We’ve Got This: Unlocking the Beauty of Belonging by Ritu Bhasin

November 25, 2024 By Leave a Comment


We’ve Got This: Unlocking the Beauty of Belonging by Ritu Bhasin
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Genre: Contemporary, Non-Fiction
Rating: 3 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Many of us feel constant pressure to mask and curate who we are–to perform as someone we’re not rather than be who we are. And it hurts us. But we don’t need to live this way.

With We’ve Got This, award-winning and globally recognized DEI and empowerment expert Ritu Bhasin delivers a much-needed guidebook on how to heal, thrive, and stand in your power in the face of hate and hardships. She reveals how to unlock belonging–for yourself and for others.

Ritu knows firsthand that the path to belonging can be both beautiful and hard. As a child of working-class immigrants of color, she experienced relentless struggles with racist bullying and cultural confusion growing up. Even as a successful lawyer and business leader, Ritu grappled with knowing, embracing, and being her authentic self–until she realized the freedom that comes with claiming belonging, which she passionately shares in these pages.

Combining empathy, humor, and research with life-changing wisdom and savvy, We’ve Got This is the guide for finding belonging and joy that readers from across backgrounds have been waiting for.

The world needs more inclusiveness.

While I’m not Punjabi like Ms. Bhasin is, I am a member of a few other minority groups that are also misunderstood by society at large at times. I smiled and nodded along as I took note of the many similarities between our two lives that may not appear to have much in common at first glance. There is something refreshing and encouraging about discovering what one has in common with a stranger, and I was glad I took this journey with her.

The repetition in this book made it difficult for me to remain highly interested in reading the next page or chapter. As excited as I was to explore this topic and as much as I wanted to give it a higher rating, repeating the points so many times made them less meaningful to me as a reader. So many passages could have been trimmed down or combined into previous chapters.

Some of the most memorable sections for me were the ones that explored how yoga can bring about both physical and emotional healing. This is a form of exercise I’ve practiced on and off for years, and I’ve also found it incredibly helpful for dealing with all sorts of physical and emotional sore spots. The more people who become aware of this option, the better if you ask me!

I also struggled with how much time the author spent sharing her own story. Obviously, it was important to understand her catalyst for writing about standing strong in the face of hate and discrimination, but I kept wishing for more advice on practical ways to do so instead of more examples of prejudice. There was so much more that could have been done with these later sections.

With that being said, I did find the section that talked about how to let someone know when they’ve said something offensive useful. It can be difficult for some people to hear that they’re being hurtful, and they may not always be open to listening to how certain words feel when one is on the other side of them. There are ways to nudge those automatic reactions aside, though, and it’s good to do so when possible.

We’ve Got This: Unlocking the Beauty of Belonging was thought provoking.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Safe Word Is PINEAPPLE! – Mayor to Manic – My Journey Through Crazy by Gerry Taft

November 4, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Safe Word Is PINEAPPLE! – Mayor to Manic – My Journey Through Crazy by Gerry Taft
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, LGBTQ, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A creepy club. A sketchy fast food restaurant. Ultra wealth and urban poverty. A weird night during a political conference in Vancouver turns author Gerry Taft’s life—and mind—inside out.

Believing he’s about to die, with visions of good and evil conspiring around him, Gerry writes a contract to extend his life. He navigates this sudden psychosis and paranoia by posting about it on social media in real time—and running down the street with his daughter. The Safe Word Is PINEAPPLE! is the true story of an epic meltdown with real world consequences and important lessons.

Part memoir, part social commentary, Gerry uses his lived experience as a framework to discuss—and offer solutions to—the many failings in our society. The Safe Word Is PINEAPPLE! is a call to embrace shared values, have honest conversations, increase personal power, and decrease the pull of polarization.

Everyone needs sympathy sometimes.

Translating what it feels like to have a mental illness to people who have not been through the same thing is difficult. The author went into great detail about his symptoms and how they affected his life which was exactly what I was hoping to see in this book. The more information the general public has about how frightening and lonely this experience can be, the better informed they will be about what’s going on with their loved ones under the same circumstances.

