Books That Deserve To Be Read
There are more than half a million books published each year in the US alone. Not all of them make the best seller lists. We are on a quest to find the books that deserve to be in the best seller list.
Logo Modernism
Brand new: An unprecedented catalog of modern trademarks
Modernist aesthetics in architecture, art, and product design are familiar to many. In soaring glass structures or minimalist canvases, we recognize a time of vast technological advance which affirmed the power of human beings to reshape their environment and to break, radically, from the conventions or constraints of the past. Less well-known, but no less fascinating, is the distillation of modernism in graphic design.
This unprecedented TASCHEN publication, authored by Jens Müller, brings together approximately 6,000 trademarks, focused on the period 1940–1980, to examine how modernist attitudes and imperatives gave birth to corporate identity. Ranging from media outfits to retail giants, airlines to art galleries, the sweeping survey is organized into three design-orientated chapters: Geometric, Effect, and Typographic. Each chapter is then sub-divided into form and style led sections such as alphabet, overlay, dots and squares.
Alongside the comprehensive catalog, the book features an introduction from Jens Müller on the history of logos, and an essay by R. Roger Remington on modernism and graphic design. Eight designer profiles and eight instructive case studies are also included, with a detailed look at the life and work of such luminaries as Paul Rand, Yusaku Kamekura, and Anton Stankowski, and at such significant projects as Fiat, The Daiei Inc., and the Mexico Olympic Games of 1968. An unrivaled resource for graphic designers, advertisers, and branding specialists, Logo Modernism is equally fascinating to anyone interested in social, cultural, and corporate history, and in the sheer persuasive power of image and form.
Logo: The Reference Guide to Symbols and Logotypes (Corporate Identity Book, Branding Reference for Designers and Design Students)
The next time you are tempted to design a logo, take a look at this book. Chances are, it has already been done. By raising the bar, this wonderful resource will make better designers of all of us.” Michael Bierut of Pentagram Design
The logo bible, this book provides graphic designers with an indispensable reference source for contemporary logo design. More than 1300 logos are grouped according to their focal form, symbol and graphic associations into 75 categories such as crosses, stars, crowns, animals, people, handwritten, illustrative type, etc. To emphasize the visual form of the logos, they are shown predominantly in black and white. Highlight logos are shown in colour.
By sorting a vast, international array of current logotypes – ranging from those of small, design-led businesses to global brands – in this way, the book offers design consultancies a ready resource to draw upon in the research phase of identity projects. Logos are also indexed alphabetically by name of company/designer and by industrial sector, making it easy to piece together a picture of the state of the identity art in any client’s marketplace.
The Beast Must Die
“I am going to kill a man. I don’t know his name, I don’t know where he lives, I have no idea what he looks like. But I am going to find him and kill him…”When the victim of his murder plot turns up dead, Frank Cairns should be satisfied. The problem is, Frank didn’t kill him.Celebrated crime author Frank Cairns knows how to get away with murder. He’s had the experience constructing the perfect crime in his novels. Now, he intends to use his skills to get his own real-life revenge.Frank plans to murder the driver who killed his young son in a hit-and-run, but when his intended victim is found dead, Cairns becomes the prime suspect. Advocating his innocence, an old friend of Cairns calls in private detective Nigel Strangeways to help prove Cairns has been framed.Detective Strangeways must unravel a fiendishly plotted mystery if he is to discover what really happened to George Rattery.
Pivot Move
At 14, Boyd’s life goes the way of his hair–down the drain. His dad leaves and his curly brown mop follows. Now he wants out too.
Things seem to improve when he joins the Blazers. A fan of Superman as a kid, he develops an unusual interest in the inspirational sayings of Friedrich Nietzsche and his new coach almost seems to represent them.
Boyd works hard to win over his coach and teammates, but his misguided attempts alienate more than they impress.
Maybe he’d be better off running away like his dad–or can he find another way to pivot?
Asleep (Drifting) Book One
Asleep (Drifting) Book One opens with the question, what is drifting? Most of us drift through life without any thought. Drifting is being carried along by the force of circumstances. From the cradle to the grave—we’ve been told what to think, do, and believe. It answers the question—why do we feel so lost?
My story addresses the significant challenges of my early life, with friends that I still have to this day—as I recount the unbelievable real-life stories of that childhood, teenaged, young adult times, and the tragedies therein. As well as the traumatic childhood experiences—the excessive drinking, drug use I struggled through, terrible decision making––the overall sense of sorrow, and the redemptive qualities of hope!
I was born poor in a small town of Espanola, New Mexico, to an abusive mother—I have three siblings, which came from different fathers. At the age of six, I was uprooted from a small town in New Mexico to San Pedro, California, to a different world, having to adapt.
