Food writer, or Foodie, as they are known in the trade, Nora Franke is overfed and overwrought over a recent breakup with her long time boyfriend. "We need a break" he tells her, Nora decides that spending some time away from the bustle of New York is just the tonic she needs. Her solution is to take a temporary job as recipe consultant at a ritzy and very exclusive Spa in Baja. Nora is ecstatic, three months in a beautiful location and able to combine her love of food with t...

Many parents may admit math was not their favorite subject in high school. Many may also admit that math now plays an important role in their lives and careers--and will be necessary for their own children's futures.

"Best of Friends" is a novel about the lives of the "Fabulous Five." The Fabulous Five is a group comprised of five wonderful, loyal ladies who have been best friends for years. Each woman in the group has her own issues to deal with and to learn from. The story mainly centers around Liz, whose mother has just passed away. Liz's family is about as dysfunctional as a family can be. The siblings have taken sides with each other. Liz always tries to be neutral, but when their ba...

How’s your love affair with your Muse? That’s right, your Muse. Your creative source. Your inspiration for all the kooky, creative things you do. The voice that whispers, “Hey, why don’t you try encaustic painting? That looks like fun!” Or maybe your voice has a more, well, cranky tone. Maybe your Muse’s voice gets snarky when she sees others creating. Maybe she feels abandoned in the corner, tucked away behind the towering to-do lists. It could be time for a relatio...

I have a fascination with the paintings of the American artist, Edward Hopper. Somehow—whether by technique, imagination or subject matter—he is able to create the most compelling and evocative scenes, which stir my imagination. One of my favourites is Automat an oil painted by him in 1927. A young woman with a yellow felt hat sits absolutely alone in a barren restaurant drinking a cup of coffee. I look at this and immediately feel her isolation and loneliness as if i...

German is a language that many people would like to learn but a vast majority of people find it very frustrating to achieve a level where they can speak German fluently. When people learn German in school often the grammar is a hard piece to crack.

Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of http://Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Helen Barer author of Fitness Kills. Helen is a native New Yorker and has spent many years as a writer of non-fiction ranging from cookbooks to television documentaries. Norm: Good day Helen and thanks for participating in our interview. Helen: I'm delighted to have been invited. Norm: How did you happen to write a book about a fitness ranch in Baja and co...

Countess Erszebet Bathory was a breathtakingly beautiful, unusually well-educated woman, married to a descendant of Vlad Dracula of Bram Stoker fame.

"Puer Aeternus" – the eternal adolescent, the semipternal Peter pan – is a phenomenon often associated with pathological narcissism. People who refuse to grow up strike others as self-centred and aloof, petulant and brattish, haughty and demanding – in short: as childish or infantile.