Book Review: Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins

Title: Battleborn
Author: Claire Vaye Watkins
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Publication Date: August 2, 2012
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN: 978-1594488252
Genre: Literary Short Stories

My Review:

Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins is a gritty portrayal of life in the American West through a series of ten short stories, all set in and about Nevada, in what is her literary debut. Through this common thread, each story takes readers into the time, which goes back to the gold rush and through to the present. Watkins has crafted an impressive collection of stories, which illustrate to the reader the challenges, triumphs, and losses experienced by those in the west at various points throughout time. Battleborn is not a feel good read, but rather it is an honest, realistic look at the experience of living out west from multiple time perspectives. Watkins does an excellent job in making each story as unique as its predecessor, avoiding the tendency to make a mold or template and simply repeat the motif ten-fold. I found each subsequent story to be all the more engaging because of this and can easily recommend Battleborn to fans of historical fiction as well as short stories.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Battleborn through LibraryThing Early Reviewer programme, for review.

 


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Being Plagiarized…

…. has made me rethink book reviewing, blogging, and humanity.

There are many wonderful things about blogging book reviews and I was happily starting to get settled back into reviewing when I was alerted this morning to the fact that one of my 2010 reviews had been plagiarized.  I do not know the person who alerted me to this act of intellectual theft (but I do thank her) nor was I aware of the book review website which took my review as their own.  I suppose I should be angry at learning my review (which honestly was not my best) was plagiarized, but I am left confused and I have no idea why this person chose that review to use; yet it has brought my faith in humanity down a notch (however, the owner took prompt action-there are good people in the world!) After a 10-month break I had forgotten about the ugliness that can lie just under the blogging world and honestly I do not have the time or inclination to play these sorts of games.

I want to believe people are honest, trustworthy, and decent and do not want to become paranoid about whether or not someone has used a review of mine as their own.  I believe in karma, and I do not plan to waste another moment on this because the earth continues to rotate, the sun continues to rise, and life is good.   What I will do is give deeper thought into my return to reviewing and whether or not it is good for me.  When I began blogging it was neither for fame nor fortune, rather my passion for books and sharing great books with others.  My mission is still the same as it was when I began blogging years ago, however times have changed and there are many aspects of the changing times for which I am too old to want to deal with and frankly should not have to deal with.

As for the immediate future (aka now), I plan to finish my coffee, practice yoga, meditate and go about my day away from the computer.


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Book Review: Criminal by Karin Slaughter

Title: Criminal
Author: Karin Slaughter
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 3, 2012
Hardcover: 448 pages
ISBN: 978-0345528506
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Suspense

My review:

Criminal by Karin Slaughter is by far my favorite in the series and quite possibly my favourite of all her books to date. Slaughter proves once again just how skillful she is as a writer by creating a complex series of plots, which twist, turn, and come together in unexpected ways. The reader will learn a great deal more about the pasts of Will Trent and Amanda Wagner, life in the mid-70s as a female cop in the Atlanta Police Department, old cases, cover-ups and how things from the past are not always put to rest. Spanning 40 years and two separate crimes, Criminal will easily keep suspense/thriller fans reading long into the night. Criminal can be read independently of Slaughter’s previous books, however I strongly recommend starting from the beginning because her books are that good and it gives readers new to Slaughter’s works a chance to become attached to the characters, as I have become. Clearly, I highly recommend Criminal to all fans of suspense/thrillers.


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New and Upcoming Notable Books

I wanted to share with other readers a few of my favourite books from various genres. The first is in bookstores now and the other three will be released throughout the summer into autumn. Be on the lookout for these fantastic books, take a look at each of them and my reviews will be posted closer to the release dates.

Title: Criminal
Author: Karin Slaughter
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 3, 2012
Hardcover: 448 pages
ISBN: 978-0345528506
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Suspense

 

Title: Battleborn
Author: Claire Vaye Watkins
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Publication Date: August 2, 2012
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN: 978-1594488252
Genre: Literary Short Stories

 

 

Title: In the Shadow of the Banyan
Author: Vaddey Ratner
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: August 7, 2012
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN: 978-1451657708
Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

Title: The Lighthouse Road
Author: Peter Geye
Publisher: Unbridled Books
Publication Date: October 2, 2012
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN: 978-1609530846
Genre: Literary Fiction

 

 

 

Happy Reading!


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Happy 4th of July

Wishing all of my American readers a wonderful and safe 4th of July!


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