Rules of Civility = Awesome

You may have heard - either by visiting the store, our website, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed - that Warwick's has just started a new program called the Signed First Editions Club. This is a program that, as book people & readers, we're really excited about. There's no gimmick, no extra fees or nonsense - here's how it works: sign up, leave your credit card info with us (we've been trustworthy booksellers since 1896), and every month we get you signed, first editions of brand new books. Every month will feature something new & enticing - authors we're excited about, books we've been lucky to read in advance, titles from award-winning authors, and noteworthy debuts. (Check out warwicks.com for more details on billing, shipping, etc.)

So, our first title, selected for the month of August 2011, is a debut novel called Rules of Civility, written by Amor Towles. If you've ever set foot inside Warwick's, you know that we pride ourselves on having a very well-read staff who are skilled in the timeless art of book recommendation. We'd never knowingly steer you wrong - what would be the point of that? That said, our booksellers Julie, Adrian, Seth, Janet, Emily, and Barbara have all read and truly loved Rules of Civility. As if that weren't enough of an endorsement, our Penguin Putnam sales rep, Tom Benton (a one-time Publisher's Weekly Rep of the Year) has offered his plug as well. Tom is the bookseller's bookseller, essentially, and he always knows if a certain title will work for one of our booksellers. (Personally, Tom was very persistant in getting me to read Ron Carlson's Five Skies back in 2007, sending me multiple copies with hand-written notes. The book ultimately turned out to be one of the best books I've ever read in my life & Carlson is now one of my favorite living writers. I have never doubted Tom again.) Tom wrote the following little piece about the book for us:

First, let me introduce myself. I sell the hardcover books for the Penguin Group, and it is a great honor to be able to introduce Rules of Civility. My favorite part of the job is the discovery of a talented new writer. When a debut novel blows me away, so accomplished that I can't believe it is a first novel, there is nothing more exciting than telling everyone I know about the book - booksellers around my territory, my wife, even the parents at my kids' school. When I love a book, I want to get it into as many hands as possible. If I'm lucky, I have this feeling once or twice a year. I knew as soon as I began reading Rules of Civility that it would be one of those books.

The opening pages set the scene as Katey, our main character, comes across a portrait of Tinker Gray, an old friend, in the Museum of Modern Art. It's 1966 and the sight of Tinker transports her back 30 years to New Year's Eve 1937. Amor Towles does a masterful job recreating the Manhattan of that period. Seeing this world of high society through her eyes is completely captivating - the music, the nightlife, even the bygone world of magazine and book publishing. If readers are anything like me, they crave books that take them into another world, another time, and Rules of Civility does this beautifully. It is smart, witty and a pure pleasure to read - the perfect summer book. I rarely underline memorable lines in books, but I found myself doing it repeatedly throughout this book.

So I hope Rules transports you as it did me. I envy you the discovery. I can't wait to hear what Warwick's customers think - feel free to let me know at tom.benton@us.penguingroup.com. I write this with great pride and excitement, knowing that Warwick's has chosen Rules of Civility as the book to inaugurate the store's new Signed First Editions Club. As much as I love this first selection, I can't wait to see what Warwick's chooses next! I know that I - and you - won't be disappointed.

We hope you won't be disappointed either! September's selection is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh and October's is Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks. Sign up today!

Down the Blood Red Road

It’s young adult time. In the months since I last wrote about a young adult title we have seen a marked upsurge in YA book sales to adults, thanks primarily to the epic that is The Hunger Games. So, I thought that this would be the perfect time to tell you all about a new book (like Hunger Games, already optioned as a film, to be directed by Ridley Scott) sure to excite fans of the genre.

Moira Young’s debut young adult novel Blood Red Road, is a searing adventure that follows Saba, an eighteen-year-old girl searching for her kidnapped twin as she travels throughout a desolate and what can only be assumed to be post-apocalyptic world. The first-person prose is unique in that it is told in a dialect rather reminiscent of an uneducated “hill person”, with spelling to match. Grammar has been thrown by the wayside by Young, with words written as they sound; understands becoming “unnerstands”, distinctly becoming “distinckly” and an abundance of “yers”, “ain’ts”, “gits” and “whaddayas”. Punctuation hardly exists here. The text flows, one sentence into another, speakers not differentiated by quotations, thoughts running into each other. In other words, exactly what it would look like if an uneducated eighteen-year-old’s thoughts were mapped out into text. At first I have to admit I found this distracting, but after a few chapters I got used to the cadence of Saba’s speech, and found myself sucked into an utterly captivating story of survival, filial devotion, desolation, and love.

It could be said that Blood Red Road is a nice mash-up of Mad Max, Dune, and The Hunger Games. This is not a sweet world that Saba lives in. It is desert. It is sand storms that constantly suck away or reveal the vestiges of  “Wrecker” life, or as we come to discover, the world that we the readers come from. This place is primitive. The people living without the written word, technology, or education, and suffering under the influence of a mind-numbing drug called chaal and a tyrannical leader who either enslaves his people or throws them into a cage, where they fight gladiator style for the amusement of the rabid hordes of chaal-addicted citizens.  The few outside of the drug’s influence form their own alliances, living on the outskirts of what could be deemed ”civilization” acting as highway robbers, and eventually revolutionaries.

Saba’s journey is a nice blend of coming-of-age and bloody survival in a world that has lost all bearings of sanity and decency. Young does a fine job of creating a unique cast. The band of characters that surround her on this journey are mysterious enough to keep you in the dark about their histories and personal motivations, but at the same time fully formed and endearing. Saba herself is a nice blend of insecurity, leadership, and warrior as she starts to learn who she is without her twin brother.

In the age of trilogies and never-ending series, what struck me most, aside from the wonderful storytelling, is that, while this is to be the first in a series, the book can easily be read on its own. The main story is tied nicely together, no hanging storylines to frustrate the reader, forcing them to come back to the next book just to find out what happens next. Instead, the reader will come back for the sheer enjoyment of the world and it’s characters, not to mention there are enough hints and unsolved little plot twists to keep the reader completely checked-in for the next installment

I picked up this book and literally did not put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to hear the responses of other readers.

Heather Christman is a bookseller & the Marketing & Co-op Coordinator at Warwick's.

Evening with the Warwick's Booksellers, 2011 edition

On Tuesday, June 14th, we hosted our annual Evening with the Warwick's Booksellers - a blockbuster event featuring six of our booksellers talking about some of the recent books that they're passionate about. Here's the full run down of what was discussed - bookseller comments are in quotes & you can click on any of the titles to see the synopses on warwicks.com:

Julie Slavinsky, Director of Events & Community Relations:

The Bells by Richard Harvell - "A truly magnificent debut novel. Set in the 18th-century Swiss Alps, this hauntingly beautiful story of a young boy, brutally separated from his mother, raised and betrayed by the monks who swore to protect him, and his ultimate rise as a musico. As compelling as the story is, Harnell's descriptions have you feeling every sound. If you loved Suskind's Perfume, you won't want to miss this. A story that will stay with you long after the last note is sung."

