Author of Beta Earth Chronicles Reviews Tenth Avatar

Tenth Avatar: A Quest for Answers

Dr. Kanchan Joshi

Paperback: 246 pages

Publisher: Kanchan Joshi (August 24, 2017)

ISBN-10: 069293314X

ISBN-13: 978-0692933145

Purchase on Amazon

Trailer for Tenth Avatar

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for BookPleasures.com

Reading Tenth Avatar is like reading two books in one. At the same time, the book is one of a rare breed in science fiction.  I don’t know about your reading list of contemporary sci fi novels, but the vast majority I’ve read are darkly pessimistic and dystopian. Not so the Tenth Avatar. It’s not only optimistic and utopian, but even proposes a path for humanity to follow to achieve a new level of spiritual, economic, political, and social evolution.  

The structure of the book is built on two parallel, alternating stories that take place thousands of years apart.  One occurs In ancient India where we meet Hanuman,  a noted warrior and mystic living in the forests. The setting is full of many mythological and fantasy elements.   While there are many humans running about, there are also very intelligent ape-like creatures and their greatest enemy, the demons of a nearby region ruled by the evil Raven. There are all manner of strange, anachronistic weapons including radiation-bearing arrows and missiles as well as powerful flying machines and a monstrous giant robot-like killing machine.     

But this world also has warriors using powerful bows and arrows, wooden chariots, and primitive maces. There are important mystical teachers, or “yogis,” who teach wisdom to Hanuman and others in the orbit of powerful, noble  king-in-exile, Ram. He’s seeking his wife who was kidnapped by Raven.   In this world, the forces of good gain superhuman power through meditation which leads to an awareness of what is beyond a person’s body and self including an understanding of how we fit into, well, everything.

Alternating with this saga is the modern tale of theoretical physicist Krish,

a brilliant mathematician living in California.  Trying to seek out the workings of life and the universe using advanced mathematical formulas, he inexplicably hallucinates vivid images of existence beyond his physical self very like what the ancient yogis experienced.  Why? He doesn’t know.

Told with a very different style from the tales of Hanuman, the author’s seemingly more grounded, more realistic odyssey of Krish has an intriguing flow with some puzzling plot holes.     In the beginning, Krish discovers something he calls Quantum Communication which uses particle streams that can’t be hacked. Very quickly, the military shows interest in Krish’s unproven theories. At the same time, agents of unknown countries or organizations start trying to kill Krish. The FBI assigns protection for the scientist, but apparently not for very long. After his first bodyguard is killed on a plane, we don’t see any signs anyone is watching over Krish even if he did turn over his research to the Department of Defense. By himself, he travels home to India seeking out the lost notes of an important Indian mathematician. Any reader of spy novels will tell you this is ideal territory for more assassination attempts. Or at Krish’s wedding.  And who was behind two terrible nuclear bombings in the U.S., over both California and New York? We’re never told. The adventures of Hanuman and Krish are brought together in the end, and I suspect most readers will have picked up on the clues to the ultimate resolutions long before the final reveals.

I have to admit, the use of intense meditation to be the key to gaining overwhelming cosmic awareness sounds better than I suspect it would really work in the real world. I say that as someone who has practiced various kinds of meditation for decades.  Still, I am no authority on what meditation technique would make someone a Yogi and/or guru who could transform countless lives.  

Nonetheless, it’s very nice to read a novel that projects the possibility that an enlightened humanity could be transformed under the tutelage of the tenth avatar. It’s a story, well, two stories that can serve as antidotes to the typical sci fi futures of genetic manipulation, global warming, biological disaster, or alien invasions that serve as constant warnings of what our futures might be.  

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr. Wesley Britton, author of the Beta Earth Chronicles, also reviews for BookPleasures.com.

Learn more about him: 

Explore the Beta Earth Chronicles website:

https://drwesleybritton.com/books/

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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. 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.

Literary Novel by John Biscello Gets High Praise

Title: Raking the Dust

Author: John Biscello

Genre: Literary Fiction

Author's Website: johnbiscello.com

Purchase on Amazon 

Review by Ashleigh Grycner. Originally appeared on Amazon (five stars), and to be part of a review scheduled to be published in Riot Material. 

Raking the Dust is a deeply felt and yet understated paen to the deepest human aches, hopes, and longings; a testament to second chances.

It  is a grand, shameless, and nonetheless subtle exposition of the human spirit, of addiction, obsession, and ultimately, salvation. Of the fact that “all roads lead to Heaven”, and that sometimes you need to get lost in order to get found. That sometimes things need to get crazy, (pubic) hairy, and utterly confused so that we can come face to face with what we most fear. That ultimately it is in the grip of our own terror that we find the courage to say the brave No that is a Yes to our own Innocence.

I found this novel utterly gripping, and in Alex I found many pieces of myself. This work is one of existential mystery, and with Alex I pondered the dark unknown at the center of my own being. With him I descended and meandered through the twisted corridors of my own psyche. I found myself breathless in fascinated wonder, water-eyed in wistful tenderness, full-hearted with hope. This novel is not just a story. It is an experience. A moving and enriching journey into the heart of another that brought me into deeper communion with my own.

It is refreshing to find this level of profundity, honesty, and artistic restraint in a modern author. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a complex, full-bodied, and deeply moving reading experience, and one that speaks eloquently to the silent, spiritual tragedy of contemporary American life.

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.

Cathartic Review of Book About an Alcoholic's Daughter

Title : Intoxic

Author : Angie Gallion

Author Website : angiegallion

angiegallion

Genre : General Fiction/Coming of Age

ISBN : 978-1536904055

Amazon Purchase Link  

Reviewed by Jendi Reiter originally for Amazon

5 out of 5 stars

This stunning coming-of-age novel introduces the indomitable Alison Hayes, 

a 16-year-old girl living with her alcoholic mother in a trailer park in small-town Illinois. 

Wise beyond her years, forced into adult responsibility too soon, but a lonely little girl inside, 

Alison shepherds her mother through cycles of recovery and relapse while striving to pass 

the milestones of normal adolescence: a job, a high school degree, a crush on the

perfect-seeming neighbor boy who owns a horse farm. She also copes with the aftermath 

of sexual assault.

This summary may sound depressing, but although Intoxic has many moments of painful 

truth, the tears it elicits are cathartic, and the honesty and courage of Alison as she matures 

will inspire you. Rarely have I read a story so accurate about the complexity of loving and 

hating an abusive mother (and Alison's mother, while she is more tragic than malicious, 

is so neglectful that I must put her in this category). Most fiction about parental trauma 

follows a simplistic narrative arc from anger, to understanding, to forgiveness. 

 spirals through these perspectives, and back again, multiple times throughout the book 

and its sequels. She does not settle on a single verdict on her mother and herself, 

but rather, starts learning to hold all of these contradictions together..

I was especially moved by Alison's pervasive sense of difference from her peers. 

Besides the stigma of relative poverty, she is isolated by the lack of freedom to enjoy her 

youth. She has to worry about paying the bills when other kids are playing sports and

 picking out prom dresses. Nothing can distract from the mission of becoming independent 

of her dysfunctional mother and leaving the small town that knows their shameful secrets. 

This was very true to the experience of having a mentally ill or addicted parent.

The first book ends with a crisis that produces both grief and liberation for young Alison, 

and a mystery to be resolved in the sequel. You will root for her all the way. I swear 

I shouted at my Kindle reader a couple of times, "No, Alison, don't do that!" knowing 

she would have to repeat some of her mother's mistakes, but also having faith 

that she would rise again. What gives one damaged person the drive to learn and heal, 

while another sinks beneath the waves of depression and addiction? Intoxic will not answer 

that question (perhaps no one can) but if you've been on that journey, 

you'll find a friend and companion in this determined young woman.

MORE ABOUT THIS REVIEWER

Jendi Reiter is the author of a poetic LGBT Novel, Two Natures, and editor at the prestigious (and helpful!) WinningWriters.com. Learn more about her at http://www.JendiReister.com.

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 ). 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.

