‘Roar Like a Goddess’ is the new book by Acharya Shunya. Photo: Amazon
Acharya Shunya is a truth teller who facilitates authenticity, self-remembrance, and Divine Feminine pathways to awakening within. The first female head of her 2,000-year-old Indian spiritual lineage, Shunya reinterprets and recontextualizes ancient teachings for modern times, empowering people everywhere to lead fulfilled, fearless, and enlightened lives. She is president of The Awakened Self Foundation in California and author of “Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom” and “Sovereign Self.” Her new book “Roar Like a Goddess: Every Woman’s Guide to Becoming Unapologetically Powerful, Prosperous, and Peaceful” is a rallying cry for women everywhere to break free from the shackles of patriarchy and awaken their true nature, brought to life through India’s primary goddess archetypes. The release date is September 6, 2022. (Amazon, 2022)
“Roar Like a Goddess” – Within you is a wellspring of strength and resilience, the ability to create and enjoy abundance, and an expansive sense of inner freedom and divinity. Yet after centuries of living in patriarchal societies, many women do not realize how powerful they are―or how much they have been enculturated to keep their true nature hidden. “In Roar Like a Goddess,” trailblazing Vedic spiritual teacher Acharya Shunya empowers women everywhere to step into their divine immensity and lead powerful, abundant, and wise lives through her revolutionary revisioning of ancient India’s primary goddess archetypes: Goddess Durga, Goddess Lakshmi, and Goddess Saraswati.
Throughout “Roar Like a Goddess” Shunya honors her progressive Vedic roots while breaking the shackles of tradition to bring modern-day women an inclusive, feminist spirituality. Sharing classic myths, original insights, and empowering practices, Shunya offers a profound process for awakening the many faces of goddess within. “It is time for all women to come out of the closet and roar with all their spiritual power,” she writes, “because that is our true sound.”
‘Unfear: Transform Your Organization to Create Breakthrough Performance and Employee Well-Being’ by Gaurav Bhatnagar and Mark Minukas of Co-Creation Partners. Photo: Sandra Cruz
Gaurav Bhatnagar is the founder of Co-Creation Partners and has dedicated more than two decades to helping companies thrive and achieve breakthrough performance. Since founding Co-Creation Partners in 2010, he has designed and led programs and workshops for private, public, and social-sector clients across multiple industries, including financial services, basic materials, manufacturing, healthcare, and technology. Mark Minukas has worked across multiple industries, including financial services, high tech, biotech manufacturing, IT services, and governmental offices to deliver both top-and bottom-line improvements and build high-performing operations. As co-authors of “Unfear: Transform Your Organization to Create Breakthrough Performance and Employee Well-Being,” these top experts on high-performing organizations show you how to reframe your, and your employees,’ relationship with fear and anxiety to create a learning culture of engaged workers at the top of their game. (Amazon, 2022)
“Unfear” – Fear and uncertainty have been undermining performance and well-being in the workplace for as long as we have had workplaces. Mismanaged fear is responsible for almost all of the dysfunction that most organizations experience. While fear can drive short-term results, it does so at the cost of high employee burnout and turnover. It also undermines long-term business performance. We can not eradicate it entirely; it is inherent to the human condition. Winning organizations are not fear-free; they know how to reframe fear into opportunities for learning and growth. They create resilient cultures of unfear. This book is divided into two parts: Part I: Fear with chapters such as Biology of Fear and Unfear and EightFear Archetypes in the Workplace and Part II: Unfear and includes chapters on Unfear Transformation and The Unfear Organization. In the Introduction, the authors explain how it is divided: the first part explores fear including its impact and the different ways in which it is expressed in an organization and the second part explores unfear and how to bring about an unfear transformation. This timely and essential guide shows leaders the impact of fear, the strategies and actions needed to bring about an unfear organization, and so much more.
