Sarah's Book Shelves - A book recommendation blog

When Questionable Editorial Decisions Torpedo Books

September 21, 2017 Sarah Dickinson Discussions 0

Have you ever read a book and come upon a particular part that made you wonder, to borrow from Alyssa Mastromonaco’s memoir title, “who thought that was a good idea?!”

Especially frustrating is that I absolutely adored specific parts of these books, meaning questionable editorial choices tarnished what would otherwise have been winners for me.

I realize things like this are strictly a matter of taste. Something that makes my head explode might totally delight another reader. But, why pull a stunt when you’ve already got something great? And, that’s what happened with the three books I’m going to talk about today.

Sourdough

Sourdough is a quirky book melding the technology and food (baking, to be exact) worlds. I was immediately interested in the story and Lois, the main character. She receives a sourdough “starter” as a gift and dives headfirst into the art of bread baking as an escape from her soul-crushing computer coding job.

Sloan had me feeling actual emotions towards the starter itself…almost as if it was a human character. I was rooting for it like it was a sports team and I was thrilled about this!

BUT…literally a few pages later, he made the starter sing. I first thought this was an exaggerated way to describe a realistic sucking or bubbling sound a starter could make. But, then he started comparing it to actual music. And, had it make faces. And, pit it against another starter as if it were an American Gladiator competition. Wha?! Too much. Who thought this was a good idea?

*For me, the starter’s over-the-top antics didn’t fully torpedo this book. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to others, I just could have done without the eye roll-inducing moments.

The Resurrection of Joan Ashby

I loved the first half or so of this story about a woman whose life dream was to be a writer. At a young age, she decided she would forego marriage and children to focus on her goal. Yet, she got married and had children anyway. It’s a beautifully written, introspective story about Joan’s inner struggle between her very real love for her family, her continued desire to achieve literary success, and her resentment of the choices she’s been forced to make.

BUT…this book is 544 pages. That’s long for an introspective story. And, at least 100 and probably more (I didn’t actually count, but this is my estimated guess) of those pages are excerpts from Joan the character’s writing. I admit that I generally hate what I’ll call “stories within stories.” They pull me out of the central storyline and kill a book’s momentum for me.

This case felt particularly egregious because of the sheer quantity, the overall length of the book, and Joan’s writing’s lack of relevance in helping the reader gain more insight into her life. Who thought this was a good idea?!

*For a more comprehensive review, Catherine at Gilmore Guide to Books captured my thoughts on The Resurrection of Joan Ashby perfectly.

The Twelve Mile Straight

After reading the first chapter of this doorstop of a historical fiction novel, I thought I was going to love it. It had a great first line, was hard-hitting, and hooked me immediately.

But, the story just went on and on and on. I felt like I was reading this book for weeks (it was actually 10 days). Henderson told the extended backstories of seemingly almost every character in the book, which could have been cut back. I just wanted the story to be tighter, because it certainly had good bones (to use a real estate term).

And, by the time I got to the end, I didn’t care about the answers to most of the major questions…I just wanted to be done. Who thought this was a good idea?

*To be fair, I didn’t have much time to read during the first half of The Twelve-Mile Straight and I wonder if I would’ve felt differently had I been able to invest more time and mental energy to it up front.

Young Jane Young

I’ve already reviewed Young Jane Young here, but it’s a perfect example of today’s topic, so I’m going to talk about it again. I loved the first half of this one and particularly the focus on the reverberating impact of a public cheating scandal on the female cheatee…and how different it is from the impact on the male cheater.

BUT…part of the second half was written as a Choose Your Own Adventure story. Not only that, it was a FAKE Choose Your Own Adventure story! Choices were indicated at certain points in the story, but there was never an alternate path to actually go down. This whole thing felt like a kids’ comic book to me and didn’t fit at all with the style or tone of the first half of the book. Who thought this was a good idea?!

Has a book ever left you wondering “who thought this was a good idea?” Tell me about your experience!

Was 2017 the Summer of Overhyped Books?

September 19, 2017 Sarah Dickinson Discussions 19

I don’t think I’ve ever had a bigger season of reading disappointment than this past summer. And, I’ve been hearing similar things from other book bloggers and on reading-related podcasts.

Many of the books that didn’t work for me this summer had been hyped up by publishers and the book media…making the crash hurt that much worse. At the end of every year, I write a post called 5 Books That Deserved the Hype…and 5 That Didn’t. Y’all, 5 books isn’t enough to account for all the overhyped books this summer, much less an entire year! Let’s review the offenders…

Books Blurbed by Beloved Authors

I’m a sucker for books blurbed by authors I love. But, I also fall into the trap of thinking that means the blurbed book will be similar to said beloved author’s books. While this does occasionally pan out for me, it generally didn’t during the 2017 summer of overhyped books. I quickly DNF’d both of these examples…

Examples:

The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder (blurbed by Kevin Kwan of Crazy Rich Asians and Jennifer Close of The Hopefuls).
Who Is Rich? by Matthew Klam (blurbed by Curtis Sittenfeld of Prep and American Wife) and Meg Wolitzer of The Interestings).

