Jun
17
2010
Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper.
But her bosses are making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them.
Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you’re going to die. (Not that you’re going to believe her. No one ever does.)
But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets—then makes the mistake of falling in love with—Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side. It’s a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.
The problem is, Lucien’s already dead. Maybe that’s why he’s the first guy Meena’s ever met whom she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena’s always been able to see everyone else’s future, she’s never been able look into her own.
And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.
Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future. . . .
If she even has one.
No one is more readable and entertaining than Meg Cabot. Known for her enormously successful young adult series, The Princess Diaries, Cabot is one of the busiest and most prolific writers today. Producing multiple books a year and updating her wildly successful blog on an almost daily basis, people have to wonder when this phenomenon sleeps. Her latest release is a gift to the world of adult readers. Insatiable is about Meena Harper, a soap opera writer who is plagued with the annoying ability to know how and when people are going to die. Did that grab you? Well it should because this is where Cabot excels, her plots are as exciting as a roller coaster ride and her dialogue and pacing are fast and furious. With Insatiable, Cabot tackles the supernatural while tapping into our nation’s current obsession with vampires in mainstream media. This is a perfect addition to your over-stuffed beach bag.
Jun
17
2010
Taylor Schilling
It is being reported that Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand’s classic novel, is being turned into a movie. Unfortunately, it sounds like things are already going haywire on set. The original director has been fired and replaced with Paul Johansson, an actor/director from ONE TREE HILL. Also, the iconic character, Dagny Taggart, who both Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron had considered playing, will be played by a relative newcomer, Taylor Schilling from NBC’s MERCY.
Jun
15
2010
The Dream of Perpetual Motion is a steam punk version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest by Princeton Professor Dexter Palmer, who lead the first Ivy league academic conference on video games.
The time is the past but there are robot servants and shrinkcabs, taxis driven supposedly by psychotherapists, but really they’re trained in looking attentive.
Harold Winslow works as a sad, greeting card writer and is currently imprisoned in a zeppelin (he believes) is doomed to crash into the earth. Harold is imprisoned by his childhood love Miranda Taligent, who’s gone crazy, and the cryogenically frozen body of genius inventor father Prospero, who created the world they live in today, in his black obsidian skyscraper that towers over the city.
Harold tells how his bright future turns into a nightmare and how it all started with Miranda’s fated childhood birthday party in which Prospero predicts the future in the children and gives his daughter a unicorn.
This is an exciting and imaginative book that reminded me of Fritz Lang’s classic film Metropolis and the work of postmodernist Thomas Pynchon.
–Reviewed by The Lit Guy
Jun
14
2010
Sixty-five-year-old Nan Powell has lived comfortably and happily in Nantucket since the suicide of her husband, Everett, so she is thrown for a loop when she learns that she is in danger of losing her beloved house. After weighing her options, Nan decides to turn her home into a bed-and-breakfast. The guests she gets for the summer are all at a crossroads in their lives in one way or another. Daniel has just separated from his wife and is facing something he has denied for years; Daff is recovering from the heartbreak of a divorce and getting a much-needed break from her anger-filled 13-year-old daughter; and Nan’s son Michael is on the run from a disastrous affair. Nan finds herself opening up to her guests and enjoying their company, but she is shocked when she discovers a person close to one of them has a startling connection to her. Peopled with likable, flawed, realistic characters and moving seamlessly between them, this is Green’s best novel in years, a compelling, unputdownable read.
In Jane Green’s THE BEACH HOUSE, we are introduced to a cast of characters that are facing personal dilemmas and crossroads in their respective lives. The central character around which every character rotates is Nan Powell. Nan is a slightly eccentric, free-spirited widow who lives in the New England island paradise of Nantucket and on a whim (and because of financial strains) decides to turn her house, Windermere, into a charming inn. Each character is introduced with exquisite detail before they all converge on the island in search of peace and a chance to heal. Unfulfilled marriages, personal demons, hidden agendas and fear keep these characters prisoners in their own lives. Nantucket, an island never before explored with such beauty and tranquility, offers them a chance to reflect, understand and appreciate the obstacles and changes in their lives.
Nan is such a likable character because she throws caution to the wind. She refuses to be consumed by the worries and stress of every day life. Losing her husband to suicide nearly thirty years earlier has given her an appreciation for the fleeting quality of life and instilled in her a strength in character that very few people attain in a lifetime.
Jane Green writes with such fluidity and honesty that her novels never read like typical girl-meets-boy fare. Her novels are about journeys in life. Her dialog is exceptional, nothing feels forced or out of place, and every scene is significant to the ultimately satisfying end. I am looking forward to reading Jane Green’s summer release, PROMISES TO KEEP and will be certain to review this title when it releases.
Jun
14
2010
James Hynes is the American answer to David Lodge in being the best academic satirist working today.
His new novel, Next, is a slight change although it does feature an academic editor who works at the University of Michigan. Kevin Quinn needs a change of plans, so without telling his younger girlfriend, he goes for a job interview in Austin, Texas. Europe has just been hit with multiple terrorist attacks, so this looms in Kevin’s mind and he feels a bomb will drop any second.
When not thinking about his imminent demise, Kevin thinks about sex and his past relationships while he follows (aka basically stalking,) a young Asian girl around town, whom he meets on the plane. Sex and Death are so connected, so it could be why Kevin is going over his romantic history and his failures.
This another classic James Hynes novel, like The Lecturer’s Tale , and it has an ending that is shocking and brilliant.
–Reviewed by The Lit Guy
Jun
13
2010
What do you do when your perfectly laid out life is unraveling before your eyes? And what if you are given visions of the unraveling before it even starts? This is the dilemma that faces 32-year-old Tilly Farmer in New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch’s charming third novel, THE ONE THAT I WANT.
Tilly Farmer has been given the gift of clarity. Her once perfect life as a high school guidance counselor married to her high school sweetheart is coming apart at the seams. The problems arise when Tilly is given tiny glimpses of these tears before they happen. Her picture-perfect life is tipped on its axis and suddenly the long buried and ignored flaws are starting to show. Her marriage starts crumbling, her issues with her father resurface and her once adequate life suddenly starts to lose its luster. Everything Tilly everbelieved in is being challenged and even her glimpses at the future create more questions than answers. Throughout this heartfelt, honest and poignant journey into the soul of one woman we learn that, “everyone needs to come unraveled every once in awhile, even the people who seemingly have it totally held together.”
Allison Winn Scotch has written a story of hope and survival in everyday life, an empowering novel with a likable and believable protagonist and a thoughtful journey. What Scotch does impeccably well is give her readers a great concept (what if you could see the future?) and expand on it with believable, authentic characters and graceful prose. Her books are always a treat and this one is bound to delight readers. You will finish this book feeling inspired and optimistic. A great read!
Jun
11
2010
According to the New York Post, Star Jones has written a novel called “THE LUNCH CLUB” about a group of women who host a television talk show. Here’s the report from the Post.
Star Jones could be getting her revenge on Barbara Walters by penning a fictional book about female hosts of a daytime talk show. Page Six has learned that Simon & Schuster imprint Gallery Books will publish Jones’ novel about a TV show, “The Lunch Club,” whose hosts “learn that a former colleague — who departed under mysterious circumstances, and is privy to all their backstage secrets — is coming back with a splash.” Jones was pushed off “The View” by Walters in 2006 and famously said her co-hosts “were hateful.” She now says of her TV career, “I’ve met some of the most fascinating people, heard the most surprising situations, and been privy to so many great stories and secrets. But while this novel will be dishy, it will be a work of fiction.” But an insider said, “There will be tales in the book which will leave readers wondering if they are based on real events and characters. It’s being carefully vetted by lawyers.”
Jun
9
2010
Joined at the Heart: The Transformation of the American Family
In 2002, Al and Tipper Gore wrote a book about the American family. Here’s a description of JOINED AT THE HEART:
Al and Tipper Gore have long considered family their bedrock. They’ve also spent many years studying the American family in depth, and now, in this provocative and personal book, they explore the myriad ways in which the idea of family is being redefined.
Over the past two generations, cultural shifts and economic pressures have profoundly affected every family in the nation: balancing work and family now poses a bigger challenge than ever before, day-care and after-school child care programs are too often dangerously inadequate, and new technological advancements have dramatically changed the ways we communicate. But if many of the traditional landmarks by which families formerly steered their course have disappeared, change has also opened up exciting possibilities, yiedling an explosion of new familiy forms and novel solutions to age old problems.
