November 28, 2024
The Art of Drawing Manga
A guide to learning the art of drawing manga–step by easy step (Collector’s Series) Manga is fun to read, and if you want to draw it too, this book gives you a place to start. It’s...
Reviews
98 reviews
November 27, 2024
Donut Love: 60 Versatile Recipes for Every Kind of Craving
The perfect recipe book for those with a sweet tooth, with a variety of treats at your disposal. With an assortment of flavors to choose from, Donut Love includes everything from o...
November 26, 2024
Homemade Robots: 10 Simple Bots to Build with Stuff Around the House
Homemade Robots: 10 Simple Bots to Build with Stuff Around the House consists of a brief introduction to the tools that are used to build small robots without micro-controllers, al...
November 25, 2024
I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt: Everything I Wish I Never Had to Learn About Money
It is not surprising given the brilliant nature of this book, that the author managed to survive the mean streets of Fresno while parenting herself, and then created a successful c...
November 24, 2024
Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House
The nightmare began on November 4, 1979, when the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun, and more than 50 people were taken hostage. President Jimmy Carter attempted diplomatic ov...
November 21, 2024
CarboN
CarboN: The Primitivision is the premiere art book by Lawrence Armondo Hodge (aka CarboN). His new book is a collection of CarboN’s work from 1989 to 2021. This Bay Area native dre...
November 20, 2024
The Haunted Mask (Goosebumps Graphix)
This is the classic Halloween story that we all hope never happens… You dress up, put the mask on, and then you start to feel weird. You feel like you are being overtaken, or contr...
November 19, 2024
Emma McKenna, Full Out (The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class #1)
The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class #1: Emma McKenna, Full Out by Kate Messner is a delightful new chapter book that had us both hooked! As fans of Messner’s Over and Under picture book ser...
November 18, 2024
Borderlands and the Mexican American Story (Race to the Truth)
Mexican-American history, with its roots predating the United States, often falls victim to misconceptions about immigration. These misunderstandings obscure the true narratives of...
November 17, 2024
River’s Reach: Coming of Age Amid the Fish War
River’s Reach is an engaging and relatable story for young adults with interest in books that are thought provoking and cause them to question their values and authority. It follow...
November 14, 2024
Things to Look Forward To
In times of dismay and sadness, when the spirit is low, some everyday antidotes can help to somewhat remedy the malaise. Australian writer and illustrator Sophie Blackall has itemi...
November 13, 2024
The Worst Journey in the World, Volume 1: Making Our Easting Down: The Graphic Novel
An epic true recount of a tragic expedition taken to the South Pole was written by Apsley Cherry-Garrod more than a century ago, and this timeless breathtaking account has mesmeriz...
November 12, 2024
Innocents, Immortals, and Amoral Gods
In Innocents, Immortals, and Amoral Gods, Harry Dehrian narrates a large, busy tale that merges sci-fi and fantasy elements, presenting readers with multiple quests and challenges ...
November 11, 2024
The Au Pair Affair: A Novel (Big Shots, 2)
Marine biologist Tallulah moves to Boston for grad school, where she will be an au pair for hockey star Burgess’ daughter. The pair met through their friends Wells and Josephine, a...
November 10, 2024
When the Carnival Came: An Olivia Penn Mystery (The Olivia Penn Mystery Series)
When the Carnival Came is the fourth installment in The Olivia Penn Mystery Series. Having read the first three books, I was looking forward to following Olivia on her adventures a...
November 7, 2024
The Rich People Have Gone Away: A Novel
Sometimes, there is an impulse to leave it all behind, disappear, or walk away. The heroine in this novel has just such a moment when her emotionally troubled husband goes too far....
November 6, 2024
Bury Your Gays
This book has an interesting conceit that falls a bit flat toward the end and the idea of a gay panic amongst small town people is a little dated. Chuck Tingle is known for his odd...
November 5, 2024
Thy Mother Is A Lioness
Catherine de Medici, Queen Regent of France, hopes to teach her youngest daughter, Marguerite, to be smart and knowledgeable in political issues. She narrates tales that explore he...
November 4, 2024
Macbeth (Play on Shakespeare)
Such is the power of this play that the very title cannot be spoken in any theater. There are supernatural forces, witches, thunder, lightning, murder, and mayhem in this play. It ...
November 3, 2024
Baby Bat Bedtime
What is cuter than a baby bat who doesn’t want to go to bed? It must be hard to go to sleep when most other animals are waking up. Sometimes, you just need a snack, a cuddle, and a...
