 Score: 96/100 (9.6 out of 10)
“The Making of a Physician” is a solid book by Harry L. Graber, M.D. F.A.C.C., a cardiologist who dedicated his life to doing God's will in helping people to live healthier, longer lives. Not only does it include Dr. Graber's storied life journey, but it also includes the incredible life journeys of several physicians with whom he'd crossed paths. Dr. Graber was instrumental in the research that led to the discovery that heart disease—the leading cause of death in America—was largely genetic and hereditary, passed down through a gene mutation. Therefore, heart disease could be screened and precautions could be taken to protect patients who were predisposed to the disease. Could you imagine if research by Dr. Graber and his associates had not surfaced? It is very likely that we wouldn't have seen the rise in popularity of the Atkins Diet by Dr. Robert Atkins (also a cardiologist) or the influential works by Gary Taubes. And the books and research by Udo Erasmus may not have come to be. But we digress. That's a part of the book, but far from all-encompassing. This book isn't about science or medicine or even medical research. This is a book about incredible people who answered God's calling to help their fellow human beings in their most dire times: the making of physicians. Some people believe that you have to be “born special” or have some sort of natural gift to be a doctor. But Dr. Graber and his contributors constantly point out that it's not a superpower that gives them the ability to be what they are and do what they do, it's a state of mind—an attitude—to help, to nurture, to sacrifice, and to care. Dr. Graber and many of his contributors did not grow up in a family of medical professionals. In fact, Dr. Graber was a farmer boy. He helped his family to care for animals on the farm from conception to death. This taught him such things as discipline, hard work and how to care for other living things. It also made him comfortable with dealing with more challenging elements of healthcare like blood, amniotic fluid, urine and fecal matter. The young Dr. Graber was also someone who loved sports and aspired to be an athlete, sometimes running three miles to school every day just to get to practice. His path to becoming a physician was not straight or narrow. It seemed like everyone expected him to become a teacher, which he eventually became. He was also held out of school/college by his father who hoped he'd find real work that actually paid—a 9 to 5 job. When he finally went to college and finally got a job as a teacher, he was caught in that hamster wheel for years, so much so that the school district just about refused to let him move on to pursue his dream of studying medicine and becoming a doctor. The young Dr. Graber was sickly, and he had a reputation as the town's sick boy who might not live very long. His Christian family even held prayer meetings with members of the faith to pray for his health. His mother changed his life by promising God that if her son lived, she would dedicate his life to him. Learning about that promise gave the young Dr. Graber's life purpose, and he took it to heart. Dr. Graber's life story is full of leaps of faith and taking calculated risks. There's was even a moment in which, in the middle of his residency, he was called and offered a chance to start a clinic with two other physicians in the middle of nowhere—a town he'd never even heard of. What would you do? Rather than dismissing this call, Dr. Graber promised to call them back when he had more information and weigh his options. He made a deal with them that he would do it for one year to help them get started, go back to complete his residency, and return in another capacity. It's said he made only a few dollars his first day at the clinic, and most of it from patients who just wanted to meet “the new kid in town.” Something else we really found special was his relationship with his wife, Roberta. Dr. Graber had various partners throughout his life, including a beautiful, athletic professional roller skater, but something about Roberta clicked. Roberta stood as an example of a woman who supported her husband's mission and calling without exploiting it for her own gain. She didn't want to be known as “Dr. Graber's wife” just to get favors from people or be seen as “greater” because of it. She was humble, supportive, and loving. Dr. Graber warns the reader that you should find a partner like that, not just based on good looks or status, but someone who has the character traits that will help (not hinder) you in reaching your goal. You sometimes need to let go of toxic people or people who are just weighing you down or holding you back—don't be mean or cruel about it, just break it to them gently and move on. As great as Dr. Graber's story is, the reader is then treated to a series of other extraordinary ones by other physicians. One of our favorites was the story of Dr. Glen E. Miller. It turns out this man grew up as one of nine children during the Great Depression and also lived through World War II, eventually serving in the Korean War. He was a Mennonite, and that upbringing taught him things like the importance of honesty, integrity, discipline, and hard work. He served in Haiti, working with some of the poorest people in the world, and eventually visited over 40 countries. Another of our favorite stories is that of Dr. Vincent Petno, mainly for the reason that he got signed by the Oakland Raiders, and not only was he signed by the Oakland Raiders, he had the guts to tell them that if his medical career took off, he would pursue that as well. We also hear a lot about these doctors' legendary colleague, Dr. Charles F. Wooley, who obviously meant a lot to every other major contributor to this book. They talk about him with great reverence. What a man Dr. Wooley was! He played high school football against a team led by none other than Vince Lombardi when he was just a high school football coach in 1940s! He was also the doctor to legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes! Above and beyond rubbing shoulders with sporting legends, Dr. Wooley was an inspiration to his colleagues, friends and families. Lastly, we wanted to talk about the section written by Dr. Graber's (the author's) son, Dr. Rodney L. Graber. Yes, he also became a doctor! Something beautiful about Rodney's section is that he constantly compares life to seasons: you have time when it's terrible and turbulent like a winter storm or the dying leaves of autumn, and you have times when it's fun and happy like summer or spring. We really loved that analogy. Check out this incredible book on Amazon today!
