Saturday 30 May 2015

Book Review: Italian Wine Notes

Italian Wine Notes


Book Review:

Italian Wine Notes is written by Bob Lipinski and Gary Grunner, both qualified connoisseurs in the wine industry. The book comprises alphabetical lists of both major wines and their areas of origin, foods of the region, a glossary and phonetic pronunciations of terms, wine categories and grape varieties. Italy has approximately 2 million acres of planted vineyards, which are divided into 20 wine producing regions. Each region adheres to DOCG, DOC and IGT laws, which have specifications for all types of wine produced and how grapes should be grown.


Italian wines are classed as Generic - place or origin; Varietal - varieties of grapes for specific wines; Proprietary - producer. The country is the world's largest producer of Vermouth and largest exporter of table wines into the United States. There are over 2,000 varieties of Italian wine which are an output no other country has surpassed.


Persons wishing to travel to Italy or who are interested in a wine and food career will recognize the full worth of Italian Wine Notes. The goal of the authors is to educate readers on Italy and their wines by providing more informative and in-depth data using a journal Gary Grunner kept on the topic, as well  as input from Bob Lipinski. The authors not only elaborate on wines, but include major regional soccer teams, places of interests and towns, cheeses, a listing of DOCG wines as of 2013, and other relevant content that made Italian Wine Notes even more enlightening to read.




Book Links:                       Amazon      Goodreads

Rating:         

Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite.

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Monday 11 May 2015

Book Review: The Final Salute






Book Review:

The Final Salute is a military fiction by Kathleen Rodgers. Colonel Tuck Westerfield, a fighter pilot at Beauregard Air Force base who flew in the Gulf war, mourns the death of his friend and colleague. His unhappiness rises after catching his Commanding Officer cheating with another officer, as his boss constantly threatens him. Gina, Tuck's wife, worries about his moodiness, which the neighbour's dog provokes; and Michelle, her rebellious, gothic-attired stepdaughter who visits. 

Tuck travels down Memory Lane, reliving his childhood while remembering his friends and colleagues who died courageously, and wonders why life deals such blows. He is assigned to the Middle East after Iraq invades Kuwait and his experiences there make him more determined to consider changes to his life if he survives.

Kathleen Rodgers has created an engrossing military fiction appropriately called The Final Salute. She gives a very realistic account of what life is like in the air force, both from those who serve and from their family members' point of view. It is an intriguing story that has so many emotions as the diverse characters express their joys, fears, pains and sadness in different ways. 

The author also demonstrated quite nicely how a few military careers may be tarnished and how some scandals or other conflicts are quickly covered up. The Final Salute is a book I did not want to put down, and I think Kathleen Rodgers writes descriptively and with compassion. She shows readers another side of military life in an original and interesting format.


Rating:       

Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite.

Here are links to The Final Salute which has been featured on USA-Today, The Associated Press, Military Times and many other publications.



Amazon                               Goodreads


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Saturday 9 May 2015

cupid's cure (senryu)






broke up with boyfriend

moody emotional wreck

ice-cream therapy


+++++

Image courtesy of wikimediacommons.org

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