tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74053803796632451992024-03-28T11:40:45.669-04:00 Lori's Book LoftUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger734125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-11535106737363703172024-03-23T08:07:00.007-04:002024-03-23T08:14:31.415-04:00The Colonel and the Bee by Patrick Canning<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cfDLYmsaMICSQuJk3BODAEBnb49xzeIMuNqGRKDd7s9XiQcB0jZ1zqWbATlWi3hNeKKi07QVUs_V_w_ZDGBDb8HzO-AN5TsKHAgQubuGt12lMH50y3WYPXXtWWgKiFjsTbtAHmc9ARM3-OqgHLq7h1TizhEtj76wvlYpfxKUY5gms2rkfJX7hwHINOs/s648/can.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="432" height="888" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cfDLYmsaMICSQuJk3BODAEBnb49xzeIMuNqGRKDd7s9XiQcB0jZ1zqWbATlWi3hNeKKi07QVUs_V_w_ZDGBDb8HzO-AN5TsKHAgQubuGt12lMH50y3WYPXXtWWgKiFjsTbtAHmc9ARM3-OqgHLq7h1TizhEtj76wvlYpfxKUY5gms2rkfJX7hwHINOs/w591-h888/can.jpg" width="591" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">At the beginning of this read, we see The Amazing Beatrix, who has a body like a boy, is surrounded by a cast of circus characters. I like that we learn a little about each of the character's traits in this traveling circus. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Beatrix is not in a safe place. In part, that is because she is a trapeze artist who works without a net but also because her ringleader, Ziro, is a tyrant who abuses her. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Beatrix trades one frightening adventure for another when she is taken to Chartish Manor and meets Lord Chartish.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">From here she finds herself with Colonel James Bacchus, a problem solver who traverses continents in his four-story hot air balloon called The Ox</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">. We see Beatrix rather fancies this Englishman she calls the dandelion man. Beatrix narrowly escapes with </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bacchus and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">her magic lantern in the balloon directed by the Swiss wind. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Readers soon learn Beatrix ( Bee - as Bacchus calls her) agrees to help Bacchus hunt down the criminal who is searching for the Blue Star Spninx - but where you find one criminal - you may find many.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This is a well-written likable steampunk tale that includes the impressive detailing of technological inventions and the most isolated island on Earth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>I received a copy of this book from the author.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Patrick Canning is the author of the novels For Your Benefit (2024), Cryptonalia (2021), Hawthorn Woods (2020), The Colonel and the Bee (2018), and Cryptofauna (2018). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">His work often blends genres, combining elements of fantasy, humor, adventure, and mystery. The stories typically feature quirky characters and imaginative settings. </span></p><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-69840084827759168762024-03-22T19:12:00.008-04:002024-03-22T20:14:24.872-04:00Where We Belong The Museum of Forgotten Memories by Anstey Harris<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiiEXRLv3UGojofdpSa9UR0xcxzmjexrEx8RRzsejsoTyjTTHaacBSOvB8eMsUZBSK3g4drCtALR0f496l-VVzimxJ6hYwgYBrqjLusP1vvZ5LDedPKJWk_OCZipJdg8Is1vO2H_yTXHhPpM86tuGffDluW12pmwwmIQW7-DyebPgtzohxSFf9I1Z-J4/s1008/memories.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="925" height="698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiiEXRLv3UGojofdpSa9UR0xcxzmjexrEx8RRzsejsoTyjTTHaacBSOvB8eMsUZBSK3g4drCtALR0f496l-VVzimxJ6hYwgYBrqjLusP1vvZ5LDedPKJWk_OCZipJdg8Is1vO2H_yTXHhPpM86tuGffDluW12pmwwmIQW7-DyebPgtzohxSFf9I1Z-J4/w641-h698/memories.jpg" width="641" /></a><br /><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">While at the bookstore today, I picked up the book <i><span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Where We Belong (The Museum of Forgotten Memories) by Anstey Harris</b></span></i>. I read the first page that the book opened to. The writing was so descriptively beautiful that I took the book to the checkout counter and immediately headed home.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now, I'm lying here on the sofa and can tell you this </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">read is original. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you've not read the book then you wouldn't know</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> i</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">t is a bold and raw look at a fractured family suffering from overwhelming losses. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hatters Museum of the Wide Wide World</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> dates back to the Victorian era and showcases a collection of taxidermized African animals in an old English Mansion.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I love that this setting gives me permission to explore and imagine what the characters are currently going through as well as what they went through many generations ago. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">All the while, I'm thinking about my dog Buddy and how comforting it is to still have him here with me. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then my husband comes in and captures this photo of us so we can preserve the image and it will not be a forgotten memory. </span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-71296421521224533202024-03-15T11:17:00.007-04:002024-03-15T11:22:06.877-04:00Parent Imperfect Paul Lamb<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVKyWvPWjqZof1xDkVXPm4EU7latSREEDKRFVcR5fR1ZZXNwiYN8Te77t9e07LgzfD3DzSzQ2ffDr-NIykhR8q9Pyf1_DGXow7a0UkRqupmWjJhXF1_sNZFgv-3FMsSbOy2_TfjCoMBkf5MnRfN0ce4375WF1jEo64eDpvqUUuMIGrYHI_jIFMwYgYdU/s495/parent.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="334" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVKyWvPWjqZof1xDkVXPm4EU7latSREEDKRFVcR5fR1ZZXNwiYN8Te77t9e07LgzfD3DzSzQ2ffDr-NIykhR8q9Pyf1_DGXow7a0UkRqupmWjJhXF1_sNZFgv-3FMsSbOy2_TfjCoMBkf5MnRfN0ce4375WF1jEo64eDpvqUUuMIGrYHI_jIFMwYgYdU/w432-h640/parent.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">There are some books that we pick up to read and just fly through the pages. I found <i>Parent Imperfect </i>to be one of those books. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">If you have not heard of Parent Imperfect perhaps it is because I have the advanced reader copy. This is Paul Lamb's latest book. It is a forthcoming sequel to his book <a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2023/01/one-match-fire-paul-lamb.html" target="_blank">One-Match Fire </a>and Parent Imperfect is scheduled to be published by Blue Cedar Press on June 1, 2024.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">If you are intrigued by the graphic image above which shows the Mercury dime and a buffalo nickel you ought to check out Lamb's website to see how he came upon these items that appear on the front cover.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Now back to the story.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This story is very detailed and I like many things about this piece of literary fiction. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">First and foremost, t</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">he story is fully grounded in character-building based on human relationships and t</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">his narrative draws me in with the characters Curt and Kelly from the first novel. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">We learn they create a union of both families and adopt a son.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Early on, in the cabin in the Ozarks, readers witness a family ritual continues. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Throughout this story, t</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">here are expressions of curiosity, apprehension, and love. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> There is the meaningful planting of spruce trees and the storyline also explores the psychological aspects of assault, PTSD, and DNA testing. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">R</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">eaders will recognize nature is an amazing motivator and healer - providing inspiration for activity as well as for relaxation. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">About the Author</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">You can learn about Paul Lamb at his website <a href="https://paullamb.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Lucky Rabbit's Foot</a>.</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-50955335128525254112024-03-14T08:54:00.029-04:002024-03-15T19:19:13.205-04:00Bookish Habits<p> <b style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">#1</span> Book Storage – How do you store and organize your books?</b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Many of my books are in bookcases ( similar to those below) in the loft and on the 1st floor and some are stored in old trunks.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I do tend to keep my vintage and antique books in bookcases where I can easily get to them. </span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">For ebooks and audiobooks, I place them in a folder on my laptop. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bzB1TQyyiaf5qd6jbZDBUTyPH0cKsw4Sd5L7L_ypJLKZecdXSoJXzek4mMu6H2z1GYJx0WBB-t09HDYEKEV-38dnGqdd_UDktQw-gz7aYqo3oJmGkMfgxmJMFx1JltDxmgM99Eb4FUwhk-o_G5OVI2LYzpobjklhRzmhrqn6jF71BAsY9x7a0yrsFEQ/s720/lo.jpg" style="background: transparent; color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="542" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bzB1TQyyiaf5qd6jbZDBUTyPH0cKsw4Sd5L7L_ypJLKZecdXSoJXzek4mMu6H2z1GYJx0WBB-t09HDYEKEV-38dnGqdd_UDktQw-gz7aYqo3oJmGkMfgxmJMFx1JltDxmgM99Eb4FUwhk-o_G5OVI2LYzpobjklhRzmhrqn6jF71BAsY9x7a0yrsFEQ/w482-h640/lo.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: inherit; max-width: 100%;" width="482" /></a></div><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> #2:</span> Tracking – How do you keep track of what you have read and what books you own?</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I use my blog for the books I've recently read and reviewed and have many TBRs.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">#3 </span>Borrow – Do you lend your books out?</b></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLxhywSAlu01ym5rHsykVAxo_LjnuZyLSEUOcyWuB9fPQxBXZ1joCSVTccqjcW_DvkMyeWT_KQ32hZlM069I9W2Ja0F572X_qIsp6Yfxy1dBgdD-GwtmDGMCvwAa5RcdTdo8WYmjEzlI/s576/me.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="576" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLxhywSAlu01ym5rHsykVAxo_LjnuZyLSEUOcyWuB9fPQxBXZ1joCSVTccqjcW_DvkMyeWT_KQ32hZlM069I9W2Ja0F572X_qIsp6Yfxy1dBgdD-GwtmDGMCvwAa5RcdTdo8WYmjEzlI/w501-h489/me.jpg" width="501" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Many of you know that Mom is my biggest influence when it comes to reading. She</span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">was the one who took time away from her busy day to take me to the library.</span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br />At that time, I did not realize I would one day work at a public library where I would actually get paid to discuss books. Nor was I aware that I would freelance for a publisher where I'd earn money marketing books. </span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Well, those jobs have come and gone, but Mom is still close by, and we continue to share our love for Mary Higgins Clark and I continue to review books. Go <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/p/mhc.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b> </a></span>for my MHC page<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#4</span> Buying – How do you buy or acquire your books?</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I buy and read whatever interests me and publishers, agents, and authors often send me books and ebooks.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRbt-T9FNpgOhEboQ3-nfCJlcVfPepOWghjRYWzWxL7qgv8_rwhxI3J9o5bqBAGjGlTak0SFKdIX3ZJa0UPpok_TGoBehd_WWolFRWscnM33Fuw5nsq24Ibh1AmBAfXCzYrUh4-sMyz8Rksp4H1o37fUbOrDr0f9tMzWkFqQH_4AYQHPSXDBBa9fMVY0/s720/fm.jpg" style="background: transparent; color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="720" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRbt-T9FNpgOhEboQ3-nfCJlcVfPepOWghjRYWzWxL7qgv8_rwhxI3J9o5bqBAGjGlTak0SFKdIX3ZJa0UPpok_TGoBehd_WWolFRWscnM33Fuw5nsq24Ibh1AmBAfXCzYrUh4-sMyz8Rksp4H1o37fUbOrDr0f9tMzWkFqQH_4AYQHPSXDBBa9fMVY0/w556-h427/fm.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: inherit; max-width: 100%;" width="556" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">When family members and co-workers request a gift list from me, books are always at the top of my list followed by coffee beans, teas, and taffy.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSzBALj5XT2d8Zv1QGPEjqCyW23A1ExZoqw3PFJSgIiLancopSYDqewpxFpsxOq-c3EHkHDWVKZPmPK2Mwn5Ja-TQ4m3-Hy19oHCaii_x0Lqn6D_az7s7qVBO20-5_zhPnzmWoy9Lz6xAU-wRXASFDj2VGI2ub0GBQs1v7NMa6vA9Yx-W0p_vRJxf/s579/meja.jpg" style="background: transparent; color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="579" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSzBALj5XT2d8Zv1QGPEjqCyW23A1ExZoqw3PFJSgIiLancopSYDqewpxFpsxOq-c3EHkHDWVKZPmPK2Mwn5Ja-TQ4m3-Hy19oHCaii_x0Lqn6D_az7s7qVBO20-5_zhPnzmWoy9Lz6xAU-wRXASFDj2VGI2ub0GBQs1v7NMa6vA9Yx-W0p_vRJxf/w580-h368/meja.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: inherit; max-width: 100%;" width="580" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I enjoy purchasing from <a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/p/moody-monday.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">bookstores</span></a> and like to browse bookshelves and w</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">hile exploring, I often </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">read. </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#5 </span>Comments – How do you respond to the “How do you read so much” comment or similar comments?</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wzXBCb43nwsYWWfJ66ieBLVq0kc8JfIEasi2FM_Ztzsja5LXj7CGQ4_Kjbzy2hakyDysSyPmSc5xMyhmKR07xQpHIEa9wGhjfe9tywS4Oi8uER1OChhoqy4iOKI5HtMreMglP5UKbbXJCs0E-dImdnelo-gyUjCgi37TojQ557SDA82nAIkOcXNAEcc/s237/ha.