Learning from Literary Criticism

Title: The World Broke in Two
Subtitle: Virginia Woolf, T.S.Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, E. M. Forster, and the Year That Changed Literature
Author: Bill Goldstein
Publisher: Picador, Henry Holt and Company
Pages: 351 Including Bibliographic Notes, 32 pages of Notes (resources and attributions). The Acknowledgments is a five-page trove of gratitude as well as resources for writers seeking professional support for everything from “book jacket” support, to agent and editor, to foundations, fellowships, and libraries.

A Magical Resource

20^th Century Literature Come Alive

Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

“I inherited [my father’s] love of books and reading, and I grew up surrounded by his vast book collection, which made me feel close to him and continues to, now that so many of his books, all faithfully kept by my mother through many years and her move from our house to an apartment, are mine. My father collected the works of his contemporaries—Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, Henry Miller, Philip Roth, and others . . . but he had a copy of Thomas Seltzer’s trade edition of the early 20^th century greats I cover in this book. I didn’t realize growing up that we had no Woolf in the house . . . but a visit to my mother’s apartment is also a visit to my father’s library, and there are books behind the books on all the shelves, and I will keep looking.” ~From the” Acknowledgments” of The World Broke In Two.

This anecdote included in Author Bill Goldstein’s Acknowledgment may be a sketch of the kind of reader who will appreciate this book. A more precise list might include readers who appreciate finely researched history and how it affects today’s literary world and, by extension, the world at large, literature majors, and, of course writers of any genre—especially those who seek to apply early 20^th century ground-breaking techniques to their own work.

If I had read this book sometime during my creative writing and English literature classes, I would have had a greater appreciation of the assigned novels and poems and, by having a better understanding of this history of the changes in literature, been better able to assimilate the pre-Proust literature I had read along with the post-Woolf (sometimes labeled post modernism) techniques my teachers were trying to get across to me. To put it more succinctly, I would have been less bored with the blue mixing bowl eliciting memories in Woolf’s The Hours (and more likely to apply what I  now call the “blue-mixing bowl and teacup” technique to my own work. If my clients better understood it, they might be less tempted to stick their internal dialogue into italics!

If, as a reader or writer, you understand the literary term “modernity,” you might neglect (or accept) the conditions—political and personal depredations—that attract authors (and thereby literature) to it and to this book. If you believe writing should be a joy, you may be disillusioned by these stories, essentially the stories of the greatest writers of their time (Woolf, T.S.Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, E. M. Forester and—coincidentally others who influenced them like James Joyce and Proust. If you love a good biography, you might fall in love with it!

Though for some this book may be an uphill climb over the intricacies of the literary world, this is a book that, like the author’s tender anecdote in his “Acknowledgments” quoted above, will not go into the charity giveaways for Salvation Army shoppers but be tucked into the back corners and nooks of those who treasure books and keep the most valuable, the best of the best for future reference. Mine is full of tweaked corners, underlines, and margin notes for future information.

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The reviewer studied English, American, and Russian Literature in college. She was graduated from USC (University of Southern California) and did post graduate work at Arizona State University, Herzen University (St. Petersburg, Russia); Cambridge University, Trinity College (UK); and Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic). Her most recent book of poetry, Imperfect Echoes (http://bit.ly/ImperfectEchoes), was released to accolades from Midwest Book Review. 

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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!

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"Strange Stars" Critiques Connections Between Sci-Fi Rock, Films, Books

Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded 

Author: Jason Heller

Hardcover: 272 pages

Publisher: Melville House; First Edition edition (June 5, 2018)

ISBN-10: 1612196977

ISBN-13: 978-1612196978

Purchase at Amazon

 Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for BookPleasures.com

When I read a blurb describing Strange Stars, my first reaction was that Jason Heller had beaten me to the punch.  I had long thought the connections between sci-fi flavored rock music and sci-fi films and books in the 1970s would make for an interesting critical analysis. I was right, except Heller was a much better critic to pull all the strings together than I would have been. By miles and miles.

