Book Reviews - AVIA I: Thunderstorms & 45’s & AVIA II: Bullets & Betrayal by Stacey Carroll11/8/2018 “AVIA I: Thunderstorms & 45’s” is the debut novel for thriller author Stacey Carroll. “AVIA II: Bullets & Betrayal” is the follow-up. I decided to review both novels together since AVIA I leads directly into AVIA II, although AVIA II can be read as a stand-alone. Personally, I recommend reading AVIA I first, as it will make AVIA II more enjoyable as far as getting to know the main characters and understanding the “why” of events in the second book.  Thunderstorms & 45’s! In “AVIA I: Thunderstorms & 45’s,” we meet the title character, Avia Conn. We learn pretty much right away that she has a chance to con a rich woman out of fifty million dollars before her vacation to Hawaii. She’s going to need help to do it, though. To do this, she calls in people she calls her “cousins.” Meanwhile, she is still dealing with serious heroin addiction and alcoholism that she’s been battling for many years. Can her protector and love of her life, Benton Docks, help Avia pull of this heist and get the hell out of town before it’s too late? This heist thriller is a page-turner. It’s fast-paced with many twists and turns. As is the case with many best-laid plans, things don’t go according to plan. You really don’t know where the plot is going next. The unpredictability of AVIA I is a major part of this book’s appeal. For me, the best part of this book is the two main characters, Avia Conn and Benton Docks. While they definitely have a steamy romance, it’s an extremely complex relationship. Benton has to put up with a lot of nonsense with Avia with alcohol and drug addictions, but he loves her as she is, which isn’t easy. There’s a lot going on in AVIA I, but it’s deftly handled by the author. It isn’t what you might call a “high-octane” thriller, but it gets you hooked pretty much from the first page. Avia and Benton are very likeable characters, and while there are others, they are certainly the most likeable. This is good, because they are the main characters in AVIA II, as well. Be forewarned that it does contain a fair amount of sex scenes, but all are important in the development of both the plot and characters. It’s not an erotic romance, but this book definitely has plenty of adult scenes. Then again, in Avia and Benton’s line of work, especially Benton’s as a con man, sex is often a major part of the job. Avia does her fair share of conning, too, of course. All in all, AVIA I is a solid 4-star debut novel. It has realistic, likeable main characters and an unpredictable ending. All you need to know is that we will be seeing Avia, Benton, and many other of the characters in this book again in AVIA II. I highly recommend this book for anyone who’s tired of the formulaic heist thrillers and is looking for something more original to read.  Bullets & Betrayal!
In “AVIA II: Bullets & Betrayal,” we meet Avia and Benton soon after the events of AVIA I. But, this book is a lot more complex than the first AVIA novel. It involves three different plotlines and switches between being an organized crime family thriller, a more traditional thriller, and a police procedural. This book features not only Avia and Benton, but also a rival organized crime family in the Sanchez, and Detective Greg Locke. Locke is on a mission to put away both Avia and Benton. After a heist gone bad, Avia and Benton have narrowly escaped jail time. But, they are very much stuck in their life of crime and don’t have any intention of getting out of it. So, will Avia and Benton make it to their Hawaii vacation, or will they end up in jail? We also meet the leader and the pilot of the Sanchez organized crime family. The war is on between the Company that Avia and Benton belong to and the Sanchez. The Sanchez was introduced briefly in AVIA I, but now we learn the ins and outs in their rivalry with the Company. Also, we learn more about the workings of the inner workings of the Company. Without giving too much away, it’s clear that both Locke and the Sanchez are working hard to take down the Company. They are clearly for different reasons, but they are both taking steps, some more extreme than others, to get the job done. Even more action-packed than AVIA I with even more twists and turns than the first book in the series, “AVIA II: Bullets & Betrayal” is a long, much more involved book that develops both the main characters, Avia and Benton, and others that were only glanced over in AVIA I. Like AVIA I, this is not an erotic romance brand of thriller, but it does contain many sex scenes - all of which make sense in character development and moving the plot forward. Just be forewarned if you are sensitive to lots of adult content. Also, I will warn you that AVIA II has a cliffhanger ending that will have you biting your nails to the nub in anticipation for AVIA III. This book really keeps you on the edge of your chair right up until the end and slams you with dire circumstances that won’t be resolved until the next book. “Bullets and Betrayal” is a 5-star thriller in the eyes of this reviewer. --- If either of these books sound like your speed, I invite you to check AVIA I and AVIA II out on Amazon! If you like them, please leave an honest review. The author greatly appreciates it! ** I received review copies of these ebooks in exchange for fair and honest reviews.
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 “Whence They Came: The Beginning” is a biblical historical fiction/horror novel written by Josephine Leonard. Be warned, though, that while this book is not erotica, there may be a bit more carnality (sex scenes) than you’re expecting from a book based on biblical events. But, the sex is -mostly - integral to the plot. So, what’s this book about?
What’s particularly fascinating about this book is that it follows two demons, Vetis and Asmodeus, as well as the wickedest woman on earth, Lilith. If you’re familiar with demonology, those names will sound familiar. Basically, when the world began, there were first demons. But as the world brightened, humans began to take over the earth, the demons had to go into hiding. The first demon in the world, Vetis, wishes to possess a human body in order to be able to go out into the light. This is so he can spread darkness and evil into the world against the wishes of God. But to do this, he needs the help of another powerful demon by the name of Asmodeus and his human sorceress, Lilith. Because the demons can’t go out in the daytime, or be burned to ashes. So, Lilith has to be a big part of their plan. After damning the first humans created by God, Vetis finally finds the human body he wishes to inhabit. But first, he must be corrupted enough for Vetis to possess him. Asmodeus and Lilith need to help corrupt the target human by convincing him to lay with his sister and kill his brother. Only then will the man’s heart be “black” enough for Vetis to possess. Of course, things don’t go exactly according to plan. Without giving too much away, if you know the story of Genesis chapters one through five, you may be able to guess at some major events in the storyline. Since this is meant to be a spoiler-free review, I’ll just go into some of the better points of this book. Two of the characters in this book are actually quite likeable. Asmodeus and Lilith really are the “heroes” of this book. The relationship between the two is actually quite adorable. While there are plenty of impromptu sexual encounters that didn’t really further the plot, necessarily, it’s clear that there is far more to this relationship than just the sex. Also, while Vetis may be considered the “villain,” it’s really not that black and white. In fact, in this book, God is essentially considered the bad guy. You don’t read many books like this, but the way that it’s done, who’s actually good and who’s actually evil is really up to interpretation. By following the characters who would traditionally be the “bad guys” is what makes this story such a page-turner. Lastly, the world is very well laid out and follows the biblical stories quite well. But, the twists and turns in the plot and the interference of Vetis and Asmodeus makes for quite an entertaining read. But, be forewarned that this book is actually quite disturbing. It may even give you nightmares. But, sparing no details is one of this book’s best qualities. As I’ve said already, there’s really nothing like this book out there. There isn’t really a proper genre to nail down what this book really fits into. That’s a plus for those that get into this sort of thing. One thing that would have been good to see were more direct confrontations between demons and angels, as well as more scenes with Lucifer himself and God himself. Since those were out of the scope of this particular plot, though, those could be featured in another story. As is, focusing on the main characters kept the pace of the book moving, so that was a fine decision on the part of the author. As biblical retellings go, especially with a horror aspect told from the perspective of the demons and their wicked human, this is definitely a page-turner. It may not be your thing. But, if it sounds like it interests you just from the description alone, then this book is worth a read for you. Just be sure that you’re OK with a lot of sex between a demon and a human, and you’ll probably enjoy “Whence They Came.” You can buy “Whence They Came: the Beginning” on Amazon in Kindle or paperback format. by Phoenix A. Desertsong, Staff Writer, Healer & Advocate  The Blooddoll Factory is a rising paranormal erotica novel written by Stacey Carroll. While it’s not typically a genre that I’d read, the premise sounded good enough to make it worth the read. The story is that an unemployed male nurse lands a job at a reproductive clinic. Right away, though, it’s clear something isn’t right.
