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BookBrowse Highlights
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Sept 10, 2015
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Hello
You already know that when it comes to books, we feature the cream of the crop. But did you know that we like to mix it up with plenty of doses of fun - bite-sized nuggets of literary delights to exercise your grey cells with games, quizzes and trivia?
In this issue we feature our always popular Wordplay (can you solve it?) and a literary quote. Across BookBrowse you'll find advice on how to pronounce author names on our Fun page (yes we love this stuff so much we have a whole page dedicated to it!) and, for those of you for whom riffling through author pictures is the best kind of celebrity spotting, you can play "guess the author" on our Author page.
Continue the excitement with our reading personality quiz and enter our giveaways - after all, what's more fun than winning free books!
But it's not all fun, we also cover many weighty topics, for example, in this issue we explore the Syrian refugee crisis and one of World War II's most daring prisoner-of-war escapes.
We indulge every side of your literary side at BookBrowse and we hope you join in the fun regularly. Thank you for playing - and reading!
Your editor, Davina |
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1. First Impressions: Members Recommend
Each month we give away books to U.S. resident members to read and review (or discuss). Members who choose to participate receive a free book about every three months. Here are their opinions on one recent release.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by Matthew Dicks
St. Martin's Press, Sept 2015. Novel, hardcover & ebook 240 pages
Number of reader reviews: 23 Readers' consensus: 3.8/5.0
Members Say
"This book got my attention from the first page on, and I hated for it to end. I adored the characters, and easily identified with Caroline. How many of us hold on to our worst memories from high school, even letting them shape who we are to become? And how many of us would love the opportunity to confront that high school nemesis, to let them know how they bullied us and made us feel less than who we are? Well, Caroline Jacobs, a quiet, almost broken woman steps out of her comfort zone, and in that moment the perfect comeback is born." - Beth P. (Rensselaer, NY) "Thank you Book Browse for presenting me with the opportunity to meet someone like Caroline Jacobs. Her character is real and often reminded me a bit of myself while in high school. Certainly a hard topic to discuss, Dicks handles himself well here with a very moving and poignant story." - Rosanne S. (Franklin Square, NY) "At times raucously funny and at others sensitively sad, this book brings you back to your school days. I found it interesting that Matthew Dicks was able to capture the female perspective so well. Great read for the summer." - Wendy F. (Kalamazoo, MI) More about this book | Read all the reviews Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
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2. First Impressions: Members Recommend
Fear of Dying by Erica Jong St. Martin's Press, Sept 2015 Novel, hardcover & ebook 288 pages
Number of reader reviews: 9 Readers' consensus: 2.9/5.0
Members Say "Erica Jong is a great writer. When she and I were much younger I marveled at her adventures in Fear of Flying. We both have matured and I loved her words of wisdom about grower older and facing death. Her story was poignant, funny, sad and hopefully...just like life itself. I marked numerous passages to reread. A marvelous read." - Shirley L. (Norco, LA)
"I did appreciate reading an author whose character is closer to my age in a market where authors are often much younger and usually don't 'get' older women. As expected, Jong includes a fair amount of sex but there is a balance of humor, insight, and good dialogue. This is a quick read and I would recommend it to people who have read Fear of Flying. - Virginia B. (Foster, RI)
"It doesn't surprise me Erica Jong has written a satire and aimed it directly at what she feels is a pressing issue of our human plight. Death... As in Fear of Flying she has aimed her arrows at truth and the ability to laugh while we cry, see as we are blinded, and believe while we run for our lives." - MDF
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3. Editor's Choice: Nonfiction
Zero Night by Mark Felton
Thomas Dunne Books, Aug 2015 Hardcover & ebook, 320 pages BookBrowse Rating: 5/5, Critics' Consensus: 4.8/5 Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
Review: In Zero Night, British military historian Mark Felton relays the story of the Warburg Wire Job, one of the more ingenious and daring prisoner-of-war escapes that took place during World War II. Close to 3,000 Commonwealth officers were incarcerated in Oflag VI-B, a POW camp in northwestern Germany in 1941-1942, the time period covered in Zero Night. Tom Stallard, whom the author calls "one of the most determined escape artists in German captivity," was one of these, arriving in late 1941. Quickly realizing that the German soldiers were more adept at discovering tunnels than the prisoners were at digging them, Stallard began considering less orthodox means of breaking out, landing on the novel idea of going over the fence instead of under or through it. Stallard spearheaded a secret committee, that during the next several months, developed a plan which came to fruition on the night of August 30, 1942 ... continued Full access to our reviews & beyond the book articles are for members only. But there are always four free Editor's Choice reviews and beyond the book articles available.
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4. Editor's Choice : Fiction
The Incarnations by Susan Barker
Publisher: Touchstone.
Hardcover & ebook, 384 pages BookBrowse Rating: 5/5, Critics' Consensus: 4.8/5
Review: Why, in my time at BookBrowse, have I written reviews of four books set either in New Orleans or the bayous of Louisiana? What accounts for my fierce love of grits and bread pudding and jambalaya? Was I a New Orleanian in a past life, in exile in this life? I'm only wondering about one past life. Try five. In The Incarnations, Wang Jun, a dispirited taxi driver in pre-2008 Olympics Beijing, is told that he has lived five lives. This startling news comes to him in a letter from a mysterious, unseen stranger, someone who also tells him that their lives - all of them - have ... continued Full access to our reviews & beyond the book articles are for members only. But there are always four free Editor's Choice reviews and beyond the book articles available.
