Books Etc Magazine - April 2020

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APRIL 2020

BOOKS E t MAGAZINE

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Cover photo credit: @booksaboutem Copyright Š 2020 by Books Etc Magazine All rights reserved, material in Books Etc Magazine is protected under the Commonwealth Copyright Act 1968. No material may be reproduced in part thereof or in whole without written consent from the copyright holders. Copyright responsibility for supplied material rests with the provider. The opinions expressed in Books Etc Magazine are those of individual contributors and not necessarily those of its editors and publishers. Every attempt is made for accuracy, however information and figures contained in this magazine have been provided to us by the advertisers and their sources. No warranty is given by Books Etc Magazine as to the accuracy of any figures or information contained in this magazine.

Perspective purchases are urged to rely on their own enquiries.

Books Etc Magazine instagram.com/@booksetc_mag nicky@booksetmag.com.au www.booksetcmag.com.au

> Contents We are so excited to show you what we have in store for our April issue. Be sure to check out our interview with Zoraida Cordova and learn more about her brand new book, Incendiary. Make sure you check out our spotlight on Craft of Stars and how you can go into the running to win one of our awesome Craft of Stars giveaway!

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Review of The Colouring Competition written by Heath McKenzie.

The power of reading during quarantine by The Readers Journal.

Review of Unpregnant written by Jenni Henricks & Ted Caplan

CHILDRENS BOOK REVIEW

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FEATURE ARTICLE

YA REVIEW

CONTEMPORARY REVIEW

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ARTICLE

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Review of Pretending by Holly Bourne

Aus Fangirl Reads share with us her experience of bookstagram meet ups.

We chat with Zoraida Cordova + your change to enter our giveaway!

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW

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FROM PAGE TO SCREEN

TECH REVIEW

THRILLER REVIEW

Review of All The Bright Places on Netflix.

We look at the editing apps to use for Bookstagram photos.

Review of Precious You written by Helen Monks Tahar.

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We sit down with Jess from Craft of Stars aka @bookishbiology.

Can we silence art? Blue shares her thoughts on this topic.

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

BOOKS ETC MAGAZINE APRIL 2020 EDITION INSTAGRAM @booksetc_mag FACEBOOK facebook.com/booksetcmagazine

BLUE RANTS

A letter from the Editor Greetings from our lockdown bunker in NSW Australia! We are now a month into the COVID-19 pandemic and the past few weeks have been a bookworms dream (when we aren’t all busy having panic attacks that is!). For those wonderful superheros who have been working the front lines in hospitals, doctors surgeries, supermarkets, emergency services and other essential business we send you a deep felt THANK YOU. Your commitment to putting others before your own lives have kept the world turning and I don’t think I’m alone in believing that you all deserve a parade once this pandemic is over!

This month we’ve included tips on how to editing your Bookstagram pics, keeping yourself sane during the quarantine, book reviews of all different types of genres, a book to movie review, an interview with ZORAIDA CORDOVA and much, much more!

We hope everyone is safe and washing their hands daily (how many times does one spray a book with glen20 before it starts to hurt the book??), and that this magazine helps keep you company. All our contributors have been working hard to bring you some fun and interesting content to help keep the cabin fever away and keep you all distracted.

Until next time, happy reading!

Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged us after our premier release last month. We love hearing your thoughts and suggestions about content you want to see – keep it coming! In the mean time, we hope you enjoy this month and that you all stay safe and (mostly) sane.

- Nicky K

Editor and Creator

W W W. B O O K S E TC M A G A Z I N E . CO M . AU

REVIEW - CHILDREN

THE COLOURING COMPETITION

BY HEATH MCKENZIE

SYNOPSIS: It was the perfect day for colouring in . . . until Oscar noticed he had competition!

Now both Oscar and Henry can't stop colouring, and they have gone WAY outside the lines! Who will win the colouring competition?

BY NICKY ( @C RE8 I VE.NI C KY )

After the success of Zoo House, Heath McKenzie is back with THE COLOURING COMPETITION. This children’s book is beautifully presented with illustrations that simply leap off the page.

What I loved most about this book is that the illustations are primarily in black and white - except where Henry or Oscar have coloured.

As the tale of the colouring battle between Henry and Oscar continues you become aware of how the world takes on a more beautiful look when the children’s imagination is applied.

to life and the animals expressions are hilarious!

The story ends with a beautiful message about friendship instead of compeition. I personally feel there were many beautiful messages in the story hidden amongst the fun that is great for young readers to walk away with. I can’t wait to see wht McKenzie brings out next! /5 Other titles by this author:

What looks like a plain black and white trip to the zoo rapidly changes after the boys colour in the animals and surrondings. Suddenly the zoo comes to BOOKS ETC MAGAZINE

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TO JOIN THE FUN CLICK HERE:

@amiekaufmanauthor

@misterkristoff

THE POWER OF

Reading DURING QUARANTINE

BY THE READER JOURNALS

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- The Reader Journals

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“The characters are all so interesting and so deliciously flawed ...”

UNPREGNANT BY JENNI HENDRIKS & TED CAPLAN SYNOPSIS: Seventeen-year-old Veronica Clarke never thought she would wish she’d failed a test until she finds herself holding a thick piece of plastic in her hands and staring at two solid pink lines.

Even the most consistent use of condoms won’t prevent pregnancy when your boyfriend secretly pokes holes in them to keep you from going out-of-state for college.

Veronica needs an abortion, but the closest place she can legally get one is over nine hundred miles away—and Veronica doesn’t have a car.

