Reader Views

Under Sonoran Skies: Prose and Poetry from the High Desert (Audio CD)

Article first published as Book Review: Under Sonoran Skies: Prose and Poetry from the High Desert by Patricia Noble, et al on Blogcritics.

“Under Sonoran Skies: Prose and Poetry from the High Desert” is a collaboration of authors, a collage of short stories, poems, essays, devotional thoughts, and satire, read by the authors. The readings begin with thoughts on “Visioning the Craft.” The readings complete a full circle to end on the concept of “Crafting the Vision.”
 
I enjoyed the readings on “Seasons of Life,” the historical look at “The Changing West,” and the thoughts expressed on “Choice and Change.”  I identified with Larry Sakin’s unique use of light satire – word pictures strengthened by the personality projected in his reading. Bill Black’s delivery of his works adds credibility to his insight, subtle humor, and his recognition as a professional storyteller. Kay Lesh’s reading of “Ceremony” left me deep in thought, as I reflected on the memories of celebrations and ceremonies of my past.
 
The varied content formats, and author’ insights provide a balance that will engage readers of every age; they provide a broad base of literary styles, which will captivate the interests of a wide audience of reader/listeners.
 
These writings include experiences drawn from diverse cross sections of life experience from educators, the field of engineering, ministry, law, and various overlapping areas within the performing arts. They are filled with humor, reflections on relationships, and personal observations on business, with personal stories, memories, and biographical sketches.
 
The five audio CDs each contain two or three chapters from the book which are clearly listed with complete titles and author on the accompanying fold out.

“Under Sonoran Skies: Prose and Poetry from the High Desert” is an ideal way to create reflective meaningful moments, give yourself a personal gift, pass along to family and friends, or for shut-in or hospital visitation. Bill Blake, Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, Susan Cosby-Patton, Kay Lesh, Ph.D., Patricia Noble, and Larry Sakin provide a positive listening experience.


Under Sonoran Skies: Prose and Poetry from the High Desert (Audio CD)
Bill Blake, Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, Susan Cosby-Patton, Kay Lesh, Ph.D., Patricia Noble,  Larry Sakin
Imaginings Press (2011)
ASIN: B007IV8FMO
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (September 2012)

Oddities & Entities

Article first published as Book Review: Oddities and Entities by Roland Allnach on Blogcritics.
 
“Oddities & Entities” by Roland Allnach is composed of six engrossing, and sometimes grossing short stories.  Each one is unique in its own way, and completely different from anything I have ever read before. Reading these twisted stories gave me an awesome escape that made me feel like I was on a ride through a fun house with no idea when it would be over or where I would end up.  As a result of the uniqueness of the author’s ideas, he is in control of the journey because you will have no idea what is going to happen next in his creative imagination. 

If you are looking for a romantic comedy, this is not the book for you.  Although there are several relationships that are involved in most of these stories, they tend to be out of the norm. Way out of the norm as a matter of fact. For example, in “Elmer Phelps,” the main character has two relationships to deal with. One would be perfect, if it wasn’t complicated by Elmer’s secret dire need for consuming raw flesh. There is also a bit of an issue with how well he gets along with his sister who shares his dietary needs. I will stop there because I don’t want to spoil it. 

As I read each story, I appreciated how well Roland Allnach was able to write such complete, detailed scenes in the space of a short story or a novella.  He does a wonderful job of describing the scenes and helping you dive right into the characters’ minds. He will take you to some dark and twisted places, and you will enjoy having goose bumps on your arms. And when you are done with reading “Oddities & Entities,” you will be extremely relieved to find yourself back in your mundane world, as I was.  Then, if you are like me, you will find yourself looking on the Internet to find out what else Roland Allanach has written so that you can dive right back into that twisted darkness.


Oddities & Entities
Roland Allnach
All Things That Matter Press (2012)
ISBN 9780985006648
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (8/12)

Oddities & Entities

Article first published as Book Review: Oddities and Entities by Roland Allnach on Blogcritics.
 
“Oddities & Entities” by Roland Allnach is composed of six engrossing, and sometimes grossing short stories.  Each one is unique in its own way, and completely different from anything I have ever read before. Reading these twisted stories gave me an awesome escape that made me feel like I was on a ride through a fun house with no idea when it would be over or where I would end up.  As a result of the uniqueness of the author’s ideas, he is in control of the journey because you will have no idea what is going to happen next in his creative imagination. 

If you are looking for a romantic comedy, this is not the book for you.  Although there are several relationships that are involved in most of these stories, they tend to be out of the norm. Way out of the norm as a matter of fact. For example, in “Elmer Phelps,” the main character has two relationships to deal with. One would be perfect, if it wasn’t complicated by Elmer’s secret dire need for consuming raw flesh. There is also a bit of an issue with how well he gets along with his sister who shares his dietary needs. I will stop there because I don’t want to spoil it. 

As I read each story, I appreciated how well Roland Allnach was able to write such complete, detailed scenes in the space of a short story or a novella.  He does a wonderful job of describing the scenes and helping you dive right into the characters’ minds. He will take you to some dark and twisted places, and you will enjoy having goose bumps on your arms. And when you are done with reading “Oddities & Entities,” you will be extremely relieved to find yourself back in your mundane world, as I was.  Then, if you are like me, you will find yourself looking on the Internet to find out what else Roland Allanach has written so that you can dive right back into that twisted darkness.


Oddities & Entities
Roland Allnach
All Things That Matter Press (2012)
ISBN 9780985006648
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (8/12)

Oddities & Entities

Article first published as Book Review: Oddities and Entities by Roland Allnach on Blogcritics.
 
“Oddities & Entities” by Roland Allnach is composed of six engrossing, and sometimes grossing short stories.  Each one is unique in its own way, and completely different from anything I have ever read before. Reading these twisted stories gave me an awesome escape that made me feel like I was on a ride through a fun house with no idea when it would be over or where I would end up.  As a result of the uniqueness of the author’s ideas, he is in control of the journey because you will have no idea what is going to happen next in his creative imagination. 

If you are looking for a romantic comedy, this is not the book for you.  Although there are several relationships that are involved in most of these stories, they tend to be out of the norm. Way out of the norm as a matter of fact. For example, in “Elmer Phelps,” the main character has two relationships to deal with. One would be perfect, if it wasn’t complicated by Elmer’s secret dire need for consuming raw flesh. There is also a bit of an issue with how well he gets along with his sister who shares his dietary needs. I will stop there because I don’t want to spoil it. 

As I read each story, I appreciated how well Roland Allnach was able to write such complete, detailed scenes in the space of a short story or a novella.  He does a wonderful job of describing the scenes and helping you dive right into the characters’ minds. He will take you to some dark and twisted places, and you will enjoy having goose bumps on your arms. And when you are done with reading “Oddities & Entities,” you will be extremely relieved to find yourself back in your mundane world, as I was.  Then, if you are like me, you will find yourself looking on the Internet to find out what else Roland Allanach has written so that you can dive right back into that twisted darkness.


Oddities & Entities
Roland Allnach
All Things That Matter Press (2012)
ISBN 9780985006648
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (8/12)

Oddities & Entities

Article first published as Book Review: Oddities and Entities by Roland Allnach on Blogcritics.
 
“Oddities & Entities” by Roland Allnach is composed of six engrossing, and sometimes grossing short stories.  Each one is unique in its own way, and completely different from anything I have ever read before. Reading these twisted stories gave me an awesome escape that made me feel like I was on a ride through a fun house with no idea when it would be over or where I would end up.  As a result of the uniqueness of the author’s ideas, he is in control of the journey because you will have no idea what is going to happen next in his creative imagination. 

If you are looking for a romantic comedy, this is not the book for you.  Although there are several relationships that are involved in most of these stories, they tend to be out of the norm. Way out of the norm as a matter of fact. For example, in “Elmer Phelps,” the main character has two relationships to deal with. One would be perfect, if it wasn’t complicated by Elmer’s secret dire need for consuming raw flesh. There is also a bit of an issue with how well he gets along with his sister who shares his dietary needs. I will stop there because I don’t want to spoil it. 

As I read each story, I appreciated how well Roland Allnach was able to write such complete, detailed scenes in the space of a short story or a novella.  He does a wonderful job of describing the scenes and helping you dive right into the characters’ minds. He will take you to some dark and twisted places, and you will enjoy having goose bumps on your arms. And when you are done with reading “Oddities & Entities,” you will be extremely relieved to find yourself back in your mundane world, as I was.  Then, if you are like me, you will find yourself looking on the Internet to find out what else Roland Allanach has written so that you can dive right back into that twisted darkness.


Oddities & Entities
Roland Allnach
All Things That Matter Press (2012)
ISBN 9780985006648
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (8/12)

Oddities & Entities

Article first published as Book Review: Oddities and Entities by Roland Allnach on Blogcritics.
 
“Oddities & Entities” by Roland Allnach is composed of six engrossing, and sometimes grossing short stories.  Each one is unique in its own way, and completely different from anything I have ever read before. Reading these twisted stories gave me an awesome escape that made me feel like I was on a ride through a fun house with no idea when it would be over or where I would end up.  As a result of the uniqueness of the author’s ideas, he is in control of the journey because you will have no idea what is going to happen next in his creative imagination. 