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 Score 96/100 (9.6 out of 10)
“Revelation Through Science” is a fascinating read that attempts to take an open-minded view of science through the lens of a man both of science and of religious faith. Not only is James G. Martin the son of a minister, but he just so happens to have a PhD in organic chemistry from Princeton, and he definitely shows off his extraordinary knowledge! Side note: Did we also mention he's a former GOVERNOR of North Carolina and a US congressman?! Martin goes over the history and intricacies of science, especially cosmology, biology, chemistry, and biochemistry in great detail. He doesn't discredit science or attack religion, instead choosing to present them as two different and equally beautiful approaches to understanding God's universe. This is a view similar to that held by some of the first great scientific minds after the time of Christ, namely St. Augustine and Galileo, both of whom were practicing Christians, and both of whom viewed science as a way to better understand God's handiwork. Even Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, was a devout Christian for much of his life, although the death of his daughter did dampen that world view. We're reminded of when Neil deGrasse Tyson stated how he was surprised that even 7% of the highest-ranking, most respected scientists on Earth still believe in a supreme being (a “God”)--even despite all of the knowledge and information available to them about the Big Bang and evolution. Interestingly, Martin never attacks Big Bang, evolution, or Darwin. If anything, he actually glamorizes and defends Darwin, seeming to suggest that Darwin's original intent wasn't to become the god of atheism, but that his research was heavily skewed by his colleagues and successors who used to it to further their own ends. Darwin is even called “our hero” at one point—astonishing to hear a Christian say as Darwin is paramount to the “great Satan” of science in the minds of many creationists. We're moving closer to an age of absolutes that only a Sith could be proud of: you're either for science or you're against it, you're either for religion or you're against it. You either believe in creationism or you believe in evolution and the Big Bang. Martin is quick to reign us in and remind us that there's nothing less scientific than absolutes—nothing less scientific than untested, unchallenged dogma. Even the accepted laws of physics break down at the center of a black hole or before the Big Bang. Even Darwin made mistakes and misidentified certain birds, having to be corrected by coworkers. Even the so-often quoted phrase “infinite density” to describe the Big Bang at the moment of creation is an oxymoron because the universe, as far as science understands, is finite. That means it has a beginning and an end. Modern science has become it's own kind of dogmatic religion. Science, like religion, makes a lot of leaps of faith and assumptions—the exact opposite of what's scientific. For example, one of the leading theories of life on Earth is that it came from outer space. You read that right. Scientists—the same ones who constantly talk down to the “Jesus freaks”—believe that because they found a meteorite that had some amino acids in it, clearly life originated from a meteorite that impacted or came close to Earth. What a leap! To say that we had high hopes for this book would be an understatement. To say that we were slightly disappointed would be an understatement as well. This book is complex and very detailed, which we loved, but it just seemed like—despite all of this detail and complexity—most of that didn't specifically address or support the supposed thesis. Maybe we were expecting something else. To us, the thesis seemed to be that there are aspects of science that may support the existence of God. We expected to be able to pick this up and show other scientific-minded and religious friends all of these great finds that somehow prove the existence of God and events in the Bible. Unfortunately, that's not what this book is. This is a science textbook talking about the history of modern science, practically from beginning to end—in painstaking detail. This isn't a “they found a God particle!” book. Nor is it a book that claims that the 1st law of thermodynamics proves the existence of God because energy can't be created—something Christians often cite. This isn't even a book trying to explain supernatural phenomena using rational, scientific means, like claiming that the parting of the Red Sea by Moses was actually the result of a passing meteor or other orbital body. This book is barren of those sorts of things, for better or for worse. Forgive us for hoping, but we were optimistic that this book was going to be a lot more like the History Channel at 2 AM. Instead, it's the History Channel at midday. It's just loaded with scientific information, thrown at you because... the author knows it or something. You can almost make the argument that the real thesis of this book is that you can believe in God even if you're someone who knows everything there is to know (currently) about science. And perhaps that's a better thesis. There are several instances in which the author does try to make the argument that some things are just highly unlikely to be up to chance. That's the closest he gets to proving creationism. He makes the argument that the chances of the universe and life within it assembled itself by chance are as unlikely as a tornado rolling through a Boeing factory and assembling a fully-functional 747. That seems like a pretty good analogy. Another example is he points to the “right-handed DNA” or the way that the strands of RNA wrap around each other perfectly in perfect “righty-tighty” fashion like specific nuts designed to fit specific bolts—unlikely, he argues, to have simply been up to chance. The author also takes on the “mediocrity principle” which, in layman's terms, states that we aren't some special bunch of human animals on a special planet with a special sun, we're one of many animals in the universe on an average planet with an average main-sequence star as our sun. But are we really? The author argues, as we would, that the Earth and its human inhabitants do seem rather special. First of all, we haven't found life on any other planets (yet). And our planet exists in the Goldilocks zone in relation to the sun. If it were any closer or further, it might not exist. If our sun were a larger star, it might not have lived long enough to allow the Earth to exist the way it does, much less life itself. It could've burned itself out. Next, the author immediately stomps down the assumption that many—both atheists and Christians alike—often make in the belief that the Bible supports a “young Earth” of about 5000-6000 years. The Bible really doesn't, and the author is quick to point that out. The 5000-6000 year thing is a human invention built on several assumptions: that the genealogy of Jesus found in Luke is the complete, exhaustive genealogy of a man who lived 2,000 years ago going back to the very first man (Adam), not symbolic or poetic in the slightest. The next assumption is that Adam was made by God on the 6th Earth day. Well, surprise, Earth days didn't exist until the “fourth day” of creation because God only created the sun then. So it's much more likely that these “days” are simple measurements of a length of time and not actual Earth days. Earth doesn't have to be 5000-6000 years old for the God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to exist. At no point does the Bible actually tell us how old the Earth is, it's the result of fallible human attempts to misinterpret the “generations” from Luke. In conclusion, this is one of those books you own just to say you own it. This is one of those books, like the Bible, Webster's Dictionary or “How Everything Works” that—whether you've read it or not—you can pull it off the shelf in the middle of an argument and say, “Hey, I read this big, huge thing and understand it, so listen to me and believe what I say!” And, yes, the information will WOW you, and it is pretty darn comprehensive. At the same time, if you're going into this expecting to have a renewal of your faith or to convince an atheist or agnostic that your religion “had it right all along,” then you're expecting too much. This book is great for what it is. Another thing about this book is that the research and writing are impeccable--some of the best we've seen this season! Check it out on Amazon!  Score: 93/100 (9.3 out of 10)
