Bookreview: Four Bittersweet Romances & A Four Act Closet Drama

 A very good read!

Summary

The Ballad of Calle and Maja - a tragicomic story: Maja sends crushes to Calle.
He becomes infatuated, but the fear of failing seizes him as his affection grows.
Lonely and vulnerable for as long as he could remember, Calle suffered a string
of ‪one-night‬ stands and relentless unrequited love. He bears psychological scars
after recently venturing on an online cat-fishing site. Calle decides to pursue
Maja's love. Meanwhile, Maja is unhappily in love with someone else. Calle is
however determined to win Maja’s love.

Two Girls in a Cafe: A young man becomes the subject of a contentious
conversation between Felicity and Ruth. They have different impressions
about the man's character. The question is whether Felicity and Ruth have
the right end of the stick. "Contemporary, witty, honest and ironic".

Binky's Reverie: The story is about loneliness, friendship, misunderstandings,
frustration—between Binky, a young Caribbean man, and Linda, a young
Swedish beauty. They first met in London, where their friendship blossomed
into regular dating, kissing and cuddling—happiness and fun. Linda invites
Binky to visit Sweden for a holiday. And Binky hopes for him and her to go
beyond kissing and hugging—developing a serious love relationship.

Getting It Right, If Ever - romance novella: A tragicomic fantasy tale.
The setting is the early 70s in two imaginary countries. 40-year-old Benji is
a gardener and an aspiring poet. By coincidence, he meets 45-year-old Molly.
They become pen pals, and Molly invites Benji to visit her homeland. Benji is
overwhelmed and seizes the opportunity to visit another country—for the
first time. Then one day, Benji catches sight of a beautiful woman and
becomes mesmerised by with her beauty. He attempts to win her affection.
His manner is anything but conventional: His wooing is courageous as it is
comical. And his approach is a mixture of play-acting, hope, and preservation.
Benji is determined to succeed.

Tell Me Who My Enemy Is — a four-act closet drama: The scene is an outdoor
café near a lake. It is early autumn in the 70s in Stockholm. Berry
(an Afro-West Indian) and Gun and Kerstin (two Swedish cronies) are socialising.
Sam, the Afro-American in time, barges in on the trio. The black men air
opposing views about life in Sweden. Berry becomes belligerent towards Sam:
suspects him to have something up his sleeve. Sam, on the other hand, is calm
and collected, though contemptuous. The girls are puzzled by the bickering
between the two men which escalates into verbal abusive.

My review

I just finished reading "Four Bittersweet Romances and A Four Act Closet
Drama" and I absolutely enjoyed it!

The book was written very detailed and the stories were all great! Although
they looked in the beginning different to each other they form a good whole.

Sometimes I had to laugh, other ways I really felt sad. 

Anyway it was a very good read and I would like to give a 5 star rating! 

The author

He was born in Guyana, immigrated to England in the early 60s.
Worked and studied in London, before taking up residence in Sweden,
in the early 70s.

In the early 70s, he wrote stories, a four-act closet drama,
a novella, and an unfinished (memoir) novel. He had then spent two years
nurturing the ambition to become an author of some repute.
But the going was tough, creating a feeling of insecurity for the future.

In time, he shelved the idea and got a job as a hospital porter.
He later did a BA (Eng. & Edu.). After a summer job at a psychiatric hospital,
he decided to do a 4-term course for mental-health carers, 

Following that he would complete the first of two stages of psychotherapy
education and several short courses in cognitive therapy. After retirement,
he did counseling work for several years.

Booktastes

I really want to thank Booktasters and the author as well for their free copy. It 
was a very good read! 

Bookreview: Kitty Counts Her Blessings

 A children's picture book about the joy of gratitude.

What a beautiful and colourful children's book

Summary

Children are experts at finding delight everywhere they look, even when
life gets a little dark. Kitty Counts Her Blessings celebrates that gift-and
shares a lesson in counting besides.

As the story begins, Kitty has no trouble counting her blessings, from the sun
on her nose to the zing of the bees. But when rain threatens to spoil her fun,
finding blessings isn't so easy. Then she remembers learning hide-and-seek,
and suddenly joys are around every corner-and before long, so is her boy,
ready to play and count along with her.

This cheerful, rhyming book invites children and the grownups who love them to
seek the blessings in their own world.

My review

When I started reading this beautiful and colourful children's book, I was thinking:
perhaps we all should count our blessings more often. So, it contains a lesson for
us all. I liked the way the book and the story was built and the pictures really
were amazing!

I would recommend this book to parents who like to read for their children. Together
with the amazing paintings, I give without any doubt a 5 star rating for this book!

Booktasters

I received a free copy of Kitty Counts Her Blessings via Booktasters. Thank you very
much!

The Book

Kitty Counts Her Blessings was published on 1 October 2021. It contains 36 pages. 

