-

HAPPY NEW YEAR

AND WELCOME TO  

THEBOOKJEANIE!

Starting 2013 with a new blog that will focus on everything that has to do with books - from book reviews to the latest news about book events around the country, as well as interviews with authors, ways to create home libraries and much more.



Taking a look back at notable books from 2012. . .

When Kurt Andersen's narrator, accomplished attorney and Supreme Court nominee, Karen Hollander, sits down to write her memoir, she shakes up not only her own comfortable life but threatens to expose a secret that others would prefer to be left buried in the past. If you remember the 60's, or even if you don't, you will revel in the exploits of a teenaged Karen and the two boys who were her best friends since childhood. The James Bond fantasies that they act out in high school eventually become very real as the three shift to radical politics at Harvard against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. The narrative seamlessly moves from present to past and back again as Karen reveals her startling coming-of-age story to her 17-year-old granddaughter, Waverly. Not only a compelling thriller but an examination of friendship, youthful ideology, and betrayal, True Believers ranks high on my list of fresh new literary fiction. 
If you are able suspend your disbelief and embrace Karen Walker's not-so-unbelievable futuristic tale, you will be rewarded with a beautifully written debut novel. Julia, a quiet young girl who has just begun to navigate the social upheaval of middle school, suddenly faces the disruption of her physical world as well, when the earth begins to slow its revolution around the sun. The days and nights grow longer and longer and the term "normal" no longer describes Julia's life, her family, or her community. As she observes the relationships that begin to fracture under the strain of uncertainty, Julia becomes determined to not let "the slowing" affect the choices that she makes and tries to make sense of the behavior of her parents and friends. Walker's novel unfolds so naturally that I felt effortlessly drawn into Julia's world, and was left with an uneasy feeling that our own existence on earth is indeed precarious. 

Make a New Year's Resolution to attend a Book Festival in 2013!

The Savannah Book Festival will be held February 14-17 in Savannah, Georgia, one of the most charming and historic  cities in America. Take a break and listen to some amazing authors as well as sample some of the most delicious food that the South has to offer. This annual festival boasts an impressive roster of nationally known authors as well as local writers including:

James Patterson - best-selling author of numerous works of detective fiction
Robert K. Massie - noted historian and Pulitzer Prize winner
Jeff Kinney - children's and young adult author of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid                                              
Dave Barry - humorist, columnist, and Pulitzer Prize winner
Karen Thompson Walker - author of The Age of Miracles  
A.J. Jacobs - social critic and humorist, author of The Year of Living Biblically
David Baldacci - author of numerous political thrillers

 And many more. . .


Isn't this a cozy reading area? If you are interested in unique ways to display your books, take a look at Alex Johnson's Bookshelf
(Thames and Hudson, 2012). These shelves designed by Oscar Nunez (www.fusca.mx) will be a conversation starter.
Wouldn't the "cowshelves" below be perfect in a children's room?
They were created by Dennys Torman (www.dennystorman), the first prize winner of the Brazilian Sustainable Design Competition. Torman used all materials from a cooperative that turns waste paper into a hard durable material. 

 
Before I sleep. . .

 The book waiting for me next to the bed is  the latest novel by Tatjana Soli, The Forgetting Tree.  Her descriptions of the California ranch land where the story takes place are so finely crafted that I can almost smell the heady perfume of spring orange blossoms.  This tale of loss, courage and trust is one that I hate to see end.  Must read more slowly. . .  


 What are you reading?  Please share - I would love to hear your suggestions and comments.

        










Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2013 at 2:49 PM

    'Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.'
    (Groucho Marx)

    All the best with the blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. dannie russellJanuary 8, 2013 at 12:19 PM

    congrats, jeanie. i didnt know you were writing. tell me more. do go for the literary. you have much to say and your reflections will be of great value. check out my web page in progress. www.homeiswheremyearringsare.com.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 8, 2013 at 3:52 PM

    I'm excited for you, Jeanie! Doing a blog like this is a perfect venue for you and your thoughts. Can't wait to read more!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
Breathe the scent of spring with THEBOOKJEANIE Thank you for joining me once again to share the love of reading. This book review blog will now be published bi-monthly, the first and third Sundays of each month. Please feel free to comment or make suggestions! The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie. I must admit that I am drawn to the whimsical and offbeat in literature although this title is by no means without substance including a rather pointed examination of research and ethics in the biomedical/pharma industry.  Veblen, a young woman named for the Norweigen American economist Thorstein Veblen who coined the term "conspicuous consumption," translates documents into Norweigen, is in love (perhaps) with a rising medical researcher at Stanford, and thinks that a squirrel living in her attic is trying to communicate with her. Of course all stories make their way back to family and Veblen's is no exception: trying to please her domineering hypoc
Read more
-
Image
Spring . . .New Beginnings with THEBOOKJEANIE This photo by Zeb Andrews, taken in the spring tulip fields of Holland brings back memories of driving across the border from Germany and suddenly finding ourselves surrounded by vast swathes of color, in every hue you could imagine. As we were stopped by the side of the road to admire the tulips in full bloom, we heard a loud clunk and turned to see a young woman lying stunned on the ground behind our white Volvo station wagon. Beside her lay her still-intact bicycle and as we helped her to her feet she seemed stunned and unable to explain what happened. Coincidentally, an ambulance driver had seen the accident on the main road and had pulled off to assist. It appeared that the young Dutch bicyclist was so amazed herself at the beauty of this spring morning amidst the thousands of brillantly colored tulips that she was not watching where she was going and ran full speed into our car.  "That was very dumb!"
Read more
-
Image
Welcome to  The Book Jeanie Winter is upon us. . . time to wrap up with a blanket on the couch and spend the day reading. I must admit that I am hopelessly addicted to true accounts of mountain-climbing, a sport that I would never attempt myself but nonetheless find fascinating.   Savage Summit profiles those women who found the thrill, excitement, and danger of high altitude climbing so compelling that it became an obsession.  The five women that Jennifer Jordan came to know intimately through her intensive research and interviews, all succumbed to the lure of the mountain known as K2 and are the only women to ever reach the summit of the peak that is considered more perilous than Everest.  Three of them died on that mountain.  The other two died later while challenging themselves on other peaks.  Jordan explores the lives of these women, the factors that motivated them to face the hardships, discrimination, and ultimately their own mortality on the highe
Read more