Tag Archive | US author

Beyond our ken – paranormal favorites

Aug22

Mysterious, metaphysical Monday! Let’s look back at our summer reading shelf filled with outstanding paranormal fiction.

Being a psychic is more than just a summer job for Clarity – it’s her life. Murder and a sneaky big brother complicate things a bit…

Does Lena dare gaze into The Mermaid’s Mirror? Ever-drawn to the ocean despite her father’s warnings, she longs to surf and master the waves as he once did.

The City of Lights is no match for Kate’s depression, but mysterious strangers shake up her mourning as she witnesses unbelievable rescues in Paris – who would allow someone else to Die for Me?

Superheroes and robo-zombies leap out of Jack’s tattered comic book collection and into his dreary life at the orphanage. Suddenly, it’s up to The Accidental Hero to make things right in the ImagineNation and in the real world.

In an older time, another orphan makes a perilous bargain, bartering her shadow for the wish of her heart. As her shadow dwindles and evil stalks the river people, Plain Kate worries that her agreement may doom her land.

The River of Time series begins with Waterfall, as Gabi & Lia accidentally journey into the past, right into a 14th century battle and the chance for romance. Will they return to Castle Forelli in Cascade? And what new mysteries will we uncover in Torrent? The third book will be published on Sept. 1st = watch this space for an early review!!

An all-too-realistic future is Kyra’s home, where drought reigns and water-access is power. Can her newly-found talent release all these Dry Souls?

Hide your guinea pigs, then visit The Reformed Vampire Support Group in Australia. Yeah, everyone needs a support group to stay on the straight and narrow – or to help solve a murder.

And don’t miss Garth’s wild ride into Ghostopolis, where the living are forbidden to go (no matter how close to death they are) – a graphic novel with humor, darkness, and Skinny.

Lots more mysterious, metaphysical, paranormal books ahead on BooksYALove, as we uncover wonderful titles that you’d miss if you let the bestseller lists tell you what to read!
(and isn’t Venice lovely as the sun sets?)
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50 Jobs in 50 States, by Daniel Seddiqui (book review) – 1 year to find perfect job

Aug19

Months of fruitless job-searching left USC grad Daniel exhausted and his parents unhappy that he’d had to move back home. But he decided to act on a seemingly wild idea to work in each of the 50 states, meeting their people as he tried out one of the jobs unique to each place. This Fun Friday feature is an autobiography that roves across America, in search of more than just a job.

You’ll want to read for yourself how he persevered in his dream, rising above his parents’ disapproval, the logistics of finding the right job in the right area during the right time, and the immense difficulties of funding travel all over the USA. Yes, Daniel wanted to do this challenge on his own terms, not bound to a corporate sponsor‘s restrictions on which jobs he could try or how many times he had to tout their product in his blog.

Along the way, he met more supportive people than naysayers, tried his hand at skills that he never knew existed, and learned more about himself than he ever imagined.

Coal miner? Did it. Amish woodworker? Satisfying work. Baseball scout? Lots of dreams and talent out there – like our roving pal, who shares the high points and lowest lows of his adventure with us, in a conversational way. I guess “Inspirational” should be Daniel’s new middle name!
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Book info: Fifty jobs in 50 states / Daniel Seddiqui. Berrett-Koehler, 2011 [author’s website] [publisher website] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: After many interviews yield no job, Daniel decides to hit the road and work his way across the USA – one iconic job in each state – to find out what he truly wants to do with his life.

You’d think that good grades in college and a great resume would guarantee a job after graduation, but that’s not always true. But instead of giving into despair and taking a minimum-wage job, Daniel turns his back on the months-long, frustrating search for a position in economics and hatches the idea of traveling the United States to discover where he should really be and what career would use his talents best.

It took four months to set up his first short-term job and even longer to scrape together some funding to travel. His parents thought he was wasting his time; his on-again-off-again girlfriend thought he was crazy – Daniel knew that he had to do this to find his way in the work-world.

Rodeo announcer in South Dakota, corn farmer in Nebraska, landscape architect in New Mexico – he met helpful people, learned new skills, faced trials and setbacks. Meatpacker in Kansas winter (frozen fingers), bartender in New Orleans during Mardi Gras (lotsa kinds of crazy), peanut sheller in Georgia (allergic reaction) – Daniel never gave up.

