Thursday Thoughts--How It All Began

  In How It All Began, Penelope Lively explores the lives and personal reactions to happenstance of a quirky cast of characters. Set in England, the novel is an in-depth look at the foibles, accidents, choices, unexpected twists of fate, and inter-connectedness of modern society.

The characters in this well-plotted novel face circumstances that turn their individual worlds upside down: senior citizens struggle with feelings of helplessness, irrelevance, and invisibility; lovers and spouses reevaluate their relationships after suffering betrayals; and professionals rethink their careers after experiencing setbacks.

How will their futures unfold?  How will they handle the curves life throws their way?  Will they become victims of their circumstances, or take the risks necessary to reinvent themselves?  

This interesting, thoughtful story reminds readers that what happens to us in this life is not as important as how we handle it.  How It All Began offers much food for thought and discussion, making it an excellent choice for both book clubs and individual readers who enjoy contemporary fiction.

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Thursday Thoughts--How It All Began was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Waiting on Wednesday--New Fiction

     

The Waiting on Wednesday concept is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about a forthcoming title that is on my radar screen with other readers.

Today's anticipated book:

The Truth About Love & Lightning by Susan McBride

    
Publication Date:  February 12, 2013

Publisher:  William Morrow Paperbacks

Preorder now from online and bricks and mortar bookstores

From amazon.com:
Susan McBride, author of Little Black Dress and The Cougar Club, gives us her most unforgettable novel to date with this deliciously emotional story of family, forgiveness, love, and magic. 

As far as Gretchen Brink is concerned, the tornado that just ripped through her land has nothing on the storms of a different sort happening all around her. Her grown daughter, Abby, has returned home with news that she's pregnant, and no, she's not sure whether she's going to marry the father. A man with no memory has been dropped practically on her doorstep. And the not-so-little white lie she's been telling for years is about to catch up with her. 

Abby is sure that the mysterious man is her long-lost father, Sam, who has finally returned just when she needs him most. As Abby, Gretchen, and the Man Who Might Be Sam get closer, the lie Gretchen told all those years ago begins to haunt her. When her secrets come out, and Sam's past is finally revealed, will it tear down this fragile life they've built—or will the truth bring them all closer together? 

My thoughts:   Susan McBride's previous novels have entertained readers and earned her a following in the women's fiction genre.  Her stories are sprinkled with emotion, humor, and the occasional touch of magic.  This forthcoming book about family relationships promises to expand upon her trademark talent.

Enjoy life with books.

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Waiting on Wednesday--New Fiction was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Tuesday Tidbits--All Things British

DA Cast (Photo source: tvguide.com)

Sunday night's episode of Downton Abbey was quite a shocker!  If you want a good book to take you mind off what happened, see librarian Lisa Schimmer's suggested reading for episode 4 here.








On a more upbeat note, January 28th marked the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice. Events, festivals and other celebrations are planned all over the world to mark the occasion.  Take a look at Pride and Prejudice 200's calendar of global events and other links--you may find something happening close to home.
   If you missed my December 16th blog post on Jane Austen, you can read it here.


Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Tuesday Tidbits--All Things British was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

2013 Man Booker International Prize

This year's Man Booker International Prize finalists were announced late last week.   The names and bios of the ten finalists can be viewed at this Man Booker link.

The international prize, which is awarded every 2 years, differs from the Man Booker Prize for fiction, which is awarded annually.  For the 2013 fiction prize, the long list of finalists will be announced in July, followed by the short list announcement in September, and the winner announcement in October.

The information below, from manbookerprize.com, describes the Man Booker International prize and describes how it differs from the Man Booker Prize for Fiction: 

Worth £60,000, the prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language. The winner is chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel and there are no submissions from publishers.

Launched in 2005, the Man Booker International Prize has already established itself as a major player in the literary world and has literary excellence as its sole focus.

The Man Booker International Prize is significantly different from the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction in that it highlights one writer's overall contribution to fiction on the world stage. In seeking out literary excellence, the judges consider a writer's body of work rather than a single novel.  Writers from across the globe are eligible for the bi-annual prize, provided their work is available in English. 

This year's winner will be announced on May 22, 2013 in London.  Previous Man Booker International Prize bi-anual winners can be seen at these links:  2011  2009  2007  2005

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

2013 Man Booker International Prize was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Sunday Snapshot--Weekly Book Recap

The week of January 21-27 in books


Finished reading

           How It All Began by Penelope Lively
                             

Downloaded on my Nook

                    
 eBook:    Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood
Samples:  Alys, Always by Harriet Lane; These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer; My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

Downloaded on my Kindle iPad app




 
 eBooks:  Blackbird Fly by Lisa McClendon; Raspberry Crush by Jill Winters; A Moment in Time by Deb Stover; The Complete Mystery Novel Collection, Volume 1 by Agatha Christie; Little Black Dress by Susan McBride; How to Manage Your Money When You Don't Have Any by Erik Wecks

Enjoy life with books...

