May 2010 Movers & Shakers
Here are the noteworthy titles that have been racing up our most popular charts this month.
(showing 1-6 of 6)
The Rehearsal
by Eleanor Catton
When news of a teacher-student sex scandal breaks at the high school, the local drama school appropriates the illicit story for a play. New Zealand novelist Catton began writing this layered and theatrical debut at age 20. David calls it "a book that fizzes over with invention and exuberance, that rummages through haystacks of artifice and returns with surprisingly many needles of truth." When news of a teacher-student sex scandal breaks at the high school, the local drama school appropriates the illicit story for a play. New Zealand novelist Catton began writing this layered and theatrical debut at age 20. David calls it "a book that fizzes over with invention and exuberance, that rummages through haystacks of artifice and returns with surprisingly many needles of truth."
My rating:
Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things
by Randy O. Frost (Goodreads Author)
Do you have more books than you can read? You are probably just a collector, but five percent of us stockpile until it becomes a health hazard. Psychologists Frost and Steketee investigate the secret world of compulsive hoarding. Eoin says, "A troubling peek behind the shamefully closed doors of the object-oriented...worth it for the science as much as the morbid curiosity." Do you have more books than you can read? You are probably just a collector, but five percent of us stockpile until it becomes a health hazard. Psychologists Frost and Steketee investigate the secret world of compulsive hoarding. Eoin says, "A troubling peek behind the shamefully closed doors of the object-oriented...worth it for the science as much as the morbid curiosity."
My rating:
Blood Oath (Nathaniel Cade #1)
by Christopher Farnsworth (Goodreads Author)
Callow White House staffer Zach Barrows gets a startling new assignment. He's the new handler for secret agent Nathaniel Cade, a vampire who has protected the president from supernatural threats since 1867. Zach must help Nathaniel stop an invincible zombie army. Dane calls it "my favorite debut novel of 2010. The novel reads like a Vince Flynn political thriller mixed with Hellboy and the Universal Monsters." Callow White House staffer Zach Barrows gets a startling new assignment. He's the new handler for secret agent Nathaniel Cade, a vampire who has protected the president from supernatural threats since 1867. Zach must help Nathaniel stop an invincible zombie army. Dane calls it "my favorite debut novel of 2010. The novel reads like a Vince Flynn political thriller mixed with Hellboy and the Universal Monsters."
My rating:
The Lonely Polygamist
by Brady Udall
With four wives, 28 children, and a troubled construction business, patriarch Golden Richards has no time to unexpectedly fall in love. As he grapples with a rebellious son and an unhappy fourth wife, his life begins to spiral out of control. Christie says, "Fantastic. It's everything you want a novel to be: rip-roaring fun while also full of piercing moments, arresting observations, and big ideas." With four wives, 28 children, and a troubled construction business, patriarch Golden Richards has no time to unexpectedly fall in love. As he grapples with a rebellious son and an unhappy fourth wife, his life begins to spiral out of control. Christie says, "Fantastic. It's everything you want a novel to be: rip-roaring fun while also full of piercing moments, arresting observations, and big ideas."
My rating:
Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace
by David Lipsky
Rolling Stone writer Lipsky details five days in the life of postmodern luminary David Foster Wallace. The biography follows the pair on the Infinite Jest book tour and includes transcripts of their conversations. Ariel says, "I wish I had read with a highlighter. There were so many phenomenal thoughts. About art...and loneliness...and reading. And life." Rolling Stone writer Lipsky details five days in the life of postmodern luminary David Foster Wallace. The biography follows the pair on the Infinite Jest book tour and includes transcripts of their conversations. Ariel says, "I wish I had read with a highlighter. There were so many phenomenal thoughts. About art...and loneliness...and reading. And life."
My rating:
White Cat (Curse Workers, #1)
by Holly Black (Goodreads Author)
Imagine an underground subculture of curse workers who can control a person's dreams and memories, or kill with a single touch. Cassel is the odd man out—a normal kid born into a family of curse workers. When he begins to suspect his brothers of foul play, he must find a way around their dark magic. Emma calls it "a total mind bender. Part mystery, part con game, part suspense...the story is simultaneously gritty and charming." Imagine an underground subculture of curse workers who can control a person's dreams and memories, or kill with a single touch. Cassel is the odd man out—a normal kid born into a family of curse workers. When he begins to suspect his brothers of foul play, he must find a way around their dark magic. Emma calls it "a total mind bender. Part mystery, part con game, part suspense...the story is simultaneously gritty and charming."
My rating:
