Butterfly Books: Reviews and Reading Lists

Seattle is #2, Book Blog Convention and Mary Modern

2012-01-28T11:52:00.000-08:00

Seattle has always been an extremely literate city, and usually places first in these rankings, but this year, the "other Washington" on the East Coast beat us out for first place. Still, being second is nothing to sneeze at!

Washington, D.C. topped the list of the most literate cities in the U.S.
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12508630
for the second consecutive year, while Boston (up from #12 in 2010) and
Cincinnati (up from #11) made significant gains in the statistical
survey released annually by Central Connecticut State University
President Jack Miller, and "based on data that includes number of
bookstores, library resources, newspaper circulation and Internet
resources," USA Today reported. The top 10 for 2011:

1) Washington, D.C.
2) Seattle
3) Minneapolis
4) Atlanta
5) Boston
6) Pittsburgh
7) Cincinnati
8) St. Louis
9) San Francisco
10) Denver

What I wouldn't give to go to the BEA and Book Blogger convention this summer!
I could showcase this blog, which has been going strong for nearly 7 years.

Reed Exhibitions has purchased the Book Blogger Convention, which will
continue to be located with BookExpo America at the Javits Center and
integrated into the overall activity of the trade show. Co-founders
Trish Collins (Hey Lady! Watcha Readin'? http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12508624) and
Michelle Franz (Galleysmith http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12508625) launched the
first Book Blogger Convention in 2010, attracting more than 200 people
and increasing to 340 attendees in 2011.

"Trish and Michelle are devoted to their community and they have
invested a tremendous amount of their own personal time and energy into
building a major presence for their colleagues at BEA," said Steven
Rosato, BEA show manager. "We are pleased to be able to take this
responsibility over for them and to build even greater recognition for
the Book Blogger Convention by fully merging it with our BEA marketing
efforts, programs, and attendee outreach."

This year's Book Blogger Convention, scheduled for Monday, June 4, will
occur just as BEA is getting underway, rather than at the show's
conclusion, as has been the case previously. Rosato noted that the
change "will provide greater continuity for the book bloggers and will
afford them more opportunity. This way, the book bloggers can attend
their own event and then immediately participate in BEA or BlogWorld
East, which gets underway Tuesday, June 5, and which is also co-located
with BEA."

On BEA's blog The Bean
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12508626,
Rosato observed that "the role of BEA is increasingly as a source of
discovery for new titles and bloggers are a critical connection for
readers of all kinds to learn about new titles."

I feel the same way about the ocean, which I love, and books, which are my passion, as Bo Caldwell, who says it quite well:

"When I was a little girl and my family would go to the beach, I wanted to somehow take it with me when we left. I'd try, by keeping the shells I'd found or a small glass jar of salt water or a handful of sand (which was extra special if it glittered with fool's gold), but whatever I chose lost its magic once we got home; no ocean, no gold. I learned early on that I couldn't contain the beach or the sea or the experience, but even now, years later and firmly in middle age, I still want to. I stare out at the blue expanse of ocean with longing, wishing I could keep it and knowing I can't. There isn't a vessel that can contain its beauty and mystery and vastness.
Which is where books come in, for they are wonderful and wondrous vessels for life and beauty and love and soulfulness, and they satisfy that childhood longing I still feel. Books let me keep what they portray for my very own: Pip and Magwitch will always be mine, as will Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester, and Scout and Atticus and Boo, and that lovely moment when Scout introduces her father to their neighbor in her brother's bedroom. If I am open to it, reading allows a sort of magical transference to occur: the characters and their story--their joys and sorrows and longings and loves--settle in my heart and become part of me, and I never have to say goodbye to any of it. For someone who hates goodbyes--whether to loved ones or experiences or places I love--this is gold, the real thing. It's like taking home a spice-bottleful of ocean, and still hearing it roar in my ear, miles and miles away." --Bo Caldwell, author of City of Tranquil Light and The Distant Land of My Father

Finally, I just finished a book called "Mary Modern" by Camille DeAngellis last night. It's the story of Lucy Morrigan, a young genetic researcher and her boyfriend Gray who live in a crumbling family mansion with a small group of young men who consider themselves a celibate religious order.
Lucy discovers that she can't have children, and, since she's a geneticist, decides to clone her grandmother Mary and implant her in her own womb. Lucy soon finds out that she's growing an adult, and will die if she doesn't have a c-section, so she has her friend Megan take out her grandmother, who, after a few months is already the size of a four-year-old, and place her in a simulated, or artificial womb built by her father.
Unfortunately, once Mary is decanted and is roughly an adult in her 20s, she doesn't remember anything past 1924, and still has all her old fashioned mores, habits and sensibilities, including her moral outrage at what her granddaughter has done to bring her back, when her own husband and children are all dead. Meanwhile, a horrible Christian fundamentalist minister has set up a protest on the college campus where Lucy works, purely to protest her departments genetic experiments on religious grounds.
Meanwhile, Gray appears to be able to deal with Mary much easier than Lucy can, though he's an African-American gentleman. Mary came off as a rather snooty, snobbish and ungrateful b*tch, who can't forgive her grand daughter for bringing her back and yet insists that her grand daughter go through the whole process again to bring back her husband Teddy, which means Lucy and Gray have to go grave-robbing. She's not even happy with the results, as Teddy's genes were middle-aged when he died, so his clone is 15 years older than Mary when he's 'reborn'. And Mary is never able to accustom herself to the modern world or technology and whines constantly about all that is gone and changed since the 20s. This makes her character seem somewhat pathetic and weak, when we've been lead to believe by her grand daughter that she was an adventurous and intelligent, capable woman. Lucy also seems somewhat cold and whiney, and it is no surprise that Gray begins to fall in love with Mary, who treats him with kindness and affection. Still, the ending of the book, with the betrayal by one of the young boarders and the minister doesn't really ring true...it seems more of a hasty plot device.
This book had a lot of things to recommend it, including well-crafted prose, a strong plot and interesting characters, if not ones that you can really learn to like. But DeAngeles leaves us hanging at the end, by not telling us what happened to Mary and Teddy, and where Lucy and Megan both ended up after they abandon the mansion and destroy the artificial womb and all her notes. It's my belief that a strong novel with modern themes like cloning deserve a strong ending that wraps everything up. That's why this novel gets a C+, with the caveat that it would have rated a grade higher had the ending been satisfactory.

Lucky Break by Esther Freud and Another Wish List

2012-01-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

I think Sonya Chung and I would get along just fine, as I agree with her about the uplifting qualities of bookstores and the fact that cheap books in bad condition are a boon to poor students everywhere:

"The independent bookstores I love in New York are literary havens, the
soul-nourishing equivalent of your grandmother's Sunday-afternoon
kitchen," author Sonya Chung (Long for This World) wrote in a Tin House
piece about the role bookstores in Seattle and New York City
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12436348
have played in her literary education. "What I mean is that a beloved
bookstore is more than just a smart place, it's a warm place. Over the
years, I find that I've come to frequent independent bookstores
primarily to boost my spirit; and when I walk out with a book or two
that happens to blow my mind (which is more often than not the case), I
count myself an extra-lucky girl."

Half Price Books in Seattle proved to be the "most influential on my
literary education," she recalled, noting that when she was an MFA
student, the shop became "the perfect candy man for this remedial book
fiend. They had an abundant clearance section with books in sh*ty
condition and editions with the ugliest covers. It was a students'
dumping ground that became my gold mine."

Yesterday I finished reading Esther Freud's "Lucky Break" which I picked up because it was about theater majors with big dreams, and, though the novel was set up a bit like the 80s TV series "Fame" it seemed, from the jacket and short review pieces, to have characters I could identify with, as an old theater major whose life got in the way of her dreams.
Though the story began in the London England theater world, I kept hearing the lyrics to "Dance 10, Looks 3"(or as it's commonly known, the T and A Song)from " A Chorus Line" throughout the first 75 pages, mainly because the young women in the story were so fixated on how they looked to others and to themselves. Still Nell, Charlie (a girl), Dan, Jemma and to a lesser extent Pierre, the token gay and Sita, Nell's Indian room mate were off to an interesting start at "Drama Arts" college, which was a stand in for RADA, (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts). The school was run by a variety of strange old characters and two vicious gay men who tended to keep only the young men they fancied for the third year, ruthlessly cutting the others with a patronizing and denegrating lecture at the end of year 2. The only protagonist allowed to stay is Dan, the golden boy of the story, who can do no wrong, and who is in love with Jemma, while Nell worships him from afar. Charlie, meanwhile, is something of a gorgeous mixed-race harlot who uses people and sleeps with whomever she feels will advance her career.
Nell, who actually has talent as an actress, is left to struggle along in the real world, working odd jobs and constantly auditioning, while dodging casting-couch slimebags who claim to be agents, and hoping for her big break. Dan and Jemma marry right out of school, and Jemma basically becomes a whiny cow, producing four children for Dan and then kvetching at him when he doesn't spend enough time with them, or her, though she knows what the theater business is like. Charlie seems to get her big break first, but squanders it, though she discovers a talent for Reiki healing. Dan gets a Broadway theater job in an Ibsen play and Nell gets the lead role in a blockbuster movie.
Though I loved the fact that the prose was savory and hearty, and the plot swift and sure, I wasn't terribly happy with Freud's ending, which left us in doubt as to whether the golden lad Dan was going to have an affair with his co-star and we're also left wondering if Charlie will have a career as a healer or continue in the theater. We do know that Nell is now on the fast track to fame and fortune, which only seems right, as she's been our underdog from the start, but I really wanted closure for all the main characters, though I despised stupid Jemma, who did nothing but complain and pout and cry like one of her children. I also thought Charlie was a bit too much of a narcisist and was surprised that her sluttish ways didn't catch up with her.
I'd recommend this book to those who, like myself, have a love of theater and actors, and believe, as I do, that most of the best actors and actresses are from England...there must be something in the water of the Thames. Anyway, a B is the best I can do for this novel.

Here's another Wishlist of books that I want to peruse:

MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche
The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesy
Lady Almira and the Real Downton Abbey by Countess Carnarvon (whose father or grandfather discovered King Tuts tomb and died of an infected mosquito bite,which some claim was the Mummy's Curse!)
Ghost Light by Joseph O'Connor
The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
A Lady Cyclists Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson
Jumping the Queue and Part of the Furniture by Mary Wesley
The English Breakfast Murder by Laura Childs
And, there is a new book by the marvelous Adriana Trigiani coming out in March called "The Shoemaker's Wife" that I can hardly wait to read! I've read all of her novels and really enjoyed them, as has my mother. Come on, Spring!
Oh,and one final note to those who suggested I rent the movie "Moneyball" with Brad Pitt. What were you thinking? This was a movie for baseball fans and Brad Pitt fans, but really no one else. I found that the only character I enjoyed was the overweight kid who created the system by which Pitts character was able to rebuild his team, the Oakland A's, with 'overlooked' talent. Other than the kids explanation of the system and his discussions of why the various ballplayers were overlooked ("It's like the Island of Misfit Toys" LOL), the movie dragged like a slug on ice. How exciting can it be, after all, to watch Brad Pitt work out? I really do not need to see him sweat, as I saw him in 1994 and I didn't find him attractive then, when he hadn't aged so badly.

Some Odds and Ends

2012-01-14T12:36:00.000-08:00

Great Quote of the Day:
'Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.
She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of sh**.'

Seattle's book maven and star librarian has come into some controversy for partnering with Amazon to reissue some out of print books. I think it is a tempest in a teapot, myself, but here's the skinny from Shelf Awareness:

Nancy Pearl, the former librarian and bookseller, author of the Book
Lust series, NPR book commentator and champion of reading, libraries and
independent bookstores, is launching the Book Lust Rediscoveries
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12406960 series with Amazon.com.

The series of about six books a year will consist of Pearl's favorite
out-of-print books that will be available "in print editions via
Amazon.com and as audiobooks via Amazon.com and Audible.com, at
bookstores, wholesalers and libraries nationwide and as eBooks in the
Kindle Store," Amazon said. The company's statement had no information
on how non-Amazon outlets might be able to obtain the printed versions
of the books. The books will include introductions by Pearl, a list of
discussion questions for book groups and suggestions for similar titles.

Pearl will donate part of the proceeds from the books' sales to the
Nancy Pearl Endowment for Public Librarianship at the University of
Washington's Information School. "Helping these wonderful books find new
readers is, for me, a joy and a delight," Pearl said, adding that she
has received many requests from readers who found some of her
recommended titles--a significant number of which are
out-of-print--difficult to find.

The first two titles in the series are:

* A Gay and Melancholy Sound by Merle Miller, to be published April 3.
("Joshua Bland tells the story of his life growing up in small-town Iowa
as a child prodigy to his career as a theater producer and his most
recent divorce: a life marked by a failure to love and be loved.")
* After Life by Rhian Ellis, which appears June 5. ("A charming novel
that's part psychological thriller, partly a story of mothers and
daughters, and partly something entirely original.")

The move has shocked some people in the industry. The Stranger, the
Seattle website, outlined why:
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12406961
"Pearl built her fame on a career at Seattle Public Library and through
partnerships with local bookstores. Many of the local librarians and
independent booksellers who supported her can't stand Amazon.com, which
means that things could get a little awkward around here real soon."

And here's a charming video of what books do at night, when the library or bookstore is closed...it's a book ballet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKVcQnyEIT8

Two Good Books, One Unexpected Bad Book

2012-01-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

I've recently completed three books, "Steve Jobs" (a biography) by Water Isaacson, "Howard's End is on the Landing" by Susan Hill (literary memoir) and "Blueyedboy" by Joanne Harris (general fiction).

Steve Jobs died of cancer in late October, 2011 at age 56, bringing to a close an era of great Apple Computer products and leaving a legacy of innovative products that changed the world. Jobs has fascinated me since I first learned of the company he founded in his garage with Steve Wozniak in the 1970s. Until Apple came out with the Macintosh computer in the early 1980s, computers were impenetrable tools that I thought I'd never learn to use, because I am not technically inclined, and I stink at math. In 1984, while searching for a way to get my master's thesis on paper without a gallon of white-out, I was shown into the computer lab at Lesley College, where some brave soul sat me down in front of a Macintosh, spent 15 minutes showing me how to use it, and then left me to play. I wrote my entire thesis on that Mac, and was wonder-struck at how easy it was to cut and paste paragraphs, to spell-check the document and to save it all to this little floppy disk that looked just like something from the bridge of the Enterprise on Star Trek. This was a technological revelation, that computers were accessible to the rest of us, that I shared with hundreds of thousands of people who all discovered the fun of computing thanks to techno-tyrant and geek god, Steve Jobs. I remember cutting out photos of him in magazines and marveling that such a young,handsome man also happened to be a genius at making and marketing personal computers. So despite my 80s crush, or perhaps because of it, I started the hefty Isaacson biography with some trepidation; after all, celebrity biographers these days tend to focus on the 'dark underbelly' of their subjects, leaving no stone unturned in their quest for the 'dirt' on the famous person they're writing about. However, I had read that Isaacson, an old-school journalist who's been covering tech for decades, had written a fairly grime-free version of Jobs life that wasn't too heavy on the tech talk, but still managed to create a balanced view of the man's life and many accomplishments.
For the most part, what I'd heard was true. Jobs biography is only slowed down about three times by tech jargon, and it doesn't go on for page after page with no explanation. Isaacson's prose is sturdy and clean, reading like a well-researched newspaper article in the New York Times or the Washington Post.
And though there are chapters about Jobs eccentric diets and hygene, his soap-opera-worthy relationships with women and his offspring, Isaacson never sneers or seems judgemental, rather he lays out the information in a studied fashion and lets the reader decide for themselves what to make of it all. Though its a tad long, at 598 pages, I found Steve Jobs the biography to be well worth the time and effort it took to read it. On a side note, the photos in the middle of the book are almost as revealing as the text. All in all, "Steve Jobs" is a fitting tribute to the pioneer of Apple Computers and the father of iMac computers, iPod MP3 players, popular iPhones and iPad computing devices. I would recommend this book to anyone who runs a business, loves Mac computers (as I do) and to those who are curious about the life of a wealthy tech god. A solid A!
Susan Hill's "Howards End is on the Landing" is the third book I've read in the last 6 months that is a non-fiction, personalized account of a bibliophiles goals in reading for a year, either a specific number of kind of book. ("Tolstoy and the Purple Chair" and "So Many Books, So Little Time" are the other two)
But "Howard's End" has the advantage of having been written by a British woman who has also been a writer/editor and publisher, so there's loads of charming British wit, wisdom and insider insight into the glitteratti of the book world.
I found myself chuckling and alternately tearing up at several junctures in this marvelous book, and I found myself slowing down so as to savor each well-written paragraph.
Hill's year of reading is to be guided by one rule, that she not buy any new books, but instead should either re-read or read for the first time books she already has around the house. As any bibliophile worth the title knows, there are always books tucked away in nooks and crannies that we are delighted to re-discover, often by accident. And so it is here, as Hill charms and beguiles us with tales of meeting famous literary figures, from Iris Murdock to the actor/novelist and wit Stephen Fry, and on to the Sitwells (Edith, Oswald and Sachie) and of all the wonderful fiction she's read, from Virginia Woolf to Charles Dickens. Hills lists of books read and re-read are larded with anecdotes, reviews and personal memories that engage the reader and make them feel as if they're having a lovely cup of tea by the fireplace in the library of Hills ancient home. Because she's a seasoned novelist, Hill's prose is impeccable, and her slender volume is finished all too swiftly...I found myself yearning for more. I'd recommend this book to all those book-lovers and anglophiles out there who enjoy bolstering their reading list and learning about book lust on the other side of the pond. A solid A here, too.
Unfortunately, now we come to the one bad book of the three, Blueyedboy by Joanne Harris.
Harris is one of the few authors I have on my "I'll read anything she writes" list. I've read everything she's written, and with the exception of "Gentlemen and Players," I have loved all her previous works, including the book that made her famous, "Chocolat" which was made into a movie with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche. Harris had a way of evoking time and place with sights, sounds and smells that made the reader feel as if they were there, peeking in the window of the French chocolate store, or cloistered in a nunnery. Her prose was always lush, inviting, sensual. So I had no hesitation about ordering her book "Blueyedboy" from Amazon, because, though it had only been printed in the UK originally, I assumed it would be a rich and decadent mental treat, like her other works.
I was wrong.
Alas, from page one we are treated to the emails and blog posts of the title character, "BlueyedBoy" who professes to be a serial killer who still lives with his extremely abusive mother in a depressing little town called Mawbry in England. This woman, whom one can barely call a mother, systematically beats, poisons,bludgeons and bullys her sons, until two are dead and the one remaining is a sociopath whose one overriding goal is to kill his mother in as brutal a fashion as possible. B.B., as he is often called, is also abused by his brothers, but manages to survive his horrific childhood only by dint of being afflicted with synesthesia, or the ability to ascribe colors to music, or smells to sounds.An old professor and psychologist, Dr Peacock, attempts to help BB come to terms with his "gift" and his world, and shows him the only kindness and affection he will ever know. But other than Dr Peacock, there is nothing kind, gentle or decent about any of the other characters in the book. Most are delusional liars, syncophants, users, gossip mongers or bullies. The reader shudders to think of living among these people, for whom backstabbing, snobbery and ruthless manuvering seem to be a daily occurance.
I had a strong feeling from chapter 1 on that the protagonist was, in reality, afflicted with Multiple Personality Disorder, and all the characters represented in his life and on his blog were just different facets of himself. Rather like Norman Bates acting out murders while dressed as his dead mother. Though that would have tied up a lot of loose ends and made sense of things, Harris decided to complicate things further by making BB and another character in the book both be people who have taken over a dead sibling's persona as their own. While I assume this is supposed to be a shocking twist in the plot, I found that it muddied the waters too much and made the story more confusing. I was also appalled at the ending, which really wasn't an ending at all. It was one of those ghastly things where an author just leaves you with a scene half-finished, so you're left to wonder what actually happened to the protagonist. I felt this was tremendously mean-spirited of the author, and I find that I've resolved not to buy and read any more of her books, from this moment forward. I don't know what has happened to Harris to turn her from writing fine prose to writing horrific drek, but whatever it is, she's just lost a faithful reader. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone but those who like twisted horror novels with no ending. This novel gets a D, and I'm only being generous because of Harris' past works.

Finally, I saw this on Shelf Awareness today,and because my birthday is on 12/12/12 this year (I'll be 52) I had to sign up:

Cool Idea of the Day: 12/12/12

Village Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12358740,
Bellingham, Wash., has launched 12/12/12, a program that aims to have participants read 12 books in 12 months this year. As Lindsey McGuirk, digital marketing and
publishing manager, explained, "It's a reading goal for those of us who tend to be on the slower end of reading (like myself) and feel daunted by readers who can conquer a book a week."

Readers can register with the program, which is "as noncommittal as
possible," on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads or in the store. Village
Books asks participants each month what book they've chosen for the
month, checks in in the middle of the month about the book and asks at
the end of the month how readers liked the book. "If they feel like
joining any of the discussions we're holding on Facebook, Twitter,
Goodreads or in the store, they're more than welcome to," McGuirk added.
People who join the discussions each month are entered in drawings to
win one of four $5 Village Books gift certificates.

For more information, including a downloadable PDF that people can use
to track their reading lists and accomplishments, click here
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12358741.

The Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life and Two More

2011-12-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

If you're a professional, skilled, talented writer, you know the dread and desperation you can sometimes face when looking at that blank page in Microsoft Word, or the blank screen of your blog, or even the white page in your typewriter, or legal pad, if you're a luddite.
Fortunately, author Nava Atlas has created a gorgeous book of inspiration, guidance and insight, called "The Literary Ladies'Guide to the Writing Life" Inspiration and Advice from Celebrated Women Authors Who Paved the Way" available from Seller's Publishing.
Atlas has gathered excerpts from diaries, journals, letters, memoirs and interviews with twelve famous female writers, from the wit of George Sand to the wisdom of Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Willa Cather and Edith Wharton.
There is reassurance from Virginia Woolf, who says in a letter "I hate safety, and would rather fail gloriously than dingily succeed!" And "Outwardly, what is simpler than to write books? Outwardly, what obstacles are there for women rather than for a man? Inwardly, I think, the case is very different. She still has many ghosts to fight, many prejudices to overcome. Indeed, it will be a long time, I think, before a woman can sit down to write a book without finding a phantom to be slain, a rock to be dashed against." Yet we know that Woolf conquered her inner phantoms long enough to write several wonderful novels.
Willa Cather offers advice on balance, relating that she worked only two and a half to three hours a day, because "if I made a chore of it, my enthusiasm would die. I make it an adventure every day...I attend to my housekeeping, take walks in Central Park, go to concerts and see something of my friends. I try to keep myself fit, fresh; one has to be in as good a form to write as to sing." Louisa May Alcott echoes these sentiments by stating that she also writes for only two hours a day, as otherwise she suffers from writer's cramp, or what one suspects was carpal tunnel/repetitive stress injury from long writing marathons when she was younger.
Pulitzer-prize winning author Edna Ferber speaks of her fantastic inner life, "Writing is lonely, but the creative writer is rarely alone. The room in which one works is peopled with the men and women and children of the writer's imagination. Often they are difficult, but rarely boring, company."
Yet the each authors work is so necessary, so vital in its unique voice, that writers like Harriet Beecher Stowe believed that the pen would prove mightier than the sword in future battles for equality. "The way to be great lies through books, now and not through battles."
This book provides 192 pages, gorgeously illustrated with photos, drawings and pull-quotes, allowing writers of all stripe to read, reflect and absorb the wisdom and enlightenment of the female authors who have gone before us. Truly a great gift or a present for oneself, "The Literary Ladies" is a feast for scribes and scribblers everywhere. Highly recommended!

I've also just read "The Winter Sea" by Susanna Kearsley, the second of her works I've read, after "The Rose Garden" which I enjoyed, and before "Mariana" which is waiting patiently in my TBR stack.
The Winter Sea was engrossing and fascinating, as it had to do with Scotland, a part of the world that I long to visit, and it was about a novelist, Carrie McClelland, who writes historical fiction, and comes across an ancestor during her research, Sophia, who was involved in the Jacobite invasion of exiled James Stewart in 1708 off the coast of Scotland. Carrie rents a cottage from a lovely old Scotsman who just happens to have two handsome sons, and as Carrie becomes more involved with Graham, the eldest son, she also seems to have more dreams and trances in which she sees and hears what happened to Sophia at nearby Slains Castle before, during and after the attempted invasion. As each fact of what happened proves to be true, Carrie realizes that she's dealing with not just a case of deja vu, but ancestral memory, perhaps gotten through reincarnation, though that option is never fully explored in this book. Still, the way Kearsley mingles the past and the present, and weaves in historical fact and real figures with fictional characters is seamless and hypnotic. The reader pulls for Sophia to be with her Moray, and agonizes over his apparent demise. The prose is robust and the plot, though adventurous, is somewhat measured in pace, slowed by necessary historical explanations that are important as set up for the denoument. I would recommend this book to those who like gothic fiction and historical romance, and give it a solid B+.
Finally, I read the last book in Kristin Landon's "Hidden Worlds" series, "The Dark Reaches" today.After reading "The Hidden Worlds" and "The Cold Minds" in reverse order, I wasn't sure what to expect from The Dark Reaches, so I was pleasantly surprised when it proved to be a fine read. Linnea, the protagonist, and her dynastic pilot lover Iain, set off for earth to try and rescue the last remaining people who've not been taken over by sentient nanobots known as the Cold Minds. Linnea gets something of a distress signal from the "deepsiders" a group of space hippies, for lack of a better term, who have managed to survive being taken over by the Cold Mind nanobots by a kind of vaccination. Meanwhile on Triton, a moon of Neptune, an evil pilot-consort of that civilization's president (whom he's managed to beat into submission) has made a deal with the Cold Minds to let them regularly raid and steal the children of the deepsiders for use as pilots to their spaceships, because pilots can't be subsumed by nanobots and still navigate "Otherspace," which is the wormholes between solar systems. Linnea's noble insistence on saving as many people as possible from the Cold Minds serves her in good stead in this novel, but her insistence on keeping Iain alive, even after he's been infected with Cold Mind nanobots really makes her seem almost too noble and too unwilling to believe that sacrifices are inevitable during war with an implacable enemy. Still, because this is an SF/Romance hybrid, there is an HEA and some satisfying removal of the bad element toward the end of the book. I'd give it a B, and recommend it to my friends who have enjoyed Ann Aguirre's Jax books, or Linnea Sinclair's Dock Five series.

A Few Items of Interest, and The Cold Minds by Kristin Landon

2011-12-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

I agree with Mr Salardino 100 percent, a book is a great gift, and one that I am giving this year to my mom and dad and stepdad, as well as to myself, from local bookstores Island Books and Baker Street Books.

"Technology is ruining the holidays. A download is a dud gift
(dudload?). When you give a 'real world' book to someone you are saying,
'I am totally in love with this book and think you will be too,' or 'The
sentiment in this book reminded me of you,' or 'Here, this is a journey
you will never forget.' A book is a personal gift--something uniquely
picked out, inscribed, and physically presented to another person. It
has emotional and actual weight. I am not saying there are not other
good gifts out there (a ukulele comes to mind), but with a book you
don't have to: mortgage the home, guess bra size, learn to sing, or find
out too late that they are allergic to nuts. That is why I think the
book is the best gift you can give. It is economical, beautiful, hours
of entertainment, thoughtful, and can last (both physically and in the
mind) a lifetime."

--Steven Salardino, manager of Skylight Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12194722, Los Angeles, Calif., from the
bookstore's latest e-newsletter

This is an inspiring list of quotes from Flavorwire, via Shelf Awareness:

http://flavorwire.com/237785/40-inspiring-quotes-about-reading-from-writers

This is a reaction to Amazon.com, which is encouraging people to go into their local bookstore, find a book that they like and then buy it from Amazon.com off the computer, while they give you $5 off. I think that is an un-called for blow to Independent Bookstores, most of whom are an important of the community. Good for Garth for his response:

Author Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain), who is appearing at
Third Place tonight with Robert Goolrich (A Reliable Wife), tweeted his
own strategy
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12203093: "I like
to do the Reverse Amazon: hear about a book, read about it on Amazon,
then go buy it at my local bookstore! It's fun! #ReadLocal."

In a blog post headlined " 'This is the Part Where Amazon Jumps the
Shark' or 'Go Forth and Destroy Your Community Sayeth Amazon,' " Jarek
Steele co-owner of Left Bank Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12203095, St. Louis, Mo.,
observed: "Meanwhile, I can offer this--if you shop at my bookstore, I
will not pay you five dollars to spy on my competitors. In fact, I'll
probably recommend them if we can't get what you need. I won't degrade
your favorite author by giving away a lifetime of her work so that I can
sell electronics. I will not make you feel bad for reading traditional
books, nor will I mock you for choosing an e-reader, e-book or anything
else I offer even if I don't personally like it. After all, customers
are people, not pawns. We still like to shop with people who respect
us."

On Facebook, Occupy Amazon: Shop Local
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12203096
offered a personal challenge from Kim Gavin of Powell's Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12203097, Portland, Ore.:
"Physical retail establishments are not merely showrooms for products. Your local indie
store offers you knowledgeable employees that don't adhere to a
mathematical formula to provide recommendations, physical products to
peruse at your leisure, and a place to meet with members of your
community.... I personally challenge everyone to buy local this Saturday
(and every day thereafter). It's worth $5 to keep our local businesses
alive."

On Friday, Sen. Olympia Snowe
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12224692
(R.-Maine) called for Amazon to cancel its price check plans and
described the online retailer's promotion as "an attack on Main Street
businesses that employ workers in our communities. Small businesses are
fighting every day to compete with giant retailers, such as Amazon, and
incentivizing consumers to spy on local shops is a bridge too far....
During the busiest shopping season of the year, we should remember that
our local restaurants, bookshops, and hardware stores are the economic
engines in our communities."

I've always been a fan of the wonderous claymation of Aardman Animations, since their first "Creature Comforts" video came out, followed by the first Wallace and Gromit adventure to the moon ("We'll go somewhere where there's cheese, Gromit!") so I was delighted to see this trailer for a claymation pirate movie...it looks like loads of fun, and it has my favorite Dr Who, David Tennant, as one of the voices!

Sony Pictures Animation and the U.K.'s Aardman Animations (Wallace &
Gromit) have released a trailer for the stop-motion 3D movie The
Pirates! Band of Misfits
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12203134,
which is directed by Peter Lord (co-directed by Jeff Newitt) and based
on the books by Gideon Defoe. The voice cast includes Hugh Grant, Salma
Hayek, Jeremy Piven, Imelda Staunton and David Tennant. The Pirates!
opens March 30, 2012.

Finally, I happened upon a mass market paperback book in Baker Street Books called "The Cold Minds" and noticed, once I took it from the shelves, that there was a blurb on the cover from Linnea Sinclair, my favorite science fiction/romance hybrid author, and that the main character's name was also Linnea, so the book was sold just from that. Once I brought it home and began to read it, I found it to read like a combination of Sinclairs works and Ann Aguirres, with a heroine who was fiesty and smart, but also honorable and in this books mileau, dealing with a lot of sexism by the spaceship pilots fraternity. Though it's not a long book, it is engrossing, and I was able to spend a bit of time away from Terry Goodkind's "Legend of the Seeker" universe that has become somewhat consuming, as I begin reading book 3, "Blood of the Fold." I've just ordered the third book of Kristin Landon's series, "The Dark Reaches" from Barnes and Noble.

A Wishlist and Support Your Local Bookstore

2011-11-30T11:44:00.000-08:00

I completely agree, and I hope people will shop their local indie bookstore for Christmas presents this holiday season:

"There are lots of reasons to support local businesses, whether it's
mom-and-pop hardware stores or neighborhood farmers' markets. But when
you buy from an independent bookseller, you're doing something more.
You're helping to keep alive an important force in making our national
literary culture more diverse, interesting and delightful. Your shelves
are full of books that wouldn't be there if not for indie booksellers
you've never met, struggling to get by in shops you've never heard of.
That's why it's so important to support the one next door."

--Laura Miller, introducing Salon's new project "Declaration of
Independents
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12137219,"
created to "draw more attention to these fantastic local shops by
featuring your favorites."

I don't think this list is definitive, but it still contains some great shops that I would love to visit:

The Huffington Post featured the "World's Great Bookshops"
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12146659
as chosen by Black Tomato
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12146660,
which said, "We love a good book, and we're definitely advocates for
keeping traditional books alive and the bookshops in which they live. To
inspire you to feel the same we've handpicked our favorite bookshops
from around the globe. There are some truly magical bookstores out
there, if you just know where to look."

Below is a partial wishlist of books I'd like to gather to add to my already towering TBR!

Wishlist
Touch of Power, Maria V Snyder
Don't Sing at the Table, Adriana Trigiani
Darker Still, Lanna Renee Hieber
Bloodhound, Terrier, Mastiff, Tamora Pierce
Curiosity, Joan Thomas
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs
The Good Girls Guide to Getting Lost, Rachel Friedman
Stone Maiden, Ann Aguirre
The Reading Promise, Alice Ozana
The Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson
Blue Eyed Boy, Joanne Harris
Dragon Ship, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Aftertaste, Meredith Mileti
Dark Descendant, Jenna Black
The Story and Its Writer, Ann Charters
A Tea Reader: Living Life One Cup at a Time, Katrina Ávila Munichiello, editor
The Winter Sea, Susanna Kearsley
Mr G: A Novel About the Creation, Alan Lightman
Ghost Light, Joseph O'Connor
Second Read, James Marcus
The Fry Chronicles, Stephen Fry
The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach

On the same note, I've just finished "Wizard's First Rule" by Terry Goodkind, and though I loved the TV series, "Legend of the Seeker" that was based on it, I have to say that reading the book was a much richer experience. So now I've got to make a pilgrimage to Baker Street Books in Black Diamond to get myself copies of the others in the series, so that I can find out what happens next to Kahlin and Richard.

This is a brilliant blog post that describes how I feel when I read something great and engrossing:

"Maybe we build the stories we love into ourselves. Maybe we digest stories. When we eat a pork chop, we break up its cellular constituents, its proteins, its fats, and we absorb as much of the meat as we can into our bodies. We become part pig. Eat an artichoke, become part artichoke. Maybe the same thing is true for what we read. Our eyes walk tightropes of sentences, our minds assemble images and sensations, our hearts find connections with other hearts. A good book becomes part of who we are, perhaps as significant a part of us as our memories. A good book flashes around inside, endlessly reflecting. Its shapes, its people, its places become our shapes, our people, our places.
We take in a story. We metabolize it. We incorporate it."
Read the rest of this wonderful blog here: http://thelitpub.com/a-universe-thats-three-inches-tall-and-weighs-three-pounds/

Rest in Peace, Anne McCaffrey

2011-11-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

Anne McCaffrey, author of the Dragonriders of Pern series and many other SF/F novels, died this past Friday at the age of 85. She had survived a stroke and a heart attack, only to succumb to a killing stroke that, according to the statement by her children, took her swiftly and with no pain, thank God.
I started reading Anne McCaffrey when I was 9 or 10 years old, and reading "Restoree" as a pre-teen was a lifesaver for me, because it gave me hope that one day I could, perhaps, trade in my old fat skin for someone lovely who would win the admiration and adoration of my classmates, particularly Karl McVey and Steve Manion, whom I had crushes on in Junior High.
When I met McCaffrey in 2001, she was wheelchair-bound, but fiesty as anything, swearing like a sailor and laughing with Elizabeth Scarborough, with whom she was on tour for one of their mutual efforts. When I revealed to her that I had just been diagnosed with Crohns Disease, she sputtered and swore about how horribly the disease had been treating her daughter, who had suffered through many intestinal operations. "G-damned Crohn's!" she said, and then, when I told her how much "Restoree" had meant to me as a pre-teen, she said "It meant a lot to me, too, it was my first book!" When I asked to take a photo with her myself, and then with my husband, she insisted that instead of saying "cheese" we say "SEX!" and smile broadly, which of course made everyone laugh. She was ferocious and determined not to let a stroke get her down. She talked about new books on the horizon, especially her collaborations with Scarborough and others. She asked if Jim and I would like to go to supper with her at a local fancy restaurant, but we had to decline, due to our lack of funds to buy dinner, and I was too embarrassed to tell her that, and to explain that we couldn't leave our son at home with a sitter for too long. She seemed somewhat peeved at us for not accepting her invitation, but I felt that otherwise, the meeting was a success, and that I'd met one of my author/heroes.
So when I heard she'd died, I found myself saddened, but I realize that McCaffrey's work leaves behind a huge legacy of great entertainment for young minds who dream of flying with dragons.
This gal's blog expresses what I felt about McCaffrey and her work perfectly.
http://www.geekmom.com/2011/11/pern-the-first-world-i-wanted-to-be-real/
Fly free, Anne!

Some Good Quotes and Some Good Books

2011-11-22T18:09:00.000-08:00

I totally agree with Mr Wallach and I treasure the fact that my mother read to me as a child, and I've read to my son until recently, now that he's a pre-teen and way too cool for that sort of thing.

"I know I'm a Luddite on this, but there's something very personal about
a book and not one of one thousand files on an iPad, something that's
connected and emotional, something I grew up with and that I want them
to grow up with.... I feel that learning with books is as important a
rite of passage as learning to eat with utensils and being
potty-trained."

--Ari Wallach, "a tech-obsessed entrepreneur" and parent in a New York
Times article on parents' preferences for printed books for their children
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12095354

I also find great wisdom in this, from two authors who are pleading for the life of independent bookstores this holiday season...shop local for your book presents, people!

In Down East magazine, cookbook author Kathy Dunst
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12101420
made a case for supporting independent bookstores, beginning with a
confession: "I am a cookbook author and I often send people to Amazon or
Barnes & Noble because I don't know which stores actually stock my
books. It's a damn shame. The independent bookstore crisis seems to
mimic, in some small way, the whole Occupy Wall Street crisis--the 99%
begging to have a voice, to be given a chance when it comes up against
the power of big banks and big money.

"So I am making a vow. I will shop at independent books as much as
possible, even if it means going out of my way and paying a bit more.
It's worth it to me in the end to know that there are still book stores
out there where I can browse for an hour, or an entire afternoon,
reading through new and old books and learning about authors I never
knew. I don't want a computer-generated list of book suggestions coming
to me through my computer. I want to spend more time talking to the
devoted shopkeeper of an independent bookstore who has read these
books--often met the author--and can truly recommend something great. I
want more human-to-human book connection and less time 'talking' to my
computer. I want to look at book covers and feel the gorgeous quality of
the paper. I want to go to readings at independent bookstores and hear
authors talk about writing and the state of the world. This cannot be
reproduced in a computer or chain store."

--- YES!

"I believe that real books, those pulp-and-paste objects that threaten
our backs when moved from home to home in old wine boxes, must
survive--as should the most dedicated merchants who sell them," wrote
author Julia Glass
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12101421
in her "Ode to Indies" for Ladies' Home Journal. "So if you are lucky
enough to live near an independent bookstore, think hard before you
exploit its browsability and then go home to order your books from an
online retail behemoth. (Some bookstores, by the way, can 'fill' your
e-reader onsite.) Even if you don't live near a good shop, many now
maintain websites that enable you to order online just as easily as you
might from Amazon....

"But there's another reason it's so essential to preserve independent
bookstores: The people who run them and what they know. I read reviews
and consider myself pretty 'plugged in' to the literary cosmos, yet one
of the things I love best about book-touring is the opportunity to
compare notes with favorite booksellers around the country. I always
come home with books by authors I'd never heard of--or books I've read
about but didn't realize I might love."

Today marks the beginning of the sun in Sagittarius, my birth sign and that of my son, so I thought I'd drop in a little tutorial about all things Archer!

All About Sagittarius
Sagittarians are known as the "favorites of the gods" for good reason: These folks are famous for their generosity, humor and optimism, as well as their ability to see the best is every situation, no matter how dire the circumstances. A Sagittarius will find a real reason to celebrate each and every day, something due in no small part to Jupiter, this sign's planetary ruler that's best known for benevolence. Of course, the other side of this coin is excess and extravagance, so in addition to knowing how to laugh -- and how to make others laugh -- Sagittarians are also experts at overdoing everything. At the same time, if a Sag has to be restricted to just one of anything, it better be the most impressive of its kind!

Sagittarians are also famous for their love of travel and philosophy -- these people crave knowledge and will spare no effort to satisfy their innate curiosity. Sag's own personal philosophy is that life is nothing more than a series of extended vacations, which is why so many born under the sign of the Archer end up living in a different city, state or even country than where they grew up.

When it comes to relationships, Sagittarians often find that some of their most successful ones are with four-legged creatures -- their connection to anything with fur, feathers and even leaves is legendary. Romantically speaking, if you're a human, you can only have a Sag of your very own if you're willing to hold them with an open palm; restrictions will not be tolerated. However, if you let your Sag sweetie know you care, but allow them to live as they see fit, you'll have gained an intelligent, witty and highly impressive partner whose long-term loyalty will astound you.

One warning about Sagittarians: Don't ever ask them a question if you can't withstand an honest answer. They're bound to tell the truth above all else, regardless of the consequences -- that way, at least they can be sure you know exactly who they are. And while Sagittarians can get along with just about anyone, many of them are drawn to those born under other Fire signs also living by the motto, "What you see is truly what you get."

In the past two weeks, I've finished two novels and a short story collection, Laurel Hamilton's "Never After" a collection of "revised" fairy tales in which the female protagonist refuses to be married off to whomever is chosen for her, and instead chooses her own "happily ever after." With story titles like "Can He Bake a Cherry Pie?" and "The Wrong Bridegroom" it's inevitable that there will be quite a number of twists and turns in this anthology, which, although somewhat uneven in storytelling talent, is still a darned good read. The authors keep the characters just entertaining enough, and just different enough from their classic fairy tale counterparts that the reader feels compelled to read on to find out what happens. It's a fast-paced book and well worth the time. I'd give it a solid B+ and recommend it to fantasy fans who enjoy seeing what a contemporary author can do with a tale retold.
Alice Hoffman's "The Red Garden" was less satisfying, unfortunately, mainly because I felt I'd already read it. Her book "Blackbird House" is nearly a carbon copy of this book, about the origins of a town and the generations of the founders through time. This time, we're again following the pioneer families who founded Blackwell, Massachusetts, and the one crazy woman who manages to keep them all alive, and who eventually runs off with a bear and is never seen or heard from again. As with all her books, there is "magical realism" woven throughout, and people come to realizations, fall in love with someone they're not supposed to, and have strange children. Inevitably, the founders house and her "red garden" are characters in and of themselves, and Hoffman brings it all back around at the end and ties it up with a bow for the reader, though I found that a bit too facile an ending. I also found myself getting bored with the book, which is a cardinal sin for me as a reader, because Blackbird House was so similar in content and form, right down to the child who drowns and the crazy pioneer woman. I've also read "Practical Magic" and "The Ice Queen" and I have a copy of "Probable Future" that has been in my TBR for awhile, so I am familiar with Hoffman's style and her tendency toward quirky female protagonists and bad male characters who meet with grim ends. Though I respect the fact that she's written 29 novels, I am saddened that she seems to "phone it in" with the Red Garden, and re-tread a previous plot with characters that are much the same. I regret that I paid full price for this trade paperback book, though I plan on turning it in for credit at Baker Street Books Used Bookstore. Still, it merits a C at best and I wouldn't recommend it to any but the most die-hard of Hoffman fans who love East Coast historical fiction.
Finally, the last book I finished was Tess Gerritsen's "The Keepsake" which is a Rizzoli and Isles mystery, and as I've watched and loved the TV show (though it has been cancelled, much to my consternation) I thought I'd see how the original novels stacked up. Boston cop Jane Rizzoli isn't as sassy as the TV version, and Medical Examiner Maura Isles on TV is blonde, sleek and not having an affair with a priest, so she seems a lot less skittish and guilty on the tube. Still, though they interacted a bit less than they do on TV, I liked the book version of Rizzoli and Isles, and I found the deft plot and fully-realized characters very interesting, along with the twist at the end that I didn't see coming. This book deserves a B, and I'd recommend it to those who like women solving mysteries and getting their hands dirty in the case, while also learning a lot about Egyptian mummifying techniques.

Home Front, Magic on the Line and Flavia DeLuce

2011-11-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

Home Front by Kristin Hannah is the fourth book I've read by this author, and, full disclosure, it was sent to me as an ARC with a publication date of January 31, 2012. I was surprised at how fast this book reads, because its 390 pages long. But local favorite Hannah has created a wonderfully intimate story with characters so realistic I found it hard to believe I hadn't actually met them. The squeaky-clean prose has just the right amount of description and the plot, though complex, is still swift and sure. I found the book hard to put down once I started reading it this weekend, and, as I wrote to the marketing person for the book, you'll need to have a box of kleenex tissues handy when you read the novel, because from page 199 on, if you're not crying, you have no soul.
Home Front is, as the title declares, the story of a soldier at war, but this time, the soldier is Jolene "Jo" Z, whose husband Michael, a lawyer, doesn't approve of her military service and who tells her the day before she is deployed to Iraq that he no longer loves her. What follows is Jo's emails home to her two daughters that downplay the horrors of war, her private journal entries that tell the terrifying reality and Michael's struggle to raise his two children while also growing up and figuring out what he wants out of life and of his wife. When Jo's Apache Helicopter is shot down, and her best friend is near death's door and Jo loses her leg, the real test of family and marital love, loyalty and mental health are tested. I really felt for Jolene from the beginning of the book, because she had such a horrible childhood with selfish, alcoholic parents who abandoned her, only to have her selfish husband try to abandon her again just when she needed him most. But the fact that Jo gets through all the grief and guilt and manages to keep her marriage and her family intact while learning to walk with a prosthetic leg was just amazing and uplifting and made me proud to be an American and a woman. I would give this book an A, and recommend it to those who have either served in the military or come from military families. It's a journey worth taking, trust me.

Flavia deLuce is back, just in time for the holidays in "I am Half-Sick of Shadows," by Alan Bradley. As with all Flavia's mysteries, there is skulduggery afoot, but this time, it's all happening under Flavia's nose at the family estate, Buckshaw. The colonel, her father, is drowning in debt and allows a film crew to rent his family mansion for a movie to try and solve his cash flow problem. The film stars aging star Phyllis Wyvern, who agrees to do a scene from Romeo and Juliet (prior to shooting the film) as a fundraiser for the town church's roof repair. Unfortunately, though the whole town of Bishops Lacey shows up, so does a blizzard of Biblical proportions, and everyone is stuck at Buckshaw until the roads clear. Meanwhile, Flavia is concocting a sticky trap for St Nick and putting fireworks on the roof, while also uncovering family secrets about Phyllis Wyvern. When Wyvern ends up dead, strangled with her own movie film, Flavia gathers clues and figures out whodunit in record time. Though Flavia is the same age as my son Nick, she's a bit more mature, and uses her brilliant mind to see through the lies and secrets of the adults around her, without being judgmental. As with all the previous Flavia deLuce mysteries, Bradley's prose is clear and precise and his plots are so fast they're breathtaking. I'd give this book a B+ and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys British mysteries and unusual detectives/sleuths.
Finally, the second to last Allie Beckstrom urban fantasy, Magic on the Line (by Devon Monk) just hit the shelves at the beginning of November. This 7th novel in the series is pretty dark, and has Allie going up against the new head of the Authority, a bad apple named Bartholomew Wray, who refuses to believe that all the magic in the city has been corrupted by the Veiled, and is making Allie sick whenever she uses it. Add to that a plague that kills people who get bitten by the Veiled, and you can imagine the mayhem that ensues. Both Allie's boyfriend Zayvion and her Hound friends and authority friends will have to make some seriously tough decisions before the end of the book, and there is a lot of emotional fallout to deal with not only in her relationship with Zay, but in her dealings with the Authority and magic. As usual, I love Monks fun and funky Portland,Oregon setting, her zingy, tangy prose and her lightening-fast plots. It took me less than a day to read this book, and like potato chips, Monks novels leave you hungering for more. I'd give this book a B+ and recommend it to anyone who loves local urban fantasy and kick-arse heroines.

This guy has a point! Especially for someone like me, who has loads of books:

E-Books: A Threat to Marriage?

"The lightness of the e-book medium, literally and figuratively, holds a
terrible allure and an insidious threat to the heavily booked-up among
us. How many marriages, seemingly held firm by the impossibility of
moving several hundredweight of vinyl or CDs out of a family-sized home,
have already foundered post the digitization of music? How many more
will break if apparently inseparable and immovable matrimonial libraries
become something that anyone can walk out with in their pocket?"

--James Meek in the most recent issue of the London Review of Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12011384

In my opinion, this is a much better way to change the world:
John Wood Continues to Change the World

Nicholas Kristof had a touching update in the New York Times yesterday
on John Wood, author of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz12011411,
whose charity, Room to Read, has opened 12,000 libraries and 1,500
schools around the world since it began in 1998 and also supports some
13,500 impoverished girls. Recently, in Vietnam, Wood handed out his 10
millionth book.

Kristof wrote in part: "So many American efforts to influence foreign
countries have misfired--not least here in Vietnam a generation ago. We
launch missiles, dispatch troops, rent foreign puppets and spend
billions without accomplishing much. In contrast, schooling is cheap and
revolutionary. The more money we spend on schools today, the less we'll
have to spend on missiles tomorrow."

Woods told Kristof: "In 20 years, I'd like to have 100,000 libraries,
reaching 50 million kids. Our 50-year goal is to reverse the notion that
any child can be told 'you were born in the wrong place at the wrong
time and so you will not get educated.' That idea belongs on the
scrapheap of human history."

I Got An ARC From Kristin Hannah!

2011-11-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me can tell you that nothing makes me happier than getting a new book to read, and yesterday I was delighted to receive two books in the mail. One was Devon Monk's latest Allie B book, Magic on the Line, which I ordered from the perfectly wonderful Island Books on Mercer Island, and the other was an unexpected but most welcome copy of Kristin Hannah's "Home Front" which is due out next year. I was so delighted that I was doing my "Milk the Dairy Cow" happy dance, recently stolen from the TV series "Body of Proof!" So now I have a ton of great reading ahead of me. The enclosed literature says that if I like the book and post a review, they will send me a free hardback copy of the novel...I like the sound of that, getting another free book in the mail, hurrah! I've already read three of Hannah's other books, Magic Hour, True Colors and either Night Road or Firefly Lane, I don't remember which, with the other one in my TBR. Still, I always look forward to reading good local authors whose works are traditionally published.
Meanwhile, here are some fun things I found in Shelf Awareness this week:
I couldn't agree more:

"You must hold a real book in your hand, smell the pages, examine the
type face, the spacing between letters; must note the shape and size of
the book, the weight of it. Only then can you experience the book's full
import. And its magic.

"A book as an object is a piece of history....

"Of course, new books are not quite the same, but you can be a book's
'first' owner, the first to hold, read and study it. You can learn from
its binding and paper and weight and lettering and smell. You can hold a
new book in trust for its future owners. You can become part of its
history.

"Give your e-reader a rest, grab a real, printed book: and feel the
magic."

--Helen Selzer, owner of Farshaw's Too
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11985866, South
Egremont, Mass., in a post on her blog Books Books Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11985867.

This is a splendid idea!

Point Reyes Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11978833,
Point Reyes, Calif., has developed a program called community supported bookstore (CSB)
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11978834,
based on the principles of community supported agriculture (CSA), the
Point Reyes Point reported.

Under the CSB, customers can deposit from $150-$500 into a bookstore
account, make purchases from that account and receive a 5% discount. The
bookstore will use CSB fees for operational and community events during
slower months. The store introduced the program two weeks ago at an
event with Michael Ondaatje and already has 30 members.

Steve Costa, who with his wife, Kate Levinson, bought the store in 2003,
told the paper: "It's an opportunity for locals to step up and really
support the bookstore. To say, 'I really want this bookstore to survive
over time.' Those dollars really will make a big difference."

The store hopes to have 200 members in the CSB by the end of the year
and at least 500 members within a year. The model might work for other
indies, Costa said.

Sad, but true:

"When we are green, still half-created, we believe that our dreams are
rights, that the world is disposed to act in our best interests, and
that falling and dying are for quitters. We live on the innocent and
monstrous assurance that we alone, of all the people ever born, have a
special arrangement whereby we will be allowed to stay green forever."
--Tobias Wolff, This Boy's Life: A Memoir

So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson, Plus Tidbits

2011-10-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Being a tea-drinker from the time I was old enough to hold a cup,
I really, really want a copy of this book! From Shelf Awareness for Readers and Shelf Awareness Pro:

A Tea Reader: Living Life One Cup at a Time
by Katrina Ávila Munichiello, editor

As autumn arrives, many of us look forward to crisp fall evenings curled up with a steaming mug and a good book. This anthology of essays, stories and poems devoted to the art and comfort of tea is as warm and soothing as that hot cuppa.
A Tea Reader is divided into five "steeps," each illuminating a different aspect of tea: its effect on the individual, its ability to create fellowship, the formal and informal rituals attending it, the joys and hardships of careers in tea, and the travels of tea enthusiasts. Readers will connect with fellow tea lovers throughout history, from ancient Chinese poets to 19th-century authors to modern-day authorities. Rudyard Kipling details his visit to a Japanese teahouse; New Orleans tea seller George Constance rebuilds his shop after Hurricane Katrina tears it down; other writers recount the beginnings of their own love affairs with the leaf.
While the book's topic alone makes it the perfect gift for the tea enthusiast in your life, the selections all are also skillfully written, whether somber, joyful or educational in tone. Most share a contemplative, peaceful sensibility (often achieved over a cup of Earl Grey). So although at least a passing appreciation for tea will further readers' appreciation, any fan of good writing will enjoy sampling the contents... even, dare it be said, those who prefer coffee. --Jaclyn Fulwood, graduate assistant, University of Oklahoma Libraries

I agree, and I am a fan of Vincent Van Gogh:

"I think it's going to be many years before there's a formal portrait
where the sitter is clutching his or her Kindle or iPad. I'm not at all
concerned that the interest in the book is going to disappear," said Ken
Soehner, chief librarian at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11916876, in introducing some of
his favorite book-related artwork for the Met's Connections series.

"Books have a symbolic importance that goes far beyond the text," he
observed, adding: "I think Van Gogh is one of the great painters of
books. They are very bookish. They're very much about the materiality of
books. They are not props. They're part of the inevitability of everyday
life. Oddly enough, they're very often not the sitter's books, but Van
Gogh's books. It's the self-portrait in a way through his books."

So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson is yet another readers memoir about taking a year to read a certain number of books for a specific reason. In this case, Nelson wants to read books she should have read in high school and college, as well as books in her TBR stacks that she hasn't gotten to for one reason or another, plus books she wants to revisit, books friends give her, books on her parents shelves, etc. This is the third such memoir I've read this year, and though I did enjoy Nelson's insights and sense of humor about trying to be a parent and a writer and still have time to read a book a week for a year, I found myself slightly put off by her consistent references to being a New Yorker, a Jewish person, and a cynic. Not that it is bad to be any of those things, but Nelson contends that they influence her reading choices to the exclusion of other genres of books. It seems to lead her to a fascination/obsession with Philip Roth and to be bored with 90 percent of children's literature, which saddened me, as I've always felt that some of the worlds the greatest authors wrote books for children, and my mother reading classic children's books to me has had a great influence on my life as a reader. Though I can't, as an Iowan Protestant, really identify with Nelson about many of her book choices, I can identify with her struggle to find the time to read as a wife and mother and journalist. And I found her familiar ground when she states that she likes to have two or more books going at once, as that's something I also do all the time. I also completely understood her method of finding inspiration for writing:
"Any writer who's honest will tell you that she usually comes up with her best lines or her important transitional paragraph not when she's sitting in front of the computer, watching the clock or using the word-count mechanism in her word processing program, but when she's stepping into the showing, making dinner or cleaning the cat litter." So true!
Nelson reviews mostly books that I have already read or would never read (I've never liked the work of Philip Roth)but her love of Elinor Lipman, my grad school mentor, and her adulation of Nora Ephron, whom I also adore, kept me reading and laughing. I'd give the book a solid B+ and recommend it for all those bibliophiles out there who struggle to find time to read in their hectic lives.

The Value of Bookstores

2011-10-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is so true, and I delight that it is from my favorite Monty Pythoner, the adorable Michael Palin:

"There's nothing that lifts the spirits of this author like a good
local, independent bookshop. Through all the recent ups and downs of
bookselling, the best of the independents have shown the way forward,
championing that personal connection between shops, readers and authors
that is the life blood of the trade."

--Michal Palin
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11869016,
author and Monty Python legend, speaking to the Daily Mail in support of
the Hive Network http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11869017 of indie retailers in the U.K.

And more on the value of a good community bookstore, something I feel is greatly lacking in Maple Valley:

In "Ode to the Bookstore
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11875844,"
the Daily Beast's John Avlon wrote that "if you care about the unique
character of your community, if you believe in rewarding the rugged
independence of small businesses, then your local independent bookstore
deserves your support, now more than ever. This is an admittedly
counter-cultural effort--but that is part of its appeal and sense of
purpose."

Avlon recommended a number of his favorite indies coast to coast, but
noted that "beloved as all these might be, you don't need a crystal ball
to see that independent bookstores are going to have to at least adjust
their business model to remain relevant in the face of new technology."

He cited Mitch Kaplan's Books & Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11875845
stores in the Miami area as the "best model I've seen" because they "are
now built around cafes and outdoor courtyards, where friends meet for
coffee in the morning or a drink after work. Local musicians play and
nationally known authors read, as free concerts open to the public. It
is an expanded version of the old coffeehouse model--beer and wine is
served along with good food--and buying a book becomes a backdrop, an
essential organic part of the overall experience."

Avlon also showcased "a gallery of some of the great and iconic
independent bookstores
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11875846
across the United States. Seek them out. Support and appreciate them.
Rally round their flag because they make your city or town a better
place to live by keeping the soul of the great good place alive."

This is about a new bookstore in Seattle, the Book Larder, a place where food and books meet, and considering how fond I am of both, I should visit, soon!

"What began as a dream of local literary force Kim Ricketts has been
realized by Lara Hamilton, who took over Kim Ricketts Book Events before
its beloved founder passed away," Eater
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11861761
wrote about this week's opening of the Book Larder
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11861762, Seattle, Wash.

In addition to featuring a photo tour of the space, Eater noted that
"local chefs, home cooks, food nerds and bibliophiles have been eagerly
anticipating the arrival" of the new shop, which "evokes the same
giddiness as San Francisco's Omnivore Books, but with the savvy addition
of a kitchen and demonstration area."

Hamilton told the Seattle Times that she wants the Book Larder
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11861763 "to be a place where people can gather and linger, where if we're not too busy, someone might offer you a cup of tea or
something we've been cooking from a book."
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11861764

And finally, our locale titan of industry, Amazon.com, has launched a new imprint, specifically for SF/F, my favorite genre:

Amazon has launched its seventh publishing imprint, 47North
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11861757, which focuses
on science fiction, fantasy and horror. The imprint will debut with 15
books, including The Mongoliad: Book One, the beginning of a five-book,
collaborative Foreworld series led by Neal Stephenson and Greg Bear.

Also,the Warner Bros. 3D film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great
Gatsby will open December 25, 2012. Deadline.com reported that director Baz
Luhrmann began filming his adaptation last month in Australia. The movie
stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Carey Mulligan,
Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke and Elizabeth Debicki.
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11886497

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern--BOTY

2011-10-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, I finished what was, for me, the best Book of the Year (BOTY), The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
It was an amazing work that gripped me from start to finish.
I am still astonished that the author is so young, and that this is her first published book...she could easily be our next Alice Hoffman or Mary Stewart or Neil Gaiman, for that matter. Her ability to create a dark, alluring atmosphere is unparalleled and her prose is delicious, as addictive as sacher torte or a red velvet cupcake with dark chocolate icing...sweet and yet not nauseatingly childlike...its the full-flavor of a sinful, irresistible adult confection.

Here's the book jacket summation:

"The Circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices plastered on lamp posts or billboards. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.
Within these nocturnal black-and-white striped tents awaits an utterly unique experience, a feast for the senses, where one can get lost in a maze of clouds, meander through a lush garden made of ice, stare in wonderment as a tattooed contortionist folds herself into a small glass box, and become deliciously tipsy from the scents of caramel and cinnamon that waft through the air.
Welcome to Le Cirque des Reves.
Beyond the smoke and mirrors, however, a fierce competition is under way--a contest between two young illusionists, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in a game to which they have been irrevocably bound by their mercurial masters."

What follows are gorgeous magics that are illuminated at the beginning of each chapter with such evocative sincerity that the reader is hard-pressed to not run out and attempt to find Le Cirque des Reves and wander its pathways oneself. The characters are well fleshed out (unless they are ghosts), believable and fascinating. The plot is swift, sure and intense throughout the novel. I tried in vain to slow down the turning of pages, so as to savor the wonderment and experience each sensual chapter for as long as possible, but inevitably, the end drew nigh and I was finished at midnight last night, which is somehow appropriate, as the Cirque des Reves opens at nightfall and closes at dawn in whichever town it has landed. The story takes place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, so we get a glimpse of a more gilded age, a time when gentlemen wore bowler hats and ladies wore gowns and gloves. The love story woven throughout the Night Circus is written with an air of discreet melancholy and framed by sacrifice. There is almost a Shakespearean aspect to it, beautiful but bittersweet.

As you can imagine, I highly recommend this novel for anyone of an artistic or creative nature, and for those who enjoy beautiful stories, well told. A+ and a white rose to the author, Erin Morgenstern. I now consider myself a dedicated Reveur, and will wear a dark red scarf this winter in honor of this mesmerizing work.

Also, I adored this list, which has so many characters I adore on it, I felt I had to post it here:
http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/10/07/top-25-sci-fantasy-icons-of-the-21st-century/

RIP Steve Jobs, Apple Icon, and Other Sad News

2011-10-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

I was just telling Adrian Sechrist, Mac computer expert, on Tuesday that I thought Steve Jobs, my ultimate college crush, was going to pass on soon. Adrian assured me that wasn't the case, and then the next day, Oct 5, my 14th wedding anniversary and my mothers 74th birthday, Jobs died of pancreatic cancer. So Wednesday was a bittersweet day for me, and for millions of Mac lovers around the world.
Here is a link to an article that has links to many tributes to Steve Jobs, Apple Computers co-founder and brilliant, gorgeous man. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/10/remembrances-reflections-pour-in-for-steve-jobs.html

From Shelf Awareness:

Like millions of others around the world, we at Shelf Awareness were
saddened to hear of the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. We're big
fans--most of our capital assets are Apple products.

Apple enthusiasts are already turning to books to find out more about
the man some are comparing with Edison and Einstein. Steve Jobs by
Walter Isaacson ($35, 9781451648539), whose pub date was moved up by
publisher Simon & Schuster to October 24 from November 21, is #1 on
Amazon. Isaacson, author of biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert
Einstein, had been asked by Jobs to write about his life.

Agate Publishing's I, Steve: Steve Jobs in His Own Words, edited by
George Beahm ($10.95, 9781932841664), a collection of more than 200 Jobs
quotations, is coming out on November 15. Agate president Doug Seibold
said the company may be able to update the book, which is at the
printer, and is more likely to make changes to the e-book, which had
been finished. The book was #21 on Amazon this morning.

Recent titles on Jobs include:

* Inside Steve's Brain by Leander Kahney (Portfolio, $24.95,
9781591842972), which was updated in 2009.
* The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles
for Breakthrough Success by Carmine Gallo (McGraw-Hill, $25,
9780071748759), published in 2010.
* The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation by Jay Eliot, a
former senior v-p of Apple (Vanguard, $25.99, 9781593156398), published
in March.
* Return to the Little Kingdom: Steve Jobs and the Creation of Apple by
Michael Moritz (Overlook, $15.95, 9781590204016), which was reprinted
last year.

Another related title is a bit unusual but exquisitely timed. Apple
Design, a tribute to the design of Apple products and to Jonny Ive, the
design guru at Apple, is being published by Hatje Cantz and distributed
here by Artbook/DAP ($60, 9783775730112). The book accompanies a show
called Stylectrical: On Electro-Design That Makes History currently up
at the Museum fuer Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, Germany.

Yesterday, my husband was telling me about this, and I was stunned, as I've visited the U Village B&N many times over the years, and I've always loved that store. I believe the landlords who are booting them out will be sorry, eventually, when they lose the people that the bookstore brought to U Village.

Barnes & Noble is closing its store at University Village in Seattle,
Wash.
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11837921,
the large, upscale shopping mall in the University district, according
to the Seattle Times. B&N and the mall owner apparently were unable to
come to an agreement on a new lease.

The 16-year-old store has 46,000 square feet of space on two levels and
is one of B&N's largest stores. It's also the largest retail tenant at
U-Village. B&N has a dozen other locations in the Seattle area.

This really does make me want to go back to college!

Smith College Launches Book Studies Concentration

Tomorrow morning, Smith College, Northampton, Mass., is introducing a
"book studies concentration"
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11815211 that will draw on "the
exceptional resources of the Mortimer Rare Book Room and the wealth of
book artists and craftspeople of the Pioneer Valley." In classes,
through field projects and independent research, students will learn
about the history of the book, from oral memory and papyrus scrolls to
digital media, as well as book production, technology and design,
illustration, the book trade, libraries, literacy and more.

Finally, Tor is doing SF/F fans a solid here:

Noting that "indie booksellers also hold up half the sky
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11831490,"
science fiction and fantasy publisher Tor will feature monthly picks by
indies on its blog, asking booksellers "from somewhere in the universe
what they think we should be reading. At the same time you'll get a
little bit of information about the booksellers themselves. We'll not
only be showcasing great reading lists but also putting a spotlight on
the many wonderful independent homes for SF&F books around the world."
Kicking things off this month is Borderlands Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11831491
San Francisco, Calif.

A New Bookstore Nearby!

2011-09-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

This is from Shelf Awareness, and I am nearly giddy with excitement that there will be a new bookstore opening up in a town that is only 15-20 miles away!

University Book Store to Pop Up in Renton
University Book Storehttp://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11797506, which has eight stores in and near Seattle, Wash., is opening its ninth store, at the Landing in Renton, next month. It's a 3,000-sq.-ft. "pop-up" store that may lead to a permanent store in the area. The store will offer new,used and bargain books, University of Washington Husky gear and gift items.Bryan Pearce, CEO of University Book Store, said that the store aims to serve "a special and growing community of people, those who enjoy reading and appreciate the value and experiences provided by a high quality independent bookstore. We also know that there are many long time University Book Store customers and University of Washington fans and supporters in the greater Renton area."University Book Store is 111 years old and has four stores in Seattle and one each in Bellevue, Mill Creek, Bothell and Tacoma.

And though I am not a huge fan of his show, No Reservations (he eats stuff I wouldn't feed to my worst enemy) I can totally understand this quote, because I grew up in the same way:

"I come from a house filled with books. I had very good English teachers in high school. I was something of a reading prodigy when I was a little kid. When I was in kindergarten, I stole my parents' copy of Why Johnny Can't Read. It angered me that they would have such a book, and I read the whole thing. I was reading way ahead of my grade level for all of grammar school and beyond. I read very quickly. I read a lot. I read widely. It is a pleasure for me, a passion."--Anthony Bourdain

Valuable ARCs and A New Wishlist

2011-09-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

This is a good question, from Shelf Awareness:How can ARCs be valued at 50 times the finished version? After posingthis question, the Guardian noted that "book collectors are a funny lothttp://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11776895.Unlike readers, who are concerned with what's inside the book, the truedelight of any volume for a collector lies in the nuts and bolts of the book's production. First editions, signed copies, limited releases...these are valued above rubies by the book collector. But there's also ashadowy gray market in book collecting--that of dealing in proofs."The used book market "is currently convulsed by one of its periodic kerfuffles" because an uncorrected proof copy of Hannu Rajaniemi's science fiction debut The Quantum Thief is listed for sale at 275(US$432). Among the puzzled onlookers is Jon Weir, senior publicitymanager at Orion imprint Gollancz. He told the Guardian that the book was being sold "with my press release in. I mean, it was a good press release, but not worth 275!!"

I think this is a fascinating idea, going on a tour of author statues:
Monumental Works: Statues of Famous Authors
Flavorwire "collected a series of statues of some of our favorite authors, from the surreal (Kafka) to the cheeky (Hemingway) to the monumentally brooding (Tolstoy)," observing that "there’s something satisfying about a life-size (or larger than life) statue of a beloved figure, able to be touched and taking up space in the world."

