BuzzingAboutBooks


               
           The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise          This is Not the Story





AUTHORS IN THIS ISSUE

Justin Kramon

Julia Stuart

Laura Munson


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September 15, 2010

Greetings:

We're thrilled to bring you another issue of Buzzing About Books, featuring three terrific new titles.

In this issue:
 
 - Justin Kramon tells the coming-of-age story of a strong-minded young girl in his debut novel, Finny
 
- Julia Stuart's humorous novel,
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise, features a love story set in the Tower of London
 
- Laura Munson describes how she coped with a marital crisis in her memoir, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is
 
We hope you enjoy Buzzing About Books.  Please let us know what you think!

Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp
[email protected]
bookclubcookbook.com
 

Finny

FinnyFinny
by Justin Kramon
Fiction / 366 pages / Paperback

Random House / July, 2010



Dear Reader,

Before I started writing my novel, I fell in love with some great coming-of-age books: A Prayer for Owen Meany, Great Expectations, and several others.  For me, these books brought back the excitement of reading.  I loved their intricate and suspenseful plots, the slightly-larger-than-life characters, the humor, and the sense of bigness and adventure I got from even the opening sentences.

But one thing I noticed about a lot of these books is that they're about young men.  So I was interested in what it would be like to tell one of these classic stories about a young woman coming into the contemporary world.  And that's how the idea for Finny began.Justin Kramon

The book is a love story, but I also wanted Finny to live in a rich and detailed world, full of interesting and lively and sometimes mysterious characters, such as a narcoleptic pianist, a seductive heiress, and an unlikely mother figure with tastes for exotic Asian fruits and Irish fiddle music.

I hope this book will allow readers to immerse themselves in Finny's world and her adventures, and leave them with the sense of enchantment I've found in my favorite books.

All very best,

Justin Kramon

About Finny:
 
We meet Finny Short as an observant, defiant fourteen-year-old who can't make sense of her family's unusual habits.  Her mother offers guidance appropriate for a forty-year-old socialite; her father quotes Nietzsche over pancakes.  Finny figures she's stuck with this lonely lot until she meets Earl Henckel, a boy who comes from an even stranger place than she does.  Unhappy with Finny's budding romance with Earl, her parents ship her off to Thorndon boarding school.  But mischief follows Finny as she befriends New York heiress Judith Turngate, a girl whose charm belies a disquieting reckless streak.  Finny's relationships with Judith and Earl open her up to dizzying possibilities of love and loss, and propel her into a remarkable adventure spanning twenty years and two continents. 


Reviews for Finny
:

"[C]ombining the human panoply of David Copperfield with the cutting colloquial wisdom of The Catcher in the Rye...Finny is the rare authentic coming-of-age novel."
-The Baltimore Sun

"Kramon is a talented young author and Finny a worthy read, and a dickens of a first novel."
-The Boston Globe

For more information about Finny, visit the author's website, watch the book trailer, and meet the characters in a virtual gallery.
 

Justin Kramon is available to speak with your book club in person, by phone, or though Skype.   Please contact him through his website.



TheTower
The Tower, the Zoo and the TortoiseThe Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise

by Julia Stuart
Fiction / 320 pages / Hardcover
Doubleday / August, 2010


Dear Reader,

The inspiration for The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise came from an article I read in a weekend supplement. It told of the beefeaters who not only worked at the Tower of London but lived there, quite literally being locked in at night. I then came across the tale of the Tower's menagerie, which spanned 600 years and finally closed in the 1830s. Further research unearthed the fact that the Queen was still being sent animals in the 1970s, many of which were kept at London Zoo. I decided to bring them back to the Tower and institute a modern-day menagerie.

