Summer in the South Is the Perfect Novel to Kick Off Your Summer Reading

Rolling hills of farms. Fields full of tall grass. Trees dripping with kudzu. Long two-lane roads running through this landscape. Picture this, and you've perfectly captured the setting of Cathy Holton's latest novel Summer in the South.

After living a mostly-nomadic life with little in the way of roots, save some time spent in Chicago, Ava Dabrowski is struggling. Her career is in shambles; her love life is a disaster; and she's just lost her estranged mother. When old college acquaintance Will Fraser offers her a place to stay for the summer in Tennessee, Ava surprises even herself by accepting. Ava drives south, knowing little to nothing about the so-called Bible belt. Although what she experiences confirms many southern cliches, Ava also learns much about small town life in the south -- which is, as Holton says, "a place where nothing much ever happened. If you didn't count murder, tragedy, undying love, and familial revenge" (314).

Summer in the South is much more than a simple Yankee-thrown-into-the-south tale, though. Holton employs multiple devices that enrich the novel. For one thing, there is a novel-within-a-novel feel to the story (although we don't ever actually read Ava's novel) as Ava struggles to write a novel based on the history of Will's family. Her battle with writer's block and then descriptions of her feverish periods of writing were fascinating to me. At one point Ava becomes lost in what Holton describes as a "fairy-tale view of reality"after "a period of intense work on her novel" (288).

Holton also includes historical elements in Summer in the South. In fact, the story begins with a death that took place in 1931. As any respecting southerner would tell you, you are nobody without a family history. Whether it be tales of genteel life on the plantation (similar to Will's family's history) or stories of bootleg moonshine and gambling (as in some of the other characters' personal histories), "who your people are" is important in the south.

Holton peoples her novel with rich, dynamic characters. In addition to Ava, Will, and the elderly sisters who open their home to Ava, both Will's cousin Fraser and local ex-UT-cheerleader-turned-jilted-housewife Darlene come to mind. Fraser, who attended UVA and was a member of the Raven Society, now dresses and has taken on the affectations of Edgar Allen Poe. Darlene is a caricature of a trampy middle-aged pageant queen. Both bring a liveliness to a novel that is otherwise dark in some of its themes -- death, loss, the past.

The main character Ava is a quintessential almost-30-year-old single female: constantly taking up with the wrong men, spurning the good ones. Chasing dreams and squelching actual paths that have promise. But in the end she learns something from her time in the southern town she inhabits:

"She laughed. 'I've always wondered, what is the meaning of life? But now it dawns on me that I've been asking the wrong question.'
'What's the right question?'
'What is the meaning of my life?'
'Ah,' he said." (327)

At times Holton seems dangerously close to writing out southern cliches rather than describing the "real" south. But it occured to me that often things become cliche because they are, in fact, so true. For example, some of her names sound old-fashioned and far-fetched: Maitland, Josephine, Fanny, Clara. But she isn't off-base at all with these eccentric-sounding names. I live in the south, the land of these real-life names: Imelda, Elbert, Nester, Inzy, Bertha (all real people).

Holton writes about a place where people say, "Who would have thunk it" and "bless her little heart"; where "we don't push a button [but] mash it"; "and if someone down here says your baby is sweet, well, then you know it's ugly" (121). Far from becoming cliche, Holton writes about the south exactly as it is -- whether we want to own up to it or not!

Summer in the South was a charming novel whose characters, setting, and plot drew me in and refused to let me go. I finished the entire book in just over 48 hours! It was the perfect book to kick-start my summer reading. As the afternoons grow long and the sun gets hot, treat yourself with this excellent example of southern literature.

Cathy Holton is the author of several other novels (which you know I will be snapping up quickly to read), including Beach Trip and two novels about a group of women who call themselves the Kudzu Debutantes. As I'm heading to the beach in two weeks, I think you can guess that copies of all three may just make it into my beach bag -- especially Beach Trip!

You can visit Holton at her website or her blog. You can also read an excerpt of Summer in the South on her website and see for yourself just how good it is.

Favorite Reads Giveaway: The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

Readers, this is it! Your final chance to win a Favorite Read of mine. At least, for now. Last week's giveaway was for Sue Monk Kidd's The Mermaid Chair. Congrats to Maria Guajardo. Your copy will be in the mail this week. Yay! for readers around the globe, as Maria hails from Venezuela.

This week, I'm giving away a book by an author whose work I love. Chris Bohjalian has published several novels, including the bestselling Oprah's Book Club pick Midwives and his most recent novel Secrets of Eden, which I reviewed when it was published last year. I loved both of those novels -- and all of his others -- but especially the 2007 novel The Double Bind.

The Double Bind appeals to my love for literature not only because it is an excellent novel in its own right, but also because it includes references to the classic Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby. In The Double Bind, Bohjalian blends classic literature to modern fiction with reality-bending results.

Author Jodi Piccoult reviewed the novel for Amazon, and here is some of what she wrote:

"The story centers on Laurel Estabrook, a young social worker and survivor of a near-rape, who stumbles across photographs taken by a formerly homeless client and tries to understand how a man who'd taken snapshots of celebrities in the 50s and 60s might have wound up on the streets. . . . 

Bohjalian resurrects details from The Great Gatsby, which become "real" in the context of his own novel -- Laurel lives in West Egg; part of her hunt for her photographer's past involves meeting with the descendants of Daisy and Tom Buchanan. As a writer who counts The Great Gatsby as one of the books that changed her life, this inclusion was both startling and remarkable for me. Who doesn't want one's favorite characters to come to life--even if it's only within the constraints of another fictional work? . . . . 

The Double Bind may flirt with the classics, but it's not your father's stuffy old tome: it's the sort of book you want to read in one sitting, and it packs a twist at the end that will leave you speechless. It also, worthily, spotlights the cause of homelessness in a way that isn't preachy, but honest and explanatory."

It is an amazing novel, one in which fictional characters become "real" once again to a whole new generation of readers.

Bohjalian has a new novel debuting in the fall titled The Night Strangers which I (of course) can't wait to read. He also writes a column for the Burlington Free Press which can be accessed on his blog, Chris Bohjalian's Idyll Banter.

