Top 3 Novels That Influenced My Year 2012

Just a quick update for those few souls out there who give me my tiny podium from which to talk.  Ashes to Ashes is the title of the third installment of An Upstate New York Mafia Tale.  It is slated for release in April 2013.

Also, thanks to a mixture of circumstances (such as you lovely readers, the wonder of the internet, and what appears to be the contagious ability to entangle bad judgement with credit cards) I find my combined sales approaching the realm of 10,000 books sold.

Thank you.

Moving along...

As you know I like to make lists.  Here is a list of three books so far that have influenced my year.

1) The Alchemist

Wiki says: The Alchemist is a novel by Paulo Coelho first published in 1988. Originally written in Portuguese, it has been translated into 71 languages as of 2011. An allegorical novel, The Alchemist follows a young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago in his journey to Egypt, after having a recurring dream of finding treasure there.

I say: This novel seemed to follow events that were happening in my life as I read it. It was a personal experience for me and I don't often say that about a novel. I almost didn't pick it up, but when I did, it was life altering. If you get this book as a present from me, consider yourself among the very most important people in my life.

2) The Great Gatsby

Wiki Says: The Great Gatsby is a novel by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book takes place from spring to autumn 1922, during a prosperous time in the United States known as the Roaring Twenties, which lasted from 1920 until the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The setting of the novel contributed greatly to its popularity following its early release, but the book did not receive widespread attention until after Fitzgerald's death in 1940, when republishings in 1945 and 1953 quickly found a wide readership. Today the book is widely regarded as a "Great American Novel" and a literary classic. The Modern Library named it the second best English-language novel of the 20th Century.

I say: I was forced to read this book in high school and hated it. But I returned to it when I heard that the movie was coming out and I now know why it is "A Great American Novel." I am very excited to watch the film, so here is the trailer:

3) Buffalo Soldiers, An Upstate New York Mafia Tale

Wiki Says: Buffalo Soldiers, An Upstate New York Mafia Tale - nothing! WTH


I say: Shameless plug. I wrote it so of course it influenced my year. Check it out on Amazon! or on Barnes and Noble!