October 29, 2015

Last week, we gave you a nice roundup of the scariest books we loved as kids. Our little throwback had us wondering if we should, in fact, participate in Halloween this year. Over the past few weeks, we’ve come up with unsatisfactory costume ideas that were immediately shot down. The perennial hype and indecision got us all caught up in the hoopla. In past years, we thrived off the ‘Ween hoopla, but this year was a little different. The endless questions of “What should we do? Where should we go?” bogged us down. The conclusion we came to: orchestrating fun is not easy. So we’re planning to be casual this year, which means we'll throw on an accessory or two and see where the night takes us (hopefully not to a monster hangover). One thing we'll never be casual about, though, is our candy consumption. We’re just gonna do us...with a twist.

If you plan on going all out for Halloween, we completely commend you. In fact, we’re proud...with maybe a tinge of jealousy. Halloween on a Saturday night + daylight savings time = party heaven (...or hell...whatever you're into these days.) For ultimate holiday success, read our celebration guidelines from last year. If you still need some dressing-up ideas, look at our literary costume list from 2013. While they may be two-year-old ideas, they're still good. We know no one asked, but we also think that the unicorn emoji, Hillary Clinton, a Drake meme, and/or a male/female version of Mad Max make magnificent costumes.

If you plan to do something low key, then it sounds like you’re managing your expectations nicely. After all, everyone knows that Halloween is a lot like New Year’s Eve --- you want to do something memorably awesome, but things often don’t work out that way. Keeping your expectations in line is key to enjoying yourself. If you plan on not partaking in any festivities, we feel you. We’re right there with you. You’re saving a nice penny not buying that purple boa you’ll probably lose at the end of the night as you pretend to be Prince circa 2035.

If you happen to be bored at your Halloween party and need something to read on your phone, or if you aren’t getting out at all with the local wackos on Saturday night, then there’s a ton of great content to check up on, internet-style. Some days, the internet is a damn bore and media entertainment is slow. Recently, there’s been an influx of noteworthy things. These include but are not limited to: Adele’s much-awaited return to music with “Hello” and the accompanying music video, the scary-good trailer for the book-to-screen adaptation of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES, and Amy Schumer’s HBO stand-up special “Live at the Apollo,” which is downright hilarious. Seriously, we laughed out loud. Also to note on Schum Schum: her megamillions book deal. We say: Yaaaaaa girl, get it.

There are so many more good things to read out there (and five below in our obsessions list), including two new blog pieces on our site.

In our latest #WCW, we feature the girls and women of genre fiction: females of sci-fi, horror and fantasy. Angela Carter of THE BLOODY CHAMBER and Cathy Earnshaw from WUTHERING HEIGHTS both make an appearance on the list, along with a few other notable witchiest women. Read more here!

Following in thematic footsteps, contributor Ronnie explores the haunted literary roots of Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft with a ghost tour in NYC. Needless to say, she kept her wits about her on the spooky tour, as she perfectly recalls it in “Putting the Boo in Books: A Haunted Literary Tour of Downtown Manhattan.”

Lastly, we encourage you to check out our friends at theSkimm.com and sign up for their newsletter. If you aren’t already familiar, theSkimm delivers an online newsletter to your inbox every morning with short takes of important news. Some of the news is breaking, some of the news is political, but all of the news is the things you want to hear about --- and their writing is sharp and clever, just the way we like it. Sign up here!

And so, if good internet reads don’t suit you, then you’re sh*t out of luck. Just kidding. Pick up a book.

Speaking of books, here’s a few that we’re dyinggg over this week.

THE CLASP by Sloane Crosley tells the story of Kezia, Nathaniel and Victor, who reunite for the extravagant wedding of a college friend. Now at the tail end of their 20s, they arrive completely absorbed in their own lives but soon slip back into old roles. In the midst of all this semi-merriment, Victor passes out in the mother of the groom's bedroom. He wakes to her jovially slapping him across the face. Instead of a scolding, she offers Victor a story she's never even told her son --- about a valuable necklace that disappeared during the Nazi occupation of France. And so a madcap adventure is set into motion.

LAFAYETTE IN THE SOMEWHAT UNITED STATES chronicles General Lafayette’s years in Washington’s army. Sarah Vowell reflects on the ideals of the American Revolution versus the reality of the Revolutionary War. Riding shotgun with Lafayette, she swerves from the high-minded debates of Independence Hall to the frozen wasteland of Valley Forge, from bloody battlefields to the Palace of Versailles, bumping into John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Lord Cornwallis, Benjamin Franklin, Marie Antoinette, and various kings, Quakers and redcoats along the way.

