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California Bookwatch
Table of Contents
Reviewer's Choice
The Detective of Dreams
Walter Berry
Precocity Press
https://www.precocitypress.com
9781972561089, $22.95
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Detective-Dreams-Investigating-Mysteries-Soul/dp/1972561081
The Detective of Dreams: Investigating the Mysteries of the Soul is a foray into dreamwork and interpretation that draws on Walter Berry's decades of dreamwork experience. It illustrates how dreams can move beyond the usual realm of psychological interpretation to provide spiritual connections and newfound meaning to life.
Readers won't anticipate the wry thread of humor that permeates Berry's observations, but these add a lively, accessible tone to the stories by blending personal experience with case histories and deeper reflections. These involve not just dreams and their meaning, but the work of a "dream detective":
"When doing dream detective work, empathy is a powerful skill to bring to any investigation. Getting a glimpse of other people's threads through their dreams helps you see your own threads more clearly. We all have different colors and emotions; when we allow others to see our uniquely woven garment of life, we offer them the chance to see a bit of our unique souls. Likewise, if they allow us a glimpse of their unique garment, we can see just a hint of who they are and what they have experienced. This both relies on empathy and enhances it. The detective work of dreams is so much about community and connections. Most often, we don't see these threads; they are hidden down in the center of our being."
Simple black and white line drawings add a sense of almost childish fun to the topic of dreaming, interpretation, and life meaning, with their visual appeal providing illustrative relief to the deeper inspections Berry delves into, such as why dreamwork is important:
"I realized the dream was also a way to see my robotic self and my work life. I thought back on the hard-working Walter who labored 80-hour weeks, slogging away. I thought about the times I was alone in this struggle and moments when friends joined me and brightened the colors of the room. I thought about some amazing relationships that added layers of light-filled threads to the darker threads of being lost. Sitting inside the robot train in my imagination, I could see the shape and feel, the colors and darkness, of the threads of my life, and I understood more about myself on a level that is not communicable."
The result isn't the usual dream interpretation dictionary or scholarly survey of dream psychology, but a much livelier series of connections between dreams, life purposes, and symbolic messages that can change and reignite one's waking hours and passion for growth.
Librarians will find The Detective of Dreams a valuable addition to collections serving self-help, psychology, spirituality, and book club readers interested in the connections between dreams, personal growth, and the symbolic language of the subconscious.
Readers of Walter Berry's award-winning Drawn into the Dream will find The Detective of Dreams a compelling continuation of his exploration of dreams, consciousness, and the mysterious ways our inner lives shape reality.
The Christmas Shelf
Until Christmas
Diane Green
DCG Books
www.DCGBooks.com
9798242352148, $12.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Until-Christmas-Diane-Green/dp/B0GDV4M5V7
Until Christmas blends the Christmas holiday with the endings and beginnings of a thirty-seven-year-old woman given just months to live, who makes a vow to remain alive until Christmas. When the end comes, it brings with it a merry surprise as the narrator encounters "a wise, gentle man. At first, I couldn't fathom who he was in his copious robes and his magical presence."
Spiritual readers of all ages will find especially thought-provoking the marriage of fantasy, Christmas trappings, and the revelations of a woman who discovers that the afterlife appears in a surprising cloak of holiday wonder.
Especially notable as the story develops are the insights on how those left behind grieve and then move on, transforming their grief into new opportunities for injecting positivity into their worlds:
"My mother, he told me, found a way to grieve without it destroying her. She found that children were a great comfort when she sat with them on Sundays to teach Sunday School. My father, who grew quiet whenever anyone mentioned me, made new friends who liked to play golf. Each swing took away some of his anger; a win, however calculated, sometimes drew tears. Tears of gratitude for thirty-seven years."
Until Christmas can thus be employed in different ways: as an allegory fantasy about afterlife or Christmas spirit; as a lesson on adaptation and converting grief to uplifting changes; and as an accessible 33-page story that the entire family can enjoy and discuss at Christmas and throughout the year.
Librarians can highly recommend Until Christmas for its simplicity and vivid insights into the unexpected ways God appears and works in the world and beyond.
A Child For Christmas
Diane Green
DCG Books
www.dcgbooks.com
9798242861695, $11.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Child-Christmas-Gift-All/dp/B0GFD785Y5
Celine and Harry Anderson may have anticipated many things for Christmas - but a child wasn't one of them.
In A Child for Christmas: A Gift for All, the seasonal spirit of giving becomes an investigation of acceptance and spiritual influence as a child in need falls into their aging hands, forcing them to reconsider the remaining course of their lives. Their experience dovetails with that of Lola Winston, who also didn't expect a Christmas miracle to literally fall into her hands. Diane Green crafts a warm spiritual read that embraces the cold of winter, the warmth of hearts unexpectedly challenged to open at perhaps inopportune times in their lives, and the needs of a small child, Letty, who finds support and love in unexpected places.
Green takes the time to capture the perspectives of all involved, the hopes, dreams and challenges they face, and the underlying impact of stepping up into something necessary and novel: "There was a sense of lightness in the kitchen, as if the electricity of new possibilities hung in the air." Another surprise to this story lies in how the child herself must confront her own expectations and needs. Readers won't expect the revelations which emerge and merge between all these characters.
This lends depth, understanding, and warmth to an extraordinary story of kindness, support, and choices that ultimately build better connections to God.
Families seeking a spiritual seasonal focus would do well to place A Child for Christmas at the top of their reading lists of holiday classics. Its ability to embrace different personalities, viewpoints, and insights into giving and acceptance offers wonderful opportunities for engagement and understanding.
The Enchanted Christmas Shed
Diane Green
Independently Published
9798257925153, $11.99 Paperback
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Christmas-Shed-Where-Leaves/dp/B0GXRS4Z9N
The Enchanted Christmas Shed is a warm, feel-good holiday story the entire family can enjoy. It centers on an old red shed, a lonely old woman, and a different form of Christmas spirit that arises from unexpected friendship and new connections. "Gramma's Story" and "Brian's Story" capture this holiday spirit with intergenerational experiences that each embrace the enchantment and possibilities of the season.
