Dedicated to my dear friend Giuliana: We should have talk about this book instead...
´I realize I´m trying to build something out of pieces lifted from an unfinished story´.
Dedicated to my dear friend Giuliana: We should have talk about this book instead...
´I realize I´m trying to build something out of pieces lifted from an unfinished story´.
Already present on my blog with a collection of out-of-ordinary travel stories, Simon Yeats is back with a lengthy memoir of resilience. The joy of reading memoirs, at least for me, consists in the chance of getting to know individual destinies and various ways in which life prepares us to cope with unexpected episodes. This is very much available in the case of Yeats whose life - or rather said, many lives - is bigger than life itself.
My Second Life. One Man´s Inspirational Story does have many travel details threfore travel lovers will find a lot of adventurous inspiration in this book as well. The descriptions are vivid and the adventures are his best companion. Cheating death more than once is not easy.
But there is a before and an after and we are repeatedly warned to keep in mind this distinction between the first and the second life. First, there is the preparation. Secondly, comes the test and him becoming freed of fear.
Shortly in the second half of the book, after many exciting travel-related encounters, we are introduced to Simon Yeats, the family man. He just married his Brazilian-born girlfriend and works hard more than one job for raising a family that soon will include a Miami-born son. Seven years of marriage later, he is faced with a dramatic reality: it was all a lie and no matter what he is trying to do, it seems he lost his son, who is now residing with his ex-wife in Rio.
It follows a complex legal imbroglio that reveals the sometimes hopeless. Instead of travel adventures, he is navigating the muddy pathways of Geneva Convention and is having informative sessions at the State Department alongside with other parents in similar situation. It is definitely not too much to learn from this, as in most cases the authorities seem to be hopeless in returning children back from far away lands to their parents.
All those details of the legal proceedings at the Family Court in Rio may provide important information of what could happen when an international marriage or relationship involving children goes wrong.
My Second Life is informative and personal, a complex life story that do leave you with a bitter taste. But maybe there will be a chance of a third life as well, after all.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
Inspired by a true crime story, The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou by London-born Cypriot author Eleni Kyriacou explores the intersection between crime novel and linguistic and communication challenges.
Accused of killing her daughter-in-law, Zina Pavlou will fight to prove her innocence, with the help of her young interpreter, Eva. The search for the truth and our curiosity, as readers to figure out the details of the crime story, do meet the challenges of being a stranger in a big city, unable to speak the language, and eventually the target of suspicions of all kinds, due to the ´foreign´ status.
As a translator myself, I share some of the challenges of Eva as well, especially when it comes to give voice to the voiceless, surpassing the simple professional role for more human endeavours of protecting and helping those who need to be made understood.
The book is hard to be put down, and couldn´t stop myself from following the story without taking too many breaks. The two plans of the story - the psychological part of being a woman and a foreigner, respectively the crime part - do alternate and meet sometimes, which makes the story even more fascinating to follow. There is also a legal part of the novel - involving the legal proceedings surrounding the crime case which are carefully researched and add more crime consistency to the story.
The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is a recommended read to any lover of crime stories, particularly with strong women characters.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
Book bloggers are no longer considered ‘fringe media’ but important vehicles to promote new titles, authors and publishers. Unlike mainstream news and feature outlets, which reach a wide but less targeted audience, blogs like WILDWRITINGWORLD are the go-to destination of choice for engaged consumers who return time and time again for expert reviews and advice.
According to Palamedes PR, the UK’s market-leading book marketing agency, bloggers can be instrumental in shaping the overall success of a new release and are an indispensable force in the public relations industry. As a long-time PR executive myself, I can only appreciate this switch of perception, as for a long time, bloggers, particularly in the bookish field, were rather considered as purely hobby writers, without getting the praise and appreciation that any written word made public usually deserves.
Here, we speak to one of its publicists, Anthony Harvison, to find out why book blogs are reshaping the literary marketing and sales landscape, and how they are an increasingly important advocate for underrepresented voices and genres. (material provided by Palamedes PR, the intertitles are mine - WWW)
Q: How has the landscape of book marketing evolved with the rise of book blogging, and what role does it play in promoting books?
Book blogging has become a powerful force in book marketing, offering a dynamic platform for readers to share their thoughts and recommendations. It plays a crucial role in creating buzz around books, reaching niche audiences, and influencing purchasing decisions.
