Friday, October 3, 2008
Are You There Chelsea?
I checked out Chelsea Handler's new book Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea with the intention of taking it on vacation. I thought it would be a good distraction to read on the plane. I started reading it two days before I left, couldn't put it down and finished it before my vacation. For those of you who aren't familiar with Chelsea, she is a comedian with a late-night show on E called Chelsea Lately and is also the author of My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands. In her latest book, she includes stories about her childhood, her family, and her experiences dating a red-head, dog-sitting and going to prison. Chelsea is foul-mouthed and quite raunchy, but the stories are so funny, I could not stop laughing. A few snorts may have even slipped out. This would have been a great beach read, if only I could have waited.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
What did I miss?
My apologies for the lack of posts, but I was living it up in Key West. I managed to get some reading in during my busy schedule of relaxing, so I will have a few new reviews coming up. The first stop on my trip was the Ernest Hemingway house, so stay tuned for some thoughts on Hemingway, pictures of his house, and of course, the six-toed cats!
While I was away, the big financial crisis hit, and unless you've been living in a cave, you've surely been hearing about it too. Shelf Awareness compiled a list of books to help consumers understand how things could get so bad and how the mess might be cleaned up. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein, The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means by George Soros, and Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism by Kevin Phillips are just a few on the list. You can see the entire list here.
Another American is in danger of loosing his home. The home that Mark Twain built in 1874 in Hartford, Connecticut may soon be forced to close due to lack of money. Donations can be made to the home's website.
I've written a few posts about the controversy surrounding the publication of Sherry Jones' historical fiction novel, The Jewel of Medina. Over the weekend, "a group of three Islamic extremists put a firebomb in the North London home of Gibson Square publisher Martin Rynja. The police believe Rynja was under attack for his company's decision to publish Sherry Jones's The Jewel of Medina." Rynja has suspended publication of the novel "while he reflects and takes advice on what the best foot forward is." Plans for the American publication by Beaufort Books remain in place.
Banned Books Week began on September 27th and runs through October 4th. I've put together a short quiz about banned books, which is available in the library. Participants will be included in a drawing for a fabulous prize! The Haphazard Gourmet has created a series of recipes inspired by banned books. Their first recipe is the Ambushed Trifle, inspired by Joyce's Ulysses. Lots of fun.
Frankfort Public Library is doing away with the Dewey Decimal system in their library. I would be interested in seeing what they've come up with instead. I love Barnes & Noble, but every time I go in there, I always wonder how anyone is ever able to find anything. I see no rhyme or reason to their organization of nonfiction materials, and always find myself wishing for Dewey numbers.
The MacArthur "Genius" grants were recently announced. Of the 25 recipients, two are writers. Alex Ross, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Rest is Noise and novelist Chimamanda Adichie, will each receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years.
Forbes has released a list of the 10 highest paid novelists from June 2007 through June 2008. I'll give you 1 guess to name the top paid....J.K. Rowling, of course. Followed by James Patterson, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Danielle Steel, Nicholas Sparks, Janet Evanovich, John Grisham, Dean Koontz and Ken Follett.
Alexander McCall Smith is writing his first ever online novel, Corduroy Mansions, exclusively for the Telegraph. A new chapter will appear each weekday for the next 20 weeks. Corduroy Mansions is an unassuming large house in London's Pimlico, inhabited by an assortment of characters and one dog. You can receive each chapter by email or feed. You can also download an audio version as well.
John Banville has published the first chapter of his new novel, The Sinking City, in the Manchester Review.
While I was away, the big financial crisis hit, and unless you've been living in a cave, you've surely been hearing about it too. Shelf Awareness compiled a list of books to help consumers understand how things could get so bad and how the mess might be cleaned up. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein, The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means by George Soros, and Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism by Kevin Phillips are just a few on the list. You can see the entire list here.
Another American is in danger of loosing his home. The home that Mark Twain built in 1874 in Hartford, Connecticut may soon be forced to close due to lack of money. Donations can be made to the home's website.
