Embracing God in the Right Perspective With the Right Foundation of Faith in Him

Embracing God in the Right Perspective With the Right Foundation of Faith in Him, Chris Tham, Independently Published, 2020 

This Book is intended to remind mankind that God's love for us is eternal. It is a good step towards salvation, and finding one's place in the world. The book does not just include many Bible excerpts, but expands on them to help them be understood by the average person. A Man consists of three parts: spirit, soul and body (flesh). Put the spirit first and there is enlightenment in one's heart and mind. When one satisfies the gratifications of the flesh, the person is in trouble.

I don't know if I would call it my favorite chapter, but I enjoyed chapter 13. When life gets really hard, like during these Days of COVID, it can be hard to remember that God Loves You All The time, especially for those who have lost a loved one to the disease.   

The old saying goes: "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." I must not be "ready" because I had a very hard time "getting" this book. I do not mean to suggest that this is a bad book, because it isn't. For anyone who is looking for a closer relationship with God, or who just needs a spiritual "jumpstart", this book is truly amazing and enlightening, and well worth reading. (4 to 4 1/2 stars).

Essential Life Skills for Teens

 Essential Life Skills for Teens, David Skiddy, Independently Published, 2022

This book presents some ideas and tips to help teens navigate this hyper-fast world.

There will be days when life totally stinks, when you feel overwhelmed with problems. It could range from getting a bad mark on a test, to breaking up with your significant other. There is no way to change the actual event, but you can change your reaction to it. The book gives details.

Have you ever tried setting personal goals for yourself, and staying committed to that goal until it is accomplished? It can't be a vague "I want to. . . " It must be specific, and measurable, and optimistic and have a time limit. It also needs to be written down and posted where you will see it, every day. You must also commit to doing at least one goal-oriented thing, every day.

The book also talks about time management. Some tasks are urgent and important, like studying for a test at school. Other tasks are not urgent or important, like hanging out with your friends. Concentrate on the urgent and important tasks first, and leave the others for later.

A big subject for teens is financial literacy. The book gives some ideas for making extra money, like blogging, dog walking or lawn mowing/snow shoveling. To begin to control your spending, write down every expenditure. Perhaps some of them can be eliminated; you might be very surprised. The author also talks about saving money, even if it is only one or two percent per week. There is also a chapter about staying safe online.

This is a gem of a book. It is very easy to understand, and is recommended for all teens, younger and older. For some, this book might be common knowledge, but the tips in here still bear repeating. This easily gets 5 stars.

Wullie the Mahaar Gome: Book 1: Blackhope Scar

 Wullie the Mahaar Gome: Book 1: Blackhope Scar, David Kennedy Mcculloch, Blue Forge Press, 2018

First of a series, this novel is about Finn McDougall, your average schoolboy in Seattle. His life totally changes when Great Uncle Hugh gives him a gome (not a gnome). It's a rude, bad-tempered Scottish rock creature called Wullie, who has lived for hundreds of years.

Finn, and Hadley Kobayashi, his next door neighbor, are drawn into a plot involving rusting barges on Seattle's waterfront, a snobby French woman, abandoned coalmines and flooded quarries in Scotland, an abandoned Scottish military base, bullies, gangsters and weird Scottish food. Can a pair of kids, Great Uncle Hugh and a rock creature who likes to eat metal, stop something really awful from happening in the city of Edinburgh?

Start with "Excellent" and go from there; that's how good this book is. The writing and imagery are very well done. It has plenty of action, and reaches the level of Amazing. It may be intended as a Young Adult book, but adults will also love it. This deserves more than 5 stars.  

Software Projects for Business People

 Software Projects for Business People, Jonathan P Crosby, Independently Published, 2018

You have just been named to a team tasked with creating a new software package, from scratch. Where do you even start?

Planning is essential before any code is written. Who is the intended recipient? Is it for internal use only, or will it be sold to the public? Constant communication between the corporate side and the IT side is also essential. Imposing an arbitrary deadline on the IT Department to have the software finished will not help.

The author uses the metaphor of building a house to make the whole process easier to understand for non-IT types. While in the planning stage, changes are acceptable (they are practically expected). When construction is half done, changes will cost a lot of time and money. It's tempting to want the software equivalent of a mansion, but it's a bad idea. Instead of having software that does everything but walk and talk by itself, and is full of bugs, what's wrong with having a much more basic piece of software that does only a few things, and has a lot fewer bugs?

Speaking of bugs, quality control is a requirement. Each finished chunk of software must be tested to make sure that it works with every other chunk of software. For example, this is a piece of HR software. Give it to your HR department for a test drive. Have IT people sit and watch how the software is used. Make note of, and fix, anything that doesn't work, or could be done better.

Corporate IT departments have constantly been accused of having their own language, incomprehensible to the rest of us. This book goes a long way toward bringing Corporate and IT closer together. It is very much worth reading for anyone in business, regardless of which side you are on.

Focal Point

 Focal Point, Brian Tracy, American Management Association, 2002, ISBN 0814471293

This book presents a method to achieve all of your personal and professional goals.

In business, it has been said that 80 percent of your revenue comes from 20 percent of your customers (or daily work tasks). Find your 20 percent and concentrate on them. Delegate to others, outsource or eliminate everything else. Everyone has work tasks that are urgent and important. Others are not urgent and not important. There are a lot of tasks that are somewhere in the middle. Concentrate on the urgent and important tasks. Eliminate the not urgent and not important tasks. Delegate or outsource all those tasks that are in the middle.

Imagine your perfect life, whether it involves your career, family, health or financial situation. How do you get from here to there? You are the only one who can change your life. You need to take a deep breath, focus on "it," whatever it is, and resolve to do at least one thing to get you closer to it, every day.

Even if you don't reach the level of "perfect," even if your situation improves by only a few percent, this book will have done its job. It is very easy to understand, and is highly recommended for people from all walks of life. 

Vampyrian Gateway

 Vampyrian Gateway, Richard C. Christensen, 2021, Independently Published, ISBN 978173711016

Peter Bridges, and his sister, Andie (short for Andrea), act like typical teenagers with the usual teenage problems (the opposite sex, school, getting on each other's nerves). They have been Chosen as problem-solvers between Earth and the Attached Worlds. These are several parallel worlds, populated by beings like vampires, elves and gnomes.

A real vampire knocks on their front door, and drops off a baby vampire for the pair to baby-sit. Aside from it not being in their job description, they are soon attacked by a pair of people dressed as ninjas. The baby has been kidnapped. While Andie waits for Vampire Mom (who seems to have disappeared) to return, Peter investigates the few clues that they have.

He meets a group called Friends of Bram Stoker (FOBS). It turns out to be more than just a vampire-killing computer game. Peter travels to Vampyria, the vampire world, to warn them of a major attack from Earth. Will Georg, the leader of Vampyria, believe a mere human? To vampires, humans are a little higher than plants on the evolutionary scale. Is Vampire Baby ever found?

This is an excellent start to a series, with good writing through out. It is just weird enough, without being too weird. It may be intended as a Young Adult novel, but adults will also enjoy it.

Burnout Diaries: How Work Stress Almost Killed Me

 Burnout Diaries: How Work Stress Almost Killed Me, Janna Donovan, Wydie Press LLC, 2021

This is the true story of one person's journey through the world of work stress and burnout.

Janna is a mid-level marketing executive at Nocura, a high-tech/cellphone company in Texas. Along with Dave, her husband, and their son, Sean, Janna has lived overseas in the past, so they figure that a transfer to Nocura's office in Malaysia is a great idea.

Janna is not new to executive stress, but this is a whole other level of stress. There is no easing into her new job. The division did not meet its quarterly sales quota; what will Janna do about it? There are several vacancies in her department, along with a hiring freeze. A seven-day work week is almost expected for those who are left. After only a few days, Janna asks herself "What am I doing here?"

As the weeks go on, Janna can't sleep or eat. She loses a lot of weight (not in a good way). She starts taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety pills. Suicide looks very tempting. After several months, Janna is forced to quit. Her immediate boss is very understanding. Staying in Malaysia, Janna starts to regain her emotional bearings. She is the breadwinner in the family (that was decided when Sean was born). What does she do now?

This is the type of story that could take place in any industry and anywhere in the world. It is very much worth reading, especially for anyone who feels overwhelmed at work.

Summer and Joon

 Summer and Joon, Sydney Arrison, Lilactyme Productions, 2021

Set in present-day New York City, Summer is a single mom raising Jacob, who is 4 years old. She shares custody with Dane, whose attempt at a pro basketball career ended before it started. The two exes have a decent relationship.

A few doors away from the diner where Summer works is a print shop run by Joon, who is young and handsome. The two become "an item" pretty quickly. Summer finds herself falling for Joon very fast. It is thrilling and terrifying at the same time. Dane helps, unintentionally, by telling Summer that he plans to marry Carmen, his girlfriend. There is now no reason for Summer not to totally fall in love with Joon.

When is the best time for Summer to introduce Joon to Jacob? Will he accept, or not accept, Joon as part of the family? The relationship between Summer and Joon seems to good to be true? Does all of Joon's family accept Summer? Does fate throw a stone wall obstacle in their path? Will they live happily ever after?

This is a really good tale of two people from very different backgrounds who seem to have found true love. It is very honest and down-to-earth, and romance fans (of which I am not one) will love it. This gets 4 to 4.5 stars.