Review: Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide

 Creativity

A Short and Cheerful Guide

John Cleese

According to John Cleese, creativity is something one can learn. In this short, fun, and yes, very cheerful guide, he provides tips for encouraging and practicing creativity. The first tip is to let your unconscious mind do most, if not all, of the work for you. Use it to play with ideas and thoughts, just like children do when playing or daydreaming. Secondly, he gives some more specific tips and tasks, such as writing what you already know about or thinking about how your mood will affect the creative project or endeavor you are working on because it will likely affect the outcome. And perhaps most importantly, don't worry about making mistakes or about the result. Just start something creative and see what happens. You might be surprised.

This well-written, little gem of a book would make a wonderful gift for anyone hoping to boost their creativity. It's one of those things you can turn to when you need a little pick me up. It's short, in fact, almost a bit too short for me. By the end, I found myself wishing for more tips and anecdotes from this talented author. Nevertheless, it covered an engaging theme, offering sage advice.

This review was written by me for City Book Review.

Review: Shelter in Place

 Shelter in Place

Nora Roberts

One summer evening in Portland, Maine, the unthinkable happened. Gunmen opened fire in a shopping mall. In an instant, many were dead, and those who survived were traumatized and haunted by the incident. Some of the survivors connected with each other and attempted to go on with their lives, but others felt they had a mission to find out more. Why did it happen, and who was really behind the violence. Essie McVee is one of them. She was the first police officer on the scene, and she can't put the event behind her. Reed Quartermaine is a young man who helped others, and this would lead him, with the help of Essie, to become a police officer. After losing a friend in the incident, Simone Knox struggles to find her identity until she takes up art and sculpting. The survivors are getting their lives back together when someone starts killing them off one by one. To find the killer and learn more about how the incidents are related to the mall shooting, Reed and Essie will have to work overtime. But they are determined to put a stop to all the violence.

Shelter in Place is a page-turner, delving deep into the characters' lives and actions as they try to process traumatic events and move forward. This one is well-written with a bit of mystery, romance, and enough action to keep fans turning pages right up until the end.

Review: True Raiders

 

True Raiders

Brad Ricca

1n 1909, a group of men, including Captain Montague Parker and Cyril Foley set out on a secret adventure. With the aid of a cipher developed by a Finnish Professor Valter Juvelius, they intended

to discover the ark of the covenant. Their plans included digging and clearing the Hezekiah tunnels in Jerusalem and any other areas that might yield treasure. Previous work had been conducted in the same place some twenty years before by Charles Warren but, the new explorers thought they now had more information thanks to Dr. Juvelius. And Mr. Ricca tells the story behind the story of their search and the mysteries, adventures, and misadventures that ensued. He also includes the stories of characters who helped aid the group during their quest to find forgotten treasure.

Overall, this is a good look back into the past showing how myths become legends and rumors can cause unexpected events. And while I thought the book rambled a bit in parts and included characters who seemed to play a minor or passing role in the expedition, it was still interesting and well-written. I think the end of the book was particularly interesting as it explained to some extent what happened to the central characters after the expedition ended.

Thanks to St. Martins Press for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Growing Big Dreams

Growing Big Dreams

Robert Moss

If you are interested in using your dreams and imagination to become more creative and in tune with your inner self, then Growing Big Dreams is a book for you. The author reveals twelve ways for readers to have more lucid dreams, connect with those dreams, heal the past through dreams, and create a future by finding a story within.

Every chapter is devoted in some way to helping you develop and understand your dreams. Even if you are in what he terms a dream drought, you will see that you can dream more vividly and recall more about your dreams by following his tips and exercises. He also seeks to help you understand recurring dreams and what they may be telling you about your life. I especially enjoyed chapter nine, where the author covers how we can use our dreams to manifest our desires and wishes for the present and future.

Before trying some of the exercises he suggests, I was a little skeptical that I would be able to have more lucid dreams or that I could recall them. But, I was pleasantly surprised by the results. Throughout the book, the author combines stories from his travels, seminars, and course participants, as well as enough exercises to encourage anyone to dream big.

This review was written by me originally for City Book Review.

Review: Dead On The Delta

 

Dead On The Delta

Sherry Knowlton

Alexa Williams has accompanied her boyfriend Reese, to Botswana, where he's filling in for an Africa Trust colleague, a group dedicated to wildlife research. Alexa is thrilled to be helping out in the bush with the lion study and, she's also participating in a commission dedicated to creating better anti-poaching legislation. Her law background and work on sex trafficking enforcement have given her access to some interesting Botswana personalities as a result. Everything is going well until poachers begin targeting Botswana's elephant population. At Noka Camp, where Alexa and Reese are working, they get a first-hand look at the devastation the poachers are causing, making Alexa more determined to help the commission pass appropriate laws to curb such violence. But Botswana politics may not be a straightforward as they appear, leaving Alexa vulnerable to unseen forces.

Dead on the Delta presents an accomplished female character who is professional, curious, and passionate about her work, and at the same time vulnerable in a way that made me want to get to know her. I found myself rooting for her the whole way through this story. I also loved the fact that the author examined lots of social and environmental issues and the challenges African nations, especially Botswana, face trying to balance the needs of its people and its wildlife treasures. And to make it all the more exciting, she was able to incorporate adventure and a bit of romance to make this a fascinating and well-layered story. The landscape descriptions were marvelous and so well written that I felt I was almost there. In fact, that was one of the things I appreciated most about this book. I was right there in the thick of things, not just with Alexa and Reese but with the other characters as well.

I think chapters twenty-two and twenty-three made this book really work for me. By the time I had read this far, I was starting to wonder if Alexa and Reese would discover anything about the real poachers, although I was having my own suspicious by this point. But, the unexpected events that happened in these chapters propelled the story forward and made my heart beat a little faster. The further unexpected twists and turns that came with two of the main characters were simply icing on the cake for me. I have to say that one of the main reasons I was drawn to the book was for the African setting. The fact that it had a great cast of characters and a fantastic female lead meant that I not only loved it but, now I want to read the other books in the Alexa Williams series as well, even if they aren't set in Africa.

This review was written by me originally for City Book Review.

Review: Cries From The Cold

Cries From the Cold

Bernadette Calonego

Detective Calista Gates of the Vancouver RCMP is recovering from a violent assault when she learns she's being transferred to a small coastal town in Labrador. The thought of cold, ice, and snow is not encouraging, but she doesn't have a choice if she wants to keep her career afloat. Upon arrival, she is quickly caught up in a cold case. The remains of a local girl Lorna Taylor who went missing three years ago, have appeared in a wooden box with strange markings. Now Calista has to prove to her new team of colleagues that she can hold her own in the investigation. But, before she can do that, another body is found; this time, it's a prominent chef planning to help with a charity dinner for the local medical clinic. In a small town like Port Brendan, secrets are rife, and gossip is sustenance for the isolated locals which means Calista will have to dig deep to uncover the killer. But will she be quick enough to keep the town and herself safe?

Cries From The Cold is a riveting story that kept me glued to the pages. It's full of mystery, adventure, and engaging characters. I loved Calista Gates. Despite her difficulties and the setbacks she's experienced, she's still a fighter. I felt like I was able to look over her shoulder throughout the investigation. And, getting to see the points of view of some of the other main characters gave this story a lot of depth which helped me feel like I was a part of all the scenes. I'm hoping there will be more in this series to come because I can't wait to find out more about Calista's somewhat mysterious past and that of her ex-husband back in Vancouver as well. All in all, this was a fun and satisfying read.

Thanks to the author for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Review: The Fabric of Civilization

The Fabric of Civilization

Virginia Postrel

In The Fabric of Civilization, Postrel traces the history of textile development back to its earliest roots. As readers will discover, fabric and cloth have not only changed the world but when they have been altered or improved, the world has also changed with them. Fabric touches our lives in so many ways. It might be via the garments we wear or the trade links and technological inventions they helped to develop. Even though we often take it for granted, there is no way to imagine our society without it.

In this fascinating, well-written, and researched work, Postrel examines how fibers were first used with the development of thread, and how that lead to the development of different types of cloth and the dyes that make them attractive. She also traces the role of traders who opened up routes for the exchange and dissemination of ideas that resulted in new technologies worldwide. I found her section on current and future textile development especially interesting. With work going on to improve textiles and their performance, we will undoubtedly see more innovations in the future that could change how we use fabric. Anyone interested in the untold story of cloth will no doubt find this book both interesting and educational.

This review was written by me originally for City Book Review.