BOTNS Books Podcast #50: FIFTY!

Books on the Nightstand, Episode 50 (18:13)

Here we are, our 50th episode!  It's been amazing and we're looking forward to what the future brings for Books on the Nightstand. We couldn't have come this far (or had such a great time!) if it weren't for all of you, our loyal readers and listeners. 

Thank you so much to Denise, Ashley and Shona who wrote in, and to Heather, Melissa, Suzanne and Tanya who called our voice mail line. They all shared books they loved, that they heard about here. All of the books mentioned are listed below and the titles link back to the original post or podcast where we first talked about the book. If you've been thinking about reading any of these, they now have even more enthusiasm behind them!

As Ann mentioned, Tanya's story about Waiting for Columbus originally appeared in a guest post she wrote for us. If you haven't read her post yet, you must. Once you do, you'll want to listen to the audio or read the book for yourself!

Once again, thank you all for your continued support of Books on the Nightstand!

(You can listen to the podcast by using the player at the top of this post. If you're using Internet Explorer, click twice to listen. If your browser does not support javascript, you won't see the player; click the link below the player to listen, or right-click to download the episode. If you are receiving this post by email and cannot see the player at the bottom of the message, please visit http://www.booksonthenightstand.com to listen)

photo (page 50 of Any Human Heart) taken by Marny Kindness 
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles from this episode link to the orginal post or podcast where the book was first discussed. Here are the books from this post:
anything by Chris Bohjalian
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, Vintage trade paperback

Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, Random House trade paperback
The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Vintage trade paperback
Identical Strangers by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein, Random House trade paperback
The Giver by Lois Lowry, Laurel-Leaf paperback
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, HarperCollins hardcover and audio
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, Delacorte hardcover
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt, Knopf hardcover
The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman, Ballantine hardcover
Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd, HarperPerennial trade paperback
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan, Algonquin trade paperback
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Penguin trade paperback
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, Dial Press trade paperback
The Alienist by Caleb Carr, Random House trade paperback
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, Knopf Books for Young Readers
The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper, Delta trade paperback
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz, Spiegel and Grau trade paperback
Love in the Driest Season by Neely Tucker, Three Rivers Press trade paperback
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, Knopf hardcover
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist, Other Press trade paperback
Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk, Doubleday hardcover
Something Missing by Matthew Dicks, Broadway trade paperback
Beowulf on the Beach by Jack Murnighan, Three Rivers Press trade paperback    

(all information is for the U.S. editions).

Spotlight on: Arts and Culture Book Club

Today's Book Group Spotlight intrigues me because it's a group that not only revolves around a particular theme, but it is also an offshoot of the programming at a cultural institution. The Arts and Culture Book Club meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month (September through June) in the upstairs art gallery of the Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Beth Stout, who works for the Arts Center, wrote in to tell us about the group:

We got started because the Arts Center offers a free event every Tuesday of the month. On First Tuesday we celebrate our art gallery opening. On Second Tuesday we have Open Poetry Night and on Third Tuesday we have our Spoken Word Lecture Series. In looking for something related to our mission, an Arts & Culture Book Club seemed like a good fit. So I spread the word via e-mail, web and news releases and we attracted 12 people to get the club started.

We read books – mostly non-fiction but one or two novels – related to the arts. Our 2009 book list included a biography of Diego Rivera; a history of the Faberge’ Eggs; a biography of Louis Armstrong and the novel, Luncheon of the Boating Party. We also read Jonathan Lopez’, The Man Who Made Vermeers. That, along with Faberge’s Eggs by Toby Faber probably drew the most discussion.

Our book list for 2010 is already selected. We have most of the same group returning after the summer. Two participants reluctantly dropped out due to time conflicts – we meet from 6-7:30pm. But we gained 3 new members over the summer, so our group will be a little bit bigger. Our group is largely women, but we do have two men. It’s an enthusiastic group and our discussions are lively and reflect a depth of knowledge about background material because many of our members are artists themselves – which is fun.

I think the idea of a book group within a museum or arts organization is an idea that should be more widespread. If you know of any others, please tell us in the comments. And if you work with an arts organization in your area, please consider hosting a book group of your own. I know that if there were such a group near me, I'd be sure to join!

Thanks so much, Beth, for telling us about your group and for sharing your group's photos -- and for hopefully inspiring others to start something similar!

