Round Two: Shoot and Score

It's round two for our prognostications for The Morning News Tournament of Books, and we're going into it feeling kinda frisky. We ended last week with a perfect score - calling 4 out of 4 matches. But the books this week are a little harder to call, so we aren't letting those on-target wins go to our heads. 

I'm the only one crazy enough to have read all of the books on the list, as I try to do every year, but this year I didn't give Aana enough time to finish them all, so there are two below that I'll call on my own.

Aana is known for regularly finding 4- and even 5-leaf clovers, so I'm going to hope that her luck rubs off on us and lets us call a perfect game, or bracket as the case may be.

So let's play ball!

The Contest: The Game of Life

The Competitors: A Little Life vs. The New World

Cheminne Picks: A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara

Aana Picks: A Little Life,  by Hanya Yanagihara

Why this one, Cheminne? Both of these books do have a common thread - it's the idea of what a life is worth, and how someone survives whatever life throws at them. For The New World, that includes how one survives death. Yes, survives. Jim is a chaplain at a hospital and he asks for his head to be frozen after death, to allow him to live again in the distant future. His wife Jane, a surgeon at the same hospital, is completely caught off guard, only finding out about Jim's plan after he (and his head) are already gone. Alternate chapters look at Jim's future self and Jane's rage against the machine and company that took him there. But here's the core issue I had with the book - I didn't care about either one of them. They left me as cold as the cryogenic tank Jim was frozen in. 

But oh - A Little Life. I cared very deeply for the characters in A Little Life. In fact, it's one of the books that will definitely stay with me for a long time. It's the story of four college friends, Jude, Willem, Malcolm, and JB - but it really centers on Jude. He has a secret, much like Jim in The New World, a horrific childhood that haunts his present and his future. Through his friends, Jim finds a family, but not quite security, still haunted by the all-too-real demons that make him feel less than worthy of the love his friends offer. The New World is 158 pages and I couldn't wait for it to end. At 700 pages, A Little Life seemed too short. That says it all.

Why this one, Aana? Honestly, I didn’t read either of these. I’m going to go with what mom says because mom almost always knows best.  [Good call, says mom.]

TOB match to be decided March 15.

The Contest: International Match

The Competitors: The Book of Aron vs. The Tsar of Love and Techno

Cheminne Picks: The Tsar of Love and Techno, by Anthony Marra

Aana Picks: The Tsar of Love and Techno, by Anthony Marra

Why this one, Cheminne? First, let it sink in that I chose a book of short stories to win this contest. If you read this blog, you know that I dislike short stories for the most part. Tsar, however, reads like a novel, with lines that connect and lives that intersect in fascinating ways. The writing is lyrical and lovely; so good, in fact, that I kept a few lines aside to treasure. Like: "The stomach is not the only organ that hungers." Or: "You remain the hero of your own story, even when you become the villain of someone else's." This is one of my top three books in TOB this year, so I hope it continues to rise in the ranks. 

On the other side of the coin, I also loved The Book of Aron. It is a heart-wrenching and often painful story of Polish Jews walled up in their ghetto, and centers on a real-life character, Dr. Korczak, and a fictional character, a young boy named Aron. For Aron, the harsh and frightening realities of war, poverty, and hunger bring challenges and opportunity as he finds himself working both with smugglers and the Gestapo. As Aron's family disappears one by one, he ends up in Korczak's orphanage, trying to help the doctor feed and clothe the hundreds of children he has taken in. It was difficult to choose between these two books, as both are gripping and well written. But Tsar's ability to make me feel every emotion on the spectrum in one simple sentence is what took it over the top for me.

Why this one, Aana? It’s amazing. The stories in this book are all about Russia from the Soviet era to the modern day. Every story is beautiful in its self-contained singularity, but even more beautiful when you start to realize that they all fit together. This book shows that seemingly small decisions or coincidences in one person’s life can have extremely significant, profound effects in the lives of others. The characters in these stories are all flawed, but the reader will be able to identify with some part of each and every one – whether it’s the devastating devotion of a mother to her wayward child or the need to seek out any shred of information on a missing loved one. However serious the subject matter of these stories, they’re told with a cleverness and dark humor that I think is genius. Swimming in toxic waste, being forced to work in a garden as a prisoner of war, and trying to get arrested in order to avoid being drafted to serve in Chechnya are all described with a mix of candor and pique that is irresistible. Seriously, this is a must-read for anyone, whether you enjoy short stories or not. Oh, and a tip: the audiobook is great because the narrators are Russian speakers.

TOB match to be decided March 16.

The Contest: The Odd Couple

The Competitors: A Spool of Blue Thread vs. The Story of My Teeth

Cheminne Picks:  The Story of My Teeth, by Valeria Luiselli

Aana Picks: A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne Tyler

Why this one, Cheminne? As much as I hate to think about John Irving more than I have to, it would have been very intriguing to see Avenue of Mysteries paired up with The Story of My Teeth - both about men and Mexico. In fact, I almost wonder if the creators of the brackets thought Irving was a shoo-in when they set this up. But that was not to be since Anne Tyler's book was the one that advanced from the Play-In Round. And it may surprise Aana to see that I chose Teeth over Tyler, but despite the off-putting idea of the title, The Story of My Teeth was a surprisingly refreshing new idea in literature for me. On the surface, it is the story of Highway, a self-made auctioneer in Mexico who is determined to own Marilyn Monroe's teeth. So to pay for them, he auctions his own teeth and tells prospective buyers fantastical lies, that each tooth belonged to a famous person like Plato or Virginia Woolf. Once he owns Monroe's (supposed) teeth, he has them put into his own mouth, but they are later stolen by his once-abandoned son. Believe it or not, that isn't the most interesting part of this book. Once his teeth are stolen, Highway ends up in a strange and unsettling encounter with clowns that leaves the reader wondering what is reality and what is not, who is telling lies, and where the truth really lies. At the end, you realize that the reader is really part of the story, and is able to (invited to) interpret it as they like. I loved that surprise ending and the unusual invitation of a writer to make the reader part of the story. The book was actually written for, and inspired by, an art exhibition and is in itself a work of experimental art.

Why this one, Aana? I didn’t read either of these either, but The Story of My Teeth sounded really creepy and I didn’t like the premise.

TOB match to be decided March 17.

The Contest: The Satirical Sides

The Competitors: The Sellout vs. The Invaders

Cheminne Picks: The Sellout, by Paul Beatty

Aana Picks: The Sellout, by Paul Beatty

Why this one, Cheminne? These books again have a common idea - holding a mirror up to society's ills. The Invaders, however, never really satisfies with its all-too-common idea of a fish-out-of-water, a second wife who isn't accepted into the social set that her husband swims in. When she commits a horrific act, she finds herself rebelling against the rules set in place by money and class. The final denouement of a hurricane washing clean the small coastal Hamptons-esque town was too much for me, though. It was a set-up that didn't pay off, for a story that's been told one too many times. 

