The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Trump-a-Lincoln-a-Lago: An American PsychoHistory
Because Trump-a-Lincoln-a-Lago was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.
Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.
This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.
Mutai Marshal
I wouldn’t have read this book outside the First Ten program because the title hinted at American presidents, a theme I am not interested in. From the sample, I didn’t find anything appealing. The information surrounding the Trump administration and pandemic didn’t interest me. Having read the OBC review, I will not buy this book because I don’t like history books. It doesn’t seem exceptionally edited as I noticed a grammatical error (There are books to read, archives to probe, documents to dissect, [AND is missing] interviews to conduct). I recommend providing a table of contents on its page to make the book neat.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 4:59 am by Mutai Marshal.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Rodel Barnachea
Following my reading of the title’s official OnlineBookClub review and Amazon page, I opted not to acquire the book. I do not like Donald Trump, and him being one of the central characters of this novel is not helping in convincing me to read the historical fiction title. I am also not interested in reading how the author tries to compare Donald Trump to Abraham Lincoln. Sampling the book did not change my mind. I would not purchase it for the very same reasons I already stated above. My sampling of the title failed to dispel the initial opinions I have about the novel. The first ten pages contain the first ten pages of Chapter I: The Six Stages of Trump Acceptance. What I liked most is when the author explained the concept of “faux history.” I did not note any errors in the sample; the book seems professionally edited. I have no advice to offer to the author.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 4:57 am by Rodel Barnachea.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Shrabastee Chakraborty
Despite the intriguing title and cover art, I wasn't inclined to read this book based on the premise, the official OBC review, and other public reviews. I did not find any errors in the first ten pages. The author mentioned the entire book series and their respective contents. A diary entry followed, narrating the protagonist's visits to various historical places. I didn't particularly like anything in the book. The repetitive nature of the entries seemed quite monotonous too. The author could have started with something that would immediately grab the readers' attention. Based on my reading experience, I will not read the entire book.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 4:56 am by Shrabastee Chakraborty.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
va2016
The title "Trump-a-Lincoln-a-Lago" and the cover that illustrates Abraham Lincoln indicate that the book is about some US presidents. There is only one Amazon customer rating of the book, which is not a sufficient number for me to decide to sample the book. The Amazon summary states that the book is about a person who was extended an invitation to the White House by President Donald Trump. As I am not interested in the theme, I would have skipped sampling the book if not for the First Ten program. As I sampled through the book, I found the narration describing how the author got an invitation for his book's discussion in the White House. As I am not interested in this theme, I am not going to read this book in full. I found the sample professionally edited. I didn't find any grammatical or mechanical errors in the sample. I didn't like anything specifically about the book. I don't have any recommendations for the improvement of the book. Although I found one OBC review of the book, my decision to not to read the book in full is based on my own sampling.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 4:55 am by va2016.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Alice Heritage
This grey blob of a cover wouldn't have attracted me, though on closer examination I see it is a well-done pencil rendition of Trump merging with Lincoln. Nevertheless I wouldn't have sampled this on the basis of that or the title, historical fiction genre or Amazon blurb because it seems to be surrealist fiction involving political figures. That is not of great interest at present. I didn't see editorial or customer reviews. The first ten pages were pretty well done but didn't ultimately change my mind from my original guess. I won't read the rest of this because I'm not currently interested in reading such "faux history". This seemed excellently edited, though I believe "stop over in Williamsburg" should read "stopover in Williamsburg". I liked the writer's position on politics; in general, his thoughts about presidents were enlightening. I liked these straightforward affirmations: "I do not admire any president. I do not admire the ego it takes to seek, and fulfill, the office." Nothing particularly needs to be improved. The itinerary at the beginning was something of a dry opening for my taste, but this was partly because, as a non-American, I'm not very familiar with the history the tour covered. I'm not sure why the OBC review termed "Jewish" as a language (Yiddish, surely?). I thought this book might be humorous but the review didn't confirm that. It didn't contribute much to my decision, which was mainly based on the sample and general information.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 4:49 am by Alice Heritage.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Jeremie Mondejar
