Books

by Janet Evanovichages: adultFirst sentence: "There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever."Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!While I've been aware of the powerhouse that Janet Evanovich is (that woman puts out a least a book a year!), I've never really had that desire to read her. Perhaps it's because of my NY Times-best seller aversion, or perhaps it's because I rarely do mysteries. But whatever the reason, I only picked one up because a nice woman in my (now-defunct) in-person book group insisted she was a lot of fluffy fun.So, for those under the rock (I don't know how many of you are there): Stephanie Plum is an out-of work, divorced, nearly 30-something woman in Trenton, New Jersey. She's not been able to find a new job, and she's run out of things to hock for rent money, so she turns to her cousin Vinnie, who runs a bail bond company. She takes on the biggest case she could: apprehending former cop Joe Morelli, who's been accused of murder. Of course he's innocent -- we can't have the sexy cop be guilty, now, can we? -- and Stephanie gets herself in some deep trouble -- rapists and murderers, oh my -- as she tries to bring Morelli in.The woman was right: this is fluff. I don't think I felt my IQ falling while reading it, but I didn't find much redeeming about it, either. Except maybe her portrait of Trenton in the mid-90s? I also didn't find that I was enthralled by it, either. I would read a few chapters, put it down and read a few books before looking at it and thinking, "Yeah, I probably ought to read a bit more." Maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea. But, honestly: I don't see the appeal of this series (Eighteen books? Really?). One is more than enough for me.

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead Release Date: June 4, 2013 Publisher: Dutton Adult Pages: 464 Series: Age of X #1 Review Source: Edelweiss Synopsis: (from Goodreads) In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills. When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board. Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.My Thoughts: ‘Gameboard of the Gods’ is Richelle Mead’s latest adult release, but I’ve also seen it categorized as New Adult. It’s definitely an adult novel, but it does have appeal factors of New Adult and even YA. Justin is thirty-something, Mae is a bit younger, and then there’s also a focus on 16 year old Tessa. I think if you can handle mature YA with some adult content (read: sex between consenting adults), then it definitely works for all of those age categories. Personally I was fascinated by all the little details that Mead snuck into this book, and how she world-built. It was super interesting to see genetic mixing and bi-racialism as the ideal, and to be in a world where genetic improvements and implants were commonplace for the elite soldiers. On the one hand you have these huge technological improvements and a highly tech based society, and yet there were also the “backwards” nations with low tech and lots of crime. Interestingly the “backwards” nations were the ones who hadn’t eradicated religion, whereas in RUNA (Republic of United North America) traditional religion is outlawed, and other types of religion are regulated. I was completely enthralled with all of these concepts coming up in the book; they’re all quite controversial subjects, and are related to things being talked about today (e.g. chipping people, messing with DNA, etc). ‘Gameboard of the Gods’ features interesting characters that got my attention right away. Justin is a playboy and an addict; he’s also charming and extremely intelligent. Mae is a super badass fighter who’s also vulnerable; she never wants to feel like someone's possession. Let me say that there is a hugeeee amount of chemistry between Justin and Mae. Justin can’t be with Mae because of a prophecy of sorts (so spoilers, it's talked about pretty upfront), which means the book has lots and lots of delicious UST. Tessa, the previously mentioned teenager, is Justin's ward and is trying to settle in to a school where most everyone sees her as backwards. I’m sure you can tell from my thoughts that this book is very detailed with technology and how things work in every part of the country. I’m not the kind of person who normally enjoys this, but in this book it kept my attention well. Richelle Mead seems to be good at providing lots of information without making it seem too infodump-y. I also loved the contrast of the story: it takes place in a country that disparages religion, and yet the book is full of mysticism and gods/goddesses. There’s a great murder mystery aspect to the story with Justin trying to debunk real supernatural involvement, but this turns out to be difficult. The way it was

You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but it doesn't mean the cover can't be appealing. Here are a few magazines that came in this week that made me stop to think, say "wow," or simply announce to my coworkers, "Hey, check out this cover!" Main Street Rag's new cover features a hallway, and at the end, there is an exit sign, pointing left and a sign below indicating poetry is to the right (

Now that Memorial Day Weekend is here, summer has unofficially begun. For many of us, summer is synonymous with reading--as in beach reads. Keep that loving book feeling, and pass it on to your young child. One way to encourage summer reading is to find out what preschool programs are available at your local library. Call, consult the website, or better yet, visit your library to check out the programs that are designed for preschoolers. Trained children's librarians will choose books that will engage and entertain very young children. These events are free, air-conditioned, and will be a fun activity for you, or another caretaker, and your preschooler. Summer = Reading. Pass it on.

