Month: March 2018

Here’s the next review, folks! This time, I’m reviewing an interesting throwback to the 1950s which I think can best be described as Stand by Me mixed with The Outsiders twisted by a sense of humor and adventure unique to this author. The book I’m reviewing in this post is The Little Bastards by Jim Lindsay.

As with each decade since the turn of the twentieth century, growing up in the 1950s was an experience unlike any other, even more so in logging and other rural areas away from the big cities. No war to suffer through and the Great Depression come and gone, it was a time to be wild and push the limits—unfortunately, some limits are there for a reason, and pushing them can have unintended consequences.

The Little Bastards takes the reader through the teenaged years of Sonny Mitchell and his close group of friends, appropriately nicknamed “The Little Bastards”. From bicycles to hot rods, corpses to girls, and chump change to summer jobs, this book follows the transformation of these boys into blue-collar young men. Along the way, readers get to watch as The Little Bastards’ personalities change as well as their interests. Some loosen up, some fall in love, and some reveal a side to themselves that no one knew they had, maybe not even them. All the while, Lindsay reveals what it was like to grow up in the 50s, including some of the stupid sh*t that boys would do. For The Little Bastards, as their risk-taking gets wilder and their need for adventure and rebellion grow, so do their brushes with danger, until it all but becomes too much for anyone to handle.

The first element of this book which caught me off-guard was the seamless way in which Jim Lindsay wrote in the colloquial style of a boy growing up in that decade. Of course, it probably helped that he grew up during that time himself. I didn’t know some of the terms used, given that I wasn’t even born for four more decades, but they’re easy to figure out from context. (Anything I couldn’t figure out I could just look up on Google.)

Still, keeping true to such a voice also meant saying a lot of things which might make some readers uncomfortable. Mostly, the boys swear a lot and use phrases which are not considered “appropriate” nowadays. No big deal for some readers, but a really big deal for others. (I, for one, expect it, especially in a book about this time period.) The swearing also adds even more humor to the tale than there already is, along with some of the other colloquialisms you would probably not say in polite company. Jake’s explanation of Sonny’s erection, for example, had me all but bursting out laughing, but I doubt you’d want to use the phrase “lover’s balls” in mixed company.

Lindsay also develops a wide range of three-dimensional, dynamic characters that I couldn’t help but fall in love with. They certainly deserve their nickname, mind you, but it’s in an almost endearing way. Each of these little bastards have strong, individual personalities and histories which add depth to their character. For me, among the most memorable in the group were Joe, the tough SOB who was practically left to fend for himself due to a bad home life; Billy, the leader of the group as well as the most academic, the only one with plans to go to college; Johnny, the youngest and most gullible in the group, eager to please; Miles, a quiet guy with a beast inside that even his friends don’t expect; and my personal favorite, Archie, the son of a mortician with a grim sense of humor. Sonny is also quite the character, a risk-taker but also hardworking and rather valiant when he wants to be. They each border on stereotype at first, but it doesn’t take long for Lindsay to turn that idea on its head.

The escalation in the costs of their risk-taking had me on the edge of my seat. The narrative grows darker as the boys get older and the risks become more…daring, but, for the most part, the humor still remains to alieve some of the tension. This escalation was aided to an increasing emotional investment in these characters; honestly, I felt as though I could’ve been reading the journal of one of my mom’s older cousins. The voice and strong character development made it easy for me to become emotionally attached. In fact, sometimes the line between fact and fiction became minimal as everything that happened seemed possible. The result: an even stronger reaction to the boys’ misfortunes.

The ending left me surprised. In a way, I’m glad that it didn’t get as dark as it could have. On the other hand, it also left me stunned. I felt as though Lindsay could have easily kept on telling Sonny’s stories and I wouldn’t have gotten bored of them. Still, with a show-stopping conclusion like this, it probably would’ve been pretty hard to top it. Unfortunately, that’s all I can say without giving away too many spoilers.

I noticed a couple minor proofreading errors, but no more than is acceptable in a professionally-published novel.

