Book Talk 21st Century

My Pubslush campaign is now live! Anything you can give is greatly appreciated. Share this with your friends!

https://pubslush.com/project/4008

My blog.

I'm having a pubslush campaign for my upcoming book. Details are in the link at the end of this post. Pubslush is a crowdfunding website to help authors like me publish their books. The money I raise will be used to cover the cost of the books and the promotional items. I also intend to use part of the funds to help donate books for group readings to libraries I've worked with. Many of them are on limited budgets, and I'd like to help. The campaign runs from March 1 to April 15. I don't mean to push anyone. If you can't help, I understand. I've been there myself. Anything you can give, though, would be appreciated.

Pubslush link; https://pubslush.com/project/4008

Facebook page link: https://www.facebook.com/operationmermaidprojectkraken

I received a free copy of this book at an Express Employment Professionals seminar.

I couldn't read this book without thinking of GM. They had installed faulty ignition switches in many of their cars and trucks for several years. The malfunction of these switches was linked to several fatal auto accidents. At first, they did a limited recall, but as the news spread, they were called before Congress, and asked the Watergate question: What did you know about this, and when did you know it? GM has since ordered more and more recalls, and has tried to quell the rising criticism of their handling of this. Congress is involved because they gave GM a multi-billion dollar bailout in 2008. Obviously, none of that went to fix ignition switches.

One co-author is the CEO of Whole Foods, and presents a compelling book about how corporations can avoid GM's fate. Conscious Capitalism rests on 4 tenets: Higher purpose and core values, Stakeholder integration, Conscious leadership, and Conscious culture and management. The authors walk us through each of these items, and show how they can be applied to real world experiences, usually in the case of Whole Foods. It's about designing a culture where everyone wins, from the employees, to the customers to suppliers to ultimately the stockholders. It takes the traditional model of us v them and changes it to both of us. Can it work? At Whole Foods it has. It also has at other companies. The authors frequently cite The Container Store and Southwest Airlines, among others, as companies that are "conscious businesses", to use the book term. Still, not every company embraces this. One example in the book is Jack Welch at GE. One of Jack Welch's ideas was to list the bottom 10% of employees in each division, so they could identify who to fire. At first, most of the names in the bottom 10% were people who had already been fired, or were about to retire. That wasn't good enough for Jack Welch. When Jac Nasser tried this at Ford, he was roundly criticized, and soon after left the company. GE, however, is still a successful company, so businesses that are not "conscious businesses" can still work. The authors don't address this too well.

In another place, the authors use the term stakeholder cancer to refer to times when the balance between the various stakeholders is off. If the cancer is not controlled, the authors say, it could destroy the business. True, but they don't address one other possibility. In the body, if the cancer is widespread enough, it has to be removed, whether it be removal of a simple tumor, or amputation of a limb. Likewise, there are times when something that is causing the stakeholder cancer in the business must be removed to save the remainder of the business. The authors don't really address this.

A final note. The authors talk about those "misguided individuals who pursue happiness." They don't even mention Thomas Jefferson's line from the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Given that this is in one of the most important documents in US history, I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned at all when the subject came up. How can an inalienable right endowed by our Creator be misguided? And don't all of the stakeholders want to be happy in the end? I thought that was the purpose of the "conscious business." This to me needs to be addressed in a future paperback edition of the book.

The challenge, with this or any other business book, is to put ideas into action. I've read several business books, each with its own philosophy of running a business. The authors give some general ideas, but don't go too far into specifics of how to implement this. That is probably for the best. Each company will have to find its own way to do this, and may have its own unique issues that need to be addressed. Still, the book gives an interesting alternative to business as usual. If GM had used the principles in this book, maybe they wouldn't be facing Congress now.

I received a free copy of this book at an Express Employment Professionals seminar.

I couldn't read this book without thinking of GM. They had installed faulty ignition switches in many of their cars and trucks for several years. The malfunction of these switches was linked to several fatal auto accidents. At first, they did a limited recall, but as the news spread, they were called before Congress, and asked the Watergate question: What did you know about this, and when did you know it? GM has since ordered more and more recalls, and has tried to quell the rising criticism of their handling of this. Congress is involved because they gave GM a multi-billion dollar bailout in 2008. Obviously, none of that went to fix ignition switches.

