Leadership is a lifetime commitment of self-discipline! The book Secrets of Effective Leadership: A Practical Guide to Success provides useful techniques that can be applied to create successful teams for a lifetime. What is the secret? According with the author of this book, F. A. Manske, the key is to motivate each team member to envision active participation before, during and after the project. As the author states: “Outstanding leaders are future oriented. They love to dream about what could be and involve others in their dream.” Creating a common vision is the most essential leadership skill that a leader must develop in order to transform a dream into an attainable reality. Manske suggests that enjoying the landscape path of success is the most rewarding experience that nurtures the soul of a leader.

Starting From Here is the story of a high school girl who is growing up on her own after her mother's death from cancer. Colby Bingham's father loves her, but he is a long-haul trucker and isn't able to be home very much. Colby is afraid to love again after the loss of her mother, but can't help herself when a stray dog crosses her path. Mo is critically injured and needs amputation surgery which a local vet provides free of charge in exchange for a promise from Colby that she will pay for the medicine, food, and other care Mo needs to survive. Right before Mo came into her life, Colby also suffered the loss of her first love, her girlfriend Rachel. As Colby begins to build a new life with Mo Colby meets and is attracted to a girl, Amelia, who interviews her about Mo's miraculous recovery for the school newpaper. Fresh, honest, and full of quirky, but very realistic characters, Starting From Here is a delight to read.

The Sanctuary Seeker is the first in a series of medieval mysteries featuring Sir John de Wolfe. Sir John has been appointed coroner for the county of Devon, a new position at the behest of King Richard the Lionheart, which is created to investigate deaths. Pitted against his brother-in-law, Richard de Revelle, the Sherriff, "Crowner John" must assert his authority in order to bring justice to bear when two returning Crusaders are found murdered. Full of excellent historical details, humor and wonderful characters, The Sanctuary Seeker is the first book in a long and wonderful series.

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? is a thought provoking book. Telling the story of her life, Jeanette Winterson holds very little back as she describes growing up as an only child adopted by Pentacostal parents. Mrs. Winterson, her adopted mother, looms larger than life as she refuses to give warmth and love to the child she has been given. Despite the harsh conditions under which she starts life, the young Jeanette refuses to give up on life. After attending Oxford Ms. Winterson goes on to achieve success as a writer. She never completely puts the demons of her past behind her and at a time in her life when she feels loved and safe she explores her adoptive history and eventually meets her birth mother. Her thoughts on adoption are thought-provoking. If she'd been raised by her birth mother would she have become the woman she is today? Despite the harsh realities of her early life this upbringing has made her who she is. Fascinating, at times funny, and always as honest as one can be when telling one's own story, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal is a beautiful book whose words will linger long after the last page is turned.

The inspirational stories found in this book elevate the spirit and the heart of the reader. Life is a learning tool that must be explore in all its levels to achieve happiness and joy. The challenging experiences that are found in the person’s walking path help him to open undiscovered doors with potential alternatives and solutions. According to Paulo Coelho: “Difficulty is the name of an ancient tool that was created purely to help us define who we are.” The positive or the negative impact of the ripple effect can be diminished depending of the lector’s perception of solving the dilemma.

The main message of Manuscript Found in Accra is to enjoy life in its simple way with its ups- and-downs. Feeling neglected will bring negative vibrations into the person’s life and future spiritual enrichment. The best approach to any difficult situation is to admire the outer and inner beauty of every creature that is part of the human cycle. Looking at the world’s creation can provide the person in need a sense of belonging to something magnificent. In Coelho’s own word: “Everything has a reason to exist.” Excellent book!

Jack McKinley, 13 years old, is captured by a group of scientists that live in another tri-dimensional space. The doctors of the Karai Institute wants to help Jack to survive to a rare genetic condition that only the personnel of this hospital knows how to treat it. After the surgery, Jack will have special powers and skills to combat the monster of a lost civilization.

In the story, the author of the book, Peter Lerangis explores the imagination of the reader with a chain of clues and symbolisms that are given in the form of reverse words and artwork fragments. The lector must pay attention to these details in order to discover all the pieces of the puzzle and solve the mystery clue that encapsulates the tale. Adventure is the main component of the story! As the tale progresses, the young lector will get deeper into the protagonists’ personality and their way of resolving a problem: the main goal is to defeat the monster of the Atlantis. In the fifty-one chapters the reader will feel empathetic about the challenges that Jack and his team have to go through in order to accomplish their mission. They must return safe to planet earth to unfold the mysteries of the unknown.