Overall, The Little Bastards by Jim Lindsay is a great book. It’s funny, engaging, and gripping. Frankly, I think it captures the era perfectly, at least from a teenager’s perspective, and I think that would make it perfect for anyone interested in that time period. For those who aren’t, the characters are entertaining and well-developed, and the situations—all of which are like short stories themselves—will pull you in anyway. There’s nothing better than a couple of fourteen-year-olds getting the crud scared out of them inside a funeral home!

You can buy The Little Bastards by Jim Lindsay as an eBook or in print on Amazon.

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

 

 

Warning: The book reviewed in this post, Curve Couture: A Beautiful Romance by H.M. Irwing, contains sex scenes, sexual situations, and foul language. If you are under the age of 18, are triggered by such depictions, or otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.

As promised, here’s the first of many reviews I have for you this weekend. This one is a steamy romance with some tasteful sex scenes by H.M. Irwing, author of Bad Boy Vibes. This book, while in the same genre and with some of the same themes as Bad Boy Vibes, is another unique adventure into the world of love and lust—I hate to admit it, but I might have liked this one even more. The book reviewing in this post is Curve Couture: A Beautiful Romance.

Claire has just made the biggest mistake of her life: sleeping with her model sister’s fiancé, Colin. To make things worse, she despises the man—and she’s her sister’s agent. Ashamed and unable to face her sister again, Claire arranges a meeting with Erin, a model-turned-agent, to ask him to take over as her sister’s agent. Erin, however, has different plans for Claire, ones which will transform Claire’s career, self-image, and personal life, not to mention her sex life. What exactly does Erin want from her? Is it strictly professional, or…something more? Does Claire have what it takes to meet all his needs and expectations, or will her own jealousy and lack of self-confidence get in her way?

I must admit that I might be a bit biased in my fondness for this romance. Claire is overweight and becomes a plus-sized model; I am likewise overweight, having struggled with weight issues my entire life and even more so since my senior year of college. For that reason, I’m partial to a book which involves an overweight woman transforming into a confident, fierce plus-sized model who has all the men tripping over them (of course, I could do without the crude comments which come with the modeling career). However, I think that all women can relate to Claire and her struggles, especially those who feel that they fall short of the Western standards for beauty.

With this admission, it goes without saying that my favorite character is Claire. It’s not just because she’s overweight. She’s also fierce, independent, and doesn’t take any BS from anyone—except, of course, Erin, on occasion, and even rarely from him. My favorite scenes were any time that she beat the crud out of Colin; like Erin, I couldn’t stop laughing! I’m also thankful to Irwing that Curve Couture did not turn into one of those stories where the heroine goes crawling back to a man who’s a complete ass to her because she “sees the good in him.” Mind you, Erin can be an ass and is often cocky, but he can also be a gentleman and genuinely cares about Claire. Colin, on the other, is only looking out for himself and horny as all get-out. The fact that Claire recognized that from the start and realized her mistake in sleeping with Colin gave me hope for romance novels, and only worked to increase my enjoyment of the beat-downs.

As the full title of Curve Couture implies, this book depicts a beautiful romance. The love between Claire and Erin is true and, while the lust comes on quickly, the love is slow to develop. It is Claire’s support of Erin and understanding of his vulnerability and troubles which takes their bond beyond mutual attraction to a true romance. In fact, it takes at least half the book for them to admit their love for each other, which was a relief for me.

Irwing also masterfully builds up the sexual tension between Claire and Erin. They don’t immediately sleep together. Rather, they have several encounters filled with potential eroticism and mutual ogling as well as numerous misfires before they actually do the deed. Best of all, Irwing takes care to make it known that their sex does not truly become “love making” until they actually realize they are in love. Even in real life people don’t often make that distinction, and I’m glad that it was made here.

Of course, as with all books, Curve Couture is not without its flaws. Sometimes I felt as though Claire gave into Erin too quickly, especially when he would become angry and a little violent. In that same vein, I felt that Erin was, at times, too possessive of Claire, to the point that I at least would have reconsidered a relationship with such a man. Still, to play devil’s advocate, all that can all be attributed to the obligatory drama which comes with writing about the modeling world. There’s enough drama and melodrama in that industry to sustain a soap opera for a decade, so it only fits that the repressed anger from that drama and the possessiveness arising from the leering would arise within Claire and Erin’s relationship. I just had moments where I wasn’t comfortable with Erin’s aggressiveness towards Claire.