To enter to win a copy of The Double Bind, fill out the form below:

Book News: School's Out, Keith Richards Wins Audie, and Summer Reading Lists

I want to bring you a thoughtful, dense version of book news today, but the truth is one thing is echoing in my mind: summersummersummersummersummersummer. That's right -- "Schooooool's out. For. Summerrrr!" More, you say?

Yes, yes, that is the Muppets with Alice Cooper. Fast forward to right at one minute to hear what I've been hearing in my head all day. It is the last day of school, and my mind is pretty much consumed with only that!

So, you see. It's quite impossible for me to bring you well-thought-out, precisely planned Book News today. As for some short bits, here ya go:

Although I'm not a true Rolling Stones fan, I think my next Audible purchase may be Keith Richards' Life. The audio version of this book won the Audiobook of the Year for 2011. Read by Richards, Johnny Depp, and Joe Hurley, how could it be anything but fabulous? (via Devourer of Books)

From my NPR-listening commute this week, Augusten Burroughs' mother and brother speak up with their versions of the truth about their family history. Burroughs came onto the literary memoir scene several years ago with Running With Scissors. Now we hear other sides of the story from two new memoirs. (via NPR)

List-y love is budding in my heart for lists of summer reading possibilities. USA Today is leading the pack with an eleven-category list released this week for anyone and everyone. Check it out and make a quick reference for your beach and backyard reading.

And another list! LA Times book blog Jacket Copy's summer reading list includes over 200 books. Then they asked some authors what to read for Memorial Day, too. Be still my heart.

Lots of people in the book world enjoyed BEA and the Book Blogger Convention this week in New York City. Maybe someday for me!

This weekend -- my first weekend of summer -- I will be watching softball, hanging out at the pool (which opens tomorrow), relaxing, and reading. I'm still working on learning my Nook and reading Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris on it. On Audible, I'm still listening to Kathy Reichs' YA novel Virals. In paper book form, I'm reading both Cathy Holton's Summer in the South and Jefferson Bass's The Bone Yard.

Have an excellent weekend, and happy reading!

Well, It's Official: I Am an e-Reader. Or Have an e-Reader. Or Whatever.

I have waited for months to figure out this whole e-reading thing. In fact, more than a year ago I posted "To Kindle or Not to Kindle... That Is the Question" with a link to a Jen Lancaster article for NPR on the future of e-Readers and paper books. My initial thoughts were: No way! Who would want to read on a computer screen??


Photo from Switched.com

 Fast forward to a year later, and between Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, a majority of my friends and acquaintances received some type of e-Reader. Some got Kindles, some got Nooks. Some even got iPads that they use as e-Readers (among many other purposes, of course). As an Apple lover, my instinct has been that I WANT AN IPAD!

However, to justify the pricetag ($499 and up) versus other e-Readers (like Kindle, starting at $114), the iPad needed to work for me as both an e-Reader and a new computer. I have lots of experience on the iPad's smaller cousin, the iPod touch, so I know that in many ways it does mimic a computer. I can (and do) check my email on the iPod touch. I can check social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. I can read blogs via Google's e-Reader app. And I can surf the web, looking at any website. The one thing I can't do? Blog.

Blogger and iPod touch are simply not compatible. At least, not yet. Blogger, powered by Google (owner of Android), has no reason to want to make itself compatible with a competitor's product. So at this point in time, you can write blog posts in HTML only on Blogger, and there is no Blogger app for iPod touch. I feel as though they're doing Blogger users who happen to have Apple products a disservice, but there it is.

So I have long searched for an e-Reader besides an iPad that does multiple things. I did not want just an e-Reader. Here was my list of "wants" before I would consider purchasing an e-Reader:

• Backlit: Because I will be using this device almost every night -- and on trips, etc. -- I wanted it to be capable of being used without an external light. Truly, I can't see paying more than $100 for something that has no internal light. It doesn't make any sense to me. Technology  has come way too far for me to spend money on something that isn't up to par. You wouldn't buy your child an old-school Gameboy rather than a DS, would you?
• Color: Again, maybe this is my own stigma, growing up in the world of technology that we have today, but when I look at the original Kindle with its slightly-gray screen, I cannot for the life of me figure out why it would cost over $100. I want more for my money! I realize that books are grayish-white pages with black print, and that the first e-Readers were created to mimic actual books. In my opinion, that is no longer the draw. I have books. I want more out of an e-Reader. I want color, and vividness, and an amazing screen!
• Touch screen: Speaking of screens, I want a touch one. After using the iPod touch, I'm not sure how I could go back. Certainly not to the Kindle with its buttons and keyboard at the bottom.
• Tablet capability: I said before that I wanted the iPad to function as both e-Reader and computer, but it didn't do the job well enough for me to pay $499 or more. However, I still wanted this functionality in an e-Reader. In late April, an announcement came that I had been waiting for:

A new Nook Color "upgrade transforms the device into more of a full tablet with a native e-mail app and an app store" (via Electronista.com).

So I bought a Nook Color. Backlit. Full-color screen. Touch screen. And now -- tablet capability. Of course, it also works perfectly as an e-Reader.

Brent started working on it last night to get it where I want it. I'm a bit frustrated (not with him -- he is amazing(!), but with the factory settings straight out of the box), but I'm confident that within a week I won't know how I ever lived (and read) without it.

Once Upon a Time, There Was You Is Classic Elizabeth Berg

I have long loved Elizabeth Berg's writing. In high school, I read her ode to female friendship, Talk Before Sleep. It was a touching novel, one that continues to top my favorites of all time. I haven't missed anything she's written since.

Her latest novel, Once Upon a Time, There Was You is a prime example of the kind of books Berg writes best -- genuine novels that explore relationships, flaws and all. John and Irene are a couple once married, long divorced. Because they have a child together, their lives have been endlessly intertwined, despite being not married for far longer than they were together. Although each has had other relationships, neither has ever remarried. Instead, their lives have been poured into raising their child, Sadie.