Through it all, I always had my dear grandmother and loving aunt, guiding light’s throughout my life. It was a source of comfort and sanity. I began to learn along the way how to forgive, overcome childhood neglect, give up drugs and alcohol and thus let go of all of life’s ‘unnecessary baggage’ I carried since I was small, ironically ushered me towards a fantastic re-birth!
Trusting Molly (Silverstone Book 3)
When Mark “Smoke” Chamberlin ventures into the Nigerian jungle with his team of government assassins, his mission is clear: get in, kill the target, and make it out alive. With his extensive military experience, Smoke has no problem heading into dangerous territory. When it comes to love, though, he’s always been a little wary. But then he meets the beautiful, intrepid Molly Smith.
Schoolteacher Molly has been trying to outrun a lifetime of bad luck, and now she finds herself kidnapped along with a hundred schoolgirls in the jungle. But when Smoke finds them, Molly thinks her luck might be turning around—until she returns to the US to find her beloved grandparents murdered.
Devastated by their deaths and mystified by the turn of events, Molly turns to Smoke for comfort. But as Molly and Smoke grow closer, a different threat emerges…one that will put their relationship to the test and their lives in grave danger.
Not Today! A Dora’s Rage Mystery – Book 1
The disguised voice on the phone claims City Hall is infested with corruption caused by a murder “that wasn’t a murder,” but when Dora’s beloved Lt. Franny Hart investigates and tragedy strikes, the enraged natural born fighter won’t let it stand … NOT TODAY – Dora’s Rage Series, Book 1.
Deborah “Dora” Ellison’s job collecting garbage, usually by lifting and “tipping” the filled garbage containers with one hand, has made her freakishly strong. At her lover, Beach City Police Lieutenant Francesca Hart’s suggestion, she tries out for a new MMA league and finds she is a natural; she forces the owner to tap.
Dora loathes bullies. When she sees someone being bullied, she is apt to go after the bully, often with unexpected brutality.
The corruption that is so much a part of Beach City politics did indeed begin with a “murder that wasn’t a murder,” and is defended by the powers that be — both in City Hall and in the person of the city’s brutal enforcer, “Cranky” Franky Patella, who is every bit as brutal, and as wounded, as Dora.
The two are destined to meet, a meeting that will decide the future of Beach City.
The Life and Times of Angie Bardot
Setting out on her adventures, Angie is best described as endearingly tragic as she gives a truly laugh-out-loud account of what could possibly go wrong when her long-term marriage comes to an end. Extolling the many pitfalls of being single is no laughing matter and being thrown into the dating arena is even worse.
When curiosity to view a certain piece of the male anatomy takes priority, bedlam unfolds. Angie’s journey will leave you in fits of laughter while raising your eyebrows in absolute disdain.
Taking you from “Hell No” to “Hell Yes,” this two-part true story taps into a range of emotions as you travel along with Angie on her voyage of self-discovery. A captivating exposé of courage and raw honesty in finding a new beginning when life takes a nosedive, this compelling portrayal of compassion gives insight into the weakest and strongest moments of what it is to be human.
You will fall in love with Angie and won’t be able to stop turning the pages to see what she will do next. To err on the side of caution is not Angies strong suit. Heart wrenching, yet hilariously funny in the unique style of telling her tale, it’s never a surprise when she ends up on several occasions with her tail between her legs!
Does she ever learn?
This book is one of a kind, and better still, so is Angie Bardot.
The Power of Strategic Influence! 10 Success Factors of Highly Influential Leaders
The Power of Strategic Influence is an Amazon #1 Best Seller that will teach you how you can build your personal influence in business and make a positive impact on the world. The key? Focus not on what you get, but what you give. In 10 easy-to-follow steps called Success Factors of Highly Influential Leaders, it shows you how to access, utilize, develop, expand, and ultimately constructively use your influence to help make the world a better place.
The other running and complementary theme is related to relationship building for the purpose of developing highly effective and strategic business networks or spheres of influence.
This book taps into the growing awareness among business leaders that while personal influence is necessary for success, once influence is developed, it must be used in a way that’s socially responsible. It is the powerful antidote to the obsolete belief that “greed is good.” Success and power are good–but only if you give back.
As a special bonus, the book includes featured interviews with twelve nationally known CEOs.
