Reviewer: N. Goldman .: Knowledge Base

A Cross Estate
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Cross Estate Author: William Thomas KinsellaISBN: 1424166888In A Cross Estate, William Thomas Kinsella weaves together a cast of characters whose internal and external struggles are complex and quite sad in its rendering. It is a world that straddles two eras in the lives of a young college graduate Jack Conroy, his girlfriend Veronica and his parents, Catherine and Alexander. Book I revolves around Jack’s quandary concerning his career choices. Should he...
(No rating) 10-6-2007 Views: 3751

Big and Little Jake A Novel
Author: Norman EdelsteinISBN: 1598004425The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews It is often said that many of us have in us a book that needs to be written. Perhaps, it is the one that keeps up awake a night that is rooted in our own personal experiences or those of others. Eighty-one year old Norman Edelstein is one of the many who realized his dreams and put pen to paper. The result is Big and Little Jake a...
(No rating) 8-13-2006 Views: 3943

Den Helder
Author: Frank RidgleyISBN: 1598006436 Marine Biologist and former U.S. Merchant Marine Officer, Frank Ridgley, turns his hand to writing fiction with his debut novel, Den Helder. This is a novel focusing on the universal topic in our lives, what would I do without the person I love in my life or the meaning of life without the person I love?Our story unfolds when our principle character, Antonio (Tony) Kirkland, who recently was accredited as a merchant marine, accepts his first assignment...
(No rating) 1-19-2007 Views: 3582

Foot Ways
PURCHASE FROM AMAZON Author: Lynn Veach Sadler, Ph.DISBN: 9780615145631In Foot Ways, native North Carolinian, poet, author and former college president, Dr. Lynn Veach Sadler, showcases her mastery of the novella form.Dividing her novella into five short stories, Sadler paints different character portraits that are relayed to the reader via first-person narratives with a little sadness thrown in. All are carefully constructed and are loosely interconnected in some way or another to a certain...
(No rating) 6-23-2007 Views: 8033

Hands: a novel
Author: M.A. StreetISBN: 0-59538584-2First a confession: I have never been convinced that a person can have magical powers or that miracles exist. However, after reading M.A. Street’s Hands, there may still be some hope for me.What if it were possible to replicate Street’s central character, David, who was born with the power to heal the sick? In addition, he is a brilliant artist that permits him to pursue a vocation that enables him to express every part of himself. In fact, which is...
(No rating) 2-3-2007 Views: 5324

Old is a 4-Letter Word
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Old is a 4-Letter WordAuthor: Ethel StocktonISBN: 1-4107-9468-7 There is a jarring honesty to Ethel Stockton’s most recent tome Old is a 4-Letter Word as she invites her readers to participate in an intimate voyage with her principal fascinating character, Annaliz.Exploring her inner and outer world, Annaliz reflects on her past and present life touching on various aspects of human experiences-love, death, illness, divorce, aging, fear, mother and daughter...
(No rating) 1-17-2008 Views: 3930

The Grandmaster
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon The Grandmaster Author: Peter A. BalaskasPublisher: Bards and SagesISBN: 9780615147437“The eyes of the demon have returned! I cannot believe it. I thought they were finally eradicated from my life, and they had been for many years.” It is with these chilling words that Peter A. Balaskas begins his compelling novella, The Grandmaster. And welcome to the world and life of J.S.W. who chronicles his 69 years with the juxtaposition of his paranormal powers,...
(No rating) 8-21-2007 Views: 3821

The Room
You Can Purchase This Book From Amazon Author: Ray MelnikISBN: 1589615425Harry Ladd, the protagonist of Ray Melnik’s first novel, The Room, has had a rough go of it. During his childhood he and his brother Malcolm had been on the receiving end of their father’s abuse. To escape these angry outbursts, the two youngsters would find refuge in their mother’s bedroom closest.Deeply affected by the cruel behavior of his father as well as his mother’s reluctance to intervene, Malcolm left home...
(No rating) 7-5-2007 Views: 4563

47 Rules of Highly Effective Bank Robbers
Author: Troy CookPublishers: Capital Crime PressISBN: 0977627667Expanding his literary talents, screenwriter and director Troy Cook has developed his own quirky style as he enters the mystery-comedy arena with his debut novel 47 Rules of Highly Effective Bank Robbers. The use of wacky humor with mystery is a difficult balancing act that is feat for even the most seasoned writer, nonetheless, Cook manages to cleverly pull it off. The plot is set in the Florida Panhandle as it zeros in on a...
(No rating) 2-25-2006 Views: 7600

A Circle of Dreams
Author: Annie RogersISBN: 0977018318The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview with the authors CLICK HERE
(No rating) 5-15-2006 Views: 5931

A Dream Across Time
Author: Annie RogersISBN: 097701830X
(No rating) 5-10-2006 Views: 7518

