Free Book Reviews (book reviews and interviews)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Free Book Reviews, by Albert Robbins III

WEB ADDRESS: http://freebookreviews.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: We write real synopsis and reviews of Amazon and Smashwords Indie Authors.

Simply send arobbins78 at gmail dot com an email with a description of your book and a place that I can find it. I will read that book and post my thoughts on what I thought of it. Do not be surprised if the book review takes a while to be posted. To become a reviewer for this blog simply send an email to arobbins78 at gmail dot com with your name, email and genre you like to read.
Author Interviews:
Email arobbins78 at gmail dot com with your name and email address and an interview form will be emailed to you.
Reviews:
Reviews are posted here, on Facebook, Amazon, Smashwords, Hubpages and Twitter. Also all posts are automagically added to yousaytoo and Zimbio.
*****Disclaimers*****
All reviews are the sole opinion of the Author of such review. All book prices are current as of publication of each review or blog post and may change at any time without notice.
Current Contests:
For the month of March (to celebrate ebook week) I will give one free ebook per week to followers of this Blog

MY REVIEW: This is one of those blogs that is more pleasant to read on the Kindle than on the web. There's lots of extraneous stuff on the webpage itself that causes it to take a while to load.

The reviews cover the gamut of genres. The reviews themselves are very brief, only a couple of paragraphs, but they give an idea of what the book is about, which is what a review is supposed to do, anyway. The real gems in this blog are the interviews with the authors.

Recommended.

Sample post
Death Has A Name
Synopsis:
Together with Detective Phil Dawson, Brodie Wade -- a psychic detective -- must summon all of his will to go head-to-head with a spiritual force known as The Truth to solve the latest string of gruesome murders. It appears that Dominick Fredrickton -- the Midnight Killer -- has returned from the grave. Can they stop Death before he is unleashed from eternal bonds?

Review:

Normally I'm not into paranormal or anything like that but I wanted to give this book a try. I read it in two days (which for me is very quick) and loved it. The way Brody struggles with his 'gift' is portrayed very real and I could really feel for the guy. The book has a nice plot as well. Maybe I must open more for this kind of books.

Where to find it:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34088?ref=rjpalmer

RECENT POSTS:
--Author Interview: RJ Palmer, author of Birthright
--Black Earth: The End of Innocence
--March read an ebook week is coming!!
--The authors of Operation Ebook Drop
--Author Interview: Melinda Clayton, author of Appal...
--Nick's Baby
--Artifact
--Alter
--RePost of A Blog Post I found on Author RJ Palmer'...
--A list of 50 ebooks on Smashwords for $0.99
--50 Books available for $0.99 on Amazon Kindle
--Death Has A Name

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Reviews published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
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Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

Two Minute Conservative (Political)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Two Minute Conservative, by Adrian Vance

WEB ADDRESS: http://adrianvance.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Conservative ideas, thinking, science and humor for radio and TV hosts, opinion page editors and you. Arm yourself with powerful concepts, phrases and gags that disarm, dismember and disembowel those who would destroy America for all with their good intentions and goofy thinking. Liberals are people who have to think they are smarter because they know they are not. We can help them with clear visions of the way it ought to be.

MY REVIEW: Since I'm a conservative - mostly - I enjoyed this blog a lot, as the author sets the issues out clearly and in-depth. (As example the blog entry on California below. Part time teachers given full time pension benefits? Prison guards able to retire at age 50 with 6 figure pensions? (Well, one hopes its after they started work at 20 and put in 30 full years....)

Anyway, if you want to really know what's going on in the world today, check out this blog. The author posts daily.

Here's his bio from the blog:
Trained as a science teacher, writer, producer and broadcaster, 325 non-theatrical film credits, 100 magazine feature and column credits, 10 books, many radio shows, inventor, US Patent 7,855,061

Sample post:

The Wrath of Grapes
With apologies to John Steinbeck and Henry Fonda, who was a neighbor in my Bel Air days, the time has come when California looks like the famous movie running backwards and all the credit goes to our again Governor Moonbeam Brown.

