The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

This book was lying around in my office and being a Postmistress, I was intrigued to read a story portraying my job back in a time when letters really mattered - and a lost letter mattered even more.

A letter not delivered, slipped into the pocket of the Postmistress and, another letter, found by a Reporter, which she vows to deliver - both from the same man - are at the heart of the story. This is a beautifully crafted novel about three women whose fates entwine because of these letters.

I absolutely loved Atonement, so when I read this book had a similar storyline, I knew I was in for something good.

It's a war story with depth. The Americans are not yet a part of World War 2 and they don't see it ever reaching their shores. "How easily the face of the world turns away." (Pg 251). A reporter returning from the Blitz trying to make people aware. A wife wondering why her husband went to London to help when he could have stayed safe at home. A Postmistress neat and orderly in her small town post office, aware of the chaos that could come, but for now, all is calm on the shores of Cape Cod...

Blake has included some additional notes once the story concludes, which are invaluable to a wannabe author if you want to see exactly what must go into writing and researching a novel to make it the very best you can. She spent hours and hours researching to build the story and she asked questions of herself and her characters every step of the way. She then endeavours to answer those questions as the story unfolds. In Blake's own words: "It is the story that lies around the edges of the photographs, or at the end of the newspaper account. It's about the lies we tell others to protect them, and about the lies we tell ourselves in order not to acknowledge what we can't bear: that we are alive, for instance, and eating lunch, while bombs are falling, and refugees are crammed into camps, and the news comes toward us every hour of the day. And what, in the end, do we do?"

The Last Mile by Mike Clarke

This was the first free eBook I'd downloaded and it was an eye opener into the stages eBooks need to go through before they're absolutely ready for publication.

Todd and Buzz are old friends and life has taken them their separate ways. They each come to a crossroads in their careers and need a change of pace, so they hook up and ride Route 66 again because they have unfinished business.
I liked the concept of the story and the first half of the book was excellent. It has potential! I think the author should take another look at the second half and give it a thoroughly good edit. There were times I got lost with the plot and it felt rushed.

If anything, reading this book made me take a long, hard look at my first published effort and I could see where I need to make improvements to my own work before putting it "out there" for people to enjoy. As a reader, I was disappointed that the story wasn't polished.

The Road Home by Rose Tremain

 

Last December, a woman came into the Post Office and handed me this book to read, or to pass on to somebody else. It was for World Book Night 2013.

Seven months later and I've now read it after being informed it had an unexpected ending, which naturally whet my appetite.

What I love about this book is it reminded me how to tell a story and how to build a story using little succinct bits of research to add credibility to the plot and believability to the characters.

Lev is a lost, lonely soul on his way from Eastern Europe to Britain looking for work. It's the story of many people that come into the Post Office to send moneygrams to their families back home. I often think about the backstories of these people. I wonder why they're here and who their family is. Has it been easy for them to make a life and living in our country? Do they miss their home? Do they have crazy friends like Lev has Rudi?

This is a "real" story and what I mean by that is, there are no happy endings, no easy solutions, no nicely rounding it all off. On the flip side, there are no dramatic, crazy, unbelievable parts either. It's REAL storytelling taking us on a soul searching mission with Lev.      

Laugh Lines by Ben Bova

I am just about keeping up with my Goodreads challenge of reading and reviewing one book per month in 2014... six down and six to go...

I haven't read science fiction for many, many years, but this collection of stories was recommended to me because it was written in the 80s and predicted 3D televisions and eBooks.

And now, here we are!

The Starcrossed (3D TVs) and Cyberbooks (eBooks) sandwiches six shorter, futuristic stories which are equally amusing. These stories give great twists on things like the moon landing, the way the media reports the news, the mafia and underworld, and the fall of a former US President, all written with a sardonic and humourous touch.

What I liked the most is the way Ben Bova takes the various characters - people he's come across in real life - and enhances either their positives or negatives, traits, flaws, characteristics.. with a futuristic edge so I was picturing them, not only as people, but as alien or robotic beings too.

Reading Cyberbooks was particularly poignant given what's been happening to the Publishing Industry over the last few years. The tale of woe, the uproar and the almighty shock to the system was spot on - for a prediction!

Kicking off WordUp Wednesdays

The game is to take a word, describe that word and then find out its true definition to see if your feelings change towards it. We used to play this in our English Lit. classes - getting to know and love the English language.

On first sight, crepuscular is an ugly word, very different to what I'm used to and sounds medical and scientific. It has multiple syllables, doesn't flow off the tongue and trips itself up as I say it.

Definition: At the time of twilight

I would like this word to enchant me now that I know its meaning, but it still sounds far too similar to muscular.

Building blocks of poetry

I believe if you study something for long enough, it will ultimately help you to improve.

Having the ability to read a poem and to understand what the poet is saying between the lines, as well as the techniques used, is a good starting point for writing great poetry of your own.

So what are the building blocks of studying a poem?

1) Meaning - what is the poet communicating? Why does the poet use certain words and why those words and not others?

2) Look for allusions - why does the poet refer to certain things? What is the true meaning behind it?

3) Dictation and tone - what language is being used? Formal, classical, biblical, slang, popular... What is the tone of voice? Sarcastic, obnoxious, hypocritical, aggressive, grave, comical, enthusiastic, gentle, mocking, angry, optimistic... Try to "hear" the poem by reading it out loud.

4) Who is speaking and what is the situation? How many people are in the poem?

5) Grammar and syntax - if repetition is used, why is it there?

6) Figurative language gives a poem life - similes, metaphors, symbols, images, personifications - but also ask yourself why is it there and what meaning does it add to the poem.

7) Rhythm and rhyme can change the mood and feel of a poem creating abruptness and discord, or calmness through regularity.

Look out for my WordUp Wednesdays.

eBooks in the Year 1999

I did work experience at a couple of publishing houses in 1999 and, sorting through some old boxes, have just come across a handful of the notes I made:

One of the books in one of the house's online catalogs was about the death of privacy in the 21st Century - and how true this has turned out to be with wire tapping, mobile phone tracking and misuse of our data and records constantly in the news today.

Back then, internet e-commerce was just beginning. One of the houses was already selling eBooks and wanted to sell through their own website rather than using multiple partners. They were developing a place for their customers to "hang out" online and pondering whether free e-content over the Web would hurt their book business. Initial sales showed this wasn't the case...

I've been on their website this morning to see how things have moved on and it appears they've branched out into IT courses and certificates, as well as conferences, and definitely found their niche market with their technical books and manuals. Also linking with another online company offering technology and business training.

So they swam, while others sank!