“Ambushed by Betrayal: The Survival Guide for Betrayed Partners on Their Heroes' Journey to Healthy Intimacy” by Michele Saffier and Allan J. Katz is an excellent self-help book for those with partners who have cheated on them and/or who are struggling with sex and/or pornography addictions. The book focuses on several hypothetical entities: the betrayed person (who has been cheated on), the betrayer (the partner who has cheated), and the therapist (who can help guide them through the process of healing). It's a very good thing that we read these books thoroughly because in the process of reading this book it, went from a 9.1 to a 9.2 and eventually to a 9.3 as we slowly started seeing that, despite a slow and somewhat generic start, this book had a lot new to offer. As you get deeper into this book, the author reveals unique and fresh methods to help the reader and the betrayer to overcome their plight. This includes helpful, useful and unique activities and exercises that usually involve breathing and/or introspection. The author even provides worksheet-type activities for the reader to try given their circumstances. We were actually very impressed by the intricacies and complexities of this book! At the same time, the intricacies and complexities of this book can be a bit overwhelming, and from our experience helping and teaching people, the quickest way to have a rule broken is to have too many rules. The quickest way to have someone stop listening to you is to overwhelm them with a lot of information at once. There is so much advice in this book. There are so many tips—probably in the hundreds if we we were going point by point. You don't have to follow or listen to all of them as many are situation-based, but many readers are going to try to read this book cover-to-cover and try to get as much help and information that they can from it. It can be a lot, so it demands rereading. We want to preface before saying any more that we've read about a dozen similar books in the last year alone, and that this book still manages to stand out as unique. Michele Saffier is highly qualified to talk on the subject of relationships and porn addiction as she is licensed to help with both and has worked with a variety of clients, many of whom serve as case studies in this book. Anyway, we'll go over some of the takeaways from this book because there are many. First of all, we loved the quote that “You are what think” just like “You are what you eat.” It's actually quite true. Your reality, many times, is what you make of it. If you are ungrateful for what you have in life (i.e. family, friends, a home, your health), you're naturally going to be discontent. If you feed off of anger, rage and a thirst for revenge to drive your actions, you're ultimately going to be miserable because these types of people cause as much damage to themselves as to their perceived enemies. On that note, one of the best takeaways from this book is that forgiveness along with acknowledging/resolving problems leads to healing. Something we loved reading about is that forgiveness is not forgetfulness and forgiveness does not acquit the wrongdoer of their wrongs, it allows the victim to heal and avoid further hurting themselves. There's a beautiful quote by world-renown preacher J.D. Jakes about that subject that the author provides, it reads: “Forgiveness does not exonerate the abuse. Forgiveness liberates the victim. It is a gift you give yourself.” Wow, that's beautiful and powerful. And it's true! Another takeaway from this book is that the reader needs to come into control of their inner thoughts and make sure that they don't radiate out like a wildfire out of control, consuming everything it touches. When someone has cheated on us and we feel betrayed, and our profound expectations have been profoundly shattered, it is easier to imagine just about anything being true about our partner: Have they been sleeping with every woman in town? Are they a pedophile? Are they a rapist? Are they a murderer? The author actually addresses this issue—that our thoughts naturally run amok when faced with a harsh truth. Once you can believe your betrayer has betrayed you, it is easier to believe anything and everything about them, even with lack of evidence. Saffier reminds us that we have to control these thoughts and look at facts and evidence. It's going to drive us crazy and down a darker path to believe things that simply aren't true. We are encouraged to take an almost scientific approach: be patient, observe, ask questions and collect evidence. Don't just ambush your betrayer and prod them with questions, you're setting yourself up to be lied to and likely hurt. The book encourages us to use our “Wise Mind” while keeping our “Emotional Mind” in check. Emotions make us do and say things that we often regret later, things like, “I never want to see or talk to you ever again!” Sometimes, that can work, but most of the time, that just leaves unresolved issues. Not every relationship needs to permanently end due to infidelity, we also learned that in “No Perfect Love” by Dr. Alyson Nerenberg earlier this year. They also don't need to end just because one partner has a sex or pornography addiction, these are addressable and resolvable issues. The book also shows us how to set boundaries, what it called “no-fly zones.” In other words, if something is a trigger, we can come right out and say that we—the victim—don't want to talk about it. Comfort is key. The book takes the stance that you have your own “hero's journey.” You're going to be adventuring, taking on obstacles, and overcoming figurative two-headed dragons, giants and other monsters. This sounds almost identical to the “21st Century Man” by Dr. Judson Brandeis, which we read earlier this year. What's extra interesting about Saffier's take, however, is that she also says (albeit briefly) that your betrayer also has their own hero's journey. How very interesting! And it's actually quite true. Just because your betrayer hurt you by cheating or by looking at other partners instead of you, it doesn't make them the devil incarnate (although it might seem that way). King David in the Bible and Gilgamesh from the Epic of Gilgamesh were flawed and promiscuous. That's not to excuse them, but it does make your betrayer's actions understandable. Real quick, the book always reminds us, the betrayed, that just because a person has cheated on us doesn't mean it's our fault. In fact, the opposite is usually true. The problem is with them. Maybe they suffered abuse or had parents who cheated on each other. Maybe they're suffering from deeper, psychological issues. It might help the reader to realize that they are the hero of their own journey, and that they're pursuing pleasure and relief as much as the reader is. There are a ton of activities and exercises in this book, many involving controlled breathing and positive self-thought. There were a few odd ones that made us chuckle but also kept our interest. One is an activity in which you start a fire, collect everything related to your problem and burn them while being conscious of what you're burning and why. This sounds... interesting and potentially dangerous. The author isn't shy about the danger and does warn that this is to be done safely and ideally under supervision in a safe environment. Another more practical activity is the “Impact Letter.” This is a letter getting all of your thoughts and grievances out on paper, especially including the impact that your partner's infidelity has had on such things as your children, finances, and your work life. It is part of the healing process of disclosure. In practical terms, this allows you to vent and also quantify all the losses you're incurring because of your partner's actions. This, more than anything, could be enough to show the