The Aspiring Wordsmith: short stories

Showing posts with label short stories. Show all posts

January 1, 2018

My 2018 Book List

I have read 135 books in 2017. As a book reviewer, most of those books are by independent authors while a few are mainstream books which I read for fun an amusement. This year, I made a short list of only 10 books to give space for other and most likely books by indie authors. If you are a book author, you may want to add your book on this list.

1. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

2. Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

3. Gone by Michael Grant

4. The Girl on the Train by Tate Taylor

5. The Timekeeper by Mitch Albom

6. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

7. The 9th Life of Louis Drax

8. The Lost Lullaby by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

9. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

10. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Yes. There are two classic novels on my list and yes I seriously want to read them.

Anyways, here is the list of books I read in 2017. You may click the title for the review of a particular book. Mainstream books, however, are not reviewed, basically because I do believe they don't need it.

1. The Key by Marianne Curley

2. Now I Know It's NotMy Fault by Laurie B. Levine

3. Beyond Acts by PaulR. Finch

4. Enchant: Beauty andthe Beast Retold by Demelza Carlton

5. Striking Blind byLonna Enox

6. Sapphire Ice byHallee Bridgeman

7. The Pharaoh'sBuilders by Heather Perrywinkle Smith

8. Get on Board LittleChildren by Victoria Randall

9. Faith, Grace andCancer by Stephanie Hoff Rodrigue

10. Winter by Marissa Meyer

11. EndSanity by JerryL. West

12. Strangers in AnotherCountry by G. Taylor

13. Agony of the Gods byTom Wolosz

14. Come on Home,Children by Victoria Randall

15. Whiteland King byAdrain G. Hilder

16. Stacked Case by AndyGruse

17. The Dark Companionsby M.A, Kassel

18. Ad Majorem by TomBeattie

19. Embellised by KarenGlista

20. Brainwalker by RobynMundell and Stephen Lacast

21. Betrayal of Faith byMark M. Bello

22. Yuri and the Legendof the Seventh Sea by Denis Boytsov

23. Bad War by SummerCooper

24. The Accelerating Worldby Emmanuel Cassimatis

25. City of HiddenChildren by Victoria Randall

26. Indeath by Cornelia Funke

27. Coffee-Drunk orBlind: An Alaskan Homesteading Adventure by Elle Knowles

28. The Seer by JDStanley

29. Alpha Wolves by JDSwykert

30. Me: AnecdotalEvidence that I Existed by Dan Reed

31. Bride of the Dragonsby Selina Cofey

32. Timmy, The FlyingMouse

33. The HackerChronicles by Patrick Oster

34. Lost Time by DLOrton

35. An Arabian Night byGaron Whited

36. He is With You byYnes Paulino Accilien

37. Dead Time by DLOrton

38. The Shadows of Olympus

39. Thrown Away bySheldon Newton

40. The Mark of theBeast Revelation 13 by Ezra Celestin

41. Nightlord Sunset by Garon Whited

42. Loss of Reason byMiles A. Maxwell

43. Deep Well of Time byMichael Dorer

44. Contingent UponMagenta by C. Drying

45. For All the CarolsOut There by Karyl Maier, M. Ed.

46. Lost and Forgottenby Maurice Barkley

47. Let No One WaitOutside Your Door by Lou Kief

48 Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

49. Hell Will Rise bySkyla Murphy

50. The Apostates Book Three: Lake of Fire by Lars Teeney

51. Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer

52. Blood Moon by JohnDavid Bethel

53. Chakaura by MicheleC. St. Amour

54. The Bordello Kid byKendall Hanson

55. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

56. The Necromancer by Michael Scott

57. There Was a LittleGirl by Edith Foote Carpenter

58. Justice by ScottHughes

59. The Dramen Lore by Mukta Sharma

60. Grey Areas by BradCarl

61. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

62. Role Reversal byIris Waichler, MSW, LCSW

63. 10 Step Plan to PromoteYour Book by Scott Hughes

64. The Old Guitar andOther Stories by KS Agustin

65. Science DeepensFaith by Thomas McAvoy

66. The Golden MapleTree by Marc Remus

67. The Afterlife:Hereafter and Here at Hand by Giulia Jeary Knap

68. Aaru by David Meredith

69. Domestic Violence in Lebanon: A Depth Psychological Perspective by Maysar Sarieddine

70. Ronaldo: TheReindeer Flying Academy by Maxine Sylvester

71. The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