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

Perfume by Patrick Suskind
An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh - on sale August 23, 2011.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - on sale September 13, 2011

Jim Stewart, bookseller:

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson - by the author of the bestselling Devil in the White City.
The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough - latest by the 2-time Pulitzer winner (Truman, John Adams)
New York by Edward Rutherfurd - "New York history is beautifully described, using generations of families to carry the reader from event to event. Rutherfurd details incredible experiences by a variety of characters and families. The book is entertaining and will please lovers of history and historical fiction."
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht - also strongly recommended by Julie, John, and Seth. One of our favorite books this year, as a staff.
A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan - winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award. A finalist for the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award. Named one of the Best Books of 2010 by the New York Times.

Seth Marko, Web Coordinator/Book Buyer:

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin - "The dialogue! Pitch-perfect, down-home, rural Mississippi, without being at all condescending or hokey. And I know this is one of those clichéd things we always say, but the characters (esp. Silas and Larry) are just so vividly rendered, they all seem just like people that you’re positive you’ve met somewhere in your life, but just can’t quite remember when or where. Larry has lived a hard life in his hometown, under the weight of the presumption that he kidnapped & murdered someone as a teenager. His one-time friend Silas has recently returned to town as a police constable, only to encounter another possible murder case at Larry’s doorstep. Ah, but all is not as it seems with these folks in little Chabot, Mississippi & the resulting story that unfolds is a fascinating character study wrapped up in one of the most compelling murder mysteries I’ve ever read. Just a fantastic novel."

Galore by Michael Crummey - "Galore is filled with weird little vignettes about the people of Paradise Deep, Newfoundland - all imbued with a magical spark and a folkloric vibrancy that sucks the reader into its undertow and deposits them for the duration amongst the bizarre folk populate the town. The family Devine and the family Sellers are the integral cogs in the machinations here, driving the story forward with their slights, feuds, disagreements, illicit love affairs, snubs, fistfights, and secret children. Inextricably linked together, they are Paradise Deep, in the end, whether they like it or not. The story arcs over the course of 100 years or so in this tiny town, tracing familial lineages as they intersect and merge to create a beautifully complicated family tree. Always hovering amongst the branches of that tree is the mysterious Judah, pale, mute, ageless, literally pulled from the belly of a whale, yet infinitely more complicated, magical, and brilliant than anyone gives him credit for. He's the star of the show, the white whale always alluded to but never caught, as his significance manages to slip through our fingers until the last glimpse of him vanishes behind a wave in the final act."

The Wake of Forgiveness by Bruce Machart - "Debut novelist Machart writes with a sparse, raw style reminiscent of early Cormac McCarthy, right down to the dusty, early-20th century Texas roads, the silent, brooding ranchers, and the tobacco smells of darkened saloons. As compelling as the saga of the emotionally-stunted, broken Skala family is, (and believe me, it is) the imagery is what really struck me: the gasoline-driven arson of a horse barn, the twisted necks of the Skala boys, the splashing mud of a high stakes horse race wager in the driving rain. Pretty great."

Citrus County by John Brandon - "A powerful, funny, bizarre little novel of adolescent longing, loss, and general, everyday misery that creaks along down the darkened halls of narrative with a resounding reality and clarity of prose unlike most current fiction I have seen. 30 pages in, 14-year-old punk, Toby commits a deplorable, unforgivable, indefensible act that becomes the central pillar of this weird little book. As hard as it is for us to understand what Toby has done, it’s even harder for him – the resulting story is funny, scary, dark, oddly heartwarming, & unlike anything else you see around you right now. Definite next-step reading for fans of other up-and-comers Wells Tower, Philipp Meyer (American Rust), & the like. Loved it."

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles - on sale July 26, 2011. "Set in the Gatsby-ish world of 1938 New York, this follows a pivotal year in the life of Katey Kontent as she buzzes through the upper echelons of NY society. Far more interesting than just that, Towles has a remarkable gift for character, dialogue, and sense of place. A truly transportative debut." Also recommended by Julie.

Rhonda Jenson, bookseller:
Yellow Leaves by Frederick Buechner
My Korean Deli by Ben Ryder Howe
Heart of the City by Ariel Sabar - "Inspired by his research during the writing of his book (My Father’s Paradise) about his parents’ love story with each other and New York City, Sabar decided to write about other couples. All of these couples had one thing in common; they had all met and fallen in love in New York City. Each chapter is dedicated to one couple, and each couple is different in background and time period. The reader also learns about the sociology and history of New York City as well. It is a love story primarily of that magical city."

John Hughes, Book Buyer/bookseller:

Doc by Mary Doria Russell - "Russell’s second foray into historical fiction delivers a more moving, more humorous, and more authentic tale of Dr. John Henry “Doc” Holliday than has ever been seen on the screen or the printed page. Set in Dodge City, before the legendary shootout at the OK Corral, Doc captivates with its fascinating characters — especially Doc’s brilliant and high-strong Hungarian companion, Kate, and his taciturn best friend, Wyatt Earp — and its perfectly rendered depiction of the Old West. The best book I’ve read set in the Old West since Lonesome Dove."

Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff - "Zuckoff tells the story of a WWII plane crash in a valley in the isolated mountains of New Guinea. Of the 24 G.I.s and WACs (Women’s Army Corp) aboard the plane, only three survive — a beautiful WAC and two G.I.s. Surrounded by warrior tribes that had never seen such people and trapped in an inaccessible valley, this fascinating book tells of cultural interactions and misunderstandings as well as the remarkable story of these soldiers’ rescue."

Moby Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by Donovan Hohn - "The title says it all. Hahn’s story is at once an adventure tale, science narrative, and cautionary environmental tale. It is also, at times, laugh-out-loud funny."

The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips - "It is our great and good fortune that Arthur Phillips’ father, on his deathbed, gave to his son an undiscovered play of William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Arthur. Maybe not such good fortune: the play is preceded by a lengthy introduction in which Arthur Phillips tells his own twisty personal story in an effort to get us to accept that this play is not a play of Shakespeare’s. Phillip’s brilliant novel is ironic, inventive, and thought-provoking."

Heather Christman, Marketing & Co-op Coordinator:

Bent Road by Lori Roy - "This new novel brilliantly captures the small town aura of 1960's Kansas. Flitting between the 3rd person narratives of four characters - Celia, her two youngest children Daniel and Eve-ee, and her sister-in-law Ruth, the novel manages to be both literary in its encapsulation of small town life and prejudice and intriguing in its presentation of two mystery subplots, the unexplained death of Eve (Celia's sister-in-law) decades before, and the sudden disappearance of a young girl. It is easy to become sucked in to the world of these characters, to feel sorrow with them, dear for them, and to be angered by their actions. The ability of Roy to elicit this response from a reader as a first time novelist says a lot about her writing prowess. I would highly recommend this new novel to lovers of solid character-driven fiction."

The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes - "This story of ill-fated lovers, which switches back and forth throughout several years, and then again decades, is bittersweet and captivating in its telling. Using multiple narratives over a forty-year span, Moyes engages readers with the fragility of her characters, and then takes our breath away with their ultimate emotional courage. This is one of those weekend reads that tugs at the heartstrings and reminds us of why An Affair to Remember is still such a popular film."

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf - "Some stories build upon themselves slowly pulling the reader in, others suck you in from page one and don't let go until the final words. This is how These Things Hidden hit me. Told in alternating first person narratives, These Things Hidden delves into the story of Allison Glenn and how her actions 5 years ago set forth into motion a series of events that would alter the lives forever of three other women. Told through the voices of Allison; 22, former golden girl, and recently released from prison; Brynn, her troubled younger sister; Charm, a young woman struggling with the eminent death of her stepfather; and Claire, the adoptive mother of a young boy. Gudenkauf slowly reveals the events which led to Allison's imprisonment as a 16-year old girl. Brilliant in its measured unfurling of events and secrets, this is a scintillating tale of suspense and tragedy sure to intrigue and enthrall its readers."

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson - "The subject if memory, or the lack thereof, is the premise of this debut psychological suspense. Christine wakes up every morning shocked by her surroundings. Sometimes she is a small child, at others a 20-something university student, but never is she the middle-aged woman that appears in the mirror. Christine suffers from a form of amnesia - every every time she falls asleep, she loses her memories and must rely on the man claiming to be her husband to fill in the missing pieces of her life. Watson weaves an interesting tale - he deftly handles the horror of Christine's situation, sucking the reader into her fears, and the panic and utter terror of life without a past. An impressive debut, one sure to hook readers quickly and successfully."

Before I Go to Sleep

The subject of memory, or the lack there of, is the premise of debut psychological suspense Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson. Christine wakes up every morning shocked by her surroundings. Sometimes she is a small child, at others a twenty-something university student, but never is she the middle-aged woman that appears in the mirror. Christine suffers from a form of amnesia slightly similar to that made famous in the film Memento; every time she falls asleep she loses her memories; an affliction that has haunted her (although she does not know it) for twenty years. Her life and memories rest within the hands of her husband Ben, a man she has no memory of.

We are all liars. We change the past in our minds to save ourselves the pain and humiliation of past deeds and events. We alter the good and make it better to heighten our sense of euphoria. We dampen the bad on occasion, but sometimes we blow it up, making it far worse than it was in reality. We are the masters of our own minds, memories, and thoughts - at least we think we are, but sometimes we are fooled by our own psyches, tricked into believing the fantasies we’ve created, and never able to draw the truth from beneath the layers of deceits and half truths we have fed ourselves. This concept is one which makes the premise of Before I Go to Sleep so compelling. Christine cannot discern what her truths are, she has no memory, only brief snippets from her life, rarely the same each day, to guide her. When she begins, at the behest of her doctor, to record her thoughts and snippets of remembrance in a journal, the question for both her and the reader becomes, “how much can you trust yourself not to manipulate the truth”.

As Christine, with the aid of her journal, begins to “remember” more she must choose who she can trust - herself, her friend, husband, or doctor - because parts of her memory are returning and someone is willing to kill her to ensure her memory never awakens again.

The thrill of this novel is that the reader only ever knows as much as the narrator. Christine’s life unfolds for us as the pages of her journal, Watson keeps us just as much in the dark confusing world of Christine’s memories as he does with Christine herself. I do have to say that I figured a few elements out rather early, but Watson did enough misleading, to lead me on a few different paths, none of which were remotely close to the final outcome. Watson weaves an interesting tale, he deftly handles the horror of Christine’s situation, sucking the reader into her fears, and the panic and utter terror that we would all feel in her situation. An impressive debut, one sure to hook readers quickly and successfully.

**Find out how to win a free copy of Before I Go to Sleep: facebook.com/warwicksbooks!**

Heather Christman is a bookseller & the Marketing & Co-op Coordinator at Warwick's.

Dispatches From Beyond the Books

Jan Carson's "Japanese Maple"

Warwick's is about so much more than books, as you may have noticed upon visiting 7812 Girard Avenue. In fact, books only make up about half of what we offer - there's a whole half to the store that sells office supplies, gifts, pens, fine leather goods, stationery... so much great stuff! How did you miss all that?! 

Anyway, in an effort to highlight some of the spectacular & unique items that we stock, our General Manager, Mr. Joe Porteous will be periodically offering blog posts on some of the products that our crack team of buyers have found that you'll not see in other stores.  



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Some of the most unique products in Warwick’s are not even on the sales floor. You might not even notice that we have over 40 mobiles hanging from our “sales ceiling”.


One of our new additions is from Moon-Lily Silk Mobiles, by the artist Jan R. Carson. Carson describes her work as “snapshots of nature in motion.” She makes her mobiles in Colorado using only hand tools with lightly starched silk and fine gauge stainless wire. The lightweight materials and perfect balance make the mobiles dance around the room with the slightest breeze. I put the Stylized Leaf Mobile over my bed. I think it’s why I sleep like a baby.



The Japanese Maple sells for $247.95, and the Stylized Leaf is $187.95, but go to her website if you want to see her whole collection (http://www.moonlilymobiles.com/), and let us know which mobile you want Jan to make for you. You can find out more about the artist at http://www.janrcarson.com/.



Don Jose Fabiola de Sevilla or "The Matador"

Another mobile artist team I want to mention is Michael Hatton and Gabriel Stoner. Working out of their studio in Kansas, they use brilliant-colored, sturdy, anodized aluminum, wire and sheeting to create their mobile art. My personal favorite is “Don Jose Fabiola de Sevilla”, or “The Matador.” (I promise that no bulls where harmed in the making of this mobile.) Designer Hatton suggests reading James Michener's Iberia to complement this spectacular mobile, by the way. “The Matador” sells for $225.00, and to see the whole Stoner/Hatton collection, go to http://www.mobileguys.com/.

In addition to the featured artists, we also carry mobiles from Flensted (http://www.flensted-mobiles.com/), Hotchkiss (http://www.artmobiles.com/), and Authentic Models (http://www.authenticmodels.com/). Our selection starts at around $30, so we have a mobile to fit any budget.

