July Reads

Last Thursday, I had the great pleasure of attending the Random House Summer Open House. (I should say that these days are like Christmas for me - I look forward to them from the second I register a few months prior.) Similar to the one I went to last fall, this one had authors that I hadn't been aware of prior to this event, but I left having bought at least one of each of their books and added all their others to my list. My plan for early July was to read as many books as I could from authors who would be there. Not all of the books had been released yet, but I had gotten a few review copies, so I had enough to keep me busy.

One thing that was new about this event was that there was a book club during lunch for the first 100 people who had responded to the email about it back in June. The book was Jodi Picoult's new one, A SPARK OF LIGHT, due out on October 2. The book arrived the day I left for vacation in early July, and I was thrilled to have something to read poolside for the next week. We'll come back to this book in a minute...

On my drive to Bethany Beach, Delaware, where my family was vacationing for the week of July 4, I listened to David Sedaris's new book, CALYPSO. [He was not at the Open House; I just figured it would be a good book for a long drive!] I know I probably say this each time I read/listen to one of his books, but this one was his best ever. I've become addicted to audiobooks in the past few years; I switched from subway to bus a few years back, and I can't read on the bus without getting motion sickness, so I started listening to books so I didn't lose that commuting time that I used to love to spend reading. Anyway, if there's ever a book to listen to, it's this one. He narrates it, and the way he tells a story is unlike anything I've heard; there were a couple times on the NJ Turnpike where I was laughing so hard that I almost had to pull over. I never wanted it to end, and it was a perfect way to start my vacation. [Once I figure out how to post in each section of this blog, I'll be adding things like this to the Audible section.]

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In addition to the Jodi Picoult book, I had also planned to start Emily Giffin's new book, ALL WE EVER WANTED; she was the headliner at the Open House I'd be attending shortly after vacation, and I really wanted to read it before I saw her in person. Admittedly, I'd avoided her books in the past because I always assumed they were way more in the "chick-lit" category than I like, but this one couldn't be further from that. What a fantastic and timely story this was! This one is on top of my summer reading recommendations list - just read it. And because I so enjoyed this book, I'm now going to go back and read all her earlier books as well. I also started following her on social media, and she's extremely cool and I think we'd also be best friends (though I don't want Kelly Corrigan to get jealous.)

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The other book that I had started before I left for vacation and finished while I was there was FROM THE CORNER OF THE OVAL by Beck Dorey-Stein. This was a memoir about her time working for President Obama as his stenographer. What an amazing experience she had: she traveled with him everywhere, including his vacations in Hawaii, for five years. The book is also very focused on her love life during that time, and while I understand that was a big deal for her at the time, I would have preferred more Obama stories and less romance stories, but it was still a really fun book to read.

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OK. Now back to Jodi's book, A SPARK OF LIGHT. I hated this book. Plain and simple. If you've ready any of her books in the past, you probably know that she can be very hit or miss; when she hits, it's un-put-down-able... but when she misses....! Anyway, I had so many issues with this book, but because it hasn't been released yet, I'm hesitant to say too much in case you want to read it yourself. I'll just say this: She took on way too much with this story (a hostage situation in an abortion clinic) and she tells the story from end to beginning, which was really hard to keep track of, especially given that there were too many characters and the story itself was hard to embrace from the beginning. Of course, it has it's signature Jodi twists, so perhaps the payoff is worth it. But my opinion is that she has many others that are much better choices: MY SISTER'S KEEPER, PLAIN TRUTH, THE STORYTELLER to name a few.

Because this book was going to be discussed at the Open House, I was a little nervous to say how much I disliked it. I'd be in a meeting with Random House employees who work closely with Jodi Picoult, and I didn't want to offend anyone... so you can imagine how happy I was when after the very first question was asked in our small-group discussion, 80% of the people in the room said all the same things I was feeling! It was kind of weird to be listening to all of this, knowing that so many people felt the same way I did, and also knowing that this book is coming out in October with no changes to it. There were people in the back who were taking notes about what we were saying, and I'm sure they will be passed along to people who matter... but they also said that the story itself will most likely stay as is. Oh, well. We tried.