72. Dear Maude by DeniseLeibig

73. The Power Experimentby Stephen Dimery, B. Sc.

74. _Shift by Brain Q.Webb

75. God Without Religion: An Alternative View of Life, the Universe and Everything by Dr. Michael Arnheim

76. Bullets and Babiesby Richard Ballo

77. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

78. Kitty Hawk and theCurse of the Yukon Gold by Iain Reading

79. Madam Tulip: AnIrish Cozy Mystery by David Ahern

80. Furthermore by Tahere Mafiti

81. Neostoicism 2.0 byRobert Woolston

82. Ronald: The PhantomCarrot Snatcher by Maxine Sylvester

83. God is a Woman byMichael Tavon

84. Living in Light, Love and Truth by Kaye Iliopoulos

85. Washed Away by NikkiDuBose

86. Harry the Happy Mouse by ngk

87. The Last Child ofLeif by Chris Pridmore

88. Men, Wars and Sex ofthe 60s by Lowell Hamilton

89. 2020 by Casey Dorman

90. Forged in Fire byFraser Scott

91. Pluto's Ghost byB.C. Chase

92. Have Amber - WillTravel by Keith Vlasak

93. We Are the Ants by Shawn David Hutchinson

94. Redemption: TheAdvent by Kimon Alexander

95. Madam Tulip and theKnave of Hearts by David Ahern

96. Holding Hope in OurHands by Kristin Skenderi

97. Origins by Dan Brown

98. Refugees by R.A.Denny

99. A Burning in theDarkness by AP McGrath

100. Hunting Nora Stoneby Colin Weldon

101. The Adventures ofFawn: 'Til the Last Snowflake Falls by Al E. Boy

102. We Won't Forget YouMr. McGillicuddy by Ira L. White

103. Shit My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

104. Flames of Solsgardby Luke Manly

105. Brave and FunnyMemories of WWII by Lyndon Shubert

106. Kitty Hawk and theHunt for Hemingway's Ghost by Iain Reading

107. Johnny Quantum byTom Pawlik

108. The Hands of Ruinby Dylan Lee Peters

109. Frozen MomentsRevisited by Md Taslim

110. The Divinity Bureauby Tessa Clare

111. Midnite's Journeyby Dana Silkiss

112. My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

113. The Burgas Affairby Ellis Shuman

114. Programmed to Killby David J. Murray

115. Change; Become aWinner by George P. Boulden

116. SERIAL K by BrianGallagher

117. Myth and Punishmentby Anoop Chandola

118. Seasons Change SoCan You by Alfreta Sailor

119. Why We Crave Loveby Olympia Walker

120. The Timekeeper by Mitch Albom

121. A World WithoutColor by Bernard Jan

122. A Life Before byJulien Ayotte

123. The Yoke by DarrellDunham

124. Woman: The FailedMale by Dr. Geraldine Sharp

125. Hatching thePhoenix Egg by Joel Horn

126. Fifty Shames of Earl Grey by Fanny Merkin

127. Prayer Plus FaithEquals Miracles by Sharon Crittenden

128. Crossing the Lineby Elle Knowles

129. Superhighway by Alex Fayman

130. ImmaculateAssumptions by Cornelia Scott Cree

131. The Seduction ofReligion by Paul Singh

132. Holding up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

133. The Golden Helm by VictoriaRandall

134. Da-Vid by StevenLancaster

135. The Bellringer byWilliam Timothy Murray

December 31, 2017

The Golden Helm by Victoria Randall

The Golden Helm: More Tales from the Edge of Sleep is a wonderful collection of beautiful short stories written by Victoria Randall.

The book boasts of twelve interesting stories most of them quite thought-provoking, some are amusing and entertaining, while some call for self-examination.

Though I enjoyed reading all of them, my favorites include The Golden Helm, Parenthood by Choice Inc. Invests in a Time Machine, Edith’s Gift and Scent of Evil. These stories present choices. Through these well-conceived and well-written albeit relatively short stories the author portrayed situations in which the protagonist is given choices that test his/her character.

While I find the Incident in the Library and Dragonfire quite amusing and entertaining, Apple Seed and Influence are somehow thought-provoking, whereas Dinosaur Voices, Beyond the Cavern of Madmen, Silent Presence and The Unicorn in the Garden carry serious and profound messages.

The book, ultimately, displays the author’s writing skills in both the fantasy and science fiction genre. The stories are all easy to read and understand and with the book having various themes including power, morality, fear, freedom, kindness, influence, ingenuity, moral values and humanity, all of them leave something to think about.

Congratulations to Victoria Randall (@Entlover27) on such a great collection!

