Reviewed by Vernita Naylor for Readers' Favorite

With the hustle and bustle of life today, everyone is always looking for ways to get things done quickly. Did you know that being organized in anything from your job and career to your personal life can actually save you a lot of time, money and effort? In this awesome book, Top-To-Bottom Home Organizing by Professional Home Organizer Caralyn Kempner, you will learn everything to help you become organized. In this book you will discover that organization is a process. This process takes a lot of time to undo what you've been doing, so don't rush it. It also takes an intentional mind to begin the process in order to not only begin but to complete the tasks. “Mostly, people don’t know where to begin or how to approach organizing. This book helps to guide you through various organizational tasks by breaking down each task into manageable steps that can be spread out over time,” says Caralyn.

This book is for anyone, whether you are looking to organize your garage, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom or home office. You can begin at any section or chapter that is important to you because each is self contained and stands on its own. I enjoyed this book for so many reasons but a few essential things to help streamline the process that stood out were: Illustrations to help you to visualize the results; Top Organizational Tips; Best practices for home organizing; Simple instructions that anyone can follow without feeling overwhelmed; Organizational Challenges; Types of hangers, closet organizers, and shelving; Cosmetics Tips.

With a book of this magnitude, it displays the essence of your mind because if your mind is cluttered then your home becomes that as well. A clean mind creates an element of clarity, balance and peace. For me, if things are organized then I am able to locate things quickly, become efficient and avoid buying stuff that I already have but didn't know that I had. The book also gives the feeling as if Caralyn is there with you, walking you through the process and then leaving you with some systems on how to maintain all of the hard work that you have put into organizing your home. Even if you are downsizing or live in 500 square feet, this book is ideal for you. That's not all. Caralyn has dedicated other resources to keep you to stay up-to-date on the latest advice and other how-to's on home organization. If you want to see a change, improve and declutter your home. It's important to add this book to your library.

Reviewed by Kimberlee J Benart for Readers' Favorite

When I read Stop the Slip: Reducing Slips, Trips and Falls by Thom Disch, it wasn’t just as a book reviewer who might look at the format, the content, the clarity of the narrative, and the marketability of the book. I read it from two other perspectives: a retired senior manager of an organization with hundreds of employees engaged in heavily blue-collar work; and as the step mom of a small child. In the first case, I’ve read a few safety plans in my day and spent money on training and equipment to provide the safest workplace possible. In the second, I had to explain to a giggling eight-year-old that the funny videos on a popular television show that featured real people slipping, falling, tripping, and all manner of other potentially injurious or even deadly activities, wasn’t really something to laugh about. What about the people who didn’t submit videos because they weren’t chuckling over what happened to them?

Whether your interest is for the workplace, the public space, or your personal home and family, Stop the Slip: Reducing Slips, Trips and Falls by Thom Disch will inform and educate you. Disch covers the topic from soup to nuts in a compact but very detailed, understandable, and engaging narrative, complete with data, graphs, and charts. If you aren’t used to those, don’t let them scare you off. The statistics are sobering. Real life stories are sprinkled throughout, and for all that the topic is a serious one, Disch injects some humor now and then. Highly recommended. This is an extremely important topic for us all.

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

The Un-Prescription for Autism: A Natural Approach for a Calmer, Happier, and More Focused Child by Janet Lintala is a wonderful tool for parents, guardians, and teachers handling kids with autism, a book written by a professional in the field, and the founder of the Autism Health center. This book offers non-medical tools that can dramatically transform the lives of children with autism. In this book, readers will learn to understand the underlying conditions affecting the behavior of autistic kids, determine the best protocols to apply to them, and correct the disregarded health conditions with probiotics, digestive enzymes, anti-fungal, and other treatments. The explanations are so clear that they provide a wealth of knowledge to readers.

It is interesting to notice how the author weaves personal experience, the most recent research in the field, and her clinical expertise into this informative book to provide clear answers to readers with children who are autistic. Janet Lintala’s voice is both sympathetic and eloquent, charged with authority and confidence, and the reader has the clear feeling that they are dealing with an expert in the field, someone writing from their own intimate experience with autism. The language is accessible and it flows beautifully. Readers will enjoy the manifold examples that are provided, the convincing facts that corroborate the author’s insights and practical advice. The Un-Prescription for Autism: A Natural Approach for a Calmer, Happier, and More Focused Child is an invaluable tool to help readers successfully deal with autism in kids and the protocols and solutions offered tackle the underlying issues behind this condition painlessly.