Y’all, I am psyched to have the awesome contemporary YA author Susane Colasanti on Good Books And Good Wine today sharing one of her rules for having an awesome summer. Rule 5: Preserve the memories There are two things I’m obsessed with. Okay, I’m obsessed with way more than two things. But two of my main obsessions include documenting and scrapbooking. Documenting (aka taking pictures) is important. I wish I took more pictures in my teen life. There are whole chunks of time I just don’t remember. That’s why I love scrapbooking. When something happens that I really want to remember, I create scrapbook pages to preserve the experience. Like when I had front-row center seats to John Mayer’s show at Madison Square Garden. Do you have any idea how hard it was to score those seats? There was no way I wasn’t going to take a zillion pictures, select the best five, and design a sweet spread in my scrapbook. You can use any kind of notebook for scrapbooking. Nicole’s notebook in Crazy/Beautiful is a perfect example of how to turn any notebook into a stunning scrapbook you will cherish forever. Which reminds me. If you haven’t seen Crazy/Beautiful, you want to get right on that. Not only is it one of my absolute fave films, but Jay Hernandez looks crazy beautiful in it. Anyway. If you prefer using an actual scrapbook, I highly recommend SMASH Books. Each one has themed printed pages. There’s even a whole line of SMASH Book paraphernalia like pockets, stamps, and stickers. How adorable is that? You can find Susane on Twitter and her website. Check out this adorable video from Penguin Teen for All I Need! All I Need synopsis: The last night of summer is only the beginning. Skye wants to meet the boy who will change her life forever. Seth feels their instant connection the second he sees her. When Seth starts talking to Skye at the last beach party of the summer, it’s obvious to both of them that this is something real. But when Seth leaves for college before they exchange contact info, Skye wonders if he felt the same way she did–and if she will ever see him again. Even if they find their way back to each other, can they make a long-distance relationship work despite trust issues, ex drama, and some serious background differences? Teen favorite Susane Colasanti returns to the alternating-voice style of her beloved debut When It Happens in this Serendipity-inspired story about summer, soul mates, and the moments that change our lives forever. About Susane Colasanti: Susane Colasanti is the bestselling author of When It Happens, Take Me There, Waiting for You, Something Like Fate, So Much Closer, and Keep Holding On. Before becoming a full-time author in 2007, she was a high school science teacher for ten years. Susane has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from New York University. She lives in New York City. Susane’s seventh teen novel, All I Need, will be released on May 21, 2013. GIVEAWAY TIME: US Only, use the rafflecopter for your chance to win a copy of All I Need. a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post originally appeared in slightly different form on July 20, 2007.This Perry Mason novel was originally published in 1955, an era during which Gardner’s work was still consistently good, although as far as I’m concerned his best books were published during the Thirties and Forties. The edition pictured is the first paperback, from February 1958. I have no idea why there was a three-year gap between the William Morrow hardback and the Cardinal paperback.As for the story itself, it starts off in a typically intriguing Gardner fashion: Perry Mason receives a phone call at his office from a young woman who wants to hire him. It seems that she lives in a trailer, the small kind that can be pulled behind a car, and while she was out sunbathing -- nude, of course -- somebody stole the car and trailer, literally driving off with her home. She wants to hire Mason to bring her some clothes and find out who stole the trailer.Well, you know there has to be a lot more to it than that in an Erle Stanley Gardner book, and of course, there is. It turns out the young woman is the daughter of a man who is serving time in prison for masterminding an armored car robbery, and wouldn’t you know it, the nearly four hundred thousand dollars in loot that was stolen in that robbery has never been found. The daughter is convinced that her father is really innocent and wants Mason to prove it. Meanwhile, various factions are equally convinced that the daughter really knows where the money is hidden. Sure enough, once Perry Mason gets involved in the case, it’s only a matter of hours before there’s a murder, and Mason’s client is arrested and charged with the crime.I thought I was doing a pretty good job of keeping up with the plot in this one, something I often have a hard time doing in a Gardner novel. I spotted some clues, recognized some misdirection, and was convinced that I had the solution figured out. Then, with only a few pages left in the book, Gardner throws in a perfectly logical twist that I never saw coming at all. I wound up being about half-right in what I figured, and for a Perry Mason novel, that’s not bad, I suppose.This book is also interesting because of the trailer angle. Gardner was known for going off to the desert and staying for weeks at a time in a trailer, so he puts his knowledge of such things to good use here, throwing in a few nuggets of information about how such trailers are set up and what they’re worth.The Mitchell Hooks cover on the paperback edition is okay, but if ever a book was crying out for a McGinnis cover, you’d think that one with a title like THE CASE OF THE SUN BATHER’S DIARY would be it.UPDATE: And sure enough, there was a later edition with a McGinnis cover, which you can see below.