Meanwhile, here's a (wish) list of books I want to read, or explore reading:
A Long, Long Sleep, Anna Sheehan
How to Save a Life, Sara Zarr
Changos Beads and Two-Tone Shoes, William Kennedy
The Night Circus, E Morgenstern
Admission, (forgot the authors name)

Seattle Should be in the Top 10

2011-09-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

I can't imagine why Seattle isn't in the top 10 on this list, as we still have a number of great bookstores and plenty of readers and reading groups! From Shelf Awareness for Readers:

Top 10 Cities in U.S. for Book Lovers

Livability.com's "Top 10 Cities for Book Lovers" list highlights "some of the independent bookstores that are still standing and the cities that support them. We started our search by looking at cities with either iconic bookstores, huge numbers of bookstores or emphatic bookstore supporters. You can see which stores maintain the independent spirit and the cities we deem best suited for book lovers. But one cannot live on books alone. That's why the cities we picked offer a great quality of life, plenty of entertainment and awesome outdoor activities." The top 10 are:

1. Portland, Ore.
2. Kansas City, Mo.
3. San Jose, Calif.
4. Charlottesville, Va.
5. Iowa City, Iowa
6. Traverse City, Mich.
7. Pueblo, Colo.
8. Coral Gables, Fla.
9. Spokane, Wash.
10. Charlotte, N.C.

A lovely poem by Dante Gabriel, who has the same initials that I do:
I have been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell;
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet keen smell,
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore,
You have been mine before--
How long ago I may not know;
But just when at that swallow's soar
Your neck turned so,
Some veil did fall--I knew it all of yore. --Dante Gabriel Rossetti

I hope that they have this for the Nook e-reader soon, as I have a Barnes and Nobel e-reader and not an Amazon Kindle:

Borrowing Kindle Books: Seattle Libraries Beta-Lend

Some libraries in Seattle are beta testing
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11747254
the Amazon Kindle feature that lets patrons select and place holds on
Kindle versions of books, Brier Dudley wrote in the Seattle Times,
noting that the "downside, from my perspective as a fan of public
libraries, is that the process requires you to visit Amazon.com to
borrow a book and have commercial offers interjected into the process.
But then again, you're opting to consume a public library book via the
world's largest e-commerce business, on a device optimized for selling
books."

"It's a big deal for us because so many of our patrons have purchased
Kindles, and they've been asking for the longest time," said Bill
Ptacek, director of the King County Library System, which began offering
the service Monday.

"I hope libraries are getting a deal on the service and the Kindle
editions they acquire, because Amazon will benefit from the traffic and
profiling opportunities generated by the public libraries, not to
mention the big improvement in the Kindle's utility and appeal that
library lending brings," Dudley observed.

Selected Tidbits from Shelf Awareness

2011-09-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Great Quote, and so true!

"Books can be passed around. They can be shared. A lot of people like
seeing them in their houses. They are memories. People who don't
understand books don't understand this. They learn from TV shows about
organizing that you should get rid of the books that you aren't reading,
but everyone who loves books believes the opposite. People who love
books keep them around, like photos, to remind them of a great
experience and so they can revisit and say, 'Wow, this is a really great
book.' " Daniel Goldin, owner of Boswell Book Company
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11698400

World Book Night Book Nominations!

The top 100 nominations for World Book Night in the U.K. next year have been
unveiled. During the past two months, more than 6,000 people submitted
their 10 favorite reads. The collated results will inform the choices of
the editorial selection committee, chaired by novelist Tracy Chevalier.
A final list of 25 titles for World Book Night 2012 will be announced
October 12 at the Frankfurt Book Fair.http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11698423

The World Book Night Top 100
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11698424 is led
by Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, followed by Jane Austen's Pride
and Prejudice, Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief, Charlotte Bronte's Jane
Eyre and Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife.

I love the smell of books, the feel of them, the joy of shopping for books that contain whole new worlds to explore, in the palm of your hands.

"Eric Hellman explored the concept of people who claim to love the smell of books, noting that it seems odd "until you think about the time-travel aspects of smell.... I've been talking to a lot of people about the books that they love. 'Love' in this context is not the 'love' people might use casually to describe their relationship with a product for sale. Instead, people seem to relate to books the way they relate to people. There's the love for a teacher who makes a difference in your life. Love for a friend you helps you feel joy. The thrill of discovering a soul mate. And among authors, there's the blind love for a child that goes beyond all rationality.

"The intensity of these emotions must get bound up with smells in the hippocampus to create a lasting impression on book lovers. When we smell a book all of these feelings resonate across time and they comfort us. Even in the future when all our reading is done on e-book readers or other screens, we'll keep real books around us like the clothing of a spouse or a parent lost to a tragedy, left in the bed to warm and comfort. And then we'll find strength to move on, but the spirit of the book will remain."

The Tempest is my favorite Shakespeare play, because the words are so beautiful and the characters so lush and real. This whole idea of revisiting it intrigues me, especially when another favorite author, Neil Gaiman, is evoked!

When Prospero Lost came out in 2009, L. Jagi Lamplighter's modern
version of the characters from Shakespeare's The Tempest seemed to draw
inspiration from Neil Gaiman, especially the Sandman comic book. It
wasn't just that Prospero's daughter Miranda--now the head of a
multinational corporation that keeps supernatural powers in check so
they don't wreak havoc upon the earth--had a full contingent of equally
immortal brothers (and a sister), each with their own magical weapon. A
more profound similarity lay in Lamplighter's efforts to create a
totalizing worldview, one in which all mythologies and folklores are
equally valid and capable of commingling.

Lamplighter built that premise up slowly in the first book and its
sequel, Prospero in Hell, as Miranda struggled to reunite her estranged
siblings after discovering that her father was being held captive by
demons. Their rescue mission was disrupted on the very last pages of
that second novel, and Prospero Regained picks up the story almost
exactly where it left off, as the family slowly reassembles itself once
more and then heads to the tower where their father is being held
captive.

Along the way, Lamplighter resolves several issues that have been
kicking around throughout the trilogy. Is Miranda's devotion to Prospero
simply a matter of familial affection, or could it be sorcerous
compulsion? Why does her brother Erasmus hate her with such intensity?
And where does Caliban fit into all this, exactly?

Prospero Regained also pushes the trilogy's theology in a new direction.
From the beginning, Miranda has maintained that her devotion to the
unicorn goddess Eurynome is not incompatible with her professed
Protestant faith. During this final novel's long treks across Hell,
there is much occasion for religious debate--since one of her brothers
was once a pope, such debate is perhaps inevitable--and Lamplighter
eventually puts forward a scenario that strives to reconcile pagan
pantheons with Christian views on salvation. (Sometimes the argument
gets especially wordy, and when the demons chime in, there's at least
one monologue that lays out its agenda so baldly it's as if we've
temporarily wandered into an Ayn Rand novel.)

Unfortunately, this isn't a story you can jump into mid-stream: although
Lamplighter recaps as much of the previous two novels as she can without
dragging everything to a complete halt, there's only so much internal
monologues and "let's go over what we've learned so far" conversations
can cover. To fully appreciate the magnitude of Miranda's dramatic
transformation over the course of Prospero Regained, readers need the
earlier books--but for contemporary fantasy fans who enjoy a healthy
dose of the epic, that won't be much of a burden. --Ron Hogan

I Can Think of Many More Awesome Female Heroines!

2011-09-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

Topless Robot has this list of Badass Women from Fantasy Novels on it's website today, and I had to add, in the comments, about 10 more that they completely missed, including Yelena from Maria V Snyder's Poison Study series and Karin Murphy from the Dresden Files (Harry Dresden would have died a lot sooner without her help).
http://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/09/10_badass_women_from_fantasy_literature.php

Also, I've asked my husband to get me tickets to see Neil and Amanda for our 14th wedding anniversary in October, and he said yes! I wonder if the estimable Mr G will allow time for the signing of some of his wonderful books?

An evening with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11683940.
Beginning in Los Angeles on Halloween, "pop-culture freaks and geek
newlyweds" Palmer and Gaiman will be "taking their domestic and creative
union to the West Coast this fall with a short tour," Wired reported,
noting that the project "already boasts a complementary Kickstarter
project that has grabbed more than $70,000 in funding in just a few days, with
weeks to go."
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11683941

According to Palmer, "This show will be very different beast from the
loud, crazed rock shows that I'm accustomed to... and also very
different from the relatively well-behaved readings to which Neil is
accustomed. This tour is a like one big, long reception in which our two
fan-families get to meet each other."

Gaiman hopes "that Amanda's fans will put up with the messy-haired
Englishman reading them stories, and that mine will enjoy the beautiful
lady singing them songs of angst, post-modernism and woe. Or possibly
vice versa."

Not only has Jane Lynch made Sue Sylvester an iconic character on the brilliant TV show "Glee" she apparently has excellent taste in literature, as well:
Book Brahmin: Jane Lynch

Television and film actress Jane Lynch
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11683973 (who
plays Sue Sylvester on Glee) grew up on the South Side of Chicago and
currently lives in Los Angeles. She married Dr. Lara Embry in 2010, and
was lucky enough to get two daughters in the deal. Happy Accidents, her
memoir, has just been published by Voice (September 13, 2011). Watch
Jane's hilarious book trailer here.
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11683974

On your nightstand now:

The Wisdom of Menopause by Dr. Christiane Northrup. I usually read it in
the middle of the night while hot-flashing.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye by Kenneth P. O'Donnell. I was
Kennedy-obsessed as a kid.

Your top five authors:

David McCullough, John Irving, David Sedaris, Nora Ephron, Dr.
Christiane Northrup. After I read historical biographies, I like to
laugh.

Book you've faked reading:

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I was about 23, and I would "read" my
dog-eared Penguin copy while on the subway trying to look educated.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav. I bought multiple copies to give away to
friends. I inscribed them with "this will change your life."

Book you've bought for the cover:

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I read it and loved it in
the early '80s and re-read it recently and thought it was rather silly.

Book that changed your life:

Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav.

Favorite line from a book:

"An authentically empowered person is one who is so strong, so
empowered, that the idea of using force against another is not a part of
his or her consciousness." --Seat of the Soul.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.

Shelf Awareness Widget to Win a Free Book!

2011-09-08T18:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11677876
Many thanks to all the booksellers and bloggers who've embedded our spiffy book giveaway button. This week our signed, first edition giveaway is The Winters in
Bloom by Lisa Tucker.

If you'd like to put this on your website or blog, go here
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11677876.

If you already have the button, it will automatically update!

And if you have friends who are not subscribed to Shelf Awareness for
Readers, they can sign up and be entered for a chance to win a copy of
The Winters in Bloom here
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11677877.

On Labor Day, Thank a Bookseller

2011-09-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

This essay is from Shelf Awareness, and I completely agree that Booksellers are under-appreciated for what they do so well--keeping bibliophiles like me in good reading materials! My thanks to Jeff Morris, Roger Page and Mr Charles (all bookstore owners) for their hard work!

Robert Gray: Bookselling Is Harder than It Looks

They say it all the time. Right this minute, somewhere in the world, a
customer is waiting at the POS counter, chatting with a bookseller while
purchases are rung up, appropriate currency exchanged and selections
bagged (or not, depending upon local custom and environmental
awareness). They may be talking about one of the chosen titles or the
weather, favorite authors or town politics. But sooner or later the
customer will be compelled by some mysterious cosmic force to embark on
the requisite traditional litany.

"It must be so wonderful to be surrounded by books all day," he or she
will say. "You have the best job in the world. I've always wanted to
work in a bookstore."

If you are that bookseller, you will smile and nod... knowingly, yet
still guarding a secret of the ages that only those in the trade
understand.

Bookselling is harder than it looks.

Customers enter your bookstores because they want to. By contrast, they
enter grocery stores because they have to. Bookshops are both a refuge
and an adventure for them. Once inside, they move through a sensory
wonderland--row upon row of books; soft strains of music in the air,
mingled with the scent of coffee or baked goods.

All over the world, booksellers greet them courteously, ask how they
are. Perhaps no one has asked them that question all day, not even their
families. They say "fine" in the language of the land because, quite
suddenly, at this moment and in these special places, they are fine.
There are empty chairs in quiet corners. Maybe they will just sit and
read for a little while... in paradise.

Ten minutes later, they glance up from their reading to watch
booksellers shelve a few novels. It's a beautiful, universal and almost
ceremonial tableau. They think about the jobs they must return to when
this break is over, the bosses who are mad at them for no reason,
co-workers who are driving them crazy and the mountains of work piling
up incessantly.

They can't help but consider an alternative: How pleasant it must be to
just work in a bookstore.

You know the truth. It is pleasant most of the time--you can't imagine
doing anything else--but it's also complicated. It's bookselling.

Labor Day weekend is an appropriate time to celebrate the work of
booksellers. Your totem animal is the duck, which appears to float
serenely on the water's surface while paddling like hell underneath.
That is also your job description.

Here's just a bit of what those customers nestled in their comfy reading
chairs planet-wide don't see because you are doing your jobs so well:
today's deliveries stacked up in shipping & receiving; cartloads of as
yet unshelved books; sections needing to be culled for returns; returns
waiting to be boxed and shipped; staff meetings; internal staff
rivalries; scheduling conflicts or sick days that result in
overstaffing/understaffing (whichever is the worst one that could happen
at this particular moment); ordering to be done; bills to be paid (or
strategically delayed); websites and blogs to be updated; author events
to be planned and executed....

Part of the magic and mystery of bookselling is never letting customers
see below the surface. Who wants to look at a duck's feet when they can
just watch the tranquil pond? The other part is that you wouldn't have
it any other way because, for the lucky ones, bookselling is a vocation
as much as a job. You could have done something else and certainly made
more money. You chose this profession. If you're one of the best, it
also chose you.

When you interview a prospective bookseller, you probably don't tell
them about the phone calls from lonely people who'll talk to them for 15
minutes and may or may not order anything. You probably don't mention
the occasional customer who takes a day's (or a lifetime's) worth of
frustration out on you at POS because your books are more expensive than
Amazon's. You probably don't ask them how heavy a box they can lift or
if they can fix plugged toilets or shovel snow. If they are meant to be
booksellers, they'll find all that out soon enough and it won't really
matter.

You're a bookseller. You work hard, so enjoy Labor Day and a well-earned
rest, though you're probably working this weekend.--Robert Gray (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11655785)

I will admit to being one of those people who longs to be a bookseller, but, as I have no money to start a bookstore, it's just a long-held dream.

This is a great idea, from a wonderful blog called Mr Micawber Enters the Internets:

Sometimes the customer is really right. A few weeks ago, a patron of
Micawber's http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11649970 bookstore, St. Paul, Minn., asked co-owner Hans Weyandt for a list of his top 100 books. He thought she
meant the shop's all-time bestselling titles, but she quickly said, "No,
I mean your personal favorites." From that catalyst, a great idea was
born. Weyandt has since contacted several other booksellers nationwide
with the aim of getting top 50 lists from at least 20 different people
or stores.

Last night, he posted his own selections on Mr. Micawber Enters the
Internets blog http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11649971 and plans to add a new
list each weekday. Thus far, he has received 20 lists (a total of 1,000
books) from booksellers in 17 states.

"All contributing stores will get copies to place in-store or use
on-line as they please," he noted. "Once I've posted all of the lists, I
will compile the most frequently mentioned titles. What I told everyone
was that I was looking for either a top 50 list or 50 favorite books to
handsell. Some booksellers chose to add their own restrictions, such as
fiction only, deceased authors only, etc."

Weyandt added, "All of this has been a great deal of fun and an
incredible way to touch base with some old friends and a way to open the
door on new ones."

To whet your biblio-appetite, these are some of the booksellers who have
agreed to contribute to the project:

Staff lists from Subterranean Books, St. Louis, Mo., and the Harvard
Bookstore, Cambridge, Mass.
Neil Strandberg from the Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, Colo.
Michael Boggs of Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, Ky.
Libby Cowles of Maria's Bookshop, Durango, Colo.
Liberty Hardy of RiverRun Bookstore, Portsmouth, N.H.
Jay Peterson of Magers and Quinn, Minneapolis, Minn.
Toby Cox of Three Lives & Co., New York City
Matt Lage of Iowa Book Co., Iowa City, Iowa
Emily Pullen of Skylight Books, Los Angeles, Calif.
Emma Straub of BookCourt, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Paul Yamazaki of City Lights, San Francisco, Calif.
Paul Ingram of Prairie Lights, Iowa City, Iowa
Stacie Michelle Williams of Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, Wis.
Joseph DeSalvo of Faulkner House Books, New Orleans, La.

Weyandt noted that if "there is a bookseller out there that would like
to join this you can contact me and I will continue this project until
its very end. Being involved in this has been the highest honor
possible."

This is totally because of the luscious Alan Rickman!

In an upset, potions master Severus Snape was voted favorite character
from the Harry Potter series
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11649981--besting
the boy wizard himself--in a recent fan poll conducted by Bloomsbury.
The Guardian reported that Snape garnered 13,000 (20%) of the 70,000
votes cast, with Hermione Granger finishing second, followed by Sirius
Black, Harry and Ron Weasley.

I love this, that Ian Fleming wrote a letter to ease his fans fears about the death of a main character...Jim Butcher, take note!!

In 1957, Ian Fleming tried to quell the fear among his readers over the
apparent death of James Bond

at the end of From Russia with Love. Letters of Note featured one of the
"charming letters" the author wrote to thousands of worried
correspondents. It includes a "confidential" bulletin, signed by
neurologist Sir James Molony, that had been "recently placed on the
canteen notice board of the headquarters of the Secret Service near
Regent's Park."

Steve Jobs Resigned from Apple Yesterday

2011-08-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs, my ultimate crush, resigned from Apple Computers, the company he co-founded with Steve Wozniak, yesterday, and today, I came upon a list of some of his best quotes, starting with his speech at Stanford:

ttp://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/08/24/steve-jobss-best-quotes/

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” [Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

Then there are his discussions on wealth. Truly, what a brilliant and wonderful human being he is...I thank God all the time that he helped create the computer I'm writing this on, the iMac G4.

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” [The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 1993]

***

Q: There’s a lot of symbolism to your return. Is that going to be enough to reinvigorate the company with a sense of magic?

“You’re missing it. This is not a one-man show. What’s reinvigorating this company is two things: One, there’s a lot of really talented people in this company who listened to the world tell them they were losers for a couple of years, and some of them were on the verge of starting to believe it themselves. But they’re not losers. What they didn’t have was a good set of coaches, a good plan. A good senior management team. But they have that now.” [BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998]

***

“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.” [Fortune, Nov. 9, 1998]

***

“The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.” [Apple Confidential: The Real Story of Apple Computer Inc., May 1999]

I get the feeling that Steve Jobs knows that his battle with cancer isn't going to end well, and that his time is running out. So he's left the company he helped to create so that he can spend his last days, weeks or hopefully years, doing things he wants and needs to do before he passes away. Godspeed to the man, who will always be that smart, sexy, innovative Apple Computer god in my heart, worthy of a pin-up on my dorm room wall in college.

Meanwhile, my favorite legendary critter (the tops are made of the rubber, the tails are made of the spring!) now has a playlist:
Flavorwire was also in an A.A. Milne mood, offering a literary mixtape
for Tigger http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11616945 and
noting that "someone who bounces all day long would have to listen to
the most spastic, bounding modern indie rock and pop songs he can get
his paws on. After all, all that bouncing is hard work, and even a
Tigger needs a little musical boost once in a while. Or, if we know him,
all the time. Tigger is certainly not one for moderation. His iPod is
filled with nothing but fun-fun-fun! Here's what we think he would
boast, bounce, and eat extract of malt to."

In Dr Who news, here's some interesting tidbits about that sexy David Tennant and Matt Smith, who is adorable, but not nearly as hot:

http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s7/doctor-who/interviews/a336374/matt-smith-interview-doctor-who-should-be-scary.html

http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrity/s7/doctor-who/news/a336699/david-tennant-denies-
doctor-who-romances.html

I would very much like to have my other lifetime crush's library, Sting, or Mark Twains library, or William Randolf Hearsts would do in a pinch:
Celebrities who are also readers have a slight advantage over the rest
of us, in that they "often making tens of thousands of dollars for just
showing up somewhere, have no such financial restraints and may indulge
themselves with those epic home libraries the rest of us can only dream
about." Presented as evidence by AccreditedOnlineColleges.com are "20
celebrities with stunning home libraries
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11603974."

This is the TRUTH about independent bookstores, said very eloquently:

"The intimacy and personality of independent bookstores provides a
high-touch environment complementing the rich experience of the book--an
antidote to the relentless technological acceleration in our lives; a
counterbalance to the local-disconnect felt by the globally connected."

--Ed Morrow, co-founder of the Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center,
Vt., in his introduction http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11603957 to therevised, updated edition of Rebel Bookseller: Why Indie Bookstores
Represent Everything You Want to Fight for from Free Speech to Buying
Local to Building Communities (Seven Stories Press).

Finally, a magazine I've written for informs us of the happy event of Seattle getting a new bookstore...Hurrah!

Delicious news from Seattle: the Book Larder, a bookstore devoted to
"all things culinary," will open in October
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11616938,
according to Seattle Met. The owner is Lara Hamilton, who used to work
for the late Kim Ricketts, founder of Kim Ricketts Book Events. The
store is taking shape at 4252 Fremont St. N. See photos on Seattle Met.

Literary Shoes and a Homemade Life

2011-08-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

From MediaBistro's "GalleyCat" comes this marvelous new website and readers resource, BookLamp:

How Publishers & Readers Can Use BookLamp
By Jason Boog on August 18, 2011 3:53 PM

Ever wish you could find new books the same way Pandora helps you find new music? Using a series of algorithms, BookLamp analyzes your favorite books for five style elements and then delivers you customized recommendations with similar themes and style.

The site currently tracks more than 618 million data points, trying to decode the DNA of literature. Here’s a simple explanation: “Motion, Density, Description, Dialog and Pacing are stylistic metrics or terms developed to help make the complicated under-workings of our analysis more understandable. They are not the complete picture of what makes up a book’s writing style, nor a complete picture of what BookLamp tracks in a book, but they do measure elements that a person can easily understand.”

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/what-publishers-readers-need-to-know-about-booklamp_b36631

In another awesome use of literature for functional design, here are shoes created from famous works of classic literature (I am partial to the Romeo and Juliet shoes):

http://www.zazzle.com/foreverRebuilt

"Here's the idea: sneakers inspired by some of the greatest literary works of all time. Each design pays tribute to one fantastic book everyone should read before they die, and shows off your love of classic fiction to the world. I'll admit, this is a passion project for me. New designs will keep coming as often as my time and creative energy permit. Suggestions always welcome, though I'll have to have read the book before I can design them. Comments, referrals and promotion absolutely encouraged Women's sizes: According to Zazzle, women should order a men's shoe 1.5 sizes smaller than their size—so if you wear a women's size 7 you should order a men's 5.5. I may end up specifically designing women's counterparts if there's a demand for it."

I have just finished Molly Wizenberg's "A Homemade Life" for my Tuesday night book group, and because I'd just read "My Year With Eleanor" and "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair" this book felt like the third part of a trilogy about women finding their way through grief and/or pain by concentrating on doing something positive with their life, in this case, cooking as a vocation and falling in love (and getting married). Wizenberg loses her father to a swift and brutal cancer, and spends much of the book talking about the foods that he made, and the foods she grew up eating. She also discusses the time she spent in Paris, and the excellent foods she ate there. Unfortunately, since I can't have dairy or eggs, her recipes that are found in each chapter are not ones I can try, because all of them have butter and cream in them, as well as nuts and onions. Still, it was a delicious read, and one I will not soon forget. Though I plan on asking the willowy Ms Wizenberg (she is visiting the Covington Library in late September) how she manages to stay slender when she eats a couple of sticks of butter and pints of cream every day, along with French bread and chocolate. If I ate like that, I'd be huge. Still, I'd give this book a solid B+.

My Year With Eleanor by Noelle Hancock

2011-08-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

I highly recommend "My Year With Eleanor" by Noelle Hancock, who is one of those rare creatures, a truly funny writer who is also, amazingly, young, so we have hope of more from her witty mind. This book, like "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair" chronicles a year in the life of a woman bent on transforming herself due to some life-altering event. In the case of "Tolstoy" it is the death of the authors sister that plunges her into a year of reading a book a day as a way of honoring something they shared a deep and abiding love of, while in "Eleanor" it is the author being laid off from her journalism job (a fact that is all too understandable in the recession, and close to home for this freelancer)that allows her to confront one of her fears each day and overcome it by any means necessary. Though Hancock wasn't as wise as the Tolstoy author (mainly because she's much younger) she makes up for any deficiencies with a razor-sharp wit and self-depricating honesty that makes her not only vulnerable, but adorable. This leads the reader to root for her in even the most absurd and compromising situations, as when she's caught almost 'in flagrante' with her boyfriend in the bride's bathroom at a wedding. I must admit I was in deep envy of her ability to afford some of her challenges, such as skydiving and flying a fighter jet in a Top- Gun-style dogfight, which I would give nearly anything to do. But apparently, online entertainment journalists get enough severance pay to actually be able to take an entire year off to write a book and have a string of thrilling adventures, something not allowed for mere print journalists. Still, I was able to get my jollies vicariously, as intrepid Noelle scales Kilimanjaro, jumps out of airplanes and does 5 minutes of stand up comedy with a slew of other journalists. Since I've done the latter without resorting to raunchy humor, as Noelle did, I admit to feeling slightly smug when recalling my triumph at an AA Biker bar in Seattle, (I kid you not), where I didn't have a huge crowd of friends to cheer me on (I did have my husband and two friends, but that was it), and I was one of only two women to actually perform that night. If you didn't get at least a few laughs, you didn't graduate from the UW stand up class. There was one guy whose humor was all dirty stuff and mostly mean stuff about women, since he was getting a divorce, and he totally bombed, didn't get one laugh, while I got a ton of laughs and applause, and won the evening, graduating at the top of my class (who knew sober bikers would get Iowan humor?). Though I have never really had a fear of public speaking, like Noelle, no one likes to bomb on stage, and everyone is nervous before a performance, at least everyone I've ever spoken to, celebrity or otherwise. This book was just the right size to not become tedious and the prose was clean enough that it was a fast read. I'd give it an A, with the caveat that those who are normally fearless and bold might find some of her whining and puking a bit tough to take, but if you bear with the author, you find yourself feeling transformed into a 'braver' person in the end, right along with her.

In other news:
Lev Grossman, author most recently of The Magician King, selected his 10
must-read fantasy novels for Flavorwire. http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11568555
This list could have used some Shana Abe books, some Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, and World Fantasy Award Winner Patricia McKillip tomes. There are some books on here that are great and well worth the time, and others, not so much.

It was announced today that Sony's new e-reader that is coming out will be dedicated to exclusive content from Pottermore, which makes this stuff even more interesting:

"From flying letters to a 4,500-word discourse on wand woods
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11568558,
early access to J.K. Rowling's move into the digital arena, Pottermore
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11568559, reveals a richly-imagined, elaborately realized behind-the-scenes peek into the world of Harry Potter," wrote
Alison Flood in the Guardian. A photo gallery preview of Pottermore
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11568560, which will
officially open to the public in October, was featured by Entertainment
Weekly.

The website is already a phenomenal success. Flood noted that there have
been more than 22 million webpage views, "peaking at some 50,000
requests per second on August 3, as readers rushed to become one of the
million users chosen to receive early access and a chance to shape the
website's development."

What is in store for those who venture within? "On entering the site,
users begin to travel through the world of Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone, following in the footsteps of Harry and learning
new facts about his world as they open an account at the goblin bank
Gringotts, travel up and down Diagon Alley shopping for equipment for
school and choosing a wand. Unlocking new content as they progress
through the storyline, they can click on and collect items for their
'trunk,' build and evolve their profiles, adding their own drawings,
collecting books and chocolate frog cards, learning spells and brewing
potions. A Pottermore account can also be connected to a Facebook
account, with users able to make friends--and even take part in
wizarding duels once they reach a certain point on the website," Flood
observed.

Entertainment Weekly's Keith Staskiewicz noted that even in the site's
early stages of development, "there's still more than enough to make
your entire afternoon disappear like a temporus suckus spell
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11568561
The real fun comes with the community elements. Once you're sorted into
a house--we got Ravenclaw because we're smart and boring--you'll be able
to interact with your fellow housemates via a number of activities.
Individuals can earn house points in the site-wide House Cup, and you
can even engage in a wizard's duel using your customized wand and the
spells you have learned. If potions are more your thing, you can buy all
the bezoars and flobberworm mucus you need at Diagon Alley and whip up a
batch or two in your cauldron, but don't overspend or else you'll find
your Gringotts vault empty. All these elements represent the kind of
useless but still desperately desired reward system that can turn
horribly, wonderfully addictive. It's hard to tell at this point exactly
how addictive when it's nobody else but us chickens in here, but
Pottermore seems especially designed to destroy work productivity the
world over."

Oh, what I wouldn't give to be in this warehouse with a suitcase!

The Guardian also reported that the 150,000-square-foot Leavesden
Studios
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11568562,
where the Harry Potter films were shot, is being converted to showcase
"The Making of Harry Potter " studio
tour, which "will offer a trip around the sets where the films were
shot, and provide an insider look at the film-making process."
Pre-booking for the tour will begin on October 13, with the attraction
itself opening next spring. Fans will be able to walk through the Great
Hall at Hogwarts and visit Dumbledore's office, as well as other iconic
locations.

"I once took a trip to the studios in 2008, while filming for the sixth
film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was well underway," wrote
Joe Utichi. "In the ice-cold hangars that housed the sets, even the
corridors were stuffed with the detritus of several years of large-scale
moviemaking. Familiar props from all five of the previous films were
stacked wherever there was space.

"But what struck me was the incredible level of detail that had gone
into every facet of the films' creation. Production designer Stuart
Craig and his team achieved a level of artistry I'd never seen
before--all enhanced by curiously organic touches that were a product of
years in production. In the Great Hall, torch-bearing gargoyles are
scorched by years of naked flames, while dining tables are marked by the
graffiti of the student extras."

Interesting Ideas of the Day

2011-08-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

This is truly a wonderful idea, and yet another reason to love Portland, Oregon:

Cool idea of the day. Laura Moulton
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11546730's
pedal-powered Street Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11546731 project in Portland, Ore., offers books to homeless people who don't qualify for
library cards. The Christian Science Monitor reported that twice a week,
Moulton can be seen "fiercely peddling her bike as she tows along a
wagon full of books. When she arrives at her destination, Ms. Moulton
parks, opens her wagon, and sets up for her four-hour shift."

"There is at least one guy waiting every Wednesday morning to greet me,
get his book, and head out," she said. "The power of the book offer[s] a
way to transport oneself out of a current reality.... Being able to give
them a card and tell them, 'I hope to see you again'--that's a powerful
thing because these are people who cannot get a library card [at the
local library] because they have no address."

I had no idea that these characters were based on real people:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/10-famous-fictional-characters-you-didnt-know-wer

And this is just plain cool, a Penguin made from an old manual typewriter:

http://boingboing.net/2011/08/09/typewriter-part-penguin.html

Science fiction children's books listed here that are a great way to get kids interested in space, the final frontier:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/aug/10/steve-cole-top-10-space

And finally, the Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, voted on by fans (myself included) that contains too much Neil Stephenson, whose work is awful, in my opinion, and no works by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, whose Liaden Universe series deserves a place on the list way before Stephensons crap prose.

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books?sc=fb&cc=fp

Yet Another Reason to Visit Salinas, California

2011-08-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

BookSmart in Morgan Hill, Calif., will open a new branch
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11515770
at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas this fall. Colleen Finegan
Bailey, the center's executive director, told the Monterey County Weekly
that selecting an indie for the space was "both a response to the
impending closure of Sand City's Borders, and a nod to the center's
community-oriented vision."

"The big-box model of bookstores is going away, but the smaller,
independent bookstore model is catching on," she added. "The store will
offer not just Steinbeck books, but general-interest books that meet the
needs of the Salinas community."

BookSmart's co-owners Brad Jones and Cinda Meister "were impressed by
the Steinbeck Center and the Oldtown Salinas Association at a July 28
business mixer," the Weekly noted. "I heard, 'How can everybody in this
room help you succeed?' That's something I've never heard spoken that
way before," said Jones.

I found this tidbit interesting, as I am a big fan of kick-butt librarians in fiction. From Shelf Awareness Pro:
The Mary Sue website showcased 10 Action Librarians
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11515780, noting that
despite the traditional stereotypes for the profession, "there are
plenty of kick ass librarians in fiction!... This week's Grid is
dedicated to the runners up, and to the reference librarian who didn't
bat an eye when I asked her where I could find books on Slavic Folklore,
prison tattoos, and Marine snipers (preferably autobiographies)

This is great news, as I am also a big fan of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which was one of my favorite books a few years back. And Kenneth Branagh and I almost shared a birthday, except he was born on Dec 10, 1960 and I was born on Dec 12, 1960...plus I was born in Iowa, he in Ireland. I sincerely hope he directs this film, because I think he'd do a fine job of bringing this beloved story and characters to life.
Variety reported that Fox 2000 "is circling" Kenneth Branagh
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11515798 to direct The
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, based on the novel by
Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. The movie, which is being produced
by Paula Mazur and Mitchell Kaplan (owner of Books & Books in Miami)
from a script by Dan Roos, is expected to begin production in the
spring.

A Variety of Stuff and Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

2011-08-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

More great stuff from Shelf Awareness:

This guy sounds a lot like me and my husband, because both of us loved books and Sci-fi shows in the 60s and 70s!

Rainn Wilson (The Office; Super) shared "10 favorites from my sci-fi and
fantasy bookshelf"
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11482695
on the Los Angeles Times Hero Complex blog, where he observed: "When I
was growing up in the '70s in suburban Seattle, I had a secret
obsession. I was a science fiction and fantasy nerd. This was waaaay
before it was ever halfway cool to be one.... I have many fond memories
of poring over the outlandish sci-fi and fantasy book covers at the
University Book Store
in Seattle and
choosing a stack to bring home with me to devour. I have managed to,
over the many decades since the late '70s, hold on to a good deal of my
collection and I'm proud to share with you now some of my favorite
authors and their covers from my bookshelf."

I have dreamed of going to Scotland for a long time! I would LOVE to visit these literary haunts!

