My Overstuffed Shelves

I've Moved -- Blog Houses!

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 22:55:00 +0000

Okay, it's official. The shelves trekked across town to Wordpress and a cleaner url.

Please come visit me at http://myoverstuffedshelves.com

Things are still a bit chaotic, just like the aftermath of a real house move, but in general I think the digs are a step up. There may be more changes as I redecorate a bit, but in the meantime, I'm welcoming anyone who visits and who can offer suggestions on how to improve the ambience over there.

Bloglovin should update the link in the next few days.

I hope to see you soon!

Mass Hysteria, Truths Withheld: The Fever by Megan Abbott

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 07:00:00 +0000

In the opening sentences of her new novel, The Fever, Megan Abbott once again demonstrates that she is a master at mining the double meanings of language and emotions. A group of girls are talking with fraught intensity, surely about sex, but a few sentences later, the discussion resolves into greater focus and you realize, that despite the references to 'first time', 'hurt', and 'by the third time', they are not passing along lore about losing their virginity. No, their tense whispers refer to the HPV vaccinations that they are awaiting at school. This clever and tense ironic duality sets the stage for the rest of this haunting and electric novel.

As in Dare Me, Abbott once again builds her tale against the backdrop of the overheated and claustrophobic world of small city teenage girls -- obsessed with boys, sex and the secrets they tell each other, not to mention the ones they keep to themselves. But, where Dare Me's noir-infused tale focused on a triangle between Beth, Addy and Coach Colette, The Fever casts a broader net. Confusion and anxiety is no longer just the province of female adolescence, but instead colonizes an entire school and then the town of Dryden, a decaying post-industrial burgh that seems to be in the landlocked center of the country, though exactly where is never specified. It’s a dreary and depressing sort of place that one character describes as "like living at the bottom of an old man's shoe."

On the surface life in Dryden is predictable, plodding on despite the pollution of an industrial past that created a festering algae bloom in the lake at its center. Against this backdrop we meet sixteen year-old Deenie Nash who lives with her father Tom, a high school chemistry teacher, and her older brother, the hockey obsessed Eli who attracts girls without trying. Her mother left the family two years earlier after a self-destructive affair, driven to distraction by the oppressive nature of life in Dryden. Tom and Eli aren’t ready for Deenie to grow up, and in some ways, neither is she, but the complexities of relationships with her friends Lise, Gabby and Gabby’s newest acolyte, Skye are forcing her towards adulthood with a desperate inevitability.

The unstable dynamics of this circle of friends becomes even more treacherous when first Lise, and then Gabby, are struck by convulsions at school. Soon girls outside of Deenie’s immediate circle are being hospitalized with strange symptoms. As the number of victims of this strange malady grows, the school is paralyzed with wondering who’s next and speculation about what’s causing the girls to fall sick. Parents panic, media rushes in and the police might even be involved.

Abbott dances a fine line here, for while she doesn’t give credence to the most absurd theories about what is really happening, she also conveys the rising levels of hysteria so as to make you question whether even the most ridiculous assumptions might have kernels of truth. In many ways this is a bigger and more surprising novel than Dare Me as it probes familial dynamics, the cost of industrial pollution while also telling a well crafted tale about secrets, misunderstandings and unconsidered actions.

I’d say more, but that would spoil the fun, if you can call the reading of this shiver inducing book, fun.

Highly recommended for readers who liked Abbott’s earlier work, fans of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie novels and anyone looking for something similar, yet different, after finishing all of Gillian Flynn’s backlist.

ARC provided by the publisher via Net Galley
The Fever by Megan Abbott
Harcover, 320 pages
Little, Brown and Company
Published: June 17, 2014

How to Celebrate Bloomsday: The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 20:52:00 +0000

Today is a holiday, one you may not be familiar with, but it is perhaps the best known literary holiday, Bloomsday. Today is the 110th anniversary of Bloomsday, June 16th, 1904, the day on which Leopold Bloom wandered the streets of Dublin in James Joyce’s Ulysses. For those in the know, celebrations take the form of readings and parties in just about every major city around the globe that has an Irish population or a critical mass of readers who revere Joyce’s monumental book. If you are unfamiliar with Bloomsday, The Paris Review just posted an overview of this iconic literary celebration that has built steadily, despite the impenetrability of Joyce’s novel.

Let me be clear, I have never read Ulysses and I am both oddly proud, and deeply ashamed of this fact. Always an aspirational reader, I did buy myself a new* copy of Joyce’s tome last year as I laid out a now abandoned reading project intended to force me to address the gaping holes in my literary education, many of which are even more glaring than the omission of an encounter with Joyce’s second least read book. His most unread book, Finnegan’s Wake, I didn’t even consider adding to the pile.

All of this is to say that I am both supremely qualified, and just as supremely unqualified, to review Maya Lang’s debut novel, The Sixteenth of June. Qualified, because I can say the book succeeds as a work of fiction, regardless of its literary heritage. Unqualified, because I cannot judge if The Sixteenth of June works as an homage to, and reflection of, Joyce. Others will need to weigh in on the book’s success or failure in that regard. But, for those of you like me, and thank goodness that’s most everyone, Maya has provided a quick overview of her references to and quotes from Joyce’s book. As brief as this set of literary crib sheet is, it does provide flowchart that orients interested readers to the chain of influence from Homer to Joyce to Lang.

Even if you do not catch the full set of allusions, there are a host of pleasures in reading this short book. Set on the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday in 2004, the novel follows three twenty-something Philadelphians, Nora, her fiancé, Leo Portman and her best friend, and Leo’s older brother, Stephen over the course of that day. The supreme inside joke of the book is that Stephen and Leopold are burdened by their names, chosen from Joyce's cast by their parents who may, or may not have actually finished the book, while Nora is named after Joyce’s wife. I am going to go out on a limb here and state that, from what I have gleaned from rumor and the cultural zeitgeist, their characters and dilemmas parallel their literary predecessors. Through a day that takes them from the funeral of Stephen and Leo’s grandmother, to their parents’ annual Bloomsday fete, each of them considers how they arrived at this point in their lives and where they want to head in the future.

It is a familiar moment of reconciling the dreams of post-college life with a reality that demands compromises and readjustments. Early on, Stephen dreads showing up at his parents party without a date thinking that dating has changed from a "casual game of musical chairs. If you sat down for a moment, it was only to get up again. But then the pace had quickened, his friends scurrying to grab their seats. And then not budging." When he peruses his Yale alumni bulletin all he finds is confirmation that times are changing, "if there was any mention of quirky adventuring, it was alluded to in the past tense: 'After a brief stint running a microbrewery in Portland, Paul Yu is in his first year of medical school at Columbia.' People, the class notes informed you, were growing up."

Through chapters alternating perspectives between the three central figures, we see how Nora’s mother’s her extended illness and eventual death derailed her promising career as an opera singer. Directionless, she has stayed with Leo, drifted into their engagement, and feels trapped in the relationship. We also feel for Stephen, who blazed through Yale and into graduate school as he grapples with writing his thesis proposal, much less the thesis. The only member of his family to become a practicing Jew, he has been visiting his grandmother at her retirement home and feels the family is glossing over her death. And then there is Leo, who has always felt like an afterthought in the elitist Portman family, ignored in favor of the golden boy older brother. Leo just wants to settle down with Nora, live in the suburbs, watch sports, raise a passel of children and simply be happy. He’s waiting for her to move past her mother’s death, but is beginning to doubt that she will want the future he sees for them. All three are paralyzed and over the course of the day search for the emotional strength and will to break free of internalized expectations.

By hewing tightly to the perspectives of her protagonists, Lang generates empathy for all three, while also using the limitations of their perspectives to create moments of irony for the reader who can discern the humor, and the tragedy, in the myriad of misunderstandings and all that is unsaid between them. It is especially satisfying to see the portrait of the Portman parents grow and change as the day progresses. Michael a successful businessman and lapsed Jew from an immigrant family seems to want to forget about mourning his mother, callously holding the family’s Bloomsday shindig on the day of her funeral. June is a WASP socialite intent on protecting her status with competitive renovations and never missing a chance to subvert her friends. The central trio sees the couple as insular, shallow, elitist, heartless, intimidating and superficial. Yet, by the end of the novel, it is clear that, as imperfect as they are, there is more to June and Michael than Stephen, Leo or Nora has the capacity to understand at this point in their lives. It is also apparent that as critical as they are of their parents, Stephen and Leo, are in many ways just as blinded by privilege as their parents. It is to Maya Lang’s credit that we can sneer at her characters, while in the next sentence feel pity and, in the next be rooting for them.

By the end of day, Stephen, Leo and Nora travel towards greater understanding and perspective on their futures. There are even, dare I say it for those of you who remember reading Dubliners with horror in high school, moments of epiphany. Don’t worry, as insightful and moving as much of this book is, it is also funny, sharp and honest in its depiction of less than perfect people just trying to put one foot in front of another.

Read it for the characters and the writing. Read it even if you’ve never even heard of James Joyce. Once you’re done, you may even, like me, be that much closer to tackling Ulysses. Certainly, picking up a copy of The Sixteenth of June and spending the evening reading it will be a satisfying way to celebrate Bloomsday 2014.

The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang
Harcover, 237 pages
Scribner’s
Publsihed: June 3, 2014

I read an ARC from the publisher, but have since bought my own copy. I plan to have Maya sign it this Wednesday, June 18 @ The Free Library of Philadelphia where she will be appearing with Kevin Birmingham, author of The Most Dangerous Book, a look at the battle to publish Ulysses and what it meant for modernism to defeat censorship. 7:30 pm and it's free!

*The copy that say on my shelf through college and into my thirties had yellowed and moldered to the point that reading it would have provoked an allergy attack that would have only rendered the book even more inaccessible.

Vacation Reading: Top Ten Tuesday on Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 14:02:00 +0000

Vacation season is here and whether you're taking your book bag to the beach, the woods or someplace more exotic, here are some suggestions of how to keep it filled.

