The Black Phone, from Joe Hill’s ’20th Century Ghosts’ has been adapted into a movie and will be released in theaters on June 24, 2022. Photo: amazon
Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the novels “The Fireman,” “NOS4A2,” “Horns,” and “Heart-Shaped Box;” “Strange Weather,” a collection of novellas; and the acclaimed story collections “Full Throttle” and “20th Century Ghosts.” He is also the Eisner Award–winning writer of a seven-volume comic book series, “Locke & Key.” Much of his work has been adapted for film and TV, including NOS4A2 (AMC), Locke & Key (Netflix), and In the Tall Grass (Netflix). The Black Phone is a short story in his “20th Century Ghosts” collection and has been adapted into a major motion picture from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions. It stars Ethan Hawke and will be released in theaters on Friday June 24, 2022. (amazon, 2022)
The Black Phone – Jack Finney is thirteen, alone, and in desperate trouble. For two years now, someone has been stalking the boys of Galesberg, stealing them away, never to be seen again. And now, Finney finds himself in danger of joining them: locked in a psychopath’s basement, a place stained with the blood of half a dozen murdered children.
With him in his subterranean cell is an antique phone, long since disconnected . . . but it rings at night anyway, with calls from the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.
“The Black Phone” is one of fifteen stories in Joe Hill’s first story collection, originally published as 20th Century Ghosts—the inventive and chilling compendium that established this award-winning, critically acclaimed, and bestselling author as “a major player in 21st-century fantastic fiction” (Washington Post).
‘Lilith and the Psychopath’ by Johnny Malapert is available on Kindle through amazon. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
You should be warned that the book you are considering was written by a renegade; a social misfit who has been ostracized by contemporary polite society. Johnny Malapert started out as a high school gang banger. He went on to work in the trades (construction, contracting, transportation) and later the professions (law, finance, education). He also enthusiastically joined many social groups (athletic, religious, charitable) and traveled extensively around the world, especially Western Europe. Although he found these endeavors initially exciting, and educational in a piratical way, and was usually quite good at the activity, none was personally fulfilling and each became boring as time went on. He is now a defrocked university professor working to debunk the social prejudice of “personality disorders,” as defined by psychology. (Johnny Malapert, 2022)
The common public perception of psychopath as evil and despicable is prejudicial and unjustified. His personal passion is to challenge the pervasive, mindless discrimination against psychopathy and help these often abused, but resilient and intrepid, men live freely in society. His proclamation: that the pseudoscience of psychology is wrong and the modern psychopathic man has the potential to achieve an elevated, satisfying, fulfilling, and often socially beneficial, way of life within the norms of modern Western society. If for any reason you think you may be a psychopath, his book ‘Lilith and the Psychopath,’could change your life—for the better. Alternatively, if you are not a psychopath, this book will give you a better understanding of psychopathy and allow you to accept these maligned individuals into society, like any other law abiding citizen. It is a fantastic story based on a hodgepodge conglomeration of places, people, events and ideas that the author has experienced over the years.
‘Lilith and the Psychopath’ – The modern, healthy psychopath, referred to by some as ‘psychosapien,’ is not the stereotypical, mindless, and often violent criminal sensationalized in folklore and the media. He is more typically intelligent with a character matrix that makes him exceptionally suited to function successfully in today’s multifaceted social environment. He is hard-wired against the often personally enslaving and destructive social pressures of conformity, doublethink, self-doubt, docility, and guilt. He is adventurous, self-confident, and often charming; an aggressive calculating risk-taker who is willing to challenge the status quo. He is the guy you want to be with in a fight and, if he is on the other side, the guy that causes you to give up and go home. The psychosapien is a gift of social evolution to his friends, family, kingship, and to free-minded people everywhere. He is a curse on the mindless, communalist demagogues that populate the upper echelons of every society throughout all of history, spouting exaggerated political promises and mindless slogans to dishonestly solicit loyalty, support, and compliance from the duped masses of underlings. The modern psychosapien has thrown off the shackles of social stereotyping and prejudice that have marked him as a mentally ill societal misfit, and has emerged as an authentic, happy, healthy, self-actualized individual.
Who is Johnny Picaro? If you ask his brother, the prison psychiatrist, and the beach psychologist, Johnny is an incorrigible psychopath, sociopath, or both. Hiscollege psychology professor agrees but adds that he is also the epitome of a healthy psychopath: a psychosapien. His sister sees him as an anti-Christian heathen; his dad confesses Johnny’s delinquent childhood behavior kept them from bonding but he still is very proud of the successful businessman Johnny became. His ex-fiancée who dumped him as a convicted felon and the superior court judge both agree he will always be a loser, but his surfing buddies acknowledge him as the leader of the pack and as tough as a junkyard dog. The soup kitchen nun sees Johnny as a shifty, social chameleon but also as a charming, resourceful, compassionate guy. The enslaved Ukrainian orphan girl knows him as the hero who helped when no one else would. The ruthless Barrio 13 drug honcho and his autistic brother hate Johnny and see him as an impediment to their business model who they intend to brutalize again and then eliminate. His wealthy, aging social-lite employer recognizes him as the tough, smart fighter she clearly needs right now. His renegade girlfriend sees Johnny as the perfect mate who is highly intelligent, self-confident, and energetic; a fearless risk taker who ignores arbitrary authority. What would Johnny say? “Kinda stupid question to ask someone. Who cares what other people think?”
‘Nailing It: How History’s Awesome Twentysomethings Got It Together’ by Robert L. Dilenschneider. Photo: amazon
Robert L. Dilenschneider has hired more than 3,000 successful professionals and advised thousands more. He is 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 “The Critical First Years of Your Professional Life,” “Power and Influence,” “A Briefing for Leaders,” and “Nailing It: How History’s Awesome Twentysomethings Got It Together.” The latter is an inspiring and encouraging book that provides 25 fascinating and diverse profiles of iconic men and women at or near age 25 and how they built their legacies. (amazon, 2022)
‘Nailing It’ begins with a foreword from U.S. Ambassador Donald Blinken where he writes that Robert L. Dilenschneider focuses on these men and women when they were aged 25 or so, what they did to gain a spot in history, and how they did it. He also mentions that the target demographic is those coming of age right now, but also older people who care about them and want them to succeed. In the Introduction, the author shares that the idea behind the book is to inspire young people and hopes they realize that they can make a difference. In general, he wishes people realize that there are many paths to greatness and not all of them are smooth sailing. The book is made up of twenty three chapters and each focuses on one of these 25 people, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Albert Einstein, Coco Chanel, Golda Meir, and more. More than just biographies, each chapter reveals where they were in their lives in their mid-twenties and the choices that made them who they are.
At first, seeing a list of history’s greatest might be intimidating but it serves to remember that each one of them encountered and defeated their own difficulties in life. Even if you do not know every one of the people profiled in this book, all their stories are inspiring. Since each chapter is a different person, readers can take their time and even go back and re-read previous ones. With easy to understand language, the author takes readers deep into the lives of each of these individuals and shares the good and the bad in the hopes of inspiring everyone to dream big, but most of all, to put in the effort and work necessary to achieve success. Most importantly, this book is a reminder that it is ‘never too late to make an impact.’ It is hard to choose a favorite profile, but Mary Shelley (Chapter 2) stands out due to her being a notable literary figure, best known for her masterpiece Frankenstein. By the time she was 25, she had already written what could be considered a best-seller, but she had also suffered more than most young women, starting with the death of her mother when she was only ten days old. ‘Nailing It’ by Robert L. Dilenschneider is an inspiring collection of notable historical figures that would make an excellent addition to any personal library. It is recommended for readers who appreciate biographies and books on career advice and self-improvement.
“The world is full of timid souls and idle dreamers who never really go after what they want. Don’t be one of them. Work to stand out and use the lessons you’ve learned from this book. If you take that approach and stick with it, it will change your life for the better.”