Q: In what ways do book bloggers contribute to building a book's online presence and visibility?
Book bloggers contribute significantly to a book's online presence by writing reviews, hosting blog tours, and participating in social media discussions. Their authentic and personal recommendations can enhance a book's visibility and attract a diverse readership.
How to get in touch with bloggers
Q: How do book publicists identify and collaborate with book bloggers to promote specific titles?
Book publicists often research and reach out to book bloggers whose content aligns with the target audience and genre of a particular book. Collaboration may involve sending review copies, organizing blog tours, or facilitating author interviews to generate interest among the blogger's followers.
Q: Can you share examples of successful book marketing campaigns that heavily leveraged book blogging?
Successful campaigns often involve strategic partnerships with influential book bloggers. For instance, organizing blog tours with well-established bloggers, hosting giveaways, or encouraging book discussions on popular platforms can generate substantial online buzz and drive book sales.
´...unique ability to champion diverse voices´
Q: How do book bloggers contribute to the diversity and inclusivity of book promotion, particularly in highlighting underrepresented voices or genres?
Book bloggers have a unique ability to champion diverse voices and genres that might be overlooked in mainstream media. They can bring attention to underrepresented authors and stories, fostering a more inclusive literary landscape and broadening the range of books available to readers.
Q: With the prevalence of social media, how do book bloggers use platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube to enhance their book reviews and recommendations?
Many book bloggers utilize social media platforms to share visually appealing book recommendations, snippets of reviews, and engage in real-time conversations with their followers. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube, in particular, provide a multimedia approach to book promotion, enhancing the overall impact of their reviews.
´Building genuine relationships is key´
Q: How can book publicists and authors effectively engage with book bloggers to ensure a mutually beneficial collaboration?
Building genuine relationships is key. Publicists and authors can engage with book bloggers by offering personalized pitches, providing relevant content, respecting their schedules, and acknowledging their contributions. It's essential to approach collaborations as a partnership that benefits both parties and their audiences.
Q: Looking forward, do you see any emerging trends or changes in the relationship between book blogging and book marketing?
As technology evolves, immersive experiences like virtual book clubs, interactive content, and multimedia reviews may gain prominence in book blogging. The relationship between book bloggers and marketing may deepen as influencers continue to shape literary conversations and bridge the gap between authors, publishers, and readers.
For more information about Palamedes PR and its book marketing services, go to www.palamedes.co.uk or call 0208 1036883
Country girl meet city boy in this enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy by Evie Alexander. Usually, when I am really overwhelmed by daily schedule and way too much work, this genre always helps me to overcome the overcrowded to-do-list. The Upper Crush is hilarious and hot romantic, therefore, guarantees a happy ending to a busy day.
James Hunter-Savage, the worse enemy of the twin brother of Lady Estelle Foxbrooke loves the buzz of London and its attractions. Lady Estelle is rather the introvert type, but in any case, she does not have too much time anyway, as she is busy to save her family estate. James just had a dramatic business failure and retiring to his parents far away from London may save not only this honor, but also the high cost of a life it seems he cannot afford any more. Lady Estelle would love to keep the estate, too long neglected by her messy parents, but the only solution may be to work together with James. Would they be adult enough to be able to follow their business objective?
I loved how the relationship between the two evolves - spoiler: not straightforward - and this part kept me very focused until the very end. The upper class kind of setting sounds genuine and creates that world that enables the interactions and relationship between the characters.
If you are looking for an entertaining romantic comedy, The Upper Crush is a recommended to start the week with. It promises a lot of noble entertainment in a very special social and ambiental surrounding.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
Particularly in the UK, the political establishment is often criticized for incoherent policies and weak politicians, The public, the voters are more and more disappointed and such attitudes are in general dangerous for democracies in general.
Based on carefully crafted financial and economic assessments, David Kauders is suggesting a dramatic but much awaited change of the British system. Reinventing Democracy. Improving British Political Governance is an analysis, a manifesto and a generous invitation to dialogue about burning questions such as the need of changing deeply the government system and the structure of the state as such. He suggests, among others, the switch to a written Constitution, as well as a re-organisation of the territory based on the federal system and devolution principles.
Definitely, each theoretical suggestion always needs a serious nationwide discussion, but the ideas are here and deserve a larger analysis. The reinvention of democracy is a long process, but the final result needs to consider the diversity of opinions and regional requirements.