Set on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, The Blackhouse is a story of how the past is never really over. Fin MacLeod grew up on Lewis and now he's come home for the first time in eighteen years. Fin has not, however, come back willingly, but has been sent by his commander in the Edinburgh police force to investigate a murder that resembles a recent Edinburgh crime. The story of Fin's life slowly unfolds like the peeling of an onion as the past intertwines with the present. Peter May's description of these bleak Scottish islands brings to life their beauty, but also reveals the harshness that accompanies life in this remote location and how the location molds those living there. While there is a mystery at the heart of this novel, it is more than a "who-done-it." It is a reflection on Fin's childhood and teen years with his close friends, Artair and Marsaili, their turbulent teen years and how events long forgotten have shaped their lives.

Too often, when confronted with bullying, injustice, or prejudice people choose to do nothing. Fear for their reputation, physical safety, or agreement with the views of the hater lies at the heart of such a choice.

In The Shape of Snakes, this lack of empathy is shared by a community toward “Mad Annie”. Her sins are many. First of all, she’s an old African American woman. Second, she fiercely protects her privacy. Due to constant harassment by her neighbors she has learned it’s better to keep to herself. And worst of all? She couldn’t give a tinker’s damn what anyone else thinks she should or should not be doing with her life.

All efforts to drive her out of her home and off the streets of the mostly White town have failed, but when Mad Anne Butts is discovered dead, only one soul is moved to cry out for justice.

Having visited Princeton for the first time recently I was particulary interested in this book which is set in Princeton. Written as a historical treatise in a florid Victorian style, I was prepared for the book to be a slow read. However, the intriguing and mysterious occurences hinted at early in the book kept me wanting to continue reading--for a while. As the pages slowly turned, I began to lose interest in what was promised to be the "action" in the book. I grew weary of the tantalizing tidbits and wanted a full bite of something that would capture my attention fully. After 110 pages I began to lose hope and reading felt more like a punishment than a pleasure. With a stack of more promising books begging for attention, I gave up on The Accursed. This is not to say that it isn't well-written or well-planned. It is both, but the pace was too slow and there were no characters I was invested in. I can read the slowest book in the world if the characters are interesting. This just wasn't the book for me.

Set in Wales in the late 13th century, The Wicked and the Just leaves the reader pondering the question of who, in this book, was the wicked and who was the just. Cecily, a young English girl, must make a home for herself when her father accepts a position as a burgess in Caernarvon, a remote outpost where the native Welsh must be kept under control. Cecily doesn't fit in with the other English girls, but her attitude towards the Welsh makes her no friends, there, either. Lording her power over the local girl, Gwenhwyfar, who works in the house, Cecily's cruelty pushes Gwenhwyfar to her limit. When crops fail and famine results, the Welsh subjects can starve no longer. The tables are turned on the English and Cecily finds herself at the mercy of Gwenhwyfar. This is a thought-provoking book without a single character who is likeable. This made it difficult to feel the characters were genuine. But the underlying story is a powerful one--when pushed beyond all limits, do the wicked become the just?

Two teenagers who couldn't seem more different (skin color, sexuality, class status, language spoken at home, etc.) end up making one of the strongest, most believable and indelible connections in YA fiction. Winner of this year's Stonewall YA Award as well as the Pura Belpre Award and many other honors, and you won't be able to put it down.

With beautiful paintings of monkeys and apes, this simple picture book is a great way to practice counting and numbers at the same time children are learning to appreciate the beauty and intelligence of our ape cousins!

The second Gil Cunningham Mystery centers around the mysterious death of a student at Glasgow University. Full of period details and engaging characters The Nicholas Feast continues the story of Gil Cunningham and his sweetheart, Alys. Gil's mother has learned of her son's plans to abandon his future in the church in order to wed Alys and she is not pleased. In addition to investigating the murder, Gil must deal with a visit from his mother.

In A Dying Fall, another wonderful addition to the Ruth Galloway Mystery series, Ruth becomes involved in an archaeological find after shocking evidence is uncovered of the mystical King Arthur. When Ruth's university friend who made the discovery dies under mysterious circumstances Ruth travels north to Lancashire to investigate. As luck would have it, DCI Nelson is visiting his mother in nearby Blackpool. In an effort to help Ruth and protect Kate he, too is drawn in. Funny, quirky and full of surprises, A Dying Fall is sure to please fans of this series.

