For Those Looking For The Light by Victoria Pen, From Emoji to Empathy: Mastering Customer Service in The Digital Era by Susan Williamson, and The Corsico Conspiracy by Raphael Sone

 For Those Looking For The Light by Victoria Pen, From Emoji to Empathy: Mastering Customer Service in The Digital Era by Susan Williamson, and The Corsico Conspiracy by Raphael Sone

For Those Looking For The Light by Victoria Pen

Victoria Pen’s concrete poetry is filled with deep emotions like depression, grief, nostalgia, worry, but also joy, hope and peace. It dares Readers to empathize and feel what the Speakers are feeling and listen to their voices.

The best poems are: 

“My Dear Child”-A poem in which the Speaker mourns the death or separation of their child. The constant repetition of “I wish I could” recognizes the regret of things that the child could have learned and felt with their parents like warmth and protection but now cannot. It is melancholic and sadness not only for what was lost but what can never be.

“Learning What Home Feels Like”-A poem in which the Speaker weighs many negative feelings towards themselves such as “ugly,” “dim witted,” “awkward,” and “embarrassing.” The twist is that the Speaker accepts those words and takes pride in them. They and their strange interests are what makes them who they are. Anyone who has ever felt self-conscious because of their personality traits, occupation, study path, or interests will understand and even relate.

“I Aspire To Be a Writer”- A poem in which the Speaker addresses their desire to be a writer. Even though they have the drive (and assuming this was Pen’s point of view herself, she also has the talent.), they constantly worry about how to get started, their subject, and publishers. This poem addresses the insecurities and anxieties that creative people have when they work on something. They worry about how their message will be projected,  what will people think of it, or if anyone bothers reading it at all. The important thing in creation is not the doubts but being able to move past them and exploring talent and the process to the fullest.

“The Colorful Leaves”-A nature poem in which the Speaker illustrates their love of autumn. It is filled with visual imagery like the orange, purple, and red leaves and the anxious people worried about snow. The poem talks about the season’s transitional function as not yet cold for winter, not hot for summer, and not thought of as beautiful like spring. It is an in between season but this Speaker recognizes autumn’s own individual beauty and uniqueness.

“Drifting At Sea”-An extended metaphor in which the Speaker compares their life to a sea in which they are just drifting along. The Speaker feels like they are not in control of their life and things are just happening around them. Sometimes they feel that they are deliberately being set up to fail and all that they can do is just wait. It is very similar to Depression and how people who have it often feel disconnected from their lives. Even when they try to improve, they are still met with failure, rejection, and disappointment. They want to move but can't so they remain stuck and floating.

“The Four Walls”-A poem in which the Speaker thinks of their room as a sanctuary by protecting them from abuse but also a prison keeping them from facing that fear and getting away. The Speaker’s room protected them from the monsters, implying that they were abused as a child. As an adult, they realized that remaining hidden in their room was only a temporary reprieve. It took leaving and finding a safe place away from the abuse to really find inner peace.

“If I Were a Flower”-An extended metaphor in which The Speaker compares themselves to a flower. The Speaker asks their lover some difficult questions whether they would take away their beauty or rather their view of themselves, would they leave them, if they would forget about them, or would they leave them for other lovers. The Speaker is very insecure and even though is looked upon as someone of great beauty and emotion, is concerned whether their Lover’s feelings will change.

“The Importance of Boundaries”-A poem that addresses boundaries and The Speaker’s changing feelings towards them. They realized that boundaries aren't the signs of a bad person. They are a sign of limits, that someone can only take so much. There is a metaphor of animals that instinctively run from danger. The Speaker compares themselves to those animals who know to run and they do the same.

“Cultural Cash Out”-This poem addresses the problems of the “greedy culture” where people are cruel, ignorant, care only about making money, and step on those under them. Pen’s poems rarely get political but this one does. It addresses health care denial, the work grind, low pay, and the desire but not the opportunity of moving up. It's a cry of anger at a culture that not only doesn't care if people live or die but profit off of their death and destruction.

“Hope Has A Name of Ivory”-This poem addresses the Speaker’s Faith. The poem personifies Hope in human terms that it has beautiful eyes and gentle hands. Hope’s name is compared to ivory and gold, precious bones and metals that hold great value. It almost reads like a Medieval riddle poem in which Pen drops hints about who Hope’s human form is. The answer becomes obvious by the final stanza and shows the depths of the Speaker’s spiritual devotion and faith.

 From Emoji to Empathy: Mastering Customer Service in The Digital Era by Susan Williamson

In this Digital Age of virtual assistance, self checkout, prepayment, shopping online, and AI Interface, the human element is still important particularly in customer service. Like many other professions, customer service is adapting to modern technology. However, the human element is still a factor. Susan Williamson’s book From Emoji to Empathy: Mastering Customer Service in The Digital Era explores how customer service representatives still need to maintain empathy and interpersonal skills to give customers quality assistance.

One of the key factors in good customer service is emotional intelligence. That includes behaving with empathy and implementing active listening. Empathy allows one to understand what the customer needs and using the right probing questions to fully comprehend the situation and provide for their needs. Active listening is the process in which one summarizes, uses open ended questions, and allows the other person to verbalize their situation and make their own decisions. Emotional Intelligence can be used to pick up emotional cues like active observation, feedback analysis, and validating emotions.

