Closed for Submissions

A huge thank you to all those that sent us a request to review your book; I sincerely hope each of you find a reviewer and achieve success with your work.

With that said, Anthem Book Review has now closed Book Review Requests. We have picked three books to read and review and they are- a memoir by Keith Lawton, some fiction from Irish writer Benny Neylon and a book from local Madera writer, Glenna Jarvis.

Below are the books and if you want to pick up a copy and read along that would be great.

Stay tuned for the review.

1.)  NSA by Benny Neylon, Duplicator Books

2.)  No Accountability by Keith Lawton, Push Publishing

3.)  Sandmann by Glenna Jarvis,  Fusion Press

For more information on submitting your book for review, Please review the book review policy before inquiring @  http://anthembookreview.blogspot.com/p/anthems-top-shelf.html.

Happy Reading!

Anthem Book Review 

A Russian Journal, aged to perfection

A Russian Journal by John Steinbeck 1948

A Russian Journal by John Steinbeck is gem of a book with pages that smell of heaven. I purchased this book last weekend from, “Friends of the Library” at the Madera County Library “Local Author & Artists Event”.

Written in 1948, Steinbeck stated that the purpose of writing this book was to offer the world, “honest reporting, to set down what we saw and heard without editorial comment, without drawing conclusions about things we didn’t know sufficiently.”

A Russian Journal is such a lovely read, complete with great reporting and wonderful photographs of what life was like for Russians during the Cold War. All the photographs in the book were shot by war photographer Robert Capa.

I am looking forward to finishing the book this weekend. Although, I will not be reviewing this book, this is just a good fun read for me in-between my books for review.  I must say this paperback book is so old, it was published by The Viking Press as a Bantam edition in 1970, its yellow pages are perfectly aged that each time I turn a page; I am permeated with the loveliest of all scents- aged book.

Happy Readings!

Anthem Book Review  

Upcoming Book Release by Local Writer Tim Z. Hernandez

ALL THEY WILL CALL YOU

Tim Z Hernandez’s book titled, “All They Will Call You” is about the Los Gatos Plane Crash which occurred 69 years ago, on January 28, 1948 and will finally be released this Friday. The book launch is set to take place at the Whitifield Hall, Satellite Student Union Center at Fresno State from 6-8pm.  

The book tells the story of 32 individuals aboard a DC-3 plane that wrecked near Coalinga, CA, County of Fresno, while in route to Mexico. Of the 32 people traveling by air, 28 were from Mexico and had been either recently deported or had their contract terminated with the former Bracero Program.

The names of the pilot, stewardess and officer were initially reported in the newspaper during the time of the accident. However, the 28 non-Americans remained nameless and anonymous at death that is until Hernandez bravely began work on this project.  So who were these 28 deportees?  What were their names?  What were they like, alive, smiling, loving?

In, “All They Will Call You”, Hernandez aims to find the answers to those questions and much more. Hernandez is one of the best writers alive. He writes stories so compelling; he breathes life into the past, giving back humanity to those that gave up the ghost unnoticed, sculpting the past into present, word by word.

Hernandez writes with the diligence of a hungry journalist, and writes sentences with such poignant storytelling it sings to the soul. This is exactly what he did with “Manana Means Heaven”. He resurrected, the “Mexican Girl” in Kerouac’s, On the Road. He gave her breath, again, and told her story with such poetic beauty, after reading the novel,  “the Mexican girl” was no longer a stranger, she became ‘Bea”.  

Hernandez is the finest storyteller of the Central Valley. He restores the history of some of the most unknown and forgotten people of Fresno County with each project he takes on. He gives sound to that which was silenced by time, providing an eternal voice that will echo on in its readers.  

I encourage you to support local writers by attending the book launch of “All They Will Call You” as Hernandez releases the book to the public. It is going to be a great time.  

For more information on Tim Z. Hernandez, please visit https://timzhernandez.com

Happy Reading!

Written by Francine

We are open for Submissions!

Anthem Book Review is open for book review requests. Review our Book Policy and submit your request from now til the end of February via email. 

3 Books will be accepted. Please indicate if there is an upcoming release date. 

#smartpeopleread


Sincerely,

Anthem Book Review

Judge a Book by its Cover

2017 Books Reviews to follow! 

I judge a book by its cover. I admit it. I have had a few misses; I decline to state the names of those few books that just sucked. But there were a few. The cover drew me in and the writing pushed me away. However, I have also picked some of my most beloved books of all time, simply by the books cover. An example of this is when I picked out, Hans Fallada’s Every Man Dies Alone and the current new release, All at Sea by Decca Aitkenhead.

Fallada’s book is on my top shelf, one of the best books I’ve ever read. I have since purchased all Fallada’s books, two times over. Yet,  the cover  of Every Man Dies Alone, still enthralls me- the couple gently embracing one another,  knowing very well that Hitler is in power, that their life is changing, that heartache has gripped their soul, yet together they made a pact, and together they will embark on a journey that will put a dent in German history forever. The book is based on actual events and so brilliantly told. Writers just don’t write like that anymore. Every Man Dies Alone is littered with characters that are unforgettable.

O, I can’t even write about it, without feeling emotional, I want to now, walk into my living room pick the book up, caress the cover, skim the page, read my favorite passages and sigh with love. Now that is the true power of a book.  

My fingers and the stain of coffee also by me. :) 

A good writer is one that is able to shape and sculpt each word perfectly, forming the clearest, most moving sentence for the reader. I ended and began 2016/2017 with books that did just that.  