After being unemployed for a year, the protagonist William gets a call from Elite Surrogates and Adopted - also known as ESA - for an interview. The interview with the HR manager starts out normal, until he realizes he’ll have to “perform” to get the fifty dollar an hour job. But, he needs the money to catch up on his underwater mortgage and save his marriage, one he’s not even sure he really wants to save. Things only get weirder, though, as William discovers ESA is keeping plenty of secrets, including that those adopting their babies he’s helping to create are actually vampires who are looking for a ready supply of fresh blood. The story is well-paced and while it starts off on a wild sexual note, it’s not clear that anything is terribly wrong until well into the first act of the book. But, things are off-beat enough to keep you interested, and as the climax is reached in the story, you get hooked in rather quickly. There’s plenty of dangerous encounters, and you never quite know just how close William and Sadie will come to being killed for what they learn. Besides the weird, gross stuff going on with ESA, it’s the chemistry - sexual and otherwise - between William and Sadie that really drove the book forward. There are some clever plot twists and turns to keep the story exciting. Without giving too much away, the ending is satisfying, but also rather disturbing. Overall, “The Blooddoll Factory” is a solid paranormal erotica novel with a well-paced plot, good characters, plenty of sex scenes, and with just enough vampire intrigue to make it interesting, but not overwhelming. This book is definitely worth a read if plot-centered erotica is your thing. Buy “The Blooddoll Factory” here on Amazon or read it on Kindle Unlimited. **I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.  If you've ever searched for work from home jobs, you know how hard it is to find legitimate opportunities.
In her guide, "The One-and-Only Internet Money Making Guide!" Stephanie Nolan explains everything you need to know about searching for work you can do from home. You may be wondering if it's even possible, with as many scams out there as there are. Is it really possible to make money at home with real, legitimate companies? Yes it is very possible and Stephanie Nolan is very spot on in her internet money making guide! This info is legit! I'm a mom of six with a 7th on the way. My youngest was a preemie and we lived at the hospital NICU for a month with her and worked during - at the hospital! Our one year old (at the time) was at the hospital with us for that too and often some of the other kids were as well. Now this 7th pregnancy is very high risk and here I am STILL working at home and STILL making money. If you do the work, you will get paid. Even though I run an entire network of websites, I love doing multiple things, rather than just one. I'm always trying new things - but I need them all to be at home. That's why I grabbed myself a copy of this great work from home guide. Not only does she explain how to go about things step by step, using her personal experience. But she also reveals all of her work from home secrets and even includes over 400 companies with thousands of legitimate international opportunities to make it easy for you to get started today! I've been working from home for years and I was still able to find some opportunities in Stephanie's book that I hadn't heard of or tried before. My personal favorite part is that Stephanie also includes with her ebook exclusive access to her work from home support group on Facebook, as well as her personal help. If you don't find a job after purchasing this work at home guide, you didn't try at all. If you need to find something legitimate that you can get started on right away, this ebook could be your solution. You never know what you might find to make money in your spare time or even full time. No experience is required for any of the positions listed and there are all different types of opportunities, such as data entry, web writing, internet research, online tutoring, chat jobs, micro jobs, book reviewing, product reviewers, telephone jobs, smartphone only jobs, and so many more! You can get started today by checking out "The One-and-Only Internet Money Making Guide!" by Stephanie Nolan! * I am an affiliate of this product. However, the content of this post is 100% honest based on experience and not influenced by the affiliation. Last updated 4/30/2023  I recently had an interesting conversation with Brad F. Pollins about the subject matter of his book, “Awakening Your Organization.” In his book, he talks about how to “awaken” the healthcare field with a commitment to excellence. Learn what Brad recommends, based on the subject matter of his book, as well as his experience in the healthcare field both as a professional and a patient.
Q: What inspired you to write “Awakening Your Organization”? A: Actually, the experience with my father as he battled cancer coupled with my fifteen plus years leading improvement efforts in healthcare where I saw first hand the opportunities to re-humanize healthcare. I believe that everyone, despite their clinical condition, should receive compassionate high quality care from a team that is passionately committed to excellence from before the patient arrives until after the patient leaves and every touch-point in between. Q: In what ways do you feel healthcare organizations need awakening? A: In many ways, I believe those of us who work in healthcare are rushing, frustrated, fatigued or complacent based on a number of environmental factors. When we are rushing, frustrated, fatigued or complacent we cannot be truly present. This has resulted in many healthcare workers being principally task focused/task-centric which blinds them to what it truly means to be patient focused and centric. I have worked with and for so many different industries and what sets healthcare apart from other industries is we are dealing human beings who are experiencing pain, anxiety, stress, uncertainty, and even tragedy. This requires healthcare workers to be incredibly emotionally intelligent, empathetic, compassionate and clinically exceptional. Q: Who can get the most out of reading this book? A: Every healthcare employee including providers and leaders. Especially leaders because they foster the culture that influences behavior which determines the results achieved. I believe there are incredibly talented and committed healthcare workers who are constrained by ill conceived processes and outdated policies and procedures designed to govern behavior. Q: Do you feel that lessons from this book could help awaken organizations in other industries, as well? A: I do. The Awakening Organization Model is transferable to any industry or business. Every business should be setting clear and consistent direction, building a strategy supportive culture, staffing the enterprise with high performing employees and multiplying the efforts through continuous process improvement. I believe the performance of people is the physics of organizational performance because the behavior of people (actions and decisions) determines the results the company will experience. Q: If readers can take away just one or two things from reading your book, what do you expect them to learn? A: First, performance of an organization is not based on any single element - it's not just leadership, it's not just culture, it's not just people, it's not just strategy and it's not just processes - it is the synchronization of all of these components. Second, culture is critically important and most organizations only pay it lip service. There is a reason that enlightened people say “culture eats strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner” - because most of the time it does. This is because culture either engages or disengages people, it energizes or de-energizes people and it connects or disconnects people. A healthy and fit culture engages and energizes the people to behave in strategy supportive ways. The connection between strategy and culture becomes clearer in this context – for successful strategy execution people have to behave in a strategy supportive manner, which has to be reflected in the core values of the organization and everything has to reinforce this imperative. Culture can either be designed, or it happens by default. A culture by default is what naturally emerges whereas a culture by design is a deliberate reconstruction of the elements that purposefully develop the desired culture needed to execute the strategy. Q: Where can interested parties purchase your book, “Awakening Your Organization”? A: Amazon & Barnes and Noble LAST UPDATED 1/3/2024 Thriller Author Stacey Carroll Announces the Release of Thunderstorms and .45s Avia Version Amazon3/12/2018 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  March 13, 2018 – Thriller author Stacey Carroll is releasing Thunderstoms and .45: Avia Version on Amazon Kindle and in print on March 20, 2018. Thunderstorms and .45s will be placed on Amazon under Books -> Mystery Thriller and Suspense -> Thriller and Suspense -> Crime -> Heist, for purchase in digital and print formats. After gunning down a police officer in front of the Sarasota police station, Avia flees to Michigan where con artist Benton Docks and hitman Brian are scamming a rich socialite out of her money. Hoping to relax and integrate herself into the scam, she’s thrown into another disaster when one of her cohorts shoots the woman for threatening to expose them. If you’re tired of thrillers that look like thinly disguised horror novels with more blood, guts and gore than you’ve seen on The Walking Dead, and suspense novels that forget critical character and relationship development, Avia is for you. Thunderstorms & .45s Avia Version promises a thrilling ride and an introduction into the organized crime world of the Company. The kindle version will retail on Amazon for $4.99. The print version will retail for $8.99.  Author Bio
Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia. She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design. She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know. She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing. Other books by Stacey 
Love paranormal or fantasy fiction, or a little of both? Here are 6 paranormal & fantasy books that you can lose yourself in.
Are you into thrillers, action, and suspense novels? Here are 14 hand-picked novels we think may whet your action and suspense fiction appetite!
As the full might of the American intelligence community is mobilized to stop it, the CIA's new director must confront a web of threats both at home and abroad, from a resentful White House chieftain, to a cunning Israeli spymaster, and the fearsome commander of the Iranian Quds Force.
In Moscow--after an oil trader with ties to the Kremlin is found burned alive in his Geneva home--an aide to Russia's adored and despotic president is caught between opposing powers. At one side is an eccentric billionaire with lofty dreams of reorienting Russia toward the West, and at the other is the autocratic strongman whose ardent quest for resurgence has brought Russia into a risky, open confrontation with NATO. In Lebanon, the Syrian civil war that raged for years across the border has reached its bloody climax. Yet in its wake, a new menace comes crawling from the shadows to feast on the remains. A brilliant CIA officer in Beirut, working desperately to penetrate an exhausted Hezbollah, is first to recognize the danger. As she begins calling on deaf ears, it is only a matter of time until the drums of war start beating again in the Middle East--and now with the greatest terrorist the world has ever known leading the charge. Warping the line between illusion and reality, amid a labyrinth of characters, plots and counter-plots that span the globe--from the halls of the Kremlin and the suburbs of northern Virginia, to the slums of Beirut and the back alleys of Tehran--comes a story of intrigue and betrayal, life and death, setting a collision course toward a firestorm that will consume thousands and blind a superpower.