*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
‘James Patterson by James Patterson’ is the author’s new memoir, available now. Photo: amazon
James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author best known for the Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Middle School, and Ali Cross series along with such acclaimed works of narrative nonfiction as “Walk in My Combat Boots,” “E.R. Nurses,” and his autobiography, “James Patterson by James Patterson.” Bill Clinton (“The President Is Missing”) and Dolly Parton (“Run, Rose, Run”) are among his notable literary collaborators. For his prodigious imagination and championship of literacy in America, Patterson was awarded the 2019 National Humanities Medal. His new book “James Patterson by James Patterson”is the most anticipated memoir of the year and is available everywhere starting today. (amazon, 2022)
“James Patterson by James Patterson” – How did a boy from small-town New York become the world’s most successful writer? How does he do it? He has always wanted to write the kind of novel that people would read and reread so many times that the binding breaks and the book literally falls apart. As he says, “I’m still working on that one.”
Did you know?
On the morning he was born, he nearly died.
His dad grew up in the Pogey– the Newburgh, New York, poorhouse.
He worked at a mental hospital in Massachusetts, where he met the singer James Taylor and the poet Robert Lowell.
While he toiled in advertising hell, James wrote the ad jingle line “I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us Kid.”
He once watched James Baldwin and Norman Mailer square off to trade punches at a party.
He has only been in love twice. Both times are amazing.
Dolly Parton once sang “Happy Birthday” to James over the phone. She calls him J.J., for Jimmy James.
These stories and more are in James Patterson’s new memoir.
‘Breach’ is the new novel by Kelly Sokol. Photo: amazon
Kelly Sokol is the author of “Breach” and “The Unprotected,” which was featured on NPR and named one of Book Riot’s 100 Must-Read Books of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood. She is a Pushcart Prize-nominated author and MFA creative writing graduate. Her work has appeared in Alpinist, UltraRunning Magazine, The Manifest-Station, Connotation Press, and more. She teaches creative writing at The Muse Writers Center. Her new book “Breach” is an unflinching and timely gaze into the marriage of an enlisted special operator and his wife.
“Breach” – Marleigh Mulcahy grew up in a boxing gym, the daughter of hard-drinking parents who did not keep a stable roof over her head. In the cinder-block Box-n-Go, amidst the sweat and funk, she meets Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialist Jace Holt, a highly and expensively trained bomb diffuser with three successful deployments behind him. With a heady mix of hope, carelessness, and a ridiculous amount of courage, they begin a family. When Jace returns to active duty, a roadside bomb resurrects ghosts from the couple’s past and threatens the life they have built. The following is an excerpt from “Breach.”
As Marleigh pulled into the parking lot, she saw two cars and a crotch rocket parked outside the gym, but no stragglers. Plenty of the guys walked or ran over from the neighborhood, so she never knew how many people were there until she got inside. It was already ten o’clock, so she would only have to wait a half an hour before turning off the lights and locking up.
The gym’s heady, humid smell had been almost welcomed when she entered. She always knew where she stood here. It was a small cement box, but she garnered something like respect when she walked in. It hadn’t been earned; she knew that. Her grandfather’s creation and dedication was a shadow she stepped into and tried to lengthen. But plenty of people enjoyed a security in the world that they did nothing to create. Fancy Graham, for example. Marleigh had to put up with his bullshit—he was a customer for a couple of hours. That girlfriend let him treat her like that, like they both deserved it. And for what?
The only people inside were Terry and the new guy, Jace. Back again. She tried not to stare. He was shirtless and had his shorts gathered high on his muscular thighs, crouched in fighting stance.
His gloves were up, protecting his face. They were in the ring sparring. Terry had him moving through a complicated routine and seemed to make the guy drop lower each time to avoid being clocked in the side of the face with the sparring pad. Terry saw Marleigh first and gave her a quick nod, then got back to business. As Jace stepped, jabbed, crossed, and ducked to make contact with and then avoid Terry’s swing, he saw her. He stood, losing his boxer’s stance—the crouched ready position, weight on the toes, knees bent.
