I saw this sign at the Louvre when we were there in the fall and loved it. Nothing says “no loud talking” like an ancient Egyptian who is making too much noise!
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It seems that RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA is all over the blogosphere these days, so I requested it from the library. There were a ton of holds already ahead of me. When it didn’t materialize after a month, I purchased it for my kindle. I had heard a lot about this book and it didn’t disappoint me!
In RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA, high powered attorney Kate Baron gets a phone call from her daughter’s private school that there’s been an incident of cheating and her daughter is being suspended. When she reaches the school, her daughter Amelia is dead, apparently having committed suicide by jumping off the roof. “Sorry” is written on the wall near where Amelia was. Then Kate receives a text: “She didn’t jump”. Thus begins Kate’s journey into discovering who her daughter really was – her secrets, her desires, her inner self. Kate harbors a lot of guilt for being a working single mom, and she seeks to prove that Amelia did not commit suicide and she did not plagiarize. The more she digs, the more she finds, and that makes her rethink all that she thought she knew.
This story is told in present day tense (Kate’s voice) and then through flashback (Amelia’s voice), texts, blog posts, and emails. Even though it jumped around a lot chronologically, I liked that way of telling the story.
There were some of elements in this story that did NOT work for me (SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!). For instance, this principal at Grace Hall had a lot of spare time on his hands (having worked in independent schools for over twenty years I can tell you that spare time for a headmaster is rare!). Also, no one questioned the writing on the wall at first. And Amelia didn’t think it odd that Ben got her private cell number supposedly from Princeton since they would be attending a summer session there (strangers, but both attending, and Princeton just gives it out?). Kate, supposedly brilliant, was the last to figure out who Amelia’s father was (I figured it out before she did – lol). And that English teacher?? Can we say: quick way to lose your job?
But – overlooking these things – I found this novel to be compelling and thought-provoking, suspenseful and exciting. I could hardly put it down because I wanted to know what happened. My only sadness was that it started with Amelia’s death and I knew she wasn’t coming back. Having the book in her voice and getting to know her made for a poignant reading experience.
Here’s a book trailer I found on You Tube for this book — also found on the Amazon page — it’s interesting and thought-provoking!!
This Sunday I had the opportunity to head over to my favorite independent bookshop – The Concord Bookshop – for a reading by Meg Donohue and Nichole Bernier. Nichole’s novel, THE UNFINISHED WORK OF ELIZABETH D, was one of my fave reads from 2012 (reviewed here: https://drbethnolan.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/review-the-unfinished-work-of-elizabeth-d-by-nichole-bernier/). Meg is a new author for me. Her 2012 novel HOW TO EAT A CUPCAKE was out at the shop. I’ve heard good things about it and will need to read it! I purchased ALL THE SUMMER GIRLS – her latest novel about three friends coming together one summer to reflect on their lives and their choices and issues. Looks like it will be a great read!
Here are Nichole and Meg enjoying the crowd:
All in all – a fun afternoon!
This week I had the chance to attend the BEA Bloggers’ Conference, held in NYC. The Bloggers’ Con is part of the overall BEA (Book Expo America) which is HUGE and has hundreds of authors signing books and lots of sessions. I just couldn’t get away for more than one day, though, so I just attended the blogger con (this year!).
There is something so exciting and rejuvenating about attending a conference filled with people who love to read and write about books. Sometimes blogging can be a tad lonely, and even though I connect with a lot of people through blogging, there is a sense of “if I write it, will they read it?” when I create my posts. It’s so refreshing to meet people who feel the same way, and oh so flattering to be recognized by readers!
However, the point of this post is to share some of the highlights of that day’s sessions. I had attended Blogger Con two years ago and there was a different feel to the air this year. Two years ago I heard a lot of “publishers are starting to realize the power of the blogger”. This year a big theme was “people are listening to you – you are powerful”. (I’ve always found authors partial to bloggers, but then most authors love a person who has taken the time to read their books).
The opening keynote was Will Schwalbe who talked about the role of book bloggers and shared a personal story about starting an “end of your life book club” with his mother as she was dying.
My morning session focused on editor insights into YA books. As you know, I am a huge YA fan! They previewed some coming titles and they had ARC’s available for us to take. The editors talked about how “mash-up” genres were growing in popularity – so a book that is contemporary, but a mystery with some horror or a ghost element. Or a coming of age story that is also a mystery. Contemporary seems to be coming back into play, replacing fantasy as the hot seller – though fantasy is still popular! Narrative non-fiction is also a new hot genre (well, it’s not really new per say, but it’s been out of vogue for a while).
At lunch there was an ethics session with lawyers going over how you need to disclose if you got the book for free, or if you know the author, if you are being paid, etc. Anyone who has been blogging for a while should be aware of these legalities.