Then the Captain drops a new assignment on their desk: an affluent Bay Area lawyer is missing. The man’s wife stomps into their office screaming about a contract she found hidden in the backups of their home computer. A contract with a seven-figure payout, and an incriminating Exhibit A.
Following the trail of both the motorcycle rider and the lawyer with Kandy complaining, “We’re homicide detectives, there should be a body,” leads to a vintage motorcycle club called the Ton Up where lips are sealed, a yacht harbor on the coast where riddles run deep, and a midnight roadside confrontation that ends with a splash. As the trails twist they soon find that these people and places have one thing in common: A violist named Mylin. Who plays in an all-female orchestra called The Girls of the Orient. And, unbeknownst to her, is the subject of a fine-art photographer’s latest collection. From San Francisco to Mexico, the treacherous cliffs of the Pacific coast to the desolation of Nevada’s high desert, Tune Up moves like Kandy’s turbocharged Mini through a foggy landscape of false identities, fake romance, and frenzied chases, as Qigiq realizes one picture really can reveal more than 1,000 words.
As he covers an intense season of high school football, Jake is blown away by the passion everyone has for the sport. But as the new guy in an alien, insular town, he’s also running up against the old-boy network. That’s making it difficult for him to get answers about murky financial dealings and a dubious school redistricting decision that just so happens to have brought some of the best players in the state to perennial powerhouse Dolphin High, which had fallen from dominance.
Three Yards and a Plate of Mullet is a thoroughly entertaining flashback to 1980s Florida. Uniting the worlds of high-stakes high school football with newsroom drama and eccentric characters, it follows our intrepid young reporter as he works to make it in the business he loves while finding his way around a peculiar culture.
He holes up at The Watergate on a senator's dime and enlists a call girl as his unwitting ally. But with the media eating Trent alive, he doesn't have long before they catch him. From the tony clubs of Georgetown to murders on Capitol Hill, The Intern has all the twists and turns of a classic DC thriller, with an added comedic flair.
He immediately meets a damsel in hitchhiking distress who says her name is Mona. Her presence persuades him that the bright lights and dark clubs of Chicago might be his kind of town. So on a summer Saturday night they settle into a fancy hotel overlooking the beaches of Lake Michigan.
On Sunday...Mona disappears. But she leaves behind more than a sweet memory that involves Tommy in a brand new cash flow problem he never imagined. While trying to sort out how to stay on the right side of the law and get back on the road, he meets a young criminologist who helps him, a DJ who doesn't, and a librarian who teaches him about the city, women, and the art of the makeover. After truth and lies are stirred like a blue martini, being assaulted by a pink monkey, and witnessing a drive-by shooting that drowns a Ferrari--Tommy is desperate to help Mona. If he can find her.
As his investigation progresses, he unravels a plot that, if not stopped, will result in the untimely and murderous deaths of tens of millions of people. Bai Tide is Bai’s greatest challenge yet. A mission that will take him from the windswept beaches of San Diego to a whiteout blizzard in the foothills of Pyongyang, and make him question everything he thought he knew about working in the field…and about himself.
With a little dry humor and some heart-stopping tension, Michael Kravitz wades into the drama of a post-EMP attack. It is the story of Ben Randal, his family, his neighbors, and some quirky friends coming together with some old-fashioned values and hope as they struggled to survive in this sudden and unprecedented crisis as Boston Darkens.
Love autobiographies and memoirs? Looking for something new to read, or looking for a gift for a fellow book lover? Here are 7 memorable memoirs worth reading!
From the age of seven to seventeen, Michael, with his mother and sister, journeyed along his own underground railroad, desperately searching for a way to free his family from the sewers of society.
Michael learned death was a big part of youth homelessness. Education was not. To survive, he had to become something more. Caught in between two worlds- his dreams vs. his reality- violence, gangsters, hunger, poverty, and sorrow marked his daily life. Michael vowed to change his fate through getting his high school diploma. He never hoped to dream that not only would he graduate from high school but also from a prestigious California university. This is the true story of a homeless boy, marked for prison or worse, who fought against tremendous odds and persevered to achieve academic and professional success.
Throughout childhood, Anlor struggled to hold her world together and in many ways succeeded: she became an accomplished young tennis player, competing even at the level of the French Open. However, in addition to her autism a dark history hung over her family—a history that she did not fully understand for years to come. Without yet having a name for her world-shattering condition, Anlor headed to a new life in America. But she now had to contend with the raw basics of survival in a new culture, speaking a new language, and without support from her family.
Through incredible effort, Anlor was able to parlay her knowledge of the French language into a job teaching in the notorious South Side neighborhood of Chicago, one of America's most violent. Anlor married, had a child, and even dreamed that she might be able to pass as a neurotypical person. The grim toll of daily compensating for her autism and “pretending to be normal” proved too great a challenge and Anlor’s life imploded. She spiraled downward into a kind of hell, losing her marriage and her beloved son. Desperate, Anlor moved west to California, where she found a mysterious and ancient tradition of spiritual practice from the Far East—zen. Through this profound meditation and community she was able to slowly rebuild her life, this time with honest acceptance of the challenge she faced. The path took her through extreme emotional and physical duress but—at last—led to proper medical diagnosis and treatment of her autism. Today, Anlor works to help people understand her way of being, and the value of basic meditative practice in living and thriving with autism.
Surviving Mental Illness helps break through the fear and stigma of mental illness and focuses on how to find health and happiness. The author shares her personal journey: the heartbreak and challenges of bipolar disorder, and the joy of making her way back to mental health. Through her own story, she shows that help is out there, and with a little faith, recovery is possible. My faith in G-d has led me to recover in ways you cannot imagine. Life is having faith to overcome any obstacles, and that is what my recovery from mental illness is all about.
In the novel One Groovy Summer you will experience plenty of comedy, romance, adventure, and nostalgia. This was a time of great change. There was the Sexual Revolution, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, and Hippies everywhere. It was a truly memorable trip. So come along for the ride. It's going to be One Groovy Summer!
The characters include the seventeen year old son of a Boer president; a young shipbuilding dock worker and his military nurse girlfriend from the industrial north-east of England, and a young Canadian soldier who volunteered for Canada’s first campaign outside its borders. Involved too are such illustrious British participants as Winston Churchill, Field marshal Frederick Roberts and Generals Kitchener, Ian Hamilton and Robert Baden-Powell among others. Boer leaders involved include Generals Christiaan de Wet, Louis Botha, Koos de la Rey and Jan Smuts.
The reader is guided through the various twists and turns of the first major British conflict of the 20th century from its beginning through to its end. The naivety and excitement of combatants in the lead up to and beginning of the Second Anglo-Boer War was contagious. It pulled many naïve young men into the maelstrom of combat. The failures, frustrations, disappointments, disillusionments and sufferings soon emerge. It is a tale of imperial arrogance and determination, of stubbornness, innocence, love and loss experienced in a rugged and alluring land far from the heart of the British Empire. 
Whether it's for a birthday, Christmas, or any other special occasion, historical fiction and nonfiction lovers always enjoy the gift of a good read! Here are some historical fiction novels and nonfiction books worth checking out and giving as gifts!
Facing the horrors of slavery, she triumphs by gaining freedom papers for her maid Emma's enslaved husband and son. Brianna and Edward escape with them to San Francisco. There she becomes one of the most sought after madams in the gold rush parlor house trade. But will her fame and pluck be enough to save Edward from the Vigilante noose? This is the first book in the American Madams series.
His boring and uninteresting life is transported into a magical life of excitement and adventure through explorations of rural ranch life, fishing in remote lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico. A Scout Master provides the opportunity of a life time for these wonderful new experiences, but is there too big of a price to pay? Only the boy can answer this question as he seeks the truth.
What is lost when identity is concealed? What price is paid? Tom’s emotional story unfolds against the backdrop of the Cincinnati race riots of 1836 and 1841 and the oncoming Civil War. In a place and time beset with racism, hate, jealousy and violence, the novel’s characters forge deep evolving loves, friendships, and loyalties as they move towards freedom, their ultimate goal.
This is the author’s imagined story of her own maternal ancestry.