All Eyes Skyward by Dan Spencer
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES To read Norm's interview with author Dan Spencer, click: HEREReaders looking to find how it felt to be living in Berlin at the time of the Airlift of 1948-9 will not be disappointed with Dan Spencer’s, All Eyes Skyward. For those of you who may not be aware, post Second World War Germany had been divided into three sectors comprising the Allied section controlled by the USA, England and France and the remaining part...
(No rating) 10-12-2004 Views: 4670

Apologies Forthcoming
Click Here To Purchase Apologies Forthcoming Author: Xujun EberleinISBN: 978-1-60489-007-5Publishers: Livingston Press, University of West Alabama To read award- winning writer Xujun (pronounced “shoe”-“June”) Eberlein’s collection of short fiction compiled in her Apologies Forthcoming is to be wrap
(No rating) 7-1-2008 Views: 3340

Bend in the River
Author: Cecil L. MillinerISBN: 1932657339 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. Here are more of Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview With Cecil L. Milliner CLICK HERE Cecil L. Milliner’s previous book, Willie May Medcalf, recounted the story of a brave and determined young woman who overcomes a life of poverty and a husband who thought nothing of beating her and thei
(No rating) 9-18-2006 Views: 5511

Better Days Ahead
Title: Better Days AheadAuthor: Charlie ValentineISBN: 0977218708 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview With Charlie Valentine CLICK HERECharlie Valentine’s ambitious debut novel Better Days Ahead is a testimony to the tenacity of the human spirit to survive; no matter how bleak and difficult life may be there is very often a silver lining ahead.Valentine creatively mixes time,...
(No rating) 7-10-2006 Views: 4929

Blue Springs
Author: Peter RennebohmISBN: 0878392270The following review of the ARC copy of Blue Springs was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's ReviewsTo read Norm's Interview with Peter Rennebohm CLICK HERE
(No rating) 8-4-2005 Views: 8655

Bungi Gungi
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Bungi GungiTitle: Bungi Gungi
(No rating) 3-20-2008 Views: 2501

CEO by Patricia E. Gitt
The following review was contributed by NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES To read an interview with the author click HERE Although over one half of the labor force in corporate America is made up of women, there is still a very small percentage that makes it to the top as CEO or President. It is with this theme in mind, that author Patricia E. Gitt focuses her debut fictional novel, CEO. Gitt has created a character, Melissa Lyn Horn (known as ML to her colleagues), who becomes...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4719

Child of Polygamy
Authors: Dr. Kosi J. Avotri and Nella P. AvotriISBN: 1420873067The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's ReviewsTo read Norm's Interview With The Authors CLICK HERESet in the Volta Region of Ghana, Pediatrician Kosi J. Avotri and his wife Nella P. Avotri’s novel, Child of Pologamy makes excellent use of loosely linked tales to help us better understand the mores, customs and traditions of Ghanaians living in this corner of...
(No rating) 12-17-2005 Views: 7371

Context Clues by James C. Ferguson
When I completed reading James C. Ferguson’s first novel, Context Clues, I imagined the late Peter Seller would be the perfect actor to play the role of the principal protagonist, Basil Coventry. Coventry is a bungling spy, who perhaps would like to be another Colombo or James Bond, if they were in existence during this era. Unfortunately, however, his faculties are perpetually impaired by alcohol, or to put it bluntly-he is in a continuous state of inebriation. The story begins at the...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4065

Crosses: A Christian Executive Story As Told By Angels
Author: Clayton Dunham, Ph.DISBN: 1598002007 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. Here are More of Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview With Clayton Dunham, PH.D CLICK HERECrosses: A Christian Executive Story As Told By Angels, the debut novel of Clayton Dunham, follows the nightmarish ordeals of a Chief Information Officer (CIO), Peter Stone, as recounted by his guardian angel, Ardama. As the novel unfolds, we learn that Stone...
(No rating) 9-13-2006 Views: 5607

Cyrus Bull Tells How To Become A Billionaire: Money, Love and Revenge Stirred With A Barbed Spoon by Richard Crissman
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES.COM To read Norm's interview with Cyrus Bull, click HERE Mea culpa, when I initially flipped through Richard Crissman’s latest book, Cyrus Bull Tells How To Become A Billionaire: Money, Love and Revenge Stirred With A Barbed Spoon, I cheated a little. I immediately turned to the appendix, wherein the author’s principal protagonist, Cyrus Bull, enumerates the seven principles of how he became a Billionaire....
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 5442

DEAD RED (Advanced Review Copy) by Nelson Andreu
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES Former Miami homicide detective Nelson Andreu’s debut novel, Dead Red, delivers many of the elements readers come to expect of the traditional page-turner mystery-ruthless killers, an aura of corruption, a love story, diamond and drug traffickers, a murder made to look like a suicide, and foreign intrigue. What is unique about this mystery novel is that Andreu strikes the right balance between the narration...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 7174

