CR Newsletter Jan: Moving to Substack

Hello beautiful reading folk.  Happy new year!  Just a quick post to let you know that I'm moving this blog over to Substack.  After deleting 40 spam messages, I figure that's a better place for interaction and as people had already begun following me over there even though I was just reading other people's blogs (with the occasional comment), I figured it was a more active place.  So if you want our monthly updates and maybe a bit more - festival news, the odd poetry essay, and other literary things that don't quite fit anywhere else, that's your place.  I promise I will never monetise it - Compulsive Reader, the Podcast, and my Substack will always be free, so please join over there as I slowly transition this site.  Thank you for your ongoing engagement - I know this is a busy, noisy, and content rich world and I appreciate you!  

https://open.substack.com/pub/magdalenaball/p/compulsive-reader-newsletter-january?r=3h81d&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Compulsive Reader Newsletter December

Hello readers.  Our December newsletter is currently on the way to your inbox.  This month features two terrific new giveaways including an audiobook, as well as new reviews like The Under Hum by Simone Muench & Jackie K. White, The Thirty-One Legs of Vladimir Putin by PS Cottier and NG Hartland, Invisible Wasp by Stephanie Powell along with many more including interviews with Interview with Zoje Stage,  Shari Caplan, and Steve Rasnic Tem.  We also have our featured interview with PS Cottier and NG Hartland and of course our big literary news roundup.  You can view an online copy here: 

https://compulsivereader.com/sendpress/email/?sid=MA&eid=MjY0Mzc

If you aren't a subscriber, visit: http://www.compulsivereader.com and you can subscribe directly.  Happy reading! 

Image: Books in HCRO Dorm Library" by C G-K is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Compulsive Reader Newsletter November

 

The November Compulsive Reader newsletter has just gone out and is making its way to inboxes around the world right now.  This month we have double the usual number of reviews and interviews (trying to get on top of the backlog) and a whole bunch of exciting global literary news including such things as the T.S. Eliot Prize, the Cundill History Prize, the Nobel Prize, the Giller Prize, the Wallace Stevens Award, the Patrick White, and the National Translation Awards in Poetry and Prose to name just a few. Of course we all have our monthly giveaways. If you haven't gotten it, want to check it out, or can't wait, visit: the online archive.  To sign up, visit: http://www.compulsivereader.com. 

Compulsive Reader Newsletter - October 2024

Hi readers.  The October Compulsive Reader Newsletter has just gone out with a baker's dozen of new reviews including Beam of Light by John Kinsella (catch John Kinsella, our featured intervewee reading from and talking about Beam of Light here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4b5Q9iZrRwSper0vrvXlUD?si=mGha_ip-Qm-CTNHOT6nJLQ), Maze by Jennifer Juneau, The Book of Happiness by Joseph Mark Glazner, and Diane Mehta’s Tiny Extravaganzas.  We've got our usual big literary news roundup for the month of September, and two fantastic new giveaways.  If you're a subscriber it should be in your inbox soon, but if you can't wait, you can: View it in your browser.  If you're not a subscriber, sign up here: http://www.compulsivereader.com

Image: Abhi Sharma from India, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Compulsive Reader Newsletter - Sept 24

The Sept Compulsive Reader newsletter is on its way to readers around the world.  This month has the usual big literary news roundup as well as new interviews from Anne Elezabeth Pluto, Ruth Oskolkoff, and our feature podcast, Sarah Temporal (you can go straight to that one here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/compulsivereader/episodes/Sarah-Temporal-on-Tight-Bindings-e2nmqbd

We also have loads of new reviews and two terrific new giveaways.  

If you can't wait for the newsletter to arrive (they go out in slow bursts), you can always: view it in your browser and if you aren't getting the newsletter please make sure to whitelist us.  To sign up for the free newsletter visit: http://www.compulsivereader.com (upper right hand side).   Happy reading! 

"May 2014 Books" by The Marmot is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

CR Newsletter August 2024

The Compulsive Reader newsletter for August is on its way to inboxes. This month features quite a few interviews including our Compulsive Reader Talks feature with Patti Miller, whose classic book Writing True Stories has been extensively revised and reissued.  We also have reviews of Zero at the Bone by Christian Wiman, The Inhabitants by Beth Castrodale, Little River of Amazement by Mary Kay Rummel, and Not So Distant World by Grace Cavalieri to name just a few. Of course there is a new book giveaway for a copy of Farhang Book One by Patrick Woodcock,  and the big literary news round up. I always have lots of books to giveaway and I've been choosing some book winners at random from subscribers as well, so make sure you're subscribed and you might just win a book!  

