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Weekly Words about BooksApril 27, 2014
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Now in Paperback and On Indie Store Shelves
| Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. One of last year's breakout books is just out in paperb ack, so if you're one of the few who hasn't read it, now is a good time. Flynn has written a wonderfully twisty, turny marital murder mystery that features surprises galore. My only complaint is with the ending, but obviously I'm not in the majority, because Gone Girl has been a bestseller for almost a year straight. And it is a well crafted story that benefits from readers not knowing too much going in - so I'm not going to say more. The book will also benefit from buzz emanating from the movie version, scheduled for release in early October.
Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfield. The novel Prep, about a Midwestern teenager trying to fit in at an elite East Coast boarding school, first drew readers' attention to the talented Sittenfield. She followed up with  American Wife, the story of a fictional first Lady who bears strong resemblance to Laura Bush. In Sisterland, twin sisters with psychic abilities take different paths as adults - Kate, who did her best to hide her "talents" is a devoted suburban wife and mother, while Vi has pursued an eccentric career as a psychic medium. But when a minor earthquake hits in the middle of the night, the siblings are drawn back together. After Vi goes on television to share a premonition that another, more devastating earthquake will soon hit the St. Louis area, Kate is mortified. Equally troubling, however, is her fear that Vi may be right. As the date of the predicted earthquake quickly approaches, Kate is forced to reconcile her fraught relationship with her sister and to face truths about herself that she has long tried to deny.
Paris: A Novel by Edward Rutherfurd. The English-born Rutherfurd gave up a business career on the 1980's to try his hand at historical fiction, and the rest is, well, history. His first book, Sarum, explored the history of England through th e lives of five families, and he has gone on to write about London, Dublin, and New York. Now, Rutherfurd traces the evolution of the City of Light over eight centuries in a rich saga that jumps back and forth through centuries - from the building of Notre Dame to the dangerous machinations of Cardinal Richlieu; from the glittering court of Versailles to the violence of the French Revolution and the Paris Commune; from the hedonism of the Belle Epoque, the heyday of the impressionists, to the tragedy of the First World War; from the 1920s when the writers of the Lost Generation could be found drinking at Les Deux Magots to the Nazi occupation, the heroic efforts of the French Resistance, and the 1968 student revolt.
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A Real Conversation Starter
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What to Talk About: On a Plane, at a Cocktail Party, in a Tiny Elevator with Your Boss's Boss by Chris Colin and Rob Baedecker. Okay, I need to start by saying that you may not find this little hardcover volume at every independent bookstore. It is, however, easy for any store to order and get to you in no more  than a few days. It's a wonderfully funny gift book for the right person - anyone who has ever bungled a conversation (or a first sentence) at a party, on a first date, in a job interview. The book is illustrated by Tony Millionaire, best known for the Sock Monkey series of comics and the syndicated comic strip Maakies. But don't take my word for it - watch this hysterical (at least to me) promotional video made by the authors. If you don't at least grin and chuckle, then What To Talk About is not the book for you.
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WHERE TO FIND
AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
Many of you already have a favorite local bookstore, but for those of you without such a relationship, this link will take you to a list of Northern California indie bookstores by region.
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME
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My name is Hut Landon. I'm a former bookstore owner who now runs the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) in San Francisco.
My goal with this newsletter is to keep readers up to date about new books hitting the shelves, share what booksellers are recommending in their stores, and pass on occasional news about the book world.
I'm not into long, wordy reviews or literary criticism; I'd like HUT'S PLACE to be a quick, fun read for book buyers. If you have any friends who you think might like receiving this column each week, simply click on "Forward this email" below and enter their email address. There is also a box in which to add a short message.
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