Reader Views

Why Won’t You Talk To Me?: Selected Stores

Article first published as Book Review: Why Won't You Talk To Me?: Selected Stores by Richard Duggin on Blogcritics.

Author Richard Duggin’s newest book, “Why Won’t You Talk To Me?,” is an assemblage of short stories that collectively explores every emotional aspect of the institution of broken relationships, failed marriages, and endings and new beginnings. Each story underscores that before, amidst and following the demise of a marriage, most of us are simply not capable of honest, open introspection and communication.

The characters in “Why Won’t You Talk To Me?” are active participants in the “would have-should have-could have game” and they all are inclined to over-intellectualize their marital miscues. Duggin imbues his cast with an engaging genuineness and believability. Their lives and their reflections are highly relatable. As a result, the reader establishes tight connections with the characters and a bond, based on a true concern for them, which makes their stories especially engaging.

Richard Duggin is an adept storyteller who has honed the craft of writing introspection. The reader is apt to perceive that they are truly inside the mind of the characters (and their own mind perhaps). And they are likely to feel that they have experienced in their own lives the stories to which they most strongly relate. For me the, the book kept my head nodding in either agreement or revelation and my hand eager to turn the next page.

One such story and cast of characters which strongly elicited this response from me was titled “A Certain Knowledge.” In this amusing account of what initially appears to be the mundane story of “Dad picks up kids from ex on his weekend,” Duggin manages to render a meticulously detailed and mesmerizing portrait of the complex dynamics between the ex-husband, ex-wife, their kids, and the new boyfriend and potential step-father. This story clearly established for me that the author does indeed have certain knowledge with regard to what he is writing about.

The stories in ““Why Won’t You Talk To Me?” do not suggest, as did Ralph Waldo Emerson, that “Tomorrow is another day…begin it with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” That noble act must come from within the reader. But Richard Duggin has certainly written a most thoughtful and thought-provoking book that will challenge you to reconsider the blunders and absurdities of your failed affairs of the heart. If that is your aim, then I suggest you take a deep breath and have fun reading “Why Won’t You Talk To Me?”


Why Won’t You Talk To Me?: Selected Stores
Richard Duggin
Outskirts Press (2011)
ISBN 9781432779061
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (2/12)

Through Whose Eyes: Rise Child of God

There are not enough words to describe the incredible insight and thoughts that Jacqueline Rainey has shared in "Through Whose Eyes: Rise Child of God." Many readers may find, through her writing and her approach, it seems she was in their minds.

The format of this book is alternating poems (I like to call them words of wisdom) and stories in which she covers topics such as throw-away children; prostitution; drug abuse; losing one’s self to drugs and alcohol. In addition, Rainey addresses loss of spirituality and loss of being in touch with God. I loved the way she approached these various topics; inner thoughts that one might feel given any of these circumstances.

Many readers will be able to relate to these inner thoughts. As a person in recovery, my favorite story was “I Use To Be.” Many of the thoughts expressed were things I learned in recovery and I still use today. Many of us who are in recovery are often mad at God because we think He let us down; yet we never gave up hope and some of us got out of that lifestyle and found ourselves again.

Even though some of Rainey's poems and stories relate to specific high-risk behaviors, most everyone can relate. As humans, we question who we are, why we present abnormal behaviors or lifestyles and sometimes beg God to help us each day.

As a psychologist, I am thrilled “Through Whose Eyes” was written because it will help so many that are lost in their journey of life. Rainey's wisdom is non-judgmental and does not give advice; it is a reflection of living life on life’s terms.

Through Whose Eyes: Rise Child of God
Jacqueline Rainey
Strategic Book Publishing (2011)
ISBN 9781612048550
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (8/11)

Lump: 19 Monologues from a 27-Year-Old Breast Cancer Survivor

Breast cancer… the stuff of nightmares for most of us. If you are a woman, you have found, or at some point in life you will find a lump where you certainly do not want to find one. Chances are actually quite high that it will be benign, particularly if you do not fall into the risk category. But then, Leena Luther was not in any risk category herself, without any known family history of breast cancer and living a healthy life. Yet she found THE lump at 27 years of age. How scary… and how brave to not only face the disease, but dare to write about it afterwards. Although Leena Luther states in her book that she is not a heroine, I beg to differ. As far as I am concerned, she’s both a heroine and a role model, since I found her book to be a great blueprint for dealing with adversity of any kind.

“Lump” ended up being an unexpectedly delightful book, and not even remotely depressing as I feared it would be. Ms. Luther approached the situation with bravery and a certain borderline irreverence, and I am using this last in the best possible sense of the word. Her approach seemed to be vaguely along the lines of, “I am so sorry, cancer, but I am way too busy dealing with my life and move to NYC and what-not right now, so if you’d excuse me, I want to take care of this and move on.” While there was plenty of heartbreaking and gut wrenching moments in the book, the overall tone of the narrative remained positive and uplifting. I laughed out loud often, and I have to confess I will never look at the Tic-Tacs quite the same way again.