I also have mixed feelings as to how body image is handled here. On the one hand, I think Irwing does a pretty good job of handling all body sizes fairly. Yes, there had to be some characters prejudiced against both the very fat and the very skinny because that’s how people are, especially in the world of modeling. Overall, though, Curve Couture shows “curvy” women in as good a light as “skinny” women. I also appreciate that Erin’s yearning for Claire begins before she starts to lose weight, even when judgmental stylists tell her that she’s fat. On the other hand, I would like a book in which an overweight protagonist starts out as comfortable with her body shape. Perhaps Claire’s self-loathing just hit too close to home for me, but for once I’d like for such a woman to be confident without having to have other people show her her worth or having to make drastic changes to herself.

As with most books, I noticed some very minor proofreading errors, but they are so minor and infrequent that they’d be negligible for most readers. After all, even big-press books like Harry Potter can have such errors. To err is to human.

All in all, Curve Couture by H.M. Irwing is an excellent book, especially for a romance. I’d even argue that it’s better than Bad Boy Vibes, although the hot-topic handled in those books are just as important. The characters are relatable and three-dimensional, and the main relationship develops with the kinds of ups and downs that we expect from real-life romances. Sometimes it takes on the air of a soap opera, but that only added to the fun, particularly when Claire would make mental asides about everything seeming like The Bold and the Beautiful. I’m not 100% OK with how Erin treats Claire but, in the end, their tender relationship has an ending worthy of an uplifting romance. If you like romances with some real depth to them, you’ll want to check out this book.

You can buy Curve Couture by H.M. Irwing on Amazon. Also remember to check out the author’s website for information on this and Irwing’s other works.

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

Greetings, readers and writers! I’m probably going to be bombarding you with quite a few posts over the next few days, both reviews and other topics, so you best be ready. I want to start with a review of a book which I’m pleased to say is quite different from other works I’ve read before. While billed as a psychological novel, I’d also argue that it’s a modern moral fable, just as The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder has been called a moral fable by some critics. The book I’m reviewing in this post is The Revenge of the Forgotten by Xavier Mayot.

Fabrice is your typical skilled factory worker, employed by the biggest recycling plant in France: + VERT. He has a wife he adores and a loving ten-year-old daughter. They don’t have a lot, but they have each other, and that’s enough for them. The only problem? Fabrice’s daughter, Coralie, is ill with a rare heart condition and requires a transplant ASAP. Unfortunately, donors are in short supply, but Coralie’s doctor, Professor Marty, has put her as a top priority on the waiting list.

Baptiste is your typical one-percenter: rich, a little overly-confident, and used to getting his way. Like Fabrice, he works at + VERT, but with a huge difference: he’s the CEO. This position has allowed him, his wife, and his son to live a comfortable life, but even the world’s richest have their problems. For Baptiste, it’s the disheartening fact that his son, Dorian, has inherited a rare genetic heart condition from his paternal grandfather. The poor boy needs an organ graft, and soon. Fortunately, Dorian’s doctor, Professor Marty, is close friends with the family and keeps them up-to-date on any news of a possible donor.

What will happen when a possible heart donor pits these opposites against each other in a competition of will and physical strength? Can Baptiste buy or manipulate his son’s way to the top of the donor list, or will Fabrice’s dedication and work ethic finally pay off? What follows is 160 pages of tension, high-running emotions, and an unlikely solution to a delicate situation.

Mayot’s concept is at once unique and familiar. It’s a combination of David and Goliath and “The Tortoise and the Hare” with a splash of Around the World in 80 Days thrown in. However, Mayot uses this mixture to bring attention to a couple of topics prominently on our minds today: economic disparity and the shortage of organ donors. The themes of love, money, greed, pride, and perseverance ring throughout, giving new life to old tropes.

