The Books We Want for the Holidays: Reading Group Picks

Back before I had to drop out of the horrible pregnancy book group (as I didn't care to discuss sore nipples over dinner), I recall that we were always looking for good books for discussions.  Also, don't most groups break in December and then rejoin with vigor in January when all of those resolutions haven't been buried under a pile of chocolate chip cookies and work angst?  So, since it's the season of book giving, and more and more people are in book groups, and some of those groups might actually discuss the books, here's a way to kill two birds with one tome.  (See what I did there?  It's my token pun for 2012.  You're welcome.) These are some of my favorite reading group picks that came out in 2012.

For the fans of Cutting for Stone, allow me to recommend The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker.  The book starts in New York, the present day, when a happy family is suddenly thrown into turmoil when Julia's father, a Burmese native and lawyer, disappears one day.  Julia and her mother are at a loss, as nothing had occurred would suggest a sudden departure.  Julia goes in search of her father to his home country, and slowly the story of his childhood and the amazing relationship he shared with a girl emerge. This is a story of soul mates, enduring love, family, and acceptance that manages to be moving without being trite.

Simon Mawer's The Glass Room was one of my favorite books from a few years ago, and I loved his new book, Trapeze, too.  For Ian McEwan fans (and I'm thinking of his new novel, Sweet Tooth, and the classic Atonement, in particular), here's a World War II saga that begs for a sequel.  Marion works for the war effort as a receptionist until she's recruited to join a group of spies training to drop into Nazi-occupied France.  Marion speaks fluent French, and she used to spend summers with her older brother and his best friend, a man who was her teenage crush.  With the war threatening to destroy Europe and scientists all over the world racing to understand nuclear technology, Trapeze--which is the name of the mission--is a smart, literary thriller that blends fact and fiction.

As all of the Best of the Year lists roll out, I keep looking for Toni Morrison's new novel, Home, and wondering how it can continue to be overlooked.  This book is great, a return to the Toni Morrison who wrote Beloved and Sula, two of my favorite books.  Frank Money is a broken man, a soldier returning from the Korean War and suffering from the effects of combat trauma.  On top of the horrors he's witnessed, he's moving from an integrated society (the military) back into the segregated world of the 1950's United States.  Frank finds himself in the Pacific Northwest after he's discharged, but he has to find his way home to Georgia, to help his sister.  This is a tight novel that takes no wrong turns leaves plenty of space for discussion. (The paperback of Home goes on sale January 1st.)

The Books We Want for the Holidays: Heads in Beds

Gianna walked around Target today
with that tag stuck to her head.
Because she's CLASSY.

Here in Book Land we like to keep things classy.  You never know when you'll be having dinner in the White House, after all, and one must always maintain a certain level of decorum.  I can't tell you how often someone has approached me on the street and praised our blog's level of taste (still waiting for anyone to praise our taste....blog has been up for three years and no one has once mentioned our refined taste....).  What can I say?  We are the rock stars of the blogging world, and as such, it's important to behave like rock stars.  And for that reason, I was enthralled by Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky.

Jacob Tomsky has worked in just about every area of an upscale hotel, from valet parking dude to concierge to housekeeping manager.  He's seen it all, and he knows how to please guests with particular tastes.  Such as Gianna's fondness for hotel slippers.  Gianna loves footwear that could potentially have been worn by strangers.  She steals the slippers and keeps them in her freezer.  Jacob reveals in Heads in Beds that there are easy ways to steal slippers and robes and such from your upscale hotel room.  Check in. Place the item into your suitcase.  Call downstairs and complain irately that your room doesn't have said item.

Really, Heads in Beds is an instruction manual...in the sense that Kitchen Confidential is a manual to the restaurant industry.  Don't eat fish on Mondays, and don't drink from the glasses in the hotel rooms.  Want an upgrade?  Find out who to tip.  Want the dirt on the celebrity tantrums that don't involve writers for this blog?  Here you go.  Tomsky is crass, too, and you know we love a good expletive.  And what would you expect? The service industry is highly entertaining entirely because people are such turds.  You probably can't give your obnoxious aunt bedbugs, but you can give her a book about hotels and fantasize about the critters...not that I would wish bedbugs on (most of) my aunts.  Anyway, good times.  Classy book.