***From Friday May 27th through Sunday June 3rd, mention this blog and receive 10% off any of our mobiles.***

Are You Seth? vol.13 (Rainy Day Noir Edition)

Since it's such a rare rainy day in May here in San Diego (usually we just have the May Gray mornings without the water coming down) I thought I'd recommend a handful of good, new rainy-day noir books to read.

First of all, you should definitely be checking out the brand new San Diego Noir collection from Akashic Books, edited by Mysterious Galaxy's own Maryelizabeth Hart. This latest in the series of city-oriented noir fiction features stories by SoCal greats T. Jefferson Parker, Don Winslow, and Debra Ginsberg - and even better, you can meet Jeff, Don, & Debra, along with fellow contributors Gabe Barillas and Cameron Pierce Hughes on Wednesday night this week, the 18th of May at 7:30, right here at Warwick's. While, yes, this bit reads like a plug for our event, this is the perfect rainy read, don't you think? Visions of the seedy underbelly of America's Finest City go well with heavy cloud cover and misting Southern California rains, I think. Come to the event, as it's sure to be an interesting "discussion" with these five.

Elsewhere, there's the latest novel from Philip Kerr, Field Gray - the latest in a series of 1940's crime noir that I've been championing for years. Kerr originally wrote three novels about Bernhard Gunther in the early 1990's (now collectively known as Berlin Noir) which chronicled the detective's life as a pre-WWII Berlin hotel detective and just after the war as a private-eye of sorts. Bernie is a throwback to the Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett type of protagonist - a surly, smart, sharp-tongued, ladies man, he smokes & drinks his way among both the bottom dwellers and the upper crust of Berlin society as he attempts to right the wrongs of the world he lives in. This is no small task in Nazi Germany, of course, and his path has taken him into the belly of the beast in books past, leading him to exile in South America. Just as Field Gray begins, Bernie is picked up in a boat off the coast of Cuba in 1954 by American operatives, who proceed to try and get him to fill in some intelligence gaps to avoid being tried for war crimes. Bernie's recollections fill in a lot of the gaps left open by the previous six books, bringing his story full circle back to Berlin 1933, his reluctant donning of the field gray uniform of the SS in 1941, and life in a Russian gulag after Stalingrad in 1945. Of course, Bernie doesn't like to cooperate with any government or their operatives, so he's always working his mouth toward an exit strategy. The best part is that you don't have to have read the previous books, as this stands alone as a brilliant crime noir, much like Alan Furst, if that's your thing.

Since Scandinavian crime novels seem to be the genre du jour these days, I'm hoping you've at least heard of Jo Nesbo from Norway, but I'm guessing not. (You may have seen the Vanity Fair bit on him in April.) Personally, after having read all of Henning Mankell and enough of Stieg Larrson, I can unequivocally state that Nesbo is a far, far better writer than they. His previous three novels to be translated for the American market - The Redbreast, Nemesis, and The Devil's Star - have featured Oslo detective Harry Hole (I'm told that his last name is pronounced "hoo-luh," thankfully) a hard-drinking, Doc-Maarten-wearing, chain-smoking hardass. I loved the previous three books - involving Norway's dark secrets from WWII (Redbreast), a less-than-reliable narrator/murder suspect in Harry (Nemesis), and an underlying thread of violence and mistrust at the hands of one of Harry's fellow detectives which runs through all three. The Snowman, the latest translation to hit our shores, is actually the 7th book in the series, as Nesbo recently switched American publishers, thus skipping the 6th book, at least for the time being. While readers of the previous books may be annoyed by some finer plot points as this one gets going, The Snowman is actually a great starting point for new readers as it remains unattached to the previous books. This centers not so much on Harry's life outside his world of detecting, at least as much as it doesn't intersect with the crimes he's investigating. There appears to be a serial killer at work in Oslo, pretty much a historical impossibility - Norway has never had a documented serial killer. Someone seems to be brutally murdering women around town, leaving a creepy signature snowman nearby each time. Harry thinks the crimes are related, of course, but he has a hard time connecting the dots as the killer stays several steps ahead of him the whole time. The relentless Norwegian press wants answers, putting tremendous pressure on Harry to find the killer, which leads to a huge political mess and even more murdering. I read a lot of crime fiction, as you can tell, and the climactic sequence in this one had even jaded ol' me on the proverbial "edge of my seat," as they say. Good, dark fun.

Do you know "Where She Went"?

A couple of years ago I read a book that stuck with me. It was one of those teen novels that an adult can pick up and devour, one which I’ve seen more adults love than teens. I loved this book, spoke about it often, wrote about it, and even spoke about it at the 2009 Warwick’s Reading Group Recommends Night. Here’s a brief snippet of what I had to say:

“Mia is a promising cellist living a fulfilling life with her parents, young brother, and boyfriend, when in the blink of an eye her entire world is taken away. As she sees her past and the promise of an uncertain and painful future Mia must make a heart wrenching choice: let go of her tenuous hold on life, or stay, live without all that she holds dear. If I Stay by Gayle Forman is the most compelling book I’ve read this year, and surprisingly enough it is a teen novel. This is an amazing debut novel that pulls you in and does not let go.”

It’s true, this book stayed with me, and two years on I still remember the visceral effect this book had on my emotions. It is one of the few books I had to sit and contemplate upon finishing, rather than hop directly onto the next book. I even downloaded the music mentioned in it - and have become a fan of many of the songs - because I wanted those unique feelings to last.

Where She Went, the sequel to this amazing debut came out on the first Tuesday in April. Taking place three years after the horrific accident that destroyed Mia’s family, this book is told from the point of view of Adam, Mia’s former boyfriend, the person who made Mia stay in this world, when it would have been so easy to let go. Adam, now a famous musician, is barely holding it together mentally, emotionally, and socially when a chance encounter with Mia, a rising star in the classical world, sets off a night of remembrance that will finally give him the answer to where she went and why she stayed.

I don’t know how she does it, but Gayle Forman manages to tap into your emotions in a way few authors can. You feel not only for the characters, but also with them. If I Stay was such an emotional roller coaster, dealing with the pain of loss and question of living with that pain or leaving it all behind, and Where She Went is equally brilliant emotionally, but here it is the anger of being left (physically and metaphysically) behind that rolls over the reader like a tidal wave. Her use of music and lyrics are inspired - truly tapping into the importance of music within the lives of Mia and Adam, but also how much we, the readers rely on music and its cathartic powers in our everyday lives. It’s as though she has this brilliant score running beneath the text, not so noticeable that it detracts, but just enough to add to our understanding of the plot and character development. She moves us with music without us ever hearing a single chord. I don’t know how she does it, but I want more.

If every book could this good, more people would be reading. I don’t know how to put it more succinctly than that. There are “must reads” and there are “read this nows”. Read this set of books now, you will crave more.

