Tag Archives: book reviews

Recently Read

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I like to share what I have been reading. I used to do so via reviews first on Amazon, then for a variety of litmags, and also on Goodreads. I’ve decided, however, to talk about books a bit more informally right here on my blog. Here are a few I rounded up recently.

First up is Dead Glass by Tom Mahony is a Folded Word micro publication. These stories come together to form a bigger whole but you can pause on each twitter length segment as well. This is also wonderfully illustrated and is either available in a small handmade edition (1st press run sold out and a 2nd is running) or e-book. I have a first run hand-made edition but now I’m tempted to get the e-book as well.

Speaking of e-books I finished two recently. The first was The Year of the Flood by Maragret Atwood. It was kind of strange reading that book because I read the companion book “Oryx and Crayx” years and years ago.  In many ways I actually like TYOTF better than O & C. I found the characters more engaging and theirs was a story I wanted to hear because O & C felt like it ended with a cliffhanger. If you haven’t read either you might want to read them simultanteously. I think that would be interesting to do.

I also finished Stiff by Mary Roach which had been on my list for a long time. Mary makes scientific writing interesting. I could easily see myself using some of her work in my classes to show students what you can actually do with research. This isn’t one for the squeamish though. There aren’t pictures but there are well-written descriptions of cadavers in various states of decomposition.

Last up in paper was Cornelia Funke’s The Thief Lord. In many ways I am actually surprised that I read this book because the first book by Funke I read (Inkheart) I wasn’t overwhelmed with. I liked her imagination and ideas though so I decided to read another one of her books. I really loved “The Thief Lord.” It is one of those young adult books that would be a great read for a variety of ages. The chapters are nice and short so it would make a great before bed read as well. I’ve now added Funke back to my list of authors I’ll read more work from – just not the rest of the Inkspell series I guess.

I still have several other books in my reading stack and in my to read piles so I’ll be checking back in to go over some more. What have you guys been reading?

Poetry Book Camp: Day 2: Write What You Know

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I’m putting this blog post along with a review I completed on Goodreads recently. Read both and you’ll see the tie-in. This info about the review is all new just for you guys!

In the review I talk about that common creative writing teacher mantra: write what you know. But, have you ever been told that in reference to something that did happen to you? I have. This ties in to something I have talked about before – the idea of truth vs fact in writing. You have to find what actually resonates, but part of what I challenge you with today is to take something that has either been admonished even though it was factual to see if you can find a way to find some other kind of truth in. Can you change some of the “facts” around or can you just freshen it up with more interesting language? What about the piece isn’t ringing real?

As a way to talk about this I am going to post a poem, one I’m not sure if I have shared here before, that was recently rejected for publication. What, if any, parts of the poem resonate with you? What parts do you think may have actually happened?

Let’s discuss. The poem will appear after the review and will be removed, along with any actually works in progress that you guys post in comments, a week from today.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I occasionally go back and try to read “classics” that I missed and this was also available as a Kindle edition so even better!

It took me a while to actually get into the story. It is wonderfully descriptive, but I think I am so used to “get to the action” that I was thinking that in the first chapters. The early chapters also have some pretty dated comments that are definitely racist, but once I stopped squirming (knowing when this book came out and how that would fit with the mindset of young people from the time) I was able to move past that and instead just spend quality time with the fantastic main character: Francie.

I have a hard time deciding what age level I’d say this book would be good for because you are introduced to a young girl but you see her progress to first dates, first jobs, and there are some very real ugly things that take place (although very well written). I’d probably say this would be a terrific book to discuss with a young woman maybe from the ages of 11 on up? What do others think?

I’m really glad I took the time to read this even as my heart broke for Francie when a teacher grades her compositions down as Francie writes about her real life – being poor etc – because I went through a similar experience where I was told to write what I know when I was writing EXACTLY what I knew.

But, like Francie, you keep going and she is a great model for any girl; really, for anyone who ever dreamed big.

