I am an eclectic reader of non-fiction and fiction. I started this book blog to share my thoughts on what I read and to be part of an online community of readers. I strive to give an honest review, regardless of where I received the book. I will always note where I obtained the book in my review. I do not receive compensation for my reviews.
I don’t rate books in my blog reviews. Rather, I hope to provide enough information in the review itself for someone to decide if it’s a book they would like to read.
I’m fairly addicted to getting my books from the library and also own some unread books I’d like to read soon. So, at this time, I am not accepting review copies of books.
Updated as of March 5, 2011.
A Good Stopping Point 
Hello Christy,
It’s never good to start with an apology, but I don’t know any way around it. I didn’t see an email address, so I’m sorry for posting a query of sorts in this space.
I found your blog while researching submission guidelines for online book reviewers. I’m actually looking at each blog to make sure any contact is appropriate. While I’m not certain that you will be interested in our digital publishing site, and I respectfully note that you are not accepting review copies right now, I couldn’t resist replying, mainly because I like your writing style, and that picture of the house in the header, and the title!
Also, you had a favorable impression of Junot Diaz’s “…Life of Oscar Wao.”
When/if you have a moment to take a look at No Compression, I would greatly appreciate any feedback you might have or any recommendations you might give.
It’s been a long afternoon, I’m twenty-one blogs down my list, and yours is the second one I’ve emailed. This is A Good Stopping Point.
Thanks for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Judson Henry
Agoodstoppingpoint.wordpress.com
Dear Christy
I am reaching out to you because you reviewed Karen Armstrong’s The Spiral Staircase, and I like the way you write. I believe you will be interested a book I am just completing about my family’s experience with the Oxford Group, late called Moral Re-Armament, the Christian social movement that spawned A. A. and, after World War II, contributed to the Franco-German reconciliation that paved the way for the founding of the European Union.
Even the better books about Moral Re-Armament have failed to capture the real life of the movement, the movement’s emotional impact, or its groupthink dynamic. The movement has long needed a feminist critique. Though I am an academic, I have chosen to write a memoir because this seems the right way to critique an entity that purported to have a real and practical impact on people’s lives.
I am well qualified to write this book. My maternal grandfather encountered the Oxford Group in the U.S. in the 1930s and became a member of the Board of Directors. My father met the movement when he was a student at Glasgow University in Scotland the 1930s and he and my mother devoted their lives to it. I grew up entirely within the community and worked for it until I was 35, when I peeled off – feeling a bit like a nun leaving a convent – and became an academic. My book describes this personal story, while reflecting on the world that Moral Re-Armament created.
I hope my book will stimulate mature discussion. You said back in 2011 that you were not accepting review copies of books. But a lot of time has passed since then. Please let me know if you would entertain the possibility of accepting a review copy of my book if it is published by a reputable publisher or if you would accept an article about it from me. Thank you for your consideration, and for all you do.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Warm regards,
Margaret Eastman Smith
http://www.MargaretEastmanSmith.com