Monday 8 July 2013

Blockbuster Books

Being in the book business, I often try to read the 'hot' books so I can tell customers about them.  Here are a few of 2013's biggest releases that I've read.

THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE
by Neil Gaiman

This is the book that nerds everywhere have been waiting for this year.  I've only read a few of Gaiman's books (STARDUST, NEVERWHERE, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, and several of the SANDMAN comics) and enjoyed them immensely so I was interested to see how this one measured up, especially since it was getting A LOT of hype prior to its release.  One thing you need to be warned about is that it is very short (only 181 pages) but on the flip-side this is a good thing because you aren't going to want to do anything else until you have finished it up; it's that good.  It is a novel about childhood but not written for children.  It is being called Gaiman's most personal, and many are saying his best, work to date.  It is stunningly beautifully written and will move you to no ends.  It is a fairy tale for grown-ups. It is a must read.



JOYLAND
by Stephen King

The only Stephen King I've ever read was his short story, THE BODY, and that was because I am a huge fan of the film 'Stand By Me'.  I had always avoided King's books because I knew their reputation of being scary and I just can't handle scary books.  I was drawn to JOYLAND because of both the cover (pulpy goodness!) and the fact that King chose to publish this only in paperback (no hardcover or ebook!) so more people would go to bookstores (We love you Mr. King!). The story also sounded like a fun book for summer so I decided I would give it a go.  I read it late into the night and finished it in one sitting.  It's the perfect nostalgic coming-of-age story mixed a mystery and ghost story.  It made me want to go to the PNE and eat hot dogs and ride the ferris wheel.  It reminded me what it was like to be 21 and to be unsure of where your life was going to go in the coming years.  It was an excellent summer read.


LIFE AFTER LIFE
by Kate Atkinson

My first Kate Atkinson!  I have several co-workers that love her Detective Brodie novels and have been telling me to read Atkinson for years.  LIFE AFTER LIFE has been getting such hype (nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction, being called the book of the century by Gillian Flynn; the list goes on and on) that I felt I need to check it out.  Plus it deals with reincarnations which sounded really fun.  This was a beautifully written novel.  I had a hard time following the story at first since it jumps around a lot but you do eventually get the hang of it.  I enjoyed parts of this book more then others but was satisfied with the outcome by the time I finished.  I would not call it my best book of this century (not even the best book of my year), however it was enjoyable and I'm glad to have read it.


“Life is a drama full of tragedy and comedy. You should learn to enjoy the comic episodes a little more.”

So I came really late to the party on this one!  I have finally read Jeannette Walls' amazing memoir THE GLASS CASTLE.  I had the opportunity to see her speak and so, naturally, I wanted to read something by her before hand.  Since her memoir is her most well known work, and the first thing she wrote, I decide that this was a good place to start.

If you haven't read this amazing amazing story yet then you really need to.  I read it pretty much in one sitting.  It is hilarious, tragic, and moving;  you need to keep reminding yourself that this isn't a work of fiction, this is REAL.  An incredible story (one that makes your family look normal in comparison), this is probably one of, if not the, best memoir I've ever read.

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.

Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town—and the family—Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents’ betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.

What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.


Southern Cozy Mystery Series = Perfect Beach Read!

Calling all Stephanie Plum fans!  If you are looking for a fun new series to start, I suggest ICED CHIFFON, the first Consignment Shop Mystery by Duffy Brown.

There's always something to gossip about in Savannah, Georgia, and Reagan Summerside always seems to be in the middle of it. She's busy enough running her consignment shop, the Prissy Fox, with her vivacious auntie, KiKi, but now the gossip--and the sales--are about to pick up, after a gruesome discovery...

Reagan's messy divorce has left her with nothing but a run-down Victorian and a bunch of designer clothes. Strapped for cash, Reagan makes use of the two things she has left, turning the first floor of her home into a consignment shop and filling it with the remnants of her 
rich-wife wardrobe.

Thans to his cunning lawyer, Walker Boone, her ex got everything else, including the Lexus--not to mention a young blonde cupcake. When Reagan finds the blonde dead in the Lexus, she's determined to beat Boone to finding the murderer. As it turns out, the gossip fiends flooding Reagan's shop can give her a lot more than just their unwanted clothes--they have information more precious than a vintage Louis Vuitton...


Zany characters, a great setting (makes me want to go to the south!), and an intriguing mystery, this one is perfect to hit the beach with!  The second in the series, KILLERS IN CRINOLINES, came out this year and is just as fun!

“I've seen what you truly are," said the Darkling, "and I've never turned away. I never will. Can he say the same?”

So we all know that I LOVED Leigh Bardugo's debut novel, SHADOW AND BONE, right?  If not, refresh yourself here.

Well the sequel, SIEGE AND STORM, came out in June and my god, it is even better then the first book! That almost never happens!

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm


I didn't put this book down until I had read the last page and then wanted to go right back to the beginning again!  Alina continues to be a strong willed leading lady and the many men in her life (including a delightful new guy to throw into the mix) add to the story rather than take away form it (who here is tired of uninteresting romantic interests?  Show of hands?)  Bardugo writes with a loveliness that intermingles tragedy and hope into every page.  I am so excited to read the next book.

House Parties. Pick-Up Trucks. Cherry-Vanilla Ice-Cream. Prom Night. Unrequited Love.

I had the opportunity to meet the lovely Janet E. Cameron, the author of CINNAMON TOAST AND THE END OF THE WORLD and she was so lovely that it inspired me to pick up her debut novel.  Now I gotta tell you, don't judge this book by either the title or the cover.  Picking this one up and reading the back I was expecting a much different story then the one that was actually between the covers.  And I'm really glad of this because this was a wonderful coming-of-age and coming out story.  Taking place in 1987 Nova Scotia, we are introduced to Stephen Shulevitz who, with three months to go before graduating high school, realizes he's fallen in love with the wrong person; his best friend Mark.  This is really well done and kept me reading (took me only two days to get through it!) late into the night.  Be warned, it is really hard to read at times, especially since it is dealing with a young gay man in the 80's in a small town and Cameron does not sugar coat what an experience like this would be like.  An excellent first novel and an author to watch!

“I am not interested in your fine calibrations of empathy or your great mission to protect the river of history. I just to live my own life, and I want to spend it having my own private fucked-up little emotions.”

Are you familiar with the wonderful book resource IndieBound?  Well not only do they have a fantastic website where you can find oodles of book based goodness, they also put out a list each month called the Indie Next List! (Here is a link to July 2013's list)  I have found so many great book recommendations on these lists and I love that they support indie bookstores! I'm mentioning all this because this resource is how I found one of the best book's I've read this year, THE RIVER OF NO RETURN by Bee Ridgway.

What drew me to grabbing this particular book was two things: 1) Pretty cover! (so maybe I do judge books on their cover a smidge...) 2)  The review claimed that this was the perfect book for Deborah Harkness and Diana Gabaldon fans.  As one of many who eagerly awaits the last installment in Harkeness' All Souls Trilogy and the next book in Gabaldon's wildly popular (and my personal favourite) Outlander series, this pretty much sold me the book on the spot.

I was heading down to Portland by train and this was what I brought with me for the many hours I would be stuck in transit.  I made a very good choice.  What a wonderful debut novel and yes, it does have echoes of Harkness and Gabaldon in it!  I'm really excited about where this series is going to go (because yes, it is the first in a planned series and/or trilogy I believe....it better be or my god what a place to end the story!)  A must for time-travel fans, historical fiction fans, and those that just enjoy a really good story!

“You are now a member of the Guild . There is no return.” Two hundred years after he was about to die on a Napoleonic battlefield, Nick Falcott, soldier and aristocrat, wakes up in a hospital bed in modern London. The Guild, an entity that controls time travel, showers him with life's advantages. But Nick yearns for home and for one brown-eyed girl, lost now down the centuries. Then the Guild asks him to break its own rule. It needs Nick to go back to 1815 to fight the Guild’s enemies and to find something called the Talisman.

In 1815, Julia Percy mourns the death of her beloved grandfather, an earl who could play with time. On his deathbed he whispers in her ear: “Pretend!” Pretend what? When Nick returns home as if from the dead, older than he should be and battle scarred, Julia begins to suspect that her very life depends upon the secrets Grandfather never told her. Soon enough Julia and Nick are caught up in an adventure that stretches up and down the river of time. As their knowledge of the Guild and their feelings for each other grow, the fate of the future itself is hanging in the balance.

“Most of the time, there is no truth, only various levels of interpretation. Fact is a construct we provide to the public.”

The Ashford Affair  by Lauren Willig I really enjoyed Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series and thought I would give one of her stan...