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Other authors that were at the Summer Open House were Alex Wagner, formerly an MSNBC anchor, discussing her book FUTUREFACE. I haven't finished this one yet, but I read/listened to the first 1/3 of it and it's a really timely book that talks about being an immigrant in the US. She was very engaging in person and I loved hearing her tell her family story.

Also there was Alisyn Camerota, morning host on CNN's "New Day" - she wrote a book called AMANDA WAKES UP, which is a story of a fictional journalist, infused with her own real-life experiences. It looks cute, and I plan to get to it later this summer. (Side note: I met her at the cocktail party after the open house, and her hair is perfect.)

There was a young guy name Sam Graham-Felsen who wrote a book called GREEN. I'd never heard of him or the book, but he was very engaging and I enjoyed hearing him talk about it. The book is a (semi-autobiographical) coming-of-age story set in Boston from the point of view of a white kid in a nearly all-black school.

The author of HOW TO LOVE A JAMAICAN, Alexia Arthurs was there. This is a book that I received from Random House at a recent event I attended but I haven't read yet. It's short stories and has gotten really good reviews. She was very sweet and seemed a bit overwhelmed by her sudden success.

Another author, who just recently retired from working at the NY Times, Margalit Fox talked about her book CONAN DOYLE FOR THE DEFENSE, which is a true story about the author of the Sherlock Holmes books who used his real-life detective skills to free a man who had been wrongly convicted of murder in Scotland. It sounds really interesting, and it's definitely on my list!

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha is the author of WHAT THE EYES DON'T SEE, a recounting of her experience proving that the lead in the water in Flint, MI was poisoning the residents there. The stories she told of what was being done (and NOT being done) in that city were astounding. She is truly a hero for all that she's done, and yet she was the one of the most humble, loving, appreciative women I've ever met. Read this book. I know there are things in there that 95% of America doesn't even know about.

We were also given a review copy of Elizabeth Berg's new book, NIGHT OF MIRACLES, which is a follow-up to her sweet and charming book, THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV. If you've never read anything by Elizabeth Berg, you must. Her books are like curling up with a cozy blanket on a comfy couch; you just kind of let yourself fall into them.

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I will end this by telling you about the highlight of my day: meeting Elinor Lipman. I don't know how many of you are familiar with this treasure of a writer, but I've been reading her books for many, many years, and she is such a treat. Her characters and her stories are quirky and odd, but extremely likable. The first book I read of hers was THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE, and I was hooked. Others that I would recommend are: ISABEL'S BED and THEN SHE FOUND ME.

Anyway, when I got to the Open House on Thursday, I was reading over the schedule and saw that Elinor Lipman would be interviewing Emily Giffin in the last session of the day (what?! she wasn't previously announced!) I went to someone in charge and asked if she would be attending the cocktail party and signing books with the other authors. The person I asked wasn't sure, so she went to the back room to ask Ms. Lipman herself, and when she came back she said "Elinor wasn't planning to stay, but was so pleasantly surprised that someone asked her to sign a book that she's decided she'll be there!" (I then run to the pop-up bookshop and purchase yet another copy of THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE for her to sign.)

At the cocktail party, I was in line to meet Emily Giffin when I saw Elinor Lipman walk in and start getting set up at a table to sign books. I wanted to get to her before anyone else realized she was there, so I asked (begged) the people behind me to please save my spot. I ran over to her and said "Hi! I'm the one who asked if you'd be signing books! I've loved you for years, blah blah blah" [Not gonna lie. She was a little overwhelmed. But I couldn't stop.] After I fished out a pen for her (she said the Sharpie they gave her bleeds through the pages and she's right) we started chatting (she is as lovely as I'd imagined) and then she said "Wait. I have something for you." (What?!) She reached in her bag and pulled out a review copy of her new book (GOOD RIDDANCE), which comes out in February, and hands it to me, saying "I brought this to give to one special fan, and you are definitely the one!" And then she pulled out her business card with her phone number and email address and asked me to let her know what I think when I finish. [NO BIG DEAL, GUYS]

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Ok, I think that's enough for today. Hopefully I've given you some ideas for summer reading; still working out the kinks on the page, and will hopefully have more recommendations and links on the other pages under each category soon.

Until then... Happy Reading!