Too ashamed to ask her friends or family for help, BOOKS ETC MAGAZINE

Veronica turns to the one person she believes won’t judge her: Bailey Butler, Jefferson High’s own little black cloud of anger and snark—and Veronica’s ex-best friend. Once on the road, Veronica quickly remembers nothing with Bailey is ever simple and that means two days of stolen cars, shotguns, crazed ex-boyfriends, truck stop strippers with pro-life agendas, and a limo driver named Bob. But the pain and betrayal of their broken friendship can’t be outrun. When their fighting leads to a brutal moment of truth, Bailey abandons Veronica. Now Veronica must risk everything in order to repair the hurt she’s caused. pg.10

BY NICKY (@CRE8IVE_NICKY )

REVIEW - YA CONTEMPORARY

Every now and then a book comes along that takes your breath away. For me it was Unpregnant. As someone who is the result of a teen unexpected pregnancy, I was eager to read this book and see how it might challenge me.

I was not disappointed. No matter what your beliefs are on abortion, this is ultimately a story about the choices we make, friendships, personal growth and adventure.

Unpregnant is something special and I’m not surprised it’s being adapted into a movie because this book is relatable and such a fantastic story with a lot of great take home messages. It should come as no surprise that I rated this five out of five stars. I was actually disappointed when the book finished because I was so invested in these characters that I wasn’t ready to let them go.

Unpregnant follows Veronica (Ronnie) Clarke, a popular straight A student, with a gorgeous boyfriend, who is looking forward to starting Brown University once she graduates. She has dreamed of this moment and can see nothing but a shining future before her. Unfortunately, life has other ideas when she discovers she’s pregnant. After a massive betrayal Veronica decides that her only shot at salvation is nine hundred miles away and she might just have to call on her ex-best friend to help her before she loses the future she has worked so hard for. What ensues is an unforgettable journey of hard truths, forgiveness and hope.

If you love stories of friendship, with a modern-day Thelma & Louise feel you will really enjoy this book. It is fast paced, and I really loved how the miles where laid out in the book so that you could feel the real urgency of the characters to reach their destination.

Major kudos goes to the writers, Jenni Hendriks & Ted Caplan, for writing such a heartfelt, informative and thrilling story. Be sure to pick up your copy of Unpregnant today.

/5

I absolutely loved this book! It is written so well and so accurately that I was hooked from the first paragraph. The characters are all so interesting and so deliciously flawed. The plot is positively juicy and full of lots of twists and turns – look out for the cow scene!

Another thing I loved is how much heart and truth to this story. I seriously think that it should be required reading for all high school aged teenagers. There are some references to drug use and sex scenes so I would only recommend this book for over the age of 16.

BOOKS ETC MAGAZINE

Other titles similar to this book:

pg.11

“ Today a reader.

Tomorrow a leader.”

- Margaret Fuller

“This book is not just your average fluffy, fun romance read ...�

PRETENDING BY HOLLY BOURNE SYNOPSIS: The new honest and hilarious novel from Holly Bourne, bestselling author of How Do You Like Me Now?

If only April could be more like Gretel.

Why be yourself when you can be perfect?

The problem is, Gretel isn't real. And April is now claiming to be her.

He said he was looking for a 'partner in crime' which everyone knows is shorthand for 'a woman who isn't real'.

April is kind, pretty, and relatively normal - yet she can't seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she's found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry.

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Gretel is exactly what men want - she's a Regular Everyday Manic Pixie Dream Girl Next Door With No Problems.

As soon as April starts 'being' Gretel, dating becomes much more fun - especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua.

Finally, April is the one in control, but can she control her own feelings? And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?

pg.13

BY TAMIK A (@PAPERBACK ANDFLICKCHI CK )

Do not be fooled by the fun cover and the quirky sounding blurb. This book is not just your average fluffy, fun romance read. In fact, please do your research on potential trigger warnings as this book deals with some much heavier themes than it appears to by looking at the blurb alone. The main one of these themes being rape. This is a topic that is very prominent throughout the book and please if this is triggering for you carefully consider whether this read would be a good fit for you.

Having said that I think that Holly Bourne has displayed and dealt with the topic in such a raw, honest and eye-opening way. The running theme, the dialog in the main character April’s head and the issues she has to face were very emotive and thought provoking. Although I could not personally relate to many things including the main theme there were some situations, thoughts, issues that were explored throughout the story that I could relate to and I honestly think that every women if not some men as well will find at least one topic in this book to relate to. And that is something that Bourne should be celebrated for.

As it is so important for everyone to be able to relate to a character in a book from time to time and even more so she has made this strong feminist piece of writing digestible and relatable to not just a few but the mases.

REVIEW - CONTEMPORARY I think this humour made the heaviness and rawness of the underlying themes bearable for the everyday reader like me, even in an uncertain time in history like this. Yet it did not take away from the seriousness of the topics or the message Bourne was trying to get across.

Inconclusion, I rather enjoyed this book for its great mix of raw, eye opening honesty with love, relatability and humour. Bourne has a fantastic way of writing that makes usually hard to deal with topics easier for people from all walks of life to read about and to maybe learn something knew about. However, I do think it could be a very heavy and triggering read for some and this wasn’t exactly clear in the synopsis. Therefore, I am rating this read 4 out of 5 stars.

/5

Other titles by this author:

Now even though there are many heavy and emotional moments in this book Bourne has written the story in such a way that it actually still manages to be all that is listed on its cute cover.

Sexy. Fun. Honest. Cool. More so Bourne has infused some quirk and downright hilarious moments of humour, whether it be in the form of character interactions or the main character April’s inner dialogue and actions. Basically, there were multiple instances I literally laughed out loud.

