Archive for the ‘Informational’ Category

	Hardcover: 176 pages Publisher: Readers Digest (May 12, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 1606522469 ISBN-13: 978-1606522462	Order book here:
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Review

One subject that almost every English student hates is Shakespeare. As a result, there is much to his great body of work that we don’t tend to discover. Liz Evers book I Used to Know That: Shakespeare helps bring in a compact manner all those things we forgot, or things we didn’t know.

As usual, I love this blackboard series of books. Each one presents a mini education. There was so much I didn’t know came from Shakespeare, and so many interesting plots that I intend to actually start reading more of it. I’ve read Macbeth, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet, but that’s about as far as I ever went.

The book is divided into his major plays, there are characters lists, quotes and misquotes, words he introduced into our language, and many other areas.

Like all the others, I’d recommend this either as a gift for someone just starting into High School english to help them understand, or for those Shakespeare/Literature fans. It brings a subject that some avoid out, and makes it interesting.

About the Author

Liz Evers is a writer with a background in communications. Her love affair with Shakespeare began when she first studied Hamlet in secondary school in her native Dublin and continued at university, where she steadily ploughed her way through the Bard’s complete works as part of her degree in English Literature. She also has an MA in Film and a Diploma in Journalism. She now lives in London, within dashing distance of the Globe Theatre.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Ruby at FSB Associates for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

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	Paperback: 328 pages Publisher: Greenpoint Press (September 6, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 0983237026 ISBN-13: 978-0983237020	Order book here:

Review

I don’t think any of us over a certain age forget where we were or what we were doing on September, 11, 2001. I remember I’d just arrived at work and booted up my computer. A co-worker said some idiot flew a plane into a building in New York. Then the second plane hit. Then the Pentagon was hit. The towers came down in a cloud of dust. People were running. People were jumping from buildings. The whole day was a blur of emotions ranging from fear and anger to sadness. The book I’m reviewing is a collection of essays based on the experiences of the responders to 9/11. These people were the cops, firemen, doctors, priests. It covers a wide range of people and experiences, but all with a common theme.

Each essay is moving. Sometimes the writer is a little angry, angry at the government who lied to them. They were lied to about the air being safe to breath. They feel betrayed that the same America who loved them on 9/11 now doesn’t want to take care of them. They sacrificed their health and in some cases their lives to do what they felt were right.

Over 900 responders have died since 9/11 of medical complications related to working at Ground Zero. Many more suffer from PTSD. As one of the writers said, it’s normal for cops and firemen to suffer from PTSD. They witness one or two traumatic events and it sets them off. In the case of 9/11, a lot of the responders didn’t witness one or two traumatic events but hundreds.

One article details a program called POPPA that was created just for that purpose. Police especially, from what the various writers said, can’t go through their deparment for mental health. If their fellow officers found out they’d be ostracized and unable to do their job. So many just suffer through it. POPPA was created to offer them a program that was connected, but still had an agreement to privacy.

The one thing I took from the book is that all those who volunteered to help whether it was rescuing survivors, getting people out before the buildings fell, recovery, or cleanup are owed by us. They’ve given their all in some cases to their country, and deserve to get something back for that.

The essays themselves are beautifully written. You can almost hear each persons voice telling the story. You can pick up on their sadness, their anger, their frustration. The book is divided into four parts. The first part Caught in the Collapse details those who arrived first and some of who were caught when the building fell. The second part details various peoples experiences in looking for survivors. The third part deals with the recovery process, while the final section details the different areas of help that the responders need. The last section is about trying to start over after the tragedy. Each section begins with a series of pictures showing scenes from around Manhattan on 9/11.

It’s a deeply moving book, and while I know some will say they can’t read it, that it will hurt too much, I think they need to. I recommend this book to anyone old enough to understand. It wasn’t just those who died that day that we need to remember. We need to remember those who are still living that we can help. It’s hard to tell what the end death toll will be, but we can do what we need to in order to try to minimize it. We owe it to these people.

You can visit 911 responders remember to see some videos of those who submitted essays for the book, and read more from the different responders.

