Urban Books 2016 Novels & Stories

"You need more presence. You can't move in with two bags and a box of books." "The books matter," I said. "What books?" Nadia appeared from the bedroom with Clara. "He brought books," Elena said, like this was evidence of something. "Obviously he brought books." Nadia looked at the box. "Which ones?" "The behavioral economics shelf. And three on urban development." Nadia handed Clara to Elena and came to the box and opened it. She went through the spines without speaking, the focused mode, and then stopped at one. "You bought this after October," she said. Holding up a book on density and urban economic mobility I'd found while researching her zone three data.

I didn’t make it far, just up to an abandoned park, it’s where my car died, it wouldn’t start anymore but it was okay, that’s as far as I’m going from here. Lulu, my stuffed grey wolf with purple eyes was my one and only loyal friend, she was with me when I spent the six dollars, when I was too hungry and was ready to beg for food. She was also hidden in my backpack when I applied for the job in the local library, I always had a weak spot for the books and stories, when they took me I couldn’t be happier.

Love Jac. I sat down and opened my present, very carefully unwrapping it. I placed the book down and folded the newsprint neatly. I picked up the book, looking it over carefully. Jac always found obscure books on his research trips for me, something new to add to my library. I wonder if this is the last book he will get me, now that he’s a mated man. I sighed lightly, I would miss this. I flipped the book over to the cover. The Country and the City by Raymond Williams. The book was greyish in color, always a hard cover. I went over to my shelf where I kept the books of urban citylife. I picked up the newsprint and went to my window, where a box sat on a shelf. I unlocked the box with a littl

The ladies all giggle and Julie stands, handing a new bookmark to each of us. "Yes. We figured we'd get you ones that suited you a little better." she says. The new one is dark blue with gold lettering that says 'Real men read dirty books'. I smile and look over at Ev who's showing Harper his excitedly. "These are great. Thank you." I say just as Bri nudges me. "Oh! Tell them your joke, love!" Harper says excitedly. Ev rolls his eyes before addressing the group.

There was no chaos, no gossip, no shadows of the past, just him, me, and the kind of quiet that felt like peace. On Sunday, I visited Julien with Oliver. The morning light was soft. Oliver ran off almost immediately to play with the little model jets Julien kept on a shelf, while Julien stood waiting with a mysterious bag in his hand. “It was delivered this morning,” he said, eyes glinting with that boyish secret he could barely hide. “What is it?” I asked, taking the bag. “Open it.” I lifted out a stack of seven hardcover books, sleek, matte, and beautifully bound. Each had a country’s name embossed on the front in gold letters: Tokyo. Italy. Egypt. Cape Town. Dubai. Maldives. Paris.

“The conventions I attend are usually so dull compared to all this.” “This is relatively small. You should see the BookExpo America at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. That one is about three times the size, but for your debut, I believe this event is perfect. You’ll have a better opportunity to talk to people who are interested in your book and not just looking for freebies.”