The Bookshelf

This Saturday October 24, Poisoned Pen Press and the Poisoned Pen mystery bookstore in Arizona are co-hosting the world’s first online mystery convention. For $25, you can log on to Poisoned Pen WebCon and participate in live interactive discussions, author panels, on-demand videos and audio presentations, book trailers and live chat rooms. Registrants also will receive a book voucher and free ebooks. Participating authors include a who’s-who of authors, including Dana Stabenow, Lee Child, Laurie R. King, Nevada Barr and others. Click here for a schedule of panel discussions and for a list of system requirements and the multimedia tools you’ll need to use to take part.

The Women’s National Book Association has deemed October as National Reading Group Month. According to WNBA president Joan Gelfland, “In the last five years, the book club population has increased 25 percent, rising from 4.6 million to 5.2 million adults.”

Along with sponsoring author events around the country, nine books considered Great Group Reads are being spotlighted: Appassionata by Eva Hoffman, The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë by Syrie James, The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey, Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz, While I’m Falling by Laura Moriarty, Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, Cost by Roxana Robinson and Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie. All are intelligent, thought-provoking books that are perfect for discussion or anyone who is a fan of smart fiction (and, in the case of Perfection, nonfiction).

Interested in starting your own group? Check out our Discussion Tips, Reviews and Resources page, which includes a list of books available for bulk loan to local groups. For information on Library book discussion groups, contact us online or at 847.673.7774.

The 2009 Booker Prize committee has selected Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel as this year’s winner of best novel written by an author from Britain, Ireland, or the Commonwealth nations. James Naughtie, leader of the panel of judges, described Wolf Hall  as “a thoroughly modern novel set in the 16th century,” which “probes the mysteries of power by examining and describing the meticulous dealings in Henry VIII’s court, revealing in thrilling prose how politics and history is made by men and women.”

I enjoyed Lev Grossman’s (a book critic for Time) The Magicians, but, then again, I am exactly the type of reader that would.

Grossman’s The Magicians is a play on C.S. Lewis’ Narnia, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, and even a little of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. But instead of wild-eyed youngsters being taken to magical worlds, it is brilliant and depressed recent high school graduates.  Instead of the students exploring and outwitting evil doers, they memorize, study, and drink too much booze (much like other college students– minus the studying and memorizing of course).

Quentin Coldwater, a high school student from Brooklyn, is the main character.  He experiences the tedium of studying, girls that are not interested in him, and magic.  Following graduation from magic college, Quetin and his friends discovery the world of Fillory (a Narnia like universe) which they had all read about as children.  Quentin has always been especially devoted to the the Fillory series. However, the story Fillory and the real Fillory are very different.

This book may sound like a Terry Pratchett like comedy but it most certainly isn’t.  It does have some comedic moments, but it is much grittier than anything in the comedic fantasy realm.

I recommend checking this book out.