What I Read and How I Found It

The Life of an Unknown Man: A Novelby Adrei Makine, translated...

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:18:54 -0600

The Life of an Unknown Man: A Novelby Adrei Makine, translated by Geoffrey Strachan
Published by: Graywolf Press

A few weeks ago, the awesome folks at Graywolf Press announced on their Facebook page that they had found some galleys and they were offering them as a giveaway to Facebook fans. The instructions were to email your contact details and “fiction” or “non-fiction.” Fiction, always. (Almost always.) The Life of An Unknown Man arrived in the mail late last week. Thank you, Graywolf!

This is How You Lose Her by Junot DiazPublished by Riverhead...

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 07:04:11 -0600

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
Published by Riverhead Books/Penguin USA

I read Diaz’s last book The Brief Wondrous Life of OscarWao but didn’t love it. I think I was the only one who just didn’t get it or all of the critical acclaim. I’d also tried to readDrown before that but couldn’t get into it and put it down. Having said that, I’ve always said that I would try Diaz again—I was sure there was something there but for whatever reason we just hadn’t connectedyet.

This newest book was part of a BookExpo America eBook sampler that I downloaded before the show. I read the Diaz excerpt and liked it. I’ve been waiting for the book to arrive ever since. I’m hopeful this is the book where Junot Diaz and I fall madly in love.

In My Father’s Country: An Afghan Woman Defies Her Fate by...

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 10:58:47 -0600

In My Father’s Country: An Afghan Woman Defies Her Fate by Saima Wahab
Published by: Crown Publishing Group/Random House, Inc.

Saima Wahab was on The Daily Show last month, talking about her experience growing up in Afghanistan and the United States. Her father was progressive—and as a result, disappeared when she was young. Soon after Saima, along with her siblings and cousins, moved to Portland, Oregon.

The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France:...

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:49:00 -0600

The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle
Published by Bantam Dell/Random House, Inc.

It’s hard to say exactly when I first learned about The Secret Race. I seem to recall that right after Hamilton’s appearance on 60 Minutes in May of 2011, word started circulating that he was out selling a manuscript. Anyone who follows bike racing has been watching and waiting with eager anticipation and at last, the tell-all is available.

Memoirs of An Imaginary Friend: A Novel by Matthew...

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 19:24:00 -0600

Memoirs of An Imaginary Friend: A Novel by Matthew Dicks
Published by St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan

Matthew Dicks’ (not Andy Dick’s…. yes, I confuse them) new novel is one that got a lot of buzz at BookExpo America. I was hoping to grab a copy but for some reason (oh, maybe because I was thereworking?) I never did. In the subsequent months, it’s been getting a lot of good press on Twitter. When I walked into the library today, it was sitting there on the new releases shelf, just waiting for me.

Winter Journal by Paul AusterPublished by Henry Holt &...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 19:20:46 -0600

Winter Journal by Paul Auster
Published by Henry Holt & Co.

How did I find out about Paul Auster’s new memoir? Not a clue, it must have been a year or so ago, but he is one of the rare authors whose books are automatic buys for me.

The Uninvited Guests: A Novel by Sadie JonesPublished by...

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:04:00 -0600

The Uninvited Guests: A Novel by Sadie Jones
Published by HarperCollins

I found out about The Uninvited Guests while reading a review of Emily St. John Mandel’s The Lola Quartet in the New York Times. It sounded like a fun, clever read.

Spoiler Alert: Read Emily’s book instead.

Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures: A Novel by Emma Straub...

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:41:00 -0600

Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures: A Novel by Emma Straub
Published by Riverhead Books/Penguin Group USA

I’m afraid I’ve got another BookExpo America story for you…but it starts before that. Emma was one of my first Twitter friends and she helps make my Twitter feed so much fun.

Her first book, a collection of short stories called Other People We Married is just beautiful. How did I first find out about Laura Lamont? Probably a giddy tweet or Facebook post from Emma, but it was a long time ago and I don’t remember exactly.

Emma was signing books at BEA in June and so of course I had to block that time in my calendar as an appointment (shhh) to slip over to the Penguin booth to meet her. She was swarmed by people (her adoring public!) and I only had a few quick minutes, but I did manage a squeal, a hug, a signed galley, and a picture. Laura Lamont was published this week. Read it.

Inside by Alex OhlinPublished by Alfred A. Knopf,...

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:23:00 -0600

Inside by Alex Ohlin
Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher/Random House

I’d never heard of Alex Ohlin before and then one day, this happened: Here if You Need Me. It’s a review by William Giraldi and it’s one of the most mean-spirited reviews I’ve ever read. So of course, I had to find out what all of the fuss was about.

Leon and Louise by Alex Capus, translated by John...

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:06:00 -0600

Leon and Louise by Alex Capus, translated by John Brownjohn
Published by Haas Publishing, Distributed by Consortium Books

Oh, BookExpo America really is so much fun! Because I am a blogger (yay!), I was invited to a party hosted by Consortium Books. Unfortunately, I could only stop by for a few minutes, just barely long enough to register that the woman standing near me looked awfully familiar and was someone famous but not long enough to actually say something stupid to her or spill a drink on her. (It was Amy Goodman, there in support of her book The Silenced Majority.)

In my goodie bag (yay!) there were all sorts of fab things, including a copy of The Silenced Majority, and also a postcard to come by the Consortium booth the next day for a limited edition galley for the September release Leon and Louise.

Readers I respect were raving about this book during the show and soon after BEA, sales rep extraordinaire John Mesjak posted this on his awesome My3books blog.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will SchwalbePublished by...

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:47:00 -0600

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher/Random House

I am behind again so bear with me…. Working backwards to update my most recent books.

I was so lucky to meet Will Schwalbe at BookExpo America this past June when my friend Naomi Wolf introduced me to him. Will is no stranger to anyone in book publishing—he was the editor in chief of Hyperion Books and is a journalist.

Will’s new book is a love letter to his mother, Mary Anne, and the story of her life and death and their book club of two. It comes out in early October and I think this one is going to be huge.

The Age of Miracles: A Novel by Karen Thompson WalkerPublished...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 19:18:00 -0600

The Age of Miracles: A Novel by Karen Thompson Walker
Published by: Random House

I found out about The Age of Miraclesfrom my friend, Heather, on the Between the Covers blog from Tattered Cover Book Store.

Shine Shine Shine: A Novel by Lydia Netzer Published by: St....

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 07:20:00 -0600

Shine Shine Shine: A Novel by Lydia Netzer
Published by: St. Martin’s Press

Netzer’s debut has been getting loads of Twitter buzz, but the tweet that made me add it to my To Be Read list was from Bethanne Patrick:

@JustBethanne That is to say *I* loved SHINE SHINE SHINE by Lydia Netzer from. Fresh and strange yet about our common humanity.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel JoycePublished...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 07:00:00 -0600

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Published by: Random House

Just as I was lamenting that I’d read nothing on The Man Booker Prize long list this year, I received a notification from the library that Harold Fry was ready for me to pick up. I didn’t remembered ordering it, but found this saved tweet:

@JustBethanne: THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY is one of the most unlikely books I have ever read…this book is gonna be big.

A Land More Kind Than Home: A Novel by Wiley CashPublished by:...

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:23:00 -0600

A Land More Kind Than Home: A Novel by Wiley Cash
Published by: William Morrow & Company/HarperCollins

This was another Twitter find when Luis Alberto Urrea (I think it was Luis and not Cindy), tweeted: Just finished A Land More Kind Than Home. Knocked me flat. @WileyCash you have written an “amazing book. Thank you.”

Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian FlynnPublished by Crown/Random...

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:09:21 -0600

Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
Published by Crown/Random House

I loved Flynn’s first book, Sharp Objects, and somehow missed her second, Dark Places. I was thrilled when my friend Josh Christie posted this NPR link and the comment, “What the hell, GONE GIRL? Gillian Flynn’s new book took a branding iron to my brain.”

And then, just days later, I learned that Flynn was signing at Tattered Cover. I went to hear her speak (she prefers Gates BBQ to Arthur Bryant’s) and bought a signed copy.

A Gay and Melancholy Soundby Merle MillerPublished by:...

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 07:53:57 -0600

A Gay and Melancholy Soundby Merle Miller
Published by: AmazonEncore

I have to say I was surprised to find this one on IndieBound (link above), as it’s the first book in Amazon’s new (and controversial) line of books curated by librarian Nancy Pearl. I’ve been excited about this new/old series since it was first announced that Pearl was partnering with Amazon to create Book Lust Rediscoveries. When the first book became available, I grabbed it.

The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:58:17 -0600

The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan

I read this in college—but a different translation—so when my “Impossible Reads” group selected another Pevear and Volokhonsky translation (after last year’s War & Peace), I decided to join along. We started this book on June 1, but there is still time to join in if you’re interested as we all tend to read at our own pace, despite the very generous reading schedule.

The Absolutist: A Novelby John BoynePublished by: Other...

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 11:23:22 -0600

The Absolutist: A Novelby John Boyne
Published by: Other Press

This is one of the few books I picked up at last week’s BookExpo America that is already published and available. Most everything else I was lucky enough to grab will be published in September or October, so I will read those as we get closer to their pub dates.

I picked up this book because of the Colum McCann endorsement on the back. He could endorse a box of breakfast cereal and I would eat it.

Coral Glynn: A Novelby Peter CameronPublished by: Farrar,...

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 07:31:13 -0600

Coral Glynn: A Novelby Peter Cameron
Published by: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

I learned about Cameron’s book through NPR’s summer reads suggestions. I didn’t hear this segment on the radio, but instead saw the link on the NPR Books Facebook feed.