Over the past two weeks I've posted a two-part series titled "A Day in the Life of A Book Review Editor" over on Donna's Book Pub.
The content for the post comes from a visit to Saturday Writers by Jane Henderson, book editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who also has a book blog.
If you haven't read the posts, here's a link.
A Day in the Life of a Book Editor (Part I)
A Day in the Life of a Book Editor (Part II)
Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Book Reviewer Jane Henderson This Saturday
Saturday Writers, the local chapter of the Missouri Writer’s Guild, will host a talk by St. Louis Post-Dispatch Book Reviewer Jane Henderson on Saturday, September 27, 2008 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday Writers meets on the last Saturday of the month at St. Peters Community and Arts Center, 1035 St. Peters-Howell Road, off Mid Rivers Mall Drive in St. Peters. The meeting is free to members and $5 for non-members. Annual dues are $15.
For more information, visit the Saturday Writer's website at http://www.saturdaywriters.org/.
And remember, Tuesday is the early bird deadline for the Saturday Writers "Turn the Page" Fall Workshop. So be sure to send in your registration or register at the meeting on Saturday. Hope to see you there.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Book Review: The Dangerous Days of Daniel X
This action-adventure book is aimed at boys aged around ten to twelve, and Patterson wrote it in an effort to get youngsters like his son reading more.
It adequately accomplishes the objective. My son, who is twelve, says and I quote “I like it. It’s very twelve-year-old boyish. There’s guns and explosions and aliens." Would he recommend it to a friend? “Probably.”
For him this is a glowing recommendation. He’s only ever been fanatical about one book series, (Rick Riordan’s Olympians books), so though his praise may sound lukewarm, it’s not a bad review.
My fifteen-year-old daughter started reading it when she ran out of books one day, but had the same complaint I did. All the characters sound like twelve-year-old boys, including the evil aliens who want to take over Earth. In fact Daniel at three (though he’s advanced for a toddler) sounds a lot like Daniel at fifteen. I thought the villains were clichés, but it didn’t seem to bother my son. I wasn’t the target audience, so I kept that in mind.
There’s plenty of gross out factor for the boys, including a trip through an alien’s ear canal and lots of generally slimy descriptions of off-world foes. Daniel also has some amazing powers that would be the envy of any kid.
The novel does an okay job, but I’m hoping the series improves a bit as it goes a long. I think Patterson’s Maximum Ride Series is edgier and does a better job sounding realistic. The bad guys are much scarier in those books because they seem real.
I love that they have a book trailer for the novel. Sometimes it's a hard campaign to get my son reading and the trailer could be a way for me to entice him into trying a book. Unfortunately my son said this video doesn't really do anything for him. He would have preferred they use the opening scene of the novel were Daniel's parents are killed. The pink elephant in this one put him off.
Boys nine to eleven would probably appreciate The Dangerous Days of Daniel X the most. Overall I’d give it a thumbs sideways. It’s not classic young adult literature, but it’s not bad brain candy for young boys looking for a light read.
This review is sponsored by MotherTalk.com.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Book Review: Stephenie Meyer's The Host
Reading Stephenie Meyer’s book The Host is one of those “oh-crap-I-stayed-up-till-four-in-the-morning” experiences.
Her premise is a refreshing take on the alien body snatchers idea. The Host is about an alien named The Wanderer who comes to earth to be implanted in the body of a human host and live out a lifetime on our bucolic ball of blue.
Most human hosts hit the road into oblivion after being taken over, but The Wanderer’s host, Melanie, is not willing to give up the ghost, so to speak. Melanie’s influence is so strong, she infects her alien body thief with love for her former boyfriend and younger brother. As a result, they set off in a dangerous search for their lost family.
Meyers tells the story effectively in the alien’s perspective, and she does make her sympathetic. But call me crazy, I was rooting more for the humans. My view of the ending was more cynical than my daughter’s. I was looking for some cosmic payback that didn’t happen.
My fourteen-year-old loved the book. She cried several times and adored the ending. But it’s quite different from the Twilight series, so don’t go looking for Edward here. This book is aimed more at an older audience than the tween and teen acolytes.
I wanted more discussion of why humans weren’t “worthy.” Yeah, I get that we are violent sumsabitches. But a little more reminding of things like the holocaust and Indian massacres would have made me accept The Wanderers blithe willingness to take over the bodies of other creatures in the name of stopping the madness.
I also wanted to see the humans make more fun of the alien’s oh-so-civilized behavior. There’s only a passing mention in a few examples, like a sporting event where the players politely discuss a penalty and try to blame it on themselves rather than the opposing player. The Stepford behavior was ripe for the picking in terms of satire.