October 28, 2024
Swan Song
When Coco takes a job as a personal concierge for a couple moving to Nantucket, she has no idea what she’s getting herself into. This is the latest (and last?) installation in Elin...
October 27, 2024
Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance and Other Stories
Zen and the Art of Spaceship Maintenance and Other Stories is an anthology by best-selling author Tobias Buckell. This fifteen short story collection contains many original tales f...
October 24, 2024
A Concerto for an Empty Frame: Music for Survival
In lyrical prose, flowing words and unique definitions A Concerto for an Empty Frame tells the story of love, loss, and heartbreak in a collection of poems. As with most poetry, no...
October 23, 2024
Kareem Between
Kareem, an American born to Syrian immigrant parents, is desperate to join the middle-school football team. His best friend, Adam, has moved away and Kareem is determined to make t...
September 22, 2023
Just Do Nothing by Joanna Hardis
Introduction 6: In Just Do Nothing, Joanna Hardis presents a compelling argument for the transformative power of doing nothing. With her engaging storytelling and thought-provoking...
September 17, 2023
Kissing Asphalt by Delicia Niami
Book Summary: Resilience isn’t inherited. It’s a hard-fought skill forged by our ability to pick up the broken pieces of our past and remake them into something new. Meet four-year...
September 11, 2023
Epicedium – 50 experimental poetic journeys through awakening, alchemy and other worlds by Helene Alexandra Jæger
Book Summary: Exploring the realms of death and dreaming, the occult, the unconscious and the soul, Epicedium is a stream of consciousness collection of 50 works. Told as a four-pa...
July 17, 2023
An Impossible Return: A Novel
This is a book about betrayal, about a homeland being sold out from under the feet of people who lived there for generations, and about the constant efforts by the British and Amer...
July 17, 2023
Catfishing Caitlyn
Catfishing Caitlyn by Omar Imady is an exciting and engaging novel that takes the reader on an adventure through the Middle East. At the center of this novel is Caitlyn, a recent P...
July 17, 2023
Turn Your Passions into Profits: The Proven Path for Building a Rewarding Online Business
As someone who loves a good self-help business book, I was excited to pick up a copy of Matt McWilliams’ new book Turn Your Passions into Profits. But as I started reading it, I fe...
July 13, 2023
L.A. Breakdown (Deluxe Edition): A Novel
This book reads like poetry in that I do not pretend to understand all the terminology of this dense story saturated with love of fast cars and all their inner workings. What did r...
July 13, 2023
Sleepy Happy Capy Cuddles
Children will love Sleepy Happy Capy Cuddles as they learn about the not-very-talked-about capybara. Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents and are semi-aquatic. They love to sn...
July 13, 2023
There is No Shrimp… And Other Lies My Mother Told Me
There is No Shrimp…And Other Lies My Mother Told Me by Kenny Loui was a fun, humorous manga novel. A sequel to his first Manga, “Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher,” the story picks u...
July 12, 2023
Into the Groove: The Story of Sound From Tin Foil to Vinyl
There is nothing quite like the unique experience of listening to a vinyl record. In 1977, Peter Goldmark, the inventor of the LP record, was honored by President Jimmy Carter. Vin...
July 12, 2023
Into the River of Angels: A Novel
I really enjoyed reading Into the River of Angels by George R. Wolfe. An exciting, high-paced young adult novel, the story is told from the perspective of seventeen-year-old Sam. B...
July 12, 2023
The Yawning Gap
Cor is a seventeen-year-old who is far from an ordinary teenager. Possessing a deep passion for working in a distillery, Cor aspires to achieve more in life but is uncertain about ...
July 11, 2023
Ignite Culture: Empowering and Leading a Healthy, High-Performance Organization from the Inside Out
I am not an executive or team leader, and I doubt I will ever work in an office. All the same, corporate culture is now deeply settled into American culture. I first picked up this...
July 11, 2023
Rosewood: A Midsummer Meet Cute
Eila has taken over parenting duties since her father died and her mother has been so busy at work. Her sister, Mallika, surprises her with acceptance letters to a Regency-era dram...
July 11, 2023
The Fun Habit: How the Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life
The Fun Habit by Mike Rucker is a great read. The book has great advice on how to create fun and addresses different aspects (by chapter) where this applies to life, for instance, ...
July 6, 2023
A Courage Undimmed: A WW2 Historical Mystery Perfect for Book Clubs (An Olive Bright Mystery)
In late autumn of 1941, a medium comes to the village of Pipley and makes a shocking announcement: the HMS Bartholomew has sunk, taking with it the souls of two young men from the ...