If you are looking for a romantic comedy, this is not the book for you.  Although there are several relationships that are involved in most of these stories, they tend to be out of the norm. Way out of the norm as a matter of fact. For example, in “Elmer Phelps,” the main character has two relationships to deal with. One would be perfect, if it wasn’t complicated by Elmer’s secret dire need for consuming raw flesh. There is also a bit of an issue with how well he gets along with his sister who shares his dietary needs. I will stop there because I don’t want to spoil it. 

As I read each story, I appreciated how well Roland Allnach was able to write such complete, detailed scenes in the space of a short story or a novella.  He does a wonderful job of describing the scenes and helping you dive right into the characters’ minds. He will take you to some dark and twisted places, and you will enjoy having goose bumps on your arms. And when you are done with reading “Oddities & Entities,” you will be extremely relieved to find yourself back in your mundane world, as I was.  Then, if you are like me, you will find yourself looking on the Internet to find out what else Roland Allanach has written so that you can dive right back into that twisted darkness.


Oddities & Entities
Roland Allnach
All Things That Matter Press (2012)
ISBN 9780985006648
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (8/12)

The Weight of Deeds: A Collection of 14 Short Stories

Article first published as Book Review The Weight of Deeds: A Collection of 14 Short Stories by Eli Thorpe on Blogcritics.
 
In a recent issue of Prospect Magazine, writer Ruth Franklin asserted that “Ten years ago the American short story was in decline. Now it is once again a vital genre.” Author Eli Thorpe’s new collection of fourteen short stories, “The Weight of Deeds,” most certainly provides testimony to support Franklin’s claim.
 
Like other authors recently, Eli Thorpe decided to follow his well-regarded first novel, “The Valley of Ashes,” with a book of short stories rather than a second novel. For readers who appreciate short fiction, his decision was a blessing. “The Weight of Deeds” makes a strong, consistent statement that Thorpe is a marvelous, gifted writer and a first-rate storyteller. These stories are relevant, thoughtful and eclectic and truly well written.
 
What I like most about this collection is the breadth of subjects and the spectrum of tone. A sharp sense of irony is evident in many of the stories and nearly all of the stories are written in a plain style, even those that explore the supernatural that still manages to evoke both delicate and powerful emotions in the reader.

One story which displays the full range of Thorpe’s gifts is ‘Mountain Echoes,’ the source of the book’s title. This is the story of an unsettled soul on a road trip get-away without a map, who stumbles upon a small mountain town where he had lived and worked a short time, when he was only 21, more than thirty years before. At one point Thorpe describes the central character’s inner thoughts: “He toyed with the idea of going in, trying to imagine the scene, if everyone was there, and he made himself known…Then he laughed wryly to himself, knowing the image to be as false as any of the hopes those people had had for him. He had been an interruption in their lives, surrounded by violence and pain. However central those people were to his memories of this place, he knew he was just a bit player in their memories.” I was on strong home turf with this story and for me it echoed the work of one of my favorite short story writers, Chris Offutt.
 
As a person with deep connections to nature, the story ‘The Tree’ offered me a strong spiritual reading experience. The back cover notes aptly describe it as the story of a young boy who challenges himself to climb the same tree his father once climbed, and finds himself in a precarious situation-too high and with the sun about to set. The very first story that is offered, ‘Emily,’ follows the interwoven lives over the years of a man and woman who had been friends virtually their entire lives. It is a marvelous opener in every way and as a result, the reader is put on notice that they are embarking on a journey with a first-rate storyteller writing near the peak of the craft.
 
“The Weight of Deeds” offers fourteen beautifully crafted short stories by Eli Thorpe that will surely garner him much attention, and deservedly so. Praise to American short fiction; praise to Eli Thorpe.


The Weight of Deeds: A Collection of 14 Short Stories
Eli Thorpe
Outskirts Press (2012)
ISBN 9781432783341
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (12/11)

The Weight of Deeds: A Collection of 14 Short Stories

Article first published as Book Review The Weight of Deeds: A Collection of 14 Short Stories by Eli Thorpe on Blogcritics.

In a recent issue of Prospect Magazine, writer Ruth Franklin asserted that “Ten years ago the American short story was in decline. Now it is once again a vital genre.” Author Eli Thorpe’s new collection of fourteen short stories, “The Weight of Deeds,” most certainly provides testimony to support Franklin’s claim.

Like other authors recently, Eli Thorpe decided to follow his well-regarded first novel, “The Valley of Ashes,” with a book of short stories rather than a second novel. For readers who appreciate short fiction, his decision was a blessing. “The Weight of Deeds” makes a strong, consistent statement that Thorpe is a marvelous, gifted writer and a first-rate storyteller. These stories are relevant, thoughtful and eclectic and truly well written.

