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Sunday, September 28, 2014

New and Recommended Week of 9/29/14

Welcome to the end of September and the new and recommended edition of my blog.  Thank you for stopping by for a visit. Enjoy! Please read to the very end (or at least scroll) for a wonderful and haunting piece of fiction.

This week my choices may surprise you. In my opinion we should enjoy, learn and share reading. My recommendations  include a children’s series that is fun and should be shared with your young ones. I will share one of my absolute favorite series of books for children.

I have 2 non-fiction recommendations. The first will educate, expose and bring awareness. 


Dork Diaries 8: Tales from a Not-So-Happily Ever After By Rachel Renee Russell. Available September 29, 2014. (of course you dorks!) 

Nikki Maxwell’s favorite fairy tales get dork-tastic twists in the eighth book of the #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series. After a bump on the head in gym class on April Fool’s Day, Nikki has a wild dream in which she, her BFFs Chloe and Zoey,her crush Brandon, and mean girl Mackenzie all end up playing the roles of some familiar classic fairy tale characters. Of course, the stories don’t go quite as expected—because they each have a very special Dork Diaries spin.

How can you not fall in love with a series that has a book 3 ½? Dork Diaries 3 1/2: How to Dork Your Diary And be on the lookout for more dorkiness available three days later. This one is a “Make your Own Book.” I think every reader young and old should participate in our own dorky diary then share an excerpt. It will be a hoot! Dork Diaries OMG!: All About Me Diary! 


Not new but one of my favorites and I think this is a delightful series for children. 

Bedtime for Frances The talented Russell Hoban's Frances Books along with Lillian Hoban and Garth Williams created Frances. 

I love the charming sweetness of the prose and the enchanting illustrations. In this first Frances book, the little badger adroitly delays her bedtime with requests for kisses and milk, and concerns over tigers and giants and things going bump in the night. Long a favorite for the gentle humor of its familiar going to bed ritual, Bedtime for Frances is at last available with the warmth of full color enriching Garth Williams’s original nuanced and touching art. ‘Here is the coziest, most beguiling bedtime story in many a day.’—Kirkus Reviews

Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy by Francis Fukuyama. Available September 30, 2014. 

The second volume of the bestselling landmark work on the history of the modern state. Volume two is finally here, completing the most important work of political thought in at least a generation. Taking up the essential question of how societies develop strong, impersonal, and accountable political institutions, Fukuyama follows the story from the French Revolution to the so-called Arab Spring and the deep dysfunctions of contemporary American politics. 

He examines the effects of corruption on governance, and why some societies have been successful at rooting it out. He explores the different legacies of colonialism in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and offers a clear-eyed account of why some regions have thrived and developed more quickly than others. 

And he boldly reckons with the future of democracy in the face of a rising global middle class and entrenched political paralysis in the West. A sweeping, masterful account of the struggle to create a well-functioning modern state, Political Order and Political Decay is destined to be a classic. 

The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution: Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, over-time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. 

We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world. Francis Fukuyama, author of the bestselling The End of History and the Last Man and one of our most important political thinkers, provides a sweeping account of how today’s basic political institutions developed. 

Beginning with politics among our primate ancestors The Origins of Political Order:  draws on a vast body of knowledge—history, evolutionary biology, archaeology, and economics—Fukuyama has produced a brilliant, provocative work that offers fresh insights on the origins of democratic societies and raises essential questions about the nature of politics and its discontents. 

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steve Pinker. Available September 30, 2014. 

Why is so much writing so bad, and how can we make it better? Is the English language being corrupted by texting and social media? Do the kids today even care about good writing? Why should any of us care? 

In The Sense of Style, the bestselling linguist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker answers these questions and more. Rethinking the usage guide for the twenty-first century, Pinker doesn’t carp about the decline of language or recycle pet peeves from the rule books of a century ago. 

Instead, he applies insights from the sciences of language and mind to the challenge of crafting clear, coherent, and stylish prose. In this short, cheerful, and eminently practical book, Pinker shows how writing depends on imagination, empathy, coherence, grammatical know how, and an ability to savor and reverse engineer the good prose of others.

He replaces dogma about usage with reason and evidence, allowing writers and editors to apply the guidelines judiciously, rather than robotically, being mindful of what they are designed to accomplish. 

Filled with examples of great and gruesome prose, Pinker shows us how the art of writing can be a form of pleasurable mastery and a fascinating intellectual topic in its own right.

A Sudden Light: A Novel by Garth Stein. Available September 30, 2014.

The bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain presents a long-awaited new novel in which a boy trying to save his parents’ marriage uncovers a vast legacy of family secrets. 

In the summer of 1990, fourteen-year-old Trevor Riddell gets his first glimpse of Riddell House. Built from the spoils of a massive timber fortune, the legendary family mansion is constructed of giant whole trees and is set on a huge estate overlooking Seattle’s Puget Sound. 

Trevor’s bankrupt parents have begun a trial separation, and his father, Jones Riddell, has brought Trevor to Riddell House with a goal: to join forces with his sister, Serena, dispatch the ailing and elderly Grandpa Samuel to a nursing home, sell off the house and property for development, divide up the profits, and live happily ever after. 

But as Trevor explores the house’s secret stairways and hidden rooms, he discovers a spirit lingering in Riddell House whose agenda is at odds with the family plan. Only Trevor’s willingness to face the dark past of his forefathers will reveal the key to his family’s future. 

Spellbinding and atmospheric, A Sudden Light is rich with unconventional characters, scenes of transcendent natural beauty, and unforgettable moments of emotional truth that reflect Garth Stein’s outsized capacity for empathy and keen understanding of human motivation—a triumphant work of a master storyteller at the height of his power. 

