Blog, Book Reviews, Articles & More
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood Book Review
If The Handmaid’s Tale freaked you out as much as it did me, then you need to read The Testaments!
The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner Book Review
A historical mystery with a dash of magical realism, Sarah Penner’s The London Séance Society pulls the reader into a fascinating world of European 1870’s mediumship—specifically speaking to the spirit of a murdered person to solve the mystery of their death.
Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender Book Review
Young aspiring and as-yet unlicensed alchemist Ash Woods gets caught practicing alchemy by the pariah Ramsay Thorne, a gifted young alchemist whose parents killed scores of people to harness alchemical power, but instead of of turning Ash in, the gender-shifting Ramsay offers to keep Ash’s secret if he helps Ramsay find the legendary Book of Source…
The Status Game: On Social Position and How We Use It Book Review
Will Storr’s The Status Game posits that regardless of culture the core of human nature is a drive for status in the groups we are part of, and that success, meaning, and happiness come from succeeding in the status game.
Winter World by A.G. Riddle Book Review
With our own world focused on global heating, the premise of an earth that was not only cooling but rapidly freezing was a refreshing idea on a hot summer’s day.
The Future by Naomi Alderman Book Review
In a not-so-unimaginable future world, three tech billionaires have a proprietary sentient AI program to predict civilization-collapsing events so they can be warned in enough time to decamp to their luxury bunkers…
About Kristine
Kristine Madera is an Amazon #1 bestselling author who writes fiction and nonfiction shaped by travel, culture, and lived cross-cultural experience.
Inspired while volunteering at Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying in Calcutta, her novel God in Drag examines what happens when spiritual faith fractures in the sacred city of Varanasi. Read the first chapter of God in Drag HERE
She birthed her upcoming novel, The Snakeman’s Wife, as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Papua New Guinea.
Be on the lookout for her Etiquette Express Guides, a series of short, practical travel guides that help readers understand the customs, social expectations, and everyday dos and don’ts that make travel smoother and more connected.
Her travels have taken her across India, Asia, Europe, Australia, and Papua New Guinea as both a backpacker and Peace Corps Volunteer. A portion of her book proceeds supports cross-cultural education scholarships.
You don’t need to “master” a culture to move through it well.
You just need a few steady skills:
- How to stay curious,
- How to adjust without performing
- How to recover gracefully when you miss a cue—because we all do.
This free PDF guide gives you 12 simple, human skills you can use anywhere: whether traveling abroad, navigating a new city, joining a host family, starting a new job, or even re-entering your own life after a trip.