The Delight of Fall Reading

Fall is almost here, and I couldn't be happier about it. I'm a temperate-weather girl, and so fall and spring are my jam. Especially since I can just put on a light jacket, make a cup of tea and maybe get myself a slice of pie, and grab a book, and take it all outside to sit and read. Delightful!

That's what I'd do if I had more free time, at least. So this fall, I need you to step up, dear readers, and let me live vicariously through your reading lists. If you need a hand deciding where to start, Buzzfeed has pulled together a list of "28 Exciting New Books You Need To Read This Fall."

And if you have trouble deciding, Buzzfeed has even created a quiz to help you out.

 Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado 

[Machado] shows off her fresh new voice in Her Body and Other Parties, a genre-bending short-story collection that is part magical realism, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. In Machado's imaginative, unsettling, haunting stories, she explores the violent realities of being a woman and having a female body in our society. 

Publication date: Oct. 3

 My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

In [Tallent's] dark and gripping debut novel My Absolute Darling, Turtle Alveston is a 14-year-old girl who's lived in isolation with her survivalist father on the northern California coast since her mother's death. But when she finds a friend in a high school boy, she realizes she must escape her dysfunctional, abusive life with her father, using the survival skills he taught her and a whole lot of courage. 

Publication date: Aug. 29

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

[Rushdie] makes a return to realism in The Golden House, a novel about an eccentric billionaire named Nero Golden and his three adult sons — who make quite the splash when they mysteriously move to a cloistered community in downtown Manhattan — and their aspiring filmmaker neighbor who chronicles their undoing. A tale of identity, reinvention, truth (and lies), and terror, The Golden House also captures the climate of American politics and culture from the Obama era to today — including the rise of a "narcissistic, media-savvy villain wearing make-up and with coloured hair" who embarks on a presidential run. 

Publication date: Sept. 5

 Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks 

Who knew beloved, Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks could also write?! In Uncommon Type, his debut short-story collection, Hanks explores what the American dream looks like for a multitude of characters, from an Eastern European immigrant to a war veteran. And, of course, Hanks' love for typewriters makes a cameo through each of the 17 stories. 

Publication date: Oct. 17

An Unkindness of Ghosts by River Solomon 

In [Solomon's] highly imaginative sci-fi novel An Unkindness of Ghosts, eccentric Aster was born into slavery on — and is trying to escape from — a brutally segregated spaceship that for generations has been trying to escort the last humans from a dying planet to a Promised Land. When she discovers clues about the circumstances of her mother's death, she also comes closer to disturbing truths about the ship and its journey. 

Publication date: Oct. 3 

Mean by Myriam Gurba  

[Gurba's] Mean is a hilariously honest coming-of-age memoir about growing up as a queer, mixed-race girl in 1980s California. A fearless account of racism, homophobia, misogyny, sexual assault, and true crime that manages to be as funny as it is dark. 

Publication date: Nov. 14 

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green 

[This is Green's] first novel since The Fault in Our Stars. Aza is a 16-year-old girl who finds herself investigating the mystery of a fugitive billionaire (for a hefty reward) with her best friend, while dealing with her own mental health struggles; at heart, a tale of the bonds of friendship and love. 

Publication date: Oct. 10

To see the full list, visit the original post HERE 

A Booklover's Fourth of July

I don't know about y'all, but this 4th of July I am stuck inside editing. Wah. Waaaaaah.

But for those of you who are not, you just might have time for some Independence Day reading! Maybe try one of these patriotic reads, compiled by Wall Street Cheat Sheet:

1. On the Road, Jack Kerouac 

Hard travelin’ is a pastime idealized in a country that has lots of room for it, and On the Road is the bible of hard travelers. King of the Beat poets Jack Kerouac wrote the novel about his own experiences hitchhiking and driving back and forth across America with his freewheeling friends, and its publication marked a huge shift in American youth culture. 

Kerouac’s friend (and a character in the novel himself) William Burroughs famously wrote of On the Road that it “sold a trillion Levi’s, a million espresso coffee machines, and also sent countless kids on the road.” Bob Dylan said, “It changed my life like it changed everyone else’s.” A litany of important additions to pop culture wouldn’t have been possible without Kerouac’s poetic and hellbent road trip. “Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night?” Kerouac asks, and answers, in the novel. 

2. 1776, David McCullough 

If you want to go super literal with the whole Independence Day thing and learn a ton about the Revolutionary War that you probably weren’t taught in school, McCullough’s massive 1776 is the way to go for an in-depth account of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Gen. George Washington in particular is profiled, as he led the ragtag American troops to an unlikely victory over the British. The book takes a close look at key military battles during the year, including the Battle of Long Island and the Battle of Trenton. 

3. Lincoln, Carl Sandburg 

Poet Carl Sandburg’s lengthy two-part biography of Abraham Lincoln is considered to be the most influential book about the man credited with the dual feats of ending slavery and keeping the United States together in the face of the Civil War. Lincoln: The Prairie Years and Lincoln: The War Years are the defining books on Lincoln’s life, and the second installment won Sandburg his third Pulitzer Prize. The first book was published in 1926 and the second in 1939, and since then, they have been criticized for some bad scholarship and too much poetic license (what do you expect from one of America’s most beloved poets?). However, Sandburg’s book is still the go-to biography of Lincoln and a major source of many of the idealistic myths that surround him. 

4. The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner 

William Faulkner has been called the American Shakespeare, and his modern stream-of-consciousness style as well as his Southern Gothic subject matter make his novels the most enduring literary picture of the American South. The Sound and the Fury is frequently cited as one of the great American novels, and its shifting perspectives, experimental style, and morose tale of the formerly high-class Compson family is all classic Faulkner at his best. The Compsons pop up in other Faulkner novels, as well, in particular Absalom, Absalom!, in which the highly intelligent but suicidal Quentin Compson is a main character. The Sound and the Fury chronicles how the puritanical morals of the South, racism, greed, and violence ruin the entire Compson clan. 

5. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald 

While Fitzgerald may have been an ex-patriot, fleeing to Paris with others that Gertrude Stein dubbed “the lost generation,” The Great Gatsby is considered to be one of the most important American novels, and the entire book is fixated on that brutal fable that is the American dream. The book is the most iconic and lasting portrait we have of the post-World War I era in which America lost its innocence and became decadent. There are flappers, drinking, beautiful parties, and the charismatic Daisy Buchanan, all of which is glitter on the surface to distract from the characters’ desperate attempts to discover a sense of purpose. The Fourth of July is a perfect occasion to read or reread Gatsby and think about how achieving the American dream still couldn’t bring Gatsby happiness. 

6. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain 

Hemingway famously said, “All modern American literature comes from … Huckleberry Finn.” Mark Twain is a great American icon, an author and humorist whose influence on literature and comedy cannot be overstated. Huckleberry Finn is a scathing look at racism and other backwards attitudes held in the South on the Mississippi River, where the novel is set. It is also a celebration of unlikely friendship and fierce independence bordering on rebelliousness, both important characteristics of our national character. The book is cited as the first major American work to be written completely in vernacular English, capturing Americans as they actually spoke. 

See the original post HERE

Happy Fourth of July, y'all!!

New Nonfiction Titles for My TBR Pile

I've been coming across quite a few nonfiction titles lately that are actually of interest to me--something, as many of you probably know, that is pretty darn uncommon.

I try to find nonfic that I will enjoy, I really do, but it's a rare event indeed. But right now, my list seems to be growing:


Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking- Susan Cain

DESCRIPTION (Indiebound.org): At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled "quiet," it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society--from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer.

Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so. Taking the reader on a journey from Dale Carnegie’s birthplace to Harvard Business School, from a Tony Robbins seminar to an evangelical megachurch, Susan Cain charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal in the twentieth century and explores its far-reaching effects. She talks to Asian-American students who feel alienated from the brash, backslapping atmosphere of American schools. She questions the dominant values of American business culture, where forced collaboration can stand in the way of innovation, and where the leadership potential of introverts is often overlooked. And she draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience to reveal the surprising differences between extroverts and introverts.

