My Life in Books

This was so much fun!!! I was visiting Roof Beam Reader's blog and saw this posted, and figured.. what the heck! I don't usually fill out survey's or take polls, but this one was too interesting to pass up.


Basically you just answer the questions using the book titles that you've read this year!

In high school I was: Mastering the Dream (Kelly Lydick)

People might be surprised: Everything is Wrong With Me (Jason Mulgrew)

I will never be: Immortal (Gene Doucette)

My fantasy job is: A Common Pornography (Kevin Sampsell)

At the end of a long day I need: Light Boxes (Shane Jones)

I hate it when: Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine (Ben Tanzer)

Wish I had: Sex Dungeon For Sale (Patrick Wensink)

My family reunions are: 99 Problems (Ben Tanzer)

At a party you’d find me with: The Book (M.Clifford)

I’ve never been to: Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane)

A happy day includes: Pain Killers (Jerry Stahl)

Motto I live by: Beat the Reaper (Josh Bazell)

On my bucket list is: Conquering Venus (Collin Kelly)

In my next life, I want to have: Horns (Joe Hill)

Go ahead, you know you want to do this for yourself! Comment here with a link to yours once you're done. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Tinkers

Read 9/6/10 - 9/11/10

4 Stars - Strongly Recommended

Pgs:191

"An old man lies dying."

This was 'the book that got away' at the BEA. By the time I made my way down to the Consortium booth, I was informed that the final three copies they had on the back shelf were not to be given away. No amount of subtle flirting or sweet talking seemed to have any effect on the booth attendant, and so I was forced to walk away empty handed.

Of course, once the BEA was over, the 'book that got away' suddenly began appearing everywhere. I couldn't turn my head, log onto my computer, or close my eyes without seeing Tinkers. I wanted it so badly....

Thank goodness for Molly, of A Literary Light, who takes on publicity for Bellevue Literary Press. She was kind enough to answer my plea and ship off a copy of Tinkers for review.

Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize , author Paul Harding takes his readers on a journey of life and loss through the dying moments of George Crosby; an antique clock repairman, husband, father, grandfather, and friend.

As George lies on his death bed, struggling to remember the names of family members and friends who visit him in his final hours, he envelopes himself in the memories of his father and of his own long life.

Tinkers is not the bring-a-box-of-tissues tear-jerker story that I imagined it would be. Yes - It's a peek into the mind of a dying man - filled with hallucinations and sometimes unconnected thoughts. Yes - it deals with the reality of death and dying and all the fears and uncertainty that accompany it. But it is also a celebration of life and love and loss - of the things that happen, that shape us into the people we have become.

No one has a picture perfect life. I'm not sure there even IS such a thing. Married 12 years, mother of two devilish boys, daughter of divorced parents, older sister to two very different and complicated siblings, perhaps I am bit jaded and cynical. I believe very strongly that each and every one of us have our crosses to bear. Struggles that we've survived and wish we could forget. Shames that follow us, lurking around every corner and within every shadow. People we have hurt or left behind...Or people who have hurt us and left US behind...

The writing is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy - sparse and impactful, each word seemingly chosen so carefully, aching beautiful - and also a bit like Jose Saramago - written in long and winding paragraphs that span full pages at a time with run on sentences that sometimes appear to sidetrack us from the author's original thoughts.

I especially appreciated the fact that our main character was a clock repairman and the poetic descriptions of the inner workings of those tiny time keepers - the way a dying clock can be compared to a dying man.

Tinkers is a novel that I would recommend readers do not miss. It is a book to be experienced, it contains words that need to be read.

A Long Long Time Ago and Essentially True

Read 9/3/10 - 9/6/10

3 1/2 Stars - Recommended strongly to readers familiar with genre

Pgs:351

I was asked by the publisher if I would be interested in reviewing this novel. While I tend to steer away from war novels / novels that revolve around war time, something about this one caught my attention. And so, I agreed.

