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May 3, 2012

20SomethingReads.com Newsletter May 3, 2012
Happy Thursday from 20SomethingReads.com
Still Ongoing on 20SomethingReads.com
What's NEW on 20SomethingReads.com?
What's Coming Up on 20SomethingReads.com?
Vote in Our Poll!
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Happy Thursday from 20SomethingReads.com

Ahhhh Thursday, the day when you can see the weekend stretching out there in the distance but you cannot quite grab it yet.

Is there a song about Thursdays?

There's "Manic Monday" - The Bangles; "Monday, Monday" - Mamas & The Papas and "Come Monday" - Jimmy Buffett.

Tuesday has "Ruby Tuesday" - The Rolling Stones, "Tuesday Afternoon" - The Moody Blues and "On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago" - Counting Crow.

Wednesday has the iconic Simon & Garfunkel song, "Wednesday Morning 3AM".

Friday I think gets summed up in "Here Comes the Weekend;" but I can also acknolwedge "Friday, I'm in Love" by The Cure. We are NOT going to talk about that ridiculous Friday song that was all over You Tube last year, though my even mentioning it may conjur up the tune.

Wait...I found three Thursday songs: "Thursday's Child"- David Bowie; "Thursday" - Morphine and "Thursday Morning" - Hollies.

But I still think Thursday needs something besides the fact that it's also a "party night." Soooo enjoy this Thursday 20SomethingReads.com update, which gives you time to plan your weekend reading.

---Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Still Ongoing on 20SomethingReads.com
Special Feature and Contest -- Getting Naked by Harlan Cohen: In GETTING NAKED, the follow-up to Harlan Cohen's bestseller THE NAKED ROOMMATE, Cohen shares his simple 5-step approach to finding the love of your life. After helping a generation make the most of college life, now he’ll help them find the love of their lives. With answers to the most commonly asked questions from his syndicated advice column, his college tours, his website, his newest book for Gen Y advises todays youth on how to find the one.

We have 100 copies of GETTING NAKED by Harlan Cohen to give away. Click here to enter. The deadline for entries is Thursday, May 24th at noon ET.

20 Over 30 Mystery Writers: In our first “20 Over 30” feature we asked 20 mystery authors over the age of 30 to weigh in with mystery book suggestions for twentysomethings --- including what book of their own to start with, a mystery title by another author that they would recommend, what book they are reading now (not necessarily a mystery) and we are giving a shout out to their latest book as well.There are dozens of inspired book suggestions from authors who know how to tell the kinds of stories that keep you guessing --- and turning the pages.

A Mystery Lover's Bookshelf: A collection of 20 favorite recent mysteries from the last two years, compiled by our go-to mystery reviewer, Joe Hartlaub.

 
What's NEW on 20SomethingReads.com?
Interview with Alison Bechdel, author of Are You My Mother? In the midst of reading Alison Bechdel’s newest memoir, Are You My Mother?, an amazing thing happens: You begin to realize how truly universal this story is, regardless of the type of relationship you have with your own mother. The analytical search for identity forms and shapes us, and the older we get, the more we want to trace our foundations and understand the nature vs. nurture conflict that went us within our own beings as we developed.

Bechdel won an Eisner Award for Fun Home, her memoir regarding her father’s closeted homosexuality and suicide, and the personal aftermath she faced from both. The book was named as a best book of the year by several publications, and she is also best known for her long-running comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. In her latest, she tries to unlock the secrets of her relationship with her mother by delving into why her mother stopped hugging her at a very young age, how her mother encouraged and discouraged the work Bechdel does, and how all of it impacted her relationships with friends, lovers, and therapists throughout her life.

The story is further examined through the lens of the writings of psychologist Donald Winnicott, who becomes a sort of father figure and reassuring presence to Bechdel. The need for parental approval and closeness fuels much of Bechdel’s work. Here’s what she had to say about writing the book, reliving the deeply personal stories, and finding out not only who her mother was but also who she herself is.

Are You My Mother? Contest: Enter to win one of 50 copies of Are You My Mother by Alison Bechdel

Bookshelf: Books for Mom 2012 - Mother’s Day is May 13th, which gives us all a chance to recognize the woman who made sure we did our homework, that we brushed our teeth and who handed out advice that we opted to sometimes listen to --- and probably should have a lot more than we did. These are just some of the reasons we celebrate moms with their own special day.

Bookshelf: YA Guilty Pleasures: Young Adult (YA) books are most certainly NOT just for teens! Sara Ingle, a student at Fordham University curates a bookshelf here with some of her favorite titles.

And elsewhere on TheBookReportNetwork.com...

Bookreporter.com Mother's Day Author Blogs: A month-long series of blogs by authors talking about their moms and moms of authors talking about their children.

What's Coming Up on 20SomethingReads.com?
Special Feature: Most Talkative by Andy Cohen - Special Feature (5/8)

New Bookshelf: Bucket List -- Books with Lists of Things to Do and Conquer (5/15)

New Bookshelf: Now That You've Graduated/Adventure Travel Books (5/22)

Vote in Our Poll!

Which of the following books have you read or are you looking forward to reading? Please check as many as apply.

Click here to vote now!

View past poll results here.

 

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