Hi, I’m Dinh (pronounced Zing) co-founder of Arlene’s Book Club with my partners, Arlene and Mike.
Our club’s aim is simple; having fun sharing our perspectives of books we have read from those that were recently published to the older classics we all adore and cherish, and to recommend those that we enjoyed the most for you to read and share your opinions. I truly hope that you will join our discussions and add your own unique perspectives.
So a little about me and what I like to read!
As a child I was not a big reader as English was my second language and I simply did not “get it” until later in life when my had more time to read for enjoyment. I would honestly say that I started to love reading when I was in my late twenties. This was a period in my life when the special people in my life shared their favorite books with me and one after another; I simply could not get enough. My joy of reading just blossomed!
As a late comer to reading I am now catching up on books that many have read throughout their lives. I am an eclectic reader who will try just about anything that is recommended to me.
I love science fiction/fantasy. My oldest and dearest friend Ruth introduced me to Ray Bradbury’s books, specifically The Martian Chronicle, when we were kids and I have been in love with science fiction ever since. I remember enjoying books by Piers Anthony and Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
I love reading works that can take me away and captivate me so much that I cannot put the book down. I have learned that I can be enchanted by the magic of a wide variety of genres. One masterpiece that impacted me in a very profound way is the book One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Who knew that I liked magical realism style?
I also love reading graphic novels. I was introduced to The Watchmen and Maus when I was doing a literature class in my undergraduate degree. Those graphic novels were superb and now I have a love of graphic novels.
On a side note, I am also a big fan of AMC’s The Walking Dead series and I can’t go without adding that The Walking Dead graphic novels are excellent.
The power of reading a good book amazes me! So please join us in our conversations on books that we are reading. We are certain to stir up some lively debates! See you there.
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Dear Dinh,
I feel so touched by how each of you writes about your love of books on this blog! I thought I would write to you, Arlene and Mike each separately in case you have different reviewing interests.
I am writing to see if you would be interested in reviewing my literary historical fiction novel Boy, Falling, to be published by Black Rose Writing on July 22, 2021.
Boy, Falling is a stand-alone companion book to my novel House of Rougeaux (Raincloud Press, 2018), which was named one of Bitch Media’s 25 Must Read Books of 2018, won a Silver Medal IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for Historical Fiction, and earned excellent reviews including a Starred Review in Publisher’s Weekly for the audiobook.
Boy, Falling follows the Rougeaux family line (begun in House of Rougeaux) through the eyes of three family members. Set primarily in the interwar period, in New York City and Paris, Boy, Falling is historical fiction with a focus on Black History, that also includes a strong LGBTQ storyline and contains elements of magical realism.
The back cover will read:
Seeking to pursue his dream in music, and harboring a grave secret, young Gerard Rougeaux leaves his native Montreal for New York City in 1909, embarking on a journey that then takes him to Paris at the height of the Jazz Age. There, years later, Gerard becomes haunted by strange dreams of a boy falling through space, as his story entwines with the family he has left behind—his half-sister Jeannette and her two children, struggling to make their way in New York after the economic crash of 1929. Continuing the family epic begun in House of Rougeaux, Boy, Falling weaves together human yearning and mystery, and what it means to be part of the fabric of life.
Thank you for your consideration, I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Jenny Jaeckel
jennyjaeckel.com
Hi Jenny!
Thanks for visiting Arlene’s Book Club!
Your historical fiction sounds intriguing but currently we are not taking review request.
All the best and good luck with your novel.
Hello Raven!
What a coincidence, I was on a blog recently that asked the same question.
I haven’t had a recent reading slump but I guess I would recommend that you choose something short, or a novel that interest you in particular that you perhaps have read before and enjoyed it quite a lot.
I love audio books now so I would also recommend to listen to a book to ease you back into reading.
Happy reading!
Hi Susan.
Nice to meet you too! 🙂
Hi Dinh! Just wondering if you’re on Twitter too? I can’t remember if I’ve added you, and I can’t find you there! :S
Hello Gemma!
I just checked my twitter and it looks like you found me after all. 🙂
Thanks for adding me and I look forward to working with you!
Hello,
I have pasted a brief blurb about my new Sci Fi book along with the amazon link. If you are interested I will be happy to send you a copy.
Title: History’s Prisoners book one: Invasion
By James Garmisch (pen name)
50K Dystopian sci fi. Character driven, not dark.
Moments before his execution, Huan is given a clear choice: infiltrate the Global Resistance—or die, and never see his children again.
The Alliance is collapsing, and Huan, a former economist for the worldwide government, knows how it was engineered. History has been reset, the children of dissidents re-educated, and the family unit abolished. The facade of utopia is evaporating.
Meanwhile, beyond the city walls, the separated lands are shifting from despair to chaos. Smoldering discontent is about to explode. Huan is neither a soldier nor a spy, but he will have to become both—and quickly—if he is to survive and to save the family that does not know him.
http://amzn.to/2ffOkGL
Hi Alan!
Thank you so much for offering me your book for review.
At the present time we are not taking requests but I will gladly look at it when our policies change.
I hope our readers will take a look at the link you’ve included and check it out.
Thank you for stopping by at Arlene’s Book Club!
Hi, Dinh.
Arlene’s Book Club has been added to our list of fellow book bloggers on Nevermind the Furthermore. Thanks for your interest. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Rebecca for supporting us bloggers at Arlene’s Book Club.