About the Author

Benjamin J. Luft, M.D., is the Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine at SUNY Stony Brook and an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of Lyme disease and AIDS-related conditions. As a native New Yorker he was deeply impacted by the 9/11 attacks and was inspired to establish the Long Island World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program, which provides care to more than 6,000 disaster responders and has become an incubator for several important research and treatment programs that emphasize both mental and physical well-being. Dr. Luft has also established several important projects commemorating 9/11, including the “Remembering 9/11 Responders” oral history program.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Rebecca at Cadence Marketing for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

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	Format: E-Book File Size: 433 KB Language: English	Order Ebook here:

Synopsis:

Missing in Mexico is a mystery novel set in Los Cabos, Mexico. Sarah is a 19-year old who wasn’t on the return plane trip from a family vacation. Her parents hire Stan, a Private Investigator, to find her. Even with local help and some promising leads, Stan returns to Seattle to tell her parents that he can’t find her. Months later he receives a letter from someone who says she can help him find Sarah, and he jumps on the next plane to Los Cabos. Will this be the break that he needs to find her, or will she remain missing — Missing in Mexico?

Characters:

Stan Walkorski – Private Investigator.

Review:

This was a very intriguing mystery in the cozy style of mysteries. The majority of the story takes place in Cabo San Lucas Mexico, and that’s where the strength of the whole story lies. Mr. Gustafson manages to bring Mexico to the reader. Through his detailed descriptions I could see the sites, and sometimes even smell the food he was describing.

The story takes Stan through the streets of Mexico, exposing him to the art and the culture. As it does so, it also exposes the reader to that culture. After finishing it, I felt like I’d been there. I hadn’t really read a “travel mystery” before, but now that I have, I think I’d probably look for more in that specific style.

Another strong feature of Mr. Gustafson’s writing is that he includes a lot of the Spanish language within the text. Each chapter starts with a word, shows how it’s used in a sentence, and it’s usually related to the focus of that chapter. I really enjoyed this added bonus to the book, and I hope he includes the same style when he writes further books such as this.

If there were one drawback, I think it would be due to the fact that this is Mr. Gustafson’s debut novel. Some of the scenes involving Stan talking on the phone were awkward to read. There’d be some scenes where we’d hear both sides of the conversation, and other times where we’d only hear Stan’s. The author lacked consistency in how he approached that. Hearing (or reading) only his half of the conversation seemed to bring me out of the story, and caused me to wonder who was actually on the other end, if anybody.

I would definitely recommend this book though. Outside the one small distraction, which could just be my own quirk, I really like the story. The characters were interesting, and you really wanted to determine what happened to Sarah. If you want to find out, grab a copy of his book. I think you’ll like it.

About the Author

Stuart Gustafson began writing in earnest after taking early retirement from the corporate world in 2007. His professional life involved travel and so it was natural for him to want to continue traveling once he didn’t have to travel as a job. Now when he travels, it’s for fun; it’s for pleasure; it’s to see new places in the world. The way he has chosen to combine his love of travel and writing is to write mystery novels set in exciting locations around the world where he likes to go.

His debut mystery novel Missing in Mexico is set in San Jose del Cabo at the tip of Mexico’s Bajadel Cabo and some of the residents told him that Missing in Mexico was indeed about their town and would he please consider writing another book about San Jose or at least about Cabo.

His second mystery novel, set in Sydney, NSW, Australia, is already underway, and Stuart took five trips to Sydney in 2010 to conduct research of the area to once again ensure that the book, even though it’s a fictional mystery novel, would still contain authentic details. Publication date for that book is set for early 2012.

Stuart has been married for thirty-seven years to Darlene and they have one daughter and one son. Stuart and Darlene live in Boise, Idaho.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Molly at Partners in Crime Tours for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

Mr. Gustafson is currently on tour for Missing in Mexico. See his other tour stops here:

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	Paperback: 334 pages Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (June 13, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 0312362080 ISBN-13: 978-0312362089	Order book here:
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Characters

Stephanie Plum – Former Lingeries salesgirl turned Bounty Hunter.
Joseph Morelli – Cop being charged with a murder.
Ricardo Manoso “Ranger” – Agrees to help Stephanie learn the ropes.

Synopsis

Stephanie Plum is out of work. Her car is about to be reposessed. She can’t pay her bills. She has one option. She begs her cousin for a job. He doesn’t have one, but his assistant talks her into taking on bond cases. She blackmails Vinnie into giving her Joseph Morelli, the hardest case in the files. Will she capture him and collect her money? Will she shoot herself in the process?

