By THIRSTY

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The lazy days of the Summer of 2012 are proving to be very hot, but that should not stop anyone from reading a great book to pass the time, to stimulate their imaginations or to inspire new ideas. During the first six months of 2012, four eBooks published by Stay Thirsty Publishing distinguished themselves as #1 Amazon Best Sellers and are just the ticket for portable reading according to reader reviews.

 

FORTY YEARS LATER by Steven Jay Griffel has earned the #1 Amazon Best Seller spot in Music and the #3 Amazon Best Seller spot in American Drama, and over 60 5-star reviews from Amazon customers. It has become the Baby Boomers’ look-back anthem, the clarion call for a “Do-Over” after forty years, the great “What if…?” that touches the hearts of so many middle-aged Boomers. Bounded by the original Woodstock Festival and its forty-year anniversary revival, author Griffel has woven a story that vibrates with music, movies and murder.

 

From Amazon customer reviews:

“What a thoroughly entertaining novel ‘Forty Years Later’ is. I absolutely loved it and read it in two sittings. Terrific fun, great plot and really excellent build up of suspense and dread. I thought the narrative worked really well and I thought the two main characters, David and Jill, were well realized. I really enjoyed Mr. Griffel's writing style and I hope this novel is not a one-off as I would like to read more of his output. If you are looking for a fun read, I highly recommend it. Five stars from me!!”

***

“I just finished reading ‘40 Years Later,’ and what fun! How many of us Baby Boomers daydream about our first real teenage crush--and all the angst and ‘what might have beens’? Well, author Steven Jay Griffel takes us back to those days and vividly recreates life in a summer bungalow colony in the Catskills during the time of the momentous landing on the moon and Woodstock.”

***

“This was the first book I read on my Kindle and it won't be the last. Once I got the hang of the Kindle, I found I enjoyed using it, but more importantly, enjoyed reading this novel. As someone who came of age during the turbulent sixties and seventies, I spent summers in Sullivan County at ‘sleep-away’ camp. Those memories, as captured by Steven Jay Griffel, live on in who we all became. I surely remember the summer of 1969, captured so well by the author. But, even more so, as the plot thickened, not only did I want to find out what happened to all of the well-drawn characters, but I also found myself reminiscing about the unfulfilled potential (personal and generational), nostalgia for what seemed like simpler times, and having my own Woodstock-related missed opportunities. Woodstock Lives!”

***

“I enjoyed ‘Forty Years Later’; it took me back so many years. I was too old to go to Woodstock but the event captured my imagination and transported me to some of the bungalow colonies I spent so many growing up years at.”

***

“I thoroughly enjoyed Griffel's debut novel. The characters were gripping and drenched in reality. I could relate to the major themes of regret, love and nostalgia. I am a product of the Baby Boomer Generation and Post War America High so I definitely knew where he was coming from. This is a solid body of work and I recommend this novel to anybody!”

***

“An intimate and intriguing narrative of a 50-something baby boomer who searches for fulfillment to a long held regret of not attending Woodstock. Its a humorous, yet relatable ‘adult coming of age’ with an intimate emotional depth. The audience will find themselves laughing, empathizing, and ultimately rooting for the main character of David Grossman, despite the moral weight and dilemmas that his desires trigger. A great read for Baby Boomers due to Griffel's deep investigation of the nature of nostalgia and lust.”

***

“‘Forty Years Later’ is an engrossing novel that doubles as both a humorous and keenly-observed literary take on aging, nostalgia, and regret and a genuine page-turner. Griffel lends voice to a narrator who is funny, honest about himself, sometimes wimpy, and ultimately heroic in his decisions. I couldn't put the book down and recently spent a very tired day at work after reading through the night. Highly-recommended.”

***

“There are probably forty good reasons for reading this book--but topping the list is it's a great read. You'll laugh, you'll wonder about the lives of the characters, and you'll come away questioning your own life and what might happen if you revisited your own past. Don't wait forty years--or forty days--to read this entertaining, suspenseful, and humorous book.”

 

LITTLE HOT MAMA - The Flossie Turner Lewis Story by Flossie Turner Lewis and Paula Meseroll has earned the #1 Amazon Best Seller spot in Literacy and has become a popular and respected autobiography that tells a story seldom told. Born into a traveling minstrel and carnival entertainment family, Flossie Turner began her career as a singer at the age of two in the early days of the Great Depression. Her stage name was “Little Hot Mama” and her career as a singer spanned over forty years. Her stages went from the Deep South to Los Angeles to Puerto Rico to Miami and her life as a black jazz singer was filled with tragedy and triumph. Remarkably at the age of 65, she decided to learn how to read and write, became the Literacy Student of the Year, went on to lobby Congress and to pen her autobiography. For inspiration, LITTLE HOT MAMA is a book that tells of one woman’s courage, strength and victory over poverty, adversity and illiteracy.

 

From Amazon customer reviews:

“This was a book I am very glad I read. Truthfully I could not put it down.”

***

“I was glad I was on vacation when I started reading this book, because I could not put it down. Flossie is a truly amazing woman to have the strength to overcome so many obstacles. The book made me laugh, cry and laugh again so many times. This book was a history lesson all over again. I can't remember the last time I have enjoyed a book as much as this. It is a must read.”

