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Weekly Words about BooksAugust 10, 2014
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Lesser-Known Good Reads Appearing on Bestseller Lists
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. Australian author Moriarty, whose last novel The Husband's Secret, was a bestseller, appears to have another winner on her hands with this smart, funny story of a disastrous Trivia Night fundraiser at an elementary school that leads to a riot and the accidental death of one of the parents - or was it actually murder? To find out, we flash back to a kindergarten orientation six months earlier and meet the three main protagonists - Madeleine, Celeste, and new-to-town single mom Jane. As parental alliances are formed and rivalries established, Madeleine and Celeste take Jane under their wing, and the seemingly perfect lives of the women begin to unravel amidst the build-up to the fateful, fatal fundraiser.
By the way, Moriarty just got a nice present last week, when Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon announced they had teamed up to acquire the rights to Big Little Lies with plans to develop it as a starring comedic vehicle for both of them.
Elephant Company by Vicki Croke. This is the remarkable true story of James Howard "Billy" Williams, whose uncanny rapport with the world's largest land animals transformed him from a carefree young man into the charismatic war hero known as Elephant Bill. His affinity for anim als led him to post World War I job with the East India Company to work with logging elephants. At the onset of World War II, Williams formed Elephant Company and was instrumental in defeating the Japanese in Burma and saving refugees, including on his own "Hannibal Trek." Billy Williams became a media sensation during the war, telling reporters that the elephants did more for him than he was ever able to do for them, but his story has since been forgotten. Part biography, part war story, and part wildlife adventure, Croke delivers an charming narrative and an important, little-known piece of the legacy of World War II.
The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker. Just out in paperback, and earning comparisons to Harry Potter and fantasy novels by Deborah Harkness and Lev Grossman, this debut novel debut offers an intelligent escape into a richly imagined world. Additional bonuses include an appealing female protagonist, cinematic storytelling, wry humor, and clever literary r eferences.
Here's a plot summary: During a miserable weekend at a friend's wedding, eager to forget about her disastrous breakup and stalled dissertation, Nora Fischer wanders off and somehow finds herself in another realm. There, she meets glamorous Ilissa - who introduces Nora to a decadent new world. But when the elegant veneer of this dreamland shatters, Nora finds herself in a fairy tale gone incredibly wrong. And the only way she can survive is by learning real magic herself.
There were several good reviews when the book was first published, including this one from People magazine: "Centered on more adult concerns than the Harry Potter books, Barker's debut is full of allusions to dark fairy tales and literary romances. If Hermione Granger had been an American who never received an invitation to Hogwarts, this might have been her story."
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True-Life Survivor Tale
Finally in Paperback
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Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Most hardcover books, if successful, are released in paperback 9-12 months later. For a really popular book , the publisher may push back the paperback for an additional six months, as Little Brown has done for its Pulitzer winning novel, The Goldfinch. But four years? Originally published in 2010, Unbroken has had a virtually unheard-of run in hardcover, spending literally years on bestseller lists. It has finally arrived on independent bookstore shelves in  softcover and immediately debuted at #1 on the paperback nonfiction Indiebound bestseller list. A young adult version of the book is also being published in the Fall. Unbroken is a remarkable story of courage and resilience about a world-class athlete named Louis Zamperini, who competed at the Berlin Olympics then became an airman in WW II. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 1943, Zamperini survived - against all odds - for 47 days adrift on a foundering life raft before being captured by the Japanese and driven to the limits of endurance over two years in various POW camps. At war's end, he returned home a physical and mental wreck, but found inspiration from he evangelist Billy Graham and reinvented himself. Hillenbrand proved she could tell a compelling, overcoming-all-odds story when she wrote Seabiscuit: An American Legend. With Unbroken, she has introduced readers to another American legend, largely unknown until,oh, about four years ago.
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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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