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Reviewer's Choice
Something, Not Nothing: A Story of Grief and Love
Sarah Leavitt
Arsenal Pulp Press
www.arsenalpulp.com
9781551529516, $24.95, PB, 144pp
https://www.amazon.com/Something-Not-Nothing-Story-Grief/dp/1551529513
Synopsis: In April 2020, cartoonist Sarah Leavitt's partner of twenty-two years, Donimo, died with medical assistance after years of severe chronic pain and a rapid decline at the end of her life.
About a month after Donimo's death, Sarah began making comics again as a way to deal with her profound sense of grief and loss. The comics started as small sketches but quickly transformed into something totally unfamiliar to her. Abstract images, textures, poetic text, layers of watercolor, ink, and colored pencil -- for Sarah, the journey through grief was impossible to convey without bold formal experimentation. She spent two years creating these comics.
The result is "Something, Not Nothing: A Story of Grief and Love", an extraordinary book that delicately articulates the vagaries of grief and the sweet remembrances of enduring love. Moving and impressionistic, "Something, Not Nothing" shows that alongside grief, there is room for peace, joy, and new beginnings.
Critique: Unique, original, insightful, candid, universal, emotionally moving, thought provoking, and effectively presented in a graphic novel style format, "Something, Not Nothing: A Story of Grief and Love" by author/illustrator Sarah Leavitt is especially and unreservedly recommended for readers with an interest in Women's Biographies. While also readily available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99), this large format (8.9 x 0.6 x 11.2 inches, 1.15 pounds) paperback edition of "Something, Not Nothing" is especially recommended for community and college/university library collections.
Editorial Note: Sarah Leavitt (https://sarahleavitt.com) is the author of the graphic memoir "Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer's, My Mother, and Me" (Skyhorse Publishing, 2012) and the award-winning historical fiction comic "Agnes, Murderess" (Freehand Books, 2019). She is an assistant professor in the School of Creative Writing at UBC in Vancouver, BC, where she has developed and taught undergraduate and graduate comics classes since 2012.
The Christmas Shelf
Promises Made Promises Kept: A Family Devotional for Christmas
Marty Machowski, author
Phil Schorr, illustrator
New Growth Press
www.newgrowthpress.com
9781645074151, $21.00, HC, 64pp
https://www.amazon.com/Promises-Made-Kept-Devotional-Christmas/dp/1645074153
Synopsis: Start a new family tradition for the Christmas season by reading "Promises Made Promises Kept: A Family Devotional for Christmas", an "upside-down" book that includes fourteen Bible stories.
Begin the week before Christmas with the first side, "Promises Made" which has seven stories that explore the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah. On Christmas Day, flip the book over and continue by reading "Promises Kept" with seven more stories that vividly illustrate how Jesus's life, death, and resurrection and the beginning of the church fulfill God's promises.
Author Marty Machowski deftly weaves the promises and fulfillments together into one harmonized story that will deepen the family's faith in God's power and control over all of history and their lives too. Each story also includes questions for the family to discuss together.
Critique: While also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.75), "Promises Made Promises Kept: A Family Devotional for Christmas" this hardcover edition from New Growth Press is a simply beautiful hardback volume that is impressively illustrated by Phil Schorr and will become a treasured family favorite to be used every Christmas season. Specifically designed for families to read one story each day for the week leading up to and the week following Christmas, "Promises Made Promises Kept: A Family Devotional for Christmas" is especially appropriate for families with preschool and grade school children -- and can be used in family devotions with teens as well. "Promises Made Promises Kept: A Family Devotional for Christmas" is especially recommended for all families comprising the Christian community regardless of denominational affiliations.
Editorial Note #1: Marty Machowski (https://martymachowski.com) is a family life pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA, where he has served on the pastoral staff for over 30 years. He is the author of a number of family devotionals, curricula (including the Gospel Story for Kids), children's books, and parenting titles. His latest releases include The Treasure, Angels on Your Side, and the Redemption Tales series.
Editorial Note #2: Phil Schorr (www.philschorr.com) resides in southern California with his family, where he tells stories through visual mediums. He has always been fascinated with mid-century design and the use of bold yet imperfect geometric shapes. As an art director and visual designer, he brings his influence of music, animation, and global stories into his work. Phil is also the illustrator of Jesus Saves and Darkest Night Brightest Day.
The Writing/Publishing Shelf
The Next Chapter: Writing in Retirement
Julie A. Gorges
I-Form Ink Publishing
https://iforminkpublishing.com
9798990106512, $27.99, HC, 290pp
https://www.amazon.com/Next-Chapter-Writing-Retirement/dp/B0DJD47763
Synopsis: "The Next Chapter: Writing in Retirement" by Julie A. Gorges contains a wealth of 'real world practical' and essential information to help any aspiring writer achieve their literary ambition. But, if you're retired or looking for an encore career, this combination instructional guide and 'how to' manual is written specifically with you in mind.
As an international award-winning author, blogger, and freelance writer for over three decades, Julie A Gorges has drawn upon her years of experience and expertise to write an empowering book to help you write your way to a happy and fulfilling retirement. It is her justifiable contention that you are never too old to pursue your passion to write!
"The Next Chapter: Writing in Retirement" provides just the inspiration and motivation you need while sharing Gorges' extensive knowledge and experience to jump-start your writing during your golden years.
With plenty of encouragement and help, you will explore all the many options available today - whether you want to write for pleasure or profit. Once you decide which direction to take, this DIY manual will guide you down your path with easy-to-understand steps to accomplish your goals.
The comprehensive guide includes vital tips on how to:
Find inspiration for ideas
Create the perfect writing space and develop a writing routine
Write a novel, non-fiction book, or your life story
Find an agent and/or publishing house
Become an indie writer and self-publish at no cost
Promote and market your book
Write articles that sell and find freelance gigs on the Internet
Start, promote, and monetize a blog
Write travel articles and books
Pen poetry or write a play
Start a journal
For further inspiration, "The Next Chapter: Writing in Retirement" includes interviews with retirees who successfully took up writing in their golden years. They share a variety of viewpoints, share a practical and realistic portrayal of what it takes to get started in this industry, and explain how they overcame challenges.
Critique: Exceptionally well written and comprehensive, "The Next Chapter: Writing in Retirement" is thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation. This hardcover edition of "The Next Chapter: Writing in Retirement" by author Julie Gorges must be considered essential reading for anyone of any age who seeks to write and publish a novel, memoir, non-fiction book, or blog. It will prove invaluable to anyone who aspires to become a freelancer or travel writer, pen poetry, start journaling, and write a play as their encore career in retirement. While also available in a paperback edition (9780976327493, $17.99), "The Next Chapter: Writing in Retirement" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, Senior Citizen center, college and university library Writing/Publishing collections and Creative Writing Workshop curriculums/studies lists.
Editorial Note: Julie A. Gorges (https://juliegorges.com) is an international award-winning author and a member of the Authors Guild. Hundreds of her articles and short stories have been published in national and regional magazines including "Woman's World," "True Romance," and "Cricket." She received three journalism awards from the Washington Newspaper Association and her blog, "Baby Boomer Bliss," was recognized as one of the top 50 baby boomer blogs on the web.
The Health/Medicine Shelf
Well Being
Valentina Gaylord
Hay House, Inc.
www.hayhouse.com
9781401977375, $25.99, HC, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Well-Being-Autoimmune-Charting-Wellness/dp/1401977375
Synopsis: Being diagnosed with a chronic illness can be stressful, confusing, and scary -- especially when the path to healing seems to be nowhere in sight. Valentina Gaylord knows this firsthand because she has lived it. She survived a terrifying series of health challenges that started when she was stricken with Bell's Palsy and launched on a years-long journey to recover her health -- which, after exhausting every avenue that conventional medicine could offer, she finally did by turning within.
With the publication of "Well Being: A Story of Healing from Autoimmune Disease and a Guide to Charting Your Own Path to Wellness", Gaylord dissects the course of her own decline from exuberant wife, mother, and fitness entrepreneur to pain-riddled, exhausted, and desperate victim of disease. She details the dedicated and educated response she brought to her debilitating illnesses as she battled to restore her health. And as she tells her story, she invites you to chart your own path of healing in body, mind, and soul.
Drawing on her personal experience and intensive research as well as her work with clients in the boutique fitness studios she founded and owned for over ten years, Gaylord shares exercises and techniques that put mindset, emotional wellness, and spiritual awareness at the forefront of health. In each chapter, she offers thoughtful questions and carefully crafted journal prompts to help you:
Pay attention to your body and listen to its messages for you
Unravel the mysteries of your own health challenges
Start to write your own healing story
Find your way to true well being -- not just renewed vitality, but a new sense of fulfillment
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Well Being: A Story of Healing from Autoimmune Disease and a Guide to Charting Your Own Path to Wellness" by Valentina Gaylord is deftly laid out in five major sections: My Story and the Start of Yours; Mental Wellness; Emotional Wellness; Spiritual Wellness; and Physical Wellness. Ideal for the non-specialist general reader wanting an informative, effective, and 'reader friendly' guide to a positive personal transformation, this hardcover edition of "Well Being" from Hay House publishers is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Self-Help/Self-Improvement and Health/Well-Being collections. It should be noted for readers with an interest in dealing with an autoimmune disease that "Well Being" is also readily available for personal reading lists in a paperback edition (9781837823062, $18.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Valentina Gaylord (www.valentinagaylord.com) is a CEO, founder, entrepreneur, business owner, holistic health and wellness coach, fitness expert, allergy and asthma ambassador, advocate, mother, and author.
The Cookbook Shelf
Soul Kitchen
Wagamama
Kyle Books
c/o Octopus Books
https://www.octopusbooks.co.uk
9781804191453, $16.99, HC, 192pp
https://www.amazon.com/wagamama-Soul-Kitchen-Cooking-Recipes/dp/1804191450
Synopsis: "Soul Kitchen: The Art of Cooking and Eating in 70 Recipes" is the latest cookbook from the much-loved Asian restaurant brand and offers a culinary celebration of Wagamama's roots in southeast Asian cuisine.
IWith the publication of "Soul Kitchen", Wagamama invites you to join them as they travel through Japan, South Korea and Vietnam to reconnect with their origins. Wagamama At Home celebrates their affinity with Asian cuisine, as well as their place as pioneers in Britain's Asian food scene.
This odyssey through southeast Asia provides the inspiration for a collection of brand new recipes, bringing exciting new trends, essential techniques and delicious flavors to the wagamama repertoire. "Soul Kitchen" features over 50 recipes, including restaurant favorites as well as at least 20 new dishes gathered from wagamama's travels.
Alongside the recipes are to be found local food legends beloved by their communities, and whose tips and stories reveal the rich variety, culture and character behind the brand's iconic recipes.
As with all Wagamama's previous titles, the recipes are fresh, flavorsome and easy to make at home. There will also be a good number of vegetarian and vegan recipes, as well as easy recipe adaptions to make them even more accessible.
Critique: This large format (7.75 x 0.73 x 9.5 inches, 2.16 pounds) hardcover edition of "Soul Kitchen: The Art of Cooking and Eating in 70 Recipes" is profusely illustrated throughout with full page, full color photography in support of palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, authoritatively Asian dishes that are thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' to prepare. While also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99), "Soul Kitchen" from Kyle Books is a prime and recommended pick for personal, professional, and community library Asian/Japanese Cuisine cookbook collections.
Editorial Note: Wagamama (www.wagamama.com) since opening its first restaurant in 1992 has grown to become a much loved global brand. With its Japanese ethos of Kaizen meaning 'good change' and its recipes based on the principles of egalitarianism, balance and simplicity, Wagamama is a place where a bench, a bowl and fresh ingredients always provide a welcome.
Their previous books include The wagamama Cookbook (2005), wagamama Ways with Noodles (2006), wagamama Feed Your Soul (2019) and wagamama Your Way (2021).
Eat NYC: The Iconic Recipes that Feed the City
Yasmin Newman, author
Alan Benson, photographer
Smith Street Books
c/o Rizzoli
www.rizzoliusa.com
9781922754233, $45.00, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/EAT-NYC-Iconic-Recipes-that/dp/1922754234
Synopsis: With "EAT NYC: The Iconic Recipes that Feed the City" anyone can live their day like a true New Yorker with an everything bagel, chocolate babka, B.E.C. (bacon, egg, and cheese), or huevos rancheros for breakfast; then grab a smash burger, matzo ball soup, or Reuben sandwich for lunch; and as the sun goes down, pour themselves a Manhattan and indulge in pasta alla vodka, along with General Tso's chicken, or a New York cheesecake, or pizza by the slice deep into the night.
With 55 quintessential and iconic recipes from across the five boroughs, as well as stories from some of the city's best-loved eateries, including Levain Bakery, Tompkins Square Bagels, and Joe's Pizza, this combination of recipes with photography of finished dishes and scenes from New York eateries showcases a cuisine that treasured by locals and visitors alike.
Critique: This large format (8.94 x 1.26 x 11.29 inches, 1.25 pounds) edition of "EAT NYC: The Iconic Recipes that Feed the City" from Smith Street Books is an inspiring resource for planning memorable New York style menus for formal and informal dining occasions. A profusely illustrated and culinary joy to simply browse through again and again, "EAT NYC: The Iconic Recipes that Feed the City" is a very special and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, and community library Regional American Cookbook collections.
