Monday, December 1, 2014

New Book Release: Unbound Trust

Unbound Trust by Diana Castilleja

Brooke Aiza has returned home after staying with her Aunt Jerry for more than a year to learn she's an aunt herself by her brother, and her sister is married! Overwhelmed by the changes taking place with her siblings, she begins to feel more than a familial affection for her new brother-in-law, and sees no escape except to put distance between them until she leaves for her parent's home.
Mitch isn't interested in any woman, content with his life. Mostly. Even his brother senses a restlessness building within him, but for what? Then when Mitch suffers a major accident, he and Brooke are all but confined to the same house, and he is left trying to remember why he didn't want anything to do with women. Because the more he sees of her, the more he needs her kiss.
The resurgence of an amulet into the sibling's lives changes everything, for the amulet can control them all. It will take two to destroy the evil stalking the Aiza family, and if Mitch refuses to face his feelings and Brooke can't overcome her hesitations to form a deeper trust, the opening of the gates of Hell could be the result.

New Book Release: Sparks of Tanya, vol. 1

Sparks of Tanya, vol. 1

A simplified guide to knowing, understanding and applying Chabad Philosophy. 

The Tanya, the foundation of Chabad-Chasidic philosophy, has been termed the written Torah of Chasidut. It is endlessly deep and wide and answers all of life's questions. However, for many this vast treasure remains inaccessible, because of its Hebrew language orits translation to difficult English.

The present work, Sparks of Tanya, aims tointorduce the novice to the magic and wonderful world of the Tanya - of realizing one's potential, actualizing one's fulfillment, and improving one's immediate environment - and ultimately that of the world.

Each chapter of the Tanya is presented in simplified form and articulation, which although may upset some purists (because it can't possible do the original justice), it will enable access to those who are unable for whatever reason to digest the original.

New Book Release: The Unofficial SAT Word Dictionary

The Unofficial SAT Word Dictionary

Need lots of SAT words? Then this is the book for you. A comprehensive collection of over 3,000 words most commonly found on the SAT, GRE and other standardized tests. Presented in an easy to read dictionary format with over 6,000 sample sentences. A must for the college bound student.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

New Book Release: Tuvia's Train That Had No End

Tuvia's Train That Had No End by Michoel Muchnik

The village rabbi isn`t feeling very well. The children hold a meeting and come up with a wonderful way to help him feel better.

New Book Release: The Scribe Who Lived in a Tree

The Scribe Who Lived in a Tree by Michoel Muchnik

Rachel and her brother Mendel pay a visit to their friend, Shlomo the scribe, who shows them how he writes the Torah scroll.

New Book Release: Leah and Leibel's Lighthouse

Leah and Leibel's Lighthouse by Michoel Muchnik

Mendel and Rachel go visiting again, this time to their aunt and uncle who live on an island, and they discover that the mitzvot they do can help someone they don`t even know.

New Book Release: Hershel's Houseboat

Hershel's Houseboat by Michoel Muchnik

Hershel the housebuilder is busy finishing a very unusual project - just in time to take Mendel and Rachel for a ride.

New Book Release: Dovid Comes Home

Dovid Comes Home by Michoel Muchnik

A little boy goes out to do some shopping for his mother, and wanders off the path. The friendly people he meets in the village help him remember the way back home.

New Book Release: The Double Decker Purple Shul Bus

The Double Decker Purple Shul Bus by Michoel Muchnik

It`s the only synagogue in the world that`s closed for Shabbat and Yom Tov. Why?

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

New Book Release: Events in the Life of R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi

Events in the Life of R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi by R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn

This first installment of Historical Sketches, focuses on the organizational skills of the Chabad-Lubavitch leaders, describing their far-reaching efforts on behalf of the social and communal well-being of their brethren, beginning with the founder of the movement, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, known as the Alter Rebbe. 

Penned by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, this monograph describes the process with which Rabbi Schneur Zalman imparted to his earliest followers the basic tenets of his newly developed Chabad philosophy, and tells of the challenges faced by Rabbi Schneur Zalman from two main camps that opposed the growing Chasidic movement: the Mitnagdim and the rising Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement.

New Book Release: A Trust Earned

A Trust Earned by Diana Castilleja

A doctor with a secret that one would kill to have.

Selene Aiza is a very compassionate woman by nature, and fiercely protective of those she cares for. A renowned doctor with gentle patient skills, she prefers the wild country of western Oregon and the secluded hospital where she can help the people who truly need her assistance. And in the depths of those wooded wilds she can keep her secrets well hidden.

