New Books You Might Have Missed - Fiction

With so many great books being released every week, it can be hard to keep up with what is new. Often we see the same books talked about over and over again in the press, while other books get passed over for promotion. Here's a few of those lesser hyped yet interesting looking titles that passed by my desk in the last few weeks (all descriptions come from the library catalogue):

The Song is You by Arthur Phillips:

"Julian Donahue is in love with his iPod. Each song that shuffles through “that greatest of all human inventions” triggers a memory. There are songs for the girls from when he was single; there’s the one for the day he met his wife-to-be, and another for the day his son was born. But when his family falls apart, even music loses its hold on him, and he has nothing. Until one snowy night in Brooklyn, when his life’s soundtrack–and life itself–starts to play again. ...what follows is a love story and a uniquely heartbreaking dark comedy about obsession and loss."

Turning Japanese by Cathy Yardley: "Meet Lisa Falloya, an aspiring half-Japanese, half-Italian American manga artist who follows her bliss by moving to Tokyo to draw the Japanese-style comics she's been reading for years. Leaving behind the comforts of a humdrum desk job and her workaholic fiancée, Lisa has everything planned-right down to a room with a nice Japanese family-but hasn't taken into account that being half-Asian and enthusiastic isn't going to cut it. Faced with an exacting boss and a conniving “big fish” manga author, Lisa risks her wedding, her friends, and her fears for a shot at making it big."

Waiting for Autumn by Scott Blum:

"An enchanting semi-autobiographical parable that reveals a deep and powerful message. This book follows Scott, an inquisitive seeker who meets a mysterious cardboard-sign-toting homeless man named Robert who has a sleepy black Lab puppy at his side and a penchant for changing lives ... this metaphysical page-turner is a fascinating exploration of one humble soul’s profound awakening—with a surprise ending that will warm your heart."

Portable summer reading

Some folk have several books on the go at any one time. My friend always has one in her bedroom, one in the den and one in her car. I, on the other hand usually only have one book on the go, but it travels everywhere with me.

Summer gives us unlimited options as to where we can choose to read. A good book travels anywhere; You can pack a blanket and a book for the beach, or sneak a couple chapters between acts at an outdoor concert. A companion at the cottage or the dentist's office and a friend on the bus, or at the cafe down the street. A perfect partner for sharing your park bench or hammock

on an idyllic summer afternoon.

Some titles on my 'to read list' for this summer are:

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

This is at the top of my list. It excited me as soon as I saw it because it has a lot of the traits that appeal to me. It is a a character driven police procedural/forensic mystery set in England, it is the first in a new series and it has garnered many favorable reviews.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.

This one just sounded so different. By a Canadian author, this is also the first book in a new mystery series whose protagonist is an eleven-year-old aspiring chemist.

Bad Things by Michael Marshall

This one sounds intriguing and it is on my list of books to review for the online mystery review journal, "Gumshoe Review". Set in Washington State it is a psychological thriller about a lawyer who loses his 4 year old son when he tumbles into a lake. Years afterward the lawyer is changed man who now works for a living as a waiter. Then he receives an email from a stranger that reads: I know what happened...

Whispers of the Dead by Simon Beckett.

The third book in what is turning out to be one of my favorite forensic mystery series.

Red Bones by Ann Cleeves.

Also the third novel in one of my favorite mystery series. A police procedural series set in the Shetland Islands.

Portobello by Ruth Rendell.

One of my all-time favorite authors, I am never disappointed by anything she has to offer.

Summer is a busy time. Will I get through them all? I don't know but I'll have fun trying!
Where do you take your book?

YA Series Summer Reading Suggestions

In the fine tradition of Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, and The Babysitters’ Club (to name a few of my old favourites), YA series continue to be very popular. Having stumbled on one enjoyable book, it’s nice to have a follow up or two that features the same familiar, comfortable characters and settings.

With my job with Teen Services, I’ve read a few YA series lately; here’s a sampling of some new series that I have enjoyed (btw, if you’ve never read any of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, or the Artemis Fowl series, do it now!).

From Scott Westerfeld, comes The Midnighters Series. Over the course of the trilogy, we get to know 5 teens who share something in common: they can live in the secret blue time, a 25^th hour that happens every day at the stroke of midnight.

While time stands still for everyone else, they use their individual magic powers, and work together to protect the world from the dark creatures trying to escape from the blue time. The main character, Jess is totally identifiable as she struggles with insecurity and worries about people not liking her, even though she's clearly awesome and powerful and is the flame-bringer!

