#amonthoffaves: Fave New-to-Me Author Discoveries

Today I'll tell you about my Fave New-to-Me Author Discoveries of the year --

Edgar Cantero: Author of The Supernatural Enhancements, Cantero did a great job crafting an epistolary novel where all of the bits gave essential information but none of it was boring or obvious. In fact, he crafted such an amazing NO WAY!! ending that I thought about the possibilities it raised for days. Edgar is from Barcelona (like my beloved Carlos Ruiz Zafón) and I would love to read a book by him that is set there. As this is his first novel, I will be proud to say that I loved his books from the beginning!

Jonathan Carroll: I loved Jonathan Carroll's amazing ideas so much that I ended up reading two of his books in this first year of knowing him -- The Ghost in Love and The Land of Laughs. He's a favorite of Neil Gaiman's and now mine and I look forward to delving more into his back catalog over the next year or so (as I doubt I will be able to wait too long between each book). Carroll is an American living in Vienna.

William Ritter: William Ritter lives much closer to me, in the land to the south that is called Oregon on most maps. Again, Jackaby was his first novel but I hope that he continues the series with the same strong female characters and awesome supernatural details. There was an honesty to the book that you don't always find in genre fiction.

Ben H. Winters: I can't believe that I read all of Ben's Last Policeman books this year because it seems like they've been in my mind forever now. If you've talked to me at all this year about books, I've probably recommended the series to you. I was a bit wary at first because he was the author of Android Karenina and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. I technically read him before with SS&SM but I'm not really counting that because it wasn't completely his own. But, this year, he got me completely invested in a story about an impending apocalypse and about policemen, neither of which are my favorite subjects. I hope that he surprises me again with his next work. (Indiana, if you were wondering ...)

Jo Walton: This is a weird one because I have only read Jo's book of Tor essays about other books -- What Makes This Book So Great. She is, as many surely know, a well-renowned fantasy writer (living in Canada) but I haven't picked up one of her books yet. But the way she wrote about both books I loved and others I haven't yet read, made me decide that she is simply an awesome person and I like the way she thinks. I'll be reading at least one of her own books in the coming year.

I am a little surprised to see that almost all of my choices are males but am somewhat satisfied that they are dispersed so nicely over the globe.

Singing praises,

K

Autobiography by Morrissey

I know that it came out a year ago and I bought a copy from the UK the week it came out but somehow time flew and I only ended up reading Morrissey's Autobiography this November. This book will have a specific audience so, instead of trying to convince you to read it, let me give you a few tips if you're already planning on reading about Stephen Patrick Morrissey, from childhood through his most recent album.

1. Be prepared to read a book that has no chapters. This is one long, verbose, sometimes poetic, sometimes obtuse, narrative. It is, as you would expect, lyrical. It is also somehow self-effacing and conceited at the same time. "There is no reason for anyone to notice me" can be quickly followed by "Did you see how they all love me".
2. The longest and most detailed part of the book (50 pages) is a very bitter diatribe about the Michael Joyce vs. Morrissey/Marr Smiths-related money lawsuit. To be sure, it was a terrible court case and was the true nail in the coffin of the Smiths, but I would have liked more about Morrissey in the book and less about the horrid Judge John Weeks. Still, this is obviously still a very tender and gaping wound.
3. You cannot read this book with the book alone. You are going to want a computer right next to you. You will need to regularly press play on this Spotify playlist by Greg Thorpe that includes almost all of the non-Smiths/Morrissey music mentioned in the book (59 tracks). You will also need to get out all of your Smiths and Morrissey albums (which you will have because why else would you be reading about Morrissey if you didn't care about the music). You will want the link to the Suedehead video because so many cool things come together when you read about how/when it was made while watching it. It will also be to your benefit to have a search engine nearby because Morrissey likes to mention people without giving any background biographical information about them. A good Google search fills in many a blank.
4. Get the UK Penguin version. The American Putnam edition is apparently slightly sanitized and it does not have the brilliant Penguin Classics cover that Morrissey demanded.
5. Don't eat meat while reading the book. I have a feeling that he has a way to find out.

Reading this book was definitely an experience. There were times when my heart broke for Morrissey and other times when I wanted to slap him. Overall, this book proves that he's human and he needs to be loved just like everybody else does. (Sorry.) I think that the first person that needs to learn to love him though is the one residing in his own skin. Still, I will be queuing up for tickets the next time he is in town to see him (for the fourth time) and let him bask in my adoration.

Trudging slowly over wet sand,

K

Green Angel and Green Witch

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked if I had read the most recent Alice Hoffman book yet and I replied that I hadn't actually read any Hoffman books. Chris (yes, again) was shocked and then suggested that I immediately resolve that by reading the very small YA novella Green Witch. I saw that it was the sequel to Green Angel so I grabbed both from the library and spent a day with a beautiful and sad young woman.

In the first part of the story, Green sadly loses her mother, father and younger sister when terrorists attack the local city while they are there selling vegetables. Green stayed home that day and feels the unique guilt and grief combination left to survivors. She wallows in the grief, letting her ash-damaged eyes remain untreated, her once-productive fields lay fallow, and accumulating a body full of self-inflicted black tattoos -- until a mysterious stranger arrives to help her come back to life.