Centuries before Iniki struck, the land belonged to Kauai's royal family. The lush coconut grove along the Wailua River was home to Queen Deborah, the last reigning monarch, whose remains have never been found. Rumor has it that she walks the halls of the resort.
After more than two decades, corporate New York lawyer, Abby Parker has been hired to acquire the property for a wealthy land developer. Abby soon discovers that the Heritage and Cultural Association is not the biggest obstacle to stand in her way. Within hours of arriving on the island, Abby finds herself on a gurney, in the back of an ambulance. Abby may have bitten off more than she can chew.
The Cold War is raging. Mendel falls for Sara Cavanaugh, the engineer responsible for a controversial tower under construction on a sacred site. If completed, the tower will communicate globally with the American nuclear submarine fleet. The Binyan patriarch and his brilliant son are in a generational conflict over the tower and the son’s future.
Spiced with magical realism and mysticism, The Seed Apple (a follow up to Greene’s Lost and Found) is a mysterious, funny, moving novel by a critically acclaimed author.
The grieving, confused son can no longer keep this apparition from his wife and kids—and opens the door. The Marine finally declares why he is there: to straighten out his stray son—and bum a ride to see his dying mother in a 1942 Sioux City, Iowa hospital. The son needs to take his family to Sioux City in the year 2000 to attend his father’s funeral. So the young father and the old son take their battles back to World War II on a trip across a wartime America towards death and an elusive reconciliation.
An emotional journey through paranormal realms, Expect Deception is a fast-paced, suspenseful tale of what happens when US Navy psychics pit themselves against their Nazi counterparts.
Christmas is the season for giving. Make your gifts count this year by touching hearts with these world-changing true stories. These will inspire, help people relate to one another, and perhaps even help some change the world themselves.
Michael learned death was a big part of youth homelessness. Education was not. To survive, he had to become something more. Caught in between two worlds- his dreams vs. his reality- violence, gangsters, hunger, poverty, and sorrow marked his daily life.
Michael vowed to change his fate through getting his high school diploma. He never hoped to dream that not only would he graduate from high school but also from a prestigious California university. This is the true story of a homeless boy, marked for prison or worse, who fought against tremendous odds and persevered to achieve academic and professional success."
The famous revolutionary thinker, inventor and futurist known to all as Bucky twice sweeps the author off her feet: First as a young girl visiting Fuller's 1969 World Game in Carbondale, Illinois and then again as a fledgling journalist in 1982 Chicago. High atop Michigan Avenue Bucky takes her cosmic surfing in an animated lecture about the remarkable possibilities for humanity to succeed beyond our wildest dreams. She promises to share his ideas with the world, which is the passionate obsession in an inspiring coming of age journey.
Readers get a charming introduction to an important historical figure as well as some uncommon sense prescriptions for humanity's success. This book gets readers out of their comfort zones to find their own voices to speak truth to power. Discovering Bucky's ideas is like finding a new engine under the hood of your car. "
of being the next kidnapping victim degrades how many Nigerians live their lives.
Captive Market takes the view that if we understand the way kidnappers think about kidnapping it might be easier to get people out of kidnapping situations. It uses first person kidnapping stories and interviews with hostage negotiators and peeks into the twisted and bizarre world of kidnapping insurance."  ”Tom and Lovey: Under the Moon Into the Wood” is a paranormal fantasy novel written by G.R. Jerry. Lovey is on a ten-year mission to avenge the death of her man, Bill. He was brutally sacrificed by the local lawman, a devilish fellow who goes by the name of Stargut. The sacrifice is a necessary part of his mission to create the perfect man-beast. Meanwhile, Lovey’s best friend, Patty, seems to be under some type of spell, and abandons her night after night.
In the midst of all of this, a stranger by the name of Tom arrives and moves in next door. He calls himself a preacher of sorts. At first, Lovey has no idea that he is much older than he first appears. He has been following the scent evil for a hundred years. Now, Tom has arrived in the Village of Wrong, a rural town in the Midwest, to deal with its mutant inhabitants, mere creations of Stargut, known as “friends of the wood.” In the end, Tom, Lovey, and Patty will converge under the moonlight into the wood down by the river at the doorsteps of hell to face none other but the devil himself. “Tom and Lovey” is a finely-crafted narrative in which the reader is spared no gory details. This book is not for the feint of heart. G.R. Jerry’s imagination is on full display throughout the book. The world building which he does is captivating and colorful. The Village of Wrong seems like it could be a real place that you hope you never pass through. The characters in this book are definitely memorable. Tom and Lovey are well-written characters, and Tom’s backstory in particular is highly detailed. Every character is interesting and described well enough to see them clearly in your mind. This is definitely a strength of the book. It’s a character-driven story and the backdrop is well-done, as well. The ending is somewhat predictable by what is written on the back cover. But there are definitely some twists and turns throughout the plot that I didn’t expect. There are a couple of things towards the end of the book that confused me a bit, but being paranormal fantasy, you do have to set aside your disbelief. Things that may have happened might no longer happen if the original cause is erased, for example. I won’t spoil much more than that in this review. My honest opinion is that there is enough material in this novel to become the basis of a television mini-series or film series. This story deserves that level of treatment, as there is so much to tell in this book that it wouldn’t fit into a single two-hour feature film. I would definitely enjoy watching this story unfold on a television screen. As for what it is as a book, “Tom and Lovey” is definitely a page-turner. The beauty of it is that it was playing out in my head like a film, and those are the types of books that I love. This is not my first experience with paranormal fantasy as a genre. But, it is the first paranormal fantasy novel that I’ve read from cover to cover. It is well worth the read. The characters keep you interested, and while I could see sort of where the story was going, I closed the book wishing for more. That’s always a good thing. ”Tom and Lovey: Under the Moon Into the Wood” is available in paperback from Amazon. *I received a free review copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This review is in no way influenced by any outside sources. No other compensation was received for this review.  The threat of an EMP attack on a major United States city is a real one. Michael Kravitz brings the consequences of an electromagnetic pulse bomb attack to life in his short thriller, Boston Darkens. As the title would suggest, the setting revolves around Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding cities and towns in nearby Rhode Island and Connecticut. The tale is told by Ben, originally from Nebraska, who fortunately knows a thing or two about survival and being self-sufficient.
What's particularly good about Ben’s first person narrative is that it's believable. As someone who is from southern New England myself, I can verify many of the details that Kravitz weaves into Ben's picture of the highly disordered post-EMP attack chaos in the region. The characters he creates are believable and the situations realistic. Kravitz thought this world out well, clearly depicting just how a world without electricity well could be. Even the electrical components of most vehicles are fried too, leaving the streets and highways an auto graveyard. There is plenty of detail, and it draws you into the new reality of a world thrown into disarray. Even with the detail, the narrative flows well and Ben's own personality is reflected throughout. He is honest and tells the story just as if this was really happening here and now. Without giving too much away, I can say the greatest strength of Boston Darkens is showing both the good and bad sides of human nature with equal treatment. I have many other good things to say about this short novel. But being as brief as it is, too many spoilers would be given away if I go any more in-depth. Despite being such a quick read, Boston Darkens is enjoyable and exciting. It’s worth the price of admission. There's plenty of action and drama, with just enough reflection on the state of things to give you a break. I daresay that this story has blockbuster film potential. It's well-told, and while there is a conclusion, it's open-ended. This is intentional, as this book is the first in a series. I look forward to seeing what becomes of Ben, his family, and friends in sequels to Boston Darkens. You can buy “Boston Darkens” as an ebook, paperback, or hardcover at Amazon. *I received a free review copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This review is in no way influenced by any outside sources. No other compensation was received for this review. by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy  I have recently finished reading part one of the Matt Fulton trilogy “Active Measures”. While I will not go into much detail on the plot or characters, I want to try to describe what the experience was like reading the novel. I also want to examine what kind of audience would enjoy this novel and possibly who might not, and also what you might like or dislike about reading it.