Review

I enjoyed this book. It’s a good blend of mystery, comedy, and action. Most of the plot and story are not as much built around the mystery as they are around Stephanie’s whacky family. Her grandmother is a laugh riot, and one of the funniest scenes involved her and a chicken.

There’s also a lot of plot, involving Stephanie’s attempts to get Morelli into prison, and her trying to learn the ropes needed to be a bounty hunter. On top of all that, there seems to be a bit of a love triangle storyline between her, Morelli, and Ranger.

I’d stick this in older teens (post 13) and adults category, but a fun story, and definitely one where I want to see her further adventures.

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

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	Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: Quirk Books (June 7, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 1594744769 ISBN-13: 978-1594744761	Order book here:
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Characters
Jacob Portman – 15 year old coming to terms with his grandfather’s tales.
Emily Bloom – One of the peculiar children, a friend of Jacob’s grandfather.

Review

One of the main questions as a reviewer is how do I categorize this book: Is it a fantasy? Children’s book? Science-Fiction? I think it’s probably a mixture of many different types. The characters are strongly developed. Jacob is a young boy trying to come to terms with his grandfather’s death, and his questions surrounding it. He’s also on a quest of discovery. A quest that would seem to match Joseph Campbell’s outline of the mythic journey.

In trying to find out about the stories his grandfather told, Jacob is pulled into something much bigger. A battle between good and evil. A battle beyond time, yet stuck in time. Part fantasy, part mystery, but in the end, just a good story.

I think I’d stick to older teens for this, but adults such as myself I think would also enjoy the story. I think there’s most likely a series of books yet to come, and I look forward to the next installment.

About the Author

Ransom Riggs grew up in Florida but now makes his home in the land of peculiar children—Los Angeles. Along the way he earned degrees from Kenyon College and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television, got married, and made some award-winning short films. He moonlights as a blogger and travel writer, and his series of travel essays, Strange Geographies, can be found at mentalfloss.com or via ransomriggs.com. This is his first novel.

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

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	Paperback: 300 pages Publisher: Tyrus Books; NONE edition (June 21, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 1935562525 ISBN-13: 978-1935562528	Order book here:
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Characters

Ruby Jane (RJ) Whittaker
Skin Kadash
Peter McKrall

Synopsis

Skin Kadesh has been away at a retreat for a month. His friend Ruby Jane sent him there to help him recover from a near fatal gunshot wound. When he returns, Ruby Jane has disappeared. She left no word on where she went, or why? Thinking it’s uncharactertistic of her, he begins the quest to find her. This quest starts with a dead man in her living room, sitting in her bathtub.

Review

The characters are well developed, though I’d like to have seen a bit more detail on character appearances. I’m still not sure I know what Skin looks like, though I know he’s not supposed to be particularly handsome.

He enlists the aid of her former flame Peter, and they begin in a cross country search. The reader can feel the rivalry between them, and the pain when one is chosen over the other. This isn’t so much a crime mystery, though there is someone going around killing off people connected to Ruby Jane, but more a mystery of uncovering a person’s past.

It’s delving into this past, where the true strengths in the story come out, as the reader unravels RJ’s history, a history of abuse, broken families, and the emotional connections that some people hold on to.

I think it’s a good story. On an age scale, I’d say for older teens and adults, due to a lot of the subject matter. I think if you like stories that are studies in characters, then you’d probably like this. It’s good for both mystery and fiction fans, and was an enjoyable reading experience.

About the Author

Bill Cameron lives with his wife and a menagerie of critters in Portland, Oregon. His stories have appeared in Spinetingler, Portland Noir, and the forthcoming First Thrills. He is a member of Friends of Mystery, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to LeYane at FSB Associates for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

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	Hardcover: 176 pages Publisher: Readers Digest (April 14, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 1606522442 ISBN-13: 978-1606522448	Order book here:
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Review

The Civil War was one of the worst periods in American History. How many of us though, truly remember all the information we learned about it in school. In Fred DuBose’s entry in the The Blackboard Books series from Reader’s Digest he fills us in on all that we missed. He covers everything from the major players such as Lincoln, Grant, Lee, and Davis to some of the abolitions, many of whom I’d never heard.

