Of My 60 Memorable Games one can say that it will live and be read as long as chess is played. As a product of the human mind, it should be placed alongside Euclid’s Elements and the sonnets of Shakespeare. It is an engaging, analytical, above all veridical work of genius.
A review of Rewired: Friendly Street Poets’ 32nd Annual Reader
Editors Maggie Emmett and Gaetano Aiello considered 777 poems read at Australia’s longest-running open-mike poetry reading to select 111 for this edition. The standard is high and the collection lives up to the promise on the back cover that it “demonstrates the vibrant diversity and depth of South Australia’s thriving poetry scene.”
A review of Courage of Fear By Barbara Boyer
Courage of Fear is a fascinating offering from a writer with an already individual voice. Read it to be in there on the ground floor, for it is a sure harbinger of much good work to follow.
A review of Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson
This is an exquisite book, which manages to combine the most outrageous frivolity (it’s kind of like the Manolo Blahnik of cookbooks with its green ribbon, sumptuous pictures, and the big hardcover red and greenness of it) with absolute practicality in terms of the useability of its recipes, the practicality of its suggestions, and the tempting nature of the items chosen.
A review of Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
Christopher Paolini has the uncanny knack of leaving a chapter hanging just at a crucial point before lifting off to some other character – and leaving that hanging as well! It creates nail biting suspense as well as urging you to keep on going.
A review of Exit, Pursued by a Bee by Geoff Nelder
When time is no longer the backbone of our lives, and everything we perceive about ourselves disappears, those sensations remain. Nelder has created a novel that will both satisfy readers at a deep level, and at the same time raise unsettling questions about the very fabric of who we are.
A review of Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write by Mark David Gerson
There is a warmth and an affirmative coaching quality to this book, but it isn’t only about urging you on. There are also some useful suggestions and exercises designed to help you work through your fears, and find out exactly what you need to write. There are exercises for overcoming block, even when it seems overwhelming, ways of coping with distraction and transition, and ideas you can use to deepen your characters, enrich your settings, and extend your plot.
A review of Standing at the Water’s Edge by Anne Paris
Standing at Water’s Edge provides a deep psychological understanding of what is required, and how we can allow ourselves deeper immersion into the world of our art, regardless of what kind of art we practice. The end result will be not only more powerful art, but a better sense of who we are and how to overcome the many fears that block our creative impulses in all aspects of our lives.
An Interview with Gwen C. Watkins
The author of Nectar of the Gods talks about her debut novel, her characters, her plot, the wine industry, on writing crime, the similarities between fine books and fine wine, her next book, and more.
A review of Ivan: from Adriatic to Pacific by Coral Petkovich
Without that inner life coming to the fore, without more psychological depth, he comes across as self-centred, bullying, and insufferably sexist. The author hints at these problems, but she needs to have explored them more deeply to bring out the special character of Ivan that drove her to write this book.