THAT TAKES OVARIES: Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts edited by RIVKA SOLOMON Three Rivers Press $13 (paperback) reviewed by Annette Young I have a shameful confession to make. Many books claiming to be "women-focused" make me cringe when I first hear about them. "Great, yet another message about how we’re all victims," is what jumps to mind. Thankfully, Solomon’s book That Takes Ovaries is every bit the feisty and funny endeavor its title suggests. By the time I finished the book, it had sent me through the gamut of human emotion, from sympathetic anger to stunned amazement. That Takes Ovaries is a collection of true short stories compiled and edited by Rivka Solomon, a feminist, freelance writer, and self-appointed "rabble rouser." The idea started when she mentioned her trademark phrase — a playful rearrangement of the more commonplace "that takes balls!" THE WISE EARTH SPEAKS TO YOUR SPIRIT: 52 Ways to Find Your Soul Voice through Journal Writing by JANELL MOON Red Wheel Publishing $19.95 (softcover) Reviewed by Kerri Buckley This book is as crisp and fresh as a northern breeze. Author Janell Moon offers a charming collection of essays on the wonders of nature and ties them into learning about ourselves through reflection, introspection, awareness, and the art of journal writing. There are 52 refreshing chapters in the book — each containing the author’s personal observations of nature and the energy of the Great Mother. Included in each essay are quotations that complement her theme and an assortment of exercises that will jazz up your journal and the journeys through your mind. Written for the beginning journalist as well as the experienced writer, the exercises are unique and lead the reader and journalist down a stream, to a tree, or up a mountain to ponder the wealth of words, comparisons, feelings, memories, and insights within.