Egg-Larva-Pupa-Woman by Ogo Akubue-Ogbata

Nikiru is born into a wealthy Nigerian family.  She is able to attend a private boarding school with her sister, Nonso.  Born into privilege, she feels secure but finds out how fragile security is when her father dies, leaving her with a stepmother who hates her and her sister.

Farmed out to relatives, Nikiru reaches down within herself and finds a way to get back to school.  She finds she has a passion for engineering; an innate ability to make mechanical items work.  While at school, she meets and falls in love with Ejimonye, a political science major.  They marry, and the book follows their lives; their triumphs and failures and children and love and disasters that befall them.

Ogo Akubue-Ogbata has created a special viewpoint into the African experience of the last half of the twentieth century.  Set in Nigeria, the book also follows events in Sierra Leone and Uganda.  The reader is able to view colonism from the viewpoint of those colonized, and how that colonization reaches its grasp into everyday life of those who endured it.  It also shows the similarity that all women share in life as they grow up, fall in love, marry and have children in their turn, often while trying to balance family and work.  This book is recommended for readers who are interested in African history, and for those who enjoy family sagas.

GIVEAWAY!!!! LOVE IN 9O DAYS BY DIANE KIRSCHNER

Finding true love is possible in just 90 days. Renowned clinical psychologist, Dr. Diana Kirschner, uses the latest research, clinical and personal experience to show you how. Dr. Diana knows the questions single women everywhere face: "Why am I attracted to the wrong kind of guys?" "Why is he just not that into me?" "Why can't I seem to find the One?" She also knows the unconscious mistakes that women make over and over again in love-regardless of age, work success, or the type of men they are dating.

Over the years Dr. Diana has received countless inquiries from single women about writing a how-to guide on her work. Love in 90 Days: The Essential Guide to Finding Your Own True Love is that book.

Love in 90 Days is fun, savvy and based on the latest research on singles, online dating and healthy relationships. Loaded with step-by-step instructions, checklists, and weekly homework assignments, this revolutionary love book is also an intensely personal journey for each reader. Love in 90 Days guides you along your own path towards self discovery with proven and effective dating advice and tough love. Dr. Diana dispels common misconceptions about love relationships and dating, and share personal stories from women who have successfully completed the Love in 90 Days Program. There's also a chapter devoted to the special issues faced by African-American women, single mothers, and women forty-five and older.

Giveaway Rules



You MUST, MUST, MUST leave an email address in order to be entered in the contest. I hate to have to throw out entries because I have no way to notify winners.

1. The giveaway starts Tuesday, February 2nd and ends Friday, February 12th at midnight.
2. There will be five winning entries, which will be chosen by a random number generator.

3. Winners will be emailed and must respond within three days in order to claim their prize. After three days, another winner will be chosen and notified.

4. For one entry, comment below with your email address attached. You can get additional entries by being or becoming a follower of this blog, posting about the giveaway on your blog, or tweeting about it on Twitter. If posting elsewhere, please provide the link.

5. Winners must have a street address in either the United States or Canada. No P.O. boxes allowed by Hachette, sorry!

All right ladies; let's find out how love works.  Valentine's Day is right around the corner!

Searching for Tina Turner by Jacqueline E. Luckett

Lena Spencer has it all.  Married to Randall, one of the few black CEO's of a major corporation, she has a lovely home, all the material possessions one could wish for, a son in college, a daughter about to graduate high school and a circle of friends who love her cooking and advice.

But that vision is on the outside looking in.  From the inside, Lena has reached age fifty-four and feels empty.  Her son has left college due to drug problems and her daughter rarely talks to her.  Her husband uses her as a tool to further his career, and her friends are fair-weather ones.  She feels as if she has nothing that is truly hers and that she has lost her dreams in the service of others.

Lena's dream is to operate a photography studio.  She's had a business plan for years, but has put off starting her business as her husband climbs ever higher in the corporate world.  Instead, she has helped him write speeches, strategized meetings, and served as his hostess.  He kept promising that her turn will come, but now that it's time, he still refuses to support her in finding her dream.

Desparate to carve out something for herself, Lena finds a biography of Tina Turner.  Reading how Tina left her husband at age forty-five and went on to become a bigger musical star without him gives Lena the courage to insist on her plans.  When Randall won't help, she moves out and takes the steps necessary to make her dreams a reality.

This book is recommended for all readers.  Jacqueline Luckett has captured the feeling of imprisonment that many women face, along with the reality that they have given up what they wanted to help everyone they love find what is important to them.  This is an interesting debut novel.

The Nightmare Navigator by Billy Bonsangue

Nightmares are a very real thing to many children, and parents who have children who suffer from nightmares know intimately how it can disrupt the entire family.  In The Nightmare Navigator, Billy Bonsangue uses verse and colorful pictures to list all the common nightmares that might be plaguing a child.  He lists scenarios like monsters under the bed, feeling like you're falling from a great height, something following you in the fog, and spooks in your bedroom at night.

But after listing all the horrors, the author turns the book around and lists ways the child can turn the scary situation around into one that is pleasureable.  Feel like you're falling?  Tell yourself you can fly and suddenly it's an amazing adventure.  A horrible beast in your room?  Welcome him and tell him you've been waiting to play with him.

I love this book!  The rhymes are catchy and the pictures bright and colorful.  I can see this book quickly becoming a favorite of children suffering from nightmares, with the request to read it each night before bedtime.  Parents will be pleased to find something that might help defuse the situation.  This book is recommended for children 5-10, and for parents looking for resources to help them help their child overcome fear of sleeping and nightmares.

Topless Prophet by Alan Markovitz

From the book:

"There are 2,500 topless clubs in America with gross revenue exceeding $7.5 billion.  Topless clubs entertain an estimated 1,000,000 customers every day and employ 350,000 workers to serve them.  Topless clubs serve more alcoholic beverages (and, I would add, at a higher average price) than any other type of nightclub and are open more days and hours than any other type of nightclub.  Of particular significance, topless clubs pay more state and local taxes than any other type of nightclub and receive less corporate branding than any other type of nightclub."

These are just some of the surprising facts that the author, Alan Markovitz, shares about his life as the owner/operator of the #1 rated topless club in the United States.  Markovitz grew up in Detroit, the child of a Holocaust survivor.  When he finished high school, he was at loose ends.  He was accepted and tested to be a figher pilot for the Israeli air force, but ultimately declined.  He went to college in premed, then later business, but again just wasn't satisfied.  He started working at a topless nightclub, and immediately saw the business opportunity that hadn't been exploited there.

When Markovitz started out, most topless nightclubs were lower class establishments, with the typical clientele being biker or other gangs, or blue-collar workers.  He saw that there was a niche not being filled.  There was room for an upscale club that would cater to businessmen and professionals.  This is the type of club he started, along with his father and an older man in the business as partners.  His vision was correct, and it led to a lifetime in the business, multiple clubs, and wealth.

