Anthropology of an American Girl

Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann

Random House Publishers recently sent me the Advance Reading copy of the book ANTHROPOLOGY OF AN AMERICAN GIRL by Hilary Thayer Hamann. I really wanted to tell you about this book, even though I haven’t read it yet, because they book buzz surrounding this book is highly charged with positive accolades.

The author originally self published her book and it became an underground favorite and its popularity spread among readers. Publisher’s weekly states that if publishers could figure out a way to turn crack into a book, it’d read a lot like this. Book world enthusiasts are comparing this book to J.D. Salinger’s work as well as classics like Jane Eyre. When I looked up the book on Amazon it includes 22 reviews from readers and 21 give the book five stars with only one person giving it four stars.

So what’s this book about? According to the back cover it is a coming of age story about a young woman on the brink of adulthood. The novel begins when the main character Eveline is in high school in the 1970’s and follows her through her early adulthood in the 1980s. This ambitious work explores the sexual and intellectual awakening of a young American woman struggling to remain true to herself as she encounters love, passion and death amid the challenges and heartbreaks of growing up. My guess is the back cover commentary won’t even do the book justice.

The book is set to be released to the public on May 25th, 2010. You can preorder a copy at Amazon if you are interested. The publisher intends for this first edition hardbound copy to be a collector’s item. For more information on the book you can go to the website: www.AnthropologyofanAmericanGirl.com

Enjoy!

Moby Dick book cover t-shirt

Moby Dick book cover t-shirt

I just discovered this awesome website that sells T-Shirts based on out of print book covers. My BIG plan this summer is to conquer Ahab's whale of a tale called Moby Dick. I am not reading this by myself for that would be twice as crazy and so I am reading it with a friend as we provide moral support and encouragement to FINISH the book. I have just decided that if I finish this book I am buying myself this T-Shirt as a reward that I will wear proudly. I think the shirt and reading the difficult tome that is Moby Dick, will be an ego booster and give me major bragging rights. I can't wait to own this shirt! Oh and the cool thing is that for every shirt that is bought a book is donated to a community in need. Click on the link to view the shirt. They have many more book titles to choose from. I am totally ready for MOBY DICK. Bring it on Melville.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry

Profound Thought #1.
I believe this to be an intelligent story that takes place in a weathly apartment complex in Paris. It is the story of Renee the concierge and Paloma, a rich, suicidal teenager who lives in the building. They are kindred spirits even though they are divided by age, income and class.

Journal of the Movement of the World #1.
This tends to be a book you either love or hate. It appears there is no middle ground. I happened to love this story but one of my friend's hated it so much she couldn't finish it. It was equally similar at my book club meeting with four members attending, three adored the book, one loathed it.

Profound Thought #2.
What I enjoyed most in the story was the themes of Russian literature running through the novel. Renee's cat was named Leo after Tolstoy and Anna Kerenina was referred to frequently as well as other great novels like Gone with the Wind. Yet I feel as though I might have missed some hidden mystery because I haven't read Anna Kerenina yet. This book has inspired me to read more Tolstoy, especially his story on Art (the author referred often to Tolstoy's What is Art? book)and the famous one about Anna. I love books that lead me on new reading adventures.

Journal of the Movement of the World #2.
Wikipedia states "According to Tolstoy, art must create a specific emotional link between artist and audience, one that "infects" the viewer." In my opinion the author does this and that is why this book has become a worldwide bestseller and that a film based on the novel was released in France in July, 2009. It is titled The Hedgehog. I am not sure if the film has been released in the U.S. yet.

Profound Thought #3
The choice is yours. What will your thoughts be about this book?

Every Last One

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen

I just got this Advance Reader's Copy in the mail from Random House Press. This book is set to be released in the bookstores on April 13th, 2010. I have read four of Anna Quindlen's other books, all of which grace my book shelf and I adore her as an author. I can tell that this book will be close to my heart just from reading the back cover.

