Books
Symbols on the US Dollar : Michael Rizzotti
What They Reveal About How the US Dollar Became the Reserve Currency of the World
The US dollar has come a long way since its introduction in 1792. Over time, it evolved into the world’s reserve currency, holding the highest level of confidence and liquidity, and surpassing all other currencies in circulation.
In times of geopolitical turmoil and a lack of trust in other monetary systems, the US dollar becomes the currency of choice of foreigners and foreign institutions that convert and park their money in US dollars.
When we handle these Federal Reserve Notes, we overlook the symbols that adorn them. They hold some answers to why the US dollar attained its dominant status and is the most recognized currency in the world.
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Once Upon a Time With Grandpa (A Charle Hobbs Adventure) : James L. Rickard
The Forrest Gump of the West is at it again! Can John Wayne, Wyatt Earp, and Butch Cassidy be in the same story? In another semi-true adventure, Charlie Hobbs, the protagonist of Grandpa Wore a Six-Gun, leaps off the page in a continuation of the saga in the action-packed Once Upon a Time With Grandpa!
Working as a journalist with his pal Jobie, Charlie travels west to investigate the legend of Butch Cassidy and to determine, once and for all, what really happened in South America. Along the way, they meet up with John Wayne and Wyatt Earp as well as other characters from the Old West and Hollywood as well. As this cross-country tale unfolds, Charlie and Jobie part company when Charlie is sucked back into a life of crime.
For the soap opera fans, after attempting a robbery, Charlie is forced to make his way back across 1927 America while grappling with the feelings he has for his female companion as well as a neighbor back in Ohio. To make matters worse, his traveling companion is the wife of an outlaw who has been helping him hide from the law! Worse yet, while on the lam, Charlie comes face to face with an intimate acquaintance from his past while traveling from Seattle, Washington back to Ohio.
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Jam Sessions: Sometimes in Middle School, the best you can do is survive : Jerry Harwood
Meet Phillip. His mom relocates him to a new school in the middle of the school year. Things do not go well.
Phillip lands himself a trip to the dean of student’s office when he tries to forge his mother’s signature. Maybe if he spelled her name correctly it would have gone better.
Phillip also finds himself having more and more anxiety. And the song some bullies are singing is certainly not helping: “Phillip Willip, Puddin and Pie. Got a bad grade and made him cry.”
There is one class Phillip has that is going well. It is with Mr. Filter, who starts each day with a writing prompt. These “jam sessions” allow students to be creative and enjoy writing. Phillip writes about being a basketball on a soccer field. Another day he writes about receiving two dragon eggs in the mail, one for himself and one for a particularly cute girl.
But will Phillip ever be able to make his real life go as well as his Jam Sessions?
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Pillar of Salt : Tetchjan Webb Simpson
A collection of stories, commentary and prose written in a style that resonates and sweeps the reader into experiences that are raw and revealing.
It serves as a conversation starter with young adults and those who feel too isolated to seek the comfort of others.
It is a tool for self-reflection, healing and forgiveness.
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Hallelujah Canyon : Richard Lightbody
Expect the unexpected. If you are seeking religious enlightenment, read something else – Hallelujah is more an expression than the route to salvation, although you could argue the whole story is about redemption. That’s not a spoiler. It points to a black comedy with huge shafts of light.
For many of those featured in the book, life is black. They are blind, not bleak. It’s a crime story of sorts, with a romantic subplot, it is travel and sub-sequential trivia. If it were a movie it would be The Truman Show, meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with elements of Some Like It Hot and The Marx Brothers.
Super author Bill Bryson was kind enough to read it. A confession, his thoughtful endorsement and encouragement is that of a friend, but Bill’s a literary genius and doesn’t use words without meaning them. You’d do so much better to buy one of his books, but he’s promised his family a sabbatical.
Circumstantially we might not get the opportunity to travel freely for a while, Hallelujah Canyon was a prolonged writing exercise, but strangely it might be a pointer to what future vacations might contain. Here you can go on an international journey like no other. The characters drawn from life, are disguised. It is a work of fiction, built on facts and experiences.
