I am a guy from the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, born and raised on a small dairy farm near Sparta, Wisconsin, who inexplicably came to love world literature. My goal is to have a United States book blog that is as good as the many English, Irish, Scotland, Australian, New Zealand, Indian, and Canadian book blogs which I follow closely. The emphasis will be on world literature, not just one particular region or nation.
I’m happy to get emails. My email address is: anokatony@gmail.com
Tony's Book World 
Posted by lizzysiddal on September 24, 2009 at 4:51 PM
Welcome to the world of blogging. Greetings from Scotland!
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Posted by Tony S. on September 28, 2009 at 12:26 AM
Thank You, Lizzie!
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Posted by Kelly S. on September 28, 2009 at 5:47 AM
I look forward to following your blog! 🙂
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Posted by anokatony on September 28, 2009 at 2:47 PM
It is always a pleasure to hear from complete strangers who have heard about my blog – hope you enjoy it.
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Posted by Theresa Williams on September 28, 2009 at 8:50 AM
Worthy goal. Wishing you the best.
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Posted by anokatony on September 28, 2009 at 2:49 PM
Theresa, I hope you enjoy my blog, so I can live up to my goal
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Posted by Kerry on September 28, 2009 at 3:28 PM
Welcome to the blogging world! I am a fellow child of rural America who loves literature, I look forward to following your blog. I wish you all the best…and many readers!
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Posted by anokatony on September 28, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Kerry, Thank You for your kind words, fellow child of rural America who loves literature.
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Posted by kimbofo on September 28, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Fantastic! Nice to know a bit more about the mysterious Tony S who has been commenting on my blog for a long time! Welcome to the world of book blogging.
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Posted by anokatony on September 28, 2009 at 5:57 PM
Kimbofo, you are one of my inspirations! As you know, I read your “Reading Matters” nearly every day and treasure it as a source of good leads. Where else I could I have found out about Salley Vickers?
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Posted by Tom Cunliffe on October 7, 2009 at 7:04 AM
A great start – determination and consistency are the key! I am sure you have both.
Follow the stats (install Google Analytics if you haven’t already) and watch what works. In a year ot ttwo’s time you will find it hard to keep up with the review copies sent to you – you may never have to buy a book again.
I have added you to my blog roll
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Posted by anokatony on October 7, 2009 at 1:12 PM
As you probably know, I follow “A Common Reader” closely. One of the reasons I like it is that you select books that are somewhat off the beaten path to write about. I just checked “Memoirs of an Anti-Semite”
out of the library. (I did have the courage to carry it out of the library, but still have qualms about being seen with it.) Thanks for your comments – am looking forward to my first review copy – will have to see it to believe it.
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Posted by Alice on May 14, 2010 at 9:16 AM
fabulous blog
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Posted by anokatony on May 14, 2010 at 12:03 PM
I’m happy you like it. Thanks for stopping by.
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Posted by Tom C on July 6, 2010 at 8:12 PM
Well, I spent 35 years as a computer programmer and it wasn’t a bad career – I hope you find it as enjoyable as I did
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Posted by Welcome Weekend Blog Hoppers « Too Many Books, Too Little Time on September 17, 2010 at 3:34 PM
[…] My newest favorite, that I’ve just discovered and begun to follow, is Tony’s Book World. […]
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Posted by Weekend Reader on October 1, 2010 at 10:38 AM
I love your blog and am sending you an award. You can pick it up at http://2manybooks2littletime.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/the-versatile-blogger-award/
Congratulations!
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Posted by anokatony on October 1, 2010 at 12:23 PM
Hi Weekend Reader,
Thank you for the honor, and I will pass the award along!.
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Posted by bhanu on December 22, 2010 at 5:40 AM
love your blog, just stumbled upon it while doing a search on Louise Erdrich; your blog entries are as interesting as any short story I’ve read. Thank you for adding to my reading interests… so much to read (while I paint away:)
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Posted by anokatony on December 23, 2010 at 4:43 AM
Hi bhanu,
That’s high praise indeed comparing my entries to a short story, because I value fiction about ten times more than non-fiction. Your painting blog looks original and interesting. I will look it over carefully soon.
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Posted by BKu on November 19, 2011 at 6:42 AM
This is a great site for good reads! May I suggest the work of the English writer Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884-1969)? Though her books are challenging, they are immensely satisfying and provide insight into the Victorian household.