Editorial Note #1: Yasmin Newman (www.yasminnewman.com) is a food and travel writer, photographer, and TV presenter, as well as the author of three critically acclaimed cookbooks. Born to a Filipino mother and Australian father, Yasmin lives with her young family on the Central Coast of Australia, just north of Sydney, and travels regularly to New York, where her brother resides.
Editorial Note #2: Alan Benson (https://alanbenson.com) is someone whose love of good food and travel shines through everything he does as a professional photographer. Over the past decade and a half, the former London chef has been creating a stunning body of work. Alan's images have appeared in countless magazines and books.
The Hungry Ghost Bread Book
Jonathan Stevens
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
www.chelseagreen.com
9781645022602, $24.95, PB, 208pp
https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Ghost-Bread-Book-Flatbreads/dp/1645022609
Synopsis: What does it mean to take on the practice of bread? Jonathan Stevens, co-owner of Hungry Ghost Bread in Northampton, Massachusetts, has pondered this question over thirty years of baking sourdough bread. Baking is a ritual that demands attention, physical proximity, close observation, and continual adjustment. It begets sustenance, fosters community, and connects us with a 10,000-year-old craft.
"The Hungry Ghost Bread Book: An Offbeat Bakery's Guide to Crafting Sourdough Loaves, Flatbreads, Crackers, Scones, and More" is a culinary window into one baker's artisan approach to sourdough bread -- the culmination of his time in the tide of dough.
Sourdough, declares Stevens, is not a style of bread. It is bread. The sourdough starter (the microbial community used to inoculate bread dough) transforms flour into something truly digestible by humans, unlocking the nutrients that are otherwise inaccessible. Stevens's unique approach to working with sourdough can be summed up by three tenets, each of which begins with "more." More hydration, more fermentation, and more heat in the oven.
Inside the pages comprising "The Hungry Ghost Bread Book" you wull find tools, techniques, insights, short-cuts, ingredients, warnings, and a handful of haikus. You will also find instructions for creating and nurturing your own sourdough starter, as well as formulas for a variety of loaves, flatbreads, crackers, folds, scones, bagels, and more, including:
Eight-Grain Bread
Fig & Sage Bread
Potato-Thyme Fougasse
Sesame-Spelt Crackers
Rosemary Walnut Scones
The results are quite fantastic: bread that bites back, heels worth chewing on, and scraps worth toasting!
Critique: Exceptionally well written and thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' in organization and presentation, "The Hungry Ghost Bread Book: An Offbeat Bakery's Guide to Crafting Sourdough Loaves, Flatbreads, Crackers, Scones, and More" is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, family, and community library cookbook shelves in general, and bread baking cookbook collections in particular. It should be noted that "The Hungry Ghost Bread Book" from Chelsea Green Publishing is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $24.95).
Editorial Note: Jonathan Stevens is co-owner of Hungry Ghost Bread in Northampton, MA, nominated six times for the James Beard Awards. His bread has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Saveur, and Taste, among other publications. He has taught baking workshops throughout New England and is ready to sit on your kitchen countertop. He's also a poet, songwriter, and inveterate cyclist. Previous jobs have included: window washing, rough carpentry, housing advocacy, traditional Inuit medicine research, and merchant marine deckhand in the Gulf of Mexico. His songs can be found on Spotify, and the poems are slipped into bread bags at work. He lives on the edge of Conway State Forest with his partner, Cheryl Maffie, and a sharp bread knife.
Chile, Clove, and Cardamom
Beth Dooley & Gary Paul Nabhan
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
www.chelseagreen.com
9781645022459, $34.95, PB, 208pp
https://www.amazon.com/Chile-Clove-Cardamom-Gastronomic-Fragrances/dp/1645022455
Synopsis: Co-authored by Beth Dooley and Gary Paul Nabhan, "Chile, Clove, and Cardamom: A Gastronomic Journey Into the Fragrances and Flavors of Desert Cuisines" is a culinary celebration of the fragrances and flavors of sun-drenched cuisines. Throughout compendium of recipes Dooley and Nabhan have collaborated to reveal surprising patterns and principles among varied recipes of traditional desert cultures, bringing to life the places, dishes, and recipes that have been shaped by heat and drought and infused with bold flavors.
Steeped in history and memory, and showcases 90+ elegant recipes "Chile, Clove, and Cardamom" is also a beautifully photographed, in-depth guide to the essential spice blends that will help you build your own aromatic pantry, drawing on a variety of easy-to-follow cooking methods for planning your own desert meals.
Critique: The palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, kitchen cook friendly recipes includes:
Main Dishes: Sticky Lamb Ribs, Spicy Orange Chicken, Roast Chicken with Tarragon and Capers, Stuffed Mexican Peppers in Yogurt Walnut Sauce, and Lamb Kebabs with Moroccan Spices and Pomegranate Molasses Glaze)
Light Fare and Small Plates: Squash Blossom Fritters, Sonoran Flat Enchiladas, and Eggplant Fries with Desert Syrup.
Dips and Sauces: Sonoran Tepary Dip, Fire Roasted Eggplant Tahini Dip, Aromatic Red Pepper Sauce, and Fig and Pomegranate Jam.
Breads: Pocket Flat Breads, Pan de Semita, and Blue Corn Bread.
Soups and Stews: Tunisian Chickpea Stew, White Bean Chili, and Watermelon and Cactus
Fruit Gazpacho.
Salads: Desert Succotash, Za'atar-Roasted Cauliflower, and Tangerine and Radish Salad.
Drinks and Desserts: Pineapple Sotol Margarita, Canary Islands Pastries, and Phyllo Nut Pinwheels.
Critique; Beautifully (and inspiringly) illustrated throughout with full color photos of finished dishes, "Chile, Clove, and Cardamom: A Gastronomic Journey Into the Fragrances and Flavors of Desert Cuisines" is a welcome and ideal addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that this paperback edition of "Chile, Clove, and Cardamom" from Chelsea Green Publishing is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $33.20) as well.
Editorial Note #1: Beth Dooley (www.bethdooleyskitchen.com) has written several award-winning cookbooks. Her book The Perennial Kitchen offered "simple recipes for a healthy future" in the face of climate change, and her book The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen, coauthored with Sean Sherman, was recognized as the Best American Cookbook in 2018 by the James Beard Foundation. She is regarded as a beloved weekly columnist of food and travel for the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, and she regularly appears on Minnesota Public Radio.
Editorial Note #2: Gary Paul Nabhan (www.garynabhan.com) is an internationally celebrated nature writer, food and farming activist, and proponent of conserving the links between biodiversity and cultural diversity. He holds the W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Arizona Southwest Center, where he works with students, faculty, and non-profits to build a more just, nutritious, sustainable, and climate-resilient foodshed spanning the US/Mexico border. He's also the author of numerous books, including Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier Land, Renewing America's Food Traditions, and Chasing Chiles.
The Bacon, Butter, Bourbon and Chocolate Cookbook
Bruno Feldeisen, author
Henry Wu, photographer
Whitecap Books
c/o Fitzhenry & Whiteside
www.fitzhenry.ca
9781770503335, $34.95, PB, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Butter-Whisky-Bacon-Chocolate-Feldeisen/dp/1770503331
Synopsis: In his new cookbook, "The Bacon, Butter, Bourbon and Chocolate Cookbook: Chef Bruno's Favourite Ingredients, Chef Bruno Feldeisen focuses on four distinct ingredients to create some of his favorite recipes. Each one of these ingredients is remarkable on its own and together they produce a range of tastes and experiences that all food-lovers are greedy for -- salty, sweet, silky, chewy.
The DIY recipes comprising "The Bacon, Butter, Bourbon and Chocolate Cookbook: Chef Bruno's Favourite Ingredients" include: Bacon and Salmon Roe Deviled Eggs; Bacon Cheddar Scones; Bacon and Goat Cheese Risotto; Basil and Sundried Tomato Butter; Very Buttery Brioche; Butter and Soy-Glazed Brussels Sprouts; Bourbon Garlic Glazed Yams; Pork Belly with Bourbon Honey Glaze; Warm Peach and Bourbon Cobbler; Cocoa and Molasses Baby Back Ribs; Double Chocolate Whoopie Pies; Chocolate Espresso Eclairs and more!
Critique: Beautifully illustrated throughout with full page, full color, mouth watering photographs of finished dishes, all the recipes showcased in the pages of "The Bacon, Butter, Bourbon and Chocolate Cookbook: Chef Bruno's Favourite Ingredients" are impressively 'kitchen cook friendly', making it a very special and unreservedly recommended and welcome pick for family, personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections.
Editorial Note: Bruno Feldeisen has worked at Le Louis XV (Monaco), Patina Restaurant in Los Angeles, and in the kitchens of Four Seasons hotels throughout North America. Currently he splits his time between being Executive Chef at the Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine Washington, and a judge on CBC's Great Canadian Baking Show. Bruno Feldeisen lives in British Columbia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Feldeisen)
The Business Shelf
The 5% Rule of Leadership
Anil K. Singhal
Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
www.wiley.com
9781394285136, $28.00, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Rule-Leadership-Decision-Making-Ownership-Productivity/dp/1394285132
Synopsis: With the publication of "The 5% Rule of Leadership: Using Lean Decision-Making to Drive Trust, Ownership, and Team Productivity", veteran technology leader and executive Anil Singhal delivers a transformative approach to project management and company leadership. He explains how to focus your efforts on the first, critical stages of any project or initiative to multiply your results and efficacy, delegating the rest to their capable team.
Essentially, "The 5% Rule of Leadership" is a DIY blueprint for building resilient organizations, departments, teams, and projects that can withstand today's unpredictable and volatile environment. You will learn to avoid micromanagement and maintain your focus on the big, strategic picture, while a well-managed team brings you the results you need.
"The 5% Rule of Leadership" also covers: Strategies for determining how to properly set priorities and satisfy employees, customers, and shareholders; Techniques for building trust amongst your workforce, your leadership, and other stakeholders; Myth-busting advice that blows up misleading and counterproductive habits held by businesspeople and leaders around the world.
Critique: Exceptionally 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "The 5% Rule of Leadership: Using Lean Decision-Making to Drive Trust, Ownership, and Team Productivity" is essential reading for business managers, corporate directors, executives, and board members, as well as indepdent entrepreneurs, small business founders, and other business leaders. A brilliantly presented combination of instruction guide and 'how to' manual, "The 5% Rule of Leadership" is an invaluable addition to personal, professional, community, corporate, and college/university library Business Management/Leadership collections and supplemental MBA curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, professional and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The 5% Rule of Leadership" is also readily available from Wiley in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.00) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Publishing, 9798228297333, $39.99, CD).
Editorial Note: Anil K. Singhal is co-founder, chief executive officer, and director of NetScout, a software developer that makes products to help customers monitor the reliability and security of their business networks. He provides strategic leadership, vision, operational priorities, and engagement and succession planning for the company's management team.
Disrupt With Impact: Achieve Business Success in an Unpredictable World
Roger Spitz
Kogan Page Inc.
www.koganpage.com
9781398616905, $92.00, HC, 376pp
https://www.amazon.com/Disrupt-Impact-Achieve-Business-Unpredictable/dp/1398616907
Synopsis: With the publication of "Disrupt With Impact: Achieve Business Success in an Unpredictable World", author and futurist Roger Spitz has written the ultimate guide to thriving in today's complex business landscapes. He offers strategies that will allow you to navigate uncertainty and change through strategic decision-making.
Covering major challenges such as sustainability, AI, geopolitics and cybersecurity, "Disrupt With Impact" is an entrepreneur or corporate executive's compass for exploring the uncharted waters of the future. These paradigm shifts will redistribute trillions of dollars, presenting opportunities for immense value creation, while those clinging to business as usual face growing risks of value destruction.
Through fascinating research and original frameworks, "Disrupt With Impact" offers the knowledge and confidence you need to lead your business through the inevitabilities of disruption.
Critique: Enhanced throughout for the reader's benefit with numerous tables and figures, "Disrupt With Impact: Achieve Business Success in an Unpredictable World" offers a complete course of instruction in business management, leadership, strategy, competition, and motivation. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Disrupt With Impact" is an extraordinary and recommended addition to personal, professional, community, corporate, and college/university library Business Management collections and supplemental MBA curriculum reading lists. It should be noted for MBA students, academia, corporate executives and entrepreneurs that "Disrupt With Impact" is also available from Kogan Page in a paperback edition (9781398616882, $26.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $20.79).
Editorial Note: Roger Spitz (www.techistential.ai/rogerspitz) is a renowned futurist, author, and President of Techistential -- a futures intelligence practice. He also chairs the Disruptive Futures Institute, a global education hub empowering leaders for transformative change. A world-leading authority on strategic foresight and systems innovations, Spitz is an expert advisor to the World Economic Forum's Global Foresight Network.
The Learning and Development Handbook, 2nd Edition
Michelle Parry-Slater
Kogan Page Inc.
www.koganpage.com
9781398617940, $134.00, HC, 384pp
https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Development-Handbook-Practitioners-Toolkit/dp/1398617946
Synopsis: Workplace learning works best when it is collaborative, accessible and immediate. This newly expanded and updated second edition of "The Learning and Development Handbook: A Learning Practitioner's Toolkit" is a practical guide for L&D professionals who recognize this and want to move away from only offering a traditional classroom towards a holistic organizational approach, but are not sure where to start.
