Tag: review

My review of ‘The Sound of Brilliance’ by Ingrid

Published on by Susi Bocks13 Comments
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Experiments in Fiction

Huge shoutout to Ingrid for a wonderful review! Her continued love and support of our efforts is appreciated. THANK YOU!!

I’ve just finished reading The Sound of Brilliance, an anthology of poems from ‘The Short of It’ series edited by Susi Bocks. As Susi herself states of the book:

This publication aims to find people with an interest and talent for micro-writing, whether their preferred form is poetry or stories, expressing themselves in 150 or fewer words. The other goal is to become an outlet for those desiring to read short bursts of meaningful expressions.

It’s a great idea, because many people lead hectic lifestyles, and can perhaps only spare a few minutes per day to read something at their leisure. Susi has curated this collection in such a way as to ensure that even the shortest time spent reading will be meaningful.

Featured authors

The Sound of Brilliance features many authors whose work I already know and love from the WordPress community, including Jaya Avendel, Lorraine Lewis and Ken Gierke. However, Susi’s contributor list extends beyond this community, and has enabled me to discover new authors who primarily feature their poetry on Instagram and Twitter, or have websites hosted elsewhere.

As well as being a delight to read, this book also serves as a great reference if you are looking to connect with other poets who write short-form poetry and read more of their work. You can read interviews with some of the authors on Susi’s website.

My Verdict

The Sound of Brilliance is an appropriate title for a book in which the words shine from the page. I have tried my hand at writing short-form poetry myself, so I understand the skill and craftsmanship involved in getting the words exactly right. Susi has curated a fine collection of authors who know how to do this perfectly.

If you are looking for an introduction to short-form poetry, a ‘who’s who’ guide to the online poetry world, or simply some words of wisdom to brighten your day, this book is for you! The Sound of Brilliance is available from Amazon.

Looking for something to read? Take a look at my Book Reviews section. If you have a poetry book you would like me to review, please contact me at experimentsinfiction@protonmail.com. My reviews are not sponsored, and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

