Walmart: Diary of an Associate
The author, an immersive journalist, describes his experience working in a Canadian Walmart in Walmart: Diary of an Associate. It is amazing how Walmart treats its associates like slow children. Rules are drummed into their heads, daily exercises and pep talks are given, and they are monitored extensively. If indoctrinationContinue Reading
Psychology of Zelda
Who doesn’t love the ongoing story of Link and Zelda told over thirty years of gaming? The Psychology of Zelda explains in college-level psychological terms the reasons why we are all enamored of Link’s story. I’ve taken and enjoyed a couple of college psychology courses. I love and have playedContinue Reading
Death by Committee
Death by Committee is a cozy mystery that emphasizes romance and quilting more than sleuthing. Abby’s recently deceased elderly Aunt Sybil left her a house. Abby hires several goats to eat some overgrown foliage in the backyard. One goat uncovers Dolly, Sybil’s rival, who is buried in the backyard inContinue Reading
Blue Muse
Blue Muse contains fifty photographs of blues, jazz, folk, and gospel musicians. It also includes ten more landscapes and close-ups of musical instruments. All use a tintype process that was popular during the Civil War. The long exposures and judicious use of light and shadow make statements about the life ofContinue Reading
Criminally Cocoa
Criminally Cocoa is a chocolate amuse bouche for fans of the Amish Candy Shop series while awaiting the next full-length series entry in June 2019. Bailey takes her Amish cousin, Charlotte, to New York City to tape the pilot for Bailey’s new cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. Luckily, CharlotteContinue Reading
Work Optional
Almost everyone would like to be able to retire early and make Work Optional. But few can do it. This book provides a step-by-step plan to move from a stultifying 9 to 5 job to a more fulfilling life. Work Optional begins with a refreshing approach. Rather than determining howContinue Reading
Finding Dorothy
Fascinating story about how the author of The Wizard of Oz went about Finding Dorothy interspersed with the making of the movie in 1938-39. Maud Baum is the unifying character in the two strands of her life described in the book. It begins with a 77-year-old Maud attempting to getContinue Reading
Testament to Murder
A terminally ill man calls his family and friends together to compete for his entire fortune in a Testament to Murder. Malcolm invites his ne’er-do-well nephew, Hugh, and Hugh’s gold-digging American wife, Patty, for a weeklong visit to Malcolm’s extensive estate. Malcolm’s ex-wife, Cecily, and his ex-partner, Howard, along withContinue Reading
The Plotters
Reseng is a paid assassin in South Korea. Unfortunately, The Plotters tell him exactly how to carry out each murder. Reseng feels like a paint-by-number killer with no creative outlet. When Reseng’s childhood friend Chu disobeys a plotter, Chu is targeted for murder with a hefty bounty on his head.Continue Reading
Shameless
It is tempting to quote large swaths of Shameless as the quotes are so perfect. However, just take my word for it that reading this book is transformative. Is the Christian Church interpreting the Bible correctly to determine God’s thinking on sex and gender? This book sees parallels to whenContinue Reading
Downhill from Here
The prospect of a comfortable retirement has, unfortunately, become an increasingly elusive dream and it is Downhill from Here. In 2017, less than half of US employers provided a company-sponsored retirement plan. Even employees who thought they were covered have lost their retirement to bankruptcy and recent changes in theContinue Reading
Lost Man
The Lost Man is the new excellent standalone thriller by superstar author Jane Harper. Nathan and Bub find their middle brother, Cameron, dead of dehydration in the middle of the Australian desert. What is puzzling is that Cameron walked away from a perfectly running car filled with food, water andContinue Reading
Death in the Stocks
Death in the Stocks is the first Superintendent Hannasyde mystery written in 1935. Arnold Vereker is found locked in the village stocks and stabbed to death. Superintendent Hannasyde has a multitude of suspects since everyone seemed to dislike him and no one has an ironclad alibi. Maybe it is theContinue Reading
Long Con
Jump into nerd culture with the Long Con. The Long Con is the longest pop culture convention ever. It appears the Convention caused the apocalypse five years previously. Since he survived the Convention’s destruction, reporter Victor is given the assignment to find out what happened. Slipping back and forth betweenContinue Reading
100% Unofficial Fortnite Essential Guide
So you are not an early adopter (or you have been hiding under a rock) and are just now trying to join the Fortnite craze. The 100% Unofficial Fortnite Essential Guide will catch you up to speed quicker than just learning by playing (like all those first players had toContinue Reading
Alumni Association
Alumni Association is a short novel that is more legal than thriller. A closed military school is scheduled for demolition but the school’s alumni association is trying to register it as a protected historical building. However, the real reason for saving it is for the multiple uses of the tunnelsContinue Reading