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You’re walking in Melbourne central, you turn

a corner and come face to face with a large group of people standing in a circle around a bench seat covered in books and bookish merch. The group is loudly and enthusiastically talking about anything and everything, but mostly books.

Congratulations, you’ve come face to face with one of the regular Melbourne meet ups, no need to be frightened. You will be welcomed with open arms and a few book recommendations.

BOOKS ETC MAGAZINE

Melbourne BOOK MEET 2020

BY J ES S (@AUS .FA N GIR L.R EA DS )

One of the things I love about being a bookstagrammer is the sense of community and how close everyone is. The only issue I have is that I’m an extrovert, and even though I love meeting people online and talking online, I love meeting them in person and the idea of meeting some of my bookstagram friends in person was too good of a thing to pass up! pg.16

I did some research looking for some hint of a Melbourne bookstagram meet up or even just a general book lover meet up. But when I came up empty handed I knew this was something I had to fix! So I talked to two of my best bookstagram friends and asked for their help in co-hosting a bookish meet up for bookstagrammers and book lovers alike.

Organising the meet up it was as easy as having a conversation between us and then posting a picture with information on all our Instagram’s at the same time. We received a lot of excited messages from people looking forward to this meet up and the chance to swap books, as well as being able to meet online friends in person. I’ll admit, having so many people excited had us excited as well.

On the 17th November 2018 we had our first meet up at The Little Library in Melbourne Central.

We knew a few people were planning on coming, but we did not expect to see 10 amazing people turn up and just make our day! We ended up spending all afternoon together.

You might be thinking, what on earth do you guys do all day? Well once enough people arrive at The Little Library, introductions are done for anyone who doesn’t know each other and then the real fun starts!

We all lay out books, candles, bookmarks and any other merch we are wanting to trade and basically go wild, in the most civilised way possible. We can spend hours standing there talking and swapping books the time can go so fast when you really get into talking about a series.

After a bit of time and once everyone is happy, the remaining books are often donated to The Little Library. So if you ever miss one of our meets, but are still looking for some books, it might be a good idea to check out The Little Library at Melbourne Central, because we often leave some good books behind.

During one of our last meet ups, an owner of the little library was there when we donated our books and she was shocked at how many we were putting in the library. She even questioned who we were and what we were doing.

I will warn you that if you are on a book buying ban it might be good to stay away from the meet ups, as I have never heard so much support for buying books.

You will often hear this conversation coming from somewhere amongst the shelves, I swear word for word.

“I’ve heard such good things about this book - but I don’t really need it.”

“Of course, you need it.”

“Do you think I should get it?”

“Yes, you need it.” “…Okay I’ll get it!”

Word for word, and I can vouch for this as It has happened to me too many times to count! Support, as well as some amazing book suggestions, are always available during the day’s adventures.

The good thing about these meet ups is people will always come in and out of the group.

We might start the afternoon with 10 people, then a few hours later we will have 13 people, and then by dinner time we will have 6 or less. We are always checking our messages to make sure anyone who decided to come last minuet can still meet up with us and enjoy spending time with some fellow book lovers.

Yes, you did read that right, these meets can start at 12pm and go until 7pm or later. Once we all get together, we seem to just not be able to separate or leave - we have too much fun.

These meet ups have become something I look forwards to every couple of months. We have regulars who come to every single meet up and who I look forward to seeing again, and we have even discussed traveling to other major cities in Australia to see all our other bookstagram friends and not just those close to home.

I don’t know when we will plan those meet ups, but I know that when we do go to Sydney or Perth or even Brisbane, we will leave with some amazing friendships and just a couple book recommendations.

- Jess

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Q. What character/s came to life and introduced themselves to you first when writing Incendiary?

I focused on Renata, the main character of Incendiary. She was the hardest person to write. Ren’s POV is the toughest one I’ve ever tried to tackle. She has suffered so much and she spends most of her young adulthood feeling guilt over things she couldn’t control as a kid. She was a weapon and she’s still a weapon. In the context of Puerto Leones, this fantasy kingdom, what does it mean when her whole being is suspect? When her own people distrust her? How long must she atone for? Should a child have to atone for the things they did, while under manipulation? It’s all so difficult to answer. Ren’s mind is so dark, and a lot of my other books have so much comic-relief, so this was definitely a challenge for me! But I loved the girl Ren is and the one that she chooses to become.

Q. What does an average writing day look like for you? Do you have any special routines?

Zoraida Cordova Busy author of nine hit fantasy novels for children and young adults, Zoraida Cordova recently took the time out of her hectic writing schedule to answer some of our burning questions about her latest YA release INCENDIARY and what her writing process looks like.

BOOKS ETC MAGAZINE

I'm answering this during the time of Coronavirus, so my writing days have changed quite a bit. Usually, I go to my office where I have a shared space with two author friends. On those days, I'd get up, make breakfast, take the train to my office. I start with half an hour of administration work answering e-mails and taking care of the business side of being an author. I write in 30-minute sprints using the Forest app. Sometimes I stay until dinner time, and other times I stay until 2 in the morning with Dhonielle Clayton (we are usually on deadline at the same time). Sometimes I don't write at all and binge watch Supernatural and Brooklyn 99. Everyone has their own routine and every book will require a changeup. pg.19

Q. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing Incendiary?

My research revolved around historic Spain because that is the setting's inspiration. Reading about that time period was very frustrating and painful at times because there are some things in the texts, like Daily Life in Spain in the Golden Age by Marcelin Defourneaux that made it clear how cyclical hate is, and how some things haven't changed.

Q.What was the writing experience like for Incendiary compared to The Vicious Deep? Where there any specific challenges for this book compared to past books you’ve written?

