New Books In, January 2016

Heart of the Original by Steve Aylett
Year's Best Weird Fiction, Vol. 2 edited by Kathe Koja
Eleanor by Jason Gurley
The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein

This month's piles includes two review books and two books I bought brand new! The Aylett came to my work mail, unrequested. It appears to be a book on creativity by a science fiction author; I hadn't heard about it but I'm always interested in that topic so I'm looking forward to it. The Gurley was on the Blogging for Books list and I had not done one of those in a while. I should get to that one soon.

I bought the Koja because it included a Nathan Ballingrud story I had not yet read (I interviewed him for Episode 041 of the podcast). I've already read the entire volume. The Dinerstein has been on my radar for a while and I just went for it.

On a more personal, unpublished and unavailable note, my Grandma passed away at the beginning of December. I was unable to go to the memorial service, as were several of my cousins. My family made sure I got a copy of the updated memoir, which two of my cousins had worked with my grandma to update. I'm lucky in that I got to see her twice in the past two years, despite living across the country from her. I feel even more lucky that I have her story in her own words.

One memorable tidbit - finding out that her parents made liquor in the basement during prohibition. A little rebellion streak goes through both sides of my family.

Reading Envy 050: Open to Suggestion

I had so much to say I recorded a bonus episode for the 50th episode of Reading Envy! I discuss my questions about romance novels, talk about three books I read set in Uganda, and reflect on my first book speed dating project of 2016.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 050: Open to Suggestion

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
 
Or subscribe via iTunes by clicking: Subscribe

Or listen through TuneIn

Books mentioned:

The Gravity of Sunlight by Rosa Shand
All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu
Thirty Girls by Susan Minot
Beyond the River Yei by Binyavanga Wainaina
There is a Country: New Fiction from the New Nation of South Sudan
Life Before Man by Margaret Atwood
The Town in Bloom by Dodie Smith
Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout
The Age of Miracles by Ellen Gilchrist
The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi
Life Sentences by Laura Lippman
The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Visits from the Drowned Girl by Steven Sherrill
The Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst
Crystal Rain by Tobias S. Buckell

Other mentions:

My Goodreads Romance shelf (based on recommendations I have so far)
Review of Thirty Girls by Susan Minot
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi


Related posts:
The Original Reading Envy Speed Dating Project (with rules)
Speed Dating Round Two
Speed Dating Round Three
Speed Dating Round Four
Episode 035 - Speed Dating Books (technically round five)  
Episode 036 - The Reader Sense of Ann VanderMeer with guest Ann VanderMeer
Episode 047 - Sex with Elvis: Bonus Book Speed Dating Episode

Reading Envy 049: The Legendary Cheese

Jenny sits down with two longtime members - Caroline and Holly - of the International Center of the Upstate Book Club. We talk about our favorites, least favorites, and what we love about this book club. It's been a while since there has been a Reading Envy book club episode, so please enjoy! This was recorded mid-November 2015 but was put on hold for the end of year episodes.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 049: The Legendary Cheese.

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
 
Or subscribe via iTunes by clicking: Subscribe

Or listen through TuneIn (new!)

Books mentioned:


Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss
The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan
Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy by Carlos Eire
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamad
Perla by Carolina de Robertis
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin
The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna
Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King (?)
The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World by Lucette Lagnado
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
The Iguana Tree by Michel Stone
In the Garden of Stone by Susan Tekulve
The Dinner by Herman Koch
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
City of Thieves by David Benioff
Sugar in the Blood: A Family's Story of Slavery and Empire by Andrea Stuart
Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II by Vicki Croke
The Potbellied Virgin by Alicia Yanez Cossio
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Book Thief by
Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese by Michael Paterniti
The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Anne-Marie O'Connor
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
The Absolutist by John Boyne
Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Anya von Bremzen (sp)
Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
The Tsar of Love and Techno: Stories by Anthony Marra
Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Other Mentions:
The International Center of the Upstate
The Book Thief (film)

Stalk me online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter