Maybe you missed out on this post, but I’m giving away a free marketing book really soon!  When the visitor count over there on the left reaches 10,000, we’ll be holding a drawing for one brand new copy of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer.  What do you need to do to sign up to win?  Just post a comment on this blog on one of the reviews!  And yes, feel free to post multiple times.  Every post counts as an entry.  Just be serious about your posts.

That’s it.  So get posting!

Good luck!

Summerworld
by Serdar Yegulalp
Copyright: © 2007
286 Pages
$14.99 Paperback

Summerworld, by Serdar Yegulalp, is one of those books that landed on our “Pick me” tab quite a while ago.  Serdar was one of the very first authors to query his book to us here at LLBR when we were getting started, and we almost passed on it.  I’m so glad we didn’t.  It’s philosophical journey, mixed with fantasy and realism and set in a world created somewhere between our own and whatever else is out there, is one I am now happy to have taken.

First, the book’s brilliant cover deserves much attention.  I love the pale colors behind the black and white character.  Those who love Japanese art, or fans of Anime, will appreciate this book cover.  It is very fitting for this story.  Although the author offers much description of the actual place, Summerworld, it would have been nice to have a taste of such images on the cover as well just to give the reader’s imagination a hint of what the author had in mind.  But don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed conjuring up my own fantastical images as I read this story.

We start with a simple letter received by Dr. Hirofumi from a patient of his who wishes to meet up with him again and catch up.  Yegulalp stuns his reader by simply stating the obvious, rather than dragging out the story and keeping you guessing.  This letter is quite disturbing because the patient who wrote it has been dead for three years.  The letter reads…

“It’s a shame we haven’t been able to see each other, but life interferes with everything we want from it anyway.”

How true is that?!

Imagine if you were to receive such a letter in the mail one day from a dead relative calling you to come and meet with them at a resort.  Would you go?  Being a psychoanalyst, Dr. Hirofumi’s interest is peaked and so he sets out to find this patient and to find out the truth.  He soon enters a world now known as Summerworld where the rules of yesterday have long been forgotten.  If you enjoy reading fantasy, the description alone of how this place came to be will definitely grab hold of your attention and not let go, not even long after you’ve finished the last page of this book.

I really enjoyed this story because it is not cluttered with lots of subplots which you have to follow.  It takes you back to a place and time when our attention spans did not require so much detail to be appeased.  This story is the journey of the main character seeking out the truth in a world that is not our own.  That’s it.  With a nice balance of dark and light, real and fantasy, hero and villian, the author has really put a lot of time and consideration into creating this amazing tale.  Not a single sentence is wasted.

Imagine taking a train to a place you’ve never been before, and when you get off that train you are in a place much like the world you’ve always imagined to be waiting for you there, but somehow things are very different.  The discovery our lead character goes through in this new place, discovering people are much the same as from the world he knew and yet they are changed, is truly beautiful.  All the while, he never loses focus on finding his lost friend who left him that curious note.

Serdar Yegulalp’s writing style is very simplistic, and yet complex…and again there’s that nice balance between oposing forces which we find as harmony in his book, and if you look around, in our world as well.  So, spend some time in Summerworld.  It is a journey worth taking.

I’m happy to announce that LLBR is now cross posting reviews to Amazon.com, and will branch out to include B&N.com in the next few days.  Prior to today, we did not post reviews anywhere outside of this blog because we were not using a Star rating system. When we began this blog, we considered using stars, but we think stars are so overrated.  We wanted to just read and review and give honest opinions.  No one stands up in a book club and says something like, “That book was soooo four stars!”  Do they?

We will continue NOT to use a rating system on this blog, and will not discuss the number of stars given to a book on retail websites.  Please be advised that if we thought your book deserved less than three out of five stars, we would not bother to post a review of it here anyway.  That being said, here is how we will determine the number of stars to give a Lulu book on Amazon or B&N:

3 Stars = Good Book!

4 Stars = Great Book!!

5 Stars = Excellent Book!!!

We have already gone back to all book reviews since the start of this blog and cross posted them to Amazon.  If we missed you, let us know.  And to authors and readers, please go to Amazon and vote for the review if you found it helpful!  Take Todd Fonseca’s advice and tag those books!  Let’s unite and drive sales for one another!