If you haven’t read The Art of Racing in the Rain I can only recommend you read this heart-wrenching and funny book told through the eyes of Enzo. 


 

 

Monday, September 22, 2014

Recommended New Release: Deconstructing Lila

I love a great romance novel. I enjoy getting caught up in the journey to a happily ever after. 

In Deconstructing Lila, Shannon Leigh had delivered the enjoyment and escape into a well written novel. 
Deconstructing Lila (Entangled Select) Available September 23, 2014.

Preservationist Lila Gentry returns to her small Texas hometown to restore the famous Chisholm Trail whorehouse where her great-great-grandmother was a madam in the 1880s. On her agenda is winning back Jake, the one that got away. But how do you rope a man who doesn't want to be wrangled?
Jake lives by one creed:  Keep it simple. His ex showing up in town complicates his life and makes him think about things he'd rather forget.
When Lila's restoration project is threatened before it even begins, she turns to Jake for help. Working together stirs up old feelings, but while Lila and Jake always sizzle between the sheets—or wherever the moment takes them—it will involve some sweet-talking and finesse to bring these two together.

Shannon Leigh’s Deconstructing Lila is a breath of fresh air. She writes with an easy style and draws you into the world so easily you don't even realize your obsession until it is 3 a.m. and you are saying 'just one more chapter'.

Leigh delightfully blends a traditional modern romance with historically accurate Texas and a second love story. Lila has returned to the home town, a past she has left behind and an ex husband.

Lila’s great-great grandmother, ran a brothel called Miss Pru's house. Someone sent Pru's journal to Lila. She is motivated and intrigued.  And the handsome Jake is a target along with rebuilding Pru's house into a day spa. She is determined, to rebuild Pru’s house and win over Jake.

“It appeared her job in Hannington had taken on a new twist. Win back estranged husband. Make the town like her again. And find out what happened to one Prudence MacIntosh and one Luke Pierce."

As Lila forges ahead to build a happily ever after, Pru speaks to her great granddaughter through her old diary, revealing her own life and wisdom/lessons on how to attract a man and make oneself desirable. 


Lesson #14 Silent words conveyed with the eyes are as powerful as those spoken.

Lesson #6 Stand up for yourself. Do not let folk railroad you or make you feel bad. Have pride in who you are and what you do, and the people trying to bring you down to their level will admire you. So will your man.

This is a romance so we know a happily ever awaits, but the journey is a delight. 
For other books by Ms. Leigh see my review of Forbidden Kiss.

   

Sunday, September 7, 2014

New Releases 9/9/14 What to Read

Hello My Friends! Of all the books being released this week - here is what I think are the most awesome. The awesomest. Anyway, I recommend the following books.  Enjoy!

Horton and the Kwuggerbug and more Lost Stories  by Dr. Seuss & Charles D. Cohen Available September 9, 2014 $9.49. 

 A new Dr. Seuss book! This follow-up to The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories features familiar Seussian faces and places—including Horton the Elephant, Marco, Mulberry Street, and a Grinch—as well as an introduction by renowned Seuss scholar Charles D. Cohen. 

Seuss fans will learn more about Horton’s integrity, Marco’s amazing imagination, a narrowly avoided disaster on Mullbery Street, and a devious Grinch. With a color palette enhanced beyond that of the magazines in which the stories originally appeared, this new volume of “lost” tales is a perfect gift for young readers and a must-have for Seuss collectors of all ages! Horton the Elephant, Marco, and a Grinch return in this rousing recovery of four long-lost stories by the immortal Dr. Seuss! 

Most of these entertaining tales appeared in Redbook magazine in the early fifties, but none have not been published since. Respected Seuss scholar Charles D. Cohen offers context to these rediscovered manuscript treasures in a buoyant introduction, making this picture book a gem for readers from four to eight to eighty and beyond. 

If you love Dr. Seuss (and who doesn't?) why not get The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories (Classic Seuss)  and a marvelous book from 1973  Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (Classic Seuss)

“When you think things are bad,
when you feel sour and blue,when you start to get mad . . .you should do what I do!”

So begins the terrific advice of the wise old man in the Desert of Drize. This classic book provides the perfect antidote for readers of all ages who are feeling a bit down in the dumps. Thanks to Dr. Seuss’s trademark rhymes and signature illustrations, readers will, without a doubt, realize just how lucky they truly are.

Holly Black and Cassandra Clare TOGETHER with a new series.The Iron Trial (Book One of Magisterium) (The Magisterium)  
The two bestselling series authors: Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles) and Cassandra Clare (The Mortal InstrumentsTrilogy) create a wonderful story about Callum Hunt, a boy who really, really, really doesn't want to go to magic school, but somehow can't succeed at failing.

I love Holly Blacks Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale series and recommend you check out these wonderful young adult books also. Modern Faerie Tales: Tithe; Valiant; Ironside

My final selection for this week is Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris. 
For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s new book is a guide to meditation as a rational spiritual practice informed by neuroscience and psychology.

From multiple New York Times bestselling author, neuroscientist, and “new atheist” Sam Harris, Waking Up is for the 30 percent of Americans who follow no religion, but who suspect that Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history could not have all been epileptics, schizophrenics, or frauds. Throughout the book, Harris argues that there are important truths to be found in the experiences of such contemplatives—and, therefore, that there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow.
Waking Up is part seeker’s memoir and part exploration of the scientific underpinnings of spirituality. No other book marries contemplative wisdom and modern science in this way, and no author other than Sam Harris—a scientist, philosopher, and famous skeptic—could write it.