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josephvanburen's reviews
204 reviews
Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer
5.0
I think I have a new favorite nonfiction book! For writers and editors, this is an excellent reference book to accompany whatever style guide you are using. Benjamin Dreyer writes with the perfect combination of experience and sarcasm, his insights into the English language somehow old school and modern at once. For me, a peek into the life of a Random House copy editor was a fascinating bonus! This book is full of amazing editing tips. I'm sure I'll refer back to it often, especially when revising future projects.
Ashes and Entropy by John Langan, Nadia Bulkin, Damien Angelica Walters
5.0
This is an awesome collection of cosmic horror, weird fiction, and neo-noir, and every story in this anthology is amazing in its own way. I am not sure I've ever said that before. I love anthologies, but there is usually a dud or three. Not in this one. While I did enjoy some more than others, every story is well-written. 22 twisted tales from some authors I already liked and a bunch I'd never read before. If you like weird and/or creepy short stories with a side of poetic prose, this is a must-read!
The 2019 Rhysling Anthology by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
5.0
This is a great collection of poetry from a wide variety of voices. I discovered so many talented poets thanks to this anthology! The pieces within range from short to long and run the speculative spectrum from fantasy, sci-fi, horror, hybrids, and the just plain old weird. Thank you, SFPA, for spotlighting these wonderful poems!
Beers and Fears: The Haunted Brewery by Armand Rosamilia, Frank Edler, Chuck Buda
5.0
With these four authors, I knew this would be a great book. Like many a craft beer, I liked it even more than I expected to. This anthology is actually three novellas framed within another novella that intertwines and connects the other stories. I love that! Each story focuses on a certain decade of horrors that took place in the same setting, the haunted brewery. And though each author has his own voice and style, the book as a whole flows together into one awesome story that really hits the old school horror spot. With a title like Beers and Fears, you know you're in for a fun ride, and this book over-delivers on its promise! Great job, gentlemen.
The Secret Life of Words: English Words and Their Origins by Anne Curzan
5.0
18 hours of English etymology, linguistic history, and current language usage! If that sounds like a treasure chest of awesome to you (as opposed to a cardboard box of boring), you need this. I am a fan of The Great Courses and Anne Curzan, and this audiobook was both entertaining and informative. Anne's love of language and passion for her work comes through well. She adds just the right amount of humor and humanity into her lectures to make the material relatable and perhaps even interesting to people not normally drawn to linguistics. You'd be surprised how many words and phrases you use every day are covered in this course!
Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror: Speculative Genre Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers by Laurie Lamson
3.0
There are a lot of writing books out there but not so many that focus on speculative genres, so I'm always excited when I come across one that does. This particular book had a few nuggets of treasure that I found very valuable, but the majority of it was not helpful to me. Despite the seasoned professionals that contributed, this book is definitely focused largely on beginning writers. Too much "how to get ideas" and not enough "how to make my existing ideas better" for me. Also, about half of this book focuses on screenwriting rather than fiction, which I found only marginally helpful. For the few great take-aways I got from this book, it was worth reading. If you are a speculative writer who is just starting or suffers from writer's block, the exercises in this book will probably be of great value to you. If not, you might want to skip this one.