Fashion Friday: Wearing THE SHINING GIRLS

Posted on 7 June 2013 by
THE SHINING GIRLS

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
Mulholland Books, June 2013
368 pages, 4 stars

ABOUT THE BOOK: The Shining Girls is about a time-traveling serial killer. (Let that sink in.) Our killer, Harper, comes upon a house where he sees the names of his future victims scrawled on the wall, as he’s looking at them the landscape outside the window begins to change. He finds himself years in the future where he encounters his first shining girl (i.e. victim). One of his victims survives. Kirby is determined to find out who attacked her, and she seeks the help of Chicago journalist, Dan, who falling in love with her. The narrative alternates between Kirby and the psychopathic mind of Harper spanning 1929-1993.

This novel has a little bit of everything: suspense, romance, feminism, violence. The writing and the juxtaposition of Kirby and Harper’s lives kept me turning pages. This is such an original and well executed idea! I loved it! However, I wasn’t quite sure what the connection between all of the victims was. They are “shining girls,” but it’s never really explained except to say there was a light in their eyes (super vague). A couple of them make sense to me—like the lesbian architect, Kirby, and the female lab worker—because they are the smart, successful women. However, the transsexual performer and the black woman from the 1940s made less sense to me. I think the connection could have been explained a little more.

There were vivid glimpses of Harper’s childhood that didn’t really tell me anything other than he’s always been a psychopath. I liked that Harper began to have some moral struggles towards the middle and end where he sort of wants a wife/family. It was also interesting that he doesn’t enjoy killing some of his victims. Despite this, I don’t think he was that well-rounded of a character as others have claimed, but that works because he’s such a strong antagonist.

All in all it was an awesome read! The writing is very good and has been compared to Margaret Atwood (one of the main reasons I read this!). Also, I love the full circle ending!

ABOUT THE OUTFIT: My dear little victim, it’s 1993 (for now) so don this blood red crop top. The heart shaped opening in the back is big enough to let love in if you’ll allow Dan to kiss you again. But you’re not ready quite yet, so shroud yourself in this sweatshirt. It’s ominous message will keep everyone at arms length, except your attacker.

You can also thank 90s grunge for your distressed jeans. Wrap this scarf around your neck to hide the scars that Harper left behind.

As Dan’s intern you have to cover sports, because he gave up on crime journalism long before he met you. Despite your single-minded determination to unravel your past, you sort of like writing about the Cubs. They are on a losing streak, just like you’ve been the past few years.

These special edition Nikes are spattered with the blood of your victims and this mattifying primer bears your name: Shine Killer.

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Book Giveaway: THE NIGHT GWEN STACY DIED

Posted on 6 June 2013 by

An offbeat love story about the adventures and mutual rescue of a young woman out of place in her hometown and a mysterious stranger who calls himself Peter Parker (and begins to cast her in the role of Spider-Man’s first sweetheart), The Night Gwen Stacy Died is about first loss, first love, and finding our real identities. -Goodreads.com

Unfortunately, due to the mass of books I got at BEA, I can’t review this book right now. Even though I LOVE LOVE the cover and think it would make a fabulous Fashion Friday.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (based here in Boston!) has been kind enough to offer a free copy to one of my readers! So let the games begin…

Please do one or all of the following, and let me know in the comments what you’ve done. The entry for the giveaway will end June 28 at midnight EST. You can enter anytime between now and then! After I randomly choose a winner, I will delete all comments.

To enter, do any or all of the following (the more you do, the more times you are entered to win):

  1. Post a link to the giveaway on Facebook
  2. Tell me your favorite mystery novel in the comments
  3. Tweet about the giveaway (with a link!) use #NGSDgiveaway
  4. Pin the giveaway on Pinterest use #NGSDgiveaway
  5. Instagram a picture of the book you’re reading and tag me (@natalieeramm) and/or use #NGSDgiveaway

Good luck :)

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BEA 2013 recap

Posted on 4 June 2013 by

I’m about a hundred years behind everyone else in writing a recap of BEA 2013. I blame that on the fact that my computer is incredibly shitty and I didn’t take it to NYC with me. But anyway, let’s recap!