It's important for customer service representatives to design memorable customer experiences and that involves identifying customer personas, mapping their journey, implementing feedback mechanisms, and analyzing trends. These procedures help representatives learn about the different types of people that they need to help, how the customer retains information, when the representative needs to probe and when to leave off, and individual personalities and needs of the various customers. In doing this, they can create  individual personalized experiences for different people and build variety into their busy days. Even personal creative touches like extra services, sales for regulars, or representatives remembering details such as regular customer’s names or birthdays add to a personalized experience that makes customers feel unique and individual.

Of course difficult customers are frequent and can make the customer service job extremely stressful. Williams's book peers into conflicts between representatives and customers. The step-by-step approach includes identifying the root cause, using “I” statements to communicate understanding, brainstorming solutions together, implementing and following through, and seeking feedback for continuous improvement. Things like tone variation, body language, mirroring positive customer behavior, cultural sensitivity regarding nonverbal cues, body language, and paying attention to communication barriers goes a long way to improve interaction. 

The book includes various examples of challenging interactions and describes how a representative should handle them. For example aggressive customers raise their voices, demand action, and use harsh language. The representative must stay calm. A simple phrase like “I understand that this is a frustrating situation. Let's work together to fix it” is helpful. Customers want to be heard so that approach makes them feel heard and validated. They can go from being combative to collaborative.

Technology presents its own issues with representatives integrating it in their work but also maintaining the human connection. Williamson suggests that workers can select the right tools, prioritize user friendliness, ensure integration capabilities, and conduct a cost-benefit analyses. Personal connection can be integrated with technology by making tech work with employees and not replace them, making human oversight an easy seamless process, using feedback loops to stay ahead of customer needs, and creating an emotional impact. 

This book tells customer service representatives that the best way to show good customer service is to increase the human connection while integrating and adapting to modern technology.

The Corsico Conspiracy by Raphael Sone 

While William Shakespeare’s name is practically synonymous with Dramatic Theater, English Literature, and The Elizabethan Era, there is still much about his life that remains a complete mystery. Between his marriage and career as a school teacher in Stratford Upon Avon to the time he began to establish himself as a playwright and actor with Lord Chamberlain’s Men, there is a ten year period in which he was undocumented. What happened during those ten years and what was he doing? He was married though frequently separated from his wife, Anne Hathaway and fathered three children, Susannah, Judith, and Hamnet by her (adding to their tempestuous marriage was that Susannah was born a mere five to six months after their marriage suggesting that Anne’s pregnancy was the reason for it.)

However some of his romantic sonnets are addressed to a Dark Lady,which the pale and fair haired Anne was not. Who was this Dark Lady and what was her and William's relationship really like? For that matter, Shakespeare was a country lad with a limited education mostly attributed to reading books and watching plays yet his plays suggest a vast intellect, creative talent, high education, traveling experience. Is it entirely possible that Shakespeare was only given the title of author and someone else actually wrote the plays, but who? Just what was Shakespeare’s relationship with Queen Elizabeth and King James really like? Many of his History plays trace back their family lineage and the lines in the plays often speak of deep respect for the Royals but during a time when religious schisms between the Protestants and Catholics, many of the plays show a more than passing acquaintance with Catholic rituals and beliefs. Also, the plays feature various conspiracies and uprisings against the people in charge. Was Shakespeare vilifying or encouraging the protests?

Historians, scholars and authors have addressed these questions in different ways. One of my favorite series, The Shakespearean Fantasy Series by Sarah A. Hoyt, gives a magical fantastic interpretation to these questions in which Bill encountered fairies on his path to literary immortality. Another possibility is the more realistic but still fascinating Historical Fiction novella, The Corsico Conspiracy by Raphael Sone. 

This interpretation suggests that Shakespeare was a closet Catholic in a predominantly Protestant country and spent time abroad in Southern Europe and Africa where he became involved in political conspiracy, espionage missions where he learned how to be a master of disguise, and romance with Amina Safuwa, a former apprentice nun who was the Dark Lady. Oh yes and his plays were written mostly by Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford who did not want authorship credit. Shakespeare as a Lord Chamberlain's performer and later head was given sole credit. Though Shakespeare was no slouch in writing himself as he composed his own sonnets, the epic poems Venus and Adonis and Rape of Lucrece, and some of the plays himself by combining various sources that he read.

This is a brilliant book that drops some tantalizing theories that fill in the blanks of Shakespeare’s life. It fills them by Sone paying tribute to what would later be known about his life and work while dropping some interesting speculation about the parts that needed filling. His time in Rome, Spain, and particularly Corsico become fruitful in his education both as a spy and the head of an acting company.

 His training consists of adopting disguises and being in character through voice, mannerisms, and body language. One of his colleagues, Victoria is an example of a seasoned actor using their skills in the espionage game. She acts as a courier and go between while taking various forms, most notably as a hunchbacked old woman. Another character, Dr. Lopez has a variety of aliases and identities that he goes by including a final one which no doubt inspired many of Shakespeare's Comedy plays that involve mistaken identity and characters disguising themselves. 