Still, I’d read a sequel, and I love how us insidious humans alter the aliens until their more a hybrid of us and them. Our human feelings are too strong to fade away like our minds do, so the earthlings triumph in the end. If you don’t count the having your body taken over part.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
What to Put in Your Author's Bio for Query Letters
Agent Nathan Bradsford referred his intrepid readers to Agent Jonathon Lyons post on what authors should include in their query letter bios. They want to know me! They really, really want to know me!
It falls into three major categories:
Of course, agent tastes differ. Some agents tell you not to put anything if you don't have any good credits. But all the advice I've read says you should put things relevant to your book. So if you're an astronaut writing books about astronauts, it might be good to include that.
For example, Patricia Wood, author of Lottery, writes about a mentally challenged character who wins the lottery. She is a P.h.D candidate studying education and disability, and her father won the Washington State Lottery, so I'm sure those experiences helped her write the book and might have helped sell her query on the novel. My book review of Lottery appears earlier on the blog.
Don't include all regional contest wins - focus on awards with national reputations unless you won the award at a conference the agent/editor attended.
But most of all - you must send out your query. After you've done your homework and refined it, set it free. It doesn't matter what credits you have if no one ever sees your letter.
It falls into three major categories:
- Publishing Credentials
- Professional Career
- Personal Details
Of course, agent tastes differ. Some agents tell you not to put anything if you don't have any good credits. But all the advice I've read says you should put things relevant to your book. So if you're an astronaut writing books about astronauts, it might be good to include that.
For example, Patricia Wood, author of Lottery, writes about a mentally challenged character who wins the lottery. She is a P.h.D candidate studying education and disability, and her father won the Washington State Lottery, so I'm sure those experiences helped her write the book and might have helped sell her query on the novel. My book review of Lottery appears earlier on the blog.
Don't include all regional contest wins - focus on awards with national reputations unless you won the award at a conference the agent/editor attended.
But most of all - you must send out your query. After you've done your homework and refined it, set it free. It doesn't matter what credits you have if no one ever sees your letter.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Book Review - Lottery by Patricia Wood
Anyone looking for something to read? I recommend Lottery by Patricia Wood.
I actually started hearing about this book before it came out from an announcement on Agent Miss Snark's blog (sadly she has retired her site). Ms. Wood was a former devotee of the Snarkmeister. I thought about reading it then, but recent book reviews on other blogs reminded me, so I bought it a few weeks ago. I read it straight through.
Perry Crandall, I.Q. 76, (which means he is one point above legally retarded, as he frequently reminds us) wins the lottery and deals with how his family and friends change - as well as how he changes - as a result.
I have a few nits to pick. There doesn't seem to be one redeemable human being among Perry's maternal relatives - you'd think at least one might be somewhat decent. But no.
The other is part of the ending - how Perry and Cherry's relationship ends up and why. It went down like peanut butter and dry crackers - not well.
But aside from that, I loved hearing about the world from Perry's point of view and especially his use of his dictionary words to process what's happening in his world. Grams has had him studying the dictionary since he was little, and his words of the day are often ironic in the context of the story. (Grams is a great character too, and though she dies early in the novel, she's very much present throughout the rest of the book).
The decision Perry makes at the end about his money could have been sugar and spice sweet, but because we've followed him through the book and hear how he changes, it makes a cliche into something authentic. I believe in Perry and his decision at the end.
It's a great read, and I couldn't put it down until I found out what happened to Perry. I think you'll feel the same way.
This review is not sponsored by anyone - just sharing a great read.
I actually started hearing about this book before it came out from an announcement on Agent Miss Snark's blog (sadly she has retired her site). Ms. Wood was a former devotee of the Snarkmeister. I thought about reading it then, but recent book reviews on other blogs reminded me, so I bought it a few weeks ago. I read it straight through.
Perry Crandall, I.Q. 76, (which means he is one point above legally retarded, as he frequently reminds us) wins the lottery and deals with how his family and friends change - as well as how he changes - as a result.
I have a few nits to pick. There doesn't seem to be one redeemable human being among Perry's maternal relatives - you'd think at least one might be somewhat decent. But no.
The other is part of the ending - how Perry and Cherry's relationship ends up and why. It went down like peanut butter and dry crackers - not well.
But aside from that, I loved hearing about the world from Perry's point of view and especially his use of his dictionary words to process what's happening in his world. Grams has had him studying the dictionary since he was little, and his words of the day are often ironic in the context of the story. (Grams is a great character too, and though she dies early in the novel, she's very much present throughout the rest of the book).
The decision Perry makes at the end about his money could have been sugar and spice sweet, but because we've followed him through the book and hear how he changes, it makes a cliche into something authentic. I believe in Perry and his decision at the end.
It's a great read, and I couldn't put it down until I found out what happened to Perry. I think you'll feel the same way.
