Category: Book Reviews

Posted on: September 19, 2024 Posted by: Matthew Keener Comments: 0

Ghibliverse: Studio Ghibli Beyond the Films (Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham)

Ghibliverse: Studio Ghibli Beyond the Films offers a fascinating and expansive dive into the world of Studio Ghibli, charting a course beyond the iconic films that have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide. Authored by Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham, the expert duo behind the Ghibliotheque podcast, the book explores the rich tapestry of influences, inspirations, and lesser-known aspects of the Ghibli universe. It’s a celebration of the studio’s wider…

Posted on: January 5, 2024 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

“1/6: The Graphic Novel (Second Edition)” by Alan Jenkins/Gan Golan

Harvard Law Professor, and veteran comic book artist Will Rosado are a formidable team. Together, they’re much like Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins, and their pivotal work on Watchmen. Their latest work,1/6: The Graphic Novel, is probably the literal equivalent for Jenkins, Golan, and Rosado – something pretty darn seminal to the times we’re in, and may be in if we’re not careful. This week marks a significant milestone for the trio,…

Posted on: November 3, 2022 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Meet Everett De Morier: Acclaimed Author with a Secret

If you know Everett De Morier, you know unpredictability. In a career that has spanned more than twenty-five years, Mr. De Morier has written everything from the Weekly World News’ My Wife Is Having the Reincarnation of Elvis to the Hollywood optioned Thirty-Three Cecils. He’s an essayist, an author, a humorist, a contributor, a thinker. And, a seeker. Because a decorated career that has included appearances on the likes of…

Posted on: September 16, 2020 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

The Blendification System by Daniel Bruder

There is increasing interest in expanding the purview of what we deem possible in business/corporate design. The ever-expanding range of commercial possibilities thanks to the evolution of technology, among other elements, underline the demands on today’s business leadership to remain innovate or risk obscurity in the modern marketplace. Daniel Bruder’s 360 degree approach to the issue of business leadership today emerges with unquestionable detail in the book The Blendification System: Achieving…

Posted on: June 13, 2020 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Billy F Gibbons: Rock + Roll Gearhead (Book)

ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons is best known for three things: playing a mean guitar, his obsession with exotic hot rods (check out any band video from the ‘80s) and one of the most impressive beards in rock. His book, Billy F Gibbons: Rock + Roll Gearhead, tackles two out of three. Initially out in 2011, this latest book is an expanded version with over 200 pages devoted to Gibbons…

Posted on: February 20, 2020 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

The Black Bottom: The Measure of Man by Theo Czuk

Theo Czuk is, arguably, a singer/songwriter and musician first. He has seven music releases and counting, including a complimentary musical take on this novel; some are out of print, but sheer numbers alone make it apparent music is his primary vehicle for self-expression. He has two poetry collections in his résumé, Channeling Venice: Apparitions of Light and Pariscapes: Conversations with Paris, and a debut novel entitled Heart-Scarred. His latest novel The Black Bottom: The Measure…

Posted on: February 7, 2020 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 1

Meghan FitzGerald releases Ascending Davos

Health care is one of the forever burning issues in our modern American life and, despite the efforts of many intelligent and talented men and women, the strides that have been made are often under assault and many are still pining away for effective care. Meghan FitzGerald has been on the front lines of that battle in her service as a nurse, but she continues to fight for a better…

Posted on: February 7, 2020 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Rebekah Bastian’s Blaze Your Own Trail: An Interactive Guide to Navigating Life with Confidence, Solidarity, and Compassion

If you are looking for a book about life that’s different from the usual account and non-fiction, I think you can scarcely do better than Rebekah Bastian’s Blaze Your Own Trail: An Interactive Guide to Navigating Life with Confidence, Solidarity, and Compassion. I think the word solidarity in the title is unquestionably important. She tailors this book to speak to women’s experience in modern life, particularly American life, though the book reaches…

Posted on: January 10, 2020 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 1

Natasha Wallace’s The Conscious Effect: 50 Lessons for Better Organizational Wellbeing

Any study of how personal wellbeing, a larger issue than just physical health, influences the overall direction of any organization would be lacking if it did not likewise explore how effective leadership shapes that aforementioned wellbeing. Natasha Wallace’s The Conscious Effect: 50 Lessons for Better Organizational Wellbeing leaves nothing out in its discussion of the issue. Wallace’s long experience as a HR professional, a respected voice regarding leadership and personal development, and…