Since the LLBR has just reached its 5 month birthday, and will hit 9,000 visitors this weekend, we think this calls for a celebration!  We’ve been itching to have a contest and give away books so here we go…

First, the prize!  We’re giving away a brand new copy of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer.  It’s a brand new copy of the 6th edition of this powerhouse book of tips and tricks on marketing and selling your book!  Every Lulu author should have a copy, but since you are probably investing time and money in marketing your book and can’t afford to pick up a copy, we’re giving away one!  So, here’s your chance to get your hands on it if you need some new ideas to pick up sales.  The list price of this book is $27.95, so here’s a chance to get a copy for free!

Now, what do you have to do it enter this contest?  That’s the easy part.  All you have to do is post feedback on any of the books that have been reviewed on this site.  It can be on any of the past reviews, or on any of the upcoming reviews as well.  Tell the author you liked their cover.  Tell the author you downloaded their Ebook (only if you actually did).  Tell us your thoughts on the review…would you buy this book?  Would you not buy it and why?  But please be honest and sincere no matter what you decide to post.

Authors, you can get in on the action too!  Take time to post on someone else’s book or post updates on your own review.  Tell us about a reading you did.  Tell us where your upcoming book signing is, or how many copies sold this week.  Direct us to another outstanding review on another website or a 5 star review over at Amazon.

The contest starts when the visitor count reaches 9,000, and every worthy post on this blog is an entry into the contest.  The winner will be announced when the visitor count reaches 10,000 or on October 31st, whichever comes first.

So, let the fun, and the marketing begin.  Start posting…

Wordsmith Books in Decatur, Georgia is in trouble.  Apparently, bad debt has stacked up from their previous location and the up front costs of an author event has sent their ship into rocky waters!  Now, the bookstore is holding an event to “save the bookstore.”  First, I never understood why bookstores of all places should have to pay anything to host an author event.  They should only have to pay for their stock of that book, right?  I’d like to know what author that was whose event flopped, but the blogs aren’t saying.  Second, there’s a great debate out there on holding benefits for retail for-profit stores to keep them afloat.

Here’s a message from the owner which can be found on their website:

Beginning today, August 4th, and leading through a weekend fundraising event August 15th-August 17th, I am opening myself to your assistance. It doesn’t matter how small your contribution is–with enough help it will all add up in the end. If you want to offer $25, $50, $100, $200, anything at all, it can help. My greatest hope is to not only save our bookstore now, but to offer in return for your help some sense of benefit when we are once again stabilized.

The fact is that Wordsmiths Books is, as an idea and in execution, a great bookstore and it can be so much more given the chance. We are not fighting declining sales, nor are we fighting customer apathy, or even a lagging book market. We are fighting only the debt created by starting in the wrong location. Despite the depths of our need, despite the fact that it leaves me no alternative but to seek your help, we still see the opportunity that lies before us here, on the Square and in the welcoming home of Decatur. We wish to have the opportunity to survive here, to grow and continue to bring to you the same level of entertainment and literary merit that you have come to expect from us. We just need help to get there. We need your help to survive today. If you are willing to help, you can call the store at (404) 378-7166, you can stop by or you can visit www.wordsmithsbooks.com and click on the Donation button on our home page. If you prefer to utilize the mail, then our address is: 545 N. McDonough Street, Decatur Georgia 30030.

There are questions that you have, I am sure. Please ask them. Email me at zach@wordsmithsbook.com, call the store (404-378-7166) or stop by. I am not averse to discussing the matter on any level to anybody. Simply put, we–the entire Wordsmiths Books family–are at your mercy. I will be blogging daily (or as close to daily as is possible) with updates and further information. Again, no amount is too small. We want nothing more than the opportunity to continue to be the bookstore we have been all along. Your help is greatly appreciated and will not be forgotten.

Click here to visit Access Atlanta and read what others are saying about this benefit.

Click here or here for other blogs’ opinions on what Wordsmith has done for the literary community.

So, what are your thoughts?  Do book lovers consider bookstores to be like all those other retail places?  Do bookstores deserve fund raising “benefits” to help pay their bills?  The government just bailed out big mortgage banks when they got in trouble!  Should we help bail out our local bookstores?  Post your thoughts here!

Although our “Search for America” ended last month, I’d like to revisit it for a moment to tell readers about another book.  Although this blog is devoted strictly to books published through Lulu, this particular book was not.  However, it is still a POD title, and its author runs another POD review site that has been in existence for over two years.  This will probably be one of the few times I mention a non-Lulu book, but since he is a fellow POD reviewer and blogger, I feel the need to point out his book only because I was extremely impressed by it.

