Posts Tagged ‘Recommendations’

Allow me to introduce your next fiction addiction

September 3rd, 2010

Surely you’ve heard of the NYT Bestselling Hunger Games trilogy? You’ve read all three books, right? In fact, you were at the bookstore first thing the morning of August 24th to pick up your copy of Mockingjay, the final installment in the trilogy. And you didn’t eat, work, or speak to family or friends until you’d read the final word.

Wait . . . are you saying you haven’t read them?

Well, consider this a PSA — whether you usually read YA fiction or not, you gotta read these books.

I’ll admit the premise of The Hunger Games didn’t grab me at first: “In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV.” Sounded a bit like a teen version of that Schwarzaneggar film The Running Man. (Oh, how I date myself!) But so many people — folks whose reading tastes I respect very highly — kept badgering me to read it that I finally gave in. And here are some of the reasons why I enjoyed the series:

– streamlined yet evocative prose

– characters that one can’t help falling desperately in love with

– page-turning momentum

– action AND romance

– humor and pathos (though quite a bit more of the latter, I must admit)

I won’t even mention the trilogy’s unflinching look at totalitarianism, war and revolution. (Wait, I just did!) Maybe that sounds like a turn-off, but I just want you to know that these books have some MEAT to them, along with being addictively readable.

If you haven’t read The Hunger Games yet, the best news is that you won’t have to wait months and months to FINALLY read the sequels. They’re all out on the shelves and waiting for you — ready to be devoured!

If you have read the books, why not share something you loved about them, without being too spoilery?  (And sometime in the not-too-distant future, I hope we can discuss the film!)

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Summer Train Reads

August 6th, 2010

For the past few weeks I’ve been in England while my husband teaches in the Oklahoma Summer Law Program at Brasenose College, Oxford University.  This is the third time we’ve participated in the program and we always enjoy our time in this historic city.  I’ve encountered some great books during these summers – often doing the bulk of my reading on trains.  So, for this entry I’ll suggest a few YA paperbacks guaranteed to make the hours pass quickly – even on public transportation!

The Bride’s Farewell, by Meg Rosoff (an American author based in the UK) is the story of headstrong Pell Ridley, who runs away the night before her wedding to escape the drudgery and sorrow suffered by her own mother.  This beautifully written novel, which often reads like a fairy tale (albeit a gritty one), will appeal to lovers of strong heroines, survival stories, and unconventional romances.  Those with a soft spot for horses and dogs will also find much to love!

(Interestingly enough, I was first introduced to Rosoff’s work five years ago during our last summer in Oxford when I read [mostly on a train] her multiple-award winning How I Live Now.  It’s a darker story, but even more gripping than The Bride’s Farewell – definitely near the top of my list of favorite YA novels.)

Beating Heart, by A.M. Jenkins (a Texas author), is a contemporary ghost story with a compelling teen boy protagonist.  Since he moved with his family into a recently-restored Victorian house, Evan has been having vividly passionate dreams about a girl he’s never seen before.  Eventually he learns that the dream girl visited his house long before he was born – and didn’t leave it alive.  Jenkins slowly builds suspense and emotional intensity rather than going for cheap scares, leaving the reader with a poignant and deeply satisfying conclusion.

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Book Gods, Farming, and the Latest and Greatest

June 15th, 2010

By Anne Greenwood Brown

Sometimes, I swear, there are book gods who know just what I need, just when I need it.  I’m wandering the rows of books at my neighborhood bookstore and I look down to find “it” in my hands.  Usually I have no idea what made me pick it.  It has a pretty cover, or I recognize the author’s name, or it’s on sale, and it’s just … (*sigh*) perfect.  Last week, I looked down at my hands to discover I’d picked Allison Winn Scotch’s THE ONE THAT I WANT.

TOTIW focuses on the life of Tilly Farmer (I love a good pun name), who marries her high school sweetheart, lives in her home town, and works at her alma mater.  When she starts to see visions of the future, she has to ask herself if this was really the life she wanted. (Or, to continue the pun, whether she really wants to reap what she’s sown.)

The plot could have been generic, but the book gods rarely disappoint.  The writing is sharp and witty, and you feel like you know these women.  You ARE these women.  It’s a tricky row Tilly hoes with the not-always-helpful help of an estranged fortune teller, a pissed off sister, and a rebounding friend.  The ending is satisfying without being unrealistically tidy, so I expect the word will spread and TOTIW will crop up on many to-be-read piles this summer.  (And I think that exhausts my yield of farming puns.)  Nice work, Allison!  I expect we’ll be seeing you back on the NYT bestseller list soon.

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Why read YA? (A primer)

June 4th, 2010

When Malena Lott invited me to blog once a month about Young Adult fiction, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to gush about books from the category I’ve chosen to build a career around.

