Reviews By Charline

“Shine in Kashmir”

Author: D. Chris Castagna

I came across the title “Shine in Kashmir” a few weeks back and decided to read / review it. One of the main reasons for my choice was because the author, D. Chris Castagna, has set this novel in India. I, myself, have done a fair amount of world-traveling but unfortunately I haven’t made it to India yet. I find that India intrigues me, for a variety of reasons, and I was curious to see what route Castagna’s story would take and how much of a part India, as a country, would play in it.

My copy arrived and after closely examining the cover artwork I began my journey through Castagna’s novel. In the story “Shine in Kashmir” we, the reader, follow Justin Conrad, a twenty-four year old American who has just finished his Fulbright Scholarship in Sri Lanka. For his travels Justin packs the basics he needs to survive plus his journal and his camera. His camera is probably one of his most important items since Justin realizes that words may not correctly convey what happened and memories do fade but a picture will always stay true to his actual encounters. Consequently when his trusty little Pentax broke and couldn’t be repaired by the date he planned to set out on his next travels Justin was understandably upset. Luckily he did happen to find an inexpensive Kodak marked “For Sale Only in India” to take its place. After getting the camera situation resolved and stocking up on reading material Justin leaves Delhi headed for Ladakh. What he discovers there is nothing short of miraculous and yet his adventures aren’t over. He winds up in Kashmir, the city that the book’s title is based on, and you would think that the story ends there but…it doesn’t. We actually follow Justin all the way to Peru which is where he finally finds that “certainty” he has been searching for all this time.

As far as my thoughts, I found “Shine in Kashmir” to be an interesting read. It certainly delved into a lot of the things that makes India unique to the rest of the world: tantra, Buddhist traditions, the Islam conflict and Hermetic ways of thinking just to name a few. Overall I found “Shine in Kashmir” to be a well-written book. Castagna has done a good job of making the plot interesting, the various characters and their dialogues are easy to follow, and the way the Indian culture, people and places are described makes it easy to see that the author has actually lived there.

“From Jerusalem to Beverly Hills: Memoir of a Palestinian Jew”

Author: Eitan Gonen

A couple weeks ago I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing “From Jerusalem to Beverly Hills: Memoir of a Palestinian Jew” by author Eitan Gonen. I really enjoy reading biographies; I love learning about some of the other people whom I share this world with so I immediately accepted. To sum up quickly…“From Jerusalem to Beverly Hills” was a riveting read. This was a book I was immediately sucked into as soon as I began reading and I didn’t want to put it down. Gonen has a wonderfully descriptive writing style. His life story is amazingly interesting and his personal memories flow across the pages of this book with the same ease that water runs downstream.

In “From Jerusalem to Beverly Hills” Gonen explains how his parents, pioneers from the Soviet Ukraine Diaspora, came to be in Jerusalem. Gonen’s own recounting begins in Jerusalem when he is just four years old and I was impressed by the amount of detail he remembers from such an early age. Gonen shares the challenges his mother had with various schools when she was trying to enroll him in first grade. A religious school eventually accepted him and we follow along as Gonen shares with us his life as he remembers it. During all of this World War II was also happening. Gonen shares his memories of waiting for his father, who had taken a construction job with the British military, to come home. Toward the end of the war the British were limiting Jewish immigration and there were times when Gonen’s father worked too far away and could not safely make it back for Shabbat.

I don’t want to give any more of Gonen’s story away but I will say that he has definitely lived a full life. He has endured much: hunger, personal loss, family displacement and more. He has seen things that no one should have to see. He has experienced things that no one should have to go through and yet through it all I would say he has triumphed. He is a true survivor.

In closing I give “Jerusalem to Beverly Hills” a five-star rating and would say this book is a “must read” for anyone who loves biographies or history.

“The Simple Man’s Burden”

Author: Vergil Den

I’ve spent the last three days toiling…trying to figure out how to write a good review for “The Simple Man’s Burden” by author Vergil Den. Unfortunately I was stumped then and I’m still stumped now.

