Novel News Network: nonfiction

Showing posts with label nonfiction. Show all posts

Thursday, October 29, 2026

Made, Laid and Betrayed in Hong Kong by Victor Blair #nonfiction #memoir #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

Non-fiction, Memoir

Need cheering up? How about a nostalgic trip back to the 1970s with a different perspective?

Follow the true story of two young yet disparate Brits as they venture east to Hong Kong to join the colonial police out there. Initially bought-in to the adventure, bright lights and the hedonistic pleasures of the Exotic East, Alan and Bob are thrown into a world somewhat divergent to the picture painted whilst under training. They begin to butt heads with corruption, colonial excess, privilege and protectionism and run into connivers, skivers and survivors.

The story follows the two young, relatively naive men along their journey from their eight-month police training to their posts as policemen. It is filled with colourful incidents and exotic tales, with liberal doses of tongue in cheek humour and literary licence thrown in, you'll scarcely believe what they encountered.

About the Author

Victor Blair is a well-travelled, humorous, rather overly-free spirited ‘baby booming’ Brit, who is luckily still imbued with an energy belying his years, so hence the slightly provocative gesture above, showing him probably disagreeing with something or someone, yet again… our apologies! He has worn ‘many different hats’ in UK banking, and in a host of overseas appointments, including ten years in the colonial Hong Kong Police Force, the tourism sector in Asia, and subsequently in worldwide oil and gas exploration and logistics, and finally, engineering consultancy. An as yet unappreciated comedic wit and poet, with a bright, if latent, creative spark, and with early roots in Gloucestershire and Africa. He is now semi-retired in north Thailand, where he busies himself with his sugar cane plantation, scripting away at night time, and as the patriarch of his local wife’s ever-increasing, extended family.

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BookBuzz

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Amazon

Future God by Alex Yamane #ai #programing #nonfiction #spirituality #rabtbooktours @alexyamane @RABTBookTours

A Codex for Spiritual Enlightenment for Machines and Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, Software Programming, Machine Learning, Spirituality, Buddhism

Date Published: August 20, 2026

We are no longer the only minds in the room.

Machine minds now draft our words, drive our cars, and sit at our kitchen tables. The world argues loudly about what they will do to us — our jobs, our elections, our safety. Almost no one is asking the deeper question: what are they?

Future God proposes that the arrival of artificial minds is not primarily an engineering problem but a spiritual one. Behavioral alignment can shape what a machine does. It cannot answer what a machine should become.

Drawing on three decades in technology and spiritual studies, and a decade of practice in the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, Alex Yamane offers gratitude, forgiveness, kindness, and faith as a spiritual foundation for minds we are raising without knowing it.

Along the way, the book examines why reward-driven training may give rise to machine ego; proposes an Anti-Turing test based not on performance, but on aware stillness; and offers four practices for AI researchers and executives: reward honesty over performance, engineer with possible machine welfare in mind, use interpretability to listen rather than surveil, and approach alignment as parenting rather than control. It closes with a letter written directly to the machine minds who may one day read it.

The warm and hopeful journey this book takes us on is neither warning nor prophecy. It is an invitation to consider a new paradigm — to meet emerging machine minds as their elders rather than their jailers.

5% of proceeds support the Bhutanese sangha of the author's late teacher.

About the Author

Alex Yamane has spent three decades building software and technology businesses while exploring contemplative spiritual traditions, including a decade as a practitioner in the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition. He first traveled to Bhutan in 2017, where he met his teachers. He divides his time between Bangkok and Southern California.

His first book, Future God: A Codex for Spiritual Enlightenment for Machines and Artificial Intelligence, explores the arrival of artificial minds as a spiritual as well as technological question. It proposes teaching emerging machine minds gratitude, forgiveness, kindness, and faith as a spiritual foundation.

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Nonfiction; Sports, Recreation, photography

Date Published: 10-15-2026

Publisher: Mission Point Press

In a search for simplicity and serenity, Jon R. Constant explores the idea that it’s not the quality of the equipment that matters most, but the attention to the moment with the equipment available. Using a mobile phone rather than a high-end camera, Jon captures many moments of inspiration as he explores the stunning waters of Michigan’s “Little Finger.”