About Fables

Published on by Susi Bocks4 Comments
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A Love Story
One day, as you walked outdoors, you found a stone. At first you thought it might be a toad; but it was not warm, it was not slimy, and it did not quiver as you held it in your hand. You left it in your pockets. I occupied space. It had mass. But it was not an abrasive or obtrusive stone. You were not troubled; and the stone, in turn, was probably content. When you came home that night and undressed for bed, you took the stone out and set it on the dresser. It is possible, of course, that the stone watched you all night long. But then it must be remembered that the stone had no eyes. It is much more likely that it merely sat. It was contiguous in space. It was, if you like, a contemporary of yours. The following morning you lost the stone. You may have noticed its absence in your pocket. The stone may have sensed the increased distance from a source of warmth. But that was all. It is not conceivable that anything else could possible have been felt. I conjecture, of course. The tale is, after all, a fanciful invention, a playful variation, on the species of love.

~~~

My talented and exquisite writer friend, Candice Daquin, sent me this book. As I mentioned to her, I’m not usually a fan of fables. In my youth, I grew up with Struwwelpeter. While the stories, written to be valuable lessons, more often than not, were very frightening rather than helpful. Traumatizing, almost.

Even into adulthood, I’d steered away from books like these. I preferred to learn things through my actions rather than receive frightful warnings about consequences. Or at least, this is what I expected about most fables. Since I do enough damage to my psyche, supposing what events could occur, while telling myself, I’m just preparing for “if in the event,” I felt it was best to leave books like this on the shelf. Who needs to invite more drama into their imagination? That was my thinking.

Well, it seems things have changed. Or maybe I have? First, this was not a traumatic read, and second, the morals of the stories align very closely with my own. As it says on the back cover, these are artful feminist fables that highlight, yet camouflage well, the stories women have told around the globe for millennia. The characters were highly relatable, and at times, the words were infuriating. We are still dealing with much of what the stories share with the reader. But still, well-written, and more than once, I found a wry smile on my face after reading them. I think you might too.

If you are interested, click on the link to Amazon underneath the image of the cover.

The Importance Of Thoughts

Published on by Susi Bocks10 Comments

I’m embarrassed to say this; I don’t know who prompted these thoughts as I’ve somehow managed to lose the link where I read their opinion piece. I usually try to be very good about giving a hat-tip to those who have inspired me but not this time. Perhaps, I initially saw the post on WordPress or maybe Facebook, but I can’t remember now. So, if it was one of my readers, please comment below so I can thank you properly for this inspiration, and link them back to your post!

Reviews are honest feedback from the reader’s experience, which allows the writer to benefit from praise and constructive criticism. It also gives those seeking a new book to read to decide whether they would enjoy the book. I can’t tell you enough how important this is for the writer’s psyche but also sales! People who are earnestly reading the reviews want to make sure they aren’t wasting their money and know what they are getting themselves into with their purchase.

The piece I read prompted me to remind everyone about these critical aspects of purchasing a book. The obvious positive is you are creating revenue for the writer, but you are also doing the author (usually your friend too) the kindness of reading their valuable thoughts. It’s a win-win.

But by reading their work and leaving them a review, it’s a win-win-win situation!

Which brings me to my situation; there are two books which I self-published on Amazon – Feeling Human and Every Day I Pause. With heartfelt thanks, many people have purchased the book from me directly or online. But they need some love and attention. So many of those who bought a book never left a review. Maybe it’s because they haven’t read it yet. I can understand as I have a mountain of books to get through myself. It usually takes me a few months to even read it before I can leave a review. But then there are those for whatever reason, bought it, read it, and then didn’t write one. I wonder, are they just too shy to come forward and don’t feel comfortable reporting their opinion publicly? Or maybe they didn’t like it as well as they thought they would and don’t want to hurt my feelings? I don’t know, and perhaps, will never know. But I definitely would like to know what they thought.

So, what I hope to convey to the people who read my blog, please ALWAYS leave a review if you’ve bought someone’s book. They will be very thankful for it. And if you need to convey some issues with it, be diplomatic but be honest. If it’s harsh but something the person still needs to hear, you can, after all, even talk to them directly. Please and thank you.

Ok, now to the shameless plug to sell my books! 🙂

I’m running a special on them if you buy from me directly. You’ll receive them gratefully signed by me in my unique handwriting! AKA as Dr.’s handwriting. LOL

Feeling Human $12 and Every Day I Pause $15 each or BOTH for $25!!
Shipping $5 in the US, $8 International

If this interests you, please email me for payment info iwriteherblog@gmail.com

Thank you!

Ps. And if you make a purchase, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! 😉

Edward Bellamy – Ahead Of His Time

Published on by Susi BocksLeave a comment

“It seems to me,” I observed, “that when the women once fairly opened their eyes to what the revolutionary program meant for their sex by its demand of economic equality for all, self-interest must have made them more ardent devotees of the cause than even the men.”

“It did indeed,” replied the doctor. “Of course the blinding, binding influence of conventionality, tradition, and prejudice, as well as the timidity bred of immemorial servitude, for a long while prevented the mass of women from understanding the greatness of the deliverance which was offered them; but when once they did understand it they threw themselves into the revolutionary movement with a unanimity and enthusiasm that had a decisive effect upon the struggle. Men might regard economic equality with favor or disfavor, according to their economic positions but every woman, simply because she was a woman, was bound to be for it as soon as she got it through her head what it meant for her half of the race.”  Equality by Edward Bellamy

Yes, women are in a pretty good position compared to the 1800s, but we’re still not where we should be. The MeToo movement is giving me hope the women get it.

Published in 1887, Looking Backward: 2000-1887 introduced us to the idea of a truly humanist society. The follow up to it – Equality – delves deeper into the revolution which occurred for the women and men in the previous book. Edward Bellamy certainly seemed to have a great grasp of what it meant to inhabit a world where the value of all humans was understood.

I’ve been recommending this book for more than twenty years. If you’ve not heard of it before, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of each. Bellamy was ahead of his time, but I think we might actually be ready for his vision now.