The Bookshelf

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

(and on audio)

Teen romance with a twist: 17- year-old Jessica is learning that she has a different life than she thought. Jessica is really a vampire princess and she is the head of her clan, expected to marry the hunky leader of a rival vampire family – thus ensure peace… Yeah, this was a lot of fun to read. It’s not serious stuff, which is why I liked it so much. Jessica is experiencing a lot of “typical” coming of age transitional/identity realizations, etc. There is much humor in the novel mixed with truthful themes and on-target observations about teens. I can see why copies of this book are always checked out from the Library. It is not a Twilight wannabe. However, it is a good one to recommend to those that have read all the Stephenie Meyer books and need something else. I look forward to more from author Beth Fantaskey.

This is my “beach book” list (part 1 teens and kids). Yes, these are written for a younger audience. But I enjoyed them. All are light reads and recommended. The 39 Clues series is my favorite so far.

The Sword Thief (39 Clues, bk. 3) by Peter Lerangis, audiobook

One False Note (39 Clues, bk. 2) by Gordon Korman; audiobook

The Maze of Bones (39 clues, bk. 1) by Rick Riordan; audiobook

The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn; audiobook

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn; audiobook

Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan; audiobook

The Magician (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Famel, bk. 2) by Michael Scott; audiobook

The Alchemyst (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flam, bk 1) by Michael Scott; audiobook

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot; audiobook

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler; audiobook

Gilda Joyce: The Ghost Sonata by Jennifer Allison; audiobook

Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison; audiobook

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale; audiobook

Cupcake by Rachel Cohn; audiobook

The Princess Plot by Kirsten Boie; audiobook

This is my “beach book” list so far (part 1, adult fiction). I recommend all to those who enjoy breezy reading. The selections include chick lit, romances and some light mysteries.

And in no particular order:

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler; audiobook

The Secret by Julie Garwood; audiobook

A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey; audiobook

Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips; audiobook

The Accidental Florist by Jill Churchill; audiobook

The Fixer-Upper by Mary Kay Andrews; audiobook

Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews; eaudiobook via Overdrive

Don’t You Forget About Me by Jancee Dunn; audiobook

The Wedding Trap by Tracy Anne Warren; audiobook

You Slay Me by Katie MacAlister; audiobook

Paper Butterfly by Diane Wei Liang; audiobook

Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook; audiobook

Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham; audiobook

There is a video conversation with popular author/funny lady Janet Evanovich in the New York Times today.  Here is the link:

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/07/17/multimedia/1247463461442/a-conversation-with-janet-evanovich.html?8bu&emc=bub1

The Orange Prize shortlist for fiction has been announced. Three American women have been included in the annual British award for best novel of the year by a woman. The winner of the $43,000 prize will be awarded June 3 in London.

Home by Marilynne Robinson

Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman

The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt

The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deirdre Madden

Click on the links to search for the items, or to place a hold.

If you liked watching the miniseries  Lost in Austen on PBS, here are a few book recommendations.

Austenland: A Novel by Shannon Hale -  audiobook

Pride & Prejudice junkie/Darcy obsessed, Jane Hayes is given a vacation to Pembrook Park – an exclusive resort where people pretend to live like Jane Austen characters.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler – audiobook

After a night of immersing herself in all things Jane Austen (medicine for a very bad day), 21 st century Courtney Stone wakes up in 1813 England. She now occupies the body of Jane Mansfield, a 30-year-old unmarried  gentle lady.

And for ages 12 and up, try:

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman – audiobook

Inspired by Pride and Prejudice, 15-year-old best friends Julie and Ashleigh deck themselves out in antique  gowns, crash an elite boys’ school dance, and look for their “Mr. Darcy”.

For more ideas, don’t miss our Jane Austen Lives On! booklist.

BTW, the DVD Lost in Austen is ordered for the Library. Reserve it now!

See a related Studio post.

Shelf Awareness, an e-newsletter for booksellers and librarians, has a regular author interview called Book Brahmin (kinda like the questionnaire on Inside the Actors Studio, but less snooty). One of my favorite questions is “Book You’ve Faked Reading.” Author Susan Wiggs copped to lying about reading Proust’s Swann’s Way in French, while librarian Vicki Myron (writer of Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World) admitted that she faked reading Shakespeare.

One recent survey in Britain found that two out of three people lied about reading (Orwell’s 1984 was fibbed about most often). The book I faked reading was Nausea by John-Paul Sartre. I was taking a 20th-century European Lit class in college and trying to impress the graduate assistant (it didn’t work). So what are the books you’ve faked reading?

Julia Quinn

Although Miss Quinn has been a successful author for quite some time, I have only recently discovered her wonderful books via audio. I’ve enjoyed everything that I have listened to so far and look forward to more CD releases. For those wondering, these are light, historical romances with some obvious nods to Jane Austen. The stories have humor and strong female characters. They are on the chaste side, i.e. no long descriptions of lovemaking or rough stuff. (At least the ones that I have listened to, but probably all have a similar style.)

For biographical info and more, see the author’s official website. She sounds like a really cool person!

Here is a list of books that I have listened to and can personally recommend, not only because they are well-written, but the narrators are excellent and the overall production quality is high.

It’s in His Kiss

The Lost Duke of  Wyndham

Mr. Cavendish, I Presume

On the Way to the Wedding

When He Was Wicked

Be sure to see a complete list of Julia Quinn books owned by the Library.

Do you tend to read only one kind of fiction–mysteries, sci-fi, or literary fiction, for example? Well, I go mostly for literary fiction (where the writing itself is the strong focus, as opposed to plot), and some mysteries. But what I’ve discovered, even sticking to the “regular fiction” shelves, is that some of the best books actually blend genres. One of my new favorite authors is Kate Atkinson, who, in her Jackson Brodie books, does a fabulous job of blending lit fic and mystery (with lots of lol humor). Another example of successful blending, this time of lit fic and fantasy, is The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. There are many many more examples, all of which add up to the fact that fiction can be whatever it wants to be. How did Neil Gaiman describe his novel Anansi Boys? “If you have to classify it, it’s probably a magical-horror-thriller-ghost-romantic-comedy-family-epic.” Sounds good!

Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland was named the winner of the 2009 PEN/Faulkner award for fiction on February 27. This is a reflective, memory driven novel narrated by a Dutch immigrant in New York who ponders his family and cricket with 9/11 hovering in the background.  Other finalists for the award included:

• • Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum
  • A Person of Interest by Susan Choi
  • Lush Life by Richard Price
  • Serena by Ron Rash

Visit the PEN/Faulkner site for more information.