Lauren

I think the title says it all...this is a good starting point for anyone interested in creating an LLC.

While there is a lot of work and research you'll have to do on your own (which they point out) this book gives a good overview of the process and some pitfalls to stay away from.

Having just created an LLC myself I found this information to be inline with what I experienced and the advice I was given.

The narrator did a great job of taking what some would consider “dry” material and making it engaging.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

FASCINATING LOOK AT SUCCESSFUL BIZ STRATEGIES

Shel Israel explores the concept of providing customer centric service vs. business centric service and how that works in today's world.

While the regular practices of business over the last 100 years have focused on how to make the most money by telling the customer what they need to buy...Lethal Generosity is about LISTENING to the consumer and providing them with the best possible solution. Even if that means sending them to another store to get a better deal. By doing that, you lose the initial sale, but gain a loyal customer who will champion your brand.

It was also interesting to hear about some of the technologies that businesses are implementing to make the shopping experience more customizable and helpful. It'll be interesting to see where this beacon tech will take us over the next few years.

Jeffrey Kafer did a great job narrating this book. I kept forgetting that he wasn't the actual writer because the stories sounded as if they were experiences he himself had.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

I listened to the audiobook of this and first off, I'd like to say that I think the youthful tone of the narrator was a great fit for this book.

I'd also like to mention that I'm clearly not the demographic of this book. So this review is based on my thoughts as a parent and remembering what kind of books I liked at this age.

Set in 1875 Ohio (the tail end of the Reconstruction Era), you meet Cap, a 12 year old boy who loves to invent things. Due to financial circumstances for this family, himself and his father end up doing some grave robbing to make some money to pay for his mother's medical bills.

During this time, medical schools would pay for stolen corpses in order to have fresh cadavers for their anatomy and dissection classes.

Cap feels conflicted because of the gruesomeness of stealing a dead body, but also because the justification being used is that “they are unwanted and won't be missed” which for the most part translates to Black.

There was a lot of unaddressed racism in the book, and I felt very disappointed there wasn't more commentary on it from Cap. There were multiple instances of racism and sexism that were mentioned, but we never got any thoughts about Caps feelings on them. Sadly, a missed opportunity.

I think if you are comfortable with the subject matter (grave robbing/dead bodies) then there is a decent mystery and suspense aspect that a 12-14 year old would be entertained by.

***This book was provided to me free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

The story of a successful OPEN and loving marriage

I'd never heard of Sandstone before listening to this book. It was an interesting look into the creation and success of the Retreat as well as a great example of how an open marriage can work.

Barbara Williamson's relationship with her husband is one of honesty, deep love, and respect. Something we should all strive to achieve in our own relationships. They were self aware enough to recognize they'd need more than just each other to fullfil their sexual needs, but knew they wouldn't want to go through life without one another.

Despite the social taboo they were able to embark on the Sandstone experiment and help other couples navigate the tricky waters of their own relationships.

Hearing about the Williamson's lives post Sandstone was important because it showed how difficult it is to have an open marriage in mainstream society, and also that they were very compassionate people who dedicated their lives to helping not only people, but also animals.

I felt Harley Reese was the perfect voice for this narration. She was very pleasing to listen to, and captured the tone of the book perfectly.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

Yes...GIVE ME MORE

This is my first attempt at this genre since I tend to spook easily, but LOVE Procedurals like CSI, and boy am I glad I did try it out.

Loved it from beginning to end, and I've loaded up my cart with the rest of the series.

Great narration by Scott Brick, and thoroughly enjoyed the structure of the story telling.

WOW! Loved this.
A great crash course into Oceanic Environmentalism and climate change.

The audio feels like you're listening to a podcast hosted by your favorite college professor.
Each segment lasted about 20 minutes, and was a great overview of some amazing things about the ocean and our planet.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

I received a copy of this book for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

The audiobook is a wonderful experience.
I love the mix between story times and poems.

I felt Tarriona “Tank”'s performance elevated her words and cut right to the heart of what it is to experience love in your early twenties.

If you are not someone who reaches for poetry very often, I would highly recommend trying out the audio version when it's read by the author. There is often no better person to convey the depth and emotion.

I was provided a copy of this audiobook by NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

3.5 and rounding up.
As someone who studied a number of acting methods in my BFA program, I found this to be a nice combination of many that I personally found very helpful.

If you just breaking into the industry, this a very approachable guide to navigating scripts, productions, and auditions.

I am not a huge fan of audiobooks for texts like this because I like to annotate, so between that and the audio quality of this (the audio sounded very compressed and low volume), I would not recommend the audio version unless it's the only way you'll be able to read it.

***Thank you to ECW Press Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

This middle grade book explores family secrets and their impact.

For the target audience, I felt this was a good entrance into the idea that parents hide things from their children, and that when things aren't shared openly it can lead to kids feeling distrustful of their support system and uncertain of how to navigate that. There were a lot of complicated feelings that would have been nice to see explored further.

A short read that resolves itself unrealistically easily, but at the heart of it, it encourages families to share the truth even when it's hard, which is a good practice to learn.

