Relapse: A Love Story

Relapse: A Love Story, Robert Hunter, Beaver's Pond Press, 2018

This is the first-person story of Rob Wildhide, would-be writer. He is absolutely convinced that he will write the next Great American Novel. There is just the small obstacle of writer's block.

Rob, and Annie, his girlfriend, decide on a spur-of-the-moment trip to rural Maine to visit some of her friends. They are a very "unique" group of people. Rob and Annie are married by a shaman, after a brief courtship. There is also lots and lots of alcohol, mostly home-made. Rob has had problems with alcohol in the past.

After several days of weirdness, and hangovers, Rob and Annie decide to leave. They make a break for it in a stolen limousine. A passenger for part of their trip is a female Romanian gypsy with many strange prophecies.

Soon after they get home, to Pennsylvania, Annie is diagnosed with cancer. While she is in the operating room, and Rob is in the waiting room, the law catches up with him. He is arrested and thrown in the local jail. Does Annie survive the operation? Do Annie and Rob get back together?

This book is easy to read and understand, and is full of good writing. It is the sort of story that can be set anywhere and happen to anyone. This easily gets four stars, maybe more.

Price of Life

Price of Life, David Crane, Foremost Press, 2015

For the past several thousand years, immortals have been living among the rest of humanity. Some are "good guys", more than willing to heal someone injured in a hit and run accident, or shot in a robbery. Some immortals are bad guys", convinced that they are superior to humans, and they should be Earth's absolute rulers.

It all began over 10,000 years ago, when Ru, a prehistoric human, handled a glowing meteor that had just landed on Earth. Today, he is Richard Rune, billionaire philanthropist. The rest of the immortals come from all walks of life. Laura is a singer/songwriter, Diego is a senior official in the Vatican and Alex is an FBI agent.

The American government, led by President Thunder, gets wind of a plot by a secret group of powerful right-wingers. It involves committing a major atrocity on US soil, which, of course, will be blamed on radical Islam. It will lead to the imposition of martial law. Can the authorities stop the plot in time?

Meantime, the "bad" immortals put into motion a much bigger plot, that will kill everyone on Earth. It involves mass death from space, so no country, or group of countries, can stop it. This is a job for Richard Rune, the first immortal. Who is still alive, human and immortal, at the end?

This is an excellent thriller/suspense story, with a little bit of science fiction included. It is very easy to read and understand. There is plenty of action, and it will certainly keep the reader entertained. This is very much worth reading.

Aro Marro's Face The Wind

Aro Marro's Face the Wind: Contemporary Philosophy for Personal Peace and Wisdom, Aro Marro, DRH Publishing, 2018

Many books on personal philosophy concentrate on things like mindfulness or meditation. This book is different.

The author looks at different personality traits and emotions. Some examples are extroversion vs introversion or confidence and calm vs neuroticism. Emotions like hypocrisy, trust/suspicion, careless blame or jealously are part of daily life, though they are not helpful. If that sounds familiar, resolve to do something about it (one emotion at a time, not all at once).

The book also explores ways to navigate today's world of propaganda. Consider the source; is there a political agenda? Numbers can be used to mean practically anything. Does the news organization consistently favor one political party over the other? Do news stories contain exaggerated qualifiers, like "tremendous" or "disastrous"? With science articles in particular, consider the credentials of the author.

The book ends with short bits of wisdom. Be reserved in your responses. Be willing to change your mind. Group consensus is often wrong. Persevere.

This book is very much worth reading. It is short and easy to understand. It is applicable to people from all walks of life, right now.

Google Ads (AdWords) Workbook

Google Ads (AdWords) Workbook: Advertising on Google Ads, YouTube and the Display Network, James McDonald, JM Internet Group, 2019

These days, it seems like everyone wants their ads to show up on Google's search results pages. This book goes through the whole process, step by step.