betrayer that hurt feelings weren't the only consequences of the betrayer's actions. Something about this book that reminds us of one of the other self-help books we just reviewed, “Care Giving Gift of Unconditional Love” by David Soh Poh Huat, is that it may be too niche and specific for the broader audience. You're immediately told as the reader that your partner has cheated and has a pornography addiction. That seems... oddly specific. Indeed, this book is very specific quite niche. It seems to have a very heavy emphasis on pornography and pornography addictions as a major source of relationship problems. Maybe it is—the statistics support it. If you just so happen to be one of the many people who have a partner, former partner and/or betrayer who suffers from this specific ailment, then this book is almost definitely going to resonate with you. But what if your relationship eroded for some other reason? What if one partner is just bad in bed or suffers from infertility when fertility is a major priority to the other partner? What if finances are the major issue? Kids? Parents or grandparents? In-laws? Moving apart due to work? Because of the specificity and niche nature of this book, it may be challenging for these other people with these other problems. However, this book can still help them if they're willing to ignore or omit some things. Overall, this book can be a very valuable tool in overcoming your relationship issues, especially if they involve infidelity and/or pornography. If two people can work together using the information in this book, forgiving each other, getting everything out in the open, and checking in with each other, it could potentially lead to healing and relationships being saved. Check it out on Amazon!  Score: 92/100 (9.2 out of 10)
The undisputed Outstanding Creator Awards champion in fiction returns with yet another great entry! No one in modern times does fantasy & adventure quite like David V. Mammina. Nobody. And we've read dozens of these types of books this year, there's just no one who does it better. “Of Freedom, Fear & Fantasy” is a collection of short stories by the Mammina that primarily deal with themes like warfare, the future of humanity, and what it truly means to be free. In the very first story, we're thrown into a thrilling seafaring adventure story akin to “Pirates of the Caribbean” or “Master and Commander” in which the protagonist aboard the eponymous warship, Seawolf, hunts down the Caribbean slave ship, the Jarled Stag, and its nefarious captain, Deadlash. Jake was left for dead along with his slave-turned-lover, Marilyse, and her slave children. As an aside, Marilyse is probably Mammina's first-ever major love interest who isn't a red-head. Their ship, the Duchess, was cruelly scuttled with them still inside it by Corbin Nash, a diabolical man with a heavy hand in the Arab slave trade. Slavery and freedom are in the background of this story as it becomes apparent that the Civil War has been fought and slavery is now officially illegal in the region. The best parts of this story by far are the fighting scenes, particularly when we finally get the climactic showdown between the crews of Seawolf and the Jarled Stag. We can only imagine the sense of dread in having the enemy ram our ship and board it. It's truly a fight to the death—no surrender! David Mammina again shows his art in describing these types of all-or-nothing battles. This story was so thrilling and exciting that we almost forgot that this book was a collection. Mammina treats us to a true variety show: a detective story involving a vampire ("night hag"), a dystopian story about a Terminator-like society in which human beings are quickly being replaced by robots and machines, a discussion/debate of humanity's place in the biosphere (destroying the environment while enriching their civilization) starring the somewhat obnoxious Avidus. In fact, let's talk about that particular story because it brought up some thoughts. For one, the topic is a lot like “The Cottage” by William Thon, another book we read this season. Both stories discuss the effects that humanity is having on the environment, particularly in polluting the world, accelerating global warming, ruining the habitats of various animals, and sabotaging our own future. Like “The Cottage,” there's even a debate about organized religion in here. The difference between this and Thon's work is that it seems a lot more balanced. Thon's take was very lopsided, and the bias was pretty overbearing. It was almost like a school teacher wagging their finger in front of you saying, “Bad, bad, bad! No, no, no!” In Thon's work you could almost hear the characters screaming and shouting about the evils of plastics and automobiles, all in a medieval fantasy. With Mammina's work, we have another character, Genus, who supplies a more balanced take and gently challenges Avidus on his opinions, not to prove him wrong but to supply a different perspective. The key word is “gently.” Genus isn't screaming or shouting at him about how her opinion is “better” or “worse” than Avidus's. That's up to the audience, as it should be. Another especially interesting story in here is “Pest Control.” From what we gathered, and we might be a bit off, it's about a young female soldier serving in an insurgency against the corrupt and tyrannical federal army, one that's replacing human workers and soldiers with machines and robots. There are several interesting aspects of this story. First, the female protagonist is struggling to fit in among mostly-male comrades. They constantly make misogynistic comments and belittle her, and yet she still feels a strong connection to them because working with them is her only real chance of survival. While their behavior is reprehensible, it is understandable. They don't entirely trust the protagonist because they feel she can't physically pull her own weight and/or will be a liability in battle. Also, it gives us hope that the protagonist can prove them all wrong by proving her metal. Another aspect of this story that's interesting is how the villains are treated. Yes, they come on in and basically commit a war crime, but you get the feeling that they're as much victims as the protagonist and the insurgents are: they're doing what they think is right. They believe in the state and have a somewhat just and understandable hatred for the insurgents who stand against it. They also believe in the promise of the technological advancements they are propagating, having faith that these robots and machines will be for the betterment of the human civilization in the long term. They also feel that if they don't build bigger, better, and badder weapons and technology that the Chinese and Russians will. These just aren't evil people who kill and massacre people because they're kill-crazy sociopaths, they are actually proud and loyal soldiers who are serving a cause they think it's the right thing to do, just like the protagonist's group. A last aspect of this story that's interesting is the actual pest control. It's symbolic for what both the protagonists and antagonists are doing. The ants are all serving a higher calling. They all believe they're doing the right thing, and following their instinct to work and serve. When one ant deviates from the rest and survives because of it, we feel how that resonates with the protagonist—a young woman indoctrinated by people that one side calls freedom fighters and the other calls terrorists—trapped in a cycle of violence. All in all, this is a great collection of short stories. If you love fantasy and adventure, you'll love this and all of Mammina's books! Check it out on Amazon!  Score: 79/100 (7.9 out of 10)
