SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
A novel in verse could potentially get tedious, but Golden Gloves flows evenly. Another potential problem is that it could seem childlike, as rhyming verse is most commonly associated with children’s books. Because of the themes present, and the cadence of the prose, neither of these issues is an […]
Brighton Make-Believe by Michael Salita is a charming children’s book about using your imagination. Really, there cannot be enough books stressing kids to use make believe. In the neighborhood of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, three six-year-old boys are sick of playing sports all the time and want something else to do. They start making up stories about different animals in the neighborhood – dogs that run along rooftops and birds that live underground – and they travel around the neighborhood making up more and more outlandish stories about the neighborhood animals.
The main trouble with Brighton Make-Believe is it calls out […]
Thirty Days to Thirty is a fun and emotionally-charged novel about a woman who’s just approaching thirty who loses everything: In the space of a few hours she gets fired from her job and then finds her boyfriend of six years has been cheating on her. Just when she thought her whole life was coming together and she was on the right track, everything falls apart, and instead finds herself living again with her parents. And so she gets innovative: she finds an old list of things she hoped to accomplish before she turned thirty, and with a few friends […]
Poetic and supremely well-written, this is the type of self-published book there should be more of: literary, but also with a compelling high-concept idea at its core. At times, the narrative is a […]
Donald Trump: Zombie Hunter is the raucous and topical satire of the man of the moment, Donald Trump, as he wins the presidency, fixes everything overnight, and then is attacked by a hoard of zombies, all of which come in the form of his current opponents: Chris Christie and Rand Paul, among others. The story is filled with amusing references to moments from the campaign trail – such as Trump taking on John McCain’s heroism. If you’re a fan of the horror crossover genre, it’s a unique take that’s at once funny and revolting.
Though the short story may be […]
What makes The Country of Innocence unique, and effective, is that even with its absurd and surreal premise, the prose itself is straightforward, and the characters […]
Burn Zones: Playing Life’s Bad Hands is Jorge P. Newbery’s autobiography about going from rags to riches to rags again, and still staying strong along the way. Becoming a real estate mogul at a young age owning over 4000 apartment buildings and a net worth of tens of millions, it all came crashing down with a botched investment in Ohio. Newbury was arrested and ended up $26 million in debt. That’s not a typo.
In racing parlance, a Burn Zone is the toughest part of a bike race, which tends to separate the wheat from the chaff. If anything, the […]