Where do I begin? Well, the cover was unusual. The book’s title “The Simple Man’s Burden” was underlined however when I looked closer I saw that the “underline” was actually a metal closet rod from which a pressed man’s suit and eleven empty hangers hung. Below that were the words “Observations and Reflections from Within the Complex.” Mm hmm… Interesting… I wondered if I was going to open the book and find myself reading about some Communist compound that everyone who was unfortunate enough to be stuck inside was trying to escape. Maybe that feeling was the author’s intent; if so, then kudos to him. I flipped the book over and read the back. The author’s comment that “he is a recovering Empty Suit” threw me for a loop but at least the jacket’s artwork made perfect sense now.

In “The Simple Man’s Burden” the author wants us to follow along and experience a day in the life of a quietly desperate company man. This unhappy man, who is a management consultant, shares with us his dark and cynical thoughts about this absurd and unpredictable day. Did I mention that these thoughts are supposed to be humorous? According to the jacket they are supposed to be “bizarrely humorous” and have been compared to “Bloom County,” “Office Space,” and “Monty Python.” While I haven’t seen “Bloom County” I have watched “Monty Python” and “Office Space.” While I may not have laughed at everything they contained I did laugh at some. That’s more that I can say for this book which elicited from me a total of one half-hearted snicker during its entirety.

Sadly, I found “The Simple Man’s Burden” a “burden” to read. The author, Vergil Den, seems intent on writing in a very pompous and garrulous manner. He has a plethora of gratuitously polysyllabic words of which ubiquitous seems to be one of his favorites. He drones on and on about the wrongs of almost everything and it seems as if nothing is safe from his overly critical opinion even though more often than not he presents it as fact. A tiny example: his bold assertion that all ESs (Empty Suits) are golfers. Has he met every single “ES” in the world? Maybe a better statement would be that he’s sure all ESs are golfers…not that they are. And honestly does it really matter if they are or aren’t? And just out of curiosity…isn’t labeling a form of discrimination?

I could continue indefinitely with my criticism but I won’t. Suffice it to say that I neither enjoyed nor agreed with the message in “The Simple Man’s Burden.” And lastly, I found the author’s voice to be exceptionally critical, disdainful, condescending, and mean-spirited toward mankind in general.

“Jesus: God, Man or Party Label?”

Author: Chris Albert Wells

I was recently asked if I would be interested in reviewing the book “Jesus: God, Man or Party Label?” With a title like that how could I refuse?

In “Jesus: God, Man or Party Label?” author Chris Albert Wells puts together a sound argument of how our interpretation of the Gospels, which many of us have been taught to regard as the complete and unadulterated truth, actually ignores a battle of “intra-community conflicts and strategies.” Throughout “Jesus: God, Man or Party Label?” Wells continuously provides us with his own personal thoughts and understandings; he shares with us the various texts that have influenced his beliefs and he encourages his readers to:
1) Take a closer look at the Essene Dead Sea Scroll Messiahs, and
2) Take a fresh look at Northern Syria where the first gospels were written in an Essene community before being labeled “Christian.”
It is Wells’ hope that that through his book “Jesus: God, Man or Party Label?” his readers will discover what he feels is the true background that produced the Gospels and what he feels these Gospels actually meant to the people who wrote them.

“Jesus: God, Man or Party Label?” is definitely a thought provoking read. As a student of religious history myself, I’m appreciative of the substantial amount of writings, both past and present, that Wells has provided in an attempt to validate his viewpoint. By doing so, Wells has given his readers an easy to follow path, from start to finish, that will help him or her understand his deductions.

In summary I found “Jesus: Man, God or Party Label?” to be an intriguing book. While Wells’ views and beliefs are definitely not the Christian “norm” his writings should make anyone who reads this book reevaluate the accepted “blind faith” approach to religion. This seems to be the author’s intent and I would say that he has succeeded brilliantly. A five-star read but definitely not a book that one will finish in a single sitting. And while Wells writes in a very clear and concise manner because of the nature of the subject the reader may find he or she needs to read more slowly in an effort to fully grasp the complexities throughout.

“Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways: From Words to Housing”

Author: Jay S. Levy, MSW, LICSW

I just finished reading “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways: From Words to Housing” by Jay S. Levy, MSW, LICSW. Overall I found it to be a wonderful book. It is extremely well thought out plus it is laid out in an easy-to-follow and easy-to-understand manner. I liked that it was written in such a way that even those of us who don’t have a degree in Social Work can still understand it. I definitely appreciated hearing the author’s perspective because he actually has extensive first-hand experience from working on the streets and with shelters in New York City, Boston and western Massachusetts. And finally, I liked the fact that he included real experiences and shared moving stories like Old Man Ray, Tracy or Andrew in “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways.”

“Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways” is a book that gives us a peek into the real world of homelessness. Throughout its pages Levy has deftly intertwined true story with theory and practice. He shows us how each individual person and his or her situation is different. He explains how some homeless people can, and do, suffer from untreated mental illness, addiction, and other medical conditions which ultimately lead to a steady deterioration of their health. Many of us have probably wondered at one time or another why homeless people would prefer to live on the street rather than seek help. In “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways” Levy uses his personal experiences and stories from homeless people he has worked with during the years to help answer that question. Needless to say while I found “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways” to be an eye-opening read; I also found its accompanying statistics to be very sobering.

All in all I would say that Levy did a fantastic job writing “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways.” Anyone who reads this will come away with a fresh perspective and hopefully a little more respect for those who are unfortunate enough to have to live on the street. A “must read” for everyone but especially for those looking to have a career in any type of social work or outreach program.

“BOOMERS: Tales from the Subjected Plain”

Author: F. Korn

I’m unsure where to begin in my review of “BOOMERS: Tales from the Subjected Plain.” A week or so ago I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing this title by author F. Korn. I did my usual research and while I found the book’s cover to be unappealing at least the jacket blurb seemed…different and unusual…so I agreed. “BOOMERS: Tales from the Subjected Plain” is supposed to be a daytime soap opera set in a time before high-speed internet when, for the “Boomer” generation Friday nights meant singles bars and Sunday nights were for singles at church. Anyway, my copy arrived and I found a secluded corner and began to read.

First things first; I read the two short passages Korn provided in lieu of a dedication. The first, a quote from Paradise Lost, was interesting and I idly wondered if that was where the author derived some inspiration for part of the book’s title. The second paragraph, from Heinrich Heine, was in German and I was slightly taken aback. Couldn’t Korn have provided an English translation for those of us who aren’t fluent in German? Well… Okay… Fine… I chalked it up to the author’s artistic style and continued reading.

Next came the Prologue. I’m sure I had a look of complete bewilderment on my face as I read it. Once I’d managed to work my way through those three pages I immediately flipped the book over to read the back cover again. Nope, it hadn’t changed; it was still understandable. This is more than I can say for the Prologue or even for the remainder of the book. In all honesty, if the jacket blurb had read the same way that this entire book reads I would have turned the review request down in about three seconds flat.

My eyes continued down the back cover when I was stopped by the words “he has published poetry and prose in a variety of journals.” Mm hmm… The universe is starting to make sense again. While I appreciate the fact that there are many types of genres for books I also understand that there are some unspoken rules for writing which really shouldn’t be broken. For instance, poetry can be a wonderful tapestry of words that can elicit powerful imagery or heartfelt emotions. I’m sure anyone who has ever read poetry understands the way it “flows.” The way it conveys its message in short clips that in any other genre would require much more explanation and/or description. In other words one wouldn’t right a novel the same way one would write a poem. Or at least one shouldn’t. Books usually tell a story – the key word in this sentence being tell. Unfortunately “BOOMERS: Tales from the Subjected Plain” reads like a cross between an eclectic foreign poem recently translated into English and the hastily scribbled notes a psychoanalyst might take during a session with his or her client. “BOOMERS: Tales from the Subjected Plain” might have been “darkly humorous” and have had “unforgettable characters” as promised on the back cover if the author had actually taken the time to bring each person to life instead of providing us with a clinical dossier that seemed to lack all the key elements.