I've written a few posts about the controversy surrounding the publication of Sherry Jones' historical fiction novel, The Jewel of Medina. Over the weekend, "a group of three Islamic extremists put a firebomb in the North London home of Gibson Square publisher Martin Rynja. The police believe Rynja was under attack for his company's decision to publish Sherry Jones's The Jewel of Medina." Rynja has suspended publication of the novel "while he reflects and takes advice on what the best foot forward is." Plans for the American publication by Beaufort Books remain in place.
Banned Books Week began on September 27th and runs through October 4th. I've put together a short quiz about banned books, which is available in the library. Participants will be included in a drawing for a fabulous prize! The Haphazard Gourmet has created a series of recipes inspired by banned books. Their first recipe is the Ambushed Trifle, inspired by Joyce's Ulysses. Lots of fun.
Frankfort Public Library is doing away with the Dewey Decimal system in their library. I would be interested in seeing what they've come up with instead. I love Barnes & Noble, but every time I go in there, I always wonder how anyone is ever able to find anything. I see no rhyme or reason to their organization of nonfiction materials, and always find myself wishing for Dewey numbers.
The MacArthur "Genius" grants were recently announced. Of the 25 recipients, two are writers. Alex Ross, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Rest is Noise and novelist Chimamanda Adichie, will each receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years.
Forbes has released a list of the 10 highest paid novelists from June 2007 through June 2008. I'll give you 1 guess to name the top paid....J.K. Rowling, of course. Followed by James Patterson, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Danielle Steel, Nicholas Sparks, Janet Evanovich, John Grisham, Dean Koontz and Ken Follett.
Alexander McCall Smith is writing his first ever online novel, Corduroy Mansions, exclusively for the Telegraph. A new chapter will appear each weekday for the next 20 weeks. Corduroy Mansions is an unassuming large house in London's Pimlico, inhabited by an assortment of characters and one dog. You can receive each chapter by email or feed. You can also download an audio version as well.
John Banville has published the first chapter of his new novel, The Sinking City, in the Manchester Review.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
All the latest...
Oprah has chosen The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski as the next pick for her book club.
Barnes & Noble has chosen Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo as the newest selection in its Barnes & Noble Recommends program.
The Sony Reader will now be sold in Target stores for $299. People who purchase a Sony Reader from Target will receive a code enabling them to download a free copy of The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory from the Sony e-book store.
Deborah Rodriguez, author of The Kabul Beauty School, will be publishing her first fiction novel, The Kabul Coffee Club. The book will tell the story of 6 women, both Afghan and foreigners, who form an unlikely friendship in a coffee house in the middle of a war zone. I wonder if the move from nonfiction to fiction has anything to do with the rumblings that the book contained inaccuracies and inconsistencies.
Nicholas Sparks is simultaneously writing a new novel and its adaptation for film, which will star Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. The book is scheduled for publication in September 2009 and the movie will follow soon after.
Audio recordings of Agatha Christie have recently been discovered by her grandson. The tapes are of Christie dictating the last third of the first draft of her autobiography. The company that oversees her estate is determining what to do with the tapes.
Candace Bushnell has signed a two-book deal to write teen novels featuring Carrie Bradshaw during her high school years. The first book, The Carrie Diaries, will be published in the fall of 2010. The idea is that the teenagers who love the Sex and the City book/show/movie will be thrilled to read about Carrie's teenage years.
The nominees for the FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award are:
A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J. Bernstein
Cold Steel: The Multi-billion-dollar Battle for a Global Industry byTim Bouquet & Byron Ousey When Markets Collide: Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change by Mohamed El-Erian
McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld by Misha Glenny
Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy by Lawrence Lessig
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
The winner will be announced on October 14th.
Barnes & Noble has chosen Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo as the newest selection in its Barnes & Noble Recommends program.
The Sony Reader will now be sold in Target stores for $299. People who purchase a Sony Reader from Target will receive a code enabling them to download a free copy of The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory from the Sony e-book store.
Deborah Rodriguez, author of The Kabul Beauty School, will be publishing her first fiction novel, The Kabul Coffee Club. The book will tell the story of 6 women, both Afghan and foreigners, who form an unlikely friendship in a coffee house in the middle of a war zone. I wonder if the move from nonfiction to fiction has anything to do with the rumblings that the book contained inaccuracies and inconsistencies.
