(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) Ham's Heaven was a tough book to get through – but not for the usual reasons: poor plotting, pacing, etc. It was tough because it was a very emotional story that needed to be told. The author, Ori Gersht, draws from a great deal of historical facts to create…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) I was excited to read The Bolden Cylinder because of its promise of jazz and its New Orleans setting—two of my favorite things. What I got was so much more: a richly layered mystery involving arson, unrequited love, and a fifty-year-old disappearance that ties the past and present together in unexpected…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The autocracies want to create a global system that benefits thieves, criminals, dictators, and the perpetrators of mass murder. We can stop them.” Historian and journalist Anne Applebaum suggests what democracies can do to save their political systems and why we should fear these present-day autocracies in her latest book, Autocracy,…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Colombian drug lord Diego Velasquez is facing financial ruin. It’s right after 9/11, and the U.S. borders are tightening, and corrupt officials are now refusing bribes. His two sons represent the family’s split identity: Carlos, deeply enmeshed in the cartel, and Esteban, with no interest in the family business, is…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Horny: Sex Without Scruples is not your typical memoir; it’s mostly commentary. It’s also raw, unfiltered, and unapologetically blunt, focusing on human sexuality, power dynamics, exploitation, and the complexities of modern relationships. Author Brad Deep, a self-proclaimed sex addict, once a client of illicit massage parlors, opened his own to fund…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Who would write a Dear John letter to social media in order to get control over his attention span and basically his entire life? And how do you even navigate the damn thing? Or how about a poem on internet trolls? Comedian Randy Rainbow of course, in his hilarious collection of…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Living with chronic pain often feels like an uphill battle with no clear path forward. In Mastering Chronic Pain: How Peak Resilience Unlocks Your Potential, Dr. Sahar Swidan and Dr. Matthew Bennett provide a practical, science-backed roadmap for those who want to regain control over both their pain and their lives. The…
(Reviewed by Ann Onymous ) What would you do if you found yourself suddenly awake — In total darkness…. Where am I? You don’t know Who you are You don’t know Why When Or How you got there. This intriguing dilemma attracted me to Mary Rocco’s debut novel. Our main character turns out to be…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Lina wants to leave her Argentinian quebrada, where the soil is dry and the land barren, no longer offering them anything for sustenance. Her only son left years earlier with her younger brother. She is not sure exactly where she will go but has general directions from a local medicine woman.…
