In July of 1918, more than 18,000 officers and soldiers posed as Lady Liberty on the parade grounds at Camp Dodge in Des Moines, Iowa.  Many men fainted- they were dressed in woolen uniforms- as the temperature neared 105 degrees.  The photo was taken from the top of a specially constructed tower by a Chicago photography studio and was intended to help promote the sale of war bonds, but was never used.

Check out this website to see more patriotic photos taken during WWI.  They are amazing!!  The flag and the Liberty Bell are especially fascinating.

Happy 4th of July from the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!

I am lucky, lucky, lucky.  I have some really good friends.  Smart, interesting friends who like to read and review books for me!  Which is great because I get more books than I can possibly read each month, so it’s nice to be able to share them with my book club buddies, and share their reviews here!

My friend Valerie snapped up a couple ARCs and freebies that I brought with me to our book club meeting last month.  I knew Val was smart, but I had no idea of her amazing reviewing powers!  Good grief, she could be a professional!  Here is her review of Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee. Thanks, Valerie!

 The United States is one of the great melting pots of the world. American libraries and bookstores are filled with books, both fictional and non-fictional, describing the immigrant experience. Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee explores this genre from a Korean perspective. The author, herself, immigrated to the U.S. from Korea with her family at age 7. It can safely be assumed that the main character, Casey, is a reflection of the author’s own personal experiences, trials and tribulations.
       

When the novel first opens we meet Casey Han, at the age of  22, living with her parents in a small apartment in Queens, New York. The same home they moved into 17 years earlier when they first immigrated from Korea. She has just graduated from Princeton with a degree in business, but with no job prospects to speak of . By chapter four, we find Casey walking the streets, broke and homeless. In short order, she is physically abused by her father and betrayed by her long term boyfriend. The rest of the story deals with Casey’s attempt to climb out of this pit and redeem herself.       

Free Food for Millionaires is a story of ambivalence. Casey values honesty and yet keeps her cigarette smoking and white boyfriend a secret from her family. She looks down on women who try and appear sexy but has been promiscuous since age 15. She reads her bible daily but considers herself an agnostic. She doesn’t want to buy into the  Wall Street materialism, but yet, doesn’t feel a sense of  belonging to the artistic camp where being poor is a badge of honor. 

It is also the story of the search for self. As Casey’s journey expands, we are introduced to the many other players in this coming of age novel. We have Casey’s parents, Joseph and Leah, who have worked managing a dry cleaning business for 17 years. Never taking a vacation; their only pleasure coming from their involvement in the local Korean christian church. Casey’s younger sister, Tina, is the proverbial perfect child.  Persuing medical school and trying to not make the same mistakes her sister does. Both her and Casey’s understanding of America is based on watching 1980’s TV shows.  Then we have Casey’s classmates, associates in the world of Wall Street finance and those in the retail clothing business. 

Early on the cast of players expands rapidly and contiues to add new characters almost to the end. The author writes in omniscient voice. Utilizing this narration, most of the characters are fairly well developed. For some readers thsi may cause a sense of feeling overwhelmed. There are so many points of view and so many varied plots. However, at over 500 pages, the author is able to successfully carry the reader thru each of these intermingling story lines to a sense of closure and character growth. By revealing each person’s inner thoughts, even the less likeable can have some redeeming qualities. 

Most of the characters in the novel are of Korean descent. The author, Min Jin Lee, acknowledges that was one of her motivating factors in writing Free Food for Millionaires. It is her belief that there is a lack of accurate representations of Asian Americans in both the arts and media, leading to a distorted image of them as a group. She describes her writing as an attempt at a community novel to reveal the complicated life of the Korean American. 

The story definitely succeeds in opening the door to this view. But, at the same time, it is also a universal tale of growing up, making choices, making mistakes and learning by them. In this regard it is a story that reflects a little bit of each of us without regard to ethnicity. A portrayal of the belief that , if in the end we can achieve a sense of self, it will have been worth it all. As Tina says to her sister Casey, “You’re a true person. You are your own. No one is like you. In the end, that matters most, I think. And being truthful.” 

