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Non-Fiction: Tragic Childhood: A Recipe for Celebrated Comedy by Jack Branley

October 12, 2022 Linda L. Richards 0

Have you ever noticed that good comedians — really excellent ones — often had terrible childhoods? Or, at least, some aspect of their background is filled with tragedy and pain. Tragic Childhood by entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jack Branley centers around this premise. The book even begins with a quote from iconic proto-comedian Charlie Chaplin. “To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it.” Chaplin had the air of […]

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Art & Culture: Aroma Household Magic by Marian Fletcher

July 24, 2022 Linda L. Richards 0

I’ve been an essential oil enthusiast for many years, reasoning that, whether or not you believe in the benefits of aromatherapy, there is no downside. Even if what the things we believe about essential oils aren’t true, worst case scenario your world smells better. How can that be a bad thing? Marian Fletcher, author of Aroma Household Magic, takes a way more scientific and pro-active approach. An alternative healing therapist, Fletcher knows this space thoroughly. […]

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Non-Fiction: Intense Transformation by Paul W. Matthews

March 31, 2022 Linda L. Richards 1

Like a lot of people, over the last few years, I’ve added a small amount of HIIT training to my fitness routine. I knew it was good — a positive add — but I didn’t know how good and why until now. Despite its cumbersome title, Paul W. Matthews’ Intense Transformation: Discover How HIIT—the Most Powerful Exercise to Transform Your Mind, Body, & Spirit—Can Activate Your Full Potential, gets right to the core (!) of […]

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Diplomat and Author Madeline Albright Dead at 83

March 24, 2022 Linda L. Richards 0

The splendid American diplomat and author Madeline Albright has died. She was 83. The Washington Post remembers Secretary Albright with affection: Madeleine K. Albright, who passed away on Wednesday, shaped a generation of foreign policy leaders — gently and usually with a smile. She knew every senior official, mentored many of them, and managed to say a cheery word even to people who took “dour” as a compliment. The New York Times reports that the […]

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This Just In: Below the Strandline by Tim Parr

March 24, 2022 Linda L. Richards 0

Searching for the truth can be murder… A dark, gripping debut crime novel set in gritty 1970s London. – Readers of Eva Dolan, J.M. Dalgliesh and Joseph Knox should enjoy Below the Strandline. Jerry runs away from a chequered past to start a new life in the city. He wants to be in control of his own destiny, to live by his own rules and, above all, to protect the girl he is falling in […]

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Cookbooks: The Only Plant Based Diet For Beginners Cookbook You Will Ever Need by Paul Green

March 19, 2022 Linda L. Richards 1

The more time passes, the more we as a society come to the understanding that a diet that is largely plant-based is the most healthy way to eat. In Paul Green’s vegan cookbook, The Only Plant Based Diet For Beginners Cookbook You Will Ever Need, the author explains the reason for the shift towards plant-based eating succinctly: Scientists and doctors believe that minimizing the intake of these unhealthy foods and increasing the intake of plant-based […]

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Book Banning Booms: Reading Lists Grow

February 1, 2022 Linda L. Richards 0

If art stirs the heart enough to make some people afraid, it is art deserving of our attention. This simple thought has come up for me again and again over the last few weeks as I surfed through this latest — and ugliest — wave of book banning and burning in America. Not everyone agrees with me. For instance, experts have some pretty strong ideas about why it’s happening now. From the New York Times: […]

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The Just In: Strange Fire by Joel Burcat

January 25, 2022 Linda L. Richards 0

Fracking for natural gas has turned deadly in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Not only is the water contaminated, but people are dying. Round-the-clock operations conducted by Yukon Oil and Gas may have poisoned a residential well and threatened a town’s water supply. Who is contaminating water wells in Bradford County? Why are contractors disappearing? Mike Jacobs, an impassioned 29-year old environmental lawyer with Pennsylvania’s Dept. of Environmental Protection, is back in this romantically-charged environmental legal thriller […]

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An Excerpt of Stephen King’s New Book Plus the Path to Happiness

January 24, 2022 Linda L. Richards 0

It’s far enough away that we don’t even want to think about it yet, but suddenly there’s an excerpt and we wanted a peek. Figured you might, too. In any case, a new novel by Stephen King is always something to get excited about, even if well in advance. It turns out that Fairy Tale, King’s new novel (due to drop September 22, so be patient!) starts with happiness, or the reaching for it. “What […]

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This Just In… Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill

May 30, 2021 Linda L. Richards 0

250 years in the future, artificial intelligences control every aspect of Kim’s life — from what she has for breakfast to who she is allowed to have sex with. Living in the northeast province of what used to be the United States, she is a rising star at The Artificial Intelligence Company, training and managing sentient beings called “AIs” in the enigmatic parallel universe of Virtual Reality. When a seemingly harmless lark sends Kim’s life […]