Nobel Prize In Literature....

was not Haruki Murakami.  It was Mo Yan, a Chinese writer.  Click here for details.

Maybe next year.  It took a few years for the committee to catch up with me when I was saying Orhan Pamuk would win.  Until then, I will wait.

National Book Award Finalists Announced

Click here for the details from PW.  For the first time in a few years, the books are all well known.

And I am holding my breath for the Nobel Prize in Literature announcement tomorrow.  I am hoping it is finally Haruki Murakami's turn.  I'll post the link and my opinion on the winner, tomorrow.

RA for All Roadshow: Me Interviewing Erin Morgenstern Tomorrow!

Today I am putting the final touches on my interview questions for Erin Morgenstern.  There is still time to register for this free event at Oswego High School tomorrow night at 7 pm as part of Fox Valley Reads by clicking here.

If you have any questions for Ms Morgenstern, there is still time to get them in to me.  Just leave a comment.

I also wanted to pass on this link to her fabulous website, and this one to a great interview she did with GoodReads.

Finally, below is a re-post of my initial review of The Night Circus, which I wrote last December, way before I was asked to interview her.

I hope to see you there tomorrow night at 7pm.

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2011

What I'm Reading: The Night Circus

It is always refreshing to read a book with heavy hype and find it simply charming.  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern fit this bill for me when I read it this fall.  Before I get into the details, I want to say that while I was reading this book I was utterly captivated.  This was by no means the best written book I read this year (it has some first novel issues and could have used cutting in some places and beefing up in others); however, I cannot remember the last time I read a book which sucked me into its world and refused to let me go.  Maybe it was when I read Harry Potter for the first time.

The set up here is simple.  2 aging magicians meet to have another competition; one in a long line of competitions they have engaged in over the years.  They each find a young child to become their protege.  As the two children grow up, they are pitted against one and other in a test of their skills and imagination.  The venue of this battle is an amazing circus, but the two young people (a boy and a girl) do not know each other; they just know they must continue to act upon the circus to keep the battle going.  What the terms of engagement are, and the consequences of losing are not known, but it is clear that they are severe.

That is the plot, but it is not even close to the reason you would read this book.  This is a novel that needs to be discovered.

The Night Circus is all about the details and the characters.  The story bounces around between different character's points of view and even to different years (but the date is clearly marked at the start of each chapter).  We see how the competition affects dozens of people, changing the course of their lives.  These characters drive the narrative.  Their relationship to each other, but more importantly to the circus itself, is a joy to watch unfold.  Some grow and some crumble, but all are both interesting and thought provoking.

So, you need to be okay with a book that jumps between characters and subplots quickly.  All points of view and subplots add depth to the story.  It worked for me because it enhanced the power of the circus. I suggest you simply let Morgenstern take you along on her ride.  For some it may be too confusing, but for me, it was a joy to be so entertained in such an original and intricately built story.

I actually found the relationship that develops between the 2 magicians themselves the least satisfying part of the book, but it didn't really matter to me.  My enjoyment went back to the circus itself and the characters' places within it.

I loved the details of the circus itself.  The two magicians build new attractions and tents trying to up stage each other.  New sections begin with descriptions of these wondrous inventions.  These sections were the best part of the novel.  I read them over and over.  The language was lyrical, the descriptions captivating and enchanting.  I was left begging to go to the actual circus.

There is also a clock, the clock-maker himself,  and those who become groupies of the circus which I also enjoyed following.

Again, I am trying to be vague but still articulate the book's appeal.  I want readers to discover this book on their own.  Giving any of the wonder away would be unfair.  The wonder is why a reader will fall in love with this book.

I do have to say that while this novel is filled with beauty, there is also an underlying darkness that permeates the story from the first page on.  This intense magic has serious consequence for all involved.  Watching the characters come to terms with the price they have paid by being a part of this enchanting world is also a reason I  liked this book.  I did find the ultimate conclusion of the novel only partially satisfying, but to be fair, the book was so captivating that I think no ending would be perfect.  Readers will not want to leave the world Morgenstern created, so as a result, would not be happy with any ending.

If you want a book which will take you away to a magical world that will take a hold of you and threaten to never let you go, read The Night Circus.  It is a great option for a plane ride or vacation. It is not perfect, but it is mesmerizing.  I will put it on my sure bet list for years to come.

Three Words That Describe This Book:  captivating, magical, lyrical.

Readalikes: Neal Wyatt had this great list of Readalikes, Read Arounds, and Watchalikes.  Please use the link to see her suggestions.  I will not repeat any of them here.

If you like The Night Circus, run, do not walk, to the library and check out Steven Millhauser's Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer.  This novel won the Pulitzer in 1997, but has become largely forgotten.  I am telling you now though, fans of the descriptions of the circus itself and those who were caught up in the awe of its beauty need to read Martin Dressler too.

Two other lyrical, magical, and captivating books with interesting characters about whom you come to care deeply are The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier and Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.

Although I do not personally like Lev Grossman's The Magicians series it should be a solid suggestion for most fans of The Night Circus.

For those who liked the more macabre aspects of The Night Circus, a better choice would be Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

For people looking for more books about or set in a circus, click here for some suggestions I have made in the past. ("the circus" is one of my personal favorite frames).

10 Essential Books for Book Nerds

Look you are reading this blog, so you fit the bill.  Sorry to break to you.

So now that the denial part is over, why not embrace your book nerdom and take a look at this list from Flavorwire of their 10 Essential Books for Book Nerds.

Since we did not have a Monday Discussion this week due to the Columbus Day holiday, I thought this could be the unofficial Monday Discussion.

Check out the list and leave me a comment adding to it.

I will start.  All proper book nerds need to read Jasper Fforder's Thrusday Next series beginning with The Eyre Affair. I also love Ian Sansom's Bookmobile Mysteries, but those are a double dose nerdom of book nerd and library nerd.

What about you?

What I'm Reading: Locke and Key 5-- Clockworks

This is a cross post with RA for All: Horror.  The BPL is closed today and I am hanging with the kids. Please enjoy.

I have great love for the Locke and Key series by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez.  Click here to access my horror review index and read detailed reviews of the first four installments in the series.

I am all in on this series.  In fact, I went as far to proclaim national library conference back in March:

While there are physically more series, some of the best horror writing in general, series or not, is happening in the format of the graphic novel.  This has a bit to do with the fact that horror lends itself nicely to the visual form; you can say a lot with pictures in horror.  However, it is not only the fact that these works are illustrated that makes them better.  I have been finding that the most interesting characters and the richest story lines are coming out in the comic format.  I am not alone in this opinion.  Take for example the most recent Eisner Awards for the entire comics industry and click here to see that Joe Hill won for best overall writer of any comic, for his horror series, Locke and Key.  In my opinion, there really isn't a better horror series, in any format, right now than Locke and Key.

Now to Clockworks specifically.  This is the fifth installment in the series, and as Joe Hill announced, there will one more cycle of comics to be bound as the hardcover, Omega next year and then a 7th installment compiling all of the side, historical stories of the Locke family and their history with the keys (some of which I have bought on my own at my local comics store and read already).

Speaking of, that is what Clockworks focuses on--the history.  When we left the Locke family in the 4th volume: Keys to the Kingdom, Zack/Dodge has possessed the youngest Locke, Bode, although no one knows that; they all think they killed Zack/Dodge.  But Clockworks does not advance that story line at all.  Instead, Hill introduces a key that opens an old clock.  The clock takes the 2 older Locke children, Tyler and Kinsey, back to the past.  Interestingly, the clock only goes up to 1999, so the kids cannot see their future, which of course was their first instinct.

So as readers we not only go back with the kids to the start of it all, in the 1770s, but we also go back just one generation.  The story focuses on Ben and Miranda Locke (Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode's parents) in their own time.  The clockworks key allows all of us to see why Dodge turned bad, why Ben and Miranda ended up together, how the keys moved into the next generation, and why Tyler and Kinsey are running out of time to stop the insanity on and for all.

With Clockworks Locke and Key continues to be the very best horror series in any print format.  With this 5th book, Hill concentrates on character development.  By going into Ben and Miranda's story not only do we get valuable information about these key characters, but the story is advanced.  It takes a lot of discipline as a writer to hold off on many of the key details this long into a series.  But now, with only 6 chapters to go, the characters have all been given further depth AND the stage has been set for an epic showdown between the Locke kids and some seriously evil magic.

