‘Decisions’ is one of Robert L. Dilenschneider’s best selling books about business and professional advice. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Robert L. Dilenschneider has hired more than 3,000 successful professionals and advised thousands more. He is the founder of The Dilenschneider Group, a corporate strategic counseling and public relations firm based in New York City. Formerly president and CEO of Hill & Knowlton, he is the author of the bestselling books “A Briefing for Leaders,” “The Critical First Years of Your Professional Life,” “50 Plus! Critical Career Decisions for the Rest of Your Life,” “Decisions: Practical Advice from 23 Men and Women Who Shaped the World” and others. They all offer readers practical life and business advice for whatever stage in life they happen to be experiencing.
“Decisions: Practical Advice from 23 Men and Women Who Shaped the World” begins with a catchy sentence: ‘This book is intended to make your life better’ and it certainly delivers on its promise. Decisions are a part of everyday life for everyone, regardless of background. How people make decisions is critical to their future. This remarkable book focuses on twenty-three individual who made decisions that shaped the world and their stories stretch from 218 B.C to the present. It is divided into four parts which are in turn divided into individual chapters about a particular person and the most important decision he/she made. These are: Part One: War and Peace (Harry Truman, Elie Wiesel) Part Two: Commerce and Invention (Johann Gutenberg, Henry Ford) Part Three: Science (Marie Curie, Rachel Carson) and Part Four: Breaking Boundaries (Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln).
As a whole it analyzes not just the decision but provides background and history regarding the subject matter. The one major lesson to be learned is that many advances in civilization were made because most inventions, like the printing press, the automobile and general banking, were designed to reach everyone, not just the rich. This is turn made room for advances in society which is beneficial to growth. At the end of each chapter there is a decision section that summarizes the lessons readers can use in their own lives.
“The Critical First Years of Your Professional Life” is targeted to young people about to enter the real world of business and professional careers but the advice in these pages is invaluable to anyone, regardless of age or expertise. The Introduction gives a chapter by chapter synopsis to help readers focus on a specific topic. First off, it explains why the book is so important: because it is the paper or electronic version of a mentor in a world increasingly without any generous men and women who at one time would have helped young people entering the workforce. It also emphasizes the five goals in reading this helpful guide: 1)gaining self-knowledge 2)feeling empathy 3)presenting yourself well 4)retrieving information effectively and being informed and 5)solving problems. Standout chapters include: Networking, Making Allies of Your Elders and Image. The best part about this guide is that depending on what advice readers need, they can go back and re-read chapters on their own or if need be, read the whole book more than once because the information contained is ageless.
Lastly, “50 Plus! Critical Career Decisions for the Rest of Your Life” strives to help the more mature worker navigate the everchanging workforce rules. It emphasizes the importance of refreshing skillsets to meet the challenges of competing in today’s job market. The target audience “includes people who are highly accomplished and economically secure but intellectually bored or emotionally dissatisfied.” Some of the chapters include: The New Rules, Time to Change, On Your Own and Becoming a Consultant. Readers may be at a crossroads or unsure of how to proceed with the rest of their lives and this book gives helpful advise on finding a new career direction, growing within their current field, starting their own business or finally realizing a dream. Regardless of what they decide, the author ends by stating that retiring to just play golf or lay around the house is synonymous with giving up and that is never a good thing.
“Be ready to take criticism, and even ridicule and derision. Think about this as part of your decision process. Rather than turning away, be prepared to develop a thick hide.” – from “Decisions”
*The author received a copy of these books for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
Beth Ruggiero York is a former airline pilot for Trans World Airlines. She entered the world of civil aviation in 1984 shortly after graduating from college and, for the next five years, climbed the ladder to her ultimate goal of flying for a major airline. Now she has dual careers–Chinese translator and professional photographer. She teaches photography workshops for Arizona Highways PhotoScapes and her own company, Ruggiero Images LLC. Her popular instructional book on night photography, “Fun in the Dark: A Guide to Successful Night Photography” has worldwide sales and she also co-wrote “Everglades National Park: A Photographic Destination.” She originally wrote “Flying Alone: A Memoir” in the early 1990s, shortly after her career as a pilot ended and the memories were fresh. It relives the struggles and the challenges of civil aviation that she faced thirty years ago.
