Joe’s Alamo: Unsung delves into the rich history of the Alamo as well as other elements of American history by focusing his narrative primarily on minority populations that were a vital part of the battle. The title character Joe is originally presented to readers as a slave who finds himself being sold to a young school teacher, who has grand designs for the future. These two men wind up traveling to Texas and during their time together Joe learns to read and ultimately speak Spanish, which would ultimately help him survive. Continue reading “Joe’s Alamo: Unsung Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Katherine Forbes Riley’s debut novel The Bobcat is a beautiful read that showcases nature and the connection that can be found even when you are trying to stay isolated. Laurelie is a young art student who is struggling to get through her the day after one terrible evening. As she tries to find ways to keep herself safe in her own little world, the outside world slowly begins to open back up to her. One young man and a bobcat bring her back into an element of her former self, but when a young boy she babysits disappears she worries that she won’t be able to keep her fragile new world together. Continue reading “The Bobcat Book Review from @kleffnotes”

A societal change is happening, which is leading many people to stumble as they try to understand and become more knowledgeable as sexual partners. As we look at the world today it might baffle some people that the idea of victim blaming still exists or that people are judged by the kind of sex that they do or don’t participate in. Good Sexual Citizenship: How to Create a (Sexually) Safer World works to promote empathy and understanding in order to break down hostilities connected to sex. Ellen Friedrichs examines the historical and factual backdrop of gender disparities, women’s rights, sexual violence, and a number of other topics. All of this is designed to help the reader use this information, along with guided exercise, to determine their ability for good sexual citizenship. Continue reading “Good Sexual Citizenship Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Riane Esler challenges the notion that human beings are prone to acts of violence and greed in her upcoming book, with anthropologist Douglas P. Fry, Nurturing Our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Brains, Lives, and Future. What she argues is that caring behavior is actually the default reaction humans will have and that through this we can build more humane and sustainable societies. This interdisciplinary approach to the topic of society and how it is shaped examines how the flexibility of the human brain can be used to create a more positive world. Continue reading “Nurturing Our Humanity Book Review from @kleffnotes”

So Many Angels: A Family Crisis and the Community That Got Us Through It is the story of author Diane Stelfox Cook and her family’s journey forward after something completely unexpected happened to them. One night while with her two sons she receives a call from her husband that throws her world into turmoil. From that moment things just seem to get worse, but she and her family are never alone. In this story of strength, Cook shares how her community rallied around her and her boys in the moment they needed someone most. Continue reading “So Many Angels Book Review from @kleffnotes”

This year marks 50 year anniversary of the tragic Manson Family Murders. This sensational moment frightened and continues to fixate the world. James Buddy Day, an award winning true crime producer, writer, and director, is recognized for a number of features focused on Charles Manson as well as on Casey Anthony, and The Slender Ma Stabbings. Hippie Cult Leader: The Last Words of Charles Manson presents new and exclusive interviews, including conversations with Charles Manson himself. Day delves into the theory of Helter Skelter and actively works to debunk this idea throughout the course of the narrative. Continue reading “Hippie Cult Leader Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Johnny Welsh has been a professional bartender for twenty-five years and even in a full bar he notices the ever present appearance of smart phones. People tune out and stare deep into their screens ignoring the world going on around them. In Paper Maps, No Apps: An Unplugged Travel Guide, Welsh did a bit of thinking and planning and decided to take on an unplugged experience. He and his girlfriend, Kristy, collected maps and contacted friends and set off on a road trip with no help from their phones once they were on their way. This is a story of their adventure, mostly, off the grid and how they did it all with paper maps and no apps. Continue reading “Paper Maps, No Apps Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Richard Kirshenbaum drops readers into the world of excess and influence in the high class business world of America. Focused on four women and their influential careers spanning primarily from the early 1920s to roughly the 1950s, Kirshenbaum highlights powerful women and the secrets that seem to surround their lives. Beginning with an elaborate funeral, Rouge keeps you in the glittering world of the elite as it reveals the work that must be done to gain and maintain your position at the top of society. Continue reading “Rouge Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Dorothy Alston was just fourteen when her father’s drunken behavior led to the death of her mother. She found a new home with her uncle on a farm in Florida, but thirty-four years after these events Dorothy is in a vegetative state and Ellen Steward, an administrator at the rehab facility Dorothy is being kept in, begins unraveling the story of how a glass key led Dorothy to where she is now. In the pages of Dorothy and the Glass Key Ellen will have to make a choice and if she fails to save the woman in her care she may lose may than she ever expected. Continue reading “Dorothy and the Glass Key Book Review from @kleffnotes”