In My TBR Stack:

Eat That Frog! for Students
by Brian Tracy with Anna Leinberger
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

Like adults, students of all ages struggle with how to manage their time. Encountering the necessity of time management for the first time, high schoolers juggle classes, extracurricular activities (all but mandatory for college admissions), jobs, internships, family responsibilities, and more. College brings even more freedom and less structure, making time management even more critical.

Brian Tracy's Eat That Frog! has helped millions around the world get more done in less time. Now this life-changing global bestseller has been adapted to the specific needs of students. Tracy offers readers tips, tools, and techniques for structuring time, setting goals, staying on task (even when you're not interested), dealing with stress, and developing the skills to achieve far more than you ever thought possible. This is the book that parents and teachers have long been wishing Tracy would write.

In My (Mom's) TBR Stack:

Justified Misfortune
by Lori Matthews
Twisted Page Press LLC
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

Hudson Riggs has returned to his family’s ranch after years spent traveling the world. The former Navy SEAL accepted a position as a Personal Security Specialist, a job that didn’t leave much free time. He never expected his visit to his hometown to turn into another job. His former High School flame has been arrested for murder but Hudson’s gut instinct is she didn’t do it. All he has to do now is prove it.

For Sunny Travers, being back in Canyon Springs is bittersweet. She desperately misses her life in California but her grandmother needs her. Sunny’s world flips upside down when she’s arrested for killing the local hero. Now the citizens of Canyon Springs have turned against her and she’s forced to accept help from the man who broke her heart all those years ago.

Hudson knows Sunny hasn’t forgiven him. Hell, he hasn’t forgiven himself for how he left things but all his emotions take a back seat when someone tries to kill Sunny. Can Hudson protect Sunny long enough to apologize to her and right old wrongs or will the killer get to her first?

In My TBR Stack:

No Man's Son: A Flight From Obscurity to Fame
by Linda Chowdry
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

An immigrant’s memoir recounting the life of a young Pakistani man who came to the U.S. with only a driving ambition to make a difference in his chosen industry, aviation. Through challenges and successes, he soared to the very heights of the airline business. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, he unleashed his passion, ultimately building a successful airline, Atlas Air Cargo.

On My Radar:

The Dog Who Saved the World
(Middle Grade Fiction)
by Ross Welford
Schwartz & Wade
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

He smells terrible. He’ll eat literally anything. And he’s humanity’s only hope…. 

When 12-year-old Georgie makes friends with an eccentric retired scientist, she becomes the test-subject for a thrilling new experiment: a virtual reality 3-D version of the future. At first, it’s just a game. But when a deadly virus threatens to wipe out every pup on the planet, Georgie and her beloved (and very smelly) dog, Mr. Mash, along with best friend Ramzy, must embark on a desperate quest to save the dogs– and also all of humanity. And they have to do it without actually leaving the room. This high-concept, astonishing new novel from the author of Time Traveling with a Hamster takes us on an epic adventure, and asks the question: is it really possible to alter the future?

In My TBR Stack:

Learn to Program with App Inventor: A Visual Introduction to Building Apps
by Lyra Blizzard Logan
No Starch Press
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

You've swiped and tapped your way through countless apps, but have you ever created one? Now you can, thanks to Learn to Program with App Inventor. In less than an hour, you'll be able to build and run your first app!

App Inventor is a free software for making Android apps. All you need is a PC with an Internet connection to build your app, and a mobile phone for testing. You'll use a simple drag-and-drop interface, which minimizes errors and avoids too much typing.

A certified App Inventor Master Trainer, Logan breaks down each project into logical steps, lists the components you'll need, and then shows you how to create screen designs, control program flow with conditionals and loops, and store data in variables and lists. Once you've tested the app on your phone, you can test what you learned with challenges at the end of each chapter.

You'll build cool apps like:

• Hi, World!: Use your voice to send a text message
• Practice Makes Perfect: Rehearse a speech or dance routine with this video recording app
• Fruit Loot: Catch randomly failing fruit in this exciting game
• Beat the Bus: Track a friend’s journey using location services and maps
• Virtual Shades: Take a selfie, then try on some virtual sunglasses

Join the 10 million people who have tried App Inventor, and make the journey from app user to app inventor.

