Book Review: Winter at a Summer House by Mary Beth Hines

 

In this beautiful debut collection, award-winning poet Mary Beth Hines creates a rhythm of life set to stunning imagery. Broken down into six sections, Winter at a Summer House brings the reader from infancy through adulthood--a world filled with first words, family, romance, and a multitude of life experiences.

I'm sure part of why this collection spoke to me is because nature and water imagery fill its pages. From "Scarborough Sail" to "Before the Blizzard" and a unique offering told from the perspective of an alligator, each poem drew me in deeper until I polished off the last poem that gives this collection its name. That last one was so moving and so beautiful that I had to read it over again. Other favorites of mine from this collection are "First Words" and "Honeymoon." 

The cover art, designed by Hines's sister, catches the eye since you have the summer house by the shore with a woman walking back into shore while looking out at herself floating. 

If you love moving poetry that will stir up all kinds of emotions, pick up a copy of Winter at a Summer House today.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kelsay Books (November 4, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 102 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 163980045X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639800452
• Purchase from Amazon
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• I received a digital copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.
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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Jan 24

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Well, this week passed by in a blur. How was yours? With meetings, media interviews, showings, and a new listing, my brain is a bit tired. I'm also working on an editing project. Not a lot of reading going on right now. I am sticking with my Bible plan, but not a lot else. 

I will review the first chapter of this one on Tuesday.

My review of this book will appear here on Wednesday.

I need to read these.

I need to tackle these two books in February.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This book that I am reviewing in February arrived last week.

Self-care is a buzzword often mentioned when people seek to optimize their health. Suggested self-care practices tend to include activities such as exercising, getting a massage, or eating a healthy diet. While all of these actions have their place, none of them are sufficient enough to provide the soul-care we need to maximize our self-care. Self-care without soul-care equates to temporary solutions that leave us searching for the next new thing. However, when Christ becomes the center of our holistic health journey, we not only find fulfillment in Him but also a dependency on and trust in Him to truly live our best lives-emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Please remind me that I promised I would not request too many virtual book tour titles this year. LOL!

Hope you share what you're reading this week. 

Book Review: How to Love the Empty Air by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz

How to Love the Empty Air by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz is a powerful and touching look into grief.

As Aptowicz grabs hold of the success she has worked so hard for, her world is rocked by the sudden death of her mother. In the year that follows, the author battles the overwhelming grief through her writing, sharing these intimate glimpses into her life with readers.

Having lost my mother when I was just a teenager, I was drawn to How to Love the Empty Air. While grief is a very personal thing, there is comfort in the understanding of someone else who has experienced the same tragedy. Apotowicz holds nothing back in this collection. She shares her joys, her sorrows, and her pain in all its rawness. You laugh. You cry. You want to hug her because she feels so close as she stumbles around searching for that new normal that may never feel normal at all. Then she reaches that major milestone--one year after the death of her mother. Not enough time has passed to eliminate the heaviness of the loss, but by the end we can see some joy, a glimmer of happiness and new beginnings.

This is definitely one of my favorite collections. It is the seventh by Aptowicz. I'll be searching out more. If you want deep, meaningful, poetry that tugs at your heartstrings, How to Love the Empty Air is a collection worth reading.

Paperback: 100 pages
Publisher: Write Bloody Publishing (March 20, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1938912802
ISBN-13: 978-1938912801


I received a copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Book Review: Kin Types by Luanne Castle

Emotional and gripping, Kin Types by Luanne Castle is a collection unlike anything I've ever read before. At moments heart wrenching, at moments disturbing, these powerful glimpses into the lives of the women and men from Castle's family history will grab you right away.

While part of me hoped for more lighter moments, the reality is that our ancestors lived in dangerous, difficult times. Castle captures that reality so well with her poetry and prose. She writes a fascinating blog on family history at The Family Kalamazoo. Kin Types is a wonderful new way to bring those people to life for others.


Paperback: 44 pages
Publisher: Finishing Line Press (July 14, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1635342546
ISBN-13: 978-1635342543

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip6mTWIMSvI

I received a free copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Winner of the 2015 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, Doll God, Luanne Castle‘s first collection of poetry, was published by Aldrich Press. Luanne’s poetry and prose have appeared in Grist, Copper Nickel, River Teeth, Glass Poetry Press, Barnstorm Journal, Six Hens, Lunch Ticket, The Review Review, and many other journals. Published by Finishing Line Press, Kin Types was a semi-finalist in the Concrete Wolf chapbook contest.

Luanne has been a Fellow at the Center for Ideas and Society at the University of California, Riverside. She studied English and creative writing at the University of California, Riverside (Ph.D.); Western Michigan University (MFA); and the Stanford University writing certificate program. Her scholarly work has been published in academic journals, and she contributed to Twice-Told Children’s Tales: The Influence of Childhood Reading on Writers for Adults, edited by Betty Greenway. For fifteen years, she taught college English. She divides her time between California and Arizona, where she shares land with a herd of javelina. Visit her website.

Available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2vEq5eW

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/isbn/1635342546

Interview with Laura Foley, Author of WTF

Laura Foley is an internationally published, award-winning poet, author of six collections. She won the Common Goods Poetry Contest, judged by Garrison Keillor; and the National Outermost Poetry Prize, judged by Marge Piercy. Her poetry collections include: WTF, Night Ringing, The Glass Tree and Joy Street. The Glass Tree won a Foreword Book of the Year Award; Joy Street won the Bisexual-Writer’s Award. Her poems have appeared on The Writer’s Almanac, in Valparaiso Poetry Review, Atlanta Review, Lavender Review, The Mom Egg Review, in the British Aesthetica Creative Writing Anthology, and many other journals.

A certified Yoga Instructor and creative arts facilitator in hospitals, she is the mother of three grown children, grandmother to two granddaughters. She and her partner Clara Gimenez live among the hills of Vermont with their three big dogs.

Follow her on GoodReads, Facebook, and Twitter.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Manhattan, the Upper East Side of New York City.

When did you begin writing?

I began writing creatively only when I was 45.

What is this book about?

This book is about my relationship with my father. It reflects also on his experiences as a prisoner of war in China and Japan during World War Two.

What inspired you to write it?

I was inspired to write this book as a way to get to know and understand him, even though he has been gone for over twenty years; to reflect back on childhood memories and re-see them as an adult. I also began to understand who he was in the years before I was born.

How is it similar to other books in its genre?

Books of poetry often reflect back on a poet’s childhood.

How is it different?

This one is different because of its focus on one parent’s remarkable war experience, and remarkable service to his patients (he was a doctor); it is also different because of the consideration and tone of hard-won forgiveness around the father-daughter relationship.

Here is an excerpt from a recent review of WTF: “The poems reflect a father who might have been a more invested and attentive mentor, but their tone is sympathetic and demonstrates an inner strength in dealing with resentment. Even when the poems very directly describe abuses and coldness, they treat Foley’s father with kindness. They do not forgive, but they do attempt to understand.”
Sara Budzik, Clarion Foreword Book Review

What is the most important thing readers can learn from your book?

Readers can learn that they too can re-think their own relationships to people from their past, and find healing from that inner work. They also may find their own life experiences reflected back to them through these poems.

Where can readers purchase a copy?

It is available from my website and on Amazon.

What is up next for you?

I am working on a new full-length collection of poetry tentatively titled: Why I Never Finished My Dissertation.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Thank you for having WTF on your blog site!