Author and Reviewer Alert! Free Review Resource Plus Review Hint #Three

Authors, Get Reviews for Your Books - Free and Ethical 

and Hint # Three for Getting Them

This is a regular service offered by Lois W. Stern to help authors find interested reviewers for their books and help reviewers find fascinating, published works to review. Watch for more of them along with hints for getting reviews. Scroll down to see both new book offerings and Lois's third How-To-Get-Great-Reviews Hint! 

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You can get any of the books listed below FREE in exchange for an honest Amazon posted review.

TITLE: The Opium Lord's Daughter

NUMBER OF PAGES: 287

DESCRIPTION: The Opium Lord’s Daughter features true events and characters within a world populated by rogue drug traders, imperialist government officials, religious zealots, and scrappy survivors. It’s a coming-of-age story filled with romance, adventure, and tragedy; an expedition through the destruction of a culture, underscoring the hold and havoc drug empires perpetually exert.  
AUTHOR'S NAME: Robert Wang

E-MAIL: rwang@opiumwar-story.com:

FORMAT: E-book available on all major retailers

AGE/INTEREST LEVEL: 18+ 

SHORTENED LINK: https://tinyurl.com/the-opium-lords-daughter

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TITLE: AVENGING ANGEL:  Love and Death in Old Brooklyn
NUMBER OF PAGES: 394
DESCRIPTION: An African-American woman, struggling to overcome the trauma of a racially motivated childhood rape, finds even deadly revenge insufficient. She stalks the streets of the dark city, dangling her spider's web before potential predators. Eventually, while searching for salvation as a fearless champion of endangered women, she tests her capacity to risk being loved. a tale of revenge, survival and redemption, wrapped around an unlikely and stormy dark romance, and set within the context of some unfortunately timeless issues: Violence Against Women, and Racism.
AUTHOR'S NAME: Charles S. Isaacs 
E-MAIL: DrCSIsaacs@aol.com
FORMAT: any digital format
AGE/INTEREST LEVEL: Adults
SHORTENED LINK: Amazon

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TITLE: Sensitive

SUBTITLE: My Journey through a Toxic World

NUMBER OF PAGES: 293

DESCRIPTION: Sensitive is memoir wrapped around timely and important manifesto. Through Sekmet’s lifelong struggles with chemical sensitivities, she learned crucial truths about the underlying toxicity of many of the products that surround us. This straight-shooting and bold memoir tells how she triumphed over mysterious chronic health struggles and family trauma with determination and humor.
AUTHOR: Pookie Sekmet

EMAIL: pookiesekmet@gmail.com
FORMAT: ARC (Advanced review copies)
AGE/INTEREST LEVEL: General Audience/Memoir
AMAZON URL: 

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TITLE: Justice Gone

NUMBER OF PAGES: 336 (314 excluding front and back matter)

DESCRIPTION: A homeless vet is beaten to death by police. Protests erupt. 3 cops are gunned down. A multi-state manhunt. And the trial of the decade. A new kind of legal thriller.

AUTHOR'S NAME: N. Lombardi Jr

E-MAIL: nlomb269@gmail.com

FORMAT: PDF, e-book (including Kindle), 20 paper back copies

AGE/INTEREST LEVEL: teens and adults

AMAZON URL: tiny.cc/14kz7y

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TITLE: Tales2Inspire ~ The Pearl Collection

# OF PAGES: 124

DESCRIPTION: True stories of fifteen Awesome Kids, each making an incredible impact to better our world.

AUTHOR'S NAME: Lois W. Stern

E-MAIL: tales2Inspire@optimum.net

FORMAT: PDF, e-book, 4 paperback copies

AGE/INTEREST LEVEL: preteens, teens and adults

AMAZON URL: https://www.amazon.com/Tales2Inspire-Pearl-Collection-Awesome-ebook/dp/B07PK51NV5/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Tales2Inspire+Collection&qid=1554513523&s=books&sr=1-

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TITLE: Super Spoons to the Rescue: A Math Measuring Story

NUMBER OF PAGES: 58 Pages

DESCRIPTION: This is a math story about spoon superheroes who help people measure ingredients for things like chocolate cakes. When their town is hit by a tornado, they help dispense the exact amount of medicines needed. They fly to the rescue as requested. This book also has worksheets and activity cards.

AUTHOR'S NAME: Carolyn Wilhelm

Illustrator: Oxana Cerra

E-MAIL: cwilhelm@thewiseowlfactory.com

FORMAT: 3 PDFs, 3 of PAPERBACK BOOKS  (people can have both)

AGE/INTEREST LEVEL: Primary Grades 1-3 (Ages 6-9)

SHORTENED LINK: https://tinyurl.com/y495v5nc 

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To get your copy of any of the above titles for review:

Email the author directly using their address above.

