Blogger Book Boost

In support of books as holiday gifts, I’m hosting Blogger Book Boost. Instructions are at the bottom if you want to participate. Please do! My aim is to gather lots of good book recommendations for holiday reading and presents.

I have a tradition with one set of relatives of exchanging books every Christmas. Books get away from the materialism of the holidays and get back to sharing something special. Plus they are affordable. My family celebrates Hanukkah and Christmas, and both are three weeks away.

Book sales are way down since the economic crash. If we still want to see anything but "gift" and celebrity books published, we need to put our money where our reading eyes are. Independent bookstores are suffering, and even Borders is at risk of folding. I love blogs, but they don’t replace books that you can take anywhere and give as a presents.


Here is my list of new release books (last 6 months) that would make great gifts. I’ve linked to my blog reviews from the titles.


Children’s Chapter Book:
Cynthia Lord, Rules
(ages 9-12)
A girl with an autistic brother learns about love and patience with a sense of humor. Last year’s Newbury Honor book has now been released in paperback. Maine author.






Young Adult:
(ages 11-15)
Charlotte Agell, Shift
A teenaged boy in a not so futuristic world tries to prevent global disaster. Add romance, a penguin and a psychic younger sister, and it’s a fun ride. Maine author.




Women’s Fiction:
Jane Green, The Beach House
A lovely old house on Nantucket Island brings together an odd assortment of characters. A sunny story of love and fulfillment that will chase away winter blues.






Memoir:
Jean Naggar, Sipping from the Nile
A personal story of Sephardic Jews in Egypt during the 1950's. A look back into a happy family history and a lost elegant lifestyle.







Fictional Memoir:
Curtis Sittenfeld, American Wife
An all American story from the midwest. A former librarian with a big heart is married to an unpopular Republican President. Sounds like Laura Bush?







Short Stories:
Jhumpa Lahiri, Unaccustomed Earth
Beautifully written tales about the ethnic American experience and modern relationships. The stories are bittersweet without a word out of place.

Literary Fiction:
Per Petterson, To Siberia

To Siberia is set in Denmark in the time around the Nazi occupation. The protagonist is a girl who dreams of leaving her small village to venture further north to Siberia. Her rakish brother dreams of Morocco and bootlegging. The two form a close bond over books and adventures.

Per Petterson is a master of writing simple prose that reflects the icy beauty of the northern landscape. The home feels as cold inside. A childhood devoid of love, except between siblings, is all the more barren due to what is missing. Poverty is both the lack of material and emotional comfort.

The story is bleak, but the heroine is strong and uncomplaining. She is a vital force, rescuing both loved ones and the enemy. There is pleasure to be found in living, no matter how hard the circumstances. It’s an uplifting tale for these difficult times: it could be much worse!

To Siberia is the second novel of Petterson’s to be published in the USA although it was published first in his country, Norway. After Out Stealing Horses won an international award, the American publishing industry took notice of this talented foreign writer. It wouldn’t be the first time that an author’s books were published out of order. Hopefully we shall see more of Petterson’s work in translation.

I loved Out Stealing Horses more of the two, but both are well worth reading. To Siberia makes a beautiful gift both inside and out. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but Steen L. Petterson’s painting is stunning. Is the artist the author’s brother? If so, then this tribute to a brother’s love is all the more personal.

There are many other books that I’ve reviewed in my sidebar. I only blog about books that I like. Many of you have asked about my novels. Nothing is published yet, but my agent is working on it. Maybe another year’s holiday….

Here are New York Times book critics 10 Favorite Books of 2008:
Michiko Kakutani and Janet Maslin

How to join Blogger Book Bailout:

Post a comment:
- with your book recommendations (no spoilers)
- or with a hyperlink to your own Blogger Book Boost post
and link back to this post in your blog at: http://blog.sarahlaurence.com/2008/12/blogger-book-boost.html

Instructions on how to hyperlink in the comments and in your blog.
Or just post a comment if this is too tricky.

Sunrise out my window in Maine.

Today I’m traveling back to Maine to rejoin my family so I’ll be off line most of the day. Next week I’ll blog about my fun time in NYC, including meeting two bloggers that you'll recognize from my sidebar.

UPDATE: links to more Blogger Book Boost posts (12/21/08)
If you want to join, add a comment, and I’ll update these links.

Charlotte Agell:
1. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
the tale of a girl in Nazi Germany, narrated by Death
2. The Wild Girls, by Pat Murphy, (which I notice is a Jean Naggar book!) a wonderful YA read about writing and life
3. I'm Looking Through You Growing up Haunted: a Memoir, another funny and brave book by Maine's own Jennifer Finney Boylan

Troutbirder
Ms. Wis (Each Little World)
Bee Drunken
Just A Plane Ride Away...
Tina (In the Garden)
Cindy (Caboose Chronicles)
Elizabeth (About New York)
Tessa (An Aerial Armadillo)

The Word Mechanic

Shower Fresh Garden