“Marleigh!” he said, his voice deep and masculine, but with a child’s excitement. Terry’s mitt whacked him across the side of his face and split the corner of his lip. She winced. Jace grinned at her like she was a marvel, not some tired waitress covered in shrimp peels. She studied him, too, she couldn’t help herself. His compact muscle on such a tall body, those perfect Chiclet teeth. The curve and bounce of his hamstring, undoubtedly her favorite part of the male body. Remembering that Lynetha told her Jace was EOD, Marleigh wondered what would happen if he hurt his fingers boxing. It was a rookie mistake to clench your fists inside your gloves. Can you disarm bombs with broken fingers? A bomb tech. That meant there was a brain inside that stupidly perfect body. She didn’t really care. She was just happy for any distraction from the shitty night, and how she’d been treated. No one respected waitresses or bartenders, one reason she wouldn’t be one for much longer. It felt good to have someone so happy to see her.
“One more go, Terry. I’ve got this.” They moved through the maneuvers again. Jace was focused and quick. He landed a punch over one of Terry’s mitts.
Marleigh tilted her nose down and sniffed herself, suddenly self-conscious of her dirty T-shirt and shorts, knowing she carried a greasy, shellfish stink, wondering if Jace could smell it. Marleigh picked up one of the cleaning caddies and headed to the bathroom like she was going to restock the toilet paper and clean up for the night. She planned on doing that, of course, but she also wanted to see the damage the night had inflicted upon her. The bathroom wasn’t so bad. No one made it that far to puke, so she almost never had to clean that up. The trainers had to dump and spray the buckets.
She looked in the mirror and dabbed beneath her eyes to clean up the smudge of mascara, holding a wet paper towels to her cheeks to pull the flush from her skin. She clucked at herself. If anyone but Jace was out there, she wouldn’t have given herself a second look before heading home and washing off the day in the shower. Her white T-shirt was short and tight, the Thirsty Camel logo stretched across her left breast, and the hem grazed her belly button. Her black shorts were high-waisted with a minimal inseam, highlighting her tiny waist and perky ass. The uniform didn’t leave much to the imagination.
The round bell sounded, muffled through the bathroom wall. Terry didn’t dawdle at the end of the night. “You gotta work on your foot speed and keeping tight. You’re too tall and goofy to be a boxer.” Terry was just like her grandfather. No bullshit. No puffing up a boxer so that he’d keep showing up and paying and training just to keep getting his ass kicked in the ring. That was for the big money gyms. Marleigh could hear in his voice that he liked Jace and could see something in him. She didn’t want to hear that.
She could get this bathroom clean and just wait him out. They’d be leaving soon, and then she could vent the night’s bullshit on the heavy bag. Nothing could squash her libido quite like cleaning the can. He’d realize he wasn’t really that interested and leave her alone. She gave the bathroom the most thorough cleaning ever, but as she slipped the plastic gloves off and threw them in the trash outside the bathroom door, Terry and Jace were still there, bent over a table. Both turned to look at her. Jace smiled that smile again.
“Don’t tell the other guys,” Terry said, before tearing off a piece of paper and handing it to Jace. He nodded at Marleigh, “And don’t tell boss lady I’m giving you workouts outside the gym, neither.” Marleigh cocked an eyebrow at them. Terry rarely did that.
“Just make sure you’re paid up, new guy.” She wiped down the ropes on the far side of the gym from them. Then she moved to the first heavy bag.
“Don’t stand around staring,” she said, keeping her back to Jace as she cleaned. “We’re closed. Y’all get out of here.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Terry said. “See ya Monday.”
Jace walked to the ring and pulled wipes out of the plastic canister. “I made this mess. Can I help you clean it?” She should tell him no. Terry would walk out and they would be alone. She wasn’t afraid of the new guy. He stood there, shirtless and still breathy and sweaty, two Clorox wipes dangling from his hands.
