Vacation Reads - The NY Edition

I was recently in New York for a week and as you all know, when you are on holiday (especially when there are long plane rides involved) you need several good books to tide you over!  I brought an assortment of literary goodies with me and was very pleased with the three books I was able to get through on this trip!

How the Light Gets In
by Louise Penny

I have shown Ms. Penny the love many times on this blog; her Inspector Gamache series is one of my favourite mystery series out there right now.  With her latest installment, the 9th book in the series, Penny has taken her characters to a whole new level and created, quite possibly, her best book yet.  For those of you that are up to date with the series, How the Light Gets In takes places shortly after the events of The Beautiful Mystery, and thank goodness since we were left in a cliffhanger situation in many many ways.  This book is almost two stories in one; we have all the internal drama from the previous books where relationships are tested and Gamache's world has been turned upside down.  On the flip side, we are also looking at a missing persons case that takes the story to our favourite small town, Three Pines.  I got so emotionally invested in this book that I was up until 2:30 am finishing it up with a box of tissues at my side.  A must for Louise Penny fans!  And if you haven't read her books yet, I recommend you start at the beginning with Still Life since plots and characters weave their way through most of the novels.

Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein

I had heard nothing but good things about this teen novel of espionage during WWII.  It has won numerous awards (including the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel) and pretty much everyone I speak to, every blog I read, has proclaimed it a literary gem.  I'm not going to lie, it took me awhile to get into this one.  It was a bit technical at first, going into lots of detail about the different planes flown (which makes sense since the author is also a pilot) which, while interesting, was not what I was looking for in this story.  However, by about halfway through I was hooked.  The real meat of the story comes from the friendship of the two narrators, two young women involved in the war effort, one as a pilot and the other with a more ambiguous role (that is fleshed out as you read on).  By the time I finished this one (another that I confess I was up late into the night reading), I again had my trust box of tissues handy and was an emotional mess.  What a story!  Be prepared while reading this one, nothing is as it seems.

I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team.

The Rosie Project

by Graeme Simsion

What a charming debut!  If you are looking for a light read with substance then look no farther than The Rosie Project!  I had a lot of fun reading this one and can see why it has been getting so much buzz in the book world.  As my coworker Darlene so perfectly put it "If Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory was looking for a wife, then this is how he would do it!"

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper

Reading Roundup - August 2013

I've been reading a lot of wonderful books this summer, some of which I've written about in previous posts.  Here's a selection of what I've been reading lately:

Under the Dome

by Stephen King

After having read Joyland and loving it I knew I needed to read something else by Mr. King.  I didn't want to go with any of his well known horror novels (Carrie, The Shining, and It would be just much to much for me! I would be sleeping with the light on for DAYS!) so I decided to try Under the Dome. It's a fairly new release and was very much in the news this summer since it was turned into a miniseries.  It is the story of a small town that finds itself out of the blue trapped under an invisible dome.  No one can get in or out, no one knows where it came from, and no one knows how to get rid of it.  Not only is this a story with a supernatural twist, but this is a really well done story about people. When confined in this sort of a situation, how will average, everyday people react?  Who will come out on top, who will show their true colours, and who will surprise you complete  (in both good and bad ways)?  I really really liked this book!  It kept me engaged right up to the last page, it was well written, and lots of fun!  I tried watching the miniseries and I've gotta tell you, the book is WAY WAY better!  A really fun read and a great one if you are wanting to read Stephen King but don't want to start off with anything too scary.  I've picked up 11/22/63 which I hope to read sometime soon!

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

I can't believe it has taken me this long to read To Kill a Mockingbird!  What a beautiful beautiful book.  From the time I picked it up till the very last page I was completely lost in the story.  It is a novel that everyone needs to read at least once in their lifetime and not just because it's on every list of 'Books to Read Before You Die'; it is one of the most moving, well written, and memorable stories I have every read.

The Cuckoo's Calling

by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

The book that everyone is talking about this summer due to the unexpected reveal that Robert Galbraith, an unknown author, was in fact literary superstar, J.K. Rowling, making her mystery debut!  I picked it up, just as I'm sure so many did, after the big reveal.  Not only was I interested because of the author (whose first post-Harry Potter novel I really enjoyed), but because the story sounded interesting and I like mysteries.  People, this is a great mystery novel!  Chock full of appealing characters, an intriguing mystery, and a window into the lives of the rich and famous; this book has all the benchmarks you want hit in a mystery novel.  I hope that Mr. Galbraith writes more books featuring private detective, Cormoran Strike, because I would love to find out more about him and hear about more about the cases he's involved in.  On a side note, keep an eye on Strike's secretary, Robin; my favourite character!