This newly updated second edition of "The Learning and Development Handbook" includes a new framework for L&D consulting with advice on how to embed social and digital learning, artificial intelligence, blending learning and how to design more effective, efficient, engaging and enjoyable learning within your organization for improved employee experience and performance.
"The Learning and Development Handbook" also provides guidance on identifying learning needs in an organization, gathering evidence to engage stakeholders, evaluate and measure the effectiveness of learning and align L&D strategy with the overall business strategy.
Packed from cover to cover with tips, advice, hints, tools and frameworks to improve both individual and overall business results in the immediate, middle- and long-term future, and written by an L&D practitioner for L&D practitioners, "The Learning and Development Handbook" is essential reading for anyone in the people and learning profession.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Learning and Development Handbook: A Learning Practitioner's Toolkit: 2nd Edition" by Michelle Parry-Slater will prove to be of special and enduring value to MBA students and corporate executives with an interest in the subjects of business based and organizational learning, human resource and personnel management, and occupational/organizational psychology. It should be noted that while this hardcover edition of "The Learning and Development Handbook: A Learning Practitioner's Toolkit: 2nd Edition" from Kogan Page is highly recommended for personal, professional, corporate, and college/university library Business Management collections, it is also available in a paperback edition (9781398617926, $41.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $39.89).
Editorial Note: Michelle Parry-Slater (www.kairosmodernlearning.com) is an award-winning L&OD professional with more than 20 years' experience in the industry. She is the Founder and Director of Kairos Modern Learning, an L&D consultancy specializing in driving a shift from traditional courses to embrace the best of digital, social and face-to-face workplace learning. Working with clients such as the CIPD, Co-op, Shelter, the Charity Learning Consortium and Garden Vets at Keele, Michelle was also the Lead Volunteer for L&D at Girlguiding UK for over five years. She was listed as one of the Top 20 Corporate eLearning Movers and Shakers of 2018 by eLearning Industry and named by HR Magazine as one of the most influential HR thinkers in 2023. Michelle is also the host of 'Learning From The Edges' podcast, looking at friction in work and how to overcome it.
The Revenue Operations Manual
Sean Lane & Laura Adint
Kogan Page Inc.
www.koganpage.com
9781398616783, $134.00, HC, 344pp
https://www.amazon.com/Revenue-Operations-Manual-High-Growth-Predictable/dp/1398616788
Synopsis: Co-authored by Sean Lane and Laura Adint, "The Revenue Operations Manual: How to Build a High-Growth, Predictable and Scalable Business" takes the reader through every aspect of this evolving function, whether that's understanding what exactly it is, or how to effectively build a team, technology and partnerships to ensure that go-to-market strategies support business goals and revenue growth.
Using case studies, examples of best practices (and of what not to do), "The Revenue Operations Manual" offers expertise and interviews from world-class operators and provides a blueprint on the mindset required to build and scale this critical business function. Understand the value that Revenue Operations can bring to your business, the right time to invest in it, and how to maximize the outcomes this team can drive.
Critique: Of special and particular interest to entrepreneurs, business managers, and corporate executives with an interest in industrial marketing, production, operations, and sales/selling, "The Revenue Operations Manual: How to Build a High-Growth, Predictable and Scalable Business" is an ideal and comprehensive study that is comprehensive in scope and particularly 'reader friendly in organization and presentation. Also available from Kogan Page in a paperback edition (9781398616769, $38.99), in a spiral bound edition ($59.99) and in a digital book (Kindle, $36.09), "The Revenue Operations Manual" is a solid and recommended pick for personal, professional, corporate, and college/university library Business Management collections and supplemental MBA curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Laura Adint is currently a partner and operations executive for a financial services company in Los Gatos, CA. With over 25 years of experience, her prior roles included Vice President of Field Operations at Drift, and Vice President of Sales and Services Operations at Adaptive Insights (a Workday company).
Editorial Note #2: Sean Lane is a Founding Partner at BeaconGTM, host of the "Operations with Sean Lane" podcast, and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. He has spent more than a decade building Revenue Operations teams at fast-growing B2B software companies, including Drift and Upserve.
Triple Fit Strategy
Christoph Senn, author
Mehak Gandhi, author
Harvard Business Review Press
http://hbr.org/books
9781647827144, $35.00, HC, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Triple-Fit-Strategy-Customer-Relationships/dp/1647827140
Synopsis: Business relationships are still dominated by a narrow perspective -- trying to match products to customer needs and making deals. It's a buyer-seller relationship built on a transactional mindset, and in this modern era it's not how you should be doing business.
There's a better way (orchestrating growth) in which suppliers and customers collaborate to build strategies and grow together. With clarity and precision, with "Triple Fit Strategy: How to Build Lasting Customer Relationships and Boost Growth", co-authors Christoph Senn and Mehak Gandhi lay out the Triple Fit Strategy framework, which will help you escape the product-centric mindset and put customers at the heart of your business strategy.
Based on a hands-on tool set, Triple Fit ensures that customer and supplier are aligned across three areas: planning, execution, and resources. The Triple Fit canvas, a diagnostic and action framework, provides a systematic approach that every account manager and sales team can use to boost business results. Companies who use it can contribute ten times more to their customers' success and can double account values in less than three years.
What's more, the Triple Fit Strategy helps sales and business leaders better understand the health of their customer relationships and allocate resources for faster breakthroughs. It's a proven approach that Senn and Gandhi have implemented with hundreds of companies over twenty-five years and validated with data from more than ten thousand cases.
Triple Fit Strategy is a breakthrough approach to strategy and sales, with the power to transform businesses. Your journey to becoming a value creator starts here.
Critique: With the new Trump administration in office, the next several years will be one of extreme volatility for local, regional, national, and international businesses. This will make the new Triple Fit Strategy even more needed in order to weather the coming economic and business uncertainties. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented so as to be of maximum benefit for entrepreneurs, business managers, corporate executives, and governmental policy makers. "Triple Fit Strategy: How to Build Lasting Customer Relationships and Boost Growth" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, corporate, and college/university library Business Management & Strategic Planning collections and supplemental MBA curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for MBA students, academia, professional and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Triple Fit Strategy: How to Build Lasting Customer Relationships and Boost Growth" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.24) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Publishing, 9798228331723, $39.99, CD).
Editorial Note #1: It should be noted that the Triple Fit Strategy website is located at www.triplefitstrategy.com.
Editorial Note #2: Christoph Senn is an adjunct professor of marketing and codirector of the Marketing and Sales Excellence Initiative (MSEI) at INSEAD. He is also the founder and CEO of Valuecreator, a global provider of B2B growth tools and programs.
Editorial Note #3: Mehak Gandhi is head of research and training at Valuecreator, where she designs and implements B2B growth-accelerator programs and next-generation sales organization strategies for companies around the globe and across industries.
The General Fiction Shelf
Nobody's Perfect
Sally Kilpatrick
www.sallykilpatrick.com
Montlake
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662525810, $16.99, PB, 336pp
https://www.amazon.com/Nobodys-Perfect-Sally-Kilpatrick/dp/1662525818
Synopsis: Vivian Quackenbush enjoys a typical life. She has winesday evenings with her two best friends. Her son is in college. She and her husband, Mitch, are planning the next move for their empty-nester future. But to Vivian's blindsided surprise... not together.
After nearly twenty-five years of marriage, Mitch wants a divorce. He confesses that he doesn't love her anymore. He never even liked her chicken salad! -- Brutal.
What is Vivian to do but channel her anger, frustration, and pain into a video she posts online. Ill advised? Perhaps. Cathartic? Absolutely. Overnight, Vivian goes viral. Millions of views and counting -- to Mitch's fury, her son's embarrassment, her mother's support, and the media's delight. For Vivian, it's a moment of truth: hide or lean into it. Vivian 2.0 chooses to lean -- maybe even toward the younger single father next door.
Now Vivian is wondering where she goes from here. She's discovering that somewhere in her trending if upended life, she'll have to figure out who she really wants to be.
Critique: Of special and particular interest to fans of Contemporary Romance & Women's Fiction novels, "Nobody's Perfect" by author/storyteller Sally Kilpatrick is a deftly scripted and original story that will hold the reader's fascinated attention from first page to last. An extraordinary and highly recommended pick for community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that this paperback edition of "Nobody's Perfect" from Montlake is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $1.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Sally Kilpatrick (www.sallykilpatrick.com) is the author of seven novels and counting. She has won multiple awards, including the 2018 and 2019 Georgia Author of the Year.
The Space Between Secrets
Sheri Langer
Red Adept Publishing
https://redadeptpublishing.com
9781958231531, $14.99, PB, 328pp
https://www.amazon.com/Space-between-Secrets-Sheri-Langer/dp/1958231533
Synopsis: In her forties and desperately yearning to be a mother, Rachel Sutton is devastated each month by a negative pregnancy test. Her marriage is on the rocks, but she believes a child will fill the hole in her heart. Life seems bitterly unfair until Rachel is presented with an opportunity to adopt a baby overseas.
Though her husband balks at the idea, Rachel is determined. When he goes away on business, she decides to head to London on her own to get the child. However, the adoption falls through, and Rachel extends her trip to avoid going home. After making friends with Rena, a young British woman, Rachel impulsively offers to have Rena and her baby stay at her home back in the States for a few months.
When tragedy strikes, Rachel makes a decision that will have far-reaching consequences. As she works to avoid being discovered, she realizes that everyone she knows is hiding something. Rachel must unravel the truth and forge a new path to a future she never imagined.
Critique: Original, deftly crafted, and an inherently, emotionally engaging read from start to finish, "The Space Between Secrets" by novelist Sheri Langer will hold immense appeal with readers of contemporary women's fiction. A carefully woven plot with a full measure of unexpected twists and turns, as an author Sheri Langer has created a novel that rises to an impressive level of literary excellence. While also readily available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99), this paperback edition of "The Space Between Secrets" from Red Adept Publishing is especially and unreservedly recommended for community/public library Contemporary Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Sheri Langer is the pen name of Sheri Lynn Fishbach, who is a New York-based freelance writer and editor who has contributed to local, regional, and national publications including Gannett's the Journal News, the Jewish Reporter, Steppin' Out, Psychology Tomorrow Magazine, and the New York Times network of newspapers. Sheri holds a Bachelor's Degree in History from SUNY Binghamton, a Master's Degree in English Education from Brooklyn College, and has taken post-graduate classes in Screenwriting, Playwriting, Poetry, Stand-Up Comedy, Improvisation, and Commercial Acting. A Meisner-trained actress, she brought her passion for the stage to elementary school children as part of a theater workshop she created. She also produced a community-based Jewish cookbook, No Reservations, which was sold locally. (https://screenluvr2.wixsite.com/sheri)
Are You Free? Till Death Do Us Part?
Carol DeChant
https://caroldechant.com
Austin Macauley Publishers
https://www.austinmacauley.com
9798889104827, $13.95, PB, 182pp
https://www.amazon.com/Are-You-Free-Till-Death/dp/B0D5TSF3NV
Synopsis: The Morettis are a Sarasota family of Cafeteria Catholics, (rejecting some Vatican doctrines - mainly pelvic issue ones). Widower Dante goes to his first Confession in decades. He confesses gossip: telling his two daughters of his brother Nick's fling with the caterer for his wedding vow renewal with Nick's then-wife Rosemary. An unusual Penance surprises Dante. Tantrums of Nick's ex-wife Rosemary impact events. Dante wants another good woman to love, but dating yields only stories that amuse his girls.
Dante's gossip is repeated, changing with each teller. Floridians talk about freedom (yet yearn to mate). An undreamt-of source for finding love and fulfilling Dante's Penance offers challenge and hope. Her name is Abigail.
Soon they're doing everything in a pandemic. How could anything go right?
Are You Free? offers a witty rumination on family, religion, and the search for love in many forms - grief, longing, regret, surprise.
Critique: All the more impressive when considering that "Are You Free? Till Death Do Us Part?" is author Carol DeChant's debut as a novelist, this original and deftly crafted combination of romantic comedy and eccentricities of family life is a fun and interesting read from start to finish. The storytelling talents of the author raises "Are You Free? Till Death Do Us Part?" to an impressive level of literary elegance and is an unreservedly recommended pick for community library Contemporary General Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this paperback edition of "Are You Free? Till Death Do Us Part?" from Austin Macauley Publishers is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.50).
Editorial Note: Carol DeChant (www.caroldechant.com) has published in Chicago's Tribune and Sun Times, and the Miami Herald. Her non-fiction books include Momma's Enchanted Supper and Fifty Great American Catholic Eulogies. The latter won First Place in the Independent Book Publishers Association's Audio Book of the Year contest. Are You Free is her first novel.
The Historical Fiction Shelf
Treasures of Egypt: The Spear & the Scythe
Amr Saleh
Our Street Books
c/o Collective Ink Books
https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com
9781803416007, $21.95, PB, 400pp
https://www.amazon.com/Treasures-Egypt-Scythe-Amr-Saleh/dp/1803416009
Synopsis: What would one do for love? What would one do for Egypt?
Desperation drives Nefiri Minu, apprentice to the Grand Vizier, to save her little brother by seeking Khafset, a young thief from the persecuted people of Hyksos. But his price to help heal her sick brother is to steal a divine spear from Ra's temple. However, by touching the spear, Nefiri unwittingly unleashes Set, the shackled God of Destruction, and starts a chain of events that threatens to plunge Egypt into chaos.