***Thank you to Harper Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

Clearly, I am not the right audience for it.

Going into this, I was anticipating it would be a bit absurd and off beat, but I mainly found it to be disjointed, confusing, and not very entertaining.

I think if you are into unusual humor and storytelling this might be for you.

The art style was fine, again, not really my cup of tea, but I don't think it takes away from the story in any way. It seems to fit well with whatever the narrative was trying to achieve.

***Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for an ARC ebook copy of this in exchange for an unbiased review.

I found this to be a great intro text into reproductive rights. It covers a nice range from early history of the movement to the modern approach.

I was glad to see the critical lens it took while looking at the movement because it's important to acknowledge the flaws along with the progress.

It's astonishing to be reading it in 2021 and see what has developed since its publication in 2017. There have been many steps taken here in the USA to restrict reproductive rights EVEN more than had already occurred at the time this was released.

My biggest complaint with the AUDIOBOOK version is that the footnotes are read aloud at the end of each chapter. I would have much preferred they were left until the end of the book.

Overall, this is a quick read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who interested in learning more about the topic. Especially teens and young adults. I think it's a great way to get them interested as well as provide ideas on how they can become involved in the fight to protect and advocate for reproductive rights.

This is a delightful quick history of bees and the practice of bee keeping.

We span the centuries with anecdotes and snippets from well known members of the bee keeping community, and we hear the author's journey of having a passing professional interest in writing a story about them to becoming a bee keeper herself, to her changes in perspective as she's learned more about the modern alternative bee keeping movement.

If you have ever been curious about bees, this charming book is a great primer into the world of beekeeping.

The book was written by Swedish author Lotte Möller, a wonderful translation from Frank Perry, and Julie Maisley's narration is lovely to listen to.

***Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

I like the concept of this collection that celebrates women. This is a translated work that features female voices and illustrators from Spain.

There were a couple of standout stories that I really enjoyed, and a few that I felt could have been a bit longer to leave the reader with a bit more impact. I always love having the opportunity to hear voices from different cultures and backgrounds. It provides such meaningful perspective that really shows the commonality we share while also highlighting the beauty of the differences.

It would have been great to see even more representation especially from Black, Disabled, and Trans authors and illustrators.

TW for ED.

***Thank you to IDW Publishing for providing me with the ePub for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

This book was equal parts frustrating and impactful.
A story about a group of Black women who've been lifelong friends you see how each one is navigating their relationships and the wide spectrum of struggles that Black women face.

It was wonderful to read about flawed, strong, and thriving Black women, standing in their power, embracing self love, and demanding to be treated with the respect and support the deserve, while also seeing how the Black men in their lives are working to overcome the systems that do everything they can to keep them down and the ways in which that impacts the way they show their love to the people around them.

Reading about the joys and heartache of Black love and seeing these Black women lifting each other up even though their drastically different life choices made me really glad I picked up this one even though contemporary fiction is usually my preferred genre.

Eboni Flowers did a wonderful job with the narration, and by the end I felt like I really had a clear picture of these women were. I already their story will stay with me for quite awhile, and I'll definitely be interested in reading more from Tracy Brown.

***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

This is just wonderful. My 4 year old has been very interested in learning more about Hawaiian culture ever since hearing the music from MOANA, and this is a delightful, age appropriate book to introduce her to it. She's asked to listen to this multiple times, and I expect it will be a regularly requested audiobook from her.

The book teaches young readers about the native Hawaiian tradition of making poi and coming together for an Ohana Luau in the style of THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT.

One of the things I love about the audio version is being able to hear native Hawaiians speaking the words, especially with the glossary. It's a very enjoyable listen, and fully produced with not just audio, but also SFX and music.

We also got the physical book from the library which has beautiful illustrations and I fully expect we will add it to our family library.

***Thank you to Publisher Spotlight Audio, Live Oak Media for providing me with the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

A great collection of essays from Black scholars and experts discussing ideas from a policy-oriented standpoint on real world changes we can implement in economics, education, health, climate, and technology that would make real, lasting change for Black Americans and the rest of the country.

This book very consumable from a lay person's standpoint, and the essays kept the pace quick. It felt like a fast read because of the structure of each piece. Lay out the problem, back up with facts, and then propose actionable solutions.

Highly recommend to anyone who is looking to take next steps and focus their time and energy on moving the country forward in a meaningful and realistic way.

This is a great, easy read for anyone, but I would especially recommend it to parents of young readers and teens. Inside you'll discover a wonderful collection of short bios about Black women from many different backgrounds and interests.

Unfortunately, I only recognized some of the names mentioned in here, which is a perfect illustration of how important this kind of book is for everyone to read. I heard about a lot of amazing Black women's accomplishments and legacy's, and felt so inspired by their stories. I loved how accessible the book is because society/public education tends to over look how much women have contributed to so many different industries, and especially Black women.

This is a great jumping off point to start exploring the women mentioned more in depth, or to seek out others who weren't.

The audiobook is an excellent experience, and useful way to introduce the information to younger readers. You could easily have it playing in the car and get through a handful of bios and I imagine they would inspire some wonderful conversations.