Shakespeare is also given literary works to study that would later be instrumental in his theatrical work such as Hollingshead's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (where the sources for his History plays and many of his tragedies like Macbeth began) and Plutarch’s Lives (where works like Julius Caesar and Anthony and Cleopatra originated). We see that many of the survival tools that later made him famous were based on research and observation.

Sone writes Shakespeare as compelling, complex, and contradictory as well the protagonist in a Shakespeare play. He does this by playing various roles to the public, his intimate circle, and to himself. He is a devout Catholic who is appalled by the treatment that his fellow practitioners receive at the hands of Queen Elizabeth, particularly his father who was arrested. He is involved in some pretty daring plots to restore the monarchy to Catholicism. Most notably late in the book he works behind the scenes during the infamous Gunpowder Plot headed by Guy Fawkes but he does not openly defy the monarchy.

 In fact he works so well behind the scenes that while he is under suspicion of conspiratorial ties, he is never arrested for them. There are some pretty tense moments where he comes close such as a performance of Richard II which escalates into a sting operation against conspirators. 

Shakespeare takes a pragmatic approach to rebellion. As the figurehead leader of his company of Players and a central figure in the rebellious espionage ring, he can't afford to give himself away by being openly defiant. If a spy goes down, that's terrible but results in the loss of one person. If he goes down, the whole network and acting company goes down with him.

 He knows when to restrain himself in the presence of superiors especially royalty. In fact, he develops such a good rapport with the Queen that after she is amused by Falstaff, the supporting character from Henry IV and V, she commands that Shakespeare write a Comedy about Falstaff in love resulting in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

As for the other Shakespeare mysteries, they lead to some interesting analysis to Shakespeare’s character. He shows that he is able to write effectively through his poems and sonnets. He also has some creative planning and thinking skills as he comes up with the idea of combining multiple sources to create a new work as he does with Romeo and Juliet combining one story about feuding families with another about separated lovers.

 However, the book suggests that the dubious authorship is born because of mutual insecurities. Shakespeare needs to be seen as the head of Lord Chamberlain's Men but is concerned that his lack of formal education and rural background would be barriers in his writing. De Vere is a nobleman with tremendous talent but is concerned that his acknowledged authorship would be a threat to his status. Plus they are both involved within the Catholic community so they work out a deal. De Vere writes and sends the plays, Shakespeare accepts credit and his troupe produces and performs them. Also their plays contained coded messages and inside references to the Catholic community.

Amina is also compelling even if her appearances shorten as the book continues. She is strong willed and devoted to her causes as much as Shakespeare is but because of her physical appearance in Renaissance England, she doesn't have the luxury of hiding in public the way her lover does. As a result, they spend a large part of the book separated by distance and authority. However, the time that they spend is seen as a meeting between two strong feisty individuals who stand equally to one another. Amina and Shakespeare”s relationship in the book results in some intriguing plot twists that add to the speculation that the book conveys.

The Corsico Conspiracy shows that like his characters Shakespeare knew that the world was a stage so he was ready to play many parts.

Lit List Short Reviews: The Undeniable Power of Movement by Nicole Mott; The Performance CEO by Michael Koch; Unexpected by Dr. Jill Carnahan; God is Good by Margaret Liu Collins

 

The Undeniable Power of Movement: The Irrefutable Power Habits of Elite Athletes, Leaders & High Performers to Achieve of Any Goal

By Nicole Mott

Sometimes, when people have a goal that they have trouble starting it, staying motivated, or get easily discouraged against it, they quit their goal before achieving it. Nicole Mott’s book, The Undeniable Power of Movement, delivers common sense advice to help readers not only make and reach goals, but provides tips and advice on how to stay focused on that goal.

Mott was inspired to write this book after her son, Caleb, was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome. Despite the diagnosis and the difficulties that the syndrome took on Caleb's body, he wanted to try out for the major league soccer development academy team. After a lot of practice and determination, Caleb became part of the team. He was released after a year but used that experience as inspiration for later obtaining an academic and athletic scholarship at a university in West Virginia. This example of Caleb's life reminds the reader that despite hardships goals can be achieved and sometimes changed but with a positive outlook, one can still find happiness and personal satisfaction.

Many of the chapters consist of certain steps like “Focus” (stating the goal and the steps towards meeting it), “Discipline” (working hard to achieve each step and being a team player at work and home), “Mindset” (maintaining a positive mental attitude and using each setback as a learning experience), and “Health” (making sure to diet and exercise to heal the body and mind).

The best chapter is the one on “Reducing Distractions.” It is particularly concerned with people who have Depression and Anxiety. Those and other mental disorders are some of the biggest stumbling blocks that interfere with goal setting and achieving. This chapter provides some good advice for people whose minds might be filled with those nagging questions, doubts, and those times when the body is too overwhelmed or too unmotivated to move beyond that moment and seek a positive future.

The Undeniable Power of Movement is a plainly written book with steps, tips, and exercises that engage readers. Like any good personal development book, it allows people to get moving.

God is Good 2nd Ed. by Margaret Liu Collins

Margaret Liu Collins’ book, God is Good 2nd. ed. is a deeply spiritual and inspirational book for readers who look for a Higher Power to help them with their life struggles.