I am speaking of Timeline of America, written by Floyd M. Orr who is chief of the PODBRAM review site.  His book was published through iUniverse, which was the main self-publishing company he focused on reviewing books for until earlier this year.

His book is a fun romp through American history and pop culture, complete with pop quizzes at the very end, and filled with fun facts that chances are you never got out of a grade school history classroom.  I won’t spend too much time reviewing it here, but instead invite you to check out his book at Amazon and read my review of it there.

Kudos to Mr. Orr for a brilliant book that I sincerely believe deserves the attention of a traditional publishing company!

Welcome to August!  Check out the right side of the blog page to find out what reviews we are working on for this month.  For our first August In-News update, we’ve interviewed Todd Fonseca, author of The Time Cavern.  Todd has kept in contact with the Lulu Book Review since we reviewed his book back in May, updating us on the success of his book, both in marketing and in sales.  At a recent book signing, he sold over 50 copies!  After success with Amazon.com tagging, Todd was inspired to create a blog to help others with this web marketing technique.  The interview offers a wealth of information for POD authors.  Special thanks to Todd for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with us.  He is already hard at work on his next book!

LLBR: First, tell us what inspired you to write The Time Cavern.

Todd: Growing up, I was one of those kids that did not enjoy books. I remember having reading assignments in school and I’d count the pages to the end of the chapter assigned—it was definitely a chore. Then I read A Wrinkle In Time¸by Madline L’Engle. I was completely engrossed in the story. Before I knew it, I had finished the book and subsequently became an insatiable reader. Years later, I re-read the book and relived not only the wonderment of the story from when I was younger but also appreciated it on an entirely new level as an adult. It was A Wrinkle In Time that inspired The Time Cavern. I wanted to write a book that featured everyday kids, not the jock or the beautiful girl. A book that would let them experience something as grand as their imaginations—but be real. Like Madeline L’Engle, I wrote it as a piece that does not talk down to young adults, but rather challenged their intellect while being entertaining. I think this is why both young adults and adults are enjoying the book.

LLBR: Why did you choose Lulu to publish your book?

Todd: I began this journey in November 2005 participating in Nanowrimo (national novel writing month–www.nanowrimo.org). After finishing the first 50,000 words in one month, it took another couple of years to finish, re-write, edit and polish the story. Lulu is a great option for writers because it allows the author complete control over every aspect of the book from cover design to distribution. The key aspect for me in choosing Lulu was the ability to have a relatively inexpensive option to obtain global distribution. There are currently over 30 distribution channels for my book around the globe.

LLBR: Was self-publishing from start to finish hard for you?  Did you have any help?  What did you like or dislike about it?

Todd: The key to success in self publishing is creating a product that is of the same quality, look, and feel of a big publishing house’s product. Three essential keys to doing this are a custom cover, copy editing, and book layout (typesetting). Regarding the cover, I have experience in 3D animation as well as Photoshop, so I created it myself. The feedback has been great and I think the cover alone sells a number of copies. Regarding copy editing, I hired someone to do this. I’m clearly a writer and not an editor. My editor’s changes were magic and well worth the money. If you are serious about selling your work beyond a few people—get a copy editor. Finally type setting. I did this myself but this is not easy. Just fully justifying your work is not enough. There is a lot of information on the web which can help you learn how to do this, but to do it correctly is a tremendous amount of work.

LLBR: What happened after you were reviewed on LLBR?

Todd: Reviews are essential to the success of a book. I know I always research books before I buy them either by reading the reviews online or from the blurbs in and on the book itself. LLBR was the first site to review my book and I’ve used that review in all of my marketing materials. This includes an excerpt of the review placed on my book’s back cover. Potential buyers are significantly more likely to buy a book which has been independently reviewed. These reviews are also key in the media kit you send out to editors and others when planning events like book signings.

LLBR:   Tell us about your marketing techniques for the book.

Todd: I spend at least an hour each day marketing my book. My efforts have been focused both online and at local venues. Online, Amazon has been huge for marketing my book. A major factor is the “Search Inside” feature which allows potential customers to essentially page through the book like you would in a book store. Using Amazon Connect, I also post information like website updates and the book trailer. Probably most important are Amazon tags which I’ll talk about later. My website, www.thetimecavern.com, has also been crucial. Not only have I added the pertinent information about the book and myself, but I also added website “stickiness”—that is, information to keep people who visit the site at the site. For example, I’ve included The Time Cavern webquest game similar to Dan Brown’s webquest for The DaVinci Code. There’s also window’s wallpapers to download and a banner for site links. One can’t get enough exposure, so I created a book trailer and posted it on YouTube as well as my site. The Time Cavern book trailer currently has over 13,000 views on YouTube which is more than Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes trailer! (please take a look and rate the video–www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAYqAYlzvKM). I’m advertising and having reviews done on young adult book websites. The key here is find the niche your book fits in and targeting those online communities that cater to that niche. An unexpected but pleasant surprise has been publishing my book on the Amazon Kindle (ebook reader). This is still a small community but the Kindle Amazon forums are very open to new authors. I’m selling about a book a day on the kindle and am consistently in the top ten in two Kindle categories—this provides huge exposure. (hint: use the software from mobipocket—www.mobipocket.com–which is owned by Amazon to convert your document for use on Kindle. Loading your book on mobipocket automatically creates a Kindle version and you are off and selling on Amazon!). Finally, I’ve been working book signings and also targeting schools. Because the book is educational containing a lot of science information as well as discussion of the Amish culture, I’ve been able to have success at schools. In fact, one teacher is ordering 60 copies for her sixth grade class.

LLBR: Tell us about your recent experience with Amazon tagging.  Is it helping to sell the book?  How does it work?  What has the overall response been?

Todd: For those of you who don’t know, customer’s can “tag” books on Amazon with whatever words they think are appropriate for the book—such as the tag “memoir”. The more times customers tag a book with the same word, the more popular that book becomes with respect to that tag. Note sales do not determine the books popularity with respect to tags, just the number of tags it receives for that particular word. So in my case, I asked folks to tag my book with the words “juvenile fiction” and “young adult”. As a result, The Time Cavern is now the #1 tagged book for “juvenile fiction”. You might think, so what, but there is a “juvenile fiction” customer community on Amazon with over 400 customer’s associated with it. On the home page of the customer community, because my book is tagged #1, it is highlighted on the home page of this community. Anyone who visits “juvenile fiction” sees my book—that’s huge visibility. The beautiful thing is—it’s all free—no purchase necessary to tag books. The issue is finding so many folks to tag your book (only one vote per person per tag).

LLBR: Do you think this multiple tagging is cheating?

Todd: Having your book on Amazon is the great equalizer. My book page for The Time Cavern looks pretty much like Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight page. The key to success is, obviously, to write a good book but after that it is to get visibility. I don’t see anything wrong with having people tag your book for exactly what it is—in my case, “juvenile fiction”. It is clearly a “juvenile fiction” book. It would be wrong to have folks who haven’t read the book to tag it “great read” because they obviously wouldn’t know that until they read it.

LLBR: Tell us about the blog you created.

Todd: I created the blog www.tagmybookonamazon.wordpress.com so that authors could leverage the power the internet to have their books appropriately tagged and gain some visibility on Amazon that they might not otherwise get. The idea is to submit your book, along with its description and Amazon link along with requested tags. A few books would be featured at a time. Those visiting the site are requested to tag the featured books as requested and in turn their book would eventually be featured. There are rules, however. I’ll only post tags that are obvious from the description of the book. Others—like “great read” have to be earned by having readers rate it as such. For more information, please visit the blog.

LLBR: What has been your best outlet so far for selling books?  Online, in stores, word of mouth, etc?

Todd: I’d say it’s about a third Amazon/online/blogging, a third word of mouth, and a third Kindle.

LLBR: I heard you have an upcoming book signing.  How did that come about, where is it, and how many copies do you think will sell?

Todd: To successfully market a book takes asking everyone you know to consider buying it—forwarding your website info, etc. Having it on Amazon gives you immediate credibility. As sales began to grow, folks who bought the book actually suggested the book signing. I decided to do what I thought would be a small signing at work. I put together a professional release and sent it to some colleagues. I included the fact the book had hit #9 on Barnes and Noble in the children’s science fiction category along with #1 and #2 spots in two Amazon Kindle categories. The response was really overwhelming. My sales rose and became steady on Amazon and I had pre-orders from over thirty people from work. I’m estimating this signing alone will yield 100 sales.

LLBR: What’s next for you as an author?  Will you choose POD again?

Todd: Well, The Time Cavern is book one in a series. I’m about a third of the way through the next book. Would I turn down a major publisher for the next book? No way. Having said that, I’m not actively soliciting them at this point. There are over 200,000 books published each year which doesn’t include POD books. I know that POD or not, marketing my next book will have a lot to do with me. At the end of the day, who your are and not your book is your brand—authors are what sell books. That’s why book covers feature the author’s name larger than the title of the book itself. Think of the next book J.K. Rowling will write—everyone will buy it because she wrote it not because of its title.