Counteract the Fat: Discover how Fiber and Antioxidants can Counteract the Physiological Effects of Junk Foods – a diet, nutrition and health book
Many of us love junk foods. What we don’t love are the medical conditions and weight gain that they are associated with. Research findings indicate that fiber and antioxidants can counteract the physiological effects of junk foods. This does not mean that we can eat as much fat as we want to. What it does mean is GREATER FREEDOM IN MAKING FOOD CHOICES! Counteract the Fat is a compilation of these research findings, providing cutting edge information on how fiber and antioxidants can help prevent medical conditions and weight gain associated with high-fat and other unhealthy great-tasting foods. The discussed Counteract the Fat concepts include:
☤ High-fat foods produce cholesterol-related acids that can clog arteries and raise cholesterol levels – opening the door to heart disease. Fiber counteracts that effect by nabbing cholesterol-related acids and removing them from our bodies, thus promoting healthy cholesterol levels and reducing our risk of heart disease.
☤ The excess calories in high-fat foods are absorbed by our bodies and stored as fat, which causes us to gain weight – opening the door to obesity. Fiber counteracts that effect by nabbing calories before they can be absorbed and stored as fat, thus making it harder for us to gain weight and reducing our risk of obesity.
☤ High-fat foods increase our exposure to “free radicals,” which attack and damage healthy human cells – opening the door to cancer, heart disease and many other conditions. Antioxidants counteract that effect by neutralizing free radicals, thus preventing and reversing cellular damage and reducing our risk of cancer, heart disease and many other conditions.
☤ The excess calories in high-fat foods can cause us to gain weight – opening the door to obesity. Antioxidants counteract that effect by giving our bodies the energy needed to burn fat more efficiently, thus making it harder for us to gain weight and reducing our risk of obesity.
SPEECH! How Language Made Us Human
What makes us human? Why are we the only animals who wear clothes, drive cars, trawl the internet, and fly helicopters on Mars? It’s all because we’ve learnt to talk: yet remarkably, we still don’t know how we did it. SPEECH! suggests an answer that’s been hiding in plain sight – the simple yet radical shift that turned our analog grunts and shrieks into words. But its consequences are far from simple: being able to share ideas through language was an evolutionary tipping point – it allowed us to link up our minds. SPEECH! traces our roller-coaster ride with language from hunter-gatherer to urban hipster: the epic tale of the struggle for knowledge against the false gods of culture, religion and identity – as we teeter toward a destination we may still resist, but ultimately cannot escape.
Santa Fe Mojo
Vincent Malone, the classic Private Investigator with more personal problems than he can handle. Turns to drink and misery; but he is still one hell of a PI. Looking for a safe place to hide to determine his next move, he finds himself in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A new life is about to begin; Malone will be surprised. Many interesting supporting characters lead to confrontation, romance and surprise endings.
Atlantic Rue
1903. The South Atlantic. HMS Roanoke steams deeper into the southern hemisphere’s winter, bound for the sparsely populated Cranmer Island. A chance encounter at sea has fateful consequences for her demoralized crew and presents a growing mystery they must resolve while they struggle to reconcile with their pasts.
Sitting in Hemingway’s Chair
A biography of the life and death of Ernest Miller Hemingway. He was a writer, soldier, spy, big game Hunter, foreign correspondent, deep sea fisherman, boxer, bare knuckle brawler, and a hard drinker. He wrote twenty-two books, had four wives, experienced four wars, and won one Noble prize. Ernest Hemingway changed American literature; in his writing, everything is reduced to its purest form. The style of his writing did not emerge from a college education, but was developed from self- education, hard work and life experience.
The cause of Hemingway’s suicide was not from hereditary traits but was due to brain damage resulting from his adventurous lifestyle, Chronic traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a medical condition not discovered until fifty-three years after his death. This biography differs from others; the author met Hemingway, followed his adventures, and became familiar with chronic traumatic Encephalopathy through the deaths of fellow pro-football players from brain injuries. Hemingway received brain damage from numerous concussions resulting from incidents of war, auto accidents, boxing, airplane crashes and electroshock treatments.
More than any other Hemingway biography this work details his life as a spy in China, exploits during the Spanish Civil War, leading partisans in world war II, his court marshal and the many concussions that triggered his suicide.
Beyond Sunlight
Melanie Brace is a talented young artist who had an interesting but fairly ordinary life, until she meets a handsome enigmatic stranger in a jazz club. Impressed by his great musical talent, charm and wit, she wants to date him. That same night they meet, he informs her that she has an inoperable cancer and is living on a borrowed time. When a medical test confirms his statement about her condition, Melanie demands answers. And the answer she gets is not what she had hoped to hear. The mysterious stranger is a vampire, a member of an ancient race of immortals living among humans since the prehistoric times. When a tragic event places Melanie one step closer to death, she awakens in a private hospital in full control of her body but with cold skin and without the heartbeat. Becoming a vampire was the easy part. The hard part will be to survive as one. What will you do when you will remain twenty-nine-years-old forever?