He covers the major battles, causes, the mood of the people going into it, and some of the struggles to prevent it. I always knew that it was an atrocious point towards Blacks in America, but I found out things that I really didn’t know. For instance, even though a state was a free state, a free black could be kidnapped and taken down south to be sold.

A big section is also spent on post war attitudes and focuses on things like the birth of the KKK, and the Lincoln Assassination.

If you have an interest in the civil war, or just want to understand things better, then I’d say you should definitely pick up this book. With all the books out there, this Blackboard Book series is one of my favorites because it does supply so much information to the reader in a small size.

About the Author

Fred DuBose, a native Texan, is a writer, editor, and book developer based in New York City. He is the author of an eclectic collection of books with subjects as varied as tomatoes, grandparents, cooking, and wine. Fred DuBose is the author of Oh, Say Did You Know?.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Ruby at FSB Associates for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

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What does it take to be a winner. How do you depart this knowledge to your child. C. D. Shelton in his book Kid’s Guide to being a Winner breaks it down into 6 easy lessons.

Each lesson is prefaced by a clear easy to understand definition of tha t concept. Some of the insights presented:

Thoughtful is not teasing someone you know is sensitive to being teased.

Other lessons cover respect to teachers, the elderly, parents, etc
At about 36 pages, it’s a relatively thin book and can be read with a child in a short amount of time.

If you have a young child and want to help them understand the things it takes to become a positive member of society, then I think this book would help. I think it would be good for parents or teachers.

The one thing that I thought was probably negative was breaking things down to Winner and Loser. Loser is such a negative term, and seems to defeat the purpose of sections of this book.

However, that point aside I would recommend it.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Rebecca at Cadence Marketing Group for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

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Have you ever sat and wondered about all those famous trials, and what goes on with the Media. This book gives you an insight into some of the biggies. ELian Gonzales, O.J. Simpson, Bush V. Gore, Michael Jackson, all and more are covered within the pages of this book. But what is spinning the law, quite simply it’s using the public opinion to affect the outcome of trials. An example is during the O.J. Simpson trial, Jeffrey Toobin, acting on a casual remark by Alan Dershowtiz, researched Mark Furhman, and discovered that Fuhrman claimed that working around minorities caused him stress, and more or less led to him being a racist.

Another example is they would instruct the family of Elizan Gonzalez into how to behave on and off camera, and even to take sleeping pills and get a good nights sleep if they needed to.

I thought the book was a very interesting look into the Law and into specific cases that have stood out within my memory. If you are a legal junkie, or just want a good look at how the lawyers manipulate the public and the media, then check out this book, I think you’d enjoy it.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Rubyna at FSB Associates for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

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	Paperback: 73 Pages  Publisher: PSIpress; 1ST edition (2011) ISBN-10: 1935638076 ISBN-13: 978-1935638070	Order book here:
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This book is a great tool for parents and children to work together to learn about gardening. The author outlines 4 important aspects to our lives that Gardening can improve, these are:

Physical – It’s good Exercise, encouraging walking, bending, stretching, and it stimulates the various senses.

Cognitive – It works the brain through memory, logic, safety, and judgement.

Social – Promotes interaction with others, and helps develop leadership skills.

Psychological – Raises self esteem and releases stress and tension.

Through the course of the book he outlines how to plan your garden, a month by month gardening guide (which includes suggestions on what to plant), and how to use the book to help with children.

Througout the different chapters, he also has some togetherness activities for parent and child to do. He also includes a lot of the charts, etc. that are used in the book, which could be easily copied. In fact, there’s an electronic copy of this for both the Kindle and the nook. That’s the one issue, I’m not sure it lends itself well since parts of it are a workbook. However, I think you could print the charts and diagrams directly from the electronic book in addition to xeroxing.

Having grown up around gardening, I think this would be a very rewarding book to introduce your children to the concept, and to do so in a fun way. And the author also shows how you don’t need a large space to have a garden, so just about anyone can adapt it to their specific circumstances.

If you want your child to learn some skills that could always be useful skills to have, then I’d say pick this book up. It’s a rather thin book, but I think the content is worthwhile, and I think your children would probably enjoy it.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Rebecca at Cadence Marketing Group for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

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