Wow, that's hard to think about since The Vicious Deep was so long ago. I've certainly learned a lot about my process since them. That book came out in 2012 and I've written a dozen books since. Incendiary is lucky number 13. The only thing that has changed is that after my first trilogy I became a hardcore outliner. I can't start without an outline. It helps me keep my deadlines in check, but also it gives me a starting point and a guide like a GPS. Outlines change, I take a different path and reroute, hoping to get to the right ending.

Q. What do you do to fill up your creative tank?

I'm a firm believer that the only way to refill your creative well is to consume more art. Movies, books, tv, museums. I also love long-distance hiking and camping. I can't wait until the summer when hopefully the parks reopen. Last year I did part of the Hebridean Way in Scotland and it was wonderful.

Q. Is there any one thing or person that inspires you to write?

I don't have any one person, but my family. They've always rooted for me and support all my books. My uncle, stepdad, and grandmother have all read my books!

Q. When you aren’t writing, what do you like to do?

I used to paint quite a bit, but haven't in a long time. I know I need a new hobby, but with all the deadlines and freelance work that I have going on, I really just love to sleep!

WIN A COPY OF INCENDIARY! To celebrate the release of INCENDIARY we are giving away a paperback AUS edition copy to one lucky winner. Simply click the link below and tell us in 25 words or less what your magical power would be and why?

ENTER HERE

ABOUT THE BOOK:

An epic tale of love and revenge set in a world inspired by Inquisition-era Spain pits the magical Moria against a terrifying royal authority bent on their destruction.

When the royal family of Selvina sets out to destroy magic through a grand and terrible inquisition, magic warrior-thief Renata - trained in the art of stealing memories-seeks to kill the prince, leader of the King's Justice, only to learn through powerful memories that he may be the greatest illusion of them all ... and that the fate of all magic now lies in her hands.

With the ferocity of series like EMBER IN THE ASHES and THRONE OF GLASS and loosely based on 15th century Spain, INCENDIARY explores the double-edged sword of memory and the triumph of hope in the midst of fear and oppression.

Release Date: 28th April 2020 RRP $19.99AU

Open internationally. Entries close 28th April, 2020.

BOOKS ETC MAGAZINE

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FROM PAGE TO

SCREEN

BY JAYS E ( @ ITSM E J AYSE )

When I decided to attend an author event at a library in country Victoria back in June 2017 I didn’t realise who author Jennifer Niven was, I knew nothing about the then recently published novel All The Bright Places (ATBP), I didn’t realise that this book would affect me as deeply as it did, I didn’t realise meeting Jennifer, knowing the background of ATBP how the book would stay with me even till this day. The book was first released in 2015, then when I met Niven in 2017, she was discussing that rights for the film adaptation had been purchased and the search for the cast had begun. I freaking adored this novel and knowing the story behind it made the story even closer to my heart.

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Jennifer Niven based the character loosely on herself and her experience as a teenager. This made the book feel alive and reading it after knowing this information just made it even more real and exciting.

If you don’t know what ATBP is about let me enlighten you. The story focuses on Finch and Violet, two high school students. Finch wants to die, he is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself.

But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Finch has a range of things going against him including ADHD and depression, which the author writes about unflinchingly and thoughtfully.

pg.22

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief after her sister’s recent death. Her sister’s death really affects her, and she blames herself. Violet’s life appears perfect from the outside, but she also suffers from depression because of the tragic events.

The characters meet each other on the ledge of the belltower at school and end up talking each other down from the edge. They then team up on a school project, much to Violets dismay as she has been getting out of assignments and classes by using her grief as an excuse. The project is to visit the ‘natural wonders’ of their home state of Indiana. They each discover that with each other they can be themselves and let everything else go. As the bond between them increases and Violets world begins to feel right once more, Finch’s world becomes increasingly dark.

As a massive fan of the novel I was very anxious about the release of the Netflix adaptation. I had been following Jennifer on Instagram since I met her.

Seeing the updates of the progress of the film, who had signed on for the project, I was totally excited.

BOOKS ETC MAGAZINE

To say the film didn’t disappoint is an understatement, I totally loved the feel of the film. Elle Fanning as Violet and Justice Smith as Finch were the absolute perfect fit. The vibe between them was just YES! Electric, exciting, fresh.

There are a few moments in the adaptation that don’t mirror the film – the two characters meet on a bridge from which violet appears to be preparing to jump from. This doesn’t make much of a difference to the overall feel of the movie. The interesting thing with a book to screen adaptation is the book gives a great insight to Finch’s internal monologue – he is highly focused on death and how people die and wants to die himself. The book looks into Finch’s life more and gives the reasons WHY Finch feels this way – the movie tends to gloss over this. Mental health isn’t something to gloss over and I feel that the film could have addressed this better. The book holds a message that is simple but meaningful, that even though you may be in the dark depths of depression and thinking there’s no way out, there are always places, people and things which are the ‘bright places.’ They’ll always be there to brighten your day and make your world less dark. pg.23

As you can tell from all the gushing above, I truly LOVED this book and am so glad I had the chance to meet the author before I read it. It is a heart-warming, heart-breaking and ultimately uplifting story about two young people dealing with their separate issues and how friendship blossoms even in the darkest of times. If you get the chance to read the book before seeing the film, DO IT! And if you have a moment, check out Jennifer Niven’s Instagram page @JenniferNiven as she always pops up updates and background of the story and its REALLY interesting. Jennifer also has a heap of resources on her page which are very handy.

If you or a loved one are experiencing hard times there are a lots of numbers and resources out there that you can access.