While the language is rough, it is interesting to read how the success came from a standard business model, and how Markovitz talks incessently about business concepts like quality of service, return on investment, loss leaders, location, etc.  Not everything is business talk, and there is certainly a downside.  Markovitz has been shot twice and one of his partners hired hitmen to kill him.  There were incidents with law enforcement and local municipalities. 

This book is recommended for both those interested in topless nightclubs, and surprisely, those interested in business and how to succeed in a business. 

The Currency Of Time, Brandon Stuart

Patrick Felson, 70 years old, wakes one morning and stiffly makes his way down the hallway to start his day.  But this day is different for Patrick.   As he is staring at a collage of family portraits in the hall, he feels a terrific pain and realises he is having a stroke.

When he comes back to consciousness, he slowly begins to realise that this is not the same date he woke up on.   Somehow, he has been transported back a decade.  His wife, who he loved dearly, but was estranged emotionally from, is still there.  Patrick goes to her and tells her how much he loves her and they have a perfect day.

When Patrick awakes next he has traveled back another decade.  He is able to reconnect with his children.  This pattern continues; each time Patrick awakes he has retreated another decade and is able to rectify some of the emotional damage he has done to himself and others.  This continues back to his childhood and the trauma of losing a sibling.  Patrick comes to realise the factors that have held him back his whole life and start to change them.

This book is recommended for general fiction readers.  Stuart has created an interesting framework for the book, and the reader moves with Patrick from decade to decade, wishing as he does that things had been different and pleased that he is undoing some of the emotional damage.  The book is life-affirming and leaves the reader with positive thoughts.

Island Of The Swans by Ciji Ware

In Island Of The Swans, Ciji Ware follows the life of Jane Maxwell.  Born into genteel poverty, the daughter of a minor noble, Jane is a tomboy who lives to escape the strict rules of her upbringing and indulge in madcap adventures.  She is joined by her sisters and a neighbor boy, Thomas Fraser.  As Jane grows, she is forced to become more ladylike and respectable.  She grows into a raving beauty, and her job is to make an advantageous marriage that will help out the family fortunes.

Jane catches the eye of Alexander Gordon, the fourth Duke of Gordon.  Her heart belongs to her childhood friend, Thomas, but he has gone to America to help the Crown settle the country.  When news of his death gets back to England, Jane agrees to marry Alex. 

But word of Thomas' death was premature, and he returns to England time and again over the decades.  Jane is caught between her marriage and children with Alex, and her lifelong love of Thomas.  Which man will win out and keep Jane for his own?

Ciji Ware has created a gorgeous tapestry of the time period, woven around the love conflicts of Jane Maxwell Gordon, fourth Duchess of Gordon.  She weaves in information about the politics of England at the time, famous men, Scottish dancing, poetry, food, and the state of women's status.  This is a glorious book and is recommended for lovers of historical romances. 

The Summer We Fell Apart by Robin Antalek

In The Summer We Fell Apart, Robin Antalek follows the grown children of a dysfunctional marriage.  The Haas marriage was renowned in theatrical circles.  The father was a Tony-award winning playwright, but his career stumbled badly after this honor.  The mother is more successful, still getting acting roles in her fifties and sixties.  The question is why these two ever married and had children.  The children seem to be nothing more than an afterthought, and the marriage revolved around the headgames and the serial adultry of each parent.

Now that the children are grown, they have entered adult lives of their choices.  Kate, the oldest and the father's favorite, is a hard-charging corporate lawyer, full of to-do lists and lots of projects but little time for emotions.  Finn, the mother's favorite, has had alcohol issues and stumbles from rehab to rehab.  George is a swim coach at a private boy's school and provides the most emotional support for his siblings.  Amy is the youngest and is an artist, living in New York with her boyfriend.

The book follows the children in their lives, especially in the time immediately following the death of their father.  Antalek explores how we grow up, what sibling relationships mean and what we owe to our nuclear families once we grow up and make separate adult lives.  The writing is immediate and real, and although the topic could be depressing, it doesn't weigh down the book.  This book is recommended for readers who enjoy books about how we relate to each other and the world.

Buying Time by Pamela Samuels Young

Waverly Sloan can't believe his luck.  He just got disbarred as an attorney, but has fallen into a great new business.  Of course, not everyone would like it, but he isn't picky.  The viatical broker finds terminally ill patients with large life insurance policies.  He buys the policy for half price on behalf on his investor.  The patient gets some needed money for the end part of their life, and when they die, the investor gets the face value of the policy.  The broker takes his fee up front, and Waverly soon finds that these fees add up to substantial funds.

What could go wrong with that?  Let's see.  A drug dealer who decides Waverly is his best bet for laundering drug profits.  A federal prosecutor who is heading up a task force to investigate the industry and Waverly's office in particular.  Clients who die; and not from their diagnosed illnesses.  His clients are dying in car accidents, hit and runs or suspicious fires.  In particular, one case comes back to haunt him.  The new Attorney General of the United States used his services for his terminally ill wife.  The problem?  After she dies, it's determined that she was murdered.

Pamela Young has written a fast-paced mystery that keeps the reader turning pages to see what will happen next.  This book is recommended for mystery readers who like fast-paced action.

The Culture Of Excess by J.R. Slosar

In The Culture Of Excess, J.R. Slosar defines how modern culture is based on the personality traits of narcissism and the loss of self-control, and how this emphasis on personal attainment is warping various segments of society.  The demand is for everything to be faster, bigger and better.  As self-control diminishes, impulsivity increases.  We have more and more and are less and less happy.

The author talks about how broad segments of our society are affected by this cultural focus.  In a chapter about education Slosar talks about how today's students are not willing to study math and science, leading to a decrease in logical thinking and bad conclusions to decisions made on emotion rather than evidence.  Another chapter is devoted to the current health care crisis and legislation.  The demeaning of science is discussed and how differing opinions on scientific questions divide the country more and more.  The future of media is another topic with a discussion on how the screaming talking heads we are all familiar with impact society.  The notable fact of helipcopter parenting and the inability of young adults to break away and find their own identity is another aspect of this trend.

J.R. Slosar is a clinical psychologist and an adjunct assistant professor at Chapman University in California.  His training and experience give him the ability to provide examples and to create a structural framework through which the issues of American society can be viewed.  His arguments would be stronger, however, if every ill affecting society wasn't laid at the doors of Republicans and conservatives.  This book is recommended for those nonfiction readers that are interested in cultural analysis.

Better Part Of Darkness by Kelly Gay

Charlie Madigan is a newly divorced single mom who is also a cop.  That job is much more complicated now that beings from other worlds live here.  The Atlanta Underground crime scene has taken on a whole new meaning.  Charlie can handle the change though.  Brought back to life six months ago, she is discovering that she has new powers she never thought about.

There is a new drug hitting town.  Incredibly addictive, ash is like nothing ever seen, and Charlie and her partner Hank are put on the case to discover the pipeline selling the drug and to shut it down.  They are making progress on the case when they inadventently discover a major plot that makes selling drugs look like playing in a sandbox.  The plot will take over the entire Earth and make it habitable only for those from another world.  As Charlie and Hank race to find out the details and save the Earth, they take major hits to their families and regular lives.  Will they succeed before they are too damaged to fight?

Kelly Gay is a new voice in urban fantasy, but this book should gain her new readers and fans immediately.  The characters are memorable, and the plot is edge-of-your-seat.  Once started, this is a must-read book and readers will finish it ready for the next adventure of the team.  This book is recommended for urban fantasy and sci-fi readers.

GIVEAWAY!!!!! Beyond Blue by Therese Borchard

Therese Borchard may be one of the frankest, funniest people on the planet. That, combined with her keen writing abilities has made her Beliefnet blog, Beyond Blue, one of the most trafficked blogs on the site.
BEYOND BLUE, the book, is part memoir/part self-help. It describes Borchard's experience of living with manic depression as well as providing cutting-edge research and information on dealing with mood disorders. By exposing her vulnerability, she endears herself immediately to the reader and then reduces even the most depressed to laughter as she provides a companion on the journey to recovery and the knowledge that the reader is not alone.
Comprised of four sections and twenty-one chapters, BEYOND BLUE covers a wide range of topics from codependency to addiction, poor body image to postpartum depression, from alternative medicine to psychopharmacology, managing anxiety to applying lessons from therapy. Because of her laser wit and Erma Bombeck sense of humor, every chapter is entertaining as well as serious.

GIVEAWAY RULES


YOU MUST, MUST, MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS. I HATE TO NOT USE AN ENTRY BECAUSE I HAVE NO WAY OF NOTIFYING YOU IF YOU WIN. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR ENTRY.


1. The giveaway starts Sunday, January 24th and ends Friday, February 5th.
2. There will be five winners chosen by random number generator.
3. Winners will be notified by email and have three days to respond with their mailing address. After three days, an alternate will be chosen.
4. For one entry, leave a comment with your email address. For additional entries, be a follower, or post to your blog, or twitter the giveaway.
5. Winners must live in the U.S. or Canada. Hachette doesn't deliver to PO Boxes, sorry!

Good luck. I think this one will be fascinating.

Knit, Purl, Die by Anne Canadeo

Gloria Sterling has a fairy-tale life.  Rich and beautiful, she has recently remarried.  Known for her escapades, even her remarriage makes news--her new husband is gorgeous and twenty years younger.  But when Gloria is found dead in her swimming pool, the fairy tale comes to an end.

It turns out there are plenty of suspects.  Inevitably, the husband is always the first suspect and he was the talk of the town by those who refused to believe the marriage had been a love match.  Then there was the local attorney who had been Gloria's prior lover.  Finally, all that money was left to her by her prior husband, and he made that money in real estate.  There were many in Plum Harbor, where Gloria lived, who felt that his fortune was built on their misfortune.

Gloria had recently joined a circle of five friends that called themselves The Black Sheep.  The group was centered around all the participant's love of knitting.  There was Maggie, who owned the local knitting shop.  Suzanne was a real estate agent, while Dana is a psychologist.  Lucy is a graphic designer while Phoebe is a college student who lives over the knitting shop and works there.  When the police decide that the death is an accident, the group starts to put suspicious events together and decides that the death must have been a murder.  They each use their unique talents to bring another piece to the puzzle of Gloria's death.

Knit, Purl, Die is the second book in the Black Sheep mystery series, and would be considered to be on the cozy part of that genre.  The characters are interesting and their interplay and demonstration of true female friendship is fascinating for the reader to follow.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers.

Thicker Than Blood by C.J. Darlington

Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build a career as an antiquarian book buyer. But things begin to unravel when a stolen Hemingway first edition is found in her possession, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. With no one to turn to, she yearns for her estranged younger sister, May, whom she abandoned after their parents’ untimely deaths. Soon, Christy’s fleeing from her shattered dreams, her ex-boyfriend, and God. Could May’s Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she’s searching for? Will the sisters realize that each possesses what the other desperately needs before it’s too late?

This novel is the winner of winner of the 2008 Christian Writer's Guild Operation First Novel contest.  My review is coming later, but here are some quotes from others:
With careful attention to detail, emotion, and scene-setting, C.J. Darlington scores with her debut effort. Here is a special writer you won’t want to miss.
--Jerry B. Jenkins, New York Times best selling author

If you love a good read filled with adventure and ultimately redemption, I encourage you to brew the tea, settle into your favorite chair and pick up the page turner that is C.J. Darlington’s imaginative new novel of a modern day sisterhood that triumphs over separation and the raw challenges of life to find the real endurance of both family ties and God’s amazing grace.
--Rebecca St. James, Grammy award winning Christian singer and bestselling author

With Thicker than Blood, C.J. Darlington proves she's a novelist for the long-haul, a strong new voice in Christian fiction. This book speaks to the heart, from the heart, about the heart. Readers will not soon forget it.
--Sibella Giorello, Christy award-winning author of The Rivers Run Dry & The Clouds Roll Away

About the Author:

C. J. began writing the story that would become Thicker than Blood (her first novel) when she was a fifteen-year-old homeschool student. She has been in the antiquarian bookselling business for over a decade, scouting for stores similar to the one described in the novel before cofounding her own online bookstore. Thicker than Blood was the winner of the 2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel.

C. J. co-founded the Christian entertainment Web site TitleTrakk.com with her sister, Tracy, and has been actively promoting Christian fiction through book reviews and author interviews. She makes her home in Pennsylvania with her family and their menagerie of dogs and cats. Visit her website www.cjdarlington.com for more info.

The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

It's not a good day for Jack McEvoy.  A crime reporter at the L.A. Times for twenty years, he has just been told that he will be laid off in two weeks.  Jack decides to go out with one last good story.  He has been contacted by the grandmother of a sixteen year old gang member who has been arrested for a grisly murder the media is calling The Trunk Murder.  She insists her grandson is innocent, and Jack decides to look into the story. 

As Jack starts to investigate, he quickly realises that not only is the teenager innocent, but the reason he is not guilty is that there is a serial killer out there who has been killing women in different states and leaving them in car trunks.  He starts an investigation, aided by FBI Agent Rachel Walling.   He worked with Rachel on his biggest story years before.  That story was the detection and capture of The Poet, another killer. 

This time is different however.  The killer is investigating Jack and Rachel as intently as they are investigating him, and is targeting them as his next victims.  Along with the chase, the reader learns about how technology plays into both the killer's targeting of his victims, and the investigation into his crime.

Michael Connelly readers will not be disappointed in The Scarecrow.  It delivers what one expects from Connelly, a page-turner with enough twists and turns to keep the plot moving.  The story is taut and the reader is involved in the investigation.  The love interest between Jack and Rachel adds another dimension.  This book is recommended for mystery readers and Connelly fans.  Although it is another in a Jack McEvoy series, it can easily stand on its own. 

Breakfast In Bed by Robin Kaye

Becca Larsen lands in New York City, ready to take on the art world.  When she moves into the apartment she sublet while her apartment and studio are being renovated, there's a slight problem.  There's already a tenent, Rich Ronaldi, who has also just moved in.  Becca's brother is married to Rich's sister, and the couple each rented the apartment without checking with the other. 

Rich also has problems.  He has just taken a job as a psychology professor at Columbia, but his dean seems to think that Rich's fancy-free bachelor days should be coming to an end, and expects him to settle down.  On top of that, his girlfriend, Gina, has just dumped him because he is the typical spoiled Mama's Boy who expects every woman to wait on him.

Rich and Becca don't like each other, although each is attracted physically.  But both need a place to live, and Rich needs someone to help him learn to cook and clean and take care of himself.  They agree to share the apartment for a few months.  Will they overcome their intial feelings and learn to love each other?

Robin Kaye has written a wonderful romance.  Light-hearted in tone, it keeps the reader turning the pages to see what will happen next in this relationship.  The love scenes are steamy, and the characters are vivid.  This book is recommended to romance readers. 

AUDIO GIVEAWAY!!!! HOPE FOR ANIMALS AND THEIR WORLD BY JANE GOODALL

At a time when animal species are becoming extinct on every continent and we are confronted with bad news about the environment nearly every day, Jane Goodall, one of the world's most renowned scientists, brings us inspiring news about the future of the animal kingdom. With the insatiable curiosity and conversational prose that have made her a bestselling author, Goodall-along with Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard-shares fascinating survival stories about the American Crocodile, the California Condor, the Black-Footed Ferret, and more; all formerly endangered species and species once on the verge of extinction whose populations are now being regenerated.


Interweaving her own first-hand experiences in the field with the compelling research of premier scientists, Goodall illuminates the heroic efforts of dedicated environmentalists and the truly critical need to protect the habitats of these beloved species. At once a celebration of the animal kingdom and a passionate call to arms, HOPE FOR ANIMALS AND THEIR WORLD presents an uplifting, hopeful message for the future of animal-human coexistence.


GIVEAWAY RULES

YOU MUST, MUST, MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS.  I HATE TO NOT USE AN ENTRY BECAUSE I HAVE NO WAY OF NOTIFYING YOU IF YOU WIN.  PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR ENTRY.

1.  The giveaway starts Saturday, January 16th and ends Friday, January 29th.

2.  There will be three winners chosen by random number generator.

3.  Winners will be notified by email and have three days to respond with their mailing address.  After three days, an alternate will be chosen.

4.  For one entry, leave a comment with your email address.  For additional entries, be a follower, or post to your blog, or twitter the giveaway.

5.  Winners must live in the U.S. or Canada.  Hachette doesn't deliver to PO Boxes, sorry!

Good luck.  I think this one will be fascinating

Coppola, A Pediatric Surgeon In Iraq by Dr. Chris Coppola

This book came as a total surprise to me.  I've always had respect for those who serve in our military, and the doctors who serve there hold a special place.  But somehow I never thought that the medical staff is not only taking care of our wounded soldiers.  They also take care of the civilians caught up in tragedy, and even take time to aid enemy combatants.  As such, they provide two major services.  The main mission, and their main contribution, is allowing the survival of so many more military casualties.  But their work with the civilian population serves as an ambassadorship, showing other countries that America is willing to help all.

Dr. Chris Coppola served two surgical rotations in Iraq.  He is a pediatric surgeon and found quite a scope of work for his specialty.  There are many children who are burned in bombings, shot, or hurt by falling rubble.  Since the medical capacities of Iraq have been pretty much destroyed by the war, Dr. Coppola also found himself as the doctor of choice for birth defects, or diseases that disfigured and harmed the children there.  Often, he was able to provide life-saving or enhancing medical care that these children would never be able to get otherwise.

Much of the book talks about how anyone in the military serving overseas in a battle situation feels.  There is the fear when battle hits contrasted with everyday boredom.  There is the overwhelming lonliness of being without their family.  There is the satisfaction of knowing that they have completed a mission, and hopefully have made the lives of those around them better.  Regardless of whether they agree with the mission or not, these men and women are serving a life of service to others, and I admire them greatly for their sacrifice.

This book is recommended for those interested in current events.  It is an interesting take on the war not often heard, and it adds to the reader's knowledge of the conflict while helping them clarify their feelings about this situation.

Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption by Robert Fate

High Plains Redemption is Robert Fate's third book in his Baby Shark series.  Baby Shark is Kristin Van Dijk, a private eye in partnership with Otis Millett.  She got the nickname Baby Shark when she hustled pool as a young girl, working the circuit with her father. 

The locale is the Oklahoma and Texas badlands, set in the 1950's.  Otis and Baby Shark have been hired to deliver a ransom for Savannah Smike.  Savannah is the girlfriend of Travis Horner, a powerful gangster.  She has been kidnapped and Travis wants her back badly enough to pay ransom for her.  The ransom attempt goes awry, and two rival groups attack each other, with Baby and Otis in the middle of the conflict.  They end up with Savannah, and deliver her back home to her bootlegging family. 

Both sides in the conflict come after Baby Shark and Otis.  The action is fast and furious and the reader is kept on edge, unable to put down the book before discovering what happens next and how the pair will escape the latest scrape. 

Fate has created a rarity; a female protagonist that is believable as something other than a shrinking violet.  That he can do so in the locale he picked is even more remoarkable.  Readers won't soon forget Baby Shark, and will eagerly await her next adventure.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Silent Desperation by Jeffrey Bryan

In Silent Desperation, a debut book, Jeffrey Bryan has given the reader a collection of short stories and poetry.  Each genre is collected into a separate area, with the short stories starting the book and all of the poetry at the end.

The short stories tend to be in the sci-fi/fantasy genre.  Most talk of lonely people that can't find a way to connect with others.  Of these stories, my personal favorite was "The Forever Man'", which tells the story of the last man on Earth.  Another story, "Eyes Of Echo" is more of a novella, and the author should consider fleshing it out into it's own book, since it shows such merit and interesting characters.

The poetry tends to be focused on the same themes.  In this section, my favorite was the poem, "I Will Never Forget Again."  It adeptly shows the horror of abuse by a loved one, and then the joy of forgiveness when that person realises the horror of what has been done. 

Bryan shows a real talent in this area, and can be one of the new voices in urban fantasy.  This book is recommended to readers of science fiction, fantasy, both traditional and urban fantasy.

Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Norah Kelly, a famous archaeologist, and William Smithback, New York Times reporter, are celebrating their first wedding anniversary.  But the celebration turns tragic when a man breaks into their apartment and kills Smithback.  The man is easily identifiable; he's one of their neighbors.  The police expect an easy arrest until they learn that the neighbor had been declared dead a week before. 

Police Lieutenant Vinnie D'Agosto is assigned the case which gets stranger and stranger.  Norah is stalked by a hulking figure that seems to be the neighbor and then later, after his body is stolen from the morgue, by her dead husband Smithback.  There are fetishes found and the newspapers jump on this evidence of voodoo and start to call the figures zombies.  D'Agosto is joined in his hunt for the killers by Special FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast.

There is mystery galore.  An ancient church taken over by a cult seems to be involved.  There is a young newspaper reporter who is caught up in the story, and more and more sightings of the mysterious figures.  Then Norah is kidnapped.  Can Pendergast and D'Agosto solve the mystery before more people are killed, sending the city into panic?

This is the ninth Pendergast/D'Agosto mystery written by this successful team of authors.  Fans of their earlier works will not be disappointed and those mystery readers who haven't yet experienced a Preston/Child book will find a new series to explore.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers of all ages.

AUDIO GIVEAWAY!!!!! PERMISSION SLIPS BY SHERRI SHEPHERD

Covering topics such as "It's Jesus or Jail,""Marriage, the Hard Way,""Children: The Gift You Can't Give Back," and "All the Things I Don't Know...And All the Things I Definitely Do," stand-up comedienne, actress, and ABC's The View co-host Sherri Shepherd comically chronicles her struggles to keep up with the many roles-professional, wife, mother, daughter, and friend-that women must play in today's world. Sherri urges women to pursue their most important dreams and to never give up, but also let's readers know that it's okay to give themselves "permission slips" when things don't always work out the way they want them to. As her many fans know, Sherri is never hesitant to speak from the heart, and her bubbly personality shines through in this delightful autobiography.

Giveaway Rules


You MUST, MUST, MUST leave an email address in order to be entered in the contest. I hate to have to throw out entries because I have no way to notify winners.

1. The giveaway starts Sunday, January 10th and ends Friday, January 22th at midnight.

2. There will be three winning entries, which will be chosen by a random number generator.

3. Winners will be emailed and must respond within three days in order to claim their prize. After three days, another winner will be chosen and notified.

4. For one entry, comment below with your email address attached. You can get additional entries by being or becoming a follower of this blog, posting about the giveaway on your blog, or tweeting about it on Twitter. If posting elsewhere, please provide the link.

5. Winners must have a street address in either the United States or Canada. No P.O. boxes allowed by Hachette, sorry!

The Enchantress Of Florence by Salmon Rushdie

A yellow-haired foreigner has arrived at the palace of the Eastern Emperor, Akbar.  While many such strangers would be sent on their way, this man is given an audience with the emperor.  He starts to tell a fabulous story, and soon, makes the incredible claim that he is actually the Emperor's uncle; son of a famous beauty who was a daughter of the court but who was captured in a war and then chose to remain with her captor when freed.  Due to this refusal to return bak to court life, her name is erased from the family history, but there are still some older people who remember her or her story.

This woman is the Enchantress of Florence, but that is just one of her many names.  She is called Angelina, The Woman With Dark Eyes, The Enchantress, Qara Koz and other names.  She lives in various places, always with men who will give up anything and everything to have her love.  When necessary, she picks up and moves on to the next life, the next man.

Salmon Rushdie plays with several themes here.  There is the theme of each person knowing a different side of another; this theme is represented by the multiple names that each character has.  There is the theme of love and what will be done to sustain love.  The question of whether in each relationship there is one who loves and one who is loved is explored.  Another theme explores the lives of those who travel and contrasts them with those who choose to remain in their homeplace.  Rushdie repeats one phrase that ties the stories of the East and the Italian city of Florence together.  The curse of the human race is not that we are so different from one another, but that we are so alike.

This book is highly recommended.  The language is lush, and the story moves back and forth, with myriad characters that require the reader's full attention.  The characters are finely drawn and even those who have minimal parts to play are fully developed.  The book leaves the reader with much to think about.  For those readers who enjoy fantasy and non-linear plotlines, this book is a gift. 

GIVEAWAY!!!!! WHAT THE DOG SAW BY MALCOLM GLADWELL

What is the difference between choking and panicking? Why are there dozens of varieties of mustard-but only one variety of ketchup? What do football players teach us about how to hire teachers? What does hair dye tell us about the history of the 20th century?


In the past decade, Malcolm Gladwell has written three books that have radically changed how we understand our world and ourselves: The Tipping Point; Blink; and Outliers. Now, in What the Dog Saw, he brings together, for the first time, the best of his writing from TheNew Yorker over the same period.

Here is the bittersweet tale of the inventor of the birth control pill, and the dazzling inventions of the pasta sauce pioneer Howard Moscowitz. Gladwell sits with Ron Popeil, the king of the American kitchen, as he sells rotisserie ovens, and divines the secrets of Cesar Millan, the "dog whisperer" who can calm savage animals with the touch of his hand. He explores intelligence tests and ethnic profiling and "hindsight bias" and why it was that everyone in Silicon Valley once tripped over themselves to hire the same college graduate.

"Good writing," Gladwell says in his preface, "does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think, to give you a glimpse into someone else's head."What the Dog Saw is yet another example of the buoyant spirit and unflagging curiosity that have made Malcolm Gladwell our most brilliant investigator of the hidden extraordinary.

Giveaway Rules

You MUST, MUST, MUST leave an email address in order to be entered in the contest.  I hate to have to throw out entries because I have no way to notify winners.

1. The giveaway starts Saturday, January 2nd and ends Tuesday, January 12th at midnight.


2. There will be three winning entries, which will be chosen by a random number generator.

3. Winners will be emailed and must respond within three days in order to claim their prize. After three days, another winner will be chosen and notified.

4. For one entry, comment below with your email address attached. You can get additional entries by being or becoming a follower of this blog, posting about the giveaway on your blog, or tweeting about it on Twitter. If posting elsewhere, please provide the link.


5. Winners must have a street address in either the United States or Canada. No P.O. boxes allowed by Hachette, sorry!

Good luck! This sounds like an amazing book.

Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur

For those readers whose New Year's Resolution is to save money this year, Todd Wilbur's new cookbook, Top Secret Recipes Unlocked,  is a godsend.  The cookbook gives the average person the tools to recreate their favorite restaurant offerings at home, allowing them to save money and impress those they are cooking for.

The cookbook is broken down by restaurants.  Some of the restaurants represented include Panera Bread, Boston Market, Burger King, Carnegie Deli, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Outback, KFC, Starbucks, Taco Bell and even Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.  Each recipe is given a page, with a paragraph preceding it that gives any tips that let the chef overcome any challenges.  Many recipes are followed by a section called Tidbits that give further tips and things to consider.  The recipes are clearly written and easy to follow. 

This book is recommended for all readers, especially those who are cooks.  Living in the hometown of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, I'm not sure anyone else can duplicate those heavenly treats, but most of the recipes are well within the expertise of the average person.  Using these recipes is a great way to impress friends invited over for a meal.

Bonnie McGee left a life as a teacher to circumnavigate the world on a yacht with her husband. Voices On The Wind is the story of that voyage. The book starts with the famous poem by Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken”. McGee’s yacht shared the same name, Road Not Taken, and provided the means for the couple to embark on a voyage that few of us have the courage and daring to attempt.

The book is a series of stories about the various places and people encountered along the way on the voyage. The reader is transported to far-away places rich in animal life and beauty, and discovers along with author the cultural visions of the people in those places. McGee narrates the values and beliefs of these tribal people of Africa and Australia and South America and the Tahitian islands. The overriding value of all these people is that of sustaining family relationships, and the work ethic of the West is viewed with surprise and suspicion. When, they ask, does a man spend time with his family and friends? The need for money and material possessions is greeted with astonishment. Most of these tribal people share their possessions with those around them, and take from the environment only what they need to survive for that day or week. Storing up treasures is foreign to them.

Another interesting theme of the book is the sailing language and concepts the reader encounters. One of the longest stories in the book tells of how the couple survived Hurricanes Irma and Jason while wintering in Australia. To hear the tale of what is required to survive such a harrowing natural event is eye-opening. The reader learns how dangerous it is to enter harbors, and how sailing through storms is a test of courage that few of us will ever have to endure.


This is an oversized book, and the reason is the gorgeous photographs that illustrate every page. There are shots of scenery from islands to jungles to bustling coastal towns. Animals such as elephants and sea life and an intrepid sea-faring dog are portrayed. There are scores of images taken from the yacht, showing the glorious maritime scenes that the couple was able to see daily. Many of the pictures show the various people met. There are scenes of tribal women performing traditional dances, of tribesmen paddling long canoes, of men performing the fishing work that sustains life. Above all, there are photographs of the many children. All are curious, interested to see how life is lived elsewhere, and smiling smiles of joy and welcome.

This book is recommended for readers who enjoy travel books as well as for those interested in hearing about reaching out and grabbing the dream of another life. Those who indulge will come away inspired and refreshed. This is a gorgeous book and one that is highly recommended.

Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman

In Bad Mother, Ayelet Waldman talks about how all mothers are made to feel like they are performing poorly as mothers, regardless of their choices.  Waldman is married to the novelist, Michael Chabon, and together they have four children.  She gives the reader an intimate view of the choices she has made as a mother, and the negative feedback she has gotten for some of her choices.

The book is written in eighteen chapters, each discussing common parenting issues.  The stay-at-home mom vs. the working mom is covered, and how each is criticized for what they choose for their family.  The marriage partnership and how work is divided is a chapter.  Chapters I found especially relevant was one about how they elected to abort a child identified with birth defects, and one that talked about how to discuss sex and the parents' sexual history with one's children.  I also liked the chapter about the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship which gave me new ways to look at this common issue through a new filter.  The chapter about helping children with their social relationships and not dragging your own angst into the issue was timely, and I loved the chapter about hating homework.

This book is recommended for all readers.  Those who are parents will recognize themselves, or at least the issues that most parents face, while those who have remained childless will gain a better understanding of what family life is like. 

Impossible Motherhood by Irene Vilar

Impossible Motherhood is the memoir of a woman who had fifteen abortions in fifteen years.  Although many will find the author totally unsympathic, others will read her story and understand what motivated her.  Irene Vilar lost her mother at age eight, when her mother opened the car door while the car was in motion, throwing herself out and killing herself in front of her child.  Having learned from her mother that a female should be pleasing to others, Vilar stuffed down her feelings about this event and channeled her emotions into her schoolwork, succeeding to the point that she is accepted to college at age fifteen.

Leaving her family behind in Puerto Rico, Irene attends Syracuse University in the Northern part of the United States, an environment as different from Puerto Rico as is imaginable. At fifteen, she is left by her father at the college, knowing no one, with little money and little life experience.   Her family experiences are bleak.  Her father is an alchoholic, who cheats on all the women in his life.  Two of her brothers are drug addicts.  Vilar falls under the influence of a professor at the university and ends up staying with him for a dozen years.  He is sixty years old when they meet, and Irene is sixteen.  He insists on his freedom, never paying her way but insisting that she pay for her food, and half of any vacations, as well as paying him rent.  Since a child would tie him down, he insists on no children.  His basic rule was that he took but did not give back to anyone.

Irene's only rebellion, as she saw it, was forgetting to use her birth control.  Her pregnancies were acts of rebellion against this overpowering influence, a way of asserting her independance.  Yet after a month or two, the thought of losing him overwhelmed her, and she would abort another baby. 

This book, although it is hard to read at times, is recommended for all women; feminists,women caught in dependant relationships that are bad for them, mothers who want to avoid their daughters falling into this trap as well as any woman ambivalent about abortion.  Vilar's life story shows the dangers of giving up independance and control of your life to anyone else, of needing someone so badly that you rebel against your ideals.  The reader is simultaneously repulsed by the fate of all these babies and compelled to read further to hear how Vilar overcame this life and all it entailed. 

The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

In this, the fifth book of The Chronicles Of Narnia, Lucy and Edmund have returned to Narnia without Susan and Peter, who are now too old.  Their cousin, Eustace, considered obnoxious by everyone except his parents, is brought along with them, although he is fond of telling them that Narnia and Asland do not exist and are just a figment of their imaginations.

They arrive to find that King Caspian has decided to take a voyage on his royal ship, the Dawn Treader.  He plans to sail to the end of the world and find out what lies there and along the way.  He has pledged to determine the fate of the seven lords, friends of his father, who went on expedition when Caspian was a child and then never returned.  Lucy, Edmund and Eustace accompany Caspian, along with other characters the reader has met in previous books of the Chronicles.

The company encounters many strange lands and people.  There is the Land Where Dreams Come True, the Land of Deathwater, the Land of the Dufflepods, and the land where three of the lords are found to have been asleep for years.  The reader is drawn along on the adventure, interested to hear what will befall the company next.  At the end of the book, Caspian returns to Narnia, while the children return to their world.  This book is recommended for readers of all ages, and is especially recommended for families to read together.

Death In The Stocks by Georgette Heyer

Arnold Vereker has been found murdered and his body has been left in the stocks on the village green.  Vereker was wealthy and as the police investigate, they discover many characters who had a motive to kill him, most of them his relatives. 

