Tag: Books

And the Freezing Rain Falls

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Freezing Rain

It’s an icy Tuesday morning in North Texas. Freezing rain descended upon us like a Biblical plague around sunrise. The thermometer seems frozen at 25-degrees F.

The sounds of the last hour are endless firetrucks, ambulances, and police cars responding to accidents and the frozen mix of sleet and rain pounding the roof and windows.

I have a cuppa green tea steeping as I type. It’s my reward for opening the north door to take the short video.

My primary prayer today is for safety and the power to stay on for those in the path of our winter storm prayer.

The dress code for today is my warm flannel pajamas, my thick terrycloth bathrobe, and warm slipper. I’ll be in the recliner with a comforter covering me from mid-chest down. I have a stack of books on the bale beside the chair for my entertainment.

Stay warm, stay safe.

Jimmie

 

Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate. If you purchase using the links in the article I receive a small commission.

Gift Idea Books for Valentines Day

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Does your girlfriend or wife like to read?

If so, consider giving them a book – along with flowers and taking them out to dinner – for Valentine’s Day this year.

Here are some books published since 2020 you may buy for your girlfriend, wife, or self for Valentine’s Day.

The Push

The Push by Ashley Audrain: A novel that tells the story of a new mother struggling to bond with her baby and the dark secrets of love and obsession that threaten to tear her family apart.

There are over 36,000 ratings on Amazon with an average of 4.3 out of 5 stars.  You can click on the below link to learn more about the book. There’s no obligation to buy. It only provides more detailed information and reviews.

The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett: this novel tells the story of twin sisters who grow up in a small, southern black community, and the choices which lead them to different lives and experiences. It’s a story that explores the concept of identity, race, and family.

Amazingly, this novel has over 98,000 ratings on Amazon with an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars. You can click on the below link to learn more about the book. There’s no obligation to buy. It only provides more detailed information and reviews.

The Four Winds

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah: a historical fiction novel that tells the story of a woman who must make a tough choice to save her family by leaving her Texas home during the Great Depression and start a new life in California. It’s a story of hope, resilience, and the unlikely friendships she forms along the way.

The Four Winds has over 129,000 ratings on Amazon with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. You can click on the below link to learn more about the book. There’s no obligation to buy. It only provides more detailed information and reviews.

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson: It’s the story of Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner Jennifer Douda. The book  explores the revolutionary technology of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and its implications for the future of humanity. It focuses on the work of biochemist Jennifer Doudna, who co-invented the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool and has been at the forefront of research on its potential uses. It delves into the ethical, social, and scientific questions that arise from this powerful new technology and its potential to change the course of human evolution.

You can click on the below link to learn more about the book. There’s no obligation to buy. It only provides more detailed information and reviews.

The Sanatorium

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse: Set in a remote Swiss sanatorium, this psychological thriller published in 2020 a detective as she investigates a murder that occurred in the snowy peaks which bury secrets and lies.

This is book one on the Detective Elin Warner Series. You can click on the below link to learn more about the book. There’s no obligation to buy. It only provides more detailed information and reviews.

The Code for Love and Heartbreak

The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor: A contemporary fiction novel, published in 2020, the book tells a story of love, loss, and the unexpected connections which can change everything.  Emma is a math genius. She and her coding club co-president, George are tasked with brainstorming a new project. The project’s results?  The Code for Love is born. It’s a contemporary romcom retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma.

You can click on the below link to learn more about the book. There’s no obligation to buy. It only provides more detailed information and reviews.

Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate. If you purchase using the links in the article I receive a small commission.

Books

Posted in @jimmiekepler, American Poets, Baby Boomer Poets, Blog, Christian Poets, Encouragement, Happy, Hope, J Kepler, J. Aaron Kepler, Jim Kepler, Jim's Poetry, Jimmie A. Kepler, Jimmie Aaron Kepler, Jimmie Aaron Kepler EdD, Jimmie Kepler, jimmiekepler.com, Joy, Male Poets, Men Poets, North American Poets, Peace, Poem, Poems, Poems by Jim, Poet, Poet's Life, Poetry, Poets, Southern Poets, Texas Poets, US Poets, Writer's Life, Writers, WritingLeave a comment

Books

Books take you places
You hope someday to go.
They transport you to times
In the future or long, long ago.