I also enjoyed the format of “Lump,” which is written as a series of monologues. Those could easily be used for performances and for auditioning purposes. With the great variety of topics, well-nuanced content and strong characterization they should prove to be adequately challenging and very fulfilling for any young actress brave enough to tackle them.

Lump: 19 Monologues from a 27-Year-Old Breast Cancer Survivor
Leena Luther
Sublimity Press (2011)
ISBN 9780615484501
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (8/11)

Growing Up Snook (eBook)

Author David Snook explains his motivation for writing his book, “Growing Up Snook,” in the same simple, unaffected way he writes his book. “I have a life full of stories that need to be written down so that my children and grandchildren do not forget them.” And indeed, his ten siblings and adult family members provided him with a treasure trove of delightful and poignant stories of growing up. To be sure, a great many people have whimsically considered writing such a book for the same reason, but “Growing Up Snook” is a serious proposition. The author writes in a genuinely warm and friendly manner that graciously compels the reader to want to get to know more about Snook and his childhood. The timeless and universal themes of this collection of short stories provide a spontaneous connection to our own memories of being a child.

“Growing Up Snook” touches down at various points in the author’s life from age six to high school graduation. I was strongly attracted to the stories of his early years. A favorite for me is “The Wounded Soldier,” a wonderful childlike remembrance of finding a much wished for cherished gift under the tree on Christmas morning. It was a most amazing robot, in part, because its right arm fell off as soon as David removed it from its box. Snook’s recollection of how his young childlike thought process coped with the calamity is at once both humorous and touching.

Snook’s telling of the story of one especially memorable Halloween captures all of the richness of holidays and special occasions that touch children’s hearts and minds. “I got my Superman duds before all those pesky safety codes concerning Halloween costumes went into effect. My plastic mask must have been made from some type of industrial waste...the fumes caused my face to sweat and after some time, would give me headaches. It was either that, or the rubber band which held the toxic dump mask firmly to my face and thus shut off the flow of blood to my brain.”

In the category of “story of every family,” every reader who grew up in a large family will find humor in “The Winter of Our Discontent.” The situation is universal! “In my house, the ‘perfect storm’ hit in the winter of 1983...it was a collision of intestinal flu and eight family members living at home and only one bathroom.” The last two stories, “Old and Wise,” and “In Defiance” (of time) poignantly remind us that “time catches up, even when you are a teenager.”

“Growing Up Snook” is just that, told in a delightful, heart warming way. “They are events from my life life as best as I can remember them.” David Snook’s writing style is reminiscent of Jean Shepherd, the author of the collection of short stories on which the now classic movie “A Christmas Story” was based. If you like Ralphie, you’ll like David Snook and his stories!

Growing Up Snook (eBook)
David Snook
David Snook/Smashwords (2011)
ISBN 9780983689508
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (8/11)

Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. III, No. 1)

Addiction is not pretty and this little 102-page book makes it a very real and serious situation.

The many stories in this book will command your attention from the first to the last page.
These are the stories of how others have coped with and fought the evils of their cravings - the cravings they had for the corrosive drugs that have both ruled and ruined their lives. In this short but sweet volume, you will find stories of emotion, health, family, inspiration and many more. There are poems of hope and stories that will enlighten the reader. Some of these stories will hit home and many will relate and be able to understand what the authors are saying.

From chapters on incest and dysfunctional families to how to deal with unruly kids, the book covers many facets of life. One in particular that was most interesting to me was called “David’s Code.” This short story is of a young man, who died prematurely, and the interesting set of codes he lived by. They were not only applicable to him but could be used by all of us in the course of our daily lives.

This book was very good reading and I recommend it for everyone from teens to adults. There is nothing that would be offensive or off color; the writing is excellent as is the editing and appealing cover art. Each story is accompanied by a short Biography about the author, which gave it more substance.

I thought “Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. III, No. 1)” was a very good book and everyone who reads it will find some benefit to be had. It received my highest rating of an A+ and a big bravo for a well-written volume.

Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. III, No. 1)
Compilation
Loving Healing Press (2011)
ISBN 9781615990740
Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (4/11)

True Tails

“True Tails” by J. H. Soeder is a collection of the author’s experiences with animals.  From a young age, the author claimed that he could talk to animals and that they would respond.  The author also had a strange collection of pets ranging from a crow to pigeons to snakes to dogs and cats.  