Part one of what will eventually become a trilogy under the title “Active Measures” is a fairly large novel of over 600 pages. The content and subject matter is dense and very detailed, intricate and developed. It is a global geopolitical thriller that spans all over the world with many characters. There are many threads of plot that are developed and begin to intersect each other by the time part one of the novel ends. When you read this novel, be prepared to be transported from one part of the planet to another, whether it be the United States in a meeting between the President, his advisors and intelligence agencies, Russia, the Middle East, or elsewhere. There are many characters, and reading the book requires a lot of concentration and some interest in geopolitics. I personally am not very well educated on the subject matter, so the reading of this novel was somewhat difficult for me. Sometimes I had a hard time remembering who was who amongst the characters, and how they were related to each other and what significance they had to the plot. There are some interesting dialogues, and the level of dialogue is philosophical as some scenes depict the motivations and ways of thinking of various characters, whether they be intelligence officers in the CIA, members of the Russian government, United States special forces personnel, undercover spies, and even terrorists plotting an attack. Even though some characters were very similar and I wasn't sure who was who, I could in general get the sense of what role or part each played in the story. There is no one single protagonist hero, but a handful of characters whose actions will eventually intertwine, and will most likely intersect more concretely in the second and third installments of the eventual trilogy, which are yet to be published. The novel is very detailed and I would say very well written. The main question I would like to put forth is what audience of reader would be interested in and enjoy this novel. The author in his acknowledgments cites authors like Tom Clancy and John le Carre as an influence and inspiration to his writing. I personally have only read 2 of Clancy's novels (“Hunt for Red October” and “Rainbow Six”) and am familiar with his other novels and some of le Carre's work, although I have not read any of the latter's novels. So if you like Clancy and le Carre, or other spy or geopolitical novels, you might like this. I personally struggled to get through this novel, with the density of the plot and the plethora of different characters and their yet to be interconnected paths in the story. But by the end I was grateful to have pushed through it, and was surprised to find myself interested in reading the second and third installments whenever they will be finished and actually published. The author has a website, where you can contact him and find info about his writing. If you get to reading this book, visit his site and send him a message letting him know what you think. I hope this review, although scant in detail, gives you an idea of whether this might be something you would want to give a chance and acquire a copy to read. The author does not dumb down or water down the material and it requires some dedication and concentration to get through and mentally keep track of who is who and what is going on, but if you like these kind of stories, you might enjoy this. *I received a free review copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This review is in no way influenced by any outside sources. No other compensation was received for this review.  This is an expanded version of a book review I submitted to Amazon. I will warn you: spoilers follow…
“Unless” is a novel that has received mixed reviews. Some call it boring. Some say the ending is too predictable. I actually have to say I didn’t pick up on it until the last few pages. But I suppose I wasn’t reading the book for the ending. Perhaps the way in which you read this book is most important. Some might say that it doesn’t have enough action, and that there isn’t a coherent storyline. Some complain that the book is about a writer writing about writing a book about a woman writer. There are complaints that the book is extremely feminist; that is something I have no problem with. All the points Shields makes in the book are perfectly valid. I think that this book is about how to deal with an extremely difficult situation: someone you love dearly has suddenly fallen out of life. As we find out, this actually is not as crazy as it first appears. Life does not stop while you are dealing with a situation; you have to learn to cope. There are a lot of undertones about how women are made to feel powerless in our society; this does seem to be a major theme in contemporary Canadian literature and I think this ruins the book for some people. But when you take it from the perspective of the character of Reta, an extremely well-written first-person narrative, it’s actually pretty easy to get caught up into thinking these words could be taken from a real woman’s diary. In fact, I actually found myself wondering about the actuality of certain aspects of the plot. I will refrain from giving away too many spoilers, but I really felt after reading this book that there were real people involved in the story of this book. I felt these were real people being written about. Reta, our protagonist, is a writer, but mainly has been the personal translator for a legendary French/Canadian author Danielle Westerman. This character of Westerman was so interesting to me that I actually turned to Almighty Google to see what I could dig up. I found a musician, quite a lovely musician/model at that, and a link to an interview with Carol Shields, which basically said that Westerman was totally made up and not based on anyone in particular – this to me makes the character even more fascinating. Danielle Westerman, at the telling of this story, is eighty-five going on eighty-six years old. She is a major feminist writer who lived through the Holocaust, who’s always written in French. Reta has translated three out of five volumes of Westerman’s memoirs, and she has received great praise from them all. Shields makes this woman so interesting that I wanted to read these memoirs for myself. They obviously, alas, do not exist for our enjoyment. But now, Reta has taken a shot at novel writing. Her first was a modest success, so naturally, she is now pursuing her second. Being a writer of sorts, I found this sort-of “inside analysis” of the writing process of her novel most interesting; I think a lot of people were not too entertained by this aspect of the story. I must say that I’m not fond of the sort of “light fiction” she was working on, or the very annoying editor character introduced towards the end, but what she writes about character development was very interesting. Shields makes Reta a very thoughtful and observant person. People may say this detracts from the story-telling, but I think Shields wrote this book exactly this way for a reason; she’s a writer writing about a writer and how she writes. It does seem to me, however, that someone as eloquent in her letters and her diary/journal entries would be much better served publishing such musings rather than some contrived silly work of “light” fiction. Apologies for this being a major spoiler, but I understand exactly why Reta’s daughter, Norah, falls out in the way that she does. There’s actually quite a traumatic event, as you may infer is the case from something noted earlier in the book, involved in Norah’s sudden abandonment of her “normal life.” This concept of “goodness” I must say, that Norah becomes a silent spokesman for on a Toronto street corner, is never really dealt with in the pages of the book as I sort of hoped it would be. It is actually an act of “goodness” that has Norah end up in this apparently catatonic state, an act of goodness that does not go unpunished; she is scarred in more ways than one. I honestly can’t blame her. But all the while everyone is trying to psychologically deconstruct her; “what the hell went wrong?” people ask. I am relieved that in the end there was a perfectly understandable reason behind it. But it seems what Shields was trying to do here was make people ask themselves, what is “goodness” really? This was a book designed to make you think. Unfortunately, for as much as I liked this book, I felt it lacked something. But for me, that something it was missing was made up for by my own experience. But again, maybe that was the point. This book is written from quite a feminist perspective, yes, and those “underpinnings” are not at all subtle; so it would be improper to refer to these obvious messages as underpinnings, then. It's true that women are extremely under-represented in many areas of society. As I'll say again, it seems to be still an extremely polarizing issue in Canada. Also, the marginalization of women in literature also becomes a major theme in the book. This is something that I think greatly distracts from the main plot with Norah. That is one major criticism I have with the book – even though it is one thing Norah does make clear she was rather displeased with a certain college literature professor about. But this story is about a lot more than that. What touched me so much about this book is that it is about a mother doing everything possible to continue living a “normal” life while her daughter has totally abandoned any sort of “normality.” One of these coping mechanisms is writing the “light” fiction novel I mentioned before. But that is only one such mechanism: reading, “club” meetings, daily routines, etc. This novel is about a “real” person coping with harsh “reality” by immersing herself in something “light.” So while people may think this is a weakness of the book, I feel it is a strength. I really “got to know” Reta. I want to have tea with her. I want to help Norah in trying to get her life back together. Not being one for reading novels, honestly, I found this book to be a fantastic read. I read it in an evening, actually, and I couldn’t put it down. It made me reflect on the concept of “goodness” and how Reta’s daughter’s sudden falling out of “normal” life, trying to understand things that you just can’t explain, and having that overwhelm you to the point where “normality” seems irrelevant – that aspect of the story to me was very moving. Whether this is Carol Shields’ greatest work I cannot say, for it’s the only work of hers, so far, I’ve read. But I will say that it is a tremendous bookend to a marvelous literary career. A Review of "Angels and Idols: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of a Would-Be Pop Star" by Regie Hamm3/31/2016
by Alicia Bodine, Contributing Writer
I clicked over to see who this Regie Hamm was. Turns out I had already sent him a friend request that he accepted without even knowing who he was (although I knew he was the parent of an Angel). I read that he had just released a book called "Angels and Idols." I was immediately curious and ordered the book over at Amazon.com.
Singer, songwriter, producer, and author Regie Hamm has a unique story that he shares in his book. Regie experienced a great deal of success rather early in his life with too many number one hits to count, several songwriter of the year awards, and even multiple Grammy and Dove Award nominations. Appearances would make it seemed like there wasn't anything Regie couldn't touch that didn't turn to gold. Unfortunately, things were about to take a turn for the worse. Regie and his wife Yolanda got a call that a little 8 month old girl in China needed a home. They named this little girl Isabella "Bella." Bella was clearly sick from the moment the Hamm's brought her home from China. She had trouble with feeding, a severe sleep disorder, and was missing all of her milestones. Eventually she began to have severe seizures. I identified with this part of the book the most because my daughter had all of the same issues. I kept thinking in my head, "Hey, they are talking about my Noel!"