“Flying Alone” begins with a prologue titled ‘The Promise’ where Beth recalls the moment she knew she would someday learn to fly. She is fourteen and traveling alone for the first time to visit relatives in Colorado when she first experiences the thrill and excitement of flying in an airplane. From there the story picks up with a grown up Beth fueling airplanes for New England Flyers, a tiny flight school in Beverly, Massachusetts. She is working from the ground up to fulfill her dream of flying for the airlines, but the road ahead is a long one. Before any major airline will even look at her, she has to go through ground school, many hours of flight time, instrument rating, she has to get her pilot license and she must have up to three thousand hours of flying experience. It takes her five years and along the way, her dream of making it “in a man’s world” is complicated with a “probable” Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, a romantic relationship with her flight instructor, having to fly run-down airplanes and working for shady businesses whose only concern is making money. She finally makes it to the majors and begins working as Flight Engineer, or Second Officer, in the cockpit of a Boeing 727 for Trans World Airlines. In the Epilogue, she recounts how, after only a year, she is officially diagnosed with MS and can no longer qualify for the certification needed to keep her job. She goes back to school and graduates from Harvard and after completing the master’s program for Chinese Studies, she begins working as a Chinese to English translator.
Beth Ruggiero York’s “Flying Alone” is not only a memoir of her experiences while trying to become a commercial pilot, it is also an intriguing glimpse at the aviation world, including all the necessary regulations, the widespread problem of drunk pilots and what it takes to keep a business afloat. Aside from Chapter 5, ‘Instruments,’ where she describes the inner workings of an airplane, the language is easy to understand and the action flows easily. It is refreshing to read about how hard she worked and her determination to achieve her goals despite what must have felt like one disappointment after another. Even when she could not continue after her MS diagnosis, it is inspiring to read about how she turned that around and still managed to find a fulfilling job “I have continued to live the life I wanted, albeit a struggle.” The most exciting parts are when she is flying , her experiences with faulty equipment and, as in Chapter 26, ‘New Year’s Eve’ in icy and foggy conditions: “Halfway through the turn, Paul panicked. ‘What’re you doing?’ he yelled and grabbed the controls, putting the plane in an even steeper bank. Before I could grab it back from him, we were at a near stall, nose up.” “Flying Alone” is an inspiring story of one woman’s courage and determination to achieve her dreams despite overwhelming odds. It is recommended for readers who appreciate exciting first person accounts of personal struggles and victories.
*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
Tales From the Loop is available on Amazon Prime. Photo: google
Simon Stålenhag is a Swedish artist, musician and designer specializing in retro-futuristic digital images focused on nostalgic Swedish countryside alternate history environments. Most of Stålenhag’s artwork was initially only available online but was later released for sale as prints. Since then, it has been turned into two narrative art books, “Tales From the Loop” in 2014 and “Things From the Flood” in 2016. Both focus on the construction of a supermassive particle accelerator called the Loop. The settings of his artwork have formed the basis for the Amazon television drama series Tales From the Loop. All eight episodes of the first season were released simultaneously April 3 on Amazon Prime Video.
Tales From the Loop science fiction drama television series based on Simon Stålenhag’s art book. It explores the mind bending adventures of the people who live above the Loop, a machine built to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe. The machine is now making possible what was once considered science fiction. It stars Rebecca Hall as Loretta, Tyler Barnhardt as Danny Jansson and Daniel Zohlgadri as Jakob.
I have not read the book, but after watching the first two episodes, it is understandable why Amazon calls it “perfect for fans of E.T. and Stranger Things.” The series is set in the 80s and has that nostalgic look and feel that has recently become popular. With science fiction themes like time traveling, body swapping and robots, it appeals to fans of The Twilight Zone who appreciate mind-bending stories.
