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 (like quilting), 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:

July 13, 2012 UPDATE: I am currently not accepting books for review whose publishing date is prior to October 2012.

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 feature all books sent for review on a weekly Mailbox Monday post which includes a short blurb on the book, quotes from early reviews, book trailers, author profile and pertinent links to the publisher’s website, author website, etc… This is a widely read meme hosted by a different blogger each month. An example of one of these posts may be found here.

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 and Barnes and Noble.com. I do not post reviews to Amazon for many reasons, one of which is the hostility towards reviewers on that site. 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, Publicists, and Publishers who wish to contact me about reviewing a book on Caribousmom should email me at caribousmom (at) gmail (dot) com

***please read below for my policy on accepting books for review

1. I prefer to be queried re: review requests rather than receiving unsolicited copies of books. Please be aware that unless I specifically commit to a certain date for review, a review is not guaranteed.
   
2. Please do not leave queries in the comments section of my blog – they will be deleted as spam. The comments section of the blog is meant for discussion about the posts, not a place for people to advertise their work. Please email me with any queries.
3. I do NOT accept e-books or books in digital format – I prefer physical books I can hold in my hands!
4. Although I would like to accept every offer, it is not practical or possible to do so. My policy is to accept no more than FOUR books which will be published in any given month as I prefer to review books during their month of publication if possible.
5. I have stopped accepting self-published books with very few exceptions - if you are a self-published author, I prefer to communicate with your publicist or editor re: potential reviews.

Regarding Guest Posts: I am delighted to have authors whose books I have read and enjoyed craft guest posts for my blog. I do not invite guest posts from people I do not know who simply want to increase exposure for their website. I get a ton of “requests” from those who assure me they are fantastic, thoughtful writers who simply want a link back to their site. I consider this advertising which I do not do here on my blog.  I have stopped responding to those emails

Genres I do NOT generally read or review:

• Science Fiction
• Fantasy
• Self-help books
• Traditional Romance
• Vampire or Paranormal
• Children’s Books
• YA fiction (although I will consider YA which could be classified as an adult crossover)

Genres I am eager to read and review:

• Literary Fiction
• Crime Fiction/Suspense/Mystery
• Historical Fiction
• Women’s Fiction
• Works in Translation/World Literature
• Short Story Collections
• Memoirs
• True Adventure stories

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 (including paid promotions of book giveaways or author interviews/guest posts). 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.

Because of recent confusion across the blog-o-sphere regarding paid content, I include an FTC disclosure on each book-related post.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
I am an IndieBound Affiliate Member. Visitors who click on the IndieBound book widgets will be taken to the IndieBound site where they have the option of purchasing the book from an Indie Bookstore. I receive a small commission if a visitor to my blog purchases a book through one of my sponsored links. Any monies I receive from this program go towards support of this blog.

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.

25 Comments

1. sarah dunant says:

   June 30, 2009 at 07:13

   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.

   Reply
2. Caribousmom says:

   June 30, 2009 at 07:20

   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

   Reply
3. Lacey Dunham says:

   July 20, 2009 at 08:28

   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.

   thiszine.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/new-links-fun-times/

   Keep up the nice work!

   Reply
4. AF heart says:

   September 22, 2009 at 14:33

   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
   mysterysuspence.blogspot.com/

   Reply
5. Caribousmom says:

   September 26, 2009 at 07:07

   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 ( novelchallenges.blogspot.com/ )…hope that helps!

   Reply
6. Donnieboy says:

   October 12, 2009 at 14:15

   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….

   Reply
7. Nancy Maywar says:

   November 29, 2009 at 13:42

   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.

   Reply
8. Nancy Maywar says:

   November 29, 2009 at 13:44

   Sorry. I don’t have a clue what “awaiting moderation” means

   Reply
9. jane says:

   February 16, 2010 at 19:12

   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.

   Reply
10. Caribousmom says:

    February 22, 2010 at 07:41

    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!

    Reply
11. Claire Vackar says:

    March 8, 2010 at 11:39

    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.!