Reviewed by Edith Wairimu for Readers' Favorite

The Joy of Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide to Healing From Addiction by Michael McGee is a book whose theme and well-delivered message could potentially guide anyone with an addiction to recovery. Dr. McGee provides a method that has been tried and tested by many other patients he has worked with. Many have been restored and reformed from their past lives through dedicated effort and will. In The Joy of Recovery, twelve (12) steps, which the author calls ‘touchstones of recovery’, are discussed. Interestingly, the author’s main message is that of love, the love of an addict for themselves and those around them. He urges the reader to cultivate self-respect and get inspired by the joy of recovery. His tone throughout the book is that of love and a deep understanding of what addicts go through. At some point, Dr. McGee states, “Not one of us wants to be alone, destitute, and solitary. We need one another to exist and to evolve. Alone, we stand no chance.”

I loved the unconventional approach that Michael McGee takes in The Joy of Recovery. He is not only focused on helping the addict recover from their addiction, he also takes them on a journey of self-love. He also appreciates that the hold an addiction has on the addict is not just physical and emotional; it goes deeper to their spiritual side. Another great aspect of the book is that it is written for all; those suffering from an addiction and those affected by it either through relatives or friends. He gives the addict’s guardians, friends or family tips on how to handle an addict. Michael McGee points out the mistakes people make in handling addicts and the tell-tale signs of identifying addiction. The Joy of Recovery also contains useful illustrations and quotes that helped me better understand the message being conveyed by Dr. McGee. Simply put, The Joy of Recovery is a masterpiece.

Reviewed by Edith Wairimu for Readers' Favorite

VUCA: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity, these four factors dictate the current business world’s form according to Carolyn Swora in Rules of Engagement: Building a Workplace Culture to Thrive in an Uncertain World. In this book, Swora discusses how people react to the changing scene in their jobs. In many cases, employees become more and more disengaged as pressure continues to mount. In such a case, Swora proposes looking at the four factors (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) as reminders of the situation we are in. She also looks into the concept of psychological contracts, how to succeed because of being mindful of employees’ needs, and she delves into the difference between output and productivity, and the importance of considering the culture of an organization. One important feature in the book that stood out for me was the importance of collaboration over competition. These, however, are just tidbits. The book contains much more.

Rules of Engagement by Carolyn Swora stands out from so many other books focused on the business world. In this book, there are many unique viewpoints proposed by the author. One particularly interesting discussion in Rules of Engagement is the use of the VUCA factors, not as a combined systematic model but as a nudge towards understanding our behavior and not becoming controlled by industrial factors. In this regard, Carolyn Swora also explains the importance of dealing with issues as they arise and not waiting for the storms to pass as they will be succeeded by other storms. Also, the importance of growing leaders and not just employees was another fascinating perspective. The practical examples were a great plus too. Ultimately, I got so many takeaways from reading Rules of Engagement. Any other reader interested in the topic will definitely learn from Carolyn Swora's expertise.

Reviewed by Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite

The Once and Future Queen: Guinevere in Arthurian Legend by Nicole Evelina explores the origins of one of literature's most legendary queens. Arthur's wife and queen of Camelot has seen several changes which are often interpreted as a result of the time period. Diving into the myths and literature, Evelina explores Guinevere in every connotation from adultery to witchcraft to her role as a feminist icon. The author is well-known for her own Guinevere trilogy, which explores her personal perspective on the queen and the hope to see more recreations of the character in the future. The Once and Future Queen gives an in-depth and well-researched look into the role Guinevere plays in the story of Arthur and Camelot, as well as her role as queen, a woman, and an individual. Nicole Evelina is clearly passionate about the topic and brings to light several aspects of the legendary queen's evolution over time. It's an intriguing concept to see such a notable character, mostly known for either her relationship with Arthur or her affair with Lancelot, as her own independent character.

Guinevere's original conception often had her as an one-sided character that was there to betray Arthur through her affair, and her tragic love story with Lancelot. Her personality has evolved through various facets, which include traits such as being selfish, docile, self-centered, and passionate. The examples are clearly laid out with Evelina providing equal time exploring each source material. Her character has been tinkered with over time, which often depended on whether the writer was a man or a woman. T.H. White painted her as a “bitter shrew” while readers found Lavinia Collins' portrayal of her in Guinevere: A Medieval Romance to be “selfish” and one that “ruined lives.” In older tales, Arthur is perceived as a “god-like” king so he wants Guinevere to be “perfect” and to embody what are referred to as Victorian ideals - qualities such as being pure, angelic, fertile, and supportive. Instead, the queen is often the opposite, painted as barren, brash, vain, and jealous. The Once and Future Queen fully explores Guinevere as her own person and is perfect for those readers that love Arthurian legend.

Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

If you've ever had thieves break into your home, toss your personal possessions helter-skelter and take off with your valuables, you know how invaded you feel, not to mention the subsequent financial costs you'll incur to replace what was stolen. That's how it feels to be hacked. It's what William Keiper calls a Cyber Crisis. And a crisis it is. Yet, despite all the warnings in the media, all the reports of big businesses, institutions and massive website hacks, like the one carried out on Yahoo, folks continue to believe it won't happen to them. Well, as the opening line of Cyber Crisis states: "Your personal information will be hacked if it hasn’t been already." Keiper is not saying "might be" or "may be." He says you WILL be hacked. And if, after you read this short, easy to read and utterly important expose of how and why you will be hacked, you still don't take measures suggested by Keiper to make sure you don't get hacked, well, it's like applying for house insurance after your house burns down!

One of the first things I did after reading this book was visit the link provided in the first chapter. This is a website "dedicated to informing victims of data breaches." I breathed a sigh of relief when I input my primary email address and found it hadn't been hacked...yet! But after entering several alternative emails I use, I found all had been compromised courtesy of a website on which I had used them and which had subsequently been hacked. Great. Just great. William Keiper delves, of course, into the dangers of posting everything no one really needs to know about us on social media sites like Facebook. Why don't folks think a bit before posting their pending vacation plans and times, or where they are currently enjoying a dinner or socializing with friends? Do they really believe only their friends know where to find them?Hackers access that kind of data every second of the day! One of the most informative sections of Cyber Crisis is Chapter 8, "The Hidden Web." You may have heard of it. But if you haven't, you'll want to read that chapter as you'll learn where so much of our very personal information is stored. Sadly, hackers can access that as surely as government and other agencies can.

You may come away from Cyber Crisis rather scared. So you should be. But the book doesn't leave you with no response to the question: "What should I do now to protect myself?" In Chapter 10, William Keiper provides tons of links for further reading and research, along with the often repeated simpler advice about changing passwords frequently, using virus and malware protection, and taking advantage of privacy controls offered by social media sites. If you spend a good deal of your day on your smartphone, tablet or computers and haven't read Cyber Crisis yet, make the next site you visit one where you can purchase this very important book and read it before you begin any other online activities. As William Keiper asserted above in no uncertain terms: "Your personal information will be hacked if it hasn’t been already." Believe it! An excellent, important book. I knew much of it, but learned a whole lot more.

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Spirituality 103 The Forgiveness Code: Finding The Light in Our Shadows by Ivan Figueroa-Otero is a spiritual masterpiece, a self-help book that will help readers to descend to the very core, to the center, and beginning of their being. When I picked this book up, I felt that I would be reading some tips on how to bring ourselves to forgive people who have hurt us in life, but the core of the book is something else. It is about forgiveness, but forgiveness as an essential element in the spiritual journey that restores, heals, and situates us on the right path towards the mission of our life. In language that is very powerful, lyrical, and suffused with symbolism, the author offers compelling and insightful advice on self-discovery and the path towards compassion and reconciliation with ourselves.