I consider the book a good contribution to this debate and I can only hope to hear more about this project.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
John is an overthinker, with a penchant for self-deprectiation. However, as he (apparently) kills an abusive husband whose wife he was in love with, except some nightmares that may stop after a while, there are no terrible negative effects.
I was very curious about the book, covering 2018-2019, including the moment when the current Ukrainian president, Zelenskyy, was elected. The book is categorized under the sub-genre of ´Americans abroad´, and it does include some usual stereotypes associated with such endeavours. There are some interesting observations about language - the one we speak, we use, we learn as a second language, mispronounce and mistreat, as well as some nonfictional details about the recent history of Ukraine. There are also one or two twists that may have the effect on the reader of waking you up from a deep sleep when nothing really noteworthy happens in terms of plot.
But except those small details, I was left after around three hours of reading largely disappointed. I would have expect a lot of developments and a story, that is just killed due to an apparent lack of plot directions. I wanted to like it and I was almost tempted to do it due to the intelligent remarks on language, but I simply couldn´t.
Rating: 2 stars
´Living with the Lancasters has something for everyone. You´re going to love us, and if you don´t, then you´re going to love hating us´.
Her latest book, A Kiss in Kashmir is a romance of second chances. Sharmila, a talented artist, is back to Kashmir after many years of absence, following dramatic political events that lead to the disappearance of the love of her life. While busy preparing the wedding of her daughter, Alina, she gets to know George, a retired art historian, slowly recovering following the death if his beloved wife.
Two broken hearts who lost their soulmates. Would they be given a second chance? Are there second chances, second soulmates? After all, love is just love. Love in itself is a chance to live, no matter when it happens or how many times in life it happens.
What I really loved about this book is that it covers so many separate aspects - local Kashmir history, art history, love and romance - while creating a coherent beautiful story. This is how one recognizes a great storyteller and Monica Saigal is definitely one of them. Only if she will share with the world more of her beautiful stories.
A recommended read to anyone looking for an emotional story of love, with relatable characters set in an unique surrounding. It leaves the reader with a soothing feeling that love is such a simple, rare and genuine feeling, we must always cheerish, every time it really happens.
Rating: 5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
Book set in North Korea or with a North-Korean inspiration are rare those days. The secretive repressive nature of the regime that turned the country into a prison hard to escape from deter some people from finding freedom. Those who did, probably are rather interested in sharing their stories as nonfiction, in memoirs or movies.
Hence, my high interest in reading The Last Exiles, by movie maker and author Ann Shin. A love story set on the background of an unlikely couple caught in the everyday life absurdities of the repressive system, it resonates with every other stories of people growing up in dictatorships. The repressive system controlling the lives and content of the cupboards of the citizens is nurtured by abuse and corruption that will stay for a long time in the soul of the people, independenlty of their will.
Jin and Suja met at the university where they are studying together journalism. He is on a scholarship from people with modest background, she is the only daughter of a powerful media owner, close to the establishment. While on vacation visiting his parents, there is a raid taking place, during which the food rations of his parents are stolen. Jin will try to make justice on his own, but no one is on his own in a totalitarian regime. He ends up in a penitentiary colony but he will escape to China.
Driven by love, Suja will escape using a complicated network of smugglers only to end up as a victim of human trafficking. After many unhappy adventures, the two of them will meet again and will leave behind China and North Korea, hoping to start a new life abroad.
Inspired by true events, The Last Exiles is an emotional story of random human cruelty but also of empathy and hope. Although I felt that som, e moments that I expected to be highly tensed as the escape through the river of both of the main characters were treated too fast - personally I was really curious how they did it, being fed many stories of escaping dictatorships by the way of swimming as well - the book is well and empathically written.
I would be curious to read more - also in nonfiction - about the human trafficking stories at the border with China, but first and foremost, would love to hear more stories about everyday life in North Korea and the escape stories. The Last Exiles just arose my curiosity to discover more, although it is not always easy for me to carry to weight of all those broken destinies only because born in the wrong moment, under the worse political regime.
Rating: 4 stars
The Rabbits - the self-given name for a group of friends in pre-war Britain - has the same deep sociological and psychological appeal, but it´s also witty and easygoing when it comes to the passions of the youth. The interactions, the game of language and the adventures of the group reflects at a certain level - middle class level, anyway - the society of the time, living carelessly in the shadows of a war in the making.
