Now just a month away from publication, the first book in the re-booted Tom Clancy Op-Center series, Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: Out of the Ashes has garnered additional praise from early reviews. Here is what Booklist has to say:

Issue: May 1, 2014

Out of the Ashes

Couch, Dick (Author) and Galdorisi, George (Author)
May 2014. 400 p. St. Martin’s/Griffin, paperback, $15.99. (9781250026835). St. Martin’s/Griffin, e-book, (9781250026828).
Tom Clancy’s Op-Center books (12 in all) were popular, but the series ended after the last one was published in 2005. Now, almost 10 years later, St. Martin’s has resurrected Op-Center with this offering from coauthors Couch and Galdorisi. A series of terrorist attacks at NFL stadiums during games causes havoc, and the president’s response does little to restore confidence. He realizes the time has come to reestablish the Op-Center, a group known for its unmatched SWAT, computer, and infiltration skills. The recruitment process takes up the beginning third of the novel and proves surprisingly compelling. Once the team is up and running, the operation to strike back at the terrorists begins. Couch and Galdorisi are veteran military-thriller authors, and they show their talents here. Op-Center fans will be pleased to have the series back and will look forward to more installments in the future.

— Jeff Ayers

Call it enrichment, self-actualization, reaching your full potential or anything else. As we blast through our busy lives in search of that “something” we often don’t pause to look inward and take a moment to ask ourselves why we are doing what we are doing.

The current Mindfulness Meditation movement, championed by visionaries such as Google’s Chade-Meng Tan whose book, Search Inside Yourself has garnered stellar reviews, is catching fire where people’s lives are on fast-forward on steroids – Silicon Valley.

His book is fabulous – and highly recommended – but you can dip your toe in the water to experience what Mindfulness Meditation is all about with this excellent New York Times article.