Deception’s Legacy
Author: Jacqueline G. RandolphISBN: 1596821027Two principle historical settings, the Spanish Inquisition and a nuclear accident that occurred in Spain in 1966 provide the impetus for a compelling novel in Jacqueline G. Randolph’s third book in her Deception Series. Deception’s Legacy begins when we learn about an actual incident in 1966 concerning an American B-52 bomber carrying four bombs that packed more than a megaton of power or one hundred times more powerful than Hiroshima and that...
(No rating) 8-8-2007 Views: 5182

Designed To Kill by Chester D. Campbell
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES Have you ever wondered how safe it is when stepping out on the balcony of a high- rise condo building? Did the contractor strictly follow the architect/ engineer’s plans or did he try to cut corners in order to save a couple of dollars? You say that could not happen, as there are inspectors who make sure that the plans are followed to a tee. What if the inspectors are not doing their job properly? All of...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3970

Don’t You Marry The Mormon Boys
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Don't You Marry The Mormon Boys Author: Janet Kay JensenISBN: 978-1-59955-075-6 Nominated in 2007 as a finalist in USA Book News in the Religious Fiction category, Janet Kay Jensen's Don’t You Marry The Mormon Boys narrates the story of two medical students who meet and fall in love while both are attending the University of Utah.However, there is one big problem, Andy McBride is of the Mormon faith while Louisa Martin was born and brought up in a strict...
(No rating) 12-9-2007 Views: 5130

Down to a Sunless Sea
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Down To a Sunless Sea Author: Mathias B. FreeseISBN: 978-1-58736-733-5 Mathias B. Freese is an award- winning essayist and author of The i Tetralogy that I had reviewed and which was the 2007 Allbooks Choice Award.
(No rating) 11-22-2007 Views: 3388

Duck Blood Soup by Joseph Molea, MD
Joseph Molea’s debut novel Duck Blood Soup is a harrowing exposé portraying substance abuse within the medical profession. Molea is a medical doctor who is a certified member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He is also the Executive Director of a specialized addiction treatment centre for professionals with impairment problems. Although the book is a work of fiction, nonetheless, a great deal of the information had been gleaned from the author’s personal knowledge of...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4395

Early Bright
Click Here To Purchase Early Bright Author: Ami SilberISBN: 13: 978 159264 241-0Publisher: The Toby Press In her debut novel, Early Bright Ami Silber features a protagonist who was not exactly a decent human being or, if
(No rating) 6-26-2008 Views: 2686

FLASHES by JAMES M. BATES
One of the hallmarks of a good novel is an author’s effective creation of drama. If the drama is devoid of any emotional charge, the story will fail to captivate its readers. First time novelist James M. Bates’ novel, Flashes, is an excellent example of powerfully using drama to narrate a gripping story. In this instance, the author pushes his principal character, Mickey, to the limit. The charge is created from Mickey’s struggle squaring off against his adversaries out in the world...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4864

Free by Paul Vincent
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES To read an interview with the author,Paul Vincent, click HERE British author Paul Vincent’s latest novel, Free, centers around a story of a young man, Sal, who falls madly in love with a dark haired woman with blond eyebrows, Gabrielle, at a pavement café in Northern Spain. After a brief courtship, the two decide on marriage, which shortly takes place, after both move from their homes in England to the...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 5155

Game Face by Dr. James D. Chlovechok
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES Have you ever wondered how some athletes seem to have a personality transformation the minute they put on their uniforms? It is as if mentally, spiritually and emotionally their psyche has been modified to such an extent that they seem to have a marked edge over their opponents. Suppose we were offered a drug that could easily accomplish this feat. Would we take it not knowing its side effects? With this in...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 6163

Goodbye Evilwood: The Murders In Tinseltown
Author: Vladimir ChernozemskyISBN: 1932656049In Goodbye Evilwood: The Murders In Tinseltown, Vladimir Chernozemsky offers us a glimpse of the sleazy and sordid side of Hollywood with his tale of the murder of a ballerina. This is a semi-true story as Chernozemsky mentions in his Preface, names and a few places have been changed, some more than others, however the main facts are established history, his own experiences and those of his Hollywood friends and acquaintances. The novel opens with...
(No rating) 9-28-2006 Views: 4914

Grendel
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Grendel Author: Ken BroskyISBN: 9781427620545Ken Brosky’s novel, Grendel casts the reader into the horrifying experience of a successful and wealthy business executive, Tyler Leto, who experiences hell after a one minute stoppage of his heart following a severe heart attack.Our protagonist is depicted as a forty-something CEO of his father’s company, Makavel Incorporated, a company that has posted record losses for the past two fiscal years. Tyler is a...
(No rating) 11-1-2007 Views: 3340

