YA Comes of Age - Publisher's Weekly Article

Great article about Young Adult Fiction on Publisher's Marketplace - Check it out and tell me what you think!
What are your favorite YA books?

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/48916-ya-comes-of-age.html

Autumn in New York

The falling leaves, the crisp cool air, the tourists, and this incessant internal nagging to craft lets me know it's time to bring out the fall wardrobe and start stocking up on Joann's and Michael's coupons. It's also the time when I get to settle back into my more regular reading groove. Summer is great, but there is so much to do! There is never enough time to really sink your teeth into a bunch of great books. And you book lovers know, nothing feels better than curling up on your couch under a warm blanket, or finding a quiet, cozy coffee shop and immersing yourself into your book's pages for a few hours.
 
I'm not complaining or making excuses (me? excuses for being a neglectful blogger? never!), but work has been crazy since April and I've had to take work home with me (which as an editorial assistant consists of reading and reading and more reading!) so instead of being able to slip one of the (too) many books off my shelves at home, I've had to read pages and pages of manuscripts and proposals - SO this list is just shameful, especially since the last time I posted was basically the end of August!


State of Wonder by Ann Patchett: Not as good as Bel Canto, but I was not disappointed. Patchett is an exquisite story teller and although some parts were a bit...unrealistic...I really enjoyed reading this book and, as always, became completely invested in her characters. Grade: A-

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (September Book Club Pick): *Shout out!* I love my book club - it is full of intelligent, friendly, challenging, inviting, funny women who I am lucky to have as friends and fellow book clubbers. AND they all work in publishing which is just the cherry on top!* ANYWAY - I liked this book. Friendship, Love, Jealousy, Regret, Hope - all with the backdrop of good ol' New York. Grade: A

I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell: Okay, so I've had a copy of this book on my shelf FOREVER! My ex-roommate gave it to me - one of our mutual friends (one of the lovely ladies in my book club) was the editor of this book - and told me it was really good. But of course, I then put it on my "to-read" pile and never got to it. Fast-forward to my friend bringing it into work and telling me I just had to read it. What else was there to do but read it? It was not what I was expecting - perhaps a bit vulgar for the faint of heart, well written and hypnotizing. Grade: B

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman: Why am I always drawn to stories about people in publishing? Love this short-story-esque book about ex-pats and an international English language newspaper. Grade: A-

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach:  I am NOT a sports person, so don't think, just because this is a coming-of-age novel based on the story of a boy and his college baseball career, that it isn't your cup of tea. I loved the characters, the conflict, and all the storylines. I would recommend it. Grade: A

Afterword
I've been really into teen fiction as of late, so I'm in the middle of reading three books (which I never do):
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Shatter Me by Tareheh Mafi
Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Should we fight to save indie bookstores?

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2011/09/should-we-fight-to-save-indie-bookstores-1.html#entry-more

Nothing is better than browsing the shelves and tables at a bookstore, but am I holding onto a naive notion? Will bookstores become obsolete now that ebooks have cannibalized the market?

Goodbye Beach Reads!

Usually when Labor Day weekend comes around, I am so lazy that I just hang around doing nothing. But this year I feel like I really took advantage of the last full summer weekend. I spent two glorious days at the beach with good friends, walked around and enjoyed the city, spent time with my sister, and I even got to squeeze in some much needed reading time and finished The Tiger's Wife. Let's catch up on my meager list of books from August:

The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto: A little disappointing. I was expecting this to be more like Julia Child's book, full of love and adventure and cooking, but it fell short. Grade: C/C+

Great House by Nicole Krauss: I loved History of Love and I couldn't wait to read another book by Krauss. Although, not as good, it was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone of my friends. Grade: B+/A

The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate: Great summer read. Fast, easy and lovely. Who doesn't like a good love story that involves cooking delicious food and a little "magic"? Grade: A

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Oberht: You guys know that I usually wait for the hype to die down around a bestseller, but I had requested this from my "e-library" and it unexpectedly came earlier then I had anticipated. Anyway, I'm glad it did, because I couldn't put it down! I'm still getting used to reading on my nook, though. It's definitely nice not having to lug around a big hardcover book, but there is still something to be said about throwing a book into your bag, feeling the pages in your hands, and not having to worry about sand creeping into the crevices at the beach :) Grade: A+

Next up: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. If you haven't read anything by Ann Patchett yet, you need to go pick up Bel Canto and then tell me what you thought! And I'll let you know if State of Wonder lives up to the expectation.

Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender

I love working in publishing because all your coworkers (most of the time) love reading just as much as you do and recommend great books. They also tell you about books that you wouldn't have otherwise thought to pick up. I finished reading this book last week and although it was a little bizarre I would highly recommend it.
Grade: B+

Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

 http://www.salon.com/books/laura_miller/2011/06/28/stopped_reading_fiction/index.html

 What's do you think?

Time is a goon...

I finally finished A Visit From the Goon Squad and I really can't tell if I liked it or not. I was supposed to finish it for my bookclub on Saturday, but of course I started it too late, because I was really into Dracula (which was surprisingly good considering it could have turned out to be like many dry classics I have forced myself to pick up along the years - I couldn't put it down!)
Anyway, I couldn't really get into everything with my fellow bookclub members since I was only halfway through it, but now that I've finished it, I think the word for what I'm feeling is: ambivalence. I enjoyed the book. It was not hard to get through. I loved some characters, I loathed some characters. But what was the point of it?  It is the perfect book for a book club though, because there is definitely a lot to talk about.


Grade: B-

It's That Time Again...

After much harassment from my friends and inspiration from a fellow book lover's blog I think I will come out of my dormant phase and share the books I've read since I fell off the face of the planet. I enjoyed most of the books, but I'll place a star beside the ones that I highly recommend. If you have any specific questions about a book, please leave a comment:

Belong to Me by Maria De Los Santos*

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris*

The Thieves of Manhattan by Adam Langer*

Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Bookclub)*

Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Brava Valentina by Adriana Trigiani

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff*

The Romantics by Galt Niederhoffer

The Recipe Club by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel (Bookclub)

Me Times Three by Alex Witchel

The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy (Bookclub)

 Bossypants by Tina Fey*

 The Ask by Tom Lipsyte

 Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

The Shiksa Syndrome by Laurie Graff

 Room by Emma Donoghue*

 This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper*

 Dracula by Bram Stoker*

Books I started but have not finished (yet!):
Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Decision Points by George W. Bush

Hope to share more with you soon!