This review is not sponsored by anyone - just sharing a great read.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Readablity of Your Novel/Manuscript
Thanks to Jan Harayda of One-Minute Book Reviews for stopping by to leave a great comment on my blog about The Readability of Your Novel/Manuscript. She wrote the Mitch Albom book review that I referred to in the blog post.
She's also running a helpful series on Great Small Presses on her site One-Minute Book Reviews, and plans to do another review on a Man Booker Prize Finalist that has a Flesch-Kincaid score similar to Mitch Albom's. I can't wait to see if she thinks the lower reading level works in that novel.
She's also running a helpful series on Great Small Presses on her site One-Minute Book Reviews, and plans to do another review on a Man Booker Prize Finalist that has a Flesch-Kincaid score similar to Mitch Albom's. I can't wait to see if she thinks the lower reading level works in that novel.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Book Review for Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
Between Fang’s blog, the environmental theme, and even the title, James Patterson does an excellent job tapping into 21st century teen culture with the third book in his sci fi young adult trilogy, Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports.
My fourteen-year-old daughter and I are sci fi fans, so whenever a book appeals to both of us, we read it together. Like the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, the likable characters and kick butt heroine in Maximum Ride 3 engaged us in spite of some occasional plot problems. Max and her human bird hybrid flock are out to save the world from evil corporate America and its eugenics plan to makeover civilization.
I took a crash course in Maximum Ride, reading all three books in a weekend. In spite of occasional nitpicking, I was always anxious to get to the next book and see what happened to Max and her flock. This last book started a bit slower than the others, but once it took off, it flew as fast as Max does and kept me up late reading.
My daughter is the same age and sex as Patterson’s main character, Max, and she admired Max’s leadership acumen. She did question how Max and friends had time to learn about Harry Potter and other pop-culture facts they reference, given that the flock is always flying from one aerial karate confrontation to another.
We both thought the Eraser bots were a bit lame. Erasers bots are flying robots that pursue Max and her gang and replace the human-modified Erasers that used to chase the bird kids in the previous books. The flying monkeys in Oz wouldn’t be nearly as terrifying if they were robots. There’s no sense of malice in a mechanical creature, so the earlier Erasers were much scarier.
My kiddo loved the teen power aspect at the end, while I found it a little hard to swallow. I felt like an old fuddy duddy. I kept thinking - where are these kids’ parents? Don’t they need an adult or two, at least for the mop up at the end?
The absence of adult authority is exactly what my young adult reader loved. And hey, the book isn’t for me, so it looks like that was right on target. This book would probably appeal most to kids a bit younger than my daughter – around eleven to thirteen.
The author does leaves some loose ends I’d like tied up better. How did they track the bird kids all the time? He brings it up all the time in the story line, but never explains. And what exactly was the By Half plan? A virus? Nuclear strikes? It can’t be easy to kill half the world.
My daughter found the books entertaining, but what she really wants is the movie. She must see the movie. I’m finding that books I couldn’t pay my kids to read are snapped up after they see the movie version.
It isn’t feasible for every book, of course, but making stories into movies sends my kids straight to the books for comparison. Holes, Eragon, and Lemony Snicket are all examples. Harry P. doesn’t need any help, but I’m sure the movies draw in kids who wouldn’t have read the books without a movie tie-in.
Patterson’s internet marketing campaign has been hugely successful and likely attracted many kids to the series who wouldn’t otherwise have cracked a book. Many adult authors are making YouTube short videos to promote their books, and since my daughter practically lives on YouTube, it’d be wise for the young adult book industry to use new technologies like James Patterson has to produce some promo clips to get kids reading. If I can show my children a YouTube video about a novel, it might be easier to entice them to read it.
Overall I’m willing to ignore my admittedly minor plot complaints to enjoy a ripping good story about characters I like, but am glad I don’t have to parent. Bring on the movie.
My fourteen-year-old daughter and I are sci fi fans, so whenever a book appeals to both of us, we read it together. Like the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, the likable characters and kick butt heroine in Maximum Ride 3 engaged us in spite of some occasional plot problems. Max and her human bird hybrid flock are out to save the world from evil corporate America and its eugenics plan to makeover civilization.
I took a crash course in Maximum Ride, reading all three books in a weekend. In spite of occasional nitpicking, I was always anxious to get to the next book and see what happened to Max and her flock. This last book started a bit slower than the others, but once it took off, it flew as fast as Max does and kept me up late reading.
My daughter is the same age and sex as Patterson’s main character, Max, and she admired Max’s leadership acumen. She did question how Max and friends had time to learn about Harry Potter and other pop-culture facts they reference, given that the flock is always flying from one aerial karate confrontation to another.
We both thought the Eraser bots were a bit lame. Erasers bots are flying robots that pursue Max and her gang and replace the human-modified Erasers that used to chase the bird kids in the previous books. The flying monkeys in Oz wouldn’t be nearly as terrifying if they were robots. There’s no sense of malice in a mechanical creature, so the earlier Erasers were much scarier.
