Beyond Books

I am no writer, and have no intention of becoming a published author. But sometimes, I do feel like penning my thoughts on all things bookish. Here are a few of my thoughts and writings.
(As is evident, this page is a work-in-progress. I have written a lot more than these few articles. Stay tuned. 😃)

Author Specials:


Bookish Write-ups:



✤ Five Types of Non-fiction that Even Fiction Lovers Will Enjoy! - Guest Article for Blogchatter's BeStorified series. - March 2025.





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The Fountain - John A. Heldt

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AUTHOR: John A. Heldt Series: Second Chance, #1 GENRE: Time Travel, Historical Fiction. RATING: 2.5 stars. In a Nutshell: Good plot. Unsuitable title. Average writing. Will suit historical fiction readers more than sci-fi or time-travel readers. Story Synopsis: 2022, Oregon. 81-year-old Bill Carpenter has just buried his beloved wife of 57 years. His 75-year-old brother Paul has terminal cancer, and his 72-year-old sister Annie, a paraplegic, is broken-hearted at having done nothing she dreamed of in life. In other words, the three Carpenter siblings have nothing to look forward to. Until one day, when Bill, who used to be a folklore and mythology professor, learns that a legendary ‘Fountain of Youth’ actually exists and a dip in it causes not just rejuvenation but a fresh start in another era. The only issue is that the era isn’t in your control. But as the Carpenters have nothing to lose anyway, they decide to take a chance on the fountain and to their surprise, land up in 1905 Oa...
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Boy, Resisting - Silent, Spy, Survivor? - J.H. Foster - ★★★.½

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AUTHOR: J.H. Foster ILLUSTRATOR: James Warwood SERIES: Rebels and Resistance GENRE: WWII Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: November 7, 2025 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An upper middle-grade WWII novel with scattered illustrations. An appealing young protagonist and a good plot. Works well in complement with its partner book. One half of a parallel duology, with this novel being aimed at older tweens and teens, and its partner aimed at adult readers. Plot Preview: 1938. After witnessing a scary incident involving a Nazi officer, Freddie decides that it is better for him to stop talking. When his mother Hannah decides to leave Austria and move to Paris in search of her old best friend, Freddie isn't happy about having to leave his old life behind. Life in Paris is better in some ways because his Mama has found a job and they have a shelter over their heads and food in their stomachs. But when the Nazis come, even this security is threatened. Will Freddie’s Jewish heritage endanger him ...
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The Rebellious Maus and the Pogrom - J.H. Foster - ★★★.¾

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AUTHOR: J.H. Foster SERIES: Rebels and Resistance #0.5 GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: June 10, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A prequel story to the Rebels and Resistance series. Good pacing and plot. A bit hurried at times. Offers a good glimpse of the key characters, but could have done with some more detailing in the emotional bits. Regardless, it does its job as a prequel. I am curious to know these interesting characters more through the main novels. Plot Preview: April 1933, Austria. Hannah, a fifteen-year-old Jewish orphan, lives under the care of her strict Catholic guardian Herr Weisz. His son Pieter is a part of the SS, which makes the situation at home even more restrictive. Hannah’s only friend is Weisz’s niece Katarina, who is three years older. Katarina convinces Hannah to join her into one last jaunt to the city before they have to return to their respective schools. However, their secret escapade turns dangerous when they are caught in the middle o...
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Detective Beans: Adventures in Cat Town - Li Chen - ★★★★

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AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Li Chen SERIES: Detective Beans, #2 GENRE: Children's Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: September 9, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A children’s graphic novel about a young cat detective and his (mis)adventures in Cat Town. Anecdotal in style, with multiple adventures: some short, some long. Adorable illustrations. Silly and fun all the way! Recommended to the right age group: beginner independent readers. Almost as impossible to resist a cat book titled “Detective Beans” as to resist cat toe beans, right? When I saw the title, I expected a fun-filled graphic novel full of confuddling cases and clever detective work. Well, I did get most of this. What I didn’t expect was for the lead character to be a cat of school-going age! 😹 This graphic novel is the second in the Detective Beans series. Sadly, my library doesn’t yet have a copy of the first book, so I had to jump directly into this. But as this is just a children’s book, there is no major hurdle i...
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Adulthood Is a Gift! - Sarah Andersen - ★★★★.½

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AUTHOR: Sarah Andersen SERIES: Sarah's Scribbles, #5 GENRE: Sequential Art Novel PUBLICATION DATE: October 1, 2024 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: The fifth graphic novel in the Sarah's Scribbles series. Standalone. Hilarious. Much more relatable to me as this is about thirty-plus-aged adult introverts rather than younger adults. Half the book contains comic strips and half contains her journey as an artist. Recommended. Whether you know the artist Sarah Andersen or not, you might have seen at least one of her comics somewhere on the internet. Many of her comic strips have been turned into memes. And as she often writes about topics that are relatable, the memes too end up hitting the right spot between factual and funny. Each book in her Sarah's Scribbles series contains a collection of her comic strips based on some dominant theme. Of course, the comics only partly cater to the main theme as they also cover some funny universal truths. This time around, the theme is the...
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