Take care out there,

Jayse x BOOKS ETC MAGAZINE

a:

ali str u A

Lifeline - 13 11 14

Lifeline crisis support chat -

www.lifeline.org.au/Get-Help/Online-Services/crisis-chat

Headspace - www.headspace.org.au/ Suicide call back service – 1300 659 467 Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636

www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/suicide-prevention

In te r

na tio

Samartians - www.samaritans.org

na

l:

Shout (UK)- www.giveusashout.org National Suicide Prevention (US) www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org Crisis Text (US) www.crisistextline.org For more specific p laces: www.allthebrightp lacesfi lm.info

pg.24

“I dont have to look far to find treasures. I discover theme every time I step into a library.�

- Michael Embry

colour me in

Looking for something to do? We at Books Etc Magazine thought it might be fun to have a good old fashioned colouring in competition to help pass the time while on lockdown! To enter simply colour in our Book Fox and post your artworks using the hashtag #BEMBookFox and tag us with @booksetc_mag - and you’ll go into the running to WIN a stationary pack. Open Internationally. Competition closes April 30th, 2020

sh

O

hS e w B ooki

H o me - made A u s s i e b o o k i s h pr o du cts to mak e y o u r b ook- l ov i ng h e ar t s f i l l w i th gl ee!

www.ohsewbookish.com.au

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Scrunchies Bookmarks Book Sleeves Sleeve Packs Mug Rugs Coasters

LIGHTEN UP! We investigate some of the best apps and programs to use to make the most of your Bookstagram photos...

f your anything like me, there are Isome days when you don’t have the

time or energy to drag the big lights out and spend hours on finding the best lit room in your house to take photos. Sometimes you only have time to set up the props and the books and take a few snaps and go.

But sadly sometimes this means that your photos comes out too dark or the books covers just don’t seem to pop like you want to.

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Well fear not... there’s an app for that!

We’ve spent countless hours researching and talking to other bookstagrammers and professional photographers about what they use and what they reccomend to lighten up the darkest book covers and make your photos look insta worthy...

pg.28

Snap Seed This app includes filters, healing tool (remove unwanted items), cropping, text, tune image.

Free PhotoDirector Snap Seed Perfect for range lighting angles of a book and reducing This app gives you a huge of all photo editing toolsstack and effects, includshadows.

USB powered.

Great for insta live vids. ing; photo retouch, selfie editor, tone adjustments, color editing, a pic collage maker, and Free more.

Free VSCO This app uses basic editing tools like contrast, saturation, and grain and over 200+ presets.

Free + in app purchases

Afterlight This app offers high quality filters, real film textures and precise editing tools such as borders and overlays Free Enlight Pixaloop This app brings life to images through animation and creates moving pictures. Animate one element or several, drawing attention to parts of your photo that YOU want to come alive.

Free Adobe Lightroom Part of the Adobe Suite package it is perfect for an indepth control over your photos. The best part is that is comes with tutorials so you can learn how to work like the pros.

HOT TIP! $16 a month If you’re looking for a specific filter or want a consistant look for your feed then you can buy custom presets on etsy. Check out TheLatteLab for some beautiful presets that you can add to Lightbox.

pg.27 pg.29

“... utterly psychotic and intoxicatingly entertaining ...”

PRECIOUS YOU BY HELEN MONKS TAKHAR SYNOPSIS: It all began when I met you, Lily.

Beautiful, dangerous, precious you.

At first Katherine dismisses her early-twenties intern as a millennial ‘snowflake': entitled, moralistic, soft. Yet as Lily's youth and beauty increasingly remind Katherine of everything she once had, she begins to develop a dark fascination with her new colleague.

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But is Lily as perfect as she seems, or does she have a sinister hidden agenda? As Katherine is drawn into an obsessive power struggle with the intern, a disturbing picture emerges of two women hiding dark secrets – and who are desperate enough to do anything to come out on top…

With shocking twists at every turn, Precious You is a powerfully gripping story of obsession, revenge and deceit.

pg.30

BY NICKY (@CRE8IVE_NICKY )

Wow. Even days after finishing this book I am still thinking about it. Precious You is one of those books that you underestimate the impact it is going to have on you. When I first started, I thought, ‘Oh here is another book about the older generation whining about the younger generation’, but after a few pages I was proven wrong. This book is creepy, intense and deliciously evil.

Precious You is told from two point of views.

Katherine, our main protagonist that drives the story, is in her early forties and is a seasoned editor at the ailing magazine she works for that has just been taken over by a new owner. Trouble really starts when the owners niece, Lily, a beautiful young up and coming aspiring writer, enters the picture. At first it seems like jealousy and a generation gap is all that stands between the two with the hint of something much darker lingering in the background. As the story progresses with chapters told from Lily’s point of view, you quickly discover that there is so much more at play then Lily’s attempts to embarrass and outshine Katherine.

I could not get enough of this book. The writing is fast paced and laced perfectly with the characters emotions. Quite a few times I was startled back to reality after becoming so engrossed in this story that it took me a few minutes to shake off the characters bias and perceptions of the world. This is truly immersive reading.

REVIEW - THRILLER when you finish a delicious piece of chocolate cake and you are madly scraping your fork along the plate to capture ever last delicious morsel. I was shocked by the last few pages of this book and despite being full I desperately wanted another piece. That is a major credit to Takhar as I would pick up any of her next books without even thinking twice. She is absolutely now a writer who will be an instant buy for me.

If you love thrillers, well written characters and a book that makes you really think about how you view the world, then you will absolutely love Precious You. It was such an enjoyable read and it should come as no surprise that this was a five star book for me. Without a doubt this is a book that needs to be made into a movie or a Netflix series. It was utterly psychotic and intoxicatingly entertaining.