A Long Long Time Ago and Essentially True is a two part story, in which both parts are told side by side, chapter by chapter. The novel begins by introducing us to Pigeon - a young man who has fallen in love with Aneilica, the most beautiful girl in town. It follows their blossoming courtship, and eventual immigration, during the reigns of Hitler and Stalin. The alternating chapters follow his granddaughter "Baba Yaga" 50 years later, in present day Krakow, and her struggles with self confidence and dating, the recent death of her mother, and abandonment of her father.

From the very start, I preferred the story of Pigeon and his fierce determination and loyalty to his family and Aneilica. He had such a strong aura, I could not help but want to read more about him and his devotion to a woman he knew so little about.

Baba Yaga's story had less impact on me, and seemed to counterbalance the fire and urgency of Pigeon's. As her chapters approached, I found myself wishing I could skip over them and just read more about her grandfather.

Then, as the war approached and the focus of Pigeon's story changed to survival, I began to favor Baba Yaga's story, as it was finally beginning to take shape and come into it's own. She now had a life of her own - shy and bashful but full of love for an awkward boy who played clarinet at the bar she waitressed at.

Needless to say, I noticed a stop-and-go sort of pace with the chapters throughout the entire novel. As one story line built momentum, the other would crawl to a near halt. As the action diminished in one, the tempo picked up in the other. While I understand the need to balance the chapters out, it frustrated me, and I found myself tossing and turning between them.

First I'm dying to get back to Pigeon. Then I'm thumbing through his chapters counting the words until I can get back to Baba and her story.

I struggled with how to rate this novel. While I enjoyed the character growth, and overall plot, I didn't handle the alternating chapters, up and down pacing, and war theme very well. I settled on 3 1/2 stars - strongly recommending this novel to people who enjoy the theme and genre.

I suppose it just goes to show that I like what I like, no matter how well the author tells a story, or how well they manipulate the written word. Though I will continue to read and review novels like this one in the hopes that somewhere, someday, I will locate one that blows all the others away. So my search still continues.....

The Brooklyn Book Festival is coming....

A year ago, I would never have believed that I would be planning to attend Book Festivals in NYC or Baltimore, attempting to meet virtual book-loving friends and building relationships with the authors and publishing houses that I admire.

And yet, here I am, planning and scheming and anticipating these events as a child anticipates Christmas!

This Sunday, September 12th, will be my first trip out to the Brooklyn Book Festival.

Since it is my first trip out there, I scanned and scrubbed the website, questioned the wonderful ladies at Harper Perennial and GrayWolf Press about the in's and out's and what to expect, and then I carefully studied the Festival's schedule.

If there is ONE thing that attending the 2010 BEA has taught me - It's come prepared with an agenda. And so here is what I have designated as my Must See's for BKBF:

Vendor Booths:

Akashic, Electric Literature, GrayWolf Press, Harper Perennial, National Book Foundation, Seven Stories Press, Soft Skull Press, Soho Press, Tin House, Two Dollar Radio, and Word (among others)

Author Forums:

Ben Greenman, Dennis Lehane, Sam Lipsyte, Arthur Nersesian, Per Petterson, Salman Rushdie, Simon Van Booy, and Teddy Wayne

(among others)

I am also attempting to make as many face to face connections with other bloggers and tweeters as possible, so DM me or Goodreads PM me, or post a comment here if you are interested in meeting me at BKBF next Sunday!

For those of you who are too shy to speak up, aren't sure if you are going to attend yet, or are afraid that I might be a freak/nerd/bizarro and want to check me out from a distance before committing to anything, keep an eye out for me. I will be wearing my white ringer-style TNBBC T-shirt. It will have this logo on it...

So please feel free to run up to me, tap me on the shoulder, or scream "LORI" from across the crowd!! I really really want to meet you!

"The Good Daughters" Giveaway

That's right!

TNBBC is proud to announce that William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishing has given me the opportunity to give away 2 copies of Joyce Maynard's new novel "The Good Daughters".