Gramma opens the tale in the first person as she reveals her faith, family, and friendships, as well as the old shed where she writes stories and prays. When stranger Jenny enters her lonely life, she brings Gramma the attractive task of building a Christmas village in her shed, using miniature Christmas houses to augment her storytelling. As son Charley becomes involved in their shared endeavor, her closed-in world begins to lighten, open up, and becomes a little less lonely as the little village comes to life.
Diane Green crafts an appealing, believable story as the holiday effort reveals newfound opportunities and connections and the unexpected - even in old age - as things shift and long forgotten memories arise. This story neatly segues into grandson Brian's story, setting the stage of introduction with his antics at a young age as he witnesses an impossible vision from another world and is handed the keys to an enchanted Christmas shed.
As an adult, Brian Knight and his wife Simone are hard-working, traditional family folk who worry about his ability to maintain the home that was his grandmother's beloved abode. Times are tough. While Brian battles demons in his dreams, warm memories still reside in his grandmother's magical shed. It will take a miracle to bring them out - and to solve the wave of troubles that threatens everything the family has built. Green's creation of an interlocking intergenerational story of magic and warmth is the perfect cup of hot chocolate for the holiday season, recommended for family sharing in front of a hot fire.
Librarians seeking stories of new possibilities, revitalization, and the Christmas spirit in family relationships and endeavors will want to make The Enchanted Christmas Shed part of their holiday collections, highly recommendable to patrons seeking a tale infused with faith and uplifting hope.
The Money/Finance Shelf
Cash Libre
Luzy D. King
GFB
www.girlfridayproductions.com
9781967510689, $9.99 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Cash-Libre-Pillars-Reclaim-Financial-ebook/dp/B0GZR841M5
First-generation Latina professionals well know that financial guides aimed to their needs and culture are few and far between. That's just one reason why Cash Libre is a standout, even though it's designed to appeal to a wide audience - which includes them.
Cash Libre: 10 Pillars to Help You Reclaim Your Purpose and Financial Freedom is designed around practical strategies that encourage self-help readers to identify financial failings, their wellsprings, and their solutions. It will appeal to a broader range of financial quandaries than most, from students considering education loans to investors looking at short- and long-term goals.
Chapters point out that being frugal does not translate to acquiring wealth any more than avoiding debt or working hard. Instead, readers are encouraged to rethink their investments with an eye towards creating income and funding streams, better understanding where one's money resides and how better to manage it, and better aligning intention with reasoned, informed action.
The survey creates an overall bigger picture about what it takes to consider, acquire, and maintain financial freedom, linking money to life goals and values in a manner that few other financial guides reveal.
In this process, Luzy D. King creates a dialogue that reaches out to all kinds of readers from all ethnicities to create a book that is unusually wide-ranging, embracing, and informative with a unique voice: "You entered unfamiliar spaces and earned degrees your family never imagined. That took courage, and with it came costs - money owed, unmet expectations, and pressure to prove yourself. Let me remind you: You are not the problem. You are the pattern breaker. Your debt is not a moral failure; it is a financial tool that gave you the freedom to dream bigger. Debt - yes, la deuda - has often been a bridge to opportunity.
But before any strategy can work, shame must loosen its grip. You cannot build confidently from hidden humiliation, and you deserve to move forward without flinching at every challenge." In keeping with its exceptional approaches, which will appeal especially strongly to librarians catering to Latino/a populations,
Cash Libre also adds the emotional reflection and support key to any successful financial approach - and missing from many similar genre reads: "Writing this book has been one of the most joyful and, yes, stretching experiences of my life. It required me to sit with uncomfortable truths. It required me to return to therapy while drafting these pages. It required me to untangle what was mine to carry and what never belonged to me in the first place. If you are a woman navigating a toxic workplace, shrinking yourself in rooms that were never designed for your leadership, or convincing yourself that "no es nada" when your body knows it is something, this part is for you. Healing is not a detour from building. It is the foundation."
The result is more than just another money guide, but an affirming, healing, acknowledging survey of the common obstacles to wealth that too rarely see the light of day and discussion, making Cash Libre an outstanding approach and a winner.
The Business Shelf
No One Can Do Your Push-Ups for You
Nena Shimp
GFB
www.girlfridayproductions.com
9781967510863, $17.95 paperback / $8.99 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/One-Your-Push-ups-Back-Basics-ebook/dp/B0GZX32V5L
Author's Website
https://www.change-accelerators.com/no-one-can-do-your-push-ups-for-you
No One Can Do Your Push-Ups for You: A Back-to-Basics Plan for Leading Change documents the responsibility for self-activism and leadership that applies to not just business circles, but throughout life. Unlike most books that address how to manage change, Nena Shimp focuses on how to be the catalyst for that change. In so doing, she addresses the failures of efforts to delegate change over taking the reins to lead. Her opening statements pave the way:
"You can fund transformation. You can sponsor it. You can approve it. But you cannot outsource the daily, visible, uncomfortable behaviors that build trust, momentum, and follow-through. Leadership strength - like physical strength - is built not on intention alone but through repetition."
Chapters provide leaders with specific exercises, routines, guidance, and identifying factors to fostering this change in all aspects of life, but especially in business environments, where common past business logic has been to lead through training and delegation. Shimp outlines fundamental actions and approaches intrinsic to change's success, following through on their enactment in real-world situations through examples and stories, neuroscientific research back-up, and mindful, applied new approaches to guiding self and others. This involves not just taking control, but giving it up.
"Leadership should be practiced, not proclaimed," Shimp maintains - and so this book outlines novel best practices that support this contention.
Common failures, such as organization tendencies to reinforce value in culture over scoreboard measuring results or paradoxes in typical practices ("The more we tried to control the change, the less control we had and the less we changed. Complexity looked like competence, but it wasn't. It was fear disguised as rigor"") make for many eye-opening "aha" moments. These help identify just why, where, and how leadership often fails on different levels.
The result is a study in paradoxes, reality, and applied mindful guidance that will intrigue an especially wide audience, making No One Can Do Your Push-Ups for You of wide interest and recommendation to libraries that typically receive a wealth books on leadership programs and strategies, but too few on assessing what really works.
