Official Review: Love Calls and Roundelays

Use this section to discuss drama books and poetry books. Drama includes plays but not novels. This includes work by Shakespeare, Marlowe, Miller etc. Poetry anthologies can also go here.
Forum rules
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
Post Reply
User avatar
Elizabeth Pass
Posts: 1014
Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 08:14
Favorite Book: Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)
Currently Reading: Reign
Bookshelf Size: 126
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bb587.html
Latest Review: COVIDinners by Katie M Zeigler

Official Review: Love Calls and Roundelays

Post by Elizabeth Pass »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Love Calls and Roundelays" by WYN (pen-name for Irwin Shishko.]
Book Cover
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review


Love Calls and Roundelays by WYN is a collection of poetry and photographs. WYN is the pseudonym for Irwin Shishko.

This collection of poetry spans several different topics. Most poems are short and able to fit on a single page. The Table of Contents breaks the poems into sections, but those sections aren’t separated when reading through the book. Topics for poems include the author’s wife, a cat, a New York City subway, and a lost friend. Some are lighthearted while others are more serious. The cover describes this as “a potpourri of poetry and photo art.” I feel that is an accurate description of this book.

The quality of this paperback’s printing ruined most of the visual appeal. The front and back cover sport beautiful and dynamic photographs. Unfortunately, all the pictures in the inside are grainy, blurry, and in black and white. It could be argued that the lack of color was an intentional style choice. For a few of the images, such as “Sharpshooter,” I might agree with you. However, I feel the focus of most of the pictures is lost without the vibrant colors of life. For example, “Parked Dog” has an extremely dark dog that almost looks like a shadow figure. I was flipping the page before I realized there was a little boy in the background. Had this picture been in color, he would have stood out against the fence and grass and the dog probably wouldn’t look so menacing.

It’s hard to talk about editing mistakes when it comes to a book of poems. So many things that would be wrong in a manuscript can be considered stylistic expressions when it comes to poetry. I didn’t find any misspelled words, at least. The author tends not to use commas, though, and that made it a little harder to read some of the verses. As I got farther into the book, I noticed that more and more punctuation was omitted and words stopped being capitalized. It was an interesting progression.

My favorite poem was “A Poem Is…” The descriptions and analogies were so lively. It was truly a unique and creative explanation of what poems can be to a person. My least favorite poem was “Renaissance Man.” The lack of punctuation, especially commas, made it so hard to read. I had to reread several lines just to make sense of it. Certain lines were surprisingly creative, such as “safaried shot elephant and lion/with his N-90 rapid fire Nikon.” I wasn’t expecting the man to shoot something on a safari with anything other than a gun. However, that didn’t make up for the lack of punctuation.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. The quality of printing was bad enough for me to take away a star. The other star was removed because of the lack of commas. There are a few places where a double-space takes the place of a comma, but I feel this is a poor substitute. The poems were creative and descriptive enough to save this book from being a total waste. This collection could easily be enjoyed by almost all ages. It’s not something young children would enjoy, but there isn’t anything that’s inappropriate or graphic. I would recommend it as light reading for poetry fans.

******
Love Calls and Roundelays
View: on Bookshelves

Like bb587's review? Post a comment saying so!
User avatar
Brendan Donaghy
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1096
Joined: 18 Jan 2019, 13:14
Currently Reading: Small Great Things
Bookshelf Size: 141
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-brendan-donaghy.html
Latest Review: Teetering On A Tightrope by Steven W Wilson

Post by Brendan Donaghy »

Shame about the visuals. A writer doesn't have much control over how his/her work will be received, but stuff like the visuals and the editing are controllable. If you don't get those right, the casual browser isn't going to spend too much time on your book. Great review!
User avatar
Stephanie Elizabeth
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2989
Joined: 18 Jul 2018, 15:41
Currently Reading: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
Bookshelf Size: 212
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-stephanie-elizabeth.html
Latest Review: Do You Remember Me? by Wm M Crouch

Post by Stephanie Elizabeth »

It is too bad about the missing commas and the grainy pictures. Perhaps with another round of editing, this book will get a higher rating! Thanks for the honest review!
User avatar
Elizabeth Pass
Posts: 1014
Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 08:14
Favorite Book: Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)
Currently Reading: Reign
Bookshelf Size: 126
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bb587.html
Latest Review: COVIDinners by Katie M Zeigler

Post by Elizabeth Pass »

I'm pretty sure the lack of commas was intentional. I'm just not a fan of omitting them when line breaks become unclear.
User avatar
Meg98
Posts: 566
Joined: 31 Mar 2019, 22:10
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 21
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-meg98.html
Latest Review: Finding A Job in Tough Times by Dr. Tim Johnson

Post by Meg98 »

This sounds like a promising collection of poetry, but it is a shame about the visual and editing components. It really does detract from the reading experience... I will pass on this one for now, but thank you for this great review!
Oh love, never be afraid to fly :wink2:
User avatar
Zeix
Posts: 159
Joined: 03 Nov 2018, 23:36
Favorite Book: Man Mission
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 37
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-zeix.html
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: Someone Else's End by Matthew Tysz

Post by Zeix »

The poetry seems to be okey other than the mistakes that it contains
User avatar
Ellylion
Posts: 3249
Joined: 01 Mar 2019, 15:33
Favorite Book: The Altitude Journals
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 136
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ellylion.html
Latest Review: The Islands Tell Of It by Patty Fischer

Post by Ellylion »

Unfortunately, poets tend to ignore punctuation very often, and it definitely makes reading very hard. I loved the cover and sad to learn that the other pictures are of bad quality. Still hope this book finds its reader :) Thank you for a great review!
User avatar
Chrystal Oaks
Posts: 1701
Joined: 09 Jan 2019, 15:27
Favorite Book: The Favor
Currently Reading: The Fourth Kinetic
Bookshelf Size: 1193
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-chrystal-oaks.html
Latest Review: E M P Honeymoon by Dorothy May Mercer

Post by Chrystal Oaks »

I think I will pass on this book of poems. I've been reading enough poems to know that I like them with somewhat correct punctuation. Too bad about the grainy pictures. I enjoyed reading your review. Thanks!
We do not simply live in this universe. The universe lives within us.

- Neil deGrasse Tyson
User avatar
Renee_Prior1995
Posts: 272
Joined: 20 May 2019, 12:33
Currently Reading: Misreading Judas
Bookshelf Size: 34
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-renee-prior1995.html
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko by Matthew Tysz

Post by Renee_Prior1995 »

It is a shame that the editing was not done professionally. same about the photographs. This was a great honest review. good job.
"From what I have tasted of desire,
I hold those who favor fire.
but if I had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate.
To say that the destruction of ice is also great
and will suffice." - Robert Frost
User avatar
Kaylawallace523
Posts: 18
Joined: 17 Apr 2019, 14:26
Currently Reading: The Memory of Butterflies
Bookshelf Size: 22
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kaylawallace523.html
Latest Review: Why can't Johnny Just Quit? by Kyle Oh

Post by Kaylawallace523 »

This was a really great review. Thank you.

Since I write poetry, I think I'll keep that in mind about the commas. Sometimes I use them and sometimes I dont.
Post Reply

Return to “Drama and Poetry Books”