June Book of the Month! Lithuanian Chicago by Justin J. Riskus

Lithuanian Chicago by Justin G. Riskus

Link to buy Lithuanian Chicago (Images of America)

Story Rating: 5 out of 5

Blurb:

Today, there are more than 100,000 Lithuanians in Chicago, making the city home to the greatest concentration of Lithuanians outside of the country itself. Their presence in Chicago began in 1834 and drastically increased during the 20th century as immigrants and their descendants sought work in the stockyards and other industries. Lithuanians in Chicago were dedicated to celebrating and preserving their unique culture, evident in its churches, schools, museums, and community centers in neighborhoods such as Bridgeport and Marquette Park. They also maintained ties to the homeland and played an important role in Lithuanias struggles for independence throughout the 20th century. Many prominent Lithuanian Americans are from the City of the Big Shoulders, including football great Dick Butkus, actor John C. Reilly, and director Robert Zemeckis. The former president of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, was a resident of Chicagoland for nearly 50 years.

Review:

As a Lithuanian living in Chicago I found this book to be absolutely fascinating. There were so many topics in this book that I was familiar with while growing up in the Marquette Park area. The photos were a complete blast from the past and I even recognized people I knew as a teenager in high school in some of the dance photos. I found the history of the Sisters of Saint Casimir very interesting since I myself  am a graduate of Maria High School. I was thrilled to see Racine Bakery making it into the book since I think it is fantastic bakery that I visit often. So, all in all I was impressed with the history and culture that was presented in this book and I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in getting a look at Lithuanians in Chicago.

Reviewed by Annmarie

Review: Lithuanian Chicago by Justin G. Riskus

Lithuanian Chicago by Justin G. Riskus

Link to buy Lithuanian Chicago (Images of America)

Story Rating: 5 out of 5

Blurb:

Today, there are more than 100,000 Lithuanians in Chicago, making the city home to the greatest concentration of Lithuanians outside of the country itself. Their presence in Chicago began in 1834 and drastically increased during the 20th century as immigrants and their descendants sought work in the stockyards and other industries. Lithuanians in Chicago were dedicated to celebrating and preserving their unique culture, evident in its churches, schools, museums, and community centers in neighborhoods such as Bridgeport and Marquette Park. They also maintained ties to the homeland and played an important role in Lithuanias struggles for independence throughout the 20th century. Many prominent Lithuanian Americans are from the City of the Big Shoulders, including football great Dick Butkus, actor John C. Reilly, and director Robert Zemeckis. The former president of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, was a resident of Chicagoland for nearly 50 years.

Review:

As a Lithuanian living in Chicago I found this book to be absolutely fascinating. There were so many topics in this book that I was familiar with while growing up in the Marquette Park area. The photos were a complete blast from the past and I even recognized people I knew as a teenager in high school in some of the dance photos. I found the history of the Sisters of Saint Casimir very interesting since I myself  am a graduate of Maria High School. I was thrilled to see Racine Bakery making it into the book since I think it is fantastic bakery that I visit often. So, all in all I was impressed with the history and culture that was presented in this book and I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in getting a look at Lithuanians in Chicago.

Reviewed by Annmarie

Review: Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion by Nancy Tupper Ling and June Cotner

Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion by Nancy Tupper Ling and June Cotner

Link to buy Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion

Story Rating: 5 out of 5

Review:

            Over the teeth and through the gums,

            look out stomach,

            here it comes!

Toasts have come a long way since that classic was written. It might still work fine for a frat party – if you're living in 1955 – but if you're living in 2015 and your social activities extend beyond standing around a keg with a bunch of guys in bedsheets-turned-togas, you might need a more refined sentiment. In which case, June Cotner and Nancy Tupper Ling, the authors of Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion, have got you covered.

This book is full of toast ideas for every conceivable occasion. They include weddings, embarking on adventures, celebrating holidays, mourning losses, and everything in between. It's important to note that there's a fine line between toasts and prayers in this book, and certainly some offerings cross into prayer territory. Prayers are the appropriate choice for some occasions, like baptisms and Christmas celebrations, though, so it makes sense that they're available.

This book's toasts come from a variety of sources. Some are sentiments taken from the works of well-known authors like William Faulkner and Mark Twain, while others are original material presumably written for this book. Each of the two authors makes at least one contribution. What this all means is that you can find a well-known piece or something brand new, depending on your preference. If there's one particular author you don't like, then there are literally dozens of others to pick from instead.

The toasts offered here come in a variety of lengths and tones, which means there's literally something for every occasion and taste. For instance, in the Business Events section on page 45, this short, tongue-in-cheek toast is offered from Mary Lenore Quigley:

            At our meeting's end,

            May we still be friends!

Meanwhile, in the Graduations section on page 114, a lengthy toast from Joan Stephen is far weightier and offers a host of advice to new graduates.

In addition to the toasts themselves, this book offers a little etiquette lesson in its opening pages. For instance, before offering a toast to the person being honored at an event, the toaster (Can that be correct? Would he/she really be called a toaster?) is supposed to publically thank the host of the event for holding it.