Sharing his adventures through the media and his own blog, this young guy from California inspired many folks facing challenges and job losses to keep on trying. Enjoy this talking-to-your-buddy autobiographical travelogue through all 50 states as you root for Daniel to find his niche and to find someone to share his journey through life. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star, by Joyce Raskin (fiction) – rock music greatness, high school freshman blues

Aug5

Fun Friday, especially for anyone who’s dreamed of being in a rock band.

Alexis has a bad case of teen dissatisfaction, cured by learning to play bass guitar and being in her brother’s rock band. And skateboarding, don’t forget her skateboarding.

A rock star at 14?! It’s up to Alexis to navigate around other people’s choices (bad and good) while staying true to herself.

Joyce Raskin knows what she’s writing about since she’s a bassist with the band Scarce (back together after time off for other projects) and even has a series of beginning guitar lessons for girls on YouTube! Rock on!

A fast, fun read that demands your favorite rock music in the background.
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Book info: My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star / Joyce Raskin, illustrated by Carol Chu. Graphia, 2011 [author’s Facebook page] [publisher website] [book trailer]

Recommendation: Uncoolness and zits, that’s life for Alexis, until her brother teaches her to play bass guitar for his band. Eventually, she masters the bass (blisters!). Eventually, her body catches up with other teen girls (at last!). Eventually, she has a boyfriend (yay!), then a heartbreak (cry!), then some fame (wow!), and some major disappointments (parents!).

Fast-moving chapters chronicle this eventful year in Alex’s life – her skateboarding and punk rock adventures, making a record with the band at age 14, her former-hippy parents supporting her big-time before going super-strict!

Written by a former teen-rocker (who still plays in a band!), Misadventures includes getting-started information about guitars, learning chords, writing songs, and sticking to your dreams – major girl power in a small package! (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Dry Souls, by Denise Getson (book review) – drought forever, water-bringer, escape

Aug1
book cover of Dry Souls by Denise Getson published by CBAY Books

The power to bring water to dry land – any desert-dweller would want to have that gift, to create an oasis of water for drinking and crops, right?

But access to water is a powerful need, as any farmer or city manager will tell you, even today.

Imagine water-access as a political tool, as a crowd-management strategy, and you’ll see why Kira’s gift of water in the drought-stricken, devastated environment of our possible future is something that powerful people want so very badly to control.

A stunning debut novel with memorable characters and pacing worthy of a motion picture (and I mean that in a good way). Have your local independent bookstore order Dry Souls for you, and be sure to tell your library about it so they can get a copy, too.
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Book info: Dry Souls / Denise Getson. CBAY Books, 2011. [author’s Facebook page] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: A flower? Kira wonders how a non-food plant survived the pollution and planetary drought that are killing humanity. In her desperation to keep the flower alive, Kira discovers that she can bring water to the ground with her fingertip!

When Matron finds the flower and decides to send her away from the orphanage, Kira knows that it’s time to run away, to head for the Dead Lakes Region where her mother had lived. Crossing toxic streams, encountering mutant wildlife, how long can Kira make it through this desolation created by worldwide chemical and biological warfare on her own?

Meeting up with JD who’s escaping from a boys’ orphanage was a stroke of luck for both teens, as they pool their skills and resources to survive. When they have to steal algae-bars from remote outposts, Kira creates water in repayment. They hide by day, traveling at night, heading for a Biosphere where they can get more nutritionals and sunblock to counteract the pollutants in the food and air.

But officials searching for Kira have reached the Biosphere first, and the friends must find a way to escape again before she’s captured for her water-creating abilities. A blind woman reading Kira’s palm recites an old proverb about water – and that’s supposed to help them find their way to Slag?

Can JD and Kira really survive a journey through the wasteland that the Devastation left behind?
What might they discover at the far-distant Dead Lakes to make it worth the journey?
If the officials are tracking them, will they even make it to tomorrow?

This debut novel is a brilliant dystopian future-view that begs to be made into a movie, that warns us of what our future could be, that urges us to have the vision to preserve our world. (194 pages) (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

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Ghostopolis, by Doug TenNapel (book review) – accidental afterlife, time to escape

Jul29

book cover of Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel published by GraphixGarth is dying, and he knows it. His mom isn’t ready for him to go, but she’s a lot less ready for him to get pulled into the realm of ghosts while he’s still alive!

