Vacation Books

I'm back from Europe!

I only managed to read a few books on the various planes and trains, since we were busy sightseeing the rest of the time! I read:

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
I read this on the plane to London since we were going to visit Bath and I've actually never read this Austen book. It wasn't quite as enjoyable as say Pride & Prejudice, but still, it is Jane Austen. (Also, Bath was quite wonderful.)




Piece of Cake by Swati Kaushal
I came across this book in an article (I think the NYT Book Review) about international chick lit. It's about a single (of course!) young businesswoman trying to get ahead in her career and find a man. Yes, it's typical chick lit, but with the Indian locale as a twist. I enjoyed it.



I also finally got around to reading Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep.
During the late 1980s, fourteen-year-old Lee Fiora leaves behind her close-knit, middle-class Indiana family to enroll in an elite co-ed boarding school in Massachusetts, becoming a shrewd observer of, and eventually a participant in, their rituals and customs.
(Her new book, The Man of My Dreams, will be released on May 16.)


I also started an ARC copy of Sequence by Lori Andrews.
A geneticist with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Alexandra Blake uses her expertise to investigate a serial killer plaguing military bases across the country, but when an another murder hits all too close to home, Alex, her AFIP colleagues, and her boyfriend, a Texas congressman, find all their lives in danger. Due out in June.


And I had a nice pile of books waiting for me when I returned...

Daniel Isn't Talking by Marti Leimbach
A novel exploring the effects of autism on a young family explains a mother's determination to help her autistic child, taking on the experts and her own family to teach her child to become as "normal" as possible.





Adverbs by Daniel Handler
Is romance "A Series of Unfortunate Events"? Ask Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, who here returns to adult fiction with criss-crossing tales of star-crossed love.





Memoirs of a Muse by Laura Vapnyar
Obsessed by Dostoyevsky and the woman who became his muse, Tanya emigrates to New York City from the former Soviet Union and falls in with Mark Schneider, a writer for whom she is determined to be all things--lover, source of inspiration, and more--if only she can persuade him to spend less time at the shrink, the gym, and literary soirees.


By a Lady: Being the Adventures of an Enlightened American in Jane Austen's England by Amanda Elyot
During an audition for a play about Jane Austen, New York actress C. J. Welles is transported back in time to Bath, England, at the turn of the nineteenth century, where she is befriended by the eccentric Lady Euphoria Dalrymple, falls for Owen Percival, the Earl of Darlington, the cousin of Jane Austen, and finds herself torn between two different eras.

The Sand Cafe by Neil MacFarquhar
Set in Saudi Arabia during the buildup to the first Gulf War, this debut from veteran foreign correspondent MacFarquhar is a scathing satire of the news business.




Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas
When a Parisian town crier receives anonymous, ominous messages warning of an imminent outbreak of the Black Death, genius detective Commissaire Adamsberg and his straight-edged sidekick, Danglard, begin to suspect that the predictions are linked to strange marks that have appeared on doorways, a mystery that is complicated by a suspicious death.

Southern Vampires

According to PW, Alan Ball, the creator of HBO's Six Feet Under, plans to shoot a TV pilot based on Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series later this year!

The latest book in the series, Definitely Dead, is due out May 2.

Publisher Faves

Publishers at PLA raved about these new and forthcoming fiction books:

HarperCollins
Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews
The Girl from Charnelle by Kevin L. Cook
Full of Grace by Dorothea Benton Frank
Coronado by Dennis LeHane
No Good Deeds by Laura Lippman
Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund

Holtzbrinck
No Nest for the Wicked by Donna Andrews
Sequence by Lori Andrews
King of Lies by John Hart
The Darkest Place by D. Daniel Judson
Cold Kill by David Lawrence
Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn by Sarah Miller
Still Life by Louise Penning
Highly Effective Detective by Richard Yancey

Time Warner
The Girls by Lori Lansens (Spielberg has bought the movie rights.)
How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life by Kaavya Viswanathan

Sand Cafe

For anyone who found Jarhead (the movie or the non-fiction book) interesting, here's a new fiction book out next month:

The Sand Cafe by Neil MacFarquhar
A fierce, funny debut novel of journalists at war--or waiting for one that never quite arrives--based on the Gulf War experiences of a renowned New York Times correspondent

Fashionable Fiction

I watched the season finale of Project Runway last night and was inspired to make a list of new and forthcoming "Fashionable Fiction." I also just want to note that I'm sad that local boy Daniel didn't win, but really Chloe's collection was better.