First of all, when starting the process of setting up your ads, you will be encouraged to advertise on Google's Search Network and Display Network. Stay away from the Display Network; they are two very different things. The Search Network ads will show up on Google's search results pages. Display Network ads will appear on YouTube, Gmail and on questionable sites whose only reason for being is to get clicks.

You, the business owner, pay Google every time someone clicks on one of your ads (that is how they make their money). You are interested in high quality clicks, that turn into a sale from your website. Keywords are very important. Be as specific as you can about the kind of customer you are seeking. Come up with, say, half a dozen "perfect" keywords, and set up a separate ad campaign for each. There are ways to measure, and analyze, just how well each keyword is doing. Don't be afraid to change, or delete, any ad campaign that is not working. Keeping it is only costing you money.

Along with positive keywords, there are negative keywords, like "cheap" or "free", that you will not pay for. Every so often, get online and make sure that your ads are running (don't just take Google's word for it). It is also possible to make sure that your ads will appear within the first four or five results on the results page. People who are searching using their smartphone will not go through pages and pages of results.

This book is not exactly a page-turner, but it is very much worth reading. The author does a very good job at making the whole process as painless as possible, helped by lots of screenshots. Any business, small or large, that wants to advertise online would do very well to start right here.

The Suicide Tree

The Suicide Tree, Shayla Raquel, Curiouser Editing LLC, 2018

Set a few years from now, Knox Kevel is a young man who is on his way to prison for computer hacking. His parents, both famous scientists, were given the task of finding a cure for the deadly Raven Virus. They were successful, but refused to give the cure to anyone. It led to protests worldwide, rampant conspiracy theories and their deaths in a mysterious explosion that destroyed their lab.

Knox is saved from prison by a mysterious man named Arlo. He gets the charges dropped in exchange for Knox's computer expertise. When Arlo was a child, he was the subject of a brain experiment, with the reluctant consent of his parents. It caused the creation of several alternate personalities, not all of them nice people. Arlo does not remember the name of the experimenter, but he wants Knox's help to find that person.

The focus shifts to southern Italy. Maybe one of Arlo's "alters" (other personalities) remembers the name of the experimenter. The "bad guy" is eventually found; does the person agree to give up quietly? Does Arlo get the effect reversed? Does Knox find out exactly how his parents died?

This is a really good present-day thriller, with a little bit of science fiction included. It has everything a reader needs, including good storytelling, good characters, a little romance and a plot that will keep the reader guessing until the end. This is well worth checking out.

The Trump Diary Reported by Mookie Goldwater

The Trump Diary Reported by Mookie Goldwater, Chris Murphy, 2019, self-published

In June 2017, around the time of the firing of James Comey as FBI Director, Donald Trump decided to write a daily diary. He kept it in his sock drawer. This lasted until the end of 2018, when it suddenly disappeared. After a late night phone call, Goldwater (a pseudonym) got hold of the diary, and is now living on the run.

Women are not treated well in his diary, despite his often-professed love for them. The few mentions Melania gets are not complimentary. There is much talk of the White House's revolving door. No matter how good a person may be at their job (or not), being part of Team Trump is a requirement.

There is considerable blame toward the Obama Administration, for practically everything. He makes himself look like the best President in American history (No administration is more transparent than mine; no President has done more for minorities, or women, than I have, etc.). Everyone has a nickname, from Kim Jong Un to Hillary to Charles Schumer.

This is an interesting look inside the brain of Donald Trump. Whether you are a supporter or opponent, it is important to get at least an idea as to where he is coming from. It helps that this book is not written by a Washington insider, intending to make Trump look like the worst thing, or the best thing, to ever happen to America. This book easily gets at least four stars.

Out-of-Work to Making Money

Out-of-Work to Making Money: 21 Comeback Stories Every Job Hunter Should Hear, Anne Emerick, Aboon Books, 2019

Being unemployed, for a short or long period, is part of life in the present day. This book presents short contributions from people who have been there, and successfully come out the other side.

