Sunday, November 20, 2016

Visit Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore for Indies 1st Day + Small Business Saturday on Nov 26!


Next Saturday, November 26, 2016 is ...drum roll...

INDIES FIRST DAY + SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY!

I'll be at the one-and-only Mysterious Galaxy, 5943 Balboa Ave, Ste 100, San Diego, 92111.*

And...I'll be working...as a bookseller! Yes, it's true. No bonbons or couches for me from 1:00-3:00pm. 

Mysterious Galaxy let me order for their shelves six of my favorite mysteries and fantasies. Please stop by and talk books. Or just come see me putting in an honest 2 hours of work. Or bring me a coffee.

Other bookselling authors will be: Mishell Baker, Lisa Brackmann, Nick Cole, CB Lee, Cindy Pon, Kat Rocha and Laura Tims.

We're all very friendly. :) And it's always good to support a local independent bookstore.


*store hours=10am-5pm

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

The Book Review Club (November 2016)



Guess what Emily Dickinson said about November? "November always seemed to me the Norway of the year." What's a really great way to cheer up a dreary month? AND to take your mind off the elections? BOOKS! How propitious (there's your $5 word for the month!) that you stumbled upon this blog. Presenting: the November 2016 edition of The Book Review Club with reviews of books we want you to read! Welcome!

13 WAYS OF LOOKING AT A FAT GIRL 
by Mona Awad (debut, adult, literary)

I'm trying to write this review carefully because 13 WAYS OF LOOKING AT A FAT GIRL is a very, very good book. I want to do it justice. Actually, a lot of people think highly of this book. For example, it's: a finalist for the Giller Prize, winner of the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, one of the most anticipated books of 2016 according to Elle, Bustle, and The Globe and Mail. Whew.

The book consists of thirteen interconnected vignettes that follow Lizzie/Beth/Elizabeth/Liz from teenage hood through college, temp work, inappropriate relationships, marriage and more until her early thirties. Lizzie changes her name depending on her weight. (See how FAT is partially erased on the cover?!)

In the first story, "When We Went Against the Universe," Lizzie is an overweight high schooler, hanging out with her best friend, Mel, at a McDonald's in suburban Toronto ("...here in Misery Saga which is what you're allowed to call Mississauga if you live there.") By the last story, "Beyond the Sea," Lizzie is in her thirties, thin, unhappy, divorced and living in a gated community where she fights for time on the Lifecycle and questions the point of all her exercising and neurotic, cautious eating/starving.

13 WAYS is the story of Lizzie March, a multi-dimensional character we see interacting with several other characters, in a variety of settings, from a dressing room to a nail salon to her bedroom to a hospital waiting room to various restaurants and the list goes on. 13 WAYS is also the story of women in today's society. How we're pressured to look a certain way, dress a certain way, even to think in certain ways. And how we're so very often ill at ease in our very own skin.

13 WAYS is witty, caustic, insightful. I laughed. I cringed. I kept turning pages.

I think perhaps People magazine said it best: "A hilarious, heartbreaking book."

Highly recommended.

(Dear FCC: I bought this book.)

And now....onto the rest of our reviews. Please click through. You won't want to miss a single one!

YOUNG ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Ellen Booraem:  DREAMHUNTER by Elizabeth Knott (YA Fantasy, bk #1)
                           DREAMQUAKE BY Elizabeth Knott (YA Fantasy, bk #2)

Jody Feldman: THE CANDYMAKERS by Wendy Mass (middle grade, bk #1)
                         THE GREAT CHOCOLATE CHASE by Wendy Mass (middle grade, bk #2)

Stacy Nyikos: THE ADVENTURERS GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL ESCAPES by Wade Albert White
                        (middle grade, fantasy, sci fi)

Beth Bonini of TRAC: ASKING FOR IT by Louise O'Neill (mature YA)

Stacy of the Cat's Meow: SALT TO THE SEA by Ruta Sepetys  (YA historical)

ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Alyssa Goodnight: A STUDY IN SCARLET WOMEN by Sherry Thomas (historical mystery)

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: THE HUMMINGBIRD by Stephen P. Kieran (contemporary)

Linda McLaughlin: THE LAST WALTZ by G.G. Vandagriff (Historical/Saga)
                             
Lucy Sartain of Ranting and Raving: THREE WISHES by Liane Moriarty (contemporary)

Ray Potthoff: PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks (historical)



Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!