June 23, 2017

The Old Guitar and Other Stories by KS Agustin

LOVE, KINDNESS, LOYALTY, FAITH, PASSION

The Old Guitar and Other Stories is a collection of short but entertaining, touching, memorable, and inspirational flash fiction that will make you ponder and contemplate on life.

In this book, you will read about:

A wealthy young man who chose the life of a simple musician

A successful businessman who ran away to follow through on his real passion

A mysterious object believed to grant wishes

A legendary hunter whose legend grew after each telling

A cryptic summons from the owner of a successful company

… and more

Life is a choice. It can be a cage where we are captives of our own doubts and fears, or it can be a journey where every single day is an opportunity to do something great, something heroic, something outrageous.

Life is a gift. It is an adventure. It is what we make it.

For more details about this book, follow KS Agustin (@kimmyschemy06) on twitter.

February 6, 2017

Strangers in Another Country by Lawrence G. Taylor

Strangers in Another Country is a set of four tales, two short stories and two novellas, written by Lawrence G. Taylor featuring Guyanese men in their quest for ‘a better life’ in England and Sweden.

The first story, A Day in The Life of Mr. Charlie Cheddar is about a lonely, bitter and unsociable low ranking clerk in one of North London Post Offices who came from a tiny Caribbean country seven years ago. After several years of depriving himself of the company of others, Mr. Cheddar agrees to be introduced to Helen by his newly acquired friend, Julian.

The second story, Betty and the Black Puppy, is about Betty Macintosh from Scotland who lives together with David Jones from British Guiana. Without consulting David first, Betty brings home a lost puppy. As soon as she gets home, Betty feels apprehensive about David’s reaction regarding her ‘good deed.’ Little does she know that that seemingly petty gesture will shed some light in their romantic relationship.

The third tale is a novella. Binky’s Reverie is about a young Guyanese man, who, in hopes of having a relationship with the smart and beautiful young woman from Sweden whom he met in London, makes the trip from England. Filled with romantic notion, Binky alights from the train hopeful and excited.

The final tale, another novella, Strangers in Another Country, features Moby, a Guyanese working as a hospital porter in Stockholm who meets an Afro-American from Brooklyn. They spend several hours talking over cups of coffee and then go out to meet other ‘brothers’ in a former jazz club.

This is a well-written, very entertaining and highly amusing book about expatriates living in a country culturally different from their own, their ways of life, their hopes, their dreams, their pains and disappointments. The best part of the book is the characterization. All the characters are well-developed and given ample back stories making them very relatable with their flaws and weaknesses. I find the stories humorous and very realistic. Each plot, though seemingly ordinary, is quite engaging in that it can happen to anyone we personally know.

Congratulations to Lawrence G. Taylor (@lgt41) on such a great book. For other books by the author, visit LGT41 Blog.

January 1, 2017

My 2017 Booklist

This is a very short list. Needless to say, it’s not complete yet and as a book reviewer and book blogger, I add a title on the list as I go along. However, there are books that I plan to read this year. These are on my list last year but, apparently, I haven’t gotten around to reading them. Some are mainstream while others are indie.

Most of the books I read come from Online Book Club, my employer, where I do official reviews. Others are free e-books, from Amazon, which I find interesting. Most of them I feature on my blog. A few come from Booksgosocial where I write Amazon reviews in exchange for free books. Most of these I also post on my blog. Fewer still are books from indie authors who trusted me enough to give me Advanced Review Copies in exchange for honest reviews. Late this year, I discovered Instafreebee where I get free e-books, some of them I featured on my blog.

This year, I only have a few on the list, mainstream and indie.

1. Don Quixote by Cervantes
2. Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
3. The Key by Marianne Curley
4. Winter by Marissa Meyer
5. The Necromancer by Michael Scott
6. The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer
7. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
8. Nightmares : The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel
9. Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling
10. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
11. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
12. The Path of Decisions by Mike Shelton
13. Bear Prince by Emma Alisyn/Danae Ashe
14. The Golden Maple Tree by Marc Remus
15. Faerie Prince by Rachel Morgan
16. Linear Shift by Paul Kohler
17. Annie’s Second Chance by Willee Amsden
18. Nightlord Sunset by Garon Whited
19. Hatching the Phoenix Egg by Joel Horn
20. Lost Time by DL Orton

As I already said, it’s a very short list. IF YOU’RE AN AUTHOR, you may want to have your book on that list in exchange for an honest review. If you’re a reader like myself, you may want to check out my ‘2016 Book List’ to get an idea on what books to put on your own reading list. I recommend that you read the reviews first.