Today, on WKAR’s Current State I reviewed the new novel by popular writer Wally Lamb. It is called We Are Water. You can listen to my review online here:
http://wkar.org/post/book-review-wally-lambs-we-are-water
If you would rather read my book review, you can do so below.
We Are Water can be found on Amazon.com here. If you would like to hear/read more of my book reviews you can do so via my page for my Current State reviews here.
I hope you enjoy my new book review!
Every year, I like to stop and take a look at my life and the year that just was. And one of the great things about having a blog is it makes it quite easy to do just that! I get all of the highs and the lows, they are all there in easy to read formatting… sometimes even with cute pictures.
How did I feel about being a parent or on a child’s birthday, it is there. It’s like a personal photo album, but it is available for all to share. I just hope I am not that annoying friend who is showing you slides of their last family outing. That is the blogger nightmare, I guess.
Looking back, 2013 has been a great year for me. I finished writing a new novel (Permanent Spring Showers), I had two very well-reviewed books published (A Jane Austen Daydream and Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare), and I continued to watch this blog and my writing grow. Over the course of the year, my blog gained 600 new subscribers (now having over 1000) and my digits are higher on all of my other social media platforms. It all almost calls for champagne.
Okay, I don’t like champagne. Seriously, I’m a light drinker. It is almost embarrassing. It makes my patient wife laugh how little I can handle. And when I do order drinks they come with funny straws and too much chocolate. I’m not James Bond, but I wish I was. I also threw up once in college after drinking goldschalger. You remember a moment like that, trust me. I kept drunkenly thinking, “There is gold everywhere! Look at all the money!”
For those new to my blog, or those who are catching up, here are my six favorite posts from the last year. If you have already read the articles, I have included a new afterthought to each. Something for everyone… about me. Enjoy! (more…)
I am back on WKAR’s Current State today with a new book review! This time it is for the new novel by Mitch Albom, The First Phone Call From Heaven.
You can listen to my latest book review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-mitch-alboms-first-phone-call-heaven
If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.
Mitch Albom’s book can be found on amazon here. If you would like to learn more about my book reviews or hear/read past installments you can do so via my site (here) or via this page on Current State’s official website.
I hope you enjoy the review! (more…)
Today, I am back on WKAR’s Current State with a review of the new novel by Dave Eggers!
You can listen to my review of The Circle on WKAR’s website here:
http://wkar.org/post/book-review-dave-eggers-circle
If you would rather read my review, you can do so below after the jump.
The Circle by Dave Eggers is available on Amazon (in both hardcover and eBook) via this link or at any local bookstore. And you can check out any of my past radio appearances and book reviews on this page on my site.
I hope you enjoy my new review! (more…)
Just in time for this spooky holiday!
I have a new book review on WKAR’s show Current State. This time I am taking on the “lost” classic novel by Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree.
You can hear my review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-ray-bradbury-s-halloween-tree
You can find The Halloween Tree on Amazon here. If you would rather read my new book review it is available below.
Happy Halloween! (more…)
I’m back on the radio with a review of the new novel by Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. You can hear my review via the WKAR’s Current State website here:
http://wkar.org/post/book-review-ocean-end-lane
WKAR also has a new page for all of my book reviews, which you can find here. You can also learn more about my reviews via this page on my site.
You can find Neil Gaiman’s new novel on Amazon (here) and at any bookstore. If you would rather read my book review than hear it, you can do so below . I hope you enjoy it. (more…)
Every year around this time I always wish I had musical talent. Why? Because Halloween is a surefire money opportunity for a creative songwriter.
See, across this country, from kids to adults, people have Halloween parties, but there is no real Halloween music to play. Oh, there is “Thriller” by Michael Jackson and the awful “Monster Mash,” but what is there after that? Dance remixes of famous horror movie themes?… That’s not good enough!
And that is when an enterprising music genius steps in.
You make a CD that is family friendly, has some fun danceable tracks (maybe comes with its own dance move), add enough references to Halloween memories to stir a heartfelt response (think any classic Christmas song, most are built around memories) and you will be cashing a big check once a year for decades to come.
Sadly, I don’t have music talent and the extent of my songwriting skills only brings up corny titles like “I Want My Mummy” and “Do the Frankenstein Shuffle.” That is just embarrassing. It is even more embarrassing because I am literary enough to know Frankenstein is the doctor not the monster.
Sigh.
Here are the five things I am into this month… (more…)
I used to have nightmares because of Latin class.
I took Latin when I was in school for three years, between 7th and 9th grade. I was drawn to the classes, not because of it being a gateway to other languages, but more because of its literary history. See, by this point, I was reading everything I could get my hands on, and usually my focus was on the classics, not what typical junior high kids were devouring. “No, thank you. You can keep your Stephen King, I’m re-reading Hemingway this week.”
Latin was a tie to great mythology, it was a connection to those random quotes in a novel that I had no idea what was being said. In a literary sense, it felt like the opportunity to dig around the base of a tree and see the root underneath.
The teacher of the classes was Mr. Black, and looking back over those three years with him I still can’t put my finger really on his personality. He could go up and down pretty quickly, did he like to teach or hate it? Did he even like us or hate us? Now I almost wonder if he was bipolar, and that could explain the oddness of the experience. (He would also show us I, Claudius in class, if you can believe it. He would run up with a big piece of paper to cover up the screen whenever the “naughty bits” would come on; of course, most of the time he didn’t get to the TV in time. Yes, he taught kids like me all about the history of Caligula.)
Mr. Black would have the students recite and speak Latin in class, and while I was basically average in reading Latin on the page, I couldn’t do it aloud. It was too much for my tongue. It is those moments that used to haunt me, standing up, hands sweaty, all of the eyes on me as I tried to recite a passage perfectly. The other students would sometimes hide their laughter, many times they didn’t. And there was Mr. Black in the front shaking his head, frowning, with almost a mocking smirk hiding behind his eyes. (more…)
I did something a little different this week in my appearance on WKAR’s Current State. Instead of sharing a new book review, I decided to take on the idea of Banned Books Week. I try to explain both sides of the issue, and offer my option for tackling “unwanted” books. I’m pretty proud of this piece, I hope you will check it out.
You can listen to my discussion via this link- http://wkar.org/post/book-review-banned-books-week
If you would rather read my commentary, you can do so below after the jump. And you can learn more about Banned Books Week via a site by the American Library Association (here). (more…)
In this installment of WKAR’s Current State, I review the new book by famed YA author Holly Black. It is entitled The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.
You can listen to my review on WKAR’s site here (http://wkar.org/post/book-review-holly-blacks-coldest-girl-coldtown). You can also read the script of the review below, after the jump.
Holly Black also was interviewed on Current State about the book and her successful career in young adult fantasy. You can hear her interview via this link.
You can find Holly Black’s new book on Amazon.com here. I hope you enjoy my new book review. (more…)
The Stories of Scott D. Southard 