Fellow Book Blogger

There are thousand of book bloggers.  I met Lisa of Starmetal Oak Book Blog, while standing in line at the BEA.  We talked while waiting in line for John Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation.  I really liked her and thought I'd pass along her book review blog for you to check out.  If you enjoy Fantasy and/or Science Fiction, YA or Historical Fiction check Starmetal Oak out.

What are you reading?

BEA Book and Author Breakfast

This year, these were really really great, as usual.

TUESDAY, CHILDREN’S BOOK & AUTHOR BREAKFAST
The opening-day breakfast will featured Brian Selznick, author of Wonderstruck (Scholastic); Sarah Dessen, author of What Happened to Goodbye (Viking Children’s Books/Penguin Young Readers Group); and Kevin Henkes, author of Little White Rabbit and Junonia (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins). Julianne Moore, author of Freckleface Strawberry: Best Friends Forever (Bloomsbury) was the Master of Ceremonies.

WEDNESDAY, BOOK & AUTHOR BREAKFAST
Wednesday morning will featured Diane Keaton, author of Then Again (Random House); Jefferey Eugenides, author of The Marriage Plot (Farrar, Straus and Giroux); and Charlaine Harris, author of Dead Reckoning (Ace/Penguin Group USA). Mindy Kaling, author of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) (Crown Archetype) was the Master of Ceremonies.

Since I don't watch TV, I had no idea who Mindy Kaling was, but she was really funny. Dianne Keatons' presentation was very touching, but I was thinking the whole time, "She's an actress, that's what she does." I may be jaded!

THURSDAY, BOOK & AUTHOR BREAKFAST
Thursday morning featured Roger Ebert, author of Life Itself: A Memoir (Grand Central); Anne Enright, author of The Forgotten Waltz (W.W. Norton); and Erik Larson, author of In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin (Crown Publishers). Jim Lehrer, author of Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to McCain-Obama (Random House) was the Master of Ceremonies.

In spite of his health problems that leave him unable to speak, Roger Ebert was very funny. He used a computer voice, ala Star Wars, and he pantomimed while his wife read parts of him book. It was very funny and touching. I've finished Larson's and Enright's books, they were outstanding. I'm really looking forward to Lehrer's Tension City, it sounded fantastic.

What are you reading?

 

Here's a collage of the wonderful children's authors who braved the Speed Dating with Children's Authors at BEA, sponsored by the ABC Children's Group at ABA and the Children's Book Council.  This is an event I try to never miss.  The years that Bob attended BEA with me, he always thought it was one of the best events of the many offered; and I agree.

Not all the authors or there agents made the books available, above are the presented books I shipped home. The book that's generating a lot of buzz is I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen.

What are you reading?

Editors Buzz Reports from the 2011 BEA

forgive the poor photo!

These are the books the editors presented, Monday afternoon, for the Adult Editors Buzz. They were so very passionate about their books. I've already read "We The Animals", it was great. I'm waiting for my shipment to arrive to read some of the others. I'm really excited about The Night Circus and The Art of Fielding.

THE ART OF FIELDING by Chad Harbach, Little, Brown and Company – Michael Pietsch, VP & Publisher
THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern, Doubleday – Alison Callahan, Executive Editor
THE UNDERSIDE OF JOY by Sere Prince Halverson, Dutton – Denise Roy, Sr. Editor
RUNNING THE RIFT by Naomi Benaron, Algonquin – Kathy Pories, Sr. Editor
BIRDS OF PARADISE by Diana Abu-Jaber, W.W. Norton - Alane Salierno Mason, VP & Sr. Editor
WE THE ANIMALS by Justin Torres, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – Jenna Johnson, Sr. Editor

At the Young Adult Editors Buzz, on Tuesday afternoon, four great books were presented.  Only Little Brown gave out an ARC and I'm looking forward to reading it.  Believe me, they all sounded good.

THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER by Michelle Hodkin, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing - Courtney Bongiolatti, Editor
AU REVOIR CRAZY EUROPEAN CHICK by Joe Schreiber, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – Margret Raymo, Sr. Executive Editor
DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Turner, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – Alvina Ling, Executive Editor
DOWN THE MYSTERLY RIVER by Bill Willingham, Tor & Forge Books/ Macmillan – Susan Chang, Sr. Editor


BEA Middle Grade Editors Buzz was on Wednesday afternoon.  It was really insightful and passionate; it's so wonderful to hear the editors speak.

THE UNWANTEDS by Lisa McMann, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing – Lisa Abrams, Editor
WILDWOOD by Colin Meloy, Balzer + Bray - Donna Bray, VP & Co-Publisher
ICEFALL by Matthew Kirby, Scholastic Press - Lisa A. Sandell, Executive Editor
APOTHECARY by Maile Meloy, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers - Jennifer Besser, VP and Publisher
THE ASHTOWN BURIALS #1: THE DRAGONS TOOTH by N.D. Wilson, Random House Children’s Books – Jim Thomas, Editorial Dir.

In total, I shipped 100 pounds of books home.  I'm just waiting for UPS, now, so I can sort them out.

What are you reading?

June 2011 Reads

 

56   The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy

57   Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister

58   The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

59   American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar

60   The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollock

61   The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

62   Calling Mr. King by Donald De Feo

63   Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

64   Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

65   Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close

66   Lam  by Bonnie Nadzam

Another great reading month.  Three must read stand-outs, this month, Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern,  Daughter of Smoke and Bone by  Laini Taylor, and Calling Mr. King by Donald De Feo, are all fabulous.  You really must read them.

Two new chic-lit and/or book group titles are Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister and Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close.  I enjoyed them both.  These are not stupid chic lit titles, but very good ones.

The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy and Attachments by Rainbow Rowell fall in the general fiction category, and may get lost, but they are both wonderful novels for any reader.

If you love baseball you'll want to read The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.  Baseball doesn't make the journey to fiction very often.

A word of caution about Lamb by Bonnie Nadzam, it's beautifully written, but Lamb is one weird dude, who belongs behind bars or needs to be killed.  Just sayin' how I feel.

What are you reading?

May 2011 Reads

45   All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy
46   Original Sin - Beth McMullen
47   Sleepless - Charlie Houston
48   Noah Barleywater Runs Away - John Boyne
49   Tabloid City - Pete Hamill
50   A Visit From The Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
51   The Snowman - Jo Nesbo
52   The Final Testament of the Holy Bible - James Frey
53   Lions of Lucerne - Brad Thor
54   We the Animals - Justin Torres
55   The Forgotten Waltz - Anne Enright

A great month for reading.  I re-read All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, one of my all time favorite books.  The Snowman by Nesbo was excellent; as was The Final Testamanet of the Holy Bible by James Fry, love that guy.   Original Sin by Beth McMullen, is due out next month, great fun.  We the Animals by Justin Torres, due in September is the Mighty Mouse of new books; a small, wonderful must read.  The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright is due in October; I'm not a big fan of all things Irish, but I loved this touching book.

What are you reading?