July 6, 2023
Campfire Stories Volume II: Tales from America’s National Parks and Trails
Our National Parks are treasures and each has its own unique character and flavor. In this second recent volume of campfire stories, the editorial team of Dave and Alyssa Kyo have ...
July 6, 2023
Uneducated: A Memoir of Flunking Out, Falling Apart, and Finding My Worth
Zara was kicked out of high school, spent years addicted to heroin, and earned a GED before gaining work at a weekly print newspaper just as print was being shoved aside by the new...
July 5, 2023
CarboN The Primitivision by Larry Hodge
Review: Seattle Book Review – 5 stars CarboN: The Primitivision is the premiere art book by Lawrence Armondo Hodge (aka CarboN). His new book is a collection of CarboN’s work from ...
July 5, 2023
Kunstlers in Paradise
Künstler, in German, is an artist and also the last name of a refugee family from Vienna, settled in the “paradise” of Hollywood during the second world war. In this compelling nov...
July 5, 2023
The Practice of Belonging: Six Lessons from Vibrant Communities to Combat Loneliness, Foster Diversity, and Cultivate Caring Relationships
Isolation, separateness, and lack of openness to diverse perspectives have created what Lisa Kentgen calls a “crisis of connection.” Many Americans suffer from loneliness and poor ...
July 5, 2023
Untethered Sky
Ruhkers are the royal handlers of the rocs. These large predators are the kingdom’s only line of defense against the manticores. As a child, Ester lost her mother and younger broth...
July 4, 2023
Bad Drawer
Seth Fishman will make readers laugh as he tells them about his idea for a story with a mouse named Bailey who rides Catbird and who saves the kingdom from the dragons. The only pr...
July 4, 2023
Holding the Line (Love Along the Wires)
The romance between Rose Finley and John Milburn is an unconventional one. The two of them are drawn together not through immediate mutual attraction (although that does come up a ...
July 4, 2023
I Want To Be a River
When he is asked by his teacher, young Abel says he wants to be a river when he grows up. This immediately concerns his fellow classmates who describe to him the various ways he wo...
June 29, 2023
Artemis the Brave Graphic Novel (4) (Goddess Girls Graphic Novel)
Enter the goddess girl of the hunt, Artemis. Artemis is bold and daring and she loves to practice her archery, but she only does archery in her spare time because she is trying her...
June 29, 2023
Bug Catchers (Dirt and Bugsy)
Dirt and Bugsy are best buds who love to catch all kinds of bugs. Big bugs, little bugs, flying bugs, crawling bugs. They will dig, sift, search, or do anything to find all the bug...
June 29, 2023
Every Little Seed
Every Little Seed is the perfect book for springtime planting. A young girl observes the world around her as she begins to plant her very own garden. This books shows the life cycl...
June 27, 2023
Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships
When two well-known public figures are friends for half a century, it’s gratifying and worthy of celebration. Neither competitive nor one-upping, Nina Totenberg, the NPR legal affa...
June 27, 2023
The Den
The Fox family is brought together by their father’s simultaneous heart attack and stroke. As he lies in the hospital, their lawyer informs them of The Den, the trust set up for th...
June 27, 2023
The Greek Gambit
The Greek Gambit by Charles A. Salter was an enjoyable read. The story is told from the perspective of Colonel Blake Hunter, head of the US military’s Nuclear Response Team. Colone...
June 13, 2023
Always on Call: Memoirs, Stories, and Essays by a Doctor
Always on Call: Memoirs, Stories and Essays by a Doctor is a compilation of the writings of Doctor Allen Malnak. As he explains at the beginning of the book, the book is in four pa...
June 13, 2023
The Real Dada Mother Goose
The Real Dada Mother Goose is an odd anthology inspired by the original Mother Goose collection. The author focuses on six of the most popular poems in unique and inventive ways. A...
June 13, 2023
The Sun Is Late and So Is The Farmer
A mule, a milk cow, and a miniature horse are waiting patiently by the door of the barn for the sun to rise. After a little while, they come to realize that the sun is late, and if...
June 1, 2023
The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox
Readers enamored with the Salem witch trials or novels of women forging their own way against all odds will love the latest offering from Hester Fox. The Witch of Willow Hall is eq...
April 14, 2023
Hostile Takeover by Cristelle Comby
Book Summary: Moonlighting as Death’s earth-bound envoy, P.I. Bellamy Vale specializes in the weird, wacky, and slightly unhinged. When a mysterious beast savagely mauls random res...