Yep, a bumbling special agent gets sloppy in a supernatural capture-and-return so Garth is accidentally pulled into the afterlife.

Garth finds that the afterlife has its own politics and alliances, feuds and friendships. (I just love his new pal Skinny!)

A rescue team heads after him, even if some beings in the Afterlife don’t want to let him go!
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Book info: Ghostopolis / Doug TenNapel. Graphix (Scholastic), 2010. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Book Talk:No ghosts among the living – that’s the rules. The living in the ghost world? Well, Garth is finding out how that works, as he gets dragged into the afterlife during a ghost capture gone wrong.

Garth would be getting to Ghostopolis sooner rather than later, since he has an incurable disease, but his mom really wants him back among the living now. It’s up to the Supernatural Immigration Task Force to correct their ghost-wrangling goof and retrieve Garth. This may take a while, even with an Earth-assigned ghost helping the SITF agents…

Meeting his grandpa’s ghost, riding a night-mare, getting mixed up in Ghostopolis politics – soon Garth finds that he has special powers that unscrupulous ghosts want to use for their own bleak purposes. The young hero’s only hope of returning home is locating the Tuskegee Airman, that great-hearted man who built up Ghostopolis, who helps dead souls out of it and into their true homes Beyond. It won’t be easy, though.

Life and afterlife, ghosts and the living, good guys and bad guys, and a chronologically illogical sense of time – hope the ghost-wranglers can get Garth out of Ghostopolis before it’s too late! This Eisner-nominated graphic novel is 288 pages of wow-factor art and snappy dialogue. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Devil’s Paintbox, by Victoria McKernan (fiction) – teens struggle on Western frontier

Jul28

book cover of Devil's Paintbox by Victoria McKernan Life on the western frontier was far more difficult than the Little House on the Prairie books showed us.

Aiden and Maddy are the last surviving members of their family whose homesteading dreams turned into a row of graves on the bleak Kansas prairie.

Their unlikely savior is gruff Jackson, recruiting for the even-tougher demands of the Pacific Northwest’s logging camps, who only agrees to take along Maddy if Aiden signs on for an extra year of logging work to pay their way West.

Friendly Nez Perce, not-always-friendly U.S. Army soldiers, and the dreaded smallpox shadow the wagon train, as they traverse open range, strain up mountain grades, and struggle across rivers.

Aiden toughens up as they travel, but will he be able to hold his own against the roughs and rowdies of the lumber camps? Adventure, peril, and possibilities fill this gripping tale of the West.
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Book info: The Devil’s Paintbox / Victoria McKernan. Random House, 2009. [author bio] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: The shoe leather soup is gone, so Maddie and Aiden will starve to death soon, just as their family did on the Kansas prairie in 1865. But over the hill rides Jefferson J. Jackson, recruiting workers for the lumber camps in Washington.

He allows the teens to join the wagon train going west, warning them that “any way you can think up to die is out there waiting” on the trail. Aiden agrees that his first two years’ wages will go to Jackson in payment for their travel, and they head west, away from the graves on the hillside, away from the dried-up homestead.

Jackson is all too correct, and dangers face the travelers day and night – rampaging rivers to cross, wolves stalking them, Indians who might attack, and diseases with no cures.

Aiden works with his bow and arrow, bringing in deer and rabbits for his sister Maddie to cook. He meets friendly Indians who cross their trail from time to time, teaching him bareback horse riding and improving his hunting skills.

But soon smallpox, “the Devil’s Paint”, appears at a nearby fort, and the deadly disease threatens them all. The wagon train’s doctor soon runs out of medicines, the Indians blame government-issued blankets for the epidemic, and survival is now a gamble for everyone.

Will Aiden make it to the lumber camp? How will a scrawny, malnourished 15-year-old keep up with strong men and dangerous work? Smallpox is just the first challenge that he must face as he tries to live long enough to grow up. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Accidental Hero -Jack Blank #1 (fiction)

Jul25

On this Mysterious Monday, meet Jack, who has a rotten life at the dismal orphanage, escaping through comic books, dreaming of superheroes …

In his not-so-super life, how could he imagine that those evil robots and superheroes are real or that HE has a superpower?

