My sister lives WAY UP in Maine, and we are able to get together with her and her family only a few times each year.  Yesterday we met for a fun post-Christmas [...]]]> Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page; you can look over at her site to find links to other readers’ mailboxes.

My sister lives WAY UP in Maine, and we are able to get together with her and her family only a few times each year.  Yesterday we met for a fun post-Christmas excursion.  She got the proverbial “short end of the stick” and drove almost 3 hours to meet us in Kittery for lunch. 

On our relatively short 1 1/2 hour drive, we went through Portsmouth, NH.  We arrived at the restaurant/rendezvous spot a half hour before we planned to meet.  Let’s go back to RiverRun Bookstore, I suggested.  A quick check on the GPS showed that it was a mere 1.7 miles from where we were in Kittery!

Back over the bridge into New Hampshire we drove, found an ideal parking spot across from the store on Congress Street, and trooped into the store … six of us … like circus clowns who had been trapped in a Volkswagen and were anxious for some reading material other than what is on the back of the sun visors.

We didn’t have much time, but I was able to confirm, without a doubt, that all the wonderful accolades Brooks Sigler bestowed on the store in this Spotlight post are true!  On a rainy Sunday, just before noon, the store was hopping with parents and children browsing the books in the back of the store (not including my children, two of whom were arguing that they each needed a copy of the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book), booksellers helping other patrons, and the sounds of a cash register ringing up sales.

I was particularly taken by the prominent display of staff picks, from which I selected Yoko Ogawa’s The Housekeeper and the Professor.  I’ve read many positive reviews of this novel, and the premise intrigues me:

He is a brilliant math Professor with a peculiar problem–ever since a traumatic head injury, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory. She is an astute young Housekeeper, with a ten-year-old son, who is hired to care for him. 

And every morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to each other anew, a strange and beautiful relationship blossoms between them. Though he cannot hold memories for long (his brain is like a tape that begins to erase itself every eighty minutes), the Professor’s mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past. And the numbers, in all of their articulate order, reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her young son. The Professor is capable of discovering connections between the simplest of quantities–like the Housekeeper’s shoe size–and the universe at large, drawing their lives ever closer and more profoundly together, even as his memory slips away. 

The Housekeeper and the Professor is an enchanting story about what it means to live in the present, and about the curious equations that can create a family.

And, it came recommended by Gwen at RiverRun Bookstore!  Deckle-edge paper, French-flap cover, a bookstore bookmark, and 20% off the Staff Pick … it was meant to be.

What’s new on your bookcase this week?

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page; you can look over at her site to find links to other readers’ mailboxes.

I’ve had four books come into my hands this week, and none of those were via the mailbox

Three of these were all added to my library on Wednesday of last [...]]]>

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page; you can look over at her site to find links to other readers’ mailboxes.

I’ve had four books come into my hands this week, and none of those were via the mailbox

Three of these were all added to my library on Wednesday of last week, which was a busy and fun bookish day for me.

I met with Stona Fitch, founder of the Concord Free Press, the publisher that is inspiring charitable donations by giving away their books.  I wrote a bit about the Concord Free Press when I attended the launch event for their latest release, Gregory Maguire’s The Next Queen of Heaven.  I understood what they are doing, but wanted to know more about how they came to be … and where they hope to go.  I’ll share Stona’s thoughts in an upcoming post; in the meantime, he shared the Concord Free Press’ debut novel with me, his Give + Take.  His generosity means I’ll have another give away after I’ve read and reviewed it.

I took full advantage of the fact that I had a babysitter for the afternoon and evening!  From my meeting with Stona I took the T into Harvard Square and spent about an hour shopping before meeting up with Marie, aka the Boston Bibliophile.

Marie is exactly how I imagined the person behind the Boston Bibliophile to be (and if you’re not yet reading her blog, hop on over – great literary fiction reviews, graphic novels, and Jewish-interest fiction; honest commentary).  We had a nice dinner of Vietnamese noodle soup.  I had never eaten this type of food before, and was a little unsure of the “rare beef” described in the menu.  Marie told me not to worry, by the time it sits in the hot broth for a while it’s fully cooked – she was right!  The soup was tasty, warm, and filling; the perfect recipe for a cold and rainy evening.

From Le’s we walked around a bit, then went to the Harvard Bookstore for their December Winedown.  Each month the store has a relaxing event where the buyers and booksellers share their favorite books with patrons.  November featured cookbooks, and one of the booksellers made eclairs; I can’t speak for Marie, but you can bet I won’t be missing the next cooking demo!