An Update on Another Food Book that I Love

Ann mentioned in the comments section of today's podcast show notes that she just started listening to the audio of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and the she is really enjoying it. I too loved that book. Another book on the same topic (and one that Kingsolver references in her book) is Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. Like Kingsolver and her family, Alisa and J.B. vow to eat a "100-mile-diet" for one year, but they do it without the relative luxury of living on a farm and growing their own food. I originally spoke about the book in episode 8 of the podcast, so check that out if you'd like to hear more.

In a nice bit of serendipity, I just found out yesterday that Alisa and J.B. created a show for Canadian television and it has just started airing on Planet Green here in the U.S. The show, called The 100-Mile Challenge, started last week, so I've already missed an episode, but I've got the rest set to tape on my DVR and can't wait to watch!

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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Perennial trade paperback
Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, Three Rivers Press trade paperback

(all information is for the U.S. editions).

BOTNS Books Podcast #49: Food, Glorious Food!

Books on the Nightstand, Episode 49 (22:48)

It's awards season! The National Book Awards finalists were announced this past week, and we are thrilled that two books we've spoken about previously, Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann, and Stitches by David Small, were both on the shortlist.

The Man Booker Prize was also recently awarded to Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Ann was rooting for one of the shortlisted titles, The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt, which she spoke about in podcast #46.

The full list of the National Books Awards finalists can be found here, and the list of the Man Booker Prize shortlisted titles are here.

In segment 2, Ann marks the end of Farmer's Market season by reading a few books about the importance of eating locally and sustainably. Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food looks at the current obsession with "nutritionism" in the United States. Pollan's manifesto can be boiled down to a simple statement: "Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much." Next on Ann's reading list is Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Michael recently blogged about Food Matters by Mark Bittman, which is similar in focus to In Defense of Food, but also contains recipes. Kitchen Express is Bittman's newest cookbook, which is organized seasonally and is written in a manner that allows the home cook to experiment and put their own twist on the recipes.

Judith Jones' The Pleasures of Cooking for One is a book that Ann has been savoring for the last few weeks. Judith believes that everyone should treat yourself to a pleasurable meal, even if you eat alone. In her book, she tells you how to shop and plan your meals so that you can take advantage of market offerings but not eat the same dish for an entire week.  This book reminds Michael of Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food, which is also one of Ann's favorites.

In segment 3, Michael talks about John Irving's Last Night in Twisted River. This is a novel spanning 50 years, and begins with the accidental shooting of a local constable's girlfriend, who a young boy mistakes for a bear. Danny, the boy, and his father Dominic, go on the run, traveling through America and Canada in vintage John Irving fashion. John Irving has written a short piece about the writing of the novel, and has created a video talking about it, on the official John Irving website.

Ann talks about The Glass Room by Simon Mawer, which is published by Other Press and was shortlisted for The Man Booker prize. Set in 1930s Czechoslovokia, it's the story of a well-to-do couple who hire an architect to build their home. The home becomes the center of the novel, with its massive windows and wall of onyx acting as the mechanism for telling the story of the family and the history of the time. It should be in stores by the time you read this.

(You can listen to the podcast by using the player at the top of this post. If you're using Internet Explorer, click twice to listen. If your browser does not support javascript, you won't see the player; click the link below the player to listen, or right-click to download the episode. If you are receiving this post by email and cannot see the player at the bottom of the message, please visit http://www.booksonthenightstand.com to listen)

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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:


Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, Random House hardcover

Stitches by David Small, W.W. Norton hardcover
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, Henry Holt hardcover

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt, Knopf hardcover

Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Philips, Knopf hardcover

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, Penguin trade paperback

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Pengin trade paperback

Food Matters by Mark Bittman, Simon & Schuster hardcover

Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express by Mark Bittman, Simon & Schuster hardcover

The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones, Knopf hardcover
The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters, Random House hardcover
Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving, Random House hardcover

The Glass Room by Simon Mower, Other Press trade paperback

(all information is for the U.S. editions).


image credit: NatalieMaynor via Flickr

Spotlight on: Elementary School Book Clubs

In honor of National Reading Group Month, we asked Books on the Nightstand readers and listeners to tell us a bit about their reading groups. Caroline Rose wrote in to tell us about her group. As the mother of a second-grader and a fifth-grader myself, I immediately wished that I had a Caroline in our life. Thank you, Caroline, for sharing your incredible work with us!

