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jonsurfs

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Prism Published!

My books:

You can find a link to my first novel, Prism, here: http://www.bookspoke.com/books/1434816281)

There's sample chapters and short stories available on my own site (which I don't update much anymore): www.jonbrodsky.com.

Thanks to the many, many of you who have already bought Prism! If you would like to discuss it at your next book club meeting and you're in the New York area, I'd love to come and discuss Prism with you! Just email me at jon@jonbrodsky[dot]com (you'll have to type in my email address manually -- I already get a lot of spam as is. Don't forget to replace the [dot] with a .).

Submitted by jonsurfs on Tue, 12/04/2007 - 11:16am.

MY PUBLISHING

Apologies to those who went to Bowery Poetry Club Tonight

All -- Apparently, I didn't actually cancel the marketing meetup scheduled for tonight like I thought I did. Apologies to those of you who braved the cold, and I hope that you heard some good poetry while you were there! Best -- Jon

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Thu, 02/28/2008 - 9:30pm.

Bookspoke Newsletter

Hello from Bookspoke! In this newsletter, we're introducing a new feature -- our favorite post published on the site: Hamlett's post about Wally. We've also published Prism, which is now available on Amazon and Bookspoke. Finally, for those of you who are writers looking for help with the publishing process, we had a great meetup that we've
videoed and put on our site.

Our Favorite Post

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 12:49pm.

Our First Writers Marketing Meetup on Video!

Thanks to all of you who braved the cold last night to come to our first ever writers marketing meetup at the Bowery Poetry Club. We had a great turn-out, and we're looking forward to the next one in late January/early February.

For those of you who want to skip around, Isobella starts speaking around 2 minutes in, and Marion starts speaking about a half-hour in.

I've also started a forum for this group -- if you have any questions for our speakers, please don't hesitate to ask.

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 9:15am.

Admissions Test

Admissions Test is about a young man coping with the death of his grandfather while falling out of love with his girlfriend. It’s very good. Not so good that you should plagiarize it, though. Besides, this story, like everything else I write, is copywritten, which means that if you copy it for, say, your 10th grade writing assignment, your teacher will find out that I’m the one who wrote it, flunk you and then you’ll end up in a reform school somewhere, probably somewhat similar to the place described in this story.

Status of this work:
complete, unpublished
Price: $0.00
Tags and keywords:
admissions test
boarding school
teenage

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Fri, 11/09/2007 - 3:45pm.

MY BOOK REVIEWS

Coupland's Mainstream Book

Cover image

I'm a fan of Douglas Coupland. His Girlfriend in a Coma (besides being the title of one of my favorite Smiths songs) was such a wonderful look at the self-importance of teenagers (well, that's how I take it now, a long way past the new millennium the book foretold), and I read most of his other books in short succession after Girlfriend.

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Sat, 11/10/2007 - 5:38pm.

Porcine Racist Russian Oligarchs Are Funny

Cover image

I've had this book sitting on my desk for a month now, and I keep meaning to write a review of it. The problem is, it's an awfully hard book to review. This satire of everything stars Misha Vainberg, son of the 1,238th richest man in Russia. Misha's lone goal in life is to return to the US, where he spent his college and young adult years, and where he has a girlfriend of sorts. Alas, he cannot return -- his father, a ganster, has killed an American, and the U.S. Embassy won't let him get a visa.

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Wed, 10/31/2007 - 11:02am.

Diety Decapitated by Janjaweed

Cover image

Admittedly, when I first picked up this book, the lines from the Joan Osborne song “One of Us," a song that I have since been able to banish back to the portion of my cerebral cortex still obsessed with 1995. In God Is Dead, the title character takes the form of a Dinka woman in Darfur who, after meeting with Colin Powell (portrayed as a Samuel L.

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Tue, 10/16/2007 - 5:36pm.

A Crooked Football Player In Texas?

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When I read Sandra Brown’s latest thriller, one question immediately popped into my head: how on earth has Griff Burkett, a star quarterback who threw a playoff game for the Dallas Cowboys, survived his five year stint in prison?

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Wed, 09/26/2007 - 11:28am.

Manhattan GMAT - The Best?

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Manhattan GMAT supposedly runs the best GMAT courses out there, and these books look a lot simpler to weed through than the massive texts that you normally find in a bookstore. I've only just started studying -- does someone have an opinion about the best way to study for the GMAT?

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Wed, 09/19/2007 - 10:12am.

My favorite book

Cover image
Choose elements of three other books or authors this book reminds you of:
Gabriel Garcia Marques, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce

The Conversation in the Cathedral is a magical book. Based in 1950s Peru during the Odria dictatorship, it is the story of two long-lost associates (friends may be a bit strong of a word) who, over a series of beers, learn about the torments in each other's lives.

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Mon, 08/13/2007 - 11:07am.

MY FORUM POSTS

Marketing Meetup Questions

Thanks to all of you who came to our first marketing meetup. Please use this forum to ask any questions that you didn't have a chance to ask during the meetup -- Thanks!

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 9:19am.

New York Marketing Meetup Forum

Hey there! If you're in the New York area and want to talk to other aspiring writers, we're holding monthly meetings where we discuss everything from how publishers/agents think to how to self-publish effectively to how to write a query letter. If you're interested, go to Meetup.com. And if you're a member, post your thoughts about what you'd like to cover, what you liked (and didn't like) about our meetings, and anything else about marketing here. Thanks!

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Mon, 10/29/2007 - 5:24pm.

Great Vacation Book?

I'm going on my first vacation in well over a year for Thanksgiving, and I'm looking for a few things to read that week. Anyone have a good suggestion?

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Fri, 10/26/2007 - 3:56pm.

What makes a good book?

Desdemona Darling asked a really good question:

I've been wondering recently- what defines a good story? How does one know if their story is good? Does a story have to sound very mature to be a good story or does simpler syntax recieve a better response? Do people respond well to longer stories or shorter stories? How long does a book have to be to be satisfying? There are so many questions I have and they all need an answer!

Posted in Submitted by jonsurfs on Fri, 10/19/2007 - 11:17am.

MY READING GROUPS

Thriller Readers

Title of the group's current book:
Killer Weekend
Author:
Ridley Pearson
Where we are in the book:
Completed
This is a book club for people who love thrillers

This is a group for people who love the thriller genre. We'll be reading selections from both established and new authors, and we'll read everything from Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books to John Le Carre. Our first month's selection is Ridley Pearson's Killer Weekend, a new series for the author. Join us and learn more!

cover of The Mission Song: A NovelThe Mission Song: A Novel
author: John le Carre
asin: 0316016748
cover of Killer WeekendKiller Weekend
author: Ridley Pearson
asin: 0399154078

PROFILE

Jonathan Brodsky

City:
New York
State:
NEW YORK
Gender:
Male
Generation:
GenY (1975-1985)

I am one of the founders of Bookspoke, where we're doing everything we can to create a social network for readers and writers to connect.

We created Bookspoke because we realized that there was no way to find a great new book and talk to authors. In the next few months, we'll be adding a lot of functionality that will help our users connect with each other. Sign up and we'll let you know when this functionality goes live!

A little about me: While my career has been focused mainly on finance and building companies, I have always loved books. I read constantly, and I probably go through a book a week, although I usually read a few books simultaneously. Like many other avid readers, I have also written a couple of novels. As soon as we get some additional author functionality live, I'll put some of my work up here for downloads.

Let me know if there is anything we can do to make your Bookspoke experience better! Thanks!

Submitted by jonsurfs on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 7:17am.