  

My daughter comes home today from Girl Scout camp, no doubt smelling of horses and sunshine and full of stories and songs, with a bag of reeking stinky clothes and shoes. I can’t wait to see her but will have to fire up the washing machine the minute she walks through the door, because we leave tomorrow to fly across country for 2 weeks at the lake with the cousins!

So I have some big decisions to make.. which books from the teetering TBR pile will I stuff into the suitcase? I’m currently reading The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti. It may just be the best book I’ve read all year, although I’m saying that prematurely since I’ve read just 150 pages. Who knows, maybe it will take some horrible unforeseen turn and I will throw it against the wall, but I doubt it. It is absolutely engrossing. I’m also going to take Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, my book club’s August selection. I want something a bit lighter for the beach, so I’m thinking of either Names My Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane or How The Other Half Hamptons by Jasmin Rosemberg for that. Between cooking hot dogs, swatting mosquitoes, and chasing down kids, that’s probably all I’ll be able to get to, but I’ll throw The White Mary by Kira Salak into the bag just in case I have more time.

My internet access will be severely limited while I’m gone, but I have several posts in the wings that will publish during my vacation. I will be back “live” after July 15th. If you send an email before then, I won’t be able to respond until I get back.

Don’t forget about my contests!  I have two running right now.  One is with Hatchette to give away two books by Elin Hilderbrand (click HERE) and one is for a copy of JANEOLOGY by Karen Harrington (click HERE).  Leave a comment by July 15th for a chance to win.

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

The awesome and generous Hatchette Book Group has joined up with Books on the Brain to give away TWO beautiful beach books by Elin Hilderbrand!  One lucky winner will receive A Summer Affair, her latest, and Barefoot, which was just released in paperback this month.  All you need to do is leave a comment here by July 15th for a chance to win.  If you blog about the contest and link back here, you’ll get an extra chance!

In this guest post, Elin Hilderbrand talks about her new book, A Summer Affair, which is being published TODAY!! Congratulations, Elin!   

A Summer Affair is a novel about a woman named Claire Danner Crispin, the mother of four children who has an artistic career and who, because of some old guilt and her inability to say no, agrees to chair a huge summer benefit concert for a local Nantucket charity…and as she does so, her life slowly falls apart. 

Where did I come up with such an idea, you ask???  I myself (with only three children and an artistic career) sit on the Board of Directors of no less than three Nantucket non-profits.  I have chaired 5 major summer events in the past 5 years; much of the fodder for this novel came from my own experience…in meetings, and more meetings, and more meetings.  However, meetings alone do not make up a novel.  The drama that unfolds as various personalities collide over this band or that caterer does not a best seller make.  And so although Elin Hilderbrand the Board Member/Event Co-Chair donated the seed of the idea for the book, Elin Hildebrand the author of six previous novels about love and betrayal and friendship between women and sex and regret and healing took over. 

A Summer Affair is a novel about all of these things, but primarily it is about one woman, our darling Claire, and her struggle to balance what is best for everyone else with what is best for herself.  It is about veering off the path and then correcting oneself.  It is about pursuing one’s forbidden fantasy and then taking comfort in the security of home and family.  It is about food and drink, rock and roll, work and play.  It is about me, yes, and it is about all of us.

Blogger Bio: Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her five previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.

Anna from Diary of an Eccentric is the lucky winner of my June giveaway of Mrs. Lieutenant by Phyllis Zimbler Miller! Congratulations, Anna! I will email you for your contact information.

I frequently get asked what prompted me to write a story that starts with a mother who kills. It’s a fair question. If you told me five years ago that I’d be writing about this subject, I might have looked at you like you had banana peel shoes. (And if you do own a pair of banana peel shoes, I mean no disrespect, but I hope you have good insurance.)

Ultimately, I did write about the subject of maternal filicide, but not without a good bit of trepidation. Though JANEOLOGY is set in motion by this troubling crime, I decided that looking at the crime would be most compelling through the eyes of her spouse, Tom - who lived with her, loved her, and ultimately, heart-breakingly, was somehow unable to see the mental breakdown occurring right before his eyes.

As you might imagine, describing this story is even tougher for a debut author under the bright lights of a Barnes & Noble. It has been a steep learning curve for sure. Naturally shy, I bought every short sleeved turtle-neck I could find to hide the red nervous neck I knew would come when I asked someone to part with their hard earned money and take a chance on an unknown author. Like most things in life, with each description, with the meeting of each new book-buyer, I got better. (And even learned how to pitch differently to men and women, to relax and have fun.)

So thought I’d share some of the more interesting exchanges I’ve had in recent months.

Of my books on the signing table.

“Are these complimentary?”

Of the topic of filicide.

“I can’t read this. I read The Lovely Bones and I hated it.”

Of my pitch that my novel is about a man trying to understand his wife by way of understanding the family secrets and ancestors in her family.

“Oh, we all have black sheep in our family. My brother’s wife just left him and he’s now realizing it had something to do with her mother.”

Of my description of the book to a kind old man.

“Sounds good. Let me go ask my wife.”

Of the title.

“Oh, is this another book about Jane Austen?”

Of my offer to sign a book for a woman.

“Oh, are you the author?”

Of my newly confident introduction to the next person who approached my table, “Hi, I’m the author Karen Harrington.”

“Hello the author Karen Harrington.”

Of the chocolate mints on my signing table.

“What are these for?”

Me: Well, you know, fiction tastes better with chocolate.

Of the puzzle on my signing table.

“Why did you cut up your cover like that?”

Of the woman who ran over to my table with her hubby and told me her name was Jane.

Hubby: “If I read this, will I understand my wife better?”

Me: Uh, maybe. (nervous laughter) Here’s a bookmark.” (She leaves. Returns 10 minutes later.)

“OMG! OMG! My husband’s name is Tom!” (See, the couple in my book is Jane and Tom.)

Of my accidental penning “Very best pictures” (Doh! Should have written WISHES)

Me: “Oh, I’m so sorry. We were talking about pictures, and, well, ha ha…well, if I become famous, one day this will be very valuable.”

She: (eyes rolling)

Of me just standing there alone for a looooooong time feeling like a dork.

“So, I saw you standing here by yourself for a looooooong time. I’m a salesman. Make your best pitch in 60 seconds. Go.” (Yup. I sold him a copy.)

INTERESTING FACTS

Number of signings so far: 5

Number of books sold: 71

Number of miles traveled: 156

Poorest results: 3 hours/3 books

Best results: Sold out – 25 books in 2 hours

Most useful signing tools: A smile, bookmarks and photo album including pics of my ancestors that served as genealogical inspiration for JANEOLOGY. (I would add chocolate mints, but I ate many of these myself, so…)

Times asked where person could find another book: 4

Funniest Ooops: When a bookstore manager introduced me over the store PA as Jane!

Biggest thrill: When a young girl told me she wanted to be a writer, asked my advice and would I please sign her bookmark.

Biggest book promotion lesson: Finally understanding my mentor’s statement, “There are many writers with talent, but few have the temperament to make a career of it.”

Ranking on the worth-it meter: Off the charts!!!!

Blogger Bio: Karen Harrington lives in Texas with her husband and children. She received a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas. She is the author of the legal thriller Janeology, and a children’s book, There’s a Dog in the Doorway, created expressly for the Dr. Laura Schlessinger Foundation’s “My Stuff Bags”.

Read an interview with Karen on J. Kaye’s Book Blog HERE

You can read a synopsis of Janeology from the publisher’s website HERE

I will be giving away my copy of Janeology to one lucky reader! Just leave a comment here by July 15th for a chance to win!

The adorable Trish from Hey Lady, Whatcha Readin’? is having an amazing giveaway courtesy of Hatchette Book Group USA – 5 winners will win 14 books! Go check it out!  There are some great titles and several ways to win. Visit her post to read how to get an entry (or lots of entries.) The contest closes July 12th, so hurry over there and leave a comment.  Good luck!  And tell her Lisa at Books on the Brain sent you!

