Review for Redemption

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The Redemption of Mr. Sturlubokwas reviewed at BigAl’s Books and Pal’s today…

Here’s the complete review:

Description: 
 
Mr. Sturlubok is very proud of his elevation to acting assistant principal at an elementary school. He is prepared for every eventuality except the one that occurs. What should Mr. Sturlubok do? You decide!
 
Appraisal: 
 
It’s very difficult to give just one appraisal of this book because there are so many options. Since it’s literally a choose-your-own-story book, there are a myriad ways that the story can play out. Some are funny, some less so, others not at all.  I tested about 6 different variations for this review.  There were a couple that really didn’t seem to go anywhere with the story; there was one that got a little ‘naughty’; and there was one that ended up being a fairly substantial, although still ‘fluffy’ story. This is most certainly not a book that you sit down and read straight through, nor will it be the same for any two people.  There are multiple options throughout the book to choose (and change) the storyline, which makes for a fun diversion, but definitely a non-traditional read for an adult.
 
The characters are relatively two-dimensional – most likely due to the constraints of the choose-your-own format – and almost come across as stereotypes.  I personally didn’t find that a bad thing in this particular case, though I wouldn’t like it in a more traditional novel format.  The whole point of this book is to have fun with the story, rather than to engage with the characters or the plot.
 
Format Issues:
 
None noted. The links to select the next part of the story work well, although they tended to be on a separate page – one section would just end, with Mr. Sturlubok needing to make a decision on how to proceed, but the links to actually select his decision and move the story forward would be on the next page, which was a little confusing at first.  Also, there are apparently random words and phrases underlined throughout the story.  I found those annoying and distracting until it dawned on me that they were links too – then I started checking those out, and discovered that they led to humorous little ‘asides’ by the authors or to a tidbit of additional information.
 
Rating: **** Four stars

Boring is Good

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Just finished the draft ofThe Most Boring Book Ever Written.  I think it may live up to its name.

It’s nice and short–a novella choose-your-own-adventure.  Although I probably shouldn’t use the word adventure because it’s boring.  I’m hoping for a late March release, but that’s probably pushing it.  Really, the world will be better off if we wait to put this one out.

A Dream Aparts

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My A Dream Apart should be released by the end of the month–that’s my hope.  If not, a week or so later.  But, I’ve discovered that I’m not the first person to use that title.   So, to give complete credit to those who before me…

All I know is that it’s a paperback from 1981 and it was written by Lesley Egan.  There’s no description, although the cover with both a cat and a pair of scissors perhaps implies something nasty.  Or maybe that’s just me.

The image is small, but it sure looks sultry.  Originally published in 1995, here’s the blurb from Amazon: “Refusing to believe stories that credit her with being a descendant of a mystical race, Molly Sheridan meets mythology professor Matthew Redtree and finds her dreams transporting her to another time. Original.”

And last but not least…

And this is not a book, but a bootleg live recording of Paul McCartney from 1992 of a concert from 1990.  Not sure why it’s called “A Dream Apart”.

So in summary, something about a cat and scissors, a romance novel, and a Beatle.  I feel like I’m in good company.