Two Points of Interest

Saturday, October 5, 2024

Book Spotlight - Beyond Real: The Complete Series by Zack Kaplan

About The Book:

Title: BEYOND REAL: The Complete Series

Authors: Zack Kaplan & Fabiana Mascolo, Toni Fejzula, Dennis Menheere, Vincenzo Riccardi, Jorge Corona, Liana Kangas, Luana Vecchio, and Jordie Bellaire (Illustrators)

Pub. Date: September 10, 2024

Publisher: Vault Comics

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 160

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/BEYOND-REAL

The Matrix meets The Wizard of Oz in BEYOND REAL: The Complete Series, a mind-bending psychedelic journey through the nature of reality – and who we really are.

QUESTION REALITY.

When struggling artist June is injured in a severe car accident that leaves her boyfriend in a coma, she begins to experience strange visual phenomena. When June discovers that the world she considers “reality” may be a computer simulation, she must set out on a journey of possibility and peril into the metaphysical layers of the simulation to reach the world’s creator and save her true love from death.

Beyond Real explores simulation theory, the creative spirit, the nature of reality, and the struggle for self-determination.

Are we real – or are we living in a computer simulation?
What is reality? Is death an illusion?
Enter the world that is … Beyond Real.

Beyond Real, written by Zack Kaplan (MINDSET from Vault Comics) is joined by a slate of spectacular artists including Fabiana Mascolo, Toni Fejzula, Jordie Bellaire, Vincenzo Riccardi, Dennis Menheere, Jorge Corona, and Liana Kangas.

Collects the entire six-issue mind-altering and acclaimed series!

For fans of: Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Matrix, Alice In Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, What Dreams May Come (Richard Matheson), Promethea (Alan Moore & J.H. Williams III), The Invisibles (Grant Morrison), Flex Mentallo (Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely), Ghost in the Shell, Nonplayer (Nate Simpson),Permutation City (Greg Egan), Sea of Tranquility (Emily St. John Mandel), The Restoration Game (Kevin MacLeod), The Peripheral , Agency,and Neuromancer (William Gibson) ,Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow (Gabrielle Zevin), and Neil Gaiman,

"Visually arresting. Unlike anything ... seen before. 10/10" - Kabooooom!

"As close to perfect as my be possible. 10/10" - The Pullbox

"A visual feast. 9.5/10" - AIPT

"Mind-blowing and visually stunning. 9/10" - Capes and Tights

"A sci-fi mindf*uck in the best possible way. 9/10" - Derry Comics

About Zack Kaplan:

Zack Kaplan is a break-out science fiction comic writer and creator of such comics and graphic novels as ECLIPSE, PORT OF EARTH, THE LOST CITY EXPLORERS, JOIN THE FUTURE, BREAK OUT, METAL SOCIETY, FOREVER FORWARD and MINDSET. He has worked with publishers such as Image/Top Cow, Dark Horse, Aftershock, Vault, Humanoids, Scout Comics and DC Comics. His first three series were all optioned for TV adaptation, with PORT OF EARTH currently being developed by Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment and Amazon TV Studios. Zack has taught screenwriting and storytelling at the International Academy of Film and TV, located in the Philippines. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive finished copies of BEYOND REAL: The Complete Series, US Only.

Ends October 8th, midnight EST.

Rafflecopter Code:

<a class="rcptr" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba21852/" rel="nofollow" data-raflid="e2389ba21852" data-theme="classic" data-template="" id="rcwidget_zn2ilt9p">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>

Rafflecopter Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba21852/?

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/9/2024	Lady Hawkeye	Excerpt/IG Post
9/10/2024	Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt/IG Post
9/11/2024	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
9/12/2024	Daily Waffle	Excerpt
9/13/2024	Fire and Ice Reads	Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two:

9/16/2024	Comic Book Yeti	Excerpt
9/17/2024	@evergirl200	IG Review
9/18/2024	@sparks_books	IG Review
9/19/2024	@heyashleyyreads	IG Review/TikTok Post
9/20/2024	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post

Week Three:

9/22/2024	@enthuse_reader	IG Review/TikTok Post
9/23/2024	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
9/24/2024	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post
9/25/2024	jlreadstoperpetuity	IG Review/TikTok Post
9/26/2024	Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer	Review/IG Post
9/27/2024	@callistoscalling	IG Review

Week Four:

9/30/2024	The Momma Spot	Review
10/1/2024	Edith's Little Free Library	IG Post/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post
10/2/2024	GryffindorBookishnerd	IG Review
10/3/2024	Rajiv's reviews	Review/IG Post
10/4/2024	Two Points of Interest	Review

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Book Review - Rise of the Spider (The Web of the Spider) by Michael P. Spradlin

Rise of the Spider (The Web of the Spider) by Michael P. Spradlin is about a young twelve-year-old boy, Rolf, who is witnessing the rise of Nazis in his hometown, Heroldsberg, Germany. In 1929, Rolf notices that his town and country haven’t been the same since the end of the Great War. Most townspeople struggle to find work and afford necessities such as food.