Hyped, But Disappointing Debuts

I’ve historically had good luck with debuts. But, this summer brought us a crop that were hyped by publishers as well as traditional book media (and some podcasters), but that I don’t think have connected on a large scale with regular readers (i.e. people not enmeshed in the book world)…and, they didn’t connect with me.

Examples:

What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons (compared to The Mothers, billed as one of the most exciting debuts of 2017, included on Elle’s 24 Best Books to Read this Summer List)
Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo (highlighted at the BEA Adult Editors’ Buzz panel and received public support from Margaret Atwood)
My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent (highlighted at BEA Adult Editors’ Buzz panel, named Amazon Best Book of September)
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt (spotlighted on Book Riot’s All the Books podcast, blurbed by Paula Hawkins, included on Elle’s 24 Best Books to Read this Summer List)

Book of the Month Club Selections

I have to preface this by saying that I have read countless Book of the Month Club selections that I’ve adored and I anxiously await the announcement of their picks every month. But, I’ve read a couple of Book of the Month Club stinkers this summer. Let me repeat again…this is an anomaly overall!

Examples:

The Windfall by Diksha Basu (July selection). I know some people that liked this one, but I wasn’t one of them and I’ve heard of a number of others who thought it was completely inane.
Final Girls by Riley Sager (July selection). Also, Stephen King called it the “first great thriller of 2017.” This book is not universally disliked by any means, but I thought the ending completely jumped the shark. And after publication, there was the minor scandal surrounding Riley Sager being a male using a pen name that many assumed referred to a female author.

Here’s what I’d like to know about the traditional media’s new release preview lists: how are they put together?

Has someone at the publication actually vetted the books that are included on the list? Do the journalists compiling these lists do their own research to determine which books they’re actually interested in? OR, do the journalists merely talk to people in the book industry, who tell them which books to include?

It’s kind of like including the methodology in a summary of survey results or findings of a study. This information really impacts the way the results are interpreted! And, it would certainly help me determine which new release lists to pay the most attention to.

I do have to commend Publisher’s Weekly for linking to its reviews of all the books on its Fall Preview list, meaning someone at Publisher’s Weekly has actually vetted these books. The Millions occasionally links to an internal review and publicizes the name of the staffer that recommended each book included in its Great 2017 Book Preview. But, Buzzfeed, Elle Magazine, and Bookish need to get a little more transparent.

If any of you know insider details about how the traditional media’s new release preview lists are put together, I’d love to hear them in the comments!

As for me, I obviously personally research every book I include in my “Most Anticipated Books of X Season” posts and indicate specifically when I’ve already read a book I included. That being said, I know from my own experience that it’s hard to pick winners in advance. I haven’t always been successful (I average about 50% or so per season). I’d like to get more successful and will be even more explicit about how I’ve compiled my list after the summer of overhyped books.

How do you feel about the books of Summer 2017? How do you feel about hyped books in general? And, how do you feel about hyped new release lists?

What I’m Reading Now (9/18/17)

September 18, 2017 Sarah Dickinson It's Monday! What are you reading? 27

And my September reading continues to be choppy and unfulfilling. I spent last week desperately trying to finish a book I thought I’d love, but ended up getting sick of. Over the next few weeks, I need to get my hands around our new school/activity routines and how to fit in some good reading.

On a better note, I re-started physical therapy for my back/SI joints/abductor injury after aggravating it a bit unpacking boxes during our move. I tried a new-to-me therapy called dry needling that involves inserting a needle into my pain points and jigging it around to release the muscles. Sounds awful, but it’s doing wonders.

#Buildsarahsbookshelves Library Update

I’m putting together a very selective library for my new (but small) built-in bookshelves and am sharing each book I acquire on Instagram (follow me at sarahsbookshelves)! And, I’m trying to acquire all these new books at rock bottom prices.