Haggard Hawk
Haggard Hawk is the first in the Nathan Hawk Murder Mysteries series. It’s free to download.
A haggard hawk is a hawk in full plumage
Nathan Hawk, a high ranking police officer, is ‘required to retire’ from the force. That’s a very British way of saying he was sacked. Apparently he broke his commanding officer’s jaw and earned the undying respect of his colleagues. He goes to live in the countryside, just outside London where he spends the first few months drinking too much, arguing with neighbours and stressing about his grown up children. And wondering what to do with the rest of his life.
What are his options? How about writing his memoirs, or visiting his far flung kids, maybe even standing for the Parish Council? None of those things offers quite the buzz of catching killers, something he was really good at. His tally, when he left the police service, was thirty-four.
Just as he’s about to go mad with boredom a new friend in the village does him the courtesy of getting himself murdered. It’s a tragedy, of course, but for Hawk it’s a lifesaver.
And it comes with the added bonus of the local police not wanting him to interfere…
The latest Hawk story is called White Crane and is available now on Amazon
MARRYING FOR FAME
Janet Ashby and David Villa are a pair of ambitious singers that want to become famous. This couple is as different as night and day, but at the suggestion of their pushy talent agent, they decided that a marriage of convenience would help both of their careers. They get married and become friends, and slowly realize that fame is not the only thing in store for them. This light-hearted romance will make you laugh, smile, and warm your hearts!
A Wonder In the Garden
learn abut the rich ecology, the web of life and natural wonders that live just outside our doors, in gardens parks or cracks in pavements. When you learn what to look for these are as rich and as awesome as a distant rainforest. Unable to travel to find wonders? You dont have to.
The #1 Project Management Mistake, Plus 7 More Lessons
Do you experience problems and pain in your working life as a project manager? Is there a lack of progress with projects at work? Do you experience that there is a lack of useful information on project management that is especially aimed at beginners? Are you constantly frustrated by the lack of budgets to properly complete project tasks? Do you experience a constant worry about completing projects on time? Do you feel that you lack the experience to be confident in the role of a new project manager?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you require this book!
This book has been prepared as a guide for newly certified project-management professionals who are looking to learn the fundamental do’s and don’ts of project management, but it is also of interest to any person who is interested in making a career out of project management or just interested in the subject.
If you work through this book, you will feel that sense of anticipation, eagerness, and excitement for you, the newly qualified PM, to go out and face your first project with the knowledge that we provide, assisting you in making a success of your first and future projects.
Nothing will prepare you for that immense sense of achievement and success when you get this right. This prepares you for a massively rewarding career working with people and being rewarded accordingly through the continuous “rinse and repeat” of the lessons provided in the body of the book.
Do not delay, but take action; get the book now, and set yourself on the way to project-management success!
The Smartest Person in the Room: The Root Cause and New Solution for Cybersecurity
#1 Bestseller by leadership & cybersecurity expert Christian Espinosa that unveils a simple powerful 7 step process that awakens your leadership and life skills.
“Swiss Army Knife of Cyber/IT/Business/Life help…there is something for everyone here!”
“I highly recommend that any cybersecurity leader, or aspiring leader, read this book from cover-to-cover.”
“Christian Espinosa unveils the hard-hitting truth and bad practices that companies face when they hire inexperienced and ego-centric cybersecurity staff to protect their company’s information.”
Cyberattack—an ominous word that strikes fear in the hearts of nearly everyone, especially business owners, CEOs, and executives. With cyberattacks resulting in often devastating results, it’s no wonder executives hire the best and brightest of the IT world for protection. But are you doing enough? Do you understand your risks? What if the brightest aren’t always the best choice for your company?
In The Smartest Person in the Room, Christian Espinosa shows you how to leverage your company’s smartest minds to your benefit and theirs. Learn from Christian’s own journey from cybersecurity engineer to company CEO. He describes why a high IQ is a lost superpower when effective communication, true intelligence, and self-confidence are not embraced. With his seven-step methodology and stories from the field, Christian helps you develop your team’s technical minds so they become better humans and strong leaders who excel in every role
The Value Of…
The value of… is a short book written to remind us of what is most important in life and how we should value them.
Skadegemutc: Ghost Witch
The Ghost-Witch One of the scariest figures in Passamaquoddy mythology, the Ghost-Witch is often said to be born from the dead body of a shaman who practiced black magic; the demonic entity then emerges each night with murder on its mind. They can only banished with fire, but not destroyed
The Two Spears and Four Claws Clans battle an evil millenia old. A horrible demon that has haunted the tribe as long as memory.