Book Reviews

4.9

Why a Daughter Needs a Dad is a rhyming picture book drawn from Gregory E. Lang's New York Times bestselling series, written with Susanna Leonard Hill and illustrated by Sydney Hanson, designed to celebrate the bond between fathers and daughters through warm verse about growing, learning, and staying true to oneself.

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster by Mike Michalowicz

4.8

Profit First, reissued by Portfolio in 2017, presents Mike Michalowicz's counter-intuitive financial framework for small-business owners: take profit out first, then operate on what remains. Drawing on case studies, step-by-step guidance, and Michalowicz's characteristic humor, the book is designed to replace the conventional revenue-minus-expenses accounting model with a behaviorally driven system built around predetermined profit percentages. This review is based on published sources and the book's documented contents — not hands-on application of the method.

Jul 2, 2026

MIND: Psychology - The Untold Story by David Lloyd Shepard

MIND: Psychology — The Untold Story of How Your Mind Works is a wide-ranging popular psychology reference by textbook author and associate clinical psychologist David Lloyd Shepard, designed to move beyond standard academic summaries and surface the discoveries and realities that conventional textbooks leave out. This review is based on the book's contents and published source commentary, not hands-on application.

Jul 7, 2026

You Are a Badass®: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness by Jen Sincero

Jen Sincero's You Are a Badass®, a #1 New York Times bestseller with over 5 million copies sold, arrives in this 2023 Ultimate Collector's Edition with new content — including an exclusive chapter on intuition, reader testimonials, an updated foreword, and a reader's guide — making it the most complete version of the self-development phenomenon to date. This review covers the book's content and published reception; it does not assess the physical collector's edition first-hand.

Ingredienti: Marcella's Guide to the Market (A Cookbook Bestseller) by Marcella Hazan, Victor Hazan

Ingredienti is Marcella Hazan's final gift to the kitchen — a compact, authoritative guide to selecting, storing, and using the fresh produce, pantry staples, and salumi at the heart of Italian cooking, assembled from her handwritten notebooks by her husband and longtime collaborator Victor Hazan and published by Scribner in 2016. Critical coverage calls it "an indispensable reference volume for professional and home cooks," and chef Daniel Boulud names it "a timeless reference for any serious home cook." This review assesses the book's content, organisation, and published reception, not a kitchen test.

Jul 3, 2026

Marcus Aurelius - Meditations: Adapted for the Contemporary Reader (Greek by Marcus Aurelius

James Harris's adaptation of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations brings one of antiquity's most revered philosophical texts into a form designed for modern readers, preserving the private Stoic reflections of a Roman emperor while reshaping the language for contemporary accessibility — a worthy entry point for those new to Stoic philosophy, though readers seeking scholarly rigor may prefer a traditional critical edition.

Jun 29, 2026

Release Me by Tahereh Mafi

4.5

Release Me is the second book in Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me: Series Two (also subtitled The New Republic), continuing the story of trained killer Rosabelle and her captor James. Published by Storytide on April 7, 2026, it is the middle chapter of a planned trilogy aimed at readers aged 14 and up. While the book delivers the emotionally charged romance and dystopian intrigue the Shatter Me universe is known for, some readers find it a step down from its predecessor, Watch Me.

Jul 7, 2026

The Art of Letting Go: Stop Overthinking, Stop Negative Spirals by Nick Trenton

4.4

The Art of Letting Go: Stop Overthinking, Stop Negative Spirals, and Find Emotional Freedom (The Path to Calm) is a self-help guide by Nick Trenton, independently published in May 2023, that offers psychologically grounded strategies for breaking free from anxiety, rumination, and emotional spirals. This review covers the book's content, structure, and positioning based on published sources, not hands-on application.

Great Circle: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel (Man by Maggie Shipstead

4.4

Great Circle is a sweeping literary novel by New York Times-bestselling author Maggie Shipstead — a Booker Prize finalist and Women's Prize for Fiction nominee hailed as a masterpiece by critics and named one of the best books of the year by TIME, NPR, the Washington Post, and others. Its dual-timeline structure follows Marian Graves, a fictional aviator pursuing a pole-to-pole circumnavigation, alongside a present-day Hollywood actress preparing to portray her on screen. The novel is praised for its meticulous research, emotional depth, and the kind of sprawling ambition rare in contemporary fiction — though its very scale makes it demanding reading.

Jun 29, 2026

The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss

4.2

The Escape Game is a YA murder mystery set aboard a reality TV escape-room competition, co-written by Marissa Meyer (New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles) and Tamara Moss (author of the Lintang series), published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on April 7, 2026. When a murder strikes the popular game show The Escape Game, a new cohort of teen contestants must solve deadly puzzles while racing to uncover who killed Alicia Angelos — before one of them becomes the next victim. Critics called it "exhilarating, nonstop fun," praising both its page-turning pace and its rotating cast narration, while blurb authors Karen M. McManus and Lish McBride highlighted its sharp suspense and intricate puzzle construction. The novel is a strong fit for readers aged 14 and up who enjoy whodunits, escape-room fiction, and soapy reality-TV drama laced with genuine stakes.

The Unowed Universe: A 21st-Century Philosophy Grounded in Science by Tobias M. Kohl

The Unowed Universe: A 21st-Century Philosophy Grounded in Science by Tobias M. Kohl is a sweeping philosophical work published by Table Bot Editions in April 2026, in which Kohl — an independent researcher holding a PhD in molecular biology with a background in pharmaceutical R&D — constructs a science-informed metaphysical framework that engages the philosophy of science, naturalized Kantian epistemology, and broader questions about the nature of reality. At 692 pages, it is a demanding, book-length argument rather than a survey, designed for readers willing to follow a sustained and technically ambitious inquiry.

Jul 7, 2026

Travels Album: Adventure is worthwhile in itself by Eliza Figueroa

Travels Album: Adventure is worthwhile in itself is an independently published travel album and journaling resource by Eliza Figueroa, designed for readers aged 10 to 18. This review is based on the book's available product information and published descriptions, not hands-on use. The book is structured to help young travelers document and reflect on their adventures, drawing its title from the timeless sentiment that the journey itself carries intrinsic value.