Nicholas Sparks is simultaneously writing a new novel and its adaptation for film, which will star Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. The book is scheduled for publication in September 2009 and the movie will follow soon after.
Audio recordings of Agatha Christie have recently been discovered by her grandson. The tapes are of Christie dictating the last third of the first draft of her autobiography. The company that oversees her estate is determining what to do with the tapes.
Candace Bushnell has signed a two-book deal to write teen novels featuring Carrie Bradshaw during her high school years. The first book, The Carrie Diaries, will be published in the fall of 2010. The idea is that the teenagers who love the Sex and the City book/show/movie will be thrilled to read about Carrie's teenage years.
The nominees for the FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award are:
A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J. Bernstein
Cold Steel: The Multi-billion-dollar Battle for a Global Industry byTim Bouquet & Byron Ousey When Markets Collide: Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change by Mohamed El-Erian
McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld by Misha Glenny
Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy by Lawrence Lessig
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
The winner will be announced on October 14th.
Witchy Woman
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent just came out this month and has been getting a lot of buzz. This historical fiction novel is based on a real person, Martha Carrier, who was one of the 19 people executed during the Salem witch trials. The author is a tenth-generation descendant of Martha Carrier, and she incorporates actual court testimonies and transcripts, as well as stories that have been passed down through her family.
Sarah Carrier, Martha's eldest daughter, recounts the events which led up to her mother's death. When an outbreak of the plague occurs in their village, the Carriers leave their home to live with Martha's mother. In their new village, the villagers are less than welcoming. They are angry that the Carriers may have brought the plague with them (which they have). Martha's nephew believes he is entitled to his grandmother's house and land, and poisons the villagers' minds against the Carriers. Soon everyone begins accusing everyone else of witchcraft, and many are arrested, including Martha. Shortly after, Sarah and her brothers are arrested as well. Martha vehemently maintains her innocence, but encourages her children to admit to the charges, so that they will be set free. Ignorance prevailed, and in the end Martha was hung. Sarah and her brothers are eventually released, but their lives are forever haunted by this event.
This story was so well done, it's hard to believe it is Kent's first novel. She tells a great story, weaving fact and fiction seamlessly. She does a fantastic job of illustrating life in the late 1600s-the chores, the customs, the hardships, as well as the ignorance and fear that ran rampant at this time. The scenes of the trials made me furious and the description of the jails made me cringe. Kent also took much care in the development of her main character, Sarah. I felt her fear, pain and sorrow, but I also saw her grow as a character. Historical fiction fans should be pleased with this story, and I hope we see more from this author.
Sarah Carrier, Martha's eldest daughter, recounts the events which led up to her mother's death. When an outbreak of the plague occurs in their village, the Carriers leave their home to live with Martha's mother. In their new village, the villagers are less than welcoming. They are angry that the Carriers may have brought the plague with them (which they have). Martha's nephew believes he is entitled to his grandmother's house and land, and poisons the villagers' minds against the Carriers. Soon everyone begins accusing everyone else of witchcraft, and many are arrested, including Martha. Shortly after, Sarah and her brothers are arrested as well. Martha vehemently maintains her innocence, but encourages her children to admit to the charges, so that they will be set free. Ignorance prevailed, and in the end Martha was hung. Sarah and her brothers are eventually released, but their lives are forever haunted by this event.
This story was so well done, it's hard to believe it is Kent's first novel. She tells a great story, weaving fact and fiction seamlessly. She does a fantastic job of illustrating life in the late 1600s-the chores, the customs, the hardships, as well as the ignorance and fear that ran rampant at this time. The scenes of the trials made me furious and the description of the jails made me cringe. Kent also took much care in the development of her main character, Sarah. I felt her fear, pain and sorrow, but I also saw her grow as a character. Historical fiction fans should be pleased with this story, and I hope we see more from this author.
