1. It's easier to flip back and forth through "real" books when I need to write about them or teach from them, so I prefer trade paperbacks or hardbacks. Only rarely would I consider a book to read on my Kindle.
2. I will not review books that require that I post something on a specific date, so don't bother asking me to do "book tours" or any other scheduled reviews.
3. This is my blog with my content, so I will never post specified content.
4. Any books accepted for review are subject to being tossed aside if they don't work for me. If I choose to DNF (Did Not Finish) a book, I reserve the right to say nothing at all about it.
5. When I review or write anything about a book, I may post a few lines or go off on a tangent about something in the book that sparks a thought in my philosophical word universe. That means I may write a single paragraph or a few words. It could mean I throw in a quote or two and go off in what may seem to you to be a strange direction. So don't ask me to review a book at all if you're not willing to accept very brief thoughts or my discretion to write about whatever interests me.
6. And finally, I reserve the right to change this policy at any time. Click on this link to see my earlier review policy.
I like that you've laid out your rules. I get so emails asking me to publish something on my blog that has nothing to do with the books I've read. I now just delete them, but one person kept emailing me back! I only do reviews for the TLC Tours because I love the book s that they send me and I only do books I want to read from their lists.
ReplyDeleteAh ha! Found you. My reading habits are pretty eclectic, so I'll start with what I consider a master work, or masterpiece if that makes more sense. I refer to S.P. Q.R., A History of Ancient Rome, by Mary Beard. Copyright 2015. This is a bit of a tome, but for anyone who is interested in the daily lives of everyday Romans and the full history of Rome, I know of no book to top this one. I was hardly able to put it down and fell asleep night after night with the book beside me on my bed, only to pick it up again with my first cup of coffee. Possibly one has to be a bit of a nut to enjoy this book so much but it's at the top of my chart for excellence. Joan Uda
ReplyDeleteAnother "tome" book I throughly enjoyed is Douglas MacArthur, American Warrior, by Arthur Herman, Copyright 2016. General MacArthur is not for everyone, but for all his (sometimes misplaced) showmanship, he definitely was part of what helped the Allies win WWII.
For those who like dark Scandinavian mysteries, I recommend anything by Henning Mankell, including all of his mystery novels and most especially Quicksand, What It Means To Be A Human Being, about his own life. Of all the mystery writers I have read in my life (many, many) Mankell is my favorite: his use of language, drawing of characters, creation of plot lines that make me catch my breath. Of course I read him in translation, so it appears that his translators are pretty special too.
I also just finished two other books about well-known figures: First, Gene Autry, New Deal Cowboy and Public Diplomacy. Most of us would be surprised to learn that singing cowboy Autry worked with Franklin D. Roosevelt to try to bind our country together during WWII. FDR was worried that regionalism would tear the country apart and make it impossible to fight wars on two fronts, Europe and the Pacific. He thought that if everybody loved Autry and was singing his songs, our country could coalesce as it had never quite done (the Civil War was still echoing throughout the land and FDR figured we had to get beyond that and see ourselves as one country if we were to win against the Germans and Japanese).
The second, and a lot more fun in the reading, is Tina Turner, My Love Story. My first introduction to Tina Turner was seeing her on TV doing her standard rendition of Proud Mary--rollin' on the river! The book is delightful.
See why I call my reading eclectic? I love it all. The only books I don't like are the ones that I find badly written in some key way.
Love to all lovers of good reads. Joan Uda