To the Editors: It is Gen X essayist Zadie Smith’s prerogative to preen about her generation and conceitedly credit it with owning modes of thought and attitude that seem to me rather more universal [“The Instrumentalist,” NYR, January 19]. But she can’t change time itself. If Gen X’s supposedly singular “commitment to emotional resilience” led […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/02/23/my-generation/
The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.
We survived January. I read/listened to 23 books for the Goodreads challenge. I completed the Finish A Series in a Month challenge. We’ve got two birthdays in February. My son turned 30 on Saturday and my oldest will be 32 later this month. Gads I am getting old. My crime thriller binge continues with a palate cleansing urban fantasy in between… I am still binge watching Scorpion. lol Stay Caffeinated.
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I have an open tour for a fun stem romance and two others going up for April. Stop by and join the fun. ARCS will be available for all.
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Original source: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2023/02/sunday-post-561-hello-february.html
Education is not only in school because we also learn from our family, culture, and environment. Traditions, beliefs, and upbringings in many homes are different. Being an immigrant in America is proof of that, and recognizing it can give you a new perspective on life. The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi shows the daily life of a Nigerian-American man who discovers himself amidst the contradictions of life. Obi tries to balance family, work, and ideological responsibilities. He soon faces reality and realizes that generational customs are changing. He goes through life reflecting on situations in search of realistic expectations for his life. In this way, Chinedu Achebe demonstrates how education and society change, evolve and adapt.
Obi learns that marriages are relationships that do not always meet people’s expectations. Every family has its secrets, and Obi’s is no exception. As I continued reading on, I learned that Obi and Nkechi are not the perfect couple that they like to portray to others, and Obi is struggling to be a better husband. The tension and drama build when Sade and Tamika enter the picture as Obi has to battle with temptation, leaving the reader wondering how Obi will handle this situation.
I found it interesting that Obama’s re-election is discussed by Obi and it shows how politics affect our lives. This made for a relatable read because many readers have experienced what Obi is experiencing, from having to pay for daycare, healthcare, and the worries of a stagnant economy and how people are wary of Obama’s policies affecting our decisions life to care for our families. Nkechu is a character that some will either love or hate because, on the outside, she is a strong woman who is trying to find her footing as a new mother and have a career, all while still trying to have a healthy marriage. Still, on the inside, she is really insecure, which begins to take a toll on their marriage. I felt that Obi needed a better support system, especially regarding his needing advice on marriage.
Chinedu Achebe emphasizes the effort of Nigerian immigrants to integrate into a community, all while trying to hold on to past traditions as well as create new traditions. I recommend The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi to those who are looking for realistic and current fiction that focuses on family, culture, and politics.
Pages: 228 | ASIN : B076KP1GWX
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/02/05/the-miseducation-of-obi-ifeanyi/
The String follows an ordinary young boy who discovers an ordinary ball of string and uses it to go on adventures with his imagination. What was the inspiration for your story?
That’s a great question. I was reading my picture book, It’s Music Time, to a 1st-grade class at one of our local elementary schools where I live in Brown County, Indiana. I say reading, but it’s really a near-wordless picture book with 15 words at the beginning and 15 at the end. Anyway, as I flipped through the pages, one little boy in the class had a small hand-sized rubber ball he was playing with. The teacher quickly took it away from him, but I could tell by the look on his face that he was in some faraway magical land playing with his rubber ball and didn’t like it at all that he was brought back to reality by the teacher.
The very next weekend, I was thinking about that little boy’s expression, and I knew all he wanted to do was play in his imaginary world with his rubber ball. So I looked through the drawers in my kitchen cupboard, and the first thing I saw was an orange ball of nylon string. And it hit me all at once. At that very moment, I knew exactly what the little boy in my story would do with that string.
The art in this book is fantastic. What was the process like to create the art while writing the story at the same time?
Sometimes I will do a drawing and become inspired to write a story because of that drawing. My young adult novel, The Good Witch of the South, was like that. When I first gazed upon the fairy that I used for the front cover of my novel, I knew she was the daughter of the Good Witch of the South and knew precisely what she would become in that story.
My String book was different. When I first saw the ball of string, I sat down and wrote the story while catching glimpses of illustrations in my head as I was writing.
Once I finished the manuscript, I started the illustrations. Once the drawings were completed, I did a small dummy of the book. From there, I changed some of the text and added a couple of new drawings. For example, in the original manuscript, the little boy didn’t use the string, or his sister, to pull a loose tooth. He didn’t have a loose tooth. But when I made my dummy, I needed to add more illustrations and decided to add a loose tooth to the text. And that made the illustration of the little boy brushing his teeth funnier. All in all, it took over a year to write, draw and put the book together.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
One of the best ways to discover what we will become when we are children is by using our imagination. Children love to pretend to be this or that. Mostly, I want children to know they can be extraordinary in every way. All they have to do is try. When children see the little boy in my book doing all the amazing things he can think of doing with his ball of string, it is my hope it will inspire children to take flight with their imagination.
Who knows what extraordinary things they might achieve?
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Oh yes, my next book . . . I am incredibly excited about my next book, which will come out in 2024. The title is, That Will Never Do. It’s taken me over a year to do the illustrations for this book, just like The String.
I have to say, though, That Will Never Do might actually be one of my favorites.
Author Links: Amazon | Website
And if your imagination used a string, what could you do with that string?
