Welcome to July 20, 56 years after the US landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong took that one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. I watched the moon landing with my brothers on our console TV in the livingroom, and we were all forever changed by the sight. I'd already begun to read science fiction and watch Star Trek on TV, but the moon landing put my ambition to go into space when I was an adult (I wasn't yet 9 years old) firmly into my sights for the future, and it thrilled me to think that space, the final frontier, now seemed like a possibility for regular Americans like myself and my older brother, who had wanted to be a pilot since he was 5 years old. Unfortunately, that same year, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and told that one of the occupations closed to diabetics was the piloting of airplanes. He was furious, and spent the rest of his life (which was short, he died at age 32) bitter about all the things he wanted that were denied him. Still, I had high hopes for an aviation career until I reached puberty and discovered that due to gender and chronic ailments like asthma, I, too, was denied the skies. Anyway, I'm excited to post all the tidbits and reviews for this week, as I've got a stack of new books to read and enjoy indoors, away from the burning rays of the sun.
I hope this goes well for one of Seattle's great curated bookstores in the U District.
B&N,
UBS Partnership Beginning in Seattle, Wash.
This week, the Barnes & Noble University
District Bookstore--the partnership
between B&N and University Book
Store through which B&N will operate the
store's general books department--will
officially open in Seattle,
Wash., this week. Author Matt Dinniman
(Dungeon Crawler Carl) will be on
hand for a ribbon cutting and book
signing.
Under B&N's management, the trade
book department will span 17,000
square feet, about double the size of
the previous trade book
department. UBS, meanwhile, will remain
independent and focus on
providing textbooks, student supplies,
and apparel to the University of
Washington community.
Earlier this spring, UW student
newspaper the Daily reported
that the agreement is set to run for 10
years, with the possibility of a
reevaluation after four years. B&N
will pay rent and a percentage of
sales, and per the agreement, all UBS
staff who worked in the trade book
department have been retained (thank heaven!) University Book Store was founded in
1900 by UW students.
I remember reading some of MCS's great thrillers, and marveling at his taut and tense writing style and twisty plots. I had no idea he was in his 80s. RIP.
Obituary Note: Martin Cruz Smith
Martin Cruz Smith, best known for the
Arkady Renko series that started
with Gorky Park, died on Saturday at
age 82. As noted by his publisher
Simon & Schuster, the New York
Times called Smith "the master of the
international thriller," the New
Yorker wrote that he was "brilliant,"
and the Washington Post called the
series "a work of art."
Martin Cruz Smith with his daughter
Luisa Smith at NCIBA in 2016
Smith's children--including Luisa
Smith, editor-in-chief of Mysterious
Press and Scarlet and former head buyer
at Book Passage in Corte Madera
and San Francisco, Calif.--made an
announcement about their father's
death, writing in part, "Our dad
died peacefully late Friday night. We sat next to him, telling him
how much we loved him, and in the last moments he
let us know he heard us and loved us
too. We already knew, in everything
he had done in life he had let us know,
but after Parkinson's had taken
his voice, it felt like both a small
miracle and a typical show of his
ability to defy the odds that he could
find a way to once again show his
love.
"The world knew him best through
Arkady Renko, the disillusioned Soviet
investigator with a moral compass
stubborn enough to function even in a
blizzard of lies. First introduced in
Gorky Park, Renko was not so much
a hero as a survivor. Like dad, he
mistrusted institutions, prized
observation, used humor to expose
hypocrisy, and believed that truth,
though often buried, still mattered."
I can hardly wait to see this new series. Though I was not a fan of Gabaldon's books, I've loved watching the Outlander series on streaming services. I hope this offshoot goes well.
TV:
Outlander: Blood of My Blood
Starz has released a trailer for
Outlander: Blood of My Blood, a historical romance TV series that
serves as a prequel to Outlander (2014-present), the
television series based on Diana
Gabaldon's novels. The new project
premieres August 8 and will air weekly
on Fridays.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood's logline:
"After 11 years of epic romance
on the groundbreaking series Outlander,
the timeless tale continues--or
rather begins--on the eve of an earlier
Jacobite rebellion... [T]he
series explores the lives and
relationships of two couples as they fight
against all odds to be together."
I had no idea that there was a war going on with ebook licensing. I only buy ebooks that are on sale for less than 5 bucks, mainly because I much prefer paperback and hardback books at hand to read.