The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang

Over the course of a single day, the centenary of the June day immortalized in James Joyce's Ulysses, three Philadelphia twenty-somethings, Stephen and Leo Portman, and Nora, Leo's fiancé, travel vast emotional distances as they move from a morning funeral to the Portman family's annual Bloomsday fete in the evening. A deeply interior novel, we come to know the emotional cores that define these three young protagonists and feel for them as they each navigate critical moments in the passage from life after college towards the next phase of adulthood. The ties to Joyce's book are both heartfelt and at times appropriately ironic, but never fear, this Lang's novel is accessible, contemporary, moving and tightly constructed.

Cutting Teeth by Julia Fierro

In many ways I think this book makes a great pairing with The Sixteenth of June. The members of the playgroup who decamp from Brooklyn to Long Island for a funny, tense and disastrous weekend are half a decade older than the trio in The Sixteenth of June, but in many ways they are still confronting many of the same demons and decisions, only now they have children to consider as well. Julia Fierro's debut is wry and funny, but also sharply observant about relationships, class and the struggle to balance the pulls of parenting with our cultural impetus towards autonomy and material success. A hoot to read, but its serious undercurrents will linger if you let them.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Tragic and poetic, this YA novel about a young girl suffering from trauma induced memory loss is a scathing indictment of the corrupting influence of privilege and prejudice. Seeped in fairy-tales, Shakespeare, E.B. White, Fitzgerald, this tale of a family and an ethos is harrowing, surprising and one of the few books I've read that deserves every iota of hype it has received.

The Fever by Megan Abbott

Megan Abbott once again proves that she is a master of all that is 'dark and twisty' in the lives of teen girls. This time though she explores how families and even an entire town can be drawn into the maelstrom created by competition and secrets. A modern retelling of the Salem witch hunts that is cautionary and thrilling. Read it if you are entering your second year of Gone Girl withdrawal, it's different but I think just as discomfiting, in a good way. Check back here on June 17 for a full review and then go buy a copy from your favorite independent bookseller since this title is one of so many caught in Amazon's bullying of Hachette.

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill

Read this brief, almost aphoristic look at a modern woman's life in a single afternoon. Then re-read it the next day just for the sheer pleasure of the sentences and the insight into the narrator's struggles to manage art, marriage, childrearing, infidelity and more over the years. Its funny and touching and if you don't find some portion that pertains to your life, well, I'm sorry, I think this is a wonderful book. It's not often I read a book from the library and rush out to purchase it in hardback, but in this case, that's exactly what I did.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

This is THE science fiction novel of the year. It's already won the Nebula for Best Novel, top honors from the British Science Fiction Writer's Association, the Arthur C. Clarke Award and it seems poised (fingers crossed) to garner a Hugo Award award as well. Yes, it is a space saga and the main character is the artificial intelligence of a ship and all her soldiers that as the consequence of political betrayal is now trapped in a single human body. Her search for justice and the truth behind the death
of a human comrade and destruction of her other physical manifestations is engrossing, but more importantly it is a novel that asks the reader think hard about colonialism, gender, and how to define being human. Warning, the complexity of the book's narrative it is a bit confusing until several chapters in, but well worth plowing through. This is science fiction that deserves to be treated with the same consideration as more conventionally literary novels that have much the same themes.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

This is a sweeping read filled with elegant musings about the natural world and the magic, and the terror and beauty of technology. A World War II novel (and I'll admit I have a weakness for books that use that horrible era as a backdrop) it is overly reliant on plot cliches, but soars in its non-linear construction and reverence for the natural world. The best immersive 'read-read' I've had this year. Plus, the short chapters are perfect for reading in the sun -- consume a few pages, close your eyes or stare at the horizon to contemplate the images, when you return to the book, minutes or hours later, you will relish the pleasure of the meditations and still be able to reenter the story with ease. Glorious.

The Ghost of the Mary Celeste by Valerie Martin

This novel in multiple narratives thrums with ambiguity -- are the ghosts of the titles the memories that haunt the living, or as some of the characters believe, spectres of the dead that attempt to communicate with those left behind? The sea is a character here, filled with the lives it claims even as it lures new victims with promises of wealth, security and reunion with lost loved ones. Martin's novel, the first I've read by this talented author with a long track record, is haunting not for the ghosts it hints at, but for its sensitive depictions of the living. This quiet book is in its way, a tour de force of narrative control and elegance. Read it and marvel at Martin's ability to subtly change voice between narrators and control what we know and feel. A book to read at the sea shore when you are in the mood to remember how mysterious and powerful oceans were just a century ago.

The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith

Like her former professor, Valerie Martin, Violet writes of ghosts, but hers are tied to traditional Vietnamese folktales. While this well balanced and unified set of short stories is often genuinely frightening, it is also evocative of the disruptions that colonial rule, civil war, and emigration have left in their wake. Remarkably sensuous and violent, Kupersmith's stories are unexpected and even funny when they need to be. At just twenty-four it is impressive Violet Kupersmith understands that small moments can create large emotional impacts for the reader, that discomfiting ambiguities are better than tidy resolutions. A debut of a storyteller to watch and a heck of a lot of fun to read. Just don't share these around a campfire.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A wonderous, romantic, funny and thought provoking book. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s third novel is a sprawling love story that begins in and ends in Nigeria with stops along the way in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Brooklyn, New Haven, Princeton and London. We meet Ifemelu just as she is preparing to return to Nigeria after many years living in the United States where she has become an influential blogger and Princeton fellow. As we learn her history and a bit of her first love's, Obinze, as well, we feel for them as they confront sexism, racism, class divides and what it means to be in control of your own destiny. Funny and smart, Americanah contains a wealth of rich themes, smart accessible writing and a goodly bit of humor. Don’t be intimidated by it’s length or it’s long list of awards, reading this book is a great experience. If it makes you uncomfortable at times don’t worry, it will also make you laugh.

Philly Area Book Events this Week: June 2 - June 8

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 15:01:00 +0000

Last week I was at Book Expo America in New York for three days that included sessions about blogging, meeting representatives from publishing houses, authors, and friends. It's exhausting and exhilarating in equal measure. Not only did I get a great overview of a lot upcoming books, I also picked up some ideas on how to make this blog better for readers. I hope to have some announcements about upcoming changes to share very soon.

For the moment, it's back to regular programming which includes this weekly listing of upcoming author events!

Monday, June 2

Ana Castillo | Give it to Me with Ruth Reichl | Delicious!
Philadelphia Free Library, Central Library
Free
7:30 pm

Tuesday, June 3

John Feinstein | Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball
Philadelphia Free Library, Central Library
Free
7:30 pm

Wednesday, June 4

Kayta Curzie Gajdos, Ph.D. | Quiet Wisdom in Loud Times:
The Rise of the Wounded Feminine
Chester County Book Company, 967 Paoli Pike, West Goshen Center, West Chester, PA
Free
7:00 pm

Jennifer Hansen Rolli | Just One More
Newtown Bookshop, Village East Shopping Center, Newtown, PA
Free
7:00 pm

Indispensable Poetry Presents Joan Larkin and Anne Marie Macari
Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia
Free
7:00 pm

Thursday, June 5

Gay Pride Month Celebration with writers from BLOOM Literary Journal
Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia
Free
7:00 pm

Tom Rob Smith | The Farm with Michael Koryta | Those Who Wish Me Dead
Philadelphia Free Library, Central Library
Free
7:30 pm

Friday, June 6

Bill Geist and Willie Geist | Good Talk, Dad: The Birds and the Bees...and Other Conversations We Forgot to Have
Philadelphia Free Library, Central Library
Free
7:30 pm

Saturday, June 7

Jennifer Hansen Rolli | Just One More
Farley's Bookshop, 44 South Main Street, New Hope, PA
Free
1:00 - 4:00 pm

Maleka Presents: 3 Word Smythes
Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia
Free
7:00 pm

Sunday, June 8

Zoe Cohen and Rabbi Jill Hammer | The Garden of Time
Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia
Free
1:00 pm

P.S. If you know of events or venues with regularly scheduled events that I've missed, please let me know in the comments or via email at abudner (at) comcast (dot) net.

Top Ten on Tuesday: Ten Best Books about Friendship

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Tue, 20 May 2014 15:31:00 +0000

This evening I'm having dinner with a set of friends that I don't see nearly often enough. I think it's been four or five years since we got together. That's just too damn long!

In honor of getting together again (and because it is the theme for this week's Top Ten on Tuesday from The Broke and the Bookish) here are some books with friendships that stand endure, even through time apart, across species, through war, and even death.

Death and the Penguin by Andrey Karkov -- who says a penguin can't be a friend?

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik -- Temeraire is as faithful, thoughtful and warm a friend as anyone could ever want. Smarter and wiser than most people, the only issue in having a friend like Temeraire is finding the space and food supply to support a 20+ ton dragon.

Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch -- there are lots of good reasons to read this fictional recounting of the disaster of the whaleship Essex, not least of which is the complex friendship between Jaffy and Tim that travels across the world.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon -- Joe and Sammy are thrown together and then tear themselves apart, only to come back to save each other in the end. That's how I remember it, but given how uncertain I am of the plot, it must mean it's time to reread this great book.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt -- Boris!! Hobie!! Theo's relationships to his friends, for good and for ill, drive this novel. Glorious.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline -- Can you be friends with people you only meet within the confines of cyberspace? This book answers that question with a 'YES'. It's a treasure hunt, but it is also a story of a band of unlikely heroes that come together to best an evil corporation for control of the world.

City of Thieves by David Benioff -- Like Jamrach's Menagerie and Ready Player One this is a quest tale. Lev and Kolya meet in a jail cell during the siege of Leningrad and are given a chance to save themselves. The quest is an impossible one in a starving city: a dozen eggs. Their tale is filled with horrors and hardships, but is also rich with humor and unlikely camaraderie.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein -- Female spies and pilots during the second world war. This is on a lot of bloggers' lists today and for good reason. Well on its way to being a classic of YA literature, as it should. If you haven't read it, please do.

Dare Me by Megan Abbott -- Megan Abbott is brilliant at mining the dark intricacies of female friendships. Competition, love, and power are mingled together in Addy and Beth's relationship which is at the center of this mystery. The book is disturbing and haunting while at the same time delving into the strength girls derive from one another.

