It's All About the Words

Reading usually precedes writing and the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you dream of becoming a writer.
Susan Sontag

 

I’ve met very few people, virtually or actually, in SCN--writers all--who are not also avid readers-or as I’ve been described. a rabid reader. (I don’t think I threaten to bite when my reading time is interrupted, but hey…) Reading and writing just go together. We read stories, we write stories. We live and breathe stories.
 
If you’re a bibliophile too, the SC Book Review Site is for you! It’s an important part of Story Circle Network. As we write, books inform us as we do research, inspire us as we read another’s prose or poetry, and even relax us when we need a break from our own words. Not a woman, but knowledgeable about the art of writing, Stephen King in his book, On Writing, said “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or tools to write.”
 
It’s all about the words and the stories. At SCBR, our reviewers use their words to communicate the essence of someone else’s stories. And, oh my, the words they use...

Consider this: “Lit, the new memoir by Mary Karr, is a book to be inhaled and imbibed, a fitting fate for a story about falling down a bottle and the slippery climb back up to some version of sanity and grace.”-–the opening of our Review of the Month written by Linda Joy Myers. How could you not want to read her review, being drawn in like this? I not only read the review; I’ll read the book.

Can you relate to this? “Sue Monk Kidd, as she reached the same passage, articulated many of my feelings about that milestone. Becoming an "older woman" stirred a new level of awareness of her mortality, of the loss of her children as they became adults, of a need to simplify and intensify existence, and especially of a deep longing for renewal in her creative and spiritual life.”  Susan Schoch connected deeply as she relates in her review of Travelling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and co-authored by her daughter Ann Kidd Taylor. This is a great read for mothers and daughters, and one of our Editors' Picks.

In a few descriptive sentences, Susan Tweit distills the essence of The Good Times are All Gone Now by Julie Whitesel Weston: “Hence this unflinching and beautifully written memoir of place, in which Weston recreates that hustle and bustle, drawing a compelling portrait of the town she knew and the people who animated it, from miners and labor agitators to lawyers, women's clubs to whorehouses. Included are her own memories and the stories of her family, including her father, a hard-drinking doctor as revered for his skilled and compassionate care at the town's only hospital as he was feared at home for his temper, along with the recollections of dozens of people she interviewed in researching the book, the complex geology of the mountains, the history of the mines and strikes, and the fortunes made and lives lost.” These words give me reason and desire to delve into this book. It sounds fascinating!  By the way, Susan T. also interviewed the author, and this is posted on the SCBR site as well.

In her review of Thirsty by Kristin Bair O’Keeffe, reviewer Judy Miller makes this observation: “Bair O'Keeffe doesn't turn away from the pain or oppression, but addresses it head on with grace, and honesty. Her writing is deep, powerful and vivid. Although the story revolves around domestic abuse, it is not a downer, but a story of hope, survival and peace. A must read.” If I had only read a blurb about the book, describing it as troubling story, I might shy away if I wasn’t up to just dark and depressing. Instead, Judy’s words provide me with a different perspective, and thus informs my choice.

These are but a few of the excellent reviews waiting for you on the SCBR site. Our reviewers have been busy and we hope you will take advantage of their effort and talent.  Follow us on Twitter and you’ll know whenever there is a new review.

We’d welcome your words too. You are invited to become a reviewer for Story Circle Book Reviews.  Look here and you’ll find all you need to know about the process. If you still have questions, write to me or one of the other SCBR editors. You love words, right? Let us put some of them online for all the world to read and enjoy.

Happy Holidays to all of you from all of us at SCBR, with hopes for peace, love, and good books!