The Summer Prince

I used to be a die-hard read-to-the-end reader. Maybe it was Puritan work ethic from growing up in New England; maybe it was optimism; maybe I had too much time on my hands? Over the years as a bookseller, my willingness to put a book down developed to what I imagine as near the decisiveness editors and agents must have. Unless someone I know and trust has recommended something, if a book doesn't grab me right away, I often put it down and move right on the the next in my overflowing to-read pile.
When I picked up The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson and read the first page, for some reason I wasn't hooked. Carnivale and an execution? Nah. I pushed it aside. But the next morning, the book called to me from my discard pile. I tried again. After several chapters, I came up for air--briefly-- then dove right back in.
This unique and fascinating teen novel is like Margaret Atwood with a samba beat. Once I let the language and the future-foreignness absorb me, I was completely hooked.
Wakas are the young people and grandes are the mature ruling class of Palmares Tres, a tenuous paradise city built of interconnected glass bubbles, floating on the ocean and ruled by a matriarchy of Aunties and the Queen-- a government that is cyclically blood-thirsty, requiring the sacrifice of a chosen Summer King every five years to sanctify the reign of the Queen.
June is an aspiring artist and the stepdaughter of one of the Aunties. June and her best friend, Gil, a dancer, are prone to large gestures and devotion to Art. When Enki, a dancer who came up from the lower class in the verde, the bottom level of the pyramid and society, is chosen as the Summer King, both June and Gil are attracted to Enki's charisma, elegance, power, and message. What could have been a traditional love triangle (albeit with one couple a same-sex couple) becomes a much more complicated dance when not just sex but art causes passions to flame.
Over the whole book lies the knowledge of Enki's impending sacrifice.
Suspense, drama, love, steamy sensuality, justice, art-- to think I might have missed all that on a snap judgment! I'm so glad I picked this back up. Let me be the one to tell you--give The Summer Prince at least a chapter. And if you're not into it by then, just set it aside and wait for a day you're feeling adventurous and willing to go out on a reading limb. It's strange and satisfying, fresh and fascinating.

Love Water Memory by Jennie Shortridge

I get a huge kick out of reading advance reader copies from publishers before a book is published, but there's something even more exciting: reading a manuscript from an author I love before the publisher even puts the galleys out.
In 2012, I had the honor and privilege of reading the manuscript for Love Water Memory by Jennie Shortridge. The novel comes out April 2, 2013 from Gallery Books in a beautiful hardcover edition. I can't wait for others to catch on to this delight!
This is the rare novel that is thoroughly loving and romantic, sweet without being sappy.
Lucie is discovered knee-deep in San Francisco Bay. Just weeks before her wedding and her 40th birthday, something traumatic happened, and she lost her memory. Now her fiance Grady reclaims her, but their relationship is full of tension as they try to protect each other, putting their deep love at risk with their cautiousness.
Truths in the story tease out beautifully-- with suspense, care, and insight. The reader's gentle discovery and characters' revelations make this a book that lingers in the heart.
This is my favorite novel by Jennie Shortridge yet-- a bold statement from me, not only because I've loved her others so but also because I usually have a hard time picking favorites. But the uplift of hope and emotional suspense filling this novel make it a stand-out even among well-loved titles.

Music that I would recommend with this novel: soulful, romantic, atmospheric female vocalists like Etta James, Carla Bruni, Jolie Holland.

The Double Game by Dan Fesperman

Here's another fantastic read that I pulled from my pile!
In itself, it is a fun and satisfying middle-aged-man Cloak & Dagger story, but the layers of spy fiction fan geekiness push it over the top into the CAN'T MISS THIS category for fans who just can't get enough of Le Carre, Furst, Fleming et al.
Bill Cage, a 53-year-old former international journalist, current reluctant PR hack, divorce, disappointing dad, and beloved only son of former State Department employee Warfield Cage, gets the chance to live out the plots of his favorite spy novels. But when real danger strikes and he realizes how much he has to lose, is playing the game still worth it?
A mysterious note referencing favorites in the spy genre kicks it all off. Soon Bill is leaving Georgetown to revisit Cold War sites from his childhood. There are book codes, clues leading through deliciously old-world bookshops, microfilms from the KGB, and tons of references to spycraft's golden era.
Great drama, great character, and also great that even though there are some very thrilling scenes, some of the major cruxes of the story have wonderful psychological depth.
Watch for Litzi, a competent, smart femme who doesn't necessarily need to be fatale to be completely magnetic.
Perhaps best of all is the full bibliography at the end. I made a two-page wish list in my reading journal just from that.
The drink of this book: whiskey, neat. But also vodka, slivovitz, red wine...