- Heather

Rep Pick Night 2011

On the evening of Monday, February 28th, Warwick's hosted seven representatives from some of the best publishing houses around for a Rep Pick Night, where the reps selected some of their favorite recent and forthcoming titles to tell our customers about. We had a packed house, chips & salsa were eaten, wine was drunk, and free books were given away - not to mention that everyone in attendance received an extra discount on every book purchased. Here's a sampling of the evening's picks with a video included:

Wade Lucas, Random House:

Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

The Sriracha Cookbook by Randy Clemens

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

The Land of Painted Caves by Jean Auel

Sandy Pollack, Random House
I Was a Dancer by Jacques d' Amboise
House of Prayer No.2 by Mark Richard
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

Andrea Tetrick, PGW/Perseus Book Group:
Eden Hunter by Skip Horack
Granta 113
The Still Point by Amy Sackville
Towards the Setting Sun: John Ross, the Cherokees and the Trail of Tears by Brian Hicks
The Veganist by Kathy Freston

Tom Benton & Amy Comito, Penguin/Putnam:
You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

When the Killing's Done by T.C. Boyle

The Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

Mike Slack, Macmillan:

Quadrivium

Tiger Tiger by Margaux Fragoso

Collected Stories of Lydia Davis

20 Under 40

Gabe Barillas, HarperCollins:

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

She Wolves by Helen Castor

Caribou Island by David Vann

Wench by Dolores Perkins

Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick

Bent Road by Lori Roy (review)

In a season of remarkable debuts it is often difficult to choose which new novel to pick-up. Do I want a thriller? A tear-jerker? A literary tour de force? It can prove to be nearly impossible to choose the “right” debut. As a lover of the dark and edgy I tend toward the debuts that are a little less literary and a little grittier, but despite my love of the sinister, I found myself pulled into debut novelist Lori Roy’s Bent Road.

While I would hesitate to call Bent Road a psychological suspense or even a dedicated mystery, I can say that it is an engrossing read. This new novel brilliantly captures the small town aura of 1960’s Kansas. Flitting between the 3rd person narratives of four characters; Celia, her two youngest children Daniel and Eve-ee, and her sister-in-law Ruth, the novel manages to be both literary in its encapsulation of small town life and prejudice and intriguing in it’s presentation of two mystery subplots, the unexplained death of Eve (Celia’s sister-in-law) decades before, and the sudden disappearance of a young girl. I say subplots because while both are essentially the blood in the veins of this story, their strength in terms of plot falls in comparison to the infinitely more interesting character study that this novel becomes. It is easy to become sucked into the world of these characters, to feel sorrow with them, fear for them, and to be angered by their actions. One becomes far more concerned with the thoughts and actions of these individuals than the (to my mind) less interesting mystery-plot. The ability of Roy to elicit this response from a reader as a first time novelist says a lot about her writing prowess. In this period of phenomenal debuts, I would highly recommend this new novel to lovers of solid character-driven fiction.

-Heather

Are You Seth? vol.12

Alright, so it's been awhile since I posted a review of any kind on the Warwick's blog - in fact, the last volume of "Are You Seth?" was posted in July 2010 and was for Anthony Doerr's Memory Wall. I mention this because Doerr just recently won the 2011 Story Prize for that very same collection - clearly I was on to something! So, in an effort to breathe new life into the blog - which we think could really use a better name & are open to suggestions - here are 2 new books that I think you should read.

Wait, no, you HAVE to read these.

We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen

First of all, feast your eyes on that beautiful jacket art. (Illustrated by Joe McLaren, jacket design by Susanne Dean, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.) If this isn't reason enough to keep books in a physical format, I don't know what is. (The artwork is definitely the reason I picked this up in the first place.) I really have nothing against eBooks, but this is the sort of thing we lose when we go all-digital. I'm just sayin'.

Even better, it's a gorgeous novel on the inside as well. Originally published in Danish in 2006, it won the highest literary prize in Denmark and was picked as the best Danish novel of the last 25 years by the readers of the country's largest newspaper. Spanning the years & generations from 1848 to 1945, We follows the sailors of Marstal - a tiny island town & the center of Danish seafaring pride - as they travel the oceans of the world - from Samoa to Newfoundland, Australia to London, Casablanca to Dakar, Murmansk to Greenland, and back home to Marstal. Always back to Marstal, where the women wait, worry, and grieve.

Through the years, as Marstal's place in the world evolves, a different narrator escorts us across the globe and back to Denmark again. As each narrative voice moves on, another from their life picks up the tale & makes it their own. When on dry land, the people of Marstal tell the story in a collective “we” – a narrative device that Jensen wields with majestic clarity & grace. Funny & poignant, heartwarming & powerful, yet dark & foreboding in a way that only the events of our own world can actually be. After 674 pages, I was still blown away by the final, heart-rending page. One of the best books I've ever read.

The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht

This is already turning into the hot book of the year, so forgive me if you've already heard about it. (Seriously, it's huge right now - Random House has already gone back to press at least three times, even though it's only been on sale for a week.) Last summer, Obreht - at the tender age of 24! - was named one of the New Yorker's 20 Under 40 and this is her subsequent stellar debut novel. She had this to say to the New York Times this week about her new fame:

"I still haven’t taken it all in. It already seems like such a long time from the moment when I said to myself, ‘Somebody likes it, somebody bought it, and it’s going to have a cover!’ The other evening I gave a reading, and someone came up to me afterwards and said, ‘The Deathless Man is my favorite character.’ My immediate reaction was: how do you know about the Deathless Man? When you’re writing, you’re working on this private world that becomes more and more real to you, but it’s still your own. And then to discover that suddenly other people can access it - in a way that really shocks me."

The rundown: Natalia is a young doctor on a diplomatic mission across the border of her war torn Balkan homeland to deliver vaccines to an orphanage. While there, she learns that her beloved grandfather has died in a remote village far from his home. Knowing that he was gravely ill & never would never have travelled without a reason, she becomes convinced that he was in search of "the deathless man" - a longstanding, mysterious figure from the stories he told her as a child. As Natalia sets out to uncover the mystery of her grandfather's final days, she learns more about herself, her family's past, and her country than she ever though possible and finds that all the answers she seeks lie within the stories of her grandfather.

Obreht mixes together Natalia's contemporary story of life in her ravaged homeland (she was born in the former Yugoslavia, herself) with her grandfather's incredible stories of "the deathless man" and "the tiger's wife," to create a fantastical world grounded in the harsh reality of a region recovering from decades of war.  Foreign, yet familiar; impossible, yet true; unsentimental, yet emotional - the elements that she has managed to cull together here are melded absolutely perfectly. A stunning, stunning debut, and one that will stick in your head for long after you've turned that final page, I guarantee it.

