Vicki Whiting was a third-grade teacher and now enjoys reaching children through the Kid Scoop page.
Jeff Schinkel illustrated Super Silly Jokes for Kids. He attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and loves teaching children how to draw.
SYNOPSIS
Super Silly Jokes for Kids is exactly what the title implies. The book is full of silly jokes, puns and riddles. The book covers a wide variety of topics. There are knock-knock jokes, jokes about animals, food jokes, school jokes and riddles.
CONCLUSION
SuperSilly Jokes for Kids is a great starter book for anyone looking to learn child friendly jokes. As with most silly joke books, there are some good jokes and there are a few lame jokes. Kid Scoop did a really good job of compiling these jokes and Vicki did a great job of editing.
The layout of the book is perfect for kids. Some jokes are straightforward; joke – answer. Some of the riddles have to be matched with the correct answer. Topics are generally combined together in sections.
The art is fabulous. The design is pleasing and entertaining.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank NetGalley and Happy Fox Books for affording me the opportunity to review Super Silly Jokes for Kids.
Steven Konkoly is a Naval veteran. He attended the US Naval Academy and served eight years on active duty. He earned his degree in English literature. He is a Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and USA Today bestselling author. His chosen genre for his work is thrillers.
SYNOPSIS
The Rescue is the first book in a trilogy. It is about a former CIA operative, Ryan Decker, that now runs an international mercenary force specializing in kidnap rescues. On this particular mission things go incredibly wrong. Ryan finds himself being incarcerated and in constant danger of being assassinated. Everyone he knows and their families, have been murdered in the most vicious of manners. His own wife and son are dead, and his daughter refuses to acknowledge his existence. He is all alone.
Somehow, he gets released from prison early and this is where the book really takes off. With the help of a private investigator, Harlow Mackenzie, he tries to unravel what happened years ago. Harlow just happens to be a girl his organization saved from the Russian Mafia’s child trafficking ring years ago; she never forgot the man who saved her. Chased by the Russian Mafia and another Mercenary group, they struggle to survive and uncover who masterminded his downfall.
CONCLUSION
Full of political backstabbing, cruel Mafia murder, another US spy firm maneuvering for military dominance and human trafficking; The Rescue has everything a thriller needs to be successful. Steven Konkoly has crafted a masterful thriller which will keep the reader engaged from beginning to end.
I must admit that when I started reading this book; I was not that impressed. However, after only the first chapter, I could not put it down. Steven’s writing reminds me a lot of Tom Clancy. The mystery, intrigue and thrills are non-stop. The battle between not-so-good and evil is full of twists and turns, thrill and suspense.
If you like a good spy thriller, then this is definitely a book for you.
Book 2 in this series is The Raid released October 8, 2019. Book 3 is The Mountain due to be released July 14, 2020.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR
(These books are free to read or listen too with Kindle Unlimited)
Word 2019 Intermediate Desktop Reference and Cheat Sheet: Formatting, Mailings, References,Tables, Collaboration, Security, and Keyboard Shortcuts(Windows/macOS)
Author
In 30 Minutes
Publisher
i 30 Media (February 19, 2020)
Format
Pamphlet
Genre
Higher Education, Senior School, Researchers, Professional Writers, Authors, and the curious.
Page
4
Language
English
ISBN# 10/13
1641 8804 22 / 978 1614 8804 22
SYNOPSIS
My first impression of In 30 MinutesWord 2019 Intermediate Desktop Reference and Cheat Sheet for Windows and Mac Operating Systems is, it’s comprehensive, clear, and concise. The pamphlet supports features that intermediate users value the highest. The 4-page pamphlet includes such sections as: How to create citations, a bibliography, how to use internal links in documents, how to create an index and offers guidance on using collaboration within Word 2019.
In 30 minutes Word 2019 is a must have for all those wanting to streamline their productivity and increase their efficiency in Microsoft Word.
