Book Recommendations Archives - Page 29 of 33

October 14, 2015October 13, 2015

Focus on Story: Intrigue on Page One

I am terribly introspective most days, but there are moments–plenty–when my attention span runs short. Too much coffee, too many things to do, too short on time for all that “doing,” I have to force myself to slow down.
Take a breath.
Focus.

I don’t want to make myself focus, though, when it comes to reading. I want to dive into story. It’s true that a good book is worth the wait through a slow opening or a few introductory chapters. But a great story, as Lisa Cron says in her book Wired for Story, is marked by a compelling hook from the very beginning:

[W]hat draws us into a story and keeps us there is the firing of our dopamine neurons, signaling that intriguing information is on its way. This means that whether it’s an actual event unfolding, or we meet the protagonist in the midst of an internal quandary, or there’s merely a hint that something’s slightly “off,” on the first page, there has to be a ball already in play. Not the preamble to the ball. The ball itself. . . . and it has to have our complete attention.

Now, I’m not an action-packed kind of reader. If you look through my author interviews, you’ll see I prefer a slow build, a quiet novel. Still, a slow building story doesn’t mean slow-to-intrigue; first lines in these quiet stories can be just as intriguing as in a plot-driven novel. Here are a few of my favorite first lines from past and recent reads:

“It was bitter cold, the air electric with all that had not happened yet.” ~ from A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick.

Have you read this book? Oooh, really good stuff (okay, worst book review ever–“really good stuff”–but suffice it to say this is one of my “I want to write like that some day” books).

“Mama left her red satin shoes in the middle of the road.”
~ from Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman (you can read my interview with Beth HERE).

Another one of my all-time favorites from the first line through the first scene and beyond.

“Daily, men descended into the earth, going where no man belonged, taking more than men deserved, their faces wracked with indifference, their hands dirtied with soot from the depths of the mountain.” ~ from American Copper by Shann Ray.

I received an advanced copy of this book, and I knew immediately from this line that I would absolutely love it. Everything about this story is woven into that first line: industry and power, the harm a man may cause, and the scars he leaves behind.

We’ll talk a more about Lisa Cron’s book and story structure in my upcoming online class, Principles & Prompts. Join us if you can. And, consider picking up Wired for Story or one of the three novels mentioned above. American Copper doesn’t come out until November 2015, but it’s definitely a book to claim for your shelves.

What’s your sign of a good story?

August 19, 2015August 18, 2015

A review of Evergreen, a novel rich in character & place.

The way Eveline would remember it, there was a moment of absolute stillness when the future was still theirs before the wind blew up from the river and the first of spring’s leaves shook as if they were afraid.
~from EVERGREEN by Rebecca Rasmussen

I have loved Rebecca Rasmussen’s writing since her first novel, The Bird Sisters. Landscape plays an important role in the story of two sisters, Milly and Twiss, who “have spent their lives nursing people and birds back to health;” readers become rooted in place and character easily from the first few pages. Rasmussen’s second novel, Evergreen (released in paperback in June), is just as rich, if not more, in setting. The opening paragraph tells all:

Eveline LeMay came after the water. She arrived on a cool morning in early September, asleep in a rowboat without paddles as if she knew the river currents would carry her past the tamarack and black-spruce forest, around Bone Island, a fen, and a bog, all the way to Evergreen and her new husband, Emil, who was waiting for her on the rocky shore.

A young woman ferried into new territory under the shadows of a spiny northern wood and past an island whose name alone hints at desperation, Evergreen opens with the reunion of Eveline and her husband Emil, who has been carefully transforming a broken-down and abandoned cabin into a newlyweds’ safehold.

But Eveline is not safe. When Emil returns overseas to his ailing father, she falls victim to a stranger’s hand and finds herself caught in the turbulence of a backwoods spring, a secret child, and a decision that tears her apart. The companionship of her strange neighbor Lulu helps her survive the harsh living and a broken heart, and later, on her deathbed, she reveals the truth of her secret to her son, Hux: a baby, his sister, given away but never forgotten.