Here's a heartfelt book that comes from a good place—a place of love, care, and compassion. Unfortunately, this is a book that is held back by shortcuts in its production process and the author's likely battle with English as a second language. It seems very unlikely that this book went through a proofreading process at all or that it was reviewed by beta readers before being published. It is also haphazardly organized, jumping from subject to subject often without a clear method to the madness. “Care Giving Gift of Unconditional Love” is a memoir by David Soh Poh Huat reflecting on his experience with caring for his terminally ill parents as well as some of the lessons he learned from that experience. Right off the bat, it doesn't get much more heartfelt than that. The general thesis of this book seems to be that a person should be willing and able to care for their loved one in later life just as their loved one has or would have taken care of them earlier in life (had circumstances been better). The book doubles as a short manual on how to care for your sick and/or dying loved ones. Part of the problem is that we're unsure (and we're pretty sure the author was unsure) which of these two things he wanted to accomplish the most: whether to tell his story or to serve a didactic purpose in teaching others living a similar story. And there's another problem: it's too oddly specific to the situation that the author and his loved ones were in. The author only provides specific medical tips regarding pneumonia, liver abscesses, and cancer because these are the medical problems that his loved ones dealt with. The issue there is that this book is marketed as a book for caregivers in general—presumably caregivers of people who suffer from many types of diseases and illnesses. In other words, the sections talking about pneumonia, liver abscesses, and cancer sound oddly specific and narrow for a book that we thought was supposed to have a larger scope. The best example we can give you of this problem is when the author attempts to categorize the different kinds of “siblings” who are supposed to take care of a sick or dying loved one. To summarize: there are siblings who are selfish and don't care about their parents or their family, there are siblings who do care but don't want to pay medical expenses or provide care, and there are good siblings who do care and offer to help or pay medical expenses. Now, that's actually pretty relatable to many people facing this situation, but there's one question that's bothersome in all of this: what about the reader who doesn't have siblings? The author automatically seemed to assume that because he had siblings who acted this way that all the readers must have siblings who act in one of these ways. Well, we all know that can't be true. So, by default, the advice is not applicable to all caregivers. What if the caregiver, instead, is in a dispute with their nieces/nephews or in-laws over power of attorney or finances? What then? A far better example the author could've provided instead of listing categories of “siblings” is to list categories of loved ones in general. The reader shouldn't have to do mental gymnastics to obtain this information and figure out if or not it's relevant to them. That's the author's job. The author should provide the information in the best way possible, and this seems far from the best way possible. Another thing that's a bit worrisome is that the author seems to provide medical advice to various individuals including encouraging them to challenge their doctors, all the while we don't remember reading a disclaimer that this book isn't intended as medical advice and isn't intended to cure, treat, or diagnose any diseases. The author just throws his medical opinions out there and considers it wisdom. Well, we can understand that. We believe things about medicine that run contrary to the establishment like about the benefits of herbs and special massages, however we haven't written a book distributing these beliefs and opinions without a warning or disclaimer. We can see that potentially being a legal or liability issue. So, from the beginning we are confronted with one of the main issues of the book: the author is still wrestling with English. Even the title, “Care Giving Gift of Love,” is a bit odd. Shouldn't the title be something like “Caregiving: A Gift of Love” or “A Caregiver's Gift of Love?” There are entire words missing throughout this book. Words like “doctor” are capitalized for no reason. In fact, the author has an inclination to hit the ALL CAPS button a bit too frequently including in his name and the book's title. The sentences are very short and very choppy. The book itself is very short, very choppy, and skips around from topic to topic. Overall, the writing just isn't that good, unfortunately. As it exists now, this book borders on a Power Point presentation. Where this book does shine is in its core message: that people should love one another and care for one another just as God and Jesus love and care for them. It's a beautiful and powerful message. We just really wish the author had worked more on this book to flesh it out and/or got help in producing it. There really should've been an editor and/or beta reader. As it exists now, this book borders on a Power Point presentation with its very few and very short pages. If you're someone who is purchasing this book, you already care enough about being a caregiver to look past the book's core message. You don't need to be told to care for the sake of caring, you already spent the money to buy a book about caring for the sake of caring. Still, we support David Soh Poh Huat's inspirational and beautiful mission and hope that he continues to produce books and improve as a writer. Check it out this book at Walmart!  Score: 93/100 (9.3 out of 10)
“Paris Blue” is a drama-filled memoir by Julie Scolnik chronicling her decade-plus, on and off romantic relationship with a Frenchman named Luc, a lover who shares Julie's passion for classical and baroque music. This book has several dimensions and layers. This book reminds us of several books that we've read this year: “No Perfect Love” by Dr. Alyson Nerenberg (non-fiction) and “A Major League Love” by Domenic Melillo (fiction). All of these books highlight the twists and turns that life and love can take. Something unique about “Paris Blue” by Julie Scolnik, however, is that it especially highlights the “rose-tinted goggles” of idealism that lovers often have at first, leading to disappointments and shattered expectations. It's about what happens when the perfect love isn't so perfect, and it's also about a woman's journey to self-discovery. First and foremost, "Paris Blue" is a will-they/won't-they romance about Julie and Luc. To say that this is the heart and soul of the book would be an understatement. The sexual and romantic tension is high throughout, and we are frustrated when Julie is frustrated, we are sad when Julie is sad, and we are angry when Julie is angry. We often find ourselves on Julie's side of the aisle, typical of an autobiography or memoir. It's very difficult to see things from the perspective of our other main character, Luc. In a lot of ways, he comes across to us as detestable and unlikable. In other words, this relationship almost always seems one-sided and often borders on manipulative and abusive, and we're guessing that can be a great morality tale for others to get out of these types of manipulative and abusive relationships. Remember that abuse isn't always physical, it can be mental and psychological. It comes in the form of neglect and manipulation. The second layer or dimension of this book is how it's kind of a coming of age story about Julie, young and naive, learning to come to terms with her changing feelings, her changing body, and her changing world. We're with Julie from the age of 17—right at the cusp of becoming a full-fledged woman—and we journey with her into the middle of adulthood in which she becomes more mature, self-confident, and independent. We also see her journey as a musician, going from a hobbyist to someone who can be invited to perform at concerts. The third layer or dimension of this book, and arguably the one we wish was further explored, is the culture shock that Julie experiences in transiting between America and France (and vice-versa). Julie absolutely detests the term “culture shock” and seems to go out of her way to avoid highlighting differences between America and France. Interestingly, Luc has the opposite point of view. Luc constantly sees America and Americans as different, and he openly criticizes and talks down about them. About a month ago, we'd read “Just Arrived” by