Aio and The Summer Isles

Work, politics, and a slight obsession with trying to cook our meals instead of ordering out has taken over my life in the past two weeks. Trying to find a solid hour to curl up with book has been difficult. Still hopefully by the end of the weekend I will be able to put out a new review.

I'm currently reading The Summer Isles by Ian R. Macleod, published by a brilliant small press called Aio Publishing Company. The press, still in its infacy, produces beautiful, often collectible editions of fantastic fiction with an emphasis on quality and the personal charm of a small and friendly press, at an incredibly reasonable price.

The publsher/editor, Tiffany Jonas, is a lovely woman who's enthusiasm and dedication to her press is impressive in an age of depersonalized transactions between merchant and customer.

When I ordered my copy of The Summer Isles, she responded quickly with a warm personalized e-mail of welcome. From the looks of the feedback of customers on the website, Aio and Tiffany are dedicated to providing the highest level of topnotch, individualized service that an merchant can provide to a customer over the internet.

The book itself, a limited collector's edition signed by the author, is beautiful to behold. It comes bound in faux leather and suede (they're animal friendly, a big bonus for me) with acid neutral paper and has won awards for the design. I have yet to get to the meat of the book, but the writing and the premise has me waiting in anticipation.

I will be posting a review for The Summer Isles hopefully next week. It'll go up on Blogcritics.org and then here. In the meantime, if you are a bibliophile or a lover of good fiction, go check out Aio!

You can also find excellent reviews for The Summer Isles and Aio here, here, and here.