The Weird Sisters

“I dreamt last night of three weird sisters…”

Told in the collective voice ala the original “weird sisters” of Macbeth fame, The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown is a wonderful new novel which follows the three Andreas sisters - young women brought up by their Shakespearean professor father to speak in verse and find life’s answers between the pages of a book. When their mother’s breast cancer draws them all home, the three sisters are inexplicably forced to deal with each other’s disappointments and face their own personal failures and fears.

“See, we love each other. We just don't happen to like each other very much.”

What I loved about this book is the wonderful contradiction between the feelings of the sisters, who live by the concept of loving each other because they must, but are unable to find joy within the bitterness that they feel toward each other, and the fact that these three women who are so separate are telling their story as one being. "I" is never used in this novel, it is always we, or our, or us. This is a group of women, who although they strive to be separate from each other (to the point of alienation), cannot stop being a group, are literally not whole unless together. This contradiction between plot and the narrative is inventive and compelling, a rather original use of storytelling by the author.

Also, Brown’s depiction of the strange and often bitter relationship between sisters is so smoothly and heart-wrenchingly drawn that I found myself nodding along recognizing if not actual events, but themes from my own life as a sister and my observations of sisters over the years. She does not hold back in creating a picture of the brutality of words and actions that only a sister can use to cut apart her sibling, and also the comfort and insight that only a sister can bring to a painful situation. No one can quite hurt you or comfort you like a sister and Brown captures that feeling intelligently and emotionally.

The Weird Sisters is deceptive in that at first glance it appears light, almost chick-lit, but after close reading is far more insightful than one would ever think. This is a touching and creative novel sure to bring laughter, tears, happiness, and at times, anger to even the most casual of readers.

-Heather

The Warwick's Questionnaire: Graham Moore

The so-called Proust Questionnaire was originally a 19th-century parlor game designed to reveal bits of the soul, personality, & deep secrets of the participants through a series of pointed questions.  Versions of the quiz were re-popularized in the 20th-century by Vanity Fair and Inside the Actors Studio.  Our version - The Warwick's Questionnaire - is a series of ten questions designed to plumb the depths of the souls of visiting authors.

Graham Moore is the author of the novel, The Sherlockian, a graduate of the religious studies program at Columbia University, and an awesome Monopoly player. You can check out his blog, The Sherlockian to learn about all things, well, Sherlockian. (As in Sherlock Holmes.)

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

• I have never lost a game of Monopoly. (True story.)

2. What is your greatest fear?

• This is one of those question that most people must just answer "clowns" to, isn't it? And those who don't say "clowns" are clearly lying.

3. If you were a superhero, what would your power be?

• Finding lost objects. It occasionally occurs to me that in the amount of time I have spent looking for car keys, house keys, socks, random documents, cuff links, and the like I could have easily written another novel by now.

4. If you could bring one writer back from the dead, who would it be?

• It would almost seem mean for me to answer anything other than "Arthur Conan Doyle," right, since I just wrote a whole book about him?

5. What is your most treasured possession?

• (Sigh) My car. This officially makes me a horrible person, but it's true. I live in LA. I'm sorry. The car was the first thing I bought with the advance from my book, and it has air conditioning. My previous car did not have air conditioning. It was a really big moment in my life.

6. Which living person do you most admire?

• This is cheesy, but my little brother Evan. He's like a perfected version of me. All the good parts, none of the bad parts. I just want to be him.

7. If you were not able to be in the writing profession, what would your preferred occupation be?

• Record producer, hands down. I actually worked as a record producer and sound engineer for years before I started getting paid for the writing. It was my day job of sorts for five years, except that I did it at night while writing during the day. I still miss it a lot. There's something so unique about being in the studio with a group of musicians, just making something, together, communally. You don't get that with writing.

8. What would your Baker Street Irregular "investiture" be? (From Graham's website: Investiture -  (n) Every member of the Baker Street Irregulars is given an official title, or nickname, upon their admittance into the group. This is called his or her “investiture.” These investitures are all titles, phrases or characters from the Canon. E.g., “The Abbey Grange,” or “The Giant Rat of Sumatra.”)

• Well, it's awfully presumptuous to consider investing oneself in the Irregulars. But my dream investiture would probably be "Simpson's," or something revolving around the place. It was Holmes' favorite local restaurant. I eat a lot. Seems like it would make sense.

9. What are you most looking forward to on your tour stop in San Diego?

• I have been told that San Diego fish tacos are different from LA fish tacos. I have every intention of investigating this.

10. What is your motto?

• Arthur Conan Doyle had three rules for the aspiring writer, and I have them tacked above my desk where I work every day. They are, in order of importance, "1) Be intelligible. 2) Be interesting. 3) Be clever." I think this is absolutely perfect, and the best writing advice I've ever heard.

Debut Author Erin Kelly brings her Poison Tree to the 'Wick

Fans of Tana French rejoice! No, she doesn’t have a new novel out yet, but debut author Erin Kelly will most assuredly captivate fans of French’s fluid prose and suspenseful plots. The Poison Tree is a winding road of intrigue and psychological drama. Kelly’s prose unfolds brilliantly, smoothly interweaving past and present as the narrator, Karen, tells of her mystifying, obsessive relationship with the Capel siblings and the murder which took place one hot, drug-filled summer.



This book is mesmerizing in that the reader is never quite sure who in this shady cast of characters was murdered until the very end of the novel. Told in the first person, the narrative is filled with secrets and lies with the narrator successfully manipulating the reader with red herrings and partial truths. The story journeys through the events of that summer, occasionally flicking into the a present 10 years on where Karen is raising a daughter and Rex Capel has been released from prison, having served ten years for manslaughter. Kelly successfully draws on those past events to create a tense present for Karen and Rex, as everything Karen holds dear is placed on a knife-edged balance, teetering out of her carefully held control.

A thoroughly enjoyable psychological suspense, well written, with a twist of an ending sure to jolt readers from any sense of complacency, The Poison Tree is a must read for any lover of the genre.

And because I’m a shameless promoter of Warwick’s events, Erin will be speaking and signing here at Warwick’s on Wednesday, January 19th at 7:30pm. As part of a new debut author program we will not only be serving refreshments, but will also offer a 20% discount off the price of The Poison Tree (that night only).

-Heather

The Warwick's Staff Presents: The Best Books of 2010

Booksellers are a passionate bunch - we've been arguing for the last few weeks about what the "best" books of 2010 are and of course, everyone on staff has a different opinion. While we did take a democratic vote to decide our Top 5 Fiction & Top 5 Nonfiction (see the list at the bottom of this post), it seemed like a good idea to open things up for everyone at Warwick's to offer their personal opinions. Thank God we have a blog, right? So, here are the Best Books read by the staff of Warwick's in the year 2010. Enjoy.

