Here’s a glimpse of what is coming out in September:

Hardbacks

Ape House, by Sara Gruen (September 7, 2010)
Getting to Happy, by Terry McMillan (September 7, 2010)
Room, by Emma Donoghue (September 13, 2010)
Safe Haven, by Nicholas Sparks (September 13, 2010)
Wicked Appetite, by Janet Evanovich (September 13, 2010)
The Exile, by Diana Gabaldon (September 20, 2010)
Fall of Giants, by Ken Follett (September 27, 2010)
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, by David Sedaris (September 27, 2010)

Paperbacks

Stitches, by David Small (September 13, 2010)
The Unnamed, by Joshua Ferris (September 13, 2010)
Nocturnes, by Kazuo Ishiguro (September 20, 2010)
Going Bovine, by Libba Bray (September 27, 2010)

It’s the beginning of the busiest season in publishing! Did I miss one that you’re particularly excited about? Let me know in the comments.

Literature 101 is a ten-part course based on 10 Literary Concepts Every Reader Should Know.

WEEKS 4 & 5: POINT OF VIEW & NARRATOR

Point of view is, essentially, how the story is told. The narrator is who tells the story. However, the two concepts are completely intertwined.

There are three main point of view categories:

• Third-person – uses “he,” “she,” or “they” to tell the story; does not participate in the action
• First-person – uses “I”; is a major or minor participant in the action
• Second-person – use “you”; the reader becomes a participant in the action

There are several types of narrators:

• The omniscient narrator knows everything and may reveal the motivations, thoughts and feelings of any or all of the characters.
• A limited omniscient narrator presents the material from the point of view of a single or a limited number of characters.
• The objective narrator presents the action and the characters’ thoughts, without comment or emotion. The reader has to interpret them and uncover their meaning.
• An unreliable narrator, can be first or third person, but presents the story at least partially incorrectly.

DISCUSSION

Point of view is pivotal to the story. Is it pivotal to your reading? It probably should be. Why did the author choose the point of view that she did? Would a different point of view drastically change the story? Would a different point of view possibly improve the story?

For example, I recently read Finny, by Justin Kramon. The story was told by a limited third-person narrator, but the entire story was about Finny. Despite the entire story being about Finny, I failed to connect with her. I think that a first person narration by Finny herself might have allowed me to get to know her better.

Can you think of a book that you wish was told from a different point of view or narrator? It is kind of fun to consider the possibilities. In fact, you can see that this is not necessarily a new idea. Look at the revisionist fairy tales and other books being published recently. For example, Wicked is essentially The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch’s perspective. And people love Midnight Sun – Twilight from Edward’s perspective. The possibilities are endless here. What about The Hunger Games from Peeta or Gale’s perspective? I wouldn’t turn that down!

EXAMPLES

Here are a few examples of the points of view and narrators of some of the books I’ve read recently. Did I get them right?

MOCKINGJAY, by Suzanne Collins
Third person, limited omniscient, reliable narrator

EAT, PRAY, LOVE, by Elizabeth Gilbert
First person

FINNY, by Justin Kramon
Third person, limited omniscient, reliable narrator

My favorite example of an omniscient narrator is Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett. Famous examples of unreliable narrators include Humbert Humbert in Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov and Huck from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Examples of the unusual second person point of view are Absalom! Absalom!, by William Faulkner and The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien.

Can you think of more examples?

HOMEWORK

1. Consider a book from your recently read pile or the book that you are currently reading.
2. Using the concepts above, try and identify the point of view of the book.
3. Identify how the author used the point of view to shape the story. Consider how another point of view might have affected the book.

Feel free to post your thoughts on the homework in the comments below. I’d be curious to hear which books or stories you used.

_________________________________

That concludes our study of point of view. Make sure to check in next Wednesday for Week 6: Character & Characterization. But first, chime in with your thoughts on point of view and narrators in the comments.

Here is an abstract of my literary doings in August.

Books Read – August 2010

Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert – 8/7/2010
Finny, by Justin Kramon – 8/10/2010
Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins – 8/25/2010

August Total = 3
Year-to-Date Total = 20

I recovered a bit in my reading this month. Still not stellar, but less pathetic. I really enjoyed EAT, PRAY, LOVE, and I’m still processing MOCKINGJAY. Review to come sometime this week.

Book Club

Our book club is on summer hiatus. Here’s what’s coming up in September:

Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
The Passage, by Justin Cronin
The Queen’s Thief series, by Megan Whalen Turner

Challenges

Absolutely no challenge progress this month:

Reading Deliberately – 4/12 [ends 12/31/2010]
The Pulitzer Project – 9/84
The Printz Project – 7/11 (+4 Honor books)
The Newberry Project – 20/89 (+7 Honor books)

August Highlights

• I posted three installments of Literature 101: Genre, Plot, and Setting. Stay tuned for the remaining installments.
• I started a new feature I’m really excited about: Readers Uncovered – a bimonthly feature, featuring readers and their answers to tough reading questions. Check out the August panel’s answers to If you could choose one, and only one, book that would best represent you as a reader, what would it be and why? and What is your most reliable source of book recommendations, and how did it earn that status?
• I joined The Sunday Salon. I’m having a good time with it.
• I joined the Bleak House Readalong. I’m a little behind the group, but I’m having a lot of fun with my first readalong. This is a book that I’ve tried to read by myself without success. It’s nice to have support this time around.
• Finally, I participated in the TLC blog tour for Finny, by Justin Kramon.

