GNB Reading Room; What Are You Reading Now?

I know some of us are still slogging through Nixonland. (a worthy but weighty read) What else are folks reading. AND what is on your TBR pile? (To-be-read)

What do you recommend for a leisurely day on the beach or by the pool (hooshing it up or not as the case may be)?

What do you recommend for my gazillion hour flight next week to Netroots Nation?

What do you recommend to view this year's election in an historical perspective?

also- Anything we should avoid? Read any disappointments lately that are a "can/should be passed by?"

P.S. those going to Austin, I went to a good bookstore there when I was last in town, BOOKPEOPLE. I''ll be stopping in there for sure again next week.

P.P.S anyone from the area? I hear there are great used bookstores too-- any recommendations complete with addresses please?

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LOST: Books, TV and Popular Culture

In full disclosure I am pretty anti-tv. Happily, I don’t really watch. A bit on vacation in hotel rooms and some stuff that I can watch via the internet. But I am really not a TV person- gave it up more than 15 years ago. I love books, movies, music, podcasts and lots of other media—but not tv. Watched more as a kid but the older I get the less interested I am.

When I was working for 8 weeks in Hawaii last year I watched a lot of TLC stuff, including my guilty addiction, What Not To Wear. But I am not a big, famous, series fan. I don’t get caught up in that kind of thing. There are simply not enough hours in the day, and not enough good writing for television. And besides I always wonder how many great inventions will not be invented, how many problems will not be solved as we sit and vegetate in front of the blue flickering light of the devil.

Having said all that though, I was impressed this week by a TV-BOOK crossover phenomenon. The extremely popular show LOST has spawned a new interest in reading! Really.

Apparently, though I have not seen it myself, there are people in the blogosphere, and in libraries and book groups who have documented the books that appear on the desert island show and are writing about, reading and discussing those books. The premise is that the stranded members of the cast go through the luggage on the crashed airplane for reading material to pass the time. The collection of books is quite eclectic.

Some from the list so far…

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
by Lewis Carroll

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret
by Judy Blume

A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking [523.1 Haw]

The Brothers Karamazov
by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Carrie
by Stephen King

Catch-22
by Joseph Heller

The Epic of Gilgamesh
by Anonymous

Evil Under the Sun
by Agatha Christie

The Fountainhead
by Ayn Rand

Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad

Lancelot
by Walker Percy

Laughter in the Dark
by Vladimir Nabakov

Lord of the Flies
by William Golding

Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck

Our Mutual Friend
by Charles Dickens

The Stand
by Stephen King

Stranger in a Strange Land
by Robert Heinlein

A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens

The Third Policeman
by Flann O'Brien

The Turn of the Screw
by Henry James

Watership Down
by Richard Adams

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum

A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle

This book-tv phenomenon was pointed out to me last week at my regular monthly book group. (we were reading The Book Thief, which I enjoyed tremendously even though it is a young-adult novel) And I did some follow up research today yielding these web results;

http://lostbooks.blogspot.com/

http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/lists/booktalks/getlost.htm

This led me to muse on my own desert island lists—what 10 books would I want with me if I were lost? (will post mine later) How about your list?

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Catherine Banner, The Next J.K. Rowling?

There is a young woman from Cambridge making a bit of a buzz in the publishing world.

She started writing her novel at the age of 14, scribbling down sentences as she sat at the back of the classroom. Five years on, Catherine Banner is being tipped as the new JK Rowling. Now 19, Miss Banner is celebrating the publication of her work, The Eyes Of A King. The fantasy novel - the first in a trilogy - hits the shelves today and there is already talk of a film version. - Beth Hale

Lauren Buckland, Miss Banner's editor at Random House Children's Books, said: "She is a remarkable talent and definitely a writer to watch. "She has created a brilliant book - it's got pace, great characters, and a real sense of adventure which leaves the reader wanting to know more. "She may even take on JK Rowling."

About the book;

Leo North lives with his younger brother, Stirling, and his grandmother in Malonia, a world parallel to England. His life is dismal: his family is extremely poor and it is not known if his parents are still alive. His only future prospect is to become a soldier, something Leo does not look forward to.

The steady routine of his life is broken when, one day, he finds a blank book lying in the snow. He takes it home and, magically, writing appears in it, telling him about Aldebaran, a magician, Ryan, the exiled prince of Malonia, and an English girl named Anna. From a book that his father has written, Leo learns how King Lucien came to power, and how the Golden Reign ended. Mysteriously, it all ties in with Leo's life.

Tragedy soon descends upon Leo, and he turns his back on politics and magic, retreating inside himself. But he cannot escape from the story of Aldebaran, Ryan, and Anna, and soon his world changes in a way that he would never before have thought possible.- Mrs. Magoo Reads, Book Blogger

Catherine seems like a creative young woman with a ton of talent, and a good head on her shoulders. And I was in the market for a fun summer book to supplement all of the somewhat stressful reading in what is likely to be an intense political season.

Has anyone read this one? What other fun summer books do you recommend? What's on your to-be-read pile, or your in your beach bag?

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