In My TBR Stack:

The Night Before the Morning After
by Scott Newman
New Degree Press
Hardcover


From the book publicity:

The Night before the Morning After is a rock and roll diary of Newman’s wild life and times. Beginning in Antibes, the story brings readers to New York, New Jersey, D.C., Paris, and Jordan. Between outrageous travel stories, improbable encounters, and scandalous romantic entanglements, Newman offers a behind-the-scenes expose and critique of life at an elite boarding school and at Princeton. It’s Salinger meets Easton Ellis meets Bukowski, written by and for the iPhone generation. It is at once a portrait, critique, and celebration of the American experience in the 21st century.

On My Radar:

Rock Star Hitman: The Sledge Chronicles
by David Ellefson and Drew Fortier
The Ellefson Book Company
Trade Paperback


From the book publicity:

The Sledge Chronicles: Rock Star Hitman is the first chapter in the action-packed saga of Sledge; an up and coming musician who uncovers a startling quid pro quo: in exchange for achieving his dreams of Rock stardom, he must enlist as a ruthless killer for a clandestine agency. Filled with twists, turns, screams, and even laughs, Rock Star Hitman is the cult thriller you've been dying for. Rock Star Hitman is the first in The Sledge Chronicles series, and is the first fictional title authored by Grammy award winning Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, co-written by musician, filmmaker, actor Drew Fortier.

On My Radar:

Kiling JonBenet Ramsey: Unprecedented and Extensive Evidence Uncovers New Suspects
by Dylan Howard
Skyhorse Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

The killing of six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey—found in the basement of her family home in Boulder, Colorado, with a smashed skull and a garrote placed around her neck—remains one of America’s most shameful unsolved crimes. A flawed investigation, fraught with police and prosecutorial misconduct and widespread evidence tampering, means that the little girl’s killer remains at large after more than two decades.
 
Now, as told in Killing JonBenét Ramsey an unflinching new investigation into the crime will seek to finally secure justice for JonBenét. Investigative journalist Dylan Howard has assembled a crack team of internationally renowned criminal investigators, experts, and lawyers with the express aim of finding her killer.
 
They have sifted through scores of new tips and leads, pored over never-before-seen crime scene evidence, searched through hundreds of pages of coroners’ reports, police statements, and private journals, and conducted many exclusive new interviews. They have petitioned courts and law enforcement agencies, gathered archival material, and utilized new scientific advances.
 
This is not a retelling of JonBenét’s story; it is an active investigation of her murder. Combining the compulsive draw of a Hollywood movie blockbuster, the addictive thrill of the police procedural, and the heartwrenching tragedy of the real-life murder of a beautiful toddler and the consequences for her family, Killing JonBenét​ Ramsey seeks to put right one of the modern age’s most monstrous wrongs.
 

On My Radar:

Son of a Milkman: My Crazy Life with Tesla
by Brian Wheat with Chris Epting
Post Hill Press
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Brian Wheat is far from your typical rock star. As bassist for the multi-platinum band, Tesla, he’s enjoyed the spoils of success and lived the sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll lifestyle to the hilt. But it came at a cost, one that took years to repair.

In this deeply honest and utterly revealing memoir, Wheat sheds light on the many challenges he faces, including bulimia, weight issues, and the crippling anxiety and depression caused by his conditions. Just like the songs his legendary band made, this is no-nonsense, blue-collar storytelling at its best. While revealing the vulnerable human behind the bass guitar, this autobiography also offers tremendous stories of life on the road, and collaborations and encounters with legendary figures like his pals in Def Leppard, David Lee Roth, Alice Cooper, and Paul McCartney. Son of a Milkman will entertain, surprise, and inspire longtime fans of this enduring band.

In My TBR Stack:

The Plan After Police Reform
by Reco McDaniel McCambry, M.B.A.
Trade Paperback


From the book publicity:

2020 has been a year like no other. It has brought us unparalleled danger, as well as unparalleled opportunity for real change.With the uprising triggered by George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers still going strong, there have been many heartening changes to local municipal laws around the country. But we all know it’s not nearly enough. To produce real justice for the Black community, we must have equal economic power and equal access to education – and those are goals that seem lightyears away.Although police reform is a very hot topic and deserves national attention, there are other subjects we must not ignore while we have the national and even global stage. If these matters are not addressed, social justice and progress, in totality, will never be reached!Fortunately, Reco McDaniel McCambry has a plan. As one of the top entrepreneurs and financial educators in America, he’s spent his professional life helping Black families to initiate a foundation for generational wealth and motivating Black entrepreneurs to realize seemingly impossible goals.Now, McCambry brings his financial and motivational skills to the cause of racial justice. THE PLAN contained within these pages includes a blueprint that anyone can take to forward economic equality, fairer legislation, and transformational change for our black communities nationwide; even across the world.

