Library Love Fest

Robin Beerbower's 'Best' List

Here's a list of top titles you won't find anywhere else! Over in Salem, Oregon, Fiction Selector Robin Beerbower makes it her business to choose the best of the best fiction.  Sometimes, we're just lucky enough to land in her graces and get a shout-out! Here's Robin's full list of fiction favorites for 2010. 

LEAN ON PETE by Willy Vlautin. Set in Portland, 15-year old Charley searches for a home with the help of a broken down race horse named Lean on Pete. Spare in its use of language, this is an amazing novel by an Oregon author.

CRASHERS by Dana Haynes. Wow! You may never want to fly again after reading this thriller about a jetliner that goes down north of Salem and the investigation that follows by the “crashers” who try to determine why it fell out the sky. The gross out factor is a little high at times but it is fascinating.

STILTSVILLE by Susanna Daniel. Absolutely terrific first novel about a long marriage set against the background of Miami and the now defunct summer community of houses in the water of Biscayne Bay known as Stiltstville. Why this novel is so effective is hard to say, but the setting and historical events form an effective background for the story. Keep a tissue handy.

THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY by Heidi Durrow. After a tragic accident kills her two siblings and mother Rachel is sent to Oregon to be raised by her grandmother, but as she grows older starts to question her mixed racial heritage and the mystery of the accident. This is a great choice for book groups.

IN THE DARK by Brian Freeman. This is the fourth in the suspense/thriller series that features Jonathan Stride, a homicide detective in Duluth, Minnesota. These are fast-moving and best read in order (IMMORAL, STRIPPED, and STALKED).

PACKING FOR MARS by Mary Roach. This look at the mechanics and biophysics of traveling in space was my favorite nonfiction book of the year. I found myself giggling and chortling while reading various “who knew?” moments such as the description of burping toilets on the space shuttle, what the "vomit comet" plane is like when one is weightless for 20 seconds, and exactly how one eliminates in space. I'll bet you never thought of what could happen if a spacewalker hurled in his helmet (if you read this you will find out, and for the record, you don't want it to happen to you).

UP FROM THE BLUE by Susan Henderson. Told from the viewpoint of Tillie as an 8-year-old girl and also as a grown woman preparing for the birth of her first child, this haunting novel relates her struggle to make sense of her mother’s mental illness. An excellent choice for book groups.

Stiltsville - Guest Review

We are so happy about the huge response we received for Stiltsville, by Susanna Daniel.  The love for Stiltsville continues! 

We received a great review from Lisa Steckhahn, Reference Librarian from the West Allis Public Library in Wisconsin.  Here is Lisa's review of Stiltsville:

This book is a look at the lifespan of a marriage and a friendship starting at the beginning and checking in at all of the major milestones along the way.  Frances meets Dennis and Marse at the same time.  Marse likes Dennis but he ends up falling for Frances.  Even with this rocky start Marse and Frances become best friends.  This is a testament to the author’s ability to create characters that are likeable but still fully realized with authentic flaws and strengths.  Susanna Daniel manages to avoid clichés and craft a believable story filled with a marriage’s mistakes and triumphs.  The Miami setting is another character in the book that lends an unforgettable setting.  It would be a great book to return to during the coldest days of winter. 

-Lisa Steckhahn
Reference Librarian
West Allis Public Library

Many thanks to Lisa and everyone at the West Allis Public Library.  If you have not added Stiltsville to your reading list, what are you waiting for? I believe you will love Stiltsville as much as we do!

Enjoy,

-Bobby

Stiltsville – will you review this?!

Ever since I picked up the manuscript of this novel, I have been talking about it – to my friends, to my family, to my co-workers, to librarians – to anyone who would listen.  This book very quietly wrapped itself around my heart and it has stayed there ever since.  Set against the backdrop of Miami, this affecting debut novel offers a gripping, bittersweet portrait of a marriage—and a romance—that deepens over the course of three decades.  I just love this book and it seems I’m not alone:

Nina Sankovitch on the Huffington Post writes, “Stiltsville is a compelling portrait of a marriage, a sweet serenade to Southern Florida, and a moving account of a woman’s life.” Read the rest here.

“I fell in love with Susanna Daniel’s characters, Dennis and Frances. The dialogue, the pacing, and the tenderness between this married couple is so authentic and true. But it’s the setting of Florida, and especially the place that is Stiltsville, that literally elevates this story to magic.”
   — Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief

“Set against the wild and changeable landscape of South Florida, Stiltsville is a wise and loving portrait of a marriage, written with keen insight into the ways two lives grow together over the years. This is a rare first novel. Susanna Daniel writes beautifully of matters of the heart.”
   — Jennifer Haigh, author of The Condition, Baker Towers, and Mrs. Kimble

“Like the narrator of this wonderful novel I fell in love in the opening pages of Stiltsville. There was nothing I wanted more than to spend time in the company of these vivid characters and keep reading Susanna Daniel’s lovely, lucid prose. Sadly, like all good books, this one came to an end-for me at two in the morning. Happily I can go back and be transported all over again. Many readers, I’m sure, will follow me.”
   — Margot Livesey, author of The House on Fortune Street
 
I’ve got 50  finished copies that I’d like to send to anyone who wants to write a review.  Send us an email (librarylovefest AT harpercollins DOT com) if you’re interested.

Thanks!

-Virginia