To avert disaster, they are forced to navigate the realm of the gods and the dead, and face off against mythological creatures in a dangerous adventure Khafset insists on calling "The Grand Heist." Can this unlikely pair learn to trust each other? Will that trust turn their forced partnership into something more?
On an adventure packed with secrets, hidden agendas, not to mention Gods and monsters, will Nefiri and Khafset succeed in their mission to save Egypt or will the very prejudices that have shaped their world threaten to tear them apart?
Critique: A deftly crafted work of historical fantasy fiction set in ancient Egypt, "Treasures of Egypt: The Spear & the Scythe" by Amr Saleh is a riveting read from first page to last, and will appeal to readers of all ages. Of particular interest fans of fantasy, romance, and adventure, "Treasures of Egypt: The Spear & the Scythe" is an especially recommended pick for personal, highschool, and community library Teen & Young Adult history fiction and fantasy collections. It should be noted that this paperback edition of "Treasures of Egypt: The Spear & the Scythe" from Our Street Books is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.99).
Editorial Note: Amr Saleh (www.amrsalehduat.com) is an Egyptian-German author based in the vibrant city of Munich, Germany. He was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt, a city teeming with tales of ancient wonders. He has always had a passion for storytelling, and this passion is fuelled by his hobbies, which include writing, diving into captivating stories in all their forms, traveling, and learning about geography and history.
The Literary Fiction Shelf
Something Better
Diane Parrish
www.dianeparrish.com
Meridian Editions
https://www.meridianeditions.com
9781959170143, $32.95, HC, 314pp
https://www.amazon.com/Something-Better-Diane-Parrish/dp/1959170147
Synopsis: The bubble in which Ruth and David live their tidy suburban lives is about to burst. A tragic automobile accident shatters their insular world and sends David into an emotional tailspin. An unexpected job opportunity sends Ruth to the West Coast, waylaying her desire to become a mother and making her increasingly unavailable for David's needs.
Thrown off balance and alone, David develops a fixation on Annabeth Brady, the daughter of the friends lost that fateful night. As he and Ruth drift further apart, each must decide if they will remain true to their vows, or what it might mean to search for something better.
Critique: A novel raised to an impressive level of literary elegance, it is all the more impressive to note that "Something Better' is the debut effort of novelist Diane Parrish. Deftly incorporating thoughtful and thought-provoking elements of forgiveness and faith, "Something Better" is a truly memorable read from start to finish. While especially recommended for community and public library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists for those with an interest in family and women's domestic life that "Something Better" is also readily available from Meridian Editions in a paperback edition (9781959170136, $19.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $2.99).
Editorial Note: Diane Parrish (www.dianeparrish.com) is originally from the Midwest and now lives with her husband and their elderly Corgi in Connecticut, where they raised their two children. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in various literary journals and magazines.
The Romantic Fiction Shelf
Eight Nights to Win Her Heart
Miri White
https://miri-white.com
Alcove Press
www.alcovepress.com
9781639108923, $31.99, HC, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Eight-Nights-Win-Her-Heart/dp/1639108920
Synopsis: Andie Williams is not looking forward to spending her first Chanukah alone after her father's death. About to lose her job, with her only prospect across the country for another work opportunity, she could use some chutzpah to make it through the eight nights alone.
Leo Dentz has had a crush on the girl across the hall from his apartment for years but has never had the courage to say anything -- until she drops her grocery bags and he notices her drug store Chanukah candles. Ready to take a chance outside of his comfort zone, Leo offers to join Andie on the first night, sharing his dinner with her.
As Andie and Leo fall for each other one night at a time, and the clock ticks down on Andie's move, will this season of miracles light their way forward?
Critique: "Eight Nights to Win Her Heart" by author Miri White has all the elements of a Hallmark Channel rom-com movie. All the more impressive when considering that "Eight Nights to Win Her Heart" is Miri White's debut as a novelist, she has created an original, deftly crafted, and memorably fun read from start to finish -- and one that is a 'must' for community library Contemporary Romance Fiction collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated rom-com fans that "Eight Nights to Win Her Heart" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Miri White (https://miri-white.com) and her quirky family live in Massachusetts in a home filled with games, sarcasm, and a hefty amount of pets. When not writing, she can be found trapped under a purring cat, drinking copious amounts of flavored coffee, and hoping her music-making teenager will compose something to go along with her books -- no such luck yet. Writing has always been a passion for her, and bringing underrepresented characters into the spotlight is a thrill.
I Do With You
Lauren Landish
www.laurenlandish.com
Montlake
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662524509, $16.99, PB, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/I-Do-You-Maple-Creek/dp/1662524501
Synopsis: Hope Barlowe is a vow away from a lakeside wedding to her high school sweetheart. Next, check off her follow-up dreams: two kids, a dog, a home, and a happy ever after. But suddenly, ever after seems like a very long time. Instead of saying I do, Hope thinks I can't and bolts for the woods - right into the unpredictable life of a handsome tattooed hiker.
Days into a three-week getaway, struggling musician Ben Taylor is in search of inspiration. He never thought he'd find a bride stumbling through the bramble. Right away her sweet baby blues, confounding dilemma, and spirited independence strike a chord. Ben has found his muse, and he's falling fast. Hope is finding something just as important - herself.
Soon enough Hope and Ben have all of Maple Creek talking -- and divided. Where do they go from here? If Hope has learned anything, it's that happiness is more than a checklist, and dreams can change in a heartbeat.
Critique: Some authors just seem to have a natural knack for penning original stories of romance with all the highs and lows and ultimately happy endings that make the genre so popular. With the publication of "I Do With You", author Lauren Landish demonstrates herself to be just such a novelist. A fun read from cover to cover, "I Do With You" is a solid pick for community library Contemporary Romance collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated romance fans that this paperback edition of "I Do With You" from Montlake is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Lauren Landish (www.laurenlandish.com) is the author of The Wrong Guy and The Wrong Bridesmaid in the Cold Springs series, the Irresistible Bachelor series, and Racing Hearts and Riding Hard in the Bennett Boys Ranch books. When she's not plotting how she'll introduce you to your next sexy-as-hell hero, you can find her deep in her writing cave, furiously tapping away on her keyboard, writing scenes that would make even a hardened sailor blush.
Love Lines
Sheri Langer
Red Adept Publishing
https://redadeptpublishing.com
9781948051309, $14.99, PB, 344pp
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Lines-Sheri-Langer/dp/1948051303
Synopsis: What if you could find the love of your life just by reading between the lines?
Single mom Fordham Price is juggling her job at a small publisher, her precocious ten-year-old daughter, and her feisty mother. She wants to find time for men, but after a series of dating disasters, her relationship status is still stuck at single.
As if her macchiato lite wasn't already overflowing, a co-worker gets pregnant, and Fordham is expected to step in and deliver the company's latest reality read from the Flowers from the Heart series. She must now supplement her own romantic misadventures with tales of cynical cat-ladies, identical-twin husbands, spunky monks, and countless other web-crawlers.
As she wades through the submissions, she finds one from a widower whose story gives her tingles in all the places she forgot existed. His words draw her in until she finds herself daydreaming about him more than she'd care to admit. Could she have a love like that, or will her romantic fate be forever bound to her philandering ex-husband?
Critique: Once again, with the publication of "Love Lines", author and novelist Sheri Langer demonstrates her master of the genre called Contemporary Romance. This is the stuff from which Hallmark Channel movies are made. Fully engaging, entertaining, and original, "Love Lines" is one of those novels that will linger in the mind and memory long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf. While especially recommended and appropriate for community library Romance Fiction collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated romance fans that "Love Lines" is also readily available from Red Adept Publishing in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).
Editorial Note: Sheri Langer is the pen name of Sheri Lynn Fishbach, who is a New York-based freelance writer and editor who has contributed to local, regional, and national publications including Gannett's the Journal News, the Jewish Reporter, Steppin' Out, Psychology Tomorrow Magazine, and the New York Times network of newspapers. Sheri holds a Bachelor's Degree in History from SUNY Binghamton, a Master's Degree in English Education from Brooklyn College, and has taken post-graduate classes in Screenwriting, Playwriting, Poetry, Stand-Up Comedy, Improvisation, and Commercial Acting. A Meisner-trained actress, she brought her passion for the stage to elementary school children as part of a theater workshop she created. She also produced a community-based Jewish cookbook, No Reservations, which was sold locally. (https://screenluvr2.wixsite.com/sheri)
The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Victor & Me in Paris
Janice MacDonald
https://janicemacdonald.ca
Turnstone Press
https://www.turnstonepress.com
9780888017925, $23.95, PB, 344pp
https://www.amazon.com/Victor-Paris-Imogene-Durant-Mysteries/dp/0888017928
Synopsis: When retired academic Imogene Durant finds herself in Paris with Victor Hugo as her guide, a series of disturbing discoveries are made in local hotels. While Imogene hopes to settle in, read, and write a follow up to her acclaimed book, "Fyodor & Me in Russia", she's drawn into the mystery by her new friend and neighbour, the police detective assigned to the case.
Critique: An original and fun read from start to finish, "Victor & Me in Paris" by novelist Janice MacDonald is a deftly crafted cozy mystery starring an amateur female sleuth and the French literary icon, Victor Hugo. Launching the author's 'Imogene Durant Mystery Series', this paperback edition of "Victor & Me in Paris is especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated cozy mystery buffs that "Victor & Me in Paris" is also readily available from Turnstone Press in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Janice MacDonald (https://janicemacdonald.ca) is a Canadian author of mystery novels, textbooks, non-fiction titles, and stories for both children and adults. She is best known for writing seven novels featuring amateur sleuth Miranda "Randy" Craig. The Randy Craig Mysteries were the first detective series to be set in Edmonton, Alberta, where Janice lives and works.
Death at an Irish Wedding
Ellie Brannigan
Crooked Lane Books
www.crookedlanebooks.com
9781639109210, $29.99, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Death-Irish-Wedding-Castle-Mystery/dp/1639109218
Synopsis: Rayne McGrath's efforts to save the rundown family castle she inherited were an epic failure after she accidentally set fire to the tower and tanked the budget. Is the castle haunted, or is she just unlucky? Meanwhile, her cousin, Ciara Smith, is anxiously booking their joint calendar with special events in the hopes of bringing the property around before they lose everything.
When a bridalwear client from LA asks Rayne for help as her guest list spirals out of control, Rayne nabs the answer to her prayers. McGrath Castle is the perfect destination for the exclusive and intimate wedding party of heiress Tori Montgomery and her fiance, heartthrob actor Jake Anderson. But this white veil occasion turns into a nightmare when Tori's best friend's assistant, Tiffany Quick, is found dead.
It's feared Tiffany jumped from the tower, but that theory is quickly put in doubt as secrets within the wedding party come to light. And as the villagers protest this new wedding venue venture, Rayne begins to wonder if she will succeed in her endeavor or lose it all.
Critique: A deftly crafted and original cozy mystery with all the trimmings (amateur female sleuth, a body, and a wedding to put on in an old Irish castle), "Death at an Irish Wedding" by author and storyteller Ellie Brannigan is a fun read from cover to cover. While also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99), "Death at an Irish Wedding" from Crooked Lane Books will prove an immediately welcome and enduringly popular pick for personal reading lists and community library Mystery/Suspense collections!
Editorial Note: Ellie Brannigan has lived in South Florida for the last twenty years. She loves the ocean and any food dish with shrimp. When she's not creating new fictional worlds, she reads, and travels... and eats. (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22541174.Ellie_Brannigan)
Best House on the Block
T. R. Ragan
www.theresaragan.com
Thomas & Mercer
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662517303, $16.99, PB, 287pp
https://www.amazon.com/Best-House-Block-T-R-Ragan/dp/1662517300
Synopsis: Aspiring investigative journalist Shannon Gibbons and her family have moved into a beautiful house in the Fabulous Forties of East Sacramento, where Shannon finds a fast connection with a new neighbor. Renowned journalist Rosella Marlow appears to have a genuine interest in giving Shannon's own career a boost -- as personal assistant on Rosella's new project. Appearances are deceiving.
Bitter, resentful, and consumed by excruciating grief, Rosella is obsessed with wiping the smiles off her contented neighbors' faces. Now she's watching closely, ready to expose their secrets. Secrets dark enough to destroy lives. In Shannon, Rosella has a trusting and unwitting accomplice. But Rosella is being watched, too. And when someone is found murdered, everyone on this quiet block is a suspect. Because everyone has a motive.
With the help of a friend, Shannon begins an investigation into the death of a person she just met. As neighbor is pitted against neighbor, the truth is much scarier than anything they imagined.
Critique: A choice pick for readers with an interest in domestic and psychological thrillers, "Best House on the Block" by novelist T. R. Ragan is a simply riveting read from start to finish. An original and deftly crafted suspense with more unexpected plot twists and turns than an Oklahoma tornado, "Best House on the Block" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community/public library Contemporary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this paperback edition of "Best House on the Block" from Thomas & Mercer is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.99).