There were some aspects of this memoir that I wish had been better explained. For example, the author described certain people in life as suddenly changing their minds about things they had agreed to. I was never entirely sure how many of these things were misunderstandings versus people genuinely changing their minds or both participants in those conversations coming away with slightly different memories of what happened. Nobody’s memory is perfect, of course, but I would have understood these sections better if more time had been spent teasing out what was truly going on there.

One of the things I appreciated the most about this memoir was how honest Mr. Taft strove to be about what really happened during his mental health crisis in 2023. Sometimes his memory was fuzzy for completely understandable reasons that were probably related to his mental state at the time and certain medications he was taking, but he kept circling back to sharing as many facts about this chapter of his life as he could recall. This was something he did even in cases when it didn’t necessarily paint him in a positive light. His self-awareness and willingness to admit that he was sometimes not very sensitive to other people’s feelings were admirable. Admitting one’s faults isn’t easy, and neither is genuinely trying to fix them!

The Safe Word Is PINEAPPLE! was thought provoking.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don’t) Throw Away by Andrew Larsen (Author), Oriol Vidal (Illustrator)

October 30, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don’t) Throw Away by Andrew Larsen (Author), Oriol Vidal (Illustrator)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Explore
Genre: Contemporary, Non-Fiction, Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

A picture book about what we throw away, and why it might be worth keeping!

What if everywhere you looked, you saw something to make? Instead of seeing something broken, you saw something to fix? Instead of seeing something to throw out, you saw something to give away? This is how Nelson Molina sees the world. A former employee for the New York City sanitation department, Nelson saved over 45,000 objects from the garbage to fix and show his community through his museum, Treasures in the Trash.

Explore the hidden potential in what we often discard and think differently about consumption, waste, and the impact of small actions. With themes of upcycling, anti-consumerism, love for community, and finding joy, Gifts from the Garbage Truck inspires kids to think creatively and curiously about what they do (and don’t) throw away!

I think adults are going to like this as much as the 4-8-yr-olds that this story is geared towards. Imagination, creativity, awareness and a sense of accomplishment are the fruits this story can inspire in readers once they’ve finished. The best part is that it’s doable, real and the possibilities are exciting.

The storybook’s pictures/illustrations are vibrant and capture the neighborhood that Nelson Molina grew up in. There is an introduction that gives the reader an idea of his childhood and the role model who inspired his life’s passion – his mother. Her influence, positive outlook and strong sense of values helped shape a young man’s perspective. What is one person’s trash really can be another person’s treasure. It’s all in how you look at it. The pictures show what the words paint.

As an adult, I can appreciate the value, hard work and dedication to an underexplored career – sanitation worker. For decades it was a job that people looked askance at, looked down upon, or probably gave it no thought at all. I think Mr. Molina single handedly changes that in this story. I believe he shows how this profession isn’t just needed but can make a difference in any society. How?

Reimagining what can be, by either reusing, upcycling or recycling. Sure, those are buzz words today, but according to this little book, he’s spent a lifetime doing that and enlightening his co-workers along the way. He was and is a man before his time, ahead of the curve, if you will.

I think an engaged parent could take what this book presents and, together with their child or children, explore, discover and experiment with what items they have in their own home and before they think of throwing them away, apply the same wonder, imagination and artistic talents to those objects they find and see what they can do, too.

One of the things that I think was great was the author included practical tips you can do in real life with a single rain boot, and old T-shirt, cutlery you no longer use, and even old soda bottles. Mr. Molina even has a museum made up of all the treasures he’s discovered over the years. A testament to the beliefs his mom inspired in him when he was a young boy.

The author included another power hit when he wrapped up this story. At the end of all those great illustrations that capture a child’s eye, is the wow moment when the cartoon comes to life. There are actual pictures of Nelson Molina and the treasures in his museum. This makes everything in this story real to the child this book is read to. It means they too can really do the things Mr. Molina did. They may not pursue a career as a sanitation worker, but to reuse, upcycle and recycle is something we all can do, and it not only can be fun and rewarding but it can help people and our community in so many ways.

Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don’t) Throw Away makes me relook at the empty jelly jar in my hand and wonder – what else can I do with this? What can I make with this? Who else could use this? I believe this little book can inspire creativity and fun.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The American Weekly Covers Of Edmund Dulac 1924-1951 by Albert Seligman

October 18, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The American Weekly Covers Of Edmund Dulac 1924-1951 by Albert Seligman
Publisher: Dulace Books
Genre: Non-Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Inspirational, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Much has been written about Edmund Dulac’s mastery of art deco and design since his death in May of 1953. He was born in Toulouse, France in 1882 and was educated as a lawyer, although he rebelled and later studied art at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He is best known as one of the giants of the ‘Golden Age of Illustration’ along with Arthur Rackham and Kay Nielsen. His beautiful watercolor book illustrations are still in print today, and the original first editions are scarce and highly valued.

Dulac emigrated to England from France in 1904 and he was in London at exactly the right time for the invention of color separation photographic reproduction. Prior to the color separation process printers relied on wood blocks or expensive and complicated chromo-lithography to include color illustrations in their books. Most illustrators (Arthur Rackham and W. Heath Robinson, for example) used line drawings to hold the difference in the color changes. Dulac was a watercolorist and this new technique allowed him to paint the colors just as he would normally, without bold lines defining his subjects. He received numerous commissions for the new ‘gift books’ with full color tipped-in plates mounted on heavy art paper. He began an arrangement with both Leicester Galleries and Hodder & Stoughton, the book publishers, to paint watercolors for their illustrated gift book editions which would be sold in the gallery exhibit once a year. He produced fifty oriental style drawings for The Arabian Nights in 1907, forty drawings for an edition of The Tempest in 1908, twenty watercolors, again in his now signature orientalism style, for The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in 1909. Subsequent editions were The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales in 1910, Stories from Hans Christian Andersen in 1911, and twenty-eight watercolors with dozens of line illustrations for The Bells and Other Poems byEdgar Allan Poe in 1912.

In 1923, “Edmund Dulac, the Distinguished English Artist,”as he was billed on the front covers, was contracted by the Hearst organization to paint watercolors for The American Weekly magazine, the Sunday supplement for the newspapers. The contract lasted nearly 30 years. Dulac painted 106 watercolors from 1924-1951 for thirteen different series for The American Weekly. Although these watercolors were highly praised at the time, their reproduction was only sporadic, with some appearing in The Illustrated London News over the years, and once in a 1936 picture book titled Gods and Mortals in Love.

The American Weekly illustrations in this book were photographed from the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, which was owned and operated by Bill Blackbeard. After Bill’s passing in 2011, the entire collection was moved to The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University.

This 100th anniversary edition contains all the series with some of his other illustrations. They have been restored as well as possible, as many of the front covers had deteriorated over the years. I have also published these illustrations in more detail in a series of six books, with the original captions. They are available as eBooks and will also be released as print editions.

These pieces of art are worth much more than a thousand words.

It’s not very common for Long and Short Reviews to receive requests to review such image-heavy works, so I leapt at the chance to get to know an artist I hadn’t heard of before and see examples of his watercolours. Many of them told a story, whether it was from the Bible, Greek mythology, The Arabian Nights, or some other famous source that most readers will probably be at least somewhat familiar with. There is nothing like seeing these tales come to light thanks to the magic of art, and I would have happily kept reading and gazing for many pages to come.

I enjoyed seeing how Edmund’s personal style evolved over the years as certain painting and sketching techniques became more or less popular depending on the era. I have basic knowledge of the various art movements of the twentieth century and was able to pick out a few of the biggest ones while taking note of his work. Readers who have deeper understandings of this slice of history will no doubt notice some things I missed! The beauty of collections like this one is how nicely they can adapt to people who approach them from a wide variety of perspectives.

Mr. Seligman’s summary of Edmund’s life and work in the beginning was thorough and educational. I appreciated how much effort he put into sharing the most important details of this artist’s life while keeping this section succinct, too. That’s not always easy to do when writing about topics one is passionate about, so kudos to the author for knowing where to draw the line.

The American Weekly Covers Of Edmund Dulac 1924-1951 was a beautiful peek into the past.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Pent Up Thoughts by James B. Agape

September 23, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Pent Up Thoughts by James B. Agape
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Poetry, Inspirational, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“Pent Up Thoughts” is a remarkable collection of journaled thoughts, messages, and poems that shine a captivating light on the complex depths of mental health and self-care. This book beckons readers to take a soul-stirring voyage, delving into the complexities of anxiety, depression, self-love and acceptance, relationships, coping mechanisms, healing, and the widespread stigmas surrounding mental health. Divided into six sections, each part sheds light on an indispensable angle of the mental well-being experience, beautifully intertwined with self-care, resilience, and hope topics. This collection seeks to provide solace, inspiration, and a sense of connection to those battling mental health challenges or searching for a deeper understanding of the human experience and themselves.

Hope is essential and can be found in even the hardest circumstances.

I appreciated the time and effort the author put into describing just how exhausting and hopeless life can feel when someone is struggling with anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues. Even small steps in the right direction can feel as difficult as running a marathon or climbing Mount Everest. This isn’t always something that people who have never struggled with mental illness can easily understand, so I was glad to see it spelled out so clearly. Understanding that headspace is imperative to beginning to heal as well as to figuring out how to help someone who feels trapped by their illness.

The repetition in this book made it difficult for my interest levels to remain high. Certain points were brought up in almost every chapter without clear explanations as to why the author was mentioning them again. This would have been more effective if those sentences were trimmed down or if new information was included in later references to those subjects in my opinion.

The poems were beautiful, and I appreciated their steady cadence and rhyming schemes. Mr. Agape used those rules to explore the wide variety of emotions he experienced before, during, and after his diagnosis became official. There’s beauty to be found everywhere in life, especially in the parts of it that most people would struggle with if it happened to them. He has a real flair for this form of writing and it is my hope that he will be able to publish more of it soon. If or when there’s another poetry collection from him, I’d love to read it!

I should note that I was not aware this was an inspirational title when I requested it. The religious content is an occasional part of the author’s advice and takes up about ten to fifteen percent of the entire book. Still, it was and still is an important part of his life and healing process, so it was interesting to see how his faith affected the choices he made as he struggled with the hardest portions of his mental illness.

Pent Up Thoughts was thought provoking.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Poetry, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Navigating ADHD: A Parent’s Guide to Cultivating Strength, Resilience and Connection by Emily Lawson

September 18, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Navigating ADHD: A Parent’s Guide to Cultivating Strength, Resilience and Connection by Emily Lawson
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Discover how to rewire your child’s ADHD brain into a path of strength and joy for your child and you. It’s another hectic morning, and your child’s challenges are in full swing. You’re juggling breakfast, battling with the morning routine, and feeling the weight of unspoken judgments from those who don’t understand. You might feel alone and heartbroken in these moments, but you’re not. 6.4 million children are diagnosed with ADHD in the U.S. alone. Now, what if there’s a way to ease these daily struggles, to connect with your child beyond the ADHD label? This is where this guide steps in– a guiding light in that shared journey. It’s not just another manual; it’s a source of real understanding and solutions. Within these pages lies a unique blend of practical strategies and heartwarming insights shaped by the latest research and real experiences of ADHD parenting.

This isn’t about just getting through the day; it’s about transforming your daily challenges into opportunities for growth, deeper connection, and genuine joy. This book is your guide, from mastering morning routines to navigating school systems, from managing emotional outbursts to finding peace amidst chaos. In this illuminating guide, you’ll discover:

● How to turn daily struggles into triumphs with structured routines and effective communication
● The truth behind 8 common ADHD myths, setting the record straight and empowering you with accurate knowledge.
● The secret to effective advocacy, ensuring your child receives the education and support they deserve.
● 5 innovative tips for positive reinforcement, enhancing your child’s behavior and self-esteem in a nurturing way.
● How to master mindfulness and stress management techniques that bring serenity to both you and your child, even in the most hectic moments
● 10 easy techniques to improve focus in kids with ADHD – making schoolwork and daily tasks more manageable.
● A variety of self-care strategies that seamlessly fit into your hectic schedule, ensuring you stay energized and balanced. ● How dietary changes and physical activity can significantly improve ADHD management.
● How to build a support network – access an invaluable list of resources and connect with a community that understands and shares your journey.