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Sunday Snapshot--Weekly Book Recap was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Saturday Shorts--Weekend Words

"We read to know that we are not alone."

--C.S. Lewis, 1898-1963

Read this and other C.S. Lewis quotes on The Quotations Page.

Enjoy life with books...

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Saturday Shorts--Weekend Words was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Friday Focus--More Downton Abbey Reading

Earlier this month, I announced the debut of a weekly posting on the Novelist blog in which librarian Lisa Schimmer provides book recommendations tailored to each episode of this season's Downton Abbey.  Since the January 8th publication of my post, there have been two more DA recommended reading lists, which are summarized below. 

Episode 2 Novel Recommendations

           

Left to right: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford; The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro; Ashenden by Elizabeth Wilhide; A House Unlocked by Penelope Lively

For more information, see the blog post Reading the World of Downton Abbey Episode 2.


Episode 3 Novel Recommendations

                    
Left to right: The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty by Sebastian Barry; A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle; Troubles by J.G. Farrell

For more information, see the blog post Reading the World of Downton Abbey Episode 3.

In case you missed the books recommended for the Season 3 premiere, see the blog post Reading the World of Downton Abbey.

If you live in a cold climate, curl up indoors this weekend with a warm beverage and a good book while you await the next episode of Downton Abbey.  That's what I'm planning to do.

Enjoy life with books and have a good weekend.

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Friday Focus--More Downton Abbey Reading was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Thursday Treat--New Short Stories

 

It's Thursday--close enough to the weekend to treat yourself to some new reading material.

The first option is The Paper Menagerie, Ken Liu's short story that is the first fictional work to win all three major science fiction prizes--the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards.  The full text is available at io9.  I downloaded the PDF and printed it out to read over the weekend.

The second option is Paragraph Shorts, an iPad magazine filled

with short stories available from the Apple App Store.  

According to the App Store description: Paragraph Shorts brings you the world's best short stories in text, audio and video.  Each issue features some of the most captivating storytellers from the most interesting literary publications, coupled with moving imagery from amazing photographers and artists.

Expect to find stories from master storytellers such as John Cheever, Donald Barthelme and Flannery O'Connor, alongside fresh voices like Etgar Keret, Junot Diaz and April Ayers Lawson. 

 Among other features, Paragraph Shorts stories can be shared via email, Facebook or Twitter.  The app also works offline, allowing access to content when away from wi-fi--while in flight or at other out-of-range moments.

The current issue (#3) includes stories from Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, Chimamande Ngozi Adiche, and others.  When the app is downloaded, the issue will appear in iPad newsstand.


Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Thursday Treat--New Short Stories was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Waiting on Wednesday--Long-Awaited Jamaica Kincaid Novel

The Waiting on Wednesday concept is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about a forthcoming title that is on my radar screen with other readers.

Today's anticipated book:

See Now Then

by Jamaica Kincaid
Publication Date:  February 5, 2013

Publisher:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Preorder now from online and bricks and mortar bookstores

From barnesandnoble.com:

In See Now Then, the brilliant and evocative new novel from Jamaica Kincaid—her first in ten years—a marriage is revealed in all its joys and agonies. This piercing examination of the manifold ways in which the passing of time operates on the human consciousness unfolds gracefully, and Kincaid inhabits each of her characters—a mother, a father, and their two children, living in a small village in New England—as they move, in their own minds, between the present, the past, and the future:  for, as she writes, “the present will be now then and the past is now then and the future will be a now then.” Her characters, constrained by the world, despair in their domestic situations. But their minds wander, trying to make linear sense of what is, in fact, nonlinear. See Now Then is Kincaid’s attempt to make clear what is unclear, and to make unclear what we assumed was clear: that is, the beginning, the middle, and the end.

Since the publication of her first short-story collection, At the Bottom of the River, which was nominated for a PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, Kincaid has demonstrated a unique talent for seeing beyond and through the surface of things. In See Now Then, she envelops the reader in a world that is both familiar and startling—creating her most emotionally and thematically daring work yet.

My thoughts:  I am drawn to books that examine marital and familial relationships in depth over time, and look forward to this particular novel--with its intriguing title--from a renowned writer.  

 
Enjoy life with books.

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Waiting on Wednesday--Long-Awaited Jamaica Kincaid Novel was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Tuesday Tidbits--The Downton Abbey Era

DA Cast (Photo Source: tvguide.com)

The new season of Downton Abbey has me completely enthralled.  While I am thoroughly enjoying the characters and storyline, I am also appreciating the references to some of the real people and events making history during that era.

In the episode that aired Sunday night, Lord Grantham expresses his concern about his daughter Sybil's involvement in her husband Branson's political activities in Ireland.  Grantham fears Sybil will become an outspoken supporter of Irish independence and embarrass the family, like two actual female activists from the English upper class who defied their status and joined the ranks of Irish rebels.

Sybil and Branson (Photo Source: pbs.org)

The women Lord Grantham mentioned by name were Maud Gonne (I wrote about her in an unrelated post in December after my visit to Dublin--access that post via this link) and Constance Markiewicz (alternate spelling, Markievicz).  Because of their political beliefs and actions, both women figure prominently in British and Irish history.

The fictional Sybil shares the social status, liberal leanings, and passion of real-life Maud and Constance, adding more layers of dimension and authenticity to the plot of Downton Abbey.


Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Tuesday Tidbits--The Downton Abbey Era was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

  

Monday Memory--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Photo Source: biography.com

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
--Martin Luther King Jr., 1929-1968

Find this and other King quotes online at Quote of the Day.

                      *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Today is the official day designated to honor the memory of slain minister and civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., who was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.  Information about his life and accomplishments is available online at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the Atlanta institution dedicated to King's legacy.  In addition to its programs and events, the Center has a digital archive of nearly one million documents that are searchable and viewable online.

Boston University is also home to a smaller Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Archive, which includes a collection of King's manuscripts, personal papers, and photographs.  The archive stages numerous on-site exhibits throughout the year.

This blog post could never capture the scope and historic importance of Dr. King's many contributions to advancing social justice, civil rights, human dignity, and peace.  It is merely a small tribute to a great American man who had the courage to act on his convictions and, as a result, made the world a better place.


Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Monday Memory--Martin Luther King, Jr. was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Sunday Snapshot--Book Recap

This Week's Books:

Finished reading:

         


Borrowed from the library:

                               

Downloaded on my Kindle iPad app:



Downloaded on my Nook:

                              
Note:  Samples (not entire book) downloaded of City of Dreams and Learning to Swim, two books I heard about this week.

Enjoy life with books...

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Sunday Snapshot--Book Recap was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Saturday Shorts--Weekend Words

“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” 

--Joyce Carol Oates

 Read this and other Oates quotes on the Quote of the Day website.

Enjoy life with books...

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Saturday Shorts--Weekend Words was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Friday Focus--Author Beloved By Children and Adults

Photo Source: biography.com

 "If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day 

so I never have to live without you."

 --from Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, 1882-1956

January 18 is the birthday of A.A. (Alan Alexander) Milne, British-born novelist, poet, and playwright, best known for his series of books about young Christopher Robin, his stuffed bear Winnie-the-Pooh, and band of other adorable critters.

Information about the author's life and work is available on James Milne's Pooh Corner website. Fans of the author will appreciate the website's timeline, bio of Christopher, Milne's son on whom the Christopher Robin character is based, origins of "Winnie", and other information.  There is also a list of fun facts about the real Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends and a Pooh bibliography compiled by the New York Public Library. 

       Winnie-the-Pooh 

Source: realsimple.org/E.H. Shepard, Illustrator

The real Winnie-the-Pooh bear lives in New York City with friends Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, and Tigger in the Children's Room at the New York Public Library.  Fans can visit them in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. 


Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Friday Focus--Author Beloved by Children and Adults was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

2013 Edgar Award Nominees

Edgar Allan Poe (Photo Source: poets.org)

Attention mystery and crime readers.  As you have no doubt heard, the Mystery Writers of America just announced the nominees for this year's Edgar awards.  The prestigious prize, named for Edgar Allan Poe, recognizes the best in mystery writing in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, and television published or produced in the previous year. 

The list of nominees, which is accessible via this Edgar link, includes writers in the following categories:  best novel, best first novel, best paperback original, best fact crime, best critical/biographical, best short story, best juvenile, best young adult, and best TV episode teleplay.  The nominees are a combination of who's who and rising stars in the mystery and crime genres.

I have read one of the best novel nominees, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and one of the best first novel nominees, The Expats by Chris Pavone.  Both were among the best novels I read in 2012.  I have also seen one of the nominated TV episode teleplays, "New Car Smell" from the Showtime series, Homeland.  Suffice it to say that I am a huge Homeland fan.  Two other nominees, Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal (nominated for best first novel) and The Last Policeman: A Novel by Ben H. Winters (nominated for best paperback original) are on my book shelf waiting to be read.