Another interesting element to Mayot’s writing is that it’s almost fable-like, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post. The writing is very simple and straightforward; in fact, other than the French names, I had no problem following along with the narrative. (Honestly, a lot of my mother’s family is French and French-Canadian, why do I have a hard time with these names?) The characters are not overly-complicated and yet I established an emotional connection to Fabrice and his family. I felt bad for Baptiste and his family because of Dorian’s condition but, really, their sense of entitlement made it hard for me to root for them. The plot is also straightforward and the themes and lessons overt. It’s the combination of these simplistic features coming together to make an engaging and encouraging story which makes me view this book as a modern moral fable, one much more cheerful and uplifting than books like The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

I also admire Mayot for his ability to incorporate modern technology and capture the over-the-top voice of TV commentators in his work. I had a hard time not laughing whenever the commentators opened their mouths because I could perfectly envision what was happening. It also helped that Mayot includes maps of the courses as well as boxed—which you could argue is in the style of a television screen—descriptions of what spectators see during the coverage of the trials.

I must say, Mayot certainly knows how to push my buttons. Baptiste infuriated me to no end. This man, who could easily look to another first-world country for a donor, insists on making the other family go to another country like Colombia for a donor and surgeon, even offering them the Euros to do it. Why? Pride, plain and simple. He’s a man who’s used to getting what he wants and nothing is about to get in his way; I couldn’t wait to see him get knocked down a peg. The ending is a happy one—I won’t elaborate due to spoilers—but suffice to say I still hold a grudge against Baptiste on Fabrice’s behalf. For a writer to ignite this passion in me, he must know exactly what will strike people’s nerves and when to present them in a story for maximum effect.

Overall, The Revenge of the Forgotten by Xavier Mayot is both a psychological book and a modern moral fable. It offers a happy ending which left me satisfied that the plot was resolved, despite the fact that the cynic in me had serious doubts about it. Mayot highlights both the good and the bad in humans and leaves readers with the hope that nice guys do not finish last. I can guarantee that you will pick up this book and not be able to put it down until you find out which child will get the heart—and which of our proud fathers will have to eat crow.

You can buy a copy of The Revenge of the Forgotten from Edilivre’s website. Stay tuned for more information on when a copy will be made available on the American Amazon site.

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

 

Greetings, readers and writers! I’m still feeling under the weather, so I thought I’d continue the day with another light read. The book I want to talk about is a children’s picture book, one which I’m sure my readers will love just as much as the children in their lives will. The book I’m reviewing in this post is Absurdimals: Lola Goes to School, written by Gwendolyn Javor and illustrated by Melissa Aker Spears.

Lola is special. There are many kinds of animals in Harmonia, but Lola is the first of a new animal: a belephant. Half bunny, half elephant, all Lola. Unfortunately, not everyone at Lola’s new school thinks so. In particular, Herb, the biggest elephant at the school, does not welcome her with open arms. Lola’s excitement for her first day of school quickly dissipates as she is ostracized by Herb and the other elephants, and it seems to be more than she can handle on her own. Will Lola let Herb’s words get to her? Or will she find the strength to embrace her “absurdimal” status?

This book is not only cute and entertaining but also enlightening. Javor addresses the issue of deviating from the social norm in a creative and captivating manner. By using animals and hybrid animals, she allows for the message to be about more than just one specific trait that could make us different. Lola could represent an interracial child, a child with parents of two different religions or cultures, or even someone as seemingly-commonplace as a girl who likes to do traditionally “boy” things. Better yet, the use of animals creates a distancing from the subject which makes it accessible and comfortable for everyone. No matter what our personal experiences and beliefs, we’re bound to connect with a fluffy belephant and root for her happiness!

As it is a children’s story, the plot is simple and the characters straightforward. However, through momentary glimpses at how they do or do not conform to normality, Javor fleshes out some of the animals in ways which not many picture books do. My particular favorite is a unique friendship between two unlikely animals, but I won’t say any more in order to avoid spoilers.

The illustrations beautifully complement Javor’s writing. Spears uses calming muted colors which closely resemble drawings made from colored pencils. She brings life to every character, especially Lola. I would not have been able to imagine a “belephant” clearly without Spears’s guidance. The illustrations never overpower the story, instead working hand-in-hand with them to build a unique world that still reminds me of picture books like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

To be honest, I can’t praise this book enough. It’s not as elaborate as “adult” books but it still presents plenty that both children and adults can learn from. Javor’s writing is plain enough for younger readers to follow but the concept is also advanced enough that their parents will love reading it, too. I highly recommend Absurdimals: Lola Goes to School by Gwendolyn Javor for anyone with a child into whom they want to instill individuality and acceptance. Hey, I even recommend it for adults looking for a light, entertaining read. As Mr. Hooves says, “There’s no too different, there’s only new-different!”