Fear is a natural part of life and therefore impossible to avoid. Instead of hiding from it, we should learn to not only live with it, but learn how to use it to our advantage in every day life, including in the business world. In their book ‘Unfear,’ the authors define the different types of fear and offer advice on how to ‘unfear’ – to shift our relationship with fear and use it as a tool to learn and grow. It is an extremely useful and easy to read business guide that uses down to earth language that does not include too much business jargon. Highlights include Chapter 2: Biology of Fear and Unfear that explains the biology of fear and its importance “In order to live as an unfear individual, you need to understand the evolutionary function of fear and how it can cause dysfunction in the modern world,” Chapter 3: Eight Fear Archetypes in the Workplace, and Chapter 7: The Unfear Organization which emphasizes the need to control fear mindset in the workplace “Instead of cohesion and focus, it [fear] leads to second-guessing, indifference, and wasteful internal politics.” This proven approach to workplace anxiety reduces stress, boosts engagement, and overcomes obstacles that get in the way of success. In the long run, it leads to personal rewards, greater profits, and sustainable growth which is only possible with a culture of unfear. ‘Unfear’ is an excellent guide for recognizing and overcoming fear not only in our personal lives but in the workplace. It is recommended for readers who appreciate self help and enrichment books as well as books on workplace culture, business, and human resources.
“Look forward rather than backward. Don’t dwell too much on why something went wrong. Instead, recognize the value in reflection and diagnostics, but keep most of your focus on solutions and the future.”
*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
‘Aurora’ is the new novel by David Koepp. Photo: Amazon
David Koepp is a celebrated American screenwriter who has written more than two dozen feature films in a wide variety of genres, including the first two Jurassic Park films, Death Becomes Her, Carlito’s Way, The Paper, Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man, Panic Room, War of the Worlds, Angels and Demons, Inferno, and Kimi. Some of the films he has both written and directed are Stir of Echoes, Secret Window, Ghost Town, and Premium Rush, the latter two co-written with John Kamps. Koepp is also the author of the novel “Cold Storage.” In his new book “Aurora: A Novel,” a worldwide cataclysm plays out in the lives of one complicated Midwestern family. It will soon be a major motion picture from Netflix and Academy-Award winning director Kathryn Bigelow. (Amazon, 2022)
“Aurora” – In Aurora, Illinois, Aubrey Wheeler is just trying to get by after her semi-criminal ex-husband split, leaving behind his unruly teenage son. Then the lights go out—not just in Aurora but across the globe. A solar storm has knocked out power almost everywhere. Suddenly, all problems are local, very local, and Aubrey must assume the mantle of fierce protector of her suburban neighborhood. Across the country lives Aubrey’s estranged brother, Thom. A fantastically wealthy, neurotically over-prepared Silicon Valley CEO, he plans to ride out the crisis in a gilded desert bunker he built for maximum comfort and security. But the complicated history between the siblings is far from over, and what feels like the end of the world is just the beginning of several long-overdue reckonings—which not everyone will survive . Aurora is suspenseful storytelling—both large scale and small—at its finest.
