Unwind by Neal Shusterman

May 15th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Synopsis:
A boy marked for termination and organ harvesting escapes into a world where he has no legal right to live.
Review:
I heard about Unwind from the Queens Library, in an email newsletter talking up good new young adult books. I’m so glad that I did, because it’s a dystopian thrill ride in the same vein [...]

Popularity: 36% [?]

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Tags: American Literature · Russian Literature

Charanavi by Masahiro Tsuromoto

May 14th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Synopsis:
How your birthday tells you who you are.
Review:
Charanavi is a Japanese book in translation and offers a fortune-telling system that relates your birthday to a type of animal. Based on my birthday, 11/4/1973, I am a “potential tanuki.” A tanuki is a sort of raccoon indigenous to Japan. Being a potential tanuki [...]

Popularity: 17% [?]

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Tags: Japanese Literature

World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler

April 30th, 2008 · 11 Comments

Synopsis:
The world has moved on, thanks to climate change, a worldwide oil shortage, and population devastation from superbugs, and in one small corner of New York State, the world is being rebuilt by hand.
Review:
Anyone who spends much time with me will eventually learn that I am obsessed with The Long Emergency, one of World Made [...]

Popularity: 26% [?]

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Tags: American Literature

2 New Photography Books

April 25th, 2008 · No Comments

This is a total PSA for 2 new photography books from Watson-Guptill. They publish great books on knitting & crafting that I adore reviewing, and they also send me review copies of photography books that my husband says are really awesome. I am not equipped to comment so this is just a shameless [...]

Popularity: 16% [?]

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Tags: American Literature

Sexless in the City–Win a Free Copy!

April 10th, 2008 · 1 Comment

My dear friend Anna Broadway’s book Sexless in the City is coming out on Tuesday, April 15th.
I’m so thrilled for Anna, who met the editor who bought her book in my very living room! I’ve read some sections of it and it’s just great.
So how do you win a copy? Easy–just blog [...]

Popularity: 32% [?]

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Tags: American Literature

Jen LiMarzi’s Making Dead Ends Meet

March 29th, 2008 · No Comments

My friendly neighborhood humor writer Jen LiMarzi has published her first novel, Making Dead Ends Meet. I had a chance to read the manuscript & I’m really proud of her!
Popularity: 23% [?]

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Popularity: 23% [?]

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Tags: American Literature

The Starter Marriage by Pamela Paul

March 28th, 2008 · No Comments

Synopsis:
An overview of the recent phenomenon of marriages that end before they reach the five-year mark.
Review:
I hate books that never tell you more than what you read in the title. I generally enjoy books like this, as I’m keenly interested in human behavior and social trends, but this book really didn’t do it for [...]

Popularity: 33% [?]

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Tags: American Literature

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

March 21st, 2008 · 5 Comments

Synopsis:
Deanna’s lived under a dark cloud ever since her dad caught her having sex when she was just 13, and her dreams of getting out just might expire under the weight of his disapproval.
Review:
I’m a latecomer getting to Sara Zarr’s National Book Award Finalist novel Story of a Girl, though it’s been on my radar [...]

Popularity: 54% [?]

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Tags: American Literature

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

March 13th, 2008 · 8 Comments

Synopsis:
The concluding adventures of Gemma Doyle, proper Victorian debutante and keeper of the magic of a mystical world called the realms, which is threatened by intruders from the ominous Winterlands.
Review:
The Sweet Far Thing ends the trilogy that began with A Great and Terrible Beauty, followed by Rebel Angels. Gemma Doyle and her friends are [...]

Popularity: 56% [?]

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Tags: American Literature

Visibility by Sarah Neufeld

February 26th, 2008 · 4 Comments

Synopsis:
When introverted teen Natalie discovers that she has inherited her mother’s gift for invisibility, she’s caught between her desire to use her powers for good and her fears that her mother will find out.
Review:
Visibility was written when Sarah Neufeld was only 19, and it’s an impressive debut. She’s crafted a fresh take on the [...]

Popularity: 51% [?]

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Tags: American Literature