The book’s title is a tad misleading if you assume David Bowie will be an important thread in the story.  Yes, Heller bookends the decade with Bowie’s 1971 “Space Oddity” and its 1980 follow-up, “Ashes to Ashes.” Sure, Ziggy Stardust and The Man Who Fell to Earth aren’t neglected. And the book ends with Bowie’s 2018 death and the release of Black Star.

But Heller probes a rich well of evidence demonstrating that the ‘70s was the decade when sci-fi began to be taken seriously in popular culture, its impact ignited by two films by Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange. The Planet of the Apes also contributed to a growing interest in sci-fi and the phenomena of Star Trek was just beginning its widening cult status.  

Sci-fi authors cited by many musicians as influences included Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Burroughs, Philip Dick, and Frank Herbert, among many, many others. To greater and lesser degrees, these writers influenced popular rock musicians like Paul Kantner’s Jefferson Starship (“Blows Against the Empire,”) David Crosby and The Byrds (“Mr. Spaceman,”) Elton John (“Rocket Man”), Black Sabbath (Iron Man”), and the psychedelic Pink Floyd. At the same time, futuristic electronic sounds and cover art helped define Progressive Rock groups like yes and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (“Tarkus.”)

Heller also explores cult favorites including the French Magma, Germany’s Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, Gary Neuman, Devo, as well as the often forgotten Hawkwind, Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come, and the avant-garde jazz figure Sun Ra. And these are but the best known of the musical performers and groups Heller lists and describes in minute detail leaving no rare single or obscure album unturned.

Along the way, Heller discusses sci-fi lyrics, the burgeoning use of futuristic synth-sounds, new sub-genres like sci-fi-funk and Kraut-rock, concert events like 1979’s Futurama and the impact of films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Star Wars and Star Trek. Occasionally he layers in historical events that piqued public interest in space, futuristic technology, and dystopian predictions like the disappointing passing of Comet Kohoutek and the crash of Star Lab.

In his “Acknowledgements,” Heller credits one reader with keeping him from publishing an encyclopedia instead of a story.  There are many, many passages where readers could be forgiven for feeling like they’re following long, encyclopedic entries, especially when Heller recites band name after band name, album title after album title.    Such passages might inspire skimming along and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Strange Stars can serve as a reference volume as well as an analysis of an amorphous genre, or at least a many-tentacled realm of popular culture.   Strange Stars belongs in pretty much every public library and on the private shelves of both sci-fi and rock lovers.  

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr. Wesley Britton IS THE AUTHOR OF The Beta Earth Chronicles and a reviewer who love science fiction.  Learn more about him:

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MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG, GETTING REVIEWS AND ANOTHER PROMOTION 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! 

Sparrow Road Novel Includes a Now Sober Father and Orphans

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.

Book Review for Sparrow Road by Sheila O'Connor

• Age Range: 10 and up 
• Grade Level: 5 - 6
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780142421369
• ISBN-13: 978-0142421369
• ASIN: 0142421367
• Amazon Sales Page for Sparrow Road

I just read Sparrow Road because I found the cover to be intriguing.  Really!  And the college on the cover is integral of this story about a twelve-year-old girl's summer before seventh grade, which is not what first might come to mind!  Raine has spent 12 years happily living with her mother and grandfather in Milwaukee. Her mother suddenly moves to Sparrow Road in the country for the summer, taking Raine along, and a mystery begins.  It is fairly easy for an adult to read between the lines and figure out some of what is going to happen, although at the beginning the rules at Sparrow Road seem like some strange or harsh events will occur.  Questions asked through the text of the book help keep the attention of young readers.  How many things a twelve-year-old understands about the world is also revealed in this complex story.

It seems at first that Raine's mother is quitting her job in the city to be a maid at an artist's summer retreat, where little talking is allowed.  Sparrow Road used to be an orphanage.  Later, the plot thickens and the reader learns that Sparrow Road is near to where Raine's absent father lives.  He has been sober for a year.  He wants to meet Raine.  Although the plot is a little dark about his past drinking, Raine, and all the artists who have become her pseudo-parents, work through it without too much ado.  Raine and her father have a few meetings and begin to get to know each other while a plot about the former orphans who lived at Sparrow Road evolves.