Holly Black, author of the Spiderwick Chronicles, also writes faerie books for teens, including the loosely connected “Tithe” and “Ironside”. Both feature confident and strong-willed teen girls, struggling to come to terms with their feelings of powerlessness, and the changes happening in their lives. In the infinitely better “Ironside”, Kaye discovers that she is chosen to be the new Queen of the faerie world, but she intends to figure out a way to fulfill her destiny on her terms. Lots of intrigue, some romance, girl power, and the opportunity to get lost in a really imaginative fantasy world.

A popular adult author, Kelley Armstrong has jumped on the YA bandwagon with her brand new Darkest Powers Trilogy. The Summoning came out last year, and its follow up, The Awakening is a 2009 title. In the first, Chloe is given a diagnosis of schizophrenia and sent to a group home with other ‘troubled’ teens. In reality, Chloe can see and communicate with ghosts, and her fellow home-mates have equally impressive and scary abilities. Is it a coincidence that they’ve all ended up together? Who’s in charge of the group home? Just what kind of danger are they in?! I’m anxiously waiting for my hold on the second book to come in so I can find out!

Not in the mood for a “genre” series? Try The Clique series by Lisi Harrison. It’s a tween version of Gossip Girl, complete with girl rivalry, popularity politics, and extreme shopping. A great pick for fans of the movie “Clueless”.

Canadian Chick Lit

I’ve been remiss in my blog posting lately, so I do apologize to those of you who have been waiting for my second installment of Chick lit.

For some good old-fashioned lounging in the sun or sitting at the beach summer reading, I suggest giving the Canadian author, Lesley Crewe, a try.

Here are the summaries to three of her books, to whet your appetite (her fourth, Hit and Mrs.: a novel, is coming soon to our library) :

Relative Happiness. “Lexie Ivy loves her little house in Cape Breton, her big family, and the endless sea that surrounds her. She wouldn’t trade her life for anything, but at thirty, she’s starting to feel like something’s missing. Enter Adrian, a charming backpacker who takes a wrong turn at the U.S. border, and ends up on Lexie’s door step, and Joss, an irresistible man who disappears just as quickly as he arrives. Lexie’s peaceful life has suddenly become more complicated that she ever imagined.” – Back cover.

Shoot Me. "In the words of her psychology student daughter, Elsie Brooks is an enabler. She mothers everyone—her social work clients, her husband, her twenty-something daughters, and her reclusive sister who lives in the attic. Elsie is committed to taking care of everyone...everyone but herself. So, when crazy Aunt Hildy writes to demand a bedroom in their Halifax home, Elsie can’t help but say yes. When Hilda arrives, she enchants and enrages the family with her moxie. That and her proclamation that she has hidden treasure in the house and the king’s ransom will go to whoever loved her most. When someone threatens Aunt Hildy, she responds with her trademark sass: “Go ahead. Shoot me. I dare you.” Whoever it is takes her up on it. Suddenly, the house is turned topsy-turvy as Elsie’s family searches for a treasure that Elsie doesn’t believe even exists, and for a killer that could be any one of them."--Nimbus.

Ava Comes Home. "Ava Harris is a famous actress living the life of the rich and fabulous in L.A. when a family crisis calls her home. It’s been ten years since she’s set foot in Glace Bay, Cape Breton—back when she was plain old Libby MacKinnon. Why she ran away, no one knows. Returning home, she must face her family, her friends, and her first love, Seamus O’Reilly, whose heart broke the day she left. Ava is a good little actress, determined that no one will know what happened. She will keep the truth buried at all costs-even if she has to run again. But secrets have a way of surfacing, especially in a small town, and love has a way of blasting through the toughest barriers. While Ava can never go home again, perhaps Libby finally can."--Back cover.

Read Your Way Around the World - Sri Lanka

One of the many great things about reading is the ability of a book to seemingly transport you to another place geographically. Fans of armchair travel revel in this aspect of leisure reading.

To help satisfy our readers' urge to explore the world via reading, Halifax Public Libraries has been creating a series of reading suggestions lists called Read Your Way Around the World.

Each country list highlights a few titles, usually combining both fiction and non-fiction, about the country and/or written by native authors. By no means exhaustive or definitive, these lists will hopefully give readers an enjoyable way to start a reading journey around the literary globe.

Bon Voyage -- All Aboard for Sri Lanka!

Sri Lanka has got to be one of the most intriguing places on earth. Combining natural beauty, bountiful harvests and an amazing diversity in people and culture. Begin to discover Sri Lanka between the covers of these titles:

Sweet and Simple Kind: a novel of Sri Lanka,

by Yasmine Gooneratne

A beautifully written family drama set in the times of transition from Ceylon to Sri Lanka. Deftly explores the human side to political, social and family upheaval.A very promising new writer.

