nomadreader

The backstory:  Cross Currents  was on the shortlist for the Indie Lit Award for Fiction this year. The basics: Leading up to the devastating 2004 earthquake and tsunami on the Thai island of Ko Phi Phi, Cross Currents  explores the island through its inhabitants, a three-generation family with two children who run an island hotel, and tourists, young American traveler Patch, who is soon joined by his brother, Ryan, and Ryan's girlfriend, Brooke. My thoughts: The novel opens with an author's note about the tsunami and how it inspired him to write about this island he had visited and loved before. He wanted the world to understand this island before its devastation. What I found surprising given the author's note at the beginning was at what point in the novel the tsunami occurred: not until the novel's final pages. The author's note impacted my expectations of how this story would be told, and ultimately it left me disappointed and wishing Shors saved his author...

The backstory:   The Last Time I Saw Paris  was on this year's Indie Lit Awards shortlist. The basics: Fleeing New York City and a husband she doesn't love, Claire calls in a favor to travel to Paris in 1940. When she arrives, she realizes how dire the situation is there, but she perseveres, even without proper documentation, and vows to survive the war in Paris. My thoughts: I seem to be reacting more strongly to covers lately, and I love this one for the way it captures the story: it's Paris, it's passion, and its colors are enhanced, which represents that although this novel is historical fiction, it's been turned up a few notches toward fantasy. While The Last Time I Saw Paris  is firmly grounded in its time and place, I still found myself suspending belief, and gladly, because I was so enjoying its journey. It's certainly not the historical fiction of Helen Dunmore. Yet Lynn Sheene's version is compelling, escapist and action-packed. It's also n...

The backstory: Dance Lessons  was shortlisted for the 2012 Indie Lit Awards . It was our runner-up. The basics: After her husband Fintan dies in a sailing accident on Martha's Vineyard, Boston prep school teacher Ellen travels to the village in Ireland where Fintan was raised to uncover why he claimed to be an orphan. My thoughts: Based on the cover and title, I expected this novel to be about Irish escapism. I assumed a woman would go on holiday and meet a Viking-esque man who gave dance lessons. The reality of this novel is quite different, and I hope its second place finish in the Indie Lit Awards will compel more readers to take a look at what this novel really is. Ultimately, it's a novel about love, family, and the what it means to be home. While I would stop short of describing this novel as a mystery, it is a knowledge journey as Ellen yearns to understand her husband better and examine the state of their marriage at the time of his death. Much of this novel's...

The backstory:   Silver Sparrow, the third novel by Tayari Jones,   is the winner of this year's Indie Lit Awards  for Fiction. It is such a joy to finally tell you all how much I loved this novel. As a judge for the Indie Lit Awards, I've been under a gag order until the winner was announced, and it was killing me to not share this novel with you, even before we all voted it the winner. Also, for the first time in my organized reading life, the novel I wanted to win from the shortlist won. It's a nice feeling. The basics: This novel tells the story of James Witherspoon's family in 1980's Atlanta. Witherspoon is a bigamist with two wives who each have one daughter. My thoughts: I adored this novel from the beginning. It begins with Dana narrating. Dana's mother married James when she became pregnant, even though she knew he was already married. Dana has always known of her father's first wife and first daughter, Chaurisse. As a teenager, she has to wait ...

The 2011 Indie Lit Award fiction shortlist: Dance Lessons  by Aine Greaney Cross Currents  by John Shorts The Night Circus  by Erin Morgenstern Silver Sparrow  by Tayari Jones The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene The 2011 Indie Lit Award shortlists were announced this weekend, and I can't wait to start reading the titles that made the  fiction shortlist (for which I am a judge this year). It has everything I look for in a shortlist: a book I've read ( The Night Circus ), a couple of titles I've been meaning to get to ( Cross Currents and Silver Sparrow ), and two titles that are new to me ( Dance Lessons  and The Last Time I Saw Paris .) There's an impressive variety of settings in these novels: Scotland, Thailand, just about everywhere, Atlanta and Paris. I'll be reading these titles over the next two months and discussing their merits with my fellow judges. I won't be posting reviews on these titles until the winner and runner-up are...