Some Like it Haute by Julie K. L. Dam
Humiliated by a social faux pas at a haute couture show in Paris, Alexandra Simons, an American fashion correspondent for a popular weekly magazine, attends a trendy avant-garde show and finds a potential love interest in a successful new designer, but fears he is hiding something from her.



Fashionably Late by Beth Kendrick
The youngest of four sisters, Becca Davis has always felt overshadowed by her strong-willed siblings and has always played it safe in her life, until she surprises everyone by taking a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to become a fashion designer in Los Angeles.



Goodbye, Jimmy Choo by Annie Sanders
Thrown together in their new English countryside homes by their husbands' respective careers, Izzie, a bohemian free-spirit, and Maddi, a Gucci-clad socialite, become unlikely fast friends in their shared longing for the London they left behind.




The Manolo Matrix by Julie Kenner
Searching for Mr. Right as well as the perfect pair of designer shoes, aspiring actress Jennifer Martin finds herself playing bodyguard when a would-be assassin forces her to participate in a life-or-death scavenger hunt.




Paris Hangover by Kirsten Lobe
Leaving a failed relationship with a live-in lover, a career in fashion, and New York behind, Klein is determined to start over in Paris and plunges into the idiosyncratic world of French men and dating, muddling her way through sexy Renaud, three men named Jean, and a married man who wants her to become his mistress. A first novel.


Elements of Style by Wendy Wasserstein
A dazzling mosaic of madcap social whirls, fashion, style, and mores captures the lives of New York City's urban upper crust as they make their way through twenty-first-century Manhattan in a post-9/11 world, in a comedic debut novel by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author of The Heidi Chronicles.



The Booster by Jennifer Solow
A Manhattan kleptomaniac remembers her childhood spent in her uncle's high-fashion Madison Avenue department store, where she lived a fairy-tale existence before suffering a devastating loss that led to her termination from her advertising job and recruitment into an organized South American shoplifting ring.

Indian Fiction

Because Newsweek just had an interesting article on India and because I enjoy Indian movies and fiction I just wanted to point out some recent fiction books by Indian-Americans that are being made into movies.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
I'm sure many of you are well aware of this Pulitzer award winning author, but you may not have been aware that a movie based on this book will be released later this year.




How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life by Kaavya Viswanathan
Written by a Harvard sophomore with a huge first printing, this is in development with Dreamworks.

Jane Austen

Even more new Jane Austen related fiction!

Jane Austen in Scarsdale: Or, Love, Death, and the SATs by Paula Marantz Cohen
In a tale inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, dedicated guidance counselor Anne Ehrlich works to help her high school charges through the perils of their college admissions and remembers a past love whose nephew requires her assistance.



North by Northanger, or the Shades of Pemberley: A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery by Carrie Bebris
Awaiting the birth of their first child, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy find their situation compromised by challenges to the family fortune, the arrival of Darcy's imperial-minded aunt, and the discovery of a family heirloom that holds the key to a secret conspiracy.

Bad Twin

An interesting TV tie-in for you...

Bad Twin by Gary Troup
From LJ: PI Paul Artisan searches for a missing twin and for the truth in the last novel by the fictional "Troup," who disappeared in 2004 on Oceanic Flight 815 (heads up, Lost fans!) and remains missing and presumed dead. Penned by a well-known mystery writer, the novel will figure in upcoming episodes of the hit TV series.

Adverbs

And in other children's author writing adult fiction news--Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) has an adult fiction book coming out in April called Adverbs!

The Girl of Lost Things

I am very excited to report that Ann Brashares, author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, will make her adult fiction debut this June with The Girl of Lost Things! (No book cover yet.)

By a Lady

Romance, time travel, and Jane Austen--what could be better?

By a Lady: Being the Adventures of an Enlightened American in Jane Austen's England by Amanda Elyot
During an audition for a play about Jane Austen, New York actress C. J. Welles is transported back in time to Bath, England, at the turn of the nineteenth century, where she is befriended by the eccentric Lady Euphoria Dalrymple, falls for Owen Percival, the Earl of Darlington, the cousin of Jane Austen, and finds herself torn between two different eras.

The Blight Way

The Blight Way by Patrick McManus
A new fiction series by humorous non-fiction writer, Patrick McManus, about "a wry Idaho sheriff and his crusty father [who] solve a trio of rural murders." Kirkus calls it "one of the most entertaining mystery debuts in years."