In 2007, I attended the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley, a week-long writers’ conference that includes workshops every morning, and panels and readings every afternoon and evening. It’s inspiring and fun, and also totally exhausting, because there is so much to read and learn and do. I highly recommend this kind of fatigue. At Squaw, Ramona Ausubel and I were assigned the same workshop. At that time, Ramona was a student at UC Irvine’s MFA program, and I befriended her that first morning because I liked her clothes (priorities, people!). I soon discovered that aside from being stylish and amiable, she was also an insightful and generous reader. And then, on the last day of workshop, it was her turn to submit, and she turned in a kind-hearted, dazzling, and odd story, the kind of story that makes you think, “Wow, what a voice!” Sharing my work with Ramona, and getting to read her work, was one of the highlights of my time at Squaw. Years later, I would still recall her story’s whimsical tone, and the world she created: like our own, but stranger, and more absurd, but not any less cruel or complicated or joyful. That story, “Catch and Release,” is in her beguiling and elegantly written collection of short stories called A Guide To Being Born, which is, simply put, a pleasure to read. It’s been so much fun to see my talented friend publish and receive acclaim for her work. She deserves it. Ramona answered a few questions via email. I am sure she was wearing something fabulous as she did so. The Millions: For some reason, I didn’t expect these stories to be so funny. There’s this wonderful, amused tone to much of your work, whether it be a bunch of grandmothers who, upon mysteriously finding themselves on a ship, call out, Does anyone have a compass? and then, I’m from the DC area!, or a teenage girl’s mother eating a “low-this high-that salad.” It made me wonder how you regard the comic in fiction, and how you balance it with more serious subject matter. Can you talk a little about this? Ramona Ausubel: For me, humor is totally necessary, in the way that a certain organ is necessary, yet you have no idea how it works. I don’t think about humor logically, as in, I don’t see a dark place in a story and think, “I could use some comic relief here.” It’s much more instinctual than that, and actually I think that’s a feature of humor in general. We need it, even, or especially, in the hardest situations. Sometimes it’s an escape, but just as often it’s a way of actually feeling the sad or hard thing, which might be too big to wrap one’s brain around otherwise. Plus, when you get your reader to laugh, they become involved in the story in a new way, they are a participant, and I like that. I like it when everyone’s got their hands in the mud-pile together.  TM: This collection is separated into four parts, Birth, Gestation, Conception, and Love. How did you conceive (ha!) of this organization, and why did you decide to move backwards, from birth to love? Can you discuss the formation of these stories into a collection? RA: It’s always amazing to me how long you can go along, not realizing your own obsessions. I first wrote these stories as individuals and not as a book, and then I looked back at the stack and the themes jumped right out at me. There was a moment where I actually felt deflated by this, worrying that my range seemed limited or something. Then someone said to me, “No, that’s what a book is.” After that, I decided to really push the question of what it is to be born again and again throughout one’s life, and that’s where the ordering and sections came in. I wanted to get at the idea that we are in one long cycle, and at the same time we are each in a constant state of transformation and mutation. TM: There are some interesting echoes throughout the book. Grandmothers find themselves on a ship in “Safe Passage,” and then