Bona Udeze, a book about a Nigerian immigrant's interesting experiences in moving to America—full of culture shock, adapting to new foods, strange habits, and a fresh start. There's just an element of that missing with “Paris Blue.” For a book with “Paris” in the title, we don't really see or learn much about the place. It's in the background. When Julie moves to and fro Paris, it is described as just being like any other big city, not much different from Boston where she eventually ends up. She walks the streets, takes buses, goes to restaurants, and attends or performs at concerts. You could do that in New York City. You could do that in Salt Lake City. You could do that in Honolulu or London. You could do that in Sydney or Dubai. This aspect of the book remains so criminally under-explored, unfortunately, especially when compared to something like “Just Arrived”--a top-notch book about moving to a new country. One of the things we debated in literary terms was whether or not Luc could be considered a protagonist, a secondary protagonist, a love interest, an anti-hero, or a straight-up villain—a bad guy akin to someone like the manipulative, vindictive Cynthia from “A Major League Love.” You could argue either way, or even that he's all of these things. But to us personally, he's a villain. He's only about a notch of villainy lower than Wally Mussel—the abusive, exploitative boss from “My Famous Brain” by Diane Wald. Luc is a demonic, Titanic piece of crap walking God's green earth in our opinion. Sorry. And the fact that Julie kept believing his lies and crawling back to him, especially after that knife incident in which Luc dismisses and ignores her as she's bleeding profusely, frustrates and angers us greatly. Or perhaps we're displacing some personal frustrations. The fact of the matter is, this book is relatable. Many of us have been in relationships like this. Many of us have found ourselves afraid or unwilling to let go, even long after the point of no return. Scolnik captures that feeling perfectly. You can check out the book on Amazon!  Score: 82/100 (8.2 out of 10)
“Using Japanese Paper for Digital Printing of Photographs” is a photography book compiled by the brilliant Carl-Evert Jonsson of Sweden, holding both a Ph.D. and an MD from the University of Uppsala. He specializes in reconstructive surgery, and his research is cited in multiple medical and scientific journals. Jonsson has practiced the art of photography with Japanese washi paper for years and is excited to share some of his work through this book. We wish we could say more about this book, but there isn't much to work with. If you've read our other reviews, we can go on for pages and pages, hours and hours, breaking down every nitty gritty detail. The thing about this work is that it really isn't that substantive or instructive at all. Don't mix our words, we didn't say that the book isn't substantial (important), but that it isn't substantive (containing enough insightful or enlightening content to stand on its own). There are really only three and a half pages of text in this entire book, and it fails to answer the one key question that all of us are begging to be answered: HOW does a novice photographer or artist get into this practice? Why would someone publish a book that implies it's going to show you how to do something, then doesn't show you how to do it? This book is the equivalent of your eccentric uncle showing you his vintage G.I. Joe action-figure collection, but saying you can't touch or play with any of them, and he's not going to explain how he got them or where to buy them because it's an ancient Chinese secret. You need to climb a mountain and fight Pei Mei to earn the right to know that privileged information. Quote us on that, it'll probably get you engagement and sales. The author does briefly go over the methods in the broadest way possible, but he fails to supply a step-by-step breakdown of how it's done so that it can be replicated. That seems kinda important to us. Don't you agree? That's essential to the scientific method: every experiment needs to be reproducible. It is the author's job to make sure that his methods are reproducible by supplying adequate details. How much water should you spray on the photos? How much actual egg-oil do you use? What the heck is “10per cent?” Did you mean “ten percent?” Did you mean a mixture of 10% oil and 90% water? Wait a second, there's an Appendix 1? What the hey is dammar gum and where do we get it? What the blue heck is balsam turpentine and where do we get it? What's a “dash” of balsam turpentine? What if your “dash” is bigger than our “dash?” How vague and imprecise. How is that quantifiable? How is that scientific? How is that reproducible? Why would we go through all this trouble, follow all of these vague and imprecise instructions, just to make egg oil when we can probably order it for like $8 on Amazon? It's like the guy who grinds his own coffee beans. How long do the photos need to be left out to dry? Do we need to dry them? We assume so. How many times do they need to be rewetted? Why? What exactly do you do with the soft brush? We assume you brush with it, but the author doesn't tell us that directly or explicitly. They use the vague language of “apply” the egg oil. Well, how much oil do we “apply?” How long should we keep brushing? Is it like making a cake and you're supposed to keep mixing for like 2 minutes? WHERE do we apply the egg oil? Do we apply it to the front AND the back? Do we only apply it to the top of the photo? The bottom of the photo? Do we have to apply pressure so that the egg oil can better be absorbed or are we supposed to be gentle so we don't damage the paper? Why is it that the author uses passive language to describe what to do with the soft brush? Why is it that the author keeps using passive language to describe the method in general? Why is the author describing what other practitioners do but not what he does? Or are we to assume he does it the exact same way that they do? What the heck is a Sennelier pigment? Where can we get it? Is it available on Amazon? Ebay? At Office Max or Walmart? Does it come in small, medium, and large? Does it come in some liquid vial with a dropper? Is it dry? Does it come in something resembling a salt shaker? Does the transparent paper have to be A4 sized too or does it have to be a little bigger to account for variation? What the heck is aquarelle paper? Is it available on Amazon? Ebay? At Office Max or Walmart? Is Adobe Lightroom the only editing software we can use to crop the photos or change them to black & white? Can't we just use the free Photos app on a Windows OS? Or Canva? Or Photoshop? Why not? What is it about Adobe Lightroom that makes it the go-to software for washi-paper people? Could the author maybe enlighten us and tell us how to use the software in a clear, coherent, and substantive way? Even assuming that we—the readers—are artists and photographers, these methods and techniques may be new to us. The software may be new to us. The author shouldn't assume that we can just pick it up and run with his vague and oddly passive instructions. Going back to an earlier example for our review of Dale L. Roberts's book, you can't just give a cyclist a motorcycle and say, “Hey, you can ride a bike, right? I'm sure you can ride this.” They wouldn't know where the ignition was or how to control the headlights. Why? Because bicycles don't have ignitions or headlights. Motorcycles and bicycles are similar but two very different things with two very different propulsion methods. Likewise, you don't just toss some photography hobbyist some egg oil, a spray bottle, washi paper, Sennelier pigment, transparent paper, aquarelle paper, dammar gum, balsum terpentine, and a Adobe Lightroom software and say, “Hey, take all of this. You're a photographer, right? I'm sure you can figure out what to do.” No! It is so frustrating because the instructions aren't very instructive or helpful at all. What if we actually care about replicating the process? What if we actually care about doing this right? The author's not giving us the adequate tools and information with which to do it. We're better off