/5

Click HERE to read a sample of the book

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The plot is detailed and finely crafted, so much so that the ending was like the moment

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pg.31

Craft of Stars We caught up with the talented Jess a.k.a @bookishbiology and picked her brain about what it takes to run a successful bookstagram account and a small business...

Q. What inspired you to start your bookstagram account and then later your business?

Q. As a bookstagrammer, how do you come up with so themes/ideas for taking photos?

I discovered the world of bookstagram through looking at beautiful bookish photos on Instagram (prior to this I didn't even know bookstagram existed!).

Through finding these photos, I discovered a whole community of book lovers and thought I'd "give it a go" and see what happens. I wasn't sure if I would stick with it, or if I would even enjoy it but here I am! It's been 2 1/2 years and I'm loving it. My bookish business (Craft of Stars) started much the same as my bookstagram, a bit of a "let's see what happens" and now it's growing and keeping me plenty busy!

I take a lot of my inspiration from other bookstagrammers, Pinterest, and also looking at my surroundings and trying out new settings, backgrounds, and positioning for books in photos. I usually start with one book or item that I want to photograph, then build my photo from there.

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Q. What is your favourite book prop to use while shooting photos for bookstagram?

My shelves! I'm incredibly fortunate that I have beautiful custom shelves (built for me by my spouse), which feature in nearly every photo I post. pg.32

Q. What are some of your favourite products to create in your business?

The most instantly gratifying to make are scrunchies they're the quickest out of all of my creations, and it's a lot of fun to try out new prints! Overall though, my favourite will always be the book sleeves. They're the item that has progressed the most since I started making them, and I enjoy seeing the finished product every single time.

Q. What do you love about the bookstagram community?

The people. Absolutely, 100% the people. They truly to make it the most wonderful, loving and supportive place!

Q. 2019 was a year of challenges for many people. What were some of the challenges you faced and overcame in 2019?

Time management is my number one challenge! I definitely over-committed myself in 2019, and I've carried this through to 2020 although I am always working on how to maximise my work efficiency so I can free up a little leisure time!

Q. What is something you are looking to explore and develop in your personal life and your business in 2020?

For my personal life, it's making sure I have a solid balance between work, social media (which centres around my bookstagram), my small business Craft of Stars, and most importantly - my home life. Making sure that each one is nurtured, and that I'm giving them all the time and resources to thrive. I am definitely interested to see where my little bookish business goes, and it's especially heart-warming to hear so much positive feedback come in from the people who are enjoying my creations. There are a couple of new products that I'm intending on trying out, so keep an eye on this space!

Q. What are your favourite thing to do on you aren’t working?

Spending time at home with my spouse and family is easily my favourite thing to do. We have a very quiet and peaceful home, which contains plenty of love, books, coffee & cats! pg.33

Q. What does a typical day look like for you business wise?

They're all a little bit different, but one thing they all have in common is that they're always busy. During the week, I work full time so I'm often working on my business creations from in the afternoon when I get home (around 5pm), to when it's time for bed, stopping for dinner in the middle of course! I am exceptionally lucky that my spouse is super supportive, and makes dinner for us while I work. Most nights I try to be finished by 9pm, but there have been a few busy times where I've been up until midnight. All for the love of the craft! I also have a wonderful best friend who comes over quite often and works alongside me, which has been an absolute blessing!

Weekends are often busier in terms of business work, but I can usually finish up on Sunday with all orders up-to-date, and some new stock ready for the coming week.

Given that this started as one afternoon before Christmas thinking "let's see if I can make a book sleeve," I think it's safe to say it's grown more than I'd ever expected since then. And that was less than three months ago!

Q. What has been the biggest thing you’ve learnt about yourself as a bookstagrammer?

That we really can achieve anything if we work for it. I have set many small goals for myself along my bookstagram journey, and through hard work, perseverance and the support of the bookstagram community, I've achieved so much in my time on our platform. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds!

Enter to win!

We are super excited to be working CRAFT OF STARS to bring you an exciting giveaway! One lucky winner will go home with a bundle prize pack valued at $50.

To enter click the link below and tell us the name of the last five star book you read?

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ENTER HERE pg.34

Photo Credit: Ari He

CanOr more we silence art? importantly, why are we trying to?

BY BLUE (@BLUEFAIRYTALES_)

Diversity is a hot topic in the bookstagram world and cultural appropriation is a massive conversation within and outside the bookstagram world as well. But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: Is it the artist fault?

Where am I drawing the line?

What do I do if I come across an author that writes about another culture?

And what can I do about diversity in the book industry?

I could talk about diversity as a whole for hours on end but I ordered pizza and I need to get some pants on before it gets delivered so shall we dive straight into this!

Let’s break down to what an author is and what a book is. An author is an artist, they have spent time creating something for the world to enjoy and the book is their art. There is no question about it. Art can take any form in these day and ages and a majority of time, art will offend someone, whether it is the artist’s intention of not.

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Let’s take metal music for example! Because music is an art form after all. Being a metal head born and breed I grew up on metal and I still like to scare the neighbour’s kids with the occasional Slipknot song. So while metal is enjoyable today, let’s look at a time where it wasn’t. Metal used to be blamed for teenage hormones, the apocalypse and well everything that people felt like metal could be blamed for, it was. But looking back at that deep hatred for metal, when it was plastered on the news, where churches were holding prayer sessions to help those that had the demon metal in the soul.

