About This Blog
This blog initially began as a way to keep family and friends involved in what was happening in my life. But in 2007, it evolved into a predominantly literary endeavor. It is here I post book reviews, reading challenges, and other literary thoughts. I occasionally veer off into other areas, but mostly I blog about books and reading.
Why the Name?
Caribou was my search and rescue dog and my very special friend. In many ways, she was a huge inspiration to me and taught me many lessons about life. Caribou had a “can do” attitude and woke up each day with a smile, happy to start her morning. She loved life and lived it to its fullest. She reminded me daily to be happy in the moment and appreciate the little things. To read more about my beautiful girl, visit the page dedicated to her.
Accepting Books for Review:
I am always excited when a publisher or author contacts me to read and review books. I receive many Advance Reader’s Editions, as well as Review Copies of some of the best literature out there. My policy is to give these books priority in my stacks while still making time to read other books.
I have a loyal readership who has come to expect honest book reviews. If I don’t like a book, I say so. But, I try to balance my reviews to reflect both the strengths and weaknesses of a particular book. I don’t believe that one person’s opinion should be the last word, and often books I haven’t been thrilled about, show up on other review sites with accolades. Likewise, books I’m thrilled about sometimes see negative reviews by other readers. And thus the world becomes a more interesting place in which to reside!
I post all my book reviews on Library Thing under the user name Writestuff. I also occasionally post reviews to Powell’s Bookstore on-line. I am a frequent poster at the Novels Now blog which provides timely reviews on the newest in fiction and non-fiction. To browse all books I have reviewed, please visit my Reviews Page on this blog. All reviews are listed alphabetically by author and separated into Fiction, Short Stories, and Nonfiction categories.
I am also a contributor to the weekly ezine The Piker Press. To browse my electronically published work, please visit my author page there.
Authors and Publishers who wish to contact me regarding reviewing a book on Caribousmom should email me at caribousmom (at) gmail (dot) com
Although I would like to accept every offer, it is not practical or possible to do so. Currently reviews on new books are up to 6 months out due to a heavy volume of early review books and Advance Reader’s Editions I have received. Recently I have stopped accepting self-published books UNLESS the request comes with a recommendation or positive review by a traditionally published author.
Genres I do NOT generally read or review:
- Science Fiction
- Fantasy
- Self-help books
- Romance
Genres I am eager to read and review:
- Literary Fiction
- Crime Fiction/Suspense/Mystery
- Historical Fiction
- Women’s Fiction
- Works in Translation/World Literature
- Memoirs
- True Adventure stories
- True Crime
Disclosure Policy
This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.
This blog does not accept any form of advertising, sponsorship, or paid insertions. I write for my own purposes. However, I may be influenced by my background, occupation, religion, political affiliation or experience.
I am compensated ONLY with Advance Readers Editions or Review copies of books provided by publicists, publishers, or authors. Although these books are provided in the hopes of a review, a review is not guaranteed, nor is the review (if it is provided) expected to be anything but an honest opinion of the book. Even though I receive compensation in the form of free books, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those books. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers’ own.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
Beginning December 1, 2009: Due to new FTC government intrusion guidelines, all reviews of review copies/ARCs of books will have this image in the lower right hand corner of the review. Hopefully, this will meet the requirement of “full disclosure.”
Thank you for reading along with me!
All the best,
Wendy
PLEASE NOTE: This site is protected by Copyright Law – please do not copy any material without my permission.
Thank You so much for reviewing my book. I have perused your blog and I enjoy the way you blend many different themes. I will look even closer when I can take a breather from my tour. Thank you again.
- Sarah.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Sarah! I have read your books in the past and really loved them…I am looking forward to reading Sacred Hearts and will let you know when I post a review here on Caribousmom. Thanks for the compliments on my site
Hi Wendy,
Your site is a very thorough book review site! I’m envious of all your available reading time!
I’ve added a link to your site on mine and wrote a little blog post about it.
http://thiszine.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/new-links-fun-times/
Keep up the nice work!
Hello there,
I am just getting my blog up and going. I was hoping you could give me some insights into how you run a book reading challenge. How do you determine who wins, do you give a prize, how do participants register, and how do you advertise the reading challenge? I really appreciate any and all information you could share with me.
AF Heart
http://mysterysuspence.blogspot.com/
AF Heart: There really is no right or wrong way to host a reading challenge – make sure you are specific about the parameters of the challenge (ie: the dates it runs, number of books, etc…) and provide a way for people to sign up (either through comments or Mr. Linky). Re: prizes…they are not necessary, but if I do them I usually pick randomly from participants. I simply put a post on my blog…and also run a post at A Novel Challenge blog ( http://novelchallenges.blogspot.com/ )…hope that helps!
Just wanted to drop you a line to say, I enjoy reading your site. I thought about starting a blog myself but don’t have the time.
Oh well maybe one day….
I just finished reading my BookWomen issue and found you and others who blog. Blogs are new to me. It is so exciting. I’ve added you to my Favorites.
Sorry. I don’t have a clue what “awaiting moderation” means
hello, I am the one who wannabe an avid reader in Korea. I’ve just opened my blog to put the books I read on record and to write down my book club discussion in English.
While searching a review about “The Time Traveller’s Wife”, I happened to drop by your blog to find it very amusing and wonderful.
Now I’m a beginner in blogging an want to learn a lot from you. Thank you.
Jane: Thanks for visiting – glad you are enjoying my blog! Good luck with the development of yours … I am sure you will be successful with it!
Hi Wendy. I am an avid reader and came across your blog. I am on Goodreads and Bookcrossing but have never followed anyone’s blog before. I loved your writings on Caribou. She was a beautiful dog and obviously served a wonderful purpose while she was here.
I’ll look forward to dropping in and getting or giving some good book recommendations in the future.!
Wendy,
(I hope I have your name right – - )
A mutual colleague: Denise Thompson pointed me to your blog when I asked her if she knew anyone that may be interested in acting as a “spell checker” for a scientist (me).
If you are interested in peer review (from a literary perspective), of scientific and engineering papers please let me know.
Sincerely,
Robert
Claire: Thank you so much for dropping by my blog – and your kind words are much appreciated. I hope you’ll continue visiting