That Librarian – Amanda Jones

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “We are just collateral damage to them in their quest, and so are the students who do not fit into the mold of what they deem acceptable which is white, straight Christians. I pray for the hate, lies, and attacks to end for the sake of our profession, my friends, and…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants – Orlando Ortega-Medina

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “We were a family of emigrants, on the move from generation to generation. Forced to flee our homes because of intolerable situations imposed on us by those in power. The United States was meant to be the last stop on that journey.” Such is the case of thirty-six-year-old attorney and recovering…

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The Propagandist – Cécile Desprairies, translated by Natasha Lehrer

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Our protagonist had to navigate between truth and lies, reality and denial for her entire childhood. Now as an adult and a historian, she must face these truths and the role her mother played in Fance during the German occupation. Growing up in the 1960’s, she remembers her mother Lucie gossiping…

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Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World – Anne Applebaum

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The autocracies want to create a global system that benefits thieves, criminals, dictators, and the perpetrators of mass murder. We can stop them.” Historian and journalist Anne Applebaum, suggests what democracies can do to save their political systems and why we should fear these present-day autocracies in her latest book, Autocracy,…

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White Robes and Broken Badges: Infiltrating the KKK and Exposing the Evil Among Us – Joe Moore

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) I’ll admit that as a crime writer, I’m a sucker for ‘under the radar – dual life’ narratives, and Joe Moore’s, White Robes And Broken Badges, certainly hit the mark for me. An ex-Army sniper with a valuable skill set, Mr. Moore found himself in a unique position of being…

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The Scale of Time: From the Beginning – Joseph Lanzara

(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) “The underlying mission of this book is to render, with accuracy, unimaginably long lengths of time and incredibly vast distances in space, conceivable at a glance.” You’ll note that instead of listing just the author’s name, I have included the phrase as he has it on the front of his book.…

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Tales from Beyond the Closet – Dalton Primeaux

(Reviewed by JD Jung) These sordid tales of horror are weird. Not in a Trump/Vance creepy way, but in an eclectic, frightening, and entertaining way.   The kind of weird I like. There are stories encompassing sci-fi and lots of horror: a haunted wooden coffee table, a strange boba shop, wicked wigs, killer vines, and retaliating…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: The Safekeep – Yael van der Wouden

(Reviewed by JD Jung) It’s 1961, almost twenty years after the war, and it would appear as if the Netherlands has recovered. However, scars linger beneath the surface in unimaginable ways. Isabel, who is almost thirty years old, doesn’t have much of a social life. She’s rigid, and lives alone in the house she grew…

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But Not for Me – Allison A. Davis

(Reviewed by JD Jung) It’s August 1958 and black renters, homeowners and business owners are getting kicked out of the Fillmore district of San Francisco due to redevelopment and urban renewal. Developers are using unfair tactics to enforce eminent domain. Leitisha Boone, owner of the restaurant and jazz club, the Blue Moon, is under such…

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From Savagery – Alejandra Banca, Katie Brown (Translator)

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Being a migrant means feeding yourself on loss, on what could have been, the infinite possible nuances of that history which will forever remain hidden but present.” Seven million Venezuelan’s left their country since the mid-2010s due to violence, scarcity and desperation. The twelve fictional stories in From Savagery, remind us…

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