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien -- I admit it, I haven't read this one (I am part way through listening to Simon Vance's audio narration from Audible and it is wonderful). I did see the movie, and I know many non-sailing folks who adore these books precisely because they provide a sweeping look at the long friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin. If you like Novik's Temeraire novels (see above), this magnificent series is a logical next step.

What are your favorite books about friends?

Bout of Books 10: The Finale

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Tue, 20 May 2014 00:28:00 +0000

So the week of reading intensely turned out to be...pretty much like any other week of reading for me.

I had all sorts of grand aspirations which was fun to fantasize about, but in the end I meandered around reading this and that, finishing some books, starting some others and never getting near most of the books I listed.

I'm not saying it was a failure or that I failed, because that's not how I see it. Because the Bout of Books is about fun and I had lots of fun.

First off, I finished four books:

The Martian by Andy Weir
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora
Mothership by Maritn Leicht and Isla Neal (and led a book group discussion with the authors taking part. They were charming and funny and smart and ate the cakes that my daughter made using the recipes in Isla's (aka Lisa Graff's excellent middle grade book from last year, A Tangle of Knots).

Plus, I made a good bit of progress with a four others:

Equilateral by Ken Kalfus
The Fever by Megan Abbott
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Over the course of the week, I read 1,337 pages which seems like a lot more pages than it did while I was reading.

Other Bout of Book activities:

A big highlight of the week was hosting a challenge here that asked participants if to propose a pairing with a book and anything that they felt went with the book: a drink, a food, a film and even another book. Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by and put thought and creativity to come up with some great pairings. I had a great time reading and commenting on the 90+ entries.

I learned a lot about running a good challenge contest from checking in on, and participating in (Cover Treasure Hunt, Rename Your Current Read, If You Like X, Try Y), the great challenges that other bloggers ran during the week. I very much hope to be able do it again in a future Bout of Books round.

The great random number generator (aka Excel) has spoken and the winner was Mandy Zani of My Reader Life! Mandy, the gift card is on its way to you!

Now it's back to the regularly scheduled reading and reviewing, until Bout of Books 11.

Bout of Books 10: 'This' Made Me Think of 'That'

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Wed, 14 May 2014 07:00:00 +0000

So, it's the Bout of Books this week. If you are one of the 1,200 intrepid participants, it means you'll have room on your shelves for some new books next week. Okay, here's a chance to replenish your TBR pile before the covers are even cold on the books you finish this week.

Just think about the book you are reading now, or one you've read before, and tell me something you think goes with it and why.

The something can be another book, a movie, a song, a ballet, a drink, a special food or meal...no need to get Proustian about it, but if madelines are involved, it's okay.

If you're like me, books always make you think of other experiences, real or fictional. For example, over the past two days I've been finishing up Andy Weir's debut novel The Martian, and as I've read it's become closely tied to my memories of Ron Howard's 1995 film, Apollo 13. The two not only share a focus on a space mission gone wrong, one fictional and one real, but also a love for engineering geekery and problem solving. It's not the most original pairing -- it's in the Goodreads blurb and other marketing material -- but it's a powerful one nonetheless. If you've seen the film, I guarantee it will come to mind as you read The Martian!

I'm quite sure the rest of you will be more original.

Take a break, free associate and let the world know what your bookish loves bring to mind.

The Rules

1. Choose a book and something to pair with it.
2. Share your combination and why you think the two go together on your blog, Facebook, twitter, or Goodreads.
3. Link to your posting in the comments, with your BOB 10 participant number so I can verify your registration.
4. If you tweet about this challenge (and I hope you do) make sure to mention me, @KnittingGromit, and use the hashtag #boutofbooks.

That's it. I'll be using a random number generator to pick a winner.

Prize? Right, the prize. A $30 gift certificate to my local indie bookstore, Main Point Books, in Bryn Mawr, PA. They can get just about anything and ship it anywhere.

Children's Book Week: May 12 - May 18

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Tue, 13 May 2014 13:38:00 +0000

There's so much happening in the Philly area for Children's Book Week that it doesn't make sense to list everyday's literary events day-by-day, the list would just be too long. Instead here are the links to local stores, library's, etc. that will be sponsoring special events this week. Where possible, the link will take you to the listings for Children's Book Week Events.

Children's Book World, 17 Haverford Station Rd. Haverford, PA

Big Blue Marble, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA

The Doylestown Bookshop, 16 S Main St., Doylestown, PA

Booktender's Secret Garden, 42 E State Street Rear, Doylestown, PA

Free Library of Philadelphia, Central Library, Philadelphia, PA

Towne Book Center & Cafe, 220 Plaza Drive, Suite B-3, Collegeville, PA 19426

In addition, Indie Bound the organization that works to bring together Independent Bookstores is sponsoring its first annual Story Time festival on May 17th. Authors from around the country will be volunteering to read from their books to showcase the vibrant role independent bookstores fill in communities around the country. A bunch of Pennsylvania stores are joining in the fun. Check the listings here to find out who's participating.

If you are looking for events for adults, there are some of those coming up too!

As always, please feel free to let me know of events I may have missed -- I know I don't catch every listing or every venue. Today especially, lack of sleep has left me heavy-lidded and sure that I'm overlooking something...

Tuesday, May 13

Sandra Tsing Loh | The Madwoman in the Volvo
Free Library, Central Library
7:30 PM
Free

Wednesday, May 14

Marie Bostwick | Apart at the Seams
Chester County Book Company, 967 Paoli Pike, West Chester, PA
7:00 PM
Free

Thursday, May 15

Christopher Buckley | But Enough About You
Free Library, Central Library
7:30 PM
Free

Sunday, May 18

Adam Pelzman | Troika
Wellington Square Bookshop, 549 Wellington Square, Exton, PA
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Free

Bout of Books 10 Goals, Aspirations or What Have You

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Fri, 09 May 2014 16:48:00 +0000

My first bout of books is around the corner and while I read all the time, I'm hoping I can be a bit more focused next week. Even an extra few books will help make a dent in the paper and electronic books piles that seem to keep expanding rather than shrinking.

Thus far in 2014 I'm averaging just under three books a week, which sounds pretty good until you realize I buy more than that each week! For Bout of Books I'm hoping to spend more time reading and less time checking Twitter and Facebook, as fascinating and educational the links I find in both places end up being.

My goal is to read ten books from May 12 - May 18.

It's not as much of a stretch as it might seem since I plan on including several middle grade books in the mix. I'm also planning on using this concerted push to be a better NetGalley user by finishing and providing feedback to five titles publishers have granted me access to -- I want to build my credibility.

Here's the list (though I retain the right to change it as my mood strikes me):

Life Drawing by Robin Black

The Fever by Megan Abbott (I've started this and want to get back to it)

The Chronicle of Secret Riven by Ronlyn Domingue

One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva

The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang

West of the Moon by Margi Preus

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal (this is a re-read for a book group)

Equilateral by Ken Kalfus (again, for a book group, but Ken is the guest of honor so I want to make sure I read this one twice before the meeting).

Plus, I plan on being here on Wednesday to answer questions and comments on the Bout of Books challenge I'm hosting that day!

I'm looking forward to seeing how this week unfolds.

Parenting is Painfully Funny: Cutting Teeth by Julia Fierro

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Thu, 08 May 2014 17:21:00 +0000

Cutting Teeth by Julia Fierro
St. Martin's Press
Hardcover: 336 Pages
Publication Date: May 13, 2014

Everyone warned me when I was pregnant – your life will never be the same, your life is about to change forever, etc. Did I believe them? Really believe them?

No. Of course I didn’t. Does any first time parent not use denial as psychological armor to lessen the trauma of transforming from a self-centered narcissist to a self-abnegating caregiver? I survived the transition, as most everyone does, though there were some close calls – it was not a graceful passage.

At the time I was still trying to climb the corporate ladder but was consumed by jealousy for everyone who was able to find a way to leave the paid workforce to become a primary caregiver. The years since I’ve come to realize that as difficult as juggling work and parenting are, becoming a stay-at-home parent has tradeoffs and sacrifices I never fully understood.

It’s not just the constant focus on the care and feeding of a helpless being, it’s not just the sleepless nights and new worries that every bang and scrap and virus will wreak serious havoc. There’s the grappling with how to explain your life to everyone who knew you based on your career choice or avocations, choices they shared or respected, and by which they still define their lives. There’s also grappling with the uneasy work of renegotiating the terms of your relationship with your partner, which is never smooth sailing, even if both of you fully support the change in roles. Becoming a stay-at home parent may seem like a luxury, but while it can be rewarding and fulfilling, it is also complicated and oftentimes isolating.

Because face it, going from talking about the complexities of law, finance, literature, marketing, etc. to coaxing a small person to eat another bite of broccoli and negotiating screen time is a shock. What can you do to avoid having entire days where your only conversation with another adult is in the supermarket checkout line?

You join a playgroup. You bond with the other parents in the group because they are experiencing many of the same emotions, concerns, and experiences that define your day-to-day existence. But, guess what? Playgroup relationships are just as complicated and political as a life in the diplomatic corps.

Julia Fierro’s fierce and funny new novel, Cutting Teeth, exposes the delicate lattice of assumptions and negotiated allowances that bind together a seemingly idyllic Brooklyn based group of parents and children. On the surface the families are poster children for the new hipster/yuppie urban cultural juggernaut that Brooklyn has become. There’s Nicole, a novelist; Rip a stay-at-home father with a successful banker wife; Susannah a lesbian who has just married her long-term partner, Allie; aristocratic Leigh; and Tiffany, the high maintenance group member who runs toddler music classes.

As Cutting Teeth opens, it’s Labor Day weekend and Nicole is preparing to host the group at her parents’ ramshackle house on Long Island. That’s if Nicole’s extreme anxiety, only partially controlled by a daily dose of marijuana, doesn’t lead her to cancel the whole thing.

The recipe is classic: take a group of loosely tied people with hidden agendas, insecurities, secrets and longings, place them in an enclosed hotbed environment, shake and wait for the explosion. The results can be either farce or tragedy, but in the stage and film variations that Fierro’s novel brought to mind – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Big Chill, even The Breakfast Club – the interior thoughts and longings are not be mined as effectively as she manages here.