The questions the orphans who used to live at Sparrow Road might have parallel the questions a child with a missing parent would ask, and so the theme of wondering about those kinds of things is predominant in the book.  Raine is offered the choice to stay at Sparrow Road where she could live near her father, but not near the grandfather who has been a real parent to her or return to Milwaukee.  This seems like too much of a choice to offer a child, but Raine decides to return to her former life with her grandfather, mother, and school friends.  Her father will be visiting her in Milwaukee in the near future.

This story would be fine for children who are not in the position of wondering where their missing parents are, and who do not have difficult life stories themselves.  It is a good story and it has a satisfying ending.  However, there are children who do not have happy endings in their own lives, so the book isn't for everyone.  The book is good for helping children develop some empathy for single parent families or children who have experienced being an orphan.  It is just a good read!

Originally posted on Amazon by Carolyn Wilhelm

Thank you for reading, Carolyn Wilhelm

Teacher of Self-Publishing from the Very, Very Beginning on Udemy

Professor Emeritus Reviews Smallwood's "In the Measuring"

 Title:  In the Measuring
Author: Carol Smallwood
Publisher:  Shanti Arts, 2018.  Brunswick, Maine:
116 pages, $14.95, paperback.
Available on Amazon

Reviewed by Ronald Prime originally for his Ragazine

It is often said that we cannot measure what is real, what actually counts or matters most. In The Measuring demonstrates that in the right hands we can do all that and more. For Carol Smallwood, we do not find meaning already made; rather, in the activities of our everyday lives we make meaning in ways that affect how we learn, store, remember, and pass on the truths of our experiences.

This collection of seventy-seven poems is packed with insights set in motion by an epigraph from Emily Dickinson: “The truth must dazzle gradually/ Or every man be blind.”  Smallwood is not the first to insist on this “dazzle,” but she is especially subtle in depicting the feel of the crucial gradualness. In so many different ways these poems reveal the gradation of steady and deliberate measurements in the ordinariness of our daily lives.  How measuring opens us up to mystery is the book’s organizing motif. “Proof of Transitory” looks at fading and blossoming, dusty shelves and unfulfilled resolve, and how we learn to negotiate the fine line between fading and progressing.  From the chemical reactions of making and breaking bread to the sifting through a myriad of dishwashing liquids on a grocery shelf, we face choices in every moment.  Some measurements seek us out: the feel of a waiting room after a diagnosis, the funeral-planning postcard that arrives “to resident” and thereby sidesteps the more threatening personal surveillance from the grim reaper. We also experience the information storage system woven into making  quilts, a driver in a car wash who is content to settle into “the tracks of those who went before,” measurements so subtle that we feel evaporation and the melting of ice.

Smallwood‘s presentation follows six sections with a precision that is never repetitive or overly rapid. A Prelude suggests that however we arrive at truth, there will always still be mystery in the measuring. “The Domestic” stirs  deeper into the ordinariness of rain and leaves, cooking and sewing, light pouring through a window to create shades of gray, efforts to “prove” what we assume we know for sure, discovering that the frustrating efforts to prove something only intensify the thirst for proof. “Sea Change” locates meaning in a shrug or a frown, takes a “Brief Look” at the sublimity of what is ordinary, finds Prufrock measuring his life with cups from fast food restaurants, and catches the subtlest signals missed by all except the most astute “sorters and watchers.” In the brilliant “Shopping Sestina Sans Meter” a shopper envisions everything in a supermarket from her imagined funeral procession at the dairy counter and turkeys in hiking boots, to  the perfect biscuits made by the Clabber Girl—all leading to yet another question of measuring: “How much knowing is good for us to know?”

Emily Dickinson (“Tell all the truth but tell it slant’) again provides the title for section four, “Slant,” which reminds readers that measurements must be somewhat circuitous as well as slow and deliberate to create meaning about time, the moon, clocks, tile floors, and the man who calms his wife’s worries about how she can ever list all her ailments. “You’re just supposed to circle things” he assures her.To be gradual, sometimes the dazzling must wander into productive distraction where the profundity of a philosophy class is interrupted by a train whistle that carries “Augustine, Wittgenstein, and the professor neatly away” (91).

Though most often thought of in cooking or construction and generally seen as an accumulation, in Smallwood’s steady hands, measuring is also an acceptance of necessary losses. Symbols of aging are big business with large print and assistive devices signaling a compromised independence (“Arrival, 59”). “Catching On” suggests that felt experience can be squashed by too much “talking out” and that measuring devices—scientific and otherwise—are always “still figuring out what to do with” the ubiquitous mysteries of every day. Again the shopping sestina surveys a restaurant grouping of “always the same men on the same stools” counting out the minutes they have left in talk firmly planted in shoes with “holes that gave them personality” (62).  The men reflect back on their lives and ask about the unknowables where even the sage “Know thyself can be a Medusa turn-to-stone blow” burdened with too much knowing (70).

Spend rewarding time with this book and you will find yourself discovering much that is new about what you thought you already had firmly in hand. “In Passing” concludes the volume with some dozen poems that measure “differences in what seems the same” (95), watches closely the processes unfolding in “a Happy Meal Cup of melting ice” (97), transports a bug from the post office floor to nurturing crumbs and to live again in the window plants of home. An “epilogue” creates an apt coda where we live and measure our lives in the halfway between the deepest oceans and the highest mountains.

Smallwood asks many times what all the measuring does for us anyway. Does it find explanations that are already there or create meanings through the often painstakingly slow dazzle of language? Is it all about keeping track of things, deciding how to store and share what we learn, and then struggling with uncertainty? The slow progression of gradations is discovery as well as an acceptance of loss. Blossoming is best in “the struggle of dandelions in sidewalk cracks” that brings more hope than “crowds of daffodils” (55). Here the literary allusions leap beyond Dickinson, calling upon Wordsworth’s “Intimations of Immortality” and suggesting the title of Alice Walker’s very early book Revolutionary Petunias that push their way through inner-city cement.  We hail the annual coming of spring with its rite of passage but repress bugs and lawn mowing.  It’s all about loss, the measuring—not all accumulation as we hope—but learning to let go and accept diminishment.

Understanding the processes of measuring teaches being at peace with loss.  “Ephemera,” from the Greek meaning “living a day” flashes the fast dance of nurturing in which we ignite, mature, and die in an instant. In a measured way, aging is an arrival recognized when people hold doors and smile, when catalogs flood the mailbox, when “large numbered clocks and colorful canes” are offered in the hopes of prolonging independence (59). Yet another measuring of letting go is “A Multigated Acquisition” exploring a test of whether a heart is “strong enough for chemo” (54.) Other speakers reflect on whether—after a hysterectomy--one’s remains are packaged “in a paper sack like the gizzard, heart, liver, neck inside a roasting chicken” (62) and pursue the unanswerables when even “Know Thyself can be a Medusa turn-to-stone blow” where the knowing might not turn out to be knowing at all (70). Such questions might ordinarily be the province of the philosophers, but in this book they are better explored in the aisles of a grocery store, sitting in the light of a window sorting pieces for a quilt, while waiting for a dental hygienist, in every ordinary ritualized passage through changing seasons—all ways of measuring the extraordinary in ordinary places and moments to “explain the familiar so that I might understand” (102).

From section to section and within each poem, we are treated to intricate patterns of repetition found in everyday experiences. Some are like the musical refrains of the oral tradition or the contrapuntal wizardry of Bach; others use variations and inversions to capture multiple perspectives or introduce the rhythms of the blues. Smallwood is a master of forms whether it is villanelles floating variations that coalesce in a concluding couplet, the expected but still surprising repeated endwords of her sestinas, or lines sewed together seamlessly through successive stanzas where beginnings and conclusions meet in pantoums. The masterful wedding of mundane experiences and heightened awareness is found in “A Kroger Villanelle,” where a regal-feeling shopper passes in review objects on shelves “lined at attention,” her wobbling crown cautioning deliberateness in her step. As the shopping cart swerves through each aisle six times “she nodded and smiled” (110).