Collins inserts Biblical passages from the text that serve as comfort for the readers. Verses such as “The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’”(Psalms 32:8 NLT) They illustrate the recognition of faith in the life of a religious or spiritual person.

The author also uses examples from her own life in which she felt God's presence encouraging and aiding her in times of trouble. One of the most dramatic chapters recounts her abusive first marriage when she relied on God's strength to help her persevere through the tremendous physical and emotional abuse and give her courage to rebuild her life with her children when the marriage came to an end.

God is Good is an excellent book for the spiritual and religious minded person to remind them that they are not alone.

Unexpected: Finding Resilience Through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith

By Jill Carnahan, MD

Unexpected: Finding Resilience Through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith is a book about deeply personal struggles and how anyone can find comfort and strength within them.

Many of Carnahan's struggles are detailed and lead to lessons that she learned that are to be shared with others. Carnahan writes lovingly of her childhood on a farm in Illinois with a large close family. Unfortunately, that farm life took a tremendous cost on her health. She developed allergies and fatigue and later breast cancer at a young age. The cause, she later discovered, was the highly toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that her father and other farmers used for their crops. This experience not only got her interested in science and medicine, but taught her the importance of trusting one's intuition, to study the environment and how to implement functional medicine, a systems based biology based model that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of the diseases. 

Carnahan’s marriage taught her to trust and rely on others and find humor even in bad situations. Eventually, the marriage ended in divorce which taught Carnahan to learn to let go. These situations may run parallel to circumstances that readers find themselves in and can practice in their own lives.

Unexpected is a book that leads by example. It tells the readers that if Carnahan got through her troubles, so can they.

The Performance CEO: An Extreme Cognitive Protocol for Entrepreneurial Success by Michael Koch 

Michael Koch’s The Performance CEO: An Extreme Cognitive Protocol for Entrepreneurial Success is a high energy, cognitive approach for the ambitious forward thinking CEO who often feels discouraged and a little out of focus.

This book is encouraging towards those who have a daring ambitious active drive to be a success in all that they do. In fact, there is something of the drill sergeant/tough love instructor in Koch’s narration. This approach works for the type of reader that this book is aimed for: the reader who wants the straight forward tough approach of facing life's challenges. They want the author to give them the facts and activities and leave out the sentiment.

Most of the book consists of physical activities like diet and exercise. Koch recommends a very rigid and active approach that requires dedication. For example, the diet chapter encourages fasting 23 hours for one day per week requiring a high level of commitment. 

The exercise chapter encourages high activity with weight lifting and strength training along with stretching and poses to encourage mindfulness. 

The Performance CEO is the type of book for the high energy ambitious executive who needs incentive to keep moving.

Lit List Short Reviews Augmented Lean A Human Centric Framework for Managing Frontline Operations by Natan Linder, PhD and Trond Arne Undheim PhD; The Fasting Bible How to Lose Weight Grow Younger and Heal Your Body in 30 Days or Less by Lynn Hardy ND CNC; After Injury Reflections Recovery and Re-Becoming Your Best Self by Zaki J. Doudak

 Augmented Lean A Human Centric Framework for Managing Frontline Operations by Natan Linder PhD and Trond Arne Undheim PhD

Natan Linder and Trond Arne Undheim know approximately how the future frontline operations will work. 

In their book, Augmented Lean A Human Centric Framework for Managing Frontline Operations, they reveal how augmentation will be a composite of technology and human centered work to improve businesses in the future.

Augmented Lean is a process that combines human workers and technology to increase and improve frontline productivity. The authors describe augmentation as, "The process gives (humans) easy access to tools and technology needed to do their jobs, rather than relying explicitly on technology to boost productivity."

Augmentation is a perfect way to combine speed and operation of technology with the ingenuity and analysis of human workers. Linder and Undheim demonstrate how augmentation worked in different companies and how their productivity soared because of this practice.

Besides companies, the authors discuss the education and training that frontline workers would require to commit to such tasks. The workers learn to use the technology and are able to strategically think about possible solutions.

One of the more interesting chapters is one that takes Readers through a timeline that leads to augmentation. From industrialization, to assembly line production, to automation, to technology, to augmentation. These changes show how businesses and workers adjusted each time to the ever-changing landscape of frontline working. They learned new skills, adjusted management techniques, and transitioned with what needed to be done. Augmentation is the most recent practice that requires such adjustment and transitions.

In a world where companies are changing and evolving by allowing employees to work remotely and having flexible hours, augmentation would be great means to adjust to the "New Normal." Augmented Lean shows that human and technology can both be applied. Neither has to be sacrificed.

The Fasting Bible: How to Lose Weight, Grow Younger, and Heal Your Body (in 30 Days or Less) by Lynne Hardy ND, CNC 

In her latest book, The Fasting Bible: How to Lose Weight, Grow Younger, and Heal Your Body uses the current diet of fasting and how if done wisely can improve our bodies and outlooks on life.