Grub: A Novel
Click Here To Purchase Grub From Amazon Author: Elise BlackwellPublisher: TobyISBN: 13 978 159264 1994Elise Blackwell’s most recent novel, Grub, is an updating of the British author, George Gissing’s New Grub Street which was published in 1891. Blackwell's Grub is dedicated to every writer with an unpublished book.As was the case of Gissing’s satire, Blackwell’s theme focuses on today’s literary world where what counts is the bottom line and where in order for an author to be published he or...
(No rating) 8-18-2007 Views: 2989

hackoff.com
Author: Tom EvslinISBN: 0977464601The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview with Tom Evslin CLICK HEREPositioning his novel somewhere between the world of a dot.com thriller and something analogous to a Detective Colombo television episode, Tom Evslin’s hackoff.com falls effortlessly into the recent wave of fiction narratives that depict the euphoria of the boom and bust of the stock...
(No rating) 7-27-2006 Views: 5693

Life of Pi:Delux Illustrated Edition
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Life Of Pi Author: Yann Martel: Illustrator: Tomislav TorjanacPublishers: Harcourt IncISBN: 978-0-15-101383-8 Canadian author Yann Martel’s international bestseller Life of Pi was first published in 2002 and it was the recipient of the prestigious Man Booker Prize in that same year. In 2007 this work of fiction was reintroduced with a Deluxe Illustrated Edition that now includes dazzling illustrations, contributed by Croatian artist Tomislav Torjanac, of...
(No rating) 12-6-2007 Views: 4555

Locked Inn
Click Here To Purchased From Amazon Locked In Author: Mike EspositoISBN: 1930754981Publisher: Durban House Publishing CompanyIn his debut novel, Mike Esposito pulls his readers into a Tampa, Florida hospital, compelling them to follow the horrendous tomfoolery of three greedy and devious doctors and a slimy attorney that will make you think twice before undergoing surgery, particularly neurosurgery.The principal protagonist, neuroradiologist John Armstrong, is having a barrel full of domestic...
(No rating) 8-28-2007 Views: 3004

Losing Innocence
Author: Brian Smith:Publisher: PublishAmericaISBN: 1424100380The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's ReviewsTo read Norm's Interview With the Author CLICK HERESometimes the best stories are the simplest ones, and Brian Smith's debut novel, Losing Innocence, would definitely fall within this category. Smith traces the relationship between two individuals, who before having met one another, were caught up in horrendous...
(No rating) 12-3-2005 Views: 6098

Love by Tony Morrison
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN, Editor of Bookpleasures Reading Pulitzer and Nobel prize- winner, Toni Morrison’s most recent novel, Love, was like trying to put together a giant jigsaw puzzle. You never know where you are going to find the next piece, and when you do find it, how will it fit in. Sometimes, however, the pieces are not exactly what you had expected. Somewhat like having your eyes out of focus and not quite sure as to what you are seeing. In fact,...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3796

Miriam The Medium by Rochelle Jewel Shapiro
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES.COM"" Even if you don’t believe in “bube meishes,” (Yiddish for grandmother tales), or psychics and mediums, you can’t help enjoying Rochelle Jewel Shapiro’s first delightful novel Miriam the Medium. Shapiro narrates a story of a phone psychic, Miriam Kaminsky, who inherited the gift of being able to communicate with the dead and to foretell the future from her Russian born “bubie” (Yiddish for...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3441

Mondai Nai
Author: King HurleyISBN: 13: 987-0-9774188-5-5It is not very often where we are fortunate to have the opportunity to read a North American author pen a fascinating novel set in the modern-day land of the rising sun. No doubt, this is no easy feat, particularly when the author endeavors to vividly capture the intricacies of the culture and traditions of the Japanese.King Hurley’s second novel, Mondai Nai is very much up to the task, as we follow the adventures of an American exchange student,...
(No rating) 1-27-2007 Views: 4142

Monterey Shorts 2: More On The Line: Stories by Fiction Writers of the Monterey Peninsula
Editors: Chris Kemp: Byron Merritt: Ken JonesISBN: 0976009609The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews
(No rating) 11-24-2005 Views: 5606

One Foot In The Black: A Wildland Firefighter’s Story
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon One Foot In The Black: A Wildland Firefighter’s StoryAuthor: Kurt L. KammISBN: 9781435706262 Kurt L. Kamm’s debut novel One Foot In The Black: A Wildland Firefighter’s Story is adroitly written with enough narrative to keep your interest until the last page. The narrative comprises the interplay of two themes that are woven together as it criss-crosses back and forth between the life of nineteen year old Greg Kowalski's desire to become a firefighter and...
(No rating) 2-13-2008 Views: 5399

Peace I Ask Thee Oh River
Author: Lyda PhillipsISBN: 0595361722The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview With Lyda CLICK HERETo effectively deal with difficult topics addressed to a teenage audience such as suicide, sibling grief, guilt, anger, rejection, abnormal behavior, denial, and bullying is no easy feat and it takes a certain amount of boldness and courage on the part of the author to pull it off. This...
(No rating) 3-24-2006 Views: 6458

Phase One After Zero
Author: Vladimir ChernozemskyISBN: 1932656030 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews One of the challenges fiction authors face is trying to capture absurd news headlines and weave them into an exciting story without boring the reader.
(No rating) 8-29-2005 Views: 2812