You might receive an offer for your "dream job." Several weeks, or months, later, the offer disappears. In the meantime, other job offers are declined, waiting for this dream job. You might be a nanny, and about to get married, whose employer suddenly stops returning your phone calls. You might be close to retirement age, and one day, you suddenly find yourself without a job. You have received a severance check from a previous employer. Do you do something you have always wanted to do, like open a bakery (for instance), or do you stay home and binge-watch Netflix? What if a major medical condition (including pregnancy) causes the phone to stop ringing?

You are out of work; now what do you do? Take some time to grieve the loss of your job, but don't make it a habit (chocolate ice cream helps). Read a recent job search book. If the goal is a white collar, corporate job, set up an account on LinkedIn. Advertise your skills on a gig site like Fiverr. It is a good way to keep some money coming in, while you are job searching. If your resume needs more than just updating, visit Fiverr to find someone to do it. Network, network, network; you never know where a job opening will arise. Don't be afraid of new situations. Consider starting your own business.

This is an excellent book. The individual contributions are short, only a couple of pages each. Whatever your tale of unemployment, someone in this book (or the companion website) has been there. Included is a section on good, and bad, advice given to the unemployed. Here is a gem of a book. 

Effective Leaders and Leadership

Effective Leaders and Leadership, Mildred Stallworth, Amazon Digital Services LLC, 2017

Leadership involves much more than simply calling yourself a leader. This book gives some easy-to-follow guidelines to becoming a real leader.

Effective leaders make it a habit to help others, and put others first. Effective communicators equal successful leaders. They help create an atmosphere where people feel rewarded and appreciated. A leader needs to show that they have the confidence in their leadership to stay the course, even through thick and thin.

The book looks at basic leadership skills, including integrity, etiquette, listening abilities, accountability and compassion. It also explores topics like leadership in politics, the workplace and religious/spiritual leadership at home. Leadership also means mentoring and coaching, which is also included in this book.

There is lots of good information here, and this book is worth reading. However, it loses at least one ratings star (perhaps one-and-a-half stars) because it really needs a trip, or another trip, to a professional editor. Also, there are many inspirational quotes about leadership included, which is totally acceptable. Personal opinion only, they should be clustered at the start and/or end of the chapter, not spread throughout the chapter, with no attempt made at a different font or different indentation (could this have been an earlier, less-edited version of the book?).

We All Die Once

We All Die Once, Larry Kessler, 2012, Amazon Digital Services LLC

Many books about present-day healthcare have been written from the perspective of how to make it more efficient, while reducing the very high cost. This book looks at the rest of the medical field.

A doctor, especially an Emergency Room doctor, will run into many different ways to "handle"death. Having a loved one die at home is not always the best solution. It is understandable for a patient to expect zero errors from a doctor; it is also impossible. Doctors are only human; mistakes will be made. Also, everyone is going to die, whether sooner or later (hence the book's title). In the final analysis, the doctor will have a zero success rate.

A dirty word in the medical field is "rationing", but it happens every day. Penicillin was discovered in the late 1920's, but it wasn't until after World War II that it became available to the general public. Closer to the present, when there is more demand for a flu vaccine than supply, who decides who should get the shot? When an organ becomes available for transplant, who decides who is most needy?

Malpractice suits are a fact of life in the medical field. ER doctors and OB/GYN's can plan on being involved in at least one such suit during their career. It has become increasingly common for patients to walk into a doctor's office wanting a prescription for a pill that was advertised on TV. It doesn't matter if the doctor doesn't think they need it, or it will react badly with some other medication the patient is taking. Patients also want health insurance to be less expensive than at present, and to cover Everything, including cosmetic surgery (the author does not agree).

Written by someone who has been "in the trenches", this is a very interesting and eye-opening book. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to be a doctor; at least the student will enter medical school with their eyes wide open. This is very much worth reading.

