“Viral” by Kevin E. Ready 

(NAPSI)—A story of hope and the indomitable will of the human spirit. This is a popular fiction saga of a pandemic—written well before the COVID-19 virus was ever heard of—and the actions taken by people around the world to fight it. The story is told from the viewpoint of several key characters in various countries and walks of life. It includes realistic descriptions of the disease and heartfelt sub-stories of the characters as they deal with the pandemic.

A woman of science must step up and become a leader and, hopefully, a savior. A first responder finds himself fighting for the lives of thousands. Valiant medical workers face near-impossible tasks while risking their very lives. Sounds only too real. Purchase at https://amzn.to/2AieoiT.

“Original Politics: Making America Sacred Again” by Glenn Aparicio Parry 

To recreate a whole and sacred America, it is important to piece together the forgotten fragments of history currently keeping the country divided. Just as a traditional Native American potter begins a new pot with shards of old pots, “Original Politics” re-constellates the nation as a whole out of the seemingly disparate shards from its origins.

Perhaps the most significant forgotten piece is the profound effect Native America had on the founding values of this nation. “Original Politics” demonstrates how the best aspects of America’s founding vision were inspired from Native American cultures: natural rights, liberty, and egalitarian justice. Native America has inspired bringing all the world’s peoples together on one soil in a harmonious cultural mosaic of unity and diversity. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3bgwsHe.

“Stitching a Life: An Immigration Story” by Mary Helen Fein 

It’s 1900, and 16-year-old Helen comes alone across the Atlantic from a village in Lithuania, fleeing terrible anti-Semitism and persecution. She arrives at Ellis Island, and settles on the Lower East Side. She finds a job and devotes herself to bringing the rest of her family to the New World.

A few at a time, Helen’s family members arrive. Each goes to work and contributes to bringing over their remaining beloved ones. Helen meanwhile, falls in love with a man who introduces her to a different New York—of wonder, beauty and possibility. From She Writes Press, purchase at https://amzn.to/3cs356h.

“Final Flight” by Eric C. Anderson

On a clear, cold night high above East Asia, a China Air passenger jet disappears from radar with all aboard. It’s an anomaly, a fluke. And then a couple of hours later, it happens again.

It’s 2023. Former Air Force maintenance officer Jason Montgomery and Rob “Ski” Kalawski have just landed the gig of their lives. China Air’s aging fleet of Boeing 777s desperately needs navigation hardware and software upgrades. It’s a multimillion-dollar contract, and they’re just the guys to do it. Right? Wrong. Jason’s just the middleman, but he finds himself trapped between yakuza gangsters, a tattooed dragon-lady sales exec and murderous Russian mobsters. Purchase at https://amzn.to/3ba9Qbc.

BookBites is a continuing series bringing readers information and ideas for their next read. For more reading ideas, visit BookTrib.com and subscribe to the weekly newsletter.

Shoppers Save Big On Groceries With Healthy Savings® Powered By AARP Foundation

(NAPSI)—Good nutrition is important at any age. But for older adults on a tight budget, regular access to nutritious foods can be limited—and expensive.

A new program aims to change that by making it easier to get healthy foods at the local grocery store for an affordable price. With Healthy Savings® powered by AARP Foundation, shoppers pay a small fee of $4.99 per calendar year for a card that can save them up to $200 a month on groceries.

The program is part of AARP Foundation’s work to help people over 50 with limited income eat more nutritious foods, ultimately improving their well-being. Research shows that more than 10 million older adults don’t get enough nutritious food on a daily basis, most often because they can’t afford it. Continue reading →

(NAPSI)—Here’s a thought that may make you feel like singing: In times like these, when so many people feel like little islands, connecting with other people to share stories and songs takes on a special significance.

It’s long been popular. For much of human history, the center of people’s light and life was the humble campfire. It was a place to teach, share, connect, and give thanks. It was the hub of culture, where our ancestors gathered nightly to fight back the dark with their myths, stories, and the joy of their voices raised in song.

Stories and songs are basic units of shared culture that remain, even as the source of flickering light changed from fire to screens. These days, many social networks and streaming services are reporting global spikes in member activity.

For example, on the “stories” side, nearly 16 million new people joined Netflix during the first part of the year, which was twice as many as expected.  Other streaming services have seen rises as well, including Disney+. And underscoring the many benefits of engaging in these libraries of “once upon a time,” watching streaming video has quickly become the #1 leisure activity for people at home.

