by Sean Tucker — Creatives at large on their own long sojourns of self-discovery and personal expression will find much to admire, inspire, and appreciate about Sean Tucker’s recapitulation of The Artist’s Journey in his compact but deeply insightful book, The Meaning in the Making. The most fortunate decision made by the perceptive author…

by Homer Hickam — “Mom cast a glance at Dad, who was pretending not to hear anything. She turned back to me. ‘You were supposed to be our backup boy in case we lost Jim for some reason.’” Such maternal candor, whether genuine or not, but definitely funny, marks the appalling and delightful self-awareness…

by Cheng Wang — “Actual lives flow more like a gentle stream, as opposed to the torrent experienced for two hours sitting in a theater.” This quietly potent line from Cheng Wang’s quietly potent memoir, From Tea to Coffee, expresses something quite true about human life. An autobiography is better sipped quietly in later…

by Gregg Norman — The plot premise behind Gregg Norman’s highly engaging book, Bingo At The Legion, is one that resonates easily with readers, while Norman’s treatment is handled deftly and pleasingly. The main character, Grady Locke, returns to his small hometown after having bolted suddenly years before, leaving family and friends and a…

by Ric Murphy — History is an enterprise that, somewhat counter-intuitively, benefits greatly from the perspective of distance, and even more greatly from the evolving trove of information stored and distributed by improved technology. The results may often look like Revisionist History, but as Ric Murphy demonstrates in his fascinating book, Arrival of the…

by Beatriz M. Robles — Creative writing comes in several forms, three of which creatively mix two forms of communicative expression into a single piece meant to evoke emotional participation and meaningful understanding. In her originally creative work, Artwords, Beatriz M. Robles playfully explores these modern forms using calligrams, photographs with words, and redactive poetry…

by Len Wilson — Attitude and perspective often define a world traveler, and especially color any foray into the genre of travel writing, which by nature reveals one’s attitude about such journeys — whether admiringly appreciative or dismissively smug. Len Wilson occupies the middle ground when conveying his personal experiences of world-wandering in his…

by Jean-Philippe Soulé — “Dreams aren’t fantasies to keep in the back of our mind, they are lifegoals to be pursued.” The stereotypical notion characterizing most Alpha Males, while often granting to them many admirable leadership traits, rarely includes the description of an ultra-self-aware individual. Jean-Philippe Soulé exemplifies the epitome of an apex Alpha…

by Jean-Philippe Soulé — Dancing With Death is billed as ‘An Epic and Inspiring Travel Adventure.’ It is most certainly that. The dancing with death element, however, seems to be due in equal parts to the bold adventurism of its co-authors, Jean-Philippe Soulé and Luke Shullenberger, and their often naïve, some might say foolish…