Well, here it is folks.  Few people answered our call, so we were forced to search Lulu for America on our own.  In celebration of our independence as a nation, as a people, as authors, the Lulu Book Review was in search of that one Lulu book that embodies America and its freedoms.

We did keyword searches for things like “apple pie” and “red, white, and blue.”  We read preview after preview, and finally narrowed the search down to 3 Lulu books which we believe best represent the type of book we were looking for.  So, here they are in no particular order. An American celebration of POD books…

Open America
by Kristin Abraham
Copyright: © 2007
$34.99 Paperback
$5.00 Ebook

In 2005 artist Abraham and her musician husband set out across the country determined to visit all 50 states, attempting to unite the country through art, a journey they called The Nomadic Project.  They worked out of their car and Abraham created a painting in each state to capture its essence and beauty.

This book is a collection of all 50 paintings accented with entries from her travel journal.  If you love a good coffee table book or you are a travel enthusiast, this book offers some nice insight to our beautiful country.  There are local backroads here you’ll want to see for yourself one day!

6333 Miles - A Strange Journey Through Small Town America
by Nico Ammann and Rebecca Barkin
Copyright: © 2008
$34.90 Hardcover
$9.90 E-Book
ISBN: 9780615206899

Yep, this is another travel story, but instead of all 50 states we are treated to the backroads of only 5 small towns across the southern US starting in Jerome, Arizona, going down to Luckenbach, Texas; then crossing over to New Orleans, up to Clarksdale, Mississippi, and ending in the outer banks of North Carolina.  This is a haunting travel log reminiscent of great southern lit geniuses such as Truman Capote and Flannery O’Connor, accompanied by odd angle photographs of the local sites and local folk.

I think I was drawn to this book, not just because of the brilliant cover depicting the familiar blinking arrow sign (often missing letters in the true south, if teenagers haven’t rearranged the letters to spell bad words), but because there is a part of me in this book.  Being from Tennessee, I know these places.  I know these people, and I know this dirt roads.  Just as the back cover suggests….bikers, bibles, and bad decisions.  With a touch of murder mystery, some downhome fried cooking, and those strange front porch banjo playing strangers who you are afraid to ask for directions, this book is a brilliant rebel flag waving farce.

4th of July Recipes
by Timm Miller
Copyright: © 2008
$6.95 E-Book

Besides sparklers and bottle rockets, the 4th of July for me as a kid meant barbecue and watermelon.  It wouldn’t be an American holiday without the food, right?  That’s why I’ve chosen Timm Miller’s 4th of July Recipes as my third “America” highlight.

There’s a nice history of Independence Day for an introduction, followed by Red, White, and Blue Pie, baby back ribs, macaroni salad, and much more, and that’s just in the preview.

Your picnic table will be overflowing with yummy treats and hot eats from this book.  Many of our holidays follow traditions.  Each of our families have their own when it comes to certain events, and many of those holidays and traditions would not be complete without certain comfort foods.  Miller does an excellent job of helping you to try new simple recipes, and maybe create some new traditions of you own.  Check out his bookstore for more of those cool 3D covers too!

So that’s it!  Yeah, these three books focus mainly on travel and food, but it doesn’t get more American than that, does it?

Sassy
by Valerie Howard
Copyright: © 2008
$19.95 Paperback
$19.95 E-Book
157 Pages
ISBN: 9781435708679

Sassy is not just the nickname for Cecilia Richards, it’s her namesake.  She is Miss Priss, Miss Thang, and Miss Manners all rolled into one.  She is quick to judge and to tell her friends what she thinks of their business, but you best not be sticking your nose in hers.  Sassy is written by Valerie Howard, and not since early E. Lynn Harris or Eric Jerome Dickey have I read such a fun, enthralling, and gossipy tale.

Sassy is always right, even when she’s wrong.  She prides herself on letting her friends know when they are out of place by pointing out their imperfections.  Her best friend, Amber, is involved in a torrid affair with a married man.  Sassy’s neighbor, Jayna, holds a deep dark secretive past, keeping it from her own husband, and has just joined Sassy’s church.  Being a top executive, Sassy believes that to stay on top you must always tell the truth.  And the truth hurts!