I sampled this book based on the program. Since I'm not living in the USA nor a US citizen, I'm not familiar with the historical account in this book. I also can't relate with the type of transportation mentioned in this book like cycling, taking the train or stopping at Airbnb because these things aren't common in our place. Therefore, I will not read this book because of the reasons above. I read an OBC review, which is a great help in understanding this book. The editing seems fine, so I assume this book is professionally edited. I like the diary type writing style with a date on it. There's nothing I can recommend for improvement.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 4:44 am by Jeremie Mondejar.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Dzejn_Crvena
The cover doesn't look appealing to me, so I wouldn't have sampled this book outside this program. Also, I'm not into political discussions. The OBC review and the sample didn't convince me to read or buy it. At the mention of Trump, I immediately didn't want to read the contents of the book. It's about the analysis of Trump's likelihood to Abraham Lincoln, one of the most popular presidents of the USA in history. However, I don't see how he's similar to Abraham Lincoln in his decision related to the Civil War and slavery, so I'm not interested in reading further. I like that the book also contains the usage of the Jewish language that made the reading experience different from other political books. It seems professionally edited, and I don't have suggestions for improvements.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 4:43 am by Dzejn_Crvena.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Eunice Geres
I wouldn't have read the sample of this book if it wasn't on BOTD because this seems like a book for intellectual people. However, after reading the official review, I realized that it's about the analytical comparison between Trump and Lincoln. I'm from the Philippines, so all I know about Trump is that he's a joke and that almost all Americans hate him. To be honest, I really don't care about American history. So, I will not continue to read this book. I didn't notice any grammatical mistakes in the sample I read. I didn't like the format of the timeline. It doesn't even have dates. I think that's a waste of time reading. I didn't enjoy reading the sample. It's full of terms I don't know and topics that I find boring. In conclusion, I didn't like anything about this sample. However, I think it's just because this is not my preferred genre. Many other people would surely enjoy this. I would recommend changing the font color of the title on the book cover. It won't catch attention if people can't even see the title at first glance.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 4:41 am by Eunice Geres.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Gabriella H
I think the title and the mixing of Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump's faces on the book cover are interesting. The OBC official review gave me an insight into what to expect from this book, and it helped me arrive at my decision. I can't see how Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump can be compared, but I think this is a bold move by the author. I read the first ten pages, but I didn't enjoy the writing style, and I'm not particularly interested in the subject matter of this book, especially the politics of it. I will not be completing this book. I didn't see any errors in the first ten pages, so I think these pages were professionally edited. I have no suggestions for improvements. The blurb, editorial review, and customer reviews didn't influence my decision. If I weren't a part of this program, I wouldn't have sampled this book because, from the cover and the title, I would've guessed that it's about politics, which I don't want to read about.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 3:37 am by Gabriella H.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sou Hi
Without this program, I wouldn't have read this. The official review from OnlineBookClub, the ratings on Amazon, and the cover look alright, but I'm not interested in the rulers of the US. Reading the first ten pages did not change my mind from my original guess.
Frankly, I don't like anything in the bit I read. The editing is fine, but the content is unimpressive. It is too boring for my taste. I can't understand why the author must include his tour in Baltimore. If the tour has anything to do with the plot, I think he should clearly explain that. Since it can't pique my interest, I won't buy this book.
Error example: In Brian M. Josepher's Travels Around the World, he plans to follow much of the Seward line of travel by bicycle, to document the world of 1870, and our world, post-CoronaVirus. -> I think the comma after "bicycle" is not needed.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 3:18 am by Sou Hi.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Chelsy Scherba
This book honestly drew me in and was quite compelling. There is something mysterious about Donald Trump that this author seemed to capture perfectly. Even if the book isn’t true, it is still well written and I didn’t see any errors. I don’t even know what genre this book is, so there’s no way I would have found it independently of OBC. The OBC review was interesting in that it described how trippy the story gets as it goes on. I’m already really enjoying it, so I look forward to reading the rest. I have no suggestions for improvements. There were no blurbs or editorial reviews, and the only customer review was for the author rather than this particular book. I got a free copy though so I’ll keep reading.