In Green Witch, Green sets out to finish her healing process and to help others to recover from their losses and to find those things that mean the most to them.

I loved these two tales. They are deceptively short and simple but hold deeper truths about life, love, loss and healing. There is just enough magic in them to make them interesting but not so much that it takes away from the humanity of the stories. Now I suppose I will have to seek out more of Hoffman's books, probably starting with The Museum of Extraordinary Things.

Growing under Green's touch,

K

#amonthoffaves: 10 Fave Book Covers

Today I'll be sharing my Ten Favorite Book Covers. These are from books I've read this year though some of them are not new.

What was your favorite book cover to see on your nightstand this year?

Visually,

K

#amonthoffaves: 5 Faves by a Theme

I didn't want to make today's prompt too easy or obvious by going with my favorite Readers Imbibing Peril (RIP) reads or my favorite DWJs from the year (which were mostly rereads anyway) so I've decided to go with ...

Five Favorite Chapter Books That I Read for the First Time in 2014

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

and

The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones and Ursula Jones

I'll also add as a bonus The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander because I read four of the five books this year and I loved the series.

Feeding the kid inside,

K

#amonthoffaves: Faves Month Introduction

Today is the Faves Month Introduction where I'm supposed to write about my reading this year. I won't be getting my full stats together until the end of the year but here are some quick facts about my reading this year, some goals for my December reading, and some questions for you to help me on my way --

Last year was my first year trying to add in audiobooks as part of my reading and I got through three in the whole year. This year I have listened to eight so far, mostly because I did some rereads as audiobooks instead of paper reads. My favorite was probably The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, read by Jim Dale. Can I make it to ten before the end of the year? What is your favorite audiobook that you think I would love as well?

Last year I totally sucked at reading books in translation and only read four. This year I've done an even worse job with two. Can I find a couple of books in translation on my TBR shelf to read this month? What is your favorite book in translation that is also a quick read?

I always have a yearly goal of reading around a dozen and this year I've read six. Can I fit at least one more in? Which non-fiction book had you totally captivated this year?

two of the books on my review pile

I have seven books I received for review that I would like to get to before the end of the year (five of which are very short so it's actually doable). Which book on your review pile do you most want to read before the end of the year?

I'm where I want to be with number of books read (98), books from my TBR (49), review books (9), and library books (28). The only number that is a little lower than I would like is rereads (22) but I'm actually planning a winter reread project. Overall, I'm happy with 2014 and can't wait to see how it ends!

Making stacks and lists,

K

The Land of Laughs

After I read and loved The Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll in January, Chris said I had to read The Land of Laughs next because it is his favorite Carroll. It took me a couple of months to buy it and a couple more to get to reading it (I finished it at the end of August) and now it's taken me a couple of months to get around to reviewing it. Normally this would be an issue because I have a very short book memory but not in this case because I literally haven't stopped thinking about it since the summer.

faux cover by Charles Vess

The Land of Laughs is a children's book by author Marshall France and it is Thomas Abbey's favorite book. Abbey, son of a movie star, is obsessed with the late France and his books and eventually decides to visit France's hometown of Galen, Missouri where his daughter still lives in order to research a biography he would like to write about France. What he finds in Galen boggles the mind and blurs the lines between fiction and reality.

It has been three months since I finished this book but I can't stop thinking about it and I already want to read it again. I can't explain exactly why I loved this book so much because it's really rather strange and sometimes violent and disturbing and the relationships are very dysfunctional and it's about books that I can never read. But it's also about the magic that is in the best stories and what would happen if that magic escaped and took form and that's pretty awesome if frightening.

Now that I've read Carroll's first and last (for now) books, I have to figure out which of his middle books to explore. Neil Gaiman recommends all of them so I guess I'll just grab whichever one I see next! I have a feeling that I'll love it.

Drawing out the goodbye,
K

Joining Up: #amonthoffaves

As I have had something of a problem with consistent blogging lately, it seemed like a good idea to join a couple of community events to restore my enthusiasm. December, A Month of Favorites will be the perfect way to share the highlights of my reading year, keep me posting, and, BONUS!, there's a chance to win a book (never a bad thing).

All December-long, Estella's Revenge, Girlxoxo, and Traveling with T will be sharing our fave bookish (and sometimes non-bookish) experiences from throughout the year AND we want YOU to join us! The schedule of topics is posted below – in some cases, we’ll be joining with other bloggers' events – and other times, one of us will be hosting a link-up. Plus, there will be 3 GIVEAWAY WINNERS for a book of your choice from Book Depository. Every time you post on one of the topics below, and join the Linky on one of our 3 blogs – you’ll be entered to WIN!
Hashtag: #amonthoffaves

So stay tuned for favorite book covers, new-to-me authors, winter reads, and more! This will be more fun as more people participate so if this sounds interesting, head over and get the weekly prompts.

Happy dancing for December,
K