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Fantastic Failures — Review & Giveaway

rosihollinbeck

Thought for the Day:

“I handed in a script last year and the studio didn’t change one word. The word they didn’t change was on page 87.”

~ Steve Martin ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Plot holes? No problem. The Writer’s Cookbook has advice from several writers HERE to help you fix those plot holes.

Writing a novel is no easy task. There is much to track and keep straight. Kitty the Retro Writer has a great guest post on Jami Gold’s site HERE about using a Crime Wall for working on your novel.

Need to trim some words? Who doesn’t? Janice Hardy at Fiction University has some great suggestions for you HERE.

My daughter Sara has often been frustrated that she hasn’t seen most of the Oscar nominated films before the Oscars show. This year she found that the Regal Theaters would show all the films nominated for the Best Picture award and one could see them all for a pass costing only $35. She talked me into signing up with her, so I am busy this weekend watching movies. Yesterday we saw Vice and A Star is Born. We will see three more today and finish up during the week. This is my way of explaining why I am putting my post up so early today. I will be off to the movies shortly and will tell you my pick next week.

Fantastic-Failures-Cover-200x300The book I want to tell you about this week is one I reviewed for the Seattle Book Review, Fantastic Failures by Luke Reynolds. I love this kind of book that really gives hope to us all and prepares young readers for the real world and real life. This is the review I wrote for SBR.

In this time of overnight internet celebrities, some as young as early teens, young people don’t realize how long and hard many well-known artists fought for fame and distinction. When young people hear names like J. K. Rowling, Albert Einstein, Vincent van Gogh, Conan O’Brien, Abraham Lincoln, and Ang Lee, they may think these people have fame and celebrity in common, but what youngsters don’t realize is that they also have failure in common. This book gathers the stories of over 50 famous people who have faced difficulties on the road to success. Their failures made them better, stronger and more empathetic citizens.

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Luke Reynolds

Author Luke Reynolds has done his homework and even shares his sources at the end of each chapter—an excellent example for students. The writing is clear and concise with a sense of fun. Chapters include interesting sidebars with snapshots of others in the same field and their struggles. Failure, as one will come to recognize after reading the book, can often free creativity and allow a person to become her or his true self.

I have a gently-read paperback of this book for one of you. All you need do is be a follower or subscriber (it’s free!), have a U.S. address, and leave a comment below. If you would like extra chances, please share the link to this post on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media outlet and let me know you have done that. If you are reading this in your email, please click HERE to get to my blog, then click on the title of the post, and leave a comment. And don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at the Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.

Published by rosihollinbeck

32 thoughts on “Fantastic Failures — Review & Giveaway”

  1. This sounds like a great book, Rosi. It is so difficult, as a child, to realize that the famous people you learn about in the history books have ever had any failure in their lives. And yet, they all have. They have learned from it and they have overcome it. Wonderful examples for all of us.

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  4. Wonderful premise. Was just reading about Walt Disney yesterday and learned his first film studio failed and he had to declare bankruptcy.

    I agree with your daughter; I never manage to see all the movies nominated. Of course, in 2018 I had an excuse. This year, no excuses! Have fun at the movies. I’m off to read Janice Hardy’s post about trimming words.

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  5. This book will be inspirational for me to read because writing and submitting my work is more failure than success (but that just makes those acceptance letters so much better!). Thanks for the chance to win this important book for all readers. I shared on Facebook, twitter, pinterest, tumblr, and Google+.

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  6. Hi, Rosi. Love the quote, especially since I’ve been editing big-time one of my manuscripts. I like these kinds of books. Informative books are great for people who write columns for kids (like I did for 8 years). There is an older book that I have titled, Mistakes That Worked. Thanks for the links and for the review!

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  10. I’ve always thought that failure was a premature judgement of people’s attempts to do something. And seriously – if we can’t do a bunch of “drafts” or “preliminary trials” or whatever you want to call ’em, how to we get to the invention/story/art that works?

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  11. What a great idea for a book! Success is a challenging journey but very attainable for anyone who tries. I’ll be tracking this one down, but let someone else win who might be able to appreciate it a lot sooner.
    Wonderful links as always especially the one from Janice Hardy. Good luck with your Oscar movie marathon. I’m hopelessly behind in my movie going this year.

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  12. I love the premise of this book! Thanks for sharing it for MMGM. I’ve heard a lot about this year’s Oscar nominees on PBS, but I have been busy writing and reading so I haven’t seen a single movie in a theater since 2008 when I went to see the final Indiana Jones movie. Yikes! {Please don’t enter me in the giveaway for this gem.}

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  13. You keep finding these wonderful gems of books, Rosi!! I just won another of your great books, but I hope you’ll put me in the drawing. Otherwise I’ll have to go out and buy one.

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