I just finished reading the short story that will receive the Robert L. Fish Memorial award, When They Are Done With Us by Patricia Smith, which was published in Staten Island Noir, a collection of short stories.  In addition to writing the story, Smith edited the collection.  Kudos to Smith for a dark, all-too-real portrait of dysfunctional family relationships.

More information about the Mystery Writers of America is available here.

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

2013 Edgar Award Nominees was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Waiting on Wednesday--Fever

The Waiting on Wednesday concept is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about a forthcoming title that is on my radar screen with other readers.

 Today's anticipated book:

Fever
by Mary Beth Keane

      Publication Date: March 12, 2013

     Publisher:  Scribner

      Preorder now from online and bricks and mortar bookstores

From barnesandnoble.com:

A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as “Typhoid Mary,” the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the early twentieth century—by an award-winning writer chosen as one of “5 Under 35” by the National Book Foundation.

Mary Mallon was a courageous, headstrong Irish immigrant woman who bravely came to America alone, fought hard to climb up from the lowest rung of the domestic service ladder, and discovered in herself an uncanny, and coveted, talent for cooking. Working in the kitchens of the upper class, she left a trail of disease in her wake, until one enterprising and ruthless “medical engineer” proposed the inconceivable notion of the “asymptomatic carrier”—and from then on Mary Mallon was a hunted woman.

In order to keep New York’s citizens safe from Mallon, the Department of Health sent her to North Brother Island where she was kept in isolation from 1907-1910. She was released under the condition that she never work as a cook again. Yet for Mary—spoiled by her status and income and genuinely passionate about cooking—most domestic and factory jobs were heinous. She defied the edict.

Bringing early twentieth-century New York alive—the neighborhoods, the bars, the park being carved out of upper Manhattan, the emerging skyscrapers, the boat traffic—Fever is as fiercely compelling as Typhoid Mary herself, an ambitious retelling of a forgotten life. In the hands of Mary Beth Keane, Mary Mallon becomes an extraordinarily dramatic, vexing, sympathetic, uncompromising, and unforgettable character.

My thoughts: This is the second novel for Mary Beth Keane, a talented storyteller whose first book, The Walking People (2009) was a beautifully written story about the Irish immigrant experience.  Keane has chosen a fascinating person, setting, and time period for her forthcoming novel.
 
Enjoy life with books.

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Waiting on Wednesday--Fever was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Tuesday Tidbits--National Book Critics Circle

 

The National Book Critics Circle, which annually recognizes the best literature published in the United States, recently announced its list of 2012 finalists.   The 30 finalists represent works in six categories: fiction, non-fiction, autobiography, biography, poetry, and criticism.  (Short bios of each author follow the list of nominated books.)

The NBCC winners will be announced in March.

Past award winners (1975-2011) are available at this NBCC link.

The National Book Critics Circle was founded at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City in 1974.  In addition to recognizing exceptional writing, the organization encourages a national conversation about reading, literature, and criticism.  Read more about NBCC here.

Have you read any of the nominated books?  Since I haven't, I'm especially interested in hearing your comments about any finalists you've read.

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Tuesday Tidbits--National Book Critics Circle was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Reading Challenges 2013

I started reading book blogs at least two years before I started writing this one.  All this time, I've been intrigued by the reading challenges other bloggers undertook.  As interesting as these various challenges seemed, I've always stayed on the sidelines, with my only goal being to read 100 books every year.  Until now.

Challenges are a good way to stay motivated and to create mini-goals throughout the year.  Whether commiting to reading certain types of books or particular authors, challenges help set the pace and keep things interesting.  Since I haven't met my goal of 100 books for several years, I am signing up for three challenges in an effort to improve my results this year:

 The Off the Shelf Challenge

Hosted by Bookish Ardour. this challenge is the perfect opportunity to read some of the books that have been sitting on the shelf far too long.  There are 7 levels of participation, from tempted (5 books) to buried (136-200 books).  All books read for the challenge must be published in 2012 or before, be from my own collection, and be read during this calendar year.

My challenge: 30 books--Level 3, Making a dint

Ireland Reading Challenge

Hosted by Books and Movies, this challenge will ensure that I get a healthy dose of Celtic culture this year by reading books written by Irish authors (such as the forthcoming Maeve Binchy novel), books set in Ireland (like several Nora Roberts and Carla Neggers novels already on my shelves), or about Irish people or Irish history.  There are 4 levels of participation, from Shamrock (4 books) to Ceilidh (10+ books). 

My challenge:  6 books--Level 2, Luck o' the Irish

British Books Challenge

Hosted by Feeling Fictional, this challenge requires reading 12 books during 2013 penned by British authors, or one each month.

My challenge:  12 books

That makes a total of 48 books, nearly half the number to meet my overall goal.

How about you?  Are you challenging yourself to read more in 2013?

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Reading Challenges 2013 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.