Its conciseness is its strength. The most critical elements for the intermediate user are covered and supported with an extensive keyboard shortcut list. A list that aids the user in finding, using, and learning the most important shortcuts for faster document production.
Word 2019 is just one of many In 30 Minutes Reference and Cheat Sheets available. Please see the section below for further details.
CONCLUSION
The pamphlet is clear, easy to understand. It covers all the intermediate essential information. It is short enough to cover all the most relevant information and long enough to encompass all the facts. It is clearly indebted: First Page: Reference and Cheat Sheet, Formatting | Mailings | References, Followed by Tables | Review | Collaboration. Last Page contains Keyboard Shortcuts.
Cheat Sheets and Reference pamphlets are useful tools in the arsenal of the writer and Word 2019 will give you the edge.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank i 30 Media, NetGalley and In 30 Minutes for affording me the opportunity to review: Word 2019 Intermediate Desktop Reference and Cheat Sheet:
“An inscape, a world of thought. In a world made of thought—in an inscape—every idea is a fact. Emotions are as real as gravity. Dreams are as powerful as history. Creative people, like writers, and Henry Rollins, spend a lot of their time hanging out in their thought-world. S-s-strong creatives, though, can use a knife to cut the stitches between the two worlds, can bring them together. Your bike. My tiles. Those are our knives.”
Joe Hill, NOS4A2 (October 31, 2013). Ch. The Librarian, Loc. 1417-1427
NOS4A2 is a horror novel written by Joe Hill. It is every horror aficionados dream. The central characters are Vic McQueen, an intuitive wild child with a penchant for two wheels, an infinite curiosity, a need for speed, and a special skill. Charlie Manx a sinister otherworldly psychic vampire. Bing is a sociopath with a dark past and darker future. Margret Leigh is a librarian with unique talents. Louis Carmody is a friend to Vic and father to their child. In addition are McQueen’s dysfunctional extended family.
When the story begins Vic lives with her parents in Haverhill, Massachusetts, not far from Lake Winnipesaukee; a favorite family getaway.
Victoria McQueen – AKA Vic or The Brat
NOS4A2 is a standout in every way as a horror product. Set in contemporary times. The key character, Vic McQueen, is an 8-year-old child living in Haverhill with her dysfunctional mother and father who are in a combative relationship. Vic is a wild-child with an extraordinary gift. She is an exceptional artist, but that is not her only trait. She soon discovers her other talent, a symbiotic relationship between her and her bicycle; her ‘knife’ (a psychic tool that can act as a portal via the Shorter Way over a psychic bridge to anywhere she wants to go). Together they can traverse the ethereal plane.
Hill’s novel steers us through the life of Vic from her days as a child, her teenage years and struggles, to her maturation. A life altering event; a clash with Charlie Manx, leads Vic on a personal and dramatic course that defines her life thereafter.
Charles Talent Manx – AKA Charlie Manx
Charles Talent Manx is the principal evil protagonist. He is a filicidal psychopath and mass killer. He has a distinctive overbite, ancient appearance, dresses strangely, and drives a vehicle from another era; a Rolls Royce Wraith. The Wraith is more than just a car, it is part of his Manx-scape, his inner-verse, it is his “knife.” The automobile is implicated in Manx’s unhealthy interest in children. He seemingly spirits them away in his Rolls Royce to his inscape, which he calls Christmasland. In an accident of synchronicity, Vic McQueen and Manx cross paths; from there the game is afoot.
Bing Partridge
Bing Partridge is a rotund, bespectacled man from Sugarcreek, PA. Bing was tried and convicted of parricide for both of his parents. He is a sexual deviant and fascinated with using sevoflurane (Gingerbread scented gas). Sevoflurane is one of the volatile gases that includes: halothane, isoflurane, and desflurane. Partridge employs the gas as an anesthetic to render his victims insensible. He utilizes a military gas mask, given to him by his father when he was a child, to prevent himself from suffering the analgesic affects.