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–and the poem is being revised :)

Two Book Review for the Price of One (0 x 0 is 0)

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I’m actually combining two reviews for this post because one was short and the other was “eaten” while I was trying to type it using wi-fi that rebooted so . . . It is now short as well!
The Tiger's Wife: A Novel
The Tiger’s Wife: A Novel by Téa Obreht
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had written a quite lovely review of this book, but the internet ate it . . . Tiger internet? Suffice it to say that I really enjoyed this read. It is beautifully written, but a bit slow for the first 100 pages. Still, I recommend it : )

The Graveyard Book
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a full little read! I want to say it would be a fun book to read to your child before bed, but some of it is a bit scary . . . so . . . maybe not. Depends on your child. Speaking of that, this would be a great one to read with your kids, even just sharing the experience to discuss the different types of classic ghostly characters that appear, but the modern ways that they are woven into the story.

Read this one on my Kindle Fire so I also enjoyed that they included the black and white sketch art (just a few images) in the Fire edition. Recommend this one :)

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Review: The Hunger Games

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I also posted a writing prompt for my creative writing students based on reading this book so I’ll share it here as well: what kind of post-apocalyptic world would you create? Any genre could work on this. Is the world “over” because of disease, war, aliens, zombies? What kind of people are left? What kind of scenarios will you put them through?

The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finally jumped on the bandwagon to read “The Hunger Games.” I have read quite a few post-apocalyptic books over the years, especially in the YA genre, and while Collins has a unique setting for her book, I still found myself for the first 100 pages of the book or so going – um, saw that coming.

The main character is interesting enough, but she did little that I wouldn’t expect her to do: the strong girl who lost a father who protects/provides for her family while not realizing how beautiful and amazing she is. That being said, the story did become a page turner and I found myself wanting to finish. I wanted to see the end of the Games. I’m also interested enough in the world Collins has created that I have added the second book to my to read list. Not enough that I’ll download it (I did read it on my Kindle Fire) immediately, but enough that I do hope to get to it someday.

Definitely worth a read and I can see why teachers love it as well because there is a lot for you to talk about with war, loss etc…

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Review: Writing in the Disciplines: A Reader and Rhetoric for Academic Writers Value Package

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Of course – if someone really wants text – I’ll be happy to forward it their way and/or to work out a trade :)
Writing in the Disciplines: A Reader and Rhetoric for Academic Writers Value Package
Writing in the Disciplines: A Reader and Rhetoric for Academic Writers Value Package by Mary Lynch Kennedy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reviewing textbooks isn’t an easy task, but I want to continue reviewing the books I am considering for class as well as those I read in my leisure so here goes:

There is a lot of great material in this text. I noted several essays that I’d like to use in my classes as well as exercises that would be helfpul.

That being said – I found the text would not be one I’d assign to my classes because it is a bit dense. I found myself skimming over sections because there is so much materail. If I’m skimming, you can guarantee my students will be doing the same.

This is, however, a really strong textbook and/or teacher resource for writing across the disciplines, but also could be a strong contender for a composition 2 class with a focus on argument/analysis.

If you are a teacher who has been mainly exposed to English based writings then this will be a nice resource (including a comparision of MLA and APA at the back of the book), but it may be a bit much for the lay reader although the essays the editors collected are wondefully diverse from the Mommy Debate to cloning.

Strong resource that I think I’ll hold on to :)

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Uncommon Matters

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Want to discuss more poetry? Hear some read? I’ll be at the Lazy Lion Bookstore tonight (10-20-11) from 6-8 along with two other featured readers. Fuquay-Varina here I come!

–oh and today is National Writing Day!

Once again I am preparing to review/discuss two poetry books I recently finished reading that are oh so very different. But, are they?