Editorial Note: T.R. Ragan (www.theresaragan.com) is also the author of Such a Beautiful Family and Count to Three, the Sawyer Brooks trilogy (Don't Make a Sound, Out of Her Mind, and No Going Back), the Faith McMann trilogy (Furious, Outrage, and Wrath), the Lizzy Gardner series (Abducted, Dead Weight, A Dark Mind, Obsessed, Almost Dead, and Evil Never Dies), and the Jessie Cole novels (Her Last Day, Deadly Recall, Deranged, and Buried Deep). In addition to thrillers, she writes medieval time-travel tales, contemporary romance, and romantic suspense as Theresa Ragan. She has sold more than four million books since her debut novel appeared in 2011.
Assume Nothing
Joshua Corin
www.joshuacorin.com
Thomas & Mercer
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662523533, $16.99, PB, 287pp
https://www.amazon.com/Assume-Nothing-Thriller-Joshua-Corin/dp/166252353X
Synopsis: In 1985, Kat McCann was six years old when renowned Austrian detective Alik Lisser solved her mother's murder. And unfortunately proved Kat's father as the killer.
Ten years later Kat is still obsessed with the heroic criminologist. She's also addicted to the bestselling novels inspired by Alik's ingenious deductions -- penned by the grande dame of whodunits, and who is a bit of a mystery herself. Kat has devoured them all. Even the one based on her father's crime.
When Kat and Alik fatefully cross paths again, a friendship evolves, and Alik is delighted to share the secrets of his success with such an eager and clever girl by inviting Kat to solve a murder of her very own. One that challenges everything Kat believes about the detective, an elusive author, and Kat's notorious past.
Now, as fact and fiction and truth and deception collide, it's all Kat can do to survive the shocking twist ending to her own life story.
Critique: Original, exceptional, engaging, and of particular interest to fans of amateur female sleuths caught up in trying to solve a lethal suspense thriller of a mystery, "Assume Nothing" by master storyteller Joshua Corin is a fun read for the not 'so faint of heart' readers who enjoy a riveting read from start to finish. While a highly recommended pick for community library collections, this paperback edition of "Assume Nothing" from Thomas & Mercer is available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.99).
Editorial Note: Joshua Corin (www.joshuacorin.com) is the author of the Xanadu Marx series, the Esme Stuart series, and a cornucopia of comic books for Marvel, among many others. His work has been translated into over a dozen languages.
Echo
Tracy Clark
https://tracyclarkbooks.com
Thomas & Mercer
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662517327, $16.99, PB, 364pp
https://www.amazon.com/Detective-Harriet-Foster-Tracy-Clark/dp/1662517327
Synopsis: Hardwicke House, home to Belverton College's exclusive Minotaur Society, is no stranger to tragedy. And when a body turns up in the field next to the mansion, the scene looks chillingly familiar.
Chicago PD sends hard-nosed Detective Harriet "Harri" Foster to investigate. The victim is Brice Collier, a wealthy Belverton student, whose billionaire father, Sebastian, owns Hardwicke and ranks as a major school benefactor. Sebastian also has ties to the mansion's notorious past, when thirty years ago, hazing led to a student's death in the very same field.
Could the deaths be connected? With no suspects or leads, Harri and her partner, Detective Vera Li, will have to dig deep to find answers. No charges were ever filed in the first case, and this time, Harri's determined the killer must pay. But still grieving her former partner's death, Harri must also contend with a shadowy figure called the voice -- and their dangerous game of cat and mouse could threaten everything.
Critique: An impressively original and thoroughly fun read for fans of police procedural. women murder mystery solving sleuths, and intensely dramatic suspense thrillers, "Echo" by talented novelist Tracy Clark will prove an immediate and enduringly appreciated pick for community library Mystery/Suspense collections. One of author Tracy Clark's 'Detective Harriet Foster' series, "Echo" is also available for reader's personal lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Tracy Clark (https://tracyclarkbooks.com) is the author of the Cass Raines Chicago Mystery series featuring Cassandra Raines, a hard-driving African American PI who works the mean streets of the Windy City, dodging cops, cons, and killers. Clark received Anthony Award and Lefty Award nominations for series debut Broken Places, which was short-listed for the American Library Association's RUSA Reading List and named a CrimeReads Best New PI Book of 2018, a Midwest Connections Pick, and a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Broken Places has since been optioned by Sony Pictures Television. Tracy is also a member of Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime, and she sits on the boards of Bouchercon National and the Midwest Mystery Conference.
The Drowning Game
Barbara Nickless
www.barbaranickless.com
Thomas & Mercer
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662510014, $16.99, PB, 379pp
https://www.amazon.com/Drowning-Game-Barbara-Nickless/dp/1662510012
Synopsis: Sisters Nadia and Cass Brenner are heirs to Ocean House, a decades-old empire that builds superyachts for the rich and powerful: emirs, oligarchs, and titans of industry throughout America and Europe. They are a next-generation success with the design of their soon-to-be-commissioned megayacht for a Chinese billionaire. But the sisters' entree into the coveted Asian market is tragically cut short when Cass falls from a fortieth-floor hotel balcony.
A Singapore detective rules suicide. Nadia's been in the yacht business too long not to be suspicious. Especially when she discovers Cass's involvement in dangerously illicit activities. Pulled into the same web of betrayal, lies, and secrets that trapped her sister, Nadia is on the most perilous mission of her life. Because uncovering the truth behind her sister's death could tear the Brenner family apart -- and it just might get her killed.
From Seattle to Austria to the South China Sea, Nadia must hold on to the one thing that can keep her safe. It's the Brenner family motto: Trust no one.
Critique: Barbara Nickless newest novel, "The Drowning Game" is the deftly crafted story about a woman's dedicated investigation into her sister's death and exposes the dark side of a secret life in a gripping tale of power, money, and murder. An intensely engaging and original murder mystery leading to a climatic resolution, and highly recommended for community library Contemporary Mystery/Suspense collections, this paperback edition of "The Drowning Game" from Thomas & Mercer is also available for the growing legions of Barbara Nickless fans in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Barbara Nickless (www.barbaranickless.com) is the author of Play of Shadows, Dark of Night, and At First Light in the Dr. Evan Wilding series, as well as the Sydney Rose Parnell series, which includes Blood on the Tracks, a Suspense Magazine Best of 2016 selection and winner of the Colorado Book Award and the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence; Dead Stop, winner of the Colorado Book Award and nominee for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence; Ambush; and Gone to Darkness. Her essays and short stories have appeared in Writer's Digest and on Criminal Element.
What the Wife Knew
Darby Kane
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
9780063352001, $30.00, HC, 368pp
https://www.amazon.com/What-Wife-Knew-deception-betrayal/dp/0063352001
Synopsis: Dr. Richmond Dougherty is a renowned pediatric surgeon, an infamous tragedy survivor, and a national hero. He's also very dead -- thanks to a fall down the stairs. His neighbors angrily point a finger at the newest Ms. Dougherty, Addison. The sudden marriage to the mysterious young woman only lasted ninety-seven days, and he'd had two suspicious "accidents" during that time. Now Addison is a very rich widow.
As law enforcement starts to circle in on Addison and people in town become increasingly hostile, sides are chosen with Kathryn, Richmond's high school sweetheart, wife number one, and the mother of his children, leading the fray. Despite rising tensions, Addison is even more driven to forge ahead on the path she charted years ago...
Determined at all costs to unravel Richmond's legacy, she soon becomes a target - with a shocking note left on her bedroom wall: You will pay. But it will take a lot more than faceless threats to stop Addison. Her plan to marry Richmond then ruin him may have been derailed by his unexpected death, but she's not done with him yet.
Critique: A fully entertaining read that will prove of special interest to fans of psychological suspense thrillers and murder mysteries replete with unexpected plot twists and turns, "What The Wife Knew" by novelist Darby Kane is especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists that "What The Wife Knew" is available in a paperback edition (9780063351967, $18.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Darby Kane (https://darbykane.com) is a former divorce lawyer with a dual writing personality. Her debut thriller, Pretty Little Wife, was a Book of the Month pick, #1 international bestseller, and has been optioned by Amazon for a television series, starring Gabrielle Union. She's written romantic suspense as HelenKay Dimon and currently writes stories centered on family hijinks with a mix of suspense and romance. The first, Moorewood Family Rules, has been optioned for television.
The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
The Naturalist Society
Carrie Vaughn
www.carrievaughn.com
47 North
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662519031, $16.99, PB, 395pp
https://www.amazon.com/Naturalist-Society-Carrie-Vaughn/dp/1662519036
Synopsis: In the summer of 1880, the death of Beth Stanley's husband puts her life's work in jeopardy. The magic of Arcane Taxonomy dictates that every natural thing in the world, from weather to animals, can be labeled, and doing so grants the practitioner some of that subject's unique power. But only men are permitted to train in this philosophy. Losing her husband means that Beth loses the name they put on her work -- and any influence she might have wielded.
Brandon West and Anton Torrance are campaigning for their expedition to the South Pole, a mission that some believe could make a taxonomist all-powerful by tapping into the earth's magnetic forces. Their late friend Harry Stanley's knowledge and connections would have been instrumental, but when they attempt to take custody of his work, they find that it was never his at all.
Critique: "The Naturalist Society" by accomplished novelist Carrie Vaughn is an historical fantasy whose author has raised a fun read to an impressive level of literary elegance. Original, deftly crafted, and unreservedly recommended for community library Action/Adventure Fantasy collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated fantasy fans that "The Naturalist Society" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).
Editorial Note: Carrie Vaughn (www.carrievaughn.com) is the author of more than twenty novels and over a hundred short stories, two of which have been finalists for the Hugo Award. She's best known for her New York Times bestselling series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty, who hosts a talk radio advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged. In 2018, Vaughn won the Philip K. Dick Award for the postapocalyptic murder mystery Bannerless. A graduate of the Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop, Carrie is also a contributor to the Wild Cards series of shared world superhero books edited by George R. R. Martin.
A Breathless Sky
Veronica G. Henry
www.veronicahenry.net
47 North
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662520280, $16.99, PB, 315pp
https://www.amazon.com/Breathless-Sky-Scorched-Earth/dp/166252028X
Synopsis: As climate disasters wreak havoc, a sister and brother take opposing sides on the fate of the human race.
Syrah Carthan wants to save it. A tour guide for the Sequoia National Park, Syrah has an affinity for the millennia-old Giants that extends to Rhiza, a subterranean world as ancient as Earth itself. Syrah is the reluctant heir apparent as its Keeper. Her duty is to maintain a balance between nature and humans. But Syrah's greatest adversary has his duty as well.
Romelo, Syrah's brother, wants humankind to get what it deserves. To protect the forests, he's already instigated one battle that ended in chaos and death. To reverse the near extinction of the magnificent trees, Romelo's next move is to conspire with the sequoias themselves. If all goes according to plan, it will leave human beings absolutely breathless.
The siblings are going to battle. In the worlds above and below, only one of them can emerge victorious.
Critique: An original and modern fantasy by novelist Veronica G. Henry, "A Breathless Sky" is a simply fascinating, fun, and thought-provoking read from start to finish. Singularly interesting and conflicting values are deftly embedded into an action/adventure storyline that holds the reader's full attention, "A Breathless Sky" will prove an enduringly popular and highly prized pick for community/public library Fantasy Fiction collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists that this paperback edition of "A Breathless Sky" from 47 North is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Veronica G. Henry (www.veronicahenry.net) is the author of The Canopy Keepers, the first book in The Scorched Earth series; Bacchanal; and, in the Mambo Reina series, The Quarter Storm and The Foreign Exchange. Her work has debuted at #1 on multiple Amazon bestseller charts and was chosen as an editors' pick for Best African American Fantasy. She is a Viable Paradise alum and a member of SFWA and CWoC (Crime Writers of Color). Her stories have appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Many Worlds, and FIYAH literary magazine.
A Tribute of Fire
Sariah Wilson
https://www.sariahwilson.com
Montlake
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662525933, $28.99, HC, 527pp
https://www.amazon.com/Tribute-Fire-Eye-Goddess/dp/1662525931
Synopsis: Lia is the princess of Locris, a dying desert nation cursed centuries ago by an earth goddess -- one still worshipped by the thriving and adversarial nation of Ilion. Every year, Ilion offers the goddess a sacrifice: two Locrian maidens forced to compete in a life-and-death race to reach her temple. In a millennium, no maiden has made it out of Ilion alive. This year, Lia is one of the hunted.
An education in battle gives her a fighting chance, but the challenges are greater than she feared: Lia's beloved but untrained sister Quynh has been put in the path of danger. The winding streets of Ilion itself have been transformed into a labyrinthine maze of countless choices and dead ends. And if the risks weren't significant enough, Lia is reluctantly drawn to the commandingly attractive Jason, an Ilionian sailor she loathes to trust and desires like no man before.
The tribute game is on. It's up to Lia to lift the goddess's curse, restore Locris to its former glory, and change the fate of every young woman destined to follow in her path.
Critique: An original, riveting, and epic fantasy from start to finish, "A Tribute of Fire" by novelist Sariah Wilson launches her new 'The Eye of the Goddess' series that deftly blends elements of romance and danger, plot twists and surprises, all within the context of ancient warring kingdoms and personal survival. Especially and unreservedly recommended for community/public library Heroic Fantasy Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists of all dedicated fantasy fans that this hardcover edition of "A Tribute of Fire" from Montlake is also available in a paperback edition (9781662525148, $16.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).
Editorial Note: Sariah Wilson (www.sariahwilson.com) is the author of Hypnotized by Love, Almost Like Being in Love, The Hollywood Jinx, The Chemistry of Love, The Paid Bridesmaid, The Seat Filler, Roommaid, Just a Boyfriend, the Royals of Monterra series, and the #Lovestruck novels.
The Graphic Novel Shelf
Witchcraft: A Graphic History
Lindsay Squire, author
Lisa Salsi, illustrator
Leaping Hare Press
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartoknows.com
9780711295254, $19.99, HC, 128pp
https://www.amazon.com/Witchcraft-Graphic-History-Stories-healers/dp/0711295255
Synopsis: In the pages of "Witchcraft: A Graphic History", readers will find Lindsay, a young and curious 19th-century lady, as she meets Biddy Early, the famous 'wise woman of County Clare', and learns all about the magickal arts -- from which plants can be used to make healing poultices and potions, to how people dealt with the social and political stigma of practicing witchcraft.
Biddy Early, who lived from 1798-1874 in Ireland, was by no means the first-ever witch, but she was the first to appear on the historical record. Before her, fears and superstitions surrounding practitioners of 'the nameless art' were too strong. It is said that Biddy took an apprenticeship with the 'good folk', sidhe or faeries, when she was very young, and it was from them that she learned her skill as a healer.
Never one to accept monetary payment for the help she offered, Biddy would often swap home-brewed alcohol for her services, which in turn, made her ramshackle cottage in Feakle a hub for the local community. When her little corner of the county drew the attention of the Catholic Church and the local authorities, things became very difficult for this unusual woman...
Encompassing self-empowerment, feminism, dealing with stigma, and eco-spirituality, as well as plant magic, traditions, and green wisdom, "Witchcraft: A Graphic History" offers a fresh take on the endlessly fascinating historical subject of witchcraft practitioners.
Critique: A compendium of stories of wise women, healers and magic presented in a graphic novel style format, "Witchcraft: A Graphic History" by Lindsay Squire is a compelling, informative, and inherently fascinating read from cover to cover. The illustrations by artist Lisa Salsi provide a memorably engaging visual experience that brings to story of Biddy Early to life. Of special and particular appeal to readers with an interest in Witchcraft, Wicca, Divination, and Women's History, "Witchcraft: A Graphic History" is a solid and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Metaphysical Studies and European Witchcraft History collections. It should be noted that this hardcover edition of "Witchcraft: A Graphic History" from Leaping Hare Press is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Suitor Armor: Volume 1
Purpah, author/illustrator
Ten Speed Graphic
c/o Ten Speed Press
https://crownpublishing.com/imprint/ten-speed
9780593835630, $24.99, HC, 224pp
https://www.amazon.com/Suitor-Armor-1-Purpah/dp/0593835638
Synopsis: While humans and fairies are at war beyond the castle walls, Lucia's life is dedicated to helping prepare Lady Kirsi for her upcoming wedding to King Reimund.
Lucia's time at court takes a dazzling turn when she accompanies Lady Kirsi to a royal tournament that calls together all of the kingdom's brave knights for a competition of strength and wit. A magically animated suit of armor, brought to life by Norrix the court mage's complicated enchantment spell, enters the ring and challenges the winning knight. Lucia is immediately attracted to the armor's dark, mysterious charm and lovingly names him Modeus. Bonded by their mutual status as outcasts within the kingdom, the two begin to develop an unlikely yet thrilling connection and sparks (both metaphorical and magical) fly.
The truth is, Lucia is hiding a dangerous secret about her own identity. She is the enemy: a fairy. She fears being exposed to the whole human kingdom, but she desperately desires to learn more about herself -- especially with the arrival of a winged visitor who has infiltrated the castle walls for reasons still unknown...
Critique: As a graphic novel, "Suitor Armor" by author/artist Purpah is an original, deftly crafted, and fun read from cover to cover. Complete with original behind-the-scenes content and a bonus storyline exclusive to this graphic novel edition, "Suitor Armor" is the first volume of a series that is comprised of episodes 1-17 of the greatly successful Webtoon webcomic and sets the stage for a grand adventure in magic, romance, mystery, fantasy creatures, friendship, self-discovery, and more! While also readily available fro the personal reading lists of dedicated fantasy themed graphic novels in a paperback edition (9780593835654, $17.99), this hardcover edition of "Suitor Armor: Volume 1" from Ten Speed Graphic is a solid and unreservedly recommended pick for community library Fantasy/Romance themed graphic novel collections for readers ages 16 to 66!
Editorial Note: Purpah (https://thepurpah.tumblr.com) is an artist and writer based in California. She earned a BFA in illustration and have since gone on to create Suitor Armor on Webtoon as well as writing for other projects.
The Music CD Shelf
Boptism Christmas
Rich Willey
Boptism Music
$12.00 CD / $12.00 digital
https://boptism.com/boptism-music-store/christmas
https://boptism.com/boptism-music-store/rich-willey-boptism-christmas-digital-download
U.S. Army bandsman and jazz trumpeter Rich Willey presents Boptism Christmas, a music album of Willey's arrangements of beloved Christmas songs originally created for local Jazz Christmas concerts. A sophisticated array of music artists also lend their talents on alto sax, tenor sax, trombone, bass trumpet, piano, organ, guitar, upright and electric bass, drums, and vocals. Boptism Christmas is lively, exciting, and brimming with holiday cheer, highly recommended especially for holiday parties and seasonal fun! The tracks are Merry Gentlemen Kings (medley, traditional), White Christmas (Irving Berlin), Silver Bells (Evans & Livingston), Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Martin & Blane), Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Johnny Marks), Little Drummer Boyz (Katherine Kennicott Davis), The Christmas Song (Torme & Wells), What Child Is This? (Greensleeves, traditional), and O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (traditional).
The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery
Caleb Wheeler Curtis
Imani Records
imanirecordsmusic.com
$40.00 vinyl / $20.00 CD / $20.00 digital
https://calebwheelercurtis.bandcamp.com/album/the-true-story-of-bears-and-the-invention-of-the-battery-deluxe-edition
The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery is a magnificent double album in which saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Caleb Wheeler Curtis plays the stritch (a straight alto), trumpet, soprano saxophone, and tenor saxophone as part of two different trios. Disc one, Bears and the Invention of the Battery, consists of Curtis' original songs (except for the track Odessa by Arthur Blythe); Curtis performs with bassist Sean Conly and drummer Michael Sarin. Disc two, Raise Four: Monk the Minimalist consists of songs composed by Thelonius Monk; Curtis performs with drummer Gerald Cleaver and pianist Orrin Evans. The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery is a grand musical adventure, boldly exploring free jazz and rhythm & blues funk, highly recommended for personal music collections. The disc one tracks are Another Tape (for Gerald); The First Question; This Cult Does Not Help; A Feather is Not a Bird; Odessa, Bears and the Invention of the Battery; Stellar Ray, See?; Miedo; Empires; and So Long. The disc two tracks are Oska; Introspection; Boo Boo's Birthday; Raise Four; Reflections; Played Twice; Ugly Beauty; Jackie-ing; Light Blue; and Raise Four (Take 2).
Beyond the Sleepy Hills
Rudy Adrian
Spotted Peccary Music
www.SpottedPeccary.com
$16.00 CD / $8.00 MP3
https://spottedpeccary.com/shop/beyond-the-sleepy-hills
Beyond the Sleepy Hills is an atmospheric, electronic New Age album especially ideal for soothing the restless mind. The quiet beauty of atonal bells, soft piano, and gentle synth sounds encourage the listener to immerse themselves in meditation, relaxation, or sleep. Beyond the Sleepy Hills is a choice pick for ambient music collections and also makes an excellent gift. The nine tracks are named "The Sleepy Hills 1" through "The Sleepy Hills 9"; the tracks range from four to ten minutes long each.
Angell & Crane
Angell & Crane
Privately Published
$35.00 CAD vinyl / $10.00 CAD digital
https://angellandcrane.bandcamp.com/album/angell-crane
Angell & Crane is the self-titled debut album of contemporary ambient jazz. All tracks are the original compositions of Simon Angell and Tommy Crane. Simon Angel performs on guitars, bass, and synth; Tommy Crane performs on drums, percussion, synths, and vibraphone. Two guests lend their talents to individual tracks: Sarah Rossy performs vocals for three tracks, while Charlotte Greve plays alto sax on one track and the flute on another. The result is a blossoming, multilayered auditory experience, ideal for connoisseurs and for playing during work or study sessions. Highly recommended! The tracks are Twin machines, Swingjugend, SALT I, Unearth, Himalayan Dial-Up, SALT II, Honguedo, Hesa Fredrik, Yellow Diamond, Subsequent Flooding, Eight Years to Okuma, and 2000 Decades.
My Universe
Maria Puga Lareo
My Keter Records
$13.99 CD / $9.49 MP3
Jazz and Brazilian music vocalist, songwriter, and producer Maria Puga Lareo presents My Universe, an album that showcases her mellifluous voice supported by talented music artists on saxophones, woodwinds, piano, keyboards, bass, drums, guitar, harp, percussion, trumpet, trombone, and more. Maria was involved in composing two of the tracks; the others are by a diversity of acclaimed composers. My Universe is a beautiful album and a treasure for vocal jazz connoisseurs, highly recommended. The tracks are Make Someone Happy (Jule Steyne/BettyComden/Adolph Green), The Song Is You (Oscar Hammerstein III/Jerome Kern), Depois de Tanto Tempo Intro (Dori Caymmi/Nelson Motta), Depois de Tanto Tempo (Dori Caymmi/Nelson Motta), Spring (Dori Caymmi/Tracy Mann), Till the End of the World (Maria Puga Lareo/Bob Sheppard), Cherokee (Ray Noble), We'll Be Together Again (Frankie Laine/Carl Fischer), At the End of the Night (Maria Puga Lareo/Bob Sheppard), and Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar (Antonio Carlos Jobim/Vincius de Moraes).
Tomorrowsville
Randy Hoexter
randyhoexter.com
Privately Published
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DFY83VY8
Jazz pianist composer, arranger, producer, and educator Randy Hoexter presents Tomorrowsville, a full-length album of original, high-energy jazz pieces. Exploring exciting rhythms and adventurous time signatures (5/8 for Rosetta Stone and 7/4 for Diaspora), Tomorrowsville is a grand tour of dream and imagination. Hoexter's talented jazz piano is supported by a medley of excellent music artists on bass, saxophones, bass clarinet, flutes, drums, percussion, trombone, trumpet/flugelhorn, guitar, and more. Rapturously exciting from beginning to end, Tomorrowsville is a treasury for connoisseurs of inventive jazz, highly recommended. The tracks are Rosetta Stone, The Dragonfly, Argentum (for Horace), The Wine-Dark Sea, Diaspora, Evening Comes Early, Particle Accelerator, Phosphenes, Tomorrowsville, Sonate, and In Bright October.
Fiesta at Caroga
The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
www.acjcmusic.com
Privately Published
$TBA CD / $5.94 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CS1F9N3Z
The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective is a lively band with a talent for adding modern jazz flair to traditional Afro-Caribbean music. The band consists of Brian Stark on tenor sax, Ben Weisger on trombone, Stephen Busath on congas, Sebastian Nassar on timbales, Brian Shank on percussion, Ian Stewart on bass, and Jose Guzman on guitar. Fiesta at Caroga is their latest album, exploring new twists on salsa, bembe drum style, bolero (Cuban love songs unrelated to the Spanish dance of the same name) and more. Fiesta at Caroga is an unfettered, joyous open celebration from start to finish, highly recommended especially for international music collections! The tracks are Descarga 2 (Jose Guzman), Xipirona Cha Cha (Jose Guzman), El Canaveral (Jose Guzman), El Volcan (Brian Stark), Carino (Jose Guzman), and Baile Bailekita (Brian Stark).
Duke & Strays Live
Day Dream
Corner Store Jazz
$TBA CD / $10.00 digital
https://philhaynesmusic.bandcamp.com/album/duke-strays-live
Drummer/composer Phil Haynes, pianist Steve Rudolph, and bassist Drew Gress form the Day Dream trio. Together, they perform Duke & Strays Live, an album of works by beloved jazz artists Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Day Dream adds their own stylings and flourishes to the traditional pieces, in this exciting concert highly recommended especially for jazz connoisseurs. The disc one tracks are African Flower, Perdido, Single Petal of a Rose / Sophisticated Lady, U.M.M.G., and Lush Life. The disc two tracks are Come Sunday, Rockin in Rhythm, T.G.T.T., Lotus Blossom, and My Little Brown Book / Take the 'A' Train.