The first afternoon session I attended dealt with taking your online presence offline. The bloggers involved (including Jenn’s Bookshelves, whom I follow) talked about how they interact in their community to promote reading (book clubs, work at schools, etc.) A big theme in this session (which had two regional independent bookseller people on it) was the independent bookstore and the importance of supporting your local/nearby independent bookstore. I thought about this for a bit. I’m a big fan of my local bookstore (for me, The Concord Bookshop in Concord, MA). I just never thought about featuring it in my blog. However, I’ve now been inspired to feature it more prominently and to promote its many wonderful events. I’ve even finally figured out how to successfully post pictures (this free version of Word Press kills me), so I will post shots of events, too. If you are ever in the area, do yourself a favor and visit the Bookshop – it is right on Main Street. Also in this session it was strongly suggested that Twitter be used regularly to promote yourself as a 3D person, not just post book reviews (um – that was what I’d been doing because who could possibly care what was happening in my daily life if you don’t know me?). I started tweeting away throughout the day to see what would happen and boy she was right – my followers immediately started increasing. I guess people do want to feel like they know YOU, not just read you! They also suggested starting memes, etc. on Twitter.
The next session had to do with increasing your presence, which is a goal of mine. I am hard pressed for time to blog, but the more you blog, the more people read you. The participants on this panel shared all sorts of apps and websites (most of which were new to me) that can get you “out there”. These included in part: instagram (popular photo site that I used to use but then got freaked out that strangers might see pictures of my kids); estella society (which I need to check out); Vine (app that makes 6 second looping stop-motion movies – I tried it yesterday and posted to Twitter); Twiangulate (not entirely sure how this works, but shows your connections); Tweet reach (who are you reaching); Reddit (shows popular web posts); triberr (form a tribe of bloggers since strength lies in numbers); and distillry (full disclosure – I can’t remember what this one is and I can’t find it online, but I was impressed when I saw it!).
The final key-note address of the day was Randi Zuckerberg of Zuckerberg Media and I’m sure she was wonderful, but by that point I had been in sessions all day, met with Net Galley people, met with a publisher, and been up since 4:30 am. My head hurt and I was pooped and I had tickets to “My Name is Asher Lev” that night, so I headed back to the hotel to rest up and recharge!
All in all, it was a fun day that made me want to go back next year – same time same place!!
If you know me personally, you know I did NOT like “Fifty Shades of Grey”. I never reviewed it because I didn’t finish it (made it about 2/3 through). Anyhow — a friend jokingly suggested I read “Fifty Shades of Louisa May”, and I never gave it a thought until the other day when I was pondering how Fifty Shades was still on the NYT best seller list. Louisa May popped into my head and since it was less than $10 on Kindle, I bought it.
First, let me say I did not know what to expect with this book. If you know me, you know my passion for all things Alcott and that I hobnob with Alcott scholars and run around in a hoop skirt at the museum and just love, love, love that whole family. I was feeling a bit sensitive, for want of a better word, that someone might be maligning my beloved Alcotts. I have to say how surprised I was at how much I enjoyed this truly ridiculous read. First, if you think it’s like the original Fifty Shades, you are off the mark. It’s more of a satire on the time period of the Alcotts, Transcendentalism, and the social mores that held in New England in the 1800’s. It’s erotica that makes fun of erotica. I’m not a huge fan of erotica (to me, some things should just be left behind closed doors – or book covers, for that matter); but L M Anonymous (who claims to be Louisa’s spirit) writes in the voice and style of Louisa’s work (kudos to you for that, sir/madam!) and portrays the main players (Louisa, her sisters, her parents, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, even Melville) in caricature. Whoever wrote this book knows a LOT about these people and these places, and I have to wonder who is the real author. Someone I know? One of the Alcott scholars? I think not as there are a few minor factual errors that a true Alcott scholar would not make. But the level of detail included that is correct (e.g. what Louisa dreamed about when ill from typhoid fever; the true personalities of the main players) is there, so it’s definitely someone who has read extensively on the family and their friends. The best part of the book for me was trying to figure out who wrote it!
Now I can imagine that some folks would not “get” this book. Alcott lovers, like myself, could be offended (when you study great minds, you often overlook their sexuality). Those who want a read like Fifty Shades will most probably be disappointed. I can’t say I recommend this book – erotica is just not my thing and I generally don’t recommend books with graphic sexual content – however, if you are a lover of this time period and can imagine ridiculous scenarios (e.g. Melville playing peeping Tom to Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne; Louisa on a quest to lose her virginity) then you might enjoy it. I laughed out loud through much of it and read it in a few hours.
I attended the BEA (Book Expo America) Bloggers’ Conference this week for one day in NYC. It was great! I took a few snaps out my window and at Madame Tussaud’s next door. Next year I must go and attend the whole week!
Here are a few pics from my hotel room (Hilton Times Square) and Picasso and Dali from Madame Tussaud’s:
Saturday Snapshot is now hosted by Melinda at www.WestMetroMommy.blogspot.com
It’s easiest to participate! Just post a picture you or a friend took and link it on the site. Appropriate content please! 🙂
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