Phoenix
Author: Richard Satterlie, Ph.DISBN: 1593745702 The following review of the ARC copy was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview with Richard Satterlie CLICK HERE The world of Richard Satterlie’s Phoenix
(No rating) 5-27-2006 Views: 5799

Plastic Gods by William Manchee
When I picked up a recent edition of the Saturday mornings edition, The National Post, a Canadian newspaper, and turned to the financial section, what immediately hit me was an entire section devoted to consumer debt and credit cards. Coincidentally, the day before I had received William Manchee’s recent legal thriller Plastic Gods, that although is a work of fiction, revolves around this same theme. The story ventures into the world of powerful and unethical financial institutions...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3703

Poncià Vicenzo
Title: Poncià VicenzoAuthor: Conceição EvaristoTranslated by: Paloma Martinez-CruzISBN: 978-0-924047-3 Poncià Vicenzo is the first novel by the Afro-Brazilian poet, Conceição Evaristo. And thanks to Paloma Martinez-Cruz, English readers can now have the opportunity to savor this beautiful novel that is not only an attestation of Evaristo brilliant skills as a poet but also as a novelist.The novel focuses on Poncià Vicenzo, her mother, Maria and her brother Luandi José, all Afro-Brazlians...
(No rating) 5-14-2007 Views: 5418

Revealing The Covenant: A Medical Thriller by Rusty Van Reeves
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN, EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES With his second novel, Revealing The Covenant: A Medical Thriller, Rusty Van Reeves, has crafted an artful narrative concerning the use of embryonic stem cells to cure spinal cord paralysis. The focus of the story pertains to a group of doctors with one of the largest HMOs in the USA, who are determined to prevent a privately funded research team headed by, Dr. Hans Kilmer, a legend in the field of spinal...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 5089

River Rising
Author: Athol DicksonISBN: 076420162X The following review of the ARC copy of the book was contributed by:NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews The year is 1927 during the great Mississippi flood when Athol Dickson's latest novel, River Rising, unfolds. Rev. Hale Poser arrives early one morning, poling a boat you stand in called a pirogue into the stilt village of Pilotville, Louisiana. A recent discovery of a manila envelope in the attic of an old...
(No rating) 12-11-2005 Views: 6134

Salted With Salt and The Altar of Silence: Two Novellas
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Salted With Salt and The Altar of Silence: Two Novellas Author: Jason AkleyISBN: 1431704540Both of Jason Akley’s novellas in his Salted With Salt and The Altar of Silence: Two Novellas feature a cast of twenty something characters who for the most part are trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives.The first novella, Salted with Salt centers around Sol who, before returning to college in the Fall at Tulane in New Orleans, embarks on a...
(No rating) 9-29-2007 Views: 3503

Sarah, Come Home
Author: Cecil L. MillinerISBN: 1932657398The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. Here are more of Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview With Cecil L. Milliner CLICK HEREWith Sarah, Come Home, Cecil L. Milliner picks up the reins where he last left off in the first novel Willie May Medcalf
(No rating) 9-18-2006 Views: 5792

Shakespeare's World by D.L. Johanyak
To read an interview with Prof.Debra L. Johanyak click HERE Who was William Shakespeare? Some people believe he never existed as one person but rather many. Others claim that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, is the true Shakespeare, or that the earl of Essex, the earl of Derby, or Sir Walter Raleigh, wrote his works. Did he have a family? What influenced his writings? Did he travel? Was he educated? Was one of the greatest literary figures a truly a man of the world? These are...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4372

Shuttle Rising: To Rendezvous With A Rumor
Author: Charles Boyle: ISBN: 0965721450The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's ReviewsTo read Norm's Interview With the Author CLICK HERECharles Boyle's absorbing tale, Shuttle Rising: To Rendezvous With A Rumor makesexcellent use of his profound knowledge of space research and technologyresulting in some very imaginative plot twists. Boyle's writing has appeared inScience and Omni magazines and he has served as space...
(No rating) 12-5-2005 Views: 6138

Solomon vs Lord
Author: Paul LevinePublisher: Bantam DellISBN: 0440242738The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's ReviewsBest selling mystery author and winner of several literary awards, Paul Levine, continues to churn out another one of his zany novels with Solomon vs Lord.Levine is living proof that following the “write about what you know” edict can lead to some very interesting fiction, as he was a newspaper reporter and a trial...
(No rating) 11-2-2005 Views: 4228

Soul Identity: a novel
Author: Dennis BatchelderISBN: 978-0-9798056-0-8Publisher: NetLeavesClick Here To Purchase This Book From Amazon To understand the nuances of Dennis Batchelder’s debut novel, Soul Identity: a novel, it wouldn’t hurt to be familiar with some of the computer lingo mentioned in the text, however, it is not absolutely essential to enjoy the experience of its reading. Batchelder succeeds in serving up an exciting yarn alluding to the implications of technology, identity theft, as well as mixing...
(No rating) 7-29-2007 Views: 4512