One co-author is the CEO of Whole Foods, and presents a compelling book about how corporations can avoid GM's fate. Conscious Capitalism rests on 4 tenets: Higher purpose and core values, Stakeholder integration, Conscious leadership, and Conscious culture and management. The authors walk us through each of these items, and show how they can be applied to real world experiences, usually in the case of Whole Foods. It's about designing a culture where everyone wins, from the employees, to the customers to suppliers to ultimately the stockholders. It takes the traditional model of us v them and changes it to both of us. Can it work? At Whole Foods it has. It also has at other companies. The authors frequently cite The Container Store and Southwest Airlines, among others, as companies that are "conscious businesses", to use the book term. Still, not every company embraces this. One example in the book is Jack Welch at GE. One of Jack Welch's ideas was to list the bottom 10% of employees in each division, so they could identify who to fire. At first, most of the names in the bottom 10% were people who had already been fired, or were about to retire. That wasn't good enough for Jack Welch. When Jac Nasser tried this at Ford, he was roundly criticized, and soon after left the company. GE, however, is still a successful company, so businesses that are not "conscious businesses" can still work. The authors don't address this too well. 

In another place, the authors use the term stakeholder cancer to refer to times when the balance between the various stakeholders is off. If the cancer is not controlled, the authors say, it could destroy the business. True, but they don't address one other possibility. In the body, if the cancer is widespread enough, it has to be removed, whether it be removal of a simple tumor, or amputation of a limb. Likewise, there are times when something that is causing the stakeholder cancer in the business must be removed to save the remainder of the business. The authors don't really address this.

A final note. The authors talk about those "misguided individuals who pursue happiness." They don't even mention Thomas Jefferson's line from the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Given that this is in one of the most important documents in US history, I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned at all when the subject came up. How can an inalienable right endowed by our Creator be misguided? And don't all of the stakeholders want to be happy in the end? I thought that was the purpose of the "conscious business." This to me needs to be addressed in a future paperback edition of the book.

The challenge, with this or any other business book, is to put ideas into action. I've read several business books, each with its own philosophy of running a business. The authors give some general ideas, but don't go too far into specifics of how to implement this. That is probably for the best. Each company will have to find its own way to do this, and may have its own unique issues that need to be addressed. Still, the book gives an interesting alternative to business as usual. If GM had used the principles in this book, maybe they wouldn't be facing Congress now.

I received a free copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

This is the classic tale of star-crossed lovers, and a love triangle, with a twist. The lovers are Eviana, a mermaid, and Brendan, a selkie. (A selkie wears a seal skin.) They are not permitted to mate. Eviana is pledged to Kain, leader of a rival clan, in an arranged marriage. It is to take place on her 18th birthday, which is within one week. She really doesn't want to marry Kain, and tries to run away with Brendan. Soon, however, events occur which force her to make choices she doesn't want to make, and unleash power she doesn't know she has. Any more would spoil the book. Since this was already planned as book 1 of a trilogy, it ends with a cliffhanger. The copy I had included the first chapter of book 2, which gives an indication of where the book is going. (I haven't read books 2 or 3 yet.) All in all, good storytelling. It's always interesting to see how authors explain mermaids living as part of our world, like Ariel. It definitely adds new life to the genre, with the interesting lovers' twist. I look forward to reading books 2 and 3 someday, to see how the story finishes. All in all, a good book.