Even if you're headed headed to Scotland later rather than sooner (the
Edinburgh Fringe http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11497874 festival begins this
Friday), the Guardian's guide to the "10 of the best literary haunts in
Edinburgh http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11497875"
could help you locate "some of the literary hot spots that have inspired
writers such as Ian Rankin and J.K. Rowling."

I DID read all these books in high school, because we had reading lists,which I assumed were in every school. Apparently, not so, according to my husband who grew up in St Petersburg, Florida, and went to Northeast High School, which had no reading lists at all, ever...gasp.

From beach reads to back-to-school reads... for adults. MSNBC.com
recommended "10 books you really should have read in high school
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11497870."

"I think that there are characters that it would be a shame not to meet
like Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird or Holden Caulfield in The
Catcher in the Rye," said Misha Stone of the Seattle Public Library. "I
borrow from what world-renowned librarian Nancy Pearl says, and I will
paraphrase here--everyone has a different definition of what would be
considered a classic, but there are also books that it would be a shame
to go through life not reading. There are books that speak to the human
condition and the world we live (and lived) in in astonishing,
thought-provoking, and life-changing ways."
True!

This is a somewhat fascinating peek into what writers eat. I just prefer chewing ice, myself.

What do writers eat?
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11497871
In a New York Times Sketchbook feature, Wendy MacNaughton pictured the
"Snacks of the Great Scribblers," including Walt Whitman's oysters and
meat, Vendela Vida's pistachios and Lord Byron's vinegar, which he
sipped "to keep his weight down.

The famed Seattle 7 Writers are at it again!

Seattle7Writers, the organizer of last year's six-day, 36-author writing
marathon that resulted in the book Hotel Angeline, plans to break its
own record. On Saturday, October 15, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 100 writers
will gather in the Rainier Valley Cultural Center in Columbia City,
Wash., to create a novel in just a single day. The event, called Write
Here Write Now, will be followed by Up Late Reading, a performance art
and author reading collaboration featuring actors and musicians.
Admission price is one slightly used book or a monetary donation, which
will be used to maintain Seattle7Writers' many "pocket libraries" in
shelters for the homeless and abused. Erik Larson, Erica Bauermeister,
Dave Boling, Nancy Rawles, Robert Dugoni, Maria Dahvana Headley and
Laurie Frankel are among the confirmed contributors to this Guinness
Records-worthy undertaking. More information at seattle7writers.org.
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11489404

Interesting developments with the Pottermore website:

Harry Potter and the Magical Quill
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11482700.
Yesterday was Harry Potter's birthday, as well as registration day for
J.K. Rowling's Pottermore website (Shelf Awareness
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11482701.)
Visitors to Pottermore were greeted by the following message:
"Those of you who would like the chance to gain early access to
Pottermore must find the Magical Quill and then submit their
registration details. Each day, from 31 July to 6 August, a clue will be
revealed here. Solve the clue and you will be taken to the Magical
Quill. Be quick, the Magical Quill won't be there for long and
registration will only be open while spaces are still available each
day."

Pottermore is "the most significant development
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11482702
in transmedia (and in storytelling in general) this year, and perhaps
ever," Jeff Gomez, a transmedia expert, told Forbes magazine

"What Pottermore.com does is that, for the first time it brings the
Harry Potter brand from its basis in being a repurposed or repeated
story world, into being a true transmedia brand," said Gomez.
"Transmedia is signified by interactivity: the audience feeling not only
an intense relationship with the storyteller (they already have this
with J.K. Rowling), but a feeling that their input will have some kind
of impact on the story world itself. That's what I believe is happening
with Pottermore. It is designed to be a two-way portal between all of us
and the Harry Potter universe. It will promote participation by
validating and celebrating community, dialog and user-generated content.
It exists not just to sell e-books, but to nurture and ultimately expand
the canon of Harry Potter itself. That's historic in many ways."

I finished Jim Butcher's "Ghost Story" the 13th Harry Dresden novel (if you count the short stories) and though I was peeved as heck about the cliffhanger ending of "Changes" (which Butcher claims was not a cliffhanger, seriously) I found myself feeling soothed and feathers unruffled by the introspective and, dare I say it, philosophical tone of the book. Because Chicagos best wizard is a ghost, he can't physically use his magic to effect people or situations, which, while frustrating, causes him to reflect on the chaos and violence of his past. Harry realizes that some of the bad outcomes and unhappy situations of those in his care are directly related to how he taught them or conducted his business and his life. He also gets to do a turn as a Dickensian "Ghost of Christmas Past" to make certain that all the people he loves, who also loved him (which was something of a revelation for Dresden) are going to be okay going forward, including his daughter Maggie. Butcher's deft storytelling skills and magical way with making outrageous plots plausible are in evidence here, and by the time we reach the end of the book, I was in as much acceptance of his demise as Harry was, and I was ready to move on...only to have that twist of an ending set me up for another Dresden Files novel. I loved the archangel Uriel's gift of the few words that allowed Harry to make his soul his own again, and I look forward to seeing what happens in the "nevernever" in the next book. I don't want to give away the ending, but I do think a lot of Dresden fan prayers were answered by Butcher in this highly entertaining story. I'd recommend the book to all the fans who are worried that,like Arthur Conan Doyle, Jim Butcher was going to send one of the greatest characters in fiction over the Falls, never to be seen again. Thankfully, our worries were ephemeral.

First Nook Book and alot of Shelf Awareness Tidbits

2011-07-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

All these tidbits are gleaned from the lovely Shelf Awareness or Shelf Awareness for Readers, which I adore.
I actually have a copy of "The Imperfectionists" that I've not had a chance to read yet, but I imagine this author is spot on about his perception of those of us who make our living as journalists:Tom Rachman, author of The Imperfectionists, chose his top 10
journalist's tales
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11462771
for the Guardian and noted that "generally, depictions of the journalist
fall into two categories: journalist as hero or the journalist as rat.
Neither fit my own experience."

Why do I always feel like I've written worse than the Bulwar-Lytton Winner?
A "disturbing description" by American academic Sue Fondrie won this
year's Bulwer-Lytton prize for bad writing
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11462793,
the Guardian reported. The winning submission: "Cheryl's mind turned
like the vanes of a wind-powered turbine, chopping her sparrow-like
thoughts into bloody pieces that fell onto a growing pile of forgotten
memories."

This was the shortest winning sentence in the history of the award,
"proving that bad writing need not be prolix, or even very wordy," said
the organizers. Fittingly enough, Fondrie relayed her feelings about the
win through her Twitter account: "My life is a little brighter knowing
I'm the Worst Writer of 2011. It's only fitting that someone who teaches
people how to teach would be a bad-writing winner."

The next time my family drives to Portland, we are staying at the Nines Hotel! I want access to this library!
Book Candy: Vacations for Readers, Cover Archive
If "vacation" to you means "read all the time," you'll want to check out this Life Goes Strong feature on Five Great Vacations for Readers. From the Nines Hotel in Portland, Ore., with a Library Room curated by the superb independent bookseller Powell's, to the very cool "Hot Type" program at Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos, Mexico, writer Irene S. Levine has collected some delightfully different options for readers who might not want to take part in a group retreat. http://play.lifegoesstrong.com/5-great-vacations-readers

Two of my favorite things: eating and reading come together:
"During summer vacation, part of me wants to spend my hard-earned
sheckles traveling the world and eating amazing food. The other part of
me just wants to lie on the couch with a good book. Now... I can do
both," noted NPR's Susan Gilman in recommending five new food memoirs
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11471646
that "are about love affairs with food, and the journeys that led their
authors into the kitchen."

Peter Beagle seriously deserves this award:
The World Fantasy Awards Lifetime Achievement Winners for 2011, honoring
people who have shown "outstanding service to the fantasy field," are
Peter S. Beagle and Angelica Gorodischer. They will be celebrated
at this year's World Fantasy Convention
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11471661, to be held October 27-30 in
San Diego, Calif.

Beagle is best known for The Last Unicorn and for the screenplay he
wrote for the animated film of the same name. He works include his first
novel, A Fine and Private Place, his YA novel Tamsin and his recent
story collection, Sleight of Hand. Gorodischer, who lives in Argentina,
is best known for her short story collection Kalpa Imperial.

Also, nominees for the World Fantasy Awards
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11471662
in eight categories have been announced and can be voted on by members.

The first book I've read on my Nook e-reader is "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair" and I am filling the pages of my journal with a variety of great quotes from the book about readers and books and bibliophiles, friends, grief and joy. I love it so much I honestly think I am going to have to find a used 'dead tree' copy for my shelves.

Alexia Tarabotti Steampunk Novels, Etc

2011-07-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Liaden Universe has always been a joy to visit, and I have a copy of their latest, "Ghost Ship" on it's way to me now. They recently did an interview about their collaboration as authors and the next book out in the series, Dragon Ship. Read more here:http://nerdcaliber.com/blogs/?tag=sharon-lee-steve-miller

I also saw the last Harry Potter movie over the weekend, and, like everyone else in the audience, cried like a baby, especially at the end, when Harry is saying goodbye to his son at the train station as his son embarks on his schooling at Hogwarts. The theater I attended was packed, and apparently most theaters showing the film were too. Here's more from Shelf Awareness on the subject:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which opened Friday, http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11394286
broke all kinds of records over the weekend, in a magical tale told by
the New York Times. The box office in North America was $168.6 million, a weekend record that broke the old record set by The Dark Knight. Friday's take of $92
million in North America--which included $43.5 million at midnight
screenings--was a new one-day record, beating The Twilight Saga: New
Moon. Worldwide weekend sales were $476 million, and the eight Harry Potter
movies have now sold more than $7 billion in tickets.

A couple more interesting articles from Shelf Awareness:
http://flavorwire.com/193101/weird-writing-habits-of-famous-authors

http://www.salon.com/books/readers_and_reading/index.html?story=/books/laura_miller/2011/07/11/reading_retreats

That last one has me filled with yearning to go on a retreat where all I have to do is read glorious books all day long, eat inbetween, sleep a bit and that's all. No interruptions, no work, no housekeeping and no TV to sidetrack me from reading. Oh how dearly I'd love to take a vacation and go on a reading retreat!

Despite the interruptions of life, I did manage to read all four of Gail Carriger's steampunk novels chronicling the life of Alexia Tarabotti, a "Soulless" (the title of the first novel) in a re-imagined Victorian England full of vampires, werewolves and ghosts. Alexia is a preternatural woman whose lack of soul allows her to touch supernatural beings, such as vampires and werewolves, and render them mortal for as long as she's in contact with them. She can also exorcise ghosts whose physical body is disintegrating and whose souls need to move on as they disintegrate as well. Carringer's prose is extremely witty, British and full of zest, as are her swift and sure plots and her brilliantly-drawn characters. After reading Soulless, I couldn't wait to delve into "Changeless", "Blameless" and finally "Heartless", which had one of the busiest endings I've ever read. "Timeless" the fifth novel in the series is due out in March of next year, and I find it difficult to contemplate the next 6 months without my friend Alexia and her exciting world of supernaturals and tea. I highly recommend these books for anyone who enjoys well-written fantasy, as they are an great way to get into the "Steampunk" genre.

New To Steampunk

2011-07-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

First, a couple of goodies from this weeks Shelf Awareness Pro:

I gotta say I know how Ms Hardy feels!

Algonquin's latest Booksellers Rock
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11364258
entry focuses on Liberty Hardy, "book slinger" at RiverRun Bookstore,
Portsmouth, N.H. Our favorite of the q&a's:

"Why I do what I do: If I didn't have an outlet for talking about books,
my brain would swell and ink would leak out my ears. And it's so
satisfying putting great books into people's hands, especially ones they
haven't considered before, like High Wind in Jamaica or Jamestown. I
think books are the greatest thing in the world, and being taught to
read at a very young age was the best present I have ever been given. (A
signed copy of Skippy Dies made out to 'Lady McSexypants' was a close
second, though.)"

This made me laugh:

Beach read season continues. Flavorwire suggested "10 decidedly highbrow
but still beach-appropriate summer reads
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11364259."

I said "Me, too" when I read this:
In the Guardian, Naomi Alderman considered "7 things in Harry Potter I
wish were real
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11364270,"
including a time turner, magical sweets and the possibility that "every
child had access to an education that helped them reach their full
potential."

I'm currently reading a popular Steampunk novel, "The Map of Time" by Felix J Palma, and as I'm somewhat new to the steampunk genre, I must say that I am by turns horrified and gratified to read such an interesting take on the Jack the Ripper story, I just wish it were a bit less descriptive of the gory parts. Though I am reading an ARC that I bought at Powells, and I know this is a translation, I still find the prose quite good and the plot swiftly paced.
Of course I finished Gail Carringers marvelous "Soulless" a few days ago, and I've become so enamored of that steampunkish novel that I plan on buying the next two books in the series today.My husband is distracting me with Dr Who graphic novels and animated DVDs, though, so I need to get through those before embarking on the "Soulless" sequels. Reading all these books based in London England has made me want to visit the UK even more.
Perhaps when my ship comes in, I will.

Books Bought and Books Desired

2011-07-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

I bought two books today, "Soulless" by Gail Carriger and "The Various Flavors of Coffee" by Anthony Capella, both of which I plan to devour with all due haste before I have to trundle off and work at the Mercer Island Summer Celebration this weekend.
Meanwhile, here are some lovely tidbits from Shelf Awareness Pro:

BTW, I loved Funke's "Inkheart" books!
Inkheart trilogy author Cornelia Funke chose her top 10 fairytales
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11343355
for the Guardian, while cautioning that she was "not sure I should call
the 10 I have picked my favourites. Some of them made a huge impression
on me as a child with their haunting sadness and images that speak to us
in far more than just words. Others I only just discovered when I did my
research for Reckless. Are the tales about Arthur fairytales? And how
about the Mabinogion, my favourite collection of folklore? I didn't put
either of them on my list, as they each encompass too vast a universe. I
chose instead short and more isolated tales. Though, of course, once you
have a closer look, they are all related, as they all speak about human
nature."

I really, really want these books that are coming out later this fall:

Chango’s Beads and Two-tone Shoes by William Kennedy: William Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the magisterial Albany cycle of novels (including Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game, Legs and Ironweed), now takes us to the Florida bar in pre-revolutionary Cuba, where the journalist Daniel Quinn meets a fellow lover of simple declarative sentences, Ernest Hemingway. After brushes with revolutionaries, crooked politicians and drug-running gangsters, Quinn winds up in Albany as it is engulfed in race riots on the eve of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination. Hungry fans are sure to rejoice over Kennedy’s first novel in almost a decade.

When I Was a Child I Read Books: Essays by Marilynne Robinson: “When I was a child I read books,” writes Robinson, “My reading was not indiscriminate. I preferred books that were old and thick and dull and hard…I looked to Galilee for meaning and to Spokane for orthodonture, and beyond that the world where I was I found entirely sufficient.” The exalted author of Gilead and Home claims that the hardest work of her life has been convincing New Englanders that growing up in Idaho was not “intellectually crippling.” There, during her childhood, she read about Cromwell, Constantinople, and Carthage, and her new collection of essays celebrates the joy, and the enduring value, of reading.

I have two books coming from SFBC, Ghost Story by Jim Butcher and I can't remember the other one. Anyway, I will also be getting some Sharon Lee and Steve Miller books from Uncle Hugos as soon as I get paid. I'm looking forward to some delicious summer reading at home, with air conditioning!

Five Books Recently Read

2011-06-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've managed to read five diverse books in the past three weeks, one autobiography by Christian music star Amy Grant and four fiction titles, one for my book group in July.
They are:
Mosaic, Amy Grant
The Night Bookmobile, Audrey Niffenegger
The Red Magician, Lisa Goldstein
One Vacant Chair, Joe Coomer
The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose,Mary Hooper

I was actually surprised that a favorite musical artist of mine from the 80s, Amy Grant, had written a book, as I'd never heard of it. However, once I snagged this copy at The Old Renton Bookstore, I found it was a well-written book that I was able to read in one sitting. Grant gives readers tidbits about her life and career interspersed with lyrics to her songs old and new. Though I am not a fundamental or charismatic Christian, Grant's heartfelt lyrics and pretty melodies have always attracted me to her work, as has her kindness and gentle spiritual persona. I've always felt that I could relate to her through her songs, and that if I ever actually met the woman, it would be like chatting with an old friend. That feeling only intensified after reading Mosaic, because Grant writes in such a personable fashion with all her Sagittarian charm. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys knowing the story behind a hit song, and those who find the lives of musicians and poets fascinating, as I do, being a fellow creative.

The Night Bookmobile is the second book of Niffenegger's that I've read, having consumed her bestseller "The Time Travelers Wife" several years ago. The Night Bookmobile is an adult graphic novel/comic book that responds to the question every bibliophile has thought about, mainly, "What would happen if there were a library that held everything you'd ever read?" The protagonist of the book happens upon an old trailer one night that is full of books, cereal boxes, periodicals and all manner of items, curated by an elderly gentleman who is her very own "librarian." Though she's fascinated by this collection, she discovers that she can't stay in her mobile library and that it will take years before she can happen upon it again. Inbetween visits, the protagonist is moved to start volunteering at her local library, and eventually gets her MLS degree, becoming the director of the library in time. There is a furtive melancholy about the protagonist, who seems to become more depressed as the novel progresses, until she finds a way to become the librarian of someone else's "Night Bookmobile"...I won't spoil the surprise ending for you by telling you what happens. Suffice it to say that I wouldn't recommend this book to a melodramatic teenager.

I would recommend "The Red Magician" to high-school-age teens, however, because it lends a completely different facet to the story of the Holocaust than I've ever read before. Goldstein follows the life of a young girl in a small European village prior to WW2. The girl's close-knit family are surprised one day by the appearance of a red-haired 'magician' who challenges the authority of their village Rabbi, who has magic powers himself. Of course the teenage girl develops a crush or infatuation with Vorous (pronounced Vor-roosh) the red magician, and is horrified when she discovers that the Rabbi has decided that Vorous is cursing his daughter and causing demons to haunt the village. So Vorous leaves the village, only to return a few years later, and try to warn the village that bad things/bad people are coming to kill them. He is again run off by the rabbi, who seems to be a nasty character, and not long after the Nazi's come to the village, round everyone up and put them on trains bound for concentration camps. Though he doesn't find her until the camp is liberated by the Allies, Vorous manages to save the protagonist just in time for her to help Vorous keep the rabbi from killing him in a magical duel. This is a book that won't soon be forgotten, as its vivid characters and fascinating premise should keep readers turning pages into the wee hours.

One Vacant Chair is a book I'm reading for my KCLS book group, and though it started out slow, almost plodding, it eventually picked up steam and was a charming work of fiction. It's the story of a Texas family that have moved away from their hometown and now are returning for the funeral of their mother/grandmother. The main character has just discovered that her husband cheated on her, and is trying to get some perspective and space by staying with her Aunt, who took care of her mean mother for years until her demise. The grandmother insists, in her will, that her ashes get scattered all over Scotland, so the protagonist and the Aunt take off for Scotland, where they learn a great deal about each other and the power of forgiveness. I felt that this novel, though dotted with interesting and eccentric characters, could have used a deft editor to cut out the paragraphs that seemed little more than the author showing off his vocabulary and use of metaphor. Though I found the end sad, this was a book that left me feeling uplifted in many ways.

Not nearly as uplifted as I was by the Remarkable Life of Eliza Rose, however, which read like a Masterpiece Theater series. This tale is a juicy historical novel about a girl named Eliza who is thrown out of her home by her nasty stepmother, only to find that when she finally gets to London to try and track down her father, that it was on his orders that she was thrown out. Eliza is thrown in jail for stealing food, and is rescued by Ma Gwyn, whose daughter Nell Gwyn becomes the mistress of King Charles II, and takes Eliza with her to court to save her from life in a brothel. Everyday life in 17th century England is well delineated here, with an emphasis on the difficulties of young women in various strata of society. Though Eliza is a bit prudish, I found her likeable and her situation fascinating, and was enthralled through all of the twists and turns of the plot. An interesting novel for fans of historical romance and 17th century Britain in particular.

This is from Shelf Awareness, and I must say that I was thrilled to see Lois McMaster Bujold, Ursula Le Guin and Joanna Russ get some much-deserved kudos for their wonderful SF novels for a change.

Flavorwire featured "10 diverse sci-fi authors you should know
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11299146,"
noting that "it's good to remember that the field has widened in the
past thirty years or so to be more inclusive. Now there are women,
people of color, and writers of all different kinds of sexualities
getting involved in the genre."

I would love to have a lamp like this, I just can't imagine eviscerating a book to make it:
How to make a bedside lamp in a hollow book
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11294364. Boing
Boing noted that the "book's cover is the switch, and the book's
designer says he wanted to prove that literature is illuminating."

Finally, though I am not a fan of Tom Perrotta, having found "Little Children" to be a horrid book, I agree with his taste in books:

My Half-Century Reading List by Tom Perrotta
I’m turning fifty this summer, and to mark the occasion, I’ve been re-reading some books that were published in the year of my birth. By chance, or some mysterious confluence of cultural factors, 1961 turned out to be a golden moment for American fiction. A glance at the nominees for the National Book Award of 1962 tells the story: Among the finalists are three landmark works still widely read today—Joseph Heller’s Catch 22, Richard Yates’s Revolutionary Road, and the winner, Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer—as well as books by I.B. Singer, J.D. Salinger, and Bernard Malamud. That’s a pretty impressive roster, a Camelot-era literary dream team.

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Unbound-NOOK-NOOK-Color-and-NOOK/Read-Forever/ba-p/1084000?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-BN-_-unbound-_-read_forever_perrotta

What a GREAT idea! This could be like the Dublin-based Irish Writers Museum that my friend Muff and I saw back in 2000.

Retired businessman Malcolm O'Hagan, "an Irish engineer with a love for
great literature," is working on a plan to open the American Writers
Museum http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11312631 in Chicago. The Tribune
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11312632
reported that O'Hagan is optimistic about raising funds for his
ambitious project.

"We don't underestimate the difficulty of the undertaking, but it will
get done," he said. His initial idea was to house the museum in New
England, but "the more we thought about it, we realized it needs to be
in a destination city for both tourists and conventioneers, and it needs
to be in a large metropolitan city with a rich literary tradition and
culture. We've settled on Chicago because we think that's where it
belongs."

Neil Gaiman, Pottermore and Tea and Books, the Perfect Combination

2011-06-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

First up, from Shelf Awareness Pro, a great interview with the marvelous Neil Gaiman on his forthcoming television series of American Gods:

In an interview with MTV
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11284437,
Neil Gaiman discussed the newly released 10th anniversary edition of
American Gods, as well as an adaptation he is working on for HBO. Gaiman
is attached as executive producer and will co-write the series pilot
with cinematographer Robert Richardson. The project is being developed
by Tom Hanks's Playtone production studio.

"The overall plan right now is that the first season would essentially
be the first book, with a few interesting divergences," Gaiman said.
"You don't want people who've read the book to be able to go, 'I know
everything that's going to be happening here.' [They will] know a lot
more than anybody who's starting from here, but we will do things that
will surprise [them] too."

MTV also asked Gaiman about his plans for an American Gods sequel. "I've
been [planning] to do a second American Gods book since the first
American Gods book," he replied. "What I basically have right now is a
boxful of stuff. Things go into it. I always knew there was going to be
more story. The first book was very much about the grifters and the
lowlifes, and you don't really get to see much of the new gods and you
don't really get a sense of those gods who are doing incredibly well in
America. In the second book, I definitely want to go into both of those
things."

JK Rowling's new website, Pottermore, was unveiled yesterday as being a site for e-books and for new tidbits about Harry Potter and his world. The reaction from booksellers was mixed, because they feel betrayed by Rowling selling e-books on her site and taking that money away from the stores that supported her work through the years. Others admire her marketing savvy for doing things in a way that will only bring more money into her already sky-high hoard:

Pottermore lives! And will sell e-books! With the launch of
Pottermore.com http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11284428 yesterday, J.K. Rowling
"shocked and thrilled her fans in equal measure" with details about her
latest venture, which will feature "a wealth of new and previously
unpublished material about the world of Harry Potter," the Guardian
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11284429
reported. Although there is not another Potter novel on the horizon,
"the fresh Potter material--to be unveiled later this year--already
stretches to 18,000 words about the novels' characters, places and
objects, with more to come."

"The Hogwarts' Express money train is riding back into town," noted the
Guardian's Sam Jordison
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11284432,
who gave high marks to the author for her marketing savvy: "Once again,
J.K. Rowling and her marketing team have left the rest of the publishing
world standing while she blazes a trail into the record books. I'll eat
my hardback copy of The Deathly Hallows if the Harry Potters aren't the
fastest-selling e-books in history by the end of this year--and I can
only tip my hat in admiration....

"The most impressive thing of all, though, is the way Rowling has
managed to present the whole thing as an act of altruism. 'I wanted to
give something back to the fans that have followed Harry so devotedly
over the years, and to bring the stories to a new generation,' she says.
This isn't necessarily hogwash: at this stage in her fantastically
lucrative career, money presumably isn't the driving force for Rowling
and there's every chance that she does love the fans who have made her
so successful."

The Telegraph
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11284433
noted that while Pottermore.com may not be perfect, it "represents a
significant landmark for digital publishing. J.K. Rowling has not just
hauled out her manuscript and plonked it onto a website with a bit of
frilly window-dressing from a digital agency. Instead, she has labored
for a year in close collaboration with creative developers TH_NK to
curate an experience that really takes advantages of the unique
properties of the web."

The collaborative website will open initially to a million users who
register first on July 31--Harry's birthday. The full launch is
scheduled for October. Pottermore will also sell e-book and digital
audiobook versions of the Harry Potter titles directly to users
beginning in October. The digital editions, compatible with all devices,
will only be sold from the website, "thus disintermediating other
booksellers such as Amazon," the Guardian wrote.

This is exactly what I would like to do here in Maple Valley, in opening a Butterfly Books Bookstore with a tea shop inside:

In an article appropriately headlined "Tea for Two," Bookselling This
Week http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11284417 spoke with a pair of
booksellers who have found their niche serving tea rather than the
ubiquitous coffee/books combo.

Gary and Kathy Robson, co-owners of Red Lodge Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11284418, Red Lodge, Mont., began selling loose tea in tins about a year ago and have since expanded by adding a serving
counter. BTW noted that even though the tea "comes from all over the
world (places of origin are marked on a large world map), Red Lodge has
made an effort to add local elements by offering tea accessories. The
bookstore sells alfalfa and clover honey from a nearby ranch, and
handmade pottery tea ware from a local artisan. The Robsons are also
working on developing some tea blends based on Montana-grown herbs."

Francine Lucidon's the Voracious Reader
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11284419 children's bookstore, Larchmont,
N.Y., also operates A Proper Cup. "It fits with the whole vision of the
bookstore," she said, "which is about slowing down, relaxing, and
spending time with the kids.... Tea is so much fun. It's all about
learning. It ties in with so many interesting things--it's a geography
lesson, a science lesson, and a lesson in heritage. It's fascinating,
and drinking it has more of a slower, more ambient feel."

Lucidon added that the tea shop adds a community feel to the location
and has attracted new patrons: "Sales have skyrocketed. People come in
and browse for longer, go over to the shop for some tea, and then
they're in such a good mood that they'll come back to the bookstore and
shop some more."

And finally, a booklist from Seattle's treasured book maven, Nancy Pearl, whose job I really want to have someday:

And on NPR's Morning Edition, America's favorite librarian Nancy Pearl
presented 10 Terrific Summer Reads
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11284421:
"When I'm ready for my next good read, I look for a book (fiction or
nonfiction) with a strong narrative voice, wonderfully drawn characters
and writing that makes me stop and savor the words the author has
written--all of which are present in these 10 terrific books."

A New Writer's Union

2011-06-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

I received an interesting email on Monday from a woman responding to a survey that I'd taken about the current state of freelance journalism. In the email, she said she'd be coming to town to talk to freelance writers like myself about joining a new freelance writer's union called the Newspaper Guild. I found this suspicious because I don't remember the survey, first of all, and second, I found the union admission fee of $124 to be a bit much in light of the fact that most freelancers are struggling to find work and make a living, plus there already is an established union called the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Western Washington Chapter, in this area. So I responded to her email with this:

On Mon, Jun 20, 2011
Dear Ms Lum,
I am not sure that I see the value of joining the Newspaper Guild and spending $124 which could be used to feed my family on an untried union. What makes you different from the Society of Professional Journalists, who charge less for membership and are established in this area? The Western Washington SPJ also offered health insurance for awhile, until it became obvious that it was too expensive for most journalists and it didn't cover enough. They also offer a variety of classes to help freelancers get up to speed on new media, and they have an editors/freelancers mixer once a year that offers networking for veteran freelancers and newbies alike. Craigslist, Writers Weekly and Journalism Jobs and MediaBistro are among the many job boards that have local jobs, what there is of them. Where would you find jobs for your jobs board that weren't already listed in those places and available for free?
Thank you for your time,
DeAnn Rossetti
Freelance writer/reporter

Rebecca Lum, the advanced guard for this new union responded:

Hi DeAnn, and thanks for your input. SPJ is indeed a wonderful organization (I'm also an admirer of your state's Journalism That Matters).

What we offer is the power of numbers to affect change and win benefits and protections. Although you understandably describe our unit as untried, in the Bay Area we have been able to leverage our membership (some 200 or so) to develop some decent protections, programs and benefits.

I guess I'd say the primary difference between us and SPJ is that we focus solely on the needs of freelancers. Also, we deal primarily with the pragmatic and the political. This stems from the newsroom bloodbaths of 2008-2010 that jettisoned thousands of journalists (including yours truly). I felt heartsick watching reporters I had long admired struggling to make a living with no benefits, no security, no steady income -- and mouths to feed. I wanted to do whatever I could to improve working conditions across the board and the Guild fortunately shared my sense of urgency.

As for the jobs, I try to get to publications that are hiring people as freelancers. So maybe it's more like "gigs" and less like jobs. Some of our people would love to get a staff position again but others like the freedom and flexibility of freelancing.

But you make good arguments. If we don't fit the bill for you, I take no offense whatever, and I appreciate your getting in touch.

All the best to you.

Kind regards,
Rebecca

Check this out:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/0613/Freelance-jobs-Half-of-all-new-jobs-in-recovery

Yet if you visit their San Francisco website, you notice that they don't have any medical insurance in place, just a partial dental plan and promises of more to come. I saw little of value on the site that would make me want to spend what is for me a lot of money on dues when I wouldn't get much in return that I couldn't get from the local SPJ. That said, I will be interested to see if this whole thing pans out, or if any freelancers decide to take a chance on it and see if they find the whole thing useful.

Meanwhile, some nasty, sarcastic and interesting anecdotes about classic authors behaving badly, from Shelf Awareness:

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the
dictionary," William Faulkner once said of Ernest Hemingway. Flavorwire
featured the 30 harshest author-on-author insults in history
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11264512,
including Mr. Hemingway's retort: "Poor Faulkner. Does he really think
big emotions come from big words?"

Also, now I won't have to worry about another bookstore claiming that I took their name when I someday get to open my own Butterfly Bookstore:

Children's bookstore Butterfly Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11258605,
De Pere, Wis., is closing next month, according to the Green Bay
Press-Gazette http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11258606.
Amy VandenPlas, owner of the 20-year-old store, said on the store's
website: "We have loved being a part of the community, meeting you and
sharing your love of books. Because of economic times, we can no longer
provide the quality service and product you deserve."

This is a fascinating little pictoral of people reading:
http://awesomepeoplereading.tumblr.com/

Happy Bloomsday and Other Book News

2011-06-16T12:59:00.000-07:00

From Shelf Awareness today springs all this great stuff, starting with this quote that makes me want to shout AMEN:

"There's a danger in perfectionism, in the compulsive attempt to make
every novel and story and essay an A plus, or to finish reading
everything we start. Yet there's also a danger in easy abandonment, in
the lack of persistence needed to push through the slow parts of War and
Peace or Infinite Jest, or in the lack of writerly belief in one's
powers of revision and discovery.
"In this way, as in so many others, writing and reading are metaphors
for living. In the end, you do the best you can, and then, in one way or
another, you let it go and move on."

--Frank Kovarik in The Millions
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11242248.

There are serious rumblings on websites and on YouTube about an upcoming announcement on JK Rowlings birthday concerning another book---what will it be about? Who knows?

Watch this space dept.: Pottermore.com
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11242264, a
mysterious website featuring "a pink holding page with the description
'coming soon' and Rowling's signature underneath," has been launched by
J.K. Rowling. The Bookseller
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11242265
reported that Pottermore.com has sparked rumors that more Harry Potter
novels are on the way, but a spokeswoman for Rowling's PR company Stone
Hill Salt said, "It is not another Harry Potter book but we cannot
reveal any more at this stage, fans will have to keep an eye on the
website. It will be launching soon."

Where the Wild Things Are was one of my favorite books to read to Nick...because what could be more fascinating than a book that starts out with "The night Max wore his Wolf suit..."

"Wild Thing" by the Troggs, of course. Flavorwire's literary mixtape for
Max from Where the Wild Things Are
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11242267
("Maurice Sendak's ultimate wild child") offers a musical selection for
a child who "goes out into the wild to discover something about himself,
then returns a changed man--er, boy--able to see the real world
differently. When he gets homesick, he climbs back into his bedroom and
finds his supper waiting for him after all, still hot, the love of a
mother paramount."

After all that, today is BLOOMSDAY, wherein all manner of literary celebrations take place to revel in the works and legend of Irish author James Joyce:

Ulysses meets Twitter
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11242275: All day today, a
brave cast of volunteer "tweaders"
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11242276 will post the novel's
text 140 characters at a time through @11ysses
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11242277.

For literary cartographers, Google Maps features "Bloomsday 2011
Worldwide http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11242278,"
with which you can "navigate your way around the globe and see the many
events organized by Irish cultural centers, arts organizations and
enthusiastic individuals."

Parting words from Irish Voice
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11242293
magazine: "Around the world these days there are thousands of Joycean
scholars who make their living parsing and reparsing the great man who,
perhaps much to his chagrin if he were alive, has become a symbol of all
things Irish to millions. So celebrate this Bloomsday and if nothing
else, read some of Molly's soliloquy. It is there that the greatness of
Joyce can be seen and the celebration of his masterwork is well
deserved. Happy Bloomsday."