Posted on: November 25, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

“I Hereby Resign” by Steven Manchel

You would think that the subject of handling employee transitions between direct business competitors has a wealth of literature on the topic. You would be wrong. Attorney Steven Manchel writes about the issue with a objective and learned eye in his book “I Hereby Resign” Job Transitioning: How Individuals Properly Prepare, Resign and Move to the Competition, and How Companies Best Manage that Process. It has an agreeable length for the vast majority…

Posted on: November 6, 2019 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Disgraceland: Musicians Getting Away With Murder and Behaving Very Badly By Jake Brennan

It takes a real knack to retell a story that many have likely heard many times before and still manage to make it compelling. As listeners of the popular podcast Disgraceland have already figured out, Jake Brenan is that rare narrator who can. The true crime podcast focuses on musicians and those connected to them and the darkness that follows them usually connected to fame, drugs and sexual appetite, (but…

Posted on: October 27, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Black & Blue: Love, Sport and the Art of Empowerment by Andra Douglas

Black & Blue: Love, Sport and the Art of Empowerment is Andra Douglas’ fictionalized rendering of a lifetime loving the game of football and being told she couldn’t play. Good thing for us she never took those words to heart. Readers are treated to an often picturesque account of her upbringing in the American South, her relocation to New York City to pursue a career in the early Eighties, and…

Posted on: October 13, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

“Culture Fix” by Colin Ellis

Culture Fix: How to Create a Great Place to Work from Liverpool, UK born author Colin Ellis is the latest entry in an ever growing library of books addressing the subject of organizational / corporate culture. It is difficult to conceive of a work more comprehensive and well-rounded on this subject; Ellis leaves no stone unturned in his appraisal of what it takes to implement and nurture a business culture that…

Posted on: September 17, 2019 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

The Messenger: The Songwriting Legacy of Ray Wylie Hubbard

Ray Wylie Hubbard may not be top of mind to casual Country/Americana music fans, but he certainly influenced a slew of the musicians making that music today. It seems rather appropriate then that Hubbard’s peers and acolytes would come together to explain his musical brilliance in writing. The Messenger, though not the best book to explain the life and career of Hubbard (that one would be his own 2015 memoir,…

Posted on: August 20, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Kris Oestergaard explains Transforming Legacy Organizations

Kris Oestergaard’s Transforming Legacy Organizations is a short book brimming over with information. It has an ambitious aim. Oestergaard studies how long-standing companies with deep histories are able to compete with modern start ups if they are willing to embrace innovation, encourage a culture valuing its principles, and commit themselves towards overcoming whatever perils may obstruct their vision for future development. His examination is well rounded. There are no extended sidebars or…

Posted on: August 20, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Risk: Living On The Edge by Michael Tenenbaum

The financial information pertaining to risk factors alone are what help pack Risk: Living On The Edge full of vital history in the age of mass data and tells some great stories involving the rise of it all in chapter 3, and that’s one of its more fascinating parts early on for me. The information in the stories are key to getting interested in the following chapters in the book…

Posted on: June 18, 2019 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Begin The Begin: R.E.M.’s Early Years By Robert Dean Lurie (Book)

There have been numerous books written about Athens-based R.E.M. dating back to the mid-1990s, but few seem as personal as the latest entry from former Athenian Robert Dean Lurie. The book strength is also, at times, its biggest weakness. The author, who moved to Athens, GA in the ‘90s, in part thanks to its burgeoning music scene, inserts his own narrative into some of the book. And while it can…

Posted on: May 30, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Brandon Siegel – The Private Practice Survival Guide

One of the keys to making “self help” books, especially those of a decidedly professional nature, successful for readers is personalization. It is one thing to, essentially, consume a multi-hour lecture in text form, no matter how well composed, if there is no personal element present in the author’s presentation. It is quite another thing, however, to feel drawn into the life experiences that helped shape their philosophy and carried…

Posted on: April 29, 2019 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Teen Movie Hell: A Crucible of Coming-Of-Age Comedies From Animal House to Zapped!

Given today’s current sensitivities around, well, just about everything, it’s hard to image even a third of the movies profiled in Mike McPadden’s fantastically entertaining encyclopedia of teen comedies, Teen Movie Hell, ever being made. But for those who grew up in the ‘80s trying to catch a glimpse of nudity via scrambled cable movies on channels you didn’t subscribe to, or their slightly more watered down cinematic siblings on…

Posted on: April 19, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Christina Reeves & Dimitrios Spanos – The Mind is the Map

Christina Reeves and Dimitrios Spanos, co-authors of The Mind is the Map: Awareness is the Compass and Emotional is the Key to Living Mindfully from the Heart, bring a personal touch and considerable intellectual firepower to the aforementioned work. It is a condensed and focused book, clocking in at less than three hundred pages, and their tight aim on promoting a system oriented approach to realizing human potential likely means the…