There are his half-brother and half-sister, Kenneth and Antonia Vereker.  Arnold was their guardian and kept them on a very short lease.  Antonia is engaged to Rudolph Mesurier, the accountant at Vereker's business.  Arnold had just discovered that Mesurier had been embezzling funds and was ready to prosecute him.  Kenneth is also engaged, to a venomous but beautiful woman named Violet Williams.  She flirts with every man she encounters, and makes it clear that her affections can only be bought and paid for, never freely given.

Then there are the investigators.  Superintendant Hannasyde, finds the case perplexing, specifically because it seems so simple.  Giles Carrington is Kenneth and Antonia's cousin, and also their lawyer.  He helps the superintendant understand the relationships that exist, and they discuss the case over drinks and dinners.  A further wrench is thrown in the case when another half-brother emerges; Roger, who the family had thought dead for years.

Readers who enjoy cozy mysteries such as those written by Agatha Christie will enjoy Georgette Heyer's writing.  The character's speech and personalities place the setting firmly in England, and the mystery gets untangled satisfactorily.  This book is recommended for all readers.

Bitter Night by Diana Pharaoh Francis

In Bitter Night, Diana Pharaoh Francis takes the reader into a fantasy world.  But this is not a pleasant fantasy.  This world is brutal and violent, where loyalty is given by compulsion spells that cannot be broken and everyone is out to best those around them. 

This world is controlled by witches.  Each witch has their own coven, and within their coven, they have soldiers who protect them with their lives, if need be.  The soldiers are of two types.  Shadowblades work at night, and can not withstand the light, while Sunspears work during the day, with darkness deadly to them. 

Max is the leader of the witch Giselle's coven; the Prime Shadowblade.  Giselle tricked her thirty years ago into giving up her human qualities to become an immortal being.  The problem is that she didn't tell Max that she would be giving up her life, her family, everything she loved.  Max hates Giselle, but cannot leave or disobey her orders. 

Now, in addition to the battles between witches, an even greater danger looms.  The Guardians, lords of all, have decided to bring down ultimate war and cleanse the earth of all humans.  To do so without destroying the earth, they need the obedience of the witches.  Both Giselle and her arch-rival Solange resist the Guardians, and their angels of destruction. 

Can Max and her crew manage to survive this new threat?  What kind of relationship will emerge between Max and Solange's Prime whom she defeated in battle and then recruited to her side?  Will the Guardians be successful or will the witches emerge as the new ultimate authority?

This book is the first in the Horngate Witches series.  It is recommended for sci-fi and fantasy fans who don't mind extreme violence.

The Secret Of Joy by Melissa Senate

Rebecca Strand is at a crossroads.  She lives with Michael, but she's not sure she wants to take the next step and get married.  She has a job as a paralegal, which she knows she doesn't like, but can't get it together to move on and do something else.  Her beloved father is dying, and she doesn't know what she'll do when that happens.

Then everything changes.  Her father, in his last days, tells her a family secret.  He had an affair twenty-five years ago, and there was a baby from that relationship.  He couldn't face what he had done, and abandoned the baby and its mother; he never saw Rebecca's sister, nor had any kind of relationship with her.  No support money, no cards, no letters, no phone calls.

When he dies, Rebecca is left with huge questions.  How could someone she had loved so much and who had been such a wonderful parent to her have done such a thing?  Should she try and find her sister?  Will she be accepted by her?

After mulling it over and discovering that her sister's name is Joy and that she lives in Maine, Rebecca is pulled to go visit.  She finds Joy, who is not excited to meet her, and who insists that Daniel Strand means nothing to her.  Joy says he was nothing more than a DNA donor.  But Rebecca refuses to give up.  She falls in love with the town and develops relationships with several women there.  Even more, she fiinds Theo, who is everything that Michael is not.  Before she knows it, Rebecca has started a new life in Maine, with a rented house, a new dog and a determination to make her life what she knows she needs it to be.

This book is recommended for readers who enjoy women's literature and for those who enjoy books about family relationships and women finding their way in the world.

The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano

Roberto Bolano's The Savage Detectives is the story of a group of young poets in Mexico in the early 1970's.  The book is written in three parts.  The first part is the story of the Visceral Poet group, young poets and writers living in Mexico City, all Hispanics from various countries.  The founders of the group are Ulises Lima and Arturo Belano, who named the group after an earlier set of visceral poets in the 1920's.  That group centered around a female poet, Cesarea Tinajero, who disappeared mysteriously. 

In the first part, we meet the various characters through the eyes of a 17 year old, who thinks he might be a poet.  This young man, Juan Garcia Madero, spends his days reading and writing and discussing literature with the group members.  He also discovers his sexuality, and much of the section deals with his sexual awakenings and various partners.

The second part is written forty years later, and is written as a series of short interviews with various people who have encountered either Lima or Belano over those years.  Through these vignettes, we discover what has happened to these poets over the succeeding decades.  The story winds through several countries and continents.  Each person knows a bit of their stories, and the reader is able to slowly piece together their lives.

The third part is a flashback to the road trip that Belano, Lima, Madero and a prostitute take to try to find Cesarea and what caused her to disappear.  The events of that trip fuel the rest of the book, although the reader only realises this in retrospect.

The Savage Detectives is a book that will be considered important for years, and will probably become a classic.  Many readers might pick it up thinking it is a mystery, and they might be disappointed.  But those readers that stick around for the ride will be entranced as they enter Bolano's world.  This is definately a book that will bear rereads, and is recommended for readers who appreciate cutting edge literature and exposure to the literature of other countries.

I Sold Andy Warhol (Too Soon) by Richard Polsky

In i sold Andy Warhol. (too soon), Richard Polsky takes the reader on a tour of high priced art and the dealer world of  artists, buyers, sellers, galleries, auction houses, and of course, the deal.  Polsky is well suited to this task as he has been involved in most of these roles.  As a former galley owner and collector, he purchased art and sold it.  He is intimately familiar with the big auction houses and the inside manuverings that characterize the transfer of great art from one collector to another.

The book is loosely organized around Polsky's quest to find an Andy Warhol painting for one of his clients.  They work the network, approaching known Warhol collectors, quizzing galleries, and attending auctions.  All of this brings angst to Polsky.  He had had a Warhol and sold it years ago, before the meteoric rise of art prices.  Seeing what a Warhol brought at today's prices (a million or more) made his selling that much more painful.

I found the discussion about how the art world is changing quite interesting.  Polsky sees a decline in galleries and more and more attention shifting to the big auctions.  He redefines himself in this world, changing his role to an art purchasing advisor rather than a gallery owner, and believes this is where many who want to stay in this world will end up as a career choice.  I also found the world of the super-rich and their concerns interesting.

This book is recommended for anyone interested in art, how artists work, and especially the finance of great art. 