The book was a collection of short stories that all came together to create a good part of the author’s life.  The author first learned that he could talk to animals was when he was two-years-old.  He had been playing in his yard when he heard some sparrows talking to him and trying to comfort him because his sisters had not included him in playing on their new slide.  The sparrow chicks offered to be his friends because they were all babies.     

Some of the stories were sad and some were amazing and yet others were funny.  There was a story where the author’s dog would chase his peacock, Peabody, around their yard.  Now Peabody didn’t exactly appreciate this and would fly onto the roof and could only be lured down by a small glass of wine.  
 
I would recommend this book to people who like animals.  The book didn’t exactly have a plot, but I always wanted to find out what would happen next.  “True Tails” by J. H. Soeder was a very entertaining book and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.

True Tails
J. H. Soeder
Art Universe (2010)
ISBN 9780971961777
Reviewed by Ben Weldon (age 14) for Reader Views (1/11)

Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks, and Food Activists

I moved to the United States as an adult and even after more than a decade of living here, there are still things that baffle me. One of those, and probably the one that I talk about most often, is the relationship most Americans seem to have with their food. Everything needs to be bigger, shinier and “better value,” but so very few people seem to be concerned about where their food comes from and how it was raised. Do not get me wrong, I am not knocking convenience and I am also not preaching about being ultra-green and fanatically locavore-ish, but I sure do miss going to the market most days. Those nearly daily trips to the market, always on foot and with my basket, were something to look forward to, and talking to the grannies who grew the best lettuce in their backyards in the suburbs and the old man who sold the best pickled turnip anywhere in the world were always a highlight for me.

I have to admit that I have seen many positive changes in this direction recently, and the absolutely gorgeous “Growing Roots” by Katherine Leiner showcases them beautifully. There is a lot to like about this book, starting from the purely aesthetic beauty of the photos by Andrew Lipton, who managed to catch a variety of precious moments on film. Then there are the stories, written with so much passion and such great respect for the work the people we get introduced to in the book are involved in. The author’s admiration for the passion and purpose of this fascinating line-up of sustainable farmers, cooks and food activists shone through in every single story. If that would not be enough for you, the book also contains some 150 recipes, ranging from incredibly simple to quite complex, but all of them sounding delicious, tempting and actually doable.

The stories introduce us to a vast array of people who are trying to make a change in fields as diverse as cooking raw food, producing compost, fishing for oysters, raising poultry or pigs, growing herbs, keeping bees, practicing naturopathic medicine, running a farmers market, producing biodiesel, making organic ice-cream and many more.

“Growing Roots” is a book for anybody who wants to know more about what’s on his or her plate, for anybody who’s curious about the newer trends in food and for anybody who wishes to respect our planet more. It’s a book to make you dream and yearn and slightly envy places like California or NYC for their abundant farmers markets and other food outlets. Hopefully, it is also a book that will inspire more of us to do what is right.

Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks, and Food Activists
Katherine Leiner
Sunrise Lane Productions (2010)
ISBN 9781603582889
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (12/10)

105 Great Stories (For Coaches, Leaders, Teachers and Parents)

The author has given readers the Bible of confidence through short memorable stories with "life lessons" for anyone who finds themselves in a rut, stressed out or unmotivated. Having read many motivational books, this one is a keeper. From the very beginning the reader is drawn into another area of the mind where they can actually visualize overcoming life’s obstacles.

Gary Pritchard has succeeded perfectly in stimulating the dullest mind with topics on every aspect one might encounter. His stories are of sports heroes we all know, of individual everyday people who have overcome life challenges and words of wisdom from our youngest teachers. We all want to be happy and reach those sometimes-unattainable goals, but we find we cannot define happiness. The author tells us in between the lines, we first must define "us."

One of the most captivating stories for me was "Power of Caring." Parents brought their young son to get a puppy. There were so many to choose from, but one captured his eyes- the store owner told the little boy that the puppy had problems- he was born with a bad hip and bad leg and would have to be put asleep. The young boy chose this puppy over all others. The storeowner asked him "why?" The little boy pulled up his pant leg and revealed a brace. He told the storeowner "I want this puppy because I understand what he’s going through." The lesson is about sympathy and empathy, instead of listening to a person’s story through your eyes; listen to the story from that person’s point of view.

This isn’t a book about how-to; it is a book to get readers thinking and visualizing life’s great treasures. We compete with ourselves- each part of our brains have different desires, and they fight for control—bargaining with, deceiving, and plotting against one another.

"105 Great Stories" by Gary Pritchard and Dr. Rob Gilbert is a book readers will use over and over and they soon will find themselves relating these stories to others around them.

