Gambling Lion

 Gambling Lion, Antoinette George, Brangwyn Press, 2021

 

Set in Western Europe of the Napoleonic Era, this novel is about Nicholas de Bresancourt, a French duke whose lands were confiscated by the French authorities. Working for the British (in their war against France) as a courier and spy, he spends a few days in London, waiting for his next assignment. He catches up with his adoptive family, and visits Mayfair's hottest gaming club, Le Lion D'Or.

 

Run by a masked woman who calls herself La Lionesse, she invites him upstairs, where they can be alone, all night. She turns up the seduction "dial" as high as it will go. This goes on for several nights; Nicky would be very angry if he saw her face.

 

Meantime, he is given a new and secret assignment. He is to find a notorious French agent who has been causing a lot of trouble for the British in Spain. This Frenchman will not hesitate to torture, and then kill, Nicholas if he is discovered.

 

This is an excellent start to a series. It has adventure, high society, danger and lots of seduction. There is also a lot of good storytelling. It is very much worth reading.

LMSW Exam Prep 2024-2025

 LMSW Exam Prep 2024-2025, Ariadne Blaine, 2023

 

Do you want to become a licensed social worker? This book is here to help.

 

Be very sure of the requirements to become a social worker in your state. Every state has different requirements. Taking the ASWB exam is a good idea, but not mandatory. Be aware that it is reputed to be a very difficult exam; nearly half of all test takers fail the exam. If you fail, you have to wait six months to take it again, and pay the several hundred dollar test fee.

 

This book covers areas like human growth and development, self-care and burnout prevention, assessment and intervention planning and advanced ethical dilemmas. There are practice tests in the back of the book (with answers and explanations).

 

Knowing nothing about the social worker field, this book feels very comprehensive and straightforward. For anyone looking to become a social worker, this book is very much worth the time (and money).

Wall Pilates Workouts For Women

 Wall Pilates Workouts for Women, Madison Gray, 2023

 

Are you looking for an easy exercise plan that does not involve buying expensive equipment, or going to a gym? Welcome to wall pilates. All you need are loose workout clothes and a wall.

 

The exercises in this book will not just tone your physique and sculpt your muscles. They can also improve your mental clarity, raise your endurance and vitality and reduce your levels of stress and anxiety. There is a complete description of each exercise, along with clear illustrations (to remove any thought that you might be doing it wrong).

 

Whether you are a novice or veteran exerciser, this book is very much recommended. If you can do only a few of these exercises, it is still worth the time and money.

NHA Phlebotomy Study Guide 2024-2025

 NHA Phlebotomy Study Guide 2024-2025, Robert Cliven, 2023

 

Have you ever had someone take a sample of your blood while you are at your doctor's office or an urgent care clinic? That person is a phlebotomist.

 

There is a lot to keep in mind as a phlebotomist. It starts with finding a usable vein, usually in the crook of the elbow, and inserting the needle at the right angle and depth. The patient may be apprehensive or have a fear of needles, so being able to answer all questions from the patient is important. After the sample is taken, it must be properly labeled. Mislabeling a blood sample can lead to the patient not getting appropriate health care. A phlebotomist must also safeguard a person's private health information, and ensure that it stays private.

 

This book explores each of these areas, and answers many FAQ questions about phlebotomy. It also has a sample test, with answers and explanations. Experience as a phlebotomist is necessary to be qualified to take this test. This book feels very comprehensive and easy to understand. For those who want to become a certified phlebotomist, this is an excellent place to start.

I Spy Animal Book for Kids

 I Spy Animal Book for Kids, DreamWorld Press, 2023, ISBN 9798398245394

 

This coloring book will help young children learn the alphabet and the names of animals that start with a particular letter. Each letter is on a separate page, with pictures of five animals. The next page has the correct animal, plus a fact about it. The pages are nice and thick, so seepage from markers will not be a problem.

 

This book is recommended to begin a child's education on the alphabet. It is also good for downtime at home, and to keep the child occupied during those long car rides to Grandma's house.

Postal Exam Study Guide 2024-2025

 Postal Exam Study Guide 2024-2025, Talon Redwood, 2023

 

There is a lot more to the US Post Office than just mail carriers.

 

Especially at the larger mail sorting facilities, it is vital that those sorting machines and conveyor belts be kept operating. The maintenance staff needs more knowledge than the average person about electronics and mechanical issues. There is a standardized exam just for that category. Of course, there is a standardized exam for mail carriers, who, for most people, are the "face" of the post office. Postal workers, those who run those sorting machines and conveyor belts, have their own exam. Last, but not least, there is a separate exam for customer service clerks. They are the people who deal with the public every day, selling stamps and accepting packages.

 

There are many questions and answers, and a practice test, for each category. For anyone interested in a job with the US Post Office, this book is well worth adding to your list of study materials. It feels very complete, and is worth the money.