The main character's name is Mary Beth who has three teenage children. One of her son's is named Max (like mine) and he is suffering from depression (another coincidence). Then something terrible happens. Ugh, I hate it when terrible things happen. The rest of the back cover states that this is a novel about facing every last one of the things we fear most, about finding ways to navigate a road we never intended to travel, about living a life we never dreamed we'd have to live but must be brave enough to try. To be honest, this book will probably make my cry my eyes out.

Quindlen is an author who doesn't ever disappoint me. Her books always make me think and rethink and then think again. All of her powerful stories have changed my life in some way. Just writing this piece has made me reflect on them again. Here are the four I have read and would strongly recommend as well.
1. Black and Blue
2. How Reading changed my life
3. Being Perfect
4. A Short Guide to a Happy Life

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

With the movie as an inspiration, I decided to read Alice in Wonderland for the first time in my life. As a woman in her early forties, I figured it was about time I read this children's classic as it has been sitting on my book shelf for about five years or longer.

In seven words I found this book: Interesting, curious, bizarre, dreamy, colorful, mad, complicated. The illustrations were one of the best parts of the story to me. It makes everything in the story seem so whimsical. By the end of the story the Queen was getting on my nerves. All she could say was "Off With Her Head". I was beginning to wonder if the queen's record had a scratch or two. It was all good though because Alice's head remains on her shoulders and she lives another day to return down the rabbit hole for another adventure.

Which leads me to one of my next books. You can't read Alice in Wonderland without reading Alice Through the Looking Glass. Of course my book didn't have both stories in it and so I will soon follow Alice through the looking glass once I find the book.

Then I plan to read The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. Check out the website www.lookingglasswars.com for this book and the next in the series. This story is about Alyss Heart, heir to the wonderland throne, who escapes from wonderland to find herself in London where she meets aspiring author Lewis Carroll. Lewis listens to her story, writes in down completely wrong even misspelling her name. The book cover states it will challenge our assumptions about wonderland and showcase an endless war for Imagination. I Can't Wait To Read It!

Then there is the movie! Well I will watch that at home when it arrives in DVD and after I have absorbed the content of these great books. If I see the film to soon, I won't enjoy it because I will constantly compare it to the book and you know the book is always, always better.

Clear Light of Day

Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai
This book was published in 1980 and it is the first book I have read by Anita Desai. Anita Desai has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize twice in her writing career. She teaches at a college in India and I find it odd that I have never picked a book by this author before now. A few years ago I read a book by Anita Desai's daughter named The Inheritance of Loss. Kiran Desai did win the Booker Prize for it. In fact the whole time I was reading Clear Light of Day, I thought the books were by the same author. Their writing styles and some of the themes were very similar.

I happened to like Clear Light of Day, a story of siblings at the time of the partition of India, better than The Inheritance of Loss. Both were complicated and contained vague mentions of Indian history. Unfortunatly I don't have a broad knowledge base of India and so couldn't quite understand all the nuances of history in each of the novels. I needed more historical detail!

I am not sure what it is but the Desai's and I don't seem to make a good author/reader connection. While I liked this story, I just wasn't riveted nor did I see the broader connection to India's history probably because the author didn't give me enough information. Darn it, I really tried to like it but she just didn't have me at hello like other books do.

How to Break a Dragon's Heart

How to Break a Dragon's Heart by Cressida Cowell

I just ordered Cressida Cowell's 8th book in the Hiccup Horrendous Haddock The Third series today from the UK. It is unavailable in the United States because it has not been published here yet. My son, Max and I hold our breath until the next book in the series comes out so what a relief when I discovered it. He has no idea it is coming and it will magically appear in his Easter Basket. Mommy will be adorned with hugs and kisses as the hero of the day. I love it when my son is excited about a book and we have loved every book in this series.

The movie version of the first and second books is being released this month and we will be first in line to see it. The movie title is How to Train your Dragon. My advice is to read the book first with your kids, you will all fall asleep with a smile on your face.

