This weeks book review is Soul in the Storm: ​Stress Management through Mindfulness and Inner Transformation by author Nancy Wagaman. Soul in the Storm is a powerful read that not only encompasses our way as humans to find peace and inner harmony through mindfulness, but also provides insight and specific step-by-step processes to transform our inner obstacles relating to stress into powerful, transformative beliefs that the reader can refer to time and again.  This is not just a read once and forget book.  The techniques offered throughout each chapter in the book help remind us that as human beings, we are designed for peace and internal obstacles blocking our soul from the peace and harmony we desire.  This book is both practical and inspiring, and is a must-read for anyone who is experiencing stress from the current climate of our country.

Pre-Order Short Literature Pro Market 2019 by TC Michael Today!  Pre-order is available through 2/16.  Short Literature Pro Market 2019 is the follow-up resource to TC Michael's must have writer's resource Short Story Pro Market 2017.  If you are an aspiring writer yet to be published or a writer who is looking to sell and publish your short story or freelance article, my advice is to pre-order the book today. 

This weeks book review is  The Urban Manners Manifesto  by authors Morgen LaCivita & Margaret McClure.  If I only had one word to write about this book it would be hilarious.  The authors comedic style of writer will make this short book (less than 20k words) fly by and will definitely leave you wanting more.  I'm looking forward to volume two of The Urban Manners Manifesto. 

This weeks book review is Amazing Heights: How Short Guys Stand Tall by Seth Ulinski.  Before I delve into the actual review for this book, I want to say one of my favorite parts of reviewing books is reading about topics that I have never considered.  I enjoy not only expanding my knowledge base but I love reading about topics that aren't mainstream.  That being said, Ulinski's book, Amazing Heights, was one of those reads that made me think about a topic that I, as a female, would have never considered an issue for males. 

This weeks book review is The Curious Dreamer's Dream Dictionary by Nancy Wagaman.  In this book, the author provides a very easy to follow alphabetical list of dream symbols that allows you to look up what happened in your dream and interpret the meaning of those experiences through the use of dream symbols.  In addition, the book provides over 1000 dream symbols that allow the reader to interpret both major and minor symbols within their dream. 

This weeks book review is The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.  Prior to reading the book, I was aware it would reference the Black Lives Matter movement but unaware of anything further regarding the book.  From the beginning, I felt out of my element.  The Hate U Give was unlike any book I have read before and for that I am grateful.  Throughout the book, I experienced a culture much different than my own.  I experienced, through the power of reading, a world that, if not for this book, I would have never visited.  We become numb as a society to the media exploitation of men of color being shot and killed, whether by a police office or any other individual.  The media sensationalizes these deaths and reports on what we want, or need to hear.  We hear that the police officer was protecting himself or that the victim was a drug dealer and his death doesn't matter.  But every senseless death has a story.

This week's book review, Break Into Journalism: Contact Building Tools and Tactics, written by Johannes Koch is an excellent guide to those aspiring to break into the business of journalism.  Koch has written a thorough, quick read with specific strategies to help build and maintain contacts in the industry. 

I will preface this review of Acne: Just Another Four Letter Word by saying I have never dealt with severe acne, whether as an adolescent nor adult.  That being said, I was initially skeptical of the approach presented by the author.  Can we really change our mindset and in turn, free ourselves of the excruciating and  psychological tortures brought about by acne?  Without much knowledge on the topic, I assumed treatment for Acne was purely medicinal.  Take a pill, wash your face, and wait for the acne to go away.  However, I wanted to approach Dr. Patel's book with an open mind, ridding myself of my preconceived notions of acne treatment. 

Don Lubov's book, An End to Stress aims to provide benefit to all readers. Would you like to reduce the stress in your life? I feel fairly confident in guessing that most will answer a resounding YES to this question. The book follows a Six-Step Path that has been around for some time. The path is one that guides readers to accept life as it is, rather than wishing for something else. The basic principle is to live in the here in now, rather than letting your brain take you to the past or the future. Dwelling on the past, or guessing about the future both take you away from the present moment and when we neglect (or forget) to live in the present moment, life passes us by without our knowing. It passes us by without our ability to enjoy it or embrace it. How can we find gratitude in our lives without ever being in the here and now?