#BookReviews

Winter days may be shorter but they prove to be a blessing when your Kindle is loaded with all genres of books. Each year, December happens to be at the top when I look at the books I’d read in a month. I have many reviews to share this month. Though I never set a “reading goal” but the books I could read last year exceeded my expectations.

Word Weaving #1 is a unique combination of talent; it would inspire many more poets to explore all forms of poetry – haiku, tanka, haibun, etheree, shardoma and many more! Colleen Chesebro and Jules Paige encourage you to play with words to create meaningful syllabic poetry by introducing each form in the beginning of a section.

The beauty of verses by various poets shimmers like moonlight in this anthology of themed poetry. “Moon” – the favorite figure of magnificence for many poets, the haunting symbol of love is the focus of poetry in this book. “Harvest Moon” has been interpreted from fascinating perspectives – for Finn, it emits “celestial beams” reflected in the eyes of her pet while for Peach it “stitches lace” and makes “frosty hems on scarlet leaves.” There are many such images to enthrall your senses in this collection.

A must read for poetry lovers, this book is an excellent creative guide for beginners. Kudos to the editors for taking the initiative of introducing so many amazing poets in one book. I loved it.

‘Perfectly Imperfect’ is a delightful story of a young couple that would win your heart despite their rocky romance. Rhys meets Georgina in connection with her tottering business but likes her even before he could tell her his intentions of selling her company, which has been merged with CLO due to financial troubles.

Jacquie’s brilliant character oriented plot keeps you spell-bound till Rhys works out a solution. This is a light-hearted reading but gives a deep insight into relationships that form the basis of Biggar’s stories. There is a clear indication that Rhys and Georgina are made for each other! I love the way they meet, even their misunderstandings could regale. Well-written novella.

‘Grief Songs: Poems of Love & Remembrance’ is a lovely collection of personal pictures and tanka poems, which record the poet’s memories. Each poem complements the picture that precedes it and reminds us how loving relationships keep us connected despite the years that flee by.

Gauffreau takes you down the emotional lane, shares her personal experiences that anybody could relate to, as grief is not individualistic, it touches us in one form or another. A quick read but would really make you reflect on how each moment of life is precious. A beautiful tribute to her family!

The Kindle edition of this book is not compatible with Kindle or cloud reader but I could read it on my IPad.

Thank you.

If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Have you checked my latest release? – Slivers: Chiseled Poetry

#TankaTuesday #Poetry Challenge

Pixaby image

Vintage Vibes

Drenched in the delight of love that grows with time, taking an inspiration from lingering shadows of the gnarled branches, they walk despite the slippery road of life. They find solace in togetherness and new promises.

snowy path threatens,
scares, yet we walk forward
enticed by the glow 
that dances with promises, 
old stories infuse new life

© Balroop Singh

Thanks to Colleen Chesebro for Weekly Poetry Challenge. This week’s form is tanka prose. There are two basic forms in classic tanka prose: Preface (explanation) and the Poem Tale (episodic narration.)

If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Have you checked my latest release? – Slivers: Chiseled Poetry

#TankaTuesday #Poetry Challenge

Image Credit: Butterfly on Asters by Lisa Smith Nelson

Intoxicated 
by nature’s nectar I thrive
Let me drink till dusk
kisses the sky and reminds you:
we are hypnotized by life

***

You took the sunshine;
alone I carve a new path
through the dark caverns
to gather tattered  remnants
of dreams and grim emotions

© Balroop Singh

Thanks to Colleen Chesebro for Weekly Poetry Challenge. This week’s double tanka is inspired from Lisa Smith’s image.

If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Have you checked my latest release? – Slivers: Chiseled Poetry

#TankaTuesday #Poetry Challenge

Tilini – The Himalaya, 2021 photo credit – sangeetha

breeze blends into love 
whispering rhythmic tunes
colors have faded
but our relationship knows
how we defeated darkness

***

bound by promises
and the gnarled branches of life,
constant companions
waiting for the final kiss
life’s winter is beckoning

***

inspired from your love
I watch you, waiting for spring
to dance once again
and dispel loneliness that
lingers in my pining heart

© Balroop Singh

Thanks to Colleen M. Chesebro for weekly poetry challenge at Word Craft: Prose & Poetry for the inspiration.

If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Have you checked my latest release? – Slivers: Chiseled Poetry

 

Flashes of Life @pamelawight #BookReview

“Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it,” says Ernest Holmes but life is a tide for my writer & blogger buddy Pamela S. Wight and she derives utmost joy from the tiny moments of the past and present, surfing the waves with perfect coordination. She shares her reflections in the form of short stories (each one better than the other) in her latest book: ‘Flashes of Life – True Tales of the Extraordinary Ordinary.’

Book Blurb:

Wow! Life goes by in a flash.

Philosophers and mystics ponder the mystery of these flashes. Pamela Wight writes about life flashes in her short stories that include family and friends, love and life’s challenges. Wight’s “Flash Memoir” promotes the belief that we all share sparks of the extraordinary that occur in our everyday life. Each short story is true and brings a smile of recognition to her readers: that life transports and enthralls us in all its confusing, amusing, challenging, and astonishing ways. Each story is light-hearted and short – like a flash – but be prepared for a page-turner that keeps you in your seat, smiling.

Here is my My Review:

Flashes of Life by Pamela S. Wight brings to life those little moments of joy, which we often miss, those emotions that remain unexpressed, those relationships that we cherish and wish we could hold on to them as they slip out of our hands, however hard we may close our fists. Wight possesses the knack of converting an ordinary scenario into a humorous one, with her witty style of writing. I’ve never read a more marvelous account of the endeavor of a fourteen-year-old girl, to straighten her hair to look like ‘Jane Asher!’

I know Pamela writes with élan, as I follow her at her blog but this memoir, in the form of little stories and anecdotes from her life is amazing! She can look at the mirror and wonder, “where’s the cute twenty-year-old? Who the hell is this freaky lady?” I must have thought that a million times when I look at myself but only Pamela could express it so well to compress it into ‘Dancing Our Age.’ Her crisp style and ingenious choice of words adds a dash of delight that touches your heart immediately. Her stories flow like a gurgling stream, cascading at times and shimmering like the first rays of winter sun.

I thought ‘Straight Hair’ would be my favorite but then I read ‘How to Embarrass Your Kids’ (loaded with fun) and ‘A Renewal’ – dripping with subtle emotions and ‘Grilled Cheese,’ which is wonderfully narrative: “kitchen as tiny as an elf’s, and it has already taken me four minutes, thirty-eight seconds to find a knife to cut the cheese.” Wight is most creative but it hits the sky with ‘It’s All Golden!’ Just look at this: “my thirty year old son, once my hard child”, as hard as sleet on soft grass. I was the grass.” I loved ‘Nap Time,’ I laughed out loud while reading ‘Burnt Toast’ and would never forget her winter coat that she wore when it was 70 degrees outside! You have to read it to find why!

I have no words to describe the superb beauty of ‘The Weight of the Soul’ and ‘Benji.’ Need I say this is a MUST READ book? I would like to give it double 5 stars and keep it at my bedside to read it again and again.

– Balroop Singh.