“Sure. Wipe down the weight benches and racks and I’ll finish over here. And how ’bout putting on a shirt first? You keep sweating on everything and I have to keep wiping it down.” Clothed and across the room. Yes, that was definitely best.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a mock salute. “I brought a friend with me, a different guy. He didn’t make it all the way through the workout, but he’ll be back.”
“Do you want an award? And what’s with the note you left?”
“Nah.” He wiped the benches as well as the sweat puddles on the floor around them. “Where have you been? What’ve you been up to?” She remembered when her grandfather lived with her, how he’d come home from the gym all keyed up, how he wanted to hear about her day, and how she would stay up too late to tell him because no other adult had asked. Pops stayed with Marleigh each of the three times her parents tried to quit drinking. They weren’t interested in sitting in meetings surrounded by a bunch of drunks. “What good will that do?” they asked. Each time, they took off for a cabin in the woods, away from Ocean View, the beach, and all its temptations. Each time, Marleigh hoped her biggest hope, it swelled inside her so big it hurt, that they would really do it and come back to her sober and reliable and normal. That they would come home and at least like her again. After the third time, Marleigh realized hope was just a tease. It only let her down and made her feel worse. But she always had Pops.
Jace moved quickly, from station to station, flinging used Clorox wipes like basketballs into the trashcans.
She recognized that same Pops energy in Jace. “I’m like that after working late,” she said. “Tired but wired.”
“That’s it,” he said.
“What does EOD really mean?”
“It means Ever On Duty or long-ass time in the Navy.”
Most squids she knew planned on four years and out, found the simplest duty they could.
“I’m like a really expensive one-man roadside cleanup crew.
Except instead of cigarette butts and beer cans, I get rid of bombs. Explosive ordnance disposal.”
“No wonder you’re good at this.” She shrugged at the mop and bucket. “And instead of highways, you clean up—”
“Desert markets, Humvee corridors, jungle shit. You name it.”
He wasn’t what Marleigh had expected. “Don’t you need all of your fingers for that? What if you break one boxing?”
“So long as I can control my robot, I’ll be fine. Anyway, it’s a miracle I still have ten.”
She mopped the last corner of the floor, letting that thought sink in. “You’re not going to worry about me now, are you?”
“Hardly.”
Gym clean up took less than fifteen minutes with the two of them. She clicked the sign to closed and put the CLOSED SUNDAY placard in the window. “We’re closed tomorrow, so don’t try and show up.”
He stepped closer. She could feel the heat coming through his T-shirt. He reached out as if to sweep a sweaty curl across her forehead. “I like it best when the gym’s closed.”
She bobbed just out of his reach. He wasn’t allowed to touch her. Not yet.
“Ah, are you training with Terry, too?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
That little pinch, down low, when Jace got too close. She hadn’t had a boyfriend in a while. The guys she knew were all lazily okay with falling in step with the same life as their parents, living in the same neighborhood. Same shit, different day. Her responsibilities in the gym most of them could tolerate, if not respect, as it was a family business and all that. But school and her other jobs were like luxuries and annoyances to them. They distracted her from them. Her family someday would be a real family. A mom and a dad, a checking account with a balance at the end of the month, and kids they loved.
Marleigh never dated boxers. She saw how the boxers treated their girlfriends when they showed up at the gym. Sometimes, in high school, those girls would corner Marleigh to find out who else their boyfriends were seeing. Marleigh never told, so the guys looked out for her. More than a couple of the girls accused her of sleeping with their guys. Marleigh just wanted out, as none of these boys or girls was going anywhere.
“Since we’re both wide awake, go out with me. Let’s do something.”
Marleigh ducked out from underneath his arm. “We’re both disgusting. And no way in hell I’m going back to the Camel.” She straightened up the front desk. Jace cleaned up the rolls of pre-wrap, and sprayed Lysol into used gloves.
Her mother often taunted her for not having a boyfriend. Jackie would think Marleigh wasn’t good enough for Jace. “I was winning contests when I was your age,” she’d say. “You shouldn’t waste your youth.”