She is safe until the man she encounters by pure chance years before becomes the hospital's first choice as co-administrator. Her secrets and her very life fall into jeopardy, and only he can save her. He could also destroy her.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

New Book Release: The Sci-Fi Movie Guide

The Sci-Fi Movie Guide: The Universe of Film from Alien to Zardoz by Chris Barsanti


Once upon a time, science fiction was only in the future.It was the stuff of drive-ins and cheap double-bills. Then, with the ever-increasing rush of new, society-altering technologies, science fiction pushed its way to the present, and it busted out of the genre ghetto of science fiction and barged its way into the mainstream. What used to be mere fantasy (trips to the moon? Wristwatch radios? Supercomputers capable of learning?) are now everyday reality.

Whether nostalgic for the future or fast-forwarding to the present, The Sci-Fi Movie Guide: The Universe of Film from Alien to Zardoz covers the broad and widening range of science-fiction movies. From the trashy to the epic, from the classics to today's blockbusters, this cinefile’s guidebook reviews nearly 1,000 of the biggest, baddest, and brightest from every age and genre of cinematic and TV science fiction. You’ll find more than just Star Wars, Star Trek, and Transformers, with reviews on many overlooked and under-appreciated gems and genres, such as ...
-Zombies! 28 Days Later…, The Night of the Living Dead, Shaun of the Dead
-Monsters! Pacific Rim, Godzilla, The Thing, Creature from the Black Lagoon
-Aliens! The Day the Earth Stood Still, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Contact, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Signs
-Mad scientists! Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Abominable Dr. Phibes
-Dystopias: THX 1138, 1984, The Hunger Games
-Superheroes: Thor, Iron Man, X-Men, The Amazing Spider-man, Superman
-Avant-garde masterpieces: Solaris, 2001, Brazil, The Man Who Fell to Earth
-Time travel: 12 Monkeys, The Time Machine, Time Bandits, Back to the Future
-Shoot-em-ups: Aliens, Universal Soldier, Starship Troopers
-Post-apocalyptic action: The Road Warrior, I Am Legend, Terminator Salvation
-Comedy: Dark Star, Mars Attacks!, Dr. Strangelove, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Mystery Science Theater 3000-What the...?: Battlefield Earth, Prayer of the Rollerboys, Repo: The Genetic Opera, Tank Girl, The 10th Victim
-Animation: WALL-E, Akira, Ghost in the Shell
-The most important TV series: Dr. Who, Blake’s 7, Battlestar Galactica, The X-Files, Firefly
-Small budgets, big ideas: Donnie Darko, Primer, Sound of My Voice, Computer Chess
-Neglected greats: Things to Come, Children of Men
-Epics: Metropolis, Blade Runner, Cloud Atlas

In addition to the nearly one thousand science fiction film reviews, this guide includes fascinating and fun Top-10 lists and sidebars that are designed to lead fans to similar titles they might not have known about. The Sci-Fi Movie Guide: The Universe of Film from Alien to Zardoz will help ensure that you will never again have to worry about what to watch next. Useful both as a handy resource or a fun romp through the film world of science fiction.

New Book Release: The Zombie Book

The Zombie Book: The Encyclopedia of the Living Dead by Nick Redfern and Brad Steiger

Rampaging, driven, killing machines.

Soulless and dead. Infected and infectious. Zombies. The epidemic of the living dead is stronger than ever in today’s pop culture, but long before exotic viruses, biological warfare, and sinister military experiments brought the dead back to life in our cinemas and on our television screens, there were the dark spells and incantations of the ancient Egyptians, the Sumerians, and the Babylonians. Blending the historical with the modern, the biographical with the literary, the plants and animals with bacteria and viruses, the mythological with the horrifying true tales, The Zombie Book: The Encyclopedia of the Living Dead is a comprehensive resource to understanding zombies. More than 230 entries cover everything from hit television shows, books, and movies to zombies’ ignominious role in folklore and mythology. Learn about mad cow disease, the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the Centers for Disease Control preparing for the end of the world, and much, much more. This is the definitive guide to zombies from two experts on the unexplained and paranormal.

New Book Release: The Handy Biology Answer Book

The Handy Biology Answer Book by Patricia Barnes-Svarney and Thomas E. Svarney

Completely revised and updated, The Handy Biology Answer Book examines and explains the workings of cell structures, bacteria, viruses, fungi, plant and animal characteristics and diversity, endangered plants and animals, evolution, adaption and the environment, DNA and chromosomes, genetics and genetic engineering, laboratory techniques, and much more. From the newsworthy to the practical and from the medical to the historical, it brings well-researched answers to more than 1,250 common biology questions, such as What is social Darwinism? Is IQ genetically controlled? Do animals commit murder? How did DNA help “discover” King Richard III? and Is obesity inherited?

