Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted

by Should Be Reading

Here are our offerings for this week. Check them out! Reviews will be up shortly.

Cute Eats Cute: If Holden Caulfield had grown up in an age of environmental politics he might sound like Cute Eats Cute's 15-year-old narrator. Set in a Midwestern town at the turn of the millennium, Sam's mother embraces Wicca, his dad dials in talk radio, and his eco-warrior friends shift into hyper-drive as the community goes up in arms when deer are slated for culling from a large urban park.
Organically wrapped in paradox and irony, Cute Eats Cute explores the many false utopias its characters embrace. Sam discovers the human condition is really about finding out which tribe you're in, and in doing so, learns to navigate the turbulent waters of this so-called life. Cute Eats Cute -- the title taken from a speech Sam's dad makes at his high school defending the urban deer hunt-- encapsulates how animals eat one another for survival and defense. And the food chain never sleeps. The satirical jabs at the men's movement, the deafening but impressionable rhetoric of the gun-toting Christian right group, The Hunters of Men, and the fragile friendship of Sam's school chums (who are each facing down their own personal issues against their blind ecology crusade) all conspire to make Murphy's novel a page-turning delight. But it's not without its carefully constructed messages.

7 Scorpions: Rebellion: The world was turned upside down by the swift and brutal attack of a dictator known only as Zodiac. Planting flash bombs in every major city across the world, he detonated them simultaneously, sending the survivors into chaos and anarchy. In the wake of the destruction, Zodiac unleashed the dreaded Seekers, a group with the ability to radiate an aura of intense fear, which would complete the enslavement and extermination of humanity.A former vigilante, turned government super soldier experiment, emerges from his self-imposed exile to challenge the new status quo. Can Vincent Black, with his makeshift team of unlikely allies, overcome the demons of his past to help preserve the future of humanity?

Did Not Survive: Iris Oakley, pregnant and still recovering from her husband’s murder, wants only to carry on as a keeper at Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, Washington. But she is confronted by a terrifying situation: alone and with no elephant expertise, she must rescue her boss, Kevin Wallace, from being mauled by a zoo elephant. Though she gets him to safety, he dies of his injuries. No one understands why reliable old Damrey attacked the foreman, and Iris inadvertently misdirects the investigation. As zoo staff descend into anxiety and animosity, the welfare of the animals is threatened, as well as the lives of keepers. Rattled coworkers nominate Iris to find out what’s going on. She finds a surprising number of motives to kill the foreman, but Damrey, the elephant, doesn’t have one. Despite the distraction of trying to construct her new life as a single mother, Iris discovers that the elephant keepers are locked in a bitter feud, the new veterinarian is keeping secrets, and an old flame still hates Wallace. New-born clouded leopard cubs cheer up the troubled staff, but even that has its dark side. Adding to the chaos, animal rights activists are picketing the zoo. They want the elephants sent to a sanctuary, but is that a better option for them than the improved exhibit that is on the drawing board? Why isn’t that exhibit under construction as planned? A new foreman shows up with alarming ideas, the police keep dropping by, and animals are disappearing into thin air…

The Skinny on Networking: You've probably heard the expression "It's not what you know, it s who you know." Well, there's a lot of truth to it. Of course you always need to work hard at your endeavor of choice ("what you know"). Your value in the business world depends on what you can do for people. Therefore, you must have a skill, information or expertise that others will consume that people will pay for. BUT, having that skill, information or expertise is often not enough to maximize your potential. You need people a network to help you distribute your skills. You need people to help you find a job, a loan, customers, or the right partner. The Skinny on Networking: Maximizing the Power of Numbers is about creating and maintaining your network. Illustrated, narrative and easily read in about one hour, this book condenses the thinking of experts, authors and celebrities alike and presents them in an entertaining and engaging format. In The Skinny on Networking yo uwill learn how to: maximize your reach on the internet; get to the people you need; create networking gravity; employ the principle of weak ties; think like a boomerang; expand your social capital; build a reciprocity field; utilize connectors; move beyond your comfort zone; cold call; leverage initial meeting.

The Skinny on Success: In Jim Randel's distinct and unique format of telling a story through skinny stick people, readers will see success in a new light as they learn the tools that will help them to become victorious or, if they want to flourish even more, how to take their dreams about achieving to the next level. The Skinny on Success will explain how to: Identify the three steps in the process that leads to success that triumphant people take; See the importance of passion, action, & persistence; Decide how big a role talent plays in becoming successful; Be inspired by the examples of Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, John Grisham, and others, who went from rejection after rejection to huge triumphs; Benefit from the author's synthesis of the key findings from illuminating books on success, including Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, Daniel Coyne's the Talent Code, and others.


The Skinny on Creativity: The Skinny on Creativity ... Wow, what a big topic!
And such an important one too, because no matter what you do, or where you are in your life, the ability to think creatively is crucial for your survival and your success. In short, the more you develop your skills at creative thinking, the more likely you will be able to master your environment whatever it might be. Creative thinkers are all around you. People who are juggling responsibilities and obligations. People who are finding ways to get a lot done with minimum help or resources. People who are using their talents to maximum effect. Creative thinking is the skill you need to overcome whatever stands between you and what you want to accomplish. Creative thinkers will have an edge in the years ahead. Whereas once analytical thinking was paramount, today machines can perform analysis better than most humans. But machines can t imagine; machines cannot think creatively. And so, to compete and prosper you need to enhance your abilities at creative thinking. So, give us an hour of your time. That's about how long it will take for you to read The Skinny on Creativity. By the end of this book you will have a better understanding of the rules of creativity and an enhanced ability to think out of the box.


Haunted Echos: Sarah Reddington traveled to far-away Maine to escape the chaos of the windy city. She wanted to concentrate on completing her novel and enjoy the peaceful quiet of the Atlantic's craggy shore. Although she was the only registered guest staying in an elegant, but quaint Victorian Inn, subsequent events quickly placed her writing on hold. The haunting cries that echoed around her made her question not only her own mortality, but made it difficult for her to decipher between fiction and insanity. This is an old-fashioned ghost story through-and-through that will keep you guessing until the last written word.