Day: March 2, 2018

Happy Friday, everyone! I want to start the weekend off with an easier read, only about 174 pages and very colloquial in its voice. I feel I should warn readers that there are Christian verses and references to worshipping the Christian God throughout the book, but those are not by any means the main drive of the book, so non-Christians should enjoy this book unless they really want to avoid Christianity in their reading. The book I’m reviewing in this post is The Story of Us: The Life and Times of Mel and Ray by Melissa Singleton.

Every life has its challenges. We fall in love and we fall out of love, only to fall back in love somewhere down the road; we gain loved ones and we lose them; we succeed and we fail; mostly, though, we learn and grow as people, so long as we don’t let our trial and tribulations to drag us down into the abyss. Melissa Singleton’s The Story of Us follows such an ordinary (and non-narrative) story of a couple who are very much in love.

Singleton takes readers through her life journey with Ray from the day of her birth to the very day she wrote this book. She speaks of falling in love with Ray, of separating, of reuniting, of starting businesses and a family, and watching loved ones, one by one, join and leave this world. While told in no particular order other than chronological (and even that form of organization falls to the wayside after a while), each of the mini-stories are tired together by Singleton, her husband, their love for each other, and their ability to learn from their mistakes (no matter how many times those mistakes had to be made). The result is a sweet story of two lives intertwined, for better or for worse—although more often for the better.

I want to begin by saying that Singleton’s narrative voice is very conversational and very Southern. I say this as a term of endearment; my mother’s mother’s side of the family is Southern, and so I cannot help but imagine one of them telling these sorts of stories with this sort of voice. (I can even hear my very Californian mother in this narration, bless her heart!) It’s that feel of an older family member sitting you down and telling you every family story there is to hear, whether you want to listen or not and whether you’ve heard them a million times or not. Singleton even has some “what’s going on with people nowadays” and “back in my day” moments that brought a roll to my eyes and a smirk to my lips.

Needless to say, this narrative voice sucked me in fairly easily, even without a proper introduction. One would have been nice, of course, to understand what to expect in the story before starting to talk about Melissa’s and Ray’s childhoods. Regardless, I was oddly OK with the seeming aimlessness of the book, of just reading it for the sake of reading someone else’s life story.

Unfortunately, the narrative voice got a little too preachy towards the end of the book for me. That’s not to say I’m uncomfortable with Christian books. Hey, you’ve seen some of the books I’ve reviewed before, I don’t shy away from a book just because of the religion discussed in it. (I’m a fairly open-minded Agnostic.) No, my problem was more with how heavy the religious part of the voice became so swiftly, namely in the second half of the book. Perhaps if the religious presence had been more prominent in the earlier chapters, the writing would have felt more balanced; as it is, without any real “epiphany” which would explain the sudden shift, I became annoyed by the imbalance.

I am also not a fan of how often Singleton uses “LOL”. I enjoy the Southern colloquial style of her storytelling, but the LOLs grew tedious. I felt as though I were reading a teenager’s (or even a young adult’s) texts or Facebook status. I understand it’s part of her voice, but it sounds immature and, quite literally, like laughing at her own jokes. That’s different from when she’s actually talking about laughing at what she’s writing; that’s funny in a breaking-the-fourth-wall kind of way, whereas LOL is just too informal even for an informal narrator.

Fortunately, I think that the stories themselves and the people involved salvage the book from any of these minor issues I’ve mentioned. They are all so real, and more so than just knowing that this is autobiographical. I felt as though I could meet any of these people just walking down the street (my mom could see Singleton’s stories and raise her five). I also related very well to Melissa and Ray, seeing a bit of myself in each of them as well as their family and friends. (I’ll join you in Unproductive Anonymous, Melissa!)

Frankly, despite it being only 26 pages shy of 200 and all the shiz I normally have to do, I read this book in about a day. It’s a fun read, although sometimes emotional as Singleton discusses various deaths in their families. I felt as though I were just having a heart-to-heart conversation with this woman, and I so desperately felt the urge to tell her some of my family stories as well. Thus is the magic of informal storytelling.

Towards the end of the book, Singleton mentions that the reader may have found some spelling or grammatical errors. She also says that there are a lot fewer than when she started and that she left some purposefully as that is how they are remembered. Still, I found many proofreading errors that could not be brushed off to that style choice. Many times there were apostrophes missing from possessives, i.e. “Rays” instead of “Ray’s”, and the use of “its” when “it’s” should be there. I also noticed some odd spacing issues in my Kindle eBook, mostly that there were spaces missing between some words and an odd extra space after the first letter of the first word in a chapter. Whether those are proofreading errors or something weird going on with Kindle, I don’t know. Nevertheless, I think that the book could do with one more look-over to catch mistakes such as those I mentioned above.