I think readers who enjoy this might also try Pavel & I by Dan Vyleta (a spy thriller set in post-WWII Berlin, with loads of twists and turns), Restless by William Boyd (a 1970s mother-daughter story in London intertwined with mom's shenanigans as a spy in WWII) and-- a bit more of a stretch, but there's something about the deep reading, the family ties, and the layers of fiction-- The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips (a contemporary drama about a son, his conman father, and the undiscovered Shakespearean play that won't let them go). 

Snowdrops by A. D. Miller

I finally got around to reading this Man Booker 2011 shortlist title, and I'm so glad I did. I usually like Man Booker shortlisters, I often like a book set in Russia, several customers had read and recommended it, so I was a little worried about it living up to expectations. Phew-- what a relief that it completely sucked me in with its sharp writing, suspenseful storytelling, and completely evocative and atmospheric style.
This contemporary novel is told as Nick/Kolya's confession to his fiancee before their wedding. It chronicles a London lawyer's fourth and final expat year in the depraved but beautiful, captivating yet horrifying Wild Wild East of Moscow, where bribes are necessary for everything, who you know could make or break you, and people really might do the unthinkable.
Miller doles out pithy and clever descriptions as well as heartbreaking statements about midlife, ambition, and love. The emotion is powerful and fascinating.
From the beginning, we know that a corpse has been uncovered near Kolya's flat. ("Snowdrops" are, in addition to flowers, corpses that are discovered after the snow melts in Russia.) This lends a sense of suspense and lurking danger throughout the story.
But the story is not a murder mystery; it is a love story, a story of intrigue and manipulation, and a business cautionary tale.
I found this well-written and gripping, if rather bleak. Bundle up, pour yourself some cocoa with a shot of vodka, and hunker down for a read-in-one-sitting winter's indulgence.
For more about Snowdrops (and to find it at an indie bookstore near you), click here. 

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway

Zany, quirky, and enigmatic-- a very fun and unusual adventure.
This novel reads like a combination of Neil Gaiman, Alan Kurzweil, and Gail Carriger.
Joe Spork, a clockmaker, is in his 30s-- a quiet, kind, concentrated type of man. He runs the old clock shop his grandfather Daniel started in London. Joe worries about paying his taxes on time and treating women with more respect than his loutish friend Billy. He tries very hard to distance himself from the legacy of his dad, Mathew, a gangster who ran the secret underworld Night Market.
Joe gets snared in intrigue when Billy introduces him to client Edie Bannister, an old woman with a bad-breathed, blind pug named Bastion (who gets interior monologues from time to time). Edit has Joe work on repair jobs, including a clockwork device that is part book-- and part world-changing mechanical beehive. This is the Angelmaker, aka Apprehension Machine.
The story goes back and forth between the present-day troubles Joe has with government types and creepy religious/craftsman fundamentalists and Edie's youth (her special agent training, heroic transgender-disguised rescue, bonus baby elephant...).
There is a lot of the bizarre in the plot, and I'm sure I missed some of the twists and turns, but I enjoyed the quirky characters an over-the-top adventure. Perhaps my favorites, aside from Edie's training days above the  steampunk codebreaking train the "Ada Lovelace", were the scenes with Mercer Cradle, lawyer extraordinaire, and the smart and sexy Polly. 

'Tis the Season!

Without my usual retail holiday work, the season has kind of snuck up on me this year. Luckily, the Random Acts of Reading blog gave me a gift-giving prompt this month.
Read how I responded to, "What book do you want to give this year? What book do you want to get?" here.
What book would you love to get this year? 

Random Acts of Reading guest post: backlist

I love the book blog prompts Erin at Random Acts of Reading gives us every month. For November, we got to think about older favorites for kids. No surprise that the other bloggers' contributions had me going, "Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! I knew she was a kindred spirit!"

See the whole fabulous list and sing a variation of that song from childhood: "Read new books, but read the oll-lld; Some are silver and the others GOLD."

The post is here.