The words paint the pictures
The author’s canvas is your mind.
Surreal images greet you
Where people aren’t always kind.

You don’t have to dress up to read one.
They’ve got a special texture, smell, and feel.
Some tales make you laugh
While others make you squeal.

© 2009 Jimmie A. Kepler

Originally published in
WORDS…RHYMES…POETRY & PROSE!

Photo Source: Image by Iván Tamás from Pixabay

Books

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A_tower_of_used_books_-_8446Books

Books take you places
You hope someday to go
They transport you to times
In the future or long, long ago

The words paint the pictures
The author’s canvas is your mind
Surreal images greet you
Where people are not always kind

You do not have to dress up to read one
They have a special texture, smell, and feel
Some tales make you laugh
While others make you squeal

Jimmie Aaron Kepler
May 7, 2009

Photo Source: 
© Jorge Royan / http://www.royan.com.ar / CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Driving Blind by Ray Bradbury

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Driving Blind by Ray Bradbury
Driving Blind by Ray Bradbury

This 1997 short story collection is uneven and at times weak. There is less fantasy or science fiction than in many of Bradbury’s earlier works. All but four of the stories are new. A snapshot of the collection is seen in some of the themes.

  • In the short story “Remember Me?” we find the theme of meeting a familiar face in a distant place.
  • The theme of children’s storytelling and kissing games is found in “House Divided”.
  • The theme of looking up an old flame is in “I Wonder What’s Become of Sally?”.
  • One of my favorite themes, the revenge of the nerd everybody picked on is the theme of “The Highest Branch on the Tree”.

But the book has some terrific moments. Examples are when Bradbury recalls a tiny, dusty, moth-eaten Mexican circus, tells the hilarious story of Irish drinking buddies looking for a safe place in the bogs to take a woman, and yet another tale of perfect love squandered (“Madame et Monsieur Shill”).

If you’re new to Bradbury, this will do nicely, but for veteran readers it’s a bit of same old same old.

“How to Write & Publish Your Inspirational Short Story” by Kristen Clark and Lawrence J. Clark

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short story

Kristen Clark and Lawrence J. Clark book “How to Write & Publish Your Inspirational Short Story” is a must read for not only writers of inspirational short stories, but for short story writers of any genre. It delivers on the promise of the book’s title. It shows you how to do it.

I liked the way the book begins telling their story of how they got started. The authors share their experiences and lessons learned when writing and getting their work published. They are writing from the practitioner point of view. The content of the chapters matches the chapter titles. Chapters titles like The Art of Getting Started, A Powerful Opening, The Compelling Ending as well as Writing Tips and Editing will guide the want to be writer through the process and serve as sharpen the skills of the established short story author.

Bravo on a job well done. This is a much-needed work addressing the short story from the inspirational point of view with principles and ideas that work in any genre. Five stars with a strong recommendation. It would make a great resource for writing groups or college English writing classes.

Poem: Becoming a Writer

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Writing Poems
Poet and Writer Anthony Anaxagorou. He is of Cypriot origin and he is from North London.

Becoming a Writer
 
To become a
Writer
 
You must read
Books
 
And
 
Often write your
Story
 
In mind-numbing solitude,
Alone.
 
Jimmie Aaron Kepler
2012
 
Photo Credit:  
English: Taken at the Royal Shakespeare Company
Date: 15 October 2010
Source: Hard Drive
Author: Anthony Anaxagorou
Licensing: Public domain

I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. — Anthony Anaxagorou

 

Downtime

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Downtime – I’ve never been one to take downtime very seriously. I rarely do anything for rest and relaxation. It seems like a poor use of time. Lately, I’ve been forced to reevaluate my view of downtime.

Recently, pneumonia has been the catalyst causing me to reevaluate and to take it easier. I was embracing life at my usual 90 miles an hour. Getting up early and writing the first few hours of the day seven days a week were routine. Well. the illness had me where I couldn’t do it. My brain either through exhaustion or the medications just had little in the way of creativity. It was like I had checked out and went to the ends of the earth.