The
Woes of Library E-Book Licensing
How
many of us consider the complex, sometimes expensive process that
goes into procuring books for patrons when we check out a book from
our library? Well, this
article discussing legislation to
get a handle on e-book pricing offers a crash course on just how
expensive it can be to ensure digital books reach eyes. A Connecticut
law is aiming to "force publishers to the bargaining table"
through library purchase restrictions. Other states are exploring
similar restrictions, and Connecticut would need a state or states
with a population of 7 million to trigger their own law. Read
arguments for and against the legislation, and about which states are
considering taking it up.
I would love to be at this grand opening of a new bookstore in Des Moines! I bet it will be sublime and wonderful.
Shelf
Love DSM Opening July 26 in Des Moines, Iowa
Shelf Love DSM, a romance-focused
bookstore in Des Moines, Iowa, will have its grand opening on
Saturday, July 26, Axios reported.
The bookstore, located at 2326
University Ave. in the city's Dogtown
neighborhood, will carry a wide variety
of romance titles from both
traditionally published and independent
authors. Owner Sarah
Gardner-Bergan plans to host author
readings along with events like book
bedazzling and bookmark decorating.
Gardner-Bergan began her bookselling
career by selling book box
subscriptions. From there, she started
hosting romance-focused
conventions and, seeing the success of
other romance bookstores, decided
to launch one of her own.
The opening festivities will begin on
July 26 with a ribbon cutting,
followed by an afternoon of author
signings, with more signings to
follow on Sunday. All attendees will
receive a ticket for a prize
raffle, and additional tickets will be
given for every $10 spent. All
purchases will come with a Shelf Love
sticker and bookmark swag pack.
I wish that I could participate in this, but I don't think novel writing is within my wheelhouse. That said, I am a prime candidate because few authors who are women over age 60 are welcomed in traditional publishing. Especially those like myself, who have chronic ailments and are people of size. But perhaps someone else out there would like to take on this challenge.
A
$100K Prize to Find The Next Big Story
Eight
finalists for The Next Big Story will receive a year-long writing
course from The Novelry, and one winner will receive a $100,000
prize. The Novelry is an online creative writing school, and they’re
behind this competition to reach a cohort of writers who don’t have
access to traditional publishing circles or who might count
themselves out of the writing and publishing game. "These are
the sort of people who would have been where I was and made the
assumption that to be a writer, you’ve got to be clever or posh,"
founder and author Louise Dean told Publishers
Weekly .
More than 5,000 writers have already submitted entries to be judged
by The Novelry team before a selection moves forward to a celebrity
judging panel that includes Tayari Jones, Zosia Mamet, and Emma
Roberts. Writers need only submit the first three pages of a novel
concept by July 31st to participate in this competition. Get
the deets here.
I go through real estate listings nearly everyday. I'm always searching for that perfect large Victorian or Tudor home with a built in library or bookshelves in every room. This place would be idea for me...and with all those bookshelves? DROOL! Unfortunately, its in the Midwest, in Nebraska, and my asthma doesn't do well out there in the land of cornfields and acres of pollen. But WOW, the price is so cheap! You can't buy a dog house up here in the Seattle area for under 500K!
Is
Your Dream Home an Old Library? This Place Is For You.
Who
else scrolls Zillow for fun? Anyone? Bueller? ( Editors note: ME!) If
you love books and aspirational real estate, you should check
out this listing
for a former Carnegie library that’s been transformed into a home.
Truly dreamy.
The President's Daughter by James Patterson and (former president) Bill Clinton is an American political thriller full of Easter eggs about what its really like behind the scenes at the White House (or how it was when we had a sane president back in the 90s). This was the first collaboration between Patterson and Clinton, and it was a huge success in 2018. Here's the blurb: A rocket ride of a thriller—the bestselling blockbuster by (former)President Bill Clinton and James Patterson, "the dream team".
All Presidents have nightmares. This one is about to come true.
Every detail is accurate—because one of the authors is former President Bill Clinton.
The drama and action never stop—because the other author is James Patterson.
Matthew Keating, a one-time Navy SEAL—and a past president—has always defended his family as staunchly as he has his country. Now those defenses are under attack.
A
madman abducts Keating's teenage daughter, Melanie—turning every
parent's deepest fear into a matter of national security. As the world
watches in real time, Keating embarks on a one-man special-ops mission
that tests his strengths: as a leader, a warrior, and a father.