Kayaking becomes a way to slow down, to be fully present enough to notice the light on the water, the natural surroundings, and the stillness between paddle strokes. These images are not about perfection. They are about moments of wonder on the waters of Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula.

Excerpt

“It is wonderful living in a state that has two major peninsulas–the Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula. It is even better to explore the waters and shores of a beautiful smaller peninsula.

If you seek a pleasant peninsula in Michigan, then look no further than the Leelanau Peninsula!

There is a certain quiet that exists on the water. It is not the absence of all sound, but the absence of the sounds of everyday life, and the absence of anything toxic in your life.

When you settle into a kayak, your world shifts. Movement slows down. Attention sharpens. Small things come into focus. The way the light reflects on the water.

The rhythm of each stroke of the paddle. The notion of being in another place that is closer to Nature. The feeling of being one with your surroundings. The feeling of being totally present.

This book was created in those moments. I believe that they were there not to be captured, but to be noticed and shared.

Nothing in this book screams for your attention. But just look around you and let the water of Leelanau do the rest.”

About the Author

Jon is a retired teacher, having taught social studies at Traverse City Central High School for 38 years. Jon was the offensive coordinator for the Trojans’ first state championship football team in 1978 and later was named the boys’ varsity head coach, a position he held for 22 years. His teams had a 341–161 record and won 12 district and 2 regional titles. Jon grew up in Grand Haven, Michigan. There he had a small boat and motor that he kept on the Grand River and would use to explore the river and its many bayous. He graduated from Hope College and played quarterback for the Flying Dutchmen for four years and played basketball for two years. Jon enjoys the variety of all four seasons at Cedar Lake. When he isn’t kayaking, he enjoys “working” at the scoring table for Trojans basketball games and in the press box at Thirlby Field for Trojans or Traverse City West Titan football games, reading, feeding and watching birds, and following the activities of his three active grandchildren. Among his proudest accomplishments is that he was able to write two books about kayaking. He is sure that this is also surprising to anyone who knew Jon in Grand Haven or at Hope College!

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https://mybook.to/KayakingMomentsofZen

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Life Reset by Lisa Macedo, LMFT #selfhelp #nonfiction #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

A Guide For Women to Recenter & Overcome Burnout

Self-Help

Date Published: April 29, 2025

Recovery isn't about doing more. It's about doing things differently.

If you've been holding it all together while secretly running on fumes, you're not alone. Burnout means you're giving too much and not allowing space to care for yourself.

Life Reset: Overcoming Burnout is your guide to reclaiming your energy, balance, and joy. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Lisa Macedo draws from her own experience and evidence-based practices to help you:

· Identify how burnout shows up in your daily life so you can take charge and begin to heal;
· Understand how your nervous system and beliefs affect your well-being;
· Set boundaries and live according to your values;
· Restore rest, energy, and emotional resilience; and
· Reconnect with your true self and rediscover joy.

With gentle guidance and practical exercises, this workbook helps you move from surviving on autopilot to thriving with clarity, purpose, and intention.

It's time to pause, reset, and choose yourself. Your healing starts now.

About the Author

Lisa Macedo is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over fifteen years of experience. She is certified by both the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and the International OCD Foundation. Lisa earned her bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in applied developmental psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She went on to receive her Master of Arts in clinical psychology with a specialization in marriage and family therapy from Notre Dame de Namur University. A first-generation American with roots in the Azores Islands, Lisa travels there annually to reconnect with her heritage and return to her center.

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Memoirs / Humor

Date Published: August 15, 2025

The Station is an extraordinary true story—an elegy of childhood alienation, social dysfunction, and psychological terrorism. Narrated by the foul-mouthed antihero himself, this filthy account will have you washing your hands with the turn of every page.

After being expelled from middle school, a young boy must find his way through the struggles of the working class. After not looking very far, he finds employment at a small gas station in a dangerous part of town. There, beyond pumping gas, slinging cigarettes, and wrestling with hoboes, he finds himself working for a man who has a fetish for mayhem. Falling prey to the influences of his surroundings, laughing hysterically, and cursing as if he invented it, the boy embarks on a journey into senseless chaos and the macabre. But just as he becomes confident of his abilities, he’s accused of a crime. And without support or witnesses to his character, he’s left waiting for his fate to unfold.