The weekend’s events unfold in a series of brief chapters told from the alternating perspectives of the playgroup members, as well as Tenzin, a Tibetan nanny who has left her own children behind in exile in India to care for other people’s children, and Susannah’s wife Allie. All of them have secrets and vulnerabilities that they hide from one another with varying degrees of success.

Nicole fuels her obsessions by trolling online parenting boards and attempts to get her writing back on track by stopping her medications.

Leigh tries to cope with a son who suffers from a sensory input disorder while nurturing her infant daughter whose longed-for birth was only possible via IVF, the cost of which was prohibitive given the impact of the financial crisis of 2008 on her family’s circumstances.

Rip, who has only felt successful in his role as a parent wants another baby, but his wife doesn’t.

Susannah pregnant for the second time, as a surrogate carrying Allie’s fertilized egg, wants to move out of the city to raise their family in the suburbs while Allie, who is ambivalent about motherhood, is entrenched in the New York art scene and doesn’t want to move, ever.

Tiffany has scrambled to remake herself in light of a past that the other members can sense, but cannot understand, is hoping to get her daughter into an elite private school and wrest Tenzin away from Leigh to give her more time to build her business.

Tenzin, meanwhile watches the swirling mess of rivalries and shifting affections among the group, loves the children without reserve, and hopes to maintain her own peace of mind and find a way to bring her family to the United States.

As deeply flawed as these characters are, and despite their selfish and self-destructive ways, they are easy to relate to and root for. I cringed at their missteps and cheered when they achieved greater insights and took baby-steps towards maturity. This playgroup may be filled with Brooklyn hipsters, but they are also emblematic of any group of middle-class parents struggling to define themselves while navigating the unstable shoals of adulthood.

The action builds, as you might expect, to an alcohol fueled climactic party scene that will change the group forever in some ways I could foresee and in others I didn’t expect. There are no simple resolutions and as the weekend ends little is fully resolved, but a tidier conclusion would feel overly contrived and veer what is a sharp and affecting book into the realm of the cute. I do admit that I was confused by the epilogue as it is written, or perhaps its ambiguity is intentional. The fault may be mine and my confusion may be swept away upon re-reading, which, given how much I enjoyed this novel, I plan on doing soon.

This is the perfect book to throw into your bag as you head off for a relaxing Memorial Day weekend, unless you are planning a getaway with your playgroup. In that case, you’ll want to wait until you get back.

P.S. Check out the Tumblr Julia’s novel begat: http://parentingconfessional.tumblr.com. It’s the perfect spot to vent if you can’t spill the beans to your playgroup!

Top Ten on Tuesday: Book Covers Worth Framing

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Tue, 06 May 2014 16:56:00 +0000

Many thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for these prompts and coordinating this meme! Go check out what other bloggers have posted -- it's a great way to find new reads and new blog writers to follow.

This week is devoted to celebrating the art of book covers. Who says you can't judge a book by its cover? I know I have and while sometimes it hasn't worked out, the practice has also led me to some of my all time favorite books. So here are ten books that have covers that are spectacular and content to match. There's a broad spectrum of literary styles and genres represented here, some of which are well known and others that deserve to be more widely read, but all are gorgeous to look at.

Leaving the Sea: Stories by Ben Marcus

The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway

The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart
Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

Amphigorey by Edward Gorey (for that matter, this list should include any book cover for his own work or others that he designed)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (This cover is here to represent all of the magnificent Penguin Hardback Classic editions created by Coralie Bickford-Smith -- collecting them will yield a wonderful library of timeless books and they look amazing together)
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

What covers do you love? Are there covers you love for books that you don't?

Bout of Books 10 is Coming Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Fri, 02 May 2014 15:54:00 +0000

A bout of books, it sounds bloody doesn't it? Makes me envision Moby Dick squaring off in a ring against Dubliners. A bell signals the opening of the round and Moby lumbers out of its corner, while the lighter, very nimble set of stories at first leaps into the fray and then retreats just as quickly to contemplate an elegant turn of phrase...

No, wait, that's not what The Bout of Books is about, as fun as that image is.

In real life (online real life, that is):

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

I discovered this blog event at the end of the last round and signed up to be alerted when Round 10 was on the horizon. As a newish blogger this online event looked like a fun way to broaden my community and make my online life more interactive. So, come the week of May 12th I'll be posting my reading goals and progress reports here. I read a lot, but my TBR pile still grows and grows. Fingers crossed that I get through at least one reasonable sized stack as a part of Bout of Books, it will make my husband very, very happy. Thank goodness I have until the 12th to pick out which of the many books on hand to target.

Plus, I will be hosting one of the challenges (there's a prize!). On Wednesday, May 14 I'll be asking participants to share ideas for pairing favorite book(s) with another book, a drink, a meal, a movie, etc. It should be a blast and I fully expect that it will lead to additions to my reading list far in excess of the number of books I will manage to read during the week, but that's just what I am hoping for!

The Blessings by Elise Juska: Many Voices, One Family

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Thu, 01 May 2014 10:00:00 +0000

The Blessings by Elise Juska

Grand Central Publishing

Hardcover, 272 pages

May 6, 2014

Review Copy via Netgalley

Elise will be at the Philadelphia Free Library on Tuesday, May 6 with Akhil Sharma, and Sebastian Barry @ 7:30 pm

Main Point Books, 1041 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr will be hosting a launch party for Elise on Saturday, May 10 @ 4 pm (I'm pretty sure there will be cake and probably wine)!

Tolstoy famously began Anna Karenina with the statement, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” I’ve always doubted the soundness of this premise, as entertaining and quotable as it is. Certainly unhappy people abound in literature, and families are often a big source of misery, but it’s rare that a book is really about a family qua family, miserable or happy. With her new novel, The Blessings, Elise Juska challenges these preconceptions by putting a family at the center of her story and also demolishes the notion that happy families are not worthy subjects for literary fiction.

This eponymously titled novel follows the Blessings – a large, Northeast Philadelphia Irish Catholic clan – over the course of two decades from the early 1990s until the present. We are introduced to the extended, multi-generational cast in 1992, at a post-Christmas party viewed through the eyes of Abby, a college freshman who is preparing to return to New England later that night. Distance and exposure to classmates from different backgrounds combine to make her see that the closeness and chaos of her family she took for granted is not universal. As Abby ponders her conflicting desires -- to stay close to or to run from her past -- Juska introduces us to Abby's parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins while foreshadowing the changes that are going to buffet the family and test its members in the coming years. Just as Abby is on the cusp of adulthood, the Blessing family is on the cusp of changes that will reverberate through their lives in ways they cannot see during this comfortable and, for Abby, too predictable, holiday gathering.

Within two months the family’s patriarch is dead. A year later, his eldest son, John, succumbs to cancer, leaving behind a young wife and two small children. These events affect choices and color the experiences of his mother, surviving siblings, his wife, his children and even his nieces and nephews. These are not the only hardships and trials the family encounters, but through it all, the Blessings support one another, maintain closeness through a ritual calendar of celebrations that keeps their idea of kinship alive, even as its members drift away from their roots in the Catholic Church and original neighborhood.

Juska’s choice to change narrative point-of-view in each chapter is a gamble that makes sense. The boundary line between a novel and a story collection can be a porous one, but Juska structures the cycle of stories here into a cohesive whole by complementing Abby’s opening by closing with the story of her cousin Elena. A toddler in the opening pages, Elena is now older than Abby was at the beginning. She has graduated from college and is preparing to travel, but in that moment of pulling away is realizing how much she shares with and values her family despite her differences from them. The cyclical structure and shifting protagonists is what make this truly a novel of the Blessing family, not just a collection of interconnected short stories.

Despite the book's episodic nature, the various characters are threaded throughout and the sense is of a continuous narrative. It’s often interesting to see how the Blessings perceive each other and comment on changes in character or circumstance. Juska often focuses on periods of transition – moving to a retirement home, solo parenting, divorce, and illness. Seen from a distance, these pivotal moments could feel artificial and clichéd, but the inner life of each central figure is given the depth that makes each person a true individual. I was often left wishing I had more time with many of them – until I was engrossed in the next tale.

The one member of the familial chorus I wished was given a chance to speak for herself is Meghan, Abby's younger sister, whose anxiety and eating disorder claim so much energy from her parents and siblings. Hers would be a difficult perspective to inhabit, but one I think would have added tension and depth that would have made the book even stronger.

Despite her care in making each Blessing realistic and individual, there are several occasions where Juska loses her empathic distance creating, not villains exactly, but characters who sit on the outside of the inner family circle.

In particular, she stumbles into stereotype in her depiction of Kate, the Bryn Mawr* educated wife of Patrick Blessing. Kate, while nominally Catholic, was not raised to be observant in the way the Blessings of her generation were nor is she as devoted to duty. Her family had money, while the Blessings did not. These differences, which are part of what attracts Patrick to her in the first place, end up distancing her from the rest of the family and lead to strife with her husband. It is believable that Kate’s class background and education could be a source of friction, but what I object to is that she feels assembled from a set of paint-by-number negative attributes in contrast to the beatific portraits of her sisters-in-law.

Nevertheless, what shines through The Blessings and enables it to succeed is reverence for the power of a family to survive, grow and strengthen even as it changes. Elise Juska has gives us a novel that shows that a happy, if imperfect, family is unique and worthy of our time and interest.

*I will admit that I was infuriated that Juska uses Kate’s Bryn Mawr degree as shorthand to denote an affluent, self-centered woman who uses feminism as a shield or excuse. The commitment to transforming women’s lives that permeates the culture of Bryn Mawr is not, and has never been, this reductive.

In my experience Bryn Mawr is an institution of intense academic seriousness and the women who go there are smart, committed to intellectual inquiry and social justice. After graduation they pursue advanced degrees and careers in law, medicine, social justice, academia, science and the arts because it is important to them to make a difference to themselves and the world. Juska’s Kate is far more materialistic, and far less ambivalent about leaving a career to raise a family, than the Bryn Mawr graduates I know. Nor does going to Bryn Mawr equate to not cooking – some of the best cooks I know are Mawrters (yes, that is a real word).