I loved the sizzling prose and the engaging, bullet-fast plot that kept me glued to the page throughout the 590 pages of this tome. The main characters were heroic or villainous, as was their want, and the president's daughter Mel was suitably spunky and smart, and she never gave up, even in the face of death from the Middle Eastern fanatics who held her hostage. What surprised me was that, though they were willing to humiliate her and her father, and terrify Mel with threats of violence, they didn't rape her, which, despite all their conversations about the "whores" of the Western world, somehow seemed a bridge too far for the insane Middle Eastern muslim fanatic guy bent on murderous revenge on the former president. Of course he dies in a suitably gory fashion, but in the end he kills his brother or cousin, and several other people, just for funsies. A psychopath without remorse who kills everyone in his path would certainly not be the first to think that raping a woman means he has dominated her and now "owns" her, body and soul. Not that I'm not glad that he didn't rape Mel, it just seemed out of character for these goons. I'd give this book, which was way more political and somewhat sexist, a B, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys military/political thrillers.
Boudicca by PC Cast is a historical romantasy with a lot of adventure and battles added in, just to display what a kick-butt ruler celtic Queen Boudicca was. She's cast here as a bisexual powerhouse who leads her troops to victory against the racist/sexist legions of Rome. Here's the blurb:
From P. C. Cast comes an epic, lusty, magic-filled romantasy about British warrior
queen Boudicca.
In
Roman-occupied Britain, the Iceni tribe crowns an extraordinary new
queen. Tall and flame-haired, Boudicca is devoted to Andraste, the
Iceni’s patron goddess, known for her raven familiar, her fierceness and
her swirling blue tattoos. Boudicca and her two young daughters will
carry the tribe forward in dangerous times.
Roman tax
collector Catus Decianus, expecting weakness in a female ruler,
launches a devastating attack on the tribe’s stronghold. Boudicca and
her family barely survive—but they refuse to bend the knee. She calls a
war council, bringing together her most trustworthy allies, including
her childhood friend Rhan, now a powerful Druid seer, and the horse
master Maldwyn, whose devotion to Boudicca runs deeper than a warrior to
a queen.
Surprising the Romans, Boudicca’s armies
sack the wealthy cities of Camulodunum, Londinium and Veralamium. As the
snow falls, the Celts retreat to a hidden valley to plot their assault
on the remaining Roman legions, determined to force the invaders from
Britan.
But in the jagged ice of winter the Druid
Rhan foresees a tragic end to Boudicca’s rebellion. Although the defeat
of the Iceni is spelled out in signs sent by the gods, Rhan swears she
will alter the future and save her queen. Now the battle-hardened
Boudicca must put her trust in the powers of the otherworld to save her
from both the traitors in her midst and from Rome’s mighty legions.
Inspired
by the rich history of Boudicca’s attack on Roman Britain, bestselling
author P. C. Cast crafts an epic, mythic retelling of one of time’s most
legendary female warriors.
Though I'm not a fan of military historicals, this particular book had magic and women warriors and lots of fascinating interactions with Celtic gods/goddesses throughout the text that kept things from being too gory and boring. The ending was, SPOILER, a bit too "woo-woo" for my tastes, as it didn't actually explain what happened to Queen B historically. All we get is that she was granted access to the fairylands with her children and therefore we don't know if she "lived forever" in the summerlands or died, as all mortals eventually do. I loved the fact that her daughters trained wolves to go with them into battle, and that they fully supported their mother's bloody campaign against the evil Roman pedophiles who raped them.Though the prose was lush and full of fascinating details, the plot lagged in spots, and I ended up counting pages down to the end. I'd give this novel a B, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys fictional takes on important women in history.
Plus One by Kelsey Rodkey is a YA rom-com that could have been a real firecracker of a book, if the protagonist weren't such a crappy teenage narcissist. Lahey is a disaster to everyone around her, and all of them forgive and forget her transgressions way too easily, so there are barely any consequences to her actions. Here's the blurb:
Fans
of Emma Lord and Rachel Lynn Solomon will revel in Kelsey Rodkey’s
latest swoon-worthy YA rom-com as self-proclaimed matchmaker Lahey
finally puts her own heart on the line—to find a date in just one week.
Lahey
Johnson is notorious for helping her friends and classmates find love,
but she’s never had a reason to focus on her own love life. Until now.