You can buy Absurdimals: Lola Goes to School by Gwendolyn Javor as an eBook and in print on Amazon. (I recommend the print copy myself.) Also keep an eye out for future books in this promising children’s picture book series!

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

 

Considering how burnt out I’m feeling at the moment, I want to start the week with something motivational. So, for this post I’m reviewing a book containing soundbites of wisdom for the creative entrepreneur (after all, writers are also entrepreneurs). The book—or booklet, rather—that I’m talking about is 99 Creative WOWs: Words of Wisdom for Business by Randi Brill.

As the title implies, Brill supplies the reader with 99 bite-size pieces of wisdom for business and other creative professionals. However, this book is not just advice for succeeding in the world of business. Rather, the advice is divided into three distinct but closely-related categories: business, creative, and personal. Brill provides mantras and wisdom about getting ahead in business, sparking creativity, and maintaining a healthy personal life. While these categories may seem unrelated, Brill shows in the introduction just how much these areas of a professional’s life depend on each other; neglect one and they will all come tumbling down.

If you’re looking for specific advice regarding specific problems, 99 Creative WOWs is not for you. If you’re looking for open-ended advice which challenges you to think about how you can apply it to your life, a work which inspires rather than instructs, you’ve come to the right place. That’s why I think this book is perfect for all writers.

The mantras are simple, open, and almost common sense. Regardless, people rarely remember these concepts on their own. For example, one of my favorite WOWs is also one which I almost always forget in the moment:

Know when it’s time to be done.

The advice is so simple and yet most creative types, including writers and artists, don’t remember it. We’re such perfectionists that sometimes we just don’t know when to stop and call something “done.”

Of course, the vagueness of these WOWs could cause readers to feel a lack of guidance; they might not know where to start in regards to applying WOWs to their pursuits. Fortunately, Brill also provides an introduction and a page after the WOWs which tell the readers who the author is, how WOWs came about, what they are, and how you can use the WOWs and the book overall. It’s a pet peeve of mine when books like these provide quotes, mantras, or snippets of wisdom without any explanation or guidance on how to use them, so I’m glad that Brill nipped that problem in the bud.

Another unique aspect of 99 Creative WOWs which makes it stand out from other books of its kind is the presentation of the WOWs. They are beautifully colorful with words varying in size, font type, color, and orientation. No two WOWs look exactly alike, which perfectly matches the “creative” in 99 Creative WOWs. Sometimes the volume or intensity of the diversity took a toll on my eyes, but in Brill’s defense, I’ve pushed my eyes to the limit lately and am probably suffering from severe eye strain. Other readers will find the variety to be engaging and a refreshing break from more mainstream inspirational or self-help books.

If I were to list all of my favorite WOWs or all the ones I think writers would find useful, I’d be giving away a majority of the book. However, there are four from the “creativity” category which I think perfectly embody what this book has to offer writers:

Just start. You’ll figure out the next step after the first.

Trust your creative resilience.

Carefully share work in progress. Real-world feedback is worth the risk.

Of course creative work is difficult. That’s part of the allure.

Brill knows from personal experience that the 99 WOWs will help creative professionals and save them a lot of heartache. How, exactly? Brill has been possessed by the entrepreneurial spirit since she was three years old and started her first real business when she was only twenty-two. These WOWs are collected from years and years of experience and a passion to pass the wisdom earned from that experience onto other professionals, whether they be grad students fresh the world or seasoned veterans of their fields.

Overall, I think that 99 Creative WOWs is a must-have for anyone with a shred of the enterprising spirit. After all, these words of wisdom are not only rigid bullet points for starting a business; they are fluid mantras which the reader can use even outside of their assigned categories. This book is never dull and the advice is always on-point. There are tips for ways in which you can use Brill’s WOWs, but the best thing about this book is that you get to decide what you need the wisdom for.

You can buy 99 Creative WOWs by Randi Brill as an eBook or in paperback on Amazon. However, I personally recommend getting the paperback. That way, you can have a physical copy at hand and will be able to engage fully with the material. For more information on the book and its author, visit www.99WOWS.com.