Lauren Jones Reviews Robert Eggleton's Sci-Fi Novel

• Title: Rarity from the Hollow 

• Author: Robert Eggleton
• Web site link: www.lacydawnadventures.com   
• Genre: Adult Literary Science Fiction
• ISBN: 9781907133060;1907133062
• Purchase Links: 

https://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton/dp/190713395X/

http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B017REIA44

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rarity-from-the-hollow-robert-eggleton/1118420669#productInfoTabs

http://www.doghornpublishing.com/wordpress/books/rarity-from-the-hollow 

Reviewed by Lauren Jones originally for TurningAnotherPage.com

REVIEW

Tom threw in a couple of Amen’s. After finishing the psalm that she had learned in church, she looked into his eyes. “There was nothing that you saw that should have shaken your belief in Jesus. What you saw and what you will see on our mission will make him look stronger and bigger. Jesus is much more than human-kind. He existed for the salvation of all—not just humans. All means all. His sacrifice was never meant to have been discriminatory or selective to just one kind of people on one planet. Right is right and wrong is wrong. It’s just like you know in your heart. Good and evil have always been and will always be the balance on which survival of the universe depends.”

What would you do if you were tasked with saving the Earth or even the entire universe? If a cyber robot came to you from another planet, what would be your first thought? Would you feel crazy? Would you feel safe? What about fearful or excited? All of that is a bit much to take in, but what if you were only an eleven-year-old and told that you were the only one who could do it? With this novel, it is very difficult to put words down regarding the true emotional turmoil that exists in the main character’s life. The author creates an elaborate world, filled with an abundance of fantasy and science fiction. This world contributes to most of the story, an illusion of a world that a little girl can escape to in an attempt to avoid the inevitable and harsh reality of abandonment and abuse.

This story begins with Lacy Dawn, an eleven-year-old girl, who lives in a place called the Hollow. She talks to the trees, the rocks, her dog Brownie, a robot named Dot-Com, and her dead best friend. The first sign that something didn’t seem right, was the dead best friend. Now, this story is for adults and there is satire, but this is not to be misconstrued as a light or easy read. This is definitely not an easy story to read due to content, but it is brutally honest and very credible for an eleven-year-old who has lost her best friend and in a sense, her family as well. Lacy Dawn has suffered abuse at the hand of her father, and her dead best friend died at the hand of her father, aka the meanest daddy in the world. Once Lacy Dawn finds Dot-Com, things start to change for her. This robot teaches her things through plug-ins and tells her that it is her job to save Earth and make the universe safe…from what, he isn’t allowed to tell her until she completes a series of tasks that will validate her capability of such an important task. Can she get the help that she needs to save the entire universe?

Eggleton has a certain way of twisting the seriousness of the story with the satire that follows Lacy Dawn and her entourage on their journey. There are a lot of quips and a ton of experiences that these characters go through that symbolize real-life problems that we, as people face on a daily basis. From an eleven-year-old’s point of view, can it be deeply misunderstood, definitely! Can it be taken out of proportion, absolutely! But, is it credible and original, yes it sure is. Think about what preteens think about at that young age and then readers will be able to rationalize the thought processes that occur within the story. This author does a superb job with character development, but the reader must be open-minded to keep pace with the outlandish scenes and spontaneous adventures that the characters partake in as well as the depth of the issues portrayed. Most of the issues faced are taken lightly by the characters as if this is the typical way of life, but readers must remember that some of these characters do not know any differently and to them, this is the way life is. If you are a reader of science fiction and psychological fiction, you may want to try this book.

A copy of this book was provided to Turning Another Page by the author, but this in no way affects our honest opinion of the book or the review that has been written. We provide a five-star rating for Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton.

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.

Dr, Wesley Britton Reviews Historical Novel

The Angel Strikes

Series: Volume 1 of The Brandt Family Chronicles

Subtitle: The Napoleonic Wars

Author: Oliver Fairfax

Paperback: 264 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 2 edition (September 10, 2016)

ISBN-10: 1530995760

ISBN-13: 978-1530995769

Purchase on Amazon

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for BookPleasures.com

Should you see some of the publicity for The Angel Strikes, potential readers might think they’re learning about a new novel deeply involved with the Napoleonic wars. In a sense, that’s true,  especially in the last quarter of the novel. But much of The Angel Strikes isn’t a typical historical drama. In fact, it doesn’t read like most modern historical fiction but rather feels like a personal memoir or a novel written during the period where everything is set, that is the early years of the 19^th century. Just don’t expect much in the way of military action or struggles among the powerful movers and shakers of the period until the latter sections of the story.