Nancy Warwick, owner: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. As a reader, I love that moment of realization, that electrifying instance, that one sometimes has the pleasure to experience at the very start of a new book.  Whatever qualities one is looking for in a favorite read, it's that occasional, almost immediate, experience of wonderment and anticipation,  and the joy that these feelings arouse, that helps define a favorite book.  Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is my selection for the Warwick's Best Book of 2010.  I was hooked before I finished page one. Set in rural Mississippi, the story is beautifully written, powerful, intensely atmospheric and character-driven.  I couldn't put it down.

Steven, bookseller: I wish I knew what to say about Citrus County by John Brandon. True, it's expertly paced and delicately well-written. And yes it left me more emotionally confused than anything else I read this year. Ultimately, however, the fact that three months after finishing it I inexplicably cannot stop thinking about this book makes it my top choice for 2010.

Joe, General Manager: Who would have thought that looming foreclosure, divorce, and bankruptcy could be so hilarious? Jess Walter's The Financial Lives of the Poets is a sometimes sidesplitting, sometimes brutal look at the recession from the eyes of one way-out family.

Phoebe, Office Supplies: The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall - A well written portrayal of a polygamist trying to balance 4 wives, 28 children, his demanding job and his position in the Mormon Church. He has compassion for his family, yet loses sight of his purpose. Another important character is his son, Rusty. He grabs your heart with his desire to be accepted and especially to be loved by his mother. It’s a funny, sad, complicated story, but I was totally compelled to follow the story to the end.

John, bookseller/book buyer: Why the West Rules - For Now - Historian and archaeologist Ian Morris tackles one of the most hotly debated questions in the study of history: what accounts for the global dominance of the West in the modern era? Morris finds his answer by discerning patterns in the long sweep of human history - patterns he depicts through a combination of fascinating anecdotes, exciting narrative, and innovative analyses of historical data. Interdisciplinary and ambitious, Morris’ book not only offers a compelling explanation for the rise of the West but also suggests how the East-West divide might transform over the next hundred years. This is a great book for lovers of big history and a slam dunk for anyone who enjoyed Guns, Germs, and Steel.

Janet, bookseller: It's a tough choice - I read lots of good books this year, but I'll have to choose The Distant Hours by Kate Morton as my favorite novel of 2010. It has everything I love in a plot: a crumbling castle, mother-daughter angst, 3 eccentric sisters, long-lost love AND a mysterious death shrouded in the past. What's not to love?

Susan, Event Coordinator: The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee. Lee’s stunning fourth novel is an exquisitely haunting journey of three memorable characters: June Han, an orphan girl in the Korean War; Hector Brennan, a young GI to whom June clings when their paths cross at a Korean orphanage; and Sylvie Tanner, the troubled wife of a missionary assigned to the orphanage. As June and Hector vie for the affections of the beautiful Sylvie, each of the damaged three chart their own odysseys through pain, hope, love, despair, and ultimately surrender. Lee’s poignant and beautiful language masterfully transforms the complex and disturbing world of war into a powerful reflection on the human ability to survive.

Vicki, bookseller: Reminiscent of The Secret Life of Bees, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman is a modern day fairy tale. Cecelia Rose Honeycutt finds herself in a world unlike any she's ever experienced when she goes to live with her Great Aunt Tootie. This book's a perfect read when you want a lift in spirit.

Rob, bookseller/Office Supplies: Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart is a tragically hilarious look into the near future. I laughed out loud. A lot!!

Kim, Office Supplies/Gifts: One of the most meaningful books I read this year was Between Me and the River by Carrie Host. Her memoir about her tremendous four-year struggle up the raging river of cancer was brutally honest and surprisingly uplifting and inspiring. Host's great sense of humor makes her unfair daily struggles more than engaging.

Emily, bookseller: The Heights by Peter Hedges. The one book of the year that I am consistently overjoyed to share with others. The Heights is a lovable, funny, and suspenseful story of one couple's lives turned upside down when outside temptation proves just a little too enticing.

Julie, bookseller: The Bells by Richard Harvell is a truly magnificent debut novel. Set in the 18th-century Swiss Alps, this hauntingly beautiful story of a young boy, brutally separated from his mother, raised and betrayed by the monks who swore to protect him, and his ultimate rise as a musico. As compelling as the story is, Harnell's descriptions have you feeling every sound. If you loved Suskind's Perfume, you won't want to miss this - in fact, The Bells is like Perfume for your ears. A story that will stay with you long after the last note is sung.

James, bookseller: At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson - As a fan of asking "why", I rely on Bryson to tell me the story behind the story. At Home makes me take a closer look at the space where I spend over half my life.

Adriana, bookseller: The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard - Family secrets, babies switched at birth, incest, Woodstock, love, agriculture - what more could you get in one book? Also, it's beautifully written and unforgettable.

Heather, bookseller: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly I had three favorite books for 2010, but Revolution was the only book that once finished, I was loathe to read anything else. It's the type of book that you can't put down and can't keep out of your head.

Margie, Office Supplies: Fiction - The Ark by Boyd Morrison was absolutely one of the most interesting novels I've read recently. His style is something like a Michael Crichton/Dan Brown combination that really keeps you guessing throughout. I couldn't put it down! Nonfiction - Susan Casey's The Wave. Wow! Susan takes you on an amazing adventure through nature involving waves of tremendous power. This was a true learning experience that helped me better appreciate the power of Mother Nature.

Jim, bookseller: New York by Edward Rutherfurd is a tale of historical fiction, but the most engaging I have read this year. Intertwined with the major events of New York history, from the founding of Manhattan by the Dutch to the early 21st century, several families are featured. A truly enjoyable book.

Adrian, Book Buyer: My favorite book of the year is It’s a Book by Lane Smith! Why, you might ask, would I pick a children’s book above all the other deserving, finely written books of the past year?! Here’s why - he succinctly captures, with few words and charming illustrations, the current struggle between technology and the printed word. This is a book every book lover should read and share with others.

Rhonda, bookseller/office supplies/gifts: After the Falls: Coming of Age in the Sixties by Catherine Gildiner. This memoir by clinical psychologist and Chatelaine Magazine popular columnist Catherine Gildiner is a fascinating peek into the social turmoil of 1960’s America as experienced by Gildiner and her eccentric parents. Gildiner’s unorthodox childhood and family tragedy made her into an independent and fearless young woman, so she had many adventures both sad and humorous. I enjoyed every chapter (never a dull moment), and I am sure that other readers will also.