1. Commit to writing a review within 30 days.
2. Post your review on Amazon.
3. Give the author permission to post it on this New Book Review blog, credited to you with a link to your website or social network, of course.

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TO SUBMIT YOUR REVIEW REQUEST, KINDLY USE THE FOLLOWING FORMAT:

TITLE:

NUMBER OF PAGES:

DESCRIPTION: (Please keep pitch to 50 words or less.)

AUTHOR'S NAME:

E-MAIL:

FORMAT:(PDF, E-BOOK, # of PAPERBACK BOOKS, # of HARDCOVER BOOKS)

AGE/NTEREST LEVEL:

AMAZON URL: (Kindly send shortened link using Tiny URL or other.)

Send review requests to Lois at: tales2inspire@optimum.net

Put Blogspot Review Request IN THE SUBJECT LINE.

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LOIS'S HINT #3 FOR GETTING REVIEWS:

"Don’t overlook staff members at bookstores.  A large percentage (of them) are avid readers an many are fellow writers. Some also do reviews  for the bookstore’s newsletter."

Page 108 of Carolyn Howard-Johnson's How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally 

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  MORE ABOUT THE GUEST BLOGGER AND HER TALES2INSPIRE PROJECT

Lois W. Stern's Tales2Inspire was a kernel of an idea that started in 2012 and has grown to proportions even she didn’t dare to envision. Her innate curiosity about potentially fascinating human interest stories was the spark that ignited this idea. But it was the confused state of traditional publishing that propelled her forward. Tales2Inspire delivers exactly what it promises as both an ‘Authors Helping Authors’ project and a contest. Winners get their stories published in print, as e-books, and some even in video formats with their names, headshot photos, and mini-autobiographies. Then she spreads the word about the winners and their stories on her blogs, social media and monthly newsletter. FREE to enter, this is a great competition for talented newbies and seasoned authors alike. Learn more about her and her projects here:

Tales2Inspire website: http://www.tales2inspire.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tales2inspire2

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tales2inspire

LinkedIn profile: http://tinyurl.com/odtw2wt

Get a FREE Tales2Inspire Sampler book at: www.tales2inspire.com/gift

Tales2Inspire trailer: https://youtu.be/FuDgXkYMHvo

Blog: http:://www.tales2inspire/blog

                                                    ___________________

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER, THIS BLOG AND ITS BENEFIT FOR WRITERS

 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 everything 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! 

The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca Discussion Questions

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.

The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah

This book elicited quite strong reactions from our Global Reads for Grown-ups Facebook book group readers, particularly on the question of whether Shah relied on cultural stereotypes and caricatures in his portrayal of Morocco.

Amazon 

• ASIN: B015QNQ6R6
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385608071
• ISBN-13: 978-0385608077

1) What did you think of the book? Would you recommend it?

2) On p. 19 of my edition, Tahir Shah writes "In the West we are driven by an extreme form of guilt - if you are not seen to be working like a dog, you're perceived as being slothful. It was very clear that things in Morocco were quite different...I found people rushed about only when they needed to, and not because they knew others were watching them."
Do you agree that people in the West feel guilty for relaxing? (Or that they don't feel this guilt elsewhere?)

3) Here is a quick overview of Edward Said's concept of Orientalism and how it still shapes Western views of the East today. Do you think The Caliph's House played into these stereotypes? Did he do anything to dispel them?



4) The book begins with Tahir Shah signing the papers on his new house when they are interrupted by suicide attacks in Casablanca. What effect does it have starting the book with this effect? Why did he choose to do this?

5) [Reader question] What did you think about the family relationships in the book?

6) Did you have a favorite character?

7) Overall, would you say The Caliph's House paints a flattering portrait of Morocco? Or of the expats living there? Would you want to move to Morocco based solely on reading this book? Why or why not?

8) Have you ever lived abroad? If so, how did your experience compare with the one portrayed in the book?

9) Thinking on books about where you are from (or where you live now) was there one that really got it wrong? What book really got it right? What book do you recommend about where you are from (or where you live)?

Thank you for reading! This post was written by: 

Leanna is a homeschooler with three sweet, funny, rambunctious children.  She draws inspiration from the Writings of the Bahá’í Faith and tries to raise her Monkeys in a fun, spiritual, loving environment.  She and her husband, who is from Costa Rica, are raising their children to be bilingual and bicultural but more importantly to be “world citizens.”  All Done Monkey is dedicated to sharing this journey with you!