Where are those people now? Was it just something to blame at the time? Disappeared, because metal music isn’t the hot topic anymore. Since then metal has evolved into so many difference genres, with so many different types of metal around, that there is literally some sort of metal genre that anyone can enjoy With metal running through my veins, I can tell you that it has not shaped me to be a killer that the churches, media and parents claimed it would. I am perfectly abnormal in my own pg.36

way. :D Now let’s look at actual art. Anyone heard of Piss Christ?

Nope? Google it. Piss Christ was created by an artist called Andres Serrano, who put a little crucifix in a container, peed in it and took a photo. Around 2011 and 2012, this was on the news. How dare an artist do this against the church, against god and against society?? Well ask the priest that thought this was appalling and took a baseball bat (kind of weapon) into a museum and tried to smash this framed art. It was appallingly beautiful. After all, they say art is in the eye of the beholder. As a non religious person who lives in a country where religion is slowly dying out with ever a census is taken, I personally found this as an interesting way to express yourself. Now if we wanted to take this further and in a PG version, Serrano use a red liquid and a white liquid that came out of his body to make art, and you can find these as famous album covers for Metallica. True story bro. Google it.

Basically with my two examples above I’m trying to use examples where art has been offensive but we will chat about that in a minute, let’s chat books.

Being as blunt as I usually am let’s dive into the issue being discussed: there is a lot of heat against white authors writing from a perspective of colour. Whilst I love diversity and I am always begging book sellers to give me a new book with diversity and grabbing any diverse book I can find, this is something that is on my mind, not only as a coffee driven writer and a massive book reader. While we scream for diversity, we also scream for it to be culturally appropriate and we also scream hate at the authors.

Now I am not saying that all of us scream hate at authors but I have seen so much of it, that it is actually horrible, and makes us pathetic human beings. Why are we having a go at someone for expressing themselves through art? Because it wasn’t culturally appropriate? And how do authors ensure that they are being culturally appropriate? …

“Author’s should acknowledge that they aren’t from that culture.”

They do, but they still receive hate. You can see that hate shared on Instagram, with the authors tagged. Because everyone wants to start their day by being attacked.

“Author’s should do the research”

Some of them do that too. You can find this in the acknowledgements at the back of the book. But you can also see that no one reads that by the hateful comments you find on their goodreads account.

“They shouldn’t do it!”

Okay, that’s a fair call. But are we going to make this even across the board and across all art forms? Shall females write pg.37

Okay, that’s a fair call. But are we going to make this even across the board and across all art forms? Shall females write a book that only features female characters? I mean she is a female, what would she know about male perspectives? We should also take into consideration that books about vampires are offensive to people who have solar urticarial.

Books on mermaids are offensive to people that are afraid of the water. A gay man, is the only person that should write from a gay male perspective. Can a blonde write a story about a brunette and can a wierdo girl with blue hair write a story about anyone else? See where I am going with this line being drawn? If we demand that it is has to stop, is it going to stop evenly and across the board? Or are we going to only demand this of writers? And within those authors, only demand that authors of a certain colour skin stop it?

If we are to stop certain groups of authors from writing about other cultures but allow other cultures to continue, does that make us racists/bullies from stopping only a particular group of people? What happened to the freedom of human speech? There is no real ending to how long the political battle could go on for and how long everyone will stand up with their own forms of opinions and political correctness.

This I call a political tumble weave.

Personally for me, if the author does the research behind another cultures and acknowledges this I am happy to support their art form on diversity.

So what do we do now?

Alright, so you want diversity but what is the polite way to go about it? Follow the chain of command?

If you had an issue in a restaurant, you would take it up with the manager.

If you had an issue in work, you would take it up with the boss.

If you have an issue about a piece of art in a museum, contact the museum.

If you have an issue with a book, contact the publisher.

Why contact the publisher though?

Obviously the publisher selects the books they would like to have printed right? They select the authors, covers, staff, what kind of skinny milk they use in their office. A publishing company makes the decision as to what happens within said company.

And they also take note of what is selling and what isn’t (like any company would) So if the outcry for more diverse authors is there, surely it would be heeded to?

Now before you jump on the laptop and be key board warriors, don’t attack the publisher!!!!

You can write them an polite email and express how concerning it is to you, that you don’t see enough diverse authors and if they had some diverse authors and what are the names of their published books, what upcoming books are to be released by diverse authors?

You can also contact smaller publisher, contact the indie publishers, because I know that they generally can supply a lot more of an in depth list of diverse authors.

Branch out and discover people, surely this is more productive than slapped authors with hate every day.

So let’s circle back to the questions at the start…

Is it the artist fault?

Where am I drawing the line?

What do I do if I come across an author that writes about another culture?

And what can I do about diversity in the book industry?

Is it the artist fault?

For freely expressing themselves and trying to earn a penny or two? Depends on what your views are but remember the limitation on authors that we try to enforce should be blanket across the board, it’s unfair to silence some but not all.

Personal, I don’t care what the authors look like, unless they obviously look like Tom Hardy and then I CLEARLY need to read all their work and go to a book signing with a bucket to capture my drool. But really, I don’t care what an artist looks like, I only like to judge the work that is created.

Where am I drawing the line?

That’s up to you. You need to be upfront on your feelings towards this and what makes you feel comfortable and what doesn’t.

Just remember while others may cross that line, there is NEVER a need to attack someone. If you find a book that contains things that you find uncomfortable then maybe just put the book down..?

What do I do if I come across an author that writes about another culture?

Does it personally affect you?

Yes, then put the book down. If you don’t want to read it you don’t have to.

No, if you want to keep reading remember to review the art not the artist!

And what can I do about diversity in the book industry?

Look for new authors, look for indie authors, look for indie publishers, contact the big publishers and let them know what you are thinking. Your voice is important, just use it in a positive way.