The central figures at the beginning of the story, young orphan Paul Brandt and his uncles Franz and Albert, are Russian serfs trying to escape the poverty and misery of their lives by traveling east. Come winter, the trio hole up at an abandoned hut in a German forest, as far removed from worldly affairs as one could get.         But not for long. On the road near the hut, two women enter the men’s lives, Anna, a young waif, and her protector, the somewhat mysterious Rosalina.   Then other travelers draw the little company into larger affairs including agents for Napoleon’s Imperial Police, along with other gentlemen who might be German, English, or possibly American.

The French agents, enjoying the protection of Napoleon’s power over Prussia, have no problem murdering whomever they like and destroying anyone’s property they choose in search of important lost documents.   On the run from these agents, Paul, the narrator of the story,  and his group become involved in a battle between French forces and the Prussian army. Paul becomes known as the “angel of Jena” for his courageous killing of French soldiers which allows some Prussians to escape a slaughter on the battlefield.

As their picaresque journey continues, the party arrives at the castle of a friendly Duke who gives them lodging and protection while French assassins, a lusty seamstress, a pedophile priest, various servants trustworthy and otherwise, and a handful of spies become part of the growing Brandt social circles. At the same time, Paul gets more and more formal and informal education in the ways of a sophisticated world far removed from his Russian roots. Throughout his personal odyssey, Paul’s life is shaped by the influence of the Napoleonic clamp on Prussia and the fires of resistance he becomes part of.   Then, Paul takes us to Berlin where a young man on his own acquits himself very well by demonstrating what he has learned. It’s this part of the story where Paul Brandt is inevitably drawn into an important role in European history.

Author Oliver Fairfax deserves considerable credit for the level of minute detail he provides. He gives every scene and character in the book complete believability. He avoids making certain incidents melodramatic which other authors would be tempted to pump up. Again, readers can be forgiven for thinking they’re reading a story written between 1804 and the following decade in both style and substance. Perhaps some readers might be unhappy at the amount of description given meals, clothes, dwellings, and transports as well as the lengthy scenes establishing characters and their relationships intertwined with the shots of muskets and the cuttings of daggers and sabres.    Not until the final chapters do we witness an epic yarn spun out on a grand scale, but until then we experience a story that’s  engaging, personable, and likely to whet the appetite of many a history buff to continue the adventures in the sequels. After all, Oliver Fairfax has very successfully set the stage for the role of Paul Brandt in the coming conflict between France, Russia, and Prussia in 1812.    

 MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

  

Dr. Wesley Britton is the author ofThe Beta Earth Chronicles and a reviewer for BookPleasures.com. 

Explore the Beta Earth Chronicles website:

https://drwesleybritton.com/books/

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View the snazzy Beta Earth Chronicles book trailer at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8rrP2warHc

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.

Literary Journal Shares Carol Smallwood Poetry Review

Interweavings
By Carol Smallwood
Shanti Arts Publishing, Brunswick, ME.
2017
ISBN 978-1-941830-46-8 
paperback, $16.95, 162 pages.


Reviewed by Kathrine C Aydelott, MLIS, PhD., Dimond Library, University of New Hampshire originally for Big Muddy: A journal of the Mississippi River, Fall, 2017

As Lynn Z Bloom writes in “Living to Tell the Tale: The Complicated Ethics of Creative Nonfiction,” “Because writers of creative nonfiction are dealing with versions of the truth, they—perhaps more consistently than writers in fictive genres—have a perennial ethical obligation to question authority, to look deep beneath the surface, and an aesthetic obligation to render their versions of reality with sufficient power to compel readers’ belief” (278). Carol Smallwood brings us into her world, shares her perspective, and we believe her.

Smallwood, well known in library circles for her volumes on libraries and librarianship, including ALA published titles Library Management Tips that Work (2011), and Bringing the Arts into the Library (2014), is also widely acclaimed for her poetry, in titles such as Compartments: Poems on Nature, Femininity, and Other Realms (2016), which was nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and for the well received In Hubble’s Shadow (2017).