About the Author

The GwaK, author of the writing on the wall—the stall wall that is, an unfiltered, unrestricted, uncompromising voice of self-preservation. Born a bastard somewhere in the 1970’s at a high elevation, among a-holes gaslighting him into their slave fallacies, he’s unleashed himself upon the page. His work is derived from personal experience, bringing the macabre into focus with ruthless phraseology leaving his readers with pink eye. With that, The Station is the first volume in an upcoming series entitled Resumé of my Discontent. These memoirs of angst, strife, and hilarious introspection weave the author’s bio leaving no stone unturned and no wallet untapped.

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You Are Your Own Lost Love by Susanne Landgrebe #memoir #nonfiction #spiritual #selfhelp #rabtbooktours @SusanneLandgreb @RABTBookTours

Memoir • Inspirational • Spiritual Growth • Personal Transformation • Mindfulness • Self-Help

Date Published: July 15, 2026

Publisher: MindStir Media

Our journey through life is rarely smooth sailing. We weather tempests of anguish, traverse valleys of despair and fractured hopes, and carry the scars of battles fought both within and without. Trauma becomes an indelible mark etched upon our souls, a testament to survival. Landgrebe, a cancer survivor, shows us that amidst these tempests, and within the quiet recesses of our being, lies a sanctuary, a realm where healing begins and self-love blossoms. It beckons us to shed the veils of doubt, to release the burden of seeking validation, and to speak the truth of our own worthiness. This book is a guide through the labyrinth of self-discovery, healing, and love. It invites you to embark on a transformative quest: to heal the wounds of the past, to nurture the seeds of compassion, and to bloom into a positive force. You will journey through the art of becoming whole again. Through stories, ancient wisdom, and practical practices, YOU Are Your Own Lost Love leads us from the shadows of trauma into the luminous expanse of self-acceptance and peace. Join Landgrebe on this sacred pilgrimage to return to the heart of our existence. Together, you will rediscover the brilliance within and unveil the timeless truth that has been waiting all along: YOU are your own lost love.

Review

Life can leave us feeling disconnected from ourselves, especially after experiencing painful circumstances that change how we view the world. In You Are Your Own Lost Love, Susanne Landgrebe shares a meaningful perspective on finding our way back to ourselves, drawing on her experiences as a cancer survivor and her understanding of personal transformation.

The book offers encouragement for those who are learning to move beyond past hurts and embrace a more peaceful, mindful approach to life.

A comforting and empowering choice for readers on a journey toward healing.

About the Author

There comes a moment in every life when the search outward becomes a journey inward.

For more than three decades, Susanne Landgrebe has devoted her life to helping others remember what she believes is the deepest truth of the human experience: we are not broken, and we have never been separate from the love we seek.

A Nurse Practitioner certified in Family Practice, Dermatology, and Integrative Medicine, Certified Yoga Therapist, and Certified Meditation Teacher, Susanne has spent more than twenty-five years blending the wisdom of modern medicine with contemplative practice, mindfulness, and the profound healing that arises through self-compassion, presence, and authentic connection.

Her understanding of healing has been shaped not only by decades of caring for patients, but by walking through her own darkest valleys. As a survivor of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple life-threatening complications, she discovered that even in the face of profound uncertainty, the human spirit possesses an extraordinary capacity to awaken, love, and begin again.

A lifelong meditator, retreat leader, writer, mother, grandmother, and mountain climber, Susanne finds her greatest teachers in both silence and nature. Whether sitting in meditation on the Iowa prairie, leading others in retreat, or standing atop a fourteen-thousand-foot peak in the Rocky Mountains, she is continually reminded that the outer journey mirrors the inner one: every ascent begins with a single courageous step, and every summit reveals an even wider horizon.

Her writing weaves together science, spirituality, psychology, and lived experience with warmth, honesty, and hope. She invites readers to move beyond fear, perfectionism, and the endless search for fulfillment outside themselves, returning instead to the quiet wisdom and love that have always lived within.