Misled
Lawrence Coval
Arcane Leadership Press
www.arcaneleadership.com
9798994245613, $22.95 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Misled-Almost-Everything-Learned-Leadership/dp/B0HBSW59VX
Misled: Why (Almost) Everything We Learned About Leadership Is Wrong and How to Fix It isn't your usual management advice guide to business leadership, but a pointed condemnation of the cookie-cutter approaches to business that have built a successful but ultimately ineffective approach to the subject.
Lawrence Coval's forty years of experience leading people in technology and telecommunications creates a real-world approach to guidance which refutes common myths and approaches to encourage leaders to reconsider not just their approaches, but their motivations to lead, and their ideals as well as ultimate goals.
Coval pinpoints common negative responses and behaviors that sabotage goals, encourages readers to reconsider their motivational approaches, and includes the real-world events and reinforcement missing from most other leadership guides:
"The first time I watched a seller stand up and describe how an operations partner stayed late three consecutive nights to complete a client installation, I saw that partner's face change. They sat up straighter, the light in their eyes brighter. Nobody had ever celebrated their work like that before, not even their own boss. People who had spent years feeling invisible finally felt seen, and I got chills watching it. This was so much better than any President's Club. That's when I knew I had created something special."
Especially thought-provoking are Coval's insights on not just motivating, but improving the daily lives and futures of his charges:
"I focused on building cultures where people weren't just getting better at their jobs; they were preparing for jobs that didn't exist yet. My peers weren't committed to building that same kind of environment. As a result, my group became a factory for upward mobility. Promotions were commonplace for people who worked for me because they all possessed capabilities that went well beyond what their peers had to offer. That made them much better candidates for broader roles."
The excitement contained in Misled is palpable, and is a satisfying note of positivity in a book whose title might lead readers to anticipate the book will be all about condemning other approaches. It's as much about building a new paradigm for improvement and sustainable encouragement as it is about pointing out the fallacies in common leadership approaches and thinking. The result is unexpectedly lively, enthusiastic, and uplifting, and will reach leaders and aspiring leaders in not just business, but career and personal endeavors.
Librarians well know that a wealth of books about leadership and management appear yearly. Misled: Why (Almost) Everything We Learned About Leadership Is Wrong and How to Fix It stands head and shoulders above most and deserves not just a prominent place in any library, but high recommendation to book clubs, business groups, and any reader interested in a powerful survey of what achievement really looks like.
The Music Shelf
Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970
Martin Kelly, Terry Foster & Paul Kelly
Cassell
c/o Octopus Books
https://www.octopusbooks.co.uk
9781788404389, $50.00 HC, $29.99 Kindle, 320pp
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Golden-1946-1970-Martin-Kelly/dp/1788404386
Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970 appears in a newly updated edition to present a keepsake reference perfect for holiday gift-giving. It will appeal to any musician with more than a casual interest in Leo Fender's instruments.
Each model has been photographed just for this book from the collections of owners around the world, and each color photo is accompanied by a review of the instrument's history and its place in overall history of the Fender company.
This edition's new photos and over thirty pages of added information presents period ephemera, discussions of the Fender Electric Violin (which are not in previous editions), and details key to understanding the breadth and extent of Fender's importance to the music world.
The Biography/Memoir Shelf
The Darkness My Father Brought Me
Cathy Beck
Pen Woman Press
www.nlapw.org
9781950251315, $2.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Darkness-My-Father-Brought-Reclaiming/dp/1950251322
The Darkness My Father Brought Me: A Memoir of Silence, Betrayal, and Reclaiming Joy documents not just childhood trauma, but struggles with resulting disassociative identity disorder (DID). Adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse are often left with emotional scars that affect their relationships and lives long after childhood.
Cathy Beck's opening confession, that she "has been suicidal" for as long as she can remember, is followed by not only the revelation that her father sexually abused her from age two until shortly before his death, but that she repressed many of these memories in an attempt to lead a normal, happy life. The fractured personality which developed from this effort and her pursuit of a good life both supported and detracted from her perceptions. Eventually, the truths that emerged long into adulthood could no longer be repressed.
Part of what makes this memoir exceptional is Beck's early acknowledgment of these inner personalities and voices and their impact good and bad, which results in a unique voice employed throughout: ...you will read my memoir and note that I refer to myself as "we," "them," and "us" throughout the book. I've done this my whole life and never knew why. Never questioned it. But I had Kids screaming Inside and didn't know how to listen, or better, what to do even if I could have heard them. This is my story of "The Kids," my "Inside" life, and the overwhelming struggle to accept them - as me."
Anyone who has embarked on a similar journey, or any individual who has supported such a personality, whether it be a spouse, counselor, or friend, needs The Darkness My Father Brought Me. More than most similar stories, it exposes the powerful process of self-denial, self-realization, and the impact of coming to grips with hidden truths. Especially striking are passages which document moments of disassociation survival tactics:
"She couldn't make sense of what was being done to her, and with no way out, she just stopped. She took one deep breath and ceased to be. She was no more."
The story will prove powerful, evocative, and (for many who have undergone similar abuses) perhaps difficult to read. Beck's raw, candid voice pulls no punches as she surveys the course of her life and the cost of survival. Readers who persevere through her raw pain and realizations will be rewarded with many important insights into recovery, joy, and improved life that not just acknowledges new possibilities once the hard work is done, but embraces them.
Librarians seeking a powerfully poignant memoir of this entire process will find The Darkness My Father Brought Me an exceptional acquisition for collections appealing to psychology students, women who have survived their own childhood abuse, and readers interested in top-notch memoirs probing survival tactics. Packed with insights equally suitable for book club and women's group discussions, The Darkness My Father Brought Me is a potent discourse on what healing and management ultimately promise:
"The memories and everything that comes with them will always be there. When you begin to remember something from all the work you have done and continue to do, you will face it and get to the other side without it paralyzing you, or putting you in bed for days, or screaming at your children, or making you feel suicidal."
Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption
Patricia Knight Meyer
Unsolicited Press
https://www.unsolicitedpress.com
9781969421969, $7.99 eBook, $24.95 Softback
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Wonderland-Memoir-Black-Market-Adoption-ebook/dp/B0H63S9HT1
Asterism Books (Library Ordering)
https://asterismbooks.com/product/wonderland-memoir-of-a-black-market-adoption
Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption is a story of trafficking in human lives, a black-market adoption that happened not overseas but in the streets of Texas, and its lasting impact on author Patricia Knight Meyer, who grew up wondering about her identity and the circumstances which led her to be brokered without paperwork or legal standing. Her quest for answers and the truth about how and why her life held a black-market price tag not only reveals her own background and parents' choices, but the circumstances surrounding black-market human trafficking in the United States.
Readers will learn the consequences of never being legally adopted, the secrets that involved not just her adopted parents but required her compliance as she grew older, the questions that permeated her upbringing and life, and the complexities of obtaining fragments of answers that resulted in piecing together the truth. Even more important are insights that evolve about establishing legal identity and understanding choices that both save and wound simultaneously.
These added to an adaptability and resilience that ultimately led Meyer to reconcile her past, her family, and her future. As she exposes truths about the for-profit $30 billion adoption system that caught up her life in a storm of trauma, readers learn, through just one relinquishment story, about the shared psyches of adoptees and the survival methods they employ to navigate family, life, and shifting circumstances:
"...while my mother bore the brunt of her mother's needs, everywhere I turned, sick and dying people needed me. Although these obligations weighed heavy, like many adoptees I'd grow to feel worthy only when putting others' needs before my own. So, I dug in to take care of my people, to save my saviors, to prove I was deserving."
Readers will also find eye-opening the statistics surrounding an underground adoption system they may have had little prior knowledge about, which Meyer outlines here:
"Years later while falling down an adoption statistics rabbit hole, I finally understood my "luck." In 1970 alone, an estimated 11,000 infants were sold rather than adopted. I was one of them. Out of the 175,000 babies put up for adoption that year, I and 10,999 of my unlucky peers had won the black-market baby lottery - bought by those who skirted the more reputable channels of the adoption system: impatient, unfit, ill-qualified, or all the above."
Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption thus operates as more than a personal memoir of experience. It's a close examination of flawed systems, their lasting impacts, and how trauma, memory, and experience create layers of complexity in a life that flows from childhood to adulthood.
Librarians acquiring Wonderland for their collections will want to highly recommend it for an exceptionally wide circle of readers, from those interested in memoirs of adoption to others involved in social services, therapy and counseling, family support, and the lifelong consequences of adoption.
A Yankee Airman and His Southern Belle
Rita Morrin
Swift House Press
9781733720922, $23.95 Hardcover/$17.95 Paperback/$5.95 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Yankee-Airman-his-Southern-Belle/dp/B0H34VCPB8
A Yankee Airman and His Southern Belle: A Memoir of Surviving Happiness and Heartache reads with all the drama and excitement of a novel, but provides a true-life memoir that opens with a too-early phone call Rita Morrin hoped would never happen. Her husband, Staff Sergeant Kenneth Morrin, was involved in a life-threatening accident and despite being part of a family of five, Rita is alone. With the love of her life clinging to the land of the living by a thread, Rita prays for his life and knows she and her beloved Yankee Airman will have to wait a little longer, holding their secret firmly, until it can be revealed.
From the memoir's opening lines, readers receive an engrossing survey of their love, faith, and the circumstances which have brought them to Alaska, far from family. As she reviews their whirlwind courtship that joined North and South cultures and families, the circumstances which culminated in their current Alaskan residence, and Ken's military deployments which both challenged and enriched their lives in unexpected ways, readers become immersed in a spiritual and psychological journey of connection and revelation. The threads of faith and love spun from the story's opening lines continue to evolve a passionate tale of new homes, family secrets and challenges, medical challenges revolving around not only Ken but others, and her determination to continue to involve her husband in all aspects of family life despite his years-long coma.
Rita's admonitions to herself are also revealing of the process of courage, coping, and connection:
"Rita to Rita: Yes, how are we doing? How are we going to make it through? More important is the question, are we going to make it through? Damn! Where did that come from?"
Librarians interested in memoirs that embed religious with personal life inspection and a love relationship that continues past life-changing trauma will find A Yankee Airman and His Southern Belle unexpectedly uplifting for all its trials and emotional events. Packed with affection, insights on coping and caring, and family ties that come together in different ways, A Yankee Airman and His Southern Belle is flavored with the passion of connection and faith that offers readers inspiration and attraction, and will reach a wide audience with its message of love.
The General Fiction Shelf
Wolf in Wanderley
Dave J. Andrae
https://www.dave-andrae.com
Kaji-Pup Press
9798905041587, $25.99 Hardcover/$9.99 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Wanderley-Dave-J-Andrae-ebook/dp/B0H66T4HC8
Author's Website
https://www.dave-andrae.com/wolf-in-wanderley.html
In Wolf in Wanderley, Wolfgang Barnes is navigating his new Florida home, facing aging, the isolation of being without his parents, and the creative efforts of producing inexpensive films that may or may not hold potential for posterity. His attempts to put down roots in his new community are somewhat thwarted by Lenny Medway, a figure from his Chicago past who has weaseled out of jail and is seeking revenge for slights that feel mercurial to Wolf, even though he served as a character witness in Lenny's trial.
This adds an extra dimension of survival effort and angst to his life, challenges his creativity and desire to produce meaningful art in the face of a rapidly changing world which doesn't seem to fit him, and introduces a character whose ambitions and clever stalking are in satisfying contrast to Wolf's life and focus.
Dave J. Andrae develops both Lenny and Wolf's lives and viewpoints with an eye to contrasting their meaning and intentions. The powerful survey grows as other characters enter the picture, from neighbor Katherine's daughter Maisy, who falls into a relationship with Wolf, to Carlyle Demarsan, whose office is robbed by Lenny.
As film ambitions collide with relationships and stalkers, Andrae builds a plot where the aging filmmaker is forced to confront his past, present, and future beyond his initial concerns about obsolescence and isolation. The connections he makes during this journey prove life-changing as romance, survival efforts, and new realizations test his vision of life's meaning and his life work's impact.