There are certainly any number of women living in the suburbs of Philadelphia that are home to Bryn Mawr, who, at least externally, resemble the woman Juska portrays here, they just didn’t go to Bryn Mawr.

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 18:26:00 +0000

This week seems a bit calmer than last week for anyone in the Philadelphia area seeking a bit of bookish excitement. I can't help but wonder if I've overlooked something! As always, if you have an event I've missed, or one you would like me to be sure and mention coming up, please just let me know!

Even a calm week means there's a lot going on, often at the same time. I for one would be striking out for several different places at once on Thursday, if I could.

Looking ahead, next week sees the launch of Elise Juska's new book, The Blessings, a novel in stories about a close knit Irish family from Northeast Philadelphia. Ms. Juska, the director of the undergraduate BFA writing program at the University of the Arts will appear at the Free Library and at Main Point. Look for a review here later this week.

Monday, April 28

Kenneth Oppel | The Boundless
Children's Book World, Children's Book World, 17 Haverford Station Rd., Haverford, PA
Free
4:30 pm

This looks like a fun middle-grade fantasy adventure with a historical feel. I also want to check out his Printz Honor book Airborn, so I think I know where I'll be heading in a couple of hours.

Tuesday, April 29

Jen Calonita | Summer State of Mind with Elizabeth Eulberg | Better off Friends
Children's Book World, Children's Book World, 17 Haverford Station Rd., Haverford, PA
Free
7:00 pm

Why Not Poetry? With Ginny Beards, Daisy Fried, Sebastian Agudelo, Eli Goldblatt
Chester County Book Company, Chester County Book Company, 967 Paoli Pike, West Goshen Center, West Chester, PA
Free
7:00 pm

Ralph Nader | Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State
Free Library, Central Library
Free
7:30 pm

Wednesday, April 30

Beth Kephart | Going Over
Radnor Memorial Library, 114 W. Wayne Ave. Wayne, PA 19087
Free
7:30 pm

Come celebrate local author, Beth Kephart's latest YA novel about teenagers living and loving in Berlin on opposite sides of the wall. I hear there will be cake. I would be there, but am leading a book group discussion at Main Point Books.

Thursday, May 1

Leading Voices: Biz Stone | Things a Little Bird Told Me: Confessions of the Creative Mind
Free Library, Central Library
$40 -- General Admission (includes a copy of the book)
8:00 am

Stanley Warren | The Works of Stanley Warren
Wellington Square Bookshop, 549 Wellington Square, Exton, PA
Free
6:30 - 8:00 pm

Bee Ridgeway | The River of No Return
Main Point Books, 1041 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
Free
7:00 pm

I really enjoyed The River of No Return when I read it last year. Historical fantasy that defies genre this is a book that's hard to describe, but is a joyride. It's now out in paperback with a really fabulous new cover! Bee (aka Bryn Mawr College professor Bethany Schneider) is charming and I hope she'll spill on the progress and plans for a sequel.

Francine Prose | Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 with Mona Simpson | Casebook
Free Library, Central Library
$15 General Admission, $7 Students
7:30 pm

Friday, May 2

Eric Wight | The Vanishing Coin
Towne Book Center, 220 Plaza Drive, Suite B-3, Collegeville, PA 19426
Free
4:30 - 6:00 pm

Saturday, May 3

Santo Marabella | The Practical Prof: Simple Lessons for Anyone Who Works
Towne Book Center, 220 Plaza Drive, Suite B-3, Collegeville, PA 19426
Free
11:00 am

Sunday, May 4

Amanda Kingloff | Project Kid: 100 Ingenious Crafts for Family Fun
Chester County Book Company, 967 Paoli Pike, West Goshen Center, West Chester, PA
Free
1:00 pm

James Waggoner | The Wages of Sin
Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia
Free
4:00 pm

P.S. If you know of events or venues with regularly scheduled events that I've missed, please let me know in the comments or via email at abudner (at) comcast (dot) net.

Top Ten on Tuesday: Ten Characters I Love on the Page

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 00:43:00 +0000

Many thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for these prompts and coordinating this meme! Go check out what other bloggers have posted -- it's a great way to find new reads and new writers to follow.

This week's prompt is to complete the sentence, Top Ten Characters Who ____. This made me think about characters I love on the page, but don't really want to meet, or get to know in real life. Some of the most vivid and interesting characters to read about are not the sort of folks you want to rub shoulders with in the day-to-day world. In person I tend to gravitate to nice people, thoughtful and empathetic people (with suitably scathing senses of humor), but when reading it's the scoundrels and neer-do-wells that I love. Here are ten of them. Mostly men, but a couple of women too. It could easily have gone the other way -- a limit of ten means I'm only scratching the surface.

1) Jake Marlowe from The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

Sexy, learned, sensitive and literary. Jake is everything you could ever want in a 200 year-old heartthrob. Except he's a werewolf with some pretty kinky sexual proclivities and a monthly need to kill. And, make no mistake, if you're there and he's transformed, things won't look so good for you. Fascinating to read, far too deadly for a friend.

Still reminds me I need to read By Blood We Live, the third book in The Bloodlines Trilogy.

2) Boris from The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Pill popping, vodka swilling, thief and gangster -- Boris jumps off the page and demands your attention. In real life? I'd be crossing to the other side of the street. Yes, I am that risk averse.

3) Jonny Valentine from The Love Song of Jonny Valentine by Teddy Wayne

Psychologically wounded and struggling to exist as a kid in an all too adult world, Jonny elicits my sympathy and my motherly urges. As much as I feel for and with him, I think in real life I'd find him impossible, spoiled and deeply wounded. He needs someone to take care of him, but I am old enough to know I wouldn't be a good choice.

4) Thomas Cromwell from Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

A modern man in his conception of self, a master of realpolitik and a brutal striver. I like his approach to the world, but he's determined and cutthroat. I don't want to know Barak Obama, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel or any of the nerd kings running big corporate behemoths either.

5) Count Fosco from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Charming and ruthless, Fosco is always entertaining, but if you threaten him, it's over. He'd be a great dinner guest at someone else's party. Bring him into my own house? Only if I knew I could get what I needed from him without making myself vulnerable and that's never as easy as it seems.

6) Jackson Brodie from Kate Atkinson’s Case History novels

Brooding and so in need of love. I would fall for Jackson in a heartbeat, but only if he showed up looking exactly like Jason Isaacs. Since I am under the impression that Jason is a real person, entirely separate from Jackson, the impossibility of merging the soul and the physical means I would rather keep him tucked away in Kate's novels where I can visit him anytime I like.

FWIW, my husband embodies all that I love about Jackson crossed with the best parts of Mantel's Cromwell. Meaning, I live with someone who's better than any fictional character.

7) Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Brooding, romantic, totally in love with Jane yet scheming to be a bigamist. I loved him at thirteen, but now I think he's a villain who deserved to lose his house, his hand and his sight.

8) Bernie Gunther from Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr

A German with a conscience in Hitler's Germany Bernie is a good guy in an awful world. But ever notice what happens to women who cross his path? The meet terrible ends. Nope, he's someone to avoid even, if he is interesting. I'm still planning on reading every novel Kerr writes with Bernie in a starring role, but I'll be glad to leave our relationship fictional.

9) Arya from a Song of Ice and Fire by G.R.R. Martin

I love Arya. I want to be Arya, sort of. She's fierce and she's a strong, non-gender constrained girl who may yet become a strong woman, if G.R.R. Martin fulfills his stated promise to his wife. She's a survivor of terrible horror. Still, she's a killer who's been warped and damaged by all she's seen and done. I'm not sure we would be BFFs if we ever met. I wouldn't tolerate the violence that's become a part of her soul.

10) Amy Dunne from Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Fascinating, socio-pathic, deliciously evil, Amy is a woman who will keep you turning pages, but don't ever want to think could exist in reality. The sad truth is I'm sure there are women very much like her wandering around; I just hope I don't meet and fall under the spell of one.
Who do you love to hate in books?

World Book Night & Other Philly Area Bookish Events: April 22 - April 27

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 18:15:00 +0000

Tomorrow is World Book Night when thousands of volunteers across the country, including many here in the Delware Valley, go out and distribute books. Free books that are intended to get folks who might not otherwise pick up a book to give reading a try. The books selected for this year's event includes a lot of great reads, but my favorite is Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity, which if you haven't read it, is astonishing, heartbreaking and life affirming.

If you see a volunteer in action tomorrow, say thanks, or take the book he or she is offering.

I didn't get around to volunteering this year (analysis paralysis is a character flaw I have struggled with my entire life) so I'm making a contribution and vowing to get off my duff next year. I've added a widget on the bar at the right side of the blog so you can help out as well. Go on, you know you want to - it's a great way to celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birthday!

There's a lot of other great events around the region this week, including a chance to catch up with the author of one of last year's most discussed debuts, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. , and a couple of chances to visit with the creator of some adorable penguins, Melissa Guion.

Tuesday, April 22

David Lubar | Wipeout of the Wireless Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales
Towne Book Center, 220 Plaza Drive, Suite B-3, Collegeville, PA 19426
6:00 pm

Enjoy a hot dog dinner to celebrate publication day for the newest title in this series of stories for middle grade readers. Thirty-three stories about clothes-eating bacteria, a zombie apocalypse, a monstrous butcher shop, and other frightening things. Includes notes on how the author got his ideas for these stories.

There is a $5 fee for signing of books not purchased at the event that is waived if you purchase the event title.

