Posted in #non-fiction

Italian Without Words

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

A hilarious guide to learning the romance language and communication styles of Italy.

You don’t need words to speak Italian. You don’t have to study Italian or travel to Italy to communicate like a true paesano. All you really need is this unique “phrase book” of the most common Italian expressions, complete with authentic Italian gestures and body language.

Now, even if you don’t know a single word of Italian, you can learn the most common greetings and expressions, dinner-table comments, hot vows of love, bargaining tricks, insults, threats and curses. This book shows you how. There’s no faster or funnier way to learn how to communicate in Italy, Italian restaurants, with your grandparents or your friends.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Italian gestures are a language unto themselves. In Italian Without Words, 86 expressions are presented, paired with the Italian phrases they conjure and their English translations, all demonstrated by a man and woman who have to be seen to be appreciated. They’re funny, but the intent is not to ridicule; rather, they are holding on to a part of their heritage. The facial expressions that accompany the phrases are entertaining to practice, and visits to Italy are enhanced by the ability to communicate “You’re a disgrace!” (Disgraziato!), “I dare you!” (Ti sfido. Provaci!), and “Don’t leave me, I love you!” (Non lasciarmi, ti voglio bene!) without saying a word.

About the Author

Don Cangelosi, a Director of the Boys Club of N.Y., and Joseph Delli Carpini, an advertising executive, are native New Yorkers who delight in carrying on long conversations in Italian without uttering a single word. They usually get the best tables in Italian restaurants.

Posted in #History

Hidden History of the Florida Keys

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

“Seldom-told tales of the ‘lively and unusual cast of historic figures’ who helped shape the Florida Keys from the 1820s through the 1960s.”—Keys News
 
The Florida Keys have witnessed all kinds of historical events, from the dramatic and the outrageous to the tragic and the comic. In the nineteenth century, uncompromising individuals fought duels and plotted political upsets. During the Civil War, a company of “Key West Avengers” escaped their Union-occupied city to join the Confederacy by sailing through the Bahamas. In the early twentieth century, black Bahamians founded a town of their own, while railway engineers went up against the U.S. Navy in a bid to complete the Overseas Railroad. When Prohibition came to the Keys, one defiant woman established a rum-running empire that dominated South Florida. 
 
Join Laura Albritton and Jerry Wilkinson as they delve into tales of treasure hunters, developers, exotic dancers, determined preservationists and more, from the colorful history of these islands.
Includes photos

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Hidden History on the Florida Keys,” a new volume penned by Laura Albritton and Upper Keys historian Jerry Wilkinson, reveals seldom-told tales of the “lively and unusual cast of historic figures” who helped shape the Florida Keys from the 1820s through the 1960s.” Keys News

About the Author

Fifth-generation Floridian Laura Albritton is a writer, book reviewer, and writing teacher. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Miami Herald, Sculpture magazine, Harvard Review and the Florida Keys Weekly, while her award-winning short fiction has been published in many literary journals. She wrote the travel book Miami for Families (University Press of Florida) and co-authored Marathon: The Middle Keys and Key West’s Duval Street (Arcadia Publishing) with Jerry Wilkinson. Laura holds a degree in comparative literature from Columbia and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Miami.

Fourth-generation Floridian Jerry Wilkinson arrived in Key West in 1947. He served in the U.S Air Force for twenty-four years before operating his own business. For decades, Jerry has researched and documented Florida Keys history, particularly that of the Upper Keys. He has contributed to books, films and television programs and created an extensive Keys history website (www.keyshistory.org). Jerry is president of the Historical Preservation Society of the Upper Keys and serves on the boards of the Historic Florida Keys Foundation and the Florida Keys History and Discovery Center. Jerry’s previous books include Key Largo and Islamorada, co-authored with Brad Bertelli.

Posted in Daily Thought

Verse of the Day January 18, 2026

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Posted in #LGTBQ+

Doc’s Deputy (Arrowtown Book 4)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Deputy Joe of the Arrowtown Sheriff’s department has tried to hold his head up high his entire life, even though it’s never been easy. Carrying the Quincy name has been a curse he’s worked hard to put behind him, but when his two uncles get thrown out of Arrowtown because of their nefarious dealings, Joe found the courage to turn to the one man he thought would stand by his side. Being told he was “too young, too dumb and too well-hung” were not the words he expected to hear when his true mate rejected him to his face. As the man in question was the town doctor, it’s not surprising that when Joe gets hurt, turning up at the man’s surgery was the last thing on his to-do list.

Doctor Nathan Farriday (known locally as “Doc”) has lived a long life, and not always on his own. A long time Arrowtown local, Doc has watched Joe grow into a kind, decent, hardworking man – too good for him in other words. If asked, Doc could spout a long list of reasons why taking the man as his fated mate was a bad idea. Age and inexperience were just the easiest reasons to explain. The danger from his animal half was something he preferred to keep to himself. But when Joe’s family come calling and Joe is left badly hurt, Doc has to reassess a lifetime of bad choices.

Rampaging buffalo shifters and a bomb blast have the potential to splinter the tiny shifter town apart. In the ashes of the aftermath, the sheriff’s department work furiously to keep their population safe. But will Joe and Doc’s relationship survive the revelation of Doc’s biggest secret or will they be forced to leave the town they both call home?

This is a true mate paranormal (shifter) MM story that includes depictions of intimacies between men and some violence. The story includes Mpreg although it is not the main focus of the story line. Due to adult content, readers 18+ only.

Posted in #Classics

Tom Clancy Rules of Engagement (A Jack Ryan Novel Book 27)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

When a member of his Cabinet is killed in a plane President Jack Ryan suspects that the “accident” is anything but in this latest shocking entry in this #1 New York Times bestselling series.

The White House is stunned when the Secretary of Commerce is killed in a plane crash in Turkey. President Jack Ryan isn’t ready to write this off as a simple accident. Not only has he lost a good friend, but the Secretary was on an important mission: on the surface he was making an appearance at an economic conference, but the CIA was also using the flight as cover to extract an important asset from the Middle East.

Soon, Lt. Commander Katie Ryan and her team are working with the investigators to find the cause of the tragedy, but one shocking revelation changes everything. There were supposed to be 16 people on the plane, but there are only 15 bodies.

The quest for answers will lead the team deeper and deeper into a quagmire of lies and deception that will force President Ryan to face an unprincipled enemy with global ambitions.