July, 2008 | Avalon.ph Blog

Month: July 2008

30
Jul
2008

Chiaroscuro: Poems by Joel M. Toledo – Book Launch

Congratulations to Mr. Joel M. Toledo – two Palanca awards for Poetry, Meritage Press Poetry Prize in San Francisco, 2006 UK Bridport Prize 2nd place and a longtime Avalon.ph fan of eight plus years – for the release of his upcoming Poetry book (UST Press).

Chiaroscuro: Poems by Joel M. Toledo will launch on August 4, Monday 2008 @ mag:net cafe Katipunan with cocktails at 6:30 pm, followed by the 33rd installment of the Happy Mondays Poetry Nights readings at 8pm. Featured poets & fictionist listed below:

1. Marjorie Evasco
2. Jimmy Abad
3. Butch Dalisay
4. J. Neil Garcia
5. Marne Kilates
6. Krip Yuson
7. Rebecca Añonuevo
8. Mookie Katigbak
9. Sarge Lacuesta
10. Ramil Gulle
11. Larry Ypil
12. Mikael Co
13. Angelo Suarez
14. Arkaye Kierulf
15. Conchitina Cruz
16. Daryll Delgado
17. Pancho Villanueva
18. Waps San Diego
19. Marie La Viña
20. Joseph Saguid
21. Khavn De la Cruz

Hosted by Lourd De Veyra

Readings up to 10pm, followed by music from Los Chupacabras and Dead Pop Stars.

FREE ADMISSION the whole evening.

25
Jul
2008

Online Buzz- The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (Debut Novel)

categories: Book Reviews, General, News

One upcoming debut novel that’s been getting intense coverage online is Andrew Davidson’s The Gargoyle. An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time.

Andrew Davidson’s agent initially rejected a cool US$1 million offer for the book, and it turned out to be a wise move as Doubleday wounded up paying US$1.25 million – for a debut novel!

Doubleday publishing has been working overtime pushing the publicity buttons for this title taking advantage of the vast resources available online.

From USA Today:

The campaign is burning up online. At burnedbylove.com, visitors are sharing details about intense relationships. A Gargoyle Flickr Group lets people post gargoyle photos. There’s content on MySpace, Facebook and Doubleday’s YouTube channel.

“It’s definitely our most ambitious in terms of creating a campaign that engages the current social-networked way people are using the Net,” says Doubleday’s Jeffrey Yamaguchi….

For full The Gargoyle details visit: http://doubleday.com/thegargoyle

You can also read an excerpt of the book on the site, or download it as a PDF.

Also be sure to check out the online elements to the book: http://burnedbylove.com

For early reviews and pre-order, check out the Amazon.com page.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson will be out August 5, 2008 (USA).

24
Jul
2008

25 Best Books Since 1983

categories: General

For those who love lists, here’s one of the most recent about books.

25 Best Books Since 1983 (from Entertainment Weekly)

Read the complete article and view the photo gallery.

25. THE JOY LUCK CLUB, Amy Tan (1989)
24. LONESOME DOVE, Larry McMurtry (1985)
23. THE GHOST ROAD, Pat Barker (1996)
22. THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, Junot Díaz (2007)
21. ON WRITING, Stephen King (2000) (buy)
20. BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY, Helen Fielding (1998)
19. ON BEAUTY, Zadie Smith (2005) (buy)
18. RABBIT AT REST, John Updike (1990)
17. LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
16. THE HANDMAID’S TALE, Margaret Atwood (1986)
15. A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS, Dave Eggers (2000) (buy)
14. BLACK WATER, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
13. WATCHMEN, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986–87)
12. BLINDNESS, José Saramago (1998)
11. INTO THIN AIR, Jon Krakauer (1997)
10. THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE, Haruki Murakami (1997)
9. COLD MOUNTAIN, Charles Frazier (1997)
8. SELECTED STORIES, Alice Munro (1996)
7. MAUS, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
6. MYSTIC RIVER, Dennis Lehane (2001)
5. AMERICAN PASTORAL, Philip Roth (1997)
4. THE LIARS’ CLUB, Mary Karr (1995)
3. BELOVED, Toni Morrison (1987)
2. HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, J.K. Rowling (2000)
1. THE ROAD, Cormac McCarthy (2006) (buy)

Other notable mentions (from Top 100):

94. FAST FOOD NATION, Eric Schlosser (2001) (buy)
90. COMFORT ME WITH APPLES, Ruth Reichl (2001) (buy)
88. HIGH FIDELITY, Nick Hornby (1995) (buy)
82. ATONEMENT, Ian McEwan (2001) (buy)
77. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989) (buy)
72. THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME, Mark Haddon (2003) (buy)
69. THE SECRET HISTORY, Donna Tartt (1992) (buy)
67. THE KITE RUNNER, Khaled Hosseini (2003) (buy)
53. THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY, Michael Chabon (2000) (buy)
41. THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET, Sandra Cisneros (1984) (buy)
40. HIS DARK MATERIALS, Philip Pullman (1995–2000) (buy)
38. BIRDS OF AMERICA, Lorrie Moore (1998) (buy)
34. THE LOVELY BONES, Alice Sebold (2002) (buy)
33. THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING, Joan Didion (2005) (buy)
27. POSSESSION, A.S. Byatt (1990) (buy)