Librarians and readers interested in tales of re-balancing life goals, avoiding ex-cons, and honing new opportunities outside one's comfort zone will appreciate how Wolf in Wanderley takes some unexpected turns in the process of navigating middle age and life changes.
Replete with contrasts between Lenny and Wolf and the characters that swirl around them and into their lives, Wolf in Wanderley offers a thought-provoking tale of confrontation and conflict that ultimately propels its characters in new directions. These make for a thoroughly engrossing read spiced with a wry sense of humor that offers threads of inspection and candid realizations about life's trajectory and the process of ongoing change.
Behind the Setlist: Confessions of a Non-Groupie
Julie Gidlow
Precocity Press
9781972561102, $15.95
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HBZKD77W
Behind the Setlist: Confessions of a Non-Groupie is inspired by real events, but presented as a fictional story. It follows the career of music-loving Mia Browne, a journalist who has covered the music industry for decades and thus harbors behind-the-scenes stories and vivid memories.
Though she's encountered many stars, she's never aspired to be a groupie for anyone - until one personality reaches out to her in an unexpected manner, building a relationship that challenges Mia on many levels. Her professional career and personal life clash and change, as a result. Mia's latest encounters seem to draw her into the music world on a level beyond that of an observer, making her a music participant.
From discussions of career threats from AI's rise to the consequences of poor choices, Mia's myriad challenges create appealing, understandable situations that are realistic, and which many women will relate to:
"Simply put, she wanted a rock star to find her interesting. Now that it seemed he'd lost that interest, she was angry - at herself for dragging out a situation she knew was doomed, and at him for failing to be the upstanding man she'd believed him to be. But all he'd done was be himself. The painful part was that his real self didn't align with the version she'd constructed of him. That bruised her ego most of all. Mia hated being wrong."
Women's groups and book clubs will find intriguing the opportunity to tackle different kinds of relationship issues between men and women as Mia's journey embraces not just her current situation, but past choices. As she considers her endgame and reasons for some of her decisions, Mia embarks on a physical and mental journey that holds portents for both success and failure.
Libraries that add Behind the Setlist: Confessions of a Non-Groupie to their fiction collections will want to highly recommend the novel to women interested in stories of relationship evolution and personal growth. More than a backstage romance, Behind the Setlist: Confessions of a Non-Groupie captures the emotional landscape of Generation X women who grew up with alternative rock as the soundtrack of their lives.
Julie Gidlow blends authentic behind-the-scenes music industry details with humor, nostalgia, and emotional insight to explore what happens when celebrity fantasy collides with reality - and when a woman discovers that the most important relationship isn't with a rock star, but with herself.
Big Store Window
Tyler Marioni
DartFrog Books, LLC
www.DartFrogBooks.com
9781965253946, $4.99 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Store-Window-Tyler-Marioni/dp/1965253946
Big Store Window is a novel that opens with narrator Cole Anthony Edwards's receipt of a television ad bragging the high-tech opportunities of P.T. Global Innovation's Window, a creation that uses spectacle to promise customers better control over their destiny. While he readily admits skepticism ("Patrick Turner always shocked me, but this time he sells a new level of insanity."), he's also intrigued enough to want to know more. And so he falls into the promise and clutches of a TV apparition whose latest creation rivals any of the possibilities Edwards experienced while briefly working for Turner in the past.
The Window project holds the signature hallmarks of Turner's proclivity for loopholes and big dreams. It lures Edwards with these dreams - but the man is too savvy to fall for such bait easily:
"I do not fear this organization in a general sense; I fear its stranglehold on the world."
As he works to convince others that the Window and its treatments are a disaster rather than a blessing, readers become absorbed in the ways in which technology and human ambition intersect, the results of enhancement efforts gone awry, and the efforts of an ordinary Joe to battle its promise:
"Using a faulty key, Turner's company tried to pick the lock of human life. Realizing their key didn't fit the lock's grooves, they angrily broke it off inside and left shards of shrapnel behind, leaving us in this current worldwide disaster."
The challenge lies in convincing the rest of the world. Librarians and readers seeking a futuristic, compelling story of transformation, struggle, and possible evil forces will find Big Store Window frighteningly realistic and thoroughly compelling.
Tyler Marioni crafts the story in the form of a memoir, which adds a sense of immediacy and personality into the evolving dilemma. This choice makes it easy for readers to become immersed in Edwards's perceptions about the true definition of worth.
The Historical Fiction Shelf
Spanktown Papers
Jane Hulse
Open Books
https://open-bks.com
9781948598927, $19.95 Paperback/$9.95 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1948598922
Historical fiction readers who enjoy mystery added to the mix of a powerful female protagonist who operates in Revolutionary War times will find Spanktown Papers an appealing, involving read.
Sarah Barrett is pulled into an investigative quandary when Lloyd's Coffeehouse's owner is murdered, entangling her in politics of the times as a scandal arises and Quakers are banished to Virginia for their pacifism in a time of rising war sentiments. The mysterious but elusive Spanktown Papers hold the key to understanding who is acting as a traitor and spy. Journalist Sarah finds her hands tied and full in more ways than one as she tackles events that strike too close to home. She resides with a Quaker family and is privy to their sentiments and threats to their wellbeing, yet feels conflicted about the Quakers as a whole.
Sarah presents a spunky countenance that will delight women who look for proactive female protagonists:
"Does she know there's a war going on," I practically scream. "People don't have enough to eat. And you want me to write about this coiffure calamity, this hair hardship?" She faces her own personal challenges with romance, possible future family, and her own deceptions which, she deems, make her a "chronic liar and impersonator."
These dovetail nicely with the rising Revolutionary War sentiments, political and social challenges, career and romance snafus, and events which buffet her life, bringing the times and her perspective to rich, full-bodied life. As love and danger coalesce, readers become thoroughly immersed in this era and woman, even if they have no propensity to choose historical fiction and little prior familiarity with Revolutionary War times. This is why librarians will want to very highly and unreservedly recommend Spanktown Papers to a wide audience of readers. Its ability to draw and ensnare leisure readers who just want a rollicking good read makes it a winner.