M TRAIN begins in the tiny Greenwich Village café where Patti Smith goes every morning for black coffee, ruminates on the world as it is and the world as it was, and writes in her notebook. Woven throughout are reflections on the writer’s craft and on artistic creation. Here, too, are singular memories of Smith’s life in Michigan and the irremediable loss of her husband, Fred Sonic Smith. Braiding despair with hope and consolation, illustrated with her signature Polaroids, M TRAIN is a meditation on travel, detective shows, literature and coffee.

All in all, best of luck to you on All Hallows' Eve, use your new emojis carefully, and don't do anything we wouldn't!

5 Things We’re Obsessed With at This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1. The trailer for The Danish Girl.
2. Chris Rock hosting the 2016 Oscars.
3. Cary Fukunaga's Beasts of No Nation hitting the Netflix airwaves. The reviews are in and consensus says: watch now.
4. This roundup of memes of Drake's "Hotline Bling" music video.
5. Tracy Morgan's return to SNL and Larry David as Bernie Sanders.

Nicole Sherman (Nicole@bookreporter.com) + Emily Hoenig (Emily@bookreporter.com)

 

This year's featured titles include:

• CATACOMB by Madeleine Roux
• THE DEAD HOUSE by Dawn Kurtagich
• THE DETOUR by S.A. Bodeen
• DUMPLIN’ by Julie Murphy
• ICE LIKE FIRE by Sara Raasch
• SHADOW OF THE WOLF by Tim Hall
• THE SLEEPER AND THE SPINDLE, written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated Chris Riddell
• THIRTEEN CHAIRS by Dave Shelton
• WALK ON EARTH A STRANGER by Rae Carson

The Miami Book Fair is coming up! Here is lots of information about the fair that's scheduled for November 15-22. They have a really stellar lineup of 600+ authors, storytellers and art for kids, chefs and cooking demos, live music at The Swamp and more! Carol Fitzgerald, President of The Book Report Network, has attended the fair at least five times and always walks away loving the experience. So if you're in the Miami area, or looking to get some of that sunshine, then check it out!

-Click here to see their Facebook.
-Click here to see their Twitter.
-Click here to see their Instagram.

CHARLOTTE'S STORY: A Bliss House Novel by Laura Benedict (Historical Mystery/Horror)
The fall of 1957 in southern Virginia was a seemingly idyllic, even prosperous time. A young housewife, Charlotte Bliss, lives with her husband, Hasbrouck Preston “Press” Bliss, and their two young children, Eva Grace and Michael, in the gorgeous Bliss family home. On the surface, theirs seems to be a calm, picturesque life, but soon tragedy befalls them: four tragic deaths, with apparently simple explanations. But nothing is simple if Bliss House is involved. How far will Charlotte go to discover the truth? And how far will she get without knowing who her real enemy is? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE CINDER SPIRES: THE AERONAUT’S WINDLASS by Jim Butcher (Steampunk Fantasy/Adventure)
Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion --- to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory. Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard.

CITY ON FIRE by Garth Risk Hallberg (Historical Fiction)
New York City, 1976. Meet Regan and William Hamilton-Sweeney, estranged heirs to one of the city’s great fortunes; Keith and Mercer, the men who, for better or worse, love them; Charlie and Samantha, two suburban teenagers seduced by downtown’s punk scene; an obsessive magazine reporter and his idealistic neighbor --- and the detective trying to figure out what any of them have to do with a shooting in Central Park on New Year’s Eve. When the blackout of July 13, 1977, plunges this world into darkness, each of these lives will be changed forever.

-Click here to look inside the book.
-Click here to watch the book trailer.
-Click here to see Garth Risk Hallberg talk about the book.

THE CLASP by Sloane Crosley (Fiction/Humor)
Kezia, Nathaniel and Victor are reunited for the extravagant wedding of a college friend. Now at the tail end of their 20s, they arrive completely absorbed in their own lives but soon slip back into old roles. In the midst of all this semi-merriment, Victor passes out in the mother of the groom's bedroom. He wakes to her jovially slapping him across the face. Instead of a scolding, she offers Victor a story she's never even told her son --- about a valuable necklace that disappeared during the Nazi occupation of France. And so a madcap adventure is set into motion. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

THE DIAMOND CAPER by Peter Mayle (Mystery)
When a Riviera socialite’s diamonds are stolen --- the latest in a string of seemingly unconnected but ever-more-audacious jewelry heists across France --- Elena flies in to investigate the insurance claim. Once reunited, Sam isn’t entirely distracted by domestic matters. In the pattern of these “perfect crimes,” he is beginning to see a master at work and is quickly determined to connect and solve the cases. But as he and Elena dig deeper, they begin to realize just how much is connected and how dangerous it may be to pursue the whole truth. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE HOT COUNTRIES: A Poke Rafferty Thriller by Timothy Hallinan (Thriller)
Back when Poke Rafferty first arrived in Bangkok to write a travel guide, some of the old-timers in the Expat Bar on Patpong Road helped him make sense of the city. Now these men --- many of whom have been living in Southeast Asia since the Vietnam War --- have grown old and, in some cases, frail. When a talkative stranger named Arthur Varney turns up, they accept him without suspicion, failing to see that he’s actually using them to get to Poke. Varney wants two things: money Poke doesn’t have and a person Poke is unwilling to hand over. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

KILLING REAGAN: The Violent Assault That Changed a Presidency by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard (History/Politics)
Just two months into his presidency, Ronald Reagan lay near death after a gunman's bullet came within inches of his heart. His recovery was nothing short of remarkable --- or so it seemed. But Reagan was grievously injured, forcing him to encounter a challenge that few men ever face. Could he silently overcome his traumatic experience while at the same time carrying out the duties of the most powerful man in the world? Reviewed by Maggie Harding.

LAFAYETTE IN THE SOMEWHAT UNITED STATES by Sarah Vowell (History)
Chronicling General Lafayette’s years in Washington’s army, Sarah Vowell reflects on the ideals of the American Revolution versus the reality of the Revolutionary War. Riding shotgun with Lafayette, Vowell swerves from the high-minded debates of Independence Hall to the frozen wasteland of Valley Forge, from bloody battlefields to the Palace of Versailles, bumping into John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Lord Cornwallis, Benjamin Franklin, Marie Antoinette, and various kings, Quakers and redcoats along the way. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

THE LAKE HOUSE by Kate Morton (Fiction)
One midsummer’s eve, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, 11-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. Decades later, Alice Edevane is living in London, having enjoyed a successful career as an author. Theo’s case has never been solved, though Alice still harbors a suspicion as to the culprit. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, stumbles upon the Edevanes’ old estate. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone...yet more present than ever. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

M TRAIN by Patti Smith (Memoir)
M TRAIN begins in the tiny Greenwich Village café where Patti Smith goes every morning for black coffee, ruminates on the world as it is and the world as it was, and writes in her notebook. Woven throughout are reflections on the writer’s craft and on artistic creation. Here, too, are singular memories of Smith’s life in Michigan and the irremediable loss of her husband, Fred Sonic Smith. Braiding despair with hope and consolation, illustrated with her signature Polaroids, M TRAIN is a meditation on travel, detective shows, literature and coffee. Reviewed by Stephen Febick.

ROGUE LAWYER by John Grisham (Legal Thriller)
Sebastian Rudd defends people other lawyers won’t go near: a drug-addled, tattooed kid rumored to be in a satanic cult, who is accused of molesting and murdering two little girls; a vicious crime lord on death row; a homeowner arrested for shooting at a SWAT team that mistakenly invaded his house. Sebastian believes everyone is entitled to a fair trial, even if he has to cheat to secure one. He hates injustice, doesn’t like insurance companies, banks or big corporations; he distrusts all levels of government and laughs at the justice system’s notions of ethical behavior. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.

SAVAGE LANE by Jason Starr (Thriller)
Karen Daily, who is recently divorced and starting to date again, lives with her two kids in a suburb of New York City. Mark Berman, Karen’s friend and neighbor, wants out of his unhappy marriage, and so does his wife, Deb, but they have stayed together for the sake of their children. Unbeknownst to Karen, Mark’s obsession with her has grown. And as his rich fantasy life takes on a more sinister edge, rumors begin to spread about Karen and a bigger secret is uncovered. Karen soon finds that Mark is not the only one who has taken an undesired interest in her. Reviewed by Tom Callahan.

THE SEARCHER by Simon Toyne (Thriller)
On a hilltop in the town of Redemption, Arizona, the townspeople gather at an old cemetery to bury a local man. The somber occasion is suddenly disrupted by a thunderous explosion in the distant desert. As Sheriff Garth Morgan speeds toward the plane crash, he nearly hits a tall, pale man running down the road, who has no memory of who he is or how he got there. The only clues to his identity are a label in his handmade suit jacket and a book that’s been inscribed to him: both giving the name Solomon Creed. Solomon believes he is here for a reason --- to save a man he has never met…the man who was buried that morning. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

SEE ME by Nicholas Sparks (Romance)
With a history of violence and bad decisions behind him, and the threat of prison dogging his every step, Colin Hancock is determined to walk a straight line. Maria Sanchez, the hardworking daughter of Mexican immigrants, is the picture of conventional success. Yet she has a traumatic history of her own, one that compelled her to return to her hometown and left her questioning so much of what she once believed. A chance encounter on a rain-swept road will alter the course of both Colin and Maria's lives, challenging deeply held assumptions about each other and, ultimately, themselves. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.

