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Showing posts with label Fiction: Humor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiction: Humor. Show all posts

Monday, March 8, 2021

Idelle Kursman Finds "Anxious People" Perfect for Covid Reading

Title: Anxious People
Author: Fredrik Bachman
Genre: Humorous Literary Fiction
Age Level: 18+
Page Number: 349
Publisher: Atria Books
Purchase on Amazon 


Anxious People is a Winner




Reviewed by Idelle Kursman

2020 was heartbreaking. I lost both of my parents. Countless other people have lost loved ones. There were many job layoffs and jobs furloughed. Families and friends could not get together, even for Thanksgiving. Reading Anxious People is just what I needed. A bank robber on the verge of losing everything holds people hostage at an apartment viewing the day before the New Year. Readers learn the backstory of most of these characters, including the policemen who rescue them.
Swedish author Fredrik Backman combines insights about life, adding humor and some absurd conversations as he chronicles the hostage drama. The theme is life is a struggle and everyone carries their own pain and anxieties. We often cannot create the life we desire but should instead try to get through as best as we can while hopefully cherishing some good memories along the way. At the heart of the story is the despair we often experience when things do not go our way or we cannot save our loved ones from themselves.
We meet a father and son police officer team working on the case. The father is a widower who misses his wife, attempts to boost his son’s confidence in his police skills, and despairs that he cannot help his drug-addicted daughter. The bank robber recently experiences job loss, is in the process of getting divorced, and cannot pay the rent for an apartment. In addition, the robber’s spouse wants full custody of their children. The hostages have their stories as well.
Many of the keen observations about life come from the police officers reminiscing about their late wife and mother. She was a priest and this is just an example of what she used to tell them:
We can’t change the world, and a lot of the time we can’t even change people. No more than one bit at a time. So we do what we can to help whenever we get the chance…We save those we can. We do our best. Then we try to convince ourselves that that will just have to…be enough. So we can live with our failures without drowning” (p. 203).
The witness interviews consist of absurd conversations between the various hostages and the police officers that I found too annoying to be funny, but the dialogue and background information gave the story depth and insights. Backman builds a fascinating character with Zara, one of the hostages, in detailing her meetings with her psychologist prior to the main action.
The writing is superb, the plot is brilliantly woven, and the story is peppered with sharp observations about life.
I must be frank. This has been an all-out crappy year. But reading Anxious People reminds me we must get through these times and try to be there for each other.
More About the Reviewer 
Idelle Kursman is the author of the novels True Mercy and The Book of Revelations. They are for sale on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06W52D7WH and https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088F1P1SY. Idelle is also a copyeditor, proofreader, and SEO Copywriter. Her website is https://www.idellekursman.com. Find her on Twitter @IdelleKursman.
Idelle Kursman Finds "Anxious People" Perfect for Covid Reading


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MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing 

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Imaginative (and Humorous!) Young Adult Fiction Reviewed by Dr. Westley Britton

Title: Oops!: Tales of the Zombie Turkey Apocalypse 

Series: Life After Life Chronicles Book 4

Author: Andy Zach

Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date:  January 2, 2020 

 Publisher:  Jule Inc; 1st Edition (January 2, 2020) 

 ASIN:  B0825G9MPG

Purchase at Amazon 

 

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for BookPleasures.com 

 

You'd think after three oddball novels, Zombie Turkeys (How an Unknown Blogger Fought Unkillable Turkeys), My Undead Mother-In-Law (The Family Zombie with Anger Management Issues), and Paranormal Privateers, that Andy Zach would have exhausted all the comic possibilities in his world of killer zombie turkeys and superhero zombie humans.


You'd be wrong.  How about flying zombie pickles? Zombie zucchini? Zombie caterpillars? (How can you tell a zombie caterpillar from a normal one? Andy Zach can tell you.)

 

How about being injected with zombie blood which can cure any ill, regrow any lost limb, and be quickly cured with a widely available antidote? Who needs insurance with that sort of help?     How about organizing a zombie worker union at Amazon when zombies can outperform robots? And suggest the story is based on two real people, Anthony and Ravan Jones who contribute the foreword to the book?  Or zombie residents of a nursing home taking over the place? 

 

But all this silliness is just part of what Andy Zach has collected in Oops.  He has included other short stories by other authors like "The Story of Sound" by Olivia Smith and his own "A Phoenix Tale"   before diving into his zombie world. Then he offers a batch of stories based on his other book series featuring disabled  middle-schoolers who become superheroes,  the Secret Supers. Oh yea, there are the aliens who first appeared in Paranormal Privateers who are defeated by zombies working for the U.S. Government.  The aliens can provide you legal assistance in the form of a sexy avatar who looks exactly like Marilyn Monroe.

