Megan Chance's Blog, page 33

My Favorite Things of 2012

And now, as promised:

Here it is. My top ten favorite books for this year. These are in no particular order, and only some of them were published this year–I read whatever looks interesting to me at the moment, so I’m not paying much attention to publishing dates. This list is also a mix of adult and young adult fiction, because I didn’t have enough favorites of either to make two separate lists. Some of these books I reviewed on Goodreads, so if you want more detail on what I thought, check me out there.

Collegia Magica series (The Spirit Lens, the Soul Mirror, and the Daemon Prism. I cannot choose between them, and it’s really one long story, so...)–Carol Berg
The Day the Falls Stood Still–Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Scorpio Races–Maggie Stiefvater
Angelfall–Susan Ee
Beautiful Ruins–Jess Walter
Lost Illusions–Honore Balzac
A Very Long Engagement–Sebastian Japrisot
Dangerous Liaisons–Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Daughter of Smoke and Bone–Laini Taylor
Imposture–Benjamin Markovitz
The Sea Wall–Marguerite Duras

Okay, so there are eleven. I couldn’t decide which one to throw out, so you get a bonus track, as it were. It was a great year for reading!

Other things I loved this year: Florence and the Machine in concert! Franz Ferdinand in concert! Game of Thrones! Vampire Diaries! The Hobbit! Lincoln–except for the last 3 minutes! Argo! Perks of Being a Wallflower!

Looking forward to 2013--odd number years are my favorite; I don't know why. There's this weird psychological burp in my head that believes they are luckier. :)

Kindle Select 25!

Bone River is a Kindle Select 25 again this week, which is pretty exciting news!

Check it out!

Book Review: How the French Invented Love

How the French Invented Love: Nine Hundred Years of Passion and Romance by Marilyn Yalom

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I was expecting a rather more scholarly treatise here, but this book is not really that. It never really enters into the conversation posed by the title--instead, Yalom looks at French literature through the centuries, summarizing the books she's chosen, talking a bit about the authors and their lives. While there is some talk of how these books reflected French culture, she doesn't really draw conclusions, nor does she talk much about how they influenced the culture, or if they did (with a few exceptions), or what made the French what they are when it comes to love, women and sex. She does make some very interesting points about French attitudes toward love and sex as compared to American attitudes, but she never explains why the French are that way. Having said that, Yalom raises some interesting questions (though I'm not sure she does so deliberately), and opens some doors in terms of providing insight into another culture. It's an easy book to read, very conversational, with many personal anecdotes, and so it should appeal to a non-scholarly audience. I wanted a bit more, but I enjoyed what was there.



View all my reviews

Happy Holidays!

I have to admit the holidays this year are wearing me out. I've taken off work since the 16th and STILL feel run ragged. Not sure when I'll be making the trek back to my office either, as there's so much to be done. I'll have my annual "favorites" list for this year shortly--as soon as I find the time to figure out what it consists of. :)

I'll be speaking and signing Bone River at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, WA, on January 15, 2013, at 7 p.m., so mark your calendars!

But in the meantime, I want to wish all of you the best of holiday seasons, and a wonderful New Year!

Here's to 2013!

Book Signing

I'll be signing Bone River at the Pacific County Historical Society and Museum in South Bend, Washington, this Saturday, December 15th, from 1-5 p.m. Stop on by if you're around. This is the county where the book is set, and it's so beautiful and wild it breaks my heart. Below is a picture taken of the homestead site that is the setting of Bone River, where the river meets Willapa (then Shoalwater) Bay.

Book Review: Bel Ami

Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Cynicism! Hypocrisy! Venality! Stupidity! Cupidity! Ambition!
Bel-Ami is about all of those things—and more. Georges Duroy is a handsome man. But he is also poor, with a peasant upbringing. Couple those things with cunning and ambition, and you have a man with the skill to work his way to the top, and to pick an extremely efficient and effective way to do so: through women who are cleverer and better connected than he is. This book reminded me fiercely of the line in Woody Allen’s “Match Point”: “It’s better to be lucky than good.” Duroy manages to find the woman behind every great man—a few of them, in fact. The women here are (almost all) the most fully realized and superior (intellectually) characters in the book, which is not to say that Duroy himself is not a pretty brilliant a piece of work—in terms of great characterization, that is. He is not an honorable character. He epitomizes futility; he never gets one thing but that he wants something else, something better, something more. The woman who is obviously best for him is the one he can never completely have, and perhaps he would no longer want her if he did. He is ambition incarnate, and part of the conflict/tension comes from knowing that this is a man who will spend his life dissatisfied with whatever he has. Maupassant shows us that with every line, every description (which are pointed and perfect), and one wants Duroy to succeed at the same time one dislikes him for doing so. Except for the women, nearly every character in this book is a study in mediocrity, and the whole story is a rather cynical and ironic lesson in what ambition and luck, hypocrisy and cunning can bring the least deserving. For me this book did not have the tension of Balzac’s “Lost Illusions,” but Duroy is cleverer than Lucien in “Illusions,” though I didn’t like him as much. But, as in Balzac, few characters here actually get what they deserve, and because of that it feels more real than many contemporary novels. And more frustrating as well.




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Holiday Celebrations

Another dual-holiday is well underway. We lit the menorah ...
Then put up the tree. :)

Autographed Copies

Thanks to everyone who made it out to The Loft last night! it was lots of fun.

Here's a picture of me reading from Bone River:



Thanks also to Liberty Bay Books, who took care of everything. If you're looking for an autographed copy of Bone River, Liberty Bay Books has them in stock--you can even have them personalized. You can contact them here.

Book signing

Tonight, I'll be signing Bone River at the Loft, in Poulsbo, WA, with Liberty Bay Books. The free event starts at 6:30 p.m, and all are welcome. For more info, http://www.libertybaybooks.com

And here ... flowers from my publisher to celebrate the publication of Bone River. Lovely, colorful gerbera daisies to brighten up an already bright day.

Release Day!

Bone River is out today!

To order: (click on the cover)