Special Topics In Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl - February Selection

This month's selection is Special Topics In Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl.
From back cover: "Calamity Physics: The resulting explosion of energy, light, heartbreak, and wonder as Blue Van Meer enters a small, elite school in a sleepy mountain town. Blue's highly unusual past draws her to a charismatic group of friends at St. Gallway (see page 2, "wild, wayward youths," Everyman Parenting) and their captivating teacher, Hannah Schneider. A sudden drowning, a series of inexplicable events, and finally the shocking death of Hannah herself lead to a confluence of mysteries. And Blue is left to make sense of it all with only her gimlet-eyed instinct and cultural lexicon to guide her."

Review:
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Pessl's stunning debut is an elaborate construction modeled after the syllabus of a college literature course—36 chapters are named after everything from Othello to Paradise Lost to The Big Sleep—that culminates with a final exam. It comes as no surprise, then, that teen narrator Blue Van Meer, the daughter of an itinerant academic, has an impressive vocabulary and a knack for esoteric citation that makes Salinger's Seymour Glass look like a dunce. Following the mysterious death of her butterfly-obsessed mother, Blue and her father, Gareth, embark, in another nod to Nabokov, on a tour of picturesque college towns, never staying anyplace longer than a semester. This doesn't bode well for Blue's social life, but when the Van Meers settle in Stockton, N.C., for the entirety of Blue's senior year, she befriends—sort of—a group of eccentric geniuses (referred to by their classmates as the Bluebloods) and their ringleader, film studies teacher Hannah Schneider. As Blue becomes enmeshed with Hannah and the Bluebloods, the novel becomes a murder mystery so intricately plotted that, after absorbing the late-chapter revelations, readers will be tempted to start again at the beginning in order to watch the tiny clues fall into place. Like its intriguing main characters, this novel is many things at once—it's a campy, knowing take on the themes that made The Secret History and Prep such massive bestsellers, a wry sendup of most of the Western canon and, most importantly, a sincere and uniquely twisted look at love, coming of age and identity. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
http://www.amazon.com/Special-Topics-Calamity-Physics-Marisha/dp/B001OMHTZM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233380785&sr=8-1

Cheap and Fun Way to Trade Books Online!

While I have not tested this site out myself, it looks like a really fun way to get books on the cheap! And by cheap I mean for the price of postage only! Check out http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php and let me know what you think. If you test it out, please blog about your experience so our members will know what to expect!

Once you register for free, you then post books you no longer want...and trade them for books you do want. You pay only shipping, the site provides the packaging. This works perfectly with our eco theme!

The Story of Junk by Linda Yablonsky-January Selection

This month's selecton will be The Story of Junk by Linda Yablonsky.

Synopsis from the back cover:
New York City, 1986. The world is made of junk: junk bonds, junk food, junk powder. Anyone can be a junkie. Or a cop. At least that's how it seems to a young woman who is cooking up heroin deals for some of the cultural heroes of the moment: her friends. One of whom may not be entirely friendly.
The odyssey that has brought her here - from a Philadelphia suburb to a SoHo walkup, from the Golden Triangle to the darkest recesses of her soul- is The Story of Junk.

I am especially excited about this book as it gives an insider's look at being a junkie in the 80's pop era! Sure to be a fast paced, good read!

Happy Reading!

Sneaker Fox's Fingersmith Review... In a Word..Lovely

I finished Fingersmith this weekend, and it was great. Sarah Waters is a genius when it comes to dialogue. She captures so much detail and feeling in her dialogue, which really makes this book fly by. I don't know what I was expecting from my first Sarah Waters novel, but I was not expecting such a thrilling second half! The first half is heartwarming and insightful, while the second half is extremely fast paced and thrilling. The plot twists come suddenly and are suprising. I was blind sighted, which does not happen that often. I can't wait to read more books by this author.
The author was born in 1966 and has to date written a total of 4 novels. Her other works include Tipping the Velvet, Affinity, and her newest novel The Night Watch. She has been awarded much critical acclaim for all of her novels both from mainstream media and from the gay and lesbian comunity.
Bottom line.. I can't wait to read her other novels and can only hope they are as detailed and beautiful as Fingersmith. You will love it!

Sources used:
http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth03a23o034012634831

http://www.sarahwaters.com/biog.htm

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - December Selection

December's book club selection will be Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. In searching for suitable books for our club I explored reading lists online. Fingersmith was on the Orange Prize for Fiction's "50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors". This list oddly enough contained last months selection as well :). http://www.listsofbests.com/list/99

I'm excited about this months selection, and I am sure it will lead to some lively and opinionated discussions!!

Booklist review from Amazon.com:
From Booklist
Waters' third novel, set in Victorian England, opens when Sue Trinder, an orphan raised by a band of thieves, is recruited by Richard Rivers, a con man known as Gentleman, to help him in his quest to marry Maud Lilly, an heiress living in isolation in the country with her eccentric uncle. Maud stands to inherit a small fortune when she marries, and Gentleman intends to marry her, steal her inheritance, and imprison her in a madhouse. Sue agrees to pose as a maid to Maud and to gain her confidence. But Sue finds Maud sweet and trusting, and, to her surprise, she begins to fall in love with Maud and have serious misgivings about Gentleman's plan. But Sue only knows a small part of the scheme, and it will affect both her and Maud in ways she does not realize. The intricate plotting and startling revelations will keep the reader enthralled, rapidly turning the pages to get to the exciting conclusion. Waters' gripping, engrossing thriller would make the Victorian master of suspense, Wilkie Collins, proud. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Amazing Read!

AMAZING BOOK. My plan this week was to only get through the part I needed to be able to participate in the live chat, but I could not stop. It probably didn't help I had 2 days off in a row in which I could read most of the day. :) The second section is probably my favorite. It is definitely the I-can't-put-you-down-you're-so-good section. LOVE IT!

Okay, question though. I still don't understand the huge problem churches have due to it's "Atheist nature". It really didn't have an atheist nature. It was more like an "organized religion blows, but there is a God" type theme. I guess in that nature I could see how religious groups had issues with it. It very much made the church into the bad guy, lemming creator. Honestly, what's so wrong with atheism, though?

My all-time favorite thing about this book, though, is it's ability to stretch the imagination. It gives just enough details to let you imagine what's going on, how people act, and how this world functions, but not so much that you can't create them in your own way. Having watched the movie, as well, made me able to put voices with the characters in my head, which is always fun. :)

I dunno, what do you guys think?

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman - November Selection

For the opening book of the Secondhand Book Club, we are going to read The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. It is the first book in the His Dark Materials series and is shadowed by controversy with the opening of the film last year.

Synopsis from book cover:
Lyra Belacqua is content to run wild among the scholars in Jordan Collage, her dæmon familiar always by her side. But the moment she hears hushed talk of Dust, an extraordinary particle, she's drawn to the heart of a terrible struggle—a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armored bears. And as she hurtles toward danger in the cold, far North, young Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: her destiny must be fulfilled not in this world, but far beyond.

Editorial reviews:
"Extraordinary storytelling at its very best." —Detroit Free Press

"The Golden Compass is one of the best fantasy/adventure stories that I have read. This is a book no one should miss." —Terry Brooks

"As always, Pullman is a master at combining impeccable characterizations and seamless plotting, maintaining a crackling pace to create scene upon scene of almost unbearable tension. This glittering gem will leave readers of all ages eagerly awaiting the next installment of Lyra's adventures." —Publishers' Weekly