To sum up? “BOOMERS: Tales from the Subjected Plain” was a very weird read for me. Because of how it was written I felt as though I was being forced to read it at a break-neck pace not to mention that I found the writing style itself to be severely lacking and peculiarly composed…

“The Lottery Eliminator, Pick 3 & Pick 4”

Authors: Dawn Lemke and Trisha M. Wilson

Finding books to read and review seems to be a never-ending cycle. Once again I was trying to find some interesting titles when I came across “The Lottery Eliminator, Pick 3 & Pick 4,” co-written by Dawn Lemke and Trisha M. Wilson. Hmmm… I stopped and contemplated it for a moment. I mean really, let’s be honest here, who wouldn’t want to “hit it big” via the lottery? Let’s face it; the lottery is this country’s ultimate in “get rich quick” scenarios.

I finally received my copy of “The Lottery Eliminator, Pick 3 & Pick 4” and true to one of the Amazon reviews I had previously read about it, after the forward, this book is all numbers. I’m pretty certain that every single possible variation for either the Pick 3 or the Pick 4 is supplied. I think. I’m not a math guru or anything but that’s what it looks like to me. However, with that being said, I do understand the concept behind “The Lottery Eliminator, Pick 3 & Pick 4.” Let me also say; don’t buy this book if you are expecting to be told what numbers to play in order to start winning the Pick 3 or Pick 4 lotteries. There’s actually work involved. Shocking, right? I guess that age old adage is true…you don’t get something for nothing.

On the flip side (for the author) I don’t intend to be harsh in my review the way that the person whose review I did read was. My understanding of “The Lottery Eliminator’s” forward is this: you are supposed to do your work, aka research, before you start investing any money in the Pick 3 or Pick 4. Let me say that again. Do your research and start establishing patterns and cycles before you start tossing in your hard-earned money. In other words, one must first follow the numbers and discover the patterns before one can start attempting to buy those winning tickets. Ahh…Mister Miyagi would be so proud of my enlightenment…

And now to answer the question that has been burning a hole in your brain ever since you read this book’s title. Does it work? Well…I’m still in my “research” phase. However if you ever see a news headline that reads: “Charline Ratcliff, California’s newest Pick 4 millionaire; tune in at 6:00 to learn how she did it” then you will know it really does work. Until then, happy sequencing and best of luck to you!

“Stories for Oliver”

Author: Charles William Wrightson

I just finished reading “Stories for Oliver” by author Charles William Wrightson and now I’m sitting here wondering how to put my thoughts into words so that I can write its review. The many short stories, excerpts and poetry contained within this book’s pages reminded me of the lively conversations I’d begun to have with my father before his untimely passing a few years back. My father and I lived almost two thousand miles apart which meant there wasn’t always a lot of time to sit and chat, yet when he would share stories of his childhood I always listened with bated breath, not to mention, a small amount of envy. I never knew that growing up could be so fun and that fifty years ago the world was a much happier and seemingly more carefree place. The same feelings I’d had when listening to my dad’s tales were also elicited within me as I read “Stories for Oliver.”

As far as the premise for “Stories for Oliver” Wrightson started this “writing project” shortly after his first grandchild, Oliver, was born. Wrightson’s goal with this memoir was to provide a look at his life, from childhood to present, so that Oliver would have an understanding, or a sense, of who his grandfather was. As is the case with most authors, once Wrightson started putting the proverbial pen to paper he kept having ideas for more and more stories to include. Somehow his original intention of just a few short stories wound up becoming over thirty-five humorous, eye-opening, reminiscent, or thoughtful tales plus ten heartfelt poems. Bravo Charles! Well done! I dare say your writing teacher would be proud. Oliver, Genevieve and your grandchildren who are still on the way are very lucky indeed that you have taken the time to write this for them.