Overall, this is an excellent resource for finding appropriate toasts for every occasion. The "toaster" (giggle) doesn't necessarily have to memorize the selected sentiment, but can find something that fits the occasion and modify it at will. If you're going to be best man at a wedding and don't know where to look for the right toast, start here. If you're going to be a godfather or godmother and wish to toast the baby at a baptism, here's a solution to your problem. If you're anyone who has to offer a toast of any sort at any event, but you're afraid of putting your foot in your mouth, then please do yourself and all the people at the event a favor and let this book give you some much-needed help. The cost of this volume is a small price to pay to avoid alienating your family and friends by saying the wrong thing in front of them all.

Cheers!

Reviewed by Amanda

Review: Sacred Success: A Course in Financial Miracles by Barbara Stanny

Sacred Success: A Course of Financial Miracles by Barbara Stanny

Link to buy Sacred Success: A Course in Financial Miracles

Story Rating: 5 out of 5

Review:

On its surface, Sacred Success appears to be designed to help women achieve financial security. It starts with author Barbara Stanny's story of how she spent years wearing figurative financial blinders while her husband threw away her money. When things eventually got so bad that she couldn't ignore the situation any longer, Stanny had to make some difficult changes. When the reader delves deeper, though, it becomes clear that this book is much more than just a primer on managing money.

Stanny says that girls aren’t taught to seek financial success, so by the time they're grown up, few women have a plan to achieve that goal. It’s not just about money, either. Certainly women need to have financial security just like men do, but Stanny points out that wealth isn’t usually the primary goal of most women. Instead if they took time to think about it, they would realize that their soul wants to achieve greatness in some way – often by helping others and improving their corner of the world. That revelation shifts the focus from simply earning money to identifying the pursuit that will fulfill a woman’s desire for greatness.

This book was a pleasant surprise. It was inspiring and well written and offered a clear step-by-step program to help readers reinvigorate their lives and find their purpose. Its title nearly prevented me from picking it up for fear of a heavy handed religious message, but that didn’t exist at all. Yes, it’s spiritual, but not religious. It’s nondenominational in its approach to the notion that God or the universe or whatever you believe in has a plan for you and it’s your job to figure that out. You won’t be happy or fulfilled until you are nourishing your soul by pursuing your purpose.

Another surprise here was that it didn’t really focus on money for a substantial portion of the book. That came later – after the more important work of figuring out a purpose, clarifying values, and determining how to avoid letting anything get in the way of that pursuit.

My only real complaint was that the book is marketed to women, while it can help anyone. Hopefully the focus won’t deter men from picking it up. We can all use a few miracles in our lives - whether they're financial or not - and Barbara Stanny has good ideas for helping readers manifest them.  

Reviewed by Peter

Review: Stuff You Should Know About Stuff by Tripp & Tyler

Stuff You Should Know About Stuff by Tripp & Tyler

Link to buy Stuff You Should Know About Stuff: How to Properly Behave in Certain Situations

Story Rating: 5 out of 5

Blurb:

Do you know how to properly conduct yourself in a public restroom?
What about while in the midst of a profoundly awkward silence?
Have you perfected how to get out of helping your friend move?

If you answered no to those questions, fear not. You need Stuff You Should Know About Stuff, the book that future anthropologists will no doubt call "the Rosetta Stone of handling trivial life situations."

From the sketch comedy duo who created the viral videos “Sh*t Nobody Says” and “Things You Can't Do When You’re Not in a Pool," Tripp and Tyler bring you the written word in Stuff You Should Know About Stuff, a guide instructing you how to navigate the treacherous waters of life’s odd quandaries.

There are even photos and illustrations for people who enjoy photos and illustrations and stuff like that. You can read it from cover to cover or you can choose to educate yourself only in conjunction with your bowel movements. Totally your call there.

Stuff You Should Know About Stuff places the priority on the trivial experiences of life, because that's where we spend most of our time; trying to recover from going for the fist bump when a casual acquaintance wanted a high five.

Review:

This is one incredibly funny book. These two guys are hysterical and are like the male equivalent of Erma Bombeck. I can only imagine what they are like out drinking on a Saturday night. They talk about real life situations that a lot of people won't even say out loud (like bare asses on hotel comforters-- a very legit concern in my opinion). 

Now while this book is written more for men, as a woman I still loved reading this. And when I mentioned a few examples from this book to a male friend I did get a few "F*ck yeah, they're right on." And the urinal illustration was confirmed as being 100% correct.

This book is highly recommended if you are looking for some real laughs. 

