - but like anything else around here - I get to it when I get to it. So if you missed all the hoopla the first time around then you are at the right place.

Anyhow, in a nutshell, Tim’s methods of reducing a workweek down to four hours can be summed up in two words - efficiency and delegating. If you don’t waste time on all the mundane tasks, and completely eliminate the unneccessary ones then you will free up a lot of time in your day. If you delegate the mundane, even better.

The problem is that, in order to make this work, you need to have a pretty good business sense. You also need to have a good idea for a business that will take off, and you need to be willing to take risks. After all, income is well, - important.

If you are fresh out of college - the methodology in The 4-Hour Workweek is great for you. But if you have one or two or three or four children to support and you kind of need health insurance, or college is looming in the not too distant future, hmmm, it is a little risky.

However, if you already work from home or stay at home and even if you don’t, The 4-Hour Workweek offers some good advice, that could qualify as hidden parenting tips, for getting things done quicker and in a more efficient manner. Things like checking email often and taking phone calls as they come in are all big time wasters. Stuff is another time vacuum. And if you have a family then chances are you have a lot of stuff. I spend a good portion of each day putting things away. Imagine if we just got rid of a lot of that “stuff”. Think about the time you would gain.

And delegating is another thing that I don’t do often enough as a parent. Sure the job may be done quicker if I just do it myself - but I may be doing everyone a disservice with that attitude. My kids are more than capable of taking over some of the responsibilities of the house. My husband is a sweetheart and already does a fair share of house upkeep - but sometimes delegating to the husband is also necessary. And those volunteer activities - PTA, Board of this or that, fundraisers, etc. - lots of room for delegation!

So, parents do have something to gain from The 4-Hour Workweek. But now that I can do one of my jobs in four hours, I wonder what parenting tips exist for handling the other 21 jobs that I juggle as a mom!

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Now that the Harry Potter series is complete, there is a summer reading void that I need to fill. The Starry Rift features authors such as Neil Gaiman, Steven Baxter, and Boing Boing’s own Cory Doctorow.

I don’t know much more about this book but it will probably make for some good summer reading. If you have read this and/or have an opinion to share - I would love to hear it!

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For the uninitiated, I can tell you that if you enjoyed Nancy Drew as a kid, you should start at “A” is for Alibi and work your way through. You won’t be disappointed.

If you are a seasoned fan of private detective Kinsey Millhone, then you may not be so impressed with T is for Trespass. I felt that this book was not up to par with the other books in Sue Grafton’s series. Without giving anything away, I will tell you the two things that bothered me the most.

First, the bad guy - or in this case - lady was not believable. She was a character created on paper, purely fictional, almost comical. In many of the other books I was afraid for Kinsey, I felt her fear - the bad guy was really bad, and I believed it. Not so, in this book.

Second, in typical Sue Grafton fashion, this book takes place in the year 1987. All the books do. When I began reading Sue Grafton 1987 was a pretty recent time and Kinsey Millhone was older than I. Well, since that I time - I have aged but Kinsey hasn’t. No, I’m not jealous! But the world was a different place then, no internet, no cell phones. So when Kinsey gets into a sticky situation you just want to scream “Use your cell phone!”. It really is a time warp.

As always, T is for Trespass was a quick and entertaining read and despite it’s shortcomings I am eagerly waiting for the next book in the series, U is for…..? .

What are you reading?

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The movie begins in India where the main character, Mary Lennox, loses her parents in a tragic earthquake. Having no other family, Mary goes home to a mansion in England called Misseltwhaite Manor, where she is taken in by her uncle who is mourning the loss of his wife. The uncle, Lord Craven, travels a lot to deal with the grief and leaves Mary in England with the housekeeper.

Mary begins to learn the truth - that her pregnant aunt died from a fall, and her child (Mary’s cousin) appears to be handicapped and also lives at Misselthwaite Manor. Mary also discovers the Secret Garden that belonged to her aunt and has long since been locked up and abandoned. Mary becomes friends with her cousin, and a few young servant children. Together they find warm friendship and laughter. Mary’s cousin, who was comically suppressed by the overprotective housekeeper, begins to thrive in the company of Mary and the children. And together the children rediscover The Secret Garden and nurse it back to beauty.

This movie is a lovely adaptation of classic literature. After seeing this movie, my children are eager to read Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden and A Little Princess as well.

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I just spent the weekend reading Double Cross by James Patterson. If you like mysteries or thrillers, this is a good read for a busy parent. The book is easy to follow and you can finish it quickly even if you are interrupted, like, a million times.

If you have read James Patterson before, you will be familiar with the main character in Double Cross- the infamous Alex Cross. You will also know the bad guy Kyle Craig. But Double Cross offers not one but two killers, is the second killer connected to Kyle Craig? You must read to find out.

At the beginning of the book, Alex Cross has left the world of crime fighting in search of a more “normal” life with his family and his new lady friend - Brianna Stone. But guess what, she’s a cop - so it’s easy to figure out that Alex will be drawn back in. Alex has also made enough ememies in his past life that you know they won’t leave him alone.

So, Alex Cross’ idyllic life is interrupted by a crazy killer that likes to commit murders in front large groups of people, “audiences”, if you will. And somehow he manages to get away several times.