‘The Memory Index’ is Julian R. Vaca’s new young adult novel. Photo: Amazon
Julian R. Vaca has been a creative writer for over a decade. He is a staff writer on PBS’s Reconnecting Roots, a nationally broadcast show that drew in millions of viewers over its first two seasons. He is also the co-writer of Pencil Test, a feature-length documentary with Disney animation legend Tom Bancroft as executive producer. In his new speculative Young Adult science fiction novel “The Memory Index,” the world treats memories like currency, so dreams can be a complicated business. Perfect for fans of Neal Stephenson and Philip K. Dick. (Amazon, 2022)
“The Memory Index” – In an alternative 1987, a disease ravages human memories. There is no cure, only artificial recall. The lucky ones—the recollectors—need the treatment only once a day. Freya Izquierdo is not one of those. The high school senior is a “degen” who needs artificial recall several times a day. Plagued by blinding half-memories that take her to her knees, she is desperate to remember everything that will help her investigate her father’s violent death. When her sleuthing almost lands her in jail, a shadowy school dean selects her to attend his Foxtail Academy, where five hundred students will trial a new tech said to make artificial recall obsolete. She is the only degen on campus. Why was she chosen? Freya is nothing like the other students, not even her new friends Ollie, Chase, and the alluring Fletcher Cohen. Definitely not at all like the students who start to vanish, one by one. And nothing like the mysterious Dean Mendelsohn, who has a bunker deep in the woods behind the school. Nothing can prepare Freya and her friends for the truth of what that bunker holds and what kind of memories she will have to access to in order to survive
‘Assassin’s Lullaby’ by Mark Rubinstein in an interesting examination of the human condition as it pertains to an assassin. Photo: Amazon
Mark Rubinstein MDis a practicing psychiatrist in New York City and an author. Before turning to fiction, Rubinstein coauthored five medical self-help books: “The First Encounter: The Beginnings in Psychotherapy,” “The Complete Book of Cosmetic Facial Surgery,” “New Choices: the Latest Options in Treating Breast Cancer,” “Heartplan: A Complete Program for Total Fitness of Heart & Mind,” and “The Growing Years: A Guide to Your Child’s Emotional Development from Birth to Adolescence.” His first novel “Mad Dog House” was named a finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Book Of The Year Award for suspense/thriller novels. His latest novel “Assassin’s Lullaby” is about a former assassin turned contract killer.
“Assassin’s Lullaby” – in every life, there lurks catastrophe. So believes Eli Dagan, a thirty-nine-year-old man whose traumatic past led to his service as an assassin for the Mossad. He now lives in New York City, where under various assumed names he is a contract killer. The story begins as Eli is walking down the street, always on alert mode “Knowing his life depends on stealth, Eli Dagan moves warily with the tide of pedestrians streaming along East Forty-Second Street.” He is on his way to a meeting with Anton Gorlov, the head of the Brooklyn-based Odessa mafia, who has a new and challenging assignment for him. Gorlov wants to leave the country permanently, so all loose ends must be eliminated. He is willing to pay $1 million for a task that is divided into two parts. The job involves extreme measures along with unprecedented danger for Eli, who has lived a ghostly existence over the last ten years. Eli knows this assignment has its dangers, but deep inside he wonders if it is a way to make up for the past. For the first time since his pregnant wife and parents were killed by a suicide bomber years earlier, he is facing challenges that will reconnect him with his damaged past and may yet offer hope for a new and better life. Questioning the meaning of his life, he wants out but this is the only life he has known and for a brief moment, he gets a glimpse of a better life. His story ends on a hopeful note and even though he is still not sure of what the future holds for him, he remains optimistic.
Sometimes assassins are viewed as inhuman and incapable of feeling any emotions, but Mark Rubinstein makes Eli Dagan seem almost human with fears and insecurities, just like everyone else. The character development is excellent and it gives Eli’s background on what drove him to chose the life he did; he started killing only evil people as revenge for what happened to his family years ago but now he just kills for profit and power. He wants to leave the country, to start over somewhere else but the pull of what he has become is too hard to resist. The language is at times poetic and beautiful, “The bare sycamore branches sway in the wind and cast dancing shadows on the street” and a sharp contrast to the subject matter. Highlights include Chapter 41 because of the detailed description of the fight scenes and Chapter 74 when Eli ponders his last victim’s final words “Death waits for us all, and I have no fear of it” and resigns himself to receive whatever life brings him. The chapters are short and to the point, which helps the pacing of the story. Some of the details of Eli’s hits might be too graphic for some readers but they convey a CSI-like narrative. With themes of nature vs. nurture and good vs. evil, “Assassin’s Lullaby” is a fascinating novel and hard to put down because it gives readers a rare view inside the mind of an assassin for hire including his internal conflicts and fears: “Is killing evil people no more than an anemic attempt to try forgiving himself for the life he’s led because he can never be absolved from his crimes, his sins that are too many to count?” It is recommended for readers who enjoy suspense thrillers that revolve around an anti hero and in this case even though Eli is an assassin, readers can sympathize with his plight and in the end might even root for him to get his life together.