Marlo Thomas | It Ain't Over…Till It's Over: Reinventing Your Life—and Realizing Your Dreams—Any Time, at Any Age
Free Library, Central Library
Free
7:30 pm

Wednesday, April 23

A.J. Mass | It's Hot in Here: Adventures in the Weird, Woolly World of Sports Mascots
Chester County Book Company, 967 Paoli Pike, West Goshen Center, West Chester, PA
Free
7:00 pm

Thursday, April 24

Robin Kevles Necowitz | Go Take a Bath!: A Powerful Self-Care Approach to Extraordinary Parenting
Newtown Bookshop, 2835 S. Eagle Road, Newtown, PA
Free, but must call store to reserve a spot 215-968-2400
11:15 am

Melissa Guion | Baby Penguins Love Their Mama
Harleysville Books, 680 Main Street, Salford Sq. Shopping Ctr., Harleysville
Free

4:30 pm

James Howe | Also Known as Elvis!
Children's Book World, 17 Haverford Station Rd., Haverford, PA
Free
7:00 pm

Adelle Waldman | The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.
Villanova University, Falvey Library Speakers Corner, Villanova, PA
Free
7:00 pm

The final event of the Villanova Literary Festival features an up and coming rockstar of literary fiction!

Kathryn Kopple | Little Velasquez with Evan Roskos | Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets and Kit Grindstaff | The Flame in the Mist
Main Point Books, 1041 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA
Free
7:00 pm

Amartya Sen | An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions
Free Library of Philadelphia, Central Library
$15 General Admission, $7 Students
7:30 pm

Friday, April 25

Melissa Guion | Baby Penguins Love Their Mama
Children's Book World, 17 Haverford Station Rd., Haverford, PA
Free
4:30 pm

Lori Clipner Hynson | SuperGal vs. God
Doylestown Bookshop, 16 S Main Street Doylestown, PA 18901
Free
6:30 pm

Poetry Aloud and Alive. Featured reader: Warren Longmire
Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia
Free
7:15 pm

Saturday, April 26

Aaron Meshon | Tools Rule
Chester County Book Company, 967 Paoli Pike, West Goshen Center, West Chester, PA
Cost: Free
Time: 11:00 am

Dr. Marci Tilghman-Bryant | No Need to Run
Wellington Square Bookshop, 549 Wellington Square, Exton, PA
Free
12:00 - 2:00 pm

Julia 'Jules' Ordway | Goodbye, Jessie
Doylestown Bookshop, 16 S Main Street Doylestown, PA 18901
Free
1:00 pm

The author, Julia "Jules" Ordway, is 12 years old and the daughter of Jules Thin Crust creators and owners John & Jan Ordway. Julia wrote the book entirely by herself and published it through Lulu's Self Publishing website. Proceeds from this event will benefit Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Goodbye Jesse is about a 12 year old girl who loses her best friend to cancer. The book is based on the loss of Julia's dog, Jessie to cancer.

David Lubar | Wipeout of the Wireless Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales
Let's Play Books, 379 Main Street, Emmaus, PA
2:00 pm

The book, purchased at Let's Play Books!, is your ticket to the signing (minimum of 1 book per immediate family). The book will be released on April 22. Email info@letsplaybooks.com to register/pre-order.

Susan Abulhawa | My Voice Sought the Wind
Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia
Free
7:00 pm

Jim Donovan | Happy @ Work -- Book Launch!
Doylestown Bookshop, 16 S Main Street Doylestown, PA 18901
Free
6:00 pm

Sunday, April 27

Joe Lamport | The Life and Times of Richard Musto
Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia
Free
3:00 pm

Chernoh Alpha M. Bah | Neocolonialism in West Africa
Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia
Free
4:00 pm

P.S. If you know of events or venues with regularly scheduled events that I've missed, please let me know in the comments or via email at abudner (at) comcast (dot) net.

New and Improved: What it Takes to Win Back an Empire

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 21:37:00 +0000

Note: I know this is a cardinal sin of blogging, republishing a revised version of a post, but I had to do it. The last version of this review was so riddled with typos and awkward sentences that it was torture to leave it as it was.

Most of the adult readers I know in daily life don't read fantasy or science fiction much, if at all. I get it. It can be an acquired taste. Still, some books don’t deserve to be written off as too weird or unrealistic because of a little magic. Besides, these days it seems like fantastic elements are part and parcel of novels that avoid being banished to the genre ghetto.

Kate Atkinson, Helene Wecker, Rachel Cantor, are just a few of the writers of literary fiction who integrate fantasy-like elements into their stories. Why shouldn’t genre boundaries be just as porous in the other direction? There are many fantasy novels that would easily appeal to a much broader group of readers if the jacket copy and cover design were hidden by brown paper wrappers.

What distinguishes books with breakout potential from others that may never transcend their niche, as much as fantasy aficionados love them? In many cases it comes down to a set of characters that readers can identify with, empathize with; individuals they can root for or against. What would Lord of the Rings be without Frodo, or Sam, or Gollum? Would Game of Thrones be a success without Tyrion, Arya, Bran, Jon Snow, or even Joffrey? Wizards, dragons, and magic aside, it is the actions and fates of characters that fuel the kind of devotion and passion that are behind communities and fandoms that persist for decades.

With his debut, The Emperor's Blades, the first volume in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Brian Staveley shows he's vying for, and capable of, writing fantasy that has the ability to attract readers who say, "I don't usually like fantasy novels, but you have to read..." It's not without flaws, but this page-turner introduces a cast of characters we care about and a world, that while different from ours, is familiar and detailed enough to feel plausible.

The opening gambit is familiar -- a murdered king leaves behind a daughter and two sons. Can the heir to the throne and his siblings live long enough to insure their family's dynasty continues? Familiarity isn't, in this case, a harbinger of cliché. For one thing, this is a not a fantasy world built on the framework of Western European history and legend. Instead the world of Annur is infused with strong Asian religious and mythic influences making the book a refreshing change after a steady diet of fantasy novels built around Norse and Celtic influences.* Staveley's Annurian empire is also home to diverse characters from a variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds that, and at least in this first book, seem to be accepting of differences in skin color. Prejudice does exist, but is reserved for individuals, called ‘leaches’, who develop the ability to channel magic in the presence of a specific and individual amplifier. We meet a few leaches in the course of the story and some deserve the fear and hatred their magic engenders, while others are feared and mistrusted without reason.

A poet by background, Staveley writes crisp prose that rarely turns florid – I did note a couple of ‘gibbous moons’ giving off ‘argent light’ which made me raise an eyebrow since these turns of phrase that stood out as odd given the rest of the book’s phrasing.
The story is compelling and despite its length, the pages fly past and the book doesn’t feel too long. Well-placed details and effective world specific slang add the final touches that make this well-trodden fictional ground feel newly paved.

While the question of who is behind the plot to overthrow the ruling dynasty hovers, shadow like over The Emperor's Blades, the book is less concerned with political machinations than with dramatizing the process by which the protagonists of this epic fantasy are forged and tempered -- they are the Blades of the title after all -- into young adults with the capabilities that will allow them to unmask and face their enemies in later novels in the sequence.

Kaden, heir to the Annurian throne, has spent the last eight years in a remote monastery training in the ways of the Shin monks. His days are filled with repetitive tasks: pottery, physical labor and painting scenes from memory as a tool in attaining perfect recall. The monks live a simple life and are no easier on their royal charge than on the novices rescued from lives of poverty and crime. Displays of ego are harshly punished for it is critical that Kaden master the vaniate, the core of the Shin devotion to the Blank God. And, just at the point at which most readers are wondering why all this blankness is so important, Staveley reveals a bit of brilliant backstory that gives the ability transcend ego an urgency and life-or-death realism that trumps typical religious self-abnegation.

While Kaden is apprenticed to the Shin, his younger brother, Valyn, has spent the time as a trainee in an elite fighting core that uses giant hawk-like birds, Kettral, to gain mobility and rapid strike capabilities in a world where travel, by sail or on horseback, is slow. Unlike Kaden, Valyn learns early on of his father's murder and knows that he and his siblings are in danger. Veiled attempts are made on his own life even as he enters the final phase of his training, one that culminates in a secret trial by fire named after a god of death and darkness, Hull. Trust me, you do not want to attempt to rob a Kettral fighter in a dark alley.

By the end of the novel, both brothers experience significant losses and undergo transformations that expand their physical and mental readiness to face the greater battles they are sure to encounter in the next two books. By the end of the novel the brothers are far wiser, and far more dangerous, than the open and appealing youngsters we met in at the beginning.

Then there's the problem of Adare.

Adare, the oldest child, a young woman, has been stuck back in Annur while her brothers are off having all the fun. As a woman, she cannot inherit the throne and knows she is destined to be married to benefit the empire. Her power is physical power is limited, but before his death, Sanlitun elevated Adare to the post of Minister of Finance. Adare needs to figure out what is going on in the viper's nest of power.

Adare gets five puny chapters.

Her five chapters, while they might be necessary groundwork for the next installment, do her a disservice. The lack of pages means that her character is described and defined, but that we never get a chance to know her, to see her grow. Given her lack of presence, it's disturbing that we see her make some naive mistakes and engage in an ill-considered affair. The imbalance is a flaw in an otherwise smartly plotted book.

Adare's missteps and thin plot line are especially problematic given a plot arc that includes some very disturbing*, though never titillating or gratuitous, sexual violence. The book's poor treatment of so many women left me upset, and more than a little confused, because in other respects Staveley's female characters book are fierce and capable. For example, some of the deadliest and respected Kettral are women, and a female assassin plays a significant role in the latter portion of Kaden's storyline. Would I have been less disturbed if Adare's point of view was expanded? Probably.

The good news is that Adare gets a more central role in the next book, The Providence of Fire, as does another female narrator.

The bad news is that the next volume is going to be released until next January, which is just too damn far away.

FYI: I bought this book in print and audio format (brilliantly narrated by Simon Vance). Go with whichever option suits you better, there are no bad choices here.

*I know there are a number of writers that have broken free of the mythology of the west: N.K. Jemisin, Saladin Ahmed immediately come to mind, but there books are sitting in my to be read pile, waiting patiently for me to wise up and get around to reading them.
**These crimes were horrific to characters in the book, as well as to me.