According to Amazon, “Tales From the Loop” is the first narrative artbook from acclaimed author and artist Simon Stålenhag about a fictionalized suburban town in the 1980s inhabited by fantastic machines and strange, imaginative beasts. In 1954, the Swedish government ordered the construction of the world’s largest particle accelerator. The facility was complete in 1969, located deep below the pastoral countryside of Mälaröarna. The local population called this marvel of technology The Loop. These are its strange tales. From the same author who wrote the imaginative artbook The Electric State, this “haunting,” (The Verge) “sophisticated sci-fi” (The Nerdist) follows the bizarre stories from otherworldly creatures and is a page-turner readers will not be able to put down.
‘If It Bleeds’ is Stephen King’s new collection of stories. Photo: google
Stephen King is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction and fantasy. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and many of them have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television shows and comic books. He is best known for “Carrie,” “It,” “The Green Mile” and the Dark Tower series. His new book “If It Bleeds,” a collection of novellas, was released yesterday and is available everywhere books are sold. Watch him read the first chapter on his site.
According to Amazon, from #1 New York Times bestselling author, legendary storyteller, and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary collection of four new and compelling novellas: Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat and the title story If It Bleeds; each pulling you into intriguing and frightening places.
The novella is a form King has returned to over and over again in the course of his amazing career. Several have been adapted into iconic films, including “The Body” (Stand By Me) and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (Shawshank Redemption). Like “Four Past Midnight,” “Different Seasons,” and most recently “Full Dark, No Stars,” “If It Bleeds” is a uniquely satisfying collection of longer short fiction by an incomparably gifted writer.
The television adaptation of Wally Lamb’s bestselling novel “I Know This Much Is True” premieres on HBO on May 10. Photo: google
Wally Lamb is an American author of several novels including “I’ll Take You There,” “She’s Come Undone” and “I Know This Much Is True;” the last two were both selected for Oprah’s Book Club. He was the director of the Writing Center at Norwich Free Academy in Norwich and has taught Creative Writing in the English Department at the University of Connecticut. “I Know This Much Is True” is the bestselling novel about identical brothers Dominick Birdsey and Thomas Birdsey, who suffers from schizophrenia. Dominick struggles to take care of his twin brother while discovering the truth about his own family. It has been adapted into a limited television series that will air on HBO and premieres on Sunday May 10. Mark Ruffalo stars in the double role of Dominick and Thomas.
According to Amazon, in “I Know This Much Is True,” Dominick Birdsey, is a forty-year-old housepainter living in Three Rivers, Connecticut. He finds his subdued life suddenly disturbed when his identical twin brother Thomas, a paranoid schizophrenic, commits a shocking act of self-mutilation. Dominick is forced to care for his brother as well as confront dark secrets and pain he has buried deep within himself—a journey of the soul that takes him beyond his blue-collar New England town to Sicily’s Mount Etna, the birthplace of his grandfather and namesake. Coming to terms with his life and lineage, Dominick struggles to find forgiveness and finally rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his troubled twin.
‘No Truth Left to Tell’ is the exciting debut novel by attorney Michael McAuliffe. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Michael McAuliffe has practiced law for over 30 years, including as a federal prosecutor, a trial attorney for the civil rights division of the Department of Justice and an elected state attorney in Florida. In his debut novel, “No Truth Left to Tell,” federal civil rights prosecutor Adrien Rush travels to small town Lynwood Louisiana to investigate an incident of four flaming crosses by the Ku Klux Klan meant to terrorize the southern town and start a new race war. He joins forces with Lee Mercer, a seasoned local FBI special agent and their partnership is tested as they clash over how far to go to catch the racists before the violence escalates.