Neil Gaiman on Tour with American Gods

2011-06-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it was 10 years ago that I read American Gods by the incredible Neil Gaiman, but apparently time has flown by, and now Gaiman has come out with an anniversary edition and a tour. I would love to get the audiobook, and I am deeply envious of Nicole Quinn, who won a contest to record the audiobook and hang with Gaiman, who in addition to being brilliant is also a screamin' hottie.
The following is from Shelf Awareness today:

Neil Gaiman has another reason to celebrate: American Gods: The Tenth
Anniversary Edition (Morrow, $26.99, 9780062059888) goes on sale next
Tuesday, June 21. The commemorative volume includes a bonus for readers:
Gaiman's preferred text--12,000 words of content that did not appear in
the original--along with an introduction by him.

A simultaneous audiobook (HarperAudio, $34.99, 9780062101914) features a
portion of text read by scriptwriter Nicole Quinn, who had the chance to
contribute after being tops in a contest. (Coaching by Gaiman and a trip
to New York City to do the recording were also part of the prize.) The
award-winning fantasy tale about a war on Earth between old gods and
new, centering on the adventures of an ex-convict named Shadow, is
currently in development as an HBO miniseries.

Gaiman's American Gods Tenth Anniversary Tour kicks off on publication
day with a double header. Although an evening appearance at the 92nd
Street Y in New York City is sold out, fans can catch him online that
afternoon. A conversation between Gaiman and author Kurt Andersen will
be broadcast on LiveStream.com, after which he'll answer questions from
fans via social media. The popular storyteller has nearly 1.6 million
followers on Twitter (@neilhimself http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11228329).
Click here http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11228330
for Gaiman's full tour schedule.

John Gardner Quote

2011-06-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

"True art is moral: it seeks to improve life, not debase it. It seeks to hold off, at least for awhile, the twilight of the gods and us...that art which tends toward destruction, the art of nihilists, cynics, and merdistes, is not properly art at all. Art is essentially serious and beneficial, a game played against chaos and death, and entropy." John Gardner, from On Moral Fiction, 1978.

Indeed! Though it cost him considerable enmity in literary circles and with critics, Gardner took a stand against the darkness with the above book and vision, and realized that art is as important for the edification of the soul as religion.

This is another funny bit from Shelf Awareness:

Booze and books. Flavorwire couldn't "think of anything better than to
sip a cool drink while typing away at our--er, laptops--out on the porch
in the sweet summer night air." Thus, the inevitable feature: "How to
Drink Like Your Favorite Authors
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11222618

Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister Debuts Today!

2011-06-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

Today is the launch of Erica Bauermeister's latest wonderful novel, Joy for Beginners!
Bauermeister's first book, "The School of Essential Ingredients" was such a marvelous read I didn't think the author could top it, but somehow she managed to pull it off with this delightful, fresh and fun read:

"Joy For Beginners tells the story of a group of seven women who gather for an intimate, outdoor dinner in Seattle to celebrate their friend Kate's recovery from cancer. Wineglass in hand, Kate agrees to a pact: she'll go white-water rafting down the Grand Canyon, a journey which frankly terrifies. But if she goes, each of them must also do one thing in the next year that is new or difficult or scary – and Kate gets to choose their challenges."

Bauermeister and her fellow Seattle7Writers group friend, Jennie Shortridge, should someday be on the list below, from Shelf Awareness:

"The 10 Most Powerful Women Authors
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11206157"
were showcased by Forbes, which said that these particular writers were
selected "because of their ability to influence us through their words
and ideas. Collectively, these women hold readers captivated with
stories of fantastical worlds, suspense and drama, insights into the
complexities of minority experiences and cultures, and fresh takes on
societal issues and expectations.... not to mention, book sales of up to
800 million copies sold and a wealth of prestigious awards and
recognition including Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes. In other words, these
10 women can tell (and sell) a good story."

Though I must mention that I read and enjoyed books from only three of the authors on the list, JK Rowling, Maya Angelou and Isabel Allende, because so many of the other authors listed write formulaic garbage, like Danielle Steel (if you've read one of her books, you have read them all) or horrible prose like Stephanie Meyers. But of course they are not talking about the quality of what these women write, it's how much money they've made, how many books sold and how powerful they are. Never mind if their books are good, or worth reading.

I am intrigued by this, because if the price goes down far enough, I may be tempted to get one:
Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney predicted that a $99 Kindle may be a
reality by the Christmas season this year: "We would expect a sub-$100
price level by late 2011. Our belief is that the current price levels
are attractive enough to broadly expand the potential Kindle buyer
base." PaidContent.org
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11206160
called this the "price point that many believe is key to widespread
e-reader adoption by the holidays."

And I really, really want to go on this trip:
Jaunted.com featured "three havens for bookish travelers
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11206165,"
noting that London "is teeming with bookshops that celebrate all things
erudite, stores that avid readers could easily get lost in for hours on
end. If you count yourself among this group, then take note of the
following three locales: nerd-tested (and we mean that in a good way),
Jaunted-approved."

A Bit of Housekeeping

2011-06-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

Since I was unable to post in the past two weeks, due to pinch-hitting as the editor of Mercer Island Patch while the editor and his wife had a baby, I have a ton of saved-up bits from the fabulous Shelf Awareness to share with you. So we'll start out with this piece, which sums up my feeling toward A Room of One's Own:

As you prepare for the imminent deluge of summer beach read lists, take
a moment to savor Jessica Gelt's Los Angeles Times
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz1114009
piece, "A deep sense of kinship with Virginia Woolf." She recalls her
first encounter--in Tucson, Ariz.--with A Room of One's Own, noting that
"in the summer, reading took on a particularly heroic quality--it
provided escape from the searing misery of triple-digit heat. And in
August 1991, when I turned 15, it changed the person I was becoming with
a revelatory flash--the first, but certainly not the last, time
literature would affect me like that.... So, as I tiptoed into Woolf's
solitary room each day, leaving the sidewalks of Tucson radiating heat
in waves and the pungent scent of dry creosote for the grassy lawns of
early 20th Century Oxford, upon which Woolf, and women in general, were
not allowed to tread, I began to feel something I hadn't before.

"It was a deep sense of kinship--the delicate, magical string that a
good book can sew through the human experience. Pulled tight enough,
that string can draw the whole of history around your shoulders to make
you realize that you are not alone."

I loved this commentary from JK Rowling, creator of the wonderful Harry Potter series:

J.K. Rowling was interviewed
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11188842 by Words with
Jam, where, among other topics, she considered the eternal debate about
literary vs. genre fiction: "There has always been an overlap. The late
J.G. Ballard being the modern example that springs to mind; an
outstanding writer who 'transcended' the science fiction genre. I am
pretty indifferent to the distinction between 'literary' and 'genre'
fiction myself, and I hop pretty freely between the two as a reader
without feeling remotely as though I am 'slumming it.' So-called 'genre'
fiction has given us deathless characters like Sherlock Holmes, Ford
Prefect and James Bond, who have forever influenced our culture and
language; what is there to be snobbish about?"

This made me laugh, as it is such a stereotype of writers (and I don't drink):

Alternative Reel featured its selections for "Top 10 Drunk American
Writers with appropriately (or inappropriately) incriminating quotations
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11200445,"

This is a great summer reading list compendium:

Yesterday NPR's Morning Edition featured "some of the books that our
trusty independent booksellers are recommending
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11157594
for your summer reading pleasure." Featured guests on the segment were
Lucia Silva of Portrait of a Bookstore
, Studio City, Calif; Daniel
Goldin of Boswell Book Co. http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11157596, Milwaukee, Wis.; and Rona Brinlee of the BookMark, Atlantic Beach, Fla.

The Christian Science Monitor recommended "11 excellent novels for
summer reading http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11157597,"
noting that whether "you're on the beach, in the airport, or staying in
your own backyard, there's nothing like the perfect novel to round out
your summer vacation."

Flavorpill highlighted its "10 Most Anticipated Summer Reads
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11157598."

---

Amazon's recent announcement of its "most well-read cities in America"
list (Shelf Awareness http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11157599, May 27,
2011) prompted a number of responses, including Flavorwire
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11157600,
which took "the top ten in reverse chronological order and created a
list of books that are based in each city to create a virtual, literary
tour for your reading pleasure."

The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11157601
observed that a "similar list released by Amazon in February 2010 ranked
the 'Top 20 Most Romantic Cities in America.' The two lists varied by
only two cities.... Which raises the question: Do these lists prove
anything other than the fact that Amazon has a heavy customer base in
these cities?... What it seems that Amazon has really managed to measure
is the affluence of each city, which makes a lot of sense if you're a
retailer. But is there really any point in labeling these cities
'well-read' and 'romantic'? Why not just call a spade a spade and say
that these cities have money--and like to spend it online?"

This is a response to the above:
More fallout from Amazon's "most well-read cities in America" list:
Techflash http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11164379
observed that the "list is dominated by college towns, an indication
that Amazon.com is a popular site for books among students."

In the Christian Science Monitor
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11164380,
Rebekah Denn wondered "if Portland, Ore., (#19) would have scored higher
if we could have factored in sales from independent bookstores. There's
always a healthy crowd and a line at the registers at Portland's
landmark Powell's bookstore. Then, how about towns with strong library
systems? Would Seattle, which regularly dukes it out for the #1 spot on
other literacy lists, have fared better if the list accounted for the
Seattle and King County library systems? King County is one of the top
library systems in the country by circulation--those are a lot of books
that people aren't ordering through Amazon."

This proves what I have always believed, that VS Naipaul is an over-rated writer, a sexist jerk and a putz:

Want to start a good fight? Ask V.S. Naipaul for advice on how to go
about it. Hours after ending a 15-year feud with Paul Theroux during the
Hay Festival, Naipaul stirred up a new controversy by telling the Royal
Geographic Society that he does not consider any woman writer to be his
literary match, the Guardian reported.
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11178362

Considering Jane Austen, Naipaul said he "couldn't possibly share her
sentimental ambitions, her sentimental sense of the world." He also
observed: "I read a piece of writing and within a paragraph or two I
know whether it is by a woman or not. I think [it is] unequal to me."

The Guardian immediately formulated the "Naipaul test: Can you tell an
author's sex? http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11178363"

Finally, a smart and sensible article on why it is important to write completely honest book reviews, something I always try to do, even if I hated the book:
http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/genreville/?p=1255

Dead Reckoning and Chateau of Echoes

2011-05-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

Some great news, first, from Shelf Awareness. Yet another reason to see the movie based on Tolkien's "The Hobbbit" (I adore Stephen Fry):

Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein's The Hobbit is
"several weeks into production in New Zealand, but new actors are still
coming on board," Entertainment Weekly
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11109331
reported. The latest addition is Stephen Fry, who will play "the Master
of Laketown, the leader of Esgaroth, a settlement of Men, who is
depicted in the book as greedy and cowardly."

Jackson noted that he has "known Stephen for several years, and we're
developing a Dambusters movie together. In addition to his writing
skills, he's a terrific actor and will create a very memorable Master
for us." Jackson also announced that Ryan Gage will play the Master's
"conniving civil servant, Alfrid, and Conan Stevens will play an Orc
called Azog."

I am also a fan of Ursula Le Guin and Susan Orlean:

On the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's Northwest Book Lovers
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11102591
website, Ursula K. Le Guin mused on how digital change is affecting her
and the book world. On a personal level, she noted that although she
writes, edits and reads on screen, she cannot read on screen for
pleasure, in part because she likes to read lying down and hasn't found
a suitable e-reader for that position. As a professional writer, she
worries about e-contractual issues with publishers, but noted that many
in the business are "riding the avalanche" together.

As a kind of cultural custodian, she said, "I welcome e-publication, so
long as it works like an immense new-and-used bookstore network
including bookstores selling both paper and e-books--and so long as it
is fully and freely hooked up with the public libraries. The almost
total failure of our schools to teach literature is causing a disastrous
break in cultural continuity; many young people have read nothing
written before 1990 or even 2000. E-publication offers vast availability
and accessibility to older texts via our libraries."

At the same time, Susan Orlean,
profiled in the New York Times
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11102593,
is publishing the essay "Animalish" as a Kindle Single, which will
retail for $1.99. She told the paper that she didn't see the material as
suitable for an essay in the New Yorker, where she is a staff writer.

Despite her bucolic life on a farm in upstate New York, Orlean is "a
devotee of the new media, blogging and tweeting at an enthusiastic
pace," the Times wrote. She commented: "It's especially funny because I
used to think that I was kind of old fashioned. The subjects I write
about, the spirit in which I write, seemed in a way rather traditional.
And I thought, the new world is coming and this is the way I want to
write and I'm not sure how I'll fit into the new world as it changes."
Twitter is probably all the more interesting to her, she said, because
she is not around people the way she would be if she lived in the city.

And in case you've been living under a rock and haven't heard that the world is supposed to end on Saturday, May 21, here's some post-apocalyptic reading recommendations:

To pass the time as you await the end of the world Saturday
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11102599,
NPR offered some reading recommendations in the form of "Three Extreme
Tales of Tribulation for the Apocalypse
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11102600."

Meanwhile, I devoured the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel, by Charlaine Harris, Dead Reckoning, in one afternoon, and though it was was a fast read, I am now convinced that Harris is dumbing down her books and characters to make them closer to the way they're portrayed in the TV series "True Blood" which is based on her Southern vampire novels. In previous books, before the TV series, Sookie was a lot more canny, savvy, kind, funny and interesting than she is now, when she's become cynical, cold, lethal and selfish, not unlike the vampires she loves. There was an endearing sweetness to Sookie that made the reader care what happened to her in the dangerous world she inhabits. She never seemed stupid and thoughtless, like her brother, or too invested in her sexuality, also like her brother, who was always getting himself in trouble and expecting Sookie to pull him out of it at her own expense. The Sookie of Dead Reckoning wouldn't bother to help her brother or anyone else if he were drowning right in front of her--she is too busy planning the death of the master vampire of her boyfriend's region, and of the last crazy Peltier who is out of jail and out to get her. Meanwhile, she is saved by her old flame vampire Bill, and learns that her two Fae relatives are revving up her Fae-ness just by being near her.Sookie also finds out why Merlottes is in financial trouble and that her grandmother was being fooled into having relations with her Fae grandfather by his ability to make himself look like her human grandfather. Everyone who is supposed to die, does by the end of the novel, but there is a dissatisfaction level with how things are wrapped up that is much higher than I expected. Much like all the season finales of my favorite TV shows this year, I was left depressed and with a bad taste in my mouth about the whole thing.
I was pleasantly surprised, however, by Siri L Mitchell's "Chateau of Echoes" which I found at a garage sale and did not expect to enjoy as much as I did. It's the story of Frederique "Freddie" Farmer, an American whose French husband died and left her with a castle in Breton France that was once home to a teenage noblewoman named Alix, whom it turns out was Jewish and heir to a text outlining where to find the holy grail written by Joseph of Aramathea. Alix, who lived in the 15h century, also left behind a number of journals that Freddie discovers and gives to a local university who makes them famous enough that an American novelist travels to Freddies castle to write a novel about Alix and her life. Inevitably, the handsome novelist and Freddie fall in love, but not before he rescues her from everything from hypothermia to her reclusive self-pity. Fine French cuisine is discussed in every chapter, and the author kindly lists some recipes in back of the book, which adds to the genteel ambiance of the novel. Though I was a little frustrated with Freddies pig-headed demeanor when it comes to romance, I really enjoyed the fine prose and elegant plot of this book, as well as the nicely-drawn characters. The religious discussions/arguments in several chapters tended to slow the plot down quite a bit, but it picked right back up, so I counted it as just slight bumps in the road and felt it didn't detract from the plot at all in the end. Well deserving of a solid B+ and recommended for those seeking a more sophisticated historical romance.

Bookstore, the Musical

2011-05-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is a brilliant idea, making a musical about a bookstore! I wish I'd thought of it, being the theater major and book junkie that I am!
From Shelf Awareness:

Bookstore: the musical. Tonight is opening night for the Atlantic Beach
(Fla.) Experimental Theatre's production of Bookstore
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11071866, an original musical
comedy by Richard Wolf (book and music) and Jane McAdams (lyrics). The
show "is set in a small independent New York City bookstore run by Tony
Gambini (David Jon Davis), who has a demanding ex-wife and is struggling
to compete with the mega-stores and online retailers," the Florida
Times-Union http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11071867
wrote.

Wolf said that even though the musical was written six years ago, it is
still timely: "Certainly with the way the economy has gone and the way
book publishing has changed and now with Kindle. When you are an
independent bookstore trying to compete, it is a tough thing."

The Bookmark bookstore is partnering with ABET for this production and
has donated nine $20 gift certificates, to be given away to an audience
member at every performance. "I don't plan on breaking out in song at my
store anytime soon," said Rona Brinlee, owner of the Bookmark. "But
anything that creates an awareness about independent bookstores is a
good thing."

Very cool quiz and a great slide show:

"Science fiction facts
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11071868"
is the latest Guardian quiz, which tests "how far have you traveled in
the many worlds of SF."

The Guardian also featured a slide show from a new exhibition at the
British Library, "Science fiction: Images from other worlds--in pictures
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11071869,"
which "presents the rich history of SF down the ages, from Lucian of
Samosata in the second century to the Russian novel that inspired 1984."

I hope that I can attend this SF Awards weekend, because I bet it will be at the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and Museum next to the EMP in Seattle...should be pretty interesting, even if they are giving that rascal Harlan Ellison an award.

Finalists for the 2011 Locus Awards in all 15 categories may be seen
here .
Winners will be announced during the Science Fiction Awards Weekend in
Seattle, Wash., June 24-26. Also during the weekend the Science Fiction
Hall of Fame will induct Harlan Ellison, Gardner Dozois, Moebius and
Vincent Di Fate.

Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister

2011-05-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

First, a couple of notes from Shelf Awareness:

This makes me sad, as I have always wanted built-in bookshelves, and still do!

You know those built-in bookshelves you've always dreamed of having in
your house or apartment? Apparently there fewer people like you than
there used to be. Crain's Chicago Business
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11065863
reported that "with sales of e-book titles surpassing those of
paper-and-ink volumes, homeowners are moving on."

Re/Max broker associate Lynn Fairfield said clients are drywalling over
bookcases to make room for flat-screen televisions: "When I show houses,
I never see books lined up on shelves anymore. If there are shelves,
they're usually filled with sports trophies or photos or knickknacks."

This is just bizarre, looking at hair of famous literary figures a hundred-plus years later, (and pieces of Shelley's skull...creepy!)

"History's Most Distinguished Literary Hair
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11065864."
Flavorwire noted that in preparing for the New York Public Library's
centennial exhibition, library curators found "some unexpected bounty in
the stacks, a lock of Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley's hair. Macabre
as it seems, bestowing locks of hair on friends, family members, and
lovers was common practice in the 19th century, and locks of hair from
many renowned writers accompany the NYPL's vast collections of
manuscripts, notebooks, and letters."

I had the great good fortune to read Erica Bauermeisters first book "The School of Essential Ingredients" which was a marvelous work, engrossing and enriching, and now I've been able to read her latest book "Joy for Beginners" which is equally wonderful, full of rich characters and the challenges they take on during a year in which they've dared a friend just recovering from cancer to take a white water rafting trip in the Grand Canyon. As usual, Bauermeister's prose is gold, rich and sensuous and satisfying, and after meeting and chatting with the author, I can say that she's just as lovely as her books. I highly recommend them both, but note that you won't be able to nab a copy of Joy For Beginners until June 9. By then, we might actually have some sunshine for you to read by!

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

2011-04-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

"Oh there you are, you odious little prawn..." Ophelia "Feely" de Luce, sister of Flavia de Luce from A Red Herring Without Mustard

Is there anyone better at the stinging insult, the perfect put-down, the withering glance or the subtle, yet vicious revenge as the British? I think not!
Just as they excel at creating marvelous actors and wonderful classic and science fiction television programs (witness "Lark Rise to Candleford," "Upstairs, Downstairs" and the glorious "Dr Who"), the British detective who is brilliant, witty and eccentric has become an icon of the mystery genre of fiction.
Thus I had to stop a moment and whisper "God save the Queen!" as I delved into the latest delicious mystery by the always astute Alan Bradley, who is actually a Canadian, not a Brit.
Flavia de Luce is the 11-year-old heroine of Bradleys mysteries, set in the English countryside of the 1950s at a suitably decaying estate full of hidden passageways and unused, spooky rooms. This time our intrepid Flavia is dragged into a mystery when, after burning down her fortune-telling tent, Flavia finds an old gypsy woman covered in blood in her caravan on the grounds of Buckshaw, the de Luce estate (and again, I must pause to say I just adore the way the British have names for their homes; it makes them seem like characters unto themselves), barely alive. Soon after, Flavia stumbles across the old gypsy's granddaughter, Porcelain, and the two of them discover the body of a local poacher and thief hanging dead from the fountain statue of Poseidon. There are plenty of red herrings that Flavia must root through in this edition, however, as she wends her way along the rutted country roads on her trusty bicycle, Gladys. She even finds that a local portrait artist had painted a portrait of her mother and her sisters, with herself as a baby, and just never had the courage to have her grieving father pick it up. She also comes across a strange religious sect and the neighbors secret.
As a reader you can always count on Bradley to write spotless, thoroughly engaging prose that reads much like an updated version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries. He drags you into Flavia's world and before you know it, the denouement has happened and you're at the end, after having been unable to put the book down for fear of missing out on what Flavia is up to next. That is really the worst that can be said of Flavia de Luce mysteries, they end too soon, leaving the reader salivating for more of this bright young girls world full of chemistry experiments and sisterly torment. "A Red Herring Without Mustard" deserves a solid A, and I'd recommend it to anyone who finds the British as fascinating as I do, or those who relish a good mystery solved by an improbable heroine.
Now I am on to the marvelous new book of Diana Tregarde supernatural mysteries, "Trio of Sorcery" by Mercedes Lackey, who never disappoints. I also got a copy of Patricia Briggs "Masques and Wolfsbane" because it sounded somewhat interesting. We shall see.
This was an interesting article, from Shelf Awareness:
Flavorwire showcased "ten of our favorite retold stories
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10968721. Some
of the following plots are lifted from ancient myths, while others come
from relatively new novels. All have put a new spin on familiar tales,
but have been able to make them their own."
And lastly, this is just a sad note on the passing of typewriters:
A moment of silence, please, to mark the end of an era. Godrej and
Boyce, the last company in the world still manufacturing typewriters,
has shut down its production plant in Mumbai, India, with just a few
hundred machines left in stock. The Daily Mail
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10959111
reported that even though "typewriters became obsolete years ago in the
west, they were still common in India--until recently. Demand for the
machines has sunk in the last ten years as consumers switch to
computers."

More Tidbits

2011-04-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

"It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip
emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the
butterfly of the moment? For the moment passes, it is
forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone. That
is where the writer scores over his fellows: he catches
the changes of his mind on the hop."

~ Vita Sackville-West

From Shelf Awareness:

Flavorwire showcased the 10 most badly bungled classic-book-to-film
adaptations including the "wacky, flatulent 3-D family comedy version of Gulliver's
Travels" that was released on DVD yesterday.
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10930638

---

Bookshelf/kitten video of the day
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10930639,
courtesy of the Book Lady's Blog, which vowed that this "is the
first--and probably the only--time I'm posting a cat video. But it's
Wednesday, and we all need a break, right?"

I think this is a marvelous idea from the designer who created one of the sexiest men's colognes I've ever smelled on a man, my husband, back when I first met him in 1989. Now I would LOVE it if he'd buy me this cologne that smells like a book!
Karl Lagerfeld, fashion designer, artist, photographer and book lover,
plans to open a bookstore in New York City together with Gerhard Steidl,
who has published many of his books and with whom he has an imprint
called Edition 7L, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
.

Called Word and Image, the store would highlight Steidl titles as well
as books from other publishers chosen by Lagerfeld and build on what has
been a profitable business in Lagerfeld's 7L bookstore in Paris: selling
custom libraries to readers. Steidl told the paper that the best
location for the store would be in lower Manhattan near the New Museum
on the Bowery.

One title to be carried is a sweet novelty: a hardcover book called
Paper Passion whose interior will be hollowed out to hold a container of
a new perfume with the same name that smells of paper--an idea Lagerfeld
had while leafing through the new Chanel catalog.

Finally, I wrote this letter to the founder of Luna Guitars on Monday:

Dear Ms Yvonne,
I just wanted to drop you a line and say that your guitars are the most beautiful instruments I've ever seen! They look more like pieces of art than instruments, yet they clearly function perfectly in making music while being aesthetically pleasing, especially to women.
I was thrilled to see you add my favorite symbol of transformation and rebirth, the butterfly, to your guitars, and I hope that one day I will be able to afford to buy one for myself, and fulfill a dream I've had since I was a teenager in the 1970s of playing guitar like Ann and Nancy Wilson of "Heart."
Thank you, also, for your lovely catalogs, which I've spent hours poring over and enjoying, not just for the guitars but for the stories of those who own them and play them.
What a wonderful legacy you've made in creating Luna guitars.
Thank you, again.
Sincerely,
DeAnn Rossetti

She responded on Tuesday with this lovely letter (though I love their guitars, $400-600 per instrument is not really affordable):

Dear DeAnn......

Wow! You just made my day = )

Thank you for your lovely and kind words. It's hearing from players like you that keeps me going! We have tried really hard to keep our instruments accessible, so I hope that you will soon be holding a Butterfly in your arms and living your dream!

Warm wishes,

Yvonne

Yvonne de Villiers
Creative Director/Designer
Luna Guitars
4924 W. Waters Ave.
Tampa, FL 33634
800-793-5273
yvonne@lunaguitars.com
"Join the Luna Tribe!"

A Stew of Book News, from Accessories to Movies

2011-04-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

Below are some wonderful gleanings from Shelf Awareness, the booksellers and librarians listserve:

Best literary birthday letter ever
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10894204.
In 1889, Mark Twain wrote a congratulatory message to Walt Whitman on
the occasion of the poet's 70th birthday. Letters of Note presented this
eloquent missive, which was "not just a birthday wish, but a stunning
4-page love letter to human endeavor, as seen during Whitman's
lifetime."

This really is an awesome letter, though it is hard to read Twains handwriting.

"What do you get for the book nerd who has everything--or at least all
of the paperbacks that their apartment can hold?" asked Flavorwire
before helpfully offering a few irresistible suggestions in a post
headlined "Design Porn: Accessories for Bookworms
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10887803.

Really cool typewriter necklace and the ring made out of a book is gorgeous!

Book Review: The Year We Left Home
A war at the beginning (Vietnam) and one at the end (Iraq) frames an
American family's path through 30 years of life in America, from 1973 to
2003. It is a portrait of the Erickson family of Grenada, Iowa, in
alternating viewpoints of family members and their cousin, Chip, a
damaged vet of the Vietnam War.

The story opens with Anita's wedding to Jeff. She is the eldest of four
children; the others are Ryan, Blake and Victoria. Through vignettes
that capture moments of their lives both important and ordinary,
Thompson (author of the story collection Do Not Deny Me) paints a
picture--who they are, what they want and what they will eventually
settle for. The constant thread throughout all their stories is that
these are basically good-hearted individuals, often saddled with more
than they are equipped to handle. Anita's husband is a banker,
responsible for foreclosing on loans to farmers Anita has known all her
life. At one of the farm auctions, Anita cleans out their bank accounts
and gives the money to now-homeless relatives. Ryan does Chip a great
kindness when Chip is past 50 and on his uppers. Ryan buys the farmhouse
that once belonged to Uncle Norm and Aunt Martha, now long gone, but
prototypical examples of that exemplary American farm couple: thrifty,
hardworking, honest, church-going and long-suffering. He worked every
day while she canned, cooked and cleaned. Blake says of them: "They
didn't think in terms of happy."

Each of the Erickson children has thought in those terms, however, and
mostly have come up short in the happiness department. Each of them has
endured a difficult situation, hoping things would change. Anita has
become the smiling Realtor of the Year displayed on the back of the
grocery cart to compensate for Jeff, who turned out to be a chronic
alcoholic and is now barely hanging on to sobriety. Ryan says of his
marriage to Ellen: "At some point in their life together he had assumed
the burden of making her happy. Her most familiar mood, what he thought
of as her default position, was one of exasperated suffering." Blake
married "beneath him" and his mother and Anita never let him forget it.
Torrie made a bad decision that altered her life forever.

This all sounds grim, but it isn't. In Thompson's engaging style, each
characters has a life filled with much humor, insight, reconciliation
and understanding. Ryan tried to escape Iowa to a life in academe, only
to find that he was ill-suited for it. His consolation prize was being
at the beginning of the computer revolution and making a ton of money.
Anita never wanted to leave familiar surroundings--and didn't want
anyone else to, either. Chip is the wild card here. He bangs around the
country and Mexico, a real rolling stone, returning to Iowa with his
lungs and liver shot, grateful to Ryan and ready to settle down. At
story's end, the next generation is starting to leave Iowa. Who knows
what their outcome will be? Jean Thompson pulls the reader into this
novel and keeps us hoping for the best for her characters, as she
chronicles events and shows us their interior lives.--Valerie Ryan

I could have written the above book about my own family, growing up in Iowa...but you have to be from the tall corn state to know how true the line is about Iowa being a good place to be "from."

Atlas Shrugged: Part I, the first in a series of films based on the book
by Ayn Rand, opens April 15. Taylor Schilling stars as Dagny Taggart, a
railroad executive trying to fix a country plagued by social and
economic decay. Directed by Paul Johansson.

I was totally into the works of Ayn Rand when I was in high school, and I recall being moved to tears by Atlas Shrugged many times. I can't imagine how well the characters will hold up under the weight of filming this epic novel, or whether Rands philosophy will come off as being too cold and ruthless. We shall see. I have no idea who Taylor Schilling is, but I hope he's manly enough to change the world, at least for the duration of the movie.

Admitting "books can be harder to kick out than termites," Laura Jofre
chronicled her experiences with the delicate art of book purging in an
Associated Press piece
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10882216
"In the name of renewal (and family peace), my husband and I repurposed
our rec room into a master bedroom and let our girls, ages 12 and 6,
have their own rooms. In the process, we had to redistribute everyone's
books. In the process, I was forced to admit it: I had too many books."

Oh my, do I ever know the pain of book purging, which I undertake about twice a year. It nearly kills me to part with books, even ones that were so-so at best. So I empathize with Ms Jofre.

http://flavorwire.com/169166/what-your-favorite-kids-book-then-says-about-you-now

This is an interesting article that claims to be able to tell something about your character as a person by what your favorite books were as a child. I can't say I really agree with that idea, but it does have an interesting kernel of understanding human nature in it.

Today I was fortunate enough to use my Barnes and Noble membership and buy 3 new books at the Bellevue Barnes and Noble: Shady Lady by Ann Aquirre, The Spirit Lens by Carol Berg (One wonders if she's any relation to Elizabeth Berg, an author whose works I've read and enjoyed), and Vampire Love, and anthology that includes a poem by the delicious Neil Gaiman. I also snapped up a copy of the new American Dr Who Insider magazine--hurrah! I can't wait to read all these treasures.

Spring Reading

2011-04-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

As usual, I'd like to begin my post with a tidbit from Shelf Awareness, and then progress to short reviews of the 5 books I've read in the past couple of months:

What is the future of libraries in the e-book age? "Libraries have
always been thought of as a kind of 'temple of books'... a place you can
go to for peace and quiet, a place to read and think," NPR's
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10851967
Lynn Neary said in her report on a new era in lending. "They are
intricate part of the fabric that pulls a community together. But if
they are to be relevant in the future they will have to make space for
themselves in the digital community as well."

Christopher Platt, director of collections and circulation at the New
York Public Library, told Neary that libraries "use intermediaries to
manage both their physical and digital book collections. He thinks
libraries could work with these intermediaries to develop subscription
packages of e-books. Libraries would pay the publishers for these
subscriptions and use them as they see fit."

"So I'd buy a title with 1,000 uses," Platt observed, "and then it's up
to us and our readers whether those 1,000 uses get used simultaneously
in the first few days or whether they get drawn out over time. And then
if they do get used quickly, we'll buy more."

Roberta Stevens, president of the American Library Association, would
like to see more publishers involved in the e-book conversation: "When
we look at the future then we have to really think very seriously about
what is our role--and how can we actually serve the millions and
millions of people who use our public libraries everyday if we can't
even get access to titles."

I've read:
Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine
Star Trek: The Lives of Dax edited by Marco Palmieri
Magic on the Hunt by Devon Monk

Starting with Wise Man's Fear, I honestly loved this novel as much as I loved the first book in the series, The Name of the Wind. Rothfuss is a master storyteller, and his epic tale of the life of the legendary Kvothe is just un-put-downable. Reading his books makes me wonder where the heck Rothfuss has been all my life. He just appeared out of nowhere with this tour De force of genius and we're supposed to believe he's never published anything before? Hmmm...makes me wonder.

The Swan Thieves is Elizabeth Kostova's second novel, following The Historian, which I enjoyed eventually, after it got off to a very slow start. The Swan Thieves falls prey, unfortunately, to the sophomore curse, and is an awful novel, full of tedious characters, dreadfully dull prose and a plot that drags like an anchor in tar. What is even more annoying is that the protagonist just sort of spontaneously gets better and is released from a mental health facility for no apparent reason by a vain psychiatrist who is sleeping with the protagonists ex-girlfriend. There is a lot of that in this book, leering old men who fall in love with gorgeous young women and go to all sorts of lengths to get them into bed, which is, frankly, revolting and disgusting. The painting by artists in the book is just merely a backdrop for all the sleazy old man romantic antics, and we're never really given a reason to like any of the men in this book, because it seems the women get the crap end of things every time, no matter the era. It takes some doing to make France and Impressionist artists boring, but Kostova manages it in 561 pages of rambling prose. I would recommend that anyone who liked the Historian skip this novel and move on to something better.

