Roskin, Gary A. (1994) Photo Masters for Diamond Grading. Gemworld International, Northbrook, Illinois. ISBN: 0-9641-7330-1 Rosina abruptly hands me over to Almaz... I whimper on Almaz's shoulder, perilously close to the bubbling cauldrons. Almaz puts down the laddle and shifts me to her hip. Reaching into her blouse, grunting with effort, she fishes out her breast.

This book is a little bit different than the others I recommend. It focuses more on how to use crystals for healing. One of the most popular stones for beginners to start their crystal collection with. Deep purple in colour, it has calming properties and helps to relieve the symptoms of stress and anxiety.Gems & Gemology in Review: Colored Diamonds (2006) Gemological Institute of America, Carlsbad, California. ISBN: 0-87311-052-8 With this book, you’ll discover how crystals can help you improve your life. On top of that, you’ll get a detailed introduction to crystal healing. Because the story takes place in a mission hospital, the set-up included a lot of religious detail that also felt too removed from the characters to interest me. O’Donoghue, Michael, ed. (2006) Gems: Their Sources, Description and Identification. Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston. ISBN: 978-0-75065-856-0 The verdict: 3 stars for the beautiful descriptions of medicine and a notable quotability factor, but not as much for the story itself. I am not sure whether it will appeal to a non-medical person - maybe if you have more of sentimentality than I do. “According to Shiva, life is in the end about fixing holes. Shiva didn't speak in metaphors. fixing holes is precisely what he did. Still, it's an apt metaphor for our profession. But there's another kind of hole, and that is the wound that divides family. Sometimes this wound occurs at the moment of birth, sometimes it happens later. We are all fixing what is broken. It is the task of a lifetime. We'll leave much unfinished for the next generation.”

The illustrations make this book particularly engaging. As you can imagine, a book about soil will have a colour palette of browns, greens and oranges. The illustrator, Wenjia Tang, has used pencil drawings, combined with photographs to create gorgeous images that give the reader a sense of what the world under our feet truly feels like.

Sunagawa, Ichiro (2005) Crystals: Growth, Morphology and Perfection. Cambridge University Press, England. ISBN: 0521841895 What I like the most about this book, is that it features beautiful photographs of the crystals. This complete and modern guide is a must-have if you’re a beginner. Learn about planet Earth from Earth herself in this picture book ideal for younger readers (beginning school age) in Earth My First 4.54 Billion Years. Covering the formation of the planet, movement of the continents and more this is filled with images and has extra snippets of information about the earth. The fiction part of the series The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth is perfect to read aloud from preschool level and introduces what happens underneath the soil as the school bus and children jounery through the layers of the earth.

Lets talk medicine for a moment. I really liked how the Author, A Medical doctor himself, described the medical procedures in a way that did not A. Gross me out or B. confuse me. I think this is a gift in and of itself. I actually found them to be fascinating. This stone’s energy can also help to re-light the passionate spark of sexuality within loving relationships, as it assists couples in rediscovering their playfulness and joy in one another. Adamite is useful in stimulating and supporting the adrenal glands and thyroid, adding energy and vibrancy to the physical body and the aura. It can help to clear sluggish energy from the meridian system and the energy channels within the body, as well as from the emotional body in the aura. Adamite is also stimulating to the pituitary and pineal glands, enhancing one’s mental clarity, focus and acuity. It stimulates the release of positive hormones, such as serotonin and oxytocin, that create a sense of well-being and expansiveness. Gems & Gemology in Review: Treated Diamonds (2008) Gemological Institute of America, Carlsbad, California. ISBN: 978-0-87311-054-9 This book is probably one of the most popular crystal books for beginners you can find. Written by Judy Hall, the crystal bible is THE reference when it comes to crystal healing.Set in Addis Ababa some fifty (or so) years ago, this is the story of twins born joined at the head, their mother - a nun – and their British surgeon father. I’ll not delve deeper into the storyline as I always believe its better as a reader to dive in with minimal knowledge and just let the story unfold. And this is a big story. It’s the story of Ethiopia from that time and it’s a tale of intimate friendships, of abandonment and of the bonds of family (and of adopted family).

I think it’s a fantastic book for beginners, especially if you’re really interested in working with crystals.

Gems & Gemology in Review: Synthetic Diamonds (2005) Gemological Institute of America, Carlsbad, California. ISBN: 0-87311-050-1 If you want to discover a more modern approach to crystal healing, then this book is for you. It was written by the talented Yulia Van Doren, a pioneer in the modern holistic wellness movement. But who in their right mind would like to put down a book beginning like this: "My brother, Shiva, and I came into the world in the late afternoon of the twentieth of September in the year of Grace 1954. We took our first breath in the thin air, 8 000 feet above sea level, of the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa." Revered for their restorative powers, crystals have served humanity for millennia. Crystal healer and reiki master Mariah K. Lyons shares her knowledge in this beautifully-illustrated, practical guide for women. By providing tips on how to select and care for crystals, the book guides readers on a journey towards finding deeper levels of spiritual growth and healing.