Archive for Book Reviews

Julia Unggai | July 5, 2008
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Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama

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I saw him for the first time on TV during the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston. And only later did I learn that he wrote a couple of books– Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance and The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.

I just don’t pay attention to politicians who write books. They’re all about politics and I’m not really interested in politics anyway.

Then he ran for President of The United States. My curiosity about him increased. So I decided to get both the books he wrote. I chose to read Dreams from My Father first.
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Julia Unggai | October 16, 2007
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Only as Good as Your Word by Susan Shapiro

Only as Good as Your Word
Did you have someone you looked-up to when you decided to become a writer? Someone who understood your desire to write and nurtured you along the way to become the writer who you are today? I believe all writers had some type of mentoring when they first started to write. Be it their teachers, editors or how-to books written by long gone writers.

This is exactly what the best seller writer, Susan Shapiro wrote in her latest memoir titled, Only as Good as Your Word.
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Julia Unggai | October 9, 2007
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Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life

Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life

Do you like the Peanuts characters? How about the one and only Snoopy, the beagle owned by Charlie Brown? If you do, and you are a new writer, the book titled Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life is worth reading.

This hardcover book is edited by Barnaby Conrad and Monte Schulz (Charles Schulz’s son) and features 32 essays by famous writers. They include essays by Danielle Steel, Clive Cussler, Sidney Sheldon, Cherie Carter-Scott, Thomas McGuane, Leslie Dixon, Oakley Hall, Catherine Ryan Hyde, Fannie Flagg, John Leggett, Dominick Dunne, William F. Buckely, Jr., David Michaelis, Frances Weaver, Herbert Gold, Sue Grafton, Jay Conrad Levinson, Barnaby Conrad, Elizabeth George, Budd Schulberg, Monte Schulz, A. Scot Berg, Sol Stein, Ed McBain, Jack Canfield, Shelly Lowenkopf, Ray Bradbury, Charles Champlin, Lair Koeing, Julia Child, Elmore Leonard and J.F. Freedman.
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Julia Unggai | October 2, 2007
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Writing from the heart


While still in an experimental stage of blogging, you struggle to find an angle for your writing niche. You look around for guidance and you locate several books that steer you in the direction you are aiming for. Does this sound familiar?

All new writers will face the same dilemma when they just start to write. I find books about writing most helpful in stirring the sleeping writer in me and one of the books is titled Writing articles from the Heart: How to Write and Sell Your Life Experience by Marjorie Holmes.
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Julia Unggai | September 25, 2007
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Book Review: Writing as a way of healing

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While perusing for books in the writing category, I found the book titled “Writing as a way of healing” by Louise De Salvo, Ph.D. As the title says, the book is on how writing can help the writer to heal their psychological wounds. I picked up this book because one of my friends is currently going through a difficult time in her life due to the ordeals in her marriage. I encouraged her to write about her psychological trauma and hopefully this will help her to find relief – other than just whining about how to get herself out of her predicament. This book divided by three parts and an epilogue.

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Julia Unggai | September 18, 2007
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Words Fail Me by Patricia T. O’Connor

words fail me

I stumbled upon this gem titled “Words Fail Me” when I was looking for guide books on writing. The title perks my curiosity because it summarizes my feeling when I am writing. So, I got the book and it became one of my favorite books. The author, Patricia T. O’Conner wrote in a humorous and refreshing style. When I read it felt like it was written by someone I know. Her advice is very straightforward without any ‘beating around the bush’ type of how to.

The contents are divided into 3 parts with each containing several chapters:
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Julia Unggai | September 11, 2007
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Review: Writer’s Market Companion

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I picked up The Writer’s Market Companion after having obtained the Writer’s Market to get the detailed information and guidance on writing, getting it published and getting paid for it as well.
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This 344 page book by Joe Feiertag, Mary Carmen Cupito and the editors of Writer’s Digest Book has great contents, divided into four parts. If you are looking for a book that helps you on the technical aspect of how to write your query letter or how to prepare your manuscript this book is definitely worth looking into. Here is the list of the parts of the book:

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Category: Book Reviews, Writer's Resources, Writing | Tags: ,
Julia Unggai | September 4, 2007
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Review: If you want to write by Brenda Ueland

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When I was looking for books about how to write, I was so excited to have found the book If you want to write by Brenda Ueland. There are many books out there on teaching and guiding you on how to write well. This book, first published in 1938 and republished in 1987, is a very refreshing read.

Whenever I look for books that help my business and now my writing, I always go for the ones that will inspire me and make me feel connected. Most of the books I chose and recommended here in my blog are the ones that were written straight from the author’s heart. This book is one of them. If you want to write is filled with genuine advice for new writers – like me. I listed the chapter titles below. As you notice, each is filled with inspiration and I guarantee it will motivate you to start writing and help you to continue to write.
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Julia Unggai | August 23, 2007
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Review: Articles for Magazine

Since my last post about how I started to write again, I have been reading several books about writing for magazines and how to get published. This book, “How to write and sell magazine articles” by Shirley Biagi caught my attention. It is only 131 pages, but the content is highly informative. The author is an accomplished writer and an award winning journalism Professor.

As I am back with my writing again, I have started by taking small steps. I have found this book to be a good guide for me to make the first steps to reach my goal which is to get published in magazines. Here are the chapters and a brief summary:

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