The DVD Shelf
Underdog
First Run Features
https://www.firstrunfeatures.com
$19.95
https://www.firstrunfeatures.com/underdogvod.html
Underdog: The Curiously Optimistic Tale of Doug Butler is a DVD documentary following the life and trials of Doug Butler, a sixty-five year old dairy farmer in Vermont. Doug Butler is a widower; his son and daughter-in-law help him run the farm along with various employees. Running a farm is exhausting, demanding, relentless work; ever since he was a young man, Butler hadn't left the farm for longer than five days. Yet he has one hobby he's truly passionate about - dog mushing. He breeds and cares for roughly fifty dogs that are bred and trained to pull a sled in dirt or snow, and selects the best dogs to pull him in mush races. His life's dream is to compete in the world championships in Alaska. Underdog intimately portrays a year of Butler's life, showing everything from a difficult dairy cow calving to euthanizing a dying animal to broken tractors, respiratory illness induced by long years of farm work, expensive farm vehicles that break down in the field and need to be repaired ASAP before the harvest is lost, hunting deer for venison, and of course, the labor involved in caring for fifty affectionate and eager cross-breed sled dogs. As his farm teeters toward the possibility of bankruptcy, weighed down by high interest payments on a loan, Butler decides that no matter what the future brings he will make his dream real in the present day, and participate in a true Alaskan dog mushing race! Raw, real, honest, and ultimately inspirational, Underdog is an unforgettable glimpse into farming life, rural American culture, and the will to pursue one's dream. Highly recommended! 82 minutes, color, optional English subtitles.
The Wine/Liquor Shelf
The Turn of the Screwdriver
Iphigenia Jones
Ulysses Press
www.ulyssespress.com
9781646046812, $19.95, HC, 176pp
https://www.amazon.com/Turn-Screwdriver-Literary-Cocktails-Legendary/dp/1646046811
Synopsis: Calling all booklovers and at-home mixologists! Get out a chilled glass and prepare to get chills down your spine with these sinisterly scrumptious cocktail recipes. Inspired by your favorite gothic tales, with the publication of "The Turn of the Screwdriver" literary and liquor expert Iphigenia Jones offers up 50 creative drink recipes so you can shake or stir up some liquid trouble to serve at any event.
There's a cocktail for every dark and twisted soul out there, including:
The Haunting of Highball House (The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson)
The Portrait of Dorian Grey Goose (The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde)
Mexican Hot Gothalate (Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia)
Her Brandy and Other Parties (Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado)
Lestat's Bloody Sazerac (Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice)
The Legend of Slushy Hallow (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving)
And more!
Critique: Unique, illustrated, and an ideal pick for dedicated bibliophiles and cocktail enthusiasts who enjoy celebrating Halloween all year round, this hardcover edition of "The Turn of the Screwdriver" from Ulysses Press is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, community, and college/university collections. It should be noted for bar tenders and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Turn of the Screwdriver: 50 Dark and Twisted Literary Cocktails Inspired by Anne Rice, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Other Legendary Gothic Authors" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Editorial Note: Halloween cocktail and literature enthusiast Iphigenia Jones has seen every episode of The Addams Family and has only been accused of witchcraft thrice. She enjoys cats, blackberries, and chatting with ghosts.
Botanical Bar Craft
Cassandra Elizabeth Sears
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
www.chelseagreen.com
9781645022398, $34.95, PB, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Botanical-Bar-Craft-Apothecary-Cocktails/dp/1645022390
Synopsis: With the publication of "Botanical Bar Craft: A Guide to the Art of Apothecary Cocktails and Herbal Tonic Elixirs", innovative herbalist and mixologist Cassandra Sears invites readers to create herbal elixirs and apothecary cocktails infused by a close connection to nature.
Whether in the garden, the field, or the forest, Sears finds generous abundance among the plants. Her tonic libations harness the power of phytochemistry and place-based consciousness while easing stress and comforting the body, mind, and spirit. With original recipes that tie together the creative arts of herbal medicine and craft cocktail making, Sears blends herbal tinctures, teas, and botanical infusions into modern-classic cocktails as well as sensational and unique nonalcoholic drinks that hit the spot for relaxation without sedation.
More than just a collection of recipes, "Botanical Bar Craft" is also an herbal handbook for bartenders and a mixology guide for herbalists. Readers will delight in the journey as Sears combines dashes of herbal lore and history with instructions for developing the spirited philosophy of apothecary bartending, lessons on mixology, and a primer on the beneficial actions of medicinal herbs.
"Botanical Bar Craft" is comprised of: 65 original recipes for potions, tonics, elixirs, and cocktails, including Kava Cacao Flip, Pregnancy Punch, Victory Garden, Bloody Botanist, Bitters and Soda, Juice of Life, and Euphoria; More than 40 plant profiles that include how those plants grow and suggestions for how to use them behind the bar to draw out their beneficial actions: An accessible explanation of the chemistry and energetics of medicinal herbs; Behind-the-scenes interviews with artisan distillers; Advice and tips for growing a garnish garden.
"Botanical Bar Craft" will not only appeal to herbalists, herbal enthusiasts, and home cocktail enthusiasts, but also to professional bartenders looking to embrace the use of innovative and highly flavorful natural ingredients in their bar creations. "Botanical Bar Craft" provides all the answers for those who are curious and wondering how to make a really good drink inspired by and infused with plants.
Critique: Original, innovative, fascinating and fun, "Botanical Bar Craft: A Guide to the Art of Apothecary Cocktails and Herbal Tonic Elixirs" is profusely and colorfully illustrated throughout. A unique, informative, inspiring, and thoroughly 'user friendly' compendium of drink recipes and background commentary, "Botanical Bar Craft" is a welcome and highly recommended pick for personal, professional, and community library Cocktail & Mixed Drink instructional reference collections. It should be noted that this paperback edition of "Botanical Bar Craft" from Chelsea Green Publishing is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $27.30).
Editorial Note: Cassandra Elizabeth Sears is an apothecary bartender, gardener, and herbalist. She has been studying herbal medicine for sixteen years, growing lush gardens while working as an organic gardener, and playing in the wild while mixing drinks inspired by nature. She enjoys the dynamic intersection of the hospitality industry, wilderness, and organic agriculture in her native state of Maine. You can find her behind the bar part-time at The White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport. The rest of the time, you can find her elevating private events and teaching botanical cocktail classes in her role as proprietor of The Remedy Cocktail Co., for which she grows her own ingredients and works closely with local small farmers. She is also a graduate of the clinical herbalist training program at the Vermont Center of Integrative Herbalism, as well as having a modest apothecary and private wellness consultation practice where she partners with individuals for health-coaching.
Smith Street Books
c/o Rizzoli
www.rizzoliusa.com
Smith Street Books is a premier publisher of gift books. 'The Cocktail Cabinet' is one of their most popular series to which two new titles by author and cocktail expert Kara Newman and illustrated by Giacomo Bagnara have been added:
https://www.amazon.com/Cocktail-Cabinet-essential-drinks-should/dp/1923049593
"The Cocktail Cabinet: Gin" (9781923049598, $24.95, Novelty Book, 52pp)
Whether you prefer a simple gin and tonic, a bubbly French 75, or more modern creations like the bramble, gin is the foundation of some truly great cocktails. Without it, we wouldn't have the martini, the Tom Collins, or the negroni.
"The Cocktail Cabinet: Gin" distills the best of the spirit with 50 cards that feature recipes for any mood, whether you'd like to get effervescent with a fizz or fly away on an aviation. With something for every palette, get ready to shake, mix, and stir your way through the world of juniper.
With mid-century - inspired illustrations and easy-to-follow recipes, this DIY cocktail recipe deck is the ideal pick for novice mixologists and seasoned bartending experts alike.
https://www.amazon.com/Cocktail-Cabinet-Whiskey-essential-whiskey/dp/1923049666
"The Cocktail Cabinet: Whiskey" (9781923049666, $24.95, Novelty Book, 52pp)
Whether you lean more toward an Old Fashioned or a fruitier classic like a Whiskey Sour, there is no doubt whiskey is the foundation of some truly great cocktails. Without it we wouldn't have the Manhattan, the Boulevardier, or the Rob Roy.
"The Cocktail Cabinet: Whiskey" distills the best of the spirits with 50 cards that feature recipes for any mood, whether you'd like to get serious with a Sazerac or enjoy a simple Rusty Nail. With something for every palette, get ready to shake, mix, and stir your way through some whiskey classics.
With mid-century - inspired illustrations and easy-to-follow recipes, "The Cocktail Cabinet: Whiskey is especially and unreservedly recommended for all aspiring mixologists and amateur/professional bartenders.
Editorial Note: Kara Newman is a spirits and cocktail writer based in New York. She reviews spirits for Wine Enthusiast magazine, where she's also a writer-at-large. Her writing has appeared in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and PUNCH. She's the author of seven cocktail books.
Editorial Note #2: Giacomo Bagnara is an illustrator and artist living in Verona, Italy. His work has been recognized over the last years by American Illustration and the Society of Illustrators of NY. An avid observer, he loves exploring different perspectives of the everyday life questioning his own perceptions.
The Travel Shelf
Missouri Off the Beaten Path
Patti DeLano
The Globe Pequot Press
www.globepequot.com
9781493078226, $19.95, PB, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Missouri-Off-Beaten-Path%C2%AE-Path/dp/1493078224
Synopsis: The Globe Pequot Press 'Off the Beaten Path' series is specifically designed for travelers and vacationers who are 'tired of the same old tourist traps'. So whether you are a visitor or a local looking for something different, "Missouri Off the Beaten Path" by Patti DeLano shares with you the Show Me State with new perspectives on timeless destinations and introduces you to those you never knew existed -- from the best in local dining to quirky cultural tidbits to hidden attractions, unique finds, and unusual locales. So, if you've "been there, done that" one too many times, get off the main road and venture Off the Beaten Path.
Critique: Impressively informative and exceptionally 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Missouri Off the Beaten Path" is an ideal resource for planning Missouri based vacation itineraries and travel plans. While also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.95), "Missouri Off the Beaten Path" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library American Travel Guide and Missouri Travel Guide collections.
Editorial Note: Patti DeLano is a travel writer and photographer who has lived in the Ozarks of Missouri. She is also the author of Arkansas off the Beaten Path and Kansas Off the Beaten Path. (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/318395.Patti_DeLano)
The Sports Shelf
The Basketball 100
David Aldridge, author
John Hollinger, author
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
Blackstone Publishing
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9780063329126, $40.00, HC, 752pp
https://www.amazon.com/Basketball-100-Sports-2/dp/0063329123
Synopsis: Over the course of 100 luminous player profiles, the best sports newsroom on the planet paints vivid portraits of the game's most compelling characters.
There's George Mikan, who was cut from his high school team because he wore glasses, then went on to become the fledgling NBA's first transcendent star. Gary Payton, called "The Glove" for his skintight defense, who talked as much trash to his teammates as he did to his opponents on the court. Dennis Rodman, who started playing basketball at age 20, and in a few short years went from working as a janitor at the airport to being one of the strangest superstars that sport has ever known. Allen Iverson, who drew inspiration from hip hop for his inimitable style and swagger, on and off the court. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was so dominant in the paint that they changed the rules -- and Steph Curry, who was so dominant outside it that he seemed to expand the very boundaries of the court.
With the publication of "The Basketball 100: An Epic Basketball History with In-Depth Player Profiles, Perfect for Fall 2024, Celebrate the Game's Greatest Players", co-editors and sports reporters David Aldridge and John Hollinger, answers the game's toughest, most important questions: How should we weight championship rings, versus statistical profiles, versus the "eye test"? Were the great players of yesteryear, like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, propelled by the inferior athleticism of their competition or would they have been transcendent in any era? And of course, who's the GOAT - MJ or LeBron? Speaking of GOATs, for the book, Hollinger (inventor of the statistical metric PER) has created a new benchmark, GOAT Points.
Critique: An impressively informative and statistics packed compendium"The Basketball 100: An Epic Basketball History with In-Depth Player Profiles, Perfect for Fall 2024, Celebrate the Game's Greatest Players" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Basketball History & Sports Biography collections. For the personal reading lists of dedicated basketball fans it should be noted that this hardcover edition of "The Basketball 100" from William Morrow & Company is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle $21.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Publishing, 9798874803698, $59.99, CD).
Editorial Note #1: David Aldridge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Aldridge) is a senior columnist for The Athletic. He has previously covered the NBA for Turner, ESPN, and the Washington Post. In 2016, he received the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Basketball Hall of Fame, as well as the Legacy Award from the National Association of Black Journalists.
Editorial Note #2: John Hollinger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hollinger) is a senior writer for The Athletic. For the past two decades, he has been at the forefront of basketball's statistical revolution, inventing several advanced metrics including PER. In addition to stints at ESPN.com and SI.com, he also spent 7 seasons as the Memphis Grizzlies' Vice President of Basketball Operations. In 2018, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf
Gunsmoke: An American Institution
Ben Costello, author
Sue DeFabis, editor
Book Street Press
https://www.instagram.com/bookstreetpress
9781589852228, $50.00, PB, 673pp
https://www.amazon.com/Gunsmoke-American-Institution-Celebrating-Televisions/dp/1589852222
Synopsis: Starting on September 10, 1955, and continuing for more than 600 episodes over the next twenty years, Gunsmoke ruled the airwaves. Each week, Marshal Matt Dillon and his friends would face a new threat to the peace and lawfulness of their frontier home of Dodge City, Kansas -- and each week, goodness and determination prevailed.
With the publication of "Gunsmoke: An American Institution - Celebrating 50 Years of Television's Best Western", author Ben Costello has produced a remarkable testament to the on-screen characters and off-screen individuals who made the story lines come alive. With lead performer biographies, hundreds of episode and behind-the-scenes photographs, complete episode logs, updates on all the surviving cast members, and interviews with the show's luminaries, this history of "Gunsmoke: An American Institution - Celebrating 50 Years of Television's Best Western" is a 'must' for the legions of Gunsmoke fans.