My kiddo loved the teen power aspect at the end, while I found it a little hard to swallow. I felt like an old fuddy duddy. I kept thinking - where are these kids’ parents? Don’t they need an adult or two, at least for the mop up at the end?
The absence of adult authority is exactly what my young adult reader loved. And hey, the book isn’t for me, so it looks like that was right on target. This book would probably appeal most to kids a bit younger than my daughter – around eleven to thirteen.
The author does leaves some loose ends I’d like tied up better. How did they track the bird kids all the time? He brings it up all the time in the story line, but never explains. And what exactly was the By Half plan? A virus? Nuclear strikes? It can’t be easy to kill half the world.
My daughter found the books entertaining, but what she really wants is the movie. She must see the movie. I’m finding that books I couldn’t pay my kids to read are snapped up after they see the movie version.
It isn’t feasible for every book, of course, but making stories into movies sends my kids straight to the books for comparison. Holes, Eragon, and Lemony Snicket are all examples. Harry P. doesn’t need any help, but I’m sure the movies draw in kids who wouldn’t have read the books without a movie tie-in.
Patterson’s internet marketing campaign has been hugely successful and likely attracted many kids to the series who wouldn’t otherwise have cracked a book. Many adult authors are making YouTube short videos to promote their books, and since my daughter practically lives on YouTube, it’d be wise for the young adult book industry to use new technologies like James Patterson has to produce some promo clips to get kids reading. If I can show my children a YouTube video about a novel, it might be easier to entice them to read it.
Overall I’m willing to ignore my admittedly minor plot complaints to enjoy a ripping good story about characters I like, but am glad I don’t have to parent. Bring on the movie.
(This review is sponsored by MotherTalk.) For some reason I can't get blogger to post their graphic.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Book Review Author Sued and Amazon Book Reviews
Since I just started writing blog book reviews for MotherTalk, this story about a book reviewer being sued for giving a bad review snapped my head around real quick. The review was posted on the reviewer's blog, so I'm watching to see what happens.
But please, people. That's what reviews are - people giving their opinion. Not everyone likes everything. I was reading another author's blog (I'd link if I could remember where the hell in the blogosphere I was), and she was justly suspicious of books that get only five star reviews on Amazon.
As she points out, surely someone out there isn't going to like something. She said she'd reviewed a book and the author made a complaint about her negative review and had it removed. (If you recognize these comments, let me know and I'll link to you). Update: I was reading my favorite websites and found the entry about the suspcious five star reviews on Fangs, Fur, and Fey.
Now if someone starts attacking the author on a personal level and not based on the book, I'd say that's a problem. But I haven't seen any reviews that do that. The reviewer being sued was harsh, but all his review comments were centered on the book's content and layout.
I feel like I can tell most of the time if the Amazon reviews are full of it. If everything is sugar coated goodness, I'm suspicious. There is an over-the-top quality to most of the reviews written by the author and their co-conspirators. And I'm not sure how I feel about asking friends to give reviews. Is it unbiased? Is anything?
But fake comes across in writing, people. I'd rather trust a review that points out flaws - they seem more credible, and I bet you the authors who post fake reviews can't even contemplate putting a negative comment in there to better trick us into believing it's a real review.
Grow up, fake book reviewers everywhere.
My first book review for MotherTalk, Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, will be posted here on Monday. I have my attorney standing by.
But please, people. That's what reviews are - people giving their opinion. Not everyone likes everything. I was reading another author's blog (I'd link if I could remember where the hell in the blogosphere I was), and she was justly suspicious of books that get only five star reviews on Amazon.
As she points out, surely someone out there isn't going to like something. She said she'd reviewed a book and the author made a complaint about her negative review and had it removed. (If you recognize these comments, let me know and I'll link to you). Update: I was reading my favorite websites and found the entry about the suspcious five star reviews on Fangs, Fur, and Fey.
Now if someone starts attacking the author on a personal level and not based on the book, I'd say that's a problem. But I haven't seen any reviews that do that. The reviewer being sued was harsh, but all his review comments were centered on the book's content and layout.
I feel like I can tell most of the time if the Amazon reviews are full of it. If everything is sugar coated goodness, I'm suspicious. There is an over-the-top quality to most of the reviews written by the author and their co-conspirators. And I'm not sure how I feel about asking friends to give reviews. Is it unbiased? Is anything?
But fake comes across in writing, people. I'd rather trust a review that points out flaws - they seem more credible, and I bet you the authors who post fake reviews can't even contemplate putting a negative comment in there to better trick us into believing it's a real review.
Grow up, fake book reviewers everywhere.
My first book review for MotherTalk, Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, will be posted here on Monday. I have my attorney standing by.
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