Reference World Atlas

Reference World Atlas (9th edition)  – Everything You Need to Know About Our Planet Today
Published at DK Canada

About the book

Fully revised and updated!

A beautifully clear and detailed guide, DK's Reference World Atlas gives a superb overview of all the world's regions.

Providing a detailed reference map set, the atlas also features computer-generated terrain-modeled maps and the landscapes, bringing an all-new dimension to cartography. This ninth edition of DK's respected Reference World Atlas includes all recent border, place name, and flag changes from around the world, including the emerging state of South Sudan.

My Thoughts

I always wanted to have an atlas for the kids to explore when we are doing geography lessons.   I had some older ones that I had found at a Value Village but nothing that was updated.  So when I saw that the Reference World Atlas was being re-published at DK Canada, I asked if it could be possible to review it.

When I received the book, the first thing that struck me was the size.   I mean this book is HUGE compare to regular-sized books  – see the picture below to visualize the comparison between the Reference World Atlas size with a regular title from DK Canada.   

Though the book is a bit awkward to manipulate, it is fabulous to explore the maps included in it!

This ninth edition has been totally revised and updated to reflect the world in the 21st century.   The book starts with information about the world as we know it – solar system, physical world, structure of the Earth, shaping the landscape, oceans, climate, population and more.     The book is divided into the various regions found through the world – North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australisia & Oceania.   Also in each region you will have the opportunity to different sectors within – for example, in Europe you  explore a close-up map of the Alpine states of Austria, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, and Switzerland.   You also have a physical and political maps for each region of the world.    

This Reference World Atlas will be priceless when we restart studying the countries of the world and we want to explore a specific map together.   The kids can also use it as reference when learning more about a region, a country or something specific about our planet.   It’s definitively a great reference book to own in your personal library and homeschool!

The World Atlas Reference is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

     

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book for review purposes from DK Canada.. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Grammarly

Recently I was approached with a possibility in writing for Grammarly.    Grammarly is an automated proofreader and a personal grammar coach.   Apparently it can find and correct over 250 types of grammatical mistakes, improve your word choice in your text and allow you to avoid plagiarism.  

After checking the site I discovered that it is trusted by over 3 millions people and hundreds of universities worldwide.

My curiosity was picked and I wanted to explore more of this website which offers something out-of-the-ordinary for writers everywhere.  Once I had my trial account set up, I was set to check out the site in a more active way.   Grammarly  will check over 250 points of grammar in a timely manner in order to allow you to have a new set of eyes to perfect your writing.

Turns out that I had a text that has been revised quite a bit in the past couple of months and I figure I could use Grammarly to see how many more issues there could be with it.    The site is quite easy to use.   Simply paste your text or upload it before clicking on the “Start Review”.

I pasted the text in the analyzer and click the button in order to start the process of checking the grammar.   I quickly received a report that I could print indicating the issues found in my text.As you can see my text still had about 132 issues.  Obviously, there is still some work to do on this document…   And knowing that Grammarly can verify it quickly and suggest modifications to be made makes this service very interesting.

Once you have your report, you have the possibility to go through the suggestions one at a time in order to change your text.   Personally, I prefer printing the report so I can sit down and read it before deciding if I need to make a change or not.   English is not my first language but I have made great improvements through the years.  However, having a site like Grammarly will allow me to be more self-confident when it comes to writing adequately – especially when it comes to a special project that my husband and I are working on…

Grammarly will also permit you to enhance your sentences by offering suggestions to improve your text, make sure that the more commonly confused words are written properly and checking for plagiarism against a database of over eight billion web pages.  Grammarly is very effective as it can found mistakes that can go unnoticed by popular word processors and other grammar checker programs on the market.  

The best part of Grammarly is that you can use it anywhere you are since it is a web-based solution to your proofreading.    It could be useful for anyone in your family whether for a school report, a novel you are writing, your resume or just your emails.    The site is great for emails, business proposals, social media updates and anything that you might be writing at this point in your life.    Grammarly will help you anytime you need it on a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription plans.  Expect to pay approximately 29.95$ per month on a monthly basis, 59.95$ for a quarter or 139.95$ for an annual subscription.  (at time of posting!)   You can also download a plug-in for Microsoft Office if you are interested in incorporating Grammarly in your Office products.

Also available is an enterprise subscrition for bulk users in K-12, higher education, enterprises, and government.   However, I have not find any special subscription prices offered for homeschoolers and I think this should be considered in order to encourage homeschoolers to use the site.  As we know homeschoolers have to purchase all their homeschool curriculum for their kids and at the end of the day it can become expensive.   Consequently, paying for sites like Grammarly is most often not even considered due to a lack of funds.   I think that Grammarly would benefit in considering offering a special price for homeschoolers.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Grammarly for setting me up with a free premium trial account for review purposes . I was compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

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Sherlock Holmes and the Needle’s Eye

Sherlock Holmes and the Needle’s Eye – The World’s Greatest Detective Tackles the Bible’s Ultimate Mysteries
Written by Len Bailey
Published at Thomas Nelson

About the book

Embark on a journey through the Old and New Testament with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson as they explore exotic and spice-laden places in search of clues.

The detective and the doctor travel back in time with the help of a Moriarty-designed time machine to investigate ten Bible destinations, unlocking clues to ten Bible mysteries. The most fascinating crime cases are those that are already solved, those that have been investigated by the police and brought to a swift, satisfying, and almost inevitable conclusion. So it is with Bible stories which the reader may consider familiar and unremarkable. But under close scrutiny these stories give up their hidden clues, their long kept secrets. Like a jewel newly polished, they sparkle and shine with a fresh, introspective light.

My Thoughts

When I saw this book I just knew I had to read it.   When I was younger, I read numerous Sherlock Holmes books.  More recently, I enjoyed the new movies that came out in theater in the past few years.   So how can Sherlock Holmes mix with Biblical mysteries?   I had to discover how the author would mix a well known detective with well known events in the Bible.

I immediately dived into this book and got enthralled with the ways of Sherlock's of deciphering clues in order to find answers.   As per the previous stories of Sherlock Holmes, you will also encounter his beloved companion Dr. Watson in each of the chapters found in the book.   Throughout the book you will travel with Holmes and Watson to unravel ten different Biblical mysteries including the following ones:

• Why did Ahithophel hang himself?
• Is Zechariah the son of Berekiah or Jehoiada in Matthew 23?
• Why did David take five stones against Goliath?
• Why did Jesus delay in coming to Lazarus in John 11?
• What did Jesus wrote on the ground when he stopped the stoning of a woman?

The famous detective uses the same techniques as previous titles of Sherlock Holmes.  It is nice to see that the author wrote this book while respecting the previous published titles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  I am impressed in how he was able to incorporate Biblical mysteries with Sherlock Holmes and how Holmes arrives to resolve them.   Mind you I am unsure how some of the resolved mysteries have truly happened the way suggested in the book but in a way it is refreshing to have Sherlock Holmes exploring the Bible the way he does.    Also the book allows Holmes and Dr. Watson to travel through time with a special machine.   Having some time-travel exploration makes the book even more interesting I think.

If you are wondering what to read during your summer vacation and love mysteries, you will enjoy Sherlock Holmes and the Needle’s Eye.

Sherlock Holmes and the Needle’s Eye is available for purchase at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

   

The book is also available for Kindle.

   

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Nelson for sending me the above mentioned product in the e-pub edition for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.