Recommended Reads for October 2012

Check out the reviews section of our website for the latest recommended reads - from children's fiction to poetry and classic reads we're sure there is something for everyone. We also welcome your reviews too - email them to 'Reviews' at info@bookapoet.co.uk and we'll let you know when we use it!

Below are the titles we recommended during October 2012. You can read our reviews and recommendations at:  http://www.bookapoet.co.uk/book_reviews/book_reviews/october_2012/

‘Beamish Boy’ by Albert Flynn DeSliver (Published by The Owl Press)

‘The Oxford Treasury of Fairy Tales’ by Geraldine McCaughrean and Sophie Williams (Published by Oxford University Press)
‘The Rhyming Rabbit’ by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks

(Published by Macmillan Children’s Books)
‘A First Poetry Book’ by Pie Corbett and Gaby Morgan 

(Published by Macmillan Children’s Books)
‘iF: A Treasury of Poems for Almost Every Possibility’ edited by Allie Esiri and Rachel Kelly (Published by Canongate Books)
‘Desires Reborn’ by Penny Pepper (Published by Bejamo Press)
‘Stinky and Jinks: My Hamster is a Genius’ by Dave Lowe 

(Published by Templar Publishing)
‘Horrid Henry’s Christmas Play’ by Francesca Simon (Published by Orion Books)
‘The Misadventures of Winnie the Witch’ by Laura Owen and Korky Paul 

(Published by Oxford University Press) 

‘Brothers Grimm Folk Tales’ translated by Brian Alderson (Published by Templar Publishing)

‘The Lego Book’ (Published by Dorling Kindersley)
‘Eleven, Eleven’ by Paul Dowswell (Published by Bloomsbury)

 

November's recommended reads will start to appear on the website from next week. A selection of reviews will be published here too, as well as on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/BookaPoet) and links from our Twitter account (@bookapoet).

Inspirational Literary Memoir Reveals Incredible Story of Survival and Transcending Addiction

The Owl Press releases Beamish Boy, a new memoir by Poet Laureate, Author, and Writing Coach, Albert Flynn DeSilver.

Why do young people go down the wrong road for no apparent reason? Tragedies like the recent Aurora shooting cause us to question what they need––from themselves and society––to turn their lives around. Albert Flynn DeSilver's redemptive memoir of survival might not have all the answers, but it poignantly tracks one young man's journey from addiction, violence, and self-annihilation to creativity, inner peace, and self-realization.

Raised in "a clock tower with bats in the belfry," DeSilver grew up in material privilege in suburban Connecticut in the 1970s and '80s. Raised by a German Swiss governess, his desperate longing to exist in his parents' eyes––an alcoholic mother and emotionally unavailable father––caused him to "fall in love with the sound of shattering glass."

After a series of increasingly dangerous adventures and ecstasies––including getting run over by his best friend after passing out in a driveway, plunging into obsessive relationships, contracting malaria in east Africa, and joining a psychedelic therapy cult––he miraculously finds himself, through photography, poetry, and writing, in a hilarious moment of awakening where he is offered a glimpse of the human condition, and what it means to be fully alive and to truly love.

"..a beautifully written memoir. . .poignant and inspirational, comical and terrifying." ––Kirkus Reviews

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"...a fascinating, poetic memoir..." ––ForeWord Reviews

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“…filled with epiphanies...backsliding, clarity and bewilderment...DeSilver’s seesawing journey will keep readers committed to his story until he learns to "beam" without self-destructing and finds peace and stability in a loving relationship and meditation." ––Publishers Weekly

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR . . .

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Albert Flynn DeSilver is an internationally published poet, author, teacher, speaker, and writing coach. His work has appeared in more than 100 literary journals worldwide including ZYZZYVA, New American Writing, Jacket (Australia), Poetry Kanto (Japan), Van Gogh’s Ear (France), and many others. He has read and performed with many of America’s literary legends including Maxine Hong Kingston, Michael McCluer, Anne Waldman, Quincy Troupe, Kay Ryan, and many others. He teaches writing and meditation workshops–from the University of California-Davis to AWP in New York City to the British Institute in Paris. For more about the author, please visit his website at www.albertflynndesilver.com.