Locke and Key is also excellent because the story is not predictable.  Joe Hill is THE BEST horror writer today and this series solidifies that.  He adds things to his story lines that are unpredictable but not out of left field. Hill is able to honor the tropes of horror while adding his new spin. The main theme of the entire series is as old the horror genre--the seduction of evil magic.  Even though you want to use it for good, very bad comes when you unleash an evil power. We are used to this story line, but the way Hill executes it is unique and original.

Finally, as good as Hill's stories are, Rodriguez's art is amazing.  He is able to convey emotion in his drawings.  When you are dealing with supernatural elements, it is easy to go over the top, but his art is restrained, much like a good horror story.  We get enough to keep us unsettled throughout, and then he gives us the payoff at the big action moments with bright, complex drawings with enough gore to portray the horror, but nothing too gross.  I also love the way he has portrayed Kinsey's fear throughout the series.  These creatures come into play in this installment.  Which brings me back to Hill's awesome character development.  He is so good at writing complex characters, that even a main character's fear is a memorable character.

Three Words to Describe This Book:  compelling, complex characters, unsettling

Readalikes: You can use this link to see the numerous read alike options that I have given for this series in the past.  I have mostly given graphic novel suggestions, but today I want to offer suggestions for people who really like that the story is happening in both the present and the past.  So here are some other compelling, unsettling, and character centered novels that tell a story in 2 time periods.  All links are to reviews if available:

• The Unseen by Alexandra Sokoloff
• The Keep by Jennifer Egan (which I read before I started either blog)
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diana Setterfield
• Either Centuries of June or The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

Tomorrow Is Star Wars Reads Day!

Readers of all ages, celebrate one of the most enduring stories of our time and participate in the first annual Star Wars Reads Day, Saturday, October 6, 2012.

From the official Star Wars Reads Day FAQ:

What is Star Wars Reads Day?

Star Wars Reads Day is a national event that celebrates reading and Star Wars. It was created by Lucasfilm and its publishing partners--Abrams, Chronicle Books, Dark Horse, Del Rey, DK Publishing, Random House Audio, Scholastic, Titan Magazines and Workman.

Click here and zoom in on the map to find events at Libraries and Bookstores near you. (The closest event to the BPL is at Magic Tree Bookstore in Oak Park.)

You can also  go to the official Star Wars blog to read guest posts by many of the authors who have written books under the Star Wars umbrella.  It is amazing to see, but there are books at every reading level from baby to adult and titles from fiction to nonfiction included.  There really is something for everyone.

Also, check out this great piece on from NPR entitled, "How Star Wars Seduced Another Generation of Kids."

At our household, just about every day is a Star Wars Reads Day (see NPR link in the previous paragraph for reasons why), but we will be marking the day by looking through this book together.

May the force (of reading) be with you.

Celebrate Banned Books Week 2012

As I hope most of you know, those of us in the library world have been celebrating Banned Books Week this week.  I didn't want to let the week pass on RA for All without mentioning it.

I wear my "I read banned books," pin every single day at work, not just during this week.  Why? Because when you take a look at the crazy long list of books that are challenged each and every year, you should realize that pretty much every book has someone who wants to ban it out there somewhere.

Yes, even in 2012; yes, even in America, people want to tell you what you can and cannot read.  I have no sympathy for any person who wants to restrict anyone's freedom to read no matter the reason. I could care less if I find the book in question revolting, I would always protect our right to read whatever we want.

I have passed this belief on to my children.  I own the bracelet you see on the left. [My mom bought it here.] I also wear this all year long.  It has been a great conversation starter with my children, since they know many of the books on it.  We have had talks about why the books are banned and then longer talks about why this is wrong, and how in our family we support people's right to read whatever they want.

When we talked about Huckleberry Finn in particular, I told my then 9 year old daughter about how some people want to ban it because the words it uses to describe black people are considered very bad today.  I think she summed up the stupidity of this argument well by saying back to me, " But Mommy, people were mean to black people then.  We know they were wrong, but if the book is about then, it should be that way."

So Huck Finn banners, see kids do know that the N word is wrong, but historically accurate; trying to shield them from it is only making us deny our wrongs as a people, which is never a good idea.

If you want to know more about Banned Books Week, including a list of books that were challenged this past year and throughout history, click here.