Leanna is the founder of Multicultural Kid Blogs.

Interview on Bilingual Kids Rock podcast

Interview on Global Mom Show podcast

Featured website on Bahá’í Mom Blogs

D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Book Review

D-Day Girls

Subtitle: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, 

      and Helped Win World War II

Author: Sarah Rose

Hardcover: 400 pages

Publisher: Crown; 1st Edition (April 23, 2019)

ISBN-10: 045149508X

ISBN-13: 978-0451495082 

Purchase on Amazon

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for BookPleasures.com

With D-Day Girls,  Sarah Rose has provided us with a valuable service not only in terms of setting the historical record straight for the women of the  S.O.E. (Special Operations Executive), but for the history of the treatment of women in general even when they gave their countries the very finest in the way of self-sacrifice, courage, and heroism. 

The stories of three women saboteurs, in particular, demonstrate just what skilled and brave women contributed during the occupation of France by the Nazis from 1939 to 1945.  We are told about scrappy Andrée Borrel, a demolitions expert  eluding the Gestapo while blowing up the infrastructure the occupying German army relied on. The "Queen" of the S.O.E. was Lise de Baissac, a fiercely independent Parisian who lost everything due to her wartime service. And there was my favorite heroine of the bunch, Odette Sansom, who saw S.O.E. service as a means to lead a more meaningful life away from an unhappy marriage.  While she finds love with a fellow agent named Peter Churchill, she ended up being a two year prisoner, horribly tortured by the Germans.   These women, along with their compatriots both male and female, helped lay the groundwork for D-Day by innumerable acts of sabotage, orchestrated prison breaks,  and the gathering of intelligence for the allied war effort.

But D-Day Girls  has a much deeper and wider canvas that three biographies.   The stories of the three spies are painted against a detailed backdrop that includes the policy making of the Allies leadership, how the chiefs of the S.O.E. came to involve women in their behind-the-lines operations, and how the changes in the war effort shaped what the various operatives were and were unable to accomplish.   We learn about their training, the reactions of male superiors to the use of women at all,   the bungles as well as the successes,  the very human dramas the women became involved in,  the competition between the various intelligence agencies, how the spy networks were unraveled by the successful Nazi infiltration, and the very vivid settings from which the women operated. We learn about the costly mistakes some operatives performed, the lack of following the procedures they were taught,     and the process of getting the materials and new agents parachuted in from RAF planes.

Rose is able to avoid a dry retelling of all these events with almost a novelist's descriptive eye.  For example, she doesn't merely tell us about an explosion resulting from a well-place bomb--she gives us a sensory breakdown of what happened moment by moment, second by second in color, smell, and sound.   She doesn't merely tell us about the black parachute drops,  but how they took place out in the quiet French countryside.

It's difficult to lay this book down as we revisit often forgotten corners of World War II history with often fresh perspectives. Many revelations are only possible now that many formerly classified documents have been brought to light and many misogynist  points-of-view have been replaced by what actually happened.

In many ways, the tales of what happened to these women after the war ended are the saddest passages in the book.   Because they were not part of any official military service, they were denied   the full recognition and appreciation they deserved.  Even though they had been indispensable during the war, after VE day they were relegated to the second-class status of women everywhere. There's more than one lesson in all that.

So readers who love spy stories, those interested in World War II,  devotees of women's studies, and those focused on D-Day celebrations  this year shouldn't be the only audience D-Day Girls should enjoy.  It's a wonderfully vivid and descriptive multi-layered account that should engage any reader who likes well-written non-fiction.

Note: I'm aware that this year a related book, Madame Foucade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Larges Spy Network Against Hitler by Lynne Olson was also published. It's on my summer reading list as well. Spy buffs, stay tuned--

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

  

Dr. Wesley Britton is the author of The Beta Earth Chronicles and a regular reviewer for 

 BookPleasures.com. Learn more about his: 

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:

  

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER, THIS BLOG AND ITS BENEFIT FOR WRITERS

 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 everything 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! 

Reviewer Ed Sarna Calls Payton's Novel "Complex, Crisp. . ."