Deets:

  • Sat in a Megabus for 6 hours on Tuesday because NYC traffic is insanity. Then did it again on Friday to get back to Boston in time for the weekend.
  • Stayed in a room with 9 other people at the hostel in the Upper West Side, which was as fun as it sounds.

The Fun Stuff:

  • The Blogger Conference happened really early on Wednesday and I met tons of lovely people who were all still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. In the afternoon session I actually talked to Sarah Wendell and made a total fool of myself!

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  • I attended the Independent Book Publisher’s Association’s Benjamin Franklin Awards. And one of the books I’ve worked on, Almost a Psychopath, won the gold!! I had to give an impromptu speech (because the authors couldn’t make it), which was slightly terrifying.

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  • Day one of BEA was nuts. I talked to a ton of publishers on my list, and picked up a few highly anticipated galleys including this one I’m reading right now…

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  • Also attended the Bird Bash at Penguin on Thursday night, which I don’t have pictures of because it was that fun!

20130604-101555.jpgOverall this was a great BEA 2013! I met some great bloggers, like Martin from Every Day Writer and Molly who I mentioned earlier, and am really looking forward to keeping in touch with them and seeing all of these book-loving people at BEA 2014!

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Fashion Friday: Wearing THE INTERESTINGS

Posted on 24 May 2013 by
THE INTERESTINGS

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
Riverhead, April 2013
3 stars, 480 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK: The Interestings is a novel that covers a huge amount of time and material in a seamless fashion. The novel begins in the 1970s when Jules meets The Interestings at art camp in New York. They are all from New York City and seem so glamorous to a girl from a small town upstate. And they appreciate her self-deprecating humor. Jules finally finds herself fitting in for once. They are all fast friends but as they age, they are faced with serious issues, including a rape charge, a brother who disappears, a friend’s lover who is HIV positive, clinical depression, and the stress of life as an adult in NYC. These things bring some of them closer together and push others away. It’s also a story about being an artist or artistic and what that means as an adolescent being different from what it means as an adult. It’s so hard to sum up all that happens in this book! It’s like four lifetimes long!

I really enjoyed The Interestings! But there were definitely times that I was like this is so much white people angst…rich, white people angst! There are also details about each character that are repeated quite a lot, which probably has to do with the length of the book. That repetitiveness would be helpful to someone who was reading this over an extended period of time, but for me it was a little much. There was a relatively insignificant story about Ethan that was told twice, and I just skipped it the second time around.

ABOUT THE OUTFIT: My dear little interesting, your talent for acting has gotten you no where. But Ethan’s talent for drawing comics has paved the way for his future. This tank is one of his creations, and you wear it to show that you’re not envious or anything. Maybe a little jealous, that’s all.

Pair it with these wide leg jeans, which are a modern nod to your bell bottom days. These retro inspired yellow heels will make your legs look miles long. And remind you of the (good?) old days smoking hash at The Labyrinth.

Music is the reason for your high level anxiety. Though you don’t like to play, talent oozes from you. You’re mother was a famous musician, and you could have easily followed in her footsteps, but you chose your own way.

This orange lip gloss is a vibrant color, sure to catch the so desired attention of Goodman. And if not, well, it will make the stain on your lips from vodka and tang (V&Ts) look purposeful. Your manicured fingernails are painted the color of money. You have never lived without it and wouldn’t know how to begin—the one redeeming thing is that you love to share it with your friends in need. You also share with them these friendship necklaces. The three of you (plus Jonah) are the only interestings left.

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Fashion Friday: Wearing HALF AS HAPPY

Posted on 17 May 2013 by
HALF AS HAPPY

Half as Happy by Gregory Spatz
Engine Books, April 2013
188 pgs, 3 stars

ABOUT THE OUTFIT: BOUT THE BOOK: Half as Happy is a group of short stories by Gregory Spatz that encompasses a variety of situations including the loss of a child, eating disorders, marriage in later years, twins separated at birth, and a group of youths getting into trouble. The stories are written with a beautiful almost dreamlike quality. They jump from scene to scene and never end quite where you would expect them. Though they can be hard to follow for lack of spacing and the stream of consciousness quality in some of the stories, Spatz is a capable and promising writer.