Books We Want for the Holidays: Old Time Politics

You know what people can’t get enough of this time of year? Politics. That’s right, politics. Okay maybe not today’s politics, or more precisely, the fiscal cliff dysfunction, but old timey politics. Here I will give you two examples of how you can make a history and politic loving son of a gun on your list very happy.

Thomas Jefferson

 Practically in love!

Jon Meacham’s Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power. Meacham presents Jefferson as very possibly the most successful leader in history. He had talents beyond most leaders. Not only was he strategically inclined but also a deep thinker. We are of course knee deep in Abe right now, and that’s fine (if you like tall people),but you will not read a more timely biography. From cultural wars to extreme partisanship, the comparisons are uncanny.   

Let the People In

Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards by Jan Reid. This is just a really fantastic memoir about our beloved (and oh so missed) Ann Richards. She kicked ass and took names, and she was a progressive who could actually work with the other side. Richards paved a road that not only women in politics benefit from, but also gay and lesbian politicians. She truly believed that the government was meant to include all. She believed government should be transparent, that politicians should let the people in.

Liz's Incredibly Stupid Idea

Disclaimer: There is nothing book-related in this post, unless you stretch the boundaries of bookishness, in which case the following events occurred in the book room in my house.  (Yes, I have a room that's nothing but books.  It should be a guest room, but while I like books, I don't like guests.)

The costume.

Yesterday, while strolling through Target in search of Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark--which was the only reason I went to Target--I passed the pet food aisles and saw cat costumes on the endcap.  I bought the Santa cap and beard.  Zorro would be damn cute as Santa, after all, even though I'm well aware of the fact that he doesn't tolerate shenanigans and hates playing dress up.  I forgot to buy gloves too (Zorro is liberal in his violence and should have his own after school special about cutting), but I own an oven mitt, so at least one hand could be protected.

The plan: wait until this morning, when he's typically friendliest and groggiest.

Zorro was still in bed.

Take him to the book room, where he likes to sunbathe on the love seat, and where there are fewer places to hide.

He hates closed doors.  He knows something is up.  Little bastard.

First attempt: Total failure.  He wouldn't stand still, and immediately ducked away from the cap and yanked off the beard.

Second attempt: I'm being humiliated by a cat.

Third attempt: This time I'm holding him, and though you can't really see it, he's got eight claws latched into my knee.

I manage to get the costume around his neck before he bolts for his blanket.  He's not particularly happy.

So close.  He swipes at my hand every time I move toward him, though.  Oh, and he's purring.

Success!  Sorry for the blurry picture.  That hat stayed over his ears for about 20 seconds.  I was in a hurry.

"Get me the hell out of here."

Generally Horrible Questions: Sarah "Buddha" Brown

Sarah's haunt--Changing Hands Bookstore

It's been awhile since we harassed a bookseller, so we decided to mortify quiz Sarah Brown, one of the key players at Changing Hands bookstore in Tempe, Arizona.  Changing Hands is a bookish oasis in the desert and worth the trip if you're hanging out in that part of the world.  Without further ado...

Generally Horrible Questions: Sarah "Buddha" Brown

1. How’d you get into the book business? What’s your job at Changing Hands?

I got into the book business by way of the cafe - I started working in the Chapbook Cafe in

Schuler Books in Okemos, Michigan, and soon moved to the bookstore. When I moved to

Arizona to be a nanny for some family friends, I got a part-time job at Changing Hands, and I’ve

been here ever since. [What happened with the nanny gig? There better be a prison story tied to this tangent (either you or the kid).]

Now that's a title.

Today I am an adult buyer at Changing Hands, and also the Used Book Manager (I run our trade counter). It’s great to be in the unique position of seeing what sells on both the used and new

sides of our business!

2. What’s the coolest part of working at Changing Hands? 

The coolest part of working at Changing Hands is working at the trade counter. Every day some new, hilarious, random title shows up, and we get to marvel at how ridiculous things get published - like a book on eating disorders called Have Your Cake and Eat it Too. Or Antonia Quirke’s unfortunately titled memoir Choking on Marlon Brando. (I know!!!!) We also find funny pictures and keepsakes that people have left in books - it’s what renews my faith in humanity after a long day of retail. [Oh my god, we need to review Choking on Marlon Brando.]

