Review: Angelino Heights by Adam Bregman

Synopsis: When Dalton Everest, a naive school teacher with a crackerjack, free-form way of expressing himself, forms a fast friendship with Nathan Lyme, a charmer who’s cagey about his employment, everything Dalton knew of his previous life is swiftly upended.

Set up by Nathan to fall hard for Melanee, a frequently drunk French girl and former purse snatcher, Dalton ends up in a pickle and then, paranoid out of his wits, is ultimately chased through the streets of downtown L.A.

Angelino Heights is a crime novel obsessed with Los Angeles. It traipses across the city from a crooked pawn shop in Cudahy to a secretive mecca of modernism protruding from a hill in Pasadena to the old timey dive and themed bars, where its protagonists drink up the atmosphere of old L.A. 

Firstly - apologies to Adam for my tardy review. Secondly - what a great read!

I love noir! And this is a compelling tale of a solid citizen's flirtation with the dark side that has ultimately led to where they find themselves. Bregman takes his reader on a mystery tour of the seedy side of Los Angeles as we follow mild mannered school teacher Dalton Everest as he is slowly seduced over to the dark side by one Nathan Lyme. 

The reader never really discover's Lyme's motive in his selection (or targeting) of Everest as his partner, accomplice, patsy, fall-guy . Nor do we ever really discover what made Everest so susceptible to Lyme's charms, for Lyme does manage to have a certain hold over those in his immediate sphere. 

However, I strongly suspect that it all boils down to that need to walk the fine line between good and bad, a flirtation with danger; and like the old style sobriety test, some just never manage to stay on that straight line.

LAPD Detective Orlando Talbert sums it up nicely, "... they sure don't make crazy white dumbfucks like they used to ..."

Jennifer Worth: Shadows of the Workhouse

Workhouse of horrors: How this medieval hell of beatings and sack cloth exists within living memory | Daily Mail Online

In a new book by Jennifer Worth, Shadows Of The Workhouse, the former nurse and midwife recounts stories told to her by inmates of a 20th century workhouse in London's East End.

Worth's generation grew up in the shadow of the workhouse. Thousands of people lived in constant dread that some accident or illness would overtake them, leading to destitution and to that place where husbands were separated from their wives, and mothers from their children. People who witnessed neighbours going into the workhouse never forgot what they saw.

The workhouse, in its heyday, was intended to be a form of social welfare for those with nothing. In practice, it was seen as a dark and terrible fate. Not only the destitute were confined in them: workhouses were used as a dump for the mentally and chronically ill, and the disabled.

The workhouses were officially closed in 1930. But since there was nowhere else to house thousands of institutionalised people who could not be expected to adjust to the outside world, they continued under other names well into the second half of the 20th century.

Inmates were allowed out; creature comforts were provided and families were kept together. But they continued to be run as institutions, by masters and officers whose attitudes were often set still in the 1900s.

Read full article here - Workhouse of Horrors

See list of Jennifer's books here: Jennifer Worth on Amazon
Biography of Jennifer Worth (author: Call The Midwife) on wikipedia

Women in science: 50 fearless pioneers who changed the world

Women in science: 50 fearless pioneers who changed the world | Chemistry World

Does science need to be pretty? Some say the facts’ inherent beauty should speak for itself. Others believe it needs a powerful picture to get a story across to a wider audience.  

No matter what you think, Rachel Ignotofsky’s bold illustrations are certainly eye-catching. She has penned serious scientific drawings, illustrations for The New York Times, as well as hilarious anatomies of Godzilla and Sharknado. Ignotofsky’s first book, Women in Science, is a celebration of her art and is as delightful as the rest of her work.

However, that doesn’t mean the book lacks content. Ignotofsky dedicates each double page to one of 50 women in science, from ancient Greek philosopher Hypatia to neuroscientist and 2014 Nobel laureate May-Britt Moser. The author recounts each scientist’s life story, combining aspects of their personal life and scientific discoveries. While the usual suspects, Ada Lovelace, Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin, make an appearance, the book also features many scientists I had never heard of: African-American chemist Alice Ball, for example, who developed a leprosy treatment in the early 20th century long before antibiotics became commonplace.

Many of the situations the female scientists found themselves in – not being allowed to attend science classes, or having to sit behind a screen in lectures so as not to disturb their male colleagues – seem inconceivable from today’s perspective. However, a statistics page serves as a reminder that a severe gender gap still exists in science, though the author leaves it to the reader to find out why this might be the case.

Review: Dirty Little Angles

Wow - what can I say about Chris Tusa's "Dirty Little Angels" that has not already been written.

This is a hard as nails, in your face look at the life of a young girl burgeoning into womanhood in the seamier side of New Orleans. There are no white picket fences, no happy families, no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This part of New Orleans is reflective of the lives of those who live there - tough, gritty, and and barely surviving.

Hailey spends her days like most others - hanging out with friends, getting into trouble - but her actions have consequences. And when all else fails, she turns to religion.

Chris knows New Orleans - and it shows in his writing. These characters seem so real, and yet they are not the type that you would know as friends and neighbours. But their story will suck you in so much so that you cannot leave.

If contemporary literature and social commentary is your genre, make sure you read "Dirty Little Angels".

Chris on the web:

Chris Tusa - website

Reviews for "Dirty Little Angles"

Alberto O Cappas

I have the pleasure of being an "i-friend" (ie: internet buddy) of Alberto. And as such, was honoured when I had the opportunity to read some of his works.

A Little About Alberto
Alberto O. Cappas is both a poet and social observer. His works reflect the changing conditions of Puerto Ricans in both their homeland and mainland America.

He is active in promoting self-empowerment among his local community and encouraging people to take life the the scruff of the neck and make something for themselves.


Dona Julia
A collection of poems that tell of life on the "other side of the tracks" - where life is both hard and cheap; where people struggle to eke out a living day by day; where violence dominates; and yet it is also a place of the home and family, of comfort and familiarity.

The language is not flowery and gossamer-like - it is harsh, sometimes brutal but always upfront and in your face. It is a reflection of reality - it is not something akin to the fantasy poetic worlds of Keats and Byron. It is poetry for today and for today's society.

Alberto provides a glimpse into the ying and yang of life.


Lessons For Myself
A work dedicated to young people who feel trapped by their environment; who feel that there is no possible way out of the day to day struggle with life; who feel nothing but despair and anger.

Alberto's work compels young people to "think outside the box" - to not accept stereotypes, to take charge of their destinies, to make the change necessary themselves rather than sit wallowing in self-depredation. Life is there to be lived, enjoyed, and experienced to the fullest - and only you can make that detour on life's great journey.

Never Too Late To Make A U-Turn
"Never Too Late" was specifically written with students in mind, and has been accepted and utilised within the American educational system.

Alberto speaks of his own trials and tribulations in an attempt to help young people cope with their own. He is the voice of experience in a world where the lessons of experience can sometimes comes at too late in life. He offers guidance and understanding to a youth that really needs a helping hand. A man dedicated to empowering our youth and thus the world we live in.

Visit: The Educational Pledge