Swimming in the Monsoon Sea,

by Shyam Selvadurai.

A novel for older teens and adults. A modern coming of age narrative, set against the beautiful backdrop of Sri Lanka, that also explores the cross pollination of modern cultures. Winner of a 2006 Lambda Literary Award.

Anil's Ghost,

by Michael Ondaatje.

A remarkably well written novel by one of Canada’s pre-eminent authors. A returning Sri Lankan forensics anthropologist must deal with the strife of civil war while struggling to make sense of a mysterious skeleton. Winner of the 2000 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

The Far Field : a novel of Ceylon,

by Edie Meidav.

An intriguing exploration of Sri Lankan culture, as told through the eyes of an well meaning, yet naive American. Set in the 1930s, Henry’s plans to improve the lives of Sri Lankans is turned completely upside down.

Non-fiction:

Woolf in Ceylon : an imperial journey in the shadow of Leonard Woolf, 1904-1911, by Christopher Ondaatje. 2005 A fascinating account of Woolf’s time in Ceylon.

The History of Sri Lanka,

by Patrick Peebles. 2006

Peebles presents the history of Sri Lanka in this volume that is part of a series aimed at students and general readers.

An Historical Relation of Ceylon: by Robert Knox - [1681] 1911

Originally published in 1681!

An English sea captain’s account of captivity in Ceylon.

Revisiting Old Friends

Books are like old friends. Sometimes we haven’t seen them in a while, but they are so familiar and often, you pick up where you left off, recalling fond memories, favourite foods or a special summer afternoon that has remained with you.

Recently, I was in the bookstore and I came across Daphne Du Maurier’s book Frenchman’s Creek.

Frenchman’s Creek and I have a history, a past, a relationship. Some books are just like that, old friends. The point is that this book has been out of print for quite a long time. I have an old, 1950s cloth bound copy at home and it’s my pride and joy.

Seeing Frenchman’s Creek reprinted reminded me that I’m not the only one who likes to revisit my old “friends”.

So lately, I’ve found myself returning to some reprintings of popular authors’ older works. These include Phyllis Whitney mysteries and Sandra Brown novels, among others.

Who are your old friends? Do you find yourself revisiting some favourites from time to time, trying to recapture something? I find I reach for these friends when I want something familiar, or life is feeling busy and I just want to get back to myself. What about you?

Six Degrees of the Library Collection - J.D. Salinger to Oprah Winfrey

In the spirit of the theory of six degrees of separation - that any two people in the world can be connected to one another through six relationships - we bring you what will become a semi-regular feature called “Six Degrees of the Library Collection”. These might not always be the most direct links between two points, but you might be surprised how your favourite book can connect you to a wide world of reading.

Despite trying to famously retain his privacy for decades, JD Salinger has been in the news recently. A judge in New York granted a temporary restraining order against a book called “60 Years Later: coming Through the Rye” that purports to tell the tale of Holden Caufield at the age of 76. The judge is deliberating on whether the new novel is a violation of copyright.

Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye has undoubtedly been hugely influential, inspiring further artists and referenced in everything from film to tv to comics and video games . A particularly memorable instance of referencing the Catcher in the Rye comes in a monologue in John Guare’s play Six Degrees of Separation, where the main character Paul details his theories of the novel.

Six Degrees of Separation the play, quickly became Six Degrees of Separation the movie, in which that impressive monologue was delivered by none other than Will Smith. At the time Smith was more well know for his rap career and TV sitcom than for film work but with success of this movie, and Smith’s critically acclaimed performance, he was propelled down the road to megastardom.

In recent years, Will Smith has once again showed his strength in playing a character adapted for the screen in I Am Legend. The film, which was largely carried by Smith’s performance as the last remaining person in NYC after it has been overrun by vampires, was an adaptation of Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel (which, incidentally was set in LA).

Matheson is a major name in the horror genre, steadily producing work since the early 50s. Matheson is said to have been an influence on another major American Horror writer, Stephen King, who dedicated his 2006 novel Cell (which is also about an apocalypse of the undead, although this time they are more zombie than vampire) to Matheson.

Zombies are a big theme these days, which brings us to yet another adaptation: this year’s surprise hit Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. A re-telling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that imagines what would have happened if that story took place during a zombie plague. The story begins “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”

And so it would seem that the logical next step would be to Jane Austen, but just to shake it up a bit we’ll take it to Oprah, who has recommended Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as one of her must reads of the summer of 2009.

Stories of Land

This morning, in a post-dream state, I was thinking about some of the books I’ve read in the past. I took sort of an interesting journey around the world; the following is my weird literary travel.

