Summer reading wish list

Overqualified

by Joey Comeau

The Man Who Loved Books too Much
By Allison Hoover Bartlett

Wicked Plants: the Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities

By Amy Stewart (review to come)




The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Gods Behaving Badly

Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel 
by Marie Phillips
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
December 2007

I've tried to make a point of only travelling with books that I haven't already read and this week I was pleasently surprised by this habit. gods behaving badly is an amusing update of the Greek gods as they attempt to survive in a world that no longer believes in them. The story is told mostly around the twins Apollo and Artimis and is set in modern-day London where the family of gods has lived since the time of the plauge. Their story also tangles with two mortals, Neil and Alice, who must be heroic in spite of themselves. 


This book will be fun for anyone who's a fan of Greek mythology, but those who aren't familiar shouldn't shy away as there is plenty of back story to catch you up.  Readers in search of another Odyssey will probably be disappointed, but those who are looking for a cute story should pick it up.

Interview with Carol Bodensteiner

Last month I had the opportunity to have coffee with Carol Bodensteiner and interview her for the bookstore's newsletter:

Carol Bodensteiner hails from Jackson County in the rolling hills of eastern Iowa and just wrapped up a semester as a visiting professor at Drake University. Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl is Carol’s first book and she recently finished working with the Department for the Blind to put her book on tape. “I'm very excited about that,” says Carol. “My mother had macular degeneration and I intended to read my book on tape for her. She died before I could get that done - in fact before my book was in printed form. So I wanted to do that as a memorial for her and others with macular degeneration.”

Though she spent most of her adult life in the public relations field, Carol has always been a writer. Since becoming an independent consultant in 1999 she has more time to focus on creative writing. The positive response Growing up Country surprised Carol as she wrote the book mostly for her family, especially her mother. “I love it that people like my book,” she said. “I don’t even know how to take that. As it turns out my book resonates with a lot of people.”

When she isn’t writing or teaching Carol can be found writing articles for the Iowan magazine, consulting on a public relations project and researching her next book. Carol is currently reading The Horizontal World and enjoys seeing how other people approach writing memoirs. Check out her website at www.carolbodensteiner.com for news on her next book and opportunities to meet Carol in person. Her next scheduled Des Moines visit will be at the Iowa State Fair in the Agriculture Building.

One of Carol's favorite quotations:

I write when I'm inspired, and see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning. -Peter De Vries

Few new books but plenty of reading

The danger of working in a bookstore is that I bring home more books than I can possibly read. This was made obvious to me while attempting to pack all my books to get ready to move. Because of limited space I'm doing my best to pack only the essentials: classics, reference relevant to my field of study, a few favorite authors and cookbooks.
The rest of it -- advanced readers copies, fiction, lots of anthropology non-fiction, dictionaries, books in Spanish and young adult fiction-- I'm attempting to re-read before it gets left in boxes in a storage unit. This week the theme is "Books based on Pride and Prejudice:" The Second Mrs. Darcy, Darcy's Story and Mr. Darcy's Daughter. Usually I would pooh-pooh on books based on classic literature, but everyone has a weakness and mine is Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.

If you have never read P&P and have no intention of attempting a 19th century novel, I would suggest Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field by Melissa Nathan. Though it is nothing compared to the original story, this is chick-lit and fan-lit at its best.

For a lighter side of history, Harper Collins Publishing has a great line of fiction based on classic novels or historical events. Darcy's Story is one, P&P told from his point of view. There is also Thornfield Hall: Jane Eyre 's Hidden Story, The Family Fortune, based on Persuasion and a bunch of others. You can identify these books by a small green seal at the bottom right-hand corner of the cover:


It's summer. Go read something light.

Walter Moers

As a follow up to City of Dreaming Books, I read Moers other books based on the fantasy continent of Zamonia: Rumo and The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear. Both excellent books but they don't hold a candle to Dreaming Books. There is one customer at the store who I hooked on Moers who read them Bluebear first, then Rumo, and finally Dreaming Books and I think that might be the way to do it.
The 13 and 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear follows a blue bear named Bluebear (a couple waves named him, you'll have to forgive the lack of originality) through half of his lives. It's a great introduction to Zamonia because of the variety of creatures he meets and crazy places he travels. Bluebear is a likely hero and finds himself in life after life of dangerous situations. This book also offers an explanation of the scarcity of humans in Zamonia. If Dreaming Books is the dessert, Bluebear is the salad and appetizers.

Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures is Moers's best story of love and adventure. Rumo is a Wolperting, a species of dog known for its fighting skills and loyalty. He has a talking sword with a split-personality, befriends a sharkgrub (who is surprisingly moral in this book) and all his young life follows a silver thread in the sky. This book is truly the meat and potatoes of Moers's three Zamonia tales, right down to the violent, bloody fights and quests for true love. Rumo will be coming with me to Kentucky, just as soon as I can get it back from my friend who is hoarding it now.

When will Walter Moers have more Zamonia for his English readers? Can his other books possibly be as good as these??

A Tomb on the Periphery

A Tomb on the Periphery
By John Domini
Published by Gival Press
May 2008

Don't Judge This Book By Its Cover.

John Domini's A Tomb on the Periphery is the second of a three-novel series set in post-earthquake Naples, Italy. The main character Fabbrizio, or Brizio for short, takes us on a wild ride through the grittier side of an already chaotic disaster area created Domini's first book in the series, Earthquake I.D. Though it is part of a series, A Tomb on the Periphery can be thoroughly enjoyed on its own.

As a result of the catastrophic earthquake, new archaeological ruins have been uncovered on the periphery of town. Known for being a guy who can get around law, Brizio finds himself tangled up with Shanti, an American with her eyes on a priceless artifact found among the tombs. Fabbrizio unknowingly forms a connection with the artifact and its previous owner, who is now reduced to a pile of bones in a duffel bag being shuffled all over the city. Danger looms from all sides as Brizio attempts to sort out the American, trouble at home, an illicit jewelery replication project and the ever present immigration issues.

Domini treats his readers to a feast of thugs, high-speed action, social commentary, humor and even a bit of romance in a well-packaged story. I found TOMB to be even more satisfying than Earthquake ID and hope the third and final book of the series will continue the trend of better and better.

City of Dreaming Books

The City of Dreaming Books
by Walter Moers
Published by Overlook Press
September 2007
(hits paperback in August)

The City of Dreaming Books is my pick for "Best All-around Book of 2007." My usual description of it reads like something from William Goldman's The Princess Bride: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions. Miracles." Ok, there aren't beautiful ladies, and fencing is generally left out, but the rest stands true.

Don't be fooled, this is not a story for children. This is a book for people who love books. It is a fantasy set in the land of Zamonia and told to us by a young writer named Optimus Yarnspinner, a dinosaur who travels to Bookholm in search of the author of a manuscript left to him by his godfather. Bookholm is a city built on the book industry with thousands of bookstores and coffee shops, publishers everywhere, people reading on the streets and an underground labyrinth full of hidden libraries and the dangerous Shadow King.

Oh, and this books is beautiful. Walter Moers is a brilliant cartoonist as well as a fabulous writer. The words dance off the pages. This book is comparable to flourless chocolate cake: rich, smooth and goes wonderfully with strawberries. I have no higher praise.