Bing is Manx’s most recent assistant; there have been many over the years. Bing has a fascination for Christmas, gas masks, and mature adult women; although his interests range too much lower age groups. He is dull, has a complex range of paraphilias and appears to suffer from an insufficiency of intellect with elements of psychopathy, and sociological illness. Cunning like a fox and yet barely able to operate in society, Bing shares Manx’s abnormal love of Christmas and Christmasland. Bing can, and will, do anything to attain Christmasland with its promise of eternal life surrounded by gingerbread and all the accoutrements, including access to children.
Ms. Margret Leigh – AKA Maggie
Ms. Margret Leigh is a scrabble maven with a special bag and a spluttering stammer. Maggie has a sapphic nature and works as a librarian in a small town. She is fascinated with scrabble. Maggie has her own “knife,” involving the use of her scrabble bag. She can retrieve messages that aid her in seeing future events.
Louis Carmody – AKA Lou Carmody
Lou is Vic’s significant other and father to Bruce Wayne McQueen. He is an all-around nice guy, dedicated father, and part-time hero.
CONCLUSION
Joe Hill could be the best contemporary horror writer of our time.
NOS4A2 is a strong tale, perfectly paced, and totally engrossing. It has a stupendous narrative, is skillfully written with superior character definition, and has a compelling chronology. It is a mythos all its own and I would not be surprised if it becomes a timeless favorite of many horror story lovers.
NOS4A2 is replete with numerous literary Easter-eggs. He doffs his hat throughout the book to his illustrious literary family and references locations from their works. A reference to Shawshank is just one example. Notable locations: The House of Sleep, The Shorter Way, Manx The Sleigh House, the Graveyard of What Might Be.
I have seen the television show featuring a screenplay adapted from the book. My recommendation is that you should forget the show and read the book. The written form is far superior and elaborates much more than the TV version. There is simply no comparison between the two experiences.
I have already identified my next Joe Hill book and decided on his award-winning number one best seller Heart-Shaped Box. What will your next Joe Hill novel be?
Take a look below where I have provided a read-for-free link to four of his works on KindleUnlimited.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR
Other books by this author are included on his Author’s Spotlight here. There is a range of his works that are currently free-to-read on KindleUnlimited – as of 1 July, 2020. Select the image below to view:
Historians, People who like suspense and thrillers
ISBN # 10/13
159921072X / 978-1599210728
AUTHOR
Judith Pearson is a remarkable woman. She graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in French and English. She continued her post graduate studies in Psychology. She is the founder of Courage Concepts, an organization dedicated to cultivating courage in women and girls. In 2012 she was an International Book Award Finalist for It’s Just Hair: 20 Essential Life Lessons. After her breast cancer diagnosis, she founded A2ndAct.org, an organization that supports and celebrates women survivors of all kinds of cancer. She is still very active conducting keynotes and workshops, not to mention writing. She currently lives in Phoenix (that just seems fitting).
SYNOPSIS
Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America’s Greatest Female Spyis the true tale of Virginia Hall. Virginia lost her leg as a young woman in a hunting accident. Virginia always wanted to work for the Foreign Service. In 1929, at the age of only twenty-three, she applied for a consular position with the State Department. She finally received a job as a clerk with the State Department in 1931. She was told that because of her amputation, she was unfit to be a Consular.
At the outbreak of WWII, she enlisted in the Services Sanitaires de l’Armée, a Red Cross type of organization. She drove an ambulance outside of Paris. After France capitulated, she made her way back to England. On the way she had a chance encounter with George Bellows. He provided her with names and places in London that would eventually change her life forever.
Vera Atkins, an acquaintance of Bellow’s, met Virginia at a party in London. Unbeknownst to Virginia at the time, she was recruiting for the “Inter-Services Research Bureau.” This is where Virginia was enticed to work for the British as a spy. She attended a compressed spy training program; learning how to do such things as making bombs and planting explosives. Her leg was not seen as a detriment but a plus as most people wouldn’t think a one-legged woman is a spy.