Cyber Smart

Cyber Smart: Five Habits to Protect Your Family, Money and Identity from Cyber Criminals, Bart R McDonough, John Wiley & Sons, 2019

Every week seems to bring news of another data security breach, affecting millions of people. By now, it seems like everyone in America has been victim of at least one such security breach. What can be done to slow down, or stop, the cyber criminals?

Get a copy of your credit report from all three credit agencies. Get a copy of your child's report, too (a popular target for criminals). Put a credit freeze on these reports; that way, no one can open a new credit card account. Get a copy of your medical records, and make sure that, for instance, no one has given you AIDS when you don't actually have it, or deleted your allergy to penicillin.

Use a password management program, or write down your passwords and keep that list somewhere safe, like in a locked safe. It is tempting to recycle a strong password among several sites. It is also a really bad idea; once that strong password is cracked, several sites have just been opened. To create a password, put together a couple of words like "willow" and "september". Add in a couple of numbers and special characters. Delete and/or capitalize a couple of letters.

Use nonsense answers to security questions. (What is you mother's maiden name? Chocolate bunny.) Use two-factor authentication; the book explains just what it is. If your bank or the IRS has a legitimate problem with you, they will send a letter. They will not send an email that says Please Click Here. They will also not call you with an attitude of "Pay up now, or you're going to jail!"

For some people, this book is nothing more than common knowledge. For everyone else, the tips in this book cannot be repeated often enough. This book is very easy to read, and is very much recommended.

The Distance Travelled

The Distance Travelled, Brett Alexander Savory, Necro Publications, 2006

Stu is a resident of Hell. A group of obnoxious young people in a dune buggy drive by, one day, and throw a live pig through Stu's kitchen window. Stu captures one of them, and calls him Pigboy. He has found a portal to Hell from Upside, and has come to rescue his kidnapped sister. This starts Stu on an epic quest.

Along for the ride are Gus, a walking skeleton who runs the local gas station. Tom is a ten-foot-tall HellRat who fixes cars for Gus. Tom is head-over-heels in love with the beautiful Miss Appleton (the feeling is very mutual). They attempt to answer a set of riddles written years before by a clairvoyant child. To do so, they travel all over the territory of Hell.

It is also a place where the torture sessions are scheduled. We are talking extreme torture, accompanied by fountains of blood everywhere. Give the person a day or two to recover, and they are physically good as new. When Stu misses a torture session because of his quest, Salinger, the Chief Torturer, sets off after him. Does everyone survive until the end? Is the sister ever found?

This is a very bloody and violent story, so it is not for the faint of heart. For everyone else, be prepared for a wild rice, accompanied by a soundtrack of 80's pop music. Think Clive Barker meets Jim Thompson. For those with a strong stomach, this is a gem of a book.

Outside

Outside, Gustavo Bodoni, Guardbridge Books, 2017

A ship from the human civilization on Tau Ceti II heads for Earth, intending to re-establish contact after a treaty-mandated gap of 500 years. Earth is deserted. There are no signs of an apocalypse, or mass graves. Where is everybody?

For the past 500 years, everyone on Earth has been permanently living in a virtual reality world. Free from disease and pain, their bodies are supposedly being taken care of in vast underground chambers. In VR-land, big problems are happening. A huge wall suddenly cuts Denver in half. Monsters are ravaging cities all over the world.

An interface is created, so that the visitors can communicate with the people of Earth, who are less than thrilled to see them. Rome, from the visitors, falls in love with Emily, from VR-land. She is involved in attempts to get the bottom of the computer problems, whatever they are. Are some mainframes about to crash, possibly snuffing out millions of "people"?

Rome asks Emily to return to Tau Ceti with the ship, which has been ordered to leave by an Earth that wants to stay in VR-land. First, they have to find her body. Are those millions of chambers still in nice, neat rows, maintained by an army of robots?

This is a first-rate piece of writing. The author, whose first language is not English, does an excellent job with the characters and storytelling. It is very much worth the reader's time.