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="205" height="673" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wzXBCb43nwsYWWfJ66ieBLVq0kc8JfIEasi2FM_Ztzsja5LXj7CGQ4_Kjbzy2hakyDysSyPmSc5xMyhmKR07xQpHIEa9wGhjfe9tywS4Oi8uER1OChhoqy4iOKI5HtMreMglP5UKbbXJCs0E-dImdnelo-gyUjCgi37TojQ557SDA82nAIkOcXNAEcc/w583-h673/ha.jpg" width="583" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I dedicate time to reading usually a minimum of 10 hours a week I read books. I also read a lot of other material such as news articles, magazines, and the like. You can learn more about devotion to reading<b><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2018/10/devoted-to-reading.html" target="_blank"> here</a></b>.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> #6 </span> Next Book – How do you pick your next read?</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I go with whatever floats my boat - what speaks to me- at the moment</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">This afternoon, I was hanging out at the bookshop, perusing the bookshelves. I came upon a copy of Fire From Heaven. After reading a few pages of the first chapter, I decided to purchase it.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGN3J0wpmset-zdi8cQaX0hjDX_Gr3GTZt7IYb1d6iSGcelk9ejPpZr5GFxK7R6PuKjvS205shsIedSIgd-wpz9o-UuXGn_miVDP2IBygLSMZQVqk5APlXSlW6iKzgNykBWlembG-cOhVxCVIgMdVy4Gt9OiEuF-B_Bs7ya3RzwaISUuZHg1W6auYTDc/s720/fire.jpg" style="background: transparent; color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="542" height="780" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGN3J0wpmset-zdi8cQaX0hjDX_Gr3GTZt7IYb1d6iSGcelk9ejPpZr5GFxK7R6PuKjvS205shsIedSIgd-wpz9o-UuXGn_miVDP2IBygLSMZQVqk5APlXSlW6iKzgNykBWlembG-cOhVxCVIgMdVy4Gt9OiEuF-B_Bs7ya3RzwaISUuZHg1W6auYTDc/w587-h780/fire.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: inherit; max-width: 100%;" width="587" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#7</span><span style="color: #e69138;"> </span> Travel – How do you pick what book(s) you bring on vacation with you?</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">When traveling, I generally have a tablet and a laptop with me. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pTUt_j6X-k4Nmm7b8khv6Z7Uw1w2mpPXQPs0tUKQtGJhMVdvuXKcK1GKgWRIWw4d9HsQuWLWOnv3OMsvN4_oRnHDUCH5m0sI7MBzRWeXyd8NjmmkeTcg6S44K6_QQrwxEFlXlS3M9HhHlI_EHN-5eT4Yoj0w7oeYYA61qvQvdS2IuarWWn_QlogYTb8/s500/ma.jpg" style="background: transparent; color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="500" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pTUt_j6X-k4Nmm7b8khv6Z7Uw1w2mpPXQPs0tUKQtGJhMVdvuXKcK1GKgWRIWw4d9HsQuWLWOnv3OMsvN4_oRnHDUCH5m0sI7MBzRWeXyd8NjmmkeTcg6S44K6_QQrwxEFlXlS3M9HhHlI_EHN-5eT4Yoj0w7oeYYA61qvQvdS2IuarWWn_QlogYTb8/w580-h421/ma.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: inherit; max-width: 100%;" width="580" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I frequently read ebooks or carry along a book on<a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/p/often-choose-to-read-to-explore-beauty.html" target="_blank"> poetry </a>or <a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2019/03/todays-green-collection.html" target="_blank">nature</a>. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROcTzDUNWD6-mRX-GtmMi5oALcuvTgjCPR-Zh8TZxDYdcm8GkzpI1mF3xD8jU7GAwR_P5goefVPhxAzvF3mebh99iEoirSSuDRt6gaHKx9EhxWF_7cA8CmAwrvi0oLs0nloor609SuhO0fEC-L-t11IgsfoYBdgpzDyZo9u6oJJTfAktue-VgiRLq/s653/birdbook.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="653" height="607" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROcTzDUNWD6-mRX-GtmMi5oALcuvTgjCPR-Zh8TZxDYdcm8GkzpI1mF3xD8jU7GAwR_P5goefVPhxAzvF3mebh99iEoirSSuDRt6gaHKx9EhxWF_7cA8CmAwrvi0oLs0nloor609SuhO0fEC-L-t11IgsfoYBdgpzDyZo9u6oJJTfAktue-VgiRLq/w610-h607/birdbook.jpg" width="610" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>#8</b> </span><b> Annotate – Do you write, highlight, or mark up your books in any way?</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">No! Oddly, I do not write or highlight in the books I own.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I say oddly as I do enjoy purchasing previously owned books and many have been marked up. If you want to find information for scribbling in the scroll you can go <a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2019/03/scribbles-in-scroll.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>here</b></span></a>.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I keep a journal handy to jot in. If I am planning a review, I often write/type while reading.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#9 </span>New or Backlist – Which do you prefer, new releases or backlist books?</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I usually go with whatever synopsis catches my attention</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">and</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> tend to read a lot of backlist books and also receive advanced reader copies and new releases to read and review. </span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I would say my very favorite reads have more to do with the style of writing and how they fit into my life at that time. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>#10</b></span><b> Sequels – Do you read books as they are released or wait for an entire series to be published before reading 1 book?</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJnOG2DQzRBRRsNhrTpSzQ_PZQ8nP-N16vmAvBDntrSPZAPMs4zQSjxcBiPq9WU75wW57W6b53pAnHVLIyttKZsynwnFhtJUT4e_NDvTgYRexGl4-s9IvADqk2YNBYoHlmgn1T2t_nf-zCf_ieIMdBs9in-p6cTIfv1PXqoew9A4JlKJhyphenhyphenLjtvO9WlEg/s480/div.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="541" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJnOG2DQzRBRRsNhrTpSzQ_PZQ8nP-N16vmAvBDntrSPZAPMs4zQSjxcBiPq9WU75wW57W6b53pAnHVLIyttKZsynwnFhtJUT4e_NDvTgYRexGl4-s9IvADqk2YNBYoHlmgn1T2t_nf-zCf_ieIMdBs9in-p6cTIfv1PXqoew9A4JlKJhyphenhyphenLjtvO9WlEg/w541-h541/div.jpg" width="541" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I generally read as they are being released.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">W</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">hat I never do is limit myself to just a few authors because I might be missing out on a book that fits me perfectly at that time</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>#11</b></span> </span></span><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Do you use bookmarks?</b></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Yes, I use bookmarks - but not these that were a handcrafted gift.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyytSTa5EaxezDV0tRpbeACMYGR4_oRv93xothRDGgMSNaGJUPuardMZK_mzkIutb9wK_NY84JerxmYG3xMxLX98P0fM64aNQbrnmi9JxHuUMku_xAR2hQEDaq2LbOF209WvTP-EH0Yk8/s639/bookmarks.jpg" style="background: transparent; color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="558" height="632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyytSTa5EaxezDV0tRpbeACMYGR4_oRv93xothRDGgMSNaGJUPuardMZK_mzkIutb9wK_NY84JerxmYG3xMxLX98P0fM64aNQbrnmi9JxHuUMku_xAR2hQEDaq2LbOF209WvTP-EH0Yk8/w552-h632/bookmarks.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: inherit; max-width: 100%;" width="552" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><i>Thank you for the emails! Thought it would be easier to respond to all here about my Bookish Habits. </i></b></span><b style="color: #b45f06;"><i>I hope you find new or old books to love.</i></b></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-85689658946698464122024-03-11T18:48:00.007-04:002024-03-15T19:27:07.154-04:00Teacher Man Fank McCourt<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsrMxX7b5-Md40puKd4i5QbfH-y_csgVHsqpLv3DjfisrfrVvMEl1Ha0A0etqqc2SL7igWcM3JQeu8NFH1RPm8Uk81WSDe9AxVdPdG3HHeeCOJxN6wXyKBM2OF_TSWqra52C2kA-sgEKU6sYXt7zXok82D7p7HwAKhUn0R1LYMLE-nzHDQUcK-Cu5HpM/s432/mc.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="303" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsrMxX7b5-Md40puKd4i5QbfH-y_csgVHsqpLv3DjfisrfrVvMEl1Ha0A0etqqc2SL7igWcM3JQeu8NFH1RPm8Uk81WSDe9AxVdPdG3HHeeCOJxN6wXyKBM2OF_TSWqra52C2kA-sgEKU6sYXt7zXok82D7p7HwAKhUn0R1LYMLE-nzHDQUcK-Cu5HpM/w369-h528/mc.jpg" width="369" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I'd not read anything by Frank McCourt but did see on the cover of Teacher Man that he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author for Angela's Ashes (1996). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">While still in the used bookstore, I read the Prologue for Teacher Man and was hooked. Turning to the back to see how many pages of text it contains I found that above the last paragraph, someone had penciled in amazing, and under the last sentence in the book was penciled in Great. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I leafed through the book quickly to see if there were any other marks that I could decipher. When I looked more closely, on the top of the introductory page next to the image of him that states America's Teacher of the Year, someone had written in pencil, ES keep reading very thought-provoking. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">McCourt writes this memoir a few years before his death and provides us with his interpretation of the ups and downs of his years teaching school.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Like many new to teaching, McCourt starts Part I telling us he is not ready. He shows us his vulnerability by revealing he almost got fired on his first day. He is raw in the way he describes his eleventh graders. I mean, I can close my eyes and think back to my time in high school and I'm certain I heard the same slang. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">McCourt does tell readers if his class remembers any word it will most likely be the word gibberish - a word people use to describe what is impossible to understand.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">When you get to Part 11, titled, Donkey on a Thistle, McCourt talks about moving on. He reflects on his time teaching high school and he clues readers in on the obvious - one must have their techniques and use their style when teaching. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">At this point, he has his Master's degree in English Education and is leaving high school to work at the Community college. Soon after this move, he changed his teaching style for the college students who are mostly 30 and under.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Near the end of the book, McCourt reflects on his years teaching English and creative writing and he talks about challenging students to improve their vocabulary. He does this by having a conversation with students about the way they are discussing that the cafeteria food sucks. He reminds students that, centuries ago Ben Johnson directed our attention to the fact that language reveals the man. And a youth concluded with a quick-witted response. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-mccourt/" target="_blank">Frank McCourt</a> (1930-2009) was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Irish immigrant parents, grew up in Limerick, Ireland, and returned to America in 1949. For thirty years he taught in New York City high schools. His first book, "Angela's Ashes," won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the L.A. Times Book Award. In 2006, he won the prestigious Ellis Island Family Heritage Award for Exemplary Service in the Field of the Arts and the United Federation of Teachers John Dewey Award for Excellence in Education.</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-66734118054961348312024-03-08T04:50:00.013-05:002024-03-08T21:22:59.779-05:00 Seeking the Lord A 30 Day Start to Your Journey Keon Lindsey<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkhyPADZVb0Fd1plYBaAojnaOH3ZiUi7DtRzshRvXQnZGCEk6RadbfAsERFGNUNoPD1l7YzCoqXnXwpArMujeZgKyYsYixb5pnwZs-2CsWUVsTW4GVMRTrRQg3PIXMPhXUzaduQkRuV01Cql_SD_3p_C2Zlr3wS4jVgHbGvwnqCY16_lx7rzpvGoEV8YY/s648/lindsey.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="432" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkhyPADZVb0Fd1plYBaAojnaOH3ZiUi7DtRzshRvXQnZGCEk6RadbfAsERFGNUNoPD1l7YzCoqXnXwpArMujeZgKyYsYixb5pnwZs-2CsWUVsTW4GVMRTrRQg3PIXMPhXUzaduQkRuV01Cql_SD_3p_C2Zlr3wS4jVgHbGvwnqCY16_lx7rzpvGoEV8YY/w342-h514/lindsey.jpg" width="342" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Review: Seeking the Lord: A 30 Day Start to Your Journey</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This is a book blog and again I will point out that the Holy Bible is the most read book in the world. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">You may be asking yourself why is the Bible so difficult to understand. Well, please don't feel like you are alone in this. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Many people find the Bible to be challenging. Some readers jump around from book to book or from the Old Testament to the New </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Testament, w</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">hile others may begin by examining a topic that is connected to them. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Keon Lindsey's book <i>Seeking the Lord A 30 Day Start to Your Journey</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i> </i>provides many perspectives and ma</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">y address some of the questions you have about the Bible and God's promises. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Lindsey probes 22 people in the Bible who searched and found God. Through scripture, we learn about God's timing and are made aware of how the Lord asks humans to do what is good and beneficial and that includes caring for others in need. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">These 30 chapters may assist readers in clarifying what caused you to make that decision. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Scriptures are provided throughout the book to help readers witness how individuals were tested to reveal they honor and value God. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Readers are left with the reminder that faith is an unseen promise and that learning God's word is a lifelong pursuit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I received a copy of this book from </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Keon Lindsey.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 12px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://keonlindsey.com/" target="_blank">Keon Lindsey </a>is life-long Bible student. He enjoys sharing insights to help people grow spiritually and has led Bible studies for adults and teenagers. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Being an author is a way for Keon to assist more people on their spiritual journey. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Keon is also a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He had a 20-year Navy career as an Aviator which included ship operations and testing new equipment. He is a Project Management Professional and has helped businesses with financing. He earned a Black Belt in American Freestyle Karate, flew small airplanes and large jets, and has a master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Keon has visited six countries and 49 states. </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Keon lives with his family in Virginia.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ASIN : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">B08GVGCK7D</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Publisher : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Independently published </span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Language : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">English</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Paperback : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">294 pages</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-13 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">979-8667547327</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Item Weight : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">1.12 pounds</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Dimensions : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">6 x 0.74 x 9 inches</span></span></span></li></ul><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-46505887448500346942024-03-07T20:11:00.006-05:002024-03-08T21:22:10.273-05:00Actionable Life Skills for Young Adults: 11 Powerful Steps to Achieve Financial Independence and Kick-start Your Road to Successful Adulthood Maya Shine<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivnIKYKbidpNriwRoqtZmHmbIXxhJhMeVBYjrAQLpWEy6geLOrXMl6z1JwVAtt7m8fQS9e1BDxFB_goo5d_uGFjKhtfc-K7J0pBCIAu5pkZtTcwLt-ZkDN_Ooqba7zXG7X32rxRZBJF3qH8hvp_JvY0N0OUuGT3wFRTDgNA824O8maWSquoc-ZXnj3M40/s648/2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="432" height="704" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivnIKYKbidpNriwRoqtZmHmbIXxhJhMeVBYjrAQLpWEy6geLOrXMl6z1JwVAtt7m8fQS9e1BDxFB_goo5d_uGFjKhtfc-K7J0pBCIAu5pkZtTcwLt-ZkDN_Ooqba7zXG7X32rxRZBJF3qH8hvp_JvY0N0OUuGT3wFRTDgNA824O8maWSquoc-ZXnj3M40/w469-h704/2.jpg" width="469" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Actionable Life Skills for Young Adults: 11 Powerful Steps to Achieve Financial Independence and Kick-start Your Road to Successful Adulthood is a winner of the Literary Titan Book Award which recognizes excellence in writing that is both innovative and impactful</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Chapter One starts with a great question,</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #800180;">Did you know 81 percent of </span></i></p><p><i><span style="color: #800180; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">new college graduates wish they had been taught more life skills before they got their diploma?</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Let's get real. Sometimes we learn skills when we are young and sometimes we don't. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I can provide you with a basic example. We were faced with limited resources and </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">did not have a washer and dryer at home. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was in grade school at the time and e</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">very week, I went to the laundry mat with Mom.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Back then, we didn't have detergent pods, either. Instead, we measured everything out in a cup for the different cycles we were using. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">About 10 years ago I realized I had a life skill I hadn't even considered until it was brought to my attention. A washer, we had, broke down. I loaded up the vehicle and went to the laundry mat. While there, a man approached me and asked for my help. He had a laundry detergent pod but said he wasn't sure when to put it in with his clothing and he had no idea how to start the washer or dryer let alone fold clothes when they were done. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Sometimes the tasks we think are simple - only mean they are simple for us - not others.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This well-detailed book wil help you with 11 Powerful Steps </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">KNOW YOURSELF</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">SELF CARE</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">ACE ACADEMICS</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">GET A JOB AND EARN WHILE YOU LEARN</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">BE THE BOSS OF YOUR CASH</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">COLLEGE COSTS, LOANS, AND CREDIT CARDS</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">YOUR FIRST SET OF WHEELS</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">GETTING YOUR OWN PLACE </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">STAYING SAFE</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">SPIRITUALITY AND MORALITY</span></li></ol><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Independent skills are behaviors and knowledge required for a person to live successfully on their own. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This book depicts a version of the 5WH method. It provides thought-provoking questions and makes us aware of habits, goals, and a broad spectrum of considerations.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Being independent can be very empowering. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I received a copy of this book from Maya Shine</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Maya Shine is an award-winning author dedicated to empowering teens and young adults through literature. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;">Her journey, shaped by a background in computer engineering, a master's degree in administration, and certifications in information security, has led her through diverse roles as a consultant, team leader, and manager over the past two decades. Additionally, she maintains a profound interest in psychology, art, science, literature, and spirituality.</span> </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-22565002902441179012024-03-07T17:17:00.008-05:002024-03-08T21:23:46.375-05:00Storytelling with Charts Sam Schreim<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1Agu7sPssgL1dy7aNwN-OC8uEzOHOMrCp4xLZ_YbXKwF5WymhUzHgGt9N3STg9tCmcd0Q8or_iv89bKfM-bJbM3ns9g_4AHr6SSzhjeCydUNdYUQq1KS8ii2UF1RHJ4i5zLTVLWNa8LbZeD9zU251zZv6snTTI6zATkxaCkNbdyI1PExGmgPyA2ZZ6k/s648/sc.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="432" height="667" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1Agu7sPssgL1dy7aNwN-OC8uEzOHOMrCp4xLZ_YbXKwF5WymhUzHgGt9N3STg9tCmcd0Q8or_iv89bKfM-bJbM3ns9g_4AHr6SSzhjeCydUNdYUQq1KS8ii2UF1RHJ4i5zLTVLWNa8LbZeD9zU251zZv6snTTI6zATkxaCkNbdyI1PExGmgPyA2ZZ6k/w444-h667/sc.jpg" width="444" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /><span><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Lately, I’ve been hanging out at bookstores, looking at all the cool stuff that Booktubers are posting, reading books, and reading books about books.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="ny" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.06px;"><span><span>I don't feel it is unusual for an author to decide to buy a book to help the</span>m </span></span><span class="ny" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.06px;"><span>grasp the important topics to help them relay their story</span></span><span class="ny" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.06px;"><span>.</span></span><span class="ny" face="source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.06px;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>The book </span><i>StoryTelling with Charts - The Full Story: The Ultimate Playbook to Master the Art and Science of Captivating Audiences by Telling Stories With Data and Framework Charts </i><span>is about creating a book with impactful visuals. This book is broken down into 5 easy-to-comprehend chapters that use a powerful 5 - step framework.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">WHAT IS STC?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">THE ANATOMY OF STC AND ITS CHARTS</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">UNIVERSAL FRAMEWORK FOR VERTICAL LOGIC</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">CHART SELECTION—QUALITATIVE OR CONCEPTUAL CHARTS</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">HORIZONTAL LOGIC AND STORYLINES</span></li></ol><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This book gives us the background as to why it is that we like books. It talks about how we humans get great enjoyment from telling engaging stories to one another and reading irresistible narratives. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">So basically the story we tell one another allows our audience to paint a picture in their minds of what occurred. Hence the message procludes the chart or visual. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Sam Schreim makes us aware that learning the STC method is similar to learning a language and he relays the importance of utilizing the 80/20 rule in giving/asking. He also touches on using documents in PowerPoint or Keynote so they can easily be converted to video. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At one point </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Schreim</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> brings up the storyline for the movie Benjamin Button - but forewarns us with the spoiler alert. Later in the book he throws an Albert Einstein quote at us that really makes one think - logically.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We travel back in time and look at a time Before Laptops and Computers when everything was manual and charts were hand drawn and where authors had a plot things out in their mind before collecting the required data. W</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">e have gone from a scarcity of data to an abundance of it w</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ith the aid of the internet and social media. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Schreim alerts us to Four Types of Charts. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are also cheat sheets, diagrams, look-up tables, quick references, and toolkits included.</span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This is an informative read. It will help you choose the correct visual to assist in recounting moments that absorb an audience's attention.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I received a copy of this book from Sam Schreim.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Sam Schreim is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Business Model Hackers® after working for more than two decades as a senior strategy consultant and the author of Storytelling with Charts (STC) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Through the STC method, Schreim helped consulting firms secure over half a billion dollars in new business and engagement work.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">For decades, Schreim has advised numerous blue-chip C-suite members, global management consulting firms, startups, entrepreneurs, government and state leaders, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals on matters of strategy and general management and in-between, he founded and sold several startups.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Today, his goal is to put his invaluable business strategy expertise into practical guides for business professionals.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ASIN : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">B0BRPKT98T</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Publisher : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Independently published </span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Language : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">English</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hardcover : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">84 pages</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-13 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">979-8372070295</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Item Weight : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">9.8 ounces</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Dimensions : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">6 x 0.39 x 9 inches</span></span></span></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-58380355977798802302024-03-07T15:13:00.003-05:002024-03-07T15:15:50.966-05:00Let Me Tell You About Jasper Dana Perino<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5HheM-EoreVGlGQZXyS62vcAZcModm3OcKAV8sCPvrIRuKydbTBCf9gSly52O7d7G9jjiIEZCAD0nZBnYVwqPz8Bed-7y3nYg_rzOaxvAp4-n1K7Lwdonxu1PWGWxNsc1Uqw7i-7sHGjG_H3a0on3AQLXnhJ-sPatipB9P2vr5cgzUiO2xxLG4J6pMU/s576/jasper.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="460" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5HheM-EoreVGlGQZXyS62vcAZcModm3OcKAV8sCPvrIRuKydbTBCf9gSly52O7d7G9jjiIEZCAD0nZBnYVwqPz8Bed-7y3nYg_rzOaxvAp4-n1K7Lwdonxu1PWGWxNsc1Uqw7i-7sHGjG_H3a0on3AQLXnhJ-sPatipB9P2vr5cgzUiO2xxLG4J6pMU/w512-h640/jasper.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Many of my blog viewers are dog owners so I will talk a little about a book I recently purchased. It's about a Hungarian vizsla named Jasper who was also known as America's Dog</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Dana lost her dog Henry and after a few months got Jasper. She is candid about her family's experience with him.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dana's book <i>Let Me Tell You About Jasper</i> is heartfelt. She talks about getting Jasper and mentions that when walking in Central Park, with Jasper, more people recognized him than her. The stories are forthright. Many illustrated images </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">are included </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and some are dog gone funny. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Honesty, we don't get far from home and someone asks us about our dogs. Our two males are 13 and our female will soon be 2. We in turn often ask others about their dogs too.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I believe this is because dogs become such an integral part of our lives. The memories we associate with dogs are many and sometimes dogs are the ones that comfort us most when we are going through tough times. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jasper passed in 2021 from cancer. What I appreciate most about this book is I know more about Hungarian </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">vizsla's </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and know that Jasper was loved. </span></span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-31967336786658979632024-03-03T05:28:00.005-05:002024-03-08T05:35:07.763-05:00Night Elie Wiesel<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4kSAoIxAnbbhELOBsybMNbX6TMeEx90vrZGYtelmiVzNhv2eH9L3RfNp3vhmSey0iA7ZvO0aIHNBiw7nHieNKUPGSeictWgJh01fIhmmpvZm7BQ32W8HlS8zIi8al3q9GD1i9N6IK6IjlGCj47sD6_QpmcEuv4FITPqbZQ5QHlwNXAVwwqtxIc860Vxs/s432/elie.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="317" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4kSAoIxAnbbhELOBsybMNbX6TMeEx90vrZGYtelmiVzNhv2eH9L3RfNp3vhmSey0iA7ZvO0aIHNBiw7nHieNKUPGSeictWgJh01fIhmmpvZm7BQ32W8HlS8zIi8al3q9GD1i9N6IK6IjlGCj47sD6_QpmcEuv4FITPqbZQ5QHlwNXAVwwqtxIc860Vxs/w326-h444/elie.jpg" width="326" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Review: Night</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">International Holocaust Remembrance Day, occurs on January 27.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Is it important to learn about concentration camps and the like?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My opinion is - it is. Empires are created by ambitious people and somewhere in the quest one often finds exploitation rears its ugly head and we see people are treated unfairly whether it be by force, manipulation, or threat. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>I've posted on this blog that as a youth I read </span><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2020/08/anne-frank-parallel-stories-diary-of.html" target="_blank">The Diary of Anne Frank</a> <span>and more recently <a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2018/03/survivors-club-true-story-of-very-young.html" target="_blank">Survivors Club</a>: T</span><span>he True Story of a Very Young Prisoner of Auschwitz. S</span><span>ince then, I have watched shows depicting life in concentration camps. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Reading accounts such as these </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">teaches us about important things like our susceptibility, or resilience, and perseverance. It also </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">conveys the anguish, confusion, and uncertainty that can occur during times when we are feeling vulnerable. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">I purchased the book Night which states on the front cover that it has a new preface by the author Elie Wiesel. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Wiesel prefaces it by telling readers if he had only one book to write in his lifetime this would be it.</span></span></p><div><br /></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As this is an autobiography, readers see what events Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel focused on. The chapters alternate “Before” and “During” his time in concentration camps. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The story begins with Hungary becoming an ally to Germany as they believed they would be getting back the land they had lost in World War I.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Moishe the Beadle warns Eliezer and others of the pending evil. He tells them of being made to dig graves for mass extermination and says the Nazis would come for them but most ignore Moshie the Beadle thinking he is mad. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Eliezer tried to talk his dad into leaving but his dad told him he was too old to leave this land. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hungarian authorities, under German influence, deported Jews to </span></span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Auschwitz-Birkenau. Eliezer's</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> dad buries their gold and silver in the cellar before they are taken to the Holocaust cattle car.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In the cattle car, we see many parallels not only between the treatment of humans to cattle and Nazis to Jews but also by the prisoners beating Madame Schächter as her young son looks on. Her screams foreshadow the crematories at Auschwitz.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Eliezer quickly learns that the Nazis choose who is fit to work and who is not. His mother and younger sister are taken to the gas chamber on the night of their arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">His father and he were transported to Buchenwald. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Eliezer was tattooed, like an animal, with an identity number A-7713</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">R</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">eaders are witnesses to the struggle for survival, the sexual slavery, and the deplorable and unprecedented loss of life that is taking place.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Tragically, Eliezer last sees his dad on the night of Jan 28th, 1945. The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The book is a ghastly autobiographical account of a teenager's survival in the Nazi death camp and readers learn that many times faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Hebrews 11.1</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Eliezer '<i>Elie' Wiesel</i> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">was a Professor in Humanities at Boston University. He </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of America Congressional Gold Medal, the French Legion of Honor, and, the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">for his work bearing witness to the Holocaust and for his efforts to combat indifference</span>.</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-17545943152130615582024-03-02T18:18:00.009-05:002024-03-02T19:12:09.731-05:00Pierce Bookkeeping and Bookstore<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_SZnFFXA26c1cs_mFZ4js39ySyC72IU52xDZF3vvOmR2W7dINIFGf9DcbUIGCcNdKoO6hUGs2BaMSNutmQSzuvC2YRUB5cMkreQT-hFoFn5aLIV3SNDZc4JYmiWrvc0g8ir7sb-GtxOqxc-b5r8TrY2gFxY7NIIPHEuoc0QTkvFsu8JnbS0kpX93fxQ/s940/store1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="940" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_SZnFFXA26c1cs_mFZ4js39ySyC72IU52xDZF3vvOmR2W7dINIFGf9DcbUIGCcNdKoO6hUGs2BaMSNutmQSzuvC2YRUB5cMkreQT-hFoFn5aLIV3SNDZc4JYmiWrvc0g8ir7sb-GtxOqxc-b5r8TrY2gFxY7NIIPHEuoc0QTkvFsu8JnbS0kpX93fxQ/w625-h367/store1.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><span style="background-color: black;"><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>Like most bookworms, I love books, bookstores, and libraries. </span><span><span>My husband knows this all too well and </span><span>had seen an advertisement on a Facebook scroll for </span><i>Pierce Bookkeeping and Bookstore's </i><span>grand opening. He pointed it out to me</span><i>.</i><span> </span><span>W</span><span>e had the weekend off and settled on going. We got there in time to see the ribbon cutting.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>We learned the owner Becky Pierce has been doing taxes/bookkeeping for the past 15 years and had so many of her own books she decided to open a bookstore.</span></span><span> Her son helps her run the store. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>The new building that houses the bookstore is welcoming. I love the signage and complementary to the open porch is a working traffic light</span><span>. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesgjxJ8mkCpIdXkfeBjFym7ms5MYTPUZAltuFxpHB16glCEECNOTtuarMzOjL5GIIEK-Epmb3dncSAMV-IrT90p5n5k8mg3B-XtCqvU0uQ1gYimkMo8mEWWG9BurLSh-TWWUMQXpI0PYdXN_YemP_pJoKjTZEYgkUW6U4jZrX1QrltTInez9Qm-PPW-E/s720/store4.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="416" height="940" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesgjxJ8mkCpIdXkfeBjFym7ms5MYTPUZAltuFxpHB16glCEECNOTtuarMzOjL5GIIEK-Epmb3dncSAMV-IrT90p5n5k8mg3B-XtCqvU0uQ1gYimkMo8mEWWG9BurLSh-TWWUMQXpI0PYdXN_YemP_pJoKjTZEYgkUW6U4jZrX1QrltTInez9Qm-PPW-E/w544-h940/store4.jpg" width="544" /></span></a></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>Upon entering the bookstore, I noticed that</span><span> many of the gently used books were housed in a range of bookcases and bins.</span><span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif"><span> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My eye was immediately drawn to the left as there were shelves packed full of Amish romance books. I thought, "Oh how Mom would love to be here." Mom and her friends gravitate to these types of reads and exchange them with one another. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Passing a bin, I made my way down an aisle toward the back of the store. I'd been informed that this is where the majority of the poetry and vintage books currently are shelved. There, I found a copy of Ivanhoe which tells the story of the period after King Richard's imprisonment in Austria. I decided to forgo a copy that depicts the corrupt versus the noble and look at what other treasures were on the shelves.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I ended up selecting two books. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAeW2W67L2sd-_sIiwhu6kCpFKX_oHGo3-y-x-eLyhg3wrYxJkG2rNFrGnI8ifm5ePDWOZ-8LM4zMSWQa4Zl8tJO7A1OBTyIRHpUuZEKnfXXG5rfuTfQBzAlraOXdQip6Rbcm214K6GH7a8ivQGCj0AY5LvofoM_NxWOvQGZYNarWc9zVeRrcGbwBzac/s506/eben.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="360" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAeW2W67L2sd-_sIiwhu6kCpFKX_oHGo3-y-x-eLyhg3wrYxJkG2rNFrGnI8ifm5ePDWOZ-8LM4zMSWQa4Zl8tJO7A1OBTyIRHpUuZEKnfXXG5rfuTfQBzAlraOXdQip6Rbcm214K6GH7a8ivQGCj0AY5LvofoM_NxWOvQGZYNarWc9zVeRrcGbwBzac/w446-h626/eben.jpg" width="446" /></span></a></div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><i><b>Eben Holden A Tale Of The North Country</b></i> by Irving Bacheller. I have not read this book but had seen it referred to as the "first best-selling novel of the 20th century. </span><span>I also selected </span><i><b>That Girl From Memphis</b></i><span> by Wilbur </span><span>Daniel Steele as I have been enjoying Westerns that depict mining in the 19th century.</span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> <br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhjeeVQH2THd5Pr8ghC1KFBhog_gql8Vg24hK9OvIfaaYZU9i04iU5yn-J5HHb0cUDrYvzhkfLb5oqmzISIRQwijkF_PznZNGSmna9m_2hVXVWdpHk297Kc_LG6sNJNLI_agu1wXtTq33R-XiwX45-tzMUToVeHLPqfx-felXn_IDhZqdjzqkwMYWDyA/s504/mem.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="282" height="908" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhjeeVQH2THd5Pr8ghC1KFBhog_gql8Vg24hK9OvIfaaYZU9i04iU5yn-J5HHb0cUDrYvzhkfLb5oqmzISIRQwijkF_PznZNGSmna9m_2hVXVWdpHk297Kc_LG6sNJNLI_agu1wXtTq33R-XiwX45-tzMUToVeHLPqfx-felXn_IDhZqdjzqkwMYWDyA/w507-h908/mem.jpg" width="507" /></span></a></div><p></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">When I had these two books secured under my arm, I moved to the set of shelves on the right and looked through the mysteries. A few <i>Agatha Christie</i> that I didn't already own caught my attention. Soon after, I was distracted by a noise behind me. Turning, I saw my husband and quickly snapped his photo.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIDLj4yg5cW6qNLcdLFyok3lbl8CHLiDSyKbOw-HDpZoiOHF2GtWDYA4wcaL111mF2rk3X4iKPUChUte5gpX1TfU59P9gDSPPRFDYpucJnJVNx01JUdYhZRHH2eQJzJmJKcfv9HVHNwRw2qIQYouKuKNET120cVyxg5IQCIPqprXdgB8CRhyphenhypheneEt76FQ8/s648/store.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="488" height="775" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIDLj4yg5cW6qNLcdLFyok3lbl8CHLiDSyKbOw-HDpZoiOHF2GtWDYA4wcaL111mF2rk3X4iKPUChUte5gpX1TfU59P9gDSPPRFDYpucJnJVNx01JUdYhZRHH2eQJzJmJKcfv9HVHNwRw2qIQYouKuKNET120cVyxg5IQCIPqprXdgB8CRhyphenhypheneEt76FQ8/w584-h775/store.jpg" width="584" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Shortly after this, I turned around and made my way along the back and down another aisle that led to the west side of the store. There, I found a large collection of westerns. Many were by <i>Max Brand</i> and <i>Zane Grey.</i> </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>I picked up an old copy of <i>Wilderness Trek by Zane Grey</i> and leafed through it. In hindsight, I wish I would have brought it home with me. How stupid I was to pass up a book by the man who wrote </span><i><span face=""Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif">The wild, free moments in life are the ones worth living for</span><span face=""Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif">.</span></i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>There was much chatter at the front of the store as p</span><span>eople were gathered near the checkout talking. I joined them and t</span><span>hey pointed out some books beyond a door I hadn't seen. </span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBsUMB1PBIaBLv9Aw5cIxJeNJEfbL9GSuMioIFUCFB348ntF3fZEYUeMTOP2OhsW7GwlrNmVR4dzScGnjT7O9LYgWz1bNlPdEj9-fM2VcnR1547kopdGIlqQt9C7cc-FWjk26U3fu1h4BQdL4YLFNpW0Q0fw7GWZt2NOtHavLxO458_alITRbjn0zcNg/s674/bookmark.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="397" height="864" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBsUMB1PBIaBLv9Aw5cIxJeNJEfbL9GSuMioIFUCFB348ntF3fZEYUeMTOP2OhsW7GwlrNmVR4dzScGnjT7O9LYgWz1bNlPdEj9-fM2VcnR1547kopdGIlqQt9C7cc-FWjk26U3fu1h4BQdL4YLFNpW0Q0fw7GWZt2NOtHavLxO458_alITRbjn0zcNg/w508-h864/bookmark.jpg" width="508" /></span></a></div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Becky was at the cash register so I went ahead and settled up. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span>A lady to my right told me to go through the stack of bookmarks they had sewed and select whichever one I wanted as a gift. I looked through them and picked the one that appeared to be the</span><span face=""Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif"><i> Nightmare Before Christmas</i>. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">What a marvelous way to spend the morning! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>T</span><span>he majority of the books in the store are in English though I did find other languages too. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Pierce Bookkeeping & Bookstore</i></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>501 West Jefferson Street in Ohio City, OH</i></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Book store hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 am to 6pm, Saturday 10am to 2pm, closed Sunday and Monday. Tax preparation is by appointment only.