Bella required constant full-time care and supervision which meant the Hamms were living on little to no sleep. Regie's CD American Dreams was dropped, and the health insurance company refused to cover Bella because of a pre-existing condition that the insurance company wouldn't disclose. Bella wasn't officially diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome until 2007.
Regie's journey begins to take a turn for the better when his wife Yolanda encourages him to enter the 2008 American Idol Songwriter contest. Regie won, and at the end of the season millions of people could hear David Cook singing Regie's song "Time of My Life." I was captivated by this book from the very first page. Regie recounts the story of how his grandfather switched foxholes with a fellow soldier at Iwo Jima. Seconds later the soldier was killed in that very spot. If Regie's grandfather had been in that hole, Regie never would have been born. Regie's book takes you full circle as Regie begins to live the words to the song "I Surrender All" that he co-penned with David Moffitt. This song was sung beautifully by Clay Crosse. The book also goes along with Regie Hamm's CD "Set it on Fire." I highly recommend this book as I could not put it down. Not only will you go through the ups and downs with Regie and his family, but you will come out with a better understanding of Angelman Syndrome and all that parents of special needs children go through. I previously published this article on the Yahoo Contributor Network. My daughter, Noel, is now 14 years old. There is a lot of working being done to fund a cure for Angelman Syndrome, which will happen during our lifetime. To learn more about the current research, or to donate for a cure visit Cureangelman.net. Regie also has a new project on Kickstarter that you really should check out. On an Island by Regie Hamm by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy  Dan Brown's very controversial mystery thriller novel "The Da Vinci Code" is one which at points in my life I refused to read. Having watched the movie version, I had a general idea of what it was about. So I felt no need to read the book itself to decide whether it had any merit or not.
Essentially, the story follows the actions of protagonist Robert Langdon, a symbologist who studies religious symbols and their meanings. He is framed for the murder of the curator at the Louvre museum in France. This is where many famous works of art, including the "Mona Lise" of Leonardo da Vinci, are on display. The murdered man leaves clues as to who the murderer is. His granddaughter, a very intelligent cryptographer and code breaker, is brought in to assist in solving the mystery. The story turns into a search for the missing Holy Grail. Supposedly, it has been kept hidden by the Catholic Church, for fear it would overturn all that the Church teaches as true. The secret is supposed to be that instead of having been crucified a bachelor, Jesus Christ had actually married Mary Magdalene. It's also said that he had children, leaving a bloodline that lives on to this day. It is claimed that the Church has slandered Magdalene as a prostitute, doing everything it can to hide this secret that she was really the wife of Jesus and mother to His children. There is a lot of dialogue regarding this. Also, there is talk of the Gnostic gospels and other literature proposed for the Bible, but rejected by the Church as having been inauthentic. Essentially, it was not written by the authors they are claimed to be written by. There is also the claim that it wasn't until the 4th century that Jesus was only believed to be divine. This was many centuries after His death, around the time of the rule of Constantine and the Nicene Council. Before then, all His followers believed He was merely a mortal man, and not an immortal incarnation of God. There are also claims by the characters that the Bible had been altered, mistranslated, and ultimately tampered. Over time, this was done to obscure and falsify the "truth" about Jesus, especially about His relationship to Mary Magdalene. While these ideas are interesting and make for an intriguing story, I find them unconvincing. Having studied the Bible and Church teaching, I can assert that the author has not really studied Catholic theology very much. He is trying to promote an idea of "the sacred feminine" and claims the Church regards females and sexuality as dirty and inferior. He tries to turn Jesus into a mere mortal man, and Mary Magdalene into a divine God. He does not pay attention to the reverence given to women by the uplifting of Mary as Mother of God. The book talks about Eve bringing humanity into its downfall. But it says nothing of the ascension brought to humanity through the Blessed Virgin Mary and her cooperation with the salvific plan of God. Having studied a lot of the issues that are touched on in "The Da Vinci Code," the alternate theory of Jesus and His supposed descendants, the novel did nothing to alter my beliefs in the orthodox teachings of Christianity. The release of this book spurned a huge reaction from Christians of all denominations. This lead to all kind of books debunking the claims made in Brown's novel, such as "The Da Vinci Hoax", "Debunking the Da Vinci Code", "The Da Vinci Fraud", etc. I think the dialogue is a good one, and I will suggest that you do take the time to read Dan Brown's novel. You also should look into some of the opposing claims made in books that criticize and argue against the main premise of the Code. At the very least, reading books like this can demonstrate how wild alternate versions of history can be concocted and developed. There are stories that can convince lots of people of something that just isn't true or never happened. Brown says Jesus was married to Magdalene and had children. I say someone made it up. Even in the study of history, it is important to know that lies or fabrications can be made up. These lies can be meant either to tear down ideas one does not like, or to promote and build up ideas that one wants to become fact. You can purchase "The Da Vinci Code" on Amazon here. by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy  It has taken me a while to get to actually reading any of Dan Brown's widely read novels. Tonight I just finished reading "Angels & Demons", which I will follow up with the more well known "The Da Vinci Code".
Angels and Demons is a book I find myself having difficulty reviewing. The story is very compelling, interesting and exciting in the action and fast paced puzzle solving required of the main character, religious symbologist, Robert Langdon. The story is laid on a backdrop of a debate about the supposed harmony, or incompatibility, of religion and faith with science and reason. Basically, the story is about a scientist, who is also a Catholic priest, who discovers a way to create antimatter, and supposedly proving that the act of creation of something out of nothing is possible, therefore proving the existence of a Creator God. But apparently someone has taken this antimatter and hidden it somewhere in the Vatican, where all of the world's Catholic cardinals have congregated to elect a new Pope, the most recent Pope having died of a sudden stroke 15 days previously. Robert Langdon is called in to help solve the murder of the priest scientist who created the antimatter and he must solve the riddles left behind by members of the secret society and enemy of the Catholic Church, the Illuminati. A lot of the characters in the story represent different views on the relationship of religion with science, of faith with reason. Some characters believe they are harmonious and complementary, while others belief they are contradictory and at odds, the worst of enemies to each other, with one being better than the other. The novel contains a lot of interesting historical information and interpretation. I don't know how much of it it true, and how much either concocted or embellished to create a more compelling and dramatic story, but I think the historical tidbits make it more interesting, regardless of how historically accurate they are. The action of the novel is fast paced and exciting. The dialogue is usually interesting. I found the book to be hard to put down. Overall, and interesting and fun book to read. Being Catholic myself, some of the jabs to my Church were a little annoying, but I can take a punch, and so can the Church. I probably don't agree with a lot of the author's own opinions and beliefs, but that is ok. I still think I could get something out of this book. I plan to read "The Da Vinci Code" next, which, having seen the film version, I know there will be a lot which I will find inaccurate and untrue. But I will read it, so that I have a better idea of what I am critical of. While you can probably find an inexpensive copy of this book in your local thrift store, if you want to buy it online, you can find it at Amazon here. by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy  Image (c) Marco Becerra, Flickr, used under Creative Commons I just finished reading Book 7 of the "Harry Potter" series by British author J. K. Rowling. Overall, I think I would describe the stories as tedious and long winded, but ultimately delightful and satisfying. The series of very long child and young adult friendly novels is about the secret world of magic, wizards and witches, and the years they spend studying their magical craft and talents in the schools of wizardry and witchcraft, under the noses of the largely non-magical "Muggles", who are unaware of their existence for the most part.