Hardy describes different types of fasting such as Water (drinking only water for a time and abstaining from food),  Intermittent (fasting for a short amount of time like for 12 or 24 hours), and Protein Sparing Modified Fast (minimizing carbs and fats and eating adequate protein). Hardy discusses the advantages and disadvantages. For example, Intermittent Fasting is good for losing fat and lowering blood pressure but restricting calories has led to a 38% dropout as well as disagreements among experts over what foods are good during feeding times.

There is a process that should be followed before one can fast. It would be difficult to just begin it with no preparation whatsoever because it would lead to more harm than good. Hardy discusses such steps as reducing carbs, paying attention to proteins, and tightening the diet for at least two to three weeks before the fast. She also advises Readers what to do to safely break the fast.

It is important to note that fasting can be very difficult and dangerous to some. Hardy does not recommend this for those who are pregnant, children, or have an eating disorder. Just like Hardy mentions in the book, always check with a medical professional before fasting and those with a history of eating disorders should avoid it completely.

After Injury: Reflection, Recovery, and Re-Becoming Your Best Self by Zaki J. Doudak 

It can be difficult to live with a serious injury. The physical and psychological aftereffects can seem insurmountable. Zaki Doudak's book After Injury: Reflection, Recovery, and Re-Becoming Your Best Self is a helpful guide on how one can live through an injury and ease their physical, psychological, and emotional pain.

Doudak offers good advice on how to deal with a serious injury and Its aftereffects. Instead of being upset that they can't be active, the injured could take this time to rest and relax. They should not overexert themselves and avoid repetitive motions that could add more strain. They should also avoid self destructive patterns like drinking alcohol, taking drugs, or gambling because they will lead to problems later.

The book suggests that the injured person can practice self-care. They can take a few minutes for meditation and reflection, get involved in easy hobbies that interest them, or talk about their worries and insecurities with those close to them or a professional. 

Another thing that can help is to accept and improve relations with the people around them. Accept help when it's offered such as for shopping or running errands. Also speaking about their issues, showing gratitude, and listening to other's concerns as well. Not only will it help during an injury but will heal relationships a long time afterwards.

After Injury offers great advice to heal not only an injury but one's own self-worth and relationships with others.

New Book Alert: Dead Winner by Kevin G. Chapman; Suspenseful Murder Mystery Over a Winning Lottery Ticket Marred By Length and Too Many Plot Twists

 

New Book Alert: Dead Winner by Kevin G. Chapman; Suspenseful Murder Mystery Over a Winning Lottery Ticket Marred By Length and Too Many Plot Twists

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Winning the lottery brings with it a host of problems: taxes taken out, strangers pretending to be long lost relatives, gold diggers and fortune hunters, harassed by shady organizations, many threats, and sometimes death. That's enough to make one wish they never bought a ticket.

On its own that would be an interesting premise for a murder mystery in which a lottery winner is found dead shortly after their win but before it is made public. Unfortunately, Kevin G. Chapman's Dead Winner is not that book. It takes that premise and mar it with too many plot twists that are used to justify its length.

Tom Williams just won the lottery and he has only told his wife, Monica and his former schoolmate, Rory McEntyre, who is his financial advisor. Unfortunately, the day after he gives this news, Tom is found dead by Monica. Monica insists that Tom's death was suicide but there are some inconsistencies to that version. Not to mention, that Tom's former employers and assistant are involved in separate subplots involving him. Tom has his own secrets and Riley and Monica are harboring a not so secret infatuation for each other.

The lottery plot is interesting. There are moments when greed overtakes the characters along with the promise of new big money. There is a seriocomic sequence when Tom and Monica discover that the lottery ticket is missing and someone holds it for ransom.

There are some real truthful moments particularly as Riley reevaluates his friendship with Tom and interest in Monica. He realized that the more aggressive and choleric Tom always took the lead in their friendship, so Riley is realizing that he now has to take control. One of those means is being there for Monica and being more available for her more than Tom was.

However, the book has too many red herrings and subplots that the narrative runs away with itself. Some of the characters don't amount to very much and others become too involved with the action. This is one mystery that needs focus and to develop one potential plot at a time instead of over crowding the Reader.

The worst is saved for last. There is a final plot twist that I won't reveal but makes absolutely no sense based on the previous information that we have been given. The twist seems to have pulled out of thin air rather than the clues and mystery itself. It's not an ending to make you wonder or marvel so much as it's an ending to make you roll your eyes or throw the book down in disgust.

For me, Dead Winner is actually a Live Loser.

Lit List Short Reviews; Guide to Software Projects For Business People by Jonathan P. Crosby; The Ultimate Instant Crock Pot Cookbook for Beginners by Philip D. Roman

 

Lit List Short Reviews; Guide to Software Projects For Business People by Jonathan P. Crosby; The Ultimate Instant Crock Pot Cookbook for Beginners by Philip D. Roman

Guide to Software Projects For Business People by Jonathan P. Crosby

Jonathan Crosby wrote a great book that advises business people on how to plan, put together, and promote software projects.

Crosby takes his Readers step by step through the various procedures making each step important. For example, he expands on conceptual planning and maintenance work before release. These preplanning steps save the User from excess time and money to fix costly mistakes after the fact. 

Crosby uses metaphor and examples to illustrate many of his points. He tells the story of innovators like Henry Beck who created the definitive design of the London Underground to show that anyone can come up with important ideas, not just the select few with the so-called "right training and experience."