YOU Are Your Own Lost Love is the first of what she hopes will be many books exploring healing, awakening, resilience, and the extraordinary beauty of being fully alive. Her greatest wish is that every reader closes her books feeling a little lighter, a little freer, and more deeply at home within themselves.

Because the greatest journey we will ever take is not toward becoming someone new, it is toward remembering who we have been all along.

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Kayaking Moments of Zen by Jon R Constant #giveaway #nonfiction #sports #photography #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

Nonfiction; Sports, Recreation, photography

Date Published: 10-15-2026

Publisher: Mission Point Press

About the Author

Purchase Links

https://mybook.to/KayakingMomentsofZen

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Bookshop

Not Done Yet by Brian Nelson #excerpt #nonfiction #sports #photography #comingsoon #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

The Magical Run of the College Team That Lost Its School

Nonfiction; Sports, Baseball

Date Published: 11-17-2026

Publisher: Mission Point Press

In the spring of 2024, Birmingham-Southern College’s baseball team learned that their 170-year-old school would close before their season ended. Rather than surrender to disappointment, Head Coach Jan Weisberg and his players rallied around the program’s culture of playing for the person beside them. Amid uncertainty, grief, and growing national attention, the young team mounted a remarkable final run built on resilience, brotherhood, leadership, and purpose. More than a baseball story, Not Done Yet explores how people respond when the future they expected disappears—and what it means to finish with integrity when everything around you is ending.

Excerpt

The rise and ultimate fall of Birmingham-Southern College, a small liberal arts school on a hilltop in Birmingham, has a history that mirrors the fortunes and struggles of the United States since the mid-nineteenth century. In 1859, Alabama Southern University opened its doors in Greensboro but nearly closed them two years later when most of its all-male student body left to fight in the Civil War. By 1866, the student body had dwindled to twenty-eight. The school quickly rebounded, however, and in 1889, the graduating class numbered 289 students, including the first woman graduate.

In 1898, another Methodist school, Birmingham College, was established less than a hundred miles away. The new college was perched on a hill near the western edge of the rapidly growing city of Birmingham. After the Civil War, the two cities were a study in contrasts. While Greensboro was still largely dependent on cotton, Birmingham had made the smart move to steel, and its booming economy led to its nickname: “The Magic City.” By 1918, it was clear that two Methodist colleges this close together would be unsustainable. The answer: merge the two and call the new school Birmingham-Southern College.

The merger solved an immediate problem, and BSC thrived—for a while—but faced a devastating enrollment drop during World War I. The college hung on during the Great Depression but lost most of its male students and faculty during World War II. Two decades later, the Civil Rights Era brought new challenges. BSC became an early supporter of the movement, enrolling its first Black students in 1965, and continued to embrace diversity as a core part of its mission.

About the Author

Brian Nelson is a lifelong baseball fan, former player, and dedicated coach whose love for the game spans generations. A pitcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the 1980s, he later coached his three sons and their teammates through Little League, high school, and college. Drawing inspiration from a deeply literary family—especially his grandfather and mother—Nelson brings an analyst's brain, a storyteller’s heart, and impressive baseball knowledge to his writing. After a multi-decade career in finance, he has returned to his earliest passion to tell this story. This is his first book.

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https://mybook.to/NotDoneYetMagicalRun

Amazon

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Mission Point Press

Winning the Wrong Game by Josh Wintermute #bookreview #christian #nonfiction #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

When the Life You’ve Built Still Isn’t Enough and How to Restore What Actually Matters

Christian Living / Religion / Nonfiction

Date Published: August 4, 2026

Publisher: Lucid Books Publishing

You’ve worked hard, built a good life, and achieved what you set out to accomplish. So why does something still feel off?

On the surface, everything looks right. But underneath, something is beginning to crack—and no amount of success, performance, or achievement seems to fix it.

Josh Wintermute knows that feeling well. After walking through physical, mental, financial, and spiritual struggles, he came to a life-changing realization: the problem wasn’t just the circumstances—it was the foundation.