Virginia went to France where worked tirelessly recruiting for the resistance, sabotaging German supply lines, and creating havoc whenever and wherever she could. She became such a thorn in the Germans side that they actively hunted her and offered rewards for her capture. She was forced to move constantly to stay ahead of the German spy’s that were tracking her. England tried to get her to return as the dangers were too great. She continued fighting for France. Eventually, the Gestapo forced her to flee for her life by making a perilous journey over the Pyrenees Mountains; not an easy feat for a woman with one leg.
Back in England she was assigned to the OSS. They sent Virginia back to France disguised as an old woman. Her limp accentuated the disguise. Virginia continued her work against the Germans until the end of WWII.
CONCLUSION
Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America’s Greatest Female Spy is a very good book. It details the life of Virginia Hall and her contributions to the war effort. Virginia is a remarkable woman with a dedication and drives that far exceeds the average man.
Judith Pearson does an excellent job of describing the events, the feelings, and the suspense that Virginia endured. The story is remarkable in its own right, but Judith brings an element to the tale that makes this a must-read book. Full of danger, suspense, intrigue, and sorrow; this story is one that must be told. An extraordinary woman in a dangerous time, Virginia Hall is a heroine for all times.
This is the second book in The Grave Kingdom series. To read my review on the first book, The Killing Fog and to learn more about the author click here.
SYNOPSIS
This book continues Bingmei’s quest for survival. With the help of her friends, she continues a mission to evade the evil she unwittingly released in the first book. She has many adventures, experiences great loss and witnesses more unspeakable horrors.
This second installment in the series continues the battle between good and evil, but evil gets a counterpart. Now Bingmei and her followers not only have to evade one ancient evil entity, but two! Not just the entities themselves but the monsters they unleash from the “Grave Kingdom.” With their combined power they can control not only the living world, but the dimension of the dead as well.
Bingmei knows she is the only chance for the world to be rid of these evil entities and so do they. They will stop at nothing to kill her and continue their reign of terror for a thousand years to come. They will devour anyone who attempts to help Bingmei in their bid to capture or kill her. Bingmei must protect not only herself, but her friends. However, slowly she realizes it may not be possible to do both. She agonizes between protecting her friends and fulfilling her duty.
As they flee across the countryside, Bingmei and her little band of warriors and friends face off against an overwhelming foe. Battling not only their enemies but nature itself. From seemingly endless armies to magical beasts, they fight for survival and freedom.
Will she fulfill her duty? Will she protect her friends? Will she even survive? I guess we will find out in the next installment. What a cliffhanger!
CONCLUSION
The Buried World follows up on Jeff Wheeler’s The Killing Fog. This installment does not have as many epic battles as the first, but it has much more suspense. There are epic battles with magical creatures and objects; but there are many more moments where the suspense was too great to put the book down. I had to keep reading to see if Bingmei would escape, save a friend, or invoke some magic that would save the world.
Exceptionally written, Jeff has brought the characters to life and the environment into vivid detail. Each character has been constructed in such detail that the reader can not only see them in their mind, but envision them as actual living beings. He does a fantastic job of describing the environment. From the detailed palaces to the: monsters, the magic, the animals, the plains, or even the water; the reader feels as if they are there alongside Bingmei and her friends on this saga.
I genuinely enjoyed this second book in The Grave Kingdom series and I cannot wait for the next one to be released on 22 September, 2020: The Immortal Worlds.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
MORE BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR
(These books are free to read or listen too with Kindle Unlimited)
MS-13: The Making of American’s Most Notorious Gang Steven Dudley
Title
MS-13: The Making of America’s Most Notorious Gang
Author
Steven Dudley
Publisher
Hanover Square Press; Original edition (September 8, 2020)
Format
Kindle, Audiobook, Hardback, Audio CD
Page
326
Genre
Biographies of Murder & Mayhem, Organized Crime True Accounts, Biographies of Organized Crime
Language
English
ASIN #
B07NGPTZMM
AUTHOR
Steven Dudley is the co-director of InSight, based in Washington D.C. It is joint initiative of American University and the Fundación Ideas para la Paz in Colombia, South America. InSight is aimed at monitoring, analyzing and investigating organized crime in the Americas.