God, fate or the fickle finger thereof, have put Mr. Brown smack-dab back at the scene of his crime of inventing the public employee unions that now have the state, county and municipalities indebted to them for $500 billion. Yes, half a trillion Dollars of unfunded pension liabilities to insure prison guards retire at age 50 with six figure pensions and all the way to the DMV. Part time teachers are given full pension credit for their service and the benefits just keep going. All on public employee union contracts, some really bizarre.

The city of Berkeley Council is voting on a $20,000 benefit for sex change surgery into the city paid-for health plan for its municipal employees. San Francisco has had this for 20 years. Berkeley is well off as it collects taxes from University of California employees including property taxes from the 18,000 well-paid UC employees. Most other California municipalities and counties are wrestling with bankruptcy. We are approaching an “event horizon” of fiscal black holes for 58 counties and hundreds of municipalities. Visalia has fallen and it is only a matter of time for the rest.

At a recent press conference Mr. Brown was asked about pension reform. He directed reporters to his website. When they examined it they could not find one word on the issue! Yes, “Governor Moonbeam is back!”

Governor Brown’s education funding plan ignores the California State Teachers Retirement System which has doubled its pension liability due to the downturn and mismanagement. Taxpayers are on the hook to make up the guaranteed difference negotiated by the unions but, the bankruptcy solution is on the table.

A more serious form of public employee rebellion is now seen in police departments withdrawing services. The Fremont, California police department no longer answers calls unless you have a name or badge number to give to the RoboCop automated answering officer.

In a state famous for viticulture we can say we are living the wrath of grapes.

RECENT POSTS:
--Flash in the Pits
--Cutting the Cheese
--What the Hell is Going On?
--They'll Come From Outer Space
--Here Comes the Sun
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Reviews published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
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Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

Got A Ukelele (music, arts and entertainment)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: BLOG NAME HERE, by Barry Maz

WEB ADDRESS: http://gotaukulele.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: A blog about the humble ukulele, aimed at the beginner or those thinking of purchasing a uke. I aim to provide beginners tips, reviews of instruments and accessories, plus the odd funny song along the way. The ukulele is the happy instrument, so read the blog, pick up your uke and smile!

MY REVIEW: Some instruments are sad ones - harmonicas are great for the blues. Some instruments are happy ones - that's the ukulele. If you want to be happy, or to be able to cheer yourself up, learn to play a uke!

This is a fun blog - you learn not only about how to play a uke, but also the history of the instrument and some of its greatest players.

Check it out.

Sample post:

For my next instalment of Ukulele Heroes, we look at the mighty Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, more commonly known as "IZ". A giant of a man, with the voice of an angel.

Israel was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1959 and raised in the community of Kaimuki. Being brought up in a traditional Hawaiian family, Israel started playing music with his brother at the age of 11, taking his influences from Hawaiian music stars.

His local musical career started when he founded the band "Makaha Sons Of Ni'ihau" in 1976, and recording their first album No Kristo, and a further string of four albums. The group quickly became the most popular traditional group in Hawaii, and the last recording Israel made with the group, 1991's Ho'oluana remains their biggest selling CD.

In 1990, his first solo album Ka'ano'i won a string of awards, but it was his 1993 album, Facing Future that brought him to worldwide acclaim with his rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What a Wonderful World, reaching 25 in the US Billboard chart and becoming the first ever album from Hawaii to go platinum.

Israel did however suffer in much of his life with a weight problem and was hospitalised on several occasions for weight related problems. He died aged 38 in 1997 of weight related respiratory problems. On the day of his funeral, the Hawaiian state flag flew at half mast, and his coffin lay in state at the Capital Building in Honolulu.

Since his death, his music, most commonly his rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World has been promoted countless times, on TV, in adverts, and in the films Meet Joe Black and Finding Forrester. It entered the UK singles chart where it spent 10 weeks in the top 100, and recently went to number one in Germany.