That cannot be said about The Sellout, a raucous raunchy satire that reminded me of Chris Rock's in-your-face comedy. Nothing was sacred or off limits and it made me laugh out loud. Not something you would normally say about a book that covers slavery, racism, discrimination, violence, and police brutality. But it is funny - with a kernel of pain thrown in to remind us that it isn't really funny at all. The central character, never really given a name, is raised by a social scientist father who loves to use his son as an experiment. When his father dies, and his town is removed from the map, the narrator decides he will also experiment with society's norms, determined to bring his town back. He's joined by Hominy, an actor who played stereotypical black roles in early movies and who is now upset that his fans might not be able to find him with the town gone. He begs (literally) to have the narrator take him on as a slave, and the two of them segregate their new version of their old town. In a time where race is becoming a defining issue in the presidential campaign, The Sellout is the most brutal and honest conversation about race we may have this year. Maybe all the candidates should read it, too.

Why this one, Aana? The Sellout was hilarious. It’s a Swiftian satire in which the narrator proposes a return to segregation as a solution for the problems associated with racism. Interestingly, in this book, segregation also seems to be a solution for the problems associated with ignoring racism or trying to pretend that racism doesn’t exist. I think most readers will be able to identify with the themes presented and I hope nobody takes it too seriously, because this book is FUNNY. It’s got a sense of style that many new books lack, and the characters are just cool in a way that a lot of authors don’t seem to get these days. It’s a great read that will really make you think. I think a lot of the essence of the story can be summed up in this quote by the main character: “I’ve whispered racism in a post-racist world.”

TOB match to be decided March 18.

You Do You

I've always been slightly rebellious (okay, my mom just laughed at the use of the word "slightly"), so I've never been one to read something because it's a best seller, or because someone else tells me that a book is "important."
In today's New York Times Book Review section, I loved reading a debate about this very idea: Is a book good because it's "LIT-ra-ture," or because it's just fun to read?
I believe that, much like a Twinkie, the middle is where the good stuff happens. On one end you have what you're supposed to read, and almost never do. And on the other end, the things that you're slightly embarrassed to admit you read. Much like admitting that you ever ate a Twinkie.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Henry James, William Faulkner, Plutarch, Shakespeare, and Jane Austen. And I also enjoy the books that I call "popcorn books," those by Dick Francis and Agatha Christie. They aren't on any classics lists, but I love them and gobble them down like popcorn. In fact, I have every single one of the Dick Francis books - 49 if you're counting.
But tell me that I have to read something just because everyone else thinks it's fabulous and I balk. Because I'm usually let down (thanks a lot, Dan Brown and Jonathan Franzen) and the attention is often not worth the blather.
Frankly, it's why I gravitate to book awards like the Man Booker and the Morning News Tournament of Books - the nominated books are usually good to fantastic, amazingly well written, and creatively entertaining (except for that John Irving thing, but more about that in another post).
The middle is occupied by wizards like Jo Rowling and Elizabeth George, who create indelible characters while pulling us completely into their worlds. Or by Jo Nesbo and Robert Harris, who paint mesmerizing visions of worlds we don't occupy.
And I've read breathtaking writing - crying (hard) over Harrison in Pigeon English, holding my breath over the pain suffered by Dorrigo in The Narrow Road to the Deep North, and sighing when Marie-Laure finally meets Werner in All the Light We Cannot See. The middle even made me change my mind over apocalyptic novels after I read Station Eleven. The middle is really satisfying.
So don't let anyone tell you that your favorite author isn't a good one. Or that you aren't intelligent enough to "get it" if you don't like James Joyce. You read what you want. You do you. And we'll meet in the middle.

I See What You Did There

After several days' worth of posts on awards for literature, now we finally get to the good stuff - the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards, celebrating the best in mystery/thriller writing for books and for television. I note that they are sponsored by Specsavers, a chain of eyeglass shops across the UK, which is appropriate because this is the award program most likely to ruin my eyesight.

I usually find myself in a frenzy of reading/watching to catch up with all of the nominees before the awards are announced, which leaves me a scant 10 days at this point. Good thing I just got my own new pair of specs. So let's get started with the lists of nominees!

Crime Thriller Book Club Nominees

Before We Met, by Lucie Whitehouse

Entry Island, by Peter May (love him!)

Letters to My Daughter's Killer, by Cath Staincliffe

Treachery, by SJ Parris

The Tilted World, by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly (fabulous book)

Watch Me, by James Carroll

Living Legends Nominees

Best living writer of crime/thrillers.

Michael Connolly

Robert Harris

Dean Koontz

Lynda La Plante

Val McDermid

Denise Mina

Wow - tough category!

CWA Gold Dagger Nominees

Crime Novel of the Year from the Crime Writers Association.

This Dark Road to Mercy, by Wiley Cash

Keep Your Friends Close, by Paula Daly

The First Rule of Survival, by Paul Mendelson

How the Light Gets In, by Louise Penny

CWA Steel Dagger Nominees

For the CWA's Ian Fleming-esque thriller.

Apple Tree Yard, by Louise Doughty

An Officer and a Spy, by Robert Harris

I Am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes

Natchez Burning, by Greg Iles

CWA New Blood Dagger Nominees

CWA's nominees for the best crime novel by a first-time author. 

The Strangler Vine, by MJ Carter

The Axeman's Jazz, by Ray Celestin

The Devil in the Marshalsea, by Antonia Hodgson

The Silent Wife, by ASA Harrison

Best Film Dagger Nominees

Cold in July

Dom Hemingway

Filth

Prisoners

Starred Up

Best Television Dagger Nominees

Happy Valley (a must-see on Netflix)

Line of Duty, series 2

Sherlock, series 3 (so amazing)

The Bletchley Circle, series 2

The Honourable Woman

Luckily for my eyes, I've seen many of the film and television nominees. But now it's time to buckle down to those books. Let me know which of the nominees you've read or seen! The winners will be announced on Oct. 24.

