As of Monday, February 17th, all HarperCollins Catalogs will be available through Edelweiss. If you haven't registered with Edelweiss already, make sure you do it now so you can take advantage of all the perks!
-Amanda
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Whether you’re in it for the romance, the piles of chocolate (hint: that’s me), or it’s just another Friday for you, take this time to enjoy a little fun frivolity in the form of Eloisa James’s Three Weeks With Lady X.
Having made a fortune, Thorn Dautry, the powerful bastard son of a duke, decides that he needs a wife. But to marry a lady, Thorn must acquire a gleaming, civilized façade. Thorn’s stepmother Eleanor hires Lady Xenobia India St. Clair to redecorate the rundown estate Thorn has just purchased, and maybe transform the owner into a gentleman in the process. Exquisite, head-strong, and independent, India vows to make Thorn marriageable in just three weeks. But neither Thorn nor India anticipate the forbidden passion that explodes between them.
Booklist recently gave Three Weeks With Lady X a starred review, so download your copy from Edelweiss today!
-Amanda
Anyone familiar with the hit series Pretty Little Liars will no doubt recognize Sara Shepard's name, and come May she will have an adult book on the shelves. The Heiresses is a deliciously fun book that follows the Saybrook family, the rich, glamorous, New York City based founders of a massive diamond empire.
At the start of the novel, Poppy Saybrook, the most beloved heiress is found dead, and what is initially thought of as a suicide is quickly shown to be murder. So begins the search for her killer, and her remaining four cousins must bond together to figure out what has happened.
Along the way, they each uncover an incredible number of juicy secrets concerning their family and the 'curse' that has followed the Saybrooks for generations.
This is a perfect summer read, and it's the first in a new series, so get ready to fall for The Heiresses. Be sure to snag an egalley on Edelweiss.
– Annie
Award-winning author and cat-loving California native Shirley Rousseau Murphy brings us behind the scenes of The Cat, the Devil and Lee Fontana (on sale today!) and what kick-started the inspiration for this mystery novel. Shirley has teamed up with her husband, co-writer Pat J.J. Murphy, and surprises her fans by spotlighting characters from Cat Bearing Gifts.
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It’s the cats who run the show. As I begin a book I employ the card system some authors use, as well as fragments of outline, but soon the notes are pushed aside and the cats indeed take over—Joe Grey, Dulcie, Kit and Pan and the feral band. The cats’ own thoughts and longings guide me, the story is theirs and they show me clearly what they experience and what they mean to do. I can only follow, seeing in my mind their ploys and troubles.
But when, after finishing Cat Bearing Gifts, I turned aside for a little while from Joe Grey and his pals, I needed no outline for the new tale, it was already in place. Pat’s story of Lee Fontana was there, whole and real, waiting for me to join him and, unknown to us at first, waiting for Misto to step into the story to add his own feline charm and swagger.
I had already based part of Cat Bearing Gifts on Lee Fontana’s stolen money (with Pat’s permission) and on Lee’s mysterious little sister, so somewhere in the back of my mind, the connection had already formed. But we didn’t see clearly, yet, that Misto himself would move from Cat Bearing Gifts into Lee’s adventure, appearing not as the living cat he was in that book, but in ghost form. Suddenly the ghost Misto was there with Lee, insinuating himself into the action as he tries to guard Lee from harm. The minute Misto joined Lee to face off the devil we knew this was right, this was the way the tale was meant to be as Misto’s spirit, between two of his nine lives, battles the devil to save the soul of the old convict.
Last Night at the Blue Angel is a wonderful debut. I was very impressed because Rotert's characters were all so engaging and well formed. Also, it painted a very cool picture of the jazz scene in 1960s Chicago.
The narration switches between ten year old Sophia, the precociously awkward and old-before-her time daughter of single mom Naomi Hill (the second narrator), an aspiring singer and extreme beauty.
We meet them on the night Naomi becomes famous, her last performance at the Blue Angel nightclub, then they both take us back in time through the events leading up to that night.
Sophia is the sadly sweetest story teller – thoughtful, painfully worried about her mother, dreading the nuclear bomb she's concerned will drop and staying busy creating lists of all the inventions she will need to recreate. Her anxieties about her living situation permeate the book, and mirror the feel of the larger events of the time: segregation, sexual experimentation and free love. It is a story full of revelations, surprises and a heartbreaking conclusion.