Lapham Rising

Lapham Rising by Roger Rosenblatt
Just in case you're not going to catch the Lehrer Newshour tonight, I wanted to highlight this featured title by a Newshour contributor. It's about an island-dwelling recluse who launches countermeasures against his boorish, McMansion-building neighbor. In order to save civilization as we know it, March decides to launch a fireball from his homebuilt catapult onto the monstrosity. The projectile is defeated, however, by a frigid gust from Lapham's state-of-the-art air conditioner, which blasts the fiery mass back onto March's island, destroying his home and property. Sounds entertaining to me.

The Game's Afoot

Some new Sherlock Holmes related fiction:

Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
Set against the backdrop of the British Empire, an intriguing novel by the author of Flaubert's Parrot chronicles the lives of two boys--George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur, growing up in Edinburgh--one who is forgotten by history, and one who becomes the creator of the world's most famous detective, as they pursue their separate destinies until they meet in a remarkable alliance.


Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith
In 1893, inspired by their hero, master sleuth Sherlock Holmes, two cowboys, Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer, put their detecting skills to use to uncover the truth about the murder of a ranch hand on their Montana cattle ranch.




Ghosts in Baker Street
A third collection of original Sherlock Holmes mystery tales features supernatural themes and is complemented by a nonfiction essay by Caleb Carr on the Holmes legacy as it has affected the works of the writer and other authors.

Philippa Gregory Lite

A Lady Raised High: A Novel of Anne Boleyn by Laurien Gardner
From PW: "Readers looking for a lower-calorie Philippa Gregory will be pleased."

Phryne (rhymes with briny) Fisher

I just finished Kerry Greenwood's Urn Burial, the latest U.S. release in the Phryne Fisher mystery series. While I don't think this was one of her stronger stories, in general I really enjoy this series, featuring the wonderfully stylish and independent Phryne and taking place in 1920's Australia.

Valentine's Day

Some new books for the upcoming holiday:

Forever Mine, Valentine by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Traveling across the country to find her true calling, artist Jill Amory finds fate intervening in a strange way when she meets a kind-hearted elderly man, who, believing that he is a modern-day cupid, orchestrates a Valentine's Day meeting between her and his marriage-phobic friend, Spence.



Valentine's Day is Killing Me by MaryJanice Davidson, Leslie Esdaile, and Susanna Carr
Cupid's arrow goes dangerously awry in this trio of stories that follow three women as their Valentine's Day festivities are marred by murder and illegal activities, leading them into the arms of the law.

A Couple of Classics

Classic books on the big and small screen:

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
This "unfilmable novel" has been made into a soon to be released movie under the title A Cock and Bull Story.




Bleak House by Charles Dickens
A Masterpiece Theatre rendition of Bleak House is now showing on PBS, starring Gillian Anderson.

Bitten and Smitten

For Buffy fans...

Bitten and Smitten by Michelle Rowen
From PW: Rowen hits the nail (or is it the stake?) on the head with her feisty debut novel about a reluctant vampire trying to cope with her newfound otherworldly status. After a blind date bites Sarah Dearly on the neck and is killed by vampire hunters, she discovers she's not only a vampire but also has been left to learn the ropes of the night by herself. Thank goodness for wise "master" vampire Thierry de Bennicoeur, who saves her life, shows her to the nearest vampire hangout and wins her heart in the process. Next comes a mix of misplaced trust, stakings and bad double dates, all with the goal of outwitting the vampire hunters and getting Thierry to see that Sarah's the one for him. Rowen perfectly balances suspense and wit by tossing in one-liners just when the novel could start getting too serious ("I just need to wash my face and brush my fangs first and we can get out of here," Sarah says). Mentions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Anne Rice ground the novel and make it a true modern girl's guide to (vampire) life.

Nordic Noir

I came across the phrase "Nordic Noir" in a review today and felt compelled to use the phrase, especially since there have been some interesting titles out lately that fit the phrase (that apparently all share the same color scheme). Here are a few:

Jar City: A Reykjavik Murder Mystery by Arnuldar Indridason (Iceland)
The American debut of the winner of the 2002 Nordic Crime Novel Award. Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson heads up the investigation into the killing of a solitary man, found murdered in his Reykjavik apartment, only to discover that the victim has only two friends, one in prison and one missing for twenty-five years, and that the dead man had been accused but not convicted of a rape forty years earlier.


The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson (Sweden)
When a jogger stumbles upon the mutilated body of the local reformed troublemaker and tropical fish expert during a morning run, Inspector Ann Lindell takes time off from maternity leave to uncover the killer and is drawn into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a vicious murderer.



Lang by Kjell Westo (Finland)
Unable to resist his passion for a beautiful and secretive woman, Lang, a famous novelist and television show host, finds himself caught in a sinister love triangle that includes the woman's psychotic former husband, a situation that becomes increasingly violent.