    Reply
12. Robert Richardson says:

    March 8, 2010 at 15:19

    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

    Reply
13. Caribousmom says:

    March 12, 2010 at 15:17

    Claire: Thank you so much for dropping by my blog – and your kind words are much appreciated. I hope you’ll continue visiting

    Reply
14. Caribousmom says:

    March 24, 2010 at 13:43

    Hi Robert, Sorry for the delay in getting back to you – your comment found its way into my spam folder and I just recently discovered it. I don’t do a lot of scientific reading, so this doesn’t sound like something I could help you with…BUT if I am wrong in my assumption, you can always drop me an email at caribousmom (at) gmail (dot) com and we can talk some more Say hi to Denise for me

    Reply
15. Tor/Forge Publicity Intern says:

    August 9, 2010 at 10:11

    I am writing from Tor/Forge Publishers. I realize that you do not review science fiction or fantasy (for which Tor is predominantly known) however, our Forge side has a large contingent of mystery, thriller and nonfiction books that might interest you. (After seeing your website, I really hoped you would be interested in some of our stuff, because I love your focus on the role of “fur children” in reading–my own fur child, a 100lb Lacquer black German Shepherd, is an essential component to my reading process, even if he is jealous of books taking my attention for so long. I must also add here that Caribou was a beautiful creature, and I am deeply sorry for your loss. It is hard to lose any dog, but a working companion is even harder).

    If you are interested in getting review copies of our mysteries and/or nonfiction books, please e-mail me directly with your full contact information (and what genres you would like) so that we can get review copies to you.

    Thank you!

    Reply
16. Mary Bisbee-Beek says:

    February 16, 2011 at 07:05

    Wendy, hi! I am a book publicist (independent) and I work with many discerning literary publishers, right now I have some good fiction; and a lovely memoir — all authors that deserve some good attention. I work frequently with Gilion Dumas and she’s mentioned you to me frequently. Might I send you some books? Books not galleys, right?

    I was touched by your site and seeing that you lost Caribou and Argus so close together, same happened to us, Mingus full golden passed away in July of 2009 and Jasper not a full golden, passed away almost six months to the day. And we are just now considering a new fur member of the family.

    Anyway, back to books, if it’s ok to send please let me know your mailing address. All the best, Mary Bisbee-Beek

    Reply
17. Pauline @ Oscah Baby says:

    July 14, 2011 at 14:57

    Just wanted to let you know our copy of Beatrice and Virgil arrived!

    Many thanks.

    Reply
18. Quiltgal from the Corral says:

    July 16, 2011 at 16:18

    Hi Wendy,
    This blog site is amazing. I love the quilts you have made, amazing, love how your backing is always interesting. I have been roaming through your site for the last 2 hours and I just can’t get enough. I showed my sister in law who is visiting from Kansas and she is hooked too. So glad I got to meet you and find this wonderful place to lose myself. Happy Quilting!! Carol

    Reply
19. Caribousmom says:

    July 18, 2011 at 05:51

    Carol: Yay, you made it!!! Thanks for stopping by and the lovely comment! Hope to see you again soon (at least in September )

    Reply
20. Joan Leegant says:

    July 27, 2011 at 22:13

    Thank you once again for the very insightful review of my novel, Wherever You Go. I read it as soon as you posted it but neglected to scroll down on this page to see the opportunity for comments. I have been reading your blog for many months now, and your reviews of literary fiction are truly excellent. Thank you for taking the time to write about –and engage with– serious fiction in such a thoughtful way. (As an aside, I’m pleased to tell you that the paperback of Wherever You Go was just released this week.) All the best, Joan Leegant

    Reply
21. Margie Adams says:

    August 1, 2011 at 05:43

    Not only do I enjoy your book reviews – discovered as I explored your blog further that you are a quilter.. I am too ! So enjoy this site – will share with my friends and fellow book clubbers.
    Regards from South Africa.

    Reply
22. Caribousmom says:

    August 2, 2011 at 06:24

    Joan: Thank you so much for your kind words…and for being a reader of my blog! Congrats on the release of your book in paperback!

    Margie: Quilting and books just seem to go together, don’t they?!?! Thanks for visiting…and for spreading the word

    Reply
23. Katy says:

    August 6, 2012 at 09:23

    I came across your blog when I was looking for new books to devour and have loved it ever since. I have an interest in becoming a book reviewer and was going to see if you have any tips? Any help you could give would be great!

    Reply
    1. Wendy says:

       August 7, 2012 at 07:01

       Hi Katy – thanks for being a reader of Caribousmom! If you email me, I’d be glad to answer whatever questions I can about book reviewing and starting a book blog!

       Reply
24. techeditor says:

    October 3, 2012 at 08:47

    Can’t I subscribe to your blog by email?

    Reply