The Brutal Telling

by Louise Penny

This is the fifth novel in Penny's Inspector Gamache series and I have to say that it's one of my favourites so far.  I really loved the first two books in the series but felt that the third and fourth book took a bit of a dip for me; I liked them but I didn't love them.  The Brutal Telling returns Penny to her A game.  A murder that digs deep into the heart of the small town of Three Pines; we really get to know more about many of the town residents and the secrets that have been hidden.  Full of twists and turns, an all around great novel.

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.

This Calls for a GRAB BAG!

So many books, not enough time to blog about all them! Here's a handful of mini-reviews of book's I've read recently!

How To Be A Woman

by Caitlin Moran

Such an amazing book! I was laughing so hard I was doing my 'witch cackle' (as my husband calls it).  You will want to become best friends with Moran.  I don't think I've ever read a book with such insight into what it is like to be a woman.  If you enjoy comedic memoirs then this is the book for you!

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple

This is the BEST book I have read so far this year! I read it over a weekend and am already wanting to pick it up again for a second read.  Funny, charming, and relatable, Maria Semple knocks it out of the park with this novel! It's nominated for the Woman's Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Orange Prize) and very deserving!  But don't just take my word for it; take Jonathan Franzen's:

"I tore through this book with heedless pleasure."—Jonathan Franzen, author of Freedom

Hex Hall / Demonglass / Spell Bound

by Rachel Hawkins

Love, Love, Love this series! Another one I plowed through over a weekend since I couldn't put it down!  Sophie Mercer is a great heroine and you are continually rooting for her.  Chock full of great characters (such a pink loving vampire / best friend and a very cute love interest), sassy dialogue, and magic!  A great teen series!

This is What Happy Looks Like

by Jennifer E. Smith

Every wonder what it is like to fall in love with a movie star?  Read this contemporary teen romance and find out!

Splintered

by A.G. Howard

Lots of fun for fans of Alice in Wonderland!

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own

Thousand Words 

by Jennifer Brown

For fans of Ellen Hopkins, this novel on teen sexting is very well done and definitely very relevant.

The Truth About Forever

by Sarah Dessen

My first and definitely not my last Sarah Dessen novel! She really is as good as people say; if you love contemporary teen fiction then you MUST read Dessen.  The Truth About Forever was wonderful and left me wanting more.

“Keep calm and carry on. Also, stay in and hide because the Ripper is coming.”

Do you like mysteries?  Do you like ghost stories? Do you like teen fiction?  If you answered yes to any and all of these questions then you need to read the wonderful Maureen Johnson's Shades of London series.  I picked up the first book in the series, The Name of the Star as a bargain ebook.  By the time I had finished it I picked up the sequel, The Madness Underneath, at full price and gladly paid every penny for it.  The first book introduces us to Louisiana teenager, Rory, who has just started school in London.  Now at first this book feels very much like your seemingly typical teen boarding school story.  However, there is a pretty major twist.

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. 
Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities

 It took me a little while to really get into the story but once I did I couldn't put it down.  And the

ending? Holy Moly! If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about.  If you haven't, what are you waiting for?  Be warned, I found the same slow beginning with the sequel but again it packs a punch by the end.  Maureen Johnson may be the queen of can't-put-down endings.

Books About Falling in Love to Fall in Love With

Stephenie Perkins
Anna and the French Kiss
Lola and the Boy Next Door

I have to say that when I first picked up Anna and the French Kiss, I was a little put off.  First of all, the title was a little cheesy...and the cover was definitely cheesy...But, I had heard so many wonderful things about Perkins as a writer and about this book being a fun and lovely love story that I though, oh what's the worse that can happen?  Apparently nothing because I LOVED IT!  This book reminds you of what it is like to fall in love for the first time, what being a teenager is like, and how exciting it can be to discover a new city.  Lola and the Boy Next Door was a similar reading experience in that it was charming, relatable, and just plain fun to read.  I found myself laughing and crying through both of these amazing stories and I am really excited to read the final installment in Perkin's teen trilogy (btw, both stories do connect together by character cameos and that makes it even more enjoyable since who doesn't like revisiting beloved characters?), Isla and the Happily Ever After, which come out this fall.

Gayle Forman

Just One Day

What a wonderful story of self discovery and finding true love.  I can't believe that I have to wait for the sequel!  Allyson is such a relatable character with her vulnerability and courage; I know that I was able to see myself in her and I'm sure many readers feel the same way.  I just loved this book.

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.