105 Great Stories (For Coaches, Leaders, Teachers and Parents)
Gary Pritchard and Dr. Rob Gilbert
GJP, Inc. (2008)
ISBN 9780981858302
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (1/09)

Deedee Divine’s Totally Skewed Guide to Life

On a cold, yucky, rainy afternoon I picked up "Deedee Divine’s Totally Skewed Guide to Life" and knew from Susan Reinhardt’s lush kudos on the back cover that I would not do a single thing for the rest of the day. Susan Reinhardt is from my "neck of the woods" and is just bust-a-gut funny. She is the reason I read the local newspaper. Sure, it makes me look smart and all carrying the paper into work each morning but I am only really interested in the funny stuff. And funny stuff is surely what I found! I was on my second glass of wine when I came to this bit of scientific information Deedee found out: "I learned that limited consumption of red wine can be good for cardiovascular health. Experts advise women to restrict their wine intake to one drink and men to two per day. Oddly, there’s no mention of the permissible number of drinks per night." Nobody can tell me that I am not heart healthy.

Diving right into FAMILY THAT DOESN’T KILL YOU WILL MAKE YOU STRONGER reminds us that we all have those members of the family that don’t see things the way we do. You aren’t the only person that needed to be taught how to use a child restraint seat by, well, a child. FOOD & FITNESS (LOST IN TASTE) was just the thing to get me back on the wagon with other gals. Tomorrow, I promise, I will again exercise. Can’t today, it’s raining. Besides, I needed to get to the grocery and pick up some of that enhanced water Deedee recommended: Minute Laid (Water with an aphrodisiac). DeeDee’s insight on ROMANCE & OTHER MYTHS sure came in handy with the water and all. HOME & GARDEN 9-1-1 rolls you right thru appliance replacement and lawn care. She lets you know it is alright if you don’t hold housework in high regard, life is too short to make such things so darn important. HEALTH, BEAUTY & OTHER PRICEY PURSUITS had me rolling in the floor as I was taking in the "highly technical" DNA information. It’s scary to think about where some people came from and she mentioned that no one’s DNA had not been traced back to the snake of Adam & Eve time. But to her knowledge, her ex-husband has yet to be tested. As I was coming to a close with KEEPING THE HOLIDAYS "LITE" I was reminded that we do need to de-stress during that hectic holiday time of year. How better to de-stress than to a read top notch information packed, roll in the floor, and share with your girls book such as "DeeDee Divine’s Totally Skewed Guide to Life." Of all the important information I gleaned from this new guide of mine is this all-important helpful holiday tip: "Pretend you’re loaded – or just get that way."

Also, when preparing for the upcoming holiday season Deedee wants you to remember this: "Take it from me; the best way to make a pumpkin pie is to let your grocer bake it." REAL LIFE chick’s that do not take themselves too seriously is my genre of choice. Deedee Divine is my new best friend. She let’s her readers know: "Laughter is what’s gotten her through the hard patches, plummeting times, and spiraling bills. That’s why she feels it’s important to help others find the fun in their frustrations, to locate the levity that exists everywhere from the roadways to the kitchens." Life is too short to take everything so seriously, and the girls of "Deedee Divine’s Totally Skewed Guide to Life" -- Sissy LeBlanc, Belle Cantrell, Belle Weather, and Deedee Divine give us the guide we need to make them proud!

Deedee Divine’s Totally Skewed Guide to Life
Diana Estill
Corncob Press (2008)
ISBN 9780979970818
Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (11/08)

Edited by Lisa Solod Warren

“Desire: Women Write About Wanting” is an outstanding collection of essays by modern-day female writers. Edited by Lisa Solod Warren, this lineup of fantastic stories opens our eyes to the great range of emotions and desires each of us possibly carries within.

Brave and smart, challenging our perceptions of what a woman could and would desire at a particular stage in life, these stories make the reader pause and think repeatedly. While it would be unlikely -- or better yet, quite impossible for a reader to find herself in each of the twenty-three stories within “Desire,” I am willing to bet that each of us will be able to connect on a very intimate level with at least a handful of them, since they encompass a great range of emotions and desires. Some of them are more intimate than others, some are downright daring and others yet make your eyes mist with the deep emotions they invoke. All of them are worthwhile reading and all of them try to answer the very challenging question about that it is that we really, truly, deeply and madly want and/or desire.

Reading this brilliant collection of essays should make everybody question where they are in their lives at the moment and whether they have done all that was possible to attain their dreams and desires, whatever they might be. “Desire: Women Write About Wanting” should be required reading for all women of legal age -- since there are a few rather graphic pages in the book, which would not be suitable for very young readers. This book is to inspire, a book to make us dream, a book to make us question the world and our place in it and on top of all of that, just plain good reading. Grab a copy for yourself and a couple for other women in your life!

Desire
Edited by Lisa Solod Warren
Seal Press (2007)
ISBN 9781580052146
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (6/08)