Crosby also uses personal experience to demonstrate many of his points. To show the importance of providing developers with an adequate quiet space for work. Crosby ended up responding to help desk calls while writing software tools. It's not a surprise that Crosby described his manager as "a great guy but not much of a developer. As a manager, (Crosby's boss) was used to switching tasks and was unaware of the programmer's need to concentrate for long periods without interruptions."

Guide to Software Projects For Business People is perfect for the Reader who is struggling with the complexities of software production. Crosby does a good job at taking Readers down that long path with small steps and examples. He makes that path understandable and ultimately successful.

The Ultimate Instant Crock Pot Cookbook for Beginners by Philip D. Roman

Philip D. Roman's The Ultimate Instant Crock Pot Cookbook for Beginners is a good book for busy people that want to eat healthy and are on a budget.

The book begins with the advantages of Instant Pot cooking like saving shelf space with few cooking appliances and time to make a whole meal. Roman also includes tips on maintenance and safety with cooking with the Instant Pot. Tips like don't fill all the way to the max fill line and understanding all safety features are important to remember.

Of course the bulk of the book is filled with mouth watering recipes like Honey Chicken Wings, Cuban Style Pulled Pork, and Blueberry Cinnamon Coffee Cake meant to tempt any Reader. Many choices like Banana Pudding Cake and Cranberry Applesauce are meant to encourage healthy as well as delicious eating.

The Ultimate Instant Crock Pot Cookbook for Beginners is a good book to save money and time and to fill the body with good food.

Lit List Short Reviews Be A Successful Maverick Vol. 3 How Ordinary People Do It Different to Achieve Extraordinary Results Edited by Paul Finck, The Machine Murders Island Buoys The Manos Manu Series by C.J. Abazis, A Novel Crime: St. Marin's Cozy Mystery Series by ACF Bookens, Salvage Trouble: Black Ocean Galaxy Outlaws Mission One by J.S. Morin

 Lit List Short Reviews Be A Successful Maverick Vol. 3 How Ordinary People Do It Different to Achieve Extraordinary Results Edited by Paul Finck, The Machine Murders Island Buoys The Manos Manu Series by C.J. Abazis, A Novel Crime: St. Marin's Cozy Mystery Series by ACF Bookens, Salvage Trouble: Black Ocean Galaxy Outlaws Mission One  by J.S. Morin

Be a Successful Maverick Vol. 3: How Ordinary People Do It Different to Achieve Extraordinary Results Edited by Paul Finck

Be a Successful Maverick Vol.3 How Ordinary People Do It Different to Achieve Extraordinary Results is a brilliant anthology of various essays by entrepreneurs and other businesspeople to help others get through their difficulties and indecisiveness to become better in their personal and professional lives.

Maverick Millionaire, Paul Finck shares his own personal struggles and what it taught him. His wife Deborah had a tumor in her pulmonary artery. The surgery was successful and she recovered. Unfortunately, he was not permitted to visit Deborah on account of Covid restrictions and his professional life took a hit as 80% of his sales went down.

 Looking back on that experience taught Finck a lot about how to deal with stress and how people consider how they got in that situation. Finck recalled the human factors from what he dubbed the Ultimate Maverick Success including Intelligence Quotient, Social Quotient, Spiritual Quotient, Emotional Quotient, and Adversity Quotient. Finck realized that Deborah's health and troubled sales were testing his Adversity Quotient. He built new systems and attracted new customers and spent as much time as he could with his family as well as contacting his wife to remind her that he was there for her.

Some of the stories deal with personal struggles and what the author learned from them. Forbes Riley, CEO of SpinGym recalled a time when she took a test in college, got every question right, and still got a C. The professor told her that his A students went beyond the test answers. They did extra credit, additional reading, and projects at the bottom of the syllabus. They go beyond what is expected of them. This advice led her down her path of hosting infomercials, building a  state of the art TV studio, and greeting various guests like Deepak Chopra, Grant Cardone, Les Brown, Sharon Lector, Jack Canfield. She also co-hosted the original X Games and worked with Body By Jake to create a reality cable series called Fit-TV, resulting in her getting inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame. 

Riley learned a much harder lesson when Dexter, a boy that she helped raise, was shot by a gang member for wearing blue, a target color. The randomness of the shooting and the intense grief she felt after Dexter's death, led Riley to come to the conclusion that "Life happens for you, not to you." She misses Dexter but still continues to inspire and teach, gaining a stronger empathy from this difficult loss.

Some of the chapters aren't always personal stories. Others are words of advice and encouragement. Rae Ann Hall, author, speaker, facilitator, and podcast host of The Optimistic Choice offers a Call to Action with her essay, "The Resilient Warrior-How to Warrior Up in Life." Using all caps, exclamation points, and bold print, Hall motivates her Readers. She writes a process that includes "Know Yourself: STRONG," "Pain to Purpose: BRAVE," "Face it and Forge Ahead: EXPERIENCED," "Optimistic Outlook Does Influence Outcome: RESILIENT," "Action, Belief, and Consistency: DETERMINED," and "Act, Do Not React: PROACTIVE.

