Legendary Service: The Key is to Care

author: Ken Blanchard
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/05
date added: 2015/06/05
shelves: non-fiction-business
review:
'Legendary Service: The Key is to Care' is another winner from Ken Blanchard. His co-writers are Vicoria Halsey and Kathy Cuff.

The concepts are told in story form. Young Kelsey is taking a business course on customer service. At the same time, she is working for a retail store named Ferguson's that is facing stiff competition when an aggressive competitor is moving into the area. Kelsey gets to see what makes good customer service on the job and also as a customer at her grandmother's physical therapy clinic. She tries to make changes at work, but the management is determined not to make service a focus. Will Kelsey win the day or be forced to go her own way?

The lessons are laid out in a model called ICARE. The way the story is told builds on each step of the model. This would be a good book for service teams to read. As someone who supports internal customers and wants to give great service, I think the concepts are solid and the delivery is pretty digestible. Recommended for anyone who wants to up their game in service.

I received a review copy of this ebook from McGraw-Hill Professional and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Edward Scissorhands Volume 1: Parts Unknown (Edward Scissorhands, #1)

author: Kate Leth
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/03
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Edward Scissorhands Volume 1: Parts Unknown' by Kate Leth with art by Drew Rausch is a pretty great sequel to the movie.

The story picks up with the final scenes from the movie and moves ahead two generations. Kim (the character played by Wynona Ryder) has died after a long life, but her daughter and grandaughter still live nearby. Edward still lives in the house on the hill, and the people down below still think he's a murderer. When he is roaming the house one day, he makes a discovery. This leads to a mistake, and a new strange creature is unleashed on the town below, but is he gentle like Edward or more malicious?

Drew Rausch's art for this are perfect! There are even some nods to other Tim Burton works (I know I saw Oogie Boogie in there somewhere). I felt like the story was a perfect sequel to the movie, and I loved how it picked right up again. Edward is still as sweet and misunderstood as ever. I really liked this one.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, IDW Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read this great graphic novel.


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Knight Rider (Knight Rider, Vol. 1)

author: Geoffrey Thorne
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.57
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2015/06/03
date added: 2015/06/03
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Knight Rider, Vol. 1' is a sort of reboot of the original series, and this volume serves as a sort of origin story.

The story starts with Michael Knight out on a date with scientist Katherine. He's got a smart car, but it's not quite the one we know yet. They all work for a shadow organization and Katherine is in charge of Project:Rider, a top secret project that seems to have to do with the car that Michael drives. When they are attacked, they learn of a betrayal within their very organization. The car goes through a few upgrades and becomes more familiar to those who have watched the show.

Except the car seems to have a weird affectation, that I won't spoil here. It just made the whole story a bit strange. Then there is Michael acting touchy-feely. The origin story is the first four issues, then there is a different additional story with different art. It seems like it's got something workable, but based on this, I'm not so sure.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, IDW Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


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Get in Trouble

author: Kelly Link
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/02
date added: 2015/06/02
shelves:
review:
'Get in Trouble' is a new collection of short stories by Kelly Link. She's a unique talent and it's on full display here.

Kelly Link's worlds are inhabited by ghost actors, strange Summer visitors, robot boyfriends, and conventions full of superheroes and dentists. You'll find familiar and exotic locales, like rural North Carolina, or an abandoned theme park based on the Wizard of Oz, or a remote island where communication is cut off.

And yet, her worlds are inhabited by frail, normal people. We see that even though her worlds are filled with wonder, the people populating them are still prone to doing and saying the wrong thing, or wanting love, or feeling melancholy. Isn't that a reflection of our own world? Are we not surrounded by the wonderful and left only floating a few feet off the ground when we could be soaring?

If you're not familiar with Kelly Link, this is a great place to start. Her stories dwell in the fantastical but are so very grounded. Her style reminds me of Raymond Carver and Flannery O'Connor, but with elements of the strange thrown in for seasoning. Some might dismiss this based on the SF elements, but they'd be missing out on a great collection of stories.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review such a wonderful ebook.


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The Peculiar State

author: Patricio Pron
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/02
date added: 2015/06/02
shelves:
review:
'The Peculiar State' by Patricio Pron, and translated by Kathleen Heil is one of the entries by Vintage in their Vintage Shorts series. In it's few pages, it manages to pack a lot in.

A writer who doesn't write is living in Hamburg with his girlfriend, a statistician. She tries to get him to engage in anything. He won't read, and she has a statistic for that, among other things.

She decides to come up with a strange game involving travelling separately to a strange city. They can't go to the major tourist spots, and aren't allowed guidebooks. They are just to wander around until they find each other. She keeps stats on this. She begins to wonder what will happen if they don't find each other.

There aren't many pages, but I kept thinking about the story after it was over. It's not a fast paced story, but it is a quick read. And yet, there is a depth to it that spoke to me.

I was given a review copy of this ebook by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, vintage, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Nightlife: Hazardous Material

author: Matthew Quinn Martin
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/01
date added: 2015/06/01
shelves:
review:
'Nightlife: Hazardous Material' is a short novel from part of another series. It works fine as a standalone novel and isn't too bad.

Jarrod Foster is a struggling graphic artist. Meaning he is out of money and desperate to take any kind of job, including demolition of old buildings. On one job, he discovers a hidden treasure of old arcade games. But why are they hidden and boarded up in a wall, and why has someone written 'Die demon, die' near one called Polybius?

Jarrod ignores all the rules of horror and takes the weird video game home and puts it in his house. He thinks he can sell it and make money, but not before the game attempts to consume him by making him play the game and do dangerous stuff.

It all might tie in to events from years ago, and the articles and reports strewn between some chapters give glimpses of what has happened, and what might happen to Jarrod.

It's a creepy story that's not so much grotesque and surprising, as it is subtle and frightening. Jarrod seems to be aware of what is happening, and seems to be powerless to battle against it. A lot happens in a short page count, and I had fun looking up the game Polybius after I finished reading the book. Strange and creepy fun.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books, Pocket Star, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Angry Birds / Transformers: Age of Eggstinction

author: John Barber
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.86
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/06/01
date added: 2015/06/01
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Angry Birds/Transformers: Age of Eggstinction' isn't a crossover so much as a mashup. It works in a sort of loopy way, and I think kids who are familiar with both properties would tend to like this.

In a prologue with very different art and a more somber and serious tone, the Transformers manage to lose the Allspark. Changing location and art style, we learn that it has landed on Piggie Island in the world of Angry Birds. Whenever birds or pigs touch the now christened 'Eggspark' they are transformed into hybrid robot/animal creatures patterned after well known Transformers. The biggest change these creatures face is suddenly having arms and legs. When the birds precious eggs come in contact with the mysterious Eggspark, then birds and pigs must band together to save the island. Or will the pigs try to be treacherous as always?

When I signed up to read this, I wasn't sure how it would work. Traditional teamups or crossovers have the two different teams working side by side, but that didn't seem possible in this case. The resulting mashup style works pretty good. The humor is not bad with Angry Birds and Transformers type humor happening. Familiarity with both sets of characters is probably a must. By the end it all feels a bit outplayed, but it's not too bad, and probably a fun romp for kids in the 7 to 9 year old range.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, IDW Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


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