***Thank you to Tantor Audio for providing me with the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

Best suited to a younger audience, but a great adaptation just getting into Sherlock. The art style is really cool and I can't recall seeing it used in another graphic novel I've read.

If you have a young reader (10-14) who enjoys mysteries, this is a great one to pickup.

***Thanks to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for providing me with an eBook in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was an interesting read. It's a collection of messages sent in the first few weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started in February 2022.

A professor from Sweden reached out to alumni from a program that was hosted in Ukraine and offered them places to stay in Sweden, and this is a series of responses he received. It shows the range of feelings and reactions the people in Ukraine experienced including the determination to stay and fight and provide support or to get as far away from the fighting as possible. It highlights the displacement of war, the love of country, and resilience of people.

It's a short read, and at the end features some information about how and why the collection was made. As well as a study guide, which I could see being useful for a younger audience to discuss in class or at home, or even just critically think about on their own.

Proceeds from the sale of Messages from Ukraine will go to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, a national charitable foundation that provides humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine.

***Thank you to University of Toronto Press for providing me with the ePub for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

3,5 Going into this book I was expecting a breakdown of actionable steps in working towards abolition of the current incarceration and policing systems here in the USA.What I discovered was more of a handbook in how to be an effective activist and avoid burnout, which is a very important thing to learn and something I struggle with. I found the breakdown of how to building up emotional intelligence, how to listen without judgment and how to apologize and take accountability to be very valuable lessons for anyone to work on.The title felt a bit misleading about the content, but that is partly because of how and what I associate with the word abolitionist. To me, a better word would have been activist because the content in the book felt more broad and targeted towards everyone in the social justice movement, rather than specifically abolition.The book is a useful read for anyone practicing any type of activism, and I would recommend it to folx who are struggling with finding their place in the movement and balancing their life/work/activism.***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

This was a strange journey.
The whole time I wasn't sure if it was weird, for weird's sake or actually weird with a purpose and deeply interesting.

It was certainly a unique approach to a story. It incorporated a lot of tropes that felt very purposeful, but I think this is definitely an acquired taste experience.

If you have a deep love of mysteries, British culture, and enjoy odd entertainment that likes to test the status quo (think Twin Peaks/Dale and Tucker vs the World) then you might enjoy this quirky graphic novel and story telling style.

***Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free eBook for a non-biased review.

Really enjoyed the art style of this. I think the audience that will enjoy this the most is YA.
The narrative had many elements I enjoy. Short vignettes, different narrative and visual styles, a coming of age, queer story, a bit abstract, with a MC who is struggling to find their place in the world. It felt like many of the memoir graphic novels I've enjoyed in the past.

However, even though there were a lot of ideas introduced, none of them really felt like they were explored enough. Personally, I would have liked there to be at least one that had a full arc that made sense.

I would certainly pickup another graphic novel from Joana Estrela.

***Thank you to NetGalley and Levine Querido, Em Querido for the e-ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

3.5
This is the story of old friends who find themselves on a roadtrip that none of them really want to be on. They run into a handful of unexpected obstacles and are managing their feelings towards each other and how their lives haven't turned out quite how they would have hoped.

I enjoyed the over the top vibe of the story and seeing the reveals of the characters backstories and where the narrative takes them.

***Thank you to Netgalley and IDW Publishing/Top Shelf Productions for providing me with a e-book ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

3.5 and rounding up. Lots of twists and turns. It was definitely one of those books that kept me wondering if I had figured out all the reveals up until the end. If you like a slow burn with multiple POVs, flashbacks, unreliable narrators and family thrillers this is the book for you.

This is the second book narrated by Sarah Durham that I've listened to this year, and she did another excellent job especially with the different POVs.

***Thank you to Bookouture Audio for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

As the parent of a little one, I am always looking for books to help make learning about real people and issues in an accessible age appropriate way.

Watching Amanda Gorman's reading during the 2021 Inauguration was incredibly powerful and I hope she continues to inspire folx for many years to come. For our family, it's important to us that we are including lots of books in our family library that shows lots of different representation, and that's why I decided to pickup this one.

This easy to read book gives a simple biography of Amanda's story and talks about some of the personal obstacles she's had to overcome. It discusses her path to becoming a poet, and her journey to speaking at President Biden's inauguration.

I think this series is a good option for folx with kids under the age of 6 to introduce important historical and contemporary figures to them, but it certainly shouldn't be the only thing in your collection.

I would like to point out that I recently read some valid criticism about this series that should be kept in mind:

The concern that I read was the books “present a one-dimensional, pop-cultural conception of key figures, reinforcing stereotypes and disregarding their strides as part of a collective effort. The series follows the same story arc, starting from the figure's childhood up until the one contribution (the “single story”) they've made in society. As a result, children receive a fragmented overview of the person's life racked with generalizations and tokenism.”

As a parent who tries to make informed decisions, this is something that I will consider moving forward when picking up books for our collection.

BLOG SOURCE:
https://socialjusticebooks.org/the-disempowering-impact-of-the-little-people-big-dreams-series/

***Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing a free copy of the eBook in exchange for an unbiased review.