Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #669
by muffy
You Me Everything is British author Catherine Isaac’s first US debut. At the urging of her mother, Jess made the 825-mile drive from Manchester to Dordogne, to spend the summer at Château de Roussignol, a restored hotel run by her ex-boyfriend, Adam. Ever since Adam missed the birth of their son William, 10 years ago, Jess had kept him at arm's-length. But now, there is an urgent reason to make Adam fall in love with his own son.
Adam, ever handsome, charming, and unreliable, quickly bonds with William, while Jess wonders at her own jealousy toward Adam’s beautiful 22 year-old buxom receptionist/girlfriend. As they are joined by their old gang of uni friends, the summer becomes one of pool parties, soccer games, excursions, glorious French food and free-flowing wine. When news from home worries Jess, she must decide if she could share her secret with Adam, and whether she could follow her mother’s example - choose to live, with the time she has, and the people she loves.
“With the background of Huntington's disease, this novel draws comparisons to Lisa Genova's Inside the O'Briens. Both heart-wrenching and romantic, this is a solid choice for book groups that appreciate stories of everyday people with ordinary failings who overcome adversity.” (Library Journal) Suggested read-alike: One Plus One by Jojo Moyes.
Blog Post
Notes From A Public Typewriter
by manz
If you live in Ann Arbor, chances are you’ve popped into Literati, the “new” bookstore on the corner of Washington St. and 4th Ave. If you can believe it, they just celebrated their fifth anniversary in town! Each time I visit I marvel at the typewriter and love spotting someone typing a little message.
Literati has had a variety of typewriters over the years, inviting shoppers to sit down and type something. Years later they have accumulated thousands of writings from visitors. Some of them were painted on the exterior of the building, inviting passersby to read and feel something.
Some of these notes have been published in the new book Notes From A Public Typewriter, edited by Michael Gustafson (co-owner) and Oliver Uberti. It’s a delightful little book, perfect for bibliophiles, writers, or that empty spot on your coffee table. Gustafson discusses typewriters in general, and the variety of typewriters they’ve housed, while also sharing many little notes that have been left over the years. It’s a quick read and a pure delight to step into the little thought blurbs left on a typewriter over five years.
Blog Post
Detroit After Dark
by manz
Detroit After Dark: Photographs from the Collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts features night photography that catches glimpses into the nightlife and culture of the Motor City from the 1950s to present day. The photographs offers black and white and color imagery of a side of the city that many don't seek out in real life, and it's wonderful to see it captured here in this book.
The book pairs narrative with images interspersed, some comparing and contrasting night in Detroit with night in big cities like New York and Paris. Through glorious photos you can peek at neighborhood fireworks on the Fourth of July, a bus yard, graffiti in progress, and concerts such as Patti Smith, The White Stripes, and Iggy Pop. Detroit After Dark is great for those who love photography or just want to celebrate the magic that is Detroit.
Blog Post
We Are Okay, by Nina LaCour
by manz
This year's Printz Award winner was Nina LaCour's young adult novel We Are Okay. The Printz is awarded annually and honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit. I've enjoyed LaCour's previous teen novels, and this new one did not disappoint.
After tragedy strikes in late summer, Marin abruptly leaves California to attend college in New York. After settling in a bit, a close friend visits begging for answers, and Marin is absorbed in her own depression, denial, grief, and confusion and can't immediately give her friend what she needs. Over the novel, alternating chapters slowly reveal just what happened over the summer and what forced Marin to up and leave. It's a touching story, and you can't help but feel for Marin as she navigates heartache and young adulthood at the same time.
Be sure to also check out the list of this year's Printz Honor books for more solid reads!
Blog Post
Jane, The Fox & Me
by Lucy S
Hélène, the protagonist in Fanny Britt’s Jane, The Fox & Me, is the subject of bathroom graffiti, taunts and rejection from a group of mean girls at her middle school. She escapes from this bullying into the world of books, most specifically Jane Eyre. Hélène learns from Jane, who seems to her to be “clever, slender and wise” that everyone must always have a strategy for any situation. And so, Hélène employs small strategies of her own to cope with the horrors of two weeks at camp with her enemies, strategies to make her look occupied and to assuage her loneliness. Britt does an outstanding job capturing what it feels like to be the center of unwanted attention, that moment “as everyone turns to look at me. The world - even the the air itself - jerks to a stand still.” Even a magical encounter with the titular fox cannot keep Hélène’s self-esteem from continuing to plummet. Finally, it is not Jane, nor the fox, that help Hélène regain this lost self-esteem, but instead, the introduction of a true friend. Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault have created a beautifully written and exquisitely illustrated story of a girl learning her worth.