Germany was struggling because they had to pay fines for their part in the Great War. The country is struggling, and the atmosphere is charged with everyone feeling hopeless over their current situation. A new political movement is gaining traction with the people. Rolf is afraid of the new group because they seem shady and aggressive. Nightly, Rolf’s father and his older brother, Romer, fight about politics and the new group.

Recently, two members of the new Nazi Party, Hans and Nils, move into the town as part of the Hitler Youth. The pair promises that the Nazi Party will bring Germany to its former glory. Rolf is worried about Romer when he sees his brother spending more time with them. Rolf notices an undesirable change in his brother. Romer is staying out later and acts out with their father.

Rolf doesn’t trust Nils and Hans. He feels that they are bullies even though they are promising a better future for Germany. He has seen them bully old shop owners and physically assault people who get in their way. Even with the aggression and bullying, Romer sees more enamored with their ways

I thought the book was a good read. It was easy to sympathize with the different characters. The author did a good job fleshing out the characters and their feelings. I was able to feel immersed in the story. I liked that the author included a dictionary and guide for young readers. I found the book enjoyable, but it ends on a cliffhanger. I am excited to read more books in the series.

Monday, September 30, 2024

Book Spotlight - Controlled Conversations by Karol Lagodzki + Giveaway

About The Book:

Title: CONTROLLED CONVERSATIONS

Author: Karol Lagodzki

Pub. Date: August 20, 2024

Publisher: Milford House Press

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 228

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/CONTROLLED-CONVERSATIONS

In 1982 Soviet-controlled Poland-a time and place of suspicion and mistrust-when geopolitical forces and violent men descend upon her little town of Zygmuntowo, Emilia must decide if she's willing to risk prison or worse for self-respect and for her unexpected love.

A telephone station switchboard operator ordered to monitor the calls she connects, Emilia overhears a mysterious coded conversation. It continues to distract her, but not as much as the growing realization that she's falling in unsanctioned love with her best friend Kalina. Meanwhile, outside the city of Frombork, Antek, a shipyard engineer and a Solidarity labor union treasurer, escapes from prison and works to recover the union's money, a task which in time leads him to Emilia's town. In the metropolitan city of Gdańsk, Roman, a secret police major, wants the money for himself and dreams of his own escape and the magical beaches of Rio de Janeiro.

As the only daughter of a local Communist Party apparatchik, Emilia has enjoyed a sheltered life, but with the advent of martial law, her mother's influence can no longer shield her. She faces choices she never expected to make when she discovers her best friend's and lover's involvement with the resistance. With new allies and enemies in town, the time to choose a side is now.

In his debut novel, Karol Lagodzki asks: What separates people who transcend their fear and take risks for the sake of change from the rest of us? The answer is up to the readers.

About Karol Lagodzki:

Karol Lagodzki, a native of Poland, is an exophonic, English-language author of fiction. His stories have appeared in Invisible City, Storm Cellar, NUNUM, Streetlight Magazine, and elsewhere, and he has won Panel Magazine’s Ruritania Prize for Short Fiction. Controlled Conversations is his debut novel.

He holds an MFA in creative writing, buys more books than he can read or afford—usually novels and short story collections, though he’s been known to pick up an odd book of poetry or accessible science—and gives back to the literary community by serving as a reader for several journals. Karol’s non-writing careers have ranged from fixing stucco while dangling from roofs in Paris to sorting through human cadaver heads in Florida to developing and marketing medical devices for critically ill people in the American Midwest, but his true ambition is to remain a student for as long as he possibly can and make sure more stories make it out onto the page.

Karol lives halfway down a Southern Indiana ravine with his wonderful, unconventional family, a scurry of squirrels, a passel of possums, a gaze of raccoons, a descent of woodpeckers, and a large dog.

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card, International.

Ends October 5th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/2/2024	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
9/3/2024	Writer of Wrongs	Excerpt
9/4/2024	Daily Waffle	Excerpt
9/5/2024	Fire and Ice Reads	Excerpt/IG Post
9/6/2024	Edith's Little Free Library	IG & TikTok Post

Week Two:

9/9/2024	Lady Hawkeye	Excerpt/IG Post
9/10/2024	Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt
9/11/2024	Rajiv's reviews	Review/IG Post
9/12/2024	GryffindorBookishnerd	IG Review
9/13/2024	Lifestyle of Me	Review

Week Three:

9/16/2024	@heyashleyyreads	IG Review/TikTok Post
9/17/2024	The Momma Spot	Review
9/18/2024	@callistoscalling	IG Post
9/19/2024	Nerdophiles	Review
9/20/2024	jlreadstoperpetuity	IG Review/TikTok Post

Week Four:

9/23/2024	@evergirl200	IG Review
9/24/2024	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post
9/25/2024	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
9/26/2024	@amysbookshelf82	IG Review
9/27/2024	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post

Week Five:

9/30/2024

Two Points of Interest

Review