January 16, 2012 - issue 3 - volume 7
editorial
Is B & N competing with Amazon for Bad Customer Service?
I Hate to Read, But I Love to Write—What’s Wrong With That Statement?
Featured this week
Nonfiction - Cookbook, Culture
Ruby’s Juke Joint: Americana Cookbook
Fiction - Parenting, Health, Social Issues
Will the Courageous: A Story About Sexual Abuse
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spotlight - reader views literary awards winner
Life Journeys Award for the Best Memoir or Biography
After the Murder of My Son
Pump Up Your Book Award for the Best Regional Book of the Year
As the Sycamore Grows
This week's video
Fiction - Novel, Satire, Humor
The Call
inside scoop live
Inside Scoop Live is a global internet-based broadcast specializing in interviewing published authors about their current books and areas of expertise.
Topic of Conversation: Issues of women today - mistreatment and abuse; Experience living in Libya...and more
author spotlight
Adios! (Book 2, Aloha Trilogy)
Stephen A. Enna and Dennis J. Wootten
AuthorHouse (2011)
ISBN 9781467028363
Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (1/12)
Fiction – Novel
Antiphony
Chris Katsaropoulos
Luminis Books (2011)
ISBN 9781935462330
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (1/12)
Fiction – Novel
Journey to Virginland: Epistle 1
Armen Melikian
Two Harbors Press (2011)
ISBN 9781935097518
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (1/12)
Fiction – Novel
My Annie: The True to Life Story of a Liberated Woman Written by her Husband
Douglas Richie
Outskirts Press (2011)
ISBN 9781432779641
Reviewed by Vicki Liston for Reader Views (1/12)
Nonfiction – Biography
The Aftermath: Book 1
Sara Michelle
Saddleback Educational Publishing (2012)
ISBN 9781616517700
Reviewed by Madeleine Sullivan (age 18) for Reader Views (1/12)
Teen/Young Adult
Power and Tender
Margret Russell
Outskirts Press (2011)
ISBN 9781432763756
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (1/12)
Fiction – Historical Fiction
authors access
Insightful interviews with experts who can help you get your work published, and if already published, noticed.
Nancy Barr – Writing Regional Mysteries
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Reader Views - January 9-15
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editorial
Is B & N competing with Amazon for Bad Customer Service?
You are probably well aware of the issues we've been having with Amazon.com removing our (along with many others') reviews and banning us from posting.
We contemplated on posting all the reviews on BarnesAndNoble.com but their system is not user friendly nor are reviews a focal point. I contacted B & N to see if I can speak to someone that may consider
making some changes to their site and actually was able to communicate with a person in their headquarters in the U.S. She asked me to send her an email and she assured me it will be directed to the appropriate department. Well, not to make this story long, it just didn't happen. My contact said she forwarded the email but it seems the suits aren't interested in responding or talking to me. End of story. Oh well, I tried.
There is more. Even though we don't like their system, we posted the review for Spare Change by Bette Lee Crosby on the B & N site. A few days later this showed up:
Your Review is no longer visible by others because it contains inappropriate language which violates our Terms of Use. If you update your content, it will be reconsidered by our moderators within three business days. This message will be removed when your content is approved.
When I checked the Terms of Use there is nothing in the long rendition about reviews other than the ability to post them if the person holds an account. Furthermore, there is no way to "update the content" because there is no edit button nor is there a way to replace the review.
I phoned customer support but I suspected I would be told they don't have contact with the review department. I was right. I was given an email address where to send my query. I sent an email asking what term we violated, to quote me the inappropriate wording, and instructions to edit. No response. I sent it again a week later. No response. I sent another email a week later. No response. I phoned and asked for a supervisor. I did talk to one that actually was very cordial and said she would contact the appropriate department. She also said I will get a response from them. It never happened. This was over a week ago.
Today I went to BarnesAndNoble.com site to see if by some magical chance they fixed the issue but didn't tell me. Nope. That's wasn't the case but what I did find was another review, Unthinkable: Tips for Surviving a Child's Traumatic Brain Injury, had the exact same red notation at the top of the review! There is absolutely nothing in either review that "contains inappropriate language." Yet, when I did a cursory check on some of our other reviews, they were posted.
But, there is even more about B & N. I've recently received emails from reviewers on our site ReviewTheBook.com. (This is a site where reviewers get the books to review but post reviews under their own name/account with no affiliation to the site.) The most recent was:
I have tried repeatedly to post a review of this book at B&N and for some reason they won't allow me to do so. They have stopped responding to my requests for an explanation as to why they won't post it.
I also got (and others that are similar):
I'm attempting to post a review on Barnes and Noble. I'm able to log into my account, find the book, and enter the review. When I hit submit I'm told the review isn't accepted. I've sent emails to them but I'm not getting a response.
Not getting a response? Humm...sounds very familiar to me and to the many others that have attempted to contact Amazon.com regarding their reviews. Is BarnesAndNoble.com trying to compete with Amazon.com for bad customer service? Sure seems like it. I was hoping B & N would step-up-to-the-plate and offer better customer service than Amazon. Instead, I'm finding quite the opposite; it's just another humongous corporation in the passive-aggressive mode that doesn't give a hoot about their commodity: the authors who supply the product for them to sell.
I'd like to hear your thoughts or any experiences you've had on this. Please tell me here.
If you want to know what others think of B & N customer service, check this out:
Customer Service Scoreboard: Barnes and NobleCustomer Service
featured this week
Nonfiction - Cookbook, Culture
Ruby’s Juke Joint: Americana Cookbook
Bando Press (2012)
ISBN 9780983782407
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (12/11)
Synopsis
Ruby Dee takes you inside the heart of Americana food with her new cookbook. Filled with old fashioned down home recipes, Ruby's Juke Joint is accompanied by a great soundtrack by some of the best Americana artists today. Check out the inside pictures and get your copy now. "Ruby's approach to food and music are the same -- she's classic and classy with a twist of unexpected delight. And what she whips up is always extremely tasty!"