Straightjacket
Author: Richard E. Sall, MDISBN: 1419630547 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview With Dr. Richard E. Sall CLICK HERERichard E. Sall’s Straightjacket follows thirty days in the life of Dr. Joe Grady, a resident surgeon at Detroit General Hospital, who is obliged to complete ten major surgical cases w
(No rating) 5-31-2006 Views: 3909

Stranded: Stories From The Edge of Infinity…
Click Here To Purchase Stranded: Stories From The Edge of Infinity… Author: Kimberly RaiserISBN: 978-1-4327-0601-2 It takes only a few short stories
(No rating) 6-6-2008 Views: 6630

Sweet & Crazy by Patty Dann
The following review was contributed by the editor of Bookpleasures NORM GOLDMAN Reading Patty Dann’s latest novel Sweet & Crazy is like being invited into the author’s home and sitting at her kitchen table where she shapes and narrates a beautiful sensitive story focusing on a recent widow, Hanna, her four year old precocious son, Pete, their next door neighbor, Thomas, and Pete’s Asian friend Mazur and his father Omar. The story is set in a little town, Ash Creek, Ohio, and begins...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4683

Tax Dodge: A Financial Caper that Changes the Lives of All Involved by Richard Crissman
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES.COM To read Norm's interview with Cyrus Bull, click HERE Shinning a light into the dark corners of the some of the frailties of human nature, Richard Crissman, author of Tax Dodge: A Financial Caper that Changes the Lives of All Involved pens a book wherein his principal protagonist, soap opera mogul Jethro Woods, is obsessed with his burdensome taxes. It is his belief that the taxman should not be permitted...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 5318

Tearjerker by Daniel Hayes
The following review was contributed by: Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures Although, I don’t recommend abducting an editor and keeping him captive for several weeks, that is just what novelist Daniel Hayes’ principal character, Evan Ulmer, accomplishes when he imprisons in his basement editor Robert Partnow who had previously rejected his manuscript. Tearjerker revolves around three characters, Ulmer, Partnow and Ulmer’s platonic girlfriend, Promise Buckley. The dialogue among...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4637

Ten Thousand Acres by Preston L. Corbett
First time novelist, Preston L. Corbett’s novel Ten Thousand Acres begins on a sad note when twenty- three year Flora McAndrews in 1785 travels from Baltimore with her fifty four year old husband, William, to a place that would one day be known as Colorado. Unfortunately, prior to arriving at their destination, William dies and Flora is forced to continue on alone. Eventually, she reaches the land that was purchased by her late husband, where she discovers a log cabin and someone inside,...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3161

The Artist’s Model And Other Love Stories by Guy de Maupassant: Mark Scott (Translator)
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES Considered to be one of France’s greatest short story writers, Guy de Maupassant had written over three hundred short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse, during a period of ten years of his forty-three year lifespan. Author and lecturer, Mark Scott, is a specialist in Russian literature, and he has been very much intrigued with Maupassant’s profound influence over such Russian literary...
(No rating) 10-19-2004 Views: 6217

The Cinquefoil Connection
AUTHOR: Recy DunnPUBLISHER: Authorhouse ( 1ST Books)ISBN: 1414074808 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews
(No rating) 12-7-2004 Views: 15614

The Devil’s Halo
Author: Chris FoxPublisher: Hutchinson (The Random House Group Limited)ISBN: 0091794994The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview with the Author CLICK HEREThe possibility of a terrorist attack haunts all of us. However, have you ever thought about the prospect of some of America’s European allies deciding one day that they had enough of American dominance and hegemony, particularly in...
(No rating) 11-1-2005 Views: 5031

The Discovery of Luminous Being by Anthony Maulucci
The title, The Discovery of Luminous Being, led me to believe that I was about to read a novel about an alien, who glows in the dark. However, after reading the first few paragraphs, I knew this was not to be, and frankly I was not disappointed. Novelist Anthony Maulucci delivered something far different, and his principle character, Raphael Trager, is certainly no alien. In fact, Raphael is someone, who probably is familiar to many of us. After graduating from Wesleyan University in...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4086

The Founders by Norman Carmichael
To read the interview with Norman Carmichael click HERE Every so often, when I am just about given up on self-published books, one crosses my desk and pleasantly surprises me, reconfirming my faith that there are still some very good ones around. Such was the case when in an afternoon I devoured first time novelist Norman Carmichael’s thriller, The Founders. This is the sort of a novel that hooks you from the first page onwards with its mixture of interwoven intriguing events and...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3366

The Good Works of Ayela Linde
Author: Charlotte ForbesISBN: 1559708077The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview with Charlotte Forbes CLICK HEREO.Henry Award winner, Charlotte Forbes, has put together a brilliant collection of sixteen stories focusing on the life of Ayela Linde, the illegitimate daughter of a Mexican dressmaker, Felidia Garzon.All of the stories are arranged chronologically from the time Ayela
(No rating) 8-11-2006 Views: 6273