What I like most about this collection is the breadth of subjects and the spectrum of tone. A sharp sense of irony is evident in many of the stories and nearly all of the stories are written in a plain style, even those that explore the supernatural that still manages to evoke both delicate and powerful emotions in the reader.

One story which displays the full range of Thorpe’s gifts is ‘Mountain Echoes,’ the source of the book’s title. This is the story of an unsettled soul on a road trip get-away without a map, who stumbles upon a small mountain town where he had lived and worked a short time, when he was only 21, more than thirty years before. At one point Thorpe describes the central character’s inner thoughts: “He toyed with the idea of going in, trying to imagine the scene, if everyone was there, and he made himself known…Then he laughed wryly to himself, knowing the image to be as false as any of the hopes those people had had for him. He had been an interruption in their lives, surrounded by violence and pain. However central those people were to his memories of this place, he knew he was just a bit player in their memories.” I was on strong home turf with this story and for me it echoed the work of one of my favorite short story writers, Chris Offutt.

As a person with deep connections to nature, the story ‘The Tree’ offered me a strong spiritual reading experience. The back cover notes aptly describe it as the story of a young boy who challenges himself to climb the same tree his father once climbed, and finds himself in a precarious situation-too high and with the sun about to set. The very first story that is offered, ‘Emily,’ follows the interwoven lives over the years of a man and woman who had been friends virtually their entire lives. It is a marvelous opener in every way and as a result, the reader is put on notice that they are embarking on a journey with a first-rate storyteller writing near the peak of the craft.

“The Weight of Deeds” offers fourteen beautifully crafted short stories by Eli Thorpe that will surely garner him much attention, and deservedly so. Praise to American short fiction; praise to Eli Thorpe.


The Weight of Deeds: A Collection of 14 Short Stories
Eli Thorpe
Outskirts Press (2012)
ISBN 9781432783341
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (12/11)

Tales of Deserts and Demons

“Tales of Deserts and Demons” by Faiz Kermani is three fantasy stories. “The Demon and the Three Beggars” was my favorite.  It was about three disfigured beggars.  One was purple from head to toe, one had half the face of a monkey, and the last one had a snout instead of a nose. When three friends were once again kicked out of the town that they had been visiting, they wandered into the cave of a demon who said that he would kill them unless they told him their stories about how they were disfigured. Will they live to see another sunset or will they die in the cave?

Even though the title “Tales of Deserts and Demons” sounds scary, it is really more funny and clever than scary.  I would not classify this as a scary book, but many of the characters are demons or creatures.  All the stories had elements of trickery and just rewards.  I think even my mom might like this book!

I would recommend “Tales of Deserts and Demons” by Faiz Kermani to people who like short stories.  It is nice to pick up a good book and finish an entire good story in way less than an hour.  The entire book is less than 80 pages – but a very enjoyable 80 pages!


Tales of Deserts and Demons
Faiz Kermani
Faiz Kermani/Lulu (2012)
ISBN 9781105499937
Reviewed by Evan Weldon (age 10) for Reader Views (4/12)

Words & Graphics: A Collection of Works

Article first published as Book Review: Words & Graphics: A Collection of Works by C.O.B. on Blogcritics.

“Words & Graphics” is an extremely simple title for a complex collection of writings which includes poems, dialogues, short stories, statements and plays.  There are also artistic images that contribute greatly to this novel.  Some of the writings make brief and blunt statements; others are more in-depth and incredibly descriptive considering that they don’t take up many pages. The author also includes H.O.T.Ds - “Highlights of the Day.”  These are interspersed throughout the book and they focus on brutally honest and, at times, disturbing observances made by an employee regarding his day at work.  I really enjoyed reading these because sometimes I feel the same way.

Every important aspect of life is included in these writings. This includes parenting, religion, love, loss, and death.  Nothing is simple or joyful, yet the complexity of the writings left me with some very intense feelings. I also appreciated that the short stories and the screenplay left me wanting more. While this might sound negative, it is actually positive because I wanted to be able to sink myself further into what the characters were experiencing.  I admire the author for being able to draw me in and quickly connect me to the characters in the stories.  The artistic works also added a visual connection to the writings. They can also be enjoyed on their own.  Each one is unique and also made me pause to ponder them.

The author notes that it took ten years to create “Words & Graphics.”  I totally enjoyed every page and highly recommend it.  Readers will enjoy the uniqueness of how the works are presented and appreciate having the opportunity to get their hands on something different.  This book would also make an excellent gift for the person who has everything!


Words & Graphics: A Collection of Works
C.O.B.
Grey Line Press (20122)
ISBN 9780983002826
ASIN: B007K1EF9E
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (3/12)