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In Thoughts and Dreams the first thing that grabs you about this book of contemporary poetry is the fact it puts off the reader by using capital letters throughout its entirety, and due to the advent of the internet and netiquette, those who are aware of netiquette will feel the poetry on every page is shouting at them.

John H. MacDonald began his writing career after a motorcycle accident. He needed to rest and recuperate for a long while as the accident had left him in a comatose state. Out of this period of darkness, he started to write. At first the writing was shaky, and had no meaning, but through his pain and suffering came much better writing, both through long and short poetry explaining what he feels and what kind of person he was.

This goes toward explaining why he has used block capitals throughout his entire work in this book -- maybe he felt he needed to shout out loud at the world. It is easy to see why when you read through the poetry in this volume if you can see past the layout of the poems and prose there is a lot of interest and enjoyment to be had as it is an insight into what a man has to go through in life before he can truly be at peace with himself.

Notable poems are "Little Firefly," "An Old Time Movie," "Your Laughing Eyes," "A Tiny Bottle," and "Another Day."

Over the course of Thoughts and Dreams, the reader will discover his grasp of language and use of prose has grown so it can be seen as a log book of his thoughts and feelings.

Sandra Scholes has had her work published in such magazines as The Chronicle, Quailbell Magazine, and Amon Hen to name a few, but really hates the cold weather this time of year.