Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Review - Starry Knight by Nina Mason



TITLE:    Starry Knight
AUTHOR:   Nina Mason
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 248 pages
PUBLISHED:  Kensington, 2015
SOURCE:   Received from Publisher for Review

FROM GOODREADS:  Can these star-crossed lovers bridge two worlds?

British aristocrat Vanessa Bentley has beauty, fame, and fortune, but she gets no respect for her decision to become a paranormal investigator. Determined to prove the naysayers wrong. Vanessa ventures to the misty moors of Caithness, Scotland. There stands the immense Castle Barrogill, where a vampire is rumored to be stalking the dungeons - a vampire Vanessa is determined to find. She'll just have to get past the resident shape-shifter...


Callum Lyon is the gorgeous reclusive astrologer and faery knight who guards the castle. For free-spirited Vanessa, seducing him proves to be easy. After all, he was once a breeding drone to a Queen. But astrologically, their differences are harder to overcome Will Vanessa's mission - and Callum's secrets - be more than their burgeoning love can take? Or will flesh - and blood - win over the ghosts that haunt them both?


MY TAKE:  The blurb on this book jumped out at me and seemed to have many of the elements I look for in a story: historical, fantasy, romance, Scotland, knights, castles - need I say more? While it did have all of those things, Starry Knight was just an OK afternoon's read. It did what a good book is supposed to do, entertain the reader, but it didn't grab a hold of me like I'd thought it might. 

Ms. Mason has created an alternate/adjacent world that I believe has a lot of promise in the stories to come. Her building the imagery was done quite well. I could picture the scenery as she was describing it and could easily place myself into the setting. It was somewhere I'd be interested in being. 

What didn't make this a "great" read for me, is well, pretty much Vanessa and the political/environmental messages. I could not connect or empathize with the woman. She'd say one thing while doing the opposite. Her "cause" seemed to be first and foremost with her when it was convenient. She had the spoiled brat thing down to an art form.

As for the political and environmental slant, it is not that I am not also very concerned about doing what is right for our world. I just don't want to be bombarded with it throughout a story that I'm reading to escape reality and be entertained. I am of the same mind when it comes to the political vein. 

All in all, I think many readers will enjoy this story and the ones to come. As I noted, the author is quite adept at world building and creating a place you want to go back to. 
  
Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:




You can grab your copy of Starry Knight at the fine literary retailers below:
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~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Spotlight + Gift Card GIVEAWAY - Finding Gabriel by Rachel L. Demeter




Today I am very happy to be featuring Rachel L. Demeter's newest offering, Finding Gabriel. This spotlight and GIVEAWAY are part of a week long blitz that ends on October 2nd. 



TITLE:    Finding Gabriel
AUTHOR:    Rachel L. Demeter
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 420 pages
PUBLISHED:  Momentum, 2015

Colonel Gabriel de Laurent departed for the war intending to die.

After a decade of bloodstained battlegrounds while fighting in Napoleon's army, Gabriel returns to the streets of Paris a shattered and haunted soul. Plagued by inner demons, he swallows the barrel of his flintlock pistol and pulls the trigger. 

But fate has a different plan.

Ariah Larochelle is a survivor. Orphaned at twelve and victim to a devastating crime, she has learned to keep her back to walls and trust no one. But when she finds a gravely injured soldier washed up on the River Seine, she's moved by compassion. In spite of her reservations, she rescues him from the icy water and brings him into her home. 

Now scarred inside and out, Gabriel discovers a kindred spirit in Ariah - and feelings he imagined lost forever reawaken as he observes her strength in the face of adversity. But when Ariah's own lethal secrets unfold, their new love is threatened by ancient ghosts. Can Gabriel and Ariah find hope in the wreckage of their pasts - or will the cycle of history repeat again?

Perfect for fans of Gaelen Foley's Lord of Ice and Judith James's Broken Wing, Finding Gabriel features all the dark romance, searing passion, and a historical intrigue of The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel L. Demeter lives in the beautiful hills of Anaheim, California with Teddy, her goofy lowland sheepdog, and her high school sweetheart of eleven years. She enjoys writing dark, poignant romances that challenge the reader's emotions and explore the redeeming power of love. 

Imagining dynamic worlds and characters has been Rachel's passion for longer than she can remember. Before learning how to read or write, she would dictate stories while her mother would record them for her. She holds a special affinity for the tortured hero and unconventional romances. Whether crafting the protagonist or antagonist, she ensures every character is given a soul.

Rachel endeavors to defy conventions by blending elements of romance, suspense, and horror. Some themes her stories never stray too far from: forbidden romance, soul mates, the power of love to redeem, mend all wounds, and triumph over darkness.


Her dream is to move readers and leave an emotional impact through her words.




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Check out the rest of the lovely blogs hosting this tour:


WEEK BLITZ - September 28th - October 2nd

September 28th

September 29th

September 30th

October 1st

October 2nd

And now, just for you: 

If you don't want to wait for the winner to be announced, you can find a copy of Finding Gabriel at any of the following fine literary retailers:

AMAZON US | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY |POWELL'S BOOKS


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~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Giveaway Winner - Living in the Shadows


It's time to announce the lucky winner 
of

Judith Barrow's 
Living in the Shadow


Congratulations to Mary Preston! 
Your information has been sent to the powers that be.

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~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Review - Wedding Matilda by Heather Hiestand



TITLE:    Wedding Matilda (Redcakes Book 6)
AUTHOR:    Heather Hiestand
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 254 pages
PUBLISHED:   Lyrical Press, 2015
SOURCE:   Received from Publisher for Review

FROM GOODREADS: Sugared violets, buttercream...but he craves her kisses most of all...  


Orphaned as a boy, Ewan Hales is proud to make his living as secretary to the manager at Redcake's Tea Shop. But the startling news that he's heir to the Earl of Fitzwalter changes everything. While tendering his resignation to lovely Matilda Redcake, however, Ewan is struck by her spirit, the luscious bow of her lips - and a realization, Matilda might not marry a working man - but will she wed a future nobleman?

Ewan's unruly hair and roguish kisses are tempting, but Matilda has far too many problems to consider romance. With sabotage at a cake factory threatening the family empire, she must focus her considerable willpower on keeping Redcakes from ruin - until she learns that her young son has been kidnapped. Together, she and Ewan must uncover the truth before they can savor the sweet freedom of love....

MY TAKE:   I was not familiar with the author or her delightful Redcake family before being sent this book for review. I usually don't like to come into the middle of a series, but this book is very much a stand alone read, and an enjoyable one at that. It is an easy read that flows from one scene to another and has definitely drawn me in to wanting to know more about this family and their adventures.

One of the things I noted in this book was that the story wasn't all pure romance. There was a lively thread of mystery and suspense running through it as well. I enjoyed trying to guess who the bad guys were and what would happen next. I also liked the fact that the sex scenes weren't overly or gratuitously done. It can be tiring if the main characters are always jumping into bed and there is no real story other than that. Ms. Hiestand's book is nothing like that. The scenes are natural feeling and fit well in the storyline. It makes for a believable progression with just the right amount of spark.

I highly recommend this book and am personally looking forward to starting in on the other books in this story. 
  
Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:

You can grab your copy of Wedding Matilda in print or ebook HERE.  Plus check out the rest of the series and get to know the Redcakes.
















Pump Up Your Book

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~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Guest Post - Creating Characters by Judith Barrow + Giveaway



I am very pleased to welcome author Judith Barrow to One Book Shy today. She is winding up a blog tour today celebrating her latest novel Living in the Shadows with an article on the intricacies of character creation and a giveaway. I'd like to thank Judith and Amy at Historical Fiction Virtual Tours for including One Book Shy on the tour. Take it away Judith....

Creating Characters
by Judith Barrow

I always think that one of the most challenging aspects of being a writer is creating characters. Yet it’s a chance to step back from yourself and assume a completely different persona. Or several personas … without people backing slowly away from you.
Characters that readers truly believe in and become attached to are those that are exciting and alive on the page. On the one hand, with protagonists, they should elicit empathy, compassion, sympathy. Many of my readers have reported that my protagonists, Mary, has lived in their minds long after they have closed the books. A most satisfying thing for any author to hear about one of their characters.
On the other hand, with an antagonist, they must provoke dislike, irritation, even hatred. I hope I achieved the latter with George Shuttleworth, who first appears as a secondary character in the first of the trilogy, Pattern of Shadow, but gains a more sinister presence in the sequel, Changing Patterns and even more so in Living in the Shadows
As I’ve said, it’s not easy to shape characters and make them realistic. But it’s possible. And the only way is to start from scratch.
To get into a character’s mind, to imagine their appearance, live in their world, I build character sheets.
I ask myself how old are they? What do I want them to look like? Their build: body shape; stocky, muscular, thin, big-boned; tall or short? Colour of hair, skin, eyes? Where do they live: city, countryside, village, seaside? What kind of home have they got? Do they live alone or with family; what is the make-up of that family? What is their work, job, career? What papers/books do they read? What hobbies do they have? (And don’t forget, even the most hated character in your book should be multi-faceted. Even George Shuttleworth in my trilogy! He keeps and breeds canaries; such tiny birds need gentle handling – ironic when his violence can cause such havoc. But isn’t such diversity true human nature?)
And then there are the clothes; clothes are a godsend to make imagery for the reader. What do the characters wear? How do they look? How do they feel? In Living in the Shadows, Victoria Howarth’s hippie clothes are the norm for the Manchester of the Sixties, a far cry from the clothes she wore back home in the sleepy village of Llamroth. But even there her twin, Richard, has progressed to dressing as a Mod – something that gets him into trouble when he comes across a gang of Rockers in the town of Ashford, Lancashire where the rest of Mary’s family live.
Clothes place characters in their setting, their era. They give a whole sense of place and time.
That’s all the simple stuff. But there are other tricks to use that draw out their personalities. Think about your characters; get into their heads. Are they dreamers or pragmatic? Are they arrogant, confident, assertive, reticent, shy, placid, fiery, quiet, loud? And any other adjective you can think of. What are their secret (or not so secret) ambitions? What would they do to achieve them; how far would they go? Do the other characters like or dislike them and why? Do they care? Do they like themselves? How are they with their family, with strangers, with children, with animals? Once you’re on a roll the list is endless.
Then there’s the dialogue. How do your characters speak? Are they well-spoken, clear and precise or do they mumble? What does that say about them?
One of my characters in the trilogy, Jean, sister in law and friend to Mary, speaks in short phrases, often repeating them – either for effect or because she doesn’t want anyone to interrupt her. In Pattern of Shadows I have a character, Tom, Mary’s brother, who has a stammer. It’s small things that will differentiate the characters so that the reader knows exactly who is speaking.
And do the any of the characters have an accent; regional or from a different country? How about dialect (be careful here – better to hint at dialect with the odd ‘tip of the hat’ towards that or your dialogue will become difficult to read and you could lose your reader). Or, always interesting, I think, have they worked to hide that dialect? As Jean does sometimes ( a bit of a snob, she tries to portray herself as beter than ‘working class’)
The question of dialect comes up twofold in Living in the Shadows and it was a fine line to tread. I needed to make sure that the characters fitted into their setting. So the characters that live in Ashford sometimes have the syntax of their conversation altered and have accents and phrases to show they are local to Lancashire.And the same goes for the characters who live in Pembrokeshire in Wales.
But when they are ‘outsiders’, as Peter Schormann, a German Pow and doctor, and later, a resident in Llamroth, is, than that needs to be seen as well.
I’ve only given a taster here of how I create my characters. But I hope it’s given food for thought. And I’m fully aware that other authors have many other ways of bringing their characters to life. These are just some of mine. I hope they help.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Judith Barrow has lived in Pembrokeshire for thirty years. She is the author of three novels, and has published poetry and short fiction, winning several poetry competitions, as well as writing three children's books and a play performed at the Dylan Thomas Centre. Judith grow up in the Pennines, has degrees in literature and creative writing and makes regular appearances at literary festivals.


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GIVEAWAY 
ends TONIGHT!

The author and publisher are generously offering a copy of Living in the Shadows to one lucky One Book Shy reader. The copy can be either ebook format or print. The great news is that this one is open to all, including our INTERNATIONAL friends. The contest will end at midnight (PST) on Sunday, 9/28/15. The winner will be announced here as well as contacted via email. Fill out the form below to get started:

 
If you don't want to wait for the winner to be announced, you can find a copy of Living in the Shadows at any of the following fine literary retailers:

AMAZON US | AMAZON UK | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | CHAPTERS | KOBO


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~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Spotlight and GIVEAWAY - Living in the Shadows by Judith Barrow



I am very happy to be showcasing a new author and book at One Book Shy today. Judith Barrows is currently on a blog tour with her newest book, Living in the Shadows. 


TITLE:    Living in the Shadows
AUTHOR:    Judith Barrow
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 310 pages
PUBLISHED:   Honno Press, 2015

It's 1969 and Mary Schormann is living quietly in Wales with her ex-POW husband, Peter, and her teenage twins, Richard and Victoria. Her niece, Linda Booth, is a nurse - following in Mary's footsteps - and works in the maternity ward of her local hospital in Lancashire.

At the end of a long night shift, a bullying new father visits the maternity ward and brings back Linda's darkest nightmares, her terror of being locked in. Who is this man, and why does he scare her so?

There are secrets dating back to the war that still haunt the family, and finding out what lies at their root might be the only way Linda can escape their murderous consequences. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Judith Barrow has lived in Pembrokeshire for thirty years. She is the author of three novels, and has published poetry and short fiction, winning several poetry competitions, as well as writing three children's books and a play performed at the Dylan Thomas Centre. Judith grow up in the Pennines, has degrees in literature and creative writing and makes regular appearances at literary festivals.




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Check out the rest of the lovely blogs hosting this tour:

Tuesday, September 22
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, September 23
Spotlight at I'd So Rather Be Reading

Thursday, September 24
Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Saturday, September 26
Guest Post at The Writing Desk

Sunday, September 27
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Monday, September 28
Review at Book Nerd
Guest Post at Historical Fiction Connection

And now for the 

GIVEAWAY!!

The author and publisher are generously offering a copy of Living in the Shadows to one lucky One Book Shy reader. The copy can be either ebook format or print. The great news is that this one is open to all, including our INTERNATIONAL friends. The contest will end at midnight (PST) on Monday, 9/28/15. The winner will be announced here as well as contacted via email. Fill out the form below to get started:

 
If you don't want to wait for the winner to be announced, you can find a copy of Living in the Shadows at any of the following fine literary retailers:

AMAZON US | AMAZON UK | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | CHAPTERS | KOBO


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~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Readers Rejoice! New Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet only $49 or Buy 5, Get 1 FREE

I actually just posted this spectacular deal on my deal/savings website (Centsable Couponing) and decided I really, really needed to share it here, with my book-obsessed pals at One Book Shy! I haven't been this excited about a deal in a long time. My first Kindle cost more than the price of 6 of these. Hello awesome gift giving...





Amazon just announced this great new Kindle Fire today! It is just one member of their new family of Fire products. Can you tell I'm excited???  Hubby somehow managed to destroy his old one recently so the timing is perfect. He won't have to wait until Christmas now. At this price though, I may be purchasing a few to stash away for presents...

Here are the exciting details:

  • Beautiful 7" IPS display (171 ppi /1024 x 600) and fast 1.3 GHz quad-core processor. Rear and front-facing cameras.
  • All-new Amazon Underground, a one-of-a-kind app store experience where over $10,000 in apps, games and even in-app items are actually free - including extra lives, unlocked levels, unlimited add-on packs and more
  • Enjoy more than 38 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, apps and games
  • 8 GB of internal storage. Free unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon content and photos taken with Fire devices. Add a microSD card for up to 128 GB of additional storage.
  • Updated user interface - Fire OS 5 designed for quick access to your apps and content plus personalized recommendations that make it easy to discover new favorites
  • Up to 7 hours of reading, surfing the web, watching videos, and listening to music
  • Stay connected with fast web browsing, email, and calendar support

One of the neatest announcements is their special deal:  if you buy 5, you'll get 1 FREE! This makes them only $41 FOR A KINDLE FIRE!!! You can outfit your entire family or go in with a friend and make a lot of people happy! Give the gift of Fire and share endless entertainment with your friends and family. Fire has access to over 38 million movies, TV episodes, books, songs, and more, which makes it the perfect gift for everyone on your shopping list.