“Because it seems there’s no coming back from what he’s become and there’s no way to renounce a life brimming with bitterness, with grief, and with rage so monstrous it consumes his every waking moment.”
*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
‘What’s So Great About Books Anyways?’ by Matt Hoag is a resource for teachers to help motivate children to read. Photo: Amazon
Matt Hoag is a first time author and an elementary teacher. He has a master’s degree in education and lives in Pennsylvania. Matt believes that education should be open, creative, and that there are many different ways to learn. Keep reading! His new book “What’s So Great About Books Anyway?” is a children’s book that revolves around Sam and his journey as he discovers the joys of reading. (Matt Hoag, 2022)
“What’s So Great About Books, Anyway?” – There is nothing good about books! At least that is what Sam thinks. Sam has never been a good reader, but a special librarian shows him that does not mean that he should just give up. As Sam’s self-esteem and confidence grow, the black and white world of literature opens up to a world bursting with color all because he is trying.
This book is a useful tool to show children that if they try they can do many things. This book is also designed to promote acceptance and understanding through the various characters and illustrations. Follow Sam through his journey as he discovers the wonderful world of reading in this wonderfully illustrated story.
The movie adaptation of ‘Bullet Train’ is now on theaters and stars Brad Pitt. Photo: Amazon
Kotaro Isaka is a bestselling and multi-award-winning Japanese writer whose books have sold millions of copies around the world. He has won the Shincho Mystery Club Award, Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Japan Booksellers’ Award and the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize. His book “Bullet Train” is a dark, satirical thriller that follows the perilous train ride of five highly motivated assassins. It was adapted into a major film from Sony starring Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martínez Ocasio, and more. (Amazon, 2022)
“Bullet Train” – Satoshi—The Prince—looks like an innocent schoolboy but he is really a stylish and devious assassin. Risk fuels him, as does a good philosophical debate, such as questioning: Is killing really wrong? Kimura’s young son is in a coma thanks to The Prince, and Kimura has tracked him onto a bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka to exact his revenge. But Kimura soon discovers that they are not the only dangerous passengers on board. Nanao, also nicknamed Ladybug, the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world,” is put on the bullet train by his boss, a mysterious young woman called Maria, to steal a suitcase full of money and get off at the first stop. The lethal duo of Tangerine and Lemon are also traveling to Morioka, and the suitcase leads others to show their hands. Why are they all on the same train, and who will make it off alive? A bestseller in Japan, “Bullet Train” is an original and propulsive thriller that fizzes with incredible energy as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwinds up to the last station.
This past weekend I got the chance to watch Bullet Train and I was surprised to learn that it is based on a book. I have not read the book but from reading up on it, there are some obvious differences. Considering that the source is a Japanese novel, The Prince is a boy in the book but a white girl in the movie and Nanao, one of the assassins, is also white and portrayed by Brad Pitt. This does not bother me in the least and I prefer to focus on the story. It is an action comedy movie that reminds me of Deadpool and Quentin Tarantino movies like Kill Bill because of the dark humor and the insane amount of killing and blood involved but without going overboard. The plot twists and surprises keep it interesting and the fact that it takes place on a bullet train foreshadows the momentum of the action. Overall, it is a fun movie, plenty of action and comedy and not too long with a run time of a little over two hours.