First Ten review added on April 20, 2022, at 12:21 am by Chelsy Scherba.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
evraealtana
I'm not interested in politics and I am particularly *un*interested in reading anything to do with Donald Trump, so I would never have looked at this book for myself based on the title and official OBC review. I was immediately bored with the book's opening, an itinerary of the narrator's Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania sightseeing trip. Who wants to read six pages listing out all the places that someone else saw? I liked that the author discussed faux history, since it's a term that was new to me. I still don't understand the distinctions, though, between faux history and historical fiction. I assume it is historical fiction with the narrator as a journalist of sorts, reporting on "facts" that the author has made up. I will probably not know the true definition anytime soon, since I have no interest in reading the rest of the book. As predicted, Donald Trump is a repulsive character and stains everything he touches, this book included. There is enough "fake news" in the world without the author adding more by creating a historical fiction that is specifically disguised to look like fact, disclaimer at the beginning notwithstanding. I found no errors in the first ten pages.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 11:27 pm by evraealtana.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Gabrielle Sigaki
Trump-a-Lincoln-a-Lago by Brian Josepher is a philosophical historical fiction book that brings some unique comparisons between the Donald Trump and Abraham Lincoln, but it also brings the Coronavirus pandemic, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and a lot more. If I didn't sample this book, I wouldn't read it based on its Official OnlineBookClub review, its genre, its blurb, and its customer review since I'm not interested in politics, philosophical books, or historical fictions about the US. The book's cover and title didn't affect my decision. After sampling it, I didn't change my mind and I won't read the entire book because of the reason I stated before. However, the book seems professionally edited, there's nothing to be improved in it, and my favorite aspect was how the author used real events in order to make the story even more realistic. Reality and fiction are mixed in this volume, making the reader question if this is a non-fiction book, which makes it even more tangible.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 11:14 pm by Gabrielle Sigaki.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Annelore Trujillo
I would not have sampled this book without this program. The title and cover made it seem political, which isn’t for me. The OBC review, blurb, genre, editorial reviews and customer reviews would not have encouraged me to sample the book. I don’t usually read historical fiction, and this one comparing Lincoln and Trump didn’t seem to be for me. After reading the first ten pages, I won’t be finishing this book. The days listed with the itinerary that the author followed were so long and hard to read due to the choppiness. This could use improvement. I would suggest using a bullet-point format instead. It then went into the letter received from the Trumps to visit the White House. This story just isn’t for me. The book did seem to be professionally edited. I did like that it talked about what a faux history is.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 9:48 pm by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Manang Muyang
The title and the cover (which present Lincoln and Trump as being similar in more ways than one) seem ridiculous, even scandalous! But did the author stumble upon a precious secret in American history? Of course, Brian Josepher is quick to point out that the book is "another faux history," his preferred genre as an author. I am not an American, so this book of over 900 pages does not entice me. I wouldn't have bothered with it outside of the program. I like that the author detailed his itinerary (at the very start of the book) while visiting the Civil War battlegrounds; I wonder if this should have been added as an appendix, though. On page 7, I caught two misspelled "stop over"; there was another one on page 8. Then I found a missed comma after "Maryland" on page 8. The author then expounded on his reaction to the dinner invitation from the Trump White House which he received in the mail. I think these cumbersome details are the reason for the length of the book. Could these have been forgone? Nonetheless, I was impressed with the editing, considering those tiny errors. But I was not moved to read the rest of the "faux story," not even by the perfect rating given by the official OBC reviewer. I am just not interested.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 8:49 pm by Manang Muyang.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Jorge Leon Salazar
The cover and title are consistent with the story as they refer to Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump. I think many interested readers should be attracted. In general, historical or current political issues in "faux history" do not appeal to me. The blurb comments that the author mixes both historical and imaginary characters. At first, it mentions famous figures and places that cause intrigue. In addition, it comments that a major meltdown occurred in the last year of the Trump presidency involving a writer named Brian Josepher. He receives an invitation to dinner from Donald Trump and the First Lady. This unleashes madness and chaos as part of the president's mission to be reelected. Plus, the story emphasizes the investigation of why Abraham Lincoln traveled to the battlefields during the Civil War. There is only one customer review but from someone who hasn't read the book yet. Based on these elements, I am uninclined to try this book. According to the first ten pages, this is a work of fiction but in a way that confuses a bit since it mixes research work with imagination. The author calls this technique "faux history." It's a bit difficult to discern what is reality and what is not since it includes real characters like Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump. The tour that the author made in places related to the Civil War is surprising, I found it very touristic. I guess it is true the author decided to accept the invitation with Donald Trump. It is curious the invitation had to do with the author's book "Satan's Synagogue." I found it striking what was mentioned regarding The Sixth Stages of Trump Acceptance and the author's position on politics. He has never admired any president. It was educative what was said about how old voting by mail is, that even Lincoln got reelected in 1864 by mail-in voting. The official OnlineBookClub review indicates that Abraham Lincoln is somehow compared to Donald Trump, which causes curiosity given the image in public opinion that each one has. Also, the use of historical documentation focused on the Civil War as a point of reference for President Lincoln is appealing. The editing looks outstanding since I did not see any details to comment on. Overall, I didn't see anything that I believe could be improved. What I read was interesting and educational, but I don't like that way of mixing research with imagination on topics I consider serious. Therefore, I prefer not to read the rest of the book.