BookTrib’s Bites: Ring in the Holidays with Four Great Reads

(NewsUSA) - Teaching in the Dark by Genet Simone

“A poignant memoir of leaping to the unknown on so many fronts…A book that will animate your mind for days after you finish it,” says one Amazon reviewer.

A young teacher buys a one-way ticket to Shishmaref, Alaska. Within minutes of landing, she finds herself dealing with unexpected, rustic accommodations, and the culture shock of living in a remote Iñuit community.

She relies on her courage, resilience, and wit while enduring freezing temperatures, power outages, loneliness, and first-year teacher anxieties and missteps, but eventually realizes that those challenges pale in comparison to the life lessons she learns about the heart of teaching—lessons from her students, their culture, and their community, on the vast, windy landscape at the edge of the Chukchi Sea. Purchase at https://bit.ly/3QAa0z9.

The Irish Connection by Norma Jennings

For those who love epic stories, this gripping page-turner unveils the brutality of imperialism in Ireland and the Caribbean Island of Jamaica. A historical saga you will never forget. 

West Cork, Ireland, 1846: Desperate and half-starved, an Irishman boards a hurricane-battered ship to the Caribbean. But life away from Ireland is also bleak. The ship is attacked by pirates, his best friend is killed, and he arrives on a distressful, slave-scourged island. 

Jamaica, West Indies, 1846 - 1849: Sean O'Sullivan barely endures his work as overseer for the cruelest British planter in Jamaica. Britain is forced to abolish slavery, but angry planters continue to brutalize Blacks. Rebellions erupt and activists are lynched. O'Sullivan quietly resists planter abuse and creates thriving farming communities owned by his ex-slaves. 

How will he survive, as uprisings continue to flare and a well-respected human rights activist returns home to Jamaica? Purchase at https://amzn.to/3EUaVFp.

So, Is Retirement Supposed to Suck? By George Dean

A must-read for anyone who plans on retiring someday. It speaks of author George M. Dean’s pitfalls and how others can learn from his mistakes. This book is divided into two sections:
 In the first part, George recalls some of the more damaging memories from his childhood such as his father using him as a human connection to the rabbit-ears on top of the TV or getting busted by a nun for perusing through a Playboy magazine.

The second part explains why retirement is not what it’s cracked up to be. According to George, it’s the people --  people who work for major corporations and get off on responding in the most negative patterns. Anyone nearing retirement is sure to enjoy this humorous and honest account of the author’s experiences. Purchase at https://bit.ly/3QCPCgY.

Knocktopia: Secret of the Mother Lode by Hunter Malone

In this middle grade/YA adventure novel, a trail of cryptic codes sends Ben and Sam deep underground to discover a treasure more valuable than gold. Ben Coolahan loves his life in Boston in 1873, but when his father passes, he's sent west to the family's mine. Ben's father left him a medallion, coded messages, and a warning to keep them secret. His new guardian, Delilah, sends him to work in the mine. Ben finds refuge with a Cornish miner who shares his superstitions and tales of the knocking.

 A quick-witted girl, Sam, helps Ben unravel the codes and their hidden messages, which lead them underground to discover a precious treasure. Miners are blasting their way toward the wall of gold. But gold is not what Ben and Sam are protecting, and they'll have to risk the mine's fortune to save lives. Purchase at https://bit.ly/47fQ4ZH.