Here is the Goodread's description of the book:

"They were born on the same day, in the same hospital, into families that could hardly have been less alike. Ruth is an artist and a romantic, with a rich and passionate imaginative life. Dana is a scientist and realist whose faith is firmly planted in what she can see or hear or touch. Yet these two very different women share the same struggle to make sense of their place in a world in which neither of them has ever truly felt she belonged. Told in the alternating voices of Ruth and Dana, "The Good Daughters" follows these birthday sisters as they make their way through the decades, from the 1950s to the present. Master storyteller Joyce Maynard chronicles the unlikely ways the two women's lives intersect - from childhood and adolescence to first loves, first sex, marriage, and parenthood; from the deaths of parents to divorce, the loss of home, and the loss of a beloved partner - until an unavoidable moment when a long-held secret from the past alters everything."

In order to win a copy of this novel:

1- Simply post a comment to this thread telling me why you want to read this book.

2- Include your email address or a way for me to contact you so we can notify you if you win.

This giveaway is available to residents of the US and Canada only(Sorry folks, the books are not being shipped by me)and will end on September 13th. Upon it's close, I will choose two winners at random, emailing the winners and announcing them here on my blog.

Good Luck!!

Room

Read 8/31/10 - 9/1/10

5 Stars - Highly Recommended / The Next Best Book

Pgs:321

Every once and awhile you come across a book that takes your breath away. A book that you fall in love with from the very first sentence of the very first page. A book that you never want to put down because you want to know what happens next, but that you're afraid to pick back up because you don't ever want it to end. A book that you know is going to haunt you long after you have closed it's cover and placed it back on the shelf.

Room is that book. The story is narrated by Jack, a 5 year old boy who was born into an 11 x 11 room that he is unable to leave. Room is the only world he knows. It is the only life he knows. As far as Jack knows, Room is the only thing that is real.

His mother, to whom Room is a prison, is determined to shelter Jack from Old Nick - the man who has held her captive for 7 years - and the life outside of Room that he cannot experience.

As Jack becomes more inquisitive, his mother finds it increasingly more difficult to hide the outside world from her son. And so she hatches a plan that could set them free, or make their lives within Room that much more difficult.

An amazing story of survival and love captured through the eyes of an innocent child, Room forces you to face the horrible, horrifying reality of a desperate mother struggling to give her child a normal life in the most abysmal situation.

I look out my window as I write this, at the shed in my backyard. I imagine this shed as an unescapable prison in which I must raise my children - a bed, a toilet, a stove, a wardrobe, and a table all squished inside, in which the only light I see sneaks in through the skylight, in which I am forced to prioritize my needs (food, clothing, soap) into "sunday treats" - a handful of things that I request of my captor to be delivered weekly so my children and I can continue living. I imagine the only toys my children have to play with are the things I can make out of left over garbage - eggs that I string together to create a snake, forts and castles that we make out of used toilet paper rolls. I imagine trying not to break down and give up. I imagine trying to pretend that the life we are living is normal, trying to build an entire world for my kids out of that room.

It breaks my heart just thinking about it.

Room is reminiscent of other novels I have read and loved that are narrated by little boys (The Book of Lost Things, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Dead Father's Club), and yet manages to blow them all away! His endearing voice, and unique terminology will capture your heart and invade your dreams. His curiosity and persistence will infect you.

Jack has a story to share. And it's a story I don't want you to miss.

Watch the trailer - and then run out to the stores to grab yourself a copy of Room when it hits the shelves on September 13th!

A super duper thank you goes out to Little, Brown for making this arc available at the 2010 BEA in New York City!

Immortal

Read 8/24/10 - 8/31/10

5 stars - Highly Recommended/ The Next Best Book

Pgs:262

"Part science fiction fantasy, part action adventure and thriller, Gene Doucette creates the perfect balance of humor and edge-of-your-seat anticipation in this genre-defying story of an immortal man named Adam, who finds himself battling demons and bounty hunters in his eternal search for Eve, the red haired mystery woman of his dreams. Witty and wonderful, with a bite of sarcasm, Immortal is a five star read for any fiction lover. " (Book Blurb submitted by yours truly!)

