AoL Books Promotions

AoL Consciousness Research Fiction Nonfiction Books PromotionArt, Who we are, Education, Spirituality, Mindfulness, Power of Mind, Mantras, Healthy Food, Links, default, ebooks download, Healthy Living

New Book Launched! 

Metaphysics of Sound: in Search of the Name of God, or a Brief History of the World beyond the Usual by Nataša Pantović

Available for reviews as a Pre-Release copy. Please contact us on PR @ artof4elements.com

AoL Mindfulness Books Promotion Feb 2021

During the month of February we celebrate our Family birthday and we offer our books for free during the week of 8th of Feb. 2021, for 5 consecutive days. 

When I read Stories of Your Life and Others in 2017 I was blown away by Ted Chiang's writing. It's unique to find a short story collection where so many of the stories are standouts (and memorable) but his first collection managed to do both. I found it mind-boggling that he hadn't written more so when I heard Exhalation was coming out I added it to my library holds list. With the memory of the stories from the first book still pretty fresh in my mind, I went into Exhalation with high expectations...and was slightly disappointed. This collection veered much more strongly toward artificial intelligence and existentialism while his previous work was varied (and exceptional). The best story from this collection was actually Exhalation which was about robots constructed with artificial lungs (yes, it's creepy). I can't really remember any of the rest except one about a robotic nanny which had a great philosophical bent to it. Quite a few stories were novella length which I think contributed to why it didn't feel as diversified as the first collection since not as many stories could be included. (A/N: Many of the stories were collected from various publications over the years and some are as old as 10 years.) That isn't to say that I didn't still appreciate his artistry as a writer because without a doubt he is a brilliant wordsmith but when you come out of the gate with such a winner like Stories of Your Life and Others it can be difficult to reach that height again. ¯_(ツ)_/¯  My overall assessment: 6/10.

What I'm Currently Reading: Do You Mind if I Cancel? (Things That Still Annoy Me) by Gary Janetti

About 3 pages into Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade I felt that the author had a real issue with Muslims and he wrote this book to denounce them through a historical lens. As he drew parallels to the Barbary Wars (what's detailed in this book) and present day conflicts, he made the claim that slavery was a unique and barbarous practice only perpetrated by Muslims against whites. (Duh that's not the case.) By the time I had finished the book my overwhelming impression was that this book was not only Islamophobic but a major piece of revisionist history. (I even checked other reader's reviews to make sure that I wasn't completely off the mark here and they back up my feelings pretty much across the board.) He makes a strong argument for a show of military strength over diplomacy. In fact, the Barbary Wars were what precipitated the formation of the Navy and Marines (the 'shores of Tripoli' ring any bells?). I couldn't even tell you if what he says happened really happened when such a large focus was on ideas other than the historical events of the moment. 0/10

And then to discover that this book which was recommended to me by a coworker was in fact written by a co-host of Fox & Friends made total sense after the fact. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ 

What I'm Currently Reading: Inside Out: A Memoir by Demi Moore

Rings of Truth Part 1: Dying Words by James Tayler starts with Jessica Kinsey, a police officer who was a high profile homicide detective who has been demoted.

I received a complimentary Kindle copy in an Amazon promotion. That did not change my opinion for this review. I gave it four stars.

"She spies a young man at the scene of the crime looking suspicious. Before she can question him, he disappears like that of a ghost. He is a dark and mysterious man named Rafael Sanchez. She finds a ring with strange language inscribed on the back of it. She takes it into her custody and before she can make it to the station, she is ambushed on the road."

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/RIng-truth-Dying-James-Tayler-ebook/dp/B078RHMB6Y