New Book Release: The Union League Club of New York

The Union League Club of New York 1863-2013 by John Rousmaniere

Made exclusively for the Union League Club and its members, this book reveals the fascinating story of the Union League Club's first 150 years and the people who played vital roles in it.

Contributions by members and staff combined with striking images of the Club's collections bring the account to life, and thus the distinguished Clubhouse has been immortalized.

New Book Release: Trimmings from The Mainsheet of the Bay Head Yacht Club

Trimmings from The Mainsheet of the Bay Head Yacht Club

Gathered from the pages of its newsletters, this is the Bay Head Yacht Club's delightful 125 year history as told in the words of its own members. This compendium of short stories collectively tells the story of the venerable club that has stood proudly at the head of Barnegat Bay since 1888.

The Bay Head Yacht Club was established in Bay Head, New Jersey on September 8, 1888. Bay Head was then emerging as a popular seaside resort that attracted prominent families from Philadelphia and New York.

BHYC members were active participants in early sneakbox and catboat racing on the shallow waters of Barnegat Bay. In 1914, the club was a founding member of the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association. Commodore John V.A. Cattus of Bay Head was elected the BBYRA's first commodore. That summer, O.G. Dale of BHYC won the first BBYRA championship in his 20' Sneakbox Arran. Since then, BHYC sailors have won 190 championships in classes ranging from E Scows to Barnegat Bay's splendid wooden A Cats.

BHYC has had many accomplished sailors in history, including Slade Dale, winner of the Cruising Club of America's Blue Water Medal for 1929 for a voyage to Cuba and back in Postscript, a 23' cutter designed by Dale himself. Also included is champion E Scow sailor Sam Merrick, who managed the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team to its best showing ever: an extraordinary three gold and two silver medals in 1984. Merrick was honored later that year with US Sailing's most prestigious award, The National Herreschoff Trophy.

Today, the Bay Head Yacht Club has a vibrant membership of 775 families that enjoy active sailing and tennis programs. The Club is proud to continue its leadership in the sport of sailing and to provide a welcome location for generations of families to relax in the friendly town of Bay Head.

Recently challenged by the flooding of their clubhouse during Hurricane Sandy and the need to replace the building's wooden piling foundation, BHYC's members have rallied to the cause and demonstrated their love of this great club.

The Bay Head Yacht Club's rich history and traditions are alive and well as the Club sets sail for its next 125 years.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

New Book Release: The Art of Giving

The Art of Giving by R. Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch


What`s the ideal way to give tzedakah? Specifically, is it best to give whatever we can at any given time regardless of the amount, or should we postpone our tzedakah giving until such time as we can afford to make a more sizable contribution? Or is neither approach necessarily preferable to the other?

The Art of Giving emphatically exclaims that, yes, it does indeed make a difference how we go about giving to tzedakah, because the experience of tzedakah is about so much more than meets the eye.

New Book Release: Shulchan Aruch English Vol. 1: Orach Chaim 1-57


Shulchan Aruch English Vol. 1: Orach Chaim 1-57 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi

The code of Jewish Law of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.
The Shulchan Aruch concerns itself with the here and now of daily existence. Indeed, it seems that no detail of mundane life is left unexamined and undisiplined by the law, of halacha, of Torah.
With profound joy we now present the first installment of the new edition of an English translation of Rabbi Schneur Zalman's second magnum opus, Shulchan Aruch HaRav, the Code of Jewish Law.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

New Book Release: Trusting Delilah

Trusting Delilah by Diana Castilleja

Roman Aiza is the second born son of the Aiza clan. He also owns and operates a private security company and has an ongoing contract with one of Florida's most influential residents. He is patrolling at a party when he encounters a woman who will haunt him. A woman who at their first meeting, manages to walk right out of his hands when he follows her for trespassing. She manages to do this without giving Roman a single reason why she is in the depths of the house he is protecting. When he does finally locate her days later, his goal is to prove that his instincts are wrong. She is not the woman that all of his senses are clamoring for.
When the daughter of Roman's largest and closest account is kidnapped and held for ransom, will they be able to build a trust between them? Or will their own secrets keep them apart?