March 14, 2023
A Peach For Big Jim by Lisa Belmont
Book Summary: In 1947 racially-charged Mills Hollow, South Carolina, Chloe Mason knows not to go near the Negroes who live in the river shacks, especially sixteen-year-old Big Jim....
January 3, 2023
Lesath by A. M. Kherbash
Book Summary: Amateur journalist Greg travels to a remote mountain area to investigate rumors of a sinister building only to find himself imprisoned there. As he tries to escape, h...
December 13, 2022
I Eat Men Like Air by Alice Berman
Book Summary: With the snow falling fast on a New Hampshire mansion, seven 20-somethings gather for a weekend that will change their lives irrevocably. The extravagant trip to cele...
November 26, 2022
Humongous (& Cool) Words For Kids by SB Hilarion
Book Summary: After immersing themselves in mantras in I AM Manifesto, young siblings Hao Finley and Sabine Yi Lee are on their journey of seeking knowledge from around the world. ...
October 26, 2022
I AM Manifesto by SB Hilarion
Book Summary: A book of 366 mantras or affirmations to raise and encourage the self-esteem and self-belief of children (plus adults), told through the eyes of young siblings Hao Fi...
September 1, 2022
The Baseball by James Flerlage
Gift Guide Book Suggestion #1 Know a baseball or sports fan in your life? The Baseball by James Flerlage might be the perfect gift. Book Summary: Landon Myers is a retired pediatri...
June 17, 2021
The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise
Story Summary: She is a rebel. Lilla is fighting for the refugees’s freedom from oppression. The king, her father, lost touch with reality ever since Lilla’s mother died. Now every...
December 18, 2019
The Parlay Effect: How Female Connection Can Change The World by Anne Devereux-Mills
Book Summary: In The Parlay Effect: How Female Connection Can Change the World, Anne Devereux-Mills uses her insights as Founder of Parlay House to show how small actions can creat...
December 17, 2019
A Monster Escapes by Lewis Wolfe
Book Summary: A Monster Escapes is a character driven horror story that explores all the shades of gray in life. When a demon strikes the small town of Brettville there is only one...
December 10, 2019
When We Were Brave by Karla M Jay
Book Summary: In WHEN WE WERE BRAVE, we find a conflicted SS officer, Wilhelm Falk, who risks everything to escape the Wehrmacht and get out the message about the death camps. Izaa...
December 7, 2019
Adjustments: A Novel by Will Willingham
Gift Guide Book Suggestion #5 Book Summary: By turns thoughtful and hilarious (even, inexplicably, both at the same time), this deeply Midwestern book quietly unfolds a vision for ...
December 7, 2019
Aye-Aye Gets Lucky – Endangered & Misunderstood Book 1 by Terri Tatchell
Gift Guide Book Suggestion #6 Book Summary: Join endangered and misunderstood AYE-AYE on his quest to win back the hearts of the people of Madagascar after his mischievous pranks g...
December 6, 2019
Heart to Beat by Brian Lima MD
Gift Guide Book Suggestion #4 Book Summary: Success is not reserved for the smartest or most talented—it’s earned by those who want it the most. Heart conquers all and the triumpha...
December 5, 2019
Rosa by Barbara de la Cuesta
Gift Guide Book Suggestion #4 Book Summary “There were little sins and big sins, and if you committed too many little sins you were more likely to go on to the big ones. Some sins ...
December 3, 2019
Knightmare Arcanist by Shami Stovall
Gift Guide Book Suggestion #2 Book Summary: Gravedigger Volke Savan wants nothing more than to be like his hero, the legendary magical swashbuckler, Gregory Ruma. First he needs to...
December 28, 2018
Butterfly Hill by Brendan le Grange
Book Summary: A psychopath with mother issues. A policeman with his career on the line. A beautiful agent with unclear allegiances. And an ancient organisation guarding a secret th...
June 15, 2018
The Way by Kristen Wolf
Book Summary Anna is a striking and spirited young girl living in ancient Palestine where being a daughter is a disappointment. While her father excitedly anticipates the birth of ...
February 4, 2018
Last Song and Dance by Christopher Woods
Story Summary LAST SONG AND DANCE is an illustrated novel which tells the grim story of Cy Sullivan, failed alcoholic author who has returned to his hometown after years of scandal...
December 28, 2017
The Prize by Geoffrey M. Cooper
Book Summary What does it take to win a Nobel Prize? Deceit, fraud, even murder? Set in the competitive world of cutting-edge medical research, The Prize is a science thriller in w...