</i></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><ol class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_11-0" style="box-sizing: border-box; counter-reset: section 0; line-height: var(--dog-line-height,1.75rem); margin: 1.25rem 0px 1.25rem 1rem; padding: 0px; text-underline-offset: var(--dog-text-underline-offset,.25rem);"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1rem 1.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” ― Jane Austen</span></li></ol></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-37929112228957130272024-03-02T06:48:00.005-05:002024-03-02T06:53:35.657-05:00 Finley Miles Darby Meets the Bisons at Yellowstone Michael S. Joyner, MD<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8y57NjrQD_XSexP6bcOpC6PdjqQINs36ThyphenhyphenmMkKOyp_7tyNVLsJ-xWnOAxUitNLXwURDkamg_IHRUu29ZcoHY3PvzhGeQ9T0h6AQIGPoDeIQwdwgb_0GcALqEmlrSww0DJ8FFxLAtMbXTSnMEjjfUA9GlWQO9n7dLkRGYBzvLvMdTXm32CFh47BqvDLQ/s504/finley.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="479" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8y57NjrQD_XSexP6bcOpC6PdjqQINs36ThyphenhyphenmMkKOyp_7tyNVLsJ-xWnOAxUitNLXwURDkamg_IHRUu29ZcoHY3PvzhGeQ9T0h6AQIGPoDeIQwdwgb_0GcALqEmlrSww0DJ8FFxLAtMbXTSnMEjjfUA9GlWQO9n7dLkRGYBzvLvMdTXm32CFh47BqvDLQ/w502-h528/finley.jpg" width="502" /></a></div> <p></p><br /><p></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Review: Finley Miles Darby Meets the Bisons at Yellowstone </span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">People often learn through awareness and for many years, people have been sharing letters and journaling about their adventures at our first national park, Yellowstone. </span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Thousands of people travel to Yellowstone to see the geology and hydrology, checking out the canyons, springs, and rare phenomena. But when you ask them about their best memory of Yellowstone some will often say - the wildlife - especially the Bison. </span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I love that this children's book opens with Zen the Newfoundland and Buddha the Frenchy. The two dogs are peering over the fence and talking to one another as Finley is just returning to the house after a weekend </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">with his dad </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">in Yellowstone National Park.</span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Finley tells Zen and Buddha all about his adventures in Yellowstone. This assists young readers in learning details about the features at Yellowstone and about the Bison roaming free around the plains.</span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I received a copy of this educational children's book from Dr. Michael S. Joyner</span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Dr. Michael S. Joyner, a Hand and Microsurgeon in private practice located in Boca Raton, Florida, and the inventor of Touchless Flatware is the author of Forever My Daddy: Denied and founder of the <a href="http://www.fmdgrand.org/" style="background: transparent; color: black; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">FMD Grand Foundation (501c3)</a>.</span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">ASIN : B0BZ8Z5PP3</span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Publisher : Forever My Daddy LLC (February 20, 2023)</span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Language : English</span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Hardcover : 32 pages</span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">ISBN-13 : 979-8986771687</span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Item Weight : 11 ounces</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-52219059606499624672024-03-01T21:40:00.013-05:002024-03-02T09:03:16.560-05:00What Heals the Heart Karen A. Wyle<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJ_ChUpkToU0WqEl4aL107seSSWSlfO-zfay2ya1cVeFwVmPjvQ80yb4v_wtC297srPsQwVbAPhGHuJruoG8ISbZMuM3Kl1_0L3eYeNBmwc13gxJKEEFEKtF9jzzjPP_RU6t83e2GaXfOMiS8GPM1lroTyddO5uguGkNSM4dWrLIor88NCGll50CIvAo/s648/heart.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="432" height="675" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJ_ChUpkToU0WqEl4aL107seSSWSlfO-zfay2ya1cVeFwVmPjvQ80yb4v_wtC297srPsQwVbAPhGHuJruoG8ISbZMuM3Kl1_0L3eYeNBmwc13gxJKEEFEKtF9jzzjPP_RU6t83e2GaXfOMiS8GPM1lroTyddO5uguGkNSM4dWrLIor88NCGll50CIvAo/w449-h675/heart.jpg" width="449" /></a></div><br /><p></p><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Review: What Heals the Heart </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This Western historical romance is set in 1874 - 1875 Nebraska. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This period was during the Gilded Age when industries like factories, mining, and railroads were prevalent and bosses were more concerned with financial gain than worker safety. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This novel begins with</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Joshua Gibbs. He survived the Civil War, to become a small-town doctor with a soldier’s heart. Chapter one opens with </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Joshua resting alongside his Irish setter Reginald Phineas Major who senses Joshua’s distress as Joshua dreams.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Many minutes later Joshua meanders Cowbird Creek on the way to his practice. Joshua can see a large number of patients and sometimes his payment comes in the form of fresh eggs. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The blacksmith was a frequent visitor as was widow Fr</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">e</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">ida Blum. Joshua is only too happy to offer up Laudanum for Fr</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">e</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">ida Blum's pain. Frieda on the other hand is determined to beef Joshua up and marry him off Rebecca Wheeler. But Joshua is rather captivated by Miss Clara Brook.</span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The Silver State attracted settlers and strengthened the economy and while Joshua was used to seeing Li Chang’s Laundry and the Wells Fargo Stagecoach he felt he should protect members like Dorthy and Hope from the man selling snake oil. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">not at work, patching wounds, and delivering babies, you might find Joshua hanging out at Madam Mamie’s parlor house. He enjoyed Mamie’s frank exchange of how she won the parlor house in a poker game. Joshua spent many evenings at Madam Mamie’s parlor house and not all were spent talking. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">One night, Joshua and Robert sat and plotted about marrying Freida off to Thaddeus Spencer, who they described to look like a stooped heron. Then on the other hand she might prefer Alton Farley, who had a twinkle in his eye and whose face shifted from one expression to another. But the question on many people's minds was who would Dr. Gibbs end up marrying. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I highly recommend this book. The atmosphere was meticulous and the characters felt real and were engrossing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I received a copy of this book from Karen A. Wyle</span></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://www.karenawyle.net/bio.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Karen V Wyle</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Publisher : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Oblique Angles Press </span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Language : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">English</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Paperback : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">324 pages</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-10 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">0998060453</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-13 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">978-0998060453</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Item Weight : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">12 ounces</span></span></span></li></ul></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-85494972092552067332024-03-01T09:17:00.005-05:002024-03-02T07:11:23.017-05:00Eighteen Jenny Jaeckel<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rdc0MDy16q5vNedJP9PwygaKnEOGvjckZqOdncoryc8vQbZgH5_RuB3clQnTe0w-MWEIyZJqIhJsjbmN0CqFoiL31jzNTiyAGaBWY5WSio0FZEaMWarweuE6CniDr_QjZiaYB5iXvMEuX7zLYmYDv9w3N6jHKBMBlWGtOjd79IURkkqWQmdQ4RcgCCw/s600/Eighteen%20eimage.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="404" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rdc0MDy16q5vNedJP9PwygaKnEOGvjckZqOdncoryc8vQbZgH5_RuB3clQnTe0w-MWEIyZJqIhJsjbmN0CqFoiL31jzNTiyAGaBWY5WSio0FZEaMWarweuE6CniDr_QjZiaYB5iXvMEuX7zLYmYDv9w3N6jHKBMBlWGtOjd79IURkkqWQmdQ4RcgCCw/w427-h636/Eighteen%20eimage.jpg" width="427" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Review Eighteen</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span>Eighteen is an </span><span><span face="Helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">intimate coming-of-age </span></span><span>story that takes place in the late 1980s to early 1990s. </span><span>As a teen, I often felt my emotions were all over the place as I was trying to take it all in. </span><span>I like that this story about eighteen-year-old Talia appears to start rather disjointed. </span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span>Talia likes to read </span><span>and she has some friends who are pretty upfront with her. For example, her friend Amy explains to Talia that she must read the first 100 pages of </span><i>The Grapes of Wrath</i><span> to understand it, and later in the book questions Talia about a one-night stand.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Talia is honest and tells Amy she never had to deal with not having a home like some people do.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">There are instances that we connect to when reading. I think it is pretty cool that Talia talks about liking chickens, collecting postcards, flinging shells into water, and watching an episode of <i>Star Trek</i> where Spock recovers because of his Vulcan anatomy. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Anyway, Talia gets a job and has a scary boss Millie, and a co-worker Calvin who likes to hang up on customers. Later we learn about her meeting Hector and taking the Vodka Express. And then there are friends Renee and Hari and she talks about the dissolving room in <i>Where the Wild Things Are.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Before long we meet Tyler and learn he's her first and Talia mentions her voice squeaks when she meets George. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Much of the book concentrates on her budding relationship with Geoge who when he was younger was hyper and liked to spend time skateboarding but currently has a passion for building sailboats.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Her relationship with George blooms and he tells her he loves her but he goes off to Mexico and leaves her behind. In his absence, she meets up with Toby and feels the shame of spending time with someone else. When George returns, Talia has thoughts of resuming their relationship.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I received a copy of this book from Jenny Jaeckel</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Jenny Jaeckel is the award-winning author and illustrator of several books including her historical fiction companion novels House of Rougeaux and Boy, Falling, a collection of illustrated short fiction entitled For the Love of Meat, and the graphic novel memoir Spot 12: Five Months in the Neonatal ICU. When not writing, Jaeckel works as an editor and translator. </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-77673301051712425322024-03-01T00:00:00.015-05:002024-03-02T09:04:46.339-05:00Scars That Never Heal Latoya B. McPherson<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FH0VXzGibo8ELD2N9BBOmWzO3DkltFCfLfkx6VVDel_qI4W3mdJjdfUQ_DgPkLzqOZa9lkeP6uUm4I1u_892oMek4NSPC7dy7IGdMfEGXTk3TwRtvVYQCL4ACFWctVPWw9umLV9e9Eq5hBBqtGPfkcNUmPFTm5qFucV2oZVpuFPlJ3UPsc-8RpeEjB0/s720/la.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="480" height="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FH0VXzGibo8ELD2N9BBOmWzO3DkltFCfLfkx6VVDel_qI4W3mdJjdfUQ_DgPkLzqOZa9lkeP6uUm4I1u_892oMek4NSPC7dy7IGdMfEGXTk3TwRtvVYQCL4ACFWctVPWw9umLV9e9Eq5hBBqtGPfkcNUmPFTm5qFucV2oZVpuFPlJ3UPsc-8RpeEjB0/w513-h770/la.jpg" width="513" /></a></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Review: Scars That Never Heal</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">If you were to ask around you may hear different definitions for scars and I think is appropriate to point out that scars leave a mark as they recall old wounds.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>Scars that Never Heal</i> is a compelling read from its very first page. This story begins with Carol Carter having a nightmare. She hears keys jangling, then footsteps. She smells the stench of alcohol and feels a hand moving up her thigh. Carol kicks out in her sleep saying NO, NO, NO and wakes her husband who is immediately concerned and questions her. Carol doesn't feel comfortable sharing and her husband doesn't push the issue. He does however encourage her to seek assistance to help her understand her dream.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Carol seeks help to address the past and present. We see Carol step back in time and tell us about her family. We learn about the perpetrator and see he refused all forms of treatment and when confronted with his actions said he would deny it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Feeling powerless - asking why me - Carol keeps the secret until she feels able to share it. Carol eventually recognizes to move forward she must apply forgiveness and self-love.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">This beneficial book is grounded in biblical scripture and speaks about the importance of <span style="background-color: white;">Therapeutic journaling</span>. It includes strategies, techniques, and <span>insightful excerpts Carol learns from others along her healing journey.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I received a copy of this book from Latoya McPherson</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></div><div><h4 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 20px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Latoya </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">McPherson is a doctoral student in the School of Psychology and Counseling at Regent University. She holds certifications in psychological recovery, trauma treatment in the community, and additional certifications through FEMA. She is certified to administer Mental Health First Aid and Psychological First Aid to individuals and groups.