Underrated Reads

Rakiya -: Stories of Bulgaria – Ellis Shuman

Posted on July 19, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) Rakiya is a very interesting collection of eleven short stories that feature various characters in bizarre situations that cover some of the history of Bulgaria. Each story has a protagonist that struggles to find answers to their circumstances. Each is also well written with some of the characters coming back in…

Posted in Historical Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks, Slavic Literature | Tagged Bulgaria, history, Holocaust, short stories, WWII | Comments Off

Blood and Mascara – Colin Krainin

Posted on July 17, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…all the women he had known and loved, the idea of them was there in front of him…and once he had come to love then, had he not carried them about within him forever after, like open wounds?” May 1997 -Private investigator Calvin “Bronze” Goldberg is obsessed with women and is…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged crime fiction, noir, obsession | Comments Off

The Coin – Yasmin Zaher

Posted on July 13, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…in my family, America was both the key and the curse.” Our narrator, who is from a wealthy Palestinian family moved to New York after her parents died. She was left with an inheritance of which she could only access a small portion. That is, she is only provided with a…

Posted in Immigration, Middle Eastern Literature, World Literature | Tagged immigration, New York, obsession | Comments Off

The Blind Devotion of Imogene: The Misadventures of Imogene Taylor – David Putnam

Posted on July 10, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) It’s 1973, and seventy-five-year-old Imogene Taylor has just been released from the Chino Institute for Women after serving time for second-degree murder. As she returns to her home in California’s Inland Empire, readers are immediately drawn into a world marked by dark humor, quirky characters, and her constant reminiscing about…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Humor & Satire | Tagged humor | Comments Off

Bad Tourists – Caro Carver

Posted on July 7, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) In this riveting novel, three friends in their forties—Darcy, Camilla, and Kate—embark on an extravagant trip to the Maldives to celebrate Darcy’s lucrative divorce. Since their backgrounds and personalities are very different, we wonder how and why they became friends. We learn soon enough. Twenty-two years ago, Kate witnessed the aftermath…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged crime fiction, divorce, friendship, Maldives, suspense | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America – Jeffrey Rosen

Posted on July 3, 2024 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung) “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. But what did the “pursuit of Happiness” mean to the founding fathers? American legal scholar, Jeffrey Rosen uncovers what the "pursuit of Happiness" truly meant to them and others, offering a compelling exploration…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged American History, happiness, philosophy, racism, slavery | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: Hold the Line: The Insurrection and One Cop’s Battle for America’s Soul – Michael Fanone and John Shiffman

Posted on June 29, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “What sort of American tries to overthrow democracy? What kind of man becomes so consumed by a false belief that he drives across the country, storms the Capitol, and assaults police officers?” Those are pressing questions from Metropolitan Police Dept. (MPD) Officer Michael Fanone, who was almost killed by rioters as…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged American politics, Crime, January 6, law enforcement, memoirs, police, PTSD | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: Russia’s War on Everybody: And What it Means for You – Keir Giles

Posted on June 25, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) When I started reading Russia's War on Everybody: And What it Means for You, I thought “I know all of this.”, as I considered myself relatively informed on the subject. However, I am so glad that I continued to read this fascinating, but troubling book. There is so much I was…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged cyber-crime, disinformation, espionage, history, media, murder, politics, Putin, Russia, Soviet Union | Comments Off

One of our best revisited:The Riddle of the Sphinx – Alexandre Montagu

Posted on June 22, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Eric (Keyvan) fled Iran as a child during the Islamic revolution and grew up in Paris. He later studied Comparative Literature at Princeton. That is one scenario. What would have happened if he was forced to stay in Iran? So much of one’s life (or death) is determined by a…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Historical fiction, Iran, Islamic revolution, LGBTQ, Shah | Comments Off

An Exceptional UnderratedRead Revisited: Visualize Yourself: Designing the Outcome of Your Life, One Issue at a Time – Aileen Nealie

Posted on June 18, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) “This is you breaking free from your current reality. Dare to expand. Dare to grow. Design your path. You have a say in everything.” Reading Visualize Yourself by Aileen Nealie is like giving your mind a long, cool drink of the purest water on a blazing hot day. In our current…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged depression, love, mental health issues, relationships, spirituality, visualization | Comments Off