You’ll find this exciting showdown between robo-zombies, ninjas, and superheroes as Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation in hardcover and as The Accidental Hero in paperback.

The Secret War, book two of the series, will be published on August 9, 2011, so watch for Jack’s continuing adventures – and be on the lookout for robo-zombies!
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Book info: The Accidental Hero (originally titled: Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation) / Matt Myksluch. Simon & Schuster, 2010 (hardcover), 2011 (paperback). [author’s website] [publisher site: hardcover & paperback] [author video]

Recommendation: Jack’s hidden stash of old comic books is his only refuge from endless chores and bullying at the orphanage where he was abandoned as a baby 12 years ago. Captain Courage! Laser Girl! Evil circle-eyed Robo-Zombies who turn their victims into Robo-Zombies!

While bailing water from the orphanage’s basement, Jack hears strange noises from its sunken stairway. Suddenly a Robo-Zombie appears, aiming its rocket-cannon arm at him! Jack flees into the surrounding swamp, but can’t escape from the Robo-Zombie. Backed up against the generator shed, Jack wishes once again that he had superpowers and is shocked when he can make the generator blast his attacker.

Of course, no one at the orphanage believes Jack was attacked, instead blaming him for blowing up the generator. But the special agent who comes to question Jack about the Robo-Zombie is convinced and takes him away so he can report directly… to the Imagine Nation, where those with superpowers really do live!

Jack meets his comic book heroes there, as well as other legendary beings. Even though the agent tells Jack that this is his birthplace, the Imagine Nation’s borders are closed to outsiders because of Robo-Zombie attacks years before. When RZ nanites are detected in Jack’s blood, he’s suddenly on the run in this strange world. But why haven’t the RZ circles appeared around Jack’s eyes yet? Why is he still flesh and blood instead of cables and circuits?

Can Jack discover his superpower and learn to control it? Will he be the salvation of the Imagine Nation or its destruction? His new friends stand ready to help him prove his innocence, but superscientist Jonas Smart is ready to dissect Jack, just to make sure… (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (non-fiction)

Jul23

Shhh… another Sneak-In Saturday. This book zoomed and leaped onto award and bestseller lists before I could get it here, but you really must read it.

The idea of “informed medical consent” was rather different sixty years ago, as were medical research techniques.

Henrietta Lacks thought that she was only being treated for cervical cancer.
She had no idea that doctors had taken cell samples for later use.
And the rest is medical history…
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Book info: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks / Rebecca Skloot. Random House, 2010 (hardback), 2011 (paperback) [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: When Henrietta Lacks was treated for cancer in the “colored” ward of the hospital in 1951, doctors took cell samples for research without telling her. In the laboratory, those cells became the first self-sustaining (“immortal”) human cells, enabling countless experiments with medicines and therapies.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital researchers shared those HeLa cells with other scientists, who used them to develop vaccines against polio, catalog the effects of radiation on humans, and make advances toward in vitro fertilization and gene mapping. Eventually, HeLa cells were grown in medical factories, becoming a multimillion dollar industry as researchers worldwide used them.

Yet Henrietta’s family didn’t know that her cells were being used for anything; they could only grieve at her death, as she left behind a large African American family, moved not so long before from their small tobacco farm in Virginia to work in Baltimore for better wages.

More than 20 years after HeLa began growing in the lab, Henrietta’s children learned that some part of their mother was still alive. Poorly educated, they thought perhaps that scientists could bring their mother back to life or that the HeLa cells sent on lunar missions meant that she was now living on the Moon. After those first, confusing interviews in the 1970s, the Lacks family refused to talk to any reporters or researchers.

Finally in the late 1990s, the writer of this book and Henrietta’s youngest daughter began investigating the family’s history and the amazing tale of how HeLa cells enabled so many discoveries in medicine and science.

Did her family ever receive any benefit from Henrietta’s cells? No. Can her descendants afford health insurance today? No. Have the laws changed so that patients have more control over what their cells and tissues are used for? Yes, but…

A fascinating science detective tale threaded with questions of medical ethics and wrapped up in family history, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks reminds us of the human side of scientific advancement – an award-winning story, well-told.

