A novel you have to read!

By michele on September 25, 2010 | Add a Comment

I had never read any book by David Grossman before.  But I HAD to read his latest novel, TO THE END OF THE LAND, when I got an advanced reader's copy in the mail with a glowing blurb from one of my favorite writers, Nicole Krauss. I'm really glad I picked the book up. I found myself in an immense, sprawling novel that beautifully addresses issues of love and war.  Here's an excerpt from my review for The Book Studio: 

"To the End of the Land" is about the darkest moments in life; torture and heartbreak and despair. Yet it’s also about reconciliation and recognition.  It’s a powerful and important novel that expertly shows the all-too-human side of war.

You can read more of my short review here. 

 The Time Traveler's Wife was an amazing book filled with sadness and happiness. I would consider it one of my favorite books. After I read The Time Traveler's Wife, I read the classic book, Catcher in the Rye. The book is about a boy named Holden who spends three days in New York City. It talks about all of his adventures and memorial experiences. The Catcher in the Rye is a fast read, and definitely a book worth reading!

Charlie St. Cloud is the book I am currently reading. It has an amazing plot and right away you fall in love with the book, and the wonderful relationship between two brothers. My next book is another classic, Lord of the Flies! I’ll tell you how I liked it next week!

Keep on reading!

Yesterday afternoon, I read a new favorite book of mine called Sarah’s Key. This wonderful book is about a ten-year-old Jewish girl named Sarah who lives in France. When the police come banging on the door to take Sarah and her family to the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup, Sarah locks her little brother in their secret hiding place to keep him safe. She promises to come back for him, and takes the key with her to the roundup. Sixty years later, a woman named Julia Jarmond is a journalist writing an article on this horrific event. She soon finds out about Sarah, and is instantly drawn to her. Julia makes surprising discoveries on Sarah’s life that link them together, and will change Julia’s life forever! 

Sarah’s Key is an amazing book and I would rate it 5+ stars! My next book is The Time Travelers Wife. 

Keep on reading!

I Heart Lily King’s FATHER OF THE RAIN: or, How A Bookseller in Colorado Almost Inadvertently Killed Me

By liberty on July 28, 2010 | Add a Comment

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I am a HUGE fan of Twitter. It was on Twitter last year that I met Joe B. Foster, my personal book guru. A super-smart, fantastically sardonic bookseller in Colorado, Joe has never let me down with a book recommendation. I blindly follow all of his suggestions. But, a few months ago, I balked at one of his picks.

“Father of the Rain, by Lily King,” he told me. Now, I had heard good things about King’s first two books, but had not read her myself.

So I looked the book up. It’s the story of Daley and her alcoholic father, and the affect their relationship has on her, both as a child, and an adult. While I was sure Joe was right about it being good, admittedly, this did not sound like the usual kind of book I read. I like dark and twisted.

“Hmmmm,” I thought, “No murder. No anthropomorphic animals. No pictures. I’m not sure.”

I am currently reading the book called Beautiful Creatures. It’s a fantasy book about a boy named Ethan Wate. He lives in a boring town, and dreams of traveling the world when he is older. One day, he meets a girl named Lena who he is immediately drawn to. She has long black hair and green eyes. The only problem is, she is living with her uncle who hasn’t come out of his “haunted house” since Ethan was born. But, he soon finds out she has a huge secret that might tear them apart. Beautiful Creatures is an amazing book so far, and I can’t stop reading it.  Out of five stars, I would give this book a 4.5 so far. Keep on Reading!

What I Talk About When I Talk About Things That Gwen Makes Fun Of Me For

By liberty on July 05, 2010 | Add a Comment

It’s summer! It’s vacation time! Know what you need? A really big, epic book to read – and I have just the book for you. Two words, my little book kittens: LONESOME. DOVE. The Pulitzer winner by Larry McMurtry. Now, I know I’m a little late to the Lonesome Dove party. And trust me, I’ve been kicking myself for it.

Request Your Presence, Await Your Reply

By tom on June 01, 2010 | Add a Comment

About 10 years ago I bought a book of short stories called Among The Missing because it had a blurb on the front by Lorrie Moore, and frankly, I will read whatever Lorrie Moore tells me to.  The book later was nominated for the National Book Award, and the author's name was Dan Chaon.

 I am so pleased to have Dan Chaon reading at the store next week (Tuesday, June 8th, 7pm) for the paperback release of Await Your Reply.  I absolutely loved this new book, which is an intense mediation on identity.  Can a person really just step from one life into another, and if they can, what happens to the people left behind?  It also has the forward motion of a thriller while keeping a very low-key, conversational style.  Yet it manages to also ask probing philosophical questions.  It's a great book.

We'd love to see you there,

Tom 

My name is Emma and I am a teenage girl who loves to read. I have been volunteering at RiverRun bookstore for the past three years. Next year, I will be able to officially work there. This summer, my goal is to read a book a week. I plan to critique about it, and share how I liked it on Emma’s Picks. I hope Emma’s Picks will make people want to read more and have fun along the way.   

Lately, I have been into Nicholas Sparks books. I read Dear John and it was amazing, with a very sad ending. I just finished The Last Song, and saw the movie as well which was also sad but great.  My Next Sparks book is The Choice. 

Some of our favorite books of 2009!

By michele on December 12, 2009 | Add a Comment

Books! We love them. Which is why we want to share with you some of our favorite books of the year.  For the month of December, you can go to RiverRun and get these books at twenty percent off! (That's in-store only, not online).  

Click here to see our list! What were some of your favorite books of the year? 

Yes, it's true. I just can't stop talking about this book.

By michele on July 08, 2009 | Add a Comment

Do you ever love a book so much that you just really can not stop talking about it? That's how I feel about Tinkers by Paul Harding.  I've talked about him on my personal blog.  I've written a review of the book for The Quarterly Conversation. I've also interviewed him for the July issue of one of my absolutely favorite online literary journals, Bookslut.