On the “songs” side, social singing network Smule has also seen a significant rise in new users joining in from all over the world. Smule is a global online community of music lovers where millions of people from all over come together each day to sing along with millions of popular songs, often with other people—and sometimes with the stars who first sang the songs—plus make new friends, cheer each other on, and simply have fun. Your singing ability doesn’t matter; the thing all the members have in common is a love for singing, and a love for connecting with other people through the shared experience of performing songs together.

It’s somewhat like Snapchat and YouTube, mashed up with an automated sound and video recording and effects studio. You can sing or record songs on video with new friends, karaoke by yourself, or sing a cappella. Members include people from all walks of life, including real-life superstars, such as Lewis Capaldi, who upload recorded versions of their top hits for other members to sing along with and repost to the network and other social media platforms. Fans can even sing along with Disney characters such as Moana to the hits from popular Disney films.

Thousands of independent singing communities and teams have sprung up around the world, using Smule as the platform to showcase their singalongs.

One such community, Apex Team, is a group of 46 young, talented and dynamic voices from all parts of the world who came together as a virtual choir that inspires online audiences with their enjoyable musical performances. Apex produces more than a hundred group collaborations a year, including a phenomenal performance of “Fight Song,” by Rachel Platten and Dave Bassett—edited into a “Thank You” to frontline professionals in the fight against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, some things haven’t changed. Shared light is better, stories and songs still matter.

To learn more, go to www.smule.com or get the app at Google Play.

(NAPSI)—With new procedures and protocols from the impact of COVID-19, mushroom farms around the country are building on their strong foundations of safety.

Consider Maria. Before she begins her shift at the local mushroom farm’s packing facility, she pulls essential items from her locker: facemask, hairnet, gloves and a smock. Now in “uniform,” she takes her place on the processing line, 6 feet apart from colleagues, where she fills tills of the mushrooms that find their way to your grocery store. What may surprise many people to learn is that the items Maria puts on before each shift are nothing new—they have been part of Maria’s uniform since she began packing eight years ago.

With the advent of COVID-19, all segments of agriculture have had to adapt their business practices. For mushroom farms, that means leaning in and building on their strong foundations of safety, quality and excellence to continue to provide this nutritious “superfood” to the public.  Continue reading →

(NAPSI)—If you’re among the increasing number of Americans keen on natural solutions to boost immunity these days, you may be glad to know the answer may be right in your refrigerator—or should be. Loaded with vitamin C and zinc, and with key antioxidant qualities, Limoneira Lemons can play a vital role in helping the immune system adapt to new threats and conditions.

Experts have cited lemons as a way to “reduce the risk of complications from a cold or flu, and reduce inflammation in the body.” Experiments have also found that lemon juice can destroy the bacteria of malaria, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid and other deadly diseases.

Lemons are also a boon to any kitchen or DIY beauty routine—plus, they’re a handy sustainability tool. Use them to make life simpler without investing in potentially toxic chemicals or overpriced solutions. In fact, beyond their immunity-boosting benefits, lemons provide natural antibacterial and antiseptic properties that let you clean and disinfect your home, naturally.

Here’s how to create a useful all-purpose cleaner for your kitchen and bathroom that can help your house smell spring fresh all year: Combine equal parts lemon juice and water in a spray bottle. You can use it nearly anywhere. For wood surfaces, create a polish by mixing one cup of olive oil and one-half cup of lemon juice. Test it first on a small spot.

For other “green cleaning” with lemon tips, visit www.Limoneira.com/cleaning.

By Bill O’Rielley

My wife Angie will tell you that I study history and world events fluently every day. I have studied China for many years. To get answers I need to questions, I call many I know in Washington on Capitol Hill (from my tenure on two Presidential campaigns and Presidential talks) and I ask them for straight up answers to better understand what affects us as a nation.

Well, in 2016 America elected a new Sheriff: Donald J Trump. For decades the Chinese walked all over America but the new President said “not anymore”. Trump literally strangled China’s economy to the point their economy was in its worst free fall ever. Trump negotiated a new 50 billion trade agreement. He had Xi by the proverbial (You know What’s). America’s economy was on fire and unstoppable. President Xi Jingping knew he could not beat the USA militarily and he knew any domesticated economic attack would fail as our economy was too strong. He had to act. But how?

Enter the USA democrats led by Pelosi and Schiff. Impeachment. A hoax. A distraction for our people and President. Xi Jingping and his thugs see this. They aren’t stupid.

They have very intelligent intellectual thinkers in their government. Now you must understand , the Chinese regime are truly Barbarians. Notice I did not say ALL CHINESE. The Chinese people are a good people. I enjoy my interactions with them. Continue reading →