9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, Challenging and Quick Reading, 16 Nov 2010
By Pat Writer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My First Time (Kindle Edition)
It's hard to imagine that a complete story can be told in so few words. Yet in "My First Time" that's exactly what happens. I like the challenge of some of the pieces. And, of course, the surprise endings and twists are just great with all of them. What a talented bunch of writers and the images are so appropriate for the pieces. Great reading, that can be done on the spur of the moment or for longer sessions. And the collection does leave the reader feeling satisfied, occasionally chuckling, and very often, nodding in agreement.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Victory for readers, writers and epublishing, 20 Nov 2010
By Will Fitzgerald - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My First Time (Kindle Edition)
I've just finished reading "My First Time." It was edited by Valerie Nygaard after an incredibly short time between announcing the theme for SoftCopy Publishing's first book and its delivery to the Kindle and iPad. It's been what? Fourteen weeks or so since they announced that all submissions must start with "The first time I..." It's hard to believe that such high quality writing can be found, edited, and delivered so quickly. This is a victory for writers--who want to see their work read, for readers--who want assurance that an electronically published work will be high quality, and for epublishing in general. I hope that SoftCopy's initial foray will encourage other independent publishers to do the same.
I particularly appreciate the quality of the publication: SoftCopy has paid attention to the specific requirements of epublishing; this is not just an automatic conversion from print-oriented media to epub formats. The super-short stories, along with their images, seem especially well-suited for epub. There are a few nits I hope SoftCopy will pick out in the future, especially more careful editing of typographic quotes and em-dashes. But this really is minor. And it would be nice to have authors' names along with the chapter titles.
But more importantly: the stories themselves. The super-short stories are great fun, and full of whimsy (I especially liked "Robots" and "Employee of the Month." There are some poems, all narrative, of fairly good quality; "Caretaking," for example, is heart-breaking. There are several science fictiony stories: in "In Memory Yet Green," we get a story in which Isaac Asimov appears in a person's dreams as a spirit guide. But the narrative conceit of "The first time I ..." means these are almost all personal stories. The story "Ten Minutes in Simile" describes the menace one feels in a strange and dangerous neighborhood when one is present as a community worker. And "Facts of the Case," a story of an encounter with a violent, jealous boyfriend had me shivering a bit.
Highly recommended.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My First Kindle Book, 18 Nov 2010
By Michael Robertson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My First Time (Kindle Edition)
I didn't know what to expect. I installed Kindle for PC and bought this book on a friend's recommendation. Everything in it looks so sharp and clear and professional. The art work and photos are brilliant and complement the stories perfectly. Many of the stories are very short and funny, a real treat. All of the stories, especially the longer ones, left me chuckling or shaking my head. All fine writing, not a clunker to be found. I couldn't be happier with my first Kindle download.