To participate in the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out! on You Tube where you can upload a video of yourself reading from a banned book, click here.

What I'm Reading: Canada

Still playing catch up on reviews.  According to my Shelfari account, I finished Canada by Richard Ford on June 20th.  Better late than never.  And, at least now, the holds are done on this excellent novel, so if you like what I have to say below, you may be able to go to the library today and check it out for yourself.

But I digress...

Richard Ford is one of my favorite novelists. He is master at telling a story beautifully, clearly, and in a way that I can experience it with all of my senses, but without being too wordy.  His books read easily. You sit down, open the pages, and fall into the lives of the protagonists.  It should be said however, that his protagonists are always seriously flawed.  Not flawed so badly that they are unreliable or unsympathetic, but these people do not always make the best choices.  Readers will squirm knowing that their choices are bad, but at the same time, we cannot look away, and we root for things to turn out okay in the end.  And, they normally do turn out okay; not necessarily happily ever after, but okay.

You can click here to see other posts where I reviewed or recommended books by Richard Ford.

These general statements above hold true in Canada.  This novel is Dell Parsons life story, but the first half of the novel recounts a summer in the 1950s when he was 15 and everything changed.  Living in rural Montana with his twin sister Berner and his parents, Dell and Berner's life is thrown into chaos when their parents rob a North Dakota bank.

This first half of the book moves back in forth in time as the entire book is framed as coming from a grown Dell's point of view.  So we see things through Dell's eyes as they happen, but adult Dell is able to occasionally add more detail of things he realized later in life.

This first half of the novel is an intense character study.  We learn about the four members of the family.  Dell's descriptions of his parents, their relationship, and their motivations are engrossing.  The details about his Dad and his shady business dealings are also interesting coming from the child's eye view.  His relationship with his sister and his awkwardness at growing up are also probed.  Since we know from the first lines of the book that the robbery is coming, this half of the book is not about the plot as it is about the characters.

In fact, I should mention that in the first line of the novel we know that there is a bank robbery and some murders.  This sets a menacing tone from the start.  And then the setting-- desolate, dirty, hot-- underscores it.  This is a family on the edge, with nowhere left to go, much like the town they are in.

Also, I have to say one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the book is when the State Fair is in town and Dell, so longing to go, never gets there.  Ford takes you with Dell to the edge of anticipation, he almost gets there, but then, alas, it is not to be.  This scene stands as a clear example of how Ford tells a story, and presents the overall tone of this novel.  While Dell does not get to the fair, we know he will turn out okay in the end, because he is narrating from an adulthood which he hints throughout this first half, is going just fine.

Part 2 is after his parents are caught up and sent to jail.  Dell's mom has made arrangements for the twins to be sent to the open prairies of Saskatchewan to work for a family member of a friend.  Berner runs off with her boyfriend, leaving Dell to make the long, illegal trip alone.  Dell is a minor who is about to become a ward of the state with both parents in jail. Crossing into Canada is a delicate operation fraught with peril.

Once in Saskatchewan, Dell works for Arthur, an American, charismatic property owner and shady business man.  Arthur feels a kinship to Dell because they are both on the run from their pasts, living in a foreign country.

This second half of the novel is Dell's true coming of age.  He is sent to an even more remote, more desolate place, but here he finds hope.  Again, not much happens in terms of action until there is a flurry of it at the end, but Dell grows and learns to understand people better.  Working in the hotel he sees all types of people and learns the truth about Arthur, and people in general.

The country of Canada leads to Dell's redemption.  It is here, on his own, without any family, that he can finally become the adult he was meant to be.

Canada (the novel) presents a harsh world view, but it is an ultimately uplifting one.  Dell has a tough first 16 years of his life, but in the end, those tough years are what made him into a happy and successful adult-- a happily married teacher.  Dell loses his innocence but gains a good life in return. He learns how to judge the character of a person and how to negotiate the world of adults.

One of the themes of the novel is what it means to cross borders.  Literally, Dell crosses into Canada and his parents face stiffer jail time because they cross into ND to rob a bank.  There is always talk about moving somewhere else, crossing a border to make things better.  But figuratively, when Dell crosses into Canada he begins his adult life.  Though he must go through some hardship to get there, he will have a much better life than was ever possible back with his family all because he crossed that international line.

