BOOK NEWS: Superfoods Author Stephanie Pedersen's new book "Roots: The Complete Guide to the Underground Superfood" (ISBN: 978-1454921424) is getting a Spring Back to Roots launch party March 20-27, 2017.

Publishing NEWS: -- The Oracle Group International is thrilled to announce the publication of "MAKE YOUR MARK: Personal Branding Through 'On-Purpose' Living" (paperback; on sale March 14, 2017; $20; ISBN: 978-0692833919) by award-winning, brand strategist, entrepreneur and author Courtney R. Rhodes.

REVIEW: Yes, it's true: Joseph Goebbels Helps today's GOP. Often considered the father of modern propaganda, Goebbels foreshadowed the GOP playbook in terms of distortion, deception, and dishonesty. Peter Longerich's "Goebbels: A Biography" (ISBN: 9781400067510) is excellent, appalling, and instructive.

REVIEW: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a tool for the forces of evil. Don't believe it? You can read about their anti-American and anti-humanity actions in "The Influence Machine: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Corporate Capture of American Life" (ISBN: 9780812993288), an excellent modern-day piece of muckraking by Alyssa Katz.

REVIEW: Positive feelings about the USA can sometimes be in short supply but Stanley B. Greenberg's “America Ascendant: A Revolutionary Nation's Path to Addressing Its Deepest Problems and Leading the 21st Century” (ISBN: 978-1250003676) offers optimism and the promise of a better future. Wouldn't it be great if he's correct?

REVIEW: Fun, breezy, and ultimately uplifting, Felicia Day's "You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) [A Memoir]" (ISBN: 9781476785653) is good for chuckles, guffaws, and a shipload of laughs. I'm not a gamer. I don't watch webisodes. I've never tuned in to see Supernatural, Eureka, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And up until this week I had never heard of Felicity Day. Oops, I mean Felicia Day.

REVIEW: You can find anything on the Internet. Proving that in “The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld” (ISBN: 9781612194899) is author and social media analyst Jamie Bartlett. Turns out that a lot of the online netherworld is pretty wild (and often not very pretty).

REVIEW: A modern-day horror story of how people in our financial system "fiscally raped" us, “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine” (ISBN: 9780393338829) is a fast-paced and fact-packed book made exciting by the superb writing of Michael Lewis.

REVIEW: Greed, bigotry, and treason head the list of “Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism From Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond” (ISBN 9781476763798), the generally helpful new book from E.J. Dionne, Jr.

Music and Performers NEWS: -- Jonas Sills, founder and executive producer of Art-In-Relation (A.I.R.), announces a grand benefit performance of "Broadway-LA." After three successful seasons of theater in the Long Beach area, Art-In-Relation made its move to Los Angeles with two acclaimed productions, "Andrew Lippa's Wild Party" and "Frankenstein, A New Musical" in the fall of 2016. They were honored to receive rave reviews and an "Ovation Recommendation" from the LA Theater Alliance.

BOOK NEWS: Rebecca House Publishing and To Love Children Educational Foundation International Inc. recently released “Jeremy and the Crow Nation” (ISBN 978-0945522058) by Tatiana Strelkoff. “Jeremy” is the second book in “The Changer Trilogy.”

REVIEW: Naomi Klein reveals how the United States exports disaster capitalism in her powerful classic 'The Shock Doctrine' (ISBN: 9780312427993), a book that should be required reading for every government official and knowledgeable voter

BOOK NEWS: EGW Publishing has announced the release of its newest book, “Poets About Poetry: Interviews with Contemporary American Poets” by H. Philip Hsieh. 14 renowned poets, including four Poets Laureate of the United States, a Nobel Prize winner (chemistry), three Pulitzer Prize Winners and other prestigious poetry award recipients are presented in this book of interviews.

Music and Performers NEWS: -- Combining the musical swagger of The Strokes, the DIY ethic of Black Flag, and the manic hair on fire delivery of Talking Heads, Delphino is a gritty indie rock band that just wants to get out of the basement and into your heart. Keeping the punk spirit in mind, over the past year Delphino has gone from playing in friends' basements and house parties to recording, mixing, and self-distributing their debut album, "Funny Cide," across New York.

Music and Performers NEWS: -- Uproar Entertainment is excited to announce the release of "Live From Las Vegas" by Alex Elkin. Comedian Alex Elkin has a comedy style that is unique and true to himself. He is unapologetic, says what he thinks, delivers the unexpected, and knows what funny is.

Film NEWS: -- The Bootleg Files, Phil Hall's celebrated weekly column focusing on classic and offbeat films and television productions that can only be accessed through unauthorized reproductions, is returning to the Internet after a two-year absence. The first new column will be published on Friday, February 10, on Cinema Crazed.

REVIEW: Almost everyone who examines capitalism comes away with finger-and-thumb firmly pinching the nose. Taking a positive approach, Robert Reich exposes the faults but also recommends solutions in his superb "Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few" (ISBN: 9780385350570).

REVIEW: David Brock goes after the American Taliban hate machine in 'Killing the Messenger: The Right-Wing Plot to Derail Hillary and Hijack Your Government' (ISBN: 9781455533763). Debunking the anti-Clinton memes and fake scandals is a never-ending job, so let us give thanks that Brock is willing to tackle it.

REVIEW: Jane Mayer will get your blood boiling in her superb 'Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right' (ISBN: 9780385535595). Every chapter reveals monsters who are perverting the ideals of America.

BOOK NEWS: “Breaking Away: Book One of the Rabylon Series” (ISBN: 978-1946029003), the debut, middle grade fiction novel from Cory Groshek, follows two young bunnies, Remy and Rhea, as they attempt to escape from their impoverished village, Rabylon, and its tyrannical, dictator-like Mayor, en route to a mythical carrot paradise and what Groshek calls “a life worth dying for.”