So many new books are coming in every day now for the bookshelves! I’m now starting to think about how to organize the shelves and am sifting through all the advice I’ve received. The Havenly has a simple guide for “styling” your bookshelves (I kind of hate this term, but it’s apparently what interior designers use) that recommends arranging your books by color. I have a pretty awesome red pile coming together…

The books are coming in fast and furious for my #buildsarahsbookshelves project (where I’m accumulating a very selective collection of beloved books to live on my first set of built-in bookshelves)! _ In their Shelf Styling 101 guide, @thehavenly recommends grouping books together by color. A potential red pile is shaping up quite nicely! And it includes some heavy hitters!@margaretatwoodofficial @keijakaarina @cherylstrayed @harperbooks @vintagebooks @scoutpress _ Stay tuned to see what else makes the shelves! #bookstagram #amreading #bookshelvesofonstagram #bookworm #bookshelf #instabooks #bookblogger #booklover #shelfie #handmaidstale #tinybeautifulthings

A post shared by Sarah’s Book Shelves (@sarahsbookshelves) on Sep 13, 2017 at 12:15pm PDT

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I finished reading…

The Twelve-Mile Straight by Eleanor Henderson (September 12, 2017)
Man. This book. I think I could’ve loved it, but it took me so long to read it that I just wanted to be finished by the end. More to come in a discussion post.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

I’m currently reading…

The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille (September 19, 2017)
I’m about 25% through DeMille’s latest novel about the Cuban Thaw, which also debuts a new main character (Mac McCormick). So far, McCormick is pretty similar to DeMille’s old main character (John Corey) and The Cuban Affair is pretty standard DeMille. We’ll see how things progress.

Upcoming reading plans…

The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall (September 19, 2017)
I’ve already peeked at the first few pages of this novel about a well-liked prep school teacher who gets accused of “sexual impropriety” and the initial writing drew me in! I’m hoping it can save my September reading.

I was reading…

One Year Ago: I was reading one of the biggest hits of 2016, but it was kind of a slog for me.

Two Years Ago: I summed up my Labor Day vacation reading.

How was your reading week?

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Has Broader Appeal Than Everything I Never Told You

September 14, 2017 Sarah Dickinson Fiction 23

Fiction
Released September 12, 2017
384 Pages
Bottom Line: Read it.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon
Source: Complimentary from Publisher (Penguin Press)

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase via my links.

Headline

Little Fires Everywhere is an engrossing story about a family and a community that you can sink right into…and may have even broader appeal than Everything I Never Told You.

Plot Summary

When nomadic artist Mia Warren and her daughter (Pearl) rent an apartment from Elena Richardson in Shaker Heights, Elena’s entire family becomes enmeshed in the Warrens’ lives, resulting in uncovered secrets, unanticipated consequences, and a raging debate about what it means to be a mother.

Why I Read It

Ng’s debut, Everything I Never Told You, was a smash hit with me and others (it was Amazon’s Best Book of 2014), so Little Fires Everywhere might be the 2017 book I’ve been anticipating the most!

Major Themes

Family Life, Secrets / Betrayal, Motherhood, Teen Angst, Art, Suburbia

What I Liked

Little Fires Everywhere‘s premise didn’t jump out at me initially. It’s not entirely clear what this book is about. Yet…the way Ng told this story had me engrossed immediately. It’s the kind of story where you sink right into the community and the characters’ lives. I’m a bit hard-pressed to pick out specific things I loved about it…yet, I loved the book as a whole. Little Fires Everywhere is greater than the sum of its parts.
The set-up for this story reminded me a bit of the tv show The O.C. – an outsider sort of infiltrates a wealthy family and supposedly idyllic community with far-reaching consequences (Pearl Warren = Ryan Atwood).
It starts out as a story of a family and a community…and then takes an interesting turn. Ng presented a Jodi Picoult-esque situation (i.e. one with valid arguments for both sides and where there is no clear right answer) and forced me to think about what I’d do in a similar situation
Ng painted a vivid picture of the Shaker Heights community while making you feel that it was the only place this story could play out the way it did:

In fact, the city’s motto was – literally, as Lexie would have said – “Most communities just happen; the best are planned”: the underlying philosophy being that everything could – and should – be planned out, and that by doing so you could avoid the unseemly, the unpleasant, and the disastrous.
Little Fires Everywhere is more action-packed than Everything I Never Told You and, I believe, has the potential for even broader appeal.
And, the debate-starting issues it deals with make it a great book club selection!

What I Didn’t Like

I had to suspend belief and just roll with some of the plot points…the coincidences were a little too big. But, while I recognized this as I was reading, it didn’t bother me or influence my opinion of the book as a whole.

A Defining Quote

Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground, and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People are like that, too. They start over. They find a way.

Good for People Who Like…

Dysfunctional families, Secrets/Betrayal, Motherhood, Engrossing Plot & Characters, Suburban Life

Other Books You May Like

More stories about families facing unconventional situations:
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen (my review)
Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen

Another story about what it means to be a mother:
The Mothers by Brit Bennett (my review)

And, of course, Celeste Ng’s debut novel:
Everything I Never Told You (my review)

12 Books I Loved Before I Started Blogging

September 12, 2017 Sarah Dickinson Book Lists 25

Last week was all about books I didn’t like, but we’re flipping the coin this week. There are so many books that I adored years ago, way before I started blogging, that I don’t talk about much here.

