Here's a quick peek at some of the books that have arrived over the last week or so for review. Check them out and then stop by our site in a few weeks to read the reviews.
The Cockroach Invasion by Sherry L. Meinberg Cockroach catastrophe! The third graders are in for an exciting and scary experience, as cockroaches take over their classroom. How will they act? What will they do? What would you do? What will they discover about cockroaches? Nobody loves a cockroach! They make nasty houseguests; the ick factor is very high. But most cockroaches live outdoors and never come in contact with humans. The Cockroach Invasion challenges our assumptions and raises awareness about cockroaches and the role they play in our ecosystem. It expands readers' minds and stimulates their imaginations, while contributing to the appreciation of biodiversity. It teaches readers to think twice about underloved yet necessary creatures. The Cockroach Invasion entertains and informs. It is a delightful read for all ages, stunning in its underlying messages: self-reliance, open-mindedness, and respect for all creatures with which we share our world. No matter how you feel about cockroaches, you are guaranteed to find them fascinating!
Real-World Analytics: A Business Leader's Concise Inside View of How to Build and Manage Analytical Teams to Drive Real Results in Today's Big Data Craze by Michael Koukounas Real-World Anayltics was written to help business leaders develop and manage analytics teams in today's Big Data craze. The book focuses on the do's and don'ts of staffing and managing analytical teams. It helps promising analysts transition from developing analytics into more senior management roles, and it helps senior business leaders understand the limitations of their analytical teams, the issues they will need to address in running them, and the investments they need to make in support of analytics in order to be successful in today's business world.
A Man of Understanding: A Noted Scientist's Guide to Happiness and Success by Frank M. Berger MD Dr. Frank Berger (1913-2008) introduced the ground-breaking tranquilizer “Miltown” in 1955, which improved millions of lives and changed modern medicine. Despite this, he never gave up seeking a deeper solution to human distress. During the distinguished career that followed, this vastly curious scientist collected ideas that helped his understanding of the world. Here he offers a formula for achieving the happy, successful life he’d enjoyed and an A-Z of his stimulating views. Remarks by Einstein, Confucius, Joseph Campbell, Warren Buffett, Jackie Mason and others support and amplify them. Dr. Berger had concluded that though we can’t overcome life’s uncertainties, we can greatly increase our ability to handle them with grace and ease. He shows that learning to see things for yourself and determine your own views, rather than accepting those handed down by others, can provide enormous inner strength, clarity, and confidence. You can create a set of beliefs that better outfit you for success and happiness. His catalog of 60 “views on many subjects” is meant as a springboard to inspire you to form your own. Jump into the book and discover for the first time what you really think about things—and see if it changes your life.
The Garden of Letters by Alyson Richman Portofino, Italy, 1943. A young woman steps off a boat in a scenic coastal village. Although she knows how to disappear in a crowd, Elodie is too terrified to slip by the German officers while carrying her poorly forged identity papers. She is frozen until a man she's never met before claims to know her. In desperate need of shelter, Elodie follows him back to his home on the cliffs of Portofino. Only months before, Elodie Bertolotti was a cello prodigy in Verona, unconcerned with world events. But when Mussolini's Fascist regime strikes her family, Elodie is drawn into the burgeoning resistance movement by Luca, a young and impassioned bookseller. As the occupation looms, she discovers that her unique musical talents, and her courage, have the power to save lives. In Portofino, young doctor Angelo Rosselli gives the frightened and exhausted girl sanctuary. He is a man with painful secrets of his own, haunted by guilt and remorse. But Elodie's arrival has the power to awaken a sense of hope that Angelo thought was lost to him forever.
A Secret Woman by Rose Solari Louise Terry is the quintessential, modern American woman; a successful and independent artist, sexually liberated and head strong, she’s determined to carve out a life for herself where her painting comes first and where she can avoid messy romantic entanglements. But when her estranged mother, Margaret, dies, leaving a box of documents, photos, and journals, Louise discovers in its contents a new and very different woman from the one who raised her. This Margaret was admired by Catholic priests and Wiccan priestesses alike for her spiritual gifts and was working, at the time of her death, on assembling her visions of a 12th-century cross-dressing woman mystic who not only managed to infiltrate the male bastion of Glastonbury Abbey, but who instigated the tragic fire that burned it to the ground in 1184. Determined to pursue the fragments her mother left behind, Louise travels to England where she meets a cast of characters whom she must depend on to find her way. Blurring the boundaries between past and present, between the body and the spirit, between female and male, this page-turning mystery is a sexy romp through time and space, a profound meditation on the mother-daughter connection, and an enlightening exploration of what it means to make love, to make art, and to make a life worth living.
What Would Mary Ann Do?: A Guide to Life by Dawn Wells As the sweet, polite, and thoughtful Mary Ann Summers from Kansas in the hit series Gilligan’s Island, Dawn Wells created an unforgettable and beloved character that still connects with people fifty years from the show’s debut in 1964. As the “good girl” among the group of castaways on a tiny island, she was often positioned against the glamorous and exotic Ginger Grant, played by Tina Louise, prompting many to ask: Are you a Ginger or a Mary Ann? This book not only helps readers answer that question for themselves but also sends the inspirational and heartwarming message that yes, good girls do finish first. Part self-help, part memoir, and part humor—with a little classic TV nostalgia for good measure—What Would Mary Ann Do? contains twelve chapters on everything from how Mary Ann would respond to changes in today’s culture to addressing issues confronting single women and mothers. Wells brings along her fellow characters from Gilligan’s Island to illustrate certain principles, such as incorporating the miserly Thurston Howell III (Jim Backus) in a discussion on money. Anecdotal sidebars also describe fascinating facts and compelling memories from the show, as well as some trivia questions to challenge fans and followers. Illustrated with photographs from Wells’s private collection, this book provides inspiring lessons from TV’s favorite good girl.
Call Me Amy by Marcia Strykowski For Amy Henderson, 1973 has been a lonely year of so many awkward moments she's actually lost count. Things turn around quickly when she assists in the rescue of an injured seal pup. To help save Pup, she forms an unlikely alliance with a questionable boy in a worn-out army jacket, as well as a peculiar older woman the kids in town refer to as "Old Coot." Amy soon finds that people aren't always what they seem, as she nurtures Pup back to health with the help of her two new companions, Craig and Miss Cogshell. Unexpected detours occur as an ill-intentioned harbormaster hunts down Pup and a group of nosy popular girls set their affections on Craig. As if these weren't obstacles enough, an even graver challenge presents itself soon thereafter, threatening the future of the entire town--and Amy's life as well.