John still lives in Minnesota, where the couple met and lived together as a family. After their divorce, Irene fled to San Francisco where she lives with Sadie. John gets Sadie on holidays and for summers. Now that Sadie is eighteen and moving on to college, her parents are at a crossroads themselves. Especially Irene, whose entire life has been devoted to raising her daughter, is at a loss as to the next step for her life.

Most of the novel is fairly devoid of action-filled plot; rather, it is an intense look at relationships and emotions. However, Berg deviated from this around page 100 and almost lost me for a few dozen pages. She rights herself again, however, and pulled me back into John and Irene's lives. Berg writes characters beautifully, and this novel is no exception. Irene, John, and Sadie are all rich characters whose intricacies and problems ring true.

Once Upon a Time, There Was You examines the major changes that take place in people's lives: becoming adults, leaving for college, getting married, getting divorced, moving. Ordinary, everyday events that are life-changing when viewed on the individual level.

Elizabeth Berg is the author of more than twenty novels and several non-fiction works. She can be found on the web at her website and blog. She also has several fun recipes on her website that I may look into with more depth once this week is complete and my summer has officially started!

Favorite Reads Giveaway: The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

Congratulations to Natalie, winner of last week's Favorite Reads Giveaway -- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. I would love to hear some feedback from people who have won my Favorite Reads. So if you have, and you have read it, let me know how it was!

This week I am featuring Sue Monk Kidd's lesser-known novel The Mermaid Chair. I read and loved The Secret Life of Bees, and I know many people loved the movie starring Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah. But truly, I loved The Mermaid Chair even more.

So much that (for a very, very short while) I contemplated getting some type of a tattoo based on the mermaid chair described in the book. I never did that (thank goodness!), although if I were going to get something inked on my body, I do think it would be literary-related. That just seems appropriate for a book-lover, doesn't it? No tattoos for this girl yet, though. (Or probably ever.)

In The Mermaid Chair, Kidd once again returns to South Carolina, the setting of The Secret Life of Bees. As you know if you've visited me before, southern lit is one of my favorite genres. She also gives readers a strong female main character in Jessie, but one who is flawed in ways that make her quite human.

A synopsis from the author's website:

"Inside the abbey of a Benedictine monastery on Egret Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, resides a beautiful and mysterious chair ornately carved with mermaids and dedicated to a saint, who, legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion.

When Jessie is summoned home to the island to cope with her eccentric mother’s seemingly inexplicable act of violence, she is living a conventional life with her husband, Hugh. . . . Jessie loves Hugh, but once on the island, she finds herself drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk who is soon to take his final vows.

Amid a rich community of unforgettable island women and the exotic beauty of marshlands, tidal creeks and majestic egrets, Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, with a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right and the immutable force of home and marriage. Is the power of the mermaid chair only a myth? Or will it alter the course of Jessie’s life?"

I fell head over heels for Jessie and especially for that South Carolina island when I read The Mermaid Chair several years ago. The novel was also made into a Lifetime movie about five years ago, starring Kim Basinger as Jessie. It isn't scheduled to be shown on Lifetime anytime in the next six weeks (according to their website), but it is available on DVD.

If you are also a fan of Sue Monk Kidd and you haven't yet read The Mermaid Chair, be sure to register to win a copy. I only have one last Favorite Reads Giveaway to do for next week... More may come in the future, but for now this is your next-to-last chance!

Book News: eBooks On the Rise, Bookshelf Peeking, Librarian Layoffs, and KATNISS!

The Wall Street Journal offers a look at the future of book publishing this week in a panel dedicated to the topic. They offer video clips broken down into specific categories on their Ideas Market blog, including: eReaders versus bookstore browsing, format changes throughout the years (scroll to codex to digital), and the possibility of continuous editing in a digital age.

Relating to that, Jacket Copy reports that Amazon announced this week that it is now consistently selling more eBooks than paper books. Supposedly the number is 105 eBooks for every 100 paper books, which does not count free books (classics, etc.).

 For those of you who, like me, love to see the inside of other people's houses, The Guardian has exactly what you're looking for -- in book form. They have appealed to their audience to post photos of their personal bookshelves to a Flickr group, and they've also asked for explanations of how the books are sorted. Fascinating stuff, I tell you. I will be participating by posting a photo later this weekend!

Flickr Group screenshot

Tina Brow

I happened to hear Word of Mouth on NPR as I drove to work this week. It was fascinating listening, and I'm sure the writing Tina Brown talks about will be equally as enjoyable. I love that she included not only a book-length work, but also two lengthy articles. All are non-fiction, and cover "life, start to finish."

From The L.A. Times

Near and dear to my heart as an educator (and even more so with my love of books) is this story from Jacket Copy: the L.A. Unified School District is attempting to layoff school librarians as part of a huge budget cut. The situation has gone to the courtroom, and is sad on all accounts: for the kids who will lose librarians, for librarians who will lose their jobs, and for L.A. that it doesn't see the necessity in school librarians.

Entertainment Weekly cover

And finally -- you knew I wouldn't leave this out (!) -- Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. I know there were naysayers, but surely they are appeased at the photo released this week on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. My students have been all abuzz about the movie after we finished The Hunger Games this week. They've requested we read Catching Fire next year, and they've been surfing the web looking at news from the upcoming movie based on the first book. I love when kids are excited about books!

I am also excited about books, as it seems with the warmer weather I have a newfound love for reading. Not that I ever gave it up, but there for a while... It was slow-going. Now I am zipping through book after book. I am going away with my mom's friends (Yo-Yo shout-out!) to the Smoky Mountains for a couple of days.

That means lots of relaxing, reading, pool-laying, (probably some) shopping, and eating great food. Oh, and the company will be excellent, as well. I love these ladies; they're all like second (and third, and fourth, and fifth...) moms. I am taking with me Michael Koryta's upcoming novel The Ridge and Jefferson Bass's new book The Bone Yard.

Have a fabulous weekend! I hope you have some sunshine to enjoy & happy reading!

