booklicious

By Anne Brennan
It seems everywhere you turn there’s a new book out by some political pundit or candidate. It’s not your imagination–and prepare yourself for more. Looks like Barack Obama’s two books, “Dreams of My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope,” are just the start of his oeuvre. (Full disclosure–they’ve been on my reading list. With his clinching the nomination, I have new motivation to move them up to top of the list.) From a collection of Obama’s speeches to children’s books about the man, there appears to be something for everyone, right wing or left wing. But no “History of the Fist-Bump”–yet. For full story, click here.

By Anne Brennan

Who’s ready for summer? Who isn’t? Everyone’s salivating for sun and fun. After you plan your vaca or “sick” day, what’s the next thing you need? A good book, of course.

I have some very strict rules for beach books.

1. Must be fun to read.
2. Must be a page-turner.
3. Must have a cover/title/art that is somewhat embarrassing to be seen with. A romance novel usually fits the bill for all of the above.

Here’s what’s on my reading list, after I slather on the sunscreen and hit the beach:

1. “When You Are Engulfed in Flames” by David Sedaris. Need I say more?
2. “The Front” Patricia Cornwell. After getting hooked on her early books, I want to check out what’s new with her.
3. “Audition” by Barbara Walters. Turns out Babs was quite the man magnet. Oh, and she was a pioneer for women in the news industry too.
4. “I Feel Bad About My Neck” by Nora Ephron. If the title is any indication, there should be some guaranteed laughs.

Other suggestions by DelMio reviewers:
Dave Wilson recommends “Playing for Pizza” by John Grisham as a light summer read. Another idea–”The Prince of Nantucket” by Jan Goldstein, reviewed by Jane Snow. Check out their reviews on delmio.com.

Ever wonder what famous authors read? So did I. I thought I’d interview some and find out. But, of course, someone has already done it at slate.com. I think I like Diane McWhorter’s thinking:

Diane McWhorter, author, Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution
Because I’m too much of a self-scolding Calvinist to go in for pure escapism, my perfect beach book would be something like John O’Hara’s Appointment in Samarra, which, while it is all about sex and money, also checks in at No. 22 on the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels list. (OK, actually: Pamela Des Barres, I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie—truly one of the best books I’ve read about growing up female in the 1960s.)

Will add the groupie book to my list!

By Anne Brennan
I enjoyed doing the review for Angela Johnson’s “Wind Flyers.” What a beautiful book. It’s fascinating to know that a MacArthur fellow lives in Kent, Ohio. Who knew? I don’t know if it’s a requirement, but author Angela Johnson seems as reclusive as Cormac McCarthy, another recipient of the “genius grant.” (For a look at the ultimate uninterested interviewee, check out Oprah’s painful session with McCarthy at www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_RpXe2Taug&feature=related

I like Johnson’s honesty about her writing process in a vistingauthors.com article:

“When I had trouble deciding what I was really doing with my days, the daylilies would bloom, a great movie would show up at the Plaza Cinemas, or children would suddenly appear and stay awhile, letting those thoughts fade away.
Through all of these distractions, who was to make me stay in my office, finish ten pages of that novel, or round out that picture book that had been staring at me each time I walked by it for a month?
The answer was no one. But miraculously, a few times a year I would indeed let some kind and patient person in another state know that I had somehow done it again. Magic. A book.
So, it came to me the other day that all of my days are what I do. All of my days have everything to do with how and why I write. You see, every time I have ever tried to sit in my office overlooking the flower garden and try to force myself to write for a couple of hours a day, I’d just end up watching an old movie or going for a walk.
I need the walks, the gardening, and the day-trips as much as my word processor to enable me to write. Now I know this.
So, I am indeed a writer, and other things too, thankfully. Thus, I happily try to make all the distinct parts work for me. They have everything to do with me being a writer.”

Contrast that with bestselling phenom Nora Roberts’ nose-to-the-grindstone style. Why it’s just like my writing habits…sorry, gotta go. “Oprah” is on.

Our newest blog – booklicious – by Anne Brennan.