Vikki J. Carter's book helps writers research like librarians.
Research Like A Librarian guides writers through tips and techniques helpful for their researching. As a professional librarian, Vikki provides advice on avoiding pitfalls researching in the digital age.
The e-book is currently available on Amazon for 99 cents until May 25, and then $2.99. More information can be found on her website at www.theauthorslibrarian.com
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Vault Books & Brew
The charming and cozy bookstore/coffeeshop in Castle Rock is hosting a virtual event on May 22, at 4:00-5:30 pm. Author Melanie Holmes will speak via Zoom from her home in Chicago about her book, A Hero on Mt. St. Helens, about the life of Dr. David Johnston.
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David Johnston grew up as an avid boy scout and nature lover. When a killer tornado hit his Illinois hometown in 1967, he was a senior in high school and a photographer for the regional newspaper where his mother was the editor. His photos and memory of that disaster would drive his life to 13 years later when Mt. St. Helens awoke in the spring of 1980 after a 123-year slumber.
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Due to COVID restrictions, the event is limited to 12 attendees. Contact owner Jennifer Engkraf at vaultbooksandbrew@gmail.com or (360) 967-2299 if you plan to attend. Signed books will be available and there will be time for questions with the author.
And be sure to visit the Vault at 20 Cowlitz Street West when in Castle Rock.
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Armin Tolentino named Clark County's Poet Laureate.
Our heartfelt congratulations to Armin! He read at WordFest and appeared on Book Chat in 2019, with his poetry collection We Meant to Bring It Home Alive (Alternating Current Press 2019).
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Earning an MFA at Rutgers University in Newark, NJ, Armin's poetry has appeared in numerous journals including Common Knowledge, Arsenic Lobster, Hyphen Magazine, and The Raven Chronicles.
As poet laureate for the next two years, Armin will be actively promoting poetry in Clark County. His goal is to help the generations speak to and learn from each other. Perhaps we can get him to return to Cowlitz County as well.
You can watch the Book Chat interview with Armin here.
(Question: Why doesn't Cowlitz County have a poet laureate? It's not from a lack of poets.)
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Share your literary news for the June 2021 newsletter by sending to alan@alan-rose.com by May 30.
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Poetry Corner --
"In the Dunkin' Donuts Where the Virgin Mary Appeared on an Apple Fritter"
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Every day since that report,
I've ordered a fritter
and sat by the window
to inspect its frosting
for Teresa's laugh lines,
Jesus' beard,
anything to prove
there's more for me today
than coffee and subways
and a burned-out porchlight
I've yet to fix.
God didn't have to make it so hard,
you know
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if He wanted me to believe.
He didn't have to let
miracles run dry,
in my century.
Another weekday,
another secular fritter.
From the window,
I see a boy chase
a lost ball into a bush.
Thank God it's not burning.
--Armin Tolentino
This poem first appeared in Scintilla Magazine.
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Book Review
The Sellout
Paul Beatty
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Satire not for the faint-hearted
The satirist shows us the absurdity of what we take for granted. By exaggerating and magnifying what’s “normal,” we see its inherent irrationality, even insanity (Think Joseph Heller’s anti-war classic Catch-22, which this book pays homage to.). In the exaggeration, we see its truth.
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Paul Beatty’s The Sellout is an uncomfortable book. It is also a hilarious one. Winner of the 2016 Man Booker Prize & National Book Critics Circle Award, it is less a traditional novel (forget “plot points,” “narrative arcs,” and “character development”) and more a jazz-like riff on race in contemporary America.
You can read my full review here.
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Books People Are Excited About...
Dave Clark writes, “That others may live is the credo of the US Air Force’s pararescuemen. Michael Hirsh was embedded with an Air Force Combat Unit in Afghanistan during the war on terrorism around 2002. Hirsh does a nice job putting together a picture of life in combat: aircraft crashes, saving lives while under fire, and rescues in various and dangerous situations..."
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Read Dave's full recommendation in the May 15 issue of The Columbia River Reader.
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Dave Clark from Vancouver served in the US Air Force !967 - 1975, went to college, receiving his Registered Nursing degree, and worked thirty-one years as a nurse, mainly in emergency rooms. Now retired, he is a life member of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society, Professional Loadmaster Association, Air Commando Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
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Excited about a book?
Email me at alan@alan-rose.com with the title and why you liked it, and we'll share it in What Are You Reading? in The Columbia River Reader.
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Photo-reflection
Honoring all mothers this day
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Note cards from photo reflections available for purchase.
Note cards created from the photo reflections are available on my website. You can view them here.
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Find more news, reviews, interviews, and photo-reflections at www.alan-rose.com. and feel welcome to contact me at alan@alan-rose.com.
Previous newsletters available here: April 2021, March 2021, February 2021, January 2021, December 2020, November 2020, October 2020, September 2020, August 2020, July 2020, June 2020, May 2020, April 2020, March 2020.
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