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 4:43 pm by Jorge Leon Salazar.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kirsi Cultrera
I did not find the outward appearance of this book particularly appealing. I would probably not been interested in sampling it if it wasn’t a part of this program. As I am not a big fan of Mr. Trump, the blurb and customer reviews did not manage to awaken my interest. The author’s style was dry but witty, which, for some reason, felt quite homely. I haven’t dealt with this type of books before, and I found the definition of a faux historian interesting. The idea of comparing Trump and Lincoln in a fictional book was unique, and these two were definitely not the most obvious pair. I could not think of any complaints or ideas for improvement. The Official OnlineBookClub review was informative, but didn’t affect my thoughts about this book. Even though writing faux history fascinates me, I do not find Trump as a person interesting enough. Therefore, I will not be reading this book. I did not find errors from this book and believe the editing was completed professionally.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 4:38 pm by Kirsi Cultrera.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Yvonne Monique
The image of the book cover is not attractive at all, in my opinion. As I am not American and do not live in the United States, I have no interest at all in American politics. That is why I would not pick this book up if I would see it in a bookstore. The customer reviews, blurb and OBC review did not change my opinion. The sample is well edited, but I found the writing style confusing. There were too many words and unfamiliar terms that I could not relate to. I found the timeline at the beginning of the book boring as I did not understand its purpose. As mentioned before, I have no interest in American politics, independently whether the story is fictional or not, and I will not read the rest of this book. As an improvement, I would suggest to give the cover a more attractive look.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 3:18 pm by Yvonne Monique.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Astral Magi
My eye was drawn to the unusual cover and title. If I hadn't read the first ten pages, I would have read the book based on these. The official OBC review, as well as the first ten pages, gave me the notion that I would be enthralled by the similarities between Lincoln and Trump. The positive feedback from customers reassured me that the parallels between the past and present would not disappoint. I enjoyed that the book discussed the Coronavirus as well, and I'm excited to read more. I didn't spot any errors or things that needed to be improved. The book was professionally edited.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 2:48 pm by Astral Magi.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
gen_g
Just based on the title alone, I think it is quite clear that the book revolves around Donald Trump and his presidency. I am not interested in Trump as a fictional character nor him as the real-life individual. Hence, I would not have read the book. The positive official OBC review would never have changed my mind – Trump is that much of a turn-off. Thereafter, what strikes me the most is the cover – I think that the colour of the title font should be changed as soon as possible. This is because the white font blends in too much with the cover illustration, making the title difficult to decipher. A more striking colour ought to have been used. Therefore, I suggest working with a professional cover illustrator to make the cover more attractive to potential readers. Unfortunately, there are also numerous errors, making working with a professional editor also of utmost importance. One example of the errors can be found at 0% in the sample (on page 2), where there is an instance of erroneous capitalisation (marked in the bracket that follows): "...repeat: (T)his is not...". In this case, the word "this" should not have been capitalised because the colon before does not indicate that the following clause is a proper sentence. I have a huge issue with the book. In the preface, the author states that "facts are easily manipulated" – perhaps, but in what manner? There is a lack of elaboration to support his point; hence, I'm not convinced. Furthermore, the author asks this question: "when are the facts false" – this is contradictory. Facts are supposed to be refer to things that have been proven objectively true (in fact, this is the dictionary meaning). If there is a situation in which facts are "false", then it should not have been labelled a fact in the first place. Furthermore, I also do not understand the meaning of the question that the author asks ("when do facts fictionalize?") – again, facts are not something that can be fictionalised in certain situations, just as the factual statement "the sun is a star" is not something that can be fictionalised. I suggest that the author look through his preface and provide a better and more logical explanation regarding his claims about how facts can be "false". This is a massive (and illogical) claim to make, and without supporting evidence and elaboration, I am disinclined to take the book seriously. It should be clear that I can find nothing that I like about the book, and I will not be reading the rest of the it.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 12:12 pm by gen_g.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sanju Lali