Blog Post
Rebound
by Lucy S
Playful words slide up, down, and diagonally across the pages. Comics are peppered throughout. Once again, Kwame Alexander has created a novel in verse, saturated with rhythm. Rebound is a prequel for Alexander’s 2014 book, The Crossover, which won the Newbery Medal. We are introduced to Chuck Bell, the father in The Crossover, as the child Charlie Bell, growing up in the 1980s. Like his sons in later years, Charlie faces a tragedy that changes his life forever. He is unwillingly spending a summer away from home with his paternal grandparents. But it is here that he can start to recover from his loss. Through affectionate love, tough love, friendship, and basketball, Charlie/Chuck slowly finds joy again. From his grandfather, Charlie/Chuck learns that basketball is a fitting metaphor for life, the same rules apply to both, and when you miss a shot you have to learn to rebound. Fans of The Crossover and Booked will not be disappointed in this newest gift from Alexander. Dawud Anyabwile provides the comics that illustrate Charlie’s dreams of basketball heroics.
Blog Post
Teacher Appreciation Week May 7-11
by mbt
Although today is National Teacher Appreciation Day, each year the first full week of May is celebrated as Teacher Appreciation Week. You and your children may want to celebrate the week by reading one of these books. The stories remind us that there are special people out there making a difference in someone’s life.
-Best Teacher Ever -The Best Teacher In Second Grade -A Letter To My Teacher
-Because I Had A Teacher -Because Of Mr. Terupt -Thank You, Mr. Falker
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #668
by muffy
Rainbirds * by Clarissa Goenawan is an unusual murder mystery, set in 1990s Japan; and a young man’s ruminations about family and loss as he searches for answers about his sister he thought he knew.
When news of his elder sister Keiko’s murder reached him in Tokyo, graduate student Ren Ishida was at a loss. The siblings were close growing up but eleven years ago, Keiko then 22, abruptly abandoned the family for the small town of Akakawa. As the grieving Ren tried to find closure as to why Keiko was viciously stabbed on a dark secluded road, he began to retrace Keiko’s steps, picking up where she left off. He took over her teaching position at a cram school, and the bizarre arrangement of free rent at a wealthy politician's house. Against his better judgement, Ren was drawn to a beautiful and troubled student he nicknamed "Seven Stars". Things got decidedly thorny when he realized she might be connected to his sister’s murder.
Indonesian-born Singaporean writer “Goenawan's debut balances a finely wrought plot with patient, measured portraits of fragile relationships, making for a spare yet inviting novel that grabs hold and doesn't let go.” (Publishers Weekly)
* = starred review
Blog Post
"I Always Wanted To Be a Tenenbaum"
by manz
Let's forget the Justin Timberlake memes on this May 1, because today is also film director, film producer, screenwriter, and actor Wes Anderson's birthday! His popular films and style have a bit of a cult following, and I'm totally a sucker for them. All of them. I think it's safe to say my favorite is The Royal Tenenbaums. His latest film, Isle of Dogs, is in theaters now with mixed reviews, and is an animation akin to Fantastic Mr. Fox.
But let's go back to Bottle Rocket from 1996 - the film that started it all by introducing us to Dignan, portrayed by Owen Wilson, who often writes with Anderson on these quirky endeavors. There are so many unforgettable characters strewn across Anderson's work that offer such quotable moments. Other films include Rushmore, The Life Aquatic, The Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdom, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. His films are known for their stylized looks and killer soundtracks - with every detail chosen to be perfect - every smirk, every hat, every wall color, every font, every walk. The films often feature an ensemble of the same faces, including Angelica Houston, Bill Murray, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, and a crew of others. Which is your favorite film?
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #667
by muffy
Reviewers are calling Christina Lynch’s The Italian Party a “perceptive”,” delicious and sharply funny” debut; “a spy thriller, comedy of manners, and valentine to Italy, spiked with forbidden sex and political skulduggery.” (Kirkus Reviews)
April, 1956. American newlyweds Michael and Scottie Messina arrived in Siena ostensibly to open a Ford tractor dealership, while Michael was in fact, a CIA operative on a mission to defeat the Communist mayor’s reelection, and to be close to Duncan, his handler and lover. Scottie has her secrets too which were increasingly hard to keep in a small town like Siena. With the election approaching, complications ensued.
When 14 year-old Robertino, Scottie’s Italian language coach went missing, her search for him led her to discover other, darker truths about herself, her husband, and her country.
For readers who enjoyed The Expats by Chris Pavone.
The author, a former Milan correspondent for W magazine and Women's Wear Daily, was on the writing staff of Unhappily Ever After; Encore, Encore; and The Dead Zone . She will be at Literati Bookshop on April 27th, 7pm for a reading and signing.