(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The move from Casablanca to Queens was the biggest bet of my parents’ life. It came with wounds: betrayal by loved ones and poverty in the greatest country on earth. There was chaos in the upending of norms—what it means to be a husband or wife, how many countries can fit…
(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) There are a few books I’ve read that have had this effect on me. I look forward to my reading time, usually nap time or bedtime, because the book is there waiting for me. And, as I near the end of the book, I begin to feel sad because I…
(Reviewed by Don Jung) It surprises me that legendary basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has now written fifteen books since he retired from sports. His fascination with the Arthur Conan Doyle books has him writing his third installment in a series on what it would be like to be a young Sherlock Holmes. This story takes…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) "It’s never the pain at the moment that hurts us. It’s that we are always going to have it, always going to carry it with us. “ Rick Phillips never fully recovered from a high school shooting. Though he lived through it, the emotional and physical scars remained with him. After…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Margo Harrington, an American expatriate living in Italy, is excited to hear that her memoir, The Sixteen Pleasures, will be made into a feature film. The book details her experiences when she first came to Florence. While working in a convent, restoring irreplaceable books damaged in the flood of 1966, she…
(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) It’s said that good things come in small packages and Two Suspects by Gary Sherbell bears this out. At only 107 pages, the book could easily be devoured on a plane flight or on a slow raining day around the house. But what it lacks in length, it makes…
(Reviewed by Heidi A. Swan) Unwanted is the autobiography of a woman with a high school education who harnessed her convictions and life skills to improve the world for the betterment for her son, who has Down’s Syndrome, and for that of other “unwanted” people. Ms. Smith’s early life set the stage for her deep…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…commercial media are in the business of marketing the immediate and sensational and have no mandate to serve the public interest.” In fact, the media profited from Trump’s celebrity and candidacy, and continues to do so from his presidency. It’s not just pro-Trump media that benefits; those media outlets critical of…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Thirty-two-year-old restaurant manager Finn Roose will be the protagonist you love to hate. He over indulges in booze and women and even takes advantage of his closest friends. Needless to say, ethics and decency are not his strong suits. Life is about to change for Finn as his sleazy, misogynistic behavior…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) How do I begin a review of a novel that kept me captive from page one and didn’t release me until the very end? I didn’t want to break for work, family, friends, or anything. How can I do this book justice? Dear readers, I will try. Eric (Keyvan) fled Iran…