This book is matching the long trend of British literature of the early 20th, late 19th century, focused on fine and smart observations about society and it´s middle class representatives, therefore, The Rabbits can be also read as a sociological testimony as well as a literary episode of a long list of British authors.
The book reads easily but has a charm that will definitely keep you interested for the long run and at a certain literary level connected with the characters. They may stay with you for a while and keep you buy trying to figure out their motivations and behavior.
A recommended read and a welcomed initiative to bring back to the literary life such an intelligent writer.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
It is my great pleasure and honor to have been given again the chance of reviewing the newest book by Simone Buchholz, translated into English from German by Rachel Ward, published by the one and only Orenda Books.
Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley is back with a very delicate and complicated case, trying to trace down the murderer(s) of men with history of abusive behavior towards women. A story with an unexpected end, it is marked by the tension between the law and justice: should one make justice trying to prevent further abuse, or just follow the letter of the law and judge accordingly?
I personally love books based on such presumptions, particularly crime books, as they reveal important mechanisms of decision making within the act of justice and therefore are throwing more light into the human behavior as such.
German crime writing - Krimi, as it is called here - is a largely underrated category of crime novels nowadays as it is usually available to the outside world only through translations. Authors like Buchholz are really worth getting to know and I wish the list of talented German crime writers is much longer.
What I particularly love about the Chastity Riley series as well is the atmospheric descriptions of Hamburg, one of my favorite cities in Germany and in Europe in general.
The Kitchen is a really challenging novel, with an important contemporary touch dealing with violence against women while raising relevant moral and ethical questions. This read is a feast for any serious crime novels lover.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
An illustrated novel of a contemporary couple - and a hard working German learning refugee from Ukraine - Der Hausmann (the masculine version of the Hausfrau) by Wlada Kolosowa is an ironic view on an unlikely couple. Enmeshed in accidental neighbouring relationships, the characters are entertaining and very much relatable, at least for the Berlin crowd.
My main attraction for reading the book was the mixture between story, illustrations - by Berlin-based Spanish graphic artist Raúl Soria - and some social media fragments - as some of the characters do engage in social media activities. Given the contemporaneity of the topic, it was a happy choice and the different narrative layers only made the reading diverse and entertaining.
In some respects, the book reads as a comic book. Thea and Tim do challenge the patriarchy: she is from a rich family living in Dahlem, working hard in a start-up, he is the son of a single cleaning lady, whom he often accompanied to JobCenter meetings in-between jobs. He is an artist - working hard to finish a graphic novel with an ecological topic - and when the inspiration left him, taking care of the household. Does this story have a happy ending? Or/Oder...?
I enjoyed the irony of the book and it has some funny turns of phrase that makes it a recommended read for students trying to improve their contemporary German knowledge - B1 to B2 level. Although I felt sometimes that the story has too many creative turns - of the kind that just add more and more text to the story without necessarily flowing into the story, I´ve found the story entertaining and worth reading it.
Der Hausmann recommended read if you are looking for some easy weekend read with a rich German vocabulary.
Rating: 3.5 stars
First published in the US in 1955, The Doctor of Hiroshima, translated and edited by Warner Wells M.D., himself a surgeon dispatched on the front during the war, is the diary of following the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Dr. Michihiko Hachiya was at the time the director of the Hiroshima Communications Hospital, situated less than a mile from the center of the atomic bomb.
From 6th of August onwards, he will document, through daily entries that were not originally intended to be published, the circumstances of the event, but also the medical follow-up of the symptms and overall medical effects of the tragic events. In a way, it may operate as a self-defence mechanism: in the face of the human tragedy, looking for patterns and logical/scientific explanations is part of the tremendous efforts to bring order and logic into this floating world.
Therefore, the book may be used both by historians of the WWII and anyone interested in medical histories, especially visible medical effects of exposure to nuclear incidents.
The diary belongs to the so-called hibakusha genre, which refers to the testimonies of people who survived the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. The style is dense and very descriptive, with reference to stories of individuals he may have known or got to know only as victims of the attacks. The fact that those writings were never aimed to be published, give a certain genuine taste to the writing in general.
The Doctor of Hiroshima is an important memorialistic contribution to war narratives about nuclear power and the effects of nuclear bombing on the life of everyday people. The cover, both the picture chosen to illustrate it, and the colour range, do add visual information to this terrific memorialistic account.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own