3. Describe your oddest customer interaction. 

Oh boy, how to choose the weirdest customer interaction... I had a man ask me for books on sexual tourism in Asia once; that was pretty uncomfortable. Also, I rang up an elderly lady who was buying an exercise book called Kick Your Way to Better Health that had a bunch of people doing karate kicks on the front cover.  I was hoping it was a gift, but she said, “Now to take it home and see if it works!” I still feel that transaction may have resulted in a broken hip.

4. What book(s) changed your life? 

I think this may be a tie going to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian

Chronicles. Reading Fahrenheit 451 at age 12 was such a powerful experience, really exemplifying the power of literature to be transformative and political. The Martian Chronicles is just so original in both format and subject, it just blew the boundaries off of story and plot structure for me as a gal.

5. I’ve never read _________ and I’m so ashamed. 

I’ve never read Proust and I’m so ashamed. Hopefully, having that statement in print will amplify the level of shame to such a degree that I will have read him by the end of next year.... [Note to blog: follow up next year. Further shame Sarah.]

6. I’ve read ___________ and I’m so ashamed. 

I’ve read the Twilight series, and I’m so ashamed. It was a bad time for me - I spent a week

sitting in front of my apartment drinking wine and reading those ridiculous books. The bonus was

getting to read Meyers’s inscription to her husband in the front of Eclipse where she thanks him

for his “willingness to eat out.” Editing anyone? [How to please us: mock Twilight. Good move there.]

7. Do you have any author crushes, and if so, are they restraining order worthy? 

Hmm... I would love to meet Denis Johnson and George Saunders, but I’d probably be able to

control myself around them, although I tend to say extremely idiotic things around celebrities I

Author Nick McDonnell, who
was about barely legal when
he published his first book.

admire... I did meet Nick McDonnell at a BEA party once and managed to sound fairly intelligent talking about his book, even though he was so handsome he glowed (Shimmered? There’s that Twilight influence)! So Nick’s the one who should be scared....

8. Liz or Gianna? 

Apologies to Gianna, but I will go with whom I know - Liz! (She keeps my bookseller crack supply coming - aka advance reader copies.)  [Also, the correct answer is always Liz.]

9. What book(s) has you buzzing this holiday season? 

My two favorite handsells right now are We Sinners by Hanna Pylvainen and Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins. We Sinners is an amazing first novel that is great because you can sell it to lit snobs as well as your typical ladies’ book group; we will be hearing a lot from Pylvainen in the future, I think. Battleborn is at the top of my list of great short story collections I’ve read recently, and it is what is truly great about western literature - nothing hokey about manifest destiny and wide-open skies, Watkins truly captures the unique spirit of the west for better or for worse... I am also excited to see how many copies of Chris Ware’s Building Stories we can sell -- it’s getting so much hype, but man that sucker is HUGE! ["We Sinners" is the name of Gianna's other blog, and frequently she posts sentences there like "man that sucker is HUGE!"  Just kidding.  Don't Google that.]

10. Your nickname is “Buddha.” Care to assign deity nicknames to us? (Also, you might want to explain the Buddha thing.) 

That's Sarah on the left, her grandpa on the right.
We think she might be a felon.  What's up with the fencing
around the fireplace? Maybe she's a fan of arson?
(See: Fahrenheit 451)

Ah, the Buddha thing. It is always hilarious to see the customers’ faces in line when I get paged to the registers! It’s a long story, having to do with me sitting in the middle of a highway cross-legged when I was 12. Been called Buddha ever since. How about if I call you guys Thor and Loki? [Liz insists on being Loki.]

11. The strangest place you’ve read a book? 

The strangest place I’ve read a book was hiding behind a tree stump when I ran away from home a long time ago. [Hopefully the running away was tied to hiding from the po-po after that nanny job went horribly wrong.]