December 20, 2017
A Police Action by AA Freda
Summary: A Police Action is a gripping coming-of-age Vietnam War-era romantic novel. It is the story of two lost and confused young adults. It is love at first sight when nineteen-...
December 4, 2017
Charmer Boy Gypsy Girl by Victor Harrington
Story Summary: The essence and meaning of transcendent love between two people—the kernel of human existence—is often found in the crucible of war. Such was the love between Bosko,...
September 14, 2017
Becoming by Fouad Azim
Becoming by Fouad Azim Story Summary This is a story of blooming love and betrayal, about children coming of age, of conscience and the sociopaths who lack it; it is a story about ...
July 29, 2017
Clockwork Strange: Into The Whirlwind by Dale McInnes
Clockwork Strange: Into The Whirlwind by Dale McInnes Story Summary: A North American novel inspired by Karel Zeman’s 1955 children’s classic tale Cesta Do Praveku Our first novel ...
July 29, 2017
Confessions of an American Doctor by Max Kepler
Book Summary In 2005, I was arrested by agents from both the US Postal Service and the Food and Drug Administration for the importation of illegal human growth hormone and botulinu...
July 29, 2017
Sonnets Walking the Great Divide by Cecil Welles
Sonnets Walking the Great Divide by Cecil Welles Book Summary This book represents a sample of the author’s thought clarification. Somber, crazy, joyful, or eclectic in subjects, t...
July 21, 2017
Lucia Zarate By Cecilia Velastegui
Story summary: Lucia Zárate is based on the poignant, real-life odyssey of the world’s smallest woman. Pretty and gregarious, Lucia Zárate was just twenty inches tall. A celebrity ...
June 7, 2017
Gideon: The Sound and The Glory
Story Summary: Unsung heroes and murderous villains, hidden forever in ancient shadows, now leap to life – blazing onto the pages of revelation. Gideon, a lowly woodcutter, is bles...
May 23, 2017
Elmina’s Fire by Linda Carleton
Story Summary: What happens when a troubled young woman dares to follow the stirrings of her soul in turbulent times? Elmina begins life with a troubled childhood in a medieval Fre...
May 20, 2017
She Came From Afar – Courtney Lindberg – New Book
5 Stars From San Francisco Book Review – https://sanfranciscobookreview.com/product/she-came-from-afar/ Each family is different, and this is especially true for families who have ...
May 16, 2017
The Uncanny Valley by S.W. Campbell – New Book
Story Summary: We all know a Paul. A person who seems to see stuff that isn’t there. The type the polite call quirky and the blunt call nuts. Conspiracies? He’s got a few. He’s got...
May 13, 2017
Leadership Reflections by Dr. Lisa Aldisert – Self Help Book
Book Summary Do you think of yourself as a leader? Leadership starts with a mindset, not a title. Leaders influence. They share keen insight. They command respect without demanding...
May 12, 2017
Gringo By Dan “Tito” Davis
Story Summary: Dan “Tito” Davis comes from a town in South Dakota that’s so small everyone knows their neighbor’s cat’s name. But once he got out, he made some noise. While at the ...
May 11, 2017
Harold Hardscrabble by G.D. Dess
Harold Hardscrabble, by G. D. Dess, captures the feelings of frustration and helplessness that many of us experience in our daily lives. These sentiments are embodied in the contem...
May 11, 2017
The Hunter: Awakening by Nicholas Arriaza
Story Summary: The Hunter: Awakening, is the first of a series of novels that will explore the nature of good and evil and the question of redemption: Is it available to those who ...
April 18, 2017
Rage and Mercy: Part One by Scott Dresden
Story Summary “This thrilling book delivers a violent tale that is ultimately as surprising as it is gruesome.” Kirkus Review Sayer didn’t expect his life to go any further than wh...
April 14, 2017
The Hunger Saint by Olivia Kate Cerrone
Hunger Saint is about Ntoni, a twelve-year-old boy forced to labor in Sicily’s sulfur mines to support his family after his father’s untimely death. These child laborers were calle...
April 14, 2017
The Salad Oil King–by author M.G. Crisci
Reviewed by the San Francisco Book Review, getting 5 stars From the review: The story of Alfonso “Fonso” Gravanese has all the elements needed to be a classic tale of American crim...
April 9, 2017
The Device Trial by Tom Breen – New Book
The Device Trial got a 5 star review from San Francisco Book Review here – http://sanfranciscobookreview.com/product/the-device-trial/ From the review: The Device Trial, by Tom Bre...