After seeing the cover and title, I guessed that this one could be a book about American politics. I read the OBC official review to know more about the contents of this book. The OBC official review gave me the idea that this book is based on a historical perspective of Trump's administration. This idea motivated me to read the first ten pages sample of this book. After reading the first ten pages, I realized that this book was not professionally edited because I found some grammatical errors in the sample. For example, the sentence, "The official envelope, the writing style in presidential font, even the presidential glue used to seal the envelope, caused confusion." The sentence could be as follows. "The official envelope, the writing style in presidential font, and even the presidential glue used to seal the envelope caused confusion." In this book, I liked the amusing fact that Trump lost his second election because he objected vote by mail, forgetting that he had won the previous election due to the election by mail. To my dismay, I could not understand the term psychache due to insufficient elaboration on that topic. I would have got lots of fun if I had clearly understood that term. My suggestion to the author would be to go for a round of professional editing and elaborate more on psychache. Looking at all the aspects of this book, I decided not to purchase and read this book today until the author helps me to have all the fun reading this book.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 11:06 am by Sanju Lali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Justine Ocsebio
The premise alone already discouraged me from reading the book because I wasn't interested in any books that explored the lives of former presidents. But because of this program, I had to give the book a chance. The first part of the book talks about traveling from place to place. I was enlightened by the author's explanation of "faux history." This was the first time I'd heard of it. What I like about the book is the effort of the author to explain every abbreviation of a concept to a layman reader such as me. I'm not going to read the book because I'm not interested in the premise. A piece of writing such as this will be difficult to read for someone like me who isn't so familiar with American politics. I can't really point out any objective criticisms in the book, nor do I have any provements to suggest. The text is free from any errors, so I believe it has been well edited. The OBC review helped with my decision.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 9:02 am by Justine Ocsebio.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Emy Katherine
The cover and title caught my attention, but I would not have read the book based on the blurb, genre, and OBC review. In all honesty, I am not interested in reading a historical fiction novel that focuses on analyzing Donald Trump's psyche and, in doing so, exploring the similarities between Donald Trump and the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. For this reason, although I enjoyed the author's engaging writing style, I did not change my mind after sampling the book. Plus, this 910-page book is too long for me to read. I found some errors, but they were not distracting. For example, the interrupter "therefore" should be surrounded by commas in the following sentence: "I therefore lived with a great conflict." (page 1) There should not be a comma after "agent" in the following sentence: "Trump wanted me to act as a covert agent, to gain access to information..." (page 18) I found no editorial reviews, but I noticed a positive customer review; it will surely appeal to those interested in well-researched historical fiction novels. However, I would suggest that the author shorten the Amazon blurb; I found it too long and too confusing.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 4:06 am by Emy Katherine.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Catherine Hsu
If I had not read the sample as part of the First Ten program, I would not have read the book. I do like politics but I am a little confused on what the book is; it sounds like satire or fiction or me but it is filed under historical and biography. The Amazon reviews didn't affect my decision. I think the cover could also be more interesting. After reading the sample, I have not changed my mind. I am not sure I connected with the writing style; I did not like how the narrator was constantly very aware that they were telling a story and told the audience this by saying "let's start with background" or "where was I?". It made the story feel very passive to me, as if everything had already happened. I think this is not incorrect writing, but perhaps I would change the book by lessening some of its occurrences so it would not ruin my immersion so often and so repeatedly. It was professionally edited. The official review on OnlineBookClub did not affect my decision, and I would recommend this to those interested in the history of American politics.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 3:50 am by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Vidhi Adhikari
The book has a very intriguing first impression, with it's eerie looking cover and the title with twisty vibes. Even though the description was overly elaborate and there weren't enough customer and OBC reviews, I wanted to read the book to know how the author had drawn parallels among the most defining moments of the century in world history. I loved the description of faux history in the sample. Since the book had a promising start, I would like to finish it. I would only suggest fixing the alignment of the text and giving a brief description before the itinerary section in the beginning of the book. There were some grammatical errors that need correction ('There are books to read, archives to probe, documents to dissect, {add 'and'} interviews to conduct.').
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 2:49 am by Vidhi Adhikari.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Ari Martinez
If it wasn't for the First Ten program, I wouldn't sample this book based on its title, cover, genre, blurb, or Official OnlineBookClub review because I am not a fan of any type of political books. I am also not a big fan of Donald Trump. After reading the first ten pages, I will not read the whole book because of the same reasons mentioned previously. Additionally, I found the Timeline that begins on Page 5 to be a bit boring. My favorite part of what I read was "the six stages of Trump acceptance" because I thought it was very entertaining to read, and I would probably react the same way. The book doesn't need to be improved, and it appears professionally edited.