- Elizabeth McQueen, singer Asleep at the Wheel
"I can't think of a better person to do a cookbook like this. Ruby IS Juke Joint, Americana, and all the good stuff that goes with it. In Ruby's life, music and cooking are intertwined: heart & soul, inspiration, improvisation, and passion. Ruby has all the right ingrediants to make this the "go-to" book in anyone's kitchen."
- Cindy Cashdollar, Five time Grammy award winning dobro and steel player (Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Dave Alvin and more)
Read review of Ruby's Juke Joint
Listen to interview on Inside Scoop Live
Visit author's website
featured this week
Fiction - Parenting, Health, Social Issues
Will the Courageous: A Story About Sexual Abuse
Loving Healing Press (2011)
ISBN 9781615990009
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (6/11)
Synopsis
What is wrong with Will? Will is a typical six-year-old boy: he loves to tell "knock-knock jokes", collect bugs, and play with other kids. On most school days, Will goes to Nana Winnie's until his mom returns from work. Will enjoys having his Nana as a babysitter. Recently, Nana's cousin Perry has come to visit and suddenly Will no longer wants to go there. He starts having nightmares, acting out in school and wetting his bed. Will's parents are worried. What is wrong with Will? Will the Courageous, by author Amy Barth, deals with important issues regarding sexual abuse that may arise in a young person's life.
Read review of Will the Courageous
Visit author's website
Spotlight - reader views literary awards winner
Life Journeys Award for the Best Memoir or Biography
After the Murder of My Son by Mary Rondeau Westra
Synopsis: Mary Rondeau Westra grew up in Northeast Minneapolis. She graduated from Macalester College and taught French for eight years before becominga stay-at-home mom. While raising her two daughters and son, she started a book club, counseled breast-feeding mothers, and was an active community volunteer, tennis player, soccer mom and marathon runner. “When my kids became teen-agers, they didn’t need devoted mothering anymore and I knew I couldn’t run marathons for the rest of my life, so I went back to work.” She started a ten-year career of fundraising for arts organizations and retired from The Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2002 shortly after the murder of her son. She now serves as a volunteer guide at the museum and directs a capital campaign at her church, while continuing to write.
Synopsis: “Your son’s been killed,” say the blue suits on the other side of the screen door the hot morning of July 8, 2001. Twenty-four year old Peter Westra, a promising investment banker, has been kicked to death by bouncers outside a club in Atlantic City NJ where he was attending a bachelor party.
Time stops for Mary. Shock gives way to grief, sorrow, isolation, shame. Fear sets in as the family prepares for lengthy judicial proceedings. “What will I learn about Peter’s final hour? Will I have to look at his killer?” Mary vows to uphold the honor of her son. “I want my son, even in death, to be proud of his mother.” Justice in the courtroom proves elusive, and Mary, disappointed, must dig deep for hope. Inspired by the legacy of her son’s too short life, she redefines her life and purpose and reaches out with compassion to others suffering loss or adversity. After the Murder of My Son heralds the triumph of the power of the human heart over tragedy.
Read review of After the Murder of My Son
Visit author's website
Enter Literary Awards Program
List of 2010 Literary Awards Winners
Spotlight - reader views literary awards winner
Pump Up Your Book Award for the Best Regional Book of the Year
As the Sycamore Grows by Jennie Miller Helderman
Jennie Helderman was born into a story-telling family in north Alabama too long ago. She’s afraid she’ll never have time to write all the storiesswimming in her head, like when her cousin died and his wife had the Mrs. title and the burial policy but the one-legged woman had the body.Or about driving her mother and a coconut cake to the family reunion in a cow pasture in south Alabama. Helderman also writes profiles and features for magazines. She’s chaired the editorial board of The Key, the 150,000 circulation alumnae magazine of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity and worked as Arts and Alumnae Editor.
Synopsis: As the Sycamore Grows is the true story–real names–of a seventeen year abusive marriage. A Sleeping with the Enemy in the Tennessee backwoods, as told by Ginger, who escaped, and Mike, who abused and holds no remorse. Jennie Miller Helderman’s book is an incredibly powerful and sobering true account of obedience, poverty and isolation escalating in mounting abuse and violence.
Read review of As the Sycamore Grows
Visit author's website
Enter Literary Awards Program
List of 2010 Literary Awards Winners
This week's video
The Call
D. Hamilton Books (2010)
ISBN 9780984619207
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (11/11)
Synopsis
Satire and the supernatural blend together in this humorous but disturbing account of divinity school and the people who are drawn to answering the call to ministry. The story is conveyed in the first person through the eyes of Ishmael O'Donnell, an observantg yhoung man who wrestles with familial dysfunction, possession by the spirit of his long-dead twin brother, and a quest for purification from both. The book chronicles the events that lead up to his seeking out seminary as a means of attaining this purification. Upon his arrival at seminary and his three year journey through the curriculum, he finds himself engulfed in an unending torrent of duplicity, impertinence, and societal abnormalities within a communal setting of characters so driven, tenacious, over-the-top, and supercilious, it hurts. The mocking inner voice of Ishmael's twin reverberates louder and louder as he desperately tries to come to grips with what is taking place about him, while discovering who he is within the confines of a cloistered setting he finds to be inundated with its own unique form of madness. And when he finally does obtain the key to his purification... but such things are not revealed second hand.