Chew & Digest Books — "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested" ~Francis Bacon

The Irish Way by James R. Barrett

Have you ever read a blurb of a book, thought you knew what it was about and then read the book and realized that you were totally wrong? Somehow, when I read the blurb about The Irish Way, I thought I was going to learn about how my Irish ancestors grabbed hamburgers, started playing baseball, [...]

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A First-Rate Madness by Nassir Ghaemi

Nonfiction

Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness Ghaemi has a very controversial idea/premise here…. “This book argues that in at least one vitally important circumstance insanity produces good results and sanity is a problem. In times of crisis, we are better off being led by mentally ill leaders than by mentally normal ones.” Now, [...]

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Ten Tea Parties by Joseph Cummins

American History

Quick phrase association game- When I say Tea Party, what do you think of? Let me guess, you thought Boston and the beginning of the American Revolution. Right? You may have also thought of the current political craze/party as well, but forget that for this exercise. The Tea Party that rocked the world didn’t happen [...]

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The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss

Fiction

I once read a book that was over 17 feet long and yet, it only had 82 average size pages. The concept and packaging is what makes this one stand out. You always hear that there are two stories to every relationship, his and hers in this case. What you never come across is a [...]

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Taft 2012 by Jason Heller

Fiction

Taft 2012 by Jason Heller Can you allow yourself to totally suspend disbelief? Are you as tired of the Presidential Rat Race, I mean election, as I am? Let’s go back to that suspending disbelief question, can you really let yourself go? Do you enjoy alternative history or mash-ups? If you are still with [...]