So, today I’m going to spotlight 12 Books I Loved Before I Started Blogging…

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12 Books I Loved Before I Started Blogging

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
I honestly haven’t read much John Irving since I started this blog, but he still remains one of my all-time favorite authors and Owen Meany is my favorite book of his. It’s on my all-time favorites list and is due for a re-read!

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
I love fiction that’s inspired by real people and this one had me all kinds of curious about the inner life of Laura Bush.

Another City, Not My Own and anything else by Dominick Dunne
Dunne is the man responsible for getting me started reading about “wealthy people behaving badly” with his nonfiction about wealthy and/or famous people in criminal situations. I loved his snark, his tenacity in taking down prominent people who took advantage of being prominent, his gossipy tidbits…and his Vanity Fair column. RIP Mr. Dunne.

Beach Music by Pat Conroy
My love for Pat Conroy began when I was pretty young and I read all my favorite books by him before I started this blog. Beach Music is one of the few that I haven’t re-read in the past five years and I’m due. I also have a slight concern that it won’t hold up for me…luckily, my cousin is test-driving it as we speak!

Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis
Awhile back, Michael Lewis was one of my all-time favorite authors. He can make the most mundane financial stories riveting and is a master at clearly explaining complicated financial concepts so non-finance nerds (like me!) can understand. In Boomerang, he investigates how the 2000’s real estate bubble and 2008 crash impacted various foreign countries. He melds finance and hilarious studies of each country’s culture into what I think is his most entertaining book! Sadly, his latest two books (Flash Boys and The Undoing Project) have missed the mark for me.

My Life in France by Julia Child
I used to read a ton of food / cooking memoirs before I started blogging and this was one of my favorites. Julia’s booming personality shines through and I enjoyed reading about the period when she first fell in love with food.

No Angel and The Spoils of Time Series by Penny Vincenzi
The British Spoils of Time series are juicy, multi-generational, historical fiction sagas that are full of drama. These were my guilty pleasure reading way back when!

Philistines at the Hedgerow : Passion and Property in the Hamptons by Steven Gaines
Rich people real estate porn set in the Hamptons. Similar to Michael Gross, but without the crushing, excruciating detail.

The Charm School by Nelson DeMille
Another of my old-school favorite authors! The Charm School is one of his more unique books and it made me wonder if something like The Charm School might have actually existed in the USSR during the Cold War. Bonus: DeMille has a new book (The Cuban Affair) coming out on September 19th!

The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter
This was the first book that introduced me to Stephen L. Carter’s political thrillers. His books are page-turning thrill rides, but they’re smart and throw in a fascinating look into upper crust, Harlem society. I went on to read four more of his books, including Back Channel most recently.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Believe it or not, I knew nothing about all the hype surrounding this book when I read it. I just wasn’t plugged into the book world back then. It blew me away. I went on to find out that it blew most everyone else away too.

The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer
I remember picking up this coming of age memoir on a complete whim, knowing nothing about it. It’s stuck with me and introduced me to J.R. Moehringer’s writing, which is right up my alley.

What are some of your old favorites?

What I’m Reading Now (9/11/17)

September 11, 2017 Sarah Dickinson It's Monday! What are you reading? 15

Every year the first week of school is crushingly busy. And, every year I forget just how crazy it is. Figuring out new routines, getting set up on all the different online systems for each child, all the forms, all the forms, all the forms…

This year was no different and I barely had time to read. I don’t think I’ve had a week all year when I’ve read less. I made it 30% through one book this week. I’m LOVING the book…I just need some good chunks of time to sit down with it. It’s frustrating, isn’t it, when you love a book, but aren’t getting to focus on it?!

#Buildsarahsbookshelves Library Update

The books are going to start arriving fast and furious now…I just ordered a bunch from Amazon so we can take a first pass at getting the shelves organized in the next couple weeks. This week’s addition is The Unraveling of Mercy Louis (my review) one of my favorite books of 2015…it’s a great choice if you love Southern literature and/or badass female characters!

Book 5 in the #buildsarahsbookshelves (where I’m slowly accumulating a very selective collection of beloved books to live on my first set of built-in bookshelves!) series is here! I bought this one on Amazon for $8.88, bringing my spend total for my 5 book (and growing!) library to $10.88. _ THE UNRAVELING OF MERCY LOUIS by @keijakaarina is a gorgeous novel about a badass female high school basketball star and was one of my favorite books of 2015! @harperbooks Link to my full review in profile. _ Stay tuned to see what else makes the shelves! #bookstagram #amreading #bookshelvesofonstagram #bookworm #bookshelf #instabooks #bookblogger #booklovers

A post shared by Sarah’s Book Shelves (@sarahsbookshelves) on Sep 9, 2017 at 2:01pm PDT

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