OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Midnight Musings" by William E Lang Jr.]

I guess that it wound up to be exceptionally fitting that it was late at night when I first began to read the collection of poetry from William E. Lang Jr. titled Midnight Musings...Thoughts From A Restless Mind. I can say that it somehow seemed to put me into a very similar frame of mind (which I think I can reasonably assume by the work's title) that the author ostensibly found himself in as he pondered and wrote down his different ideas that make up this book. For some reason it somewhat made me feel like we were curiously connected in experiencing the “musings” together in some indiscernible way.

Mr. Lang delineated his works of poetry into three distinct sections in the book: Musings, Sketchbook, and Eyes of Faith. The poetry itself is presented mainly in the typical rhyming format across all three of these sections, though there are some forays into free verse and narrative; along with a sonnet making an appearance as well. As I am sure you would expect, topics in these sections range from love, devotion, faith, loss, pain, and just general musings that might keep anyone up late at night from time to time. Of all of these, I think that Mr. Lang shined the most in the pieces found in the third section when he delved into his faith and trust in God and His Word. Though the other two sections were superbly written, this section just seemed to dig a bit deeper and cut down into the soul quite effectively.

I really enjoyed the way that the author displayed a wide range of subject matter throughout the book. It helped to keep the flow smooth and the content quite fresh and distinct from poem to poem. The range that Mr. Lang showed in the thoughts that he shared in his works really displayed the true reflection he put into each and every line and stanza of this book. This truly made the experience of reading his words a distinct joy to take part in.

The only real complaint that I have about the book is that of its formatting. On my iPad, it was displayed two pages at a time on the screen which made the reduction in print size difficult to read. I had to keep zooming in on each individual page which became a bit of a nuisance at times. However, in the end this wound up not detracting too significantly from the general enjoyment of the book.

Overall I easily rate this book at 4 out of 4 stars. I found it to be a splendid little book that I can confidently recommend to anyone who enjoys to read poetry in any or all of its formats. I also would add that I believe that readers who like to delve into the human condition or matters of faith would find much to their liking in these works as well.

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Midnight Musings
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This sounds like a delightful collection to read! I’m especially interested in his writing about faith and trust in God. Thanks for this informative review!

It was indeed delightful, especially his writings about God. I hope you enjoy his poetry!

And thank you for your great feedback!

Sounds great, and glad you enjoyed it - what about the style of poetry itself? Abstract, couplets, rhyming, not?

As I mentioned in the review, the poetry was mainly rhyming and tended to shy away from the more freestyle kind of poetry that seems to be really popular today. It was another reason I think that I enjoyed the book so much because it really seems to help the flow of each work when the traditional rhyming format is mainly utilized.

Thanks for the question and feedback on the review!

I tend to be afraid of poetry, but there does seem to be something about rhyming poetry that pulls me in. I find structure and strict boundaries often breeds creativity and an eloquence that total freedom of expression is unable to produce. Thank you for the thorough review; I may have to delve into this book!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

And thank you for your feedback!

It's really great to know you could actually feel what the author was trying to convey. Seems like a relaxing and - at the same time - a thought-provoking read. The formatting issues could put a damper on the reading experience for me though.

Loved reading your review!

Thank you for the thoughtful feedback on the review.

I love how you started with a personal connection to the book. I didn't even know we were allowed to do that. You made it sound very interesting.

Thank you for your nice feedback on the review. It is most appreciated!

After my AP lit experience, I have to confess that poetry just hasn’t been my thing. This sounds like an interesting collection, though. I may have to look into at least the sample of this. It would be interesting to read some poetry from someone with a strong faith. And I love that it created a sense of connection for you. That might be interesting to explore.

I hope that you can find the same type of connection with it that happened for me. That is always cool when it happens while reading an author's work. Thank you for the insightful feedback on the review too!

Thanks for the review. It sounds like a really nice collection of poems. Pity about the formatting.

Thank you very much.