In My TBR Stack:

Last Chance to Save American Democracy: Republicans Will Permanently Take Power in the 2022-2024 Elections Unless Democrats Follow This Plan
by Haven Scott McVarish
5 Journeys Media
Trade Paperback


From the book publicity:

Last Chance to Save American Democracy is the book we need after the 2020 election.

Now is the time to fight to make America the vibrant democracy we thought we had!

Fixing our country's problems are within reach, but our window to act is short.

Do you remember how quickly our optimism was crushed after Obama's 2008 landslide as Republicans seized control of states and the national government and blocked all progress during the entire 2010 decade?

Are you optimistic that Democrats won't repeat their same mistakes now that we've won back the White House?

Political strategist Haven McVarish reveals the hidden truth on how Republicans:

• Almost became the permanent party in power this past decade using 4 Weapons Against Democracy (until, Trump accidentally spoiled their plan) 
  
• Are poised to retake power in the 2022 and 2024 elections (this time, permanently) now that Trump will no longer be a drag on the GOP ticket

Understanding the weapons used by Republicans to undermine democracy is crucial if we don't want Democrats to repeat their mistakes from the past 10 years. But this book goes beyond this urgent warning. With riveting insight, political strategist Haven McVarish fights back and sets the “democracy revival” agenda. Weaving a set of 12 comprehensive solutions with an organizing plan to get these solutions into law, McVarish creates the strategy we need for 2021. Otherwise, Democratic leaders will squander this last chance to save democracy afforded by the 2020 defeat of Trump.

You don't have to feel frustrated and scared.

This blueprint lays out a clear path for us to compel Democrats into taking effective action in 2021 before it's too late.

Now in Paperback:

Not Afraid: The Evolution of Eminem
by Anthony Bozza
Hachette Books
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

In 1999, a former dishwasher from Detroit named Marshall Bruce Mathers III became the most controversial and polarizing musical artist in the world. He was an outlier, a white artist creating viable art in a black medium, telling stories with such verbal dexterity, nimble wit, and shocking honesty that his music and persona resonated universally. In short, Eminem changed the landscape of pop culture as we knew it. In 2006, at the height of his fame and one of the biggest-selling artists in music history, Eminem all but disappeared. Beset by nonstop controversy, bewildering international fame, a debilitating drug problem, and personal tragedy, he became reclusive, withdrawing to his Detroit-area compound. He struggled with weight gain and an addiction to prescription pills that nearly took his life. Over the next five years, Eminem got sober, relapsed, then finally got and stayed clean with the help of his unlikely friend and supporter, Elton John. He then triumphantly returned to a very different landscape, yet continued his streak of number one albums and multiplatinum singles.Not Afraid picks up where rock journalist Anthony Bozza’s bestselling Whatever You Say I Am left off. Capturing Eminem’s toughest years in his own words, as well the insights of his closest friends and creative collaborators, this book chronicles the musical, personal, and spiritual growth of one of hip-hop’s most enduring and enigmatic figures.

On My Radar:

Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House
by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz
Crown Publishing
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Is it possible for a sitting vice president to direct a vast criminal enterprise within the halls of the White House? To have one of the most brazen corruption scandals in American history play out while nobody’s paying attention? And for that scandal to be all but forgotten decades later?

The year was 1973, and Spiro T. Agnew, the former governor of Maryland, was Richard Nixon’s second-in-command. Long on firebrand rhetoric and short on political experience, Agnew had carried out a bribery and extortion ring in office for years, when—at the height of Watergate—three young federal prosecutors discovered his crimes and launched a mission to take him down before it was too late, before Nixon’s impending downfall elevated Agnew to the presidency. The self-described “counterpuncher” vice president did everything he could to bury their investigation: dismissing it as a “witch hunt,” riling up his partisan base, making the press the enemy, and, with a crumbling circle of loyalists, scheming to obstruct justice in order to survive.

In this blockbuster account, Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz detail the investigation that exposed Agnew’s crimes, the attempts at a cover-up—which involved future president George H. W. Bush—and the backroom bargain that forced Agnew’s resignation but also spared him years in federal prison. Based on the award-winning hit podcast, Bag Man expands and deepens the story of Spiro Agnew’s scandal and its lasting influence on our politics, our media, and our understanding of what it takes to confront a criminal in the White House.

