Book Reviews
Nefertiti’s Tomb: Prose Poems for the Restless Seeker
Alicia Cahalane Lewis
(Reviewed: September, 2026)
Alicia Cahalane Lewis’s wholly arresting hybrid project, Nefertiti’s Tomb is an intriguing and ambitious exploration of history, philosophy, myth, and prose poetry.
The work is arranged in nine sections, with each poem (some untitled) centered on the page surrounded by significant white space. This visual suggests more is unknown/unsaid about these subjects than is known […]
The Investing Machine
Guy M. Girardi
(Reviewed: September, 2026)
Guy M. Girardi shares the step by step how-to of his investing system and techniques in the information-packed guide The Investing Machine.
The book is a manual for investors who favor an active approach rather than a buy-and-and-hold strategy. It begins with the origins of Girardi’s system, which was inspired after he suffered large stock […]
Proven in Blood: A Novel of War, Betrayal and Belonging
Top Shot Chris Cheng
(Reviewed: September, 2026)
Proven in Blood is an action-packed historical novel about a WWII military unit made up entirely of Japanese Americans and Hawaiians.
The story follows Daniel Tanaka, a student at UC Berkeley and baseball star in 1941 who is sent, along with his family, to an internment camp after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. After months […]
A Wave of Breath
Tess Collins
(Reviewed: September, 2026)
Instantly immersive, Tess Collins’ A Wave of Breath hurls readers into a terrifying vision of the near future where resilience is the currency of life and death.
Following a disastrous Water Event that has left the city parched and plummeting into gangland anarchy, San Francisco is a haunted, hungry shell of itself. Brooklyn Tremain, once […]
Rita’s Wait
Rina Pita
(Reviewed: September, 2026)
This poignant and absorbing novel by Canadian-based visual artist Rina Pita imagines the life and love affair of her deceased, beloved aunt.
The book’s events span the years 1918 to 1920 in the town of Antofagasta, Chile, examining the way the lives of protagonist Rita and her family are touched by political and social unrest, […]
Fledgling’s Runway to Calm: A Student’s Flight Guide
Carlie Sturtz and Kellye Slaggert, M.A./LCMHC, illustrated by Lisa Albinus
(Reviewed: September, 2026)
In this book, a young boy named Fledgling is guided by his family and teacher to help him recognize when he’s feeling anxious and overwhelmed and learn to regulate his emotions.
Using an analogy of flying a plane, with an adult “flight instructor” helping a child have a “smooth flight,” the authors use a five-propeller […]
An Unfair Advantage: Business Funding System
John Garry
(Reviewed: September, 2026)
Author John Garry’s An Unfair Advantage provides strategies and tactics for entrepreneurs to build credit as fast and reliably as possible.
Entrepreneurs and business owners seeking to expand their operations need capital. That usually means bank loans and lines of credit. But the sub-prime mortgage meltdown of 2007 drove lenders to replace personal relationships of […]
Don’t Put the Martinis in the Steam Iron: A Memoir
Susan K. Darby
(Reviewed: September, 2026)
This midcentury memoir of a young woman’s adventures in San Francisco reads like a West Coast Breakfast at Tiffany’s, told in a conversational style. Frequently laugh-out-loud funny, it offers a nostalgic look at the City by the Bay during one of its heydays.
Susan K. Darby graduates college with few ambitions beyond falling in love, […]
When People Throw Wrenches: Navigating the Emotions, Politics, and Power Plays of High-Stakes Change
Phil Buckley
(Reviewed: September, 2026)
Change strategist Phil Buckley’s valuable third book helps readers respond to colleagues who are struggling through periods of organizational change and letting those struggles affect their behavior.
When change initiatives launch, first responses tend to be positive, Buckley writes. But as the new reality sinks in, staff realizes that “transformation is a full-time job in […]
Night Stream
Vic Amato
(Reviewed: September, 2026)
Author Vic Amato offers a short story collection that contemplates life’s unexpected changes, challenges, and upsets.
These 17 stories feature mostly male protagonists who are navigating uncertainty. For example, in “Wade Out,” two mental health caseworkers disagree about the death of an emotionally troubled young man with a history of drug abuse, jail, and institutionalization: […]