“No Truth Left to Tell” begins with a Prologue set in Lynwood, Louisiana in July 1920 where a young black girl, Nettie Wynn, witnesses the horror of a lynching. In present day Lynwood, 1994, the quiet little town is about to be shattered by the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. They want to start a new race war and proceed to carry out a series of cross burnings at the local NAACP office, the courthouse, a home in the black neighborhood of Mooretown, a synagogue and an Islamic center. An elderly Nettie Wynn is the unfortunate victim in Mooretown and as a lifelong resident, these hate crimes bring back dreadful memories of her youth and unfortunately she suffers a heart attack. Her granddaughter Nicole DuBose, a successful journalist in New York City, returns to Lynwood to take care of her grandmother. Federal prosecutor Adrien Rush and Lee Mercer, a local FBI agent lead the investigation into the cross burnings without much luck until a local detective, Jimmy Batiste, arrests the Klan’s new grand dragon Frank Daniels and coerces a confession out of him. Frank is convicted but years later the truth surfaces about how Batiste got the confession and now the town is faced with an ethical dilemma: seeking justice for victims of hate crimes versus who truly deserves a “fair” trial.
Some of the best legal thrillers revolve around ethical dilemmas that make an easy conviction hard to obtain. Such is the case with “No Truth Left to Tell,” Michael McAuliffe’s excellent debut novel about a civil rights case in the Deep South. The courtroom drama is interesting and written without any complicated legal terms so it is easy to follow. Being himself a climber, the author uses plenty of climbing metaphors throughout: “A climber who’s given an extra bottle of oxygen in the death zone on Everest gratefully makes use of it” and regular metaphors as well “The Klansman’s strained breaths dissipated through the car’s interior like the smoky remains of a cheap cigar” both of which make the story really come alive. Foreshadowing is rarely used in modern novels but here it successfully builds the climax “Gill and Mercer both laughed, oblivious to the land mine that awaited.” The characters are relatable and well developed, especially Adrien Rush. This is a fascinating page-turner recommended for John Grisham fans. Hopefully this will turn into a series of novels featuring federal civil rights prosecutor Adrien Rush; he is an intriguing character and readers deserve more of his stories.
“It can’t be some truth you’re selling; it has to be the only truth with nothing left to tell.”
*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
What I remember first about that day was the sound of a sickening thud. It was blended almost imperceptibly with the screeching of tires, both before and after the thud. I had been in the backyard, watering our cherished potted plants and flowering shrubs. As soon as I heard the screech, I dropped the plastic watering bucket and tore down the driveway toward the front yard, thanking God that the electric wrought-iron gate was open, and praying that Mary Louise was not the source of the street sounds.
Although it wasn’t but 150 feet or so from the backyard to the street, it seemed that I was moving in slow motion through a much longer distance. Our neighbor to the right as we faced the street was kneeling down over a small blue lump. I remember initially thinking it was a neighborhood cat or dog with a sweater but as I neared the scene, I saw that the blue lump was Bobbie’s son, Stevie.
Bobbie was screaming, “OH, GOD! Oh, God! Jim Bob, is he all right? OH, GOD, JIM BOB, PLEASE LET HIM BE ALL RIGHT!”
Stevie was not all right. I felt his little ten-year-old wrist for a pulse. Nothing. I felt his left carotid artery. Nothing. I considered rolling him over on his back but was afraid that if he were in shock and not dead, I could paralyze him if his spine were fractured. Some of the other neighbors had arrived by then. I yelled for someone to call 911.
“Can’t you give him mouth-to-mouth or something?” Bobbie had yelled. “You’re a doctor, for God’s sake! DO something! Oh, please, do SOMETHING!” I felt helpless and wished I could do something. Anything. A mother was losing her child, and all my years of medical training were, at that particular moment, useless. I waited with her and tried to keep her from moving Stevie. But how can you keep a mother from trying to shelter, protect, hide, and heal her child? Mostly, I waited with her and Stevie, feeling for his carotid pulse repeatedly, though my touch would not restore it.
It seemed like an eternity before the Houston Fire Department arrived, although later my neighbors would tell me it was only four or five minutes. The paramedics were affected as much as I was by the slight, crushed bundle. Although there was, thankfully, little external bleeding, they must have sensed the lifelessness when they stabilized his neck before gently moving him onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. He seemed so tiny to me as the paramedics deftly intubated Stevie and started an IV running. It appeared they injected his heart, probably with epinephrine, before they electroshocked him. A heartbeat did not register on the monitor.