Wet T-shirt contests. “Nice, Mom,” Marleigh’d say. Her mother wore her hair way too long, down past mid-back. And Jackie cut her own bangs. From far away, she looked almost pretty and almost young. But her face up close was wrinkles and broken capillaries, like she was constantly blushing. She was a walking scam.
“You’re nothing special,” she’d told Marleigh over and over. “If someone asks, you’d better say yes.”
At first, the girls in high school called her a slut for hanging out with the boxers. Then a dyke when she got serious about sports. The hours of jumping rope and heavy bag work built her endurance. She was a strong soccer midfielder. She wasn’t sure it would take her anywhere past high school, but it got her out of the house and the gym. Instead of sleeping around, Marleigh figured out how to make herself feel all tingly and hot. Some of the girls did it on long bus rides in the dark. She made the few guys she slept with come on her belly, though she’d never be able to get pregnant anyway, according to her mother. “Trash in, trash out,” her mother said. “Simple as that.” Enough with Jackie’s crazy; maybe Marleigh just needed to scratch an itch. Maybe Jace was leaving town soon and that would take care of that.
“Ya ain’t gotta go home, but get up out of here,” Marleigh said. Jace had sprayed and resprayed the gloves. “I need to lock up.”
“Sorry, yeah. I’ll get my stuff. But once you lock up, walk with me?”
“What?”
“I haven’t been on the beach at night yet. Show me?” He held up
two fingers. “Scouts honor, I won’t pull any shit.”
She shook her head.
“You’re right, I was never a Scout. But you don’t have to worry about me.”
‘Influence and Impact: Discover and Excel at What Your Organization Needs From You The Most’ by Bill Berman and George Bradt. Photo: Sandra Cruz
George Bradt has led the revolution in how people start new jobs – accelerating transitions so leaders and their teams reduce their rates of failure and fulfill potential. He is Chairman of PrimeGenesis, author of ten books on onboarding and leadership, two books on back-to-school chats, 700+ columns for Forbes, and eighteen plays and musicals (book, lyrics & music). Bill Berman is a seasoned business psychologist with more than 30 years’ experience as an executive coach, senior line manager, clinician and academic. He has consulted to CEOs, C-suite leaders, and general/functional managers since founding Berman Leadership Development in 2004. He has published more than 50 articles and books on a variety of subjects. They are co-authors of “Influence and Impact: Discover and Excel at What Your Organization Needs From You The Most.” (Amazon, 2022)
“Influence and Impact” provides an easy-to-follow, common-sense approach to building influence at any level of an organization. It is divided into five parts: Part I: The Disconnect, Part II: The Solution, Part III: Plan A, Part IV: Plan B, and Part V: Helping Others Build Their Influence and Impact. In the Introduction, the authors define influence as “the indirect or intangible effect you have on others, based on what you do, how you do it, how you communicate it, and who you are.” According to them, the purpose of this book is to help readers understand themselves, their role in their job, and how to influence their organization. The section also summarizes each part and what the reader can expect. Each chapter includes tips, worksheets, and tools to help readers focus and take appropriate actions to do the job that is expected of them. There are also real life examples of workers who have benefitted from their expertise and practical advice.
Books on leadership, influence, and business advice are not a rare commodity. What makes ‘Influence and Impact’ unique is that it covers all the stages of a person’s career, ranging from preparing for an interview, to getting more recognition at work and aiming for more satisfaction from a job. Using real life stories, practical advice, and worksheets to help readers individualize the content, it is an extremely useful guide for modern business practices. The language is easy to understand which makes the reading pace steady. Highlights include Chapter 12: Make a Plan to Move On: Sometimes You Need a Fresh Start – provides insight into how to prepare to move on from a job and tips on job searching, including how to prepare for an interview and Chapter 11: Negotiate for a Better Role Inside Your Organization -helps readers create a Personal Strategic Plan to help them “find a better fit for your strengths within your current organization.” A major takeaway is that as workers, blaming the company for difficulties in job performances is just masking the reality that we all have to adapt to our environment to survive. We may have to adapt, but it is up to each individual worker to find fulfillment and the do the best job they can without casting blame on others or on the company itself. It has valuable information that everyone in an organization can use, from the workers to the managers. ‘Influence and Impact’ by Bill Berman and George Bradt contains important information for building a successful career in any stage and is recommended for readers who understand that there is always something new to learn when it comes to career advice.
