Books are always a great gift…here is Gabriel Pantera’s guide to the best reads of the holiday season
Music Lovers
The Beatles: Here There and Everywhere by Nancy J. Hajeski.
Fab Facts about the fab four. The Beatles Here There and Everywhere covers the band’s start in Liverpool, their escapades in Hamburg’s red-light district, their at Decca studios, their over-the-top American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show and their recording session at Abbey Road. With details on each British album and additional notes on instrumentation and solo careers. Baker & Taylor Publishing Group (Oct 1, 2014) ISBN: 9781626860889. $34.95
Biographies
Tolkien, How an Obscure Oxford Professor Wrote The Hobbit and Became the Most Beloved Author of the Century by Devin Brown. Devin Brown weaves in the author’s life, career, and his faith. How Tolkien got down to the business of writing. For those who love Middle Earth. Abingdon Press (Oct 21, 2014), ISBN: 9781426796708 $14.99.
Business
The Art of Social Media Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki. The Art of Social Media will help the beginner and someone who already uses social media get the most from your online presence. More than 100 practical tips, tricks, and insights, Guy, along with his colleague Peg Fitzpatrick, offer practical strategies to produce a focused and compelling social-media platform. As Kawasaki says, “Great Stuff, No Fluff.” Portfolio / Penguin Group USA (Dec 4 2014) ISBN: 9781591848073 $25.95
Mystery
The Bellarmine Feint by Tom Czerwinski. Reminiscent of the late Michael Crichton, an adventure with science at the core of the story. The Vatican wants to restore tradition and create order. It’s 2018 and Dr. Alan Voldt is traveling to Turkey to finalize an inter-university exchange agreement. What he doesn’t know is that he is a candidate to become a lay numerary of the Vatican’s Order of Opus Dei. Alan, a former marine and football player, is an expert on the rise and fall of civilizations. His views are controversial. He’s a committed Catholic and he follows in the footsteps of St. Augustine, who until well into his thirties had prayed, “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.” Design Publishing (Oct 22, 2014) ISBN: 9781622875115 $14.95
Fiction
Beneath Beautiful by Allison Rushby. Cassie Tavington is at Paris’ hauntingly beautiful Père Lachaise cemetery, when a handsome stranger approaches her. He’s the artist Cameron Callahan. She leaves, but Cameron tracks her down. He wants her to sit for him. Cameron’s sculptures are provocative. Cassie is a daughter of a politician and must not embarrass her father. She’s attracted to Cameron, but Cassie already has James, and Cameron’s former lover Plum and Cassie’s father’s demands create more problems. E-book Allison Rushby (Oct 22 2014) ISBN: 9780615753195 $ 2.99
A Little Love by Amanda Prowse. Pru Plum owns a famous bakery in Mayfair. She looks glamorous and wears expensive clothing. She looks much younger then her age. What’s outside belies what Pru feels inside. She’s done things of which she’s ashamed. She must protect her secret at all costs, even the possibly of love. Trafalgar Square Publishing Head of Zeus (Nov 1 2014), ISBN: 9781781854952 $9.99
Historical Fiction
Heartsease by Ann Turner Set in Tudor England, we meet 16-year-old Mary Hawke, married to the handsome but brutish Henry Crawford. They live in Essex where his true nature shows itself. Thankfully for Mary, Henry dies releasing her from his clutches. At court as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catharine of Aragon, she befriends the young and vivacious Anne Boleyn. Mary leaves the English court for Spain, where life proves dangerous. Mary returns to the court of King Henry VIII where Anne Boleyn’s star is rising. Troubador Publishing Ltd Matador e-book (Oct 17 2014) ISBN: 9781784628284
The Windship Family by Michael J. McCarthy, Three Book Series. Book one: Father and Son. In 1851 Seamus Tobin, son of an Irish gardener, loses his parents and is adopted by his father’s employer, the lord of an ancient Anglo-Irish estate in County Cork. Renamed James Winship, he lives the life of a privileged aristocrat. Book Two: The Children. James’ son William becomes an Indian Army officer. His daughter Cornelia encounters life-changing complications as a glittering debutante in London. Book three: Independence. Cornelia is now Viscountess Leadon. Her brother William is married and continuing his military career in India. James switches parties in the House of Commons. CreateSpace (Book 1 Jan 14 2013) ISBN: 9781475263022. (Book 2 Feb 22, 2014) ISBN: 9781490329154. (Book three Apr 25, 2014) ISBN: 9781494732157.
Charlemagne and the Paladins by Julia Cresswell Amidst the chaos and violence of Europe in the eighth century, Charlemagne became king of the Franks and bit by bit establishes an empire. Stories about his mother, Bertha Bigfoot, and his youthful adventures with the thief, Basin, to his fantastical journeys to Jerusalem and Constantinople. His most famous knights, the Paladins, include many legendary names: Roland, Ogier the Dane, Oliver, Archbishop Turpin, and Renault of Montalban and his famous steed Bayard. Osprey Publishing (Jul 22 2014) ISBN: 9781472804167 $19.95
Shakespeare
The Shakespeare Mask by Newton Frohlich. In the sixteenth century, the young nobleman Edward de Vere joins the Elizabethan court. A writer and patron of the arts, he creates scandal and controversy. The rules of the court are nobleman may not publish. Edward finds an almost illiterate cobbler’s son from Stratford to claim his words. Edward has many love affairs leaving many broken hearts in his wake. The queen is not amused by this, but she enjoys a good play. Blue Bird Press (Jul 25 2014) ISBN: 9780996048415 $3.99.
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