Brian Biswas

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
—W.B. Yeats

In other words, pay attention to what is all around you. Good writing advice. Good living advice.

#books #booksky #amreading #writingcommunity #amwriting

Looks just like it! I live in North Carolina and I see that one of its names is the Carolina anole.

Thanks!

Cover of the novel the door by Magda Szabo. A light gray background with three straight lines forming a corner. That’s it.

Szabo paints the most fascinating and unforgettable characters. I’ve read most of her books and this one is probably my favorite. An unsettling exploration of the relationship between two very different women: a well-educated, married writer and her housekeeper.

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Dark green lizard against a blue background. 4 inches long, four fingers, 1 inch long tail. Eyes open.

The cats just caught this in our house. It was alive, but petrified. I put it outside and after a minute or two it scampered away. What is it?

#amphibians #cats #pets #lizards

Congratulations!

NYRB = New York Review of Books

Cover of the novel, the limit by Rosalind Belben. A pen-and-ink drawing of an elderly woman lying on a bed. Her eyes are vacant, her hand resting on the pillowcase. Ominous shadows surround her.

A husband cares for his dying wife. It takes place at a point shortly before her death and focuses on her past and his future.

Anyone interested in experimental books should read this.

Long out of print but recently brought back by the good folks at NYRB.

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“The most useful books are those that the readers write half of themselves.”
—Voltaire

Well, maybe not half, but you want to write so that the reader makes the connections. The trick is that what’s obvious to some is baffling to others. You have to find a middle ground.

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“One should never so exhaust a subject that nothing is left for readers to do. The point is not to make them read, but to make them think.”
—Baron de Montesquieu

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Cover of the novel on the marble cliffs by Ernest junger. A statue on the left, a lake in the background, mountains beyond.

On the Marble Cliffs by Ernst Junger. An allegory about the rise of fascism. Should be required reading for these times. Five stars.

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AntipodeanSF AntipodeanSF podcast/radio show is devoted to the presentation of flash speculative fiction stories (science fiction, fantasy, and horror). AntiSF is where speculative fiction belongs -- downside-up!

They also have a weekly radio show where stories from the magazine are read live, often by the authors themselves.

Australia’s oldest speculative magazine. Issue #322 just out.

“AntipodeanSF is devoted to the regular monthly publication of fabulous and original science-fiction, fantasy, or horror mini-stories of about 500 – 1000 words each, with occasional feature stories of 2000 words and beyond.”

#writing

Two baby deer nursing in our front yard while our black-and-white cat watches fascinated from the dining room window. It’s noon and the sun is shining brightly.

Just an ordinary lunchtime in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

#wildlife #deer #catsofbluesky #cats

Yes. Absolutely. Always keep this in mind!

It is. Probably my favorite genre.

Cover of the album, the iceman by Stephen Adkins. A cratered planet with an outpost appearing near the north pole and a flag next to the outpost. Yellow background.

The account of a journey to a mysterious—and possibly mythical—place dubbed “The Ice Mine.” The writing reminds me of Alvaro Mutis (Maqroll), a South American magical realist. One of those books you immediately want to read again (which I did—twice).

#books #booksky #writingcommunity

The cover of the book Newborn by Augustin Maes. Wildflowers growing along a riverbank are in the foreground, hazy white background.

A teenage girl murders her newborn child. Style is comparable to early Cormac McCarthy or Ron Rash. The writing is intoxicating, ebbs and flows like the river that is at its core. My third-time through. Very moving.

Runner-Up for the Paris Literary Prize.

#books #booksky #writingcommunity

Advice from Hawthorne in a letter to his daughter.

“Finish every day and be done with it … Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it well and serenely, and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.”
— Nathaniel Hawthorne

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“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — ‘tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.”

— Mark Twain

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Yes! This would solve so many problems.

The cover of the short story collection otherwise fables by Oscar Mandel. A picture of a crown against a lightly yellow background.

Contains Gobble-Up Stories (a collection of fables) and the novellas The History of Sigismund, Prince of Poland, and Chi Po and the Sorcerer.

If you like fabulist tales, give these a try. I really enjoyed them.

#books #booksky #writingcommunity

Cover of the short story collection For now, it is night by Hari Krishna Kaul. An impressionistic painting of a canal with boats floating down.

Hari Krishna Kaul was a Kashmiri writer. He wrote four collections of short stories and one novel between 1972 and 2000. At one point he was booted out of Kasmir for being too political (you wouldn’t know it from reading these stories). Borges-like writing style.

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Gorgeous prose. Can’t wait to read the novel. 👍

Small presses make the most money when you order from them directly. Though, as @whiskeytit.com wrote, ordering from Independant presses helps those presses, indicates interest, and can result in a small press’s books being stocked at that bookstore.

Is there an epidemic of some sort in Vermont now?

Is this their normal wait time?

I’ll put it on my “to be watched” list. Thanks!

Many people don’t realize that Big Box retailers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble) take a large percentage of what would otherwise go to small independent presses, literally leaving them with pennies.

Consider supporting small presses by buying from them directly.

#books #booksky #writingcommunity

Cover of the novel January by Sara Gallardo. A pen-and-ink drawing of a white horse galloping across a desolate plain. There are two ominous looking trees in the foreground, mountains in the distance.

Published in Argentina in 1958. A 16-year-old girl living on a farm in Argentina is raped by a farmhand. Abortions are frowned upon and she is too ashamed to confide in anyone. Was considered scandalous for its time.

How little we’ve progressed in 60+ years.

#books #booksky #writingcommunity