Live with this book for a while, quietly and thoughtfully, and you will be dazzled by seeing things as if for the first time. It will come over you, for example, that so much of what we assume has been decided opens up again because of “mystery in the measuring” (“One Way,” 25). You will notice the worn-out elastic, the “almost invisible 3-corner tear,” and how a white apron “must’ve gotten untied” in “Raggedy Ann” (41). Of course we like measurements assumed to be exact and undisputable, sometimes even declared true by definition. But do we truly know for sure what day we are living in with the help of a calendar, a dated email message, when the garbage is picked up, or an electronic sign on a bank? And how do we determine which metric might have gotten it wrong or—when they conflict, how to decide on accuracy (“Proof,”44)? Quilt making is all about measuring: selecting, cutting, matching, planning for counterpoint, storing memories. Can the drive to measure go too far; do quilts have to have purpose and be made to live with certain people, or after we are gone will their final measurement be “ending up in the night pyre” (“Sewing by Day,” 46). As part of elevator talk about how busy we all are, a  know what is what or the meaning of either “is” (“What Does it Mean,”51). Do we quantify maybe overmuch sometimes as when a customer wonders “how many sperms died not reaching the egg” that formed the cashier who was a “Fred Astaire with bills” (“Sorters and Watchers” 69).  All the measuring in the world brings us back to a wholeness; we avoid overreliance on measured analysis by learning that “it’s wise to detect differences in what seems the same” (Seeing the Whole.” 95).

In the Measuring will remind you of the strengths and limitations of every device we use to capture lived experience. Smallwood is at home in a wide variety of forms and styles. She is meticulous about modifying forms for special uses, and matches them unobtrusively to content they were made for. The organization of the book will serve as a guide but never get in the way or overcomplicate. Cover and interior design by Shanti Arts Designs are gorgeous reminders of the process explored everywhere in the book. Layout, design, font, and spacing are pleasing, with plenty of white space for readers who annotate as they read. In a few places really short poems positioned at the top of a page might seem abrupt to some. I would have liked a few more glimpses of the author’s ways of composing or motivations for the project in an overly short but otherwise effective Introduction. The Foreword by Foster Neill, founder of The Michigan Poet, welcomes us to ways of enjoying the surprises in the wisdom a keen poet has created for us.

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Ronald Primeau is Professor of English Emeritus at Central Michigan University.

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 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! 

Just Published Dystopian Saga Reviewed by Lisa O'Day

Alpha Tales 2044

Subtitle: A Beta-Earth Chronicles Collection

Author: Wesley Britton

Print Length: 173 pages

Publisher: Alien Vision (December 9, 2018)

Publication Date: December 9, 2018

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC 

ASIN: B07KJBSQG5

Reviewed by Lisa Frankford O’Day originally for Amazon

 5.0 out of 5 stars

A wonderful short story collection that will take you to unimagined places, each of them different, but all tied together by the Beta-Earth saga.

The first of the stories is taken right out of the Beta-Earth Chronicles; it stars one of my favorite characters, Sasperia. She and the Supreme Head of the Munchen Collective (love these titles!) save the world. And they do it with lots of adventure and excitement. And a bit of sadness.

Next is “The Fates of Evil Men”; this story takes us back to Alpha Earth – our earth – in a sort of dystopian virus plagued era. It is also full of twists and turns, and very unlike any other dystopian sort of story I’ve ever read. An excellent story with a surprising twist in the end, but still, not my favorite of this collection.

The next group of stories fill in some history of what happened to the earth, and some of the latest generation of the Renbourn’s trials and adventures. Followed by “Murder in the Canyon,” further fleshing out the family on this latter day earth. More trials for the family, and decisions made to, again, move on. Leading to “Sasquatch.” Which, in this version of Earth’s future, really exists. This is my favorite story of the whole collection.