just googling “washi paper photography” and learning for free. So what is this book actually really good for? It's pretty, and it shows off the author's work, and for that it's commendable. Credit where credit is due: the photographs themselves are artistic. You wouldn't believe they were originally taken on a camera like a normal photo, you'd think that someone went through a painstaking process to draw and paint these because all of these look like paintings that could be in an art museum somewhere. There's a very National-Geographic-esque vibe to all of these like they come straight from some sort of vintage historical text. And that probably encapsulates this art-form as a whole: it's very vintage. Maybe that's not your jam, maybe it is. We can buy into classical, antique, vintage things. We collect old obscure art and even have swords and stuff. We're those kinda people. And are these photos well-organized? Yes. They are divided into four sections, and you can see which techniques were used with which photos. All in all, this book by an absolutely brilliant person can be fun to look at, but it just doesn't seem to supply the information and helpful instructions/guidance that we really wanted from a book of this nature. You can check it out on Amazon  Score: 93/100 (9.3 out of 10)
Once Upon a Dance is yet another returning Outstanding Creator Awards champion, this time in children's books! This is a fantastic book if you have a child who might be interested in ballet or dance but don't know where to start. Think of this as Ballet/Dance 101, but instead of paying a lot upfront for a beginner's class, you can get it for probably less than $20 when the book releases on May 3rd. You as the parent or teacher, however, have to be prepared to consume and understand these techniques and then teach them. That's a commitment of time, energy, and mind-power. If you care enough about the practice, however, it can definitely be worth it, and your kids can definitely benefit. It's not too dissimilar to books teaching things like yoga to children. The author provides helpful metaphors for these techniques. For example, your ideal posture can be imagined as being like a peacock spreading their feathers or a cobra stretching the sides of its neck ("hood"). Your ideal foot placement is compared to making the biggest footprint possible in the sand at the beach, feeling it between your toes. Other analogies are made such as forming a tripod with your body, emulating a flamingo, and imagining breathing in a large hot pot of spaghetti. The performer is instructed to imagine forming a tower with their hips, chest, and head. These analogies can be very helpful, and the illustrations further hit the points home. This is not your traditional children's book with a short morality tale that's intended to be consumed in one sitting, although you could presumably read all of this in about 20 minutes. This is actually an educational guide containing detailed instructions, helpful tips, and complementary (and beautiful) illustrations showing you and your child how to perform some of the basics of ballet and dance. If there's anything that keeps this book from being perfect, however, it's that it is very wordy. The author/instructor has a lot to say, and it can be pretty complex from time to time. Remember, it's not how much you (the coach) know, it's how much the players or the performers know. Again, you as the parent or teacher have to be prepared to read and understand this before presenting it. Sitting down with a child to read this from cover to cover may push their attention spans to their limits, so it's probably best to tackle one concept at a time or to take this information and create your own routine from it, perhaps practicing standing, breathing, and balancing for about 30 minutes each day. You and your child may find it fun to do this together! Something very cool about Once Upon a Dance is that their books are all part of a multimedia program that includes other books and videos. We would not be surprised if there's audio to accompany this, and that could be very helpful. The reason for that is, it can be difficult to practice something while holding a book in your hand at the same time. It is easier for someone to read the instructions aloud to you, allowing you to focus on physically performing the actions/movements. We encourage you to check them out at https://onceuponadance.com/dance-stance or https://www.facebook.com/OnceUponADanceViralDancing/ in anticipation for the May 3rd book release!  Score 86/100 (8.6 out of 10)
From one book on alcoholism to another. They're roughly the same length but with completely opposite approaches. “Make it a Double” by Randall McNair takes a more snarky and cynical approach to the topic than “Dying for a Drink” by Amelia Baker, which attempted to be helpful and hopeful for the sake of the reader. The nomination letter also admits that this book has a “bleak” tone or outlook. How incredible that we have two books about the exact same topic but approach it in two very different ways, and it's not just poetry versus prose. Both authors struggled with alcoholism for about the same amount of time, but while one (Baker) has seemingly overcome it and strives to never go back, the other (McNair) seems to have "embraced the suck." “Make it a Double” is a poetry book on alcoholism with poems written while the author was supposedly in an inebriated or drunken state, or at least a little tipsy. It shows. McNair calls alcohol his “muse.” This is more than likely not the healthiest view of alcohol, and we fear may be triggering for some actual alcoholics. It's like the frequently-drunk dad who slaps you on the back and tries to give you advice while slurring and stumbling half the time, it can be somewhat amusing but also concerning, and obviously you aren't taking any of the advice. At the same time, the approach that this book takes can arguably be beneficial in that it may be able to convince former and current alcoholics that alcoholism—while seemingly big, scary, and all-consuming—is not insurmountable and not unbeatable. Should you take a big issue like this lightly? It depends. Usually, no. But for some, the best way to overcome an obstacle is finding the courage and strength to say, “I can take you” or, like Rocky to Clubber Lang in Rocky III, “You're not so big. You're not so bad. You're nothing.” One of us has a somewhat related and also humorous personal story. He used to have a small fear of spiders like many do. Arachnophobia is very common like alcoholism. He got over this by making the commitment to punch every spider he saw “in the face.” He soon found that spiders, while seemingly weird and terrifying, are nowhere near as formidable as a human fist and can't survive the force of a human punch. In the end, they're smaller than us and probably more afraid of us than we are of them. They die just like any creature. Alcoholism can be similar. Alcohol only has the power over us that we give it—that we allow it to have. It only has the significance and meaning that we give to it. Intrinsically, it's a substance in a liquid. For some people, that kind of thinking can be helpful. Another example we heard from the TV show “Prison Break” is the child who is afraid of the supposed “monster” in their closet. This is another common fear that children have, even featuring as a major plot device in “Monsters Inc.” Obviously, there is no monster in the closet, but because the child perceives the closet as mysterious, dark, and scary, it gains a greater meaning and power in their mind. The truth of the matter is, the closet is just a closet like any other closet. At some point, the child needs to find the strength and the courage to open that closet and see that for themselves. At some point, the alcoholic may need to confront their great enemy and realize that it does not have any intrinsic power over them. Confronting your greatest fears with lighthearted snark and cynicism seems to be the essence of these poems and this book. We could literally envision the author thumbing his nose and sticking his tongue out at the issue. Alcoholism isn't the big, scary monster in this book. It's not the