She is as adept at creative nonfiction, as demonstrated by her recent volume, Interweavings (2017), a series of forty-three short essays, separated into seven categories: Visits, The Feminine Side, A Sense of Place, A Backward Look, Things Literary, Strands, and Observations. Conversational and sometimes intimate in tone, the book reads easily, like letters from a friend. The essays are often very short, almost to the point of being sketches, and like musical refrains, elements brought up in one story circle back again later in the collection, tying the whole together.

Libraries, texts, and learning are prominent in these essays and it’s clear that Smallwood has a deep love for words, for education, for science, and for books. But for me, the motif of time passing predominated my readings. In retirement, Smallwood has moved to a small college town from a larger city, and her private thoughts and public encounters center around moments of connection and disconnection, of nostalgic looking backwards and of the necessary moving forward. Smallwood is on the cusp of the rest of her life, and many of the familiar elements of society are taking new shapes in the face of war, technology, aging, and of transition generally. Like Sarah Orne Jewett’s nineteenth-century short stories of Maine, or Virginia Woolf’s twentieth-century musings in Mrs. Dalloway, in Smallwood’s work we see a familiar world coming to an end and a fragile new era about to begin.


For example, in the first essay, “The Library Visit,” Smallwood, writing this time in the third-person, is struck, Alice-like, by a college campus’s renovation of a traditional institution. The building’s newness makes her feel foreign in a familiar place. The library itself is in a period of transition. If the books “didn’t have the answers, they’d done their best,” and the reference area is “deserted” (16).  The “psychedelic” carpet evoked the seventies, while the technology of the expanding bookshelves “encouraged a wariness of being smashed when you walked between them” (20). In Woolfian stream-of-consciousness, asking herself questions discursively, she muses on the architecture inside and the environment outside, all while the library’s new atrium windows evoke a beautiful panopticon, where all of nature is staring back at her, beckoning the author in spite of the rain, to return to an arena that is familiar and unchanging.



Thinking in snippets of lyric language, Smallwood both locates the reader in the present and simultaneously makes clear that there is a discomfiture of time and place. A feminine zeitgeist predominates. In the essay “Women and Time,” Smallwood remarks that “Perhaps their monthly cycles give women an accurate sense (call it intuition) that everything is in flux as they revolve on a planet that’s still forming” (40). As such, Smallwood’s details depict everything as new, and we enter the author’s mind that is observant in all of the senses.



Although her tone is often gentle and wistful, the author travels lightly along in the current of change. In “Karen’s Visit,” she thinks her friend’s voice “had such sadness in it that I wanted to show her it was possible to have dreams” (33). In “Women and Time” Smallwood even admits that “Time is an illusive, slippery, chimerical companion, exasperating to understand especially as one gets older and no closer to finding wisdom long thought to accompany age” (40-41).



Some of the essays are ultimately too short and read more like blog entries than finished pieces. I would have been happy if many of these had been longer, as it is a pleasure to spend time with the author as she considers her life’s triumphs, her reading, and her memories. The strongest essays are in the beginning, I feel, in Visits, where the writing shines and the words are most compelling. But don’t overlook the final essay, “They Will Come,” which masterfully closes the volume. This essay speaks of spring, and renewal, and here Smallwood acknowledges what she does not know, and is confident in the ambiguity. She states, “Yes, I will capture spring this year. Or, like aging, will it be too gradual and immense to grasp?” (159). Interweavings is an attempt to understand what it means to age, in all of its gradations and immensity. 


Philip Gerard, in Creative Nonfiction, defines the genre as “stories that carry both literal truthfulness and a larger Truth, told in a clear voice, with grace, and out of a passionate curiosity about the world” (208). Carol Smallwood’s writing epitomizes this definition.





1.     Bloom, Lynn Z. “Living to Tell the Tale: The Complicated Ethics of Creative Nonfiction.” College English, vol. 65, no. 3, 2003, pp. 276–289. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3594258.



2.     Gerard, Philip. Creative Nonfiction: Researching and Crafting Stories of Real Life. Cincinnati: Story, 1996.











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. 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.