Dear Author » Book-club

Tuesday Midday Links:

Jane — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:00:14 +0000

I have to go to the dentist today for an aching tooth. Yes, my hardliving consisting of peanut m&ms and Mountain Dew is catching up with me. That’s some real news I know you all were dying to read.

DNAML, a company with more consonants than sense, is selling a PDF to ePub converter. This would be great if we knew how well it worked but alas, DNAML doesn’t believe in trial versions of its software. It’s $99 if you want to take the chance.

Laura Benedict explores the advantages and dangers of the free giveaway.

Technology gives us the ultimate democracy. Ultimate freedom. Anyone can be an artist. Put the work out there and you, too, can be judged in the marketplace of ideas. As long as you don’t plan on making a living at it.

Rupert Murdoch has begun to charge for the Wall Street Journal’s mobile content. In an interview, Murdoch sounds positive about the future of journalism.

Almost in every property at the moment [there is] a slight lift," Mr Murdoch said. "It’s very much better than it was a couple of months ago. It’s everywhere," he added, highlighting an 8 per cent fall in revenues at News Corp’s television stations in September, compared with an expected 20 per cent decline for the year to date.

Murdoch is convinced that moving to digital will reduce costs because there will be no unions (the printing unions are apparently killing him), no paper, no printing plants. I’m not as convinced as Murdoch that the costs of journalism will decrease so dramatically but it’s nice to see him have a positive outlook, right?

Ariana Huffington will be launching a book section to the Huffington Post and a new book club. It’s highly unlikely that romance will ever star in Huffington’s new book club. In a bid for legitimacy, the only appropriate action is to condemn the genres and go straight for the literature books with a capital L. Huffington will be partnering with New York Review of Books. The editor of the site is Amy Hertz, a Penguin editor for the Dutton division.

Gizmodo links to an article on Transhumanists and their opinion of the future of sex. Basically virtual reality will destroy physical relationships. The future is either full of woe or WHOA depending on your point of view.

Hunger Games Book Club Discussion

Jane — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:57:42 +0000

Last month, Jia reviewed a new to us YA book called Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It’s a story about a teenager forced to fight in a brutal game to the death against 23 other teenagers. Others decided to read it and so we thought it would be fun to have a Book Club discussion. We’ve never really done this before so bear with us.

Please remember that this discussion will be full of spoilers so don’t read/participate if you don’t want to be spoiled.

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The following are questions that we thought of in relation to the book. Let us know if you have answers or other questions.

What does the future hold for Katniss, Peeta, and Gale?
What did you think of Heymitch? Troublemaker? Untrustworthy? Surprising savoir?
What do you think is the future of the political structure?
Will there be a rebellion? If so, who will lead it? How do you think it will play out?
Will there be retaliation against Katniss for her actions?
Did you think it was fair for Katniss to get the rating that she did in archery?
Did you think that Katniss had to face difficult moral decisions or where those tough choices ones she could avoid?
What do you think was the inspiration for Hunger Games? One review says that it has ties to Rome.
What role do you think Cinna plays?
Which children were the worst off? The ones in the Districts where the children were raised to think that competing to kill other children and possibly die themselves was honorable as in Districts 1 & 2? Or the outlying districts which were so poor that the inhabitants had to forage for the smallest portions.
Are there other books that reminded you of Hunger Games (because Jia and I want to read them).
If you are an adult, why do these YA books appeal to you? Do you wish there were more books in the romance genre like this one?

And lastly, are you rooting for the K/G pairing or the K/P pairing? Choose sides and let’s rumble.

Dear Author Book Club Event and Feed Update

Jane — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:00:14 +0000

On October 15th, Dear Author will host a book club event for Suzanne Collins’ Hunger
Games. This is a book that was recommended by Jia. It’s a story about a sixteen year old girl who offers herself up as a Tribute in place of her younger sister, as a player in the annual hunger games, whereby 12 children compete to the death to win a year of boon for his or her district and a lifetime of wealth for themselves.

This is a gripping story. With twists, turns, and lots of action, it kept me on the edge of my seat. Not only that, there’s no denying the power of its themes. War and violence leave scars on the next generation. Haymitch may be the town’s middle-aged drunk but can you blame him? Not did he survive a brutal battle to the death, now as a victor he must mentor future tributes. That hurts. Imagine getting to know these children, coaching them, hoping for their victory- and then watching them die. Year after year, that has been Haymitch’s fate. Of all the things he could have resorted to in order to cope, drinking might be one of the least destructive options available.

I can’t recall that we’ve ever hosted a Book Club before so we are bound to do it weirdly but we hope you will come on October 15th and participate in a discussion of the book including speculation on where it will go.

This book can be purchased in hardcover from Amazon or Powells. No ebook format.

Also, if you are reading this in your feed reader, you’ll note that there are ads on the bottom of the feed. This is intentional. We have added Google Adsense ads to the feed where we think it will be the least intrusive. The way we get paid is if you click on an ad but don’t feel compelled to do so.

REVIEW: Karma Girl by Jennifer Estep

Jayne — Fri, 04 May 2007 15:50:05 +0000

Dear Ms Estep,

I was never a comic book fan and it’s been a long time since I read one but I recognized a few givens of the standard American superhero comic book. We’ve got your big city, alter egos, intrepid newspaper reporter, heroes, villains and brightly colored spandex for everybody.

Carmen Cole steps into the dual role of reporter and possible love interest. I wasn’t so sure of her reasoning for spending so much time unmasking superheroes wherever she could. Sure her fiance turns out to be one and she discovers this 1) on their wedding day when 2) she catches him shagging a] his nemesis who is b] her best friend but since superheroes are almost duty bound to spend their time saving the average citizen who needs help and/or thwarting the villains, why is the general public so happy that she exposes them and makes their lives more difficult? The excuse that cities want the superheroes to help pay for the damage they cause while battling villains doesn’t make much sense when compared to the fact that they’re saving the city from villains and crime. Do the people of Bigtown want a nice, neat city that’s under the thumb of the evil Terrible Triad? Or one that’s kept safe by the combined efforts of the Fearless Five even if it’s a little messy? I think I’d opt for messy.

The fact that the people in the story can never easily recognize the superheroes even if the disguise if fairly flimsy and the clues are obvious is standard for comic books. Yet most alter egos are not as flashy and prone to flaunt themselves as those in Karma Girl. You did seem to stick to the Comic Code in that most violence is subdued, authority figures are respected, the details of crimes are vague (though presented as sordid), villains pay for their actions and Right triumphs in the end. With respect to nudity and love scenes, it’s more detailed than your average comic (but not comix novel) book but hey, this is a romance book! The Fantastic Five adhere to the basics of the superhero genre: extraordinary powers and abilities, a strong moral code and sense of justice, nifty identity concealing costumes, special weapons, independence, stories explaining the origin of their powers and as a fantastic headquarters and base of operations, I’d move into Sublime anyday (though I still don’t see how it can operate without any daily servants).

As for Carmen’s love interest, I thought their falling in love was nicely handled. Both were a bit startled by it but took their time and I thought understood each other, until Carmen almost blew things. Carmen is given a good reason to feel guilt for what she did yet she takes the “I’m so not worthy of hero’s love” and guilt complex to extremes. By the end, I wanted to slap her. Though I did like her habit of ruminating with a Rubik’s Cube over drumming her fingers or pacing around. Another area that was problematic was Carmen’s search for the identity of the Five and the Triad. She endlessly searches through articles from the library then when she can’t figure it out, starts searching through that same material all over. That got boring. For me as a reader, the alter egoes of the superheroes were easy to figure out but the villain’s twisted intentions was a nice touch.

I do like the names of both heroes and villains. I think my kitty wants a superhero name. Maybe Clawz or Panthera. And I loved explodia and Mr Frost’s Freezoray. Loved them! The so fit with comic world conventions. The names say it all without requiring lots of explanation and since comics require a suspension of belief and willingness to accept what an author says this is a good thing. Did I miss the identity of two of the Triad or is this To Be Continued in another book? I’m just checking but I would assume there is one given the ending of this one.

I read that a comic book writer has to have good dialogue, a cohesive plot and strong visuals. Your dialogue was good, the plot needed a little work but I could “see” what you were describing. However, comic book heroes usually don’t have much character depth. As per standards the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad but that’s about it. Readers looking for multilayered people in this book are going to have to look high and low. For a quick read and fun time, this book works but for lasting thought, it won’t cut it. B-

~Jayne

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Vote for the May Book Club Selection

Jane — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 01:14:38 +0000

Go vote for the DearAuthor May Bookclub selection. The Ja(y)nes will picked a number of books and everyone who is registered at the forum can vote. The Bookclub selection will receive a review from Jayne and a video review from Jane. Click HERE to see the nominations and HERE to vote.