</span></h4></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-38716842986960099882024-02-29T14:18:00.011-05:002024-03-01T07:01:22.036-05:00February 2024 Reads<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhWkJhuO5bPEbO1v29u-FLcqwdPW6_ncCiF6Vgk_FtWXsdLMawILKgx1059kUKHSvF29aQbsh1n_ohbMV3DSFG4yoMU3pjsASqW6XmzyuaxiCSRqZUEGnh2sCIqKv8qG71RX8rkmyx00uT5gh-QUxY5Xu4x7hE3vLckPR7sQZaAeky2zmmPGxQgB16DE/s668/pinball.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="503" height="801" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhWkJhuO5bPEbO1v29u-FLcqwdPW6_ncCiF6Vgk_FtWXsdLMawILKgx1059kUKHSvF29aQbsh1n_ohbMV3DSFG4yoMU3pjsASqW6XmzyuaxiCSRqZUEGnh2sCIqKv8qG71RX8rkmyx00uT5gh-QUxY5Xu4x7hE3vLckPR7sQZaAeky2zmmPGxQgB16DE/w603-h801/pinball.jpg" width="603" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Recently we saw this machine and it brought back some fond memories. I grew up in an era where arcades had air hockey, bubble hockey, pinball, pool tables, bumper pool, space invaders, and other mechanical games that could be played for a quarter.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">My town's arcade was near my school. During my lunch break, I would go to the arcade and play. Pinball was normally my game of choice as I could </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">play alone or </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">compete with whoever was there. I liked being able to influence the ball traveling down the field, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">hitting the bumpers, ringing the bells, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">and racking up points and free games. </span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">If I was focused I may avoid the tilt sensor. However, at times I would nudge activating the tilt sensor and one of the machines would penalize me with a loss of game. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A few times a year my husband and I sit down and revisit the movie JAWS. In January 2024 Stern Pinball, Inc. announced their newest pinball game featuring JAWS. I have looked at the field and I like the sculptured shark, animated lighting effects, and stand-up targets but what really caught my eye was the bucket of chum. I was happy to learn the machine includes John Williams </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">theme music and </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">speech by actor Richard Dreyfuss</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The International Flipper Pinball Association, stated Pinball competitions are still booming in America. </span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I did love the old games as the new ones seem to be built for a different level of player than me.</span></p><div><br /></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">February has been an interesting month! Today signifies that it is a leap year. According to NASA, it takes the Earth 365 days 5 hours, and 48 minutes to orbit the sun - so we tag on a day every 4 years to make up for the extra hours.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We have had q</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">uite a temperature fluctuation in our neck of the woods. O</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">ne day it was 72 degrees which is unseasonably warm for us and the next day it got down to 24 degrees and was 14 with the wind chill. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">February was a great </span>reading <span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">month for me. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I finished an eclectic mix of books/genres this month and read quickl</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">y as am trying to get ahead of my yearly goal. Currently, I am 9 books ahead of my goal.</span></span></p><p></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/witchland-tim-mulligan.html" target="_blank">Witchland Graphic Novel by Tim Mulligan </a></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-rainforest-adventure-jasper-amazon.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A Rainforest Adventure Jasper Amazon Parrott </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">by</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Sharon C. Williams</span></a></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/hinterland-lm-brown.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Hinterland </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">by</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">L.M. Brown</span></a></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/soul-in-storm-nancy-wagaman.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Soul in the Storm </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">by</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Nancy Wagaman</span></a></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-goodbye-family-and-great-mountain.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Goodbye Family and the Great Mountain </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">by</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Lorin Morgan-Richards</span></a></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-child-wore-pearls-morgan-matthews.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Child Wore Pearls </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">by</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Morgan Matthews</span></a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/russell-brooks-thrillers.html" target="_blank">Russell Brooks Thrillers </a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-odyssey-by-homer.html" target="_blank">The Odyssey by Homer</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/rebecca-by-daphne-du-maurier.html" target="_blank">Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier</a></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/john-wylie-md-author-spotlight.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Evolution of Human Motivations: An AI-Illustrated Odyssey </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">by</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">John V. Wylie MD</span></a></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/among-boat-people-memoir-of-vietnam-nhi.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Among the Boat People: A Memoir of Vietnam </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">by</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Nhi Manh Chung</span></a></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-sweet-mothers-warrior-prayers-jenn-j.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A Sweet Mother's Warrior Prayers </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">by</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jenn J. Simmons and Sandy Bohac</span></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNX8ZeoPBEYmG1N7KB_vBH5ecf8d0GdhpCIpkuLk7KHgnLdezYuhCGOAt6tOcHaZJbllBUNRqVtbYeykM7fROshT9U18aPFKJm0b1Tu0calrUXKhT-64aWN9x3DZ2ePR3j5kH8UjZuhK-LU4iS3xLl_FrAATqM60qlQWfVkc6gX1yMbHIR4senlAfj2w/s648/john%20portrait.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="408" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNX8ZeoPBEYmG1N7KB_vBH5ecf8d0GdhpCIpkuLk7KHgnLdezYuhCGOAt6tOcHaZJbllBUNRqVtbYeykM7fROshT9U18aPFKJm0b1Tu0calrUXKhT-64aWN9x3DZ2ePR3j5kH8UjZuhK-LU4iS3xLl_FrAATqM60qlQWfVkc6gX1yMbHIR4senlAfj2w/w109-h172/john%20portrait.jpg" width="109" /></a></div></li></ul><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I completed an <a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2024/02/john-wylie-md-author-spotlight.html" target="_blank"><i>interview with John V Wylie </i></a>and we discussed his newest book </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The Evolution of Human Motivations: An AI-Illustrated Odyssey.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXu-qteO8kpFpudscHVqTln1-NtQh33WGXpgDqE6QfJxX0Lh56jUVEDgMY3vQzAew5HCSQiMxxPsFTvmUKSdq75ULARkIlPG0laLUC9s3PGjA-GvbExTIVNXdMRDeyelgQrtMh6Q2JYREE22e3YcnFiGCuMLlnrY4QIERp3XxQXGh407LdyumAmdX9zVA/s648/wylie.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="501" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXu-qteO8kpFpudscHVqTln1-NtQh33WGXpgDqE6QfJxX0Lh56jUVEDgMY3vQzAew5HCSQiMxxPsFTvmUKSdq75ULARkIlPG0laLUC9s3PGjA-GvbExTIVNXdMRDeyelgQrtMh6Q2JYREE22e3YcnFiGCuMLlnrY4QIERp3XxQXGh407LdyumAmdX9zVA/w114-h148/wylie.jpg" width="114" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> I would recommend The Evolution of Human Motivations: An AI-Illustrated Odyssey to anyone as I appreciate the information he provides on melancholy and that he stresses the importance of using empathy when working with mental health. He also stressed </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">disengaging from our endeavors, not just for relaxation, but to evaluate our actions as this reflection helps us identify what energizes us versus what drains us, guiding us to make necessary adjustments.<br /></span><p></p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">This month's book purchases were an Amish romance for my mom and a couple vintage novels to add to my collection.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> I was also able to speak with a clerk less than half my age and have a good discussion about what we were reading</span></p><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">This blog's top 10 countries viewership was from The United States, Singapore, Belgium, Germany, France, Vietnam, South Korea, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Cambodia. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I was pleased to learn I also had some new views from </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Seychelles, the smallest African country, that made the top 20 viewership.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Thank you for visiting. I hope you found some books you love.</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-21467182852763513252024-02-26T19:36:00.008-05:002024-02-27T18:24:15.160-05:00Witchland Tim Mulligan<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0yFe6iZniarCRQ8Pus8nzgQefgqHj2XNqGgbJEVbXr167JZO0AX_mmRG6xOGGH0ng0p0IN4aX5AOKaQu6KMix8smpFa6JKeih9wcLZ_pYZgEKPA9pUfAhocaMSZrIdtZEMqSlmjoebIq4mfJfThqKRAb4YUBdrel9-qPBTFbPh02uQElmt21sqVceS0/s640/witchland1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: helvetica; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="471" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0yFe6iZniarCRQ8Pus8nzgQefgqHj2XNqGgbJEVbXr167JZO0AX_mmRG6xOGGH0ng0p0IN4aX5AOKaQu6KMix8smpFa6JKeih9wcLZ_pYZgEKPA9pUfAhocaMSZrIdtZEMqSlmjoebIq4mfJfThqKRAb4YUBdrel9-qPBTFbPh02uQElmt21sqVceS0/w353-h471/witchland1.jpg" width="353" /></a><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Recently, I had a discussion with a reader who is less than half my age and he stated he does not enjoy much of modern-day literature as he feels the language expressed in older works was superior. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We continued our discussion when I asked why he felt this way. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">He responded that when reading he feels the need to be able to visualize what is occurring and he felt in older works it was more descriptive so he was better able to flesh out the characters. He informed me fo</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">r thought-provoking complexity, he often turns to graphic novels.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span>With the mention of this, I thought of a graphic novel I was recently gifted titled Witchland which is the book adaptation of the play WITCHLAND - based on author Tim Mulligan's experiences growing up in Richland Washington. This graphic novel </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">supports the </span><span face=""Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">LGBTQ+ </span><span face=""Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">community </span><span>and it followed a</span> docudrama <i>I</i>'d recently watched titled <i>Einstein and the Bomb.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Hanford and the c</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">ommunities of Richland, West Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick are known as the Tri-Cities region in southeastern Washington. The Hanford site was established as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project where reactors transformed uranium into plutonium and more powerful nuclear fuel. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Witchland</span></span><span face=""Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"> story is</span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> an exploration of a town shrouded in mystery. This novel </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">shows readers that many people view challenges as opportunities The story also </span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">provides an understanding of</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">what it means to have a strong support system and of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">how perception impacts reactions. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I received this Graphic novel from Tim Mulligan.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span>Witchland the play is appearing in Palm Springs in February 2024</span><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" style="background-color: white;"> at Revolution Stage Company. It is then moving to New York in April 2024 at Manhattan Repertory Theatre Company.</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-51755578686256723222024-02-26T18:55:00.004-05:002024-02-27T18:26:41.899-05:00A Rainforest Adventure, Jasper Amazon Parrott, Sharon C. Williams<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ranGKQ9fwfyrWNtKB1GcriX8mSZdvAgsaMd5UHw6MCwoXqb22HjuCFCZWbCScKUV1QtoYx34OmtPQpe8mXNH0kueqOS1tpyOHYYaS2cfAElCs1VaF0Fm4z6LmsTk028GM2OGDv6TJr-1zbCqW2icZQ-y612CsgLfcqDl-HrBGiNdeXpF0jX7ap7v_I4/s504/jasper.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="336" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ranGKQ9fwfyrWNtKB1GcriX8mSZdvAgsaMd5UHw6MCwoXqb22HjuCFCZWbCScKUV1QtoYx34OmtPQpe8mXNH0kueqOS1tpyOHYYaS2cfAElCs1VaF0Fm4z6LmsTk028GM2OGDv6TJr-1zbCqW2icZQ-y612CsgLfcqDl-HrBGiNdeXpF0jX7ap7v_I4/s320/jasper.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Review: Jasper Amazon Parrott</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I have raised birds and have talked with many owners of Amazon parrots and all express how talented their avian friends are.