Source picture: Wikipedia

Bookreview: Green is good, Save Money, Make Money, and Help Your Community Profit from Clean Energy

compact but very interesting book  

Summary 

Renewable energy is good for your wallet. Those who see that opportunity
are already seizing it … all the way to the bank. Green Is Good is a no-nonsense
guide to how you, the average American, can easily incorporate clean energy
and energy efficiency into your daily life and in the process save money,
make money, and help wean your community off fossil fuels. Renewable
energy guru Brian F. Keane walks you through the cost-benefit trade-offs
that come with the exciting new technologies and introduces you to the
revolutionary clean-energy products on the horizon, making the ins and outs
of renewable energy easily accessible. He shows what you can do on every
level to seize the opportunity and profit from it. A renewable energy future
isn’t just good for the environment; it’s good for the economy, and
Green Is Good will show you how—before it’s too late.

My review

Green is good is a small book, but with a lots of interesting information.

It was clear that the author knew his stuff perfectly!

I enjoyed reading Green is good, due to the compact size of the book and
due to the suggestions of the author. It also has a beautiful book cover!

I will recommend this book to all who want to read about saving money

and helping your community profit from Clean Energy.

I give a 5 star rating to this compact and interesting book! 

The author

Brian F. Keane is president of SmartPower. He appears on White
House Chronicle and contributes regularly to the Huffington Post.
Twice named Connecticut's Environmental Hero by the People's
Action for Clean Energy, Keane speaks extensively with local and
national media about clean energy and energy efficiency. He lives
with his wife and their four children in Arlington, Virginia. 

Booktasters

I want to thank Booktasters and the author as well for providing me
a free copy. 

source picture: book cover

Bookreview: Two Old Fools in Spain Again

An amazing book!

Summary

When Victoria and Joe return to their Spanish mountain village, they are still
reeling from their year in the Middle East. Sighing with relief, they prepare
to settle down to a peaceful life with the familiar characters of the village.

But life refuses to stand still, even in tiny El Hoyo. Lola Ufarte’s behaviour
surprises nobody, but when a millionaire becomes a neighbour, the
village turns into a battleground.

Can Victoria and Joe help restore peace to the village?

My Review

Books about Spain always interest me very much, especially memoirs. 

This book certainly did not let me down! I enjoyed reading about Vicky
and Joe and about the events they have experienced in Spain. With 
some of them I was shocked others made me laugh.

I also enjoyed the recipes, Victoria Twead add to each chapter. The food
brought back nice memories to Spain. 

I really liked this amazing read and I want to recommend this book to 
all who loved to read fantastic travel memoirs.

Without no doubt, I want to give a 5 star rating to "Two Old Fools in Spain
Again".

The author

Victoria Twead is a New York Times bestselling author. In 2004 she
nagged poor, long-suffering Joe into leaving Britain and relocating to a
tiny, remote mountain village in Andalucía, where they became reluctant
chicken farmers and owned the most dangerous cockerel in Spain.

Village life inspired Victoria’s first book, Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools,
which was quickly followed by more in the Old Fools series, all of which fast
became Amazon bestsellers.

We Love Memoirs Group

I received a free copy via the We Love Memoirs Group, the most friendliest 
group on Facebook. Thank you so much for this amazing reading chance! 

Bookreview: Waxing Pathetic My Two Cents, For What They're Worth

 What a special book

Summary

"Waxing Pathetic" is a sardonic, often hilarious, raging stream of consciousness
from one mad American woman. From the pathetic to the political, the lunatic
to the poetic, Clark's memoir is a masterwork of dry wit and piercing observation.

From "Been Down This Road" where she relates her high school dating history, to
"This is Real...and Surreal" where she takes down some pathetic politics,
Clark merges real events with dream-state fiction that evokes deeper truths
hidden in memories.

Organized into five themes connected by the pathetic principle, she takes on the
personal, the economic, and the political, and finally asks noisy America to
begin to untangle.

"Waxing Pathetic" will leave you breathless as you are taken down
roads not taken by most American women.

My Review

First of all: What a special book! I never read such one as this. The author

takes the readers to a mix of thoughts and ideas. Besides that he tells an

amazing beautiful story. 

I liked the writing style very much but I got a bit confused. Yet this book

made me think.

I would recommend this book to all people who like to read quirky novels.

I give a 5 star rating for "Waxing Pathetic". 

The author

Ms. Merry Clark is an author, comedian, and photographer. She earned a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Michigan in 1989
and went on to independently produce and direct her own theater productions
in Ann Arbor and Boulder, Colorado. She then commenced an acting career
in Hollywood, appearing in theater productions as well as commercials.
She has been an ovarian cancer survivor for over 20 years, and is the
primary caregiver for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's
disease in 2013. She currently lives with her mother and her
cat in Michigan. "Waxing Pathetic" is her second book.

The book

Waxing Pathetic was published on 15 January 2021 by Bookbaby.