Remember when you review a book, to be smart about it. Be mindful of your words about an author. If you don’t like an author, that is fine, we all have authors we are not fans of. But never use curse words, tell an author to die or anything negative with that tone that is where you just look like an asshole.

Remember not to judge other readers who like authors that you hate, or hate authors you love. Judging them on their opinions, makes you a basic sad bitch. After all, we are all allowed to have opinions and different tastes!

Overall, cultural appropriation is something to be mindful of but not attack others for. There are different ways to seek diverse books without bashing the author/artist to their face or tagging them in horrid and disgusting behaviour.

Disclaimer: Just to remind everyone that this is in no case a rant to shove an opinion down your throat. This is an open ended thought that I’ve been involved in and others discuss, so I wanted to blab about it on a larger scale. My thoughts, are my thoughts alone and in no way reflect anyone else’ thoughts. If my thoughts/opinions are offence, then please feel free not to contact me.

Love,

Blue xx @bluefairytales_ Reader, Writer, Ranter www.bluefairytales.com.au

pg.38

“[Dr Ashton’s] tone is comforting and supportive rather than judgemental or accusatory...”

THE SELF-CARE SOLUTION BY JENNIFER ASHTON SYNOPSIS:

ABC's chief medical correspondent helps you ring in the New Year right with a resolution that's actually doable: a year-long plan to improve your emotional and physical health-from giving up alcohol to doing a digital detox, but each for only one month.

Dr. Jennifer Ashton is at the top of her field as an ob-gyn and news correspondent. But even at the top there's still room to improve, and with The Self-Care Solution, she upends her life one month at a time, using her own experiences to help you improve your health and enhance your life.

Dr. Ashton becomes both researcher and subject as she focuses on twelve separate challenges. Beginning with a new area of focus each month, she guides you through the struggles she faces, the benefits she experiences, and the science behind why each month's challenge-giving up alcohol, doing more push-ups, adopting an earlier bedtime, limiting technology-can lead to better health.

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Month by month, Dr. Ashton tackles a different area of wellness with the hope that the lessons she learns and the improved health she experiences will motivate her (and you) to make each change permanent. Throughout, she offers easy-to-comprehend health information about the particular challenge to help you understand its benefits and to stick with it. Whether it's adding cardio or learning how to meditate, Dr. Ashton makes these daily lifestyle choices and changes feel possible-and shows how beneficial a mindful lifestyle can be.

Inspiring, practical, and informative, illustrated with helpful photos and charts, The Self-Care Solution teaches you how to recalibrate your life to enjoy a better, healthier year, one month at a time. Featuring guidance from top experts, entertaining case studies, easy-to-follow advice and tips, and Dr. Ashton's observations and insights, this book can help you achieve a better life balance and a more active and healthy lifestyle. pg.39

BY NICKY (@CRE8IVE_NICKY )

If you’re anything like me, you start every New Year with a list of things you want to improve about yourself. Lose weight, read more, start a hobby, drink more water etc. I usually do really well until about the middle of February and then the wheels begin to fall off and I think, ‘Screw it, I’ll start again next month’. Only this kind of thinking ends up lasting all year. I think the biggest problem with this thinking is I try to do too much, too quickly, and it all becomes so big and overwhelming.

According too The Self-Care Solution, people are more likely to be successful if they break down these challenges into monthly manageable goals. The author, Jennifer Ashton, is a Doctor and Nutritionist and she has brought her wealth of knowledge and experience to this handy self-improvement book.

Broken down into 12 chapters, Dr Ashton walks you through each week of a monthly challenge with helpful advice, research, benefits of change, activities and tips. I liked the personal touch of her own experience to each challenge as it made me feel like I wasn’t alone in my journey of self-improvement.

With easy to read up to date health information, illustrated charts and photos, Dr Ashton combines her personal experiences with her medical know how to really inspire you. Her tone is comforting and supportive rather than judgemental or accusatory – which I really loved because the internet is a critical enough that I don’t need any more judgement in my life thank you very much.

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REVIEW - MENTAL HEALTH You can follow each month’s wellness challenges in order, or you can pick and choose which challenges you would like to tackle first. Some of the wellness challenges include; Giving up alcohol for the month, introducing cardio, improving sleep, reducing technology use (an important one for me!), reducing sugar intake and much more.

This book is designed to help you achieve your self-improvement goals and is a great support tool. Dr Ashton’s motto is all about ‘turning challenges into change’, because ultimately, it’s about changing a habit rather than trying to make snap decisions and stopping cold turkey. Evidence has shown that when people do this their resolve crumbles after a short time frame and so The Self-Care Solution is about gently cultivating change.

If you enjoy a challenge and you are looking to improve and change some of your bad habits this year, then you will love this book.

Be sure to read the epilogue as well as it also contains some great tips on how to stay motivated and introduce other challenges.

/5 Other titles similar to this book:

pg.40

Until Next Time ...

And that’s it for this months edition. I hope you enjoyed our April issue of Books Etc Magazine. It’s been a very tough month with the COVID-19 pandemic and I am hoping along with everyone else that next month is a better one.

In May we will be featuring some more incredible new release titles as well as more giveaways, an author interview and some more great bookstagram tips.

In the mean time if you have any thoughts, suggestions or feedback on how we can improve the magazine please drop me a line at nicky@booksetcmag.com.au OR if you would like to join our talented team simply contact us at submissions@booksetcmag.com.au.

If you are a business or would like to post an add in our magazine please contact Jayse at advertising@booksetcmag.com.au.

Thank you for joining me on this journey and I can’t wait to bring you next months issue.

Happy reading!

- Nicky K

Editor and Creator

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