Help with your book gift ideas; PD James, Post-apocalypse short stories

Nov 29

BOTNS #157: Books as Security Blankets

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:00 — 12.2MB)

Let the BOTNS Book Elves help with your holiday shopping (on our Facebook page). What books do you turn to when life gets tough? In segment 3, Michael talks about Maureen McHugh’s After the Apocaloypse, and Ann discusses P.D. James’ Austen-inspired Death Comes to Pemberley.

Before the show… I realize that we’ve forgotten to mention two important things. First, the 2011 BOTNS Holiday Gift Guide is available for you to download. We hope that you find some great gift ideas.

Secondly, we recently announced that we would be writing a free monthly email newsletter, available only to subscribers. We’ll begin in January. We’re still playing with the types of content that we want to include, but we know that it will feature a snapshot of the manuscripts we’ve been reading. If you like hearing about books that will be published far in the future, this is the email for you. Sign up here. We promise we will never spam you.

Book Elves are Back on Duty

elf

Last year, Michael and I played “book elves,” and asked BOTNS listeners to call in and give us their “gift giving challenges”. We came up with book recommendations for those tough-to-buy-for people, and we had a great time doing it. This year we’ve decided to play Book Elves on our Facebook page. Post your holiday gift challenges on our wall there, and Michael and I will try to come up with some great book suggestions — but we’d love for you to chime in with your recommendations, too! It starts on December 1st, so please join us there!

Books as Warm Blankets

We got an email message asking us to talk about “security blanket books” — those books that we turn to in time of stress or turmoil. Others have called these “comfort reads.” Michael and I confess that neither of us have specific books that we turn to, but we do have genres that we rely on. Michael of course loves superhero comics, and I run for mysteries and thrillers, especially Lee Child‘s Jack Reacher series. What are your comfort reads or “security blanket books”? Let us know in the comments.

Two Books We Can’t Wait for You to Read

Michael recommends After the Apocalypse, a collection of short stories by Maureen McHugh. The stories are all very different and don’t fit the typical post-apocalyptic mold.

My pick for this week is P.D. James’ Death Comes to Pemberley, which I confess I have not yet read–but I will drop whatever I’m reading when my copy arrives. P.D. James has set her latest mystery at Pemberley, the estate from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It’s an homage to Austen that I can’t wait to read.

After the Apocalypse

Jbsharm

Love Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch!
Kristen

My comfort reads are anything by P.G. Wodehouse. I can’t stay gloomy when reading them.
Esf

My comfort books are mysteries. I also go back to favorite children’s books–especially Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter. I love how the family members keep up their spirits and rejoice in such small cozy things as the blizzards rage outside.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003201549414 Anne Smith

Comfort reads? Anything in the fantasy genre. Pure escapism!

Looking for more book gift ideas? Tune in to The Book Report – a weekly radio show doing gift ideas this week! http://bookreportradio.com for broadcasting station listing.
Valeriecsweeney

My comfort reads are always English – Raffaella Barker’s Hens Dancing/Summertime; Gil McNeil’s knitting books; Rosamunde Pilcher’s “big” books: September, The Shell Seekers, etc. I wonder, if I were English, would I find them as comforting? (I also return to Robertson Davies’ books again and again…., but he’s Canadian…)
Mlisaoverdrive

Hey, it’s mlisaoverdrive with a “thank you” for choosing my idea as a podcast title! Yes, I’m a huge William Gibson fan (he’s the only author I will buy in hardcover) and it’s “she”.

I like the idea of a genre as comfort read, possibly because I’m also going through a comfort genre phase. It’s the mystery genre in general and Ian Rankin in particular; I purchased ‘dead souls’ Nov 8th and I’ve torn through four more since then.
Judy Drew

Ann,
Here are several mystery series that I am crazy about:
Lindsey Davis’ Falco series set in Rome in about AD 70
Margaret Fraser’s Dame Frevisse series set in 15th century England
Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series set in modern day Quebec province
Donna Leon’s Comissario Guido Brunetti series set in modern Venice.

I just noticed that they are all women authors. Interesting.
Judy Drew

Ann,
Here are several mystery series that I am crazy about:
Lindsey Davis’ Falco series set in Rome in about AD 70
Margaret Fraser’s Dame Frevisse series set in 15th century England
Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series set in modern day Quebec province
Donna Leon’s Comissario Guido Brunetti series set in modern Venice.

I just noticed that they are all women authors. Interesting.
http://twitter.com/melissawiebe Melissa Wiebe

For me my comfort reads are the Little House books, the Harry Potter books, Jane Eyre and Pride & Prejudice.
http://twitter.com/melissawiebe Melissa Wiebe

The Long Winter definitely is a comfort book!
Rachel

My comfort reads are Harry Potter and romances. I hate admitting it but I call them “guaranteed happy endings”. You know what you are getting and you know you are not going to be depressed when it is over
http://thenocturnallibrarian.com/2011/12/09/sorting-out-stress/ Sorting out stress « The Nocturnal Librarian

[...] the Nightstand, Michael Kindness and Ann Kingman, recently asked listeners/readers to share their comfort books. Returning to a favorite genre, author, or childhood story can be a great stress reliever. My [...]
Anonymous

i absolutely love graham greene’s “the end of the affair” as a comfort read. no idea why – but like listening to the blues when you are down, it works.