Beach Reading

I'm adding some books/authors to my summer beach reading list. (my poor husband). Eva Ibbotson and Mette Ivie Harrison look like good YA fantasy authors (if anyone has any experience with either of these authors fill me in!) and Meg Cabot recommends turn-of-the-century mystery author Victoria Thompson.

Austenland

Heads up, ladies! Shannon Hale's latest novel Austenland looks like it belongs on our list. If you haven't read Goose Girl, by her, you really should.

Here's a synopses of Austenland:

Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.

Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen—or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It’s all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

You can even read an excerpt from the book on Shannon's website : http://www.squeetus.com/stage/austen_excerpt.html

Jinx Excerpt

You can read an excerpt of Meg Cabot's "Jinx" here. Sounds witchy. Also, it's interesting what Meg says on that same link about the inspiration for her book. What an interesting history!

Summertime Heads Up

The summer reading plan is pretty much set up, what with all these excellent books coming out, so here's a heads up/info session for those of you who like to be kept informed.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out on July 21. This will be our book for July. I realize that that leaves Very Little Time to read the book for the month but really we all know that we'll be locked in our bedrooms for the 2 days it takes us to read it after we've acquired it at some midnight party so REALLY, it's plenty of time. *grin*

Also (try not to squeal ladies) Eclipse comes out on August 7. This will be our August pick and if you check out Stephenie's web site you can see that she will be on tour here on August 25 in Torrance. Some of us went last year and it was a lot of fun!

For September I'd like to introduce Meg Cabot to bookclub (many of my close friends have already had her forced upon them and have reacted favorably) and her new paranormal YA book Jinx comes out on July 31.

If you get bored this summer and are looking for a good beach-book, I recommend most any of her YA books (careful of the adult books - she used to be a romance writer) especially "Avalon High" or "The Mediator" or "Teen Idol" or "Pants on Fire" (and there is NO butt-touching in that book even though the cover has got a picture of a boy with his hand smack on top of some poor girl's back pocket) :) heh heh.

If y'all have any suggestions, don't be shy. Kristen

Despereaux for $4.99!

Nanette is working at the bookfair for Elle's school and she says she can get Despereaux for $4.99 so if you want a cheap copy tell her by Wednesday!

I am getting one and I'm pretty sure she's getting one for herself and Hannah posted that she got one too so there WILL be copies floating around to borrow too!

It's ALIVE!

Over the course of the last several months many people who were originally in bookclub have moved or gotten involved in other projects/concerns and we're trying this out to see if it will be an easier way to keep everyone in touch, aware, and involved.

A special thanks to Stacie R who spent so much time keeping us all posted and keeping the bookclub going for so long. As she prepares to have her baby we're stepping in to give her a break!

I'd love to keep the tone of the bookclub light and fun and non-stressful for all involved.


To get us started in June, Nanette offered to pick a short and fun book, and to host it at her house when the time comes, (the first week of July-ish). The book is The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo. If you have kids in the 5 + range, you might want to read it to them too (as that's kinda the target audience).

Please feel welcome to post comments on the blog if you have a question about the book, obtaining a copy, or just want to gush about how much you like it. :) If you have any questions please email me.

Kristen