To check out the newsletter in the archive visit: Archive.  To subscribe, visit http://www.compulsivereader.com and pop your email in the box on the upper right side.  Happy reading!  

Compulsive Reader Newsletter June

Hello dear readers.  The Compulsive Reader Newsletter for June has now gone out and should be in your in-box right now, awaiting your eyes. This month's edition has 15 new reviews, 2 interviews including my chat with the multi-talented Omar Musa at Compulsive Reader Talks, two terrific book giveaways, and of course a huge news round-up of prizes and other literary events that took place throughout the month of May.  If you can't wait or want to check it out before subscribing, you can get a copy in the archive here: Compulsive Reader News - June. If you'd like to subscribe, just visit http://www.compulsivereader.com and sign up.  Happy reading! 

Compulsive Reader Newsletter March

The March Compulsive Reader Newsletter is now on its way to inboxes around the world.  This month features a new interview with Kin's Marina Kamenev along with a bunch of reviews of books such as Notorious in Nashville by Phyllis Gobbell, Stephen Davenport's Ninety-Day Wonder, Rambles by Beatriz Copello, An Unshared Secret and Other Stories by Ketaki Datta, and Ask Me About the Future by Rebecca Jessen to name just a few. We also have two new competitions, a big February news round-up, and loads more.  If you can't wait for it to arrive (please whitelist my email address so I don't end up in your spam!), you can view it in your browser.  To sign up for free just visit http://www.compulsivereader.com 

Books in HCRO Dorm Library" by C G-K is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Compulsive Reader Newsletter January

 

The January Compulsive Reader Newsletter has now gone out and is on its way to inboxes everywhere.  This month's issue includes 14 new reviews including One River by Steve Armstrong, the new translation of The Iliad by Emily Wilson, Thieves by Valerie Werder, and The Girl Who Cried Diamonds & Other Stories by Rebecca Hirsch Garcia.  We also have a new giveaway for a copy of The China Shelf by Jennifer Maiden, the usual literary news roundup and an exclusive interview with Valerie Werder at the podcast here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/compulsivereader/episodes/Valerie-Werder-on-Thieves-e2cqfr0

If you can't wait or somehow aren't getting it you can grab a copy in the archive here.

To sign up visit http://www.compulsivereader.com

Compulsive Reader Newsletter Dec

The December Compulsive Reader Newsletter has just gone out.  As always the issue is chock-full of new book reviews and interviews including The Lady in The Bottle by Rozanna Lilley, Aboard the Time Line by Bastian Gregory, The Unreal City by Mike Lala, See What I Mean by Charles Rammelkamp, A Brilliant Life by Rachelle Unreich, and lots more as well as 2 new book giveaways, interviews and much more.  To read it online visit: Compulsive Reader Newsletter archive.  To sign up visit: http://www.compulsivereader.com

Happy reading!  

Compulsive Reader Newsletter October

The October Compulsive Reader Newsletter is now on its way to readers everywhere.  This month's issue has a bunch of excellent new reviews including books by TC Boyle, Marcus Rediker, Heather Cameron, Andrew Geoffrey Kwabena Moss, Denise O'Hagan and more along with several new interviews including one on Compulsive Reader Talks with Tasmanian poet Esther Ottaway, author She Doesn't Seem Autistic (you can listen directly here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/gcWKlKAZgDb), along with a bunch of new giveaways (we actually have 7 this month!) and the usual worldwide news roundup.  If you're a subscriber, your copy should be on its way.  If not, you can subscribe for free here: http://www.compulsivereader.com.  To grab the latest copy from the archive, visit: https://compulsivereader.com/sendpress/eyJpZCI6MCwicmVwb3J0IjoyNTI0OSwidmlldyI6InRyYWNrZXIiLCJ1cmwiOiJ7c3AtYnJvd3Nlci11cmx9In0/

Happy reading! 

"Wall of Books" by benuski is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Compulsive Reader Newsletter Sept is out

The October Compulsive Reader newsletter has just gone out and is making its way through the internet to readers around the world.  This month's newsletter features reviews of books by Maina Wahome, Arthur Kayzakian,  Kate Grenville, who I'll be interviewing this weekend: https://library.lakemac.com.au/Events/Restless-Dolly-Maunder-Kate-Grenville-in-conversation, Matt Mauch, Jonathan Rosen and many others. along with two fresh book giveaways (please enter for those! We have 10,000 subscribers and only a fraction enter and they keep winning - I've set up some people with a whole library!) and new interviews along with a big book news roundup that includes the Booker, The Toronto Book Awards, and the Cundill History Prize.  You should receive it in your inbox shortly, but if you can't wait or want to check it out, you can view it in your browser now.  If you aren't already a subscriber, sign. up here:  http://www.compulsivereader.com

Photo by Quimby https://flic.kr/p/aWHD1M (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

(CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

CR Newsletter August

 

The Compulsive Reader Newsletter for August is now out.  This month's edition features the full July literary news round-up including, among others, the Society of Authors, the Trillion, the Forward Prize for Poetry and the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. We have our big review round up including Katie Farris, Ali Whitelock, Grace Lee and many more, and of course our very popular book giveaways - 2 this month.  If you haven't gotten your copy yet, it's on the way or you can get one directly from the Compulsive Reader Newsletter archive.  To sign up to the monthly newsletter visit: http://www.compulsivereader.com. 

"A Rainbow Of Books" by Dawn Endico is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

CR Newsletter July

The July Compulsive Reader Newsletter has just gone out. This month's issue has a terrific suite of new reviews including Women's Prize award winner Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, A Dangerous Daughter by Dina Davis, and The Badass Brontës by Jane Satterfield, interviews with Rachel Rueckert, Adam Sass, and on our podcast Alisa Bryce talking about her latest book Grounded. Of course there are giveaways, and the big roundup of June's literary news.  If you can't wait or want a preview before subscribing you can check it out in the public archive here: Compulsive Reader July Newsletter

To subscribe visit: http://www.compulsivereader.com

Compulsive Reader Newsletter June

 

The June Compulsive Reader Newsletter is now on its way to inboxes everywhere - our readers are all over the world!  This month's newsletter features 3 book giveaways including our current front page giveaway for a copy of Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace by Tracey Buchanan as well as the usual big literary news round up (so many awards!) and a dozen new reviews including the wonderful T by Alan Fyfe which has been shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier's award for an Emerging Writer. I also spoke to Alan this month at the podcast about T and also his upcoming poetry book.  You can find all that and more in our monthly newsletter, and if you can't want for it to arrive (it tends to trickle in slowly over a few days), you can view it in your browser.  If you aren't a subscriber, visit http://www.compulsivereader.com to subscribe for free. 

"Books or just art?" by Alexandre Dulaunoy is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

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 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 September

The latest issue of Compulsive Reader is now out and on its way to subscribers.  This issue has new reviews from such authors as Maya Sonenberg, Diane LeBlanc, Melissa Ridley Elmes, Sara Kidd and Sean Singer, with a range of genres from speculative fiction, poetry and cookbooks.  We also have new interviews with Ellen Barker, Sara Kidd and Bastian Fox Phelan. The newsletter has three new giveaways and I can tell you that we don't get a tremendous amount of entries so a lot of people keep winning (I am happy to furnish their libraries!), so get your entries in because odds are high!  If you can't wait for it to arrive or prefer to read online or want to sample, you can click here to: view it in your browser.  If you're not a subscriber, it's free, we only email once a month and you are welcome to join our lovely community of book lovers.  Visit: http://www.compulsivereader.com and sign up on the right hand side of the site.  

"Book" by Kamil Porembiński is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Compulsive Reader Newsletter May

The Compulsive Reader newsletter for May has gone out.  This month's issue has a baker's dozen of fresh reviews including such gems as  The Alphabet of Women edited by Miriam Hechtman, American Daguerreotypes by James Penha, and Scale Model of a Country at Dawn by John Sibley Williams along with an interview with The Filthy Marauders' Bob Freville. We also have two new giveaways and a big round-up of April's literary news.  If you haven't received it yet you can grab a copy from the archive.  There is also a new interview with Yilinhi or Lorna Munro. You can listen directly here: https://anchor.fm/compulsivereader/episodes/Talking-poetry-with-YilinhiLorna-Munro-e1h49p2

If you'd like to subscribe visit http://www.compulsivereader.com