Summer Reading and Awards: Off the Beaten Path Options

I have been finding some great, nontraditional summer reading lists that I wanted to share with you.

• From NPR, try this list, entitled "Zombies and Monster Squid: Summer's Monster Hits!," of five freaky books about aliens, pulsating brains, mutants and more. 
•  From io9 try this list of "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for Summer Escapism."  One of the titles on the list, Feed, is already on its way to me through ILL.
• Here is a Nonfiction Summer Reading list from the Daily Beast.
• Entertainment Weekly's "18 Books We Can't Wait to Read This Summer." A nice mix of books in many genres.
• For those who want to beat the heat, try these suggestions from RA Online, "Cool Reads for Hot Days." Nothing but snow and ice here.
• Get a jump on August with that month's picks from Indie Next; some are already out.
• Read a one-hit wonder.

Also this past weekend a couple big genre awards were handed out. Lists of award nominees and winners make for great reading lists, both because a larger group deemed them worthy of your time and because they are newish, but not brand new, so they may be on the shelf right now.

• The International Thriller Writers Association announced their annual awards in NYC. Click here for the full list of winners and nominees.
• The Shirley Jackson Award for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic were announced. Click here for the full list of nominees and winners.

Finally it is shameless promotion time. My friend, Jennifer Weiner's brand new book Fly Away Home comes out today. GO BUY IT!!! I always get at least 6 copies. Her best selling, smart women's fiction novels make a great gift.

What I'm Reading: Best Friends Forever

Recently, I finished Jennifer Weiner's latest, Best Friends Forever. I have read all of Weiner's books and always enjoy them, but I have to agree with this review that BFF is probably one of her best books.

I wrote the Weiner readalike for NoveList and here is a summary of what I think about her works. She writes what seems like Chick-Lit on the surface, but once you read her books, you see there is so much more there. These are stories of women in their 30s, living, loving, and learning. She uses humor and is great at creating memorable and lovable characters.

Best Friends Forever is the perfect example of the smart, funny, and nuanced stories Weiner tells about young women. The story begins as Val, knocks on her former best friend Addie's house, 10 years after high school graduation, with blood on her jacket, asking for help.

Addie and Val, it turns out, were best friends since middle school. Addie was, the chubby shy girl, and Val was the gangly more outgoing one. One summer, Val comes home from vacation and has turned into a beautiful woman. She is now a cheerleader, friends with all of the popular girls, and is garnering lots of interests from boys.

Although Val stays friends with Addie, it is forced and then something happens senior year that severs the girls' bond. In the 10 intervening years, Val has become a TV weather personality and Addie, has moved into her parents old home, lost 200 or so pounds, and has had a successful career as a greeting card artist.

Now the two are thrown together again as they try to find a former classmate who Val may have injured, take a road trip to the Florida Keys, and finally talk through their issues from a decade ago.

Weiner describes this book as, "What if Thelma and Louise didn't have to die?" But it is more than that. Best Friends Forever works because the 2 main characters are more than the stereotypes they could have become in the hands of a lesser writer, especially Addie. The picture Weiner has painted is that of a life, Addie's life. We don't agree with all of her choices, and we definitely think Val needs some help, but we root for them, for their friendship, and for their future. Each woman grows through the events they share in the book, but they also stay true to who they are.

This is a book for women in their 30s without the glitz and glam of designer labels. There is no sleeping around, in fact, romantic relationships figure very peripherally in this novel. And there is absolutely no celebrities. This is what readers who have tired of "chick-lit" have been waiting for.

Readalikes: Readers who like Weiner should check out this post where I outline a 6 authors who are great readalike options. To add to that list, I really think Jonathan Tropper, who writes the male equivalent of Weiner's books is a great choice here. Try How to Talk to a Widower (which I read here). Another writer who tackles the issues of women's lives only from a historical and foreign experience is Lisa See. Peony in Love (which I read here) and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan both focus on the complicated friendships between women.

Author Share Their Joy in Reading and Help You to Find New Books

Late last week, Ann Patchett, an author of literary fiction, wrote an essay for The Wall Street Journal about the joys of reading fiction.

This reminded me of the series on NPR where authors talk about books that have moved them. You can also click here for my previous post on the series.

As a reader, I always enjoy hearing why authors like reading themselves. As a fan of a specific author, I view his or her suggestions as possible readalike options. As a Readers' Advisor, I also search out this information for my patrons, and quite frequently, together we are able to identify a new crop of authors with which the patron was previously unfamiliar. And, more often than not, the patron enjoys the new titles.

But how to locate your favorite author's favorite authors? (That's a mouthful) One of my favorite ways to find authors that your favorite author recommends is to search the "blurbs" an author provides to another's new book. You can see these on the back cover of a book, on Amazon, or at Fantastic Fiction. On Fantastic Fiction, type in your favorite author and scroll to the very bottom of the record (it could be long, so keep going) and look for the "Recommendation" section. Here is an example for Stephen King to get you started.

If you are looking for more ways to find out your favorite author's favorite books, you can also try to find his or her official website. Just "Google" the author's name and start clicking around. Many have a section where they list their favorite authors; often it is in the "Frequently Asked Questions" Section (FAQ). Here is an example from Jennifer Weiner's website (scroll halfway down for a list of her favorite authors).

There are many ways to discover "new to you" authors. These are just a few tips, but don't forget, your local librarian is there to help too.

Readalikes for Jennifer Weiner

So I keep mentioning something called "readalikes." This term has a few meanings. Readalike is the term used by RAs to denote a book with a similar feel to another. For example, if you like the hard-edged suspense of James Patterson's Cross books, you may also enjoy John Sandford's Prey books. These two series share many features and readers of one usually enjoy the other.

In this blog I have also mentioned that I write readalikes for NoveList, a database available at most public libraries (and even through many of their websites using your library card at 2 in the morning). These are about a specific author written by librarians. If you can access NoveList you can read my entire article on the works of Jennifer Weiner. I discuss why people enjoy her books and then give 5 other authors to suggest for "readalikes." Those authors are Marian Keyes, Sarah Bird, Anna Maxted, Ayelet Waldman, and Susan Isaacs.

In the future I will be writing readalike articles for Haruki Murakami, Jonathan Lethem, Mark Kurlansky, and Simon Winchester. You can look for information here in the future; however, if this "readalike" idea intrigues you now, go to your pubic libraries website or ask at the service desk about how you can access NoveList yourself.