The end of the year is bringing a slew of 'Best of 2011' lists (mine will go up Sunday), but it also means time is running out to nominate your favorite books for the 2011 Indie Lit Awards . The Indie Lit Awards, created by Wallace from Unputdownables last year, allow literary bloggers to be the judges. I'll thrilled to be a  voting member of the fiction category this year . As a voting member, I can't nominate books, so we're relying on readers to nominate the books that will make up the shortlists. Here are the categories: Biography & Memoir, GLBTQ, Fiction, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Speculative Fiction. Here are the guidelines for nominations: 1. The books must have been published in 2011. 2. You may nominate up to five books per genre. 3. Anyone may nominate (except those who made a profit on the book, such as the author, publicist or publisher). 4. Nominations are open until December 31, 2011 at 11:59 Pacific time. Have your list of favo...

September marks the beginning of my favorite time of year: fall. I love the cooling temperatures, changing leaves, and the excitement of the coming holidays. Now I can add one more reason I love September: nominations are now open for the 2011 Indie Lit Awards . The Indie Lit Awards, created by Wallace from Unputdownables last year, allow literary bloggers to be the judges. I'll thrilled to be a voting member of the fiction category this year . As a voting member, I can't nominate books, so we're relying on readers to nominate the books that will make up the longlist. Here are the categories: Biography & Memoir, GLBTQ, Fiction, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Speculative Fiction. Here are the guidelines for nominations: 1. The books must be published in 2011. 2. You may nominate up to five books per genre. 3. Anyone may nominate (except those who made a profit on the book, such as the author, publicist or publisher). 4. Nominations are open from Septem...

Happy Sunday! It's a lovely weekend here in Des Moines, and Mr. Nomadreader and I are looking forward to enjoying the (mostly) beautiful weather and the Des Moines Arts Festival  today. Tuesday I'll have a full recap of the festival. After reading State of Wonder , the third book I've given six stars out of five to , I got to thinking about the Indie Lit Awards (I'm thrilled to be a voting member for Fiction this year ). Could anything possibly beat State of Wonder ? Of course, last year Room was on the shortlist ( I also gave Room six stars ) and didn't win. It's a lovely reminder how subjective and personal reading can be. When I shared my review of State of Wonder on Facebook, one of my bookish friends (whose taste usually runs quite similar to mine) said she struggled to finish it. I'm confident State of Wonder will be nominated ( nominations begin in September! ), but I'm already eager to see what else will be. 2011 has been a fantastic r...

Last year, Wallace of Unputdownables founded the Independent Literary Awards (or Indie Lit Awards for short--or ILA for much shorter). Literary bloggers nominate no more than one book per category to form a shortlist. Then, the voting members read all the books on the shortlist and voted for a winner and a runner-up . I'm thrilled to be a voting member for the 2011 Indie Lit Awards in the Literary Fiction category. My fellow voting members are Aths from Reading on a Rainy Day , Lyndsey from Amused, Bemused and Confused , and Meg from Write Meg . Melody from Fingers & Prose is the Literary Fiction Director, and she keeps us all in line. The timeline for this year's awards is pretty simple: nominations will be open September-December 2011 .Only literary bloggers are eligible to submit (and voting members may not nominate in the category for which they vote), and bloggers may submit one title per category. Titles published in 2011 are eligible. There are more catego...

The backstory: Nicole Krauss is one of The New Yorker's 20 Under 40 and Great House is a fiction finalist for the National Book Award. (update: Great House has been longlisted  shortlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize too.) The basics: Great House  is the story of several people very loosely linked by a gigantic desk with many drawers. My thoughts: I adore the way Nicole Krauss writes. Typically when I read books in print, I opt to take notes and write down my favorite passages on paper. With this novel, I was so glad I had an ARC so I could dogear pages and underline passages. I most enjoy reading her prose slowly, and despite its complexity, it's immensely readable and has the essence of a conversation with a friend. It is conversational and aspirational. Nicole Krauss is a writer's writer:  "I chose the freedom of long unscheduled afternoons in which nothing happens but the slightest shift in mood as captured in a semicolon."  Great House  is broken into...