First Ten review added on April 19, 2022, at 12:04 am by Ari Martinez.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Jennifer Garcia 555
I am not a fan of the cover of this book. It is very unclear and the title is hard to read. I am not much of a historical fiction fan either, so I would not choose this book to read. I read an official OnlineBookClub review and the sample pages. The book has some interesting information in it about past presidents. I like how the author adds in historical information like how may executive orders Rosevelt issued. Readers interested in a unique style of information on past presidents may enjoy this book. I did not see any editing errors, so the book seems professionally edited. This book could be improved with a more clear cover. This is not a topic that keeps my attention, so I will not buy or finish reading this book.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 11:26 pm by Jennifer Garcia 555.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mariana Figueira
Before reading the book's first pages, I wasn't interested in it because nothing on the cover or the title got my attention. After sampling the book, I don't want to continue reading it because the story didn't captivate me. This feels like non-fiction rather than historical fiction, maybe it's because it has events that happened not very long ago like the Trump administration; I don't like that, it feels off, however, I don't see how it could be improved. This book seems professionally edited, I didn't see any typos; plus, it has an official Online BookClub review. I didn't see anything that I particularly enjoyed. Neither the blurb, customer reviews nor editorial reviews affect my decision not to read the book.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 10:45 pm by Mariana Figueira.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Stephanie Runyon
The graphic on the cover isn't very inspiring. As this book classifies as historical fiction, I would not sample it based on my dislike of the genre. The invitation story was my favorite part because the author told it like he was having a normal conversation. This made the story easier to read, and even though he touched on some historical facts, he transitioned it seamlessly. I noted some errors in the book. Beyond editing, I would change the cover to increase appeal. Adding color or a more defined picture would help. The OBC review didn't influence me to read the book. There was nothing else online that influenced my choice. The writing style of the story won me over and convinced me to continue reading.
ERROR: This might sound heretical but Donald Trump reminds me of Elie Wiesel. There should be a comma after heretical.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 10:25 pm by Stephanie Runyon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Kaitlyn Canedy
If Trump-a-Lincoln-a-Lago hadn't been the OnlineBookClub's book of the day, I likely would not have read it because it has a political background. I am not a fan of political books due to the negativity surrounding them; the side a person is on seems to make no difference. However, I liked learning about the type of book this is from the description. The customer review that exists did not affect my decision to read the sample. I like the journal-style writing used in the sample; I feel this is how former President Trump would write. Because this book is political, I will be skipping it. Despite this, I enjoyed the comparison the author created between Trump and Lincoln; it is a unique comparison I have never seen before. There were no grammatical errors in the sample, and I can think of no improvements. An official OnlineBookClub review exists for this title, but I did not need to read this review to make a decision about the book. If a reader enjoys books about political figures, this read might be one they would like.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 9:39 pm by Kaitlyn Canedy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Scerakor
After reviewing the title, genre, cover, blurb, and review of this book, I would not have read this book. I don't really like Trump or American politics, therefore this one wouldn't interest me. After reading the first ten pages I didn't change my mind and therefore will not be buying and reading the rest of this book. I enjoyed, at the beginning, the discussion of "faux history". I'd never really heard that term, but can see its literary utility and interest for a book like this. That being said, there just wasn't enough in this one to convince me to pick up a book focused on American politics and history. The book looked well written and edited, there weren't any errors in the sample from what I could see. The thing I would have improved from the sample I read is about some of the language used; the way it was written seemed forced at times. For example, "What I would discover of Lincoln if I went to the battlefields..." is a bit laboured and could've been much more accessible as "...discover about Lincoln if...." in my opinion. There was an official OBC review, but it did not affect my decision at all.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 8:38 pm by Scerakor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
MsH2k
I didn’t care for the cover of this book, but I thought the title was clever. After reading the blurb, I would have sampled this book even if I were not part of this program. I appreciated how the author described faux historians. That answered questions I had about the contents and also gave me respect for the profession. I enjoyed the author’s writing style. He is very clever and thorough. I even learned something from the sample pages. I hadn’t flown out of BWI for many years, and I didn’t realize it had added Thurgood Marshall to the official name of the airport.
The length of this book was a concern, however. I wasn’t sure I was game for investing in a 900-page book of faux history. I reasoned I would pick and choose only chapters with titles that caught my attention. After reading the first ten pages, which I enjoyed, I decided to test my approach to see if I would indeed finish (a lot of) this book. I chose chapter XX, “Osaka At The Open: An Editorial.” It started out as an interesting editorial, but it kept growing and branching out into other topics and athletes, and it became TLDR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) for me. If I lost interest in a chapter on a subject that I cared about, I don’t think I will have the desire to finish this book. It seems like a clever and entertaining read for those who enjoy long articles and books. That’s typically not my thing, especially if I need to constantly sort fact from fiction.