I learned that if I don’t give the brain some down time, if I try to force thinking and productivity, it won’t happen. What will happen is I’ll either just sit and surf the Internet or write poor quality at best text.

While I have had paid sales in the last year, nineteen pieces I placed were nonpaying. I finished a novel. I’m shopping it with agents at present.

As I write and publish more I realize everyone looks at what I write gets looked at under a microscope. People still believe writing is no more than my hobby and a waste of my time.

When I get rejections, I allow myself a to feel sorry, but don’t let it get me down. When I allow myself to process the bad, I can usually bounce back a lot quicker than if I just try to carry on.

It matters not if accepted or rejected today. What matters is that I write. If I’m going to be a writer, I have to write.

The Crimson River

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Crimson-fr-cov-sm“The Crimson River” by Donna Westover Gallup is Book Four in the Mysterious Ways series. The publisher is Cladach Publishing.

Donna Westover Gallup does her usual great job of telling a spellbinding tale. It is what I have come to expect from this great storyteller. I was surprised the story went back and forth between the present and the 19th-Century Colorado Territory. While that caught me off guard, the use of flashbacks was a marvelous way to tell the story.

The author wasted no time getting right to the mysteries that kept me turning the pages. I feel she had a good balance of Christian faith without a forced insertion of “the plan of salvation” just to do it. God’s activity in the lives of the characters was apparent chapter after chapter. Well done!

The story progresses well. The inclusion of historically accurate events adds to the drama. The trip to Texas with the mesquite thorn poisoning and then to Missouri with the inclusion of the small pox story line was well told and frighteningly realistic.

The author did a nice job of wrapping up a lot of loose ends as the book concluded. Without spoiling the ending I will say it was more real life than some readers may have preferred. However, I felt it was right on the mark.

I hope Donna Westover Gallup has her next book in the works. I love the way she tells her story, how it includes the Almighty’s activity in everyday life and hope she has more stories to tell.

Read in October 2012 and reviewed in March 2013.

Note: I have read all four books in the series. I read The Crimson River the last week of October 2012, the same week the book was released. I did not have a review copy. I purchased my copy. I had a job change October 29th, a major car accident November 5th that put in in the emergency room via ambulance, and serious injuries after a very bad fall on ice just when I was recovering from the car wreck. All delayed the writing of this review as well as several other projects.

Be Encouraged

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Today is Sunday March 17, 2013. 

One way a writer can become successful is by having a more established writer as a mentor. Writing groups can serve the function of mentor. Let me share an example of the influence a mentor. In 1919 a young veteran returned from World War I. He moved to Chicago moving into a particular neighborhood for the purpose of being close to the author Sherwood Anderson.

The young beginning writer was impressed by the critical praise for Anderson and his book Winesburg, Ohio. He had heard that Sherwood Anderson was willing to help aspiring writers. He worked to met Anderson. The two men became close friends. They met almost every day to read newspapers, magazines, and novels. They dissected the writings they read.

The aspiring writer brought his own works for critique having Anderson help him improve his craft. Anderson went as far as introducing the want-to-be writer to his network of publishing contacts. The aspiring writer did okay with his first book The Sun Also Rises. The aspiring writer was Ernest Hemingway.

Sherwood Anderson didn’t stop there. He moved to New Orleans where he met another aspiring writer. He took the young man through the same steps and paces of the craft. He actually shared an apartment with this young man. He even invested $300 in getting this writer’s first book Soldier’s Pay published. This young author was William Faulkner.

Anderson would later move to California and repeat the process with John Steinbeck. Thomas Wolfe and Erskine Caldwell were also mentored by Sherwood Anderson. Ray Bradbury says Winesburg, Ohio was on his mind when he wrote The Martin Chronicles. He basically wrote Winesburg, Ohio placing it on the planet Mars.

Only Mark Twain has had a greater influence in shaping modern American writing than Sherwood Anderson. Anderson didn’t do too badly, did he? William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck each won the Nobel Prize for Literature and there are multiple Pulitzer Prizes between them.

If you are serious about writing I encourage you to find a mentor or join a writing group. The encouragement of my writer’s group and critique group keep me motivated.

Encourage your friends, keep reading and write.
Jimmie A. Kepler