Tag: book review

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review by Midwest Book Review:

My Dreams, My Choices: be courageous, do what you have never done, go where you have never been, and you will see the change

 Clementine Wamboye Girenge

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432771768

Reviewer: Carol Hoyer, PhD

 Felly lived with her extended family in rural Kenya. Given the area they lived in, many obstacles came her family’s way, yet she learned to look at the positives and pursue her goal of getting a good education.

Felly’s grandmother was a bitter old woman and didn’t really care about what was happening to anyone else, including her husband who was sick. Her grandmother lost several of her children to the famines of Africa and didn’t  want anyone else to be happy.

When Felly went to Nairobi to attend school, she was dismayed at the treatment she got because she couldn’t afford the same things as everyone else, and the staff at the school was very mean, beating the children on a daily basis.

When the staff at the school was replaced due to poor performance, many of the students were shocked. But in her heart, Felly knew she could finish her education regardless of what happened.

Through her own strength and the strength of others, she was able to accomplish what she wanted.

“My Dreams, My Choices” is a very inspiring book written by Clementine Wamboye Girenge. There are times in one’s life where things don’t always look bright, but, as the author says, you have to look at the bright side in all that you do

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review by Midwest Book Review:

Saving Snowflakes in My Pocket: Love’s Survival Through Years of Deception

Barbara Jean Ruther

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432773281

Reviewer: Leslie Granier

Sarah thought she had a pretty good existence. However, after celebrating her thirtieth birthday, she realizes she has not found the things she wants most out of life. Although she has a well-paying job at a prestigious academy, she was much happier at the previous school at which she taught because she actually felt like she was making a difference in the children’s lives. She has not met the right man nor had children of her own. Her loneliness is magnified by the death of her Aunt Emma who raised Sarah after she was abandoned by her mother. Sarah goes to a remote cabin in the woods to reflect on her life and something incredible happens. She meets Michael, who has issues of his own. He is trying to recover from a bad marriage and desperately needs to regain his faith in the human race. As Sarah and Michael become closer, they begin to help each other heal. However, a secret could end up tearing them apart and affecting many other people in the process.

The plot is good, but the characters in this book are its greatest asset. The author expertly constructs characters with whom it is easy for the reader to connect. Whether it is through Sarah who so eloquently expresses her feelings with poetry or Michael and his brother Jonathon who are wealthy but believe they are called to serve the less fortunate members of society by running a clinic for abused women and children, the goodness and honor of people shine forth. The specially crafted interactions between the characters provide additional enjoyment.

My only criticism of this book is the language used by the characters. Their conversations are too formal. The author does not seem to be a fan of using contractions, which leaves the speech sounding stiff and unnatural.

“Saving Snowflakes in My Pocket” is an uplifting story about love, forgiveness, and service to others. It centers around family, but the author emphasizes that family is not just about biology and genetics. Rather, it is based on the love and acceptance people provide to each other. Although the target audience for “Saving Snowflakes in My Pocket” is adult women, anyone who reads it will undoubtedly experience an emotional response to its content.

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review by Midwest Book Review:

Modern Disciples: Volume 1

Ian Anderson

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432772703

Reviewer: Tracey Rock

Ryan Hunter always had dreams of becoming a bounty hunter. So when a mysterious woman offers him a job on one of her hunts, he willingly accepts. While they are out on the hunt, Ryan is struck and thrown aback. He doesn’t feel the impact of the blow, but he does feel heat coursing through his veins and he knows he is screaming. When he recovers from the impact, he realizes the world is different to him. He now finds that his senses are heightened. He is stronger and faster than before. Although he was told stories of Greek mythology as a child, it wasn’t until he was led to the Oracle by his keen sense of direction that he found out he was the son of Artemis and a disciple.

The patron gods are calling their disciples together to help them investigate activity that the Titans are orchestrating against them. Ryan, along with five other disciples, must find an indestructible alligator that is living in the Florida Everglades and destroy it. Upon completing their mission, the disciples come upon a town called Citrus Grove where there are no children and the women all adore their husbands! Upon further investigation of this strange town, the disciples soon realize that there are many other forces plotting against them.

“Modern Disciples: Volume 1” leads the reader through a myriad of folk-lore within its plot of non-stop mystery of intrigue. I don’t know that I have read a book that combined this many immortal characters. There were various cultures included such as  Greek, Norse, Hindu and Japanese Gods. From vampires to maenads, the disciples venture through Florida and have various encounters with numerous creatures. It’s a lot to take in within such a short period of time, including the modern “Stepford Wives” plot. New characters and sub-plots seemed to be popping up throughout the entire book. Brush up on your mythology or you could get lost on this one.