And much more… If you’re feeling overwhelmed or wondering if you can truly make a difference in your child’s ADHD journey, let this book be your guide. It’s crafted to address your daily challenges, offering practical and transformative solutions.
This isn’t just about managing symptoms; it’s about enriching your family’s life, deepening your bond with your child, and watching them thrive under your guidance and love.

Knowledge makes it easier to thrive.

One of the things I liked about this book was the many different types of coping mechanisms it shared. For example, I had no idea that jigsaw puzzles can help people who have ADHD learn how to stay on task more easily or that exercise could have such a calming effect as well. Pharmaceutical treatment is an important piece of the puzzle for many people as well, of course, but it’s helpful to know more about the lifestyle changes one can make to ease the symptoms of conditions like this one.

I would have liked to see more attention paid to how to handle ADHD with children who are either not yet old enough to attend school or are young adults. The vast majority of the information in this book was geared toward parents of children who were school age. While that is understandable given the way this condition can affect how well a child can learn in a classroom setting, I think there was still more to say about the age groups above or below that one as well. Preschoolers are learning all sorts of important academic and social skills that will be critical for them to succeed in a school environment in a year or two. Likewise, young adults also need to practice skills in order to prepare them for the workforce. This is a minor criticism of something I thought was otherwise well written and thorough.

The sections on various types of alternative medicine that some families use to treat ADHD were balanced and evidence based. Honestly, I was a little surprised by their inclusion when I first began reading them, but the author clearly stated what recent scientific evidence has been uncovered in favor of using each type and what the benefits and drawbacks are of including alternative medicine alongside more mainstream forms of treatment. That was a smart way to address the issue in my opinion, and it boosted my rating to a full five stars.

Navigating ADHD: A Parent’s Guide to Cultivating Strength, Resilience and Connection was a treasure trove of information on managing ADHD.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Backyard Herbal Remedies: A Beginners Guide to Identifying, Foraging, and Wildcrafting Herbal Remedies Straight From Nature by Krista Edwards

September 13, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Backyard Herbal Remedies: A Beginners Guide to Identifying, Foraging, and Wildcrafting Herbal Remedies Straight From Nature by Krista Edwards
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Have you ever wondered if there was a better more natural way to care for the health of you and your loved ones? It may be waiting for you right outside your door!
Does the idea of foraging sound fun and intriguing, but at the same time scary and intimidating?
This book is written for the person starting from scratch. It is written for the person who knows there is a better way to supporting health naturally, but whose only prior use for dandelions was to make a wish. This book breaks things down to a very basic easy to understand level. In Backyard Herbal Remedies you will learn:
How to identify basic botany characteristics to help you identify plants safely and correctly.
How and when to harvest each herb
Which parts of the herb to harvest and how to process it.
How to wildcraft sustainably
How to make different herbal preparations, such as teas, tinctures, decoctions, poultices and more.
Herbal energetics and herbal actions- how to match an herb to the situation.
How to use 18 common backyard “weeds” to use for remedies, what they do, and how to use them.
Recipes for each herb to help you incorporate them into your daily life.
Resources to use on your journey to becoming an herbalist.
If you are ready to take the first step towards sustainable self-reliance for your health and that of your loved ones, I invite you to read this book and join me on your plant journey!

Knowledge is power.

This was an excellent introduction to herbal remedies and how to use them. Because it assumed the reader knew nothing about the subject, the author explained everything about it in clear detail and was quick to warn readers about plants that should not be used by certain groups like pregnant women or people who have certain health conditions or that are too dangerous for beginners to try to identify because, for example, there may be very similar species that are poisonous or they are not easy to properly and safely prepare for human consumption. Those are some of my concerns when I think about trying new herbal remedies, and I was relieved to see them addressed so clearly when necessary.

It was pleasantly surprising to find so many recipes for various types of food here. I assumed that this would mostly be about medicinal teas and lotions, so it was cool to be proven wrong and to see so many other options for consumption included as well such as cookies, soups, a unique type of ketchup, and even a few mixed drinks that include various herbs and other plants. If only mainstream medicine included such delicious options for treating common health problems and feeling better.