Monday, September 15, 2008
David Foster Wallace Dies
David Foster Wallace died Friday, September 12th of an apparent suicide at the age of 46. Wallace suffered from severe depression for many years. Wallace was best known for his mammoth 1996 novel, Infinite Jest, a 1,079-page monster that perceives American society as self-obsessed, pleasure-obsessed and entertainment-obsessed.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith's debut novel Child 44 has gotten a lot of buzz, and for good reason. It's a gripping suspense novel that skillfully captures the dark mood and paranoid fears of Soviet Russia. In Stalin's Soviet Union, a serial killer of children is on the loose. The State's official position is that the deaths are merely coincidental and unrelated, but when MGB officer Leo Demidov begins to question the State's judgement, he is demoted. Leo convinces his new superior officer that the killings are not unrelated and the two quietly begin their own investigation. When the State learns of Leo's continued investigation, he is arrested, declared a traitor and sent to a gulag. After escaping, with the help of local villagers, Leo tracks down the killer, whose identity makes for a shocking twist. Be sure you don't miss this one!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
All the latest...
The publication of Sherry Jones' novel The Jewel of Medina, which was recently cancelled by Random House, was picked up by Beaufort Books for publication sometime in October, along with a deal for a sequel. Beaufort, which was named one of the fastest growing independent publishers of 2007, was the house that picked up O. J. Simpson's If I Did It last year after being cancelled by HarperCollins.
Stephenie Meyer's fifth book in her popular Twilight series, Midnight Sun, has been put on hold indefinitely after a partial draft was leaked online. Take a look at her statement posted on her website.
The shortlist for the Man Booker Prize was recently announced. A few surprises: neither Salman Rushdie's novel, The Enchantress of Florence nor Joseph O'Neill's novel Netherland made the cut. Sadly, Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 didn't make the cut either, but I think that was to be expected. Although it's a great book (which I will talk more about later), it's not very Bookerish. The finalists are:
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant
The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz
Fox 2000 has won film rights to Water for Elephants.
Maxine Hong Kingston was awarded the 2008 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation.
Herman Wouk was given the Library of Congress Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Writing of Fiction.
The Guardian has a fun article titled "How Bestsellers Chart the State of Nations." In the UK, readers are apparently "incapable of thinking for [themselves] and making any decisions without Richard and Judy" as two-thirds of the bestselling authors have appeared on the show. American readers are cultivating their spiritual side with books like Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love and Rhonda Byrne's The Secret. The Irish are patriotic readers, preferring Ireland-born Cathy Kelly, Maeve Binchy, Sheila O'Flanagan and Marian Keyes. The Australians are romance readers and the French like highbrow literary fiction.
Amazon.com is tracking America's political book buying by state. They have created a map of the country showing each state's percentage of "red" and "blue" books as well as the most popular books in each state. There is a lot of red on that map. Illinois seems to be sporting some odd shade of lavender.
Stephenie Meyer's fifth book in her popular Twilight series, Midnight Sun, has been put on hold indefinitely after a partial draft was leaked online. Take a look at her statement posted on her website.
The shortlist for the Man Booker Prize was recently announced. A few surprises: neither Salman Rushdie's novel, The Enchantress of Florence nor Joseph O'Neill's novel Netherland made the cut. Sadly, Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 didn't make the cut either, but I think that was to be expected. Although it's a great book (which I will talk more about later), it's not very Bookerish. The finalists are:
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant
The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz
Fox 2000 has won film rights to Water for Elephants.
Maxine Hong Kingston was awarded the 2008 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation.
Herman Wouk was given the Library of Congress Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Writing of Fiction.
The Guardian has a fun article titled "How Bestsellers Chart the State of Nations." In the UK, readers are apparently "incapable of thinking for [themselves] and making any decisions without Richard and Judy" as two-thirds of the bestselling authors have appeared on the show. American readers are cultivating their spiritual side with books like Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love and Rhonda Byrne's The Secret. The Irish are patriotic readers, preferring Ireland-born Cathy Kelly, Maeve Binchy, Sheila O'Flanagan and Marian Keyes. The Australians are romance readers and the French like highbrow literary fiction.
Amazon.com is tracking America's political book buying by state. They have created a map of the country showing each state's percentage of "red" and "blue" books as well as the most popular books in each state. There is a lot of red on that map. Illinois seems to be sporting some odd shade of lavender.
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