To get the FREE Kindle, you must use the code FIRE6PACK when you check out. Be sure to put 6 Kindles in the basket to qualify for the discount/freebie.

With your PRIME membership, your 2-day shipping is FREE. If you aren't already a PRIME member, try it for FREE for 30 days. You'll be amazed at all of the benefits and perks that come along with being a member.


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~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Guest Post - First Person: A Matter of Perspective by Christine Amsden


I am really excited to welcome Christine Amsden to One Book Shy today as part of her tour with her great new book, Madison's Song (which I just happened to post a happy review of earlier today). A little bit about Christine:


Christine Amsden has been writing fantasy and science fiction for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and relationships, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease, a condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let that slow her down or get in the way of her dreams. In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work, Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children. Visit Christine at her website. 


First Person: A Matter of Perspective
by Christine Amsden

Whether a writer is a panster or an outliner, there is one question she must answer before getting started: First or third? For some the answer is simply a matter of personal preference, but even if that's the case it's important to think through the implications.

First person is a compelling viewpoint for many authors because it is easy to imagine ourselves as “I” and to tell a story that way. It's sort of what we do, isn't it? Play an elaborate game of make believe? But unless you're a dedicated hobbyist, you're not just telling this story for your own amusement. You're writing to an audience, and your audience may have a different perspective.

As a reader, I usually prefer third person – and I don't say this lightly because my Cassie Scot series is told in the first person (I'll get into why in a bit). I enjoy third person because in my readerly games of make believe, it is a little easier for me to pretend to be “he” or “she” than “I.” It also has the clear advantage of allowing me inside the heads of more than one character, deepening the story by bringing in multiple perspectives.

The third person limited omniscient is a great point of view which eliminates the distance between readers and characters. It puts us straight into their heads in a way that makes it a more intimate reading experience than first person. First person used to be the “close” point of view, but that's when it was competing with an omniscient version of third person. Nowadays, we have better options. Modern limited omniscient third person gets as intimate with the character as first person, but it eliminates distance in time. A first person narrator has, presumably, already lived through the events of the story and is telling them from the future. A third person narrator is right there in the moment.

But don't take this to mean that first person doesn't have a place. Of course it does! There is power in the first person narrator, but it has to be harnessed well and used wisely. As a reader immersing myself in a first person novel, it's more like a close personal friend is telling me their story in intimate detail. To get into it I have to like not only the story, but the person telling it and the way it's being told. Or to put it another way: Your narrator had better have character.

I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say this: If you can substitute “he” or “she” for “I” in a first person story and it's still basically the same, you've chosen the wrong point of view. If this is the case then you've thrown away all the advantage of first person while embracing all the disadvantages.

A first person narrator isn't just a narrator. He or she is a character telling a story. Their character will influence how they tell the story – including voice, style, and presentation method. First person narrators can get away with asides to the audience, or drop dark hints about what is to come (since they have already lived through it). A first person narrator can be unreliable – he can even lie to himself and believe it. He can also withhold information from the audience.

You can get away with breaking more rules in the first person than you can in the third. Ironically, this makes it harder to write. It's easier to effectively break rules once you know them and understand what they're for.

The power of a first person narrator is freedom of style.

I chose first person for Cassie, after a lot of agonizing deliberation, because she needed to tell her own story. It helped that the story (by which I mean the prominent series arc; the individual books are mysteries) is entirely about Cassie coming into herself as an adult. But you can tell a great story in the third person, even if it belongs to only one character. A first person story needs more. It needs a character who desperately wants to tell her own story. Cassie's got attitude, and she's talking right to you. “My parents think the longer the name the more powerful the sorcerer, so they named me Cassandra Morgan Ursula Margaret Scot. You can call me Cassie.”

I said earlier that as a reader, I usually prefer third person. I put the “usually” in there for a reason – I usually prefer third person because I run across too many first person stories that don't harness the power of first person. That don't have the right style or perspective, or that differ from a third person story only in the pronoun choice. The whole truth is that when first person is done well, it's my absolute favorite to read. But of course “done well” is also a matter of perspective. 



        


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~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.