Definitely worth checking out on Edelweiss.
– Annie
The Top 10 LibraryReads picks for March have finally been released! A big congrats goes out to Panic by Lauren Oliver for being chosen by you lovely librarians as one of the best books being published in March! Seriously, if you aren't already in the LibraryReads fun parade, join in and have your voices heard.
-Amanda
You guys, I promise not to bore you too much more with my love for Willy Vlautin's books, but The Free finally went on sale on February 4th (my sister's b-day, PS – so much love on one day!), and other people have been gushing about him too, so I thought I'd share.
From the Starred Library Journal Review:
Verdict Despite touching on urgent national issues such as health care and the death of the middle class, Vlautin’s deeply sympathetic novel never feels labored or overtly political, telling its characters’ stories in direct, unvarnished prose that recalls the best of John Steinbeck.
From the Starred Booklist Review:
“There are number of musician-novelists turning out fine work in both fields, but singer-songwriter Vlautin is clearly at the head of this multitalented group…At times, reading the heartbreaking, interlocking stories of these circumstance-ravaged souls can almost seem unbearable, but just when you’re ready to put the book down in despair, Vlautin delivers a moment of not hope exactly but unvarnished, aching humanity that takes your breath away.”
BEYOND THE BOOK is a project that showcases HarperCollins authors who are also musicians. Each specialized program includes original music and insight from the authors. It is a unique way to get the feel for the novels and a sense of who the authors are.
Each program can be downloaded for free on Soundcloud.
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Located in a nameless desert somewhere in the great American Southwest, Night Vale is a small town where ghosts, angels, aliens, and government conspiracies are all commonplace parts of everyday life. It is here that the lives of two women, with two mysteries, will converge.
“Encompasses The Twilight Zone, Stephen King, and Twin Peaks, with a bit of Tremors thrown in.” —The Guardian
“Brilliant, hilarious, and wondrously strange. I’m packing up and moving to Night Vale!” —Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
“There is nothing like Night Vale, in the best possible way.” —Maureen Johnson, author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Name of the Star
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/sets/beyondthebook_nightvale
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New York Times bestselling humorist Michael Perry, author of Population 485 and Visiting Tom, brings us a debut novel about a Wisconsin farmer whose newborn calf bears the face of Jesus. Loaded with an unforgettable cast of characters, The Jesus Cow is a comic yet sincere exploration of faith, a hilarious and improbable tale with a big heart and an explosive climax.
“Warmhearted…engaging…down-to-earth and genuine.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Humorous without being cynical and heartfelt without being overly sentimental.” —Shelf Awareness
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/jesuscow_beyondthebook
In Last Night at the Blue Angel, debut novelist Rebecca Rotert tells the tale of Naomi Hill, a talented but troubled jazz singer, her precocious ten-year-old daughter, Sophia, and their heartbreaking relationship. It is an unforgettable story, set int 1960s Chicago, about what happens when the passion for the life you want is at sharp odds with the life you have. In this recording, Rotert, an experienced singer/songwriter, performs two jazz standards from the novel, shares her inspirations behind the characters, and does a reading that provides insight into Naomi’s origins.
“Luminous and deeply affecting, this book swept me along and stole my heart.” -Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife
“Last Night at the Blue Angel is many things, all of them hugely admirable.” -Jim Shepard, author of Like You’d Understand, Anyway
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/lastnightattheblueangel_rotert
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In Bird Box, brilliantly imaginative debut author Josh Malerman captures an apocalyptic near-future world, where a mother and her two small children must make their way down a river, blindfolded. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them – but is it man, animal, or monster?
Within these tracks, Malerman, a professional musician and lead singer of the band The High Strung, discusses his love of horror and invokes an ethereal and atmospheric experience in an homage to Orson Welles a la War of the Worlds.