The book appeared professionally edited, but I noticed an error on page 8. The noun “stopover” should be one word: “All-day bicycle to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with a stop over in Hagerstown, Maryland.” The featured OnlineBookClub review did not influence my decision; the genre and other customer and editorial reviews had no bearing either. I have no suggestions for improvement.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 8:21 pm by MsH2k.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
markodim721
I would choose to read a sample of this book because of the cover and title. I read the Official OnlineBookClub review and customer review but they did not influence my decision. The blurb influenced my decision to some extent because it gave me an insight into the structure of the book. I didn't find any editor reviews. The title of the book is striking and to some extent provocative. The cover of the book contains a clear symbolism of the mixture of faces of Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump. I will not read the book because I am not in the mood to read books in the field of historical biographical fiction at the moment. While reading the sample I did not notice any typos or errors and the book does seem like it is professionally edited. Reading the sample somewhat changed my mind from my original guess. I like how the author defined faux history and that he pointed out the differences with history. I don't think anything needs to be improved in the book.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 4:23 pm by markodim721.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Laura Ungureanu
This book's title seemed weird to me, as I couldn't figure out what it must be about. Reading the blurb and OBC review, I was reluctant because I'm not a fan of books that deal with politics. Even if I'm not interested in politics, I have to admit that I was curious about what Trump and Lincoln have in common, so I decided to give this book a go. However, the sample lost me. It is written in an academic style and gives political facts that don't interest me. Following the story of the White House invitation was the only interesting thing, but not enough to keep me reading. I decided to not read this book any further than ten pages. The right audience could probably enjoy this book, so I won't recommend any improvement, as I wouldn't even know where to start. I didn't encounter any editing issues.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 3:04 pm by Laura Ungureanu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kajori Sheryl Paul
'Trump-a-Lincoln-a-Lago' is a book written by Brian Josepher. Brian Josepher is astonished when he gets an invitation from the White House. He is in a quandary as he is not a fan of Trump. I like the way the author explains the concept of faux history. I am also intrigued to know about Jesus and Trump's psychache. There is nothing in need of an improvement. The editing is good. The OBC review is appreciative. Based on the cover, title, genre, blurb, editorial reviews, and customer reviews, I would have read this book as I am a history buff. I will read this book as I like the writing style and premise.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 3:02 pm by Kajori Sheryl Paul.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Chinazo Anozie
I knew I wouldn’t be interested in this book from the title, cover, genre, description, customer reviews, and the official OnlineBookClub review. I don’t like political fiction, so I will not buy and read this book. I also didn’t like anything about this book. Though the author emphasizes that this book is a work of fiction, I found it very hard to see it that way because some of the characters he uses are very real such as Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Abraham Lincoln. His political biases regarding these notable figures were also very obvious and made me even more disinterested in this book.
This book will benefit from another round of editing because I noticed a typographical error in chapter four. An excerpt of the error is as follows: “I didn’t know the cat situation when I fiirst [first] rented the house in 2009.” I am unable to provide the exact page number of the error because the format I read on Amazon did not have page numbers.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 2:54 pm by Chinazo Anozie.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Hazel Arnaiz
The artwork looks like a classical bust, while the title hints at satire. Together, the effect brings to mind a book about philosophy. However, the text on the book cover seems hard to read. I suggest adding more contrast between the fonts and the background. That way, the fonts stand out and are easier to see. Based on the blurb, the subject is not my area of interest. Hence, I will skip this book outside the program. The customer review is enthusiastic. After sampling, I appreciate the author finding connections among seemingly unrelated subjects. But it was not enough to change my mind to finish the book. Also, I prefer a faster pace. Here are some examples of editing issues.
Page 5. Spelling. The roman numeral seems miswritten. Consider replacing it with "XL."
[XXXX]. “The Face Of Abe”
Page 5. Spelling. The roman numeral seems miswritten. Consider replacing it with "XLI."
[XXXXI]. Batestown And Surrattsville: A Survey
Page 5. Spelling. The roman numeral seems miswritten. Consider replacing it with "XLII."
[XXXXII]. Trump And Lincoln Walk To Church: A Play By Play
The official OnlineBookClub review is enthusiastic and insightful.
