SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
Nothando’s Journey by Jill Apperson Manly, Illustrations by Alyssa Casey
While Nothando’s story is an […]
Barcelona: A Photographic Tour by Alexandru Ciobanu
“Barcelona is the city of colors.” So begins Alexandru Ciobanu’s photographic travel guide, which certainly lives up to that first declaration. In vibrant color photography, Ciabanu covers the gamut in the city of Barcelona, from major attractions to hidden corners. Additionally, it’s a well-detailed travel guide, outlining the history behind each one of his pictures, in prose that’s both concise and informative.
Sometimes color photography can lose the timeless romance and detail of black and white photography, but such is not the case with Ciobanu’s photographs. Ciobanu makes great use of vivid HD photography, which brings out texture and color. […]
Teachings on Being by Codrin Stefan Tapu
The New Faith accepts all faiths under one umbrella as a sort of syncretism, while promoting union between different religions and heritages. As an outcropping of this ethos, Teachings on Being collects together a number of different chapters, each a few paragraphs long about how humans can be united and live together peacefully.
Though there are profound ideas woven into the book, it follows in the footsteps of Jodorowsky or Chopra in […]
Carousel and Other Stories by Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold
Carousel and Other Stories by Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold is a lyrical collection of stories about the small poetic moments in a marriage. Whether it’s a couple rekindling their passion on vacation, couples facing the daunting prospect of the draft, it’s a collection about fears and dreams unfulfilled, but each finding contentment among the difficulty. Verdino-Süllwold’s prose is eloquent and thoughtful. She has clear affection for her characters and sympathy for their troubles, which only evokes the same feeling in the reader.
Smartly, Verdino-Süllwold uses the motif of the carousel to describe the cyclical nature of her characters’ lives. Though they’re […]
Choosing Differently: A Memoir of a Software Entrepreneur’s Wife by J.S. Joseph
What could have been a memoir of airing dirty laundry, it never succumbs to this, as Joseph is equally candid about […]
Odes on Ali by David A. Bates
The book begins with a passionate and eloquent introduction to Ali the fighter, covering the major moments from his life and how he has been such a huge influence on the world of sports and beyond. After the introduction, each fight by Ali is described in rhyming verse that calls to mind Ali’s own […]
The Real Matrix by Michael Evans
The book is at its best when its talking about big picture issues – such as the impact of religion or law on personal outlook. For example, the issue of […]
The Widows Guild by Anna Castle
Part 3 of the Francis Bacon Mysteries is set in London in 1588: under threat by a Spanish Armada, a killer is using the unrest as cover to murder Catholics. Unscrupulous Lady Alice Trumpington has designs on killing her husband, but he ends up dead by another person’s hand, yet is locked away in the prison tower. Bacon is tasked to free her from her bondage, and […]