64 Campus Novels from Rose City Reader

These are 64 novels about college campus life, focusing on professors and faculty.  Rose City Reader has read 24 of them (outlined in red, some with reviews attached).  If this sounds like something you are interested in, then, by all means, take a look.  RCR has gone through a lot of trouble compiling this list.  To show you how attached I am to this particular subject matter, I have read exactly (drum roll, please) 1 of these 64 books.  It was Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner.  And if I recall correctly, I wasn't too crazy about it.
Good hunting.

Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber Jake's Thing by Kingsley Amis Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis One Fat Englishman by Kingsley Amis (reviewed here) The Dean's December by Saul Bellow More Die of Heartbreak by Saul Bellow Herzog by Saul Bellow Ravelstein by Saul Bellow Eating People is Wrong by Malcolm Bradbury The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury Possession by A. S. Byatt The Professor's House by Willa Cather Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon Falconer by John Cheever Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee The Archivist by Martha Cooley In the Last Analysis by Amanda Cross (and the rest of her Kate Fansler series) The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies (reviewed here) What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies The Lyre of Orpheus by Robertson Davies White Noise by Don DeLillo Death is Now My Neighbour by Colin Dexter (from his Inspector Morse series) The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn by Colin Dexter (from his Inspector Morse series) The Trick of It by Michael Frayn Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (reviewed here) Redback by Howard Jacobson Pictures from an Institution by Randall Jarrell The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman (reviewed here) The British Museum is Falling Down by David Lodge Thinks by David Lodge Deaf Sentence by David Lodge (reviewed here) Changing Places by David Lodge (reviewed here) Small World by David Lodge Nice Work by David Lodge The War Between the Tates by Alison Lurie A New Life by Bernard Malamud All Souls by Javier Marias An Oxford Tragedy by J. C. Masterman The Groves of Academe by Mary McCarthy Prisoner in a Red-Rose Chain by Jeffrey MoorePale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov Blue Angel by Francine Prose Japanese by Spring by Ishmael Reed Letting Go by Philip Roth The Professor of Desire by Philip Roth The Breast by Philip Roth The Dying Animal by Philip Roth The Human Stain by Philip Roth (reviewed here) That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo Straight Man by Richard Russo Gaudy night by Dorothy L. Sayers Porterhouse Blue by Tom Sharpe Moo by Jane Smiley On Beauty by Zadie Smith (reviewed here) The Masters by C.P. Snow Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner The Secret History by Donna Tartt Memories of the Ford Administration by John Updike Stoner by John Williams The Hair of Harold Roux by Thomas Williams (reviewed here) Anglo-Saxon Attitudes by Angus Wilson

A 2nd Successful Book Launch in 2 Weeks (actually, 8 days) - Sheldon Siegel's The Terrorist Next Door

This past Tuesday night Joni and I, along with Rich and Leslie, drove up to Book Passage in Corte Madera.  Although it's quite a schlep, it was worth it to see Sheldon launch his latest book, The Terrorist Next Door.  This is Sheldon's 1st book (out of 8) that is not part of his Mike/Rosie series (for those that don't remember or simply don't know, Mike and Rosie are ex-spouses and current law partners in San Francisco - every adventure includes murder, mystery, and courtroom drama).

Sheldon had a crowd of about 30-35 at the event.  Of course, all of us there were and are big fans.  He began by recognizing 3 authors in the crowd, the same thing Meg did last week.  I think that is a very cool thing to do.  In this case, one of the authors, Rita Lakin, is 83 years old and began writing a series 9 years ago.  She now has 7 published books. How neat is that?

But back to Sheldon.  He then went on to talk about his latest book and how he used his native Chicago to make his mom happy.  He created a character, Detective David Gold, that can be the protagonist for future books.  I, for one, am really excited to have potentially 2 series to follow even though his Mike/Rosie series is plenty fun by itself.

We all got treated to wine and cheese and hung out for awhile after the formal part of the evening.  And, just like last year in San Mateo, we were able to have dinner with Sheldon after he was done signing books and pressing the flesh.  This time, we got to eat with Sheldon's wife, Linda, and her sister, Julie.  It was a great evening.

Week #4 of Book Recommendations - Going from Highly Recommended to Very Highly Recommended

Yes, I am well aware that it is Thursday.  It seems that every week I get a little bit later.  Be that as it may (in other words, tough toenails), here's the next 25.  I want to point out that the genre descriptions are coming from the source.  You all know how I feel about the designations "chick lit," "women's fiction," and "women's literature."  But, if that's what the recommender is calling it, then that's what I'm going to post.

Dennis Lehane, Midnight Mile, sequel to Gone, Baby, Gone - Rose City Reader

Josie Brown, The Candidate, steamy political thriller - BookHounds

Janice Clark, The Rathbones, literary adventure - Read It Forward

Melina Marchetta, Jellicoe Road, coming-of-age story - Coffee & a Book Club

Amy & Ron Schmidt, Dog-Gone School, ages 3-7 - Bibliophile by the Sea

Elizabeth Strout, The Burgess Boys, family dysfunction - Bibliophile by the Sea

Camilla Grebe & Asa Traff, More Butter than Death, Swedish crime (series) - Rhapsody in Books

Crockett Johnson, Harold and the Purple Crayon, 2.5-5 year olds - Stacy's Books

Kendra C. Highley, Monster Hunter, Blade's Edge, Legend, Matt Archer series, fantasy, teen boys - Feed Your Fiction Addiction

Paul Collins, Duel with the Devil, non-fiction historical murder mystery - Booking Mama

Susan Crandall, Whistling Past the Graveyard - BookHounds

Sunni Overand, March, chick lit - book'd out

Joseph Ellis, Revolutionary Summer:  The Birth of American Independence, history - Rhapsody in Books

Luanne Rice, The Lemon Orchard - Silver's Reviews

Ewart Hutton, Good People, kinky-sex mystery - Quirky Bookworm

David Morrell, Murder as a Fine Art, historical mystery - Quirky Bookworm

Jo Nesbo, The Redeemer, Scandinavian mystery - Quirky Bookworm

Jessica Brockmole, Letters from Skye, historical fiction, wartime romance - Diary of an Eccentric
Ben H. Winters, Countdown City, pre-apocalyptic detective mystery - Under My Apple Tree
Claire Messud, The Woman Upstairs - Bibliophile by the Sea
Felicity Volk, Lightning, Australian - book'd out
Jenny Colgan, Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe, women's fiction - Booking Mama AND BookHounds
Meg Donohue, Call the Summer Girls, women's fiction, smart chick lit - Booking Mama
Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train - Estella's Revenge + Joe Bolin (a Goodreads friend)
Camilla Lachberg, The Stranger, Swedish mystery - Quirky Bookworm

Recommendations for Middle Grade/Young Adult Books - By a 13-Year Old!

So, I was doing my Recycle Bookstore thing this morning, and I met Kate.  Kate is 13 years old and quite obviously an avid reader (my favorite kind!).  Kate appears to have a handle on middle grade/young adult novels.  Even though I’m getting recommendations for middle-grade/young adult books from some of my fellow bloggers, THEY ARE NOT 13!  I’d rather go directly to the source.  Without further ado, here, then, are 4 novels highly recommended by Kate:

Out of My Mind, by Sharon Draper

Wonder, by R.J. Palacio

Firegirl, by Tony Abbott

Zink, by Cherie Bennett

I’m assuming that all of my readers are “of a certain age,” (i.e. adult and up).  If that is true, then it will be up to you “adults” to pass these recommendations on to the correct readers.  And if that happens, please let me know their reaction.  If the targeted age group agrees with Kate, then I will rely on Kate more heavily in future posts.

P.S.  Kate is considering starting a blog for middle grade/young adult readers.  I say YES wholeheartedly to that idea.

P.P.S.  Thanks to Kate's mom for picking up 3 of my recommendations from The Table.  I will be anxiously awaiting your feedback. 

Author Interview #7 (and the 1st since 12/18/12) - A.R. Silverberry/Peter Adler

Peter Adler, writing as A.R. Silverberry, is quite the Renaissance man. He is not only a psychologist, but he's also an artist and musician. And he writes books (fancy that!). In fact, his 1st published book (2nd book), Wyndano's Cloak, was one of my favorite books of 2011. It's a fantasy novel for girls 10-14, but I still loved it (no smart-aleck remarks please).

Although this book was self-published on March 15, 2010 (it's available as an eBook at Barnes&Noble.com, Amazon.com, and iTunes; hardback from the author), it has won several awards:

Gold Medal Winner in the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Awards, in Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction

Gold Medal Winner in the 2010 Readers Favorite Awards in Preteen Fiction

Finalist, ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Awards, Juvenile Fiction (Winners announced June 2011)

Silver Medal Winner 2011 Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book, Children’s/Young Adult

Peter didn't start writing until he was 45. He was influenced by L. Frank Baum's world of Oz, myths, fairy tales, and Tolkien. His 1st book is still sitting in a drawer. It was never published although he had a couple of literary agents interested in it. In fact, he used the criticism from book 1 to make book 2 better (he certainly succeeded with that strategy!).