I recommend anyone who likes science fiction, adventure, or even some romance, to try this collection – it is well written and fun to read!

 MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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

 Explore the Beta Earth Chronicles website:

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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 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! 

Author Dr. Wesley Britton Reviews Romantic Fantasy

Title: Illusional Reality

Author: Karina Kantas
Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Paperback: 150 pages

Publisher: lulu.com (March 8, 2016)

ISBN-10: 1326583662

ISBN-13: 978-1326583668
Available on Amazon

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for BookPleasures.com

Reading the opening pages of this fantasy/ romance, I had the sense I was reading a modern retelling of an ancient myth, fairy tale, or legend. Perhaps it was my overactive imagination, but some of the story’s early elements sounded familiar.

For example, the book opens when an ordinary marketing executive named Becky, who at least thinks she is an ordinary human, is rescued from an attack in a dark alley by an “alien” named Salco. Unhappily, in her opinion, she is transported to a different realm where she discovers she is really Princess Thya of Tsinia, a city of light-hearted (mostly) tree-top dwellers. She had been hidden away on earth until she is expected to fulfill her prophesized role as a wife to establish an alliance with the powerful city called Senx. Much to her distaste, she is apparently obligated to wed Kovon, the son of the proverbial dark lord, Darthorn. Darthorn is no more fond of the wedding idea than Thya,  preferring the conquest option which he is certain he would win.

Learning this marriage is intended to preserve and save the magical realm on the brink of destruction, Thya spends many hours being tutored about a world she doesn’t know. Thya slowly learns about her true identity including the undesirable prophecy and the fact she has supernatural powers she doesn’t know how to use or control. Along the way, she falls in love with one of her teachers who is himself obligated to marry another.

After this set-up, readers experience a series of possible paths for Thya to explore and deal with as we meet a growing set of sometimes duplicitous mentors and advisors for the Princess. I admit, my interest kicked in when Thya began to assert her will and resist prophecy, no matter what her court advisors tell her what she must do. From this point forward, I felt I was reading a completely original story based on, well, whatever Karina Kandas cooked up for her heroine and her changed circumstances in this first volume of a coming duology. Thankfully, the magical ride keeps building up speed until we get to the final third of the book where everything intensifies from the psychic battles to the emotional hits to Thya and her chosen lover, Alkazer.

A major stroke of creativity in this novel is the lofty dialect and diction Kandas has most of her characters using. I’ve read other reviews where some readers were put off or challenged by this.  I don’t see the problem.  Every sentence was perfectly clear to me. How tough is it to recognize “with certainty” means “Yes”? In addition, the tone used by most of these characters seemed perfectly spot on for high officials and palace courtesans, not to mention black-hearted warlords.

This book can fairly be classified as YA as there are moral lessons being taught, mainly about the importance of selflessness and putting community above yourself. So Illusional Reality is the sort of book that should be welcome under your Christmas tree, especially for those reluctant younger readers for whom this adventure should be quite inviting. Why not give them a sexy female Harry Potter with a good figure?  It shouldn’t be too long before the sequel, The Quest, will belatedly debut in 2019. 

 MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

 Dr. Wesley Britton is the author of The Beta Earth Chronicles, also reviewed on this blog. Learn more about him at: 

Explore the Beta Earth Chronicles website:

Follow Wes Britton’s Goodreads blog:

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Enjoy the videos at Wes Britton’s YouTube Channel:

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 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! 

Easy Ways to Get Involved in Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019

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.

Easy Ways to Get Involved in Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019

The online world is buzzing with the excitement and anticipation as the global online diverse children’s literature celebration known as Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) draws closer. This on and offline diverse kids’ and YA book-related event is in its sixth year and their mission of getting diverse children’s books into the hands of readers, parents, caregivers, teachers, and librarians has never wavered. To date, the non-profit has worked diligently to get over 5,000 free diverse kids’ and YA books into homes, classrooms, daycares, organizations, and libraries.