Philadelphia Book Festival & More: April 14 - April 20

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 14:34:00 +0000

The Philadelphia Book Festival sponsored by the Free Library begins today and runs through this coming Saturday. There is a great mix of local authors and national figures with visits at various branches throughout the city. So many that listing them all here would be both time consuming on my part and not as easy to follow as the Free Library's own compendium. So, here is the link to the festival program on the Free Library site:

Philadelphia Book Festival
April 14-19, 2014

Elsewhere in the region:

Wednesday, April 16

Mary Higgins Clark | I've Got You Under My Skin

Location: Towne Book Center, 220 Plaza Drive, Suite B-3, Collegeville, Pennsylvania

Cost: Free

Time: 6:00 pm

There is a $5 fee for signing of books not purchased at the event that is waived if you purchase the event title

Thursday, April 17

Chang-rae Lee | On Such A Full Sea

Location: McPherson Auditorium, Goodhart Hall

Cost: Free

Time: 7:30 pm

Poetry Night with Grant Clauser

Location: The Doylestown Bookshop, 16 Main Street, Doylestown PA

Cost: Free

Time: 6:30 pm

Friday, April 18

David Kirk | Oh Tiny Bunny

Location: Let's Play Books, 379 Main Street, Emmaus PA

Cost: Free

Time: 4:00 pm

Note: The event is free, but registration is required. The link about will take you to the registration page.

Three Js and a K Talk YA

Location: Children's Book World, 17 Haverford Station Rd.

Cost: Free

Time: 7:00 pm

Saturday, April 19

Reese Marie | Karma: A Book of Short Poems and Djuna Wojton | Karmic Choices: How Making the Right Choices Can Create Enduring Joy

Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane

Philadelphia, PA

Cost: Free

Time: 2:00 pm

Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all who celebrate these holidays!

P.S. If you know of events or venues with regularly scheduled events that I've missed, please let me know in the comments or via email at abudner (at) comcast (dot) net.

The Trouble with Trilogies

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 22:39:00 +0000

Trilogies waiting to be read!

Sometime during 2012 my reading life underwent a radical shift. The combined forces of my YA fantasy-loving daughter and Jo Walton’s Among Others turned me into a dedicated* fantasy, or more accurately, speculative fiction, reader -- just check out Walton's built in reading list. I’m still learning about the genre, or rather multiverse of genres clumped together under this rubric, and I’ve enjoyed wandering around looking at shelves of books I’ve never heard of though they’ve been around for years. My tentative forays have resulted in piles and piles of books in my office waiting to be read (see photo at right) and a steady thrum of energy from a new element in my reading life. New books are the least of it; there’s a big world out there with multiple tentacles reaching far beyond the pages of books that I only vaguely knew existed. Reddit AMAs, comic cons and world cons, more Tumblrs than you can ever hope to track, urban fantasy, grimdark, LARPing, the further I explore the fandoms the more I need to resort to Google to understand it all.

It’s fun, overwhelming, but fun

One of the most challenging parts of this shift in my reading habits is that I am, for the first time, reading book series before the remaining volumes have been released, or even written for that matter. Can a single volume of a saga that will only be finished some three years and a thousand pages hence really be judged on its own?

Yes. And, no.

On the ‘yes’ side of the equation, I find it no different to examine the first book of a trilogy than critiquing a stand-alone literary novel. Are the characters complex and interesting? Is the setting well-rendered, serve the story and the characters? Is the plot credible and organic? Is the book appropriately paced? Does the author’s writing serve the story, or get in its way?

Okay, so far so good. Then the process gets messy. Unlike a self-contained novel, there are considerations of anticipation and completeness, which will vary depending on authorial (and to some degree, editorial) intent. If an installment ends in a cliffhanger or an indication that the action will be continued in a succeeding volume, is that signaling accomplished effectively? Is the reader’s appetite whetted while not giving away too much of what is to come? Is the current novel simply cut-off mid-stream and thereby irritate more than it entices? Is the novel’s narrative structure unbalanced or otherwise marred by the needs of the succeeding volumes? All of these are considerations in reviewing series fiction that don't apply to self-contained novels in a single volume.

In addition to the extra components to be touched on in a review, can I render a critical thumbs-up or down with only partial evidence at hand? If a book doesn’t succeed on its own merits, will my opinion change if once I read the entire sequence? I’ve been struggling with these questions recently because I read Brian Staveley’s debut novel, The Emperor’s Blades which is the first volume in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne. In many respects I think it is great. It has a compelling well-structured story, interesting characters, amazing world building and strong writing that left me with a massive book hangover. I can’t wait until the next book comes out – ten long months from now.

BUT

I found myself conflicted on how to deal with the book’s representation of women. And, given how glaring the issues are, could I give the book a good review and recommendation?

I’ll enumerate exactly what my issues are in that long overdue review later this week, but what’s relevant here is, that after talking to Brian Staveley at a local book store appearance, the issue isn’t that he’s a sexist asshole who is completely unaware of the issues I and a number of other folks have brought up. He worked to find ways around the problems, but in the end the role of women in this first volume was skewed by the combined effects of paring the first book down to a saleable length, needing to set the stage for the second installment, and the requirements of story and character development that will unfold over three volumes.

I admit to feeling relieved to discover that he thought about the issues, is open to discussing them and has tried to offset the impressions of the first book in the writing of the next two. The proof will be in the pages. Fingers crossed it’s there, but I have high hopes that things for women in Annur will improve on volumes two and three.

Meanwhile, Brian's assurance that women get a much stronger voice in the second volume isn’t going to prevent me from talking about the flaws and transgressions of the first book, but it gives me reason to hope the missteps are not going to sink the overall work -- and my review will reflect that hope. Still, while this limited insider information gives me greater perspective in this one instance, it doesn’t solve the larger problem.

The only credible solution I can propose for myself is to approach each work in a sequence on its own merits, but with an eye to how a series evolves and the promise of returning to review the completed set before rendering a final opinion. Assuming, of course, the first book is good enough for me to keep reading.

Reading is what I need to get back to doing. I could probably have read an entire Brandon Sanderson epic in the amount of time it’s taken to write these 850 words.

*I’ve dabbled in reading fantasy and science fiction throughout my life, but it was never a core element of my internal construct of myself as a reader. Books and TC are two different animals and I was an avid Trekkie from an early age, but if you were too, you already
got that from the title of this post.

Top Ten on Tuesday: All Books Are Unique

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 19:30:00 +0000

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme from The Broke and The Bookish is to identify the most unique books you've read. This was a tough list for me to get a grip on. All books are unique, aren't they? Of course a given book may share similarities with other books, but in the end, no two books are alike. I know this isn't the interpretation the prompt is intends to elicit, but I thought it was an interesting thought to consider.

So, here are books that I think qualify as more idiosyncratic than most, that are different by virtue of representing reality, or constructing reality, from an oblique angle.

1) The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Books can be infiltrated by people? Jane Eyre without its iconic ending? A slapstick literary mystery set in an alternate world with a very different science. This oddball book rates as my best airport find ever. I tired of the series after the first few, but this this first outing for Thursday Next is still a funny, smart, and distinctly strange book.

2) Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

A horny, history obsessed sixteen-year old boy deals with life in a decaying small town while trying to work through his conflicted feelings about being attracted to his girlfriend and his best friend at the same time. Okay, a pretty classic set up for standard realistic YA novel. Then the book veers onto another course channeling The Twilight Zone and B-grade 1950s Science Fiction movies as Austin and Robbie become warriors in an apocalyptic battle with bio-engineered six foot tall invincible grasshopper soldiers. Not for everyone, but if you are willing to hold on for the ride, it's a hoot and very moving.

3) The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman

A book that defies summary--the link above will take you to the Goodreads description, but trust me, it doesn't do Beauman's second novel justice. A wild, genre defying, inventive ride filled with oddball characters. You need to read it more than once to begin to make sense of it all, but if you only read it once, you'll still have a great time.

4) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Genius, pure and simple. The nesting doll structure may owe a debt to others, particularly Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night A Traveller, but Mitchell's astonishing skill in mimicking multiple genres stunned me. However, what makes this a great book, not just smart literary posturing, is Mitchell's characters who manage to find kernels of beauty, generosity, and determination to do the right thing a world that often works against them.

5) Room by Emma Donoghue

What can I say that hasn't already been said about this beautiful book narrated by a boy raised by his mother in a room where they are prisoners of a sexual predator? A harrowing reminder that such things should never happen, but that to live is to have hope of something better. Also, it's a bravura piece of narrative conjuring on Donoghue's part.

6) Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson

As with so much of Atkinson's early fiction this novel is jam-packed with post-modern narrative hijinks (in this case sixteen year old Isobel Fairfax gains an omniscient view into her family's history and future that takes on the cast of a fable) that enable Atkinson to explore themes that reappear often in her fiction: mother - daughter relationships, English family life in the 20th century, and the nature of storytelling. I read this a long time ago and my memories of the book are a bit fuzzy. I just pulled it off the shelf to give it a re-read.

7) Time and Again by Jack Finney

Time travel, a mystery, a tour of old New York that begins in the Dakota plus it's an illustrated novel from an era that wasn't big on that concept. The casual sexism that imbues Finney's perspective is annoying, but I still love this book because it opened up the New York City that lay beneath the version I saw everyday growing up.

8) A Wild Sheep Chase by Harukai Murakami

Surreal and funny, this was my introduction to Murakami's genius in bending western genres to fit with his off-center views of Japanese society. It was so different from everything I thought I knew about Japan that I was enthralled. I still can't quite figure out why his brand of weird is so appealing and thought-provoking, but it is.

9) The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

I was a very literal child and I didn't get this book when it was read to my fourth grade class. When I read it to my daughter (who got it immediately at the age of five proving she's smarter than I am) I was overjoyed with cornucopia of puns and verbal games. All I can say is my nine year-old self was just too damn serious.

10) Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

No explanation needed here, but I will say that this is another book that I love a great deal more as an adult than as a child when I thought it was a bit creepy. Good to know I am capable of learning something.

What are your 'unique' reads?

It's Monday. Time to Plan My Escapes from Reality: April 7 -- April 13

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 16:12:00 +0000

Susannah Cahalan will be visiting two independent bookstores this Sunday. I'm looking forward to meeting her at Main Point Books where her book is of especial interest as Emily Gavigan, who was diagnosed and treated as a result of Susannah's experience is on staff. Oops I got the time wrong for when she will be at Main Point Books. Susannah will be reading and signing starting at 3:00 pm!