A 1960s Childhood: Days We Thought Would Last Forever
Diane Green
Independently Published
9798258478603, $11.99 Paperback
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/1960s-Childhood-Thought-Would-Forever/dp/B0GY892RYF
A 1960s Childhood: Days We Thought Would Last Forever captures the experiences, atmosphere, hopes and dreams, and culture of yesteryear, bring alive the 1960s for readers who either were raised in those years or wish they were.
The fictional stories follow the youth and adventures of Becky Chalmers and her friends during the 1960s as they grow up and experience life, capturing the attitudes, humor, and cultural moments of the times. Becky's adventures range from using refrigerator boxes as crime scene fantasies and listening to the new group The Beatles to handling (and displaying) her temperamental nature and becoming interested in boys.
Teens and young adults will appreciate these realistic coming-of-age concerns, the flawed but well-meaning, likeable character that is Becky, and the myriad of friendships that emerge from school, neighborhoods, Brownies, and other childhood experiences of the 1960s.
Green captures the diversity, excitement, and extent of these relationships in novel ways, inspired by her own childhood memories, making them not just accessible, but attractive and understandable to future generations who may hold some of the some interests (boys, friendships), but in different times.
Librarians that recommend A 1960s Childhood: Days We Thought Would Last Forever to YA readers to adult audiences will also find that it can spark vivid book club discussions about coming-of-age similarities and differences in changing times.
The Literary Fiction Shelf
Whose Dog Is This?
Paul Edwards
Independently Published
9798235954649, $16.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Whose-Dog-This-Paul-Edwards/dp/B0H1Z933GC
Whose Dog Is This? is a story of how pets can change lives. It opens with protagonist Josh living in a way where "routine is a well-worn path," a stark portrait of the way life can be without purpose and love. Though comforted by predictability, these habits also serve as an anchor - until a dog in distress enters his life and changes him.
How is isolation broken? Sometimes one small life can introduce a crack in a well-built wall that reveals the world:
"He found himself noticing details he'd previously overlooked: the solitary figure waiting for a bus, the lone cyclist navigating the empty streets, the subtle signs of life unfolding in the quiet hours. His routine was a fortress, built to shield him from the messy, unpredictable nature of human connection, but that small, shivering dog had inadvertently revealed a hairline crack."
As Josh becomes engaged in circumstances broader than he ever could have imagined, other characters and a journey enter into this picture as everything shifts and changes:
"The dog, however, was their immediate focus, their small, furry compass in this world of stone and dust. They had to trust its instincts, to believe that it was leading them towards something vital, something that transcended the somber stillness of this resting place. "More like a story someone's forgotten to finish," Makayla replied, her gaze fixed on the dog. "He's not just wandering, Josh. He's searching. He's trying to find something here. Or maybe," she paused, a thoughtful frown creasing her brow, "he's trying to remind us of something."
Readers interested in intersections of animal welfare, human connection, philosophical and psychological growth, and spiritual reflection will find all these elements and more hiding in the guise of a man-meets-dog story. An emerging puzzle engages Josh and Makayla with revised possibilities for their lives as they embark on a quest, guided by a dog who "had understood the significance of this place, of the secrets buried within its earth, and had guided them to uncover them."
The result holds the trappings of a dog story, but is so much more.
Librarians will find it easy to highly recommend Whose Dog Is This? to a wide range of readers, knowing full well that its messages will go beyond any dog lover's anticipation of discovery. Replete with bigger-picture thinking, the story holds value far beyond its opening descriptions of canine-driven breakthroughs:
"The journey had been one of discovery, not just of facts and clues, but of the deep, resonant currents of the human - and animal - heart."
The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Maybe You Lied
Jennifer Sadera
Creative James Media
www.creativejamesmedia.com
9781965648933, $18.99 Paperback/$6.99 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Maybe-You-Lied-Jennifer-Sadera/dp/1965648932
In Maybe You Lied, 21-year-old Will Lockhart is facing his mother's sudden death which not only takes away his emotional foundation, but their shared apartment. While packing his things, he stumbles upon the deed to his father's house in upstate New York - but his move there shakes family skeletons as he uncovers many puzzles about his past that heavily impact his sense of place, self, and survival.
Was there a murder in this house? As questions arise about the nature of family and motivations for dangerous lies, the story moves from a family focus to one in which chaos and confusion lie in the very foundations Will had taken for granted:
"I leafed through the albums, looking for a picture of him. My memory of his face was hazy. I scanned through quickly at first, then took my time, turning page after page of snapshots from my childhood. There were dozens and dozens of photos of us kids, a few of my mother - even some shots including Marcia and her son, Brian - but not one single picture of my father."
The search for answers and a sense of belonging does not lie solely with Will. Penelope Chesel, a quickly-close new friend, also harbors her own questions about the past. Their shared connection gives rise to new approaches to problem-solving, relationship-building, and life as the story progresses.
Poignant letters to a dead mother acknowledge the cost of coming to terms with past indiscretions and choices and the wisdom of a young man who reluctantly acknowledges that his mother's lies may have served an important purpose in providing stability to their lives:
"Things have changed. I now understand that you never wanted this life for me. I realize with singular clarity that you wanted to be the parent in my life. The only parent. I don't know if you went about things the right way, and I may never know. Maybe I'll figure it out when I become a parent myself. The only thing I'm sure about right now is that you did what you thought was best for us both. I can't blame you for trying to make us happy. I know you did everything you could to give me a good life."
As sorrow and discovery turn into a quest for revenge, readers come to realize the impact of lies and assumptions on not just future generations, but the broader world surrounding family and community.
Librarians and readers with a special interest in truth, lies, family ties, and community involvements will find Maybe You Lied thoroughly compelling. Its hard-hitting insights about loss, grief, parental secrets, and unexpected realities creates a thoroughly engrossing story whose many twists and turns will prove satisfyingly, delightfully unexpected.