In summary I found “Stories for Oliver” to be an extremely well-written and riveting book. The stories and poetry found within its pages are heartfelt, sincere and filled with love. Plus, there were some that were educational which is helpful as oftentimes we find we live in a world where “common” sense isn’t really that common.

I give “Stories for Oliver” a solid five-stars and I recommend it to readers of all ages…

“Letters From Home”

Author: Kristina McMorris

I recently came across the title “Letters From Home” by Kristina McMorris. I hopped over to Amazon’s website to complete my “research” which basically consists of reading any jacket or editorial comments in order to make sure that the book itself will interest me. To be honest, the story-line didn’t completely draw me in but, I liked the fact that this is McMorris’ first novel and that the idea for “Letters From Home” blossomed because of stories about her grandparents World War II courtship. That small aside made me recollect stories from my own grandparents and was the clincher that made me request this book.

The premise for “Letters From Home” is this: three roommates living in Chicago discover that they cannot control love’s destiny regardless of how hard they try. Betty Cordell hopes to avoid the mistakes her mother made by marrying into an affluent family. She has decided that she can force herself to be happy…or at least she can attempt to fake it. Julia Renard, a young woman with an amazing talent for fashion design, throws away a coveted fashion internship so that she can be there when her fiancé finally returns from the war. She has decided that his wants, needs, and desires are more important than her own. Mm Hmm… And finally, Liz Stephens begins to question her well-laid out plans for her future as she exchanges letters with a soldier who thinks that she is actually her roommate Betty. Oh what a tangled web we weave…

Overall, I found “Letters From Home” to be a fun read although, because of the era it was set in it, at times, it was also sobering. The book itself was well-written; McMorris writes with a strong style and even though this story is based sixty years in the past I found I was still able to relate to the characters. “Letters From Home” made me smile, it made me laugh and one passage even made me cry which is a difficult thing for a book to do.

My only complaint is that the ending felt somewhat anticlimactic. There were three women in this story and each of their lives was closely followed. However, when the book’s end arrived, it seemed that there was only one “complete” ending. Maybe that was the author’s intent. Maybe she has plans to write additional books which will focus solely on the supporting characters that we met in “Letters From Home.” I certainly hope so…

All in all a great read.

“Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery”

Author: Leslie Davenport

I recently decided to read “Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery” by author Leslie Davenport. My dear friend Julie, now deceased, was a certified hypnotherapist and one of her specialties included helping people transform their lives with the power of imagery. I credit Julie with piquing my initial interest in this subject and so, of course, I agreed to review this title.

The premise of “Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery” is this: learning how to tap into your own heart’s wisdom using guided imagery. Why would you be interested in doing this one might ask. Well, the reasons are many. For starters, creative visualization is an ancient practice that has been used throughout the centuries for medicinal and healing purposes. Today this practice is beginning to see more widespread use as an adjunct to conventional medical therapies for health issues ranging from cancer and heart disease to post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. It can also be used to transform moments of pain, emotional turmoil, and interpersonal conflict into opportunities for growth and self-realization. People can also use guided imagery to help set them on their own personal life path. Do you really think that people like Alexander the Great, Orville and Wilbur Wright, or sadly even Hitler got where they did through simple happenstance? I highly doubt it. Personally, I think they visualized what they wanted to accomplish and then…they made it happen. I wonder what self-guided imagery could do for you…

So, after reading “Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery,” I am happy to report that it is a very well-written book. Davenport writes in a concise, descriptive yet easy to follow / easy to understand manner. “Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery” has an impeccable format which will also enable its readers to easily access all the tips, tools, and helpful information that is provided within its pages. “Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery” also includes a self-facilitation worksheet with step-by-step instructions for undirected, unscripted guided imagery.

In closing, a five-star read that provides a wealth of informative, insightful and useful information. Furthermore, I would say that with this book, Davenport has raised the bar that future authors in this field will need to aspire to reach.