New & Noteworthy Books

New Books from Independent & University Presses

See full list of noteworthy books by category below

Posted on October 2, 2008

The Poet Sees
His Family Sleeping

Poetry by Samuel Charters

Kamini Press, 2008

ISBN-13: 978-9197743709

Chapbook: 34pp;$6.00

Samuel Charters asserts the mundane, every day occurrences, the back and forth realities in this mini-chapbook.

The Other

Poetry by Robert Dana

Anhinga Press, December 2008

ISBN-13: 978-1934695074

Paperback: 81pp; $15.00

This is a book about the edgy beauty of our world right now. Its subject is the world's "terrible unfamiliarity" and one more instance of Dana's life-long quest for a language accurate enough to reckon the days we live in. - R.M. Ryan

The Best Creative Nonfiction
Volume 2

Edited by Lee Gutkind

W.W. Norton, July 2008

ISBN-10: 0393330249

ISBN-13: 978-0393330243

Paperback: 352pp; $15.95

From Lee Gutkind, the "Godfather behind creative narrative nonfiction" (Vanity Fair), and the staff of the landmark literary journal Creative Nonfiction comes this fresh collection of fact-based personal narratives, mined from literary blogs, 'zines, and other fringe publications.

The Pets

Novel by Bragi Olafsson

Translated by Janice Balfour

Open Letter, October 2008

ISBN-10: 1934824011

ISBN-13: 978-1934824016

Harcover: 157pp; 14.95

Emil is back in Reykjavik from a trip to London. On the plane ride home he met a beautiful girl named Greta. He's hoping Greta will call--and that she won't call while he's on the phone with his girlfriend, Vigdis. The moment he settles down at home, Havard, a drunken, violent lout from Emil's past, shows up on his doorstep. Spying Havard through a window--and not wanting to have anything to do with him--Emil does the only sensible thing he can think of: he hides under his bed and waits for Havard to go away. A man with sensibilities of his own, Havard, standing ignored on the doorstep, does the only reasonable thing he can think of: he breaks into Emil's place, starts drinking his booze, and ends up hosting a bizarre party for Emil's friends.

If I Could

Si Yo Pudiera

Story by Nancy Sweetland

Raven Tree Press, October 2008

ISBN-10: 0979446228

ISBN-13: 978-0979446221

Paperback: 32pp; $7.95

A young boy thinks about what he might do or be, if only he could. Wishing he could fly like a bird or hop like a toad leads our young hero to far-flung fantasies of wishing to be a river, a star, and even a whole hive of bees. Oh, if only he could! But in the end he finds, sometimes it s best to be just who you are.

On the Mason-Dixon Line

An Anthology of Contemporary Delaware Writers

Edited by Billie Travalini and Fleda Brown

University of Delaware Press, August 2008

ISBN-10: 0874130301

ISBN-13: 978-0874130300

Hardcover: 279pp; $37.50

This is the first major collection of its kind - fifty-two poems, short stories, essays, and excerpts from novels and memoirs by writers who live in Delaware, or who have lived in the state long enough to have been influenced by its cities, gorgeous beaches, rivers, and farms.