Poetry and more poetry in celebration of National Poetry month. Things really pick up next week around the region with a lot of activities scheduled for Monday. To make sure anyone who is interested has time to plan more effectively, I plan on putting out the listings on Saturday.

For this week:

Monday, April 7

Monday Poets | Lynn Levin and Deborah Fries

Location: Free Library, Central Library

Cost: Free

7:30 pm

Tuesday, April 8

Amy Lutz | Each Day I Like it Better

Location: Main Point Books, 1041 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr

Cost: Free

7:00 pm

Bob Mankoff | How About Never—Is Never Good For You?: A Life in Cartoons

Location: Free Library, Central Library

Cost: $15 General Admission, $7 Students

7:30 pm

Wednesday, April 9

Priscille Sibley | The Promise of Stardust

Location: Brazzo Italian Restaurant

Salford Square

Harleysville, Pennsylvania

Cost: $49, includes dinner and a copy of the book

7:00 pm

Please register at Harleysville Books website

Thursday, April 10

Jaimy Gordon | Lord of Misrule

Location: Connolly Cinema, Villanova University, Villanova PA

Cost: Free

Time: 7:00 pm

A Villanova Literary Festival Event

Jaimy Gordon is the author of six books, most recently the National Book Award-winning Lord of Misrule, set in the world of small-time West Virginia horse racing. The novel was also a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist, won the Dr. Tony Ryan Award for the year's best book about horse racing, and was longlisted for the coveted Orange Prize for fiction. Her short fiction, poems, essays, and translations have appeared in the Colorado Review, Missouri Review, Ploughshares, and other journals. Gordon lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan and teaches in the MFA program at Western Michigan University.

Edward Hirsch | A Poet’s Glossary

Location: Free Library, Central Library

Cost: $15 General Admission, $7 Students

7:30 pm

Saturday, April 12

Paul Tobacco Cashman | Lenapehocking

Location: Wellington Square Bookshop, 549 Wellington Square, Exton, PA

Cost: Free

Time: 12:00 - 1:30 pm

Lisa Loeb | Ambassador Dogs

Location: The Doylestown Bookshop, 16 Main Street, Doylestown PA

Cost: Free

1:00 pm

James Freeman | Temporary Roses Dipped in Liquid Gold

Location: Newtown Bookshop, 2835 South Eagle Road, Newtown, PA

Cost: Free

Time:1:00 pm

Hilary Beard, with Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson | Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life

Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane

Philadelphia, PA

Cost: Free

Time: 1:00 pm

Local author Hilary Beard (Health First!: The Black Woman's Wellness Guide, 2012) examines concrete ways black parents can enhance their sons' potential for success in a world prejudiced against Black males. A practical and impassioned parenting guide.

Diane Jellen | My Resurrected Heart

Location: The Doylestown Bookshop, 16 Main Street, Doylestown PA

Cost: Free

3:00 pm

Performance with Singer/Songwriter Jennifer Sheffield | A National Poetry Month Event

Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane

Philadelphia, PA

Cost: $5-$10, sliding scale

Refreshments afterward

Time: 3:30 pm

Robin Becker | Tiger Heron

Poetry Reading

Location: Musehouse, 7924 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA

Cost: Free

7:00 pm

Charlotte Boulay | Foxes on Trampolines -- Book Launch! A National Poetry Month Event

Location: Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane

Philadelphia, PA

Cost: Free

Time: 7:00pm

Sunday, April 13

Susannah Cahalan | Brain on Fire

Location: Towne Book Center, 220 Plaza Drive, Suite B-3, Collegeville, Pennsylvania

Cost: Free

Time: 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Susannah Cahalan | Brain on Fire

Location: Main Point Books, 1041 West Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA

Cost: Free

Time: 3:00 pm

P.S. If you know of events or venues with regularly scheduled events that I've missed, please let me know in the comments or via email at abudner (at) comcast (dot) net.

Top Ten on Tuesday: Gateway Books

noreply@blogger.com (Anmiryam) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 20:39:00 +0000

This week's prompt from the good women of The Broke and The Bookish is one I think every reader can relate to: Top Ten "Gateway" Books/Authors In My Reading Journey. I'm in my 50s, and the decades are littered with books and narrowing it down to ten is tough. So, here is one version of the top ten, a nostalgia filled list of books, in roughly the order I read them, and why they stay with me. I think I posted a very similar list to Facebook late last year, but I know I'm including some different choices this go around.

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

I don't know if this is the first book I read on my own, or if I memorized it because I made my parents read it to me so often. Either way, I loved this so much that it was one of the first books I read to my daughter when she was little. My husband bought me and the girls a print from the book for Valentine's Day a few years back and it hangs in our kitchen and I hope it always will.

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Koenigsburg

Pressed into my hands by an elementary school librarian in the late 1960s, I read this in a single sitting and many times since. I loved it because Claudia was as averse to discomfort as I was, and still am. I loved it because it made a big imposing museum into a magical treasure box of possibilities. I loved it because it gave art a mystery that Claudia was stubborn enough and smart enough to solve. Thinking about it now, I wonder if my love for this book was behind my decision to major in the History of Art in college?

Pilgrimage: The Book of The People by Zenna Henderson

I read all of Zenna Henderson after seeing a truly terrible adaptation of some of The People stories in a made for TV movie starring Kim Darby. I loved them then because I yearned to be an alien with unearthly powers, a longing any social inept alienated girl would share, I'm sure. Now I want to reread them because they are incredible portraits of the American Southwest and rich with insight about what brings communities together and how they can tear themselves apart. And, as I probably sensed at some level when I was ten, these stories are always looking at what does it mean to belong or not? Can you be different and still be accepted? The original books are out of print, but the two original volumes plus other uncollected stories are available in Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I Read this the summer I turned thirteen while traveling with my family through the southwest. Who knew a 'classic' could be funny?

Emmeline by Judith Rossner

A tragic tale I devoured one saturday evening my junior year of college. Full of all the female suffering and misery so dear to my teenage heart, I was also genuinely surprised by the ending. I remember trying to convey to my father over the phone why I was so moved. The final plot twist had stunned me but was even more staggered when neared the climax of my synopsis, my father, accurately, beat me to the punch and without having read the book, told me how it ended. Lessons learned? There are only so many plots that are really new (there are some, but fewer than I thought at the time). And, if you want to convince someone that a book is good, there may be more to it than summarizing the story.

Middlemarch by George Eliot

For all the reasons that Rebecca Mead brilliantly synthesizes in "My Life in Middlemarch." If you have read "Middlemarch" read Rebecca's wonderful book. If you haven't read "Middlemarch" read Rebecca's wonderful book and you will want to read "Middlemarch." Trust me on this.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

Another book I first thought I loved because it's plot was unexpected, but in truth loved for it's rich inventive voice, its exploration of female and family relationships, its dark humor and inventive literary and pop culture references particularly "The Wizard of Oz." The opening sentence is a fabulous riff on "Tristram Shandy" which I only learned by reading an essay about the book a number of years ago. As a mother of a toddler with a demanding full-time job, I stayed up into the wee hours on a work night to finish this. I read it just after publication in the US and have been a Kate Atkinson groupie ever since. This is the book I'm most likely to shove into someone's hands if given any reason at all.

Possession by A.S. Byatt

I was in business school learning the intricacies of finance and such when I ran into this as a remainder at a local Border's and picked it up because I loved the Burne-Jones cover and the synopsis the jacket copy that reminded me of "The French Lieutenant's Woman." The marketing was spot on. I loved this grand melange (I would call it a genre mash-up, but that would most definitely not be Byatt approved language!) of literary mystery, tragic love story, and academic satire. I am proof that you can read it and skip all the show-offy use of French, Latin and poetry. Underneath all of the frills and window dressing, this book has great characters, feminist themes and a juicy story.

The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes

Truly the most exciting piece of science writing I've ever read ordered on a whim from the Quality Paperback Book Club (remember that in the days before the internet?). I learned far more from this book than I ever did in the classroom. The book is passionate and thrilling, but it also challenges everyone to question what was done in the name of science and if it could have been avoided. Rhodes brings Niels Bohr, Enrico Fermi and so many others to life and makes you share their intellectual excitement in finding new ways to understand the universe. I need to go read it again.

Path to Power by Robert Caro

The vibrant character study of a man filled with contradictions that at the same time is a history of Texas and US Politics in the 20th Century. I read this first volume ages ago (the early '90s) and zoomed through the second one as well. Ihave yet to read the third and fourth books because I don't want it to be over, also they are long, but I swear I'll get to at least volume three this year. I'm also holding my breath that Caro finishes this epic biography before time stops him. Fans of G.R.R. Martin don't even know what waiting and hoping an author finishes a great saga before he grows too old to continue. "The Song of Fire and Ice" is in its infancy when compared to "The Years of Lyndon Johnson."

My Overstuffed Shelves

I've Moved -- Blog Houses!

Top Ten Reads on My Summer Reading List

Mass Hysteria, Truths Withheld: The Fever by Megan Abbott

How to Celebrate Bloomsday: The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang

Top Ten YA And Middle Grade Reads of 2014 (So Far)

Vacation Reading: Top Ten Tuesday on Thursday

Philly Area Book Events this Week: June 2 - June 8

Top Ten on Tuesday: Ten Best Books about Friendship

Bout of Books 10: The Finale

Bout of Books 10: 'This' Made Me Think of 'That'

Children's Book Week: May 12 - May 18

Bout of Books 10 Goals, Aspirations or What Have You

Parenting is Painfully Funny: Cutting Teeth by Julia Fierro

Top Ten on Tuesday: Book Covers Worth Framing

Bout of Books 10 is Coming Up!

The Blessings by Elise Juska: Many Voices, One Family

Top Ten on Tuesday: Ten Characters I Love on the Page

World Book Night & Other Philly Area Bookish Events: April 22 - April 27

New and Improved: What it Takes to Win Back an Empire

Philadelphia Book Festival & More: April 14 - April 20

The Trouble with Trilogies

Top Ten on Tuesday: All Books Are Unique

It's Monday. Time to Plan My Escapes from Reality: April 7 -- April 13

Top Ten on Tuesday: Gateway Books