Book Reviews

This is the stunning new novel from bestselling author Mike Gayle, for fans of The Keeper of Lost Thingsand Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. A powerful and bittersweet story of an unexpected male friendship and an unlikely love story, a thought provoking storyline told with Mike’s distinctive wit and insight, touching on issues which affect us all. This uplifting tale reminds us of the simple courage at the heart of every human being. E…

“Value is often a function of not agreeing, not being supportive, and not being a ‘yes person.’ How willing are you to disagree, question basic premises, and refuse impossible expectations?” (22). “No one cares, really, about how good you are. Clients care about how good they are going to be when you’re done with them” (56). “If you can’t articulate your own value, you can’t very well su…

The book is based in the town of Dooling in Appalachia. Circumstances arise where all of the female population cannot wake from their sleep – hence the title. A strange, mystical woman enters the town and before long it is realized that she can sleep and wake when she needs to. As the men try to keep their lives together without the women, it is not long before the blame for the eerie circumstances are laid squarely at the feet of the newco…

This was a remarkably depressing book. It is the sort of book that shows over and over again that there was literally nothing the Native Americans could have done to protect themselves from the all consuming and endlessly veracious greed of the European settlers. Just about every ‘tactic’ imaginable was used by the Native Americans – from treaties to war to abject capitulation – and nothing made any difference. The final result was always…

Separated from everything dear to her, the heroine of this book, Rachel, learns at a young age that life can still provide her with simple joys—and profound fulfillment. And though she spends many moments peeking into the abyss of despair, she also spends moments rescuing others from the black chasm of regret. She encounters those who choose to allow their circumstances to define them, bitterness festering into hatred, until they are a shell of…

A weird thing happened when I turned to this book. I was getting flashes of the most recent previous work I’d read, unexpected as I didn’t expect any real similarity. I kind of had a ‘darn’ moment there, but the fact that both books start off with a heterosexual woman and a lesbian eyeballing each other is similar-ish, but everything else was/is different. For one, in the previous book they were eyeballing each other with lust; while here…

Very solid for how short it is. My three main points from it: 1. „Never forget: Everybody is somebody’s somebody“ Meaning you never know who the person in front of you might know. 2. „Why should the customer do business with us?“ + Know that the customer does not care about you. Common sense but great reminders 3. „Dollarize“ the reason to buy. Meaning give the customer a clear number of dollars saved by choosing your solution. + Do…

A peek into the world of comedy writing, animation, television production, world travel and more by Mike Reiss. This guy has been around since the beginning of the Simpsons show and has a lot of fun and funny stories to share. Whether you’re a die hard fan, a casual watcher, or not really into the Simpsons (who?!), everybody can get some laughs from the book while learning how this animated show is made. Despite the jokes about the writer&#…

Jen Sincero is a badass who woke up from her mundane existence (THE BIG SNOOZE) and began throwing all her money, time and energy into the process of getting her true life back on track. This book is like the cliff notes or the cheat sheet to all self help books everywhere. Which is why I loved it!! Instead of drawing out the formula to spirituality and meditation she gives you snippets of doable and less intimidating passages. This helps you tak…

‘I finally gave into the fact that my dreams were no longer just dreams.’ Ernesto H Lee shares little biographical information but we learn so much about him form his writing of his dreams and their influence on his life that we feel as though we know him well by book’s end. His language has that hint of UK origin and he does mention at one point that he lives in Dubai. The rest unfolds as he relates dreams. He opens his book with an Introd…