This is the sequel to Fish Out of Water. This one follows Rania and Princess Lecanora as they explore the land and find the secret to the end of the world. The novel starts with Lecanora attacking the manager of a fast food restaurant for serving fish. They have just come back from their water kingdom of Aegira, and are trying to find connections to recent destructive events in their home kingdom. They're going to need help, so they recruit Rania's mom, as well as Doug and Larry, Rania's friends. I can't say too much more without spoiling the book, and without spoiling the first one for those who haven't read it. Suffice it to say, things don't always work out as planned. They also have to contact Susan Murray, presidential candidate, for her help in this. There are a lot of twists and turns in the plot, but it wasn't too hard to follow. It also ties up neatly at the end, which means that there probably won't be a 3rd novel. Fish Out of Water was written in 1st person, from Rania's point of view. This novel is written in 3rd person. It was a little jarring at first, but that may have been because I read both of them back to back. If I had read them when they were each first published, it may not have been an issue. It was also jarring when the novel switched to present tense during one very big scene (I don't want to give it away). Usually when that happens, the different scene is in italics, to distinguish it. This one wasn't, and I felt it should have been rewritten to reflect the rest of the book. These are relatively minor quibbles, though. All in all, a good book.

I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review. 

When I first started reading this book, I thought it was familiar. We have a teen heroine trying to overturn the established government, and she also happens to be good with a bow and arrow. Even the cover photo shows that. Then she gets dolled up for a big banquet.Didn't they just make two big budget movies about this? But then as I started reading it, I realized it wasn't that at all. It's told in 1st person from the heroine (Hedy's) point of view. This seems to be the trend in YA novels. Her family is killed in a brutal attack, and she is captured and becomes part of the rebellion. She and her companions travel to the kingdom, where she has to get close to a prince. The plot is full of twists and turns, and sometimes it can be easy to get lost in all of the details. You never quite know who's who and what side they're on. But then, neither does Hedy. This is why it was a bit jarring to have the epilogue in 3rd person. I didn't understand the switch, and I thought it weakened the book. It definitely keeps you engaged. The subtitle, Talmassa Chronicles, implies that there will be more books in the series. I look forward to reading them.

This is an interesting twist on the mermaid formula. This time the mermaid, Rania, is a sheriff who only has 3 weeks to live because of an ancient prophecy. She's in a town far away from her home in the ocean. One night, a dead body washes up, and she has to investigate. It turns out the dead body is another mermaid. (Don't worry, this is all in the early part of the book, so I'm not revealing any spoilers.) Her investigation will take her back to her home, where the secret is much more than she realized.

I liked the plot twists and turns in this one. The description of the mermaids and the mermaid world is 180 degrees from Disney. The book is written in first person, so everything is told from Rania's perspective. We learn about the characters and the circumstances from her. It reads like a mystery novel, trying to find out who the dead body is, and who could have done this. Plus, all of the other details of a mermaid living on land, and trying to enforce the law. The ending is set up to handle a sequel, Beached, which was published in April. There were still some questions I had about the characters, though. I won't go into them here, because I don't want to spoil anything, but I'm hoping some of them will be answered in the sequel. All in all, a good book.

I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for this review. 

I don't usually read Harlequin romances. When I was growing up, they had the reputation of being the cheap novels you bought at the checkout counter. All of them had the same basic plotline: Young, innocent woman goes to some exotic location and meets a man dressed like Fabio. THey have an instant attraction, and fall into a night of steamy lovemaking. After some intervening issues, they come back together and profess their everlasting love for each other. There's even a book, first published in 1984 and still available on Amazon, called the Romance Writers' Phrase Book, which has all kinds of phrases romance authors can use to punch up their novels. I remember Johnny Carson parodying this on the Tonight Show with a segment called You Are the Author, where he allowed audience members the chance to write romance novel phrases. Besides all of this, as a 50 year old heterosexual man, I'm not their target market. 

All that said, this is not the stereotypical Harlequin Romance novel. You had a creepy guy who was the murderer (this is established at the beginning of the novel, so it's not a spoiler). He likes to collect dead bugs, which reminded me of Silence of the Lambs. (I almost expected the killer to be wearing a Hannibal Lecter mask at some point.) Then, somehow, a mermaid finds the body in the ocean and brings it to shore so the sheriff can find it. In typical Harlequin fashion, the sheriff is a hunky guy, and the mermaid is drawn to him for a night of passionate lovemaking. However, this part is kept to a minimum. The sheriff has a developmentally disabled brother and an alcoholic mother. The mermaid has 2 mermaid cousins who specialize in treasure hunting. The novel follows all the characters as they interact with each other, until the climactic final scene. This actually reads like a mystery novel rather than a romance. You feel for the sheriff and his family. You understand the mermaids' motivation to keep things secret. The killer is somewhat stereotypical, but even there, there are some things from his past that play a big part in his future. It ends with enough loose ends to possibly generate a sequel. I haven't said too much, because I don't want to spoil the ending, but there is a lot more going on in this book. All in all, a good book. I don't know if I'll read any more Harlequin books (except to review them), but I won't dismiss them any more either.

