Merry Christmas to all I've reviewed and all who follow my reviews

Merry Christmas Constant Reader.

I don't have a new book for review, (yet), but I wanted to take this time to tell you what I'm doing for all the authors I've favorably reviewed here. It's a small gesture for Christmas. I'm going to post the review I posted here on their author page on Goodreads.
Big deal, you may be saying.
Well. Yes, as a matter of fact it is.
Authors live and die with reviews, and if I've given them a good one, I need to post it where it will do some good.
Goodreads prides itself on the reviews posted there, so mine are about to join.
My TWU reviews are already posted on Amazon. Posting on Goodreads is just one more way for folks to find a good read. Pun intended. ; )

Good afternoon constant reader.

It's been almost two months since I last posted to The Written Universe. It's not that I've run out of books to review, it's I've run out of the ability to read and review.
I've spoken to this problem before, and it seems to have returned.
For those of you who don't know, I lost my father in February 2009, my son, my only child in September 2010, there was a lawsuit regarding his death in 2011, and my mother presented with Alzheimer's in 2010, and had to be removed from the family home in 2011 and put in independent living for the time being. It was also at this time I had to clear out the family home as the house had been reverse mortgaged.

All this has taken a toll on me, and has impaired my ability to concentrate on and retain what I read. That's a deadly combination for a book reviewer. I've gone through this once already, and it seems after the holidays to have returned again.

Because of this, I've stopped reviewing and am trying to work back up to reading by reading strictly for pleasure. Even that has been hard to do.

If you're a regular reader of The Written Universe, I ask your patience and understanding.
If you are an author wanting to submit a book for review, please note it may be some time before I undertake any new books for submission, as I am currently back logged. I may also be forced to be more selective about what I take on for review. I don't want to waste my time reading things that aren't worthy of my time, and I don't want to waste an author's time, either. I try to be as fair as I possibly can.
Along these lines, I'm also toying with the idea of only posting positive reviews. If a book doesn't strike my fancy or is poorly written from the get go, I may decline to review it and notify the author. I haven't decided yet.

At any rate, The Written Universe is still something near and dear to my heart, and I intend on continuing to review books. I may also throw in the odd review from time to time of a film, or a CD...you never know. ;)

A New Face @ The Written Universe

Good afternoon constant reader.

It is my privilege to present to you a new reviewer for The Written Universe, Mr. Dan Breen.
I'm happy to say I've got so many submissions, bringing on a second reviewer has become necessary.
Between the two of us, we can bring you the reader, more reviews.

Without further ramblings, here's Dan to introduce himself.
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A new inhabitant to The Written Universe, I hail from parts unknown, (unless you know England), and have been drafted in as another reviewer. So why should I review on here for you, the reading public? Well, the boss here feels that being English, drinking tea and knowing some of the rules of Cricket will bring a more cultured edge to TWU. Well, if growing up reading Douglas Adams, I guess that could count.

If you're a writer and you're expecting a nice fluffy sycophantic review - forget it, go elsewhere. If I don't like it, I'll say so and say why. If however, I DO like it, I will say so, and I will say why. Loudly and repeatedly.

So what do I like? Books that grab me, spark my interest or are different from the norm, something that has had some heart put into it, characters I can identify with. I don't mind what genre you write in, so long as it's well written.

So who and what am I reading at the moment?

Terry Pratchett, Dan Abnett and Simon Sebag Montefiore - fantasy, science fiction and history, I'm not limited to that, if you happen to write/illustrate or letter Graphic novels, I'd be very interested to hear from you and to view your wares.  

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So, now you've met Dan.

I'm thrilled he's come aboard. :)

The Show Will Go On

Good evening constant reader.

Again, I find life has put me in the position of feeling as if I owe you an apology for being more
lax with The Written Universe than I'd like.

What has happened now to take more of my reading time away from me?
My 85 year old mother is losing her memory (from what has yet to be determined) and I've had to put her in an independent living situation.  In the latter part of March and into April, she stopped paying her bills and it was a miracle I discovered it when I did.  We managed to get her moved in to a very nice apartment house (all utilities paid including satellite, three meals a day, safety, security, the ability to have her cat with her) and all paid for by her monthly social security check.

The move went smoothly.  But tending to the small details in the aftermath is taking all my time and energy, not to mention the emotional drain this is taking.

I'm hopeful that in the next few weeks things will settle down and I can regain my concentration and comprehension skills.  As it stands now, I can't sit still with a book or movie for more than 20 - 30 minutes and my comprehension (as well as retention) is suffering somewhat.  It's not entirely shot, but it's not where it needs to be to review books properly.

I beg your patience and understanding.
I am working on a new entry that will most likely proceed the next review.  Not going to give it away, but I'm looking forward to writing it and posting it soon.