Ms. Edwards struck a sensible balance between encouraging her readers to follow medical advice, especially for any serious or persistent conditions, and feeling confident in the use of herbal remedies and traditional Chinese medicine for ailments that can be partially or fully treated safely at home. As someone who has an illness that is treated both pharmaceutically and with certain types of alternative medicine, it was refreshing to read a book that did not pit either method of treatment against the other. Both types of treatment can be necessary and beneficial to one’s health!

I appreciated the gentle humor. Even if it is healthy, not every herbal infusion or syrup is necessarily going to conform to what most modern people generally eat or drink, so the author was quick to point out which recipes might take a little while to get used to and what someone can do to help them taste better in the meantime. This pattern repeated itself with amusing stories about things like the dangers of collecting nettles without wearing gloves even for people who have been doing this for years and believe it might not sting so much this time around. The occasional funny moments only made this an even better read than it already was.

Backyard Herbal Remedies: A Beginners Guide to Identifying, Foraging, and Wildcrafting Herbal Remedies Straight From Nature was filled with valuable advice that I will be referencing regularly in the future.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Pass the Salt by Robert Kingett

September 3, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Pass the Salt by Robert Kingett
Publisher: Compassiviste Publishing
Genre: Non-Fiction, LGBTQ, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Online dating is never easy. You’re meeting a complete stranger, and you’re opening yourself up in a way that some of your best friends don’t even get to see. But when Robert Kingett stepped out onto the dating scene, he faced a whole host of additional challenges as gay man living with blindness, cerebral palsy, and a speech impediment.

Pass the Salt details Robert’s time on the dating scene in 2010s Chicago. Get ready to meet the brightest and best from the online dating world, including The Fare Fan, The Smooth Catfish, and the dashing Richard, who’s better company than Robert’s humming fridge. It’s a hilarious and often moving account of his adventures, guaranteed to make you laugh, make you think, and above all, inspire you.

Love is for everyone.

I adored the honesty of this book. Both the negative and positive aspects of the dating experience were described in vivid detail. Many of the men he dated were wonderful human beings who just so happened not to be a good match for Mr. Kingett himself. I also appreciated how the author described his own flaws and how they could also be deal breakers for others. No one is perfect, after all, and it takes maturity to acknowledge one’s own shortcomings.

Some of the most interesting scenes in my opinion were the ones that explored how factors like race and disability affect someone’s experience in the dating scene. Mr. Kingett met a wide variety of men during his years of online dating, and not everyone was looking for the same thing. In certain cases, his prospective partners were looking for boyfriends who fit specific criteria, but other dates were with men who were open to falling in love with all sorts of different people. I enjoyed learning about their reasons for their choices no matter where they fell on the spectrum of which races they were open to dating or whether having a boyfriend who had a disability was something they viewed negatively. There is so much to learn about how other people’s minds work by paying attention to how they think about such things. The author also had his own list of deal breakers that not everyone else in the world would necessarily see in the same way, and it was intriguing to see how his preferences did or did not match up with what his dates were looking for.

There were a few things about the ending that I wish had been explained better. For example, the beginning mentioned that some of the people the author dated are now part of his found family. I would have loved to have more details about their friendships and how they evolved from romantic to platonic connections. Knowing their names was helpful, but as a reader I wished for more information to help me better visualize what life is like these days for them. Obviously, I am not referring to anything that they’re uncomfortable sharing here! It simply didn’t feel quite complete to me when I finished the final paragraph given how emotionally invested I’d become in the author’s journey.

Pass the Salt was a sweet and heartwarming read.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Scale Of Time: From the Beginning by Joseph Lanzara

August 5, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Scale Of Time: From the Beginning by Joseph Lanzara
Publisher: New Arts Library
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: Best Book
Reviewed by Astilbe

You have not seen one like this before. . .

Open this book and a crazy ruler unfolds to measure the entire history of the universe, in the scale of 1”=25 million years. You couldn’t display something like this on any computer monitor, smart TV, or even IMAX. But here it is in one thin book. From the Big Bang to the death of the Sun, every hour is measured with slide-rule precision, and no short cuts. Informal text and stark graphics guide you from the origin of galaxies through the geologic periods of Earth, in Real Time. Another impossible chart accurately contrasts the Solar System’s dimensions with the distance of a Light Year. Rotate the book clockwise and delve into a million years of human evolution. This unique publication should please any seeker, student, hobbyist, or anyone who is curious about our place in this wondrous universe.