The Great Pretender
Author: Millenia BlackISBN: 0451216482 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews Imagine for a moment you are living a double life with a wife and two teenage daughters in Miami, while tucked away in Orlando you have for six years being living with your mistress and a young daughter born out of this adulterous relationship. You divide your time between your two families, spending two weeks with each. On the other...
(No rating) 1-21-2006 Views: 5575

The Jesus Thief by J.K. Lankford
We have to commend J.R. Lankford for having a creative imagination, when she thought of writing a book of the cloning of Jesus Christ! Who would have thought about the possibility of stealing two threads from The Shroud of Turin, extract blood from it, culture the cells found in the blood, extract unfertilized eggs from a donor, remove the nucleus from the eggs, replace each nucleus with a cultured Shroud cell to produce “fertilized eggs,” grow the eggs in a suitable culture, and...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 5750

The Kashmir Affair
Author:Sai SankalapISBN: 0595361161The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's ReviewsTo read Norm's interview with the author Click HereSai Sankalap’s debut novel, The Kashmir Affair, weaves the story of a young Indian actor, Joshua Borendhi, who immigrates to the USA in order to further his acting career. From the onset, Joshua is portrayed as somewhat of a mysterious character, who conceals his past, as he barely...
(No rating) 9-19-2005 Views: 4168

The Last Juror by John Grisham
The following review was submitted by: NORM GOLDMAN, EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES You have to admit that the mere mention of the name John Grisham seems to invoke a love or hate reaction among bibliophiles. You either vigorously defend his writing style or you dismiss it as “schlock” writing. Candidly, I have to admit that I am always seduced when Grisham publishes a new book, and very rarely I have been disappointed. His latest foray, The Last Juror, although perhaps not as exciting...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3414

The Losers’ Club by Richard Perez
Richard Perez’s first novel, The Losers’ Club, is a poignant depiction of the life of an author suffering endlessly from the rejection of publishers, as well as members of the opposite sex. Set in the ‘90s in East Village New York, Perez’s novel is a powerful commentary concerning the constant struggle faced by artists, writers, and musicians. Constantly spinning their wheels, stumbling from one listless adventure to the next, without very little to show for their efforts. In order...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3448

The Mourning Sexton
Author: Michael BaronPublisher: DoubledayISBN: 0385513267 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW
(No rating) 4-23-2005 Views: 3453

The Mouse That Roared
Author: Dwayne Murray, Sr.ISBN: 0976985500 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview With Dwayne Murray Sr. CLICK HEREDwayne Murray. Sr.’s debut novel The Mouse That Roared recounts the story of Sandra Lyte, a fine-looking young woman from
(No rating) 7-19-2006 Views: 4093

The National Truth
Author: Steve TrotterISBN: 0-595-32637-4 The following review was contrbuted by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews Steve Trotter’s debut novel, The National Truth, set in Montréal, Canada, centers around a former rock musician, Dave Taylor, who decides to give up the world of music and return to his former occupation-tabloid journalism. A Former staff writer and associate editor of supermarket tabloids, Trotter is very much at home in penning...
(No rating) 11-29-2004 Views: 6192

The Newspaper Boy
Author: Leon Newton ISBN: 0741423936The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's ReviewsTo read Norm's Interview With the Author CLICK HEREThe Newspaper Boy by Leon Newton takes a hard look at bigotry and its consequences through the eyes of a young Irish lad growing up in New York’s Lower East Side during the early part of the last century. The story unfolds as we we learn about the poverty of the O'Connor family, the wayward...
(No rating) 12-13-2005 Views: 3927

The Pact Beneath the Bridge
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon The Pact Beneath the Bridge Title: The Pact Beneath the BridgeAuthor: Valbona KociuISBN: 1432701029Albanian author Valbona Kociu’s short story The Pact Beneath the Bridge has a quality that could effortlessly be considered poetic with its brevity as well as the associated compression and unencumbered intensity of its language. At its heart, the first person narrative focuses on a life-altering event involving twenty-nine year old Steven Won, whose life is...
(No rating) 9-13-2007 Views: 4373

The Payback by Hilary Hawke
The following review was contributed by NORM GOLDMAN The opening scene of Hilary Hawke’s first novel, The Payback, is set in the Newark Airport terminal where Margot notices a young pathetic woman sitting on a worn plaid suitcase and clutching a baby. As the story unfolds, we learn that the woman’s name is Claudia Lopez and she has just arrived from Santa Cruz, Bolivia with her infant daughter Juliana. Unfortunately, her husband, Antonio, never shows up at the airport to meet her, and...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3093

The Penultimate Chance Saloon
Author: Simon Brett ISBN: 1592641628The following review of the ARC copy of the book was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's ReviewsWhat do you do when you are sixty years of age, and after 40 years of marriage your wife dumps you for another man, and to add insult to injury, informs you that their sex life was a bore and you are shallow!Bill Stratton is the center of Simon Brett's hilarious novel The Penultimate Chance Saloon and the...
(No rating) 12-22-2005 Views: 4278