First up is the shorter of the two: Common Symptoms of an Enduring Chill Explained by Ben Nardolilli (2011, Folded Word Press). This concise chapbook is gorgeously designed with the cover, fonts, and interior images tied expertly together. The poems also cohere well although these are a bit more on the cerebral side of poetry than I normally read. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but if you are a reader who likes to ponder a poem; who really likes to dig into extended metaphor then this one is probably right up your alley.

My favorite poem was the shortest. At two lines I’ll produce it in its entirety. From “Cardiac Manifestations” A thing of so many compartments / Demands a thing to hold, or it breaks.

That’ll leave you thinking for quite some time.

The longer collection I finished was the prize winning Family Matters: Homage to July, The Slave Girl by Shelby Stevenson. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Stevenson at the NC Writer’s Conference and I very much enjoyed chatting with him. He is one of those poets who you can tell gives a great deal of thought to story, line, and sound when constructing his work.

After reading these poems I debated researching the actual characters who appear in the text. I definitely get the impression that these are poems based on actual people (Stevenson grew up on a farm towards the coast of NC) who lived, worked, and died in and around the time of slavery. There is a multi-generational feel to this collection as the speaker looks back on his own memories of the former slaves as well as stepping into the voices of those who lived during slavery and reconstruction.

That is the impression I get from this book, but I don’t know how real these people are. They are definitely draw to be real. I did find, at times, that I wasn’t always as sure about who was speaking. There are quite a few characters in this book, and sometimes I felt a bit lost. There is a Whitman-esque grandeur to this book, however, that always brought me back to the words themselves such as this short bit from “Your Name is July”: Monuments – unheard, still.

That line is still resonating with me.

Creative Writing: Discussing Manuals

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I recently finished two creative writing manuals/handbooks/guides – whatever you want to call them so I thought I would review them in conjunction with each other. I’m not sure, however, which to tackle first . . .

The Portable MFA (I decided to go with alphabetical order to review) presented by The New York Writers Workshop (and given to me by a dear friend (wink) isn’t my favorite writing guide. I think a lot of that has to do with the overall tone. The opening seems to say “read me” “believe me that you shouldn’t pay for an MFA” etc. And, while I know they are marketing a book, it comes across as a little condescending. Once you get past that “believe me” kind of phrasing there are quite a few good tips such as, on page 39, when they advise that there is something to learning technique but after a while you just have to play. True. Very true.

I actually found the non-fiction section to be the most helpful in the book. It was clear and well organized. I read quite a few things that might even work in my composition classroom. I also like the publishing tips in the poetry section, but overall I found the book a bit dull. I know some people will think I am saying that because I have an MFA (albeit a low-residency one which they don’t really seem to address in the book), but I hope that I’m not that judgmental. The book does have quite a few good tips, but it felt less like a replacement for an MFA and instead an advanced undergraduate course supplement. But, I’m just one person!

Now, on the other hand is Heather Sellers The Practice of Creative Writing. This book is subtitled: A Guide for Students and it really does feel more like a guide than the other book. I had an instructor copy of this textbook because I was considering what I might want to use the next time I teach Creative Writing 1 (Eng 125 at the community college level) but I came away from this text thinking it might be slightly more advanced than a 100 level class, yet it is extremely solid.

What I really like about this book, especially for a newer writer (or one who writes in multiple genres) is that the book doesn’t start with: here let’s write a story. Instead, it talks about finding creativity, focus, intensity, using images etc and then gets into form later. I really like that. Maybe that is partially because I tend to write that way. I don’t want to tell a piece of writing it HAS to be a poem. Give it a chance to make up its mind, I say!

There are some really terrific writing samples and exercises in this book. I could easily see a writer using it on their own (in much the way I still go back to “The Poet’s Companion” from time to time). The only reason I’m still not sure if this will be the text I adopt for my students is that some of the examples and a few of the exercises seem a bit advanced for the first level of creative writing. But, it is still the best text I have found so far.

Do you guys have a favorite writing guide? Do you use them? Want to trash in on the MFA vs non-MFA debate again? Ya know, I’m to each his own and I’d love to discuss anything with you!