But, I will pass.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 2:17 pm by Hazel Arnaiz.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kira Bonita Reece
In this book, the author shared his experiences with President Trump. This book showed Donald Trump from a different perspective than the one most people are accustomed to. I think the cover and title of this book are not intriguing. I would not choose to read this book based on the cover, blurb, title and the genre. The book had a positive official OnlineBookClub review, but after reading the sample I don't think I will be reading the entire book.
The sample was professionally edited but I thought it contained too many unnecessary information that doesn't really add anything to the book. I would recommend removing these redundancies as they will easily bore a reader. I won't be reading this book mostly because I don't enjoy political books.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 12:35 pm by Kira Bonita Reece.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Timothy Rucinski
First of all, I think that the title is ridiculous. If it's supposed to be witty, it doesn't work. Secondly, I didn't like the cover, primarily because the title disappeared into the image. With my eyesight, I would never have seen the words on the cover of this book had I come across it in a bookstore, which means I wouldn't have given it a second glance. After reading the Official OBC Review, I thought that the book might be complementary to Donald Trump. That assumption became accurate after reading the first several pages. I read no other reviews or blurbs. Full disclosure: I abhor Trump, believe him to be evil incarnate, and believe him to be instrumental in trying to overthrow the government and destroy democracy. For that reason alone, I will not read this book. In addition, the concept of faux history does not appeal to me as does fictionalized history.
The opening pages recalling the author's tour of famous locales are boring and were enough to turn me off to the book. There was absolutely nothing that I liked about this book. However, I believe that the book was professionally edited, as attested to by the author, as I found no errors. I have no recommendations for improvement other than to fix the typeface on the cover.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 11:42 am by Timothy Rucinski.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda
The wordplay of the cover is intriguing, but I can't read the white letters in the bottom right corner. The beginning of the blurb reads like a joke, which I actually think is engaging, and the premise is creative. However, I've had enough of Trump to last a lifetime so I wouldn't have bought this book based on my first impressions, no matter the perfect ratings.
I didn't like the first ten pages. The travel log is super boring, and the rest involves the idea that former president Trump cares about books enough to invite an author to the White House...which is so far-off that I can't use that much of my suspension of disbelief. Let's remember he greeted College Football Playoff National Championship winners with McDonald's, and I'm sure he cares for football much more than for literature. I do agree with the author in that: "I do not admire any president. I do not admire the ego it takes to seek, and fulfill, the office. I do not admire the bravado and enormous sense of self. I do not admire the personality type." The only thing that made me laugh was when the author is in awe of "the presidential glue used to seal the envelope." The main editing mistakes I found are extra spaces in between full stops and the following sentence. For example, on page 7 it reads: "Tour of President Lincoln’s Cottage. Return by bicycle to Airbnb. Afternoon survey of the capital, from the African American Civil War Museum to Howard University..." I suggest focusing on making the cover readable. The art is fine, but the contrast of white letters against a soft grey background makes it unreadable. The official OBC review confirmed this is not a book I will enjoy.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 11:26 am by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Bertha Jackson
The cover of this book is hideous, and I do not read books about Trump; therefore, I would not have checked out this book even though I enjoy reading historical fiction. There were no editorial reviews, and the blurb, customer reviews, and the OnlineBookClub review did not change my mind about reading this book. There was nothing I liked about the first ten pages because it seemed like the author was jumping around with the different topics. I recommend if the author is not going to discuss a subject when it is mentioned, don't mention it—for example, Elie Wiesel's lunch with Trump. I did not see any errors in the first ten pages, and they appeared to have been edited by a professional editor.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 10:29 am by Bertha Jackson.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
AntonelaMaria
I like to read nonfiction. But,
this book is not appealing to me. I am not American, and to be honest, I don't care about the former US presidents. Both Lincoln and Trump are popular figures that I already know so much about. After reading the sample, I haven't changed my mind. I like the writing. So much so that I would be interested in reading other books by this author. Nevertheless, not this one because I don't like the topics. The way the author intended for me to find out that he went to the White House is commendable. I didn't notice any errors, and I wouldn't change anything about this book. There is an informative Official OnlineBookClub review of this book. But neither that nor other Amazon reviews changed my mind.
First Ten review added on April 18, 2022, at 8:55 am by AntonelaMaria.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 12%
Trump-a-Lincoln-a-Lago earned a score of 12%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 12% plan to read the whole book.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.
Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.
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