Overall, The Story of Us by Melissa Singleton is a sweet, cute story of a couple growing old and growing up together. It’s a glimpse into American life over several decades, the tale of hard workers pulling themselves up by their bootstraps not to become millionaires but to make something they can be proud of. If you’re looking for a clear-cut plot or spectacular drama and character growth, this book might not be for you. However, if you’re looking for a lighthearted read about real people you can relate to, you’ll definitely want to check it out.

You can buy The Story of Us by Melissa Singleton as an eBook on Amazon.

Know of a book I should read? Want your work reviewed on this blog? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or message me on Fiverr and we can arrange something.

 

 

Good evening, readers and writers! The book I’m reading today is more for the athletic writers among us. While this work has been written specifically for tennis players, athletes from all sports involving balls can benefit from it. Moreover, anyone interested in how human sight works and what makes certain athletes so good at what they do will find some entertainment value as well. In this post, I’m reviewing Visual Training for Tennis: Going Beyond “Watch the Ball” by Bill Patton.

We all know the saying: Keep your eye on the ball. But just how well does that serve tennis players? According to Patton, not as well as we think. Using a combination of scientific study, professional advice, and personal anecdotes, this teacher/tennis coach gives other tennis coaches and players advice on how best to utilize visual training for tennis. Patton covers everything from tracking a tennis ball and the bounce-hit training technique to the pros and cons of protective eye wear and the need to rest your eyes between shots. The result is a comprehensive guide which not only tells coaches and players what to do but why it works.

Admittedly, I’m not a tennis player. I’m not an athlete of any sort. My oldest brother is really into golf and even works at a golf course, but I’ve never been one for sports. While Patton makes it seem that anyone can be taught under visual training for tennis when given time, I’m pretty certain that my general lack of hand-eye coordination will keep me from playing the sport. Regardless, this book seems like it would be very helpful for anyone wishing to pursue tennis as well as those who want to teach it.

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of research Patton put into his book. Still, the book is rarely dull. He uses a conversational tone even when discussing the scientific principles, which made the concepts much more readable. His passion for the topic clearly shows, and he explains his reasoning behind each technique, tip, and assertion thoroughly. I think that his points would be better made if he could incorporate some illustrations or photos which demonstrate what he is describing, but that’s more of a personal preference; I’m a visual learner, and images would have just made it easier for me to follow Patton’s train-of-thought.

I most appreciate his acknowledgement of the different kinds of learners when it comes to tennis. He discusses verbal learners versus visual learners, even illustrating the differences using examples from his own classroom. In order for a coach to best teach his/her pupil, he/she must first understand that each student learns in his/her own way, and so the coach must learn to see through the student’s eyes (to borrow Patton’s words). As someone whose mind doesn’t work quite like everyone else’s, I am very grateful that Patton emphasizes this point, and not just because it’s a clever play on words that goes with his topic.

Another unique aspect of Patton’s book is that it is continuously growing. Right off the bat, Patton invites readers to let him know about their experiences with the topics of his guide—what worked for them, what didn’t worked for them, adjustments that should be made, etc. Now, this concept is not new to literature or even how-to guides. After all, how many different editions of For Dummies books are there for any given subject? However, very few—I can’t even think of any—ask readers for contributions within the book itself. I think that this concept makes Visual Training for Tennis more open and inviting to the reader, something which is key in making people comfortable enough to try new ways of learning.

Of course, the book isn’t perfect. I had some minor issues with the organization of the guide. Namely, I would have preferred if some of the final remarks had been included in the introduction instead. For example, Patton talks about his own experience with being forced to “watch the ball” as a child and, thus, not do so well in sports for a while. I think that this example both proves his arguments and gives it a personal touch which would draw readers in immediately.

Overall, Visual Training for Tennis by Bill Patton is a wonderful book for tennis coaches and players. You probably shouldn’t approach it as a novice as some of the concepts won’t make sense. You can read it just for the information on eyesight and how it affects tennis players, if you like, but if you are serious about using the information while playing tennis, you’ll want to wait until you understand the game overall better. However, coaches can use it to improve their teaching techniques and players can discuss it with their coaches to see if Patton’s exercises could improve their game.

You can buy Visual Training for Tennis by Bill Patton as an eBook and in print on Amazon.

Do you know of a book I should read? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and let me know!