The December Winedown invited us to the store as “Harvard Book Store General Manager Carole Horne, Head Buyer Megan Sullivan, Backlist Buyer Churchill Pitts, and Children’s Buyer Kari Patch highlight the best and most beautiful books of the year.” Also on tap was an assortment of cookies and wine – a tasty after dinner treat.  Everyone who pre-registered received a gift bag with a list of the books that were highlighted by the store’s buyers, a Harvard Books magnet, and a book!  That’s right, the store shared their books – I got an Advanced Reading Copy of Chang-Rae Lee’s The Surrendered!  Coming in March from Riverhead Books, it’s a story of love and war, spanning thirty years.

Each buyer spoke for about ten minutes about the books they wanted to draw our attention to (and when I say “our” attention, I mean the 100+ people who attended the event).  They had conveniently stocked a table with the books they were highlighting, and were available for Q&A and further discussion after the event.  I purchased Carmen Agra Deedy’s children’s picture book 14 Cows for America (available now from Peachtree Publishers).  This is the story of people in a Kenyan village, who, heartsick over the 9/11 attacks in America, offer “sacred, healing cows [which] can never be slaughtered.”  I’ve read fantastic reviews of this across the blogosphere, and will now add my praise of this heartwarming story.

Lastly, I purchased a cookbook to support Gaining Ground, a local organization that farms on the Thoreau Birthplace in Concord and donates all produce to food pantries and hunger relief programs.  The cookbook is beautiful, and is organized according to New England’s seasonal produce calendar.  I love these community cookbooks, they always seem to have the best tried-and-true recipes.  The Gaining Ground cookbook, of gift-giving quality, is available to order.

What’s new on your bookcase this week?

A fun variety of books and accessories came into the house last week:

I won a bookmark in a random drawing at Jeane’s DogEar Diary.  This is two-sided, the picture of the bat [...]]]> Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page; you can look over at her site to find links to other readers’ mailboxes.

A fun variety of books and accessories came into the house last week:

I won a bookmark in a random drawing at Jeane’s DogEar Diary.  This is two-sided, the picture of the bat continues on the reverse.  When I opened it, my son said “Cool!  Can I have it?!”  I agreed to share, only if he remembered to put away his backpack after school each afternoon.  So far he’s keeping up his end of the bargain.

Last Tuesday was the Book Fair for our local elementary school.  Instead of inviting a large bookseller to set up in the school, the PTG (Parent Teacher Group, our version of the PTA) works with our local independent bookstore.  They create classroom wish lists, parent/teacher recommendations, schedule guest readers to appear in the store throughout the day … oh, and the cookies … there are always yummy homemade cookies to draw you in.  Ten percent of sales from the day are returned to the school (and you don’t even have to say some magic phrase at check-out, all purchases, even those from people walking in off the street, count toward the fundraiser.)

One of the books I purchased that day is Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.  This was recommended to me by Jill at Fizzy Thoughts after I made a comment about being in a rut with my NaNoWriMo project.  Jill is brilliant; Anne Lamott is smart, funny, and encouraging; and I’m out of my rut!  Highly recommended book, but more about that when I write my full review.

I won a random drawing during BBAW, and I received the prize from Serena from Savvy Verse and Wit.  It’s an issue of 32 Poems magazine.  Each biennial issue contains – you guessed it! – 32 poems.  The small format is perfect to tuck in a purse or tote; this will be coming with me on the road as we navigate Thanksgiving traffic this week.  Serena has been conducting interviews with many of the poets featured in 32 Poems; you can find them on her blog.

Two books came into my house ‘just because’ from other book bloggers!  I received a package from Care with Jennie Nash’s memoir The Victoria’s Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming: and other lessons I learned from breast cancer.  Care knows I enjoy memoir and sent it to me as a surprise; there was an extra surprise inside – no, not pie – she included an oval READ sticker from her local bookstore   I’ll be passing this book along to another reader who commented on Care’s post, after I have a chance to read and review it.

Another book came to me from Jill at Rhapsody in Books, via Ti at Book Chatter.  Last month Jill reviewed Michael Buckley’s NERDS: National Espionage Rescue and Defense Society; it’s a Middle Grade book which commendably included a lot of multicultural characters and gave positive traits to the ‘nerds’ and ‘geeks’.  Despite this effort, Jill noticed that any reference to physical beauty encompassed a stereotypical (and not multicultural) version.  She asked for feedback from other readers, and I volunteered my 11-year-old son for the task.  I’ll be sharing this book with another young reader when he is done with it.

What new books have made their way into your house and onto your nightstands this week?  Any surprises from other readers?

We’re on vacation, but, as you know, a reader never rests!  We’re always on the lookout for bookish treasures – new stores to explore, books of local interest to discover, and simply the excuse that since we’re on vacation it’s OK to treat [...]]]>

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page.

We’re on vacation, but, as you know, a reader never rests!  We’re always on the lookout for bookish treasures – new stores to explore, books of local interest to discover, and simply the excuse that since we’re on vacation it’s OK to treat ourselves (like ice cream every day)!

Here’s a photo of what I’m adding to my bags after our first week of vacation (below)

We went to Provincetown on Monday and I picked up this fun Great Women Rulers of Literture wooden ruler at Marine Specialties, a surplus store known simply as “the Army/Navy store” locally.

A few days later I bought a pin for my denim jacket (a sure sign I’m  thinking about fall and back-to-school).  It’s hard to see in the photo – the inner blocks says “I Read Banned Books” and has reproductions of The Color Purple and To Kill a Mockingbird on either side.

By Thursday we were ready to take a break from the beach.  A little wet weather had the kids and I piling in the car to drive down to Hyannis where we visited the Cape Cod Potato Chips factory. The factory tour was minimal but fun, and we enjoyed the samples and special flavors we brought back to the beach house with us.  (Yeah, I know, not book-related, but it explains what we were doing in Hyannis!)

Hyannis has the largest concentration of chain stores on the Cape.  While we were there we popped into Borders and I picked up Rudyard Kipling’s Kim which I’m reading for the Newsweek 50 Books for our Times Reading Project hosted by My Friend Amy.  I also got Steve Matin’s Shopgirl from the bargain rack; I haven’t yet read this novella, and how could I resist a $1 book!?  The kids each picked a new book, too; they are also too fond of books!

Later in the week I took my 7-year-old to Where the Sidewalk Ends, a great indie bookstore in Chatham (yes, there will be a Spotlight on Bookstores coming up!).  We were there for a signing with Hannah Roberts McKinnon, whose Middle Grade novel, Franny Parker, has been recently published by Farrar Straus Giroux.  We purchased the book and a nice tote bag from the store.  In a fun “it’s a small world” coversation, we discovered that McKinnon’s family and ours have good friends in common.

One week down, one to go … I’m looking forward to getting more goodies as we wind down our vacation and am seeking out books on local lore.

What books came into your hands this past week?

Today I’m sharing a new doorstop book that I picked up to bring on vacation.  Our neighborhood book group chose Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset to read over the summer; we’ll discuss it at our next meeting in September.

Here’s the publisher’s description of [...]]]> Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page.

Today I’m sharing a new doorstop book that I picked up to bring on vacation.  Our neighborhood book group chose Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset to read over the summer; we’ll discuss it at our next meeting in September.

Here’s the publisher’s description of the book:

In her great historical epic Kristin Lavransdatter, set in fourteenth-century Norway, Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset tells the life story of one passionate and headstrong woman. Painting a richly detailed backdrop, Undset immerses readers in the day-to-day life, social conventions, and political and religious undercurrents of the period. Now in one volume, Tiina Nunnally’s award-winning definitive translation brings this remarkable work to life with clarity and lyrical beauty.

As a young girl, Kristin is deeply devoted to her father, a kind and courageous man. But when as a student in a convent school she meets the charming and impetuous Erlend Nikulaussøn, she defies her parents in pursuit of her own desires. Her saga continues through her marriage to Erlend, their tumultuous life together raising seven sons as Erlend seeks to strengthen his political influence, and finally their estrangement as the world around them tumbles into uncertainty.

With its captivating heroine and emotional potency, Kristin Lavransdatter is the masterwork of Norway’s most beloved author—one of the twentieth century’s most prodigious and engaged literary minds—and, in Nunnally’s exquisite translation, a story that continues to enthrall.

You have to understand, I’ve tried several times, but haven’t been able to finish War and Peace.  I was a bit put off by the phrases “historical epic” and “saga”; the billing of Sigrid Undset as “one of the twentieth century’s most prodigious and engaged literary minds” really poured on the pressure!

I put out an SOS on Twitter, asking for advice – am I setting myself up for failure?  is this epic as readable and enjoyable as my neighbor claims?  any particular translation to look for?:

Have any of u tweeps read KRISTIN LAVRANSTADDER THE BRIDAL WREATH trilogy! Neighborhood bk chose it 4 Sept & it looks like quite a tome!