12. How much would we (by which Liz means “Gianna”) have to pay you to record a dramatic reading of Fifty Shades of Grey that we can post to the internet? I would gladly do this for free! [That is definitely the right answer.  Gianna needs to be spending her money on Christmas gifts for Liz.]

Books We Want for the Holidays: Mystery Addiction

Today I am going to talk addiction. I’m certainly not cool enough to have any sort of interesting addiction like oxy or shoplifting, or eating rocks (it’s a thing, I saw it on television), but I do know what it’s like to be addicted to a book series.  What do addicts like more than anything? Company. Here are a few series that you can get your loved ones addicted to this holiday season.

 

Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series will keep your loved one busy for quite a while.  And here is the great thing: close your eyes and pick any Jack Reacher novel, doesn’t matter, the man does not disappoint. It may be fun though, to go back to the beginning and get someone started properly. I have yet to hear one person say “Meh, I don’t really get the Lee Child fascination” (and don’t be a jerk and write in and say it now just to make us look bad!). The latest novel is Wanted Man, if you want to jump in that way, but I would recommend grabbing three paperbacks: Killing Floor, Die Trying, and Tripwire. These are the first three in the series. If you don’t care about starting at the beginning, I will offer my three favorite Lee Child books: Persuader, Nothing to Lose, and 61 Hours; those aren’t in order but I didn’t read him in order either.   You know what, just start anywhere, you’ll thank me.

Oh, and Tom Cruise IS Jack Reacher, watch! 

Janet Evanovich recently moved to Random House and it has seemed to reinvigorate her Stephanie Plumb books (and this is according to her most critical reader and her biggest fan, a woman who has read every single book …Gianna’s mom).  I suggest you start in the high teens: Smokin’ Seventeen (paper), Explosive Eighteen (paper), and her latest, Notorious Nineteen.

One of my favorite mystery writers I wish more people would read is Lisa Unger. She has a couple of different series and a few stand alone novels. I think I have probably read six or seven of her books, and I would define Unger as a literary mystery writer. Unger’s Lydia Strong series begins with Angel Fire, Darkness Gathers, Smoke, and finally Twice.  Unger has a new stand alone novel called Heartbroken which is garnering fantastic reviews, and is on my holiday list (hint hint).  

The Books We Want for the Holidays: The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

Remember that book we talked about a couple of weeks ago, the untitled one by an unnamed author?  Today the mystery was revealed.  The great O, lover of books, selected Ayana Mathis's first novel, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie.  Here's why I like this pick.  Because Oprah decided to name Hattie as the second book in her revitalized Oprah's Book Club 2.0, we're able to sell it now, before the holidays, instead of waiting until January.  Also, I really like this book, and I hope with Oprah's help that Ayana Mathis will be recognized as a significant new voice in literary fiction.

Here's what you should know about The Twelve Tribes of Hattie.  If you like the early Toni Morrison novels--The Bluest Eye, Sula, Jazz--you will like Hattie.  This is a story about a young African-American woman who moves from the South to Philadelphia in search of greater opportunities.  Hattie is fifteen when she moves, and without a couple of years she is married to August and giving birth to twins, Philadelphia and Jubilee.  She is looking forward, escaping Jim Crow racism, in love.  Hattie's, though, is a tale of struggle and loss.  And this is an Oprah pick, so it shouldn't be much of a shock to hear that her twins catch pneumonia and die as infants.  Hattie and August press on, though, and the reader learns about Hattie's life through the stories of her children and grandchild--her twelve tribes.

Ayana Mathis

This isn't a mammy tale of a loving, happy, African-American woman.  This is struggle and heartbreak.  Hattie suffers a terrible loss early, and she is a mother aware that she is raising children who will encounter great difficulty.  She doesn't coddle her babies.  She will fight for them and work herself to exhaustion and care for them when they are sick, even as August drifts to other women.  Her children long for Hattie's love, but she guards her heart.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie will not be the feel good book of the year, but it might be one of the most audacious fiction debuts.  Ayana Mathis can WRITE.  And in spite of the emotional hell Hattie suffers and then inflicts, she's a flawed character about whom I still care.  Her children, likewise, are remarkable characters.  Not every story needs a happy ending.

Oprah