I have the extremely amazing honor of being the first person to write a review on Gene Doucette's debut novel, which will be released on Amazon.com October 1st by HIP (Hamel Integrity Publishing).

In "Immortal", we are introduced to Adam, our immortal but not invincible quazi-hero, as he awakens confused and disoriented nursing a massive hangover from beneath a futon at a college frat party, immediately puting his reliability as a narrator into question. But don't worry guys, it's all part of Adam's charm.

Witty sarcasm, quick quips, and an uncanny knack to self-preserve at all costs, our leading man quickly endears himself to you. We find ourselves drawn to him, not unlike the way one is drawn to the scene of an accident, nudging and jostling one another for a better view of the carnage.

Believing he is one of a kind, Adam asks the reader not to mistake him for a vampire. No, he doesn't age and does not get sick, though he is most certainly capable of dying. He has no super powers to speak of, though he is fluent in every language that has ever existed and can blend in with whatever culture he is hanging out in.

And he is searching for a red haired mystery woman who haunts his dreams throughout myriad millennia. Little does he know that while he searches for her, someone else is searching for him, and will stop at nothing to find him - leaving a bloody trail of unfortunate bodies in it's wake.

Adam narrates our novel through two time lines - The italicized text at the beginning of each chapter is Adam's current timeline where he appears to have been captured and locked away with a mad scientist who is determined to discover the why's and how's of his immortality. The main text recaps all of the wild and crazy events that lead up to Adam's eventual capture.

Along the way we meet tricky iffrits, whimsical pixies, sexy vampires, and armored dragons as Adam finds himself on the run on more than one occasion, forced to battle demons and bounty hunters, while trying to uncover who is coming after him.

A rapid fire, unrelenting wild rumpus of a ride - Immortal earned it's spot as the Next Best Book. Everyone will find something to love, and everyone should sign up to purchase a copy come October 1st! Do not miss this hilarious, edge-of-your-seat action packed thriller. Or I will come find you and harass you until you do! You have NO IDEA what you are missing!!!

For additional information on the author and his novel, and to sample a chapter of Immortal - view his website here.

Crazy Twitter Dreams

Ok. So I think it is officially official. Twitter has not only taken over my waking hours, but it has now infiltrated my unconscious mind as well.

I had a crazy weird twitter dream last night.

"@BenTanzer @ericabrooke had a dream that the two of you ran in an all day race together and I was glued to twitter to see who won!"

This is what I tweeted this morning, as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes at 5:30am to see my oldest son off to school.

I woke up remembering a strange dream that starred Ben Tanzer, author of "99 Problems", and Harper Perennial Marketing Guru Erica Barmash in which they had both entered to compete in a marathon race. I found out about it and, knowing that they were both dedicate runners and were both on twitter, I monitored their progress as they raced - because somehow, they both found a way to tweet while they ran!

I was glued to tweetdeck, reading their tweets, which came in pretty steadily. They did not know each other before the race, though they would tweet about each other - hilariously commenting on each others form and choice of running gear, the fact that they were being passed by each other - since they were both at the head of the pack.

So many things are wrong with that dream on so many levels. It proves that my tweeting/blogging/addiction to publishing and books has gotten incredibly out of control!

It also proves that, subconsciously, I want to connect the people I know and like with other people I know and like that I know they will like knowing!

See, I happen know that both Ben and Erica are dedicated runners. And this dream comes on the tale end of Ben's newest release (which is apparently kicking ass and taking names!) which is all about running and writing.

Wonder what I will dream up next!!!

"The Elephant's Journey" Winner!

Congratulations to Rach! She won an ARC of The Elephant's Journey!

She shared her unabashed love of Madeleine L'Engle at a young age, and how that love carried right through to her adult years. I can certainly relate to that!!

The Elephant's Journey

Read 8/16/10 - 8/24/10

4 Stars - Strongly Recommended

Pgs:205

Originally published in Jose Saramago's native language of Portuguese in 2008, The Elephant's Journey will be released in english September 9th, posthumously.

The idea for this novel came about when Jose Saramago and a university teacher went out to dinner at a restaurant called "The Elephant". He asked her about the history behind the wood carvings decorating the restaurants walls, and was informed of the sixteenth century journey from Lisbon to Vienna made by an elephant that once belonged to the Portuguese King Joao III. Sensing a story within that story, he began to construct the tale of Solomon the Elephant.

It saddened me a bit to be reading this novel, knowing that Saramago passed away mere weeks from it's American release. Though, it also felt like coming home, in a sense. It has been awhile since I've curled up with one of his novels, and beginning this one was like walking into the arms of a long lost friend.

Typical of his past work, Saramago pulls us into the story of Solomon by narrating through an unusual first person plural POV. His run-on sentences, lack of punctuation, and multi-paged paragraphs force you to concentrate on every word as you read from line to line, page to page, your eyes and your mind begging for a breath, yet at the same time, unwilling to stop and break up the rhythm.

Solomon and his human companion Subhro are given as a wedding gift to King Joao's cousin, the Archduke of Austria, Maxamillian. Forced to travel by foot, Solomon, Subhro, and a sizable crew of soliders, horses, oxen, and porters head out of Lisbon and cover unimaginable distances and territories to arrive upon the Archdukes homeland of Vienna.

While not an overly impressive topic, Saramago weaves a wonderful tale of friendship, trust, admiration, and survival. He has this impressive knack of turning mundane, every day sort of things into beautiful stories that are both tender and tough, frustrating and funny.

Leave it to Saramago to work religion and politics into his novel! Hidden very cleverly within the pages of the book, he addresses his feelings and opinions on christianity and war through his characters. I always look forward to seeing how he works those in.

Overall, while not my favorite Saramago (as nothing can compare to the bleak dystopian feel of Blindness, the dark claustrophobic tale The Cave, or the withdrawl of death in Death With Interruptions), it certainly deserves a read - not only by his fans, but by history lovers, elephant lovers, and travel lovers as well.

Saramago and "The Elephant's Journey" Giveaway

If you have been following my blog for any amount of time, or know me from TNBBC on goodreads, you will know my unabashed love of Jose Saramago and his writing ever since I accidently stumbled across his novels in a Borders Bookstore back in 2007.

Back in June, as the first blog entry in a monthly series I planned to roll out, I proclaimed myself as a Saramago Book Whore to the entire blogosphere. It thrilled me to be sharing Saramago and his amazing stories with everyone. (Sadly that is where the blog series ended because exactly two weeks to the day it premiered, Saramago passed away. And I can't help but wonder if he would still be alive today had I not posted that cursed blog!)

I knew he had some novel translations in the works, and his sudden death initiated a frantic scramble to get my hands on his 2008 novel "The Elephant's Journey", which will be released in english on September 9th. I sent emails out like a mad woman to the hard working folks at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. I was reaching out to contacts at other publishing companies to try to get an "in". And finally, I got a reply to my request. The ARC was on it's way!!! I would have a brand new Saramago to fall in love with.

Imagine my surprise when, two days after the book arrives on my doorstep, a second copy hits the deck! I can only think that at some point, somewhere, someone else came across my request and decided to just ship the book out. Oh, if I only knew who to kiss and thank for that!

This is where the giveaway comes into play.

I have one ARC of "The Elephant's Journey" to share with someone who either (a) already loves Saramago and his writing or (b) is ready to fall in love with Saramago and his writing.

Since I will be shipping this copy out, the giveaway will be International!

The contest will end on August 27th.

