Underrated Reads

Song Noir: Tom Waits and the Spirit of Los Angeles – Alex Harvey

Posted on September 24, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned My first introduction to Tom Waits was in Jim Jarmusch’s 1985 film, “Down By Law”. I found him quite enigmatic, and as a singer/songwriter was drawn to his authenticity. While reading Song Noir, I realized why. Waits was intrigued by similar literary and cultural genres as I was, specifically the…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Culture, History | Tagged beat generation, film noir, Los Angeles, music, songwriting | Comments Off

The Stories Behind the Poses: The Indian mythology that inspired 50 yoga postures – Raj Balkaran

Posted on September 22, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned For yoga aficionados who wish to dig deeper into the theory of their practice, this is the book for you. Author Dr. Raj Balkaran’s hope is that the book “will not only deepen your inner life, but will also introduce you to and inspire you to learn more about the…

Posted in Health and Fitness, Philosophical reads, Sci-Fi/Speculative/Fantasy/Mythology | Tagged lore, myth, yoga | Comments Off

A Cigarette Lit Backwards-Tea Hacic-Vlahovic

Posted on September 20, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “Punk rock is pure, it stands for nothing.” It’s the early 2000’s and sixteen-year-old Kat feels that punk rock was intrinsically made for her. She desperately wants to be accepted by the punk crowd in her hometown of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The daughter of Eastern European immigrants, her mother…

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction | Tagged coming-of-age, drugs, punk, punk rock | Comments Off

The Safe Game – Wes Verde

Posted on September 18, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) #CommissionsEarned The Safe Game by Wes Verde is undoubtedly one of the best books I have ever read. Set in the late 1920’s America, it follows the story of three con artists trying to pull off their final score before retiring from the game. The cons — two men and…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Historical Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged crime fiction, grift, Historical fiction | Comments Off

The Weasel Cay Chronicles – Chadd Allan Wheat

Posted on September 16, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) #CommissionsEarned Two brothers live in a remote area of paradise, Weasel Cay, a fictitious island in the Caribbean. Charlie Spinnaker is a former Navy pilot who runs the local helicopter service from the island to Key West and Miami. His brother, Jeff is the local constable and owns the best beer…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged Caribbean Islands, CIA, drugs, murder | Comments Off

Ti Amo – Hanne Ørstavik (translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken)

Posted on September 13, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “I look at you and tears run down my face, yet I feel nothing, no grief, no sadness, I can’t feel at all. Is it true, is it actually true, is my love really intense and concentrated?” A fifty-year-old unnamed successful novelist writes to her Italian husband who is dying…

Posted in Scandinavian Literature | Tagged cancer, death, love, truth | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: Chill Run: An Eddie Barrow Mystery – Russell Brooks

Posted on September 10, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) #CommissionsEarned Eddie Barrows wants to be an author, but he can’t get published. He loses his girlfriend, then his job and what else could go wrong? He goes to see his parents to get himself a morale boost but is dismayed to find they think he’s a failure. He is lost…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Canada, crime fiction, suspense | Comments Off

Dark State – Christopher J. Lynch

Posted on September 9, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) #CommissionsEarned "The terrorists know...The government knows...Now - YOU will know" A terrorist attack is something we all fear but would it ever be so horrific that you would want to leave your home and not come back for years. This fictionized story talks about the High-Power Transformers that are the backbone…

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged California, power grid, terrorist attack | Comments Off

The Deceptions – Jill Bialosky

Posted on September 6, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “Beautiful Aphrodite, she did what she pleased. Surely, she did not worry about pleasing her husband, or hate herself for her acts of infidelity. Those gods and goddesses, they have no shame.” Our unnamed narrator and protagonist is a published poet who teaches at a boys’ academy in New York…

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged betrayal, Greek mythology, poetry, seduction | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: How Speleology Restored My Sex Drive – Michael Bernhart

Posted on September 2, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) #CommissionsEarned A thrilling romp with twists and turns and more fun than should be legal. I’ll be honest when I say that I didn’t expect much when I read the description of this book and agreed to review it. To me, it seemed as if the author had way too…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged humor, thrillers | Comments Off