On My Radar:

The Last Days of John Lennon
by James Patterson with Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge
Little Brown & Company
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

With the Beatles, John Lennon surpasses his youthful dreams, achieving a level of superstardom that defies classification. “We were the best bloody band there was,” he says. “There was nobody to touch us.” Nobody except the original nowhere man, Mark David Chapman. Chapman once worshipped his idols from afar—but now harbors grudges against those, like Lennon, whom he feels betrayed him. He’s convinced Lennon has misled fans with his message of hope and peace. And Chapman’s not staying away any longer. 
 
By the summer of 1980, Lennon is recording new music for the first time in years, energized and ready for it to be “(Just Like) Starting Over.” He can’t wait to show the world what he will do. 
 
Neither can Chapman, who quits his security job and boards a flight to New York, a handgun and bullets stowed in his luggage. 
 
The greatest true-crime story in music history, as only James Patterson can tell it. Enriched by exclusive interviews with Lennon’s friends and associates, including Paul McCartney, The Last Days of John Lennon is the thrilling true story of two men who changed history: One whose indelible songs enliven our world to this day—and the other who ended the beautiful music with five pulls of a trigger.

On My Radar:

Can't Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year
by Michaelangelo Matos
Hachette Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Everybody knows the hits of 1984 – pop music’s greatest year. From “Thriller” to “Purple Rain,” “Hello” to “Against All Odds,” “What’s Love Got to Do with It” to “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” these iconic songs continue to dominate advertising, karaoke nights, and the soundtracks for film classics (Boogie Nights) and TV hits (Stranger Things). But the story of that thrilling, turbulent time, an era when Top 40 radio was both the leading edge of popular culture and a moral battleground, has never been told with the full detail it deserves – until now. Can’t Slow Down is the definitive portrait of the exploding world of mid-eighties pop and the time it defined, from Cold War anxiety to the home-computer revolution. Big acts like Michael Jackson (Thriller), Prince (Purple Rain), Madonna (Like a Virgin), Bruce Springsteen (Born in the U.S.A.), and George Michael (Wham!’s Make It Big) rubbed shoulders with the stars of the fermenting scenes of hip-hop, indie rock, and club music. 

Rigorously researched, mapping the entire terrain of American pop, with crucial side trips to the UK and Jamaica, from the biz to the stars to the upstarts and beyond, Can’t Slow Down is a vivid journey to the very moment when pop was remaking itself, and the culture at large – one hit at a time.

In My TBR Stack:

A New Way to Know: Using Artificial Intelligence to Augment Learning in Students with Cognitive Disabilities
by Al Jones, Jr., Ed.D.
Leverage in Learning
Trade Paperback


From the book publicity:

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO "KNOW" SOMETHING"

​

While the answer to this question has been traditionally defined by the content of an individual's mind, artificial intelligence technology, or AI, has the potential to completely redefine the notion.

​

In no context are discussion of what it means to know more relevant than in those surrounding individuals with cognitive disabilities, unique individuals who struggle with knowing daily.  However, the emerging age of AI has opened up new opportunities - new ways for them to know what they've never had access to knowing before.  This new way of knowing presents new opportunities and new potentials for them to live normal independent lives. 

In A New Way to Know, Dr. Al Jones, Jr. explores the intersection between AI and cognitive disabilities, making an equity-based case for how the strategic integration of AI into special education classrooms can revolutionize the learning outcomes of students. Filled with refreshing ideas, the book promises to spark lively discussions among stakeholders in education, technology, the corporate world, and the community.

On My Radar:

Before I Get Old: The Story of the Who
by Dave Marsh
Plexus Books
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

Before I Get Old stands as one of the best books ever written about rock’n’roll. After best-selling Rolling Stone writer Dave Marsh was invited by Pete Townshend to write a history of legendary band the Who, he spent three years investigating and researching their story. The result is the first in-depth biography of the band, discarding the myth and nonsense which has become so much a part of the usual Who coverage. Before I Get Old tells the story of not one but six personalities – guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, drummer Keith Moon and singer Roger Daltrey plus their original managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. It describes the group’s origins in the steamy nightlife of London, charts their meteoric rise to fame, and describes the creation of the rock opera Tommy which turned them into superstars. Here is the pathos, the laughter, the crazy world they worked in, the drugs, the destruction, the vandalism, the debts, the multi-million-dollar tours, and of course the music. In short, this story contains every inch of the fascinating, shocking, hilarious, and provocatively relevant material that makes up the Who and their wild lives and careers. Before I Get Old is essential reading, an exhaustive study of an exhausting band, who have always lived up to their legend.