Seth, bookseller/website coordinator: Tough call between Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell... but Mitchell - my favorite author - wins out with his majestic, sprawling historical epic of Japan at the end of the 1700’s. While the Shogun is open to trade with the Dutch East India Co., he fears their influence & keeps the foreigners sequestered on the manmade island of Dejima in the middle of Nagasaki harbor. Jacob De Zoet, low level clerk for the Company, is faced with internal corruption and vicious political maneuvering, the delicate balancing act of the Japanese partnership, a daunting language barrier, the mysterious banishment of the woman he loves, the hushed-up financial collapse of his employer, & an imminent attack by foreign invaders, all of which test the limits of his faith - a faith strictly forbidden in Japan on the cusp of the 19th century. Mitchell’s brilliant prose sweeps you along with the flow, always wondering, as a foreigner like Jacob, how much of the lush, inner world of Japan you will be allowed to glimpse.

Erin, book keeper: Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger - the best (and so far, the only) after-death mystery novel I've ever read.

Barbara, bookseller: Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese - From the first sentence of this incredible novel, I was engrossed by the characters, the setting, and the storylines. It's narrated from the viewpoint of one of the 2 identical twins from the moment of their birth (!) onward. The complex relationship of the people in their lives intertwine to become the most interesting story I've read all year.

Pam, Office Supplies/Gifts: The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer (April 2011) is a very funny and well-written novel about what happens when a high school teacher in a New Jersey upper-middle class town decides to put on Aristophanes's Lysistrata - an anti-war play about Greek women who refuse to have sex with their partners - and all hell breaks loose.

Cindy, Office Supplies/Gifts: I haven't read too much this year. But in all that I have read the one that stands out is The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. Much better written and more informative than I expected from the Clueless Girl. Learned a lot.

Jolene, Gifts: The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd - I loved the main character (FBI agent Steve Vail) and I can't wait for the second installment. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

---

The Top Ten Books of 2010 as voted on by the booksellers of Warwick's:
Fiction: The Heights by Peter Hedges, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell, Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes, and It's a Book by Lane Smith.
Nonfiction: The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey, Must You Go? My Life with Harold Pinter by Antonia Fraser, The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant, Why the West Rules - For Now by Ian Morris, and At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson.

Anne Rice Returns

On December 8th, bestselling author & former La Jolla resident, Anne Rice (Interview with the Vampire, etc.) returned to Warwick's to sign her latest novel, Of Love and Evil. The La Jolla Village News was there and Claire Harlin conducted this great interview with the author: Author of "Interview With the Vampire" and former La Jollan opens up about success, inspiration, Diet Coke.

From the interview with the (author of many books about) vampires:

...writing for me is a vocation, not just a profession. It's my life. I really do want to create books that people will not only love, but never forget. It's the only thing I have any talent for at all in this world. I can't dance or sing or play the violin. And the meaning of my life depends on my writing and offering books to my readers.

The Warwick's Questionnaire: Christian Lander

The so-called Proust Questionnaire was originally a 19th-century parlor game designed to reveal bits of the soul, personality, & deep secrets of the participants through a series of pointed questions.  Versions of the quiz were re-popularized in the 20th-century by Vanity Fair and Inside the Actors Studio.  Our version - The Warwick's Questionnaire - is a series of ten questions designed to plumb the depths of the souls of visiting authors.

Christian Lander is the creative mind behind the website, stuffwhitepeoplelike.com and the bestselling author of Stuff White People Like and the brand-new, Whiter Shades of Pale: The Stuff White People Like, Coast to Coast, from Seattle's Sweaters to Maine's Microbrews.




Stuff White People Like #842: Christian Lander

 1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

• In 1994, I threw a perfect game in video game baseball against my brother.

2. What is your greatest fear?

• My greatest fear are severe tire damage spikes. Not kidding.

3. If you were a superhero, what would your power be?

• Are you kidding me? I would fly! Who would take anything else?

4. If you could bring one writer back from the dead, who would it be?

• Mark Twain. I think he would make the greatest NPR host in history.

5. What is your most treasured possession?

• My E.T. doll from when I was a kid.

6. Which living person do you most admire?

• Stephen Colbert.

7. If you were not able to be in the writing profession, what would your preferred occupation be?

• Shooting guard for the Lakers or Rock Star. But failing those, I would probably say teaching. I taught throughout my graduate school career and would say that it was by far the most rewarding part of the experience.

8. What are 3 items on The List that you secretly can't live without?

• 1) Expensive Sandwiches
• 2) Modern Furniture (Specifically Mid Century Modern)
• 3) Sweaters

9. What are you most looking forward to seeing on your tour stop in San Diego?

• The Pacific Ocean! I know we have it in LA, but it just seems cleaner here.

10.What is your motto?

• I wish I had one. But I'd say it's "Remember that no matter how good you are at something, there is someone out there better. So don't be such an asshole about it."

Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Milderhurst Again. . .

Written by Heather

Kate Morton never ceases to amaze me. Her skill as a storyteller seems to not only grow with each successive novel, but to flourish. In 2009 I wrote a brief review of Morton’s second novel, The Forgotten Garden stating:

“Why is The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton one of the best books of 2009? Well, perhaps it’s because every member of the staff who has read it loves and raves about it to anyone who asks. Or, perhaps it’s because Kate Morton is an author who capably weaves a spellbinding tale, one that moves smoothly between time periods exploring the lives of three women and their mysteriously interlocking life stories. With alternating narratives that are gripping and brilliantly told, The Forgotten Garden holds the reader’s attention in a way few novels can. Simply put, it is mesmerizing and thus my favorite novel from 2009.”

I was clearly captivated then, and now, after reading Morton’s latest novel The Distant Hours (released today, 11/9/10) I have to say, that this novel is tied with Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and Revolution as one of my favorite novels of 2010.

One of my co-workers, when writing about The Distant Hours, quoted the famous opening line from Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderlay again”, but changed the memorable gothic home’s name to Milderhurst, the castle which plays such a pivotal role within this new novel. In doing so she beautifully evokes images of a large gothic home, alive and haunted by memories of the past. For Milderhurst, the castle upon which the story revolves, is a living entity, one that holds dark secrets, misplaced dreams, blazing brilliance, and lost innocence. It is the focal point as Morton weaves seamlessly between World War II and 1992 England, beautifully intertwining the different narratives so that they become one, heart-wrenching, achingly romantic story.

The Distant Hours is a novel of lost love, familial obligations and secrets, history and it’s unyielding grip on the present, mothers and daughters, and the relationships between sisters. It is wonderful and captivating, a book to be savored for it’s mastery of gothic suspense and its ability to engross the reader. Kate Morton has, with this new novel, firmly earned a place as one of the top fiction writers around.

Art + Culture | La Jolla

Art + Culture | La Jolla, a community website sponsored by Warwick's that is dedicated to promoting awareness, pride, and involvement in La Jolla's vibrant & diverse arts scene, is celebrating its one-year anniversary!  Check out the La Jolla Village News' recent piece on Art + Culture, featuring an interview with Nancy Warwick!
You can also follow Art + Culture | La Jolla on Twitter and Facebook.