We choose to require registration to avoid drive by voting.

May Book Club Nominations Are Open

Jane — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 03:02:35 +0000

Enter your nominations in the comments section. It must be a book released in April or May of 2007 but can be anything from non fiction to fiction to romance to fantasy. We love new authors and we love midlist authors. After a week, we’ll take a look at the nominations and pick a few books. The books will then be voted upon by the readers to determine the book club selection. The “winning” book will be treated to a review by Jayne or Janine and a video review by Jane. Nominate away.

A Library of Books Via the Internet

Jane — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 16:27:44 +0000

Teleread.org is reporting on the appearance of a not so new contender to the used book market. Authors are cringing at more companies encouraging readers to trade books through the mail while readers are rejoicing.

BookMooch and PaperbackSwap work essentially the same way. You list the books you have to trade and then you earn points by sending out books via media mail.

Book Mooch has about 270,000 books from textbooks to romance novels. PaperbackSwap has over 1 million paperback books. It’s a very economical way to read.

Victoria Beckham, Who Has Never Read a Book, to Start a Book Club

Jane — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 01:38:48 +0000

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not a hater of Victoria Beckham. I have three pairs of Rock n Republic Beckham jeans which I love. They are very comfortable. But a book club started by a woman who bragged to the Spanish press while promoting her autobiography that she has never read a book her entire life, including her own, sounds a bit suspicious. Do we even know that she can read let alone engage in a discussion about an entire novel.

I’m all for stars using their fame to promote literature, like Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, but when he recommends a book, I actually believe that he has read it. She did tell the press that she likes fashion magazines so perhaps Margaret & Lizz Weiss’ name brand novel would be right up her alley. Heck, maybe she’ll single-handedly bring chick lit back into vogue.

Via The Superficial.

REVIEW: Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlett

Jayne — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:00:20 +0000

Dear Ms Bartlett,

I have to be honest and tell you that if this hadn’t've been a review book, I wouldn’t have gotten more than 1/2 way through it. As it was, I kept trying to think positively and flipping pages. At the halfway mark, I started skimming. By the end, I knew I would not be continuing on with you in this series.

Gloriana Eloisa St. Claire is a vampire and has been for almost 400 years. A sexy Highlander converted her backstage at the Globe Theatre in London where she was scandalizing her parents by acting in an age where women didn’t act. But then she’d already disgraced them by marrying a (now dead) actor in the first place so there wasn’t much lower she could go. At least she thought so until she met Jerry, well that’s what he goes by now, Jerry Blade and he’s still one hot, sexy vampire. Currently they’re in the off cycle of their on/off romance and Glory is finishing up a stint in Vegas before moving on to Austin, TX. During the trip, Jerry phones her to warn her that an old friend of theirs has been taken by a vampire hunter. Stunned, Glory gets the details on this new hunter who is treating vampires like big game trophies and who has access to new and sophisticated technology which allows him to stalk them better.

After she arrives in TX, Glory sets up her new business with an apartment above the shop, both provided at a nominal rent by the vampire brother of her new vampire employee, Florence da Vinci (well he did paint her numerous times in Italy). Over the years Glory has aquired quite a collection of vintage clothing (which will happen when you don’t want to throw much out) and she’s decided to clean her closets and pay the rent in one fell swoop by opening a vintage clothing boutique. But will she be able to fend off the overprotective urges of her old lover Jerry, her new wannabe lover Damian, deal with her telepathic over protective dog, run a business and stay unstaked by the hunter?

The first problem I had with the book is the person telling the story. A reader has to like a first person narrator and Glory started getting on my nerves by the end of chapter one. Her Vamp Lit style was never ending yet grating. This is one book which will not age well, I’m afraid but then I think that about most books which use Sex and the City as a guide. I also do not like it when authors describe their characters by telling me which celebrities the characters are supposed to resemble. To me that’s lazy. Describe the person and if I get a mental image, then fine but don’t just say “he looks like Hugh Jackman” or “she looks like Angelina Jolie.”

If you’re going to create your own fantasy/paranormal world, then do the work and don’t just tell me that Glory’s hair still grows by some kind of vamp magic. This is also lazy. Ditto on the shapeshifting. Explain this world or leave these aspects out.