Men and Dogs Makes It Official: Katie Crouch Novels Are Not to Be Missed

Southern literature is my favorite genre, although my reading taste is fairly eclectic (in the last month, I've read a memoir, a celeb memoir/essay collection, a couple of mysteries, some YA, some literary fiction, and some women's lit). But sometimes I have to take a break from everything else and delve back into my true book love.

I read (and raved about) Katie Crouch's first novel Girls in Trucks a couple of months ago, and I could not have loved it more. It was dark, modern, female-oriented southern fiction -- my favorite kind. So it was a no-brainer that I would immediately be picking up Crouch's other works. Men and Dogs is her second novel.

Crouch has said that she tries to set her books anywhere but the south, but somehow she always returns to her southern roots: Charleston, specifically. In Girls in Trucks, she wrote about debutante-gone-wrong Sarah Walters who escapes to New York City, only to return to Charleston; in Men and Dogs she brings to life the tragic Hannah Legare, who ran to San Francisco but finds herself back in South Carolina.

A quick summary, from Amazon:

"The novel kicks off with a flashback: 20-odd years ago, Buzz Legare vanished while on a fishing trip. The fallout of his disappearance and presumed death appears in his 30-something children: Hannah drinks too much, her business is failing, and her husband has kicked her out after her repeated adultery. Hannah's gay brother, Palmer, refuses to let anyone get too close—he's ready to end his yearlong relationship when his partner brings up the idea of adopting a baby.

After Hannah injures herself trying to break into her husband's apartment, she heads home to Charleston, S.C., to get her life back on track, but instead finds herself pursuing the past. Damaged and vulnerable, she zigzags through her past—an old boyfriend, questions about her parents' fidelity, and finally facing down where her unwillingness to accept love has gotten her. [Crouch's] dialogue is snappy, the situations darkly funny, Hannah and Palmer are unlikable but sympathetic, and there's just enough mystery to keep the pages turning."

I actually found Hannah and Palmer quite likable as characters; full of faults, they inspire both anger and sympathy. I always feel the best characters are intricately flawed, and Crouch obviously feels the same way. The siblings could be your best friends from high school, or the neighbor down the street. They are that real.

Crouch's writing seemed to be a bit more finely tuned this go-round. Although I loved the writing style of Girls in Trucks, which written in short stories that tie together nicely, Men and Dogs is a more cohesive novel. Crouch keeps her witty chapter titles, though, and the constantly-shifting points-of-view that seem to be her trademark.

Although she is relatively new to the literary scene (her third novel, the YA The Magnolia League was released earlier this month), Katie Crouch is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The real down-side to this is that she has no back-log of books to read; I have to wait for the publication of each one! I can't wait to pick up The Magnolia League, as I've been reading a lot more YA this school year. It is set in Savannah, rather than Charleston, which means it is most definitely steeped in southern-ness. I'm sure you'll see it reviewed here soon, so be on the lookout.

Heads You Lose Puts a New Spin On (The Already Excellent) Lisa Lutz

I am a HUGE Lisa Lutz fan. Her first few novels, which made up the Izzy Spellman series, were witty and smart mysteries starring a cast of eccentric characters.

In this latest novel Heads You Lose, Lutz keeps much of the same things she's famous for -- fabulous, weird characters; a mystery; detailed setting -- and turns it on its head. Rather than writing another novel full of her own quirks, she decided to add another author into the mix: her ex-boyfriend, poet David Hayward. Her idea is simple. She writes one chapter, he writes the next. She writes another, he writes another. Back and forth until the novel is complete. One stipulation is that neither can change what the other has written.

As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that while the idea seemed simple, it hasn't turned out as such. The co-authors... shall we say... disagree on some points. Like, practically everything. The final result is a hilarious, romping good time.

So what is Heads You Lose (other than being a fun -- and funny -- writing project)?

The basic premise of the novel (from the book's website):

Meet Paul and Lacey Hansen: orphaned, pot-growing, twentysomething siblings eking out a living in rural Northern California. When a headless corpse appears on their property, they can’t exactly dial 911, so they move the body and wait for the police to find it. Instead, the corpse reappears, a few days riper ... and an amateur sleuth is born. Make that two.

But that’s only half of the story. When collaborators Lutz and Hayward—former romantic partners—start to disagree about how the story should unfold, the body count rises, victims and suspects alike develop surprising characteristics (meet Brandy Chester, the stripper with the Mensa IQ), and sibling rivalry reaches homicidal intensity. Will the authors solve the mystery without killing each other first?

[It's] Weeds meets Adaptation.

I loved this book for both aspects -- the collaborative part and the novel itself. Because as I was enjoying the crazy characters' antics, I enjoyed just as much the back and forth between the authors. Although they didn't alter each other's chapters, they definitely spoke their minds... both in their footnotes, and in the next chapter. I got the feeling that each author took a side in the brother/sister relationship in the novel and really went with it. As a result, the novel is full of plot twists and surprising character... er, growth.

Read more about Lutz and Hayward on their blog for the book. (Which is also co-written. And features comments by the other author after each post. It's funny.)

The Girl's Guide to Homelessness: More Twenty-something Memoir, Less Account of Homelessness

Brianna Karp has lived a tough life, and she hasn't yet reached thirty. That's the basic idea behind Karp's newly released memoir, The Girl's Guide to Homelessness. I had mixed emotions about this book. First, the good things: Karp has an exceptional voice. She told her story flawlessly, her words perfect, tone measured, story interesting. She kept my interest throughout the book. She told a tale that was by turns shocking and heart-wrenching.

Karp divulges the details of her life thus far, from early childhood days spent tip-toeing around her bipolar mother to teenage jobs working full-time to support her family. She also recounts her formative years spent in the Jehovah's Witness church, which she refers to as "a cult". (In quotations because I personally know nothing about said church's doctrine and therefore cannot make a judgment call on this one. Also, I have known several people in the church who were actually quite nice and not cult-member-like at all.) She discusses her first "real" job making lots of money, and then the inevitable lay-off that occurred when the market took a down-turn. She is strong, and she has overcome much; that is evident in the book.