I’ve just been reading Joseph Boyden’s books, Through Black Spruce and Three Day Road. Like many, I enjoy reading Canadian fiction for the familiarity of place. However, Boyden writes (beautifully) of a Canada with which I am mostly unfamiliar. Both of his novels take place in the North of Canada, a challenging environment which his characters embrace and even crave. The books also reference the residential school system, and the latter refers, obliquely to the Boer

War.

These references led me to The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay because it takes place in South Africa and the little Afrikaner boy, Peekay, goes off to a scary, abusive boarding school. (Loose connection, I know.) It’s a touching and sometimes heartbreaking story about love, God, philosophy, friendship, knowledge, and growing up.

From Jo’Burg, I travelled to a fantastic memoir of growing up in war-torn Zimbabwe, Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood. Fuller’s parents were prone to alcoholism, extreme racism, and were dangerously intent on maintaining Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) as a white-run country. Fuller’s story is funny and tragic at the same time: an excellent account of human and family drama.

I then travelled to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), but came full circle back to a Canadian author, Michael Ondaatje. His own memoir,Running in the Family also discusses alcoholism, and the craziness of family. Ondaatje’s prose is light and lovely, and there is literal magic in his storytelling.(The previous two books also bear striking similarities to Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs’ notorious memoir of complete dysfunction.)

I was thinking about what all of these books have in common and the strongest similarity is their settings: yes, they vividly describe characters and relationships, and almost unimaginable situations, but they also convey a real feeling for their respective locales. The cold isolation of the Canadian North; the alternating dusty brown and fresh green ofSouth Africa; the hotly contested farmlands of Zimbabwe; and the spicy heat of Sri Lanka.

This led me to the final stop of my strange book journey, to Sarum: the Novel of England. Edward Rutherfurd’s historical fiction books do a wonderful job of tracing the history of a particular place. In this instance, he begins about 10,000 years ago and traces the changing landscape of England, from a land covered in ice, to the building of Stonehenge, to Roman hot springs, through to the building of a modern day Salisbury.

Dads - We Salute You

Dads, ya gotta love em. Maybe he's the patient calm father of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus Finch, the moral compass for so many for decades, a widowed father trying to do the right thing against all odds.

Another single father, Quoyle of The Shipping News by Annie Proulx, brings his daughters to Newfoundland after his wife's desertion and death. With patience and care, he builds a life for himself and his daughters.

Or maybe he's the father of many like in Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth. (Nothing like the subsequent movies by the way). Gilbreth, an industrial efficiency expert, tried to apply his management efficiencies to his family. A warm-hearted memoir.

Families don't always follow the pattern of mother, father, six sons and six daughters, however. There is divorce, estrangement, and blended families. Henry Archer, divorced, gay lawyer is reunited with his stepdaughter in The Family Man by Elinor Lipman. Separated after a lifetime, this unusual family rebuilds its ties in its own unique ways. Luckily for Henry Archer, he was allowed the time to re-establish his relationship with his daughter.

Time ran out for Draper Doyle Ryan of The Divine Ryans by Wayne Johnston. His father Donald, an oasis of understanding in his eccentric family, dies young leaving Draper Doyle to the tender mercies of wicked Aunt Phil. Luckily, compassionate Uncle Reg steps in to guide him through this terrible time.

Sometimes it is only after you lose a parent that you can begin to understand the individual he was. In A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz, Jasper Dean from prison reflects on the events leading up to his father's death.

And if for no other reason than to make your father look great, there is always The Shining by Stephen King. Redrum, redrum, redrum.

Tennis Anyone?

I'll admit it up front, I'm not much of a sports fan, but the one glaring exception to that is professional tennis, particularly Wimbledon which takes place at the end of June each year (this year June 22 - July 5th). So, with Wimbledon fast approaching, here's a few tennis titles to get you ready!

Backspin: a novel by Charles Crosby: a fading tennis star makes one last desperate attempt for attention in this dark comedy from a Nova Scotia author.

Double Fault by Lionel Shriver: a story of relationships and ambition. Centred around a married couple and their individual successes and failures in the professional tennis world and the impact on their marriage.

Dropshot by Harlan Coban: The murder of an up-and-coming tennis star forms the plot of this whodunnit mystery.

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace: Let's be upfront, this isn't a novel about tennis, but it is a novel that spends a lot of time talking about tennis. A lesser known fact about the late literary giant David Foster Wallace is that he played competitive tennis in his youth and he brings that personal knowledge to his magnum opus. Clocking in at 1079 pages, this book is a commitment, but if you are interested in wry, ambitious commentary on modern culture (peppered with some tennis) you should set aside some time for this one.