New Book Release: Journey Together

Journey Together: 49 Steps to Transforming a Family by Sarah Hermelin

Offering a model of self-improvement rooted in Jewish thought and practice, Journey Together explains the mystical system of counting the Omer—a Jewish practice of counting the days between the holidays of Passover and Pentecost—focusing on a different personality characteristic on each of the 49 days. The author illustrates how each trait can be improved with easy-to-grasp examples from the Bible as well as inspirational modern-day stories. Each chapter concludes with exercises that parents and children can carry out together to help strengthen the family bond. This guide serves to make the counting of the Omer a transformative experience for families who take the time to apply its insights and lessons into their lives.

New Book Release: Handy Bible

The Handy Bible Answer Book by Jennifer R. Prince

The Bible is a beloved text owned by most Americans. It's on most everyone's reading list, but it's not always read as often as religious leaders would hope. It can be a daunting work to master. But the new, easy-to-use companion The Handy Bible Answer Book makes this endeavor less intimidating with easy-to-understand explanations to common questions about the Bible. From its origins and history to the meanings of chapters, verses, and parables, The Handy Bible Answer Book is user-friendly, avoiding dogma and defining key terms, people, places and events, It will bring richness and context to both experienced Bible readers and those reading it for the first time.

The importance of the Bible, whether as a master work of literature, a historical artifact, or religious canon, can not be overestimated.The Handy Bible Answer Book helps readers dig deeply into the Bible to analyze the foundations of Judaism, Christianity, Western civilization, and the teachings of Jesus. This comprehensive guide also leads readers through the Old Testament, the foundation for both Judaism and Christianity and the moral and political cornerstone for many nations of the Western world. The Bible is not always read cover-to-cover, and The Handy Bible Answer Book's layout and index allows quick access to any of its passages.

The Handy Bible Answer Book answers over 1,300 how-what-why questions, including:
How has archeology contributed to understanding the Bible?
Have artifacts of ancient Egypt influenced biblical studies?
Once the Bible was complete, how did people obtain copies of it?
What are some of the most notable Bible translations through the ages?
Has the Bible always been divided into chapters and verses?
What is the Gutenberg Bible?
Why are there two creation accounts?
How big was the ark?
What was the Day of Atonement?
What is the book of Ruth about?
Who became king of Israel after David?
When was the Book of Esther written?
Who wrote the Book of Job?
What was Daniel’s first recorded dream?
What did Jonah do while he was in the fish?
What is the Q document?
How did the wise men know to follow the star?
What parable appears in the Book of Mark but not in the other gospels?
What is the Book of Luke about?
How did Jesus describe his relationship to God?
What is Pentecost?
What was one food that Paul said was never okay to eat?
According to Peter, what was the benefit of faith?
What is the Apocrypha?

New Book Release: Handy Civil War

Handy Civil War by Samuel Willard Crompton

Beginning with the economic, political, and social forces behind the conflict, continuing to the first shots fired at Fort Sumter, the military strategies, battles, and people, and following Lee's surrender at Appomattox to the reconstruction and modern aftermath, The Handy Civil War Answer Book is a captivating, concise, and convenient history of American's defining conflict.

From the biggest events and battles to the lesser known warriors and women, The Handy Civil War Answer Book presents the war, its participants, and historical significance in an accessible, enjoyable, question-and-answer format. The strategies of Lee, Sherman, and Grant; the key battles, including Gettysburg, Chattanooga, and Chancellorsville; the weapons, the prices of everything from a bale of cotton to a box of ashes; and the fascinating stories of the women, children, and soldiers affected by the carnage are explained and explored. Photos, battlefield maps, and a chronology of major events contribute to the understanding of the War between the States.

The Handy Civil War Answer Book answers over 900 questions, from the mostly widely asked to the more obscure, such as:

How did the Mexican War influence Americans of the 1850s?
How many people had their minds changed by Uncle Tom’s Cabin?
Did Jefferson Davis really mean it--was he sincere--when he used words like "liberty" and "freedom”?
What did people mean when they said Lincoln had the style of a buffoon and the “brain of a giant”?
What was Robert E. Lee’s connection to George Washington?
How does Lincoln’s 1860 election stack up when compared to other major election races?
What is nullification? What is secession? How closely are they linked?
Was there any technical or technological area in which the South held an advantage?
How could General Ambrose Burnside have made such a calamitous error at the Battle of Fredericksburg?
Who were the first black soldiers in the Civil War?
What was so important about the Homestead Act?
Was there any precedent for the Siege of Vicksburg?
Who was Junius Brutus Booth?
Would North and South have been reconciled if Lincoln were not assassinated?
What was, or is, the Solid South?
What happened to the centennial celebrations of the Civil War?