As I rode in the ambulance with Bobbie and the paramedics, I thanked God that Mary Louise was not the one being resuscitated. I vaguely remembered her running outside during the commotion. Knowing her and her composure and intelligence, she probably had called 911 before I had time to give those instructions. Her gentle hand had rested briefly on my shoulder as little Stevie was loaded into the ambulance. A great woman, my wife. I was glad our only son, J. J., was away at college. At least he couldn’t get run over in front of our house.
“You’re a doc?” asked the least-busy paramedic in the ambulance. I nodded. “Jim Bob Brady.”
All three continued to work on Stevie, attaching monitors, pushing IV drugs, and occasionally using the paddles to try to stimulate his heart into beating.
“What kind?” one of the other paramedics asked.
I thought that was a helluva time to be making small talk. Dead child, or presumably dead child. Mother, semi-hysterical, clinging to me. Ambulance speeding down Kirby, sirens blaring. Who cared what kind of doctor I was! Obviously, not a very good one. I had done nothing to help save that child. At that moment, I felt I should be anything but a doctor.
“Orthopedic surgeon, although this doesn’t seem the time to discuss my career,” I snapped. The comment ensured a silent journey the remaining five or six minutes to Children’s Hospital.
Poor guys. We all become too calloused in the medical and surgical business, seeing murder, mayhem, and tragedy the way we do. But this was my neighbor’s child, and I felt for her. And him. And me.
Fortunately, the traffic was light that Saturday afternoon. Normally, Fannin Street was stop-and-go in the several blocks known as the Texas Medical Center. As the ambulance pulled into the emergency center, people seemed to be everywhere. An injured child draws considerable attention—not that adults don’t, but the Children’s Hospital staff was impressively organized, showing efficiency, compassion, and skill. Within the next thirty minutes or so, they had examined little Stevie and pronounced him dead. Apparently, the trauma team was composed of not only medical personnel but of social workers, ministers, and counselors. Bobbie was shattered, requiring sedation. She was attended to, and I was left to give details of the accident. I fended questions regarding arrangements for the body and all the usual accompanying inquiries in such a situation.
I begged off from the full-frontal assault, explaining that I was a neighbor and had come along for the ride because I was a doctor, in case I could help. No, I didn’t know anything, but if I could make a few calls, I could find some people to answer their questions.
I left the holding area in the back of the emergency room and returned to the lobby through the electric double doors. I assumed the personnel on duty had allowed me to remain in the NO VISITORS area because they had heard from the paramedics that I was a physician. I was surprised, dressed as I was in baggy shorts and a not-so-clean T-shirt. I had been dressed for gardening, not doctoring and death.
The lobby was fairly empty except for a few sick children and their overwrought parents. Not wanting to search for a physician’s lounge and the privacy it would afford, and having left my cell phone at home in the rush, I used a pay phone to call home. I had to borrow a quarter from a phone neighbor.
“Hello?”
“It’s me.”
“How are you holding up?” Mary Louise asked.
“I’m all right, other than feeling useless. Stevie’s dead. Seems he was killed instantly. The chief pediatric surgeon thinks his chest was crushed. Ruptured heart. They’ll have to do an autopsy to know for sure. Bobbie collapsed. They have her on a gurney in one of the exam rooms, sedated. They’ve been incredibly kind and attentive.”
“I feel so sorry for her. Is anyone else there yet?”
“Well, that’s one reason I called. The hospital staff is asking all kinds of questions. The police will want to talk to witnesses. Someone needs to be here who knows more about their personal lives and preferences than I do. Do you know where Pete is?”
“He’s on his way from his office. He’s involved in some big trial that starts Monday. At least that’s what the Mullens told me. I called a few of the neighbors, and they called a few more people, and so on. You know how the network is around here. Bobbie’s sister should be there soon, and Pete, God help him, should be there any minute.” She paused. “Do you want me to come and get you?”
Great, Brady, I thought, you even forgot you have no car.
