Pirate Therapy and Other Cures
BY: Mark A. Rayner
PUBLISHED BY: Monkeyjoy Press
PUBLISHED IN: 2012
ISBN: 9780986662782
Pages: 158

  
    When I saw the book request from author Mark Rayner for his book Pirate Therapy and Other Cures, I had to laugh and at the same time I wondered what Pirate Therapy was. Mark Rayner has a website/blog skwib.com where he publishes flash fiction, in which some of those stories have made it into this book. I don’t read very many humor books, so I was skeptical about reading Pirate Therapy and Other Cures.

    The author has collected some of his best flashes for this edition, which are hilarious tales that will put a smile on your face. You’ll learn what happens when a worldwide virus turns it’s victims into clowns; learn about the strange mythology of unicorns; learn about what high fiber foods you should be eating (if you are a cyborg); find out how Batman really feels about his Justice League of America team; learn the history of Groundhog Day; and learn ten great facts about Canada.

While flipping through channels a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Gilmore Girls. I recall when the series was first aired in 2000 and for some reason I never got around to watching an episode. What caught my eye was that Lauren Graham was constantly carrying around a cup of coffee, which so do I. After twenty minutes of viewing and listening to the snappy dialogue, I was now a fan. A few days later I went to a Target store in the city and found seasons one and two bundled together for twenty dollars.

Gilmore Girls is set in the small, wacky town of Stars Hollows, where single mother Lorelai (played by Lauren Graham), manager of the Independence Inn, is raising her sixteen-year-old daughter Rory (played Alexis Bledel). When her daughter is accepted into the Chilton Preparatory School, Lorelai asks her rich estranged parents for financial help due to the school’s expensive tuition. Of course things are not so simple as her parents want them to have Friday night dinners with them and be an active involvement in their lives.

 
TITLE: Star Wars: Knight Errant Volume 2--Deluge 
AUTHOR: John Jackson Miller
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics 
PUBLISHED DATE: June 5, 2012
ISBN: 9781595826381
ARTIST CONTRIBUTORS: David Daza, Iban Coello, Ivan Rodriguez, Joe Quinones, Michael Atiyeh, and Sergio Abad



Set in the beginning of the Old Republic, a 1,000 years before the birth of Luke Skywalker, this epic tale centers around a young female Jedi Knight named Kerra Holt, who is attempting to fight against the evil Sith Lords. The Sith Lords are trying to control large portions of the galaxy while continuing a war with the Republic. In the five issue series titled Deluge, Kerra Holt returns to the ocean world of Aquilaris, the planet she once called home, which is currently under control by the Sith Lord Daiman.

As soon as Kerra arrives she jumps into a battle against the Sith Lord’s army and she allies with other Republics. Her people have been enslaved and she’ll do anything to save them. Soon, she realizes that there is another enemy - a Hutt. Now determined more than ever, Kerra must go against all odds to stop them from flooding her home planet.

The Thirteen
BY: Susie Moloney
PUBLISHED BY: William Morrow
PUBLISHED IN: 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-211766-3
Pages: 330

    After being fired from her waitress job at a strip club, Paula Wittmore is notified that her mother has taken ill. She packs up her bags along with her teenage daughter, Rowan, and returns to her home town, a suburban called Haven Woods. Everything may look normal there, but Haven Woods has dark secrets at every corner, including several strange deaths and apparent suicides.

    Returning home is putting Paula on an emotional rollercoaster as she reunites with some of her childhood friends, not to mention her mother’s strange frenemies - twelve women bound by terrible secrets that requires a thirteen to be sacrificed.

How to Start and Make a Conversation: How to Talk to Anyone in 30 Seconds of Less
BY: Christ Gottchalk
FORWARD BY: Deanna Anderson, M.ED, CCC/SLP Speech Language Pathologist
PUBLISHED BY: Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-60138-383-9
Pages: 288

 Before there was Facebook and Twitter, there was a thing called talking - actual face to face communication. In the book How to Start and Make a Conversation you'll learn how to talk to anyone in thirty seconds or less. You may think this is easy and just text somebody, but in the competitive business world, or just life in general, good communication skills are required.

The book's target readers will be mostly shy men and women who have a hard time getting up the nerve to talk to someone, but it can easily be used by students, teachers, business owners, etc. The author quickly takes you through the basic reasons of why conversation is important in our society. There are many reasons why someone can struggle with communications, like social anxiety, fear of rejection, self-esteem, etc. Throughout the book you'll learn about how important body language is; speaking to a stranger in thirty seconds or less; how to make small talk; how to leave a conversation; communicating at work; making friends; the romantic art of conversation; and learning how to communicate in the social media world.

"For the first time in a long time, I don't know what my future is,
Meggie." Allison rested her head on Meghan's shoulder.

"If you can stop controlling your life, maybe God will finally have
a chance to get a word in edgewise and be able to tell you want he
wants for your life."

page 56, Wish You Were Here by Beth K. Vogt

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors Volume 1 is another DVD that I won in a recent giveaway. I didn't recognize the name or the cover art. It wasn't until I played the first episode that I finally, more like vaguely, remembered the show, as I was a four-year-old when it aired on television. Actually, I don't recall much about the show, but I do the toys, which were released by Mattel before the show was created. Mattel needed a way to explain the strange looking silver vehicles and the even stranger looking organic/machine vehicles, thus Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors was created. Talented writes such as Larry DiTillio, Barbara Hambly and J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5, wrote most the episodes.

Here is the series main plot: Audric, a botanist, was experimenting with biotechnology, and developed a crop that could grow in any environment.  A burst of radiation from a solar flare mutated one of his crops, transforming it an evil creature called Saw Boss. The other plants transformed as well and were called the Monster Minds. Audric created a magic root to destroy Saw Boss, but time was not on his side as his laboratory is being attacked. He splits the magical root in half and gives the other half of it to his faithful servant, Oon. He commands Oon to take the root to his son, Jayce, and serve under his command.

Oon (a magically animated suit of armor servant) finds Jacye along with Gillian (a wizard/scientist), and Flora, who was created from a flower by Audric. With the help of a Han Solo ripoff character, Herc Stormsailor - a pilot and  mercenary, they become known as the Lightning League. They use their ground vehicles to battle the Monster Minds vehicles, that are grown from vines. The Lightning League travels to planet to planet by the Pride of the Skies II, Herc's space barge, as Jayce searches for his missing father.