A Lesson in Secrets is the 8th novel in Winspear's Maisie Dobbs mystery series, and it's a gem. As was quoted by USA Today on the back cover: "Sometimes when you adore a series, you're terrified to crack open the next installment, fearing disappointment. Fortunately, Winspear fans can rest easy. Her new Maisie Dobbs mystery is...excellent." Which is most certainly true. In this installment, Maisie is asked to go undercover for Scotland Yards Secret Service (kind of like the CIA in America) as a professor at a college dedicated to pacifism, run by a man who stole a pacifist children's book, Greville Liddicote. When Liddicote is murdered in his office, Maisie has to do some serious sleuthing to find out whodunit. I couldn't figure out who was the culprit until the end, either, which is a testament to Winspear's skills as an author. Maisie is still mourning her mentor Maurice, who left her a substantial fortune, and we discover that she's doing good with the money, buying a house for Billy and his family and helping a gal whose husband was killed find paying work. The novel takes place in 1932-33, so things are starting to get ugly in Germany with the Nazi party, and I'd bet that Maisie will be involved in WWII in the next novel. I sincerely hope she gets married to James Compton in the next novel, too, because, though I love her independence and brilliant mind, I think Maisie deserves a happy and fulfilling relationship, especially if she is going to get involved in yet another war.
I highly recommend this novel for those who love a solid mystery and a good tale, well told.

Lady of Hay is the first novel I've read by Barbara Erskine, and as it has to do with reincarnation and British and Welsh people, I figured it would be a real page-turner for me. Alas, it was not, being more along the lines of the Swan Thieves in terms of unlikeable male characters and horribly wimpy, stupid female characters who were all, of course, pretty redheads or blonds. There was a great deal of melodrama, weepy scenes, bitchy backstabbing and swooning going on, to the point of heaving-bosoms-style romance novels, which I detest. In this maudlin novel, we're expected to believe that Jo, a reporter, is the reincarnation of Matilda De Braose, a noblewoman of the 13th century who had three men wildly in love with her, Richard De Clare, a knight, William De Braose, her husband, and King John, Henry II's nasty youngest son, who comes off here as a sociopathic rapist. Apparently, three of the men in Jo's life, her photographer, her ex-boyfriend and his brother are the reincarnations of these three men and therefore obsessed with Jo and doing everything in their power to 'possess' her completely, which usually means they want to beat her and rape her or try to kill her. Jo waffles constantly between loving and hating them, and cries a lot, which doesn't endear her to the reader at all, it just makes her seem weak and ridiculous. Each chapter has back and forth versions of Mathilda's terrible life in the 13th century, followed by how poorly Jo is faring in the 20th century (the 1980s). The lengthy discussions of the political climate of the 13th century really bogged down the plot, and Jo's endless whining, coupled with the bitchy women around her constantly trying to make her life miserable got really old, really fast. I think about 200 pages could have been edited from this book without it losing anything, and in fact would make the book less dull. It would also be a good idea for the female characters to get a grip and be less wimpy. At any rate, I found the middle of the book hard going, and nearly gave up. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone but the most die-hard historical romance fans.

Fortunately, I have the latest Allie Beckstrom novel, Magic on the Hunt, to wash the wussy women taste out of my brain. This is the 6th of Devon Monks "Magic" series, and though I have read all her other Beckstrom novels, this one is just as exciting as the previous books, with Allie B full of fight, ready to take on the bad guys and see justice done with her handsome boyfriend, Zayvion, to help. I really enjoy these paperback urban fantasy novels, mainly because the protagonist is realistic and intelligent, and the novels are set in Portland, Oregon, a favorite place for booklovers everywhere, myself included. Much like Jim Butchers Harry Dresden, Chicago Wizard at large, Allie Beckstrom gets the snot beat out of her and is always in danger of losing her life while fighting evil magicians who want to take over the world. But, also like Harry, she seems to be able to pull a rabbit out of her hat in each book, and though she gets battered and bruised and ends up in the hospital a lot, she has 9 lives and survives each encounter. This time is no exception, and at the end we have the birth of Allies half-brother to look forward to. I have to say that I wonder how many more books we'll have to go through before she gets her father, Daniel, out of her head and into a body or gone into another dimension, but I wasn't fond of the ancient coin-demon who possessed Harry Dresden for a couple of books, either. Still, the book deserves an A for the glory that is Allie and Zay on the hunt and kicking arse in their own inimitable fashion.

As to the Star Trek: The Lives of Dax book, I happened across this gem at a church rummage sale, of all places, and though I'd never seen its like before, (its trade paperback size, which is unusual) and I'm not generally a fan of Star Trek novels, I had to buy it because Dax was one of my favorite characters on Deep Space 9. In my experience, Star Trek novels are mostly poorly written, with a few exceptions such as the Captains Table series and a couple of novels by Christie Golden (and one by Peter David that was hilarious). Hence my reservations about this book. I need not have worried, however, as each author who took on telling the tale of one of the symbiont's lives was respectful of the characters background and the Star Trek universe in general. It was also a relief to discover that all the authors were professional writers, not just fans out to write a "Mary Sue or Marty Stu" tale as an ego trip. I would recommend this book to anyone who was a fan of Deep Space 9 or any of the Star Trek series. The prose was clean and delightful, the lives of Dax fascinating and most of the plots moved at warp speed.

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

2011-03-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

First, some great articles in Flavorwire, via Shelf Awareness, about books, authors, movies and Hollywood:

"10 famous authors who went Hollywood"
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10784758
were showcased by Flavorwire, which noted, "Since their inception, the
moving pictures have offered scribes the opportunity for comparatively
easy money--a few weeks' work dashing off a screenplay or a punch-up job
to subsidize the year it's going to take to write The Great American
Novel."

Flavorwire also featured "books that inspired fashion designers
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10784759,"
along with a quote from Virginia Woolf's Orlando: "Vain trifles as they
seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than merely to keep
us warm."

Braving dangerous territory, Flavorwire dared to select 10 movies that
were better than the book
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz10791951,
noting the commonly held belief "that film adaptations of novels are
always inferior to the original isn't always borne out by the facts."

I am a bit more than halfway through my library book clubs chosen novel, The Power of One, which is about an English kid growing up during WW2 in South Africa. I have to mention how surprised I am by it's rich landscape of characters and fascinating language and protagonist. I am not one who usually finds boxing or racism or violence at all interesting, yet this book has me riveted to the page, each chapter revealing more about this scrappy kid Peekay and his extraordinary life. I am really looking forward to discussing it with my fellow book clubbers in April.

Happy St Patricks Day with Book lists!

2011-03-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

What better way to celebrate St Patrick's Day than with a free book? If you are lucky enough to live on the East Coast, you can get one from these locations, and if you live on the West Coast, you can just enjoy the list of Irish authors whose books will delight and entertain you on this happy holiday. My late friend Rosemarie Larson, God rest her soul, would be thrilled, as she was a mighty bibliophile her whole life. Erin Go Bragh! The following is from Shelf Awareness:

In Washington, D.C., Solas Nua will
celebrate the sixth annual Irish Book Day
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10758142 by stationing "one
hundred volunteers around dozens of metro stops in the city from 6 a.m.
until the end of the evening commute and hand out a whopping 10,000
books for free on the streets of D.C. The books are by current Irish
writers and this is our way of celebrating Ireland's national holiday."

The inaugural Irish Arts Center Book Day
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10758145 will take place in New
York City: "Keep an eye out for Book Day volunteers handing out books by
Irish and Irish American authors, free, at subway stops and
transportation hubs across all five boroughs.

The Huffington Post
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10758150's
readers chose their "favorite books by Irish authors and about all
things Irish. James Joyce of course took the lead, but there were a few
surprises."

Marjorie Kehe, the Christian Science Monitor's book editor, improved
upon her 2010 list of the "10 best books about Ireland
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10758151
(which I still stand by)" with five additional titles
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10758152.

For the last word, we go to the old country itself.
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10758153, Ireland's
National Public Service broadcaster, featured a top 10 Irish writers
list, but with this caveat: "Like all Best of... lists, this top ten
invites discourse if not outright criticism. But that's why we love
them. Donal O'Donoghue lays his bets and takes his chances on our
greatest living writers."

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

2011-03-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

First, a wonderful idea from Shelf Awareness, my favorite librarians/booksellers blog: Author Nicola Morgan joined the discussion with a proposal for Our World
Book Night
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10682873:
"One day between now and next Saturday (March 5th), let's each of us buy
a book, preferably from an actual bookshop, or direct from a publisher.
Any book. Write inside it: 'Given in the spirit of World Book Night,
March 5th 2011 and bought from [insert name of shop]--please enjoy and
tell people about it.' And give it to someone. Anyone. A friend or
stranger, a library or school or doctor's surgery or anything. Then go
home, and enjoy whatever you're reading yourself."

She summed up the advantages of Our World Book Night succinctly: "It's
very simple and everyone wins: the bookshop, the recipient, the author,
the publisher, the agent, even you, the giver, because you'll enjoy the
frisson of pleasure that comes from giving. There are no losers. That's
why I like it. And I'll be buying my book from the Edinburgh Bookshop."

In the Guardian
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10682874,
Stuart Evers agreed and even upped the ante, recommending a Local
Bookshop Year: "Opinion over the giving away of thousands of books on
World Book Night seems to be divided--but whatever side you fall on
Morgan's proposition is too good to resist.... Bookshops get the
much-needed sales, and we as readers get to choose something that we
have sponsored rather than the publishers. It is the ideal time for
those who love popping into a good book shop to get back into the buying
habit."

Some authors have "raised doubts about the mass giveaway, arguing that
it could impact negatively on independent booksellers struggling to
survive in a particularly tough retail climate, while failing to reward
authors properly for their work," the Guardian noted.

Novelist Susan Hill also backed Morgan's plan, saying, "One of my
publishers has had to spend £40,000 on printing books to give away
which is £40,000 he cannot now use to publish and promote new
authors. This is a much better idea and I'm up for it."

On her blog
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10682875
yesterday, Morgan clarified her position by expressing full support for
World Book Day because of its focus on children and literacy, and
contending that she is not necessarily anti-World Book Night: "I think
WBN is a great idea. I think the idea of any of us giving our own
property away when we choose to is a great idea. I think that anything
that encourages and inspires reading is a great idea. I think some great
ideas have significant costs. I think sometimes those significant costs
can be avoided. I think some great ideas are more complicated than they
need to be, but hey, I don't have to deal with the complications."

I totally agree that anything that inspires people to read and relish books is a great idea. I plan on trying to do this next year in March on the 5th, and seeing what happens. Though I do have to say that I am constantly giving books away to relatives, friends, and neighbors throughout the year. Just ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you that I am quite generous with my finds, especially if I am familiar with what kind/genre of books a person likes.

Also, this is a book I must find a copy of, because it amazes me that a man would write it: Dan Abrams, author of Man Down: Proof Beyond a
Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies,
World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About
Everything Else (Abrams, $17.95, 9780810998292).

Now, on to A Discovery of Witches!
For some odd reason, this book isn't classified as genre fiction, when it is evidently clear, after the first few pages, that it's a paranormal romance novel. For some reason, the publishers, Viking, seem to think that as long as there are enough historical references and research in the book, that somehow removes it from the genre fiction category straight into regular fiction or even, heaven forfend, literary fiction. But their efforts are in vain, because the protagonist, Diana Bishop, falls in love with a thousand year old French vampire (can anyone hear the editors whispering that there need to be more "Twilight"-style romance novels on the shelves, because Stephanie Meyers made all that money on her poorly-written rip off of a Ray Bradbury novella?)named Matthew Clairmont, head of a Knights Templar order, wine connoisseur and of course, handsome and controlling in that cold way that seems to somehow make women swoon with desire (not this woman, but that's another story). Diana Bishop is the last of a long line of witches, and at the outset, she refuses her heritage, preferring to work in the sciences and research history instead, so that she can explain the existence of the inexplicable 'magic' that killed her parents. In the course of her research at the Bodelian Library in England, she manages to summon an ancient text known as Ashmole 782, a bespelled alchemical text that has been lost or centuries to witches, vampires and the peasantry of the supernatural world, daemons. Feeling its spells and sorcery as a palimpsest on its pages, Bishop freaks out enough to return the book back to the stacks, not knowing that in finding and opening the book, she's made herself a target for those factions who have been seeking it for their own uses (the vampires fear it has spells to rid the world of them, the witches believe it is theirs originally and has spells of immortality and the daemons believe it contains information on how they came into being.) Soon Bishop is being hunted by people of all three factions, and while dealing with her magic re-surfacing (her parents bound it within her with spells until it would become necessary for her to use magic to survive) she also gets abducted, beat up and rescued several times by the manly vampire--all done in a very "damsel in distress" fashion. Bishops lesbian aunts, who are both witches, are constantly calling her and trying to keep her out of danger, only to encounter her new love, Clairmont the courtly vampire, whom witches are naturally supposed to despise. It then comes to light that the Congregation, a group of 3 vampires, three witches and three daemons, have written a set of rules that all agreed to follow that includes no fraternizing or falling in love with the enemy, meaning any of the other species of magical beings. Hence they begin hunting poor Bishop as well, now that she's professed her love of the undead Clairmont. The book ends with the star-crossed lovers deciding to go back in time to escape these hunters and to find someone who can teach Bishop how to reign in her magical powers, which are, of course, amazing and cover more types of magic than have been seen in centuries. The ending is barely an HEA, as we don't know how the couple will survive and find what they need in Will Shakespeare's England, but I'd imagine the sequel is just a year away, so we won't have to dwell on it for long.
I found this book to be like a mash-up of popular songs, with something for every Twilight, Sookie Stackhouse, Patricia Briggs, Harry Potter, Count St Germain and Dr Who fan out there, with all those lovely historical trivia and tidbits added in, and all that romance to appeal to the ladies. The cliches of having the heroine saved constantly by the hero, and allowing herself to be controlled and protected by him, as well as being a delicate blonde (heroines are always petite blondes or stunning petite raven haired temptresses in romance fiction--no larger women or buxom tall redheads allowed) who devolves into a childish state when the chips are down made me rather ill, and also made me lose a bit of respect for the author, who should have been able to imagine something less trite. However, though the prose was also a bit rough in spots, the plot moved along at a nice even pace and the characters were interesting enough to keep reading. The background of the novel, in upper New York state, France and England, also kept me reading and savoring the historical bits that Harkness stuffed into the novel like pimento-stuffed olives. Since it's her first book, I'd give the author a solid B, and recommend it to anyone interested in the history of alchemy, witches and the supernatural.

Having Deja Vu with Allison Pearson

2011-02-23T14:50:00.000-08:00

Full disclosure, I am the same age as Allison Pearson, and I have read her first book "I Don't Know How She Does It." Now she's come out with a new book about what it is like to be 13 and in love with teen idol David Cassidy, and I am having deja vu, because I was also 13 in 1974, and also had a crush on David Cassidy after watching countless episodes of the Partridge Family (and wishing I could be Susan Dey so I could just look at him every day, squeal!)
Here's NPR's take on the book and an interview with the author, whom I'd love to meet.
But first, I HAVE to get a copy of this book!

When writer Allison Pearson was growing up in Wales in the mid-1970s, she thought she knew exactly what it would take to woo David Cassidy, the teen idol who played Keith in The Partridge Family.

The color brown. And lots of it.

"I had read, when I was a child, that his favorite color was brown, and so for about 18 months during my precious adolescence, I had worn brown," she says. "And I looked absolutely dreadful in brown because I was a very skinny, sallow little girl. I looked yellow in brown."

But Pearson didn't only change her appearance. She also worked on her diction. A Welsh accent, she was sure, would never attract Cassidy's attention.

"I taught myself lots of American expressions just so he wouldn't think that [I] was a stupid Welsh girl," she says. "Americans say 'mad' meaning 'angry,' not 'crazy.' And [they say] 'bathroom,' not 'loo.' These crucial distinctions were going to endear me to him ... just in case David Cassidy happened to be in South Wales, which was 5,000 miles away from his home in California, but you never knew when you needed to have all of the facts about him at your disposal."

Pearson, now 50, eventually stopped pining for Cassidy. She became a columnist for London's Evening Standard and Daily Telegraph and wrote a best-selling novel about middle-class working mothers called I Don't Know How She Does It.

I Think I Love You
By Allison Pearson
Hardcover, 336 pages
Knopf
List Price: $24.95

But now she's translated her teenage obsession with Cassidy into a second novel, I Think I Love You. It's about, not surprisingly, a teenage girl named Petra who's living in Wales in 1974, who falls madly in love with David Cassidy. In 1998, when Petra is nearing 40 and has her own children, she decides to take an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas to meet her teen idol — and re-examines her youthful passions in the process.

So why did Pearson choose, out of all the teen idols in existence, the Partridge Family's dreamy star David Cassidy?

When I told my female friends now that I was writing about a 13-year-old girl, without exception they all said, 'I would not go back to being 13 for a million pounds.'

- Allison Pearson

"I was 13 in 1974 and he bestrode my teenage world like a Colossus in a white jumpsuit with silver embroidery," Pearson says. "Girls slightly younger tended to be Donny Osmond girls or Michael Jackson girls but for my generation, it tended to be David Cassidy."

But it wasn't just the obsession with her teen idol that Pearson wanted to explore. It was everything about 13-year-old girls — the teen magazines, the fan culture, and conflicted feelings of vulnerability and passion — that she immersed herself in before writing the book. And that wasn't always easy, she says.

"One of the challenges in recreating that 13-year-old mind-et is that you're still constructing yourself," she says. "You're still wondering who you are and trying to get that kind of feeling of transparency, of looking back to that young girl. One thing that did give me pause for thought, when I told my female friends now that I was writing about a 13-year-old girl, without exception they all said, 'I would not go back to being 13 for a million pounds.' "

But she did, eventually, go back to Cassidy. In 2004, Pearson was asked to interview him for a magazine profile. And to prepare, she decided to read his autobiography.

"It was absolutely jaw-dropping stuff about groupies and the kind of life he had," she says. "And what struck me, so forcefully, was that, as a grown woman and the mother of two children, I was not shocked by what he was writing about, but I could feel within myself, the 13-year-old girl who had loved him was really shocked. And I thought, 'Now isn't that interesting.' We carry our younger selves with us our whole lives and we can measure out of lives by music we've loved or icons we've loved. So that was my first real vertiginous falling perception, that this creature David Cassidy that I had loved was a manufactured being."

Before she interviewed Cassidy in person, Pearson says that she remembered thinking just one thing: that she didn't want to pity him.

"It was very important to me, to [not pity] someone who had loomed so large in my imagination," she says. "But the book isn't just about David Cassidy. It's about love and its delusions."
Allison Pearson is a staff writer for the Daily Telegraph. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and two children.

Mulligatawny, A Stew of Stuff

2011-02-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

When I moved to Washington state back in 1991, there were 365 bookstores in the Seattle area, one for every single day of the year. I nearly swooned with bibliophilic delight! Now, as with newspapers, the book industry is drying up, becoming smaller and there are far fewer bookstores to be had. Still, I am fortunate to be able to shop at Island Books on Mercer Island, Baker Street Books in Black Diamond and Elliott Bay, now on Capitol Hill in Seattle. And when we go to Portland for my husband's favorite past time, Drum and Bugle Corps competitions, I get to sneak into Powells City of Books, one of my favorite spots in Oregon.
So I was delighted to read the following in Shelf Awareness:

As the digital age continues to draw a bead on traditional indies, the
Everett, Wash., Daily Herald observed
that "the cultural coroners are out in force again, pronouncing the time
of death for all bookstores. But people like bookstores. They especially
like, and are loyal to, independent bookstores. People who write books
also especially like bookstores. That's where they give readings
(libraries too!) and meet people who read their books....

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599775

"Community is key. In the Northwest, we are lucky to have plenty of our
own examples: Village Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599776 in Bellingham,
Watermark Book Co http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599777. in Anacortes,
Elliott Bay Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599778 in Seattle, Auntie's
Bookstore http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599779 in Spokane and Powell's Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10599780 in Portland. Funny how a 'dead' business also
continues to sound like one of the best things that could happen for the
future of downtown Everett."

I've just finished reading three books, The gorgeous "The Bards of Bone Plain" by my favorite fantasy author Patricia McKillip, "Destiny Times Six" a book written in Astrology's heydey in the 1970s by Katherine de Jersey and the final book in the "Fever" series, "Shadowfever" by Karen Marie Moning.
McKillip's prose was, as always, splendid and spellbinding, and the story sad and glorious, while Ms de Jersey had some fascinating takes on people via their astrological chart, and I felt that I learned something about astrology and how the planets influence us, or don't, as the case may be.
Shadowfever was a juicy tome full of climaxes, confrontations, and background/explanations of what and who everyone really was, including the main character, whose journey was long, twisted and in the end, worth all the pain.

Layoffs at Powells City of Books

2011-02-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

From Shelf Awareness comes this bad news about one of the greatest bookstores in America, Powells City of Books in Portland, Oregon:

Citing "an industry-wide decline in new book sales, rising healthcare
costs, and the economy," Powell's Books, Portland, Ore., yesterday laid
off 31 employees, the Oregonian
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10566902
reported. The affected booksellers represent about 7% of the company's
400 employees, mostly floor workers and seven or eight in the group
managing the company's website.

Ryan Van Winkle, a representative for Powell's union, said that the
affected employees were members of the union and that no management or
security guards had been laid off. According to a memo to employees, pay
for non-union staff has been frozen for at least a year and the company
has suspended contributions to its 401(k) plan.

Van Winkle told the Portland Mercury
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10566903
that Powell's and the union had worked together during the past year to
avoid layoffs by reducing hours, among other changes. Van Winkle said
that the union is "worried about doing more work with less people and
also, frankly, being sure that this doesn't disrupt the work the union
does, like filling those cut jobs with managers or temporary workers."

The company said of the layoffs: "This undesirable course of action was
taken only after serious consideration of other possible options and a
careful evaluation of the future."

In the memo to the staff, Powell's said that sales this fiscal year are
down, with "the largest decreases" in new book sales, "a clear
indication that we are losing sales to electronic books and reading
devices." The company expects new book sales to continue to erode "over
the next year" and that it can compensate only in part "with solid used
book sales and growth in gift sales."

It is just horrifying that this far into the recession, there are still people losing their jobs, especially in the book industry, an industry that I love more than I love my own media industry with it's host of jobless journalists (or underpaid ones, like myself). I've heard many people spout the nonsense that the recession is over, and the American economy is in 'recovery' but I have yet to see where anyone, outside of the banks and auto companies that got bailouts, has really recovered at all, when most seem to be daily trying not to sink.

Also from Shelf Awareness, some interesting bookends:

Bookends "are more than just decorative (and in some cases, dangerous)
objects--they're also pretty darn useful," Flavorwire observed in
showcasing "10 Shelf-Worthy Bookends"
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10566920.

And finally, the wonderful Nancy Pearl has revised her rules of reading (and I totally agree with her findings, I might add):

Nancy Pearl's Revised 'Rule of 50'

"On the spur of the moment, with no particular psychological or literary
theory in mind to justify it, I developed my Rule of 50: Give a book 50
pages. When you get to the bottom of Page 50, ask yourself if you're
really liking the book. If you are, of course, then great, keep on
reading. But if you're not, then put it down and look for another....

"This rule of 50 worked exceedingly well until I entered my own 50s. As
I wended my way toward 60, and beyond, I could no longer avoid the
realization that, while the reading time remaining in my life was
growing shorter, the world of books that I wanted to read was, if
anything, growing larger. In a flash of, if I do say so myself,
brilliance, I realized that my Rule of 50 was incomplete. It needed an
addendum. And here it is: When you are 51 years of age or older,
subtract your age from 100, and the resulting number (which, of course,
gets smaller every year) is the number of pages you should read before
you can guiltlessly give up on a book. As the saying goes, 'Age has its
privileges.' And the ultimate privilege of age, of course, is that when
you turn 100, you are authorized (by the Rule of 50) to judge a book by
its cover."

--Nancy Pearl (librarian, author and action figure) in the Toronto Globe
& Mail
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10572559.

Save the Libraries (in the UK) on Saturday

2011-02-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

It would appear that libraries in the United Kingdom are in as difficult financial straits as many American businesses and institutions. Yet libraries are the bedrock of any community, as necessary as city hall and city councils. So I support these folks in Britain with my heartfelt hope that they can reopen the libraries and with my eyeballs reading tomorrow.
From Mediabistro's GalleyCat:
Libraries
Save Our Libraries Day Is Tomorrow
By Maryann Yin on February 4, 2011 3:47 PM

Tomorrow (February 5th), readers around the U.K. will gather to protest the more than 350 possible library closures in England–Voices for the Library’s special “save our libraries day of action.” The group’s Facebook page already counts 740 participants.

The day of action will feature read-ins around the country. In addition, author appearances and storytelling events are also planned.

Librarians and information professionals formed Voices for the Library last August with this goal: “[To create] a place for everyone who loves libraries to share their stories and experiences of the value of public libraries. We don’t want to lose our libraries, and we aim to ensure future generations continue to enjoy access to free unbiased public libraries and librarians.” (via Publishers Weekly)

And last but not least, a very funny video about getting kids to read the classics. from Shelf Awareness:
"Did Charles Dickens like jam, Dad?" Buzzfeed featured a video exploring
the funny, if unlikely, potential for getting kids to read the classics
with tasty editions like Dickens' Fruit Corners
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10549595. It's
a book... and it's jam.

Carousel Tides by Sharon Lee

2011-01-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

I've long been a fan of Sharon Lee and Steve Millers Liaden Universe series, mainly because it contains some of the most realistic, intricate world building in existence, plus the characters are perfectly wonderful. Which is where I run into a problem writing reviews of their work. There are only so many superlatives to use when describing such finely-wrought science fiction.
Imagine my frustration, then, in trying to discuss Sharon Lees solo efforts, such as her latest, Carousel Tides, a work of dark fantasy.
I could use the old "elevator pitch" style of saying Carousel Tides combines legendary storytelling ala Ray Bradbury with characters reminiscent of David Eddings Belgariad series mingled with Lois McMaster Bujold's fast-paced plot styles and Lees own musical prose...but I'd have to assume that everyone has read all the aforementioned authors and knows what I am talking about.
How best to understand Sharon Lee's work? To paraphrase Nike, Just Read It. You will not be sorry that you did, I can guarantee that.
Carousel Tides is the story of Kate Archer, the grand daughter of elemental beings who, after repudiating her heritage as one who draws power from the earth, returns home to the Maine coast to set her grandmothers affairs in order, only to find that the Carousel she's now responsible for needs the wards on it's bewitched beings replenished, and that no one knows where her grandmother is, nor can they give her any information on the towns newest resident, who appears to be ready for a magical take over of some kind, and wants our heroine out of the way. Discussions with magical creatures, from selkies to fire elementals ensues, and though Kate and the other protagonists win the day, there are still windows left open for more stories in this mileau. I found the book engrossing and the characters fascinating, as expected with anything that Lee sets her hand to...she's a craftsperson of serious vision with a prose style that seems casual and loose, until you try to find a flaw in it, when you realize it's as smooth and flawless as finely-wrought silk.
So, I recommend this novel for fantasy fans, classics readers, those who enjoy myths and legends or fables, and those who appreciate good old fashioned storytelling done right. A solid A for Carousel Tides.

So Many Books, So Little Free Time

2010-12-15T09:13:00.000-08:00

I hereby notify my vast (ha) readership that for the next two weeks, I will be managing the Mercer Island Patch site along with my husband, and I will not have any time to post to any of my blogs.
I have a stack of great fiction that I got for my 50th birthday this past Sunday, but I will doubtless have scant few moments to pick them up and read them. I got Paul Darrow's (Avon on the 70s British SF series Blakes 7) autobiography, called "You're Him, Aren't You?" and I got a copy of Patricia McKillips "The Bards of Bone Plain" and Alan Dean Fosters "The Human Blend" as well as Sharon Lee and Steve Millers "Mouse and Dragon" and Jennifer Cruisie and Bob Mayer's "Don't Look Down."
Anyway, here's a few items that I thought would be of interest from Shelf Awareness:
"I am not a Luddite (she said, somewhat defensively), and I do not
oppose all change simply because it is change.... Here's my bottom line:
There's no way to avoid using energy either to print books or
manufacture e-readers, to transport books or to transport e-readers, and
disposal issues crop up in both cases, as well, so why would I elect to
read in a format that requires additional inputs of energy? Why not just
take my book out under a tree or to the beach or read it on the front
porch or under the lamp that's turned on in the winter evening, anyway,
so I won't be tripping over my dog when I get up from my chair to go to
bed?

"It will be a while before all the dust from the new e-reader revolution
settles, and the final settling may not come in my lifetime. Meanwhile,
I'm watching the dust storm with interest and sticking with my
old-fashioned books. As the Water Rat said of his old riverbank: 'It's
my world, and I don't want any other.' "

--Pamela Grath, owner of Dog Ears Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10363465,
Northport, Mich., on her Books in Northport blog
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10363466

This is so true, I love the smell of books!
Number 16 among New York magazine's Reasons to Love New York
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10353388: "Because
We're Home to Not Only the Publishing Industry But Also to a Woman Who
Spends Her Days Smelling Books"

Six months ago, artist Rachael Morrison, who works at the Museum of
Modern Art's library, began wondering about the unscented future of
e-books and "decided to spend her lunch breaks chronicling the unique
scent of each book in the MoMA stacks." Morrison said that "smelling
books is really nostalgic for me--I am often reminded of my
grandparents' homes, or libraries where I used to go when I was a
child."

I loved Douglas Adam's books, so I would really like to see these series:
BBC Four released a trailer
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10353394 for
the upcoming series Dirk Gently, based on two novels by the late Douglas
Adams--Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark
Tea-Time of the Soul. Blastr
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10353395 observed that
BBC Four "bills the show as a 'drama,' but if it uses any of its source
material, it should contain plenty of light British wit, ghosts and the
poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It may even involve the creation of
all life on Earth."

A Holiday Treat/An Irish Country Girl

2010-12-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays, to all my fellow Bibliophiles! As a special treat, as a list of Nancy Pearl, Seattles doyenne of books and book lore, picks her favorite memoirs:

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/03/131392774/happy-holidays-voyeurs-nancy-pearl-picks-memoirs

Then, a quote that I know that I can relate to, as an book lover who still feels the thrill of anticipation every single time I delve into a new book:
(From Shelf Awareness)
"I learned to read at the age of five, in Brother Justiniano's class at
the De la Salle Academy in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It is the most important
thing that has ever happened to me. Almost seventy years later I
remember clearly how the magic of translating the words in books into
images enriched my life, breaking the barriers of time and space and
allowing me to travel with Captain Nemo twenty thousand leagues under
the sea, fight with d'Artagnan, Athos, Portos, and Aramis against the
intrigues threatening the Queen in the days of the secretive Richelieu,
or stumble through the sewers of Paris, transformed into Jean Valjean
carrying Marius's inert body on my back.

"Reading changed dreams into life and life into dreams and placed the
universe of literature within reach of the boy I once was. My mother
told me the first things I wrote were continuations of the stories I
read because it made me sad when they concluded or because I wanted to
change their endings. And perhaps this is what I have spent my life
doing without realizing it: prolonging in time, as I grew, matured, and
aged, the stories that filled my childhood with exaltation and
adventures."

--Mario Vargas Llosa in his Nobel Lecture
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10334483,
"In Praise of Reading and Fiction," which he delivered yesterday in
Sweden.

I just finished reading "An Irish Country Girl" the 4th book in the series by Patrick Taylor, a physician from Northern Ireland. This delicious volume was even more appropriate, as it is set during the Christmas season in the tiny town of Ballybucklbo in Ireland. The Irish are, as everyone knows, talented storytellers to a man and woman, and in this case, we hear the story of Maureen "Kinky" Kincaid; her family life, her development of the 'second sight' and her marriage to the love of her life, who died at sea after only a year of marriage. The story begins with Kinky telling the 'fairy tale' of her elder sisters love, who didn't believe in the wee folk and was taken by those selfsame fae when he cuts down their favored tree on a cold night in November that is dedicated to the 'good folk.' As Kinky tells the tale to a group of young carolers, you can almost hear the brogue and feel the chill winds and snow set out by the fox and the raven, harbingers of the faeries, or Bean Sidhe, pronounced Ban Shee. The only problem with this, and the whole book, is that Taylor draws the story out longer than need be, padding what would make a nice short story into many chapters, and then adding on what seems like a whole different story in the middle and trying to cap it with the same ghost story at the end. Though it ties up well, the ending seems rushed, and we don't learn more about things that the author could have embellished, like Kinky and Paudeen's first year of marriage, or their wedding, or the storm that took Paudeens life. Still, I'd give this book a solid B+, and recommend it to all who have read Patrick Taylor's Irish Country Doctor series and often wondered about his miraculous housekeeper and cook.

Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold

2010-11-28T11:29:00.000-08:00

From Anu Garg's "Word A Day" files: In heaven, the police are British, the chefs are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian, and everything is organized by the Swiss.
In hell, the police are German, the chefs are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and everything is organized by the Italians.

Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, is reported to have said, "I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse."

Cryoburn is Lois McMaster Bujolds first Miles Vorkosigan novel in around 10 years, I believe, and those of us who are big fans of one of the few handicapped space heroes in existence are all a-twitter with glee.
Publisher's Weekly summarized the plot thus: "Only five days after arriving on Kibou-daini for a cryonics conference, interplanetary diplomat Miles Vorkosigan narrowly escapes kidnapping. Drugged, dazed, and alone, he is taken in by Jin Sato, whose mother was the leader of a cryonics reform movement until being declared mentally ill and involuntarily frozen. Now Jin lives in a building full of squatters running an illegal cryonics clinic. Under imperial orders to investigate the shady dealings of the cryo cartels, Miles connects the far-flung pieces and exposes a sneaky plot. Bujold introduces appealing characters to join familiar ones in exploring the ramifications of a planet-wide culture of postponing death, and her deft and absorbing writing easily corrals the complex plot and softens the blow of a tear-jerking conclusion."
Copyright © PWxyz, LLC

Though there were a lot more politics in this novel than I like, Bujold never let the plot lag with rants about any particular faction. She maintained the integrity of the characters throughout their trials and troubles, and Miles, as usual, comes out of this mess smelling like a rose. One of the things I admire most about Miles is his ability to think his way out of trouble, and view life like a situational chess match, where he's usually two moves ahead of his opponent. We get to see his clone-brother Mark in all his deal-making glory, too, though Miles comments that he wishes his brother would differentiate himself in some other way than being overweight. Personally, I found that remark a bit offensive, and I wanted to smack Miles in the head and say "Listen, Pookie, your clone brother has been through Hades and back, so at least allow him to be whatever size he chooses...let him make his life and his body his own." Yes, I know that calling someone of Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan "Pookie" would doubtless get me thrown in a Barrayar dungeon, but it would be worth it to see the look on his face. That's another thing I enjoy about Bujolds characters--they seem so real, you find yourself wanting to meet them.
Jin Sato was an interesting young character, though I enjoyed his spunky little sister more toward the end of the book. I found the whole "cryogenic suspension" business, with the buying and selling of contracts to keep people frozen, fascinating, and it was interesting to learn that those who'd be revived didn't often acclimate well in their new world/time. I would wish to be able to be frozen and return to life at at time when they'd found cures for many diseases and had some kind of rejuvenation process for old age so you could enjoy the new time you'd revived into. The whole idea of giving votes to the dead/frozen, however, was creepy,and I was happy to see that Miles thwarted the evil cryogenics company plan to take over his home world via cryo-corpse votes. The ending was nice and tidy, and it left the reader hopeful that Jin and his sister and mother had found a new father and a new home in the Barrayar consulate with a diplomat living there. Though Bujold mentions Miles wife and his children, we see little of them in this novel, which was one of my few disappointments with it, as I'd love to know about his home life and how he deals with his kids on a day to day basis. Still, it was a fast and satisfying read, and I sincerely hope that there's another Miles book on the horizon. A solid A for this science fiction novel that I'd recommend to anyone who has read the other Miles novels and who loves them as dearly as I do for not just their characters, but also the smart, witty prose and lightspeed plots that Bujold wields with ease.

