Menolibrikul; E-Books Reviews, Part One

Preamble

For regular readers, let me quickly explain that I found yet another rabbit warren to wander, in the shape of Blogchatter, an Indian blog-networking site where several of my blogpals have been sharing and highlighting their posts for some time. This month, an 'ebook carnival' is going on, and I have availed myself of a few downloads to read and review. The majority of you are not Indian or based there, but be assured, these are items that could well interest you also. 

To new readers who may arrive due to my posting to Blogchatter, Hari OM aur namaste, aasha hai aap kushal hain! COVID has ravaged the world, but India has been particularly sorely hit. My prayers for all.

Reviews

As time and space are a little short, I will take two reviews together to get me started here. There is a reason I tie these together, which will reveal itself.

Arti Jain has been a blogpal since 2018 AtoZ. Her blogs always transport me back to the land of her birth but which has also homed me for a time. She is an accomplished photographer and narrator of her journies. I highly recommend her blog to you all. At some point, she began to tell us of her childhood memories in her grandfather's garden. The tales were such a delight, filled with that true innocence of the little girl; we all cried for more!

Well, more has come in the form of  "And All The Seasons Inbetween". Now the tales, expanded and embroidered, have even more magic and carry all that simplicity and innocence and yet - and yet... as the author herself states at one point, all the parts are joined and "are like jalebis: complex and complete, crunchy and sweet." 

Each chapter is complete in itself, and there are two concurrent tales. The narrative story-telling side of "Artemis", who longs to be the greenest gardener ever. and her dragonfly friend: and the observational Arti, doing the remembering. As Artemis, we find the child at play in the fullest sense, doing her best to understand the adults around her and totally absorbed by the skill of her papaji (grandfather) as he tends the plants and animals. As Arti, we get the full force of the recall triggering those imaginings. In both cases, she can maintain the view of her memory as the child, only hinting towards the end (where it is fitting) at the adult she now is and all the life lived between those years—all those seasons.

I find Arti's writing always enchanting - and these memoirs (for that is what they are) hold all that charm. This is a read recommended for all who relish childhood tales and the imagination those years bring about. 

You can access a copy from Blogchatter via the link through to Arti's post above - or email me and request a copy of the PDF.

This is my own introduction to this author and blogger. Ravish Mani is a life coach and story consultant with many plaudits from those seeking to produce books... and this e-book is dedicated to all aspiring authors. That said, it could well be entertaining for non-authors also. Why?

Mr Mani starts by telling us his own story. This book (little more than a pamphlet at 47 pages) has been written and published in the space of two days - and that, too, from a mobile phone. Not that he had intended it thus. No indeed. This had been thrust upon him due to a lightning strike that wiped out his computer... and the already prepared manuscript of a much deeper book. Now ask yourselves, how many of us would have just thrown our hands in the air and surrendered to fate at that point? 

Not RM. The internal debate was there, but the author won over the victim and also his prejudice against texting. Which is what this would be - a very, very long text!

In doing that, he had the grist for his mill on the matter of story and story-telling. In brief yet concise form we are taken from the proto-humans and their need to communicate through the development of society and the complexity it throws up in our personalities and interactions. All of these things provide an ample supply of examples that can be used to build a story - whether short or full novel.

Then there is a need for empathy. If an author does not provide sufficient for a reader to latch on to, they will be lost. Describing a character is one thing - feeling that character is quite another. Then there is cause and effect. Ultimately, all tales are that, is it not? Something happens to set off a chain of events which, ideally, will have a conclusion - even though in life, conclusions can be elusive!

The purpose of story might be considered to be therapy. There is processing that goes on in the author which, no matter the level of imagination used, emanates from their deeper selves. The reader then picks that up and, if there is empathy, will have their own processing to do as a result. also, a story can be used, in those more imaginative realms, just as in dreams, to deal with things that are pretty hard in the cold light of the daily grind. There are some pointers, then, regarding some forms such as the use of metaphor and suchlike. 

On the whole, to have produced this much in the manner he did earns this author a lot of credit in 'my book'!!! That he also makes clear this view on 'uncopyright' earns further plaudits. Not that I necessarily encourage the thought that it apply to any or all material. Indeed, most authors require that copyright be very much in place. However, this particular carnival (and very much this book) serve as a marketplace of sorts for new authors, flexing their writing muscles in hope of feedback - but also for established writers such as Ravish, who have experience and skill in helping writers to further their ambitions. It is, therefore, absolutely his prerogative to make this declaration. 

If you would like a copy of this e-book, drop me an email to request the PDF. 

It seems to me that Arti has grasped the very essence of story and the telling of it - and in her review of RM's book, she was still able to find a takeaway and add to her learning in the art of writing. The takeaway for me? Never give up on the ambition - lightning strikes be d*****!!!

I have three others to review from this event, which is run annually - and which has got my creative juices running, looking towards next year... hmmmm......  

👀