The Sunday Salon... Books with Buzz!

Good Morning! It's been a busy week planning my blogoversary, so there was a lot going on behind the scenes of Chick with Books, but not much posting. Not to worry though, I'm going to make it up to you in a few weeks time, with some exciting things going on for the celebration! In the meantime, I did get in a bit of reading- I started and finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett and really enjoyed it! The characters came alive to me and I found that when I had to put the book down, I eagerly went back for more! If you haven't cracked the spine on this one yet, let me say YOU SHOULD! I'll be reviewing it this week, so I'll talk more about it more then. This coming week I've also got a few great reviews with giveaways coming up, including a couple of audiobooks! And Kindle fans, I've got a cute little gadget review coming up in a Kindle Korner post this week too! But on to the Sunday Salon, and some great books with buzz! I've got a little of everything today, including a medical miracle...

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot... "Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the effects of the atom bomb; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions... Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia—a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo—to East Baltimore today. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. Henriettas Daughter Deborah wonders, if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance?" Rebecca Skloot is an award winning science writer, but The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is not suppose to be some dry piece of research, but a story of a woman, her family, her legacy and scientific research. This book has gotten a lot of praise and just seemed so interesting to me. I never knew about "immortal" human cells or what they could be used for. Read an Excerpt of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks from O the Oprah Magazine, and learn more about the author and the book at her website, Rebeccaskloot.com.

Burn by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy..."Years ago, the Gypsy Kumpania (c0mmunity) where Janeal Mikkado lived was attacked by outsiders. With her best friend about to be consumed by a fire, Janeal had two options: try to save her friend--at serious risk to her own life--or disappear with the million dollars that she had just discovered... But the past is quickly coming back to haunt her. Both the best friend and the boyfriend that she was sure were dead have reappeared in her life, as has someone who knows about the money. There's a debt to be paid for the money she found, but there's an even greater debt she must face--and if the chaff isn't burned from her own heart, it will consume her." Thrill writer Ted Dekker is back along with Erin Healy with another page turner. Lots of buzz on this one, and sure to be another Ted Dekker best seller. So if you'd like a little more terror in your winter reading, check out Burn!

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake... "Weaving together the stories of three very different women loosely tied to each other, debut novelist Blake takes readers back and forth between small town America and war-torn Europe in 1940. Single, 40-year-old postmistress Iris James and young newlywed Emma Trask are both new arrivals to Franklin, Mass., on Cape Cod. While Iris and Emma go about their daily lives, they follow American reporter Frankie Bard on the radio as she delivers powerful and personal accounts from the London Blitz and elsewhere in Europe. While Trask waits for the return of her husband—a volunteer doctor stationed in England—James comes across a letter with valuable information that she chooses to hide. Blake captures two different worlds—a naïve nation in denial and, across the ocean, a continent wracked with terror—with a deft sense of character and plot, and a perfect willingness to take on big, complex questions, such as the merits of truth and truth-telling in wartime." The Postmistress by Sarah Blake is due in stores this coming week and it has gotten so much positive praise for the writing and the story. WWII has been a favorite among authors this past year, (I'm thinking The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society), but there's always room for another great book and this promises to be one! This is suppose to be a big hit this year! Read the first chapter of The Postmistress by Sarah Blake and see what you think! (and here's a little sneak peek at a surprise for a lucky "follower" of my blog... a copy The Postmistress is part of a wonderful bundle of books up for grabs as part of my blogoversary and courtesy of G.P.Putnam's Sons!)

Hope you've found something to peak your interest today! Less than 2 weeks before the One year anniversary of the blog celebration! And in the meantime... Happy reading! Suzanne

The Sunday Salon... "Books with Buzz"

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them, and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake...

This Sunday Salon I'm back with Books with Buzz! Since tuesday I've been Under The Dome with Stephen King, and am happy to say that I'm really enjoying it! I haven't read King for a very long time, but Under The Dome sounded like a great story- a whole town suddenly isolated by an invisible dome... how this effects the people (and animals) around the town and how chaos has a funny way of building up like a smoldering fire is all part of the plot. It's a brick of a book-almost 1100 pages, so even though I can't seem to put it down I think you'll have to waita couple of weeks for a review. But keep your eyes out for that review... In the meantime, let's take a look at a few books that haven't gotten mega press releases and that we should take a look at...

