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Star Watchers

by Kelly Vang (Goodreads Author)

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 11 ratings · 5 reviews

Star Watchers is a collection of over 50 diverse poems, where a handful of selected poems merge to tell a greater story, of love, darkness and the hard-earned journey of life.

The challenge is figuring out which poems piece together the larger story called, Star Watchers. Readers will be able to recognize that certain poems connect through repetition of names and phrases. I...more

Paperback, 124 pages

Published May 12th 2012 by Bookfarm (first published October 7th 2011)

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Sep 09, 2012 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads-books

First off, I received this book as a First Reads Giveaway.

Critiquing and reviewing a book of poetry is harder than doing the same for a standard work of fiction. There's a lot more artistic style when it comes to poetry and I think people's tastes are more varied. In a standard work of fiction it's more about plot and characters to connect with and not so much the writer's style and word choice, though that does play a significant part.

That's why I was intrigued when I read the description for S...more First off, I received this book as a First Reads Giveaway.

Critiquing and reviewing a book of poetry is harder than doing the same for a standard work of fiction. There's a lot more artistic style when it comes to poetry and I think people's tastes are more varied. In a standard work of fiction it's more about plot and characters to connect with and not so much the writer's style and word choice, though that does play a significant part.

That's why I was intrigued when I read the description for Star Watchers which states, "a handful of selected poems merge to tell a greater story.” On the cover it also boasts, “The only book of poems that merge to tell a story.” Now obviously there are many ancient works that are stories in one giant poem, so I assume that the author means that this is the ‘only’ book of poems of a seemingly unrelated and disjointed nature which upon further inspection reveals the underlying interconnectedness.

The description also states, “after piecing the poems together, there is an even bigger story--left for readers to determine for themselves,” and “The challenge is figuring out which poems piece together the larger story called, Star Watchers. Readers will be able to recognize that certain poems connect through repetition of names and phrases.” I kind of feel that there was too much repetition and a little bit of banging me on the head with the connectedness. I wish there had been a little more subtlety.

The description also states that, “several poems are inspired by horror legend, Edgar Allen Poe,” which was the clencher that piqued my interest. I must say, Kelly delivers in this department. There is definitely a sense of Poe with such works as, ‘Shadow’, and ‘Spade,’ two of my favorites.

While reading I marked the poems I liked, but upon finishing the book I realized I marked fewer in the last half. I’ve tried to determine why this is, and I think it comes back to the repetition. The poems of Star Watchers are varied in style and their execution, and some show real talent while others feel like they were written at a more amateurish stage. I loved the addition and mixture of mythologies and cultures, but there were some poems that even though I liked them, they felt out of place such as, ‘The Thieves Have Come to Every Corner,” and “When in Life Will I Ever Apply This Lecture?”
Overall, I liked Star Watchers and I’m glad that I won it, because I think I would have been disappointed had I actually purchased it. On various sites the book is listed with a $14.95 price tag and says that it is 124 pages. In truth the book is more like 99. I’m surprised that I can’t seem to find an ebook version. I’d be much more willing to actually purchase a copy if it was cheaper and in digital format. The printed copy just isn’t worth it in my opinion. An interesting thing in the book is the endnotes to certain poems with a sort of definition of some of the words used. I kind of feel like this was a little unnecessary as a lot of them were obvious such as; Mars, Orion’s Belt, Zodia, Niagra Falls, and Sequoia, and they only added to the page count.

I think Kelly has talent and can definitely channel Poe. Will Star Watchers stand the test of time? Probably not, in my opinion, but it’s still good. Just not worth the $14.95 price tag though.
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Oct 04, 2012 MrsJoseph marked it as thanks-but-i-ll-pass

Author sent email with HUGE graphics to shill her book. Author is not a friend or a genre I read.

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Aug 09, 2012 Guinevere marked it as to-read

This book looks great... but is the giveaway autographed? That's what it said on the author's page.

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Dec 22, 2012 Gerd rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook

Didn't quite finish it yet, but I can't see it getting any better.

I like the idea, a selection of poems that unite to tell a story - but frankly I was hoping for more unity here.
We've got some "Story" poems, which frankly can't hold a candle to the classics, mixed in with what feels at times like random writing.
I did like some of it good enough, there certainly is some entertainment value to it, but I don't find it very inspiring, or romantic, or - well, even just plain beautiful written.

Maybe...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Patty rated it 5 of 5 stars

love the cover and it sounds good to...

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About Kelly Vang

FOR OTHER CHANCES TO WIN OTHER COOL PRIZES,FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW. WINNER EACH WEEK, CONTACT VIA FACEBOOK AND GOODREADS MESSAGES. 3 easy steps:

(1) "LIKE," my facebook page facebook.com/officialkellyvang
(2) "SHARE," my facebook page
(3) Become a fan and friend on my Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

PURCHASE BOOK: www.kellyvang.com
ASK ME A QUESTION: starwatchersbook@live.com
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Quotes from Star Watchers

“Time is a watchful adversary, who waits enduringly for that merciless hour, hurrying to work the hands of separation.” — 6 people liked it

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