GIVEAWAY!!!! SAY YOU'RE ONE OF THEM BY UWEM AKPAN

Thanks to Hachette, I'm able to give away three audio versions of Oprah's most recent Book Club pick, Say You're One Of Them by Uwem Akpan

Uwem Akpan's stunning stories humanize the perils of poverty and violence so piercingly that few readers will feel they've ever encountered Africa so immediately. The eight-year-old narrator of "An Ex-Mas Feast" needs only enough money to buy books and pay fees in order to attend school. Even when his twelve-year-old sister takes to the streets to raise these meager funds, his dream can't be granted. Food comes first. His family lives in a street shanty in Nairobi, Kenya, but their way of both loving and taking advantage of each other strikes a universal chord.

In the second of his stories published in a New Yorker special fiction issue, Akpan takes us far beyond what we thought we knew about the tribal conflict in Rwanda. The story is told by a young girl, who, with her little brother, witnesses the worst possible scenario between parents. They are asked to do the previously unimaginable in order to protect their children. This singular collection will also take the reader inside Nigeria, Benin, and Ethiopia, revealing in beautiful prose the harsh consequences for children of life in Africa.

Akpan's voice is a literary miracle,rendering lives of almost unimaginable deprivation and terror into stories that are nothing short of transcendent.

Giveaway Rules



You MUST, MUST, MUST leave an email address in your entry to be entered. I hate having to throw out winning entries because there is no way to contact the winner.

1. The giveaway starts Sunday, December 13th and ends Tuesday, December 29th at midnight.

2. There will be three winning entries, which will be chosen by a random number generator.

3. Winners will be emailed and must respond within three days in order to claim their prize. After three days, another winner will be chosen and notified.

4. For one entry, comment below with your email address attached. You can get additional entries by being or becoming a follower of this blog, posting about the giveaway on your blog, or tweeting about it on Twitter. If posting elsewhere, please provide the link.

5. Winners must have a street address in either the United States or Canada. No P.O. boxes allowed by Hachette, sorry!

Good luck! This sounds like an amazing book.

100 Sporting Events You Must See Live by Robert Tuchman

100 Sporting Events You Must See Live is a no-brainer gift for the sports lover in your life.  Robert Tuchman's book, subtitled An Insider's Guide To Creating The Sports Experience Of A Lifetime, guides the average person in doing just that. 

The book lists 100 different amazing sports events.  Everything is here from the Masters and Super Bowl and World Cup to the Kentucky Derby, Westminister Dog Show, Calgary Stampede, Boston Marathon, Monaco Grand Prix, Ironman World Championship, and the most important down here in Tarheel country, the UNC vs. Duke basketball game.

For each event, Tuchman gives valuable information.  Categories include where the event is held, when, the significance and history of the event, notable athletes participating and how tickets are obtained.  He details travel arrangements, and even provides hotel and restaurants close by the action. 

This book is sure to be a favorite with any sports lover.  Meticulously researched, it provides help for those interested in going in person to these events, and a pleasant fantasy for those unable to go as they page through the book.  This book is recommended for sports lovers of any variety, and would be a welcome gift.

The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

Ren has spent all twelve of his years in Saint Anthony's Orphanage.  No one seems to know how he arrived or who his parents were, or most mysteriously, why he is missing his left hand.  This defect means that when the boys are lined up for inspection by those who come to adopt, Ren is never chosen.  Then one day a young man comes.  When he sees Ren, he falls to the ground in tears, exclaiming that this is his long-lost brother and of course, he must come with him immediately.  The Fathers of the orphanage agree, and Ren leaves with his new family, Benjamin Nab.

Within an hour, Benjamin lets Ren know that he isn't his brother.  He expects to find Ren and his disability useful in his profession; that of grifter and scam artist.  Benjamin has a partner, Tom, an alchoholic ex-schoolteacher.  Benjamin and Tom live life on the move, scamming the townsfolk in one place, then moving on.  There is little they won't do.  One of their more lucrative sidelines is graverobbing.  Sometimes they rob the corpses of jewelry but sometimes they steal the bodies and sell them to a local doctor.

One night, they get a huge surprise when a body they have dug up turns out not to be dead after all.  This is how Dolley, a huge mountain of a man, a stone cold killer who for some reason loves Ren, comes to join their group.  Tom goes back to the orphanage and gets two twin boys who were Ren's friends there.  All of the group lives in a boardinghouse run by Mrs. Sands, who also takes a shine to Ren.

But trouble is always lurking when you're a grifter.  The local rich man seems very interested in Ren, and seems to have clues about Ren's family background.  Can Ren find out who he belongs to and change his life, or will he end up a grifter forever?

Hannah Tinti has created fascinating characters in The Good Thief.  The plot is intricate and will keep readers reading to find out the next twist and turn and attempting to solve the mysteries of Ren's background.  This book is recommended for fiction readers looking for a great read and memorable characters.

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

In Zeitoun, Dave Eggers takes the reader to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He doesn't narrate the story from the point of view of the government or the many agencies involved. Instead, he tells the story through the eyes of a family that lived through the chaos and the horror.

Abdulrahman Zeitoun immigrated to the United States from Syria, after a decade of working on ships and traveling all over the world. He married Kathy, an American who grew up as a Christian in America, but converted to the Muslim religion. Kathy and Abdulrahman built a life together in New Orleans. They had four children, and worked together in a contracting business. Abdulrahman handled the workers and the actual jobs, while Kathy handled the business side. In addition to the contracting business, they owned several rental houses.

When Katrina headed for New Orleans, and evacuation was recommended, Kathy and the children left, taking refuge with relatives. Although his family begged him to come, Abdulrahman decided to stay behind, ride out the storm and watch over their properties. He expected a storm like most other hurricanes; a few days without power and some cleanup from water damage and structures hurt by falling trees. Of course, Katrina was no ordinary hurricane. Abdulrahman found himself stranded in a city that was flooded beyond belief. It was a city torn by looters and crime; one that the mayor described as "animalistic".

Abdulrahman had bought a canoe years before at a yard sale as a reminder of his seafaring days. He paddled through the neighborhoods near his home, saving several neighbors stranded with no way out, and distributing food and supplies to those he found. As the days went by, Kathy begged him to leave, and the city was under mandatory evacuation. Finally, he began to think about how he would leave and reunite with his family.

Fate intervened before he left. The police came to one of his rental houses, where Abdulrahman and some friends had gathered. All four men were arrested and taken to a holding facility at the city bus station. From there, they were transfered along with other prisoners under the authority of FEMA to a maximum security prison. The second half of the book tells the story of Abdulrahman's imprisonment, and how he was treated there.

Eggers has chosen an effective method of portraying this natural disaster, made worse by human decisions. Viewing the catastrophe through the eyes of a resident provides a different focus than seeing it through the focus of a state or federal agency which is focused on policy and the safety of property and survivors. It provides a window into how quickly government is willing to trample on basic human rights in an effort to restore order. This willingness is chilling, and Eggers portrays it convincingly. This book is recommended for nonfiction readers.