The Fall of Man

Fall is the time of Man - the Man Booker Prize, that is. Today the famed literary award panel announces its short list for the coveted prize, and that in turn means that I have a lot of reading to do.
This is one of my two favorite book award programs - the other is the Dagger Awards, presented by the Crime Writers Association. Oddly, although the Man Booker is a British award, I find it to be less stuffy and highbrow than the U.S. awards, like the National Book Award. Or maybe it's just my Anglophilia showing.
All I know is that I always love the Man Booker selections, whether they win or not, and I quite often completely agree with the award winner. This year will be especially interesting since it's the first time that the Man Booker group has expanded its rules, allowing all books originally printed in English to be nominated, no matter the nationality of the author. Take that, National Book Award.
So here is the short list of nominees this year. I'll let you know soon which one I believe should take the top prize. And if you're going to read along, get cracking! The prize will be awarded on Oct. 14.

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, by Joshua Ferris (US)
The Narrow Road to the Deep North, by Richard Flanagan (Australia)
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, by Karen Joy Fowler (US)
J, by Howard Jacobson (UK)
The Lives of Others, by Neel Mukherjee (UK)
How to Be Both, by Ali Smith (UK)

Bookmarks Goes Big for Its 10th

My favorite local book festival, Bookmarks, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with a BIG lineup of authors and a new location.
The free festival is the largest of its kind in North Carolina, and it takes place on Sept. 6 at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts and Spruce Street in downtown Winston-Salem. The headline speaker this year, James Patterson, will speak at Reynolds Auditorium on Sept. 4 to kick things off.
I have to confess I'm not a Patterson fan, but I am definitely looking forward to the full day of festivities on the 6th, featuring authors like Rita Mae Brown, Frances Mayes, James McBride, Scott Berg, and J.A. Jance.
There are also booths full of books at the festival, naturally, including little-known and brand new authors trying to get a foothold in the book world. I always find a hidden gem or two.
If you're in the area and want to go, just click here to learn more.
And if you're having a hard time getting back to work after the long holiday weekend, let me just link you through to a list of David Bowie's 75 favorite books as a distraction. You're welcome.

The Long and the Short of It

If I didn't know better (and perhaps I don't), I would swear that my two favorite book awards are trying to one-up each other.
First came the news in January that the National Book Award was "re-examining its rules" and would for the first time ever introduce four long lists for each of its award categories - Poetry, Young People's Literature, Fiction, and Nonfiction. This would allow room for more nominees, and would also mirror what another British award program just happens to do already.
That was followed yesterday by the announcement that the Man Booker Prize had also done some soul-searching. They have long had a long list (sorry), but have now decided to open the contest up to all "writing in English," not just English writing. That may seem like hair-splitting, but the Man Booker previously was open only to UK citizens. Now this "global expansion" opens the award to writers from "Chicago to Sheffield to Shanghai."
Here is my color commentary on this one-on-one game: NBA knocked the ball out of the MBP court with its new long lists. Then MBP said, "oh no you didn't," stole the ball back, and took it right to NBA's own home turf. Boom.
If you think I'm making a Jets vs Sharks thing out of nothing, let me also point out that there was a little matter of dates. The National Book Award had said it would announce its long list right on top of the Man Booker's announce date for its short list (see the NBA long lists below). And, coincidentally, the short list for the NBA will be only one day after the Man Booker names its winner in October. Hmmmm.
But after this major change to the Man Booker, I think the ball is in your court, NBA. Play nicely, everyone.

National Book Award Long Lists

Fiction
Pacific, by Tom Drury
The End of the Point, by Elizabeth Graver
The Flame Throwers, by Rachel Kushner
The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri (shortlisted for the Man Booker)
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, by Anthony Marra
The Good Lord Bird, by James McBride
Someone, by Alice McDermott
Bleeding Edge, by Thomas Pynchon
Tenth of December, by George Saunders
Fools, by Joan Silber

Nonfiction (evidently the rules say the title must include a colon)
Finding Florida: The True Story of the Sunshine State, T.D. Allman
Facing the Wave: A Journey in the Wake of the Tsunami, by Gretel Ehrlich
The Wolf and the Watchman: A Father, a Son, and the CIA, by Scott C. Johnson
Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin, by Jill Lepore
Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields, by Wendy Lower
Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States 1861-1865, by James Oakes
The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America, by George Packer
The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia 1772-1832, by Alan Taylor
Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington, by Terry Teachout
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief, by Lawrence Wright (see my review here)

Poetry
Metaphysical Dog, by Frank Bidart
Bury My Clothes, by Roger Bonair-Agard
Stay, Illusion, by Lucie Brock-Broido
So Recently Rent a World, New and Selected Poems 1968-2012, by Andrei Codrescu
Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire, by Brenda Hillman
The Big Smoke, by Adrian Matejka
American Amnesiac, by Diane Raptosh
Black Aperture, by Matt Rasmussen
Transfer of Qualities, by Martha Ronk
Incarnadine: Poems, by Mary Szybist

Young People's Literature
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, by Kathi Appelt
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, by Kate DiCamillo
A Tangle of Knots, by Lisa Graff
The Summer Prince, by Alaya Dawn Johnson
The Thing About Luck, by Cynthia Kadohata
Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan
Far Far Away, by Tom McNeal
Picture Me Gone, by Meg Rosoff
The Real Boy, by Anne Ursu
Boxers & Saints, by Gene Luen Yang

Goodbye to Summer

Summer is the time of year that is most likely to revive my childhood nostalgia, particularly for what seemed like endless sunny days and nights full of adventure.
At this unofficial close of the summer, I've selected three of my favorite books from this year that captured all that is fun, bittersweet, and occasionally exasperating about summer vacations.
My selections were based on their success at hitting that perfect note, with one about chaotic and crowded family vacations, one about summer camp (that turned into a longer stay), and the final one takes me right back to my high school days when I worked at a local amusement park.
So as the leaves turn and the nights get crisper, recapture your summer memories with these great reads.

Shorecliff

by Ursula DeYoung
When you're an only child, taking a vacation with 10 older cousins sounds like the very best way to spend a summer, which means that 13-year-old Richard Killing can hardly wait to get to Shorecliff, his mother's family estate in Maine. In that summer of 1928, he's ready to throw himself into endless games of croquet on the lawn, wading into the ocean, and picking buckets of blueberries. But his older cousins aren't quite as interested in those types of games anymore, and adult feelings of love, jealousy, frustration, and a need for independence cause ripples in those halcyon days. Richard is bewildered by how his cousins have changed, and isn't entirely sure why things are so different. He listens and observes at the periphery, sometimes hearing deeper secrets than he expected. Suddenly the summer isn't all fun and games, and Richard's eavesdropping is unfortunately at the heart of what finally goes awry.