While the premise is interesting and the setting is spectacular, The Winter Witch, fails abysmally. Set in early ninteenth-century Wales, The Winter Witch is the story of a young mute woman, Morgana, who is seen as an outcast in her small village because of her unusual powers. After her gypsy father vanishes Morgana and her mother barely scrape by. Morgana's mother fears for Morgana's future. No one in their village wants to associate with Morgana, much less marry her, her mother arranges for her to marry a solitary cattle drover. After settling in at Cai's farm, Morgana realizes she loves the wild landscape and the freedom it affords. But all is not as it seems. There is an evil force at work that will stop at nothing to get rid of Morgana and take her place on Cai's farm. The fantastical elements become trite all too quickly and the melodrama is so overdone that it becomes sickening. What a disappointment.

How do you define leadership? This query must be answered during the introspection process of the self. A profound meditation will reveal the individual’s core of values that will energize his human roots in the universe. Understanding the reason why each person has a purpose in life, will eventually provide better ways to work for the common good of future generations.

How this philosophical approach can be applied in the work environment? James Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of “The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations,” provides a unique perspective on how to lead individuals for a common goal. They agree that truly “leaders get people moving,” only when everyone, in the work environment, is treated with respect. Also, the authors highlight that “credibility is the foundation of leadership.”

In this book Kouzes and Posner provide the five practices of leadership: 1) Model the way; 2) Inspire a shared vision; 3) Challenge the process; 4) Enable others to act; and 5) Encourage the heart. Each chapter, of this publication, is supported by the testimony of leaders that had had successful productive paths at work. They modeled the mission and the vision of the company improving not only the work culture in a global context, but also cultivating the individual talents within the team. Ductus Exemplo is the way to lead!

Booker T. Washington was born captive slave on April 5, 1856 and he died as free man on November 14, 1915. The end of the Civil War in 1865 gave all subjugated slaves the precious gift of freedom. At this point, Booker’s family moved to West Virginia to enjoy the independence of a youthful life.

During this transition period, the teenager Booker learns how to read the words of the newspapers. He was fascinated with the knowledge that he could acquired just for reading the books. From this first moment, the freed slave showed his inclination to continue a higher education. He knew that this landscape of freedom will bring him more challenges than opportunities.

“With fifty cents and a dream in his soul,” Booker walked 500 hundred miles from his home to the Hampton Institute of Virginia. He worked very hard, as janitor, to pay for his education at this important school. He enjoyed learning a lot, but also he admired his teachers for sharing their knowledge with the rest of the students.

As a son of slave, Booker was able to overcome all the obstacles to obtain his goal in life. At the end, all the hard work paid off the sacrifices that he made to reach his dream: being part of the Hampton Institute, as an excellent student. His social condition was not a barrier to dream big. This is a great inspirational story of work commitment and action plan that should be learned and followed!

What a beautiful picture book! The remarkable paintings of “Our Children Can Soar” bring life special moments in the history of the African American Community. The twelve stories reflect on the hard work of past leaders, which brought to the community, their unique contribution to a greater vision: recognition of cultural pride. The history events, presented in this book, assemble the need to look up into the past in order to move toward a better future. With a few words, every picture speaks by itself highlighting, to the readers, the need to build a better world for the common good of the younger generation. Dream big is the message of this story!

A rather plodding murder mystery set in Wales in the 1950s, Where Death Delights brings together two forensic investigators, Richard Pryor and Angela Bray, who set up their own forensic lab in the Wye Valley in Wales. Even the beautiful setting could not bring to life this dull story. Two mysteries are at the heart of the story, first, the drowning of a prominent lawyers daughter, and, second, two women's who claim a body found in a local quarry belong to a missing relative whose death will bring about large inheritances. Neither mystery produces much suspense.

This is the first in a series of mysteries set in Glasgow, Scotland in the last decade of the 15th century. Gil Cunningham, the protagonist, is introduced he is a young scholar studying law. Since the death of his parents and brother he has been supported and guided by an uncle, but it is understood that he will soon enter the priesthood. He is drawn into a mystery surrounding the death of the runaway wife of disolute local nobleman who has taken up with an itenerant musician. When his chance encounter with Alys, the daughter of a French stone mason, develops into something more serious, Gil must decide what to do with the rest of his life. Familiarity with the politics and history of medieval Scotland would be helpful in keeping track of the subtle relationships between the myriad characters. The use of medieval descriptions can either frustrate the reader of The Harper's Quine or lead to exploration of the terms used.