ABOUT THE OUTFIT: My dear little invisible-cat lover. Slip on these loafers, which are the perfect tribute to your three cats that you swear exist, despite the fact that no one has ever seen them but you.

This Naked makeup will protect you from the sun on your days lazing by the pool au natural. Though your body is disappearing before your husband’s eyes, you think it looks better and better.

This polka dot dress is reminiscent of a past when you were completely innocent before the unthinkable happened. Top it off with this Drunk on Love sweater. Drink has come to surpass love for you, whether it’s beers all day by the pool or a whole bottle of scotch in the bathroom by yourself.

When you feel the world slipping away you listen to music. Classical mostly, but all kinds. This cassette tape iPhone case is the right fit for you even if your wife is not. Hide it away in your giant over the shoulder bag. There is so much empty space inside that the iPhone case looks lonely. And that’s exactly how you feel.

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Fashion Friday: Wearing HOT PINK

Posted on 10 May 2013 by
HOT PINK 1

Hot Pink by Adam Levin
McSweeney’s, 2012
207 pages, 3 stars

ABOUT THE BOOK: Hot Pink is a collection of short stories that cover things like love, abuse, drug use, friendship, homosexuality, amputee-ism (is that a word?), in a fresh and fascinating voice. Adam Levin’s characters are rich and beautiful, even if a little sensationalist. I loved the story called “Scientific American,” which was about a man whose wall oozed gel. The mental deterioration of the man is incredible well done. I also really enjoyed “Frankenwittgenstein” and “The Extra Mile,” and I particularly liked the “Jane Tell” story, in which the girlfriend of the protagonist likes getting punched or otherwise hurt by random men. “Jane Tell” was an incredible story of how psychologically damaging it can be to be in love with a person who is mentally ill. Things I didn’t like about the collection included: killing animals for one reason or another (this happens like 3 times!) and the story about how to be a Jenny, Steve, Rick, and/or Geoff–I found myself skimming and ultimately skipping most of it. It seemed more like a way for the author to work out what those names meant to him, rather than a story.

ABOUT THE OUTFIT: My dear little Jenny, you are not only young and wild as this sweater proclaims, but you’re completely effed up. In order to really look the part of a Jenny, you have to wear these jeans that are so tight, they look painted on.

These sneakers will keep you grounded while you’re getting high from huffing with Franco and are great for running away when Franco’s dog gets the secret command “nasal spray.” The doll iPhone cover is a nod to your Dad, who spent his life going crazy over making a doll that eats/poops/and grows hair in weird places when she doesn’t eat, so that young girls know how horrible eating disorders really are.

This boxing glove necklace shows your love of getting Ricked. It’s a message to the world around you. Use this hot pink eyeshadow to cover up your discolored skin with the cheap glint of glitter. This hot pink nail polish is Love & Beauty branded, which is all you’re really looking for in life. It’s just so hard to find.

Have you read Hot Pink? I’d be interested to know what others thought about it!

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Romance Roundup: Regency, Young Adult, and Courtesan Romances

Posted on 3 May 2013 by

Title: Lady Vivian Defies a Duke
Author: Samantha Grace
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (May 7th, 2013)
Pages: 352
Rating: 4 stars

Lady Vivian Defies a Duke is a charming regency romance novel by Samantha Grace (an author I’ve read before and liked!). Vivian has always had a wild side, which got her into trouble as a young girl. Consequently, she has never had a season and her brother has betrothed her to a man she has never met. She is determined to fulfill her brother’s expectations, because the alternative is a life in a convent.

Luke Forest is not impressed with how his bride-to-be appears on paper. He has no plans to marry, but wants to travel the world. Nonetheless, he decides he must tell his betrothed of his intentions in person. Little does he know, she is nothing like her brother described her.

Lady Vivian Defies a Duke had just the right amount of hilarity, intrigue, and passion. It was fantastic regency romance!

Title: Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen 2012 (a young adult novel)
Pages: 392
Rating: 4 stars

Echo Emerson went from being popular to a freak after her disappearance at the end of sophomore year. No one knows what to think about the scars on her arms. Echo herself doesn’t even remember what happened the night she got them. Noah Hutchins, a school reject, but a very hot one, runs into her at the school counselor’s office. Sparks fly, love ignites, etc etc. But it’s not like they don’t have problems. Some of the issues these teens face are heartbreaking–like Noah not being able to see his little brothers because their adopted parents don’t want to have anything to do with him.