STRONG LIGHT OF DAY: A Caitlin Strong Novel by Jon Land (Thriller)
Over the years, Caitlin Strong has taken on all manner of criminals and miscreants, thwarting the plans of villains to do vast damage to the country and state she loves. But none of that has prepared Caitlin for an investigation that pits her against ruthless billionaire oilman Calum Dane, whose genetically engineered pesticide may have poisoned a large swath of the state. How that poisoning is connected to the disappearance of 30 high school students presents Caitlin with the greatest and most desperate challenge of her career. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

THE TSAR OF LOVE AND TECHNO: Stories by Anthony Marra (Fiction/Short Stories)
Anthony Marra’s collection introduces a cast of remarkable characters whose lives intersect in ways both life-affirming and heartbreaking. A 1930s Soviet censor painstakingly corrects offending photographs, bewitched by the image of a disgraced prima ballerina. A chorus of women recount their stories and those of their grandmothers, former gulag prisoners. Two pairs of brothers share a fierce, protective love. Young men across the former USSR face violence at home and in the military. And great sacrifices are made in the name of an oil landscape that is unremarkable except for the almost incomprehensibly peaceful past it depicts. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

WHAT YOU SEE: A Jane Ryland Novel by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Thriller)
A wedding is planned in Jane Ryland's family, but there's a disaster instead. Nine-year-old Gracie has been taken by her stepdad. Where are they? Is the girl in danger? Reporter Jane Ryland learns to her peril what happens when loved ones are pushed too far. Meanwhile, Detective Jake Brogan has a doozy of a case. At Boston's historic Faneuil Hall, a man is stabbed to death in front of a crowd of tourists snapping photos of the murder on their cell phones. Solving the case should be easy, but the pictures and surveillance video lead him to a dark conspiracy of extortion and stolen lives. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

WINTER STROLL by Elin Hilderbrand (Fiction)
Christmas on Nantucket finds Winter Street Inn owner Kelley Quinn and his family busily preparing for the holiday season. Though the year has brought tragedy, the Quinns have much to celebrate: Kelley has reunited with his first wife, Margaret; Kevin and Isabelle have a new baby; and Ava is finally dating a nice guy. But when Kelley's estranged wife, Mitzi, shows up on the island, along with Kevin's devious ex-wife, Norah, and a dangerously irresistible old fling of Ava's, the Inn is suddenly overrun with romantic feuds, not to mention guests. Reviewed by Vivian Payton.

THE ACCIDENT SEASON by Moïra Fowley-Doyle (Youth Fiction)
Every October Cara and her family become inexplicably and unavoidably accident-prone. Some years it's bad, like the season when her father died, and some years it's just a lot of cuts and scrapes. This accident season --- when Cara, her ex-stepbrother, Sam, and her best friend, Bea, are 17 --- is going to be a bad one. But not for the reasons they think. Reviewed by Brianna Robinson.

THE DEVIL AND WINNIE FLYNN by Micol Ostow (Youth Fiction, Fantasy, Romance)
Winnie Flynn doesn’t believe in ghosts (though she wouldn’t mind a visit from her mom, explaining why she took her own life.) When her mysterious aunt Maggie, a high-profile TV producer, recruits Winnie to spend a summer working as a production assistant on her current reality hit, "Fantastic Fearsome", she suddenly finds herself in the one place her mother would never go: New Jersey. Reviewed by Hafsah K., Teen Board member.

ILLUMINAE by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Dystopian, Science Fiction, Youth Fiction)
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents --- including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more --- ILLUMINAE is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes. Reviewed by Brianna Robinson.

MARTians by Blythe Woolston (Youth Fiction, Family)
In a near-future world of exurban decay studded with big box stores, daily routine revolves around shopping --- for those who can. For Zoë, the mission is simpler: live. Reviewed by Chris C., Teen Board member.

ONE by Sarah Crossan (Family, Young Adult 13+)
Tippi and Grace. Grace and Tippi. For them, it's normal to step into the same skirt. To hook their arms around each other for balance. To fall asleep listening to the other breathing. To share. And to keep some things private. Each of the 16-year-old girls has her own head, heart, and two arms, but at the belly, they join. But the girls' body is beginning to fight against them. Reviewed by Brianna Robinson.

A SONG FOR ELLA GREY by David Almond (Youth Fiction, Fantasy, Romance)
Claire is Ella Grey's best friend. She witnesses a love so dramatic it is as if her best friend has been captured and taken from her. But the loss of her friend to the arms of Orpheus is nothing compared to the loss she feels when Ella is taken from the world. This is her story –-- as she bears witness to a love so complete; so sure, that not even death can prove final. Reviewed by Alison S., Teen Board member.