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John Grisham's Latest Book is Available for FREE Download
by Sara W
John Grisham, bestselling author of legal thrillers, has a new book out, and it's different than anything else he has written before. Called The Tumor, Grisham even subtitled this work "A Non-Legal Thriller."
The Tumor, which is a quick read at under 70 pages, was inspired by medical technology called focused ultrasound. Focused ultrasound treatments may have the potential to extend life expectancies in patients with brain tumors, and may have benefits for patients suffering from diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, hypertension, as well as certain types of cancer.
This potential inspired Grisham to imagine a story of a 35-year-old family man suddenly diagnosed with a brain tumor, and the ultimate outcome facing him and his family. Then, Grisham re-imagines the same situation one decade later, when focused ultrasound treatments have advanced and there is no longer one single foregone outcome to such a diagnosis.
According to Grisham, "This is the most important book I have ever written. I have found no other cause that can potentially save so many lives." The Tumor is such a passion project for Grisham, that he has released the book for free. Whether you're a Kindle user, a PDF, or an epub reader, there's a version available for you to download. Print devotees can even order free hardcovers of the title.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #583
by muffy
Winner of the 2011 prestigious Campiello Prize Not All Bastards Are From Vienna * marks the English debut of Venetian poet/children's author Andrea Molesini, and is inspired by his great-aunt’s wartime journals.
Reminiscent of Atonement (in its examination of class conflict and coming-of-age against a war-torn backdrop), Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Birdsong, the narrative unfolds in the autumn of 1917 in Refrontolo—a small community north of Venice, ravished by the bitter fighting between the Germans/Austrians and the Italians.
Villa Spada, is home to 17 year-old Paolo, recently orphaned; his eccentric grandparents; headstrong aunt; and a loyal staff, including the enigmatic estate steward Renato, a recent arrival with murky references. Times are hard, food is short, and life is perilous, but it does not deter family members from joining the resistance effort, right under the noses of the occupying German troops. When an aristocratic Austrian major takes possession of the villa, the Spadas’ resistance activities become even more vulnerable to betrayal.
Combining a comedic touch and vivid characterizations, "this is a powerful tale of endurance, sacrifice, love, and war’s suffering and cruelty."
* = starred review
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #582
by muffy
Taking the title from a line in "Kath," a 1991 song by indie rock band Sebadoh - Every Anxious Wave by Mo Daviau, is a "highly original debut -- a wild romp of a love story across time and a soulful interweaving of science and music -- this is The Time Traveler's Wife meets Where'd You Go Bernadette."
Karl Bender, washed-up former guitarist for an indie rock band now owns and runs The Dictator's Club, a bar in Chicago's Buck Town. He finds a wormhole in his closet while searching for his boot, and with his best (and only) friend Wayne, develops a business selling access to people who want to travel back in time to hear their favorite bands. Then Wayne insists on traveling back to December 8, 1980, Manhattan in order to rewrite history, but Karl's slip on the keyboard sends him back to 980, 500 years before the first boatload of Dutch colonists landed on the Island of Mannahatta.
Desperate to get Wayne back to the present, Karl enlists the help of Lena Geduldig, a prickly, overweight astrophysicist at Northwestern. Their connection is immediate. While they work on getting Wayne back, they fall in love - with time travel, and each other. Unable to resist meddling with the past, Karl and Lena bounce around time, altering the course of their lives. Then out-of-the-blue Karl gets an email from his future self, sending him forward in time to try to save someone dear to them.
"Daviau is ferocious with her sad and flawed characters, whose pain propels the story through several iterations... A dark and funny love story that, like its main characters, is much sweeter than it appears on the surface."
The author (Smith,Helen Zell Writers' Program at UM), a former librarian and storyteller, now lives in Portland, Oregon. An earlier version of this novel won an Hopwood Award in 2012. You might want to check out the NPR book review also.
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #581 “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ~ Rumi
by muffy
A bestseller in its native Spain, love in lowercase by Francesc Miralles (translated by Julie Wark) is a delightful romantic comedy in the tradition of The Rosie Project and The Solitude of Prime Numbers, where a series of surprising events lends a solitary bachelor a second chance at love.