Beautiful Libraries

2010-11-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

It's not when you have access to them that you appreciate libraries fully, it's when, like this week, they close due to a huge snowstorm, and you find yourself staring longingly through the windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of your favorite librarians and fellow bibliophiles that you truly appreciate the impact that libraries have on your life. Not that I would do any of that, of course. The Maple Valley Library should definitely be on the list of lovely libraries. I have been thankful for libraries my entire life.

Here's a tidbit on beautiful libraries from Shelf Awareness:
Flavorwire
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10274859
showcased the "Most Beautiful Public Libraries in the U.S.," observing
that "most roundups of beautiful libraries focus on what's inside. And
while we love vaulted ceilings and overflowing bookshelves as much as
the next guy, we'd argue that the facades are just as important. From
futuristic steel-and-glass structures to early American structures
steeped in design history, here are ten public libraries that prove that
free books and Internet access don't need to be the only reason you
visit these architectural gems."

Also, my favorite actress, the marvelous Emma Thompson, weighs in on books with this oh-so-true quote:

Books 'Turn Up in Your Life When You Most Need Them'

"I think books are like people, in the sense that they'll turn up in
your life when you most need them. After my father died, the book that
sort of saved my life was Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel
One Hundred Years of Solitude. Because of that experience, I firmly
believe there are books whose greatness actually enables you to live, to
do something. And sometimes, human beings need story and narrative more
than they need nourishment and food."

--Actress Emma Thompson on choosing seven "books that made a difference"
for O magazine
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10274838.

Finally, I bought myself a copy of "Remarkable Creatures" by Tracy Chevalier for Thanksgiving, and I intend to stuff myself full of good food and good prose today, all day!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Killbox by Ann Aguirre/The Gentleman Poet by Kathryn Johnson

2010-11-22T10:43:00.000-08:00

First, another great quote from Shelf Awareness:
"Even with all of the so-called new media out there, books still have
the potential to be the most powerful medium of them all. Complex ideas
are explored over hundreds of pages and over several days, giving the
ideas time to sink in and take root, changing a person. Being exposed to
an idea or concept through social media or an article just doesn't have
the same impact. Meeting authors who yield this power wisely is still a
thrill."

--Don Allen, publications director, Busboys and Poets
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10261477, Washington, D.C.

Killbox is the 4th book in Ann Aguirre's Sirantha Jax science fiction series, and though it contains her usual roller-coaster ride action and space adventure, it also ties up a lot of loose ends in Jax's life, readying us for what I can only assume is the final novel in the series.

Jax has the genetic mutation to navigate grimspace and get ships from place to place across the galaxy, and because she was concieved in grimspace, she is also able to heal herself of the side effects that damage most "jumpers" and make them eventually unable to jump anymore.
Killbox has Jax quitting her ambassadorial role and mentoring a young jumper, as well as spending time with her beloved March and creating a militia to keep ships and colonies from being attacked by pirates or the cannibalistic Morgut, creatures who see humanity as a tasty food source.
I found the pace of this novel measured and deliberate, yet still exciting. The characters are, as always, full-bodied and fascinating, and the love scenes enthralling...few people can write a modern bedroom scene as well as Ann Aguirre. I was glad to see Jax take control of her destiny in this novel, though I was a bit freaked out by the ending of the book, which leaves us not knowing if Jax will survive her attempt to reset the beacons of grimspace to thwart the Morgut. It was interesting to watch her use her new implants and scientific advances to actually hear what the Morgut say, and realize that they are sentient, though confused by the idea that their 'meat' doesn't want to be slaughtered due to our own sentience. Jax's support systems and friends all fall away at once, and Jax realizes that it all comes down to her and her special skills to save the universe. I was gratified to note that Jax's evil mafioso mother died a heroic death, and that she and March are on stable ground in their relationship. I will be awaiting the next installment eagerly, as now I have to know if Jax's plan works, and if she and Hit make it back alive. I'd give Killbox a solid A, and recommend it to all who've read the other Sirantha Jax novels.

The Gentleman Poet by Kathryn Johnson is an interesting fictional take on the life of a servant in Shakespeares time, and on the origins of Shakespeare's "The Tempest."
The protagonist, Elizabeth Miranda Persons, a young girl who has been forced into indentured servitude by the plague and persecution of Catholics by Queen Elizabeth I, her namesake, is working for a mean and cruel old woman of the gentry when she takes a voyage from England to the Virginia colonies in the "new world" on a ship called the Sea Venture. Unfortunately, the 150 passenger vessel is wreaked off the coast of Bermuda, and Miranda is forced to cook and clean not only for the Mistress Horton, but also for the Admiral and the other sailors and shipwreaked folk, including William Strachey, who is actually William Shakespeare. Miranda and William strike up a friendship, and William uses their story to write The Tempest, while also nudging Miranda towards Thomas, the ships cook, who at first horrifies her because she's seen women raped and has nearly been raped herself. Miranda's recipes are added into each couple of chapters, which is fascinating, as she was working with fresh seafood and game animals, as well as tubers and herbs found in Bermuda. She's a good enough cook that she's able to teach Thomas the use of herbs and spices to add flavor to the food, and soon the two are in love and wed, with Miranda pregnant as they make their way to the colonies via a slapped together ship. Unfortunately, Thomas is killed by Native Americans, and Miranda is left with a choice of either marrying a man she doesn't love or moving back to England with William and starting up her own Inn and restaurant in one of Shakespeare's homes. She chooses the latter, and the author leaves us with a decent HEA to wrap things up. I found the history fascinating and the recipes authentic in this book, and though the plot dragged a bit in spots, overall it was a well done novel. I'd give it a B+, and recommend The Gentleman Poet to those interested in Shakespeare, history and historical food.

Namaah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey

2010-11-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

First, a bit of business, I found this link to a lovely story on a local school librarian who is making a difference, and the article makes a good case for the importance of librarians in schools, at a time when librarians are being phased out of schools and our King County Library System.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2013355006_litlife08.html

Also, a bit from Kevin Bacon, who appears to be a smart guy (who knew?) as reported in the wonderful Shelf Awareness:

Noting actor Kevin Bacon's philosophy of reading--"You can sit around
and complain that Hollywood doesn't make any good movies. But you can
generate your own material. So I read books."--Word & Film
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10216971
recommended a checklist of Bacon's movies "to find great reading
material."

Now, about Namaah's Curse, the latest novel from the incredible imagination of Jacqueline Carey. I've read all of Carey's "Kushiel's" series, which were like some richly-scented chocolate dessert--they're impossible to resist and once you start reading them, no amount of will power can get you to stop. Also like chocolate, they're decadent and not to everyone's taste--they have lots of sexuality in them, and there's pain-as-pleasure attached to some of it, yet it's never gratuitous or slimy. Carey writes her sex scenes with true reverence and love...you can feel the sincere passion, the glorying in the beauty of the human form, the sensuality and erotic joy of sexuality and orgasm pouring forth from each chapter. Yet Carey doesn't overindulge in sex scenes to the detriment of her stories. Her plots never lag, there's no lame dialogue or cliche'd euphemisms to make you cringe and wish she'd get back to the subject at hand. And her characters SHINE, brightly and beautifully, fully created and seeming to breathe right off the page. First and foremost, Carey is a resplendent storyteller of the Sheherazad school, the kind of author whose prose draws you in, engrosses you and doesn't let you go until the last word is spent.
I was so enthralled by the Kushiel's books that I was sad to see them end. However, Carey decided to start a new series with Moirin, a descendant of some of the characters from the Kushiels books, and place her 100 years later in time. Moirin has some of the powers of the Bear clan but is also a child of Namaah, so she's a sexual adept as well, though not a courtesan, as was Phaedra, the protagonist from the first series. We were introduced to Moirin in Namaah's Kiss, where she met up with a Chinese sage and his assistant Bao, and fell in love with Bao, reviving him with her spirit in the last part of the book. Namaah's Curse takes place in China and Mongolia, where Moirin must go to find Bao, her soul mate, and her adventures along the way take several interesting twists and turns. One of those turns is meeting fanatical Christians, and, as Moirin's people of Terre D'Ange view sex as a sacrament, you can imagine how ugly things get when a Christian cult leader tries to torture confessions out of Moirin, and force her to submit to patriarchal Christian dogma. Fortunately, she's rescued by a half D'Angeline boy, whom she gifts with his first sexual experience, helping him to gain Namaah's blessing. I daresay no one describes oral sex with as much heat as Carey, and if there is any through-line or theme to her books, it is that nothing is as healthy, healing and good for body and soul as a long roll in the hay with someone you love. But Carey also manages to add in chunks of history, in this case Asian history that fascinating and add to the stew of the story, making it more robust.
At any rate, I enjoyed this second book in the Namaah's series, and look forward to the third. I'd give it a solid A, and recommend Namaah's Curse to fantasy-loving adults with open minds and hearts who find Asian culture and history fascinating.

The Glass Trilogy by Maria V Snyder and Sidejobs

2010-11-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

Maria V Snyder is the author of the "Poison Study" series that I bought initially for the cover of the first book, but read with great enjoyment once I discovered the finely-wrought prose and fascinating characters inside it.
She did a spin off from that series with a character named Opal Cowan, a magician glassblower who could make glass animals that served as a kind of cell phone, and who could also drain the power from other magicians and encase it in diamonds.
In Storm Glass, we learned about Opal's family and her glass-making powers, as well as her frailty as a person. While she managed to help contain some seriously bad Daviian warpers in glass and save the day, she constantly whined and allowed others to tell her what to do and run roughshod over her own feelings. Even when her boyfriend changes souls with the warper who hurt her, she allows herself to be lulled into sleeping with the guy, though she knows something is 'wrong' with him. I found Opal a bit hard to take in the first novel, because she was so flawed, ignorant and immature, she made me want to slap her more than root for her. Yet I read the next book in the series, "Sea Glass" anyway, and was surprised at how determined and tenacious Opal had become. She spends a great deal of time in this book trying to find Ulrick, the man who exchanged bodies with Develn, the warper who tortured her twice and tried to kill her, and is now supposedly in love with her (that part strained my credulity). Meanwhile, Opals rather fickle affections have been bestowed on a "stormdancer" named Kade, who can magically suck the energy from violent weather and encase it in glass orbs created specially by Opal, until she teaches others to make the unbreakable orbs.Unfortunately, no one believes Opals story that her boyfriend has switched bodies, so she has to find both men and prove it, which she manages to do in the end. Spy Glass, the final book in the series, finds Opal at a loss because, in order to keep some hostiles from causing trouble, Opal had to drain their magic and her own into an orb. These nasty fellows managed to get Opals blood when they captured and tortured her (again), so now Opal, ever dogged in her pursuits, goes after the blood thieves to see if she can regain her messenger-glass making powers. While she's also more mature in this book, Opal is still somewhat niave and takes ridiculous risks without thinking it through. She does learn to defend herself from the marvelous Valek, a uber-spy character from the Poison Study series, but she still manages to get herself into horrible trouble with a cult on the coast who are enslaving people and using black diamonds and pearls to further their magical goals. Fortunately, Opal doesn't take things lying down, as she used to, so with her new backbone and training, she is able to help rout the bad guys (she even kills the man who enslaved her) and find her true love in the former Daviian Warper who tortured and nearly killed her. I know, it still strains credulity that she would throw over the stormdancer Kade for a scumbag who repeatedly hurt her, but he is now supposedly not addicted to blood magic anymore, has done time in a prison and reformed himself by doing everything he can to help Opal. I really don't think any amount of assistance and 'reform' would make me want to forgive someone who had tortured me physically and emotionally twice. But Opal seems to fall into bed with him rather quickly, and seems to believe he's now a good guy on the slightest evidence. Personally, I would have killed him at the first opportunity, but that's just me. I don't forgive that kind of suffering.
However, Opal marries Develn, and adopts two orphans, and things get wrapped up with a nice HEA bow at the end, which is satisfying to me as a reader. It's one of the things I appreciate about Maria V Snyder, her ability to bring her tales to a beautifully-finessed ending. Snyder's prose is, as always, sterling, and her plots have not an ounce of fat on them as they swim along like that Olympic swimmer Phelps--swiftly, cleanly and gracefully. But what I like best about Snyders stories is her ability to craft characters that fascinate and engage the reader because they seem so real and alive. I gather another "Study" book is going to be out soon, and I can hardly wait to pick it up and read of the further adventures of my favorite Snyder characters, Yelena and Valek. Meanwhile, I'd give the "Glass" series a B+ overall and an A- for the final book in the series, "Spy Glass." I'd recommend this series to any artistic teenager or adult who finds glass making and magic fascinating.
I've also just read Jim Butcher's "Side Jobs" a compendium of short stories about the wonderful wizard of Chicago, Harry Dresden. Let me be honest, I've had a tremendous crush on Harry since I first read about him years ago. I love that he's such a hero, but in such a smart-assed, fumbling and often messed up way. He's flawed, but his heart is in the right place, and he's smart enough to be able to use his faults to his advantage to capture or kill the bad guys. He's also a big softie when it comes to dealing with women, children and animals, like his huge Fu-dog Mouse, or his cat Mister. The thing that bothers me about the Dresden Files is that Harry gets beaten to a pulp and nearly killed in every single installment. And in the last full-length novel, Changes, Jim Butcher leaves us hanging as to whether Harry will live or die by shooting him on the last page of the book, which is just a low-down dirty trick, if you ask me. I was told that "Side Jobs" had a short story in it that takes place right after Harry is shot on his boat, so I assumed there would be some hint or answer in that text that would keep me going until the next Dresden Files book is published next year. But nooooo, Butcher gives us a whole story with the marvelous Karrin Murphy, beloved cop friend of Harrys, who can't believe he's dead, but doesn't try to find him during the run of the story, either. Dresden fans are left with a vague feeling that he 'might' still be alive because there has been no corpse recovered and buried, but other than Murphy's hope that he's still alive, we've got precious little to go on. This makes me want to smack Jim Butcher's fanny for teasing Dresden fans this way--its cruel, and I don't like it. Either tell us he's alive or tell us he's dead, but don't insinuate things in such a wimpy way that we don't know squat by the end of the tale. I believe even Harry Dresden himself would be pissed off at his fans being treated this way. That said, I really enjoyed the rest of the short stories in this tome, though I'd already read three of them in other anthologies. Even the first story which Butcher claims is his first attempt and therefore awful, is really a delight. It seems obvious to me, and I am sure to other Dresden File fans that Butcher has a great deal of writing talent, and it shines through no matter where it is deployed. I'd give this book an A, mainly because it's indispensable to those who know and love Harry Dresden. But I reserve the right to give the final story in the book a C for "nice try, but you didn't tell us what we want/need to know." I'd recommend "Side Jobs" to anyone who loves wizards and magic with an urban, gritty feel and a large dose of mystery.

The End of the Novel Live!

2010-10-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

From Shelf Awareness, because they do a better wrap up of this event that I could:

As we reported last week
over the course of six days, live and online, 36 Northwest authors wrote
a novel. It was completed Saturday evening and will be published as an
e-book by Open Road Integrated Media. Fans watched the novel being
written--and, in one case, drawn--added their comments in person and via
live chat, and had a grand time bidding during various auctions. Over
72,000 words were typed (the goal was 50,000), and thousands of online
viewers spent 165,000 minutes watching The Novel! Live!
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10133129 unfold. While most viewers were from the
U.S., there were also hundreds from Australia, Canada, the U.K., India,
the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Austria, New Zealand and Spain. And even
better, nearly $10,000 was raised for literacy (hint: you can still
donate http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10133130 and
push that number over $10K).

We checked with one of the instigators of this project, author Jennie
Shortridge, and asked her for statistics of the kind we are really
interested in:

* Most words typed: Mary Guterson: 4,560
* Least swearing in text: Suzanne Selfors: 0 curse words
* Most breaks from writing: Erik Larson: 2; he also wins for most coffee
consumed, 4 cups
* Most freakish and horrifying incident for an author: a stuck "delete"
key during Jarret Middleton's turn at bat--it cost him five paragraphs
of text (which he replaced overnight, so he gets the best-natured author
award as well)
* Most remote author contribution: Kit Bakke from Shanghai
* Most valiant effort by an author: Maria Dahvana Headley, who typed via
Gmail chat from her sickbed with a 102-degree fever
* Best channeling of a non-human character: Stephanie Kallos, who wrote
from a crow's point of view
* Highest bid for an auction item: $450 for the name of the
protagonist's long-lost father, online from Isabella in New York
* Mostly unlikely auction item: a replica of Habib the crow, who dangled
above the stage on the last day, went for $100. (We sent a volunteer out
into the streets of Capitol Hill Saturday morning to find a crow, and
after no luck at various stores, actually encountered a man with a fake
crow on Pine Street, and haggled him down from $60 to $30). Runners-up:
plastic skulls named for dead authors, which brought in as much as $40
each in online auctions, and many signed (and re-signed) books
* Longest distances traveled by authors to participate: Jamie Ford from
Montana and Mary Guterson from Los Angeles
* Longest distance traveled by a volunteer to participate: aspiring
19-year-old author Rachel Kelly from Gresham, Ore.
*

Erik Larson and auctioneer John Roderick, lead singer and guitarist in
the band The Long Winters.

Most costume changes by an author: 4 by Susan Wiggs, who morphed from
Viking princess to pajama-ed author to sequined goddess to queen of
hearts during her two-hour stint
* Most catch-up sleep required by organizing Seattle7Writers' members: a
tie between Garth Stein and Jennie Shortridge

Check out The Novel! Live! http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10133131 and
watch the book being created. Congratulations to everyone who made this
happen with such enthusiasm and panache, from the writers to the
volunteers to the food suppliers to the fans, and to Hugo House for
providing a cozy venue (and a bar).--Marilyn Dahl

So True!

2010-10-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

This is from Shelf Awareness today:

NBA Judge: Books Are 'Joyful Things to Behold'

"I am holding books in my hands, in my lap, all day long--joyful things
to behold, to hold onto--hefty and crisp. Even the uncorrected galleys
have weight--the smell of paper and words.... One day I look at the pile
and imagine they are all electronic books. Electronic books are
eligible; it's possible I could be reading on a Kindle or a Nook or the
poetically named Sony PRS-700. All this reading could be on a gray
screen; I could be clicking buttons instead of turning pages. In the
bookless future a few of these books predict, there would be no boxes,
no piles....

"I would, of course, have gone mad, thrown the little plastic thing out
the window long ago. The real glory of all these books is simply that
they exist. They will endure in the world as solid things. I love the
piles--the teetering, heavy, uneven piles, the cumbersome crowding of
books thick and thin. These are piles of piled-up things, sculptured
objects taking up room. No gray screen can honor the way font shape and
space are designed to convey thought. Books inhabit the world in a way
not unlike the way you and I do."

--Sallie Tisdale in her Oregonian
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10129359
article,"Duty as a judge for the National Book Awards requires a bit of
juggling."

The Novel Live!

2010-10-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

My Facebook friend Jennie Shortridge is one of the instigators of this very cool art project--I wish I could support the Novel Live crew financially, but I can promote their drive to obtain money for literacy. Go Seattle7!
The following is from Shelf Awareness:
The Novel! Live!

Starting yesterday morning, October 11, in a "stunning,
never-before-attempted marathon of literary wonder," 36 Northwest
authors began writing a novel that will be completed in just six days.
The story will take on 36 different lives during the week, reflecting
each author's unique sensibilities. David Lasky will draw his section.
During his slot, Kevin O'Brien will be killing off a character, whose
name Nancy Pearl auctioned off at the Sunday kick-off party at Elliott
Bay Books. Susan Wiggs is writing the ending, so someone will fall in
love (or at least get laid).

Fans can watch and cheer on favorite authors like Garth Stein, Jamie
Ford, Elizabeth George, Erica Bauermeister, Jennie Shortridge, Erik
Larson (and others) as they take their turns at the keyboard at
Seattle's Hugo House (complete with happy hours and drink specials).
Yesterday kicked off with Jennie Shortridge (When She Flew
) on a stage,
screen to her left, ample coffee and water to her right, and an
audience. The authors have a story map and an individual goal, but it
was up to Jennie to set it all in motion. And while she typed, the
audience called out suggestions. Early on, she asked the audience for
help with teenage Alexis's skin tone.

"Cocoa?"

"Latte?"

She decided on "latte creamy."

The she wanted to set the tone for a mortuary visit:

"If it's any time except August or September, it's pretty much rain."

"Yeah, we must have rain."

At 10:40, she wondered why she ever threw in a pirate named Ursula.

"If Alexis is wearing a black wool sweater, does she go to a Catholic
School?"

"She might."

"St. Joe's!"

Later, in an on-line chat, someone mentioned that Jennie had awesome
command of the backspace key.

"Fig Newtons?"

"In Seattle it should be Fig Newmans."

A bit after 11, Jennie needed a lifeline, so she called author Marisa de
los Santos for help: "I introduced a crow--do I keep it?" Yes. "I need a
name for the mother." Edith.

Authors Denise Banker and Joyce Yarrow synopsized Jennie's story for the
next writer, Teri Hein, who took over at noon. Go to The Novel! Live!
for more information and to
watch the novel progress as it streams live with an author cam, chat and
words flowing (and backing up) across a page. If you've ever wondered
how an author actually writes, here it is in all its flow and pause,
inspiration and staring at the screen. Watch this space for more
coverage of the event as it unfolds, with happy hour updates and more.

Net proceeds (including the character names auction and very nice
T-shirts) from The Novel! Live! http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10107487
go to Seattle Arts & Lectures http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10107488' Writers in the
Schools program, which places professional local writers in public
classrooms to spark interest and develop skills in reading and writing,
and to 826 Seattle http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz10107489, a nonprofit writing and
tutoring center dedicated to helping kids ages six to 18 improve their
writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to
write.

The Mapping of Love and Death/An Irish Country Village

2010-10-02T17:02:00.001-07:00

My husband has complained that I haven't thanked him on my blog yet for bringing me some lovely ARCs from work, including this copy of Jacqueline Winspear's "The Mapping of Love and Death" her latest Maisie Dobbs mystery.
So, thank you, my beloved, for keeping me supplied with my favorite addiction, books. And happy 13th anniversary of our wedding on October 5, 1997 at the Museum of Flight in Seattle!
The Mapping of Love and Death is the 7th Maisie Dobbs mystery, set in post WW1 England, and following the progress of a young woman who worked as a maid for a member of the gentry, and when she was discovered reading in the mansion library, was sent to college by these wealthy folk (to Girton), then tutored by a retired gentleman spy (or whatever they call the members of the British version of the CIA) and then turned loose to found her own private detective agency.
But Maisie is not Sherlock Holmes, she's been shell-shocked during her turn as a nurse on the battlefields of Europe, and she has watched the man she loved die from injuries sustained during the war. Maisie's got the advantage of having a gypsy grandmother who endowed her with something of a 'sixth sense' about feelings and things that might happen, but she mainly relies on her intellect and her friend and colleague Billy, who was a sapper during the war, to solve her cases.
The Mapping of Love and Death finds Maisie out to solve the mystery of what happened to a young American cartographer/surveyor whose bones were discovered 15 years after the war, along with letters he wrote to a mysterious nurse with whom he fell in love. Add to this the wealthy parents, one of whom is an English ex-patriot, and the illness and death of Maurice, the aforementioned gentleman spy and Maisie's mentor, and you have a book filled with emotional, poignant moments.
One of the things I like best about Maisie Dobbs mysteries is that Maisie always ends up better off than she started out at the beginning of the novel. Unlike Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden or Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse, both of whom get beat up and nearly killed in every single novel, Winspear seems to have a heart when it comes to Maisie and her life, and the reader can always exult at the end of the book, knowing that Maisie will go on and help others and become happier as each day passes. Winspear's prose is always clean and straightforward, and her plots march briskly along, never lagging in sentimentality or excessive narration. Her characters are rock solid and riveting, and I always find myself wishing I'd lived back in the 20s and 30s in England so I could meet someone like Maisie and sit down to tea with her and Billy, of course. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys smart heroines and zippy mysteries grounded in historical fact. A solid A!
An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor is the sequel to An Irish Country Doctor, a book that takes place in the village of Ballybucklebo in Northern Ireland.
These are feel-good novels along the lines of Gervaise Phinn's books or James Herriott's series, All Creatures Great and Small. This series follows young Dr Barry Laverty as he works through his residency under a small country general practitioner, Dr Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, who is quite a character.The village is also full of characters, from the puffed up, rude mayor to the doctors housekeeper/cook, who is called "Kinky" Kincaid and who makes tremendous dinners and prescient pronouncements for the doctors. In this installment of the series, Dr Barry is under a cloud of suspicion as a hypochondriac patient of his dies, and the locals all wonder whether he's a good physician or not. Dr Barry is also falling in love with a local gal who wants to become an engineer, and will have to go away to school in England for three years if she wins a scholarship. There are also the two elderly oddball residents who finally tie the knot after years of yearning for one another, but being unable to fulfill their love because the gentlemans home had no roof. Now the town has pitched in and fixed his home, and the couple can marry and live happily ever after.
Taylor's Irish Country books take place in the 60s, so times are simpler and the mores and values are more straightforward, however, the under current of sexism and anti-choice nonsense can get a bit irritating for the modern female reader. Still, the prose is sweet and comfortable, the characters charming and the situations fascinating, so it's well worth the occaisional irritant to read the books. I look forward to the next book in the series, An Irish Country Christmas. I just have to bring more books into Baker Street Books in Black Diamond (he doesn't accept hardbacks and is very choosy about which paperbacks he will accept) so I can build up enough credit to afford a copy. I'd recommend this book to anyone who appreciates Ireland and its history, and to those who liked Phinns and Herriotts series. A solid B+ to this engaging series of novels.

Five Books

2010-09-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

I've been on a tear these past two weeks, reading some books that have reeled me in and not let me go until the last page was read.
They are:
True Colors by Kristin Hannah
Maybe This Time by Jennifer Cruisie
Magic on the Storm by Devon Monk
An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor
Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas

I've read a couple of other books by Kristin Hannah, and she always puts me in mind of Jennie Shortridge, without as scrupulous an editor (Hannah's books usually have higher page counts than Shortridge). True Colors brought to mind another book I'd read about a horse-ranching family with a wayward daughter, but I can't for the life of me remember the title or the author. At any rate, True Colors is the story of the three Grey sisters, Winona the fat one with brains, Aurora the middle child, earth mama and peacemaker and Vivi Ann, the spoiled and selfish youngest child who is, of course, blonde, petite and pretty and gets all the fathers attention (as usual, the mother is long dead). Though I suspect we are meant to admire and connect with Vivi Ann, I found myself wishing that she'd get thrown off the family horse and die early on. She was willfully stupid and niave, a narcissist and a bratty little tramp who always gets whatever she wants, while the daughter who actually does the most for the family, Winona, gets consistently treated like crap by the father, who is a real horse's arse, right from the first chapter. Of course there are two men involved, the handsome jock who wants Vivi Ann but is beloved of Winona, and the hottie Native American Dallas, who fills Vivi Ann with lust but who is rejected by her father and everyone else in their small town, because most everyone is prejudiced, of course. In a move that you could see coming right from the moment Vivi Ann goes to bed with Dallas, the Native American is framed for murder and sent to prison, where he loses all his appeals and sends his selfish wife into a drug-induced tailspin, enough so that she can hardly care for their son (I really think they should have taken the kid away from her, she was a lousy parent). Fortunately, the smart sister finally decides to forgive her sister and goes to bat for Dallas, eventually winning his freedom at the end of the book. Everyone gets what they want/need/desire in the HEA ending, yet it seemed to come a bit too late for my tastes. Still, the book was engrossing and interesting, and worth a read on the beach or if you're stuck on layover at an airport. I'd give it a C+.

Maybe This Time was also the third of Cruisie's books that I've read. Having loved her "Bet Me" and "Crazy for You" (or was it "Tell me Lies"?) I was prepared to enjoy this paranormal romance (in all but name...I don't think Cruisie's books are filed under that genre). I devoured it, enjoying the heat between Andie the free-spirit and her ex-husband North the businessman who was too busy to pay attention to her, and North's brother "Southie" who is, of course, the wild child, ne'er do well to his brothers button-down perfectionist. But North has a problem, he has a young niece and nephew (Alice and Carter) who have been living in an old mansion with a series of nannies since their one nanny died a mysterious death, as did their parents. Andie's mother is a spiritualist and astrologer, while Norths mother is all power-banker-woman, exact opposites. Add to this mix three menacing ghosts and an evil housekeeper who can't cook, and you've got a recipe for gothic disaster and mayhem. I don't want to spoil the fun for those who haven't read this book yet,(I believe it doesn't come out for another month, I had an ARC) but Andie's struggle to give the children a stable home life and love is perfectly poignant. Her interactions with the ghosts seemed realistic and the pace of the novel was swift and sure. My only problem with the novel was that Cruisie didn't leave it alone at the HEA ending...she tacked on a couple of creepy pages after that were worthy of a Stephen King novel. Pardon me while I shudder and leave the light on in the hallway tonight at bedtime. Perhaps it was her intent to give readers the willies, and while I understand that some people enjoy being scared, I don't. So I left the novel with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. However, I'd still recommend it to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance or chick lit or even a good Bronte novel. Cruisie gets a solid B+ for this one.

Magic on the Storm is the 4th Allie Beckstrom novel in a series by Devon Monk, a Portland, Ore novelist. I recall reading the first novel in one sitting, and thoroughly enjoying it's combination of a Jim Butcher/Harry Dresden universe with an Anita Blake/Laurel Hamilton-Linnea Sinclair-esque style heroine who is comfortable in her own skin and knows how to kick ass and use her powers for good, despite the cost to her mental and physical health. I gather that Patricia Briggs has a series with a strong female magic-wielder, but I've not read those, so I can't compare them with Monks novels. Ann Agguire's Jax character also springs to mind whenever I read an Allie Beckstrom novel, because Jax is one tough cookie who has magical abilities that are often bad for her health. Anyway, in this fourth novel, Allie is once again thrust into some life and death situations in which she and her lover (the screamin' hot Zayvion) are called upon to try and find out why the magic wells under Portland are being depleted while also tracking a wild magic storm and trying to hunt down some bad guys who failed to die in the last installment. So there's an aspect of "tying up loose ends" in this novel that is satisfying on the surface, but frightening when it leads to a cliffhanger at the end. Though I loved the action, and the love scenes between Allie and Zayvion, (and I love Stone, the gargoyle dog! I want one of those because I am allergic to dander, not rock dust) I was disturbed by the fact that Allie's father was still able to exert so much influence over her and possess her body, and that he seems to show so little concern for her actual health and well-being. It seems amazing to me that Allie could have turned out so well with such a lousy parent, one who is so greedy, evil and conceited/narcissistic. Still, Monk did what Jim Butcher did to Harry Dresden in his last novel and we don't know if Allie will come out of this latest happenstance alive and with Zayvion. Stay tuned...and I'd recommend this novel to Jim Butcher fans who like Buffy the Vampire slayer and Anita Blake and other SF/F women who kick tushie. I'd give it an A-

An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor has been heralded as the new "James Herriot" with the main character being a doctor in Northern Ireland rather than a veterinarian in Northern England. Actually, this first book in the series reminded me of Gervaise Phinn's books on being an educational inspector in Northern England much more than Herriotts works, which were much more humorous and written in a rolicking fashion.
Still, I found the book easy to get into and enjoy, and the good Dr Barry Laverty, who is working with Dr Fingal O'Reilly and will one day take over his country practice, is quite an earnest and interesting fellow who has all the innocence and niavete we've come to expect in our UK heroes. Of course, the townspeople are delightfully eccentric, there's plenty of good folks with good intentions who get into trouble and a lot of ignorant people who have to be lied to for their own sake, and there's the evil town mayor who gets his comuppance, and the beautiful woman who captures Dr Barry's heart. Whether it's Herriot, Phinn or Taylor, these books seem to follow a well-trod path/pattern, and while that might bother some, I find it comforting to know that the bad characters will get what they deserve while the good guys will fall in love and have their dreams come true. There's plenty of local color and even recipes (at the back of the book) for foods discussed in the novel. We get a real feel for the 60s in rural Northern Ireland, and for the limitations of medicine at the time. I've already started the sequel, "An Irish Country Village," and I'd imagine there are one or two more books in the series, keeping us apprised of the progress of the young doctor in winning the minds and hearts of the local villagers in Ballybucklebo. If you're looking for a light read, something heartwarming, relaxing and easy, this is your book. I'd give it a B+

Last but not least is the book that is on tap for the Tuesday night book group at the library, Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas, an author I've never heard of, but will now be seeking out. Prayers for Sale is the story of widow Hennie Comfort, who has lived in the high mountains of Middle Swan, Colorado since before it declared statehood. She meets a young miner's wife, Nit Spindle, and because Nit is grieving the loss of her stillborn child (and Hennie has lost a child as well as having miscarriages) Hennie takes Nit under her wing as a quilter and tells her the story of her life in chapter-long flashbacks that fascinate and engross the reader. Since the story takes place during the great Depression, we are privy to the inner workings of miners lives during a time when people starved to death or were killed by cave-ins and faulty equipment. Hennie, who remarried and lost that husband as well, raised a foundling child and through it all felt she had so many blessings she could give out prayers for others (she never charged for them, that was her husbands joke sign that he hung in front of their log cabin). Hennies quilt-making, cooking and homespun wisdom is rich and rings true for all women of that era who learned to make do and deal with good times and bad with love and humor and common sense. This book is such a gem, so filled with generous prose, full-bodied characters and a plot that is strong and sure, I can't imagine anyone disliking it. Hennie reminded me of my grandmother, Gayle Semler, who was also a quilter, a fine cook and a strong, sturdy woman who knew how to tell a story and who was always making sure her neighbors and friends were taken care of--it was an unwritten code, I believe among women in small communities, that you took care of your own, and you didn't let even the weakest among you fall prey to bad times. I recall my grandmother trading fabric with the Amish and Mennonite women nearby, and making glorious quilts with the scraps she had leftover. I used to sit beneath her quilt frame when I was just a toddler and gnaw on some home-made beef jerky or a homemade ginger cookie while grandma got all the latest community news from her fellow quilters. Anyway, Nit and her husband manage to have a healthy baby and Hennie finds love again after all these years, so all's well that ends well in this terrific, emotional and powerful novel. I loved it so much I plan on buying a copy at the earliest opportunity. A solid A for this novel that I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys some good storytelling about a time long past.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

2010-09-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

This is a gorgeous blog post on the rapture of reading:

http://artbystander.blogspot.com/2010/09/importance-of-sitting-in-one-place-

Next, I read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss over the holiday weekend, and was pleasantly surprised and delighted by the marvelous storytelling found within this hefty tome.

