Book Reviews

There is a lot of new fiction that’s heavily influenced by Charles Bukowski.  The U.K. group of writers The Brutalists fits this mold.  In the U.S., the Long Beach, CA press Burning Shore puts out Bukowski-inspired work by Tony O’Neill (also a member of the Brutalists), Dan Fante (son of Bukowski mentor John Fante), and Rob Woodard.  Mark SaFranko, author of Hating Olivia, is another writer to send into this mix.

And now add another writer: Scott Rogers, author of Celluloid Cowboy.  So much so that his small press is called Black Coffee Press, which has echoes of […]

The set-up for The Trouble with Being God is pretty enticing.  On the back of the book is a reader review, stating, “It’s not often that a book can keep you so interested and make you think, You know I’ve never really looked at it like that.”  The dedication inside reads, “For my wife, Hope, who  was so disturbed by the book that she still has not been able to read the entire thing.”  Finally, on William Aicher’s site for the book is a list of suggested reading, which includes many of the recent non-fiction tomes on atheism.

Put […]

It would be impossible to review this book without mentioning two things: the Bunny Museum and a bit about Emmanuel Swedenborg, the focus of this book.  Candace Frazee who wrote this book is a true L.A. eccentric.  She runs the Bunny Museum in Pasadena, CA – listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the largest collection of bunny paraphernalia.  The story goes that Candace Frazee’s husband bought her a stuffed bunny as a present and their collection was built and built from there.

From the site: “The 1928, Spanish stucco, Pasadena home of Candace Frazee and Steve […]

Guest reviewed by Susan Helene Gottfried, a writer interested in music-related self-published books.  She’s the author of Shapeshifter: The Demo Tapes — Year 1: “A band’s demo tape is intended to introduce listeners to their music. Likewise, this collection of short pieces allows readers into the fictional world of Trevor Wolff and his band, ShapeShifter.”  Check out her books and other output at WestofMars.com.

What’s not to love about a book whose concept is that a man from the past, cryogenically frozen to thwart cancer, is thawed out and becomes the hero of the ages, a rock star […]

The List by Carmen Shirkey identifies itself fairly quickly as chick-lit (light, upbeat fiction marketed toward young women). I point this out only because I don’t read much (any) chick lit, these days, so I was hesitant, at first, to critique the page. Someone who doesn’t read a particular genre may not necessarily be the best judge of that genre.

However.

Whatever the genre, the author should strive to grab the reader with her or his unique storytelling style, personal (creative) perspective, and grasp on writing.

I’m sorry to say this first page doesn’t really grab me in any of […]

There’s no reason this novel should not be traditionally published.  The only reason I could surmise is that maybe there were a number of novels surrounding the advertising industry coming out at the same time.  I have to plead ignorance that I have not read a lot of novels about ad execs.  But Commercial Break stands very well on its own – a great blend of both satire and realism.  Both totally outlandish and plausible, which is the most important aspect of a satire.

Commercial Break is about the Adam Glassman, an advertising executive who hates his industry.  A novelist […]

The Nine Lives of Clemenza bears a resemblance to C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy – a trilogy of science fiction novels with Christian parables. It would be totally inaccurate to call this book both science fiction and Christian fiction, as it revolves around the concept of reincarnation, which is not readily a part of Christianity unless you go all the way back to the Gnostics. The novel does originate in “heaven” so it has Christian echoes, but it is more of a general story about spirituality and morality with more universal appeal than a book that adheres to one religion.

What […]

Revolution of Flowers is the most unique book received by the Self-Publishing Review.  It is also the first art book.  I’m tempted to review this book as if reviewing for a skeptic, because to enjoy this book your mind has to be open.  If you’re able to do that, this book has a divine kind of poetry to it.  The book is something like a children’s book for adults – which is appropriate because children might be more aligned with the kind of imagination that’s inspired by this book.

As the name suggests, the book is about a revolution […]