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Posted by anokatony on November 19, 2011 at 2:17 PM
Hi BKu,
Thank You. I know that Ivy Compton-Burnett is a great writer, and I’ve attempted to read a novel of hers a couple of times, but so far without success. Like you say, she is challenging. It’s been a long time since I’ve attempted one of her novels, and maybe now I could succeed. There have been a few instances where I have difficulty reading an author but then come back several years later, and that same author will become one of my favorites.
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Posted by John Michael Cummings on January 6, 2012 at 10:47 PM
re: book review request by award-winning author
Dear Tony’s Book World:
I’m an award-winning author with a new book of fiction out last month.
Ugly To Start With is a series of thirteen interrelated stories about
adolescence published by West Virginia University Press.
All the stories in my collection have been previously published in
well-regarded print and online literary magazines such as The Iowa
Review, Passager, The Bitter Oleander, Confrontation, Salt River
Review, The Foliate Oak. and The Cortland Review.
Can I interest you in reviewing it?
If you write me back at johnmcummings@aol.com, I can email you a PDF of my book. If you require a bound copy, please ask, and I will forward your reply to my publisher. Or you can write directly to Abby Freeland at:
Abby.Freeland@mail.wvu.edu
My publisher, I should add, can also offer your readers a free excerpt of my book through a link from your blog to my publisher’s website:
http://wvupressonline.com/cummings_ugly_to_start_with_9781935978084
Here’s what Jacob Appel, celebrated author of
Dyads and The Vermin Episode, says about my new collection: “In Ugly to Start With, set in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, Cummings tackles the challenges of boyhood adventure and family conflict in a taut, crystalline style that captures the triumphs and tribulations of small-town life. He has a gift for transcending the particular experiences to his characters to capture the universal truths of human affection and suffering–emotional truths that the members of his audience will recognize from their own experiences of childhood and adolescence.”
My short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five literary journals, including North American Review, The Kenyon Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and The Chattahoochee Review. Twice I have been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. My short story “The Scratchboard Project” received an honorable mention in The Best American Short Stories 2007.
I am also the author of the nationally acclaimed coming-of-age novel The Night I Freed John Brown (Philomel Books, Penguin Group, 2009), winner of The Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers (Grades 7-12) and one of ten books recommended by USA TODAY.
For more information about me, please visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Michael_Cummings
Thank you very much, and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Kindly,
John Michael Cummings
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Posted by whisperinggums on January 16, 2012 at 2:33 AM
Hi Tony … I think you need a Tony’s Book World “contact me” address! Would love to contact you!
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Posted by anokatony on January 17, 2012 at 3:43 AM
Thank You, Sue, I just added my email address.
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Posted by booksaremyfavouriteandbest on August 4, 2013 at 6:09 AM
Hi there! I just tagged you in a meme – http://booksaremyfavouriteandbest.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/book-q-a/
But honestly, no pressure.
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Posted by anokatony on August 4, 2013 at 6:36 PM
Hi BooksAreMyFav,
Thanks, probably.
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Posted by martotinong on December 17, 2013 at 4:36 AM
I’m from INdoneisia. I like your blog
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Posted by Anokatony on December 17, 2013 at 4:59 AM
Hi martotinong,
Thank You, with you, a reader from Indonesia, I now have a world blog!
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Posted by martotinong on January 21, 2015 at 4:09 AM
you’r welcome. ganbate 🙂
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Posted by Emma on December 21, 2014 at 11:06 PM
Hi from France!
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Posted by Anastasia on April 16, 2015 at 9:07 AM
😀 Sparta 😀
…
Great blog 🙂 Love how you have your own style in writing the reviews and hmm how your blog looks
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Posted by Anokatony on April 16, 2015 at 4:39 PM
Hi Anastasia,
Yes, Sparta, although I am no Greek warrior. 🙂
Thanks for noticing that I do have my own style.
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Posted by Book Club Mom on May 1, 2016 at 4:33 PM
Glad to have found your blog! Looking forward to seeing what you are reading.
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Posted by Anokatony on May 1, 2016 at 5:24 PM
Hi Book Club Mom,
Thanks for stopping by! Happy to have you aboard.
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