IZ is now credited as being one of the major contributors to this decades resurgence in ukulele popularity and many Hawaiians consider him their standard bearer.

RECENT POSTS:
- Ukulele Chords - standard tuning
- Famous ukulele players - part 3
- The Red Special arrives - Makala Dolphin review - red burst
- Famous Ukulele players - part 2!
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Reviews published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
_______________________Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

Vintage Cookbooks and Crafts (arts, lifestyle)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Vintage Cookbooks and Crafts , by Amy Alessio

WEB ADDRESS: http://vintagecookbooks.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Travel back through the 1940's - 1980's with vintage recipes, retro crafts and more as this rabid collector unleashes her cookbooks and patterns on the unsuspecting public.

MY REVIEW: I really enjoyed this blog. I'm in to vintage crafts, and it's fun to read recipes from vintage cookbooks when you could get real cooking and not have to worry about the modern day obsession with "healthy" foods. It's all healthy, just eat in moderation!

Anyway, the blog posts practically every day, which is always good, and there's cover photos of the cookbooks, as well as crafts photos, and recipes.

Highly recommended.

Sample post:

Happy Valentine's Day: Oatmeal Lace Cookies
This is my favorite Valentine's Day gift from my husband from a few years' back. He tracked this volume of the Southern Heritage Southern Living series down. That wasn't easy - this seems to be the most popular volume of a popular series. In it are many cookie recipes I've done easily and successfully.

This is from the "Good - And Good For You" chapter. I don't know about that, but I love Oatmeal Cookies.

Oatmeal Lace Cookies (because they end up looking kind of lacy).

Oatmeal Lace Cookies
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups regular oats, uncooked
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Gradually add sugar to egg in a medium mixing bowl, beating well. Add melted butter, mixing well. Combine oats, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg: add to egg mixture, beating well. Stir in vanilla.
Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350F for 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets, and cool on wire racks. Yield: about 4 dozen.

RECENT POSTS:
-Happy Valentine's Day: Oatmeal Lace Cookies
-Pink Meringue Hearts
-Valentine's Day Recipe: Banana Sea Foam
-Retro Crafting: Quilled Hearts
-Mile High Raspberry Pie

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Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

Retro Review: Talking Films

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: Talking Films

WEB ADDRESS: www.talkingfilms.net

BLOG'S DESCRIPTION: The site talks about movies from all across the world.

MY REVIEW: The author is an Indian, Prem Shashi. His writing reflects the fact that English is not his first language. It’s very, very good…very verbose, and with just occasionally the incorrect – but closely matching – word. Occasionally some missing punctuation – but nothing too distracting.

For example:

Enda Walsh is critically known for his work on the film Hunger. He is right now in line to write a screenplay based on the life of Nazi extermination camp commander Franz Stangl, according to the Australian Press.

Stangl was a senior assault leader for Hitler’s SS and a commander of two Nazi extermination camps who was infamous for his quick rise to power, ruthless leadership and consequent alcoholism.

(And just to be clear – “Enda Walsh is critically known for his work on the film Hunger,” would be better as “Enda Walk is known for his work on the critically successful film Hunger,” (critically in this context meaning “the critics”).

And “and consequent alcoholism” – I’m pretty sure he means “subsequent alcoholism.”

Nevertheless, this slight problem with the language is a minor detail. The author is clearly very knowledgeable on films and shares lots of good info. The actual site, http://www.talkingfilms.net., also includes videos of trailers, but if you don’t have time to check the site daily, having the info delivered to you on Kindle makes sense.
 

RECENT ARTICLES:

• Hunger co-writer Enda Walsh on Nazi film
• Bigelow gets a Miraculous Project next
• Tom Hanks is all set to remake Summer Hours
• Gwyneth Paltwo infects Contagion
• Trailer watch: Zoe Kazan explodes on screen