dragon that needs to be slayed. No, it's the dainty little harpy damsel that keeps badgering and nagging the knight on his journey, never lifting a finger to help—just being a ball and chain. No offense, but unless you find drunkenness amusing or funny somehow, it is very clear that the alcohol is not helping the poet to craft better poems, unless of course he's using alcohol to become less inhibited—to get over writer's block or something. The thoughts, as you'd expect, are scattered. They jump from things like drinking, partying, to “tits.” Well, perhaps those three are more related than we'd like to think. But the point remains: the poetry is not our cup of tea. Most of them tell little stories of events that occurred while drunk, usually just as is with little subtext, some involving sex while others involve violence. Something that bothered us about this book (and we alluded to it in our last review) was that this book can come across as quite mean-spirited. While Amelia Baker in her book was conscientious and remorseful, McNair in this book seems almost remorseless about the actions he took (and possibly continues to take) while drunk. He punches a man in the face while drunk and breaks his face, and this is something he seems to be proud of and celebrate. There's a part where he admits that his wife is probably home alone eating with their cat while he is out drinking at the bar, but it sounds more dismissive of her plight than remorseful. There's a whole poem in here that, instead of talking about alcoholism in the AA group, talks about the hypersexuality of its members. There's a pretty tough to read poem in here about a sexually transmitted disease (herpes) and another about breasts, spoken of in a very unsavory and aggressive way. These aren't things that we necessarily celebrate or even find funny. Sometimes it's just disgusting. The author does demonstrate some ability to stick to a meter and have some beat. There are poems in here like “Clone” and “I Write Love Poems” that stick strictly to tercets. The lines of most of these poems are consistent in length. We do miss the rhymes and the rhythm though. We miss the emotion and the feels. Something about these poems is that they all deliberately seem detached. They seem to have a very nonchalant or “just screw it” tone to them. What's amazing is that one of the subtitles of this book is quite literally “Bad Poems- Book 2.” Did the author go out of their way to portray the mind and ability level of an alcoholic? Because, in all honesty, if that's the case (and it very likely is), then this book is a cautionary one. Yes, you can find amusement in a silly drunk saying silly drunk things, but you (the reader) can also gather that perhaps alcohol is not a very helpful muse after all. If you are interested, you can check out this poetry book on Amazon!  Score: 93/100 (9.3 out of 10)
“Dying for a Drink” is a terrific memoir/autobiography by Amelia Baker reflecting on her relatable battle with alcoholism, a battle that has lasted for over a decade. Interestingly, this is one of two books on the topic in this contest along with “Make it a Double” by Randall McNair. “The Prodigal Father” by Forrest Hutter, a 2nd-place grand-prize winner in non-fiction, also heavily concerned alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous. That gives us some great points of reference and comparison. The fact that we've seen so many books about this one topic is also an indication that alcoholism is a huge problem that affects many lives. There are still a lot of people crying for help and longing for hope. All in all, “Dying for a Drink” distinctly takes a more serious and optimistic tone at the topic than “Make it a Double”—which more so seemed to poke fun and be playful regarding it, not without reason. Sometimes you need to thumb your nose at your problems and your fears. Sometimes, you need to confront the monster in the closet with a laugh and a sneer. Whether that makes it more entertaining or enjoyable to read is arguable and depends on taste, however in our opinion, “Dying for a Drink” is generally more up our alley. The reason for that is that Amelia Baker as a person/character really seems like someone we can get behind and root for. Where as McNair could come across as mean-spirited at times, sometimes even resorting to and glamorizing violence, Baker comes across as someone ridden with guilt and desperately trying to do the right thing. That's not to say that we need the narrator to be a littlest, purest angel. The opposite is true. In Hutter's work, the alcoholic father in question was abusive to the point of being uncomfortable to read about, but it wasn't abuse for the sake of abuse—he seemed to want his son to learn to be strong and independent so that he could take care of himself and his sister, which his son eventually did with great success. That doesn't excuse the narrator's actions, but it makes it more understandable. The obstacle that McNair came across was trying to put across his personal character in the form of poetry—poetry which was often sharp, cynical, and blunt, almost to the point of saying “screw it all." That's in contrast to Baker who is constantly conscientious—constantly considering her actions and inactions—her concealment and neglect—the repercussions of these things on her family and other loved ones. She knows at seemingly all times whether or not her actions are wrong. She knows that she is her own worst enemy, and that a lot of the problems in her life like her son being born with an illness, her divorce, her abuse from a similarly alcoholic partner, falls, and accidents all followed her alcoholism. But like a truly abusive relationship, she kept going back to it for more. The alcohol begins giving her health problems like a distinct “alcohol diarrhea” which features both tragically and humorously in this book as the character puts off cleaning herself after an occurrence in order to go upstairs and drink more alcohol. She also has frequent blackouts and develops obsessive-compulsive as well as secretive behavior. It takes a physical toll on her like a fall that breaks her clavicle. And, of course, the mental/psychological toll is severe. Furthermore, these problems snowball as they lead to such problems as a codeine addiction that bring her to the verge of overdosing. This all leads to suicidal idealization culminating in a suicide attempt. At one point, the narrator's alcoholic behavior gets them barred from her nephew's wedding, a wedding which they'd planned for and hoped on for months. It destroys her relationships. You don't have to be an alcoholic to relate to this book or Baker. Anyone who has struggled with addiction of any kind can relate to this book. Addiction isn't merely a blue-collar problem. It's not just something that affects the poor or those predisposed to having “issues.” It can affect literally anyone, even someone affluent with a good home and a loving family, and that's something that definitely comes across in this book. And addiction doesn't only have to be to alcohol or drugs, you can have other addictions—to eating, to pornography, to shopping, to gambling, or even to diet and exercise (leading to bulimia and/or anorexia). Addiction takes many shapes and comes in many forms, but the affects are similar and familiar. Something we love about this book is that not only does it present a narrative, it also provides support and advice. This is also something we absolutely loved about “A (True) Traumatic Brain History” by Mark Allen in the last contest. Amelia Baker seems genuinely interested in helping people and giving people an example to follow if they are struggling with addiction. Yes, some of these ideas are borrowed from Alcoholics Anonymous or similar programs/books, but they are no less helpful. It's one thing when Bill Belichick tells you how to throw, it's another thing when Tom Brady tells you how to throw. Both are experts, but one has genuine first-hand, recent experience with the process, and is also prolific at it. Similarly, hearing from Baker and learning from her is extremely valuable. Check out this book on Amazon! |
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