***

“Flossie Turner's life is fascinating, and is documented beautifully in this memoir. Her experiences as a performer from an extremely young age are especially captivating and not to be missed. From one page to the next, this story encompasses a full range of emotions. Flossie has faced many difficult trials that she worked hard to overcome, which makes for an enthralling read that cannot help but move the reader. Her triumph over illiteracy as an adult, and her subsequent work as a literacy activist, is an inspiration! This memoir has so much to offer, from a very interesting glimpse at American history through Flossie's lens to her compelling personal drama. I highly recommend it!”

***

“This strikingly honest autobiography presents the memoir of a remarkable and gifted woman who, in an outrageously difficult situation, took all the resources that life gave her and created a positive and redemptive reality. It also offers a window into the world of Jim Crow era Black entertainment, a world that is in danger of being forgotten today.”

***

“This book was an excellent account of overcoming obstacles, the challenge of racial discrimination, and the reality of dysfunctional families and the impact they have on the children in them. It was a very interesting and exciting read.”

 

THE WINTER BARBEQUE by Matt Cutugno is a Baby Boomer’s caring story of the last 24-hours of his father’s life. Written with a sensitive touch, THE WINTER BARBEQUE became the #1 Amazon Best Seller in Aging Parents and has been lauded as a tribute to a World War II everyman. The insights and the relevance to the issues of aging parents for today’s Boomers have made this book a must read.

 

From Amazon customer reviews:

“It's hard to express just how moving this book is. On one level, it's a son's beautifully heartfelt and thoughtful love letter to his father and his family. At the same time, it's one generation bidding a loving goodbye to a fading generation, acknowledging respect and deep affection.”

***

“Written with such candor and a devoted disposition, ‘Winter Barbecue’ is a marvelous recollection of the author's father and the cherished times they shared. Cutugno's words come to life with his descriptive storytelling, and his subtle humor allows for an absorbing read.”

***

“Come and grab your summer reading, ‘The Winter Barbeque’. In it Matt Cutugno takes you on a journey of the last twenty-four hours of his father's life. It is a window into a life filled with love, war, family, friends and a lot more.”

***

“Before the summer is over, put ‘THE WINTER BARBECUE’ on your reading list. Author, Matt Cutugno has written a very personal, honest and revealing recollection of his family focusing directly on his father and mother. Encapsulated in a 24-hour period is a lifetime of experiences, relationships and revelations unfolded. The writing style is direct, fresh and unlike anything I've ever read; full of exquisite detail and description with a terrific sense of humor. What takes Ayn Rand 9 pages to describe, Cutugno can provide in a few words, a sentence filled with great depth and dimension. This book delivers a complete, compelling and touching story written with an economy of words and one you should experience. It will leave you wanting to see what comes next from this fine innovative author.”

***

“The story touched me. The protagonist is from my father's generation. It brought some things home to me that I needed to think about.” 

 

THE AMERICAN STORYBAG by Gerald Hausman is a remarkable collection of short stories, perfect for the beach or the night table. The author has been called a modern day Mark Twain and is one of the last great storytellers. THE AMERICAN STORYBAG reached #1 Amazon Best Seller status in the Native American Literature category because it is filled with stories and tales that came from Gerald Hausman’s lifelong career of “listening” to and preserving Native American folklore that would otherwise be lost.

 

From Amazon customer reviews:

“As a fan of good writing and American folklore, I have to say that this collection beats everything I've come across in my life in this genre. Gerald Hausman's writing is at times lyrical, evocative, mesmerizing - and always entertaining. The stories are interesting and varied. At times, I wondered how one person could have had so many interesting life experiences and garnered so many stories. The interview at the end of the book helps display the author in a personal light and I imagine he's a very wise soul.”

***

“His tales made me want to jump out of my confined, routine way of life and either hit the road or at least start walking somewhere to meet some new people. I quickly read through these tales all at once, but one could also appreciate them slowly, one each day, for they are short and easy to digest. I recommend it to everyone, and I'm going to look for Mr. Hausman's other writings.”

***

“These stories are told so simply, and yet with such a real sense of place and time - I can smell hot earth, rain, feel the sun. I'd say that Mr. Hausman is lucky for having met all the people he did, and learning so much from them: their stories, their ways, their real selves.”

***

“Many people nowadays turn to a self-help book to shine a light upon their life and to right themselves when they've lost their way. I reckon what most people hanker for is to find the narrative thread in their own life to hang on to. We all need stories. A tale well told is like a door looking out onto the world and your vision becomes renewed.”

***

“Hausman is a born storyteller. There's no doubt about that. His decades in the American Southwest come through like the dust on a horse's back, sprinkling sand and memories on the reader. This electronic book, like a leather-bound collection of tales in an itinerant storyteller's saddlebag, travels well. It's great entertainment. Read it while you travel or by the night fire at home”.

***

“Hausman is a master. No question there. The American Storybag exemplifies this fact. Wonderful folklore, fantastic anecdotes, poetry at times and always poetry in prose. There's something for everyone here, stories to open the eyes, ears, heart, and soul.”

***

“Masterful telling, masterful writing - as close to Mark Twain as it gets. Hausman can weave a full grown, wondrous story in a single page.”

 

These four #1 Amazon Best Sellers have proven themselves over time with the reading public and offer timeless insight into life and living.

 

Links:

Steven Jay Griffel - Author Profile
Steven Jay Griffel on Facebook

Flossie Turner Lewis and Paula Meseroll - Author Profile
LITTLE HOT MAMA on Facebook

Matt Cutugno - Author Profile
Matt Cutugno on Facebook

Gerald Hausman - Author Profile
Gerald Hausman on Facebook
Gerald Hausman - Author & Storyteller