On My Radar:

Honky Tonk Hero
by Billy Joe Shaver
University of Texas Press
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

As full of life, heartbreak, and drama as any of Billy Joe Shaver's songs, Honky Tonk Hero is the story of a man who not only walked on the wild side and lived to tell about it, but also got it all down in some of the finest country music ever written.

On My Radar:

Last Stands: Why Men Fight When All Is Lost
by Michael Walsh
St. Martin's Press
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

In our contemporary era, men are increasingly denied their heritage as warriors. A survival instinct that’s part of the human condition, the drive to wage war is natural. Without war, the United States would not exist. The technology that has eased manual labor, extended lifespans, and become an integral part of our lives and culture has often evolved from wartime scientific advancements. War is necessary to defend the social and political principles that define the virtues and freedoms of America and other Western nations. We should not be ashamed of the heroes who sacrificed their lives to build a better world. We should be honoring them.

The son of a Korean War veteran of the Inchon landing and the battle of the Chosin Reservoir with the U.S. Marine Corps, Michael Walsh knows all about heroism, valor, and the call of duty that requires men to fight for something greater than themselves to protect their families, fellow countrymen, and most of all their fellow soldiers. In Last Stands, Walsh reveals the causes and outcomes of more than a dozen battles in which a small fighting force refused to surrender to a far larger force, often dying to the last man.

From the Spartans’ defiance at Thermopylae and Roland’s epic defense of Charlemagne’s rear guard at Ronceveaux Pass, through Santa Anna’s siege of the Alamo defended by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie to the skirmish at Little Big Horn between Crazy Horse’s Sioux nation and George Armstrong Custer’s Seventh Calvary, to the Soviets’ titanic struggle against the German Wehrmacht at Stalingrad, and more, Walsh reminds us all of the debt we owe to heroes willing to risk their lives against overwhelming odds—and how these sacrifices and battles are not only a part of military history but our common civilizational heritage.

On My Radar:

Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut
by Samantha Cristoforetti
Penguin Random House UK
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

'Today I woke up on Earth. And I will fall asleep in space'

In space the sun rises and sets 16 times a day. You fly over every sea, every mountain and desert, every city and every port. The most ordinary things -- eating, sleeping, brushing your teeth or cutting your hair -- have to be relearned, until they become familiar again. This is the story of Samantha Cristoforetti's incredible journey to becoming an astronaut, and her journey beyond Earth.

Her voyage as an apprentice astronaut began when she was in her early thirties: five years of intense training around the world, from Houston to Japan to the legendary Star City in Russia. Countless hours spent in centrifuges, spaceship simulators and under water for spacewalk practice. Then, one day, a rocket was waiting for her on the launch pad. And after eight minutes of wild ascent, she was on orbit, crunched up with her two crewmates in a tiny spaceship that took them to the International Space Station.

With honesty and warmth, Cristoforetti chronicles the two hundred days she spent on the ISS, the joys and challenges of being in an extraordinary place, from the sublime sight of seeing Earth for the first time to more unusual concerns, such as mastering the art of floating. How do you find your bearings when there is no up and down? What is it like to run in weightlessness? And how do you cook in space?

This is an enthralling, inspiring and surprisingly down-to-earth story about what it really takes to pursue your dreams. 

On My Radar:

They Just Seem a Little Weird: How KISS, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz Remade Rock and Roll
by Doug Brod
Hachette Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

It was the age when heavy-footed, humorless dinosaurs roamed the hard-rock landscape. But that all changed when into these dazed and confused mid-'70s strut-ted four flamboyant bands that reveled in revved-up anthems and flaunted a novel theatricality. In They Just Seem a Little Weird, veteran entertainment journalist Doug Brod offers an eye- and ear-opening look at a crucial moment in music history, when rock became fun again and a gig became a show. This is the story of friends and frenemies who rose, fell, and soared once more, often sharing stages, studios, producers, engineers, managers, agents, roadies, and fans-and who are still collaborating more than forty years on.

In the tradition of David Browne's Fire and Rain and Sheila Weller's Girls Like Us, They Just Seem a Little Weird seamlessly interweaves the narratives of KISS, Cheap Trick, and Aerosmith with that of Starz, a criminally neglected band whose fate may have been sealed by a shocking act of violence. This is also the story of how these distinctly American groups-three of them now enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-laid the foundation for two seemingly opposed rock genres: the hair metal of Poison, Skid Row, and Mötley Crüe and the grunge of Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and the Melvins. Deeply researched, and featuring more than 130 new interviews, this book is nothing less than a secret history of classic rock.