Title: Standing in Doorways
Author: Wes Payton
Publisher: Adelaide Books
Publisher Address:  244 Fifth Avenue, Suite D27
New York, NY, 10001
Publisher Web Site:  http://www.adelaidebooks.org/index.html
Publisher Email:  info@adelaidebooks.org
ISBN:   ISBN-10: 1-949180-38-7
ISBN-13: 978-1-949180-38-1
Price: $19.60 (eBook $7.99)
Page Count: 266 pages

Trade paperback
Formats: paperback and Kindle

Reviewed by Ed Sarna originally for Windy city Reviews

Standing in Doorways is the second book by Wes Payton that I’ve reviewed, and like Lead Tears, the first one, I loved it. It showcases Mr. Payton’s clever use of wordplay and his sneaky sense of humor.

The novel is structured in two parts. Part One chronicles the lives of a group of college students afflicted with various mental disorders. They attend a prestigious Midwestern university and are ensconced in Study House, their dormitory. We come to know these students through the eyes of Vivien Leigh (not that Vivien Leigh). Vivien describes her pathology when she says, “I can’t read expressions or understand body language. I’m barely human.” When asked if that means she’s a literal, she answers, “I was for a long time until I finally figured out that people rarely mean what they say. Now I don’t really believe anything I’m told, which can be an advantage in college, but from what my counselor tells me is somewhat discouraged in the real world.”

These individuals are carefully observed, as stated in the opening sentence, “…Study House, which wasn’t named for what was required of its residents, but rather what was done to them.” They are sometimes referred to by their infliction: Schiz, a schizophrenic, Prodigy (also referred to as Digy), a genius who is editing the dictionary and has been the subject of a lifelong experiment that studies the limits of human intelligence and mental endurance, Poopy, who keeps a journal of his bowel movements, and Psycho, who may or may not be a psychopath. There is also Patty who has a constantly changing personality, but unlike a schizophrenic, “…she doesn’t have multiple personalities trapped inside of her, instead her personality continually reinvents itself, as if her mind is perpetually flipping through the channels of an internal television and she imitates whatever show is on at the moment.” There is also Vivien Leigh’s roommate, Vivian Lee, who in describing himself says, “My condition enables me to read people too accurately for comfort.”

Part One takes place in the 1990s while Part Two takes place twenty years later. In Part Two, the lives of some students intersect. Vivien Leigh is now a writer, having once written a novella called Study House, about her college years. Referring to the novella, Vivien says, “…the narrative wasn’t so much based on events that really happened but rather my impression of being a college student in the nineties.” This explanation may or may not be true. As Book Two unfolds and the characters from Book One cross paths, we are left wondering what’s real and what’s fiction. Are the things we are told truthful to the actual characters' lives or the novella’s characters’ lives? Lest you think this book merely poses philosophical questions, it also involves a murder, a possible suicide, and a mysterious pregnancy. Or maybe it doesn’t.

Wes Payton's writing is complex, crisp, and cunning. The skillful way he weaves the narrative and the novella together kept me hooked throughout the book. His railing against dumbing down language for the masses, and his warning of what happens when idiots are put in charge, (“…and because they also happened to be overpaid, they would hire incompetent subordinates who would not jeopardize their jobs by questioning their dubious credentials or their ability to make decisions…”) are beyond appropriate. I highly recommend Standing in Doorways by Wes Payton. 

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wes Payton has a B.A. in Rhetoric/Philosophy and an M.A. in English. His play Way Station was selected for a Next Draft reading in 2015, and What Does a Question Weigh? was selected for a staged reading as part of the 2017 Chicago New Work Festival. He is the author of the novels Lead Tears, Darkling Spinster, Darkling Spinster No More, and Standing in Doorways. Wes and his family live in Oak Park, Illinois.  Find him at http://wespayton.weebly.com/

  

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER, THIS BLOG AND ITS BENEFIT FOR WRITERS

 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 everything 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! 

Woodstock 50 Years Later? You Bet!

Woodstock 50th Anniversary
Subtitle: Back to Yasgur's Farm

Author: Mike Greenblatt

Hardcover: 224 pages

Publisher: Krause Publications (July 16, 2019)

ISBN-10: 1440248907

ISBN-13: 978-1440248900

Purchase on Amazon

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for BookPleasures.com 

After all these years and all the books, documentaries, interviews etc.etc., do we really need another book on Woodstock? At first glance, the answer might seem to be a resounding "no" because the mud and music has been well-trodden for five decades now.   On the other hand, the 50th anniversary may well be the Woodstock generation's last hurrah, at least in terms of creating events and issuing publications commemorating the major milestone in pop culture while many of the original participants are still alive and able to stroll down their various memory lanes. Just look over the line-up of performers scheduled for the official Golden Anniversary weekend--most of the musicians weren't even born back in '69. Yikes!