When her detested cousin Summer decides Lahey doesn’t need a plus one to
her sweet sixteen, Lahey has the ultimate reason: revenge.
Lahey
will do anything to prove that she can get a date to Summer’s
party—anything, including juggle six prospective suitors in seven days.
The
only issue? Her sister’s irritating friend Adler has decided to take a
front-row seat to the spectacle that is Lahey’s life. Lahey is
determined not to let him distract her from one-upping Summer. But as
the party creeps closer, the panic sets in. Can a matchmaker ever really
meet her own match?
Last Chance Books author Kelsey Rodkey delivers another perfect read for all who love their romance with a side of repartee.
Lahey's "know it all" attitude and sh*tty matchmaking don't add to her allure as a dating prospect, and why Adler still finds her attractive after she uses and dismisses him is still a mystery by the end of the book. The supposedly witty banter isn't funny or edgy, and Lahey falls into all the teenage girl cliches (usually written by middle aged people who don't remember what it was like to be a teenage girl) of wanting to be a shallow rich girl with a perfect boyfriend (though she herself is far from perfect) and a lot of status symbols, while ignoring the riches that she takes for granted, like having two parents who love her and a good looking frenemy who supports all her crazy schemes. She's even at war with her cousin over jealousy and spends an inordinate amount of time being mean and petty to her. She's not only immature, she only values herself through the validation of others. She totally buys into the misogyny of a society that says you're only value as a girl is in "getting a boyfriend" to dote on you. That sound you hear is feminism being set back 40 years. Sigh. I'd give this book of wobbly prose and a standard mediocre plot a C+ and I can't think of anyone to recommend it to.
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna is a cozy magical romantasy along the same lines as Practical Magic or House on the Cerulean Sea. Here's the blurb:
A
whimsical and heartwarming novel about a witch who has a second chance
to get her magical powers—and her life—back on track, from the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
Sera
Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she
resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost
most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was
exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily)
helps Jasmine run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with
her quirky guests' shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check,
and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out
about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power.
Enter
Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark
winter evening and just might know how to unlock the spell’s secrets.
Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap
goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain
bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he
is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually
be thawing.
Running
an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the
watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover
that she doesn’t have to do it alone...and that the weird, wonderful
family she’s made might be the best magic of all.
I've become a huge fan of the cozy genre, whether it be mysteries or romantasy, and this lovely, well-written novel with the fleet foxy plot doesn't disappoint. Sera, though exasperated with all the craziness of her household, never loses her kindness or her spark of magic, even when its only a small bit, compared to the galaxy of stars she's used to. Clemmie the fox is a bit of a self-serving ass, but Sera loves her anyway, and gives her all to restore Clemmie to human form. This is one of those books that will make you laugh and cry and just feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I loved it, and believe it deserves an A, and a recommendation to anyone who likes cozies and stories about found families and enemies to lovers romances.
Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee is a YA LGBTQ romantasy that is cozy but funny and weird in all the best ways. Here's the blurb: A
geeky overachiever determined to save the world through science and a
troublemaking chosen one lashing out against her destiny meet and fall
in love in a magical coffeeshop as their two very different universes
begin to collide in Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe, C.B. Lee's fun, sapphic, cozy fantasy YA romance.
When
Brenda’s internet goes out right before an important scholarship
deadline, she stumbles right into Kat’s family’s coffeeshop. Brenda is
swept away by cool, confident Kat, who actually cares about Brenda’s
19-step plan to save the world through science. Meanwhile, Kat can’t
stop thinking about Brenda, who is smart, passionate, and doesn’t seem
to care that Kat is the prophesized Chosen One.
The only problem?
Kat and Brenda are from different universes. Like
need-to-find-a-portal-to-go-on-a-second-date different universes.
As
their universes collide and things spiral out of control, can a girl
who is determined to save the world find love with a girl determined to
outrun her destiny?
Lee's prose is breezy and bright, and her plot shimmers with vitality and vigor. I loved the comparions between the two universes, and Kat and Brenda's determination to be together and let love conquer the distance between their worlds. I couldn't stop turning pages on this beautifully created trade paperback with purple edges and glorious cover art. I also loved that one protagonist was a planner and the other a "pantser" who loves spontaneity. All in all a very satisfying read that I'd give an A, and recommend to any high schoolers interested in lesbian romance and science fictional dimensions.
No comments:
Post a Comment