The first question I posed to authors was “What are you currently reading?”.  I got a great response (click HERE to read that post).  I also wanted to know if authors ever abandoned books, the way I sometimes do if I just can’t get into it.  Turns out they do…

Question #2- AUTHORS:  WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU GAVE UP ON, AND WHY?

Beth Fehlbaum, author of Courage in Patience:  Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. Too painful.

Linda Merlino, author of Belly of the Whale:  The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls—Just couldn’t get through it…

Jennie Shortridge , author of Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe: People will hate me for saying this, but The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. I just couldn’t wade through that initial snow storm. I have so little time to read fiction (only when not writing or revising) so something has to grab me fast. I know it must be a wonderful book because people who read what I do love it. It’s just me.

Megan Crane, author of Names My Sisters Call Me:  I don’t give up on books.  I read to the bitter end, so that I can complain about them thoroughly.

Jasmin Rosenberg, author of How the Other Half Hamptons: I almost never “give up” on books – but removed “A Million Little Pieces” from my To Be Read pile once the authenticity was questioned.

Edward Hardy, author of Keeper and Kid: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. I hadn’t tried it in a bunch of years but somehow I can never get past page 100. This time - same result.

Meg Waite Clayton, author of The Wednesday Sisters:   I know its sacrilege to say this, but Moby Dick. I just wasn’t that into the whale.

Alan Cheuse, author of To Catch the Lightning:  I give up on a lot of new books, 
sometimes for tactical reasons, as a reviewer, because as much 
as I’d like to, I can’t review all thrillers or science-fiction… 
I stop reading many realistic novels, when I find the subjects 
never growing out of their narrow tracks…

Mathias Freese, author of Down to a Sunless Sea:  I will not give the title lest I offend, but it is a book sent to me by a fellow author — simply unbearable, disconnected and does not grab me as a reader.

Joshua Henkin, author of Matrimony:  For the life of me, I can’t remember.  I tend to plow through till the end no matter what.  I’m not sure why.  Curiosity, probably.  The hope that there’s something in the book that I haven’t yet discovered.  But life’s too short–too many good books out there.  So I’m going to resolve to stop reading when I’m not inclined to read on.

Susan Woodring  , author of Springtime on Mars:  I had to read The Phantom Toll Booth by Norton Juster for a middle school class I’ll be teaching in the fall, and I absolutely hated it. It’s clever and all, but it just seems to be utterly without direction. Ugh. I have read all but the last chapter–I’ll have to finish it and drum up a bit of enthusiasm before I teach this class.

Doreen Orion, author of Queen of the Road:   Oh, dear. I’d really rather not answer that, as I’d hate to google my name someday and see that as someone else’s answer to this question!

Daniel Putkowski, author of An Island Away:  Last book I gave up on… I really can’t remember. I suffer through to the last word. Is this a character flaw?

Next time we’ll see which authors are the authors’ favorite authors.  Can you say AUTHORS 3 times fast???

Do Book Trailers Sell Books? by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

There’s been a lot of discussion about book trailers on this blog and elsewhere on the ‘Net, and the question is: Do book trailers sell books? As an author who has no access to knowing where book buyers come from or whether they bought because of a trailer, I am very interested in the answer to this question. 

Personally, some trailers have led to me buying a book. I bought Mothering Mother by Carol D. O’Dell based on her book trailer and info. The info drew me in, the trailer sold me. I’ve seen awesome trailers and some that are just not that well done. 

Derek Armstrong and Kam Wai Yu, of Persona Corp fame and now Kunati Books, were the original creators of the book trailer. That was years ago. Technology has changed and trailers have become more complex, more attractive to readers and far more acceptable. 

Book trailers vary in style. Some are text only with dramatic music. Those can definitely be appealing, since nothing else distracts the viewer. Other trailers are live video—and showcase actors. Unfortunately, many look like amateur videos and the acting can be…well, let’s say, uninspired. 

Recently I watched Dean Koontz’s Odd Passenger “webisodes” (or Internet movie chapters) on YouTube. It is basically four short book trailers that, combined, tell a creepy story. The acting won’t win any Academy Awards; however, it’s solid enough and the camera shots are professional enough that I was hooked. Reel me in, Odd! I’ve ordered the latest Odd book because of these webisodes. 