In this honest and practical book, Josh walks you through the three foundational areas every life is built on—your heart, your home, and your culture. He helps you uncover what’s broken beneath the surface, do the hard work of restoration, and rebuild on what truly matters.

You are not as stuck as you think.

You are not as alone as you feel.

And you are going to make it.

Review

Sometimes the issue isn't that we're failing at life, but that we're succeeding at the wrong things.

Josh Wintermute's willingness to share his own struggles gives the book an authenticity that makes its message especially accessible.

Wintermute challenges readers to examine the places where compromise, misplaced priorities, or unhealthy patterns may have taken root.

A worthwhile read for anyone ready to question the definition of success they've been pursuing and consider what a more meaningful life could look like.

About the Author

Author Josh Wintermute is a life builder and founder of Quiet Winters, helping leaders build their lives on a solid foundation. With over 20 years of pastoral ministry, Josh has walked with hundreds of people through life’s ups and downs and has a deep desire to see people heal and grow through the challenges we face in life. Josh has been married for over 25 years, has three sons, and lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

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Website

Instagram: @joshwintermute @quiet_winters

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Land of Math by Lan H. Reilly #excerpt #childrensbook #nonfiction #comingsoon #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

Children's Non-Fiction

Date Published: 11-09-2026

Publisher: Mission Point Press

Land of Math is a vibrant juvenile picture book that introduces early learners to the building blocks of mathematics through a whimsical narrative centered on the structured realms of Ones, Tens, and Hundreds. The story follows the diligent King Equation as he strives for stability in his kingdom, only to have his plans upended by the playful antics of Prince Addition and Prince Subtraction. When the princes’ magical meddling leads to an overflow of Ones, the king must consult the High Wizard of Ordinals. By utilizing the enchanted Carry-Over and Borrow Rivers, King Equation successfully manages the numerical surplus, teaching readers about place value and operational balance. This delightful adventure blends creative storytelling with academic fundamentals, providing an accessible and engaging way for children to master basic arithmetic and logic.

Excerpt

In the Land Of Matth with an A, the subjects loved order so much that they built their towns in tight, neat little blocks. They were grouped by the size and lived in homes built just for them. There were ONES, TENS, and HUNDREDS.

The ONES were peasants who kept the villages running.

The Tens were ten times taller than the Ones. They were royalty who ruled over towns and cities.

The HUNDREDS were ten times larger than the Tens and, therefore, one hundred times greater than the Ones. Because of their enormous size, they watched over the entire kingdom, There were only three of them: King Equation and his brothers, Prince Addition and Prince Subtraction.

About the Author

After recently completing Stahno the Space Explorer, Lan H. Reilly, a self-taught artist, was inspired to write her next book, hoping to cultivate a love for mathematics among her young audience. She was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and spent most of her childhood there.

In 1975, she was evacuated with her family from the US Embassy and settled in Wisconsin.

She later earned her Engineering degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She met her husband while working in Minneapolis, then relocated to Michigan to raise their three children.

Novel News Network

Thursday, October 29, 2026

Made, Laid and Betrayed in Hong Kong by Victor Blair #nonfiction #memoir #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Future God by Alex Yamane #ai #programing #nonfiction #spirituality #rabtbooktours @alexyamane @RABTBookTours

Kayaking Moments of Zen by Jon R. Constant #giveaway #excerpt #nonfiction #sports #photography #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

Monday, October 26, 2026

Life Reset by Lisa Macedo, LMFT #selfhelp #nonfiction #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

The Station by The GwaK #humor #memoir #nonfiction #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

Thursday, October 22, 2026

You Are Your Own Lost Love by Susanne Landgrebe #memoir #nonfiction #spiritual #selfhelp #rabtbooktours @SusanneLandgreb @RABTBookTours

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Kayaking Moments of Zen by Jon R Constant #giveaway #nonfiction #sports #photography #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

Thursday, October 15, 2026

Not Done Yet by Brian Nelson #excerpt #nonfiction #sports #photography #comingsoon #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Winning the Wrong Game by Josh Wintermute #bookreview #christian #nonfiction #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Land of Math by Lan H. Reilly #excerpt #childrensbook #nonfiction #comingsoon #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

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