Here's a sneak peak of just a few of the characters you'll meet in The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise:

Balthazar Jones: Beefeater, overseer of the Tower's royal menagerie, father to Milo, and collector of rain

Hebe Jones:  Balthazar's wife who works at London Underground's Lost Property Office

Mrs. Cook: Balthazar and Hebe's 180+ year-old tortoise -- the oldest tortoise in the world
Julia Stuart
Photo Credit: Sarah Gawler


Arthur Catnip: London Underground ticket inspector of limited height

Rev. Septimus Drew: Tower chaplain who writes forbidden prose and pines for one of the residents

Valerie Jennings: Hebe's eccentric colleague who falls for someone of limited height

Enjoy!

Julia Stuart

JULIA STUART IS GIVING AWAY 5 COPIES OF THE TOWER, THE ZOO, AND THE TORTOISEENTER TO WIN A COPY.

About The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise:

Balthazar Jones has lived in the Tower of London with his loving wife, Hebe, and his pet, the oldest living tortoise, for the past eight years. That's right; he's a Beefeater (they really do live there). It's no easy job navigating the trials and tribulations that come with living and working in the largest tourist attraction in present-day London; especially once Balthazar is tasked with opening an elaborate menagerie within the Tower walls to house the unusual animal gifts the queen is given by foreign dignitaries. Life at the Tower is about to get all the more interesting.

Reviews for The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise:

"The Tower of London's the center of this hilarious love story about Beefeater Balthazar, his wife, their tortoise and their eccentric friends. As Balthazar struggles to save his marriage, the rest of the cast carries on in a charming tangle, and when Balthazar is put in charge of a Tower zoo, hilarity breaks out. Sprinkled with fascinating Tower lore, the book will steal your heart."
-People magazine (4 stars)


"History buffs, animal lovers, and simply the tenderhearted will swoon over this captivating story."
-Entertainment Weekly (Grade: A)

To read an excerpt or view a reader's guide for The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise, please see the publisher's website


ThisIsNotTheStory
 
This is Not the StoryThis Is Not the Story You Think It Is: A Season of Unlikely Happiness
by Laura Munson



Nonfiction / 352 pages / Hardcover
Amy Einhorn/Putnam / April, 2010

Dear Reader,

In 2009, I wrote an essay for the New York Times Modern Love column called "Those Aren't Fighting Words, Dear" about a difficult time in my marriage. It touched a nerve in a lot of people, crashing the New York Times website's comments section and inspiring bloggers all over the internet. The essay was based on a memoir I had written that Laura Munsonchronicled my reaction to my husband's declaration that he didn't love me anymore and wanted out of our almost 20-year marriage. I wrote it because during our marital crisis, it was the book that I needed on my bedside table. My book ended up on the New York Times bestseller list. I want This Is Not The Story You Think It Is to help people take responsibility for their own happiness during crisis. I hope its nonreactionary philosophy empowers people, married or not.

Yours,

Laura


LAURA MUNSON IS GIVING AWAY 5 COPIES OF THIS IS NOT THE STORY YOU THINK IT IS. ENTER TO WIN A COPY.


About This Is Not The Story You Think It Is:

In this poignant memoir, Laura Munson recounts what happened after her husband of almost 20 years told her he didn't love her anymore. Her response? "I don't buy it."

Written as Laura experiences her crises, moment by moment, sometimes breath by breath, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is is raw and searingly honest in the very best sense.  Laura takes readers by the hand as they embark, together, on a journey.  Filled with wisdom, truth, and heart -- and a great tomato sauce recipe -- it is a candid and powerful memoir.

Reviews for This Is Not The Story You Think It Is:

"Munson captures, with deepening poignancy and surprisingly good humor, the practical impossibility of remaining jujitsu-cool -- denying anger and self-doubt -- when her world appears to be coming apart at the seams."
-Elle

"Munson takes the spiritual stuff and the personal stuff and the love stuff and the pain stuff and she brews them all together in a very fun and touching memoir. I'm a fan. This is a wonderful book."
-Author Marianne Williamson

For more information about Laura Munson, visit her website, read her blog, or follow her on Twitter.

Laura Munson is available to speak with your book club on the phone or through Skype.  Please contact her through her website.


 
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