 

If you're getting the impression that one Mr. Andy Zach has a wide and wild imagination, you are on the right track. One obvious audience for his quirky tales is the YA readership, especially for all the contemporary references like video gaming and computer lingo. But even grumpy old sixty-somethings like me can have a lot of fun with Andy's characters, scenarios, and plots. I'm still laughing at the image of migrating flying zombie pickles.  Hard to get more original, unique, or surprising than Zach's "Life After Life" series. Have some fun with Andy Zach in 2020!

 

Imaginative (and Humorous!) Young Adult Fiction Reviewed by Dr. Westley Britton

More About the Reviewer

 

 Dr. Wesley Britton is the author of The Beta Earth Chronicles and reviews for BookPleasures.com and #TheNewBookReview. Learn more with these links:

Reviewer, BookPleasures.com

 

Explore the Beta Earth Chronicles website:

 

Follow Wes Britton’s Goodreads blog:

 

Check out Wes Britton’s Beta Earth Chronicles Facebook page:

 

Enjoy the videos at Wes Britton’s YouTube Channel:



 


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 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.



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Friday, April 26, 2019

Perhaps 2019's "Catch 22?" Review of Thomas Allbaugh's Satirical Romp

Title: Apocalypse TV
Author: Thomas Allbaugh
Publisher: eLectio Publishing (Sept. 12, 2017)
Purchase on Amazon
Publisher's website: www.electiopublishing.com
ISBN 978-1632134288  
Paperback, $17.99

Reviewed by Marlan Warren Originally for Midwest Review

“His whole life has been a sham because he can’t accept responsibility for his failure to live by his own convictions.”—APOCALYPSE TV
What do reality TV game show contestants, religious fanatics, true believers, atheists, zombies, quarreling siblings, an FBI agent, Elvis impersonator, and an almost-fired English professor at a Christian college have in common? They all come together to interlock as essential players in Thomas Allbaugh’s tightly wound, often hilarious, debut novel, APOCALYPSE TV.
Shakespeare today might muse that “All the world’s a reality TV game show, and all the men and women merely players in their quest for prizes amid layers of illusions and media hype.” It is upon this slippery platform that Allbaugh has built a metaphor for our contentious world as viewed through the lenses of good vs. evil, secular religion vs. spirituality, and love vs. indifference.
The story kicks off when Christian intellectual, Walter Terry, takes a leave of absence from his conservative college in California to visit his dying father in Michigan. Walter has just been put on notice for allowing students to express non-conservative viewpoints, and fears his job is on thin ice.
Walter and his sister are approached in a Midwestern diner by a talent scout for a new reality TV show that claims to be “an investigation into American religious ideas.” He describes himself to the pretty interviewer as an “outsider in terms of religion,” but sees her write down “soft and vulnerable.” This pigeon-holing is exactly what makes these shows maddening, but also makes them fun for the fans.
Seduced by the promise of money and his own rationalization that perhaps a show like this could use an educated analytical thinker, Walter embarks on what will turn out to be a character-building odyssey. After he is entrenched in “Race for the Apocalypse,” Walter hears the producer refer to him as the show’s “sacrificial lamb.” And after that…all bets are off.
APOCALYPSE TV gradually amps up its madness, expanding reality until it pops with an outrageousness that is not quite Marx Brothers, but a fun romp nonetheless.
Allbaugh treads a fine line between crafting a thoughtful, moving plot with three-dimensional characters and satire. He keeps the humor subtle and deadpan, in the vein of Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22,” while never straying far from the book’s serious themes which examine secular religion vs. spirituality, truth vs. fiction, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Nothing turns out to be what it seems, the innocent must suffer, guilty baggage must be unloaded, and once a gun is introduced, it must eventually be used in the finale (with a nod to Chekhov). It is Allbaugh’s incredible juggling act that keeps the comedy, drama, and religious debates lightly airborne until they come back down to Earth, not with a bang or a whimper, but with the hard truths of Life and what it means to slog willingly through it.
APOCALYPSE TV will appeal to open-minded faith-based readers, as well as those who have no affiliation with a religion or belief. It argues against the extreme notion that only members of a certain faith are favored by God, while making a case for spiritual salvation through love, faith, hope, service…and the willingness to persevere.
Even when the chips are down.

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Marlan Warren is a Los Angeles based blogger, playwright, and editor.  She is a frequent panelist for Greater Los Angeles Writers Society writers' conferences.  


MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG AND GETTING REVIEWS AND ANOTHER FREEBIE


 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.



Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at:  cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too! 


Saturday, January 13, 2018

Mad Librarian Gets Five Stars From Red-Headed Book Lover

MAD Librarian
Author: Michael Guillebeau
Genre: Women’s Crime Humor
ISBN: 978-0-9972-0552-7 

Published by Madison Press
Available from Barnes & Noble and Amazon here

Reviewed by Aimee Ann Originally for Red Headed Book Lover Reviews 



MAD Librarian follows the incredible Serenity Hammer. Serenity is a librarian, but she is so 
much morethan this as she is a librarian with a cause, in other words, she is on a mission, 
and nothing will get in her way! She lived in a quaint town in Maddington, it is her home,
 and she adores it, especially her precious library! However, her library is under threat
 thanks to the politicians who want to close it down for good. This is a sad truth which 
is happening in the world today, but I will discuss this more later! Serenity, however, 
is strong and powerful, just as powerful as the pushy politicians she has to deal with 
and so, she conjures up a plan and decides to fight back, 
and this is the premise of this intriguing, humorous novel.











I adored everything about this wacky novel, it may be a humorous book, but it is so much more
than this as it is full of twists and turns galore that will keep you entertained from beginning
 to end. It is funny and incredibly enjoyable, but it also has some serious moments
 for those readers who like a novel with some depth.  I adored the underlining 
theme of this story which was,  the fact that libraries
are being closed all over. It is a sad reality, and I hate it so much, the ones that are 
still open are being updated to suit the technological age, and that is so sad to me as 
 am a huge traditionalist.

My point is, I adored how the author of this wonderful novel explored this theme and
 based a whole story around it so well done Michael Guillebeau!


MAD Librarian has a host of eccentric, unique characters, they were certainly ‘out there’
but they were brilliant, and they propelled the story of the book along perfectly. I particularly 
loved Serenity; I thought she was a brilliant protagonist and unique. Now that I think about it 
I can’t think of another protagonist to compare her too, so that shows how unique and special
 she is!

As well as the characters being superb, so is the incredible dialogues. The long sentences were
wonderful and made me engrossed in the novel. It was like the author’s words were spiked with
adrenaline because I found that when I started reading, I could not stop! He is a wonderful,
 talented author and so I would implore all of you lovely readers to read this book!

To conclude my thoughts on Mad Librarian, I would say if you are looking for a unique,
fun, entertaining novel that will keep you hooked from beginning to end then this excellent
book is for you! This incredible read gets Five Stars from me!





Breaking Bad for Librarians. Cayocosta72 Reviews said, “This book is truly every librarian’s dream come true."  Half of all income goes to the Awesome Foundation for Innovation in Libraries. Available at https://www.amazon.com/MAD-Librarian-Michael-Guillebeau-ebook/dp/B075LQD1LB/


MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. 

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Reviewer Loves Hot Paranormal Romance

Title:  Fashionably Dead
Series: Hot Damned Series, Book 1
Author: Robyn Peterman
Genre:  Literature & Fiction, Romance, Paranormal, Demons & Devils, Humor & Satire, General Humor
ISBN #:   B00EYMXM2I
Reviewer's Rating: 5 star

Reviewed by Tracey Quintin originally for Goodreads


ONLY Robyn Peterman could pull off writing a romantically fun suspense-fully witty book such as Fashionably Dead where you find you can't put the book down!

You are brought into a magical world where vampires, faeries, angels and demons exist and YOU find yourself wanting to be part of a super cool dominion. Heck who wouldn't want a HOT HOT HOT looking Prince Vamp in their life who runs this dominion, where you are gorgeous and wear Prada! How can that be? Because Robyn is able to make it believable in her way of words that draw you in!

Robyn provides you with some zany and whacky zingers that crack you up, plus words I've never heard before AND IT WORKS! She's outrageously witty and brilliant in being able to write a book you think is going to be off the wall but makes you fall in love and wanting more, you don't want the book to end!!!

I SO want to be in the main character, Astrid's place to experience ALL the things she not only endures but to be with the other vamps, demons, faeries and angels! WOW!!

Yet another brilliant book Robyn! Bring it on girl because I want to read more!!!

I should mention that this book is for adults and contains sex, violence, and profane language. I don't mind reading books with this content as long as it fits the story. In this book it absolutely fits.

Very highly recommend this book. It's a must read!!! BRAVO Robyn!

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robyn Peterman connections:

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Tracey Quintin connections:
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.