Booktasters

I want to give a special thank you for Booktasters for providing me a free
copy. It always are very special books! 

Bookreview: A Santa Fe Christmas

 A surprising book

Summary

Evie Hernandez gave up her dream job to help with Mama Irene’s,
the family business. Balancing her modernization plans while respecting
generations of traditions isn’t easy, especially with her nosy, loving family
offering unsolicited advice. That’s never more true than when she meets
Alex—Mr. Tall, Dark and Far Too Handsome. He makes her wonder if
she’s given up on her dreams too quickly, and soon she imagines a much
different future for herself.

Alejandro “Alex” Ortiz is in Santa Fe to do business with Mama Irene’s,
but when he meets the beautiful Evie, he realizes he’ll need a different approach.
Soon he’s playing bartender, serving up horchatas, and sampling tamales,
reminding him of his childhood and beloved Abuelita. Charmed by Evie and
her family, Alex drops his guard and lets himself enjoy Santa Fe’s Christmas
traditions. But he has a deadline to keep and a business to get back to—plus,
Evie will hate him when she learns why he’s really there.

Can the magic of a Santa Fe Christmas help these two find their way?

My Review

First I thought "A Santa Fe Christmas" only was a romantic/feelgood story.

Surprisingly I found the word recipe in the table of content. That made me
curious. It's a fantastic mix of a romantic and feel good story and a cookbook
as well. I liked it a lot!

I'm intrigued by the maels and I'm sure I'll try out some at home. I also liked
the Spanish words in the book very much. Muy bien!

I will recommend this book to people who like to read Christmas stories and
who want to collect recipes too. It's really a wonderful combination!

I give with lots of pleasure a 5 star rating for A Santa Fe Christmas. 

The author

Cecelia Guzman is the writing team of best-selling author Candace Havens
and her daughter-in-law, Crystal Havens, a recovering publishing executive
and mom of five. They live in Texas with their families and pets. They love
all-things holiday, reading, and when they aren’t writing, they can often be
found in the kitchen preparing huge meals. Oh, and they might share an
addiction for all things pink and shiny.

(info on the website of Tule publishing)

The Book

A Santa Fe Christmas is published on 8 November 2021 by Tule Publishing.

Pages: 176

Booktasters

Thank you very much Booktasters for providing me a free copy to read and
review this wonderful book! 

Bookreview: Life in the Financial Markets

An inside look in the Financial Markets

Summary

An accessible and thorough review of the international financial markets

Life in the Financial Markets—How They Really Work And Why They Matter
To You offers the financial services professional, and anyone interested in
knowing more about the profession, an entertaining and comprehensive
analysis of the financial markets and the financial services industry.
Written by Daniel Lacalle—a noted portfolio manager with EcoFin
and well-known media personality—the book goes beyond a simple
summary and offers solid advice on the future of the global financial
markets. This great resource also includes a review of effective
strategies and forecasts the trends that represent potential
opportunities for investors.

The book reviews the recent history of the financial crisis and includes
information on hot topics such as derivatives and high frequency trading.
An in-depth section on investment banking is written from the perspective
of a successful practitioner and provides clarity on several complex
and overly politicized elements of the banking system. The author gives
an expert's perspective on the debt markets, monetary policies, and
quantitative easing, and helps explain the various issues surrounding
sovereign debt, the Euro crisis, and austerity versus growth policies.
Comprehensive in scope, this resource also offers an analysis of
investment styles, from hedge funds to "long only" investments,
as well as an in-depth look at corporate communication and its impact
on markets and investments.

Offers an engaging and comprehensive analysis of the financial services
industry Includes information on the workings of the global financial
system following the economic crisis Contains a review of
complex banking systems Analyzes the various investment
styles and answers the most common questions pertaining to investing

My review

This book "The Life in the Financial Markets" is a kind of biography from
Daniel Lacalle. He takes the readers on the first row of the complexity
of the Financial Markets.

I enjoyed this 'inside' look. I will recommend this book to people who
like to know more about investing money. 

Because it's more a biography than learning everything about the system,
I want to give this book a 4 star rating on 5.

The author

Daniel Lacalle is a PhD in Economy and fund manager. He holds the CIIA
financial analyst title, with a post graduate degree in IESE and a master’s
degree in economic investigation (UCV).Member of the advisory board
of the Rafael del Pino foundation.

Ranked Top 20 most influential economist in the world 2016 (Richtopia).

Mr Lacalle has more than 24 years of experience in the energy and
finance sectors, including experience in North Africa, Latin America
and the Middle East.

Mr Lacalle is currently a fund manager overseeing equities, bonds
and commodities. He was voted Top 3 Generalist and Number 1
Pan-European Buyside Individual in Oil & Gas in Thomson Reuters’
Extel Survey in 2011, the leading survey among companies
and financial institutions.

More about the author: https://www.dlacalle.com/

Booktasters

I received a free copy from the author via Booktasters. 

Thank you very much!