The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington... In the plague-wracked and devil-haunted darkness of Medieval Europe, an elite few enjoy opulent lives while the majority eke out a miserable existence in abject poverty. Hungry creatures stalk the deep woods and desolate mountains, and both sea and sky teem with unspeakable horrors. For those ill-fated masses not born into wealth, life is but a vicious trial to be endured before the end of days. Hegel and Manfried Grossbart couldn't

give a toss. Being of low birth means little, after all, when the riches of the mighty wait just inside the next crypt. The grave-robbing twins know enough about crusading to realise that if one is to make a living from the dead, what better destination than the fabled tomb-cities of Egypt? But the Brothers Grossbart are about to discover that all legends have their truths, and worse fates than death await those who would take the red road of villainy ... This book will be available in stores this coming tuesday, Nov.16th. I've read a lot of positive chatter about this book from those lucky people who got a copy before its official release. Although I also have read that there is some graphic violence (hey it's the middle ages...) and some strong language, especially felt at the beginning while you're getting use to the story. The writing is suppose to be wonderful & clever- capturing the essence of those plague filled times- and the violence begins to takes a back seat to the story. I love the middle ages and I'm going to definitely take a serious look at this book for the TBR pile. This Book is Kindle Ready!

Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan... one of the first young adult novels centered around the terror attacks of 9/11. On that fateful day, three teens lives are changed forever. As each gets to know the other, their moments become intertwined with each other’s in a way that leads to new understandings, new friendships, and new levels of awareness for the world around them and the people close by, both emotionally and physically. Gripping, moving, and utterly realistic, Love is the Higher Law manages to bring the events surrounding this catastrophic date to a heartbreakingly human level. And yet Levithan leaves readers with a feeling of hope and redemption, as his characters slowly learn to move forward with their lives, despite being changed forever. Katherine from Bunch of Grapes, tells us why this book is different from other 9/11 books, "we’re watching teenagers and because they are teens, they are crazy, pendulum-swinging, emotional roller coasters. They are in turn angry, idealistic, scared, tragic, uncomfortable, joyous, you name it… Every emotion is confused, raw and to the nth degree. They place drastic importance on their first date after 9/11, their first concert after 9/11. In most adult novels, they would get toned down, but because they are teens, it is allowed here. And this is the secret… we were all like that in those weeks, no matter our ages." This book has gotten lots of positive buzz and it's going in my TBR pile... This book is Kindle Ready!

Louisa May Alcott, The Woman Behind Little Women by Harriet Reisen... Harriet Reisen writes in her book, "the real Louisa was just as intelligent, hot-tempered, rebellious and ambitious as her fictional counterpart. But the true story of Alcott’s life is both more tragic and more triumphant than anything she cooked up for her favorite little woman." Marion Elisabeth Rodgers of The Washington Times calls Harriet Reisen "a master storyteller" and about The Woman Behind LW she says, "Chapters are never formulaic. With compassion and insight, she propels readers on to the next adventure, sacrifice, tragedy and triumph.” Biographies can be dry sometimes, facts & dates with little life, but Harriet Reisen's book sounds like a refreshing read, and there's a lot of great talk about it! As a little girl who loved Little Women, I am looking forward to reading about the woman who created a story so rich in character that it's still a wonderful read 140 years after being first published! Have you read Little Women? You can get a Kindle version of Little Women for $1.59 HERE, or an ePub, mobipocket/Kindle or PDF version of the Gutenberg project book Free from Feedbooks HERE. (Wish this was Kindle Ready, but it's not!)

That about does it for this weeks Sunday Salon and Books with Buzz. Hope you found something interesting to crack the spine! What are YOU reading this week? What books did you find interesting as you were wondering the bookstore or library? Share your finds here!

Happy reading... Suzanne

The Sunday Salon... "Books with Buzz" and a peek at a new eReader!

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them, and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake.

Summer finally came in Connecticut and by the end of the week the rain came back! But rainy days just give us an excuse to stay inside and crack open a book- without too much guilt...

This week I finished a "spicy" read by Allyson Roy called Babydoll. This wednesday, the husband & wife team of Alice and Roy, who make up the author "team" Allyson Roy, will visit Chick with Books and talk a little about their working relationship. I'll have a review of Babydoll, which they call Madcap Noir, where crime, comedy and romance meet- and such a fun read! Think of it as a Stephanie Plum novel with a bit more "heat"- you see Saylor Oz, our "detective", is a sex therapist who handles the occasional murder... this is the second novel starring Saylor Oz and I'm sure there will be more in this series. Then we can take the fun little quiz Alice & Roy wrote up especially for us here! Wednesday will be a fun guest post to promote the recent release of Babydoll and is part of their virtual book tour!

Gregory Maguire is well known for his adult books, Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister and A Lion Among Men, where he re-imagines the stories of well known fictional characters. But he is also a children's author. And recently he published a YA book, Missing Sisters, which I picked up for my Kindle this week. The story of a young 12-year old girl living in an orphanage, not being adopted because of hearing and speech problems, but with a lot of spunk touched me... "Set in 1968, Alice, a 12-year-old beset by hearing and speech impediments, lives in an orphanage run by nuns in upstate New York. After Sister Vincent de Paul, Alice's closest friend and supporter, is severely injured in a fire, no one explains to Alice that the sister has been sent for a long stay in a nursing home. Alice, worrying that Sister Vincent has died, makes a pact with God: until she knows that Sister Vincent will recover, she won't even consider an offer of adoption that has been extended to her--her first. A girl Alice despises gets her place, but Alice has a drama of her own, inadvertently learning that she may have a twin sister. With a mixture of cunning and courage, Alice finds her." I haven't seen too much publicity for this book, but sounds like a wonderful read! Look for a review this coming week...

Last sunday, Marie of The Burton Review recommended Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie. She called it one of her most engrossing reads! She also pointed out that Burnt Shadows is shortlisted for the 2009 Orange Prize... The Orange Prize for Fiction is awarded to the woman who, in the opinion of the judges, has written the best, eligible full-length novel in English and first published in the United Kingdom. Burnt Shadows starts on that fateful day in 1945, when the bomb dropped in Nagasaki and ends in a prison cell in the United Stateds in 2002. "Hiroko Tanaka is 21 and in love with the man she is to marry, Konrad Weiss. As she steps onto her veranda, wrapped in a kimono with three black cranes swooping across her back, her world is suddenly and irrevocably altered. In the numbing aftermath of the atomic bomb that obliterates everything she has known, all that remains are the bird-shaped burns on her back, an indelible reminder of the world that she has lost. From here she starts her search for new beginnings..." An epic tale that touches on a tragedy and the way our own histories can be transformed by one... I picked it up this week and opened it up to find Kamila Shamsies writing to be simply wonderful. Not only is the writing beautiful, but so it the cover! This is a book that should not disappoint! Thanks Marie for the recommendation!

And now a peek at a new eReader that just came out this week... Sony just released 2 new eReaders- The Sony Reader Touch, and the Sony Reader Pocket Edition. I had the opportunity to look at both this week and was impressed with the Pocket Edition that Sony released. It's just shy of being the size of a mass market paperback. It's easily held in one hand, although you need to click the wheel to turn the pages with the other hand, and it's slim. The text has a nice contrast- one of the problems Sony has been dealing with in it's development of their eReaders. There is no wireless connection with this eReader, but it's easy enough to download books from your computer. The Sony eReaders also work with ePub format, which Google just announced that it was going to use with it's book downloads and also quite a few text book publishers announced that it was going to use. Although I'm still a Kindle girl, this eReader is a temptation. And it might tempt other people as well because the Pocket Edition is about $100 less expensive than the Kindle 2.

Ok, that's what I've been reading and reading about this week, what about you?! What books have you read?! Don't be shy, share what you've been reading this week! Or let me know what you think of this week's "Books with Buzz"!

Happy Reading.... Suzanne