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls

by Anton DiSclafani
As the Depression deepens in the South, 15-year-old Thea Atwell is sent away from her Florida family for the summer, to a riding camp deep in the North Carolina mountains. She isn't sent away to protect her from events, but instead to punish her for a horrific act that shocks her family. Away from her sheltered life and beloved twin brother for the first time, Thea is dropped into a world of girls that she doesn't understand. There are codes and rules of behavior that she hasn't learned, necessary survival skills that she must grasp quickly to fit in. As summer ends, Thea realizes that she will continue on at the year-round Yonahlossee school. Feeling ostracized from her family and hurt by the rejection, Thea finds solace in her favorite horse, and yet still searches for someone to love her as she is. A forbidden relationship helps her heal, but leads to more rejection as Thea learns that navigating adulthood is far more difficult than she thought.

Joyland

by Stephen King
If you know anything about Stephen King, you know that he is not merely the master of the thriller. He has always had the innate ability to write about nostalgia and childhood in a way that transports you straight back to your own early days. In Joyland, that wistfulness is back again, this time capturing the feeling of that first job that you really loved, of early romance, and of summer trips to amusement parks. This gentle (and fantastic) ghost story is more like The Body than The Shining, telling the story of a young man who finds a summer job in 1973 at a possibly-haunted amusement park on the North Carolina coast. Having spent three summers working at the same sort of park in my youth, King's attention to detail took me right back, with the secret passages for employees, the smell of grease and salt early in the morning, and the crazy costumes and games. Luckily, I never had the same experiences as King's hero, 21-year-old Devin Jones, who contends with ghostly capers, a dying boy with a special talent, and an unsolved mystery at Joyland.

A Trio of Missing Links

I've told you before how much I love to read when I travel (to see that post, click here). Last week I flew to and from Arkansas, which gave me plenty of time to finish three books I've been looking forward to reading.
When I selected them, I didn't realize there was a link between them. But there is – or rather there is a missing link among them. You wouldn't think that was the case when you see that the list includes a nonfiction book, a modern fairy tale, and a young adult selection. Read on to discover more.

After Visiting Friends

by Michael Hainey
Maybe it's the fact that Michael Hainey is a journalist. Maybe it's just a son wanting to know more about his father. But whatever it was that caused Hainey to investigate the death of his father, he got much more than he bargained for. When he was six, Hainey's uncle had the unfortunate task of telling him that his father had died. A 35-year-old assistant copy desk chief at the Chicago Sun-Times, Bob Hainey's obituary said he had died "after visiting friends." Who were those "friends"? And why was his father there in the early dawn hours? Those questions haunted Michael Hainey from his youth. Once he reached the age his father had been when he died, Hainey decided to finally discover the missing link: the truth. This real-life mystery shines a light on the world of hard-core news journalists, on a young widow trying to cope after the death of her husband, and on a young boy who needs to find his father.

Some Kind of Fairy Tale

by Graham Joyce
When Tara Martin reappears on her parents' doorstep on Christmas Day, it's more than a holiday miracle. Although she's been missing for over 20 years, Tara looks exactly like the teenager she was when she disappeared. Her parents are overjoyed, but her brother is suspicious. How can Tara still be 16 when everyone else has aged? Tara's story doesn't help allay his fears – she insists that she's only been gone six months, and that she was stolen by fairies. Determined to prove that she's telling the truth, Tara agrees to see a psychiatrist, to undergo physical tests, and to make amends to those she left behind. Everything seems to back up her assertion that she had been captive in another world, particularly when something seems to have followed her back.

Code Name Verity

by Elizabeth Wein
A plane piloted by a young WAC crashes into the French countryside in 1943, separating Maddie from her passenger, her best friend who has the code name of Verity. Verity is captured by the Gestapo and is tortured to reveal everything she can remember about British codes, the gathering Allied forces, and the sites of landing fields in England. No one would blame Verity for telling all she knows under the dire conditions she faces, and very few would be able to withstand the pain and the loneliness. But as she barters for her life with all of her secrets, Verity also reveals her friendship with Maddie and their life together in war-time England. Full of surprising twists and turns, this one kept me reading far into the night.

World Book Night: A Handmaid's Tale

I was thrilled to be selected to distribute free books this year for World Book Night, which will take place next week on April 23. And I was even more excited when I discovered that I would be able to give away one of my favorites: The Handmaid's Tale.

I first read Margaret Atwood's incredible novel in college. I remember thinking that it was beautifully written and disturbing...and that nothing like it could ever happen in reality.

Reading it again today, decades later, the book is chillingly familiar, with themes that resonate around our current culture and politics. In fact, The Handmaid's Tale almost feels too close for comfort when viewed against our society's debates about religion and its role in politics.
In the book's fictional realm of Gilead, a military coup has been staged by a right-wing, ultra-religious, homophobic cult that sees itself as the solution to social ills and "degradation." The coup starts with a terrorist attack, falsely blamed on Islamic militants. The attack kills the president and many members of Congress, so the Sons of Jacob take over, suspending the constitution and setting new religious and social rules as a way of "restoring order." The sexes are segregated, as are all non-white races, any child with a birth defect is made to "disappear," and homosexuality is punishable by death.
Part of that new theocracy, and the heart of the novel, involves removing the rights of all women and creating an ultra-conservative social agenda. Women are now forbidden to read, to hold jobs outside of the home, to vote, or to be in public view at all. And, as part of a plan to reverse the declining birth rate, some women who have proven to be fertile must now serve as concubines to high-ranking officials to help continue the line of "right thinking" people.
Offred is one of these "handmaids," assigned to The Commander to produce an heir for him and his wife, who is assumed to be (and is blamed for) being sterile. Offred is seen only to be a tool and nothing more; even her name is a derivation of The Commander's (of-Fred). Her spirit has been crushed by the subjugation of the totalitarian Sons of Jacob. Although Offred had children in her pre-revolution life, she doesn't appear to be able to become pregnant with The Commander.
With all of their livelihoods depending on a child, The Commander's wife insists that Offred have a relationship with Nick, the family chauffeur. With Nick, Offred learns that there is a resistance movement called Mayday, and that there could be hope for change in her world. The book ends uncertainly, as life often does, but an epilogue suggests a more positive future for Gilead.
I recently asked a few college-age young women if they had read The Handmaid's Tale, and was quite surprised that it no long appears on university required-reading lists. In fact, in an ironic twist that would be funny if it wasn't so frightening, Atwood's novel is often found on lists of banned books. Given that its themes are about censorship and controlling governments, that's a stunning statement.
So look for me on April 23 – I'll give you a free copy of this mind-altering and "subversive" text. Maybe it should be renamed The Cautionary's Tale.

