K.A. Ashcomb's Blog, page 67

Book Review: Indignez-vous ! by Stéphane Hessel

This is a small pamphlet to wake up the young and not so young to take a better look at the state of our democracy and hearts of men who see markets the true purpose. Hessel argues that the media holds too great power of our attention and minds, that we are losing our welfare state to the argument that the divide is somehow deserved between the rich and the poor, that our democracy is in poor condition, and we are reckless with our planet. Thus it is Time for Outrage! Time to revisit the idea...

Book Review: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

Small Gods feels like a tipping point for the Discworld series. Not only the ending is better thought through (oh, I liked the mini-ending and the actual one, no spoilers though,) but behind the story, you get a glimpse of Pratchett’s anger. Small Gods is his argumentation about (against?) organized religion and about the need to uphold fundamental truths with any cost. It a story that follows Brutha who will experience awakening by meeting his God. It kind of complicates things. Who would ha...

Writing: The Fun Part Editing + Cut Scene

Hi!

Last week I wrote to you about how reading aloud is the best writing advice I have ever received. I have been doing that past week now, reading my second book aloud, and I have to say I understand the importance of the process even better now after the first book. It helps not only me see the mistakes I have made but also it turns out it helps me to understand when the bit is too much. There have been several places where I have gotten bored or confused or exhausted. And if I get that, th...

Book Review: The Antipope by Robert Rankin

I kept pumping into this book repeatedly. After chatting with someone on Reddit, telling me to give another chance for Robert Rankin that the Brentford series is good, I picked up the book and sat down to read.

The concept of the story is great. I like the idea of the bad pope coming back with sinister plans. But the story itself was messy. I had for over a hundred pages hard to differentiate the characters from each other or even understand how everything fit together. For the first half, I...

Book Review: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

It is absurd to love and adore a tragic character like Don Quixote and never have read his tale. Only seeing him portrayed through pop culture. It was time to change that fact. I started reading this book, but a funny old world, I had to switch to audiobook version due to my dyslexia. This was the first for a long time my reading impairment forced me to stop reading a book. I had difficulties following the unformatted text and small print, making me mix sentences and forget what I had read a...

Update for Book Review Schedule

Hi! This is a minor heads up for a change of schedule. For now, I’m going to start posting book reviews on Mondays instead of Tuesdays. On Tuesdays, I lead a therapeutic group for senior citizens with depression or suffering from loneliness, and it strains me, making me too tired to write. But I want to keep delivering reviews, so I decided to switch the dates. Book reviewing is a surprisingly good way to learn about writing and what works and what doesn’t. It has also made me kinder towards...

Writing: Character Sheet: Hortensia Caster

Hello!

It is time to reveal another character. I know as a writer I shouldn’t have favorites, but I cannot help but like Hortensia. She has potential for later books, and she is almost the only decent person in the whole book.

A quick update about the state of the book. I’m done with the first round of editing. Now I’m reading aloud the book and doing minor fixes before I find myself beta-readers. I think I can soon move to write my third book which I have already outlined while I do the mech...

Book Review: Life Without Principle by Henry David Thoreau

Some people have a talent to write and speak about ageless matters (I would have liked to write truths, but the truth is such a strong word and how can I tell now what holds true tomorrow,) and Henry David Thoreau is one of them. What he wrote in Life Without Principle holds true for many parts today. The prose might have changed, and the examples might have a new appearance, but behind it all is the same principle. If I had to summarize the essay in one sentence, it would be this: don’t live...

Book Review: Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett

I had forgotten how good Witches Abroad was. I last read it when I was fifteen that makes it seventeen years ago. And then I thought the book was about female empowerment. About you don’t have to marry the prince or kiss the frog, and I missed all the stuff about good and evil. That makes me appreciate Terry Pratchett’s ability to write and enchant after so many years and give me a new perspective to his writing. And what he is writing about the good and evil is a spot on. That those two conc...

Self-Publishing: General Update About the First and the Second Book

Hello! Those of who read my last week’s post about writing with head or heart know that I have been struggling with my writing, over thinking everything. I’m not sure if it was the fact that I declared my fear, ego, and perfection or something else, but I have been able to work with a lighter tone now. (I stopped to stare at my cat. You know there is real perfection. She is so beautiful and annoying and bossy and lovely and loved that sometimes she deserves to be stared at. Especially when sh...