SYNOPSIS
Dudley’s investigative chronology of the South American gang known as The Mara Salvatrucha, or by their other monica MS-13. Mara means “gang” and Salvatrucha stands for Salvador. The number thirteen is for the M; the thirteenth letter of the alphabet. Although some claim that it is because “13” was included to honor the Mexican Mafia (the most influential prison gang in all of CA) which sought to broker peace between the gangs MS-13 and 18th for economic reasons. MS-13’s members are reported to exist in 33 States. A grand achievement considering their inauspicious beginnings in Los Angeles. It is claimed that their current numbers are in excess of three-quarters of a million members. Know primarily for their extreme violence and their primacy within the correctional institutions of the US; their origins were according to Dudley to be far less sinister. Dudley’s account of the tomato gangs (so called because they would throw tomatoes at each other) quickly descended into extortion, drug dealing and murder. Any reluctance to abandon their ’honor’ quickly evaporated as the promise of enormous wealth from drug sales supplanted it.
I have to admit to harboring conflicting feelings about the book. I felt very enthusiastic to receive a copy for review and couldn’t wait to begin reading it. Immediately I began questioning my wisdom. At first it appeared that the author was acting an apologist for the criminal activities of the central characters, Norman, and Alex Sanchez. Then later when Dudley seemed to repeated express sympathy for the victim-hood of the characters.
As the book progressed the tone changed and the author seemed to become more skeptical and less sympathetic as the murders, gang rapes, and violent assaults increased.
Dudley did manifest through his writing style the sense of unity and camaraderie shared by the informal social party group that MS-13 seemed to be. The gang was as much a social club than it was an organization like the Cosa Nostra.
I found the narratives constant transition between the United States and El Salvador left one feeling disorientated and confused. This combined with a plethora of minor players many of whom are known only by aliases only added to the scale of the confusion. There is a lack of structure and because of this there is an inability to keep track of characters, let alone empathize with them at any level. Ultimately, the breadth and scale were too board for easy navigation.
CONCLUSION
MS-13 is extensively researched, but lacks punch; which is ironic in a work so filled with violence. It felt overly verbose, too subjective, overly long and biased at times. I found myself checking my watch while I read it, never a good sign in any situation. Despite this, I believe that if you are interested in knowing more about South American gang culture in the United States it is worth your time.
When the end came, it was something of a disappointment, almost as an afterthought. Perhaps if the extensive El Salvadorian context had been a little less lengthy there may have been more room for an appropriate conclusion.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Stephen Dudley, NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for affording me the opportunity to reviewMS-13: The Making of America’s Most Notorious Gang.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS BY THIS AUTHOR
BE THE BUFFALO, BY STEPHEN DUDLEY IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TO READ FOR FOR FREE ON KindleUnlimited
Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box, The Fireman, and Full Throttle. He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long-running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with artist Gabriel Rodriguez. Much of his work has been adapted for movies and television. His second novel, Horns, was translated to film in 2014 and starred Daniel Radcliffe. His third novel, NOS4A2, is now a hit series on AMC, starring Zachary Quinto. The first season of Locke & Key was released on Netflix in early 2020 and became an overnight smash. His story, “In The Tall Grass,” co-written with Stephen King, was made into a feature for Netflix, and became a mind-bending cult horror sensation. Most recently, Hill has returned to graphic novels — his latest comics include Basketful of Heads and Plunge for D.C., and Dying is Easy for IDW.
