Underrated Reads

An UnderratedRead Revisited:A Child Out of Alcatraz- Tara Ison

Posted on January 13, 2020 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) When I visit San Francisco, I often gaze over the bay to that small island that radiates so much history. This island housed some of America’s most infamous criminals: Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz), George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Mickey Cohen, and many others. On this visit though,…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Alcatraz, Historical fiction, San Francisco | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: Torment: A Novella – H.D. Hunter

Posted on January 5, 2020 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I wish I could tell them how hard it was. How hard it still is. I wish I could tell them that just because a person doesn’t understand what it means to be broken doesn’t mean they can’t tell they aren’t whole. “ This young man plagued with the label of…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged mental illness, modern literary fiction, short books | Comments Off

Wishing all a Happy New Year along with a reminder…

Posted on January 1, 2020 by J D Jung

( by JD Jung) First, we want to wish all our readers a safe New Year filled with love and happiness throughout 2020 and beyond! Second, you may wonder why we don’t post reviews more often. Yes, we realize that "Content is king", and we know that you want to see it all the time.…

Posted in Let's talk | Tagged book reviews, New Year | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited:To My Beloved Heart: The Last Journey Of Edgar Allan Poe – James Marchiori

Posted on December 28, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I felt as if my native land was rejecting me. Making me more hostile. My country was dismissing me all means. I thought about the many unintelligent and corrupted doctors that tried to place me in a psychiatric hospital in Utica. Then I thought of the perverse editors, who would have…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Gothic fiction, Historical fiction, Poe, sordid | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited:Christmas Eve Can Kill You – William Marantz

Posted on December 24, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) For many of us, ushering in the New Year serves as a letdown, following the joyous Christmas season. For Izzy Miller (aka Muddy Rivers, aka Val Virgo), the season represents the low points of his life. Not only did he feel like an outsider looking in as a Jewish kid, but…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Canadian fiction, Christmas Eve, crime fiction, mystery | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: Philosophy Made Simple – Robert Hellenga

Posted on December 21, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) , #CommissionsEarned Rudy Harrington, a sixty-year-old widower, is trying to find the meaning of life…his life. Is there any purpose left? To try and answer this question, he takes up the study of philosophy. Since his wife, Helen, died seven years ago and his three daughters have moved out on their…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged philosophy | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: House of Beauty- Melba Escobar (Author), Elizabeth Bryer (Translator)

Posted on December 18, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I also hate the ladies of Bogotá among whom I count myself, though I do all I can to stand apart. I hate their habit of using the term “Indians” to refer to people they consider to be from a low social class…. I hate so many things in so many…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Bogota, Colombia, crime fiction, mysogeny, racism | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: A Drinkable Feast: A Cocktail Companion to 1920s Paris- Philip Greene

Posted on December 15, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “When spring comes to Paris the humblest mortal alive must feel that he dwells in paradise.” - Henry Miller “… shining a spotlight on the Paris of the 1920s and the expats and…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged 1920s, cocktails, Hemingway, Lost Generation, Paris, Prohibition, WWI | Comments Off

A Tortuous Path: Atonement and Reinvention in a Broken System – Christopher Pelloski

Posted on December 9, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) This is a very different - and some might say, difficult book, to read or review. It is the story of Christopher Pelloski, a renowned cancer doctor and researcher who was arrested, charged, and convicted of viewing child pornography on the internet. It is the second book written by Mr.…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction | Tagged incarceration, memoirs, pornography | Comments Off

My Piece and My Peace: The Autobiography of Brandon A. Rowell – Brandon Rowell

Posted on December 4, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) My Piece and My Peace is an autobiography written about Brandon and his life. He has it all and is probably one of the luckiest people having the best life one could imagine. His job, love life, family life, living situation, and his desires in life are all met. Luck, as…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction | Tagged autobiography, Christian | Comments Off