book reviews

Reviews of books by relationship gurus, dating experts, and cautionary tale-tellers.

FREE SPEECH IMPEACHED
A book review which I had written on "World of Wonders" was published by Vocal.Create.com I shared it with my fellow screenwriters on the group, "Screenwriters" on Facebook as a tool to share what the publishers are looking for. The book review was critical of the author as well as saying great things about her talent when addressing the essence of the book. The publishers asked that I share the good news with my social media including Facebook. Here are the comments sent to me by the group "screenwriters" administration: Education in the art/craft of screenwriting. Related topics (i.e., movie discussion) may be tolerated, but topics saying you simply like or don't like a movie will be removed. No politics or religion. My article and its intention met the rule...and I believe this adm. for Screenwriters Group walks a fine line and discretion to redline subjects which may be offensive to her? That is political...my review pointed out page and line numbers that cited the author's bias against those she suspected were against people of color!
By Welby Cox5 years ago in Humans
Reverse Bias
Dear Ms. Nezhukumatathil: As you asked I have read your latest book, World of Wonders and I congratulate you on the presentation of facts related to the study of Dendrology (Trees) and Botany (Plants). You have certainly developed a unique style for intellectually denigrating people whom you determined, in your infinite wisdom, to be disrespectful or biased against people of color. With respect, this methodology is as complex as your name. Yet, without apology you are a racist and biased feminist, (pg. 1, 22-24 I allowed myself to look at them behind three layers of barbed wire) these mentally ill people (pg. 4, lines 1-6 “who told he mother they couldn’t understand her accent, who spoke loud and slow at her, like she- the valedictorian of her class, the first doctora [sic] of her tiny village in northern Philippines”.) (Pg. 6 lines 1-8 “when people stared, but then I remembered the confident clickety-clack of my mother’s heels, when people would stare at us...I hear my own heels as I rush to meet my first class.”) The high heels representing the feminist sword on the throat of men! (Pg. 6, lines 17-21 “My sweet southern students, who insist on calling me “Ma’am,” no matter how much I gently protest”.) representing a cultural dissident. (Pg. 6, lines12-13, “where I was the only brown girl in my class,” lines 18-19, “She fumbles in her purse, I see a pack of cigarettes...No you may not!”) Accusatory without background...had the teacher taken these from a student smoking in the toilet? Clearly, in her own words, representing all the inflammatory ism’s... sexism, racism, feminism, and yes bias.
By Welby Cox5 years ago in Humans
Compare and Contrast
March 24, 2021 To the Judges Vocal. Creators Competition The Reader, a novel By: Bernhard Schlink A Comparative/Contrast Analysis
By Welby Cox5 years ago in Humans
The Waves
The ever growing desire to stay present. To feed one moment of interaction and reverie. “The wave paused, and then drew out again, sighing like a sleeper whose breath comes and goes unconsciously.” -The Waves, Virginia Woolf
By Jiselle Kamppila5 years ago in Humans
I bought a book about being a crematorium operator
How to survive being swallowed by a whale, how to survive falling into quicksand, how to survive a tsunami and how to survive a polar bear attack. This is what YouTube is suggesting to me, despite me constantly clicking the ‘I am not interested button’. The internet is forcing me to face the fact that I am mortal and there is nothing I can do about it.
By Alessia Mavakala5 years ago in Humans
Click! Judging By Its Cover
As much as I say, never judge a book by its cover - there are some cases where you just can't help it. Through chance, I was browsing through stories on Instagram and a targeted ad caught my eye. Before that, I had not heard of The Woman Who Fell Through Time by J.M. Fry. It's rare that queer historical fiction shows a same-sex pairing on its cover as - well a romantic pairing. Through reading the brief blurb provided, I was hooked - Jane Austen vibes, queer romance and time-travel! - to say I clicked fast was an understatement. I immediately found it on Waterstones and waited the fifteen days for them to get a copy of this indie book sent my way. It was worth it.
By Ted Ryan5 years ago in Humans
Book Review: The Lost Apothecary
“The Lost Apothecary” by Sarah Penner is a great book for both lovers of historical and contemporary fiction. She masterfully blends the timelines to create a moving story about heartbreak and vengeance. Along with unlikely friendships forged by women in times of crisis. The story is told through her three main characters bringing a richness of each personal perspective. You feel the emotions of these unique women as they make some challenging choices in their lives. I enjoyed meeting each of these characters and walking with them through London.
By Katherine Selestok5 years ago in Humans
A Book for Everyone
A lot of people may know that I am not a necessarily religious person. It is not that I do not believe in anything or have completely shut religion out of my life - it is just that it is not something I am devoted to or focused on. With that being said, one may understand my apprehensiveness when I decided to purchase The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. If you're not familiar with Mitch Albom, he is a famous writer whose stories normally revolve around heaven or some form of Christian theme. Absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. I am just someone who is not one for books that are too heavy with talking about religion.
By makenna5 years ago in Humans
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
How I came across it? Long time ago, I remember someone mentioned it on a forum. The person said that Fingersmith by Sarah Waters was one of his favourite books because of the storytelling and wonderful romance between Maud and Sue. This is about the third or fourth time, I’ve read this book and I felt hooked straight away. Even though I have a long TBR (to-be-read) list on Goodreads, I always find myself coming back to this one one way or another.
By Chloe Gilholy5 years ago in Humans
Life Support (Crush #6) by Elouise East - BOOK REVIEW
Thanks to my first collaboration with Gay Book Promotions, I had the pleasure of reading Elouise East's latest romance prior to its release. The story centres on Casey and Luke (characters seen throughout the Crush universe) as the leads and tackles sexual harassment within the workplace. Both of the characters were well-developed and I am a fan of the opposites attract theme and it was a really nice slow-burn to delve into the romance.
By Ted Ryan5 years ago in Humans
Character as situational allegory in Altaf Tyrewala's 'No God In Sight'
A character in the form of the novel produced today cannot behave in the way in which they did in the period of the bildungsroman. Or, put differently the singular focus on select characters to sketch a depiction of the totality of their lives and efforts is possible today primarily in the genre of memoirs and autobiographies. When a novel cannot resort to such a sustained first person account of oneself, when it slips out of its closeted confessional register which since the Victorians evaluated romances and finances, the use that it makes of character has to change. This is where it is of my interest to examine Altaf Tyrewala’s ‘No God In Sight’ (2005) – a novel that draws on several colliding narratives which appear as snapshots or perhaps postcards of people in their abject entrenching into the professions and personal plights that animate them, to present a representation of metropolitan Mumbai and its periphery. Here the subject is the space of the city itself, with the characters serving as episodic points who illustrate the situation of their lives, perhaps weaving together, in a new way a social imaginary or totality if you prefer which barely resembles historical or mythological epics which traditionally fulfilled this role.
By Arsh K.S5 years ago in Humans
Life Support (Crush #6) by Elouise East - Novel Excerpt
For this Release Blitz and Blog book tour, I am pleased to say I will be reviewing and interviewing the author of this upcoming novel. In the meantime, here's a some more details sneak preview at Life Support!
By Ted Ryan5 years ago in Humans