Title: The Way Back to Happiness Author: Elizabeth Bass ISBN: 9780758281425 Pages: 352 Release Date: May 28, 2013 Publisher: Kensington Genre: Women’s Fiction Source: Publisher & Author Rating: 4 out of 5 Summary: When Bev Putterman learns that her sister Diana has died, she’s sad. Though she and Diana had a falling out years ago, Bev still keenly feels the loss of her sister. It’s up to Bev to take in her teenage niece, Alabama, but it becomes difficult when Alabama makes clear that she’d rather be anywhere than with her estranged aunt. Review: The Way Back to Happiness is the story of Bev and Alabama Putterman, and how they put aside their differences in order to become family. Alabama is extremely difficult when the novel begins. It’s clear that her mother turned her against her aunt over the years, and it’s important to remember that while reading or readers may dislike her. But over the course of the novel, Alabama grows and changes, coming to understand what her aunt has been through and seeing that no one is perfect. Bev is a great character in The Way Back to Happiness. She’s a home ec teacher, which makes her position unique. It’s a class that’s considered outdated, yet Bev teaches her students about important life skills, such as how to manage money. Bev has always wanted something more for herself, though, and readers will ache for her as she tries to find happiness. She has wide and vast dreams, but life has taught her not to want too much because most ambitions aren’t achievable. The story of The Way Back to Happiness is generally predictable, though the mystery behind the Putterman sisters’ past will keep readers guessing. Readers will enjoy getting to know both Alabama and Bev as they navigate their difficult relationship. It’s rewarding to watch them slowly become family, to come to trust and depend on one another. This would make a great summer read for the pool or on the beach. Other books by Elizabeth Bass: Miss You Most of All Wherever Grace is Needed Affiliate Links: Buy this book from Powell’s Books Buy this book from Amazon.com Buy this book from your local Indiebound bookstore

Executives' Wives' Club seriesFour women...One fatal car wreck...Everyone's lives changed... Blurb -Brie Sullivan has a new baby girl and there are a million things to do, but Brie doesn’t have the energy to keep up. Why? She’s still grieving for her husband and suffering from baby blues, but she won’t let that stop her. She’s come up with the answer--find a new husband to be the father of her kids. Jason Clark has been doing everything he can to help Brie. He loves her but can he accept her proposal of marriage knowing she’s not thinking clearly about the future? Excerpt The thud of footsteps on the stairs drew Brie away from the counter where she rested.Jason didn't need to see her wallowing in self-pity, again. She’d already embarrassed herself enough by blubbering all over the man’s shirt earlier.Retrieving a plate from the counter, she shoved a few nuggets off the baking tray and onto her plate. The rest she dumped on his.Pasting a smile on her face to hide the dark cloud hanging above her head, she lifted a plate in each hand and turned just as Jason strolled around the corner leading into the living room. His quick pace ate the distance between them. Dark hair, athletic build, sexy brown eyes, Jason epitomized what every woman would desire in a man, not counting that he was also caring and kind.Why then, wasn't he married?Unwilling to reveal the depths of her despair, she lowered her gaze as unwanted desire tingled down her spine. Not him, nor any other man in his right mind, would ever find her desirable. She drew in a breath, struggling not to torture herself by believing one ever would.Stepping forward, she placed the plates on the counter, which separated the kitchen from the breakfast nook. “I'm sorry, but I haven't been to the grocery store since my parents left. All I have are fast easy meals for the kids.”“No problem.” Jason paused by the bar and brushed his hand through the air, indicating the food. “You really didn't need to go to this much trouble. I could have fixed something for myself when I got home.”Flustered by his comment when she hadn’t gone to any trouble at all, Brie shuffled to the cabinet and pulled down two glasses. “What would you like to drink?”“Iced tea is great.”She plopped the glasses down beside the plates, avoiding his gaze by staring at her footwear. The tiger head positioned on top of her slippers bobbed up and down as she walked across the room to the refrigerator. Opening it, she withdrew the pitcher. Her hand hovered over the condiments in the door. “Would you like some barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, or something else to go with the chicken nuggets?”“No, I like them plain.” The sound of his voice drew near. The weight of the container in her hand lightened. He brushed his free hand along her back. “I’ve got this.”His rich scent teased her taste buds more than the flavorful aroma of the chicken and his welcoming warmth tempted her to collapse into his arms.Find at Birth at http://amzn.to/Q82MNmOr read the first chapter at http://www.tinagayle.net/BirthChpt.htmlGold Nugget for simple mealsYou can easily change those chicken nuggets into a spicy meal.toss chicken with Panda Express Orange Sauce or sweet and sour sauce. Serve with rice.pour hot spaghetti sauce over baked chicken nuggets top with provolone cheese and slid into the oven until cheese is melted.use with dipping sauce barbarque, honey mustard, etc.try a few of these to mix things up.Have a great weekend,Tina