New Year Eve. 37 year-old Samuel, a linguistics lecturer could hardly wait to turn in after observing the Twelve Grapes ritual alone in his Barcelona apartment. Accustomed to a routine of lesson-planning, housework, books, foreign films, classical jazz, and the thrill of an occasional trip to the supermarket, he would hardly believe that all that will change on New Year’s Day when a cat decides to take up residence in his home, and forces him to interact with the messy outside world.
The cat, which he named Mishima first sends him upstairs to meet Titus, a frail book editor who, in turn sends him on an errand where he crosses paths with Gabriela, his lost childhood love. Along the way Samuel learns the importance of what he terms "love in lowercase", a phenomenon in which “some small act of kindness sets off a chain of events that comes around again in the form of multiplied love” and inspires him to seek out Gabriela.
Listen to the Publishers Weekly's radio podcast as Francesc Miralles discusses his novel, also available in Spanish in our World Language Collection.
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #580
by muffy
"Absorbing, intriguing, insightful" raved a reviewer of The 6:41 to Paris * by Jean-Philippe Blondel; a brilliant psychological thriller though there's nary a crime in sight.
This European bestseller is narrated by Cecile Duffaut and Philippe Leduc, lovers who parted 27 years ago as they meet by chance on the 6:41 morning train bound for Paris. Cecile has just spent a dreary weekend dutifully visiting her parents. The only empty seat in the train compartment is claimed by none other than Philippe. Though they each recognize the other at once, neither acknowledges it.
The once plain and socially-awkward Cecile is now a successful business owner, married with grown children, confident and stylishly dressed while the once handsome, charming and care-free Philippe is unrecognizable - "old, wrinkled, flabby, the kind of man that inspires pity." This gives Cecile no small satisfaction as she remembers Philippe's betrayal and her humiliation on a trip to London so painful that she cannot bear to return to the city. In the time it takes the 6:41 train to reach Paris, their thoughts compellingly trace the meandering paths between who they once were and who they are now.
"A fast, yet deep journey through the characters' experiences of anger, triumph, remorse, and forgiveness, Blondel's novel ... reminds us that even long-ago heartbreaks have the power to ignite our most powerful emotions."
"Funny, wise and conciliatory."
Read-alikes: The Forgiven by Lawrence Osborne; Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith; and The London Train by Tessa Hadley
* = starred review
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #579 “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” ~ Charles William Eliot
by muffy
An international bestseller The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend * *, first novel by Katarina Bivald (translated from Swedish by Alice Menzies) is a sleepy charmer you would not be able to put down.
Broken Wheel, IA, pop. 637. Bookseller Sara Lindqvist travels from her native Sweden, against her parent's warning and her own inhibition, to visit Amy Harris, her longtime American pen pan, only to arrive on the day of Amy's funeral. Not having seen a tourist for years, the town folks are eager to get to know Sara. They insist that Sara stays in Amy's house, and refuse Sara's effort to pay for her groceries and meals. They even assign her a chauffeur.
Feeling entangled and with a need to repay all their kindnesses, Sara happens upon the idea of opening a bookstore in an abandoned storefront, using Amy's eclectic collection. Amazingly, it is an absolute success and before long, a tourist attraction, turning Broken Wheel into a hotbed of romance and progressive ideas. Now, can the town folks work more of their magic in getting Sara to stay? For good?
"This gentle, intelligent Midwestern tale will captivate fans of Antoine Laurain's The Red Notebook; Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop; and Gabrielle Zevin's The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. An ideal book group selection, it reminds us why we are book lovers and why it's nice to read a few happy endings."
* * = 2 starred reviews
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Film Adaptation Alert: Me Before You
by Sara W
Jojo Moyes’ novel Me Before You might break your heart, sure, but it’s also going to make you laugh and remember to appreciate the loved ones in your life. The story starts with Will Traynor, a wealthy man with a big appetite for life, in the board room or on his global thrill-seeking expeditions, enduring an accident that leaves him a quadriplegic. Enter Louisa Clark, an ordinary, small-town girl, who lands a position as his caretaker and starts off just trying to get through each day without infuriating him. Eventually, a bond develops, and soon, they find great happiness in each other’s company.
