I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
One author takes a humorous jump into his past to showcase the life of a young man growing up in the Baby Boomer generation in author Dennis Fried’s “A Tongue In The Sink: The Harrowing Adventures Of A Baby Boomer Childhood”.
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The Synopsis
Are the current events of your childhood now showing on the History Channel?
Do you look at todayÂs kids and suspect that theyÂre aliens?
Have you ever assaulted an electronic device?
Have you been ridiculed in the recent past for using paper and pencil?
Do you forget whether some of your favorite movie stars are dead or alive?
Have you been saying “When I was a kid” more and more lately?
Then meet Dennis Fried, former philosophy professor and stand-up comic (just your normal, everyday career path), and author of the popular Memoirs of a Papillon: The Canine Guide to Living with Humans without Going Mad. Return with him to the days when kids actually went outside to play! When SUVs were not only unknown but unneeded, since no self-respecting kid wanted to be seen being dropped off by his parents. When gym teachers issued directly from the “walk it off” school of pain management. Back to the days of Saturday afternoon double features, A-bomb drills, and the always-dangerous Big Kids.
This wry, incisive memoir about growing up in a small town will fill you with laughter, nostalgia, and reflections on the changing nature of childhood. If you were ever a kid, this is your story.
The Review
A truly humorous, exciting and one-of-a-kind read readers will feel like they have been transported back into the past as they read the author’s unique take on a baby boomer childhood. From the book’s early pages readers are treated to the author’s unique sense of humor and his take on life since moving to Florida, and subsequently takes readers on a journey back to Catskill, New York.
From the parenting styling of his parents and an early childhood encounter with a rude school janitor that nearly led to an altercation between his father and the aforementioned janitor, to later years dodging the fury of road rage and growing up too fast, the author uses humor and wit to take a look at the past. Exploring one’s yearning for a simpler time and the simplicity we take for granted in childhood, the author expertly navigates his life and the baby boomer generation and brings readers along for the ride.
The Verdict
A powerful, funny, and charming read, “A Tongue in the Sink” by Dennis Fried is a must-read humor book. While there are many things that came from that era that are now being seen as harmful, there were also a lot of things of that era that spoke of simplicity, comfort, and less chaos than what the world is facing now, and there is something to be said for that. The readers of the baby boomer generation will love this read, and the humor is evident in every chapter, making this a unique read. Be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Dr. Dennis Fried has been laughed out of numerous careers, including stand-up comedy. He has advanced degrees in physics and philosophy, all of which have gone totally to waste. He is extremely lazy, and if it weren’t for his author-dog, Genevieve, he probably wouldn’t get out of bed until suppertime.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
The truthfulness of current and controversial U.S. president Donald Trump takes center stage as his quotes and known sayings are challenged with facts and reason in author Bill Adler Jr.’s “Trump Corrected: A Counter-Quotation Book”.
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The Synopsis
Trump Corrected is a counter-quotation book. For each quotation by Donald Trump, Trump Corrected offers alternative, enlightened, informed and sane words spoken by somebody else.
The strange, often incoherent, furious, fatuous or just plain ignorant words that spill out of Donald Trump’s mouth and keyboard are paired in Trump Corrected with intelligent, rational comments. Trump Corrected is the conversation you always wanted to see between Donald Trump and thoughtful people like Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Jon Stewart, and Stephen King. People who know what they’re talking about.
When Trump isn’t lying, he’s often babbling incoherently, staggering from subject to subject — even within the same sentence. The politicians, historians, musicians, athletes, diplomats, writers, comedians, scientists and others quoted in Trump Corrected have an advantage over Donald Trump when it comes to speaking clearly and honestly about the subjects that perplex President Trump: They read books. Or they take the advice of former President Barack Obama: “The most important thing you need to do is to have big chunks of time during the day when all you’re doing is thinking.” Trump Corrected may not be a fair fight, but it’s an illuminating and sometimes amusing one.
Viewed from the perspective of Trump’s duelists, Trump Corrected gives an insightful and revealing look at Donald Trump, as well as hope that reason and intelligence will be restored to America.
The Review
During a contentious time such as ours, when we are in the midst of social unrest, the fight for civil rights, and a global pandemic, this book has never felt more relevant. The author brilliantly showcases the sad state of Trump’s opinions and official statements and builds upon them to argue or counter-point the statements with logical, intellectual and sound reasoning from more credible sources.
Touching on everything from Healthcare and the Press to his Presidency and Trump’s own ego, the author holds no punches as they expertly take apart Trump’s own statements and calls out just how much the President thinks of himself versus the actual intellect and truthfulness of what he’s saying to the public, much of which comes from his overly used Twitter account. Readers will not be able to put down this book as it showcases a multitude of lies, inaccuracies, and hurtful commentary from a man who is supposed to be leading our nation, (and this was before the last couple of years of his Presidency).
The Verdict
A must-read for anyone who enjoys political non-fiction reads evenly paced books and is seeking to educate and learn about the inaccurate statements and history of the man who is currently running the United States in the midst of some of our nation’s biggest struggles, and is affecting the world stage as well. A truly thought-provoking read, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Bill Adler Jr. is an American writer living in Tokyo.
He’s the author of Outwitting Squirrels (The Wall Street Journal: “A masterpiece”; Boing Boing: “One of the funniest books I’ve ever read”), Boys and Their Toys: Understanding Men by Understanding Their Relations With Gadgets, Tell Me a Fairy Tale: A Parent’s Guide to Telling Mythical and Magical Stories, and No Time to Say Goodbye, a time travel novella, and other books.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author Thomas Jordan takes readers on a journey to examine how previous relationships of love in one’s life and a failure to learn from them can affect how much of their love life they control in the book, “Learn to Love: Guide to Healing Your Disappointing Love Life”.
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The Synopsis
After 30 years of clinical research and treatment of patients with unhealthy love lives, Dr. Thomas Jordan has recognized that most people aren’t actually in control of their own love lives. Why? Because most people don’t know how to identify and change what they’ve learned from the love relationships in their lives. In Learn to Love: Guide to Healing Your Disappointing Love Life, you will learn how to make real—and lasting—improvements in your love life.
Starting with the family into which we’re born, we learn from all the love relationships in our lives, especially the unhealthy ones. Learn to Love will show you how these experiences help to form a psychological blueprint that controls the love life experiences we have as adults. If what you learned about love relationships was healthy, you’ll replicate this and have a meaningful and satisfying love life. But if what you learned was unhealthy, chances are you’ll continue to make the same love life mistakes over and over again. Learn to Love will show you how to unlearn this unhealthy learning and form the love relationships you’ve always wanted to have.
The simple formula presented within the pages of this book has helped many of my patients begin taking control of their own love lives, as well as helping me improve my own love life. Learn to Love will help you learn how to take control of your love life.
The Review
This was a captivating read, delving into the many aspects of love that influence a person’s life. From early childhood relationships and how even how a person’s parents interact can impact their viewpoint of love, to how modern-day relationships can lead to emotional baggage and so much more, this book covers a wide range of topics.
It was fascinating to see the various studies the author brought to the subject from the earliest chapters of the book. In one section the author talks about how hope impacts an unhealthy love life by bringing into it the concept of multiple disappointments. Another chapter delves into how we often will recreate the aspects of a previous relationship that made it so unhealthy in our current relationships. These studies and experiences the author relays are not only well written but speak to the reader on a personal level that can allow the reader to identify and understand aspects of their own lives in this book.
The Verdict
Informative, personal, and passionately written, author Thomas Jordan’s “Learn to Love” is a masterful reading experience that readers will not soon forget. Built to highlight the experiences of love throughout multiple aspects of one’s life and how we need to learn from those experiences to escape unhealthy relationships overall, this book is a quick yet fascinating journey into the aspect of love in our lives and deserves to be read. Be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Dr. Thomas Jordan is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice on the upper west side of Manhattan. He is a graduate of the New York University’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology, and a faculty member of the post-doctoral program. Dr. Jordan is the creator of the Love Life Webinar and Love Life Seminar, author of “Learn to Love,” “Healthy Love Relationship,” and “Individuation in Contemporary Psychoanalysis,” and co-founder of the lovelifelearningcenter.com. He specializes in the treatment of chronic love life problems. Dr. Jordan has been researching and treating unhealthy love lives for 30 years.
I received a free copy of this book and software in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
In a first here on my site, I have the unique opportunity to share my review of not only a book on writing that is considered to be a must-read for many aspiring writers and screenwriters, but to test out the amazing writing software that many use in their modern projects. Here are my thoughts on Save the Cat! Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody.