Best-selling author will be appearing at this year’s Texas Book Festival in November. Photo: Texas Book Festival
Texas Book Festival is proud to host author Janet Evanovich, “the most popular mystery writer alive” (NYT) and author of 42 New York Times bestsellers, as she presents her new novel, “Going Rogue,” on Sunday,November 6 at 2:30p.m., at the 2022 Texas Book Festival. With “Going Rogue,” the mega-bestselling author returns with the latest book in her massively popular Stephanie Plum series. (Texas Book Festival, 2022)
Book tickets to see this beloved author are now available. Each book ticket includes one copy of “Going Rogue” and admits one person to the conversation and the book signing session. Proceeds from book ticket sales support the annual Festival and our year-round literacy programs, as well as keep the Festival free. A book signing session will immediately follow the event.
Texas Book Festival First Baptist Church 901 Trinity St. Austin, TX 78701
BOOK TICKET: $37 | Includes one copy of Going Rogue and admission to the session and the signing line. SEATING: Seating for book ticket holders will open at 1:45p.m on Sunday, November 6. Book tickets are required to attend this session. SIGNING: A book signing session will follow the event on-site.
Over the last twenty-six years, Janet Evanovich has written a staggering forty-two New York Times bestsellers. In addition to her #1 bestselling Stephanie Plum novels and many other popular books, Janet is the author of “The Recovery Agent,” the start of a blockbuster new series.
‘Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo’ by Max Wareham will be released August 23, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Whether on archaeological digs or translating medieval poetry, the past has always been a north star for banjo player Max Wareham. Following years of performance with the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Wareham digs into the early history of bluegrass music with his debut book, “Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo,” which presents an intricate and surprising portrait of a nearly forgotten master. It will be released on Tuesday August 23, 2022. (Max Wareham, 2022)
“I began this project as a way to root my own playing more firmly in the tradition,” explains Wareham, “but quickly came to realize that despite Rudy’s tremendous influence on the development of bluegrass music, he’s been nearly forgotten.” What began as a music instruction book of banjo tablature became a deep dive into Lyle’s impact on an entire genre of music and generations of banjo players.
“Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo” paints a vivid picture of the life and musical significance of the early bluegrass giant. The book features exhaustive and largely never-before-published transcriptions and analyses of every break Lyle recorded with Bill Monroe, the “father of bluegrass.” Lyle’s historical significance is explored in the final interviews given by late banjo legends Sonny Osborne and Bill Emerson, as well as interviews with several other prominent banjo players and members of Lyle’s family. Beautiful portraits of each interviewee are included alongside several never-before-published photos of Lyle himself.
In addition to the 19 main transcriptions, the book features chapters on Rudy’s style and its historical importance, his approach to backup playing, a thorough comparison of his breaks on every alternate take of Monroe’s classic “Raw Hide,” and several live transcriptions from before and after his time as a Blue Grass Boy.
Fans of bluegrass music, banjo players, and curious readers can pre-order “Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo” ahead of its August 23 release date.
Title: “Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo” ISBN: 364215376135191 Pages: 148 Publisher: Gateless Gate Music Publishing
Max Wareham studied with banjo masters Tony Trischka and Bill Keith and was introduced as a significant voice on the instrument with the release of Peter Rowan’s latest album, Calling You From My Mountain, on which he plays banjo and sings harmony. Prior to joining the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Wareham taught music extensively, played bass with the psych-pop outfit Sun Parade, and wrote songs and produced several albums under various aliases. Much of his work in bluegrass and education is focused on early bluegrass banjo styles and how they can offer alternative paths to expression within the bluegrass idiom
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‘Still On Fire: A Memoir’ is Renee Linnell’s new book due out on August 16, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Renee Linnell is a serial entrepreneur who has founded or cofounded five companies and has an MBA from New York University. Before that she was a model and professional dancer. Having an unorthodox childhood and being surrounded by death at a young age led her on a spiritual quest that took her all over the world, culminating in her ordination as a Buddhist monk. What began as writing for catharsis in 2013—as she struggled to regain her sanity after being brainwashed in a Buddhist cult—turned into her first memoir, “The Burn Zone: A Memoir.” “Still on Fire” is the sequel. Her mission is to remind people Who They Truly Are and to reignite their passion for being alive. It will be released Tuesday August 16, 2022. (Renee Linnell, 2022)
I have a confession to make: I’m not very good at being human. I still can’t figure it out. For the life of me, I cannot figure out other people, and even after all these years of trying, I can’t figure out myself. And maybe that’s the whole point. Maybe that’s what makes life dynamic and thrilling. I’m not sure. Maybe “I’m not sure” is the answer to all of it.
