Jul 18, 2010

Two listeners bring us up-to-date on book prjects they have undertaken. It's the dog days of Summer (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least), but these books will have you reaching for a blanket. Our "Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read" are both paperbacks this time.

Listener Projects

Nicky, from the UK, has helped implement, at her local library, a new program which gives people with disabilities special services such as free audio book and DVD rentals, no late fees and book delivery. Chris emailed us a few years ago, asking if we knew of any services which would notify him when his favorite authors had new books out. We couldn't think of any and he never found one, so he created one that is now available to everyone. Check out Reader Alert; it's wonderful! Way to go Nicky and Chris!

When I raved about Kings of the Earth, I forgot to mention that Jon Clinch, the author, had used a true story as his inspiration for the novel. Several BOTNS listeners wrote in to mention the documentary Brother's Keeper, which told the story of the four Ward brothers. It's a documentary that Ann has seen and loved, and that I have in my Netflix queue.

Ice-Cold Pages

Recently, in the midst of a New England heatwave, Ann asked our Facebook followers for their favorite reads set in a cold climate. We got an avalanche of responses. (sorry) Some of the most often-recommended titles were To Build a Fire by Jack London, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, The Terror by Dan Simmons and Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg, which was The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo of it's time (a Scandinavian mystery that came out of nowhere and sold like mad). One book that caught both my and Ann's attention was The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin, the true account of a late 19th-century storm that trapped a group of children in their one-room schoolhouse. You can see the full thread of recommendations here.

Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read

The Thieves of Manhattan by Adam Langer has been getting stellar reviews so, even though I haven't read it yet, I feel confident recommending this paperback original set in the New York publishing world. It's about a hapless, aspiring writer caught up in a fake memoir scheme. Ann tells us about Border Songs by Jim Lynch. Newly released in paperback, this novel tells the story of Brandon Vanderkool who, despite being uninterested in his new job as a guard along the Washington-Canadian border, actually excels at catching illegal aliens and drug-runners.