 MostlyFiction.com
Newsletter Update
Posted
to subscriber list on 9-26-03.
Hello readers!
(jump
directly to new review news)
They say
that moving is one of life's major stresses. I'm not sure if anyone
would think to lump cyber moves into this observation but certainly,
this has been a very stressful month for MostlyFiction.com. As you know
I moved the site to a new server over Labor Day weekend. I thought I
had done my homework and that I had a made a good decision. I was clearly
wrong. The site was up and down and the e-mail was sporadic for four
straight days with no clear answer coming from the support group. (But
my forum looked nice.)
So, last
Saturday around noon, I'd had enough. Carl had been doing more research
and suggested a new home and I decided to "just do it." So
whereas the first move was carefully planned, this second move was similar
to throwing the clothes and books and whatnot willy nilly into the station
wagon and just moving cross town, without even packing a single box
nor telling anyone about the forwarding address.
So there
I was in the middle of the 3-day site propagation cycle for the second
time in weeks which means the site is sometimes coming up on the new
host and sometimes on the old host. And then, for some stupid, stupid
reason, before the site was through propagating, I hit the "give
me back my money button" at the old site and wouldn't you know
it -- after not answering any of my e-mails for days on end, they cancelled
my site and put up a "This site has been suspended" page in
a matter of minutes. What a sickening feeling to have MostlyFiction.com
suddenly gone; that years and years of work could just disappear in
seconds and there wasn't a thing I could do about it but wait. To be
honest, though, I did contemplate the freedom this would present if
I didn't have MostlyFiction.com to ever worry about again. But that
urge wasn't as strong as the pit in my stomach while I waited for the
propagation to complete.
I'm not
even going to go into the things that I broke (and are still broken)
from my sudden decision to move. Carl's been diligently working behind
the scenes to fix things, like the raffle and this newsletter mailing.
Next, we'll deal with the forums…
So, with
all that said, here's the 7 latest reviews posted at MostlyFiction.com:
__________
I WAS HOWARD HUGHES by Steven Carter
Reviewed by Mary Whipple
A story
about a man who is to a write a book on Howard Hughes, who actually
reveals more about himself in the process and his incidental similarities
to Howard Hughes.
__________
THE CONTORTIONIST'S HANDBOOK by Craig Clevenger
Reviewed by Jenny Dressel
This is
a disturbingly dark tale, but one that any Chuck Palahniuk fan might
want to check out. Not only did one of his fans discover it and recommend
it for its complementary style, but Chuck himself highly recommends
it. This is one of the novels that's solid having undergone about twenty
rewrites.
__________
THE LAST GOOD DAY by Peter Blauner
Reviewed by Bill Robinson
Here's
a book that had been in progress for an entire year before 9/11 and
while contemplating a scene, the author saw the smoke from the twin
towers. When he reread what he'd written, he realized that he didn't
have to go back and work in 9/11, the story already contained all the
necessary elements. But not so surprising since his previous novel focused
on urban terror. However, it happened, this man writes a substantive
page-turner.
__________
MONSOON DIARY: A Memoir with Recipes by Shoba Narayan
Reviewed by Poornima Apte
This is
not fiction, but it is a well written and interesting memoir complete
with recipes.
_________
KILL CLAUSE by Gregg Hurwitz
Reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
The author
takes the most upright law enforcement official, a US Marshall, and
has his young daughter be savagely killed, the killer walks on a technicality
and then the grieving Marshall is invited to participate in a vigilante
club whose goal is to correct the slips that the judicial system lets
happen. Cindy found this to be a thought-provoking page-turner. It seems
to me not a bad one to read in light of Ashcroft's agenda.
__________
SHE IS ME by Cathleen Schine
Reviewed by Shannon Bloomstran
A story
about being mothers and daughters by the author of "The Love Letter."
__________
TRADING UP by Candace Bushnell
Reviewed by Kam Aures
This book
has been on the top selling list for weeks; with the success of HBO's
"Sex in the City," it's no wonder. But don't rush out and
buy this book until you read Kam's take on it. I tend to not bother
to publish reviews of books that we don't like, but every once in awhile
you gotta tell it like it is.
__________
SEPTEMBER RAFFLES
If you haven't entered the raffles this month, please do so. Personally,
I think this is one of the most exciting raffles we've had (thanks to
our reviewers and sponsors), which has made all this site transition
all the more frustrating. As a reminder, this month's giveaway includes,
BRICK LANE by Monica Ali (on the Man Booker Shortlist), DIARY by Chuck
Palahniuk, THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE by Jonathan Lethem, POSTCARDS by
Margaret Leroy and EVERY SECRET THING by Laura Lippman. The raffle is
likely to be extended until October 5th. Click
here to win.
Have a great weekend and thanks for visiting MostlyFiction.com!
Regards,
Judi Clark
MostlyFiction.com
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