This archive contains book reviews written by myself and guest writers. Topics are all over the board: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plus size related, writing related books and more.
“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” ~ Anna Quindlen
Any writer worth his salt is also a reader and usually a voracious one. How many times have you finished a book and thought, I could have written that. Or I could have written that better. Along the way comes the ones we wished we had written. Finally, there is the book that we esteem…
“We want to believe that people have good intentions.” If you are not familiar with Jenna Glatzer then you really need this book because you are obviously not as internet/writer savvy as you need to be. Jenna was the creator of AbsoluteWrite.com, a writer friendly site. She is also the author of over fifteen books…
I’m a fan of old tomes like Becoming A Writer by Dorothea Brande, first published in 1934. This is the kind of self-help book we all wish we could write, one that so hits the mark that it endures for 75 years and is as relevant today as when it was first published. Despite the…
Reviewed for BIW by Connie Weber Instead of giving her reader lots of philosophical and biographical information, in her book Steering the Craft, Ursula K. Le Guin gently guides writers through a series of exercises to help focus and hone the writing. She quotes classic literature from Jane Austen to Mark Twain to Virginia Woolf,…
After hearing Chris Roerden’s Don’t Murder Your Mystery so highly praised on BIW, I enthusiastically dived into it with the full expectation it would verify how clever my first novel-in-progress really was. Imagine my shock when, amongst the 24 writing techniques to save your manuscript from turning up “dead on arrival,” Roerden’s cites as the…
Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions for Writing and Life is a witty and very real look at how to survive life as a writer. In fact, it is not so much instructional, as the title suggests, but inspirational. Her conversational tone and sharp wit puts even the most neurotic writer at ease…
For a moment, think about your main character (MC) and how well you truly know him or her. Aside from the basic physical attributes, and possibly some back story, can you hold your right hand up and swear that you know your MC inside and out? Try this simple exercise. With your MC in mind…
I’ve reviewed young adults books in the past and some of my own favorite childhood books but this is my first requested children’s book review. Going Home is a simple creative non-fiction book about the migration of ten interesting and varied animals for children aged 4 to 8. You can read the full review at…