Maybe you’re already a fan of YA fiction.  If not, allow me to list some reasons why teens and adults can enjoy literature from these shelves:

1. Teens make great protagonists because the teen years are inherently full of CONFLICT.  (You remember, right?  Constant tumult.)

2. During the teen years, many adult things are happening for the first time and thus they are experienced with GREAT INTENSITY.  What’s more intense than first love?  The first kiss?  The first time you really broke the rules?  Broke your heart?  Gee, even the first time you drove a car was pretty intense.

3. Teens specialize in ANGST and this makes for great reading.  Nobody longs to be clinically depressed, but a moderate amount of angst is almost enjoyable.  It certainly makes one feel intensely ALIVE.  Readers of YA get to experience this vicariously.

4. Teens are less likely than adults to stick with a disappointing book, hoping the pace will pick up or the story will somehow improve.  Thus, YA novels tend to have streamlined plots, free of elements that clutter a narrative (like protagonists who endlessly navel-gaze or dwell too intensely on the past).  This makes for page-turning momentum!

5. Contrary to what some might think, YA literature is not “dumbed down.”  Just like adult literature, YA books come in a variety of genres and are geared toward a variety of audiences.  You’ll find breezy reads that leave you in stitches on the same shelves with heftier reads that make you ponder and ache.  Something for everyone!

Are you convinced?  If so, stay tuned – each month I’ll be recommending a recently published YA novel.  Hope you find something new to enjoy!

Sonia Gensler

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Wellness Wednesday: Play to Your Strengths

June 2nd, 2010

juggle-earth1Each of us is something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against ourselves.  ~Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

Women are wonderful and peculiar creatures.  Despite unprecedented opportunities in all spheres of daily living, women are becoming increasingly unhappy, less satisfied, and less fulfilled in their lives.  We got lost on the path to “having it all” when we believed that the only way to do so was to be perfectly balanced and accomplished in all areas: wife, mother, career, civic, and social.  Because of this distorted belief, women have experienced unnecessary feelings of failure, self-doubt, and shame. When presented with an assessment of strengths and weaknesses, most women will immediately look to remediate their weakness instead of looking to use their strengths to their advantage.  While this approach may be the proper path to becoming “balanced”, it is unlikely to lead to happiness or contentment.  The answer might be found in becoming strategically unbalanced; that is, by shifting our lives more heavily to our areas of strength.
225_350_book-88-coverIn his book, Find Your Strongest Life, Mr. Buckingham provides a different model for “having it all” (defined as “drawing enough strength from life to feel fulfilled, loved, successful, and in control) then provides a set of different “Strength” based tactics to accomplish this. He utilizes an online strength assessment to help determine “the role you were born to play.” (www.stronglifetest.com) Overall, this book is very accessible, addresses numerous real-life situations faced by today’s women, and provides workable solutions and suggestions for all. The shift in focus from “Balance” to “Fullness” by focusing on “capturing moments that bring strength” feels both intuitive and empowering. This book will be beneficial for all women who are stuck in the search for “elusive perfection” amid the bounty of choices available to us.
What areas of your life make you feel strong? What could you do to capitalize more fully on your strengths?

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Feel the Burn

June 1st, 2010

imagesby BEB Bookette Anne Greenwood Brown

I’m not much of a beach person.  I pretty much burn at the mere mention of the sun. 

But I do like the smell of coconut-scented sunscreen, and I do enjoy a good “beach read” so I partake of both, just on a shady front porch.

Looking back on past summers, I’ve sunk into many an adirondack chair with familiar titles such as Sparks’s Notebook and Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series.  There was the summer I devoured my daughter’s Twilight books, and most recently Emily Giffin’s Love the One You’re With.  All in all, a diverse group of genres: Romance, Suspense, Paranormal, Women’s Fiction.  The pages of two of those books are warped by tears, and the series are food stained because I couldn’t tear myself away from the action to eat dinner at the table.

At closer look, however, my most memorable beach reads do have one thing in common: They all have an intoxicating, suck-you-in factor that allows one to read at break-neck speed, sometimes in a single sitting.  Which brings me to another book that fits that category and, therefore, qualifies as a “good beach read.”  414nGumBqOL._SL500_AA266_PIkin2,BottomRight,-16,34_AA300_SH20_OU01_It is, Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single by Heather McElhatton.  It has Evanovich’s slap-stick comedy, Meyer’s drool-worthy Alpha male, and Giffin’s snarky wit, all in a Notebook-tidy length.  But the ending . . . ah, the ending . . . let’s just say you’ll need a margarita and some Noxema to cool you down because the ending will leave you as raw as a Fourth-of-July sunburn.

Get the book here.
We’d love to hear what’s in your beach bag this summer! Remember, one commenter this week will win a copy of SWEET MISFORTUNE on Friday.

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