Pushing the Limits was definitely a page turner! The dramatic, slowly revealing plot pulls you in and their obvious attraction and growing affection are what make this book so good! It’s almost like watching a teen soap.

Title: Behind the Courtesan
Author: Bronwyn Stuart
Publisher: Carina Press 2013
Rating: 2 stars

When courtesan Sophia Martin returns to her childhood home,she knows that she won’t be welcomed with open arms. She hasn’t returned since she fled as a young girl, and only returns now because she parted ways with her lover and her brother insisted she return. Blake Vale has never forgotten his childhood friend and love Sophie. When she left all those years ago and never wrote him, she broke his heart. Blake can’t forgive her, especially after what she’s become.

This novel was frustrating for a few reasons: 1) the hero calls the heroine all kinds of slut and whore. That is not ok. Ever. 2) I’m not convinced that Blake ever accepts Sophia’s past. 3) The writing was cliched.

Behind the Courtesan is the first courtesan novel I’ve ever read. I didn’t like this one very much, but I will definitely read more courtesan romances in the future.

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Fashion Friday: Wearing THE SILVER STAR

Posted on 26 April 2013 by
THE SILVER STAR

The Silver Star by Jeanette Walls
Scribner, June 1, 2013
288 pages, 4 stars

ABOUT THE BOOK: I LOVE Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle, so when I saw that she has a new book out, I had to get in on that! So, I downloaded it from Netgalley.com and was immediately engrossed. This book is very short and very simply written.With overt comparisons to To Kill a Mockingbird, the novel tackles race relations in 1970, sexual assault, and mental illness, all from a young girl’s perspective.

Bean (real name: Jean) and her older sister, Liz, are left alone in their California home and not for the first time. Their mother, Charlotte, has left them to find herself—that is to follow her dream of being a musician. After two weeks alone—longer than Charlotte’s usual disappearances—social workers start to show up. Liz makes the decision to go visit their Uncle Tinsley in Byler, VA. Byler is the small southern town where their mother grew up, and it’s a town that doesn’t forget past grievances. Tinsley takes them in and the girls start working for Maddox on the side to earn money for school clothes. When Maddox’s attentions become more than professional, some old grudges come to the surface that could start a war in this sleepy town.

ABOUT THE OUTFIT:  My dear little sister, you are a fighter in all aspects of life. Whether it’s yelling a the boy stealing peaches from your uncle’s orchard or slashing Maddox’s tires. These steel toed boots are chic and useful for when you’ve run out of rocks to throw.

Pair them with these book-cover-matching jeans, the unofficial uniform at your school. This blue jean shirt is perfect for your country lifestyle: picking berries in the forest and biking over to Aunt Al’s house for fried eggs. This yellow sweater is one you found in that old cedar chest at Tinsley’s house. It’ll keep you warm in the surprisingly cold Virginia winters.

This necklace isn’t your daddy’s silver star that he got in the war, but it reminds you of it and of him. These emu earrings you wear for Liz and her weird love of Eunice and Eugene the two emus she writes poems about. Finally, you aren’t into make up, but this Jelly Bean lip gloss is a must have—it’s named for you!

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Fiction Friday: Mother

Posted on 19 April 2013 by

Mother

Mother had made deviled eggs. I could picture her measuring out all of the ingredients precisely and mixing them together with twenty strokes of the wooden spoon. She had let me help her once, but when I used ½ cup of mayo instead of 1/3, she threw the mixture out.

The eggs were arranged in an oval shape on her favorite silver platter. Their yellow centers were piled high and sprinkled lightly with paprika. I imagined the slippery feeling of the egg white against my tongue, the smooth taste of mayo, mustard, and yolk that would build in the back of my throat until I couldn’t swallow any more, then surge back up so I could taste it all again. It’s like cheating to taste it twice. Though I hadn’t done it in months, home brought the desire back.