This is a story about knowing your own mind and what it is to love with true unselfishness, and how difficult both of those things can be. It manages to be both meaningful and quirky without becoming too heavy-handed or too wacky. And yeah, you’re going to want to have some tissues handy at the end, but the range of emotions you’ll experience on the way are well worth the tears.
The book has now been adapted into a feature film, starring Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clark and Hunger Games’ Sam Claflin. The movie comes out June 3, and the official trailer has just been released.
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Become an Expert in All Things Wheel of Time!
by gulickb
It's been almost 3 years since the final volume of the Wheel of Time series was published, and if you're anything like me, you're ready for more Wheel of Time. Well, we're in luck, because Robert Jordan's wife (and editor) along with others from his editorial staff have published a wonderful companion to the series entitled The Wheel of Time Companion. It is in many respects an encyclopedia of all things Wheel of Time, lovingly put together by the people who knew the series best, along with help from Jordan's notorious record keeping. What you'll see in this book will spoil many of the RAFO (read and find out) moments from the series, so if you're still working your way through the series, read with caution lest you ruin some of the best revelations!
For those new to the series, the Wheel of Time is a series of 14 books (and one prequel) starting with The Eye of the World. Like many epic fantasies, the story deals with an ancient prophecy, the Prophecy of the Dragon, and the return of the Dark One, Shaytan, who was sealed away by male magic users during one of the previous ages of the world. The series has been read by millions of people worldwide. The series was finished by Brandon Sanderson after author Robert Jordan's death.
If you are a fan of epic fantasy, check out the Wheel of Time series. And if you are a fan of the series, you must check out The Wheel of Time Companion.
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #578
by muffy
The Longest Night * * by Andria Williams is inspired by a little-known historical fact - the nation’s only fatal nuclear accident, which occurred on January 3rd, 1961. Williams’ debut explores the lead-up to the tragedy through the eyes of a young army specialist and his wife.
Idaho Falls, 1959. Neither Paul Collier nor Nat(alie) fits in very well in their new home. Paul, the newest enlisted man at the experimental nuclear reactor, is dismayed at the problematic and dangerous condition of the reactor. When a clash with his buffoonish supervisor turns violent, he is deployed to Greenland for 6 months.
Left behind with two young children and pregnant with a third, Nat tries to make friends with the prim-and-proper army wives whose scintillating marital drama play out behind closed doors. But she finds her deepest friendship with a handsome young Mormon cowboy named Esrom, who proves to be both a help and a bright spot in her life, as well as a temptation and fuel for the rumor mill. Upon Paul's return, a nuclear event will force them to make decisions that will alter the course of their lives and others in the community.
"A smoldering, altogether impressive debut that probes the social and emotional strains on military families in a fresh and insightful way." May we also suggest: The Wives of Los Alamos by TaraShea Nesbit; You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon; and Changing Light by Nora Gallagher.
* * = 2 starred reviews
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #577
by muffy
Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Ed Tarkington, the Indie Next List and the American Booksellers Association Indies Debut Pick of the Season, is a coming-of-age novel shot-through with ‘70s rock-n-roll.
Titled after a Neil Young song, it is set in Spencerville, Virginia, 1977, where 8-year-old Richard “Rocky” Askew worships his older brother, Paul, who allows him to tag along as he cruises around in his Chevy Nova, cigarette dangling from his lips, arm slung around the beautiful Leigh, daughter of Judge Bowman.
Unfortunate events pit the Askews against their wealthier neighbors, the Culvers and each other, triggering an unforgivable act of violence from Paul who disappears, but not before taking Leigh with him. Years later, as the Askews are struggling with declining health and financial ruin, Paul returns, looking for redemption and forgiveness. After a mysterious double murder brings terror and suspicion to their small town, Rocky and his family must reckon with the past and find a way to rebuild relationships - with each other, and with the town.
For readers who enjoyed My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh; A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash; and The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton.