Words of the Times by Thomas Noel Smith

 

Summary:

 

"Words of the Times" is a collection of poems by Thomas Noel Smith which weaves together the complexity of everyday life in a contemporary world and the pangs of nostalgia that bind us to our roots. The poems address the larger questions of reality and the complexity and the joys and pains of living and loving in today's world. The very presence of the world's beauty surrounds us and touches us with the wonders that present themselves our eyes each day, but we, as a harried people, often find ourselves "stuck in stasis." The works in "Words of the Times" are a collection that addresses the complexity of the human condition and our movement and development through time. Some of the works are heartwarming. Some works such as "Words of the Times" are provocative and disquieting, but all the poems attempt to engage the mind and touch the heart.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 112 pages (Paperback)

Source: Review Copy

Available Formats: Print

Publication: January 9th 2013 by Outskirts Press      

 

First off, I've never been much of a poetry fan and the poetry that I do enjoy was written by Milton, Blake, Hughes, Dickinson, Poe etc. So when I agreed to review Words of the Times for author Thomas Noel Smith I knew it would be a new experience for me.

 

I was actually pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed the poetry collection by this author. Out of the 106 poems presented in the collection I found myself drawn to about 80 percent of them and of that 80 percent I really loved about 15 poems.

 

My favourite poems in the collection were the ones that spoke of time. I loved how the author used the poems to describe particular memories he had. I loved the simplicity of many of the poems but felt that some were lacking a punch for me and left me feeling naught.

 

The mixture of feelings described in the various poems was great and I like how they touched on various subjects but some of the poems seemed so similar to one another and I wish certain themes hadn't been so repeated. However I did like that these were written with out pretension and were about the average person's life.

 

Overall, I liked this short book of poetry a lot more than I thought I would and was pleasantly surprised by it. I think the author has a nice gift for poetry and I wish him all the success in the world. I would recommend this book for all those who love modern American poetry with a vintage feel.

 

 

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

 

Liked it!
★★★

 

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Crank (Crank #1) by Ellen Hopkins

Summary:

Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina -- she's fearless. Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul -- her life.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 537 pages (Hardcover edition)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: October 5th 2004 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

In April one of my favourite Goodreads friends started reading this book and when she finished she was so impressed that she recommend that I read it for a second time, even though she knew I read it already and was not impressed. Her hopes were to convert me into loving this author but alas, her hopes were in vain.

You see when the book was first published back when I was a teenager struggling with my own issues I read this one. Even back then though I knew the book was not for me. Fast forward 8 years to where I'm now in my early 20's and my opinion of the book and the author hasn't changed all that much.

True my views on the world have changed, and I'm no longer a confused and angry teen but even now I could not enjoy the author's writing style and believe me this time around I really wanted to like it since it came so highly reccomended to me but for me this book was not.

Kristina/Bree was an annoying little twit before and after she discovered crank and lost herself to the drug. I know that the book is loosley based on the life of the author's daughter who had substance abuse problems as a teen so I mean no disrespect but honestly I just found Kristina/Bree to be such a whiney little cow. I really did but maybe it's because I disliked the writing style so much.

I don't know about you but I really don't enjoy novels written in the form of poetic verse like this one was written. I don't like how the books like these are written because for my brain (which happens to enjoy books being written in the traditional way) hates how these novels come off fragmented but I can't help it. It took all of my concentration on the night that I read this book to keep reading just to see if the book would get better or at the very least finish it because a friend recommend it so highly to me but this one unfortunately was not one for me to enjoy 8 years ago and not one that I enjoy today.

In my opinion and I know I'm in the minority on this one, this book was poorly written and there were several times in the book while I was reading that I had to pause and re-read something time and again. So I think it's safe to say that this book and this author are not for me.

I do recommend it to people who like YA fiction written like poetry or fans of the author's other books but I doubt that I could recommend it to anyone else. For me this author is going on my "never again" shelf.

Have you read this book or others by this author? What did you think? *No Spoilers*

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Not for me!
★