Brown Bag Book Discussion - August 2003

1-2-3 magic is a simple, practical guide to increase the self esteem of yourself and your child. How to get your child to stop misbehaving and start acting as a well behaved child should. An excellent non-violent way to do simple effective discipline.

Moby, Shaggy and other contemporary artists offer a nice compilation of Rap, Gospel, Blues and R & B on this terrific soundtrack.

This non-fiction that reads like a novel is a book about a book. When Spaniard Michael Servetus wrote a 16th century book with anti-catholic themes, he and his books were burned. But three copies somehow survived with important information about blood circulation that was innovative in modern medicine. The authors trace these copies as well as the history of intolerance.

David Owen wanted to teach his kids about the value of money and finances so he developed a system with dad as the bank, high interest savings accounts, and withdrawal penalties. Owen shares his system to encourage kids to save more than they spend. He also encourages the best investment you can make in your kids: read to them!

This re-telling of the classic tale finds three monks in a Chinese village attempting to make their own stone soup. Gorgeous soft watercolor illustrations add to the beauty of this book.

At the turn of the 19th century, San Francisco was a bustling Western city. But the city faced a near epidemic of the bubonic plague that created a health drama of epic proportions that eventually led to the downfall of the California governor and vast changes in the economic and political situation in California. Akin to the AIDS situation documented in Randy Shiltz’s “And the Band Played On”.

This entertaining read examines Hollywood’s greatest actresses attesting that many of these golden icons were lesbians. Part gossip column part investigative journalism, Axel “outs” such actresses as Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo and, surprisingly, Judy Garland.

This“mystery that is not a mystery” investigates the Civil War as it affected the Appalachian region. Re-enactors of a tiny battle, guerilla warfare, and ghosts of the past all play a part in this fascinating novel.

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