This month we are reviewing five books: 1. “’Succeeding”, 2. “ROMA”, 3. “The Torrid Zone”, 4. “Be Our Guest”, and 5. “How to Retire Overseas”.

Comments on current reads:

  1. “Succeeding” (316 pages, paperback, 2011) by John T Reed. Reed is a noted real estate guru with a sharp wit and no uncertain opinions of other gurus. I had read the 2nd edition of this book 15 years or so ago. The 3rd edition is updated and most importantly has been rearranged to be more effective. John’s take on self-professed real estate guru’s is hysterical and correct. His real estate advice is sound although he does have a strange dislike of 1031 exchanges.
  2. “Roma” (555 pages, hardback, 2007) by Steven Saylor: This is the first book in the three part history of Rome; from founding to the last days of the empire. I found this book on research about the rise of Christianity during my review of Pastor Jeff’s recommendation, “The Rise of Christianity”. Saylor writes historical fiction. I have read and greatly enjoyed his “Sub Rosa” series of books about a ‘detective’ in Ancient Rome during the transition from Republic to Empire. Again, here he fictionalizes history while remaining true to the known, historical sources. He recounts the beginning of the history of Rome in the time of myths to the last days of Julius Caesar and the rise of his great nephew Octavian/Augustus. He inserts the two fictional families, the Pititi and the Pinari in the center of all the action. I am reading the three-book series, out of historical order; last first, then middle, next beginning. I found this book to be less compelling than the last (next?) two because it is mostly based on the myths of the founding of Rome. There are very little ‘hard’ historical sources to work from. To me, this book gets interesting when he reaches the story of the Gracchi Brothers.
  3. “The Torrid Zone” (300 pages, paperback, 2014) by Alaric Bond. I read and reviewed the first five books in this British Naval Fiction, “His Majesty’s Ship”, “The Jackass Frigate” True Colors”, “Cut and Run” and “The Patriot’s Fate”. I give them high marks. Now that I read the first five books in the series, I like it even more. I learned that the author does not center the series and each book around the captain. All the other series are about the captain rising from humble or noble beginnings to the end of an illustrious career. In Bond’s world, he follows a cross section of the crew, from the lowest to the captain. You are never sure who will survive and who won’t. In the first book, the captain, who I liked, died at the very beginning of the climactic battle.
  4. “Be Our Guest” (244 pages, paperback, 2011) by Disney. This has been ‘on the table’ four years. My daughter worked the summer at Christ Church in Phoenix in 2017. They use this book as a training tool on how to treat ‘guests’ at the church. Here is Executive Pastor Rev. Dr. Jeffery Schrank doing a Concordia University Irvine recruitment seminar in 2015:

  5. “How To Retire Overseas” (352 pages, paperback, 2018) by Kathleen Peddicord. “Whether motivated by a desire for adventure, or the need to make the most of a diminished nest egg, more and more Americans are considering an overseas retirement. Drawing on her more than three decades of experience helping people relocate happily and successfully, Kathleen Peddicord shows how living in an unconventional retirement destination can cost less than a traditional home in Florida or Arizona.”