The Map of Meaningful Work: A Practical Guide to Sustaining Our Humanity
Lani Morris and Marjolein Lips-Wiersma
Book
This book introduces a "Map of Meaning" called the Holistic Development Model, which provides a...

The Breaking of the Shell
Book
The Breaking of the Shell weaves the teaching of ancient wisdoms into a modern context in classic...

Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore in Books
May 10, 2018
This was a very explicit novel by Walter Mosley. Every word imaginable to describe the male and female genitalia was used. This did not bother me at all, but I wanted to let others who may be offended by that type of language. This was a very real look into the porn industry for me. Sure I have seen some porn in my life, not an avid watcher at all, but it's interesting to know a back story. Debbie grew up as Sandra Peal in California. She met Theon Pinckney, her husband, when she was just a girl, and he changed her world forever. When Deb comes home from a most unusual movie shoot, she finds police and paramedics at her home. Her husband had been found dead in their bathtub, with another woman, or girl is more appropriate. This doesn't upset Debbie as you would think, she was used to this kind of behavior from her husband, especially being in the industry that they were in. The death of her husband also, to Debbie, meant the death of her career. She changed her whole look so that she was no longer recognizable on the streets or even to some of her "friends". She went back to using her real name instead of the stage name of Debbie Dare.
This book was quite entertaining. I found myself looking over my shoulder whenever the explicit words were announced to see if anyone around me was listening out. This book gives you a different look at porn stars and the life they lead. I recommend this book for anyone who is not easily upset by pornographic language.

Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated No One Ever Asked in Books
Feb 27, 2019
Mrs. Ganshert takes every day questions, and every day situations and puts them into a novel that will consume you. Each of these characters jumped off the pages and told their stories to me like they were sitting right beside me on the couch. Each of them made me want to wrap my arms around them and hold on for dear life, telling them all would be okay and that the world isn't all bad.
This book brings to point so many things that today's society is dealing with. So many. Just as the book describes, we as humans have to have a label for everything. If there's not a label for it, we don't know how to exist. No one ever asks the real questions. We just slap a label and run. Mrs. Ganshert takes her readers on a deep journey showing us the outcome that can arise if we would just stop that, and live life for God, and for us. Life doesn't have to be so complicated.
If you are reading this review, then heade my words. Go preorder this book NOW. Don't wait. You will want to read this book and devour it in one sitting the way I did. This book is one of the best I have ever read, and I can't sing it's praises loud enough. Beautifully done, Mrs. Ganshert, and I absolutely can not wait for another thought provoking, jaw dropping, heart wrenching read from your talented hands!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging For Books and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*

The Cactus
Book
Susan Green doesn't like surprises - she likes to be in control. But at 45 her perfect life starts...
Fiction

Merissa (12919 KP) rated Matched By My Rival (Thrust Into Love #2) in Books
Jul 8, 2021 (Updated Jul 17, 2023)
Bless him, he's had a rough go of it. Everything he ever wanted in life, thrown away in one fit of temper. He's certainly paid for it. And Parker, the one to fill Simon's shoes, the one in the middle of all the kerfuffle, the one who doesn't want to play but is weighed down by expectations. Oh, these two.
I honestly thought nothing could beat Cooper and Trace. I mean, come on, those guys were perfect!!! But... so are Simon and Parker. I LOVED how they were two different people - the real-life versions, plus the online ones. I thought it was so well-written as it played out, and I adored how they slowly came together in real life too.
This is certainly steamy and I loved every word. It changes from aggression-filled lust to something WAY more than that. And it works. It really does! Simon and Parker brought condensation to my Kindle screen and I couldn't get enough of their story.
This is the second in the series, but you don't have to have read book one. Of course, I'm recommending you do because that was a 5-star read for me too, and Cooper and Trace are magnificent! So, yeah, you could read it as a standalone, but the question is, why would you want to?
A superb addition to the series and another jewel in the crown of D.J. Jamison. Absolutely and utterly recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 8, 2021

Once Upon a Wardrobe
Book
Now available in trade paper with an eye-catching new cover from the bestselling author of Becoming...

Ross (3284 KP) rated Awaken Online: Catharsis in Books
Jan 4, 2019
Jason has always been fairly downtrodden in his high-achieving school and is neglected by his parents. One day, Falling Down-style, events transpire to make him snap and shout at his teacher and headmaster, and is expelled. He rushed home and immerses himself in the brand new online world of AO (Awaken Online).
As with Euphora Online (Phil Tucker), AO has been designed with the help of AI to try and maximise the time gamers would want to spend in the game. We are treated to flashbacks by the developers/testers who are seeing the changes the AI is making to the game's code and are trying to assess whether it remains safe for release.
Jason starts the game from scratch but due to an unusual reaction to an initial test is aligned to evil, and is therefore treated with suspicion by the in-game characters meant to help him train and become familiar with his new surroundings. This begins the chain of events that lead Jason to the path of in-game evil, in true Walter White style as one slightly dubious decision after another sees him become embroiled in some very nasty events.
Over the course of the game, Jason is honest with himself and knows what he's doing is bad but hey its just a game, why not have some fun with it. And he does. As his power grows, so does the nastiness of his actions and he soon becomes very powerful in certain ways (but thankfully more strategically and directing the action than suddenly becoming a battle master or he-man).
The world around Jason develops as he does, and his actions truly start to shape his game experience, and that of other people. I can't really go into much more detail without dropping spoilers but there are some absolutely fantastic sequences.
The game supposedly uses time compression so that an hour in the real world will feel like 3 or 4 hours in the game. My one gripe with the book is that when the game developers notice Jason's unprecedented progress through the game they begin to watch his actions and this seems to be real-time - there is no real attempt to explain how they can watch it as it unfolds (or the fact that what they are seeing will have happened quite some time before and events will have continued from there).
This book has more interaction between Jason's real life and in-game life than Euphoria Online did, which helps to explain his motivation for decisions. His real life troubles and requirements drive his desires in-game.
As usual, there is the evil AI/conspiracy aspect to the world, but this doesn't yet feel quite as big a deal as in other books, but I think that is the groundwork laid for the next two books (plus two side-quests).
I heartily recommend this book, but readers should not expect something like Ready Player one, much more like D&D or The Witcher style gaming.

Real-Deal Brides Podcast
Podcast
Wedding planning is fun, but brides and grooms need to know the "real-deal" in order to help them...
