Bookshelf

(Unionville, N.Y.: Royal Fireworks Press, 2017).
Teen scientists interested in learning about biology and exploring the design of scientific experiments meet the common ant — one of the easiest animals to acquire and use in a scientific setting. Part instruction book, part research notebook, Amazing Ants offers young explorers how-to tips for designing an experiment, collecting and analyzing data, and communicating results. The author is a professor emeritus at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and former chief of the biochemistry laboratory of the Michigan Cancer Foundation.

(ChangeStart Press, 2020)
As noted by the publisher, this book shines a light on an underreported issue — senior leadership’s neglect in preparing bosses to whom they delegate the task of managing the organization’s people. The author introduces readers to a menagerie of bad and ugly bosses, as well as exemplary ones who lead with concern and sensitivity — thoughtful and committed managers who have the wisdom to establish a clear mission, to provide feedback and guidance, and to build an integrated and effective team. D’Aprix is an author, consultant and former corporate communication executive with Xerox and General Electric. In each of his eight books, he has explored people’s connection with their work and the need to make workplaces more receptive to human talent and innovation, both for the individual’s and the organization’s benefit.

(NP: Rogue Phoenix Press, 2018).
This is the second book in the author’s Vena Goodwin murder mystery series. The publisher describes it as beginning with two discoveries — “a murdered woman found on the Arch of Constantine and the revelation of a John Keats’ poem written at the end of his life in Rome, Italy. Disclosure of the invaluable poem causes events leading to murders with bodies deposited at historical sites in Rome. The Vena Goodwin mystery is also an exploration of Keats’ concept of ‘negative capability,’ in which intuition and uncertainty are prized over absoluteness. The speculation refers to light and darkness in the plot, bringing in the European refugee crisis, the Keats’ poem, and why we seek out uncertainties, including mystery. Familiar characters from book one in the series are the protagonist Vena Goodwin and her Italian lover Elio Canestrini.”

(New York: HarperCollins, 2018).
Funny and interactive — what more could young detectives want? Especially when they get to pick which suspects to interview, which questions to ask, and which clues to follow. Middle-grade readers help Carlos and his friends crack the case by figuring out who’s sending the death threats, uncovering a lost treasure, and working to save the Las Pistas Detective Agency.

(Villanova, Pa.: Connelly Press, 2018).
This, the author’s fifth book, is a spell-binding tale set during the precarious days of the Soviet Union’s collapse. In recommending the thriller on Kirkus Reviews, one reader noted: “The double narrative action of the kidnapping and the grand geopolitical drama is compelling. The more these two plotlines intersect, the more intriguing the chaos that ensues.”

(New York: Day By Day Publishing, 2018).
Organized chronologically, this large display book features captivating images — one for each day (it was a leap year) — that take the reader through a year marked by such triumphs as the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon, to tragedies that included the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The author prepared the book to accompany a 50th-anniversary exhibit that was displayed at New York City’s Steven Kasher Gallery in January and February. Garfinkel selected the images from a range of press archives and private collections and wrote text that introduces each month. “I was particularly taken with how so many of the concerns which found expression then still resonate today,” he said.

(Bloomington, Ind.: LifeRich, 2018).
According to the publisher, “Sampling foods from around the world can be a pleasurable experience. Trying to recreate these dishes at home may sometimes prove to be challenging, but with the right ingredients and a little bit of imagination any cook can be successful. In this, her second cookbook, Holly Amidon presents recipes that stay true to their original preparations while at the same time display her unique sense of creativity in the kitchen. Holly’s passion for exploring distant places and innovative regional dining shine through in her vacation stories and travel tales.”

This book is a follow-up to the author’s first collection of recipes, “A Lifetime of Good Eats: The Foods I Love to Cook and Share.”

(Toronto, Canada: ECW Press, 2020)
From the promo flyer: “North Americans work 90,000 hours in their lifetime. Wouldn’t they enjoy working in a job they love, with a boss who energizes them? With advice for all types of companies, From Hire to Inspire is a road map to becoming a better boss — maybe even the best boss — and to helping your employees achieve their potential.” Lahey specializes in leadership development, talent acquisition, change management, and productivity improvement across a variety of industries. He is an executive coach and consultant to more than 500 of Canada’s “Best Managed Companies.”

(Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).
The author begins by stating: “If you serve on a nonprofit board, you probably hate doing the one thing upon which your cause depends: fundraising.” Jones aims to help change that. A certified fundraising executive, she has raised more than $175 million for nonprofits and helped thousands develop the comfort and willingness to successfully ask for the causes they care about. The book gives readers insight into their “asking personality,” illustrating how they can best thank, steward, research, cultivate, and ask; which of these five steps they favor; and how to master the skills they need to excel.

(Conneaut Lake, Pa.: Page Publishing, 2019)
This book includes tales from the author’s travels to Africa in his mid-20s on behalf of a Swiss-based multi-national fragrance company and is as much a coming-of-age-story as a travel memoir. He tells of encountering (and doing his best to cope with) situations, people, and challenges that he never imagined and learning lessons that he did not even know were there to learn. According to the book jacket, “Interwoven in the text is also much aviation lore with absorbing and extensive background information about some of the airlines and airplanes of the mid 20th century. The diverse and eventful episodes recounted in the book are both charming and informative, and 74 illustrations bring the witty and lighthearted text even more to life.”