Rowling's story is mostly set in the British magical school called Hogwart's. It begins with title character Harry Potter being put under the beastly care of his vicious aunt and uncle in law, after his parents are murdered by the evil and power hungry sorcerer Lord Voldemort, constantly referred to as He Who Must Not Be Named. Potter is notified that he is a wizard and will be attending the school of Hogwart's, which is under the management of noble wizard Dumbledore. Each of the novels describes the events of one year of time at the school, as various professors and fellow students are introduced and the progress of their education in the magical arts is elaborated. As the books progress, there is unfolded a plot of very sinister plans of the attempted return of the evil Lord Voldemort, and his scheme to create a world of Pure blood wizards and witches and the subjugation, eradication, and extermination of all non magical Mudblood and Muggle humans. The story essentially lays out a plot similar to the history of Eugenics, racial "cleansing", and other genocidal movements in the real life history of Earth. It turns out that Harry Potter is the one destined to end the evil plans of Voldemort once and for all. Helped by his friends, especially Ron and Muggle born Hermione, he seeks to understand the forces at work in this epic battle between the powers of evil and good, and figure out how to end the oppression that is taking grip over the world. There are many characters, and they are believable and interesting. I particularly like the character of Hermione, who although born of non magical human parents, is very talented in the magical arts and very astute. She loves to study, learn, read, and gain knowledge, and plays a very important role in the story and her intelligence and wisdom are very necessary to the success of Potter and his friends and allies. There is a great deal of mischief and elucidation of the various spells, jinxes, hexes, curses, and other magical objects and works that are available to the wizarding world. There is humor and silliness in abundance throughout, even as the plot begins to thicken and the story becomes more and more dark and the situation becomes very dire and dangerous in the later volumes of the series. The books are very long, some volumes extending to over 700 or even 800 pages, and, to be honest, at some points it is tedious and boring. I would say that the plot starts to become more interesting around the end of Book 4 (Goblet of Fire) and the beginning of Book 5 (Order of the Phoenix), but there is a lot of development of various characters, magical spells and lore, and there is a lot of dawdling and elucidation of typical nonchalant casual events and dialogue. I won't say it is unnecessary to the story. I think it helps to change the pace of the story so that when it gets interesting, you are rapt with attention, and as I got into the later books, I really wanted to know what sort of twists and surprises were in store. There are a lot of secrets to uncover, quests to conquer, and mysteries to solve, and by the end, the tapestry of all this mystery and adventuring is brought to what I consider a fairly satisfying conclusion and wrap up. When I began to read these stories, I only did so because they were extremely popular, especially amongst young children and adolescents, and I wanted to see what the big deal was. For the first few books, I felt like I was wasting my time, but as I delved further into the series, lent to me by a long time friend of mine, I began to notice that the story was more compelling and the theme more epic than I could have expected. Although I do not think the Potter series rises to the level of other fantasy stories written by British authors such as "Lord of the Rings" by Tolkien, and "Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis, the Potter story was very intelligent and compelling. It is not just a popular story. It has been woven into the fabric of English literature and world culture, having been translated into many languages. It is a good demonstration of the power of universal love and critique of the evils of Eugenics ideologies and the philosophy and theology of genocide and racism. If you do decide to start reading, I hope you don't get bogged down in some of the sections where the action drags on. It is worth it to slog through the slow parts and ultimately read it to its dramatic conclusion. At the time of this writing, I have only seen the first four films. I might update this after watching the rest. The only big criticism I have of the movies so far is that there can seem to be a tendency on the part of many of the actors, particularly the extras and minor characters, to overact their parts. But it is OK, I think. The story, while serious in many ways, has its elements and threads of comedy and silliness, which probably anyone acting in would have the tendency to overdo. I expect that the rest of the films are even better, and become more interesting as much as the books progress in their intrigue and ability to grab the attention of the reader. Also, the films have great special effects and visual profundity and beauty and imagination-inspired. The visual effects bring the text to life in a wonderful way. And the sound and music is well composed. If you decide to read the books or watch the films, and I recommend both, as a result of reading this review, I hope that by the end you do not regret having done so. You can find the complete series of Harry Potter books, as well as the Harry Potter movies on Amazon. by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy  I recently watched the final movie installment of the "Hunger Games" trilogy, after having read all three books and watched the first three movies. I think I read the first book, then watched the first movie, and then I read the second ("Catching Fire") and final ("Mockingjay") before watching the last three movies. At the time, I believe that the books were free to borrow on Kindle to Amazon Prime members.
First off, I will say that I believe the books are much better, much more interesting, than the movie versions. But also, I do not think these stories are very great. They are somewhat mediocre, and I had the hope for something more that was not satisfied. This is one of those works of fiction that I can't really seem to put into words what it was I didn't really like about it. It is not horrible, but just leaves me feeling like I didn't get much out of it. I thought it was worth reading, although I probably would've been better off not watching all the movies. This is one of those books/movies that I watch simply because it is popular and I want to know what the big deal about it is. At least I can say I gave it a shot and wasn't impressed. The story is of a dystopian future, where the citizens of Panem, are split into districts and are forced to send their children into an arena like competition where they have to kill each other off, to win the prize of food for their district. It's a pretty gruesome concept, but I suspect that people like the books and films because they enjoy the gruesome violence instead of abhorring it. It's cool to put a bunch of kids in an arena and have them kill each other off, and in different and exciting ways as well. At least, that is the feeling I get out of it. It reminds me of the game Mortal Kombat, where the best part of the game is to watch characters perform bloody vicious Fatalities where they rip off their limbs or cut them in half or crush their skulls or or set them on fire or whatnot. Perhaps Hunger Games is criticizing violent competitions such as this, but I just have the suspicion that part of the fun and popularity of the series stems from the excitement of watching people killed in different ways. I do hope that we never actually come to a point where games and competitions such as this are tolerated and enacted. Let the Hunger Games serve as a warning to us and future generations such that we never actually enter an era where games such as the Hunger Games are thought to be fun or cool or entertaining. Overall, it is worth reading. It is less worth watching, except for the ability to have a visual presentation of the events. I think all the actors in the film versions do a good job, and the effects and everything can bring a little life to the story as it is translated from written novel to full blown motion picture. Read it, watch it. Let me know what you think of it, what it is about, and if you agree of disagree with some of my hypotheses about the usage of the violence in the story. These kinds of stories are becoming very popular today, with franchises such as "Divergent", and "The Maze Runner" and I am sure there are more and will be more of these dystopian survival stories in the future. Let me know if you are aware of any similar stories, especially if they are better than Hunger Games or other such stories. I would love to read different takes on this kind of theme. The Hunger Games trilogy in book form can be purchased here. by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy  This is the first of a regular column I intend to write called "Psyched". The entries will deal with books and other media having to do with psychology, psychiatry, mental health and illness, neurology, and basically anything having to do with the mind and what makes it work healthy or fail to work. I am considering going back to school to study Psychology, because I want to do something that contributes to the improving and well being of those who suffer from mental illness and those who care for them. Let me know if there are any books or other media which you think I should read and possibly review here. With that said, here is the first entry to my "Psyched" column.
I want to recommend that anyone in the area of psychology, psychiatry, therapy, neurology or any other field dealing with the brain and mental health read the book "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life" by Dr. Daniel Amen. I will just get straight to the point about why this book is a must read for anyone who may be diagnosed with a mental condition or seeking to improve the mental conditions of their lives. Dr. Amen does not just focus on cataloging symptoms and attempting to make a diagnosis that fits the criteria compiled in a non brain connected guidebook such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Dr. Amen makes use of brain scans called SPECT in identifying what kind of brain activity (or lack of it) is going on in patients who are referred to him. Dr. Amen makes the connection between the brain and mental illnesses or disorders or behavior problems. His use of brain scans, while not the only factor in diagnosing and treating various conditions, makes psychiatry into an actual physical science of the brain. It is no longer subjective guessing game where the only evidence used to identify what is going wrong is through external behavior. Dr. Amen can show a patient the difference between normal brain activity and the abnormal activity, or hyperactivity, of various parts of the brain involved in different kinds of mental and emotional and physical behavior and health. The praise I give this book is simple. If my experience with the psychiatric and mental health fields had involved brain scans such as Dr. Amen does, and connected the brain difficulties and mental symptoms I have to something physical in the brain, I would not have been so resistant to getting involved with psychiatrists, therapists, and psychiatric medication. Today's psychiatrists claim that mental illness is a condition of the brain, but do not use any kind of scan or test or brain imaging to help identify what exactly is going wrong with the brain, what areas of the brain are overactive, or not active at all. Psychiatrists should look into Dr. Amen's work, and try to incorporate brain scans into their diagnostic considerations and also in determining what treatments, and medications are best to promote optimal brain health for their patients. I would not have been so resistant to taking medications if the criteria and methods used for determining my diagnoses and what regimen of treatments and medicine were based on brain science and actual evidence of what is wrong with my brain. Today's psychiatrists don't do that. They base everything on externals, such as behavior or symptoms, and do not actually look at what is actual going on, or not going on, in the brain. If you work in the psychiatric or mental health field, read this book. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, and especially are resistant to working with psychiatrists, therapists, or taking medication, read this book. This is a book anyone concerned with having a healthy brain should read and recommend to the other people in their lives to read. Get a copy, get 10 copies, and give them to your doctors, therapists, friends, family, church leaders, etc. I can't recommend this book any more highly than I do. I plan to read Dr. Daniel Amen's other books as well. Hopefully, I will be able to write reviews for them, as well. by Phoenix Desertsong, The Prose Machine  As someone who grew up watching re-runs of Reading Rainbow on PBS, it made me very happy to learn that a season's worth of the show was now being streamed on Netflix. I've watched 3 of the 25 or so episodes that are currently on there, and it brought back good memories. I actually don't remember any of those 3 episodes, as they were probably among the first ones aired well before I was born - the show started in 1983.