Finding the Zen

This is my 200th post. I started this blog, as many of you know, just for myself. I am a former journalist who wanted a chance to write again, and to share my love of books and food.
It's interesting how often I hear fellow bloggers say that they find their blogs to be stressful at times. I thought that was a strange statement – until I found myself stressed out by my blog.
As I said, I started this blog for myself. I didn't really talk about it (I still don't) and I certainly haven't done any advertising or promotion for it. But yet the audience grew, I mean really grew. I'm still startled when someone tells me that they enjoyed a particular post, or that they subscribe to my blog.
Once I saw the stats on the blog, I started to think about the people who were reading it, and I freaked out if I couldn't post as often as I like, or I would second-guess what I was going to write. Recently, I had to snap myself out of it, to remind myself that I started out writing for the enjoyment of it, not so I could grow a huge audience. And I assume that if you are reading this, you just enjoy books as much as I do and will forgive me if occasionally my real life gets in the way of my reading life. Because, well, that's just life.
I found the Zen again in my blog. The whole reason I started in the first place. So for my 200th post, I'm going to review a book that truly is about rediscovering Zen.

Review: Buddhaland Brooklyn

by Richard C. Morais

Seido Oda is only 11 when his father tells him that he will join a nearby Buddhist monastery on Mount Nagata in Japan. Being pushed from his tight-knit family of innkeepers into a quiet introspective life is a shock to Oda's system. Soon after, his family perishes in a fire, leaving the young Oda shaken and in turmoil. The monks slowly help him heal, and Oda is soothed by the surrounding rivers and mountains. But a rift remains inside Oda. As he says, "I made the conscious and forceful decision...never to cry again. I determinedly locked the tragedy of my family away in the deepest chamber I could find, as if it all had happened to a different person in a different world."
But, as we know, those buried secrets have a way of finding their way to the surface.
Thirty years later, Oda is a high-ranking monk with a severe way of looking at the rites and practices of his faith. His superior asks him to leave his quiet life and go to faraway Brooklyn, to help a group of Buddhists open a new temple. Despite his reservations, Oda agrees to go.
In Brooklyn, he finds a group of disparate personalities who are practicing their faith in sometimes strange and misguided ways. Oda decides it is his job to snap them all into shape, to follow his idea of Buddhism to the letter.
His reserved attitude and his strict approach to faith are tested again and again, and when he is faced with another tragedy, Oda realizes that his strictness has really barred his own way to true enlightenment all along.
Told with humor and empathy, Buddhaland Brooklyn shows us all that there are many paths to finding one's Zen, and that it can be right in front of us all along.
This is the second book I've read by Morais. His first, The Hundred-Foot Journey, is completely different and equally as good.

Guest Review: Vampires in the Lemon Grove

Guest Review by Aana

Readers of this blog may have noticed a trend: My mom hates short stories. I cannot think of a single collection of short stories she actually liked. And that’s totally fine. Like country music or romance novels (ugh), short stories aren’t for everyone.
However, I love short stories, when done correctly. They are a lot like commercials – there’s always the potential to be hilarious or touching, but the majority end up like this. So it’s always nice to see a collection of short stories like Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell.
What really appeals to me about Vampires is that the author’s imagination really shines through. It reminds me of being a little kid and getting in one of those “what-if” competitions with my friends.
You know, “What if aliens exist?” “Well, what if cows are actually aliens that are spying on us?” “Well what if horses are members of an anti-alien organization sent here to keep watch on the cows?” “Well what if the whole farm is actually a huge space ship and the barn is equipped with meteor-busting lasers and a force-field powered by atomic chicken droppings?” You know how it goes.
Except that Karen Russell has made the “what-if” competition mature and intriguing. For example, what if women in Meiji-era Japan were duped into working in silk factories, given tea that turned them into silkworms, and forced to actually produce silk threads through their skin?
What if all of the events in the universe were influenced by random items stolen by seagulls? It’s like reading someone else’s dream diary. Everything makes just enough sense that you could see someone dreaming it up, but each story is stranger and more fascinating than the last.
For a weird, twisted, thoroughly enjoyable journey, I highly recommend Vampires in the Lemon Grove. Unless you don’t like short stories, that is.

Ed Note: She's right, I don't like short stories. However, I do like her "what-if" games. They are always entertaining, and she always takes hers 10 steps beyond what "normal" people tend to. That's how we roll in our family. Try to keep up. CTS 

Review: The Orphan Master's Son

For the second year in a row, a Zombie book has won the Tournament of Books, brought to you by The Morning News. Last year, I completely disagreed with the overall winner. This year, although it wasn't the book I selected to win, I am very happy that The Orphan Master's Son took home the coveted Rooster prize.

With North Korea becoming more provocative every day with its talk of war and destruction, this is an apt time for a book about life in the bafflingly combative country. Adam Johnson paints a vivid picture of a country that is secretive, brutal, and as self-destructive as anything else.
Pak Jun Do is the "son" from the title, who grew up in an orphanage run by his father. He learned early on to live two lives, pretending that his father was not related to him so that he could remain in the orphanage.
Jun Do (whose name is a definite nod to John Doe), grows up both anonymous and a mirror of whatever others want to see in him. He becomes a kidnapper for the state, grabbing whoever the country's leaders need from the shores of South Korea and Japan – like a doctor, or a sports pro, or even a prospective bride for a prominent politician.
His life of secrecy, and an ear for other languages, later makes him the perfect spy to be posted on a fishing trawler, listening to radio transmissions from other countries. A pivotal encounter with the U.S. Navy changes everything when Jun Do and his shipmates create a story about one of their number being thrown to the sharks, rather than having to tell the authorities he has escaped. They even go so far as to give Jun Do a severe wound from a dead shark's mouth to lend credence to the story.
Returning to the shores as a "hero," Jun Do is selected by the government to pretend to be a diplomat. His newest mission is to fly to Texas on a secret trip to get concessions from the U.S. government. When he expresses doubt about his ability to convince the Americans of his new identity, his handler Dr. Song tells him, “Where we are from, stories are factual. If a farmer is declared a musical virtuoso by the state, everyone had better start calling him maestro. And secretly, he’d be wise to start practicing the piano.”
That single quote gets to the heart of this book, and really defines why North Korea could be teetering on the verge of an un-winnable war. The trip to Texas also brings into focus the conundrum that we who have lived in freedom cannot understand about those who have lived under a totalitarian government.
As Jun Do visits the ranch of an influential senator, he looks through family photos and is almost overwhelmed by what he sees: “This was a family start to finish, without wars or famines or political prisons, without a stranger coming to town to drown your daughter.”
But when asked if he would ever want to remain in the U.S., particularly since he has no family ties himself in North Korea, Jun Do asks, “Are there labor camps? Mandatory marriages? Forced-criticism sessions? Loudspeakers?” When he is told that there are none of those things in the U.S., he responds: “Then I’m not sure I could ever feel free here. In my country everything makes simple, clear sense. It’s the most straightforward place on Earth.”
Jun Do returns to his country and to yet another identity. But this time, his new persona is a high-ranking official, and Jun Do has the opportunity to reveal his true self through this facade.
After all, as one of the people he meets in Texas tells him, “A John Doe has an exact identity. It’s just yet to be discovered.”
Although it's a work of fiction, Adam Johnson has added enough of the real-world North Korea to his book to bring the country to life – including details like actual kidnappings, the strange Vinalon fabric that is unique to North Korea, the deprivation, and the sheep-like following that the people seem to have for their government.
Given the almost mind-boggling declarations of superiority coming from Kim Jong-un, The Orphan Master's Son at least offers some sort of explanation, that this is a country that is propped up by its lies to the point where almost no one knows what the truth is anymore.