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The Synopsis
SAVE THE CAT!® by Blake Snyder is a popular screenwriting book series and storytelling methodology used by screenwriters, directors, and studio execs across Hollywood. Now, for the first time ever, bestselling author and writing teacher, Jessica Brody, takes the beloved Save the Cat! plotting principals and applies them to the craft of novel writing in this exciting new “workshop style” guide, featuring over 20 full beat sheets from popular novels throughout time.
Whether you’re writing your first novel or your seventeenth, Save the Cat! breaks down plot in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step method so you can write stories that resonate! This book can help you with any of the following:
Outlining a new novel
Revising an existing novel
Breaking out of the dreaded “writer’s block”
Fixing a “broken” novel
Reviewing a completed novel
Fleshing out/test driving a new idea to see if it “has legs”
Implementing feedback from agents and/or editors
Helping give constructive feedback to other writers
But above all else, SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL will help you better understand the fundamentals and mechanics of plot, character transformation, and what makes a story work!
The Review
What really spoke to me about the book was as a novelist it was great to see how the process of storytelling from a more modern lens looked and felt. Applying the pattern that was discovered and applied to successful novels and screenplays to our own works was unique, and showcased the things that worked and the things that didn’t.
On top of that, the author takes readers through the important steps of developing and nurturing a story, from identifying the “hero” of the story to the genres being explored, the pitch that you’ll want to sell the story to readers, and the beats that can be touched upon throughout the narrative. The novel is thorough, detailed, and does an amazing job of not necessarily declaring one writing style over another to be “superior”, but instead guiding the writer in the process of discovering their own voice while still following a pattern of success.
As for the software itself, the ability to utilize the program for screenplays, television shows, and novels was a treat, and could even divide the novel into larger series overall. I decided to utilize my novel “The Legend of Electric Fusion”, a book I wrote years ago I am in the process of rewriting and utilized it for this software.
The technology allowed me to start breaking down my characters more fully. Not only getting into more detailed descriptions of the characters, but their overall motivations and goals moving forward. This helped me to see a more clear path for the narrative to take moving forward. It is a truly organized, structured, and detailed path for those who follow the plotter style of writing than anything else.
The Verdict
A must-read book and fantastic software that writers and readers alike will fall in love with. Motivating and inspiring, the book helps foster creativity and bring stories more fully to life than ever before. It is a great step in helping to hone the writer’s craft and give readers a chance to see into the complex process of developing an engaging novel. Be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About Save the Cat!®
Save the Cat! provides writers the resources they need to develop their screenplays and novels based on a series of best-selling books, primarily written by Blake Snyder (1957- 2009). Blake’s method is based on 10 distinctive genres and his 15 story beats (the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet). Our books, workshops, story structure software, apps, and story coaching teach you everything you need to unlock the fundamentals and mechanics of plot and character transformation.
Find out more about Save the Cat! by visiting their webpage at www.savethecat.com.
About the Save the Cat Structure Software
Save the Cat! Story Structure Software is adapted from the Save the Cat! methodology to help screenwriters and novelists unlock the fundamentals of plot and character transformation. The Story Structure Software is a virtual writer board with digital index cards to help map out your story against the 15 beats or plot points to your story. The software enables writers to track emotional shifts of characters from scene to scene, develop profiles and edit and version your story with ease.
You can purchase a subscription to the Save the Cat! Structure Software at Save the Cat’s website.
About Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
An Amazon #1 best seller with over 500 reviews, it’s the first novel-writing guide from the best-selling Save the Cat! story-structure series, reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any novel a success.
In this revolutionary novel-writing guide from the best-selling Save the Cat! series, novelist Jessica Brody demystifies each beat, making it simple to learn the complexities of storytelling. The best-seller also reveals the ten universal story genres to help you drill down into what makes your type of story work. Featuring sample “beat sheets” for hits from the likes of J. K. Rowling, Khaled Hosseini, and Stephen King, this practical guide also includes real-world advice on pitching your novel, plus the quirky, original insights (like the eponymous tip to “Save the Cat”) that make this series unique. By the end of this book, your own imaginative beats will combine to create a story that thrills readers from start to finish.
Print Length: 320 Pages
Genre: Writing References
Publisher: Ten Speed Press/Random House Publishing LLC
Jessica Brody worked for MGM Studios as manager of acquisitions and business development before becoming an internationally best-selling author of more than fifteen novels for adults and teens including The Geography of Lost Things, The Chaos of Standing Still, A Week of Mondays, and Better You Than Me. She travels the country teaching Save the Cat! workshops to novelists.