The Reluctant Colonel
Click Here To Purchase The Reluctant Colonel Author: Michael J. MerryISBN: 978-1-4196-8702-0 Although Michael J. Merry’s The Reluctant Colonel is quite a tall tale and a bit far- fetched, I have to admit it did suck me in.Merry has incorporated into his novel his vast dossier of Latin American knowledge he acquired while living and travelling there for twenty-seven years where he headed a political news gathering org
(No rating) 5-8-2008 Views: 2955

Transitions: Boy Krazy
Author: Rosslyn A. RuffinISBN: 1424109450 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview with Rosslyn A. Ruffin CLICK HERERosslyn A. Ruffin’s debut novel, Transitions: Boy Krazy has been crafted in such a manner that it is as if her readers are eavesdropping on a lengthy discussion among teenagers whose principal focus is on their new friend Mary Tucker and her obsession with her boyfriend...
(No rating) 8-3-2006 Views: 4048

Twilight
Author: Katherine MosbyISBN: 0066212715 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews A sad voice cries out, as we read Katherine Mosby’s palette of poetic words contained in her most recent novel, Twilight, wherein she narrates a tale of an adulterous affair between an American from an affluent family and a Frenchman during pre-World War II.
(No rating) 6-29-2005 Views: 3045

Unbridled Injustice
Author: Ellie Boatman ISBN: 1598000586The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview with the author, CLICK HEREIt was Charles Dickens who stated in his famous novel Oliver Twist, “the law is an ass,” and perhaps in some instances we would have to agree with him. However, what is even more alarming is when judges are bigger asses when they exhibit judicial bias or they abuse their wide...
(No rating) 1-6-2006 Views: 4337

Voice of Conscience
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Voice of Conscience Author: Behcet KayaISBN: 978-1-4327-0628-9 The initial setting of Turkish born author Behcet Kaya’s first book, Voice of Conscience tales place in 1962 where readers are transported into the tiny village of Atamkoy in northeast Turkey. It is here where Ramzi Ozcomert Sr. his wife Nermin, his son Ramzi Jr. and daughter Erin live. Ramzi Sr. was twice married, his first wife having died while giving birth to Erin. We are informed that it...
(No rating) 11-21-2007 Views: 5145

Waltzes I Have Not Forgotten by Bernadette Gabay Dyer
NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES Author Bernadette Gabay Dyer offers us a novel about a young man conceived out of a rape between a Black woman and a white man in Jamaica, West Indies. John Moneague, who is at the center of Dyer’s novel, Waltzes I Have Not Forgotten, recounts his life story from the moment he is born in the back streets of Kingston, Jamaica at the turn of the last century and the subsequent stages of his life. As he states in his introduction, history will recount...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 5191

We Are the New Auroras
Author: Adam Daniel MezeiISBN: 0595380697The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview With Adam Daniel Mezei CLICK HEREAs a loyal Canadian, I am delighted to see that within the last several yearsthere have been quite a few Canadian authors who are making their mark in theinternational literary scene. Just looking over the undergraduate calendar of myold alma mater, I noticed that there...
(No rating) 4-13-2006 Views: 4249

What The Shadow Told Me
Author: Kurtis DavidsonISBN: 1597660027Publisher: Eastern Washington University Press The following review was conducted by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews
(No rating) 6-13-2005 Views: 8485

Whistler’s Gold: The Secret At Nizhoni Toh
Author: Wayne WintertonISBN: 1599267527The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview With Wayne Winterton CLICK HEREWayne Winterton’s Whistler’s Gold: The Secret At Nizhoni Toh takes as its backdrop a great deal of culture, tradition, geography, environment and history of the Navajo- Native Americans that reside in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Winterton has lived and worked on the Navajo...
(No rating) 4-24-2006 Views: 5459

White Rainbows And Other Romantic Tales
Author: Konstantin Paustovsky, Translated by Mark ScottPublishers: Edwin Mellen PressISBN: 0773460446 (To be released in late fall 2005)The following review of an ARC copy of the book was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's ReviewsTo read Norm's Interview With Mark Scott CLICK HERE Surely no one would dispute that Pushkin and Chekov are two of the most popular Russian authors. However, how many of us in the West have ever heard of...
(No rating) 7-24-2005 Views: 5753

Willie May Medcalf: A Novel of the Old West
Author: Cecil L. MillinerISBN: 1932657355 The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews To read Norm's Interview With Cecil L. Milliner CLICK HERECecil L. Milliner’s novel Willie May Medcalf: A Novel of the Old West takes place in the early nineteenth century centering on Willie May Wooster from Albany, New York, who at the age of seventeen is swept off her feet at her coming out party by t
(No rating) 9-9-2006 Views: 6098