If you are a little less ambitious with your David Foster Wallace tennis reading, try the essay "Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley" in his collection A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again which talks about his own experiences in the competitive tennis world.

Murder is My Racquet edited by Otto Penzler: I never knew professional tennis was such a deadly game - but here's a whole collection of short stories of death and tennis.

You Cannot Be Serious by John McEnroe: Memoir of one of tennis' most famous/infamous players. Books in Canada said " it is certainly good reading for any inquisitive tennis enthusiast."

Award winning reading suggestions

The 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award was recently announced.

The winner is Michael Thomas for his debut novel, Man Gone Down

btw, this is an award for which libraries get to play a role in the nominations.

For 2009, Halifax Public Libraries had nominated the following titles :

Where White Horses Gallop, By Beatrice McNeil

The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill

What Was Lost, by Catherine O'Flynn

For 2010, we have just nominated:

Falling, by Anne Simpson

The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway

Through Black Spruce, by Joseph Boyden.

Speaking of award winning debut novels, Amazon.ca has just announced the short list for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award:

The Toss of a Lemon, by Padma Viswanathan

Reading by Lightning, by Joan Thomas

Red Dog, Red Dog, by Patrick Lane

The Boys in the Trees, by Mary Swan

Stunt, by Claudia Dey

Chase and Haven, by Mike Blouin

Dude lit?

While surfing the Internet I came across an alarming statistic. Polls suggest that only 20 percent of fiction readers are male! How can this be? Why?

Is there a stigma (at least in the minds of men) that reading fiction is a pastime not worthy of men’s valuable time? Ask the average man and he’ll admit to reading non-fiction, newspapers and magazines, but rarely will he admit to reading fiction.

Fiction can be just as educational as non-fiction and most times a lot more enjoyable. Novelists (good ones at least) put countless hours into researching their novels. It is proven that lessons hidden in stories stay with us longer than those relayed in lectures.

A term that has become common today is 'Chick-lit'. These are usually novels with a young female protagonist, a dash of romance and more than a dash of humour. What if there were the equivalent for men? Would they read more fiction? Maybe guys just want to have fun too.I thought I'd suggest some books that might appeal to men who want a light, fun read. And they are ALL written by men too!

"How to Talk to a Widower" by Jonathan Tropper

"Nuclear Jellyfish" by Tim Dorsey

"A Salty Piece of Land" by Jimmy Buffett

"The Ravine" by Paul Quarrington

"Kill All the Judges" by William Deverell

"Boca Knights" by Steven M. Forman

"Choke" by Chuck Palahniuk

"The Franchise Babe" by Dan Jenkins

Web Sites for Avid Readers

As mentioned in a previous post, I've been getting some assistance from a library school student here on the blog this month. In addition to her library work, Lara is also a blogger and an avid reader of book blogs. I asked her for some advice on book related websites that she enjoys and

she sent me the following....

Trying to keep up with promising new writers as well as upcoming releases from favourite authors can be difficult. Sometimes I don't have much time to keep checking the library catalog to see what's new!Plus, sometimes I'm interested in a broader view of what's going on in the world of books - big name book awards being deliberated and then handed out, author tours, local programming and the like. So I like to keep an eye on an assortment of blogs about books. These are frequently updated sources of great information about reading, writing and authorship. I subscribe to their feeds in my RSS reader but you can just as easily scan through a series of entries on any of the sites and get a sense of what's happening right now in the world of books.

Obviously checking The Reader right here is a great idea for finding out about Halifax Public Library holdings, author readings, and events happening in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The CBC has a quality source "for Canadians who love books" called Words at Large. Right now this site is updated about once a week, but it promises to be revamped soon and to have more content than ever so I'll keep checking back.

For brief snippets on current happenings in publishing and books I like the New York Times books blog, Papercuts. I should also

mention that for more general and popular reviews and interviews, plus news pieces, the New York Times Books section online is a great resource.

The Los Angeles Times has a books blog called Jacket Copy that covers author readings, movie and music tie-ins to books, and periodically throws a list of good reads out there for perusal.

January Magazine has spotlights on books, discussions of the book industry, and author profiles.

The Elegant Variation brands itself "A literary weblog" and includes bits of juicy book industry gossip as well as longer rants about classic literature and adaptations. There are recommendations of largely unsung literature on the right hand side which is great for reading recommendations for friends.

And Bookninja is a great source for conversational discussion of specific authors, broad genres, literary magazines, and trends in electronic publishing.

If you have a blog about books that you like to read, feel free to let us know in the comments section!

In addition to her library work, Lara blogs on a regular basis for Re:Print, a
books blog at PopMatters.com, an international magazine of cultural criticism.