His prolific output of sensational stories for the popular press should not obscure the incomparable art of his best work"He is a better writer than you think," Malcolm Lowry once said of Guy de Maupassant. This comment, made to David Markson, indicates the conundrum Maupassant presents to readers. A hugely influential writer of short stories, the sheer mass of his extremely uneven body of work – 300 stories, 200 articles, six novels, two plays, and three travel books churned out between 1880 and 1891 – can obscure his genius like clouds around an alp. Yet while many of those 300 stories fail to rise beyond the anecdotal, nearly a quarter are very good, and within them stands a core of indisputable classics. It shouldn't be doubted that Maupassant is one of the most important short-story writers to have lived. It was to the detriment of Maupassant's work – although not his bank balance – that his career coincided with a demand from French newspapers for stories of around 1-2,000 words. Jostling with news and faits divers, these stories were by necessity laconic and attention-grabbing, and Maupassant, whose severe economy was a model for Hemingway, had a great facility for producing them. The irony, however, is that Maupassant's best works are much longer. The spareness, learned in his youth from the poet Louis Bouilhet, is still there – as in the opening of "Hautot & Son" (1889), where, as Sean O'Faolain writes, "the scene is brilliantly and swiftly painted, with three lines for the countryside and six for the sportsmen" – but the stories' scope helps avoid the glibness that can mar his shorter work.When Bouilhet died another family friend, Gustave Flaubert, took on Maupassant's literary education, counselling his impatient charge to hold off from publishing until he was ready (although from 1875 several stories crept into print under pseudonyms). The fruit of this long labour was "Boule de Suif", which Flaubert lived just long enough to read and proclaim a masterpiece.Set during the Franco-Prussian war, the story's first few pages vividly depict a country being overrun, with "fat and flabby businessmen waiting anxiously for the conquerors to come", and the bodies of German soldiers being dragged from rivers, victims of "secret acts of vengeance". This tension between cowardly self-interest and resistance is the bass motif above which Maupassant composes a sour fugue of hypocrisy and cruelty, as a group of Rouennais notables exploit then shun the prostitute of the title, whose hospitality they had previously enjoyed.The bleakness of "Boule de Suif" is typical of Maupassant, who considered life "brutal, incoherent, disjointed, full of inexplicable, illogical and contradictory disasters". He is fascinated by seamy details, describing lovemaking just so he can get to the dribble of saliva flowing from a lover's mouth the next morning ("A Parisian Affair", 1881), or envisioning a barroom as an expressionist horror: "They wriggled their bellies and shook their bosoms, spreading about them the powerful smell of female flesh in sweat. The males squatted like toads in front of them making faces and obscene gestures" ("Femme Fatale", 1881). Henry James, with a mixture of envy and distaste, noted that he "fixes a hard eye on some spot of human life, usually some dreary, ugly, shabby, sordid one, takes up the particle, and squeezes it either till it grimaces or bleeds." Sean O'Faolain considered no one spared: "We see the prostitute, the beastly peasant, the timid bourgeois, the civil servant – his favourite subjects – in an unpitying light that exposes their wrinkled faces, their painted gums, their frayed cuffs, their shifty eyes, their hearts that have dried like peas."While all this squalor is as unmistakable as a septic wound waved under our noses, there are darker, deeper currents moving within Maupassant's work. When you read him in quantity, and marinate in his worldview, a more ingrained desolation become apparent. In a superfic