For me, the value in books like Greenblatt's is learning things I didn't know before or being refreshed on things I may have heard before but forgotten. For example, I've heard of performers like Sweetwater, the Incredible String Band, the Keef Hartly band, and Quill who played at Woodstock. I've never heard a note by any of them except for a few tunes by Sweetwater.      As many have pointed out over the years,  not appearing in the 1970 Michael Wadleigh documentary ended up being a lost career boost.   Other acts like Janis Joplin, The Band, Creedence Clearwater,  or the Grateful Dead didn't need the boost but wouldn't be folded into public awareness about their Woodstock appearances until they were included in later Wadleigh collector's editions when he released previously unseen footage. Then there were the acts who were there but didn't get filmed and then there were those who turned down the gig and didn't come to the party.  At the time, they had good reasons to pass on the opportunity--no one knew what the Woodstock festival would mean.

The performers were the ones on stage, but the stories of the organizers and audience members were and are equally as much a part of Woodstock lore. In particular, just how close Woodstock came to becoming a disaster many times over, it seems to me, is well worth remembering.    We really were the peace and love generation no matter how fleeting that moment flickered in time.  That, it seems to me, is the reason to keep commemorating what was essentially a three day rock and roll concert that became a mythologized hippie highpoint thanks in large part to the film that reached an audience able to enjoy the concert in more comfortable theatre settings. Now, we get a different appreciation when folks like Greenblatt, who was there,   share their experiences with those of us who think we wish we had been in the crowd.

In terms of Greenblatt's book, I hadn't seen the set lists of all the acts before and found them a real 50th anniversary treat. I had heard many of the musicians' anecdotes before, but not all of them collected here. Not by a long shot. I hadn't heard of the shunning Max Yasgur suffered by his unhappy neighbors after the concert was over.

In fact, I think it's fair to say Mike Greenblatt may have assembled the best one-stop Woodstock book for readers who might want one, just one, hardcover exploration of the concert and how it became the phenomena it did. It's a good companion piece to all the DVDs and CDs being issued to keep the music alive.  Oh, of course, it's chock-full of colorful photos.  Yep, a very good memento of an August weekend only a small slice of my generation got to experience first-hand. Like Michael Greenblatt.

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

  

Dr. Wesley Britton is the author of The Beta Earth Chronicles and reviews for BookPleasures.com. Learn more at: 

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:

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER, THIS BLOG AND ITS BENEFIT FOR WRITERS

 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 everything 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! 

Dr. Wesley Britton Loves "Unintentional" Read

Dinner With Edward

Subtitle: The Story of an Unexpected Friendship

Author: Isabel Vincent

Paperback: 240 pages

Publisher: Algonquin Books; Reprint edition (June 13, 2017)

ISBN-10: 1616206942

ISBN-13: 978-1616206949

Purchase at Amazon

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for BookPleasures.com

Dinner With Edward isn't the sort of novel I would normally pick up for summer reading. I don't read "food books." But as it was this month's assignment for a book club I belong to,  I started reading with few preconceived ideas about it.  It didn't take long for me to be glad I did.

From first to last, Dinner With Edward just hums with life and gains affirming energy as it goes along.  The premise is simple enough: Edward is a nonagenarian widower grieving over the death of his wife, strongly wanting to follow her to the grave. He's a talented man with his hands, especially with cooking exceptional dinners in his New York apartment.

Isabel is a "middle-aged" reporter who Edward invites to come to weekly dinners at the request of one of Edward's daughters who hopes Isabel can keep an eye on her father. Isabel's marriage is disintegrating and these private dinners become highlights of her life, along with the wisdom Edward offers as their friendship deepens.  Their backstories are revealed in fragments and chunks as Vincent recounts just how this friendship blossomed in chapters headed by the short menus of one dinner after another.   It's quickly obvious the nourishment the two share goes far beyond well-prepared dinners and conversations that are wide-ranging in scope and topics.

Among the lessons Isabel learns is to slow down and appreciate her life, dissecting who she is and facing things she'd rather put aside or ignore. Edward is described as a Henry Higgins figure helping his Eliza Doolittle protegee enhance her feminine aspects which she tends to downplay. Of course, she learns a lot about preparing food and allowing herself to find love again. 

One of the many aphorisms sprinkled throughout the memoir is a quote by M. F. K. Fisher, that simple dinners with a friend can "sustain us against the hungers of the world." In other words, Edward's lessons for Isabel should reach out far beyond their relationship and enrich the lives of the book's readers.  I often paused to jot down a note or two when a clear, clean insight tripped my trigger.  I will have many good things to say about Dinner With Edward when the book club meets and eagerly await the responses of the other members.

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