I was not expecting to like this book, having recently been burned by Justin Cronin's The Passage, another hefty SF/F tome that has gotten some serious buzz. Fortunately, Mr. Rothfuss can actually write, and has an intense prose style that is modern and crisp/concise without the stink of too much testosterone and sexist twaddle, like Hemingway or the aforementioned Cronin. (The guy who wrote "Fight Club" and the guy who wrote "Little Children" both have written fiction that reeks of testosterone poisoning).

The Name of the Wind is the tale of Kvothe, a legendary figure who was part scholar, wizard, warrior and troubador. Having gone into hiding by working as a pub owner in a small village, Kvothe (called Kote) and his student Bast, who is a disguised satyr, are trying to fade into obscurity when some monsters from his past make an appearance and a scribe, called Chronicaller shows up to ask Kvothe for the real story of his past. Only after his identity is in danger of being revealed does Kvothe sit back and regale his student and the scribe with the story of how he came to be a legend.

The book alternates between short and long chapters, in which we learn through the excellent storytelling abilities of Kvothe (and Rothfuss, of course) about his childhood with a traveling acting/singing troupe, his parents death at the hands of the Chandrian, a mythical group of beings who are actually quite real, and his admission to the University at a young age, where he soon makes a name for himself and cuts a swathe through the academic's BS like a hot knife through butter. Fascinating side characters are revealed, and the reader gets a clear view of the realities of Kvothes struggles and triumphs, which are both more and less than the legends that spring from them.

This was the kind of novel that I end up staying up until 2 am to finish, because I just HAVE to find out what happens to the protagonist, or I won't be able to sleep. Though it is obvious that the story of Kvothe is far from over, I was happy to note that Rothfuss didn't leave his readers hanging at the end, but instead brought the story to a natural conclusion, one that will seque nicely into the next phase of the story.

I'd recommend this wonderful book to those who love Jim Butchers Harry Dresden (The Dresden Files) series, or those who like Tolkien-style fantasy that isn't quite as fussy and full of endless details. The Name of the Wind gets a solid A.

Time Weaver by Shana Abe

2010-09-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

First, a lovely quote from Shelf Awareness--I agree 100 percent!

The Perfect Bookstore Offers a 'Transformative Experience'

"What is the dream of book lovers everywhere? To visit the perfect book
store, one that stocks only the best of books, where 'best' is defined
by the guarantee of a transformative experience via the magical linking
of words into sentences into paragraphs into chapters into BOOKS. A
place where tables display not the latest products of publishers and
marketers but instead the trustworthy choices of other book lovers. A
place with couches to sit on, a place with long opening hours and a
welcoming staff, a place where customers spend as much time as they want
browsing or reading. A place where only good books are sold and no bad
choices can be made.... The function of a bookstore is to match lover
and loved to ensure the perfect date. The purpose of the bookseller is
to provide what we addicts need, and a good bookseller recommends the
best stuff to satisfy our love for books."

--Nina Sankovitch, in her Huffington Post review
of A Novel Bookstore
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz9972198

I started reading Shana Abe's "Drakon" books when I caught all the buzz about "The Smoke Thief" several years ago. I'd heard it was beautifully written fantasy/romance set in the 18th century, and had an original take on dragon mythology.

I was not disappointed. Not only was the cover gorgeous, the prose was elegant, beautiful and engrossing. The plot was swift and sure, and the characters fascinating, so riveting, in fact, that I recall staying up all night, unable to stop reading because I felt so close to the characters and their plight.
I was so delighted by The Smoke Thief, that I devoured The Dream Thief, Queen of Dragons and the Treasure Keeper, in rapid succession. I even delved into one of her non-dragon books, The Last Mermaid.

So when I was pinged by Amazon.com that Ms Abe's latest book, "The Time Weaver" was out, I was nearly beside myself with anticipation, yearning to immerse myself in Ms Abe's glittering, lush world of dragon/human hybrids once more.

Though The Time Weaver is a darker book than the previous four novels, it still shines with Abe's luminous prose and graceful characters, gliding from chapter to chapter in scales or smoke or skin. Her prose is so evocative you can smell them, taste the air they breathe and feel the grass they trod on nearly every page.

Each member of the Drakon, be they male or female tends to have a special talent, and in this novel, Honor Carlisle hasn't got the talent to turn to smoke or dragon form, yet she can bring herself in and out of time, from the distant past to the future, and can find herself looking at her soul mate, prince Alexandru of Zaharen Yce in the Carpathians, at different times in his life and in hers. There are problems and risks in time travel, however, and Honor doesn't realize them until it is nearly too late.
Fortunately, we have Amalia (Lia) and Zane the thief from a previous novel to intervene and fix the problems that arise.

I'd recommend this novel to anyone who has read "The Time Travelers Wife" hoping that it was more fantasy than it ended up being, and to those who have a fascination with dragons, Patricia McKillip-esque fantasy worlds and superb, original storytelling rife with unforgettable characters.

Some Interesting Tidbits

2010-08-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

Some interesting tidbits from Shelf Awareness about a new web site for PNBA, and Elliott Bay's new location, plus a dating site for bibliophiles...where was that when I was young and free?

http://www.nwbooklovers.org/

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association has launched NW Book
Lovers , a blog for the general public
featuring PNBA member stores, libraries, Northwest books and authors and
everything literary in the Northwest, aiming for "a behind-the-scenes
indie store kind of vibe," as PNBA put it.

The site, which the association hopes stores will promote to customers,
features daily headlines, a store directory, a place to comment on what
participants are reading, news about stores and local authors and links
to store blogs and websites.

Random Acts of Reading
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz9932302
turned its spotlight on the Elliott Bay Book Company
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz9932303, Seattle, Wash.: "I was skeptical when
I first heard that Elliott Bay had decided to move.... I was absolutely
floored the first time I walked into the new location. Though they were
unloading boxes of books, you could feel how fantastic this new store
was. Somehow they had managed to bring Elliott Bay's smell of cedar and
sense of space to a completely new space that's better laid out, lighter
and airier. It's truly unbelievable how the new store captures the
essence of the old."

Will "Who's the author?" replace "What's your sign?" as an irresistible
opening line? Alikewise.com http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz9932305 hopes so.
The social networking site is "looking to connect people free of charge based on
their favorite reads.... Alikewise users can search and be searched by
the books and book opinions they put up next to their profile
pictures.... Other users can leave comments about your books, and the
site sends notifications when somebody adds the same title or books in
the same general interest area," the Associated Press reported.
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz9932306

"There are plenty of niche dating sites, but they struck me as a bit too
niche," said co-founder Matt Sherman. "They seem to orient themselves
over one particular interest or type of person--athletics, religion. Our
attitude is that books can be about anything. They're a means to an end
to get the conversation going."

Artists Creating Art from Books

2010-08-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

This was another brilliant article link from Shelf Awareness on an artist who uses people's bookshelves in her art!

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/08/09/jane-mounts-ideal-bookshelf/

Jane Mount’s Ideal Bookshelf

Mark Medley August 9, 2010 – 2:10 pm

The books on someone’s shelf will often tell you more about a person than the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, or the friends they keep. Jane Mount, a visual artist hailing from New York City, taps into this emotional connection with her project Ideal Bookshelf, a series of paintings which capture the spines of peoples favourite books.
“We show off our books on shelves like merit badges, because we’re proud of the ideas we’ve ingested to make us who we are, and we hope to connect with others based on that. I think this is endearing and charming,” she says. “When I paint someone else’s favorites and they have the same book I have in mine, I feel closer to them, like we must understand each other in some meaningful way.
Before books, Mount used to draw large paintings of people, but she lost her studio space and was forced to work out of her small apartment in Manhattan, “at one end of the dining room table.” One day in early 2007, as a sort of exercise, she painted some of the books on her own bookshelf.
“A friend happened to see me working on them, and loved them so much he bought all three of them right then,” she says. “I had never created any work before that had caused such a visceral and immediate response in someone. I realized there was something special about books, both visually and conceptually. Art rarely moves people as instantly as a piece of music, or a plate of food, but these do that, in some small way. When someone enters a room where one of the paintings is hanging, they immediately point out which ones they also have and love. It’s an acceptable form of bookshelf voyeurism.”
Soon, she began taking custom orders: just send in a photograph of your favourite books, in a row or in a pile, and Mount will lovingly render them in gouache and ink on paper. As of Monday, she’s posted 80 paintings on her website, Ideal Bookshelf.

Read more: http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/08/09/jane-mounts-ideal-bookshelf/#ixzz0wPvCqqhh

Ray Bradbury Turns 90 this week

2010-08-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I adore science fiction/fantasy/screenplay and non fiction author Ray Bradbury, who also happens to be the master of the short story.
Happy Birthday, master of the universe Ray Bradbury, and thank you for all the wonderful stories you've entertained us with these past 90 years!

Here's a quote from the master himself:

"We must move into the universe. Mankind must save itself. We must escape the danger of war and politics. We must become astronauts and go out into the universe and discover the God in ourselves."

Amen

HA! I knew it was just to sell books!

2010-07-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, when Anne Rice declared that she'd found God and become a Christian after the death of her husband Stan, I recall crying foul, saying that Rice had made her fortune and her literary mark on the world with books that celebrated every kind of sin and perversion you could think of, from a whole series of S&M books to a lauded series of vampire novels and witch novels that discussed rape and incest as desirable things--there was no vile or disgusting action she wasn't willing to explore for publicity and to sell her books, which were, in later years, often poorly written. This saddened me because Interview With A Vampire was a wonderful gothic novel, full of atmospheric prose and memorable characters. So I knew the woman was capable of great writing, but it became apparent to me that she was running out of ideas and had started to believe a bit too much of her fan mail, and was coasting on her previous reputation.

And I noticed that when she became a Christian, Rice didn't repudiate her former works that celebrated Satan and evil and all that is dark and undead. She still seemed more than willing to cash in on the royalties from her pornographic novels while claiming to be free of evil. This whole conversion smelled of a writer desperate to plumb the Christian right market for her books, since she'd already sucked the left wing new age markets dry. She wrote several books about the life of Christ, and a memoir about her conversion, and, as I suspected, when the market didn't prove to be quite as fertile as the non-believers and new age liberals, she sent out declarations that she is no longer a Christian. How convenient. Here's the scoop from Media Bistro, below.

Anne Rice: 'I Quit Christianity'
By Jason Boog on Jul 29, 2010 04:03 PM

In a dramatic series of Facebook posts, novelist Anne Rice declared that she is no longer a Christian.

Check it out: "I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of ... Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen."

Rice wrote Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession, a memoir about her own conversion to Christianity--making the post a bit more surprising. UPDATE: Our readers respond to Rice's post.

In another post, Rice also admitted, "I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being 'Christian' or to being part of Christianity." So far, her posts have drawn nearly 2,000 comments and well over 3,000 "likes." (Via Gawker)

Bookworm Baby and Most Literate Cities

2010-07-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to an adorable photo of a baby dressed up as a bookworm--I wish I had thought of this when Nick was a baby!

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/libraries/super_cute_bookworm_baby_melts_hearts_168937.asp

Also notice that Iowa City is mentioned in the UN's picks of Cities of Literature...GO IOWA!

Dublin, Ireland, has become the fourth city to be designated "a city of
literature" by the cultural arm of the United Nations, UNESCO. The Irish
Times

http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz9843346

reported that Mary Hanafin, Minister for Culture and Tourism, said
Dublin was chosen "because of the rich historical literary past of the
city, the vibrant contemporary literature, the variety of festivals and
attractions available and because it is the birthplace and home of
literary greats." The other three cities of literature are Edinburgh,
Melbourne and Iowa City.

"Literature has the unique power to distinguish us as a culture and as a
people. It helps us understand what it means to be human. In Dublin, the
city has been defined by its writers, and continues to be remade and
discovered through their words," said Arts Council director Mary Cloake.

I maintain that e books and regular books can coexist peacefully, so I am posting the information below, also from Shelf Awareness...and I had the joy of doing what Walter did in her anecdote, of having my son, 10 years ago, fall asleep on my chest while I read...of course, then I would eventually fall asleep, too.

It is the question of our times (or at least our industry): "Are e-books
killing 'real' books?" KXLY-4
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz9843337 asked a writer and a
bookseller in Spokane, Wash.

"You've known it was coming and the technology is catching up with that
pretty quickly," observed author Jess Walter. "The delivery system is
less important than the ideas themselves. I know people who bought
e-readers and read twice as much as they used to, so I don't necessarily
think its an awful thing."

Mary Jo King, general manager at Auntie's Bookstore
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz9843338, which is selling e-books on the shop's
website, said, "It's probably going to pan out to, wisdom is, 10% to 15%
of market penetration for e-books. We couldn't afford to give up another
10% or 15% of our business, so we joined." King added, however, that "we
think it's a certain majority of book readers that will always want to
hold a book in their hand. Try cuddling up with an iPad at night in bed,
you know, it's just not the same effect."

And Walter offered a confirming anecdote: "I remember when my daughter
was a newborn when I was very young and I was reading 100 Years of
Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And, I had just a small break in my
college classes and I would go home and be with my daughter and she
would stretch out on my chest. She was a baby and her arms would only go
to there. I would lie down and read and she would nap on my chest and
that book is as connected to that moment and the feel of the pages and
the look of the cover."

---

In a recent Web Faceoff poll, Mashable
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz9843339
readers cast a decisive vote in favor of traditional books, with 41.9%
(898 votes) for the printed book and 23.24% (498 votes) for e-books.
"Interesting enough, a lot of you voted that you like both formats for
reading your favorite novel; 34.86% of you (747 votes) said that it was
a tie between the e-book and the print book," Mashable wrote.

I would LOVE to go to this workshop on opening a bookstore...unfortunately, I haven't won the lottery yet so I can start my own business...but a girl can dream, right?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/26/9-of-the-most-amazing-boo_n_659870.html
"Opening a Bookstore: The Business Essentials," an intensive workshop
retreat for prospective booksellers conducted by the Bookstore Training
Group of Paz & Associates, is scheduled for September 13-17 on Amelia
Island (near Jacksonville, Fla.). The workshop, which is co-sponsored by
the American Booksellers Association, is facilitated by Mark and Donna
Paz Kaufman and held every spring and fall. For more information, go to
PazBookBiz.com or call 800-260-8605.

The Passage by Justin Cronin

2010-07-23T19:03:00.001-07:00

I really wanted to like this book. I read several reviews, lengthy interviews with the author in Book Pages, and heard other writers exclaiming over the quality of this hefty tome of post-apocalyptic science fiction. Everyone, it seems, was determined to add to the 'good buzz' of this novel. I ended up thinking it was the worst thing I've read this year, and a complete waste of time.
The author was quoted as saying he wrote it for and with his daughter, because she wanted a book with a young female heroine who would save the world.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but his daughter must have been disappointed, at the very least, because the girl from nowhere doesn't save the world, all she does is whine and cower for most of the book, and then she murmurs about how sad things are for the evil vampires, and oh, gee, she manages to push them back a couple of times, but does she eradicate them and save the world? No, she does not.
And herein lies my first disgruntlement with this book: the ending SUCKS, and not in a good way. There really isn't an ending to speak of, just a page from some report that says there was a massacre at Roswell, not mentioning WHO was massacred, the vampires or the walkers/uninfected people.
Then there's the writing, which I was told, by the enthusiastic blurbers and reviewers, was stellar and not to be missed! Honestly, the prose wasn't at all stellar, it was pedestrian and dull, for the most part, and at times it veered into the dead zone of BORING, slowing the plot to a crawl. The plot had major holes, and crept along in no discernible pattern, leaving the reader confused when he or she wasn't being bored to immobility.
Oh, and then there were the cliches and tropes that are the hallmark of lazy writers everywhere, the "military is evil, military scientists are the apex of evil, and anyone with money is automatically so evil they're bound to die in some horrible fashion that will be described in detail." Inevitably, the government is fully to blame, along with the military, of course, for the downfall of humanity, and religion is only for brain-dead schmucks who can't think for themselves any more than a cow can understand that they're destined to be dinner. Ugh. How ridiculous and stupid to go over these same cliches and not even attempt to break new ground--where is Mr Cronin's imagination, or originality? I can't imagine him telling his students at Rice University that they should always stick to the stereotype of the evil government military industrial complex! And those evil rich people! They're all doomed! Then there is the shine that the author adds to the 'simple' way of life of the folks who haven't been killed by the viral vampires let loose on America by the evil military scientists and the stupid prisoners who were brainwashed by the vamps.
That they have to scrounge for food and shoot their friends and relatives if they get bitten, or that they can barely keep the lights going because they are running out of batteries and energy to keep them on, that is only a small matter compared to the joy of farming and making babies at the earliest opportunity, so that they, too, can 'stand watch' and learn to kill vampires and their closest friends and relatives. But again, that is what most of the women are only good for--making babies and caring for the men in traditional roles, like nursing. The one woman who breaks out of that role only does so when she is given a mutated form of the virus so she can become a super soldier, and then it is made clear that one of the male protagonists thinks this is a horrible waste of a womb that he had designs on. Yes sexism and misogyny live in this book that was supposedly written for a young girl. I feel so sorry for this girl, if her father thinks portraying women in this light is a healthy thing for his daughter to read.
Amy, the immortal psychic girl who is given the virus when she's only 6 years old, seems fairly pathetic most of the time, and when she does do something, it is unclear whether she really gives a rats rump about her human companions at all...she seems too busy destroying the mutated virus (so none of the other humans can become super soldiers, so they don't stand a chance against the viral vampires) and whining about how sad the hideous, destructive vampires are because they can't remember who they were before they were infected. Boo hoo. I am supposed to have sympathy for rapists and murderers who are now killing all of humanity in a gruesome fashion?
Even when Amy actually tells them that they were death row inmates previously, that hardly slows them down, though they eventually destroy one group of vamps lead by a particularly noxious prisoner named Babcock who was sending everyone his 'dream' memory of murdering his abusive mother who is, of course, fat....because we couldn't have a novel without the stereotype of the evil fat woman, now could we? Because we all know that there are no evil thin people, right? Ugh. Again, sloppy, lazy writing, using a stereotype because you don't have the talent to do any better.
I kept waiting for Amy, or even the nun who saved her, (who is also immortal, because the evil scientist married her, turning her into a proper woman and slave so she could, eventually, 'help' Amy deal with those noxious vampires by blowing herself up)to come up with a plan to rid the world of these viral vampires that had killed off 90 percent of humanity and were no longer going to have anyone or anything to feed on because, apparently, their brains become dead when they become undead. But no, the author doesn't seem to think we need to know what happened, or whether humanity has survived, he just lets us down with a thunk at the end of the book. This novel was something like 800 pages long, and at least 300 of those pages could have easily been edited out without hurting the ridiculous story one iota.
As it was, there was a great deal of time wasted on nothing, on characters who didn't go anywhere or blathering on about the tensions of societies that are surrounded by the fear of death everyday. The thing is, Lord of the Flies covered that ground sufficiently a long time ago, and Cronin brings nothing new to the 'social experiment' theme at all, allowing for all the lynch mobs, the freaked out people who hang themselves and the children who lose their parents to cancer or viral vampires, but not really telling us anything new about the people left behind to deal with the aftermath of those horrors.
And speaking of horror, I was lead to believe that this was a science fiction thriller, when in reality, it is a poorly written horror novel. It reeks of doom, despair and depression. There isn't more than one or two bright spots to be had in the entire novel, and those are fleeting. If you aren't depressed by the end of The Passage, you must be on some very strong Prozac.
I can't recommend this novel to anyone, so I will just end by saying that unless you find horror, death, mayhem and bloodbaths fun, don't bother to pick up this overly large book. I just wish I were immortal enough to be able to get the hours I wasted reading it back.

Riling Readers

2010-07-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

As a bibliophile of 45 years, I've read a lot of books, both good/great and awful.
I've also developed a list of pet peeves that make my blood pressure go up and rouse my ire, as I am certain they do other readers and bibliophiles.
These are in no particular order of irritation, they just all annoy me.

1) Cliches and stereotypes: DO NOT USE THEM--EVER. Yes, I know there is a reason they exist, and that there are often kernels of truth buried within them, but I still think you don't need them if you've got any kind of imagination or talent as a writer. Really, folks, bosoms do not heave, "manliness" doesn't throb, and all fat people don't eat junk food all day and never exercise because they had bad parents or a traumatic incident with a relative. There is no reason why paranormal romance authors, or urban fantasy authors or science fiction/romance hybrid authors can't use the word "penis" or the word "vagina" for that matter. Also, if you're not going to write horrible racist stereotypes, such as all African Americans liking to eat fried chicken, collard greens and watermelon, then why would you need to stereotype the 62 percent of the population that is overweight, particularly the women? There are as many reasons why people are overweight and/or obese as there are people. My situation is different than my friends who are obese, because we have lead different lives, have different diseases and are working on our health in different ways. I exercise 6 days a week, for 7-8 hours a week, and I am still obese, yet I can't really eat junk food, because it usually makes me ill (I have Crohn's Disease). I have friends who are obese who eat fruits and vegetables and whole grains and wouldn't touch sugar or processed foods. And I know a number of women who are overweight who had wonderful childhoods, great parents and are mentally healthy. Authors, don't take the easy route with cliches and stereotypes--be original and realistic in creating your characters.

2) Plagiarizing other authors/"updating" classic works or themes in literature.
Ray Bradbury wrote a wonderful short story about a group of vampires who had banded together as a family and who lived out in the wilderness of a part of the US that didn't get much sun. A "teenage" vampire in this family falls for a mortal girl, and problems ensue. Sound familiar, Twilight fans? It should, as I believe Stephanie Meyer took Bradbury's short fiction and added her own horrible prose and vile protagonist (the whining, idiotic and personality-free Bella) and created a syrupy romance phenomenon. Now there are a whole slew of Young Adult fiction authors who are writing vampire romance novels because they want to hop on the Twilight bandwagon and make money, shudder. How terribly trite and boring and what a waste of ink and paper! Unless you have some extremely unique and imaginative take on Bram Stoker's Vlad Tepes/Dracula story, don't bother. Granted, there are some authors who, previous to Meyer's drivel, actually did just that, and created vampire characters that we can read with fascination. Robin McKinley springs to mind, or Jim Butchers vampires in the Dresden File books. Ann Rice brought back Gothic fiction from the grave with her "Interview with a Vampire" series. Even Chelsea Quinn Yarboro's St Germain series has a unique take on the vampire legend.
But did we really need vampires that are "pretty" and don't go out in the sun because they "sparkle"? The short answer is HELL NO.
Hollywood has been especially pathetic in 'updating' classic novels and films lately, as if the dearth of creativity and original ideas has become a void. Sadly, most of the "updates" stink, and there are young people watching them who probably haven't seen the originals, and don't realize that this was once a great tale well told.

3)Complex technical jargon/languages other than English that remain untranslated. Seriously, if it doesn't move the plot along or illuminate something important about our hero or heroine, leave it out, please. I don't care about the fictional math equation needed to get the hovercraft or alien airplane off the ground, or make if maneuver around the planets, or fold space, or whatever other gee-whiz things it can do. All that tech stuff is BORING to regular readers, who make up the bulk of people purchasing/reading your novels. It doesn't make you appear smarter as an author, it just makes you seem like more of a snobbish geek who is unwilling to allow the rest of us to read and enjoy your work of fiction, which is supposed to be entertaining. If I wanted to learn quantum physics, I'd go back to college. Don't torture your readers.
I don't think I will ever forgive Umberto Eco for putting an entire page of Latin in "The Name of The Rose" that remained untranslated. How rude at best, and cruel at worst. There just are not that many people who had Latin classes in high school or college anymore, and a majority of readers had no way to translate that page. Don't make me want to smack you when I meet you at a book signing. Leave off the technical stuff and translate any language but English, please.

4)Introducing characters that disappear without a trace
I just finished another Richard Russo novel (for my library book group) and once again, I was astonished that the man continues to be published and lionized as a man who creates great 'literature.' His 'comedy' novel "Straight Man" wasn't even slightly amusing, his novel "Empire Falls" needed a good editor, and "Bridge of Sighs" was full of characters I despised, including one gal, Nan Beverly, who is given short shrift in the book as the 'prettiest girl' in the local high school who gets busy with the local Lothario and then we never hear what happened to her. She just disappears amidst a cloud of speculation on whether or not she was pregnant and shipped off to Europe. There have been numerous novels coming out in the past 10 years, written by authors who seem to think that it's just fine to do this, create a character and then make them disappear when they're no longer needed. This will only hack off your readers, trust me.

5) Long narrations that do nothing but stall the plot/details that don't enlighten or inform
I reviewed a paranormal romance awhile back that had a whole page devoted to a scene in which the male protagonist drank a soda and then meticulously searched for a place to throw the can or bottle away, because he didn't want to litter, he likes to recycle his soda cans/bottles. Whoo-hoo...wake me when it's over, will you? Why the author chose to bore the reader with these details that have no reason for existing, I don't know. There was no reference to this character recycling, or his love of soda, or anything else later in the novel. It was just 'padding,' I suspect, to make sure the novel was the appropriate length for publication, and the author didn't have the creative mojo to do any better. I've also read an SF novel recently that had long-winded narrations about political situations and academics that were so boring, they were great antidotes to insomnia. I think authors forget that "show, don't tell" admonition, and they also forget that action is preferable to narration. Keep that plot moving and those characters flowing along, please, lest your readers give up on your novel and use it as a doorstop.

6) Bad endings or none at all
Modern fiction, I've discovered, is rife with authors who haven't a clue how to end a novel. So they don't, they just leave the reader hanging, filled with that unsatisfied feeling of having had your plate removed from the table before you were finished with your dinner. Though I am a fan of HEA, or Happily Ever After endings, I don't insist on them because I know that genre writers who create long series of novels often don't have the luxury of having a complete HEA, unless they've decided to kill off their main character and move on to another series. But if you are not writing a series, please, I beg you, tie up the loose ends, tell you readers what happened to old Aunt Maude, or at least kill her off so we have some closure. I'm still a tad miffed that I have to wait a year to find out if Harry Dresden, Chicago's finest wizard, is dead, because Jim Butcher chose to have Harry get shot at the end of the last novel and fall into the water. Nice cliffhanger, Jim...not.

7) Mistaken genres
I read a lot of authors who are crossing genres, and while that's fine, it's annoying that publishing companies don't have more of a handle on the main genre or category to place them in so the readers can find their works. Linnea Sinclair's novels, for example, are SF/Romance hybrids, but are not always shelved in the Science Fiction section of the bookstore or library. Often, she's relegated to the 'pink ghetto' of Romance fiction or even 'chick lit,' which is certainly far afield from what she's writing about.

8) Novels without humor/wit
There are way too many authors who assume that funny equates with making fun of people in a cruel way, or using stereotypes in an ugly fashion. That's not funny, and having witty dialog between characters seems a thing of the past. A novel without humor, or at least an amusing insight or two, is like a fish left too long in the sun, it stinks.
Master of Comedy Stephen Fry could remedy this situation by creating classes on wit and how to use it. He could literally save the publishing industry single-handed.

9) Vile, evil and stupid characters
I realize every novel needs a black hat to compete with the white hat of the hero, and I'm fine with that. But why oh why so many authors feel the need to fill their novels with stupid, evil, vile characters with no redeemable qualities, I do not know. I think I speak for the vast majority of readers when I say that we need someone to root for, someone we can identify with and understand enough to want to take the journey through the novel with them. Most readers don't see themselves as vile and evil people, and want to see themselves, or parts of themselves, reflected in the characters of the novel. If all you have are people not worth writing about, doing awful things and not paying the price for those transgressions, why bother writing a novel at all? You will only bore and disgust your readers. I don't care about people who are a waste of oxygen, I care about characters who learn, grow, do great things or try to do great things and who care about morals, values, character. I read to be enlightened, entertained, informed, uplifted by good storytelling, not depressed by sordid characters doing unspeakable things to each other.

10) Novels that are in dire need of an editor and a proofreader.
This would include at least half of the novels I've read in the past 10 years. Even the wonderful JK Rowling and her delightful Harry Potter series got seriously bogged down in the last book, so much so that I was with a group of bibliovores one day and every one of us complained about the same part of book 7, "The Deathly Hallows" because we all felt like the scenes with Harry hiding in the woods were too long and could have been cut without harming the book at all--in fact, taking 200 pages out of the book would have made it a better work of fiction.
I know that I'm not the only person to notice that in the last 25 years, as publishers go out of business, newspapers and magazines fail, that the quality of prose being produced has taken a significant nose dive. There are now typos and grammatical errors in almost every book you read. Some of these errors are so blatant, I find it hard to believe that the author didn't catch them. Still, it is the publisher who needs to hire more proofreaders/copy editors and set them to the task of cleaning up manuscripts that are riddled with errors. Don't make your more literate readers want to gouge their eyes out by the end of the novel, please.
One last thing, there is no real need to use curse words or filthy language in every paragraph of a novel. My late friend Rosemarie Larson used to say that only ignorant people with no imagination swore and cursed, because they couldn't think of better words to use. Will Smith said his grandmother raised him to believe that as well. Be clean, be creative in your use of the English language.

Brilliant Writing and Flavia DeLuce

2010-06-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

"Our tears, like rain, water the ground too little and nothing grows, too much and the best of what we are is washed away. My rains have come and gone--yours are just beginning." G'Kar from the TV series Babylon 5, brilliantly written by J. Michael Straczynski

I was watching the 5th season of Babylon 5 this weekend, and marveling at the wonderful characters and their incredible, insightful and riveting dialogue, written by JMS, who, in my opinion, rivals Joss Whedon in creating characters and a TV mileau that fascinates and engrosses viewers.

I also read "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag" by Alan Bradley, the second Flavia DeLuce mystery, following "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie."
I was hoping that the author wouldn't fall prey to the infamous sophomore curse, in which the first book becomes famous and lauded, and the sequel is often a complete dud.
Fortunately, my fears were unfounded, and Mr Bradley has created another mystery novel that is just as charming and delightful as the first.

Once again, the reader is thrust into post war 1950s England, where Flavia and her two tormenting sisters, Ophelia and Daphne live in genteel poverty with their stamp-collecting father in a crumbling manor house. They have a gossip-mongering cook whose food is nearly poisonous, a 'shell-shocked' gardener/maintenance man and, in this installment, a snotty Aunt who decides to pay a visit and make cutting remarks to all and sundry.
The brilliant Flavia comes across a ragtag pair of puppeteers whose van has broken down, and gets them, along with the Vicar, to stay and do a show for the townsfolk. Unfortunately, the main puppeteer is killed during the evening show, and it's up to our young stalwart sleuth to figure out whodunit, and why. Add to this mix a German POW who decided to stay in England after the war because he's a fan of British classic literature, a singing crazy old lady duo, a madwoman who lives in the woods and found a local child hanged there, and a local marajuana farmer and his insane wife who lost their son and are shocked to see his face on one of the puppets in the puppet show.

Though it sounds like a lot of loose threads and people to keep straight, Bradley weaves them together with a deft touch and keeps the reader in suspense right up until the final chapter. There are plot twists and some red herrings just to keep the reader on his or her toes, and, as in the previous book, lots of chemical and biological experiments by Flavia, whose Sherlockian deductions bring the killer to roost, eventually. Bradley's prose sparkles just as brightly as his characters, and I actually enjoyed this installment of the mystery series more than I did the first one, which is saying something, since I loved the first book, and felt it achieved well-deserved fame.
What is even more of a mystery to me, however, is how Alan Bradley, a middle aged man, can so accurately describe the mind of an 11 year old girl. I'm assuming Flavia is based on someone Bradley knows and loves, and is an homage to that person and her indominable spirit.
At any rate, I'd recommend this book to all the teenagers I know and the women and men who enjoy a first-rate mystery, particularly those who are anglophiles.

A lovely Quote

2010-06-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

I loved the Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo which Nick and I read together a couple of years ago. I totally agree with her about the power of a bookseller.

This is from Shelf Awareness:

"Who was that bookseller who thought, 'Here is an almost-eight-year-old
girl who loves Abraham Lincoln. What other book will she love? Oh, yes.
This book about a cricket.'? There was nothing logical about that
decision. It was a leap of faith. Those two books changed me. Together,
they cemented an idea in my eight-year-old heart. That idea was this: It
doesn't matter how small, how lonely, how broken or sad or poor you are.
There is a way to make yourself heard. There is a way to sing. A
bookseller put those books into my mother's hands, and my mother put
them into mine. Sometimes we forget that this simple, physical gesture
can change lives. I want to remind you that it does. I want to thank you
because it did."

--Kate DiCamillo, winner of the 2010 Indies Choice Award for Most
Engaging Author, at ABA's Celebration of Bookselling Luncheon during
BEA.
Bookselling this Week

noted that DiCamillo's acceptance speech, "Booksellers Make the
Difference," is available as a downloadable two-page PDF.