An UnderratedRead Revisited: The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories – by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

Posted on February 14, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “In New Orleans, culture doesn’t come down from on high, it bubbles up from the street.” -  Jazz Pianist Ellis Marsalis (1934-2020) This quote that opens the book epitomizes these stories, as we meet New Orleans residents of all ages and gender identifications just trying to make it day by day. I…

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The Wind on Her Tongue – Anita Kopacz

Posted on February 10, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) 1872 -Yemaya, who now lives in Cuba, is well known for possessing healing powers inherited from her Nigerian Yoruba Orisha lineage. Her eighteen-year-old daughter, Oya, as the Orisha of storm, wind and weather, also possesses intense abilities. Though unintentional, her powers can be quite destructive. Because of this, Yemaya sends Oya…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: The Lost Treasures of R & B – Nelson George

Posted on February 5, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “They were both Golden Gloves boxers and had that good foot work. They both did splits. Weren't afraid to get on the floor. Not spinning like hip hoppers but they would get on their knees to sell a song...That man could get on his knees in his suit and bend backward like…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: American Refuge: True Stories of the Refugee Experience (Truth to Power) – Diya Abdo

Posted on February 1, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “When refugees leave, it is rarely, if ever, happy. And it is never something they choose to do. Their bodies, finding no other way to survive, split themselves from their souls, wave goodbye to them, on the fragile hope that soon, they will meet again.” Dr. Diya Abdo knows this firsthand…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited:Shameless: Republicans’ Deliberate Dysfunction and the Battle to Preserve Democracy – Brian Tyler Cohen

Posted on January 28, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “You can’t understand the Trump phenomenon unless you understand the role that independent media on the right has played in terms of social media, in terms of amplification of his message, in terms of getting his fake news across.” Democrats have yet to create a strategy to compete with the right-wing…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited- Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility – by Rebecca Solnit

Posted on January 25, 2025 by J D Jung

  (Reviewed by JD Jung)   “Nothing is inevitable, and that’s crucial to remember in this fight.” Personally, I have felt both hopeless and helpless when it comes to preserving our planet and fighting climate change. Not Too Late convinced me through its essays and interviews that what I do on an individual basis and…

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Invisible Helix – Keigo Higashino (Author), Giles Murray (Translator)

Posted on January 22, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “ If you're searching for a crime thriller that grips you from the first page and doesn't let go, Invisible Helix is the novel for you. When homicide detectives investigate a plausible murder: a man floating in Tokyo Bay, shot in the back, they think it will be open and shut.…

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The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles – Marty Essen

Posted on January 17, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) Sometimes you want to read a feel-good book that isn’t violent and full of unrelated events that get you all confused. Well, this is one of those quirky stories with surprises along the way. When Barry confronts his old age and realizes it would be best for him to move into…

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Second Pocket First – Gregory Grosvenor

Posted on January 13, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Issey had always been a thief, but not a particularly good one. The thrill of lifting someone’s property was overwhelming since he was a boy stealing mail. Lockpicking was his specialty, but as an adult working in Boston for a small-time gangster named Berger, he just didn’t bring in enough valuable…

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The Book Censor’s Library – Bothayna Al-Essa , translated from the Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain

Posted on January 8, 2025 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung)     This cautionary tale takes place “sometime in the future, in a place that would be pointless to name, since it resembles every other place." All I know is that it is at a time when global democracy is obsolete and is considered part of the “Old World”, and individuality…

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