MY FAVORITE WORK BY THIS AUTHOR
My favorite work so far by Joe Hill is far and away NOS4A2. It has everything readers of truly great horror demand. The characters are deeply conflicted, and some are heroic without trying. The story is skillfully crafted and expertly written as one would expect from the progeny of the monarch of contemporary horror Stephen King. I love to curl up late at night and listen to an audiobook by Hill. The only draw back is the fight that inevitably ensues between my total absorption in the story and my need to sleep. If you haven’t been introduced to Joe Hill’s work yet, the time is now. Don’t miss the opportunity to read for free, not just one of Hill’s novels but four including: Heart-shaped Box, 20th Century Ghosts, Horns, and NOS4A2. See information and link at the bottom of the page.
CURRENT PUBLICATIONS BY THIS AUTHOR
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER &
#1 BEST SELLER on Amazon
Heart shaped box: A novel
Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals . . . a used hangman’s noose . . . a snuff film. An aging death-metal rock god, his taste for the unnatural is as widely known to his legions of fans as the notorious excesses of his youth. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, an item for sale on the Internet, a thing so terribly strange, Jude can’t help but reach for his wallet.
I will “sell” my stepfather’s ghost to the highest bidder. . . .
For a thousand dollars, Jude will become the proud owner of a dead man’s suit, said to be haunted by a restless spirit. He isn’t afraid. He has spent a lifetime coping with ghosts—of an abusive father, of the lovers he callously abandoned, of the bandmates he betrayed. What’s one more?
I Just read the Author’s Spotlight on litercurious about the New York Times Best Seller, Joe Hill author of Heart shaped box. I loved the Free-to-Read recommendation & link.
Thanks go out to Amazon for their assistance in providing source data for this page. Their services are second to none and their prices are among the lowest in the industry.KindleUnlimited is the copyright of amazoncompany
Why not visit our Read For Free link to see all the wonderful children’s books. Simply click on the image above to see all the goodies this month on KindleUnlimited.
This is another novella by the eponymous Stephen King. This tale is taken from King’s 2008 Just After Sunset Collection. Whilst the narrative has the feel a Lovecraftian novel, it’s claimed that it’s actually inspired by Arthur Machen’s work.
The story is set in the familiar Kingeascian surreal world of Castle Rock, Maine. The story focuses primarily upon two key characters, Johnny Bonsaint and N. Johnny is a Psychiatrist and his client N is a 48 years old divorcee with children and a partner in a large accounting firm.
The account opens with a letter from Johnny’s sister Shelia Bonsaint Laclaire who discovered a manuscript in her brothers affects following his suicide. The case file holds a warning penned on it, to burn it. She foolishly ignores the instructions. Disturbed by the contents of the file, she enlists the assistance of Charlie, a distant family friend and associate from her youth. She asks him to read it and she gives him permission to burn the document should he feel it necessary. With the stage now set, the case file is revealed and what it contains is nothing short of nightmare fuel.
What follows is the account contained within the case file of a series of consultations by Doctor Bonsaint with his client N. The doctor initially concludes a simple case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and a mild case of insomnia causing sleep deprivation. The doctor also senses something else, but he isn’t sure of the cause.
Over the next few sessions, N reveals that he has repeatedly visited a location he calls Ackerman’s Field. In the first instance to photograph the beautiful location. It’s revealed that the standing stones have influenced him and exasperated his OCD symptoms. Thus, propelling him into an uncontrolled counting behavior, the outward manifestation of his anxiety disorder.
What follows could be considered a dive into the esoteric and abstract concepts of a Cosmic Monster verse. If this were not bad enough, what follows is far worse. King masterfully leads the reader little-by-little, teasing, tantalizing, and building the tension piece-meal until you are as engaged as the characters.
CONCLUSION
N is the best King Novella you never heard of. I love it that Castle Rock is back in the mix again. N is an ideal read for anyone in a hurry or on the commute. It is intriguing, compelling, and dark. N is a slow burner that captures your attention and then slowly reels you into the horror universe. Yet, another winner from the stable of Stephen King.
The 112 pages shouldn’t take you much more than two hours and twenty minutes to read. The audiobook is about two hours and seventeen minutes. If you haven’t heard the audiobook version, it is made PHENOMENAL through the spoken talents of Denis O’Hare et. al.