What's great about it is that you see books that are probably today out of print, but it doesn't make them any less good. The first episode featured were If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff. That book is actually still a top seller on Amazon even over 30 years later! It's a good one, too - and it's amazing what happens when you give a mouse a cookie. The second was Two Old Potatoes and Me by John Coy, another good one about a father and daughter taking two old sprouting potatoes and turning them into over 60 of them. This one was reprinted in 2013, and I'm sure having Reading Rainbow on Netflix is helping it out. The third one was Owen by Kevin Henkes, which was read on the show by Matthew Broderick - ok, I found that amusing. It's about a little mouse who doesn't want to give up his security blanket although he's now old enough to go to school. His mom comes up with a creative solution - which one Amazon reviewer wasn't too happy with... It's a good book, though. I really love that this show is now easily accessible to today's kids. Yeah, the books are from the 80's and before, but that's what's great about it - shedding light on some really good kid's books. Yeah, I'm way too old for them, but it doesn't make me enjoy them any less. I'd suggest you check out Reading Rainbow on Netflix if you have kids, or if you have PBS nostalgia like I do. But as LeVar Burton says, you don't have to take my word for it!
by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy
Finally, I have finished reading the original Sword of Shannara Trilogy and the followup quadrilogy, “The Heritage of Shannara”. There is a story behind how I was introduced to these novels by Terry Brooks. When I was in 4th grade or so, I was really into the Goosebumps books. I would read really fast, often reading a whole book in a single night. My aunt noticed I read really fast and recommended I read the Shannara books, of which she had the first 7 volumes. At this time, these were the largest books I had ever tried to read, with the first book “The Sword of Shannara” being over 700 pages. It took me a long time to read the first book, and I found that I often would read 20 pages and not remember anything that had happened in them, and have to backtrack to concentrate on them. My reading comprehension skills were very poor for a long time. But these books challenged me, excited, and inspired me. I read the first three books, doing a book report on the second one, and my favorite of the series, “The Elfstones of Shannara” for an 8th grade English paper. Years later, about a few years ago, I decided to read them again and try to break into the followup four book series “The Heritage of Shannara”. I got into the second volume of this series “The Druid of Shannara” and put it down, having lots of other reading to do. Once again, a year or so later, I picked them back up, rereading from the beginning and finally tonight, finishing the last book of those I am reviewing here.
The Shannara series is a fantasy series, being something like Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings”, including elves, dwarves, magic, demons, and sword-fighting. While I enjoy Terry Brooks fantasy world, I find that Tolkien is far better. But Brooks is very good to read, in my view. I know some people who do not like his writing, but I enjoy it. The plot is essentially about the powers of magic, and the use or misuse of magic. That is the theme that runs throughout the series. Essentially, an order of Druids who practice and develop magical powers, is split, where one druid seeks to much power and is corrupted with the power they use and try to destroy the world and rule it. It is somewhat like the Darth Vader and Sith storyline from Star Wars, but this is not an interstellar galactic empire, but a world-bound army where there is no advanced technology, mostly medieval level society and there is magic. But the series follows the adventures of members of a certain family, the Ohmsfords, who are partially descended from the race of Elves which has power of magic. Each volume find the Four Lands of Shannara threatened by some kind of evil, demonic, destructive force or character, and the druid Allanon charges a certain descendant of the Ohmsford, to go on a quest to stop this danger. Often the characters bounce all over the world, of which there is a map at the beginning of each novel, kind of like Lord of the Rings, but totally new, seeking out magical items and weapons and recruiting help along the way as the ever doubtful protagonists seek to bring peace and harmony back into the threatened land of Shannara. Terry Brooks is someone whom I find to be very eloquent in his descriptions of setting, characters, and action. Especially in “The Elfstones of Shannara”, his portrayal and descriptions of battle scenes are very exciting, fast paced and visually imaginative. Whenever he described the setting or scenery or action sequences, I have a very vivid idea in my mind of what the scene looks like, what the characters are doing, and the psychological state of the characters are. The characters are all believable. There is a great variety of characters, and they are easily recognizable and distinguishable. Many of the characters are very likable, and there were feelings of devastation in my soul when certain very important characters are suddenly slain or die, sacrificing themselves to save others and keep the quest going until it is finished. There are some interesting plot twists, and the lore and background story behind the state of the world and the battle between the good magic and lust for power through destructive magic is intriguing. One thing I would like to gladly note is that there is a “Shannara” TV series in production, which will be aired on MTV. The first season is going to cover the second book “The Elfstones of Shannara”, which I mentioned before, is my favorite in the series. I expect this will be very good, and I hope you obtain copies of these books, and enjoy them very much. I liked it, and I hope you like it as much as I did. You might not, but at least give the first book a try, and you'll get a good idea soon of whether you like the book or the author or not. The list below this review is the order in which the books should be read, just so you know. Shannara Trilogy: “The Sword of Shannara” “The Elfstones of Shannara” “The Wishsong of Shannara” The Heritage of Shannara: “The Scions of Shannara” “The Druid of Shannara” “The Elf Queen of Shannara” “The Talismans of Shannara”
by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy 
I finished reading “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain for the first time in my 30 years of life. Twain called this novel his “hymn to boyhood” and it is refreshing to read about the carefree, adventuresome antics of the mischievous Tom Sawyer and his friends.
This novel reminds one of the days before computers, and Nintendos, iPods and Playstations, when all we as kids needed was an imagination and a story to play out, whether it was pirates, or treasure hunters, or whatever fantasy would be fun to us. These were the days when treasure hunts were real, and going out to the woods and living off the land was a grand adventure. I think just the ability to look back to the way our childhoods were without all the electronics and gadgets and noises and beeps and whistles, makes this novel worth reading just in itself. I could describe the plot and the adventures in this book. But my main goal is to recommend you get a copy, read this, enjoy it heartily and bask in the nostalgia to when you didn't need advanced technology and remote controls and hi-speed Internet to enjoy yourself with friends.
by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy 
Recently, I finished reading a nonfiction book called “The Philosophy of Tolkien” by Dr. Peter Kreeft. I highly recommend reading this book for anyone who is interested in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and other Middle-Earth novels and stories. Kreeft digs through the writings and letters of J.R.R. Tolkien and correspondence between him and his good friend C.S. Lewis of “Chronicles of Narnia” fame to demonstrate the very rich worldview and philosophy that fueled the creation of Middle-Earth and his fantasy stories. Kreeft discusses such questions as to God's existence, the existence and nature of angels, what is beauty, the meaning of death, romance and love, knowledge, history, language, politics, and ethics.
I started reading this book over a year ago and got bored for some reason. I picked it back up a couple of weeks ago and couldn't put it down. Perhaps this is because I left off on the parts where Kreeft discussed two of my favorite ideas: Predestination and Providence. I recommend especially the chapter in which Kreeft discusses Tolkien's take on ethics, especially the battle between good and evil which Tolkien dramatized in his novels. I want to highly recommend this book, though I feel inadequate to the task of doing the book justice in this review. But I want to insert here a quote about the battle between good and evil which I thought highly uplifting and inspiring: “Good and evil are not equally powerful, because they are not equally real—even though evil appears not only equal to good but even stronger than good (“I am Gandalf, Gandalf the White, but Black is mightier still”). But appearance and reality do not coincide here, and in the end evil will always reveal its inevitable self-destruction (although often after a terrible price is paid: e.g. Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin). The self-destruction of evil is not just something to believe in and hope for, but to be certain of. It is metaphysically necessary, necessary because the very kind of being evil has by its unchangeable essence. For evil can only be a parasite on good. It depends on a good host for it to pervert. “Nothing is evil in the beginning” or by nature. Morgoth was one of the Ainur, Sauron was a Maia, Saruman was the head of Gandalf's order of Wizards, the Orcs were Elves, the Ringwraiths were great Men, and Gollum was a Hobbit. And whenever a parasite succeeds in killing its host, it also kills itself. So if evil succeeds, it fails; it commits suicide.” I recommend this book highly. There are so many gems in the form of quotes from Tolkien's letters and correspondence with others such as C.S. Lewis, and I hope you will find more enjoyment in Tolkien's epic saga the Lord of the Rings after reading this book. "The Philosophy of Tolkien" can be purchased on Amazon here. |
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