But Sassy is not without fault.  Rather than cherishing her close friendships, she risks losing them because of the way she’s been judging her friends. Her boyfriend, Darnell, is losing interest in her as he focuses his energy on becoming a successful recording artist.  And Sassy also risks her reputation with her employer by making bad decisions that could have cost her company a ton of money.

A good job, strong faith, a loyal man, and close loving friends, you’d think Cecilia has it all and she practically does.  But with her eyes focused on her own personal order and materialistic gain, she loses focus on the relationships and values that should be most important.  She thinks she has everything and everyone figured out, but her attention is being drawn in the wrong direction.

Her wake up call comes when Darnell is tempted by the star of his music video, and her employer contemplates which ad exec will help her with a multimilllion dollar ad campaign without consulting her.  These slaps to the face help to wake up Cecilia and open her eyes to the the true values in life that are right in front of her.  The heart of the novel really hits home here for those of us who are fast forwarding through life and forgetting those things that should be more important to us!

My only qualm with Ms. Howard’s debut novel is that it is awfully short.  Howard has a true gift for creating memorable characters, comparable to Harris’s own Raymond, Tyler, and Nicole who’ve we grown to love over the years. But just as you really feel like you are sitting down with these characters and getting wrapped up in their dramas, they are quickly resolved and we move on to the next.  There is not enough time spent with each storyline to really have a chance to absorb it.  I wanted to know these characters just a bit more.

But, I could definitely see Sassy and Darnell becoming the focus of a string of novels.  With a bit more attention to developing and playing out her characters and their intricate plots, I know Valerie Howard could top the list in popular African American fiction today!  Kudos to her and her “sassy” novel!

Handle Time
by Lincoln Park
Copyright: © 2008
196 Pages
$14.95 Paperback
$6.95 E-Book
ISBN: 9780615215181

Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, and Lilly Tomlin have nothing on Lincoln Park.  Her book, Handle Time, is 9 to 5 on crack rock!  We all remember that type writer banging, coffee slinging, boss fondled, witty trio from the 80s movie which became a salute to the working woman!

Well, not much has changed these days in the way of office gossip despite the fact that we have to press one for English and spend more time on hold just trying to speak to an actual person.  Lincoln Park’s witty book drips with the over-the-top office drama, I’m sure a ton of us middle class Americans can relate to, like decaf from the lunchroom percolator.

Are you trapped in a cubicle all day tied to a phone taking calls from bitchy customers?  Do you work Monday through Friday listening to wining dead beats about their overdrawn bank balances?  Are order entry and filing on your list of resume attributes?  If you are sick of the water cooler humor and need someone outside of work who you can relate to, then buy this book!

We’ve all seen those humorous Youtube videos displaying dramatic office humor where employees snap and toss their computer monitors across the room, but those vids probably aren’t far from the truth.  Meet Chase, Lincoln’s central character whose had enough!  We barely get to know the poor girl as a character before she’s hauled out of the office on a stretcher.

But strap yourself in, because this roller coaster ride of a read is about to take you into the world of corner offices and cubicles which you probably didn’t know existed, and definitely don’t want to.  Flash back to Chase and her friends landing top positions at Delstar Bank call center.  Destined to beat standard middle class living outside of their bi-weekly paychecks, these trainees end up with more than they bargained for on their climb up the corporate ladder.

Like many of us, we kiss ass in interviews and wear a nice suit, only to become shackled to a desk with carpel tunnel and a telephone that won’t stop ringing.  It’s the gossip and office drama away from our desk that helps beat the monotony of the day, but is that worth the bad wages we make and the abuse we put up with from customers?  It’s enough to drive anyone postal, and this author’s in-your-face attitude will have you questioning, “is this worth 8 hours of my time each day?”

Dead beat coworkers with poor work ethics, pouty pregnant women whose men left them, computer geeks who know too much, fat chicks with low self-esteem… this book is chock full of colorful characters from cold CEOs to office supply stealing freaks.  On one page, your heart is full of sympathy and you are rooting for the underdog, on the next page you find you are the underdog.

At 196 pages, Ms. Park’s book makes the sitcom, The Office, look like a cake walk.  If you’ve ever hung up the phone for holding too long or cussed at the illiterate in India and demanded they get an American on the phone, or if you’ve ever been that employee on the other end of the line, then this book is for you!  Taking office humor to a whole new level, I commend Lincoln Park on her tongue in cheek farce about the cubicle culture most of us wake up to everyday.

Hey you!  Put down those post-its and stop sniffing your whiteout.  And read this book!