It would be nice if Karp's was a voice that could stand for the "new" homeless in America -- the homeless we Americans don't like to think about. Not the bum on the street corner muttering to himself, ragged jacket and two Wal-Mart bags slung over his shoulder. Not the toothless prostitute jones-ing for a next hit. But a homeless person who looks more like you or me -- fairly clean-cut, educated, dressed in regular clothes. Just fallen on hard times with no family to fall back on. That is the homelessness Karp wants to epitomize.

My problem is that she doesn't quite meet the mark. She overshoots a bit. Her memoir is finely-written, and she has a lot to say. But to call her the "new voice" of homelessness is a bit of an exaggeration. For one thing, she isn't exactly homeless. She lives in a trailer, although it is in the Wal-Mart parking lot without water and electricity. And she has both a job and other job opportunities, albeit crummy ones. She also has a laptop and a cell phone and receives unemployment benefits whenever she isn't working.

It's not that Karp's situation isn't dire or that I am trying to discount her tale. As I said, she has gone through many terrible things and survived. But to consider herself "homeless" and to call her book The Girl's Guide to Homelessness -- it just seems a bit much. After all, she borrows money at one point to go overseas to visit her fiance, met online via a homeless website. I have personally never been out of the country other than one trip to Mexico; it simply hasn't been within my budget.

Karp's memoir also takes a turn halfway through the book, from memoir about hard times to memoir about her new romance. She makes poor decisions, as many young people do in love. I won't spoil the book for you; it really is a good read. It is just a little more "Brianna Karp's memoir of her life so far" and a little less "girl's guide to homelessness."

Brianna Karp is the author of the blog The Girl's Guide to Homelessness, the predecessor to this memoir.

Favorite Reads Giveaway: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Many of my Favorite Reads giveaways have featured older books, going back to 1989 in publication date. I've been giving them away in order of release date, and with this latest book we are firmly in the 2000s (2003 if we are being precise).

Mark Haddon's first adult novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, is one of those books that got passed around so much I eventually lost track and bought another copy. I fell head over heels for the main character and first-person narrator of the book Christopher John Francis Boone when I read this novel.

Publicists hyped the book as one written in the voice of a young man with Asperger syndrome (and, in fact, labeled it as such on the book's cover). While Haddon has stated he did no research on autism spectrum disorders, when reading the book you do notice symptoms that do seem to align with individuals on the spectrum.

Haddon wrote about this topic on his blog, which I find highly interesting:

"curious incident is not a book about asperger’s. it’s a novel whose central character describes himself as ‘a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties’. . . . if anything it’s a novel about difference, about being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way. . . . labels say nothing about a person. they say only how the rest of us categorise that person. good literature is always about peeling labels off. . . . i would much rather spend my time writing more novels, standing up for difference and trying to understand outsiders who see the world in surprising and revealing ways."

Despite capitalization errors (which can be forgiven when writing on a personal blog, I suppose), you see in that short passage what an exceptional wordsmith Haddon is.

So instead, a synopsis of the novel (leaving out labels like Asperger's) from Wikipedia:

"Christopher, a fifteen-year-old boy with behavioral problems, lives with his father; he explains that his mother, Judy, died two years ago. He discovers the dead body of Wellington, the neighbor's dog, speared by a garden fork. Mrs Shears, Wellington's owner, calls the police, and Christopher comes under suspicion. When a policeman touches him, he hits the policeman, and is arrested, then released with a caution. He decides to investigate the dog's death, despite his father's orders to stay out of other people's business. However, he is severely limited by his fears and difficulties when interpreting the world around him. Throughout his adventures, Christopher records his experiences in a book: a 'murder mystery novel'. During his investigation, Christopher meets people whom he has never before encountered, even though they live on the same street."

Don't be put off by the YA-sounding plot. I assure you the book is excellent and you will immensely enjoy it should you win a copy!

Oh, and by the way -- congratulations to Miranda Furbee and Jenna Valdespino, who won copies of The Bake-Off in last week's "New Reads" giveaway. Your addresses were sent to the publisher, who should be sending you copies soon. Enjoy!

Enter to win a copy of Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time:

(Late) Book News (Is Better Than No Book News): Literary Help For Alabama Tornado Victims

My priorities last night were: Book News post, dinner with family, rest. I helped our eighth-grade homeroom teachers this week in making special events happen for our graduating eighth-graders: Dollywood Thursday (which I mentioned then) and a "formal" dance last night. Those ladies are teaching rockstars; it was amazing to see the time and effort they've put in to making memories for their students. I did no planning -- just a little helping -- the past two days, and I am exhausted! I can't imagine how tired they are!

Thursday, we did this. And this. And this. And I even managed to do this. Then we also got a little wet. And saw these beautiful creatures. It was fun. Yesterday, we decorated for the formal with the theme "Life is Sweet." The huge cupcakes, lollipops, and faux chocolate frosting fountain look great. I'm thankful I was able to help bring some smiles to those students before they head off to high school.

I abandoned my goal of posting Book News last night, went to eat dinner, and crashed. For eleven hours. Yes -- I slept for eleven hours! So... Book News today.

My main focus today is a cause I heard about on Julie's Book Hooked Blog. I'm sure all readers in the southeast are aware of the tornadoes that ripped through the south a few weeks ago. Some readers outside the southeast probably heard about them, but I know how easily we all forget -- I heard a spot on NPR's Nashville station about help for flood victims last week. Initially I thought: what? Although it happened more than a year ago, many flood victims in Nashville are still trying to recover from the loss of their homes and possessions. The nonprofit We Are Nashville is still working to help.

The people of northeast Georgia and all across Alabama are still in the immediate stages of need in the weeks after tornadoes hit. Their homes and businesses have been destroyed. My best friend's grandmother lives in northern Alabama; a transformer near her was hit, and they've been told they probably won't have electricity for more than a month. Tuscaloosa took a terrible hit, as well. Ringgold, Georgia, lost many of their schools in addition to personal losses.

Sports stars and country music stars are reaching out to help. Authors and other book-related people are helping, too. Book Hooked Blog introduced me to All 4 Alabama, an organization formed to help the book world help Alabama tornado victims. It is an auction-style, ongoing fundraiser. Stop over and find a way to help a great cause while simultaneously scratching your book-itch. (Bonus? Julie from Book Hooked donated a fabulous wreath made from old books that I have to buy or learn to make.) 

A brief list of non-tornado-related Book News tidbits from the week:

• A real-life version of Room will hit shelves this July, with Jaycee Dugard's memoir A Stolen Life (via EW's Shelf Life).
• The list-lover in me likes USA Today's Book Roundup: New Mysteries and Thrillers list.
• The Better Book Titles blog (via NPR's Monkey See). Go there. It's great, (somewhat -- ignore what you don't like & laugh at what you do) clean fun.
• A lovely NPR spotlight on reader-turned-author Wendy McClure's The Wilder Life, about the her journey to homes from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books (and a whole lot more).
• Before I head to the beach in June, I'd like a full-size e-reader (I've been using my iPod touch). Could B&N's new e-reader/tablet be it?
• Another list: 10 Devastatingly Sad Books (add your own on Twitter using #saddestbooks), a.k.a. Books My Mom Would Never Read (via NetGalley).
• The Hunger Games movie adaptation is officially casted, with Woody Harrelson joining the cast as Haymitch and Stanley Tucci as host Caesar Flickerman. 

I've been reading a book every couple of days lately (love it!) and so I am about to start a couple of new ones this weekend: Jefferson Bass's The Bone Yard is next on my list and Katie Crouch's Men and Dogs is in my hands at the moment. I'm still listening to Kathy Reichs' YA novel Virals via Audible for iPod. It has reached an exciting twist...

Happy reading & relaxing!

"So... You Read A Lot."

From Lupin via bookn3rd.com

People (often) say to me: "You read a lot." My answer is always a (somewhat embarrassed) "Well, yes." Why embarrassed, you might ask? I'm not really sure. I guess because (it seems like) such a large percentage of my day is spent doing something that other people claim they "just don't have time for". But is it really such a large percentage of my day? I would say that reading is a huge part of my life, but I would not state that it "takes up" a large part of my life. Rather, I would claim that my life is richer for the reading that I do.

Instead of "taking up" time that other tasks could fill, I look at reading as a necessity -- a part of life that is not so much hobby, but more enrichment. I was one of "those kids" in school. I don't know that I was a nerd so much, but school definitely came easy to me. Like Jean Kwok's character Kim in Girl in Translation, I just "got" school. It was the talent that I had, rather than say dancing or playing basketball or painting. I learned quickly and was able to translate that knowledge onto tests.

I would credit a large part of that high-scoring ability to my love for the written word. Research has shown that children who are read to and who love to read score higher on IQ tests and tests that measure knowledge. Part of that is simple vocabulary. Much is due to background knowledge. Still more is exposure to different kinds of ideas, theories, speech and writing patterns.

I read because I don't know how not to read. It comes as second nature to me. If I am somewhere and find that I have forgotten to bring a book with me, I panic. That has eased somewhat in the last few months, since I always have e-books with me on my iPod touch. But still, there is something about paper books that soothes my soul. Lessens my boredom. Reassures me that I do not have to sit and wait with a void of silence bearing down on me.

Case in point: today I am traveling a few hours from home with some students from my school. We are going to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to let the kids have some fun at Dollywood. This was my take-with-me-on-the-bus pile of books last night:

Your eyes are not deceiving you; there are actually five books in that pile. Some have been on my to-read list for a while; one I just bought; and one is an ARC for June. Five books. For one day. It is, I will admit, a bit excessive. But I finished my current (paper) read last night (Lisa Lutz's Heads You Lose -- review coming next week!), and I wasn't sure what I was in the mood for. So I threw them all in the bag.

Will I ignore the students and lounge around reading books all day? Of course not. But for our bus drive there at 6 a.m.? Most definitely. While waiting in the parking lot for the bus to drop us off? Yep. On our way back as students (most likely) fall asleep? Yes. Before I go to sleep even after a long, hard day playing? You got it. I fill up my "nothing" moments with "something" -- good books. I don't have to "find" time to read. It's already there.

A.S. King's Please Ignore Vera Dietz Refuses to Lay Low

I finished A.S. King's Please Ignore Vera Dietz a couple of weeks ago, and two things kept me from telling you about it sooner: 1) I had other reviews previously scheduled to post, and 2) I don't know that I can adequately describe the book and do it the justice it deserves. So I am doing a Bookmarks kind of review and posting quotes from other reviewers' thoughts on this (amazing, breath-taking, quirky, unique) novel.



First, a brief summary from the author's website:

---Is it okay to hate a dead kid
---Even if I loved him once?
---Even if he was my best friend?
---Is it okay to hate him for being dead?

Eighteen-year-old Vera's spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she's kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.

So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, or even the police. But will she emerge and clear his name? Does she even want to?

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is the story of Vera and Charlie's friendship, and  Charlie's death. But it also covers so much more than that. It is a coming-of-age novel of sorts. King shows readers both Vera's present-day, 18-year-old self, but also a Vera from many different ages starting with 12 and falling everywhere in between then and now.

From author Sara J. Henry's blog Sara in Vermont, "Please Ignore Vera Dietz -- But I Can't":

"[Please Ignore Vera Dietz] is being marketed as YA, but ignore that. This is a book for anyone who was ever 17 or 18 and didn't really fit in anywhere. It's a book for anyone who has loved with all their being and watched the person become someone they can't be with, and has endured the pain of being shut out. It's a book for anyone who's had a parent who had no idea what they were about or who abandoned them or who was never quite there in the first place.

And it's a book for anyone who wants to believe we can pretty much survive whatever life passes to us and that we can all find our place in the world."

From Rebecca Joines Schinsky's blog The Book Lady's Blog, "Vera Dietz: Not to be Ignored":

"The business of evading her destiny is a full-time job—in addition to her real full-time gig delivering pizza, in addition to going to school—and to top it off, Vera is also contending with the thousand Charlies she has begun seeing when she least wants to be thinking about her dead friend.