Here's how you enter:

1 - Post a comment here and tell me which author YOU are a book whore for. Who is it? What crazy desperate things would you do to meet them? Why are they your favorite? Or maybe you have already done crazy desperate things to meet them.... do tell!!

2- Be sure to include a way for me contact you (via email, blogger contact, goodreads profile) so I can notify you if you are winner.

Best comment wins! But don't try to outdo one another. You never know which will impress me most. Good luck everyone and I can't wait to see who your favorites are!!!

"The Act of Devotion" Giveaway

Samantha Bruce-Benjamin and I have been in contact about her new novel The Art of Devotion, and have partnered together to create a TNBBC sidebar group read for the month of September. It has been creating quite a buzz on Goodreads - with an average rating of 4.1 - and has been read by a few of our TNBBCer's already. Are you ready to read what everyone is talking about?

Samantha has agreed to give away 10 copies of her book!!

The Goodreads description is simple:

"A girl summers in the Mediterranean with her beautiful aunt, who hides secrets that could destroy everything she holds dear."

In order to win a copy of this novel:

1- You must post a comment to this thread including your email address so we can contact you if you win.

2- You must agree to participate in a group read book discussion that will run during the month of September over at TNBBC on Goodreads. Samantha has agreed to participate in the discussion and will be available to answer any questions you may have for her.

3 - You must be one of the first 10 people to comment. Yup, that's right. It's first come first serve! By commenting, you are agreeing to read the book and join the group discussion at TNBBC on Goodreads (the thread for the discussion will be emailed to you at the first of the month).

This giveaway is available to residents of the US and Canada only (Sorry folks, the books are not being shipped by me), and will remain open until the 10th copy has been claimed. Upon it's close, I will email the winners and announce them here on my blog. Good Luck!!

In the meantime, please check out Samantha Bruce-Benjamin's website, and the Art of Devotion book trailer.

"My Formerly Hot Life" Winners

Congratulations to the following Formerly's

Suzanne - Formerly Fearless

John - Formerly Champion Debater

KRSTRPP - Formerly Firm

They shared some wonderfully honest and interesting stories about their former selves. To check them out, please read the comments on the blog's contest as well as the comments over at the goodreads group.

The winners have been notified via email or PM and must contact me with their shipping addresses in order to receive their copies!

For more information on My Former Hot Life, check out the following links:

Your Ass Needs A Bra (author video)

Formerly Hot (author website)

No Longer Ogled By Strange Men (NY Times article)

Thanks to everyone who participated and made this giveaway possible!

It's a Book

Hooray for this awesome little book trailer!

I managed to snag the adorable book tote for this at this years BEA in NYC.

You can see a photo of it on my sidebar.

Light Boxes

Read 8/10/10 - 8/15/10

5 Stars - Highly Recommended

Pgs:146

Shane Jones is awe inspiring. His words taste like honey and smoke. His sentences read like lucid dreams. His book melts in your hands, soaks into your skin, and nestles inside your lungs until you are breathing snow and ice.

He mindfucks you so gently you aren't even aware he is doing it.

Ok, that last one might have been a bit drastic.

What we have here is the dreadful fairy tale-like story of a month that has decided to take up permanent residence in an unnamed town. February has settled in and will not be moved. A tricky god-like entity that sits among the heavy clouds in the dark gray sky, he destroys every effort the townspeople make to end winter. He kidnaps the children and declared the end of flight. Hot air balloons, birds... They all lie stationary and still on the snow covered ground. Some of the residents become depressed, and confused. Many die.

Yet there is hope in the shape of a man named Thaddeus, who has lost his wife and daughter to February. He and a group of men who wear bird masks and dub themselves The Solution create a War Effort to bring an end to February and all his tricks.

Throughout all of this, Shane Jones stuffs his words with emotion and heartbreak and then twists and wrings them above the pages. You can feel every syllable take shape in your mouth. And hear them whispering in your ear.

A story that showcases perseverance, willpower, and the strength of many men against an unseen enemy.