 “Darling, I’m so glad you decided to join us.” I wondered how hard it was for her to say that, to pretend like it was all right that she hadn’t visited me at the center, like dad hadn’t been the one to call about me coming home for the holiday. It had been months since I’d seen her. Her hair was greyer than I remembered and swept back neatly, not a single hair was out of place.

In fact, the whole kitchen was immaculate. There were no measuring cups in the sink, no stray bits of egg shell on the floor. You wouldn’t know she’d been cooking, if not for the sweet, rich smell of honeyed ham leaking from the oven and, of course, the deviled eggs.

My therapist told me she was worried that home wouldn’t be good for me given all we had discussed. But I hadn’t seen my sister, Laura, in a month. She was the only one who didn’t pretend like it never happened. Laura was the one who had picked me up off the floor in ballet class when I collapsed, the one who drove me to the hospital, and who called our mother and told her the news. I had overheard Mother’s voice through the phone, “Well she isn’t. You have to weigh ninety pounds to be that.”

“When is Laura getting here?” I asked.

“Did she not tell you?” Mother said raising her eyebrow, “She can’t make it.”

I was acutely alone in the clinically clean kitchen and the panic began to rise in my chest. My head felt cloudy and light. Laura wasn’t coming.“Why not?” I asked. My therapist had told me that it’s all right to feel out of control. It’s what you do with those feelings that’s important. She was always saying things like that.

“It was a last minute thing. It’s too much for her with the baby now,” Mother said. I saw Laura retreating from us, from me, into her own life with her own daughter. I felt a hot discomfort, something like heartburn, in my chest. “The ham will be done soon. Will you put those eggs on the table?” Mother asked.

 “No,” I said. The startled look on her face slowly turned into a glare.

“What has gotten into you?” she asked. I felt my feet solidly on the ground and the weight of my body settling into my heels. From the perfectly arranged tray, I picked up a deviled egg.

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Fashion Friday: Wearing TOMORROW THERE WILL BE APRICOTS

Posted on 12 April 2013 by
TOMORROW THERE WILL BE APRICOTS

Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots by Jessica Soffer
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 2013
4 stars, 336 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK: Jessica Soffer’s debut novel is a story of love, loss, betrayal, and finding happiness in yourself and others. We oscillate between Lorca and Victoria, two women very different in age but very similar in their love for food and cooking. Lorca is 15 and has moved to New York City with her mother. Lorca tries to win her mother’s love and appreciation through her cooking, but her mother is extremely self-absorbed and doesn’t notice Lorca’s efforts. So L fills this gap in her life with cutting and other forms of self-harm. When she overhears her mom talking about the masgouf (a fish dish) that she had years ago, Lorca is determined to make it for her.

Victoria, an immigrant from Baghdad, has recently lost her husband, who never forgave her for giving up their only child. In the wake of his death, Victoria becomes determined to find their daughter and make amends. Her neighbor, Dottie, cons her into hosting a cooking class, to which only one person shows up: Lorca. The two of them strike up a friendship and when Victoria learns that Lorca’s mother was adopted, she begins to hope that Lorca is her family.

Soffer’s ability to create two distinctly different voices, young and old, in the first person POV is incredible! Lorca and Victoria’s insecurities and desires come through distinctly. I loved the food analogies peppered throughout the book (see what I did there), which made it feel authentic. The book is rich with Iraqi-Jewish culture and FOOD. I just love books about food. I was hungry pretty much the entirety of Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots. The only thing I didn’t like were the two sections from Joseph. I thought they felt out of place and unnecessary, because he’s dead and we could learn what he had to tell us through like a journal entry or a conversation between (living) characters.

ABOUT THE OUTFIT: My dear little momma’s girl, don this school-appropriate skirt that’s color reminds you of the lemons marinating in Victoria’s kitchen. Pair it with this youthful blouse, which is flirty and fun for your trips to the book store to scope out the help. This jacket will keep the chill at bay, and cover up the scars on your arms.

These boots are the color of pistachio shells (the same as the cover) and hide the many scars on your feet and legs. This magenta bag holds all of your school work and recipes and such. These earrings give you hope that the masgouf you make for your mom will make her love you. And finally this Eu Du Perfume Let Them Eat Cake, is what you wear when you realize you don’t need her, because you have all the love you could want from Victoria.

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