I’m sick of faux Highland dialogue. Don’t go there even in jest.

I never liked the telepathic dog. Not for a minute. Nor the two ghosts who haunted Glory’s store and wrote messages in the dust. And how did Harvey write some of his messages on the counter after the dust was dusted away? Things like that pulled me out of the story trying to figure out.

You have a very large cast of characters and after a while, I started to get all the secondary vampire characters mixed up. Plus the shapeshifters and mortals….

I knew that Glory’s store sold vintage stuff. I knew that she had a lot of vintage stuff of her own she sold and that she bought to be sold. Therefore, I didn’t need to be told that each item she wore or that got sold in the store was a “vintage” something.

Glory has had almost 400 years to get used to her size. She was converted in an age when curvaceous women were the norm and desired. This has been true for most of her vampire existence. Why is she so hung up on her weight? After a while, I just wanted her to shut up about it.

After finishing this book, I realize that at least for now I’ve had it with vampire books. If I had read your book last year or two years ago, the grade might have been higher but when I don’t particularly enjoy the character telling a first person book, when every vampire cliche in the genre gets tossed in plus a telepathic dog and ghosts, when nothing new is done with the genre and when it’s an effort for me to finish a book, then I’m afraid I can’t grade higher than a D.

~Jayne

March Book Club Nominations Are Open

Jane — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 17:34:38 +0000

Enter your nominations in the comments section. It must be a book released in February or March of 2007 but can be anything from non fiction to fiction to romance to fantasy. We love new authors and we love midlist authors. After two weeks, we’ll take a look at the nominations and pick six books. The six books will then be voted upon by the readers to determine the book club selection. Nominate away.

More Reviews of Demon Angel, January’s BookClub Selection

Jane — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 14:18:07 +0000

Additional Reviews from around the net of DearAuthor’s January’s Book Club Selection. The general consensus is that this debut book features phenomenal world building featuring a strong heroine, a divine hero and a very sexy romance that is, at times, hampered by pacing issues and dialogue.

If you’ve picked up the book and want to join in the discussion, take a look at the comments on Jayne’s review. The Author came and answered some questions. If you’ve got more, make a comment and Ms. Brook will likely come and answer.

REVIEW: Demon Angel by Meljean Brook

Jayne — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 22:00:50 +0000

Dear Ms Brook,

Jane’s been raving about this book for weeks now. I can almost see her bouncing up and down in her chair when she posts about it. Jane’s a hard sell so when we worked out that this would be our next dueling review, I was psyched. A little daunted by the length of the book (of course I left it to the last minute to read then write the review) but ready to go. I can honestly say I haven’t read many books lately that have kept me guessing and wondering “what’s next” but this is one of them.

You’ve created a unique and different world. One in which two different groups battle each other for human souls. The Guardians are former humans who, at the moment of their death, are transformed via a ritual into beings with eternal life. They try to circumvent the efforts of the second group thereby allowing humans to resist temptation and evil which saves their souls. Demons and minions of Lucifer are the second group. Though bound to respect human free will, they will tempt, sway and lure humans into death which then chucks their souls straight to hell. “Angel Demon” focuses on two main characters who are on opposite sides of the soul contest, Hugh who is a Guardian and Lilith who is a made demon.

Centuries ago, the two met when Hugh was still human and despite their differences, sensed an attraction to each other. It was beyond physical and it lasted for 800 years until Hugh grew fed up with the restrictions on his actions to save humans. He “fell” and was allowed to resume his human form, exactly the same age as when he first became a Guardian. One of his last acts as a Guardian was an attempt to free Lilith from the bond holding her to Lucifer’s service. Unaware that he failed in this, he’s surprised to cross paths with her again 16 years later in San Francisco where she’s living as an FBI agent. Lucifer is now trying to use human institutions and bureaucracies to plant his agents and further his take of souls. And a little pain and misery on their part never hurts his day either.

Hugh has made a life for himself as a college professor and gathered a coterie of student friends as well as a vampire friend who both he and Lilith know. The first inkling he has that some master plan against him is in the works is when several of his friends begin to disappear then reappear as corpses killed during grisly ritual slayings. Meanwhile, Lilith is investigating the sudden appearance of several Nosferatu in the city. They are former angels who fence-sat during the battle between Lucifer and his fallen angels and God. As punishment, they’ve been turned into tall, ghostly-white blood suckers. They aren’t supposed to be able to stand sunlight or stay awake during the day but, damned if that isn’t what the ones in SF are doing. Slaying them is one of the few things Guardians and demons have in common and Lilith is happy to dispatch a few while she tries to figure out why so many are gathering in the city.

Slowly Hugh and Lilith begin to figure out that someone has a plan. One which will end in Hugh’s death and his soul’s quick trip straight to hell, do not pass go, do not collect $200. What these two must do is figure out what the hell is going on, how the hell to thwart it and whether the hell to continue to fight their centuries long passion for each other or give into it with cataclysmic results.

This is a long novel. One that is chock full of plot and characters and I honestly haven’t even touched on a lot of what’s going on here. This review’d be 3 pages long if I attempted it. I like that there are layers to the characters and their actions. Readers shouldn’t just skim through this book as information is slowly revealed throughout which makes us engage our brain and really concentrate on the action. You pay the reader the compliment of not spoon feeding them with boring info dumping. I hate it when the action of a book comes to a dead halt for 2-3 pages of world-building information. You also don’t use the easy out of having one character in the book explain something to another, who should know it, in order to actually explain it to the reader. Yes, it is more work for the reader to slowly piece together all the various elements but it’s far more believable. You’re also lucky that your editor appears to have given you the space to slowly spin all this out, a luxury I realize authors don’t usually have.

I enjoyed the more gritty and realistic version of hell. It’s not supposed to be nice or cutesy (though I do like some books that feature this). Some of the features and punishments are incredibly inventive. Did you make these up or borrow from a source I should know (no, I’ve not read Dante or Milton, bad me)? Remind me never to make you mad! ;) I also adore Sir Pup, Lilith’s pet hellhound. I might have to start calling my dog that.

As I said earlier, this is an intricately plotted book but one that seems well thought out. It also has an interesting use of nosferatu vs vampires. One thing I really liked is that we can see that other characters are being set up for future books but it’s not intrusive to THIS book. They all have a reason for being in “Demon Angel” and the information revealed about them is enough for this book while still leaving some questions about them for their own.

So considering the above love-fest, why is my grade not an A? Well, maybe plot is too intricate in places? I lost track of what was going on a few times and had to backtrack. There were also times when I lost track of who was speaking or doing things in a scene and had to stop to try and figure it out. And sometimes there was just too much talking. Talk, talk, talk. Yes, it’s cerebral talk and made me really pay attention to catch all the nuances (good) but some scenes tended to drag a little (bad). And once Lilith and Hugh gave into their physical attraction, there were some moments of inappropriate lust towards the end.

Would demons be bound by humans’ free will? OK, I’ll accept it as part of your worldbuilding but I think it’s iffy. I also have some theoretical questions about Lilith’s original sacrifice and change to halfling. It was done during the Roman era before Christ…so how did Carthaginians know to sacrifice to Lucifer? Isn’t he a Judeo Christian concept? Or is he just the embodiment of all evil and his form/name have changed based on different religions? And why wouldn’t real angels show up to help thwart Lucifer’s plans? I know, I know, this is a book about Guardians but with hell up in arms and Lucifer making plans for massive expansion, I can’t see any beings who oppose him just sitting on their asses and singing hymns of praise to God.

Yet, this is a book which makes me think and think about it even days after finishing it. I was challenged to grasp all the subtleties and that’s never a bad thing. I think it will spark lots of debates. It’s an amazing first time book and one I did enjoy delving into. B+

~Jayne

Demon Angel by Meljean Brook

Jane — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 09:00:47 +0000

Welcome to our inaugural book club selection. I have been reading Meljean Brook’s blog for a while now and when I realized she had a single title release, I emailed her and begged for a copy of her book. She graciously acquiesced and fortunately for both of us, I really enjoyed this book. I’ve been talking it up because the world building in this fantasy romance was remarkable. It really made me think and pay attention which, because I am a lazy reader, I am not always compelled to do. Later today will be Jayne’s review and I hope readers spend the upcoming weeks reading this book and telling us all that you loved and hated. We would ask that any comments on the content of the book be saved for Jayne’s review. That way all the comments are in one place. Come back later and we’ll start up the conversation/debate/snarkfest/heated discussion/lovefest or whatever it turns out to be.