​If you’re going to buy one horror book this year, I’d recommend Real Television by Matthew Salinas. It's a dystopian near-future story that will suck you in with common elements that we can see today in aspects of reality TV, but which take it to a chilling and unexpected ending.

For a full review of the book, check it out here at ScribesMICRO or here (link forthcoming) at Bewildering Stories. I’d recommend it for readers looking for a quick-paced read to keep them up at night. It will greatly appeal to fans of Squid Game or The Hunger Games.

I was happy to get a sneak peak at the forthcoming poetry collection Words at Play, an anthology put together by editor and author Edward Ahern. The collection is filled with Connecticut poets from all walks of life, and the poems reflect the diversity of its authors with its diversity of styles, tones, and voices.

For a full review of the book, check it out here at ScribesMICRO. I highly recommend this anthology to lovers of verse; in its pages, there's a poem to please every discerning reader. highly recommend this anthology to lovers of verse; in its pages, there's a poem to please every discerning reader.

​​When the weather turns chilly, there’s nothing better than curling up with a good ghost story right before Halloween. Even better, a ghost story that has touches of mystery, romance, and humor. I was delighted to find all three of those elements in Gabi Coatsworth’s novel A Field Guide to Library Ghosts.

​For a full review of the book, check it out here at ScribesMICRO. I’d recommend this novel to readers who are looking for a storyline that’s not too heavy and spreads a positive message of love and redemption. If you’d like to escape the endless current news cycle of terrible happenings around the world, this is a wonderful change of pace that will keep you entertained from the first page to the last.

​A few months ago, I attended the book release of a new anthology of poetry called Woman Life Freedom: Poems for the Iranian Revolution, edited by Bänoo Zan and Cy Strom. This is a collection that exposes the darkest side of the lives of women worldwide, who are often regarded as second-class citizens with few rights and fewer options for escape or freedom.

For a full review of the book, check it out here at ScribesMICRO. This is a powerful anthology, emotional and heartbreaking to read. I highly recommend it.

​While attending the Edmonton Poetry Festival in the spring of 2025, I was lucky enough to snag a copy of the collection The Twenty: A Youth Poetry Collection. It’s a poetry anthology that encompasses universal themes, while at the same time embracing the diversity and uniqueness of world cultures and experiences.

For a full review of the book and listing of the poets included, check it out here at ScribesMICRO. This is a collection penned by the next generation of great writers, and it’s one that would be appreciated by poetry lovers everywhere. Highly recommended.

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​At Play and other stories by Amita Basu delivers what the title promises: a sometimes playful, sometimes serious, set of short stories about a number of men and women living in modern India who have to tackle problems both big and small.

For a full review of the book, check it out here at ScribesMICRO. This is a book for anyone who’s looking to sink into a multitude of worlds featuring diverse and fascinating characters and come out the other side with a new appreciation of what it means to be human. It’s a masterful grouping of tales, and I’d highly recommend this short story collection.

​There are three words that define Mary Keating’s debut memoir in verse, Recalibrating Gravity: funny, heartfelt, and clever. It’s a collection of poems that tell Keating’s life story in a way that’s both accessible and poignant, and I enjoyed reading it from the first page to the last.

For a full review of the book, check it out here at ScribesMICRO. I’d recommend this book to readers who enjoy memoir, as well as lovers of poetry—there’s something in its pages for everyone.​

For those who know a bit about me, I grew up near the beach town of Santa Cruz in California. So, I was pleased to dive into Scott Rosin's poetry collection Turn Your Back on the Shore, an eclectic and captivating look of where the ocean meets the shore and how surfers experience this breathtaking space.

For a full review of the book, check it out here at Medium. This is a collection that I’d highly recommend to readers who enjoy poetry, nature, and the beauty of man’s relationship with the ocean. It’s a wonderful journey out into the waves with the author, and I hope to visit there again soon.

Ruth Boukhari's Forsaken is a beautiful collection of poetry that explores both the highs and lows of love. The words sing off the page, taking the reader on a journey from the start of a love affair all the way through the end and out the other side to the healing of one's heart. It's a wonderful and painful journey that many of us have experienced in our lives, and it illuminates a true gift on the writer's part to take the reader on that journey with her.

For a full review of the book, check it out here at Medium. I’d highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy poetry — it’s simply an amazing read.