December 2007 Reviews
Mr. Abraham’s book may be ordered by writing to him at: or visiting his page on Amazon.com. |
“Come Read With Me” By: James M. Abraham Synopsis “Come Read With Me” is separated into seven categories that stretch across the genres, the eras, the tried, and the true. From John Steinbeck’s classic “East of Eden”, Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, the first true black American novel, to a compelling treatise on Robert Grave’s “Good-Bye To All That”, a hard to find classic about World War One, Abraham provokes the lost art of ‘critical thinking’. He summed up Mr. Grave’s work thusly . . . “Graves chose to absent himself from England. He felt that a decent part of his country had died in the war, as surely as a part of him lay forever in the mud of France. So even as we send our young people off to a war that must be fought, Americans must remember what many of Grave’s countrymen forgot: Even the worst of wars end; then the survivors must have enough humanity remaining to build a personal and civic peace.” This little gem of a book should be in every reader’s, and especially every Book Club’s, possession. It’s an invaluable source for the bibliophile. |
About the Author James M. Abraham is a professional journalist, writing coach, manuscript editor, and book broker. Believing that a journalist should sometimes be a fly on the wall, but other times be the fly in the soup, he took to the streets of Charlotte County following the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Charley on August 13, 2004. Writing about the plight of the storm’s victims he gained a new appreciation for life. “I realized,” he said, “that we all could be leaves on the wind, flung aloft or struck down as easily as were the tallest trees and stoutest buildings in the hurricane’s path. But for me, the hurricane’s lesson gave me the courage to follow my dreams.” Now, he helps other writers realize theirs.
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"Come Read With Me" by James M. Abraham is a book about books. For five years, as the book columnist for the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the Fort Meyers News-Press, and the Charlotte Sun Herald, Mr. Abraham enlightened the readers of Southwest Florida, and beyond, on the best, and possibly the most notorious books of the times and all time. I daresay he also ‘created’ many new readers along his course. A collection of some of his best ‘book essays’ are included in “Come Read with Me.” I don't believe I've ever read a book any harder to put down. Mr. Abraham has a genius for the art of writing a review. His intricately thought out perceptions and analysis rumbles the curiosity and piques the interest enough to have the reader rushing to the nearest bookseller. Unlike the usual review that simply reiterates setting, characters, and plot in an overview capped with the reviewer’s determination of ‘excellent read’ to ‘don’t waste your time’, James Abraham’s perceptions of the work are as compelling as the works themselves. His expertise granted him the privilege of being allowed to choose the books he’d review. Nestled in between several of the classics and the well-known writers, the reader will find a sampling of independent and self-published authors, who, in Mr. Abraham’s own words “deserve greater attention than this small volume can offer them.” As he hoped, I now have several books I didn’t even know existed positioned on my ‘to read’ list. Thank you, Mr. Abraham. |