I appreciate you adding me and look forward to getting to know you more 🙂
Hello Dinh,
My name is Jeremy Wilson and I’ve just found your website and read the first review by Arlene here, on the book: “The Art Forger by the author B.A. Shapiro” …and I must say that her review was very enticing and has me excited to go read the book right away!
I just read your bio here and I’m like you in the sense that at an early age (even though my main language IS English, I always struggled to find reading to be interesting, mainly because I get distracted very easily and it’s hard for me to finish a book once I’ve started because other things seem to always pop up…then I end up laying the book down and it could be months or years before I ever pick it back up again.
That being said, I wanted to ask you…Do you know of any lessons or courses that are geared towards helping people like me to learn to stay engaged in a book until the reading is finished?
I do enjoy reading, and I seem to have better focus reading whenever it is in a digital format (I don’t know why, but I do focus on what I’m reading better when it’s on the computer or iPad…LOL)…but I’ve always admired folks who can just “shut out the world and life” and stop for a day, grab a book and go sit by a tree and read while enjoying nature….I’ve always wanted to be like that too….so any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated (regarding my questions above).
Thank you!
All The Best,
Jeremy David Wilson
Hi Jeremy,
Thank you for stopping by and checking out Arlene’s Book Club.
I find it hard to focus on a book when I have important things going on in my life and that I must tend to. My suggestion to you would be to read when you don’t have those distractions and to enjoy the book.
For me, if the book is good I will always come back to it. To solve your problem, I would suggest you read something that you can’t put down and it’s a page turner. Then you will focus.
If it helps your concentration better in reading an eBook then I would say go ahead and continue doing it that way. Why don’t you just enjoy nature with your iPad? There’s no harm in reading an eBook at the park or in your garden.
I hope you continue to read even if it’s a bit at a time. 🙂
Hi Dinh,
Please consider reviewing Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton (354 pages) — adult literary science fiction. It reads like YA because of its use of adolescent voice, but it is not intended for younger youth, or anybody of any age that is not open-minded about social issues. In the 1970s, Ursula K. Le Guinn coined the term, “social science fiction” and this novel fits better within that standard subgenre than any other.
Thank you for your consideration,
Robert Eggleton
Hi Robert,
Thank you for offering your book in return for a review.
At the present time we are not accepting these requests.
I thank you for your suggestion and hope you all the best!
What a lovely website. Great reviews and now I have a list of books to read that I hadn’t even heard of.
Hello Claire,
Welcome to Arlene’s Book Club!
I am so happy that you found Arlene’s Book Club to your liking 🙂
We always give our honest opinion of books that we have read and I hope that once you have read the books that you will chime in and give us your blunt opinion of it as well.
Thanks for popping by!
Hello! Nice website you have here! I see you have teamed up with two other people! I believe three people working on a website will be a great benefit. Such as a lot of posts.
I wish you many success with your online business!
Hi Francesca,
Thank you for popping by and checking out Arlene’s Book Club!
This website is a tribute to Arlene who over the years has recommended me to so many great authors.
We just love to discuss books that we are reading and share our thoughts on the matter. It’s a win-win combo.
Thank you for your wishes and please do follow us on Twitter @ArlenesBookClub!
Hi Dinh,
I really like you website. You are honest with your reviews and provide tons of information for the reader. Your layout is nice and easy and the speed between pages is rapid. One suggestion I have is that you make your three about me pages into dropdown like a sub page and call the main one, something like “About Us!” Good luck and I look forward to seeing your new content!
Rashaad
Hi Rashaad,
thank you for liking our website and for your suggestion.
I purposely did not group all of us together for a reason. I wanted it to make it more prominent, each to have the spotlight we deserve. It’s an hommage to my fellow partners.
Please drop by again!
This website is great because it enables people with busy lives, kids, or whatever it is that prevents them from having free time, to come together online to talk about books. It is hard to get a group of people together at the same exact time at the same location for a book meeting club. Also – that puts pressure on people to read the book by a certain time. This is a WONDERFUL idea. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Steph,
thanks for the kind words about the website.
I love talking about books that I have read and what I would or would not recommend. That’s what this site grew out of. I am so busy (with 3 kids) that I don’t have time to go to a physical place to meet and chat about books and this is a great way to engage with people who have read the same books and talk about it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts- please drop by to say hi again!
Hi Dinh, Have you read any Ayn Rand? Love her – my two favourites – The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. If you’re going to try them, read The Fountainhead first. I’d love to know what you think.
Hi Hindy,
Thank you for sharing with me books that you like and would recommend me to read.
I have not read any of Ayn Rand’s books and have not heard of her before.
I love it when someone recommends me a good book to read. For sure, it’s going to be good!
I will put The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged to my “to read” list. I will let you know what I think when I read it 🙂
Please feel free to let me know what other books you think I may also enjoy!
Hi Dinh. Just read your bio and am going to make a recommendation. Since you are an eclectic reader and you mentioned magic, I just finished The Night Circus. Turn of the century. Magic. A little love story. And, of course, circus performers. It was an enjoyable read. Nothing too heavy.
Hi Laura,
Thank you for your recommendation of The Night Circus. I love it when people recommend me books to read that they like.
The Night Circus sounds like it’s right up my alley. Magic and love sound like a great combination!
I am going to pick that one up and will let you know what I think.