The Deadly Samaritan: Good Intentions, Tragic Results

 The Deadly Samaritan: Good Intentions, Tragic Results, Michael Geczi, 2023

 

Morristown, New Jersey is being menaced by a serial killer, but this is not your average serial killer. Drew McLogan is a former TV producer in Manhattan. He is visiting Stan Kaminsky, Morristown's Chief of Police (the two are old friends). After another body is found, and Kaminsky dies from a sudden heart attack, McLogan decides to stick around, and get involved.

 

Not everyone in town is happy that McLogan is playing amateur detective. Does he attract the attention of the killer/killers? Is there someone or something else behind the murders? Who is still alive at the end of the story?

 

This is an excellent psychological murder mystery. It has plenty of twists and good writing. It will easily keep the reader interested.

Say No to Negativity and Win the Fight In Your Head

 Say No to Negativity and Win the Fight In Your Head, Jonah Okpara, 2023

 

An Uber driver can meet all kinds of people, good and bad.

 

On one trip, the author (a recent emigrant to America from Nigeria) met an older man who felt like a failure. He was totally unable to work due to a severe health condition. Another passenger was a young woman in tears because her boyfriend was treating her horribly. The author talked to them, and gave them some encouragement, some common sense and a bit of religion. Both passengers left his car feeling a lot better.

 

This book explores subjects like how not to be depressed, how to reduce your anxiety, how to deal with seasonal affective disorder and how to relieve stress in your life.

 

The author is not an academic or theologian, but an average person. This book is surprisingly good and very inspirational. For anyone having an emotional rough time, regardless of the cause, reading this book is an excellent idea.

Composting: The Garden Gold

 Composting: The Garden Gold, Oliver Thorne, 2023

 

The first thing to learn about composting (turning grass clippings and fallen leaves into mulch for your garden) is to Be Patient. It might take weeks, or months, for air, water and bacteria to complete the transformation.

 

You need a certain ratio of "green" items (kitchen scraps and grass clippings) to "brown" items (straw and fallen leaves). Too much of one or the other, and you might create a bad smell, or the composting process will seem to have stopped. It is necessary to use a pitchfork, or other such tool, and turn the whole pile every so often. This guarantees that air will get to all parts of the pile. You also need water, but not too much. There will be false starts, and setbacks. Don't worry about it; it's a learning process.

 

If you live in the city, there are smaller size composting kits available. You can still compost for the plants that are on your balcony, or to contribute to a community garden.

 

There are many upsides to composting, including reducing landfill waste, and helping your children to get up close and personal with the environment. This is a first-rate book that painlessly goes through the whole process. For anyone who wants to get into composting, reading this book is an excellent place to start.

Winners' Guide to GMAT Critical Reasoning

 Winners' Guide to GMAT Critical Reasoning, Jay John, 2022, ISBN 9798369851142

 

Critical thinking is an important skill in daily life, and when taking the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), a central part of any graduate school education. This book is here to help.

 

It covers a variety of topics, including logic, the major components of critical reasoning, kinds of arguments and fallacies, like either/or and inconsistency. The book also explores the best approach for dealing with certain types of questions in the test. As always, there are many practice questions, with answers and explanations.

 

Like the other books in this series, this book is highly recommended. It is good for anyone taking the GMAT. It is also good for anyone whose interest in learning is not satisfied in the average high school or college. This book is very easy to understand.

Breakthrough: How to Design Your Life

 Breakthrough: How to Design your Life, Joe Thomsett, Coevolve Publishing, 2023

 

Are you in a job that you hate because you "should" be there? Throughout your life, have you been told that you "have to" go to college, and get a lucrative job, like in law or corporate finance? After that, are you "supposed" to get married, take on a lot of debt when buying a house, and have the appropriate number of children? On your deathbed, forty or fifty years from now, are you going to look back and think "What did I do with my life?" For those not interested in such a life, this book may help.

 

First of all, recognize the programming of what you should do with your life. The message could be from society in general, or parents who only want (what they have been taught is) the best for you. Next, look inside yourself. What are you passionate about? What did you enjoy doing when you were young? What hobbies or interests got pushed aside when you entered the working world? Is there a way to turn your interest in cooking, or playing a musical instrument (for instance) into a career? Have you ever wanted to keep working while living in a foreign country? Look up the words "digital nomad."

 

There are a million diet/exercise plans available. The best one for you is the one that you will stick with, all the time. Consider severely de-cluttering your life. You need to be brutal in getting rid of clothes that you will never wear, monthly subscriptions on your credit card that you don't use, and time-wasting meetings and e-mail threads at work. It might help you get closer to "it," whatever you are passionate about.

 

This is a gem of a book. If a person can only move in this direction, but not get all the way to "passion-land," it is still a very good thing. It is very easy to read, and very much worth reading.

