Simon Barrett
Simon Barrett is an adult educator in Calgary, Alberta. With the 11 months a year of winter, he reads a lot of books! He is also a contributing editor for Blogger News and maintains a personal blog at Simon B.
Articles by this Author
Book Review: Millionaire Babies Or Bankrupt Brats? By Jim Fay & Kristan Leatherman
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 11/25/2008
- Finances
- Unrated
Love And Logic Solutions To Teaching Kids About Money
The Love And Logic series of books has garnered a good deal of interest, they are designed as guides for parents who want to avoid the parenting traps that are oh so easy to fall into This latest book by authors Jim Fay & Kristan Leatherman introduces us to the world of money and kids
Book Review: Death in Small Doses by Bernard Steele
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 10/11/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
Books with terrorism as a plot line seem to be the favored genre of the 00's Certainly much has been made by the press of the concept that terrorists could attempt to detonate a dirty bomb in some densely populated place like New York
Book Review: 3 Aces by Richard Ide
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 10/11/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
One of the great joys of being a book reviewer is that you never know what is going to turn up in your mail box There are so many great new writers out there
Book Review: Life to the Max – Maxims For a Great Life by a Dog Named Max by Robin Reynolds
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 09/26/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
There are as many genres of books as there are readers Life To The Max is hardly a children's book, yet there are aspects of it that I thought might appeal to the younger reader
Book Review: My Seven Years in Captivity by Bill Seaton
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 09/26/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
I have lived in many places over the years, and there is no question in my mind that San Diego is my favorite city It offers perfect weather, friendly people, and more tourist attractions than you can shake a fist at
Book Review: Considering SomeplacElse by B. L. Lindstrom
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 09/26/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
As a book reviewer I love to categorize books, but try as I might I cannot seem to find the right pigeonhole to put this book in It has some aspects of Sci-Fi, some aspects of Science Fantasy, and even a little mythology, but it truly does not fit into any of those genres
Book Review: Did Man Create God? Is Your Spiritual Brain at Peace With Your Thinking Brain? By David E. Comings M.D.
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 09/15/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
Yes, this is a volatile title, and the contents are just as incendiary As David Comings himself explains in the foreword he has indeed met some resistance over the years
Book Review: Return to the Middle Kingdom by Yuan-Tsung Chen
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 09/1/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
I have always considered myself reasonably well read and reasonably well versed in modern history As soon as I started to read Return To The Middle Kingdom, I realized just how little I really knew about the birth of modern China
Book Review: Facing the Future Together – Forming Successful School-Business Partnerships by Jim Leatherwood
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 08/9/2008
- Education
- Unrated
This is a book that has been long overdue in being written
It is my opinion that the educational system is facing greater challenges today than it ever has before
Book Review: Dealing With Divas by Shelley Anderson
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 08/6/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
A Survivor's Kit for the Celebrity Personal Assistant (or Anyone with a Pesky Boss)
I have to admit that one of the most fun parts of being a reviewer is that you learn something new every day It was not until I had read Dealing With Divas that I realized there was an association solely committed to the plight of those that work for the famous
Book Review: One Foot in the Black by Kurt L. Kamm
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 08/6/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
Oops, it wasn't until I had had read almost the entire book that I discovered that this was fiction and not biographical This story is so well constructed it is impossible to tell fact from fiction
An Interview With Zach Samuels About Confessions Of A Crack Head
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 08/3/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
Zach Samuels has just published a rather disturbing book Confessions Of A Crack Head about his life as a drug user I work with the homeless and a good proportion of my clients have addiction problems, so this book was one that I could definitely relate to
An Interview With Eric Kampmann About Trail Thoughts
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 08/3/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
I recently had the opportunity to review Eric Kampmann's latest book Trail Thoughts It is a very reflective piece with biblically inspired thoughts for each day of the year
Book Review: Confessions of a Crack Head by Zach Samuels
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 08/2/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
I work with the homeless here in Calgary, addiction is a word that we hear a lot of, drugs, booze, and gambling are the big three Often addicts are plagued by other mental health issues, depression, bi-polar, and a variety of other medical terms outside of my realm of knowledge
An Interview With John Manhold About His New Book El Tigre
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 07/20/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
El Tigre is John Manhold's first immersion into the world of novels, but it his not his first book, he has something like 6 textbooks and a lexicon in four languages under his belt I really enjoyed El Tigre
Book Review: Alive! By Eileen P. DeClemente
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 07/13/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
This is a powerful book, and also a very sad one
I run a Computer Lab, we offer free classes, and we offer free internet access
An Interview With Dan Ronco About Unholy Domain
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 07/13/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
I really enjoyed Dan Ronco's latest book, Unholy Domain, it is set in the near future, and paints a bleak picture of what might happen in the aftermath of a computer virus that spreads through the Internet More and more the net is becoming part of the worlds infrastructure
Book Review: Some Kind of Angel – a Sneetz and Muldoon Thriller by Melvin M. Harter
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 07/5/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
It is that time of year where you want to stock up on some books to read while on your summer vacation Some Kind Of Angel might be one to put on your list
Book Review: Unholy Domain by Dan Ronco
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 07/4/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
There are a plethora of sci-fi books that have explored what the Earth would be like after the apocalypse, and generally the apocalypse in question is a nuclear war, or some sort of plague
Unholy Domain takes this genre in a new and very thought provoking direction
Book Review: El Tigre by John H. Manhold
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 07/4/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
There are two very different schools of thought about historical fiction One school rationalizes that it is an easy genre to write, the plot already exists, all you have to do is put it in your own words
Book Review: Differentiating Reading Instruction by Laura Robb
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 06/10/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
OK, so maybe this book does not have mass appeal It is written by a teacher and aimed at other teachers, the plot, how to entice school kids to read
Book Review: Succession by Herbert Lobsenz
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 06/10/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
I have my finger in many different pies, and one of those pies is an adult literacy program Although I am only peripherally involved
Book Review: Dancing Above The Waves By Susan Walerstein
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 05/28/2008
- Writing
- Unrated
Jack 'Scooter' McAlister gives the world the impression that he has it all, this Bostonian businessman exudes wealth and success But is it real
Book Review: Jack’s Notebook By Gregg Fraley
- By Simon Barrett
- Published 05/16/2008
- Business
- Unrated
Most business and self improvement books share a common thread, they are about as exciting to read as a root canal They drone on and on about concepts, but very rarely put those concepts into a scene where the reader can understand their purpose