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review by Midwest Book Review:

 How to Live the Good Life: A User’s Guide for Modern Humans

Arthur Jackson

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432767709

Reviewer: Joseph Yurt

Author Arthur Jackson is methodically passionate about helping humanity live a good life, as defined by him. I found the content of his book, “How to Live the Good Life: A User’s Guide for Modern Humans,” to be at once abstract and concrete, realistic and impractical, engaging and dissociating. In some instances, the author’s thoughts are brilliant; in others, enigmatic. The “good life” Jackson explores is far and away from the shallow pop culture concept of the “good life.” But, if you are an enlightened thinker and have a genuine interest in increasing your personal sense of well-being and in making the world a better place for humankind, the book merits your serious consideration.

The book is not an easy read. I imagine it was not an easy book to write either. Jackson’s forty-year journey to publication involved extensive research and study of religions, philosophies, social sciences and the natural order of the world. For Jackson, the obstacle, which he encountered all along the way, to achieving the good life was the conflict between traditional religion and the natural order. The necessity to resolve this conflict led to the author’s system for the science of religion and ethics. This combination of religion and science is at the core of Jackson’s work.

At the point in the book when Jackson begins to focus on the science of religion and ethics perspective, his ponderings and models became more concrete to me. For example, from this perspective, he reasons that “…the ultimate of reality is not the ULTIMATE that we have been led to believe in. The ideas we have been taught about ULTIMATE are as erroneous as most of the other basic ideas we have been taught.” The ultimate‟ we can reach is to develop ourselves as fully as possible to achieve a sustainable feeling that our life has meaning.”

The last ten of the book’s eighteen chapters are given over to Jackson’s presentation of his “eleven principles of the Way to Wisdom.” It is the author’s contention that an individual’s potential for wisdom is the key to developing moral character, a sense of personal well-being, and a thought process that will make the world better. Details and benefits of each of the eleven wisdom principles are considered and scrutinized in-depth.

In pondering several drafts of my review of this book, I concluded that by its very nature, the breadth and depth of the content included in “How to Live the Good Life” makes adequate summarization impossible. The reality is that this book must be read thoroughly and thoughtfully and in its entirety. And as with Arthur Jackson’s principles, comprehending the layers of this book is not for those among us who are unenlightened.

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review by Midwest Book Review:

Hawaiian Sunrise to Sunset: A Middle School Counselor’s Diary of a Working Day

Randall Ng

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432773311

Reviewer: Carol Hoyer, PhD

Author Randall Ng is a counselor like no other in the State of Hawaii. He uses tough love on his students and makes home visits when his students are doing what they should in school. Many of the staff he works with just don’t seem to have that time to go the extra mile or really don’t want to.

His students range from highly gifted to gang members but that doesn’t stop him. Regardless if Ng is yelling at students they know he really cares about them – he doesn’t tolerate outbursts or deceiving behaviors. Often he will see the same behaviors over and over on a daily basis: back talking to teachers; threatening teachers and verbal abuse to other students.

Many of these students work two jobs, which is not uncommon today but no one is supervising these kids. One of his students, Sandi, came in to see him after the morning bell and he knew by her behavior that this was going to be a long day. Sandi thought she was pregnant and didn’t want to tell her mom. He agreed to call her mom and ask her to come in to have a conference with him. Resistant at first, Sandi’s mom agreed to come in. Her mother was not happy to be there again and one could tell it in her voice and body language. After a little persuasion, Sandi agreed to go home with her mother to talk about what they were going to do.

In addition to all his other students, Ng was in charge of the Gifted and Talented students, and they had their own set of problems. This particular group of kids griped about everything and regardless of what “Mister” said or did they still didn’t get it. One of the most outstanding things he did for these students was to take them on a field trip to see kids who were physically and mentally challenged at the Waimano Home. Given that these students didn’t think there were kids like this, they were absolutely stunned when they walked into the home. But after some time, they began to mingle with the kids and didn’t want to leave.

After thirty years with the Department of Education, “Mister” Ng retired. Does he regret any moment of being a counselor? Yes and no. It was very frustrating trying to get the supplies students needed to succeed. He felt he did the best he could for his students and their families as he indicates in “Hawaiian Sunrise to Sunset: A Middle School Counselor’s Diary of a Working Day.”