Critique: Originally published in hardcover by Book Street Press, this new paperback edition of "Gunsmoke: An American Institution - Celebrating 50 Years of Television's Best Western" continues to be what was cited in our review at the time -- "a 'must read' for anyone who grew up with Matt Dillion, Miss Kitty, Doc, Chester, Festus, and all the other denizens of Dodge City and the Old West." -The Midwest Book Review.
Sadly, the author Ben Costello passed away in 2021. But with the editorial assistance of Sue DeFabis, "Gunsmoke: An American Institution" is now back in print for a new generation of appreciative readers in a paperback edition from Book Street Press -- as well as in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99). Unique, comprehensive, detailed, informative, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, this special paperback edition of "Gunsmoke: An American Institution" (8.25 x 1.52 x 8.25 inches, 2 pounds) is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and college/university library 20th Century Television History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Starting at the age of five, Ben Costello has appeared on stage in a variety of dramatic and comedic roles. Along with fellow comedian John Babrowski, Costello has played in casinos and clubs from New York City to Las Vegas, frequently portraying characters similar to Abbott and Costello (no, Ben Costello and Bud Costello are not related). In fact, Costello and Babrowski performed the classic Who is on First routine at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, to kick off the 2000 World Series. They were the first to do so since Abbott and Costello performed the skit there 44 years earlier. Costello wrote, produced, and costarred in The Whitley & Costello Show in 1979. In 1987, he took the classic Laurel and Hardy movie Way Out West and adapted it for the stage, with the blessings of Lucille Hardy Price, widow of comedian Oliver Hardy. In 1988, his play titled Company B debuted. The show, a slapstick musical tribute to World War II, was so popular that it spawned five stage sequels. For his work on this production, Costello won Best Actor, Writer, Director, and Production awards from the Southern California Theatre Leagues.
The Computer Shelf
Introduction to Python
David Baez-Lopez, author
David Alfredo Baez Villegas, author
CRC Press
www.crcpress.com
9781032117676, $230.00, HC, 436pp
https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Python-Applications-Optimization-Processing/dp/1032117672
Synopsis: Co-authored by David Baez-Lopez and David Alfredo Baez Villegas, "Introduction to Python: with Applications in Optimization, Image and Video Processing, and Machine Learning" from CRC Press is intended primarily for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in quantitative sciences such as mathematics, computer science, and engineering.
Additionally,"Introduction to Python" is written in such a way that it can also serve as a self-contained handbook for professionals working in quantitative fields including finance, IT, and many other industries where programming is a useful or essential tool.
"Introduction to Python" is intentionally written to be accessible and useful to those with no prior experience of Python, but those who are somewhat more adept will also benefit from the more advanced material that comes later in the book.
"Introduction to Python" covers introductory and advanced material. Advanced material includes lists, dictionaries, tuples, arrays, plotting using Matplotlib, object-oriented programming. It is suitable as a textbook for advanced undergraduates or postgraduates, or as a reference for researchers and professionals. It also features solutions manual, code, and additional examples which are available for download.
Critique: While also available for students, academia, and Python practitioners in a paperback edition (9781032119106, $79.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $62.98), "Introduction to Python: with Applications in Optimization, Image and Video Processing, and Machine Learning" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Python Programing, Machine Learning Theory, and Mathematical Analysis instructional reference collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: David Baez-Lopez obtained a B.S. in Physics in 1973 from the Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Mexico. From 1979 to 1984 he was a researcher at Department of Electronics at National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics, and Electronics, located in Tonantzintla, Puebla, Mexico, and he became Head of The Department of Electronics and Graduate Coordinator. In 1985 he joined Universidad de las Americas-Puebla, Mexico as a professor and in 1988 became Chairman of the Department of Electronic Engineering until 1994. He was a member of the National Systems of Researchers. He retired in 2015 and now is Academic Director in EDUPROTEC A.C. in Puebla, Mexico, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the improvement of mathematics learning, among other topics. He has authored books on circuit simulation, MATLAB, Python, and Mathematica in English and Spanish. A Chinese edition of a book on MATLAB was published in 2017.
Editorial Note #2: David Alfredo Baez Villegas is an electrical engineer with master's degrees in Project Management (Ecole de Technologie Superieure, Montreal) and Electrical Engineering (Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University). He holds a B.S. in Electronic Engineering from Universidad de las Americas-Puebla, Mexico, and M.S in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University (TAMU). He worked as an assistant to the Office of International Affairs at TAMU before moving to Montreal, Canada. Since 2015 he has been a consultant in project management.
The Photography Shelf
Ranchlands: By the Land, For the Land
Duke Phillips II, contributor
Madeline Jorden, contributor
Rizzoli
www.rizzoliusa.com
9780847830879, $65.00, HC, 274pp
https://www.amazon.com/Ranchlands-Land-Duke-Philips-III/dp/084783087X
Synopsis: Over the past two decades, Ranchlands (with properties in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming) has grown from a family cattle ranching business to one of the great ranching companies of the West. Its grassroots model honors and embraces ranching traditions while working tirelessly to sustain and conserve the land for future generations.
Illustrated with galleries of stunning images from a variety of photographers who have worked or spent time on Ranchlands properties over the years, this edition of "Ranchlands: By the Land, For the Land" from Rizzoli showcases the seasonal rhythms of the ranch, the daily lives of its team members, the flow of herds of cattle and bison on the open range, communities of wildlife, working horses, and the breathtaking sweep of the Western landscape.
For all of us drawn to the mystique of the American West, the grit and poetry of a hard day's work on the land, welcome to Ranchlands.
Critique: This large format (9.5 x 1.43 x 12.12 inches, 2.31 pounds) hardcover, coffee-table style edition of "Ranchlands: By the Land, For the Land" is an impressive compendium of captioned full color photography that will hold a very special interest to fans of landscape photography, as well as readers concerned with nature conservation and environmentalism. "Ranchlands: By the Land, For the Land" is especially and unreservedly recommended as a prized pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library American Photography collections.
Editorial Note #1: Duke Phillips III is the founder and CEO of Ranchlands. More than 20 years ago, and with only 35 cows to his name, Phillips moved his family to the Chico Basin Ranch located on the prairie just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Over the course of two decades, Phillips, his family, and his growing team have built Ranchlands into a large-scale ranch-management business that now stewards 380,000 acres of land across four western states. (https://ranchlands.com/blogs/podcast/duke-phillips-iii)
The Christian Studies Shelf
Becoming New
Warren W. Wiersbe, author
Dan Jacobsen, editor
David C. Cook
c/o Cook Communications
www.davidccook.org
9780830787661, $21.99, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-New-Days-Transformation-through/dp/0830787666
Synopsis: A transformative journey through the arc of Scripture, "Becoming New: 100 Days of Transformation through God's Word" by the late Warren W. Wiersbe invites us to experience a deepened connection to God's Word, a greater sense of purpose, and a stronger relationship with the Holy Spirit.
A beloved Bible teacher known for his BE series and numerous other books, Warren Wiersbe was passionate about God's Word. Now, in this previously unpublished devotional, Wiersbe calls Christians to "become new" in their relationship with God.
With daily, themed Scripture passages, reflections and commentary from Wiersbe, and thought-provoking application questions, Becoming New offers an accessible 100-day experience of spiritual growth. Becoming New is ideal for those seeking profound, lasting change, as Wiersbe's contagious love for the Bible inspires us day by day to draw closer to God and then share this joy with others.
Critique: Deftly compiled and edited by his grandson, Pastor Dan Jacobsen, "Becoming New: 100 Days of Transformation through God's Word" is an admirable testament to the Christian legacy of Evangelical Pastor Warren W. Wiersbe. Informed and informative, inspired and inspiring, life changing and spirituality enhancing, and living up to the promise of its title, "Becoming New: 100 Days of Transformation through God's Word" is especially and unreservedly recommended reading for clergy, seminary students, and all members of the Christian community. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this hardcover edition of "Becoming New: 100 Days of Transformation through God's Word" from David C. Cook publishers is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Warren W. Wiersbe (May 16, 1929 - May 2, 2019) ministered in churches around the world, published more than 150 books, and received the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. His grandson, Dan Jacobsen, shares the same passion for studying and teaching the Bible, having served in pastoral ministry for over fifteen years. Dan is currently a lead pastor at Heartland Community Church near Kansas City. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_W._Wiersbe)
The Self-Help Shelf
Feeling Happy: The Yoga of Body, Heart, and Mind
Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
www.shambhala.com
9781645472339, $21.95, PB, 208pp
https://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Happy-Yoga-Body-Heart/dp/1645472337
Synopsis; What is the fully embodied experience of happiness, and is there any way for it to last? co-authored by the team of yoga expert instructors Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, "Feeling Happy: The Yoga of Body, Heart, and Mind" is designed to help you explore what happiness is and offers practical steps toward cultivating happiness as a deep, embodied expression of life and connection to others.
Using familiar examples from everyday life, traditional understanding of one's search for happiness, stories, and humor, Freeman and Taylor demonstrate how to find your way back home to the essence of who you are, and the direct experience of what it feels like to be truly happy.
"Feeling Happy" offers 24 accessible practices (meditations, simple movements, and breathing exercises) along with 22 black-and-white illustrative photos as guides along the path toward fully embodying happiness. These practices together with insight into the nature of being, will allow you to wake up and integrate the physical body, heart, and mind through the breath so that even in difficult times, compassion, equanimity, and happiness can emerge.
Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor draw from their years of experience practicing and teaching yoga, meditation and the philosophical interfacing of yoga and Buddhism to explore what happiness is and to offer practical steps toward cultivating happiness as a deep, embodied expression of life. They also offer insight into the nature of happiness as a basic human capacity - and illuminate how suffering, imbalanced emotion, and confusion can cast a veil over one's ability to truly feel happy.
Some of the practices showcased in "Feeling Happy" included: Focusing and calming the mind; Observing and engaging the breath as a guide; Working with difficulty and vulnerability; Keeping a tender and open heart; Building authenticity and presence; Attuning to yourself and to others; Cultivating kindness and compassion in complex times -- and more!
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, this paperback edition of "Feeling Happy: The Yoga of Body, Heart, and Mind" from Shambhala Publications is particularly ideal for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in utilizing yoga to deal with self-confidence and life's inevitably stresses. Of special note is the use of yoga with respect to exercise based injury rehabilitation. While especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Yoga collections, it should be noted that "Feeling Happy" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99) as well.
Editorial Note #1: Richard Freeman has been a student of yoga since 1968. He spent nine years in Asia studying yoga asana and pra ayama, bhakti, Sufism and Sanskrit. He continues his study of Western and Eastern philosophy all of which he incorporates into his yoga and meditation practices, drawing insights into the interfacing of Buddhism and yoga as a reflection of modern life.
Editorial Note #2: Mary Taylor began studying yoga in 1971 while at university as a means of relieving stress. Her interest grew to include an interfacing of yogic and Buddhist practices and theory as a support for a balanced and joyful approach to life. She focuses her work on weaving self-care, embodiment, and contemplative practices into daily life.
Editorial Note #3: Together, Freeman and Taylor teach workshops and trainings throughout the world and online. Richard's instructional videos and CDs on yoga set the gold standard for approaching yoga as a contemplative art. Freeman and Taylor have co-authored numerous books, most recently, When Love Comes to Light.
Okay, Now What?
Kate Gladdin
Alcove Press
www.alcovepress.com
9781639109128, $31.99, HC, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Okay-Now-What-Resilient-Tough/dp/1639109129
Synopsis: When motivational speaker Kate Gladdin was twenty years old, she woke up in the middle of the night to find out her older sister had died in a tragic road accident. Suddenly, everything she knew about her life, her future, and her family shattered in a heartbeat.
Just like Gladdin, we all face loss in different ways every day, because adversity is a part of life. There's no getting around it - only through it - and the most vital tool we need to overcome the unexpected is resilience. It was this realization that led Gladdin to become a resilience expert, life coach, and motivational speaker. Through her own proven three-step strategy using the three Rs - to recognize, reflect, and redirect - she now has the skills to use anytime she feels helpless and wants to take back control over any circumstance she faces.
It's this incredible method that Gladdin presents in "Okay, Now What?: How to Be Resilient When Life Gets Tough" as she shows readers how to: Recognize what's really causing them to struggle the most; Reflect on the impact of that struggle; How to redirect toward finding the resilience they need to grow through what they go through and create good from even the worst moments in life -- the most important step!
Resilience isn't a fixed trait that you are born with, like your eye color or the shape of your toes. Resilience is a skill that any of us can grow and develop with practice, and in "Okay, Now What?", you will learn exactly how to do so.
Critique: Life changing, life enriching, confidence building, and motivationally inspiring, "Okay, Now What? How to Be Resilient When Life Gets Tough" is exceptionally 'reader friendly', in substance, organization and presentation. While readily available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Tantor Audio, 9798228302051, $39.99, CD), this hardcover edition of "Okay, Now What?" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections.
Editorial Note: Kate Gladdin (www.kategladdin.com) is an international speaker, certified life coach, resilience specialist, podcast host, and author of Mini Habits for Teens, The Teen's Guide to Social Skills, and The Social Skills Workbook for Teens. Through her keynote talks, online coaching, and podcast show, Okay, Now What?, Kate has helped more than 250,000 students and young adults build the social and emotional skills they need to become more resilient so they can better handle the unexpected in life.
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
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