Whether you already love science or wish you could understand it better, keep reading.

The birth and early existence of Earth is one of those topics I find slightly difficult to wrap my mind around but endlessly fun to ponder. Looking at the illustrations and reading the captions were a great way to help me understand just how long it took for our planet to do everything from cool down long enough for land to form to how crucial oceans were for the formation and protection of the earliest microbial life forms. I appreciated how much effort was put into demonstrating just how much time passed from one notable event to the next, especially in the beginning.

By far my favorite portion of this book was the one that discussed the most recent discoveries about what Neanderthal society was like and how they reacted to the introduction of Homo Sapiens to their territory. This is one of those topics I love reading about, and the author had some incredibly interesting things to say about what might have happened between these two groups of humans tens to hundreds of thousands of years ago that I have not seen repeated too often in other contemporary books I’ve read on the subject.

This was such an educational read. I was especially intrigued by the descriptions of Rodinia, the oldest known supercontinent. Previously, I had only been aware of Pangaea, so it was cool to discover just how much geologists have been able to surmise about where the continents were probably arranged on Earth much earlier than that. I never would have guessed that continental drift could be tracked so precisely at such a distant point in the past. Mr. Lanzara did a fantastic job of explaining this and so many other scientific discoveries in a manner that was easy to understand for readers who don’t have a strong grasp of or maybe who even don’t know anything at all about the subject at hand already. That is a valuable skill that makes me eager to read more from him soon.

The existence of aliens was another thought-provoking section as well. It was not something I was expecting to find here, but the author did an excellent job of broaching the topic while still remaining firmly rooted in current scientific understanding of what – or who – might be out there. I will allow other readers the joy of discovering for themselves the rest of the details about this subject as it requires a certain amount of audience participation that makes reviewing it here less exciting than experiencing it for oneself.

The Scale Of Time: From the Beginning is one of the best books I’ve ever reviewed for Long and Short Reviews during the many years I’ve been part of this organization. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

How to Develop Your Career Path in a Post Pandemic World by Zail Dugal

July 23, 2024 By Leave a Comment


How to Develop Your Career Path in a Post Pandemic World by Zail Dugal
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In the wake of the global pandemic, the professional landscape has undergone profound changes, challenging traditional notions of career advancement and stability. Recent graduates are having trouble finding their footing in the workplace after many other professionals have been laid off or furloughed. Some professionals have had gaps in their employment because of parental responsibilities, having their own health challenges, or caring for their aging parents. How to Develop Your Career Path in a Post Pandemic World is a comprehensive guide that navigates readers through this evolving terrain, offering practical insights, strategies, and actionable steps to thrive in the new normal.

Uncertainty can be a gift.

Not every job is the perfect fit for every worker. I nodded in agreement as I read about the importance of knowing one’s skills, strengths, and weaknesses before deciding which positions to apply for. Even something as simple as preferring background noise or preferring a quiet workplace should be considered, and I liked the fact that the author spent so much time talking about the many different factors that should be considered when looking into possible roles.

The thought that crossed my mind over and over again as I read this was that I wished the author had included more details about every step in the process. She covered a lot of important information about modern job hunting, but she didn’t have time to dive deeply into any one particular topic. It would have been especially helpful if she had talked more about how online job applications have altered the job search process, how to tailor a resume to a specific position, and what people who are disabled or part of other minority groups can do to increase their odds of success. She did discuss some of the unique challenges mothers and caregivers face in the workplace, so I would have been keen to see this section expanded by several chapters so that other perspectives could be included as well.

I appreciated the attention Ms. Dugal paid to the emotional aspects of job hunting, from feeling the sting of rejection to building resiliency and maintaining a hopeful outlook on life. It can be quite difficult to send out countless job applications that are never replied to or to interview for positions for companies that do not keep applicants updated on the process. There are a lot of things one cannot control while looking for work, so remaining upbeat about the things one does have an influence on makes a great deal of difference. If only this section had been longer! Honestly, I think it was the most important chapter of them all.

How to Develop Your Career Path in a Post Pandemic World was thought provoking.

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