Pop Culture Princess

Pop Culture Princess
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Monday, August 28, 2017

Getting ready for fall reading with these upcoming September/October reads

Well, it's the last week in August and we all know what that means; time to start thinking about fall and all of the lovely things we need to start shopping for.

Granted, some autumn must-haves are more fun than others such as back to school supplies for those of us who don't have to go back or send anyone off with a packed lunch and fresh stack of notebooks.
( what can I say, fall in New York does make you want to have a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils on hand,folks!).

One truly fun shopping trip for the season is book buying and hopefully, some of these September and October new releases will find their way onto your list or at the very least, you'll feel the need to make room for them:

DRAMA CLASS:

 In Liv Constantine's debut novel, The Last Mrs. Parrish, we meet Amber Patterson, a young woman whose major goal in life is to be the replacement wife for a wealthy husband.

The couple she has in mind is Daphne and Jackson Parrish, the kind of people who seem to have everything and in Amber's mind, don't deserve such luxuries. She begins by befriending Daphne during the planning of a charitable event(even to the point of pretending she had a family member with the same disease) and slowly yet surely works her way into the inner family circle.

Amber is determined to stay one step ahead of anyone who wants to block her path toward the life she feels she deserves. However, as time goes on and things change in unexpected ways, it's not clear who is luring who into a fool-proof trap. Liv Constantine is actually a pen name for a pair of siblings(Lynne and Valerie) and based upon what I've read so far of this book, this sinister sister act have a fine future in riveting drama there(October):


Author Nicole Krauss tracks two emotional journeys in her latest novel, Forest Dark, which do happen to indirectly intersect internationally.

Jules Epstein is a retired lawyer, tired of his regular life and at the age of sixty-eight, takes a trip to Tel Aviv to seek some clarity into what he should do next. Frustrated writer Nicole also heads to Tel Aviv, in search of literary inspiration as well as a way out of her broken down marriage.

Both of them meet charismatic people who feel that they know just the right path for each of them to take yet neither of them are sure about being lead down these particular garden paths. Krauss does have a good reputation for writing stories about self reflective characters and this books sounds like a smartly seasoned simmer of a read to warm you up during the chilly days of fall(September).

COOKING LESSONS ABOUT LIFE:

Speaking of simmering, Lia Huber gives us a taste of her edible approach to life and family love in Nourished. 

 In this memoir, she chronicles her travels, starting with a village in Guatemala where her communal cooking offered up a moment of true inspiration to the island of Corfu, that showed her the simple pleasures of food to  California wine country, where she felt her life's work could begin.

Huber interweaves her personal accounts with recipes that reflect her growing desire to share good food and positive energy with others. If you're looking for
a heartfelt approach to family cooking as well as good living, this ought to be a savvy page turning delight for your culinary bookshelf(October):



A HUNK OF BURNING HISTORICAL FICTION: Ken Follett returns to the town of Kingsbridge, where two of his bestselling books, The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End were set, with another epic novel entitled A Column of Fire.

In 1558, all of England is in uproar as divisions between Catholics and Protestants grow deeper and more intense. None of that matters to Ned Willard as his only interest in life is to marry his beloved Margery Fitzgerald yet they are torn apart by the religious divide.

As Ned joins the employ of Queen Elizabeth, Margery goes in full in to spread the Protestant faith but can their love overcome such obstacles in the end? Follett is a fine hand at creating such engaging and elaborate historical dramas as this and fans of his prior work should be delighted to have this series rounded out nicely with a third entry(September):


A SWEET STACK OF SCARY STORIES: With Halloween on the autumn horizon, the urge for fearful fiction will be keenly felt. A celebration of that particular genre comes from Grady Hendrix(and Will Errickson) in the gruesomely gorgeous Paperbacks from Hell.

Hendrix does more than just showcase the amazingly offbeat cover art from horror books of the 1970s and 80s, he goes over the roots of that growing wave of fiction as well as the different trends that came and went over the years.

With special focus given to cover artists who stood out in their field and in-depth discussion of the very strange plots that unfolded across these petrifying pages, Paperbacks from Hell is a good source for finding new avenues of horror entertainment, along with some old school fear flicks to boot(September):


Meanwhile, Stephen King brings us a new flight of fancy, this time teaming up with his son Owen for Sleeping Beauties. In this strange new world, women are prone to a bizarre illness that occurs during sleep as a membrane wraps them up and keeps them in a coma like state.

Most of the world is affected by this "sleeping sickness" but the women's prison in one Appalachian town is not only directly involved, a possible answer to the growing problem may be among them. A stranger called Eve Black appears to be immune to the sickness and perhaps can be the source of a cure.

However, her arrival, like the disease, may be more of a curse than a blessing. King has partnered with other writers before but it should be interesting to see how this family affair works itself on the page(September):


For a sweetly sinister Halloween treat, Silvia Moreno-Garcia introduces us to The Beautiful Ones, especially Antonina" Nina" Beaulieu, a young woman preparing for her first Grand Season in society.

Her prospects in marriage are daunting, despite her family's wealth and connections, as Nina happens to have telekinetic powers that already have caused quite a stir of whispers at many social gatherings.

Nina does find herself being courted by Hector, a performer that shares her unique talents and who is eager to help her learn to control them. As their relationship blossoms, the potential for wedded bliss is great yet there are a few secrets and lies, along with magic, that could doom their love for all time.

Moreno-Garcia is an amazing writer and thanks to good word of mouth, I discovered the joys of her first novel Signal to Noise and eager to get my hands on Certain Dark Things, which came out earlier this year. Don't wait too long to be entranced by the beguiling charms of such a creative force of nature that she truly is(October):


I hope you all have a good time in your fall preparations and yes, even the hectic frenzy that back-to-school shopping can create. Just don't fuss over the kind of paper needed or special erasers on sale and you'll be fine:


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