“No, that’s all right. I’m going to hang out here until I see Pete, or someone else I recognize, and see if I can help out with anything. I’ll see you as soon as I can. Oh, one more thing. I love you. For a long five seconds or so, I thought it might have been you out in the street.”
“I’m still here, sweetie. I love you, too.”
As Stevie’s dad Pete and the others arrived, I basically directed traffic and answered their questions as best I could. When I felt that I had done enough, I walked outside. The paramedics were still hanging around the emergency entrance. I apologized for my rudeness in the ambulance, but they seemed to understand. They kindly offered me a ride home.
On the way, two of the men sat in the back with me and made small talk about the medical world. I asked if either of them smoked. They looked at each other, laughed, then individually brought out their own packs of carcinogens. As we all lit up, I hoped that the oxygen had been turned off.
John Bishop MD is the author of “Act of Murder: A Doc Brady Mystery.” Dr. Bishop has practiced orthopedic surgery in Houston, Texas for 30 years. His Doc Brady medical thriller series is set in the changing environment of medicine in the 1990s. Drawing on his years of experience as a practicing surgeon, Bishop entertains readers using his unique insights into the medical world with all its challenges, intricacies, and complexities, while at the same time revealing the compassion and dedication of health care professionals.
‘Fly, Butterfly’ is Annicken R. Day’s debut novel. Photo: google
Annicken R. Day is the founder and CEO of Corporate Spring, co-author of the book “Creative Superpowers,” public speaker, executive advisor and a passionate maverick for new ways of thinking, working and leading in the new world of work. After fifteen years as a leader and executive in the IT industry, Annicken jumped off the corporate treadmill in 2012 to start her own company, Corporate Spring, with a mission to make the corporate world a happier place. Since then she and her team have helped and trained thousands of leaders around the world on how to build thriving corporate cultures, high performing teams and successful businesses. “Fly, Butterfly,” Annicken R. Day’s debut novel, is the personal and professional metamorphosis story about Maya Williams, an ambitious, stressed-out New York businesswoman who is stymied on her way up the corporate ladder by sexist executives.
“Fly, Butterfly” begins as New York businesswoman Maya Williams, Vice President of sales, is getting ready to board a plane to Honolulu to give her monthly presentation to Technoguard, Inc.’s executive team. Her team sells cybersecurity to several companies but when she gets intel that there is a bug in their system, she is forced to share the information with her boss. Instead of taking the information and trying to fix the bug before the big meeting, her boss insists she disregard the information. During the presentation, she does the unthinkable and admits to prospective investors that they should hold off until the bug is fixed. Confident that she has committed career suicide, she decides to stay on the island a while longer. During this time, she learns to chill and meets people who open her eyes to different ways of thinking, being, living and ultimately, working. When she goes back to New York as a transformed person, she decides to apply the lessons she learned to the company she leads. Her goal is to make it into a kind of utopia that is actually normal in other developed nations that have healthy, happy and productive citizens.
Annicken R. Day’s debut novel combines motivational and inspirational lessons with one woman’s journey from burnt out executive to enlightened leader who transforms her workplace culture. The author brings her message across in an easy to read manner that makes this a definite page-turner. In beautiful descriptive language: “Large, colorful bushes separated the intensely green lawn from the sand, and behind it was the crystal blue ocean for as far as I could see. It looked like diamonds were dancing in its waves” she successfully paints a picture of Hawaii’s magnificence. The characters are well developed but there is no real background information on the father, who pops up every now and then; this would help readers better understand his influence on Maya, just like her mother influenced her. One has to wonder why someone so supposedly put together and intelligent would be sloppy with her love life, i.e. not very confident, but luckily she gets her happily ever after. Among the many people she meets along her journey, the standout is Josh, the surfer dude she first meets after that disastrous meeting. “I glanced over at Josh. I couldn’t help thinking that he was one of the most beautiful men I had ever seen, like a blond Greek god. He looked very young, maybe twenty-seven. Yet something about him felt very old.” He is the first of many who teach her life lessons but at the end she finds out through the locals that he died the previous year in a surfing accident. It is rare for a book to elicit such an emotional response but considering the world’s current situation, it serves as a reminder to set priorities and strive for a well-balanced life. “Fly, Butterfly” is an inspirational story about how lives can be transformed when people learn to follow their passion and heart to enrichen their personal and professional lives.