Caroline says:

I'm a former upper-elementary/middle-school social studies teacher in Lousiana, former because I've decided to focus on writing full time. I couldn't walk away completely, though. I feel too strongly about promoting books and I wanted to continue my relationships with my students. Having started a historical fiction book club with my older students last year, my fabulous principal has let me design my own after-school program, extending down to third grade.

I meet with third grade by themselves and have paired fourth with fifth and sixth with seventh. The third graders are moving into chapter books and mid-grade novels for the first time, and I wanted to share things I loved as a girl -- Ramona, The Boxcar Children -- as well as new classics, such as Sarah, Plain and Tall, and The Whipping Boy.

The fourth and fifth grade will focus on historical fiction, old and new, from Pedro's Journal (a story about travels with Columbus) to Karen Cushman's '49er novel, The Ballad of Lucy Whipple.

The sixth and seventh grade will focus on historical fiction, with some ancient world (The Bronze Bow), medieval (Crispin: Cross of Lead), and modern (The Yearling) thrown in.

Kids need to see adults excited about literature! They need someone reading alongside, learning what topics interest them, suggesting titles, thinking through storylines/settings/characters with them. I have come to know my students in a deeper way through this process. Kids are born readers and need the place to experience story with others.

Full lists are on my blog, Carolinebyline.blogspot.com.

Caroline, I couldn't agree more about the importance of adult reading in the life of a child. Thank you so much for telling us about your group. In fact, I'm going to grab a copy of The Bronze Bow for my fifth-grader; she's very interested in the ancient world, and Elizabeth George Speare was a favorite author of mine when I was that age. Thanks for the recommendation!

A Story Too Good to Stay Buried in the Comments

If you've ever blogged, you know that it can sometimes feel like a lot of work. I confess that there are many times when I'd rather be reading a book then blogging about reading a book. But then, every so often, I am reminded of the incredible community that has sprung up here, and I realize that I get so much from your participation that it could never really be just "work".

I had an experience like that just recently. It happened in the comments of Josh Christie's post Bring on the Tears. Tanya's comments, and subsequent expansion on those comments, were so powerful that I had to pull them out and give them their own space.

In his post, Josh asked, "What book made you cry?". Tanya, who works for an audiobook publisher, answered:

This year I read WAITING FOR COLUMBUS (by Thomas Trofimuk) which had such a powerful denouement that I broke down, as did my husband who narrated it (in fact, you can hear him break down on the recording. He wanted to go back and "fix" it, but it was such an honest reading that when he tried to "pull back" it ended up sounded fake! So, the original reading stands...)

I feel like I've known Tanya for a long time, thanks to her interaction with us here at Books on the Nightstand, but I had no idea that her husband was an audiobook narrator, and had no inkling that he narrated this book that I loved so much. Of course, I needed to know more, so I asked Tanya to tell us the whole story. Here it is:

"Last April you mentioned WAITING FOR COLUMBUS in a blog/podcast. That's all you did, mention it, but for some reason I became obsessed with it. I literally couldn't wait until August to read the book, but I had no way to legitimately, personally, request an Advance Reading Copy from the publisher, so... I asked my boss to look into getting a galley. I was shocked when he came back and told me that our company had acquired the audiobook rights for the book!

The manuscript came to Blackstone and I was so excited, but I was soon thwarted in my attempts to pre-read it! My husband, Grover Gardner, who is the studio director for the company, always vets the galleys in order to make casting choices. He got the first crack at Waiting For Columbus and after reading the first chapter, insisted that he himself was going to narrate! He pre-read the whole of the book and finished right before dinner one night. Fork midway between plate and mouth, he stopped, started crying and left the table. He walked the dog for an hour and a half. All because of Waiting For Columbus. Of all the books he has narrated, this had never happened before. When he came back from his "time-out" I suspiciously queried him as to whether the book was that maudlin. He shook his head and only said "You'll see."

I insisted on being the recording engineer for the book. We were in the booth. The first "land mine" hit and I was affected, but okay. The second land mine hit and I could barely hold it together. Grover, even though he had already read the book, fell apart again. It is not maudlin, but beautifully and powerfully written. The book has become a very personal experience for each of us and both of us.

Even now, months after we cut the master, I can quote certain passages and there is one passage in particular which still sends me into a paroxysm of emotion. The book had another impact on me in a much more general way: I now search out books written by poet-novelists. I've come to appreciate Ondaatje's and Margaret Atwater's word crafting in particular, but it was Thomas Trofimuk's words that found their way to my heart first.

Anyway, that's probably way more than you wanted to know, but there it is.
For those who may be interested in the audiobook, you can listen to a sample at the Blackstone Audiobooks page for the title.

Tanya, thank you so very much for sharing your story. It's amazing, and moving, and I can't wait to listen to the audio with your and Grover's experience in mind.

BOTNS Books Podcast #48: October is Spooky Books Month

Books on the Nightstand, Episode 48 (24:31)

I'm back from my short BOTNS family leave (though, since we prerecorded a few episodes, it's like I was never away!). Finn is two weeks old and very cute, but he's seriously cutting into my reading time... these days, I'd rather just stare at him!

A quick reminder to please call our voice mail line with your story of a book you loved that you heard about here on Books on the Nightstand. We'd love to include several of these in our 50th podcast episode. Please call in by Wednesday, October 21st, so we'll have time to put the episode together for 10/28.

Over at our Goodreads group, Stephanie started a discussion thread asking for suggestion for spooky reads for the Fall. We here at Books on the Nightstand have decided to name October Spooky Books Month, since so many of us set our sights on those kinds of books this month anyway! On that discussion, some of the suggestions included Fragment, The Amityville Horror, The Graveyard Book, 'Salem's Lot, The Strain and The Terror. Ann and I reminisce about reading John Saul as teenagers and Ann talks about reading his current book, House of Reckoning, and his storytelling is just as good as she remembers! Ann also talks about Great Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe, which is part of the NEA's Big Read, and is the book that Ann's town is currently reading.

Ending this segment on spooky books, I need your help remembering a supremely creepy short story. In the podcast, I mention thinking that it was written Arthur C. Clarke or Ray Bradbury, but now I'm pretty convinced it was an Isaac Asimov story. I still can't remember the title though! It is a very short story (just under 2 pages or so, I think), that involves a bunch of scientists who see the face of the devil in the footage of a mushroom cloud that they are analyzing. It gives me shivers just thinking about it! [UPDATE: Thanks to Sibylle who solved the mystery! The story is by Asimov and is called Hell-Fire. Sibylle even posted a link to the story online! Go read it and tell me if it freaks you out as it did me!]

This week's book I can't wait for you to read is The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, a non-fiction look at John Charles Gilkey, a man who stole rare books, just so he could add them to his personal library. Also included is the story of Ken Saunders, self-proclaimed "bibliodick," who makes it his mission to catch Gilkey. Ann's choice for this week is Orhan Pamuk's new novel The Museum of Innocence, which is about Kemal, a young man in 1970s Istanbul, who is in love with Füsun, a woman society forbids him from being with. He responds to this denial by creating a museum of everything Füsun touches. Interestingly, Orhan Pamuk has opened a museum to preserve items of everyday Turkish culture. You can read more about the museum here.

(You can listen by using the player at the top of this post. If you're using Internet Explorer, click twice to listen. If your browser does not support javascript, you won't see the player; click the link below the player to listen, or right-click to download the episode. If you are receiving this post by email and cannot see the player at the bottom of the message, please visit http://www.booksonthenightstand.com to listen)
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:
Fragment by Warren Fahy, Delacorte Press hardcover 
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson, Pocket Star mass market 

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, HarperCollins hardcover 
'Salem's Lot by Stephen King, Pocket mass market 
The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, William Morrow hardcover 
The Terror by Dan Simmons, Little, Brown and Company mass market 
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, HarperTorch mass market 
The Omen by David Seltzer, Signet mass market
anything by John Saul, including House of Reckoning, Ballantine hardcover 
Great Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe, Vintage trade paperback 
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett, Riverhead hardcover 
The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk, Knopf hardcover

(all information is for the U.S. editions).

Spotlight on: Enzo's Book Club

We love book clubs here at Books on the Nightstand, and when we heard that the National Women's Book Association had dubbed October to be National Reading Group Month, we wanted to mark the occasion in some way. So we put out a call for our readers and listeners to tell us about their book groups. We've gotten a very nice response, and we will run these spotlights occasionally throughout October. There's still time to tell us about your group: details are in our earlier post, Show Us Your Book Group.

Our first spotlight is Enzo's Book Club, which is located on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Kate wrote in to tell us about the group, which meets monthly in a member's home. The club is made up of 9 school employees who all love to read. Kate says:

"One of the members organized the book club last year and we have been going strong since. We take turns hosting and the member who hosts chooses the book to read. We read all genres, mostly fiction. We have great discussions on all books but the The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, and Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult were the best discussions.

Our name comes from the first book we read as a group - The Art of Racing in the Rain. We had a great discussion and decided that we would be called Enzo's Girls after the main character in the book."

I just love that the group's name came from a literary character in a book they read together. I've been in many reading groups, but not one of them ever had a name.

This book was also mentioned in Bring On The Tears, a recent Books on the Nightstand guest post by Josh Christie. Josh names this as one of the books that made him cry due to its "heartrending (yet hopeful) last few pages."

I have had this book on my nightstand for quite a long time. I may need to move it up higher.

Thank you, Kate, for telling us about your book group!

One Book, Two Very Happy Inner Geeks

I got a book in the mail a few days ago and it has lived on my kitchen counter ever since. No, it's not there because it's a cookbook. It's there because I can't stop looking at it and the counter is the easiest, most accessible place to find it. More about the book in a moment, but first a little background.

I'm a LEGO fanatic. Always have been, always will be. I have wonderful memories of putting my LEGO Space sets together on the floor in front of the Christmas tree. (Buying my son his first LEGO set was a very happy day for me!) Also, having grown up in the 70's and 80's, Star Wars was a huge influence on me. I had all the action figures and saw the movies multiple times.

So imagine my thrill when I received LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia as a gift from a friend. LEGO first started releasing Star Wars sets in 1999. 190+ sets later, the line is celebrating its 10th Anniversary and this lavish book has been created to honor the occasion.

The book begins with a timeline of the sets, then goes into an in-depth look at each of them, with close-up photos, descriptions and facts and figures (the Millennium Falcon set has 5,195 pieces and a 311-page instruction manual!)

The book also includes an exclusive collectible LEGO minifigure of Luke Skywalker as he appeared at the end of the first Star Wars movie. Not only do you get an incredible book, but you get a toy too!

If you've got a Star Wars or LEGO fan in your life, you just found their holiday present.
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:

LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary by Simon Beecroft, DK Publishing hardcover

(all information is for the U.S. editions).

BOTNS Books Podcast #47: DystopYA

Books on the Nightstand, Episode 47 (27:31)

In segment one of this week's episode, we revisit the idea of "reading challenges," which we originally talked about in BOTNS podcast #4. Challenges are typically posted by a book blogger, who sets some rules and then "challenges" you to read a certain number of books, or books in a particular category, etc.

Some recent challenges that we like:
Japanese Literature Challenge at Dolce Bellezza
Sci-Fi Reading Challenge at the Stage and Canvas blog

A few places to find reading challenges on the web:
A Novel Challenge
Reading Challenges Blog
Reading Challenge Clearinghouse

In Segment 2, we talk about dystopic young adult fiction. One of the most memorable books that Ann read as a kid was House of Stairs by William Sleator, which was dystopic, though Ann didn't know that term at the time. There are many books in this category that have been published recently, including The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and its sequel, Catching Fire. The Giver by Lois Lowry is a classic dystopic novel that won the Newbery Prize in 1994, and it's an incredibly powerful novel that adults will enjoy. Candor by Pam Bachorz has just been published, and was inspired by Celebration, Florida, the town that Disney built.

Ann also announces the DystopYA Reading Challenge. We'd love for you to participate. You can find full details here.

 

In segment 3, Michael talks about Peter and Max, a novel based on the bestselling Fables comic book series.  It's the story of Peter Piper and his older brother Max, who live in the Black Forest and stumble upon some magic. Ann talks about The Maze Runner by James Dashner, a fantastic dystopic novel that had her wishing for a sequel as soon as she finished the book.

(You can listen by using the player at the top of this post. If you're using Internet Explorer, click twice to listen. If your browser does not support javascript, you won't see the player; click the link below the player to listen, or right-click to download the episode. If you are receiving this post by email and cannot see the player at the bottom of the message, please visit http://www.booksonthenightstand.com to listen)
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:

House of Stairs by William Sleator, Puffin paperback
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic hardcover
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic hardcover
The Giver by Lois Lowry, Laurel-Leaf paperback
Candor by Pam Bachorz, EgmontUSA
Peter & Max by Bill Willingham and Steve Leialoha, Vertigo hardcover
The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Delacorte Books for Young Readers hardcover

(all information is for the U.S. editions).