The Awkward Optimist’s Guide to Human Connection – Hector M Rodriguez

Posted on August 30, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Version 1.0.0 For men who feel awkward navigating the world of dating, Hector M. Rodriguez offers a refreshing guide that is equal parts practical advice and comic relief. The Awkward Optimist's Guide to Human Connection isn’t the work of a self-proclaimed “dating expert” but rather an honest…

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All We Trust – Gregory Galloway

Posted on August 26, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Half-brothers Peck and Al, launder money for a local crime lord through a bar and hardware store. They have been partners in petty crime since childhood, but adulthood has only deepened their dependence on each other. When Al’s home is partially destroyed in a fire, and his computer’s hard drive goes…

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The Night Swimmer – Simon J Houlton

Posted on August 22, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Bill Eckersley, in his late thirties, drifts through life in the working-class seaside town of Hastings, England. He’s the kind of character who reminds us of the troubled, unstable writers we’ve all read about—but without the spark or drive to finish even a single story. He’s unemployed, and his only social…

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Leverage – Amran Gowani

Posted on August 19, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) At only twenty-seven-year-old, Ali Jafar is a high-performing hedge fund manager for Prism Capital in San Francisco. He’s smart, respected, and has earned the confidence of his powerful boss, Paul Kingsley, founder of the firm and a man whose influence stretches deep into both government and law enforcement. But when Ali…

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The Man of Middling Height – Fadi Zaghmout (Author), Wasan Abdelhaq (Translator)

Posted on August 15, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) In most societies, identity and status are shaped by gender—and often, by the body parts we are born with. Jordanian author Fadi Zaghmount flips that concept on its head in his provocative speculative novel The Man of Middling Height.  Here, he imagines a world where height classification, not gender, defines power,…

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Great Again – Bill Day

Posted on August 11, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Ex-Marine Jack O’Mally is divorced and estranged from his adult daughter. He just can’t accept that she is married to a black musician and living in California. Jack is captain of his New Jersey neighborhood watch, which targets undocumented workers. Of course, they conveniently overlook the fact that neighbors rely on…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: A Death in Valencia – Jason Webster

Posted on August 4, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) When I visit a city for the first time, I like to go to a local English-language bookstore---if I'm lucky enough to find one--- to discover novels featuring the town, incorporating its culture into the story. A Death in Valencia does just that as it combines the history and culture with…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: Selamlik – Khaled Alesmael (translated from the Arabic by Leri Price)

Posted on August 1, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I am so glad I was born in Syria and get to be young in Damascus, no matter the fear and danger. I love Damascus even if she is cruel to me.” Our narrator Furat lives in the shadows and has always had to hide his sexuality. There are places where…

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The Yellow Dog – Georges Simenon (translated by Linda Asher)

Posted on July 29, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Originally published in 1931, in English in 1939, and now re-released in English, The Yellow Dog offers readers a taste of Georges Simenon's signature crime storytelling. Set in the small seaside town of Concarneau, France, a series of unsettling murders and attempts shake the town. Most of the crime scenes seem…

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America’s Best Idea: The Separation of Church and State – Randall Balmer

Posted on July 25, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) For years Americans have taken for granted the most cherished and essential constitutional principles, one being the separation of Church and State. Historian and ordained minister Randall Balmer presents a timely, thoughtful, and deeply researched examination of this issue from the 17th century to current day in his book, America’s Best…

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