The Scarlet L (for Loser)

I'm a loser, right off the bat. But in all fairness, I told you I might be.

Who is not a loser? John Green.

I didn't call the winning book in the first round of the Tournament of Books. Today, judge Edan Lepucki (staff writer for The Millions) selected The Fault in Our Stars over The Round House.
If you've been following along on this blog (and I know you have), then you saw my call for The Round House here.
Lepucki's commentary is spot-on and fair, for the most part. He calls out author John Green for making the teens Hazel and Augustus a little too glib and charming in Stars, even comparing their patter to the movie Juno. I agree. I also liked TOB commentator John Warner's comparison of Green to John Hughes. That's true, too.
But where Lepucki and I will have to disagree is on the point he makes about Louise Erdrich's inability to take the reader from "idea to experience."
One of my most-important gauges of a writer's talent is that very ability, to immerse me so thoroughly that when I look up from the book I'm almost disoriented. It isn't just a matter of being "true to life," it's to convince me that what I'm reading is real and that I'm living it alongside the characters.
Erdrich's writing pulled me right into hot summer days on a reservation in North Dakota, and the fear and pain that surrounds the crime at the center of the novel. As much as I loved Stars, it was just a bit too over-the-top and almost implausible in places (for example, the spontaneous trip to The Netherlands for two teens with cancer). Lepucki himself even admits that he found Green's book to be "too slick" and "contrived" in places.
Yes, this was a hard call.  In fact, if Lepucki had selected The Round House, I'd probably be telling you about how I cried and cried over Stars, and how he really should have selected it as the winner.
But I'm a loser, baby.
On to tomorrow, and the head-to-head battle between The Orphan Master's Son and Where'd You Go Bernadette?. Cross your fingers for me.

The Final Draft

The coveted TOB Rooster.

Today is finally the first official day of the Tournament of Books, hosted by The Morning News and sponsored by Nook by Barnes & Noble, with top books vying for the coveted Rooster crown.
As you know, I've been furiously reading the finalists since they were announce a few months ago. And today the last of the 16 nominees was announced. Luckily for me it was the one I read, Billy Flynn's Long Halftime Walk. Given all of the press surrounding this book, I was fairly sure it would be the one of the three war-themed Pre-Tournament books chosen. To see the judge's official review, and the color commentary from TOB, click here.
On Friday, I gave you my picks for four of the pairings in the tournament. You can see those here.
I have to tell you, these next four pairings are more difficult for me. Some of my favorite books in the tournament are pitted against each other, making a judgment hard to call. But here goes:

The Contest: Youth in Revolt
The Competitors: The Round House vs. The Fault in Our Stars
The Winner: The Round House, by Louise Erdrich
Why It Won: It pains me to have to choose between these two books. The minute I finished The Fault in Our Stars, I tweeted that this book would win the tournament if it was judged solely on the number of tears shed. It is an amazing story of a teenage girl who meets a boy at a cancer support center – and it is much more uplifting than you might imagine that would be. But, by a hair, The Round House is slightly better. Perhaps it was the fact that Louise Erdrich weaves a grittier, more realistic, story. The voice of the 13-year-old Joe in Round House rings truer. It is a tough tale, though, as Joe recounts the year that his mother was brutally attacked on their reservation, and how he and his friends investigate the crime.

The Contest: A Tussle Between Travelers
The Competitors: The Orphan Master's Son vs Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
The Winner: Where'd You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple
Why It Won: Again, TOB, you have given me a very hard contest to judge here. These are two very different books about people who find it difficult to live in their environment, and who travel far away to learn more about themselves. But they are not at all close to the same type of book, so it's tough to pit two such disparate tales against each other. The Orphan Master's Son is a fictional look at the brutal life of a North Korean "nobody" named Jun Do (and yes, the reference to John Doe is purposeful) who improbably ends up traveling to Texas and impersonating a high-ranking official. Bernadette is a funnier take about a mom who has trouble fitting into life in Seattle and in figuring out who she is. When she disappears, her daughter Bee learns more than she bargained for about her mom and their life together. For me, it wasn't that one was infinitely better than the other, it came down to how much I believed each character. But it was still close.

The Contest: The Wild Card War
The Competitors: Billy Flynn's Long Halftime Walk vs. May We Be Forgiven
The Winner: Billy Flynn's Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain
Why It Won: Neither one of these are perfect books: Billy Flynn reminded me a lot of a plotline from HBO's series The Pacific, and Forgiven just kept piling more and more improbable situations on the protagonist. But Billy Flynn was a book that I kept putting down – and that's a good gauge of a book's impact for me. I read so quickly and there are very good books that I fly through. So when I stop reading to set a book down, it's a sign that I want to, or need to, think about it; that I'm savoring it. I needed to think a lot about what I read in Billy Flynn, and about the day-in-the-life of U.S. soldiers on a Victory Tour after a tough battle in Iraq. Forgiven is a hard look at a flawed man who inherits his brother's kids, who has to figure out how to deal with them, and who has to come to terms with the fact that his brother is a murderer. Good initial theme, but then the author kept adding to the "hero's" angst with strange bedfellows and segues that take away from what could have been a great core story.

The Contest: The Alternative Altercation
The Competitors: Dear Life vs. Building Stories
The Winner: Building Stories, by Chris Ware
Why It Won: This one was no contest for me, and that isn't fair to Alice Munro. First, I'm not a Munro fan, so it was going to be hard to win me over. Second, I'm not a short-story fan, so that was going to make it even hard for Munro. But then Chris Ware's book arrived on my front porch, and it was basically three strikes against Munro. Ware takes storytelling into another dimension with his box full of tricks, finding inspiration in art forms from comics to manga to architectural drawings to even the Little Golden Books of our youth. Each piece builds upon itself (hence the title) to tell a story in very few words of the ups and downs of a lonely woman. It's groundbreaking, and a very tough competitor for Munro's drier tales.

