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Net Galley
Author Archives: Iiiireader
22 Beautiful Gustav Klimt designs in a coloring book
Gustav Klimt Coloring Book
By: Pomegranate
Rating: 5 of 5
This is a beautiful and well made coloring book of Gustav Klimt famous paintings. All of my favorites are included, so while I had never tried a coloring book by Pomegranate before, I had to get this one. I have had their puzzles in the past and was impressed by their quality, so I thought it might be true with the coloring book and it certainly was. Based on the quality of this book, I will be purchasing more in the future.
The book has 22 designs based on Mr. Klimt’s artwork, including: Woman with Fan, detail of The Kiss, Garden Path with Hens (detail), various designs for the Stoclet frieze, Fritza Riedler (detail), and many more. The designs are well printed with clear lines. They are centered on the page with at least inch of blank space surrounding the frame of the design.
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Funny book about investigation the supernatural (or is it?)
Second To Nun (A Giulia Driscoll Mystery) (Volume 2)
By: Alice Loweecey
Rating: 5 of 5
I really enjoyed this book. It was not a murder mystery, which is what I am used to, but instead a book in which Driscoll investigations (and most notably, Giulia) is asked to discover the ghost that is haunting a local bed and breakfast and to get it to depart.
Giulia and crew are very skeptical about the request but as it comes with a promised big paycheck, they take it on. Giulia and her husband, Frank, stay at the B&B posing as guests on a get-away vacation. Right from the start, bizarre things begin to happen. There are psychics involved, ghostly occurrences, and event attempted murders while Giulia is investigating and putting together her answer regarding the haunting.
Posted in Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
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Nice book for coloring on a trip good compact size
The Creative Colouring Book for Grown-ups
By: Michael O’Mara Books
Rating: 5 of 5
This is a compact travel size book of more than 100 designs which is approximately 7.5 x 5.5 inches. It is the size of a small journal and even has an elastic band to hold the book closed. The designs are a range of floral pictures, abstracts, repetitious patterns, and some that remind me of wallpaper. It is a good mix of designs for a carry-along inexpensive book to color in on the go. Some of the designs are a little too intricate for me to use on the go but those are really the exception and not the rule in this book.
The paper weight is medium and white. The pages are not perforated but the designs leave room at the bound edge so you can color the whole design and, if you wish, remove the page using a pen knife. The book can be opened fairly flat which is a big plus for me.
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Lovely and unusual assortment of Mandalas
Mandala Wonders | Color Art for Everyone – Leisure Arts (6765)
By: Leisure Arts
Rating: 5 of 5
This is an adult coloring book filled mandala-type designs. The designs are all supplied by GMC Designs/Shutterstock, Inc. I don’t know if that means there are various designers within those companies or not, but there isn’t a specific artist mentioned.
There are 24 different designs. Usually, when I have a color book of mandalas, there is a single, circular image on the page. On these, in most cases, the image is more of a montage of overlaying itself and filling the page. It is very pretty and should be a lot of fun to color.
The paper weight is nice and heavy very much a feeling of premium grade paper. The designs are printed on one side of the page (with the back side blank.) The pages are all micro-perforated so removing them from the book will be easy. The print quality of the design is excellent. There are parts of the designs which are rather intricate.
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Great Botanical designs for the flower enthusiast
Botanical Wonders | Color Art for Everyone – Leisure Arts (6764)
By: Leisure Arts
Rating: 5 of 5
Floral designs abound in this new book book by Leisure Arts. The pages are filled with stylized flowers and even include a few birds and garden bugs. The designs are all supplied by GMC Designs/Shutterstock, Inc. I don’t know if that means there are various designers within those companies or not, but there isn’t a specific artist mentioned.
There are 24 different designs. I am home gardener who grows both flowers and vegetables, so this book is one that is very appealing to me. There are orchids, fuchsias, poppies, sunflowers, and many others, including what look like some gorgeous fantasy flowers.
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Good start for a new series by Elly Griffiths
The Zig Zag Girl (Magic Men Mystery)
By: Elly Griffiths
Rating: 5 of 5
I have enjoyed reading Elly Griffiths’s Ruth Galloway mystery series and was happy to pick up her first book in a new series, “The Zig Zag Girl”. As it turns out, the two series really could not be more different from one another.
“The Zig Zag Girl” is set in 1950, post-WWII Brighton, England. The main characters in the story are a group of men who comprised The Magic Men, a group working with the British government to fool and thwart a possible German invasion of the northern coast.
Posted in Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
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50 designs in a mid-century influenced modern abstract coloring book
The Super Awesome Coloring Book: 50 Super Awesome Designs for the Modern Coloring Enthusiast
By: Mark Cesarik
Rating: 5 of 5
This coloring book is a large variety of designs. Many show a heavy influence from the mid-century modern period and others are intricate and stylized abstracts which should be really fun to color with a wide variety of media and colors. I am especially drawn to the mid-century as I lived in a California 1950’s home for many years which was definitely in a similar style.
In this book, I believe that we are seeing a sampling of artist Mark Cesarik’s style rather than a specific subject matter. Because of that, the designs vary widely from page to page. Thankfully, the very cool coverart work is included in the book. That is always a huge plus for me. There is also a design which includes a montage of modern chairs that has my fingers itching to start coloring.
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Fun Christmas mandalas with my favorite holiday motifs
Creative Haven Christmas Mandalas Coloring Book (Creative Haven Coloring Books)
By: Marty Noble
Rating: 5 of 5
This is a fun set of Christmas mandala designs that will give me hours of coloring fun. The book is a reprint of an earlier book by Dover. Apparently, the reprint was done to provide the colorist with a single-sided version of the book so we can color each and every page without fear of ink leaching through and damaging the design on the backside of the page. The designs are by artist Marty Noble who is an artist whose work I really enjoy and whose books I am always eager to color.
Some of the designs are have intricate parts and for those, I will probably have to use my magnifying lamp. For the vast majority of this book, I don’t think my magnifier will be necessary. I use a true color bulb in my lamp which helps me immensely while I am making color choices for my use.
While the designs are all based on mandalas, the subject of each is very different there are Santas, angels, snowmen, candles, poinsettias, Christmas trees and much, much more.
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Fast-paced Thriller set in Middle East turmoil
Dark Waters: A Raisa Jordan Thriller
By: Chris Goff
Rating: 5 of 5
“Dark Waters” is a debut thriller by Chris Goff, a mystery writer with five books published under the name Christine Goff. I have not read any of her mysteries but will certainly consider doing so based on how much I enjoyed reading “Dark Waters”.
The book is set in current day Israel and has its fair share of political shenanigans. To the author’s credit, she presents all sides of the issues that face turmoil-ridden Middle East without taking a stance as to who is right or wrong.
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A cute collection of Kitties in lots of Yoga poses
Yoga Kitties: A Stress Relieving Adult Coloring Book
By: Blue Star Coloring
Rating: 5 of 5
Yoga Kitties by Dawn Lewis is filled with 30 adorable designs of kitties in yoga poses. The lines of the designs are darker and thicker than those of most other color books I have had in the past but it looks like it will make it easier to use really bold colors to enhance them.
The kitties are so cute as they attempt many different poses. The designs have a fairly high level of detail and the cats are portrayed in more of a human form, such as standing on two feet and having body shapes more consistent with a person than with a cat. One of my favorite designs in the book (and there are many) is Heron Pose which actually features a human and a cat. There is a high level of detail and something about the image (perhaps the swirls in the woman’s hair) reminds me of Gustav Klmit artwork.
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