I was kindly sent a free copy of the Strong Words magazine by Kate from, well Strong Words in hopes that I could be tempted into a subscription not to review, this review is me sharing my thoughts and if you think it’s your thing great, it’s definitely my type of magazine!
The purpose of Strong Words magazine is to shout about books of all kind to the people who love them, as well as recommending reads of numerous genres and believe me there is a variety on offer that I didn’t even know about. More than 200,000 books are published every year in the UK alone, some of these can be overlooked when you’re completely spoilt for choice and the hugely raved reads are pushed in front of what I like to call the ‘hidden gems’. The glorious Strong Words post will arrive on your door mat once a month and will be jam packed with book recommendations, bookish articles, Q&As and so much more from as little as £5 a month! Bargain! You can check out the subscriptions available here!
One of the first ‘articles’ of June’s edition of Strong Words was The Facts of Life where knowledgeable gems of recent reads are highlighted, for example -from The Rapture by Claire McGlasson, “The Panaceans, an early 20th century millenarian religious group, believed that Bedford was the site of the original Garden of Eden” how bloody interesting is that! Not only is this magazine jam packed with book reviews and author Q&As, but the execution of publication shows that a lot of time and effort has gone into it. Some magazines are of poor quality in terms of content and materials, but Strong Words has a high quality of both, I really loved reading it and it was a nice tea break accompaniment…. even though I now have so many books that I need (aka it’s a great ingenious marketing tool, TV show watchers get their own mags so why can’t us bookworms?)
I found the whole thing fascinating, it covers newly released reads, such as Thomas Harris’ Lecter-less novel Cari Mora, books focusing on mental health, three word type reviews of newer releases and a large bout of true crime – who doesn’t love a bit of criminal non fiction?! As well as looking at mainstream releases, Strong Words also focus on smaller independent publishers that may not be well known. An example of a hidden publishing gem for me was Peirene Press who publish 3 / 4 translated novellas a year that focus on important current affairs, such as refugee crisis. Every year the books focus on one particular theme, the 2019 theme was ‘There Be Monsters’, that’s not all, you can subscribe to them and every year you get that themes book bundle, a bit like a publishing book club! check out these powerful books here, and you can follow Peirene Press on Twitter here to keep up to date with their book news AND to be updated with next years theme.
I also enjoyed the Q&A given by Polly Clark about the research that she threw herself in to in order to give a more authentic feel to her newest novel Tiger – she talks about her travels to track Siberian Tigers and learnt about their mannerisms. A great and information filled read. This article, as well as the others are really well written and articulated, there is quite literally something for everyone – even a crossword and poem on the back, the writers, editors and publicists have done a great job.
My verdict? Yes, I am a complete convert, I shall be subscribing for this fantastic concept of a magazine in time for this months issue! If you don’t feel like subscribing long term, you can buy a copy as and when you choose either online or from any good newsstand. The next issue will be available for your viewing pleasure on the 31st of July.
Are you already a subscriber? Have you read Strong Words magazine? What did you think? Let me know!
*I was sent a free copy of Strong Words magazine to read and consider starting a subscription, not review – I decided to review because more people should be reading it! Thanks again Strong Words Magazine for my copy.
The Reading Closet 