Invisible Ink
By Carl Veno
Invisible Ink : Carl Veno’s book, Invisible Ink, provides an insider’s view of the newspaper world during the author’s 25-years as a journalist and editor – at a time when major events were having dramatic affects on American society. Told in a no-nonsense matter-of-fact manner, the tales of experience are intermingled with the author’s family history, including the immigration of his Italian ancestors to America more than 125 years ago. Reminiscent moments clearly reveal Carl’s fond memories of growing up and his youthful love of New York.
Various newspaper readership “wars” were destroying and absorbing each other during an incredible age of change and discovery for the American people. Exciting and newsworthy issues including men and women learning to co-exist in the workplace, mobsters, racism, riots, war and space travel were fighting for newspaper space. Between all this the author reveals inner office politics within the industry. We all know from our own experience, differences occur at places of employment – management issues, co-worker competition, etc. – and it is all here. Yet on top of this the reader is introduced to interesting and eccentric characters, complicated work-related relationships and office love affairs. The epilogue closes nicely with the fate of some of the newspapers mentioned in the book.
Prior to entering the world of journalism, Carl spent time as a barber, boxer and army trooper. Not including his free-lance work and lecturing, Veno was employed by eight newspapers (some of which won many awards) and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize during his career. Carl is now retired and able to pursue his love of exercise through jogging and continues to write books. Read More Reviews Here…
King Bartholomew And The Jester’s Riddle
By Pina Mastromonaco
King Bartholomew And The Jester’s Riddle : King Bartholomew and the Jester’s Riddle by Pina Mastromonaco is a wonderful, fun book with a humor level perfect for children aged four to eight. Entertaining riddles entice readers to try to guess the answer while enjoying the tale.
Childlike King Bartholomew is obsessed with toys and solving riddles. The chubby, balding King learns to balance play and work time so that he can take responsible care of his land and citizens, yet still enjoy a playful life. The moral-of-the-story is not laid on thick – it is lightly applied so it will be easily accepted by young children. Teachers, librarians and caretakers will enjoy reading this pleasant book to children who like to play rather than accomplish chores or school assignments.
The illustrator, David Martin, is extremely accomplished and very gifted. Each page is filled with incredible detail that reveals more the longer one gazes at them. Many illustrations some form of nature included from the fantastically sculpted bushes, an array of birds and a maze of hedges with a big ‘B’ in the center (B – for King Bartholomew). Richly colored clothes and hilarious costumes for the jester and the King’s servants prove to add an interesting twist to this fun-loving book.” Read More Reviews Here…
I Kissed a Frog and My Prince Forgave Me
By Naomi Jo Rush
I Kissed a Frog and My Prince Forgave Me: A Poetic Journey Through Infidelity : Naomi Jo Rush new book of poetry, I Kissed a Frog and My Prince Forgave Me, is a well-crafted poetic journey through infidelity.
Naomi reveals the most vulnerable time in her married life. Her poetry teaches us that married couples tend to forget about each other’s needs and become absorbed in habitual day-to-day behavior. While she strained for the attention that her husband would not or could not provide Naomi put on a performance of a happily content wife, when she was really screaming with frustration inside.
Her confusion ripens with the prospect of temptation. The thrill of spontaneity coupled with feeling of being desired draws Naomi to her lover like a drowning person would desperately clutch at a lifeline.
Craving for her husband to notice the change and discovering she never wanted the marriage to end prompts Naomi to confess her wrong doings. When it is all revealed, Naomi endures the torturous guilt while watching her husband writhe in the pain she inflicted upon him.
In the end, I think Naomi provides hope for us all in showing us the reasons and effects of infidelity by walking us through the steps of recovering a marriage. I felt encouraged that marriages have a chance of thwarting this common mistake if we show one another love and open the channels of communication .We can thrive in a world of strife and temptation. Read More Reviews Here…
Born Evil
By J. P. Ransom
Born Evil : Author of two books and many short stories, J.P. Ransom is busily writing a series of books called Colla’d Greens and two more upcoming books including a sequel to Born Evil.
Born Evil is a compact, 150-page book that is printed on acid-free paper – which may be of interest to the environmentally conscious consumer. I would categorize this book as a chilling horror, which involves an infant that is born evil. Traumatized by early experiences, only compounds Jonathan’s natural inclination – a cruel desire to cause harm. Unprepared for a disturbed child, his adopted parents are continually wallowing in deep pits of overwhelming uncertainty. Rick suspects the truth, but Trish finds it very hard to imagine or even accept that little Jonathon is capable of such hateful acts.
I think the book makes a good point that some people are simply born with a desire to do harm, with no abusive situation to attribute these urges to. Readers are also shown how these urges can easily be encouraged through socially acceptable entertainment and through being witness to violent acts.
While reading Born Evil, I experienced a wide range of emotions from anger to sorrow and shock. The conclusion was exceptional and I look forward to J.P. Ransom’s sequel. Read More Reviews Here…
The Automatic Diet
By Charles Stuart Platkin
The Automatic Diet : Trying to lose weight? Here’s some food for thought. What if Americans were as conscientious about “spending” the calories on their bodies’ daily budgets as they are about spending their hard-earned dollars?
