Month: April 2019

Stop Looking at Your Phone

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Stop Looking at Your Phone by Son of Alan is a satirical book on our phone addiction. It is a graphical adult book with very few words. It has several scenarios where we pick up our phone because we are bored. The book provides a remedy for such situations. A few examples are, enjoy time spent with your child by making eye contact, not just by taking pictures. Enjoy food by keeping your phone aside.⁣ This book was the shortest read and I completed in 20 minutes, with a few laughs. A book worth having in your library in today’s age where we are slaves to phones.⁣ Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC⁣. Rating: 5/5⁣ Publication date: August 16, 2018⁣ Do you spend every free moment you have looking at your phone?⁣

The Little Black Fish

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The Little Black Fish by Samad Behrangi is a story of bravery and adventure. The Little Black Fish sets out on a journey to discover where his stream ends. He did not listen to the advice of his mother and neighbors about sticking to the stream but went out to explore the world. As a result, he found many new animals such as the frog, deer, crab and the harmful pelicans. The illustrations by Farshid Mesghali were unique. The pictures were mostly black and white with a few colors highlighted. This is a good book to inculcate a spark of adventure in little ones (5-7 years old). Thank you to Netgalley and Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC for the ARC. Rating: 5/5 Publication date: 16 April 2019 The Little Black Fish was originally published in 1968. Did you read this book? What do you think?⁣

Two Little Girls

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Two Little Girls is a psychological thriller by Frances Vick. It is a story about two girls, Lisa, and Kirsty who are best friends. Unfortunately, Lisa dies and Kirsty gives evidence which helps catch the killer. Did that person kill Lisa or was he wrongly accused because of Lisa? Where is Lisa’s body and how did she die? These were the questions that haunted Lisa and she sets on a perilous journey to answer these questions when she becomes an adult. The mystery held until the end. Even when I was almost in the last few pages of the novel, I was suspicious about the motives of the characters and concerned about Lisa’s safety. The author did an excellent job sowing seeds of doubt in the readers’ mind at all the crucial points of the story. A few sections in the book could have been shortened, for example, the relationship between Lisa and her sister. Two Little Girls is a stellar read for psychological thriller bookworms. Thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for the ARC. …

Muddy: The Raccoon Who Stole Dishes

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Muddy: The Raccoon Who Stole Dishes by Griffin Ondaatje and Linda Wolfsgruber is a children’s picture book. Muddy is a raccoon who does not fit in his tribe. While his family and other raccoons are satisfied with eating clams, Muddy has a taste for gourmet human food. Muddy steals the food from a nearby restaurant and heaps the plates on the river bank. His family and other raccoons discover the plates and confront Muddy’s parents that his habit could be dangerous to the group. The rest of the story is about how Muddy solves the problem of stealing food from the restaurant. The illustrations in the book could be better in a few pages. Otherwise, the ending made me smile. This book introduces the value of food and the role of raccoons in our ecosystem to little ones. Thanks to @netgalley and @northsouthbooks for the ARC. Rating: 4/5 Book published: April 2, 2019 How do you teach the importance of food to your kids?

Where are all the flowers this Spring?

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Calling out all the flowers this Spring! Where are you guys? Spring is my favorite time of the year. Every year, millions of flowers bloom in Spring and adorn our sidewalks, parks and communities. I lived in Boston for a few years and there were always flowers around me. Every day, I used to take a picture of a flower and post it on Instagram. My favorite flowers are the azaleas, rhododendrons and tulips. These flowers were ubiquitous in Boston, bursting forth in beautiful colors at nondescript places. Now, I moved to a different city and I am yet to discover the places where flowers bloom in abundance. ⁣ Where are all the flowers this Spring? We had a few warm days followed by snow on the ground. The weather is sending conflicting messages to the flowers. I hope we see beautiful flowers around us soon before we move into a full blown Summer. What is your favorite flower? Has it bloomed this year yet?

Bad Blood

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I have been itching to read a good adult non-fiction book for many days now. Bad Blood by John Carreyrr was the perfect book to scratch that itch. Bad Blood is about the rise and fall of a Biotech company called Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes. Theranos was a hot new start-up making medical devices. Just a drop of blood is required to conduct a full range of blood tests in walk-in clinics. The CEO of Theranos, Holmes was touted as the Bill Gates/Steve Jobs of the medical industry. The company was evaluated at $9 billion on paper but its devices did not work. The investors and the Board were misled to believe in a half-working device that could transform the medical industry. The book is fast-paced. Many characters are introduced so after a while it becomes difficult to keep track. What amazed was how the company duped the bigshots such as Walgreens, Safeway, intellectuals and business moguls. The confidence and charisma of Holmes and the secrecy regarding their devices made Theranos darling of …