Technically, Be a Successful Maverick, isn't telling their Readers anything new. These words of advice can be found in many self help books but in times of great stress, when we need inspiration and encouragement the most, that's when a book like this comes along to provide that.

The Machine Murders Island Buoys The Manos Manu Series by C.J. Abazis

The Machine Murders, part of C.J. Abazis's Manos Manu series, tells a suspenseful mystery in a beautiful setting but also offers interesting conflicts between various law enforcement agencies over the different ways to catch criminals.

Manos is on the island of Mykonos, Greece to attend a friend's wedding. Unfortunately, a serial killer also happens to be working at the same time. The latest murder victim is Bill Casey, an Instagram influencer, is found dead with a chain running through his insides. Manu, a data analyst with Interpol, is naturally dragged from his vacation to get to work.

The suspense and setting work really well for the book. There are many tense chapters with characters chasing various leads before the killer finds his next target. There is a particularly creepy passage when a character is caught by the killer and struggles for their life while he attempts to drown and disfigure them.

The irony is that all of this set on a beautiful island during what should be during a happy time. The descriptions are filled with scenic beaches and clear water that is perfect for swimming. The attractive setting serves as a contrast to the dark actions of ome of the characters.

The most interesting aspects to The Machine Murders are the various approaches that characters take to crime solving and how they clash. There are people like Lena, a profiler, who prefer to analyze behavioral patterns and use psychological methods to learn the killer's identity. Then there are those like Manos who prefer the more technological approach like investigating social media accounts, hits, views, purchases and any information obtained on the Internet. Of course there is also the opinion of those like the Mykonos police department, just going around town, asking questions, and chasing suspects. All methods are used and none are seen as ridiculous even if the characters argue over which method is best. Eventually, they all come to the same conclusion: the identity of the killer.

Besides being suspenseful and beautiful, The Machine Murders shows us that law enforcement like, every other occupation, is in a stage of transition, one that has its flaws but its merits as well.

A Novel Crime: St. Marin's Cozy Mystery Series by ACF Bookens

A Novel Crime is a short but engaging cozy mystery in which a divorcee loses a husband but gains a new career and a penchant for amaterur crime solving.

Harvey divorces her husband, Trevor, the same day that she finds a dead body. Well the divorce is bad but not unexpected. They had been having problems for years and even when a terrified Harvey calls Trevor about the body, he takes several hours to show up.

The body fills her thoughts more. It is that of Juan Ortega Montague, a property dealer. Partly to block out painful associations with the divorce but also to satisfy her curiosity and imagination nurtured by reading many books, Harvey looks into the case herself butting heads with the police.

A Novel Crime covers all of the usual beats of a cozy mystery: violent but not too violent crime, protagonist with a career outside of law enforcement but a tendency to find themselves in dangerous situations, beautiful location with odd locals, in this case San Francisco, a loyal group of friends to help the protagonist, and an obvious murderer. It's very predictable. Even the killer's identity is easy to guess because of a conversation in which the killer followed the old "revealing too much about the case that only the killer would know" trick.

There are some interesting parts such as when Harvey gets glamorous and attends an upscale charity event with a pro athlete/potential love interest. It's also nice to read that even though the divorce hit Harvey emotionally she still makes plans to move on to New England and open her own bookstore.

While A Novel Crime is an average mystery, its main purpose is clearly to set up the situation where Harvey decides to move and open her bookshop, fulfilling a lifelong dream and finding more trouble. On that respect, it works.

Salvage Trouble Black Ocean Galaxy Outlaws Mission One by J.D. Morin

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J.D. Morin's novella, Salvage Trouble is for people who love watching space travel science fiction shows like Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly. It's about a space crew fighting enemies and taking on new passengers as they learn to adjust to living and working together in space or as they refer to it, 'Black Ocean." It doesn't present anything new to the genre but it provides an interesting and combative crew who argue and bicker with each other as much as they fight with enemies.

Capt. Carl Ramsey of The Mobius travels outer space to look for salvage and transport passengers and cargo to different locations. It's not a glamorous job like exploring space for scientific discoveries or creating diplomatic relations with other worlds, but someone has to do it. He isn't alone. He has a loyal but also argumentative crew at his side. They include: Tanny, a sharp tongued former marine and Carl's ex wife, Mort, a spiritual minded "tech wizard", Chip, a likeable computer wiz, Roddy, a simian looking alien who is a strong fighter and big drinker, and Mriy, a quiet feline-like alien whose job is rather mysterious (but when she is called to fight or defend her crew, there isn't much of the enemy left). While on a salvage mission that ends badly especially for one of the crew members, Carl and Co pick up two new passengers: Adam, a mysterious precocious young boy who was part of a genetic experiment and Sister Theresa AKA Esper, a priestess/teacher who sought to free Adam from his guardian's rigorous and mind altering training.

Salvage Trouble is a delightful tribute to various science fiction movies and shows. The most obvious being Firefly with its sardonic but good hearted blue collar captain living on the outer edges of space and an immensely talented mysterious kid with their protective guardian. There are also some clever references to other sources. The alien characters could have fit in at the Mos Eisley Cantina from Star Wars. The fact that the alien that is primate in appearance is named Roddy is clearly a tribute to Roddy McDowall, the star of Planet of the Apes. These references will interest science fiction lovers of various generations.