Everything vs Max Creed
Matt Cost
Level Best Books
www.levelbestbooks.us
9798898202477, $17.95 Paperback/$6.99 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/EveryThing-Max-Creed-Modern-Day-Chronicles/dp/B0H6LK8SVP
Everything vs Max Creed is a techno-thriller that does justice to the genre, presenting protagonist Max as a modern-day Robin Hood figure intent on leveling the playing field between rich and poor.
The story opens with young Piper Durand's life and body being depicted on the website site EveryThing, which destroys her world. Her secret computer boyfriend has convinced her to expose herself, and now her future is toast. She could just die. The second chapter segues to Max Creed, who is on a mission with Scarlett to target the next incarnation of the Proud Boys, The Fifth Degree, whose rite of passage is to kill an immigrant. Max was a PI in Maine who built an impressive practice before his efforts to build a case against a crooked billionaire resulted in the death of his bride, leading him into a vendetta that changed his life and career.
His new incarnation falls somewhere between the law and vigilante effort as Max pursues a special brand of violent justice and confronts Alfred Prince, who is intent on bringing down established law to become the world's new ruler.
This second book in The Modern-Day Chronicles of Max Creed is delivered on fire from the start, creating memorable characters who need no prior introduction in order to prove thoroughly compelling to newcomers. As they pursue Gary Parker, who posted the video of Piper, and focus on EveryThing's potential for disaster, chases, revelations, and clashes create a sizzling thriller nearly impossible to put down.
Cultural references from Frankenstein to the Robin Hood, Men in Tights movie augment investigative prowess as the characters consider the moral and ethical fiber of their actions, their perceived enemies, and the ironies of political office and immigrant threats:
"I can't quite wrap my head around why a Puerto Rican woman who married a Cuban and had children together would be so opposed to an immigrant."
From cults and their version of truth to Prince's rising power, the dilemmas and challenges come from all sides as Max struggles with the powerful lure of EveryThing and Prince's realistic-sounding messages to modern America:
"Hello, people of America. The country that you know has been lost. It has been given to foreigners who wouldn't know the first thing about being an American. The government has let you down. The police are overwhelmed. The president is hiding out. The National Guard is on strike. On strike. Fires rage. Violence darkens every doorstep. Grandmothers are being beaten, raped, and killed for the nickels in their pocketbooks. It is time to reclaim America. It is time to clean up our own mess. And I am here to do just that."
Librarians and readers choosing Everything vs Max Creed will find that a great part of its allure comes from its realistic scenarios, rooted in modern times and issues. Steeped in powerful reflections on killers who come in all forms, Everything vs Max Creed is a riveting examination of social propriety, political control, and murderous intentions and consequences that will immerse anyone looking for a thriller whose characters and moral dilemmas are as lively as their choices.
The Regulars of Amanda Lexie
J.J. Hanna
Torchflame Books
www.torchflamebooks.com
9781611537390, $16.99 Paperback/$8.99 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Regulars-Amanda-Lexie-J-J-Hanna/dp/B0H962KK86
The Regulars of Amanda Lexie is a cozy thriller that involves two women, FBI agent Lucielle and Cyber Crimes Analyst Olivia, in a probe of digital robberies.
It stems from an unusual effort on author J.J. Hanna's part - to provide a story-a-day serialization where a standalone story is linked into a bigger picture. The effort resulted in this book, which revolves around the premise that strangers in a coffee drive-through line can become linked in unusual ways.
Part One, "Welcome to Morning Brew Coffee," sets the stage with the first-person narration of Lucille, who pulls through the drive-through of the Morning Brew coffee shop as she does daily. The coffee shop is the last place she'd expect to find the gang she's currently looking for, which is involved in cyber robberies.
Chapters evolve more drive-through coffee characters in Adam, who maintains his cover while leading a double life that is tiring him out and is in a situation way over his head; Olivia, a hot cocoa fanatic who is on her way to running point on the biggest cybercrime investigation of the year; and George, whose special talent involves coordinating and connecting criminals across the nation.
As these regulars of Amanda's coffee clientele plot and plan, their lives dovetail in unusual ways as their daily coffee shop visits become lessons in adaptation, intention, and discovery that are delivered laced with espresso and action.
Readers will welcome the warmth and cozy feel as the threads of these connections become tightly woven and unexpectedly complex. Clearly labeled chapters move between characters and their disparate intentions and lives with an eye to revealing not just their motivations and plans, but the separate communities they have built around their lives and choices.
Especially notable is the warm brew of discovery which trails enticing aromas through these lives as they intersect, with Amanda's Morning Brew Coffee Shop forming the hub of their daily activities as Amanda, too, becomes drawn into their lives:
"You may be a barista, but you're a barista under government protection."
Hanna's ability to create a series of interconnected lives that each stand nicely alone in well-developed patterns of engagement and intention lends to a thriller that is more personality-driven than most, and thus more emotionally engaging than many genre reads. This is why librarians and readers will want to place The Regulars of Amanda Lexie at the top of their reading lists.
Replete with action and unexpected twists and fueled by coffee and the linked connections of a disparate group of robbers and investigators, The Regulars of Amanda Lexie is a warm story of heated exchanges and suspense which will make the apparent normalcy of a drive-through coffee shop feel a little more unusual.
Rhino Horn Underground
Deven Greene
Panthera Publishing
9781964620107, $16.49 Paperback/$5.99 eBook/$16.99 Audiobook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Rhino-Horn-Underground-Deven-Greene-ebook/dp/B0GWSGKDPT
"With the hot sun blazing above, I strain my eyes as hard as I can to look downward, but the blade pressed against my throat remains out of sight. My pulse is racing, and my breathing is so fast I can only gasp. Is that a trickle of blood I sense slowly making its way down my neck, or is it my imagination?"
Rhino Horn Underground is a thriller that opens with a bang, revealing that the first-person narrator is about to die. What is San Francisco journalist Paige Remington doing in South Africa, facing death? She's seeking to create a ground-breaking article about rhino poaching to revitalize her career. Instead, her investigations land her in the center of controversy and ongoing danger as she survives one scrap, only to fall into another.