I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for this review.

It's always a challenge to write historical fiction, especially when you're centered on 1 person or 1 family. This is historical fiction based on the life of Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife, Fanny, through their courtship, marriage, and his eventual death. Stevenson wrote such classics as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He was from Scotland, she was from America, and several years older than he was. He was in poor health, suffering from a variety of lung ailments. (Note: these aren't spoiler alerts; this information is all available on Wikipedia.) The book follows them as they travel from France, where they met, to Scotland, California, Hawaii, Sydney, and Samoa, where Stevenson lived the rest of his life. Reading the book, you can feel how Stevenson's illness affected him. You also feel sympathy for Fanny, who wound up being his nurse for most of his life, and later suffered bouts of mental illness. The book dramatizes the writing of Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It discusses the origins of Long John Silver (no, he didn't start out owning a restaurant chain), as well as phrases such as "Shiver me timbers!" It also shows how Stevenson wrote Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and some of the underlying meanings that people even at the time it was written were reading into it. The title comes from a poem that Stevenson wrote to his wife. I almost wonder what would have happened if Stevenson had been in better health, would he have written more. Even though it is not a factual biography, the author uses quite a bit of source material to make it sound as authentic as possible. Obviously, sections where she discusses what the characters are thinking, as well as some of the conversations, are fictionalized for dramatic effect. One thing I noticed was that some chapters had the year on top, to indicate when time moved ahead, especially by a few years. I would have liked to see that on all the chapters. I only received an ARC, so I'm not sure if this was in the final copy, but I would have liked to see pictures in the book, to know what some of the people looked like. All in all, though, a good book. Also, this would be a good introduction to Robert Louis Stevenson, and those who think pirate adventures begin and end with Captain Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Carribean movies. I'll have to start reading Treasure Island again.

This is his second book. I finished this book around the same time I was watching the new Cosmos series on Fox. (It's hard to believe that Seth McFarlane, the man behind Family Guy, is one of the producers of the new Cosmos. I'm still waiting for Stewie to show up, or for a Cosmos parody on Family Guy. But I digress.) Like Carl Sagan and Neil Degrasse Tyson on Cosmos, Brian Greene is attempting to make science understandable to those of us who don't have advanced science degrees. Dr Greene uses a lot of pop culture references to illustrate his points. He seems to have a special fondness for the Simpsons. It's a little more complex, though. He's trying to explain the basics of string theory, with its theories of 10-dimensional space and quantum lengths. It can be a little slow going at times. He saves most of the mathematical equations for the footnotes. I'm not sure it's fully understandable to everyone. I had trouble with it myself. Some updates from the text. The large Hadron collider was finished, and the Higgs particle was discovered. Also, scientists recently discovered ripples from the original big bang. Dr Greene knows about pop culture. (He's appeared on the TV show The Big Bang Theory making fun of himself.) He does well in this book. It's just the subject matter that can be daunting.

I received a free copy of this book from the authors in exchange for this review.

This book came across as a cross between Law & Order and Perry Mason. It starts with an argument at the country club, where the wife leaves her drunk husband. The next morning, the husband finds himself at home, but his wife is missing. Soon, he is arrested for her murder, even though his wife's body is nowhere to be found. To add to all of this, his mistress tells him she's pregnant. It's up to the lawyers and the investigators to sort this all out. I won't give away too much of the rest of the plot. Too many spoilers. I did get lost sometimes. I couldn't figure out how a certain situation related to the original murder case. The authors do wrap it all up, though. They did leave room at the end for a sequel. All in all, a good book.