the grunters!
Well, it's finally here - my favourite month of the year: December. Yes, it's coming up to Christmas and that's reason enough to be excited, for sure, but it is also the time of year when I review the many magnificent books, almost exclusively from indie authors, I have been privileged enough to read over the past 365 days.
From this review, I make my totally SUBJECTIVE decision as to which books rank where, in the great scheme of things - culminating in the announcement in a week or so of THE SUPREME GRUNTER AWARD FOR 2017.
Yes, I love it - and not because it gives me any great power, because after all this is just my humble (yeah right!) opinion. But, as someone who is a voracious reader, I like to think it does a tiny little bit to promote the amazing indie talent we have out there.
This year, I managed to read 145 books, as opposed to 142 the previous year. I'm confident, with a bit of dedication and effort, I can make 150 next year, which would be a milestone for me.
Anyway, enough of my mindless rambling, it's time for this year's first award in The 2017 Grunters. The Category is ANTHOLOGIES/COLLECTIONS
From this review, I make my totally SUBJECTIVE decision as to which books rank where, in the great scheme of things - culminating in the announcement in a week or so of THE SUPREME GRUNTER AWARD FOR 2017.
Yes, I love it - and not because it gives me any great power, because after all this is just my humble (yeah right!) opinion. But, as someone who is a voracious reader, I like to think it does a tiny little bit to promote the amazing indie talent we have out there.
This year, I managed to read 145 books, as opposed to 142 the previous year. I'm confident, with a bit of dedication and effort, I can make 150 next year, which would be a milestone for me.
Anyway, enough of my mindless rambling, it's time for this year's first award in The 2017 Grunters. The Category is ANTHOLOGIES/COLLECTIONS
anthologies!
For whatever reason, I haven't managed to read much in the way of Anthologies or Collections this year, so nominations in this category are extremely thin on the ground. In fact there is only one collection nominated this year and therefore, by default, it is the winner of the 2017 Grunter Award for Anthologies/Collections. I hasten to add, that even if I'd read ten anthologies/collections this year; Soul Searching would still have made the nomination grade, I'm sure. It impressed me that much.
soul searching by shaheen darr
You know, there are occasions in life when your preconceptions and prejudices are put to the test and you are forced to concede defeat and accept you were wrong.
Although I dabbled a bit in poetry when I was young (didn't all angst-ridden, young men?) over the years I've come to regard poetry with a bit of disdain and dare I say it, even considered poets to be nothing more than writers who couldn't write decent prose. The poetry I have read, either voluntarily, or forced to have read through study, has usually reinforced my judgment of this form of writing.
And, then along comes Shaheen Darr, with her collection of poems entitled Soul Searching and all my previous slants against poetry and poets are blasted out of the water.
This poet's ability to seek the fundamental aspects of many of life's great questions, through her words is frankly awe-inspiring.
When I first sat down to read this book, I gritted myself for a turgid stroll through nonsensical combinations of words that were somehow supposed to show the author's superior intellect and grasp of a situation. I couldn't have been further from the truth.
Darr's understanding and ability to express our deepest feelings and our deepest fears, in beautiful, rhythmical, poetic phrasing is second to none that I've read before.
I literally flew through the book, not because I was skimming or not enjoying the poems, but because each poem led me merrily on to the next and I just didn't want to stop the pleasure of the read.
Darr is a wordsmith extraordinaire, but more than that, she has a fundamental grasp of life, its problems and its complexities.
I never thought I would be saying this, but Soul Searching is one of the best books I have read this year, or perhaps, even the last few years.
I doff my hat to the author and humbly declare I am a poetry convert. Well, a convert to Shaheen Darr's poetry anyway.
Although I dabbled a bit in poetry when I was young (didn't all angst-ridden, young men?) over the years I've come to regard poetry with a bit of disdain and dare I say it, even considered poets to be nothing more than writers who couldn't write decent prose. The poetry I have read, either voluntarily, or forced to have read through study, has usually reinforced my judgment of this form of writing.
And, then along comes Shaheen Darr, with her collection of poems entitled Soul Searching and all my previous slants against poetry and poets are blasted out of the water.
This poet's ability to seek the fundamental aspects of many of life's great questions, through her words is frankly awe-inspiring.
When I first sat down to read this book, I gritted myself for a turgid stroll through nonsensical combinations of words that were somehow supposed to show the author's superior intellect and grasp of a situation. I couldn't have been further from the truth.
Darr's understanding and ability to express our deepest feelings and our deepest fears, in beautiful, rhythmical, poetic phrasing is second to none that I've read before.
I literally flew through the book, not because I was skimming or not enjoying the poems, but because each poem led me merrily on to the next and I just didn't want to stop the pleasure of the read.
Darr is a wordsmith extraordinaire, but more than that, she has a fundamental grasp of life, its problems and its complexities.
I never thought I would be saying this, but Soul Searching is one of the best books I have read this year, or perhaps, even the last few years.
I doff my hat to the author and humbly declare I am a poetry convert. Well, a convert to Shaheen Darr's poetry anyway.
Congratulations to the extremely talented Shaheen Darr.
In our next blog, we shall look at the Children's Books Category - Always a wonderful category with plenty of strong competition.
In our next blog, we shall look at the Children's Books Category - Always a wonderful category with plenty of strong competition.
Till next time, have a wonderful, peace-filled day.
CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!
EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITIES LIFE PRESENTS TO YOU AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS!
HAVE A GREAT LIFE AND SPREAD THE LOVE!
EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITIES LIFE PRESENTS TO YOU AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS!
HAVE A GREAT LIFE AND SPREAD THE LOVE!
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