Well, June did not work out well for me and reading. Work was busy and I generally had other things going on that made it hard for me to find time to read. On the plus side, all of the books I did read in June were for challenges, and I am very close to being finished with many of my reading challenges, so that's good at least.
At the end of May, I wrote that I wanted to finish the Harlem Renaissance and Color-Coded Reading Challenges and read 2 books for the Language Freak Summer Challenge. Sadly, none of this actually happened, although I did read several books for the Color-Coded Reading Challenge and the first of three books for the Harlem Renaissance Challenge, so that was good. I wasn't able to work on the Language Freak Summer Challenge, which bums me out, but I am going to work on that in July. I was also hoping that I could wrap up all my library books in June but I got so behind I had to renew a few, so this will carry over for July too.
OK, so for July, I will be reading 7 books, which I have on a list to help keep my reading in line. I need to prioritize reading more in July overall. Wish me luck!
How is your reading so far this summer?
Dear Anja,
ReplyDeleteWill you please consider reviewing my new novel DON’T FORGET ME, BRO, to be published later this year by Stephen F. Austin State University Press?
DON’T FORGET ME, BRO deals with themes of childhood abuse, mental illness, and alienated families. (See synopsis below.)
My award-winning debut novel THE NIGHT I FREED JOHN BROWN (Philomel Books, Penguin Group, 2009) won The Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers (Grades 7-12) and was one of ten books recommended by USA TODAY. For more info: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-michael-cummings/the-night-i-freed-john-brown/
In addition I've published a collection of short stories, UGLY TO START WITH (West Virginia University Press) Here’s a link to some information about my collection: http://www.amazon.com/Ugly-Start-With-Michael-Cummings/dp/193597808X
My short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five literary journals, including The Iowa Review, North American Review, The Kenyon Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and The Chattahoochee Review. Twice I have been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. My short story "The Scratchboard Project" received an honorable mention in The Best American Short Stories 2007.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
My email is johnmcummings@aol.com
Thank you very much.
Kindly,
John Michael Cummings
P.S. Could you kindly give me a reply back to let me know you received this email?
Synopsis of DON’T FORGET ME, BRO
DON’T FORGET ME, BRO deals with themes of childhood abuse, mental illness, and alienated families. The book opens with the main character, forty-two-year-old Mark Barr, who has returned home from New York to West Virginia after eleven years for his older brother Steve’s funeral. Steve, having died of a heart attack at forty-five, was mentally ill most of his adult life, though Mark has always questioned what was "mentally ill" and what was the result of their father’s verbal and physical abuse during their childhood.
The book unfolds into an odyssey for Mark to discover love for his brother posthumously in a loveless family.
DON’T FORGET ME, BRO is a portrait of an oldest brother’s supposed mental illness and unfulfilled life, as well as a redeeming tale of a youngest brother’s alienation from his family and his guilt for abandoning them.
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