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

 

For this post, I’m bringing you another review, this time for a writer whose prose I have reviewed before. You might remember Rich Marcello, author of The Beauty of the Fall whom I also interviewed for this blog. Today I’m going to be talking about his poetry collection, The Long Body That Connects Us All.

The Long Body That Connects Us All contains approximately sixty one-page poems, divided into three sections:

Part I – In the Coming

Part II – Yab Yum

Part III – Aether

As the Amazon blurb says, these poems mostly focus on how to be a good man. However, they are also about love, loss, family, fathers and sons, tradition and breaking tradition, and what it means to be a man for us versus what it meant for our ancestors. There’s a little something in this collection for everyone, although most especially for fathers, sons, husbands, and lovers.

I adored Marcello’s poetic prose in The Beauty of the Fall, a voice which he certainly maintains in his actual poetry as well. His poems have a unique…muted beauty, I would argue. Not to say that his work is not powerful because it is. Rather, I think that the effects can best be expressed with this stanza from T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men”:

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

That is exactly the feel I get from the poems in The Long Body That Connects Us All—not a quick bang but an echoing, haunting whimper. And yet, unlike the almost defeated tone of Eliot’s final lines, Marcello’s collection provides a more hopeful message to the reader. This message is best embodied in the poem “The Long Body” and the stanza which gives the collection its name:

Mostly may you accept the love

in each other and yourselves.

For it’s that gift that lets you see clearly

the long body that connects us all.

I appreciate Marcello’s ability to provide a positive message without over-saturating it with cheesy sentiment. Rather, he turns the feelings which loom over us all—guilt, regret, longing—into tools for showing the ways in which outdated gendered standards keep getting based on and how much better things can be if men embraced a new way of being a man: showing love and affection towards everyone, but most particularly their sons and lovers.

Particular elements in The Long Body That Connects Us All speak directly to men and their sons—the poem’s narrator building Legos with his son, trying to follow in his father’s footsteps as a provider, the “toughening up” of a son by his father, etc. And yet the magic of Marcello’s poems is that I did not feel at all excluded as a female reader.

My favorite poem in the collection has to be “Blue Gears” from Part I – In the Coming:

The blue gears took hold and

tried to turn me

like the others

into the sum of parts

 

The worker of power, of money

The father, the son, the ghost walker

The lover, the projection, the artist

 

And while those parts come and go like

tall waves, stage personas parading,

heroes or villains warring,

they’re not me

 

I’m a witness sitting in the big chair,

a student of mysteries,

striving to grind down

abundant but finite gear teeth,

not only for me,

but for all those lost in blue

What I like best about this poem is that, while it’s directed at men, I could still connect with it as a worker caught in the perpetually-cranking gears of society. The message that you are more than the sum of your parts is universal. I must admit that I also got a bit of amusement out of the symbolism in blue gears representing the blue collar class of workers. However, even if you are not a man or a blue collar worker in particular, the message about individuality and trying to break the working cycle should resonate with anyone.

Another favorite of mine is “Timeservers”, a poem about men having to maintain a certain façade when in public and then still obsess over that image when in private. Again, this poem speaks about men and the pressures which modern patriarchal society puts on them. Nevertheless, even women can relate to this issue. After all, we have been forced to maintain a specific public image as well.

Because they’re only about a page long each—around 74 pages overall—this collection can be a quick read. Nevertheless, I recommend taking your time with it. I actually suggest doing that with all poetry as you can miss out on hidden layers to the poems if you read through them too quickly. With The Long Body That Connects Us All, you’ll also want to take the time to make sure that you know all of the terms Marcello uses. In general, the poems utilize plain language. Still, I had to look up a few words such as “aether” and “cenotaph”.

All in all, I really enjoyed The Long Body That Connects Us All by Rich Marcello. It has echoes of The Beauty of the Fall, both in its poetic voice and its themes. I like Marcello’s prose a little more, but that’s probably just a personal bias since I usually prefer prose anyway. Men will find this collection both entertaining and enlightening, and every reader will find it endearing, beautiful, and timeless.

You can buy The Long Body That Connects Us All by Rich Marcello as an eBook and in print on Amazon. Also be sure to check out Marcello’s website and Instagram account.

Do you 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.