While in a bookstore, I walked by, All at Sea by Decca Aitkenhead and the ocean caught my eye. I grabbed the book, read the jacket cover, scanned the pages and purchased the book that day. The cover grabbed me and the writing kept me.    

I also finally found and purchased the out of print, Brother Sam: The Short, Spectacular Life of Sam Kinison by Bill Kinison with Steve Delsohn. I consider this my “fun read” and I usually read this type of book in between the others. Everything tastes better with “Flaming Hot Cheetos” and Sam’s book is my “Flaming Hot Cheetos” type of book. These types of books are fun to read, good as a snack and I usually pick them based on people I find interesting or things that fancy me.     

So the next time you are looking for a good read, follow your instinct and judge a cover, pick a book based on what you like, it need not be one recommended or on New York Times BestSellers List, trust your gut and go with it. You just might find an author or book that is just that good. 

***Note: All at Sea is currently on the Book of the Month pick, that is an online book club that gives its members 3 books in which to chose from. All at Sea is one of them. Although, I am not a member of Book of the Month Club, I prefer to pick my own. but if you are interested check out bookofthemonthclub.com for more info. 

Happy Reading 

 #smartpeopelread   

Written by Francine @ Anthem Book Review

Book Review on New and Emerging Fresno Writer

Fresno Writer, Jessica Seymour

Jessica Seymour is a local writer hailing from the Fresno area. I am a Fresnan as well, and take great pleasure in reading the work of local writers. More than anything, and in any way I can, it is my goal that Anthem Book Review support local writers and their craft.

I picked up two of Seymour’s books which are not very lengthy, the Untold Secrets of a Single Mom is very short, coming in at 47 pages, it is small, and almost like a pocketbook.

The second Trapped is a tad bigger in size and contains 98 pages.

As I have written before, I clearly want each reader to take into consideration that reading and enjoying a certain genre of writing comes down to personal preference and just because I may not like a book and the review is not favoring, does not mean that YOU or someone you know may not thoroughly enjoy it. I did not like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and that book is seen as an American literary treasure.  So it is with honesty and complete respect to the craft of writing that I write these two reviews. So on to the review….

``

These books can be purchased at Harts Haven in Fresno's Tower District, as well as online at Amazon and other booksellers.

Read these reviews under the tab Fresno Writes:

Written by Anthem Book Review

#smartpeopleread 

#anthembookreview

A Diamond in the Tower

I can recall the days when Fresno’s Tower District had a few used bookstores and a great independent movie rental store. A weekend afternoon of book looking could easily take one to Hart’s Haven on Van Ness, then, Valley Bookstore on Olive Avenue and then to the indie video store and rent Koyaanisqatsi for a night in with the boyfriend, if one can imagine that. Well, times have changed. People watch Netflix now, or movies on bootleg, films are easily retrieved without a rental card, Netflix does not charge late fees and books are now read on handheld devices.

Bookstores have all but dwindled to the lone survivor, the last diamond in the tower, Hart’s Haven. Yet, in the midst of the Tower District there is creativity everywhere on display, from the beautiful array of murals, in depth discussions on life and, yes, literature can be heard in any café one enters.

 In a world where information is so easily retrieved through technology,  we want everything fast, and we want it now, it is not surprising that bookstores and the love of books is diminishing, most do not want to wait 296 pages with an extended epilogue for an ending.

Fresno’s Tower District has been able to still hold on, ever so tightly to the undercurrent of art and a love of literature, although it is surrounded by modern-day discount stores, Valentino’s still thrives, a Panaderia replaced Lauck’s Bakery, yet, Café Corazon Café still beats on, and the big ole’ Chicken Pie Shop with its scrumptious homemade peach cobbler still reigns. I love the Tower District for all these little things, the local element is so strong there, and huge business seems less visible. I have loved it since my days as a teenage punk buying creepers at Valentino’s and Sid & Nancy tees. I lived in the Tower most of my adult life, my son was raised a Tower kid. We went to plays, ate local, bought local and used to always walk to the bookstores from our home for a gem of a book.

Since I’ve lived in Madera, I have missed those days. Here in Madera, there is one art gallery and it is almost unheard of, sorry, but it is just not a Broadway Studio or Arte Americas. There is no theater, other than high school theatre, which I admit is really good, the few I’ve seen. Yet, there are no, I mean not one, bookstore, new or used. There is only one coffee shop, and you guessed it, it is that hooker Starbucks.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not talking bad about my new home in Madera. I like living here. I like the small town atmosphere. I just hate having to drive to Fresno for arts, books, theatre and anything that involves life. Yet, that is exactly what I did today. With my youngest son in tow, we drove to the Tower District; we had lunch at Sal’s and went to the diamond that still shines on called, Hart’s Haven. I hope one day Madera will contain a street, or a hub of a fragment of what the Tower holds.  And maybe I’m missing something, maybe you are a Maderan, and know places or cool spots I am not privy too, please enlighten me.

 

 

So all that rambling for this- Hart’s Haven sells a box of books for $10.00. I purchased D.H. Lawrence books, Homer, Plato,  Isaac Bashevis Singer books, and a few books from a local writer from Clovis by the name of Jessica Seymour, titled "Trapped" and "the Untold Secrets of a Single Mom" both books published by Tate Publishing. I will be reading and reviewing these books soon. I hope they are good. I always root for a local writer.

Thanks for reading my rant. Continue to read, learn, question everything and find the answers. Feed your mind, increase your knowledge, you don’t know everything, neither do I, but before we die, we sure in hell must try. J

Happy Reading!

Francine