December 2, 2008
This week we're going to interview one of the world's, not to mention Mt. Blue Middle School's, most outstanding teacher's, Wendy Simpson. KB: Wendy, you obviously love middle grade and YA fiction. Has teaching changed you as a reader? Betsy: Definitely. If something doesn't hold my interest, after 50 or 100 pages let's say, I leave. There are so many books out there, I just don't want to waste my time reading stuff that's bad. I want to be thinking about the book I'm reading when I'm not reading it." KB: If you developed a super power which allowed you to make students who hated to read develop a passion for reading would you use that power? Betsy: Oh definitely. I already possess that power in spades. But seriously, is there anything better than seeing a kid who is not a reader, or is a non reader, get excited about a book for the first time? KB: Speaking of getting excited about a book, what was the last book you read that was lights out for you? Betsy: The Door of No Return was wonderful. KB: Awesome. Thanks! Before we hit the picks below here's a link to something really nice Penguin Book Group has put together called What To Give, What To Get in which a group of great penguin authors, such as Khaled Hosseini, Elizabeth Gilbert, Jasper Fforde, relate which books they are giving as gifts this holiday season and which books they are hoping to receive. Worth checking out. |
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The School on Heart's Content Road
By Chute, Carolyn 2008/11 - Atlantic Monthly Press 9780871139870 - Hardcover List Price $24.00 - Your Price: $19.20
It may well be that Carolyn Chute has come full circle. Her first novel The Beans of Egypt Maine arrived on mainstream publishing's doorstep out of nowhere, literally in a brown paper bag, and its hard edged portrait of life in a disenfranchised rural Maine received great critical acclaim. The sales and acclaim of her subsequent novels steadily decreased, ending with Snow Man, ten years ago. A decade later Chute has returned from a refreshed obscurity to fresh acclaim, with her new novel The House on Heart's Content Road. There's irony at work here somewhere, but the best place to look for it is probably in the pages of Chute's new novel. ...More
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Scarpetta
By Cornwell, Patricia D. 2008/12 - Putnam Adult 9780399155161 - Hardcover List Price $27.95 - Your Price: $22.36
One question that always gets asked when a new Patricia Cornwell book hits the shelves is, "is it a Scarpetta book?" You know, somehow I don't expect that question to come up very often concerning her newest book, Scarpetta. Thank you Patricia Cornwell!...More
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Mouth Wide Open: A Cook and His Appetite
By Thorne, John Thorne, Matt Lewis 2008/11 - North Point Press 9780374531430 - Trade Paper List Price $16.00 - Your Price: $12.80
Neither his prose nor his palette has ever let John Thorne down. Always a delight Thorne's latest book, out now in paperback, Mouth Wide Open: A Cook and His Appetite is no exception.
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War and Peace
By Tolstoy, Leo Nikolayevich Pevear, Richard Volokhonsky, Larissa 2008/12 - Vintage Books USA 9781400079988 - Trade Paper List Price $19.95 - Your Price: $15.96
The justly famed translation team of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky struck again last fall with their version of War and Peace. At 1273 pages, 3.90 pounds, and $37.00 many people have been looking to spare their wrists and wallets by waiting for its 2.54 pound, $19.95 paperback cousin. The wait is over. Pevear and Volokhonsky really are exceptional. Their Anna Karenina was just bursting with vitality and immediacy. One felt that it compared to the old Garnett translation much as a fresh piece of toast compares to a piece of toast left out on the counter for three days....More
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Pretty Monsters
By Link, Kelly Tan, Shaun 2008/10 - Viking Children's Books 9780670010905 - Hardcover List Price $19.99 - Your Price: $15.99
Kelly Link is something of a phenomenon. Her blend of humor and the macabre, along with her vibrant style, has earned her a samll, but committed following. The short story is Link's Forte, and her fans, and her publisher, is hoping that Pretty Monsters will be a breakout book for her. If you've never tried Link before great new authors like her are one of the reasons why we have rocking chairs in the store. The right thing to do here is to stop by the store, demand our reading copy of Pretty Monsters, ensconce yourself in a chair and give the first story The Wrong Grave a whirl....More
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Snow Day
By Sakai, Komako 2009/01 - Arthur A. Levine Books 9780545013215 - Hardcover List Price $16.99 - Your Price: $13.59
The Snow Day is a story of a young rabbit who stays home from Kindergarten due to a snow storm. His father is out of town and can't get home that night due to the storm, so he and his mother stay home together all day. When night falls, the snow stops and he goes out into the snow with his mother. Sakai's exquisite drawings accentuate a book just brimming with tenderness and affection....More
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