*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
The San Antonio Book Festival brings together readers and writers to celebrate the literary world. Photo: San Antonio Book Festival, used with permission.
The San Antonio Book Festival was supposed to take place this April 4 but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 health crisis. The festival would still like to encourage people to read while at home during this time of social distancing and quarantine. They have put together a list of recommended books for adults as well as options for parents to provide for their children while homeschooling. (San Antonio Book Festival, 2020)
If You Feel Like Confronting the Pandemic Head-On:
Fiction:
– “Cold Storage” by David Koepp
– “The Memory Police” by Yoko Ogawa
– “Severance” by Ling Ma
– “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel
– “The Dog Stars” by Peter Heller
Nonfiction:
– “Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World” by Laura Spinney
If You’d Rather Be Distracted:
Fiction:
– “The Jetsetters” by Amanda Eyre Ward
– “A Good Neighborhood” by Therese Anne Fowler
– “Simon the Fiddler” by Paulette Jiles
Nonfiction:
– “The Hunt for History” by Nathan Raab
– “The Falcon Thief” by Joshua Hammer
– “The Rumi Prescription” by Melody Moezzi
For Kids/Teens Stuck at Home:
Kids:
– “Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom” by Louis Sachar
– “Prairie Lotus” by Linda Sue Park
– “Amal Unbound” by Aisha Saeeed
Teens:
– “Tigers, Not Daughters” by Samantha Mabry
– “The Hand on the Wall” by Maureen Johnson
– “Bull” by David Elliott
The mission of the San Antonio Book Festival (SABF) is to unite readers and writers in a celebration of ideas, books, libraries, and literary culture. SABF was first presented in April 2013. Founding partners include the San Antonio Public Library, the Southwest School of Art, the San Antonio Public Library Foundation, and Texas Book Festival. This “Fiesta for the mind” is a gift to visitors and the citizens of San Antonio, free and open to all.
Sara Winokur’s ‘Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders’ is the geneticist’s debut novel and will be available on Tuesday March 31. Photo: google
Sara Winokur is a Ph.D. molecular geneticist and the author of the Icelandic mystery, “Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders.” In the past, she has worked on DNA analysis of human genetic diseases and she was part of the team that discovered the genes associated with Muscular Dystrophy, Huntington’s Disease, and Dwarfism. Dozens of her articles have been published in scientific journals. Her research has appeared in Human Molecular Genetics, Nature Genetics and Cell Stem Cell. Sara remains a well-respected figure in the scientific community. (Black Château, 2020)
Twenty years after a young boy disappears in the chill of North Iceland, a mysterious poem lands on the desk of his twin sister Brynja, a forensic geneticist, and rekindles her hopes that her brother might be alive. As Brynja unravels the clues, more poems arrive, each bearing dire consequences for those who receive them: the guard of the medieval manuscript of Icelandic sagas that possibly has the answer to her burning question, the prime minister’s secretary and the local pastor. Fighting the visual auras that have plagued her since childhood and now threaten everything she holds dear, Brynja must summon the strength to navigate the twisted labyrinth of the poet’s mind and confront the dark secret buried in her family’s past. Dubbed “a riveting mystery tale with a compelling lead character” by Kirkus Reviews, “Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders” immerses the reader in the surreal landscapes and rich culture of Iceland. It is a wild ride from rural farmsteads to icy fjords to the high-tech world of DNA forensics lead by a strong female character.
“Because I’m so passionate about travel, culture, and landscapes, it can’t help but be a big part of my writing. When I wrote Double Blind, I tried to integrate the science of genetics and Icelandic culture with the story,” – Sara Winokur.
“Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders” is available on pre-order in digital version on Amazon and will be officially released on March 31, 2020.
SA Examiner 