Self-published book(s) that I finished reading: Latin Omnivore and Rain, Venom, Toil by…?

I actually finished reading both Latin Omnivore by Naomi Tonlivre and Rain, Venom, Toil by Milo van Orient. That might not seem like a big deal, except I don’t finish most books that I begin. It’s not that I think most books suck, though they might. I just like to focus exclusively on stuff that appeals to me

The combination of two short novels Latin Omnivore and Rain, Venom, Toil together in one ‘reversible’ book might seem a little gimmicky, and I almost didn’t buy it (them) because of that. The gimmick, if this really is one, is that the two novels are connected to each other, and each novel has crucial information that helps the reader understand what’s going on in both books, though I use the word ‘understand’ loosely.

Reversible books are nothing new. I have an old reversible Peanuts comic strip book from the 1960s, and I remember when reversible books with two novels by the same author were kind of common. But this is a reversible book where the stories by ‘two’ authors are connected with each other.

I don’t know if that kind of reversible book is a trend now, but reversible books haven’t been on my radar for a long time. To be clear, if I had seen this at a B&M Bookseller, I probably wouldn’t have given it a second glance. Luckily, I scrolled into it on Kickstarter a few years ago, was both intrigued and annoyed at the potential gimmick, and decided to support the project. I guess I was intrigued more than I was annoyed.

And then… I actually received the novel(s) on time! That didn’t always happen with Kickstarter projects. Several projects were late, and one was obviously rushed and looked horrible, but everything I supported ended up getting funded, which is more than I can say about my own Kickstarter project (and you can read about it at Kickstarter Failure! What happens next with… The Sunset Rises: A 1990s Romantic Comedy).

Okay, I admit that I bought Latin Omnivore and Rain, Venom, Toil more to learn about the Kickstarter process than I did to actually read the book(s). Even so, I was still always interested by some aspect of each Kickstarter purchase, and I at least began reading every book that I had bought. I liked a lot of the stuff that Tough Poets Press, the small publishing group that I usually supported, was putting out (I never had issues with Tough Poets Press). I mean, I liked the ideas behind a lot of the books, but sometimes the execution of those ideas wasn’t for me. That’s how a lot of creative endeavors go.

I’m not going to outright recommend Latin Omnivore and Rain, Venom, Toil because I don’t want to set any expectations up for the reader. Expectations might affect your interpretation of the books, and one of the reasons I think these ended up being worth reading was because I had no expectations when I began, except I wanted to know more about a curious detail that I had noticed while browsing through Latin Omnivore. That weird detail was enough to get me started.

I liked Latin Omnivore a lot more than I did Rain, Venom, Toil, but that’s going to happen because the two novels are different.   However, I can see some readers LOVING Rain, Venom, Toil for the exact same reason that I struggled with it (I won’t say why because that might influence your expectations), so that could just be my preference. However, once I finished both books, I reread sections of Rain, Venom, Toil and enjoyed them more, so there’s that. I rarely finish books, and I reread sections even less frequently.

DYSFUNCTIONAL BOOK REVIEW: Latin Omnivore by Naomi Tonlivre and Rain, Venom, Toil by Milo van Orient

I really liked Latin Omnivore, but I’m lukewarm on Rain, Venom, Toil. I finished both, and then reread parts of Rain, Venom, Toil and then understood what was going on a little more and enjoyed it more too. If you choose to read it (them), your experience might be different. I don’t want to say any more because the less information you have going in, well… that’s… um… yeah.

Latin Omnivore and Rain, Venom, Toil together in a reversible book is what self-publishing should be. I like the idea of the book, and I liked the execution of the two novels enough to finish them and go back for some rereading. I can’t ask for much more in a book. Good job, author(s)!

*****

Enough about me and my opinions! What do you think? Have you finished any books that you didn’t expect to finish? Is the reversible book a trend, and I just don’t know about it? Do you mind book reviews that don’t tell you much about the books? Please let me know in the comments below!

 *****

My ONE and only novel that I published despite my one and only Kickstarter failure is much simpler and more straightforward than the above reversible book (I’m not referring to the Peanuts book). Just so you know, I finished reading my novel too! And I’ve reread it as well!

Man meets woman; man falls in “luuuvvv” with woman; man gets blindsided by reality!

The Sunset Rises: A 1990s Romantic Comedy is now available on Amazon !