(One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

At Home With Handmade Books, by Erin Zamrzla (book review) – how-to do something new

Jul22

Craving a new journal in your favorite colors? Easy.
Need an itsy-bitsy notebook to slip a secret pocket? Simple.
Want to use that single unique sheet of patterned paper in a special way? Can do!

With this Fun Friday find, you can make your very own books from a wide range of materials.
Go green as you use old postcards as covers for a travel journal!
Be ready for a new school year with fabulous keepsake-gathering book featuring ziptop bags as pages.
Make all your holiday gifts with your own two hands, the paper and cover stock that you find, and some very simple tools.

Erin gives very understandable step-by-step instructions for each binding method, and you’re sure to go beyond her examples to create one-of-a-kind books that you’ll be proud to show off, share, or even sell. Of course, some will be so special that you’ll just hide them away so you can enjoy them all by yourself.

Your local independent bookstore would love to order this for you if not in stock. And ask for it at your local library so they know it’s a book that their patrons would use again and again.
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Book info: At Home With Handmade Books: 28 Extraordinary Bookbinding Projects Made from Ordinary and Repurposed Materials / Erin Zamrzla. Shambhala Publications, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [Video one and two – make a tag notebook!] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: Recycle everyday materials into amazing personalized books as you create a Pillowcase Dream Journal or a Peek-a-Book with these clear instructions and step-by-step photos. Turn a favorite bookmark into an accordion book with space to write notes or make your travel pix into a fanfolded Travel Photo Album. Charming flutter books include a Sketch/Jot Journal, just right-sized for your jeans pocket.

Learn simple four-hole binding to make a Cut, Keep, Collage Storage Book with ziptop plastic bag pages for corralling photos and ticket stubs or use a sponge as the cover of your favorite Cleaning Hints Book. Take the outside cover of an old children’s book and rebind it with journal pages inside – ultimate recycling! The Yamato binding technique is preferred for the perfumed “Sweet Secrets Sachet Book,” while Ledger binding transforms leftover papers into a “Recycle Bin Memo Pad.”

Zamzrla explains tools, techniques, and papers as she guides you through each project and makes suggestions for variations and tweaks. Learn how to make these 28 handmade books, and you’ll always have great ideas for gifts and beautiful journals at your fingertips! (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Crosswire, by Dotti Enderle (book review) – Texas drought & water wars in 1880s

Jul21

It’s seriously hot and dry in Texas right now, but not quite as bad as the drought that Jesse and his family are suffering through in 1880s West Texas.

It’s a tough time for all cattlemen, but worse for those without access to windmills pumping well water into storage tanks, as the creeks and ponds dry up. So dishonest cattle drovers are cutting barbed wire fences to get at the stored water, leaving little for their family’s cattle.

Mysterious strangers, mutterings at the saloon, his brother’s sudden love of gambling, and having to repair the fences every single blistering-hot day – how can Jesse keep doing all this when he just can’t bring himself to even carry a gun any more? Jesse’s not enjoying how life is treating him in this quick read with a surprise ending.

For a longer story about the too-similar 1950s drought in West Texas, try Elmer Kelton’s well-crafted The Time It Never Rained.
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Book info: Crosswire / Dotti Enderle. Calkins Creek Books, 2010. [author’s website] [publisher site] Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: Drought is the cattleman’s enemy, so renegade drovers are cutting the fences to get to ranchers’ ponds and watering holes. Jesse works with his pa and older brother to repair the barbed-wire fences day after day in the scorching heat, worrying that his family’s food crops will dry up, too.

Big brother Ethan is another worry, spending his nights gambling at the saloon in town – where did the 16-year-old get money to gamble with, anyway? Their stern pa won’t put up with such nonsense, throwing Ethan out of the house and breaking Ma’s heart.

And 13-year-old Jesse just can’t fire a gun any more – not after his accident, not at an attacking rattlesnake, not for anything. What good is a kid who won’t shoot, out on the 1880s Texas frontier? The fence-cutters are getting bolder, making terrible threats against Jesse’s family and dog and their cattle.

Who’s this Jackson guy that Pa hires to help out?
Where is he headed every night after dark?
What does Jackson know about the fence-cutters?

Barbed-wire sharp and prairie wind fast, Crosswire is an exciting western tale based on true events of Texas history.(One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

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