Evergreen is a quiet novel in which landscape not only paints the picture but sets the tone of this generational story about a young wife and mother, about the broken soul of a daughter, and about a brother’s love, devotion, and healing. Rebecca Rasmussen is an author to follow if you’re a reader and one to emulate if you’re a writer.

Click HERE for more about Evergreen, including an excerpt, reviews, and a reading guide.

February 18, 2015February 18, 2015

#AmReading #AmListening on these cold, cold days.

With frost overtaking the window pane and the thermometer reading single digits, this is a good time to curl up with a book.

I’ve mentioned before how I love reading with my kids. Partly because it draws them in, and there’s comfort, for example, at the end of a day when my seventh-grade son leans against my shoulder, caught up in the pages of a good book. But reading with both my kids also introduces me to stories I might otherwise miss.

Which means, I actually have three books in open circulation right now: one for my daughter, one for son, and one for me–all of which are hard to put down when it’s time for dinner or for bed.

#AmReading with Her

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes.

“The next day I keep thinking about all Mama Ya-Ya has told me. ‘Signs everywhere. Pay attention.’

And I do. Noticing that the flowers on the way to school seem thirsty. Noticing that our school is old and crumbling, but it always feels brand-new ’cause the blackboard changes. Chalk–red, blue, white, and green–is powerful, sending me signals.”

This book, “a deeply emotional story about transformation and a celebration of resilience, friendship, and family–as only love can define it,” is about twelve-year old Lanesha who lives with her caretaker, Mama Ya-Ya, in the Ninth Ward the year hurricane Katrina hits.

My daughter and I read Sugar by Rhodes first, which was such a great story that she immediately wanted to move on to next book on Rhodes’ publication list. We’re still in the beginning chapters of Ninth Ward, but my daughter asks lots of questions (always a good sign). She studies every page as I read out loud, and I can tell she’s turning the words into pictures. She doesn’t like it one bit when I have to close the cover for the night.

#AmReading with Him

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

lightning-thief

“Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal. I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man….”

Here’s my confession: I love the chapter titles, like “Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants” or “I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom,” perfect hooks for a middle school reader.

I also have to confess that I cannot pronounce the word “pinochle” (which comes up several times in a series of chapters) to save my life.

pee-NAH-co-lee. No wait…
pee-NOH-clee.
Dang it.
pee-NU-cal.
PEE-KNUCKLE!
Gah!

Stumbling over that word each and every time earns me plenty of heavy sighs from Mr. Seventh-grade smarty pants. Later, I get the “geez mom” whenever I fumble through the name of a hero (which I am also quite good at). I thought I knew Greek mythology. He thought I would eventually know pinochle. What we’re both sure of is that this book is a page turner, and my reading it aloud is as entertaining–or at least almost as endearing–as the story of young Percy Jackson fumbling his way through a hero’s quest to save the world. Right? …hello?

#AmListening Myself

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

“‘And now I got a question for you,’ Glory said.

Before she asked, Lizzie knew that Glory’s question would mirror her own. It was a question many people thought about–slaves who watched as they went around in their better, but not quite good clothes and softer, but not quite soft feet, northern whites as they sat at the dining table and chose decorum over curiosity, wives who pretended to be asleep when their husband rose from their beds or never came to bed at all.

Did they love them? She couldn’t speak for the others. She could only speak for herself.”

I’ve had this book on my TBR list for a long time, and I’m sorry I didn’t pick it up sooner. Since I have several books in the queue right now but really wanted to read this one now, I decided to check out the audio version of Wench from the library. I’m only half way through. But Robynne Young’s reading of the novel brings to life this heartrending story about a young slave who becomes the master’s mistress, who uses her position to win favors for herself, her children, the other slaves, and who slowly understands the reality of her standing in a flawed and perverse society.

I can’t say enough about this one.

About all three, really.

What are you reading (or listening to) these days?