October Book #1

Book: Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge

Book in a sentence: Mosca Mye takes up with a silver-tongued conman named Eponymous Clent in order to get to the city Mandelion and go to school, but ends up starting something of a revolution.

Best thing about this book: The delicious joy Ms. Hardinge takes in words. The names are inventive, the world is built so well you actually believe it could have existed, and she uses so many beautiful words. This is a book that I've read about 3 times, years apart, and I'm always amazed by the beautiful language.

Happy reading!

The Friday Five

Five Books I Like to Give as Gifts
(in no particular order)

1. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
2. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
3. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
4. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
5. Olivia by Ian Falconer

What books do you like to give others?

September Book #2

Book: The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris

The sequel to Chocolat. Skip it.

The Friday Five

Five Awesome Opening Lines (in no particular order):

• There was once, in the country of Alifbay, a sad city, the saddest of cities, a city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name. -Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories
• When Josey woke up and saw the feathery frost on her windowpane, she smiled. Finally, it was cold enough to wear long coats and tights. It was cold enough for scarves and shirts worn in layers, like camouflage. It was cold enough for her lucky red cardigan, which she swore had a power of its own. She loved this time of year. -Sarah Addison Allen, The Sugar Queen
• It is a day of yellow fog, and the Folk are hungry. -Franny Billingsley, The Folk Keeper
• A surging, seething, murmuring crowd of beings that are human only in name, for to they eye and ear they seem naught but savage creatures, animated by vile passions and by the lust of vengeance and hate. -Baroness Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel
• I have been afraid of putting air in a tire ever since I saw a tractor tire blow up and throw Newt Hardbine's father over the top of the Standard Oil sign. -Barbara Kingsolver, The Bean Trees

September Book #1

Book: Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Book in a sentence: A woman opens a chocolate shop in a town in France that is filled with secrets.

Best thing about this book: I bought this book back in 2005 while I was staying in London for a semester. I had seen the movie, of course, but wanted to read the book that it inspired. Needless to say they are vastly different. I love the way Ms. Harris moves back and forth from Vianne's point of view to the priest's. They are so vastly different, yet both think they are doing right. It's such an interesting juxtaposition. I found out that this is the first of three books about Vianne, so expect those to be coming soon!

Happy reading!

August Book #3

Book: The Love Goddess's Cooking School by Melissa Senate

Book in a sentence: A chick inherits her grandmother's cooking school and cafe, but doesn't know how to cook.

Best thing about this book: The prose was really beautiful and there were moments when I would get lost in it. There were, however, a lot of typos in the copy I read and that was annoying. If you're looking for a sweet, albeit predictable, read then this book is for you!

Happy reading!

August Book #2

Book: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Book in a sentence: Two teens with cancer fall in love.

Best thing about this book: John Green has this amazing ability to make you laugh at one sentence and cry at the next. This book is amazing and touching and funny and I absolutely loved it. Apparently there's going to be a movie made about it, but don't let that stop you from reading it.

Happy reading!