The Performance CEO: An Extreme Cognitive Protocol for Entrepreneurial Success

 The Performance CEO: An Extreme Cognitive Protocol for Entrepreneurial Success, Michael Koch, 2023

 

The author, a tech CEO, spent a lot of time and money, reading and talking to experts, to answer one question. How can I supercharge my brain and body so that I can be on top of my game, every day? The answer is not for the faint of heart.

 

It starts with fasting for 23 hours a day. (!) Along with that is a 48-hour fast once a week, and a 72-hour fast once a month. Perhaps a person can work up to those numbers. Believe it or not, there many health benefits to that level of fasting. When you do eat, concentrate on organic meat and free-range eggs. Have you heard of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)? Incorporate it into your daily schedule. Recovery after exercise is just as important as exercise. The author uses hyperbaric oxygen, sauna, red light therapy and ice baths.

 

Other parts of the fitness program are much more possible for the average person. Get a good night's sleep. Get outside and get some natural Vitamin D from the sun. Use a standing desk. Take an afternoon walk in nature every day. Set aside a few 20-minute blocks during the day for you to focus on critical tasks that require a lot of brain power. Turn off social media and your cellphone.

 

A visit to your doctor before starting this is a good idea. The author freely admits that this is not for everyone. For those with the intestinal fortitude, you are well on your way to being unstoppable at work. For the rest of us, this is still recommended. Even a small movement in this direction is a good thing.

Self-Publishing: The Secret Guide to Becoming a Best Seller

 Self-Publishing: The Secret Guide to Becoming a Best Seller, Richard McCartney, 2021

 

You have just written what you think is the Next Great Novel. How does that book becomes a best seller?

 

The usual method is through Google Ads, more ads on Twitter and Facebook, posting on other people's blogs and hiring a freelancer to publicize your book to thousands of e-mail addresses. The conversion rate, people who buy your book because they saw one of your ads, is usually microscopic (one percent or less). The author has a much more reliable method to do it.

 

Like it or not, Amazon is the world's largest seller of books; all roads lead to Amazon. Most customers will go to, for instance, the Suspense and Thrillers section, look through the Top 20 and choose one of them. Getting your book into the Top 20 starts with the category that you choose for your book. Don't choose just Suspense and Thrillers; you are competing against all those big-name authors. Find some niche, or sub-niche, within Suspense and Thrillers, and your journey to Number 1 may be much easier. If you do reach Number 1 in your sub-niche, Amazon will move your book higher in the main Suspense and Thrillers list, maybe into the Top 20.

 

This is a must-read for all authors. Marketing your book is as hard, if not harder, than actually writing it. This book makes it much easier. It is highly recommended. 

The Head: A Johnny Fedora Espionage Assignment

 The Head: A Johnny Fedora Espionage Assignment, Desmond Cory, 2022

 

Johnny Fedora is a resourceful secret agent for British Intelligence. This was back in the days when all that an agent could rely on was their own brain.

 

Part of a series, this novel has Johnny in a small village in Spain. One of the world's greatest sculptors has just finished a large stone statue. Broken into pieces, the statue is to be carried (by donkey) to the top of a local mountain, where it is to be re-assembled in time for a local religious festival. We're not talking Mt. Everest; the snow-covered mountain is about three thousand feet high.

 

The trek attracts an assorted group of helpers, including the village priest and mayor, a female Spanish film star and a London newspaperman. Johnny also goes along "just for the ride." It turns into a fiasco. The snow and extreme fog are constant. The groups get separated from each other. Getting lost on the mountain is easy. They have come all this way; do they continue to the top, or give up, and head back down the mountain? This turns into a story of survival, even for someone as experienced as Johnny. Does the statue get installed properly? Does everyone make it off the mountain alive?

 

Here is a really good story. It's also a really "quiet" story; there is no sex or violence. There is lots of good storytelling, and it is very much worth reading.

Home is Within You: A Memoir of Recovery & Redemption

 Home is Within You: A Memoir of Recovery & Redemption, Nadia Davis, 2023

 

This is the story of one person's journey from addiction, discrimination and mental health struggles to healing and redemption.

 

A native of Southern California, the author was the youngest of seven children. All of her siblings looked European, while she looked Hispanic (Mom was German, while Dad was Hispanic and Native American). She received the "usual" anti-Hispanic discrimination while growing up. She also got it from other Hispanics, who felt that her last name, Davis, was not Hispanic enough.

 

On a whim, she applied to UCLA (instead of going to a less-expensive state school), and they said Yes. She got interested in Sociology and Criminal Justice, with an emphasis on helping others. Davis got involved in a lawsuit that forced the local school to provide tests in Spanish, and not, automatically, put Hispanic students in the "slow" class.

 

As life went on, and after getting her law degree, the author battled addiction, a serious auto accident, public shaming and more than enough personal trauma for any one person. She also shows how she got through each of these "storms," and came out the other end recovered and healed.

 

This is a very inspirational book. No matter what personal trauma has been in your life, the author has probably been there. It is very much recommended for everyone.