Clifford Garstang

This is a quick, enjoyable read about a spiritual search that in some ways parallels my own, although Moore goes much deeper in his quest by undertaking retreats in several different Buddhist traditions. Written in the 90s, it refers to the emergence of a “cottage industry” of Buddhist books; at this point, nearly 15 years later, that cottage industry is a virtual Buddhist-Industrial Complex, with several glossy magazines, meditation supply megastores, and countless books published each year, including, it seems, one every few months from the Dalai Lama and another from Thich Nhat Hanh.

Don't read this one to learn about Buddhism. There are better texts for that. But it's worth the read to see how one person followed the path. Stay tuned for Moore's The Mindful Writer, coming in 2012, which applies some of what he's learned on that path to the writing process.

Terrific explanation of the reason why we MUST reform our economy, and a must-read for anyone seeking to understand what's behind the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Our economy is in danger on multiple fronts: on the one hand, wealth and power are increasingly concentrated in the hands of just a few, groups who exercise too much sway over Washington; and on the other hand, the decline in real earning power of the middle and lower class has meant that the engine of economic growth that powered the prosperity of the post-WWII era has run out of gas. The solution, as Reich articulates clearly, is to shift the tax burden in our society in a way that both generates greater income for the lower classes and also creates more opportunities. It's not rocket science, but we need the political will to return to prosperity.

One of the worst novels I've ever read. The plot is absurd and the writing is awful.

What to make of an old-fashioned telling of a thoroughly modern story? Brenda Marshall's Dakota may put off some impatient readers by following certain literary conventions of the time about which she is writing (the 1870s)—chapter headings describe what will happen in that chapter, for example, and rich exposition helps complete the portrait of the people and landscape of the Dakota Territory—but persistence will be rewarded. This novel tells a surprising and a compelling story that you haven't heard before, and it's filled with extraordinarily complex and memorable characters.

See the complete review at Perpetual Folly: Review of Dakota

Very readable book, with some terrific ideas for local investing. Its only real flaw, in my view, is its disregard for the legitimate basis for the investor protections in the federal securities laws. It's not that these laws are bad laws, but times have changed.

This is a terrific little collection of two stories (“Everything in this Country Must” and “Wood”) and a novella (“Hunger Strike”) that deal somewhat indirectly with the “troubles.” The novella is particularly powerful.

The most useful thing about this book is it's rather direct and affirmative statement of moral principles. For example: “I do my best to keep my word, honor commitments, and follow through on the tasks I have agreed to do.” Usually, it seems to me, books like this expect the reader/practitioner to derive such positions from the more general “loving kindness” guidance.

Very readable book that should be of great help to newcomers to the book publishing world.

As a former resident of Korea (I was a Peace Corps volunteer there in the 1970s) and a student of its language, history, and culture, I enjoyed this book very much. It tells a story that is often overlooked, about the brutal Japanese rule before and during WWII. We're all familiar with the concept of “comfort women”–the sex slaves that the Japanese forced into service from Korea and their other “colonies”–but this book puts a face on that atrocity, as well as the conscription of young Korean men and the abuse of Korean patriots.

The story is told by three narrators–two Korean boys and their mother–beginning from just before the start of the war. It's a harrowing tale, and one definitely worth reading.

This is a very enjoyable, fluidly written account of the author's efforts to establish a blueberry farm in the hills of southwest Virginia. He and his wife work and struggle to make the farm work, and the author shares numerous anecdotes about visitors to the farm. Plus recipes for blueberries!

For a full review, and to enter the giveaway for a copy of this book, check out my blog: http://cliffordgarstang.com/?p=3247

The story of Ben and his son Benjy, who has Asperger's syndrome, and the Corvair they fall in love with. This is a sentimental story about love and independence, and having respect for people–and cars–that are a little bit different.

Susan Woodring's Goliath is a remarkable book, filled with fully realized characters, perfect dialogue, and a plot that is always entertaining and never quite predictable. Add to that the omniscient point of view–something you don't see in many contemporary novels–and you've got a truly enjoyable read. The discovery of a body in the book's opening pages is the story's catalyst, but this is no ordinary mystery. Instead, it's something of a love story–or several love stories–not just about romance, but about people's capacity to love.

I've always been interested in Sri Lanka and troubled by the unrest there. It is only in recent years that I've realized that the government was guilty of its own abuses. So I enjoyed this book to learn more about the issue. But–and this may be a function of having listened to the book on tape instead of reading it–it seemed too disjointed and the ending far too open. Only the dead characters achieved resolution.