Far from her husband and home, Paige falls into an association with FBI agent Spencer, who seems to hold many insights, much experience, and answers - but exhibits mercurial moral and ethical values and secrets which slowly prove that Paige is still very much endangered by forces beyond her ken. As Spencer teaches her how to shoot a gun, takes her around to insider locales, and trains her in different ways, Paige discovers her initial ambitions slowly changing in the face of the realities operating behind the scenes of rhino poaching circles.
Suddenly, her quest is not just for the survival of her career, but the changes she faces in confronting the realities of rhino poaching and the definition of good and bad guys operating undercover and above-board. And, which is she going to side with?
Deven Greene creates an absolutely gripping saga of rhino poaching, African politics and social strata, a female reporter's mandate to effect change both within herself and in the outside world, and the costs of stretching the truth. As Paige faces a rocky marriage far from her present reality, perhaps-predictable romantic connections enter the bigger picture to further complicate her trajectory. Greene does a masterful job of capturing unfolding secrets through Paige's eyes:
"Unfortunately, my backer says he's running out of money," Spencer says.
"You believe that? What does that even mean? He can't buy a new yacht or take a trip into space on Blue Origin? This is an important cause. You've never had a problem with letting others know what you want, as far as I can tell. Now's the time to be more insistent."
Spencer looks at me like he's trying to decide whether or not to tell me something.
"What is it?" I ask. "You have another secret?"
The result is a series of twists and turns that will leave readers guessing about Paige's ultimate choices and future, Spencer's teetering role on the sides of good and bad guys and choices, and the politics and influences of rhino survival.
Libraries seeking a thriller to add to their collections that will appeal to a wide audience of readers interested in powerful female protagonists and situations that test their mettle will find Rhino Horn Underground a gripping story that proves easy to recommend and hard to put down.
The Valhalla Project
Lawrence Terhaar
www.larryterhaar.com
Hat City Publishing
9798997092801, $17.95
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Valhalla-Project-conviction-conspiracy-Detective/dp/B0H95QJGML
The Valhalla Project opens with nineteen-year-old David Jacobs embarking on his usual evening hike with his Miniature Australian Shepherd. After feeding the squirrels and birds on a nearby golf course, life irrevocably changes on the path home when his dog sniffs out a dead body in the woods.
It quickly emerges that David is a little different, so police questions about his discovery need to be tempered to accept his limitations and perceptions. This facet drives an unusual blend of murder mystery, investigation, and autism insights as David and his dog Scout become involved in life on a level that challenges their abilities and perceptions.
Larry Terhaar builds a riveting story based on an unusual young man and characters that emerge with special interests in Valhalla, New York. From Fortune 500 mogul Richard Halverson and his all-consuming focus on a proposed data center, to the first-person contrast with P.I. Dan Burnett, whose sleuthing involves a nose for trouble, Terhaar dovetails the very different objectives, perceptions, and lives of a number of characters. These special abilities coalesce in a whirlwind of intrigue that brings the nineteen-year-old autistic boy into court as a defendant.
Hasty plea deals, corrupt politicians, courtroom proceedings, and the underground records and motivations of Halverson's influence on the murder investigation make for a story that will appeal widely to murder mystery readers and fans of P.I. investigative stories. Others will also appreciate the special injection of autism's habits and abilities into the bigger picture of murder and behind-the-scenes intrigue.
Terhaar builds a thoroughly engrossing, unpredictable story based on the entwining complexities of individual, business, and judicial proceedings, creating a powerfully moving, riveting series of life-changing encounters that affect each character in different ways.
As he moves from a family setting to broader milieus, Terhaar adds just the right touch of personal, social, and investigative intrigue to keep readers engaged in the lives of David, Dan, and a flawed judicial system whose failings can only be corrected by dedicated, savvy participants.
Librarians will especially appreciate how the typical murder mystery sends ripples of change and concern throughout the community and the lives of a boy challenged as much by everyday life and social norms as by an extraordinary series of events that reach out to take over his life.
Filled with action, excitement, and developments tempered by better understanding of the autistic spirit and how an investigator connects the dots to reveal an extraordinary truth, The Valhalla Project provides just the ticket for an engaging, thought-provoking story of following the law and diverting from typical avenues of understanding.
The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Seance and Saucer
Robert Rife
Deep Portal Publishing
9798986280677, $19.99 Hardcover/$10.99 Paperback/$4.99 eBook
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/SEANCE-SAUCER-THING-SCIENCE-FICTION/dp/B0H2PV5YJB
Seance and Saucer deftly blends paranormal with science fiction in this tale of a couple cursed with ghosts, and a UFO buried beneath their home. Thinking that spirits are their only problem, they hire a medium. The plan backfires when the medium vanishes during a seance, taking one of them along for an unprecedented ride through hell.
Robert Rife pairs wry humor with elements of horror to create a powerfully atmospheric story replete with an unusual form of haunting attraction:
"In spite of its dangers, Frankie adored the Roaton House. It never failed to seduce him. The grand sweeping staircase. The carved wood, leering faces on furniture. And the stained-glass skylight dimly shedding gloom on cobwebs and dust. Frankie's infatuation can't include what he doesn't know. The house also has rooms that shift. Rooms that hide. Rooms that aren't there... but are. In this place, memories seethed. Thoughts slithered down endless halls. Monsters walked. And death was longed for by those who could never leave. Frankie will find this out. Soon."
The humor appears in circumstances which simultaneously chill and delight, winding through both home and buried starship. Even into places where there are worse fates than death. Horror readers will delight in how all the traditional trappings of a good ghost story work into themes of alien influence and bad attitudes, while others who walk into the unexpected comedic threads will appreciate what a fine web it weaves among evolving events and a myriad of characters.
Librarians seeking a creatively unique, special recommendation that toes the line between sci-fi and horror will find Seance and Saucer hard to neatly peg, easy to widely recommend, and of special interest to book clubs and reading groups seeking uncommon stories that challenge traditional genre approaches and limitations.
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
www.midwestbookreview.com
Diane C. Donovan, Editor & Senior Reviewer
12424 Mill Street, Petaluma, CA 94952
phone: 1-707-795-4629
e-mail: donovan@sonic.net
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