What I'm Reading This Week- April 17, 2011-- The Tiger's Wife et al.
Quote de jour
Another place brimming with endless stories is New York. Ariel Sabar compiled nine true stories of tourists who fell in love while visiting iconic locations like the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station and Times Square. And they all ended up getting married. It doesn't get more romantic than that. Deftly written, Sabar was inspired by his own parents who met and fell in love in Washington Square. The cover with the classic I heart NY logo is the cherry on top. ArielSabar.com
As a magazine junkie, I read a ridiculous amount. When I kept seeing reviews and raves everywhere for "The Tiger's Wife" it was no surprise it reached the NY Times bestseller list. The acclaimed debut novel by Tea Obreht is a melange of magic realism and gritty reality set in a fictitious Balkan country after a bloody civil war. Every so often, I'd stop and look at the author's jacket photo incredulous that the pretty blonde who looks about twelve wrote this. Born in Belgrade in 1985, she's lived in New York since age 12 and yeah all the hype is true . A literary star is born. And this just in..."Tiger's Wife" is shortlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction.
This week's pile. Best cover? Liz Taylor of course. Rest in peace.
On happier note, my neighborhood cherry blossoms are blooming. More pics coming...
"Reading the right sorts of books can prepare one,
mentally, for a heck of a lot in this world. I, myself, feel fully prepared to
meet an alien, time travel, visit a parallel dimension, find a mermaid in the
ocean, live in a world where magic has supplanted technology, and survive the
apocalypse... hopefully not ending up in a dystopia."
— Spring Lea Henry
I won't lie; it's been a hell a week, good and bad. My blog took a quantum leap forward in visitors. Creative projects are blossoming but none of that matters when disaster strikes. No amount of reading will soften the uneasy pit in my gut. A raging full moon storm last night uprooted my favorite tree, an old birch that gave the third floor guest room (and ideal reading lair) a feeling of being in a treehouse. But worst of all, Domino, our cherished old feral cat has disappeared. Forgive me for my brevity in my book reviews.
After finishing the enthralling "Discovery of Witches", did I dare have the same luck with another book with "witches" in the title? Sadly, no. Sheri Holman's new novel (her fourth) "Witches on the Road Tonight" zigzags unevenly back and forth from Depression-era Appalachia to contemporary Manhattan as three generations of possible "witches" explore the themes love and hate and other opposites.
I eagerly awaited Brumonia Barry's publicist to send me her smashing second novel (now in paperback) "A Map of True Places". Ms. Barry and her husband Gary Ward, self-published her first novel "The Lace Reader" in 2007. Two weeks later, HarperCollins paid $2 million for the publishing rights, about an unstable heroine who can read the future in the patterns of lace. It became a huge best seller and fueled many aspiring novelists to follow their dreams. A second novel after a big success is fraught with expectations and happily this novel, also set in Salem does not disappoint. This book explores the area's rich seafaring past. A Salem native Barry says, "It is a book about finding your way home in the world," Barry said, "in a world whose maps are changing, starting with 9/11 and the financial crisis. What is home and family to you? These are the questions I'm trying to explore." The Salem and Marblehead area of Massachusetts are alive with history and bubbling with untold stories. I spent my honeymoon there and fell in love with the area. If you love legends and history mixed into contemporary fiction, this will fit the bill. I read it too fast for my liking and look forward to a slower read on vacation this summer, ideally by the sea. BrumoniaBarry.com
— Spring Lea Henry
I won't lie; it's been a hell a week, good and bad. My blog took a quantum leap forward in visitors. Creative projects are blossoming but none of that matters when disaster strikes. No amount of reading will soften the uneasy pit in my gut. A raging full moon storm last night uprooted my favorite tree, an old birch that gave the third floor guest room (and ideal reading lair) a feeling of being in a treehouse. But worst of all, Domino, our cherished old feral cat has disappeared. Forgive me for my brevity in my book reviews.
After finishing the enthralling "Discovery of Witches", did I dare have the same luck with another book with "witches" in the title? Sadly, no. Sheri Holman's new novel (her fourth) "Witches on the Road Tonight" zigzags unevenly back and forth from Depression-era Appalachia to contemporary Manhattan as three generations of possible "witches" explore the themes love and hate and other opposites.
I eagerly awaited Brumonia Barry's publicist to send me her smashing second novel (now in paperback) "A Map of True Places". Ms. Barry and her husband Gary Ward, self-published her first novel "The Lace Reader" in 2007. Two weeks later, HarperCollins paid $2 million for the publishing rights, about an unstable heroine who can read the future in the patterns of lace. It became a huge best seller and fueled many aspiring novelists to follow their dreams. A second novel after a big success is fraught with expectations and happily this novel, also set in Salem does not disappoint. This book explores the area's rich seafaring past. A Salem native Barry says, "It is a book about finding your way home in the world," Barry said, "in a world whose maps are changing, starting with 9/11 and the financial crisis. What is home and family to you? These are the questions I'm trying to explore." The Salem and Marblehead area of Massachusetts are alive with history and bubbling with untold stories. I spent my honeymoon there and fell in love with the area. If you love legends and history mixed into contemporary fiction, this will fit the bill. I read it too fast for my liking and look forward to a slower read on vacation this summer, ideally by the sea. BrumoniaBarry.com
Another place brimming with endless stories is New York. Ariel Sabar compiled nine true stories of tourists who fell in love while visiting iconic locations like the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station and Times Square. And they all ended up getting married. It doesn't get more romantic than that. Deftly written, Sabar was inspired by his own parents who met and fell in love in Washington Square. The cover with the classic I heart NY logo is the cherry on top. ArielSabar.com
As a magazine junkie, I read a ridiculous amount. When I kept seeing reviews and raves everywhere for "The Tiger's Wife" it was no surprise it reached the NY Times bestseller list. The acclaimed debut novel by Tea Obreht is a melange of magic realism and gritty reality set in a fictitious Balkan country after a bloody civil war. Every so often, I'd stop and look at the author's jacket photo incredulous that the pretty blonde who looks about twelve wrote this. Born in Belgrade in 1985, she's lived in New York since age 12 and yeah all the hype is true . A literary star is born. And this just in..."Tiger's Wife" is shortlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction.
This week's pile. Best cover? Liz Taylor of course. Rest in peace.
On happier note, my neighborhood cherry blossoms are blooming. More pics coming...
Posted by Layla Morgan Wilde at 4/17/2011 11:03 AM 
Categories: Nature, Baby Boomers, Media, New York, Westchester County, What I'm Reading This Week, Photography
Tags: witches on the road tonight review Sheri Holman Brumonia Barry a map of true places review Heart chakra mandala the city review ariel sabar cherry blossoms tea obreht
Categories: Nature, Baby Boomers, Media, New York, Westchester County, What I'm Reading This Week, Photography
Tags: witches on the road tonight review Sheri Holman Brumonia Barry a map of true places review Heart chakra mandala the city review ariel sabar cherry blossoms tea obreht
Layla, feeling your pain over the birch and Domino! May he return safely.
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Thank-you. Still no sign.
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Layla-so sorry to hear about Domino. We got hit by the same raging storm. Crossing my fingers he turns up soon safe and sound.
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Thanks so much. It was a hell of storm.
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