Perhaps most inspiring, she introduces us to successful introverts--from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Finally, she offers invaluable advice on everything from how to better negotiate differences in introvert-extrovert relationships to how to empower an introverted child to when it makes sense to be a "pretend extrovert."

This extraordinary book has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how introverts see themselves.

Agorafabulous! Dispatches From My Bedroom - Sara Benincas

DESCRIPTION (USA Today): In debut memoir Agorafabulous! Dispatches From My Bedroom (William Morrow, $24.99), author and stand-up comedian Sara Benincasa describes in hilarious and sometimes horrifying detail her struggle with panic attacks and the dark days when she was too terrified to leave her room.

Why the book is notable: Benincasa has a growing reputation in comedy. She hosts the popular podcast Sex and Other Human Activities.

Memorable line: "In simplest terms and most convenient definitions, my psychiatric diagnosis is that I'm afraid of the mall. Which, I can assure you, is untrue."

Quick bio: Benincasa, 31, grew up in New Jersey and went on medication for depression and anxiety at 16, finding the right ones at 21. Today, she writes, performs and visits colleges, where she explores issues such as suicide prevention in her routines.

Read the rest of the USA Today recap/review HERE

Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World - Jane McGonigal

DESCRIPTION (Indiebound.org): A visionary game designer reveals how we can harness the power of games to boost global happiness.

With 174 million gamers in the United States alone, we now live in a world where every generation will be a gamer generation. But why, Jane McGonigal asks, should games be used for escapist entertainment alone? In this groundbreaking book, she shows how we can leverage the power of games to fix what is wrong with the real world-from social problems like depression and obesity to global issues like poverty and climate change-and introduces us to cutting-edge games that are already changing the business, education, and nonprofit worlds. Written for gamers and non-gamers alike, Reality Is Broken shows that the future will belong to those who can understand, design, and play games.

Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn - Donald Spoto

DESCRIPTION (Indiebound.org): Her name is synonymous with elegance, style and grace. Over the course of her extraordinary life and career, Audrey Hepburn captured hearts around the world and created a public image that stands as one of the most recognizable and beloved in recent memory. But despite her international fame and her tireless efforts on behalf of UNICEF, Audrey was also known for her intense privacy. With unprecedented access to studio archives, friends and colleagues who knew and loved Audrey, bestselling author Donald Spoto provides an intimate and moving account of this beautiful, elusive and talented woman.

Tracing her astonishing rise to stardom, from her harrowing childhood in Nazi-controlled Holland during World War II to her years as a struggling ballet dancer in London and her Tony Award–winning Broadway debut in Gigi, Spoto illuminates the origins of Audrey’s tenacious spirit and fiercely passionate nature.

She would go on to star in some of the most popular movies of the twentieth century, including Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, The Nun’s Story, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and My Fair Lady. A friend and inspiration to renowned designer Hubert de Givenchy, Audrey emerged as a fashion icon as well as a film legend, her influence on women’s fashion virtually unparalleled to this day.

But behind the glamorous public persona, Audrey Hepburn was both a different and a deeper person and a woman who craved love and affection. Donald Spoto offers remarkable insights into her professional and personal relationships with her two husbands, and with celebrities such as Gregory Peck, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, Robert Anderson, Cary Grant, Peter O’Toole, Albert Finney and Ben Gazzara. The turbulent romances of her youth, her profound sympathy for the plight of hungry children, and the thrills and terrors of motherhood prepared Audrey for the final chapter in her life, as she devoted herself entirely to the charity efforts of an organization that had once come to her rescue at the end of the war: UNICEF.

Donald Spoto has written a poignant, funny and deeply moving biography of an unforgettable woman. At last, Enchantment reveals the private Audrey Hepburn—and invites readers to fall in love with her all over again.

Anyone have more awesome nonfiction recommendations to add to my growing list?