“There is extensive social science research, however, that indicates that your ability to adjust to the context you live or work in is directly related to the likelihood of your success.”
*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
The television adaptation of ‘Pachinko’ is available to stream on Apple TV +. Photo: Amazon
Min Jin Lee is a Korean-American author and journalist. Her work frequently deals with Korean and Korean-American topics. She is the author of the novels “Free Food for Millionaires” and “Pachinko.” “Pachinko” is an epic historical fiction novel following a Korean family who immigrate to Japan. The character-driven story features an ensemble of characters who encounter discrimination, stereotyping, and other aspects of the 20th century Korean experience of Japan. It was a finalist for the National Book Award for fiction. Apple TV + produced a television adaptation of the novel and it was released starting in March 2022. It consists of eight episodes and was renewed for a second season. (Amazon/Wikipedia, 2022)
“Pachinko” – In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant–and that her lover is married–she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. Her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son’s powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations. Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan’s finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee’s complex and passionate characters–strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis–survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.
Beatrice Adenodi sheds light on the mindless behaviors fueling the ongoing mass shooting and gun crisis in the United States. Photo: amazon
Beatrice Adenodi is a storyteller, a sought-after business leadership consultant and speaker, and a first generation Nigerian American. Her unique practical marketing perspective gives her the ability to recognize the mindless behaviors that prevent people from reaching their untapped, limitless potential. Through her unique position, Adenodi helps professionals, business owners, and anyone ready to confront their own mindless behaviors by acting as an interpreter of the unseen – guiding them from being reactive to reflective. Adenodi reveals – in a direct, no-nonsense approach – the reality of what is holding people back and blocking them in their professional and personal lives. She is the founder of Mirror Inc. as well as the author of “Mindless Behaviors: Breaking through Unseen Barriers.” (Beatrice Adenodi, 2022)
Adenodi has a message for Americans to help bring an understanding to the country’s ongoing mass shooting and gun crisis. Using her insights, observations, and expertise in identifying people’s mindless behaviors, she identifies the reasons there are so many shootings in the United States. Instead of being reactive and casting blame, she suggests considering the mindless behaviors that keep the country in an endless cycle of blame, with no actual accountability.
Adenodi does not expect political leaders and elected officials to like her insights. “Leaders aren’t really there to find solutions; they are there to keep their jobs. Think of it this way, leaders are only needed in societies of chaos. A never-ending cycle of gun violence and upheaval as factions fight for their political agenda means politicians have job security. They have no incentive to do something until we the people demand it.”
Compounding the issue is the media’s response when gun violence erupts, as well as the underlying perceived threat of taking people’s guns away. This, along with the mental health crisis and the emotional toll communities bear in the aftermath of shootings, makes for a society rife with mindless behaviors.
Adenodi’s book, “Mindless Behaviors: Breaking Through Unseen Barriers,” brings to light seven examples of reactive, negative cycles of human behavior and the importance of effective communication in our life. Going through the experience of these stories, readers learn that if they change the way they think about a situation and their actions, they have the potential to completely transform their lives. This book inspires people to broaden their horizons, recognize their unconscious prejudices and unleash latent potential.
“’Mindless Behaviors’ is relevant to the challenging times in which we live. It provides a starting point for becoming aware, and plants the seeds of transformation to help us grow. This book is for people who find themselves in repeatable patterns in their lives, who are looking for ways to ‘unstick themselves.’ My book is not telling the reader how to live their life or what to do in a situation, but it offers multiple perceptions on how to navigate through challenging conditions which is what we need in the world.” – Beatrice Adenodi
‘The War Back Home’ is Alex Cage’s new novel. Photo: amazon
Alex Cage is an action adventure thriller author. His books blend his interest in martial arts, adventure, travel, and knowledge with exploration and high-octane action. Cage enjoys action adventure and thriller stories with fantasy and sci-fi sprinkled in. He has always wanted to create his own stories but spent many years thinking about it before actually putting his stories on paper. Currently living in North Carolina, he enjoys reading, writing, and practicing martial arts. In his new book “The War Back Home,” Clarence Tucker realizes his greatest fight is right where he left it. It is available in eBook and print formats. (amazon, 2022)
“The War Back Home” – For years, elite soldier and trained killer Clarence Tucker fought in wars abroad, thinking he was outrunning his past. But his dark secrets are waiting to consume him. Back home, Tucker reconnects with his family, ready to live the simple life. As he adjusts to civilian life, deals with family issues, takes in strangers in need, and falls for a woman, he discovers everyone around him has their own secrets. One in particular, may get them all killed. With a deadly threat lurking in the shadows, and the everyday difficulties life brings, Tucker must call upon his combat skills, as well as some newly developed soft skills or someone he loves will pay the ultimate price.
‘From The Potato to Star Trek and Beyond’ will be out June 21, 2022. Photo: amazon
In new books to read news today: an upcoming memoir by a retired aerospace engineer and inventor with 19 patents.
Chester L. Richards recently turned 80. With a number of odd close encounters with the grim reaper under his belt, he has always boldly gone where few have dared. Chester’s mantra — view all that comes your way, the good, the terrifying and the ugly, as a series of adventures —took shape early. After narrowly escaping mortal injury from The Great Potato as a lad a few years later in college, Chester and friend Judy Burns co-authored a spec script for Star Trek on a lark. The story they were brought in to write, The Tholian Web, became one of the original series’ most popular episodes. “From The Potato to Star Trek and Beyond: Memoirs of a Rocket Scientist” will be released on June 21, 2022. Author and Star Trek contributor Chester L. Richards tells his life’s adventures as a rocket scientist, screenwriter, musician, and world traveler in this action-packed memoir. Drawing inspiration from his late wife Sarah, Chester is baring all in his debut book release. (Chester L. Richards, 2022)
A veteran writer advised the young man, “You should write. Write your passions.” But I have nothing to say, Chester thought. That was the moment he decided the real message was to fill his life with adventures. And he did — adventures in surfing, learning and performing music, traveling to exotic places for river rafting, and his work as a rocket scientist. It was the loss of Sarah, the love of his life, which caused Chester to write his first book of stories. At the house in Thousand Oaks they once shared, the hair-raising adventures Sarah loved continued to occur, though, as the author says, he no longer has much hair. A man of grand adventures, Chester relates why taking the plunge into voluntary adventures is so enriching — they will change you forever, and sculpt your life’s story.
“From The Potato To Star Trek and Beyond” reveals his passion, his most exciting journeys, and brushes with death. Chester believes one must view all that comes your way – the good, the terrifying, and the ugly – as a series of adventures. He shares an almost fatal encounter with a potato (yes, a potato), his experience as co-writer of one of the most iconic episodes of the original Star Trek, several wild African adventures, and more.
Says Steve Pastis (author, and writer/editor of The Good Life publication for seniors): “I would highly recommend From the Potato to Star Trek and Beyond. The book is informative, even educational, but author Chester Richards maintains a friendly, conversational tone throughout. The stories were a definite surprise. Who knew that this mild-mannered, soft-spoken gentleman I’ve known for years had so many harrowing adventures, and was so accomplished in the scientific community? If there is a lesson to be learned from these pages, it’s that everyone should get to know the people in their lives on a deep level, especially the mild-mannered, soft-spoken ones.”
“From The Potato to Star Trek and Beyond: Memoirs of a Rocket Scientist” by Chester L. Richards is available for pre-order on Amazon
Publisher: Pawpress ISBN: 978-1880882306 Pages: 334 Available in Paperback, Hardcopy and Ebook
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