Bracking Up the Possiblities

If Fracking can be a word, so can bracking.

I'm using it as a verb to describe how one sets up a bracket, March-Madness style. Because The Morning News has outdone itself with the design of this year's Tournament of Books bracket.
Designed by Liz Meyer, the new look twists the old school bracket into an attractive maze, pitting the 16 finalists  against each other. Feast your eyes on the lovely bracket to the right. You can download a high-res version on the TMN website.
The showdown begins on Monday, with the pre-game event where judge Nathan Bradley selects his favorite from these three books: The Yellow Birds, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, and Fobbit. I've been waiting a while for this contest to determine the 16th book (mainly because I'll need to read it).
Tune in tomorrow as I begin bracking, a.k.a. the point where I tell you which books I would select in each of the first round's contests. I've already given a few hints on Twitter, so follow me at @ReadEatThink if you want some off-the-cuff commentary.

Review + Recipe: It's All Clear Now

Review: Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood,
& the Prison of Belief

by Lawrence Wright

After spending a (very) long night watching the Oscars, I thought it would be appropriate to review a book about Hollywood-centric religion, namely Scientology. I actually had to think about whether and how I would review it, though, because the book's non-stop litany of how Scientology's leaders attack anyone who speaks against them is chilling, and makes one quite paranoid.

Oh well. According to the author, there are only 25,000 of them left, so here goes.
First, let's get the credentials out of the way. Lawrence Wright is a Pulitzer Prize winner, the author of many other books, and a meticulous reporter for The New Yorker who had this book vetted by a veritable army of lawyers. He even tries, where called for, to be very fair and to present both sides. But the facts aren't pretty, and should give anyone pause.
Let's be clear (pardon the pun), this is country that celebrates its craziness and righteously defends its right to whatever religion one wants to join. And many of those religions have started out in odd, and in some cases unbelievable, ways.
But Scientology's founding and early days are beyond the pale. Consider that L. Ron Hubbard (L. is for Lafayette) began as an "explorer," a man who wanted to find fame and glory, or to invent it if need be. His first "glorious adventure" was prescient: a strange expedition that was underfunded and over-promised by Hubbard, with the participants calling it "the worst and most unpleasant" trip they had ever been on.
And then consider that Hubbard started his writing career in pulp fiction, churning out lurid and amazing stories full of aliens, zombies, and overlords. Sound familiar?
By the middle of Going Clear, a not-very-flattering portrait of Hubbard is in place. He is a bully, a misogynist, a dreamer, and a man full of hubris. He has obsessions – with women, with drugs, with reaching a "higher plane," and he begins to believe in his own omnipotence.
He could have been just another overblown and under-accomplished man if he had appeared at any other time in history. But the post-war generation of the '50s and '60s was in search of meaning and many weren't finding it in the usual religions. Hubbard's ideas and beliefs sounded just "out there" enough to be true. After all, it was all supposed to be based on science, with a dash of psychotherapy thrown in for good measure.
The shock for me is how big the Church of Scientology once was, since its initial extensive reach occurred before or during my early childhood. For example, in 1963 the FDA seized all E-Meters, instruments critical to "reading" subjects and helping them on their path to unblocking their minds and becoming "Clear" (hence the title).
In 1967, the IRS removed the Church's tax exemption, and many countries banned the religion and refused entry to Hubbard and his followers.
But the most shocking (and well-cataloged) point in the book for me was the revelation of Operation Snow White, which saw as many as 5,000 Scientologists placed in governmental agencies in countries around the world in the '70s. That includes the IRS, the Justice, Labor and Treasury Departments, the DEA, and more in the United States. The idea was to affect any decisions that would adversely impact the Church, and to also try to "take over" a country that the Church, and Hubbard, could run. And then there are the many documented cases of the Church suing anyone and everyone who tried to thwart their goals.
In its earliest days, Hubbard wanted to target Hollywood, where he saw the richest and most vulnerable pickings. By using his network's influence, and the lack of confidence in many of Hollywood's citizens, the Church was able to manipulate many to believe that its teachings could change their careers and their lives. The Church's leaders would go to extreme lengths to keep its stars happy, and under the Church's control.
It's telling to me that more attention was paid by the general public to the Church and its oddities after Hollywood's big names became involved than when all of the thousands of other nameless people became so wrapped up in it – often suffering loss, pain, and degradation in the process. Thus is the way of our Paris Hilton world, I suppose, but it's galling.
Before this review gets too long, because I could talk about the book all day, let me just say that it is well-written, well-researched, and endlessly fascinating. It's really the last part of Wright's title that had me so enthralled: "The Prison of Belief." As we all search for meaning in the world, it can be far too easy to be trapped by what we seek, rather than to be happy with what we find.

Recipe: A Clear Winner

I don't know about you, but all of this talk of existentialism has me jonesing for a drink. One of my favorite drinks is a fabulous punch full of crazy ingredients. Hmmm, a not-so-subtle complement to a crazy group that packs a punch, no? Sip slowly, or it will go to your head.
1 10-oz package of frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
1 cup fresh lime juice
bunch of mint
1 cup water
1/2 cup vodka
1/4 cup Pernod
3/4 cup sugar
10 ounces of ginger ale
Drain raspberries and mash gently through a sieve or colander to get 1/2 cup juice. Stir all liquids together with sugar until the sugar dissolves and then chill. Add ginger ale before serving in tall glasses with raspberries added. Use mint as desired.

A Grand Celebration

As we move forward and modernize, history can be forgotten. Or demolished. Nowhere has that been more evident than in New York, where gorgeous landmarks have been razed to the ground for more "progressive" and modern buildings. The old Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, and the Manhattan Theatre are just memories, supplemented by grainy photos that only hint at their former grandeur.

Today, the most famous building to have narrowly avoided that same fate is celebrating its 100th birthday, and a new book by Sam Roberts details its history and an unprecedented fight to save it in the '60s and '70s.
In 1913, the Vanderbilt family financed the 48-acre train Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, fashioned in over-the-top Beaux Arts style. The keys were handed to the station manager on this exact date, and trains began to roll out across the country.
The building was meant to reflect the grandeur and wealth of the city (and of the Vanderbilts, of course), and includes a fabulous signature clock with its faces made of opals, the largest piece of Tiffany glass in existence, and a ceiling painted sky blue and featuring one of the most discussed errors in history – constellations that are reversed from their actual position in the night sky.
Among the most famous of its lines was the 20th Century Limited, a super-luxury train that ran between New York and Chicago, offering an ultra-premium service that was unparalleled for its time. Today, its 63 tracks offer local-only trains that travel throughout New York and its environs. And, oddly, Grand Central is also one of the biggest shopping destinations in the city.
According to the book Grand Central, though, today's 700,000 daily visitors (yes, I said daily) almost missed out on a trip to this top landmark. In the late '60s, Grand Central Terminal was destined for the dustbin, with a decrepit interior and its permanent cast of homeless people and drug addicts. You can almost imagine the real estate barons standing off to the side and twisting their mustaches in anticipation of getting their hands on the prized lot.
Thanks to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the site was saved with a ruling by the Supreme Court that cities had the right to preserve historic buildings.
After several renovations and restorations, Grand Central Terminal is back to its former glory (despite a small mark on the ceiling where a 1957 rocket installation miscalculated the fit).
The book Grand Central is not only a fun read of the history and little-known facts of this most-famous station, but it also offers stunning and intimate photos that are worth the price alone.
Here are a few photos from my recent trip to Grand Central, just to whet your appetite.

