Author Yona Zeldis McDonough (web­site) wrote The Cats in the Doll Shop (my thoughts) which not only did I like, but my daughter (who is turning 7 today) liked as well. My daughter had some questions for Ms. McDonough and here is the best Author Q&A ever – that of a proud father. Q.Why did you put cats in the book? A. Many years ago, my husband and used to watch the comings and goings of a stray, pregnant cat outside the back window of our apartment in NYC. The cat had her kittens in an unused dresser drawer that had been stowed on a terrace. When the owner discovered the kittens, she swept them off the terrace with a broom. Two died, and three survived; one of the survivors broke his leg in the fall. The broken limb atrophied and eventually fell off but the three legged kitten managed to get around anyway. We worried about how he would manage, and left food out for him. He became surprisingly agile for a three legged cat and we came to love him for his spirit and his resilience. He was the model for the cat in my story. | Q. I…

The Emperor of Lies by Steve Sem-Sandberg is dark and disturbing, but it has some humor, such as a ghetto residents asking what they would do with guns.

Ever wanted to know what to get the men in your life besides tools, a silly tie or something which will end up in the attic on January 1? Here are the answers to your prayers. For the “I want to read just one book I could talk about in parties” type of guy: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami For the “I like emotional books but want people to think I’m reading a war novel” manly man: The Polski Affair by Leon H. Gildin For your “I like intellectual books” boyfriend who wants to impress you: Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer by Ernst Weiss For the “hey dude, it’s a classic” guy:The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller For your uncle that grew a stomach and converted to Buddhism: Across Many Mountains by Yangzom Brauen or Fire Monks by Colleen Morton Busch For your second cousin that keeps saying how he hates the classics: Dracula by Bram Stoker For your neighbor that decorates his house the day after Halloween: Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett For your long lost cousin. living in a log cabin and still believes that the South shall rise:The Civil War: A Visual History For your brother…

Spangle from The Oliva Reader has a wonderful feature called “Chapters In My Life” a weekly feature, where different authors and bloggers write about 5 books that have been influential or signify an era of their lives. When she asked me to participate I was only too happy to oblige. Here is my guest post – let me know what you think. Zohar =- Man of la Book

This is a post I wrote a few years back for NJ.com titled ” Thanksgiving Myth vs. Fact“. I thought it would be fun to re-post it today with pictures from a trip my family and I took to Plymouth MA a few years back.. Hope you enjoy it even though it isn’t a “bookish” post. ====================== Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for many reasons. It’s none secular (which means everybody celebrates it), it’s not commercialized, the food is good and the idea behind the holiday is fantastic. We all learned about this holiday at school, and if we didn’t I’m sure after a year or two in America you learned all you think you should. A few weeks ago I took my family to Plymouth, MA for a long weekend, a great trip if you’ve never been. I bought my 4 year old daughter a book about the Mayflower so she’ll know what she’ll be looking at (and hopefully get her a bit excited) and learned a few things myself. Myth: The first Thanksgiving was a religious based occasion Fact: The first Thanksgiving was a three day festival which included drinking, gambling and sports. If it was a religious…

The Cat in the Doll Shop was not only a book that I enjoyed reading, but that my daughter enjoyed listening to – and times like those, my friends, are priceless

Even though The Day Before Happiness is not a long book, it is full with details about life in Naples, people behavior and well developed characters

The story is not a cookie cutter “feel good” one, but it seems more realistic, I wouldn’t be surprised if the author based this story on actual events.

About: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami is a fictional novel which takes place between two worlds. The book was originally written in Japanese and became a best seller almost immediately. 944 pages Publisher: Knopf ISBN-10: 0307593312 My rating for 1Q84 – 5 Buy & Save on 1Q84 through the ManOfLa­Book affil­i­ate account on: Ama­zon | Kin­dle | Book Depos­i­tory US | Book Depos­i­tory UK More books by Haruki Murakami Thoughts: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami is not a complex novel, but it is long. The book asks an important question “what is reality”? I’ve worked with many marketing people over the years, the one important lesson they have taught me is the “perception is everything, reality is nothing”. At first, my structured mind that sees the world in 0s and 1s couldn’t comprehend what they were saying. However, with a little bit of contemplation I came to realize that they were right. After all, we live in a fake world. The news we watch are fake, the food we eat is fake (that’s why many immigrants have their own food stores), the promises made to us by our leaders and captains of industry are hollow and broken almost without delay. Mr. Murakami starts off…

Ann Atkins wrote the Flash Biography of Eleanor Roosevelt and is planning a “Flash History” series. She is a college instructor, community director,