Today’s world is a complex compilation of cultures. This is a tale about a group of Americans, written by a Brit, from an island nation excluded again from Europe, proudly holding an Irish passport, driving a Japanese car made in England, married to a Dane driving a Korean car designed in Germany, addicted to Indian food, and revealing parts of an old and much-trampled continent like you never imagined, without getting there – confused, excellent, please read on.
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The Feeling of Being Loved : Raviraj Mishra
Shruti, a software engineer has a wish to be truly loved by someone. In her journey, she has two companions – Meera and her talking rational mind. Her idea of love and respect guides her to take some strong decisions.
The Feeling of Being Loved is the story of those rational decisions taken by a distracted mind to make things alright.
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Pleasures of Promise Lake : Marti Shane
Sam’s escape to Promise Lake is to grieve and regroup before taking on her partnership at Atlanta’s top staffing firm. Instead, she finds herself fighting consciousness in her sinking car when the bridge gave way. Waking up to Jake, her firm’s newly signed client, and her ex’s best friend, gives the word “regroup” a whole new meaning.
Jake, on break after his third Major League season, needs to set the record straight with Sam. The stripped-down version he pulls from a terrifying crash is even sexier than the shark in stilettos he knows her as. A cramped cabin, deserted lake and undeniable attraction unleashes their darkest, carnal desires. Falling deeper than he knew he could, he needs to tell her the truth her ex never did.
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Blessed Assurance : Tony Earnshaw
‘A gripping, character-led story. A Red Ribbon Winner and highly recommended.’ – The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Four friends. Two marriages. One underlying struggle. The conflict between principles and behaviour.
Tom, Pete, Anne and Liza share their stories and we see the influence of family and place as they move from Yorkshire and Sussex, via the suburbs, to the North Downs.
Tom and Pete share a faith and a calling but have very different takes on what that means, leading to misunderstanding and conflict. And their relationships with Anne and Liza are not always straightforward.
Puzzled by the importance of faith to the men, Anne and Liza find different ways of dealing with it, and with the expectations this places on them. And Pete? Pete remains sure, unswerving, immovable. So when Tom reaches a crossroads, who does he talk to? The son of local gentry and formerly head of his own investment company, Jonny Nower is also at a crossroads. Can the two men help each other? And can the four friends weather the storms of doubt and betrayal and emerge unscathed?
This moving exploration of the lives and loves of four engaging characters wrestles with the important question of whether there is a role for faith in today’s society – and if not, what will replace it?
Written by poet, librettist and award-winning scriptwriter Tony Earnshaw, Blessed Assurance has picked up a number of 5-star reviews with comments such as ‘a laugh out loud, life-affirming book’.
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Dominique’s Confession: A Roaring Twenties Dark Romance : Christopher of Detroit
How far will Dominique go to keep her secrets?
The Roaring Twenties. Prohibition. The Motor City.
Dominique, an alluring taxi dancer at a speakeasy, has something she’s never told a soul. Her only chance at redemption rests in Jonathan “Gamble” Blackburn, a rich occultist whose interest in ceremonial magic piques her curiosity. What begins as a wager becomes an obsession as Dominique finds herself torn between the real world and Gamble’s realm of disturbing seances, tarot readings, and prophetic nightmares.
A historical tale of passion in a world of spiritualism, underground absinthe, and tempting mysteries that may shatter Dominique’s heart forever.
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A Change of Plans : Sharon Y. Edlin
“I’m from Ala-freakin-bama!”
Meet Liz, Southern-born, Southern raised, and Southern educated as she heads out West on an Occupational Therapy internship finding herself in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Having just suffered a terrible relationship and a miscarriage, Liz wants to avoid the center of attention as much as possible, but her spirited Southern nature will prevent that from happening as she finds herself in a love triangle.
The big twist comes when a piece of her history decides to come back to haunt her, nearly taking her life and the life of Ben, a man she is reluctantly falling for.
Liz can count on only one thing, her plans changing on her once again.
Liz’s adventures into the West are not only filled with generous amounts of humor and a great deal of laughter but have twists and turns that will greatly surprise the reader.
The Dragonfly Approach of Pediatric Occupational Therapy by Sharon Y. Mandeville-Edlin is also on Whizbuzz Books.
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