This, by the way, is when I discovered that my iPhone wanted to auto-correct “tweeps” to “twerps” … good thing I proof-read my tweet before hitting “send!”  It was too much to catch me reversing the D and T in Kristin’s surname, though

The responses were immediate and positive, including:

• @Wordlily: I’ve read it! Love it.  I read the Archer translation, which is supposedly the lesser of the two.
• @MyFriendAmy:   hmmm no. good luck with that!
• @MindyWithrow:  KRISTIN is absolutely remarkable! I recommend the Tiina Nunnally translation. Reviewed it at http://mindywithrow.com/?p=1011
• @MariJorstad:  As a Norwegian I had to read the first book in school. At times interesting, but overall worth while.
• @AnneMazer:  it’s been years, but I read a couple of the books. I seem to remember that they were extraordinary (but kind of sad, too)

OK, so maybe @MyFriendAmy’s tweet wasn’t a resounding endorsement, but her “good luck” was sincere!  I got five responses within 20 minutes of posting my question; the power of Twitter!

I bought the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, translated by Tiina Nunnally.  It runs a whopping 1146 pages and combines the three novels:  The Wreath, The Wife, and The Cross.  It may be a while before I finish it, but I will report back with my review … sometime before the snow falls!

What’s new on your bookshelf this week?

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page.  Here’s a look at the books that have come into my house this week:

I received Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.  I’m really looking forward to reading this, especially since I hope to meet the author at Book Expo America later this [...]]]>

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page.  Here’s a look at the books that have come into my house this week:

I received Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.  I’m really looking forward to reading this, especially since I hope to meet the author at Book Expo America later this month!

My 13-year-old daughter picked this up as soon as I opened the package; it’s 20 Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler.  She has promised a review as soon as she’s finished reading it. 

I’ve got just one question, how can I be too young to be the mother of a teenager, yet too old to be the mother of a 4-year-old … we’re having one of those days!

OK, a second question, what’s new on your bookshelf this week?

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page.  This is a peek at the books that have come into my house this week, and the various ways they’ve arrived:

My neighbor, Debbie, and I had a yard sale to raise money for our Breast Cancer 3-Day walk.  All the neighbors donated [...]]]>

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page.  This is a peek at the books that have come into my house this week, and the various ways they’ve arrived:

My neighbor, Debbie, and I had a yard sale to raise money for our Breast Cancer 3-Day walk.  All the neighbors donated goods to be sold, and we did heavy advertising in the local newspaper, Craigslist, and signs posted around town.  The sale was a success, and I picked up two books from the book table!  One was Elizabeth Berg’s Say When; I haven’t read anything by this author, but I recognize her name from various blogs I read.  My second yard sale find was Tracy Chevalier’s The Virgin Blue.  I loved The Girl with a Pearl Earring, and have high hopes for this other novel.

PaperBack Swap came through with a copy of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief!  I thought this was a YA book, but based on the font and number of pages, it looks like regular adult fiction to me.  Am I way off base, or is this a successful crossover book, a la Harry Potter?

I won a few books in the past week, which is always a very fun and exciting way to add to my reading lists!  W. W. Norton and Co. publishers and the Poems Out Loud ran a giveaway for a signed (by Robert Pinsky, Sharon Olds, Philip Schultz, Mark Strand, and C. K. Williams) copy of the new Essential Pleasures: A New Anthology of Poems to Read Aloud.  The book contains a CD with a selection of poems read by Robert Pinsky.  I am so excited about this book, especially since one of my goals for the next year or so is to read and familiarize myself with more poetry.

Another win came from the Read Street blog of the Baltimore Sun.  I won an adorable picture book called First Dog; it’s about an un-named dog who comes to live at a certain address on Pennsylvania Avenue.  The second book in the giveaway was Bastard Tonguesby Derek Bickerton.  Bickerton was a professor of linguistics; this book discusses “what language is, how it works, and how it passes from generation to generation, even where historical accidents have made normal transmission almost impossible.”

Lastly, I’m pleased to share the title of a book written by my neighbor, Gwen Acton.  The Bluffer’s Guide to Genetics promises to give me enough information about DNA, genomes and cloning to talk my way through any cocktail party.  The Bluffer’s Guides are a series from the UK, similar to the Dummies series.  I’m finding it quite readable for a non-scientist, and look forward to my first attempt at bluffing!

I love this mix of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children’s picture book … never a dull moment on my bookcase!  What’s new on your shelf this week?