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5. Editor's Choice - For Younger Readers
Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick
Paperback (Jul 2015), 192 pages. Publisher: The Blue Sky Press. BookBrowse Rating: 5/5, Critics' Consensus: 4.6/5 Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
When 12-year-old Zane Dupree finds out that he has a long-lost great-grandmother living in New Orleans - and that his mom is sending him there from New Hampshire to visit - he's none too thrilled. He never even knew his dad; what's the point in meeting the old gumby who raised him? "Because you can't miss somebody you never knew, can you?" At least he's allowed to bring Bandy, his best friend and sidekick, and the best darn dog he could ever ask for. With Bandy tagging along, how bad could the trip possibly be? So begins the story of Newbery Honor author Rodman Philbrick... continued Full access to our reviews & beyond the book articles are for members only. But there are always four free Editor's Choice reviews and beyond the book articles available.
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6. Beyond the Book: Syrian Refugees Every time we review a book we also explore a related topic. Here is a recent "beyond the book" article for The Tyrant's Daughter by J.C. Carleson Paperback & ebook, July 28, 2015, 304 pages. Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
Unlike Laila, who is a member of the ruling family of her Middle Eastern country, most child refugees don't have the luxury of moving to a more hospitable country when their own plunges into war. While The Tyrant's Daughter is set in an unknown Middle-Eastern country probably closer to Iraq than Syria, the plight of the refugees in Syria is much in the news. By mid-2014, OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) estimated that half of Syria's 22 million population was affected by the conflict and in need of humanitarian assistance, including over 7 million internally displaced. In 2014, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that 3,000 to 6,000 people leave Syria each day. As of July 2015, over 4 million Syrian refugees are registered with the United Nations and are living outside Syria. Almost 1.8 million are in Turkey, 1.2 million in Lebanon and over 600,000 in Jordan. As of July 2015 there were an estimated 313,000 in Europe, but these figures are already out of date. On September 2, the BBC reported that 17,500 migrants had registered on the Greek island of Lesbos just in the last week, adding to the estimated 107,000 that arrived in Europe during July. One of the passengers, a Syrian teacher named Isham, told Reuters news agency: "You have to help us. We are human." To add to the catastrophe, Syria is host to refugees from other countries, including over 100,000 from Iraq. Read in full | More about this book
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6. Beyond the Book: Michelangelo and Six of His Greatest Works
Every time we review a book we also explore a related topic. Here is a recent "beyond the book" article for Michelangelo by Miles J. Unger Paperback & ebook, July 21, 2015, 448 pages. Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
During his long life Michelangelo created numerous great works of art. Six are particularly renowned and are located either in Rome or Florence. In his book Michelangelo: A Life in Six Masterpieces, Miles J. Unger examines the artist through these monumental works. The following offers a condensed history and description of each ... continued Read in full | More about this book
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8. Publishing Soon
Each month BookBrowse previews 80+ notable books. Here is a particularly interesting title from these upcoming books. The Killing Lessons by Saul Black Publisher: St. Martin's Press Sep 2015. Thriller, 400 pages Critics' Opinion: 5/5 Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
3 starred reviews from the prepub media. Look out for our review in a couple of weeks time.
When the two strangers turn up at Rowena Cooper's isolated Colorado farmhouse, she knows instantly that it's the end of everything. For the two haunted and driven men, on the other hand, it's just another stop on a long and bloody journey. And they still have many miles to go, and victims to sacrifice, before their work is done.
For San Francisco homicide detective Valerie Hart, their trail of victims--women abducted, tortured and left with a seemingly random series of objects inside them--has brought her from obsession to the edge of physical and psychological destruction. And she's losing hope of making a breakthrough before that happens.
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9. Quote "A few books well chosen, and well made use of, will be more profitable than a great confused Alexandrian library."
Dr Thomas Fuller M.D (1654-1734) was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge and practiced medicine in Sevenoaks, Kent. He is remembered for his two compilations of proverbs, Introductio ad Sapientiam and Introductio ad Prudentiam, and for the later Gnomologia - a massive compilation of proverbs and aphorisms. It is said that Benjamin Franklin used Gnomologia as a source for some of the sayings in Poor Richard's Almanac.
Gnomology is not, as some might think, the study of popular garden ornaments, nor for that matter is it the study of the diminutive mythical spirits which apparently inspire the former. A gnomologist is one who collects maxims, proverbs or aphorisms which, individually, can be referred to as gnomes - from the Greek for thought or judgment.
During medieval times it became popular for the learned to put together collections of sayings and memorable thoughts - the publishing of these reached its height during the Renaissance when books of proverbs became popular. In fact, gnomology has remained popular to this day - the ubiquitous pocket diaries and calendars filled with inspirational sayings found so widely these days, whether biblical quotes or Dilbert cartoons, all trace their roots to these first gnomologies. Continued | More quotes
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10. Wordplay
Solve our fiendish Wordplay puzzle, and be entered to win the book of your choice!
This week's Wordplay
Solve this clue:
T S's T Limit
Last Week's Wordplay
I A J I W D, I I Worth D W
If a job's worth doing, it is worth doing well
The first recorded use of this expression is in a letter from Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield to his son in 1746. It is just one of about 400 letters the prolific British statesman wrote to his son over a 30-year period.
The child in question was Philip Stanhope's illigitimate son, also named Philip Stanhope. The younger Philip, whose mother was a French governess, died in 1768 leaving his widow, Eugenia, destitute. The letters were published in 1774 and appear to have been a big success, providing a handbook for worldly success for young men of the late 18th century and, we must hope, some income for Eugenia...
Continued
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