There are very beautiful passages in this book and some undeniable facts. I read this book twice and went back to underline some key passages. One of the expressions that hit home was: “Living, if we go about it with selfishness and lack of awareness of our interdependence with the universal laws and other people, turns into a nightmare of suffering, with brief moments of happiness.” But we can change that and re-invent our happiness by walking the path of forgiveness, by understanding how our emotions hurt ourselves. In fact, most of the suffering people experience does not come from outside. It comes from within, when their mind mirrors the hurts and pain they have suffered. But they can set themselves free by choosing to bathe in the light of forgiveness. After reading this book, you’ll never look at yourself in the same way and the world, including those around you, will have a new significance in your life. Spirituality 103 The Forgiveness Code: Finding The Light in Our Shadows was the perfect gift I needed.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Leadership Hack: Leading the Millennial Tribe is a non-fiction business, human resources and personnel management book written by Bruce Langevin. Langevin has been in the workforce for twenty-five years, and fifteen of them have been in senior management positions. His focus is on the majority of persons in today's workforce, namely the millennials, who are described as people who were born between the years 1981-2000. They're a different breed of worker than those found in previous generations. He discusses how attitudes towards work, life, authority and the so-called work/life balance have changed over the years, starting with the GI Generation, born between 1901-1926; the Silent Generation, born between 1927-1945; the Baby Boomers, born between 1946-1964; and the Millennials' closest predecessor, Generation X, born 1965-1980. Each generation is informed by its own culture and that of its predecessors. The Millennials are also directly affected by the digital revolution. Their focus is on passion and the direct integration of work and life, rather than a balance of the two. They seek involvement on all levels, honesty and openness on the part of their supervisors, and a feeling that their work has value and meaning, that it will make a difference for the world. Langevin introduces the reader to a variety of methods for adjusting one's management style to work most efficiently with millennials. He concludes each chapter with a summation of main points entitled: Leadership Hack -- Our Call-to-Action. He also includes an extensive set of End Notes with links where available.

Bruce Langevin's non-fiction business/finance book, Leadership Hack: Leading the Millennial Tribe, is a thought-provoking look at the largest segment of today's workforce. All-too-often millennials are classified according to general stereotypes, such as the often incorrect view that they are unable/unwilling to stay at one job for very long. Langevin counters many of these misconceptions, and he goes a long way towards demystifying the mindsets of this dynamic and passionate generation. As a former manager of a team of young, highly educated workers, I was fascinated by the author's sociological approach to human resources and often found myself wishing I had had access to this text at the time. While he affirmed the value of many of my practices, he also came up with a number of other concepts that would have been of inestimable value for me as a leader/mentor for my staff. Leadership Hack is well-written, and Langevin's conversational style makes it easy to get involved with, and enthusiastic about, his subject. Leadership Hack: Leading the Millennial Tribe is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Joel R. Dennstedt for Readers' Favorite

At the risk of sounding corny and unprofessional: there’s gold in them thar hills! The hills being Rachel Thompson’s superb and timely social-media marketing guidebook, BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge, addressed specifically to the needs of authors whom she assumes are already producing a superior product. To immediately mix metaphors, Ms. Thompson’s book is so meaty right from the start, one is likely to overstuff oneself with informative protein. Pulling back into a literary stance: this highly practical, highly informative, highly knowledgeable book is so accessible to the reader and the novice author/marketeer, and so practical and do-able in its challenge, it should easily become the contemporary Bible for any indie writer or professional do-it-yourselfer.

In BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge, a how-to book of the highest caliber, Rachel Thompson proceeds to give clear, concise, easy-to-accomplish daily assignments for quickly establishing an increasingly brilliant, personally-branded presence (yes, authors need to brand themselves) within the infinitely expansive virtual but real world of the Internet, specifically through social media. From the hidden worth of Twitter to the creativity of YouTube, and everything in between, Ms. Thompson effortlessly turns a perceived behemoth of intimidation into a comfortable but dynamic marketing routine. She has done all the backbreaking work necessary to excavate this lucrative mine (back to my original outburst); now you simply have to pan quietly for the gold. But I guarantee you this: the gold is there. Rachel Thompson keeps the promise she makes boldly in her subtitle: How to Energize Your Book Sales in a Month! She might easily have added: While All the Time Having Loads of Fun!