The plot is mostly a lot of fights with various characters with some interesting twists towards the end (more on that later). However, Morin gives us a fascinating crew to follow on this journey mostly because they behave like people who have to spend a long monotonous traveling time together. They aren't going to get along or always like each other but when outside forces threaten, they have each other's back.

I mean when one of the crew members is the Captain's ex spouse, personality conflicts are bound to happen. Besides the awkwardness between Carl and Tanny, there are also other clashes found within the novella's short length. Esper and Carl start to develop feelings for each other and Tanny is deep in grief over the loss of another crew member that is clearly beyond friendship. Esper and Mort get into some science vs. spirituality debates. Adam also has an intriguing back story that makes him a mystery to everyone including himself. 

The story moves along briskly with some twists. One twist in particular was upsetting for me  because I liked this character. However, reluctantly I will admit that it made sense and was brilliantly foreshadowed without being too obvious. 

Salvage Trouble is short but it definitely makes the Reader want to book another voyage with the Mobius crew across the Black Ocean.

New Book Alert: The Unexpected Leader by Joel Sadhanad; Inside Look at Corporation, Leadership, Rivalries, and Artificial Intelligence

 New Book Alert: The Unexpected Leader by Joel Sadhanad; Inside Look at Corporation, Leadership, Rivalries, and Artificial Intelligence

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: It's an understatement to say the the corporate business world as we know it is dealing with great change. With a global pandemic putting jobs and lives at risk, automation and remote working making offices superfluous even unnecessary, even well known brands struggling to find consumers, and changes in regulations, standards, sustainability, goals, and structures that affect everyone from the highest CEO to the lowest level worker, businesses are at a level of uncertainty on how to look towards their future.

Joel Sadhanad's novel, The Unexpected Leader, looks at the changing look at businesses in this transition period. Sadhanad expertly gives us an insider look at the world inside these corporations and the strategies, rivalries, leadership, and wide reaching decisions that affect businesses and the people that work within them on the eve of a certain pandemic.

The book is set in 2019 as WHO is murmuring warnings about the potential for a global pandemic and the need for emergency preparedness. The plot involves various characters throughout India who intersect through their involvement in the business world, showing that despite jokes and assumptions, corporations are not soulless entities. They are made of people, people who distribute, sell, and provide goods and services and others who purchase and rely on them.

There is Bhagwan Das, a senior editor and journalist is keeping one eye on this potential pandemic crisis and one eye on the business world around him. Aryan Rajput, a sales associate attends a demonstration of frighteningly human androids and learns a new trendy buzz word "leadfluencer" (achieving results through relationships and removing the problems that prevent team members from performing their jobs effectively.)

 Ajith Ramprasand,CEO of Good Morning, a fictitious coffee empire,  contemplates placing automation in his coffee shops instead of "burning money" by hiring inefficient middle managers. Anil Ramprasand, Ajith's younger brother doesn't mind engineering Big Brother's removal from Good Morning and taking his place.

Neha Singh, an ambitious young assistant regional manager, dreams of getting promoted, owning her own franchise of coffee shops, and getting married in that order. 

Sadhanad does an excellent job of humanizing these characters and offering their alternative points of view. No one is necessarily seen as right or wrong in their views and the majority of the characters make valid points with their words and are completely understandable within the context of their background and personalities. The Ramprasand Brothers for example differ on the directions that they want to take Good Morning. Anil is somewhat avaricious and duplicitous in his methods (like poaching Ajith's entire management team) but he doesn't want to ignore the human elements towards business. Ajith is fascinated with Artificial Intelligence, partly because of the cost in hiring and firing human employees, but he is a benevolent employer. He trains Neha to head a new franchise and personally walks her through a speech.

Aryan and Neha are the two most interesting characters in the book. Aryan tries to implement many of the leadership goals into his daily life and notices when others,like the Prime Minister, seem to lack them. He is fascinated by how AI has evolved to the point that a neural network can be created of a person's personality and mindsets. He is also understandably nervous about the implications of humans being replaced. He is also a family man who is protective of his daughter who has Wilson's Disease.

By far the standout character in this ensemble is Neha. A feminist whose fiance has very backwards views towards women, Neha is determined to do her best at her job. When she is given her own franchise, later dubbed Warm Hugs, she is naturally excited about the prospect but nervous about the new responsibilities. She and Ajith have a sweet mentor-protegee relationship as he helps her prepare for her first meeting. She is the voice of any job seeker who is waiting for that big break and becomes a bundle of nerves when they receive it. However when given the chance, she brims with confidence and bright ideas that cause her to excel.

Of course The Unexpected Leader opens up about the terrifying clouds on the horizon including the possibility of artificial intelligence replacing everyone even those on the top administrative positions. If they get replaced, then there is no hope for the people on the bottom level. Then the whispers of a virus from China get louder, especially when some of the characters take a trip there and Aryan's daughter develops a troubling fever.

The Unexpected Leader shows the Reader the crossroads which businesses found themselves and are still inside. Sadhanad shows a world that is in the process of great change and will probably never be the same again.