So now, I’ll be brave and share with you the book trailer that Kunati Books made for my latest novel…Whale Song. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a comment and tell me what you think. Does this video intrigue you, tease you, leave you wanting more? Does it make you want to order Whale Song? Have you ever bought a book because of the book trailer? Enquiring minds (mine!) wanna know. 

Buy Whale Song on Amazon.com.

 ~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Whale Song, The River, and Divine Intervention

http://www.whalesongbook.com

http://www.cherylktardif.com 

In the 16th volume of In Praise of Book Clubs, Nicole from Book Escape talks about why she was hesitant to join a book club, but how now she’s glad she did.

Lisa asked me to contribute to her series on book clubs and I gladly accepted. It’s fun to be able to share on someone else’s blog (plus, maybe it will help increase my traffic!)

My friend, Stephanie, over at The Written Word, used to have an online bookclub that she asked me to join. I’m not much of a joiner, but I figured, online, it would be safe. Safe from what, you ask? Well, I worried that I would sound like I didn’t know what I was talking about. When I read, I read just to escape (hence, the name of my blog, Book Escape). Anyway, I didn’t really think about books much after I read them and I didn’t really feel the need to discuss any. Nevertheless, I joined. It was a good format. I could answer what I wanted, skip what I didn’t want. And, there was no pressure to read a book if I didn’t want to.

Well, Stephanie decided to end her on-line club and start a “real” club in her neighborhood. Again, she asked me to join. This time, I was really hesitant, especially because I didn’t know most of the people she asked to join (I can be shy in groups). But, I went. And, over a year later, I’m glad I did.

This experience has been interesting and fun. We have a group of ladies (usually around 7-9) who meet monthly to discuss books. Each month, one group member suggests three books she is interested in and then we vote on which one to read as a group. This has resulted in me reading several books I never would have picked up myself, including Moloka’i by Alan Brenert and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron. Some I’ve enjoyed, some I haven’t. I joke each meeting that the book I vote for rarely gets picked by the other members. This was bucked this month when the book I voted for, Baby Proof by Emily Giffin, won by a small margin. But, I think that’s one of the things I like the best about the book club experience. I’m reading outside my box.

The group of women my friend has assembled is a colorful bunch. We have some very opinionated ladies who are a lot of fun. I found myself relax around them and not afraid to express myself either; they sure weren’t. It’s been a great learning experience and has opened me up to sometimes seeing things a different way, something I’m not overly eager to always do.

We’ve done some great things, too. We had Kate Jacobs, author of The Friday Night Knitting Club, call into our discussion. That was an interesting night and a great experience. I really enjoyed hearing about a book from the author’s point of view. It really did put a new spin on the entire book. We also had a new author join a group for a night to give her our feedback about her unpublished novel. Another great experience to be on the front end of getting a novel published. Also, we just celebrated our one year anniversary with a dinner out. It was fun to socialize with this bunch of ladies I’d gotten to know over the year. Of course, we did add a discussion about the The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig.

My five-year-old daughter has heard me talking about my book club so much, she’s asked to start her own book club with her friends. So, tomorrow we start out on a summer book club adventure! It should be fun to hear the thoughts of five and six-year-olds.

Blogger Bio: I starting blogging only a couple of months ago at the urging of my (bookclub) friend, Stephanie. I love to read and blogging has helped me keep track of all the books (plus get a few free ones, too!) Reading, for me, is a way to escape the sometimes duldrums of everyday life. I’m home most of the time with my two little ones (ages 5 and 4) and they often both find me hiding with a book! I’m happy to say that they love to “read,” too! My blog is Book Escape.

***Would you like to share about your book club here at Books on the Brain? If so, leave a comment and I will get in touch with you about a guest post!

For previous volumes of In Praise of Book Clubs, click HERE

For more info on starting your own book club, click HERE

For fun ways to make your book club better, click HERE

For a chance to win Mrs. Lieutenant by Phyllis Zimbler Miller, click HERE and leave a comment by June 30.