It's a good idea to consult a book like this to get used to Windows 8, but there are a lot of questions it doesn't answer. Still, go get you started, it's not a bad resource.

I confess that I picked up Aaron Burch's How to Predict the Weather out of my to-be-read pile (one of many, in truth) because it was short. I know Aaron, and so I'd intended to read it eventually anyway, but brevity is what drew me to it last night. And I liked it a lot. The book is extremely hard to categorize. It reads a bit like a collection of poetry (at about 100 pages in a small format, it's about the right length). But it's all prose, and the individual pieces are of two types. There are the instructions, in italics. And then there is the narrative of the unnamed man and woman and the trials and tribulations of their relationship. Since these latter pieces have, more or less, an overall narrative arc, leavened by the italicized instructions, the effect is of one cohesive short work—a novella in flash, maybe. Cool cover, too. There's a lot to like about this little book.

The reading on this audio book wasn't great, but my 5 stars are based on the excellent story by Greene. It's a fascinating tale set in the early days of Papa Doc in Haiti.

The contents, of course, are five star. I think the book could use a little context, though. It's organized into 4 sections (Wise Understanding; Compassion and Courage; Freedom; Enlightenment and the Bodhisattva Path), but to be useful to a casual reader I think each of the sections could have used an introduction to the topic.

My blurb for the book:

“Bonnie ZoBell's collection of very short stories will leave you breathless. From the naked woman who sees the Madonna in a water stain, to the anthropology student who works nights as a hotel maid, these stories about cornered women fighting back display an eye for the offbeat. With a sensitive, wry voice, ZoBell manages to find hope even in the bleakest scenarios, which makes this book a deeply rewarding experience.”

This is an excellent summary of the basic legal issues facing authors. There are more detailed references available, but this one hits all the right issues. While it is spot-on with regard to the law (I'm also a lawyer, although not a specialist in copyright and publishing), it does make the occasional odd remark about the business, such as: “While writers often submit their stories or poems directly to magazines and journals, book writers almost always need an agent.” That's true IF you want your book to be published by one of the large trade publishers. There are thousands of smaller presses that accept submissions directly from authors without an agent. In fact, some of the best literary fiction now is coming from smaller presses as the big publishers focus primarily on big commercial books that will make them a lot of money.

Other than that, though, this is a handy guide that I can recommend.

(Note: one of the authors is a former law partner of mine from my days at Sidley Austin)

I wish I'd had this book before my first book came out. It's a well-organized and carefully written, step-by-step review of just about everything an author needs to know: from laying the groundwork well ahead of publication, to blogging and building a platform, to creating a website, to arranging events and presskits, to doing interviews and giving readings. In addition, there's a section with a lot of short interviews with authors, publicists, and event planners with their own tips. If you've got a book coming out, or if you're still promoting one that came out recently, this would be a great help to you.

See my full review at Perpetual Folly: Everyday Book Marketing

I first became aware of David Jauss from reading his wonderful essays on the craft of fiction that appear often in The Writer's Chronicle, the magazine of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. Invariably, these essays are lucid and helpful. I was very pleased, then, to learn that Press 53, the publisher of my two short fiction collections, planned to publish Jauss's new book, Glossolalia, and I was even more pleased when I was offered the chance to see an Advance Reading Copy. Having just finished reading the book, I feel honored that we share a publisher.

The book includes stories that have won Pushcart Prizes and O. Henry Awards and have appeared in Best American Short Stories. Some of the stories have been published in prestigious literary magazines such as StoryQuarterly, Shenandoah, New England Review, and Prairie Schooner. And all of the stories are rewarding to read.

See my full review at Perpetual Folly.

War is hell, but this collection of short shorts and full-length stories is terrific. I loved the mixes of points of view–male and female soldiers, loved ones on the homefront, Afghan civilians affected by the war . . . you name it. The writing is crisp and fluid, and almost always moving. Well done.

I highly recommend this beautifully written story of the relationship of a slave and the owner who breeds him with the female slaves of his neighbors–a disturbing tale, told with grace.

My mistake, I suppose, but I assumed this book would be about the aspects of publishing that are unique to eBooks. While these things are covered, more or less, a significant amount of space is devoted to matters any writer should be familiar with already–the actual writing of a book, the importance of editing, etc. At times, too, the book reads like a tutorial on Microsoft Word, which one can get–in more detail–elsewhere. Similarly, the marketing of an eBook isn't much different from the marketing of a paper book, and so those sections didn't seem terribly helpful, either.