Vera narrates the story in first-person present, switching to past tense for “history” chapters that illuminate her past and how exactly things got to where they are now. . . . She’s snarky and a little bit sassy, and I totally loved her for it.

Vera’s narrative is broken up by short interjections from her father. . , Charlie (whose sections are titled “A Brief Word from the Dead Kid”), and even the gaudy pagoda that serves as the local make-out spot-slash-secret drinking place. These intrusions . . . give the narrative added depth and interest."

From Jenn's Bookshelves:

"It is brutally honest, a book that must be read. Teens should read it so they can see the feelings they have of loneliness & despair aren’t unique unto them.  Adults should read it because, despite her age, we could all learn a little from Vera Deitz."

From Beth Fish Reads:

"Once you start reading this sassy, funny, touching novel, you won't be able to stop."

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is the little-novel-that-could. Despite initially not being picked up by national bookselling chains (although a quick search shows that to be changed now), King's novel has gone on to garner much acclaim. It was picked for IndieBound's Next List, nominated for an Edgar award, and was named an ALA Printz Honor book, in addition to landing on several other great book lists.

King offers an excerpt from the novel's first chapter on her website. I highly recommend you read it, so that you can see for yourself what an exceptional book Please Ignore Vera Dietz is. Also, King writes the very-funny blog Here's Me Using Blog in a Sentence (which is a reference to Vera's vocab class assignments). I listened to the novel via Audible for iPod, which was an exceptional way to be exposed to this book.

Tina Fey's Bossypants Memoir Begins 2012 Presidential Campaign?

As I laughed out loud (literally) through Tina Fey's memoir Bossypants which released last month, I began pondering her possible future political campaign:

Okay, so maybe I wasn't serious. Or was I...

I suppose I was kidding about Bethenny (although, don't get me wrong -- I like her!), but if you read Bossypants -- and you should -- you just might start thinking the same thing. Tina Fey might not make it all the way to a presidential run, but she would probably make it into the state house of representatives. I know I would vote for her if we happened to live in the same state.

Palin on left, Fey-as-Palin on right

No, I didn't start thinking that solely because Fey played an excellent parodied-version of 2008 Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin on SNL (although that helped). Nor did I begin thinking about Fey for President 2012 because of her extensive political career (although all that acting stuff sure does help, too; any politician needs lots of acting experience).

What did catch my eye (and my possible 2012 vote) was Fey's writing ability in Bossypants. Her writing demonstrated both the fact that she is very funny (already proven during her tenure on SNL and through her producing the NBC sitcom 30 Rock -- not to mention her writing the movies Mean Girls, starring Lindsay Lohan, and Baby Mama) and that she is highly intelligent. Also, she doesn't take herself seriously, and she loves self-deprecating humor. And did I mention she's smart?

Tina Fey may never make it into the wild world of politics (possibly because, despite my own personal feelings on the topic, she has made no indication whatsoever that she ever intends to do so), but that's no reason you still shouldn't pick up a copy of Bossypants. In it, Fey delves into many topics that have previously been off-limits in an upbeat, tongue-in-cheek, but somehow heartbreakingly honest way, including:

• her facial scar (and how she uses it to measure character)
• her switch from SNL writer to on-air co-host of Weekend Update
• the birth of her "other" baby, 30 Rock
• her friendship with Amy Poehler
• playing Sarah Palin -- with the real Sarah Palin
• motherhood (breastfeeding Nazis and all)

Bossypants is Fey's first book. You can catch her, of course, as the star of 30 Rock on NBC Thursday nights at 10/9 central. Just to be clear, Fey is not (yet) running for any elected office. Also (SPOILER ALERT!), she agonizes over having a second child at the end of the book, and People magazine announced last month that Fey is, in fact, pregnant. Way to spoil the sequel, People.

The Bake-Off Giveaway and Secret Sisterhood Szarlotka Recipe

Last week I reviewed Beth Kendrick's novel The Bake-Off. It is a perfect mixture of women's lit and foodie writing, as it is kind of the equivalent of Food Network's Challenge mixed with a book about sister relationships. Alexandra Israel, a publicist at NAL (a division of Penguin) has offered two amazing things for my readers: the szarlotka recipe from the novel and a chance for two readers to win copies of the book.

Here is the fabulous (and funny) recipe, with the form for the giveaway at the bottom. Bake it up, and let me know how it turns out! And be sure to enter to win a copy of The Bake-Off!

Secret Sisterhood Szarlotka

from Beth Kendrick’s The Bake-Off

INGREDIENTS:

For the crust:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup ultrafine sugar (also known as “baker’s sugar”)
¼ teaspoon salt
14 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
3 egg yolks
3 Tablespoons sour cream

For the apple filling:
6-7 (3 pounds) large apples—mostly Granny Smith, with one or two Fuji thrown in for variety
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice

INSTRUCTIONS:

Crust:
Watch a few hours of the Food Network and/or “Top Chef”. Say to yourself, “How hard can this really be? It’s just pastry.”

Cut the butter into small cubes and store in the refrigerator. The key to light, flaky pie crust is to keep the butter as cold as possible throughout the prep and rolling process. Whenever the dough starts to get warm and difficult to handle, pop it back in the fridge—or even the freezer—for a few minutes.

Using a fork, beat the sour cream into the egg yolks. Blend just enough to combine—it’s fine if the mixture is still streaky. Put the egg mixture aside in the fridge for now.

Food processor method:
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine the dry ingredients. Add the cold butter and pulse in quick spurts until the mixture reaches the “small pea stage”—that is, there are visible pea-size pieces of coated butter surrounded by tiny, mealy crumbs.

Add the egg yolk mixture and pulse a few more times to combine the dry and wet ingredients. **Do not overprocess.** The dough should still look mealy and clumpy, but should stick together when you squeeze it in your hand. If the dough does not stick together and instead feels crumbly and dry, try adding another tiny dollop of sour cream.