Saturday, March 1, 2014

New Book Release: Studies in Rashi - Vayikra

Studies in Rashi - Vayikra


Beginning in late 1964, after the passing of his mother, Rebbetzin Chana, the Rebbe began dedicating a segment of his weekly Shabbat public gatherings to the study of Rashi`s classic biblical commentary. What soon emerged was an innovative method for both the study and analysis of the Bible`s pre-eminent commentator, and Bible study itself. These talks continued for more than twenty-five years. 

The publication of Studies in Rashi aims to open this unique dimension of the Rebbe`s scholarship to the ever-growing numbers of English speaking students aspiring to serious textual study. 

The essays were translated by Rabbi Y. Eliezer Danzinger, and are fully annotated in Hebrew and English. The volume is further enhanced with a detailed bibliography and comprehensive index. 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

New Book Release: Poisonous Desires

Poisonous Desires by Selena Illyria

Sometimes what you desire can literally kill you...

It's time for the Werewolf Summit and this year it's taking place in Draven's Crossing. It's a huge headache for Vampire Mayor Draven, and Chief of Police Torger. With the issues they're having with the Council and the fallout of the serial killings both men want things to go smoothly so Torger asks his brother, Urban, to make sure the meetings go well. But this is Draven's Crossing; what can go wrong will. Bodies start to show up and a drug epidemic hits in the feline shifter community. Two things Urban doesn't need. When his sometimes lover Nadia is thrown into the mix, things go from bad to worse. Not only is he trying to hide his feelings for the fickle feline shifter but she's also trying to put some distance between them, and she's keeping something from him. How can he concentrate on his job when things are getting too personal and Torger is breathing down his neck?

Nadia has finally shown up in Draven's Crossing after being held for a "talk" with the head of the Feline Shifter Quorum, Zerik. Zerik wants her to go to Draven's Crossing and figure out who's making and distributing an addictive drug killing feline shifters and breaking up families. She thought she could get into town, find the culprits and blow out with no problem. Now she's assigned to help her lover, Urban, with his werewolf problems. Her emotions for him are growing and for a woman who's tried so hard not to form attachments, she fears her independent ways may have met their match. How can she keep her distance from the one man who could tear down her walls and stomp on her resistance?

Together they must stop the deaths, keep peace in the werewolf community and figure out where their relationship stands before everything is blown apart. Piece of cake, right? Not in Draven's Crossing.

New Book Release: Vampire in the Basement

Vampire in the Basement by Crymsyn Hart

Not all angels are good.

Tris is one sexy Fallen angel who happens to hunt vampires. Most believe his kind is evil, but he’s actually one of the good guys who happened to be exiled from Heaven. Really, who would want to sit on a puffy cloud all day and watch humans when he can be involved in their lives?

Meanwhile, Daniella has been left to cower in the approaching dawn, praying the hunters won’t discover her. However, the hunters do find her, but spare her life. Her master will stop at nothing to get her back. Tris and Lori have been assigned to protect her. All Tris wants to know is why is she, a vampire, so special he has to keep her safe?

Alone with her, Tris wrestles with his growing feelings, but before he can proclaim them Daniella is spirited away. There is a traitor among the Fallen. Tris must uncover who this is and get Daniella back even if it means laying down his life. What’s an angel to do?

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New Book Release: Craving Penelope

Craving Penelope by Crymsyn Hart

Penelope wakes from her fevered dreams of being pleasured by a mysterious man only to remain frustrated in her waking state. She hides behind the walls of her home because she is an empath always feeling what others feel, making relationships impossible. Razziel is an angel who has become infatuated with Penelope enough to delve into her dreams and pleasure her. Now he wishes to pursue her on Earth. Only to do that, he wonders if it will set him on the path of the Fallen, angels pushed from Heaven.

When he goes to confront her about his emerging emotions, he saves her from a daemon set on bringing her back to his master, the Grigori. Penelope can’t believe her eyes when her dream man steps into reality only to discover he is something more than a man. And no matter how much he professes love, she can’t feel it. But when another daemon comes to capture Penelope, Razziel will do anything to save her. Even making a horrible choice that could push him from Heaven for all time.

New Book Release: A Divine Madness

A Divine Madness: Rabbi Avigdor Miller's Defense of Hashem in the Matter of the Holocaust

Rabbi Avigdor Miller's last word about the origins of the Holocaust. Though the Rabbi often alluded to this book in his lectures, it remained unpublished for over forty years. At last, this remarkable work is available, describing as only Rabbi Miller could the shocking, disturbing origins of the Holocaust.

Read the riveting story a nation estranged from its Creator, slipping farther and farther from Torah observance and towards its own annihilation. See pre-war Europe through the eyes of a Torah sage who was there.