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Blog Tour Dates
April 27th @ The Muffin
What goes better in the morning than a muffin? Visit the Muffin today and you can read an interview with the Save the Cat team as well as enter to win a copy of the book Save the Cat! Writes the Novel and a one-year subscription to their software Save the Cat! Structure Software.
Make sure you visit Jessica’s blog today and you can read her review of Save the Cat! Writes the Novel and her review of the Save the Cat! Structure Software.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
One man’s journey to accepting himself and facing the world as not only a gay man, but a gay priest as well, comes to life in author Ted Karpf’s book, “Acts of Forgiveness: Faith Journeys of a Gay Priest”.
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The Synopsis
In 1980s America, coming out as gay as a father and husband was a significant journey for anyone to make. Coming out as gay as a priest guaranteed immersion into controversy, contradiction, and challenge. This book tells of the Reverend Canon Ted Karpf’s navigation of new social and romantic journeys, all within the context of his priestly vocation in the Episcopal Church. Covering from 1968 to 2018, Karpf recounts his vivid memories, life-changing dreams and resonant reflections on living a life of faith in a socially and politically tumultuous period. His narratives are crafted as poetic meditations on enduring values and meaning, which can remind any reader that we are neither abandoned nor alone, and that forgiveness is a fulfilling way of living in a world of contradictions.
The Review
A heartbreaking and honest journey takes form in this one of a kind read. The author relays the difficult journey of coming to terms with the abuse suffered as a child, the painful process of accepting who he truly is while married to a woman with two children and finding clarity for his religious beliefs in relation to his own personality and sexual identity.
What stands out to me as a reader is a journey the author takes to accept himself. Personally, as someone who isn’t religious, it was fascinating to see the author’s path to acceptance and finding his place in the world throughout his life. What also stands out is how religion is not as cut and dry as most think it to be. There are so many different paths and avenues of thought in that regard, and there is a place for those who choose to believe in a higher power. You just have to be willing to look and find it for yourself. As someone who isn’t religious, it was refreshing to see the way believers could still integrate acceptance and love for the LGBTQ community.
The Verdict
A brilliant, heartfelt and emotional read, the author has crafted a unique journey for the reader to follow. From finding forgiveness for an absent parent to the hardship of a gay relationship after accepting oneself and more, this book is an honest read that people need to read. A one of a kind book, be sure to grab your copy of “Acts of Forgiveness: Faith Journeys of a Gay Priest” by Ted Karpf today!
“Acts of Forgiveness: Faith Journeys of a Gay Priest is a beautiful work reminding again that there is no future without forgiveness; there is no faith without love. This book animates these truths through a poetic documentary legacy.” – Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus Anglican Church of Southern Africa
“In the tradition of the rabbis, Father Ted Karpf calls upon both his heritage and experience to bring the reader into a place of sensitivity and compassion. We literally “suffer with” in order to achieve healing and activate a more hopeful future; not because of the suffering, but in spite of it.” – Joel Thorp Katz, MD, MACP
“Karpf has written a difficult and important book, a social justice memoir that challenges secular readers with its religious language, abusers with its painful analysis, and activists with its stories of good deeds punished. He also conducts a rigorous accounting of his own shortcomings, what in Jewish tradition is called a cheshbon hanefesh. In so doing, this Methodist-turned-Episcopal-priest models the very trans-religious values he holds so dear, and honors the memory of his Jewish grandfather in the process.” – David I. Schulman, Supervising Attorney, AIDS Descrimination Unit, Los Angeles City Attorneys Office
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About the Author, Ted Karpf
Ted Karpf is a priest, public servant, international diplomat, journalist, university administrator and educator. He was educated in New York, Texas and Massachusetts. A gay man, Ted is a father and grandfather. He has been and remains a man who reflects the times in which he has lived while offering a hopeful vision for the future. Ted watches clouds and tests the winds and prays while residing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
What goes better in the morning than a muffin? Stop by the blog today and read an interview with author Ted Karpf. You can also win a copy of his book Acts of Forgiveness.
March 10th @ God vs. The Patriarchy
Stop by Annie’s blog and read her review of Ted Karpf’s book Acts of Forgiveness.