“This completely compelling novel contains a thousand subtle touches but no mere flourishes – it is so well, so efficiently, so directly written I read it with real admiration.” -Peter Straub
“Chilling and beautifully told. A Must Read.” -Hugh Howey, author of Wool
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/birdbox_malerman
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The Free by Willy Vlautin was the inaugural Beyond the Book project. In this novel, Vlautin captures the experience of three memorable characters who are looking for meaning in distressing times. Vlautin addresses issues that transform ordinary people’s lives – the cost of health care, the lack of economic opportunity, and the devastating scars of war – and celebrates the resiliency of the human heart. Here, Vlautin reads excerpts from The Free, discusses the inspiration for the book, and shares his thoughts on its main characters. Accompanied by Vlatin’s own music, the recording offers a behind-the-scenes look at this unforgettable novel.
“The straightforward beauty of Vlautin’s writing, and the tender care he shows his characters, turns a story of struggle into indispensable reading. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.” -Ann Patchett
“Courageous, powerful, and mercifully refreshing.” -Jonathan Evison, author of The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/sets/thefree_vlautin
Peter Swanson is the debut author of The Girl With a Clock for a Heart, a fantastically sexy noir thriller. Reminiscent of the 1980’s film, Body Heat, Wiley Cash says, "This novel burns faster and hotter than a lit fuse, and you’ll be feeling its heat long after the explosive ending.”
Peter celebrates his book birthday today, and he's popped in to share some of his history with libraries:
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I was lucky. I was one of those kids who was taken to the library at least once a week. And I was doubly lucky because the library I was taken to, The Gleason Public Library in Carlisle, Massachusetts, was one of the great ones. It was on the small side, being the library of a small town, but that meant that all the librarians knew me by sight, and knew the type of books I liked to read. But what I loved most about the library was the building itself. It was gothic revival, built in the 1890s, made of brick with deeply slanted shingle roofs. It was cozy and creepy at the same time—just the way I like it.
My book choices, even when I was very young, were a little bit cozy and a little bit creepy at the same time, as well. My favorite picture book as a kid was Mercer Mayer’s One Monster After Another, even though, or maybe because, it gave me some pretty vivid nightmares. I loved anything with monsters, ghouls, ghosts, secret passageways, and dark and stormy nights. When I got a little older, and started reading chapter books, I loved John Bellairs, especially his first book, The House With a Clock in its Walls, which, now that I’ve written that title out, might have had something to do with me naming my first novel The Girl With a Clock for a Heart.
John Bellairs’ books were perfect for me. They dealt in supernatural creepiness, and yet, they were firmly grounded in a world of eccentric but good-natured characters. Again, it’s that coziness thing. My second favorite Bellairs’ book, The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn, takes place mainly in a library in Hoosac, Minnesota, where the librarian, Miss Eells, and the young protagonist, Anthony Monday, search for a treasure hidden in the library. This book confirmed what I’d long believed—that libraries were special places full of mysterious secrets.
As I got older, the books I chose to read changed, although not the subject matter. I fell in love with Stephen King, naturally, but also with mystery novels and thrillers. To this day, when I enter a library I haven’t been to before, I always go first to the mystery section. I love looking at all the spines of books I have and haven’t read, especially when they have those little skull stickers that some libraries affix to them to identify them as mystery and suspense.
And now that I’ve become a thriller writer myself, I’m hoping that someone somewhere on a cold winter night curls up on their favorite reading chair, and enjoys my tale of murder, obsession, and identity. See, I’m still equating cozy and creepy, because I think they go together, and I’ve been thinking that ever since those early trips to the library.
And one more thing. If you’re a librarian, and you’re reading this, and you receive The Girl With a Clock for a Heart, please put one of those little skull stickers on its spine. That would make me very happy.
***
Thank you, Peter. Please snag a copy of his book, it's completely gripping!
– Annie
The ALA Mid-Winter conference was held this past weekend in Philadelphia, and that means so many awards were announced for books that were published in 2013. We want to give a huge congratulations to all of the winners, but especially to all of our HarperCollins titles that were honored this year:
The Listen List, for audio books: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman and The Son by Phillipp Meyer
The Sophie Brody Medal, for outstanding achievement in Jewish literature: Like Dreamers by Yossi Klein Halevi
The Reading List: Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare, Romance; One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean, Romance Short List;The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, Fantasy Short List; Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight, Women’s Fiction Short List
Notable List: The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox, Nonfiction
The Alex Award, for adult titles with teen appeal: Help for the Haunted by John Searles and The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell.
The Listen List for Outstanding Audio Book Narration: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman and The Son by Philipp Meyer.
BCALA Best Poetry Award: Chasing Utopia by Nikki Giovanni
Newbery Honor: The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
(Theodor Seuss) Geisel Honor: Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes
Coretta Scott King Author Award: P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia; Darius & Twig by Walter Dean Myers
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson
Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor: Tito Puente, Mambo King/Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo by Monica Brown
Schneider Family Book Award: Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell
A big round of applause for our winners! If you haven’t read these notable books yet, now’s the time to catch up and see where the books of 2013 have set the bar for the upcoming year.
-Amanda
Virginia is a big fan of Ruth Kassinger's first book, Paradise Under Glass, so her latest one, A Garden of Marvels (on sale 2/25) has had a lot of buzz around our department. We just gave away a bunch of galleys at ALA Midwinter, so hopefully some of you were able to snag one.
We aren't the only ones buzzing about this book either, it has garnered starred reviews from Library Journal, Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.
Ruth has very nicely agreed to guest blog, so welcome!
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When I was fifteen and a student in Baltimore, I fell in love with the early twentieth-century poet Mina Loy. I’d read a few of her crackling, avant-garde poems in an anthology, and was intrigued by her wit. She was little remembered in the 1970s, and when I looked for a copy of Lunar Baedeker, the source of those poems, the closest, and perhaps only, available copy was at the Library of Congress. I determined I would go there and read her book. My father thought this a long way to go for some old “pomes,” but agreed to drop me at Penn Station on his way to work downtown. I caught a train to Washington’s Union Station, and then walked fifteen minutes to the library.
Entering the main reading room was (and is) like stepping into a great cathedral, all soaring dome, painted ceiling, and multiple tiers of marble columns. I found the information for Loy’s book in the wooden card catalogs, filled out a retrieval slip, and handed it to the librarian at the (aptly circular) circulation desk. The book was rare, she said, and not housed in the regular stacks; she directed me down some lofty, echoing hallways to the Rare Book Room. I was delighted: now I was on a Rare Quest. Again, I handed over my slip.
The librarian in this rather pedestrian room asked for identification, and I produced my high school I.D. She looked at it, and told me, regretfully, that one must be eighteen to look at rare books. I was stunned. What had my age got to do with poetry? I was terribly shy, but disappointment overwhelmed my diffidence. I had come so far, I said, no doubt a little tremulously. Wasn’t there someone I could talk to? She directed me to the office of the Librarian of Congress.
Did I actually speak to the Librarian of Congress? Not knowing that this librarian was a bit different than Mrs. Sachs at my local branch, I didn’t pay attention to his name. In any case, this older man took pity on me, walked me back to the Rare Book Room, and explained that an exception had been made. I spent a few hours with Loy’s small book––green cover, I recall––and developed a new appreciation for librarians, not to mention polite persistence. Writing as I do at the intersection of history, science, and journalism, appreciation of both continues to serve me well.
– Ruth Kassinger
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Thank you, Ruth! You can snag a copy on Edelweiss, FYI.
– Annie
Today we celebrate the book birthday of That Old Black Magic by Mary Jane Clark. She's been lovely enough to share some of her thoughts with us:
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Dear Librarians,
It’s been a lifelong love affair…my relationship with the Public Library.
If not for the Public Library, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind, I wouldn’t be writing books today. When I was a kid, there were no Barnes and Nobles and, even if there had been, my parents didn’t necessarily have the extra cash lying around to buy the latest Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden mystery. My sister and I carefully selected our books from the shelves of the Public Library.
When we were little, we went to story hour, where the elderly librarian would read to us, even, as happened during one snowstorm, when we were the only ones there. As we grew older, we would stop most days as we walked home after school to see if there was anything neat on the “NEW BOOKS” rack. We studied there and researched there and sometimes just enjoyed the quiet there. We treasured our library cards. We learned to love reading.
Many years have passed, and, now, I still have to pinch myself sometimes and feel truly honored when I see one of my books on a library shelf or hear there is a waiting list for the newest title. As I’ve traveled around the country or perused e-mails, I’ve learned how many, many readers have been able to get my books at the public library. That exposure has helped immeasurably in building a fan base. I am beyond grateful for that. It also gives me immense pleasure to know that people, even if they can’t necessarily afford to purchase my books, can still enjoy them.
You hold in your hands That Old Black Magic, the latest installment in the Piper Donovan/Wedding Cake mystery series. This time, Piper goes to New Orleans to work at a famous French Quarter pastry shop. She’s immediately enthralled by the charming sights, sounds and smells of the old city. But the magical mood quickly turns sinister when one of the local business owners is found dead, with the vicious crime pointing to the work of one of the hoodoo spirits. Soon, past secrets are exposed and Piper is caught in a web of intrigue and suspense.
Booklist has given That Old Black Magic an early thumbs up. “Clark is skilled at providing motive and opportunity to many characters and keeping the suspense building to the end.”
I have high hopes for That Old Black Magic. I hope you will enjoy it and spread the word to your library patrons.
With much gratitude,
Mary Jane Clark
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Thank you, Mary Jane!
– Annie
The Mystery Writers of America has announced their nominees for the 2014 Edgar and Mary Higgins Clark Awards and we are proud to say HarperCollins has four nominated titles!
Best First Novel by an American Author: Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
Best Paperback Novel: The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne
Mary Higgins Clark Award: The Money Kill by Katia Lief
Mary Higgins Clark Award: There Was an Old Woman by Hallie Ephron
Awards will be presented to the winners on May 1, 2014, so make sure you stay tuned here for more info!
-Amanda
London, 1385. Unrest festers in King Richard II’s court, caused by an ancient book of prophecies which foretells the young ruler’s assassination. John Gower, a minor poet and professional purveyor of information, is asked by wily bureaucrat Geoffrey Chaucer to find the book and avert a full-blown scandal. The search for the book and the deadly conspiracy it foretells reaches all the way from the royal court to the most disreputable slums and brothels of medeival London.
Fans of historical fiction with lots of intrigue should definitely take note of A Burnable Book by Bruce Holsinger, award-winning scholar of the medeival period. But you don’t have to wait to sink your teeth into all the betrayal, murder, and court intrigue in this literary mystery: Holsinger is giving away 10 advanced readers editions of the book from his Facebook page. The deadline to enter is tomorrow, January 17, so don’t miss out!
-Amanda
I can’t resist a good love story, especially one with just a hint of tragedy, so it’s no surprise that I really enjoyed The Orphans of Race Point by Patry Francis, an artfully written novel of suspense, betrayal, family, and love told through the voices of three distinct characters over the course of several decades.
Hallie and Gus have been fated for each other ever since they were nine years old when, after Gus’s mother was brutally murdered by his father, Hallie was able to bring solace to the traumatized boy in the form of two fish and David Copperfield. Hallie and Gus reconnect and fall in love when they are both sixteen, but the violence seemingly inherant in Gus’s family isn’t far behind. After a violent encounter that leaves Hallie in the hospital, Gus shocks everyone—and devastates Hallie—when he decides to join the seminary. A few years and one horrific betrayal later, Gus is sentenced to life in prison for murdering Ava Cilento, mother of the third narator, Mila. The lives of Hallie, Gus, and Mila clash and intersect as each tries to find transcendance in the face of hardship.
Patry superbly captures the three characters’ voices, and I was especially impressed with the teenaged Mila. Patry dives into the separate motivations, memories, and thoughts of all three characters with clear, lyrical writing that reveals the enduring power of the deep bonds of love and what it means to be family. I definitely recommend you check it out on Edelweiss.
-Amanda
Drum roll please… The February LibraryReads list has just been announced, and we are ecstatic to reveal that HarperCollins has four titles! Your votes were counted, and The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick, This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash, After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman,and Ripper by Isabel Allende were all chosen as a February Top 10. Thank you to everyone who read, loved, and voted for these wonderful titles!
Anne de Courcy is a journalist and prolific non-fiction writer, having penned eleven books including Diana Mosley, Debs at War, and The Viceroy’s Daughters. Her latest book, The Fishing Fleet: Husband Hunting in the Raj, goes on sale March 4th and she stopped by today to talk about her favorite library.
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Two things are essential to me in my writing life, both highly individual and horrendously expensive but to me, worth every penny – my Burmese cats and the London Library (annual subscription: £460).
My cats, a brother and sister with glossy bitter-chocolate coats and huge golden eyes, are a constant source of joy, amusement and aesthetic pleasure. If you live alone, as I do, it is not only a comfort to have something else with a heartbeat in the house but a salutary reminder that one’s own wishes cannot always be paramount. It is truly said that dogs have owners but cats have staff.
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From the Sundance Festival to the Oscars, Anne Thompson, a seasoned Hollywood veteran, breaks down the movie industry month by month in her new book, The $11 Billion Year. It is an incredibly interesting read detailing the movies, the moguls, and the moviegoers that, in 2012, delivered Hollywood’s biggest domestic box-office ever.
Our very beloved, Nora Rawlinson had this to say about it:
“The $11Billion Year makes you feel like a Hollywood insider. No matter how much you think you know about the movie industry, you’ll learn more from Anne Thompson. She lives and breathes the business.”
And doesn't this quote just ooze juiciness??
"Ace Hollywood analyst Anne Thompson not only knows where the bodies are buried—she digs them up for you!" – Peter Rainer, author, Rainer on Film: Thirty Years of Film Writing in a Turbulent and Transformative Era
Happy New Year everyone! Now is the perfect time to create a new you for the New Year, whether it’s renewing that old gym membership, revamping your hair style to something particularly 2014ish, or catching up on all the great books of 2013 you somehow missed, definitely keeping in mind Kimberly McCreight’s Reconstructing Amelia. If you haven’t yet devoured this suspenseful tale of a single mother piecing together the last few days of her daughter’s life after her apparent suicide, make sure to put it on your to-read list. Entertainment Weekly named Reconstructing Amelia the Best Book of the Year, and Huff/Post 50 Senior Editor Shelley Emling has also named it one of her favorite books of 2013, saying “If you've ever been baffled by the mysterious world of teenagers, read this book. It will open your eyes.” AND it was Number 9 in CNN’s readers’ favorite books of 2013. Quite a list, eh? So while you’re waiting in the salon or peddling away at the gym, bring along one of the best books of the year, now available in paperback.
-Amanda
This week we are pleased to introduce Darragh McKeon, author of All That Is Solid Melts into Air.
Under a crimson sky, Artyom Telvatnikov stands in a field of cows, his fingertips glistening with the warm blood that streams from their ears. It is April 1986, and ten miles away, above the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, swathes of sparks flood the air, forever changing a cluster of ordinary lives that pass their days in supermarkets and railway tunnels, in factory floors and recital rooms, inciting them to actions of violence, strangeness, and terrible beauty.
In his debut novel, Darragh McKeon spotlights one of the most enduring tragedies of recent history and reveals its contribution to the fall of the Soviet Union. The book delicately weaves an array of real and imagined characters into an intricate tapestry of a society undergoing the first moments of its unraveling, in a place where all natural order has been distorted, and at a time where nothing is so incredible that it cannot be true.
This noveldramatizes the immense human cost of the Chernobyl accident through the interconnected stories of some of its survivors: there is Grigory, a doctor from Moscow who is sent to the region to deal with the radiation victims; Maria, his estranged wife who comes to the attention of the authorities due to some ill-advised articles she has written for underground papers; and her nephew, Yevgeni, a nine-year-old musical prodigy who has suddenly lost his sense of rhythm. Chernobyl and its aftermath will change their lives forever.
Darragh has already made a name for himself as a major theater talent, and now he is transitioning his skills to the page with All That Is Solid Melts into Air, which you can check out on Edelweiss.
-Amanda
There are few periods of history I find more riveting then Paris in the 20s and 30s (I'm hardly alone in this). What a fascinating period of history to write about, and Francine Prose does just that in Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932, a story told from varying view points by colorful characters; a visionary photographer, his rich baroness art patron, his brave – if insecure – lover, his best friend and future famous Hemingway-esq writer, and the present day biographer of the central character, Lou Villars, who tries to reach back through time and interpret all the events.