Now, he is shopping his next book. I hope he finds an agent and gets it published because I, for one, can't wait to read it. He's going to have to go some to put out another book as good as Wyndano's Cloak, but I have faith that he can do it. I will keep everybody posted on his progress. In the meantime, either read Wyndano's Cloak or make sure that a person in his targeted demographic gets it. Whoever reads it will thank you for the recommendation/gift.  I guarantee it.

A Book Launch to Remember

Last night, Joni and I attended the book launch for Meg Waite Clayton's latest, The Wednesday Daughters.  This is a sequel (sort of ) of her book from 2008, The Wednesday Sisters.  The event took place at Meg's home bookstore, Books, Inc. in Palo Alto.  There was a great crowd there, probably 75-100 people.  She was well-represented by family, friends, authors, and book club members (Joni and I are in The 4th Tuesday Book Club along with Meg and about a dozen other regulars).

Joni, who is a long-time professional event planner, said the event itself was exceptionally well-done.  There was champagne and food set up before Meg began at 7:00, and it was still there when the formal presentation was done.  Everybody mingled before and after.

A couple of minutes after 7:00, Ellen Sussman, who I have reviewed before and who is a good friend of Meg's, introduced Meg.  And what an introduction it was.  She not only talked about Meg's writing skills but also told everybody what a great friend she is and what a terrific support for other authors.  Ellen did a great job of making us all feel how special Meg is.

Then Meg took over.  The 1st thing she did, which was really cool, was introduce all of the local authors that were in attendance.  I counted 12.  And she also pulled a few of their books from the shelves and showed them to the audience during a number of the introductions.  Being a book blogger and a big fan of local authors, I loved that she did that.  After the introductions, she spoke a little bit about the background for her book and then did some reading.  When that was done, she took questions and, finally, signed books (yours truly bought her new book and had it personalized).

I have been to hundreds of author events and quite a few launches among them.  But this was definitely right near the top for the 4 E's:  Enthusiasm, Enjoyment, Excitement, and Execution (I just made those up!).  I've now read 2 of Meg's last 3 books - The Four Ms. Bradwells and The Wednesday Sisters.  I will soon be adding The Wednesday Daughters to that list.

Ellen introducing Meg

Meg signing her book

Weekly Recommendation List #3 (will the clever titles never cease?)

Here it is, folks, week #3.  It seems like a pretty boring post.  BUT, when I look at the list, I see a whole bunch of different types of books.  AND, it seems like there is something for everybody.  Just on this list alone, there's a picture book, a coffee table book, a romance, a kids' cookbook, a history,  a book on poetry, and a bunch more.  SO, do I keep doing this list weekly?  Every 2 weeks?  Not at all?  Please help me decide how to proceed with this thing?  Thanks, all.

David Schwartz, Rotten Pumpkin:  A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices, picture book - Booking Mama
Elisa Kleven, Cozy Light, Cozy Night, picture book - Booking Mama
Robert Schofield, Heist, Aussie crime fiction (debut) - Book'd Out
Meg Gardiner, The Shadow Tracer, thriller - Book'd Out
Vera Jane Cook, The Story of Sassy Sweetwater, segragation in the South - Silver's Review
Bella Andre, From This Moment On, romance - BookHounds
Robyn Schneider, The Beginning of Everything - Great Good Place for Books
Gayle Forman, If I Stay - Great Good Place for Books
Gayle Forman, Just One Year - Great Good Place for Books
Laura Moriarty, The Chaperone - Sandy Antle (reader)
Karen Harrington, Sure Signs of Crazy, middle school reader - BermudaOnion
Julia Durango, Angels Watching Over Me, multicultural picture book - Rhapsody in Books
Richard Cecil, Twenty First Century Blues, poetry (I won't be reading this one!) - My Reader's Block
Photos by Sammy Davis Jr., coffee table book - My Reader's Block
Kids in the Kitchen, Time Magazine, kids' cookbook - Booking Mama
Brenda Novak, Home to Whiskey Creek - Fresh Fiction
Melanie Benjamin, The Aviator's Wife, historical fiction - Booking Mama
Colleen Hoover, Slammed, romance - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Mary Alice Monroe, The Summer Girls, book 1 of trilogy - BermudaOnion
Harlow Giles Unger, John Quincy Adams, history - Rhapsody in Books
Simon Rich, The Last Girlfriend on Earth, short stories - Estella's revenge
Chris Bohjalian, The Light in the Ruins - Bookfan
Amanda Kyle Williams, Stranger in the Room, mystery (book 2 in Keyes St. trilogy) - BermudaOnion
Caroline Leavitt, Pictures of You - Booking Mama
Caroline Leavitt, Is This Tomorrow, women's fiction - Booking Mama