Skunk (A Love Story) by Justin Courter – Review & Giveaway

17. May 2008 · 110 comments · Categories: Book Review and Giveaway, Goldfish Award Books · Tags: , ,

I hope you’ll excuse my brief absence. I was taking my leisure with some skunk. Skunk A Love Story, that is. When I first stumbled upon this book, I was immediately taken in by the premise: A man, obsessed by the odor of skunks, falls in love with a woman equally obsessed with fish. While the storyline definitely got my attention, I couldn’t help but wonder–could Courter pull it off through an entire book? After all, the story was originally published as a short. I had a hard time imagining it going any further than a few chapters. But I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Skunk A Love Story is a whirl of imagination and one-of-a-kind humor. I spent much of my reading time laughing out loud and then rereading the portion of text to laugh some more. While the premise may seem completely unbelievable and a rather tall tale when told in summary, the way in which the book is written will have any reader buying it hook, line, and sinker. Another big surprise? Skunk’s plot line takes several drastic turns, and I’d love to tell you what happens but I won’t be a stinker. I’ve seen many books fall flat when the author decides to rip the protagonist out of his comfy setting and plunk him somewhere totally unexpected. But Courter makes these transitions brilliantly without leaving the reader straining to find his way back into the groove.

I am pleased to bestow the great and not-yet coveted Goldfish Award on this most worthy of books. Skunk will make for fantastic summer reading. Sarcastic humor, unusual story line, and the only thing fluffy about it are those cute black and white critters. You’ll want to breathe this one in and savor it as I did. So here’s your chance. I have one copy to give away to a lucky reader.

3 Ways to Enter:

1.) Leave a comment telling me something you’re really hooked on. I’ll go first – I admit to liking the smell of skunk. Yes, I am a skunk sniffer, but only at a distance. I’ve never had one as a pet, but I knew someone who did and I was jealous. Don’t tell anyone, please. It’s rather embarrassing.

2.) Subscribers are automatically entered into this and all future giveaways. Just plunk your email address in the little white box on the right column. (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you don’t receive it, check your junk mail.)

3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.

Do all three, and you’ve got three entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, to enter.

***Read the first three chapters of Skunk A Love Story online. This book is available in June from Omnidawn.

Voice of Ice by Alta Ifland – Review & Giveaway

02. April 2008 · 57 comments · Categories: Book Review and Giveaway, Goldfish Award Books · Tags: , ,


One of my purposes with carp(e) libris reviews has been to help you as a reader stretch out and discover literature you otherwise may not have found. I can’t ask you to try something out of the ordinary if I’m not willing to do it myself. For me, this reach is poetry – something I’ve always known I should grasp for, that it would fulfill a reading need of my own. And I have begun to search out poets to share here, in an effort to expand the horizons of my own bookshelf, along with yours.

Voice of Ice did something for me I cannot quite explain. So often with the craft of writing, pain is beauty. Voice of Ice by Alta Ifland is the perfect example. I can only imagine the poet being stopped by her own words as she wrote, just to weep. Alta Ifland is originally from Eastern Europe, and her feelings of being stuck between two worlds which are both and neither her own, is transcribed into her poetry.

Ifland’s poems hover in a dreamlike state, and I felt as though reading her words, I was reading my own half thoughts I’ve never dared express aloud. She’s made a beauty of what we have all struggled to understand about ourselves, trying to figure out where we fit into this very imperfect world. Her words are so personal that I hesitate to share with you how they touched me because if you read it (as I hope you do), you may learn too much about who I am. That, as I am learning, is good poetry.

Not only is this a stunning work to read, it is wonderful to hold and look at. The care with which Les Figues Press put the book together is apparent. It’s slender and a little weighty with a glossy cover and a beautiful work of art on the back. Danielle Adair has done the artwork for each book in the TrenchArt series of which Ifland’s is a part. I don’t always talk about the appearance of books, but I’ve noticed that independent presses have an artistic way of putting together a book that I appreciate. This one gets an A from me!

(Later Note: Alright, alright. P.J. Grath is correct – in the comments she mentions I’ve really raved about this book. This one really deserves the Goldfish Award, so I’ve come back and bestowed it upon this very worthy book. It’s been making me itch that I didn’t put it there in the first place. Carry on, dear readers.)

Now that I’ve got you wishing you could have your own copy, I do have one here for a giveaway. As always, subscribers are automatically entered into this and all future giveaways. Or you may leave a comment telling me what intrigues you about this book. Posting a link to this giveaway on your blog enters you as well. Do all three, and you have three entries. I’ll randomly choose a winner on April 5, 2008, at 12noon EST.

Eight Dogs Named Jack by Joe Borri – Review & Giveaway

12. March 2008 · 99 comments · Categories: Book Review and Giveaway, Goldfish Award Books · Tags: , , ,


If you’re looking for a series of short stories that will completely absorb you, the kind that keeps you up later than you intended thinking “I’ll read just one more,” then I’ve got your book.

Eight Dogs Named Jack is filled with everything from street rats and made men to hardworking honest people. Set in the contrasting locations of wooded Northern Michigan and the city of Detroit, all the stories are held together with fascinating characters. Large Italian families fill the pages with lingo that makes one misty-eyed over the loss of The Sopranos. You can’t help but start using words like “mamaluke” or “Maddon” or craving Italian sausages grilled with a little beer dumped on for good measure. The author, ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year finalist Joe Borri, seasons his writing with fantastic metaphors and similes. One of my favorites? “Tighter than an accountant’s rosebud.” No one talks like that in my neighborhood. What a pity.