Truth and Daring

I've been on a bio-streak recently. No, that isn't some sort of mad-scientist experiment. I've just read a lot of good books about fascinating lives.
It's interesting that there are so many versions of biographies – memoir, autobiography, epistolary account, biography, fictionalized bio, and more.
Two very different tales of larger-than-life characters were recent favorites: One is truth and the other is a daring tale of fiction.

Grace: A Memoir

by Grace Coddington
If Anna Wintour is the "devil" at Vogue, then you can call Grace Coddington the sorcerer behind the scenes. She is the creative force that has given Vogue's photo layouts their distinctive flair for decades.
This very candid memoir, perfect for anyone interested in the oh-so-snarky fashion world, follows Coddington's career from its beginning as a '60s Brit model who first wore Sassoon's famous five-point cut, to her work with British Vogue, then Calvin Klein, and then her amazingly long-term career at Vogue's American flagship.
She is just as open about her personal life, her ups-and-downs with co-workers and colleagues (including La Wintour), her sister's death, her marriages, and her 30-year relationship with her current flame, Didier Malige.
Not only is this a fun "insider's" read on the industry and a look at the creative process, but Coddington's signature quirkiness is also spotlighted, including her little pen-and-ink sketches of Vogue staffers, industry insiders, and her two cats.

Sutton

by J.R. Moehringer
Now this is a biography of another color. Touted as a "non-fiction novel," Pulitzer-Prize winning author J.R. Moehringer takes the real-life account of bank robber Willie Sutton and weaves it into a daring and fascinating tale of right vs. wrong, truth vs. fiction.
Sutton grew up in Brooklyn during the tough 1920s with luck already turned against him. His father was a blacksmith at the time when cars were hitting the streets, he was an Irish immigrant in a city that looked down on "his type," and he was one of the millions caught in vicious cycles of recessions and depressions in the early 20th century.
Those formative early years fed a deep anger and resentment in Sutton, particularly at the banks that he saw as the cause of all the financial woes of his generation. That simmering frustration found an outlet in crimes against those very banks. Styling himself as a modern-day Robin Hood, Sutton had a fruitful 30-year career robbing banks throughout New York and New Jersey. Ever the gentleman, he relied on disguises and guile rather than violence to commit his crimes, priding himself on never firing a shot.
During his several stints in prison, Sutton studied up on the classics and philosophical tomes, trying to find meaning in his life, and his crimes.
Moehringer finds a clever way to pull us into Sutton's life and mind with this fictionalized account, full of twists and turns.

Both of these books breathe life into the biography genre, making truth more compelling with a generous dash of daring. Look for more reviews of great biographies in the coming weeks.

New Year, New Books

Well, I did it. I read the 50 books in 2012 that I said I would. Actually, I read over 80 books, but who's counting? And to tell the truth, if you add in all the books in the huge Dickens anthology I read, then it's more like 100 books.
The hardest part of the process was keeping track of what I read. Pinterest helped immensely...when I could remember to pin the books that I'd read. To see (most of) what I read, click here.
So now comes the fun part: I get to tell you which were my favorites, and I get to set a new goal.

Favorite Reads in 2012

You know how hard it is for me to choose just one top book, so here are a few that really made an impression this year - but in no particular order:
The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. Spooky, kooky, and impossible to put down, it will make you shiver in more ways than one. Click the title to see a review.
Extra Virginity by Tom Mueller. Well thanks a lot, Mueller. Now I look at all olive oil with suspicion. But this was a fun, fact-filled read. Click the title to see a review.
Bossypants by Tina Fey. All hail the next President of the United States. Okay, maybe just the Queen of Laughter then.
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Why did it have to end? There is a reason that Mantel has won the Man Booker Prize twice.
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. A heart-wrenching book that makes you wish the story wasn't true. But it is.
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. What if the spinning Earth just ... stopped? The resulting story by Walker won't let you out of its gravitational pull.
The Black House by Peter May. If you read this blog, you know I read a lot of mysteries. Set on a remote Scottish island, this is one of the best I read this year.
Sutton by J.R. Moehringer. A fictionalized tale of a real-life bank robber in the '30s who fancied himself to be a 20th-century Robin Hood.
The Yard by Alex Grecian. A novel that imagines the earliest days at Scotland Yard. And there had better be a sequel in the works.
Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington. Full of fun drawings by the author and photos of her early modeling days, this book is a very refreshing look back at a creative and fashionable life.

Goal for 2013

Duh. I will read more books.
Let's see...this year I will set my goal at an even 100.
Wishing you many good books in 2013!

Auld Lang Syne

New York Public Library - a.k.a. Heaven on Earth

Well, we survived that whole "Mayan thing" and made it to the end of another modern calendar.
It's the time of year to look back - and think forward. As I'm sure you can tell, it's been a busy year for me. And now I have a resolution to get back into the writing saddle.
Looking over the year gone by, I note that at the beginning of 2012 I had resolved to read all of Charles Dickens' books in honor of the 200th anniversary of his birth. I made it through most of them in one big bound collection.
Some of them were quite a slog, and I fully admit to stopping after a chapter or two on those. But I did reacquaint myself with my favorites like A Tale of Two Cities and Bleak House. I think my top pick is still Oliver Twist.
A few weeks ago, while in New York, I was thrilled to see an exhibit about Charles Dickens' characters at the New York Public Library. It included several of the real-life people that inspired Dickens, as well as many of his personal effects and clothing (including the fabulous pen-and-inkwell set that he used to write many novels). A great way to learn more about an inventive writer and to renew my friendships with characters like Pip, Esther Summerson, Bill Sikes, and Sydney Carton.
So here's to friends, old and new. And here's to more reading and writing in the New Year.

Dickens' inkwell and pen - sure to inspire more blog posts in 2013

The banner for the Charles Dickens exhibit