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted my Marcia at the Printed Page.  Here’s a quick look at what was added to my TBR pile this past week.  TBR pile?  Yes, I mean it literally!  It’s time to spring clean the bookcases, get my books off the floor and give them the respect they deserve [...]]]>

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted my Marcia at the Printed Page.  Here’s a quick look at what was added to my TBR pile this past week.  TBR pile?  Yes, I mean it literally!  It’s time to spring clean the bookcases, get my books off the floor and give them the respect they deserve

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead is a novel to be published April 28, 2009:  The year is 1985. Benji Cooper is one of the only black students at an elite prep school in Manhattan. He spends his falls and winters going to roller-disco bar mitzvahs, playing too much Dungeons and Dragons, and trying to catch glimpses of nudity on late-night cable TV. After a tragic mishap on his first day of high school—when Benji reveals his deep enthusiasm for the horror movie magazine Fangoria—his social doom is sealed for the next four years.
But every summer, Benji escapes to the Hamptons, to Sag Harbor, where a small community of African American professionals have built a world of their own. Because their parents come out only on weekends, he and his friends are left to their own devices for three glorious months. And although he’s just as confused about this all-black refuge as he is about the white world he negotiates the rest of the year, he thinks that maybe this summer things will be different. If all goes according to plan, that is.
There will be trials and tribulations, of course. There will be complicated new handshakes to fumble through, and state-of-the-art profanity to master. He will be tested by contests big and small, by his misshapen haircut (which seems to have a will of its own), by the New Coke Tragedy of ’85, and by his secret Lite FM addiction. But maybe, with a little luck, things will turn out differently this summer.
In this deeply affectionate and fiercely funny coming-of-age novel, Whitehead—using the perpetual mortification of teenage existence and the desperate quest for reinvention—lithely probes the elusive nature of identity, both personal and communal.

The Blue Notebook is a novel to be published by James Levine in July 2009.  It tells the story of Batuk, a precocious 15-year-old girl from rural India who was sold into sexual slavery by her father when she was nine. As she navigates the grim realities of the Common Street—a street of prostitution in Mumbai where children are kept in cages as they wait for customers to pay for sex—Batuk manages to put pen to paper, recording her private thoughts and stories in a diary. The novel is powerfully told in Batuk’s voice, through the words she writes in her journal, where she finds hope and beauty in the bleakest circumstances.

Beautifully crafted and deeply human, The Blue Notebook explores how people, in the most difficult of situations, can use storytelling to make sense of and give meaning to their lives. All of the U.S. proceeds from this novel will be donated to the International and National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children.

The Age of Shiva is a novel by Manil Suri.  The publisher’s synopsis says that Meera, the narrator, is seventeen years old when she catches her first glimpse of Dev, performing a song so infused with passion that it arouses in her the first flush of erotic longing. She wonders if she can steal him away from Roopa, her older, more beautiful sister, who has brought her along to see him.

It is only when her son is born that Meera begins to imagine a life of fulfillment. She engulfs him with a love so deep, so overpowering, that she must fear its consequences.

Someone Knows My Name is a novel by Lawrence Hill.  Its focus is a female main character:  Kidnapped as a child from Africa, Aminata Diallo is enslaved in South Carolina but escapes during the chaos of the Revolutionary War. In Manhattan she becomes a scribe for the British, recording the names of blacks who have served the King and earned freedom in Nova Scotia. But the hardship and prejudice there prompt her to follow her heart back to Africa, then on to London, where she bears witness to the injustices of slavery and its toll on her life and a whole people.

Four novels for me this week.  That is an unusual trend, as I usually read a mix of non-fiction and fiction.  These books will take me to the Hamptons (a world within a world), around the globe with a former slave, and with two I’ll visit India.  Which setting appeals most to you?  Are any of these books on your bookcase (or floor!)?

Each Monday, Marcia at the Printed Page asks what has come into our hands in the past week.  Today I have two to add:

I liked the message in Three Cups of Tea, and even borrowed the phrase recently when I wrote about my upcoming Breast Cancer 3-Day walk this summer.  If you’re not familiar with [...]]]>

Each Monday, Marcia at the Printed Page asks what has come into our hands in the past week.  Today I have two to add:

I liked the message in Three Cups of Tea, and even borrowed the phrase recently when I wrote about my upcoming Breast Cancer 3-Day walk this summer.  If you’re not familiar with the expression, in Pakistan it is said that on the first cup of tea you are a stranger, with the second you become friends, and by the third you are family.

So, I liked the overall message and the work that Greg Mortenson is doing, but I did have a few grumbles about the writing style.

I’m happy to report that the new Three Cups of Tea for Young Readers and the picture book Listen to the Wind will get much better style reports when I write full reviews.

LM11 is reading Three Cups of Tea for Young Readers with his class in school, along with the accompanying “pennies for peace” promotion.

We’ve all enjoyed Listen to the Wind, which tells the story in picture book format.  Beautiful cloth and paper collages accompany the text; you may be able to see the quality on the book cover.

What’s new on your bookcase this week?