Reviewed by Elizabeth

Review: The One Week Marketing Plan by Mark Satterfield

The One Week Marketing Plan: The Set It & Forget It Approach for Quickly Growing Your Business by Mark Satterfield

Link to buy The One Week Marketing Plan: The Set It & Forget It Approach for Quickly Growing Your Business

Story Rating: 5 out of 5

Review:

Author Mark Satterfield puts his money where his mouth is in this book designed to help business owners attract new clients simply by following a series of easy-to-understand steps. First, he advises readers to identify their niche market and figure out what problem that niche market has that can be solved by the readers' businesses. For instance, if you're an interior designer looking for more clients, you probably know that many people would love your services, but they think they can't afford a designer. In that case, solve their problem by promising to help remodel on a tiny budget. From there, Satterfield helps readers launch an entire marketing plan focused on the niche market's problem that can literally be completed in a week. No, I didn't believe it either, but in reading the book, he made it seem entirely possible.

Satterfield seems to be putting his money where his mouth is here because he followed his own advice in writing this book. His niche market is business owners who want more clients. Their problem is that they think a full-on marketing plan to attract those clients is time-consuming and expensive. Satterfield solves that problem by offering simple, clear steps that cost little to implement and can net results in a matter of days. Nicely done!

The first half of the book gives the reader daily homework assignments to follow for five days in order to get the marketing plan off the ground. The book's second half is "strategic marketing boosts" which include ideas for blogging, social media, and creating joint ventures with other business owners. These aren't part of the basic marketing plan, so can be added on later if a reader chooses.

What's most appealing about this book is the step-by-step, fill-in-the-blanks format. Satterfield does the heavy lifting for readers in many cases. It seems to go back to his desire to solve a client's problems. If a reader of this book is a poor writer and worries about not being able to send out a coherent marketing email, Satterfield solves that problem by offering sample emails with blanks that can be personalized.

This is a recommended read for business owners looking to increase their client base. In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't try to follow the plan so I can't say for sure whether it works as flawlessly as Satterfield claims. Still, this book will remain on my shelf until I'm ready to embark on my next business venture. With Satterfield's help I identified my niche market as women who can't get what they want out of a relationship with a man. I'll solve the problem by booking clients who want me to come over after work with a bottle of wine and a bag of groceries. I'll cook, listen to their complaints about coworkers, and say they deserve to splurge on a spa day. There will be a foot rub after dinner. After they fall asleep on the sofa watching Letterman, I'll do the dishes, walk the dog, and let myself out. This is the best idea since the microwave oven and with this book's help, it will be just as successful.

Reviewed by Peter

Review: Forever Fat Loss by Ari Whitten

Forever Fat Loss by Ari Whitten

Link to buy Forever Fat Loss: Escape the Low Calorie and Low Carb Diet Traps and Achieve Effortless and Permanent Fat Loss by Working with Your Biology Instead of Against It

Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

You know you've read a good book when you finish it and have a list of people you want to pass it along to. But you also know you've read a good book when you don't want to lend it out because you might not get it back. Such is the dilemma you'll face with Forever Fat Loss.

Full disclosure: I'm a sucker for the zillions of health and diet books that promise easy, quick, permanent, fool-proof results. Sadly, those promises never pan out. Sure, if you can completely avoid carbs or fats, or slash your caloric intake, you'll probably lose some weight. Or pass out during your wedding. Or die. Whatever. Those promises are unrealistic for most people with a normal amount of willpower, and they're potentially unhealthy. What to do?

Enter Forever Fat Loss. Author Ari Whitten had me at hello when he said people can eat as much as they want and shouldn't waste their lives at the gym. It's interesting advice from a personal trainer, but who's judging? He says that diets of all sorts, including low carb, low calorie, and low fat, are doomed to failure in the long run because they don't work in concert with the body.

This book points out that a key reason so many Americans are overweight is because of the typical American diet of processed foods. Laboratories are devoted to adding just the right chemicals to processed foods in order to make them unnaturally irresistible and pleasurable. This, in turn, encourages us to overeat.

Whitten has specific, clear guidelines to fix the problem. First and foremost, avoid processed foods. Eat simple, whole foods. Don't buy a milkshake at a fast food restaurant where most of the ingredients came from a lab. Want a shake? No problem. Toss organic yogurt, raw honey, and actual frozen berries into a blender. Sounds pretty good.

The book has a number of other guidelines designed to re-set your body to the weight it's supposed to be. Unlike what's found in most diet books, almost all of these seem both sensible and manageable. The only questionable one was his restriction on nuts, seeds, and legumes. He offered some rationale behind it, but it wasn't compelling. The guidelines state that people can eat some of these items if they really want to, but Whitten recommends limiting them. He advocates eating substantial protein in the form of meat and eggs, but since the environment would be healthier if humans ate less meat, my diet will continue to include unsalted nuts, seeds, and beans. That's one of the advantages of this book, though. It doesn't say "You get only 1500 calories per day!" or "No carbs!" Instead, it's all about listening to what your body is telling you. And my body is telling me to eat almonds.

Overall, this is an excellent book whether you're looking to lose weight or just embark on a healthier lifestyle. It's written in a simple, clear style with easy-to-follow guidelines and even some sample meals that show how "normal" a diet can be without processed foods. Now go make yourself a healthy milkshake and settle in with a copy of this book.

Reviewed by Peter