Laydown Lowdown

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and took a moment to remember the true meaning of Memorial Day and honor those who sacrificed for our freedoms.  Now that we've had unofficial start of summer, you may want to spend your days laying out reading in the wonderful weather.

"Summer Days," the latest romance by Susan Mallery sounds like the perfect summer read.  You may also enjoy "Hot for Fireman," by Jennifer Bernard, "Along Came a Duke," by Elizabeth Boyle, or "Against the Sun," by Kat Martin.

Mystery fans may want to take "Tattooed" by Pamela Callow or "The Yard," by Alex Grecian to the beach with them.

Meanwhile Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans may enjoy "Tangle of Need" by Nalini Singh or "All Spell Breaks Loose," by Lisa Sherman.

YA buffs will want to tote the latest novel by Susanne Colasanti, "Keep Holding On," or "Dark Frost," by Jennifer Esteep.

Happy Reading !  We're also pleased to announce a winner in our "Fifty Shades," giveaway.  Congratulations to Eva T.  You've won a copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey," signed by the author, E L James.  You should receive an email from us shortly.  We'd also like to thank all those who participated in the raffle.  Please stay tuned this blog for more chances to win great books. 

As you being to load up your summer reads, remember to support your local bookstores whenever possible. 

What to Expect the first year...or in english, you had the baby now here's what should be happening...

Ok ok I know I promised you all a review about a book event my family went to, but life just keeps getting in the way.  May 11th, Anastasia finally came home from the hospital after 31 long days in NICU.  She is doing well and my whole family is adjusting to having her home with us.

My husband Alex and I decided when I was pregnant that we would not get the VERY popular What to Expect when You're Expecting book.  I felt I would basically have the living s#$% scared out of me and being already scared about being pregnant in general did not feel it was in my best interest to scare myself even more. 

I was planning on having the same approach when it came to raising our little darling, but alas we needed help.  Yes we have my mother and father to give us advice but alot has changed in 30+ years so we broke down and purchased What to Expect the First Year.  So far it's been somewhat helpful.  The hospital taught us some ways of basic care, but the book gives us other options for feeding, and burping techniques. 

It's nice because they do break things down month by month as to what should be happening with the child once they are born and at home.  It also gives tips on what to look for when purchasing items for the baby (crib, stroller, car seat etc.) 

One other positive about the book is that it has other sections for special interests, such as babies who have special needs, are adopted, and what I really needed it for pre-term. 

So before you scoff at the book series, (like I did) keep in mind it really can come in handy for those of us who have no clue (like me!)

By the way this is Anastasia at 6 weeks

Til next month (and hopefully I remember to post)

Jessica

Laydown Lowdown

I normally don't include e-books in the Laydown Lowdown but today I have to make a special exception.  Caroline B. Cooney, the best-selling author of "The Face of the Milk Carton," (and its three sequels about heroine Janie's struggles to reconnect with her birth parents after being kidnapped as a toddler) has written an all new short-story "What Janie Saw," this e-book exclusive is a bridge between the fourth novel, "What Janie Found," and the forthcoming fifth novel, "Janie Face to Face," which will be available in early 2013! The previous novels are also all being re-released today with sleek new covers. 

Other new releases in YA include "Alice on Board," the penultimate book in Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's "Alice" series.  "Soul Seekers: Fated," the first in a new series by best-selling author Alyson Noel and "Taken by Storm," by Jennifer Lynn Barnes are also available today.

Over in Romance, you'll find the latest novel by best-selling author Cherry Adair, "Vortex," along with "Midnight's Master," by Donna Grant, "Lethal Rider," by Larissa Ione, and "Beautiful Sacrifice," by Elizabeth Lowell

Travel into the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section and you'll see "2312," by Kim Stanley Robinson, "Dark Magic," by James Swan, and the latest "Adversary Cycle," novel, "Nightworld," by F. Paul Wilson.

Moving onto Mystery, you'll find "Cliff Walk," by Bruce DeSilva, "A Beautiful Death," by Charles Finch, "Don't Ever Get Old," by Daniel Friedman, and " Red Means Run," by Brad Smith.

Happy Reading !  Remember to support your local bookstores whenever possible.  

Ichigo Kurosaki my imaginary boyfriend...

Manga. You either hate it or love it. I love it. I remember years ago when Borders first opened I would beg my mom to drop me off there so I could hide in the corners of the store and loose myself in this mix of Science Fiction and Japanese culture. Around 2003 I found this Manga that has had my heart forever. Bleach

 






Ichigo Kurosaki finds himself in the worst situation, but like any other male of worth he defends his family with no concern for his health or well being. He meets Rukia, a deadly soul reaper who has sensed a Hollow coming to earth, and is more than prepared to defeat it. When their two paths meet they will never be the same again.

Ichigo has many allies but even more enemy's. You see Hollows are in no short supply. As long as there are humans in this world there will be Hollows. They are created when a deceased human looses its 'chain of fate' and is overcome with the sorrow and negative energy within them leaving a hole where their heart should be...literally.

Have I caught your attention? Good! Now don't get overwhelmed. There are currently 39 volumes out for sale, and number 40 is set to release on June 5th. There are even more already release in Japan, but short of actually learning Kanji you will have to wait patiently like the rest of us. I know, my inner nerd is not happy either, but lucky for you and me they release them every few months. I truly hope you give this a shot. It may not be what you are used to but believe me it is Manga at its finest.

Summer Reading

As the school year begins to come to a close and summer rolls in, an event beloved by some and dreaded by others looms ahead; Assigned Summer Reading.  At Borders we worked hard to try and get the reading lists and the books on them for numerous schools in the region.  Some schools had very strict assignments that required the students to all read 2 or 3 specific titles others had very broad lists and allowed the students to choose 2 or 3 books from that list. 

When I was in high school our school required all classes to read 3 books of their choosing and we were tested on them in early September.  We also had to keep a journal as we read where we were to summarize the chapters and note our thoughts on what we read.  Despite being an avid reader, I dreaded summer reading.  I wanted to read what I chose to read.  I found the assigned reading boring and the need to keep a journal monotonous.  One of the worst books I had to read was "Lord of the Flies," by William Golding.  I don't understand what a teenage girl was to learn from a group of boys who went wild after being stranded on a deserted island.  You can mock Sweet Valley High all you want but the series is full of life lessons; if you do drugs, you'll die; if you stay out all night with a boy, you'll get a bad reputation; if you drink and drive, someone is going to get hurt or killed.  Every summer I put off my assignment until the last minute and read my favorite reads all summer long.

However, after I polled my fellow bloggers, I found not everyone shared my experience.  KC loved "Lord of the Flies," and actually asked her teacher if she could go past the page limit on her assigned paper to make additional arguments.  Her other favorites included "Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse and "Miss Lonelyhearts," a novella.

Mallory had to read an assigned book every year and then write a paper on it.  She still remembers "The Red Scarf Girl," by Ji-Li Jiang.  She was amazed by the story of the horrors this young girl experienced in her life.

Rachel looked forward to summer reading and often got the assignment done early.  She found "The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck to be vivid and beautifully written. I  Like KC she also loved "Siddhartha" as well as"A Separate Peace," by John Knowles, and "The Catcher in the Rye," by J.D. Salinger.

I had to read "The Good Earth" in my freshman year of high school and I struggled to get through it.  I thought it was really boring.  I'll have to have Rachel enlighten me the next time I see her.  Jess P. and Albert had the type of summer reading assignment that I wanted, none !


Jess P. went to a school that didn't have an assigned summer reading list so she spent the summer reading what she loved such as books by Beverly Cleary and Ann M. Martin's "The Baby-Sitters Club." series.

Meanwhile Albert spent his summer days reading every "Goosebumps" book by R.L. Stine that he could get his hands on.

When I wasn't in Sweet Valley, or Stoneybrook with "The Baby-Sitters Club," I could be found not too far from Albert, over on "Fear Street," R.L. Stine's other hit series.  The "Fear Street" story, "Lights Out," is still one of my all time favorites. 

So what about you?  What kind of summer reading assignments did you have?  Or, are there any teachers out there who could share what kind of summer reading assignments they give?  If so, what do you hope your students gain from the assignment?  Share with us !

Two Years, So Many Books

I've just spent the last two years of my life working on my MA in English. It has been an amazing experience and I can't believe that I graduate on Saturday (eep!).

So I thought that now would be a fun time to reflect on some of my favorite books and authors I've encountered during this time - all those things I probably never would have read on my own - and maybe introduce some of you to some fabulous literature!

First Semester (aka WHAT THE HEY HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO?!):

19th Century American - One of my favorite periods of literature, but we read a lot of stuff I never had and even some things I'd never heard of. The great discovery in that class was Sarah Orne Jewett. I did my paper on The Country of the Pointed Firs and I really want to read more of what she has written.