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I learned that the background to creating this book was the author looking around her home to see if she could locate anything to write about. Sh</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">e landed on her rescued Amazon parrot, Jasper, and decided to create a book series of Jasper's adventures.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">In this short children's story, Sally's eggs hatch. Shortly thereafter, Jasper jumps out of the nest with his brother Willie and both fall to the ground. They are separated for a short time and meet Al. Sally appears and they head back home with her. She exits and they find themselves in a precarious position when ants threaten them. With the help of their mother, the brothers survive and when fully fledged they attempt to fly and plop to the ground again. This is when they come upon a spider monkey named Charlie. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Mom returns and reminds them of the importance of flying </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">practice</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">. Mom leaves to scavenge and the two brothers report in to their neighbor, Mrs. Peabody. Soon after the brothers begin a thrilling adventure with Charlie and along the way they meet a sloth named George. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span>This is a wonderful story about exploration and observation of the nature of the Amazon. I feel the</span><span> best thing about this </span><span>detailed adventure is it may help young readers gain a greater appreciation for the </span>most biologically diverse place on Earth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I received a copy of this book from Sharon Williams.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Sharon C. Williams lives in North Carolina with her husband and son. She is also owned by a flock of six birds. Sharon has a B. S. degree in Chemistry. She loves to read, sketch, take pictures, walk, exercise, go to the movies, and listen to music.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">A Rainforest Adventure (Jasper - Amazon Parrot Book 1) Kindle Edition</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">by Sharon C. Williams (Author) Format: Kindle Edition</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 77 ratings 4.4 on Goodreads 72 ratings</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Book 1 of 3: Jasper - Amazon Parrot</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">See all formats and editions</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Jasper is no ordinary parrot.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-30371407937110170512024-02-24T18:30:00.008-05:002024-02-24T18:39:35.780-05:00Hinterland L.M. Brown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8T6qO9Aj4ksYLLxA43FLZj58UR2sRbhhh9AmECV4Ja8TPjIKg60xXld6lv_4hYTswtQV20tcfn98g3mpn6PNqf4LNfI7ESt8KsC6NG2Kt07AHatZupX8gt46W7MZAZU1XYIXObXhAyhPFmgOsPuye6-MZgIXJb80uYuDF41YU6O9UKWWpNqvufYVeSE/s800/carpenter-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="495" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8T6qO9Aj4ksYLLxA43FLZj58UR2sRbhhh9AmECV4Ja8TPjIKg60xXld6lv_4hYTswtQV20tcfn98g3mpn6PNqf4LNfI7ESt8KsC6NG2Kt07AHatZupX8gt46W7MZAZU1XYIXObXhAyhPFmgOsPuye6-MZgIXJb80uYuDF41YU6O9UKWWpNqvufYVeSE/s320/carpenter-1.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span>Review; Hinterland</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span>Nicholas Giovanni is a taxi driver still living in the same house he grew up in. His closest neighbor is his mother’s best friend, Tilly and after Tilly takes a fall in the yard Tilly's daughter Ina returns to the neighborhood. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span>Nicholas attempts to focus his attention on his daughter Kate but he finds this difficult as he has always been drawn to Ina who is his sister-in-law. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span>Meanwhile, Kate's mother Kathleen Lehanne does not help matters much as she spends a fair amount of her time avoiding her mental health professional who urges Nicholas to have her reschedule her appointment.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /><span>Then the inconceivable happens...and we are reminded that our perception has a huge impact on our emotional state and behavior. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span>This story exposes the intimate journey of a </span><span>youth's quest for </span><span>understanding and </span><span>love. This moving story also offers a view of what it is like to live with someone </span><span>displaying signs of psychosis and spending time </span><span>in and out of psychiatric hospitals.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span>I received a copy of this book from L.M. Brown </span></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/LornaBrownAuthor/" target="_blank">L.M Brown</a>’s stories have won the Able Muse Write Prize for Fiction, and have appeared in Toasted Cheese, The Chiron Review, Eclectica, Litro, Bath Short Story Award Anthology (2020), SmokeLong Flash Fiction Issue Award (2020), and many others. She is the author of two linked collections, Treading The Uneven Road (Fomite Press) and Were We Awake (Fomite Press), and the novel Debris (Ink Smith Publishing). Twitter: BrownLornab Instagram: l.m_brown</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"></span></p><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Publisher : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Fomite </span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Language : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">English</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Paperback : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">338 pages</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-10 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">1947917587</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-13 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">978-1947917583</span></span></span></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-81849315774956441392024-02-24T13:16:00.003-05:002024-02-24T14:19:45.090-05:00Soul in the Storm Nancy Wagaman<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSbNVJUizb2GeFm5-tdbStALLOS_aFotA7MK3NOf4ux518Ts4L4-aNx063_fiIKLUD9KBWPKLOCYpVw2HQiR0WzEC-ZIEH1KAFmr_KbZ4HuRLQMb0mvfBM-VryTgA6GSyZGFb8kGbzOSlzJIYNpw6IKfclXHYx3X80HJV-axz-Em4t0XQxt8zhYx6ut8/s576/soul%20in%20the%20storm.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="384" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSbNVJUizb2GeFm5-tdbStALLOS_aFotA7MK3NOf4ux518Ts4L4-aNx063_fiIKLUD9KBWPKLOCYpVw2HQiR0WzEC-ZIEH1KAFmr_KbZ4HuRLQMb0mvfBM-VryTgA6GSyZGFb8kGbzOSlzJIYNpw6IKfclXHYx3X80HJV-axz-Em4t0XQxt8zhYx6ut8/w239-h359/soul%20in%20the%20storm.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Review: Soul in the Storm </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It is not unusual for a doctor to ask how are you doing? S</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">ometimes they might go ahead and ask are you under any stress? And maybe you have to stop and think about this and maybe you don't. But if we are being realistic, everyone experiences stress to some degree because we all have faced one difficult situation or another.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: helvetica;">Inner transformation usually refers to a change that is geared to our personal level. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Mindfulness means we are living in the present moment and striving to find a balance where we are not overwhelmed by our thoughts and feelings. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you recall back in January 2019, I had the opportunity to <a href="https://lorisbookloft.blogspot.com/2019/01/author-spotlight-on-nancy-wagaman.html" target="_blank">interview Nancy Wagaman</a> and she informed m</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">e then that she has </span><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;">always been fascinated with the relationship between the physical and non-physical aspects of our existence. </span><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica;">So her undergraduate degrees were in biology and psychology, and she went on to receive master's degrees in applied psychology and communications.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span>Nancy's book </span><span><i>Soul in the Storm</i></span><span> provides 57 practical techniques to help us better maintain a balance in our lives.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We learn how to </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">- Center in soul, where profound peace is always present.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">- Neutralize stressors and remove their emotional charge.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">- Transform the underlying dynamics of your stress reactions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">- Turn your mind into an awesome stress management tool.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">- Recognize how you're stressing yourself, and stop doing it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">- Reinterpret crisis events as opportunities for personal growth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">- Experience deep relaxation beyond stress, worry, and upset.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">- Apply soul's vital life force for multi-level healing.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The techniques can help us recognize how to heal the triggers of psychological stress by neutralizing stress reactions and shifting to our inner resources to help achieve stress relief.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I received a copy of this book from Nancy Wagaman</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Nancy Wagaman is a human technologies innovator specializing in personal growth and transformation. Her practical techniques enable people to transform self-limitations and improve their lives. Rooted in science and intuition, Nancy's transformative techniques are practical and easy to use. Nancy began developing human technologies during her early career at Bell Laboratories, and she has also consulted and conducted research for corporate, university, and private clients. Her work has been featured in magazines, radio, and television. Nancy holds advanced degrees in applied psychology and communications and bachelor's degrees in psychology and biology. She is the author of Soul in the Storm, The Curious Dreamer’s Dream Dictionary (TheCuriousDreamer.com), and The Curious Dreamer’s Practical Guide to Dream Interpretation, and she has written extensively on applied psychology, intuition, and other personal growth topics.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Publisher : Applied Conscious Technologies, LLC </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Language : English</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Paperback : 237 pages</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">ISBN-10 : 099854597X</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">ISBN-13 : 978-0998545974</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-79550599385371006452024-02-24T11:13:00.008-05:002024-02-24T11:26:47.664-05:00The Goodbye Family and the Great Mountain Lorin Morgan-Richards<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhNPvqzo01Jj8GkZKHt-LQPsbm2qQfHwDZkxrOK1nLJ5YTF6cdsSpsSoRKS3PM0IJzC-yzAMYuQCFWdGwGUyE7VvpEHqdKbN6qDgUgAZv_PsKLVCb6MEHXqjELz8rO1xaUTIU03zDtFII3Qe5UOqyg1itC3SCQdgYG_Awr4cSNdu7rADKyAKlRsKEdug/s769/The%20Goodbye%20Family%20cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhNPvqzo01Jj8GkZKHt-LQPsbm2qQfHwDZkxrOK1nLJ5YTF6cdsSpsSoRKS3PM0IJzC-yzAMYuQCFWdGwGUyE7VvpEHqdKbN6qDgUgAZv_PsKLVCb6MEHXqjELz8rO1xaUTIU03zDtFII3Qe5UOqyg1itC3SCQdgYG_Awr4cSNdu7rADKyAKlRsKEdug/w260-h400/The%20Goodbye%20Family%20cover.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Review: The Goodbye Family </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">and the Great Mountain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you are searching for a read that is peculiarly gothic genre and like the Old West you may want to try The Goodbye Family and the Great Mountain. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This imaginative and quirky dark adventure is created by Lorin Morgan-Richards. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In this story, you will find an army, led by Frank Thorne whose job was to build Baron Von Nickle's army. The army is sent into Sunken Creek, forcing villagers to work the mines. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Thorne and his army had died years ago and became zombies. Yes! They are walking around decaying and reeking like sulfur which was of course affecting the Goodbye Family burials. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The Goodbye Family is made up of undertakers. Otis is great at storytelling and drives the horse-drawn hearse. Otis's wife Pyridine is an expert in alchemy and a mortician/witch, their daughter Orphie is a grave digger, and their son Kepla remains pretty much hidden. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">What I liked best about this read was the Goodbye Family called one another nicknames and rented a Cypress Tree to live in. Grandma always wore her shoes backward and the crows actually talked while they were out scavenging. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There were listings of bacteria, toxins, and diseases throughout the read combined with some ancient Greek terminology and the Goodbye Family traveled in the underworld in search of a tonic (miracle cure).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I received a copy of this book from Lorin Morgan-Richards</span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span><span><a href="https://www.lorinrichards.com/" target="_blank">Lorin Morgan-Richards</a> </span></span>grew up on a small farm in Bebeetown, Ohio. He studied art and Anthropology at Cuyahoga Community College, before pausing his education to pursue music. He created and produced two modern dance performances in Cleveland and New York City based on books by Zecharia Sitchin and Ambrose Bierce. At California State, Los Angeles, he received a Bachelor's in Anthropology with a focus on the cultural ways of Indigenous people.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">By 2009, he started A Raven Above Press and released several works of macabre and humorous short stories under it. For four years he also served as publisher and promoter of Celtic Family Magazine. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">His award-winning comedy series and most well-known work The Goodbye Family, is about undertakers living in an Old Weird West. In 2022, he started writing and animating a streaming TV series.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"></span></p><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Publisher : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Raven Above Press </span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Language : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">English</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Paperback : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">260 pages</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-10 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">1733287914</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ISBN-13 : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">978-1733287913</span></span></span></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-26797119857302139822024-02-23T20:05:00.013-05:002024-02-23T20:34:47.215-05:00The Child Wore Pearls, Morgan Matthews<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvUzpNi8GzmmsRDWTqnPslRxwpSN5aB3yknqy-lVNMrUNDFpgyo9dujUunZ-W29E2crFDU5sEwW4r7ThNKiMsbx6Ns2BhWxNxXdPhd4iJXbGWKR1wvJNghxmtexU242cf_rpr9iOczA33i9JBqpdvZWMUZhauTnnHrtpF3-01iHpfia15MZX6VHiaI4c/s648/5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="432" height="580" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvUzpNi8GzmmsRDWTqnPslRxwpSN5aB3yknqy-lVNMrUNDFpgyo9dujUunZ-W29E2crFDU5sEwW4r7ThNKiMsbx6Ns2BhWxNxXdPhd4iJXbGWKR1wvJNghxmtexU242cf_rpr9iOczA33i9JBqpdvZWMUZhauTnnHrtpF3-01iHpfia15MZX6VHiaI4c/w386-h580/5.jpg" width="386" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Review: The Child Wore Pearls</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I was immediately pulled into the young adult suspense novel by Louisiana native, Morgan Matthews titled The Child Wore Pearls.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">At the beginning of this story, we see June Randolph and her mother Lorraine have a complicated relationship as they've not worked together to understand one another</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">. June is close to her dad though and he is thrilled that June Bug helps him run his jewelry store "Edward Randolph, Jeweler”.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span>Seventeen-year-old June </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span>usually works well with customers and she</span><span face=""Google Sans", Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #4d5156;"> </span></span><span>shares my love for finishing every day with her nose buried in a book. And I smiled from ear to ear when she mentioned listening to county music legend Tanya Tucker who cut Delta Dawn when she was only 13. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I could identify with June choosing to wear a crossbody purse with high-top Converse sneakers. But when Mrs. Roxie Wright, who has class and money, took June shopping, we saw June come out of her shell and adopt a new somewhat contrived look.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Much of the story is about June interacting with life's events. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">S</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">ecrets from Lorraine's past begin to threaten June’s moments of happiness and we find June questioning her parents about a private investigator.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">This story appeared to be an easy read populated with characters that feel authentic and then a little over halfway through the book, something sinister happens.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I received a copy of this book from Morgan Matthews for my honest review.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"></span></p><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ASIN : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">B08N6521C2</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Publisher : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lagniappe Press, LLC; 1st edition (November 10, 2020)</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Publication date : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">November 10, 2020</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Language : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">English</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">File size : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">1467 KB</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Text-to-Speech : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Enabled</span></span></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span class="a-list-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Screen Reader : </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Supported</span></span></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">About the Author</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.morganmatthewsauthor.net/" target="_blank"><i>Morgan Matthews</i></a> is a Louisiana native. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in Counseling. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(var(--color_11)); text-align: center;">She published her debut novel with Lagniappe Press entitled The Child Wore Pearls (Suspense/ Thriller) in 2020, followed by Firefly Lies (Suspense/ Thriller) in 2022, and The Alternate (Suspense/Romance) in 2023.</span></span></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-41999600271692520562024-02-23T11:06:00.002-05:002024-02-23T11:08:15.956-05:00Russell Brooks Thrillers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34c0CsSzGNIFG6BZv7OAXsVL5SvqtKMVSh5LTO780QWKhpeOkku9UWr4MJa3gJSF0Bwgt899AXvjIR0dXxR1EeVfnqbJlouaeL5XPpP_69I1LN734BNRJAwsbrKuO613oTz31nEVmBwq0FgofK4x8jSDZa5vYeP8S3b_IwtcBlmfqKxig-qjyR_xfaRw/s648/2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="648" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34c0CsSzGNIFG6BZv7OAXsVL5SvqtKMVSh5LTO780QWKhpeOkku9UWr4MJa3gJSF0Bwgt899AXvjIR0dXxR1EeVfnqbJlouaeL5XPpP_69I1LN734BNRJAwsbrKuO613oTz31nEVmBwq0FgofK4x8jSDZa5vYeP8S3b_IwtcBlmfqKxig-qjyR_xfaRw/w625-h170/2.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">If you are looking for a read that includes, espionage, vendettas, martial arts, and failed ops you might want to consider one of Russell Brook's thrillers with characters </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Ridley Fox & Nita Parris or maybe you are searching for a character like </span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;">Eddie Barrow who chooses to be involved in a publicity stunt that goes awry.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Brook's reads engage all my senses as they are fast-paced and action-filled and offer </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">contrasting venues.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It pleases me that many of his reads are geared toward </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">medical, environmental, and scientific fields and some of the experiments carried out provide unusual readings.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I lean towards the character Ridley Scott who knows what it's like to face tragedy as his </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">fiancée, Jessica,</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> was killed shortly after he proposed. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">This is where I pop in and tell you that Ridley was once with the </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">(JTF2) </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Joint Task Force Two — Canada’s equivalent to America’s SEALs.</span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We are made aware of the </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">intelligence that lies behind enemy lines.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> Brook's reads are not delicate as m</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">any of the villains he presents I would consider being arrogant - crass and sarcastic as is</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Ridley who is indifferent and often plays out scenarios in his head. Brooks</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> hooks you into wanting to read on as Ridley is always </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">coming up with ways to outsmart and stay alive.</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-36586612775635175282024-02-17T12:06:00.007-05:002024-02-27T18:39:43.497-05:00The Odyssey by Homer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0upR_HUq2PMzfza1xOpCIzj7LOKGUiLWJ6ChWvZovvV9iimVtRj_vKnTnTzzizW0tGRxnXjauJX9DKmXRByBqmz-YkuHb44I3z-D3NY2K1lHju4myV5VsCtXlN5CDEolQkzHHSC3E5R4yy4Aa4-kqlzScj_ByYsGdy5m9IpDrmVyjgnV80inZa5ODj8/s697/o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="494" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0upR_HUq2PMzfza1xOpCIzj7LOKGUiLWJ6ChWvZovvV9iimVtRj_vKnTnTzzizW0tGRxnXjauJX9DKmXRByBqmz-YkuHb44I3z-D3NY2K1lHju4myV5VsCtXlN5CDEolQkzHHSC3E5R4yy4Aa4-kqlzScj_ByYsGdy5m9IpDrmVyjgnV80inZa5ODj8/w404-h570/o.jpg" width="404" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I enjoy reading Greek mythology and while at the bookstore this week, I picked up a copy of The Odyssey by Homer. This Classics Club HC 1944 vintage copy is translated by Samuel Butler and edited by Louise Ropes Loomis. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">The Odyssey is an influential epic poem of ancient Greece. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">We all share stories of our experiences and this effective communal experience makes us aware we are a part of others' lives and provides us with a sense of belonging. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Odysseus had to go to war for ten years and then had a tough ten-year struggle wandering the seas to return home after the Trojan War.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">The story often grabs readers' attention by being filled with the likes of cyclopes, a sea monster, and sirens.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">In the Odyssey, the island is ruled by the wealthy and they share it with the less fortunate so there is communal living throughout the read. Readers have the opportunity to look at the dynamics of family relationships and class inequality and learn from it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Odysseus had many obstacles throughout the journey home to Ithaca, where his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus were waiting. Perhaps some of the greatest gifts of the Odyssey is it teaches us that Odysseus is a cunning manipulator who was taught a lesson in humility. Odysseus was spared while all of his men perished. Odysseus never gave up hope and applied perseverance and resilience to forge on. </span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7405380379663245199.post-64853131383253389692024-02-16T18:13:00.009-05:002024-02-16T18:27:25.591-05:00Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2ib3c5co4xGYgNkL9N0WNcSiQeWNH6-r5kG8UQkpNfsSnOBjKZDkOZcGf7QgwcOJl4Mied1ss3wj43naaDilT7rysxEBU4AwMzbsU-H0NTLqdkpsbMFsD5XswdUgPxKT2-AQpJHay2w1WjGjAtvumUy-_5DWR8gEGf8GeApmCj-idY5bcxz3faV-J0s/s618/rebecca.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="487" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2ib3c5co4xGYgNkL9N0WNcSiQeWNH6-r5kG8UQkpNfsSnOBjKZDkOZcGf7QgwcOJl4Mied1ss3wj43naaDilT7rysxEBU4AwMzbsU-H0NTLqdkpsbMFsD5XswdUgPxKT2-AQpJHay2w1WjGjAtvumUy-_5DWR8gEGf8GeApmCj-idY5bcxz3faV-J0s/w504-h640/rebecca.jpg" width="504" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Yesterday, we traveled to a bookstore and picked up this special illustrated edition of Rebecca which includes illustrations by Nanette Biers. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The psychological thriller, Rebecca, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">by Daphne du Maurier </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">was first published in 1938 and </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">is known to have one of the greatest opening lines in English fiction. </span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Rebecca is truly quite an amazing piece of fiction. I love that the unnamed protagonist (narrator) quickly pulls me into this story. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We witness she is in a dream state and her visual sense is heightened. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">She informs readers that she is locked out of the gate. She tells us in her own words that there is rust on the spokes of the gate. She makes us aware that the lodge beyond is deserted and there is something different along the path - the wilds of nature have taken over.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In actuality, much of the story of Rebecca is devoted to the setting which is often an eerie and unsettling atmosphere</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The narrator</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> provides readers with a sense of dread and fear telling us that she has been at this location before and things are different/desolate. We are curious to know what ties she had to this location and wonder what lies ahead. We</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> learn there is cloud cover which she describes to be similar to a dark hand before a face. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Soon after, the narrator travels back in time and we discover, that when younger, she met Maximillian "Maxim" de Winter in Monte Carlo. He was a widower with a prestigious estate, Manderley. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">After a short time, the narrator agrees to marry Maxim and they return to Manderley. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The narrator ( </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">new Mrs. de Winter) </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">describes herself at this time as being like a shy, uneasy colt and we soon grasp she is at odds with the head housekeeper Mrs Danvers who appears to be rather obsessed with Maxim's deceased wife Rebecca. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">This 375-page book is a quick read and much of the story deals with the fear of inadequacy, abandonment, and lack of acceptance. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">After a storm, they find Rebecca’s sunken sailboat with Rebecca's body in it and in my opinion, this leads to some of the most intriguing dialogue in English literature.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com