The title refers to a photograph that launched the career of the photographer, Gabor Tsenyi: two women, lovers, lean against each other at a nightclub table. One is slight and pretty; the other-dressed like a man, with cropped hair and a heavy build-stares into the distance.
The latter person is Lou Villars, whose life is the general focus around which every narrative is wound, an extraordinary athlete, a famous race car driver, and finally a Nazi torturer and interrogator during the German occupation of France.
The book reads quickly because you are so engaged in each story (also I love novels where each character's insight provides a new take on the same situation). Prose does a good job of showcasing Paris from the height of the Jazz Age through the terror of the Nazi invasion, and also raises questions about the difficulty of discovering historical truth and the unreliability of narrative. Check it out on Edelweiss.
– Annie
Imagine the joy on my face when I arrived at my office to find this on my desk. An original creation by the one and only amazing Annie Mazes, who has managed to capture all of my favorite things on one frame. Nothing says Christmas like Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand and Cher, all topped off with I Love Lucy! All of my favorite things made by one of my favorite people. Also note the Maker’s Mark, my Nancy Pearl doll, Blistex, and me and Pat in Greece, so many favorites. From my Happy Desk to yours.
And as a bonus, since a present is only great if you can share it.
Bette Midler’s Cool Yule album is AWESOME!
Cher sings O Holy Night better than anyone. ever. You’re welcome.
Barbra Streisand sings Jingle Bells like noone else.
And finally, the I Love Lucy (Rarely Seen) Christmas special just aired IN COLOR. Mind. Blown.
Merry Christmas!
– Virginia
PS: Happy Holidays everyone…hope Santa is good to all of you! – Annie
For our next debut author, allow me to introduce Emma Healey, author of Elizabeth is Missing.
Simultaneously a sophisticated mystery and a heartbreakingly honest meditation on memory and identity, Elizabeth is Missing possesses an unforgettable narrator in Maud, a grandmother fighting a losing battle against the devastating effects of memory loss.
But while she may be losing her grip on everyday life, much to the frustration of her family—particularly her daughter, Helen—she’s determined not to forget about her best friend Elizabeth, who has mysteriously vanished. To Maud’s frustration, no one will take her seriously: not Helen, not her carers, not the police, and especially not Elizabeth’s mercurial son, Peter. Armed only with the pocketfuls of reminder notes that she writes dozens of times a day, and a vague hunch that something is wrong, Maud resolves to discover the truth.
This singular obsession forms a cornerstone of Maud’s rapidly dissolving present, but the clues she discovers seem only to lead her deeper into her past, which was dominated by another unsolved disappearance; that of her sister, Sukey, who vanished just after World War II. Vivid memories of what happened over fifty years ago come flooding back to give her quest new momentum. Could the mystery of Sukey’s disappearance help Maud uncover the truth about Elizabeth?
Kimberly McCreight, author of Reconstructing Amelia, says this novel is "ingeniously structured and remarkably poignant…. A riveting story of friendship and loss that will have you compulsively puzzling fact from fiction as you race to the last page.”
– Annie
Last night, I finally finished all my Christmas shopping (I think; I hope). I also hope you have been equally as lucky in your shopping endeavors, as we’re officially down to the last few days before the Big Day. If you still haven’t quite crossed off all those names, we have one more list of suggestions for you, this time for your foodie friends and family.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays by Ree Drummond: an assortment of meal ideas for holidays throughout the year—from a Resolution Smoothie on New Year’s Day to Dessert Shots on New Year’s Eve—accompanied by dozens of Ree’s signature step-by-step photos.
L.A. Son by Roy Choi: the maverick chef and co-founder of the Kogi BBQ trucks compiles his favorite recipes that reflect the creative, inventive, and border-crossing spirit of his hometown. Roy is a personal friend of TV chef personality Anthony Bourdain, who also happens to love the next lady on the list, renowned food critic Marilyn Hagerty.
Grand Forks by Marilyn Hagerty: rather than making a cookbook, this 86-year-old, down-to-earth, food critic brought together a collection of her best, no-nonsense restaurant reviews—from Red Lobster to Le Bernadin— from across her fifty-year career.
All right everyone, this is it. The final countdown. Good luck, and Happy Holidays!
-Amanda