My biggest surprise in this book was how Borri could take stories anywhere from a tough Detroit setting to the remote and beautiful wilderness of upper Michigan and back, and make it a perfectly cohesive collection. His singular voice pulls all the stories together in a unified group, yet each plot is unique.

And let’s not forget the artwork. Each story contains drawings by the author that I really enjoyed, reminding me of the sort of art I often see in my favorite mystery magazines or pulp fiction novels. The subjects vary as much as the story topics, and it adds to the book’s appeal.

Overall, Eight Dogs Named Jack is an absolute blast to read. Giving you everything from on-the-edge-of-your-seat mob thrills to tear-jerker tales about man’s best friend, this book has wide appeal. So take a copy to your favorite outdoor chair and break out your best cigar. Because if you miss this one – well, fuhgetaboutit.

I’ve got one hardcover copy to give away thanks to Momentum Books, so leave a comment telling me what you find intriguing about the book. If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you’re automatically entered to win this and all book giveaways here. I’ll select a winner on 03/15/08, 12noon EST. Check the Giveaway Rules for more details and another shot at winning. Don’t be a mamaluke – just enter.

A carp(e) libris goldfish award book.

A Highly Placed Source by Michelle Dally

17. January 2008 · 2 comments · Categories: Book Reviews, Goldfish Award Books · Tags: ,


I’ve read some great books lately, and this next novel is certainly no exception. A Highly Placed Source by Michelle Dally was a fantastic read. John Irving-esque in style, it handles some pretty sensitive subject matter and pulls it off brilliantly. The story line is laugh-out-loud humor blended with sarcasm.

When I say this book is John Irving-esque, it is a high compliment indeed. I’m a longtime fan of all things Irving, and I think if he ever gets ahold of this book, he’ll be jealous he didn’t come up with the plot first. But don’t be mistaken – Dally has her own unique voice, and it’s very well developed. The characters are quirky and addictive, and the dialogue has great rhythm.

Here’s the story line: Peter, a 12-year-old boy, asks God a question. A controversial question. Is it okay to – ahem – “wash the bird”? (If you don’t know what that means, you’ll have to read the book to find out. I am not going there.) God answers. When Peter’s principal finds out, he suspends him for lying. In come the media, the politicians, the religious leaders. “A boy suspended for praying?” “A boy that hears directly from God?” And this, my friends, occurs in the first pages. The rest of the book gets even better, conquering the difficult topic of the difference between religion and spirituality.

Written in the omnipresent viewpoint (interesting, when one considers God is a major character), Dally pulls this trick off without a hitch. I’ve read omnipresent books that have you feeling like you’re jumping all over, bounding in and out of the characters’ heads. As a reader, I find it hard to attach to any one person in a book written in this style. But Dally does it so well, you might not even notice it’s omnipresent. I personally can’t imagine the book being written any other way.

Overall, I loved reading A Highly Placed Source. It’s got humor, edge, controversy – and it makes you feel good. I finished the book wishing there were more, and I must say this is one reviewer who needed a tissue at the close. I’ll be on the lookout for anything else coming from Michelle Dally, and I suggest you do the same.

I’ve decided to add a new twist to carp(e) libris, because I know some of you build lists of books to be read, and I’d like to help you out. For the books I review that really stand out, I’ll be giving them the carp(e) libris Goldfish Award. You’ll notice it under the picture of the book on the right. So here’s to my first Goldfish Award! A Highly Placed Source, written by Michelle Dally and published by Ghost Road Press.

Boxing for Cuba by Guillermo Vincente Vidal

09. January 2008 · 4 comments · Categories: Book Reviews, Goldfish Award Books, Latin American Literature · Tags: ,


When I recently started carp(e) libris, I had a vision. I wanted to bring books to readers, unique pieces of literature hunted like gold from small presses who publish works as labors of love. I have found one of those books. Boxing for Cuba by Guillermo Vincente Vidal is exactly the kind of book I wanted to share when I began this blog. It’s written courageously, from the heart, and in such an honest, strong style that I won’t soon forget it.

Boxing for Cuba, published by Ghost Road Press, is the memoir of a man who left Cuba as a boy with Operation Peter Pan in 1961. Operation Peter Pan carried more than 14,000 Cuban children between the ages of 6 and 16 to America to save them from Fidel’s regime. Unfortunately, with too few homes to accept all these children until their parents could hopefully someday join them, many, like Guillermo and his two brothers, ended up in orphanages. Through the pain and struggle of feeling abandoned when his parents sent him and his brothers away, to the reunion of his family only to find his mother and father fight just as viciously as before, Boxing for Cuba brings you an amazing memoir you won’t be able to put down. The journey starts and ends with Cuba, taking you from the tropical home of Vidal and his family, to the U.S. where he grew to adulthood in Colorado, and finally circles back to an emotional visit to his homeland. It’s a story of family history and of learning to be proud of who you are and where you come from. There’s so much to be gleaned from this book, and anyone who reads it is sure to put it down feeling they’ve grown from it.

If ever a book gives the perfect example of why I adore the memoir, this is it.