According to Charles Stuart Platkin, author of the new book “The Automatic Diet”, there is a set number of calories in the body’s budget for the day. So how do we make the most of our “finances,” calorie-wise?
The answer lies within the pages of “The Automatic Diet,” where readers discover that all successful dieters share a common secret to consistently maintaining their weight: They do not have to think about what they are doing. Their food choices are automatic; they already know what to eat to keep off the weight.
One of the key secrets is “calorie bargains”: foods that are low in calories but still taste great and satisfy our strongest urges. They are substitutes for the “higher-priced” foods we tend to eat.
Here are a few of Platkin’s picks:
* I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Spray (5 sprays: 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 carbs).
This spray is a great way to accent food and is a tasty alternative to both butter and oil.
“You can spray it on toast, popcorn, vegetables. I use it on almost anything,” Platkin says. It is easy to control portions and even if you get up to 25 sprays (more than enough for a baked potato), it is still a clear calorie bargain and has no trans fats. Conversely, 2 tablespoons of butter have 204 calories and 23 grams of fat.
* Jolly Time Yellow Pop Corn (5 cups, popped: 100 calories, 1 gram of fat, 24 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fiber).
Popcorn that you pop yourself is a perfect high-fiber snack – you get loads of food, yet it is still low in calories.
* Miss Meringue Sugar Free Vanilla Meringue Cookies (13 cookies: 35 calories, 0 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber).
Have a sweet tooth? These are a good guilt-free alternative. They have no fat, trans fat, cholesterol or lactose.
* Low Fat Kettle Krisps Hickory Barbeque Chips (1 ounce: 110 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs).
With 40 fewer calories than regular chips, these are a great alternative for chip lovers. – NU
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
By C.S. Lewis
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia : If you recently watched the very popular Disney movie “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, you might be aware that C. S. Lewis wrote a total of seven books about Narnia. These are, in order of the internal chronology of events:
1 – The Magician’s Nephew
2 – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3- The Horse and His Boy
4 – Prince Caspian
5 – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6 – The Silver Chair
7 – The Last Battle
The novel “Prince Caspian” begins one year after the events told in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” on a railroad platform where Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy are waiting for trains that will take them to their boarding schools. Suddenly they feel themselves transported into another world, and after a few hours of wandering about they realize that it is Narnia, where many centuries have passed in the meantime.
The second plot line involves young Prince Caspian, heir to the throne of Narnia, who has to flee from his usurping uncle Miraz. Deep in a forest he discovers some of the “Old Narnians” – talking beasts and dwarfs – and later decides to challenge his uncle for the kingship.
Soon, though, the military situation deteriorates for Caspian and his small army, and they end up besieged on Aslan’s How, a hill built over the site of the stone table that played a crucial role in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. When things look utterly bleak, Caspian uses his most precious object, Queen Susan’s Horn, to summon help.
This review does not try to give away too much more of the plot and spoil the reader’s enjoyment, so let me just say that the two plot lines intertwine, there are thrilling battle scenes (including a duel) and a wonderful celebration at the end.
Lewis does a good job of showing the gradual re-transformation of the four children, who once again turn from being English schoolchildren to becoming Kings and Queens of Narnia.
To me, “Prince Caspian” is one of the three best books in the Narnia series, together with “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and “The Magician’s Nephew”. In many ways, it repeats themes from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, but adds an interesting perspective by having the events of the earlier book become the stuff of legend. Read More Reviews Here…
Condi: The Condoleeza Rice Story
By Antonia Felix
Condi: The Condoleeza Rice Story : I had the satisfaction the other day of having finished a book. Yes, you would think that those of us who write for a living would be great readers. Some of us are, some of us aren’t. I probably am fairly well read overall, but that covers magazines, newspapers, articles, and the like for the most part…especially if they can be found online!
My wife picked up a book for me this past Christmas and she hit it right on the mark — Condi: The Condoleeza Rice Story. Written by Antonia Felix, the book traces the remarkable life of now Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice from her days living in highly segregated Birmingham, Alabama during the 1950s and 1960s through her years as an academic scholar, college professor, and university provost, all the way up to her present work with the Bush Administration. Written in 2003, the book still has Condi as National Security Advisor to the president, but in 2004 Condi replaced Colin Powell as the Secretary of State.
The book delves into Condi’s life and doesn’t hold back on much. No, not much to criticize about this consummate overachiever, rather plenty of praise for a role model who has triumphed in the face of overwhelming odds, let alone overwhelming adversity.
Condi is not just a leading scholar, but she is an expert in Soviet {Russian} affairs, an accomplished pianist, and an avid football fan. Driven? Oh, yes! But, not in the “possessed” or “obsessed” sense of the word. As a black woman working in a mostly white male environment Condi has established herself on her terms and not on someone else’s. “Twice as good” was the mantra passed down to Condi by her parents who believed that black children had to do everything twice as well as white children in order to be considered equal in a segregated society.
I won’t give all the details of the book away, but there are some highly interesting aspects about Condi that some people probably just don’t know. Personally, I don’t think Condi will run for president on the Republican ticket in 2008 as some desire — instead, she aspires to be president of the NFL — but whatever Condi chooses to do beyond her time working with President Bush will more than likely include breaking new ground and setting the trend for all who come behind her. Read More Reviews Here…