There is only one way to find out and that is to read this book, The String, and follow the adventures of one very imaginative little boy.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/02/05/in-some-faraway-magical-land/
Eat, Eat, Eat! Cheese, Cheese, Cheese! is the cautionary tale of three hungry mice who encounter a hungry cat in a cheese store. What was the inspiration for your story?
The Eat, Eat, Eat! Cheese, Cheese, Cheese! story is interesting because I started the drawings in high school, and now 52 years later, I finally finished the pencil drawings and book design for publication. On average, some of my picture books take a year or two to complete. But then again, it all depends on the illustration style I use. Two other picture books of mine, It’s Music Time, and You Can’t Tickle Me, the illustrations took five years to do.
I actually started the drawings for my cheese story as an art class project in high school. When I graduated high school, I had created only three illustrations. And at that time, I wasn’t thinking of any story to go with the drawings. During the course of the past 52 years, every now and then, I would pull out the illustrations and would work on a new drawing. It took me two to three months to do one drawing for this story.
Seven years ago, I finally figured out the storyline. And seven years later (actually 52 years later), the story and illustrations were finished and ready to be made into Eat, Eat, Eat! Cheese, Cheese, Cheese!
I loved the illustrations for this picture book, they are creative and entertaining. What was your favorite scene to illustrate in this story?
That is such a difficult question to answer. It is impossible for me to pick a favorite illustration for any of my picture books. But the one that took the longest in this story is the very first drawing in the book with the three cheese-hungry mice sailing a cheese boat. The one that makes me really laugh is the one with the cat wearing her big glasses. That one cracks me up!!!
I will say this, as much as I love drawing my stories, I love designing the book just as much!
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
The central theme is the consequences we must face when we overindulge. Most times, too much of a good thing is just that, too much of a good thing. But it always amazes me after I write a story all the different learning aspects that will come to light.
Will you be writing more picture books with a message like this one?
That’s another excellent question. I never know what my next picture book will be like or what message it will develop from the writing. All I know is an idea will always find a way to inspire me to do another picture book.
Author Links: Amazon | Website
But when the cat, Gourmet, gives up a perfectly good dish of cat food for the chase of fresh mice, she finds that she too must deal with specific consequences.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/02/05/that-one-cracks-me-up/
Off Kilter follows a well-known artist who is experiencing a strange number of minor accidents as he discovers the reason why things are happening to him. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Off Kilter picks-up right where the first story, Brushed Off, ended with the main character (James) recovering from gun shot wounds and a horrendous fist fight so I felt he would be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder which has altered and dulled his responses to others and his everyday life experiences. This premise provided me with many opportunities to explore within the plot.
Was there anything from your own life that you put into the characters in your novel?
I lived most of my life in the contemporary art community of Los Angeles and the many individuals I’ve delt with are definitely reflected in the characters I create. Readers of Brushed Off have repeatedly told me they especially enjoyed reading about such realistic individuals.
What was the hardest part about writing a mystery story; where you constantly have to give just enough to keep the mystery alive until the big reveal?
Making the transitions both believable and intriguing is always challenging, but it is also one of the things I enjoy creating the most, especially the nuances that can be manipulated and fiddled with.
Will there be a third mystery in this series, if so, what can you tell readers about it?
Yes, I decided from the very beginning that this would be at least a trilogy and one of the best things about centering a story within the contemporary art community is that I can always rely on it being in a constant state of flux. Which provides me with an endless variety of characters and sub-plots to select from. That said, I’m jousting around with how to bring computer technology and an artist sense-ability together using only words on paper, rather than actual visual images.
Author Links: Website | Facebook
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/02/05/the-characters-i-create/
Season of the Dragon by Natalie Wright, Book 1 of the fantasy series Dragos Primeri, follows Quen, a young woman plagued by a curse that makes her a pariah in her homeland and the world of Menauld. After a mysterious woman visits Quen’s small desert town claiming Quen to be part of a dark cult, Quen’s life is forever changed. In hopes of discovering the origin and meaning of her curse, Quen joins a vigilante group of warriors to travel throughout the country, searching for answers. While on her journey Quen is faced with those who fear her, those who wish to control her fate, and those who might just know the origin of her powers.
A book for fantasy lovers! With dragons, magical creatures, magic, corrupt kingdoms, and forbidden love, Natalie Wright has created an enthralling world. The reader journeys with Quen as she searches for answers to a dark secret she holds inside herself – her second soul. Quen, unsure of the meaning of her second soul, seeks to understand its origin for fear that she might belong to the shadow of Vay’Nada rather than the calming waters of Val’Enara.
Wright spends much of the book world-building and familiarizing the reader with the world of Menauld, and there is much to learn. Despite this, Wright successfully educates the reader without overwhelming them as she continues the introduction of the world throughout the entire book. Wright excels in immersive world-building, while her second act moves at a slower pace as readers follow along on Quen’s journey.
Quen is an amazing female protagonist. She is bold and strong yet kind, loving, and intuitive. What may seem to be naivete in some situations shows her earnestness and comes off as genuine and relatable. The secondary characters are also well-written. I recommend Season of the Dragon by Natalie Wright to fantasy readers who enjoy a gripping coming-of-age story that takes them on an exciting adventure. I am already looking forward to the sequels.
Pages: 444 | ASIN : B0BRNW6715
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/02/05/season-of-the-dragon/