Books
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A Review of My Side Hustle (Part 3 of 3)
Back in May I started writing book reviews as a side hustle via Online Book Club. This is a review of my experience so far. Now that I am done complaining about the scoring system (well really, about how parts of it are implemented), what else am I noticing about Online Book Club? This is a community of book lovers, and like all communities, but especially ones that are monetized in this way, it really wants you to be involved. 20 of those 46 points I mentioned you could get without writing a single review? Those come from commenting on the forums. In addition, most of us do not have…
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A Review of My Side Hustle (Part 2 of 3)
Back at the end of May, I started writing book reviews for Online Book Club. This is a review of my experience so far. My final issue with their system is with the claim that a reviewer could become a level 5 or 6 reviewer in as few as three reviews. Now, the reviewer score is out of 100 points. You need at least 85 points in order to be a level 5 reviewer. A person can get a score of 46 without ever writing a single review. You do have to have written at least one review to get any other points. 14 of those points come from popularity.…
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A Review of My Side Hustle (Part 1 of 3)
I have been doing my side hustle for a little over a month now, and naturally, I have some thoughts. Let me start by saying, I am overall happy with the process. I have gotten to read some really interesting books that I would not have noticed otherwise. There has also been one book that I could not finish. It just bugged me too much. But that is not the fault of Online Book Review. (And while it seems from the reviews that many people agreed with my issues, many others did not and enjoyed the book tremendously.) Now that I have said something positive (and honestly, my overall experience…
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New Page & Side Hustle
Nowadays, a lot of people have “side hustles”, ways to make money alongside their regular job. These used to be called “second jobs”, but that was before the gig economy. And for a lot of bloggers, their blog is their side hustle, at least until they can grow it to the point of it being their primary job. That is not me. I thought, way back in the day when I was managing four active blogs, that it might be. But then I realized that blogging was an enjoyable hobby for me, and trying to turn it into a money making device kind of sucked the fun out of it.…
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Book Review: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
I first read Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor back in late 2015 or early 2016, somewhere in the same timeframe that I read Among Others by Jo Walton (review) and Uprooted by Naomi Novik (review). I loved all three books for different reasons. Among Others is a love letter to reading and books. Uprooted has one of the strongest beginnings I have ever read and an engaging plot. The Goblin Emperor is all about the characters. I honestly could not tell you what the plot of The Goblin Emperor is, beyond it being a “year in the life” style story. Things happen. It is not a boring book with no…
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100 Word Book Review – The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
A dystopian science fiction fantasy novel where the hero is an adult, an actual, middle-aged adult? Yes please. And not only is our hero a parent, she is a woman, a black woman. In fact, almost all of the characters have skin in varying shades of brown. Though to be honest, since much of The Fifth Season is written in second person, I did envision my middle-aged self in the heroine’s place. I finished the book wanting more. It is a great fantasy book with an intriguing dash of science fiction at the end. Looking forward to the second book.
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100 Word Book Review – Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
I often read books and think “I would love to hear this book read aloud”. With Brown Girl Dreaming, I read the book and thought “I would love to read this book aloud”. Maybe it is because the words on the page clearly indicate the book is a poem, or a series of poems, or maybe just because the language, the pacing, the rhythm was so perfect. I loved this book, and I really wished I had someone to read it to. It is the story of a brown girl and her dreams. Very simple, but also just about perfect.
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Book Review: Dead Man’s Debt by Elliot Kay
I just finished my second read through of Dead Man’s Debt by Elliot Kay. For the sake of full disclosure, I know the author, and the first time I read the book, it was as one of his beta readers before he published. That said, I can honestly say I enjoyed the book. This should not come as a huge surprise. It is the third book in the series, and I would not have volunteered to be a beta reader if I had not enjoyed the first two books. Dead Man’s Debt is the continuing adventures of Tanner Malone and the end of his time in the Archangel Navy. While…
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Blast from the Past: Book Review – Red Sorghum by Mo Yan
As I mentioned yesterday, I have almost 3,000 posts still up online from various blogs. I thought it might be fun to share some of those. My very fist LiveJournal post was really just – hey look, I have an LJ now. But my second post (big surprise here) was a book review. Originally posted May 10, 2005 on LiveJournal. Edited May 17, 2016. Last time I was in need of a new book to read, I decided that instead of going through multiple boxes to find one of the science fiction/fantasy books I have not read yet, I would try one of the many books C and I still…
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Book Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
The first time we read American Gods, C said to me “This is why I can never write a book, because I could never be this good.” The truth is, there are very few people who are as talented at writing as Neil Gaiman, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane continues his tradition of authorial excellence. I cannot truly give a summary of the plot without giving too much away. I think it is best to say this is a book about memory, childhood, and the way how we view the world changes as we grow older. It is also a book about friendship and sacrifice, and…