I have noticed that anytime I think I’m sure, life comes along and proves me wrong. I have noticed that anytime I think I’m sure, I turn into a bit of an asshole. I close my mind to ideas and concepts and people that oppose the way I think I’m sure. And I am really beginning to see how quantum physics is right when it tells us there are billions of simultaneous realities. The Buddha said, “With our thoughts we make the world.” Science is finally catching up to what the mystics, saints, and shamans have been saying for thousands of years: our thoughts create our reality. There are billions of us, each with a unique perspective, so there are billions of simultaneous realities. No wonder we can’t get along.
What if we stopped trying so hard to get others to see from our point of view? What if we finally realized our point of view works for us because it is ours. But everyone else has a point of view that works for each one of them. If it didn’t work, they would seek alternative information and change it.
What if life on Earth really is just the ultimate video game? We incarnate in these bodies, and like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and the other characters do in the movie Jumanji, we have to figure out how our avatars work. We discover our strengths and weaknesses. We learn about our bodies, our flaws, and our unique skill sets. We discover our likes and dislikes. Personal preferences. And we fine-tune as we go.
We get plopped into these bodies and these personalities that are constantly surprising us. And at the same time, we get plopped into a world where every single other human is living in a different reality, looking through a different lens. They are creating from a different lens, and with a different skill set, different wants and needs. And then we add that each human is projecting that different reality onto everybody else: Thieves think everyone else is stealing from them; lovers think everyone else has good intentions; cheaters think everyone else is cheating; fighters always find people with whom to fight. You get the point.
Combine all that with the fact that when we are young, and often for most of our lives, we bend and mold and shape ourselves into false versions of ourselves to fit in and people-please. And we end up with a shit show. Seriously. It’s fascinating.
The only way to unwind the shit show is for each one of us to stop caring so much about what other people think about us, to stop comparing our lives to the lives of others, to start discovering who we truly are, and then to build an authentic life around it. This raises us up, out of the mess, and it washes off the shit so that we sparkle with light. If we trust that we are here for a reason, that we are unique for a reason, and that a divine path is already lined up for us, life gets a lot easier. As we admit we do not know, that it is all a mystery, that as soon as we think we have the world or ourselves or anyone else figured out, we get the carpet pulled out from under us—we get our paradigm shattered—life gets a lot more fun. It’s like walking up to the River of Life and someone asking, “Where does this river go?” and you answer, “I have no idea, but it sure looks like fun!” and jump in. Arms up in the air. Ready for the ride. Trusting that wherever the ride leads is someplace amazing.
This morning I was meditating in my favorite living room chair, and I had a vision of myself in that same chair at about eighty years old. I saw how little and how wrinkled and how wise this version of me was. She was glowing. She was so patient, so calm, so content. And she offered me advice. She said to me, “Slow down.”
Just those two words.
“Slow down.”
She sat there in her comfy lounge clothing with her warm cup of coffee, and she was so beautiful in her calm, in her peace, in her wisdom.
“Slow down.”
She said, “You will be here in a flash, and you don’t want to miss any moment of it.” She told me, “It is all coming. All of it. All that you dream about. But it is not your work to do. It is God’s work to do through you. If you do not slow down, you cannot be a clear channel. The same way you cannot rush a baby into this world, you cannot rush your accomplishments; they will be born when they are meant to be born, after the proper gestation. Your unique contribution will be offered. It must be. But if you rush the process, you end up with a child that does not have fully functioning lungs. So, please, my love, slow down.”
SA Examiner 