How MCBD Came to Be
After being frustrated by a lack of diverse and multicultural children’s books available to their own families, reading and play advocates Valarie Budayr from Audrey Press Books and Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom decided to take matters into their own hands. The book-loving moms then teamed up to create a much-needed national event and on January 27th, 2012 the first ever Multicultural Children’s Book Day was celebrated.
Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day platform, the mission from Day One has been to not only raise awareness around kid’s books that celebrate diversity, but to also get more of these types of books into classrooms and libraries.  
“Kids need to ‘see themselves’ in the pages of the books they read,” noted Budayr. “We are determined to not only shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books available but also offer visibility for the amazing authors and publishers who create them.”
Now in its sixth year, the MCBD online celebration attracts thousands of supports, over 600 book reviewers and dozens of quality authors and publishers. The non-profit has also shifted from an “every January 27^th” model to “the last Friday in January” to avoid conflicting with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The upcoming MCBD celebration will occur on and offline on January 25, 2019. 

4 Ways to Get Involved in MCBD as an Author or Publisher

1.     Donate Books: Diverse kids’ or YA books donated to the MCBD non-profit are used a variety of ways including donation to the over 2,000 classrooms waiting for a free diverse book via the Free Diverse Books for Classroom Project, as books given to reviewers to review via social media during the January event, or as prizes for their wildly popular (and much-anticipated) Twitter Party on January 25^th.

Go here to learn how you can donate brand new diverse books to the cause: http://bit.ly/2zx1YjX

2.     Multiple options for Sponsorship: Sponsorship is not only a great way to support this event; it is an excellent way for authors/publisher to get their books in front of thousands of readers. All Sponsors get a name mention within the hundreds of reviews that get posted from December to January 25^th and also on the sites of MCBD’s 26 CoHosts and Global CoHost sites. Go here to learn more about MCBD2019 Sponsorship: http://bit.ly/2TXuh3x

3.     Connect with Multicultural Children’s Book Day on social media: NOTE: Their official hashtag is #ReadYourWorld

- Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MulticulturalChildrensBookDay
- Twitter https://twitter.com/MCChildsBookDay
-Instagram https://www.instagram.com/readyourworldmcbd/

4.     Guest posts: The MCBD Team is always looking for quality diverse children’s book-related guest posts on their blog. Authors and publishers are invited to share the story of their writing journey or their thoughts on the importance of diversity in children’s literature.  

4 Ways to Get Involved as an Educator or Librarian
Throughout the months of November-January, leading up to the celebratory day, educators, librarians and parents can start planning and preparing with FREE activities available today at www.multiculturalchildrensbookday.com
FREE Classroom “Empathy” Kit:  
The free Classroom Empathy Kit focuses on empathy and compassion through shared booklists and special home or classroom activities. The kit includes 18 book recommends on the topic of Understanding Immigration and Refugees, Classroom Empathy Activities, and a very special custom printable Empathy Poster courtesy of author/illustrator Juana Medina. Educators, parents and librarians can sign-up to receive the free classroom kit here: http://bit.ly/2BGu4uQ
FREE Poverty Doesn’t Discriminate: Understanding Poverty in America Classroom Kit:  
Created in 2018, this free classroom kit includes over 2 dozen poverty in the U.S.-themed book recommends for ages 4-12, two classroom or home activities, and a copy of the official “Poverty Doesn’t Discriminate” Classroom Poster thanks to the talents of award-winning illustrator, Mehrdokht Amini. http://bit.ly/2P6cXWE
Free Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents: Curated lists of books about diverse topics including: countries, religions, holidays, ethnicities, in addition to special needs and LGBTQ. http://bit.ly/1kGZrta
Share a Classroom Celebration: Teachers who host a celebration in the classroom can send in a picture of their party to receive 3 free diverse books and a swag pack as a thank you.  Teachers and librarians can enter their event info HERE (http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/category/offline-classroomlibrary-event-project/)


Don’t forget to connect with Multicultural Children’s Book Day on social media and be sure and look for/use their official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Thank you for reading!

Carolyn Wilhelm, Wise Owl Factory

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 --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. C. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Carolyn the link to this post, too!