Todays review is on Love is in the Earth,
The crystal and mineral Encyclopedia, the lite fantastic nad the last testament, by Melody.
I had heard about this book before it was actually released. I had been an avid follower of Melody's work, the work this woman was doing had changed my life. I was so excited about the new book coming out, I pre-ordered.
Prior to this release, all of Melody's work was compiled in several different books. These books line my book shelves and are ratty from wear and tear. I knew that this release was to put all of that work, plus her newest and latest all in one book! No matter that it weighs somewhere around 10 pounds.
What I was most excited about with this release, was that the stone articles would now have pictures with them. Melody's earlier works are text, with pictures being an entirely separate book, so this was a big step in convenience. As a crystal healer, reading about what a stone does with no picture is expected, it is something we must learn. But to collectors, they want to enjoy the richness of the photos, the personality of the stones and the pride of the photographer in showing us a side of reality that most of us miss. This was an exciting opportunity to now have all of this glorious information and pictures in one place!
I had driven to Ohio for the weekend, to attend a crystal surgery workshop at FourWinds Academy. I didn't want to pay postage on this book, which was a little stiff, so I had Vivien hold my book until I could pick it up in person. Oh, the suspense. It was sweet. When Vivien handed me my book, still wrapped in the plastic, I felt the weight of where this book would take me, I sensed the adventure that lay before me within the glossy pages of (in my mind at least), the most prestigious book on Crystal Healing. Definitely the costliest.
I didn't have time to savor this book right away, I had a workshop to attend and stones to shop for! After the whirlwind weekend, I arrived home late Sunday evening. I was glad I had arranged to be off for one more day, because I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning pouring over my new book. Turning the pages, being wowed by the picture, running to get my specimen to hold while I read what Melody had compiled through the most talented crystal healers in the world. I think I made it to the letter "b".
This continued until I had made my way through the entire book, even with it's weight I have spent some time carrying this book around. It had to go to Tucson with me, where I met the infamous Bob Jackson, brought home a few souvenirs from that room. It had to go the 2009 Crystal Conference where I had the opportunity to not only participate in a workshop with Melody, but she signed my book. Someone out there has some pictures that were taken of me and some friends with her, those were long lost on someone Else's phone. It had to go with me when I opened a rock store, when I closed the rock store, when I re-opened the healing room where it still resides today. The adventure with this work only starts on these magnificent pages, it is up to us where we let it take us.
Size and Weight TCME (2★)
As soon as anyone saw this category, we must know that this book should be exempt, right?
Ha! What I have found about the size and weight for this book, is that it fits perfectly on any book stand, or podium. Great way to display it AND quickly look things up without having to lift it or lay it across your lap. Yes, I did get those little red 'indents' in my thighs after hours of having it laying in my lap. Portability, not so much, but this book offers every crystal healer what they need at their finger tips. I keep mine in place, where I can stand up to flip through the pages. Works out quite nicely. If you absolutely must have the portability, which sometimes we do, the older versions are still available with text only and a good work around for this issue.
Organization TCME (4.2★)
I really like the way this book is organized. The front offers a very detailed TOC of stones and what pages to find them on. The back index offers symptoms and what pages to find them on. This helps to have the two different 'search ques', I find that the books that do not offer this symptom index are not very efficient in a healing room. The only complaint I have is the 'lumping' of all the amethyst together, all the different quartz's together. My first reaction would be to look under "c" for candle quartz. However here I go to "q" and sort from there. Not a big deal once I get used to it, but easier and faster if they were also under 'c'. Other than that I couldn't ask for more as far a reference book, it is easy to use once you get over the sheer volume of information entailed within this book.
Ease of use TCME (3.0★)
At this point, I really cannot honestly tell you if Melody's way of putting a book together is actually easier, or I am so used to it that this is what I expect from her work, and has become my standard for other works. I hear many people say they prefer different styles, however what a crystal healer needs to know is how does this stone work for others and that is how this work is put together. Based on aggregating details very few are capable of, Melody not only managed to pull together massive amounts of information from across the board, she managed to bring it together in a way that is actually comprehensible, even if only so after reading two or three times.. That is one ding for this category, sometimes I feel like I need an interpreter when I read about a stone in this book. Sometimes I will read a sentence, take a pencil and cross out all the words of over 10 letters, re- read it and it makes much more sense. This leads me to believe that there may be some frivolous use of language in this book and the 6 Virgos in my birth chart don't work well with that. The other ding is that sometimes, it seems like all the stones do the same things in different order. I realise that the info was a cumulative effort with many people, but sometimes I wonder if the stones are 'over' written, causing us to actually place these treasures in a new sort of box, define them to a level where expansion from our views becomes a little difficult.
Presentation TCME (4.0★)
I'm a book snob. It's not only a hardback, it has a dust jacket. It has a ribbon to mark you page. The binding on this book is sturdy - it has to be for this book weighs.
The pictures are not the greatest quality, but they are pictures that are of specimens that are real. Most of the photos seem to taken before the age of digital, and with a purpose of identification rather than beauty.
Consistent quality through out the book from little details of musical notes with the page numbers to quotes at each new chapter, Melody created a beautiful reference that anyone would be proud to have in their healing room, or on the coffee table. This is not book to put up on your shelf, it is definitely a book that becomes a part of the surroundings.
Actual Content TCME (3.9★)
I love that I can open this book and read what others have found to be true working with the stone. This is huge for me and my practice, although I now prefer to work with the stone decide for myself what it will do then compare, I often find similarities and patterns with certain stones this way.
The marks go down for the fluff content. There is a lot of it. Where something could be said in a much more user friendly manner, the words sometimes roll, twist and self combust before my brain can register the meaning. This leads to a lot of interpreting what I think was meant, because when I look at that many letters in one sentence I start to question which language it was written in, my brain starts to shut down on absorption of knowledge and kick up on mind numbing pronunciations and word meanings - leaving the knowledge behind.
Would I recommend this book to others? - Yes
Would I re-purchase if the need arose? - Probably Not
TCME total score -3.42 ★
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