Meanwhile, Kyle Craig, Alex’s old friend turned ruthless murderer is in a high security prison halfway across the country. But yet somehow he seems connected.

To see how Double Cross unfolds, pick up a copy for yourself. Because the story is written in such a predictable manner, you can pick it up and put it down often without losing your train of thought. Yet there are a few surprises that keep the pages turning. Double Cross is classic James Patterson.

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Kindle from Amazon.com

When I first heard about the Kindle a few months ago, I was skeptical. I have used ebook readers on my PDA and computer, and while convenient, I never became a regular user of the ebook reader. Also, the price of the Kindle was set to be on the high side.

Well, the release of the Kindle is now imminent and Amazon.com has put together a Kindle preview page with an informative video that has more details. After watching the video, I am still skeptical but the device does seem kind of cool.

What I like about the Kindle:

• the ability to carry approximately 200 ebooks with you
• subscription services to major newspapers and magazines
• search and bookmarking features
• ebooks that are available for purchase at a discounted price of $9.99 each
• free wireless access to Wikipedia
• automatic backup of all your ebook purchases (backups are stored at Amazon.com)
• this is the best feature - the ability to purchase and download ebooks and magazines wirelessly from anywhere over Amazon.com’s new Whispernet network.

What I don’t like about the Kindle:

• The unit itself is not that attractive. It appears to be an enlarged PDA in a white plastic case.
• The screen is not backlit - which Amazon claims is easier on the eyes, and can be read in bright sunlight. However, it seems to me that this would be a problem in low light situations.
• The expensive price tag - $399 at this time.

Overall, it seems that the reviews by people who have tested the Kindle are favorable. But the reviews from people who have not actually used the product are quite negative. The major beef being the high price tag. After all, $399 will buy a lot of paperbacks.

Personally, I would love to have a Kindle. But, like the others, I cannot justify the price. Avid readers who travel a lot will benefit most. The Kindle is so much more convenient than carrying a heavy stack of books and papers. Pare.nts may enjoy using Kindle to reduce the clutter in their home.

Just so you know, I received no compensation for this review, nor have I tested or even seen the Kindle up close and personal. I am just a gadget fanatic and this device has captured my interest. However, this post does contain Amazon affiliate links.

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No, I am not vegetarian. Yes, there are those of you who say I should be. But that argument aside, I found this wonderful cookbook called Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. I have made a few of the vegetarian slow cooker recipes out of this book and have been very impressed.

I happen to be a big slow cooker fan. In my house, if dinner isn’t prepared by 2:00 pm then it’s a cereal night. Once the kids get home from school my time disappears. With a slow cooker I can prepare dinner in the morning and a hot meal is ready at dinner time.

However, many slow cooker recipes are not that healthy. And I want more flavor than food cooked in a can of cream of something soup provides.

Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker offers many healthy and delicious recipes using beans and vegetables - something that many of us don’t eat enough of .

The two recipes that I made last week were Black Bean Soup and Tuscan White Bean and Escarole Soup. Both soups were delicious. And the white bean soup used escarole, I have never made anything with that before. I wasn’t sure the kids would try it but they liked it too.

I will definitely be making more recipes from this book.

One other benefit of these recipes is that many of them are dairy free. My son is allergic to dairy products and there are a lot of recipes here that he can eat as well.

You can read more about my experiences withvegetarian soup recipes here.

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Warning: The tune is catchy - you will be humming it all day.

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Every summer, I always plan to really work with the kids on academic areas that they had trouble with the previous year. Maybe get some workbooks, do a few flashcards - just so they don’t get too “rusty”.

And every summer usually flies by without much academic work happening. Some would argue (my children being the most vocal) that that is how it should be.

But now with school just around the corner, I pulled out those trusty old flash cards, and was very surprised at how much “rust” could arise in a few short months.

To get the kids back on track, I found some great workbooks filled with math drills. Math Speed Tests, Grades 1-3 and Math Speed Tests, Grades 3-6 provide pages of drills on math facts. Each page only takes a few minutes, so the kids don’t mind too much. I time them and each day they try to beat their previous time. These are also good resources to use as the school year gets under way.

What are you doing during these last, lazy days of summer?

We are trying not to have much of a schedule. But between back to school physicals, eye doctor visits (my second son needs glasses - as determined in the back to school physical), dentist appointments, and the like, we are still pretty busy!

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I just read a wonderful book called The Dip by Seth Godin. On the cover it self describes as:

This motivational gem tells us that any project, undertaking, business, hobby that we start will eventually experience a “dip” or low point. This is when we ask ourselves the question “Is it really worth it?”

The answer is not simple. It involves a lot of reflection. If we believe we can be the best in that particular field, then riding out the dip is the way to go.

But if we feel that this particular endeavor is leading nowhere then it is ok to quit. Quit?! Seth’s departure from conventional wisdom makes sense. Why invest more time and money in a dead end?

The key lies in knowing the difference between a dip and a dead end (or cul de sac, as he puts it). Quitting should never be an impulse decision. The best piece of advice in this book is on page 64 - 5th paragraph. Check it out for yourself!

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