We Energies is pleased to announce the 2006 Cookie Book just in time for the holiday season.

For nearly 80 years, the "We Energies Cookie Book" has been a holiday season tradition passed down from generation to generation in many Wisconsin homes.

The first Cookie Book was published in 1928 and since that time, nearly 50 versions of the book have been published.

"We hear countless stories from people who have a history of collecting the ‘Cookie Book’ and include the recipes in their family celebrations," said Joan Shafer, vice president of Customer Service for We Energies.

"We are delighted to publish the ‘Cookie Book’ this year so our customers will be able to continue these rich traditions."

The 2006 edition features favorite recipes from books dating back to 1939 and includes helpful energy efficiency and safety tips. Customers can pick up a free copy of the book at several distribution events throughout the area.

Visit www.we-energies.com/recipes or call (800) 242-9137 for a complete list of distribution events and more information about the "Cookie Book."

We Energies serves more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and more than one million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. Its energy prices are approximately 10 percent below the average for major U.S. cities. We Energies is the trade name of Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Wisconsin Gas LLC, the principal utility subsidiaries of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE: WEC). Visit the We Energies Web site at www.we-energies.com. Learn more about Wisconsin Energy Corporation by visiting www.wisconsinenergy.com.

Bookshelf Best Sellers

1) "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama

2) "What I Know Sure" by Tavis Smiley

3) "The Pursuit of Happyness" by Chris Gardner with Quincy Troupe

4) "Confessions of a Video Vixen" by Karrine Steffans

5) "The Fat Smash Diet" by Ian K. Smith

6) "Genevieve" by Eric Jerome Dickey

7) "From Pieces to Weight" by 50 Cent

8) "Can’t Get Enough" by Connie Briscoe

9) "Life Is Not A Fairytale" by Fantasia

10) "He-Motions" by T.D. Jakes

*List compiled by the following sources: New York Times Best Sellers and www.blackbookplus.com

Review by Kam Williams
"A Hand to Guide Me: Legends and Leaders Celebrate the People Who Shaped Their Lives" by Denzel Washington with Daniel Paisner, Meredith Press, Hardcover, $24.95, 272 pages, illustrated, ISBN: 0-696-23049-6.
"Every individual you are about to meet in these pages has remained humble, and that’s been my mantra for as long as I can remember... and it’s something I’ve tried to model for my children as well. But if there’s one lesson to be learned from the voices you’re about to hear, it is that it’s not only on us. It’s on the folks around us as well.

"And mostly, it’s on our ability to keep open to their example. That’s the underlying message in these pages, that you can draw a line from every great success back to some rock-solid foundation. A parent. A teacher. A coach. A role model. It all starts somewhere.

"And for me, that somewhere is with God."-- Denzel Washington in the Introduction
Denzel Washington tapped a most impressive collection of contributors for this project, including Presidents Clinton and Carter, Baseball Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Yogi Berra, NBA Coach Phil Jackson, Academy Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg, American Idol Ruben Studdard, Muhammad Ali, and emerging ingénue Kerry Washington, to name a few.

The idea behind the book was to have each person share a reflection about a mentor who meant a lot to them.

While each of the stories is certainly sincere and touching in its own way, the problem, for me, is that there was a certain sameness to the narratives style from entry to entry.

The source of the problem probably has to do with the fact that one person, Dan Paisner, was hired to conduct the interviews and to shape the tone of the text.

Dan is a very gifted ghostwriter who has co-written autobiographies with Governor George Pataki, Mayor Ed Koch, TV Judge Glenda Hatchett, actors Malcolm Jamal Warner and Anthony Quinn, World Trade Center Survivor Daniel Picciotto, TV Weatherman Willard Scott, talk show host Montel Williams, and FBI Hostage Negotiator Clint Van Zandt.

But his hand starts to show here when asked to condense 74 different celebs.

The upshot is that "A Hand to Guide Me" begins to feel like you’ve read it already after a few chapters, due to the diverse personalities having been flattened out in a similar fashion.

Thus, this inspirational tone is likely to be best enjoyed if consumed at the rate of no more than one memoir a day over the course of several months. That way, you might not notice how much the authors resemble each other.