MSI Press Blog

  Today's publisher's pride is Travels with Elly by Larry MacDonald, which reached #147 in travel with pets books. Book description: Discover Canada like never before -- from a personal perspective, similar to John Steinbeck's view of America in his 1960 book Travels with Charley . The author travels from coast to coast in a trailer with his wife and pets, including their Standard Poodle, Elly, in order to gain a better understanding of his adopted country. Interspersed between descriptions of history, cultures, places, and icons are the author's reflections on various things such as Elly's antics, signage, ferries, political injustice, environmental issues, and animal instincts. To provide a canine's perspective, Elly reflects on things of interest to her, including cats, cows, and other critters...but especially cats! Where was Canada's first settlement? What is its prettiest town? When and where was its most devastating shipwreck? And who was its greatest ...

  Comments about Mark's book from the Happy Living Podcast: One person said, “Mark offers a unique blend of personal experience and highly practical advice—from home safety and daily care routines to navigating long-term care decisions and working effectively with doctors.” Another said, “He teaches that with faith, hope, and love, the experience of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s can be far more meaningful—and even more life-giving—than you might expect.” And another, “What stood out to me most is the way he centers dignity and quality of life—not just the diagnosis. That shift alone is incredibly impactful.” Others said… His guidance is grounded in hard-won, real-world experience. His book serves as a compass to empower caregivers and take back the reins. Deeply personal Honest Intentional Respectful Compassionate Comprehensive Authentic Grounded Empowering Realistic Encouraging Refreshing Accessible Heart-warming Powerful Well-organized Logical Knowledgeable A rare gem Mark ...

  ...as a metaphor for some strategic competition or war or whatever.  Sometimes it is appropriate; sometimes not. I remember one James Bond movie where it was a central theme--but the pieces were not set up correctly.  Who knows.  Maybe that fact itself was part of the metaphor.  After all, real life does not often follow the rules. Anyway, in chess history, there has long been a tension between two schools of thought.  1) There are laws to chess that, much like gravity, need to be understood and applied properly in order to succeed--to play objectively as well as one can.  2) The opponent is as much a part of the game as any piece. To succeed--i.e, to win--one must put the opponent in situations they find uncomfortable. The famous Bobby Fischer famously said: "I don't believe in psychology.  I believe in good moves."  The less famous, but no less brilliant, Mikhail Tal, explained: "My task is to lead my opponent into the jungle.  His j...