In this penetrating and moving exploration of the contemporary family landscape, the Gores share stories drawn form thier own experiences, as well as introduce us to a dozen other families they have come to know over the years. combining personal insight and expert opinions, historical and global perspectives, Joined at the Heart identifies an emerging reality – and demonstrates that, in the face of unprecedented and overwhelming change, the inherent need for famlly is stronger than ever.
I can’t help but wonder if their recent announcement of divorce after 40 years of marriage is going to possibly revive this book. Will people be interested in reading what this once “golden couple” had to say about life and love and the power of relationships? Washington Post journalist, Sally Quinn, wrote a beautiful and honest piece about the Gore’s relationship and the courage and grace they had to end something, amicably and absent of scandal, after 40 years. I think that Tipper Gore should use this time to step into her own spotlight, perhaps write a memoir, about the journey of a successful marriage and its ultimate demise.
Jun
9
2010
Reading Shane Jones’ Light Boxes, a dreamlike war fable, reminded me of The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders, both books were small in size (under 20o pages) but big in scope. With both novels, I was so captivated by the prose and story that I read them in only one sitting.
In Light Boxes, it is always winter because a man named February deems it so. Revolutionary balloonists wearing bird masks take to the air to stop this evil tyrant. When February starts kidnapping the towns children, they start acting like its summer and strapping lightboxes to their heads, to simulate the sun.
It is very strange and some people might think it’s not for them. But everyone should read this book, because it’s fun, the writing is well done and you’ll be at the ground floor of this brilliant young writer. For on offbeat reading adventure, take a look at Light Boxes.
(Disclosure: BookFinds was sent this book by the publisher for review consideration)
Jun
9
2010
Not since 1999 has The New Yorker put out an issue with stories by 20 hot young authors under 40. In that issue there was Jonathan Franzen and Jeffery Eugendies as well as a lot more.
Now in the 2010 issue there is a new crop of writers, some with familar names (Jonathan Safron Foer, Gary Shteyngart, Joshua Ferris) as well as some new ones (Karen Rusell, Wells Tower, C.E Morgan.) There are more international writers on the list (Daniel Alarcon, Dinaw Mengestu, Yiyun Li from China, Ethiopia, Russia and Yugoslavia). The youngest is 24 year old Tea Obreht with a debut novel out next year and the oldest is 39 year old Chris Adrian, a man studying medicine and theology.
The issue should hit newstands this week and you can go to New Yorker’s website and read a small interview with all of authors, read how they made the list and listen to an interview with the fiction editors Deborah Treisman and Cressida Leysh. Eight of the writers pieces will be in the double issue, while the other 12 stories will appear in issues through out the summer.
Here’s the list of authors, their age and their books:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 32, That Thing Around Your Neck, Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus
Chris Adrian, 39, The Children’s Hospital, A Better Angel, Gob’s Grief
Daniel Alarcón, 33, War by Candlelight, Lost City Radio
David Bezmozgis, 37, Natasha and Other Stories
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, 38, Madeline is Sleeping, Mrs. Hempel Chronicles
Joshua Ferris, 35, Then We Came to the End, The Unnamed
Jonathan Safran Foer, 33, Everything is Illuminated, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Eating Animals
Nell Freudenberger, 35, Lucky Girls, The Dissident
Rivka Galchen, 34, Atmospheric Disturbances
Nicole Krauss, 35, Man Walks into a Room, History of Love
Yiyun Li, 37, The Vagrants, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Dinaw Mengestu, 31, The Beautiful Thing That Heaven Bears
Philipp Meyer, 36, American Rust
C. E. Morgan, 33, All the Living
Téa Obreht, 24, The Tiger’s Wife (March 2011)
Z Z Packer, 37, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere
Karen Russell, 28, St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves
Salvatore Scibona, 35, The End
Gary Shteyngart, 37, The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Absurdistan, Super Sad True Love Story
Wells Tower, 37- Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned
And because everyone wants to talk about hot young writers, there has been plenty of digital ink spilled about this big issue. Farrar Strauss and Giroux has already decided they are going to compile all the stories in the issue into an anthology.
Associated Links:
Frank Kovarik’s essay at The Millions about the issue
New York points out that most of the (mostly very good!) stories are about failed romance
20 Young Writer Earn the Envy of Many Others- New York Times