Blame me for reading
Posted on 19. Mar, 2010 by kchristieh in books
How would you feel if you woke up in jail, unable to remember the past few days, only to discover that you’re accused of homicide? That’s the premise of by Michelle Huneven. I heard her speak at the Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse last night. She read from her book, and took questions about the book and the process of writing it. I can’t wait to read it. She says that it’s about a woman who’s made a conscious decision to live a good life, even after something so horrible that she can’t even remember. By the way, she’s a local author, and part of the book takes place in La Canada. I told her she needs to meet local mystery/crime author Dianne Emley.
After Michelle spoke, Joe Murphy, a representative from W.W. Norton Publishing, went through a stack of his books that he says would be great for book clubs to read. He made them all sound wonderful, and I wish I had more time in the day! (Hahaha – as I write this, it’s 3:33 am…not a good solution to gaining more hours in the day!)
Here are the books he recommends, with a short explanation of why I remember he liked them so much:
- by Diane Ackerman: The true story of how the zookeepers of the Warsaw Zoo managed to hide Jews from the Nazis, even as they cared for the last remaining animals. It’s a fascinating story, and amazing that this hasn’t been written about earlier.
- by Sarah Thornton: Essays about experiences ranging from a critical review class at Cal Arts to auction day at Christie’s.
- by David Small: A biographical graphic novel about an incredibly dysfunctional family.
- by Michael Lewis: The account of some of the few people who managed to foresee our current economic crisis. When I returned from the book event, the first thing my husband said to me was that he wanted to read this book, and he didn’t even know it was discussed. But, he has a Kindle, so I won’t be getting it for him from the bookstore. You can read an excerpt in this month’s Vanity Fair.
- by Dara Horn: About two undercover spies in the Civil War who fall in love…but are on opposite sides of the conflict. Joe said he thought this was perhaps the best-written of the books he recommended, and found it fascinating to learn about Jewish culture in the mid-1800’s.
- by Michael Cox: A Victorian thriller about a lawyer who discovers that he’s the rightful heir to an estate, but has to fight to gain possession. It’s very Dickensian, and even has a sequel, .
-
by Brady Udall: This was the grand raffle prize of the evening, and I won it! Amazon says this book won’t be published until May 3rd, so I’m lucky to be able to read it so early. Joe was really excited about this one, and the writeup he gave us said it’s the most anticipated novel of 2010. It’s the “tragicomedy of a deeply faithful man who, crippled by grief and the demands of work and family, becomes entangled in an affair that threatens to destroy his family’s future.” He said that it’s very well-written, and has some very funny spots. He also said that despite the large number of characters (the protagonist has 29 children), the author does such a good job of going into depth only on certain ones that it never gets confusing. (Too bad Juan Rulfo didn’t write like this!)
After the event, we were given “goody bags” with book samples. I chose one with a book called by Joanna Trollope in it. It’ll be published on April 13th, and its only reviewer on Amazon.com so far gives it 5 stars and says that she stayed up past 3 am to finish it. That sounds like my kind of book! (But how can I stay up past 3 am and yet wake up at 3 am? Don’t blame me for trying!)
Many thanks to the wonderful folks at the Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse for putting on such a marvelous event. Catherine Linka was an incredible hostess, leading us in an engaging game of “Name that Literary Hunk” and giving eloquent introductions to the speaker. She and the bookstore are a treasure to our community.
Recent Comments