Stand mixer method:
What’s that? You say Martha Stewart doesn’t live at your house and you don’t own a food processor? No problem! Julia Child used to make pie crust with a stand mixer, and if it’s good enough for Julia, it’s good enough for me.

If you’re using a stand mixer, you’re going to combine the ingredients in the same order as described above, but you’re going to use the flat paddle attachment for your mixer, and you’re going to use the very slowest setting on the mixer—“stir”. Again, be careful not to overmix—you should aim for about 1-2 minutes to reach the “small pea” stage, and maybe another 1-2 minutes after you add the wet ingredients.

Both methods:
Once the dough has been mixed, pour it onto a cutting board or sheet of wax paper and form a large ball. Knead it by pushing down in the center, then pushing in from the sides, about 5 times. Separate about 1/3 of the dough from the rest, form the two sections into thick disks, wrap the disks tightly in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Apple Filling:
Peel, core and cut up the apples into cubes. Cubes should be about 1-inch square, but there’s no need to get all obsessive and precise—it’s supposed to be rustic.

Place the apple chunks into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle on the lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Go ahead and use your hands—Martha Stewart doesn’t live here, remember? Sprinkle on the sugar and mix again.

Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a large, deep sauté pan. Add the apple chunks and cook for 12-15 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. The apples should get soft and tender, but not smooshy (that’s a technical term). After 15 minutes, take the pan off the burner, sprinkle the cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice on top of the apple chunks and stir. Set aside to cool. Now would be a great time to check your email and your favorite celebrity gossip blog.

Putting it all together:
Preheat the oven to 400.

No more stalling--it’s time to roll out the crust. Gather your materials: a sturdy rolling pin or dowel, a small bowl of all-purpose flour, a long offset metal spatula, a glass pie plate (about 9 inches in diameter), a cheese grater, and a large cutting board or clean countertop. Resist the urge to break out the pre-made crust you bought at the grocery store under cover of night, and remember: there’s no crying in pie-baking.

Retrieve the larger dough disk from the fridge and dust your work surface with flour. Starting from the center of the disk, roll the dough into a circle large enough to cover the entire pie plate and drape over the sides.

Place the crust into the pie plate. You could try rolling it onto your rolling pin like wrapping paper and then “unwrapping” it into your pie plate. Or you could scrape it up with the offset spatula, fold it in half lengthwise and then into quarters, and unfold it in the pie plate. Trim off any excess dough hanging over the rim of the plate.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apple chunks from the sauté pan and into the crust. Discard any leftover liquid in the pan—do not pour it into the pie. Use the spoon to press down on the apple chunks and pack them in tightly.

Place the pie on a metal cookie sheet (bonus points if you put a silicone baking mat between the tray and the pie plate). Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

While the pie is baking, retrieve the remaining ball of dough from the fridge and grate it. Yes, really. Pretend you’re preparing a block of mozzarella for pizza topping.

After 20 minutes in the oven, take out the pie and sprinkle a layer of grated dough across the top of the apples. See? It really is just like making pizza. Try to cover all the exposed apples, and don’t forget the edges. Pop the pie back into the oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes.

Try to restrain yourself long enough to avoid scorching your tongue, then grab a fork and dig in. Feign modesty when everyone in the house raves about your culinary genius. Imagine Martha Stewart writhing with envy. Realize that you have now used up everything in your refrigerator and go out for dinner. Your work here is done.

Now for the giveaway:

Book News: Mulholland Books, Navy Seals Memoir, Mother's Day, and L.A. Noire Video Game

Book News this week is a conglomeration of fabulous links for your enjoyment:

First, an amazing article in The New York Observer about Little, Brown's new imprint Mulholland Books. Miriam Parker and I have been in touch briefly after I requested a Michael Connelly title more than a year ago (long before Matthew McConaughey launched him into sudden stardom). Many other Mulholland titles will be coming up for review here on the blog.

The Guardian reports on a Navy Seal memoir being rushed to publication after the killing of Osama bin Laden by Seal Team Six. Titled Seal Team Six, it was slated to debut later in May, long before the raid.

Also in The Guardian, a discussion of a new video game by the makers of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. Rather than making killing the main focus of the game, creators looked to the crime noir genre for inspiration. Los Angeles in the 1940s is the setting for L.A. Noire.

In an excellent link (I'm sure they did this just for me!) between two things I've mentioned already today, L.A. Noire gamemakers also showed the game's literary connections. From EW's Shelf Life blog:

"To acknowledge the literary roots of its newest offering – and to expand L.A. Noire into a larger 'transmedia' entertainment franchise – Rockstar commissioned several prominent authors to pen short stories inspired by the game and stand on their own as crime genre fun. An eBook compilation from Mulholland Books, entitled L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories, will be available June 6, about three weeks after the game’s scheduled May 17 release."

Did you hear that? Mulholland Books. A look at the game:


NPR's Three Books... special series looks to mothers and daughters, just in time for Mother's Day.

Last week USA Today gave readers a list of celebrity memoirs coming up in May. I am currently reading Tina Fey's Bossypants, and literally laughing out loud. Betty White, Steven Tyler, and Chelsea Handler (one of my favorite celebrity authors) are included.

Jacket Copy's wrap-up list of all their L.A. Times Festival of Books articles from last weekend's book event. (Featuring Jennifer Egan, Rainn Wilson, Jillian Michaels, and more.)

An in-depth look at William Faulkner's Oxford, Mississippi, and his home Rowan Oak, by L.A. Times book critic David Ulin, complete with photographs.

 In conclusion, a Galleycat link for Mother's Day: Top 10 Lists of Literary Gift Ideas for Mother's Day.

I have had an incredibly busy last couple of weeks. I sincerely hope the weekend holds much laying around, drinking coffee on my porch, enjoying my flowers, and reading. I need some recuperation! (As an update to my ramblings about Relay For Life the past few weeks, I have to brag that my school's team has now raised almost $1400! I am thrilled with the effort by everyone.)

I will be enjoying the following books while I'm resting: Bossypants by Tina Fey (library), Virals by Kathy Reichs (Audible), and Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward (purchased hardback from Amazon). Happy reading this weekend!