For Introduction to Literary Research I did a case study on Willa Cather's O Pioneers! Cather led a fascinating life and her other books are definitely on my TBR pile.

Second Semester (aka And I thought LAST semester was bad?!):

Fiction Workshop - though most of this class was reading each other's submissions, we also read a few novellas and sets of short stories. My personal favorite was Cynthia Ozick's The Shawl. A short story and novella together in a book that was absolutely heartwrenching.

Studies in 20th Century British Literature was a fun class and I read a bunch of things I'd wanted to read but hadn't gotten to yet like 1984. But my two favorite books from that class are both lesser known works by popular authors. The first was George Orwell's Coming Up for Air. I wrote a paper on this book and it is one of those novels that you get more out of the more times you read it. In my opinion it was far superior to 1984. The second was Virginia Woolf's Between the Acts. I read Mrs. Dalloway in undergrad and was seriously underwhelmed. So I never read anything else by Woolf. I appreciated it more when rereading it for this class, but Between the Acts was even better. I really think it's a shame these two are not as well known. So you should go read them.

Third Semester (aka I AM DROWNING IN LIBRARY BOOKS):

This was the semester I started my thesis and I was also working on 2 major papers for other classes so I had over 85 books checked out of the library at one point. The librarians literally knew me by face and shook their heads in mock horror every time they saw me. I wrote my thesis on L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon trilogy (which you should all go read right this second). But in the process of researching things about material culture and house/space theory I discovered Gaston Bachelard's The Poetics of Space. I don't really read non-fiction, but this book sucked me in. I found something incredibly profound on every page. It is phenomenal!

British Romanticism - Not really my favorite class, but I ended up doing my paper on Charles and Mary Lamb - focusing specifically on their literature for children (my main interest) and had a lot of fun reading Charles' letters and their Mrs. Leicester's School. 

Post-Colonial Literature - We read some fantastic things, but I really loved Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books of all time and this tells the other side of the story - the tale of the madwoman in the attic.

Fourth Semester (aka HOW DO I STILL HAVE SO MUCH TO DO?!):

In Early American Literature we focused on the grotesque, which was a little odd at times, but an interesting way to approach a really wide variety of texts. It was probably my favorite overall class. I loved reading Benjamin Franklin's "Silence Dogood Letters." He has the quirkiest sense of humor. And I read Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables for the first time. It's a little dry, but as I started to get into the story I found it rather interesting.

Modern American Writers: I loved Eudora Welty's The Robber Bridegroom. The professor made tons of parallels to fairy tales and myths and it really enriched the story. But the book by itself is a lot of fun!

And now I'm super excited that I will get to read the things that I want to read again! As much as I've loved these two years, I really miss time to read for pleasure. So excuse me as I attack my TBR pile :)

Laydown Lowdown

It's the middle of May.  A lot of TV shows are wrapping up their seasons.  Summertime is just around the corner, it's a great time to find some good reads.  Perhaps some of today's new releases will do the trick.

In Mystery, best-selling author John Sanford delivers his latest "Lucas Davenport," mystery with the 22nd installment, "Stolen Prey," out today.  "The Columbus Affair," by Steve Berry and "As the Crow Flies," by Craig Johnson are also available as well as a new paperback edition of "Dead as a Doornail," by Charlaine Harris is out today.   The fifth entry in the series provided inspiration for the fifth season of "True Blood," which premieres June 10th on HBO.  The novel's text is the same but collectors may way want to snag one with the sexy new cover. 

Over in Romance, you'll find "Star Struck," by the genre appropriately named, Jane Lovering plus "Persuade Me," by Juliet Archer, and "Always Something There to Remind Me," by Beth Harbison.

Moving over to Sci-Fi/Fantasy, you'll discover the latest Neal Stephenson book, "Reamde," is now in paperback along with "The Profession," by Steven Pressfield, and "The Testament of Jessie Lamb," by Jane Rogers.

Over in YA, it's a bittersweet day for fans of Ellen Screiber's "Vampire Kisses," series.  Fans will finally discover if Raven gets her wish of spending an eternity with her vampire love Alexander in the series' conclusion, "Immortal Hearts."  Or if immortal love isn't your thing, you may enjoy reading about a man with many loves, King Henry VIII.   "Gilt," by Katherine Longshore, is a historical fictional tale of the King's fifth wife as witnessed by her best girl friend.

Happy Reading !  Remember to support your local bookstores whenever possible. Just because our blog is online, it doesn't mean your shopping has to be.