Overall,  this is a story where character and setting reign supreme.  Many of the secondary characters are more fully developed than some protagonists I have found in other books.  And the sparse but elegant prose Ford uses to describe Montana and Canada made me feel like I was there with Dell.  That being said, there is still enough suspense and story here to draw in more readers than Ford's Bascombe novels (which many readers find too "navel gazing" without enough action).  With those first lines about robbery and murder, what should be a leisurely paced book, speeds up because of the suspense of wanting to know who gets murdered and by whom.

Finally, the novel makes a statement about the bonds of family.  I don't want to give away details, but Ford presents the truly complicated nature of familial bonds in a believable way.  Again, with sparse but elegant prose, he speaks volumes about the pull of family.

This is a a novel that will be on many of the 2012 end of the year best lists.  If you want to read an award winning novelist who is still at the top of his game, check out Canada.

Three Words That Describe This Book: character centered, sparse but elegant prose, coming of age

Readalikes: Richard Russo and Tom Perrotta are authors who like Ford write about flawed but lovable men and their choices and relationships with dark humor and a dash of grittiness.  They all are excellent wordsmiths who focus on character while still providing an engaging story.  If you are a fan of any of these three writers, I would suggest trying the others.

A younger author who may be the Generation X version of Richard Ford is Jonathan Tropper.  He uses flawed protagonists, black humor, and engaging character development to move his internally motivated stories along.  Click here and scroll down to see my review of How to Talk to a Widower, which is also about the complicated bonds of family with a protagonist who has a twin sister.  He also is faced with a life altering event that forces hime to "grow up."

If readers are looking for a similar writing style, tone, and theme to Ford, but also want that wide open, Western setting, I would suggest the novels of Brady Udall.  Click here for my detailed review of The Lonely Polygamist, an excellent title readalike suggestion for Canada.

Finally, if you are looking for more western landscape and complex family tales Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is another suggestion.  It is a bit more lyrical and spiritual than Canada, but it has an engaging teenaged narrator and a family on the run storyline.

Looking back at my past reading, I also found this post reviewing two narrative nonfiction suggestions that are also good options: American Buffalo by Steven Rinella and The Big Burn by Timothy Egan.

October is National Reading Group Month

Started back in 2007 (the same year as RA for All btw) to promote the good work reading groups do by bringing readers together, National Reading Group Month is back for it's 5th year!

As someone who has been running a book group for just under (gasp!) 12 years now, I look forward to National Reading Group Month each year to get me re-energized.

I love my ladies and our book club (click here for details) but even I run out of ideas to keep us fresh and exciting.  Thankfully, the partners and sponsors of National Reading Group Month are there to save me from the reading group blahs.

You can click through to see everything they have to offer, but I would begin with their annual list of Great Group Reads.  The list features 20 titles.  If you scroll down you will get a short annotation for each title as well as links to reviews and discussion guides.

Also, the NRGM has teamed up again with my friends over at Book Group Buzz, a blog that feature "Book group tips, reading lists & lively talk of literary news from the experts at Booklist Online."  They will be running special posts for NRGM as well as presenting a special NRGM Webinar (details still pending)

Book Group Buzz is your best year round resource for all things book discussion related, from ideas on titles to read to tips on how to run your own group to dealing with awkward or difficult situations.

They even featured my book a few days ago as an option for reading groups who wanted to try horror.  I never even thought of using my reading lists as a way to structure a horror themed book discussion, and I wrote the thing and lead a book discussion group!  See they really are the experts.

October also marks the meeting where the BPL book discussion groups will be voting on their title choices for January through June.  If you have suggestions for us to read, leave a comment.

Finally, if you need more advice on how to re-energize your book club, I am available to come to your book group to help. And if you live in Berwyn, it is FREE!! Contact me for details.

31 Days of Horror Begins....

...and as a result the Monday Discussion is taking a week off.  I will be back in 2 weeks with a horror related question (the BPL is closed for Cloumbus Day next Monday).

So today we celebrate the beginning of the best month of the year-- for those of us in the horror industry that is.  In fact, October is the only month of the year where I focus more on the horror blog than this one.

I have added a linked list of the most recent 31 Days of Horror posts to the right gutter here on RA for All.  I worked very hard to line up many special guests and plan to run multiple giveaways, so please click over and follow the terrifying fun.