That’s what happened in August. Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog this month!

Readers Uncovered is a biweekly feature, featuring readers and their answers to tough reading questions.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST RELIABLE SOURCE OF BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS, AND HOW DID IT EARN THAT STATUS?

Social media, no question. Book blogs, Twitter, even interactive newsletters from my library. One of the great things about using a variety of social media sources to learn about books, is that you have access to both quality and quantity. There are some bloggers and tweeters (including a lot of awesome indie booksellers) whose recommendations are enough to rocket a book to the top of my wishlist, but I also put things on my wishlist when I hear about them over and over from a variety of different people on blogs and Twitter: if that many people are so excited about a book, it is probably something worth checking out.

-Jen from Devourer of Books

Sometimes it feels like I inhale book recommendations out of the air. I can’t always remember how I found out about a certain book. Often it will seem that I keep seeing a particular title everywhere I look. I’ll give a quick rundown of the different ways books come to me, and their degrees of reliability.

I tend not to read too many book reviews, because they’re always, always full of spoilers. It also seems that much of what’s being reviewed is “contemporary women’s fiction,” which doesn’t grab me.

Literary award lists tend to be pretty great sources. I’m working my way through the Pulitzer winners and the Booker long lists. I’d say I absolutely loved at least 2/3 of those, and there have only been a couple I’ve wished I hadn’t read.

At the bookstore I go by cover art. If the cover has a picture of a woman with no head, I pass. If it’s totally abstract, chances are it’s literary fiction!

If I want to read something and my library has it, it tends to be a pretty good sign. I’ve sought out non-circulating books before and it’s hardly ever worth the bother.

Ultimately my most reliable source is two online booksellers. I have liked everything on the Powell’s Indiespensable list, and most of the Amazon Book of the Month list over the last couple years. The latter includes a lot of non-fiction. I find it odd that these easy picks aren’t better known.

-Jessica from Both Eyes Book Blog

My most reliable source of book recommendations is a handful of folks on Twitter. They include @joebfoster, @MissLiberty, @permanentpaper, and @readandbreathe. I’ve found that my taste in books matches theirs quite closely, so when they rave about a book, I take note.

-Trish from Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?

Book bloggers of course! I’m trying to remember where I got recommendations from before blogging, and I can’t. There was a time when I wandered through the library just seeing what book looked good, sitting there on the shelves. Wow, has it been a long time since I’ve done that or what! I looked back over the books I’ve read recently, and nearly everything was because of reading book blogs, or being part of the book blogging community. There are the few exceptions, those books that perhaps I’ve had on my radar for a long time and are just now getting to, but most of the books I read now I would have never known about if not for blogging. Even all the local author stuff I read, it’s because of being involved in blogging.

-Suey from It’s All About Books

Thank you to our lovely August panelists. Stay tuned for an all new panel for September!

Okay, they answered the question; now it’s your turn. What is your most reliable source of book recommendations?

Happy Sunday, everybody! This has been a busy couple of weeks for me. Here’s a run down on my doings.

I recently started a new feature called Readers Uncovered in which readers share their thoughts on reading related questions. It will appear biweekly (or is it bimonthly?) – the second and fourth Monday of each month. The first installment appeared a couple of weeks ago and the panelists answered this question: If you could choose one, and only one, book that would best represent you as a reader, what would it be and why? The next installment appears tomorrow and answers this question: What is your most reliable source of book recommendations, and how did it earn that status? Thank you to my August panel: Jessica from Both Eyes Book Blog, Trish from Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?, Jen from Devourer of Books and Suey from It’s All About Books

The Utah Book Bloggers Summer Social was yesterday. It was a bit windy, but a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures from the social, but Suey and Natasha did, and I’ll point out their posts on it when they go up. One of the highlights of the night was Natasha’s announcement that she would like to spearhead an event in which Utah book bloggers (and hopefully other bloggers) will highlight Utah authors. That will be coming up in the next few months, possibly November, so watch for that. I’m very excited about it.

I received The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter for a TLC Book Tour stop in September. I’m looking forward to it!

I’m slowly making progress on Bleak House for the Bleak House Readalong.

Still anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Kindle. The good news is that my Kindle cover is on its way. Lame.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is just around the corner! I finished my judging responsibilities last week and turned in my final ballot yesterday. I also signed up to do a BBAW Interview with another blogger. You should too! Signups close on the Tuesday.

See Michelle Read pointed out some lovely book-related posters. Postertext creates amazing posters by arranging the text from novels to create a picture that relates to the book. Here’s two of my favorites, Pride & Prejudice and Alice in Wonderland:

That’s it for the week. Hope you had a good one.