Compulsive Reader Newsletter April is out!

This month's Compulsive Reader Newsletter has now gone out and is on its way to inboxes.  For April we've got our usual big news round-up as well as reviews of new books by the likes of Ruth Latta, Cristina Rivera Garza, Douglas Bauer, Ian McEwan, and Haji Jaber, along with two new book giveaways, a great new podcast episode featuring a genial conversation between Oisín Breen and Simon Whitby Brown, and lots more.  You can view it in your browser now or wait for it to arrive.  If you aren't already a subscriber, you can subscribe for free (and view all of our reviews) at: http://www.compulsivereader.com.  Happy reading! 

"Poetry Books" by chillihead is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Compulsive Reader Newsletter March

The March Compulsive Reader newsletter has now gone out. We've got more reviews than ever before this month (and 3 giveaways!) including Smog Mother by John Wall Barger, Oh My Rapture by Gemma White, Dug-Up Gun Museum by Matt Donovan, Pipette by Kim Chinquee and many more!  Plus our big literary news roundup for the previous month, a new interview at the podcast with Traumata's Meera Atkinson, and several interviews on site as well.  The newsletter is on its way now, but if you haven't gotten it, or can't wait, you can grab a copy in the archive.  If you aren't a subscriber you can sign up at compulsivereader.com

Image: Stift Broumov (17. Jhdt.) 

by Herbert Frank 

Compulsive Reader Newsletter Feb

 

The February Compulsive Reader newsletter is now out, on its way to your inbox. This month's edition features reviews of new books by authors like Caroline Goodwin, Rachel Harper, Shilo Niziolek, Lucy Dougan,  Linda Adair, Jessica Bell, and many more. We also have an extensive literary news roundup for the month of January and two new giveaways.  If you want a preview or to read it now, you can View it in your browser.  To sign up and join our worldwide community of people who love books, just visit: http://www.compulsivereader.com

Compulsive Reader Newsletter - January

Happy new year readers!  The Compulsive Reader newsletter for January has now gone out. I have some news that I'm quite excited about - my new book Bobish is officially available. Bobish is a verse memoir of my great-grandmother Rebecca Lieberman, who migrated from the Shtetls of Eastern Europe to the US in 1907.  The book is getting some wonderful reviews including, most recently, this one from Geoff Nelder: "Such a wonderful prosody of verse conveying tragedy in a beautiful way. Magdalena is such an expert at the juxtaposition of sadness with hope, terror with exquisiteness." If you order a copy, please let me know and I'll send you a free, custom autographed bookplate posted anywhere in the world (if it's for a gift - just let me know who for and any special instructions) - limited offer until my bookplates run out! You can find out more about Bobish at https://magdalenaball.com/?page_id=932   

This month 's new reviews and interviews include the powerful anthology Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing from Ukraine edited by Kateryna Kazimirova and Daryna Anastasieva (and check out my new audio/video interview with Kateryna here: https://anchor.fm/compulsivereader/episodes/Kateryna-Kazimirova-on-Voices-of-Freedom-Contemporary-Writing-From-Ukraine-e1shs92), Ore Choir: The Lava on Iceland by Katy Didden, Anamnesis By Denise O’Hagan and lots more. 

You should receive yours soon but if you can't wait or you want to see what all the fuss is about, you can view a copy in the archive here.

To sign up or read all of our reviews, and check out my new audio/video interview with the amazing Hazel Smith, visit: http://www.compulsivereader.com

Compulsive Reader Newsletter December

The Compulsive Reader newsletter for December has now gone out.  This month features a bumper crop of new reviews and interviews including the likes of Lee Kofman, A Cottonmouth with a Laptop: A review of Stay Gone Days by Steve Yarbrough, Sam Morley, Nandita Dinesh, Joyce Chopra, Adam Sass, Tina Cane, Melanie McCabe, Julia Brewer Daily, PS Cottier and Sandra Renew and many more.  We also have two new book giveaways including right now, Janes Jam by Jane Enright.  

Our extensive news roundup of all of November's literary news includes awards like the Scotiabank Giller, the Prix Goncourt, the Patrick White and the always popular Bookseller Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year.  You should receive yours soon but if you can't wait or you want to see what all the fuss is about, you can view a copy in the archive here:  https://compulsivereader.com/sendpress/email/?sid=MA&eid=MjQ1NjQ

To sign up or read all of our reviews, and check out my new audio/video interview with the amazing Hazel Smith, visit: http://www.compulsivereader.com

Book image by © Jorge Royan / http://www.royan.com.ar, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Poetry gifts on a bargain budget

I'm not one to encourage rampant consumerism. There are plenty of others doing that this time of year, but it has just been brought to my attention that the University of Western Australia Press (UWAP) is having a massive sale on poetry titles. 

By massive sale I mean poetry that normally sells for an already reasonable $23 is on sale for $5!  These are no bargain basement titles.  I'm talking some of my very favourite poetry books of all time, like Judy Johnson's Dark Convicts, Beth Spencer's Vagabondage, Thuy On's Turbulence, Emily Ballou's The Darwin Poems, Jill Jones, Quinn Eades, David Stavinger, Tricia Dearborn, holy moly - there's so much goodness here - how to choose - who gets what?   

If you haven't got enough books by the time you're finished with UWAP, go visit Flying Island's poetry shop where you can pick up titles for $10 a pop: https://flyingislandspocketpoets.com.au/shop/, including my own High Wire Step.  

Why should you give poetry for gifts this holiday?  For one thing it's very hot right now - everyone wants poetry. I don't know how this happened but it's true and you can't go wrong with a good poetry book.  For another, it's not something you can just read and be done with like a fast-paced adventure novel.  Good poetry has you coming back again and again, so you're giving someone a gift that they can enjoy repeatedly - it's a lot of concentrated beauty.  And right now, it's an unbelievable bargain.  Holiday gift giving sorted. 

Compulsive Reader Newsletter November

Happy November Readers!  The latest Compulsive Reader Newsletter has just gone out and should be making its way to an in-box near you.  This month we have a bumper crop of reviews and interviews (with a bit of a poetry slant - that's the way my in-box is working at the moment).  There's the fabulous Ecliptical by Hazel Smith (and look out for an exclusive interview on Compulsive Reader Talks shortly), Fickle Pendulum by Paul Scully, The Lantern Room by Chloe Honum, Dr Norman Swan's latest book So You Want to Live Younger Longer, and many others.  We also have a very big and thorough literary news roundup, two great new giveaways. On that note, please enter these comps - it's just an email - no tagging or social media - just so I have your address handy. We have ~10,000 subscribers and I don't get so many entries - the same people keep winning which is great for them but I'd love to share the joy.  If you aren't a subscriber please visit http://www.compulsivereader.com and sign up (upper right hand side).  It's free and I only send one newsletter a month.  If you can't wait or want a preview of the newsletter, visit: CRArchive 

"My Books" by Jennerally is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.