Books for...A Cabin in the Woods!

Happy Tuesday, friends and fellow book-lovers! Today’s selections…

BOOKS TO READ…

…IN THE FOREST!


While the location isn’t technically required, these books have just the right thoughtful, reflective vibe that is perfect for a lawn chair in the great outdoors or next to a fire, far away from the big city. A few are set in actual woods-type areas, while some just made me feel that wind-in-the-trees sound in my head after reading them. Some are happy, some are sad, all are moving. Grab your bug spray, some sunglasses, and one of these great books to enjoy!

• DINNER AT THE HOMESICK RESTAURANT by Anne Tyler: The elegiac story of a 20th-century family that doesn’t always like each other, this is like a picture of real life in the best possible way. It is heartbreaking and painful, but also sweet and quiet and true. The characters are frusterating in a way that makes them real, and that makes me love them. This is a more “sophisticated” book (it’s literary fiction written for adults), but there is so much that is true about life that it doesn’t suffer the uppity-ness it might have had. A book that left me tear-streaked, closed-lipped, and contemplative, it is an apt choice for the isolation of the outdoors to make you appreciate other human beings.

• THE QUEEN OF EVERYTHING by Deb Caletti: Set in the Pacific Northwest, this is the story of a girl whose father gets entangled in a dangerous, messy situation and takes his passion too far. At parts queasy and anxious, the author portrays the young protagonist with such sympathy and wisdom that I just had to see how such a smart, spunky girl deals with such a devastating situation. The language and the characterization are particularly uncommon and beautiful, especially how the author uses the deep water of the Puget Sound in her story.

• I AM THE MESSENGER by Markus Zusak: Another brilliant book set in Australia by an Australian writer, this is the mysterious tale of rejections, playing cards, and people you wish you knew in real life. Only one of Zusak’s acclaimed and enjoyable books, I AM THE MESSENGER is like the Oasis song “The Importance of Being Idle” in book form. In the best possible way.

• CATALYST by Laurie Halse Anderson: This book made me appreciate having a boring, average life. The daughter of a preacher whose physicist mother died when she was much too young, the plucky young protagonist of this story is under way too much pressure and she just keeps getting more. When the house of her very poor and very weird neighbor burns to the ground, she is forced to live with the teenage girl and young boy who lived there. My mom would say this book is too much like real life, but I’d say it’s just right: the characters are flawed and real, the circumstances are unfortunate and unavoidable, and the plot is a learning experience for everyone involved. Laurie Halse Anderson is one of the best at portraying young people in a positive (that is, real) manner.

• LOCK AND KEY by Sarah Dessen: Much of this book actually takes place in the forests of North Carolina. When the protagonist’s mother leaves her home alone without so much as a goodbye, it is only a matter of time before the authorities find out this high-school-age girl is living alone by herself in a dilapidates yellow house with no power. She is sent to live with her elder sister and her sister’s husband, who the girl hasn’t seen in years. As she makes mistakes, heals, and learns to live with people who love her, the story takes the reading through the real-feeling highs and lows in the life of a girl very lost. There is also jewelry design, a cute boy next door, and a fun quasi-Facebook in the world of the story, making it a journey of both tears and smiles for both the characters and the readers.

Thanks as always, intrepid travelers of pages! Hope you all are having as much fun as I am with this. Have anything to say? I am always listening: comment, message, Facebook, whatever. Best wishes!
In our next installment:

BOOKS TO READ…

…IN A CASTLE!

Books for...A Coffee Shop!

Part Three! I hope you are enjoying my recommendations, and have at least a little time to relax and read in your busy life!

BOOKS TO READ...

...IN A TECHY/TRENDY INTERNET CAFE!

Today’s list is the perfect partner for an iced vanilla latte and a comfy chair. Smart, snappy, a quietly moving, I learned both facts and truths about life from these selections. People will be impressed to see you reading them in public, and they’re not too hard to glance up from while people watching at your local heavily-air conditioned coffee-buying establishment. These are the nerds of my book list: good if you’re bored, missing school, or just want to make sure your brain-gears are still working properly. As they’d say: live long and prosper (and read)!

• THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by E. Lockhart: The story of a girl who rebels against the system by infiltrating an all-guy secret society at her private boarding school, Frankie is the girl I like to think I would be, if I was smarter and had something real to actually be angry about. This is the antidote for all the crap YA books out there: there are cute boys, but the protagonist sees right through their crap. There are pranks, but they are important social commentary. If you like subliminal social change, girls having the same privileges as guys, or total badasses, you will love Frankie Landau-Banks.

• IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY by Ned Vizzini: This books takes places almost entirely on the psychiatric floor of a Brooklyn hostpital. It’s sort of about teen depression, but I don’t think anyone would read this book and not think, “Wow, I’ve felt that” at least once or twice. It’s about identity, artistic fulfillment, school pressure, young stress, love, and having the strength to live life. I highly recommend it – this is the book I would want to write, if I wasn’t so busy being depressed.

• EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE by Jonathan Safran Foer: Also about mental illness, this is the story of how eight-year-old Oscar deals with his father’s death on 9/11. An alternatingly (and sometimes simultaneously) heartbreaking, hilarious, and enlightening glimpse at a brilliant young mind and the way it deals with grief, this books is my favorite of the famous Foer’s works (he is also the author of EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED). The poor kid is cast as Yorick in his school’s production of Hamlet. This book is the ultimate of being smart and moving while still being funny and unpretentious.

• WHITE OLEANDER by Janet Fitch: I guess mental illness is a theme today, as this is the story of a girl whose mother goes to jail after doing some very crazy, very harmful things involving boiled eucalyptus leaves. The language is beautiful and poetic, and the story feels so real. The narrator and protagonist Agnes has so many struggles, yet she faces them with such strength, they are far from painful for the reader. This book is really about life, everyone’s life, but it made me so grateful that I have my life and not hers.

• BEE SEASON by Myla Goldberg: This one is about all kinds of crazy: it follows a family’s story as the younger daughter gets into the competitive world of spelling bees with the help (and pressure) of the father, while the older son goes through his religious awakening and the mother…does other (very entertaining and interesting) things I can’t really say without spoiling some bits. If you are getting annoyed being home with your family all the time, read this: hey, it could be worse. Kind of like a cross between the movie Smart People and Leave It To Beaver, never has such dysfunctionality been so endearing or so moving.

Read up, kids! As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and fan/hate mail. And get ready – next time:

BOOKS TO READ…

…AT A CABIN IN THE WOODS!

Books for...A Rainy Day!

Hello, fellow readers! Here is the second installment of books I think you all would enjoy. If you have suggestions or comments, I'd love to hear from you!

BOOKS TO READ…

...IN A SUMMER STORM!

These are a bit more deep, emotional, introspective, and moving works, but they are also my favorite grouping of them all. The stories are often difficult, turbulent, and bracing, so a violent monsoon is the perfect accompaniment (but you can of course read them anytime). I think I cried while reading every single one, in the best possible way.

• PAPER TOWNS by John Green: This story of loving, losing, and looking quite literally changed my life. A New York Times bestseller and the winner of the Edgar Award for Young Adult Mystery, it includes a great road trip, some mental breakdowns, some epic break-ins, and the world’s largest collection of black Santas. If you feel like anyone’s ever imagined you wrong, read this book!

• IF I STAY by Gayle Forman: I haven’t cried this hard while reading a book since Where The Red Fern Grows. However, it’s even more rarely that I was this moved. The story of a girl who loses her family and has to make a decision as to where to go next, this short but powerful book will make you consider and cherish the people you love in a different, more immediate way (or rather, it made me). It also has some fun moments, and a particularly poetic depiction of a young love. Whether you need a good cry or just a good read, this is a story that stays with you.

• JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta: This is the affecting story of a boarding school in rural Australia and the mysterious circumstances surrounding one of its students, the narrator Taylor. Everyone says they are confused for the first fifty-odd pages, but just KEEP READING and it will all make sense, and you will be richly rewarded for your trouble. The book is constructed like a split-time puzzle, with fights and fires and all kinds of loves: of self, of family, of former enemies. My favorite line of dialogue, one I just can’t forget: “What are you so sad about? We’re going to know him for the rest of our lives.”

• WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson: This is a story of extremes of both body and emotion. With the prevalence of mental illness and eating disorders in today’s girls, it is even more important that we (and some adults) read this heartbreaking depiction of anorexia, peer pressure, and accidental suicide. This is a poetic and unblinkingly unpleasant story of an awful illness, and I learned more from this book about teen depression than I could have in about a million episodes of True Life. If you want to feel solid in your sanity, read this book. If you want to get a little glimpse of what it is like (for one girl) to be this lost and broken, read this book. It is deeply moving in a way that made me feel full, not empty.

• LOOKING FOR ALASKA, by John Green: This is an ambitious and deeply moving story of youth, love, life, and boarding school. It is full of pranks, fun, and bufreidos (chimichangas from Alabama), but it also has death, sex, and heartbreaking glimpses of what it means to live for each of us, different for every one of us. My favorite quote: “Thomas Edison’s last words were, ‘It’s very beautiful over there.’ I don’t know where there is, but I believe it’s somewhere, and I hope it’s beautiful.”

Thanks again! Please let me know if you do read one and like or don’t like it, and I’ll edit the list!

Next time: BOOKS TO READ…

…IN A TRENDY/NERDY INTERNET CAFÉ!

Books for...Your Boring Summer Job!

BOOKS TO READ…

…AT YOUR BORING SUMMER JOB: Exciting, escapist, funny, and spicy, these books have enough action and exotic locations to help you slog through your day as some boring minimum-wage flunky. Or if you’re just really, really bored.

• THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS, by Sophie Kinsella: A fun story of a hot-shot lawyer who loses control and accidentally ends up as a maid for a wealthy couple in the country, the main character’s clumsy calamities (and the sexy gardener) are sweet and bright. As she escaped her past in a new life, it’s easy for a reader to escape a ho-hum day with this novel by the author of the Shopaholic series.

• EVERYONE WORTH KNOWING, by Lauren Weisberger: Another less famous book by the author of a more-famous novel, this time by the author of The Devil Wears Prada. The main character Bette Robinson leaves her boring office job for a high-flying life as a PR agent, planning and partying her way around Manhattan in fabulous clothes, with fabulous people. Kind of like a smarter Gossip Girl for grown-ups, there are also deeper elements about finding oneself – and a sexy pastry chef!

• BRIDGET JONES’ DIARY, by Helen Fielding: I laughed out loud while reading most of this book. Bridget is such a lovable character that even her flaws make her a more sympathetic character, and her romantic hijinks are a hilarious escape. Like all of them, the book is way better than the movie!

• SUITE SCARLETT, by Maureen Johnson: This book has all the elements of a great summer read: New York City, a likable protagonist, a hot southern boy, a play, a crazy old lady, and falling-down boutique hotel. (You didn’t know that was the recipe?) There is also a sequel coming out soon, so don’t miss this fun, funny read about Scarlett and her family in the Hopewell Hotel.

• EAT, PRAY, LOVE, by Elizabeth Gilbert: I had a really hard time picking which category to put this one in, but it is a good book about escaping. The story of a young women leaving her life to find herself, it serves as both a moving memoir, an informative travel guide, and an entertaining ride of mental breakdowns, love, food, and culture shock.

• CITY OF FALLING ANGELS, by Jon Berendt: This one’s a little different: it’s a non-fiction book about the controversial arson/burning of the Fenice Opera House in Venice, Italy. It is a compelling portrait of the mysterious city and its more mysterious people. If you have ever been to Venice or ever want to, you will love this book: it covers the history, the culture, the architecture, the science, and the heart of the corroded, crumbling Adriatic fortress.

• Other suggestions to escape during your lunch hour: GIRL AT SEA by Maureen Johnson & THIRTEEN LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPES by Maureen Johnson,

Next time: Books to read...DURING A SUMMER STORM

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!

What is This Place? Books for FUN?!

Because it is a widely known fact that I consume books almost as often and as quickly as I consume high-grade dark chocolate, friends often ask me for suggestion on what books to read when they get the rare chance to read for fun. Ergo, I have compiled a list of titles with brief descriptions of some of my most recent favorites, sorted into categories sort of by mood, which I think is the easiest way to pick a book. I have read all of them, and I personally like every one, and I hope you will too. Feel free to ask me any questions, or for more suggestions if you’ve read all these! I have more than fifty on my list, so I plan on posting a new section every few days. Enjoy!