Check out the author website at www.cressidacowell.co.uk
This is an awesome series for boys and reluctant readers. Thank you MS. Cressida Cowell for writing such fabulous books. Only thing I am wondering is if you can write any faster. Well, I suppose you can't. I guess we will just have to reread them.

Minnpost's Book Club Blast

Minnpost's Book Club Blast on Sunday March 7th, 2010

I have to say I had an excellent time at Sunday's book club blast held at the Loft Literary Center in downtown Minneapolis, MN. I was one of the last people to sign up and am fortunate my friend Mary got me out of bed to do it.

We started the event with snacks and a meet and mingle event. This is when authors walk around talking to people about the books they have just published. It was fun to meet a variety of authors with books I hadn't heard of yet. I met Elissa Elliott, who wrote Eve, Catherine Watson, a travel writer, Candace Simar whose new book is called Abercrombie Trail (It looks really enticing) and Marisha Chamberlain whose new book is titled The Rose Variations(the cover is really beautiful) and Gayla Marty who wrote a memoir titled Memory of Trees. While I was talking to Gayla Marty two women walked by and touched my shoulder, telling me how much they loved my books. I laughed and said thanks, and then two more women came over and made the same comment, then when I said it was a case of mistaken identity, they asked if I was "Her" daughter. The author they are referring to is Lorna Landvik, the afternoon's keynote speaker. I have been frequently mistaken for Lorna Landvik as our names are very similar. Her daughter even attended the high school where I teach in Minneapolis. So mistaken compliments fell on me all day and I appreciate the praise that I hope to receive someday when my own books are on the shelves next to Landviks.

Next we attended author speed chats, kind of like speed dating. We had about 15 minutes with each author. I went to listen to Julie Kramer first, mainly to get a book signed for my mother since that was one of my Christmas gifts to her. Julie Kramer was delightful and fun to listen to, although I am not sure if I will read her books because mysteries that take place near where I live scare me! My mom can look forward to future book gifts from this author though.

The next author I visited was Alison McGhee. She was a soft spoken women who tale of getting published was quite interesting. Another connection was made when I learned that she used to teach Chinese at the high school I currently teach at. She said how much she misses the school and students. Hmmm, maybe we should trade places.

The last author speed chat I attended was Jim Heynen. The atmosphere was cozy and personal as the author read a poem and then asked us what we were into as readers and writers. I got to plug my blog which was great. Heynen said he had been to this blog and read it but I convinced him that he hadn't since no one was publicly following me at the time.

The last event of the day was Lorna Landvik's talk on Book Clubs and Me. She is a hilarious speaker. Go see her if you ever get the chance. So as I rushed home to watch the Oscars, I thought of how much fun this was and I can't wait to do it again. Minnpost please have another Book Club Blast and invite me, plleeaaasseee!

The Transmogrification of Roscoe Wizzle

The Trasmogrification of Roscoe Wizzle by David Elliott

This is a fun book for kids ages 7-12 and of course for nerdy parents like me who love young adult fiction. I love this book because it has the huge word transmogrification in the title. It was fun to read the word, say the word and learn what the word meant. David Elliot incorporates lots of new words in this book for young readers.

Roscoe Wizzle is a 10 year old kid who lives in a pink house, loves fast food and has begun to turn into a bug. His best friend is a girl who is really smart and teaches him new words and helps him solve the mystery of the book. This book's themes entail the perils of fast food, environmentalism and transmogrification. It is a perfect boy book although my attempts to get my own son to read it have failed. I would highly recommend this book to reluctant readers and for all readers who have metamorphosed into parents.

Shanghai Girls

Shanghai Girls is the newest book by Lisa See. I received this complementary copy from Random House publishers on Friday with a bag of Hersey's chocolates. This story is about two sisters in Shanghai right before World War Two. Their father ends up having to sell the girls to American male suitors to pay his gambling debts. Their personal journey's ensue. Personally, I love historical fiction and I am excited to find some time to delve into this story. I loved Lisa See's book "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" so I expect to enjoy this story as well.
Happy Reading!